Spooky Little Girl Read online

  No matter how mundane, or regular or sparkless, they had built a life.

  A Lucy and Martin life.

  And she could never look at chicken again, alive, dead, fried, or roasted, without feeling her head spin.

  By the time Jilly and Warren pulled up in their truck, Lucy had managed to squeeze just about everything into the bed of her truck, except for her grandmother’'s rocking chair and the television. After helping Jilly and Warren load those up in their truck, she walked back to the front door to a waiting Tulip, who she could barely see anymore. It was getting dark and there were no lights on in the house.

  “"I love you, my good girl,”" Lucy said as she put her hand up to the glass, to which the dog reciprocated with raising her big, clunky paw. “"I will come back for you, okay? Okay? I will see you soon, sweetheart. I promise.”"

  Tulip looked at Lucy steadily and blinked. Then she emitted a tiny, almost inaudible little whimper.

  Lucy’'s eyes burned.

  “"No, no, no, I’'m coming back,”" Lucy said softly. “"No crying, okay? Be a big girl.”"

  With that, Tulip dropped her paw and tilted her head slightly.

  “"That’'s my girl,”" Lucy said. “"We will get this figured out. We will find out what’'s going on. I will see you soon, I promise.”"

  Jilly and Warren were waiting for her. She had to go. She was saying her last goodbye to Tulip when she saw something move back in the shadows, in the kitchen past the living room. Something moved. She saw it. It was slight, but it was there.

  “"Martin,”" Lucy said, and squinted her eyes to get a better look, but it was getting dark and all she could really see was a jumble of unidentifiable shadows.

  “"Martin!”" she called this time. “"Martin! Please talk to me. Tell me what’'s going on! Is that you? Is that you in there? Is that you? Why are you doing this? Goddamn it! Why are you doing this? Talk to me!”"

  There was no answer. She stood as still as she could, staring, watching the stillness in the kitchen, a kitchen she thought she’'d be drinking a cold Pepsi in by now. Then she saw movement again, just as slight, and instantly felt foolish. The oscillating fan in the kitchen, she realized. It moved the blinds on the sliding glass door when it turned.

  Lucy walked backward to her truck, waving to Tulip continuously, until she reached the driveway and could no longer see her.

  “"Lucy,”" Warren called out from the driver’'s side of his truck. “"There’'s one last box on the lawn. You can toss it in the back here.”"

  Lucy shook her head. “"Those are my wedding invitations.”" She shrugged as she opened the door of her truck. “"I don’'t think I’'ll be needing them.”"

  From the corner of her eye, Lucy saw something white flutter out of the cab and onto the concrete of the driveway below. It was an envelope. She picked it up. She saw right away that it was Martin’'s quick scrawl that had written her name on the front.

  Inside, the letter said simply:

  You know I will take good care of Tulip until you can come and get her. My day off is Thursday. You can pick her up then.

  Martin

  chapter three I Will Totally Date a Midget

  Lucy had just pulled in behind Warren’'s truck in the driveway of her best friend’'s house when Jilly walked over to her.

  “"Do you know what happened?”" Jilly said, her hands in the front pockets of her jeans. “"Why would Martin do something like this?”"

  Lucy shook her head. “"I have no idea, I really don’'t,”" she said honestly. “"He won’'t answer his phone. This note he left me says absolutely nothing. Nothing happened. We didn’'t have a fight, we didn’'t have words. Jilly, it’'s just impossible. How can everything be fine one minute and then completely upside down the next?”"

  “"Lucy, well, maybe everything wasn’'t fine,”" Jilly said reluctantly. “"Did you ever get any feeling that Martin was …... I don’'t know, that maybe he was messing around?”"

  “"Three hours ago I would have said no,”" Lucy replied, her voice rising. “"But now that I’'m homeless, I suppose anything is possible. I would never expect Martin to do this, so I guess, sure. He could have been messing around with a cashier or the girl in the bakery who makes birthday cakes. Sure, why not? It makes about as much sense as anything else. Because he didn’'t just throw me out—--he blasted me out like a rocket! I don’'t know what I’'m going to do.”"

  “"Well, you know you can stay here until this all gets figured out,”" Jilly reassured her. “"But in the meantime, I have to tell you something, and I know you’'ve had to deal with big stuff today, and if this could wait, believe me, I wouldn’'t be telling you now. Nola called. There was a problem with the deposit from the office for the day before we left for Hawaii.”"

  Nola, the office manager of the dental practice the girls worked at, was easily excited and had a tendency to inflate anything that wasn’'t noted on her schedule into a drama worthy of a prime-time cable network hour. Her position in Dr. Meadows’'s office consumed her whole life, and considering that Nola’'s time was a little free after she clocked out, her entire life force was focused on the office. Lucy and Jilly often mused that Nola’'s home life was so hollow that she kept a baby monitor on her nightstand with the twin monitor placed strategically in an open desk drawer at the office, or tucked behind a silk plant, so she could listen to the office sleep at night. Rumor had it that Nola had once had a beau, who had broken her heart years earlier, leaving Nola no other choice but to throw herself into the workings and minute details of a dental office.

  Every important duty was Nola’'s responsibility by design; she needed it that way. But there was one exception. Every night at the office, Marianne would total out the day’'s tally, and whatever was paid in cash and checks that day would get put into a sealed envelope and handed over to the designated deposit person, who would go to the bank on their way home. This method was devised after Nola saw the same man at the same ATM two nights in a row. She became convinced that he was casing her deposit habits and was hatching a plan to kidnap her and sell her into the sex trade in an Eastern Bloc country, like she’'d seen in a segment on human trafficking on 48 Hours Mystery. The following morning she called an urgent staff meeting and demanded that everyone in the office take turns making the deposit and visiting different bank branches all over town, and she had indeed made a schedule. It was now everyone’'s duty to make the deposit when it was their turn.

  “"So there’'s a problem with the deposit,”" Lucy replied to Jilly snottily. “"What was the problem? Did Stranger Danger pop up at one of Nola’'s spots and she’'s now wearing a black negligee and marabou slippers somewhere in Estonia?”"

  Jilly shook her head and grinned. “"No. The deposit wasn’'t made. The bank never got it. She’'s been tracking it all week to see if it was credited, but it never was. And …... it wasn’'t Nola’'s deposit,”" Jilly replied. “"It was the one from your night.”"

  “"My night?”" Lucy said, her hands flying up to her mouth in horror. “"It was my night? I forgot to make it? Oh, no! Shit. I was so excited about the trip that I ran home and just started packing. I must still have it. It’'s here somewhere. I think I had my black bag that day.”"

  Lucy climbed up into the bed of the truck and found the box of purses and shoes, then handed it down to Jilly.

  “"Here’'s the black bag,”" Jilly announced after digging for a few seconds. She opened the purse, and there was the deposit.

  Lucy looked at Jilly, and they both broke out in laughter that immediately sliced the heavy tension that had caused Lucy to break out in a nervous sweat.

  “"Whew!”" Lucy said with a massive rush of relief. “"I can’'t believe I forgot it. I guess I was in a bigger rush than I thought.”"

  “"This is such good news,”" Jilly said, smiling and shaking her head. “"Such good news. I thought Nola was going to have your head. All right. Let’'s get your stuff into the garage and then we can get you settled in. You’'ve had a
long day.”"

  “"I don’'t think I’'ve ever had a longer one,”" Lucy said in agreement, and started to unload.

  As soon as Lucy walked through the door of the office the next morning, Nola bolted into the foyer, her squat figure moving quickly toward Lucy. She had the body of a stout fifth-grade boy—--petite in stature but solid in the middle, with several curves on her, though not one of them was desirable. Despite her lack of feminine shapeliness, Nola’'s face was soft, her peachy cheeks always a little bit flushed, and her eyes were a deep aqua green. Her chin was delicate and well proportioned to her heart-shaped face, and her black hair, thick and enviably shiny, was always closely cropped in a style women usually waited until retirement age to acquire. She was in her early thirties and would have been considered almost pretty if it wasn’'t for the bulb of a peasant nose that was stuck in the middle of so many enviable features. The nose rendered her not to an unattractive level but to simply plain and unremarkable. She knew this, and had determined a long time ago that what she could not attain with the benefits of beauty, she would take by force and will. With all her might pushing forward like a train, Nola speed walked in through the foyer, her right arm pumping furiously like an oil drill, her left arm pointed at Lucy sternly.

  “"Dr. Meadows and I need to see you immediately,”" she said as harshly as her dimpled face looked, resembling the closest thing to an angry donut Lucy had ever seen.

  “"I know. Jilly told me about the missing deposit,”" Lucy replied, trying to ease the situation, pulling the deposit from her purse. “"I have it right here. I’'m really sorry.”"

  Nola looked at Lucy and smirked. “"I said Dr. Meadows and I need to see you,”" she repeated.

  “"Okay.”" Lucy nodded, eager to settle the situation. It was all very easily explainable, she knew; it was a mistake, a silly, stupid accident, but she was sure Dr. Meadows would understand. It was the first deposit Lucy had ever forgotten about or had made late. She had never been in trouble at the office before, all of her job performance reviews had been positive, and she had faith that the dentist would see this for exactly what it was: a touch of irresponsibility and distraction, but nothing more than that. She had worked for this man for almost two years. Jilly had gotten her the job when the previous hygienist had suddenly quit and they’'d needed someone in a hurry. It was a good office, a solid practice, and she knew she was lucky to have the job.

  Nola escorted her back to Dr. Meadows’'s office, where he was already sitting behind his large mahogany desk.

  “"Dr. Meadows, I’'m very sorry this happened, but I can explain—--”" Lucy started, and then stopped when the dentist raised his hand.

  “"Do you have the deposit, Lucy?”" he asked plainly.

  Lucy nodded and handed it to him. Nola looked over her shoulder and watched her carefully.

  He took a letter opener, sliced across the virgin seal of the envelope, and pulled out the contents of various checks and cash. The dentist went through it slowly, and then stopped when he got to a particular check.

  “"Well, it all seems to be here,”" he said, without looking up.

  “"Of course it’'s all there,”" Lucy said with a laugh in response to the absurdity of what she was hearing. “"The envelope was sealed. I never opened it. Why would I open it?”"

  “"There was a check in the deposit that was of a sizeable amount,”" the dentist said, without a trace of the robust and usually jovial and friendly man Lucy knew. “"When the amount didn’'t show up in the account, well, let’'s just say that questions arose.”"

  “"Questions?”" Lucy found herself saying. “"What questions? You can clearly see I never opened that envelope.”"

  “"Well, Lucy,”" he continued, looking at Nola and then back to Lucy. “"When twenty thousand dollars fails to be accounted for, it becomes a serious situation.”"

  Lucy’'s mouth dropped open. “"Twenty thousand dollars?”" she said, not even believing the amount herself, and then she turned to Nola. “"You gave me an envelope with twenty thousand dollars in it and didn’'t bother to tell me?”"

  “"For precisely the reason we’'re talking to you now, that’'s something we didn’'t care to broadcast,”" Dr. Meadows said without any further explanation.

  Lucy paused for a moment, until it fully hit her. “"You think I tried to steal that money?”" she asked angrily. “"How could I steal a check that wasn’'t made out to me, a check in an envelope that you can clearly see has never been opened?”"

  “"There are ways. They can be washed. It’'s really very simple. I’'ve seen it done,”" Nola said very matter-of-factly, then quickly added, “"On TV. It was on Primetime Live.”"

  “"I only have basic cable,”" Lucy shot back. “"I don’'t get the criminal mastermind channel.”"

  “"And then there’'s also an issue of pharmaceuticals that went missing before you girls left on vacation,”" Dr. Meadows interrupted. “"Several bottles of sedatives are not where they should be.”"

  Lucy could not believe what she was hearing. She shook her head in exasperation. “"I don’'t know anything about that,”" she said simply, looking Dr. Meadows in the eye. She would never have done something to jeopardize her job, let alone anything as outlandish as washing checks and stealing meds. She had celebrated holidays and birthdays with the people in this office, including Dr. Meadows. He knew her better than that.

  “"So I’'m going to ask you to submit to a drug test, Lucy,”" the dentist said. “"I’'m asking everybody. I’'m not singling you out because of the deposit. Drug use—--and theft—--will not be tolerated in this office. That’'s something I can’'t risk.”"

  “"I have absolutely no problem with that,”" Lucy offered. “"I’'ll take any drug test. I have nothing to hide.”"

  From nowhere, Nola produced a plastic cup with LUCY stretched across the middle of it in marker. Lucy took the cup and headed to the bathroom, where Nola posted herself right outside the door.

  Lucy would have found the entire episode laughable, except that five minutes later, her employer came into the break room, where Lucy was waiting. He looked at her for a moment before saying anything.

  “"You tested positive for cocaine,”" he said simply. “"I have to say I didn’'t expect that.”"

  “"That is impossible,”" Lucy asserted. “"It is absolutely impossible. That test is wrong. It’'s wrong. This is insane. It’'s a mistake. Do another test. There’'s no way that’'s right. No one’'s done cocaine since 1987, except for Fleetwood Mac cover bands!”"

  Instead of arguing, Dr. Meadows went to the supply cabinet and pulled out another test. Lucy stood there in amazement, wondering how she had never noticed bulk urinalysis drug tests in Costco. This time, Lucy stood next to Dr. Meadows as he opened a new pouch and lowered what looked like a multipronged dipstick into the urine sample. After the five minutes of laborious dead silence between Dr. Meadows and herself, Lucy saw the results on the test strip herself. A red line appeared after COC.

  “"I’'m sorry, Lucy. I’'m going to have to let you go,”" the dentist said. “"It looks like you’'ve made some poor decisions. You’'ve become a liability to this office, and we can’'t run a practice that way.”"

  “"This whole thing is a joke, right? Are you filming this for some crazy show that Nola watches? If you are, I will totally date a midget,”" Lucy said firmly.

  “"Nola will give you your last paycheck,”" he said. “"I’'m sorry it turned out this way, Lucy. Best of luck to you.”"

  And with that, he turned and walked away, as Lucy stood in the break room, her head swirling almost as quickly as it had when she’'d thrown up on vacation in that guy’'s toilet. Jilly appeared at the doorway.

  “"What happened?”" she asked. “"Are you okay?”"

  Lucy shook her head. “"My test came up positive for coke,”" she said with a little laugh and a shrug.

  Jilly looked puzzled. “"What? When did you do coke?”" she asked.

  “"Oh, I dunno,”" Lucy responde
d. “"When was the last time I got my hair frosted? Long before you could buy a twelve-pack of drug tests at the mall and have your boss mix it up in the break room next to the coffeemaker. I don’'t know what happened, Jilly. I haven’'t done coke since my boobs were able to hold up a tube top on their own. I don’'t even like coke. I hate the way its bitterness clings to the back of your throat. All I know is that the test is wrong. And they don’'t believe me.”"

  “"Lucy, you’'ve got to say something,”" Jilly insisted.

  “"Oh, I did,”" Lucy said, laughing again in futility. “"So we did the test twice, and the second time I watched with my own eyes as Dr. Meadows stuck a gloved hand into my pee and twirled the stick around like it was a very dirty martini. I’'d rather take an unemployment check than watch that again. And that’'s not all. They think I was trying to steal the deposit. Apparently, there was twenty thousand bucks in there that Nola neglected to mention. And you’'d better be prepared to submit a sample yourself. Dr. Meadows said they’'re drug testing everyone because some sedatives are missing from the cabinet. You know how I thought yesterday was the crappiest day ever? Nope. It somehow got topped.”"

  “"What are you going to do?”" Jilly asked, putting a soft hand on Lucy’'s arm.

  “"Good question,”" she replied. “"I’'m already a coked-out embezzler, so maybe I’'ll hit either a street corner and wait for my pimp or a karaoke bar that plays a lot of Stevie Nicks songs. Big deal. So they fired me. Fired me from a job where I spend my days scraping plaque buildup and rotten food from the mouths of people who don’'t know how to brush their teeth. Do you know I spent roughly sixty percent of my workday watching people spit? I could go to China if I wanted to see that all day long.”"

  “"Try calling Martin again,”" her friend pleaded.

  Lucy took a deep breath. “"I have,”" she admitted, exasperated. “"I’'ve been trying to call him since last night, and I tried again this morning. He’'s disconnected his cellphone and the house phone. What did I do? I don’'t know what the hell I did. Maybe I’'ll find out what this is all about when I get Tulip on his day off, on Thursday. I’'m still in shock. I can’'t believe any of this is happening.”"