APRIL 4th, 1994, SEATTLE, WA
LINDY DID NOT sleep. She was hardly disappointed by her lack of rest, mainly because she feared the nightmares that might have come for her if she closed her eyes for too long. By the time Monday morning rolled around, she was thankful that she did not have to work. Her whole day would be concentrated on finding Kurt, and she would be damned if it were spent any other way.
Krist called as the late afternoon neared. He told Lindy that she ought to come over to he and Shelli's place so that they could talk. Lindy automatically assumed the worst, drilling Krist for answers as to why he needed to discuss this hidden matter with her in person. In a firm but polite manner, Krist said he would not reveal anything to Lindy unless she came to the house.
When Lindy got there, carrying nothing except her wallet, Shelli came flying out of the door and down the driveway. Her eyes were tinged red, evidence that she too was emotionally distraught over Kurt's disappearence. She grabbed Lindy in a hug, letting out a sob as her chin rested on Lindy's shoulder.
Lindy wrapped both arms around her old friend, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. As nice as it was to see Shelli, Lindy was discouraged by the circumstances. And seeing Shelli openly cry over Kurt did nothing to help Lindy's already dim sense of hope.
"Oh, honey," Shelli said thickly, pulling away and caressing Lindy's face in her usual motherly manner. Her other hand gently touched Lindy's stomach.
"Don't cry," Lindy said, catching Shelli's wrist and locking her fingers through hers. Seeing Shelli's distress had only worsened Lindy's general mood. She didn't think it was possible for Shelli, as impenetrable as she was, to actually break down and cry.
"A baby though," Shelli whispered. She roped Lindy into another hug. "I don't know whether to be happy or sad right now. Everything is so confusing."
"We'll figure it out," Lindy assured her just as Krist stepped outside, his brows cinched in the middle of his forehead. He waved both women inside. Lindy linked her arm through Shelli's as they walked to the house, using each other as crutches against the pain of Kurt's absence. Krist's eyes were flashing as Lindy took her place in front of him with folded arms.
"If this were good news, you wouldn't be looking at me with all that pity," Lindy said bluntly, swallowing and staring directly into Krist's face.
He sighed, but it was a pained sigh. "I wish there was an easier way to explain all of it."
Lindy took a step forward, desperate and hungry to hear whatever rested on the tip of Krist's tongue. Her heartbeat was loud enough that she wondered if they could hear it hammering in her chest.
"Say it fast then, so it's over sooner."
She felt Shelli's hand close around her arm, holding her back in the safety away from Krist's admittance. But not even Shelli could protect Lindy from the truth about Kurt's whereabouts.
"I talked to Courtney today," Krist said slowly. "She told me that she called up Kurt's little friend, Dylan Carlson. He confessed to her that Kurt bought a shotgun before he left for Los Angeles."
Krist may as well have been speaking another language. The words sounded unfamiliar as they funneled through Lindy's ear canals, straight to her brain where they became jumbled. From the brief explanation that Krist had given, the one word that Lindy fixated on the most, only because her brain had processed it the fastest, was 'shotgun.'
She had previously known that Kurt had no problem with owning guns. The ones he had already collected had been confiscated by Seattle police though, back when he and Courtney had engaged in one of their arguments that had ended in a 911 phone call. But he had gone and gotten another one. And now he was missing. Missing, and in the possession of a dangerous weapon that he could easily turn on himself.
