Nightingale

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Choosing Sides

The world around me swirled - so much that I had to lean against my car for stability. Flashes from my dreams struck through my reality like bolts of lightning. I shut my eyes tightly in an attempt to block the flashbulb images. I opened them to see Jake and Peter standing only a few yards away against the chain link fence. Their dead eyes stared blankly in my direction, patiently waiting for me to understand their presence. I watched Eddie pace back and forth between us, oblivious to their presence.

"What do you want?" I whispered, only to watch them smile and dissipate like ashes in the wind.

"Sam? Have you heard a word I've said?" Eddie's voice rose to grab my attention.

"What? No, I'm sorry, Eddie. What were you saying?" I asked and tried to focus.

Eddie rubbed his forehead with frustration. "I said...I think you're reading too much into this. I know it sounds a little off, but like I said before, if someone wants to kill themselves they find a way to do it."

I tried to take a deep breath, but the humidity made it impossible. I sighed as the thunder rolled heavily. A storm was definitely heading this way. The dread in my heart was as thick as the southern air around me. "A little off? Everything about this is wrong!" I yelled and threw the coroner's report at him. "A man doesn't file papers contesting a divorce and then blow his brains out. He doesn't put a gun to his head with the hand he never uses and pull the trigger with fingers that don't work. It doesn't happen like that! I don't dream things that don't come true. You need to choose. Are you going to believe me or the bullshit on that report?"

Eddie took a deep breath. "I think you should let it go. Michael is right...you should get yourself checked out."

I laughed sardonically. "Guess that's my answer. Did you get the list from Margaret?"

Eddie's brow creased. "Yeah, why? We don't need it now," he said and pulled the folded paper from his back pocket.

I snatched the list from his hand and threw open the door of my car. "You may not need it, but I do. I'd like to at least try and figure out who's going to kill me before it happens," I snapped.

"Sam, wait!" he yelled and pounded on the driver's side window holding the coroner's report.

I rolled the window down. "What?" I barked.

Eddie handed me the report. "You might need this."

I grabbed the paper and threw the car into reverse. "Goodbye, Eddie," I said and spun wildly out of the parking lot.

I maneuvered the car quickly through the backstreets of Crafton. I felt a wave of relief wash over me when I passed the city limits sign. I'd be at the Waffle Inn in no time, and once I explained everything to Marli, we'd get it worked through. She'd believe me, she had to; she was my only hope. Michael and Eddie were out; they both thought I needed my head examined. Mom would believe me, but I couldn't tell her it was me this time.

I pulled onto the parking lot of the Waffle Inn and cut the engine. I reached across the front seat to the glove compartment, grabbed my cigarettes, and shoved them into my oversized purse. I got out and walked around to sit on the trunk while I scanned the lot for Charlie's old truck. It was nowhere to be seen; guess I'd made it here a little quicker than I thought. The temperature had dropped at least ten degrees since I'd left town, and the wind picked up. Storm clouds darkened the orange, May sky to an eerie greenish-gray. I felt uneasy, and as I dug into my purse for a cigarette, the notebooks fell to the ground. "Dammit!" I cursed under my breath and jumped off to retrieve them. The wind flipped the pages of my current saga, and I had to plant my hand firmly on the open notebook to keep it from being carried away. I glanced down at the words "vegetable soup" I had written only a few days prior, and the flashbulb went off inside my mind. A myriad of colors swirled sickeningly in front of my eyes. I swallowed hard against the nausea that immediately followed. It was quickly replaced with a feeling of hope. I had forgotten all about that piece of the puzzle. I panicked this morning when I saw the shoes, and Eddie informed me of Jake's death. I thought the only piece left was the one holding the scene in the parking garage. I had more time! Maybe it wasn't too late. I could still reason it out in time. I gathered the notebooks and stood quickly to shove them back into my purse.