Whodunit

Chapter 15

Upstairs, Nubia closed her eyes and tried to remain calm for the crying little girl bundled in her arms. They sat on the queen-sized bed of Zaria's room, hiding under a heap of blankets and sheets like the dark would protect them. Though they knew it couldn't. It hid them from view. Yet, even though they couldn't see and nothing could see them, their ears witnessed it all. The shrilling screams. The loud crashes. The shattering glass. Running feet hitting the ground.

"Nubia?" Zaria let out a tearful whisper.

Nubia avoided swallowing, thinking that would clue Zaria in on her panic. "Yeah, shawty?"

She took a moment to speak. "Are we going to die?"

"No," Nubia forced from her diaphragm and immediately regretted sounding so frustrated. She relaxed her voice and continued, "No, love, we're not going to die. I'm especially going to make sure nothing happens to you."

"What about you?" she whined. "What about Ximena? Where's Amahd?"

"We're going to be—" Nubia started to whisper but stopped at the sound of a stomp. Then, another and another. Someone was coming up the stairs. The stomps hit the steps quick and hard as if the person had an urgent message to deliver to the top floor.

Nubia clenched her cheeks as pools of tears swam downed Zaria's face. The little girl squeezed the older one as if she reminded her of her favorite teddy bear that kept her from feeling all alone at night.

The floor groaned outside the door. Nubia sat up straight, ripping the covers off to make sure she heard right.

"I'm scared."

"Shh," Nubia mouthed almost soundlessly with her finger over her mouth.

Zaria stared up at her with bold, brown eyes but didn't dare breathe for fear of the killer hearing her.

The doorknob twisted. All the energy drained from Nubia's body. But the door didn't open. The knob jerked back into place. Almost as if whoever was outside decided not to come inside. The stomps continued before disappearing behind the sound of a slammed door.

Nubia grimaced. That sounded like it could've been Anisa or Dmitri running to a hiding place. She couldn't let them fight against the killer alone. When Desi and she fought together, the killer had no chance at winning the game he started. The moment she walked away from Desi, he lost more than a game. He lost his life. And all chances to fight.

Nubia hopped out of the bed. "Stay right here. Don't leave the room for anything or anybody."

"Where are you going?" Zaria pulled the blankets up to her chin.

Nubia explored the bedroom, looking for a weapon on the dresser where the Airbnb host had left travel essentials like a small tube of toothpaste and a stack of crisp, white towels that reeked of clean linen. She slid over to the nightstand and rumbled through the drawer but only found an extension cord and a charging dock.

She pushed open the attached bathroom door. Her heart almost jumped out her chest at her reflection in the sink mirror. Childhood fears of Candyman and Bloody Mary came rushing to her head faster than blood in a child hanging upside down on a monkey bar. She remembered reading in a random Twitter thread that people who claimed they saw Candyman or Bloody Mary in their bathroom mirrors had only seen themselves as their eyes adjusted to the dark. She stumbled forward, gripping the doorframe for balance. Blinding stars blurred her vision. The king cake she ate from the parade threatened to come up and out her throat like a chunky, purple, green, and gold explosion of sugar and dough.

She swallowed the lack of courage and flipped on the light switch. A hair dryer was sitting near a basket of toiletries and hygiene products. It was the closest thing to a weapon, so she snatched it from the counter. The cord from the dryer dragged on the vacuumed mat.

"To fight." She stepped back into the bed area, finally answering Zaria's question. "To make sure I play my part in making sure we survive this. Plus, my phone is charging in my room. Maybe it has enough battery to call the police."

Zaria focused on the foot of the bed. Her eyelids drooped with heaviness.

Nubia exhaled and sat next to her on the bed. "Look, shawty. Everything's going to be okay. I'm going to get my phone to call the police, and I'm going to fight the killer off if he comes anywhere near you."

Zaria grabbed her waist and pulled her into a tight hug. "Be safe. Please don't die."

Nubia squeezed her back. She wanted to assure her that she wouldn't die, but after what happened to Desi, she knew she might be lying. "Just pray and think happy thoughts."

She stood from the bed and fetched the extension cord. The heat from the blow dryer might not be enough to hurt the killer, but maybe it could distract him enough to keep him from hurting her or Zaria. She plugged the extension cord into the outlet near the door and plugged the blow dryer into it. She refused to go down without a fight. The will to fight had been passed down for generations in her lineage. Everyone on her maternal side of the family shared the skill.

She looked at Zaria as she unlocked the door. "I'll be right back."

With that affirmation in the atmosphere, she opened the door.