“I’m right behind you.”
We walked to the kitchen together and I knew she hadn’t, but I asked, “Did you receive any calls from Julian this morning?”
“Not yet.” She stopped and turned to face me. She looked me straight in the eyes, with such sincerity, and said, “Thank you for being there last night. It’s incredibly scary to think of what he might have done if you had not been with me.”
She would never know how right she was and after thinking about Julian and his intentions, I decided she needed to better understand the severity of the situation without knowing all the details. “May I talk to you for a minute before we go inside?”
“Of course.”
“I’m glad I was there, but I’ve had a little time to think about Julian and I don’t think you can be too cautious where he is concerned. I think he could be really dangerous because it took a lot of guts to do what he did.”
“I know. He is becoming braver and bolder with every move he makes, and that’s why I have made the decision to give up my apartment at school. I can’t live next to him, so I’m driving over today to move the rest of my things home. I don’t know what that means for school this fall, but I don’t feel like I have a choice.”
I was glad she made that decision on her own, and whether she knew it or not, she didn’t have a choice. “I think that is a very wise move. I don’t have plans for the day, so would you like me to help you? We can use my truck.”
“Curry, you’re doing too much already. My roommate, Abby, said she would help me.”
“I don’t think you should go alone, even if your roommate will be in the apartment with you,” I argued.
“I’m leaving after breakfast and I’ll be gone most of the day. Are you sure you want to be tied up with me all day?” she warned.
It would frighten her to know the answer to that question. “I told you, I don’t have plans for today and I’m glad to help you.”
She stepped forward and embraced me briefly, as she said, “I really appreciate your help. Again.” I didn’t fear her nearness this time and I welcomed it.
“No problem.”
She ended our embrace first and turned to go to the kitchen. “Come on. Let’s eat. You’ll need your strength because you haven’t seen how much stuff I have to move.”
We joined Anna and Grady at the table. I drank coffee and pretended to eat, but there wasn’t a reason for anyone to pay attention to my eating habits, so it was easy to pull off the deception.
Chansey told her grandparents, “Curry is going with me to the apartment to pick up my things.”
“Oh, Curry, that is so kind of you to help.” I didn’t let Anna see I noticed the mischievous grin on her face, but I did wonder what it meant.
“I’m glad to help. I didn’t have plans today, so I’m grateful for something to do,” I admitted.
When we finished breakfast, Anna declined our offer to help clean the kitchen and insisted we get in the road. I was looking forward to the drive ahead of us because I was no longer scared of Chansey and I wanted to know everything about her.
I walked to the passenger side of my truck with her and opened her door. “By the way, where are we going?”
“My apartment is in Long Beach. It’s a little less than an hour from here.”
After we started on our way, I asked, “How did you end up in Long Beach?”
“I go to Southern at the Long Beach campus. It was too far to drive everyday, so I got an apartment close to campus. My job is in between school and home, although it’s a little further away when I’m at home, but it’s not a bad drive.”
“Well, I guess that made sense until you discovered you had a nut job living next door.”
She laughed at my crack about Julian. I loved hearing her laughter and seeing it as it reached her eyes, I realized wanted to be the reason behind it.
We approached the long bridge crossing the Singing River and she asked, “Do you know the legend of the Singing River?”
“I recall something about music coming from the waters, but I don’t remember all the details.”
“It is known for its mysterious music that sounds like a swarm of bees in flight. Many believe the sound is the death song of the Pascagoula Indian tribe that perished in the river,” she explained
I vaguely remembered parts of the legend, so I asked, “Wasn’t there a feud between two Indian tribes?”
“That’s right. There were two tribes of Indians in this area, the Pascagoula and the Biloxi. An Indian princess from the Biloxi tribe was betrothed to the chieftain of her own tribe, but she loved the Chief of the Pascagoula tribe, so she ran away with him. The Biloxi chieftain was so angry he led his braves to war against the outnumbered Pascagoula, and rather than become slaves to the Biloxi, they joined hands and began to chant a song of death while the women and children led the way into the river where they drowned themselves.”
“That’s a cool, but morbid story all in one. So, what makes the mysterious music?”
“Scientists have attempted to offer explanations for this phenomenon, but none have been proven, so I definitely believe it is the death song of the Pascagoula tribe.”
“Do you believe science can prove everything or do you think you have to trust the unknown sometimes?” I asked, curiously.
“I think science proves many interesting things, but no, I don’t think it has an answer for everything. I believe there are miracles and phenomenons we’ll never understand.”
The drive was a little shorter than I expected. I pulled into her apartment complex and backed into the spot in front of her door as Chansey scanned the parking lot and said, “I don’t see Julian’s car. I was worried he might be hanging around.”
It didn’t mean he wasn’t lurking around because she didn’t see his car around. The faster we got this done and got out of there, the better. She opened her apartment door and called for her roommate, “Abby, are you here?” but there was no answer. We entered the living room. “Hmm. She said she would be here. I hope nothing is wrong.”
She walked to the kitchen where she found a note on the table. After reading the note, she said, “Abby’s grandmother suddenly became ill, so she had to go home and won’t be here to help.”
I noticed boxes stacked along the walls labeled with Chansey’s name. “Looks like she started before she left. Is she eager to get rid of you?”
“That’s just Abby. She would have finished if she didn’t have to leave.”
We were half a dozen boxes shy of being finished when there was a knock at the door. Chansey opened the door and I recognized the putrid odor flowing from the open door before I heard Julian’s voice or the rapid acceleration of Chansey’s heart.
“Hello, Chansey, it’s good to see you again. I heard you were moving out, so I wanted to see if I could be of any assistance.”
“How did you know I was moving out? I know Abby didn’t tell you,” she questioned, anxiously.
“Let’s just say a little birdie told me,” he taunted.
When I appeared at Chansey’s side, Julian was clearly not expecting my presence, as displayed by the expression on his face. I placed a reassuring hand against Chansey’s back. “There’s only a few boxes left. Why don’t you wait for me in the truck and I’ll only be a minute?”
I waited until Chansey was in the truck to say, “Did you not understand my warning?”
He broke into a malicious grin and with his sneering voice, said, “I didn’t do a thing to her. I was only being a friendly neighbor. You can ask that group of people standing right over there if you don’t believe me. They’re my witnesses.” I knew what he really meant by referring to the witnesses.
I looked toward the truck and saw Chansey watching through the back glass of my truck. Instead of giving into my desire to end him, I stepped forward and placed a stern finger against his chest. “I know your kind well and you don’t fool me for a second, so don’t dare think that you’re going to get to her, bec
ause you’re not.”
He winked his eye at me and said, “I think you would be surprised at what I am capable of, friend. It was good to see you again. Until next time...” He tipped his pub cap, then turned and walked toward his apartment while he whistled a disturbing tune.
I walked to the truck and Chansey rolled down the window. “Stay in the truck and keep the doors locked. It will only take a minute to grab those last boxes.”
I grabbed the boxes, returned to the truck and startled her when I tapped on the window to have her unlock the door. “I think I got everything. Do you want to take another look around before we go?”
“I don’t care if I left anything. I just want to get out of here.”
“Okay. I’ll lock up.”
Chansey’s mood was different on the ride home because she was clearly shaken by Julian’s visit and I needed to take her mind off of him.