Page 30 of The Quiet Witness

Consequences

She’d done it.

The front door fell into its hinges, rapid footsteps crunched over snow. Mere seconds later, the engine of the Volvo purred to life.

Gone he was, and gone she would be.

Kate’s smile widened until her lips were aching.

A black and white card warmed her hands. The key to her freedom.

Her heart had pounded like a madman, letting Lucien up close, no, tearing him into her personal space had been… nerve-wracking. But it had worked. The frown on his face had been genuine, even a trickle of shock visible in his eyes. Slipping her fingers into his back pocket had gone by unnoticed.

She counted ten minutes, eyes closed with her legs swinging off the bed, her toes tingling with anticipation. Who knew if he had forgotten something. The last she wanted was to be caught in the middle of her escape.

Okay, time to focus. It was late in the evening, middle of nowhere with no houses to knock on. She would need to take a chance on a direction and drag herself through the high piled snow.

Kate stepped into the kitchen, pulling her sweater tighter around her shaking body. Ghost sprang up from his position near the door, but he didn’t make a move to approach her. Their earlier moment still caught in both their minds. Still, She crouched down in front of him, scratching through the silken fur behind his ear.

“I need to get out of here Ghost. Don’t try and stop me this time.” He laid his head back down on his paws. A resigned sigh shaking through his large body.

Kate took that as her cue. Shrugging on Lucien’s jacket with oofs and ahs from the pain of her uncooperative shoulder.

But the last she needed was to freeze in the blistering cold. Pursing her lips she dove into the kitchen, stealing the granola bars Lucien had dumped into a bamboo bowl. It would have to make do before she’d find civilization out there.

Throwing on her hat, she gave Ghost one last stroke on his furry head before swiping the card across the scanner. One. She held her breath. Two. The light blinked green. Green for go.

She slipped through the door, closing it behind her to face the great outdoors.

The moon shone brightly across the white world around her. So innocent looking in its sparkling splendor. She knew though. Whether it was due to the predators or the cold already making her toes tingle in their boots. The innocence was an illusion. Created to ensnare the nonchalant in its grasp.

But she wasn’t nonchalant. She needed to find society, and she needed to find it quickly.

No more time to waste.

She heaved one foot over the other. An owl’s haunting calls goading her deeper into the forest. At the edge of Lucien’s land she stopped, bending down. If only she had a predators nose.

Kate peered out over the ice, carefully stepping around where she’d seen him dump the blood of his latest kills. It should be around… here. Red trickles faded into the snow. Steeling her nerves, she scooped a handful of it into her hands, shoving it in his jacket’s pockets. Blowing warmth back into her hands she turned around, daring one last glance at the solitary house. Pine trees shrouding it in darkness.

Until never.

Tonight, she would be relying on her heart to guide her. Silencing the voice inside her mind telling her it was a death sentence, she disappeared between the long shadows of the trees.

***

Lucien

Getting to the solitary bridge. Lucien parked his car outside of the cameras view. Better to tread lightly when it came to these meetings, and work in general.

Remaining careful in this digital world, where everything could be moments away of getting caught on camera, was an art in its own right. Yes… removing someone from existence used to be a whole lot easier back in the good old days.

He heaved a heavy sigh, slamming the door behind him. What wasn’t better back then?

He swiveled his head around, eyes scanning the playground of ominous affairs.

Lanterns shone softly onto the swift flowing river below. Blades of ice lined the shore. Waiting for someone to slip and fall, so the river could hold them in its clutches. A perfect dumping site.

Or meeting site, as it was tonight.