When the Night Calls Read online

  She glared at him with hungry eyes and licked her lips. Daniel shuffled away then suddenly the door swung open.

  “Babe, I’m home,” Monica’s voice yelled from the foyer.

  “Oh my dear, Monica yes we are in the kitchen, Daniel and I,” Sandra straightened up, then stormed off and headed towards Monica like nothing happened.

  Daniel stood near the island in shock. He didn’t know what she was going to do. He was still trying to collect himself when Monica walked in followed by Sandra.

  “Babe, what are you doing?” Monica asked and cocked her head to the side.

  Daniel paused and shot a glance at Sandra standing in the corner with her mouth wide open. “I uh, banged my foot on the counter,” he responded.

  Sandra let out a sigh and moved towards Monica. She grabbed the stack of papers off the counter and handed them to her.

  “Now this is your new contract. Take your time and read everything over. I think you’ll be very pleased with the terms. It wasn’t very hard for me to get what you wanted.”

  Monica smiled and folded the papers under her arm.

  “I’m super excited. Looks like you may be able to hang up the scalpel pretty soon, babe.”

  Daniel grinned and then disappeared around the corner. He headed into the room and sat on the bed. Sighing, he fell back onto the pillow and grunted.

  “Crazy bitch!” he mumbled to himself.

  He stared at the ceiling in disbelief, knowing if he spoke a word to Monica, she’d kill her. He knew that wasn’t an option. Monica was already on the edge and he didn’t want to do anything to push her further away.

  A high-pitched squeal echoed from the fan that spun wildly above him. A piece of dust clung to the tip of one of the blades and slowly fell off, floating through the air. Daniel stared at it as it drifted towards him.

  A cold chill ran up his spine. The room around him started to dissolve and gave way to a field full of snow. Daniel suddenly found himself outside on a cold, February evening.

  The sound of kids playing echoed off in the distance. A cold wind stung his face, biting at his ear like a gnat. He pulled his jacket tightly around his shoulders and shivered.

  “Danny boy, what’s on the menu tonight?” Tom’s voice carried across the wind.

  Daniel turned around as a college-aged Tom and skinnier Victor trudged across the snow towards him. He smiled and headed to meet them.

  “We don’t get this shit back home,” Victor said as he motioned towards the snow-covered ground.

  “Yeah, can’t wait to get back there next week,” Daniel mumbled through chattering teeth.

  “So, Mason tells me he has a girl we need to meet when we get back to campus. Some waitress or something. Says she likes to party,” Victor winked at Daniel.

  “Oh, you can count me out of that one. You guys party a bit too wild for my taste,” Tom shook his head.

  Daniel shrugged and nodded at Victor. The wind howled as more snow began to fall and they bunched together in a circle.

  “Let’s get the hell outta here,” Daniel mumbled.

  Daniel turned and started walking towards the dimly lit buildings up ahead. Tom and Victor followed quivering behind him.

  “Daniel! Daniel!” Monica’s voice boomed loudly in his ears. “Get up, you’re gonna sleep the whole day away.”

  Daniel jumped off the bed and looked around the room disorientated. He squinted trying to figure out where he was. Monica looked at him and giggled.

  “Your name is D-A-N-I-E-L,” she said slowly like she was talking to a caveman.

  Daniel sneered and tossed a pillow at her. “Very funny. Where’d your best friend run off to?”

  “She left four hours ago,” Monica shook her fingers at him.

  Daniel looked at the clock in disbelief. It was already six o’clock in the evening. He sprinted to the closet and grabbed his clothes.

  “I was supposed to meet Tom and Victor tonight.”

  Daniel quickly got dressed and washed his face. He threw on the first pair of shoes he could find and ran a comb through his hair. Monica sat on the bed having a laugh at him as he whipped around the room like a tornado.

  “I tried to wake you up three times. You must’ve been having some kind of dream,” Monica giggled.

  Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “Love you, hun. I’ll be back later, Victor’s still freaking out about that Remy guy.”

  Daniel gave her a kiss on the forehead and jetted out of the door. Pocket followed him, barking loudly as the front door slammed.

  “Just you, me and some wine tonight,” Monica whispered as she rubbed his head.

  She grabbed her laptop and nestled into her favorite spot on the couch. Pocket collapsed at her feet and within minutes was snoring loudly.

  Daniel pulled up alongside Victor’s house and honked the horn. He could see Victor poke his head around the curtain and then disappear. He honked again impatiently. The BMW muffled smoke into the freezing air as Daniel tapped on the steering wheel.

  “Tonight, Victor,” Daniel muttered to himself.

  Minutes later Victor emerged from the house and stopped on the porch. He looked side to side across the front yard, but didn’t seem very eager to move. Daniel honked his horn again and Victor jumped.

  With a deep breath he took off across the yard. He ran awkwardly, stumbling across the lawn. As he plopped into the passenger seat he took brown bag from beneath his jacket and tucked it beside him.

  “I think my balls are frozen to your seat,” Victor proclaimed.

  “Victor, what the hell is that?” Daniel stared at him suspiciously.

  “What is what?”

  “What’s in the damn bag?”

  “Oh, that,” Victor grinned.

  He reluctantly picked the bag up and sat it in his lap. He stuck his hand inside and withdrew a small, silver revolver with a black handle.

  “What the fuck, Victor!”

  “What? It’s legal,” Victor shrugged. “I told you someone’s been following me.”

  “So what now, you’re gonna shoot an FBI agent?”

  “No, I just feel safer with it.”

  Daniel shot him a look then pulled out into the street. He stepped on the gas and the black sedan roared. He didn’t say another word to Victor the entire ride to the French Quarter where Tom was staying.

  As they pulled up outside of the Marriot, Tom was already waiting near the curb. He jumped into the backseat with a grin on his face and Daniel drove off.

  “So where to?” Tom asked.

  “Let’s try McDenton’s. Might be the only place worth a damn these days,” Victor replied.

  Daniel didn’t say a word. He stared out of the window in silence. Nodding his head, he whipped the car around and headed for the bar. McDenton’s was a shady pub on the outskirts of New Orleans, but well known for having some of the cheapest drinks in town.

  “Danny, how you holding up?” Tom asked after a few minutes of silence.

  “He’s pissed about the gun,” Victor looked back.

  “You already know?” Daniel sounded shocked.

  “Well, yeah. I took him to get it. Give me a break, Danny, it’s pretty crazy shit going on these days.”

  Daniel sighed and shook his head. He wanted to say something, but decided to let it go. In reality, Victor was more likely to shoot himself than protect anyone.

  “But, how are you doing?” Tom asked.

  Daniel knew what he meant, but wasn’t ready for any lengthy discussion into his feelings. “I’m alive,” he said still staring straight ahead.

  Twenty minutes later they were all gathered around the bar taking the first of many shots. Daniel raised his glass in the air and cleared his throat. Victor and Tom looked at him in surprise then did the same.

  “I just wanna say, you guys have been great friends and I wouldn’t be here without you.”

  “Here, here,” Tom and Victor mocked him in unison. They all drained their glasses and slammed them onto th
e bar.

  “So Vic, tell me more about this guy following you,” Tom said with a grin on his face.

  Daniel started to laugh. “Victor’s always being followed according to him.”

  “That Remy guy. Something’s not right with him. I’m almost positive I saw him outside of my house.”

  “Yeah, didn’t you say Lawson was following you too? Look what happened to him,” Daniel slapped him on the arm.

  “Whoa Danny, what are you trying to say?” Tom smiled.

  “I’m not saying a thing. Just pointing out what happens to people that follow Victor double oh seven,” Daniel laughed.

  “You’re the one that almost beat him to death on the side of the road,” Victor responded.

  “Would both of you ladies just shut up and drink.”

  They each grabbed another glass, raised it, and drained it dry. The bartender shot them a funny look as Daniel ordered three more rounds back to back. As soon as they came they drank them too.

  Tom stumbled off to the bathroom with his eyes crossed. Victor plopped onto a stool and burped loudly. Daniel was still standing although the bar was working overtime as a crutch.

  “Shit I’m too old for this,” Daniel professed.

  Victor smiled and did a quick look around the bar. Aside from a small group of college kids playing pool in the back corner the place was empty. Even the servers were gone and a scraggly bearded bartender was taking all the orders.

  “It’s getting late,” Daniel said as he looked up at the clock.

  “Hell, it’s only two. We got at least four more good hours,” Victor waved him off.

  Tom moaned as he blundered awkwardly from the restroom. The group of kids giggled watching him try to stay upright. His age showed. He scrunched his face and sat down on a stool next to Victor.

  “Danny’s talking about packing it in,” Victor complained.

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Tom huffed then burped loudly.

  Victor dropped his jaw and raised his eyebrows. “You guys must be kidding me. Sir, three more shots…a piece,” Victor screamed flagging down the bartender.

  “Think you guys have had about enough,” the bartender responded.

  Daniel and Tom turned around in unison. “We’ll tell you when we’ve had enough!” Daniel spat.

  The bartender looked shocked. He quickly grabbed a bottle of liquor and started pouring shots.

  “Here you guys go. It’s on the house.”

  Victor smiled and grabbed a glass. “Bottoms up fellas!”

  They all grabbed glass after glass and emptied them. The deep, amber liquid burned Daniel’s throat as it raced downward. He held the last glass up and surveyed it briefly. His head swayed and the single shot looked like three or four.

  With a sigh he tipped the glass back and swallowed. His vision slowly narrowed until it was like he was staring down a tunnel with a train charging towards him. He looked at Victor and then to Tom. Their faces were blurred like the rest of the bar. He could hear someone mumble something inaudible and then everything went black.

  WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE

  The sound of water sloshing around echoed like a distant whisper. The wind whistled a muted lullaby as it blew through the trees. A soft gurgle grew louder and louder in Daniel’s ears until he realized he wasn’t dreaming.

  A slow, suffocating feeling burned his lungs, robbing him of air. Each breath he took was raspy and shallow like he was sucking through a broken straw.

  As he lazily opened his eyes, he spit out mud and wiped his face. His soaked t-shirt clung to his back, the other side was glued to him with mud. He was face down in a puddle of rainwater and his own vomit. Shivering, he rolled onto his side and curled into a ball.

  His head ached like it’d been slammed in between the trunk of a car. The constant pounding kept him from moving any further. His bones felt frozen and he was certain he was suffering from hypothermia.

  The cold wind breathed the smell of death over his face, sticking to his waterlogged skin. It reeked of spoiled milk and rotten fish. Daniel gagged as he sucked in the foul air.

  The sun hadn’t fully risen and the bizarre glow of the twilight played with his mind. It cast awkward shadows against the ground like narrow fingers reaching out for him.

  Daniel brought his hands to his face and covered his eyes as he moaned. Squinting, he tried to clear his head and make out where he was.

  He slowly pushed himself up onto all fours and looked around. The black river crept past him, the murky water swirling like a bowl of soup. Steam rose from the muddy riverbank into the frosty air like an apparition.

  A few feet to the side of Daniel, Tom lay motionless. His face was partially covered in mud and his arms and legs were positioned like he’d been thrown. He was still dressed in what he wore that night, but his clothes were torn and ragged.

  “Tom!” Daniel yelled to him.

  He didn’t move.

  “Tom!” Daniel screamed again.

  Tom suddenly popped up and whipped his head around.

  “What! Yeah!” Tom yelled as he jumped to his feet.

  “Calm down, buddy,” Daniel croaked.

  “How the hell did we get here?” Tom asked, surveying his surroundings and scratching his head. “Must’ve been one wild night,” he smiled.

  Daniel stood up and started to shake the mud off his shirt. He ached down to his very core; his body felt like it’d been used as a punching bag. Tom seemed to be feeling the same. He moaned and grunted, stumbling around like a drunken bear.

  “Who’d we piss off? I haven’t felt like this since…” Tom stopped and whipped his head around. “Where the hell is Victor?”

  Daniel quickly scanned the riverbank. The sun was starting to rise and sprinkled drops of light across the mud. He blinked trying to focus, but his eyes made a blur of everything. The wind blew the reeds at the edge of the water and they swayed back and forth like a crowd at a football game.

  “I don’t even remember if Victor was with us, or where we were,” Daniel said in confusion.

  “We were at the bar. I remember that much, all three of us,” Tom glanced around anxiously.

  Daniel turned back to the water, meticulously looking over the thick bushes on the shoreline. Something caught his eye and he stopped and looked harder. He squinted, his eyes struggling to focus.

  It might have been nothing. He wasn’t sure, but then the object slowly came into focus. It was a shoe sticking out from the brush.

  Daniel gasped, and then tore off towards the water. Tom spotted him running and followed behind him.

  “Victor!” Daniel shouted.

  Before Daniel even made it to where he was lying it was obvious there was no life left in Victor’s body. He was face up in the reeds with a hunting knife protruding from his chest. His eyes were wide open and his throat was slit.

  “Victor!” Daniel screamed as he knelt next to his body.

  Tom stood over him looking down in shock. Victor’s body was in horrible condition. His hand had been hacked off and his face was severely beaten. Whoever had cut his throat had done it with something much duller than a knife. The skin was torn and jagged almost like it had been pulled apart.

  The medium-sized hunting knife was buried up to the hilt in Victor’s chest and covered in blood. Judging from the way he was lying he’d been killed right there. There were footprints and impressions in the mud showing signs of a struggle. His eyes still bore the shock of death in them, wide open and milky. His remaining hand was bloody and covered in stab wounds like he’d tried to fight off his attacker.

  Daniel looked back at Tom. He had his hand covering his mouth and was shaking his head. They had both seen a lot of dead bodies in their time, but this was different. This wasn’t some foreign piece of shit pointing a gun at them, this was Victor. They’d both known him for years and to see his body like this was beyond disturbing.

  Daniel sighed and turned back to Victor’s body, but as he spun around he caught a gli
mpse of Tom’s free hand.

  “Tom, what is that?” Daniel grabbed his hand and turned it over.

  Tom looked down at the same time. His palm was stained red with what looked like dried blood. He snatched his hand away and stumbled backwards.

  “What the fuck?” Tom jolted as he brought his hand closer to his face.

  “Tom, what did you do? What the fuck did you do?” Daniel stood up and moved towards him.

  Tom’s gaze changed from his hands to Daniel. He could see the judgment and accusations written all over his face. He stared him in the eyes with a look of disbelief. How could Daniel even suggest something like that he thought.

  He slowly shook his head, unable to find the words to respond. His mouth hung open, but nothing came out. Tom looked dazed, like someone suddenly realizing that they were lost. He saw all the pieces, but couldn’t make sense of the conclusion Daniel had come to.

  Time slowed, and Tom questioned himself for a moment. But there was no way, no way he’d kill Victor. It just didn’t add up.

  He could see Daniel’s mouth moving, but couldn’t hear a word. Daniel pressed him and moved closer.

  “Do you fucking hear me?” he shoved Tom hard and he tumbled backwards and fell into the mud.

  “You, you think I did this?” Tom looked up at him. His eyes seemed somehow remorseful and indignant at the same time.

  Tom couldn’t believe it. Daniel had literally trusted him with his life and now he thought this little of him. Victor was a friend to them both and Daniel’s first reaction was to blame Tom. Tom felt furious, he felt betrayed.

  For the first time Daniel thought about what he was suggesting. He started to back away, but Tom had jumped to his feet and lunged at him.

  “You mother fucker!” he swung wildly knocking Daniel back into the reeds.

  Tom landed on top of Daniel and he immediately rolled trying to push him off. Tom pressed down on his shoulders with his knees pinning him to the ground. He brought his fists crashing down on Daniel’s face, bloodying his nose. Daniel bucked and Tom went flying over his head.

  “Son of a bitch!” Daniel screamed.