11.
~ Ariadne changed her mood as soon as they arrived at the house. In the driveway sat a shinny new white BMW convertible. A car garish enough to belong to someone lacking in any real refinement or self control. It was a car that demanded people pay attention to. Like a child throwing a temper tantrum.
"He said he wouldn't be here till tonight." Ariadne grumbled as she climbed out of the car before Arthur was able to stop it. The Point Man had to hurriedly put it in park and stood in front of her.
He didn't like the way surprises just kept happening to him.
"Who?" he asked as he made her stay behind him.
"Bill." she said sourly.
~ "I've been waiting for you for almost an hour, where have you been?" Bill huffed when they came into the house.
Arthur had an immediate distaste for Ariadne's fiancé. He was tall, tan, very fit and looked like a Kennedy. His teeth and smile were perfect and his clothing looked like he just stepped out of the GQ summer edition. He was Ariadne's picture perfect match and Arthur knew they would make a charming couple in the society pages.
"I was out... shopping." Ariadne said shyly as Arthur took in the threat level of this intruder.
"Out spending money." Bill laughed and bent down to kiss her. "As long as you had fun, pet."
Ariadne gave a nervous laugh and stole a glance at Arthur.
"Bill, this is Arthur, he's... my new driver." she said at last.
"Why can't you drive yourself?" Bill asked scowling at Arthur and yet still looking handsome.
"Daddy wants me to have a driver." Ariadne said.
"Well, I'll drive you to dinner. I've got a craving for rock lobster tonight." Bill laughed. "So, go get changed and meet me downstairs in a few. The boys are in town and I haven't seen them in weeks. We're going to get loaded and party."
"Lobster sounds good." Ariadne said passively.
"None for you. You have to watch your weight for the wedding. I don't want people to call me the guy with the fat wife." Bill teased and Arthur felt his blood spike.
Ariadne pretended to find that remark funny. A complacency coming over her Arthur had never seen before.
The Ariadne he had come to know would never have put up with that. He could easily imagine Mrs. Winters coming back with a smart remark to a young man who questioned a girl's weight.
"Right." Ariadne said with a fake smile.
Arthur was scowling at Bill as Ariadne rushed upstairs to change.
~ "You know I'll have to drive you." he told Ariadne after she had redressed and quickly reappeared outside her bedroom door. He had been waiting for her to come back out. Maybe coming to her senses about going out with Bill and even marrying him. He looked like the type who was made for her world. Handsome, over educated and from privilege. But Arthur sensed something was off about him. Something that meant Ariadne was in danger around this careless, hurtful young man.
"That won't be necessary, Arthur. Bill is taking me to dinner. We'll meet up with some of his friends. I'll be perfectly safe." she sighed.
She turned around and showed him her bare back. Her little black dress was unzipped.
"Little help?" she asked holding her hair up.
"Miss. Richard, I need to drive you. Remember what happened at Willie's?" he sighed and effortlessly slipped the zipped up.
Ariadne turned around, gracefully hung a long, three strand pearl necklace around her neck and sighed.
"I'll be fine."
"You said you would follow my rules."
"We've done a lot of rule breaking lately, what's one more?" she hissed.
"I'm driving you." Arthur said sternly. "You can choose not to tell the man you're going to marry that you have to have a body guard, that your life is in very real danger, but I'm going to do my job."
"Fine!" she hissed back and they walked down the stairs together. Both of them wearing mirror images of anger at one another.
"And by the way, I really don't like your fiancé." he added.
"Well, I don't really like him either." she sighed as Bill appeared from the office. The privileged young man praising her dress and Ariadne hugging him in return.
Arthur felt his teeth hurt from the intense need to grind them.
~ The Point man played the role of driver and took them into the city. A very nice, restaurant with trendy people were already there even though it was still early in the day. The Point Man wanted to walk Ariadne inside, but she refused to let him.
"Arthur, just wait for us. I'll call you if I need you." she insisted as Bill man hugged one of his old friends.
A group of equally arrogant friends gathering around the couple. Talks of sailing, skiing and how boring life had become abounded in the parking lot before the group went into the restaurant.
He watched them go inside and stayed in his car, forced to wait till they came out or something went wrong.
He was used to waiting in his car. For years he had to do this kind of work on recon, stake outs and other assignments.
His hands found his notebook and he started writing.
~ 'Came back to the house to find the boy friend waiting for us. Bill presents another complication. He has taken the subject out of my line of sight and into a restaurant where you have to have a famous last name to even get in.
Normally, I would quit a job like this. The subject has deliberately gone against my rules in leaving with boyfriend. I've taken them in the car to this restaurant but I won't be held accountable if the stalker makes contact again.
He's managed to intercede at every possible turn except visiting her sister today. How could he have known we were at Willie's the other day? Why did he make contact there and not at her sister's home? What if he makes contact here at the restaurant?'
Arthur sighed and put some music on to relax him. He slipped into the land of dreams so easily, he didn't even notice.
He found himself in a place, very much like the one Elizabeth called home. A place that was simple and peaceful. The air smelled like grass and dirt after a rain storm and Ariadne was hanging potted plants out on the front porch.
"Need help?" he asked after he watched her try and stand on tip toe to put he plants up and almost falling.
"Yes." she said with a breathless smile. Her dark hair pulled back in a wooden hair fork and she looked so perfect in this place.
He hung the plants up for her and she beamed at him happily.
"I'm cooking dinner." she said. Her voice having a strange echo to it as she walked backward into the house and the door opened on it's own and closed by itself.
"Miss. Richard?" he questioned as he followed her into the house.
He thought the door would be locked, but it opened easily for him. He expected to find a small home like Elizabeth's, and was surprised to find a run down living room that smelled of rotting food, and poor housekeeping.
His blood went hot as a bird started to chirp.
'chirp, chirp, chirp.'
'Help me, help me, help me.'
He pulled out is gun and started looking for her. He knew where he was, what he had to do. How could someone hurt an old woman like this?
"Mrs. Winter?" he called out and checked each room. Why was he alone? Where was his back up?
"Arthur?" a cry echoed through the dirty halls of the house.
"Mrs. Winter?" he called expecting to find her.
He ran to the garage and found the upturned earth. Two women, one old, one young, were digging graves.
"Ariadne?" he asked and they turned to face him.
Dead.
Both Ariadne and Mrs. Winter were dead, yet still mobile and digging graves. Their eyes milky, their skin pale and rotting. Dried blood on their clothes.
"You didn't save us, Arthur." Mrs. Winter growled.
"No." Arthur whispered.
'chirp, chirp, chirp.'
"You let us die." Ariadne agreed.
"NO!" Arthur shouted and woke up to the chirping that had chased him into the dreams and woke him up.
He was breathing hard as he tried to remember he was awake and this was the real world.
'chirp, chirp, chirp.'
Arthur looked around for what was making the noise and realized it was coming from his pocket.
He pulled out his rabbit panic device. The alarm going off no stop now.
"Ariadne." he growled and he secured his weapon and went into the restaurant after her.