Chapter 43
Bella slumped down on the sofa and cried in raw, ragged gulps. She couldn't do this again; she just couldn't. Not Bonnie. She was so young and beautiful, that bastard couldn't have hurt her.
Bonnie had to be with either with the spirits of the witches or more likely with Matt; she had been so luminously happy at his sudden turnaround that they were probably spending every spare moment together. Damon would find her.
Finally she stopped crying and mopped her face. She had to get to Caroline's, to wait for Damon's call. She got dressed quickly, put some fresh water and dry food for BooBoo and left the house making sure to lock the doors behind her.
She arrived at Caroline's twenty minutes later. She leaned on the doorbell.
"Caroline it's Bella! Hurry!"
She heard running footsteps, the cocker spaniel Klaus had gotten her barking; then the door was wrenched open and Caroline `s worried face swam before her.
"What's wrong?"
Caroline asked, jerking her inside the door, but Bella couldn't tell her; she couldn't get the words out. Still barking hysterically, the cocker spaniel, jumped up on their legs.
"Trilby, hush!"
Caroline said. Her chin trembled, and she swallowed.
"Bonnie?"
Bella nodded, still unable to talk. Caroline put her hand over her mouth as awful, gut-wrenching cries tore from her throat, and she fell back against the wall.
"No, no!"
Bella managed to say, putting her arms around Caroline
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean -"
She took a deep breath.
"We don't know yet. Damon's on his way over there, and he's going to call here when he knows -"
"What's going on?"
Klaus asked in alarm, stepping into the foyer. A section of the Sunday paper was in his hand. Trilby ran over to him, her little stump of a tail wagging ferociously. That damn shaking had started again. Bella tried to control it.
"Bonnie's missing. Your brother hasn't been able to get her on the phone."
"So she's gone grocery shopping"
Klaus said, shrugging. Caroline gave him a look of such fury it should have scorched his skin
"He thinks we're hysterical and Bekah was killed by some random lover"
"That makes a lot more sense than the bunch of you being stalked by a maniac, Stop dramatizing everything, love"
He shot. Bella stared at him. He was bawling like a baby at the funeral just yesterday, how could he act like a royal dick now?
"If we're dramatizing it, so are the police"
She snapped. Then she bit her lip. She didn't want to get in the middle of a domestic dispute. Caroline and Klaus had enough trouble without her adding to it. Klaus shrugged again.
"Caroline said you're marrying Damon, he's pretending to be a cop, so he's probably humoring you. Come on, pooch"
He turned and walked back to his den and his newspaper, Trilby scampering around his feet.
"God he is a bastard"
"Yeah, the original"
Caroline snickered before the reality of Bella at her front door snuck up again
"Forget him, tell me what happened"
Nodding, Bella related what Elijah had said and the time frame. Caroline glanced at the clock; it was now just after noon.
"Four hours, at least. She isn't shopping. Has anyone called Matt?"
"Damon said he'd take care of it"
They went into the kitchen, where Caroline had been reading. Her open book lay in the alcove. Caroline put on a pot of coffee. They were each on their second cup, the cordless phone at Caroline's elbow, when it finally rang. She snatched it up.
"Damon?"
She listened for a moment, and watching her face, Bella felt the hope die out of her. Caroline looked stunned, all color draining from her. Her lips moved, but no sound emerged. Bella grabbed the phone.
"Damon? Tell me."
His voice was heavy.
"Baby, I'm sorry it looks like it happened last night, maybe as soon as she got home from the funeral."
Caroline laid her head on the table, weeping. Bella reached to touch her shoulder, trying to offer comfort, but she could feel herself folding in, giving in to the grief, and she didn't know if she had any comfort to offer.
"Stay there, don't go anywhere. I'll be there when I can get free. This isn't my jurisdiction, but we're all putting our heads together. It may be several hours, but don't go anywhere,"
Damon ordered
"Okay"
Bella whispered, and hung up.
Klaus came to the door and stood hovering, staring at Caroline as if he hoped she was still overreacting, but something in his face said that this time he knew better. He had heard them. He was pale.
"What?"
He croaked.
"That was Damon"
Bella said.
"Bonnie's dead."
Then her fragile control broke, and it was a long time before she could do anything except weep and hold on to Caroline
_PM_
It was sunset before Damon arrived. He looked tired and angry. He and Klaus got in a glaring match, their past catching up with them.
"You were at the funeral"
Klaus said suddenly, his gaze sharpening. Damon nodded.
"A shape shifter detective was, too. We hoped we could spot him, but he's either too slick or he wasn't there"
Klaus glanced at Caroline. She was sitting quietly, absently stroking the black-and-white cocker spaniel. Yesterday Klaus' gaze had been remote, but there was nothing remote about the way he was watching her now.
"Someone's really after them. It's so damn hard to believe"
"Believe it"
Damon snapped, his guts twisting with fury as he remembered what had been done to Bonnie. She had suffered the same vicious, personal attack, her face battered beyond recognition, the multiple stab wounds, and the sexual abuse. Unlike Rebekah, she had still been alive when he stabbed her; the apartment floor was awash in blood. Her clothes had also been shredded, just like Bella's. When he thought how close Bella had come to dying, what she would have suffered if she had been at home on Wednesday night, he could barely contain his rage.
"Did you get in touch with her father?"
Bella asked hoarsely. As far as she knew Bonnie's dad was on his way back to Mystic Falls but had no idea about his itinerary
"Yes, he arrived about an hour ago"
Damon said. He sat down and put his arms around her, cradling her head on his shoulder.
His pager beeped. He reached for his belt and silenced it, then glanced at the number and cursed, rubbing his face.
"I have to go"
"Bella can stay here"
Caroline said, before he could ask.
"I don't have any clothes"
Bella said, but she wasn't protesting, just stating a problem.
"I'll drive you home"
Klaus said, the news finally catching up with him
"Caroline will go, too. You can pack whatever you need, stay as long as you want"
Damon nodded in approval.
"I'll call you"
He said as he went out the door.
_PM_
The blond man rocked back and forth. He couldn't sit, couldn't eat, couldn't rest. He hummed to himself, the way he had done when he was little, but the magic song didn't work. He wondered when it had stopped working. He didn't remember.
The bitch in red was dead. Mother was so pleased. Two down and two to go.
He felt good. For the first time in his life, he was pleasing Mother. Nothing he had ever done before had been good enough for her because he had always been flawed, no matter how hard she tried to make him perfect.
He was doing this right, though; she was very pleased. He was ridding the world of the whoring bitches, one by one by one. No. Too many "ones". He hadn't done three yet. He had tried, but one hadn't been at home.
He remembered seeing her at the funeral, though. She had laughed. Or was it the other one? He felt confused, because the faces kept swimming in his memory.
One shouldn't laugh at funerals. It was very hurtful to the bereaved.
But which one had laughed? Why couldn't he remember?
It didn't matter, he thought to himself, and felt better. They both had to die, and then it wouldn't matter which one had laughed, or which one was "Ms. C." It wouldn't matter, because finally - finally - Mother would be happy and she would never, never hurt him again.
