Chapter Nineteen
~~~~~*~~~~~
Gary's eyes fluttered opened. Awakened by a strange noise
he raised his head slowly off the back of the sofa peering through
the semi-darkness at the large picture window in front of him.
Night had fallen and it was raining again. Remembering that he and
April had fallen asleep on the sofa, he no longer felt the warmth
of her body against him and he sat up looking around.
She was gone.
He ran a hand over the place where she had sat cuddled
next to him. The spot was still warm. She's probably in
the bathroom, he thought and reached over to turn on the light.
Click! Nothing.
Great! A burned out bulb.
Pushing himself up in a more comfortable position, he felt a sudden
chill and rubbed his hands up and down his arms to warm them.
A noise near the bathroom and his eyes shot over in that direction.
A section of the large window had been raised slightly and the
newspapers that were stacked neatly beneath rustled gently from
the wind and rain that dribbled through.
It was only the rain. He blew out a breath of relief, remembering
that April had opened the window earlier that evening to air out
the smell of burnt pasta, he got up and walked over to pull it shut.
"April?" he called moving towards the bathroom.He thought about
everything that had gone on last night and wanted to check on her
to make sure that she was okay. It had been a very emotional night
for the both of them.
"April?" he called again.
No answer.
Concerned he tapped gently on the door. Still no answer. Opening
the door a crack, he peeked inside. It was cold and dark inside
of the bathroom but no sign of April.
Perturb, he slid a hand through his hair and glanced down at his
watch. It was 3:45 am. Where could she have gone? he frowned.
Now he was really beginning to worry.
He walked over to the coffee table and right away noticed that
April's gun was missing. And so were the bullets! Oh boy! He
moved quickly towards the sofa and picked up the Paper then
held it up in the moonlight to take a look. In the dim lighting a
small headline in the corner of the paper sent a chill though him.
Bar Owner and Female Found Shot, Police suspect Murder -Suicide
What---?
Another rustle from behind him this time and he froze dead in his
tracks.The hairs on the back of his neck seemed to prick up as he
stamered, "A-April?"
Still no answer.
An alarm shot though the pit of his stomach. Realizing that he wasn't
alone, he swallowed hard and was turning around slowly when
suddenly an arm hooked around his neck from behind pulling him
downward, holding him tight in a choke hold.One of his arms was
suddenly forced up painfully behind his back, bringing him down
quickly to the floor.
On his stomach, Gary struggled with the assailiant to get free when
he felt a knee press painfully into his back. But it was the cold hard
object held firmly against his rib cage that persuaded him to stop
struggling---and he did.
"O-Okay! Okay! " he panted and relaxed his struggle.
Meow! Cat's purr echoed loudly from somewhere in the room. Gary's
eyes darted frantically about in the darkened room trying to locate
him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Cat watching
silently from a darken corner on top of the entertainment center, and
he shot him a menacing look. "Do something will ya," he sputtered..
At that remark the side of his face was shoved down hard against
the cold floor and firmly held there.
"Make another sound," the intruder hissed a warning in his ear,
"and I'll have to shoot you my....ah--ahh--ahhh-- choo!! Self!"
Stunned, Gary's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Brigatti??!
~~~~~*~~~~~
Gary's eyes fluttered opened. Awakened by a strange noise
he raised his head slowly off the back of the sofa peering through
the semi-darkness at the large picture window in front of him.
Night had fallen and it was raining again. Remembering that he and
April had fallen asleep on the sofa, he no longer felt the warmth
of her body against him and he sat up looking around.
She was gone.
He ran a hand over the place where she had sat cuddled
next to him. The spot was still warm. She's probably in
the bathroom, he thought and reached over to turn on the light.
Click! Nothing.
Great! A burned out bulb.
Pushing himself up in a more comfortable position, he felt a sudden
chill and rubbed his hands up and down his arms to warm them.
A noise near the bathroom and his eyes shot over in that direction.
A section of the large window had been raised slightly and the
newspapers that were stacked neatly beneath rustled gently from
the wind and rain that dribbled through.
It was only the rain. He blew out a breath of relief, remembering
that April had opened the window earlier that evening to air out
the smell of burnt pasta, he got up and walked over to pull it shut.
"April?" he called moving towards the bathroom.He thought about
everything that had gone on last night and wanted to check on her
to make sure that she was okay. It had been a very emotional night
for the both of them.
"April?" he called again.
No answer.
Concerned he tapped gently on the door. Still no answer. Opening
the door a crack, he peeked inside. It was cold and dark inside
of the bathroom but no sign of April.
Perturb, he slid a hand through his hair and glanced down at his
watch. It was 3:45 am. Where could she have gone? he frowned.
Now he was really beginning to worry.
He walked over to the coffee table and right away noticed that
April's gun was missing. And so were the bullets! Oh boy! He
moved quickly towards the sofa and picked up the Paper then
held it up in the moonlight to take a look. In the dim lighting a
small headline in the corner of the paper sent a chill though him.
Bar Owner and Female Found Shot, Police suspect Murder -Suicide
What---?
Another rustle from behind him this time and he froze dead in his
tracks.The hairs on the back of his neck seemed to prick up as he
stamered, "A-April?"
Still no answer.
An alarm shot though the pit of his stomach. Realizing that he wasn't
alone, he swallowed hard and was turning around slowly when
suddenly an arm hooked around his neck from behind pulling him
downward, holding him tight in a choke hold.One of his arms was
suddenly forced up painfully behind his back, bringing him down
quickly to the floor.
On his stomach, Gary struggled with the assailiant to get free when
he felt a knee press painfully into his back. But it was the cold hard
object held firmly against his rib cage that persuaded him to stop
struggling---and he did.
"O-Okay! Okay! " he panted and relaxed his struggle.
Meow! Cat's purr echoed loudly from somewhere in the room. Gary's
eyes darted frantically about in the darkened room trying to locate
him. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Cat watching
silently from a darken corner on top of the entertainment center, and
he shot him a menacing look. "Do something will ya," he sputtered..
At that remark the side of his face was shoved down hard against
the cold floor and firmly held there.
"Make another sound," the intruder hissed a warning in his ear,
"and I'll have to shoot you my....ah--ahh--ahhh-- choo!! Self!"
Stunned, Gary's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Brigatti??!