Opera Ghost

Chapter Seven

At least she could be thankful that she wasn't completely numb and helpless. She could feel the tips of her fingers, and she stretched out her hand and tried to feel about her. But she kept her eyes shut. She wasn't sure what had happen and she hoped her face wasn't bruised. Because that is what it felt like. Her eyelids were heavy as if someone had placed heavy rock on them. In fact her entire face felt smashed. God what had happened to her? Probing about, she knew that she was on her side and not the side she had received a kick in the gut to. A taunting pain swelled beneath the area of her rib cage and something cold and wet had been placed on it.

Jessalyn knew she would have to use her sense of touch to "see" what had happened for the time being. Her wet hair had been pushed away and rested behind her neck. She was lying on something soft, not hard like the stage floor and someone had placed a blanket over her legs. She still was wearing her bathrobe, thank God. Jess' whole body still tingled all over as if all her limbs had fallen asleep. She wished she could open her eyes, but felt that it would hurt beyond belief if she did. The air around her was muggy and then Jess heard the sound of a match being lit and the smell of a burning wick. She tried in vain to find some movement in her left hand and finally succeeded in moving it toward her face, to feel the damage. But in mid air before she reached the tip of her nose, another hand grabbed hers'. She let out a gasp, keeping her eyes still shut. The other hand enclosed hers and gently laid hers back down. The hand was covered in a soft leather like that of a glove. Jess hoped that whoever owned this hand was here to help, not harm her.

"Be still. You have been hurt. You must rest." A solemn whisper instructed her. She gasped agin not only at the presence of the voice, but at its rich beautiful sound. It was deep but not a bass' more of a rich tenor clipped with an edge of intensity. It seemed the voice of a god, so natural and at the same time being dynamic. She could now sense the presence of the person in the room with her, and he was very close. "Your eyes and head will feel quite dizzy from the medicine I gave you." He informed her.

Jess shifted her shoulders feeling a sharp pain in her side. She cringed groping about to find the wounded area. So many question burned in her mind. "Where am I?" she managed to ask. "Who are you?"

"You are safe back in your room. In answer to your other question, I cannot tell you at this time." For all the beauty in this stranger's voice, it seemed uncertain to Jess' ears as if the person who was addressing her was extremely shy and not used to talking to people.

"Sir, I don't really care what your name is at this time, but I think I have the right to know where you are."

"I'm right here, beside you." A whisper came in her ear. She was surprised how close he actually was to her. She felt blindly until her hand came in contact with something warm. A shoulder which she felt stiffen under her touch. She moved her hand across the back of the stranger's shoulders, noticing the texture of the coat he wore. Her fingers came in contact with thick strands of hair and she twisted it about in blind fascination. Again she felt him shudder and then pull away.

"Please, mademoiselle." He whispered, a pleading yet harsh request. Jess pulled back as if she had burned himself.

"Can I open my eyes?" she inquired.

"It might be taxing to see anything through them." He said. But never the lest she opened them, she wanted to see him. She could only see shapes, the red of the bed sheets, the white of her robe, the light from what had to be a candles and darkness above her. Now she wished she had just kept her eyes closed. She pulled her hand down to her face, to get a good look. She could make out white bandages and strips of medical tape around her fingers. How did that happen? "You took a nasty fall. Your face might fell sore, but there shouldn't be any bruising." He explained answering her unasked question of how bad it was. "I had to apply some cold compress to your hip." He placed a hand on her side indicating the cold cloth resting on her skin. "If you would pardon me for that." Jess bit her lip, now uncomfortable at the knowledge that and unknown stranger had come in close contact with her naked skin. She could understand from his voice that he had meant no menace by his actions. In fact he was atoning for them.

"But my hand . . . " she started.

"A great number splinters. I'm afraid. And I'll be needing to take the rest out of your other hand." He picked up her hand. "If you would permit me?" Jess nodded.

"I'm going to shut my eyes again." She said. "I am really dizzy."

"Do as you see a fit mademoiselle. You are in no danger here with me." The soft leather caressed against her palm. A cloth of wet hot water was placed of her hand, and Jessalyn savored its healing sensation. A pair of tweezers touched her index finger and Jess winced as a long splinter was extracted from it. The metal of the tweezers where slightly warm, which may have been from being sterilized in the flame of a candle. The stranger's hand rested on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine. The pain is necessary, I suppose." She answered in reply to his unspoken concern. He continued to pull splinters from her fingers and palms until her hand was free of stray wood. Quickly he moved on, wrapping her sore wounds with gauze and securing them. She rested there, disappointed that she couldn't look at the face of her apparent rescuer. "Thank you." She whispered. "You are very kind."

"Well, what kind of person would be if I had left you left?" he replied with a dry chuckle. Jess managed a smile. She liked this man's laugh. It was warm and genuine.

"I like your laugh." She weakly remarked.

He seemed shocked by her compliment. "Thank you, no one has ever told me that before." And then it struck Jess how personal she was becoming with this stranger. She immediately changed the subject.

"But how did you find me? How did you know to bring me here?" she asked. He paused for a moment, and she could even hear him holding his breath.

"I heard you cry for help, that's all. Enough question you should be resting." He instructed.

"But I am fine really." She protested.

Again he chuckled. "You are not a very good liar, mademoiselle." He folded her hand over her chest. "Can I get you anything else?"

"I would like maybe some water to drink, if that not too much?"

"Not at all." Then Jessalyn felt a strong pair of hands wrapped under her back and lift her up. She opened her eyes on instinct, but her vision hadn't gotten any better. She now relaxed back in the man's powerful sturdy embrace. She could smell the strong scent of his musk and other perfumes only associated to males. Jess saw the glass of water coming to her lips and she drank it in, the cold liquid was a taste of relief. The man cradled her back and head as she drank, before setting the glass down and gently laying her on the bed so she faced the ceiling. Jess' body tingled from his unexpected touch. The blanket was pulled over the rest of her body, all the way up to her neck. A soft cloth which could only be a handkerchief came to her chin to wipe away some of the water that had dripped over. "I have to leave now, will you be all right?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, I suppose I'll be okay if I have someone like you watching over me." She felt his presence slip away from her. She had to ask once more before he left. "Please, tell me who you are? At least your name if nothing else."

He paused, sighing heavily. "I told you mademoiselle, I cannot tell you those things now. You will know in time."

She reached out her hand not feeling him beside her anymore. "Then I take it that I will see you again."

"Perhaps, mademoiselle. Perhaps." He said.

The light of the candle was blown out and Jessalyn remembered noting after that.

A resounding knock on her door woke her the next morning. Jessalyn moaned and pulled the blanket around her before waddling across the room to answer the door. The rose she had found in Box Five was still where she put in on her dresser. But no trace of her stranger rescuer. Her head throbbed and she wondered if she had dreamed up the whole thing.

But the bandages of her fingers as she placed them on the door handle, assured her it was not a dream. "Jess? It's Daniel? Are you awake yet?" she greeted Dan as she opened the door with a groggy eyed stare. He looked at her concerned. "I guess not." He said with a lopsided grin, then starred at her concerned. "Jesus you look terrible, Jess. Are you okay?"

Jessalyn hid her bandaged hands under the folds of the blanket. "No, I just . . . didn't get much sleep last night?" She lied.

"Oh well, Claudine brought us done some coffee. Would you like some?" he held up his hands showing to coffee cups with lids, one in each hand.

She smiled warmly. "That sounds nice. Come on in." Dan walked inside and set one of the cups down on the dresser. He spotted the rose lying there.

"Hey, pretty rose. Where did you get it?" Dan asked. Jess took a seat on her bed, wrapping the blanket tighter around her.

"Oh I was wondering around last night and just found it." Dan took a seat at the computer desk and started up the machine. Jess waited until he turned away before taking her cup of coffee off the dresser and sipped it slowly. "So how was your night?" she asked causally.

"Oh it was fine. Thankfully we didn't have that much to drink." He said with a laugh. "How about you?"

"Uneventful" she said with a sigh, taking another drink of coffee. She had decided not to tell Daniel or Tony, or anyone for that matter about what had happened to her, due to the bizarre circumstances surrounding it. Perhaps no one who find out. Daniel scrolled down his e-mail page, glancing at his messages.

"I was thinking that perhaps we could do some more exploring today. Possibly go down into the cellars." He asked facing the computer screen rather than addressing her directly. "Do you think that's a good idea, Jess?"

Jess fidgeted with her coffee cup and blanket some more. "I dunno, Daniel. Don't you think it's a little early to be doing that? I mean we just got here."

Dan leaned back in his chair stretching his fingers high above his head. "I guess you're right, but you know me. I get anxious about these sort of things. I was going to talk to the managers about it after breakfast." Jess laughed to herself. With his curly brown hair and boyish face, it seemed hard to take him seriously. Especially when he was asking the opera management permission to go poking around in their basement. Jess stood up to get some clothes out of her suitcase, She pulled out a long grey hoodie which would cover her hands and a pair of jeans. Dan looked at her. "I'm sorry. If you wanted to get dressed, you should have said so."

She held up a hand in protest. "That's okay. I needed to go to the bathroom to freshen up anyway." She went to grab her shower caddy which she placed by the side of her bed. Then she remembered she had thrown it at the night watchman in an effort to get away. She frowned knowing that most of her toiletries were most likely lost, even her toothbrush. Angered and confused she left the room.

In the bathroom, she quickly changed clothes and brushed out her hair, tying back into a tight ponytail. Using her hands, Jess splashed cold water on her face trying to wake herself up. But she only succeeded in giving herself a slight chill. She returned to her room to grab her coffee, pulling Daniel off the computer as they both made their way upstairs.

As soon as they reached the main staircase in the foyer, they felt a stillness surround them. In fact they didn't even know until they were half way up the sitars, that a procession of men was heading down the opposite side. Daniel noticed the men holding a stretcher and pulled Jessalyn aside. They watched as two men carried a stretcher, hiding something heavy under a thin sheet. One of the men looked up at the two as he passed by. With blank eyes he simply whispered. "Please let us pass."

Ambler and a gentleman who seemed to be a police officer, followed behind the grim march. Ambler looked down on the descending stretcher with great concern and a dark look covered his face. "Sir, what happened?" Daniel asked. The older gentleman turned to him grimly.

"It's Remy, one of our security personnel. They found him on stage early this morning, dead." Jess' fingers tighten into fists and she leaned back against Daniel.

"Dead?" Daniel was shocked. "How?" Ambler turned to the policeman behind him and the two exchanged some words in French that neither Jess nor Dan could make out. Then he turned to face them once more.

"An accident I'm afraid. He blood was full alcohol, and it seems he fell on his knife." Jess trembled even further. She knew what had happen, that Remy was murdered. She had seen it. She wanted to tell them, but then would come the questions and the suspicions, and she did not have all the answers. She wondered if she told them the truth, would they believe her. Ambler passed by down into the foyer, making sure no one else saw them. Daniel's hand squeezed Jess' shoulder.

"I guess we won't be exploring today." Daniel stated. "Strange . . . its seems so familiar just like . . . "

But before Daniel could finish speaking, Jessalyn herself tore out of his embrace and ran away, crying.