Book of Days
Chapter three-Buried Alive
When Lizzie woke up the following morning, a feeling of ice cold dread over took her almost right away. She slowly roused herself and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She carefully padded into the hallway, pausing for a moment listening. It was dead quiet in the house, which caused alarm to raise a flag in her. She expected to hear Henry making breakfast, moving around etcetera. She carefully made her way down the stairs and into the living room. She began cautiously approaching the kitchen now, her heart hammering in her chest. Her eyes roamed over to where the couch was, and then she froze. There was a dark form lying face down on the carpet as she drew nearer, she got a clear picture; Henry and he had a bloody gash on his temple.
Lizzie let out a startled cry and raised a hand to her mouth. She whirled around and went to grab the phone tucked into the pocket of her sweatpants, when an arm shot out of nowhere and caught her across the face, but mainly she felt sharp pain shoot up the front of her forehead and nose. She fell backwards, slipping in and out of consciousness. She could feel blood trickling down her nose and upper lip. She saw a blurry dark figure looming over her before blackness overcame her completely.
Lizzie moaned and blinked a few times as she emerged from murky darkness. Quiet pressed in on her ears painfully. She felt she was lying in a confined space on her back. She reached up and felt her palms slap against wood. Then, she felt all around her. There was wood on all sides of her. Dread and despair began settling into her chest, causing her breathing to hitch and feel as though a weight settled on her sternum.
After several moments of sheer panic, she remembered the phone Lassiter had given her the night before. She carefully reached into her pocket and felt her fingers close around the phone. She hit a button and using the blue light from the screen, and from that minimal light she knew she was in a coffin.
A scream bubbled up in her throat and she belted it out, pounding against the lid of the coffin. She began thrashing, but it was no use. Her screams went unanswered and unheard. She began sobbing and with a brief flash of clarity, she remembered she was still gripping the phone. She froze. She didn't know Detective Lassiter's number. On instinct, she hit the contacts and sure enough, she saw his number. She hit the call button and put it to her ear. The rings were like music to her ears and when his voice came over the line, it felt like pure joy.
"Detective Lassiter,"
"Detective! I woke up buried in a coffin somewhere!" Lizzie sobbed hysterically.
"What? Where are you?" his tone dripped with urgency and anxiety.
"I have no idea!" she sobbed and pounded on the lid again. "Please get me out of here!"
"Crap," He breathed. "Okay. Listen. Do you remember anything before you woke up in the coffin?"
"No," Lizzie wailed as tears streamed down the corners of her eyes. She heard his voice pull away from the phone, probably alerting O'Hara as to what was going on. She heard O'Hara's startled cry in the background and she said she was going to call Shawn and Gus to come down. Lassiter's voice came back over the line. It was a tone she'd never heard before. It was calm, mixed with set determination and affirmation.
"We will find you,"
He stayed on the line with her the entire time, keeping her talking. On occasion the hysteria would settle in and she'd scream and pound, but hearing Lassiter's voice seemed to ground her again and she settled into a calm state once again. Her heart was hammering wildly in her chest and against her ribs. The claustrophobia began settling in and her breathing became harder and shallower. She felt like the walls were closing in on all sides.
"Liz, stay with me. We will find you," Lassiter said in her ear frantically. He was able to hear her gasping over the phone line and heard him barking orders to Shawn about something several moments later. Lizzie could see darkness starting to encroach in her line of vision and her hand holding the phone began slipping away from her ear. Her hearing rolled in and out simultaneously. She could hear Lassiter's voice shouting over the phone line and her eyes stared blankly up at the paneled lid.
Suddenly, there was a deafening silence; the lid of the coffin blew open, shattering the wood planks into pieces. Sucking in air greedily, Lizzie pulled herself out of the coffin, sitting up momentarily to get her bearings. After a millisecond, she grabbed the edges of the coffin and hoisted herself out. She was standing in an opened grave that someone had dug and paced the coffin there with obvious plans of burying her alive. The fact that it rained was probably a bonus because the mud would've caved in covering the coffin. She would've never gotten out alive then. She grabbed at the four walls, trying to hoist herself out but her fingers slid in the mud, causing her to slide back down into the hole. By now, dark streaks had formed on her clothes and her bare feet crusted over in mud up to her ankles and some splashes had gotten on her calves.
Streaks had now covered her cheeks, hands and top of her tank top. She tried again and a hand shot down, gripping her wrist. She screamed in momentary fear and looked up. Relief spread through her like a tidal wave. It was Lassiter. O'Hara had also reached down and grabbed her other wrist. Working as a team, they pulled her out. Lizzie could see Lassiter checking her over, probably for any signs of trauma or injuries. She saw his eyes land and freeze on her nose where the blood had crusted and mixed with the mud. She watched him raise a hand to bring her attention to her nose, when they were interrupted.
Shawn and Gus came running next to them, panting and out of breath.
"Whoa are you alright Lizzie?" Gus asked looking alarmed. Lizzie nodded quickly, her arms still wrapped around her midsection. O'Hara stepped closer and put her arms around the girl, hugging her. Lizzie returned the embrace. She was surprised by the affection from the female detective, but welcomed it.
"Oh thank goodness! Shawn was the one who was able to find you," O'Hara said warmly squeezing the girl. As Lizzie looked around she realized she was in the middle of a forest. A faint fog had hovered above the ground as Lizzie looked around. Dead leaves cluttered the ground, along with twigs and large above ground roots from trees.
"Where am I?" Lizzie asked looking from the detectives to Shawn and Gus. "And how did you find me Shawn?"
Lassiter put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll tell you in a moment. O'Hara, can you go to the car please and get my jacket?" he asked.
O'Hara nodded and hurried off to the car. Gus nudged Shawn.
"We have some wipes in the car. We'll get them for you Liz," Gus said as he grabbed Shawn by the arm and dragged him protesting off after Juliet.
Lassiter's hand had remained on Lizzie's shoulder. He was watching her closely looking for any signs of shock or anything like that. It came just as quickly as the blink of an eye. Lizzie burst into tears and stepped right up to him, pressing her face into his chest. She felt him standing awkward as she cried into his white shirt. Lizzie felt his arms slowly lift up to return the embrace, but they froze in mid-circle around her and slowly fell back down against his sides. Perhaps he wasn't used to showing affection toward people, which would explain his action.
Feeling he was out of his comfort zone, Lizzie quickly stepped back embarrassed and ashamed. She felt ridiculous for just stepping up to him like that and the fact that she broke down, made her feel even more mortified. Her cheeks were damp and shiny from tears.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, avoiding eye contact with him. He probably thought she was some kind of nutcase and clearly there was something wrong with her. She sniffled and quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks with the palm of her hand. She saw Lassiter go to reply but they soon became interrupted by Shawn and Gus coming back, followed by O'Hara, who took one look at Lizzie and knew she'd cracked. O'Hara helped Lizzie on with the jacket and then Gus handed her several sanitary wipes he'd kept in the car.
Lizzie cleaned off the mud from her cheeks, hands, and feet, though she could see O'Hara felt bad there was nothing they could do for her bare feet being they didn't have a change of sneakers or shoes in the car. She saw O'Hara analyze Lassiter and a frown creased her expression. Shawn seemed to sense something too, because he playfully reached over to pinch Lassiter's cheek. Lassiter scowled and caught Shawn's hand mid-air. Lizzie wondered what they could see that she couldn't or didn't.
"Spencer, if you enjoy having the use of your legs, I suggest you drop that arm," Lassiter said coldly.
"Lassie, come on buddy," Shawn antagonized him. "What happened when we were gone hmm?" Shawn's voice went into a higher octave and he was certainly trying to prod Lassiter for information.
Lizzie was watching their interaction and she could see that Lassiter disliked Shawn whole heartedly. She admitted that she liked all four of them, but again, Lassiter seemed to rise above the others in her favorites' book; plus, she had no idea why each time they seemed to touch, an overwhelming sense of power hit her. It was a complete mystery to her.
"Nothing Spencer," Lassiter retorted curtly.
O'Hara began explaining how Shawn had led them here, as well as the fact they knew something was wrong when Henry wasn't answering the phone. Anxious and distressed, he'd called Lassiter and O'Hara right away. When they got there, they found Henry unconscious, but he was alright (hearing this Lizzie exhaled a breath of relief). Henry told them that someone snuck into the house and he was hit over the head with something heavy and solid. They were frightened for Lizzie when comprehension overtook them she wasn't in the house anywhere.
Shawn had found some foot prints that led up to the house and to a pair of skid marks that were fresh. Following that, they got a make and model. A 2012 Dodge Charger, black. They found some witnesses that saw the same car heading toward this park. It was a large recreational park called Faraday Gate's. People come here for camping, hiking etcetera. Once they got here however, things got extremely tense and tricky. They had no visuals to go by, but Shawn had found footprints that led them to the spot. When they got here, Lizzie had naturally already gotten out of the coffin and they'd hoisted her out of the opened grave. It was then they had seen anything.
When O'Hara was finished explaining everything, Shawn was still alienating Lassiter, who eventually seemed to have had enough because he lashed out and grabbed Spencer around the throat.
"iEnough!/i" he spat.
"Okay," Shawn wheezed out and Lassiter released his throat.
Lassiter stormed past O'Hara and Lizzie, without even a backward glance at any of them.
"Wow is it me or is he crabbier than usual?" Shawn commented. He noticed Lizzie and a sly and wolfish look spread across his face. "Lizzie…" he said in a condescending tone. "Care to tell us what made Lassie face so crabby?"
Lizzie felt guilty that perhaps she caused some kind of a problem, let alone caused the stoic detective to be in a bad mood.
"Um," she said swallowing. "I-I guess everything hit me at once and I kinda hugged him. I'm sorry if I caused any problems or put him in a bad mood." She looked aghast and disturbed.
Shawn burst into laughter and Gus joined in. Even O'Hara was chuckling. She looked between them like they were crazy. i Why did they think that was funny?/i
If she caused an issue she wanted to apologize to him right away. Somehow the idea of him being angry with her didn't sit well and it bothered her.
"Oh no it's alright Lizzie," O'Hara giggled. "Lassiter isn't used to one on one contact. He has a small comfort zone. I think you kinda shook him up a little bit."
"Why?" Lizzie asked as they finally reached the area where the cars were parked in a large parking lot where there were a few campers, and cars with cargo hitches attached to them. The path that led from the parking lot to where she had been was at least a good 15 minute walk. Shawn and Gus winked at her and gently touched her arm before heading over to a blue Toyota Echo sedan.
O'Hara paused and leaned in.
"Because I think he's starting to like you and it's making him nervous," she explained grinning.
Lizzie saw Lassiter roll down the window of a dark blue Ford Crown Victoria and lean out slightly. He was wearing a scowl. Lizzie realized that look fit his features, yet she felt it took away from his handsome features. She mentally smacked herself numerous times for thinking that. i what is wrong with you?/i she thought to herself.
"Let's go O'Hara," he barked out gruffly and then pulled his head back inside; the window rolled up shortly after that. He was sitting, gripping the steering wheel and staring out the windshield.
O'Hara led Lizzie over to the car and she opened the back door for her. She slid onto the bench seat and O'Hara closed the door. She pulled Lassiter's jacket around her tighter. Feeling the residing heat of his body in it, Lizzie sank into it and snuggled into the back seat. Lassiter put the car in drive and peeled out of the parking lot.
Lizzie gripped the door handle as Lassiter made a sharp left turn to get on the highway. She noted he was either A-afraid of the brake, or B-they didn't get along well enough. She wondered how many times O'Hara had warned him about the dangers of speeding, but clearly he preferred his own driving style.
"Carlton, you should drive the Indy cars," O'Hara said glibly. "I think you'd be right at home!"
Lizzie actually heard herself let out a giggle at that. Lassiter just narrowed his eyes, but Lizzie saw him briefly glance up again before the light turned green.
"Can we please ride the rest of the way in silence?" Lassiter asked her shortly.
Lizzie saw O'Hara shake her head with amusement. Clearly, that was a normal routine for them when they were in the car. She looked out at the window at the scenery flooding by in a whir. Someone out there must really hate her, but she had no idea who. All these strange things seem to happen around her. People burn up spontaneously; the lid of a coffin explodes; she had no explanation for any of those things. Was there something seriously wrong with her?
She felt a single tear streak down her cheek and she sniffled and quickly wiped at it with her hand. At the same time she caught Lassiter steal a glance at her in the rearview mirror.
They pulled up in front of Henry's house. Lizzie felt relief flooding through her when she saw it. She liked Henry. He reminded her of her father and she felt drawn to him. He certainly treated her like a daughter and he barely knew her. They all climbed out and Shawn led them in.
Henry was sitting on the couch. He had gauze on his temple which was held in place by a white bandage wrapped around his head like a bandanna, fastened with two little metal clips. Lizzie figured they'd called the EMT's to come and check on him. Obviously it was nothing serious otherwise he would've been at the hospital right now. He saw Lizzie and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He got to his feet and came over to her, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly. She was taken by surprise, but she allowed him to hug her and she leaned into his embrace. It felt like a father would hug his daughter after he found out she was missing for hours and finally came home. She welcomed that feeling. She felt safe.
"Oh thank God," Henry breathed in pure relief. "We thought something awful had happened to you."
"See Lassie? That's what you're missing," Shawn said smugly, pointing to Henry embracing Lizzie. He released her and looked her over, taking in her disheveled and filthy mud ridden appearance.
"Good lord you're covered in muck!" he exclaimed. "Go shower then come back down stairs so we can all figure out what the hell is going on here."
Lizzie nodded and carefully shrugged off Lassiter's jacket. She gently reached out to hand it back to him, but he shook his head.
"Keep it for now," he responded.
Eight pairs of eyes looked at him alarmed and he cleared his throat, throwing each of them a warning look that if any of them started, they'd wish they were never born. Lizzie flashed him a quick smile and then headed upstairs.
After a nice hot shower, Lizzie came back down dressed in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail. Some of the shorter strands hung down against her cheeks. She passed between Lassiter and O'Hara and took a seat on the couch next to Henry. She felt so much better after the hot water relaxed some of her muscles and she felt cleaner and able to think more clearly now.
"Do you have any idea who that person that knocked me out could've been?" Henry asked her watching her. "And what happened to you?"
Lizzie shook her head at the first part of his question, and then turned her attention onto the latter.
"Someone knocked me out too. I woke up in a coffin somewhere in a recreational park," She explained. "This is the second time someone's attacked me."
"And you have no idea why?"
Lizzie shook her head miserably.
"No. I wish I knew though," she added. "I didn't do anything to anyone."
"Alright," Henry said slowly. "Lassiter, Jules, I think going forward she doesn't go anywhere without someone with her."
"I agree," Lassiter said nodding in accord.
Henry looked up at Shawn, Gus and Jules.
"Can I speak to you three in the kitchen please?" Henry asked them as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Sure dad," Shawn said making a funny face at Lizzie, who broke into a wan smile. She liked Shawn's attempts to cheer her up. She appreciated it. O'Hara excused herself and she followed Gus and Shawn into the kitchen. Lizzie was left alone with Lassiter who took a seat across from her on a chair. He was leaning forward slightly, with his hands clasped between his knees and his elbows rested on his thighs. She turned and met his gaze.
"I'll have Henry wash the jacket for you. I probably got mud on it," she said gently draping the jacket across the arm of the couch.
"There's no rush," he said shaking his head.
Then, startling her, Lassiter got up and came to sit by her. Her heart hammered in her chest and she froze. She wasn't afraid of his intentions, she trusted him completely which was odd. Lizzie usually took a while to trust someone. He turned to her.
"Did your parents leave photo albums behind? Anything on your family perhaps?" he asked her suddenly.
Lizzie thought for a moment. She remembered seeing some old boxes up in the attic. Perhaps there was something up there that would shed some light on what was going on.
"I think so," she said nodding feeling a glimmer of hope at the thought of uncovering something about her family. "I think there are some boxes in my attic at home."
"Tomorrow, we'll go through them," Lassiter said. "Perhaps there's something in there that might help us."
Exhaustion slammed into her like car hitting a brick wall at 40 miles an hour. Her whole body felt drained and her arms and legs felt like rubber. Her eye lids drooped and she was briefly aware of Lassiter asking her something but she felt her body slide sideways towards him. Her cheek was pressing against the upper part of his arm and she could feel the cool material of his blue shirt against her skin. Before long, she was out cold.