Secrets in the Shallows (Book 1: The Monastery Murders) (10 page)

Julie turned her head. “Well, we are very lucky we aren’t hurt. If it had been a buck or a doe, the damage would have been a lot worse, sweetie. We could have been going to the hospital instead of getting your dress altered.”

Katy heard footsteps trudging through some dry leaves and branches sheltered by bushes in the woods. The sound caught her attention and she looked around to see where it was coming from.

Hearing the footsteps again, Katy whispered, “Mom, what’s that?” Then, noticing her filthy hands, she stood up and wiped them on her coat.

“I don’t hear anything, Katy. Come help me.”

Feeling remorseful that she didn’t react sooner, Katy’s mother placed her hands on her hips staring at the lifeless animal while assessing her situation.

Katy peered through thick, dark green foliage of the bushes and trees, straining to see what caused the noises. With shallow breaths, her body stiffened as a silent warning swept over every fiber of her being. The hairs on her arms and neck stood on end. Her hair flung over her face from the north wind as it whistled through the trees.

“Who’s there?” she called out.

Katy shielded her eyes with her hand, trying to peer as deeply into the woods as possible. Through the bushes and trees an almost imperceptible movement drew her attention. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus on a dark figure that was hiding deep within the foliage. Through the shadows, a pair of mysterious eyes glared at her. Katy swallowed hard as she began walking backwards towards the car where her mother was inspecting the damage.

“Katy, are you all right? What are you doing?”

Katy spun around and ran towards her yelling, “Mom, get in the car!”

Sensing her daughter’s fear, Julie hurried into the car and started the engine. After Katy got in the car, she pulled out on to the road, she asked, “Katy, what has gotten into you?”

Katy turned around in her seat and stared into the mirror. In the reflection, she saw a dark figure clothed in a nun’s habit shamble out on to the side of the road. The nun’s face was shadowed by the headpiece.

Fearing that the stranger might be a nun in distress, Katy began to tell her mother to stop. Just before speaking, she recognized that the unknown nun was holding a short-handled ax. Its gleaming edge was stained with what she suspected was blood.

Wide-eyed, she stared at the figure in hopes that it was just in her imagination. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them again. The figure with its horrific weapon had vanished into the fog. Movement in the roadside brush was the only evidence that the figure had been there at all.

Gasping, Katy’s heart pounded as the sweat beaded on her upper lip and forehead. She turned around and sat back in her seat. Taking a deep breath, Katy leaned her head back against the headrest. She wanted to tell her mom, but feared she would just think she was being silly. After all, nuns walk the grounds all the time.

“Sweetie, I am going to call the seamstress, Emma, and tell her we are going to be late.”

“Mom, is your car safe to drive? That deer hit the front grill pretty hard.”

“I probably should get the front of my car looked at before we drive all the way over to the other side of the bay.”

“Do you think we can make it to Ed’s Garage or not, Mom? I bet if we call her, Aunt Jenny could probably meet us there and take us to Emma’s,” Katy replied as she turned her head and stared in the rear view mirror, looking for any more signs of that strange nun in the woods. Upon reaching the curve in the road, her fears subsided as she could no longer see where they had been.

“All right, Katy. I’ll call your Aunt Jenny and see if she could help us out. I’ll head to Ed’s right now. I don’t want to have any more bad luck today.”

Locating a safe place to pull off the road, Julie began to park well away from any traffic. Just as the car came to a stop, steam began to pour out from under the hood.

“Looks like you were right, Katy. Guess it’s worse than I had hoped. I’ll have to call for a tow now,” Julie remarked. Picking up her cell phone, she quickly made arrangements for her sister to come pick them up, and the car to be towed to Ed’s Garage.

C
HAPTER
8

Later that morning, thoughts of the dark figure by the road still haunted Katy’s memory. Shutting her eyes tightly, she held a long deep breath and slowly exhaled. Feeling the stress slip away, the bindings of heaviness soon released their hold on her spirit. Adorned in a stunning royal blue dress, she promised herself to enjoy every moment no matter what she had seen earlier.

Turning her focus on wearing her new dress to the upcoming New Year’s Eve party, Katy felt excitement begin to well up inside her. As she stared at her reflection in the three-way mirror at the alterations shop, the ornately sewn sequins reflected small prisms of light all over the room. Only the dress’ length needed to be altered, so she could not help but admire how the tailored fabric hugged her figure perfectly.

Heavenly Hems
was the only shop in Wattsville that specialized in alterations and custom sewing needs. Emma Campbell had started her alterations business in a quaint two-story house that she had inherited from her grandmother. The eighty-year-old home had white siding with dark red shutters and was surrounded by a wrap-around porch. Emma lived on the second floor with her calico cat named ‘Checkers.’

A stylish display was set up in the large front bay window. It resembled a small department store with several mannequins dressed in wedding attire, staring at passersby through vacant eyes. Sewing machines with bobbins, large rolls of fabric, and bundles of ribbon cluttered a few tables in the small store. In the corner, a solitary dressform waited on its floorstand with several tape measures draped around its neck.

“Please stand still. I’ll be done pinning your dress in just a few minutes.” Using her skills as an expert seamstress, Emma carefully inserted pins in the hem of Katy’s dress. Her short dark brown hair, teased in a wild array, perfectly matched her vibrant personality. Emma looked up at Katy’s mother with her golden-brown eyes and grinned. “What do you think, Julie?”

“It’s perfect,” she replied with a broad smile on her face.

With her hands, Katy smoothed the fabric over her hips, smiling with delight as she gazed in the mirrors. The hand-sewn sequins sparkled elegantly and flickered in the light.

“I think you need to wear your hair up, Katy. It shows off your beautiful face and green eyes,” Julie suggested.

Pulling her hair up in a makeshift bun, Katy replied, “I’ll have to play with different hairstyles to see what works, Mom.” Pausing for a moment to imagine the hairstyle possiblities, she stopped and smiled at her reflection. “Mom, what necklace do you think I should wear with it?”

Julie replied, “Do you remember that sapphire and diamond necklace that my grandmother left me?”

Katy’s eyes brightened as she recalled the full-carat sapphire pear-shaped necklace. The center stone was surrounded by small diamonds in a white gold setting. “Oh, Mom! That would be perfect!”

With a radiant glow on her face, Katy daydreamed while admiring herself in the mirror.
When John sees me in this dress, he won’t be able to resist asking me to marry him. He won’t be able to help himself.

“You’re going to be gorgeous,” Emma commented in her strong New England accent. The fact that she was a native Mainer was evident when she stood up and spouted, “Okay, I’m done. You can step down and take it off now. Try not to prick yourself on the pins.” Emma held out her hand to assist Katy down from the small platform. “Here, let me help you down from there.”

As Katy proceeded to slip the dress off, one of the pins pricked her finger. “Ouch!” Katy squeezed blood from her index finger. “Hurry, Mom! Get a tissue! I don’t want to mess up my dress.”

Julie ran to get a tissue from the bathroom. Returning quickly, she said, “That’s a pretty bad jab.”

Examining it, Emma asked, “Need me to get a bandaid, Katy? I have some in the back. I prick my fingers all the time.”

“Yes, Emma. Thanks.” Katy’s eyes twinkled mischievously. The images she had conjured up in her mind only a few moments ago was definitely worth a little prick on her finger.

“You’re beaming, Katy. You must be thinking of John,” her mother deduced. “Well, hurry and get dressed so we can go get some lunch. What about
The Maine Plate
down the street? You like their food, don’t you?”

“Yes, that will be fine. We can walk there too; but before we go, I need to call John.”

* * * *

After getting changed in the dressing room and hanging up her beautiful dress, Katy quickly grabbed her purse and found a quiet corner down the hallway. Grabbing her cell phone, she took the opportunity to call John’s office.

“Good afternoon, District Attorney’s office. May I help you?” droned a feminine, nasally sounding voice.

“Hi, Linda. It’s Katy. May I speak to John, please?”

The receptionist, Linda Warden, smiled as she heard Katy’s voice, for they had become fast friends. “Katy, hold on and let me see if he is back from his meeting yet. I didn’t see him come in.”

Almost a full minute later, Linda came back on the line and said, “John’s out of the office, but I can forward the call to his cell if you like?”

“Yes, please. It’s a little important. Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure. Have a great day,” Linda replied before transferring the call.

Only seconds later, John greeted Katy, “Hi, babydoll! How has your day been so far?”

Katy leaned against the wall and twirled her hair. “Hello, sweetheart. I wanted to let you know that Mom and I had a small accident on the way to the fitting. We’re fine though; not even a scratch on us. I didn’t want you to hear about it through the grapevine.”

John parked his car and walked towards his office’s front door as he continued to talk. “Are you both okay? What happened?”

“It was just some fawn that ran out in front of the car. We weren’t hurt, but I’m afraid that the fawn didn’t do so well, and neither did Mom’s car. That baby deer did a lot of damage to it.”

John’s voice became concerned, “Are you sure neither of you are hurt? Do I need to come get you?”

“No. No. We are fine. Aunt Jenny came and picked us up. The car started steaming up, so we had it towed to Ed’s Garage to be repaired. The front end is pretty messed up. We’re waiting to hear how bad the damage is.”

“So, with all that happening, did you get your dress altered?”

“Yes, I did, and it’s perfect. You won’t want to keep your hands off of me. Mom and I are at Emma’s alterations shop right now.” Katy replied.

Grinning broadly, he imagined admiring Katy in her sexy new dress. “I can’t wait to see you in it.” He held the front door open as he allowed an elderly couple to exit first, and then he walked inside the entry foyer.

“Ha! Well, you’re just gonna’ have to wait until the dance. It’s a surprise,” Katy grinned.

“Aren’t you a tease? I have my own surprises for you too,” John hinted to her.

Katy flirted back, “Oh, really? Well I can’t wait to see what you have in store for me.”

“Be patient. Good things come to those who wait, right?” John chuckled.

“Well, the dress is keeping my mind occupied at least.”

“I’m sure it does. It keeps my mind occupied as well,” John replied. “Hey, do you want to get together for dinner tonight after work?”

“Yes, of course I do. Where do you want to take me?”

“Hmm ... I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I meet you down at the wharf at 6:00, and we can go pick out some big lobsters for dinner when your dad brings the boat in?”

“That sounds good to me.” Katy peeked down the hall and spotted her mom reaching for her purse and coat.

“Me too. See you when I get off work. I’ve got another call coming in. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” Katy hung up the phone before walking back to the main dressing area, and then set her purse on a table. Wrapping her arms around Emma’s neck, Katy hugged her firmly. “Thanks, Emma, I’ll see you soon. Thank you so much for your help today.” Katy smiled warmly at Emma before grabbing her winter coat. After putting it on, she picked up her purse once more.

“I’m glad you’re happy with it. I think it looks perfect on you,” Emma replied. “We haven’t had lunch in ages. Let’s plan on getting together soon, all right?”