To be Maria (30 page)

            A sudden thought occurs to him.
Adrik did this. Him and one of his thugs.
An image of Adrik dressed in a heavy coat with the hood pulled over his head, and his eyes hidden behind black sunglasses makes Alex stiff with rage. 

****

            Anya watches the paramedics load Maria into one of the ambulances. She knows that it won't be carrying her to the hospital; it will carry her to the city morgue, or to the forensic lab possibly where her body will be probed and investigated for evidence in this murder case. Anya then thinks about Maria's parents and her other relatives back in Spain. A heavy lump forms in the back of her throat and fresh tears fill her eyes. The thought of their shock and overwhelming grief is too much for her to bear.

            One of the paramedics -- a thirty-something brunette woman with kind, blue eyes -- turns and casts Anya a forlorn look. "I'm really sorry for your loss."

            Anya averts her eyes. She suddenly feels the lady's hand on her shoulder. Her touch is gentle, but it somehow stings. "Honey, if you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm right here."

            Anya swallows hard.

            "You are more than welcome to ride in the back of the ambulance with Maria. That way, you can say a proper goodbye to her."

            Anya looks up at her.
A proper goodbye? It's too late for that. Maria won't hear me.
"I can't, but…thanks," she says, her voice hoarse. She allows her gaze to fall on Alex. Her sadness turns to fear the moment she sets her eyes on him. He is deep in conversation with the two RCMP officers, or so it appears.
He's not going to let me go. I'm going to be his hostage and I'll end up dead as well.
She then turns her attention to his truck.
I have to get out of here. And now! This is my only chance.

            She steals one more glance at Alex. His undivided attention is still on the police officers. Anya exhales a short sigh of relief. She then sprints over to the truck, keeping her steps on the pavement light. She pries open the cab door. She winces while she reaches over the seat for Maria's purse: it is soaked in blood and the blood coats her fingers when she picks through the interior in search for Maria's wallet. The wallet is deep purple in color and of a light leather material. Anya opens it, then rummages through it. It contains a few cards and a sufficient amount of cash. "Sorry, Maria, but I have to do this. I have no other choice," she whispers. She opens the zipper of the side pocket in her coat, slides the wallet inside, then re-fastens the zipper. Her eyes scan the area once more. No one is looking in her direction. One by one, the two ambulances roll out of the parking lot, each carrying a body. "Goodbye, Maria. I didn't know you long, but you were a good friend. I will never forget you," she says under her breath.

            Anya shuts the door as quietly as she can, then races over to the sidewalk. She glances feverishly in both directions. Thankfully, there are no cars within the near distance. A number of bystanders standing on the sidewalk across the street turn and stare at her, but she ignores them. She dashes down the sidewalk, not knowing what street she's on or where she is going.

****

            "Adrik was one of the men who pulled the trigger. I just know it," Alex says, his voice surprisingly calm. Inside, though, he is burning with fury.

            Bill raises one eyebrow. "You think so?"

            "Yes. It was him."

            "Can you tell us what he looks like?"

            "He's white. Russian-Canadian. He's about five feet seven inches tall. He's thin, but he's got muscles, and his head is shaved bald. He also has brown eyes and he has a red tattoo -- in the shape of a dragon -- on the left side of his neck."

            "What's his last name?"

            "Preschnikov."
He's Anya's older brother.

           
Both officers eye him suspiciously. "You seem to know Adrik Preschnikov well by the way you described him, Sir," Andreas says.

            Alex rakes his grimy fingers through his hair. His broken nose throbs, but he’s too anxious to care about the pain. "He's a leader of the Blood Night. It's a gang. I used to be Adrik's friend, but that ended when he became a drug dealer."

            Andreas narrows his eyes. "So, you managed to avoid him and his gang?"   

            Alex keeps his eyes fixed on Andreas. His heart beat starts to quicken. "Yes. Until now." Much to his surprise, his eyes fill up with tears. "The bastard had to take my girlfriend and my other good friend."

            "Thank God the other girl wasn't killed," Bill says.

            Alex swallows hard in attempt to clear the lump that has formed in the back of his throat. "Yes. She's all I have left now."

            "Can you tell us where Adrik Preschnikov lives?"

            Alex's heart flutters. "I don't know. I know he lives somewhere in the Okanagan valley, but I don't know exactly where. He could have even left for somewhere else."

            "Do you know where he would go?"

            Alex fidgets with the zipper on his coat. "He could’ve gone to Vancouver."

            Bill and Andreas stare at him intensely. "We'll need to take you in for more questioning. But first, we need you to tell us more about these two young women. What is Marissa's last name?" Bill says.

            "Hennessey. Marissa Hennessey," Alex says. He continues to fight back the tears.

            "How old is she?"

            "Twenty-two."

            "Does she have family here in Peach Valley?"

            "No. They all live in Terrace. Marissa moved here a year and a half ago."

            "Where did you meet her, and how long have you been dating her?"

            "I met her at Ricki's Grill; the place where she worked. At the time, she had only been here a few weeks. I was the first person she met. We hung out a few times and then we started going out." A few tears trickle down Alex's face. "She's the only person I really loved."
I also loved Maria.
Those last four words sit on the tip of his tongue, but he swallows them.

            "Is there a way we could reach her parents?" Andreas says, his voice much softer.

            Alex wipes his face dry with the back of his hand. "She hasn't talked to them since she came here; said she never got along well with them."

            "Then, would you know any of her relatives? Grandparents?" Bill says, eyeing him with those inquisitive eyes.

            They make Alex nervous. "Not that I know of. She never talked about any of her relatives."

            "How about friends? We need to contact someone."

            "She had a few friends, one who she talked to on the phone regularly. She came down for a visit once."

            "What's her name?"

            "Alison. I can't remember her last name."

            "Does she have a number?"

            "Actually, yes. That's something I do remember," Alex says. He can see that this news has brightened the officers' moods a little. "Do you have a pen and some paper? I'll write it down for you."

            Bill reaches into the pocket of his blue pants. He pulls out a slip, a slip for which he uses to mete out tickets to speeding drivers. His partner hands Alex a pen. Alex scribbles the number on the flimsy slip, trying to make it as readable as possible. He then hands it to Bill.

            "Thank you very much, Sir," Bill says, taking the slip. "Now, tell us about Maria. What is her last name?"

            Alex's heart skips a beat when he thinks about her. "Hernandez, I believe."

            "How old is she?"

            "Seventeen."

            Andreas's eyes widen. "You're twenty-four, so how did you meet her?"

            "Marissa and I met her and Anya at a party." Alex almost fears their next question.

            "Does Maria have family and relatives living here?" Bill says.

            "Yes. Her parents live here. They're from Spain actually. They've lived here only a few weeks. Her mother works at the hospital. She's a nurse."

            "Do you know the mother's first name?" Bill says.

            "No, I don't, but I did meet her once. She's slightly tall, has long, curly, black hair."
Just like Maria
, he almost adds, but he bites his tongue.

            "Thank you, Sir," Bill says with a nod of his head. "You'll come with us to the station after we tape off this area."

            "Yes." By now, Alex's heart is racing. He doesn't have much else to say about Adrik and there is no way he's going to tell them the truth. He is going to have to act very evasive in order to escape their investigative questions, and he can't have Anya with him. He will have to leave her behind with Terri.

            Abruptly, he turns his attention over to the scene of the shooting. The two ambulances have left, giving him no chance to say goodbye to Marissa; to kiss her lips once more, hold her once more and tell her how much he loved her. He did not even have a chance to squeeze Maria's hand, kiss her forehead and apologize for the horrible way he treated her earlier today. Tears blind his sight. When he rubs his eyes dry, he can’t see Anya.  He races over to the truck. She is nowhere near it. "Anya, where are you?" he yells. She’s not standing on the sidewalk across the street. Anya is nowhere to be found. When Alex spots an older couple, taking a stroll down the sidewalk across the street, he yells, "Hey--"

            He stops short when he hears a man behind him say; "She left while you were speaking to the police."

            Alex whirls around, finding himself face to face with the short, Asian man. "Why didn't you stop her?" he almost screams.

            "Because she was quick. It just wouldn't look right if I chased after her."

            Alex throws his arms up into the air. "I need her!" He paces back and forth in a rapid motion.

            "I know," the Asian man says. His voice is so soft, it makes Alex cringe. "I go now, and you must too. The police are taping off this entire area."

            Alex touches the handle on the door of the driver's seat.

            "No. You must leave the truck. Police need it for evidence."

            Slowly, Alex turns to face him.

            "I'll call a cab for you," the man says.

            "No. Don't," Alex says, shooting him a piercing look.

            "Fine," the man says, nodding his head timidly.

            As soon as the man disappears, Alex punches the door, causing the metal around the perimeter of his fist to be pushed inward. He then sinks to the ground, burying his head in his hands.
Damn you, Anya. Why did you have to run away? I need you, you stupid little bitch.
Fresh tears fill his eyes.
No. I'm not going to let you go. I'm going to find you even if it takes me all night.

            After what feels like hours of running and walking, crisscrossing streets, Anya enters a field of an elementary school. She knows that she’s in a suburb somewhere even further away from the city's center; a suburb that hasn’t yet been developed. More trees inhabit the landscape surrounding the school than houses do.

Anya staggers about five feet forward, then collapses onto the cold, damp grass, her legs too tired to carry on. She bursts into tears the moment her exhausted body comes in contact with the ground. For several minutes, she lays there, weeping relentlessly. Maria is dead and now, Anya is all alone in a neighborhood in an area of Peach Valley that she has never before visited. Worse, Alex is probably looking for her by now.

           
I can't stay in this city, but how am I gonna get out of here, and where will I go?
Slowly, she pulls herself together. Anya wipes her runny nose with the sleeve of her coat, then wipes it on the damp ground. The moment her eyes come in contact with the palm of her hand, she realizes that it’s caked in blood. She holds the other hand in front of her face. It too is red with blood. She scrubs them clean on the grass while fresh tears fall from her eyes. She then props herself up onto her behind so that she can reach for Maria's wallet. Anya traces her fingers over the soft leather: it feels warm against her wet fingers. The tears flow harder and faster down her face.
Come on. Pull yourself together. You’re in danger. You have to find a way out of here. Now. Before you’re also murdered.

Anya wipes her eyes dry with the back of her hand. She opens the wallet, takes out the cash and counts it. There is twelve hundred dollars. She stuffs the cash back into the wallet, then picks through the change coin by coin: it amounts to twelve dollars. All together, that is more than enough to buy Anya a one-way ticket out of Peach Valley.

            She studies the school building: it is a small, white and beige building that boasts several square windows.
I wonder if school is still in session?
She realizes that she's not wearing her watch the moment her eyes come in contact with her left wrist. It's probably sitting in the bathroom inside of Alex 's apartment.
Well, it's worth a try anyway
.