Storefront Savior

Lindsay Walker watched in silence as the hearse drove slowly down the street. She eyed the cars that followed, and the manner with which each car displayed its’ own unique tale of grief: in some cars, the passengers gently dabbed at their eyes with hankies or tissues, while other cars held some folks that appeared inconsolable – crying and sobbing uncontrollably.

As much as Lindsay wanted to sympathize with those who were mourning, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of justice, albeit twisted. The thing was, she had just lost her own husband six short days ago, and the world certainly hadn’t gone out of its way to make Lindsay feel any better. So, yes, there was a morbid sense of satisfaction as she paused one more time to observe the final few cars passing by.

God, how she missed Steven! It just didn’t seem fair that his life end so abruptly, just because some joker who couldn’t handle his alcohol apparently thought he could still handle his driving. Only a week ago, the two had been walking together to the legal firm where they both worked – each with a promising future as a lawyer - just a couple of weeks shy of their first wedding anniversary. Now, all she had heard for the last six days was how “lucky” she was to have left work an hour earlier than Steven. Otherwise, the two of them would most likely have been hit and killed by the drunken fool. Lucky? No, this wasn’t lucky. Lucky would have been either Steven surviving, or both of them getting killed together. Becoming a widow at age 26 wasn’t lucky. Lindsay reached up beneath her neck and tore the small cross from the necklace, and tossed it to the sidewalk. “Lot of good that did me,” she muttered. She didn’t notice the disheveled vagrant who had been following her, stop, bend over and pick up the cross, and then continue with his tailing of Lindsay.

Lindsay glanced at her watch and picked up her pace, as she didn’t want to be late the first day back at work after Steven’s death. It’s not that she cared about arriving late to work – that really didn’t matter to her now. But, she knew that if she was late, the whispers and speculation would spur a bevy of questions and fake concern that she really didn’t want to deal with. Not today. She just wanted Steven back. She would do anything to have him back again.
Less than a block away from work, and only five minutes to go before she would be late, Lindsay broke into a trot. Less than fifteen feet from the revolving doors that marked the entrance to her legal firm, Lindsay’s heart froze for a split-second, then quickly shot half-way up her throat. Out of the corner of her eye, in the storefront of the long-vacant old furniture store stood a solitary figure. Not just a figure… a man. Steven!

Lindsay gasped again, and let out a sigh. It was of a sigh of both relief and disappointment when she realized the figure she had mistaken as being Steven was in reality just a mannequin. It appeared that the store had evidently set the mannequin up as part of some sort of promotion, since workers inside were busy working to get the store ready for reopening at some later date.  Lindsay gave the mannequin one last glance, thoroughly amazed at the resemblance to her late husband, right down to the manner in which his hair was combed and even the complexion of his skin. Oh, to be able to make that thing come alive!  She shuddered at the idea that she was even having such thoughts, and resumed her entry into the office building. The character who had been following Lindsay had observed her infatuation with the mannequin; watched for a few seconds as she passed through the revolving door, and then continued on his way.

Shortly after 5 P.M., Lindsay was on her way out the door and on her way home, grateful that her first day back on the job was over. Everyone just had to come up and express their condolences yet once again, even though almost all of the same folks had been at the funeral and already done so there. Hell, they could do it one hundred more times and it wouldn’t bring Steven back. So what was the point, really? As she passed by the old furniture store, Lindsay looked up at Steven, uh, the mannequin. God! Was she really referring to a mannequin as ‘Steven’ already? Was she going insane? The mannequin certainly wasn’t helping her sanity either. She could swear his eyes were following her as she walked by the huge window. And…Dear God! His right hand was extended as if he were asking for help! Feeling like her brain was ready to explode right then and there, Lindsay tore her gaze from the mannequin and leaped forward, as if trying to break free from some invisible force field. And, once she was moving, she didn’t stop until she was home.

As soon as she entered her house, Lindsay picked out some casual clothes for the trip to the grocery store; first stopping in the bathroom to freshen up and change. She slipped out of her dress, and threw on a sweatshirt and jeans. She opened the medicine cabinet above the sink to get a couple of aspirin, but she froze instantly when the door was open about half-way. In the mirror on the cabinet door’ she saw the reflection of a scraggly old man sitting on her living room couch, casually staring at her! Lindsay gasped, and frantically thrashed inside her purse in search of her cell phone.

“Looking for this?” The intruder held up Lindsay’s cell phone, and was now making his way quickly towards the bathroom and its terrified occupant. “Now, think about it, Miss Walker. If I wanted to harm you, I could already easily have done so, right? Hell, I could have raped you. Three minutes ago, all you had on were that flimsy little bra and the rubber band you call a thong. Your cute little body isn’t what I want, which is very fortunate for you. But, who knows? I might change my mind.” He was now close enough for Lindsay to see every disgusting feature of the intruder. His smile revealed an absence of most teeth; his breath smelled of rot. He had a terrible body odor; that of something long since deceased, in advanced stages of decay. The skin on his face was weather-beaten and dirty; his eyes blood-shot and yet with a stare that was piercing.

He raised his hand as if he was going to grab Lindsay, and she instinctively lurched back. He laughed loudly at her reaction. He opened his clenched fist and in the palm of his hand was the cross Lindsay had shed that same morning. “I believe this is yours?”

“Yes… It is. So?” For whatever reason – perhaps just the fact that the intruder’s explanation for not harming her was – to this point, logical - Lindsay felt less threatened by the repulsive man. “What do you want from me?” Then she thought a bit more. “And who are you, anyway?”

“The name is Abaddon. I’ m here to return your husband to you.”

Now it was Lindsay’s turn to laugh, though nervously. “Really? My husband has been dead for a week. As much as I miss him, I’m not sure I really want him back the way he is right now.”

“I can return him to you as he was – as things were – before he died.”

Lindsay eyed Abaddon suspiciously. “Say I agreed to something like this. It’s pretty clear that you are not an angel. So, what do you want from me?” Lindsay was surprised the conversation had progressed this far; discussing a deal with an obvious lunatic was not part of her legal background. But, she was overwhelmed by just the possibility of seeing her husband alive again, so, what was the real harm in listening?

The old man gave Lindsay a wicked smile. “Three for one. You give me three bodies; you get Steven, plain and simple.”

Lindsay was repulsed at the thought. “Three bodies? What, you want me to go dig up three graves or something? That’s disgusting. It would take me forever – all that digging. What are you going to do with three corpses, anyway?”

Abaddon shook his head. “You got it wrong, lady. I need three people, recently killed. And their deaths must be from your hands – no one else’s. And one last thing: They have to be three blood-relatives of yours, killed in my presence. And, don’t worry about what I will do to them. You just remember: You will have Steven back.”

Lindsay had heard enough. “Get out, you sick bastard. I want my husband back, all right. Your price is way too high. I am not a murderer.” She motioned towards the door. ”Now get out!”

Abaddon grinned. “Think it over. Sleep on it. If you think about it, I’ll bet there must be some people on your side of the family that you can’t stand…that the world would be better off without. Help out mankind a little, and get your husband back. It makes sense, doesn’t it? And tomorrow, when you see Steven, maybe he’ll help convince you.”

“Steven? What are you talking about? Just go.” Lindsay followed the psychopath to the front door and watched him walk down their driveway, wondering what the neighbors in this upper class neighborhood might be thinking if they were watching this loser leave her house. She shuddered as he turned and waved. Like we’re friends or something!

Having lost her appetite some time ago, Lindsay was now just thoroughly exhausted, and all she wanted to do was go to bed. First, however, she went into her closet, opened a strongbox and removed the small caliber handgun that Steven had bought for her for protection. She loaded the weapon, and placed it under her pillow. She climbed into bed, confident in the knowledge that any additional intrusions would be dealt with quite harshly. She drifted off to sleep quickly, but it was an uneasy rest. Her dreams were dominated by visits from Steven along with sudden flashes of Abaddon’s filthy smile, causing Lindsay to wake up abruptly and long for her dead husband even more.

Lindsay found the walk to work no less distressing than the day before, and found herself fantasizing about being with Steven once again. She even caught herself thinking about relatives that she could do without, which brought her out of her daydream real fast. As she neared the storefront where she had seen the “mannequin equivalent” of Steven yesterday, however, she found her heart racing faster in anticipation as she recalled Abaddon’s parting words yesterday. In fact, as she approached the storefront, she closed her eyes the last couple of feet, until she was approximately across from where Steven’s mannequin would be.

Taking a deep breath, Lindsay quickly opened her eyes, and gasped at the sight of Steven kneeling down – face down with hands together - as if in prayer. Lindsay’s astonishment increased immeasurably as the mannequin slowly looked up, and turned slightly so as to stare directly at her. With a trace of a smile, he mouthed the words, “Help me, Lindsay. I beg of you. Please.” She understood each word – perfectly. She also knew now what she had to do, so she turned around and took off running back home. Back home to Steven.

As she ran up her drive, she was only slightly surprised to see Abaddon sitting on her front porch swing. She took the garage remote from her purse; making sure her revolver was near the top of the purse’s contents - if necessary – and clicked the remote to open the garage. She quickly backed the Mercedes out, lowered the passenger window and yelled to the demon, “Get in!” Laughing hard enough to trigger a cough that sprayed the hood of the automobile with a yellowish spittle, Abaddon did so with glee. Lindsay sped off down the street.

Without a word for about twenty minutes, both the driver and the passenger stared forward as the car navigated the freeway, a main thoroughfare, and a few side-streets before pulling up in front of a run-down apartment complex. Lindsay found a space to park on the street, and turned off the ignition. Still with eyes staring blankly ahead, she finally spoke. “My cousin Eddie lives in there. He’s a drug dealer. He’s called me a couple of times wanting free legal representation. You know, ‘cause we’re family and all.  A kid just died from Eddie’s drugs a couple of weeks ago. You know how I knew? Eddie was bragging about it, believe it or not. And Eddie’s dad, Uncle Larry…He tried to rape me about three times when I was a teenager and babysat for them. He was always high; always wanting to party with me. Could never tell my Dad  - would have broken his heart that his very own brother, Larry, would try to rape his niece. And my Aunt Mary? She used to come over and stuff would always turn up missing after she visited. Sometimes cash…sometimes silver…whatever she could get her paws on. One time I caught her taking money from Dad’s wallet. She said that if I told anyone, she’d kill me.” Lindsay finally turned and looked at Abaddon. “So here’s where you get your three bodies. You’d better keep up your end of the bargain.”

Abaddon’s gaze met Lindsay’s. “I always keep my promises. You’ll get your husband, exactly as things were before he died.”

“They’d better be.” Lindsay picked up her cell phone and dialed. After the second ring, she spoke. “Yeah Eddie…It’s Linds…Sorry I woke you. Hey, I got some information that I think you’ll find important. Yeah… I’ll be right up. Oh…are Aunt Mary and Uncle Larry there? They’re sleeping? Great. No…They’ll never even know I was there, this will only take a minute…I promise.” She flipped her cell closed, and spoke to Abaddon again. “Great…a ‘trifecta’ as it were…You want to watch?”

“Of course…That’s half the fun.” Abaddon smiled what was - by far – his biggest smile yet.

“As soon as they’re dead, I’m outta here. When do I get my husband back?
”
“The moment I verify that they’re dead, the process will start, and things will be as they were before he died.”

“That’s all I want.” With that, Lindsay opened the car door, and grabbed a shopping bag from the back seat. From the bag she revealed part of an over-sized stuffed animal. “This makes a great silencer. I learned this trick from Eddie. He bragged about killing a drug dealer that stiffed him on some coke, and using a stuffed carnival animal as a silencer. I bought this for one of Steven’s nephews, and forgot all about it when Steven died. Until today, that is.” Lindsay motioned to Abaddon to follow her and the two entered the apartment complex.  Less than two minutes later, the barely audible sound of three gunshots were heard coming from the building. Moments later, Lindsay exited the building, with the same shopping bag, but without Abaddon. As she entered the car, she wondered just what Abaddon was doing with the bodies. The thought only concerned her for a brief period, however, as her thoughts quickly turned to seeing her husband – alive – again!

Lindsay returned to her home in probably half the time it had taken her to get to the apartment building. She dashed inside her house to wash up; a few very light droplets of blood from the spray had found their way through the stuffed animal and back onto Lindsay’s bare wrists and forearms. Just to play it safe, she changed her top; her jeans were fine. Within moments she was out the door and on her way to meet her husband!

As she neared the storefront, the magnitude of what Lindsay had done today began to sink in. Murder! Do I tell Steven? Will he understand? Of course he will. It is the only way we can be together again. Besides, I did the world a favor by eliminating three slime-balls. Steven will be grateful. Lindsay stopped at the storefront before Steven’s and checked out her reflection in the window. She straightened out her hair, made a couple of other minor adjustments, and moved down the sidewalk another fifteen feet to face her love. Gushing with excitement, she turned and looked up to greet her man.

In a fraction of a second, Lindsay’s emotions went from sky-high joy, to disbelief, and then to anger. There was mannequin Steven, no longer facing the street, now facing sideways locked in an embrace with a blond mannequin that Lindsay suspected immediately to represent Judy Atkins, an intern who worked at Lindsay and Steven’s law firm. With one arm Steven was holding Judy as close as possible, and it looked as if the two were about to engage in a kiss. Steven’s other arm was raised, with the  open palm facing the street as if to say “Stop!” Lindsay’s heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. So that’s what the old bastard meant when he kept saying, “Things will be as they were.” Steven was having an affair with that bitch Judy!

Nauseated to the point of feeling like she was about to throw up, Lindsay took off running down the alley that was adjacent to the storefront. She stopped when she reached an isolated section of the alley, close to a dumpster. She reached into her purse, removed the gun, and placed it into her mouth. With her free hand she reached - to no avail - for the cross that she had yanked from the necklace yesterday. She chuckled at the irony, closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger.

Abaddon, who had been shadowing Lindsay after doing what was necessary with the three bodies back at the apartment building, followed the sound of the gun shot into the alley. He stopped to gaze at what remained of Lindsay’s face, and admired the artistic pattern of bits of brain and skull that decorated the dumpster and building wall. He shook his head in mock annoyance.

“Now, what did you go and do that for, my precious? You didn’t really think hubby was popping that intern, did you? Okay, okay. Maybe that’s on me for the way those mannequins were set up in the storefront. The store manager said that for $200, I could put up any kind of display as long as it wasn’t ‘distasteful.’ Pretty funny how people will let you do anything if the price is right, eh, Linds?”

Abaddon took some surgical-type items out of his coat pocket and began cutting and removing necessary - to him - parts of Lindsay’s body. “I’ll bet you’re wondering why I went to all the trouble of setting this up… right, Linds?” With his right hand, he took the side of her face that had the least amount of damage and moved it back and forth, so it appeared  as if she were nodding ‘yes.’ “Well, I’ll tell you…I wasn’t totally honest with you, sweetheart, when I said I needed three bodies. Truth is, I really needed four. And, for me to fulfill my commitment to the 'Master', you had to die from your own hands. I couldn’t have just anybody kill you. But I really couldn’t tell you that part, now, could I?” He again grabbed the usable portion of her face and turned it back and forth. Then he laughed, “I knew you’d agree. And, if it means anything to you, know that the ‘Master’ is very grateful.”

With that, Abaddon resumed his work on Lindsay’s corpse.

At the same time, a sore and disoriented figure was making his way up the driveway of the home of Steven and Lindsay Walker.

“Linds…are you there? Man, I had the strangest dream. Or, I think it was a dream, anyway. I had just walked out of work and some drunk driver clipped me, I think…Linds…Where are you?” 

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3391 Words