Immortal By Morning

Chapter 1 One Abril was just returning from walking her boss’s dog around the block when her phone began to ring. Stopping halfway up the long driveway, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and glanced at the display. The words Boss Lady were on the screen. Starting to walk again, she answered with, “Hey, boss lady.” “Oh God, do you still have that as my display name?” Gina Spaldine asked with exasperation rather than greet her. “Sure do,” Abril said on a laugh. “It is fitting after all.” When the only response was a dubious grunt, Abril changed the subject and asked, “How’s the trip going?” “Great!” Gina said with sudden enthusiasm. “Italy is gorgeous! If I could speak the language, I’d move here.” “You said the very same thing about Spain, France, Puerto Rico, and Rio de Janeiro,” Abril reminded her with amusement as she reached the top of the driveway and stopped in front of the garage doors. “And I meant it every time,” Gina told her. “These spa resorts are amazing. I swear they build them in the most glorious spot in each country.” “They probably do,” Abril agreed, her gaze dropping to Lilith as the large yellow Labrador retriever tried to move away, tugging on the leash. Pulling the Lab back, she quickly bent to turn on the collar for the wireless fence that kept the dog safely in the yard. She then gave her an affectionate pet before undoing the leash to let her run loose. Straightening again, Abril glanced around the three-acre parklike setting that was Gina’s yard and commented, “But I think your house is in a pretty gorgeous spot too.” “It is,” Gina admitted, her tone saying she was pleased with the new home she’d purchased. “That's why I bought it. Speaking of which, how is construction going?” “Uh . . . good.” Abril glanced toward both the great gaping hole in the ground along the side of the house, and the big yellow vehicle that sat silent and unmoving next to it. “Good?” Gina questioned, stress entering her voice. “You didn’t sound too confident when you said that, Abs. What’s wrong?” Abril grimaced at the question. She’d rather been hoping to keep this problem from Gina, but should have known better. She was terrible at hiding anything. “It’s nothing really,” she assured her quickly. “It’s just that—Well, you know they finished the master bedroom, ensuite bathroom and kitchen renos yesterday and planned to start digging the foundation for the addition this morning?” “Yes. They were pretty close to finishing inside when I left for the airport the day before yesterday.” There was a frown in Gina’s voice. “What happened? Did they hit the gas line while digging the foundation or something?” “No, no. Nothing like that,” Abril assured her. “Well, then what is it?” “The digger thing . . . excavator?” she guessed before rushing on, “It crapped out on them about midmorning. They had to stop for the day and wait for someone to come look at it. They’re hoping that will be first thing tomorrow morning.” “Tomorrow morning? They couldn’t get someone in today or bring in another excavator to continue on?” Gina sounded annoyed now, and Abril wasn’t surprised. Her boss was not the most patient of women. It had taken forever to get these renovations started, and now that they were underway, every delay that came up—and Abril was sure there would be many—was just going to piss off Gina. “I guess not,” Abril said finally, her voice soothing. “But we had a pretty good rain just before lunchtime and they would have had to stop anyway. And Jared assured me that he was positive their guy would be able to get here first thing in the morning to fix the excavator. He also promised they’d work Saturday to make up for the lost time.” A long silence stretched along the phone line and then Gina muttered, “Right. Okay. Well, these things happen I guess.” Abril murmured an agreement, her gaze shifting to Lilith as the Lab leaned into the six-foot round inground pond to drink out of it. Unsure if drinking the pond water was safe, Abril was just about to call her away when Gina spoke again, distracting her. “So, have you had any visits from nosey neighbors yet? Or complaints about the noise?” “Complaints no. Nosey neighbors yes,” Abril admitted, and then added, “At least I’m guessing nosey since I didn’t get to talk to them myself. That neighbor from the house one over to the left and across the street, Kim I think her name is?” “Yes. Kim,” Gina agreed. “Well, she and another woman came by just before lunch and were talking to some of the workers. I didn’t notice right away though, and by the time I did, and then got Lilith’s leash on and took her outside, Kim and her friend were already halfway up your very long driveway, leaving.” Very long was an understatement when it came to describing Gina’s driveway. Her house had been built on the back of a pie-shaped three-acre property. The driveway was a good two hundred feet long. Maybe more, Abril thought and then added, “I was about to call out and walk down to talk to them and make sure they didn’t have any complaints about noise, but before I could Jared stopped me to tell me about the excavator thingie breaking down.” “But construction will definitely be starting up again tomorrow, right?” Gina asked, obviously more concerned about the renos getting done in a timely manner than in what her neighbors thought. “As long as they’re able to get it going again, yes,” Abril said cautiously, thinking it was better to prepare her for the worst-case scenario. After all, no one knew what the problem was. What if they needed to order a part and wait for it to be delivered before they could make repairs? “Well, if they can’t fix it or find a replacement excavator by tomorrow, tell Jared to get to work on pulling out the indoor garden in the meantime. I know the carpet hasn’t arrived yet, but they can still dig out the plants and dirt, fill it in with the gravel, and pour and spread the concrete to be ready for when the carpet does get there,” Gina said firmly. “I really want all the inside stuff done before I get back. It’ll eliminate the bother of the construction crew tramping in and out of the house and distracting us while we’re working.” “That would be nice,” Abril said slowly, and then grimaced and told her, “Except Jared explained that the carpet isn’t the only reason they didn’t move on to the indoor garden before starting outside. He said it was more economical to bring in the gravel and concrete for both the indoor garden and the foundation at the same time. He plans on having a couple of men dig out the indoor garden right before the gravel comes for filling the foundation, and the same with the concrete. They’ll pour it outside and inside from the same deliveries. He said that way there also wouldn’t be a great gaping hole in the living room floor for days or weeks for someone to fall into.” Abril had no trouble hearing Gina’s mutter of irritation before the woman said, “Well, that makes sense, I guess. I just can’t wait to be rid of that indoor garden. I hate the plants in it.” Abril smiled crookedly, relieved her boss wasn’t throwing a fit at the news she’d just imparted. Her relief had her teasing, “You mean you hate watering those plants on weekends when I can’t make it in.” “That too,” Gina acknowledged. “But I hate the plants as well. Honestly, I don’t know what the Bransons were thinking. I mean, could they possibly have found uglier ones? Between that nasty, spindly palm tree or yucca thing that looks like a bent and emaciated old man, and those overgrown cornstalks—” “They aren’t cornstalks,” Abril interrupted with amusement, but admitted, “They do kind of look like them though. Fifteen-foot cornstalks. And, yes, they are ugly.” After a brief pause, she teased, “But you didn’t even mention the Naked-man orchids. Won’t you be happy to be rid of those?” “Oh, well, those aren’t so bad,” Gina said. “In fact, I find them kind of cathartic.” “Cathartic?” Abril echoed with surprise. “Yeah. Anytime I think of William and his taking off like he did, I go down and pinch the little pecker off one of the Naked-man orchids.” “Oh gawd, Gina!” Abril cried on a disbelieving laugh. “You don’t!” “I do. Well, at least, I did,” she assured her. “And I’ll miss doing it. In fact . . .” She paused and then said thoughtfully, “Maybe rather than get rid of the garden altogether, I should just have them pull out everything but the Naked-man orchids and plant different, more attractive trees and bushes around them.” Abril grimaced at the words. Gina had vacillated for months between changing plants or digging up the garden and either replacing it with flooring or adding a water feature in its place. Her indecisiveness had nearly driven Abril and the contractor crazy. It had been a relief when her boss had settled on removing the garden and making the living room larger. Much larger, Abril thought. The indoor garden was twelve feet by twelve feet, with a three-foot walkway alongside it. Once the garden was gone, the living room would be thirty-five feet by fifteen feet. That was much larger than she felt any living room needed to be, but had no desire for Gina to keep that damned garden. Mostly because she would be stuck continuing to water and tend it and Abril had also hated watering the ugly plants. She wasn’t eager to water different ones now, so warned, “Whatever you like, but as I already told you, my coming over on the weekends to water the garden was a favor I won’t keep up after this. So if you choose to keep the indoor garden, you’ll have to tend to it yourself, or hire someone to do it for you.” Much to her relief, Gina breathed out unhappily and said, “I suppose it’s better to stick with the plan and get rid of it altogether then. I mean the indoor garden is the main reason I bought the house, but I can’t remember to water it myself, and don’t want strangers coming and going on the weekends, so if you won’t water it for me . . .” A long pause followed. Abril knew her boss was hoping that guilt would move her to fill that silence with an offer to continue the weekend waterings, but that wasn’t happening. She’d already done that for Gina for over six months now and it had been a pain in the ass. An unpaid pain in the ass too, she thought with irritation. She hadn’t minded at first because it was only supposed to be for a month or so before the renos started. Unfortunately, the start date for that had got pushed back, and then got pushed back again, and then again. Six months later they had finally started, but she was thoroughly over it. House and dog sitting for Gina during the last of the renos, which her boss had escaped by flying off to warmer climes, was the last of the favors she would do, and she was only doing that because she was being paid well for it. But after this she was only working normal hours. There would be no more coming in on weekends to water the plants and oh-while-you’re-here-can-you[TSW4]  walk Lilith/run out and grab me groceries/pick up my dry cleaning, or anything else. Abril liked her boss, but that liking would only stretch so far. “Right, so the original plan of removing it stands,” Gina said when Abril remained silent. Not letting her respond, her boss added, “I guess I should get off the phone. We’re going to do a little shopping before dinner.” “Okay. Have fun,” Abril said. “Will do,” Gina assured her. “You have my number if there are any more problems. Call if you need me, Abby.” “I’m sure everything will go fine.” “Famous last words,” Gina said with a laugh. “Yeah, I’ll knock on wood,” Abril told her grimly. “You do that. And call me if they find bodies or buried treasure in the indoor garden when they dig it up.” “Bodies?” Abril asked with a disbelieving laugh. “Yeah. Well, I’m still trying to figure out where William went. Months of dating and he just disappeared into thin air. Maybe he fell into the garden and the ground swallowed him up.” Abril hesitated, unsure what to say. She knew Gina had fallen hard and quickly for William. And he’d seemed to be just as enamored. After months of dating, and another month of practically living at the house, the man had gone out for milk and never returned. His sudden disappearing act had hit Gina hard. It was why she’d arranged this trip with a couple of girlfriends, to get away, relax, and get over William. It seemed that the getting over him part wasn’t working out so well. Not yet anyway. “It’s a joke, Abs,” Gina said quietly, drawing Abril from her thoughts. “William can go hang for all I care.” “He wasn’t good enough for you,” Abril blurted. “I mean he was cute and fit, but the guy was dumb as a stump.” “Yeah,” Gina murmured wearily. “Anyway, I should get going. Make sure you send those contracts to Rutherford. I’ve already started to work on ideas for those ads he wants and am eager to discuss them with him, but won’t do so until he signs on the dotted line.” “Already gone,” Abril assured her. “I sent them by courier last night. I’ll let you know as soon as he signs and sends them back.” “Thanks. You’re a star,” Gina said, some energy returning to her voice now that the subject was changed. “That’s why you pay me the big bucks,” Abril teased. “Yeah. Remind me to give you a raise when I get back.” “Yeah, yeah. Go have fun,” Abby responded on a chuckle. “I plan to,” Gina assured her, and then added, “Ciao.” “Ciao,” Abril said with a smile and had started to pull the phone away from her ear when Gina suddenly cried out, “Oh, wait! I almost forgot what I was calling for in the first place.” Eyebrows rising, Abril paused and said, “Yes?” “I was calling to check on Lilith.” “Ah.” Abril smiled, not at all surprised to hear that Gina was concerned about her baby. The woman doted on her pup like most people did on their children. “Is she okay? Is she eating well? Is she missing me?” Gina asked and Abril didn’t miss the note of hope in her voice. “Yes, of course she’s missing you,” she said, glancing around now for the dog in question. “She starts barking and jumps up to run to the door every time she hears a vehicle in the driveway, only to drag her butt back and flop down onto her bed when it isn’t you but a courier, or the construction guys.” “Aww,” Gina said, a smile in her voice. “Well, give her a cuddle from me and tell her Mommy loves her.” “Will do,” Abril said absently, turning to peer around the empty front yard of the three-acre property when she didn’t spot the Lab by the pond or anywhere else to the side of the hole and excavator. “Have a good day. Talk to you tomorrow.” “Mm-hmm,” Abril murmured and slid the phone into her pocket when the dial tone sounded telling her that Gina had hung up. Fretting over whether she really had turned on the collar for the wireless fence as she’d meant to do, or had somehow done it wrong leaving Lilith free to run off, Abril started toward the back of the house. She intended to check there for her before panicking and widening her search to the neighborhood. Rather than going all the way around the huge excavator, Abril took the lazy route, walking between it and the hole. The path got narrow where the vehicle sat, and she reached for the large bucket to hold on to it as she made her way past, but her hand never made contact with the cool metal. Before it could, the ground she was walking on suddenly gave way beneath her. Fortunately, they hadn’t got far in digging out the foundation before the machine had broken down that morning. The hole was about ten feet long and twenty feet wide, but only three or four feet deep. This was a good thing, Abril decided when she came to a halt at the bottom of the pit. While the sudden fall was a shock and knocked the breath out of her, she wasn’t hurt as far as she could tell. Abril took a moment to regain her breath, and then blinked her eyes open when a bark preceded a wet tongue scraping across her cheek. She’d found Lilith. Abril put out a hand to the eager dog to keep her from licking her again. “Thank you. I’m okay, sweetie,” she murmured, petting the animal with one hand while urging her away with the other. “Let me get up.” Whether Lilith understood her words was debatable, but at least the Lab gave up trying to lick her to death. Turning away, the dog trotted to the far side of the partially excavated area that was closest to the house. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Abril struggled to her feet on the soft, uneven ground and tried to brush off the dirt now covering her coat and jeans. Unfortunately, while the rain earlier had been brief, it had still managed to drop a lot of water. It had turned the dirt to mud that was not brushing off. Instead, it was smearing on her beige wool coat and faded blue jeans. Cursing, Abril gave up trying to remove the muck and glanced around for Lilith. She relaxed when she saw that the dog was busily digging in the dirt close to the wall. “Helping the construction crew, Lilith?” Abril asked, looking around to try to find the best way to get out of the hole without bringing more dirt down on herself. Where she’d fallen seemed like the best place to get out. The rest of the sides to the hole were pretty straight up and down and closer to five feet than the three or four she’d first thought. Where the ground had given way, however, the side was now sloped. It was also made up of soft, loose dirt. She could get out that way, but suspected she’d have to basically crawl to do it. Grimacing at the thought, Abril glanced to where the Lab was still digging. Slapping the side of her leg, she called, “Lilith, come!” Lilith did not come. She didn’t even glance around at the call. Abril scowled at the dog’s lack of obedience. The pup was usually pretty good about listening and happy to follow her about, but right now she was ignoring her completely and continuing to dig almost feverishly, something she had apparently been doing for some time. Her golden fur was drenched in dark earth; on her paws, lower legs, and face. There were even a couple of splotches of it on her back. Muttering under her breath about having to bathe disobedient pups, Abril slid her now cold hands into the pockets of her coat to keep them warm, and headed over to collect the dog. The construction had been planned to start last fall, the end of September to be exact. The renos hadn’t started until the end of March. Now it was the last week of April when the days fluctuated between warmish and cold and back. Today was really cold, but not cold enough to freeze the muddy earth she was presently squelching through. “Lilith! Stop and get over here!” Abril ordered more firmly, retrieving the leash from her pocket when she felt it in there. When her latest command had no more effect than her others, Abril’s muttering changed to complaining about unruly puppies who didn’t listen and made their humans traipse through nasty mud that was ruining their shoes. That carried her across the remaining distance to Lilith. “Bad puppy,” Abril growled as she bent to latch the leash to her collar. She’d tried to put a firm note into her voice, but it obviously didn’t fool the dog into thinking she was no longer the pushover she usually was for the furball. When Abril straightened and tried to tug the Lab away, Lilith resisted. “For heaven’s sake, Lilith!” Abril said with exasperation, and yanked on the leash. “Come on. Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.” Not above bribery at this point, she tacked on, “I’ll give you a treat. Two treats even if—Holy shit,” Abril breathed when Lilith suddenly stopped her digging to move closer to her, apparently ready to give up in exchange for the promised treats. Now it was Abril who wasn’t leaving. She simply stood there, gaping with disbelief for several minutes. It was the cold assaulting her feet as they sank into the mud far enough to allow the frigid slush to cover and seep into her shoes that finally drew her from her shock. Breath leaving her on a gasp, Abril snatched the phone out of her pocket with a suddenly shaky hand. She punched in 911 as she backed toward the edge of the hole, pulling Lilith with her. The moment her call was answered and the operator asked what her emergency was, Abril cleared her throat and said, “There’s a body in my boss’s garden.” “Ma’am, did you say there’s a body in your boss’s garden?” the operator asked sounding shocked. Abril couldn’t blame her. This was a small town on the outskirts of London in Ontario, Canada. Things like this just didn’t happen here. But apparently, they do after all, her mind pointed out as she stared at the skull now half-exposed in the dirt. Letting her breath out on a resigned gust of air, she said, “I’m afraid so. Or a skeleton, I guess. At least the dog dug up a skull. Can you send someone out, please?”