The Mill River Recluse Read online

  Of course, it was Kyle.

  He was calling to her now, still knocking and ringing. Pleading for her to open the door, apologizing for whatever he did to upset her. She didn’t want to see him yet, in her disgusting, post-workout state, but he persisted. Finally, she decided to face him, if only to avoid having him jolt her neighbors from sleep on a Sunday morning.

  She flung open the front door. Kyle’s hand was raised in midair, poised to knock again. He pulled it back down and looked at her with surprise.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Claudia,” he began, and then hesitated. “I, I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry if I upset you. I would’ve come sooner, but I had to shovel out the truck.” He was babbling, as if he were caught off-guard at being face-to-face with her so soon. “Can we talk?”

  “Okay,” she said after a moment. With her hand, she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She hadn’t the slightest idea what she would say to him, but she stepped back and motioned him inside.

  They left the chilly entryway and went into the kitchen. For a moment, Kyle looked down at her without saying anything. Still silent, he removed his coat and sat down at the breakfast table. When he spoke, his words were awkwardly genuine. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you or make you uncomfortable. But I don’t understand why, I mean, I had such a great time last night, uh, you know, with dinner and everything.” His face was turning red, Claudia noticed, and he was becoming more flustered. “I didn’t mean to imply that the only thing I liked was, well, you know,” he said. “I just really enjoyed your company. I really like you, and I’m sorry if--”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Kyle,” Claudia said. “It was me. Before now, I’d never even had a boyfriend or anything, and things happened so quickly.” She crossed her arms and looked down at her running shoes.

  “That’s still really hard for me to believe,” he said. “I’d think you’d have no problem dating whoever you wanted. Hell, it took Leroy all of ten seconds to decide you were the one for him. You’re so pretty, and smart, and fun. To tell you the truth, I almost didn’t have the guts to ask you out because I didn’t think I had a chance.”

  “I never thought you’d be interested in me that way.”

  He was incredulous. “You’re nuts! Why would you ever think that?”

  She couldn’t look at him, didn’t see his brow furrowed in confusion. Instead, she walked straight to the drawer beside the refrigerator. Although she couldn’t quite believe what she was doing, she took out her fat picture, the one she had hidden there a few days earlier, and handed it to him.

  “This is why.” He stared at the picture, as if trying to understand what she was telling him. “That was me, eighteen months ago. Until now, no one ever wanted to go on a date with me.”

  “Wow,” he said slowly. “You’ve...really changed.”

  “I know.” His words seemed to confirm her worst fear, that, eighteen months ago, he would have been repulsed by her, that his interest in her now was only superficial. She began to cry. It was as if her emotional dam, the one that she had patched and reinforced during all those months of dieting and running and wishing, had burst. “I guess that after last night, I was afraid that you’d think I was easy, or desperate, or something. I’ve never been in that situation before. I mean, I thought you liked me for me, but what if I was wrong? What if I were still fat? Would you have wanted anything to do with me? What if you were one of those guys who sleeps with a woman and never calls her again? You didn’t seem like that kind of person, but I had no past experience, so how should I know? I was worried that in the morning, everything would be different.” The words gushed out along with her tears. Her nose was beginning to run, too. She finally took a breath and sniffed loudly.

  “Claudia.” Kyle’s voice was soft and reassuring. He stood up and began fumbling around, feeling in the pockets of his jeans and jacket. “I want to show you something,” he said. After a few moments, he produced his wallet, which he opened and handed to her.

  She was looking at a picture of Kyle, Rowen, and a woman that could only be Allison. The resemblance that Rowen bore to her late mother was startling, but that wasn’t what surprised Claudia the most.

  Allison was chubby. Really chubby.

  “That’s a picture of Allison,” Kyle said. “It was taken when Rowen was six, but that’s about how she looked when I met her. I loved her very much.” Claudia heard the effort in his words and looked up at him. “I fell in love with her for the person that she was. Everybody liked her. She was awesome with kids down at the precinct. She was spunky and gentle at the same time. She had this warm presence, you know? I always felt comfortable around her. When I met her, I just knew there was a good possibility that we could have something special.” He paused, looking at his hand resting on the kitchen table. “She died about a year and a half ago.”

  “I know,” Claudia said. “The principal told me about that when I accepted the position here since Rowen was in my class.”

  He nodded. “When she was really sick, right before she died, she didn’t look like that picture at all. She was all skin and bones, maybe about eighty pounds. I used to carry her around the house, from the bedroom to the sofa or bathroom. I think I loved her even more at the end. How she looked never had anything to do with it.”

  Claudia stood silently, listening.

  “I didn’t know how long it would take to get over Allison. At first, I couldn’t imagine being with someone else. Then the first year passed, and we moved up here, to Mill River, and I started to think that maybe I could love somebody again. If I met somebody, that is. That day that Rowen and I ran into you at the supermarket, well, that was the first time I’d had that same, I don’t know, the same kind of feeling about any woman since Allison. I really wanted to get to know you. You’ve got that same kindness. I know we’ve only gone out a few times, but I thought we clicked, and I’ve been really happy.” He paused to run a hand through his disheveled hair. “To be honest about last night, a part of me was wondering whether I was ready for that, too.”

  “Were you?”

  He smiled a slow smile. “I wouldn’t have gone through with it if I hadn’t thought so. And now I know so. Yeah, it was kind of soon for us, but then again, I don’t think there’s anything wrong for two adults to feel attracted to each other or to act on those feelings.”

  He made it sound so simple and right.

  He didn’t think she was a slut.

  He didn’t like her only for her appearance.

  “Yes,” she said, nodding in agreement, as she started to bawl again. “I guess I made a lot of stupid assumptions. I’m, I’m really sorry.”

  He caught her in a tight hug before she could say anything else. After a moment, she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.

  “Kyle?” she said, with her eyes still closed.

  “Hmm?”

  “When do you think Rowen will be home from the slumber party?” Her arms were around his waist now, and she could feel the dampness of his shirt. Neither of them smelled particularly pleasant.

  “About noon, I guess,” he said against her mouth. “Why?”

  “I think we need a shower. We’re both stinky.”

  “We?” He was kissing her face, which was wet with tears.

  “Yeah. We.”

  “One shower?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  He smiled again. “As long as you promise not to run out and leave me naked and alone again, I think that’s a good idea.”

  She laughed and wiped at her eyes. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

  ~~~

  Kyle and Claudia were inseparable over the next few weeks. They spent time together going to dinner, watching movies, playing in the snow with Rowen. Several times, Kyle left for work a bit early, stopping by Claudia’s house on his way to the station.

  Leroy discreetly monitored their activities, struggling to remain focused on his ultimate goal. It was all he co
uld do to act civil when he and Kyle were in the same room. During their last encounter, he’d muttered something to Kyle about how Claudia was butt-ugly compared to Jessica, a new woman he’d met in a bar in Rutland just after Valentine’s Day. Of course, Jessica didn’t exist and Claudia was by far the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. He’d worked out his plan to win her heart. The next time she spent the night with Kyle above the bakery, he would be ready.

  For two weeks, he waited. In order for his plan to work, he needed Claudia to be at Kyle’s apartment on a night when he wouldn’t have to work the graveyard shift. Everything fell into place on the last Saturday in February. He’d worked the evening shift, and was heading home just before midnight when he saw her car parked outside the bakery. Wykowski was on duty for the rest of the night. The town was quiet, as usual. Even the weather was cooperating, providing bursts of fine snowflakes that resulted in a kind of moving fog. It was the perfect sort of weather to help him avoid being seen. The temperature was fifteen degrees and dropping, according to the weather report that blared from the radio in the Camaro, but he wasn’t worried about that. Soon enough, it would be plenty warm in a certain downtown portion of Mill River.

  Leroy drove home to prepare. He changed into black clothing and gloves and put into the trunk of the Camaro a small, portable tank of gasoline, a flashlight, an old rag, a can of black spray paint, and several large bottles of beer. His cell phone was charged. He always carried a cigarette lighter, and Claudia’s black thong—his ever-present good luck charm--was still in his coat pocket. All he needed now was his ski mask.

  Everything was still quiet when he drove back into town around one in the morning. As he passed the police station, he saw Ron Wykowski tipped back in a chair with his feet crossed on the front desk.

  Lazy ass, Leroy thought. He’ll be awake soon enough.

  After circling the block, Leroy swung the Camaro onto an unlit street well off the main road and parked. He put on the ski mask, gathered the supplies from the trunk of his car, and began walking along the back streets toward the bakery.

  He crossed through a thicket of pine trees, approaching his targeted building from the rear. As he expected, the building was dark, its upstairs occupants apparently sound asleep. He set the gasoline container and other items at the base of a large spruce. Carefully, he took out the flashlight and stepped up to the building.

  A small window faced out the back of the bakery. He peered in through it, shone the flashlight around the darkened first floor. The place was absolutely still. The stainless steel ovens and countertops gleamed, and further inside, the neat wooden chairs were turned upside-down on the tables, waiting for morning.

  Kindling.

  Leroy walked back to the gasoline and bag of supplies. He squatted down with his back against the tree, fished in the bag for a beer, and used his teeth to open it. Next, he removed the can of spray paint and shook it several times to mix it. He looked at the back of the bakery, took a long swig of beer, and smiled to himself.

  His plan was brilliant, really: spray paint some graffiti on the back of the bakery. Lure Kyle out of the building with a bogus 9-1-1 call so that Claudia would be left alone. Set the building on fire. Enter the burning building and rescue Claudia while Kyle was still out on a wild goose chase.

  Coupled with the graffiti, the fire would appear to be an act of vandalism. His only apparent involvement in the matter would be the heroic rescue of the woman he loved.

  Of course, it wouldn’t hurt that he might be able to redeem himself in Fitz’s eyes by helping someone escape a raging fire. And Kyle, the asshole, would look like a total loser when he finally showed up. Best of all, after he saved her life, Claudia would surely, surely, realize that she was with the wrong man.

  Leroy drained the first bottle of beer and opened a second. After another long drink, he pushed the open bottle into the snow, belched, and hauled himself to his feet. Like an artist approaching an empty canvas, he shook the can of paint again and started toward the vast back wall of the bakery.

  ~~~

  Daisy’s alarm clock screeched at exactly one-thirty in the morning. She threw off her covers and switched on the lights, calling to her little dog as she began to dress. “It’s Leap Day, Smudgie! And the last day of February! Time to start the St. Patrick’s Day potion! We’ve got to get some fresh wintergreen, the fresher the better! Oh, yes, little green leaves, touched by the moonlight, seasoned by snow! Are you awake, Smudgie?”

  The little gray mop rolled over on the bed and groaned.

  “Fine, you stay inside. I won’t be long, and we’ll have a nice breakfast when I get back. But if you miss seeing a Leprechaun, you’ll be sorry!”

  Daisy scrambled into her parka and boots and wrapped a thick scarf around her neck and face. Waiting by the front door to her trailer was a snow shovel, a nine-volt floodlight, and a large metal colander. She gathered them together and ventured outside into the night.

  The best place to find fresh wintergreen was in the thicket of trees behind the buildings in the center of town. The snow there was often more shallow than in other areas, and something about the soil, or perhaps the shade of the large spruces and white pines, seemed to help the shrubby wintergreen plants to flourish. Every year, early in the morning on the last day of February, Daisy awoke to pick wintergreen.

  She didn’t mind the cold, or the tiny, crystalline flurries that flew at her face. She trudged through the snow, pulling the shovel behind her. It actually stayed atop the snow, making a slight grooved indentation beside her deep footprints. Leaving this trail in the darkness, with the back of her parka spread out behind her against the snow, the little round woman resembled a strange sort of winter snail.

  Upon reaching the thicket, Daisy positioned the floodlight on the colander and began to dig. She had to clear two feet of snow before she uncovered a short clump of waxy green leaves. “Oooh,” she squealed to herself, slightly out of breath. She threw down the shovel and stooped down to pick them.

  Wintergreen was the primary ingredient in her St. Patrick’s Day potion. Before adding other magic ingredients, she would ferment the fresh leaves for a week in her kitchen to produce a fragrant, minty tea.

  In no time, her colander was half-full. She was humming to herself, alternatively shoveling and picking, when she heard a deep, guttural noise from within the thicket. It was unlike anything she had ever heard while gathering wintergreen. Perhaps it was an animal--a bobcat, or maybe a bear? She grasped the snow shovel defensively. The backs of the town buildings were quite close. Surely, a bear would be wary of approaching so near the town.

  Daisy took up her floodlight and walked slowly in the direction of the sound. Again, the noise rattled through the darkness, a deep, gurgling growl that sent shivers down her spine. Only a short hill separated her from the final cluster of trees behind the buildings. A little voice inside her head told her to turn back, but she summoned up all of her courage and pressed on. Using the snow shovel for support, she came up slowly over the hill and shined her floodlight directly ahead.

  There, squatting against a large pine tree, was a man dressed in black. As the beam of the floodlight washed over him, he opened his mouth and released another enormous belch. Daisy was at once disgusted and relieved. At least it wasn’t a bear.

  The man turned to stare at her, but was forced to shield his eyes from the glare of the floodlight. In the split-second she stood watching him, Daisy noticed several empty beer bottles glimmering in the snow. When she saw his black ski-mask, she recognized him immediately.

  It was the same man she had seen running away from her burning trailer.

  “Oh!” she gasped. Too shocked to scream, Daisy staggered backward, abandoning her shovel. She followed her broken path back through the thicket, snatched up her colander, and continued as fast as she could go until she burst through the front door of her trailer.

  Smudgie was waiting for her, now fully awake and wagging happily. Daisy ignored him. She
slammed the door and locked it, grabbed the phone off the kitchen wall, and dialed 911.

  “Rutland County 911, what is your emergency?” asked a woman in a monotonous voice.

  “I’m in Mill River. I need to talk to the police,” Daisy cried into the handset.

  “If you’ll tell me what’s wrong, m’am, I’ll try to help you.”

  “Please, just let me talk to the police in Mill River.”

  “One moment, I’ll transfer you.” Daisy heard a series of clicks and then a man’s voice.

  “Mill River police, Officer Wykowski speaking.”

  “Officer, Officer, this is Daisy Delaine. There’s a man in black in the woods behind town,” she said, gasping to catch her breath. “It’s the same man I saw when my house burned down in November.”

  “Hold up a minute, Ms. Delaine. Are you sure you saw someone?”

  “Oh, yes, Officer, and heard him, too. He was drinking and burping. At first I thought he was a bear, but then I saw him burp and realized it was a man.”

  “I see.” There was a pause at the other end of the line. “Just out of curiosity, Ms. Delaine, could I ask what you were doing out in the woods at this hour?”

  “I was gathering fresh wintergreen for my St. Patrick’s Day potion. It has to be picked on the last day of February, you know, before the sun comes up. After dawn, it loses its magical properties.”

  “Ah.” Ron Wykowski was quiet a moment. “Well, I suppose I’ll drive by and have a look,” he finally said. “About where did you say the man was?”

  “He was sitting in the woods behind the bakery, or was it the hardware store? He was wearing all black, even a black mask. I ran away once I realized who it was.”

  “You say you’d seen the man before...do you have any idea as to his identity?”

  “No, Officer. He wasn’t very tall, but he wasn’t really short, either. And I’ve never seen his face.”