Chapter 6
"Who's there?" Zoey's stern voice echoed through the corridors to the front door. Hopeful they heard me, because I cannot get off this couch. What answered back was a frail voice. Zoey immediately knew who it was. "Come in Mrs. Kingiver." The door creaked open for a small second. Before the woman spoke once more.
"Hello honey, you seem stressed. I hope I'm not dropping in at a bad time." Zoey took a deep breath, leaving the house in a questioning silence. Did she drop in at a bad time? Heh, seems like a bad joke. Her grip on the remote tightened as the woman moved closer.
"No, you're fine. Just… what do you want?"
"Oh," The elderly woman's words displayed how easily Zoey's mood could be read. "I came wondering if you'd like to share some tea. I really enjoyed our talk yesterday so…" Even with her back turned, she could hear the clanking of the 1980s porcelain tea set being arranged on her kitchen table.
"So how have you been?"
"As good as I can darling," They both didn't face each other as they spoke. "Ya'know, with the holidays coming up." Zoey had almost forgotten. The feeling of the holidays. Sitting around the Christmas tree, around someone you love… or loved. "Hey, don't worry about her. It's not like you murder her."
"Yeah, but I still feel guilty."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Zoey looked to see Mrs. Kingiver, still at the table, waiting.
"Oh, it's nothing." Zoey's face felt flushed as she went to accompany the woman. The hysterical girl's body almost went into a trance at the sight of her. The bags under her eyes were black. Her hair looked as if it was on its last straw. She looked nothing like the woman she was before. She opened her mouth to speak but was immediately interrupted.
"Oh, you've been keeping up with the news, I see." Zoey turned to see what she was referring to. She was right, laid before her was the city news coming back from their thirty-minute commercial breaks. "It's terrible what they did." Zoey only nods as her body seems to move itself into the paralleling chair. "Truly terrible." The silence between the two lasted forever as they sipped their drinks and ate on whatever she had from earlier.
"So," Zoey looked around the room for anything that could repel that awkwardness. Nothing. Nothing, but the "tragedy" that appeared on TV. "Do they know who this killer is?" The question evoked a sigh from the other.
"No, but a woman in the news claims to have seen a shadow leaving the second house and getting into a Prius." The discovery of that information caused the girl to freeze as she sunk lower into her seat. They saw her car, really? After she had left that hellhole, she decided it was best to ditch it in general. She didn't leave the car far, just a few towns over, Taernsby. Now, she was waiting for her car in the shop.
"Ohh," Zoey took a slight sip out of her teacup before making any more words form out of her mouth. "Okay." Their conversation lasted from then till night. Them wondering about the murderer to eventually their normal, sad conversations. To be honest, Zoey was tired. She wanted nothing more, but to lay down and give this whole rest thing another shot.
"Ahh don't you lo-"
"It's getting late. I think I should head to bed." Her words were responded to by the look of a sad woman.
"Well," Kingiver played with the rim of her cup. "It is close to the holidays… and I would love to remember the good times with Oswald." Zoey knew where this was going, but was too tired to make a rebuttal.
"Would you like to spend the night, Barbra?"
"If you'd be so kind." Zoey waved her hands towards the stairs motioning her to follow like a dog. And like she expected, she did. She followed her from the kitchen, where they were stationed, all the way to the main room. Zoey had no attachment to that room, so she didn't really mind giving it up. Zoey received her accustomed "thank you" as the woman hobbled her way into the room.
"Alright. Off to the guest room, I go." She turned to head down the stairs. Only to see a shadowy figure at the bottom.