Written for a Tulip Tree Pub Contest; Submitted 10/30/19
The office had enough of her. From her dark brown roots breaking through the bottled blonde to her manicured toes displayed in open toe wedges. The tipping point started when her matching manicured and manufactured finger nails would crumple up assorted singles and five dollar bills, throwing them toward the unfortunate girl at check out, which on Saturdays, was usually Ella.
The whole premise of the office was mental, physically, and holistic wellbeing. Everything from acupuncture to zen yoga was offered. Not everything was covered by insurance. It was an age old battle that no one at Hot Springs Valley was going to solve, but every employee did their best to work with patients and visitors of the center to ensure affordable care. After all, an office that offered gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan pastries, coffees that accomodated a number of dietary lifestyles, and had a complimentary vitamin bar would be nothing less than hypocritical to not work with their patients’ budgetary needs in addition to their dietary ones.
Ella was in charge of managing the snacks. Most of the time she made them from scratch for her Saturday shift. The rest of the week was purchased products, stored in the office pantry and dispersed throughout the week. Mostly everyone enjoyed Ella and her desserts, mostly everyone except Sandra.
Outside of herself and maybe one of her two children Sandra enjoyed practically nothing. Money, being an extension of herself, was important to her – especially other people’s. No one knew for certain, but the chatter amongst the staff at Hot Springs Valley estimated her monthly maintenance cost to be somewhere in the ballpark of $20,000. That wasn’t including the cost of her children or BeBe, her social-media-famous hairless dog. She was a regular at Hot Springs Valley, despite it being one of the most fairly priced wellness centers in the area. Her hair was colored and woven in once a month. She has a gym membership at the newest, largest, and most exclusive fitness club in the surrounding area. Her nails – both fingers and toes – were perfectly manicured each week.
She drove a high end car, sent her children to camp, and only wore name brands from designers who burned their products at the end of the season instead of donating them or selling them to a discount retailer. She never discussed food shopping, but frequently made mention of where she and her latest mark had lunch or were planning on going for dinner. Those were the things she owned up to. The speculated injections, fillers, and dietary aids and whether or not she really had a personal chef were not factored into the bottom dollar. To the best of anyone’s knowledge she didn’t work. Unless working out, working her mark, or working on her next implant plan. Then Sandra worked all the time.
Ella ground her premolars as Sandra spat objections through her silicone-plumped lips. It was the patience responsibility to call their insurance ahead of their initial appointment to see which, if any, of the wellness center’s services were covered. Sandra was busy. Too busy to call her insurance company. Her credit card on file had expired seventeen months ago. Apparently, she had been exceptionally busy.
“I’ve seen almost every healer here,” Sandra said. Ella caught her tongue in between her teeth stifling a burst of outraged laughter. Not a single doctor, chiropractor, acupuncturist, nurse, physical therapist or yoga instructor called themselves a healer. But this was Sandra. Ella looked down at her scrubs. It was unlikely that blood would show up against the graphite, but still Ella hoped there wouldn’t be blood. “You can’t just tell people that their visits will be covered and then change your mind demanding payment. You told me that everything was covered. It’s your own fault!” A small fleck of spit flew off of Sandra’s lip as she raised her voice. It was caught by her long, fake, blonde hair as she flipped it over her shoulder. Turning huskily she took a step toward the relaxation center, what most people would call the waiting room.
Ella’s arm snapped forward. Her hand grabbing the base of Sandra’s weave. Seams burst as her hand slid down creating a ponytail. Yanking with all her might, Ella snapped Sandra’s neck back, slamming her head into the raised marble countertop.
A hand touched hers. Snapping out of her daydream, Ella turned her head toward the person who touched her. Her favorite nurse, Michelle was standing there. Her dark brown eyes always filled with laughter, disappearing behind her tanned eyelid for a moment, she winked. Michelle nodded at her, flashing a thumbs up behind the tall countertop. Michelle had seen Sandra in action a number of times before. While they were one center, run by one company, each area of health and wellness was run like its own company instead of its own department.
Ella pantomimed meditative breathing. Michelle reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze. It was one person out of thousands. Like everything else, she would eventually go away. Ella finished the check in process both electronically and in the actual paper folder the center kept for each patient. She was caught up on her chiropractic services, but she had outstanding balances for acupuncture, holistic gynecology, cryogenics, and spa services. Ella swallowed her outrage as she closed Sandra’s folder.
As one of her regulars came in, the stress melted off Ella’s shoulders. Tina was a doll and always had a good book recommendation for her. She was also one of thousands, but unlike Sandra who was just the worst, Tina was in the majority of their patients who were just the best.
Straightening out her mandarin collar scrub top. Delicately tucking in the front part into her scrub pants. Much like her cousin’s bridal party, employees were given a brand name and color but were able to choose the fit of scrubs they preferred. Receptionists were all dressed in graphite, nurses in ceil blue, and any doctor or specialist in hydrogreen. It gave the office a very calming feel. It was something Ella enjoyed.
A scoffing noise erupted in front of her. Raising her head she met Sandra’s eyes boring into hers. Ella was about to ask her if she could help her when Sandra turned on her heal, flipping her over her shoulder and stormed out the door. Ella found herself grinding her teeth. Forcing her shoulders down, and her breathe in through her nose, Ella was able to shake off the lingering evil Sandra had left behind.
Ella began to close down the office thirty minutes after the wellness center’s supposed closing time. Like in every other aspect, the health and happiness of the patient were what counted. Even if it meant staying open a little later than scheduled. Systematically Ella went through each area of the office shutting off lights, wiping tables and other surfaces down, and unplugging assorted machines and equipment. The last thing she did before leaving the office was to turn off the music. The various sounds of the rainforest always relaxed Ella. Kept the ghost stories far from her mind when she was the last one in the building.
Years ago, long before the wellness center was established the building had belonged to one of the doctors’ practices. Depending on the rumor, it was either the chiropractor or the pediatric therapist. As the story went, one of the office ladies had been seeing a patient or perhaps a patient’s father. The man had disappeared. Once the police had retraced his footsteps to the office, the receptionist was questioned, released, and was never heard from again. While there was no actual proof that the man had been murdered at all, let alone in the actual building, the rumors spread as quickly as stains settled into carpet.
The sound of rain trickling through trees and bouts of thunder with crashes of lightening were much more soothing than the thoughts of old, unsolved murder cases. Ella had just turned off the stereo system when her cell pinged. It was a text from Michelle. She had just dropped her husband off at their son’s house for a father/son baseball outing, and wanted to know if Ella was interested in coming over for some afternoon tea time. Ella laughed as she typed out her response. Spending some girl time by the grill and in the garden with a glass of spiked lemonade in hand was exactly what she wanted!
Ella parked her car in the driveway. It wasn’t the first time she had been over at Michelle’s. She had known Michelle long before they worked at the center together. In fact, only a few years younger than her son, Ella had been like Michelle’s extra child. Walking around the front of her car Ella took in the garden that lined the path to the back porch. It was beautiful. Already she could smell the grill cooking something delicious. It was a gorgeous day to be outside.
Three drinks into lunch the women had shifted the conversation from the positive and joyful aspects of life, to the wellness center, to their biggest pain point – Sandra. Apparently she wasn’t just a nightmare for Ella. There were three other people who worked the front desk during the week, as well as the head of the department, that had issues with her. Cash being thrown at them in front of other clients. No payments made, followed the next week by accusations that she had paid in cash the staff was just riddled with liars and thieves. While the specialists all had their own issues with her, though less aggressive than the staff, the nurses took the brunt of it.
Verbal accusations, violent and legal threats, all topped off with a hair flip that in one case caught a nurse in the face. It was amazing that she hadn’t been completely thrown out of the practice yet. It had taken a while for the rumors to circulate about just how bad Sandra could get. With them, came the rumors that perhaps she was related to or sleeping with the owner of the wellness center. After all, how could such deplorable behavior be allowed to continue?
Ella told Michelle about her vision of yanking Sandra back into the counter by her hair. It had not been the first time that Michelle had heard one of the staff members wanting to beat the ever living shit out of Sandra. Michelle knew it wouldn’t be the last one. Not as long as Sandra continued releasing her poisonous soul in the otherwise zen office.
The ladies finished their lunch and the last of the spike lemonade. They spent the next hour or two tending to the garden. The flowers were in bloom, the vegetables were growing. It was a great day to be outside. Even the earlier talk of Sandra couldn’t ruin the beauty of the day.
“Hello?” Sandra closed the door behind her and walked further down the hall. The night lights were on. She followed the tracks of them across the ceiling. Patrons of the center usually came in the front entrance. Up the worn in stairs, brick with black railings lined with the vines. So “old New England,” it made Sandra sick. This wasn’t Salem, where the past hugged the curve of every cobblestone. The center should be clean, modern, and sleek, like their customers.
Sandra continued around the corner, recognizing the rooms further down the hall. A few of the healers she had seen were set up down here. “Hello,” Sandra called out again. “You could at least turn on the lights,” she shouted up the stairs. Holding onto the railing, Sandra climbed each step one spiked heel up at a time. Her phone pinged from the pocket of her jean shorts. Taking one hand off the railing she reached back and grabbed her phone.
It was only Justin wanting to know if she had thought of him during her stripper workout class. He had dropped her off to class. The plan was for her to get a car home. The center was only a few buildings down from the studio. She had been able to schedule a last minute, late night emergency appointment. Without answering his lame text, Sandra returned her phone to her jeans.
Justin had a lot more graveling before she would take him back, officially. Mostly, she was waiting for the necklace. She had already gotten the earrings and bracelet from her favorite designer’s collection. She was missing the necklace. It would be hers, probably a surprise gift at their dinner tonight. They were spending the evening in the presidential suite at their favorite hotel. Tomorrow, he would be bringing her to a charity brunch gala. Which is why she was stumbling around in the dark at the wellness center.
She had reached the top of the stairs and entered the waiting room. There weren’t track lights lining the ceiling up here, but light shone in through the window. “Seriously,” Sandra barked into the dark room, “you have a client in desperate need of your services, and you can’t turn on a damned light?”
Footsteps shuffled in the distance. A light broke through the hall. It was coming from the office tucked in the corner of the building. Down the hall, to the right. As if the construction crew forgot to put in the door and remembered at the last possible minute. “Finally,” Sandra grunted as she moved toward the light like a moth.
Sandra knew that the next steps in her courtship with Justin would have to be a ring, after the take-me-back-necklace. Not just any old diamond ring, The Ring. The one that said she had landed her biggest fish ever. And oh what a fish fry it would be. Entering the room Sandra noticed that whatever incompetent nurse had been setting up for the actual healer had already stepped out. Sandra underdressed. She tossed her clothes into the silk laundry bag the center provided. She eyed the robe on the back of the door.
Even though she hadn’t paid for the package that included the robe service, the nurse didn’t seem to know that. Sandra certainly wasn’t going to correct it either. How surprised Justin would be when he saw her, standing there in a robe waiting to be picked up. He could eat his heart out – maybe other things if he forked over that necklace sooner.
Sandra laid down on the table, draping the sheet gingerly over backside. She had requested an appointment with Glenn. Outside of his specialty, he had a number of certifications and degrees. He could provide more than one service, and Sandra needed to be looking in perfect condition for her, as her daughter would say, ‘boujie-ass brunch’ debut. It also never hurt to have a nice, established medical professional take in all aspects of her body – just in case things with Justin didn’t quite pan out.
The door opened, Sandra heard the undeniable squeak of nurses shoes coming across the room. Glenn wore quality loafers that were sharp looking, professional and quiet. Sandra went to pull the sheet up higher. It was beyond inappropriate for the nurse to be here, and seeing her so exposed like this. A quick prick pierced Sandra’s neck. Her body froze. Pressure encompassed her brain. Just like the rest of the building, the lights shut off. Whether or not Sandra realized it, her lights had permanently been unplugged. A small drop of clear liquid bubbled where the hallowed needle had entered. As the air pushed back out, the bubble popped and the liquid slid down. A gloved hand dabbed a tissue, sopping up the liquid. If only Sandra’s body would have been as easy to flush as that tissue.
It had almost been a full week since Ella had seen Michelle. They had texted about changes to the office, a show they both loved, and how things were going for Ella in terms of her certification prep. While they were close they typically didn’t see each other until Saturdays. Ella read the text from Michelle once more. It read, “URGENT: call me, and make your way to the center ASAP!”
Ella had just put her car in reverse. She had plugged her phone in, queued up her podcast, and had been ready to drive home and study for her certification exam. Apparently, she thought as her white hybrid backed itself out of its parking spot, her plans had changed.
Pulling up to the Wellness Center Ella was met by flashing blue and red lights. An ambulance was parked out front as well. Worry mixed with curiosity as Ella parked around the corner and jogged up toward the building.
“‘Scuse me,” an officer called out to her, “you can’t pass the tape.”
Ella looked at him and then over her shoulder. She worked her, and Michelle had said it was urgent.
“I work here,” Ella said, “Michelle told me to come. What tape?”
The police officer waited a moment and stopped the smile from creeping across his face. “The tape tied between the tree and the entrance stairs. The tape directly in front of you.”
Ella looked down. Less than a foot in front of her was bright yellow crime scene tape. She hadn’t seen it before. But now she was unsure how she missed it to begin with. Feeling around, Ella grouped for her phone. It wasn’t in either of her hands or in her back pocket.
“Crap,” she squeaked out, “I’m sorry. I forgot my phone in the car. I was listening to a podcast. It’s actually really sad. I’m going to go get it and then try calling Michelle. I hope she’s okay,” Ella continued as she turned and started heading back to her car, “she said it was urgent.”
The office watched as Ella clearly continued her train of thought to herself. Her hands flitted at her side. Her head bobbed slightly. Radioing inside, McClearly asked Willis if he was expecting anyone at the scene. The chief radioed him back saying he would be right down.
By the time Ella had gotten to her car, fumbled to unlock it, grabbed her phone – first without, and then with unplugging it, and made it back to the front entrance Michelle was waiting there along with a very tall, very broad policeman.
As it turned out, he wasn’t just a policeman, he was the chief.
“Chief Willis,” he said extending his hand.
“Ella,” she said shaking his. Michelle waved from behind the officer’s back. Standing there, she looked even smaller than her usual 5 foot stature. A half assed smile twitched across her face as she winked. Ella recognized this as Michelle being reassuring, but what did Ella need to be reassured about?
Chief Willis walked Ella around the corner toward the back of the building, where the basement entrance to the center was. “Mind if we have a chat?” Instead of going inside he gestured toward what looked like an undercover police car haphazardly parked half on the grassy area and half on the pavement surrounding the building.
Ella nodded, “in there?” She asked looking at the car.
“Yes,” the chief answered nodding his head, “unfortunately, I can’t let anyone into or out of the building just yet. Ella began to understand Michelle’s need for reassurance.
“Okay,” Ella said. She walked around the front of the car, heading for the back seat on the driver’s side.
“Miss,” Willis said, “you can sit in the front – passenger’s side though.” A small smile threatened his chief’s face.
“I’m sorry,” Ella said walking back around the front of the car.
“It’s alright,” Chief Willis said, approaching the driver’s side.
Getting in the car, he touched a few buttons. Ella watched as she mindlessly put on her seatbelt. McClearly was right about this one, Willis thought as he heard the click of Ella’s safety belt.
“Alright Miss Winborne,” Chief Willis began, “before we get into the meat and potatoes tell me a little bit about yourself, how you’re involved with the center, and whatnot.”
“Sure,” Ella said, “well, I’ve been here for most of my life. I started when I working Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday when I was 14. Then throughout college and after graduation I kept my regular Saturday shift. It’s my mad money,” Ella chuckled to herself.
“What’s mad money,” Chief Willis asked.
“It’s something from when I was growing up. My mom was a single parent. She worked a lot to pay for the necessities, but didn’t have a lot of disposable income. When there was some extra, she would take it in cash and call it mad money. We would use it for Chinese food, a puzzle or something fun and frivolous.”
Chief Willis nodded, taking a moment to think. “Where else are you currently working?”
“Currently I work about 35 minutes away – down 42, off 15, cutting across 44 until you reach 1. I’m a programmer slash junior developer. Which translates to competencies in several languages to the point where I can create things like software.”
“Interesting,” Chief Willis said. He didn’t know much about programming, but he assumed it had something to do with computers. He didn’t have to ask before Ella responded, “basically I’m a nerd, and I work on a computer most of the day.”
“Thank you,” Willis said. For the first time since they had been introduced he smiled at Ella.
“What else should I tell you about,” Ella asked?
“That depends,” the chief said, the smile wiped clean from his face.
“On what?”
“For starters, do you know why you’re here?”
“Only that Michelle texted me that it was an URGENT matter,” Ella’s hands flashed like imitation strobe lights to emphasize the all capitals used by Michelle. “She told me to come over as soon as I could.”
“You said it was a text?”
“Yes,” Ella said getting her phone out and offering it to the chief. “You want to see it?”
“Not right now,” he replied. “What can you tell me about the Wellness Center and its patrons?”
“Almost all of our patrons are the best. Same with the staff. Like I said, I’ve been here over half my life, and in all that time we’ve had maybe two or three shitty employees and one or two difficult customers. Oops, I shouldn’t have sworn, right?”
“I understand. Are any of them still around?”
“Yes,” Ella said without hesitation. “Only one though.”
Willis didn’t want to lead the questioning or steer the conversation. Instead he looked at Ella, his head tilting slightly to the side.
“One shi- difficult patient. I’m only here once a week – on Saturdays, everyone on the team is great. We all pitch in and provide really attentive care to all of our patients, no matter who they are.”
Willis nodded. His mustache crinkled as he pondered this. “And which patient is that?”
Ella hesitated, “HIPPA prevents -”
“I know what HIPPA states,” Willis said cutting Ella off, nodding his head, “but whatever you tell me in this car is confidential.”
Biting on her lip, Ella winced as she drew blood. She wished Michelle was here. “Sandra. Sandra Dominicus. She’s the absolute worst.”
“Worst, in which way?”
“She’s selfish and rude. Nasty and condescending. She’s verbally abusive to the staff and her boy-toys of the week. If there was ever a poster child for Gold Digger Dolls, she’d be it.”
Ella exhaled as she realized how that didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of Sandra.
“Okay Ella,” Willis said after a beat, “just a few more questions. Do you know why you’re here?”
“Because Michelle texted me-”
“Why Michelle texted you to come here,” Willis corrected himself.
“Oh, no,” Ella answered. She sounded disappointed. “I probably should have asked before hand.”
“It’s okay,” Willis said, “from what Ms. Levi told me you two go back pretty far. Nice to see that kind of trust and caring in folks.”
Ella flashed a smile. She did love Michelle. The feeling of love was mutual and reassuring. A knock on the window made Ella jump. The chief lifted his large index finger up and exited the car.
Returning to the car, Willis got right to the point, “the center will be closed for the next few days. What we would like from you would be your scrubs.”
“My scrubs?”
“All of them, if possible.”
“Why? What happened?”
“There was a break in at the center last night,” Willis said looking down at his notepad his eyes hardened.
“Oh no! Was it when the girls were here? Was anyone hurt?”
Willis held up his hand, “there is no evidence that suggests any of the employees have been injured. However, it would help tremendously if you could provide your scrubs.”
“Of course,” Ella answered without hesitation, “I have two shirts and one pair of pants. Since I only work once a week.” Color crossed her cheeks. For the longest time she had only owned one shirt, but Michelle stumbled upon a nearly brand new one in her size. Ella never really believed Michelle just stumbled on a cut and size that fight Ella’s endowments, but she appreciated her kindness.
“Other than that, we will need to know where you were last night,” Willis said making a note in his notebook.
Last night, last night. Ella suddenly blanked on the day before. Taking a deep breath she thought about what she had eaten for breakfast. A muffin! She had gotten a coffee cake muffin and a pumpkin flavored coffee on her way to work. She had a hectic day. For a snack she had two pieces of dark chocolate, and ate her lunch around 2:30 pm. She had half a leftover sandwich from the day before. Prosciutto, plain on bread. She powered through the rest of her afternoon with more coffee, more chocolate, and then at 4:45 when she realized she would be leaving late she made some popcorn.
Willis watched as Ella’s brows moved. Her fingers booped around each other. She looked pensive, and like she was in an intense conversation with herself.
She and her friend Lynnie were supposed to go to yoga. They had both texted each other around 5:25 that they wouldn’t be out in time for yoga. Ella had laughed out loud. Through a rapid fire of texting they decided to meet at the park for a walk instead. Ella had gotten there at 6:35 pm – Lynnie had waited five minutes for her.
Willis cleared his throat.
Ella’s head snapped up, “I’m sorry,” she said. She caught Willis up on everything from her late afternoon popcorn snack to Lynnie having to wait five minutes for her.
“We walked and talked for about an hour,” Ella continued. “I got home around eight. I heated up some barbeque from the day before, ate it, and then picked up around the house watching old game show re-runs.”
Willis watched as Ella talked. Her hands now fluttering back and forth. Her head bobbing with emphasis.
“I had planned on hopping in the shower, but remembered the drain had been backed up. Whatever chemical stuff my friend had thrown in there the night before was still working its supposed magic. So I ended up taking two melatonin gummies, and watching one more episode before going to bed. I can tell you the exact time if you want.”
“That would be helpful,” Willis said as flatly as he could.
“I just have to grab my phone,” Ella began rummaging around for it. “I usually say good night to my friend Michael – the one who is attempting to fix my shower drain – when I go to bed.”
Willis thought about what Levi had said about Winterborne before. Intelligent, witty, kind, but utterly oblivious at times. She’s never been formally diagnosed but she has a few hallmarks for OCD. It was something Levi had brought up when discussing Sandra Dominicus. The alleged missing person the team had originally been out looking for earlier that day had a bad reputation everywhere they inquired about her, and the wellness center was no different. The fact that Winterborne, who had been truly proven herself to be intelligent, kind, and oblivious to the point of almost dumb, even had gripe with her, made Dominicus’ status as missing even more suspect.
“He seems like a good friend,” Willis said, “what time did you go to bed?”
“I texted him at 11:05. He called me at 11:08. We talked for, hold on,” Ella’s eyes bounced up and down as she did the math in her head, “17 mintues and then we hung up.”
“Around 11:40 then,” Willis asked.
“Closer to 11:30,” Ella said. “I have a hard time staying up past 11:30.”
Willis made some more notes in his notebook.
“Thank you, Ms. Winterborne” Willis said, making his way out of the car. “McClearly will make arrangements for your scrubs. He’ll be waiting by the front door for you.”
“Okay,” Ella said, “no problem. Thank you, Chief Willis!” Turning, Ella headed back around the building.
Willis radioed McClearly that Ms. Winterborne was on her way.
McClearly had driven Ella to her home, bagged and tagged her scrubs, then brought Ella back to the center. Instead of heading home, Ella had stopped by her grandmother’s. Her mother had moved out to Pennsylvania a few years ago, and had still kept her job at the center herself until retiring last year. Whenever her mother did come up, regardless of how long she was staying, Antonia always stayed with Ella’s grandmother. She was up for the month of September. It was a busy month for Ella at work, but it worked best for her mother’s schedule. So they made due.
Ella told her mother all about the break in at the center and her conversation with the chief. She had left out the part about her scrubs. As they had sat down for homemade cappuccinos, Ella’s phone pinged. It was Michelle. Asking if she wanted to stop by after the police released her. Being the head nurse and only manager not on vacation left Michelle tied to the center, more than normal.
It was ten o’clock at night before either Michelle or Ella sat down on the patio chairs. From under her chair Michelle ripped something covered in tape. Tossing it down on the table, it was a pack of cigarettes. Raising an eyebrow at her friend, Ella reached under her chair and felt around. Getting a strong, yet delicate grip, Ella pulled a shell from her seat.
“That kind of day, huh,” Ella asked?
“It was exhausting,” Michelle said, “nothing a little smoke, a little drink, and a lot of gardening tomorrow can’t fix though.”
Ella laughed. Michelle had been a smoker in a previous life. She had quit, but still kept a supply of emergency cigarettes hidden around the house.
“Thankfully it was only a break in,” Ella said peeling the tape off the shell.
“Mmm,” Michelle said lighting her cigarette, “that’s the thing.” A long trail of smoke punctuated her pause. “It wasn’t just a break in.”
Ella cocked her head sideways and reached for her drink.
“Ella,” Michelle said reaching forward, “they wouldn’t have taken your scrubs, or my scrubs, or any of the girls’ scrubs working yesterday, today, and scheduled for tomorrow if it was just a break in.”
Michelle flicked her ashes. Somewhere nearby an owl cried out. Michelle’s eyes drifted toward her garden. A far off look crossed her face. For the first time, in all the time Ella knew Michelle, her age flashed across her face. Secrets of the past mingled with the smoke she exhaled.
“Police procedure has changed a lot over the years.”
Ella watched as her friend spoke off into the distance.
“Where they only used to take statements, they now take your word and whatever physical evidence they can to make or break your story.”
A chill swept across Ella’s back. She wished she had brought a sweater or something.
“It wasn’t just a break in, Ella,” Michelle said taking a drag of her cigarette, “that much I can tell you.”
Ella had almost forgotten about her own lit cigarette. She had always been a terrible smoker, which is why she had been a social one at best. The neatly wrapped tobacco was now a string of ash. Flicking it, she watched as the ashes rained into the belly of the sea shell. She took a few drags, using the still burning cherry to fully relight the rest of her cigarette.
“Years ago, long before you were around. Long before the center was around. There was a chiropractor. He owned the house that you know as the center. There was a young woman, a smart, cunning young nurse. She had wanted the world, at least she thought she did. An older man – married, lonely, rich – had offered her it. But it was his version of the world. It ended ugly and abrupt. She moved on. Stayed with her high school sweetheart. Found out what love really was.”
Michelle’s eyes were locked on her garden. As she spoke her eyes moved up and down the stalks and the vines. The goosebumps travelled down Ella’s back throughout her arms.
“The chiropractor had been the last place that married man was seen. The whole office was in a flurry. They closed, but not for very long. Or at least I don’t think it was. I didn’t stick around after that happened. Instead, Kevin and I ran away together. I chose him. I wanted to get out of this town. After a while, when we were expecting, we came back.”
Both Michelle and Ella had finished their cigarettes. Michelle reached for the pack, slid out another one and tossed it over to Ella.
“This was my parent’s house. My mom had always wanted a real garden so I started it before we ran off.”
Ella felt her heart warm before a chill surrounded it. A nurse, an affair, a missing man. There couldn’t be clout to the ghost story of the wellness center. If anything it was a rumor that had evolved after she left. The timing, unfortunate, but mysterious. People talk all the time. Ella rationalized the crazy running through her head.
Michelle watched her for a moment, “if you’re trying to figure out how old I am knock it off. For someone who is so smart, it astounds me how bad at math you are.”
“Math and arithmetic are two different things. I’m only bad at one of them.” Ella forced a chuckle. She was being absolutely ridiculous. “Michelle, you’ve known me most of my life,” Ella said, “I don’t need to be good at math to know you’re as old as the dirt over there.” Ella pointed her cigarette toward the garden.
A smirk twitched across Michelle’s face. She finished her drink. Looked at Ella’s. Stubbing out her cigarette in the shell ashtray, Michelle walked over to the rolling table and grabbed the pitcher of Long Island Iced Teas she had made.
“Old as dirt, funny.”
Michelle sat back down at the table. Silence took over their conversation which was quickly filled by the chatter of nocturnal animals. Ella’s thumb repeatedly fliked her cigarette, even when there wasn’t any ash to free. Her left hand tangled and untangled itself from the holes in her jeans. She wanted to talk to Michelle, really talk to her, but she found herself nervous.
Finally, Michelle broke the silence.
“Sandra is missing,” she said.
“Sandra, wh-,” Ella gasped, “Sandra Dominicus?”
“That’s the one,” Michelle confirmed. “At least that’s what I was able to work out from being surrounded by cops all day.”
Ella had barely put her cigarette out, and Michelle had already reached for the pack again.
“That’s awful,” Ella said, absentmindedly taking the cigarette from Michelle.
“Awful?”
“She’s an awful person, but doesn’t it scare you that she’s just missing?”
“You listen to way too many true crime podcasts, Ella,” Michelle said with a hard laugh. “She probably just ran away with a rich son of a bitch.”
“Definitely more likely,” Ella said, “but if she’s missing that means someone reported it. You don’t think she’d run away and leave her kids behind, do you?”
Michelle mulled it over, “probably.” Picking up her drink, Michelle took a few sips. “Women like that, they really only care about themselves and the money.”
“She definitely loved the money,” Ella scoffed. She snubbed out her cigarette, and took massive sip from her glass. Her hand slid back down to her thigh, picking at the fray of her jeans.
“You okay, hunny?”
“Yeah,” Ella said, “something’s just not sitting right.” Ella sat straight up and waved her hand. “Today has been a crazy day. The break in, Sandra, I can only imagine what is was like for you. Why don’t we order in some really over the tops pizzas and spend the rest of the night getting drunk like teenagers?”
Michelle smiled, “that sounds amazing. Kevin’s away for work. It’ll be a girls’ night like no other. Beside I think Ray or someone left some weed hidden from the last holiday – gotta love having kids, right?”
Ella picked up her glass and raised it to Michelle. It was going to be a fun relaxing night. Something they both needed after today.
The pizza and the pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea were long gone; Ella had passed out. Wrapped up tight, snuggled in a weighted blanket on the couch – her favorite movie playing on the television in the background. Michelle had gone back outside. Just one more cigarette.
Looking over at her garden Michelle smiled. Most of her lover had fit in the furnace all those years ago. The ashes and the remains were used as fertilizer for her garden. She was thrilled to see its progress when she and Kevin returned to town. Now it was time for her to start a new garden and with it a new life for the center and those who worked there.