Page 10 of Little Dark Deeds

I stood, shouting, “Tiffany, are you here?”

I was met with silence.

Given my familiarity with the house, I began nosing around.Tiffany’s suitcase was next to the front door, all packed up and ready to go.Her purse rested on top.I rummaged through it, finding her cell phone.There were several missed calls.Not just from me, but from a handful of other people, including a call from my mother.

Setting the phone back inside her purse, I shifted my focus to the master bedroom.

The bed was made, but there was no sign of her.It was then I noticed the bathroom door was closed.I walked toward it, reaching for the knob.

“You shouldn’t go in there.”

I gasped, whipping around to find Tiffany sitting on the bed in a bathrobe, even though she hadn’t been there moments before.

“Is this what it’s like?”she asked.

“I don’t understand the question.”

“Your dreams.Is this what they’re like, the ones you’ve always told me about?”

“We don’t know that this dream is one ofthosedreams.I went to bed with you on my mind.Makes sense I’d dream about you.”

It was a half-truth, and I expected she knew it.

“Of course, it is, Georgiana,” she said.“You may not want to accept what’s right in front of you, but you have to, sooner than later.”

“If it’s one of those dreams it would mean that you’re ...”

“Dead.It’s all right.You can say it.”

“I won’t.It can’t be true.”

She slapped a hand against her knee.“Not true, eh?Tell that to the jerk who murdered me.”

I sat down beside her, a wave of nausea twisting my gut.“Can we talk about it, about what happened to you?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

I pulled a pillow over my lap and leaned against the headboard.“I knew something was wrong when you didn’t show up for the wedding.”

“How was it, by the way?”

“We shouldn’t be talking about my wedding.We should be talking about you.”

“Why?The topic of your wedding is so much more interesting.And hey, sorry I didn’t make it, but you know ...I got delayed.”

Permanently, it seemed.

I pointed at the bathroom door.“Is that where it happened?”

She nodded.“Not the classiest way to go out, is it?I was stabbed.Didn’t feel too good, either.Death by stabby-stab.Yeah, I don’t recommend it.”

Even in death she’d managed to maintain her quick-witted sense of humor.

“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to murder you,” I said.“Ever since we were kids, you were always the one everyone liked.”

“Well, people have their reasons.”

“Speaking of which, what happened?”