Created By

ofloveandblood

Rate this Story

Embed

       “If he doesn’t hurry up, the water is going to get cold,” Caroline Fletcher thought as she stood in the shower, naked as the day she was born. The water was still hot and steam had enveloped her, but she knew the water wouldn’t stay that way much longer. She turned the knobs back in an effort to ration the hot as much as possible, but after Ben’s ten minute absence even that wasn’t going to be very effective soon.

       She’d soaped herself from head to toe twice now; her hair had become a thick weight upon her head from retaining moisture. The sizzling idea of making hot love in a steamy shower had fizzled out and now Caroline was bored, aggravated, and her skin had become pruned.

        Kneeling over, she reached for the knobs to turn the shower off; lukewarm water spraying her back and running down her buttocks as she did so.  She pushed the stopper down to divert the water from the shower nozzle and twisted the chrome knobs to off. She seethed with anger as she slid the shower curtains to the side and grabbed a white towel from the hanger.

        Patting the beads of water from her face, she breathed in the fabric of the towel, which smelled of dryer sheets. The bathroom was encased in steam, making her feel as if she were getting ready to sweat. She strode the short distance to the light switch and flicked the fan on. The hum of the vent as it pulled the air from the room was all she could hear.

        Though the fan was on, the air in the bathroom remained and would remain hot and heavy feeling for a while. Caroline knew the best way to rid the bathroom of the suffocating fog was to open the bathroom door and let the cooler air from outside rush in. Though she yearned to do so, she thought better of it. What if one of Ben’s friends had decided to drop in and when Caroline opened the door he got a good show of his buddy’s girl. No thank you!

        Naked or not, if it was one of Ben’s pals just dropping by unannounced Caroline would give him a good piece of her mind to go with the nude spectacle. She smirked, wouldn’t that be a sight? Carl, Keith, or Roy getting yelled at by a very irate and very naked Caroline Fletcher. The way men are however, they probably wouldn’t even hear a word she said at that point. Her smirk became a grin and she gave a small laugh as she rolled her eyes.

        Caroline patted the towel across her chest, her nipples stiffening a little at brush of the fabric, and patted the moisture from her stomach. Propping her right leg up on the toilet, she dried the skin, frowning when she noticed a little bit of stubble beginning to present itself.

        Finished with drying her body, Caroline wrapped the towel across her body, her small breasts pushing the wet cloth slightly from her chest. Grabbing another towel she had just begun to dry her sodden hair when the knock came on the bathroom door. Startled by the sudden appearance of noise other than the exhaust fan, Caroline stood straight up. She looked at the wooden door a little perplexed, as if trying to see through to the other side.

        Ben wouldn’t knock, she thought. Unless he was playing a little game. Perhaps wanting to play the role of a plumber coming to fix Caroline’s pipes. Kinky! But Ben wasn’t that creative. The likeliest answer was that one of his friends had come over and needed to use the restroom.

        The knock came again, only more forceful this time.

        “Who is it?” Caroline asked; shouting over the noisy hum of the fan.

        A man’s voice sounded from the other side, but Caroline couldn’t make out what had been said. She reached over and flipped the switch for the fan down, accidentally hitting the bathroom light switch as well.

        “I’m sorry,” Caroline spoke as she quickly turned the light back on. “Could you repeat that?”

      The man spoke once more, a hint of irritation in his words. Most likely from being requested to repeat himself - jerk.

      “Are you Mrs. Caroline Fletcher?” The voice asked.

      “Y-Yes,” Caroline replied. Baffled by such an odd answer. Who would come in her and Ben’s house without knowing who she was? And though she considered the possibility that maybe this was Ben disguising his voice, it seemed unlikely. And if it were one of his pals, it would have to be one she hadn’t met. All the faces of Ben’s friends ran through her mind like a police photo album, and the voice didn’t belong to any one of them. This voice was deep and gruff sounding, the man on the other side was probably a tall and muscular guy, unlike any of Ben’s small to average sized friends.

       From beyond the door the man cleared his throat and spoke again. 

       “Um, Mrs. Fletcher, my name is Deputy Rodney Lynton, I’m with the Grace County Sheriff’s Department. I’m gonna have to ask you to step out here so I can have you answer a few questions about your husband, um, Mr. Ben Fletcher.”

        Caroline stood stunned, a cop, a deputy, was just outside of her bathroom door. It seemed unreal. Why would a cop be here? And even more, why would a police officer be here to ask about Ben?

        The thought that her husband was in some kind of trouble ebbed it’s way into her mind, but that seemed even more far fetched than the deputy’s presence in her home. Ben was a very law-abiding person, hardly ever risking going over the speed limit, let alone anything bad enough for a Sheriff’s Department to be after him.

        Maybe it was all a sham? Perhaps Ben wasn’t who he appeared or did something before he and Caroline had met?

        Lunacy!

        All such thoughts were lunacy. Caroline knew in her heart that Ben was no such type to have been, or still be, a criminal. She would know, her ex-boyfriend had taught her a hard lesson in false appearances and criminal behavior.

        Shrugging that piece of her past from her head, Caroline caught the tail end of a question the Deputy, what was his name…Lynton?, had asked.

        “Mrs. Fletcher, is everything okay in there?” The voice asked again, the annoyance really shining through this time.

        What a jerk, Caroline thought before answering.

        “Oh yes, everything is fine,” Caroline lied; she was deeply troubled with questions. “Um, is my husband in some kind of trouble?”

        The image of Ben in handcuffs and placed in the backseat of a police car made her stomach churn. She’d witnessed such a thing before, only this time, if it were Ben in such a circumstance she would not feel happiness and relief like before.

        “Well Miss, that’s what we’re trying to find out,” Deputy Lynton spoke; clearing his voice before proceeding. “Now I’m gonna ask you again to please step out here so I can ask you a couple of questions.”

        Caroline wondered why he couldn’t just ask them through the door, but she reasoned it was just simple police procedure. Can’t jump guy’s case for just doing his job, even if I think whatever it is they believe Ben did is absolutely impossible.

        “Deputy Lynton,” Caroline spoke, furiously running the towel through her hair.

        “Yes ma’am, and please, call me Rodney,” the firm voice requested, yet, with it’s deepness it sounded more like a command.

        “Okay, Rodney, may I see my husband?” Caroline asked as she dropped the soaked towel on the floor and unwrapped the one from around her body. She glanced over the bathroom for her clothes, when she suddenly remembered she had neglected to bring any.

        Expecting that what Ben and she started in the shower would end in the bedroom, clothes seemed highly unnecessary at the time. Now she felt vulnerable and kind of dumb for not having even the slightest outfit to put on. But she hadn’t expected a cop to show up in the middle of the evening, things such as this didn’t happen on a daily, or yearly, basis around the Fletcher household. What was that commercial she’d seen a few nights ago? A commercial for erectile medicine for men, there’s your love life and there’s your life.

        God, amen to that.

        So wrapped up in searching for clothes she almost missed Rodney’s reply to her question, which she almost forgot she’d asked.

        “Not right yet ma’am. Once you give me your cooperation though I’ll take you to him.”

        Damn. Caroline had expected that to be the answer but she still wasn’t happy about it.

        “Okay, Deputy Rodney, can I ask you a few more questions?” Caroline asked, remembering the dirty clothes hamper by the foot of the bathtub. She walked to it, and peered at the dirty laundry settled near the bottom.

        “Yes ma’am but I really need you to hurry up and step out here. I’ve got an investigation to get under way.”

        Well, so much for asking if she could get dressed before the questioning. The thought annoyed her, but she instantly felt sick afterwards. What if they had arrested Ben and her statement or information could get him out quicker?

        Disappointed by her selfishness, Caroline shut the lid on the hamper and walked to where her light-blue bathrobe hanged from a wall peg. It was better than nothing but she still didn’t like the idea of being completely naked beneath it in front of Deputy Lynton.

        “I’m sorry this is taking so long, but I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen,” Caroline apologized as she tied the robe’s sash around her waist.

        “It’s okay, few people ever do unless they know they’ve committed a crime,” Rodney gave a chuckle, that sounded out of place with the brawny voice.

        Though it wasn’t really funny, Caroline gave a little giggle.  “Well, I’m coming out, but I must warn you I only have on a bathrobe. Sorry.”

        “That’s alright, I’m the one that’s sorry to inconvenience you like this,” Deputy Lynton apologized. “But I guess I don’t need to worry ‘bout you comin’ out with a concealed weapon, huh ma’am?”

        The gruff voice laughed heartily. Caroline agreed and giggled though a little uneasy. Why’d I have to tell him I only had a bathrobe on? Now he’ll probably just think about me being naked under there while he asks his questions. Damn stupid of you Caroline.

        “Oh and Rodney,” Caroline remembered before opening the door.

        “Yes ma’am?”

        “Please stop calling ma’am. It makes me feel old of which I am definitely not.”

        “Of course, sorry ‘bout that.”

        “That’s alright,” Caroline said. She breathed deep and grasped the doorknob with a shaky hand. Here goes.

        Opening the door, her eyes gazed upon an average sized man. Slightly taken aback, she looked puzzled. Something about this picture wasn’t right. This man was too small for such a deep voice. His uniform, or lack thereof, was nothing more than blue jeans and a black shirt with white letters that pronounced I party naked.

        The man gazed at the floor, his face not visible to Caroline. His hair was brown and cut short. He leaned his body against the hallway wall and bathroom door frame. His left hand was visible but his right was behind his back and out of sight.

        Alarm bells were sounding in Caroline’s head but she couldn’t heed them. This was too weird. What is going on? Had this been nothing more than a joke Ben had played on her? Oh god, she’d kill the man if this was only a cruel prank.

        It was now that Caroline began to notice certain details she’d missed before. The front of the blue jeans had smears of red across the thighs and crotch, a substance that looked wet, as if ink had busted across them. The white lettering of I party naked was speckled here and there with crimson as well.

       Blood.

       The word came out of nowhere, but it rooted deep into Caroline’s conscience. Just before she could speak, a question came from unseen lips.

       “Evening ma’am.” The gruff voice had disappeared and in its place was a voice that chilled her to the bone. “I was hoping you would explain this to me?”

        Stricken by the terrifying reality of who stood before her, in her own home, in Ben’s home, Caroline could barely pry her eyes from the top of the man’s head. Her breathing was erratic; she could have died of shock right then and there. And in the moments that ensued, Caroline wished that would have been her fate.

        “I took this off of your husband,” the voice spoke, though she feared to think its owner’s name. “You better have a good explanation as to what it’s doing in the same house as you.”

        From behind his back the right arm presented itself. From the bicep down to the fingertips was sheathed in an arterial blood that looked almost like oil. Clutched within the palm of the hand was an oblong object, swathed in dark crimson and with strands of what looked like tubing jutting from the top of it.

        Just before the scream fled from her body, and the man erupted into a fit of sadistic laughter, Caroline somehow managed to slam the door on a ghost, no, demon from her past. Astonishingly, she even managed to push the knob in and lock the door just as it jiggled from the other side.

        What Caroline Fletcher did not manage to do was retain the vomit that had released from her stomach. As she wretched on the bathroom floor, all she could think about was the man just beyond the flimsy bathroom door, and the human heart he clutched in his hand.