Immortal Storm (19 page)

“Don’t ever say that. You don’t know who he is. Addison, he’s dangerous.” Dori’s intensity frightened her friend. They stared at each other while a heavy silence permeated the room. She could feel the eyes of the other dancers burning into her back.

“Take your hands off of me.” Addison didn’t yell. She didn’t even raise her voice. The command came in a deep whisper that carried thfont sithe weight of an irrefutable order. Dori took a deep breath and relaxed her hands. They fell slowly to her sides. Addison turned and stormed out of the dressing room, chin high, tossing her hair as she went.

Murmurs filled the air. The other women tsked and shook their heads. The twister was back, pulling Dori in every direction. She seemed to stand in the eye of the storm while everything spun around her. She was frozen in place, afraid to move and be pulled into the ominous current threatening to overtake her. Forcing herself to slow her breathing, she finally gained enough composure to follow after Addison. As she crossed the threshold and walked down the corridor, she heard something that wasn’t meant for her ears. Her heightened senses picked up on the whispers that no human would have heard.

“I swear she’s snapped. No telling what she’s capable of. Did you see her face just now? If looks could kill! To her friend, nonetheless! Imagine what she could do to someone she didn’t like.”

“I think she’s jealous. No one is doting on her like that.”

Dori left the women, clucking like chickens, and began to search for Addison. She wanted to apologize. She started at the stage, but came up empty-handed. She checked other dressing rooms, the prop room, the offices, but her friend was nowhere to be found. The stage manager’s voice crackled over the PA system as he called 15 minutes to places. Dori still had to finish her makeup and put on her costume. She hurried back to the dressing room hoping to run into Addison there. It was deserted.

Dori finished getting ready with a few minutes to spare. There was still no sign of Addison. She swallowed her pride and began walking to the director’s office. Hopefully he knew where Addison was, but if he didn’t, he needed to call in the understudy immediately so the show could begin. As she approached the last door in the hall, she could hear voices inside.

There was a heated discussion going on in the office: some might have called it an argument. She had a moment of relief as she recognized Addison’s voice, but her relief turned quickly to despair. They were definitely arguing. She backed into the nearest shadow and listened to what was being said.

“But with all due respect, Mr. Haines, she meant nothing by it. She was just trying to protect me.”

“That’s beside the point. She has no right to behave that way. She has been given more chances than I would have given anyone else. Even the most brilliant dancers must behave professionally. She will be asked to leave after tonight’s performance.”

“Won’t you please reconsider? She is such a gifted dancer.”

“There are many gifted dancers out there, Ms. Hadad. Don’t they deserve a shot too?”

The PA announced a call to places and Addison scurried out of the office. She hurried past Dori, still cloaked in shadow, without noticing her. Once Addison was a safe distance down the hall, Dori emerged and stared fiercely into the eyes of Robert Haines. They both stood with their feet apart; her hands were fists at her sides while his were again crossed in defiance.

“Mrs. Corso.”

“Mr. Haines.”

“Dori?” Addison wasn’t as far down the corridor as she thought.

“Addison, go take your place. I need to tell Mr. Haines something. I’ll be right there.” Dori turned her gaze from the director to her friend. She tried to give her the most reassuring smile she could muster. Addison’s brows furrowed with confusion, but she finally conceded.

“Okay. I’ll see you down there.”

Dori made sure Addison was far enough away before addressing the belligerent man standing in front of her.

“Don’t fuck with me, Robert Haines. I can handle punishment when it’s merited, but it would be a mistake to underestimate me.” Their gaze held and a muscle below his left eye started twitching. Dori’s anger burned in her chest and in the intensity of her stare. They stood there, dead-locked, waiting to see who would falter first.

The phone in the office behind the director began to ring, shrieking through the empty hall. It rang once, twice, three times and finally forced him to break the stare in order to answer it. He picked it up without answering and returned it to its cradle immediately. He turned back toward a defiant Dori, but she was gone. She had taken advantage of the distraction to flex her muscles and all but disappear with speed.

She didn’t slow down until she stood beside Addison in the wings. She squeezed her friend’s hand and whispered an apology as the music began and the curtain opened. Tonight there would be no mistakes and no reason for anyone to find fault with the performance. Although so many things seemed out of control to her, she was happy that despite everything, Addison’s friendship seemed to be a constant.

After the curtain closed, she took her time
getting ready to leave. She was hoping to prolong her peaceful feeling before returning to reality. She was just hanging up her costume when a large group of dancers planning to go out for a drink was leaving. Dori skirted the long group, tutu in hand, heading for the costumer when a terrified scream sliced through the theater. It wasn’t just one scream, but an endless series of screams. Heads snapped around, trying to find the source of the shrieking. It was growing louder and was soon accompanied by the rapid foot falls of someone approaching at a full run.

One of the corps members barreled into the dancers without slowing down. She collapsed in the center of the group, which simultaneously wrapped around her to shield her from whatever was causing her fear. The slight brunette was gasping for breath and trembling from whatever caused her panic. After several seconds she finally stuttered, “He’s...he’s dead.” Dori froze costume in hand.

“Who? Who’s dead?”

“It’s so awful. There’s blood everywhere.” Her brown eyes spilled tears in a continuous stream.

“Lauren! Who’s dead?”

“Mr. Haines!”

Dori, who had still not moved, felt her eyes open wide with shock. The man had been full of fire when she left him right before the show began. Her mi beg upnd immediately jumped to the most logical explanation. Percy. He had stalked her without revealing himself before. This crime reeked of him. He had even mentioned tragedy in his card.

The cluster of dancers was in motion. A few of them were taking Lauren back into the dressing room to calm her down. Others were on their cell phones to various emergency services. Then there were three that stood staring at Dori, their faces full of anger.

“What did you do?” One of the male dancers in the corps took a step toward Dori with his accusation.

“What?”

“We saw how angry you were...what did you do?”

“Surely you don’t think I” -

“Don’t play innocent. We heard you ranting in the dressing room. Addison said you were fighting with him before the show!” One of the girls from Dori’s dressing room was joining the accusers now.

“I didn’t do this!” Dori shook her head. She was trying to shake away the mess that this day had become. “I have to go.”

“No, you don’t. I’m sure the police will want to speak with you.”

Dori just kept shaking her head and she began backing away. The sense of peace she felt was gone and her chest felt tight. It was difficult to breathe with iron bands constricting her lungs. She had to get some air. She had to clear her head.

She turned to go and hung her costume on the nearest clothing rack. She knew she would be pursued so as soon as she rounded the corner she took off at top speed. She darted around corners and through practice rooms navigating the labyrinth backstage. Finally, she burst out onto the street on the side of the building. She paused for a moment turning her face up to the sky. She suddenly felt like the man in her dream, ready to question the gods above.

Dori hurried to the parking lot, the need to flee still driving her. She stopped short as she approached her car and saw Addison leaning against the door.

“Did you do it?” Addison’s eyes bored deep into her. She was searching for the truth, something to make her trust Dori.

“Addison, no! I swear, no! You have to believe me.” Dori wanted to shout that it was her admirer who was guilty. Instead she just dropped her gaze. She had to get a hold of her anger. Addison was one of the very few people on her side at the moment. She looked back to her friend with worried eyes. Addison was still scrutinizing her.

“I believe you. You can’t take your car; they will be looking for it. You can’t go home; they will be there before you. I am sure the police will want to talk to me, so I have to stay.”

“Addison” - but she didn’t finish, Addison held her hand up to stop her protest.

“Daddy has a lot of sway in the community and a lot of connections in the right places. I will smooth things over here for now. Take my car and go to this address.” Addison handed Dori a business card which contained nothing but an address in Richmond. “Call Michael andll s over h tell him to meet you there, and for goodness sake, don’t let him take his car. The police will be watching him too.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything; just do what I’m telling you. I will meet you there when I can.”

“Thank you.” It didn’t seem to cover the gratitude that she felt, but there wasn’t time for more. Addison grabbed her in a tight hug.

“Enough talking, now go before they think to look out here.” Addison turned and walked casually back to the theater.

Dori pulled out of the parking lot and headed south. It took all of her focus to maintain a normal speed and not squeal the tires in her haste to escape. She drove along for about ten minutes before she pulled over to call Michael. In a rushed breath she told him about Mr. Haines and about Addison’s instructions. She gave him the address as she punched it into the GPS on the dashboard. The address was on the south western edge of the city. Michael agreed to take a cab and meet her there as soon as he could without drawing attention.

Dori spent the next hour driving around in circles and taking random turns. She wasn’t sure if she was being followed and she didn’t want to lead anyone directly to her hideout. Finally, after discovering more of Richmond than she ever wanted to see, she arrived in a middle class neighborhood that was far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city. She started reading the house numbers as she drove slowly down the lane. She was in a development with cookie-cutter houses surrounding her everywhere she looked. The only difference between one house and the next was the subtle shades of beige, tan and taupe, which alternated based on owner preference.

Thankfully, the GPS helped her navigate the immense development. All of the streets were similarly named after trees and one wound into the next without much notification. Finally three quarters of the way down Cherry Blossom Lane, she spotted the house. The two-story colonial was muted beige with cream colored trim. She eased the car around the back and was surprised to find a large three car garage. She parked the car inside and closed the door behind her.

The exterior lights were on, as if the homeowner had been waiting for her to arrive. There were a few interior lights on as well, making her wonder just who she may come across when she entered the strange house. She crossed the immaculate garage, her sneakers squeaking on the cement. So much for entering unnoticed. Dori turned the handle and stepped toward the threshold while she was glancing around the empty space, and promptly ran face-first into the door. It was locked.

“Smooth, Dori. So much for being a graceful ballerina. Not good. You are talking to yourself.” She chuckled quietly, trying to release some of the nerves welling up inside of her, but the tight sound only made her feel more uncertain of her situation. She backed up a step and wiggled the handle again. It was indeed locked. Whoever was inside must have heard her collide with the door and would either be coming to let her in, or calling the cops to tell them of the intruder in their garage. She was hoping for the former.

Dori decided to try the keys on Addison’s key ring; maybe she would get lucky. Four keys later, Dori was no closer to entering the house and was without another option. Sighinoptd sg, she knocked on the door. When there was no response she tried again. Silently cursing her luck she gave up and began to look in all the usual hiding places for the magic key. There was nothing to be found under the mat or above the door frame. She glanced around the garage and only then truly noticed how sparsely it was furnished. There were no shoes, no bicycles, and no lawnmower, nothing that even hinted that this house was inhabited. That also meant that there were precious few hiding places. Dori walked around the edge of the cavernous space hoping that there would be a loose brick, or crack in the wall where a key might be hidden. She had made it to the far corner when the overhead light clicked off. Apparently, it was on a timer and now she was standing alone in the dark.

She waited a moment to let her senses adjust and continued her search. She ended up back where she started, still no key in her hand. She settled down on the floor and leaned against the wall. Tipping her head back, she let her senses range out, giving over to her more animal instincts. What she noticed surprised her, but she was more surprised that she hadn’t noticed it sooner.