Chapter 28: Ablaze
A guttural cry of pain escaped my lips at the sight of the charred remains of my house. There was just a dark skeleton and charred remains of what used to be my house. Twisted plastic and metal lay entangled in the final dance of death as I saw all my personal possessions turned to ash and dust.
Claudia stood behind me, holding my hand in comfort. She had brought me to her place the previous night after I had fainted.
'Luckily for you, Dave sprang from nowhere and caught you before you fell.'
I hadn't seen Dave at all since the fire claimed my house.
'I'm here,' he said, standing in what used to be the living room. I rushed to him, trying to avoid stepping on the embers and the bits and pieces that used to make up my house. He opened his arms and I burrowed in the safety and warmth they provided, tears gliding down my cheeks. I had lost everything. All the pictures, everything I had built for 25 years, all gone in the space of a few hours.
'Where had you been?' I finally asked, my voice still choked. Claudia gave me her hanndkerchief for me to wipe my tears.
'Doing some investigations.'
I paused in wiping my tears and looked at him expectantly. I wanted answers and I knew that he was the one who would have them.'
'It was an arson. I've got the images.'
'Did you give them to the police?' Claudia asked.
'Not yet. I wanted Ash to have a look first.'
Claudia's phone started ringing then. 'Mr Pierce,' she said when the call was over. 'I've got to go.'
'Thanks Claudia for taking care of Ash yesterday,' Dave said in a solemn tone. She waved off his thanks and merely said, 'She's not just a friend, she's family.' Tears threatened to surface again, so I took a deep breath and hugged Claudia before she left.
'What did you find out?' I asked once Claudia had left.
'Not here,' he said and led me to his car parked at the curb. With a last lingering look at what used to be my house, I got in. We didn't drive far, just till the next lane. He took out a phone, not the one he was using in Bhuvar, and went to the gallery.
'Where did you get the video?'
'Your neighbour from the other side of the road had just installed a camera. Apparently each morning, his garbage cans were overturned and plants crushed. Not many people know about this camera.'
'Except you?'
'I was here when they came for the installation.'
He then played a video footage where a man was seen entering my house through one of the back windows after breaking the pane and he left after one hour if the time mentioned at the top of the screen was to be believed. From far it was hard to recognise the man. However, as the man passed in front of Christian's house, he nodded at Christian who was standing on the porch. He then went inside his house, but the front curtains moved slightly and his shadow was seen, suggesting that he was keeping an eye over what was happening. A mere 5 minutes later, hungry flames were seen licking the front door. I paused the video as it was hard to come across these images that reminded me of my loss. My focus then moved on to Christian's presence in the video.
'He knows that man. He's probably part of the ploy. Christian came to empathise with me this morning despite being the one responsible for my plight. I could feel my blood pressure rising, and my face started feeling hot. I imagined that I must be looking quite red in the face as well. An irrepressible anger arose within me and I couldn't make it abate. My fingers were shaking with tension and I clenched them so that Dave wouldn't see me shake.
'Can we go and talk with him now?'I asked Dave, when all I wanted to do was reach out and cut Christian so badly that he would bleed to death. I was feeling murderous in a way that I had never been and I had to curl my fingers into tight fists.
'I'll talk to him though.'
I merely nodded even though I had already decided that I would be doing the talking. I just wanted to get him moving or I was going to jump out the car and job to the house. What would I ask Christian? Was I going to inform him that I knew all about his intentions? What if Nadia and the kids were around? A multitude of questions and scenarios swam in my mind. I dug my nails in the palm of my hands, the pain helping to keep me sane.
When we reached the house, the front door was wide open and I took it as an invitation to barge right in. I was done with being patient and polite. There were some suitcases, already packed in the living room. Some of the framed pictures had been taken off the wall and were covered in protective bubble wrap. It would seem that the family was making plans to move. A smiling Christian came out of a room as he heard our footsteps. His smile faltered slightly when he saw it was us, but then the smile was on again, but I could see its fakeness now. How could I have been so blind to his real nature?
'Hey Ash, Dave. You guys okay?'
'You're going somewhere?' Dave asked casting an assessing glance all around the room.
'You just missed Nadia and the kids. Yes, Nadia's mum called yesterday. She's sick and asked us to come and stay over a few days,' he lied remorselessly. Why would he need to pack the pictures if he was going only for a few days.
'Why don't you house-sit for a couple of days Ash? You'll get a place to live and we'll also feel better knowing that our house was in safe hands?' Christian suddenly announced, looking smug with his idea. At our silence, he started fidget nervously andreached out his hands to loosen his collar, which suddenly seemed too tight for him.
Suddenly I heard a shrill scream and when I looked in front of me, I saw Christian being flung to the floor like a rag doll by a pair of powerful arms. There was a gilt mirror on the opposite wall and to my shock when I looked at it, I saw the reflection of a vampire staring back at me with wild red eyes and fangs. It was wearing Claudia's shirt. I recognised it with the sequins she had sown on her sleeve. Oh my god, had Clauia not left already? What was she doing here? She looked so aggressive that I felt my body start to shake wih apprehension. How did she learn about the participation of Christian? She had already left, and yet she was here to avenge me. But what if she ended up doing something harmful? I tried to call out to Dave to warn him that there was another vampire, but my voice wouldn't come out.
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