Mrs. Vallenger chuckled. “The doctor used to like them, years and years ago, until one day he decided scrubs were more comfortable. Now we have a closet full of them, just gathering dust. He hasn’t touched them since.
“Your shirt, I’m sorry to say, is probably ruined beyond recovery. If you would like, I can throw it in our incinerator?”
Eva nodded and began pulling her shirt over her head. A startled peep escaped from the nurse. Eva found the nurse facing the opposite direction once her shirt was out of the way. “We’re both women,” Eva said in her best chastising voice.
“We’re in the lobby, with big glass windows, in case you forgot. And the doctor could walk in.”
“The entrance doesn’t face the street. Besides, I checked, no one was coming. And you’re between the doctor and me, he’ll knock you over before seeing me.” Eva paused and lightly cleared her throat. The nurse timidly glanced over her shoulder. Eva held out her bloodied shirt. “If you’ll hand me the lab coat, I can have it on before someone actually does walk in.”
Nurse Vallenger hesitated for a moment longer before exchanging the shirt for the coat. She stood, almost guarding the employee door, while Eva casually buttoned up the lab coat. The lab coat’s design left a small v-neck, but not enough to show off anything. Not that she had anything to show off. Someday, she sighed.
Just as Eva finished adjusting the coat, the door chime went off. Nurse Vallenger nearly jumped ten feet in the air.
Eva couldn’t help but giggle.
Nurse Vallenger shot a glare at Eva before turning all smiles to the visitor. “Ah, Mr. Williams. If you’ll head to exam room A, just down the hall,” she gestured away from the employee door, “I’ll get you and Bart signed in and will be with you in a moment.”
The man smiled, and headed down the hall with a smile. “Anything for you, Kattie.”
The moment exam room A’s door shut, Nurse Vallenger turned to Eva. Before she could comment, Eva said, “good thing you didn’t hesitate longer before handing me the coat.”
That got a glare from the nurse. “You remember how to sign people in for checkups?” At Eva’s nod, the nurse continued, “Dean Williams with his dog Bart. I’ll dispose of your shirt while you take care of that.”
“Of course,” Eva said with a wide smile, “anything for you, Kattie.”
Nurse Vallenger huffed out a “creep” as she walked back into the employees section.
—
“There we go,” Eva mumbled to herself. She took a step back and looked over the newest addition to the library’s bulletin board. Another missing pet poster hung just to the side of the one Eva just posted; that one is looking for a dog rather than looking for the owners.
Several of the businesses between the Thompson clinic and the library now sported Eva’s poster in their windows. The owner would hopefully be found in no time.
Eva walked out of the building with a spring in her step, waving goodbye to the librarian on duty. She skipped past the under construction parking garage to a small fast food joint. Eva wolfed down the burger and a small order of fries.
Her next destination was the abandoned retirement home. A small brick building that had been superseded by a more modern, and better funded, dwelling for the elderly. She had turned the entire second floor into a home away from home. Or rather, a home away from her father.
She left the main downtown street to follow the more direct path through a few of the back roads. A slight chill went up her spine the moment she walked down the second road.
“Eva Spencer?”
Eva spun towards the gruff voice. A man and a woman stood at the mouth to the backstreet. They stood casually, not looking like they were about to chase after or attack. They didn’t look like police as both wore three-piece suits, but that just meant they could be something worse.
“I’m not supposed to speak with strangers,” Eva said, taking a few cautious steps backwards. “Especially not ones who approach me in an alley.”
The woman held up her hands in a placating gesture. “We just want to talk.”
“Not something we can talk about in public,” the man grunted.
Eva took another step backwards, glancing over her shoulder. The end of the backstreet was unblocked and a side alley led off between a few shops. She looked back to the people. Neither had moved while her head was turned. “You’re not cops?”
“No, we’re–”
Something worse then. Before the woman could finish, Eva turned and sprinted. She rounded the corner of the side alley and almost ran into a chain link fence. Undeterred, Eva spotted a point about twenty feet past the fence and stepped. She stepped another twenty feet and turned down a second alley between two buildings.
Eva spotted and stepped to the top of a fire escape. She climbed the last few steps and made her way onto the rooftop. Careful to avoid much noise, Eva walked across the roof towards where she had left the two people.
Rather than the heavy footfalls of a dedicated pursuer, only calm voices could be heard from the alley below. Eva peeked over the edge of the building to find the two standing next to the fence she had stepped through.
“Her father said she never comes home, and she runs off when we try to talk? Surely there are more worthy candidates.”
Eva frowned at that. If they spoke with her father, things couldn’t be good.
The woman shrugged. “She had a point. Two strangers show up in a dark alley? Maybe we should go with my plan this time.”
“She’s had her chance,” the man all but growled. “She doesn’t want to be found, leave her be and lets find someone excited to come. I’m done.”
“This fence?” The woman grasped the chain link fence with one hand and rattled it. “She didn’t climb over it. She was at the end of the alley before we even turned the corner.” She shook her head. “We couldn’t have started more than ten feet behind her. That’s talent the academy desperately needs. If you’re going to pass her up, I’ll happily take over from here.”
The man huffed and walked away, muttering under his breath too quiet to hear from the rooftop. Whatever it was, the woman found it amusing. She laughed a rather jovial laugh. Both people vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving an empty alley with a cold blast of air.
Eva sighed and stepped thirty feet in the direction of home. She took a few seconds to rest before stepping again, no need to strain herself. Normally the bus would more than suffice for getting around. But in times like this, getting home quicker meant getting away quicker.
Chapter 002
Eva crept closer just as the sun dipped below the horizon. The only lights on were the front living room and the basement. That didn’t bode well. The basement light was never used unless daddy was entertaining a guest.
None of the guests were ever good news.
Eva hopped over the waist-high old-fashioned iron fence and walked to the back door. A peek through the back door window showed an empty dining room. Eva took a quick glance around before stepping into the house. Sounds of laughter and the pungent scent of drugs assaulted her senses the moment she appeared within the house.
Stifling a cough, Eva made her way to the office and quietly shut the door. Eva slunk down in the corner after turning a fan on and opening the window. Her bed had been removed from this room almost a year ago, but she had no desire to sit in her father’s computer chair.
Laughter and discussion continued for nearly three hours. Eva sat the entire time in the darkness of the office with only the buzz of the fan to help drown out the sounds of the house. She tried to meditate, but uproarious laughter would interrupt the moment she felt at peace.
Memories surfaced instead. Constant fighting between her parents. Shouts and violence. Occasionally it would be directed at her. Eva shuddered as darker memories surfaced. Not her. That little girl was dead.