Death is stalking the building, Annabelle? Really?
I told you, I saw him, and it really frightened me, Daddy. Someone in this building is dying.
Do you know who? Thatch asked her.
Thatch, I am not clairvoyant. I saw Death and I ran, she answered him. I did not stop to talk. I wanted to get me and Daddy as far from him as possible.
Thank you, Annabelle, I said.
What does Death look like? Thatch asked. Tell me, Annabelle!
Well, he’s not a skeleton in a robe carrying a scythe, she told us. That’s too realistic. His form flickers and changes as he moves. He has wings, I think. He’s human one second, then an animal, then a bird – I can’t explain it; but when I saw him, I knew who he was and that he was walking up the stairs for someone.
Wings? I asked. Like an angel?
Angels don’t always have wings, Annabelle said. And angels aren’t always human. Humans just think they’re the most important form of life.
I looked at the clock. It was a little past nine. I thought about the other tenants in the building. There were only two tenants older than I living here, Alice on the first floor and Johnny on the third, both good people and not in the best health. Since I moved in, there had been several deaths: the suicide in Apt. 2C, an older lady whose name I no longer remembered on the fourth floor, the husband of the music copyist on the second floor, and the retired cop, Ray, on the fifth floor. His ghost was still around.
I knew that death wasn’t necessarily walking hand in hand with the aged, so I decided to let the matter drop and go on with my day. I worked on a score, talked on the phone with a few friends, played on the internet, and watched the soaps and Judge Judy with Annabelle and Thatch. Around 4:30, my front buzzer rang, and I answered it.
Yes? I asked.
Police. Can you let us in?
I buzzed them in, then went to the apartment door to wait for them.
It’s the police, Annabelle, I said. They’ve come for you.
I didn’t do anything, she said before she turned back to Judge Judy. You know, Thatch, Judge Judy hates the defendant. Look at the way she gives him the evil eye.
Which one is that? he asked her.
Two policemen exited the elevator and came to my door.
Can I help you? I asked.
We need the keys to Apt. 4E. The super says you have a set.
No, I don’t, I told them.
The super told us you had a set.
Val’s wrong. I don’t have anyone’s keys. What’s going on?
A suspected suicide.
Oh, no! I said. I’m so sorry.
You don’t have any keys to 4E?
No, I’m sorry. I can’t think why he told you I did.
The policemen conferred for a second, then turned back to the elevator. Wait! I called after them. I forgot. My neighbor Judy in 3D might. She keeps a set of mine, and she may have others.
Thank you, sir, the one officer said. The two of them turned and walked down the hall. I heard them knock at Judy’s door, closed the door, and went back to Judge Judy.
So, Annabelle, what did I miss? I asked.
You missed something good! She really hated the defendant. He was a jerk.
Totally, Thatch said.
My door rang. It was my neighbor Judy.
The police just asked me if I had the keys to 4E.
Did you? I asked. I told them I thought you might.
I did. What do you think’s going on?
I don’t know, I answered. One of them said it was a suspected suicide. Do you want to go up and see what’s happening?
I walked over to the elevator and pressed the “Up” button. Judy and I rode up to the fourth floor. The door to apartment 4E was open. I walked up to it and peeked inside. I could see one of the two officers on a phone giving the address to someone.
This isn’t good, I said to Judy. Let’s clear out and let them deal with it.
I wonder if it’s Karen or Jim? They haven’t been getting along, you know.
No, I didn’t! I haven’t seen either one of them in ages.
Karen’s moved out. She’s staying in New Jersey with her family.
I never liked him, I said. He always acts like a total ass.
I don’t think anyone does, Judy said. He told Val a bunch of lies about the lesbian couple on four, and it caused a lot of trouble.
Really? I never knew that. He’s just a mess and he really screwed up my life a couple of years ago when I was trying to give away those filing cabinets.
I turned away. I have to feed the cats. Let me know if you hear anything. Maybe it will turn out to be nothing.
I went back into the apartment. Annabelle and Thatch were in the window. I walked over to them. An ambulance and another police car had pulled up in front of the building. We watched them unload a gurney.
Well, Annabelle, I told her, I think Death has come for a fourth floor neighbor.
What happened? Thatch asked.
I don’t know. Val’s working down the street in another building. We’ll have to ask him tomorrow. He’s got enough to deal with tonight, and I don’t want to be in the way.
Who died? Annabelle asked.
Maybe someone in 4E. I don’t know if it was Karen or her boyfriend She’s lived in this building nearly as long as me, so I’ve known her for a long time. I hope she’s okay.
What about her boyfriend? Thatch asked me.
He’s a troublemaker and no one trusts him. Come on, let’s have some dinner. Do you want chicken or salmon tonight?
Shortly after that, a body was removed from apartment 4E. The cats and I watched the crew load the body bag into the ambulance.
It’s a man, Annabelle said. Don’t ask me how I know.
How do you know? Thatch asked.
I said, don’t ask me how I know, Thatch!
But I want to know.
I just know.
Thatch, that’s enough, I said. You’ll understand when you’re older. Annabelle has good intuition.
There was a knock at the door.
Val! Your timing is perfect for stopping a cat fight. Come in.
Val stepped into the apartment and sat down. Annabelle immediately leaped onto his lap. Thatch rolled his eyes at me.
Hello, Annabelle! he said. Give me a little love. It’s been a tough afternoon.
Tell us what’s going on, I said.
That idiot Jim. He got drunk, called Karen, and told her if she didn’t come back, he’d kill himself. She panicked when she called back several times and he wouldn’t answer the phone. Then she called the police.
I didn’t know she’d moved out.
About a month ago. She’s a good lady.
So, did the police find his body? I asked.
Yep. In the bathtub. He cut his wrists. There’s blood everywhere. The bathroom’s a mess.
Do you know when it happened?
He called her this morning, around 8:30, just before she left for work. She told me they’d been fighting on the phone most of the night and he was really drunk.
He lifted Annabelle off his lap, stood up, and stretched. At his feet Annabelle stretched up on her back feet as if reaching for him.
Let him go, Annabelle, I said. He’s got other things to deal with.
As soon as the police are finished up, Val said, I’ve got to clean that bathroom. I don’t want Karen to see it when she gets here. He walked to the door.
She’s coming in tonight?
Tomorrow morning, I think. She’s not in shape to travel tonight.
You’re a good man, Mr. Val.
You’re a good friend, Mr. Moore.
As soon as I closed the door, Annabelle burst into a melodramatic rendition of “He touched me.” Thatch and I applauded, and we all had some ice cream.
©2018, Larry Moore
©2018, Larry Moore
Annabelle & Thatch 