Shadow of the Past by Thacher Cleveland Read Free Book Online

Steve said, rapping out a beat
on the table with his knuckles. “You’re like the little drummer
girl, but, y’know, without the drumming.”
    “Exactly,” Mark smiled, but then
stopped. “You don’t drum, do you?”
    “Not a musical bone in my body,” she
laughed.
    “Annnnnnyway,” Steve said.
“We were gonna watch The
Thing , but now I vote kung fu kick-ass
action, what say you?”
    “Totally,” Mark grinned, and then
looking back over to Christine, the smile again giving way to
concern. “Unless you hate kung fu. But this looks really
good.”
    “No,” she smiled, patting him on the
arm. “I’m really not down with the scary movies. I saw ‘The Ring’
with my brother nearly had a panic attack. Kung fu is
fine.”
    The movie was just as good as Mark had
hoped it would be, but most importantly in the dark he was able to
steal glances at Christine. He loved watching her watch the movie,
her eyes lighting up when she laughed or growing wide during some
outrageous fight.
    During a slow point, Mark excused
himself and stepped behind the curtain marked “Employees Only”.
Behind it was a small hallway with stairs along the far right wall
that led up to Clara’s apartment and a narrow hallway to the left
that led to the bathroom.
    When he finished in the bathroom he was
about to turn and head back into the store when he heard a creak
from the upstairs door. He paused, cocking his head to see if he
heard it again. After a few seconds he did, and it sounded like a
footstep. Mark walked up to the foot of the steps and squinted up
at the darkness above.
    He could barely see the top, but it
looked like the door was closed, which was unusual. There shouldn’t
be anyone up there, but there were fire stairs leading down from
the small patio at the back of Clara’s apartment and into the lot
below where Mark had parked the V. They weren’t in a bad
neighborhood per se, but it was as close to urban as Cedar Ridge
got.
    Mark took a couple of steps backwards,
trying to keep the door in sight. When he reached the curtain he
turned to ask someone if they heard something as well, but he
realized that another massive kung fu fight. Christine laughed
out-loud, and the light from the TV sparkled in her
eyes.
    This is stupid, go sit with
her.
    Mark was about to go back in when he
heard a definite creak above him. He looked from Christine to back
up the door, and then turned and crept up the steps.
    The stairway was dark and Mark tread
softly as he could. He hadn’t turned on the light downstairs, and
if the door upstairs wasn’t closed, Clara hadn’t left a single
light on upstairs.
    What are you going to do?
Sneak up on a burglar, wrestle him to the ground and be a hero for
your new “girlfriend?”
    Mark stopped at the second to last
step, one hand on the wall to his left, the other reaching out to
feel for the door. He looked back down the steps behind him. The
muted light through the curtain of the TV was still flickering, but
everything else was as black as pitch.
    He turned back and reached out for the
door. His fingertips brushed against wood, and he realized that the
door had been closed. He listened for anything out of the ordinary,
which was easier further away from the kicks and chops, but this
time there was nothing. He felt around until he found the doorknob,
and gently pushed the door open.
    “Hello?” he called, and then
winced at his own stupidity. Oh, that’s a
great way to sneak up on a burglar. Why don’t you take up
yodeling?
    The door opened into the living room.
To the left was a wide archway that led to the kitchen and through
there, the patio. The apartment was dark, the only light coming
from the narrow windows that faced the buildings next door.
Everything looked normal, although it was odd that Clara hadn’t
left a single light on.
    He took a few cautious steps around the
living room, straining his eyes to peer into the inky depths of the
shadows around him. He stopped, trying to hear