Unfinished Business - Barbara Seranella by Barbara Seranella Read Free Book Online

small cartons of milk
and one of orange juice. He placed all of these in the basket,
started to loop the wire handles over his arm, seemed to think twice
about that, and then grasped them in his hand as if he were carrying
a briefcase.
    "This way" he said, as he headed down a
concrete path. She followed.
    The morning's newspaper was on the mat. D.W. picked
it up and added it to his care basket. To the right of the door was a
potted geranium; the foliage was wilted and the soil dry. Behind the
dehydrated plant was a spigot and hose.
    D.W. knocked on the door. Munch turned the faucet,
found it fully functional, and gave the plant a good drink.
    "Yes?" a voice called suspiciously from
behind the door. "Who is it? What do you want?"
    " Meals-On-Wheels," D.W. said. "Robin,
it's me. I brought Munch. You know, the lady mechanic from the gas
station."
    Moments passed. D.W. didn't seem unduly alarmed or
impatient. Munch tried not to tap her foot. Then came the sound of a
dead bolt lock being snapped open. D.W. put his hand on the knob,
waited another ten seconds, and opened the door. "We're in,"
he said.
    He ushered Munch inside. The house was dark and
smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. She heard D.W. locking the door
behind them and turned sharply, the skin prickling on the back of her
neck.
    "What are you doing?" she asked.
    "Kind of a routine we got going," he said.
"Robin doesn't like leaving the door unlocked."
    The foyer where they stood looked over a sunken
living room. There was a piano made of dark wood. A large yellow swag
lamp with fringe hung over the piano. It was on but didn't provide
much light.
    "Robin?" D.W. called out. "I'm going
to put the food in the kitchen." He stepped down the two marble
stairs leading away from the entry hall. Munch kicked off her greasy
shoes before following D.W. across the thick carpet.
    Robin emerged from the back hallway. She was dressed
in a bulky white bathrobe. When she saw Munch, she blinked and gave a
small nod of acknowledgment.
    "Hi," Munch said, feeling as if she were
intruding. "We've missed you at the station."
    D.W. set down his basket on the kitchen counter. The
woman startled at the noise then cleared her throat. "Sorry,"
she said. "I didn't get much sleep last night." She pushed
back her hair with a skeletal hand.
    Munch decided that it would have taken more than one
sleepless night to account for the dark circles under Robin's eyes.
D.W. opened Robin's refrigerator. It was full of boxes similar to the
one he now put there. The door of the fridge was lined with small
cartons of milk and juice. D.W. sneaked a look at Munch, making sure
she registered the implications of all the uneaten food. Robin lit a
cigarette.
    Her jumpiness was contagious, the silence only
serving to amplify the tension in the air. "So, how's it been
going?" Munch blurted out, instantly regretting the question.
    The gaunt woman laughed and waved her hand in the air
as if to encompass the house. A thin trail of smoke followed the
movement. "I haven't been out much lately. "
    Munch shook off the goose bumps dancing up her spine
with a quick hunching and jerk of her shoulders.
    "Have you seen Robin's work?" D.W. said. He
flicked on the light. Robin recoiled slightly. Munch saw neatly
bundled bags of trash lined up next to the sink and the blinking
light of the answering machine on the counter. The message counter
showed ten messages. There was a calendar on the wall that was still
turned to last month, September.
    "She was on the cover of Omni," he said,
pointing to a framed photograph on the living room wall.
    "Do you mind if I look?" Munch asked her,
gesturing to the living room, knowing instinctively that in Robin
Davies's present fragile state it would be disastrous to make any
sudden moves around her.
    "Go ahead."
    Munch studied Robin's trophy wall. The Omni cover was
framed. It showed Robin gazing into a crystal orb. Blue bolts of
electricity radiated from the sphere. Robin was dressed in an
ethereal