Mercedes' Dirge Read online

  He swung her around. "You look incredible. New diet?" He held her shoulders at arms length and took a long look at her.

  "If ice cream and wine to combat depression is the diet...then yes." She said blushing.

  Alexa came up and gave her a hearty squeeze. "I know all about it. Doesn't work out as well for me, though."

  Ella snorted. "You look amazing." As usual, Alexa was impossibly fit and trim, as well as impeccably styled in crisp, white capris, a navy blouse and kitten heels. Her dark hair hung down in glossy waves, and her pretty face was bright with new promise. Ella couldn’t help but realize this was the happiest she’d looked in quite awhile, and again felt good about her decision to come.

  "If I even look at ice cream I gain weight. I just have to look at the gym instead." Alexa complained, pursing her lips in annoyance.

  Ella knew Alexa was not exaggerating, she had always had to watch her weight.

  She’d struggled with it early on, eventually adopting a love of exercise in highschool. Her drive had always been something Ella admired, with the discipline to go to the gym daily, and if she wasn’t there she’d been at the track jogging. Ella was naturally thin, but envied the strength and definition in Alexa’s figure. She’d clearly maintained her rigorous training, as her arms were as toned and lithe as ever.

  "Mercedes got the good metabolism in the family." Alexa said suddenly and like black magic the whole mood dampened a bit and an uncomfortable silence settled over their little circle. Alexa shrugged and attempted to drive joviality back into the fray. "Anyway, maybe we can fatten each other up, now that you're here."

  Ella smiled. "Peach schnapps."

  Troy made a choking sound. "There is an unspoken law to not drink that stuff past the age of nineteen."

  Ella slung her bag over her shoulders. "For old time's sake, I bet you will be the first to take a shot of it." She looked at Alexa and waggled her eyebrows. "Bet it's good on ice cream."

  As they walked outside Ella took a deep, happy breath. The sun shone comfortingly bringing down a blanket of warmth; a long way off from the frigid, snowy conditions of Oregon.

  Troy was good enough to take control of the luggage and looked like a pack horse with bags hanging off most of his appendages. Of course he had said no to using a luggage cart, dismissing it as a ridiculous idea but was panting by the time they made it to the couple's modest, older SUV.

  Ella mused about her endeavor on the way to the Tavares mansion. She was anxious to ask Troy how the homecoming had gone. They had moved in a few days before, and Troy had only dropped her brief email saying it had been fine. If the very small mention of Mercedes had killed their conversation earlier, Ella was afraid for the next couple of days. Ella and Alexa had been extremely close, but even as best friends, Alexa had rarely confided in her of her feelings on the loss of her sister. Troy had said that it wasn't just her. Alexa really only talked to her therapist about Mercedes. As a whole, she had become a much quieter person, just effusing trauma. She was so different in the span of a few months after the murder, that Ella was surprised when Troy took up with a year later.

  Between her thoughts and the excited chatter the ride went quickly and soon the familiar twists and turns to get to the mansion were looming in front of them. Ella felt a build up in her anticipation. She hadn't laid eyes on the property since after the funeral. She tried not to visibly shiver at the thought of the service. The entire church had been teeming with overwrought people; friends, family and strangers who had been horrified and shocked at the murder. No one knew how to respond, and an uncomfortable cocktail of grief and thunderstruck revulsion at the senselessness of it all descended on the school and community. Ella could never forget how Mercedes’ beautiful senior picture had flashed all over the news morning, noon and night and had made the national news cycle. As the sordid details of Mercedes life came to the surface, heads began shaking and the tragedy became fodder for gossips and hypocrites.

  "Here we are." Troy called out from the driver's seat.

  Ella looked up as the grand, wrought iron gates came into view. They were open, but not necessarily inviting. The lot was overgrown and the house was in a state of disrepair; however, not as bad as she would have imagined after all that time. But it was clearly true that the place had been suddenly abandoned. The stately facade was marred by chipped paint, but the bones of the place still showed promise of being grand once again. It was an uncommonly large, old Victorian house resplendent with once white trim, a built in gazebo, covered porch and pointed eaves. So many nights she’d spent here in her formative years, only to suddenly never be able to come back again. She was bowled over by the sight of it.

  "Wow." Was all she could manage.

  "We definitely have our work cut out for us." Alexa announced.

  Troy parked neatly in the rounded driveway, right in front of the looming house. Ella jumped out and looked up and shook her head. Up close the house wore it's emptiness on its façade and Ella couldn't help but remember the impossibly manicured garden and blooming flowers that had flooded it twelve years before. There were wildflowers and weeds aplenty in its place.

  Troy popped out from behind the car. "Ok, Ella. Now I'll let you help me get all this up to your room."

  Ella nodded and grabbed her share and entered the house and felt like she were in a time warp. The house had been elegantly decorated and current enough a decade ago, but the same furniture now, uncared for and decrepit smacked of a horror film. There were even dusty sheets on some of the love seats. From the opulent entrance she could see straight into the family room and kitchen and could see that it appeared slightly more homey and lived in.

  “Pretty depressing how little has been done, considering how much work we’ve already put in.” Troy sighed.

  “Well, now you have a third soldier.” She said with a smile.

  “More like a third stooge.” He laughed.

  “As long as I’m Moe.” She told him as she drove her effort into heaving her luggage towards the staircase.

  "Which room am I in?" She casually asked him as they hit the top of the stairs.

  Troy stopped and turned around. "Mercedes' room."

  Ella was taken aback. "Isn't that a little morbid? Isn't it still kind of a shrine? Why not Alexa's old room?" The questions just rolled out in rapid succession despite herself.

  Troy regarded her patiently. "We're here to make new memories and so the shrine is coming down. I understand it's a little creepy, but Alexa's old room had significant water damage. We have to gut it and we're not sure we will be using Mercedes' room for the hotel yet. So, our priority has to be on what we can rent out first." The look on her face must have not changed because he went on, more soothingly this time. "We replaced the bed. That definitely would have been morbid. But, I'm afraid we haven't touched it other than that. I was hoping it could be your pet project. Make it your own, in case you stay with us long term."

  Ella almost let out an audible sigh of relief at the news of the new bed. She had never considered herself a particularly frightened or superstitious person, but the bed Mercedes was murdered on was a bridge too far.

  "I can live with it.” She patted him on the arm and gestured for him to move forward. “I was just shocked. I'm sorry."

  "No problem. I totally understand." He pushed the door open and dropped her luggage. "Here it is, sister. Your new home and it's a lot nicer than Alexa's old room anyhow."

  Ella nodded. No doubt about that. The room was more like a suite and it could have doubled for an apartment it was so spacious. There was a rounded atrium that was a beautiful feature from the outside and made for a spectacular bonus on the inside. It still housed the small table where Mercedes used to have her coffee every morning. It seemed especially somber, with a large layer of dust on it and dead plants surrounding it.

  Ella took note of the spacious balcony, and remembered how the parents had specially built a large walk-in closet and put an extravagant bathroom into the room f
or their oldest daughter. Jacuzzi tub, if Ella remembered correctly, which certainly sweetened the deal of living in this creepy room. She was also forced to note the thick layer of dust that covered everything but the brand new bed. She ran her finger over it and sneezed at its disruption.

  Troy laughed. "Sorry, It really hasn't been touched in twelve years."

  "I can tell my allergies will be fun for the first few weeks here." She managed before sneezing again, so violently that it disrupted more dust into an allergen mushroom cloud in their faces.

  "Good lord, we need a snow blower in here." He said while choking and waving his hand in front of his face.

  "San Diego has no snow but I still need a snow blower? Just my luck."

  "Allergy meds are on me.” He told her, with a chuckle.

  “How about a new pair of lungs?” She said as she started to push at his shoulders to move him along. “Now get outta here. I'm sure I have a ridiculous amount of work to do in the bathroom before I can do anything in there to get clean or relieve myself."

  "Prepare yourself, it isn’t pretty.” he said moving towards the door. “I put cleaning supplies over by the closet. Don’t fall into the dust whirlpool aka bathtub."

  Ella closed the door and noticed the old fashioned door knob with a keyhole. She was glad to see that it could lock from the inside as well and noted the elegantly carved key to the right of the door on a little stand.

  She turned and took a closer look around at her new quarters. The decor was surprisingly girly considering the level of sophistication that Mercedes had emanated. It was not splashed with magenta and posters, but there was certainly good amounts of pink accents and ruffles. Mercedes had been fond of music boxes, and there were at least fifteen around the room, further accenting the room in an old fashioned, yet youthful style.

  There were plenty of pictures dotting the various surfaces, just what you would expect out of a teenage girl's bedroom. Pictures of the family, Mercedes and her best friend Mira and, of course, Nick. Ella was surprised that they had left those pictures in the room. She stopped and picked up the frame for further examination. She had to wipe it off on her shirt to see it clearly. She hadn't seen his face in years, but it was just as handsome and charming as she remembered. She felt her stomach jump. God, how could you have done it? If you did, she thought sadly, and if you didn't...to lose your love and to be blamed for the murder. How awful.

  Ella carefully replaced the frame and sauntered over to the bathroom. She was pleased to see that it was indeed a jacuzzi tub, but less pleased to realize that Troy had not been joking. It was positively caked with thick dust.

  She retrieved the cleaning supplies Troy had left her and sprayed down the tub, sink and toilet. She decided to just let it soak while she cleaned the rest of the bathroom. She was mindlessly scrubbing the floor when a sound from the other room startled her. She stopped and cocked her head up to try and identify the noise. She could see from where she was that the door hadn't opened and no one had come in. Her ears finally picked up the distinct, childish notes of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

  Ella’s heart began to pound as she got up and poked her head around the bathroom door to scan her bedroom. She was relieved to see that no one was there. She saw where the sound was coming from however. The music box on the vanity was open and serenading her with those early works of Mozart.

  Chapter 6

  Ella sat at dinner and tried very hard to forget about the self opening music box. She swirled her wine in its glass and told herself that she had somehow jarred it in her inspection of the room, though that didn’t explain how it was wound on its own. She had hesitantly gone and closed the top, trying not to slam it shut in her frightened zeal. The music stopped unceremoniously and she took a deep breath as she examined the box. It seemed to be perfectly hinged. She had hesitantly returned to her scrubbing, although she had probably given herself minor whiplash looking constantly over her shoulder. She didn't know what she had expected to see, but was glad it hadn't shown up.

  "How do you like my gourmet meal?" Alexa asked, jarring Ella from her thoughts.

  "Mmm, frozen pizza has always been a favorite." She laughed.

  "Yes, I can open a box and preheat an oven like a professional." Alexa leaned back in her chair and looked gratified. “I'm very glad you're here."

  Ella smiled. "Me too. Thanks for inviting me. I think helping you guys will be beneficial. And I haven't thought about dickwad since I've been here."

  "Except for just then.” Alexa pointed out with a chuckle. “You think you'll be ok in your room?" Alexa questioned as she looked down at her pizza.

  Ella really had no idea how to approach it. She had the feeling that Mercedes' name wasn't mentioned much, and didn't want to cross any imaginary lines. "Yeah, I got the bathroom cleaned and vacuumed and spot treated the carpet. Operation super dusting commences tomorrow."

  Alexa nodded and took a large swig of her wine. "Good. Feel free to change the room how you please. My therapist thinks leaving all Mercedes' stuff in there is unhealthy."

  Ella shivered at Alexa’s mention of Mercedes' name. She could see that the word was hard on Alexa's lips. "Ok. Maybe I'll go shopping soon."

  "Just put the stuff you don't want in boxes. My parents may want some of it."

  Ella jumped on the opportunity to change the subject. "How are your parents?"

  Alexa shrugged. "They're ok. They are actually pretty excited about us taking care of the house. You know, mom just hasn't been the same. It's nice to see her happy about something for a change."

  "Even better." Ella said, relived. "That's really good to hear."

  Troy entered and plopped into his chair with a sigh.

  "And where have you been?" Alexa said, patting his arm fondly.

  Troy shoved a slice of pizza into his mouth. "Went grocery shopping for supplies."

  “Snowblower?”” Ella asked.

  “New lungs.” Troy said, finishing the pizza in record time and moving onto another slice.

  “I’m hoping you bought in bulk, because I already need them and I haven’t even started dusting the actual bedroom yet.” She almost sneezed again just thinking about it.

  “Ella Dolan, our resident dust fighter.” Troy said raising his glass to her.

  “Is that my superhero identity? My costume shall consist of yoga pants, messy bun and shirt with questionable stains that I refuse to throw out and use just for dust fighting purposes.” She said looking down at her body, already outfitted in such garb.

  “That’ll show that dust what for.” Alexa piped up, before rising from her chair. “Why are we drinking wine? We need some champagne!” She sashayed out of the room and returned shortly with a tray with champagne in the same elegant flutes that Ella recalled so fondly.

  "Are you guys getting me drunk my first night here?" Ella snickered as she took a sip, after they clinked glasses. “ Because I sure hope so.”

  All joking aside, she had to admit that it would be nice to be a little altered for her first night sleeping in that room. She found her body relaxing with every moment that passed and the uneasiness that had clouded her earlier changed to easy conversation. Like no time has passed, Troy and Ella hit their stride with inane jokes and insulting each other and Alexa seemed to sit back and enjoy herself, just watching them go.

  The repose settled over them like a warm blanket and with the merriment she could almost pretend they were in another time, where she wasn’t divorced and when this house wasn’t a large, looming memorial.

  After a couple hours of conversation and drinks, Ella felt her exhaustion creep up on her. She remembered that in the span of a day she’d left her old life behind and arrived into the dustbowl of her new life. She could no longer keep her eyes open and excused herself and stumbled up the stairs to her room. She closed her door and undressed quickly and dove into the bed.

  Her sleep was nothing like her near coma on the plane. It was fitful and filled with nightmarish half-drea
ms. She woke abruptly and looked around confused. The room was still dark and she struggled to see the bedside clock, through her sleep addled eyes. It was 3am and once she had grasped that, she realized her waking had not been a coincidence. A noise had woken her and the sound was still piping throughout the room. Ella sat up in bed and flooded with fear as she heard the tinkling tune of the same music box from earlier. She nearly dislocated her shoulder rustling across the bed to the lamp to switch it on. Light flooded the room and Ella looked through bleary eyes around the room. The music box continued on innocently with its unbidden melody on the dresser.

  Ella put on a long shirt and hurried over to the box and clicked it shut. There was no way she could sleep with it in the room. However, she was fearful that Alexa may see it outside of her room and be disturbed so she racked her brains for a better game plan and decided to trek downstairs to where she had seen some masking tape with the painting supplies and decided she could tape the box shut. Futile, but she knew it would give her some measure of comfort.

  She peeked outside and was relieved to see that the door to Troy and Alexa's room was shut. She took the liberty of turning on the hall light and found her way to the living room as quickly as she could, feeling as though the shadows in the dark house were chasing her the whole way.

  She located the tape and carefully taped around the sides and up and over the box. She told herself that it was a coincidence and that it was the same music box because there was something wrong with it. This was her mantra as she hiked back up the stairs. She scurried into her room and closed the door carefully behind her. As she replaced the music box she was startled to hear familiar tinkling behind her. She whirled around to see that a porcelain music box across the room had swung open and was serenading her with another, haunting, juvenile theme.

  "Fuck." She breathed. She ran across the room and slammed the top down. She looked around, but knew instinctively that she wouldn't see anything. "Mercedes?" The room was still and Ella shook her head. This is ridiculous. Mercedes is not haunting you. You knew her and she wouldn't want to scare you.