Adelmo climbed into bed and quickly and drifted off to sleep.
In the basement, the final negative waited to be developed.
It was the face of Adelmo, beginning the transformation into something more sinister.
Adelmo is running in the woods.
The full moon flickers through the trees as he crashes through the brush, panting and gasping for air.
His heart feels as if it’s about to explode, but he pushes himself harder.
Something is chasing him.
Branches scratch and slap at his face, but he keeps running, never looking back. Looking back means death.
He feels himself reaching his physical limits. His legs are on fire; his arms raw and bleeding.
Exhausted, he trips on a tree root and careens off the path and into the thick underbrush, desperately trying to keep his balance.
He feels hot breath and hears a feral growl.
The smell of death fills his nostrils.
He crashes through the brush and into a small clearing where a frightened man is huddled at the base of a tree.
He looks up into Adelmo’s eyes and screams.
It’s the man from the bookshop.
Terrified, he curls into a fetal position just as the hair on the back of Adelmo’s neck stands up and hot, rancid breath blows across his neck.
Adelmo turns and looks into the yellow eyes of a wolf and-
“Adelmo!”
Adelmo woke with a start. His eyes, unfocused and confused, slowly adjusted to the afternoon light filtering through the bedroom curtains. What the hell time was it, anyway?
“Adelmo! Open up!” Nik was outside pounding on the door.
Adelmo sat up in bed, slowly coming back to life.
Day 3
Nik continued pounding on the door outside until Adelmo slowly made his way to the door.
Nik was standing there with two uniformed officers and a sheepish look on his face.
**********
Adelmo and Nik rode in silence in the back of the squad car, the uniforms in front. Adelmo was steaming.
“I would never have told you all that stuff if I knew you were gonna use it against me.” Adelmo glared at Nik, finally breaking the silence.
“Del, I told you, it's a few questions. You agreed to this, you know. Nobody’s forcing you.„ Person of interest‟ doesn't mean you’re a suspect.”
“Yeah, right. It just means you drag me downtown and interrogate me and go through all my stuff.” As soon as he said it, Adelmo remembered the photographs in the basement and put his head in his hands.
“Well, if you’re innocent, what are you worried about?”
“I changed my mind.”
The two cops in front rolled their eyes as Nik exploded at Adelmo.
“Dagnabbit, Del, talk to me! What the hell is going on with you?”
Adelmo just folded his arms and stared straight ahead.
“I said I changed my mind. Take me home.” Nik caught the eye of the driver in the rearview mirror, and gave him a look that said turn around, but take the long way back. The driver nodded and turned on his blinker to change lanes.
Adelmo knew he was gambling. If the officers searched his basement before they got back, he had no doubt that Nik would probably arrest him on the spot.
Hanging in his basement darkroom, along with the pictures of those strange, haunted faces, were graphic photographs of the disemboweled bodies of Frank and Delia Devereaux, the recently murdered owners of the grocery store near Adelmo’s house.
When Adelmo first saw the horrifying pictures slowly appear in the developing fluid, his first impression was scarier than the photographs themselves.
What frightened Adelmo when he saw grisly scenes depicted in the pictures was the fact that they looked familiar.
“Adelmo, look at me.”
Adelmo turned to Nik, whose expression was not what he expected. Nik’s face was filled with concern, his anger gone.
“You know I don’t think you had anything to do with what happened to the Devereauxs. But I’ve known you a long time. You know more than you’re telling me.”
Adelmo looked at him for a long time. He wanted to tell Nik that he was wrong, that something was happening to him, and he didn't know what it was, but he was pretty sure that it had something to do with what happened that horrible morning.
But Adelmo said nothing.
It was hard to treat his good friend like that, but they both knew that Nik was an honorable cop, and if the evidence pointed to Adelmo, Nik would be sorry, but he would arrest Adelmo just the same.
When they pulled into Adelmo’s driveway, the investigators were just walking out his front door. Adelmo clenched his jaw as the lead walked up to the car and leaned in the back window.
“It’s clean.”
Adelmo raised his head in surprise, something that didn't go unnoticed by Nik.
“That was fast. You sure?”
“Warrant was pretty specific. Nothing there.”
“All right. Thanks,” Nik said, and the investigator walked toward the street. Nik turned to Adelmo.
“Want a ride to your car?”
There was an apologetic tone in his voice, which did not go unnoticed by Adelmo.
“I‟m kinda tired. I’ll grab a cab later,” he said, trying to sound fatigued when all Adelmo really wanted to do was leap out of the car and rush into the house to see how the cops had possibly overlooked the gory evidence in the basement.
“I’ll have one of my guy’s drive it back for you. Don’t even worry about it. It’s on the city’s dime.”
Adelmo knew Nik was making an effort, so he managed a smile and took his outstretched hand.
“Thanks, Nik.”
Nik nodded and Adelmo got out of the car, walking slowly toward his front door when every instinct screamed at him to run inside. He made it to the porch and turned to wave. As soon as Adelmo was inside, Nik’s look turned pensive, and he opened his phone and dialed.
“It’s Nik. We cut him loose…keep an eye on him, see where he leads.”
Nik closed the phone and tapped the driver’s shoulder.
“What the hell you waiting for? Let’s go.”
Inside the house, Adelmo watched through the curtains as the police cruiser
backed out of the
driveway and drove away. He turned around and surveyed the room. Suddenly, in
the quiet of the house, he wasn't so eager to go down in the basement.
******
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