Chapter 5

Blake looked at his note lying next to the pistol and spotted his wedding ring. He slid it back onto his finger where it belonged. No longer needing the note, he crumbled it in his fist and tossed it into the wastepaper basket. If he wasn’t going to die, either was Tiffany. Blake returned to the living room to go through the photographs one more time. It ended up being five more times.

Blake needed to get out of the house. The pistol was loaded and he now knew to take the safety off. If he pulled the trigger again, he would blow his brains out. But Tiffany didn’t want that so he needed to get away from the gun. Blake remembered the Halloween party at his boss’s house. Being alone was not an option. The pistol was still loaded.

Blake showered and wondered what to wear. It was a business party, but he didn’t think a suit was necessary. Not for Halloween. So Blake put on a nice light blue button-down shirt and navy slacks. He drove to his boss’s house.

A lot of cars filled the cul-de-sac Blake’s boss’s house was on and both sides of the street. More people than he expected. He had thought it would be a small gathering of important clients. Blake rang the doorbell and waited. He gasped when the door opened and he was greeted by a pirate.

“John,” Blake said to his boss, “I didn’t know it was a costume party.”

“Never mind. So glad you made it. Come in.”

“But I’m not—”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Blake’s boss grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the house, shutting the door behind him. There wasn’t much Blake could do so he mingled with friends, coworkers, and business associates. After a while he got tired of explaining why he wasn’t in costume and found a small sofa in what he knew to be a reading room. It was where Blake’s boss unwound.

The small sofa faced a large wood-burning fireplace. To the sofa’s left was a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcase filled with books. To the right was the door he had entered from. He was tempted to close the door and shut everyone out, but he wouldn’t be able to explain why he was hiding in a room alone if someone discovered him there.

Thoughts of Tiffany filled Blake’s mind. Some brought a smile, others tears. What if Dr. Satani was right? What if she was already dead? Was it fair to her? To him?

Movement to the right caught Blake’s attention. A witch glided into the room. Her black, shimmering dress dragged on the floor around her feet. With her tiny steps, it looked like she was floating. The dress’s long sleeves flared out from the elbows to her wrists. Her long black hair hung straight down from under a tall pointy black hat. She wore a mask across her eyes that covered her cheekbones. A long pointy nose was attached to it. The mask looped around her ears like a pair of eyeglasses.

Not wanting company, Blake was halfway up and planning to leave when he saw almost translucent blue eyes through the mask’s slits. Captivating eyes. A color he had seen only once before. He plopped back down on the sofa.

“Nice costume,” the witch said.

“Huh?”

“Your costume. I assume you’re a goblin who dressed up like a human. Or maybe you’re an alien.”

“No, I’m not wearing a costume.”

“Don’t you have an imagination? Why aren’t you adventurous?”

Not adventurous? Tiffany had called him that when critiquing his pumpkin on that fateful day a year ago. He felt a tightness in his gut.

“May I join you?” the witch asked.

She didn’t wait for an answer as she sat down next to Blake on the small cozy sofa. Blake was spellbound, staring at her light blue eyes peeking through the mask.