Ashes (Page 58)

“Cassie no!” he barked, his voice hoarse and strangled.

But it was too late. She already had the door open, and what was standing on the other side was something far worse than she ever could have imagined. Something far worse than Isla and Julian.

CHAPTER 20

Why didn’t she smell pancakes cooking? And the sausage, well that should be frying by now. And of course she should be able to smell the mushrooms, green peppers, and onions that would be sautéing for Melissa’s omelet. But why didn’t she smell them? It was pancake Sunday, and next Sunday was Belgium waffles, but for some reason the pancakes were not cooking right now.

Had her grandmother slept in? No, wait, she never slept in, she was always up early, humming and dancing around the kitchen as she cooked. Cassie’s gaze darted to the driveway. Where was the little red Mustang? Her grandmother’s baby, her one luxury. It was always parked right there, gleaming and shiny because it was waxed and washed at least twice a week. Her grandmother loved to ride around town with the top down, the wind blowing her strawberry hair back as she blasted the radio.

Where was the car?

Cassie’s ears were humming, there was a thrumming vibe in her eardrums that blocked out all sound, all reason. She turned back to the people before her, the buzz instantly increased in her head. It sounded like a swarm of bees had encircled her, and she thought that would be preferable to the people on her doorstep. The people before her were speaking, or at least the woman was, but she couldn’t hear them. Cassie knew the woman was speaking though because she could see the woman’s lips moving, even if there was no sound.

Cassie’s gaze darted frantically to the empty driveway again, then back into the house. She inhaled deeply once more, but still no smell reached her. She did not want to look at the people before again, but she knew that she had to. She did not want to hear what they had to say, because with heart wrenching certainty she already knew what those words would be, and they would destroy her.

Chris moved into the doorway of the living room, his broad shoulders were slumped, his sandy blond hair disheveled from sleeping on the couch. His eyes were filled with sadness so profound that it pierced Cassie’s heart, it ripped her violently from the shell of denial and shock she had wrapped herself in. Chris’s eyes met hers; tears already shimmered in their sapphire depths. Of course he would know what they were saying. He had known before she’d even opened the door, and he did not have bee’s buzzing through his head.

He had warned her not to open it, why hadn’t she listened?

Slowly turning back around, her gaze focused on the well built woman before her. Though she looked hard and professional, her brown eyes were warm, and regret radiated from them. The man beside her was young, the freckles on the bridge of his nose stood out starkly against his pallor. He appeared to be new on the job, and it was obvious that he did not want to be here.

“Are you Cassandra Fairmont?” the woman inquired, probably for the third or fourth time.

A pounding on the stairs momentarily drew all of their attention. Dani froze three feet from the bottom, her mouth parted as her gold streaked hazel eyes widened in horror. Her eyes darted wildly to Cassie, then around the house. Tears spilled down her cheeks instantly, swiftly rolling down to drop unheeded from her chin.

Cassie shuddered, cold swept through her veins, turning her entire body to ice. She was certain she would never be warm again, never feel anything again. Swallowing heavily, she turned back to the two police officers on her doorstep. Devon appeared behind them, his shoulders stiff, and his emerald eyes shining brightly in the morning light.

The presence of the officers must have stopped him from leaving. He would not leave her if he thought she might be in danger, or hurt. Though his black hair was still a tumbled mess, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. For a brief moment, feeling returned to her numbed limbs, but it was swiftly doused by the tidal wave of pain surging through her. She couldn’t look at him anymore, she couldn’t bear to.

“Yes, I am,” she said stiffly, her voice choked and harsh.

The woman nodded slightly, her hands clenched tighter upon the hat she held before her. “May we come in?”

Cassie didn’t move. She looked up at the clear blue sky, a sky that was completely out of place right now. It should be gray, stormy, with no hope radiating from its rolling dark clouds. The birds should not be singing. Nothing should be happy today, everything should stop. The world simply just needed to stop spinning so she could curl up in a ball somewhere and shut out everything around her. How could she be in this much pain and nothing around her was stopping to acknowledge it?

“How?” she managed to croak out through her numbed, raw throat.

“Excuse me?” the woman inquired in surprise.

Cassie’s focus sharpened on her, her eyes narrowed as a wash of molten lava began to fill her, swiftly burying the pain that entrenched her body. “How did she die?” she grated, the hand clenching on the door handle nearly ripped it free.

The officers exchanged a brief, startled glance. They were probably used to people breaking down into tears, not glaring at them as if they were Satan himself. And they sure as hell weren’t used to people asking them how their loved ones had died. “Miss, if we could please come inside,” the woman said gently.

“I want to know how my grandmother died!” Cassie snapped.

“Cassie,” Chris said softly, walking over to rest his hand lightly on her shoulder. She shrugged him swiftly off, glaring fiercely at him. His eyes widened, but he made no move to touch her again as she turned back to the police officers.

The woman nodded briskly. “I’m afraid that your grandmother was in an accident. We found her car early this morning. It appears she swerved to avoid something.”

Cassie remained stiff, her mind tripped over the words. A car accident? No, impossible. No accident had taken her grandmother from her; it had been something far worse. She knew that. “I want to see her.”

“Excuse me?” the younger officer asked in surprise.

“I want to see my grandmother’s body,” she enunciated clearly and slowly.

“Miss, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he rushed out clearly horrified that Cassie would make such a request.

His partner shot him a warning look, but she looked extremely discomfited by Cassie’s request also. “Miss, your grandmother has already been identified by dental records; there is no need for you to…”