Zombie Waltz (Book 2) Read online

  Mrs. Langston continues, “Fatima I have some bad news for you. I hate to have to tell you this but…uh…your mother she...her body…has been found.”

  Fatima reels. Found. She was unaware that Marie Du Beauxmonte-Claire was missing. Her father had told her that Marie had left him; disappeared with gypsies never to return. Not gone missing. For the first moment since she awoke this morning she cannot feel her heart. When it seems to start beating again, it is not the pressure of fear it beats with but the cool rhythm of fresh anger.

  Mrs. Langston had apparently still been talking, but Fatima could not hear for a moment. “…his activity there and leaving France besides. Well, the Frenchauthorities have demandedthathe return for questioning. You will be transferred to the French Embassy where you will wait for…” It is all too much for Fatima. She can hardly understand what the woman is saying and she can no longer hear her anyway when another police officer –though this one wears a different uniform- emerges from the house with Henri beside him. His hands are cuffed behind his back and the officer has him around the arm in a firm grip. His head is hung low so he does not see his daughter.

  “Bastard!” Fatima screams when she sees her father, “What did you do? What did you do to her?” She runs at him, dropping her books all over the sidewalk and the officers in between them have to step forward and grab her. They pull her aside as Henri Claire is led down the walk towardanother waiting police car. Fatima continuesshoutingbut it begins mixing with sobs.

  The woman appears in front of her again. Now wearing a worried look on her face, she grabs the child by the shoulders, though her grip is soft, and shakes her gently. “Fatima calm down. It’s going to be okay, Honey. The police just want to talk to your papa in France. You will get to go home to France.Won’t that be nice…and when this is cleared up…”

  “It cannot be clearedup! He is un criminal! He did it; he killed her! Ze criminal! Si vous plait, do not make me go with this monster! Si vous plait, mademoiselle! Si vous plait!”

  “We don ’t know that for sure sweetie. Now honey, you have to stay calm. I understand you are upset but it is unclear yet what happened to your mama. Maybe he didn’t do anything, sugar.”

  “Oui…um…Yes I do. He is bad. He is bad…” Fatima breaks down and starts crying and Mrs. Langston folds her into her arms.

  “Oh, sweetie. Oh, honey child…” The woman begins saying. Fatima slumps. Her mother is dead; her father is going back to France to answer for it and she hopes he pays. It is all too much for Fatima and she faints.

  Mrs. Langston is a strong womanand had carried manya child out of houses just like this one. However, she had been defending the rights of children for nearly forty years and she can’t hold the girl up for long. She lets her gingerly slide down. She looks the poor girl over. Such a pretty blonde girl. She likes her little plaid skirt. Then she sees something ugly and black on the inside of the girl’s pale thigh. It is shaped like an olive. The girl is passed out so Mrs. Langston crouches over her and moves her leg. “Jim.” She says, turning to the salt and pepper headed officer beside her.

  “Yes, Angie?” There are five on each leg; fingerprints in flesh.

  “We need an ambulance, honey. Tell them we need a rape kit. I am going to wait here with her. You take my car back for me please and tell Carl I am opening a new investigation.”

  “Alright, I will. You don’t think that Mr. Claire…”

  “Yes, Jim honey, that is exactly what I think. I think Misr. Claire may not be getting extradited back to France quite as quickly as we thought he would.”

  Justin Craig

  Two girls lean up against a row of lockers before first period with blank stares. Neither socializing nor getting ready for class; they are just waiting. There are only seven minutes left and at least Suzy has ten minutes’ worth of things she would like to be doing before going to class. Both just lean staring obliviously down the hall towards the doors to the student parking lot. Maybe on most days, Suzy wouldn’t care this much but this gossip is special. Linda, the other tall lean brunette, stifles a big yawn with her hand.

  Linda MacNemer hada late night last night. She had been out with Danny the linebacker and drank him under the table before ten. Then she had to spend the next two hourstrying to get him coherent enough to drive her home. She didn’t make it by midnight and unfortunately her mother had waited up. Her curfew was eleven, but that didn’t matter since she had snuck out to go with Danny in the first place. All these things Joyce MacNemer reminded Linda of until about 1:30 in the morning. Aftermost late nights, Linda would not even make it to school for first period, but today is special. Linda’s eyes popped open at 5:15 am, despite the Jack Daniels, the linebacker, and her mother. She was going to be here waiting this morning no matter what.

  The night before, Suzy Davis had been home wishing she could go out, but there was no boy coming to sneak her away. Suzy was on the cheersquad too, but that was onlybecause she was best friendswith Linda and Fattie. Linda was cheer captain and one of the most beautiful girls in the school. She had flowing brown hair, long legs and nice breasts and only dated popular football players.

  Linda was also very insecure and competitive in Suzy’s opinion; maybe that was why she kept her around. Suzy was not ugly by a long stretch but she was one of the shortest girls on the team and not the thinnest. On top of that, her body was taking its sweet time developing. Of course, most of the girls on the squad werecloser to parwith Suzythan Linda, but Suzy always suspected that Linda kept her close by to counter balance Fattie.

  Fattie and plain do not even exist in the same universe. Fattie is movie star gorgeous. Tall and lean with shimmering blonde locks that have just enough natural curl to drive every girl in the school with normal hair crazy. Her eyes sparkle in bright blue and her face is amazingly perfect according to everyone. She is in no way fat. Her nickname, in Suzy’s opinion, is just another one of Linda’s counter balances. Linda’s nickname, self-imposed, had always been Linda “the Legs,” even though Fattie is taller and has nicer legs.

  Fattie’s real name is Fatima Marie Blah Blah Something-LongAnd-Impossible-In-French. So, Linda came up with the brilliant idea of calling her Fattie. Oddly she seemed to enjoyit. Soon everyone called her Fattie. Linda always had a wayof winning friends and influencing people like that and the two of them together would be enough to drive Suzy off a bridge if it weren’t for the fact that they had been best friends forever. Even being the most popular girl in school, it is a damn good thing for Linda that Fattie is so shyand reserved. Fattie is beautiful and French, and on top of that Fatima is actually from France. She had originally moved here with her father when the girls were all in middle school.

  Suzy remembers when Fatima had disappeared from school. There were wild rumors that circulated about her. Police cars had surroundedher house and she and her father were taken away. There were even rumors that the two were involved in some satanic worship or something like that. It had been hard for Fattie after and Linda had stuck by her and that bond had never broken. Suzy was of course along for the ride, but she could see something between Fattie and Linda…something special.

  Three weeks after Henri Claire was arrested, Fatima did return to school. She no longer rode the bus with Suzy. She had been taken in by the Baker family as a foster child. Fatima never told anyone what had actually happened. The only thing Linda and Suzy knew was that her parents were gone. It was unclear for a long time if Fatima would stay at school with them. She had left one foster home and had to stay in a state run orphanage for the whole next summer. She returned to school though in the fall with a different family, the Staples.

  Suzy watches the doors with Linda in anticipation and when the big doors bang open again, they both sigh as Fattie comes strolling through next to Theresa Suarez. The two girls are talking and laughing as they approach the lockers which Linda and Suzy lean against.

  “What’s up, Fattie!” Linda shouts.

  “Hey, Legs.” Fatima s
ays and then reaches for the combination lock right by her head.

  “I heard you went out with Justin last night.” Suzy adds, unable to wait anymore on the juicy gossip. Fattie goes rigid right as she pops her locker open. It stands there shudderingas the rest of the hall fallsstrangely silent.

  Fattie turns to Suzy and gives her a small smile and then says very quietly, “Yes, the two of us did go out on a date.” It is a well-established rule that Fattie does not date. It is not that her current Fosters will not let her; she just doesn’t. So, this news -even though Danny, Justin’s brother, already told them- is shocking enough for another hush to follow in its wake.

  “So?” After almost a firm minute of silence, Linda gets a crafty little smirk on her face and puts the questions to her, “Come on Fattie…you have to give us details. How did it go?”

  There is more concerning silence in what should be a busy hall onlyminutes before the tardybell. Fatimashuffles the books in her locker. She grabs her bigTrigonometrybook and turns toward Linda but her gaze neverfollowsherbody. She remains vacantlystaringinto her openlocker, “There really isn’t anything to tell.” She lies. There would be plenty to tell if she had the heart to tell it.

  Justin arrived at the Fosters’ house in a new-looking, fire engine red pickup truck, right at 6:30. He had been pink cheeked and shy when he asked her out before homeroom on Tuesday. If it hadn’t been for her fear that the rejection would have been seen as some sort of personal failing by him then Fatima would have done just that.

  Fattie never really wanted to go out with Justin Craig. Linda had begged her to go; she even had forewarning of exactly when and where he would ask. Fattie protested loudly to Legs that her love life –or more accurately, lack thereof- is exactly her business and no one else’s. The strong-willed captain of all cheerleaders and self-proclaimed matchmaker ceded the point but never told Justin that Fattie said no.

  He shows up at the Fosters’ door and looks nice. He has one of those real dry salmon colored polo shirts and what looked like two hundred dollar blue jeans. Fattie decided to wear a little black dress. He said they were going to a nice restaurant so she felt that it would be appropriate. He apparently approves of the dress.

  Mr. “Foster” answers the door and does the whole faux-Don’t Mess with My Daughter- thing, and then Fattie slips past him. Justin’s eyes grow wide and he seems to instantlystart sweating, but he is smiling very sweetly. He takes Fattie by the hand and she smiles timidly. His grip is soft; there is meekness to it. Fattie is stunning in the dress. If she had any idea how beautifully she already filled the thing out, she might never have put it on. She had always liked dressing nicely. Her mother always wore pretty dresses.

  Justin was the perfect gentleman all evening. He took Fattie to Dolphin, a very expensive place, with its own deck overlooking the bay. They sat almost exclusively on that deck and watched the sunset. Fattie talked about her ambitions and about the girls she disliked on the cheer squad but always changed the subject if Justin asked personal questions.

  After dinner, they went to a brand new movie. He had purchased the tickets after school. Some cliché slasher flick called Scream. It was pretty good but Fattie predicted the ending. The effect Justin desired from the film -that of Fattie jumping and clutching onto and leaning in closer to him- isn’t achieved to Justin’s chagrin.

  During the movie, Fattie starts to relax and let herself enjoy her perfectlyinnocent date.She just knows it will end soon, veryromantically, on the Foster’s front porch with a good night kiss. She starts to think that maybe she will start allowing herself to trust this one boy after that happens. The two exit the theater at 10:05, silently holding hands with fingers interlaced.

  Justin opens the door to the truck for her and she steps up and in. He doesn’t need to help her at all. Fattie is plenty tall and capable enough to get into the slightly oversized Ford with grace. However, Justin gently places his hand on the small of her back and pushes softly as she climbs in. She thinks very little about his hand sliding down her backside as he pulls it away and shuts her door. He circles the front, smiling and gets in. Starting up the truck, he drives into the night.

  Fattie had started studying the moment she got home. She has a test in the morning. She almost called to cancel her date because of the test, but by 5:30 she was more confident she would make a good grade. She spent the next hour getting ready for the date as fast as possible. By the time the movie let out she was getting very sleepy. She watches the lights of the citygo byout the pick-up window streaminginto long orange blurry lines in her glassy eyes.

  “Do you want to listen to the radio?” Justin asks.

  “No. We don’t have to…so are you excited about Friday?” “Oh yeah, I really hope we win. If we don’t, then we’ve lost our shot at state.”

  “I think we have pretty good chances.”

  “With you girls there to distract Hampton’s guys we may sneak by them.”

  “Hampton has cheerleaders too you know.” Fattie answers, stifling a yawn and reads the street sign as they pass yet another intersection. She opens her mouth to say something but closes it again.

  “They don’t have ones near as pretty as ours. Well not as pretty as you anyway….”

  “Linda is the squad leader. She does all the really cool cheers. No one even notices me.”

  “Bull…um…no way. You are the only one anybody notices. You are way prettier than Legs. You should be the captain. All the guys say so.”

  “Well the guys must not understand much about cheerleading. It has nothing to do with looks. It is all about spirit and skill and working together as a team.” She says, putting extra emphasis on ‘the guys’ as she looks over at Justin and rolls her eyes. Justin turns left and a red flag goes off inside of Fatima. Her heart starts pounding and she can feel sweat starting to form in her armpits. “Um…Justin, where are you going?”

  “You said you don’t have to be home until eleven. Right?”

  “Yes, and I am not going to be late.” Fattie’s voice pitches lower as her throat thickens, making the words harder to say.

  “I won’t make you late. I just wanted to take you someplace…nice.”

  “We have been to nice places Justin. I would rather you just took me home now.”

  “Don’t be mad, Fattie.” Justin pulls the truck carefully over to the side of the road. He pushes the lever on the column into park and leans forward, resting his head on both arms on the steering wheel. “It’s only 10:15 so I thought we could go out to the beach for a while and look at the moon and stuff.”

  “I can’t go to the beach in this dress. I will get sand…in places that I just don’t want it.”

  “Oh…” Justin looks up and over at her. Fattie starts to feel the little balls of goose flesh form on her arms. Justin looks into her eyes and then looks her up and down. His eyes linger on her legs.

  “I would like for you to take me home now Justin. I have had a very nice time, but I am tired. I have a huge test in Trig tomorrow.”

  Justin doesn’t answer. He turns off the truck instead. “God, you arebeautiful. I can’t believe that you let that stuck-up bitch Linda call you Fattie and go around callingherself Legs. I meanher legs are alright but…” He stalls out, still staring at Fattie’s legs.

  “Everyone has called me Fattie since 9thgrade. It was Linda who said it first but my name is Fatima and it does fit somewhat. I never took it the way you are implying.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, if anyone can get away with a nickname like Fattie it’s you.” Justin unbuckles his seatbelt and slides smoothly across the bench seat right next to Fattie. Heis breathingheavy. To Fatties horror, she can smell the stink of bourbon on his breath.

  “Have you been drinking?”

  “No…well uh…yup.” Justin stops to giggle queerly. “A’yup Ihad a couple of swigs out of my dad’s flask.” He pulls a small silvery flat metal bottle from his back pocket. Its lid is screwed on and there is a flat piece of metal on hinge
s that connects it to the top of the flask. “You want a sip?”

  “No.” Fattie does drink. She doesn’t mind the idea of alcohol in general, but she would never in a situation like this.

  “Aww com’on.” Justin slurs, sliding his arm around Fattie’s shoulders and pulls her in closer. He presses his lips to hers but her mouth is tight and her eyes are wide open. She can feel them starting to grow moist and heavy, but she will not let herself cry.

  “Justin, get back.” She says, then shoves him away with her left arm. She grabs for the door handle and clutches it tightly. She pulls on it, though she has no idea where she would go. Her heart feels like it stops when the door does not open. Justin sits now awkwardly in the ‘bitch’ position looking at Fattie with a scowl.

  “You really are as cold as they say, aren’t you? God no wonder.” He slides back over into the driver’s seat and starts the pickup. He hits the accelerator the moment he has the truck shifted into drive and turns the wheel hard. The tires squeal and they are soon facing back into town and cruising fast. Justin seems to slowly be calming himself.

  Fatties’ heart still beats so hard that she feels like it will explode. She tries to remember Trig problems and starts to work them out in her head. Soon they take a right and are back in familiar territory. He coldly and expertly makes turns until he reaches the Foster’s street. He pulls into Fatties driveway and does not even bother to turn his headlights off.

  “I’ll see you at school, I guess.” He says. Fattie helps herself out of the truck and shuts the door. She is still standing in the same place in the driveway; watching, feeling small and cold when Justin backs out. He peels out, flippinghis truck around in the street and drives away. The truck squalls into the night leaving the burnt smell of rubber in its wake.

  Linda grabs her shoulders, “Fattie, you still here with us girl?”

  Fattie shakes her head letting the chill go out of her. She shuts her locker and finally turns her head to face Linda, “I have to get going to Trig; big test today.” She turns on her heels and walks down the hallway briskly without a backwards glance.