The Crazy One Read online

  "I have to go." She grabbed her bag and hurried toward the door. Her cheeks were flaming red. She was humiliated. Her lie had been exposed. And worst of all, it had been spread to her annoying, jerky coworker. She didn't ever want to see Cody's face again.

  "Why in such a hurry?" he shouted after her. "Got a date with your imaginary boyfriend?"

  Damn. She should have known Spring Fork was too small to keep secrets. She hadn't even told Joni where she worked, just that it was a tourist shop. She had obviously tracked her down. Maybe she'd called every shop in town. And why? Because she didn't believe she could meet a man and live happily ever after? Some friend she was.

  Once inside her car she tapped out an angry text to Joni.

  Did you call my work?

  The reply didn't come until she had started the car and was ready to pull off.

  Why did you lie to me?

  Cody's an idiot, Lucy replied. He doesn't know anything about my life.

  Stop making shit up.

  Stop stalking me. She yelled it out loud as she typed it. Why are you obsessed with me?

  There was a long pause before Joni's answer. She listened to the birds chirp incessantly and to the angry storm brewing inside her head.

  You're a loser, was Joni's reply. Lucy pounded her phone onto the passenger seat and then left it there. She threw the car into drive and pulled onto the nearly empty main street.

  And with that, she and Joni were no longer friends. Which meant she and Leron were no longer friends because there was no way Joni wasn't relaying all of this to him. Which meant Lucy had no friends. Her quest for Joel's love was even more desperate now. She needed to find a better way to get him to notice her.

  There was nothing she could do about it in that moment. She returned to her room and lay down in a fetal position on top of her bedspread. There she quietly cried herself to sleep, thinking of the mess she'd made of everything.

  Lucy couldn't ever face Cody again. The next morning, she went into the store and told Moon she needed to take a few weeks off to reset her energy. She began to cry real tears when she told her there was too much going on in her life right now. It was the truth. Everything was caving in on her. Nothing was going as planned. With a sympathetic tilt of her head, the shop owner sent her on her way with a handful of crystals to aid in the process. The rocks ended up rolling around on the floor of Lucy's car.

  When she finally got to the farmhouse, Joel's car and three trucks were in the driveway. She parked in her usual spot and made her way through the grass. This time she would be more careful. She crouched in the shadow of the garage and waited for hours until the other men got in their trucks and drove away.

  Joel was alone now, but she couldn't go in. She knew he'd be on high alert after finding a stranger at his back door. Not a stranger, though. His wife.

  The sun set. The farmhouse windows were lit. Carefully, she approached a side window directly above a newly-installed air conditioning unit. When she stood on the unit she could see through the sheer curtains into the living room. Joel was sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone.

  It was so intimate seeing his profile, an angle rarely shown in interviews and photos. She had a candid view. It was as if they were spending a quiet evening at home together. So much love swelled in her heart as she gazed at her husband. How had she gotten so lucky?

  As she stared through the curtains, Joel suddenly looked up from his phone. He scanned the room as if realizing he was being watched. Lucy backed up as far as the air conditioning unit would allow. Could he see her out there in the dark?

  Still gripping his phone, he stood from the couch and looked around the room. Lucy’s heart raced. A strange energy surged through her. His suspicion of being watched was proof that he could feel her presence. They were meant to be. How else would he know that she was so near to him?

  Still, she couldn’t reveal herself. Not like this. As he came toward the window, she hopped down to the ground and squatted by next to the house. She was now mere feet from him once again, separated only by concrete and wood. And she knew that he knew that his destiny was right outside that window.

  After a few minutes the living room light went out. Lucy figured the coast was clear. The weird feeling surely wouldn’t give him enough reason to investigate further. She ran back to her car like a scared child running from the dark.

  Eventually Joel would leave and she wanted to be around when he did. So, she settled in to sleep in her car.

  When she woke up in the morning, neck sore and cramping, Joel's car was heading down the long driveway. She ducked in case he drove past her. Although, why would he? The only place he would be going was town. It was finally her chance to get inside..

  CHAPTER FIFTY SIX

  Denver, Colorado – Present

  Elijah watched Lucy fidget in her seat. Her hair was in a tight ponytail. Her jail-issued top was looser than at their last interview. Maybe it was a different size. Maybe she was losing weight.

  She swiped some stray hairs from the left side of her forehead. Then she swiped the right side in the same way. She grimaced and swiped the left again and then the right. She appeared uneasy. He would be uneasy, too, if he were locked in here.

  The notebook Elijah had given her was between them once again. This time, its outer corners were bent. There were scribbles on the cover. The pages didn’t lie as neatly as they had when it was brand new. He could tell without opening it that she’d filled the whole book.

  "I appreciate the work you put into this, Lucy."

  She smiled briefly. Then she nodded.

  "You can tell my story now?"

  "Absolutely. I’m going to look this over and I’ll come back and see you in a few days." He slid the notebook from the table and put it in his bag. "Can I ask you a few questions before I go?"

  "Everything’s in there." She chewed on her lip. Then she wiped her brow. The other side, again.

  "And I can’t wait to read it. But tell me, how did you get into Joel Ruskin’s home?"

  She scowled at him like he’d asked her the stupidest question.

  "I have a key. Well, I had a key, but it burned up in the fire."

  "You had a key? How did you get a key?"

  Lucy stopped biting her lip. Her face softened and her shoulders relaxed. She sighed, tilted her head, and smiled.

  "Joel gave me a key."

  "He gave you a key to his house?"

  "Our house." She laughed. "Why wouldn’t he give me a key to our house? I'm his wife."

  Elijah had read the transcripts of her hearing. He knew she had claimed to be Joel Ruskin’s wife. It had also been mentioned in every news story about her. But she’d been lying, right? Lying to save her ass?

  "How long have you been married?"

  "We got married last Valentine's Day." She looked down at her hands and rubbed the ring finger on her left hand where a wedding band would be. There was no visible mark there that he could see.

  "Lucy, last Valentine’s Day you were here." He glanced around the visiting room at the other inmates and their families. How many of them were still emphatically professing their innocence?

  She looked at him and shook her head as if to say, "You silly man." When she spoke again her tone was slow and steady and she seemed to believe every word. "Last Valentine’s Day, I was in Las Vegas. Joel and I were married at the Bellagio. Our parents were there. It was beautiful."

  A sinking feeling spread through Elijah’s middle. He began to realize the notebook in his bag might be of no use at all. His book would have none of her personal touch.

  CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN

  Spring Fork - 2016

  Things were busy around the house for the next few weeks. There were workers in and out during the day. Joel busied himself with small projects when they were gone. Then he would watch Netflix until he fell asleep on the couch or in his bed.

  She hadn't heard him talking to anyone on the phone other than his agent. There was no g
ossip online about his breakup with Sydney, but she knew they weren't together anymore. She'd heard his pathetic Skype conversation with a friend late one night. Joel was upset, but it sounded like his friend was trying to convince him it was all a big misunderstanding. Joel wasn't buying it. He said was done with her. This made Lucy happy. She wanted him to be strong. She wanted him to see that girls like Sydney would never be good for him. He needed someone who cared more for him than for herself. He needed Lucy.

  When Joel was in town, she stayed hidden away in the attic, trying not to make any noise. Whenever the house was empty, she would go down to the pantry and take what she needed. When he was around, she had to pee in a bucket she kept in the corner of the attic. She wasn't proud of it, but she had no other choice. Now that he was getting over Sydney, maybe she could finally make her presence known and be part of his life without sneaking around. Maybe she could stop being the ghost in his attic.

  Then one day Joel packed his suitcase and left. After she heard the door slam, she headed down to his bedroom where she found his luggage missing. She checked her phone, but he left no clue on his Twitter account about where he was going. In fact, since his breakup with Sydney, his Tweets had been scarce and boring. He didn't seem to be in the mood to communicate with the outside world.

  She pulled up his contact in her phone and called. He didn’t pick up. She called again. Voicemail on the first ring. He was avoiding her. Why? She only wanted to help.

  For two more weeks, Joel stayed out of Spring Fork. She was so bored she could cry. Sure, she had free reign of his house. The work was finished on the inside and the landscapers only worked during the first half of the day. In the afternoons she would go into town and wander. She considered leaving Spring Fork for good. Maybe she should go to New York and find Joel's apartment. What good would that do? She wouldn't even make it past the doorman, if he had one.

  A change of scenery would help her think. She decided to go into town. When she got to the back door of the yellow house she remembered she'd left her key up in the attic. She sighed heavily and slumped her shoulders. Being too lazy to climb two sets of stairs again, she opted to leave the back door unlocked so she could get back in. No one else would be visiting the house, anyway.

  She hopped in her car and drove to Boney Mahoney's where she ordered lunch. She stared at the empty seat across from her and tried to think of a plan.

  Maybe she would give up and go home. She could go back to her same old boring life in Omaha and forget about Joel. After all, his flighty nature was starting to piss her off. He had let Sydney walk all over him and now he was moaning and groaning because he missed her. It was pathetic. Was he even working now? Or was he laying around his apartment, growing out his beard and feeling sorry for himself?

  Lucy's blood boiled. She was sitting in the same diner where she'd once fed him crushed glass. He hadn't even been man enough to do anything about that incident. He didn't post about it. There was no story in the gossip news. If something like that had happened to her, she would have sued Boney Mahoney's and had it shut down.

  The heat of anger rising through her body made her decision final. She was done with Joel. She was going to the yellow house to get her things from the attic and then she was leaving Spring Fork forever.

  First she needed to stop by the boarding house and tell the landlord she was moving out. He didn't give her much more than a shrug. In fact, it seemed nobody there had even wondered where she'd been. It was just as well. Maybe if she hadn't been focused on Joel she could have made some friends there. It was too late now. She was done with this tiny mountain town. She packed her only bag and tossed it into the trunk of her car.

  On the short stretch of highway before Joel's house, she vented her anger by screaming obscenities at the steering wheel. Her tiny car sputtered along. She was barely paying attention to the road or the car that passed her and took the turn to the yellow house. She could only see Joel's face in her mind's eye and the sheepish look he wore.

  It wasn't until she got to her usual hidden parking spot in the trees that she recognized the car that had passed her. It was his. Now it was parked in front of the screened porch. Joel was taking bags out of the back. A figure emerged from the passenger side. A woman. That woman. That Sydney!

  Lucy was fuming. How could he let that cheating bitch back into his life? And why was she back in Spring Fork? She hated the little town. She hated the farmhouse.

  She sat in her car wondering what she should do. Even though she'd left the back door unlocked, she couldn't go back into the house with those two in there. She could wait until she thought they were asleep, but how would she know? They could be up late doing unspeakable things. Lucy pictured the two of them in the act. She shuddered. How could Joel do those things with Sydney after she'd been with someone else?

  Finally, after an hour, Joel and Sydney exited the front door. He held the car door for her like a gentleman. Lucy made fake gagging gestures to no one. The two were dressed nicely and it was nearly six o'clock, so she figured they were going to dinner.

  Maybe she could stop them. She could talk Joel out of dinner with Sydney. Remind him of what a terrible person she was. She took out her phone and called Joel’s phone. She watched him stop while getting into the car. He retrieved his phone from his back pocket and looked at it. Lucy listened to it ringing, connected to him now with a mutual experience.

  "Answer," Lucy growled.

  But he simply looked at it and shoved it back into his pocket. Lucy’s phone connected to his voicemail. She disconnected and threw the phone onto the seat next to her. Joel climbed into the driver’s seat and closed the door.

  When Joel's car was finally out of sight, she left her car and approached the house. She hoped they hadn't noticed the unlocked back door. To her relief, it was still the way she had left it. She stepped inside and headed for the kitchen. In one of the drawers she found a large pair of shears which she took with her.

  Upstairs in the bedroom, three rolling suitcases were standing neatly at the foot of the bed. She could smell Sydney's expensive perfume still lingering there.

  "Jeez, does she bathe in it?" she questioned out loud.

  It was easy to pick out the two bags that were Sydney's. Hers were brown Louis Vuitton that looked like they'd taken their first flight. Joel's suitcase was plain black.

  She hoisted the heavier of the two brown suitcases onto the bed. She unzipped it and threw it open like a book. The bag was neatly packed. She wondered if lazy Sydney had packed it herself or if she had people to do that for her. Either way, it was about to be unpacked.

  Not knowing when the couple would return, she worked quickly. She took out each piece of overpriced designer clothing and cut the fabric haphazardly. One blouse she held in her hand for a minute before she destroyed it. She rubbed the silk over her forearm. It really did feel expensive. It's too bad she had to murder it.

  One inside pocket of the suitcase was packed with Sydney's folded underwear. It was all frilly and nice–the kind you would only wear for someone else to see. This made her even more furious. She cut the crotches out of every pair.

  "I assume you like easy access, Sydney," she spat out loud. "You whore."

  When she was finished she put everything back inside the suitcase and placed it back exactly where she found it. The kitchen shears went up into the attic with her. There she waited for the happy couple to come home from their misguided date.

  Lucy had fallen asleep on her makeshift bed in the attic. She was woken by footsteps in the second floor hallway. Then Sydney's hideous laughter broke through her sleepy haze. She lay still to listen to their conversation.

  "He couldn't have been serious," Joel was saying.

  "They're all serious," Sydney replied with a superior tone. "These fans think I owe them something. They're all delusional."

  Lucy fumed again. What an ungrateful bitch. How dare she talk that way about the people who made her famous? These were the people who m
ade it possible for her to live in her shallow, sheltered world.

  "Like, I got this letter the other day," Sydney continued. "Some lady–I mean, I think it was a lady–threatened me for dating you. She said she'd cut my hair or something stupid like that."

  "Because she doesn't want you dating?"

  "She doesn't want me dating you. She claimed she's the only one for you."

  "Ah," Joel boasted, "so she's not really your obsessed fan. She's mine."

  "Yes, Joel," she joked. "Do you want to keep score?"

  Then he mumbled something. They got quiet which could only mean something gross was about to happen. She didn't even want to listen. She turned onto her back and pulled the pillow over her ears.

  Sydney hadn't even taken her letter seriously. She was actually amused by it. Why hadn't she reported it to the police or something? Was she that stupid? Did she not believe Lucy would do what she said she would do? She was a bigger idiot than she had thought. What a waste of her time. She was going to have to step up her game to scare this princess.

  CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT

  When morning came, Lucy was disoriented. She didn't remember falling asleep, but apparently she had. Now she could hear yelling through the vent. It was Sydney's voice, and the pauses indicated she was on the phone. She quickly opened her laptop to hear the conversation more clearly.

  "Call them again, Jim," she was shouting. "This is not acceptable. No one else handled my luggage but the driver in L.A. and the airline. Do you really think the driver could get into my bags and cut up my shit while I'm sitting right there in the car? That airline is going to pay. There were at least twenty-thousand dollars’ worth of clothes in that bag. And my underwear," she shrieked. "I have to go buy all new underwear in this podunk town. Where the hell am I supposed to get that? The fricking general store?"