Shadows in the Dark (Dark Lotus #1)

2. Brynn

I had just changed into workout clothes, ready to do a few miles on the Peloton, when I heard my cell buzz from its resting place on my dresser. Not recognizing the number, I answered formally.

“This is Brynn Davis.”

“Ms. Davis, this is Detective Elliot Meloni from the San Francisco Police Department. Are you the sister of Blair Carter?”

The mention of my half-sister’s name made me straighten my spine. While I had talked to her a couple of days before, she’d been largely silent since then, which wasn’t like her.

Blair and I weren’t joined at the hip, but we were close. In fact, I had relocated to the Bay Area after college to be closer to her. I had also wanted distance from our mother, but that was another matter.

The detective repeated my name, snapping me back to the present.

“I---yes. Yes. Blair is my sister. Is she okay? I haven’t heard from her in a couple of days. Has she been in an accident?”

I heard a slow intake of breath, followed by a long exhale. Almost as though the speaker didn’t want to say another word. My stomach clenched, my hands started to shake, and I began to sweat.

“Ma’am, there is no easy way to say this. I’m calling to let you know that your sister’s body was found in the San Francisco Bay. I am very sorry for your loss.”

“Wait. What? Her body? No. No. I talked to her earlier this week. She was fine. That wasn’t her body. Where did you find it? Okay, absolutely not. She doesn’t go there. Nope. Nope. It’s not her. You are mistaken. You need to identify who it is so you can notify the right family---”

“Ms. Davis.”

I continued to babble until the detective broke in again, saying my name calmly and quietly. My chest was heaving, tears streaming down both cheeks as I tried to wrap my head around the fact that my sister was dead.

He was very kind, giving me the speech that I was fairly certain he had to make plenty of times in his career, but yet, he made it sound sincere with a bespoke manner. After giving me his contact information with a promise to update me on any leads he garnered, I found myself staring at my cell phone and feeling confused.

My chest began to ache and I swore it was my heart breaking at the realization that I would never see Blair again. All I had left were her text messages and voicemails that I had thankfully saved.

I spent the next hour reading and listening to those saved pieces of my sister. Her voice had always been a bright spot, even on those rough days when nothing seemed to go according to plan. Blair had been annoyingly optimistic and had a habit of giving people the benefit of the doubt, sometimes to her detriment. That was part of her charm, though, and one couldn’t help but be drawn to her nature.

I hit play on the very last message she’d left me days before, and something struck me as odd. Her tone was different. Not by much, but by closing my eyes and playing it again, I could hear a slight tremor in it. Her voice pattern was also a bit different, though I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why.

“ Hey, Bry… sorry I missed you. And sorry I had to bail on our dinner plans last night. I’ve just… there’s just some stuff going on that I needed to take care of. I’m open this weekend, though, and wanted to try that new place on Mission Street. I want to hear all about that conversation you had with the dick at work. Knowing how you operate, I’m sure you had him shaking in his boots. I’ll text you a time. I can’t wait to see you. I love you. I mean it.”

Sadly, that text never came. Guilt washed over me that I didn’t follow up when I hadn’t heard anything more from Blair and I had just brushed it off.

What kind of sister was I to just brush things off?

My watch buzzed, as did the phone in my hand, and I cringed when I saw it was my mother. She was asking if I had heard from Blair recently. Our relationship with her had been—interesting—to say the least. Growing up, my sister and I had learned early in life to band together and rely on each other, and that outlook had certainly carried through in our adult lives. I had always been her emergency point of contact, just as she had been mine. I knew that was why I had been notified by SFPD. Now, I had the arduous task of telling our parents the awful news.

Inhaling deeply, I called my mother. At the sound of her voice, the control I had attempted to exact over my emotions crumbled. I could barely get out the words and once I had, my mother’s standard over-the-top reaction rendered me speechless. I hung up and grappled with my own grief, the sobs coming faster now.

I wasn’t sure how long I cried, but I went until there were no more tears left. My phone buzzed again, and I saw it was my boss, or rather one of them. I actually had three bosses, but Randall was the youngest. I liked the man, despite the fact that he continued to ask me out about every three months. Beyond that, he was very respectful and great to work for. I let the call go to voicemail and reviewed the message when the icon popped up.

“Brynn. It’s Randall. My god, I don’t even know where to start. I just saw the news… your sister. Shit, Bry… I’m so sorry. So very sorry for your loss. Thomas, Edward, and I extend our condolences and want you to take as much time as you need. Don’t you dare try to come to the office tomorrow or even next week. We will send your ass home. There is plenty of bereavement leave to cover whatever time you take. We want you to use it. In fact, I am ordering you to use it. Seriously, though… I am so very sorry. Please let us know if we can help in any way, or if we can do anything for you. We all adore you and are here for you. If and when you feel like it, you can call back any time. It doesn’t matter how late or early.”

Randall’s message made me tear up all over again. There was no way I could speak to him, so I texted a thank you in response and told him I would reach out to discuss how long I would be out of the office. I really did work for a great company, and my bosses were wonderful. I knew not everyone had the luxury of bereavement leave, but I had no intentions of abusing the privilege.

The adrenaline was starting to wear off, and I knew I was about to crash. I needed to lay down before I fell down. I had no more closed my eyes when I sat straight up in a panic.

“Oh my god… Lug Nut.” Lug Nut was Blair’s humongous pit bull. He looked menacing, but was the biggest sweetheart on the planet. He was all alone at Blair’s place and would be until I could get over there tomorrow. Reaching out to her neighbor, I was relieved to learn Lug Nut was with him, having been asked by Blair to keep him for a couple of days while she went out of town.

I’d had no idea that she had been planning to go anywhere, so that took me by surprise. I set that aside, though, and let the neighbor know I would be by the next day to take the dog off his hands. I would tell him in person that Blair would no longer be his neighbor.

It was just late afternoon, but I felt like I’d been up for days. A heaviness enveloped me, making it difficult to form thoughts or be motivated to do anything. A piece of my heart would forever be missing now. Blair had been much more than my sister---she’d been my closest and best friend, too. There would never be another person who would know me as well as she had.

Not knowing the exact details of her death was frustrating. How had she ended up in the bay? And more importantly, why had she been there in the first place? What made her make arrangements to go out of town, but not bother to tell me?

Once more, my phone buzzed and this time, it was my father. I felt a small pang of guilt for not calling him first.

“Daddy---”

“Sweetheart. I just saw the local news. I’m so sorry. I know how close you were to Blair. Sheryl and I adored her, too. I know it’s hard to talk. Just know we are here for you and if you need us for anything, just reach out. We love you. I love you.”

Short and sweet with no dramatics. That was my father. Conversations with him were always so much easier. Blair and I shared our mother, but my father had never failed to include her in anything and everything that side of the family did. He and my stepmother had treated her equally to me, so it was no wonder I had always been closer to my dad.

Finally turning my phone to DND, I stretched out and closed my eyes. Exhaustion overtook me, so I did sleep, but my dreams were vivid and full of Blair. I had a feeling they would be for a long time to come.