Secrets, Lies and Dragonflies

Chapter 54

Honk! Honk!

I glance at the alarm clock on my night stand:  8:42am.  Surprisingly for the first time this week, excruciating pain isn't the culprit of the abrupt wake up call.   

Honk! Honk! The quick bursts go again.

Abigail appears in my doorway. She's pale and panting. "Have you seen Lindsey?" she asks.

"No. Wasn't she sleeping with you in Spencer's room?"

"Yes. Well, she was. Oh, Lindsey," she grumbles to herself.

I quickly jump out of bed, sensing her urgency. "Did she get sicker last night? Maybe she's on the couch downstairs?"

"I don't know." Again Abigail grumbles. "Her mom is here and is going to freak out."

"What are you talking about? Why is she going to freak?" I ask, completely confused.

"She just is," she snaps, though it's not exactly directed at me.  Pacing back and forth across the floor, she throws her hands up. "I better get our stuff together." 

"Okay. I'll head down. What should I tell Mrs. Rinehart?" I ask, looking out my bedroom window at the idling black Lexus SUV.

"I have no idea." Alexis replies, slipping back into Spencer's room.

Downstairs when I peer through the crowded cafe porch, I find Lindsey standing in the gravel parking lot talking to her mom who's sitting in the driver's seat.  Now I'm even more confused. Lindsey's hair is a disaster and she's still in her makeup.  Lindsey never sleeps without washing her face and she always wears a net on her head before going to bed.  She swears it keeps her perfect strands perfect.  She must have been very sick without doing either.  "Hey, Mrs. Rinehart.  Hey Lindsey." I say, approaching the vehicle. 

"Good Morning, Mackenzie. I guess the beds are limited in this house, huh?" Mrs. Rinehart comments curtly.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" I say, confusion mounting.

"You know. That's why I slept in the hammock last night." Lindsey stares at me and winks.  The bag slung over her shoulder has that pink gown stuffed inside.  "I didn't mind. Besides, it helped with my upset stomach. The fresh air was good for me."

"Uh, okay. I think Abigail is coming down with the rest of your stuff. I'm going to go give her a hand. Bye Mrs. Rinehart. Call me later, Lindsey?" I say, trying to avoid sounding utterly lost.

"Yeah. Of course. Thanks for having us over. I had a great time." Lindsey says, embracing me. A pungent smell exhumes from her entire body.  Smells of which I'm quite familiar. Cigars and stale beer.   

Abigail is carrying both Lindsey and her own bags down the stairs when I meet up with her at landing. "You might want a clothespin for your nose before you get into Mrs. Rinehart's car. Lindsey smells like an ashtray. What the heck happened to her last night?"

"She's that bad huh?" Abigail scrummages through her giant purse and pulls out a bottle of body spray. "The things we do for our friends, right?"

I want to ask, but Mrs. Rinehart's horn goes off again.  Then I practically jump out of my skin when Aunt Amy skirts around the corner. "Oh. Did I scare you?" she says.  "I'm sorry. I was just getting ready to run upstairs to get you guys.  I think that's Lindsey's mom outside.  You have to leave so soon?" She asks Abigail.

"Yeah. Mrs. Rinehart needed to pick us up early. She had to be somewhere at nine. Thanks again, Mrs. Goldsmith. I had a really great time." Abigail replies.  Aunt Amy insists on to-go breakfast muffins before Abigail hustles out the back.