Canal Street Fog (Part I)

1

  The fog rolled in over the water, shrouding the night in lacy veils.  The dank smell of the canal filled her nostrils as she walked at a brisk pace towards the parking lot.  Once again, she worked late into the evening, as she had done most nights over the last few weeks.  Her goal was to finish drafting the blueprints for the town’s new shopping mall and recreation center before leaving on a month-long vacation to Australia next week.  She was exhausted, but she’d dreamed of going to Australia ever since she was a little girl.  It was worth putting in the extra hours, even if it meant leaving the office well after the janitorial staff had gone home.2

  The only sounds to pierce the misty silence were her low shallow breaths and the clickety-clack of her heels on the wet concrete.  As she reached the parking lot edging the canal, she could see that there were only two vehicles remaining: her red Ford Mustang, and at the far end of the lot, what appeared to be a dark-colored SUV.  The sodium bulb in the only lamp post about 40 feet away cast a faint golden glow around her car, but the light barely touched the edge of the other vehicle.  She mentally patted herself on the back for choosing that parking spot earlier in the morning.3

  When she was just a couple of yards away from her car, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her heavily loaded keychain.  She walked around her Mustang towards the driver’s side door while pressing on the remote keyless entry button.  She did not hear the familiar click of the locks popping up.  Exhausted and looking forward to going home to a warm bath, she pressed the button with her thumb a second time, to no avail.  Shaking the keyfob, she cursed under her breath while fruitlessly pressing the button over and over again.4

  Just then, the clang of metal hitting the concrete startled her, causing her to jerk her head up.  Quickly scanning her surroundings, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  Probably just some straycats playing around a garbage can, she thought to herself.  Her eyes then shifted towards the vehicle at the darker end of the lot.  She thought she could make out a shadowy figure looming around the back of the SUV.  Squinting through the fog, she stared hard towards the SUV, but the shadow appeared to be gone.5

  Not the type of woman who was easily frightened, she nevertheless felt the little hairs on the nape of her neck stand up, as though a goose had just walked across her grave.  The fog lent the night an eerie kind of darkness which played on her active imagination.  After one more unsuccessful attempt with the keyless entry device, she searched through the multitude of keys on the chain for the car key.  House key, office key, garage key, key to her sister’s house, key to her parents’ cabin on the lake, keys to her desk and file cabinets.  The slow scraping sound of footsteps behind her caused her heart to leap into her throat.  A sharp gasp escaped her lips as she quickly spun around, clutching her purse defensively against her chest.  No one was there.6

  Slowly exhaling, she didn’t realize that she’d been holding her breath.  She momentarily leaned her lower back on her car while she collected herself.  After a brief silence, the sound of footsteps started up again, this time growing faster and closer.  No longer exhausted, her adrenaline was pumping as she fumbled with her keys, frantically jamming every one blindly into the lock while yanking on the door handle, until the driver’s side door finally flew open.7

  Throwing herself into her car, she slammed the door shut and pounded her left fist down on the auto lock button while thrusting the car key into the ignition with her right hand.  The Mustang instantly came alive with a thunderous rumble.  And there, moving under the lamp post, she saw him.  He was fairly tall and corpulent, and appeared to be bald.  Despite the fog, she could tell he was wearing a long light colored trenchcoat with an unusual dark pattern.  Not bothering with the headlights, she peeled out of the parking lot with a loud screech, leaving behind the scent of burning rubber.8

  The hour was late and the area around the canal was like a ghost town.  Hers was the only vehicle on the road.  The streetlights barely broke through the fog, and she could hardly see where she was going.  When she got within three blocks of the office building, she switched on her headlights.  She slowly regained her composure and allowed her tight grip on the steering wheel to relax, but just a little.9

  Every so often, she’d check her rearview mirror, but there were no ominous headlights following her.  As a matter of fact, she only passed four other vehicles on the 20-minute drive home.  One was a police van with its lights off.  She had briefly considered trying to flag him down, but what would she tell the officer?  That she’d heard some footsteps behind her, and saw some large man?  For all she knew, he could have been in some kind of trouble.  Maybe the SUV was his and he couldn’t get it to start, so he was coming to her for help.  Or maybe he was going to strangle the life out of her.  She chided herself for her foolishness.10

  Pulling up into her driveway, she pressed the green button on the automatic garage door opener that she kept in the car’s ashtray.  This keyless entry device worked, and the garage door slowly rolled up.  She drove into her single car garage, and after turning off the engine, she pressed the red button.  The garage door slowly rolled back down and locked itself automatically.  She sank back into her seat for a second and closed her eyes, thankful to be home.11

  The house was quiet.  She lived alone and cherished her privacy.  Tonight, however, she would not have minded having someone to come home to.  She made a habit of leaving the kitchen light on before she left for work in the morning, and today was no exception.  Making her way through the dimly lit hall towards the living room, she switched on the floor lamp and tossed her coat and purse onto the loveseat.  She poured herself a tumbler of brandy and kicked off her shoes, leaving them by the coffee table before walking to her bedroom, turning on every light along the way.12

  She finished her drink in two greedy gulps before putting down the empty glass on her dresser.  The brandy warmed her, and the alcohol slowly started to make its way through her bloodstream, helping her to relax a little.  She quickly undressed, wrapped herself up in her favorite cozy bathrobe and slipped her weary feet into a pair of plush slippers that her sister had given her on the previous Christmas.  In the master bath just off her bedroom, she filled the tub with hot water.  She added some lavender-scented bathsalts to help calm her nerves.13

  While the hot water filled the tub, she went back to the living room and poured herself a fresh drink.  Sipping on the brandy, she made her way back to the tub.  Upon her return, the swirling steam had fogged over the bathroom, just like the night outside the misty window.  She turned off the faucet, let her bathrobe drop to the tiled floor, and stepped into the tub.  The water was a little too hot, but her skin quickly adjusted to the temperature.  She slowly lowered herself into her bath, and relished the soothing effects of the hot water on her frayed nerves.14

  She kept a small shower radio hanging off the shower caddy.  She reached up with one arm and pulled it down.  Turning the plastic dial, she scanned the stations for some soft music.  She mostly just got static, but finally came upon a local oldies station that seemed to get good reception.  Maggie by Rod Stewart had just finished playing when they cut to the weather forecast.15

  “…and we expect the fog to have dissipated by early morning.  Tomorrow, a mix of sun and clouds early in the day, and clearing by the afternoon.  Highs in the lower fifties.  Tomorrow evening, clear and cool, with lows in the upper thirties.  And now, this newsbrief.”  Boring!  She was just about to try another channel when she heard the name of the street where her office building was located.  She turned up the volume.16

  “…body of a young woman was found near a parking lot on Canal Street earlier tonight.  She appears to have been stabbed repeatedly in the back.  Police found a knife under an SUV parked nearby in the lot, but have not confirmed it as being the murder weapon.  The victim’s identity has not been released.  The police have no suspects yet.”17

  Stunned and horrified, she let the radio slip out of her hands and drop into the tub with a soft splash.  “Oh my God!  That must have been him!  That poor woman, that could have been me!”.  She didn’t know what to do, her whole body was shaking, despite the hot water.  Part of her was nearly paralyzed with fear as she realized what could have happened to her just a couple of hours ago.  But the other part of her, the rational side, reasoned that she should call the police and tell them what she’d seen and heard - eventually, that side won.18

© 200319

Tanya Boutros20