Home
The games
Resources
Links
About
Site map

« Back

Masque de la Terreur: a Gabriel Knight Mystery

Chapter 1, Part I

by Travis Lester, published on February 21, 2001

New Orleans, Louisiana

August 18, 2001

It was a warm Summers day that found Gabriel Knight lounging on the porch of his grandmother’s house. With a half-consumed glass of cool lemonade in one hand, he sat there: rocking and thinking and generally enjoying the afternoon in his usual torpid nature. It was a fine day.

He would've enjoyed it a lot more had a certain Grace Nakimura not been pestering his thoughts. She was like a draft of air that no matter how well you stuffed the cracks in the window, it still seeped through to freeze his ass. Gabriel smiled to himself, he’d taken a break from his writing, but the writer’s mind would never stop it’s perpetual attempts at literary imagery. It was a habit not worth the effort of stopping, because it quite simply never would. So, why fight it?

Grace, though. After Gabriel’s failed endeavor to contact Grace circa 1999 after his New York meeting with his agent, Gabriel decided to put his efforts to rest and give his heart a break. Wherever Grace Nakimura was, she was obviously happy. As far as Gabriel was concerned, if she wanted anything to do with him, she’d have come a-calling by now.

And oh, she had not.

Other than the rather abbreviated note that she had left him in the hotel room back in Rennes-le-Château, Grace had not allowed him the slightest satisfaction of hearing from her.

When he returned home to Schloss Ritter, Grace had already been there and promptly left--taking with her all of her belongings and possessions. Gabriel didn't bother to ask Gerde if she’d left a verbal message for him. If she had, Gerde would have brought it up herself. And so he shut himself up in his bedroom and began working on his third and final Blake Backlash thriller.

A year later, it had not been as successful as “ The Voodoo Murders” nor even “ The Brutal Beast.” The fans demanded a reconciliation between Blake and his able assistant Fujitsu. To the dismay of his agent and fans, Gabriel bluntly refused.

Gabriel’s year-long sabbatical in the States was actually Gerde’s idea. She said he deserved it. Should any cases calling upon the services of the Schattenjäger arrived, she would promptly contact him.

Unlike his position after the voodoo murders, Gabriel was hoping the next case would wait a while to rear its ugly, unwanted head. If it came, he would return home to Rittersberg.

Until then...

Relaxation and recuperation.

“Gabriel, honey,” Gran called from within the house. “Do you want anotha’ glass of lemonade, dear?”

“That’s alright, Gran,” Gabriel inclined forward in the rocking chair, speaking through the screen-door. “I've still got some left, right here.”

Gabriel looked into the half-full glass of ice and lemonade. Gran was being a doll about his vacation. An absolute doll! She’d already whipped up a batch of his favorite molasses pies almost ten times already. She offered to make him a couple that very day, but he respectively turned her down. He’d been giving the bookshop’s toilet a run for its money the past few days or so, and he was beginning to think it wouldn't take anymore such abuse.

The screen-door creaked open a bit and Gran stuck her head out.

She was still as pretty as ever. As pretty as the day Gabriel kissed her goodbye for his final journey from the United States to Germany.

“How’s the weather out here, hon’?” she asked, taking a whiff of the warm air in through her delicate nose.

“It’s pretty nice, Gran,” Gabriel said temperately. “You should be alright.”

Gran had been staying inside the house for the past few months. She was getting too old to go to her bridge games with the girls and she’d neglected to take in her section of the quilt for the children’s home that weekend. Gran was getting on in years, and she was fighting off a case of the flu to boot. Gabriel didn't like to worry, but he couldn't help doing so. He loved her more than anyone or anything in the whole world and if anything ever happened to her...

“Well, I should be okay, then,” Gran smiled, stepping out onto the porch and closing the screen-door softly behind her. She always hated the racket of that door slamming shut. And oh, how Gabriel did so much of that in his youth when he’d run off to play ball with Mosely and the other guys. Gran walked slowly over to the second rocking chair that sat adjacent Gabriel’s.

“Want some help, Gran?” Gabriel asked, setting down his glass on the table between the chairs and rising to his feet.

“Now, you sit down!” Gran called angrily. “I may not be as young and agile as those girls you’re used to, but I can get myself around, thank you very much.”

Gabriel grinned, returning to his seat. She hadn't changed a bit, attitude-wise.

Gran took her seat beside Gabriel’s and released a long, drawn-out sigh. “My aching bones,” she said with slight resignation. “Oh, me.”

Gabriel stared at her for a moment. She still carried her hair in that same old Audrey Hepburn style. It suited her. To Gabriel it seemed as much her style as it did Hepburn’s any day.

“Who was on the phone?” Gabriel asked in reference to the ringing he had heard almost thirty minutes earlier.

“Hm?” Gran opened her eyes, as if she had forgotten Gabriel’s presence. “Oh, that was Judith Parker. She just talks and talks and talks.”

Gabriel nodded. “I ‘member her boy. Danny.”

“Oh, that’s right. You and him went to school together, didn't you?” she said with a softness. “He’s all she ever talks about. Well, no, that’s not true. It’s bridge she always talks about, but when it’s not bridge--you can bet your britches it’s Danny!”

“He’s practicin’ law, ain’t he?” Gabriel asked with mild interest.

“Why, yes, I do believe so. Got him a fine wife and two little kids,” Gran folded her arms across her lap. “Sweetest children you ever did see.”

Gabriel nodded, mind elsewhere. He hoped what he expected would not happen.

“Oh Gabriel,” Gran began with a grievous tone to her voice. “When are you goin’ to settle down?”

Gabriel tried his best not to look away from her. Being his Gran, she knew and could easily recognize each and everyone of his physical movements and just exactly what each and everyone of them meant. When he looked away from her, she always said, meant that he was being evasive. So, Gabriel stared.

Gran tilted her head a bit, like a hen studying a polka-dotted worm. “Now, Gabriel. I can read you like a book. I can see what you’re tryin’ to do, and it will not work!”

Gabriel laughed and shook his head, which gave him the excuse to look away. Sanctuary!

But Gran continued: “I know why you came back here, Gabriel.”

Gabriel’s smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. He still felt no desire to make eye contact.

“Why don’t you give her a call?” she asked him earnestly. “It’s as simple as that, my dear.”

Gabriel remained quietly in thought as he observed his brown, snake-skin cowboy boots. It wasn't as simple as that, Gabriel thought.

“I'm sure she’d love to hear from you, Gabriel.” Gran said. She seemed honest in her words, like she truly believed them to be true. Gabriel felt he knew Grace better than that, though.

Gran shook her head and closed her eyes. “Sometimes I think you want to die a bachelor.” she said bitterly.

The comment hurt him slightly, but he knew that was not her intended result. Or maybe it was, he thought. Maybe she’s just tryin’ to knock some sense into me.

Gabriel cleared his throat slightly, feeling a somewhat timid. “You know why I left in the first place. Don’t you, Gran?”

She opened her eyes a bit, looking at him. “No not really. I always figured you’d tell me when the time was right.”

Gabriel scratched at the back of his head for a moment, trying to find the right words.

“Is that time, now?” Gran asked.

“There was this girl... Gran,” Gabriel found his words almost comical. He’d said similar phrases all his life to this woman.

“Yes, go on, dear.” Gran sat up-right in her seat, extending her frail hand to Gabriel’s knee. She rested it there affectionately, and looked concernedly into his soft green eyes.

“I don’t exactly know how to put it, but...,” Gabriel sighed and grunted all at once. It wasn't that easy for him to just come right out and say. Being a writer, he could easily put his feelings down on paper--he always could. It was so much easier to give a high school sweetheart a folded-up love note and run away so he wouldn't have to watch her face as she read it. But to come right out and say how he felt. To put words to feelings that seemed incapable of such an act... It wasn't any incredibly special feelings, but... it was still pure hell.

“My boy, put it anyway you like. You know I'll understand, dear.”

Gabriel knew she would understand, yes. And this gave him more comfort than she could possibly know. “You remember that big to-do concernin’ the church? Back before I left in ninety-three? You remember, the explosion and all that?”

Gran nodded slowly, her mouth slightly open as if she were trying to grasp his words a piece at a time.

“Well, I was involved in that.” Gabriel said quickly. “And so was this girl I knew.”

“The Gedde girl?” she asked quietly, as if her words were taboo.

Gabriel nodded. “Me and her... we...,” Gabriel swallowed hard. “I loved her. It’s hard to explain how... how a guy like me and a girl like her got together. I could try, but I know you wouldn't get it, Gran.”

Gran seemed to accept this. “It’s okay, dear. Go on.”

“Anyway, that’s why I left. That’s why I went away for so long. There were other reasons, yeah,” Gabriel looked away from her and looked out to the quiet street beyond the poorly-kept lawn. “But she was the big one. The big reason.”

“Did you love her?” Gran asked, a dim light in her gentle gray eyes.

Gabriel nodded hesitantly. “I did.”

Gran instantly siezed Gabriel and drew him into a hug. For a woman her age, she had quite a handle on her. She patted his back rapidly and softly as she spoke soothingly into his ear. “My precious boy, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, sweety.”

It felt good. It was something Gabriel had never fully admitted to himself, but a hug was just what he needed. Something rather unknown to Grace, was that Gabriel was not fully ‘over’ Malia. Did he still sulk over her? Did he still think of her constantly? No. But when she did enter his thoughts... there was a small, dull pain. As though his heart were being poked at or prodded. It was a feeling he’d gladly surrender for another in its place.

Gran released him with great reluctance and Gabriel leaned back. He felt a bit uncomfortable, but he ignored that feeling.

“I wish you hadn't left, Gabriel.” she said, seemingly a bit upset.

“I know, Gran. I had to, though. I just had to get away from here, y’know? To go to Germany and sort some things out in my head.”

“And did you?” Gran asked him. Her tone was almost intrusive, but Gabriel did not think badly of her.

“I did.” he nodded. “But a few more problems rose out of it.”

“Is this where the problem rose between you and Grace?” Gran asked him curiously.

“Well, more or less, yeah,” he said. “I’d changed a lot. I wasn't the same.”

“You have changed much, Gabriel.” Gran whispered. “I didn't want to say it before because I thought you might not like my sayin’ it.”

“It’s alright. It’s only the truth.” he shrugged. “Grace was there for me, y’know? She was... I don’t know how to put it. She was just there, y’know? Whether I liked it or not, she was there. And believe me, at first, I didn't like it a damn bit. She didn't care, though. I guess she knew I needed it.”

“She’s a strong-willed girl, that Grace.” Gran nodded proudly. “She was good for you.”

That one hurt.

“Yeah, I guesso.” Gabriel permitted. “Anyway, some things came up and... Well, I guess we kinda...”

There was a silence for a moment. An almost unbearable silence for Gabriel. He’d always kept his love/sex-life out of his Gran’s ‘reach’ so to speak. He never wanted her to know that side of him, really. He preferred to keep his image to her the way it was. There were times, though, that she seemed to know more than he thought.

Gran nodded knowingly. “It’s alright, my boy. It’s been goin’ on since time began. There’s no shame in it.”

Gabriel couldn't help but smile at this one. His Gran was always so adamant about the ‘sex-before-marriage’ rule. She was a good Catholic and breaking that rule was definitely not on her ‘OK’ list. Gabriel appreciated her tolerance.

“Anyway, we... y’know... and I guess I had a hard time changin’ my act, y’know?”

“What do you mean?” Gran asked, not understanding obviously.

“Well, we were friends.” Gabriel placed crossed his legs slightly, placing his left boot atop his right knee. “So, I mean... it was a hard adjustment, I guess. Especially with Mosely bein’ around.”

“Franklin? He was in Germany ?” Gran asked, her brow wrinkled with puzzlement.

“No, no,” Gabriel sighed. “This was in France.”

France ?” Gran all but exclaimed. “Dear heavens, boy! You've certainly been a-travellin’, haven’t you?”

Gabriel smiled slightly. “Yeah, I guess I shoulda’ sent you a card or somethin’.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about it.” Gran didn't seem too hurt. “Go ahead with your story.”

“Right, well...” Gabriel chewed on his bottom lip. “I guess with Mosely bein’ around, I felt like I had to be my old self, y’know? Like... he wouldn't accept the new me. I know that’s silly, but...”

Gran smiled. "Honey, that's all men are: silly."

Gabriel nodded in perfect agreement, grinning widely. “I stand accused.”

“And convicted!” Gran smacked Gabriel’s hand and giggled like he always remembered. He loved the sound of it.

“So, I was bein’ a royal jerk, I guess. And... I know I hurt Gracie, and... y’know, don’t think I've not been beatin’ myself up over it for the past two years.” Gabriel winced slightly upon self-reflection. “But I was hurt, too. When she left, I mean. I was gonna fix things.”

“Were you?” Gran asked him, as if she were trying to help him make sure.

Gabriel cocked his head to the side. “Y’know what they say about... near-death experiences helpin’ people make up their minds on certain subjects?”

“I've heard, yes,” Gran concurred. “But thank the Lord I've never experienced such a decision-maker, myself! Please tell me you haven’t...”

“Naw, naw,” Gabriel said remembering the lovely little adventure with the pendulum. “Nothin’ like that. I'm just sayin’... It was somethin’ kinda similar. Gran, I ain’t doin’ a thing that risks my neck. All I'm sayin’ is... I kinda ‘saw the light.’”

“And what did you say to her when you returned? Would she not listen?”

“Could not listen, is more like it,” Gabriel said neutrally. “She’d already left.”

“Left?” Gran frowned. “Did she leave you a letter or somethin’?”

“A note, yeah.”

“What’d it say?” she asked tenderly, obviously sensing Gabriel’s sensitivity on the subject.

“Just that she was leavin’,” Gabriel looked up at his Gran and forced a smile. Forced. “Guess she was tired of my act, huh?”

Gran did and said nothing. She only looked deeply into Gabriel’s green eyes with a longing.

“I tried to contact her.” Gabriel shrugged. “She’s been stayin’ with some fella in India. It’s like a college. Kinda.”

“What was her reply? When you contacted her, I mean.”

“None. She didn't.” Gabriel picked at his ear. For some reason, when he talked about this serious/emotional stuff, he felt the need to look active: picking at his ear, scratching at his forehead, rubbing the slight amount of stubble on his chin, messing with his hair, etc...

“I see.” Gran said bluntly.

From off in the house, came the shrill ringing of the phone. Gran grimaced sourly. “That would be Judith once again. That old biddy.”

Gran began to pull herself up to no avail. Gabriel smiled sadly, rising to his feet. He took her by both hands and helped her up.

“Thank you, my boy.” she stood before him, staring into his eyes and he into hers. “I don’t care what anyone says about you, Gabriel. You’re the sweetest young man a girl could ever want.”

Gabriel felt himself actually doing something he’d not done in a long time: he was blushing. “Gran, I hate to say it, but you’re kinda’ in the minority on that score.”

“Then to Hades with the majority, Gabriel.” she pinched his cheek and shook his chubbyness. “To Hades!”

Gabriel took his Gran into his arms and gave her a big, tight hug. “I love ya, Gran.”

“And I love you, Gabriel.” she whispered into his ear. “You don’t know how proud I am of you.”

Gran stepped back from him, frowning once again at the third wail of the phone. “I’d better get that or Judith will have an ambulance over here to check on me. The nerve, I tell you!”

Gabriel watched his Gran as she approached the door. “I'm gonna go, alright Gran?”

“Oh?” she seemed disappointed. “Where are you going?”

Gabriel had been chewing on this one for the past hour or so, and finally came to his decision. “I'm gonna go see momma and daddy. Pay my respects.”

“Okay, then.” she smiled at him pleasantly. “Be careful, Gabriel. It’s just not safe there, these days. Drive safe.”

Gabriel nodded. “G’bye, Gran,” and stepped down the white-painted steps and strode down the beaten path towards his bike.

As Gabriel mounted the machine, relieving the kick-stand, a car roared by. A cherry red convertible. There were several teen-aged females within: two blondes up front and a brunette in the back. As they came to the stop sign, which was only twenty feet or so from Gabriel’s parked bike, he realized the brunette was staring right at him.

For some strange reason, Gabriel felt very little gratification in this.

Hell, you’re old enough to be her...

Gabriel shook his head angrily and kicked the machine into action. It responded immediately, and he roared down the shoulder of the street. He passed the convertible, brunette staring as he sped by, and pulled onto the street: en route to St. Louis Cemetary #1.

 

Last update: October 25, 2007


Print this page or access the printer friendly version
Bookmark with:
Bookmark this page with del.icio.us Delicious   Bookmark this page with Digg Digg   Bookmark this page with Facebook Facebook  Bookmark this page with Reddit Reddit  Bookmark this page with StumbleUpon StumbleUpon

next »