The Haunted Reckoning

by Michelle Dorey

  “I know this is gonna be tough on you, Paige, but he’s practically the only lead we have in tracking down Cory. I’ll set everything up. Hell, I’ll even drive.”

  “No way! Sure, you make the phone calls, but we rent a car. Something plain in case we have to tail him. Your flashy car would stand out like a sore thumb. And I’ll drive.”

  Her gut was a tight knot of barbed wire. She was actually going to meet her father.

  Chapter 27

  THE NEXT DAY, after dropping her mother off at the speech therapist’s clinic, Paige and Karen sat across the table from each other at a coffee shop nearby.

  Karen’s hands clasped together on the tabletop. The jittery twirling of her thumbs showed how nervous she was talking to Paige. After the waitress had served their coffee and left, she began in a low voice. “I never wanted to do this, Paige, but since you found some of it out yourself, you need to know the whole story.”

  Paige nodded. “Yes. It’s time I knew.” She leaned closer, and her hand rested on Karen’s. “I promise I’ll never let on to Mom.”

  Karen’s eyebrows bobbed higher for a moment and sighed. “At least not until she’s better.” She paused for a few beats, staring out the window next to her. “You know your mother left home as soon as she legally could, right?”

  Paige knew that much but not much more about what had happened in her mother’s younger years. “Yes. I gather she wasn’t close to her mother.”

  “Your mother was close to her father though. When he was killed in a car accident, everything changed. Your grandmother remarried and had two children right away. Three years after becoming a widow, she was remarried with two babies.” Karen’s eyes darkened. “It became clear to your mother by the time she was twelve that there was no room for her in this new family.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “No I’m not.” Karen’s eyes got misty. They kept ‘forgetting’ her birthday; that started when she turned twelve. When she graduated from high school, they couldn’t go because her parents chose that week to take her half siblings to Disney World!” She looked at the two women. “Cheryl was an afterthought in her own home.”

  Paige’s forehead knotted listening to Karen speak. What a miserable way to grow up. And considering how her mother had sacrificed, done without, to give her own daughter everything she could, it seemed doubly cruel.

  “Well, your mother left home as soon as she could, and never went back. She moved to another city.” She stared at Paige, and when she said the next word, it was like she spat out a bad taste. “Poughkeepsie. She got a job as a receptionist at a real estate company.”

  “Michael Smith’s company.”

  Karen nodded. “He was just starting out, and the outfit only had a couple salespeople. Cheryl was naïve. She fell for Michael Smith’s charm. She became pregnant with you.”

  “But you said he was a bad man.”

  “Oh, he was. She didn’t really discover that until the night she was going to tell him she was pregnant. She said she’d seen the odd thing: losing his temper over silly things, bullying waiters, but what she saw that night really opened her eyes.”

  Paige pictured the man from the photo. She could almost see the cheesy grin hiding something dark underneath. Like Cory.

  “He took her out to dinner, and when he was walking her home some panhandler approached them, begging for money to get something to eat. Cheryl said the kid was only sixteen or so, and old ragged clothes covering all ninety-eight pounds of him. Rather than ignore the kid, Michael berated him, telling him to eat shit and die. The kid turned away but told Michael he was a son of a bitch.”

  “Sounds about right.”

  “Yes, but when the kid turned away, Michael went after him. He beat the crap out of him, brutalized him till his face was hamburger. It was like he was possessed or something. Cheryl said there was rage, but something else too.” Karen’s eyes narrowed. “She said it looked like he enjoyed doing it.”

  Paige took a deep breath. “How did he get away with that? Was there no one there to stop it? Even Mom?”

  “Your mother begged him to stop. He backhanded her away. Even the kid was begging him to stop! But he just kept on.”

  “Sounds like he’s a mean drunk.”

  “That’s the thing that really frightened your mother! He was stone-cold sober!”

  “What?”

  “Yes. He hardly drank at all. But on that street he beat that kid almost to death! It happened on a side street. All the stores were closed, and there wasn’t anyone else around. It scared your mother so bad that she ran. When she got home, she packed a bag and left. She never wanted him to know about you.” Karen sat back and looked at Paige.

  “Yet she kept newspaper clippings about him. Why? Did she still love him?”

  Karen’s eyes sparked. “She was scared to death, Paige! Even though his firm was small he had lots more money than she did. He was also extremely jealous. If a man so much as looked too long at Cheryl, he would lose it. He’d staked his claim on her. His behavior kept getting worse until that night when he actually lost control. She had to get away from him especially since she was carrying his kid. She didn’t want him anywhere near you.”

  Paige sank lower in the seat. All these years she’d resented her mother keeping her father’s identity from her. But she’d done that out of fear. Just like Noele had feared Cory.

  “Oh my God.” She scooped Aubree’s MedicAlert bracelet from the pocket of her jeans and held it tight. It had become a talisman, connecting her to Aubree. She stared at it. “I could have been Aubrey.” She stroked the surface of the medallion.

  There was a bond of blood between her and that child.

  Chapter 28

  WHILE PAIGE HEARD THE TALE OF HER FATHER FROM KAREN, Cory faced a whole other set of problems.

  After trying numerous times to reach his father on the phone and getting only voice mail, he gave up. If he was to survive there was no way he could count on the old man. Still weak as a kitten, he shivered all through the long night. The fire had burned out, and there was nothing left to eat. His ankle looked even worse too, all swollen and red, pus oozing from the bites.

  There was no way around it. He had to get out of there.

  Arming himself with the table leg, he stepped outside and scanned the forest for any sign of the lynx pair. After the night he’d spent, shivering in the cold, his ankle throbbing while his gut felt like someone had taken a tire iron to him, he’d welcome seeing those cats. The table leg wasn’t metal but it still could do a heap of damage.

  The sky in the distance was heavy with gray clouds. The wind curled an icy hand over the back of his neck. He pulled the sweatshirt hoodie up covering his head. Each step across the uneven ground jarred his ankle, and he found himself using the table leg as a cane. When he rounded the bend the dirt road could be seen about fifty yards away.

  Where the hell was he? It had been pitch black when the old bastard had dumped him there. Not to mention the fact that he’d been forced to stay huddled in the back seat. Which way should he go? It wasn’t like there was any traffic. Who would come out to the back country at this time of year?

  He gazed at the sky to see where the sun was hiding behind the bank of clouds. It was barely visible, just a faint blur hanging just above the tree line. That way was east—probably where he should head if he had any chance of getting back to civilization. His head hurt racking his brain for any clue trying to figure out how far till he hit a real road. If he could manage to get there, maybe he could flag down some car to get a lift.

  His hand scraped over his face, rubbing the stubble on his cheeks. It was a start of a beard but nothing close enough to hide his identity. The old man should have given him some hair dye to get rid of the blond hair. The police would be looking for a blond.

  He peered at the forest once more, checking for any sign of the cats from hell. But the only sign of life was a squirrel leaping from a high branch and landing in the tree ne
xt to it, rustling the dead leaves still clinging there.

  His stomach grumbled as he set out on the narrow lane. What he wouldn’t give for a plate of bacon and eggs. He’d gone about a quarter of a mile when he heard a low rumble, not thunder, thank God. It definitely sounded like a car’s engine. The pain in his ankle spiked when he picked up the pace, hurrying to get over the crest of the hill to see if he was right.

  Wheezing and cursing under his breath at his father and that damned Noele, he finally made it to the edge of the road. In the distance was a dark gray sedan making its way slowly along. For a second he panicked, tempted to hide in the cover of the forest. But the pain in his foot and hunger held him there. If he didn’t get back to civilization soon he was as good as dead. He had to chance it.

  When the car was about thirty feet away he waved his arm over his head. He didn’t have to fake the desperation in his eyes. He could just make out an old guy clutching the steering wheel while he stared at Cory.

  “Hey! Help me. I’m hurt and lost.” He tried to look friendly. He didn’t want to completely scare the old coot seeing a guy in the middle of nowhere.

  The car slowed and came to a stop beside him. Cory took a step closer watching the window lower a few inches and the guy stare at him.

  “Thank you, Jesus, for sending me some help!” Cory looked to the sky and then flashed a smile at the old man. “I hate to trouble you, mister, but is it possible that you could give me a lift to the nearest medical clinic or hospital? I was bit by a wild animal, and—”

  “Where’s your car? How’d you get in here?”

  Cory barked out a short laugh, but all the time his mind was working overtime. “My wife. She up and left, stranding me out here. We were staying in a cabin, kind of a second honeymoon thing, but…” He looked down, doing his best shame face. “We had a fight. I woke up this morning, and she was gone with the car, phone and everything.”

  “Oh yeah?” The old guy’s gaze wandered from Cory’s muddy sneakers, the filthy pants and then to the scruffy jacket with the hood hiding his hair. “Where you from?”

  Cory felt a glimmer of hope at the man’s question. This might be easier than he’d even hoped for. He took a step closer to the car door with his best sheepish grin. “Walden.” There was no way he was going to give the guy the truth. Who knew if his face wasn’t plastered on every news channel?

  “Walden? You’re a long way from home, kid.” The man chuckled.

  ‘Kid?’ Just the way the old guy had said that made Cory see red. The dismissive tone and calling him “kid” just like his old man. His voice was flat when he asked, “You gonna help me or what? I could use a lift to the main road at least.”

  The guy’s steely gaze was back, and the window started gliding higher. Cory leapt and grabbed the door handle, yanking it wide. He was on the old man in a heartbeat, giving a quick jab to the old man’s throat before jerking him up and out of the car. The old man clutched his windpipe, on his back beside the rear fender. The shock on his face was quickly replaced by fear as he scrambled with his hands and legs to get away.

  “You should have just given me a lift you old geezer. Why’d you have to be a dick?” Cory grabbed the chair leg which had fallen to the side when he attacked the man. He stepped over and swung it up and over his head, bringing it down with a sickening thud on the old man’s mottled temple. The old man cried out and tried to shelter his head with his arms, but Cory wasn’t done with him...not by a long shot.

  Again and again he clubbed the man’s head and body, grinning as blood and tissue flew from the man’s head. “Stupid! Stupid!” Each crack of the chair leg was punctuated by Cory’s words and spit. It felt good...no...way better than good. It was epic serving justice to that old bastard. The nerve of him giving him the third degree and then trying to leave.

  The chair leg fell from his hand as he bent gasping for air. The old man’s face was a mass of red and his eyes were vacant staring at the sky. Only the car’s engine gently idling, sending up a soft glimmer of exhaust broke the stillness.

  When Cory straightened, after catching his breath, he stepped over to the old man and grabbed his hand. He was surprisingly light. He dragged the body into the thick undergrowth of trees. Cory’s fingers reached into the man’s pockets, and he plucked out a brown leather wallet. There were a couple twenties in there but not much else. He pocketed the money and then threw the wallet as far into the forest as he could.

  A downed branch off to the side would help conceal the body. After tossing the chair leg into the forest on the other side of the road, he got into the car. Already the warm air from the heater made him feel better.

  He had a car and enough money to get gas and a bite to eat at a drive-through. After that, he’d deal with his father. Plus, that was where the real money was. Enough to get him far, far away from New York State.

  Chapter 29

  THAT NIGHT, after the dinner dishes were cleaned up, Paige pulled out her phone to call Melanie. It rang only a few times before Melanie picked up, firing a question..

  “Hey. How did today go?”

  Paige sank into the kitchen chair, “Okay, I guess. How about you? Did you...you know?”

  Melanie chirped excitedly, “Yeah, I called Michael Smith’s realty office. I insisted on speaking to him, since I’m rich and only deal with the head honchos.” She chuckled, “I can be a real bitch when I need to be.”

  Paige smiled for the first time that day. “No more Mealy Mel, huh?”

  “That girl is way, waaay in the past, Paige.”

  “Good.” She looked down at the floor and her voice lowered. Mom and Karen were ensconsed in the next room watching ‘The Price Is Right’. “So? How’d he sound?” She bit her lip as she waited for Melanie to tell her. About her father.

  “Like any other blowhard salesman. He’s got exclusive listings of luxury homes where the owners are seriously motivated to sell. He tried to pawn me off on one of his sales agents. I had to do a little flirting to get him to commit to working with me. I can still taste the vomit up in my throat from that, but I did it.”

  Paige sat straighter, staring wide-eyed at nothing. “What? You got this set up already?” Her heart beat faster in her chest.

  “Of course. We’re going to meet with him tomorrow afternoon. He probably ran a credit check on me as soon as the call ended. It’s all set up. I told him I have many dealings in the Big Apple but I don’t want to live there. The two hour train into the city works well for me. After some on-line noodling around, I was able to describe Michael Smith’s house and neighborhood down to the letter. That’s what I told him I was looking for.”

  Paige blinked a few times and her jaw which had slowly gaped open snapped shut. “Tomorrow? Oh my God.” Despite the fact that this was the plan, the fact of it actually about to happen made her jittery.

  “I’ve booked the rental car. I’ll be around to pick you up at eleven tomorrow morning. Wear something lawyerly. Think you can pull that off?” Melanie laughed.

  “Smart ass.” She rose to her feet and wandered over to the counter to avoid being heard, “I’ll I’ll tell Mom that I’m needed to sign off on something at the office, but that I’ll be back in the evening. Home care is supposed to visit her anyway, so between that and Karen, she’ll be fine.” She took a deep breath, trying to quiet nerves which were taut as piano wires. “Thanks Mel.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. We’ve still got to come up with a plan that will lead us to Cory.”

  “We’ll figure it out on the way there.”

  ***

  After Paige broke the news that she was needed at the office the next day, she purposely avoided her mother. The woman would see right through the lie if given half a chance. Karen knew what was really going to happen and made it clear she thought it was a bad idea by shaking her head ‘No’ behind Cheryl’s back. When her mother’s head was turned away, Paige shot Karen a dark look that quieted her objections.

  Paige took her time in
the bathroom, showering and getting ready for bed. She held the bracelet in her hand before she left the room. It might have just been her imagination but she felt a sense of peace settle into her body holding it. She was on the right track in the quest to find Aubree’s killer. The details would come to her later.

  When she left the bathroom, Karen was just closing her mother’s bedroom door.

  The older woman whispered, “Your mom said she was tired, so I helped her get ready for bed. I’m not sure though…” She crooked a finger, beckoning Paige to follow.

  Once they were in the kitchen, she spoke, “I think she suspects something. Of course she didn’t say anything but she kept looking over her shoulder, expecting you to come out to join us. She seemed agitated.”

  Paige felt the weight of guilt settle in her chest. This was exactly what she had hoped to avoid. Of course her mother was suspicious. She’d never been able to tell even a white lie to her without the woman knowing. “It’s only for a day, Karen. Once I see Michael Smith I’ll know if he can lead us to Cory.”

  Karen glared at her but her words showed more concern than anger, “How do you know that? He’s not stupid, Paige. Even if he knows where Cory is, he’s not going to give that up. You should let the police handle this. I hate you going anywhere near that man.”

  “I can handle this. He’ll slip up if he’s hiding Cory. And when he does, I’ll be there to catch him.”

  Seeing the firm set of worry in Karen’s face, Paige added, “This is just an interview to see what I can find out. Believe me, I’ll call the authorities if I get an inkling of where Cory is. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

  Karen gripped Paige’s arm and leaned in, “You better be. I think he’s a dangerous man. Don’t turn your back on him for an instant.”

  Paige smiled, “Well, Melanie will be with me.”

  Karen shook her head, “I’m not sure if that makes me feel any better about this. She sure has changed since the last time I laid eyes on her.” Karen sighed and made her way to the front entrance. She took her coat from the hook and turned to Paige, “I’ll be here at nine tomorrow morning. Good night.” She opened the door and left.