Shona Jackson- The Complete Trilogy

by Vicky Jones

  Elbie walked past Chloe's open door after lunch, stopping as he heard her wince in pain as she struggled to lift a file box onto her shelf.

  "Here, let me help, ma’am!" He darted into the office, just catching the box in time before it slipped out of her hands.

  "Thank you," she croaked.

  As she reached up, with Elbie taking most of the box's weight, her blouse’s long sleeves rode up. Her wrists were red as fire, dotted with what looked like fingernail imprints. Elbie gasped.

  "Miss Chloe? Are you—?"

  "I'm fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to be getting to my meeting." She gingerly slid her sleeves back down, walked Elbie to her door and closed it behind him.

  "Enough is goddamn enough now! It's time." Elbie stormed into his workshop, red halos circling his watery eyes.

  "For what?" Shona replied, scrambling off her stool.

  "To expose that bastard Chambers," he roared, tearing the floorboard up and ripping the top off his escape box. He grabbed his diary and opened it up to the next clean page. Taking the pencil from behind his ear, he scribbled furiously.

  "What you talking about?"

  "I've just seen Miss Chloe. Got nasty marks all over her wrists and looked mighty embarrassed that I saw 'em too. Poor girl didn’t look too comfortable walkin’ either. What d'you suppose that means, huh?" he asked rhetorically.

  "Oh no," Shona felt her whole body freeze as Elbie’s words sliced open her heart.

  "No woman deserves that. That no-good animal! I'm goin' to the damn newspaper and tellin’ 'em everythin'! I don't care anymore, I got years of dirt, stuff I can prove, times and dates, you name it! And when it all blows up, I'll be long gone!"

  He strode towards the telephone in the corridor, taking out a scrap of paper from his top pocket and carefully dialing the number scrawled on it.

  "Hello? Gimme the editor. Hello? You got someone there who's lookin' for a big story? ’Cos I got one! Right, OK. What time can you meet me?"

  Shona stood motionless in the tool room, her mind a maelstrom of emotions. Elbie trudged back in, his fists clenched.

  "Listen, Elbie, do you really need to go to the papers? It's dangerous! Just tell Ellis! Surely he can put a stop to Kyle?"

  "Ellis is one man! You ever tried gettin' to him on your own? I tried that twice already! Chambers is always nearby. I did think of tellin' Chloe once, but I seen the way that animal treats her, the injuries he's inflicted. He's torn her down, broken her spirit, and her father doesn’t even give a damn. Too scared of losing his prize asset – the one who's bringin' in all the investors. He won't rock the boat, even if it is his daughter who's collateral. No, Shona, I got one shot at this, and it's gotta be big. We need the whole town on our side, not just one man. When that story lands, Larry Bruce and his thugs will be history!”

  "Larry? It's me. Yeah, listen, who you been upsetting? This old guy, Elbie, has apparently been keeping some secret diary that he's gon' bring with him tonight. Yeah, been keeping it years now, all the bad shit that's goin' down over there! He's got names, dates, all the stuff sheriffs like to make a case clean. What d'you want me to do 'bout it?"

  "You leave him to me."

  Larry Bruce sat quietly in his chair for over an hour after he'd hung up on Sam Lewis, hatching a plan as he fought to control the seething fire that was raging through his cold heart.

  Elbie patted his pocket to reassure himself that he hadn't lost his precious cargo on the way to his meeting with Sam Lewis that Tuesday evening. He surveyed the empty street in front of him surreptitiously before crossing over next to a run-down diner on the edge of Daynes. The last thing he wanted was to be followed. Just as he was about to cross the road, a dark green truck rounded the corner. Out of nowhere, he felt his jacket collar tighten as his body was yanked out of the road and back to the safety of the sidewalk.

  "Jeez, old man—you alright? Truck missed you by a whisker!" The young man who saved him wiped his brow and smiled at a shaken Elbie, who stared after the truck as it sped away down to the other end of the street and out of sight. "Strange thing, though, I coulda sworn that truck was speeding up, not slowing down!"

  He blew his cheeks out and shook his head at Elbie, who was shaking uncontrollably with delayed shock.

  Chapter 74

  Shona found Chloe sitting at her desk the next morning, staring into space as she stirred her coffee.

  "G'mornin', may I?" She gestured towards the open door.

  "Of course." Chloe half-smiled, but her eyes couldn't mask her pain.

  "Elbie told me what he saw yesterday? I tried to find you, but you’d already left for your meeting. I waited for you to come back but…”

  Shona stepped closer to Chloe’s desk, biting her lip as she saw tears prick the corners of her tired brown eyes. She went back to close the door, then gently perched on the edge of the desk directly in front of her as Chloe slowly folded her blouse sleeve upwards.

  "My God!" she gasped, the fury for Kyle incinerating her insides. "Do your parents know?"

  "I haven't told them. My mother believes certain things about a woman's role at home. She stays quiet, does as she told and she gets looked after by my father. Her life is as simple as that." Chloe’s weak voice trailed off as her eyes lowered.

  "That is not how your life has to be, do you understand? What he did to you was wrong. You don’t do that to someone you love." Shona whispered intently, leaning forward, her face only inches away from Chloe’s.

  Chloe lifted her weary eyes and lost herself completely in Shona’s gaze.

  Both their hearts were as calm as a millpond.

  Chloe had been thinking about Shona all day. Avoiding any interaction with her parents when she got home from work that evening, she slipped upstairs for a long, hot bath. It seemed to take forever for the tub to fill, but when she finally slid into the soapy water, she gasped as its warm caress completely enveloped her aching body.

  Her mind started to drift as she lifted droplets of water and cascaded them over her body, feeling their erotic touch as they warmed, then cooled on her skin. Instinctively, she knew Shona would always be gentle with her, her feather-light touch the complete opposite of Kyle’s brutality that night. What would it be like to feel her soft, silky skin against her own, in a place where they were undisturbed?

  Lying back in the tub, her hand slipped beneath the surface of the water. As she closed her eyes, Chloe pictured Shona’s beautiful face and played out the scenario she'd imagined every night in her head. Totally engrossed in her fantasy, she didn't hear the creak on the staircase a few minutes later.

  "Sweetheart, Kyle's on the phone. Hurry up, don't keep your man waiting!" Eleanor hammered on the bathroom door. Chloe's hand splashed from between her legs and back to the surface of the water, her cheeks reddening.

  "Just a second," she called back, lifting herself out of the tub and wrapping her robe around her, the unsatisfied tingles between her legs driving her crazy.

  With her daydream last night still thundering through her mind, Chloe raced to the tool room early Thursday morning, a clipboard full of official-looking papers tucked snugly under her arm.

  "Shona," she called out, the expression on her face serious as she breezed through the door. "Here. Just some jobs I need you to do, OK?"

  Chloe looked at her for a second too long before turning on her heels and striding away. Opening the paperwork, Shona saw the words as clear as day on the page:

  I love you.

  There, I said it!

  C x

  With every nerve ending in her body tingling, Shona rushed into Elbie's workshop to find some paper and a pen, then sneaked up to Chloe’s office. Seeing her in-tray outside, she placed her folded note underneath the few bits of paperwork already in there and scampered away before anyone noticed her.

  Returning to her office that afternoon, Chloe sank down heavily in her chair, weary from the tedious meeting she'd endured with Kyle. She sat staring blankly at him as he le
aned against the doorframe, and refused to invite him in.

  "Kyle, we're not backtracking on the new ideas. They've really boosted morale!"

  "Morale? That ain't important. It's profit that'll make this business thrive!"

  As he outlined all the reasons why she was making a mistake, Chloe began sorting through her mail. Picking up the third envelope, she froze, then slammed it back down on top of the swan-shaped note she'd uncovered. Carefully, she folded back one of the swan's wings to read the writing underneath.

  What you said,

  Me too

  S x

  "What's that?" Kyle asked, not able to see properly from where he was standing.

  "Nothing. Just something I thought I needed to deal with, but it's old news so…anyway. I need to get back to work." She shuffled her papers and eyeballed him until he tutted and slunk away.

  Her heart thudded hard in her chest as she read Shona's words back to herself for the fourth time. Even though her pain-ravaged body still ached, inside she felt reborn as she pressed the note to her lips. Rushing out of her office and down the stairs, Chloe knew that it was the same time every day Shona was tasked with washing down the floor of the tool room. Kyle, catching a glimpse of her blurry outline rushing past his window, watched her disappear through the canteen, then down the corridor. Racing back to his desk, he picked up his phone.

  "Randy, see where Miss Bruce is heading, will ya. Let me know who she talks to."

  Staring fondly for what seemed like ages through the doorway of the tool room, Chloe’s feelings of love for Shona almost overwhelmed her.

  "Ahem." She cleared her throat as gently as she could.

  "Hi! Um." Shona spun around in surprise, dropping the mop and tripping over her bucket.

  "Oh my—!" Chloe rushed over to try and save her from the lake of dirty water that had gushed all over her clean floor.

  "Son of a–" Shona cursed, then looked up to see a pair of soft brown eyes gazing down at her.

  "I got your message," Chloe said, kneeling down to be at eye-level with her.

  "I got yours. What in the blue blazes do we do now?"

  "Oh God, I don't know. It's so dangerous. I just wanna be alone with you, Shona, without us having to watch our backs, you know?"

  Shona nodded. "It was kinda brave what you did, giving me your note first," she smiled.

  "I had to do something. You didn't believe me when I told you at the river, so I needed to spell it out!" Chloe replied.

  "What kills me is that we can't go anywhere. We can’t be seen talking, or laughing…"

  "It won't be for much longer. I just need to work out a plan. Kyle will suspect something if I'm not careful."

  "I hate you bein’ around him. The thought of what he's done to you breaks m’heart," Shona replied through gritted teeth. "I’ll kill that bastard if he touches you again, I goddamn swear it!" She smacked her hand down hard on the wet floor.

  "I won’t let him. He's not the one who has my heart, you just remember that! We'll figure out a way somehow, I promise."

  "People get hurt in this town for being like us! I'm scared," Shona sniffed.

  "Then we won't stay in this shitty town." Chloe's eyes radiated determination. Desperately trying to resist embracing Shona, a noise outside the door brought them both back to their senses.

  "I better go," Chloe whispered.

  Outside the doorway, Randy had strained his ears to hear the conversation inside, but the two women were speaking too quietly. All he could report back was that Chloe had met with Shona, but he sensed that it was good enough for Kyle, who'd gone back into Chloe's office and sifted through her in-tray. In her haste to get to Shona, she’d left the swan hidden in her paperwork and, after reading the words written inside, Kyle screwed it up tightly in his clenched fist.

  After bumping into Randy and receiving his report, Kyle marched into Larry Bruce's office, his face like thunder.

  "This is out of hand now, Larry. After everything I do for your daughter! I treat her like a princess, buy her gifts and how does she repay me? She's off hatchin' plans with that no-good whore, Jackson! Probably to get more brownie points with the workers, make me look like the hard bastard that’s makin' them work. She's way too close to my girl, writing her goddamn love notes now! As if Chloe would be swayed. She knows when she's got it good with me!" He stalked around the office, banging on each surface in rage.

  "I know, son. We just gotta hang in there. That guy at the site in Louisiana is still on vacation, but once he's back, Jackson's gon' find herself on a lil' exchange program! He's had the payment from us, so I know he won't let us down," Bruce replied calmly.

  "Yeah, you're right, Larry. It's a shame we have to pay; it's making it more difficult for us to filter out money. Ellis is bound to start asking questions soon when he realizes profits are low, but productivity is high."

  "Leave it with me. Jackson's getting her promotion and going to Louisiana very soon—I'll make GODDAMN sure of it!"

  Shona arrived early to work on Friday, before everybody else. Dropping her satchel down in the tool room, she looked around to see what needed doing for the day.

  "Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch?"

  Kyle emerged from the doorway looking disheveled. Through quietly raging eyes, he squinted at her, his mouth curled into a snarl.

  "What?" Shona recoiled.

  "You heard me, bitch." He advanced towards her, slamming the door to the tool room behind him.

  "I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout." Shona felt behind her, but found only the edge of the workbench blocking her path.

  "THIS!" He held up the now-grubby, screwed-up paper swan.

  "I don't know what that is!" she lied, swallowing hard.

  Kyle lunged at Shona, pinning her against the wall, his hand clamped around her throat in a horribly déjà vu fashion.

  "Listen here, you fucking dyke. You stay the fuck away from Chloe, you understand, Shona? Or should I call you…Kathleen?" He pressed his unshaven face into hers.

  "You're an asshole. You’re a fucking coward! Look at you, manhandling a woman!" Shona was half-choking as she spat out her hatred towards him while he squeezed her neck even tighter. "How's your car, Kyle? Been repossessed yet? Or you hopin’ your luck'll hold out on the cards? Yeah, that’s right, I know all about you, you bastard! Go on, do your worst to me, but you leave Chloe alone. She’s way too good for you and you fucking know it! It eats you up at night, don’t it! That's why you're so fucking insecure, you piece of shit! Deep down, you KNOW she don't love you. And she NEVER will!"

  "Quiet!" Kyle slapped Shona so hard she fell to the floor, hitting her head hard on the concrete.

  "You can beat me all you want, it ain’t nothin’ I ain’t had before, but my words will burn your insides every time you close your fucking eyes at night." She glared at him, her head pounding.

  Kicking out viciously at her, Kyle caught Shona full in the stomach. She curled up in pain, recoiling from the blow and gasping for air. Furiously, he spat on the floor next to her, yanked open the door and slammed it behind him.

  Chapter 75

  "Shona, you got a visitor," shouted a voice from outside the tool room where she was stacking some boxes. It was later that afternoon, the heat of the day stifling.

  "Who is it?" Shona called back as she opened the back door to the tool room. She squinted, her eyes adjusting slowly to the intense sunlight. As her eyes focused, she looked in horror at the face of the smiling young man in front of her.

  "Jonny?" Shona gasped, her throat dry.

  Jonny Pearson had worked with Shona at Wreckers. He was twenty-eight years old, tall and quite good-looking. His dark brown hair flopped over his well-proportioned face, and his affectionate smile when he saw her standing in front of him after all this time affirmed the soft spot he’d always had for her, even thinking one day of asking her to be his girl. Even after what had happened to Shona back in Mississippi, he still cared about her.

&nbs
p; "I'll be damned, you really are here!" he exclaimed, his green eyes like saucers.

  "What you doin' out here?" Her hands clenched tightly in her pockets.

  "Had to deliver some parts. Y'needed 'em as soon as possible, and we were the only ones who had what you needed spare so, here I am." Jonny flung his arms out wide.

  "How is everything…back there?"

  "Great, well, apart from renewed gossip about you," he grinned. Shona folded her arms and nodded, prompting him to continue. "Yup, since a certain Chloe Bruce came to visit, people been talkin' and things…um…things ain't looking good for you."

  "Why?"

  "Why? Folks are wonderin' if you're up to your old tricks again, setting your sights on Miss Bruce. I gotta be honest, girl, don't think it'll be long before people start venturing out this way to find you. There are a lot o'angry people you left back home who feel you was lyin' to 'em."

  "Lyin'? Jonny, do you think it's easy being…me?" she snapped.

  "Listen, Shona. Before I found out you were one of them kind, I thought you were the best worker at Wreckers!"

  "What changed?" she interrupted.

  "What changed? Do y'know what they do to people like you?"

  "Course I do!"

  "Do y'know what they do to people who help people like you?" Jonny whispered the end of his question.

  "Yeah," she replied.

  "And I got my family to think about, Shona. I don't believe that you're bad, you're just unwell or wired up wrong. Ain't there no cure?" He wrinkled his nose.

  "Cure? I've had treatment, Jonny, electric shocks all over me! Do you really think I wanna feel like this?"

  "Listen, Shona, you're a real pretty girl, you know. Can’t you just, I don't know, find a man, settle down, have kids if you want and just bury these feelings? Pretend, even? I mean, it's safer that way." Jonny stepped closer to her.