“Of course, honey. Cliff had to use the restroom, so I’m pinch-hitting until he comes back.”
“Wow, some meds they gave me. Is it over yet?”
Eleanor laughed. “No. You’re still in pre-op.”
“Oh. Silly me. No wonder I was thinking about so much in my head.”
Leaning closer, Eleanor whispered, “You mentioned the lake several times.”
“Did I? Damn. Hope I didn’t say something I’ll regret later,” I muttered.
“No one would pay any attention. Don’t worry. Ramblings of drugged patients are generally ignored.”
Through the funk of medicine in my head, a question I’d wanted to ask Eleanor for months but didn’t for fear of what she’d say, popped out. “You always knew about Martha, didn’t you?”
Chuckling softly, Eleanor patted my hand. “Kendrick needed someone to talk to, and that person was me. He didn’t become a hermit only because of what his daddy did. He feared Peyton just like everyone in Ridgeport did.”
“Why?”
“Because Martha showed up at his house that night, cold, wet, covered in scratches and crying. She begged him to never tell anyone and he didn’t. At least, not until he told me.”
My eyelids lost the battle to remain open. I felt myself slipping. “I’ll be damned,” I mumbled. Something else Eleanor said made me shiver. “You said everyone. Even you?”
“Yes, even me. Peyton feared I might know something, and he used it against me. Told me if I ever said a word, he’d make sure Billy served his entire sentence.”
“Jesus, what an asshole. Ha, maybe they’ll be cellmates.”
“Doubtful. Billy made parole. He’s coming home next week.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re moving back to Texas after I recover. Sorry, Eleanor, but you’ll have to come visit me after I’m gone. I’m sure you understand why,” I whispered then succumbed to the blackness.
“THE RING IS beautiful! Congratulations!” Eleanor gushed.
“Thank you,” I said, holding my hand up so the diamond caught the light from the ceiling fan. “Cliff is always full of surprises. He put it on my breakfast tray this morning, nestled inside the napkin with the words “Will you?” written on it. So sweet. God, I can’t believe it!”
“I’m so happy for you, Renee. Have you given thought about when and where?”
“Not really. I mean, I need to be able to walk down the aisle without limping first. The only thing I do know for sure is it won’t happen here. Cliff suggested San Antonio, so once we get settled in his place, we’ll figure it out.”
“Am I invited?”
“Why wouldn’t you be? You’re like my second mom now,” I said, pushing myself from the bed. “Someone’s got to give me away.”
Eleanor moved to help me but I shook my head, determined to do it myself.
“How far is San Antonio from here?”
“About seven hours. Don’t worry, we already thought about that. Whatever spot we pick, we’ll fly you in so you don’t have to drive.”
“Thank you, sweetie. So, how’s the pain level today?”
“Not too bad, actually. Cliff went to the store to get more boxes. I know he won’t let me help pack while he’s here, so when he goes to work tonight, I’m going to surprise him. Get everything all labeled and stowed away. He’s been working hard taking care of me plus actually working.”
“Still leaving Saturday?” Eleanor asked.
“That’s the plan. Signed the sale papers yesterday on my house, so there’s nothing left to do but finish up here.”
Eleanor followed behind me as I took tentative steps around the room. “Don’t overdo it, Renee. Take smaller steps.”
“I’m fine, Eleanor. Really. The incision hurts more than the fusion. Doc said by next week, I’ll feel like a new woman.”
“I heard the department threw Cliff a nice going away bash yesterday.”
“They did. The new Sheriff tried to talk him into staying on. Even offered him Greenwood’s old job. I thought it was funny. After all that’s happened, why would the man even consider Cliff would stay?”
“Some people just don’t like to say goodbye. Especially to those they love.”
Hearing the hitch in Eleanor’s voice, I turned around. Sure enough, she was crying. “This isn’t goodbye, Eleanor. It’s see you later. Texas isn’t in another country you know.”
“I know,” Eleanor said, wiping the tears away. “I’m just really going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, but we’ll stay in touch. You are welcome to come visit anytime. At least you aren’t alone now that Billy’s back home.”
I really struggled to say the last part without sounding angry. Yes, my lovely ex was back in town. Joy. So far I’d been lucky, holed up at Cliff’s, so I hadn’t run into him. Cliff did at Walmart yesterday, and the two men nearly came to blows until several shoppers stepped in and separated them.
God, I couldn’t wait to get out of this town.
“Speaking of, I need to go to the store and pick up some more groceries. Billy sure does seem to enjoy my cooking.”
Anything was better than prison food. I hoped the bastard would choke to death on a chicken bone or something. “Everyone enjoys your cooking, Eleanor. When I’m back up to par, I plan on making a huge pot of spaghetti—if you’ll share your marinara recipe with me?”
Eleanor hugged me and walked to the door. She stopped and pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and set it on the dresser. “I know it’s your favorite so I already wrote it down.”
She didn’t wait for me to say anything.
Once I heard Eleanor shut the front door, I walked over to the dresser and picked up the paper. In her beautiful handwriting, Eleanor had written out the recipe, dated it, and signed it. With all my love to a woman stronger than me—Mom #2.
Smiling, I headed to the bathroom to take a shower, grateful for many things, including the cherished bond between me and Eleanor. Three months ago, I was ready to kill myself. Now, the horrible nightmares were gone, kept at bay each night by Cliff’s strong arms, and I was days away from leaving my wretched life behind in Arkansas to begin a new one in Texas.
With my future husband.
“God, thank you!” I whispered while staring at the diamond on my finger. “Thank you.”
“YOU NEED HELP getting out?”
“It feels so good I think I’ll stay in it a few more minutes.”
“No way. You might slip and fall. Come on, future wife, let me help.”
“Okay, okay. Worry wort,” I muttered. Cliff helped me out of the hot tub and back to the bed.
“Stay put, Renee. I mean it. I saw how you looked at those boxes earlier. If just one of them is packed when I get off duty, I’ll put you over my knee.”
My response was a coy grin. “That sounds like fun and not a deterrent.”
Cliff returned the grin. “Just wait until you get better. I’m going to make you scream so loud the neighbors will think I’m killing you.”
“Oh, can’t wait! Now go. I promise I won’t stuff one item in a box. Quit worrying.”
Cliff kissed my forehead then adjusted his holster. “Got your phone?”
“Right here,” I replied, holding it up. “You’ve been hanging out with Eleanor too much. Her fretting rubbed off on you.”
“Hey, people are supposed to fret over those they love, remember? I’ll stop by on my break to check on you. Love you, Renee. Get some rest.”
“Love you, too, babe. Enjoy your last day! Oh, tomorrow we start the day off both unemployed!”
Cliff laughed while tromping down the hall. I waited a full fifteen minutes after he left before slinking back out of bed and back to the bathroom. The hot tub was addicting, and I preferred to soak in the bubbly water rather than take pain medication. Another ten or fifteen minutes of the jets massaging my back and I’d sleep like a baby.
I sure would miss the hot tub when we moved. Maybe Cliff would be wil
ling to—
“Crap! I knew he’d come back and catch me!”
Struggling to get out without falling, I scrambled out of the tub and flung my robe on. I could hear Cliff’s boots coming down the hall. Jesus, I wish I could move faster and hop back in bed! He was going to be mad at me if he knew I’d risked getting into the slippery tub alone.
I made it to the bed then remembered I left my cell on the bathroom counter. Damnit! Oh well, if Cliff noticed and asked, I’d tell him I forgot to bring it back to bed after using the restroom.
“Hello, darling. Miss me?”
The sound of Billy’s deep, menacing voice made my skin quiver and heart pound. My hands shook and legs trembled as old fears seized my soul.
“If Cliff catches you, he’ll—”
Billy stepped through the doorway, the evil smirk he always wore beaming. “He won’t catch me because I’ll only be here a minute. Maybe two.”
“Get out,” I hissed.
Crossing the room in three long strides, Billy’s strong fingers dug into my forearm. “My thoughts exactly. Let’s get out of here. We’ve got places to go and people to see.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said but not with enough conviction.
Billy’s breath was rank, full of the scent of bourbon and cigarettes. The stench took me back years. Those hateful eyes I used to have nightmares about stared back at me, red and swollen. He hadn’t aged well in prison. He looked old, scraggly, and pissed as hell. I’d seen the look so many times I knew what was coming next.
Billy jerked me toward the door and I yelped in pain. “Where’s your phone?”
“Screw…you,” I mumbled through clenched teeth. “I’m not afraid of you anymore, Billy Runsford.”
He yanked me closer so my face was millimeters from his own. “You should be. Tell me where it is and I might consider letting you live.”
“No.”
I knew it was coming and I didn’t care. I wouldn’t cower down to him again. The back of Billy’s hand caught my cheek. He didn’t hit me hard enough to knock me down, only enough to ring my bell. “Got mouthy while I was away, huh? I’ll fix that. I surely will. I’ve waited for this for a very, very long time.”
I spit the mouthful of blood in his face, which turned out to be a mistake.
“WAKE UP YOU little Jezebel. You’ve got a phone call to make.”
It took me a second to open my eyes. When I did, I realized I was in a truck, it was dark outside, and I was freezing. Licking my lips, I tasted the rusty flavor of blood. My head and back throbbed, as well as my swollen lip. I felt something warm and squishy underneath my arm.
Crumbled in the seat next to me was Eleanor. A large gash starting from her scalp and down past her cheek gushed blood all over the front of her shirt.
Stifling a gasp, I sat up, tears rolling down my face.
Billy tossed my cell into my lap. “Call him.”
My heart sank. “No. Whatever you got planned is between the two of us. Leave him and Eleanor out of it this. She’s your mother, Billy! She loves you—”
“Shut up!” Billy roared. “I said call him. If you don’t, when he arrives, I’ll kill both of them real slow and make you watch. I swear I will Renee.”
I knew my ex well enough to know he meant every word. Fumbling with the phone, praying silently Eleanor would wake up, or God Himself would swoop down and take hold of the wheel, my shaking hands dropped the phone.
“Quit stalling or I swear Renee—”
“Give me a minute, please Billy? I just had surgery,” I begged while feeling around the floorboard. I felt something soft. Eleanor’s purse! Digging further, I let my fingers search for something, anything I could use as a weapon. My heart skipped two beats when I realized there was nothing inside to help me. “Got it.”
“Call him and put him on speaker. If you say one word, I’ll slit her throat right here and let her bleed all over you. Understand?”
“Yes,” I mumbled, softly crying as I hit send and called Cliff.
“Hey baby! Miss me already?”
I had to cover my mouth to contain my sobs when I heard Cliff’s sweet voice.
“You’ll be missing her forever if you don’t follow exactly what I’m about to say, Cliffie-Boy,” Billy said, his tone dark and almost playful. “You ready to play a fun game?”
There was a long pause before Cliff answered. I prayed the call dropped but again, I didn’t have that kind of luck. “If you hurt her Runsford, I promise you’ll regret it.”
“Big talk for a man who’s soon to be wife is sitting next to me, bleeding. You’re trying my patience, Cliffie-Boy. Ready for the rules?”
“Yes,” Cliff responded in a hushed, angry tone.
“Good. There are only three, so here goes. Come alone; tell a soul and they're dead; and hurry, you’ve got fifteen minutes or both of them will be taking a permanent swim. I assume you’re smart enough to figure out where.”
Billy rolled down the window and tossed my phone out as we sped down Highway 9 toward Suicide Lake.
God, help us.
Please?
THE GATE WAS busted—again—when Billy turned down the dirt highway leading to the lake. Rumbles of thunder in the distance made the truck vibrate with each boom. The storm was close and it would be a wicked one judging by the thick bolts of lightning. Dainty white snowflakes peppered the windshield. Ignoring the freak thundersnow storm, I zoned in on just one thing I remembered Billy probably didn’t count on.
Billy didn’t know how to swim.
Bouncing down a dark road, I stared ahead, refusing to look at the piece of shit behind the wheel. He knew I was terrified and I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing it on my face while I figured out how I was going to get him near the water and push his sorry ass in. I’d probably end up going in with him, but I didn’t care. If it meant I’d save Cliff and Eleanor, at least my death at Suicide Lake would be a valiant one.
“Your mother loves you, Billy. She went every month to see you, stood by your side at the trial, never gave up on you, and this is how you repay her?”
“No one betrays me and gets away with it. No one. Just ask my dead second wife,” Billy said then threw the truck in park. “Guess I didn’t train you well enough to remember, huh? Now, get out and walk to the hood. Move one step more and it will be your last.”
Opening the door, I stepped out into the cold night air. The robe was thick, but not thick enough. The cold made me shiver even harder, which aggravated my back. It took all the strength I had to push through the pain and walk.
Billy groaned as he lugged Eleanor’s unconscious body from the front seat of the truck. The movement made his jacket flop open. The shakes intensified when I saw the butt of some sort of pistol sticking up from his waist. Squatting to get better traction, he hefted once and slung Eleanor over his shoulder.
“Go to the end of the dock. Slow,” Billy instructed. For emphasis, he pulled the gun from his beltline and pointed it at Eleanor’s back. “No tricks or she’ll pay the price.”
The deck was slippery and I was barefooted. My teeth were chattering by the time I made it to the end. Billy was breathing hard while trudging behind me. Just as I turned around, he dropped Eleanor’s body onto the wood. Eleanor groaned yet didn’t move. Billy turned to me and smiled. The look on his face was horrifying.
“You shouldn’t have disobeyed me, Renee. You belong to me, remember? No man was to ever touch you again. It was part of your punishment for what you did. I forgave you for taking back your old name but marrying another is unforgiveable.”
“All these years and you still blame me for William’s death? I was a good Mom, Billy. William died because of sudden infant death—”
“Liar!” Billy roared, grabbing my wrist and twisting hard. “He died because of your sins! I left you because I couldn’t stand being near you any longer. That was my sin. I gave up because I was weak. Now, I’m not. William died because God took him for your sins
! That’s why you had to pay. Why I had to make you pay. I couldn’t just let you get away with it!”
Fighting back the tears, I stared into his eyes. I needed to figure out what he meant and how I could use the situation to throw him off balance mentally, then follow it up by physically. “Pay for what, Billy? Sleeping with you before we got married?”
“Devil’s mouth. You’ve always had a devil’s mouth, Renee. He’s the father of lies and you are his daughter. That’s why you’re here, along with my traitorous mother and soon, the other you fornicated with and duped into marriage.”
“Billy, please, whatever you’re thinking, leave them out of it. Again, this is just between the two of us.”
“Wrong! You need to pay for what you did. You were doing a good job all those years you were alone. I know because I had others keep an eye on you. But then you wormed your way inside Mom’s head with your lies. Now you’re about to ruin another man’s life because you can’t tell the truth, so I won’t let you.”
Frustrated, I blurted out, “Tell the truth about what, Billy?”
Pulling me to him, Billy stroked my cheek with the tip of the cold steel. “That you’re a killer.”
My mind gridlocked.
The strokes to my cheek increased in pressure to match Billy’s words. “Your penance for your sins is two-fold. First, you’ll find sweet freedom by coming clean and telling my good ol’ mommy and your betrothed who really killed your dad and his whore. Second, I’m going to kill both of them—right in front of your eyes—and let you take the fall for it. You’ll get to spend the remainder of your life behind bars paying for your mistakes like I did. It’s only fair, Renee. I killed and took my punishment. Now it’s time for you to do the same.”
“How did you…I never told you!” I yelled, shocked by the revelation.
“Those pills that brain doc gave you years ago. They made you talk in your sleep. Of course, I didn’t believe it at first but you kept having the same dream. Waking me up in the middle of the night, crying and yelling about your daddy. So, I came here and did a little diving. Imagine my surprise when I found their bones and the bike, just like you said in the dream, right about six feet from this here dock. I was young and stupid, still sort of in love with you but you committed murder! Instead of turning you in, I got all the bones I could find and brought them home. Remember the night we roasted a pig?”
Suicide Lake Page 13