Sinister Awakenings
Page 17
Kellie, feeling relieved, nodded and climbed into the back of the van. She looked at Max. “Rufus was still on the deck. The firefighter said they’d get him. I hope he’ll be okay.”
“Don’t you worry. They know how to rescue animals, too. I’m thankful you’re safe. I think my heart stopped when the call came in with our address,” Max answered.
“I think someone started the fire, Max. I smell gasoline. Why would anyone do this? Fire surrounded us.”
Max closed his eyes and shrugged. He opened them and looked at Kellie. “I don’t know, but the police will find out who’s responsible. I’m gonna kill them with my bare hands.”
Before Kellie could answer him, she heard Taylor call her name and saw her best friend running from her house toward the van. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she sputtered, “Thank God you’re okay. I didn’t know what to think when we heard the sirens and saw all the flames.”
“We’re fine Taylor. We’ll be at the hospital for a while. I don’t have anything to wear. Could you bring me something of yours to the hospital later?”
“Of course.” Taylor’s answer was interrupted by Rufus’ barking as he ran up to the van and sat next to Taylor. He looked up at Kellie and whined.”
“I’m okay boy, and so are the girls. You’re a great alarm system.” She dropped onto a stretcher next to Faith and Hope.
Taylor called to Kellie, “We’ll take Rufus home with us. Don’t worry. I’ll see you a little later.”
Max climbed into the back of the paramedic van with Kellie and their girls, and when the doors slammed shut, Taylor turned toward home with Rufus on her heels.
~ * ~
Max took Kellie’s hand and said, “Don’t worry. The girls are fine.” He took the clipboard from the paramedic monitoring the girls. “Look at these numbers. They’re perfect. They didn’t inhale any smoke or fumes. Please don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry? How can you expect me not to worry? I smelled gasoline, Max. Someone tried to kill us. There is no way the entire house could have been encircled in flames and the living room burning that quickly without help. It wasn’t any evil spirit. Claudia protected our home. It was a human being that attacked our home.”
The paramedic glanced at Max out of the corner of her eye, but quickly returned her attention to the girls laying side by side on the gurney. Max smiled and shrugged.
Max took Kellie’s hand again and said, “We can discuss this later.” He motioned toward the paramedic.
“No, we can discuss it now. I don’t care who knows. No one in this town is unaware that I’ve battled spirits and most will think one set the fire. I know it’s impossible for a spirit to break through Claudia’s protection. Does Uncle Mike know? He needs to start an investigation now,” Kellie insisted. “He has a human to look for this time. At least, he’ll be happy he isn’t chasing another spirit.”
Max breathed a sigh of relief when they stopped at the ambulance entrance to the emergency room. He was worried Kellie might become hysterical not that he could blame her.
He needed to insist she sit in a wheelchair, and he’d push her when she wanted to run after the gurney carrying her girls. Kellie finally gave in when her knees nearly collapsed. Max hurried, and they caught up to the gurney as the paramedic wheeled it into an exam room.
She refused an examination in a separate room, and the nurse allowed her to stay with Hope and Faith. Kellie sat on the exam bed next to her girls to wait for the doctor. Max paced the length of the small room several times and then stopped a fuming Mike Stellion from entering the room.
Max placed his hands on Mike’s chest and pushed him slowly into the hall.
“Listen, Mike, before you go barreling in there yelling at Kellie about causing this you need to know this wasn’t any spirit. Someone very human caused the fire. If you can’t go in there and be calm with her, I won’t let you in. You need to start looking for the maniac who tried to kill my family.”
Max smiled when he saw Rita hurrying toward them followed by Taylor. “Look, Mike, your wife, is here. Please calm down and help Kellie.”
Before Mike could answer, Taylor and Rita rushed past them and into the exam room. A moment later, the doctor entered.
The doctor insisted everyone except Max leave while he examined Kellie and the girls. Thirty minutes later, Max followed the doctor out of the room to find the anxious faces of Rita and Taylor. Mike was across the emergency area pacing and speaking into his phone.
“They’re all fine,” Max smiled from ear to ear. “None of them inhaled smoke. Kellie did everything right to keep them safe.”
“Can we see them?” Concern crossed Rita’s face as she fought tears.
“Of course.” Max opened the door, and Rita and Taylor rushed past.
Both women hugged Kellie and spoke to the girls at the same time. Taylor held up a large cloth bag. “I brought you some clothes and diapers and clothes for the girls. They’ll have to look like boys until you get their clothes but I doubt they’ll mind.”
“I don’t think they’ll care either. The nurse is going to bring them each a bottle. They would normally be asleep now, but all this excitement may make them hungry. Taylor, did you hear anyone outside tonight? Did Penny bark because Rufus never did? Whoever set the fire took a big chance but must have been quiet.”
Taylor shook her head, “No, the sirens woke us and then I saw the flames from our windows. My heart nearly stopped. Hunter almost tackled me to keep me from running over to your house before the fire truck arrived. We didn’t see a thing, but I smelled gasoline. Did someone set the fire?”
“I think so,” Kellie answered. “It burned too quickly and was at the front and back of the house. I don’t know who would do this.”
Rita reached over and brushed Kellie’s cheek with her hand. “Don’t worry about it now. Mike will work day and night to find out who did this to you.”
“Did I hear my name,” Mike asked when he walked into the room. He hugged Kellie and told her the same thing Rita said.
Max asked if he had any ideas.
Mike replied, “The sirens woke your entire neighborhood. Most of the houses have security cameras similar to yours. Your neighbors offered their footage to my officers. We’ll check it as soon as possible. I’m also getting the footage from any nearby businesses. We may be able to track whoever did this with that footage. I don’t want you to worry. I’ll catch whoever did this. That’s a promise.”
“I know you will Uncle Mike. I can’t believe someone tried to burn down the house with the girls and me inside. What kind of person does that?”
Mike shook his head. “A sick person. You haven’t had any strange or threatening encounters with anyone lately have you?”
“No, my life has been quiet. I’m a mom, wife, and charity president. It keeps me too busy to do anything else. Housework alone takes half my time. Oh, Uncle Mike, do I still have a house?”
Mike smiled. “Yes, the Fire Chief made a preliminary evaluation. He’ll know more tomorrow after he gets a better look in the daylight. He doesn’t think the fire damaged the structure of the house. Of course, you’ll need new siding, a new back deck, and living room. It could have been a lot worse. The fuel burned, but it hasn’t been dry lately, so the fire didn’t spread far. I’ll get you an updated report tomorrow and find a good inspector and construction company to start repairs. You concentrate on getting over this and taking care of the girls. Let Max spoil you.”
Kellie nodded hearing Mike speak but not much registered. Fatigue gripped her and she wanted to lay down with the girls and sleep. Max told her to rest. Mike would take him to the fire station to get his truck. Fortunately, the girls had car seats in his truck as well as Kellie’s SUV. He didn’t want to see the house again that night.
When he returned, he found Kellie changed into Taylor’s clothes and the girls babbling and holding bottles.
“Da, da, da,” they both said in unison when he walked into the room.
He smiled and picked up Faith. Kellie picked up Hope, and they walked out together grateful to be together and well.
~ * ~
Loud pounding woke Lance and Hannah. “Who’s at the door?” she mumbled.
“I don’t know,” he answered and stumbled to the door. A disheveled Claudia rushed into the room as soon as he opened the door.
“Kellie needs our help. She and the girls are fine, but someone set fire to their house while they slept.”
Hannah gasped.
Lance took Claudia’s arm and guided her to a chair. “Sit and let me know what’s going on.”
“That’s all I know except it wasn’t a spirit attack. An evil human did this, but it is connected with the events here. My connections let me know it may be the same person who is responsible for summoning the spirit today. Find whoever stole the diary and you’ll know who set fire to Kellie’s home.”
“How’s that possible?” Hannah asked. “We’re two hundred miles north of Kellie.”
“It isn’t impossible,” Lance answered. “I made the trip up here in a little over four hours. The library incident was late this afternoon. It’s the middle of the night now. That’s enough time for anyone to travel there. I just wish I knew why.”
Hannah mused aloud, “Do you think whoever took the diary knew Kellie might come here? We heard people mention that at the library. People did overhear me ask about Kellie while we ate at the diner. I’m sure it’s all over town by now.”
“Of course, I mentioned her text while we were at the library. I told you she wanted to drive up her tomorrow since she thinks her vision will allow her to decipher the diary.”
“Oh yeah, I remember,” Hannah said. “Whoever stole the diary overheard us or a rumor about Kellie knowing something spread through town. The thief is aware she’s coming.”
“I think you’re correct,” Claudia answered. “I will head back to bed. Tomorrow will bring more knowledge and troubles. Sleep well.” Claudia breezed out of the room leaving a worried Lance and confused Hannah behind.
“It's hard to believe anyone around here would do such a thing,” Hannah insisted.
“They must be desperate not to have their actions discovered. I don’t understand why stealing the diary would cause someone to try and burn down someone’s home. I believe they meant to kill Kellie. If she’s dead, she can’t help us. We’re looking for a very twisted individual.” Lance lay down on the bed.
Hannah took his hand. “Don’t worry; we’ll find out who did this.”
Lance sighed and turned off the light.
Chapter Eighteen
Kellie startled awake, the terror of the previous night playing in her mind. “Max, Hope, Faith” she called out pulling herself out of the soft bed.
Max appeared in the doorway of the suite’s bedroom. “We’re here. Everything is all right. The girls are in the other room with me. We wanted to let you sleep. You didn’t sleep well last night.”
Kellie followed Max into the living area of the suite and found the girls sitting on the floor playing with toys Kellie didn’t recognize.
“Where did the toys come from,” Kellie smiled at her happy daughters.
“Your Aunt Rita stopped by earlier while you slept. She brought two shopping bags full of toys. I think she bought out the toy store, but she said the girls needed toys, and we can’t go home for a while.”
Kellie felt tears prickle her eyes. Whatever happened they were safe. That was all that mattered. Her girls were happy.
“We need more than toys if we’re going to be here for a while,” Kellie answered looking at Max wearing the same clothes he wore the night before.
He smiled. “Mike called earlier. The fire chief said the structure is safe, but of course, we can’t live there. Mike arranged for a fire restoration firm to come and begin clean up. While he was there, Taylor came over. She took the day off from work and insisted Mike help her get all of our clothes out of the house. She’s going to spend the day washing them to remove any smoke odor. We’ll stop by later and get some clean clothes. I think Rufus will appreciate a visit. He’s happy playing with Penny but when Taylor lets them outside Rufus stares at our house and howls.”
“Poor boy, he stuck right by my side last night. He growled at the firefighter who climbed onto our deck. He also helped keep the girls from crawling away while I locked us in our room.”
Max wrapped his arms around his wife. “I knew that dog would die for you or walk through fire for the girls. I never dreamed he would have to do it.”
Kellie leaned back and smiled. “He’s a great dog. I better call Taylor.”
“Okay, I’ll order us some lunch. You slept through breakfast.”
While they enjoyed lunch, Kellie explained that Taylor was busy with the laundry. “Mrs. Donahue saw Taylor bringing out the clothes and insisted on helping. Uncle Mike took all the girl’s clothes to her house. He was worried she’d work too hard if she had a lot to do at her age.”
“She’s close to eighty. She shouldn’t help like that,” Max insisted.
“She has the nicest garden in the neighborhood. I think keeping busy helps her stay young. It isn’t hard to wash the girl’s little outfits, and Mrs. Donahue most likely feels useful.”
“I guess.”
“Taylor’s been busy. She chose what she thought we’d need right away. We have clean jeans, t-shirts, socks, and underthings we can get this afternoon.”
Max’s eyes flew open wide. “She washed my underwear?”
“I think so. It isn’t a big deal. She knows you wear it, and Hunter wears it, too. She’s seen men’s underwear before.” Kellie giggled.
“But still…” Max groaned.
Kellie turned to answer the house phone and allow Max time to deal with the fact another woman saw his unmentionables. “Great, send him up.”
She turned to Max. “That was the front desk. Uncle Mike is here.” She smiled.
Max opened the door and ushered Mike into the room. Kellie hugged him and asked him to sit. Mike smiled at the girls.
“I see Rita arrived with the toys she said she wanted to purchase.”
“She certainly did,” Max replied.
Mike settled into a chair. “I have some information for you, but I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“Tell me,” Kellie said dropping onto the sofa across from him.
“First, we were able to catch a few glimpses of a man on a motorcycle driving to and from your house. We captured an image of the same man on one of the business security cameras on Main Street and captured an image of his license plate. The problem is the motorcycle was reported stolen earlier last evening.”
“Okay, at least, you have an idea where to look. Is it someone from around here?” Max asked.
Mike answered, “That’s the second part of this puzzle, and it’s odd. The motorcycle was stolen from the same town as the strange murder last week. I spoke to their police chief this morning, and it seems they had another attack yesterday afternoon. A local librarian swears she saw a strangely dressed man kill an elderly gentleman reading in the library. The killer doesn’t show up on security footage.”
“That’s’ because it’s a spirit, Uncle Mike,” Kellie explained.
“Not again. Kellie, you said you were through with this garbage. No more spirits.”
“Maybe I want to be finished, but evidently the spirits aren’t done with me. I believe the spirit was conjured up by a spell. The spell is in a diary. I need to help Lance destroy the diary.”
“Absolutely not,” Mike shouted jumping to his feet. “I’ll have that kid arrested before he comes around you again if you’re going to talk about spirits.”
“You’re going to have a hard time doing that. He’s already up north with Claudia. They’re looking in
to this. I plan on driving up there later today or tomorrow morning. I know how to decipher the diary and stop the spirit.” Kellie leaned back and crossed her right ankle over her left hoping her uncle would relax, too.
Mike paced the room. “I don’t know anything about a diary.”
“Call the police chief back and ask if they have the diary. I remember the newspaper article mentioned a diary and a young girl. I would think they’d confiscate it, but maybe they gave it back.”
Mike scowled but nodded his head as he walked toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Kellie popped off the sofa. “I need to call Lance.” She disappeared into the bedroom.
Max sat on the floor next to his daughters. “Looks like it’s just us my beautiful girls. I think mommy is going to fight another ghost.” Hope smiled up at him and handed him a small pink teddy bear. Max smiled and bit back his worry for Kellie’s safety.
Mike walked back into the suite as Kellie emerged from the bedroom. “Well,” Kellie asked.” Did you learn anything?”
“Yes and no,” Mike replied.
“Please explain,” Max asked trying not to show his frustration in front of the girls.
“It seems the police had the diary, but it was stolen. After the incident at the library, officers found a backpack containing the diary inside the library. Security footage from the library shows the police chief’s son and the girl from the lake in the library. The boy carried the backpack, but left it behind when the commotion started.”
“You mean when the spirit arrived,” Max asked.
“Whatever,” Mike shrugged.
“It must have been the son who set fire to our house,” Kellie suggested. “The timeline fits.”
“That’s what I thought,” Mike responded. “The police chief said it couldn’t be his son because after he watched the footage, he wanted to speak to his son. He had other duties last night and arrived home around midnight. His son was sound asleep. He couldn’t have been here setting the fire shortly after.”