Secrets of Innocence

by V.

  “I needed to piece together the puzzle in my head, the house, the woman, the girl. Besides, the walk was invigorating. Now here we are in the early morning and—wait. Stop!”

  Elisabeth swerved off the road and stopped the car. “What is it?”

  “That dirt road, that’s the road. Go back.”

  She turned the car around and drove onto an almost imperceptible dirt road. “You were on this road?”

  “It definitely looks familiar. I hope we’re not trespassing.”

  “If we are, we’ll apologize. No harm done.”

  They drove in silence to a clearing, where Alexander’s house appeared before them.

  “Oh my God, look at that, a gothic house,” Elisabeth whispered with disbelief.

  They approached the estate and noticed yellow tape along the front of the house.

  “There’s police tape all around it,” Daniel mumbled.

  “That means it’s a crime scene.”

  Daniel stared at her. “What crime?”

  She shrugged. “No idea, but that’s what I’ve read and watched on TV about crime scenes. The police are investigating something in this house, and they don’t allow anyone to go in.”

  “What should we do?”

  They remained in the car, silently staring at the house.

  “We could look through the windows,” Elisabeth suggested.

  They glanced at each other and smiled. Quietly, as if not to awaken the absent inhabitants of the house, they emerged from the car, and made their way toward it.

  They tiptoed up the porch steps and approached the first window. They peeked in and caught a glimpse of the room, but without any interior lights, they couldn’t make out the details. They made their way around the porch, but all the windows had shutters or curtains that prevented them from peering inside the house.

  As they returned to the front, Elisabeth turned to Daniel, a mischievous look upon her. “How about the doors in the back? They didn’t have any police tape.”

  “But it’s clear the cops don’t want anyone in the house.”

  “It’s clear they don’t allow anyone to enter the front of the house, but nothing says that if the back is open we couldn’t go in.”

  “It’s private property. We can’t barge in.”

  “We won’t disturb a thing.”

  “No, Elisabeth. We can’t. I won’t put you in harm’s way. Let’s go come up with a plan.”

  She smiled and took his hand. “Okay. But I’m willing to go in and help.”

  They stepped down and were making their way to the car when Daniel noticed another building. “Elisabeth, look there, a barn.”

  Elisabeth turned toward it. “That’s odd, I don’t smell animals. Do you?” “No. Maybe the police took them away.”

  “Maybe, but their scent should’ve remained. Shall we take a look?” “What if someone comes, Sherlock? We’re trespassing onto private property and a crime scene.”

  “You’re right. Let’s hide the car behind—”

  “Let’s not. Instead, let’s go somewhere safe and develop a plan on what to do next. By now everyone’ll be looking for us and I’m sure they’ll be upset. We should at least call them.”

  “All right, Watson, let’s go back to the car.”

  When they got there, Daniel turned toward the house for one last look and froze.

  Elisabeth had already sat in the car when she noticed that Daniel remained standing by the passenger door. She called out, but when he didn’t respond, she went to him. He stared at the house, transfixed, his face devoid of all color.

  “What is it? What happened?” her voice quivered with concern.

  “The foyer of that house.. .I fought a man in there.”

  “Fought? What man?”

  Daniel shook his head. “Some guy. I caught a glimpse of what happened.” “What’s his name?”

  “No idea.”

  “Describe him to me.”

  “Tall, handsome, with a penetrating gaze. He’s powerful as well as gentle, yet something about him makes me recoil.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Mid to late twenties or so.”

  “Why did you fight him?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s strange. As if on the one hand I need to hug him, like an older brother or long-lost uncle, and on the other, I need to push him away.” “Is he the one who beat you up?”

  Daniel nodded. “I suppose so, but I’m not certain.”

  “C’mon, let’s go do some digging about who lives here.”

  Daniel obeyed and climbed into the car, still staring at the house. Elisabeth shut the passenger door and ran to the driver’s side. “You’re shaking. Are you afraid?”

  “I’m not sure. I’m ice cold.”

  “I’ll turn on the heater.” She reached over and switched it on. “You’ll be warm in no time. It looks like we can drive up to the barn. It won’t be trespassing if I jump out and take a peek inside, will it?”

  Daniel shook his head and managed a faint smile.

  She drove toward the barn mere moments before a sheriff’s car pulled into the dirt road leading up to the estate.

  Daniel caught a glimpse of the car and reached for Elisabeth’s arm. She turned in time to spot the sheriff’s car as it drove toward the house and slowly made its way around the property.

  “What do we do?” she asked.

  “Drive into the woods over there the minute his vehicle is concealed by the house,” Daniel whispered. “Whatever you do, don’t speed up. Drive slowly. A cloud of dust will alert him that we’re here.”

  She did as instructed, and stopped once the car was concealed by the foliage. From their new location, they couldn’t see the sheriff’s car at all. Daniel rolled down his window and listened for it.

  “I think he’s leaving,” he whispered.

  He turned to find that Elisabeth had turned white as s sheet. She sat tilted forward, clutching the steering wheel for dear life, eyes wide open, and lips trembling.

  “Stay here,” he whispered. “I’ll take a look and make sure he’s gone.” He quietly opened the car door and stepped out, leaving it ajar.

  He slinked toward the edge of the woods and peeked around a large rhododendron in time to notice a cloud of dust settling along the dirt road near the barn. He listened for the patrol car, but heard only the wind rustling through the trees. He returned to Elisabeth. Glancing all about and whispering, he said, “I think he’s gone, but I’m not sure. I can’t see him or the car.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Sarah and Conrad stared nervously out the window in Williams’s office. When the sheriff walked in, they turned to him, anxious to hear his news.

  “Nothing so far. The estate’s exactly the way we left it, no sign of them there.”

  “What about the rings?” Sarah asked.

  “There was a group of young men, maybe twenty years ago or so, who wore similar type of rings, but nothing recent.” Williams pulled out his chair and settled behind his desk.

  “What happened with those men? Where did they go?” she asked.

  Williams nodded for the Thompsons to take the chairs across from him. “Probably all middle aged by now and living elsewhere. Nothing ever came of those youths, although my dad did have a hell of a time with them now and again. I remember him telling their folks that he had to keep them locked up for a couple of days for causing trouble. Nothing serious, though.”

  “You went with your dad on official business?” Sarah’s curiosity had been aroused.

  Williams leaned back in his chair and smiled. “He knew I wanted to be sheriff like him so he’d take me on some of his cases ‘to get a taste of the real thing,’ as he used to say, especially if it had to do with kids my age. Two lessons in one you might say.”

  “How old were you?”

  “A kid when it started but I continued through high school. When I came back from college and the academy, I got hired by the county and worked side by side with him until—”
He lowered his eyes as the smile slipped away.

  “Please,” Sarah said, “tell me about these youths. The ones with the rings.”

  He looked up and smiled. “Well, Miss Sarah the Detective, not much to tell, they were a rambunctious bunch prone to getting into trouble more than others, but nothing major. Caused some big headaches not only for my dad, but for businesses and homeowners.”

  “What sort of trouble?”

  “Disorderly conduct mostly, breaking and entering, petty theft, smashing windows, vandalizing private property, bashing mailboxes, things like that.” “It seems like it would be worthwhile to check into them,” she said.

  “We are. If any of them still live around here, we’ll pay them a visit. Now, I’ve asked our sketch guy to come in and draw the man you saw. If we show the sketch around, maybe someone will recognize him.”

  “Won’t he ask where she’s seen this man?” Conrad asked.

  “I already told them all about Sarah. Don’t worry, they’re pretty impressed with how much she’s told us about the Pitman estate and the other clues she’s come up with. Your wife’s a bit of a celebrity in this office now.”

  Sarah frowned. “I’d rather not be.”

  “Too late for that. Some are skeptical, others are fascinated, and I’m the wait-n-see type. But overall, we’re going along with you.”

  Conrad placed a comforting hand on his wife’s arm before turning to Williams. “Any news from the lab on who the blood belongs to?”

  “So far it’s all Daniel’s, although we found some bloody fingerprints other than Daniel’s on the banister and on the door. We haven’t found out who they belong to as of now.”

  “Why not?” Sarah wondered.

  “They’re badly smudged, which makes matching them more difficult. But if we find the guy you saw in your”—Williams hesitated—“visions, we can fingerprint him and compare.”

  “What about the housekeeper and her family?” Conrad asked. “Their fingerprints would be all over the house. Won’t that make it difficult?”

  “We’re in the process of checking all of that. In the meantime, let’s try to figure out where Elisabeth went with Daniel. What could be driving them to take off like this?”

  Sarah shrugged. “No idea.”

  “He doesn’t like being dependent on us,” Conrad said, “and when Doc told him we knew who he was he got pretty upset. He might be searching for clues—maybe looking for Alexander’s place.”

  “With no memory of Pitman, where the hell would he go?” Williams asked.

  “Maybe Elisabeth—”

  “You told her about Pitman’s place?”

  “No! But she’s been driving him around to jar his memory. Maybe they got lucky.”

  Williams smiled at Sarah. “Could that be? Any visions on that?”

  Sarah shook her head. “I told you, it doesn’t work like that. He could’ve remembered Alexander and—” She stopped, the image of the rings crashing into Daniel’s face flashed before her with such violence that she snapped her head back to avoid the impact to her own face.

  She blinked and found Williams standing in front of her. “Are you all right, Sarah?”

  Conrad was kneeling at her side, his hands on hers, eyes filled with concern. “What happened?” he asked.

  She inhaled shakily, in search of her voice. Again her head jerked back, her hand coming up to shield her face as she screamed, “Don’t hit me!”

  Still trembling, Elisabeth pulled her car into a small lot next to a roadside coffee shop. Daniel rushed to open the door for Elisabeth, helped her out, and escorted her into the diner.

  A waitress behind the counter nodded toward the empty booths. “Anywhere you like,” she said.

  As they passed by, Daniel said, “A couple of coffees, please.”

  He helped Elisabeth into the second booth and then scooted into the seat across from her, stretching his hands out to hold hers. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  She nodded and smiled. “I panicked when that patrol car showed up. Not sure why, it’s not as if we were doing something illegal.”

  “We were about to, though, weren’t we?” Daniel smiled.

  The waitress slid the coffees onto the table along with a small jug with cream. “Anything to eat?”

  Elisabeth shook her head, and Daniel answered, “No, thanks. Coffee will do for now.”

  The waitress turned to leave as a man spun away from the counter and bumped into her on his way out of the diner.

  “Watch where you’re going!” she snapped, almost falling onto their table.

  The man waved her off with an obscene hand gesture.

  Daniel caught a brief glimpse of the ring on his hand, and all color drained from his face.

  “What is it?” Elisabeth asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “The ring! Did you see his ring?” Daniel whispered, watching the man exit the diner.

  “What ring?”

  “The ring that man was wearing.”

  “No, I didn’t. Why?”

  The man slammed the door behind him.

  “Elisabeth, that’s the man who attacked me. I’m—”

  “This guy doesn’t look anything like you described.”

  Daniel stood up.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get his license plate. Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He rushed out to the parking lot.

  Elisabeth leaned back with a sigh and sipped her coffee. She grimaced and poured some cream and several spoonfuls of sugar into her coffee, took a sip, and smiled. She leaned back again and took another sip. No sign of Daniel. Through the window a corner of the parking lot was visible, along with the road, and the woods beyond. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the table, and when Daniel failed to return she got up and went to the door.

  “Hey, you need to pay,” the waitress called out.

  Elisabeth turned and said, “I’m not leaving. I’ll be right back.” And she rushed out the door.

  “Hang on, Sarah,” Conrad said in his most comforting tone as he reached over to his wife and held her hand, “I’m entering the hospital parking lot. How are you doing? Any changes?”

  “No, only blackness—I can’t see.” She yanked her head back and covered her eyes with both arms. “Agh!”

  Alarmed, Conrad stopped the car in the middle of the hospital driveway. “What is it?”

  “A blinding light, and I—” She grabbed her throat.

  “What is it?”

  “I can’t.. .breathe.”

  Conrad sped toward the emergency entrance of the hospital and past Williams who had pulled over when he noticed they’d stopped.

  As Conrad pulled up, a couple of doctors and nurses rushed out with a gurney.

  “Doc’s on his way—the sheriff’s office called to alert us,” one of the nurses told Conrad.

  “She’s lost her sight, and now she can’t breathe,” Conrad told her.

  In no time they had Sarah on the gurney with an oxygen mask over her face.

  “It’s oxygen,” said the nurse. “Breathe in.”

  Sarah attempted to breathe in, but convulsed and coughed violently. She yanked away the mask and screamed, “Take the gag off!” Her voice sounded as if her mouth were obstructed.

  The doctors and nurses looked at Conrad, but all he could do was shake his head. Williams caught up with them as Dr. Lawrence rushed up to meet them.

  “She thinks she’s gagged,” Conrad said. “And she can’t see.”

  Sarah struggled to free herself from the restraining hands, screaming out, “No!”

  “Sarah.” The doctor placed his hand on her forehead and leaned toward her. “I’m Dr. Lawrence. I’m here to help you—calm down, please, calm down. Don’t fight the gag, let it sit there and you’ll be able to breathe.” He placed the oxygen mask back on her, holding it firmly.

  Sarah continued fighting, shaking her head, and struggling to free herself.

  Dr. Lawrence remained calm and
focused, holding the mask in place and stroking her forehead as he repeated his instructions. “Sarah, calm down, calm down. Breathe through the gag, c’mon. Breathe through the gag. You can do it. Take some air in slowly through your nose. You can do it. Take air in through your nose. If you can, open your mouth and breathe in.”

  Sarah opened her mouth widely and attempted to inhale.

  “That’s good. Take in more air. Slowly, don’t rush it.”

  In time her body relaxed, and her agitation subsided.

  “Sarah, we’re taking you to an examination room. Everything’s going to be okay. Keep breathing slowly. I’ll be at your side, and so will Conrad. Stay calm. Don’t try to speak, simply keep breathing through the gag and try to relax. Do you hear me?”

  She nodded.

  They wheeled her into one of the examination rooms and closed the door behind them.

  Sheriff Williams stood in the middle of the emergency room entry hall, a look of complete bewilderment upon his face. His cell phone rang. He took the call and rushed out.

  Elisabeth scanned the parking lot—no sign of Daniel or the man he had followed. Her car, and two others, along with a couple of motorcycles were all that remained. She ran to one side of the diner and then the other, but found only trash bins, old crates, and bits and pieces of rusty abandoned equipment. She rushed back into the diner.

  “Where did my friend go?” she yelled at the waitress.

  The handful of patrons looked up at her.

  “He went out the door,” the confused waitress replied.

  “But which way did he go?”

  She shook her head. “Did he dump you with the bill, honey?”

  “That’s not the point. Did you notice which way he went outside?”

  “Don’t you worry, hon, coffee’s on me. Lousy bastard, running off. You deserve better.”

  Elisabeth inhaled deeply, shook her head, lowered her eyes, and tried to calm down. She dug into her pocket and smiled at the waitress. “Thank you, I do appreciate your generosity, but it’s not about the coffee. Do you know that man who bumped into you after you served us?”

  “You mean that good for nothing Hank?”

  “Is that his name, Hank? Hank what?”

  “What do you want with him?”