by Lori Avocato
Judy saw the turn ahead. After slowing, she made the turn onto the dirt road going to Aunt Nell’s cottage. “Vick, wake up, honey. We’re almost there.”
Vick sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Where are we? All I can see is trees.”
“You’ll see the cottage in a minute. It sits on a lake. It’s beautiful.”
“Wow! Look at that. It looks just like a picture postcard. Look how the full moon seems to shine down on it like a spotlight.” Vick had clasped her hands and held them to her lips. “It is beautiful.”
Judy smiled at the sweet picture her granddaughter made right now. “Yes, I know. Dave’s uncle built the cottage over one hundred years ago. Dave was ecstatic when his aunt left it to him when she died.”
“I can see why. It’s really pretty.”
Judy slowed to a stop in front of the cottage. The lights were on inside and David’s car was parked in the driveway. “Do you want to wait a minute until I get David to the door, or—”
“No, I’ll come in with you if that’s okay?”
“Sure, let’s go in then.”
~ * ~
David had spotted the headlights as they came down the lane. It had to be Judy, but he’d check to be sure. “You’d better go into the bedroom. If that’s Judy, I’ll need to explain your being here before she sees you.”
“Sure, I understand.” The witness holed up in the lake cabin headed into the bedroom and closed the door.
“David? David, are you in there?” Judy stood outside, not daring to go in until he acknowledged her. She wasn’t sure of the reception awaiting her and her granddaughter.
He opened the door and stepped back. “Come in Judy, Vick. I can’t say I wasn’t expecting you.”
Judy ushered Vick over to the wood stove. “Warm yourself, honey. Sit over there in the rocker. David and I have a little talking to do.” As soon as Vick had settled in the chair, she turned to her husband. “Can we talk?”
David looked at the woman whom he’d loved for as long as he could remember. The misery he saw in her eyes was difficult to bear. He hated to see what her eyes would hold when he confessed what he’d hidden from her. He took her hand and led her into the kitchen. “Come, get a cup of tea. I’ve something to tell you.”
Judy panicked and pulled her hand from his. “Please let me explain more, David. Don’t make any decisions without hearing me out,” she pleaded.
“You don’t understand. I’m okay with what happened in your past. You know me well enough to see that. I am hurt you didn’t trust our love enough to share it with me before this. But—” he cleared his throat—“I have to tell you something that I didn’t share with you either. I didn’t tell you about this to protect you, but I don’t think you’ll see it that way.”
“Won’t see what? David?”
At the knock on the front door, David turned to Judy. “Who in the world could that be at this time of night? Honey, were you followed?” A feeling of dread seized him. His instincts were on full alert now. Few people knew the location of his aunt’s cottage.
“No. I mean yes, for a while, but they turned off before we were out of town. I didn’t notice anyone else, I swear.” By now Judy had turned ashen.
David had no time to comfort and reassure her, much as he wanted to. He closed the distance to the front door, unsheathing his weapon as he walked. After looking through the side window, he let out a sigh of relief. He holstered his gun, then opened the door. “Don, what are you doing out here?”
Don stepped inside and looked around the room before answering. “I saw Judy leave as I was pulling up to the house. I thought I saw Vick with her, so I followed them. When I was sure of her destination, I pulled back so as not to spook her.”
David nodded. “Yeah, you stayed here last year. I forgot about that.”
“You were the one following me?” Judy looked confused. “Why were you coming to the house?” She directed this question to Don.
“Dave called me. Told me he’d be gone a couple of hours, and asked me to stay with you and Vick. By the way, where is she? Vick, I mean. You didn’t leave her at the house?” Don looked extremely annoyed and seemed agitated.
Judy hadn’t noticed until now that Vick wasn’t in the rocker. Where..? “She must be in the bathroom or bedroom. She was exhausted.” She defended herself. “I wouldn’t have left her alone for any reason.”
As if on cue, Vick walked into the room. “I thought I heard your voice, Mr. Snyder.” She was wiping her face with a wet washcloth. “I’m sorry, but I guess the drive made me nauseous. I got sick.”
“Oh, honey, are you all right?” Judy hurried to her granddaughter’s side.
“I’m fine. I could sure use some water or juice though.”
“Sure, follow me.”Judy took her hand and led the way into the kitchen. “Sit right there. I’ll see what’s here.” After a couple of minutes of rummaging through the refrigerator and pantry, Judy came to the table, two jars clenched in her hands. “You’re in luck. We have grape and apple juice. Which do you want?”
“Grape sounds wonderful.”
Judy pulled a glass from the cupboard and poured her a glass of the purple liquid. “How’s that?”
“Umm, good, very good.”
~ * ~
David couldn’t shake the feeling in his gut. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Don stood with his back to the woodstove, his hands clasped behind him, warming.
“Don, I’d offer you to stay, but you know there’s only two bedrooms. I’d hate for you to have to stay on the couch. There’s a motel about five miles from here. You want to call and see if there’s a vacancy?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’ve been thinking that maybe now is a good time to transport Vick to that safe house. We’d do better traveling by night anyway. After she’s rested a bit, we’ll be going.”
“What’s the rush? You can see the girl’s wiped out. She’s not in any shape to be traveling all night.” David didn’t like this and he knew for sure, Judy wouldn’t.
“I’ve delayed this too long anyway. I should have taken her there today, instead of dealing with this fiasco. There’s no telling who’s out there just waiting to pounce on her at the right moment. We don’t even know who we’re dealing with yet.”
“Yes, we do.” Judy walked back into the sitting room. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to David yet, but I know for sure who killed Kathleen.”
Both men were dumbfounded. Don recovered first. “Well, spit it out! Who’s responsible for this?”
David stepped toward his wife, then in front of her, as if to shield her. “Let me talk to Judy, Don. Then we’ll all three put our heads together and figure out the next step.”
“I don’t think so,” growled Don as he drew his gun and pointed it at both of them. “Get Vick in here, now.”
David reached for his weapon, but Don was quicker. He’d reached over, grabbed Judy and held the gun to her head. “Now, get the girl in here. I’m not playing around. Throw your gun over here, easy like, across the floor.”
David eased his gun out of the holster and bending down, slid it on the floor toward Don. He had no choice. Judy was his life. “Vick, can you come in here please?”
She came into the room, glass in hand, which she dropped to the floor when she spotted the gun at her grandmother’s head. “Oh, no. No, please don’t hurt her.”
“Nothing is going to happen if you listen to me.” Don looked back at David. “Where’s some twine, rope, tape, or something to bind with?”
David had to stall. He didn’t know what he could do, but he needed time to figure out a counterattack. “I think there’s some clothesline rope in the tool shed outside.” He started toward the door.
“Don’t even try. Come here and turn around.” Don slipped a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket. “Put your hands behind you. “ He slipped the cold metal over David’s wrists and locked them, then pushed David down on the couch. What could he do n
ow with his hands secured?
“Okay, ladies. Vick, look in that drawer over there. Yes that one,” Don said when Vick pointed to the buffet. “There should be cloth napkins, tape, tablecloths, something with which to tie Judy here.”
When Vick picked up several of the items, he grabbed them from her. “Sit right there, Judy. That’s right.” He secured her arms with the dinner napkins to the arms of the rocker. He then tore the tablecloth into several strips. Using the longer strips, he tied David’s handcuffed arms to his feet. “I know that’s uncomfortable, but it won’t be for long, I promise.” He pointed his gun at Vick and ordered. “Now, little girl, come over here and sit in that chair next to Judy. That’s good. Now, you won’t have to endure this long.”
“Why are you doing this, Don?” David thought he’d try to reason with him. He had to do something. “You’re throwing your career away, and for what?”
“Career!” Don stood directly in front of David. “Do you have any idea of how many promotions I’ve been passed over for? I wasn’t the relative, or confidant, or kiss-butt willing to do anything for a title. Well, now I’ll have that title and the money to go with it.”
“What are you talking about?”
Judy interrupted. “David, I know what he’s talking about.”
Don turned to her. “Oh, you do, do you.”
“Yes, it’s Senator Sinclair, isn’t it? Has he promised you this title, whatever it is, to get rid of my granddaughter?”
“Senator Sinclair? What has he to do with any of this?” David struggled to follow Judy’s logic. But if a powerful senator was involved, it didn’t bode well for their chances of escaping with their lives.
“His attorney’s brother raped Vick, David. Senator Sinclair is planning to run for president next year. I guess he can’t afford the scandal.”
“Yes, and he’s promised me the directorship of the Bureau,” Don gloated.
“You killed Kathleen Brady for a position?” David pitched his voice deliberately loud and high. It was all he could think of to warn his witness stashed in the bedroom.
“I haven’t killed anyone, yet, but enough of this.” Don turned toward the door. Turning back to his captives, he sneered. “Don’t go away, I’ll be right back.”
“Judy, can you get yourself untied?” whispered David.
“No, the knots are too tight.”“Keep trying.”
“How about you, sweetie?” She turned to her grand-daughter.
Vick’s face was pasty white. “I’m trying not to get sick again.”
“God help us. I think he’s deranged. I’m so sorry I didn’t see this coming.” David was squirming with his bindings when Don reentered the cottage with a can of gasoline in his hands.
“Sorry I have to do this, but I don’t have a choice now. It’s a shame. I kind of liked you, Dave. You would have been an asset to the Bureau.” He sloshed gasoline around the room and its inhabitants, then placed the can on the floor, too close to the woodstove. He reached into his pocket and chuckled. “You got a match?” he asked David, then laughed at his own joke. “Don’t bother getting up. I’ve got one in the car.” He left once again by the front door.
The bedroom door burst open. A man dressed in jeans, sweatshirt, and a baseball cap ran to the front door and slammed the dead bolt in place. When he turned to face the bound hostages, Victoria fainted.
11
“Don’t worry about her, get these ties loose,” shouted David when the man started toward Vick.
Outside, Don banged against the door. “Hurry,” Judy shouted. The man had loosed David’s napkins and had started on Judy’s when shots rang through the window. When their rescuer jumped over to shield Vick, his cap fell off to reveal his identity.
“Kathleen!” was all Judy got out before one of the bullets struck her shoulder. Pain burned through her, but didn’t stop her from shielding Kathleen and Vick.
David had managed to get his hands over his head to his front. He grabbed his gun off the table where Don had laid it and returned gunfire out the window. “Call the operator. Get her to send an ambulance and the police,” he shouted to Kathleen.
The shots from outside ceased and then they heard a car engine start up. David unbolted the door and ran outside. Soon he returned to Judy’s side, but she barely saw him. Darkness threatened to claim her. Through the roar in her ears she thought David said he shot at the car as it left, managing to hit only the brake light. Both Kathleen and Vick leaned over her, faces filled with alarm. Within minutes, the cottage was surrounded with local police and an ambulance. She teetered on the brink of consciousness during the ride to the hospital. David rode beside her, gripping her hand, and murmured something about having a lot to explain. Then darkness filled her vision. Then...nothing.
~ * ~
Judy awoke with a start. Her shoulder throbbed. David’s head was on her hand. He was sound asleep. She glanced around the room. Kathleen and Vick sat side by side on a cot by the door. It wasn’t a dream. Kathleen was really alive! She tried to sit forward without disturbing her husband, but failed. Upon hearing her moan from the pain, he stirred.
“Hi there, sleepyhead.” A grin stretched across his face. “You’ve been in and out of it for a couple of days. Welcome back.”
“Kathleen─”
“Yes, Judy, she’s very much alive.”
“But, how?”
He pulled her hand into his. “The day of the accident, Sam got there first. He called me right away. You remember?
She nodded, so he continued. “We saw the accident was intentional, but Kathleen was still alive. I wanted to keep her that way. So we had our medic treat her, and I took her out to the cottage.”
“Why didn’t you tell Don?”
“To be honest, honey, I really don’t know for sure. Maybe it was instinct, but I saw how he was insistent about Vick leaving and I knew Kathleen needed to stay put. We needed the would-be murderers to believe they’d succeeded.”
“But he wanted them to believe Vick was dead, too. I mean, that newspaper article.”
“My idea, but Don went along with it. I know why now. He intended to make it true.” He gently kissed Judy on the cheek. “Are you mad at me?”
“About what?”
“Not confiding in you about Kathleen. In my defense, I didn’t know then she was your daughter.”
“How can I be mad at you? You saved her life! I will be forever grateful.” She pulled him closer with her uninjured arm and planted a kiss directly on his lips, then pulled back with a jerk. “What about Don?”
“He shot it out with the police. I guess he wanted to go that way.”
“I wish I could say that it’s a shame, but I’m glad he’s not around to threaten my family anymore. What is going to happen to Senator Sinclair?”
David laughed. “He’s not running for anything anymore, unless it’s president of the prison gang where he’ll be incarcerated for a long time.”
~ * ~
One year later
Judy carried little Ruthie on her right hip. On rainy days such as this one, her left shoulder gave her a fit. But for the most part, the events of one year ago were just a faint memory. “Little one, you’re almost too big for your nana to carry.”
She continued up the stairs to Vick’s apartment. They had converted two of the upstairs apartments into one, so Vick and Ruthie would have plenty of room. Kathleen was due in today. She had closed on selling her grandmother’s home and could now close on the two story house a couple of blocks away.
Judy couldn’t be happier. Kathleen had intended to split the proceeds with all of them, but David wouldn’t hear of it. He loved having Vick live at Haven House and was totally in love with little Ruthie. Since retiring in April, he spent every spare moment with his ‘adopted’ family. God was so good. He replaced the family she’d lost many years ago.
Judy continued toward Vick’s apartment. So much had happened this past year. She and Kathleen had formed an immediate bond. V
ick was a beautiful woman, inside and out.
“Penny for your thoughts,” said David, coming behind her and pulling her and Ruthie into his embrace.
“Well, what was the verdict?” Judy turned to face her husband.
“Brandon and Scott got five years for their part. The senator, fifteen years for conspiracy to commit murder. I’d never have believed it, honey. But Scott testifying against him won the case.”
“Good. Maybe Kathleen and Vick can put this behind them now.” She opened Vick’s apartment door and went inside. After putting Ruthie in the playpen, she hugged David. “Isn’t it wonderful how your whole life can change in an instant?”
He returned the hug. “Yes, sweetie. Last year this place was a dangerous haven, but now it is truly Haven House.”
THE GHOST WITHIN
Victoria Houseman
Prologue
The dreams returned.
Not sure if coming home to Charleston, which I always dreaded, or just being back in this house, this cold mausoleum of a plantation triggered the dreams. But, they were back, in full force, as if they’d never left.
A man in clothes from another time with riding boots shined to a high polish over his riding breeches appeared. He looked like he stepped right out of one of the paintings hanging in the wing of the mansion where my family’s ancestors’ paintings were housed.
As a child, I was terrified of those paintings. It always felt as though the eyes were following me and I was sure my ancient relatives would jump out of the painting, grab me, take me back into the painting and no one would ever find me.
Ah, the imagination of a child.
Yet, tonight the dream was different. Clearer, with sharp edges and clean lines. Like the lens of a camera being turned until everything is brought into focus. I was in a bedroom, sitting in a window-seat, looking at the blossoming magnolia tree in the backyard. A horse’s soft whinny floated through the open window, traveling on the early spring humidity. Odd, we hadn’t owned horses in years. Since then, the barn had been turned into a garage for my father’s car collection.