by Willow Rose
“Your sister? Oh, my God. I am so sorry,” I say, and sit down next to him. “That explains everything. The old picture, the newspaper clippings.”
“I came here to try and find out what happened to her. I didn’t want anyone to know who I was, so I rented a room and tried to stay hidden. I’ve been trying to talk to all of her friends and colleagues up here, along with anyone who saw her in the last twenty-four hours before she was killed. I’ve asked them about her; since I lost contact with her many years ago, I didn’t know much about her. But, so far, it hasn’t led to anything. Her husband is the one who saw her last; they had a fight on the night she died. So far, he is the police’s main suspect, but I know my brother-in-law, and he is no killer. I am trying to help him as well.”
I look at Harry, feeling all of a sudden more attracted to him than ever. “I…I am sorry,” I say. “I had no idea.”
“How could you? I was trying to hide it.” Harry starts to laugh all of a sudden. I look at him for an answer.
“What’s so funny?”
“I bet you thought I killed her, right?”
“The thought crossed my mind,” I say, feeling foolish.
“It never occurred to me that people would mistake me for the actual killer, but of course, it would look that way,” he says. “That is so funny.”
He sighs and looks at me. “Shall we go then?”
I get up from the couch, feeling all of a sudden relieved and happy. Now I don’t feel bad for liking this guy.
“So, is Harry Hanson even your real name?” I ask, as we walk outside of Marcia’s house.
“As a matter of fact, it isn’t.”
“It did sound like a cartoon character.”
“So, I guess I’m not the secret spy I desperately wanted to be,” he says with a smile. “My real name is Steven.”
I grab his hand and shake it. “Nice to meet you, Steven.”
We get into the car and I start the engine with a roar.
“So, where are we going?” Steven asks.
“Melbourne Beach.” I am backing out of the driveway as I speak. “Long story short, I received an email this morning from a guy who gave Marcia a lift yesterday from Sebastian to Melbourne Beach.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
January 2016
When Kelly wakes up in her bed, she feels rested for the first time in weeks. She opens her eyes as the alarm clock goes off, and then looks at Andrew, who opens his eyes as well. Today, he is leaving for his business trip, so they can’t be late.
While he is getting ready, Kelly walks into Lindsey’s room and wakes her up. Her dog, Max, is sleeping on the bed as she enters the room. Kelly sits on the edge of the bed and kisses her daughter’s forehead.
“Rise and shine,” she says cheerfully. Kelly feels good today. She is relaxed and not the least bit worried that her husband is leaving for three days. For the first time in a long time, she is not worried at all.
“Is it morning already?” Lindsey says, and rubs her eyes excessively. The light is bright in her eyes. Lindsey isn’t much of a morning person.
“I’m making breakfast now,” Kelly says. “Come down when you’re ready.”
“Can I have pancakes?”
“Not today, sweetie. It’s a school day. There’s no time.”
Lindsey makes an annoyed sigh. “Aw, I thought it was Saturday.”
Kelly chuckles and leaves her, knowing she will probably have to go up there again in five minutes to make sure she gets out of bed. But Kelly doesn’t mind. Not today. Not now that everything seems to be so good.
Kelly turns on the radio in the kitchen and hums along to the music while pouring cereal into Lindsey’s favorite bowl. She makes coffee for herself and her husband, and soon, Andrew comes trotting down the stairs.
“I’m late. I’m late,” he says.
She hands him a cup of coffee. “Not too late to have some breakfast.”
“You’re right,” he says and sits down. He looks at his watch. “I have five minutes if I don’t run into traffic on the way to the airport.”
Kelly serves him some of his fitness cereal that he has been eating lately. He wanted to lose weight, he told her, and he is beginning to look quite fit. Kelly worries about his desire to look good. Is it for her or for someone else?
Don’t go there, Kelly. Don’t start it.
She reassures herself that it’s perfectly normal for a man his age to want to look good. And besides, it is for her benefit as well. She wants him to look good too. She likes to show him off when they go to charity dinners and auctions.
Kelly walks up the stairs to see how Lindsey is doing and finds her fast asleep on top of the covers. It looks like she got up and out, and then fell asleep again. It looks funny, and Kelly can’t help laughing a little.
“Lindsey,” she says and strokes her hair. “You have to get up, sweetie.”
The girl opens her eyes. Kelly smiles. “Let me help you get dressed.”
A few minutes later, they’re all sitting in the kitchen. Andrew is typing aggressively on the phone, probably answering emails, Kelly thinks to herself. She pours coffee into his Tervis cup for him to take on the road.
“I don’t want to go to school today,” Lindsey complains when she sits down at the table.
“I know, but you have to,” Kelly says, and serves her the bowl of cereal. “Don’t you have music today? You love music.”
“No. It’s Art today. And you know how much I hate art.”
“I’m sure the teacher will come up with something fun,” Andrew says, and finishes his cup of coffee.
“You ready?” Kelly asks.
“I think so. I just need to run to the bathroom real quick.”
Kelly nods. He always has to go right before he leaves. It’s the thing that annoys her the most, because it’s what makes them always run late. Andrew disappears into the toilet, and Kelly returns to finish packing Lindsey’s lunchbox. She puts it in her backpack, then looks at her daughter, who has dropped her spoon and is staring at something with her eyes and mouth wide open.
Kelly turns her head to look at what it is and sees her husband standing in the middle of the living room, a gun to his head.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
January 2016
I am enjoying Steven’s company. Steven. I like this new name for him. Suits him a lot better than Harry. He truly looks like a Steven.
“So, how much do you know?” he asks, as we cross the city sign to Melbourne Beach. “Do you know where she was dropped off?”
I shake my head. “The driver wrote in the email that he picked her up on A1A, where she was hitchhiking. She told him she was going to Cocoa Beach. He was going to Cape Canaveral, so he said he could drop her off on the way, and she got in. But then, as they drove along, she suddenly freaked out. She started to scream for him to stop and said that she was armed in case he tried anything. He stopped the car at a park by the beach in Melbourne Beach, where she opened the door and jumped out. He watched her run towards the beach, cross over, and disappear down the stairs. He was in a hurry, so he took off.”
“That’s odd,” Steven says.
“Seems like everything with Marcia is quite strange these days,” I say.
I go silent for a little while and think about my meeting with her the day before. I still can’t get that look in her eyes out of my mind. It wasn’t Marcia. It was like it was someone else, someone completely different. It scared me senseless, and still does when I think about it. I have no idea what she is capable of. What she might do when she is in that state of mind. I can’t stop thinking about those things she told me and how it all fits with the police files from the Elingston murders in 2010.
“What’s the name of it?”
“Sorry, name of what?”
“The park?”
“Ah. It’s Spessard Holland. The south end. It’s actually right here.”
I turn into the parking lot and stop the car. I grab my phone, and for jus
t a second, I look at the display, wishing Joey had called. But he hasn’t. It makes me sad. I miss him, even though I am still so angry with him.
Will I ever be able to let him go?
“So, what’s the plan here?” Steven asks. He looks out at the heavy clouds above us. The front that is supposed to pass us isn’t over yet. They’ve promised more thunderstorms all day today. The beach probably isn’t the safest place to be. I open my weather app and look at the radar.
“All the storms are still way inland,” I say. “It’ll be at least an hour before the next one comes out here. So I say we search the beach area now. She could have found shelter from the storms under the boardwalk. She might still be there.”
“Let’s do this, then,” Steven says, and opens his door.
We both get out of the car. I have this nervous uneasy feeling inside of me as we walk across the boardwalk and onto the beach. I push it away, thinking it’s just because I am worried about Marcia. The dark—almost black clouds on the horizon look threatening. I always thought it would be easy to shoot an end-of-the world apocalypse movie here in Florida on a day with thunderstorms. It looks like it is the end of everything. Like, in that movie, my favorite from my childhood, The Neverending Story. When The Nothing arrives to destroy them all.
“Marcia?” I call.
Steven crawls in under the boardwalk. I keep walking along it. It has been raining and blowing like crazy, so there are no footprints in the sand. I stare at the deserted beach. The wind is coming from the south and is nice and warm on my skin.
“She’s not under here or the other boardwalk on the north end. It doesn’t look like anyone has been sleeping under there.”
“Where is she then?” I look at Steven, feeling desperate and lost.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe the restrooms or somewhere else in the park?”
“I think they lock the restrooms at night, and there isn’t much else up there besides parking lots and bushes. But let’s go check just to be sure.”
Chapter Sixty
January 2016
“What are you doing?”
Kelly’s voice is shaking as she stares into the intruder’s eyes. She realizes she knows those eyes. She has seen them many times before. Outside the library or Publix. Walking past her in a crowd or on the street when walking the dog.
“I know you,” she says. “You helped me the other day. I had forgotten my purse when eating lunch. You came running out from the restaurant and gave it to me. I thought it was the nicest thing. Why…what…?”
“Shut up,” the intruder says. The gun is unsteady in their hand. The eyes looking at Kelly are those of a madman.
“Mom?” Lindsey says.
“Sh, baby. Just stay calm and do whatever you’re told to, alright?”
“We’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt us,” Andrew says.
Kelly can hear the terror in his voice. It freaks her out.
“Everyone in the living room, now!” the intruder says. “Hurry up!”
Kelly grabs Lindsey by the hand and, trembling, they walk into the living room. Lindsey is whimpering and Kelly tries to hold her.
“Get down on your knees. All of you!” the intruder yells. There is an inconsistency to the tone of the voice.
“What do you want from us?” Andrew says, when he is on his knees, the gun pointed at the back of his head.
“What do you want from us?” the intruder repeats, mocking him.
When they’re all on their knees, the intruder walks in front of them. The intruder pulls down the hoodie on the sweater and kneels in front of Andrew. Kelly hears him gasp.
“You?”
The intruder smiles. “Yes. Me, Andrew.”
“But…but I thought…”
“That you had gotten rid of me?” the intruder bursts into loud laughter.
“Who is this?” Kelly asks, feeling a stitch of anger going through her body. Is this someone Andrew has been involved with somehow? Is this some sort of revenge? To hurt his family? Is that why the intruder has been stalking them? Watching their every move? Is that why?
“Shut up, bitch,” the intruder says. The gun slams into Kelly’s face. Hard. Kelly gasps in pain, then tumbles to the floor. In the darkness, she can hear Lindsey scream.
It’ll be okay, baby. Mommy’s fine.
Kelly is out. She doesn’t know how long…it might have been an hour. When she wakes up, she is still lying on the floor in the living room. Her daughter is next to her, face flat against the tiles. She is crying helplessly. Kelly blinks her eyes and returns to reality, only to realize her husband is right next to her on the other side. His face is also flat against the tiles. His eyes aren’t moving. His body is limp; blood is running from a wound in his forehead. As the realization sinks in, Kelly tries to scream, but the impact of the shock is so deep she cannot get any sound across her lips.
Andrew!!
The gun is now placed to the back of Kelly’s head. “Please,” she finally manages to mutter through sobs of despair. “Please, don’t hurt us. I’ll give you anything you want. Anything.”
“I need fifty-thousand dollars. Can you get me that?”
“Yes! Just don’t hurt us.”
“Good. And pizza. I am in the mood for a pizza.”
Chapter Sixty-One
August 2006
“You’re what?”
Daniel stares at Kristin. She is still holding Peter’s hand in hers, holding onto it firmly and stroking it gently. Daniel feels like he is in a movie or a strange, surreal dream. Did she really just tell them that she and Peter were in love? Peter, who until recently had the mind of a toddler; Peter, who can’t get out of his chair, who depends helplessly on the care of others; Peter, who drools and bites his fingers to blood, who can’t control a muscle in his body? Peter, who is almost fifteen years younger than she is? Him? His brother?
“Excuse me?” their mother says.
She seems as baffled as the rest of them, but somehow she manages to turn it into anger. Daniel can feel it from where he is sitting. Her fragile body is twitching in fury.
“I do realize it must be hard for you all to take in, and I want you to know that I completely understand, but it doesn’t take away the fact that we’re in love and have been for quite some time.”
“That’s ridiculous,” their mother says, snorting while she speaks. “Peter doesn’t know what love is. He is not capable of having that kind of emotion. This has got to stop.”
“I realize how strange this must sound to your ears, but it is, nevertheless, the truth,” Kristin says. She lets go of Peter’s hand and pulls out something from the table next to her.
“Here. This is the transcript of one of our conversations we had six months ago, when we first realized we had feelings for one another.”
She hands the transcript to Daniel, who looks at it, his heart throbbing in his chest. He reads how they have talked about kissing and Peter asking Kristin if she could ever love someone like him and her answering yes, I have loved you for a long time. Then he answered that so had he, now what do we do?
Daniel can’t stand reading this; it makes him feel sick to his stomach, and he hands the transcripts to their mother.
“This is preposterous,” their mother says, holding the papers in her hand. “This doesn’t prove anything. Anyone could have written this. You’re manipulating him and you have been from the beginning.”
Kristin looks disappointed. “I had really hoped you’d understand,” she says. “We love each other. Love knows no boundaries.”
“But…” Daniel starts, then stops. He has so many questions, so many things he can’t comprehend. “How? How do you know it’s him talking and not you? You are, after all, supporting his elbow when he writes this. How can we be sure that it comes from him and not from you, because you wished it to be so?”
Kristin stares at him. “Do you think this is my dream scenario? You think I wanted to fall in love with a man in a wheelchair? I lo
ve him for what he is inside, behind all this, and because I love him, love his wonderful sparkling personality, I love everything he is too. Even if it means he can’t do a lot of things.” Kristin looks at Peter again and smiles. “Yet, not everything is impossible for him. I might as well tell you right away.” She clears her throat.
“I am pregnant, and it is Peter’s.”
Daniel stares at her, eyes wide open. He’s at a loss for words. So are the others. Only their oldest brother manages to say something.
“How?! How on earth is that even possible?”
“It was Peter’s greatest concern,” she says. “That I wouldn’t be attracted to him physically, even though I kept telling him I loved everything about him. He has CP, but that is not all he is. He is a wonderful, charming, warm intelligent person, and that is who I fell in love with. The first time we had sex was in my house one day after classes. How did it work, physically, you might wonder? Well, it wasn’t easy. We lay on the bed and kissed. We took our time; Peter was overwhelmed and needed extra time. I told him we could just lie close if he wanted to. I got naked and took off his clothes…”
“Enough!”
Their mother rises to her feet. “I don’t want to hear any more of…” she stops midsentence, then touches her chest. It happens so fast, Daniel hardly has a chance to react. Her face turns pale and she falls to the floor. All the siblings run to her.
“She’s not breathing,” Daniel’s sister says. “Call 911!”
While Daniel is dialing on his phone, he watches his oldest brother approach Kristin Martin, his fist in the air in a threatening posture.
“You’ll never come anywhere near this family again. You hear me? Not any of us. Not me. Not my brothers and sister, and certainly not Peter. Do you hear me?! NEVER!”
Chapter Sixty-Two
January 2016
We don’t find her in the restrooms or the park area either. We search the bushes and the area around the benches, but nothing. I refuse to give up and I convince Steven to go down to the beach again. I know Marcia loves the beach, and I have a feeling she will seek the beach and the ocean, even if she is sick. This is where she grew up, this is where she felt safe as a child when her father went nuts at the house. She often slept on the beach when it was really bad.