Jones, Beverly R
Page 27
“You’ve been planning this all along? With him?”
“Of course. You wouldn’t leave on your own. What else was I supposed to do?”
“But what made you so sure I wouldn’t go with Tom when he left for the hospital?”
“I certainly had no way of knowing that for sure, you ninny. That’s why we had Plan B ready.” Cynthia looked at her smugly. “If you’d gotten in the car with Tom instead of staying behind…oh, well, let’s just say that the only person I made him promise not to hurt was Jackson. Anybody else was fair game.”
“But what if I’d gone to the grocery store with Casey?”
“Even easier.”
“You’d have even let him hurt Casey, just to get to me?” Kendall stared at her incredulously.
Cynthia rolled her eyes and made a snorting sound. “You really don’t understand how badly I want you out of here, do you? And, besides, with Casey out of the way, that leaves more inheritance for me.”
Kendall closed her eyes briefly, disgusted by what she’d just heard. “Cynthia, regardless of what you thought you might gain from this, do you realize what you’ve done?”
“Me? Why, nothing, really. All I did was make sure your friend was able to get to you this time. He’s following right behind me, you know.”
“He’s not my friend.”
“No?” Cynthia smiled at her sweetly. “Well, I suppose not, especially since you nearly broke his leg when you went tearing out of the stable on that crazy horse. He’s hobbling along the trail right now, probably madder than a snake-bitten dog. I told him I’d come on ahead to make sure you were here. No sense in both of us walking all the way back here. But lucky thing, here you are! So now all we have to
do is wait for him.”
“I don’t think so,” Kendall said as she raised a foot to Sam’s stirrup.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Cynthia spat at her.
Kendall turned to look at her as she began to hoist herself up into the saddle, then slowly brought her right foot back down to the ground, her left foot still wedged in the stirrup. She stood frozen as she stared at the pistol Cynthia held in her hand.
“You get on that horse, and I’ll shoot him,” Cynthia said, no longer grinning as she aimed the pistol at Kendall. “Of course, I’d rather just go ahead and shoot you, but your friend might be a little upset if I did that before he got what he wanted out of you.”
“Cynthia, listen to me. We’ve both got to get out of here before he gets here. Do you think he’s going to finish with me and then just let you go merrily on your way?”
“Why wouldn’t he? I’ve given him what he wanted. You.”
“Don’t be stupid. He’ll kill us both.”
Cynthia trembled slightly, but retained her resolve. “I don’t believe you. He has no reason to hurt me.”
Kendall laughed then, a dismal, lonely laugh that seemed to resonate from the pit of her stomach. “He doesn’t have to have a reason. I know all too well what he’s like.”
“Oh, I see you’ve gotten your memory back! How convenient,” Cynthia barked at her accusingly.
“Lucky thing for you I did. Trust me, Cynthia. You don’t want to be hanging around when he gets here.”
“You’re just trying to scare me so I’ll let you leave. Well, I’m not stupid.”
“You’re very stupid if you’re not scared of him. He’s dangerous, Cynthia. He won’t let you go. I learned much too late that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.” Kendall paused briefly and let out a slow, agonizing breath. “I know him, and I know what he’s capable of. He’s killed already.”
The look on Cynthia’s face turned from one of shock to confusion. “What? You’re making that up. Who did he kill?”
Kendall ignored her question. “How did you get here? Did you come with him?”
“Yes. He picked me up at my house and I ducked down in the back seat, in case anyone else was hanging around when we got here.”
“And why didn’t you just drive your own car over here?”
“Well, I was going to, but he…” Cynthia stopped, remembering his insistence that she ride with him. He’d said he’d take her back home after he’d gotten Kendall. That way no one would know Cynthia had ever been at the Coley farm. Or was it so that no one would know where to look for her? So that he’d be long gone before anyone found her dead body? And with her car still parked at her own house, no one would ever think to come looking for her here.
Kendall interrupted Cynthia’s thoughts, pleading with her, “Please, you’ve got to listen to me. If he’s already killed someone and he’s willing to kill me now, do you really think he’ll care what happens to you?” Kendall saw the doubt beginning to show on Cynthia’s face.
Cynthia wavered slightly, lowered the pistol down by her side, then raised it again and pointed it at Kendall. “I’m not falling for this,” Cynthia protested. “This is my only chance to get rid of you. I want you out of here and out of Jackson’s life. For good.”
“Do you want that bad enough to die for it?” Kendall asked quietly. She paused, tears welling in her eyes, before continuing barely above a whisper, “He’s willing to kill someone he supposedly loves. He won’t blink an eye before killing you, too.”
“H-h-huh?” Cynthia stammered, visibly shaken now.
Kendall quickly regained her composure, knowing they had very little time left, and snapped at Cynthia, “Come on. Stop pointing that gun at me and let’s get out of here.”
“B-but he’s coming down the trail.” Cynthia whimpered like a frightened child. “He could be here any minute.”
“Sam will run over him if he has to. Now come on!” Unwilling to wait any longer, Kendall hoisted herself up and swung a leg over the saddle, waiting for Cynthia to come to her senses. “Come on!” she repeated urgently.
Cynthia threw the gun to the ground and ran to Sam’s side, frantically trying to pull herself up onto the horse. Kendall looked aghast at the pistol lying in the dirt. “For Chrissakes, go back and get the pistol!”
“No, let’s just go! It’s his gun, and I don’t know how to shoot that thing, anyway!” Cynthia resumed her attempts at mounting Sam, but she continuously kept sliding back to the ground, her body shaking frantically, her mind overwhelmed with a sudden desperate need to save herself.
“Move out of the way!” Kendall shouted as she swung her right leg back across the saddle and dismounted Sam, nearly kicking Cynthia in the head with her boot.
Kendall jumped the few remaining feet to the ground and ran to the pistol lying in the sand. She quickly bent to pick it up, and as she raised herself back to a standing position, she heard the not too distant sound of a brushing tree limb, the crackling of pine straw, the distinct shuffling of feet in the dirt. She lifted her eyes as she stood upright and saw that it was too late. He walked toward her slowly, favoring his right leg, his hand pressed against his thigh as he limped toward her.
Jackson’s body suddenly jerked as he stared out toward the forest. He turned on one foot and began running back toward his car, glancing at Tom as he ran. “Get a horse and ride to the pond! Hurry!”
“But where are you going?” Tom shouted.
“I’m going to drive back there as far as I can go. I’ll have to run the rest of the way. Bring the horse as fast as you can!” Jackson slid behind the wheel, turned the ignition and wheeled around the oak tree and across the side yard, the car door finally shutting from the momentum as he sped toward the dirt road.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to drive very far into the woods in his attempt to get to the pond, but there was no time to wait. He would drive as far as he could and run the rest of the way. And Tom wouldn’t be far behind on the horse, would hopefully catch up to him, since the trail was at least a mile long.
The sky suddenly darkened to a deep gray, the sun having slipped behind ominous clouds that threatened an onslaught of another summer rainstorm. Jackson gripped the steering wheel tightly as he
fought to hold the car onto the dirt road. He was going nearly seventy and the underpinning of the car bumped and ground against the grassy median of the road and jostled from side to side as the tires slid along the hard dirt tracks. He was nearing the bend in the road where it wound to the left against the perimeter of the forest.
A dull red mass of metal loomed ahead, then became the distinct image of an automobile parked at the edge of the woods. Jackson didn’t recognize the vehicle, which made his heart pound even harder. It was just as he had feared. Someone was out here. Someone who meant Kendall harm. Please, God, don’t let me be too late.
He drove the car around the stranger’s red automobile and sped through the narrow trail opening, crushing small saplings, sideswiping pine trees, rolling over underbrush, while low-slung branches swiped at the windshield. He made it only about five-hundred feet into the forest before attempting to fit the racing vehicle between two pine trees, only to slam into the side of the smaller one. It resounded with a loud crack as the half-ton of metal rammed the tree trunk, chips of shaved bark spewing like projectiles, the car jolting to a stop, wedged between the two trees. Jackson climbed through the driver’s side window and dropped to the ground, then took off running in the direction of the pond, praying he would get there in time to help her.
≈≈≈
He grinned, that mocking, all-powerful grin. He lowered his eyes to the pistol Kendall held in her hand, then raised his eyes to meet hers. “Oh, come on, Sis,” he laughed at her. “You wouldn’t shoot your own brother, now would you?”
“You stop right there, Ted, or I will shoot you. I swear, I will.” Kendall glanced sideways and saw that Cynthia had mounted Sam and was kicking his flanks in an attempt to flee. Sam moved forward unsteadily. Cynthia kicked him harder and Sam trotted a few steps, then stopped, bucking slightly, his nostrils flaring as he shook his head, unwilling to obey Cynthia’s command.
Ted took another step forward, still grinning. Kendall held the grip of the pistol in both hands, her index finger on the trigger. “I mean it, Ted. Don’t come any closer to me.” She backed up a step toward the pond.
Cynthia was now kicking Sam repeatedly, clutching the reins and using them to whip violently at his neck and shoulders. “Come on! Get!” Cynthia screamed, but it only served to agitate Sam more. He danced in place as Cynthia continued her onslaught with the reins and the heels of her feet.
Ted resumed limping toward Kendall. He was within a few feet of her now. She cocked the pistol. “Stop!” she shrieked. “Please don’t make me shoot you, Ted.”
Ted stopped and stood facing her. He was no longer grinning. His face now held a solemn expression as he spoke soothingly to her. “I’m your brother, Katherine. You can’t shoot me. You know you can’t. So put the gun down and let’s talk. That’s all I want. Just to talk. Okay?”
“No. You turn around and walk back out of here. Now.”
“I can’t do that, Katherine.” He stepped closer.
“Please. Just leave,” she breathed, barely above a whisper. She knew she couldn’t shoot him. No matter how frightened she was of him, she couldn’t shoot her own brother. But if he came any closer, he would take the gun from her, and there was no doubt that he would easily, without conscience, turn it on her. He would have no problem hurting her. As much as it saddened her, she knew he would kill her if he got the pistol away from her.
He took another step, this time reaching out his hand, palm up. “Come on. That’s a good girl. Give me the gun, Katherine.”
A tear slid down her cheek as she took another step backward. “You’re right, Ted. I can’t shoot you. I’m not like you. But I can’t just let you shoot me, either.” She turned toward the pond and flung her arm out in one quick motion, the pistol sailing from her hand and disappearing into the water with a deep splash.
She turned back to face him and saw that old familiar grin sliding against his teeth as he seemed to sing his words to her. “Well, now, thank you, Sis. I always knew I could count on your stupidity.”
He took a step forward just as the piercing sound resonated through the forest. It echoed like the cracking of a wooden drum. He flinched and turned toward the sound, then looked over at Cynthia, who was still trying to coax Sam into fleeing. “What was that?” he barked at her.
“I dunno. Thunder, maybe,” Cynthia squeaked out. She stopped kicking Sam as Ted studied her briefly. He shook his head and laughed at her. “Or lightning striking a tree,” Cynthia added nervously.
Ted turned back to Kendall. “Where’s the money, Katherine?” He stood perfectly still, frowning, his eyes glaring at her through menacing slits that demanded an immediate answer.
“I’d been keeping duplicate books for weeks. I moved as much as I could to a separate account,” Kendall answered quietly, then took a deep breath. “There’s not much left in that account, though.”
“Just how much did you spend?” He stared at her, the hatred in his eyes growing deeper.
“I spent none of it,” Kendall said firmly as she stared back at him. “I wrote checks from that account in order to return as much of the money as I could to your so-called clients.”
“You moronic bitch.”
“Did you really think I was going to let you steal from so many innocent people? I had been sending reimbursement checks to your victims for weeks before you realized the money was missing. There would be none of it left at all if I hadn’t had to spend so much time researching and figuring out just exactly whom the people were that you stole from. The people whose money you took, most of whom desperately needed the insurance policies you promised them, people who trusted you, trusted the agency. I’m sure they never imagined that you would take their money and keep it for yourself.” She paused. “I never would have imagined it, either. Until I got that first call from one of your earliest victims. Remember? You tried to explain it away. Then I got a second call, and that’s when I started looking.”
“You should have left it alone.”
“Oh, there was nothing I could have done about it if you hadn’t been such a lousy thief. You failed at making an honest living, but you also failed at stealing. I’m sure you had to fill out insurance applications for all those people in their presence in order for them to hand over their money. But instead of throwing the applications away, you brought them back to the office and threw them in your desk. Then you started crowing about how easy it was, like taking candy from a baby. What made you so sure that Jim and I would go along with what you were doing?”
He smirked at her and made a snorting sound through his nose. “Jim did go along with it.”
“At first, yes. Then he realized how dangerous you were.” Kendall lowered her head for only a second, then raised it to meet his gaze again, her eyes glazed with unshed tears. “I only wish I had believed Jim when he tried to warn me about you. But you were my brother. I refused to believe that you could be so evil. And now my husband is dead because I wouldn’t see the truth about you. Why, Ted? What happened to you? When did you become something less than human?”
“I don’t know, Katie dear, why don’t you tell me? You’re supposed to be the smart one in the family. Isn’t that what Dad always said?” He sneered at her, his lip curling in disgust. “Looks like the old sonofabitch was wrong about that, too. Like he was about so many things. And you, you’re so trusting and naïve, it makes you one of the stupidest people I know. Even dumber than your husband.” He nodded his head toward Cynthia, who was once again attempting to goad Sam into forward movement. “But this one over here,” he laughed as he glanced at Cynthia, “takes the blue ribbon for complete stupidity. And I figure I’m doing the world a favor by ridding it of as many ignorant inhabitants as I can.” He laughed again, more heartily than before, as if his murderous intentions should be applauded.
Kendall breathed in sharply, alarmed by the threat to both her and Cynthia, although she’d known it was coming. She had come to realize before she left Hardison on that horrible day
that her own brother loathed and despised her, that if he found her, he would take such pleasure in the pain he would bring her. She still didn’t understand why, but maybe there simply was no explanation. She knew it wasn’t merely because of the money. There was something inside of Ted that had been festering, something that had gone unnoticed for so long. Maybe the hearts of some people become blackened with hatred over time, or perhaps they were born that way. Or maybe, with Ted, there had been that one turning point in his life when it could have gone either way, and the solace he searched for that would have restored his decaying heart was not to be found in this world. Not for him, anyway. Is that what had happened? And when had it happened? Why hadn’t she been there for him? She wondered if Ted’s surrender to evil had been somewhat due to a failing on her part. The tears slid down to her chin now as she studied his face. He glared at her with eyes that spoke of his deep-seeded hatred of her.
“I’m so sorry, Ted. I wish I could have been there for you when you needed me. But we can walk out of here now and go back home and straighten all of this out. I’ll stay with you, get you the help you need. The best lawyer we can find. Whatever it takes, I’ll be there.”
“Screw you and all stupid do-gooders like you.”
“I love you, Ted,” she whispered, as she felt the first drops of rain spatter against her face.
“Go to hell.” He moved toward her slowly, grinning, relishing the task before him. “And let me help you on your way.”
Kendall stepped backward quickly, her feet sinking in the mud. She had reached the edge of the pond now and could feel the water pooling around her boots. Her eyes darted in search of Sam and saw that Cynthia was still astride him, kicking frantically at his flanks while Sam shook his head and whinnied, still bucking slightly, unwilling to throw Cynthia, but refusing to move. The horse was obviously agitated and holding steadfast in his reluctance to leave Kendall. He was her only hope now, she knew.
“Sam!” she screamed, her head still turned toward the horse. Less than a second later, she felt the blow to her midsection that sent her plummeting backwards into the pond. Kendall fought for a last breath as the back of her head hit the pond’s surface before being quickly engulfed in water that fed through her nose and into her throat. Her body jerked and her hands grasped at empty air in an attempt to bring her head out of the water. She felt Ted’s hands around her throat then as he held her under. She found his shirt collar with one hand, his hair with the other. She pulled as hard as she could, but he was unwavering in his determination. She slid her hands to his face and gouged with her fingers, feeling skin and flesh and the warm slickness of his blood beneath her fingernails. Ted’s shrieking roar was barely audible as she struggled beneath the water, but he suddenly released his hands from her throat and Kendall pushed up and propelled her face above the surface.. She managed a quick gulp of blessed air before Ted pushed her back down, this time holding her by the arms.