I could not escape fast enough. But I didn’t go to my room. I went to Derry’s room instead. He was asleep, on his side as usual, but I didn’t let his shoulder discourage me. I cuddled up next to him and kissed his neck, completely content to be with him.
“I love you, Derry,” I whispered, not expecting him to respond, but he did. He eased his body around and held me close. The rain had stopped, and the house had gone completely silent. Except for Derry and me. He kissed me, and I welcomed the feel of his lips. My Derry. My own love. My only love. I could not have been more of a fool, but I was here now. I was with the one I loved.
Derry slung off his nightshirt and pressed his bare body against the fabric of my nightgown. Clumsily and hungrily, we sought one another’s flesh and I wanted to cry. Not because I was sad but because I was happy.
“Shh…now, Kendal. I love you. I love you.”
“I love you too, Derry. I have always loved you. From that first day to this one. I will always love you.” His face peered down to mine, and his sweet smile filled my heart with joy, but then a horrible cracking sound stole that expression. I saw fear and felt blood streaming down my arm.
Derry’s body fell heavily on me along with a spray of splintered wood from my violin. And then I saw him. Mantius Wade loomed over me now. He shoved Derry to the floor and snatched me by the hair and dragged me from my room.
I screamed, but no one came to my aid.
I cried, but no one helped me.
I was alone with the Widowmaker.
Chapter Eighteen—Kendal
In quick, painful order, Mantius Wade tied me to a wooden chair in a room of the unfinished wing. At least that’s where I thought he held me. Somewhere along the way, Mr. Wade shoved a rag in my mouth making it impossible to cry out for help again. Where were Cadence and Mary? Could nobody hear me? I sobbed and screamed, but it did me no good and Mr. Wade showed no mercy. He spouted scripture as he dragged Derry’s lifeless body in the room. My husband’s nakedness was open for all to see, the wound on his head bright red and still bleeding. I saw him convulse but only once.
Derry is alive! He’s still alive!
“I asked you which name you wanted to know me by. This is my answer.” He squatted in front of me with a dangerous-looking blade in his hand. “Now, Kendal. We’ll have the truth. I’m going to remove that rag, and you’re going to tell him the truth.” Mr. Wade slung a cup of water on Derry’s face as my husband moaned. Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded into the rag for his life. He dug the cup in the bucket of water and tossed another one on him. Derry stirred again. “Adulterous women are the plague of mankind, sir. They seduce with their lies, with their lips and with their bodies. Wake up, Mr. Starlett. We have a small matter to attend to.”
Mr. Wade flicked his knife and spun it around his fingers before cutting up my nightgown. He cut from the bottom hem to halfway up to my knees. What would he do with that knife? Cut me open?
With an evil grin, he tossed another scoop of water on Derry and then rubbed my lower leg with his hand. “Your wife has turned her wanton attention on me, sir. I demand that you correct her, or I will.” He slid the knife up the fabric again now, cutting it to my knees. I didn’t dare move an inch but cried into my rag. “Tell me, adulteress, should I kill you or him? Who should live, the adulteress or the man who allows his wife to behave in such a fashion?” He raised the knife again, but I shook my head violently. “Oh, I see. You’ve chosen him. He must die, then. Allow me to help you with that. I am the Widowmaker, and I aim to please.”
Then he focused his attention on Derry, and I worked the ropes behind my back furiously as he picked up the bucket and tossed it over my husband. Derry sputtered and turned on his side as he cleared the water out of his windpipe. I had only seconds to save him, but I couldn’t manage the knot fast enough.
Suddenly, a woman’s scream echoed through the house. It was so loud, it sounded as if it came from everywhere all at once. I didn’t stop tugging at the ropes and began to feel them sliding from my hands. Who could that be? Had Mantius Wade injured Cadence? I had never heard her make a sound, so I couldn’t be sure. As Mantius Wade shot me an evil glance, he stormed out of the room with the knife in his hand. He was going to make quick work of whoever interrupted his deadly game. And this was what all this was to him—a game. He had no care for my life or Derry’s. The ropes fell from my hands, and I tugged at the rag.
“Derry!” I whispered as I raced to my husband’s side. He was out cold again, but for how long? The evil-looking gash on his head would kill him—he would bleed out if it wasn’t tended to soon. A weapon! I had to find a weapon. Something, anything! There was nothing in this room save a few nails in a corner. I picked them all up and with shaking hands put them between my fingers, the spiky ends poking out. I heard Mr. Wade’s heavy boots coming back to us. The screams had stopped, but there were more to come. In complete and total fear, I got back in the chair and pretended to put my hands behind my back but not before I shoved the rag back in my mouth. I prayed to God he didn’t notice that the ropes were on the ground.
Please, don’t let him notice! Please, God! Forgive me! Help us!
Mr. Wade bent down in front of Derry with his knife gleaming, and I lost all sense of calmness. I spat the rag out of my mouth and screamed at him, “Leave him alone!”
With lightning-fast speed, Mr. Wade stalked toward me, an evil grin on his face. I wasn’t sure what he thought he would do; he was removing his belt, but I didn’t wait. I didn’t wait one more moment. As he reached out to touch my face, I rose from the chair and swung my arm and punched at him repeatedly. He screamed in pain as he tripped and fell backward on the floor. I pounced on him and collected the knife that had fallen out of his hand. I drove it into his chest again and again until he didn’t move. It all happened so fast that I didn’t have time to think. I was still sitting on him, the knife protruding from his chest, when I heard Derry call my name.
I wanted with all my heart to go to him. To care for him, to save him, but instead I tugged at the knife and held the bloody grip in my hand. That’s when I saw the woman in the doorway. She had brown curly hair and green eyes. I shuddered as I watched her fade in and out of my vision. To my horror, the man I thought I killed stirred beneath me. I was so tired, so very tired. Would I have enough energy to finish the job? The world went blurry. This was no time to faint! No time to quit!
All I could do was scream. I screamed at the woman, “Run! Now! He’s not dead! He’ll never be dead!”
Chapter Nineteen—Carrie Jo
“Kendal, it’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore!” I said as I took a step into the room. “Please, help me find Amara. Kendal?” The woman screamed again, but there was no sound this time. It was like I was watching a movie and someone had turned the volume down. Only this was no movie. Feeling defeated, I waited for some sign from Kendal—that’s when I felt a pair of strong hands shove me from behind. I staggered forward into the room and skidded onto the dirty floor. A board cracked beneath me. The two windows in the room were broken, and I could hear the sound of birds skittering away. Or something skittering away. Before I could gather my bearings, I felt the hands again, only this time they were tugging at my arms and dragging me to the opposite side of the room. My hair fell in my face and obstructed my view of the assailant.
“Face me,” I heard a man’s voice growl at me. Rough hands tugged at my hair, and I yelped in pain.
“Get off me!” A second later, I saw Meru kneeling over me. I’d only seen him twice before, but it was definitely Meru. And something was clearly wrong. Meru was wild-looking, his perfect hair mussed, his clothing askew. Was he on drugs? Drunk, maybe? And I wasn’t alone either. Amara was on the floor on the other side of the room. Her face was turned away from me, and her hands were tied behind her back. I couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead.
Amara!
“What are you doing?” I demanded as Meru wrestled with me. He straddled me, pinning
my arms to the ground. “What have you done to Amara?” They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but Meru’s eyes were like two black pits. He didn’t answer me at all.
“Get off me! Are you crazy, Meru?”
“Just a little crazy, Carrie Jo. Just a little. I’ve waited so long for you, such a long time.” His southern drawl reminded me of another’s. It was very distinct and rich—like the Widowmaker! Holy crap! Was he actually Mantius Wade, and if so, what did he want with me? “Go ahead and struggle. That makes this meeting even sweeter. But if you would oblige me and hold still for just a second, I would be most appreciative,” he barked as I twisted beneath him as best I could.
He had a rope in one hand and wrapped his other hand around my throat. I kicked and struggled, but this was a losing battle. Until a scream interrupted his intended ending. Meru fell to the ground beside me; a fist had sailed toward him and made contact. Amara Cannon wasn’t dead! She was alive! I struggled to breathe, but Meru didn’t stay down. Amara’s win ended in seconds. Meru brandished a gun and scooted away as I rubbed my throat and Amara dropped to her knees beside me.
“Stop it, Meru. It’s me, Amara! I know you don’t want to hurt me or this lady. Stop now and everything will be okay. I can get you the help you need.”
Meru waved his gun at her and sneered, “Like you helped that kid? No thanks. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. But let’s play a game. You guess the number in my head, and I’ll hand you the gun. That offer is for her, not you. I thought you were the one, but it’s not you, Amara. What a disappointment.” A noisy gunshot filled the room, but Meru hadn’t been aiming at either one of us. He was merely a fool with a gun who wanted to scare two women he was set on torturing. “Now, grab that rope and wrap it around her body, Carrie Jo. Make sure her arms are secure because if I have to do it myself, I’ll have…well, I won’t. I won’t hurt you. Come on, there’s a good girl.”
I picked up the rope and held it loosely in my hand. This wasn’t much of a weapon. What the heck was a rope going to do against a gun? Stall for time, Carrie Jo. Stall for time. You’ll think of something. “Why are you doing this? I don’t…”
“Shut up and do what I tell you.”
Amara sat on the ground and put her arms behind her back as if to give me permission to do what I needed to do. “I can’t,” I confessed with shaking hands.
Amara raised her eyebrows and said in a stern voice, “Do it. Do what he says.”
“Don’t try me, girls. Tie her up good, young lady. All I need to do is borrow your power for a little while. I guess either one of you would do for what I need.”
I twisted the dirty rope around Amara’s thin body, not once but three times. “What is it you need?” And why in the world would I ask a question like that?
Meru raced toward me and stood over me with the gun pointed at Amara. “I need to go back. I know you can take me back.”
Oh God. I was right. This wasn’t Meru—this was the Widowmaker! I knew exactly where “back” was…back to Kendal and Derry. That’s what Kendal was trying to tell me.
He’s not dead! He’ll never be dead!
Mantius Wade wanted revenge, and he needed me to get it.
Chapter Twenty—Carrie Jo
“All the hate in the world isn’t going to give you your life back, Mantius,” I said as I dropped the ends of the rope and faced Meru. “In my experience, hate has the opposite effect. It separates us from our most heartfelt desires.”
Meru blinked at my words. I could see the inner struggle happening within him. There was a battle going on for sure. If I could engage Mantius Wade a little longer, we might have a chance at survival. No way could I risk glancing at Amara, and the former detective didn’t move a muscle. But she was listening, and I hoped she was waiting for an opportunity to commandeer the situation. Things did not go as planned. Meru grasped the back of my hair and forced me down to my knees.
“Grab the rope. I won’t tell you again.”
“What a man, snatching a woman around like a caveman,” Amara said as she kicked at him. I could see the tears in her eyes, proof of her abject betrayal. I knew how the betrayal of a friend felt. I knew that feeling well. All I could think about as I rewrapped the rope around her were the faces of my family. My Ashland, and AJ and Lily. I would never see them again. Not if Wade or Meru or whoever the heck he was had anything to say about it. I suspected that Amara was thinking the same thing about the people she loved. He monitored my knot-tying and then tugged on the rope to verify that it was secure and sound.
“Now it’s your turn. Let’s be civil now. Then you and I, we’ll take a little nap. Together. That’s how this works, right? You must be wondering how I knew about you. You must be curious. I can see that you are, Carrie Jo. I wish I had time to explain it all to you, but time isn’t on my side. Yours either, apparently.”
“Meru! Have you lost your mind?” Drew Cannon’s voice echoed through the room. “Put that gun away!” Drew’s surprise tactic triggered Meru’s fear. He popped the gun off again, and this time it struck the target. Drew Cannon fell to the ground. Amara and I rushed Meru and he hit the ground like a bag of potatoes. The gun clattered on the wooden floor, and I managed to reach for it as the two of them wrestled. Drew was alive and moaning, Amara swore, and Meru was making a god-awful racket. Howling like a dog and crying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Again he got the better of Amara, but she didn’t give up without a fight. Meru’s pitiful attitude vanished, and he stopped pleading for mercy. There were no more cries of “I’m sorry.” Just swearing and promises to kill us all. When I saw his hands around Amara’s throat, I lost it.
“Leave her alone or I’ll shoot!”
That caught his attention. “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe you would do anything to harm me. Not with me being under the influence of such a bad spirit. You know it’s not me. I need help, Carrie Jo. I need your help.” He mocked me with the tone of his voice. The creepy, childlike sound made me sick to my stomach. Could I kill a man? A crazy man who might not understand that he was under the influence of a dangerous spirit?
“Stop. Stop right there.”
“Or what? What are you going to do?”
I never had the chance to tell him. Electricity sparked through the house and the light above us burst, as well as the lights in the hallway. The atmosphere changed, crackling with activity. Paranormal activity. A translucent figure, a man, charged toward Meru and picked him up off his feet. It dragged him up the wall and let him fall to the ground. I heard something snap. Bones were certainly broken.
I clung to Amara as the two entities, Derry Starlett and the Widowmaker, struggled with one another. The power surged again and again until the air smelled like burned wires. Amara and I crawled to Drew to assess his wounds. He was awake and staring at his daughter. Blood was coming out of his ear. Tears were in his eyes as he lifted his hand to her face. The lone broken chair crashed against a far wall, seemingly by itself, but I didn’t have to see with my eyes to know that there was still a war going on. We weren’t out of danger yet.
“We have to go, Amara. We have to go now!” I whispered as the noise of surging electricity continued. In the back of my mind, I feared that Gracefield could go up in flames at any minute. Strange things had happened.
Drew struggled to stay conscious, but we carried him between us like a scarecrow.
As we headed back to the front door, I was relieved at the sight of flashing emergency vehicle lights and the throngs of EMS folks that were on hand to help us. The cavalry had arrived, and I didn’t have to wonder how that happened. I didn’t have to wonder at all.
A familiar vehicle waited for me in the driveway. The doors opened and my husband stepped out. A second door opened, and Lily emerged, her unicorn in her hands. I fell to my knees and thanked the Lord above that I had made it. My own little dream catcher found me and rescued me. It had been her spying on me in the house when I first entered.
I
would fuss at her later, set some ground rules, maybe. Try again at protecting her. But all I wanted to do at the moment was hug her tight.
And I did.
Epilogue—Carrie Jo
The drive to Pensacola was longer than I remembered. As Ashland navigated the highway, I stared out the window up at the big blue sky hoping for a sign that all would be well. I glanced at my side mirror and saw that Lily was doing the same thing. We made the choice not to bring little AJ with us to my brother’s funeral. He was far too young and would not understand the solemnity of the occasion. To be honest, it had not been my idea to bring Lily to the funeral, but Dr. Jennings said that our niece needed closure. According to the therapist, Lily needed to express her feelings. Write a letter to her father, leave him flowers, do something that would help her move on. She’d been interested in doing none of those things. I tried to guide her through a letter, but she’d sat staring at the paper, and I had to admit I didn’t know what to say either.
I called Dr. Jennings, who encouraged me to keep trying. “In the end, what she needs the most is to know that you will be there. That she is loved and protected.” And that was all I could do.
For myself, I was so tired. Too many sleepless nights, too much crying. The loss of Chance and his wife, especially under these horrible circumstances, was almost too much to bear. Not so much for me but for Lily, who spent most of her young life with them.
I would never forget hearing Lily’s voice screaming those words over and over again when she finally told us the truth about her father’s appearance as a ghost to her.
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