A Pale Paradise

by Carol Anne Vick

Chapter X

  "Oh my goodness, Thad, I've never been so glad to see our home." Phyl leaned forward expectantly in her seat and tucked back a stray strand of hair into her ponytail, as the burgundy Jeep crunched over the gravel driveway toward their modest blue and white house on the lake. How beautiful and serene everything looked.

  "Now this is paradise to me, in every sense of the word." Thad exhaled as he swung the vehicle around his black truck parked near her studio, and pulled into the carport. He cut off the engine and checked his watch. "Four-thirty, not bad." He glanced over at her and narrowed his eyes. "How is your headache?"

  "A little better, I think." Phyl sighed, as she gathered her shoulder bag and unbuckled. "I guess I'll give in and go to the doctor tomorrow."

  "I'm insisting on it." He unbuckled his seatbelt. "In fact, I'll carry you there myself if you dare to even consider changing your mind." She laughed at his scolding look, and opened the car door.

  "It's over. We're back and it's over," she repeated the comforting phrase as she gazed at their property, and eyed the studio. "Thad, I can't wait to get in there and throw some teapots and large bowls."

  "I'm sure you are, but the doctor appointment comes first. I'm holding you to it." He joined her by the Jeep as shifted the black suitcase to his left hand. "You must promise me, Phyl." She looked up into his warm eyes, full of concern, and she sighed.

  "I promise," she smiled softly, pulling her sweater more tightly across her chest in the cool New England air. She took in the glorious splendor of the multi-hued sycamore and birch trees around the property and exhaled. "We're home." They walked up onto the porch and Thad smiled at her as he reached over to unlock the front door, then turned his head in astonishment as the white door swung inward before he'd had a chance to insert the key.

  "Phyl, someone has broken in." Thad's voice was low. "Look at the lock."

  "What?" she rasped. "Oh, my God." She had never worried once about her safety since she'd moved here, even when she was alone and before she'd gotten Bear, and now, in an instant, everything had changed.

  "Damn, I wish I had my gun." He pursed his lips as he fixed his eyes on hers, and she squinted back at him. "Do you want to wait out here for me while I check inside?"

  "I don't think so," she whispered and widened her eyes at him. "I'm staying with you."

  "All right, let's look around, then." They entered the foyer and Thad quietly set the suitcase on the tile floor. They walked softly into Phyl's office off the hallway and she rubbed her taut lips to keep from reacting out loud as they saw the papers and folders from her ransacked desk scattered on the tables and floor. Thad rubbed her shoulder and they left the office and peered into the laundry room. He nodded toward the stairway and led the way up to the second floor. They entered the living area, and her heart sank as they scanned the room, seeing the books and photographs on their shelves now laying scattered or broken on the floor, their paintings tilted at crazy angles on the walls, and the sofa and chair cushions tossed haphazardly onto the floor. Every drawer, cabinet, or closet had been rifled through. Even the drapes had been pulled and twisted every which way. Phyl thought she was going to be sick as they moved silently through their home. Thad continued to the kitchen, and she cringed at the open drawers and cabinets, as they made their way into their bedroom, and peered at all of their belongings, now strewn around their up-ended room. Drawers pulled open - clothes hanging out - the mattress dragged off the bed and propped sagging up against one of the windows - the comforter and pillows piled in a corner. She blinked slowly and raised her eyes beyond the calamitous scene before her and saw that her beautiful view of the lake was unchanged, as Thad checked behind the nightstand.

  "No one is here, I'm sure of it." Thad spoke quietly as he continued to look around him and Phyl sighed softly, both saddened by the havoc wreaked obviously by someone in Sullivan's group, and angry at the intrusion into the sanctity of their home. Would she ever feel safe here again? "I'll call the police." He spoke in a normal voice now as he left the bedroom and strode back across the kitchen into the living room.

  "I'll call Emma and Pete when you finish." Phyl felt that her voice was as heavy as lead, weighed down with the apparently unending and oppressive events of the past few days. She walked into the dining room and sat down on one of the black Windsor chairs, letting her shoulder bag slip to the floor, and she stared out the window past the balcony to the beautiful lake beyond. She blinked slowly. Why had she even considered going to the Bahamas to help Jonathan and Scott and Leah? How had it solved anything? Their lives had literally been turned upside down, and she couldn't think of anything positive that had come out of their journey. She sighed, and rubbed her forehead. She had to keep reminding herself that they were okay and that was all that mattered. How many times had she'd told herself that this week? She'd lost count.

  "Are you all right?" Thad called to her from across the room, as he held the phone to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up. She nodded and continued to stare out at the beautiful scene before her. It was in her nature, she knew, to immediately try to remedy a situation, but she couldn't touch or pick up any of her belongings until the police had finished their work here. In her sudden lethargy, she was still aware of an anxiousness to talk to Emma, and make sure they were all right. Suppose the person or persons who had done this somehow had seen her good friends pick up their mail? She turned, hearing Thad's voice as he spoke to whoever had answered.

  "I'm calling to report a break-in at our home." Thad looked over at her as he spoke, his eyes dark. "Yes, we just came home and found it ransacked. No, we don't know if anything is missing." He repeated their address twice, then hung up. "Someone is on their way now."

  "I need to make sure Emma and Pete are all right." Phyl stood up quickly, feeling herself very close to tears and she hurried over to the phone. "I don't want anything to happen to them." Thad pressed the button on the phone's base and handed the receiver to her and she dialed their number quickly, and was relieved that Emma picked up on the second ring.

  "Emma, are you and Pete all right?"

  "Phyl? Yes, we're all right," Emma reassured her, pausing for a second. "Are you home already?"

  "Yes, Emma, our home has been burglarized. The police are on their way." She heard her friend gasp. "I wanted to make sure you two were all right."

  "Oh, Phyl, I'm so sorry. We were there just this morning picking up your mail and everything looked fine. How did they get in?"

  "The front door lock was broken." Phyl took a deep breath.

  Phyl exhaled and looked at Thad. "Hold on, Emma. Thad, should they bring the envelope here or should we go there and get it? I think they should come here."

  "The police will be here and we don't know how long they will take getting fingerprints." Thad stared at her. "Yes, tell them to come on over with it, but leave Bear at their house if they would."

  "Emma, come on over, but put the envelope in your purse." Phyl felt like the words were tumbling out. "Do you mind leaving Bear there?"

  "Of course not. We've enjoyed having him here." Emma took a deep breath. "I had a very bad feeling about your trip, Phyl, if you remember, before you left. I'm so sorry this has happened."

  "This is not the half of it, Emma." Phyl laughed and looked up at Thad, who was staring past her toward the stairwell. "You won't believe what happened on our trip. We were ecstatic to be home, and then to find this..." her voice trailed off as she watched Thad head to the stairs.

  "The police are here." He turned to her as he started down the stairs.

  "Emma, the police are here, I have to go."

  "We'll be over in a few minutes."

  "Be careful, Emma." She heard Thad's footsteps as he bounded down the stairs, and hung up the phone just as she heard him greet someone at the door. More heavy footsteps and then two police officers in their blue uniforms entered the living area, followed by her husband. "Hello." She managed a slight smile and a nod as the two men came over and sho
ok her hand. "Thank you for getting here so quickly."

  After a few minutes discussing the situation, including their harrowing events in the Bahamas, the officers toured the ravaged home, going back downstairs to take fingerprints off the front door. As they watched from the top of the stairs, Phyl heard the crunch of tires and could see the officers turn toward Emma and Pete as she saw them approach the house. They turned and Phyl headed to the back door to let them in from the balcony.

  "Phyl, Thad, I'm so thankful you two are all right." Emma exclaimed as they exchanged hugs and handshakes. She looked around their home, her eyes wide as she surveyed the damage. "Oh, my God, Phyl, this is awful." She hugged Phyl again. "What are you going to do with these papers?"

  "I don't know, Emma." Phyl kept her voice low as she turned her suddenly-exhausted eyes to her husband. "Thad, should we give them to the police?We've already told them everything that's happened to us. Maybe we should just hand the papers over." She paused. "I'm ready to be done with this and get on with our lives."

  "What's the alternative? Can we leave now while they're still here and take the envelope to a lawyer?" He ran his hand through his short, dark hair at her question and glanced at his watch. "It's almost six o'clock now."

  "If we don't, we'd have to stay here tonight with the evidence." Phyl sighed. "And, how do we know the burglars won't be back? Maybe we're being watched." She saw the others simultaneously turn and stare at her. "I'm not being paranoid. I think it's a real possibility, and it makes me truly nervous, after what has happened already."

  "Unfortunately, I don't think you're being paranoid, Phyl." Thad lowered his brows at her. "Not in the least. I actually hadn't thought ahead to that possibility until you mentioned it." He took a deep breath. "We need to somehow get the evidence to a lawyer, in my opinion, and our lawyer re-located to Bennington a month ago." He stared at her thoughtfully.

  "I could call our lawyer." Emma offered. "He keeps late hours, and his office is right in town." She shifted her troubled eyes from one to the other. "Do you really think we're being watched?" She shivered.

  "I won't be comfortable in my own home knowing we have any evidence here," Phyl lamented and paused as Thad nodded. "Let's go to Emma and Pete's lawyer, Thad. I feel most comfortable with that option."

  They turned their heads in unison upon hearing footsteps.

  "We're done here, Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher." One of the young officers smiled at them solemnly.

  "Jerry, is that you? How is your mother?" Emma smiled at the young man. "I've been meaning to call her."

  "She's doing okay, Mrs. Lambertson."

  "I'm glad to hear that."

  "We believe we have a few fingerprints to go on." He turned to Thad and Phyl. "Is there anything else we need to discuss before we leave and file our report?"

  "No, I think that's all." Thad glanced quickly at Phyl and she shook her head.

  "Thank you again," she smiled and nodded to the officer.

  "I'd suggest that you get a new dead-bolt for that door as soon as possible." He turned to leave. "Just call if there's anything else we can do."

  Thad followed them down the stairs, and shut the door, placing the black suitcase in front to hold it in place.

  "Phyl, I'm going to call Bill at the hardware store and have him find a lock for that door, and have it ready to pick up while we're in town." She turned to him as he emerged from the stairwell.

  "I'll call our lawyer now and see if he will meet with you in, say, an hour?" Emma pushed back a curl from her forehead. "Then we can head out together." She glanced at them as they nodded. "Oh, do you mind if we go with you?" As she waited for their answer, she pulled the manila envelope out of her purse, and handed it to Thad.

  "No, no. Actually, Emma, we want you to." Phyl smiled at her. "We can grab some dinner in town afterwards. I'm starved." Thad ran his warm hand along her back reassuringly. Emma moved over to the phone and dialed the lawyer's number, holding the receiver to her ear.

  "I'll call Bill when Emma is off the phone." Thad stood with his arms across his chest.

  "I'll be right back, and then we can leave." Phyl whispered to Thad, as Emma continued her phone conversation. She went into their small bathroom and washed her face and hands at the pedestal sink, then dried her face and leaned forward, staring dismally at her reflection as she dried her hands on the towel. Their home - their sanctuary - ruined forever. How could she ever forgive Jonathan for getting them involved? It might have been their idea to help him out, but he didn't have to send the the evidence to their home, which, in her mind, just went way over the line. But, how on earth did Sullivan's men know the papers were mailed to them? She reminded herself to talk to Thad about that. She was fond of Jonathan's parents, that was true, but she had let out her frustration on them in that phone conversation at the hotel, and she wasn't the least bit sorry for that. Well, hopefully, things would go well at the lawyer's and she and Thad would return and put their home and lives back in order. If that was possible. She sighed loudly, peering at her tired eyes, which she knew, from this point on, would be constantly on the look-out, waiting for someone to pop out and accost her. How could she throw her pottery in her studio again? Instead of relaxing as she created her pots, she would be constantly checking out the window or door for someone lurking around their property. She exhaled, knowing that she shouldn't be letting her mind wander into paranoid thoughts, but right now, she couldn't help it. She would think differently later, she hoped, after some time had passed, and things had settled down, but right now, in all honesty, she was scared, more than she'd been in the Bahamas. In her entire life, for that matter.

  "Are we ready?" Phyl walked into the living room to see Thad in his khaki jacket, as he, Emma, and Pete stood at the landing, and she grabbed her shoulder bag, and a lightweight jacket off the wall hook and he held it for her as she shrugged into it. They left the house, and Thad closed the front door as tightly as possible, as Pete and Emma climbed into their truck and Phyl stepped up into the driver's seat of the Jeep. She figured that driving would keep her mind occupied right now and that was what she needed. Thad got himself situated in the passenger seat and handed her the envelope to put in her shoulder bag.

  "Phyl, I called Bill, and he's going to leave a dead-bolt lock on the front door-knob of the store. I didn't want him to stay after hours on our account."

  "That's sweet of him." She had always liked Bill, one of the first merchants she'd met after moving to Lake Saint Catherine. He, along with Mike at the market were, in her mind, the quintessential New Englanders, with their friendliness and do-it-yourself attitudes.

  "Has the headache returned?"

  "No, actually, with all this going on, I haven't noticed anything."

  "Good...good. Well, let's get this over with," he exhaled loudly as she backed out of the car port and swung around, then followed the green truck down their driveway as they headed toward the town of Wellsley.