The Darker Side of Goodness
Page 3
Jack had known noting of the trust his grandmother had put in place for him. In fact, he’d never even been particularly close to his grandmother. Christian couldn’t help but think of the irony of the entire situation. A person Jack had never been close to had set up a trust for him that had him set to inherit several million dollars. A person Jack had loved with all his heart had figured out a way to steal it all, if she managed to pull it off, and start a new life of her own with Jack’s best friend. And Jack had known nothing of any of it—until this moment.
But Jack remained quiet for a long space of time. He stared down the hallway into the darkness so long that Chris began to wonder about his sanity. Just as he started to say something about leaving, Jack spoke.
“Who inherits the money if I die before my birthday?”
The question startled Christian almost as much as Jack’s icy forthrightness. “James,” he answered. “But now, you can stop it. Go on with your life as a multi-millionaire.”
“How do they plan to do it? To kill me?”
Chris stared at him in the moonlight. “She’ll leave nothing to chance,” he said slowly. “Of course, you know that. She’s a methodical creature.”
Finally, Jack turned to look at him. “I want to know how, exactly.”
“She’s hired some men to break in during the night. She knows you were born just after midnight on November second. The men she’s hired will break in to your home around four or five a.m., the morning of November second—”
“To be certain there’s no problem with the time, of course,” Jack interjected thoughtfully.
Christian nodded. “And they will shoot you as you beg them not to harm your dear wife. Once you’re dead, they’ll untie her, collect their pay, and get a thirty minute head start toward home before Ashley calls the police. Of course, she’ll say it was dark, they blindfolded her, and so on.”
“Tidy.” Jack gazed into the darkness but Chris could see his mind working in the expressions on his face.
Chris’s mouth quirked. “Yes. As always. But of course, none of that will happen now.”
Jack didn’t say anything for a moment. He took a deep, steadying breath, as if he had reached a decision. “Yes, Chris. It is going to happen. Just like she’s planned, up through my death. It’s what comes after that she’ll have no control of.”
****
Jack’s mind was made up. Ashley would inherit his money, but she wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. Of course, Christian was quick to point out, neither would he—being dead, and all.
None of it mattered now, except the vengeance.
“You’ll become one of us,” Christian told him as they walked back through the front wall of Zander’s house and down the steps. “You’ll spend eternity in damnation.”
“You sound like a television evangelist.”
“Jack, don’t do this. I came here tonight to help you. To let you see what Ashley was up to—so you could do something about it. I didn’t come so you’d wind up letting her get away with it.”
Jack stopped on the sidewalk and turned to face Christian. “She’s not going to get away with it, Chris. That’s the beauty of it.”
“But you’re going to die so she can collect!”
Jack turned away from the demon’s piercing gaze. “Yes.” He started walking once more, resolutely turning at the corner to head toward his house.
“You’ll feel differently by Wednesday.”
“No. I don’t think so, Chris.”
“I can’t help you once it’s all begun. There’ll be no turning back.”
Jack reached to lay a hand on Chris’s arm. There was no burn, only an unnatural warmth. It was reassuring, somehow. He couldn’t explain why. “Will you be there once I pass over?”
Chris nodded. “I—yes. But I want you to realize what you’re doing, Jack. Ashley’s just a woman. She’ll move on to Zander, and then become bored with him and move on again. You could do so much in your lifetime, if you’d just stop her and keep living. You’d have everything—including the money. You’ll find someone else—”
“No.” Jack shook his head. “I don’t know how I could ever make you understand this, Chris, but Ashley was everything to me. She was my hope for a future, for all the good things in life I thought we’d share together. Zander and I have been friends since grade school. One summer, we took our pocket knives and cut our fingers…blood brothers, we said.” He shrugged. “Now, look at us.”
“It’s nothing you did.”
“No. And maybe—maybe I should’ve done more. Maybe I should have gone with him more often for a beer. Maybe I should have stood up some to Ashley.”
“Jack—Ashley has been like this since way before you ever met her.”
Jack smiled. “Then this will change things. She’ll never do this to another man.”
“You’re willing to die for this?”
Jack shook his head. “Christian, I’m not living any more. I’ve lost everything.”
“You stand to inherit several million dollars in two days!”
“What does it mean if everything I care about is gone? I’m heartsick, Chris. Don’t you understand? I’m giving up nothing—it’s all been ripped away from me.”
Christian stepped back in shock. “I shouldn’t have come to you. It was a mistake.” He lifted a hand quickly and drew a circle in the air.
“What’re you doing?”
“Trying to take away this memory—”
Jack’s smile was sad, wistful. “You can’t. I’ll never forget this. How can I? How can you be certain I won’t remember enough to make me dangerous to myself…and to others?” He moistened his lips, feeling the heat radiating from the demon’s body. “Some things cut so deep they can’t be erased. I’m not sorry you came.”
“But what will you do?”
The odd-colored circle became a ball of mesmerizing colors that flickered and glowed. Jack looked away from it, not allowing his attention to be ensnared.
“I will let it unfold just like you’ve said. But I need to know—once I’m a demon, can I appear to her?”
“If you wish, and with some limitations. You can speak to her, but you can’t harm her. Since she has no conscience, I’m not sure appearing to her will matter,” Chris added dryly.
“Does it hurt…being a demon?”
“Physically? No. Just hurts your heart and conscience, if you ever had one.”
“You did.”
Christian’s eyes narrowed.
Jack went on softly “You did, or you wouldn’t have come to help me tonight.”
“Look what it got me,” Chris said sardonically. “Instead of helping you, you’re letting it all happen.”
“Just be waiting on Wednesday, my friend. I turn thirty, and begin my new life.”
“I wish you’d reconsider. You may feel differently by then. This is something you’ll be living with forever.”
“The darker side of goodness, you called it.” A shaft of moonlight fell across the sidewalk where Jack stood. The ball of light Christian had created had all but vanished now. “This is my version of it, Chris. I need a little guidance and—and a true friend.”
After a moment, Chris nodded. “I’ll be there,” he answered firmly. “Count on me.”
Jack turned toward home. He’d lost everything, but he couldn’t help the new sense of determination that took hold of his heart where only minutes earlier, there had been nothing but hopelessness. He’d lost…but he’d gained a new direction tonight.
Tomorrow, he’d see the attorney. There was a codicil he wanted to be sure he added to the trust papers in person...in case he should die an untimely death. It could be tricky to fix it, but he had faith in the knowledge and clarity of a good attorney’s advice. Ashley would inherit the damn money, but she would never enjoy it. She’d inherit it, all right …with the stipulation that it be spent on the children at the orphan’s home in nearby Jefferson.
The woman who had lied to him, had thrown
away their future, was about to get her hands on a king’s ransom, but only for a few moments. If she hoped to receive a yearly pittance to eke out a paltry existence, the bulk of his fortune was going to be spent on the greatest future of all—children—the “squalling brats” she’d never wanted with him, or anyone else.
Smiling, he hurried down the street, rushing toward his fate—a fate he’d finally seized control of. He had some plans of his own to make—his future awaited.
About the Author
Cheryl was born in Duncan, OK, and grew up in Seminole, OK. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma, and holds a B.A. in English. Cheryl lives with her husband in Oklahoma City, OK, where she has been for the past 30 years.
Writing is so much a part of her life that recently, she and long-time friend Livia Reasoner, opened a publishing house for western and historical stories.
PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS www.prairierosepublications.com furthers the western-themed writing offerings of women.
To learn more about Cheryl and her exciting books, visit her at www.cherylpiersonbooks.com
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