Coming Home (Norris Lake Series)

  Thirty minutes later, Caitlyn snoozed sitting upright in bed with her book on her lap, the little dog for company and a gun by her side for protection. A loud pounding at the front door, woke her from the stupor. It took a moment for her to register the sound and at once her body tensed with anticipation. Seizing the gun at her side, she folded back the blankets and shuffled her feet into two fluffy pink slippers on the floor. Grabbing her pink terry cloth robe, she wrapped it around her and slid back the lock on the bedroom door. The pounding sound was persistent. Then she heard the crash of breaking glass, then the roar of a motor and tires in the driveway spitting gravel as a vehicle pulled away from the house. Pattycake barked furiously at the intrusion. Caitlyn trembling ran to the bedroom end table and dialed 911.

  “Ring. Ring. I need help. There’s been an intruder. 1440 Riverside Road. Send a deputy.” Caitlyn cried grasping the pistol in one hand and the little dog in the other sat on the bed waiting for help.

  At the same time, miles away Dominic held his head in his hands.

  “I hate her and I wish she were dead. I am going to make her pay for this. It’s her fault that I have lost everything. God, I can’t stand it. She’s got to pay.”

  “Good riddance to her. You’re better off without the bitch. She’s a whore. All women are. You can’t trust any of them. They’ll all take advantage of you and then take everything you have,” his father’s angry voice snarled.

  “Don’t tell him that. It’s not true.” Dom’s step-mother interjected. “You just feel this way because you love her so much and she’s left you. It’s not that you want her to come to harm. Really dear, look into your heart and you know that it would break your own heart if something happened to her. You’re just angry. It’s okay to be angry but then you need to let it go. You need to forgive her and take responsibility for some of what has happened. You weren’t the perfect husband and your behavior led to these consequences. You know this to be true. You know this; in your heart. You just can’t see it right now because your intellect is clouded with anger. Don’t listen to your father. He’s angry because he was left by his first wife and he has never been able to let go of the anger. Don’t become what he is. Don’t wallow in the pain. Look forward to forgiveness and the future. Decide how you want your change your and then make it so.” His mother consoled him as much as she could. “Marriage is a compromise, don’t give up negotiations. You have to keep trying to sell Cat on your intentions. Women respect a man that knows what he wants, Dom. It’s one of the reasons Cat was always sure about you two as a couple. She knew at the beginning you were sure you wanted her in your life.”

  “I know you’re right but I am so angry that I can’t feel it,” Dominic whispered.

  I’ll tell you what. It’s time for dinner. Let’s go to KFC and get us something to eat. The drive will calm you down. By the time you get back, you will feel better and you can log on and write her an email telling her how you will make her life better if she comes back. I’ve never seen you so much in love. I didn’t think you were capable of this, but know that this is the woman for you. You need to take the chance, baby and tell her how you feel, no matter what she says. You need to try your hardest so you don’t ever look back and say “ I wish I had….”. his mother continued.

  “I know, Mom. You’re right. Let me get my keys. I’ll drive.”

  Later that night sated with comfort food, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and warm buttered rolls, he sat down at his computer and emailed Cat a fifth time.

  A drink in one hand, Dominic climbed into an old red pickup truck that he kept at the house to haul mulch and trash. He’d go over there to Norris and find her and make her come back. His mind was numb and a pounding began behind his temples. That father of hers, he thought to himself. That damn old man had always hated him. No matter how hard he tried to make good and provide Cat with the same kind of life she came from, he was never good enough for that old bastard. He took another drink and turned the keys.

  On the outskirts of Norris, the Turlington condo project was at risk; a location picturesque in the day time turned in to a nightmare. Heavy black smoke filled the air as russet flames licked the unpainted plywood of the first set of condos. The fully-framed buildings provided a rich tinderbox fueling the newly raging fire. He stepped back tossing the empty gasoline can on to a pile of scrap lumber his job finished as the flames moved on to a neighboring unit. Turning, he jogged off through the nearby woods to his truck which he’d hidden parked on the far side of the knoll. In the dark, his black clothed form was undistinguishable from the surrounding woods and he disappeared as silently as he had appeared.

  Moments later when the first unit was well beyond help, a patrolling deputy saw the flames and pulled his vehicle through the construction entrance. Stepping out of the car he sighed and reached into the cruiser to complete two calls, the local fire department and the construction company owner.

  Skidding through the gravel, Cat literally slid in to the condo construction parking lot. She immediately spotted a half dozen fire vehicles surrounding the complex already pouring water on the flames as they graspingly continued to paint yellow fingers on the night sky. In a way it was beautiful as the red, yellow and blue lights flashed in rotating patterns; as beautiful as a painted asp. Pulling her black work dually on through the construction entrance where she parked next to the sheriff’s car and quickly climbed out assessing the damage as she sprinted over to stand next to the deputy.

  “Hey George. What happened?”

  “Can’t tell as of yet but my guess right off would be arson. I found a couple of empty gasoline cans on the pile over there.”

  “So what did my dad have to say about it?”

  “Your dad? I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him yet. I was assuming he would come with you.”

  “No. He’s supposed to be here filling out some paperwork for permits and the weekly payroll. Did you check the trailer?”

  “I didn’t have any reason to think anyone was here. There were no lights on when I got here and all of the commotion would have gotten anyone’s attention. There’d be no way to ignore it.”

  “No I am certain he’s here. I spoke to him about an hour ago and he was still working. He was going to call me before he left so we could meet in town for dinner. I didn’t get a call and assumed he was still working.” George, masking his fears, conversationally pronounced, “The trailer’s off to the side any way and wasn’t touched by the fire. You stay here, Cat. I will go have a look to see if he’s in there.”

  “Are you kidding? Cat spat out, “Wait here? I am going with you. I am not staying here.”

  “Chief Lewis,” he called to a nearby individual, “we potentially have a problem. Caitlyn here says her dad’s on the premises somewhere. Did you find anyone?”

  “Not yet, but some of those condos in the first building are a lost cause. If you hadn’t called it in so quickly, we wouldn’t have been able to save the rest of the units. It’s about a 10% loss as I see it now. I will get the men to check the area.

  “John, Harry, David, Lee over here,” he called walking towards the place where most of the firemen stood still spraying water on both the dying flames and the untouched buildings. “You boys look through the buildings. Robert Tarlington may be on the premises.” The men spread out and started looking through both burned out buildings and those that had recently been touched by flames.”

  “George, I am going to go check the trailer now! He’s got to be here somewhere.” Caitlyn started towards the trailer.

  “I’ll go with you.” His great strides caught up with her quickly.

  They jogged to the trailer and pulled open the door leaping up the steps into the 50 x 30 office. It was an open area with no other divisions except for a bathroom at one far end. There at the farthest part of the trailer in front of the lavatory door lay Robert Tarlington still as death.

  “Caitlyn, he’s here,” George said to the woman who sto
od just inches behind him. He moved swiftly to the prostrate form and kneeling he placed a hand on the side of the neck of the victim.

  “He’s still breathing, Caitlyn. Call 911.”

  “Daddy! I need to see him,” she cried pushing her way in.

  “No,” he stood and put his large worn hands on the upper part of each shoulder. “Go call 911 now. Get an ambulance here quickly.”

  Tears welled in her eyes and she nodded running out of the trailer taking all the steps in one jump as she ran towards her truck. Picking up her cell phone from the front of her purse, she called for help.

  Later at the hospital, she hovered outside her father’s room waiting for the doctor’s appearance.

  Michael rushed towards her, pulling a blue Stuckey’s baseball cap from his head. “How is he? What happened?” He spilled in a rush not waiting for answers.

  “I don’t know how he is yet. I am waiting for the doctor right now. He’s still alive though, but looks like he was hit in the head pretty hard, then someone beat him pretty badly. Someone torched the condos. The police are saying it was undeniably arson. If the sheriff hadn’t been driving by and noticed the fire, it would have been much worse and Dad might have been dead by the time we found him. Oh Michael,” she said, a catch in her voice, the tears welling up in her eyes again for the hundredth time. “Who would do a thing like this and why? Why?”

  “I don’t know anything about it…” Michael began as the doctor appeared.

  Caitlyn turned and inquired. “Doctor. Tell me his condition” she demanded. “How is my father doing? Will he be okay?”

  The doctor took Caitlyn’s hand in his own and patted the back of it. His gray head nodded and a concerned look filled his wrinkled brow. A pair of light blue eyes peered through silver wire rimmed round spectacles wise with 50+ years of medicine. His hunched shoulders inside the traditional white lab coat of doctors throughout the world bent as if he bore the weight of the world on his back. In reality he did for this family. He’d delivered both Caitlyn and her brother years ago and had been the family’s doctor for longer than that. Bob Tarlington had been playing golf with him since Cat was in preschool and they were next door neighbors.

  “Now, now Caitlyn,” he said in a calm measured voice. “He’s had a bad evening that’s for sure but he’ll pull through. He’s badly beaten, as if the attacker not only wanted to incapacitate your father, but also was enraged enough to hit repeatedly. Your Dad’s lucky that he has such a hard head and is such a mean S.O.B. Men like your Dad are hard to kill.”

  “But…is he awake yet? Can we see him?” Caitlyn implored.

  “Yes, go on in. He’s conscious but don’t stay too long. He’s still groggy from the medication and he needs his rest.”

  Caitlyn pushed through the door to the private hospital room only to see her father lying prone in the bed his head and hands wrapped in bandages. His face showed signs of black and blue bruises with red tinges. One arm was immobile in a cast, broken in either the beating or fall. One leg was also in a cast and traction the cast crossing the breadth of his hips. His eyes were closed and immediately her heart fell, thinking he’d died in the passing moments.

  “Dad?” Caitlyn said gently. Michael stepped around to the other side of the bed and stood there very still, his cap wrung tight in his hands.

  “Dad?” Michael called quietly too. “Dad? It’s Mike; Cat and I are here.”

  Opening his eyes, the old man licked his lips. “Water,” he croaked his voice hoarse.

  Caitlyn reached for the water nearby and held a cup with a straw up to her father’s dry lips. He drank in large gulps then leaned back on the pillows.

  “Raise this bed up,” he barked at Michael. Michael struggled a moment with the controls and the old man reached over to take them from his son. “Lord, can’t you do anything right? Here’s the button.”

  As the bed rose, the old man continued, “Caitlyn, I don’t know what happened tonight. I just remember hearing someone come up behind me as I was turning out the lights and then I was hit over the head. After that, there’s nothing. I can’t recall anything. How bad was the loss?”

  Were we robbed?

  Caitlyn looked at Michael and then to her father. “No. Arson.

  Her dad’s eyes glazed over. “The complex is gone?”

  It’s bad, but not a total loss. The intruder set the place on fire. The police are saying it was arson, but don’t have anything suspects yet and your injuries were meant to look like you died in the fire, maybe even staged so it looked like you were the one who caused it.

  “If it’s not a total loss, then we can still finish the project.” Tarlington started to sit up and grabbed the side of the hospital bed.

  Caitlyn jumped forward and put her hand on her father’s shoulder pushing him back without much resistance. “The police have said that you can’t go back there, Dad. First, it’s too dangerous and second, you are in no shape to. You’ll be here for a few days and then home.”

  “Nonsense, I’ve got to get back. That condo project has to be done by November 1st or I stand to lose the shirt off my back. I’ve put everything into this project and won’t lose it all now.”

  “Maybe I can manage it?” Michael began; wanting desperately to help salvage the project and his father’s esteem.

  “What? You’ve got to be kidding boy. You can’t manage a project like this. Hell, Michael, you can’t even finish school.”

  “But Dad, Michael can do it,” Caitlyn protested as she saw her brother’s flushed angry, embarrassed face.

  “Caitlyn, you’ll need to do it. There’s no other choice.”

  “Dad, I wasn’t planning on staying that long. I don’t know.”

  “You will do it. That’s the end of the discussion. Bring me the papers. I will sign over my power of attorney to you and give the foreman a call to let him know that you’re in charge. We need to finish the project quickly. Once it’s done, I can sell the business at a profit and finally retire.”

  Michael jammed his hands in his pockets and looked on without further comment. Another chance to change his father’s opinion of him disintegrated. He wanted to protest, but no words would come to him. His thoughts were frozen. Rejection and it’s pain had stolen them from him.

  Chapter 14

  He shoved a lock of dark hair from his forehead as he leaned forward to look out the window of his secret apartment. There was condensation on the window and he wiped it away with his palm. The dog days of summer were synonymous with the hum of the air conditioner which purred almost silently keeping the room chilly against the heat of the late afternoon.

  The room was sparse and austere with rented furniture and no accoutrements on the walls. The only noticeably generous piece was a large cherry desk with a single desk lamp and matching chair. In the middle of the desk squatting like a large toad on a lily pad was an expensive laptop powered down waiting for its owner to initiate contact with an electronic world.

  He leaned over the desk ignoring the few boxes he possessed that were yet to be unpacked. Most of his belongings were in a storage building in town rented in another name with cash so to not be detected and traced back to him as was the apartment. Flipping open the screen of the computer, he pressed the button at the top right corner of the powerful machine. Its screen came to life with the Windows XP graphic. Singing an electronic hum it powered full force. He sat down in the expensive leather chair and pulled it close to the desk positioning his palms on the keyboard. With a few quick strokes he pulled up the internet and entered a URL he knew well.

  Typing in the dark room, he became another person, an anonymous voice able to express not only his dreams but also his nightmares. His computer genius, known only to himself, allowed him to reach out into other systems hacking his way in silently behind almost any firewall or safeguard; no manner of security could keep him at bay. He was invincible and a force not to be reckoned with.

  If only everyone would recognize how brilliant he
truly was. He had been wrongly accused and now had plans to make sure those who had ruined his life would pay. He would make sure those that had ridiculed him and made him to feel insignificant and different would be similarly abused. He opened up his home page and the dark man went to work to begin his soul’s salvation.

  Several hours later, he rubbed his palm against the back of his neck and flipped off the PC. The screen glowed white for a moment then black dousing the room in darkness. It was late, the early hours of the morning. Pushing back from the desk, he swiveled the chair to the side and stretched his long legs to rid himself of the cramped feelings in his thighs.

  Standing he untucked his black t-shirt from equally black jeans and pulled it off over his head revealing light untanned skin. The cool air felt good against his body. He opened the sliding glass door and stepped out on to his back porch watching the Orion meteor shower. The black sky peppered with stars like white pinpoints in a dark cloth. Against the still lights were several bright streaks of light moving west to east high up above his head as if a child had lit a 4th of July sparkler.

  Blocking the view in thin sections were the leafy branches of several tall trees. Maples, evergreens, and oaks were coated in inky darkness. In the distance a mountain loomed like a great beast crouched sleeping waiting to be wakened from its watchful slumber. He breathed deeply the wood smoke smell of autumn as his neighbor’s fireplaces smoldered with early season flames. He went back in the apartment, removed his contacts, pulled off the rest of his clothes and climbed naked in between the cool sheets of his queen bed. In a moment he was dead asleep.

  Later that evening, he sat in the semi-darkness of the local tavern, the Hitching Post. An almost empty pitcher of beer sat on the table in front of him. He recounted the problems the business was having and thought of Caitlyn. The bar was located on Norris Lake near the Andersonville boat dock. It was a small dark dive nestled back in the woods overlooking the lake. The structure was approximately 1000 square feet and looked from the outside to be a two-story, A-frame chalet.