South River Incident

by Ann Mullen

  “Maybe you don’t plan on having a baby right away, but plans change,” Sarah said. “Be open to the idea. That way, when the chief’s prediction comes true, you won’t be surprised.”

  “Yeah,” Claire said, going along with her cohort. “Have an open mind. You never know what the future holds.”

  Immediately, they turned their backs to me, put their heads together, and went over to gather up the kids. They laughed and made silly sounds as they hustled the kids upstairs for a well-needed nap.

  Did I miss something? What was going on in their heads? Were they conjuring up another one of their crazy ideas? No, I knew what they were thinking. I would prove them wrong. Just wait and see!

  “You don’t know everything,” I yelled at them. “You can talk about me behind my back, but in the end you’ll see that I was right all along.”

  My protests fell on deaf ears.

  I needed a cigarette. I was tied in a knot. Ah, a cigarette and a drink would do the job just fine.

  Chapter 17

  The house appeared to take on a chill as I walked over to the kitchen sink and looked underneath for a bottle of liquor. Isn’t that where men usually put the booze? Bingo! I grabbed the bottle of bourbon and began my search for a glass. Was today Sunday or Monday? I had lost all perception of time. This would be a Thanksgiving weekend that I would not soon forget. Where are the cigarettes? I rummaged through Claire’s purse that she had left on the kitchen counter. Two Marlboros and one shot glass of straight bourbon later, Claire and Sarah accosted me.

  “What is that smell?” Sarah turned up her nose as she walked into the kitchen. “Jesse, you shouldn’t be smoking!”

  “I don’t want to hear it,” I said as I drank and puffed away.

  Claire and Sarah hissed and said bad things behind my back as they scolded me. They were determined to give me a hard time.

  I ignored them. Besides, what could one good stiff drink and a handful of cigarettes hurt? I was not pregnant. Leave me alone.

  Some hours later, I had a terrible headache and felt sick to my stomach. I smelled like an ashtray. I was subject to throw up at any moment.

  “Where’s Billy?” I pulled back the curtains on the front door. “He should be home by now. I’m worried.”

  The sky had grown dark and small flakes of snow had begun to fall at a rapid rate. Another storm was headed this way. I was tired of the snow.

  “I’m sure he would call if anything was wrong,” Claire coddled me. “Try to relax, Jesse. Oh, never mind, I forgot, you have been relaxing.”

  “A couple of drinks, Claire, that’s all I had.”

  “I can see we’re all getting a little tense,” Sarah tried to smooth things over. “Why don’t we go sit by the fire? It’s so cozy.”

  The three of us had gathered by the fire and were discussing my wedding plans, when I heard a noise at the back door.

  I put my finger to my mouth to silence them.

  “Did you hear that?”

  Sarah and Claire both nodded their heads.

  “Jesse’s just getting a little nervous,” Claire smiled at Sarah and said. “Making wedding arrangements can do that to you.”

  “I know,” Sarah responded. “I’ve planned a few weddings in my lifetime.”

  “I’m serious,” I whispered. “I heard something.”

  I got up from the sofa and went to get my gun. When I returned, Claire and Sarah were huddled together by the fireplace.

  “We heard a noise, too,” Claire cried. “We were afraid to move. It sounds like someone is trying to get in. What should we do?”

  I checked the cylinder of my Rossi to make sure it was loaded. It was the first thing I was taught to do when handling a gun; check it for bullets. With my weapon fully loaded and my arm pointed straight out, I went in search of the noise. My hand shook as I slowly made my way to the utility room. Sarah and Claire stuck to my backside like glue.

  “Open the door on the count of three,” I told Claire. “Then jump back out of the way.” I could see she was scared, but she nodded in agreement.

  “One... two... three.”

  Claire jerked the door back as I jumped in front of her with the trigger cocked. Nobody was going to get past me.

  The three of us stood there with our mouths hanging open. A tiny calico kitten sat balled-up on the steps. A second later, a black kitten appeared.

  “What is this?” I screeched. “Go home, both of you. I don’t need any cats. I have two killer dogs in here so you’d better run away.”

  “No!” I screamed at Claire when she picked up the calico kitten.

  Sarah bent down and whisked up the black one in her arms.

  “No!” I yelled. “Put them back down!”

  “Jesse, you can’t just leave them out in the cold,” Claire hissed. “It’s obvious they got separated from their mother.”

  “That’s why they’re called strays,” Sarah added. “They strayed away from their mother and now they need someone to raise them.”

  “Well, my plate is full. You two can take them home.”

  “That’s exactly what I’ll do,” Claire said.

  “I will, too,” Sarah agreed.

  “Good! Now that everyone is happy, I’ll close the door.”

  I went to shut the door and noticed the wind had really picked up. The trees were bending to the force of the gusts, and more snow had begun to cover an already white landscape. A chill ripped through me. Off in the distant, I heard a tree snap. Where was Billy?

  Surprisingly, Athena and Thor welcomed the two kittens into the fold. The four of them made themselves at home in front of the fireplace, and sniffed and licked each other until I thought I was going to gag.

  “Where were you two when I heard the noise at the back door? Neither one of you barked! Some guard dogs you are.” I tossed them one of my mean looks, which they both ignored.

  At six o’clock, I dialed Mom’s cell phone number. We had waited long enough. By that time, the kids had been fed dinner, given a bath and put to bed; the two kittens had low-fat milk in their bellies and were snoozing by the fireplace; and Athena and Thor were down for the count while the rest of us waited.

  “No answer,” I said, hanging up the phone.

  “Did the recording come on?” Claire asked.

  “No, it didn’t.”

  “That means Mom’s phone is on, but she’s not answering it.”

  “I’ll try again in a few minutes. Maybe she’s busy at the moment.” I tried to act undisturbed about the call. Unfortunately, anxiety had begun to set in. My heartbeat began to pick up momentum, and my hands shook. I had a bad feeling. I was going to need a paper bag soon.

  The storm intensified as time passed. Windows rattled and the wind banged against the house, sending an unrelenting surge of vibrations throughout the room. Off in the woods, I heard another tree snap.

  “Is this a hurricane?” Claire cried out when a tree limb slammed against a window. She clutched her hands to her heart.

  “No, it’s just a snowstorm,” Sarah consoled her. “It’ll be over soon, I hope. I don’t like it when the wind howls. I can handle almost anything, except that wind. High winds can be so dangerous. When a tree blows over, you don’t know where it’s going to land. If the tree is close to the house, where do you run to? Maybe it won’t last long.”

  “I hope you’re right, Sarah,” I said. “Frankly, I think we’re in for a long night. We better settle in and ride it out.”

  “We had a really bad snowstorm a few years back that lasted for several hours. Afterwards, people were stranded in their homes. Some people died.”

  “Yeah, I heard about that one. Billy told me.”

  Claire couldn’t stand it anymore. She walked over to the phone and said, “I’m going to try Mom’s number again.”

  “Go ahead,” I urged. “I think it’s time to call everyone we know until we find out where they are.”

  “I’m with you,” Sarah said.

  Sa
rah and I stood next to Claire and waited while she dialed the number.

  “Hello, Mom, where are you?” Claire ranted. “We’ve been worried sick! Yes… Sure… I’ll tell Jesse.” Claire stood and listened for several minutes before responding again. “We love you, too... See you then.”

  “What’s the deal?” I asked when Claire hung up the phone. “You’re not screaming or crying so I can only assume they’re all right. I mean, they’re not dead or lying in some ditch somewhere, are they?”

  “They’re fine. They had a little car trouble, that’s all.” Claire put her arms around Sarah and me, guiding us to the living room. “Let’s go warm our tootsies by the fire and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Claire’s calm was contagious and her laid-back attitude was infectious. I noticed how she was so much like Sarah. One minute she could be uptight and scared, and the next minute, she was as cool as a cucumber.

  I chewed my nails while Claire gave us a full account of Mom and Billy’s excursion. She didn’t leave anything out.

  “They got Billy’s truck out of the ditch and when he went to start it, smoke came out from under the hood. The engine made an awful noise. They called Daniel, and he sent out one of his tow trucks. The guy towed Billy’s truck all the way from Stanardsville to Daniel’s car lot in Charlottesville. Mom said something about a radiator and a fan, but I was barely listening to her by then. Anyway, the chief took them to get a bite to eat at the Lafayette Hotel in Stanardsville. Mom said she was starving and didn’t want to wait until they got back here to eat. She once told me that she was told by a couple of the neighbors that the Lafayette’s restaurant served the absolutely best meals, and the guys who ran the hotel were so friendly. We were going to take the kids there once, but Carrie started running a fever, and we didn’t get to go. That was a little while back when she came down with that nasty cold, remember, Jesse? Poor little thing, she was so sick. Anyway, they’re going to have something to eat, and then they’ll be heading back.”

  “Yes, I remember,” I answered, rolling my eyes at Claire. She could go on and on sometimes. “When may we expect their return?”

  “Mom said they’d be home in a couple of hours.”

  “A couple of hours?” I raised my voice.

  “When you’re in the mountains, nothing happens fast,” Sarah said. “The living is easy. Things move at a much slower pace, especially in this kind of weather.”

  I lay my head back on the sofa and tried to tune out the roar from outside and the nauseous feeling within me. I broke out in a sweat, but this time I didn’t faint. The wave passed. Neither Claire, nor Sarah noticed.

  “If it makes you feel any better, Jesse,” Claire grinned. “Mom said she was having the time of her life. She said it’s been a real adventure. Can you believe it? She’s truly amazing.”

  “It’s funny how people change,” I reminisced. “I guess Mom is no exception. I remember a time when she wouldn’t go outside if there was more than an inch of snow on the ground. Just look at her now. You can’t keep her tied down.”

  “What was that?” Claire asked.

  “I didn’t hear anything,” I lied.

  I had heard a noise at the back door, but I wasn’t about to let another kitten in the house. This one would wind up being mine, because everyone else already had one of their own. Two dogs were enough for me! There was not enough room in this house for another pet.

  “Shame on you,” Claire rubbed one finger over the other at me. “We can’t let the poor thing freeze.” She got up from the sofa and headed to the utility room. I guess two kittens weren’t enough pets.

  “No! Claire,” I yelled. I jumped up and ran after her. “Don’t open...”

  An explosion of wood and hinges echoed throughout the house. Claire screamed. Her limp body hit the floor just as I rounded the corner. Blood ran down the side of her face.

  “What the ...” I screamed, looking up at a man and a woman standing in the doorway. Instantly, I recognized them from the picture. It was Laura and Brad Westover! They were on a rampage!

  “Shut up!” he said. He stuck a gun in my face.

  Thor came charging into the utility room barking wildly, and immediately sunk his teeth into Brad’s leg. Brad responded by kicking Thor in the head. The crack sounded like thunder. Thor released his grip and fell over in a heap. His body twitched for a couple of seconds, his breathing labored, and then he lay motionless.

  Athena was nowhere in sight.

  Sarah peeped around the corner at us. “What...” She turned to run.

  Laura was fast on her heels. She sprinted past me and Brad, and had Billy’s mom pinned up against the wall with a gun pointed under her chin before I had a chance to blink.

  “Please,” I begged Laura. “Don’t hurt her.” I looked back at Brad. “I’ll do whatever you want. If it’s money you want...”

  “You’re such an idiot,” Brad snapped. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me toward the living room, his gun jammed up in my ribs. “If you had just stayed out of it everything would’ve gone off as planned. But no, you had to go and stick your nose in something that’s none of your business. I’m going to have to shut you up.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I cried, trying to stall for time until I could figure out what was going on.

  The possibility of Brad or Laura being capable of murder had crossed my mind more than once. I knew we were in trouble. I didn’t know why or what we had done, but there was no doubt in my mind that tonight we could all very well die. The aggressive behavior of our captors had convinced me of that. The gun in my ribs was a sure sign of the danger we faced. I had to do something. I couldn’t let our lives end this way. “Just tell me what you want,” I pleaded.

  “We don’t want anything,” Laura laughed. “We’re going to kill you.”

  She dragged Sarah over to the back of the sofa and pushed her down to the floor. She bent down and shook her gun at her.

  “Leave her alone,” I screamed. “She’s just a little old lady. Can’t you see that? She can’t hurt you. She’s powerless.”

  Laura gave Sarah a kick, and then walked over to me. “You had better shut up while you still have a chance,” she said, “unless you want the same thing.”

  Sarah was balled up on the floor, holding the leg that had been kicked. She was in pain. The look on her face was one of terror.

  Laura produced a roll of duct tape and began to bind Sarah’s wrists. She tore off a final strip and pressed it across her mouth.

  I was horrified. All I could think about was how to get to my gun. If I could get my gun, I could stop them. I’ll kill them both. One shot to the head each. I could do it.

  The last time I’d gone to the back door with a gun in my hand, I hadn’t taken the time to put it away. Instead, I’d stuck it in my purse which was now sitting on the floor by the sofa. That was a true twist of fate. I prayed that it would play in our favor.

  Brad shoved me down next to Sarah and taped my hands. His gun lay next to him on the floor. It was my gun! It had my initials on the barrel.

  “You scum!” I yelled at him. “You better pray I don’t get free.”

  He picked up the gun and hit me in the head. I blacked out.

  When I came to, Claire was lying beside me, moaning. She had an ugly gash above her right eye that continued to ooze blood. Her hands were bound with the duct tape.

  Sarah sat motionless on the other side of me, her eyes wide with fear.

  Poor Thor had crawled his way over and lay at my feet. He wasn’t dead after all. A small patch of skin on his head was missing and blood matted along his right ear. I could tell from his labored breathing that he needed medical attention if he was to live. Athena was M.I.A.

  Laura and Brad were no longer in the room with us. I was worried that they had gone upstairs where the children were sleeping, but that fear subsided when I heard them talking in my bedroom. It became clear from the tone of their voices that they were arg
uing.

  This was my chance to do something. I didn’t want to make any sudden movements or sounds. I looked at Sarah and said in a low voice, “My gun is in my purse on the floor beside the sofa. Grab it for me.”

  “You left your gun lying around with my kids in the house? Are you crazy?” Claire managed to gasp out. She was in pain, but her thoughts were with her children. “I can’t believe you would do something so stupid, Jesse. Do you have any idea how many kids die each year from guns? You should know better. Where was your mind?”

  Claire had laid a major guilt trip on me, and she was right. This was one mistake I would never forget or make again, but for now I would not browbeat myself to death. If we survived this night there would be plenty of time for that later. Hopefully, this error would save our lives. If not, well, I guess it wouldn’t matter.

  “I’m sorry, Claire. I never thought about the danger. I promise it will never happen again.”

  “If you want my kids to visit you, it better never happen again. I don’t allow them around guns. I shouldn’t have to tell you how unsafe they are... you should already know. I know that you carry a gun, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  I let her go on and on until she had her say. She had the right. As far as she was concerned, I had made an egregious error in judgment. I might have, but in this case, I think it might prove to be our salvation. My mistake could work for us, if I could just get to my gun.

  I looked at Sarah as she scooted her way over to the end of the sofa. Within seconds, she returned to her position and handed me the gun.

  That’s when I realized what a bunch of idiots Laura and Brad were. They weren’t even smart enough to tie our hands behind our backs. That brought a smile to my face. I held the gun with both hands, placing my finger on the trigger. I thought about getting Sarah to unwrap the tape on my wrists, but was afraid the noise would attract attention. I hid my hands between my legs and waited for them to come back into the room.

  I would shoot Brad first. Laura had seemed a little edgy right from the start, and I figured that was all it would take to bring her down. I was counting on her falling apart once Brad was taken out of the picture.