She reached for his hand. She said, “Tell me as we walk.”
He said, “You never came to me. You didn’t know where I was. But I came to you. I knew where you would be. You would be working in your garden. Sometimes you were cooking. Sometimes you were sitting with your glass of wine, reading. I would watch you for a while. I wouldn’t disturb you. But sometimes I would feel that you were thinking of me and remembering more good things than bad.”
Elizabeth said nothing. But her eyes took on a shine.
Susan had tugged at Bannerman’s sleeve. She reached to touch Aisha’s shoulder. She whispered, “Let’s go.” She cocked her head toward the kitchen. She eased them both from the room.
Kessler gave no sign that he had noticed their departure. Nor did Elizabeth. She was frozen in place.
“And then I would lean very close to your ear and I would whisper, “I love you, Elizabeth Stride.’ And sometimes, not always, I would see your lips move. You would not return the sentiment, not in so many words. You would say, ‘Damn you, Martin,’ but it meant the same thing. I would know this because I’d see the pain in your eyes.”
From the kitchen, Aisha saw that Elizabeth seemed in shock. Her legs seemed unable to support her. She began to wilt. Kessler took her in his arms. They held each other tightly, not speaking.
“She knows he was there,” Aisha whispered to Susan. “She knows that he did come to her all those times because she knows that she did say, ‘Damn you, Martin.’”
They watched as Kessler turned her toward Bannerman’s front door. She did not resist him. She almost seemed to melt into him.
Susan said to Aisha, “You’ll be sleeping here tonight.”
Aisha answered with a smile. She said, “Thank you.”
Susan said, “The baby powder would have been a nice touch.”
“I don’t think they’re going to miss it,” said Bannerman.
End
Note: Stride, Kessler, Aisha and Harry Whistler (Whistler’s Angel) are back in The Aisha Prophecy.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY ONE
TWENTY TWO
TWENTY THREE
TWENTY FOUR
TWENTY FIVE
TWENTY SIX
TWENTY SEVEN
TWENTY EIGHT
TWENTY NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY ONE
THIRTY TWO
THIRTY THREE
THIRTY FOUR
THIRTY FIVE
THIRTY SIX
THIRTY SEVEN
THIRTY EIGHT
THIRTY NINE
FORTY
FORTY ONE
FORTY TWO
FORTY THREE
FORTY FOUR
FORTY FIVE
EPILOGUE
Bannerman's Ghosts Page 44