by Cege Smith
“Help me get her someplace warm,” he said.
“The library. I’ve got the fire going,” Ellie said.
She followed David down the hallway and into the library. She felt only the slightest pang of jealousy as she saw him gently place Jenny’s limp form down on the sofa.
“Blankets? Do you have something warm that we can bundle her in? I’ve got to get her out of these wet clothes,” David said as he took charge immediately.
Ellie rushed to fulfill David’s orders, bringing him blankets from the hallway closet. Then she hurried upstairs to get a pair of her flannel pajamas, although she didn’t believe that the bottoms would fit Jenny in her swollen state.
She watched David deftly remove Jenny’s clothes, and looked away in modesty as he redressed her. Of course as a doctor, he had seen a woman naked millions of times. Then he bundled her in blankets and checked her forehead. Jenny had only mumbled a few times as David had moved her about, and her breathing appeared shallow, but steady.
“What happened?” she asked.
“It appears she had a run-in with Linda’s crazy real estate agent,” David said.
“Joe Klein? Why? What happened?” Ellie asked.
“I have no idea, but this is the third time that guy has been skulking around, and now I’m convinced he’s dangerous. We need to call the police,” David said. Then he nodded toward Jenny. “What was she doing here? I know the two of you aren’t friends.”
“I hope you are not implying that I had anything to do with this,” Ellie said defensively. “Look, she came over here, how she got this address I have no idea, and she obviously wanted to start something with me. I told her that until she could hold a rational conversation, I had no desire to get into anything.”
“What was she so upset about?” David asked.
“That’s what I was going to tell you tonight.” Ellie sighed and shifted uncomfortably. “Turns out that Jake and I weren’t divorced yet.”
“What?” David stopped working on Jenny and gaped at Ellie.
“I told you I had a lot to talk about tonight,” Ellie admitted.
“Okay,” David said, shaking his head, “One thing at a time. So she came over here and confronted you. You asked her to leave. Then what happened?”
“She left,” Ellie said simply.
“When was this?” David continued his questions.
“She left probably about twenty minutes ago or so,” Ellie said.
“You didn’t hear anything after she left that would have indicated to you that she was in any kind of trouble?” David said. “You didn’t hear that guy yelling at me when I found him dragging her through the snow?”
“No, but then again I was back in the kitchen,” Ellie said. “How dangerous is he, David?”
David shook his head. “I just thought the guy had a thing going on with Linda. But attacking a pregnant woman is sick, and he said some pretty disturbing things. You can’t stay here by yourself.”
He turned back to Jenny and started exploring her head carefully. He winced as he found what he had been looking for. There was a gash just above Jenny’s ear that had been hidden by her long hair.
“It looks like he clobbered her in the head, probably took her completely by surprise when she was leaving. Bastard.”
As David continued to tend to Jenny, Ellie immediately felt bad for every awful thought that she had had about Jenny since the woman had left the house. “What can I do?” she asked. “Should we call an ambulance? Do you think the baby is okay?”
“Why don’t you go see if you can find some gauze and something that we can use to clean this. Then we’re going to call an ambulance and the police.”
“I’m glad you’re here, David,” she said to him. “Doubly glad that you’re a doctor too.”
“We do come in handy sometimes,” he said dryly. “Now go see what you can find.”
Ellie returned a few minutes later with a first-aid kit that she had found in the pantry. “Hope this helps,” she said as she handed it to David.
“Thanks,” he said.
He opened the box and pulled out some antiseptic. With a piece of gauze, he started cleaning the wound on Jenny’s head. Jenny, still unconscious, started thrashing. Ellie was alarmed.
“I’m calling the ambulance now,” she said. She opened her cell phone and looked at it in surprise. “Damn, I think I let the battery die.”
David pulled his out of his pocket and frowned. “Mine’s dead too.”
Jenny’s groan drew their attention. David placed his hands on her stomach and gently prodded. He smiled suddenly.
“That was a strong kick. I think the baby is fine,” he said to Ellie.
She closed her eyes with relief. “Thank God. Let me go look for Linda’s phone.”
Ellie did a quick scan of the three floors and returned to the library with a frown on her face as well. “This whole thing is getting stranger by the minute. Linda doesn’t appear to have a phone in the house.”
David stood up and started pacing. Ellie could tell he was frustrated.
“Ellie, this evening is turning into a nightmare. Look, I think Jenny’s okay for now but it’s hard to say if she’s out of the woods yet. I don’t want to move her. As soon as she wakes up, I’m taking the both of you out of here. I don’t want any argument.”
Ellie sat down on the opposite couch. She couldn’t believe the crazy things happening in her life, and she said so to David.
“A week ago my life was so normal that it was infinitely dull and boring. Now it seems like everywhere I turn I’m confronted with some new drama. I think I’m bad luck to be around,” she said with a twisted smile on her face. She was trying not to cry.
“None of this is your fault, Ellie. Although I will admit that there are a lot of bad things that have happened to you recently,” David said, sitting down beside her. They both studied Jenny, who appeared to be peacefully sleeping now.
“How much longer should we wait?” Ellie asked. “It seems like she’s been out for a long time.”
“She’s just asleep now. Try not to worry. I’m here and I’m not going to let anything happen to either one of you,” David said, trying to assure her. Ellie laid her head on his shoulder, and then he reached out behind her so that his arm was around her.
“You look like you’ve been through the wringer, Ellie,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve been through the wringer,” she replied. The wine was starting to have a now familiar effect on her senses, and Ellie felt the lids of her eyes growing heavy and her jaws cracked in a wide yawn. "I don't know why I'm so tired all of the sudden. I had a couple of glasses of wine; that must be it."
“It’s okay. You can close your eyes for a few minutes,” David said, reading her mind.
The long day and the emotional drama had finally caught up with Ellie, and within moments, she was asleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Ellie recognized the observer dream now. She was standing in the corner of her bedroom in Linda’s house, but she knew that this was a much earlier time in the house’s history. She thought it was funny how it looked exactly the same, right down to the canopy bed and pastel, floral wallpaper.
She looked across the room and gasped. Emma was lying prone on the bed. The entire bottom portion of the bed was soaked in blood.
“There, there. There, there,” she heard a voice murmuring close by.
She looked next to her and saw Lillian standing in the doorway, coddling an infant in a blanket. Lillian was speaking in those hushed tones to the baby.
“Lillian,” Emma croaked from the bed.
Ellie had the distinct feeling that she had been screaming. Emma reached out, but her arms trembled. Ellie could see that she was weak from the childbirth.
“See, Emma. I don’t know what you were fussing about. I told you we didn’t need a doctor. Women have been doing this since the beginning of time,” Lillian said, but she didn’t look up from the baby in her arms
.
“Lillian,” Emma said, more loudly this time. “Give me my baby. I’d like to hold him.”
Lillian ignored her, and took the baby over to the vanity table where a bowl was sitting on top. Ellie watched her gently wipe the birthing residue off of the child, and then rewrap it in another blanket tightly. Lillian had not stopped her cooing and caressing of the baby.
Emma tried to sit up. She swooned weakly and fell back against the pillows.
“Lillian, bring my child over here!” she said.
Her sister finally turned in her direction.
“Why, Emma, you look awful,” Lillian said, “You can’t be trying to care for a child in the state you are in. Let me take little Jack off for a nap, and then I’ll be back in to take care of you.”
“I want to hold my baby,” Emma said through clenched teeth. “I have spent the last two days in labor, and he is the last bit of Henry that I have. And his name is Henry Junior, after his father.”
Ellie had no idea what to make of the exchange. The tension in the room was thick.
“You are delirious, sweetie, and it’s no wonder. You’ve been in a lot of pain over the last few days. You’ll make a lot more sense after you’ve had some time to rest,” Lillian said. Without another word, she left the room.
Ellie could tell that Emma was stunned. Her stomach twisted in disgust when she realized that Lillian wasn’t planning to come back and help Emma get cleaned up any time soon. Emma looked pale and helpless in the middle of the huge bed. Her lips quivered, and even though Ellie was sure she was exhausted, she didn’t break down. Then she saw a glint of determination in the young woman’s eyes. Her next words raised the hair on Ellie’s arms.
“I know you’re there,” Emma said flatly. “I don’t believe in you, but I can feel you. I need help. Can you help me?”
Is she talking to me? Ellie thought. “Hello?” Ellie said tentatively.
Emma didn’t reply. Ellie slowly approached the bed. Emma sat waiting expectedly, but didn’t seem to see her.
“I need to get out of this bed,” Emma said. “I need to go find my baby. But I’m feeling pretty weak.” Her lips quivered again, but then she went still and pulled herself under control. “Dammit, help me!”
Ellie reached out and touched Emma’s shoulder. She watched the other woman jump. So she could feel her, but not see or hear her.
Emma’s breaths were coming in short gasps, “Okay. Okay. I can do this. God, I hope you aren’t here to hurt me.”
Ellie wanted to hug the girl and tell her how sorry she was for everything that had happened to her. No one should have to go through what she was going through alone. It was that thought that propelled her into action. She gently reached over and took Emma’s hand. She could see goose bumps fly up the girl’s arm, but she didn’t pull away. Emma’s breath was still fast and sharp, but she was cooperating.
Then Ellie sat down on the bed next to Emma and took her arm. Now it was time to wait.
Emma took a deep breath and then pushed herself toward Ellie’s side of the bed. She swung her legs over the bed. Ellie’s heart ached seeing the streaks of red up and down her thighs.
“I’m going to try standing up now,” Emma said. “I hope you are strong. Don’t let me fall, okay?”
Ellie waited patiently as Emma pushed herself off the bed and to her feet. Ellie watched Emma’s face contort in pain. No sooner had she settled onto her feet than Emma’s knees seemed to give out and Ellie quickly placed her shoulder under Emma’s arm and brought her back up.
“Thanks,” Emma whispered. Then she pointed toward the bathroom. “That way.”
Ellie slowly took each step with Emma and after a few steps Emma seemed more steady. They made it to the bathroom and Emma flipped on the light. “I think I’ve got it,” Emma said as she pushed herself way from Ellie’s solidness and crossed to the sink and mirror.
Ellie watched her slowly touch her face. It was drawn and gaunt. Her cheekbones stood out, and it looked like she had not eaten in weeks. Her nightgown clung to her slim form, and from the waist down was covered in dried blood. Emma braced herself against the sink and bowed her head.
“I’m probably crazy,” Emma said a few moments later. “My husband’s gone. I think my sister has hated me since before I was even born, and now she’s trying to take my baby away from me. And I’m asking for help from ghosts.” She shook her head and then turned on the faucet. It was obvious she didn’t expect a response, even if Ellie could have given her one.
Emma pulled the nightgown over her head and tossed it on the floor. Gently, she started to clean herself. Her face got pinched and red, but she did the task slowly and methodically. Ellie turned her head away, being respectful of her privacy even though Emma couldn’t tell the difference. She wondered where the girl was drawing the reserve of strength to go on.
Then Emma started to speak again, and Ellie realized it was in an effort to distract herself. She said how happy she was going to be when she could hold Henry Jr. in her arms. She talked about Henry Sr.’s smiling face and how he had kissed her silly every time they had dissolved in laughing fits over something ridiculous. She spoke of her family’s home in Louisiana, and playing in the backyard with her younger brother and the kids from the neighborhood.
The water in the sink turned pink as she rinsed off the cloth each time, but she was somehow disconnecting herself from it, and finally she just started humming. Ellie thought she had heard the song before, but couldn’t place it.
After what seemed like an eternity, Emma seemed satisfied that she was clean enough for the moment. She limped past Ellie back into the bedroom, and pulled a clean nightgown from the bottom drawer of the dresser. Her dressing robe hung from the bed, and Ellie saw that she was avoiding looking at the bed itself as she pulled the pink terrycloth robe from the bed post. Emma found slippers underneath the foot of the bed and carefully wedged her feet into them. She ran her fingertips through her hair.
She took a deep breath and shuffled out into the hallway, which was dark. Ellie followed closely behind her. It seemed like the house was empty.
Emma cocked her head and listened and then Ellie heard it too. It seemed to be coming from Joseph and Lillian’s bedroom across the hall. Then Ellie heard a baby’s squall. It was Emma’s son.
Emboldened by the noise, Emma made her way to the French doors that opened into their bedroom. She paused and put her ear to the door. Ellie could hear mumblings and low voices, but nothing from the baby. Emma raised her hand to knock, when suddenly the door opened in front of her.
Something inside pushed Ellie off to the side and seemed to suck Emma into the room. All Ellie could see were bright auras of red and black and orange shimmering from inside the room and she raised her arm to block out the fiery light. She heard Emma screaming.
Then she felt her body lifted off the floor and slammed back down and felt blows all over her body, each one bringing a fresh hell of pain. Her screams joined Emma’s. Henry Jr. was crying. And, as her world went black, she thought she could hear Lillian laughing.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Ellie emerged from her dream like a person deep under water, searching for the surface when the air was running out. Her mouth opened with a gasp and she sucked in as much air as she could hold in her lungs, the exhalation bringing with it her first signals of consciousness.
“Ellie. Ellie, sweetie,” she heard an unexpected voice say. She opened her eyes and then bolted backwards on the couch.
“Linda!” she cried out.
“Yes, dear,” Linda laughed in reply. “Who did you expect? Ellie, you just scared me terribly there for a moment. Were you having a bad dream?”
Linda looked phenomenal. Her white blond hair had recently been done, and she was wearing an emerald pantsuit. An expensive bag sat at her feet, and as Ellie started taking in other details around the room, she could see another piece of luggage sitting in the doorway.
Ellie’s head swung from right to le
ft. She had been lying on the couch, alone. The couch across from her was empty. “Where’s David and Jenny?” she asked anxiously.
“It’s all right, dear. They are upstairs,” Linda said, patting her on the forearm.
“Upstairs, why?” Ellie asked. The vestiges of her dream still remained, and she was horrified to realize that she was suspicious of Linda and her intentions. This wasn’t the Lillian of her dreams, she had to tell herself. After all that had happened in the last week, she should be delighted to see her old friend.
“Apparently that young lady was quite close to her due date, and that bump on the head sent her into preterm labor or something like that. David was quite concerned, so he wanted to move her upstairs to somewhere more comfortable.” Linda tsked. “What an unfortunate accident. I had no idea that Joe had such a violent streak. It's so scary to think how people can appear so normal but have such awful intentions. That poor girl.” Linda handed Ellie a cup of coffee that she had been holding.
Ellie took it in a trance. The parallel to her dream was uncanny. She wished again that she could see Linda’s aura. Linda seemed calm and serene.
“Shouldn’t we be calling an ambulance? I couldn’t find your phone, Linda,” she said.
“We did call, dear, as soon as Randall and I saw how serious things were. Unfortunately, we were quite lucky to have made it back here ourselves.” Linda pointed to the window at Ellie’s questioning glance. “Look for yourself. It’s nasty out there.”
Ellie got up and made her way through the office to the window at the front of the house. The window pane was covered in a thin layer of ice. Beyond it, she could barely make out tall snowdrifts. She couldn’t see the lake. It looked like a complete whiteout. She knew it had been snowing when she fell asleep, but this was ridiculous. She felt like she was on the verge of understanding, but she still didn’t have all the pieces.
“Winters in Minnesota are just dreadful, aren’t they?” Linda called from the library. “Come. Sit. David told me that you have had the most awful week. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t here for you. Drink your coffee too. It’ll help warm you up.”