Shadows from the Grave

by Haddix, T. L.

  “Four more weeks,” she said, correctly interpreting his expression. “Believe me, I’ll be surprised if I make it two more.” She sighed and reached out to hug him. “I’ll probably see you here and there over the next few weeks, but if I don’t, promise you’ll take care of yourself?”

  Travis hugged her back. “Oh, I’ll be fine. I’m tougher than I look.”

  As Lauren watched him leave The Brown Bag, she wondered how tough he really was. She knew that losing Margie had hurt him much more deeply than he let on. It was such a deep hurt, Lauren wondered if he would ever be able to recover from it.

  Chapter 13

  The sight of the happy little group was disgusting, the killer thought. He had barely managed to keep his composure long enough to get out of the café. They’d all been so carefree, sitting there joking with one another like danger wasn’t lurking nearby. He had wanted to tear into the people seated at the table, scream and yell, hit and strike at them. Didn’t they get it? Didn’t they understand his power, his anger? Chase certainly hadn’t acted the way the killer had thought he would, not after having received the package he had so carefully chosen and put together.

  He must not have shared the package with his brother-in-law, because Ethan Moore certainly didn’t act like a man whose wife had been threatened.

  Damn them! The killer had wanted them quaking in their shoes, cowering in their homes while they waited for his next strike. He decided they were just too stupid, too arrogant, to appreciate the threat he represented. They hadn’t even known he was in the café. Shouldn’t they have been able to feel his sheer presence, his power? Why weren’t they afraid?

  Well, they would soon know the truth of the danger they were in. He would silence their laughter, once and for all. He knew just how to do it. Then they’d see who had the last laugh.

  Chapter 14

  Saturday morning dawned bright and clear in Olman County, for which Chase was grateful. A cold front had moved through Friday evening, taking the normal late-August heat and humidity with it. Temperatures promised to climb into the uncomfortable range later in the afternoon, with more storms on the way, but for now it was as perfect a summer day as one could hope to have in southern Indiana. He wasn’t terribly surprised to find Annie waiting for him when he pulled into his parents’ driveway.

  As she got in and buckled her seatbelt, he tugged at one of the curls that had sprung loose from her hair clip. “So how am I doing so far?” he asked as he turned the car around.

  Annie laughed and tucked the curl back into its clip. “Chase, I just got in the car. I don’t even know where we’re going,” she reminded him.

  “True,” he acknowledged. He pulled out onto the road and headed toward Leroy. “But you have to admit, the weather is perfect this morning.”

  Annie smiled and shook her head. “You can’t take credit for the weather,” she scolded. Chase glanced at her with a wide grin, and she laughed again when he asked her why not.

  “You’re in an awfully good mood this morning. Not that I’m complaining,” she said hastily. “Did you hear back from Gordon?” Chase had called her late the evening before to explain his concerns from Thursday.

  “Nope, and I’m choosing to go with the ‘no news is good news’ mantra. I’m just going to be happy to spend the day with you, and I refuse to let that whole mess dictate my life anymore,” he said. “In addition to your surprise, which I think you’re going to love, by the way, I have something to celebrate. We’ll get to that portion of the program later this afternoon.”

  Annie gave him a mock frown. “Speaking of that—where are we going?” Chase had driven into Leroy, but instead of going to the developed area around the bypass or into downtown, he had turned onto Highway 7, which led away from town along the Ohio River.

  “You’ll see soon enough,” he promised. For the next few miles, they joked with each other, but when Chase slowed to turn into a private driveway flanked by two stone pillars, Annie fell silent. The driveway curved around a bluff and rose steeply to a house sitting on the cliffs overlooking the river.

  “Chase, what are we doing here?” she asked in a hushed voice. When he didn’t answer, but pulled up in front of the house and turned off the engine, Annie looked at him with wide eyes. “Do you know whose house this is?”

  “I do,” he said. “I take it from your reaction that you do, as well.”

  Annie reached out and grabbed his arm. “This is Nancy Bolen’s house. She has one of the most extensive collections of heirloom roses in the region. Nobody, but nobody gets in here.”

  Chase leaned over and put his face close to hers. “Guess who’s getting the grand tour today?” he asked with a smile.

  To his everlasting surprise, Annie’s eyes filled, and she pulled him in for a quick, smacking kiss. “You—I don’t know how you knew. How you managed this. But thank you.” Before Chase could say a single word, she cleared her throat and got out of the car. As the front door of the house opened, he got out to join her.

  They walked up the steps to the wraparound porch, where Chase met Nancy with a kiss. He introduced Annie, who was practically trembling from awe and excitement, and seeing that excitement, he figured this surprise had more than made up for Murphy’s indiscretion.

  ~ * * * ~

  Once they were inside the gardens, Annie was speechless. There was so much to see, nearly two acres of fully-landscaped flower beds and arbors with trails leading in various directions. She finally recovered her voice and spoke. “Mrs. Bolen, this is just… I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing.”

  Nancy Bolen smiled at Chase and took Annie’s arm. “Why don’t we just walk and see what all there is to see, young lady.” They toured Nancy’s gardens for a couple of hours with Annie stopping to sniff blooms every few steps. So much of their discussion went over Chase’s head that he started to feel like they were speaking another language.

  “It’s refreshing to see someone your age taking an interest in preserving the plants of our past,” Nancy told Annie when they finally sat down for tea. “Are you planning on rebuilding your greenhouse?”

  “I am,” Annie said. “I was very reluctant to even entertain the idea, to be honest. I didn’t want to get attached to the plants just to lose them again. But now, after seeing your garden, I realize how ridiculous that is.”

  “Well, when you get to the point where you’re ready to start adding plants, you come back out here and see me,” Nancy said. “I think I can get you started on quite an extensive list, if you’re interested.”

  Annie’s eyes welled. “I’m truly touched, Mrs. Bolen.”

  Nancy quietly handed her a napkin and waved her words away. “Call me Nancy. Truthfully, I’m just excited to have someone to share this with.” She gestured out over the gardens. “I’m not a young woman anymore, and when I’m gone, there probably won’t be a single person in my family who gives two hoots about this.”

  When Nancy walked them to the door a short time later, she surprised Chase by enveloping Annie in a tight hug. She said something in Annie’s ear, but he hadn’t been able to hear what.

  “Come back and see me sometime,” she told them both as they left. They didn’t speak until they were back in the car.

  As Chase turned onto the road that led back toward Leroy, he glanced over at his passenger, who still wore a bemused smile on her face. “Was this worth spending a few hours in the company of a boring stick in the mud like me?” he teased.

  Annie faced him, her head resting against the headrest of her seat. “You are not boring,” she said emphatically. She reached out and touched his shoulder, letting her hand rest there. “And, yes, Chase. It was unbelievable. I didn’t realize just how much I needed something like this. Thank you.”

  Chase reached up and squeezed her hand. “You’re very welcome. I’m glad I was able to do it. Are you up for a little more excitement? I have something else I’d like to show you.”

  “Absolutely, as long as there’s food
involved.” She winked. “What is it?”

  “It’s another surprise.”

  “Okay. Lead on, fearless one,” she said, and a comfortable silence enveloped the car. Within a few minutes, they had reached Leroy’s corporate limits, and Chase slowed down to turn into a short, steep driveway. Annie sat up straighter as the house at the top of the hill came into view.

  “This is L.J. Root’s house, isn’t it?” she asked as Chase parked the car next to the two-story Victorian-style house. For all its proximity to the highway, the house and grounds around it had a very private feel. There were no close neighbors, and the large yard was surrounded on three sides by thick woods. The front of the house looked out over a small beach on the other side of the highway and the Ohio River beyond.

  Chase turned off the engine before he answered, a quick flash of nervousness crossing his face. “It was L.J.’s house,” he said. “Until yesterday. Now it’s mine.” He didn’t wait for Annie’s response but got out of the car. For a few seconds, she sat there, stunned, and then she hurried to catch up to Chase, who had walked into the front yard.

  “You bought a house?” she asked, surprised.

  “I did. How crazy does that make me?”

  Annie shook her head. “It doesn’t. It looks like a great house. It’s just a surprise, that’s all. I didn’t even know you were looking for one.”

  Chase shrugged, a rueful smile crossing his face. “I wasn’t,” he confessed. “How about a tour while I tell you about my latest folly?”

  “Are you kidding me? Of course I want a tour. I’ve always wanted to see the inside.”

  Chase paused as they started up the steps to the wide front porch. “You’ve never been here, then? I thought you and Sammy or Sasha had been friends in high school,” he said, referring to L.J.’s granddaughters.

  “With the exception of Beth and Lauren, I didn’t exactly run in the same circles as your cousins. I think you forget sometimes that I didn’t grow up with all of you,” she reminded him.

  The door unlocked, Chase held the storm door open for her. “I do forget,” he said. He fell silent as he watched her walk around the room, taking in the bones of the older home. He was relieved to see that she was smiling when she turned back to him.

  “Well, what do you think?” he asked.

  “It’s gorgeous. Murphy will love these hardwood floors and the wide windowsills. How did you end up buying it?” she asked as they walked through the rest of the downstairs. “Ooh, kitchen needs a little work. Looks like it hasn’t been updated since the eighties.”

  “Yeah, that’s the first project on the list,” he confirmed. “L. J. is one of my clients, and when he and Jackson came in the other day, they told me he was getting ready to put it on the market. L.J.’s been living in a retirement facility for a couple years now, and he was ready to part with the house. I’ve always liked it, so I offered him full asking price. It was pretty simple to go from there.”

  “Wow,” Annie said. “I’m impressed, Counselor. What are you going to do with your condo, though?”

  “This house needs a few updates, obviously the kitchen, so I’ll have that done first. Then I’ll either hold on to the condo as a rental or sell it.” They started up the stairs to the second floor. “You’re the first person I’ve told about this, by the way.”

  Annie stopped. “You haven’t told your family yet?” Chase shook his head. “Why not?”

  Chase shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to keep it to myself for now.”

  “But you’re showing it to me,” Annie said slowly.

  Meeting her gaze, Chase held it. “Yes, I am.” Neither of them spoke for a moment, and Annie felt her body flush. Without speaking, she turned and continued up the stairs. Chase followed behind her, just as quiet, as they walked through the three smaller bedrooms and the shared bath. The tile was obviously original to the house, the pink and black ceramic looking like something straight out of a fifties’ movie.

  “Bathrooms need updating, too,” Annie pointed out. “But I like this tile. You could do a great retro look in here.”

  Chase didn’t say much, just stood back as she walked down the hall toward the front of the house and the master suite that graced the entire front half of the upstairs. He waited for her reaction and wasn’t disappointed.

  “Oh, Chase! This is gorgeous,” she gasped. She walked to the long bank of French doors that led to the small balcony beyond. It was the upstairs portion of the front porch, and the view of the river was spectacular. “You were right to buy this house, if only for this room and this view.”

  “Apparently, they tore down a couple of walls and made the room larger after their kids were grown,” Chase explained. He moved across the room and opened another set of French doors. “Check this out. It was L.J.’s wife’s sitting room.”

  Annie hurried over to look inside. She couldn’t quite prevent a small sound of envy from escaping. “This would be so perfect for a small library,” she mused wistfully. “You could line the walls with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and add a window seat there in the front window. I’m almost jealous,” she said with a smile.

  Chase smiled back but didn’t make the comment he wanted to, that she could share it with him if she wanted. “Thank you. So, I have a picnic downstairs. You hungry?”

  “I’m starving, silly man. Like you haven’t heard my stomach growling for the past twenty minutes.” She followed him back downstairs.

  “That was you?” he said, feigning surprise. “I thought we had a thunderstorm moving in.” When an actual clap of thunder sounded, she burst out laughing.

  Chase rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen where he had stashed a large cooler. “I thought we could eat on the porch,” he said. “But as it seems to be raining cats and dogs out there, it might be a good idea to stay indoors. Where would you like to eat?”

  “The living room is fine,” Annie said.

  “View’s not as good as from the porch, though. Is that okay?”

  She shrugged. “The view’s great from the bedroom. If you don’t mind toting that humongous cooler up the stairs, we could eat up there.”

  “Bedroom it is, then,” he agreed. “So do you think Murphy will like the house?”

  “Are you kidding? Murphy will love the house. All this room, with windows and birds, instead of the postage stamp at the condo. No offense.”

  “None taken.” Once up the stairs, he set the cooler down in the back of the room near the wall.

  Annie watched as he started unpacking the food. “Can I help?” She smiled as the stacks of containers grew.

  He chuckled self-consciously. “I was hungry when I packed it.” He handed her the baggie that contained utensils and napkins, and after she distributed them, he handed her a plate.

  As they started eating, Annie casually asked, “I’ve been wondering about this since we pulled into the driveway. Please don’t take this as a criticism, but what made you buy this house?”

  He didn’t answer right away. Finally, he sighed. “If I said it was because of Murphy, would you believe me?”

  Annie considered his answer. “I would accept that Murphy was part of your reasoning,” she said. “He’s a small cat, but he needs a lot of room to run. But that’s not all of it.”

  “It’s hard to explain, Annie. When the Roots told me about this house, I just knew I needed to buy it. Especially after I came out here and walked around. I want a real home, not some stupid condo that feels like a nice apartment. It’s not enough anymore.”

  “I can understand that,” she said, trying to hide her unease. “Are you starting to think about settling down, starting a family?”

  Chase snorted. “I’ve already started one.” When Annie’s eyes grew round with shock, Chase burst out laughing. “Not like that! I meant Murphy.”

  He caught the grape Annie tossed at him easily and popped it in his mouth, still smiling. “To be honest, I don’t particularly want kids.” He waited in ten
se silence for her reaction.

  Annie couldn’t hide her surprise. “You don’t want kids? Since when?”

  “Since forever.” He sighed. He hadn’t meant to make the revelation quite that bluntly. “Even when I was younger, the thought just didn’t appeal. Don’t get me wrong; kids are nice enough when they’re someone else’s. I’m definitely looking forward to being an uncle, so I can spoil my siblings’ kids rotten and send them home to torment their parents.” He paused. “I’ve shocked you, huh?”

  “You have,” she confirmed quietly. “I just never expected you to not want kids.”

  Chase set his plate down and straightened his legs out in front of him as he searched for the words to respond. “You probably think that’s a very callous, self-centered attitude, I imagine.”

  He was relieved when she shook her head. “No, it just surprises me that you feel that way,”

  “Why?” he asked, puzzled.

  She thought about her answer before giving it. “I guess because of your family. You all are so close, so much a unit. Do they know you don’t want kids?”

  “It’s never really come up,” he said. “What about you? Being an only child, do you want a houseful of your own?”

  Annie frowned. “We’ve never talked about this before. Why are we talking about it now, Chase?” Before he could answer, she stood and walked to the French doors. She watched the raindrops pound the floor of the balcony for a long time with her arms crossed over her chest. Chase waited for her to speak, his instincts telling him to hold back from rushing her. After three minutes had passed, he gave in.

  “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to, Annie.” He stood and walked to stand beside her. “But I think you know as well as I do that we’ve been circling around things for some time now.”