The Caine Plantation: The Next Quilt is Red

by Karine Green

  James insisted on a salary for Kathy. Kathy had initially objected. She had a pension and was also paid out of another fund she converted to provide monthly income. But James said it was proper, and convinced her that it wasn't taking blood money. It was payment for making sure the blood money was never used to abuse again, so she accepted a small salary. She would roll into an education fund for her own child.

  Next they discussed converting the upstairs garage space into a rent free apartment. She figured staying at the police chief's house with his sniper wife would be as safe as one could get in a domestic violence situation. She could have panic-lines installed to the main house and to the police station, just in case they were needed. If one was going to free one's self from abuse then one must have the resources to do so. The foundations main purpose was to provide those resources. Besides, everyone was terrified of Dark Lady, or Ridely the Whipper, no one would follow the victims onto the property. The only worrisome part was convincing the victims it was safe to stay.

  She stifled a sigh, perhaps she would just find a safe house out of town, or even in Baton Rouge, or New Orleans. Somewhere where the abuser wouldn’t think to look.

  James placed the copies of the finalized paperwork for the foundation in an envelope. He put Kathy's proposals in another. Copies of both, would be mailed out to the new board members. The members consisted of Jason's Father, Perry, Milton's wife, Ellen, Louise Caine-Mathews' son, Joseph, James from the bank, the museum curator, Sandy Moore, with Kathy as the binding tie breaking vote, and James as the non-voting treasurer.

  If they did one large project a year and three smaller ones, the foundation's investments would have time to replenish before another big expenditure. It would be a full time job for Kathy to manage it once they were two or three years into it. She smiled. She liked this career move. All she had to do was finally get free of the damn Bell situation, and her life would be perfect.

  "How are the renovations?" he asked.

  "The wallpaper is now fully completed. The dining room is underway. It will be ready for the first board meeting next Monday evening. You know, it's amazing at how slow renovations go when the contractors are terrified to be there. At least the painters haven't had and issue, so I have fresh paint everywhere I wanted it." But then, the painters were Louise's grand-nephews. That was how Louise knew who she was before they were introduced. They seemed to be immune to the hauntings of the Caine Plantation, because they thought everyone was acting crazy about the ghost sightings. They hadn't so much as heard a board creek. It must be something in their blood that insulates them from the hauntings.

  He smiled, "Well at least Lauren is out of your way. The house is properly yours with no strings. With the house and local Underground Railroad history of the area, have you thought about renting out a room bed and breakfast style? It would help fund the foundation, and could easily be sealed from the rest of the house if you wanted it to be. The library could have its private entrance with the secret stairs. You could also put it on the museum's new Black History Month Tour they are launching next year. Then you would only have to deal with it once a year. What about the attic? It could be restored as well."

  Kathy was stunned, "Who be interested in experiencing sleeping in slaves' quarters? In the winter? It isn't as cold as New York, but it still gets cold at night."

  "I think you would be surprised at the interest in staying in that attic. It is quite famous among many different circles."

  "I don't know about that. I would have to see some research. Seems like an awfully emotional stay, for anyone, of any race, especially with...well, with all the legend around the place. Perhaps just restore it, and put it on the tour as a side trip?...To preserve the history." She would not have guests waking up with Dark Lady hovering over them, telling them they'll be whipped bloody if they don't get out of the house. She would be sued into nothingness.

  "Well it would be an excellent side trip, if not a main attraction." James said, trying not to sound disappointed. "I'll gather it up. I have already been asked about it by several people, and organizations. A fully restored Caine Plantation would be an enormous tourist draw for the whole town."

  "Thank you for your help with the foundation. You and the family are coming to the fish fry-wedding reception, right? We are having a table with cake."

  "Wouldn't miss it." He smiled.

  They said their good-byes and the deputy drove her home to Jason's. She would miss living downtown because everything was within walking distance. Too bad she was stuck in a car right now, she could have used a good walk in the sunshine, and after all it was only four blocks.

  She took out her tablet. Her parents would be arriving soon, so she needed to go make a list of things to buy for the guest room. First she needed to see what sort of, comfortable, beds were available in the 1800's so she could order a replica. She also wanted to call Sandy, the Curator, and get some further advice on restoring the attic and whether or not anyone would be interested in such a thing.

  "Here we are, Mrs. Rose." The deputy stopped in front of the apartment and let Kathy out, being careful to stand with him in between her and the street. This would protect her from anything coming off the street.

  She thought about correcting him to call her Kathy, but she liked being called Mrs. Rose. "Thanks Deputy Rayland."

  He waited outside in the car. She climbed the stairs, for what would probably be the last time, to Jason's apartment. She went straight to the kitchen to make herself some lunch. She was starved, especially since she had lost her breakfast. She plopped her frozen lunch into the microwave.

  She smiled and looked at her and Jason's simple wedding reception announcement for next weekend's fish fry. Everyone they knew, and wanted to be there would be there anyway. The food was already pre-arranged to what everyone attending would want, be it Creole, Cajun, or just plain burgers. The town loved their Chief of Police, so it seemed like the perfect compromise to allow everyone to attend who wanted to. The only thing that had delayed them slightly was the wedding cake, or in this case cakes. They had opted for cupcakes, but the bakery had needed time to do it for the entire town.

  She put her hand over her lower abdomen. All thoughts from earlier were gone from her mind. She hadn't really believed she was going to have a baby until she saw the ultrasound. She smiled again. It was nice to trade the town gossip name of Kissy-Rumor Girl for The Chief's Wife. Her parents had been right, they had just been wrong about whom to marry. What she felt for Jason was beyond anything she had felt for anyone. She had an immediate connection with him. That was why it was so easy to make love to him that soon in their relationship. She had never done that before, and on at least two occasions had to physically defend herself from the advances of her dates.

  She refocused on their announcement. It directed anyone wanting to give a gift to make it out to the foundation's new domestic violence center account. There had already been over $5000 donated to it, mostly from Jason's family, the bank, or the Mathew's family. Although she was sure she could talk her father into making a much larger donation once the relationship was rebuilt.

  Her phone rang, "Hello Mom."

  Her mother rattled on about the terrifying news that someone was trying to kill her daughter, sending a driver, and chartering a flight. She would be safe at their 45th floor penthouse. The doors had guards, they could hire more.

  Kathy could hardly catch her breath, and she wasn't even the one talking.

  She didn't get the chance to answer that she wanted to stay with Jason. There was breaking glass, and her coffee pot blew up. She screamed and ducked under the counter, dropping the phone. There was only one thing that noise could be, a gunshot. Someone had just shot at her!

  She could hear her mother screaming for her on the line. "Kathleen! Kathleen!"

  Snap out of it, Kathy, grab your phone! Get the rifle! She reached over and grabbed her phone.

  "Mom...Mom...Listen, I love you too, but I need to call Jason."
She hung up, dialing Jason's cell number instead of 911. Later she would have no idea of why she did that, or be able to explain it. Perhaps she felt safe with him, or perhaps she was trained to answer 911 calls, not dial them.

  "Hello, Dodger," Jason's pleasant greeting seemed out of place to the chaos unfolding at his home.

  "Jason!" She started bawling, and was embarrassed by this sudden display of emotion. "Someone just shot the coffee pot! And...and...broke the window." She couldn't bring herself to say someone had just shot at her!

  Jason didn't answer her, but she could hear him talking on his radio. There was a distress tone coming over the police radio, and he ordered all units to his address.

  She could hear Jason calling the deputy outside on the radio, but he didn't answer.

  She low crawled into the bedroom, got her rifle, and moved over to the bedroom window. She leveled the scope, first to the deputy's car. The deputy was slumped over lying motionless; the tell-tale sign of blood spatter sprayed the interior of the car. She looked across the street. She could see the broken window. No one was in the empty apartment above the dress shop.

  She picked up her phone, Jason was still on the line. "She was above the dress shop. The deputy is down. Start an ambulance. I think she is gone now." She scanned what she could with the rifle scope, trigger finger ready.

  She saw Mike arrive. "Jason, I think she shot the deputy in the head from the same apartment she shot at me from." Kathy could hear the engine revving in his car with the siren in the background, and breathed a sigh of relief. He was on his way. She scanned the area again, "I can't see her now. Try out back."

  Jason relayed the message, and Regina responded that she would take the back. Mike was headed, with another officer, up to the vacant apartment.

  Three minutes later Jason burst in the door and grabbed Kathy holding her close. "I love you," he said, trying to avoid bursting into tears. He could have lost his wife and child! It would literally kill him if anything happened to them. "Here, let me help you put this away," he said, taking the rifle from her lap.

  She nodded, moved to the living room, and flopped down on the couch, before bursting into tears.

  He set the rifle in the corner, and knelt next to her. "Hey, hey," he said, gently patting her shoulder, and then pulling her closer.

  "I just couldn't let Randy do it! I just couldn't let him send an innocent person back to jail for no reason. That poor guy had changed his whole life around. He was being 'normal' except for the fact that he was staying with her and allowing her to exact her pound of flesh with a baseball bat," she said continuing to sob as she rehashed the details of the incident with Randy.

  "Hey, Hey," he patted her head, "Other than a 12 hour delay, you did nothing wrong. No one innocent went to jail, and even your Captain said there was no way the victim was going to prosecute his wife for beating him like that. It isn't your fault. You didn't ask to know those things about Randy. You aren't in charge of who he allowed himself to become."

  "But someone innocent got hurt! Carrie was a stay-at-home wife and mother, without Randy's pension and assets she has less than nothing. She put up with his cheating, and his snide comments all for nothing. He called her Bulldog, and told her she had a fat face. I never once heard him tell her she was pretty. She isn't that bad looking. Then he gambled all the money away, for the sole purpose of keeping her from having any of it."

  "Jesus, you aren't feeling sorry for her! Personally, I look forward to blowing her brains out! Or at the very least, beating that bulldog bitch face black and blue!"

  "Why would she kill Lawrence? And, the poor deputy!" Kathy whined.

  "I don't know, here," he said, laying her down the rest of the way on the couch, "You need to calm down. It isn't good for you or the baby." He laid his head on her chest. Her heartbeat was too much. He started crying at the thought of what he almost lost today. If Carrie was a better shot, he could have run up here to find his wife a bloody mess heaped on the floor; and the possibility of a baby, gone along with her.

  His radio keyed; a sheriff's deputy with a tracking dog was arriving along with the ambulance.

  "10-4," he blurted out. Kathy held him back.

  Mike's voice came over the air, "The apartment's clear. She isn't in here. I am going to check the roof."

  Both Kathy and Jason stiffened. Could Carrie see them from the roof? "You get down," he said, lifting her off the couch and putting her on the floor, below the line of fire.

  Regina's excited voice was next, "We have a shooting victim down in the rear parking lot. Send the ambulance to the rear. She car-jacked a Black SUV. It was Tully's truck from the gun shop! Be advised, he was bringing a load back. Suspect is now armed with at least two assault rifles and several cases of ammunition."

  His eyes widened. "Dispatch, call Tully and see if he has a GPS trace on that shipment." He doubted it. Tully was hard core anti-government, hopefully it didn't come back to bite them all in the ass, or more to the point, shoot him in the ass.

  "10-4" she said. And then a few minutes later, confirmed Jason' assessment. "Negative on the GPS."

  He sighed, "10-4"

  It took several minutes for Kathy and Jason to calm down and recompose themselves. They drove to the police station, battling through all the media traffic to get into the station. Someone even smacked him the head with a boom mike.

  "That's one step too far!" He snapped at them. "Back off, right now!" He held up a grenade of tear gas.

  "Sorry, Chief." They parted like the Red Sea for him to continue walking Kathy into the station.

  Lauren had flipped her the bird as Jason cradled her by the shoulder into his office. She ignored her and leaned hard into Jason's embrace, as they entered his office. He had figured it would be safer. More and more Sheriff's deputies were arriving, as well as more prominent news media reporters. Kathy thought she recognized some reporters from CNN and Fox News.

  She filled out the report, while he went across the street to grab her some lunch before the street turned into an even bigger media circus. She was starved, especially since she still had not eaten. She finished up her statement quickly. There really wasn't much to fill out. She was fixing lunch and the bitch...the suspect shot at her. That was pretty much all she knew. Actually, she only knew that she was shot at, she still had not seen Carrie Bell commit a crime with her own eyes. But, with Lauren still locked up, it obviously wasn't her.

  Alan was manning his desk out front. He looked vigilant, although if Carrie had turned to sniper tactics poor Alan was just a target to practice on before Carrie reached her. But, Jason was probably right, there were too many cameras around for anyone to try anything. At least two of the cameras had live satellite feeds directly to the newsroom.

  She put her hand over her abdomen. She had been deliberately not thinking about the baby. The thought of not being a mother to this baby was unbearable. She wanted this life, this baby, and to have Jason at her side. She wanted her family and her house. She wanted her parents to stop being stupid snobs and accept her.

  She picked up her phone and was going to call her mother back, when she stopped. Her finger hovered over Randy's number. Did she really want, or need to talk to him again? He got what he earned. She did nothing to Carrie. He did. He did it all to her. And Kathy wasn't going to pay the price for it. Did he have more information?

  She dialed the number.

  "What more could you possibly want from me!" Randy's angry voice came over the line.

  "Your wife just tried to snipe me from across the street."

  He smirked, "Stupid bitch never could fire a weapon."

  "Really? I know you're angry with me, but do I deserve to be dead? Call her off! You did all this to her! I didn't do anything! You were the one who locked up an innocent, blew through your savings, both of you treating each other like shit! It was you who gave her crabs! Randy! Not me! Why is she coming after me, when you are the bane of each other's existence! I have a new husband and a ba
by on the way. I have a perfectly good life to live as Kathleen Rose, at least nine hundred miles away from you!"

  His tone lightened considerably, "What do you want me to do? I didn't have any control over her when we were married; Hell, she wouldn't even listen to good advice."

  "What's her phone number?" She felt stupid that she hadn't asked for it already.

  "I'll text it. Once you get her let me know, so I can at least keep all the assets we have left and not split them with her." He hung up on her, but she didn't care.

  One thing was for sure. Kathy could hunt people too, and she was sniper trained. This bitch had to be put down. She wasn't just going to sit here and be hunted. After lunch she was going to get her rifle, find Carrie Bell, and blow her brains out.

  The text with the phone number came through.

  She dialed the number, there was no answer. She picked up Jason's office line and dialed the number again. There was a pickup and a hang up, and then a text to Kathy's phone.

  "You aren't allowed to keep everything you took from me, and now I know where you are."

  She texted back, "Randy took it. He did what he did. It was all him."

  "No Code Blue for you, you knocked up whore. I am going to shoot you low first, so you'll know the baby is lost. They won't even be able to keep you in a coma to keep the baby alive."

  "Why did you kill Milton Lawrence?" Kathy texted back, ignoring the personal taunt.

  "I had been watching them, to make sure that was the house with the calls to the police to check in the closet for the ghosts. Lauren told me about it. She seems to think you shouldn't be able to keep what you have taken from her either. She said, after I whipped you to death in the garage I should leave the bloody whip there in the closet in the little girl’s closet. The police would find it the next time the girl called."