I had to ask, “What if we don’t want to come back?” I think I was serious.
“You will.” Ellen said, “Remember that the mortal life you just left, is merely one in billions you will experience. Nature recycles, and your loved ones need to live this mortal life of theirs fully, looking forward, not grieving for the past. That is their process at this time.” Ellen stood up and said, “Set your alarm to 12-25-midnight. This is Christmas Eve, and you will want to spend it and Christmas with your loved ones. I am going to handle things here, and I will meet you back here at 12:01 a.m. on 12-26…got it?” We all nodded and pulled out our buttons.
* * *
CHAPTER 8
* * *
When I got to my house, I saw Kim had a number of paper plates sitting in the snow on the porch with cat food on them, feeding the strays. I was afraid to go in. I stood on the porch and watched the cars going by. Through the curtain I saw a stack of mail lying on the foyer floor that had come through the mail slot. Looked like all cards. We hadn’t put a tree up, usually spent Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house. Kim’s car was still here. It was getting late, so I guess Christmas had been cancelled.
I walked through the front door into the TV room. Kim was curled in her recliner with a blanket over her, balled up tissues all over her and the floor. The TV was on, and her cat ‘Johnny’ was sleeping in her armpit. He looked at me and didn’t even move. Kim is such a beautiful woman with such a big heart, big heart that the wrong kind of men keep breaking. When hard economic times hit, we decided we could just live together. Did a little remodeling to accommodate her closet needs, and for the most part it has worked out great for me. I am sure this isn’t what Kim would have chosen for these years. I keep telling her the right man will come around. Kim says she wonders.
I sat on the ottoman across the room from her and just stared. She was so beautiful, inside and out. I was so proud. I hoped I had told her that enough. Suddenly a storybook type angel was standing next to her and talking to me. “She is having a real tough time. I told Granny that I may need help. I think that may be why you are here. I will leave for now and return when I see you have gone. She will be okay. We do not ever give up!” With that she left the room, and I swear she left a trail of golden fairy dust in the air.
Kim started to stir, then sat straight up, looked at me, and screamed!
I screamed back! “Holy Shit! Scare the crap out of me!”
“Not doing me much good either!” she answered. We both sat silently staring at each other.
Finally I spoke, “You can see me?”
She answered, “And hear you.” We both jumped up and hugged each other. She was crying, “It was all a terrible dream wasn’t it?”
“Which part?” I asked.
She pulled back and looked at me, “The part where you died.”
Hmmmmm, this wasn’t going to be easy. I stroked her hair and said, “Have a seat honey, I have a little story to tell you.”
* * *
The day before…12-23….
It was Dec 23rd 10:00 a.m., Sandy Devon had loaded up her SUV with an artificial tree kit, Christmas lights, decorations, candles, and her CD player with some Christmas music discs. She had never bothered with Christmas decorations before. She usually spent her holidays away from the apartment volunteering somewhere. It made her feel good about the world to see people helping each other. She was surprised at how much all of it had cost. She had asked the checkout clerk to keep it all on the side of the register bay, so she could run home and get more money. That was embarrassing! At the last minute she packed a bag with a pair of sweats, rubber cleaning gloves, and cleaning supplies. Knowing James, this place was probably filthy. She wasn’t going to have her first Christmas as Mrs. James Devon in some dirty house. This was a surprise she had been planning for a week!
Her romance and marriage to James had been nothing short of a whirlwind. They had met at the courthouse when she was there to straighten out some legal papers regarding her trust from her parents. She would receive her trust balance with no restrictions on her thirty -fourth birthday which was in ….hmmm, just two weeks! James had come to her rescue with the court clerk who didn’t seem to know what she was talking about.
He had introduced himself as an attorney and had offered to take over the conversation for her. He was masterful with the clerk and managed to get everything straightened around using all of the legal jargon she didn’t understand. He kept smiling at her and even touched her waist as they left the clerk’s office. He wasn’t handsome by any means, but to her he was a white knight in shining armor. She was pretty sure he was flirting!
She knew that most women she saw seemed to look prettier than her. A lot of people had told her she had a very kind and pleasant face, and that she looked wholesome. That was a good word, wholesome. She had looked it up when she got home, and remembered. He took her to the coffee shop at the Courthouse and talked about all kinds of things that she didn’t understand. Things that he said she really needed to do before her birthday. It had been such a stroke of luck to meet him at this time in her life. By the end of their visit he had asked her for a dinner date the next evening. Her first date, ever!
Her mom, when she was alive, always told her what a special woman she was with such a good heart and strong values. Most people were careful not to hurt her feelings, but she had heard a few say that she was kind of ‘challenged.’ Her Mom had also warned her that she would attempt things in life that seemed too complicated for her to handle, but not to take that as a failure or a shortcoming. It was simply a sign she was needed in other works. She missed her mom and dad and realized if they had not provided for her, she probably would have had a difficult life.
Her trust account had provided her with enough money over the years to live comfortably, but she chose to live quite a simple existence. She donated money to many charities. Her favorite was the Humane Society. She thought animals were the most innocent and vulnerable of God’s creatures and needed the most help from humans. Not being able to have pets herself because of her allergies, had been one of life’s disappointments. On her thirty-fourth birthday she would inherit the balance of her trust which the man at the bank had said was over fifteen million dollars!
The first thing she wanted to do was give the Humane Society enough money to expand their shelter. Then she wanted to get new boobs. The thought of it made her blush, but now that she had a husband she noticed her body more. James had said that he has seen better. He had a funny sense of humor that way. She was sure he didn’t realize that sometimes he picked the wrong words to express himself.
She was smiling as she pulled her car from the apartment building and headed to the address on her note. It was going to be just the two of them for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It had required her to play spy. She knew that one of his clients had paid their bill by giving him the deed to some little house in South Bend. He had said it wasn’t worth much, but it had potential. He said it was close to everything, but the way it was situated on the land it was impossible to see without really looking for it. After the holidays he was going to have some work done there. The place had become special to him.
His secretary was amazingly unhelpful. Sandy wondered why James kept her. She had eventually found the client file of Nettie Wilson and the invoice that showed attorney fees for estate planning, probate papers, and a will paid in full with a deed conveyance. He must have been right that it wasn’t worth that much money because he bragged to everyone how “cheap” he was. Sandy couldn’t go into his office because of the dog, her allergies. She had called ahead and told his secretary to meet her outside when she got there. Claudia had seen her pull into the driveway and had walked outside to meet her.
Claudia had been trying to imagine what kind of woman would marry this worm. She was quite surprised. The ‘new’ Mrs. Attorney James Devon actually looked very sweet and innocent. “Oh brother,” she thought, “You know there is a scam going down here.” San
dy Devon had told her that she wanted to surprise her husband by arranging a private Christmas party for him. She planned on hosting it at the little house in South Bend he had obtained from some old lady in exchange for her bill to him. Claudia thought it was a stupid idea, but she did have a vague memory of preparing an invoice receipt that looked like that. Also, he had asked her go to the county clerk’s office and have it recorded right away. She never got around to it. She thought he was probably worried the family would throw a fit and make him give it back.
She copied the invoice for Sandy and wrote down the address of the house for her. As she handed it to her she asked, “Have you decided on a honeymoon spot yet?” She was hoping it was soon, and she would have a couple of weeks without him around.
Sandy answered, “He just can’t get any time away from court these days. Maybe after the holidays we can go somewhere.” She smiled, took the paper, got in her car, and left.
Claudia stood speechless. Can’t get away from court? I don’t think he has gone to the courthouse in a month. Makes me do it. Bastard is probably already screwin’ around on her. Shaking her head she walked back into the office. Her last thought of the conversation was that this ‘surprise’ might not go so well.
* * *
Sandy missed the driveway. Twice. She finally pulled over to the shoulder of the road and studied the mailboxes across the street. Well, her place should be right here. Then she saw it, a narrow dirt drive that angled from the road, and was surrounded with undergrowth and sapling trees. Wow! I guess we will need someone to do a little brush clearing too one of these days. She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to find in the summer and fall with all of the leaves out. She backed up carefully and then angled her SUV into the drive. It curled and twisted a couple of times and opened up to a small, poorly kept yard with a small ranch type home in the middle. It looked as if the drive went around the back of the house and there was no step up to the front door. “Yikes,” she said out loud. He thinks this needs a little work? She had a sinking feeling that her plans for a party here were going to be scrapped.
She grabbed her purse, and started moving her supplies from the truck to the back door. The big ring of duplicate keys she had made when James fell asleep watching the football game last week, was heavy. She had copies made of all of them since she didn’t know which one was which. Now she stood at the door trying keys. She only had three keys left when the one she was trying opened the door. “Oh. not that bad,” she thought as she inched her way in. She was in a small, outdated kitchen, but it looked clean and functional. “Nice windows,” she thought. She made her way into the living room and saw some lawn furniture set up across from a fireplace, and a small TV with antennae ears. There were Taco Bell bags on the floor, empty pizza boxes and a couple of beer cans on a small TV tray table. “Well, I guess it won’t matter where I put the tree.” She noticed nice windows in the living room, too. This is a perfect little retreat spot, retirement spot, or starter home. She thought he had really made a good trade to get this place. A little furniture and decorating, she could see why James said it had become ‘special’ to him.
She went to the back door, carried in her Christmas decorations and the artificial tree kit, and placed them in the living room. She looked around trying to decide where she wanted the tree and noticed a door at the end of the room. She walked to the door and opened it. There was a very nice bedroom with furniture, bedding, and a dresser. She walked around. They must have just left the things they didn’t need. She thought they could probably use the furniture. It wasn’t half bad. There was a nice bathroom off the bedroom. It still had soap, toilet paper, and towels. “Clean it up a little. Could be cute,” she thought.
At the opposite end of the bedroom was a door that she guessed was a closet. She walked over and realized it had a lock on the handle. She went through the keys again, trying each one, and found the key that fit. She opened the door, and the light from the room filled the space and revealed a woman sitting in a chair. She had duct tape over her mouth, and her arms were taped to her body. Rope was tying her to the chair. Her ankles were taped heavily, and she looked terrified! Her eyes were bulging and upon seeing Sandy she started moaning and tried to talk. Her fingers, feet, and her head were spastically jerking against their restraints.
Sandy rushed into the space and gently pulled the tape from the woman’s mouth. Sandy didn’t realize, but she was repeating, “Oh my God, Oh my God.”
The woman whispered, “Help me. He will be back! Help me.” It was a walk- in closet, but Sandy was having trouble getting behind her to untie the ropes. She managed to untie the woman’s hands and noticed they had been bleeding and were bruised.
“Oh my God what has someone done to you? How long have you been in here? Oh my God!” The woman wasn’t talking. She had leaned forward when her hands were freed and started pulling at the ropes and tape around her feet. It was a frenzy of hands pulling tape and untying rope. Sandy was trying to help her. The woman looked so fragile and crazed.
When the woman was freed, she lunged forward and fell on the floor. Her legs were weak. Sandy helped her up and walked her toward the bed. The woman screamed, “No…No!” Sandy stopped. She just stood there and didn’t know what to do. The woman was hanging on to Sandy so hard it hurt.
“I have a cell phone in my purse. Let me call my husband. He will know what to do.” Sandy started to leave the room, and the woman grabbed both her arms.
“Don’t leave me…That monster will be back. Where am I?”
Sandy looked around the room. She couldn’t help thinking what would a smart person do? Then she pointed out the window. “There is a highway right through those trees, but I don’t know the name of it. We are in South Bend. Let me call someone…please…the police?”
Just then a look of horror passed over the woman’s face, “Quiet” she hissed. They were silent. “I hear his car motor. He’s back. I know that motor! It’s the MONSTER!” The woman had a look of terror on her face Sandy had only seen in movies. Not the kind of movies she ever wanted to watch. Sandy was petrified. She heard a car too. Where could they go?
She looked at the window, “Let’s open the window. We can run to those trees and get to the road.” She couldn’t believe someone was using their property for such horror. Sandy’s hands were shaking. The window was painted shut. She pushed with all of her might and felt it budge. Then she held the window up, and helped push the woman through just as she heard the kitchen door slam.
* * *
CHAPTER 9
* * *
Roger and Paul had briefed the task force on the new ‘linking’ developments. Detective Taylor reported that Karen Smith, who had worked at Davis Construction Company, had not reported to work on Friday, November 25th. One of her co-workers had gone to her home to check on her around noon. He had discovered her body by peeking in the window by the front door and had never even entered the house. Killed in the foyer. At her work they had said she was extremely professional and competent. She was the payroll manager for the entire company, and the day after Thanksgiving everyone needed their checks. The consensus was if she had just been ill, she would have come in anyway.
Detective Taylor said no one could think of anyone who was giving her any trouble. Everyone liked her, and as far as anyone there knew she wasn’t in any serious relationship. She had divorced about five years ago, had no children, no pets, and was always the first one to volunteer for overtime or to cover for someone who needed a day off.
The construction company, a mid size outfit, good reputation, specialized in remodel and insurance work. They didn’t do new construction, and had been around for fifty years. The second generation was running it, and Karen had worked there for almost ten years. Karen was a college graduate in accounting and business from Michigan State and took some heat for being the only one in the office who wasn’t a Notre Dame fan. Someone had written ND on her car in soap one time. That was the only entry like that in her fi
le. The company provided a full list of all employees, addresses, and phone numbers. Detective Taylor said he had already sent a copy to the FBI/ IT Department.
Detectives Sal Miller and Ed Parsons had reported that Valerie McDonald’s home had only the clue in the mail about her relationship with Karen Smith. They had removed many items for the lab IT department to review, such as her laptop. The crime techs had been called even though Valerie’s home was not a suspected location of any foul play. The only curious thing to Detective Miller was she could not find an explanation for how the mail ended up in Valerie’s apartment since the neighbor said he knew nothing about the mail and didn’t have a key to her apartment. Sal’s side comments were that she thought the neighbor was odd and seemed very nervous talking to them.
Ellen had decided to sit in on the briefing and then she followed Agent Dance to his office. Paul Casey came in, “Just got a call from the lab. We got another dog hair, couple of them actually, at Karen Smith’s house. In the foyer. For sure our guy is around a yellow dog of some sort.”
Roger was shuffling his index cards and writing on some. “We still may have two guys here,” he said without looking up. “Paul, go home. It’s Christmas Eve. I’ll see you after Christmas.” He looked up.
Paul was just staring at him. “I got no plans boss man. Plan to show up here tomorrow.”
Roger had a thin smile, “I guess I don’t have any plans either. I am going to look over these lab reports a little more and then go to the hotel.”
Alcohol Was Not Involved : A Shallow End Gals Trilogy Page 6