by H E Joyce
As she began to slip one of the jackets over her head, she froze for a moment, then turned to see Beth standing only feet away, grinning hideously, and with the knife once again in her possession. Beth rushed at her, the knife raised above her head. Laura became momentarily entangled in the lifejacket, but managed somehow to free herself in time, but too late to avoid the knife as it plunged into the top of her arm. She screamed in pain as it entered her flesh, yet with lightening reaction she lashed out at Beth with her free hand, hitting her squarely in the face. Her nose, possibly broken, began to bleed profusely and she immediately withdrew. She was distracted, and she looked down for a moment in obvious pain as she nursed her blooded nose.
That moment was all Laura needed. Although in great pain herself, with her good arm she grabbed a lanyard and made a dash towards Beth. She looked up in horror as Laura once again, this time using her elbow, administered a blow to her jaw, and wasting no time, wrapped the rope tightly around Beth’s neck and manhandled her to the side of the boat. Beth clawed wildly at the rope but could not free herself.
‘It looks like you’ve won after all, Laura,’ she said, straining to speak.
Laura looked her in the eye. ‘Well, you know what they say – What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. Now get off my boat, bitch!’
Laura pushed her over the side; the rope tightened as the slack was taken up.
She took the knife and cut the rope.
Twenty Four
Laura watched as Beth’s body disappeared beneath the waves.
She felt sadness, yet an overwhelming sense of relief that it was over and she had survived. She still had to reach the harbour, and although the storm had largely passed, the sea was still fairly rough. She resumed pulling on the lifejacket and took the wheel to return the boat to its original heading.
As she got closer to the harbour, the sound of the engine worsened, clattering loudly, and it seemed it would stop at any moment. She could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles travelling along the waterfront now; she wondered where they were heading and for what emergency. She couldn’t make out whether they were police cars, ambulances, or fire trucks. One of them stopped in the town, while two appeared to continue out of town and up the hill towards Brooksville Heights.
There was, she estimated, only around eight hundred yards to go before she reached the jetty and safety, nevertheless, she fumbled in the locker for the flares she knew were there. She managed to locate one, and holding it up and away from her, set it off, sending a red plume of light above her. She only hoped that should she need to abandon the boat, someone among the emergency crews would note her position.
The coldness of her wet clothing, though she hadn’t noticed before, was beginning to penetrate to her skin. She began to shake uncontrollably from the cold and shock, but it didn’t matter, she was simply thankful to be alive, and more importantly, she was confident that Jody was safe. But amongst all of that, she felt deeply saddened at what Beth had said about Frank Doyle. He was a good man; she had liked him, and she was wracked by guilt that she had involved him. If she hadn’t gone to him that day, he would still be alive now. She wondered if he had a wife and a family, anyone besides her that would grieve for him.
She looked behind her; the stern of the boat was getting lower, and the water level rising with every minute. It was a miracle the Brooksville Maiden had stayed afloat as long as it had, and now there were only yards to go before reaching the harbour’s jetty. Laura could see the beams of flashlights moving around on the jetty, and then a blinding searchlight shone down on the boat just as the engine came to a grinding halt. The boat coasted the final few yards until coming to rest, thumping into one of the great wooden piles of the jetty’s structure.
The portable searchlight still shone down on her and a looped rope was thrown down. A faceless voice called out to her to grab it and put it around her. Moments later she was being hauled up to safety.
‘You’re one lucky lady,’ said the fire crew’s Captain, wrapping a thermal blanket around her. ‘What the hell were you doing out there anyway?’
‘It’s a long story,’ she said.
In the searchlight’s beam, and only moments later, the Brooksville Maiden’s stern submerged and the entire boat disappeared under the water.
‘I need to get home to my son,’ Laura said.
‘Whoa, hold on, looks like you might need some medical attention first,’ said the Captain.
‘I’m perfectly okay; I have to get home. Is there someone who could take me?’
‘Well, if that’s what you want, I’m sure the sheriff will take you; he’s around somewhere. But for the time being I’m going to insist you get dried out and take a warm drink first. Will you at least do that?’
‘Sure, okay,’ she said, reluctantly.
‘There are a couple of shops that have opened up where we’re taking people affected by the storm. You can get some dry clothes and a warm drink, then we’ll get you home, okay?’ The man got one of his crew to lead her along the jetty, still wrapped with the blanket around her shoulders, and onto the main street. From there, he steered her towards Merryweather’s, lit up with a dozen or so storm lamps.
‘Oh jeez,’ Laura said.
‘Sorry, what was that Ma’am?’ the fireman asked.
‘Oh, nothing, it’s just that I know the people in this shop very well. There are going to be a lot of questions.’
The shop was the busiest Laura had ever seen it. Around a couple of dozen people filled the spare seating that had been provided for them; they were mainly elderly residents who had in some way been affected by the storm. On entering, she immediately caught the eye of Blanche, who rushed over to her.
‘My dear, what on earth has happened? What are you doing here?’
‘Well…’
‘Look at you! You’re drenched to the skin, and your arm, you’re bleeding. Come with me.’ Blanche turned to the fireman. ‘Thank you dear, I’ll look after her now,’ she said amiably.
The fireman left and returned to his crew, while Blanche grabbed a new pair of dungarees, an outdoor shirt and jacket from the shop and took Laura upstairs. She ushered her to the bathroom, ordering her to take a hot shower before changing clothes. Laura willingly complied.
She emerged from the bathroom a short while later wearing the oversized men’s outfit that Blanche had hurriedly provided. Blanche was waiting for her with a mug of coffee.
‘There you are my dear, feeling better?’
‘Yes, thanks, Blanche.’
‘Michael was on his way up to the house to see you a long time ago. Did you see him?’
‘You saw Michael? Does that mean you know about…’
‘He told me, yes. I’m so sorry, Laura.’
‘Ah well, can’t be helped.’
‘He was very upset, you know. I’m not saying I condone what he’s done, Laura, but everyone deserves a second chance. I’m sure you two can patch things up.’
Laura didn’t respond, but asked, ‘Are the phones working?’
‘No, I’m afraid not dear, they’ve been out of action for hours now.’
‘Did he tell you who it was, I mean who he’s been having an affair with?’
‘Yes, he did.’
‘She’s dead, Blanche, I killed her.’
‘Oh my dear lord.’
‘It’s not what you might think; she tried to kill my sister and then me. She’s… she was, quite insane.’
Blanche looked at Laura in disbelief for a moment, it was only then that she noticed the blood was seeping badly through one of the sleeves of the shirt.
‘You must let me see to that, Laura, let me see it.’ Laura pulled the shirt down for Blanche to take a look. The puncture was only half an inch deep but it was clearly a stab wound. Laura flinched as Blanche bathed it, and then applied some iodine and a temporary dressing.
‘You’ll need a jab and some stitches for that,’ Blanche said. ‘Oh, you poor dear girl, I knew so
mething was wrong these past few days, but I never imagined… well, you know.’ She held Laura tightly for a moment.
‘Thank you for your help, Blanche, you’re a good friend. Now I have to get home.’
‘Yes, of course you do, I understand.’ Blanche led the way down the candle filled stairway back to the shop. She hugged Laura once more as she left to find the sheriff. ‘I hope everything works out, Laura. Take care dear.’
‘Happy Thanksgiving, Blanche,’ Laura said, ironically.
It wasn’t until she was in the open once more she realised what havoc had been caused by the storm. The street was littered with debris, and many of the small boats in the harbour were wrecked. Several more emergency vehicles had arrived now the storm had passed. Laura approached a police officer that was speaking on his car radio.
‘Excuse me,’ she said.
He broke off momentarily from his radio conversation and turned to her. ‘Hold on a minute lady, I’ll be right with you,’ he said brusquely. She waited impatiently until he finally ended his message. ‘What can I do for you, Ma’am?’
‘I need to get home to my son, could you give me a lift?’
‘Really, you want me to give you a lift? Well it may have escaped your attention, but we’re a little busy here right now, I’m sorry.’
‘My sister is badly injured, she needs medical attention,’ she said. ‘Also, there’s been a murder.’
‘A murder, are you kidding me?’
‘No, I’m not. I wish I was.’
‘You’d better not be jerking my chain, lady. Who’s been murdered exactly?’
‘Look, if someone could just take me there, I’ll explain on the way. Please, I need to get home to my son, he’ll be terrified.’
‘Well in that case, I’ll take you myself. Jump in.’ The officer immediately spoke over his radio again, reporting that he was en-route to a possible homicide and requesting back up and an ambulance to attend at Brooksville Heights. ‘So, do you want to tell me all about it?’ the officer said to Laura.
‘Well if it’s all the same, I’d rather wait until I’ve seen my son. But there is something I should tell you. I told you there had been a murder, but actually there have been two deaths.’
The officer looked at Laura for a moment. ‘Well this just keeps getting better and better. Are you sure there aren’t any more, any that may have slipped your mind?’ he said sarcastically.
Laura ignored the remark and simply stared ahead as they approached Brooksville Heights.
‘It’s this turning here,’ she said. The officer turned right and made his way up the driveway to the house.
‘This is some place,’ he said. ‘Yours?’
‘Yes.’ Laura rushed to the house as soon as the car came to a stop. The police officer followed, unclipping his gun holster as he did so.
‘There’ll be no need for that officer, the danger’s gone. She’s out there somewhere,’ Laura said, pointing seaward. He gave a look of puzzlement.
The door opened as Laura approached the porch and Jody rushed out to her shouting, ‘Mom, Mom!’ She stooped down a little as he ran into her arms.
‘Are you okay, honey?’ she asked him, tears of relief running down her cheeks.
‘I’m fine, Mom, I was scared something had happened to you.’
‘Everything’s fine, honey, everything’s going to be just fine now,’ she said, cupping his face tightly in her hands and kissing his forehead.
‘Okay, Ma’am, shall we go inside?’ the police officer interjected.
‘Yes, of course.’ Another police car, followed by an ambulance, arrived, their lights flashing as they pulled up outside the house.
Sally rushed to Laura and hugged her, still in some pain from her head injury. ‘You’re alright thank God. What happened to…’
‘She’s dead!’
Michael approached her with open arms but she did not respond, except to say, ‘Hello Michael.’
‘Okay,’ said the officer. ‘Who’s going to start? This lady here tells me there has been a murder. Would someone like to tell me exactly what’s going on here?’
‘You’ll find a body over in the barn, officer. He’s a private investigator called Frank Doyle,’ said Michael.
‘And who’s responsible? You?’
‘Well, I suppose you could say I’m partly responsible, though I didn’t kill him, that was… that was an acquaintance of mine.’
‘And where is this acquaintance exactly?’
‘She’s dead too,’ Laura said, ‘as I told you before. She’s out there, somewhere in the sea.’
The backup police officers and medics entered the house. The officer told them to call homicide and to search the barn. He then proceeded to take the names of everyone, their relationship with one another and details of what had occurred. At the same time, two of the medics gave first aid to Laura and Sally’s injuries.
A short time later, one of the police officers and another medic rushed back into the house and addressed his colleague.
‘We found him and he’s alive, barely. He’s lost a lot of blood, but he is alive.’
The detective from homicide had arrived and taken statements from Laura, Sally, and Michael. He seemed, for the time being, largely satisfied with what he had been told. The medics had stabilised Frank Doyle before rushing him to the nearest hospital.
‘Mr Doyle will verify all of this when he’s able to,’ said Michael.
‘Yes, I’m sure he will,’ the detective replied wryly. ‘Of course, in the meantime, I have to ask that neither of you leave town; we will need to speak to you again, but as for tonight, there’s nothing more we can do here, so I’ll say goodnight. I’ll be in touch, Mrs Peterson.’
‘What about… what about Beth Anderson?’ asked Laura.
‘There’s not much we can do about that at the moment is there, Mrs Peterson. We’ll just have to wait and see if the sea gives up her body. There will of course have to be a full investigation; we will need to gather all the facts before we can say for certain that there will be no charges. But if everything you’ve told me is true, then you shouldn’t have too much to worry about. In the meantime, and with the absence of a body, we can do nothing. However, we can’t overlook the fact this isn’t the first time you’ve been involved in a violent death. Still, let’s just hope that this private investigator of yours pulls through so that he can verify your story. Anyway, goodnight, I hope everything... well, you know. Goodnight.’
Twenty Five
Thanksgiving
As dawn broke, Laura rose slowly from her bed and looked out of the window as Jody, who had slept next to her, was still sound asleep. The storm the night before had brought destruction and fear, but now all was calm again. It was a day to be thankful. It was Thanksgiving.
Looking at it now, it was difficult to imagine the raging sea only hours before; even more difficult to believe that she had been on it in a small craft that was barely seaworthy, and with a deranged woman that was intent on killing her. Yet somehow, she had survived, and she was grateful. To her right, she could see the barn with a door and a section of the roof missing. There was no evidence of them; she could only guess that the force of the wind had been so great that they had been sucked up and blown far out to sea.
The puncture wound in her arm ached as she pulled the cover over Jody’s shoulders. She was exhausted, yet she couldn’t go back to sleep. A flick of a light switch confirmed the electricity supply had not yet been restored; it could be days before that happened. On her way downstairs she carefully opened the door to Sally’s room, she was still sleeping soundly. She had taken pity on Michael and he had slept in a guest room.
Once downstairs, she went into the kitchen and lit a ring on the gas hob to make some coffee. She was determined to make the day as normal as possible for Jody’s sake and also for Sally. She had come a long way to spend Thanksgiving with them; there was no reason why they should not continue with at least some kind of celebration. Michael,
on the other hand, was a different matter; him staying for dinner would be awkward for everyone and she wasn’t sure she could face it.
The kettle whistled on the hob and she poured herself a cup of strong, black coffee. She turned to sit down and was startled to see Michael standing in the doorway. She spilt coffee on her dressing gown.
‘Michael! You made me jump.’
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,’ he said. ‘Couldn’t sleep huh?’
‘No, I take it you couldn’t either.’
‘Not a wink.’
‘That’s too bad. Coffee?’
‘That’d be great, thanks.’ He moved closer to her. ‘I do love you, Laura, you do know that, don’t you.’
‘Please don’t, Michael.’
‘But…’
‘Just… don’t speak. I’m not ready,’ she said, handing him his drink. ‘I don’t know when I’ll be ready; I just know it’s too soon. I think it would be best if you just drink your coffee and then make other arrangements today. I’m sure Blanche wouldn’t mind you spending some time with them.’
‘If that’s what you really want – is it what you want?’
‘Yes, it’s what I want, Michael.’
‘Okay, well could you at least give me a lift into Brooksville?’
‘Of course I will.’
‘Seeing as how I don’t know when I’ll see him again, I’d like to say goodbye to Jody before I go, would that be okay?’
‘I don’t think so. After all he went through last night, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea. Don’t worry, I’ll think of something to tell him.’ She paused for a moment. ‘He trusted you, Michael – I trusted you.’
‘I know, and if you give me a chance, I’ll make it up to you, both of you.’
Laura picked up the phone. ‘The phone’s are back on, you’d better give Blanche a call, see if she’ll put you up for a few days.’ She handed it to him. ‘I’m going to take a cup of tea up to Sally, I’ll ask her to mind Jody while I give you a lift into town. Oh, and when you get off the phone, you’d better pack some things.’