by Ursula Dukes
Revengeful Deceptions
By Ursula Dukes
Copyright © (2012) by Ursula Dukes
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, people, or places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the result of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places, or people, either living or dead is purely coincidental.
I'd like to dedicate this book to my daughters, Samantha and Jacqueline, the countless number of friends who listened, advised, read and put up with all of my ever changing ideas. My earth sister, Julie. We share more than the same birthday. Thank you to each and every one of you for listening and simply being there for me.
Chapter One
Brandon Caruso and his henchman Nick Kilarmo took a couple hits of coke and helped it down with a few swigs of vodka.
“Don’t want to fall asleep during the long ride home,” he snorted, as he spoke to the low-level drug dealers to who he had just handed over a kilo of cocaine.
One of them let out a small chuckle before replying,
“Yeah, I heard that man. Come on let’s do this.”
Smacking his partner on the back, they walked over to the trunk.
“Go ahead and open it, but do it slowly,” Brandon threatened and gave Nick a nod. Nick wasn’t worried at all; he knew his nine millimeter was well within reach should anything go wrong.
“It’s all there,” the dealer told Brandon as he handed him the black bag filled with fifty and one hundred dollar bills totaling forty five thousand dollars.
“Oh I have no doubt that it is gentleman, but I’m still going to count it.”
Twenty-five minutes later Brandon zipped the bag of money closed, and gave Nick the Okay.
“Well gentleman that concludes our business for tonight, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be
on our way back to Boston and we’ll see you’s next month. As the small time dealers drove off with the kilo of cocaine, they had no way of knowing that in a matter of hours they would be pulled over and arrested for drug possession.
After handing the bag to Nick to put in the backseat of the Escalade, Brandon got behind the wheel and with Nick sitting on the passenger side, started the drive back home.
Chapter Two
It was almost midnight when the telephone rang at the Greenway residence. Both Stephen and Dominique were stirred from their deep sleep. Stephen Greenway thought he was still dreaming when he reached for the phone. Sleep still dominated his voice when he answered.
Stephen cleared his throat, “Hello?”
“Stephen? It’s me Beth, Conner’s mom? I’m so sorry to bother you.”
Stephen nudged his wife Dominique awake as he sat up fully alert now.
“Yes of course, what is it Beth? Everything Okay with Teddy?” He asked, concern filling his voice. He had only dropped him off at Conner’s house about six hours earlier for his first Cub Scout sleep over.
“What is it?” Dominique who now was also fully awake asked.
“Yes everything is fine Stephen but I’m afraid that Teddy has had a terrible nightmare and try as we may, there is just no soothing him. Now normally I wouldn’t have called but he’s terribly upset and he’s beginning to frighten some of the other boys. I feel terrible for asking this but would you mind coming to pick him up? I know it’s late. John was going to do it but Teddy just absolutely refuses to have anyone drive him home, he wants you to come and pick him up. Would you mind?”
“Of course not Beth, just tell him to sit tight and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Hanging up the phone, Stephen climbed out of bed while explaining to Dominique that he had to go pick up their son, because he had a nightmare and wanted to come home. Stephen didn’t mind taking the late night drive to pick up their son, he had missed him the moment he dropped him off at Conner’s house.
“It will be good for him,” his wife had told him. At the time, he agreed but missed him none the less and was already heading out the door when his wife called out to him.
“You forgetting something babe?” She said lying sleepily in bed.
“Sorry,” said Stephen as he kissed his wife goodbye. He smiled as he remembered their small pact. Whenever one of them leaves the other they must always remember to kiss one another good bye. Even if they were angry with each other or had a fight. Their anger and fights were few and rare as the moment they did kiss, all seemed forgotten.
“You better get your rest while I’m gone,” grinned Stephen, “because when I get back, I’m going to keep you up for the rest of the night.”
“Now that is something I will definitely be looking forward to babe, hurry back, love you!” She yelled after him as he closed the door.
“Love you too.” She heard, though the door muffled the sound.
As Brandon headed towards U.S. Route 101, the car swerved.
“Hey watch where the hell you’re going!” Nick shouted as he tried to steady the hand holding the small vial of coke.
“I’m watching, I’m watching. There ain’t nothing around here anyway, what are you worried about?” Brandon said while holding out his hand to await the vial.
“There may not be people or cars out but they got a shit load of animals around here man, so watch out.”
“Oh yeah like what? Asshole, we’re in New Hampshire, not fuckin' Maine!”
“Maine, New Hampshire, it don’t matter man they run out in the road and before you know it, BAM! There goes the car, and I don’t know about you man but I don’t want to get stuck out here in the middle of nowhere so keep your damn eyes on the road.”
“Whatever you say boss, now give me another hit.”
“Thank you so much for coming out to pick up Teddy Stephen,” said Beth wrapped up tight in her red flannel robe, tired eyes matching the color.
“Oh it’s no problem, I’m glad you called.”
As seven year old Teddy walked up behind Beth, his father couldn’t help but smile when he saw that his son already had his shoes on and tied, coat zipped and his favorite ninja turtles backpack strapped onto his back.
“You ready to go buddy?” Stephen asked, reaching out to take his son’s hand.
“I hope you feel better Teddy,” Beth said while she watched them walk to the car.
Teddy turned and gave a weary smile and wave to Beth as he climbed into the back seat.
“That’s it buddy, climb in back, buckle up and let’s get you home to bed.”
“But I’m not tired anymore dad.”
“You will be by the time we get home son, and it’s straight to bed, hey you think we can convince mom to make pancakes in the morning?”
“We should ask her tonight!” His son exclaimed, eyes bright as if it were twelve thirty in the afternoon.
Stephen chuckled at the thought of Dominique making pancakes at almost one o’clock in the morning. But he had no doubt that if Teddy put on his “pretty please” face that she would happily get out of bed and do just that.
By the time Stephen put his mustang into drive and glanced behind him, he saw that Teddy was already nodding off. A light drizzle had begun to fall and as he made his way onto route 101 towards home he was careful not to drive too fast as the ‘66 mustang did not handle well in the rain or any slick weather for that matter.
Driving southbound on 101, Brandon couldn’t wait to get back to Boston, back to civilization. He’d give the bag of cash to DiNunzio, get his cut and head straight to the afterhours bar where he’d do some more blow, and hopefully he’d get lucky and get blown himself. That won’t be hard, he thought to himself. I go in there flashing the cash and the ladies will be drooling, he smiled as he reached
for the bottle of ciroc vodka.
The rain had begun to fall more steadily now as Stephen turned his wipers to “high” and slowed down even more. I’ve got some precious cargo in the car, he thought to himself as he neared the exit.
Brandon sped up as the anticipation of the fun he was going to have at the bar was making him even more anxious to get back.
“Hey let me get another hit,” he said to Nick, “I’m starting to come down.” As Nick held the vial out for him, Brandon took his eyes off the road for a moment, turned and bent his head down to take the hit up his nostrils.
Stephen glanced into the rear view mirror and smiled when he saw his son Teddy sleeping. In the seconds it took him to return his eyes to the road, it was too late. The Escalade veered towards the small mustang at such a high rate of speed that Stephen was unable to avoid it completely and made a swift, sharp turn towards the right. He had turned the steering wheel so hard, that it caused the mustang to take a turn into a ditch.
Stephen yelled out his son's name while the sound of crunching metal, glass shattering, and the thunderous impact of the car flipping over and striking a tree was ear splitting. The car hit the tree so hard that it bent around the front end, forming a “V” shape. Smoke and fumes hissed from the undercarriage as Stephen, lie dying, choking on his own blood. It was impossible for him to move, the pain had stopped and for a moment Stephen saw everything around him with such clarity that he thought he was dreaming, his mind flashed back to hours earlier. You better get your rest Dominique, because when I get home... I love you Stephen, I love you too babe. His son Teddy broke through his thoughts. Daddy it's time for us to go home, grandma is here and she says that it's time for the both of us to go be with her and granddad. Come on daddy, daddy can you feel the light? It's so warm daddy.
While images of his wife and son soared through Stephen's mind, Brandon and Nick sat stunned. “What the fuck was that?” Nick yelled, as he got out inspecting the front end damage to the Escalade.
Trying to shake the daze and fog from his “high” out of his head, Brandon walked across the road. He stopped when he saw them. For a moment he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him and that someone had simply thrown their old dolls out of the window, but then Nick screamed, and the sound made Brandon cringe as he looked several feet past the mangled metal of what was once a car and saw the body of a child laying perfectly still on the grass.
“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?” screamed Nick as he began pacing back and forth. Even though it was a cold October evening, he began to sweat.
Stammering, Brandon told Nick that it wasn’t his fault and they should get the hell out of there before someone drives by.
“Look, there’s nothing we can do for them now,” he said as he stared at the lifeless body of a little boy. For some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the little boy.
One last deep and painful moan came from the direction of the car before all got quiet.
“What the fuck was that?” Nick cried, as he turned towards the direction of the car.
“Brandon man someone is alive over there, we gotta do something man, we can’t just leave him!”
“Shut up Nick! They're gone man, and I gotta make a call.”
“You calling 911? “
“No, just shut the fuck up so I can figure this out!”
Brandon walked on the side of the road running his fingers through his hair worriedly as he waited for the person on the other end to pick up.
Chapter Three
Dominique awoke with a start, something startled her awake but she didn’t know what. Glancing at the time she thought to herself, they should be back by now, maybe they are and Stephen is still in Teddy’s room getting him back to sleep. As she got up and made her way down the hallway she thought, I bet Stephen fell asleep on Teddy’s bed. A smile crept across her face as she remembered what Stephen had said about keeping her up for the rest of the night. Yup, he’s asleep, she thought as she peered in the pitch black room. But something wasn’t right, she knew that Stephen would never put Teddy to bed without putting the night light on. A nauseous feeling grabbed hold of her as she gently laid her hand upon the bed and found it empty and cold.
“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do Nick,” said Brandon after he returned his cell to his jacket pocket. Brandon was shaking and wet as he grabbed Nick by the shoulders and guided him towards the body that had stopped moaning a while ago.
“What the fuck do you mean we?” Asked Nick who had been chain smoking since the accident and was now on his sixth cigarette.
“WE are going to get their driver’s license, write down everything we can and get the fuck out of here, oh and we need to get the plate number too.”
“And just why the fuck are we going to do that? And who the hell were you on the phone with man?”
“Nick, it’s not a request, it’s an order and don’t worry about who I was on the phone with, it’s none of your business! Now go back to the Escalade and find a pen, the quicker we do this, the quicker we can get the fuck out of here!”
Brandon swallowed hard as he neared the body. He could tell that it was a man and somehow that made him feel better. He was hoping that it wasn’t a woman that he killed. It was an accident he told himself. What the hell were they doing out so late anyway? Jesus fucking Christ man. “I’m sorry buddy,” he whispered to Stephen's dead body. Too scared to look into the eyes of his victim, Brandon turned his own head, closed his eyes and reached into Stephens back pocket to retrieve his wallet.
“Jesus Christ man, here, take your fucking pen!”
Nick handed the pen to Brandon as he lit another cigarette.
“Nick, write this shit down man, I can’t do it by myself, Jesus!” Screamed Brandon, and with shaking hands he removed Stephen's driver’s license from his wallet.
“FUCK!” Shouted Nick as he snatched the pen back and fumbled for a piece of paper.
“Why don’t we just take the fucking license man? It’s not like he’s gonna need it.”
“Hey have some respect asshole, the police are going to need to identify the body, the guy’s wearing a wedding ring, I’m sure somebody’s gonna be looking for him!”
“Yeah and the kid too. Jesus I don’t want to be here man, can we please just get the fuck out of here?” Nick almost cried as he turned his head away from little Teddy.
“In a minute, now start writing…. Name Stephen Greenway, address…..”
Brandon couldn’t read fast enough as his stomach had begun to churn. He carefully wiped the driver’s license clean before he slid it back into its sleeve and returned it to its owner.
After taking down the plate number, the two got back into the Escalade, but not before they took one last look around, just to make sure they didn’t leave anything behind. They had finished just in time too, as a car was headed their way.
It was now almost three thirty in the morning and Dominique was wide awake. In one hand she held the house phone and in the other, her cellular. Stephen was not answering his cell, nor was he returning her frantic calls. He’s driving, she told herself, he’s driving and he won’t pick up if he’s driving. In a panic, Dominique called Beth. When a sleepy Beth told her that Stephen had picked up Teddy hours ago she fell to her knees. She couldn't catch her breath. She gathered all the strength she could and ran to Teddy’s room, she needed to be in Teddy’s room. Dominique needed help; she quickly dialed the number of her and Stephen's closest friends, Pam and Rob.
Once Pam was able to get out of her what was going on, she told her that she and Rob were on the way and to not move until they got there. Ten minutes later, Pam and Robert still dressed in their pajamas, walked into the house. They found Dominique still sitting on Teddy’s bed holding herself while rocking back and forth. Before they could get any words out there was a knock at the door. “Oh thank god! Dominique said as they rushed to the door.
“Mrs. Greenway?” One police officer who was standing on their front por
ch said. The other stood silently behind him looking down.
“Yes?”
“Mrs. Dominique Greenway?”
“Yes officer, what is it?”
“Ma’am there’s been an accident, may we come in?”
Dominique stood frozen as she faced the door. She expected Stephen and Teddy to come running up the walkway. Running to get into her arms, and out of the pouring rain.
Pam pulled her inside and closed the door. She kept her arms gripped firmly on her best friend’s shoulders in anticipation of what the officer was about to say.
“Ma’am I’m very sorry to have to tell you this but there’s been an accident involving your husband and your son.”
Dominique was shaking now but had to remain calm and be strong, she was going to have to drive to the hospital to go and pick up her favorite boys.
“Okay, well what hospital are they in? Just let me go get dressed and I’ll be right with you,” she said as she began to walk away. Walk away Dominique so you won’t have to hear, you won’t have to hear what awful thing he’s going to tell you.
“Ma’am” they aren’t in the hospital. Your husband and son were involved in a fatal hit and run accident ma’am. We are so sorry for your loss.
Rob and Pam let out a cry as they held onto Dominique. Dominique stood stone faced as she glanced around the living room; it wasn’t until her eyes laid upon a family picture that she let go. The screams that she had been holding in finally escaped her mouth and her legs felt as if someone had just come up behind her with a metal baseball bat and beat her off her feet. She couldn’t breathe and clutched her chest as the officers took hold of her and lead her to the couch.
She couldn’t stop screaming, she choked back sobs between her screams. She wanted to die just then, she wanted to die and join her boys. There was no reason for her to live if her boys weren’t in her life. The sounds and voices were completely shut out around her as her mind flashed back to the day she had met Stephen, when he proposed, their wedding and then to how elated he was when they found out that they were pregnant. Teddy had given me no trouble while he was in my belly. She remembered that, she remembered giving birth and how Stephen, stood stoically by her side, holding her hand and coaching her every step of the way and how he cried when he saw Teddy for the first time. All those memories are all that’s left. In the blink of an eye, everything and everyone that she loved was gone.