It seemed that whenever Officer Barney was around, Carter was there to usher him into an active crime scene. They felt much better once the cuffs were removed, but they were still shaken up by the triple take-down. Carter told Officer Barney all about Reggie and what had happened, even though he had to fabricate the story a bit to get Basement Brenda off the hook and pin the murder on Reggie.
There certainly was Reggie’s DNA all over the dead girl from when he dragged her body through the house and stuffed her in the closet like he was putting away a vacuum cleaner. As for that piece of wood that Basement Brenda used to kill the girl… well, Reggie used that same piece of wood on Basement Brenda to subdue her prior to tying her up, so his molecules were all over the murder weapon as well.
After what seemed like hours of questioning, photographs and measurements, the body bags were toted past them and out the front door. The EMT’s had patched Basement Brenda up pretty well and wrapped up a wound on Carter’s head. Brenda was also treated for her cuts and abrasions. The EMTs had been working on the three of them during the majority of Officer Barney’s questioning. Based on the severity of their injuries and dehydration, the officer strongly suggested they take the waiting ambulances to the hospital. There must have been a dozen police officers who remained at the crime scene, as gurneys transported the three of them to the ambulances, and each of them took separate rides to the hospital.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
When Carl Blankenship arrived at the hospital to transport Carter and Brenda home, he was in shock at what he found upon entering the ER Waiting room. The three victims looked like they had a run-in with a wood chipper, as they all had white gauze bandages covering their heads, faces, arms and legs. Basement Brenda had a friend coming to pick her up, and she was going to stay with her for as long as she needed. Carl took Carter and Brenda home, and they would worry about getting the car from the crime scene on another day. For now, they needed to go home and recuperate, and not have to worry about anything for a while.
That was easier said than done, though, knowing that Angie was still in and out of a coma. They needed a day before leaving the house again. Both of them were in a lot of pain, and spent a full day recovering with pain medication, but then switched over to Advil, so they could function and get things done. It was nice that the twins were back playing and acting normal for a change, now that nobody was controlling their behavior.
After picking up their car the following day, they returned to the hospital and Angie was not in her room. They panicked and ran to the nurse’s station and asked the nurse about her whereabouts. There were three nurses at the front desk, but there was only one nurse looking at them as they approached. That was the nurse who had to field their question.
The nurse did not answer them right away. She looked from side to side, before realizing that help fielding that question would not come from either side. The color in her face faded a bit as she asked their relationship to the patient.
Carter spoke up by explaining, “She is Angie’s niece, and Angie’s been in and out of a coma for the last week.”
The nurse looked from side to side again, then calmly stated, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this… but your aunt passed away yesterday morning. If you’d like to talk to the… ”
Carter heard nothing more out of the nurse’s mouth after finding out about Angie’s death. He saw her mouth moving around, but his ears were not processing anything that she was saying. He turned away from the nurse as she continued to talk, and Brenda followed him down the hallway. They made it to the waiting room without saying a word, and Carter took a seat in the far corner of the room where nobody else was in earshot. Brenda sat next to him and grabbed his hands.
“Damn it! I can’t believe she’s gone,” said Carter.
“She was a real fighter,” said Brenda, “but she was in a coma for a good week. She wasn’t in good shape by any means.”
“Angie’s gone,” said Carter. “When she was in a coma, at least we knew that we had a shot at reaching her for an answer. We did get somewhere, but now that window is closed. It’s just so final.”
“Carter, the tragedy that she said we would face has happened. Look at what we just went through. Look at our bandages, and it was life or death for both of us. I’m confident that’s what Angie meant. We could have died.”
“Yeah, but we can’t be certain that this was what she was referring to. I’m hoping it is, sure, but she left us before we got the details of what she saw. That’s the part that’s a little unsettling to me. Here I thought we would finally have peace in our lives without being haunted by the past or the future, and now we still have to look over our shoulder. I just wish she would have pinpointed that tragic event in our lives, so we’d know it when we saw it. Damn it, Angie!”
Brenda bent over in front of him and took his head in her hands. “Carter, we can’t treat this any different than if we never met Angie. I’m tired of wasting our lives chasing uncertainty. We have to stop this. We can’t stay in our house for the rest of our lives, afraid to go outside because of something Angie said. We still have to live. We can’t forget about that. We still have to live.”
“Angie had a reaction that was real. It was true. You can’t fake a reaction like that. Who is so scared that they run into the street without regard for their own life? That doesn’t sound like a fraud to me. She was truly haunted by what she saw.” Carter pulled away from Brenda’s hand cradle and stood up. “Brenda, she saw something in us that spooked the shit out of her. It was as if she saw images of hell. I mean… she took off immediately, like she would if she sat on a beehive and bees were swarming her head.”
“I understand that, Carter, but again… we have to stop running from uncertainties because there are too many of them and I’m tired of running. We also have no timetable. If what she saw was true and tragic, it may have been something that was to occur in 20 to 40 years from now. Are we going to spend the next 20 to 40 years worrying about it? I think not. We really need to rethink this Angie plan, especially now that she’s gone. Besides, she gave us a good dose of what it was that had traumatized her.”
Carter understood what Brenda was saying, but he just couldn’t dismiss the reaction Angie had merely upon touch. It was too real for him, and he was scared to death of losing Brenda. At this point, he realized that Angie was really gone and no definitive answer would come. She was up in the heavens being reintroduced to relatives. She certainly did give returning to life a good shot, and they did come ever so close to getting their answers before Martin came along.
Carter opened his eyes wide as he thought about his old friend Martin. His cranky old spirit had slipped into Billy and then into Angie, and it was anybody’s guess as to the current location of his meddlesome spirit. Hopefully this damn guy was not going to attach himself to his wife’s spirit forever. Carter just wanted him gone. He was a menace to him, and if there ever was a time to push him out of the in-between realm, this was it. It was time for Martin to move on.
There comes a time in people’s lives when they become true adults and realize that they are the only ones looking out for their well-being. Ultimately, the way a person ends up is on them. This issue arose in Carter’s mind as he was reflecting on his life the following morning, while lying in bed. Brenda was sleeping soundly beside him, and her heavy breathing was accompanied by the sound of birds outside, singing their hit songs.
He reflected on his adoptive parents. He missed them greatly and thought about them often. He had such a non-eventful life back in Boston, and suddenly his life was turned on its ear. He ended up losing his parents and finding out that they weren’t his biological parents. Then he’s living in Boulder, Colorado and discovers that he was just returning to a past life, but with a new set of characters. Turned out the characters were re
cycled spirits once connected to him. He thought about it while looking up at the ceiling.
He wanted his old life back. It was calmer back then, but he would need Brenda. It wasn’t exactly returning to the life he once knew, but more so blending what he liked about both lives. Brenda would definitely have to be a part of it. Unfortunately, his adoptive parents and Charlie would never be a part of it. He loved Brenda and wondered why it took so long to find her. He liked her spirit. He also liked her face, her body, her smile, her sense of humor, her eyes, especially when they darted around as she spoke. There wasn’t a part of her that he was on the fence about. He was deeply in love with her.
The more Carter thought about Boston, the more he thought that he needed to return there. Colorado was fine, but he did what he needed to do, and now was done with it. He had returned to a past life with an altered set of characters, but his gut and his blood were starting to flow back east.
He’d had his fill of Colorado. Carter continued to think about Boston to the point where he thought that he should return there. He had enough excitement for now, and he was getting older. He had different needs and wants now. He needed stability and he wanted it with Brenda in Boston. That old white house could stay in Boulder with Martin forever a part of it, so it seemed. Hopefully it was not Brenda that Martin’s spirit was attached to.
When Brenda awoke, Carter explained to her how he had been up for quite a while and his mind was going haywire. He had all of these thoughts and he wanted to share them with her to see how she reacted.
“What have you got on your mind?” Brenda crinkled her forehead.
“A lot. I’ve been thinking that I’ve pretty much exhausted my time here in Colorado. I guess I feel my heart’s… in Boston. That’s where I grew up and that’s where I feel I belong, even though I no longer have a family. At least I’ll be able to visit their gravesites. I feel so removed from them now, and it’s been bothering me… hurting… bad.”
Brenda was somewhat startled by this confession, but in the back of her mind, she felt that it would always be a possibility, or a temptation for him, and she wasn’t exactly hating the idea. That was truly home for him, and he was familiar with it in this lifetime.
“I totally get that,” she said to Carter. “It seems as if Colorado was home for you at one time, but not now. I do understand that.”
“What about you Brenda? Where are you most comfortable?”
“Carter, I’ve been living on my own since I was 16 years old , so I can adapt anywhere because of it. If you want to move back to Boston, then let’s do it. I grew up in Iowa and have no attachment whatsoever to that place. I once lived in Colorado, and returned there only to chase down my past. We have to start living in the present, and thinking about the future. I’m done going back, and to be honest with you… this place has been well played, and I was almost afraid to tell you, because of the attachment I thought you had to it. Where am I most comfortable? With you, Carter. So let’s… go. Let’s move to Boston. If that’s what’s going to make you happy, I have no problem getting out of here.”
Carter broke out in song, “Please come to Boston for the springtime.”
Brenda smiled and pushed him down on the bed. “Singing was never you’re strong suit, but yes, of course I’ll come along! Where the hell else am I gonna go. You think I’d let you go to Boston by yourself with all those pretty girls over there?”
“There are just as many pretty girls over here.”
“True, but I’m here, and you’d never get away with any extracurricular activities here on my watch.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
For one week, Carter and Brenda sat on the idea of returning to Boston. Each day that passed brought them closer to a decision, and eventually they had to bring Carl and Wendy into the conversation. It turned out that they weren’t too fond of the old white house, either, and they were sitting on a return to Texas with their rejuvenated twins.
The new deal was that Carter and Brenda would return east to Boston and take up residence in Carter’s parent’s house. Carl and Wendy and the twins were welcome to stay in Boulder as long as they wanted, and could walk away and let the house rot or go into foreclosure for nonpayment of taxes. As long as they kept up with the bills, they could stay there for however long they wanted.
Carter and Brenda could not spend another night in the old white house in Boulder, Colorado, and they were willing to leave it all behind. The attachment they had was a thing of the past, and visions of the future there scared them into acting immediately before something bad happened. They took everything they couldn’t live without, and filled the car with it. So much was left behind, but most of what was there belonged to Martin and Shirley.
The road was long, but each mile they drove took them another mile away from that old white house. It had attracted them at one time, but now they were repulsed by it. They really could not see themselves spending the rest of their days in that house. It seemed like it was meant to be, but it really was meant to flee. It was probably better suited, and meant to be… for Martin. He would either be there, or eventually be there, perhaps forever.
The following day they found themselves driving through Iowa, and the notion again came to the both of them that they should try to reconnect with Brenda’s parents. Once they passed the Welcome to Iowa sign, they exchanged glances. After discussing the pros and cons, they decided to take the Ames exit, and did a drive-by to find a car in the driveway.
“Don’t stop,” said Brenda. “Drive by the house slowly and we’ll look and see if anybody is moving around.”
After driving past the house a couple of times, it started to get awkward. Brenda was tired of acting like a child, and told Carter that she was just going to bite the bullet and let bygones be bygones. She just wanted to walk up to the door with Carter by her side, and reconnect with her mother. As for her father, well… it was anybody’s guess where he was at this time. He had mentioned in the letter that he was dying of cancer, and then another letter stated that he just said that to get his mother to feel sorry for him. There was no telling if he was alive or where the hell he was hiding.
Brenda slowly made her way up the front walk with Carter by her side. The front door was closed as they walked up to it. Brenda looked from side to side as they closed in on the porch. “My God… it seems like an eternity since I’ve been here. This was my home, but I never thought I’d be back.”
Carter didn’t volunteer anything, but Brenda reminisced about the time when she was part of her family. He understood that it was important to let her go on uninterrupted. He watched her as she put her hand to her mouth to cover up her emotion.
“This brick walk… my God, it seems so much smaller. Maybe it’s just that I’m bigger. That has to be it.”
There was grass sprouting up from between the bricks. Even the ants running around on the walkway looked smaller than she remembered. She looked ahead before stepping up the single step to the porch. “The house looks smaller too.”
She took the step up to the door, and then turned around and made a goofy, playful, but probably nervous facial gesture to Carter. She then proceeded to ring the doorbell. When there was no answer, she rang the bell again. This time the door did open, and Brenda and her mother were looking at each other for the first time in almost a decade.
Brenda’s mother looked through the glass at her daughter, but had to create a visor with her hand to block the sun from interrupting this important moment. She finally got a glare-free look at her visitor, twenty years removed from a mirror image, and screamed out loud as she fumbled with the door handle. It took her a while to unlock the screen door, but when she did, she grabbed Brenda and hugged her tight, as if she was afraid she would get away again. She continued her excited high-pitch
ed squeal as she took Brenda’s face by the cheeks and looked her over good.
“Brenda! I can’t believe it’s you! I’ve been waiting for this moment for… years! I’d almost given up on the thought of ever seeing you again. Oh my God, I’m so happy! I’m so happy!” Tears began to well up in her eyes as she just stared at Brenda with a look of pure disbelief. She kept stroking Brenda’s cheek. Then the tears dropped hard, and she bellowed again.
Brenda pulled away to catch her breath. “It’s so good to see you, mom. I really missed you!” She smiled big at her mother as she held her arms with both of her hands. This homecoming was a long time coming. She then looked at Carter and said, “Oh… mom… this is my boyfriend, Carter. We met… well. We met. That’s all you really need to know for now. It’s long and complicated. We’ll save that story for another time. We were just in the neighborhood and wanted to see if anyone was home.”
“I’m so glad you did! Please come in and I’ll get you both some iced tea. You always did like iced tea. Do you still?”
“God yes, I could really use a glass of iced tea right now.”
“I know where Brenda gets her good looks from,” said Carter, wanting to contribute to the conversation in some way.
Brenda’s mother’s eyes softened as she turned her head to the side and smiled at Carter. “Now this one’s a keeper. You romantic you. Sure know what to say to a gal’s mother, now don’t you?”
“Yes… ma’am.”
“Oh, Carter. Now you lost me. Please don’t call me ma’am. I’m not a ma’am. That title went out 50 years ago. Call me Phyllis… please.”
Desert Son Trilogy: Desert Son, Wayward Soul, Spiritual Intervention (Books 1-3) Page 45