“It's a great house if the pictures I saw are any indication.”
“Hopefully, it is still in the same shape, only needing some minor fixes and a new coat of paint.”
They were nearing the house and it was more than evident that the house would need a new coat of paint. Bri quickly turned to Lucas, trying to think of something to say that would be positive but he was smiling and nodding already.
“You like it?” Bri asked.
“Yes, this is great. It's better than the photos.” He started walking faster, breaking into a bit of a jog as he went up the narrow set of steps that led to the front porch.
“Careful,” she called out to him. “You don’t want to fall through if there are any broken boards.”
Lucas looked back at her. “Are you supposed to be pointing out things like broken boards in a house that you’re showing?”
“Probably not but I have no time to drive you to the hospital today.” Bri followed him onto the porch and dealt with the lockbox.
The front door opened into a small foyer with a view of a hall and a wide staircase farther back. On the right of the foyer was a large great room and on the left a dining room.
“It definitely needs a good coat of paint and some cleaning,” Bri commented.
“It’s a great house.” Lucas was clearly looking past the cosmetic needs of the old house.
She couldn’t deny that he was right. “It is pretty amazing.”
Bri smiled and looked back at her notes. “There are two bedrooms down here on the first floor, with the master bedroom and the other three on the second floor. One of the bedrooms down here is fairly small from what I could see from the floor plan, but it might make a great office instead.”
“True.” Lucas continued walking through the house, pushing through the swinging door that led to the kitchen which was fairly bright and airy if not extremely dusty.
Bri went to the back door and unlocked it to walk out onto the covered porch. She walked to the end and looked around the corner, checking her notes again before she said, “It looks like the covered porch runs all the way around the house. I think that’s pretty neat.”
“Absolutely,” Lucas said, coming out onto the porch. He pointed out beyond the house. “What are those buildings there?”
Bri wanted to jump for joy; finally, she knew something that he hadn't already read somewhere else. “Those are small houses that were built for the workers that lived here with their families.”
“Really?” Lucas said in disbelief.
“There are ten smaller houses lined up along the fence line. Each of them has three bedrooms with a bathroom, a kitchen, and living room. The rooms are fairly small but definitely enough room for bunk beds in each of the small rooms and more bunk beds in the master bedroom. Or you could put a couple of counselors in each master bedroom just to keep an eye on everybody.”
“It’s perfect,” Lucas said.
“You want to look around the property a little bit more?”
“Of course I do.”
They spent the next two hours walking around the thirty-odd acres including going down to see Buckley Lake. As they walked back to their cars, Lucas stopped to look back at the house, “I’m not going to find another place like this.”
“You want me to talk to Nancy about setting up a meeting?”
“Yes, absolutely. As soon as possible, if not sooner.”
“All right, I will do that.” Bri was trying to contain her excitement but she couldn’t do it any longer. “I’m so happy that you and Haley are both looking to move here.”
“Me too. I wasn’t really happy when I moved back to Fairview. I brushed it off though, thinking it was simply because I had been gone so long. The more time I spend here in Sampson’s Quarry, I realize that Fairview has changed and I just don’t like it anymore.” He punched her lightly on the shoulder. “Plus, you are here.”
“And possibly Haley,” Bri added.
“Yes,” Lucas agreed with a chuckle. “That is definitely a selling point.”
They were at the end of the driveway when Bri’s phone beeped. Bri pulled her phone out and checked the display. It was a text from Nancy.
Bri, I need you to meet me at the Sanders house. 1349 West Elmwood Drive @ 3 PM. Thank you! — Nancy
Bri checked the time. “Oh, geez. I am going to be late. I need to go meet Nancy at a house not too far from here.”
Lucas paused next to the rental car. “Will you be okay? Should I follow you?”
“No, get back to town to pick up Haley. Nancy will be there so I won’t be alone.” Bri waved him off, hating that everybody had to worry about her.
“All right, I will see you tonight.” Lucas waved before driving away.
Bri tried to send a text back to Nancy but the message would not go through. After several tries, she gave up and decided to call her. She listened as it rang three times before going to her voicemail.
“Hey, Nancy. This is Bri. I just got your message. I am up at the Anderson Farm. I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the Sanders house by three o'clock but I will do my best. See you soon. Bye.”
Bri ended the call and dropped her phone in her purse. She made sure to lock her doors and started driving back toward town.
Bri pulled up in front of the Sanders house a few minutes after three o’clock, feeling a little frantic that she was late. She drove past the house and turned around, parking across the street several houses down. There was no sign of Nancy but that wasn’t much of a surprise. Bri had learned in the short time that she had worked at Redmond Realty that her boss was almost always running late.
She sent a quick text to Nancy, not wanting to call her while she was with a client.
I am at the Sanders house. I didn’t see your car but I am a little late. See you soon. — Bri
She sat in the car for a minute or so but then it occurred to her that Nancy may not have driven her own car. Sometimes clients insisted on using their car; it was possible that Nancy just needed a ride home. After one last check of her phone, Bri got out of the car and took a second to make sure she looked presentable after tromping around the Anderson Farm.
As she walked up the path from the sidewalk, she noticed that the front door was slightly open. She walked through the front door and was surprised to see that the house was completely empty. Almost all of the houses that they showed were furnished, even sparsely. This one looked as though it was just finishing up a remodel. White patches on the walls indicated recent plaster repair and random bits of lumber littered the floor. Bri would not have thought Nancy would show it at this point but what did she know. She had just spent hours showing an abandoned tree farm.
She heard footsteps coming from what she assumed was the kitchen. Praying that Nancy wasn’t mad at her for being late, Bri called out, “I’m here. I am sorry for being late. Better late than never right?”
“Absolutely,” someone said except it wasn’t Nancy.
The swinging door opened and Bri stepped back quickly, horrified to see Curtis standing in the doorway. Her eyes darted back to the front door, wondering if she could make it, but he caught her look and crossed the room swiftly to shut and lock the door.
“You don’t want to go anywhere, Brianna. We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Bri’s voice was steady even though she was shaking inside. She had forgotten how big he was and stepped back again to keep her distance. His six-foot, two-inch frame and athletic build had originally attracted her but now petrified her. He seemed even bigger than she remembered.
Curtis had grown up with dreams of playing professional football. His parents had sent him to all of the best football camps and he’d had his own trainer as soon as he reached junior high. In high school, he had been the big football star and had gone on to play college football. Midway through the first season, he had suffered a career-ending knee injury. She had felt bad for him at first but she soon realized that it was just one more t
hing for him to complain about. It was like she had told Reese, Curtis never took responsibility for anything. He would always pass the blame to someone else.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she repeated and stepped back again. “I am going to leave.”
“No, that’s wrong. You do want to talk to me. You’ve just been listening to all the annoying people here in this stupid town.” Curtis stepped in front of her. She could see that he was trying to act calm. He blew out a breath and then smiled at her. “Brianna, I know if you’ll just listen to me that everything will be fine and we will be happy again.”
Bri shook her head in disbelief. “Happy again? When were we ever happy? I don’t want anything to do with you, Curtis.”
His smile was frozen on his face, looking more like a grimace. It was clear that he was getting angry but trying to hide it. “If you’ll just listen to me I know you’ll see it my way.”
Biding her time while she thought of a way out of there, she nodded. “Okay, fair enough, Curtis. I’m listening.”
Curtis raised his arm, indicating the other room which looked to be a small living room. “Why don’t we go sit down?”
Bri was hoping to figure out a way to get herself out of there. She went into the other room to placate him and give her more time. She walked into the room, keeping her distance from him. There were two metal folding chairs set up in the far corner near a door that could either have been a closet or another entry into the kitchen. She scanned the room again and noticed that there was a bay window facing the front yard. Even though the window seat looked quite dusty, she decided to sit there instead of at the folding chairs.
“No,” Curtis said. He pointed at the chairs in the corner. “Come sit over here.”
Trying to sound happy and positive she said, “I like it over here by this pretty bay window. I have always wanted to live in a house with a window seat like this. You can bring one of your chairs over here if you want.”
He scowled at her but picked up the chair anyway. “See? This is one of those things that we need to talk about.”
“What do you mean?” She asked innocently.
He set the chair down next to the window but didn’t sit down. “I tell you what I want you to do and then you just go do what you want anyhow. I don’t like it.”
It was so ridiculous that Bri almost laughed. It was the reality of the moment that sobered her mood once more. “So, you are upset because I have opinions of my own?”
He shook his finger at her. “When you say it like that then it’s going to sound bad. It’s not about you having opinions, really. It’s about you listening to me and realizing that I know better.”
Normally Bri would have wanted to scream with frustration but it was becoming quite clear to her that things had changed. She had learned while dating Curtis that he was just a jerk of epic proportion,s but it was becoming quite clear to her that he might possibly be certifiably crazy.
“Oh, yes. Of course.” She decided to play nice. Agitating him while she was trapped and defenseless in the dusty house was probably not a good idea.
“See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” he said, his voice dripping with condescension. “I don’t understand why you could not see that before. I was always trying to help you and make things better for you.”
“Yes, Curtis,” she managed to say. She needed to keep him talking while she figured out a way out of there.
“When we get back to Fairview, I promise that I will take more time to help you understand everything.
“I’m not going back to Fairview,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
He sat down in the chair and leaned forward so that their eyes met. “Of course, you are going back to Fairview. That’s where you live.”
“But I live here now. I’ve lived in Sampson’s Quarry for over six months.”
“No!” Curtis shot to his feet so fast that the chair almost tipped over. “No, you live in Fairview. You are just here visiting so you can try out a different job.”
Bri could not help but notice that Curtis had become more desperate. For most of their relationship, he had been controlling. If he was not blatantly telling her what to do, he would pick at something until she would finally give in simply to shut him up. She could not give in to what he wanted now and she had to tamp down her growing fear.
Curtis started pacing back and forth. “I hate that you took this job here. I hate it in Fairview without you. I hate that you tried to break up with me, and that you did it at my favorite place in the mall." He stopped and looked at her, fury clearly on his face. "I can't even go back to the mall because of you."
"I…"
"No! Just shut up. You need to listen.” He stopped in front of her. "If you will just listen and do what I tell you then everything will be fine."
Bri had tried to play along but suddenly she just couldn’t take it anymore. "The mall? You are seriously upset about not being able to go to the mall? I lost my job because of you. I got moved to a job I hated because of you."
"Brianna," he warned her.
"No, there is nothing you could say that would ever make me want to get back together with you, Curtis.” Once she got started, she could not seem to stop. “You made my life miserable for months while we were together so I broke up with you. You didn’t like that so you decided you were going to make it even worse. I don't want to be with you. I'm not moving back to Fairview. Hell, I don't even want to see you. You can take your sorry butt back to Fairview now because I'm not going."
Bri watched him get angrier and angrier while she talked. She had bided her time and had found her distraction.
"Shut up! You shut up right now!” He screamed at her. “I’ll make you understand!”
He started pacing again quickly, back and forth and stopping only to pick up the folding chair and throw it across the room where it clattered against the other one in the corner. Bri took her chance and grabbed the three-foot piece of two by four lumber that she had spotted lying next to her on the window seat. She stood up and as he turned angrily toward her, she landed a side kick just above his left knee. He cried out and crumpled to the ground. She swung the two by four at his head but he raised his arm at the last minute. He screamed in pain again and remained on the floor. She hoped it would be enough for her to get away.
Bri dropped the two by four and ran for the door, hearing Curtis swearing behind her. She ran down the steps desperate to reach her car. Suddenly, she was jerked back as Curtis’s fingers wrapped around her upper arm.
Reese pulled up in front of the house and parked behind Bri’s car. He stopped to call the station to let Danvers know that he had found her car and to request back up.
He was assessing the situation when the front door flew open and Bri came running out. A moment later she was followed by a big guy with dark blonde hair, limping on his left leg. Tomlinson. Reese had finally gotten a response back from the Fairview PD earlier that day.
"Get back here. You're not going anywhere."
"No, Curtis,” Bri cried out. “Let go of me."
Reese was moving across the front yard as Bri swung her arm, hitting Tomlinson just below his ear with her closed fist. He made a grunting sound but continued to try to drag her back toward the house. She continued to fight him and when he got to the steps he paused. It was clear he was trying to work out how to get her up the steps with her struggling and his limp.
"Let her go!" Reese yelled from about twelve feet away. Bri looked up surprised. She had been so focused on fighting Tomlinson that she had not have noticed Reese.
"Go away! This has nothing to do with you. This is between her and me." Curtis had taken advantage of Bri’s distraction to pull her in front of him. He put one arm around her neck while grabbing her arm and started to drag her up the first step.
Reese took another step forward. It did not seem that Tomlinson had any weapons, but he wanted to be sure before he moved on him. He would never forgive himself if Bri
got hurt. "I said let her go."
"Look, buddy," Curtis said. "I don't know what your problem is, but this isn't any of your business."
"I don't know about that. The lady doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with you."
"She's confused."
"No, I am not. Let me go!" Bri struggled against him.
“You are so stupid. I think I am going to have to beat some sense into you,” Tomlinson said and tightened his grip on Bri’s neck.
“I am with Sampson’s Quarry Police Department. Let her go,” Reese growled out. He held up his badge for Tomlinson to see.
Tomlinson paused, only to start dragging Bri up the steps again.
Bri struggled hard for a moment and then went completely limp. Tomlinson tried to hold her up but he was struggling to keep his balance while standing on the steps with his injured leg.
"Just leave her there," Reese instructed Curtis.
"No!" Curtis yelled. "I told you to go away."
Bri started to crawl away and Curtis lunged for her. Reese moved between Bri and Tomlinson. Curtis stepped back, fury on his face.
“Tomlinson, stay right there.” Reese glanced back to see if Bri was all right. As expected, Tomlinson decided not to listen to Reese.
"I'm going to kill you!" Curtis screamed, squaring up on Reese who stood his ground.
Reese waited for Tomlinson to take a swing and then slammed a fist into his jaw that sent him reeling. Tomlinson came after him again and Reese landed another punch that knocked him back again. Tomlinson spotted Bri leaning on the porch and he turned toward her. Reese went after him but Bri was ready.
“This is all your fault, you stupid whore.”
“Oh my god,” she said. “Shut the hell up.” Her foot shot out and kicked Tomlinson so hard in the groin that Reese winced.
Tomlinson went to his knees and Reese easily pushed him down to the ground. He pulled handcuffs from his back pocket and snapped them on Tomlinson’s wrists. “You definitely messed with the wrong lady.”
Escape to Sampson's Quarry (A Sampson's Quarry Mystery - Book Two) Page 9