Whitman River

by Maeve Ashfeld

  “No,” Glenna shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. “You’re obviously lying.”

  “Am I?” he stared at her. “How did you think I could afford our apartment?”

  “You told me you were cheating on me with your client.”

  “Oh right. That’s where we left off.” Albert chuckled to himself. “You still think I was cheating on you with that old hag from the funeral, don't you? The one that showed up at our house?”

  “You told me so yourself.

  Albert shook his head. “I did no such thing. I told you that a client was giving me money. That client was your dad, sweet Glenna.”

  “You don't know my dad.”

  “Oh please. You told me everything I ever needed to know to find him. Do you know how many ‘Robert Whitman's’ there are in Woods County? Let alone this state? You gotta be more careful Glenna. Well, I guess that doesn’t matter now. Eat.”

  She looked down at her plate. She was so angry and confused.

  This can’t be happening.

  “You must be wondering how I did it?”

  Glenna glared at Albert. His eyes were wide and crazed. He reached toward his jacket. She drew back. He smiled and pulled out an orange bottle with a white cap. He shook it and slid it in front of her.

  “These are my sleeping pills.”

  “Yep, that’s how you did it.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “That’s not what the cops were told after you left this morning. They heard that you crushed up a ton of sleeping pills in his food one night.”

  “You’re lying,” Glenna said. She balled up her fist and pushed back tears.

  “They say it’s because you wanted his money.”

  “Stop it.”

  “Ya know, if we get married, I don’t have to testify against you in court.”

  Glenna stared into Albert’s eyes, “Fuck you.”

  Albert paused for a moment. He leaned back in his chair, “Eat.”

  “No.”

  “I said, eat!”

  Albert grabbed the back of Glenna’s head and slammed it towards the plate. Her nose was pushed into the food.

  Merlin latched onto Albert’s wrist. Albert yelled and shook his wrist from Merlin’s grip. He jumped up, grabbed Merlin, and threw him in the bathroom. He shut the door quickly.

  “Alright. This is the game you want to play.” He pulled a gun from his belt and pointed it at Glenna.

  “You gonna eat?

  “Glenna shook her head slowly, “You’ll have to kill me.”

  It was difficult to balance two boxes of pizza and a bag of soda. Sure, she would have liked to order online because they don’t have that in Woods County. Only one place delivered and it wasn’t that good. But, she wanted to get out and be on her own around the city for a bit.

  Guthrie exited the elevator and took a left. She was fumbling for the key card when she noticed that the door to Glenna’s room was open a little.

  She must have stepped outside. I don’t blame her.

  As Guthrie got closer, she could hear talking. One of the voices was a man.

  “You gonna eat?”

  Maybe it’s the TV.

  “You’ll have to kill me.”

  Guthrie panicked when she heard Glenna’s voice. She placed the pizza boxes on the floor and peaked inside the door. There was a man standing in the doorway and he was pointing. She tried to peek over his shoulder and could just make out Glenna's face. She looked so scared.

  “Okay. We’ll just call this one self-defense.”

  The man shifted and a shot rang out. She gasped as he fell to the floor in front of her. He was grasping his left shoulder. Blood spurted and pooled around his fingers. He groaned and looked at Glenna.

  “You shot me! Somebody, call the police!”

  Guthrie could see the gun in the man’s right hand. She took a step inside the door. If she could just reach over and grab the gun. She looked up.

  Glenna shook her head frantically.

  “I have to,” Guthrie mouthed.

  She stepped over his body and reached for the gun. Before she could grab it, he kicked the inside of her knee. She heard a loud crack and came down hard on the ground. She yelled. The pain was immediate and spreading quickly.

  Guthrie looked over at the man. He had the gun pointed at her face.

  “Put down the gun.”

  He kept it trained at her forehead.

  “That’s an order.”

  “You’re not my boss, lady. I don’t answer to you.”

  Guthrie gritted her teeth. “Please.”

  Albert laughed.

  “Glenna, I love you more than anything in this entire world.”

  “I love you, too. Hang on.” Glenna squirmed against the desk.

  “Glenna, whatever you do, remember that Robert and I love you so very much.”

  “Did you, now?” Albert propped himself up against the doorframe. “If you guys loved her, why did you lie to her for so many years, huh? Why didn't you tell her everything? For example, why didn’t you tell her that you saw Robert the night he died?”

  “Glenna don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to tear us apart.”

  “No. No, you did that, Mrs. Whitman.”

  Guthrie felt her heart skip a beat.

  “Yeah, he told me about your little engagement. Congratulations. You would have made an excellent mother-in-law.”

  She looked over at Glenna. She was shaking her head and her bottom lip was quivering.

  “Glenna, I-”

  “You were still trying to replace her mother. But, you couldn’t. Especially not if she stayed in the picture, right? That's why you always kept her hidden away.”

  “That is not true.”

  “Mom’s alive?” Glenna’s voice was weak.

  Guthrie could see the pain in her eyes. This was a hurt that she would never be able to comfort.

  “Not only is she alive, but she’s in the next room! She’s behind door number one.”

  Glenna froze.

  “I’m sorry, Bean.”

  “Isn’t this special?” Albert clicked the gun hammer. “Guess I have to come up with two excuses.”

  Victoria quietly munched on a packet of peanuts that she had in her pocket. More than anything, she would love a drink of wine. The tiny vodka flask she kept in her purse was calling her. It was her emergency plan. If her nerves got the best of her, she would take a shot and keep going.

  She was flipping through channels. When she turned the TV on, it was settled on what she called “The All Barf Channel”. Victoria hated that channel. Every single story was about how people fall in love on Christmas and have happily ever afters.

  Happy Ever After isn't real.

  She kept flipping and landed on a nature show. Rachel loved nature. It reminded her of where she grew up. There was nothing but land for miles. She missed the green grass and hoped that she could return there soon.

  Things just don’t always line up the way you want the to.

  On the television, there was a wide shot of the plains. The camera zoomed in on a zebra. Victoria admired his coat. It was so shiny. The zebra was drinking peacefully at a lake. A young one stepped up and began to drink as well. Victoria turned the volume up.

  “Here we see the youngest foal having a drink with his aunt. The water is most refreshing on a hot summer’s day. But, they don’t have time to relax-”

  Victoria heard a muffled gunshot.

  Zebras with guns?

  “-for in the distance, a predator lurks in the waters.”

  She grasped the peanut bag tightly and popped a few more salty peanuts in her mouth. She watched the drama unfold before her. The crocodile inched closer and closer.

  Run, little guy.

  Another shot rang out. And then another.

  Victoria muted the TV and set her bag of peanuts on the nightstand. She got up and pressed her ear against the wall. She could hear grunts and bumps. />
  Not your run-of-the-mill hotel romp.

  She listened closely and heard a man yell in pain. She heard another loud bang. This one sounded close. When she pulled her head away from the wall, she saw a hole inches from where her head just was.

  She backed away in disbelief.

  What do I do?

  She looked at the phone on the nightstand. Her hand hesitated above the receiver.

  What if they don’t understand?

  Bang.

  There’s no time.

  She punched in 9-1-1 as fast as she could. The operator on the other side answered immediately. Victoria opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She was so nervous that she could feel her whole body vibrating. She glanced over at her purse.

  No, not right now.

  “Hello? Are you there? Are you in danger?”

  Victoria picked up the phone and walked it as close to the opposite wall as she could. It wouldn’t go all the way. She placed it on the ground and pulled against the coiled cord.

  “Is this the Destiny Inn on Sunny Avenue?”

  She stretched the cord as far as it would go and held it towards the wall. She was sweating and shaking. She could hear the operator on the other end trying to ask her something.

  Bang.

  She reached again with the phone. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  If I could just get it to the wall, they could hear.

  There was silence in the other room.There were no gunshots or bumping, no screams or yells. Just silence.

  She put the phone to her ear to see if the operator was still there. She didn’t hear anything. She held the cord in her hand and it limply swung back and forth. At some point, she'd ripped the phone out of the wall.

  The connection was cut.

  They're not coming.

  Victoria fell to the floor and cried. She felt so helpless and scared.

  What if the killer comes to my room, next?

  She looked over towards her purse

  Just one sip.

  The zebra herd ran off, leaving behind them trails of dirt and clumps of grass. In the foreground, a crocodile sank into the water. The red water around him rippled and bubbled.

  And then, nothing.

  The Sample

  The room was white from ceiling to floor. There were medical instruments around the room and watercolor paintings on the wall. It smelled of rubbing alcohol. Guthrie pulled her coat a little closer to fend off the chill.

  “I never really get used to how cold it is in here,” she said to noone in particular.

  There were two beds in the middle of the room. They were white with white pillows and white sheets. Glenna lay in one of those beds. A monitor beeped away near her head.

  Guthrie walked over to her and pried her lips open with gloved hands. She took a long cotton swab from the metal tray. Gently, she rubbed the cotton swab on Glenna’s tongue. She twirled to capture the saliva strings.

  She handed the swab to Victoria. She placed it inside a small, labeled capsule. Then, she placed the capsule in the refrigerator. It fit neatly in the row of capsules labeled “Whitman”.

  Guthrie stared down at Glenna. She looked so peaceful despite the red stain on her gown. Guthrie and her team had managed to patch her up just in time.

  Glenna began to stir. Her eyelids fluttered and her fingers twitched.

  Guthrie motioned for Victoria to step aside.

  When Glenna opened her eyes, Guthrie spoke. “How are you, Princess Bean?”

  Glenna tried to speak but she coughed instead. She tried to sit up. Guthrie gave her a bottle of water and coaxed her into lying back down.

  “Where am I?”

  “You’re safe. You did get hurt but help got to you in time.”

  Glenna reached for her side and felt the bandages.

  “Where’s Albert?”

  "He's in custody."

  Glenna smiled weakly.

  Guthrie placed a hand on her forehead. "Don't worry about that. We just want you better. Why don't you just lie back and rest?"

  "According to the last test, we should have enough to proceed with- Oh, hello." Robert put the clipboard under his arm and stared down at Glenna.

  Glenna's eyes widened and she tried to sit up. “Dad?”

  Robert looked to Guthrie, "You didn't tell me she was awake."

  "I didn't think it was necessary."

  Glenna panicked. The heart monitor beeped faster. She started pulling at the wires and tubes attached to her body.

  "If you leave, I'll have to call the police," Guthrie said calmly. "If you scream, I'll have to kill you."

  Glenna looked from Guthrie to Robert and back. Her chest heaved as she hyperventilated.

  "Do we have a deal?"

  "Do I have a choice?"

  Guthrie stood up straight, surprised. "Well, no. I suppose not." Guthrie nodded towards Victoria.

  Victoria gently lay Glenna back down. She placed the respirator over her nose and mouth. It rumbled when she flicked the switch on. She stroked Glenna's hair and hummed.

  Tears rolled down Glenna's cheeks. She groaned when Robert put the IV back in her arm. He peered at her over his glasses and slowly pushed a sedative into the line.

  In a few moments, Glenna was gone.

  Guthrie stretched her back a little. "She's just like you two."

  Robert smirked.

  Victoria tightened her lips and left the room.

  From the Author

  Thank you for reading my novella.

  This is my first in this series and I am both excited and terrified.

  If you would, please leave a review. Hearing from you would help me know how to improve and make the story better. To sign up for my newsletter and receive my next ebook in this series for free upon its release, email a screenshot of your review to me at MaeveAshfeld@gmail.com.

  Thanks again for reading!

  Cheers,

  Maeve

  www.MaeveAshfeld.com