The Witness Series Bundle

by Rebecca Forster

  "Wow," she said.

  "Nice stash," Stu agreed. "Come on."

  The cellar was low ceilinged and rambling. Josie stooped to keep from hitting her head and followed him to the far end where it was particularly cold and dry and the ceiling high enough for her to stand up. Stu set the lantern to the side and pointed to a hole in the wall. Then he pointed to a box. Josie stepped up.

  She could hear Duncan speaking but couldn't quite make out his words. She could see various parts of other people. She heard the kitchen door open and a woman passed by the peephole, moved around the table, paused and then moved on. Finally, Josie could see her in full. She was serving piles of food and people were digging in as if it were their last meal. Josie dropped down to talk to Stu.

  "That's not the same woman who was upstairs," Josie whispered. "This one is older."

  "There's a young one there. Something's wrong with her arm. I saw her."

  "I see Robert Butt. He's the man I want to talk to," Josie said. "The big man."

  "Maybe we can arrange that," Stu chuckled.

  "You've been inside, haven't you?"

  "I wasn't in all of it."

  "We can't go in now. This time they may shoot first," Josie mused. "If they've got an arsenal down here, what do you think they have up there?"

  "I didn't see nothing too interesting, but we don't want trouble. You don't worry, Miss Josie. We're going to figure this all out and get your girl back."

  Josie slid down and put her back up against the wall and said: "Thanks, Stu."

  He did the same, laying aside his gun and tipping his hat forward.

  "I mean, we'll get her back if she ain't dead."

  ***

  Duncan looked around the table. Every bit of food was eaten, nothing was wasted. It was a fitting end of the evening. When Duncan stood up, his flock was happy.

  "My friends," Duncan began. "The Lord gave us three days for the healing. He did not say it had to take three days. The people who have come here want to take away our way of life. I won't have it. The healing will begin and it will end tonight. We will be made whole, and they will leave this place, and there will be peace."

  Duncan's face broke into two happy parts. His soul filled up with joy as he watched their expressions transform from happiness to ones of ecstasy.

  "Robert, Foster, and the rest of you who have no chores to finish up go to your rooms. Get them in order. Spend the time as you would in Hours. I will visit each of you in turn."

  "I deduce this will be a wonderful night," Robert said as he helped little Peter down from his chair.

  "Di...tt...di..." Foster stuttered.

  Melody smiled and so did Glenn. Chairs were moved, congratulations made, and hugs were offered. When they were gone, Duncan sat alone at the head of an empty table. He picked up a fork that Teresa had left behind when she cleared the table and mindlessly let it thread through his fingers. He had one last decision to make: what would he do with Hannah and Pea. He was so lost in thought, he didn't realize that Melody was standing in the doorway watching him. He wondered how long she had been there. Not that it mattered. She couldn't read his thoughts, but he could read hers. He knew her question before she asked it.

  "Robert will be the first, Melody."

  She nodded. "Do you need me to do anything for you?"

  "No. Thank you."

  "I went to your house. It's already clean. It looks as if nobody lives there. You'll still live there after the healing, won't you?" Melody's good hand clasped her withered one. If those hands could wring, that's what they would be doing but only one moved. When she saw Duncan looking, she dropped her arms to her side.

  "I will be here until you are all healed," he assured her.

  "Duncan." Melody took a step forward. "Will you marry Hannah?"

  Before he could answer, the door to the kitchen opened. Teresa stood there, wiping her hands on her dishtowel. Her eyes cut from one to the other.

  "Will you need anything else tonight? Should I see to Pea?" Teresa asked Duncan.

  "No. I'll see to Pea and Hannah." He answered Teresa and then said, "Melody, go on now. Get your things in order. Say your prayers."

  Melody left and Duncan looked after her. When she was gone, he asked, "Is there something else, Teresa?"

  "Will you heal me, too, Duncan?"

  "I haven't decided," he answered.

  "And Pea?"

  He pushed back his chair and got up, "I haven't decided that either."

  Teresa let the door go and finished up her chores. As much as she hated to admit it, she hoped, she believed, she still had a kernel of faith that Duncan, her flawed and angry son, might be able to heal her. She would welcome a second chance. She would do things differently. She would prove to her children that she loved them.

  She opened the door again, ready to tell Duncan that she believed in him but the room was empty. The sideboard door was open. She went to close it because Duncan said everything must be in order. The small glass decanter was missing and that seemed odd to her, but not odd enough to concern her.

  Teresa went back to the kitchen and while she washed and polished and shined things, she wondered if it would hurt as much to heal as it had hurt to be alive?

  ***

  Billy dashed from his hiding place to the store. His heart was pounding so hard he was sure they could hear it all the way to the main house. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

  One breath. One beat. One long breath. One slower heartbeat.

  When he was ready Billy ran on to Duncan's house, let himself in, fell to his knees, and crawled to the day bed. He scrambled up and put himself against the wall. When Duncan walked through that door Billy's yellow jacket would be the first thing he would see. It might take him a minute to figure out that Billy Zuni was back from the dead, but when he did the dude would be scared. Billy's very sharp knife with a handle that looked like ivory was the second thing Duncan would see. Then he would be terrified.

  ***

  "Nell? You want to go see if you can find her?"

  Andre poked at the fire. It was burning down and it was about time for everyone to turn in, but Josie wasn't back.

  "Boy, when she gets a pout on she really gets a pout on, doesn't she?" Nell muttered.

  "I'll get her." Archer got up and dusted off the back of his pants. He zipped up his jacket, adjusted his hat and looked around.

  "She went that way." Andre pointed in the last direction Archer would have gone.

  "Maybe you should go, Nell." Archer conceded as he walked toward the boat. "I'll make sure the heater's going onboard."

  When Archer was gone, Nell said, "I wish you were turning on the heat in that cabin."

  She rolled a shoulder against Andre's before she went on her way to find Josie Bates to tell her to pull up her big girl pants.

  CHAPTER 32

  Like nocturnal animals, everyone in Clara's Landing was moving in the dark. Nell looked for Josie. Josie waited for Teresa to finish in the kitchen so she and Stu could go through the pantry door and into the house. Teresa put away the now clean dishes. Duncan was upstairs healing his flock. Hannah was in the room with the ever-silent Pea working at the latch that locked the shutters nailed over windows that opened out onto the roof.

  There was one moment when each of them had a personal epiphany and they all had them at just about the same time.

  Nell figured out that Josie was gone.

  When she told Archer, he knew she wasn't lost.

  When they told Andre, he was ticked and that wasn't something Nell saw too often.

  Teresa's moment came when she put away the last of the dishes and pulled out the trash bag to tie it up. She heard the sound of glass. When she opened the bag and saw the empty vials that had held the poison, her blood ran cold.

  Robert Butt convulsed and threw up. He was deducing that he didn't particularly like healing when the final convulsion threw him off his bed and he
landed on the floor with a massive thud.

  Duncan heard the sound and crossed himself. Melody opened her eyes when he hesitated. He smiled at her – not a face splitting smile – but a gentle, loving one.

  "Duncan?"

  "It's time," he said.

  "I love you. I always have," she said.

  "I love you, too." He kissed her. Melody raised her arms but only the fingers of one hand touched his face. The other fluttered, and stuttered, and dragged down the side of his cheek. That was the hand he took. That was the hand he cupped. With the greatest of care, he poured the healing liquid into her hand. He put the glass to her lips. She drank.

  "Close your eyes. All is well."

  Now there was only Glenn, Teresa, Pea and Hannah. There was just enough left in the bottle to see them all to heaven.

  Easy Peasy as Robert would say.

  ***

  It was a best guess, but Hannah figured about ten minutes passed between the time Pea had crawled on her knees to the middle of the rug, planted her hands, and froze again. In those ten minutes, Hannah ransacked the room and came up with a narrow band of plastic, a narrow metal rod, and a length of knotted rope she found piled underneath the bureau. She forced the rod between one of the shutter hasps and rocked it back and forth against the old wood. The nails gave at the same time she heard someone at the door. She hid the rod behind her full skirt, moved away from the window, and held her breath. It could be Duncan. It could be Melody. How she wished it would be Archer, but she was beginning to have her doubts that the man she had seen was Archer at all.

  Then the door opened and she breathed easy.

  ***

  "Come with me." Teresa held out her hand to Hannah. "Come now."

  "What about her?" Hannah whispered.

  "I'll come back for her."

  "No, she needs to come with us," Hannah insisted.

  "Alright. Alright." Teresa hurried toward Pea. She knelt in front of her and whispered. "Come out, Pea. Come out now. Please."

  Hannah rushed forward, "Maybe if we take her arms. Both of us."

  "Alright. Be careful she might hit you if you go too fast." Teresa stood up and Hannah positioned herself as Teresa pleaded with her daughter. "Pea, come out. Please, please."

  "Yes, please, Pea. Come out."

  Hannah and Teresa looked toward the door. Duncan was there, smiling at them. Hannah and Teresa let go of Pea. The older woman moved between the young ones. She put her hands on Hannah's arm and Pea's bowed head as Duncan ambled into the room.

  "I'm glad you're all together," he said.

  ***

  Billy couldn't imagine what was keeping Duncan. It was well past time he should have come back to his house and Billy was antsy. He got off the bed and prowled around Duncan's house. There was nothing to find. Literally. Nothing. No clothes in the closet. No shoes. Then he found out why. Everything Duncan Thoth owned was packed into a suitcase under his bed. Billy looked out Duncan's window toward the main house. The front door was open. Glenn was bringing wood inside. That was odd since they let the fires burn down at night.

  Billy went back to his place and sat down in the shadows again. He wondered how Mama Cecilia was doing and if her fire was bright enough and warm enough. He smiled thinking about her. She would like Hannah and Hannah would like her. Once Billy had Duncan, he and Hannah would have a passport out of this place. When he and Hannah were safely gone, these freaks could have Duncan back. Hannah was all Billy wanted.

  ***

  Glenn put wood in the stove in the dining room and stood back to admire his work. The whole house smelled so good. He closed the grate and went back to the porch to get the wood for upstairs. He hummed under his breath and he hadn't done that since the night he had set fire to his own house. It was wonderful to hum a little tune and carry wood and stoke a fire and not want to kill anybody.

  He picked up enough wood for Robert's room and maybe Foster's. He would have to make a few trips, but that was all right. These fires would be his gift. Everyone would be warm and cozy during the healing. Duncan was sure to doubly bless Glenn for this kindness.

  He climbed the stairs but stopped humming the moment he opened the door to Robert's room. The stench was foul and Glenn dropped the wood he was carrying so that he could put his poor burned hands over his nose. He blinked. He took one step in and then two out. Robert was dead and he had thrown up so much before dying. He was dead and his face was still red like leather. He hadn't been healed at all.

  Glenn closed the door to Robert's room and ran for Foster's. The smell wasn't as bad but the result was the same. Foster was dead. His mouth was open as if he was trying to say something important.

  Melody was half on her bed, her poor little arm out like she was reaching for something. She looked so pathetic. She was so dead.

  Connie and Paul dead. Little Peter dead. Dead. Dead.

  Glenn's very ordinary face transformed as he realized that Duncan had pulled a fast one. Glenn walked back down the hall, chose just the right pieces of wood for his chore, and went into Melody's room.

  It was just about to get a little hotter.

  CHAPTER 33

  I'm watching a mother fight for her child. Maybe she's fighting for both of her children. It's hard to tell. I've never seen a mother do that. My mother never wanted to save my life. She just wanted to save hers.

  It's cool to see a mom like Teresa.

  It's not so cool to know that one way or the other, she's going to lose.

  "Put the bottle down, Duncan. I know what it is. I know that you killed them."

  "Are they gone already?" Duncan asked.

  "Yes. Robert and Melody and Foster. I saw them. It was so fast," Teresa said.

  "I had hoped it would be. I'm just sorry that Hannah's resurrection wasn't a miracle after all," Duncan pouted. "I would have loved to have had a miracle."

  "What are you talking about," Hannah asked.

  "Oh, this." Duncan held up the decanter. "This is what was in that truck with you. Liquid Nicotine. It's lethal in its raw form. Teresa accidentally mixed yours with tea. That's why you only felt like you were dying. When this is diluted, you get sick; undiluted, you die."

  "And you gave it to everyone? Why would you do that to these people?" Hannah put her arm around Teresa and pulled her close. "They loved you. They believed in you."

  "Their faith wasn't misplaced. I have healed them," he said, well pleased with himself. "I promised they would be whole in the eyes of the Lord, and that they would be freed from their trials. They are exactly that. In heaven they are whole in the eyes of the Lord, and free from their trials."

  "That's bull," Hannah said and let her arm slide away from Teresa. She moved a little left, a little more right. She kept her eyes on Duncan. Whatever was going to happen, it was going to be between him and her and she needed to be ready.

  "You know that's not what they believed. They believed you were going to make them whole in this world. All Melody wanted was to have a regular arm."

  "Do you really think a new arm would have made Melody happier?"

  He shook his head at Hannah's naiveté.

  "You're quiet now, aren't you? Okay, I'll tell you the answer. The answer is no. Melody would always lead a withered life. She would be haunted if not by the memory of her beautiful sister, by the memory of how she mutilated her. And Robert? He would always be a misanthrope. Even without the birthmark, he would be an oddity. Slow of mind, giant of body. Where would he find people to love and care for him? Would you? Would you have done what I did for them? All of them lived because of me. Now they live with God because of me."

  Hannah took a breath. She laced her fingers through Teresa's, ready to run with her.

  "And what about Glenn?" Hannah asked. "Is he just a useless piece of crap, too?"

  Duncan chuckled. "That isn't very poetic, Hannah, but it is the truth. Poor Glenn. He's a simpleton, a child who plays with matches. That's all Gle
nn is."

  Hannah's green eyes refocused to a spot over Duncan's shoulder. She said:

  "Is that true, Glenn?"

  Slowly, Duncan turned around. There stood Glenn with the saddest look on his unmemorable face. In his nearly fingerless hands he held two branches, both burning nicely, perfect torches lighting up the hallway. Glenn had such a way with fire.

  "I didn't mean that, Glenn." Duncan held his hands out to the man with the torches as he walked toward him. When he got close enough, Duncan pulled one arm back and threw the last of the poison at Glenn's pitiful face. Glenn screamed and dropped his torches just as Duncan ran for the stairs.

  ***

  "Oh my God!" Nell cried. "Look."

  Flames licked out of the second floor windows and the ones on the third floor glowed yellow bright.

  "Let's go."

  Andre, Archer, and Nell took off at a full run, charging up the outside stairs just as Stu and Josie were coming down the hall.

  "Out. Now," Andre ordered as he took the first staircase two steps at a time.

  Archer grabbed Josie and Nell took Stu's arm.

  "What are you doing? What's happened," Josie asked, pulling away from Archer.

  "Fire, upstairs," he said and yanked her to the door.

  "Come on Miss Josie," Stu hollered. "This old place is toast."

  "Not without Hannah." Josie broke away and Archer dashed up after her. The second floor was burning, driving Andre back for a minute. He regrouped, took off his coat and put it over his nose and mouth as he dove through the first door.

  "Andre!" Nell screamed, but Josie held her and dragged her back.

  "Hannah? Hannah!" Archer bellowed but it was Andre who answered.

  "Archer! Here!"

  Coughing and wheezing, Andre came out of the smoke with a child in his arms. Nell rushed forward and took the boy.