Retribution

by T. K. Walls

  TWENTY

  BRAD ARRIVED AT THE FUNERAL HOME A COUPLE OF HOURS PRIOR TO THE FUNERAL. His expectations for the service were high when he walked into the viewing room. Beverly was in the first casket. Next to Beverly was Stephanie’s white casket, followed by the boys. Each casket was closed, with a large portrait of the deceased in an intricate frame sitting on top. Each of the portraits was nestled in a bed of fresh flowers. Beverly’s casket had an array of red roses that extended from the middle of her casket to the end. Stephanie’s casket had an equally beautiful array of multicolored flowers, but hers were fresh-cut seasonal blooms with a more youthful flair. Brad was standing back, admiring Belsky’s work, when he heard the funeral director approach him from behind.

  “Mr. Belsky, I have to admit this is very nicely done. I think my wife would have liked this, and I especially like what you did with Stephanie’s casket.”

  Belsky cleared his throat. “Thank you, Dr. Rivers. We try to do our best to service our clients’ needs, as well as take care of the deceased.”

  “I know, Mr. Belsky. I was just thinking the guests will be impressed with how lovely this looks. People should start coming very soon.”

  Belsky nodded in agreement and left Brad in the viewing parlor. He walked back to the front of the funeral home, wondering how many people would actually show up and whether he had enough space in the parlor. Brad expected everything to be perfect. The service was scheduled to start at one p.m. It was almost noon, and cars were just now beginning to arrive.

  * * *

  Emily was the first to arrive at the funeral home. She had caught the early flight out of Boston and came straight from the airport directly to the funeral home.

  She parked her rental car in the side parking lot but couldn’t bring herself to get out of the car. Instead, she sat in the car crying softly, thinking of Stephanie and Rachel. She couldn’t help but wonder if Brad had planned to kill his family, and if he did, why? She didn’t care how bad she looked when she did get out of the car. She could hear other cars approaching and parking in the lot.

  Just as she decided to get out of her car and walk into the funeral home, a black BMW pulled in next to her. She waited until the driver turned off the engine, before getting out at the same time as the other driver. It was Eric. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him. She hadn’t seen him since Rachel’s funeral. She instinctively looked away when their eyes met; she wasn’t ready to face him. Even though years had passed, she still loved him. She knew she had not only disappointed him, but she had also abandoned him. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she no longer had the words. And she doubted if he would be interested in what she had to say anyway.

  “Emily? I’m glad you were able to make it.”

  Gathering her strength, she looked up at him. He was the same as she had remembered: tall, handsome. Even his wavy hair was the same light-brown color. He walked around the back of his car to where she was standing and took her in his arms. Her eyes were slightly wet with tears; she lowered her head and cried softly on his chest. She didn’t have the energy to wipe the tears away, and when she finally looked up into his eyes, they were still soft and loving. She felt herself wishing she had never left Eric, that she hadn’t run away from their life together. It wasn’t just that he had defended Brad. Eric flew with Brad; they were very close friends, and Eric was his attorney. Hell, they even drove the same type of car. She couldn’t help but wonder if Eric was somehow involved. She desperately wanted to believe he wasn’t involved with either accident; maybe he was just clueless. And she had to admit the accident wasn’t her only reason for leaving. She had needed a new start, and staying with Eric wasn’t a new start. She stammered, trying to find words to respond to him as he held her and drew her close.

  Through his own tears, Eric told her how sorry he was, how wrong he had been for letting her leave, for not going after her, and for letting her believe he stopped loving her.

  “Eric, I know, it’s OK. I was wrong too. I am so sorry I left the way I did,” she cried. She found the embrace comforting and forced herself to pull away. It was time to walk into the funeral home.

  He kept his arm around her as they walked into the service together and joined several other mourners. Eric recognized a few of the attendees as Brad’s partners and office staff. The room where the service was held was small, but large enough to seat a few dozen people. Brad was in the front of the room talking with the priest. He didn’t seem to pay attention to any of the mourners, if he noticed them at all.

  Just as Rachel had been Catholic, so were Beverly and her sons. Brad had attended Mass with Stephanie at St. Mary’s parish, but he had never joined. Only Rachel and the children had been members. The church had agreed to hold the service at the funeral home. Following the introductory rite, which included sprinkling of the holy water, came the liturgy of the Word. Beverley’s sister and brother did the readings. Traditionally eulogies are given during a vigil or wake instead of during a Catholic Mass, but just as the last strains of the Communion song ended, Brad quickly stood and strode to the lectern to speak. The room had already been quiet, but now all eyes rested on Brad. He cleared his throat and for an instant appeared anxious and uneasy, but he quickly recovered his composure. He spoke of how much he loved Beverly and the children, how much he would miss them, and that he would never be able to replace them.

  “After losing Rachel and the children, I thought I would never again find someone to share my life and dreams, someone I could partner with, have children with, and laugh with again,” he said. “Beverly and her children brought all that back into my life, my world.” Brad spoke softly and slowly, without looking at anyone, pausing for effect. Then, slowly raising his head, he scanned the faces of the mourners, and with teary eyes he sat down behind the podium.

  TWENTY-ONE

  SETH HAD ARRIVED AT THE FUNERAL HOME AS THE MOURNERS BEGAN ARRIVING. He waited outside in his car, watching the people walk into the building. After the service started, he quietly slipped in and took a seat in the back of the room. He missed the sprinkling of the holy water but arrived in time to hear the opening prayer. He found comfort and solace in Catholic Masses and prayers. He didn’t believe in any God, per se, but he supposed there was some kind of higher being. However, if there was truly a God, as the Christians claimed, their God had failed humanity, and he had failed Rachel and her children. And that was in opposition to the Christian faith, wherein followers believe God answers all prayers. Regardless, the service, prayers, and softly sung hymns relaxed him.

  He knew the order of a Catholic funeral, and when Dr. Rivers jumped up to speak following the Communion, he was appalled. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t Catholic or that he really didn’t believe in God; he did believe in tradition and following protocol to the letter. The eulogy should come at the vigil before the funeral or possibly at the cemetery. Not here and not now! But still he listened; there was much to learn.

  Seth looked over the group. Some he knew, but most he didn’t recognize. Sitting in the middle of the room at the end of a row were Eric Wilkerson and Emily Bridges; he recognized them from the news. He was surprised they were sitting together, as he thought they were no longer a couple. Not only were they seated together, they seemed to actually be together. Interesting, he thought. If it weren’t for them, Seth believed this funeral would not be taking place. His research into the plane crashes suggested they each had a part in the deaths. For Eric, his part was less than Emily’s, but in his gut Seth was convinced that Eric was just as guilty and just as responsible. In fact, he believed it may have been possible for Eric to have prevented the flight. He wasn’t sure how, yet. He would need to be certain before he made any decision concerning Eric. At the moment, his focus was on Dr. Rivers.

  Dr. Rivers gave a beautiful speech about how wonderful his wife Beverly had been, how he had been lost following the death of his first wife, Rachel, and that Beverly brought him out of the darkness into the l
ight with her laughter, her love of life, and her children. He couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t say a word about Stephanie. He glanced over the crowd of mourners to see if any of them had noticed the same, if they had any reaction—even a slight reaction—to Rivers’s speech. The mourners, including Eric and Emily, sat stiffly in their seats, some crying, some looking away, but all appearing to have the same reaction and look upon their faces. It wasn’t just grief he saw, but shock and disbelief in both their faces and body language, except for one person, a woman who kept looking at Brad. He wondered who she was; she was picking at her nail polish and looked bored with the service.

  When the Mass was over, the group slowly got in line to approach the caskets. Most carried flowers that they placed upon the closed caskets. When they were finished, they left the room, but very few spoke to Dr. Rivers. Some shook his hand, but most avoided eye contact with him. Seth waited until the procession line was almost complete, and then he got behind the last of the mourners and placed a red rose upon each casket. He stopped in front of Stephanie’s casket, looking at her picture, and then very gently rested his hand on top of her casket before leaving a rose next to her picture. He continued to Beverly’s casket, placed a rose upon hers, and whispered, “I will never forget you.” Like the majority of the attendees, he had never personally met Dr. Rivers. The doctor had no idea who he was. But Seth knew who Dr. Rivers was.

  When Seth spoke, his voice was even and his words were controlled. “Dr. Rivers, I am so very sorry for your loss.”

  Rivers shook his hand. “Thank you for coming. How did you know my wife?”

  “I didn’t,” Seth replied.

  Brad quickly let go of his hand and gave him a slightly confused look before saying, “Again, thank you for coming. The procession to the cemetery will be leaving soon, but I understand if you can’t make it.” He glanced around the room as if he were looking for someone. He looked unnerved.

  “Of course I will make it, Dr. Rivers,” said Seth. “I wouldn’t miss it. I suppose you could say our families lived in the same neighborhood when we were children.”

  He walked away, leaving Brad looking after him. Seth knew he was confused and trying to remember if he had ever met him or which one of his wives had known him.

  He also knew Brad was uncomfortable with his presence. Brad’s unease and lack of control over who the mourners were gave Seth a slight sense of satisfaction. He followed Rivers’s gaze and noticed it had stopped on an attractive woman who appeared to have attended the funeral alone. He noticed she was intently watching Brad, and throughout the service, he caught the couple’s quick glances at one another and wondered if anyone else had noticed.

  The procession to the cemetery immediately followed the Mass. Only a few close friends and relatives attended the graveside service at the cemetery. Seth, of course, attended. He needed to see, wanted to see, the entire service. He stayed in the back of the crowd, watching each person. Eric and Emily drove together and stood together. Eric kept his arm around Emily’s waist, and Emily leaned against him. The woman who appeared interested in Brad also attended the vigil, arriving in the car behind Seth’s. She attended alone, and her gaze never left Brad.

  Dr. Rivers spoke again. It was obvious Rivers enjoyed listening to himself speak and being the center of attention. As the graveside service ended and the caskets were lowered into the ground, the mourners began to file out and walk back to their cars. Seth waited, watching, and finally saw a glimmer of emotion from the good doctor. After the caskets were each in their respective places and the crowd had left, Rivers turned with a thin smile on his face as the grave diggers began covering the caskets with dirt. Instead of placing flowers on top of the caskets as those in the procession had done, Rivers wiped his hands as if he had dirt on them and then turned and walked away without looking back.

  Very few of the mourners spoke to Brad as they left the cemetery. The ones who did didn’t have much to say and quickly left. Seth waited until everyone had left the area before calling out to Brad, who was walking back down the path toward his car. Brad glanced over at the sound of his name and saw Seth. He shouted back, not hiding his irritation. “If you didn’t know my wife, why are you here? I don’t even know your name. Is there anything else you need? Or is there something you want?”

  Brad stopped walking toward the cars and instead waited as he watched Seth make his way back up the hill. Seth purposefully walked slowly, making Brad wait. Brad made no attempt to meet him halfway. Perhaps he thought he was a reporter or a detective.

  Seth stopped a few feet away from Brad and carefully began to speak. “Brad, this may not be the right time to ask questions or ask a favor of a friend, but I was wondering if you still had the charter service? I have some business to attend to out of state, and I would prefer to get in and out on my time and not wait on an airline.”

  “Yeah, of course I do. You can call Krannert to schedule a flight if you need to, but at the moment, I am obviously not flying. And we are not friends. In fact, I have never seen you, and I have absolutely no idea who you are.” Brad’s response was short and icy.

  “Of course. I knew you weren’t flying. My concern was whether Krannert’s Charter was still operational or not.”

  “It is, and I have other pilots who are able to fly. I am not the only pilot. With a busy medical practice, I don’t have time to fly charters for clients. I only fly for myself and my family.” Brad’s eyes never left Seth’s face while he spoke.

  “Your family?” Seth scoffed. “You won’t be flying for your family anymore. You saw to that. But tell me, Dr. Rivers, how did you manage to survive?”

  Without waiting for an answer, Seth turned and made his way back down the hill toward his car. He could feel Brad’s glare on his back, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have an actual business that required a charter flight. His rationale for asking Brad about Krannert and the charter business was to see if he was planning to fly again and whether Brad would be at the airstrip. Just one question, and Brad had given him all the answers he needed.

  There were many ways to punish a guilty person. Jury trial, conviction, and sentencing were just one. He knew of many other more effective methods that satisfied the primal need of some humans.

  He opened his car door, slowly sat in the driver’s seat, and watched while Brad drove away from the cemetery. He wasn’t ready to leave, though. He couldn’t leave. He sat in the car, remembering.

  TWENTY-TWO

  IN THE SUMMER OF 1984, THE HOUSE NEXT TO HIS FAMILY’S HAD FINALLY SOLD, AND THE NEW FAMILY WAS MOVING IN. He stood in the library window watching the movers unload the furniture. The house next door was a small bungalow. The driveways of the two homes were next to each other, with a narrow hedge separating them. He couldn’t wait to see who was moving next door. He had hoped there would be kids and that they wouldn’t be too young. He was ten, and most of the neighborhood kids were little and couldn’t even ride a bike.

  A blue Oldsmobile slowly pulled into the driveway. Holding his breath, he waited to see who would open the door. Please, God, don’t let it be another old couple, he thought.

  A man and a woman got out of the front seat. They looked to be about as old as his parents. That’s good, he thought. It’s a start. He could see movement in the back seat. He didn’t care if they had a boy or a girl, just as long as the kid was his age and not in diapers!

  Finally the rear driver’s-side door opened. “Come on, get out!” he shouted softly to no one. He pressed his face against the window pane and saw red sneakers with white ankle socks. Humph, must be a girl, he thought. He was disappointed, but maybe she would be OK.

  “Rachel!” called her father. “Get out of the car!”

  “OK, I am!” she shouted back. “Just hang on.”

  Finally he saw her crawl out of the car. Not too bad, he thought. She looked to be his age. She had light-brown hair, pulled up into a ponytail. As she got out of the car, she glanced at the monstrous house si
tting next to her small house and saw him peering down at her. He quickly sank back from the window, but he knew it was too late. She had seen him.

  He waited a few minutes, gathered up his courage, and made his way out of his house and to her driveway. As he walked around the hedgerow that separated their two yards, onto her driveway, he practiced how he would introduce himself. But by the time he rounded the hedge, Rachel and her father were no longer next to the car. Gathering his courage he walked up the sidewalk toward the front door. He raised his fist to knock on the door just as it opened and Rachel ran out, almost running him over.

  “Uh, hello,” she said.

  “Yeah, hi, I live there, next door,” he said, pointing to his house.

  “Yeah, I know, I saw you. I’m Rachel. Your house is huge and kinda creepy. But I like it.”

  “It’s just big; nothing creepy about it. I can show you around if my parents say it’s OK,” he said.

  They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing as he helped her unpack her room. They finished just as it was getting dark. Afterward they sat on the front porch steps; her mom brought sandwiches and sweet tea for them. He couldn’t remember a happier time.

  That summer went by fast. It was the first summer he remembered that he hadn’t been lonely. Finally he had someone to play with and share his secrets with. Not all of his secrets, of course. And he was worried that when school started Rachel would make new friends and forget about him, becoming someone who whispered behind his back. But that never happened. Instead, the two became almost inseparable. They walked to and from school together, did their homework together, and sometimes ate dinner and watched evening television together. When winter finally came, they played in the snow.

  “Come on, lie down in the snow!” Rachel said, giggling, as she tossed herself backward into the newly fallen snow. “Do you know what a snow angel is?”