Author: K.L. Barnes
Category: Suspense
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*****
Faye opened the door to the basement and stood aside, making room for the girls to pass. As Torei came even with her she reached out and gently squeezed Faye’s hand. She closed her eyes briefly and her brow furrowed in confusion when a strange sensation traveled from the tips of her suddenly cold fingers up the inside of her arm to the crook of her elbow. She let go of Faye’s hand quickly, but when her eyes opened again, they were filled with compassion and concern.
Faye’s face softened as if relieved of some small burden and she offered a tentative smile.
“What did you just do?” Faye asked, a look of confusion now showing in her questioning eyes.
“You’re sick,” Torei stated simply. “Come downstairs and talk for a while.”
Claire led the way down the stairs and Faye followed after Torei, closing the door gently behind her.
Joseph Jr. stepped from around the door, a look of acute interest in his distended eyes. Preoccupied with this new development, he turned and headed down the hall.
“I thought you were sick,” Faye accused as she followed Torei over to the sink where she calmly rinsed her mouth and splashed her face with the cool water. Claire stood glaring daggers at her from the bottom of the stairs.
“She has this talent for barfing on demand,” Claire said sarcastically and then moved closer, letting Faye know with a look that she wanted her to move away from her sister.
Torei grasped Faye’s hand when she made as if to leave. “Stay for a while, please. We both want to know what’s going on and why you brought us here.”
*****
Joseph and Maeve passed Joseph Jr. as they walked down the long hallway. He was entering a room that opened off the passage. He looked toward Joseph and appeared to be about to speak, but then he lowered his eyes submissively and stepped through the door.
Joseph offered her a cup of coffee from a fresh pot brewing on the stove. She sat at the table and wrapped her hands around the cup to warm her fingers and waited.
“You came to visit your grandmother when we were kids,” Maeve announced. “Your family was from Kansas and they brought onions from your farm there.”
“Have you guessed yet why you are here?” He asked as he nodded, confirming her memory of him.
“Why don’t you explain it to me?” Maeve responded with a question of her own.
Joseph took a long breath, then breathed out slowly. “As you may have seen, Joseph Jr. and Faye are sick, have been since they were babies. Had ‘em at doctors and all kind of people saying they were “specialists.” He had dropped the formal tone from his speech and continued.
“All they ever did was shove pills down them and keep having them come back for more and more tests. Makula was supposed to be a healer. Kept saying they needed more medicine and maybe even hospital care. But the kids, they don’t get any better. At best they just stay the same, but then other times they seem worse.” Joseph sipped from his cup and seemed to have come to the end of his speech.
“What could this possibly have to do with me?” Maeve tried desperately to reason with him. “I’m not a physician, or any kind of healer, Joseph. It can’t possibly do any good to keep us here.”
“I told you before, I saw your gift all those years ago.” His voice had taken on a mysterious tone. “And when the vision come to me I knew what needed doing.
“So I brought the good doctor here and waited for the time to be right to bring you along.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, please.” Maeve was pleading now. “I can’t help you unless I understand.”
“You can give him the power to heal. I want you to use the powers the gods have given you to manifest in him the power to heal those kids.”
Joseph acted as if it were an everyday occurrence and took for granted that his request would be honored. He didn’t seem to be asking out of concern for the children. His tone couldn’t have been more emotionless or uncaring.
Maeve stared at him, speechless, a ghostly sensation running up her arms. She tried to make sense of what he was saying, but none of it was logical or even sane. With all the patience she could muster Maeve asked for understanding.
“Joseph, if you thought I had some gift and the ability to do this thing, why didn’t you just come to me and ask?”
“Would you not have denied it?” He said, trying to justify his actions. “And made up some excuse for why you couldn’t help. This way, I know you’ll work hard to do as you’re asked, so you and your own children can go on home.” There was a sly look in his eyes and Maeve seriously doubted the truth of his words.
She could see then that Joseph was not a sane man, could see that demented gleam, however well concealed, in his eyes. That very gleam was what had turned her on to the memory of Joseph as a boy. Carl had that same glimmer of evil lurking in his psyche that she couldn’t help but recognize.
Joseph’s grandmother had lived next door to the old Victorian all those years ago and he had frightened her even then. She recalled the house on the corner with the attic that was home to over a hundred bats. All the neighborhood kids had been out on the street playing kick the can in the dark when the bats made their nightly pilgrimage to wherever it is bats go. Everyone scrambled and ducked for cover as they went sweeping by; everyone except for Joseph who was standing, balanced on the pedals of his bike in the middle of the tempest, with his arm raised in the air. They could all hear the sickening smack each time his hand found its mark and sent a bat flying away in another direction. One actually spun and hit the sidewalk, squeaking in anger or pain while it drug its wings along the ground in an effort to right itself and fly off again.
Maeve was incensed at the memory and she knew with a cold certainty that she had to do something if she ever wanted to leave this place alive.
She felt a great deal of compassion for young Joseph and Faye, but didn’t see how she could possibly do anything to help them. She would be forced to play along for the time being though, until she could devise a way for her and the girls to get away.
“I won’t be able to concentrate knowing my kids are being held hostage,” she reasoned. “You’ll have to send them home so I’ll know they’re safe, and then I can start working on our problem.” She tried to imply a sense that they were in this together and that she wanted to stay and help him.
“With them here, I’m assured that you’ll do your best to avoid any undesirable consequences.” The threat was so thinly veiled that Maeve understood fully the circumstance of her children’s continued safety.
“I would do my best to help you anyway,” she tried, but could see she hadn’t scored any points with her declaration.
“Okay, how about this? I won’t do anything you ask unless I know the girls are home safe.” Maeve’s voice was hard and uncompromising but she held her breath and waited for him to agree to her demands.
Joseph glared at her from across the table and her stomach turned over when he spoke again.
“They won’t return home at all, Miss Tidewell, if you don’t do exactly what I say.”
Okay, so that hadn’t turned out well at all. There was no doubt in her mind now that regardless of what she did, Joseph had no intention of releasing them. She had a vague idea now of what it was she was supposed to do but had not the first clue how to make it happen even if she were able. They stared at each other for a long time while she thought about what he said.
The best she could do was to bluff her way through but her mind was frozen, unable to think of a single thing that would convince him he was wrong about her. And even if she did, if he realized that he’d made a mistake, he might just decide to kill them all and hide their bodies deep in the woods. Oh God!
Her mind searched frantically for the right way to approach the situation and settled on an old movie she’d seen about witches and spells. She vaguely recalled some of the scenes and the atmosphere that had been created. An idea began to form that might buy them all some time
, so she started in with a list of items that sounded like they might be necessary for manifestation.
“I’ll need some things to get started,” she said. “And I’ll also need a good deal of meditation time with the doctor.” She laid out her requirements and hoped that with Makula’s help, she’d be able to come up with a plan.
“And I can’t possibly do as you ask with my hands tied together.” She held her breath and hoped he would believe her.
He had secured her hands back together after the meal, this time locking them in front, and he nodded at the small amount of freedom this courtesy afforded her.
“That’s the best you can hope for,” Joseph said and escorted her back to her room in the basement, assuring her that she would meet with Dr. Makula the following day.
Claire sat on the edge of the bed, her body turned partially away, but when Maeve reached the bottom of the stairs she stood up to reveal Torei’s delicate form lying on the bed with her hand in Claire’s.
“Oh baby, I thought you’d be feeling better by now.” Maeve was worried as she searched the pale drawn face on the pillow. Torei had a tendency to toss up the contents of her stomach whenever she was nervous or over excited, usually in large groups of people or standing in crowded lines, but she usually recovered quickly.
“That was better than the time you lost it in line at Disney World.” Maeve offered a teasing smile in an effort to lighten Torei’s spirits. Neither one of the girls laughed or even smiled.
“She did something, Mom.” Claire was not the least bit concerned that Torei would be angry with her for confiding in their mother.
“I don’t know what it was but she was touching Faye, because she has something wrong with her you know, and she was making Faye feel better. But then she was really tired and she had to lie down and rest.”
“What do you mean, she did something? What did she do?” Maeve demanded an answer, concern causing a harshness to her tone that she had to soften with a touch on Claire’s arm.
“I don’t know.” Claire was completely bewildered. “But it seemed like Faye was feeling better and Torei was just getting more tired. Not sick or anything, just like she really needed to sleep.”
Oh God, thought Maeve. This can’t be right. “Are you trying to tell me that she was healing Faye?”
*****
Chapter 13
Beth hung up the phone one last time and stared at it in frustration. She’d been calling Maeve all day and hadn’t been able to reach her at all. Her cell had been ringing but now it was going straight to voice mail so she’d either turned it off or the battery was dead. She’d left three messages for her at home and tried the hotel at least a dozen times.
The grant proposal Maeve was working on was about to go sideways in a big way and she desperately needed to talk to Maeve. It just wasn’t like her not to return calls, and she never went a day without checking in at least two or three times. Maybe she was over at the house and there was a problem with the phone there. She thought for a minute and then set her voice mail to forward her calls, pushed her chair in and picked up her coat.
She went by the house and talked to the contractor who said he hadn’t seen Maeve at all that day. Then she drove across town and took the roundabout, turning in to the parking lot of the Grand View Hotel. She went to the reception desk and asked for Maeve’s room number.
“I’m terribly sorry.” The clerk was sincerely apologetic. “But the policy of the hotel doesn’t allow me to give out that information. Is there some other way I may be able to help you?”
“I’ve been trying to reach her all day, is there any way you could check her room, or ask if anyone has seen her in the hotel today?”
The receptionist hesitated, but seeing the look of concern on the young woman’s face, she agreed to send someone up to the room.
“Have a seat in the lobby, miss, and I’ll check with the staff. Would you care for a cup of coffee while you wait?” She offered kindly.
Fifteen minutes later, the receptionist walked bravely up to Beth and gave her the news that the Tidwell’s had not been seen around the hotel and were not responding to a knock on the door.
“I’ll be happy to leave an urgent message for her, and if you’d like, I can take your number and call you if she shows up here.”
Beth thanked her and left for home, hoping fervently that Maeve would get in touch soon. When eleven o’clock came and went and there was still no word, and after calling Maeve’s sisters and then her family up north, she picked up the phone and dialed 911.
*****
Chapter 14
He stood in the woods next to the cabin looking out at the mist shrouded lake. She turned and saw him standing there, his arms outstretched, encouraging her to come toward him. She reached out for him and opened her mouth in a silent plea, then looked past him, surprise and fear showing on her face. Then she faded away into the hazy darkness.
He ran as fast as he could through the brush, trying to stay low but knowing he would be easily spotted through the naked scrub. He had to get there in time, the thought ran over and over in his mind. But where?
Ben shot strait up out of bed, his heart pounding so hard he felt like he’d just run a mad race for his life. All that fresh air must be messing with my brain, he thought, recalling the intensity of the dream and the strange reality that still clung like fine tendrils of smoke in the atmosphere. This was the second time he had dreamed of the woman with blonde hair and hazel eyes. And the cabin in the woods. Realization dawned and he recognized the setting as the one he and Jason had seen that morning. He must have seen it somewhere before to dream about it the way he had, but couldn’t for the life of him remember where.
It had turned out to be an enjoyable day, hiking and talking with his son like they were old friends. Riding out to Land’s End and looking out over the edge of the world had been an experience he wouldn’t soon forget, and the subsequent trip down the mountain afforded miraculous views of far distant mountain ranges. The sun cast shadows over the pale soft pink and gray ridges that melded tenderly into the muted purples and greens of the lower hills. He had gone through what once would have been about twenty rolls of film and though he knew they could be sold through any of his regular channels, he knew the real value was in the memories he had captured to later share with his son.
Ben took a quick shower and debated the value of shaving. He hadn’t bothered with the chore for at least the last ten days since he and Jason had left home in San Diego to spend two months on the road. His hair was a thick dark chestnut brown and was getting long enough to wave over the collar of his shirt. His beard had yet to show any signs of gray, which he guessed he could be grateful for at this stage of his life. He was thinking that maybe it gave him a little extra sex appeal when he heard movement coming from the other room.
Jason was up and pouring himself a cup of coffee when Ben came out of the bathroom.
“Hey Dad,” he greeted. “Where do we go today?”
Ben was surprised and pleased at the eager tone in his son’s voice, but he didn’t want to make a big deal of it for fear of bringing Jason’s attention to it and making him self- conscious.
“I thought we’d head up over the Colorado National Monument, what do you think?”
“Okay by me,” Jason approved and headed into the bathroom for a shower.
They came out of the elevator thirty minutes later to find a small official looking gathering clustered around the reception area. Two uniformed police officers were questioning the woman behind the front counter and a man Ben assumed must be a detective was showing a group of employees a small stack of photos. As he and Jason passed through the lobby the detective pulled himself away from the hotel staff and approached them.
“Excuse me, sir.” The detective called out to them, holding his hand in the air as if he were hailing a taxi. The guy had cop written all over him and Ben took Jason’s arm and stopped to talk with him, curious about all the commotion.
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“I’m Detective Worth with the city police department.” He flashed his identification and then continued. “I’d like to ask you a few questions if you have a minute.”
“Go right ahead.”
“Have you been staying in the hotel, sir?” Worth asked congenially.
“Sure, we’ve been here for the last two nights,” Ben offered. “What can I do for you?”
Detective Worth handed over a studio shot of an attractive blonde woman of around thirty cuddled up to two young girls. One was an enchanting little red head, the other an adorable blonde wearing a mischievous grin.
“We’re questioning anyone in the hotel who might have seen this woman.” Jason looked over Bens shoulder and his eyes widened in recognition.
“Hey Dad, I know her! Those are the girls I saw at the mall the other day, and I talked to them – not last night – but the night before, out in front of the hotel.”
“I’d like to talk with you, son.” Worth was suddenly intense and then to Ben “If you don’t mind.”
“What’s going on, Detective?” Ben asked with concern.
The detective was on the short side and stocky with a bit of a paunch just showing from under his brown tweed sport coat. He wore pressed khaki slacks and suede rubber soled shoes in deference to the task of being on his feet all day. Ben studied the man closely and got the impression that he was serious about his work. Whether or not he had the skills to match remained to be seen.
“Could you tell me when you last saw this woman?” Worth asked Jason, placing the photo in Jason’s hand.
“I guess it was Monday night,” Jason said, wrinkling his brow in concentration. He pointed to the front entrance and said, “Right out there.” Detective Worth began walking toward the doors with Jason in tow, Ben following behind.
“Can you tell me exactly where you spoke to her and approximately what time that might have been?”
“I guess it must have been about six, six-thirty.” Jason estimated, “because I was talking to Mark right about then. She came out with the two girls and we talked for a second. Remember dad, you asked me who she was.”