Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series) (6 page)

“If
you want to you can,” his nephew replied excitedly.

“Maybe
next time,” Jason chuckled as he stood up.  “Good night. Sleep tight and
all that good stuff,” he added, giving the boy’s shoulder a gentle shake.

When he
walked back into the living room, Misty and Susan were in deep conversation.
“He still calls me sometimes,” he overheard Susan say. “Mainly he just wants to
brag about his latest money making scheme, trying to rub it in my face.” She
shook her head like she couldn’t quite grasp the concept of someone bragging
about money they didn’t yet have. “I mean, does he think I haven’t hurt enough
as it is?”

Jason
cocked his head back slightly enough it went unnoticed as he sat down next to
Misty, once more. Why didn’t Susan just quit answering the jerks calls? Seeming
to read his mind, Susan sighed. “I know I should probably stop answering when
he calls but, I don’t know, I guess if I didn’t answer I’d always wonder if
that was the one time he was calling to, you know, say he was sorry or
something like that.” She looked away and pressed her lips together in an
attempt to keep the bottom one from trembling.

Jason
just sat in awkward silence, but Misty, in what seemed to be one swift,
graceful move, was at her sister’s side. “I guess I should be thankful that
Denton hasn’t shown much interest in our son,” Susan spoke, shaking her head as
she turned to look at Misty who, in turn, took her hand and patted it gently.
“Unless he changes, it’s probably best if things stay that way.” She paused and
tossed her hands in frustration, adding, “And now I feel guilty for saying that
because, you know, he
has
deprived his son of a father. But at least
I’ve never had to fight with him over custody.”

They
all sat in silence for a moment then something in Susan’s mind made her smile.
She wiped her eyes and sniffed. “When Ken came home from his game the other
evening, all he could talk about was Uncle Jason this, Uncle Jason that,” she
said, looking first at Misty then at Jason, giving them both a teary eyed
smile. “I’m just so thankful that you guys are a part of his life.”

“We
are too. He’s a special little guy,” Misty complimented.

“He
sure is,” Susan sighed, her tone that of happiness under a burden. “He’s not
like any other kid I’ve ever seen. And he loves going to church. He’s always
asking if Uncle Jason and Aunt Misty are going to be there this time.” She
smiled at them as she added, “I wish you would. Ken would have a fit...
 in a good way, of course,” she clarified, laughing a little as she wiped
one of her red eyes once more.

Jason
sat in awkward silence, unsure of how to respond. He had expected the invite.
It seemed that his sister-in-law would never completely give up on them
becoming churchy. Church was fine. He was glad she found… whatever it was she
found there, but Jason knew that church wasn’t for him or Misty either one.

Right
before he was going to politely decline her offer, Susan mistook their silence
for contemplation. Thinking they were actually considering it, her eyes light
up. “It would mean the world to Ken,” she exclaimed. “He thinks so much of you
and the Lord both. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if
y’all
got together,” she added with a laugh.

Her
determination made Jason feel bad about doing so, but he was going to have to
explain that they just weren’t interested. But before he could, she went on.
“Christ has made such a huge difference in my life, and now I want everyone,
especially those that are close to me, to experience this awesome feeling. Do you
know what it’s like to have all your past sins and mistakes forgotten? I do!”
she exclaimed. “It is amazing!”

Jason
felt as if he was being backed into a corner. Unable to control the annoyance
building up inside, he defended himself by saying, “Well, of course, some
peoples’ mistakes are worse than others.” Oops, was that out loud? He couldn’t
believe that he had just said something so cruel. Judging by the expression on
his wife’s face, she couldn’t either.

Susan
looked a bit surprised at his bluntness but didn’t appear ashamed of her past
errors. “That is true,” she agreed. “In the eyes of people some sins are
greater than others, but in God’s eyes all sin is equal.” She then cast a
tender look toward her son’s bedroom as she added, “But God’s forgiveness and
mercy allows us to see how our biggest mistakes can become our greatest
blessings.”

As he
sat there, tasting the bitterness of the foot he’d stuck in his mouth, Jason
heard his wife say, “I don’t know about
him
, but I’d like to go to
church with you sometime.”

Jason
found his tongue again. “You can’t go to church without me!” he exclaimed.

“Well,
it looks like the only way,” Misty said, turning to frown at him, “unless you
come with me.”

Jason
laughed at the suggestion. “No, I think you should come with me,” he said as he
stood. “The only way either one of you ladies will ever see me in a church is
standing over my dead body.”

With
that, he walked to and opened the door. Right before stepping out, he turned
back and announced, “I’ll be waiting in the truck.”

- - - - - -

Thunder
rumbled and lighting flashed over the distant peaks, eliminating them in a
dancing white light.  For a moment it seemed to make them come alive. The
still visible moon cast shadows on the ground that moved back and forth in unison
with the swaying trees.

Jason
sat alone on the porch watching the storm, wondering if it would come or go.
The troubled weather was good company for the mood he was in. Misty had wanted
to do nothing but argue all the way home from Susan’s house. Because of her
stubbornness, he had tossed and turned for what seemed like half the night as
he tried to banish the echo of her sharp words from his mind.

Misty,
of course, was taking up for her sister… but that wasn’t the worst part. The
worst part was the fact that she really was dead-set on going to church. That’s
what caused the argument. Jason knew he could fix all of their problems
himself, but she seemed to have forgotten that.

If
Misty started going to church, she would be telling him that she wanted more.
It would be like saying she wanted Susan’s God to be her hero, instead of
Jason. Susan may need a god but she didn’t have a husband. Not one to speak of
anyways. Misty had a husband who was trying. What made her think she needed God?

Finally,
with his mind scrambled, Jason rose from his seat, walked over to the edge of
the porch and leaned against a brace post. The storm was getting closer,
growing in intensity and violence as it came. Reaching and searching, lighting
forked out across the open and immeasurable sky. The unyielding strength of it
left him in awe. To witness something so powerful and consistent, never
changing… it shed a bright light on the faults and failings of humans, who
obviously change and become weak. The storm never did.

He
sighed deeply. Too bad nothing requiring a true hero ever happened in his life.
A bit of doubt slipped in, telling him he could never handle himself in a real
situation, but then Jason willed it aside. Of course, he could handle himself.
Jason knew he was an above average man who was in his prime. He stood six feet
tall – well, almost six feet tall – and weighed in at two hundred pounds of
solid muscle… well, almost solid muscle; he was working on it. He counted
calories, followed a strict weight lifting schedule and enjoyed looking at
himself in the mirror. No one in their right mind would dare stand in his way.
He was truly a stud and a hero… plus he had really nice hair.

If
only he could get Misty to see it… not his hair, his heroic side. Rescuing her
purse obviously hadn’t been dramatic enough. Jason knew this time he would have
to do something more memorable where something much more precious than her
purse was threatened. Judging from personal experience, nothing was of more
value to anyone than their own life. Lighting flashed. His eyes lit up. He had
another brilliant plan.

Pulling
out his cell phone, he dialed. There were two rings before he spoke, “Hey Dr.
Throckmorton, this is Jason... Yes sir, I know how late it is, but I have
another favor to ask.” He paused. “Can you help me get some guys to stage the
attempted kidnapping of my wife? I’ll defend her and become her one and only
hero forever.” Jason listened for a moment. “No, I don’t think it’s a little
crazy,” he spoke sharply. “And don’t forget about the part you played in the
purse theft. That could be bad for a local businessman’s reputation.” He stood
silent for a few seconds, realizing he had just resorted to blackmail. “Yes,
this will be the last time,” he assured the doctor. “Do this for me and I won’t
bother you again, I promise.” And so the storm raged on.

There
was a different feel in the air – possibly caused by some natural occurrence –
but, then again, perhaps it could not be explained. Heavy with the essence of evil,
as if some menacing presence lay slumbering beneath its surface, the night had
crept in, several hours prior having forced the last hint of light to retreat
from the western sky. A grave hush had settled over the park and, except for
the occasional street light, total darkness had encamped upon the land. The
swing set, the merry-go-round… they both sat silent and still, for even the
breeze had forsaken the grounds.

Branches
lay scattered across the park, fallen victims of the storm that had passed through
the night before. Jason kicked one aside as he walked down the abandoned
sidewalk leading to the playground, Misty close by his side. She looked scared
tonight. Jason was glad she didn’t know what he knew… which was there was
really nothing to be scared of. He wasn’t about to clue her in on that though.
For the hero to do his good deed, the damsel had to be in distress, so he did
nothing to try to ease her fears. Rather he did the opposite.

“You
hear about people getting attacked in parks like this one every once in a
while,” he said in laid-back fashion.

Misty
looked around nervously. “Yes,” she agreed as she moved closer to his side.
“Since that’s the case, why are we here?”

“I
know how much of a star-gazer you are, so I thought we could come out here and
find us a nice dark spot where we can see the stars,” Jason spoke smoothly as
they passed into a small circle of light that shone down on the area of the
merry-go-round.

Misty
froze in her tracks and cast a glance up at the sky. “I can see them from here,”
she said then gave a small shutter. “Can we go home now? This place is
kind’a
creepy after dark.”

“Awe,
come on, babe,” Jason said as he wrapped his arm around her waist, trying to
coax her to move forward once more. He failed. “You’ve got me. I won’t let
anything happen to you… I promise,” he insisted.

“Something
could happen beyond your control,” Misty pointed out, her voice still full of
fear.

Jason
remembered Dr. Throckmorton telling him about how to be in control. Jason
looked Misty straight in the eye, like he was sure any other hero would do, and
explained his new self-image to her. “I am in control therefore nothing can
happen that is beyond my control.” There, now that should make her feel better.

“Susan
told me that God is the only one who has complete control,” Misty responded
simply.

The
conspiracy thickens! That underhanded sister-in-law was trying to turn his wife
against him! “What other kind of nonsense did she tell you?” Jason asked, an
edge creeping into his voice… but his wife didn’t seem to be listening. She
became as still as a statue and so silent that she didn’t seem to be breathing.

“Jason!”
she hissed in a tense whisper. “We need to leave… now!”

“Why?”
Jason asked with both eyebrows raised. Boy, did she know how to work herself into
a tizzy.

“I
have a feeling, Jason,” Misty said in a fast, panicky whisper. Her whole
expression screamed terror. “I just have a feeling that something really,
really bad is about to happen.”

Jason
felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck. There, now she was getting him
all worried, too. Goodness, talk about fall apart. He had never seen her like
this before.

“What
are you afraid of – the dark?” Jason asked with a nervous chuckle, trying to
get her riled up a bit. He had to find some way to get her to start walking
forward again, or he would never get her over to the bank of the little pond
where he and the doctor had decided his heroic act would take place. What he
had envisioned was a nice, quiet, romantic walk with a flirty and willing wife.
That’s not what he was getting. If he’d known that she was going to be so
skittish, he wouldn’t have parked so far away from the pond. Jason was
beginning to wonder if he was going to have to drag her there.

“A
little late for a stroll in the park, isn’t it?” a voice from the darkness
asked, startling Jason. But once his heart quit racing, he gave an inward sigh
of relief. His accomplices must have gotten tired of waiting and decided to
come looking for him. He was thankful for their ability to improvise.

“Well,”
Jason spoke, “I would say there’s no law against it but…there is. Although it
would appear that the wife and I are not the only ones breaking it.”

“Well,
my goodness, aren’t we all rebels,” the voice laughed. “I tell you what, I
won’t tell on you if you won’t tell on me.” He paused. “But really, I’m not too
concerned about that, for you see, dead men tell no tells.”

“Oh,”
Jason said, playing along, “I wasn’t planning on killing you.”

Jason’s
remark was given a wicked sounding laugh. He began to make out the outline of a
man, then two, and finally three. Advancing forward, their forms began to take
shape, walking side by side. The one on the left had a drawn and ugly face that
sported a crocked nose. He looked much meaner than the others. The doctor had
done a good job picking him out.

The
one on the right side sported a hoodie pulled low, making his facial features
indiscernible, but with his gangster style get-up, he too looked the part.
However, the guy in the middle didn’t really fit the picture. His cheeks were
full to the point of making him look a little baby faced. Plus, he was a lot
shorter than the other two. No scars or tattoos marked his dark brown skin. No
anger in his dark brown eyes. But what really annoyed Jason was the fact that
the little runt was the only one advancing towards him. The other two split off
to each side before beginning to circle around.

Misty
was squeezing Jason’s arm. “Come on, Babe,” she pleaded, trying to tug him
away. “Run!”

Jason
turned to his terrified wife with what he considered to be a heroic grin on his
face. “It’ll be okay, babe. I won’t let anything happen to you.” The brave
statement made a bit of pride swell in his chest. In his heart, Jason just knew
he was discovering what it meant to truly be a hero. He felt nothing but raw
power coursing through his body. If only this confrontation was real. He could
leave these guys scattered across the playground, he just knew it.

Trying
to decide what he thought a hero would say, he spoke, “You sure you want to do
this?” Silently, unfazed by Jason’s tough guy impersonation, the little guy
continued on. “All right, but you’ve been warned,” Jason said, but his words
sounded a bit forced.

Misty
again tugged on his arm. “Please Jason,” she begged. “There’re three of them.”

“Yeah,”
Jason scoffed as he dropped his right leg back into what he considered to be a
fighting stance. “There’s only three of them. I guess they didn’t hear about
the three guys I whipped in the ally the other night.” He stressed “in the
ally” making it sound like he was an ally fighter… whatever that was. He’d
heard the term before anyways.

The
baby-faced Spanish kid approached with arrogance and too much confidence for
Jason’s taste. The doctor and this elf needed to be taught a lesson. It was a
bit humiliating that they thought the little guy’s size would do justice to
Jason’s abilities. Just for spite, Jason decided he was going to put a little
realism into his acting. If the doctor couldn’t respect his strength any more
than this then Jason was going to show him what happens when he sends a child
to do a man’s job.

Stepping
forward for the element of surprise, Jason threw a hard, looping right towards
the little guy’s head, anticipating that wonderful feeling of his fist making
connection... but it never came.

With
no impact to counteract his swing, Jason was left strung out. Lights exploded
in his head as a solid fist struck his jaw. The ground blurred, seeming to
spin. His legs turned to rubber. Several seconds ticked by as Jason staggered,
trying to put the world back into proportion. His assailant walked around
behind him, placing himself between Jason and Misty. And there he stood
patiently. What was happening? No one was supposed to get hurt. The doctor had
promised.

Jason
turned and faced his attacker, but behind the short young man, something else
caught Jason’s focus. Misty. The other two men were approaching her.

“Leave
her alone,” Jason shouted.

The
next few moments went by in flashes of darkness and light as his attacker
stepped forward and struck him in the face, again and again. Jason stumbled
backwards in an attempt to escape the blows… but they kept coming.

“What
are you doing?” Jason heard himself scream as he raised his hands in a desperate
attempt to protect his head.

Crash!
Jason smashed into something behind him and went down
on top of it. Cold steel. The merry-go-round. It shook and rattled as he felt
his attacker land on top of him. He lifted his head. It was slammed back down by
a fist – bounced up – was struck down again… and again… and again in brutal
double action.

Screams
coming from his wife registered through the brutal fog.  “Jason! Please
no… Jason!”

He
heard her struggling. They had her. “Let me go,” she screamed like an enraged,
wounded animal. One of the men cried out in pain. The other grunted like he’d
been hit.

“Stop
it!” Jason heard her cry. She sounded closer. “Stop hitting him!”

Her
blurry image appeared as she latched onto the kid’s shoulder and began trying
to drag him off. Jason felt his head finally come to rest. The attack had ended
as abruptly as it began. His assailant slowly rose from his position where he
had been straddling Jason’s chest then calmly turned and walked away a short
distance.

After
a moment, Jason could feel his wife run her hand under his head, lifting it up
slightly. “Jason, Jason, please baby, please be okay,” she cried.

He
groaned in response and tried to lift his head on his own but was unable. His
limbs didn’t respond to the commands he gave. He was limp and useless. His
pride and his strength were gone.

Now
his attacker seemed to have the manners of a perfect gentleman because, with
arms folded politely behind his back and with the sobriety of a funeral
director, he stood quietly by. Yet, when the ugly one approached and cocked his
foot back as if to kick Misty, his calm composure shattered. “Hey!” he yelled
with a wild, threating look in his eyes. “You hurt her, you answer to me!”

“But
she bit me,” the ugly one defended, holding up his wounded thumb.

“Well,
if she’s got rabies we’ll vaccinate her but probably just shoot your worthless
hide,” the leader spoke harshly.

Blood
covered Jason’s face and as Misty tried to wipe it away with the bottom of her
shirt, she was talking to him. “Come on, baby. Sit up. Please – talk to me,”
she begged.

He
could feel her tears landing on his face as her pleas fell on his ears. Her
arms circled around him. He felt her try to lift him up. He had to get up. He
felt her necklace dangling against his cheek. She was tugging on him. He could
feel the desperate tension in her body. She was forcing him up. With all of his
might Jason tried to sit up… but he was still too limp. She lowered him back
down.

Jason
heard the leader yelling, “Can you two idiots handle her or have I got to do it
myself?”

Handle
her? They could only be talking about Misty. Jason knew she had only one
chance. “Run!” he ordered in a harsh whisper. “Run!”

“I
can’t leave you, Jason,” she pleaded.

“You have
no choice,” he uttered in a raspy voice.

“I
can’t leave you,” she repeated in a decided voice as she buried her head next
to his. He felt her grip tighten as she locked her hands together underneath
him.

“Come
on, let him go,” the ugly one instructed Misty.

In
response, she clung even tighter. Jason tried to return her embrace but
succeeded in only getting one of his arms up to rest on her side.

“Now
darling, don’t be scared. I promise we’ll take good care of you,” the ugly one
sneered as he bent over and latched onto her arm. The other guy, still hidden
by the hood, stood on her other side and followed suit.

Jason
felt himself being torn back and forth as if two hungry wolves were trying to
ripe the flesh off of his carcass. His wife clung to him with tremendous
strength, but having savage forces pulling on her from each side, her grip
finally began to break.

“No!”
he heard her scream. “Please, leave us alone!”

A few
more forceful yanks and their strength prevailed, pulling her away. And two
halves that made each other whole were torn apart.

Jason
stretched his hand upward desperately, grasping... nothing. “Misty,” he voiced
hoarsely. “I’m sorry, Misty.” But his remorseful cry was unheard over the
scuffle.

He
could hear them dragging her away as she kicked and cried out his name, and
there was nothing he could do to rescue her. Then her screams and pleas became
muffled, soon dying off all together. He could still feel the warmth from where
her body had lain against him. She was as close and there as ever one moment…
the next she was gone.