Level Five (34 page)

             
“Hi,” he finally said as he scooted his chair closer to her bedside.

             
“Hi yourself,” she replied, surprised by the deep rustiness of her voice.  “How long have I been here?”

             
“Two days.”

             
“What’s the damage?”

             
“I’m not sure where to start.  A broken eardrum, a dislocated shoulder, three broken ribs.  You are a mass of bruises and contusions and you were malnourished and dehydrated.” His voice cracked and he reached for her hand. It felt like the only place on her body that didn’t hurt.

             
“I’m here,” she said softly.  “Did I kill him?”

             
“Smashed him like a cockroach,” Jake replied.  He squeezed her hand.

             
“I wasn’t his first.”

             
“We know.  We’ve recovered six bodies from a rose garden behind his house.  Maggie Black and Kelly Paulsen were two of them.  We’re trying to identify the others.  I thought I’d lost you, Edie.”  His voice trembled.  “I thought I’d lost you. Rufus and I don’t know how to live without you.”

             
“Rufus is okay?”  As Jake nodded Edie began to cry. Tears trekked silently down her cheeks.  “That’s how he got me.  I looked outside and Rufus was down.  I ran to him and that’s when he grabbed me from behind.”

             
“He won’t hurt anyone else ever again.  We never gave up on you, Edie.  Frank and Colette, Lisa and Teddy, we all did everything we could to find you, but he was good at keeping his secrets.”

             
Secrets.  She’d been good at keeping her own. Those secrets had nearly cost her a chance at true happiness.  She pulled her hand from Jake’s.  “I have some things I need to tell you.”

             
“I know about your father, Edie.  I know what you’ve done for him and I know how he’s kept you broken and guilt-ridden about your sister’s death.”

             
A shudder of relief worked through her.  No more secrets.  “I had a lot of time to think. I realized that Greg Bernard victimized me by murdering the sister I loved, but my parents continued to victimize me by blaming me.  I wasn’t responsible for my sister’s death.  I refuse to be victimized another day longer.”

             
“That’s my girl.” His breath was warm as he leaned forward and gently kissed her cheek.

             
“Am I still your girl, Jake?  If I am, then ask me again.”

             
His blue eyes darkened and for a moment she thought he was going to tell her it was too late, that she’d waited too long.  He took her hand once again and she felt the tremor of his fingers as they squeezed hers.  “I love you, Edie.  Will you marry me?”

             
“Yes,” she replied without hesitation.  “Yes, I’ll marry you, Jake.  And we’re going to have babies and build a family and be happy.”

             
Jake laughed with unbridled joy. “I’d hug you but I’m afraid I’d hurt you.”                

             
“We’ll have lots of time for hugs.”  Edie reached and placed her palm on the side of his face.  “You know I’m not going to stop writing books.”

             
“And I have no intention of not being a Detective,” he replied.

             
“I think maybe it’s going to be a wild ride.”

             
He grinned.  “Then just grab on to me and hold on tight.”

              The wedding took place a week later in the backyard where Edie had been abducted.  She’d been determined to change the memory of her beautiful back yard from a bad one into an unforgettable good one.

             
Rufus walked her down the makeshift aisle, dancing with happiness at her side.  Teddy’s family was in attendance along with Frank and Colette. 

             
Colette had come to visit Edie in the hospital and the two had shared the horror of their experiences.  Colette had confessed about her break down, that she’d feared desire to help other woman by telling her story was nothing but foolishness.

             
Edie had assured her that she’d found much of her strength and coping skills from the conversations she’d shared with Colette.  The plan was for the two of them to finish their work on the book, and then Edie had her own story to write. It would be the truthful account of a woman who had been a victim for years. Only through her abduction and fear of death had she discovered the survivor inside her.

             
She hadn’t bothered to call her mother to tell her about her wedding, nor had her father been invited to the event.  Instead, the day before Jake and Edie had given Jimmy an ultimatum.  They would pay his rent one more time and then he would be out of the streets.  They hoped he would seek treatment. Edie refused to be responsible for his grief, refused to take on the guilt any longer.

             
She approached where Jake stood tall and handsome in a black tuxedo next to the minister who served the nearest local church.

             
Jake looked nervous, as if he expected her to bolt from the yard and run away at any moment.  She wasn’t running anywhere except into his arms. 

             
There was no question in her mind that Anthony had been a victim of his mother’s neglect, but he and he alone made the choices he’d made, had chosen the path he’d taken as a grown man. That path had led to the murder of six innocent women.

             
Paths.  The choices a person made ultimately defined them as people.  Her mother had chosen her path, one that took her far away from the painful memories of the child she’d lost.  Jimmy had chosen another path, one that had led him into the bottom of a bottle in a filthy motel that shouldn’t even exist.

For too many years Edie had chosen paths that kept her isolated from others, that guarded her heart from pain.  Today she was breaking that pattern, choosing a new path to walk, one that lead to love and happiness.

With this thought in mind she picked up the long skirt of her white dress and ran to Jake, Rufus barking happily at her side.

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