Secrets in the Shadows (38 page)

“Well, darlin’, I guess I’d better go for now,” he told her. “I’m planning on sitting here and getting a little bit drunk tonight. I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I want to push it back for just a while longer.”

“Travis, please be careful. If you’re going to drink, promise me you won’t get out on the roads.”

“I won’t be going anywhere. I’m home, and I’m staying right here tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know about the service, okay?”

Saying goodbye, they hung up, and she put the phone down on the counter, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She said a quick prayer in her mind for Travis, and exhaled slowly, suddenly feeling exhausted.

So much had happened in the last week that it felt like months had passed instead of days. Finding out that Carl and Mary Margaret were back, having the shop vandalized, losing Charity and finding Margie, only to find out they were the same person, her budding relationship with Charlie. It was difficult to take it all in.

Walking over to the refrigerator, Lauren tried to figure out what to have as a late supper. Finally settling on some sliced cheese, a cup of yogurt and an apple, she grabbed the food and a bottle of water, and headed for the screened-in back porch. Making herself comfortable on the porch swing, she bit into the apple and set the swing in motion with her foot. As she was finishing her meal, the phone rang, and picking it up she saw David’s number on the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mommy,” said Ava. “Do you miss me?”

Lauren smiled. “Of course I miss you, Ava-bear. Are you having fun?”

“Oh, yes.” Ava proceeded to talk about her day. After a few minutes, she wound down. “I have to get ready for bed. Daddy wants to talk to you. Love you, Mommy.”

“Love you, too, sweetie.”

Ava passed the phone, and David came on the line. “Hey. How are you?”

“I’m okay,” she told him. “Sounds like she’s having a blast.”

“She is, and we’re enjoying having her.”

“I’m glad. I really appreciate you and Josie doing this, you know. It was a good idea. The next few days are going to be crazy.” She updated him, briefly discussing what she’d learned that day.

After they hung up, she stretched out on the swing, closing her eyes. She let her mind drift. Somehow, hearing Ava’s voice, so happy and innocent, had released some of the burden Lauren had been bearing. Despite everything she’d been through the last few days, she realized that whatever was coming next, she would be okay. She was surrounded by family who loved her, friends who were supportive and caring, and she just might be headed down the road toward a relationship like the one her parents shared. Suddenly the bad things didn’t seem so insurmountable after all.

The house was quiet and empty when Patricia brought Mary Margaret home after Carl’s funeral. The people from the church had held a small dinner after the services, and it had seemed to drag on forever.

“I’ve taken as much comforting as I can, Patty. Can you get me out of here?” Mary Margaret had asked and Patricia was glad to comply. The wailing and gnashing of teeth wore on her nerves, as well.

Patricia carried a box loaded with dishes of leftovers from the dinner into the house. Taking them to the kitchen, she started putting them in the refrigerator. Mary Margaret came into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

“I can’t believe none of the children showed up. Not a single one of them came to pay their final respects to their daddy. I don’t understand how they could be my children,” she said.

Exasperated, Patricia turned around and looked at her sister, hands on hips. “Are you serious? Mary Margaret, you’re the very one who told those kids not to come! Rob was at the visitation last night, and you made it very clear to him that none of them were welcome unless they helped Troy.”

Chin raised, Mary Margaret tightened her mouth. She folded her arms across her chest and refused to respond.

Patricia turned back to the open refrigerator and finished unloading the food. When she was done, she sat the box on the counter and washed her hands. Deciding to try one more time to get through to her sister, she walked over and sat down beside Mary Margaret.

“Those kids can’t help Troy. Right now, no one can. You know that. The judge denied bail, and his public defender can’t get that changed. What do you expect them to do?”

“They’ve got money,” Mary Margaret shot back at her. “They can hire him an attorney that will get him out of jail, and fight back against that woman. They won’t even let me in to see him.”

“Which woman is that, Mary Margaret? The one whose shop he allegedly destroyed or the one they say he killed?” Patricia asked, finally at the end of her rope. Standing, she pushed her chair back under the table and sighed. “Look, you’ve had a rough few days. We all have. Why don’t you try to get some rest?”

“I guess you agree with them then, letting Troy just sit in jail.” She stood and faced her sister, her arm raised and she pointed to the door. “You can just go right out that door and straight to hell for all I care. If you feel that way about it, I don’t want to see you again.” As Patricia stood there, stunned, Mary Margaret grabbed her arm and roughly pushed her toward the front of the house.

“Let go of me!” She tried to pull away. “Mary Margaret, you’re hurting my arm. Let go!” She finally was able to break free, and walked quickly to the front door, stopping on the porch and turning around. “Call me when you come to your senses. I sure hope it’s soon!”

~
* ~

Mary Margaret walked over and slammed the door behind her. Left alone, she stood in the hall shaking. She was so angry and frustrated, and no one seemed to want to help her. Iris had left, running back to her family in Georgia. All her children had turned their backs on her, except Troy. She didn’t know how, but they had managed to blame Margie’s murder on him. Even if he did do it, the lying whore deserved what she’d gotten. Mary Margaret was just angry that the other whore, Lauren, hadn’t gotten the same treatment.

As she walked through the house, she thought about everything those two little liars had done, all the agony she and Carl had gone through since they’d had to leave Indiana thirteen years ago. He would still be alive if they hadn’t lied about him. Ignoring the small voice that whispered about his confession, Mary Margaret came to a halt as she entered Carl’s bedroom. Someone had stripped the hospital bed down and straightened up the room, and it was as quiet as a tomb.

For several minutes, she stood there staring at that empty bed and then she turned, going down the hall to her own bedroom. Walking over to the closet, she reached up and pulled the chain, turning on the bare light bulb. She moved a chair close so that she could reach the shelf above the clothes, and climbed up, stretching to the back of the shelf for a small box. Pulling it out, she started to get down and stumbled, barely catching her balance on the clothes rod. Heart pounding, she closed her eyes and said a quick prayer of thanks, then stepped on down. She turned off the light and moved the chair back to the vanity.

She moved over to her bed and sat down, placing the shoe box next to her. Very carefully, she lifted the lid, placing it to the side, and put her hand back into the box. Pulling out a cloth-wrapped bundle, she unwrapped it to reveal a thirty-eight caliber snub-nosed revolver. Competently checking to make sure the gun was loaded, she emptied the bullets onto the box lid. She spun the cylinder and pulled the hammer back, glancing down the barrel. There was a little dust on the weapon, and she used the cloth wrappings to clean it. Satisfied, she reloaded it and placed the gun on her night stand. She put the lid back on the box and slid it under the bed.

Kicking off her shoes, she laid back on the bed, tired. She knew what she had to do now, and how to go about doing it. She would rest now, and later, after she awoke, she would take care of all the loose ends. It would be a messy business, but it had to be done.

Dusk had long since fallen on southern Indiana when Lauren finally decided to call it quits on Friday night. It was nearly nine-thirty, and as she stood up from her seat at the desk in the office above the shop, she realized how late it was. Grabbing her purse from the window seat, she headed downstairs, making sure she locked the staircase door.

The construction crew had left around seven o’clock, and had locked the main doors behind them. Walking through the shop to see what all they’d done that day, she couldn’t help being impressed. The five-person team had worked quickly and efficiently, getting all the tar off the floors of the kitchen and the dining room, as well as the larger puddles that had congealed on other surfaces. The tables and chairs that could be saved had been set aside, and the ones that could not be salvaged had been taken outside and put in the dumpster the contractor had rented. Glass from the displays had been shoveled up, and all the broken fixtures in the restrooms had been removed.

The contractor was eager to finish the job quickly, and he’d stopped by earlier that evening to check on the progress. He’d asked her then if it was okay for them to work tomorrow. “Given this tough economy, the sooner we finish, the sooner we get paid and get you back in business.”

Lauren had told him that was fine. “I won’t be here, but my assistant manager will be.”

Setting the alarm, she locked the back door and headed to her vehicle, parked across the street. There were a few people still milling around, especially in the park, where there was a small concert playing. She was glad to see that she wasn’t alone in the deserted downtown. She had felt the sensation of being watched at various intervals throughout the late afternoon. After looking around several times and not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she had finally attributed the feeling to the incredible amount of stress she had been under lately.

As she pulled into her driveway, she noticed that her porch light was out. “That’s odd.” The light was on a sensor that turned it on automatically when it got dark, and she was sure she had flipped the switch that morning. When she got out of the car, she heard something rustle in the short hedge behind her. She quickly turned and looked, but didn’t see anything. Slightly unsettled, she watched for a minute before deciding it must have been the neighbor’s dog.

“Lauren, you’re losing your mind.” Unlocking the door, she pushed it open and reached for the switch. Before she could flip it, a sharp pain pierced her lower back, and she fell as every muscle in her body spasmed, jolting tingles of electricity rushing from head to toe. All she could do was watch as the floor rushed up to meet her.

When the jolting finally stopped, she wasn’t able to use her muscles. Lauren felt her attacker step over her body and she struggled to cry out, but she could only grunt. She felt a hand on her shoulder as the person rolled her over, and she finally got a look at her attacker.

“Unless you want another shot of that Taser, you’ll keep your mouth shut,” Mary Margaret told her. She crouched down at Lauren’s head and, reaching into a bag she had set down on the floor, pulled out a roll of duct tape. Within seconds, Lauren’s hands were taped together in front of her at the wrists.

“Why are you doing this?” Lauren asked, finally able to speak. “What do you want from me?”

Mary Margaret slapped her across the mouth. “I told you to keep your mouth shut, whore! You’ll find out soon enough what I want. And if you say another word, I’ll cut your tongue out.”

Lauren could feel the effects from the Taser wearing off and her body returning to normal. She shifted her legs just a little, testing their response. She tried to remember everything she’d learned in the self-defense class she had taken, but her mind was still slightly muddled from the shock. She knew that staying calm was imperative, and keeping Mary Margaret calm was just as important.

Mary Margaret moved back down to stand at Lauren’s feet, kicking at her legs as she walked by them. She stepped to the door and removed Lauren’s keys from the lock, holding them in one hand.

“Stand up,” she ordered. To Lauren’s horror, she pulled a gun out of the bag with her free hand and pointed it at her. Lauren suddenly had the memory of being a young teenager and visiting Margie one summer, and of Mary Margaret taking them out into one of the fields and teaching them how to shoot. As she remembered the woman’s proficiency, she knew she was in serious trouble now.

“Damn you, get up or I’ll kill you where you lay.”

Struggling for balance on limbs that still felt shaky, Lauren drew her legs up underneath her body and managed to rise. The movement caused her to trip over the cords from the Taser prongs, and they were yanked out of her back with a vicious tug. She let out a muffled scream at the pain, and landed hard against the wall, hitting her shoulder in the process.

“Clumsy bitch. That had to hurt a little.” Mary Margaret laughed, and gestured out into the dark with the gun. “Let’s go. We’re going for a little ride, you and me.”

Walking ahead of her into the yard, Lauren glanced wildly around, looking for an escape route. She wondered if any of her neighbors would see what was going on, but she realized that the light from the streetlights did not reach far enough into the yard to illuminate them. Her heart sank.