Seductive Truths (Seductive Trilogy) (40 page)

     Not a second later, my arm is being viciously tugged and I am forced from my comfortable position. 
‘
I’m coming, I’m coming.
’
  Stretching my legs and dusting off the dirt I ask her what she has in mind.

    
‘
I want to feed the ducks!
’

    
‘
Okay.  Grab the bag your mum put aside for you.  Good girl.  Now hold my hand and we’ll feed the hungry ducks.
’
  With her little delicate hand in mine we stroll over, well, Bethany skips, to where the ducks gather at the water’s edge. 

    
‘
Lovely ducks!
’
and she lets go of my hand to run towards them.

    
‘
Slow down Bethany, you don’t want to scare them away.
’
 

     She stops in her tracks and waits for me to catch up.  Making sure I have a firm grip of her hand, we stand at a safe distance on the grass verge.  Once warning her not get too close to the water I begin to break the two slices of bread into edible bite size pieces for the overfed ducks scattering around our feet.

    
‘
Here you go.  Now crouch down and hold your hand out flat.  Keep it still.  There you go.
’

    
‘
It tickles,
’
she giggles as several Mallard ducks peck at the crumbs in her open palm. 
‘
More!  More!
’
Bethany jumps up and down, unable to contain her excitement. 

    
‘
Okay, okay.  Stop jumping about like Zebedee and hold your hand out.
’

     Bethany jolts her hand away when the Geese join in so she reverts throwing the bread into the water instead.  It’s not long before another little girl in pigtails accompanies her.

     While keeping an eye out for Bethany feeding the scavenging mayhem of ducks, I take this chance to look about the beautiful surroundings. 

     The sunlight sprinkles its light across the pond, dancing in the ripples caused by ducks, pond life and young children throwing sticks into the water.  Reeds sway in the occasional breeze that glides through the air strumming to a beat only they can feel.

     Tinkling laughter drifts to my ears and I look over to the origin to see a picture to melt even the toughest of hearts.  A father swinging his young daughter in the air, beaming smiles lighting up their faces and then he lowers her to the ground to blow raspberries on her cheeks. 

     There is nothing dark about this place.  No mysterious men lurking in the shadows ready to jump out and take you with force.  No guns pointing at the temple of a trembling young woman fearing for her life.  No body floating in the murkiness of the waters who was once a loved member of a family.  There is nothing but fun and contentment caused by families, friends and loved ones enjoying each other’s company in an idyllic spot.  I for one feel at home in this little Garden of Eden.

    
‘
Auntie Lex?
’
 

     I peer down to the little bright-eyed girl tugging at my top.

     Crouching down and taking both her hands in mine I reply,
‘
What is it sweetheart?
’

    
‘
There’s a man that keeps staring at me.
’

    
‘
I’m sure he’s not staring at you…
’

    
‘
Yes he is,
’
she pouts. 
‘
He’s over there, staring,
’
and I follow the direction of her finger to a man on the other side of the pond on the far end that is, indeed, staring in this direction. 
‘
Why is he staring at me Auntie?  Does he want to feed the ducks?  We could share the bread.
’

    
What is it with this guy?  He better not be a paedophile after…hold on a sec!  He seems awfully familiar.

     The longer I stare at him the more his features are recognisable - the dark unruly hair for instance.  For some unfathomable reason I can imagine myself styling it into several plates because at one stage it got too long and he refused to get it cut.  And that beard.  It looks out of place, like it doesn’t belong.  He strikes me as a clean shaven type of man, but there is reason for the beard.  Maybe a disguise, like he is purposely trying to fade into the background.  Then there’s the stance.  Hands in pockets, shoulders slightly hunched, feet apart.  It’s the
“
little lost boy
”
look I remember someone else used to do whenever he didn’t get his own way.  Everything about this man is screaming out at me, but what?

     The more I try to figure him out the further my eyes squint and I feel a headache coming on.  The atmosphere around me simply melts away.  Then he smiles and my heart ceases to beat.  It’s like a ghost has tap
p
ed me on the shoulder. 

    
Am I seeing what I think I am?  No it can’t be possible!  It’s an illusion, it must be!  Then again, Bethany sees it too.  She was the one to alert me to him after all.

     I am pulled out of my spiralling mind by the tug of my top and the call of my name.  I peer down to see eyes brimming with tears staring at me, scared and confused.

     On their own accord my eyes drift back to the enigma of a man but he has disappeared.  I frantically dart my head back and forth across the park to no avail.  The man has vanished.

    
‘
That was my daddy,
’
the tiny voice squeaks and I gaze towards my niece to spot a tiny tear glide down her porcelain cheek, chin quivering as she tries to contain her emotion. 

    
‘
Come here sweetheart, it’s okay,
’
and I bend down, pick her up and cradle her in my arms.  Her chubby limbs wrap around my neck and she buries her face against my shoulder, quietly crying her heart out. 
‘
Come on; let’s take you back to mummy.  I think we’ve had enough for one day.
’

     I can feel her fragile form shiver against my body.

     As we approach Maggie stirs from her doze, but when she takes in the scene of her troubled child her motherly instincts take hold and her face morphs into one of concern.

    
‘
What happened?
’
  Maggie asks while lifting herself into a sitting position.   

     Before I have the chance to reply, Bethany wriggles from my grasp and runs towards her mum, tears now flowing freely down her pale face.

    
‘
I saw daddy,
’
she muffles from within the cocoon of Maggie’s embrace. 
‘
I saw daddy staring at me, over there,
’
she blindly waves her arm in the direction of the pond.

     Maggie frowns then looks up at me for elaboration. 

    
What am I to say?  I’m still trying to figure out what I saw back there and now she expects to explain!  How to reassure her without sounding completely out of my mind?

    
‘
Bethany spotted a guy staring at us from the other side of the pond.  She’s adamant that it was her dad.  He disappeared before I could get another look at him.  However, he did have a startling resemblance to Thomas, but that is all.
’

     Even as I explain to Maggie something inside denies the truth of my statement.  There’s something not right about the whole scenario, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.  All I can conclude logically for what I saw was that it was the result of the previous dream mixed with wishful thinking and hey presto, I start conjuring up Thomas look-alikes! 

     Wretchedness settles over Maggie as all the pain and memories come flooding back with the mention of her deceased husband. 
Wait a minute, is that hope I see?  It’s not possible; he’s dead for Christ’s sakes and never coming back!
 

     What was supposed to have been a lovely day filled with fun and happiness has turned to one filled with nothing but sorrow and aching hearts.

    
‘
What have I told you about daddy, Beth?
’
  Maggie says looking into her daughter’s weeping eyes, hers also starting to mist. 
‘
Daddy has gone to the big place in the sky.  Right now he is looking down at us and wondering what all this fuss is about.  So why don’t we show daddy how happy we are and give him that lovely smile of yours he adored.
’
  She nods and a weak smile appears. 
‘
That’s my girl.
’

    
‘
Can we go home now?
’
Bethany asks, her voice barely a whisper.

    
‘
Of course darling, of course.
’

     Just when they are finally getting their life back on track this happens.  It’s like watching a car crash.  You can see what’s going to happen but you’re powerless to stop the inevitable and when the wreckage occurs there’s only so much you can do to help without getting hurt in the process.

    
My life is seriously messed up. 
If finding out my fiancée is not the law abiding citizen he made out to be, but is in fact the murderer at the hands of my brother’s death,
falling
in love with a man who kidnapped me
and if experiencing
things only seen on television is not enough, now I have to contend with seeing phantoms of my brother!

    
Why is this happening to me now?

    
‘
Alex, we’re going now.
’

     Refocusing my attention, I see Maggie and Bethany standing hand in hand, all packed and ready to go, waiting for me to join them.

     
‘
I’m coming.  Let’s go home,
’
I sigh. 

     I only manage to walk a few steps when something catches my eye.  Glancing over to the clump of trees I see the man from earlier sitting on a bench in the shade, with the addition of a blue cap. 

     As I catch his eye my breath becomes restricted, my throat constricts and my lungs clam up.  It feels like I am suffocating.  The hairs on my arm stand on end, fingers slippery with sweat.  And yet I can’t look away.  I find myself drawn to him instead.

     He shuffles, flicking an imaginary bit of dirt off his jeans before finally looking up and locking eyes.  Eyes so expressive even from this distance. 
What is he trying to tell me?

     Coming to a decision he settles on tapping the peak of his cap with his fingers indicating…what?  A greeting?  A sign of knowing?  A connection?  Whatever the reason I find it unnerving, but that doesn’t stop me from nodding in reply with no inclination of why.

     Then he is up and away around the corner, disappearing as if nothing took place.

     Lost in the swarm of questions swirling around in my head I numbly trail after Maggie and Bethany, with the unsettling feeling as my shadow. 

     After Maggie put Bethany to bed at half eight, we return to the living room, sit down on the sofa with a glass of red wine and soft music playing in the background.

    
‘
How is she now?
’
I say to break the silence.

    
‘
She has finally calmed down and stopped asking every five minutes when her daddy is coming back from the park.  She still believes she saw him.
’

      I don’t know what to say so instead I look away and my thoughts naturally turn to the event that occurred back at the park.

     I take a sip of my wine to wet my lips.  The smooth liquid glides down my throat to settle in the depths of my stomach, warming my body throughout.  My eyes drift shut to soak up this comforting sensation.

    
‘
Who was he Alex?
’

     Eyes spring open and I swiftly turn to the soft whisper.

    
‘
Sorry?
’

    
‘
The man you and Bethany saw, who was he?
’

    
‘
How the hell should I know?  He was just a Thomas look-alike who kept on staring at us then disappeared.
’
 

    
‘
What are you trying to hide?
’

    
‘
What do you mean?  I’m not trying to hide anything…
’