Shadow Dancer (The Shadow Series Book 1) (20 page)

Angus stood on the edge of the metal bleachers with a Jeff cap adorning his head and a cigar hanging off his lip. Next to him, a much younger Moira, with flowing waves of red hair and horn-rimmed
glasses, stood beside him, cheering her son on in the Thanksgiving football game vs. St. Bart's Prep. On the bleacher next to them sat two girls - one, an older girl of about sixteen years of age with black hair and blue eyes, and another with bright red hair, braces, and freckles aplenty, who appeared to be around ten years of age. Angus leaned down to the red haired girl and said, "Clap for Jack, Bridgette! There he is!"

Bridgette leaned towards the dark haired girl, and pointed out her brother, in his scarlet helmet and gray football jersey. "There he is, Catherine!" she yelled, clapping excitedly with the crowd. Jack, then seventeen, was being herded off of the field along with his teammates. The Mustangs had just won their fifth consecutive Turkey Bowl against the St. Bart's Falcons, and it was thanks to a successful pass from quarterback Frank Kilpatrick to wide receiver Jack Morrow. Frank and Jack celebrated with Jack's family.

Angus leaned in towards Frank who now towered over him and said, "Laddy! How tall are ya know? Six-two? Six-three?"

Frank, still out of breath from playing, laughed and said proudly, "Coach measured me in at six-five."

Bridgette giggled behind her mother as she stuck her tongue out at Frank. Behind them, Catherine ran to give Jack a hug, as spectators on the bench looked on. One of them, a thin, blond-haired boy stared with deep discontent. Catherine noticed, and whispered to Jack, "Come on! Bernard is staring again." Jack looked back to see Kendricks on the bleachers giving him and Catherine a loathsome glare. Jack smirked at the boy as he walked off with Catherine.

The scene faded, and now a graduation ceremony in Cedar Hall was flickering brightly on the wall. A sea of students in scarlet robes were sitting in metal folding chairs atop a large stage. One by one, the students were being called to receive their diplomas, followed by polite applause.

"Sandra Johnson!"

"Bernard Kendricks!"

"James Kerr!"

"Francis Kilpatrick!"

At the announcement of Frank Kilpatrick’s name, the polite applause that had been afforded to others increased in volume and intensity. Most people simply clapped because Frank was the school's star quarterback, but his father in the back of the auditorium was happiest of all. He stood up and clapped boisterously from the second row. "It's about time,
Frankie!" Eamon Kilpatrick yelled, with a deep Scottish brogue. Frank walked across the stage with a big smile on his face. He collected his diploma before taking his seat again.

"Kimberly Leaman!"

"Christina Monti!"

"Andrew Morris!"

"Jacob Morrow!"

The same polite applause that was given to the other students was accorded to Jack. He confidently crossed the stage and collected his diploma, then took his seat with a smirk as the names continued. When finally Catherine Westfeld had received her diploma, the recession march had begun to play and the overjoyed students flooded from the stage into four separate
aisles as the scene on the projection faded again.

Light blinded the projector screen as the morning glare reflected off of the freshly laid snow on the ground. Catherine, dressed in white from head to toe, stepped onto the deck of her grandmother's thatched cottage. In her elegant satin white wedding gown with box pleats and a sweetheart neckline, she looked radiant and stunning. Her black hair, pulled up in a sleek French chignon adorned with a sprig of baby breath, stood out in stunning contrast against her white formal attire. Catherine walked delicately over the freshly laid snow, and with each step moved gingerly across the frozen earth. A bright red horse-drawn sleigh, pulled by a black draft horse waited for Catherine to take her to the church. Ernestine, who was dressed elegantly in a dark green long-sleeved gown, helped her granddaughter into a fur cape that protected her skin from the cool winter air. Angus came out of the house, and helped Catherine into the sleigh as they rode off together. While other cars skidded in the ice and snow, Catherine and Angus glided gracefully across the land.

The camera faded out on the sleigh’s departure and refocused on the front of St. Augustine's church. The only people from Catherine’s family to attend the wedding was Grandma Westfeld and her boyfriend Sam. Catherine had invited her family but because her mother declined, the others followed suit.

The gray stone church was adorned with a white wreath on its blue door, organ music flowing out of the church meeting the cool crisp air in harmony as two white-gloved men open the doors of the church, allowing Catherine and Angus in. The church was filled with guests, mostly from Jack's side. At the front of the church, the wedding party waited with Jack taking center stage with Frank by his side. The camera zoomed in on Jack's face, showing his nervous smile. As Pachelbel’s “Canon in D" played through the church, the camera panned out and faded once again.

When the camera refocused, a birthday party was well underway. The date stamp on the projector flashed June 3, 1976 at the bottom of the screen. Jack was standing over a small boy in a high chair in the kitchen of the Morrow house. A red balloon was attached to his highchair. Catherine was walking towards him with a chocolate cupcake that had a candle shaped like the number one on top, unlit. Bridgette, now sixteen, was standing excitedly next to Jack. She ran her fingers through the boy’s hair, and squealed, "Happy Birthday, Adam!"

The scene changed again. This time they were at a homecoming party in a large hall packed with people. Frank, clad in his Navy Service dress white uniform walked joyously through a set of double doors with a huge smile on his face, as the crowd screamed, “Surprise!” From the back of the room, a red-haired beauty burst from the crowd and ran to Frank excitedly, jumping into his arms giving him a kiss. The camera then focused on Jack’s face to show his eyes practically bugging out of his head. Frank, dropped on one knee and gave his girl a ring as the crowd cheered louder. While Moira cried, Angus clapped, and Catherine snapped photos joyously, Jack looked as if he was going to kill his friend. Upon seeing this reaction, Angus laughed, elbowing Jack in the gut until he laughed too. “Your friend just turned into your brother! It’ll be all right, boy!” Finally, Jack clapped along with the crowd, as Bridgette released Frank from her embrace, both of their faces red and smiling.

Quickly, the slide changed again, and the date stamp now read December 25, 1981. Children gathered around the Christmas tree as Bridgette and Moira sung carols. Cole and Natalie Piedmonte played quietly on the floor next to Blake, Tommy and Shane.  Jack cradled a newborn in his arms. From behind the camera, Angus spoke, "Let us see that angel's face." Jack brought Tristan closer to the camera's lens, filming her as she slept.

From the couch, Frank asked Jack, "Is Catherine coming down for breakfast?"

Bridgette answered, "She's sleeping. She had quite an ordeal last night, but I'll check on her in a bit."

The filming stopped abruptly and picked back up on January 2, 1982. The jovial scene gave way to a more somber one. Jack was sitting with his shoulders slumped on the couch. His five-o’clock shadow gave him the appearance that he hadn't shaved for several days. He grabbed the knot of his tie and loosened it, his wedding band reflecting the light from the camera. His facial features were overridden with emotion, an overwhelming combination of grief, exhaustion, sadness, and anger. He spotted the video camera, and glared at it. "Get that thing out of my face, Adam! Don't you have homework to do?!" The picture went to static before refocusing again on another scene.

The projector refocused, now showing the windowsill of Tristan's bedroom. A raven with its wings flexed sat on the windowsill, tapping its beak against the glass. Jack complained, "This bird has been pecking at this window for seven days straight! It always comes in the afternoon, and sits there all day, as if waiting for someone to let her in."

Jack turned off the projector, leaving his family in the dark. He turned on a dimly lit lamp that stood on an end table, and stood up to address his family. "I showed you that first, so that you could see that your mother and I had a happy life together. She was everything to me, but she was not well. She did not leave, like I said before. That was a lie. Your mother is dead. She was found lifeless on the ground by Croft Lake on Christmas Day, just a few hours after Tristan was born. She had drowned. The coroner wasn’t sure if it was suicide or foul play. I always had my suspicions, though. I'm sorry I lied, but I did it to protect you all."

Tommy blurted out, "That's bullshit, Dad!"

"Watch your mouth, boy!” warned Jack. “Now do you want to hear this, or not?" Tommy closed his mouth as quickly as it opened, desperate to finally hear the truth. Jack began.

“After Catherine and I started dating, she began to notice Kendricks giving her weird looks, showing up in random places, putting upsetting notes in her locker at school. I wanted to kick his ass. She wouldn't let me. Eventually, her grandmother got a restraining order against Kendricks on Catherine’s behalf. After a while he let up, starting acting like he just wanted to be her friend. She wanted to believe the lie. I never did. She believed that people could change. No matter how chummy he acted, I never trusted him.”

“After graduation, we didn't see him as much at first. A year after high school, Catherine became pregnant with Adam. The day after she told me, I proposed. We were married at St. Augustine's on December 1, 1974, and Adam arrived seven months later. We lived in the guest house at first, near the lake. It was just the three of us, so we were okay on space. But it was short-lived. Liam came two years later, and we moved into the main house, swapping spaces with Grandma and Gus. Catherine's anxiety had been kept under control until this point. When she became pregnant with Tommy, she was warned that if she continued taking her anxiety medication, she could harm the baby. She went off the meds, cold turkey. She agreed to try to relax and not think about Kendricks who was, at this point, sending letters every day to the house. She didn’t let me see them.”

“With each pregnancy after Liam, she became depressed and anxious. Paranoia began to run rampant. We had to hospitalize her twice because her thoughts turned dangerous. She began to isolate herself on the third floor where she would focus on her art, afraid to come out, thinking that he would be there. She felt that she was a danger to others in the sense that if Kendricks came for her, he’d come for us too. It wasn’t until later that I learned that Kendricks’ was writing her threatening letters. He had been for years. “

“She hid it from me because she knew I would go after him, and she didn’t want to see anyone get hurt. I was much more concerned with him harming her. The anxiety that resulted from his stalking was too much for her to handle, so she needed medicine. When she became pregnant with Tristan, things seemed to improve. There was rarely a moment when she didn't have a smile on her face. Then something changed. She went back to the dark place. I began intercepting the letters. Hiding them from her. I didn’t want anything to upset her further. That’s when we started noticing something peculiar.”

Jack pulled out a leather photo album, filled to the brim with old photographs. One page was bookmarked, and he opened it up to what looked like a birthday party. Catherine was smiling as the wind gently blew her dress. In one hand she held a glass of sweet tea, in the other a horseshoe that she was about to toss. In the background,
there is a table festively decorated with balloons and a colorful table cloth where Frank and Bridgette sat with a small brown-haired baby on her lap – Blake. Frank and Bridgette were in the midst of a conversation, and Bridgette was on the verge of laughter unaware of the figure standing just ten feet behind them in the forest clearing. Peering his face through the trees, Bernard Kendricks watched Catherine intently, almost oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be there.

No one realized he was there until they developed the film. Catherine had taken the film cartridge to the three-day photo booth at the Danville Shopping Center. She began flipping through the shots, smirking at each one, laughing at the photo where she had smashed a slice of birthday cake in Jack’s face after he told a particularly bad joke of which she was the brunt. She continued flipping through them happily when finally she came across the photo in question. She was about to discard it at the bottom of the pile when she abruptly stopped, having noticed something strange, something that didn’t belong. As she studied the face that was peering out of the forest brush, she felt the blood rushing to her head. Twenty-three photographs fluttered to the linoleum floor of the three-day photo booth, while Catherine stared in silence at the photograph. Molly Binns, just fifteen then, stared at Catherine.

“Mrs. Morrow? Are you okay?” Catherine heard the girl, but didn’t respond.