The Door at the Top of the Stairs (21 page)

Sandra lazily pushed back from Jesse. “Almost done, Honey."

She leaned in again and ran her hands up and down Jesse’s arms. Sandra's whisper tickled her ear. “I think your hunt club might be just what the doctor ordered." Sandra slowly peeled herself off, took a tray from a lower cupboard and handed it to Jesse. After she filled the tray, she winked and motioned for Jesse to precede her into the living room.

Jesse refused to look at Morgan as she set the tray on the coffee table.

Colonel Adams said, “There you are. I was beginning to think you got lost."

Sandra poured the coffee and served the cake. "Jesse and I just took a minute to get acquainted, that's all, Dear." She turned to Morgan. “Do you take cream and sugar?"

Eyebrows raised, Morgan said, “No, black is fine, thank you."

Sandra handed Morgan her coffee.

Jesse sat on the couch and, as she accepted a plate, held Sandra's eyes and inclined her head. “Thank you."

"My pleasure."

Jesse glanced at Morgan, who had her head in her hand rubbing her eyes. There was more small talk about the renovation of the farm and where the Adams might purchase some excellent thoroughbred crosses for hunting. Toward the end of the meeting, Sandra moved to the arm of her husband's chair and ran her hand over his chest. “You know, James, I have a good feeling about this hunt club. I'm looking forward to riding with them sometime soon."

Jesse felt Morgan's eyes on her, and she pointedly stared at the ceiling, biting her lip to keep from smiling. When they walked out to the truck and the Adams had gone back into the house, Jesse tried to jump in the back. Morgan grabbed her by the belt and pulled her down. "Inside." It wasn't an offer or a request.

Jesse got in and pulled the door shut. Morgan pushed the gear shift into first and headed out the long driveway. She started tapping her fingers on the wheel again, and Jesse sank down in the seat. “You said to be nice."

Morgan burst out laughing and playfully slapped Jesse on the head. “Next time I tell you to be nice, tone it down a little, will ya?"

Jesse grinned and at least had the decency to blush. They drove back into town, and Jesse waited in the truck while Morgan went into the bank. When she returned, she backed the truck up to the feed store ramp and told Jesse to start loading sacks of high performance feed.

The employee who came over to help seemed somewhat familiar to Jesse, and when he started talking, she thought she recognized his voice from the night she’d gotten so drunk.

He grabbed a bag and threw it into the bed of the truck. “I hear Cody got fired. He's pretty pissed off."

Jesse continued to load the truck, not bothering to answer.

The man stopped to wipe his brow with the back of his sleeve.

"Listen, I'm sorry about the other night. I like Ms. Davis and Dr.

Caldwell. I used to ride with their hunt until my parents sold my horse. They need to know to keep their eyes open for a while. You too. I don't think Cody'll just slink away into his hole."

Jesse stopped loading while she took a breather. “Why don't you tell them yourself?"

Morgan walked up behind them and counted the bags already in the truck. “Tell who what?" She finished counting and leaned her arm on the side of the bed, waiting for an answer. Jesse and the man started piling sacks on again, and Morgan said, “Kai? Do you need to tell me something?"

Kai shoved another bag up on the pile. “No Ma'am."

Morgan watched them for a second, then said, “Three more bags and that'll do it."

They finished loading the bags on the truck around eleven-thirty, and Morgan told Jesse to come with her. They went out to the main street where Morgan had to talk to everyone they happened to pass. After the fifth person stopped them, Jesse's impatience started to show. "Do you have to talk to every single person who lives in this town?"

Morgan kept walking. “I've lived here forty years. This is a small town and these are all my friends. Get used to it."

"You mean you know every move I make here before I make it?"

Morgan smiled. “Pretty much."

A woman called to Morgan from across the street. Morgan turned, and Jesse growled behind her. Morgan reached back, opened the door to Smokey Joe's, and pushed her inside. “Here, go in and order lunch. Order me a hamburger and I'll be in when I'm finished talking."

Jesse wandered in and found a table. The same woman who'd served her the first time came up to the table. "Well, I saw Ms.

Davis push you in here. She cares enough to shove you, you must be all right." The woman smiled and took out her order pad. "Now, I know she'll want a hamburger and a soda. How 'bout you?

Jesse noticed the clock, and her stomach turned when she saw how close it was to one. “Just...um, just some iced tea."

"Now you gotta eat, Honey. You look like a scarecrow on a stick. How about some fried catfish?"

Jesse closed her eyes and tried not to visualize greasy fried fish. She put her head back on the bench seat. “Just some iced tea."

"Now here comes Ms. Davis.” The waitress turned to Morgan.

“Ms. Davis, you need to feed this woman. She says she don't want no food, just some iced tea. You gonna let that stand?"

Morgan sat in the bench opposite Jesse and took in the green pallor around her eyes. "Iced tea'll be fine for now, Frieda, thanks."

"All right then, I'll be back with your burger and soda pretty soon. I'll bet Jack already has your burger waitin' for you without me even havin' to order it." She smiled at Morgan and started back into the kitchen.

Morgan called after her. “Frieda, could you ask Jack to make the burger to go, and we'll just have our drinks right now, please?"

"Yes Ma'am. I'll bring them right out." Frieda grabbed two glasses, filled them, and brought them over to the table. "I heard you fired Cody. I'm glad. I've never heard anyone have as foul a mouth as that boy." She stepped over to another table and greeted a new customer.

Morgan peeled the wrapper off a straw and stuck it in Jesse's iced tea. "Seems like everyone's happy I fired Cody."

Jesse brought her head forward and rubbed her temple. "That guy at the feed place said you and Ryland need to watch your backs. He said Cody's really pissed off."

Morgan sat back in her seat. “He's really spreading it around town. I've had four people warn me about him today. Oh well, I've been threatened before, and I'm sure I'll be threatened again."

Jesse pushed her fingers into her temple, harder this time, and Morgan tried to distract her. “Did you notice Smokey favoring his right front foot the other day?"

Jesse thought a minute. “No, did you?"

"I thought he might have been. Keep an eye on it. Have you seen anything else that might be thrush on Cabo?"

"I've been lookin' every day. I'm not sure what I saw, but I guess he's all right ‘cause I haven't seen it since." She brought her hand down and played with her straw. “You don't think Cody would hurt any of the animals, do you? I've been thinking maybe I should sleep out in the aisle between the horses just to make sure he doesn’t try anything with them."

Morgan nodded. “To be honest, I've been patrolling at night, watching for him myself. I'll be glad if the sheriff can lock him up for a while. Maybe I'll get a decent night’s sleep."

Morgan signaled for the check, and Frieda brought it over with the hamburger in a brown paper bag. "You have a wonderful day, Ms. Davis. And make sure you feed this woman or she's gonna dry up and blow away."

Morgan thanked her, and the two of them walked back to the truck and drove back to the farm.

Chapter Twenty-Two

It was almost one o'clock when they pulled in the gate, so Morgan parked up next to the house. She’d gotten out and started up the steps when she realized Jesse was still sitting in the truck.

There was a bush directly behind the tailgate blocking her way, so she walked around the front and opened the passenger door.

Jesse had her head back with her eyes closed.

Morgan reached around and undid the seat belt. "C'mon, we're not gonna let that bastard win. The three of us are ten times stronger than he ever was."

"I can't do this. I cannot do this."

Morgan felt Ryland behind her, and she backed out to let her in. Ryland reached in and practically pulled Jesse out of the truck.

"Let's go." Jesse had to put her feet on the ground or end up sitting in the dirt. "Morgan and I'll drag you in if we have to, but we're moving forward today, period."

Jesse's stomach heaved and she detoured to the side of the porch to bend over the railing. Nothing came up, but she took a deep breath and stayed bent over anyway, waiting for her stomach to settle.

Ryland looked at Morgan. “All right then, we'll do it out here.

Would you mind bringing three of the Adirondack chairs up for us?"

Morgan went out onto the lawn and, one at a time, carried three of their wooden lawn chairs up onto the porch. Ryland set one with its back to the railing for Jesse and put the other two facing it so they blocked any exit Jesse might decide to take.

Ryland sat, and Morgan walked to the railing and leaned on her arms next to Jesse. Ryland plunged right in. “Jesse, the last time we tried this, you self-hypnotized. In case that happens again, I want to set up a word I can use as a cue for you to snap back into the present."

Jesse turned to face Ryland.

"If you hear the word
Cody
I want you to get so pissed off it brings you right back here. Do you understand?"

"I think so. I'll try."

"Then let's get started. I want you to think about the dirt room and the men coming down the stairs carrying their tools."

Jesse just stared at Ryland.

"Are you there?"

A shake of the head.

"What are you thinking about?"

Jesse leaned back against the railing. “Nothing, there's nothing there. I'm just blank."

Ryland rested her chin on her fingers. She knew what was happening, and she wanted to move slowly. "What do you remember of our sessions?"

Jesse tried to remember something—
any
thing—they'd ever talked about. "Nothing. What's wrong with me?"

Morgan turned from the railing and raised her eyebrows at Ryland, obviously confused.

Ryland smiled at Jesse. "Don't worry, Hon. We just need to go back far enough where the memories aren't so threatening to your subconscious. Do you remember your partner, Pete?"

A face flashed across her vision. "Yeah."

"Good. Can you hold him in your mind, or are you just getting a quick glimpse?"

"A quick glimpse."

"We'll wait until you can slow the movie reel down and pause it on his face."

Jesse closed her eyes and realized it
was
like a movie reel. She concentrated on slowing the flipping pictures until it stopped on Pete's face. "Okay, I see him."

"Move the movie forward and tell me what happens. Wait, Jess—why don't you grab a seat?"

Morgan took Jesse's arm and she pulled it away. "I can seat myself." She stepped around to the front of the chair and sat.

"All right, close your eyes and move the movie forward."

Jesse closed her eyes, then fainted in the chair. Morgan grabbed her before she slid onto the floor and eased her back into the chair. “You knew that was gonna happen. How do you know these things?"

"The same way you know the second a hound loses the scent."

Ryland sighed. “This might happen a lot today. Morgan, I didn't get a chance to talk to you before we started. Whatever happens today, whatever she says or does, you absolutely have to keep your cool. Today it is imperative."

Morgan glanced down at Jesse and nodded.

Ryland continued. “I don't think you've noticed, but during the earlier sessions, each time we got into a critical memory, her subconscious provided a different defense mechanism, headaches, nausea, fainting, anger—anything to try to stop us from learning what happened. Today, in the first few minutes, we've seen them all except anger, and I'm willing to bet that'll be next."

Jesse groaned, and Morgan pulled her chair close and sat.

Jesse pushed up from where she was draped over the arm of the chair and rubbed her temples. “The headache's starting again."

"Tell me what you saw when you moved the movie forward."

"What do you think I saw? How many times do I have to say it?" Her head hurt, and lately it was Ryland who made it hurt.

"I'm just trying to help you remember, Jess. What did you see?"

"Blood...a lot of blood."

"Whose blood?"

"Goddamn it, Ryland, whose blood do you think? The man without the head! His blood!" Jesse was getting tired of Ryland's games and her stupid questions had just made the pain increase tenfold.

"So your movie fast forwarded on you. No wonder you passed out." Ryland chuckled and smiled at Jesse, who stopped rubbing her temples and lunged.

Morgan had just enough time to throw her arm between them as Jesse shouted at Ryland. “You fucking bitch! You think it's
funny
? You're fuckin' playing with my mind! You're fuckin'

playing
!"

Ryland hadn't moved an inch. She calmly put her chin on her hand and waited. When Jesse stopped yelling, she said. “It's your own mind that's playing the games Jesse, and I think after today, you'll have some control back."

Jesse grabbed her temples again. “Fuck you!"

Ryland reached up and touched Morgan's back. Morgan let go and sat back in her chair, more alert than she'd been a minute ago.

Ryland crossed her legs. “Jesse, put yourself in the dirt room, look up at the stairs, and see the shadows coming down the stairs."

Jesse continued holding her head.

"Are you there?"

A nod.

"Good. Now, watch each man come in with his tools."

Jesse's breathing escalated as she watched them set up their equipment. One man carefully hooked the cord with the clamps onto the positive and negative posts on a battery. At the end of the cord was an inverter. He walked to the stairs where he'd left the fire starter, unwound the electric cord as he came back and plugged it into the inverter. She saw it perfectly, and understood exactly what was happening.