Prologue
Thursday, September 21st 2006
An early anniversary gift.
That was what he had told her Tuesday evening following dinner, hoping the sight of it would cheer her, make her smile, ease the things that she carefully attempted to conceal from him...and the one thing that would thrill his own heart was knowing he had made her happy. So over the cups of Millstone vanilla crème flavored with Kahlua, over the plates filled with samples of bourbon pecan pie and cheesecake kissed with the sweetest raspberries and strawberries, he handed her the package. There was the usual puzzlement...then came the surprise accompanied by an almost girlish gasp. After a few moments of silence she stammered “Oh...Oh my...” as the tears came to her eyes and he heard a choked, soft spoken “Thank you...” in reply.
He could hear it all now as it replayed in his head, as clear as the night it occurred, including all the little comments about how long she had sought what was now protectively held against her bosom. Most of all, however, he could still smell her fragrance when she finally came to his side, the blend of amber and myrrh, carefully layered and applied as she always did, so as to nudge the senses of the one in proximity to her. The scent remained upon the book’s hard cover – he caught the whiff again when he held it close and it only made his smile increase.
It was difficult to believe that – as strong as her presence was within the room considered her office, within their home – she had been gone less than twenty-four hours.
And then something jarred inside him. A voice, a sensation, he was uncertain and yet it felt very familiar to him. Perhaps he momentarily dozed and suddenly awakened with a jolt – the room was slightly dim right now, with only the natural light peeping through the partially opened curtains near her desk, just the type of conditions that would make one want to sleep, and coupled with him being tired....Whatever happened, he glanced at his watch and sighing deeply, ran a hand over his face. It was time he tried to do anything that would help get him past all this, no matter how mundane it might be and what he had intended to do from the time he awoke that morning. Now if he could only practice what he preached as the old saying went. With that, he carefully returned the book to its’ place on the cherry wood desktop, reminded himself to make sure someone brought him fresh flowers from the greenhouses or helped him cut a few roses in the garden (Just need everything to be bright), then made his way out into the hall.
The walk even seemed longer than usual, no matter how long his strides, for he caught himself – and then immediately shook himself – pausing too many times, as if listening: for the closing of a car door, for her footfall, for the mezzo-soprano that often filled the house when a song she loved came to mind or caught her attention on her I-Pod or XM-Satellite. Just the sound of her voice, whether happy or sad, frustrated or excited...in the midst of the prayers he had often overheard during the last week or simply hearing the smile in her words when she said his name. The house, their house, had captured her spirit from the moment he carried her across the threshold nearly five years before, appearing to thrive from her, exactly as he once hoped, but now....
“Huh...” he grunted on walking out the front door, shrugging as a reaction and rubbing his hands together. Nip in the air already. Guess it really IS fall. At this time the day before, the temperatures were comfortably warm, caught between the clinging final days of summer and the briskness of the oncoming autumn, but now he immediately noticed how much cooler it had become. Cooler but not cold. Boy was he used to cold; made this seem hot in comparison and although he inwardly chuckled on imagining a few of his brothers seeking out warmer climes, he promised not to lay on one of his Oh this is nothing. You should have been in Mystery back in…and then he would fill in the month and year that happened to occur to him. No, he would be nice and it wasn’t as if it was about to snow or a couple of his siblings about to become frozen in blocks of ice. This was the sort of weather he loved, with that particular, indescribable scent in the air that spoke of leaves changing hues as a brisk wind blew them from their branches, of the harvest.
Crisp – that’s how she’d describe it. Crisp. “Do you feel that?” she’d ask me and she would sit right out on the terrace, with a cold breeze blowing and just laugh and keep at that damn laptop or writing in a notebook, like it was nothing. Start talking about working crime scenes that made this feel hot in comparison. She’s as bad as me sometimes....No...no...it’s good weather. Feels good. I like this. I guess it’s fall there too...he considered absent-mindedly, then reached for the blower left against one side of the door. “And I need to stay busy before I drive myself nuts,” he muttered determinedly, and in one motion was down the three front steps, reminding himself – as he glanced back over his shoulder – that it would be nice to decorate the entrance before tomorrow, then stepping into the circular driveway began to clear the pavement of the few leaves that invaded it. “Just anything to keep busy....Not think....”
Not think about their last dinner together on Tuesday....Not think about their last conversation....
Not...think....
They just took her in, John....Yes, yes...Yes, I was with her. They let a couple of us in there with her, but they won’t let you use a cell phone back there so she couldn’t call you again. She wanted to, but you know...the machinery and all....Yes, the machinery – the cell phone could affect the electronics somehow, just like on an airplane. She was fine....Of course she was nervous, but she was doing okay. It was sort of the waiting game, you know. They had to get her ready. He had not cared to hear that her temperature was slightly above normal or that her blood pressure was heading way above borderline, indicating her anxiety despite all the calmness she openly talked. She was talkative though....You know how she gets when she’s nervous....Oh no, no, when they got her it was finally time so we just all said we’d see her later and she was calling back....Well, she said to tell you she’d talk to you as soon as she could....You know she wanted you to be there.
Yeah, he wanted to be there as well, and here at a time when she needed him most....
The honking horn caused him to look up. Narrowing his eyes, it took him a second to recognize the ‘Atacama Sand’ Land Rover Freelander Sport heading up the main road at almost reckless speed, puffs of smoke seemingly appearing in its’ wake, but almost immediately it dawned on him as to who it was. The three-door hardback had arrived at the Point about a week before, exactly as its’ new owner had ordered, and within the hour it was already off-roading, a few of the more adventurous residents taking a ‘wild ride’ with the proud driver. (That reminded him: he wondered if the 2007 models he and Tina had been studying online would soon be making an appearance. That would be nice, for her to find a new car in the garage when she returned home....The sickening word if suddenly forced its’ way into the forefront of his mind, and he immediately shook it off, thinking Get behind me Satan as he did, one of those verses he had been taught as a child and never forgot. Nothing was going to happen – nothing bad; he had to shove those doubts away).
But he always drives that way, John now chuckled as he stepped onto the lawn when the SUV swerved into the driveway, coming to a smooth stop despite the speed, a maneuver that would have made any NASCAR driver pulling into a pit stop proud. “I don’t know how...”
He was not surprised to see Terry Thorne climb out from behind the wheel, but realizing that Maximus was in the passenger seat was even more surprising for the Spaniard still maintained a minor dislike of very fast vehicles, preferring his fast horses instead. Of course, it could also be a matter of riding with drivers like Terry...or Savannah...or Colin...even Tina....Right now, the General appeared a tad shell-shocked, which was not a description one would ever give him!
“John! G’day mate!”
Biebe smiled, turning off the leaf blower as he did. “Terry.”
“John...good morning.”
“Maximus.” Despite his desire to be alone, he was actually glad to see them. “So what brings you two all the way out...”
“Brunch,” Thorne said in the most matter-of-fact way as he stepped around the front of the vehicle.
“Brunch?” John looked confused.
“Too late for brekkie, mate, so...brunch.”
The former sheriff shook his head. “I...I don’t....” Were they expecting him to whip something up?
Maximus was smiling, realizing that his brother was obviously bewildered. “What Terry is trying to say is that we realized you may have not yet had your breakfast, what with matters on your mind, so we thought we would take a chance and...well...bring you back to the Tavern.”
“Oh I uh...”
“You’ve eaten already then?” Terry quizzed, one eyebrow raised.
“Um...” Did having a cup of instant coffee count? “Um....”
“That means no. I told you he was out here starving,” Terry told the General, giving the other man a nudge in the arm. “You’re coming down to the Tavern with us, mate. We’re here...” and he took the leaf blower out of John’s hands, “to kidnap you.”
John groaned and shook his head again. “Kid...Kidnap? I don’t...I don’t need to be kid....”
“We think you do! Now where do you want me to put this?”
“No...I...uh...I have things to do out here in the yard. Fellas...this is...this was nice of you, really, really it was, but you should have called...”
“Had we called first,” Maximus countered, “you would have immediately have told us no, don’t come. So this was our way of – as Jack might say – never minding the maneuvers but coming straight at you.”
“Jack, eh?”
“He would have come himself, but he declared he would rather brave a Category 4 hurricane off the coast of the Carolinas than ride with Terry.”
“Hey!”
“Jack said it, Terry, not I....Now...you haven’t had breakfast yet, have you, John?”
Hesitant, John sighed. “Nah....Coffee I think. Yeah...Yeah...coffee,” he added half-heartedly. He thought of hearing the grinder in the mornings, the distinctive scent of fresh roasted beans spilling out of the kitchen and throughout the house, and then, a short time later, the drip-drip-drip of the coffeemaker accompanying the sounds of broiling bacon or fried Kentucky country ham. And biscuits, the way her grandmother used to make them she often said. You’re going to get me fat, darlin’. But I know some great ways of working off the calories. He had missed that today; had not even considered it, going instead for something simple to warm his stomach upon awakening.
“Bet it was that instant stuff wasn’t it...what you only drink in an emergency. God knows I’ve lived on it when I couldn’t get a decent....Where do you want me to put this?”
“Oh uh...um...the garage I guess, Terry, but...but Max...I...I can’t go.”
“Why not?” Maximus asked as Terry headed towards the three-car garage adjacent the house.
“If they call....”
“Bring your mobile with you. Have your home calls forwarded to it. See? I have been around long enough to know these sorts of technological things,” he added, winking, which caused his brother to smile. Then gently placing a hand on either side of John’s arms he continued, “John...come...please. It’s not good for you to be alone right now. I know...I know you want to be...” he interrupted before the Alaskan could complain, “but do you think she would really want that? Besides...if we let you sit at this house and go hungry, she’ll be after all of us, and I’ve seen your wife in a temper. I would rather face...”
“Category 4 hurricane winds or Germanian hordes?”
“Either,” Maximus chuckled. “So you’ll come back with us?”
“Why brunch?”
“I told you, mate...it’s too late for brekkie now, but Adalia said she’s whipping up some fancy Southern dishes for brunch and will even toss in omelettes and Belgian waffles to order...so we told her there would be one more,” Terry explained as he returned to their side. “So did you talk him into it, Max...or do we have to take him by force?”
The General smiled. “He is coming quite peacefully I think.”
“Good onya, John. I wasn’t looking forward to a wrestling match this morning. Do you need anything? Mobile?”
“In my pocket.” He double-checked, then took a glimpse at the screen to make certain the sound was at maximum and that he had not missed any calls. No...nothing.
“You feel safer if everything’s locked up? We had a few lurkers at the Hotel and the Tavern today and they were doing a lot of wandering...” Terry told him, but John was already at the door and turning the lock.
“Ready then?” Maximus asked.
“I...” He looked up at the house as if trying to think of some legitimate excuse for remaining behind, but nothing was coming. He did not even need to worry about forwarding his calls – if there was no answer at home, then they would automatically try his cell. And there had not been that many leaves in the front yard anyway....The fall decorations could wait a little, and going down to the main facility would afford him the opportunity to check about locating the pumpkins and gourds he wanted, as well as see about the fresh indoor arrangements. No...he really did not have a reason for staying. “Yeah.”
“You may ride ‘shotgun’ as Cort might say,” the General insisted and before John could answer, watched as Maximus climbed into one of the rear seats. “I have already had the experience.”
“Whinge, whinge, whinge,” Terry muttered. “This is the last time I let you ride in my little Freelander.”
“Thank you!”
John got into the passenger seat, gently rubbing his stomach as he heard it rumble, thankfully not loud enough for others to notice. How he thought he would get through the day on a cup of instant coffee he had no idea, but honestly, there were so many other things on his mind, it never occurred to him to fix something more. “I guess I’m hungrier than I thought,” he confessed, as Terry turned the ignition and shifting gears, began to speed around the circular drive. Biebe immediately clicked his seat belt into place, glancing back to see that Maximus had done so as well...and was now holding onto the support used when one was getting out.
“Well we’re all in agreement, John. Adalia’s about as good as it gets. Tina knew what she was doing when she hired her!”
They had traveled the couple of miles and were nearing the frozen pond before John realized it. He noticed he did not recognize several individuals walking on the side of the road, obviously heading towards it, and once feeling the chill, started pulling on the heavier jackets they carried. Even Terry had turned on the windshield wipers to clear away the large flakes that blurred his view.
“You were right about the lurkers.”
“What was that mate?” the driver asked.
John bowed his head to indicate the two couples that were laughing and stumbling in the few inches of snow. “The lurkers. You were right about them.”
“I told you they were wandering around.”
Maximus chuckled. “I only hope they stay to the main routes. The last thing we need today is a rescue mission.” Then his face grew more serious. “I realize it would have ruined the advanced plans of many of them, but quite frankly, I wish we had shutdown the Point boundaries for today and tomorrow. Would have made things so much easier...for all of us.”
The Alaskan gave a sad smile as he watched one girl take a tumble onto her behind, laughing as she went down. “She didn’t want that. I asked her about it too, remember? She said she didn’t want anyone to be kept away. Something about you not knowing who might stumble in...”
The way she did that night more than six years before. The way she had slightly hidden behind Bud when they were all first introduced....Hearing her ‘Good night John’ in his head when he left her that night, thinking that she would never feel for him as he did for her...Looking up and seeing her standing there at the edge of his pond, watching, admiring....How beautiful she had been the evening she walked down the aisle to him, giving up everything to make a life there with him….It was all returning in a blaze of memories, crushing in on him, making him turn away so that he would not see the last glimpse of the area he specifically considered his own.
And hers.
There would be no place he could go in the Point that would not remind him of her.
She’ll be back. She’ll be back. And remember what they said. She’ll call as soon as she’s able. Don’t sit around acting like it’s the end of the world or like she’s never coming back. She’ll be back before I know it. Just God...please – if it’s Your will – let her be all right. Please let her be all right. Please let this take care of everything. I just...I just don’t want her to hurt anymore....