Devil's Veil, page 21
part #4 of The Devereaux Chronicles Series
Now using both hands, he pulled her back up by her hair, she could feel some of the roots ripping out and screamed in pain.
She was crying now, as he yanked her off the slide and she fell heavily onto the wooden floor, banging her left hip and shoulder.
He bent down and roughly grabbed her arm, lifting her effortlessly to her feet and shoving her along in front on him.
Once he got her back into the other room, he used the same length of rope that Rosie was already tied with to secure Shelly’s hands, and then made the two of them get up onto the Devil’s Wheel where he could easily see what they were up to.
“What do you want with us?” Rosie asked, trying not to cry herself, but she was scared beyond anything she could ever have imagined.
“I don’t want anything with you, sweetheart,” he said, his eyes running over her full figure. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Then why are you doing this?” Shelly asked, tears still falling freely down her cheeks.
“It’s just your bad luck. You are nothing but bait, sweetheart, and you are going to help me make your momma a widow.”
It was dim enough in the room that neither of the girls could see the madness shining out of Chuck’s eyes, which was probably for the best.
CHAPTER 19
“Is that Shelly’s car?” Tim asked as they pulled in.
“I think so,” Scott replied. “And that other one must be Madison’s. I have a bad feeling about this. If they were alright, they would have been long gone by now.”
The sun had set on their way here, but the rising moon lit the area fairly well and they were able to see the ripped caution tape on the fence.
“Where’s the cops? If they still have the scene under investigation, why aren’t they here?”
“I don’t know, maybe they called it a night and they’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Wouldn’t they have made sure no one else was here before they left?”
“You would think so,” Tim replied, opening the trunk and pulling out the box and his backpack. Throwing a flashlight to Scott, he grabbed one for himself and closed the trunk.
“Take the backpack,” he said, handing that over and keeping a tight grip on the box.
“We starting with the funhouse?”
“Yeah, that’s where Madison was doing the séance, so it’s our best bet.”
Scott headed over towards the break in the fence but something over on the other side of a copse of trees glittered, as if the moonlight was reflecting on a shiny surface, and it caught Tim’s attention.
“Hold up, there’s something over there.”
He set the box down near Scott’s feet and walked over into the trees.
“This is not good,” Tim said, when he returned a few moments later.
“What?”
“There is a big, black truck hidden over there behind that bunch of trees.”
“Son of a bitch,” Scott said, running his fingers roughly through his hair. “Do you think he’s got the girls?”
“No doubt, do you think he would do anything to them or just use them to get us here?”
“How the hell do I know? He’s a freaking psycho, he could do anything.”
“What’s our play?”
“The catwalks?”
“Good idea, we’ll go in through the back and we just have to be really quiet, so he doesn’t know we’re there.”
They stayed hidden in the shadows of the other buildings as they made their way to the funhouse. Slipping around to the back of it, they dropped the box and the backpack, checked their guns and entered. Slowly and stealthy, they made their way along the catwalks until they heard the sounds of a female crying.
Silently communicating with their hands, Scott opened the trap door above their head. Fortunately, it was situated on the opposite side of the Devil’s Wheel from where Chuck was standing near the entrance.
He was staring down into the dimly lit walkway, straining to hear footsteps approaching which would alert him to Scott’s presence as soon as he entered the funhouse. It never occurred to him that they might come in a different way.
Shelly did hear them as they came up through the opening in the floor and turned her head towards them, letting out a cry of joy. Scott shook his head and ducked just as Chuck walked back over to the Devil’s Wheel.
“Shut your damn mouth,” he said, and swung his long arm in her direction. He backhanded Shelly, knocking her to the other side of the Wheel. Since both girls were tied together, Rosie fell right beside her and they stayed where they were, leaning heavily against one another.
“I don’t want to hear another sound from either of you. If I have to, I’ll slit your throats to keep you quiet, makes no difference to me.”
Shelly swallowed hard and bit her lip, trying to keep from making any other noise or bringing him back this way until Scott and Tim could take care of him.
Doris joined Emma on the porch as her sons’ headlights faded down the driveway. “Come inside, I’ll make us some tea.”
“Thanks, but I’m so nervous I don’t even think I could drink it,” Emma said, wringing her hands and still staring down the dark driveway.
“It will help, and you need to calm down because of that baby. You know that, right?”
“Of course, but I have no idea what happened to Shelly, and now Scott and Tim could be walking into danger. It’s too much sometimes, how have you dealt with this for so many years and kept your sanity?”
“Every single time my boys walk out the door, I say a prayer. It’s all I can do, and I have faith that the Lord will look after them and that they’ll take care of each other. Then I have a scotch and try not to think about it anymore.”
“I guess the scotch is out of the question for me,” Emma said wistfully.
“I’ll make the tea, don’t go far from the house, alright?”
“I won’t.”
Emma, in fact, made her way into the living room a few minutes later, after trying Shelly’s phone once again with no success. Emma wandered aimlessly around the room, she could hear Doris in the kitchen as she filled the teapot and put it on to boil. Emma considered going out to help her but preferred be alone with her thoughts just now.
The upholstery of the couch and loveseat were an off-white color and the overstuffed pillows scattered along both of them were a soft oatmeal color with various abstract designs on them.
The two overstuffed chairs in the set had those same abstract designs. The floors were hardwood and there was a dark brown rug under the coffee table situated in the center of the furniture. The drapes over the large picture window were of the same brown tint and it was a warm, comfortable room.
Along the back of the long sofa there was a Queen Anne style console table made from dark cherry. Photos filled the entire top of it, as well as the shelf along the bottom.
Emma took her time examining the many framed photos of varying sizes, smiling at Tim and Scott’s adorable young faces. Trying to imagine the two of them as kids helped to keep her from worrying about might be happening at the park right now.
There was another console table along the far wall, and she turned to check out those photos a little closer. She stopped suddenly and tears sprang into her eyes when she saw the photos lined up along that piece of furniture.
In the very center was a beautifully framed eight by ten of her and Scott at their wedding, similar to the picture she’d given Emma. Alongside that was a picture of Doris and her two sons from that day, then various pictures of Emma and her children, along with Scott and Tim. There was even a framed photo of Callie.
Emma took her time examining each of them, running her fingers over her loved ones faces, bewildered that Doris had done this.
As if reading her mind, Doris spoke from behind her. “It was time to update those old pictures. I moved some of the others into my office.”
Emma turned to her with a smile. “It’s really sweet that you have made us all a part of your family.”
“I didn’t do it, you are a part of our family now, all of you. I hope I haven’t made you feel otherwise.”
“No, I do understand that it will take time for you to trust me and realize that I am not leaving, and that I will never hurt Scott again. So, I guess this just surprised me.”
“Come out and have a cup of tea with me, we don’t get an opportunity to be alone often, so let’s see if we can’t iron out some of the things between us.”
Emma followed her into the kitchen and the two of them sat at the table, looking down into their cups, neither of them sure how to start.
“Sometimes,” Doris finally said, “I’m not sure you realize how deeply you hurt Scott. But, on the other hand, I have to realize that the only reason you were able to hurt him that badly, was because he cares so much for you. It’s a regular Catch-22.”
“I do know how bad it was, though. It wasn’t just him that was going through it, I was also going through the same thing.”
“Not exactly,” Doris said, raising her dark brown eyes up to meet Emma’s.
“No, not exactly, I still had my children. But they were cause for a completely different kind of hurt that I was going through. When I decided to leave Jeremy, I felt like I had to punish myself for what I was doing to the kids. Part of that punishment was keeping away from Scott until I was absolutely sure of myself.”
“He was alone and heart-broken. I won’t be able to ever forget the pain I saw in his eyes during that time.”
“And I will not apologize for staying with my husband and making sure that I did everything that I could to make that marriage work, for my children’s sake. Scott knew that from day one.
What I do take responsibility for is the length of time that I let go by without letting him know what my decision was. I own that and my only excuse was that I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“I was afraid that he wouldn’t want me anymore. We were only together for a very short time and, I truly didn’t know what to expect. For me, it was never a question of how I felt about him, it was my own self-doubt about how he felt about me that held me back. Does that make any sense?”
Doris looked back down into her cup and picked up her spoon and slowly swirled it around the remaining liquid.
“It’s a little ironic, I’ve been upset with you about your treatment to my son, but that treatment was a direct result of you taking care of your own children.
We have both been looking out for our offspring and, somehow, I have to learn to trust that you two have worked out all of your issues and you will put his happiness above your own from now on.”
“I’ve always wanted the best for Scott, and I will always be there for him, but don’t think I will ever disregard my children’s needs simply because I am married now.”
“I get that, and I would think less of you if you did.”
“So, what now? Do we have a truce?”
Doris’ dark brown eyes impaled Emma, almost as if she were trying to see into her soul to know if she could trust her or not.
“I think we do. When I was sitting in that hospital room and you were still unconscious, I had some time to reflect. I have been a bit judgy with you, and I came to the realization that even though Scott is my son, what has happened and what will happen in the future is for you two to decide. Not me.”
“I appreciate that, Doris.”
“We’ve got a new little one coming into our lives and I don’t want there to be any tension, no reason for any of us to feel uncomfortable with one another. I am trusting you with son’s my happiness, Emma. Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t,” Emma replied and, somewhat encouraged by Doris’ response, she decided to delve into a different subject completely.
“Maybe you could help me out then. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about earning a living until you and I spoke the other day. Jeremy always took care of finances when we were married and the only business that I’ve ever run was the Bed and Breakfast at my old house.”
“What can I do to help?”
“I think your ability to write those novels is ingenious and you’ve done a wonderful job providing financial stability for yourself and your sons. But I’m afraid that I won’t be quite as successful as you and I’m feeling a little unsure of myself.”
“What do you think you might want to try?”
“I actually enjoyed doing the B&B and our new place is huge, so it might be a good avenue to pursue. I worry about Scott though. He wanted a place out in the country so he could have his privacy. How would he feel about coming home and having a house full of strangers?”
“If you set it up right to begin with, taking his privacy into account before considering anything else, I think that’s doable. There are some changes that I’ve been thinking about making myself and this might offer a good opportunity for me, as well.”
“How so?”
“Let me go get some paper from my office and we can spitball some ideas.”
The next hour flew by as the two of them tried to work out some lucrative ideas for Scott and Emma’s new property that might benefit all of them.
Not only did it take their mind off what might be happening at the amusement park but, for the first time, Emma felt like a true member of their family.
Scott motioned Tim over towards the girls so he could get them loose while Scott took care of Chucky. Moving stealthily, it was inevitable that the creaky, unsafe floor would give him away before he could cover the entire distance between them.
Chucky turned with his gun raised. Scott had no time to think and leapt over onto him, managing to throw off Chuck’s aim, with the bullet flying somewhere into the ceiling above. Unfortunately, he lost his own gun while doing so and the two men now were wrestling along the creaking, torn up floor.
Scott managed to roll on top of Chuck and bash his wrist against the hardwoods so that he released the gun. Scott went to grab it himself, but Chuck flipped their positions and started pummeling Scott’s face with his large fists.
Scott was trying to buck him off while at the same time, his fingers were inching over towards where the gun had slid.
With another powerful punch, Chuck smashed Scott in the face, then sat back to admire his handiwork, allowing Scott the few seconds he needed to grab ahold of the barrel of the gun. He swung it up at Chuck and hit him in the side of the head so hard that the gun flew out of his grasp once again.
But the power of the blow did knock Chucky away and it gave the two of them a chance to get back up onto their feet.
Scott noticed the bandage on Chucky’s hand and, with a with a satisfied smile, he asked, “So Callie did manage to take a chunk out of you after all, didn’t she?”
“Fucking dog,” he replied, once again barely opening his lips to speak. “I should have killed her first instead of just trying to get the damn collar.”
“You should never have messed with my family, Chuck.”
“I’m done with that now,” he mumbled, as the men made their way around in a little circle, each looking for an opening.
“I know,” Scott replied, as he rushed him. He gave no quarter this time and pummeled Chuck’s stomach and kidneys, any soft area that he could get to. As his vicious assault continued, all Chuck could do was tuck his elbows into his torso as he backed away, trying to keep Scott from doing any further damage.
As Chuck grunted in pain and bent forward, Scott took advantage and knocked him backward with a strong uppercut. Chuck hit his head hard against the wall and slid down onto the floor, the fight completely gone out of him now.
Tim had freed the girls by then and ran over to help. He had the length of rope with him and roughly turned Chuck over and secured his hands behind his back.
“Watch it,” Chuck yelled, as Tim yanked on his left arm.
“What’s the matter Chucky, is that where I hit you? Sorry I’m such a bad shot, otherwise we could have avoided all of this nonsense.” He pulled the rope tight and enjoyed the pain he saw on Chuck’s face.
“Have a seat,” Tim said, shoving him off into one of the corners. Chuck couldn’t keep his balance and ended up lying on his side, glaring balefully up at Tim.
“Are you alright?” Shelly asked, her eyes wide with fear as she studied Scott’s face. His right eye was almost completely swollen and, even in this dim light, the colorful bruising on his jaw was very noticeable.
“I’m fine, you two still have your phones?” he asked, looking around and then quickly bending over to pick up his pistol and Chucky’s, slipping them both into the waistband of his jeans and making sure his long shirt covered them.
“Yes,” Shelly replied. Chuck had thrown their purses off the side when he’d grabbed them and she picked up both of them, handing Rosie’s to her and checking her own to confirm the phone was still in it.
“Get outside and keep going until you get a signal. Call 911. I don’t know what the deal is with your unconscious friend, but we need to get her some help ASAP. We also need the cops for this dickhead,” he said, indicating Chuck who was now lying on his side over in one of the shadowy corners.
The girls took off and Scott turned to Tim. “Run out back and get our stuff. I don’t know how much time we’ll have, but we need to find out which of these mirrors is being used as the portal.”
While Tim was doing that, Scott squatted down next to Madison’s inert form. He was able to feel a faint pulse, but he was quite concerned about her and hoped the ambulance could get here quickly.
He then made his way into the house of mirrors to check them all out. Madison had told them it was an ornate mirror that she’d been looking into the first time, but there were dozens of mirrors and at least a third of them could be considered ornate.
He was glad they’d decided to bring the stone, it was going to make things much easier. Tim ran back in just then, carrying the box and the backpack. He gently set the box on the ground and Scott pulled out the antique key that opened it.
