A Proper Form Of Vengeance, page 1
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
More from the Author
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
A PROPER FORM OF VENGEANCE
Copyright 2021 by
Regina Marie Fagan
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
For Sylvia and Albert
My two Special Angels
Without your help this book would never
have seen the light of day!
CHAPTER ONE
Miami Beach – September 1987
“You can bet your life every one of those gems is worth a pretty penny. You’ve got good taste. You should get one. They all match your eyes.”
Allison Stanhope turned, surprised by the man who had joined her in front of the windows of the jewelry shop in her hotel lobby. She had been admiring a collection of emerald rings and necklaces.
She looked at the man. “You certainly are observant,” she said. “How did you see my eyes?” As far as she knew, Allison did not know him, although she vaguely remembered seeing him in the cafe earlier in the day, sitting near her. He was tall, powerfully built, with dark blond hair and blue eyes, and was casually but expensively dressed.
He smiled. “Well, you probably didn’t notice me, but I saw you while you were having something to eat in the café. Couldn’t take my eyes off you, in fact. Are you here as a tourist? You don’t look like a tourist really.”
Allison, not pleased with his too familiar line of talk, turned from the shop windows and started to walk back to the main lobby. The man followed. “No, I’m not. I’m here on business.”
“What kind of business?” he asked boldly.
“My own,” Allison replied, annoyed with the conversation. Who was this character? “Why do you want to know?” You’re obviously here looking for a pickup, she thought.
The man kept pace with Allison, undeterred. “Well, I’m here in town with work also. I get into Miami often. But I don’t always find anybody as beautiful as you. My name’s Ian? What’s yours?”
Adroitly, he stepped in front of Allison, blocking her path. “How about a drink, Red? You look thirsty and it’s pretty hot today.”
“RED”? This is really getting annoying now! “No, no thank you,” Allison said, as forcefully as possible without raising her voice. “I don’t want a drink, and just for the record, Ian, I’m married, very happily married. I’m not here to be picked up. And my name isn’t any of your business except that it’s not “Red.” Now I’m quite tired. I’m going to my room.”
Ian gave a slow smile but persisted. “Look, okay – I’m sorry. I’ve insulted you. But you can’t blame a guy for trying, can you? I like you, Red – oops! Sorry again! Come on, just one drink. I don’t care if you’re married or not. You can even tell me all about your husband. By the way, is he here? I’m thinking not, you’ve been alone when I’ve seen you.”
Allison stopped and looked around the busy lobby. If only she could catch the eye of one of the hotel staff. This pest was getting on her nerves. She debated going over to the desk but decided, no, just go upstairs and get away from him.
“Listen, I said no. Not now, not ever. Now leave me alone.” Swiftly, Allison pushed past Ian and made her way quickly to the elevators, sorry to see nobody else near them and wishing there were at least some other people waiting. But the lobby seemed unusually quiet right now.
She had intended on going to the desk to take care of her bill, since she and her sister were leaving on an early flight tomorrow morning. Well, she would wait a while and come down later and do that, and then perhaps she and Sarah would just order some dinner in their room. She was quite tired – although she smiled as she thought once more about the reason for her added fatigue these days.
She stepped into an empty elevator, looking around her to see if Ian was anywhere in sight. He seemed to have left. Thank heavens for that.
Reaching her floor, she left the car and was headed toward her room when suddenly Ian stepped out in front of her from a service stairway door. Before Allison could react he had grabbed her, spun her around and covered her face with a wet rag. Then, dragging her by the waist, as Allison struggled and kicked, unable to scream, she felt him pull her back toward the service door.
Time stopped as she did what she could, trying to bite his hand and kicking and struggling against him. She was feeling dizzy but still fully conscious as Ian shoved her into an alcove. Allison was aware of service carts lined up against a wall. And a staircase. If she could get to the staircase …
But she felt faint now and Ian pushed her easily onto the floor. She tried to scream but no sound would come. If only she could kick him away and get to the stairs! But Ian was over her now, grabbing her throat.
“Just for the record, Red, I don’t like it when a snotty rich-bitch like you tells me no. Nobody tells me no!”
Summoning up every bit of strength she could muster, Allison kicked and pushed against Ian, managing to rip his shirt open above her.
With a last burst of strength from somewhere inside her, she knocked him sideways and over, just enough to allow her to drag herself to the top of the stairs. But as she tried to stand, Ian grabbed her left ankle, throwing her off balance again.
Already weak and dizzy Allison pitched forward and tumbled down the stairs, nothing else but blackness and pain following.
CHAPTER TWO
April 1990 – Brooklyn, New York
“STAR OF THE SEAS South Pacific Adventure . . . thirty glorious days of sun-drenched luxury in the romantic South Pacific isles . . . in your dreams, a glowing emerald island floats on an azure sea, washed by gentle surf and fragrant with delicate blooms. Hawaii and the South Pacific entice you to visit their peace and beauty. It will be good for your soul!”
Allison studied the brightly colored brochure before placing it back inside the package it had come in. Deep red bougainvillea and creamy plumeria blossoms peeked back at her as she slipped the glossy paper next to the assorted catalogues and brochures her husband had sent.
Allison pushed the package and the rest of the day’s mail to the side of her desk and stood up. She had dozens of things to do right now, but she couldn’t concentrate on any of them; she needed some moments to think and muse over the cruise. Did she really want to do this?
A long leisurely cruise through the South Pacific, in the middle of winter. It did sound divine. And Roger was serious about this trip. The question was whether she was up to it yet?
From the front of the architectural design studio which she owned with her sister, Allison heard their clients leaving. Footsteps came softly along the hall toward the office the two women shared and in minutes Sarah walked in, heading toward the French doors that looked out over a small garden just beginning to bud. She opened one door and breathed in the scent of new soil and grass, fresh and clean after an early morning downpour. “That meeting went well. They approved all the recommendations we made on the new furniture and room layouts. We can get the team going.” Sarah glanced over at the envelope on Allison’s desk.
“So, my dear, what do you think? Did you look over everything Roger sent? I must tell you, I’m ready to go. I can’t think of a better way to spend December, especially after last winter here.”
Not only had Roger proposed a lengthy cruise, he wanted it to be a family affair. Sarah and her husband as well as the women’s parents and Roger’s parents and his brother and new wife would complete the group, making for a large family gathering at sea. They would all be along to help Allison and Roger celebrate five years o
Petruska the cat jumped from her favorite perch atop Allison’s desk and headed toward the open door, deciding to take advantage of a chance to wander around the tiny brownstone garden. But Sarah caught her and picked her up, closing and latching the door as she hugged the cat and brought her back to Allison. “No, my little fur lovey, not until those seedlings take root properly. We don’t want you digging everything up on us.” She looked at Allison, who was deep in thought, somewhere deep inside herself.
“Hello? Allison? Did you look at the brochures?”
Alison smiled and took the cat from her sister. “Oh yes, sorry, yes. I read over everything. It all sounds delightful.” She must stop her fretting over the past; she had done far too much of that. It was time to move on. Roger had enlisted a top travel agency, discussing ships and itineraries, suites, and ports of call and visas required. Then he had told her to watch for the packet that would be delivered to her today. He liked the South Pacific trip best. There were others, however, if she preferred a different destination and shorter time frame.
All Allison had to do now was review the materials. The final choice would be entirely hers. Once a decision was made, Roger would get the rest of the family to clear calendars and plan for a long, leisurely December vacation. God knew they all needed one.
Allison pulled out the South Pacific brochure once more. Thirty days through the Pacific, sailing from Los Angeles to Honolulu first, then from there on to Tahiti for two full days, and eventually finishing up in Sydney, Australia, with some shorter island hops in between. It would be lovely. And she needed this. It had taken her so long to recover. She and Roger needed this time together to dream and plan, the way they once did before the incident, as she’d come to call it now, trying to forget as best she could, to put the last two years out of her mind.
Of course, she knew that was something she would never fully be able to do, but she was healing and so much better now. There was much to be done here, but she and Sarah employed an efficient team that could handle the work necessary for one month.
She knew too that she was not the only one who needed the healing this cruise could bring. Her parents, and her sister, all needed this time as well. There would be only sea and sky and relaxation and fun, with the people she loved and cherished the most.
After what had happened to her, Roger had brought her home from Miami and done everything possible to make her fully well again. He had never given up on her, only loved her more forcefully than ever before. Allison knew she owed him her life as well as her sanity.
And Sarah, who had been with her that terrible night, had never left Allison’s bedside, caring for and nursing her back to health with an unwavering devotion.
Yes, it was time. This entire family needed and deserved a long time away and a chance to reset their lives before another new year began.
CHAPTER THREE
“Mr. Stanhope, your wife is on line three.”
“Thank you.” Roger swiveled around from the view of lower Manhattan beneath the wall of tinted glass that covered his office and smiled as he reached for the phone. No doubt Allison had already read through the cruise brochures.
“Hi Allie, what’s going on?” he asked casually. He hoped she would be as enthusiastic about the South Pacific cruise as he was.
“Well, I’m glad I caught you in. I have all the brochures and catalogues here, and I went through all of them. Are you sure you want to do this? Thirty days at sea?”
Roger smiled. “What, spend thirty days on a luxury ship with you? Absolutely. Nobody deserves this more than you do, Allie, and the family as well. Do you think you’d like that South Pacific trip?”
“I love it. Right now, I’m feeling that I’d go for sixty days if we could. And in December! No snow and ice for one year! But do you really think all the family will be able to come with us?”
“Well, I certainly hope so. It’s only April so there’s plenty of time to plan. As far as our parents are concerned, their time is their own now. And Reed and Sarah need a vacation too; you two can close the studio for a month at least. And George and Faith can arrange things, so yes, I think we can all swing this.”
“Roger, I thought I’d never feel able to relax again or ever enjoy life again after . . well, I don’t want to bring that up again.”
“No, don’t, Allie. Not now.”
Allison took a deep breath and continued. “I feel so much better now. I’m ready to get my life back. And this will be special. I love you, Roger.”
“And you know how much I love you. Don’t let yourself go back there, Allie. Remember what I’ve kept telling you, there’s no future in the past. That’s over, you are recovered beautifully. And we have a future.”
Roger ran his hand absently across the smooth, polished surface of his desk. From a portrait on the wall opposite him, Allison smiled, stunning in a black silk gown, her auburn hair curled about her beautiful face. The picture was his favorite, taken shortly after their marriage. “Only our future matters, all right?”
From the moment he’d met Allison MacDevitt six years before, he had fallen in love with her. She had come to his office, chosen to design the new Stanhope Tower offices. He had considered himself the luckiest guy in the world when she had also become his wife.
All had gone so well until she’d been brutally attacked in Miami during a trip with Sarah to meet a new client. Such dark and painful times had followed that he thought she would never recover, never be the woman he loved so deeply again.
Spring rain began to splatter against his windowed wall in the Stanhope Tower, so heavily that the harbor and buildings below disappeared in a gray/green blur, almost like a large dab of paint diluted and smeared across a canvas. The suddenness of the rain after the clear morning startled Roger.
“It’s pouring suddenly,” Allie said. “Over there too?”
“Wow, yes, a deluge.”
“Roger, I think I’ll call Mom and Daddy and tell them about our plan. Sarah is here with me and she’s ready to pack her bags, so no persuasion is needed in that quarter. She’ll work on Reed.” She sounded calm again.
“Good, you do that, and I’ll talk to my parents. They can dust off their luggage. And then I’ll get my travel people to set the wheels in motion. And be sure to let your family know that this is all my treat, will you?”
Allison laughed. “I will, but you know Daddy will insist on paying for himself and Mom.” She laughed again, delightedly. “Roger, you are marvelous, you know. I have a feeling this is going to be the most perfect vacation anyone has ever taken. And we will all be talking about this cruise for years to come.” She hesitated before continuing. “And Roger? Maybe we can try for another baby. Who knows? It could happen. Despite what the doctors told me . . .”
He heard her catch her breath, and his heart contracted. “Allie, of course. Those long lavish nights at sea with the moonlight pouring across the water? Be hopeful, darling, just be hopeful, okay?”
“Absolutely. See, I can talk about it again, Roger. That’s progress. But now, go ahead and get us all booked on that lovely ship. I hope she’ll be ready for us.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Donald MacDevitt, M.D., retired Professor of Internal Medicine, stood alone at his living room window and wistfully watched his daughter Allison hastening along the front pathway to her car. She was fairly bouncing today, a welcome sight. When she reached the car, she quickly pulled open the door and then, with a graceful turn followed by a kiss and wave toward the house, she jumped in and sped away – much too fast, as always, Donald thought with a sigh.
He had waved eagerly in return. His children always knew he watched them leave the house. He always had. If he had been at home, whether the girls were on their way to school, off on a date, or starting out on a long journey somewhere, they always knew he would be there, discreetly hidden behind a curtained window, watching and worrying and quietly praying for their safe return. It had become a bit of a joke in the family, Donald recalled with a smile: Daddy always watching from a window, thinking no one knew he was there. Without exception, the girls and even their mother would look back with an elaborate gesture of farewell.
