Authors: Fern Michaels

Betrayal (9 page)

BOOK: Betrayal

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Kate took a pad from the kitchen drawer and placed it in front of Alex. “Let's get this over with.”

“I'll go check on the dogs. Bella is getting pretty jumpy with her babies,” Gertie said.

“Thanks, Gertie. I don't know what we'd do without you.” Kate gave the older woman a tight hug. Alex nodded at Gertie.

“You're gonna be just fine, Alex. Just fine,” Gertie called over her shoulder.

Kate closed the door and leaned against the frame. “She's right, you know. A few weeks, and this will all be behind us. We can move on.”

Alex's blue eyes filled with anguish. “I don't know if we'll ever move on and put this behind us, Kate. We're just getting started, and already I feel like I've lost. I know that's being negative, but there doesn't seem to be much we can do. Pray that if this goes to trial, a jury will see Sara for the little manipulator that she is.”

“I've said more prayers the past three days than I've said in my life, Alex. We'll get through this.”
We have to
, Kate thought,
because life won't be worth anything without Alex.

“I hope you're right. Let's take this pad and pencil to bed. I'll bring up a bottle of wine. We'll be more relaxed. What do you say?” Alex was trying so hard to lighten the mood. They'd been so down since Sara's accusation.

Wine was the last thing Kate needed, but if it helped Alex take the edge off, then she'd drink an entire vineyard's worth.

“I'll just be a minute.” Kate took the cups and saucers off the table. She rinsed them with scalding-hot water until her hands were beet red. Then she put them in the dishwasher and wiped the tabletop and counters. She refilled the creamer and sugar bowls. She swept the floor, then took a damp mop and began scrubbing the already clean tiles. An hour later she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was lie down. She didn't want to remember all their visits with the Winters, didn't want to imagine what Sara had told her parents about Alex. Poor, innocent Alex. He wouldn't hurt a flea. He couldn't even smash a spider. He'd scoop it onto a paper, or whatever happened to be handy, then release it outside. Kate had yet to meet the man who could compare to Alex. Knowing she couldn't stall any longer, she turned off the kitchen lights. Upstairs, Alex was sound asleep, the paper and pencil tossed aside. Knowing this might be the last restful night Alex would have for a while, she curled up next to him.

She was so very tired. Mentally, she'd never been this tired. Kate let her mind wander as she drifted off.

Alex looked like he was a hundred years old. His skin, once a warm brown from the sun, was pale and wrinkled like parchment paper. There was no color to his eyes, the pigment gone. His hair had turned completely white.

“I told you we'd get through this, Alex. Why'd you have to go and get yourself locked up? We were winning, you didn't have to accept the plea!”

Tears filled Kate's eyes as she watched her husband through the thick Plexiglas. He'd taken the deal, telling her it was only ten years. Only ten years ...

Kate shot up in the bed like a missile. Sweat beaded her forehead and upper lip. She still wore her jeans and T-shirt. Her heartbeat quadrupled. She looked over at Alex. He still slept. She wouldn't wake him up. She couldn't tell him about her dream. As a child, she and her friends had always said, “If you tell a dream before breakfast, it'll come true.”

Morning was hours away. Kate would not speak of her dream to anyone.

She prayed this wasn't an omen of things to come.

Chapter 9

“I
know you're lying. You are one sick little girl. I don't believe you for one minute, you rotten piece of dog poop. Uncle Alex wouldn't ever do something so . . . so nasty. Especially to a fat pig like you!”

Emily knew she was being hateful to Sara, but at that minute, she just didn't care. Somehow, she had to help Uncle Alex out of this mess. At fifteen, she didn't know what she could do, but she was sure to come up with something.

“You don't know what it's like, so just shut up. I've been abused. Don't talk to me that way again, or I'll tell Mommy.” Sara was delighted with her new role as victim and was going to milk it for all it was worth. She'd told Emily it was terrible, the icky things Uncle Alex did to her, and why
shouldn't
she get some extra sympathy? Her life was tainted forever. Words she'd overheard their parents use.

“You're such a liar, Sara. Do you think for one minute anyone is going to believe you? Oh, I know Mom and Dad do, but they'll soon realize that you're just doing this to get attention. This isn't the way to get it, surely you ought to know that by now. But then again, you are just a baby. Twelve years old. Puh-leeze! And go ahead and tell on me. I don't think anything I do could be as rotten as what you're doing. I'm ashamed to call you my sister!” Emily slammed out of Sara's room and headed to her own just down the hall.

She was still in shock over Sara's accusations. And her parents had actually believed the little liar! They'd talked to the sheriff, and who knew who else they'd told. And Emily knew as well as she knew her name that Sara was making up every detail she'd shared with their parents.

Sara had an appointment with Dr. Chambers tomorrow morning. Dr. Chambers was Emily's best friend's mom, who just happened to be a child shrink. Maybe she would ask Amy to snoop into her mother's files and see what Sara was really up to. Sara should've been sent to Dr. Chambers a long time ago.

She wanted to call Aunt Kate, but her parents had forbidden that. However, they couldn't watch her all the time. She jumped off the bed and went to the piggy bank she had stashed in her bottom drawer. She dumped its contents on top of the bed. Nine dollars and seventy-three cents. That should be enough to make a long-distance call. Without a second thought, Emily hurried to the kitchen. It'd been a while since she'd ridden her bike. That might make her parents suspicious, but she'd deal with that if they caught her.

She went to the garage through the side door off the kitchen. Her red Schwinn lay against the wall farthest from the door.
Good,
she thought. She pushed the button on the wall to open the electric garage door. It wasn't real noisy. If her parents were still lounging by the pool, they'd never hear a thing.

Hurrying, Emily jumped on her bike. Pedaling as fast as she could, she veered around the huge potted plants at the end of the driveway. Once she was out of sight of her house, she slowed down. There was a Circle K convenience store a mile or two down the road. She would make a quick phone call, then be on her way. More than likely, she'd be back in her room before her parents even realized she was gone.

Twenty minutes later, she cruised through the store's parking lot over to the pay phone at the side of the building. She read the instructions at the base of the phone just to make sure she didn't screw up and lose her money. An automated voice came on the line instructing her to put $2.25 into the change slots. She did, then a few seconds later, Aunt Kate's phone was ringing.

“Hello.”

“Aunt Kate, it's me.” Emily's hands were shaking. For a second she felt like she was betraying her family, but the feeling left as fast as it came. She was saving a man's life.

“Emily? Why are you calling here?”

“I'm so sorry, Aunt Kate. I know what Sara did.” Embarrassed, Emily's eyes filled with tears. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one saw her bawling. She'd die if someone she knew saw her.

“It's not your fault. We know that, sweetie.”

“I just want to help. They've got an appointment for Sara tomorrow. It's Dr. Chambers. She's a psychiatrist. Mom said she would go to court and testify on Sara's behalf. I don't know what to do, Aunt Kate. This is all so terrible.” Emily let her tears flow freely, suddenly not caring who saw her.

“This isn't something for you to worry about. Uncle Alex and I will be just fine. We'll get through this.”

“And I'll never get to see you all again!” Emily's sobs were loud. Her nose was running. She used the hem of her shirt to wipe it with.

“We don't know that, Em. We just have to be patient, see how this works out.”

Emily nodded, then remembered she was on the phone. “I know. I just hate the thought of what this is doing to you guys. I think Sara is a mean, lying, conniving little asshole, in case you want to know.”

Kate's laughter sounded forced. “Thanks, kiddo. It really means a lot that you believe in Alex. I'll tell him you called.”

The automated voice came over the line telling Emily to either deposit another $1.25 for the next minute or the call would end.

“Bye, Aunt Kate. I love you!” The line went dead, but Emily was sure Kate heard her. Feeling a little better, she hopped back on her bike, pedaling toward home.

She was able to slip inside without detection. Back in her room, Emily formulated a plan. She called Amy.

“Do you think your mom'll be suspicious?” Emily asked her best friend.

“No. She's too busy to notice. Besides, she'll think she's being a better parent if I take an interest in her work,” Amy explained. Her voice held a tinge of excitement. Emily knew she could count on her.

“Her appointment is tomorrow. How long does it usually take your mom to dictate her notes?”

“She does it at the end of the day. Her secretary usually takes a day or so. Don't worry, Em, I know the routine. I'll do whatever I can. I always knew Sara was a little bitch, but I just never thought she'd do something like this. Of course, it could be true. Did you think of that?”

“Amy! I know my uncle, and I know Sara. There's a reason she's doing this. Who knows what it is, but she's too stupid to realize the ramifications of her actions.”

“Hell, Em, you sound just like my mom,” Amy said.

“Sorry, Amy. This is just really important to me. Uncle Alex and Aunt Kate are like a second set of parents, only better. If Sara succeeds, I'll never see them again.”

“I'll get back to you as soon as I have something to report.”

Emily smiled. “I knew you'd come through.” “Hey, what are best friends for?” Amy said good-bye.

Having done all that she could for the moment, Emily removed her diary from beneath the mattress. Each day she wrote about Sara and her false accusations against Uncle Alex. Someday, her words might make a difference.

Don and Debbie spent the better part of the afternoon lounging by their pool. After a second pitcher of margaritas, both dozed in the late-afternoon sun.

“Mommy!” Sara shrieked.

Debbie fumbled with the straps on her bikini top, tying them in a loose knot. “What is it now? Can't you see your father and I are trying to relax? This is a very stressful time for us.”

Sara plopped down on the edge of her mother's lounge chair. “Mommy, I was just feeling . . . feeling so unclean. I don't think I'll ever feel clean again. Emily makes me feel so dirty, too. She called me a liar today. She said she was ashamed to be my sister.”

Debbie inhaled, her nostrils flaring.

“You look like a cow when your nose does that,” Sara said.

Debbie placed a hand on her nose. “What am I doing?”

“Your nostrils are the size of a cow's.”

“Sara, you're so rude! You should be ashamed,” Debbie retorted. “Now, what would you like for dinner? I was thinking about ordering in. We can have pizza from Domino's, or I can call that little Italian restaurant you like so much and have something cheesy and meaty delivered. It's your choice, sweetie.”

Her mom sure knew the way to her heart, but this time food wasn't what she was looking for. Sara really needed to talk about Uncle Alex.

“I don't care. Whatever.”

“Sara, are you all right?” Debbie questioned.

“No. I told you Emily called me a liar. I hate her. I wish she would leave here. She thinks I'm making up this story about Uncle Alex.” Sara's lower lip puckered. “I am not making it up, Mommy. You and Daddy believe me, don't you?”

By that time Don was awake, listening to their conversation.

He patted a spot next to him. “Come here, sweetie.”

Sara sat next to her father. “You believe me, don't you Daddy? I feel so bad, but it just was so terrible. He made me look at his . . . his thing. It was so ugly. It wasn't like yours, Daddy.” Sara acted coy, almost as if she were flirting with her father.

“Sara Marie Winter! What are you saying?” Debbie zoomed upright in her chair, her eyes focused on Don and their daughter. “Please tell me that I misunderstood you.”

Sara opened her eyes wide as though she had no idea what her mother referred to. “I said that Uncle Alex's thing wasn'tâ”

“I heard you!” Debbie shouted.

“Don, do you want to explain how our twelve-year-old daughter has knowledge of... of, you know what I mean?”

“Calm down, Deb,” Don said.

“Sara, you're making things sound very vulgar. Now tell your mother exactly what you're talking about.”

Sara opened her eyes even wider. “I saw Daddy in the shower one time. His . . . his thing wasn't like Uncle Alex's, that's all. Is that bad, Mommy?”

Debbie shot Don killer looks.

“No, it's not, Sara, but your father should lock the door when he's in the shower.”

“Why, Mommy?” Sara asked.

“Because he's a grown man, that's why. A grown man with two teen daughters living under the same roof.”

“I'm just twelve, Mommy. I won't be a teenager for a long time.”

“Sara, you'll be thirteen in two months. You're closer to thirteen than twelve,” Debbie said to her daughter.

Sara began to howl like a coyote caught in a bear trap.

“Stop this nonsense, Sara! You're driving me insane. I can't take much more of it!” Debbie shouted. She was sure Sara's wails could be heard all over the neighborhood.

Sara gulped and hiccuped a few more times before ending her crying jag. “I just feel so nasty, that's all. And I don't want to go to that stupid Dr. Chambers either. I hate her!” She sniffled a few more times.

Debbie's heart softened. Of course Sara was frightened. “Then you don't have to. Why didn't you tell us you were afraid to go? We'll find another doctor, don't you worry. Now, what would you like for dinner?”

Don shook his head. “I don't think food is the answer to Sara's problem. Sara”âDon forced her to look at himâ“why are you afraid of Dr. Chambers? Is there more we need to know?”

Sara nodded. “I think she tells her business to Amy. I know she does 'cause I heard Amy say that to Emily. I just don't want this awful stuff to spread around, that's all.”

Looking over the top of Sara's head, Debbie raised her eyebrows. “I'll turn her in to the American Medical Association. I never cared for her anyway. And I don't want Emily hanging around with her daughter either. Don, you make sure and explain this to her. Go do it now, before you forget.”

Don gave a limp salute. “Sure, anything you say. You say jump, I ask how high.”

“Stop being an idiot and just do what I asked. Our daughter's emotional well-being is at stake here, or have you forgotten?”

BOOK: Betrayal

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