Claire Gulliver #06 - Carnage Goes Coastal (19 page)

“Dad, Jack and I need to move away. We have to go somewhere where no one knows us and start a new life. I have to take responsibility for keeping us safe. I can’t afford to let my guard down again as I did here, assuming you and Claire were keeping me safe. I need to build a new, safe life for Jack so he can grow up like a normal kid. I need to keep vigilant always.”

Her dad just sat watching her. She could see he didn’t want to hear what she was saying.

“You know I’m right, Dad. I don’t want to do it. I love being part of your life again. I love Claire and I enjoy her companionship. And I hate the thought of not having contact with you both as well as Mom, Millie and even Mrs. B. But I can’t see any other way. Right now, everyone who knows me, anyone I’m connected to is at risk. There is no way that during the months and years ahead I’m going to be able to ensure Jack’s safety because we still don’t know where the danger is coming from.

“Can’t you arrange for me to go into one of those programs? You know where they give you a new identity, find you a job and a place to live, and you hide in plain sight somewhere where the people looking for you will never find you? Isn’t that the better solution? Wouldn’t it make us all safer?”

“Oh, my God, Karen, we’d never see baby Jack. He’d grow up without his grandparents. Your mother..., Claire..., me..., we wouldn’t be a part of his life. He’d never know his grandparents. What kind of life would that be for him?”

“It would be a life, Dad. He would grow into a healthy, smart little boy. Isn’t that what we all want? How can we risk any other solution?”

They sat there at the table looking at each other, each thinking their own thoughts.

“Claire will be home in a few minutes. We need to discuss this with her. I’ve been thinking and thinking about this. I’m sure this is the only viable solution and I want to start moving in that direction now. I don’t want to wait until something else happens, because the next time it might be too late,” Karen said firmly and her father could see she wasn’t going to be dissuaded.

“Mom! Mommy, did you see me? I did it.” Jamie yelled with excitement, as he ran around to the steps and once more began the climb up the biggest slide on the playground.

Kay looked up smiling, grateful for the mellow spring day after what had seemed to be endless winter.

“Watch!” he yelled from the very top, pausing long enough to ensure he had her attention before he plunged fearlessly down the steep slide.

Kay held her breath as her child slid too fast down the slippery surface. She relaxed when he reached the bottom safely, laughing and out of breath, calling again, “I did it. I’m a big boy now.”

She nodded, calling to him, “Well, you’re almost four. You are getting pretty big.”

He nodded proudly, then seeing his friend Kevin on the swings, he ran over to join him.

Kay smiled and waved at Kevin’s mom, Carol, who was settling her two-year-old in the sand with a bucket of toys. She had met this family last year in the same park and then found that Kevin and Jamie were in the same preschool class. She enjoyed arranging play dates at the playground and occasionally picking up Kevin at school for Carol when she picked up Jamie.

She knew that Carol would soon be over to sit on the bench with her so they could chat while monitoring the activities on the playground. Some of the mothers brought magazines to read, but Kay didn’t dare. She stayed alert. She, of all the mothers, felt the need to be vigilant. She not only watched Jamie, but she scanned the bushes, the park area around the playground and all the people on it. She tried to be discrete as she watched, but no one approached without being analyzed thoroughly by her. She knew some of the other mothers thought she was a “Nervous Nellie,” but she didn’t care. So far she hadn’t had any reason to be alarmed, but that didn’t convince her she didn’t need to be constantly on guard.

“Hey, Kay. Dottie Peltam told me they hired a new Black Belt instructor at the Karate Palace. She saw him when she picked up her twins yesterday and she says he’s a hunk!”

Kay looked at her with interest. “Really, in our town? A hunk? That doesn’t sound right.”

Carol huffed up a bit. “Well, my Carl is pretty good looking...”

Kay laughed. “I wasn’t counting him, he’s taken. And most likely if this guy is a hunk he’s probably taken already too.”

“I hope not, because Dottie was really excited about him. It’s been too long since her husband moved out and I think she’s getting a little desperate. Actually, who can blame her, single-handedly raising nine year old twin boys would drive any sane woman daffy. Apparently this guy was transferred here recently and as he has won several titles, the Karate Palace jumped at the chance to have him on staff. He’s going to work there part time with the advanced class.” Carol paused a moment. “Say, aren’t you one of the advanced students?” She laughed. “Well forget Dottie, maybe he’d be of interest to you. You’ve been single longer than Dottie, haven’t you?”

Kay nodded, surprised. Then she chuckled easily. “But I’m not desperate yet. I only have one four year old boy. Well, almost four years old.” The women smiled at each other, both of their boys were so anxious to turn four they were constantly correcting anyone who mistakenly called them three.

Kay wondered a moment how having a new instructor would affect the way her class was run. For sure she would appreciate having someone work them harder. She had been attending karate classes three nights a week since she moved to town more than three years ago. And because she worked hard at it and practiced religiously the days of the week she didn’t attend class she was now in the advanced class. She was serious about developing her skills. She didn’t do it for exercise, nor did she want to compete in the sport. It was one of the things she did to help her feel safe. Of course she didn’t expect her skills in karate to protect her, but she hoped it would give her a slight edge in a dangerous situation. And, she felt that edge was worth the time she invested in becoming an expert.

She knew her real protection rested on her vigilance and her hand gun practice sessions on Tuesdays. Those were what she relied on to keep her and Jamie safe. She worked hard to hide the fact she was constantly frightened. She kept some distance between her and Jamie and the other families, mostly because she knew how risky being connected to them could be. She arranged any play dates at the park, or in bad weather they met at the mall which also had a playground inside. She never allowed Jamie to spend time at his friends’ houses, nor did she invite his friends to their house. She never asked any of the other mothers to pick up Jamie from school for her, even though she sometimes picked up other children when their mothers asked her to do it.

She used three mature women in town as babysitters so she could attend her karate classes and practice sessions. Each sitter had demonstrated her ability to follow Kay’s strict instructions when babysitting for Jamie and that allowed her enough comfort to leave her son long enough to take her classes.

Kay listened with only half her attention as Carol nattered on about a recent confrontation with her mother-in-law. It was a familiar story. One that she had heard in various versions over the year they had been friendly. She could make sympathetic noises and nod her head by rote, not needing to listen carefully. Instead she considered the pending change at Karate Palace. It didn’t take her long to decide it probably wouldn’t have much, if any, impact on her, and she channeled her thoughts back to her current life.

She didn’t like change, she admitted. It alarmed her. She had been in Applecorners for almost four years now and she liked the place, the people and the life she was living here. It was a small commuter town, near Chicago, but not close enough for the residents to commute daily to jobs in Chicago. The people who lived here mostly commuted to jobs in the area north of Chicago and a few actually worked in Applecorners itself, providing services to the townspeople.

Kay and Jamie lived in a modest house in one of the original neighborhoods where young couples and professionals had been buying up the old houses and remodeling them for their families. So the neighborhood rang with children’s laughter once more and front yards were decorated with wagons and bicycles that had been left in heaps when their owners went off to other pursuits. She felt comfortable here and safe. She had a mixed group of neighbors, different ethnicity and different age groups, so a single mom with one child didn’t stand out, didn’t look different.

This park was only two blocks away from their house and she and Jamie walked over here frequently. Many of the families used it as a common ground to socialize with their neighbors.

Kay glanced at her watch and realized it was getting late.

“Carol, we need to go. I’ve still got work to do.” She smiled at Carol. “Tonight’s my karate night so I guess I get to check out the hunk. I’ll let you know the next time I see you if there’s anything to get excited about.”

“Oh, do you have to go so soon?” Then seeing Kay nod, she offered, “Do you want to leave Jamie here to play and I’ll drop him off on our way home?”

“That’s nice of you, Carol, but not today, thanks.” She waved as she headed for the play structure the boys were now using as a pirate ship.

“Come on Jamie, time to go home. We have work to do.”

Jamie reluctantly joined her. “Ah, Mom, couldn’t we play just a little longer?”

But at her firm look he only turned to wave good-by to his friend and trotted alongside of her telling her all about the game they had been playing.

By the time Mrs. Allen arrived that evening to babysit, Kay felt she had done a full day’s work. She had Jamie in bed already sleeping. She had completed the update of one of her primary account’s website and only had to check it in the morning before taking it live. She had done two loads of laundry and with Jamie’s help they had dusted and swept the living room. She was looking forward to the two hour class at the Karate Palace because for some reason that kind of exertion relaxed her.

Mrs. Allen had already settled in front of her favorite television show and had her hands busy with her knitting. “You have a good time and don’t worry about anything. I’m just sorry that Jamie was sleeping when I got here so I didn’t get to read him a story tonight.”

“He’ll be sorry too, but he apparently had too much fun at the park today and wore himself out. He almost fell asleep in his dinner.” She pulled the door closed behind her, checked it to make sure it was securely locked and headed for her car sitting in the driveway.

Mrs. Allen was her favorite of the three babysitters. They all had been carefully instructed to never open the door while she was gone no matter who said they were at the door or how harmless the person appeared to be. They were to tell the person to go away and then call Kay. If the person didn’t go away they were to call nine-one-one, and Kay, in that order. So far the only people who had ever come to the door was a pizza delivery man who seemed to be lost, but Mrs. Allen didn’t open the door to find out. And on two occasions people came by wanting to give out religious materials. Each of the sitters followed Kay’s instructions perfectly. Little towns like Applecorners tended to lull their residents into a sense of false security and Kay wanted to be certain that neither she nor Jamie became victims because of that dangerous habit.

Later while she stood on the floor of the practice room, waiting for the arrival of their instructor Kay fiddled with the knot on her blue belt to make sure it was tied perfectly on her white gi, the pajama-like costume used by everyone in the sport. She looked around at the other students assembled, nodding to several and smiling at some. These students wore an assortment of green, blue, and brown belts and three wore black belts. The colors indicated their skill level in the strict regimen used at the Karate Palace. Kay was working very hard to move up to a brown belt. When their instructor came though the door everyone bowed and waited respectfully for instructions to begin practice. Kay liked that restraint in this sport. Karate was governed strictly by rules and even though the participants were learning how to strike down and disable their opponents by using cunning and stealth, they all obeyed the rules of courtesy.

Their instructor started them, as usual, with a series of practice moves to loosen their limbs and focus their attention. Kay was concentrating on her form, trying to overcome her tendency to let her spine relax when she started to get tired. When the instructor called a break she saw the man Carol had been talking about. He was standing near the door before walking outside to confer with their instructor. He was an interesting looking man, but Kay wasn’t willing to agree he was the hunk Carol reported him to be. He was tall and strong looking. His face was angular, his features sharp, all put together, she admitted, in a pleasing way. It was his eyes that she noticed. They seemed to burn into you in a way that sent shivers down your spine. While he had been standing there he let his eyes roam carefully over each person in the class.

After the break their instructor introduced Derek Jarvis, the new instructor. Derek spoke a little about his experience and the titles he currently held and then announced that beginning this evening the Karate Palace was starting a new advanced track program which he would teach. He called out a list of twelve names and asked them to move to another practice room. Kay was one of the ones selected for the new class.

The quiet speculation going on among the class members as they settled in the new practice room faded when, with precise formal words, Derek spoke again. “Each of you was selected to be included in this track because of your past demonstration of form and expertise. We hope some of you will move on to compete and win titles for the house in the competitions we are scheduled to participate in later this year.” His eyes roamed around the room, looking briefly at each student. “You can expect to work hard, harder than you have before, but you will reap many rewards as we concentrate on each move, as we hone your skills, and prepare you to defend yourself in every situation.”