Diamonds and Dreams (19 page)

“I
can imagine,” she murmured, realizing that the guilt he stored inside him must
have been a tremendous burden.

“Seeing
you at the reunion was like being visited by Connie’s ghost.
 
You look so much like her that the effect is
startling.
 
I can’t let you move away,
then return to haunt me later when I’m not expecting you.
 
No, I can’t do that.”

He
talked in riddles again and she spoke sharply, “
Rafe
,
would you please stop acting crazy so I can make sense out of what you’re
saying?”

“If
I’m crazy, you made me that way,
Constance
.”
 
His voice sounded eerie.

I
shouldn’t have invited
Rafe
inside tonight
,
Lindsay thought bleakly.
 
Maybe I didn’t really want to know all these
ghastly details, plus I don’t feel safe alone with him now!

She
gasped in terror when he drew out a glistening silver knife from his pocket and
shouted, “You won’t haunt me anymore, Connie!
 
I’ll stop you!
 
I have to!”

Just
then, he lunged forward but she managed to rise and step back immediately as he
stumbled over a brass urn which had been on the floor next to the sofa.
 
Realizing now what she should have known all
along—that
Rafe
was a sick and very dangerous man—her
eyes darted around the room as she desperately planned her escape.
 
Taking a chance, she dashed across the room
and made it to the front door which, luckily, was unlocked.
 
Shaken with fear, she ran outside and headed
for the row of forsythia bushes where she hoped she could kneel down and hide
from
Rafe
.

Stooped
down behind the thick foliage, she crossed her arms so that her hands held her
sides tightly.
 
Bowing her head, she
didn’t dare peek over the top of the bushes to see where
Rafe
was.
 
She knew he followed her outside
when she heard the front door slam shut behind them.

Leave!
 
Please go!
she
prayed
silently.

“Where
are you, Connie?
 
I’ll find you,”
Rafe
called as he searched around the yard.

When
she didn’t hear the sound of his heavy footsteps trailing in the grass, she
assumed that he slipped around to the backyard.
 
Releasing a sigh after too many moments of holding her breath, she rose
slowly to find out if she might have a chance to race into the house and call
the police without him seeing her.
 
As
she stood, she saw that he didn’t leave the front yard after all and loomed
directly in front of her.

“I
told you I’d find you, Constance,” he said triumphantly, still holding the
knife with both hands.

“You’re
wrong about me,
Rafe
.
 
I’m Lindsay, not Constance.
 
Connie’s
dead
!”

His
blank stare penetrated her gaze, and for a few seconds, she thought she might
have gotten through to him.
 
Her hopes
shattered when he said, “You don’t fool me.
 
Connie’s not dead.
 
Not
really.
 
Her spirit is inside your body,
isn’t it?
 
Connie’s in you so deeply that
I can see her in your face.
 
Even in the
dim light of the moon I can see that your expression is the same as the one she
wore that night at Great Oak Hill.”

“No!”
 
She was horrified at what he might do
next.

“Don’t
lie!”

“
Rafe
, please!
 
Put the knife down.”

“No!
 
I’ll chase away the memories of Constance
once and for all.
 
Now that I found you
and no one is here to help you, there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Holding
the knife in one hand and grabbing her arm with the other, he said, “Goodbye
forever, Connie!”
 
As he lifted the knife
up to stab her, an agonizing scream tore from Lindsay’s throat.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Just my
luck,
Brant thought sarcastically when he drove into Lindsay’s driveway and spotted a
strange car.
 
He found it odd when he
rang the doorbell that no one answered.
 
Seeing that the door was unlocked, he entered the house.
 
After looking around only to reach the
conclusion that no one was there, he scowled and stepped back outside
again.
 
He was about to leave, believing
he’d been stood up, when a blood-curdling scream came from the direction of the
hedge.
 
Turning, he saw Lindsay there
struggling with
Rafe
, who tried to thrust his knife
into her chest.

“Stop!”
Brant yelled, springing forward and
pushing her out of the way as he fought with her assailant.

“Come
to save Connie?
 
Well, I won’t let you!”
Rafe
vowed.

The
blank look on Brant’s face reflected his disbelief, and he let his guard down for
a few seconds.
 
During this brief time,
Rafe
raised his arm,
then
flung it
down quickly to stab Brant with the knife.
 
Lindsay gasped when she saw red stains of blood appear on Brant’s left
shoulder.
 
Hoping she could assist him as
he tried to snatch the knife from
Rafe
, she started
to get between the two men, but
Rafe’s
elbow came up
hard against her jaw and she nearly stumbled to the ground.

“Get
back!” Brant shouted at her.

Realizing
that her interference placed her in Brant’s way instead of helping him, she
stepped aside.
 
More blood spilled forth
from Brant’s wound.
 
She suspected that
the pain must be worse because it seemed that his reflexes slowed.
 
Grunting and struggling like a trapped
animal,
Rafe
showed no signs of weakening, but the
moon’s pale light shone on Brant’s face that was drawn tightly by exhaustion
and rigid concentration.
 
The two men
continued to fight, and then
Rafe
accidentally
dropped the knife.
 
Brant grabbed both
his wrists and Lindsay scampered over to where the knife lay on the ground,
seizing the opportunity to grab it.
 
The
blade felt cold and sinister against her palm as she handed it to Brant.

Without
a weapon now,
Rafe
seemed less dangerous, especially
since his mood changed suddenly.
 
“Don’t
hurt me!
 
Please!” he begged Brant.
 
“Connie caused me to hurt enough
already.
 
I was only trying to chase her
away.”

While
Rafe
huddled on the ground and sobbed like a child,
Brant held the knife in his left hand now and used the right one to press
against his shoulder that ached terribly.
 
“What started all this?” he whispered to Lindsay.

Rafe
continued to cry as she told Brant
softly, “He’s responsible for my sister’s death.
 
The guilt he carried inside him all these
years finally spilled forth.”

“I
see.”
 
Brant put
Rafe’s
knife in his pocket.
 
“Lindsay, go call
the police.”

“What
about your arm?
 
Do you need an
ambulance?”

“No.
 
I’ll take care of my arm later.
 
Right now we need to do something with
him.”
 
He nodded toward
Rafe
, who whimpered, apparently no longer paying attention
to them.
 
“Call the police.”

She
hurried inside and quickly made the call.
 
As soon as she finished, she rushed outside again, carrying with her a
clean terry cloth towel that she gave to Brant to bind his wound.

“Come
into the house with me,
Rafe
,” Brant urged
gently.
 
“If you go quietly with me, no
one will get hurt.”

Rafe
rose and took a few steps toward the
driveway where his car was parked.
 
“I’m
going home now.
 
You can keep my knife.”

“Sorry.
 
I can’t let you leave,
Rafe
.”
 
Brant’s voice contained an authoritative
tone.

Flashing
red lights and screeching sirens filled the night, attracting the attention of
a few curious neighbors as the police cruiser arrived.
 
Two men in uniforms emerged from the vehicle
and seized control of the situation by hand-cuffing
Rafe
,
who turned rebellious again.
 
Before the
officers led him away,
Rafe
called to Lindsay, “I
hope you liked the roses.”

Lindsay
related
Rafe’s
story to the second officer who jotted
down notes.
 
“Would you
like to press charges, ma’am?”

She
hesitated a moment before replying, “No.
 
I’d just like for you to see that
Rafe
Wagner
receives the psychological help he needs.”

Brant’s
sides hurt from
Rafe’s
solid punches and his shoulder
ached.
 
Her reaction surprised him,
leading him to ask, “Lindsay, are you sure you don’t want to press charges?”

“I’m
sure.”

“He
tried to kill you!
 
Don’t you want to see
him punished?”

“
Rafe
suffered enough through the years to pay for the
mistakes he made the night Connie died.
 
What I want is for him to receive treatment so he’ll gain the courage to
become a caring, responsible person someday.”

“From
the first moment I met
Rafe
, I sensed that he was a
schemer.
 
I wish you’d listened when I
tried to warn you about him earlier.”

“I
wish I’d listened, too.”

The
police took
Rafe
with them after informing her that
they’d send someone by later for his car.
 
After they left, she drove Brant to the nearest medical center, one that
remained open twenty-four hours a day.
 
As they waited a few minutes while the doctor finished examining another
patient, Lindsay stood behind where Brant sat and placed her fingers in the
hollow between his collar-bone, then pressed against the upper surface of his
first rib.

“You
have an angel’s touch,” he murmured.

“I’m
sorry you were injured because of me.”

“When
I think of what could have happened if I hadn’t arrived in time, the thought
makes me tremble.”
 
His blue gaze looked
directly into her face.
 
“I came close to
losing you too many times, sweetheart, and I--”

He
didn’t have a chance to say anything more because a nurse dressed in a crisp
white uniform appeared and motioned for him to follow her.
 
“The doctor will see you now.”

While
Lindsay sat alone in the waiting room, she sorted through a stack of magazines
laying
on a table and chose a publication for women.
 
Flipping through the pages of ads,
then
pausing when she came to the first article, she hoped
that it wouldn’t come to symbolize the end of her relationship with Brant.
 
It concerned a woman who gave up a promising
career to stay home and raise a family.
 
Her children were grown now and had interests of their own as did
her
husband.
 
The
author seemed to feel that she was deprived of this satisfaction.
 
Lindsay was aware that she could never be
content without a stimulating career.
 
On
the other hand, Brant deserved the same consideration from her.
 
There was bound to be resentment from the one
that elected to give up their present job, and she wasn’t sure they had the
right to ask that of each other.

Brant
appeared suddenly with a white bandage peeking through a hole in his stained
yellow shirt.
 
“I’m as good as new now.”

“Ready to go?”
 
She was glad that the pain she saw on his face earlier was gone.

“How about if we stop somewhere to eat?”

“Sure.”

“If
you don’t mind, let’s go to a drive-thru restaurant so we can eat in the
car.
 
I don’t want to go into the dining
room while I’m wearing this blood-stained shirt.”