His Frozen Heart (35 page)

Satisfied that I was going to make my
escape a second time, I turned my attention back to where I was
running just in time to see a gleaming sheet of ice stretched out
in front of me. I was four full strides onto the ice before I
realized I was running on a frozen pond.

The ice under my feet was smooth and
spongy. It was strong enough to hold me upright, but with each
step, the ice grew thinner. I slid to a stop, scanning in all
directions. I couldn’t go back the way I had come because I didn’t
have enough of a head start to find the safety of the bank and
distance myself from Grey again. Instead I would try to run at an
angle toward the outside of the lake, to find an adjacent bank
where I could get off of the ice.

As I had committed to my plan, the ice
under me complained, then spider web cracks formed under my feet. I
took a tentative step as more cracks formed under me. Paralyzed by
the fear that I would fall through if I continued or die if I went
back: I stood still, searching for a better option. A single large
crack opened up between my feet. The ice supporting my weight
wasn’t nearly as thick as it needed to be. I stood where I was, my
mind racing: I was at least thirty feet from the closest bank. Grey
had caught sight of my dilemma and was closing in fast.

Fear that the pond would swallow me
whole took hold. Grey reached the bank where I had run onto the
ice, as he mocked, “For a college girl, you don’t read very well.”
He pointed to a sign facing away from where I stood. “Says right
here: keep off thin ice.”

I couldn’t go back the way I had come:
Grey was waiting. I couldn’t stay where I was because the crack
underneath me would give way any second. I couldn’t go toward the
center of the lake for the same reason. Going left would get me
back to my car if I could just outpace him one more time. The
muscles in my legs were already shaking, and my lungs felt like
they were on fire. I had no other options. I jumped as far as I
could to my left. As soon as the ball of my lead foot hit the ice,
I was running full-speed toward the lake’s bank.

Grey anticipated my move, and his feet
were in motion in the same instant mine were. I reached the short
bank and pulled myself up the berm using the naked winter saplings
for grips. I climbed with every ounce of strength I possessed. As I
reached the top of the berm, Grey’s hand grabbed the back of my
jacket and pulled me back down to the bottom of the berm. I
scrambled to my feet ready to spring forward up the berm a second
time when he lunged and was directly in front of me.

Grey grabbed both my arms and
attempted to shove me back out onto the ice. I hooked my foot under
an exposed root of a tree to anchor myself in place. When I didn’t
topple backwards, Grey lost his balance, and I shoved him hard out
onto the ice. I didn’t look where he had landed and could only hope
the patch he had slid onto would be thin. I ran forward up the berm
and refused to let my eyes look back. I did not listen for
footsteps or breathing behind me, nor did I tear my eyes away from
where I was going. If I didn’t make it to safety this time, I
wouldn’t make it at all. I had run for too long, and my body
couldn’t take the abuse for much longer.

I dodged trees, low hanging branches,
roots protruding from the ground, tall grass and thin shrubs,
making my own trail through the trees. The vegetation pelted my
numb face and cut my hands as I clawed my way through. Lights ahead
of me from cars on Windham Street were my beacon of hope in the
night.

As my body cleared the tree line, I
was right: Windham Street lay directly in front of me. The fear and
adrenalin in my body heightened. Without looking, I darted directly
in front of the traffic, ignoring oncoming vehicles from both
directions. It felt like playing that old video game Frogger as I
dodged cars driving in both directions. Surprised motorists lay on
their horns as I dashed in front of several unsuspecting
drivers.

I was nearly exhausted after my escape
through the park. My Chevelle was less than a mile from here, but I
didn’t have the strength to make it that far. I looked for a police
car or an emergency vehicle of some kind. Traffic was heavy, but
all the motorists seemed to pay little attention to me once I was
on the far side of the busy street. My eyes scanned for a dark
entryway or crevice where I could hide and catch my
breath.

Despite the heavy traffic on the
street, most of the businesses that lined it were closed for the
day. To my left, a half block down the street stood an Irish pub. A
brown overhang above the entrance with gold lettering proudly
displayed: Finnegan’s. The pub’s name was flanked by shamrocks on
either side. A public place was far safer than trying to hide on
the street. I ran to the pub’s front door as a sharp cramp
stretched along my side.

Peering into the darkened front
window, I could see there were at least thirty people inside. I
could get lucky and Grey could run past this place, but even if he
found me inside, he wouldn’t attack me in front of that many
witnesses. I grappled for the oversized brass door handle as my
hand shook violently. A voice touched with humor called out from
just a few feet away. “Are you training for a marathon? There are
better activities to be had on a Saturday night.”

The voice stopped me short. I let go
of the door handle and turned to see a sleek black Mercedes sedan
parked on the street. Adjoining the pub was a neighborhood grocery
store, and directly in front of the store’s front door was Mark.
Too much was happening at once; I ignored Mark and grabbed the
pub’s handle in favor of the relative safety it offered.

A car horn blared behind me. I turned
and saw Grey nearly get mowed down by a green Hyundai. A second
shout from Mark, “Ah, an interesting way to train for a marathon.
Someone chasing you is excellent motivation to push yourself. Don’t
let me interfere.”

Mark confidently strolled toward his
car, ignoring the fact that a lunatic had just chased me out of the
woods. My eyes snapped back to Grey. Silently I wondered how Mark
could be so callous. In that moment I wasn’t convinced he could
possibly be a distant relative to Dave, let alone a
brother.

Grey stood in the median of the
street. He saw exactly where I was. Re-evaluating my condition, the
pub was still my best option. No way could my body outrun him
again. Grey warned, “You’ll regret it if you take one more
step.”

Did he think I was stupid? Maybe he
should have said, “Wait for me so I can hurt you.” I reasoned that
I could find a sympathetic bartender or a backdoor – maybe both.
Pulling the front door open to make my escape, a surprised couple
darted through the door I held open. Neither commented on my wild
appearance, choosing instead to put their heads down and walk in
Mark’s direction. The momentary delay was all Grey needed. He ran
through the three lanes of traffic, leaped onto the curb and stared
at me with angry eyes.

My fear and exhaustion morphed into
anger when I turned toward him and shouted, “Back off. I’m calling
the cops. You lose.”

He stopped short. The threat of police
may have slowed him, or possibly the fact that he knew chasing me
into a public place could only end badly for him. I gave him a
triumphant grin.

Grey placed both his hands on his
knees, his eyes never leaving mine. I didn’t back down, or rush
into the pub: I stood answering him with the same angry glare he
had just offered me. Wearing a forced smile, his winded answer was
difficult to understand, “No one cheats Teddy and gets away with
it. Remember that.”

I let go of the door handle like an
idiot, instead taking a step forward to face the brutal man who had
pursued me for nearly four days. “I never cheated Teddy. Neither
did Libby. It was a fair game. Ask his little brother.”

“
Teddy says you
cheated.”

“
How did we cheat? And even
if we had, Libby’s in the hospital right now and you already got
your money back. You nearly gave my neighbor a heart attack. All
this over a few hundred dollars is insane.” He didn’t respond so I
shouted, “Kidnapping just got added to your attempted murder
charges. When the cops find you, you’re done!”

He stood up straight, an evil smirk
wide on his face, “I’m going to make an example out of you. No one
messes with Teddy in this town. Others need to know there are
repercussions when they cheat him.”

A confidence resonated loud in my
voice which I did not feel. “I got news for you: Teddy lost fair
and square. Word gets out that all of this happened over a few
hundred dollars, and he won’t be able to show his face anywhere
around here. This is my town. This is Libby’s town. Teddy’s new
here. Libby has lots of friends who aren’t going to be happy about
what the two of you have done.”

His smirk returned to a glare. “Are
you threatening me?”

I was tired of running and furious
that these two losers had turned my life upside down and had come a
fraction of an inch from killing my best friend over nothing. The
image of our sofa on fire in my back yard resonated in my head – my
fury from earlier returned. I wanted him to know that there would
be backlash for both of them.

Before I could answer, Mark’s smooth
voice came from the other side of me, “She’s right. I asked around.
She’s not lying. Teddy’s always been a hot head. He may have led
you down a path you didn’t need to go. He wasn’t cheated – he
lost.”

All my energy had been focused on Grey
in front of me; I had nearly forgotten Mark was behind me. Grey’s
over-confident voice instantly turned submissive when he realized
Mark had just interjected himself into our conversation. “Oh, hey,
I didn’t know you were still in town.” Grey’s posture straightened
and his glare dissolved when he answered, “This is a favor for
Teddy, you understand.”

Grey’s comment didn’t make any sense.
It was almost as if Grey were asking permission from Mark, but
permission for what? To kill me? To give me an adjoining room with
Libby? Then it hit me: I had a weapon in my arsenal I hadn’t even
considered yet. Turning toward Mark, I asked Grey the question,
“So, Grey, why don’t you tell Mark how you tried to kill his little
brother Wednesday morning.” Instead of waiting to see Mark’s
reaction, I turned back toward Grey. “You shot him on my street.
You knew that was Mark’s brother, right?” Grey’s eyes grew to the
size of quarters as his shoulders slumped and his body shrank. Grey
had been so focused on teaching Libby and me a lesson, he hadn’t
realized he had just grabbed a Bengal’s tail in the
process.

Mark glowered through me. If looks
could kill, a grave digger would be thawing dirt right now. “What’s
she talking about, Grey?”

The table had turned as I watched the
fear I had been feeling for four solid days materialize on Grey’s
face. He stammered, “I don’t know. I never shot your brother,
Boss.”

Proof that I had selected the right
weapon was standing in front of me. Enjoying the way Grey was
squirming, I added tartly, “You shot him all right. Then the cops
arrested him for your break-in. Nice. I’m sure Mark doesn’t mind in
the least that you almost killed his little brother and left him to
answer for your breaking and entering charge.”

I turned toward Mark, “You thought
your brother was dead all those years? This lunatic almost made
that a reality this week.” I may have exaggerated a little, but
Grey had shot Dave, and I definitely had Mark’s
attention.

Mark’s hands balled into fists. His
knuckles turned white. Angry lines formed on his forehead as he
remained silent, eyes focused squarely on Grey.

Grey held up both his hands, “Hey, I
didn’t kill anybody. I shot at some guy who was chasing me. It was
self-defense. He never told me he was your brother. I would have
never pulled a gun on your family, never!”

Remembering how Dave had described it
to me, I used every bit of leverage I had. “That’s funny? Dave told
me that you let him in my house because you thought he was Mark.
Maybe you were trying to kill Mark?”

Pure horror showed on Grey’s face. His
complexion that had been flushed just seconds before from running
drained of all of its color as he turned sheet white. “That is not
what happened!”

Mark’s voice was calm, turning his
attention to me, “C’mon, Candy.” Mark held out his hand to me in a
friendly gesture. “I believe your altercation with Grey is over.
I’ll give you a ride to your car.” Without looking at Grey, Mark
warned, “You, Teddy and I may need to have a chat later,
Grey.”

My eyes darted between the two men.
Neither seemed like a safe option: a flash of Mark holding me off
the ground by my neck and tossing me like a rag doll Thursday night
made me take an unintentional step away from his outstretched hand.
Mark scared me almost as much as the buffoon I had outrun. I looked
again at the Irish pub’s door handle. I had screwed up royally by
not telling Dave right away after I had seen Mark on Thursday. Fear
or not, I wouldn’t screw up again by letting Mark drive away
tonight.

Grey still sounded as if he were
scared of Mark when his smooth voice leaked the fear that was
written on his face. “Hey, this situation is something Teddy
initiated. You and me,” he wagged his finger wildly between Mark
and himself, “we’re good, right?”