Reunion (A Psychological Suspense with Murder, Mystery and the Paranormal) (10 page)

“Yeah. I’m the same with Chinese food.” Maria chuckled. “So, what do you feel like?”

“Hmm? How about a cheeseburger; just a good old-fashioned American cheeseburger.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Maria. “I think there’s a Johnny Rockets in here somewhere.”

The two women strolled through the airport until they came to the nostalgic restaurant. Maria pulled Lana’s luggage. She watched her limp and thought, a thirty-seven-year-old woman walking with a cane; it isn’t right. The thought sent a burning rage through her chest.

After they were seated, a waiter took their orders and delivered their drinks. The two women sat at a small, round table, which was covered with a red-and-white checkered tablecloth, equipped with a polished metal napkin holder and the standard condiments. They had to shout over the clamor of the sizzling open kitchen and the tapping and clanging of plates and silverware.

With her legs crossed and both hands holding a warm cup of heavily sweetened coffee, Maria quizzed Lana about her life. She maintained her professionalism as a matter of style, but she wasn’t sure how much of herself she was ready to reveal. Lana’s success intimidated her.

“So, tell me about yourself. What are you doing these days?” Maria asked.

“Well—” Lana’s hands practically did the talking for her. In contrast to Maria’s calm demeanor, each conjunction, adverb and adjective that came out of Lana’s mouth was emphasized with a sudden flick of her wrist or a wave of her arm. “I’ve been writing ever since college. Then when Zoe was old enough to travel, I decided to homeschool her so I could accept speaking engagements. Gotta keep working, being a single parent and all.”

Maria laughed and said, “Wow! That’s so exciting! And how is Zoe?”

“Oh, she’s doing great! She decided to delay college a year so she could travel abroad with me. I was determined to remain stateside while I homeschooled her and now my new book has afforded us the opportunity to travel overseas. We’re getting ready for the tour and hopefully some great memories together.

“How about you, Maria?” Lana slapped the table. Maria assumed she did it to generate excitement. “What’s life like in the big city?”

Before Maria could answer, Lana’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller identification and then popped the phone open.

“Excuse me one second,” said Lana. “It’s my agent.” She stood up and limped away with her left hand cupped over her ear.

Maria shifted her position and crossed her legs. She felt slightly insecure around Lana, because of her accomplishments and good looks. She tapped on the table and began to fidget. I could really use a cigarette, she thought. She noticed a No Smoking sign. Damn.

Lana returned and said, “Sorry about that. You were saying?”

“Well, to be honest with you, my life is pretty dull.” Maria grinned, making light of her story. “I run a clinic for trauma victims and live in a small apartment right above it; nothing too exciting really. I share the apartment with my friend Connie. I have a cat named Mr. Rutherford and I never go out! So…” Maria clasped her hands together, humbly confessing her reality.

Lana smiled with eyes wide open. Maria searched for another question.

“So, does Zoe see her father much?” Maria immediately regretted asking the question. It just slipped out. She felt as uncomfortable as Lana looked. Lana sat there for a brief moment with her jaw sinking like a German U-boat.

• • •

At exactly 1:15 p.m. that same day, Deputy Bryan Jacobs pulled up to Kate Tooley’s mailbox. She waited for him, but neglected to wear her usual smile. She looked nervous and anxious. She tried to cover her anxiety by looking busy, afraid that her neighbors would notice her forthcoming action.

When Bryan’s car came to a complete stop, he smiled, but Kate’s eyes looked down at the ground and she quickly darted around the front of Bryan’s vehicle, opened the passenger door, and slipped in.

“Drive!” she insisted. She didn’t look at him. She just stared straight ahead.

“Wha—? What’s going on?”

“Just drive!”

“Okay.” He put the car in drive and drove straight ahead.

“What’s up, Kate?”

Kate slouched down in the leather seat. Her black bangs hung over her eyes like when she was a teenager. She hadn’t showered since the day before. She crossed her arms.

“It’s Nick. He’s freaking me out.” She pulled the hair away from her eyes. “He’s getting worse and I don’t know if I can take it anymore. He’s always drunk. He’s always home late! He’s alw—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. Just slow down and tell me what’s going on!”

Occasionally glancing at Bryan, Kate continued. “Okay. First of all, he came home stinking drunk last night, as usual! But even so, he was off.” Kate peered at Bryan to ascertain his reaction.

He glanced at her, his eyes wrinkled. “Off?”

“Yes. I mean, there was something different about him. He acted more paranoid than usual. It’s like his panic attacks have stepped up a notch.” Kate shivered and rubbed her arms.

“What do you mean?” asked Bryan.

She turned toward Bryan, and gripped her arms to absorb the anxiety. “I’m not sure. All I know is, when he came home last night, he went on and on about seeing David Ray and how he’s coming back from the dead to finish what he started. He trashed the house late last night, for God’s sake! He ran around like a maniac, throwing furniture and…he hit me!” Kate slammed her hand on the dashboard. Her eyes welled up with tears. Her hand recoiled and she sunk into her seat. “He thought I was David. He tried to kill me.”

Kate uncrossed her arms, covered her face with both hands and began sobbing. Bryan pulled the patrol car over, glanced in his mirror at the empty road and put his right arm around her, rubbing her shoulder. She had never been so vulnerable in his presence before, and he had never held her until that moment. Kate looked up at him with swollen eyes. He started the engine again and drove out of the neighborhood as quickly as possible. She nestled her head into his arm and she felt safe.

• • •

Maria’s question hit Lana like a punch in the gut. Her eyes drifted away and memories stirred. She remembered crouching down on the floor of the cafeteria in a panic, her small body folded over and her hands covering her head. After listening to the horrific screams and gunshots, her body quivered in its crumpled state, jerking after each explosion. Her brain worked overtime, unsuccessfully trying to subdue her fears.

When David Ray pulled the trigger, her body jolted, causing her to shriek in fear.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Noah knelt down beside her and held her in his arms. Lana remembered feeling him shiver while he repeated, “It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay. It’ll be okay.”

The shooting resumed, however, and David Ray continued hunting through the cafeteria.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

David stopped at several different tables, acknowledging his targets and the clique that they were a part of. Eventually, he made it to Lana’s table.

High from an adrenalin rush, David jumped on top of the popular group’s table and stomped on it with his heavy black boots and shouted, “How do you like that you stupid-ass preppies? Now who’s the loser, huh? Oh, I see you down there. You’re not so tough now, are you?”

Lana heard his footsteps above her head and shuddered.

“Awww! Are the preppies too scared to come after the little weirdo?” She peeked between Noah’s arms. David’s shadow swung around the floor, indicating his movements from above.

“Are you afraid?” he shouted.

With spittle ejecting from his mouth, David worked himself into a sweat. Lana wished she hadn’t pulled out of Noah’s cover, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. In a fit of rage, he stomped hard on the table, causing everyone beneath to twitch with fear. David responded by screaming at the top of his lungs, “Well guess what? You better be scared, ‘cause some of you are going to die! Do you hear me?” He threw his arms out and lifted his head back, like a gladiator poised for the final lunging impalement. “I’m going to kill you!”

David Ray jumped off the table and began shooting the Jennings 9mm. He wasn’t prepared to handle the recoil. Two bullets zipped past Noah and hit Lana. She screamed when the first one hit her left thigh and again when another bullet ripped through her right forearm. The other students near her screamed and cried as well. Some cried in pain from their injuries, others out of fear.

The burning sensation of the bullet that lodged in her thigh suppressed the pain from the other wound. The bullet that hit her forearm grazed the tissue just enough to clear out a small path devoid of skin and muscle. Though less painful, the wound in her arm bled profusely. The pain and sight of her own blood caused Lana to feel nauseous and dizzy. She began to hyperventilate and her peripheral vision closed in on her. Her eyes gave way to the brownout that preceded her loss of consciousness.

By the time Lana regained consciousness, David Ray was lying dead on the floor. His body lay less than ten feet away from her in a pool of blood. Somehow the knowledge of his death did not bring relief. The sight of his corpse only increased the trauma and postponed closure.

Moments later she realized that Noah had torn a strip off his shirt and made a tourniquet to stop the bleeding in her arm. She slumped in pain, coughing from the lingering sulfur in the air. The bullet had smashed her left femur, causing the bone to split and fracture. Like the others, Lana lay in shock on the cafeteria floor, waiting for help.

Noah sat beside her, keeping pressure on her open wound, weeping while they waited.

Lana’s head rolled limply as she looked around. She saw dead and injured students everywhere, crying, moaning. To the right, her swollen eyes caught a glimpse of Randy Tooley. His dead body lay in the center of Nick’s lap. Nick was crying, babbling, desperately trying to put Randy’s facial features back together; his blood splashed out, soaking Nick’s hands. Red splotches covered the underside of the table.

Lana’s head rolled around to the left. She saw Sydney Frey and Alexis Fairchild crumpled on top of each other. Their blood flowed and coalesced, pooling around their remains.

Lana had difficulty comprehending the magnitude of all that had taken place. Still she had seen enough to join the throng of grieving students and teachers.

The paramedics arrived after what seemed like hours. The local police and SWAT team blocked all exits until the authorities pronounced the building to be secure and safe for entry. Weeping and wailing and shouts of confusion intermingled with the sounds of police radios and sirens in the distance, while students scrambled to safety.

As the police escorted the survivors out of the building, they took down names and directed them to a safe zone where they could get medical attention, counseling and an opportunity to write their statements. Some of the students were unaccounted for, so the process of releasing names to the parents was delayed.

In due course, the paramedics assessed Lana and lifted her onto a gurney. As she was rolled toward the ambulance, she caught her last glimpse of Noah standing outside the main entrance talking to a police officer, his arms covered in blood—her blood.

Much later she learned that Noah had called his mother in Liverpool. Mrs. Berkley, terrified, insisted that he get on the next flight to the UK Lana had never seen him again.

Maria touched Lana’s hand from across the table. “Are…you…okay?” Maria’s touch brought Lana crashing back to reality. Her eyes popped wide open, startled.

“Oh! Yes, I…I’m fine.” She gasped and put her hand to her chest while she collected herself. “I’m sorry. I was just thinking about the last time I saw Zoe’s father. He stood outside of the school after the—” Lana paused and turned away. “I’m sorry. Will you excuse me for a just a second. I need to use the restroom.”

She shot right up and hurried off to the nearest restroom. When she stepped up to a sink, her body thrust forward, releasing a torrent of emotion. The flashback overwhelmed her psyche. She burst into tears, wailing with no regard to those who entered. “Oooooohhh,” she cried. “What am I doing?” The words were inaudible except to her. She grabbed some tissue from a stall and blew her nose. She continued sobbing and thought, why does this hurt so much? Pull yourself together, Lana! That was twenty years ago for crying out loud! What is your problem?

She rested her shaking hands on the sink and cried until the tears dried up. She splashed some water on her face and tidied up. She returned to the table, red-eyed.

Maria stood up. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean—”

“I’m fine. I just needed a minute to collect my thoughts.”

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I didn’t know that—”

Lana interrupted, “That Noah is Zoe’s father?” She sniffed and wiped her nose with a napkin.

Maria leaned toward Lana and touched her hand. “I remember Noah. He was a neat guy. What happened to him anyway?”

Lana sighed. “He caught the first plane back to England,” she said. “I guess his parents were devastated by the whole incident and demanded that he return home without delay. Of course, with all of my medical issues and Zoe’s premature birth, I was in my own world. Later, when I was home with a newborn, my parents and I decided that it was best to leave well enough alone. I don’t think I could’ve handled any more drama anyway.”

“I bet.”

“I had enough on my plate. I didn’t need to try to guilt him into taking care of us. I knew what I was getting into when we, well, you know.” Lana cut herself off. “Anyway, I’ve been married and divorced since then and I’m sure Noah’s happy living his own life now.”

“I see. So, have you been thinking about him lately, now that all this has started?”

“Yes,” said Lana. “All the time.”

T
anner Khan stood at the edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, more than 8,000 feet above sea level.

It sure is breezy up here, he thought to himself. He lifted his nose and felt the wind rush across his face.