Reunion (A Psychological Suspense with Murder, Mystery and the Paranormal) (26 page)

Noah stepped near Lana. “So you were married, huh?”

Lana shrugged. “Yeah. He couldn’t take it any more after seven years. Guess I was too much for him!”

Noah chuckled and handed her a drink. “Punch?”

Lana gripped the cup. “Thank you.”

“He must not have been the right one?”

“I guess not.” She smiled and walked away from the others toward the perimeter of the room.

Noah followed her. She stopped, turned around and slowly lifted her eyes.

Noah came to an abrupt halt. “Lana, you know, I don’t expect you to drop everything and run back to me. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Good. I don’t intend to.” She walked around him, limping as she encircled his still frame. His eyes followed her movements.

“So…do you love him?”

“Who, my ex?”

“Right.”

“I did.” She continued circling, drawing him away from the others.

“Was he good to you?”

“At first. It’s not like he was mean or anything. He just dropped out emotionally. Strike two for me, I guess.”

Noah twisted his neck, following her circular motion. “So you’re afraid of strike three? Is that it?”

Lana stopped moving when she came to a pillar, out of sight from the others. “Yeah, something like that.” He had hit a chord. Her chest felt heavy, and she was beginning to feel angry. His company felt good; it felt natural, but it hurt. She stepped close to him and stood still for a moment with her head down, unsure of how she might react. Then suddenly, she smacked him hard in the chest with the palm of her hand.

“Why didn’t you call me, Noah?”

She smacked again. “Why didn’t you write?”

Noah froze in shock. “Wh…why didn’t you?” he sputtered.

She smacked him a third time. “Because you were supposed to! You’re the man!”

“What?” His eyes wrinkled. He lowered his voice but maintained his intensity. “I was a boy, Lana! Don’t you get that? I didn’t know what to do, and neither did you!”

The truth of his words cut deep into her heart. She covered her face and cried. He put his arms around her and she wept unashamedly, resting in his embrace.

• • •

Maria sat next to Tanner. “So, Tanner, what’s your story?”

Tanner chuckled. “My story? You mean, what happened…here? I think you know the answer to that.”

“I do. But have you ever talked about it?” Maria pressed.

Tanner shook his head. “You mean besides my shrink? No, not really.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I shouldn—”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Tanner twisted his neck as if preparing for a boxing match. For him, going back to that day took mental and physical preparation. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked outward, but his mind went inward. His face became impassive, almost trance-like.

“I remember lying under the table with Kenny. He was making a plan to jump David.” Tanner’s forehead wrinkled and his body stiffened, molding to the chair. “My eyes were closed tight, but I could hear everything, the sniffles from a girl nearby, and the cops’ bullhorn outside. I remember hearing David jump onto your table. Then Kenny whispered to me that David was probably going to kill Nick because he’d teased him a lot. Kenny said he would stop David before he killed anyone else. That’s when I opened my eyes and saw David jump down from the table and shoot Alexis and Sydney. Then he started yelling for Nick.” Tanner paused. “Hang on a second. I’m gonna need a drink.”

He strode across the shag rug and drank a cup of punch, followed by a shot of vodka from a flask he took from the interior of his parka. He looked around before he poured.

Maria raised her eyebrows when he returned.

Tanner noticed her expression. “What? It’s for emergencies!”

“Uh-huh. I see.”

Tanner resumed his story.

“Anyway, at that point, Kenny started inching toward David. I remember feeling so scared for him. I remember shaking my head and whispering ‘No. Don’t go. Don’t do it.’ But he didn’t listen to me. Then David cocked the shotgun and aimed it at Randy. That’s when Kenny looked at me and whispered, ‘Three, two, one.’ When he stood up, David pulled the trigger and killed Nick’s brother, then lifted his head and saw Kenny running toward him. Kenny didn’t know it but Mr. Gardner was doing the same thing.” Tanner’s voice trembled. “When I saw David point his gun at Kenny I got scared and shouted ‘Look out!’ I didn’t mean for Kenny to turn around and look at me.” Tanner held back his emotions. “I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay, Tanner. You don’t have to continue.”

He sat up, sniffled, and loosened his limbs. “Yes, I do! I need to do this.” He cleared the enormous lump from his throat and stared out into the cafeteria where Kenny was shot.

“When Kenny turned around at the sound of my voice, David shot him in the side of his chest with the shotgun. I watched him fall to the ground. It seemed like it took forever before he hit the floor. Kenny’s eyes stared at me as if he was making sure I was okay. But I just sat there, frozen.” Tanner gritted his teeth and rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t do anything! I just sat there, while Mr. Gardner kept running, but David shot him too.” Tanner paused and stared at the ground.

• • •

Maria looked away. Tanner’s story conjured up her own memories. She closed her eyes and thought, I hate you David! She turned toward the area where she remembered her last minute with Darrin. Her thoughts went out to God. I would give anything to be with Darrin right now, but you took him away, didn’t you?

A moment later she heard Tanner say, “After a year of trying to live with myself, I decided I’d never back down from anything again. And that’s why I’m here.”

Maria turned her eyes back to Tanner and gave him a compassionate grin.

• • •

Kate sat down in the red chair with her feet tucked under her and fearfully looked around. One of the ceiling lights flickered and she jumped.

“Whoa! Did anyone see that?” she asked.

“See what?” asked Bryan, who stood eating next to the food table.

“The lights. One of them blinked!” Her hands gripped the leather armrest.

“After twenty years, I’m surprised any of them work,” replied Bryan.

Another light flickered.

“See I told you!” said Kate.

At that moment all the lights on the ceiling flickered on and off, creating a freakish light show. One by one, each light flashed and then blacked out. The cafeteria became dark in a matter of seconds. The boarded-up windows left the interior as dark as night, with the exception of a few faint rays filtering through the cracks around the plywood barriers. The women screamed in shock. Obscenities from the men echoed through the vacant room. Everyone was shouting but only for a split second. Then they were silent. Kate waited for someone to say something, to suggest something. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, a loud clicking sound reverberated from each exit. The sounds traveled around the exterior doors as the deadbolts locked in sequence, one after the other.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

She held her breath and outside a boom of thunder crashed. Kate’s heart pounded hard. This is it, she thought, we’re all going to die.

S
heriff Richards did not have time to attend the reunion celebration. He had spent the past few hours wrestling with the evidence, or lack of evidence, regarding the mysterious ghost. He ran the facts through his mind over and over, but nothing made sense.

He interrogated himself in the privacy of his office. “The impression on the door was clearly David’s face. Without evidence, I’ve got nothing—nothing but a paranormal, meaningless explanation. The face matched David’s picture in the police file. But if David Ray is still alive, murder cannot be ruled out, which is cause enough to continue the investigation.”

Larry concluded that if the David Ray scenario didn’t make sense, it was because he didn’t have all the information. Nick seemed to be the only one talking. After speaking with Donald Stout, Nick’s account sounded less far-fetched. However, he needed to confirm Donald’s story. He figured he could kill two birds with one stone by taking a trip to the Mount Carmel State Institution and taking Nick with him. In doing so, he could confirm Donald’s narrative, thereby dismissing David as a suspect and get Nick off his case. With many questions remaining, Larry grabbed his keys and headed toward Nick’s cell.

As Larry walked through the jail, the inmates greeted him with the usual taunting and bar banging. He stopped at Nick’s cell and called his name. Larry looked into the cell and watched Nick as he lay there sleeping.

“Hey! Nick Tooley!”

Nick sluggishly sat up and scratched his hair. Larry noticed his puffy eyes. Nick answered in a gruff voice.

“Yeah?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“No shit.” Nick lifted his head. “I’ve been trying to talk to you but you won’t listen.”

“All right, smart-ass! Get over here and tell me more about your dream.”

Nick stretched his arms and yawned before he moved to the cell door and spoke.

“Okay, Sheriff. I’ll tell you plainly. David Ray’s been talking to me. I don’t understand why he’s using me after everything that happened, but from the other sightings and what he did to that kid, I know it’s him and I know he’s real. And I’m telling you, if I can say that sober, you can trust it as the God’s honest truth.”

Larry could see that he meant every word. “Okay, Nick. Go on.”

“All right.” Nick put his hands on the bars close to Larry’s face. “I saw his life, Larry. He showed me everything he went through, things I would have no way of knowing. I don’t think he was trying to justify what he did. I just think he wanted me to know what happened. And it wasn’t pretty. Not that I care, but he was abused something terrible and forced into what looked like some kind of satanic ritual.”

Larry played along. “Assuming you’re telling the truth, Nick, what do you think he wants from us?”

“I don’t know. I’m seeing mostly images of his experiences, flashes of this and that. As far as actual words, all he said was that he’s alive and that I need to kill him or something like that.”

Larry looked away for a moment as he formed his thoughts.

“He asked you to kill him?”

“Yeah. Strange isn’t it?”

“And you don’t think that was just your subconscious desire?”

“My subconscious what? Hell, I don’t know! I jus… Listen Larry, I don’t know why he’d ask me to kill him if he’s already dead.”

Larry’s head snapped forward. “Wh…what did you say?”

“I said…how could we kill him if he’s dead?”

Larry smirked. Now we’re getting somewhere, he thought.

“I don’t know, Nick. But what if you could kill him? Would you do it?”

“Yes.”

“What if you couldn’t? Would you do the next best thing?”

“What do you mean?” Nick’s brow furrowed.

“What if you could watch him suffer? Would you do that?”

Nick pressed his face to the cell gate and answered without hesitation. “I’d die for a chance to see that!”

“Then today’s your lucky day.” Larry grinned. “While the rest of the town celebrates the reunion, we’re going to celebrate something else.” Larry dug a large set of keys out of his pocket and called the deputy from down the hallway. He looked back at Nick. “I’ve got something to show you.”

• • •

Nick’s eyes clouded with confusion. Nonetheless, the prospect of getting out of jail for even a few minutes felt like a major regaining of his freedom. He stepped over to the gate, glared at his jeering cell mates and flashed his middle finger.

Larry dangled a pair of handcuffs in front of Nick before he unlocked the cell door.

“Standard procedure, Nick.” Nick stuck his hands out toward Larry and was cuffed before the deputy would open the door. The other prisoners laughed as Nick meekly followed the sheriff.

Nick rolled his head. “Yeah. Yeah.” He didn’t care, he wanted out.

Nick and Larry walked out of the jail side by side and got into Larry’s vehicle.

“We’re going on a little road trip, Nick. Be prepared for a spiritual experience, because I’m going to make a believer out of you!” Nick’s eyes squinted at him with distrust and bewilderment. What was Larry up to, he thought. He might as well have spoken in Greek.

• • •

After the lights went out, the dark cafeteria became the haunted building that Kate secretly feared. Bryan defensively planted his feet in the darkness, ready to fight, an instinctive male reaction to danger. The women, on the other hand, reached for the first warm body within their grasp. Kate grabbed Bryan. Noah and Lana huddled close to the pillar. Maria reached across her chair and pulled Tanner close.

Within seconds, Maria shouted, “Oh, my God! What was that?”

Lana pulled Noah close and fearfully asked, “What was what?”

“I felt something cold! It rushed right past my face. It felt like a cold breeze, but it’s gone now.”

“Oh crap!” shrieked Kate. Her head spun around in search of the apparition. “I felt it too!” She let go of Bryan and blindly waved her hands as if trying to catch the wind.

Bryan spoke up. “Hey! Take it easy! It’s probably just a draft. You all know this place has been uninhabited for two decades. A little breeze here and there shouldn’t surprise you.”

“What about the lights, Bryan?” asked Lana indignantly. The others grumbled in agreement.

“The lights are a different issue. Something just tripped a breaker. I’ll go check it out. I know where the mechanical room is.” He pulled the flashlight from his gun belt and headed out of the cafeteria.

The others maintained their protective stance. Kate moved close to Maria and Tanner after Bryan left. She crossed her arms and quivered in fear. Noah and Lana moved cautiously toward the others.

“I knew it,” whispered Kate.

“You knew what?” questioned Lana.

“Nick was right. David’s ghost is in here.”

“You think it’s a ghost?” asked Maria. “I think Bryan’s probably right. It’s just an old building.”