The Raven Mocker (24 page)

“
This must be what we’re supposed to do,” she continued, with her back to him as he stood in the doorway, her tone businesslike. “Everything has fallen into place for this to happen… The resort in Breckenridge canceled without a fee, and that relieved Jan, so she can spend time watching over Sara. Then, we get a great deal on the chalet in Gatlinburg, which was a last minute cancellation by some other family—plus an affordable flight. It all makes sense.”

True, David thought to himself. Everything had fallen into place. Even Miriam’s partners at Littleton Children’s Clinic volunteered to handle the majority of her New Years Eve appointments next week. And the two patients who declined had graciously agreed to reschedule for the following week. He would’ve assumed that getting out of the Breckenridge deal would be the easy part and everything else difficult, if not impossible. It turned out to be just the opposite, but in the end his buddy, Mark Stone, let him cancel without penalizing him for the late notice. He even left it open for David and his family to rebook the reservation at a later time, perhaps in early spring.

Vacationing in Gatlinburg now looked like a potentially fun time for Ruth and the kids, and possibly for Miriam and him—provided they were able to help Evelyn get John out of jail and somehow locate Hanna. This brought to mind two things that made him dread the trip. Number one: Miriam’s coolness to him, which started right after the call from Evelyn last night. He’d already tried unsuccessfully to get her to tell him what was up, but she refused to talk about it. He told her at least three times that they could simply cancel the trip out east, and instead stick to their original plan of spending the weekend up in the Rockies.

He honestly would’ve preferred telling Evelyn “no”, despite John’s dire situation, than deal with Miriam’s cold-shoulder. He’d worked very hard during the past several months to fix the waning passion in their life together to let it disintegrate now—especially when it appeared the only reason it might happen was because he relented to Evelyn’s request for him to immediately come to John’s aid.

David could tell it had something to do with the way in which Evelyn had pleaded with him, and his willingness to come to her rescue. Still, Miriam’s immediate cool response after she listened in on the conversation surprised him. So unlike her to act like this, the only time he’d ever seen her show any jealousy was shortly after they first met in college, roughly seventeen years ago. But he felt uncomfortable confronting her about it, just in case it wasn’t a jealous impulse after all.

Despite Miriam’s recent unusual behavior, it remained a clear second to his growing dread about facing the entity on its turf again. His thoughts were drawn to the last time he did this, back in October when forced to deal with Allie Mae’s hostility—her angry ghost fueled by this entity’s quieter wrath. She almost killed him then. What would happen now, since the entity seemed seriously pissed off at both him and John?

Adding to this concern was a dream he had last night, about Norman Sowell. Norm died just before Halloween, and David still grieved mightily over the loss of the best friend he ever had in this world, next to Miriam. Ironically, the previous nocturnal visit he received from Norm came on the eve of his return trip to Tennessee in October, when David determined to make things right with Allie Mae. Eerily similar to last night’s vision, only this more recent experience came on the eve of his family’s planned trip to Gatlinburg. And, Norm had plenty to say about the trip—most of which was a repeated warning to
not
go back this time.

In David’s dream, Norman Sowell III looked like he usually did, back when among the living. Dressed in an Armani suit with his jet-black hair combed stylishly, his brilliant blue eyes and gorgeous smile flashed like they belonged to a movie star. David thanked God for that, since in the last dream, Norm appeared as a disfigured and grotesque corpse, left in the afterlife to suffer the same agony that Allie Mae delivered to him when he died. Grateful, he finally could replace that gruesome image.

“
I think it’s a bad idea, bro,” Norm told him in the dream. He stood next to his desk in the posh office that had since been assigned to a new corporate attorney at
Johnson, Simms & Perrault, named Stacey Wallace. Blond, petite, with great legs…. Surely, she would’ve been another target for Norm’s insatiable lust, if he’d known her.

“
Yeah, I’m not crazy about the idea either,” David agreed. “But, John needs me, man. He was there when I needed him, and I sure as hell can’t let him down.”

Norm eyed him pensively, puffing on his cigarette that wouldn’t be allowed inside the remodeled grand Victorian mansion he used to work at, leaning against the front edge of the desk.

“
John’s a good man,” Norm observed. “And, I can tell you’re quite fond of him. He feels the same toward you, too.” He exhaled a long stream of smoke rings.

“
Well, then, I guess it’s best that I go out there and help him,” said David. He walked over and sat down in one of the plush chairs in front of the desk, the one closest to where Norm stood. “If I don’t go, who else is going to help him against this thing?”

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Norm’s mouth.

“
What??” David asked, indignant.

He debated whether or not to pick up a cruise ship vacation brochure lying on a small table next to his chair. The ship on the cover appeared to move through the ocean’s waves, which made him pause to look closer at it. But the image proved stationary once he brought it up to his eyes, and he later recalled that moment as when he realized this experience was a dream.

“
I’m serious, Norm. It’s not like
you
can do anything about it, right?”

Norm’s smile faded and he walked over to the window next to his desk. David remembered the spectacular view of the downtown skyline that Norm enjoyed each day from his office. Only now, the other side of the window was dark, similar to looking out on a blackout at midnight. The darkness seemed impenetrable.

“
No, you’re correct… there’s nothing I can do for your friend, David.” Norm’s voice became a mere whisper as he gazed out into the blackness. “She might free me, in order to help you out…. But
he
sure as hell won’t.”

“
Who are you talking about?” David sat up straight in his chair, prepared to get up and walk over to where Norm stood by the window.

“‘
She’, David,” Norm replied, turning to face him again. His handsome face was suddenly emotionless, like a doll or mannequin’s. But his eyes glowed like sapphire flames. “Allie Mae? Remember? …The nice hillbilly lass who impaled me on the fountain in the lobby of this very building?”

“
Yeah, like I’d ever forget her,” David replied, grimacing. “I guess you don’t get around much over here, do you, my friend? Because if you did, you might’ve noticed she was about to send me over to join you just a couple of months ago after I returned to Tennessee!”

“
Yes… I suppose it was bad for you as well,” Norm replied, the depth of sadness in his voice sharp enough to cut through David’s heart, and he cringed as he listened. “I had hoped to follow your progress there… to Gatlinburg, where I take it you faced her. Obviously, since you’re still among the living, you succeeded in forcing her spirit from your world. That might explain why I was allowed to leave her prison—to return here and regain some semblance of who I used to be… “

His voice trailed off and he looked around the room, confused and seemingly unable to recognize his surroundings. He shook his head when he noticed David again, sitting less than ten feet away from where he trembled next to the window.

“
He’s calling,” Norm spoke into the air above him, shifting his gaze to follow some invisible presence hovering beneath the ceiling. “And soon he’ll be here…. It’s best that you call this whole thing off before you, Miriam, and your kids get hurt.”

“
Why?”

A wave of panic swept through David, and he stood up from the chair. Before he could reach the spot where Norm stood, his best friend’s body began to disintegrate, becoming a swirl of tiny glowing particles sucked into a swirling stream, soon absorbed by the thick darkness beyond the window. In desperation, David tried to grasp what was left of him, but it slipped easily through his fingers.

“
Gotta go, bro!”
shouted Norm from just outside the window.
“It’s too dangerous to stick around… no way in hell I’m going back with ‘him’—it was bad enough the first time! You need to stay the hell away from him, too, David!! Don’t go to Tennessee, man—do NOT leave Colorado!!!”

“
Norm,
wait!”

David tried to wrap his arms around the fading mist that a moment ago had been his buddy’s spirit, feeling only iciness slice through his arms and hands. The mist dimmed and disappeared while David called out frantically for Norm to come back. Meanwhile, an even deeper chill descended from the ceiling, and just before it reached where he stood, he awoke with a start in the warm bed he shared with Miriam. She stirred lightly and turned over, mumbling softly in her sleep. That was around 1 a.m., nearly ten hours ago….

“
David?
David!!
... Did you even hear
anything
I just said to you??”

He’d been so busy thinking about his dream that he missed most of what Miriam talked about during the past few minutes. Something about what to bring with them for the trip, and something else about what she and Auntie had talked about at breakfast. In short, he had no idea what she’d said and now headed for a deeper world of shit if unable to repeat what she just told him.

“
I caught most of it,” he began, a weak response, but one he hoped bought him time to think harder….
What the hell did she say?
“I guess I’d better get started on packing too.”

Halfway done packing her bags, he hoped she would appreciate his focus on grabbing his suitcase and overnight bag out of his closet and immediately get busy with the same task. For the moment, she regarded him evenly as he brushed by her on his way to his closet.

“
What time again do we need to be on the road to the airport?” He hoped this moved him further from his transgression.

“
We need to leave by noon,” she replied.

He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, which gave the current time as 11:19 a.m.

“
Don’t think that changing the subject will excuse the fact you didn’t hear a damn thing I had to say just now!”

She retrieved the last items she needed for the trip from her vanity in the bathroom and placed them in her toiletry bag on the bed and closed it.

“
I
was
listening!” he replied, getting angry.

“
Oh, yeah? Then what was I talking about?” She smirked knowingly while she locked the bag and then her suitcase. “I’m waiting, Mr. ‘I
was
listening’.”

“
Well… you were talking about the nice visit with Auntie this morning and what you two have planned for when we get to Gatlinburg. You then talked about the chalet we’re renting for the next five days.”

Not bad, he decided, despite his growing irritation with her coolness. From her initial look after he finished, he thought he might get lucky.

“
It’s for six days, David, which I told you twenty minutes ago. As for the conversation with your aunt? We talked about your family growing up in Chattanooga, since you’re so reluctant to share
anything
about
that
with me and the kids!”

She shook her head in disgust, and turned to leave the room.

“
Hey, darlin’—I’m sorry. Okay?”

He reached out to stop her from leaving the bedroom without a hug. She eluded him, easily stepping away from his grasp.

“
Just don’t dally up here, David,” she advised, disappearing into the hallway. “Ruth is making a quick lunch for us all downstairs, which should be ready in a few minutes. Like I said, we need to be on the road by twelve o’clock.”

Again, her tone perturbed, it took all of his resolve not to pursue her into the hallway and demand that she tell him what was up with her shitty attitude toward him. His most recent blunder stopped him, and he regretted even more not paying better attention to what she said. He would’ve...if it hadn’t been for that goddamned dream.

“
Thanks a lot, Norm,” he mumbled.

Without further delay he finished packing, and grabbed his bags as well as Miriam’s, and then hurried downstairs. He wasn’t about to push his luck with her mood.

Chapter Twenty-four

Evelyn sat down on the other side of the clear, thick glass supported by a light steel mesh running through it. Not that the window needed it, being bullet proof and all, part of the latest addition to the recently remodeled wait area at the Sevier County Jail.

“
Grandpa, you look
terrible!
” she gasped, as she watched John sit down in the seat across from her. “You look like you haven’t slept for days!”

She started to weep, placing her spread-open palms on the glass to where they faced him. He leaned toward the window and placed his palms up against hers. Only the three-inch-thick glass plate separated them from touching each other.