The Truth of Yesterday (41 page)

     “I'm a dad. That's what I do; I worry. I worry about you too.”

     “I'm going to get training for these Gifts. Once I understand them…”

     “The Gifts are only part of the reason I worry about you.”

     “What else is there to worry about?”

     “I worry that you're working too hard. You juggle school, a job that is hazardous by nature, and a serious relationship. I worry that you're going to get hurt. I worry that you don't get out enough. I worry that you're not happy…”

     “Ok, ok. I get the picture. You worry. I'm a big boy now, Adam. I can take care of myself.”

     “I know you think that,” he said with a sigh, “and that worries me.”

     “Micah is good to me,” I said gently. “He would never hurt me.”

     “Not on purpose maybe…”

     “Listen to me. Please. We just came through a rough patch that could have been the end of us, but instead I think we've come through it stronger. I love Micah and he loves me. We both come with baggage and we realize that now.

     “As for school, I'm doing fine. As far as I know anyway. I don't really like it, but I think I'm doing ok. My job is my job. I don't think it's really any more hazardous than any other job.
Most of the time it's pretty boring really.
It could be worse; I could have been a cop. Or it could have been much worse; I could have been…” I dropped my voice to my best Vincent Prince imitation, “…a lawyer.”

     That at least brought a smile to his face. “You said that Kane is a good kid
,  but
actually I have two good-no, great kids.”

     I leaned in and hugged him. “And we have a great dad.”

     He pulled me tight into his shoulder and wrapped his arms around me. It had been a long time since he'd held me like this. “I'm beginning to think that this whole thing was a bad idea,” he said with a sigh.

     “What whole thing?” I asked as I pulled away gently.

     “This…” he said with an expansive gesture that took in his surroundings. “
The bed and breakfast.”

     “But it was Steve's dream,” I said.

     “Maybe some dreams aren't meant to be realized.”

     “Do you really believe that?” I asked.

     “I don't know anymore. I do know that it's not worth losing my family over.”

     “You've not lost anyone.”

     
“Yet.
It's causing a lot of strain on my relationship with Steve too.”

     I looked at him closely.
“How much strain?
You're not going to break up are you?”

     “It's not that bad yet, but it seems like all we do is fight these days. He so stressed out that I'm beginning to worry that he's going to have a breakdown.”

     “If
Amalie
was gone that would relieve a lot of the stress, right?”

     “It would help. It wouldn't be a magical cure, but it would go a long way.”

     “Then I just have to get her to go away.”

     
“How?
We don't even know why she's still here. We found the baby and moved it out next to her grave and she's
still here
. And now it looks like someone pushed her down the stairs. What does she want? Does she want justice from the person who killed her baby?”

     “I don't know what she wants,” I said. “But I intend to find out.”

     
“Just don't do anything stupid.”

     “I promise.”

     “I'm going to go see who was on the phone and if it wasn't Kane I think I'll drive home and see him. With only the
Munster
's
staying here, Steve doesn't really need me. You want to ride back with me?”

     “Um, actually, I think I'll stay here and see if I can find out anything else.”

     I could tell he didn't like that idea. He seemed to struggle inwardly for a few moments,
then
he stood up and dropped a hand to my shoulder. “Be careful, son.”

     I smiled up at him. “I will, Dad.” I saw a tear form in his eye before he turned and walked quickly away. I rarely called Adam dad, and whenever I did, he had a pretty emotional reaction.

     I slowly pulled myself to my feet using the doorframe as leverage. I had several very sore spots that I had a feeling would be bruises if I were to check. I decided to take stock of my injuries later. I turned to face the stairs to the cupola and tried to summon the courage to go up there alone. Taking a deep breath, I started up, leaving the light off because it somehow seemed appropriate. I took one step at a time, waiting for the sense of horror to hit me, but it never did. The feeling of old pain and death still lingered, but the overwhelming horror was gone. Now that I knew what had happened there, had it faded?

     I reached the top of the stairs without incident and looked around the small room. It was lined with windows on every side. During the day, it looked out on a spectacular view of the surrounding woodlands and the creek that wound its way along the side of the property. All I could see now was the thick blackness that lay over the house like a blanket. I walked around the small room, which didn't take long since you could only take a few steps in any direction before bumping into the windows.

     “What do you want,
Amalie
?” I whispered.

     I heard a creak from the hall downstairs and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. The soft brush of a footfall on the stairs followed and I found myself backing away from the opening that led down. Now that I was faced with actually confronting
Amalie
, I wasn't at all sure I wanted to. A figure began to come into view, looking eerily as if they were rising directly from the floor. My breath caught in my throat and I fought the urge to scream. Why had I done this alone?

     “Killian?” the figure asked in Judy's voice.

     “Judy?” I asked as I released my pent up fear in a whoosh of relief.

     “What are you doing up here in the dark? I didn't know if you were up here or not.”

     “You scared the hell out of me,” I exclaimed, panting slightly.

     “Sorry,” she chuckled. “Adam said you were still up here and I thought I'd come check on you.”

     “Did you notice anything as you were coming up the stairs?” I asked as I gathered my scattered wits.

     “I wasn't paying…wait.”

     “No horrible feeling?”

     “It was never as strong for me as it was for you so I didn't really notice, but you're right. What do you think it means?”

     “Maybe we're done with this room now that we know what happened here.”

     “Where do we go now?”

     “If you don't know, I'm sure I don't.”

     I looked over to the stairs and remembered the feeling of fear that I had felt just before falling. “Who do you think pushed her?” I asked.

     “I've been thinking about that. Do we have any proof that the story that real estate agent told Steve was true?”

     “What kind of proof? And what part do you think might not be true.”

     “I don't know exactly, it's just a feeling I have. Maybe some research is in order.”

     
“Research?”

     “I'd like to know if all the dates of death add up.”

     “What are you thinking?”

     “Remember your dream, the man you saw running from the creek towards the house? We never knew who he was. I'd like to be able to rule out the Captain.”

     “But I thought he was lost at sea.”

     “That's where the veracity of the real estate agent's story comes into play. What if she didn't have all the facts straight, or what if she was telling the version of the story she had heard, but facts have a way of getting changed over time.”

     “How would you do the research? This all happened so long ago.”

     “I'll try the library; they have an extensive genealogy and local history research room. They have all the old tax records, vital statistics records, censuses, and so on. Hopefully I'll be able to find something about the
Marniens
. The Captain must have been a fairly prominent citizen of the area so I may be able to find something in the old newspapers too. I think they have most of those on microfilm.”

     “Have you done this sort of thing before?”

     “A friend of mine back in
California
was a genealogist and sometimes she'd get me to help her with research. It's not like it's all that hard, it just takes a lot of patience.”

     “Sounds like detective work.”

     “It's the same thing really. Well, it doesn't look like
Amalie
is going to make an appearance tonight. Why don't you go on home?”

     “Well, since they have a few spare rooms at the moment, I think I'll stay here. That way I'll be on hand in case she decides to show up again. Besides, I'm closer to work and school here anyway.”

     “What about clothes?”

     “I'll just wear these again tomorrow. I'm not that dirty. I'll run home tomorrow night and get enough clothes to last me a few days at least.”

     “You're really serious about getting to the bottom of this, aren't you?”

     “Yeah, I am. I've been really selfish about all this. After everything Adam has done for me, this is the least I can do. For that matter, Steve's probably done just as much. It would be wrong for me to be able to do something and not do it.”

     “I was a little worried for a while, but you're turning out alright. You're an amazing kid, Killian Kendall. Adam should be proud to have a son like you.”

     I blushed, but her comments made me think about Jake. It was too dark to really make out her expression, but I couldn't help but wonder if she was feeling as lucky. “I'm sorry I haven't been able to do more about Jake lately.”

     She waved her hand dismissively. “Don't worry about it. I know you haven't forgotten and you've had enough other things going on.”

     “But I made a commitment to you...”

     “And I have no doubt that you'll live up to it. Shane told me he somehow managed to get you tickets to the AIDS Ball. That's good. Maybe you'll be able to figure out what Jake is doing there.”

     “I hope so. I still feel really lost on this one. I have no idea what is going on.”

     “You'll figure it out. Come on. Let's go downstairs. I'll help you make up a bed before I leave. Steve should just get to bed and get what little rest he can before he has to get up and start breakfast.”

     “Steve cooks the breakfast?” I asked in surprise. That was news to me.

     “No, I meant he has to get things ready and be there when the guests come down.
Both of them.
He has a cook who comes in to prepare a light breakfast every morning.
Nothing fancy.”

     We found Steve downstairs sitting on the settee in the foyer, half asleep. He told me I could sleep in one of the rooms that hadn't been occupied so the sheets were clean. He gave me the key and gratefully dragged himself off to bed. I saw Judy out and locked the door behind her before going to find what would be my room for the next few nights.