Her voice cracked on the word what, and he knew she was playing dumb.
“He told me about the night of September 9th, 1996. He told me about him coming over here. Fucking you and leaving. All before Izzy went missing.”
Lela’s face turned ghastly pale as she wiggled in her seat. She remained silent and looked down to the table.
“There’s no point in denying it. I should congratulate you. I never knew. You would have gotten away with it, had he never told me. Do you have anything to say?”
Lela looked up to him with tear-filled eyes. Hearing the date of September 9th, 1996 spoken out loud always made Martin cry as well, regardless of the situation. Lela was no different.
“I’m sorry,” she mustered through a clenched throat. “I’m sorry I did it, and that you had to find out this way.”
“Did you know that’s why he moved away? He felt so much guilt once Izzy went missing, that he felt partially responsible. Can you believe that? He didn’t even do anything but slide in between your slutty legs.”
“Martin, please,” Lela said, now sobbing. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I was just home alone every night. I couldn’t take the loneliness any more. Daniel was in the same boat. We never planned on this happening. He came over one night to see Izzy, and after she went to bed things escalated.”
She looked down to the table, shame taking hold of her face as tears and mucus dripped from her nose.
Let’s go get her, Martin thought, and placed his hand on top of hers.
“Lela, I can forgive you. This was so far in the past. I’ll admit when I first found out I was ready to kill both of you. But so much has happened since then, there’s no point. You haven’t had any contact with Daniel since then?”
She shook her head.
At least there’s that. Maybe he really did leave because of the guilt.
Lela looked up and stared at him with watery eyes. Somewhere behind her deceiving and murderous eyes was the girl he fell in love with in high school. Lela Morgan, one of the coolest girls in school who had a line of guys around the building, begging to go on dates with her. The girl he used to watch dance in the car to the radio, using his hand as a microphone as she belted out lyrics at the top of her lungs.
He couldn’t believe that same girl would end up as a child murderer. And not just any murderer, but one who thought she could actually get away with it.
“What happened after he left that night?” Martin asked once Lela’s sobs had finally ceased.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean what happened when he left? What did you do? Watch TV? Go to bed? Surely something happened, time didn’t just stop.”
Time felt like it had stopped when he watched from the backyard as Lela carried their dead daughter to the trunk, and he knew she would have felt the same during that moment. Tragedy has a way of freezing time for those involved, leaving the rest of the world irrelevant.
“Well, I went to bed, I don’t know. That was a long time ago.”
“You don’t know what you did after you fucked my brother?”
“No.”
“Are you sure there wasn’t anyone in the house that night who caught you and was upset by it?” Martin slammed a fist on the table that caused Lela to jolt in her seat. “Are you sure, Lela?”
He fought every urge to call her a murdering cunt, knowing it would be best to lead her into her confession.
“Martin, what’s this about?” she asked, sitting upright, clearly trying to hide how nervous she was being put under the spotlight. “How do you expect me to remember such a detail from over twenty years ago?”
“A detail? So carrying our dead daughter’s body out to your trunk in the middle of the night is a small detail now?”
Her eyes nearly exploded from their sockets in a look that said how the fuck do you know that?
“What?” she asked.
“Stop playing stupid. I know what happened that night. I know everything. So you might as well tell me the truth.”
He paused and studied her face, watching her try to calculate a way out of the accusations and running into road blocks at every turn. The more she realized she was caught, the more her face drooped in despair.
At least two minutes passed with them staring at each other, silently arguing over who would say the next word.
It was Lela. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“I just want to know what happened, and why it happened.”
Lela sniffled and rubbed her face in frustration.
“It was an accident.”
There’s the confession.
“I never meant to do it, Marty, you have to believe me. I would never kill our little girl.”
“But you did.” Gone was the urge to cry or scream. Composure took over his emotions as he sat across from Lela like an interrogating detective.
Lela, on the other hand, had melted into a puddle of tears and repeatedly wiped the moisture off her face every few seconds.
“She caught me and your brother that night,” Lela continued through sobs. “She caught us, and that’s when everything came crumbling down.”
Martin wanted to question the timing of events, remembering neither of them had appeared in any rush when Daniel left the house, but didn’t want to tip his hand quite yet.
“It turned into a huge argument. Izzy insisted she was going to wait up all night for you to get home and tell you what happened. I begged her not to, promised that I would tell you myself—and I was going to.”
Lela paused and ran through the events in her mind. The sobs were slowing, but had formed a thick layer of mucus between her nose and lips.
“We were arguing in her room after your brother left, and that’s when I left for the kitchen. I wanted to take my mind off everything, so started doing the dishes from dinner. I thought she would have dropped the argument, but she ran into the kitchen and kept yelling at me.”
Lela’s lips quivered uncontrollably as the mucus dripped to the kitchen table in a neat puddle.
“She called me the worst mom on the planet. She told me to burn in hell.” Lela paused, mustering the courage to say the next thing. “She told me that you and her would live a happy life together without me. That neither of you needed me.”
The heavy flow of tears returned, only this time silently.
“I couldn’t handle her saying those things to me. I know what I did was wrong, but she wouldn’t stop, so I threw the pan I was washing at her and it hit her square in the head, on her temple.”
Lela stared to the spot in the kitchen where Martin presumed Izzy had stood that night.
“She collapsed right away and I rushed over to help her, but she wasn’t breathing. I tried CPR, I punched at her chest, but nothing was working. I felt her skin turning cold, and I knew it was too late. Whatever I did killed her immediately.” Lela looked into Martin’s eyes for the first time since her confession had begun. “I didn’t want to kill her. I didn’t even want to hurt her. It was a freak accident.”
Martin cleared his throat before speaking. “We have to get her body out of the lake. She deserves to be buried properly.”
Lela shook her head. “No, Marty, please. If we do that, they’re going to send me away forever.”
Martin nodded. “I know.” The police would be close by now. “Don’t you think you’ve gone long enough living out this lie? I mean, had you come clean about it at the time, you’d probably be out of prison by now. You could’ve cleaned up the rest of your life and lived out the rest of your days with a somewhat clear conscience. Now you’ll have to think about this every day until you die.”
“Marty, please. Please don’t do this.” Her words dripped with desperation, but her voice showed the defeat of a woman who knew she was going to prison.
“I’ve already done it. The police are outside.”
New tears streamed down her face. “Marty, I’m so sorry. I loved our family and I fucked it all up. There hasn
’t been a day that’s gone by where I haven’t thought about the three of us together again. I’m so sorry.”
Martin stood and shuffled around the table to Lela who buried her face into her hands. “I love you, Lela. That never stopped. I even forgive you for cheating on me with my brother. But you’ve ruined my life. I lost every motivation to live since Izzy died. I’ve been a zombie for the last 22 years all thanks to you. I’ve almost killed myself, and I will never forgive you for killing Izzy.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the back of her head. The once love of his life, who had turned into an accidental murderer, fell silent when a thundering knock came from the front door.
Martin glanced over his shoulder and saw two police officers.
“It’s time, Lela,” he said. “Should I let them in?”
With her head still down, she nodded in a quick, jerky motion.
Martin smiled. When he set out to save Izzy six months ago, he never imagined this adventure would end with Lela confessing to murder and being taken into custody. Then again, he didn’t have any idea what to expect.
“Just think of this as payback for getting away with this for so long,” Martin said as he walked toward the front door.
He opened the door to find the officers waiting patiently, nodded at them, and stepped aside. “She’s right in there,” he said, pointing to the kitchen where she still sat with her face buried.
Martin returned to his car where Sonya gawked out of the window. Even though a sick feeling continued to gnaw at his insides, he felt relief knowing justice would finally be served to Izzy’s killer. She’d never be back, and he had accepted this fact over ten years ago, but the closure felt as perfect as a frozen drink on the beach. He no longer had to wonder what happened to his daughter, wonder if she was still alive somewhere, or worry about her killer or kidnapper causing her any further harm.
With one final matter to settle, Martin was ready to move on with his life for the first time since 1996.
53
Chapter 53
Martin couldn’t keep the smirk off his face as they drove back to the Wealth of Time.
“She’s going away for a very long time,” he said. “A very long time.”
“Are you okay?” Sonya asked. “I mean this all happened so fast. Last night you found out about all of this, and this morning you confronted your wife who confessed to it all.”
“I feel great. Don’t get me wrong, this is not the outcome I wanted. I thought I was going to save Izzy and bring her back home. It’s going to take some time for this all to really sink in. Hell, I’m still trying to process the fact that I actually traveled through time and was able to bring you back with me. Nothing about these last six months feels real yet, and who knows if it ever will.”
“I definitely understand that.”
“I have to go see Chris right now. I have a matter to settle with him, and I think it’s best if you stay in the car again. Then I promise I’ll show you all that 2018 has to offer.”
Sonya kept quiet as she stared out the window and Martin left her to soak in the surroundings, hoping she would open up to him again at some point. There was a definite adjustment period to accept the fact that you traveled to another era in time, and Martin understood this. Sonya might be distant for a few days, possibly weeks, but he’d be there when she was ready to immerse herself in the times.
How bad could it even be? he thought ahead to his meeting with Chris. I’ve already lost my daughter, and lived through it twice.
He knew better than to doubt Chris’s ability to destroy him, whether emotionally or mentally, but Martin felt on top of the world and ready to take on whatever the old man threw his way.
“I don’t like the vibes I get from this old man,” Sonya said when they pulled up to the store. “I told you he was in my nightmares.”
“Well, I can’t say anything about him being in your dreams, but Chris is a pleasant man. I wouldn’t worry about anything.”
The words felt fake coming out of Martin’s mouth and he hoped Sonya didn’t notice.
“If he’s so pleasant why can’t I come in with you?”
She got you there.
“I just need to speak with him in private. Remember, it’s not everyone who gets offered this opportunity to time travel. There are sensitivities to consider.”
Sonya stared into the store, ignoring him, and Martin assumed she didn’t find that answer acceptable.
“You know what. Come in with me. Look around his store for something you might like. He and I can talk in the back.”
She perked up at this. “Okay. Deal.”
“Let’s head in.”
Martin stood from the car and couldn’t believe that only an hour had passed since they arrived back in 2018. That one hour was all it took to bring Izzy justice and put his mind at ease from all the sick doubts and thoughts that had plagued it for more than two decades.
They faced the storefront together, hands held. Thick gray clouds filled the entire sky to create an unsettling gloom over the city, and the air came to a standstill.
“Everything will be fine,” Martin said, both to reassure Sonya, but also himself.
Sonya led by taking the first step up the small three stairs to the entrance, and Martin reluctantly followed, realizing he wasn’t as ready as he had believed to encounter Chris with his new proposal.
Sonya wasted no time and pulled them both into the store, the bell chiming from the entrance.
The store was deserted, as it seemed to be more often than not, and Chris sat behind the cash register reading a copy of Dracula.
“Ah! Martin and Sonya, please come in.”
Martin’s blood froze at the sound of his voice, and he assumed Sonya’s did, too, as she stopped halfway between steps.
“Good morning, Chris,” Martin mustered through a tense jaw, receiving back that smirk that could haunt a grown man’s dreams for months.
“A great morning it is. I take it everything went well where you just came from?”
Martin started to walk again, and now he pulled Sonya along. “Yes, I would say things went as best they could, considering the circumstances.”
“That’s what I love hearing. Happy endings!”
Chris clutched his gut and cackled like a loon.
“Let’s cut the bullshit, Chris. Can we talk in your office?” Martin asked.
“It would be my pleasure.” Chris hopped down from the stool he sat on and extended an arm toward his back office, the door already open and inviting anyone who dared enter its darkness.
“Stay here, look around,” Martin said, turning to Sonya. She nodded in return, but he could practically smell the fear oozing from her. Bet you wish you would’ve stayed in the car now, right?
He released her hand and turned to Chris who stood like a statue with his arm out, patiently waiting for Martin to enter his office so he could feast on his soul.
“Everything’s on sale today,” Chris said to Sonya. “Pick anything you like and I’ll give you a great deal.” He winked before disappearing into the office and closing the door behind them.
“That’s quite the lovely lady you have there, Marty,” Chris said as he worked his way around to his desk. “Have a seat.”
Martin sat down across from where he had just slept over an hour ago during his journey back in time.
“What’s the deal you want to offer me? I need details.” Martin sat back and crossed his arms, ready to enter negotiations, despite knowing Chris could get whatever he wanted at this point.
Chris leaned back in his creaky chair and propped his feet up on the desk. “Do you know what the strongest human emotion is, Marty?”
Martin shook his head quickly.
“It’s pain,” Chris said flatly. “Pain drives you humans. If you think about it, you carry out your life to avoid pain. Pain is scary and no one wants to confront it on any given day. When a human experiences pain, they release so much negative energy into world. So
much that I can practically grab it with my hand like it was a floating piece of paper in the wind.”
“What are you getting at?” Martin asked, arms staying crossed to show he wasn’t interested in the sentimental speech.
“Relax, old friend. It’s all part of the offer. You see, my original offer is still on the table. You can agree to hand over your ability to feel emotion. It won’t affect you quite as badly as you think, but you can forget about things like joy, pleasure, and happiness. But at the same time, you’ll also never feel pain, sadness, or grief again. I think it’s a fair trade.”
Martin gestured at the old man to get on with it, growing impatient as the seconds passed.
Chris ignored Martin in a clear reminder of who was in charge.
“The alternative offer I want to make you has two main components. One being a Juice that you can take to travel through time as you wish. No questions asked. Think of it as a permanent round-trip ticket. In exchange, you will experience pain that I can feast on. Not a physical pain, but an emotional and mental pain, and it will come when you least expect it. I can’t tell you what the experience will be, as I don’t even know. It’s one of those matters I carry out when the time feels right. So, if you think you can handle it, if you can live through terrible pain once more, then you’ll be able to continue life with your emotions intact, and the ability to travel anywhere in time.”
Chris stopped and crossed his hands behind his head as he stared at Martin.
“So what’ll it be, my old friend?” he asked.
Martin uncrossed his arms and sat forward in his seat.
“I need you to answer my questions about time travel before I can consider this,” Martin said. “I want to know the rules. I want to know who the Road Runners are and what they’re trying to do. I want to know why you decide to randomly show up.”
For the first time Chris had no deceiving grin to offer, but rather a flat expression of thought.
“Well, Marty, there are hundreds of little rules that you will experience for yourself. I’m not going to cover those with you. I gave you the golden rule to live by, and perhaps I can share more if you accept. As far as the Road Runners, those are a group of people trying to take control of the world. They’re dangerous and shouldn’t be trusted.”
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