Back to Salem

by Alex Marcoux

  “But after I removed those items I was able to get on with my life. I was able to get on with the here and now. I finished Deceptions then I wrote the screenplay. A couple years after that, you expressed interest in playing a part in Deceptions. It was you who claimed Deceptions was your destiny.”

  “Our past is still irrelevant.”

  “How can you say that?” Jessie inched closer and looked deep into Taylor’s eyes. She could see her pain. “You still think I killed Kurk.”

  “God. I want to believe you Jess. But…I understand you bought the flowers and went to my house the afternoon it was broken into. I understand the police found a huge file on peanut allergies at your house…” Taylor’s voice cracked as she finished.

  Jessie cautiously approached Taylor. She stopped in front of her. “Taylor, you know me. Not just from now, but from many other lifetimes. Look into my eyes and tell me—do you see a killer?”

  Taylor looked deep into Jessie’s familiar eyes.

  “If you have any doubts, Taylor, I’ll walk out of your life and I’ll never bother you, again.” As Jessie finished her statement she thought, déjà vu? Then she mumbled, “It happened again.”

  “What?” Taylor asked.

  “It happened again,” Jessie said louder.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I just felt like we did a scene in Deceptions.”

  “Yes, I see a similarity,” Taylor acknowledged.

  “Taylor, I did buy you flowers the afternoon your house was broken into. And I did go to your house. But I left the flowers in a vase beside the bed. I swear.”

  “Why did you lie to the police that night about not going there? And what about the file on peanut allergies?”

  Jessie hesitated. “Have you noticed any similarities between some of the subplots of Deceptions, and what’s happening?”

  Taylor remained silent.

  “I lied to the police that night because I saw my roses used to vandalize your house and I was very aware that the note you found implicated me. I got scared, Taylor. Deceptions is becoming our reality.”

  “What?”

  “Take a look at the subplots of the story. Many of them had already happened. I think that Deceptions was somehow precognitive, a vision of my future. And now it’s becoming our reality. I’ve been watching this for some time. That’s why I was doing research on peanut allergies.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “The research was done after Kurk died. When we started seeing each other, I started seeing coincidences between what was happening with our lives and the plots of Deceptions. I started my own little investigation. In Deceptions, Nicole is convicted of murdering her lover’s husband.”

  “Yes. I know. But in Deceptions, my character was the actual murderer.”

  Jessie stared back into Taylor’s eyes. “Yes. I know.”

  “You think I murdered Kurk?”

  Jessie’s eyes met Taylor’s and the women studied each other. Then Jessie shook her head. “I know you didn’t do it, Taylor.”

  “But doesn’t that defeat your precognition theory?”

  “Taylor, are you okay?” Mark’s cry startled both Taylor and Jessie. He moved to Taylor, placing his body between the women.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” he snarled at Jessie.

  “It’s nice to see you, too, Mark,” Jessie said.

  “Are you okay?” Mark asked Taylor.

  “I’m fine.” Taylor started to back away from Jessie.

  “Taylor, I think we need to talk more,” Jessie said.

  “No. I think we’ve talked enough for one night. I need time to sort this out.”

  “I understand.” Jessie watched Mark escort Taylor away from her, back to the camp.

  When Mark and Taylor were out of listening range from Jessie, Mark spoke. “I’m calling LAPD as soon as we’re back to the camp.”

  “No. Please don’t, Mark. I want to sort this out first,” Taylor said.

  Chapter 28

  The following morning, everyone packed their river bags and was getting ready for a new day on the river. It was going to be another hot day. At only seven o’clock, Jessie could feel the sweat soil the back of her sleeveless tee shirt. As she carried her river bags back to the community area, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

  “Good morning,” Travis said.

  But Jessie knew from his tone he was not pleased to see her. Jessie returned the cool greeting, “Morning, Travis.”

  Travis moved closer to Jessie then whispered, “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here.”

  Jessie stared back into his dark eyes. “I guess that makes two of us.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ve got your number, Travis.”

  “Meaning?” He leaned over her.

  “I know about Stacy.”

  “Stacy who?” He barked with a trace of nervousness in his voice.

  Jessie smiled at his unease, turned and continued her trek toward the rafts.

  “Don’t you turn and walk away from me.” Travis’s voice escalated.

  Jessie dropped the river bags to the ground, then walked back to Travis. “Travis, you’re going to draw attention to yourself with that temper of yours.” Jessie looked into his eyes and without flinching said, “Hopkins, Stacy Hopkins. I know about Stacy…and about Kurk.”

  Travis glared back at Jessie. He removed a kerchief from a pants pocket, and nervously wiped perspiration from his goatee. “You’re going to regret the day you came on this trip, Jessie.” Travis turned and walked away.

  Wow. I was going for a single and I think I got a home run.

  The morning went by fast. Jessie couldn’t take her mind off Travis as she maneuvered the river with her crew. Now, she was determined to prove that Travis was Kurk’s killer. It unnerved her that Taylor was in his raft.

  In the morning, the group hiked up 19-Mile Canyon. The afternoon offered plenty of white-water excitement through the Roaring 20s, then the group set up camp at Mile Marker 41 for another evening. Jessie continued to watch Taylor from a distance; occasionally the two would make eye contact, yet Taylor would divert her eyes and continue her business. Both Travis and Mark remained protective of Taylor and helped her avoid Jessie.

  It was the third day of the rafting trip, and the group broke for a hike up Saddle Canyon. The majority of the rafters went on the hike, but Jessie remained at the beach where Justine and another guide started to set up lunch for when the hikers returned. Jessie took a granola bar from her fanny pack and found a shaded area near the rafts. Justine who had been prepping lunch nearby sat next to Jessie.

  “Are you having a good trip, Alison?”

  Jessie was unaware of Justine.

  “Alison?” she repeated.

  “I’m sorry Justine, did you say something?”

  “I was just wondering if you were having a good trip”

  “It’s fine. I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “I understand.”

  Justine knew Jessie had not bonded with other members of the trip, which was unusual.

  About twenty minutes later, Ron, another guide who was running an equipment raft, rushed to the beach. “Justine, there’s been an accident!” The man was sweating from his sprint down the trail.

  Justine stood. “What happened?”

  “Someone fell from the trail. He hurt his leg.”

  From the raft, Justine removed a first-aid kit.

  Justine followed Ron up the steep trail with Jessie following them. After a brisk climb, Ron finally stopped on the narrow trail and pointed down. About twenty feet below, a man was on the ground. Two other people stood next to him.

  Justine quickly took control of the situation. “Ron, continue up the trail and get Ted.” Justine and Jessie scouted the easiest route to get to the injured man and started their descent. Within minutes, they reached him.

  Jessie recognized him; he was a member of Taylor�
��s raft. His leg was badly twisted with bone protruding from the skin and bleeding badly. His wife and teenage son were with him and very upset.

  “What happened Henry?” Justine asked calmly trying to keep the family from panicking.

  He pointed up the incline to the trail. “I was walking on the trail, twisted my ankle and fell down here.”

  “Now, that doesn’t sound like fun,” Justine smiled at him. “Henry, we’re going to clean and dress your leg then splint it, okay?” Justine pointed at the first-aid kit by Jessie. “Would you help, Alison? I need some gauze and antiseptic.”

  Jessie removed the ointment and gauze and handed the antiseptic to Justine. Justine carefully applied the medicine then took the gauze from Jessie. As she dressed the wound, she spoke candidly with the couple. “Well, isn’t this enough to ruin a vacation,” Justine said.

  The man tried to smile. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said to his wife.

  As Justine and Jessie finished splinting the man’s leg, Ted came from the trail above. With him came Travis and Taylor. The three of them carefully descended the steep incline. When Taylor saw the man on the ground she went to his side. “Henry, what happened?”

  The man smiled at Taylor. “Oh, I just have a little scrape.”

  Ted went to Justine. “How bad is it?”

  “Compound fracture. He’s going to need an airlift,” Justine said. “The radio is in my raft. You have the satellite phone, right?”

  “Yeah. It’s in my raft though,” Ted answered. “I’ll make my way down and try to establish communications with the outside.”

  “Do you need a satellite phone?” Taylor asked.

  “Yeah. We have one in the raft,” Ted said.

  “I have one right here,” Mark called from the trail above. He had overheard part of the conversation and was studying Henry Clements lying on the rock in pain. “What’s going on?”

  “We need an emergency air evacuation.” Ted said. “You have a phone with you? Can we use it?”

  “Of course.” Mark carefully made his way off the trail to the small group and turned his fanny pack around so that it was against his abdomen and opened the bag. From inside the neatly packed bag he pulled out a plastic bag containing allergy medications, then his phone.

  Ted took the phone and dialed his office phone number, walking away from the growing group that had gathered around the Clements. Mark followed Ted. “The reception is not good here,” Ted said.

  “What?”

  “These satellite phones work about 90 percent of the time in the canyon. We just need to keep trying. Let’s make our way down to the river, in case we don’t get a signal. Then we’ll at least have the radio.”

  The men climbed up to the trail, then Ted attempted to call again, but there was still no reception. They continued their descent and were about fifty yards downhill when he stopped. “I have a signal.” He punched in the familiar number then waited. “Hi, Pat. It’s Ted…yeah. We have an emergency. We need an air evacuation. It’s for Henry Clements. He’s in his mid-to-late fifties. He has a compound fracture of the tibia. His leg is splinted, but he’ll need a lift. We’re at the Saddle Canyon Trail, Mile Marker 47. We’re about a mile up the trail.”

  Ted finished his phone call then handed the phone back to Mark. “Thanks, Mark. That just saved us quite a bit of time.”

  “You’re most welcome.” Mark turned the phone back on. “I’m going to call my office.” He turned and headed down toward the river while Ted headed back to Henry.

  Minutes later, Mark was on the phone with Detective Bradley of the LAPD.

  “Hi, Detective Bradley. This is Mark Rutledge, Taylor Andrews’s personal manager.”

  “Mr. Rutledge, how can I help you?”

  “I was wondering if you happened to know where Jessica Mercer was.”

  “Why are you asking?”

  “Well, I know she’s a suspect in the Kurk Warner murder. Just wondering how good the LAPD was doing keeping tabs on her.”

  “How come I sense you know more than you’re telling me, Mr. Rutledge?”

  Mark hesitated. “I’m on a five-day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon with Taylor Andrews and Travis Sanders, and Jessie Mercer crashed the party.”

  “She’s with you? Along with Travis Sanders?”

  “That’s correct. Are you going to come and get her?”

  “Has she threatened anyone there?”

  “No. She’s talked with Taylor. From what I understand, she maintains that she’s innocent.”

  “And she may very well be, Mr. Rutledge. Jessie Mercer is a pretty sharp lady. I have a hard time believing, if she were the harasser, that she would use her own stationery to write the harassment notes.”

  “So she’s not a suspect anymore?”

  “No, I didn’t say that. It certainly doesn’t look good that she’s skipped town. We learned she was missing yesterday morning, but we weren’t sure where she was. What’s the name of the rafting company you’re with?”

  “It’s Grand Canyon White Water.”

  “Thank you for the call, Mr. Rutledge.”

  “Is that it?”

  “Mr. Rutledge, it’s embarrassing that she’s slipped through our fingers. It’s going to be hard to justify the expense of going to Arizona to pick her up. I’ll alert the local authorities to what’s going on. Call me if she appears to become a threat to anyone there.”

  As Bradley rested the phone in the cradle, Detective Roth entered his office. “What’s up?” he asked.

  “I just got the autopsy report on Stacy Hopkins,” she said. “You may want to see this.”

  Ted knew it would be some time before a helicopter would evacuate Henry Clements. As the senior guide, he decided to split up the group. After lunch was served, Ted and Justine’s group would remain with the Clements until they were safely evacuated. The other two groups, along with the oar rafts, would get back on the river without delay. The groups planned to meet up at the campsite later that evening.

  About an hour after the first set of rafts left, the helicopter arrived. The evacuation took another thirty minutes, and ended with all three Clements prematurely ending their vacation.

  On the way back to the rafts, Ted approached Justine. “I’m three people short. Can you get a volunteer from your group to finish the trip with me? Tomorrow, I’ll ask for another volunteer from one of the other rafts.”

  “Yeah. I’ll ask Alison. She’s solo; the others are part of a group,” Justine said.

  Jessie was one of the first to make it back to the river after waiting in the hot afternoon sun. It was over 110 degrees and she needed to cool off. Once she reached the beach, she climbed into a raft, walked to the rear and stood on top of the outside tube overlooking the cold deep water. A quick bend to her knees provided enough spring to plunge head first into the Colorado River. Jessie gasped when she came to the surface, shocked by the sixty-degree drop in temperature.

  Others watched as Jessie swam back to the beach. When they saw that she survived the cold water, many followed her lead and jumped into the water.

  Jessie climbed onto the beach, found a boulder in the shade and sat there while others enjoyed the water.

  “Feel better?” Justine asked.

  “Yes. The heat was starting to get to me.”

  “We have a favor to ask. Would you mind riding the rest of the way in Ted’s raft?”

  “You want me to ride with Ted?”

  “Without the Clements, they’re three people short. We need to do a little shifting. I thought I’d ask you, since you’re solo.”

  “That’s fine Justine. Wherever you need me.” Jessie realized how strange this all worked out—she had been hoping to get closer to Taylor and was now going to paddle in Taylor’s raft.

  When Justine and Jessie returned to the rafts, everyone was preparing to leave. Jessie retrieved her lifejacket, gathered her personal belongings from the raft and joined Ted. “Hi, Alison. Are you joining us?”


  Jessie felt Taylor, Mark and Travis staring at her. “If that’s where you need me.”

  Ted turned to his crew. “Alison is joining our group for the rest of the trip. Does everyone know each other?”

  Jessie’s eyes moved from Mark to Travis, then Taylor. “Yes. We’ve all met,” Jessie said.

  Ted reassigned positions in the raft. “Mark and Travis, you guys stay in front where you’ve been. Taylor and Alison take the middle section, and I’ll take the rear.”

  There was little conversation among the group that afternoon, and it was after six o’clock when the two rafts arrived at the campsite.

  After the long day in the hot sun, Jessie wanted to find a quiet area of the river and wash up. While everyone else had dinner, she set out with clean clothes, a towel, shampoo and a bar of soap. It didn’t take long for her to pick a spot. Quickly, she removed her clothes except for her Tevas. Wasting no time, she walked out into the cold water and bathed.

  Unknown to Jessie, Taylor came upon the perfect area for bathing, only to realize Jessie was already using it. She stood by a large boulder that contributed to the privacy of the area, admiring Jessie as she came from the water and reached for a towel on the beach.

  As Jessie dried herself, she caught sight of something moving in her peripheral vision. It was then that Jessie noticed Taylor staring at her. Taylor was carrying a toiletry bag, clothes and a towel.

  Jessie dried herself, then threw the towel over a large rock and dressed. Once dressed, she strolled to where Taylor stood watching her. The women’s eyes met momentarily, but both remained silent.

  Jessie started to walk away, and then turned back. “You are going to let me know when you’re ready to talk. Right?”

  Taylor nodded. “I will. I promise.”

  Back at the campsite, Justine handed Jessie a dinner plate. “Here, I know you said you were skipping dinner for a bath, but I thought you’d be hungry later.”