Sunset Over Misty Lake

by Margaret Standafer

  It was enough to break the tension. Karen almost laughed. “No, I didn’t kill anyone.” She took a deep breath. “Last year I went to Las Vegas for Kelly’s bachelorette party. While I was there, something happened.”

  Karen proceeded to tell them the whole story. She heard a few gasps and some whispered oaths. She saw both Sam and Cassie surreptitiously swipe at tears. She appreciated the fact that they all waited until she was finished to comment. Or in some cases, erupt.

  As soon as Karen paused, Shauna was on her feet. Susan was right behind her.

  “You can’t let him get away with what he did to you!” Shauna shouted. “He’s a pig! He deserves to be in jail!”

  “He deserves worse than jail!” Susan added, even louder than Shauna. “He deserves the worst possible torture, slow and painful…”

  Sam threw her arms around Karen, no longer bothering to try to hide her tears. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating.

  Cassie hugged her too. The look on Cassie’s face was one of understanding and compassion, yet her voice was fierce. “You did nothing wrong. Don’t believe for a minute that you did. You were a victim. I understand some of what you’re going through and I’m here whenever you want to talk.”

  Jake, Riley, and Frank crowded around Joe. Karen couldn’t catch all of their words but caught pieces of questions directed at Jake about what could be done and about what they could do.

  The only one who stood alone was Cort. He caught Karen’s attention and by means of a look, asked her permission to add his part of the story. Karen nodded.

  His voice carried over the commotion. “There are a few things I’d like to add to what Karen told you.”

  The room grew quiet, and one by one, everyone took a seat again.

  “Karen told you she came to me for help. What she didn’t tell you was everything I learned when I tried to help her. Some of it she doesn’t know because some of it I just learned myself this evening. Some of it, I’m guessing, she left out because, well, because I think she’s still a bit unsure about what she can believe. Karen, you need to know, and you need to believe, you did nothing wrong.”

  “Of course, she didn’t do anything wrong,” Shauna interrupted. She looked at Cort as if she couldn’t believe there was even a question.

  “You know that, I know that, we all know that,” Cort answered in his always-calm voice, “but I think there’s still some doubt in Karen’s mind.”

  Cort was right. While she’d tried to ignore it, the doubt was still there.

  “Karen, I told you I asked Dave to dig deeper. He did, with excellent results. He found another person. He found, for lack of a better term, a sometimes-accomplice of Joshua’s.”

  Karen could have sworn the room spun. She was dizzy as she tried to bring Cort into focus. “Accomplice?” She found her voice was raspy and she was barely able to get the words out. “There was more than one person?”

  “No, no, I’m sorry. Yes, there was more than one person, but it’s not a bad thing. This person Dave found told him the whole story. Joshua drugged you. Dave’s contact witnessed it first-hand. Then Joshua had to call for help from this guy because you fought. You fought, Karen, like a caged tiger. Those were his words. Joshua couldn’t get you onto the elevator and people were gathering because of the commotion, so he needed help. Between the two of them, they managed to convince everyone that they knew you, that you’d had a fight with your husband followed by too much to drink, and they were helping you to your room. I could go into why that scenario infuriates me, about why I’d like to find those people who believed that story and ask them how they could be so stupid, but…” Cort lifted his hands and let them drop. “I keep telling myself there’s nothing to be gained by focusing my energy on what can’t be changed. What matters is it took two of them to get you upstairs and into your room. When they finally got you there, according to this second man, you did pass out, but Joshua wasn’t the least bit convinced you’d stay that way, so he had his partner stick around while he snapped a few quick pictures, then they left. In all, it was under five minutes. And that’s it. That’s all that happened. This time, we can be certain.”

  No one moved. The room was silent. Karen let the facts roll over in her mind. She’d been in no way responsible. She’d been drugged. She’d fought. Like a tiger. She particularly liked that part. And aside from humiliating pictures, nothing else happened.

  A strange feeling came over her. There was a sense of relief, a sense of closure, but mixed in was a feeling of rage that was completely foreign to her. Her senses kicked into overdrive. She was hyper-aware of the sound of every breath from Joe next to her, even from the others scattered around the room. She was bombarded with a cacophony of smells from the tangy sweetness of Cassie’s perfume to the hair product she recognized as Shauna’s, and a mingling of sweat, deodorant, and sunscreen from the long, hot day. When she looked around the room, she spotted the tiniest details from the few strands of hair escaping Sam’s hair band to the drip of dried ketchup on Frank’s shirt. And she had the strangest sensation of everything she saw being tinged slightly red.

  She stood but found her legs weren’t entirely steady. She held on to the back of a chair as she looked directly into Cort’s eyes.

  “You’re certain.” Cort nodded. “It was all a lie. His texts, his threats, were all based on lies. I very nearly let him ruin my life. For nothing.”

  From behind her, she was aware of Joe standing and moving toward her.

  “Karen, please sit—”

  Karen held up a hand to stop him. “I need a minute.” She walked from the room, leaving behind her a group stunned into silence.

  Joe wanted to follow but got the feeling he needed to give Karen a few minutes alone. He watched her until she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

  After over fifteen years together, Joe figured he knew his wife. He knew her in grief and in joy; he knew her in frustration and in playfulness; he knew her in determination and he even knew her, however seldom, in anger. Tonight, though, he’d seen something he’d never seen before. He’d seen rage, and he didn’t quite know what to make of it.

  The voices that had been rendered silent started to murmur.

  “Do you think she’s okay?” Riley asked.

  “I think so. I’ll give her a few minutes then go check on her.”

  “When did she tell you about all this?” Susan asked.

  “Last week. I didn’t know what was bothering her, I tried asking so many times, but…”

  Susan nodded. “She was better after she talked to you. That’s what’s been different about her the past few days. Not different, but like the old Karen, you know?”

  “I know.”

  “I wish she would have told us, would have let us help. I can understand how she felt, but she had to know we’d never believe she’d do anything…” Shauna twisted her hands. “I feel like we failed her.”

  “You feel that way? How do you think I’ve felt? I’m her husband. I should have helped her a long time ago.”

  “That’s not what I meant, Joe. I meant I hate thinking she’s been suffering alone with this for so long. That bachelorette party was over a year ago. I remember because it wasn’t too long before she found out she was pregnant…Oh!” Shauna’s hand flew to her mouth. “That’s what she was most worried about? More than anything else? The twins? She thought…”

  Joe nodded.

  Cassie’s voice was hardly more than a whisper. “The pregnancy was so hard on her. The whole time, she was dealing with that fear. That’s why she didn’t want to talk about how she was feeling and didn’t even tell anyone it was twins. I’m so sorry, Joe. I’m so sorry it was so hard. For both of you.”

  “It’s over now.”

  Karen walked back into the room as he said his words.

  “Not quite. It’s not quite over.”

  The rage was gone, but in its place was a carefully controlled anger. Joe read it in
her eyes, in the set of her mouth, and in her clenched fists. It was a sort of anger that in other circumstances might frighten him just a little, but right now was a welcome sight. She was ready for a fight.

  “I want to bring him down. I want to bring him down in the worst possible way. I don’t care who knows what happened, I don’t care if my name and my picture are plastered everywhere for everyone to see, I want him to pay for what he did to me and to all those other women. And men. How can we make that happen?” She settled her gaze on Cort. “Tell me everything you know.”

  Cort spent the next half hour going over in detail everything he’d learned from Dave. The room was mostly quiet, with only the occasional interruption for clarification. When Cort finished, that changed. Everyone spoke at once.

  “This is a matter for the police. Why haven’t the police been involved?” Sam asked.

  “I didn’t want to go to the police,” Karen said. “When I left Vegas, I just wanted the whole thing to go away. When I got home and started getting texts, well, even if I had wanted to, I didn’t know how to go about getting information to the police in Las Vegas and there was no way I was going to talk to the police here. Sorry, Jake.”

  “I get it,” Jake said.

  “Screw the police,” Shauna said, then repeated Karen’s sentiment. “Sorry, Jake.” Jake just shrugged. “He needs to pay for what he did. Prison is too good for him.”

  “Could you contact the police in Vegas, Jake? Tell them what you know, have them track down this guy?” Frank asked.

  Jake blew out a breath. “I could try, but I don’t have much to go on. Karen told us she doesn’t have any of the texts or any other evidence and unless Cort’s friend Dave is willing to help by providing the name of his witness, I don’t know how high a priority it would be for Vegas.”

  “Tell us about this Dave,” Riley said. “Is he a private investigator or something?”

  Cort laughed. After the seriousness of the past couple of hours, laughter sounded out-of-place bouncing off the walls of the family room, but when he couldn’t seem to stop, others joined him, and the mood lightened.

  “A private investigator. No, he’s not a private investigator,” Cort finally managed.

  “Then what does he do? Why did you go to him for help?” Riley asked.

  “I got to know him when Mackenzie Industries first purchased some properties in Vegas. It didn’t take long after running into dead ends to hear through the grapevine that if we wanted to get anything done in a timely fashion, Dave was the one to see. I did, eventually, and I learned he had a certain skill set that made him valuable. With any number of things.”

  “So, a mob boss?” Susan asked. “Ooh, what’s his last name? Is it someone we’ve heard of? Someone in the news?”

  “Nothing quite so exciting. I’m sure he has a last name, just as I’m sure his first name isn’t really Dave. I could do some digging of my own and find out, I suppose, but why? Dave has proved useful in certain situations. I see no reason to pry into his life.”

  “What does he do then if he’s not a P.I. or a mob boss?” Jake said, not bothering to conceal the grin he aimed at Susan. She responded by sticking out her tongue at him.

  “Again, no idea. Occasionally, he drops some info, so I know he’s bought and sold a few businesses, been involved in electronics and security, but I know he’s got his fingers in any number of other endeavors. I don’t ask questions because Dave doesn’t give answers.”

  “Yet you trust him,” Jake said.

  “I do. When he decides to help—if he decides to help—he gets results.”

  “And will he help us if we go to the police?” Jake asked.

  “No. While I don’t think anything he does is downright illegal, I do think there are times he walks a fine line. And I think he often deals with those who don’t bother with that fine line. He’s not going to voluntarily turn over information to the police and have them start asking questions. I’m sorry, I wish that were different.”

  “Okay, then we’re back to square one,” Shauna said. “What do we do?”

  “We go to Vegas and take care of it ourselves,” Riley said.

  Joe watched as all eyes turned to Riley. He studied the expressions. A couple looked surprised, but most, he thought, looked relieved that someone voiced what they’d been thinking.

  Karen had stayed quiet to this point, but Joe felt her draw in a deep breath, then say loudly and firmly, “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?” Susan asked.

  “I mean no. I’m not having any of you get involved in this mess. I wanted to talk to all of you tonight to apologize and to try to explain what’s been going on with me for the past year. I owe everyone I know an apology. But that’s all. I never intended for you to feel somehow responsible for fixing things. I’ll handle this, maybe with Jake’s or Cort’s help, but not with the rest of you putting yourselves in the middle of it. If I didn’t make that clear, I’m sorry. This wasn’t about asking for help.”

  “You didn’t have to ask. We want to help,” Frank said.

  “Of course, we want to help,” Sam said. “It’s what you would do. It’s what you always do.”

  Karen opened her mouth but shut it again without speaking. She looked around the room at the faces staring back at her and then helplessly at Joe.

  “Don’t you get it? Karen, you’ve spent your life helping everyone. You’re always there when someone needs a hand or needs a friend. You take care of everyone around you. It’s time to let some of those people help and take care of you.”

  “Joe’s right. After Claire was born, you came over to help or talked me through the crisis of the day over the phone more times than I can count. Most of the time, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing with her. You were a godsend,” Sam said.

  “You mostly knew what you were doing,” Karen said.

  “And when I was opening the B&B?” Susan chimed in, “how many times did you spend your day off helping me clean or organize cabinets or make beds or wash windows? Sometimes I think you did more work there than I did.”

  “Well, that’s not true…”

  “And when I first moved to Misty Lake, you spent an entire day showing me around, introducing me to people, and helping me clean up Frank’s house. It needed some serious cleaning,” Cassie said with a sideways look at Frank.

  “It did need some work, I guess,” Karen mumbled.

  “Sam might have a ring from a gumball machine if you hadn’t taken me shopping,” Jake said.

  “Aw, I didn’t know that,” Sam said and leaned her shoulder against Jake’s.

  There were tears in Shauna’s voice when she spoke. “You were the sister I always wanted. I was just a kid when you and Joe started dating. I wanted a sister so badly and you stepped in and filled that spot. You didn’t have to, I’m sure I was a pain in the butt, but you never made me feel like I was bothering you with my silly questions and my pleas to take me shopping. You talked me through breakups, fights with my girlfriends, navigating the jump from middle school to high school, any number of things when I didn’t want to talk to my mom or one of my brothers. You bought me my first box of tampons, for crying out loud. And through it all, you never asked for anything in return. From any of us. That’s why we want to help you. That’s why we’re going to help you. Because you’ve never asked. For anything.”

  By the time she finished, Shauna’s face was wet with tears. So was Karen’s. When Joe looked around the room, he didn’t spot a single pair of eyes that wasn’t at least a little bit shinier than usual.

  Karen swiped at her eyes. “I don’t know what to say. I love you. All of you.”

  As she buried her face in Joe’s shoulder, ideas rang out from every corner of the room.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “IT’S THE MIDDLE of the night. We all need to go home.”

  They ignored Karen, as they’d done every time she’d suggested they call it a night, and showed no signs of slowing. For the past ho
ur, they’d taken turns throwing out ideas on what they could do to avenge her and how they could be sure Joshua got what he deserved. Those ideas ranged from the surprisingly inventive to the unquestionably illegal. Cort stayed mostly quiet, seeming content to sit back and enjoy the show, and Jake was forced time and again to be the voice of reason, but the rest seemed determined to outdo one another on the crazy meter.

  “Shauna, you can’t pose as a cop. It’s illegal,” Jake said with a sigh.

  “I wouldn’t actually try to arrest him, I’d just let him think I was arresting him until the real police got there. He’d start talking, I’d record him, and then I’d turn over all the incriminating evidence to the cops.”

  Jake rubbed one hand up and over his face. “That’s wrong on so many levels, I don’t know where to begin.”

  “I still say we need to contact the police in Las Vegas,” Joe said. “Jake, what do you think? Can you help?”

  “I told you, I don’t know anyone there, but obviously I agree that the only way to go about this is by the law. As much fun as some of you think it would be to act as vigilantes, you’re smart enough to know that’s not the way to handle it. Let me see what I can do about finding someone who knows someone in Vegas. It could take some time.”

  “And in the meantime, we’re supposed to sit on our hands and hope this creep doesn’t hurt anyone else?” The normally soft-spoken Cassie’s voice was sharp, and her eyes flared. “What if his next victim never wakes up from the drugs? What if his next victim is so devastated, he or she considers something drastic? Even if there’s no sexual assault, the victim won’t necessarily know that. Do you know how many victims of sexual assault contemplate taking their own lives? What if—”

  “Cassie, I know. I know the statistics and I know how hard it is to feel like you’re sitting around doing nothing when you know someone is out there doing bad. I promise you, all of you, I’ll do what I can as fast as I can,” Jake said.

  “And so will I,” Cort added. Since he’d stayed out of the conversation, his few words got everyone’s attention. “Let me try again with Dave. I don’t expect him to be willing to cooperate with the police, but I may be able to get something more from him. He was nearly as disgusted as we are by Joshua, so it’s possible he’ll give me the name of the accomplice. I don’t know what sort of connections he used to get that person’s name or what sort of favors he may have had to call in, so I can’t promise anything except that I’ll try. I’ve learned there are times when money talks, or makes people talk, as the case may be. I’ll do what I can.”