Adrian put it into her coat pocket. “Aren’t you coming with us?” She sounded anxious.
“No. He’s not looking for me. I’m not the one he wants to hurt. He’s only looking for the one he thinks he can possess.” Celeste hugged Adrian, regretting she had to lie to her. “Get a move on. Be strong and careful, dear.”
Adrian nodded, then turned to her children and said, “You know the routine.”
They nodded although their wide eyes expressed their fear.
“Take care, Celeste,” Adrian said. Holding Matthew, Marcy’s son, she and the children crawled out the opening. They sprinted to the woods in a crouch run, the wind and snow blasting them.
When Celeste was sure no stranger followed Adrian, she sent Tomika with her daughter, Gemma. Last, Lorraine took Marcy’s hand and led her into the woods. One by one in complete quiet they ran from the house and disappeared into the darkness. Celeste believed the prowler wouldn’t attempt to attack the group if he understood he was outnumbered.
Once Celeste heard the van engine rev up and tires crunching in the snow, she closed the door. She went to the kitchen and picked up the receiver to the wall phone to call 911 herself. The phone was dead.
She should have known that if the electricity went off, the phone would too. Oh, why hadn’t she called 911 from the cell phone before sending it with Adrian? Maybe she should have kept the cell phone. No. Adrian would call the authorities shortly. Besides, Adrian needed it more in case she had trouble driving.
Celeste placed the receiver back on the wall. She saw a paring knife on the counter that she had forgotten to put away, picked it up, then set it into the wood block. She hesitated, took it back out, turned it over in her hand, and tucked the knife into the cell phone pouch at her waist.
“Now what should I do?” Celeste surveyed the kitchen then walked into the living room toward the rocker. She was determined to stay in control and not let her imagination take her into a dreaded place.
Suddenly she was freezing. She drew the rocker closer to the fire and grabbed the wool throw from the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders. It wasn’t her imagination or the weather that made her cold. She was scared. What did she think she could do if Chad did get into the house?
As Celeste was about to sit in the rocker, the living room door was kicked open. The flames in the fireplace flickered and sputtered from the draft. A vase fell from a shelf, shards scattering about the floor.
Celeste turned to face the intruder, her chest tightening. She could hardly take a breath. The throw slipped from her shoulders to the floor.
Chad Wilbanks stood at the threshold. His dark eyes settled on Celeste, his mouth set in a crooked, eerie smile.
Chapter Sixteen
INTO THE NIGHT
ON GUARD AGAINST THE storm as well as the intruder, Adrian cautiously drove from the woods onto the road that had become narrowed by blowing and drifting snow. She could hear the collective heavy breathing of the panicked women. Some of it was her own. “Buckle up,” she directed. Clicks echoed as seat belts were snugged into place. “We could be in for a rough ride.”
She had only gone a few hundred feet on the country road when she spotted an SUV parked on the side with no lights. When she neared the vehicle, she saw that it had slid off the road and that one side had been buried in a drift. Her heart pounded so hard it hurt. Could the person they were running from be in that car? Might he only be someone in need of help? She doubted it. No one would be out in this remote area without an absolute purpose, a deadly purpose. What’s more, he would have knocked at the door rather than creep around the lighthouse peering in the windows.
“Lock all the doors,” Adrian ordered. “No matter what happens, stay in the van and do not open a door.”
Matthew cried. Marcy joined her son in a low, mournful sob as she held him close and rocked.
Lorraine screamed, “Oh, my God. Is he in there?” She pointed at the SUV.
The others were too terrified to utter a sound or move even a finger. Adrian knew they had all been through similar escapes in the past. She was sure tonight brought back fearful and dreaded memories.
Remaining vigilant, Adrian drove forward. She watched for any movement, any sign of a possible attack from the person or people who had left the SUV by the side of the road. It would be just like a stalker to frighten them into leaving the lighthouse only to ambush them on the road as they were fleeing.
Adrian saw nothing moving, which brought some relief. When she drove closer, she shined the van’s bright lights onto the SUV’s license plate. “Lorraine,” she directed, “get a pad and pen from the glove compartment and write the plate numbers down.”
Lorraine didn’t argue. She fumbled through the many items in the box. “Damn. Where’s the pen? Never mind. Got it.” She wrote down the numbers.
Adrian also noted that the SUV was a dark-colored Explorer. She was certain whoever drove the vehicle was the same person she had seen at the lighthouse window. Who was he and what did he want?
Adrian took the cell phone from her coat pocket and handed it to Lorraine. “Call 911. Tell them we think someone is trying to break into the lighthouse. Tell them I’m driving all of us, except Celeste to Big Bay. Be sure they understand Celeste is there alone.”
“Right,” Lorraine answered and took the phone.
Adrian put the van in drive and again made a careful progression down the road, the wipers slapping ferociously at the glass. It was still nearly impossible to see.
The smack, smack the wipers made was the only sound in the van. The women and children silently huddled close together as much for warmth as to ward off their fear.
The headlights brushed each tree trunk, illuminating them in slow motion one after the other. As the van inched along, Adrian’s imagination started to play tricks on her and it seemed she could feel the eyes of the forest following the van as though spying on them and telling the intruder where they were. She shook the dreary thought from her mind.
Adrian checked the rearview mirror every few seconds, but all she could see was the sinister night folding in behind them and the red outlined snowflakes reflected in the rear lights. She only had to make it to Big Bay, about three miles away. Maybe they could hole up at the Thunder Bay Inn. It would be far better than trying to negotiate the bumpy and perhaps impassible Highway 550 to the sheriff’s department in Marquette.
Lorraine punched the emergency number on the cell phone’s keypad. She lifted the phone to her ear and then lowered it and checked the screen. “There’s no reception.”
“Damn.” Adrian cuffed the steering wheel. “Keep trying every few minutes until you get through. The storm must be interfering with the reception.” She wondered why the instrument was touted as an emergency tool if it couldn’t be used when they actually had an emergency.
Lorraine kept punching. The beep, beep, beep sounded for each number. There was still no connection. If she couldn’t get through, Adrian wondered if Celeste would be able to use a conventional phone. Or maybe the prowler had cut the phone wires. Oh, God. Celeste should have come with them. What had they all been thinking? Were they concerned about saving only their own necks? That was all the more reason to stop at the inn. Hopefully Ned and Joan were there. And they’d certainly have an emergency system for when the weather got like this.
The van could only creep. “Can’t you go faster?” Tomika screeched. Adrian saw her wild expression in the rearview mirror and watched her rocking rapidly and beating her back against the seat.
Adrian didn’t answer her. What would be the use? The girl was too frightened to listen to reason. She’d never be convinced that no one was following them on this remote road in one of the worst snowstorms on record.
“We’re goin’ to die,” Lorraine wailed. “I know it.”
“If you haven’t died before now with all you’ve been through, I doubt tonight will be your night,” Adrian answered sarcastically. Although she knew she should be more unders
tanding, she was growing weary of Lorraine’s dependency and whining. Then she caught herself. Who was she kidding? Hadn’t she been like Lorraine? Hadn’t they all?
If they were going to make it through this night, they had to pull together and work as a team. Adrian thought about Celeste again. Who would help her? It was stupid for Celeste to have stayed behind. Yet Adrian knew Celeste well enough to understand her. Once she had made up her mind to take on the intruder and get the rest of them to safety, no one could change it. Adrian’s only choice had been to get all of them to safety and get a hold of the sheriff.
“Still nothing,” Lorraine said as she let the cell drop to her lap. Her sad voice quivered.
“Keep trying,” Adrian said in a subdued tone, trying to sound more soothing. “We’ll be at the inn in a little while.” No sooner had she said that, than the van skidded sideways. The women all screamed, which startled the children, who began crying. Gemma abruptly awakened and joined in the weeping chorus.
Adrian lifted her foot from the gas pedal gingerly, turned the steering wheel away from the ditch, and gently pressed on the gas. She remembered being told not to pump the brakes or overcorrect the vehicle’s direction and managed to maneuver the van to the center of the road. How did she know what to do? She had never been in a situation like this before. Her husband rarely let her drive and never without him in the passenger seat.
“That was close,” she murmured.
“Yeah,” the women answered simultaneously. In a chorus, they all inhaled sharply and then let out their breath slowly until they became silent again. Every so often a whimper slipped from one of them.
Moments after everyone had calmed down, the van hit another patch of ice and slid sideways again. The vehicle moved too quickly for Adrian to react this time before the front right tire lodged deep into a snowbank. Once again women screamed and the children wailed. Adrian turned to the women. “Get control of yourselves. We’ve all been through worse than this. Screaming won’t get us out of the snow.”
The women stared, wide-eyed, at Adrian’s outburst. Someone was still sobbing. But who could blame them? Soon they quieted and began to comfort the children.
“It’s okay. We’re all right,” Lorraine said to her two.
Tomika and Marcy rocked their babies. Tomika shook uncontrollably.
Adrian checked her three children. “Are you okay?”
McKenna answered in a weak voice, “Yes.” A tear slid from her eye. Adrian knew how hard her daughter always tried to be brave and act like an adult. Her heart broke to see how scared she was.
Adrian smiled. “You’re a brave one, McKenna.” She turned away and back to the task that awaited her. “Lorraine and Marcy, come with me.” Adrian jumped from the van.
Marcy laid Matthew against Tomika. “Watch him for me.”
Tomika nodded.
By the time Marcy and Lorraine got out, Adrian had retrieved a shovel from the rear and was digging snow away. “Once I get enough snow cleared from the tire, I’ll get back behind the wheel and you two are going to have to push with everything you have. Got it?”
“Yes,” Marcy answered somberly.
“I don’t think we can do this,” Lorraine whined.
“Would you rather sit here and freeze to death?” Adrian said as she lifted a last shovelful of snow and heaved it to the side. “Go to the back and get ready to push.” She got into the van and started the engine. As she rocked it, gently pressing the accelerator, then reverse over and over, Lorraine and Marcy pushed.
The van didn’t budge. Adrian got out and shoveled some more, then turned to the other two women. “Let’s try again, harder.” Maybe she should get the older kids to help. No. They might get hurt. She decided not to risk it.
“Tomika,” Adrian yelled. “We need you to help us.”
Still traumatized, Tomika stared at Adrian as though she didn’t recognize her.
Adrian touched Tomika’s arm. “Give Gemma to McKenna.”
Tomika looked at McKenna, but didn’t move.
“We can’t get back on the road without your help. Once we do, we’ll be safe,” Adrian gently prodded Tomika.
Tomika finally handed Gemma to McKenna and kissed her daughter’s forehead. She eased out of the van and joined Marcy and Lorraine.
“About time you helped,” Lorraine snapped.
“We don’t have time for that kind of nonsense, Lorraine,” Adrian said sharply.
With all three women in place, Adrian again rocked the van as the women pushed. After several tries the vehicle lurched forward and onto the road. They all yelled “Yahoo!” Marcy and Lorraine gave each other a high five and climbed back into their seats. Tomika followed without saying a word.
“Good job, ladies,” Adrian praised as she tightened her hands around the steering wheel to stop them from shaking, and drove slowly on down the road.
How far had they traveled? They had been on the road for twenty minutes. They had to be close to Big Bay by now. Adrian inched the van along, never taking her eyes off the road, and stared with such intensity her eyes burned. The snow swirling in the headlights nearly hypnotized her and she shook her head and rubbed the sting out of her eyes.
The bright lights made the snow into a solid curtain. Everything was white and had no definition. If Adrian couldn’t see the road, how could she find the inn?
Finally, lights off in the distance. Close enough, though, to lift Adrian’s spirits. Within a few minutes she drove into Big Bay, a town of about three hundred sleeping people.
The Thunder Bay Inn was dark except for a few outside lights. Instead of the warm, two-story clapboard mansion inviting her to stay, the inn on this night looked more like an old house in a horror movie. No matter, hopefully Joan and Ned were there to help them and get help to Celeste.
Adrian struggled to get the van over the mound of snow a plow had piled up at the driveway entrance. With one final press against the gas pedal, the vehicle lurched forward and over the hump with a hard thud, causing everyone to bounce high in their seats. They all screamed. Adrian eased as close to the front door as possible.
“Stay put until I tell you to get out,” Adrian told the group as she unbuckled her belt. She had to fight the wind to get the door open and finally shoved it far enough to be able to hop out into the snow that had become deeper even in the short time they had traveled. The door slammed shut behind her and leaned into the wind that blasted her like sand in a desert storm. With her head bent and chin tucked deep into her collar, she made her way to the entrance, slipping several times.
Adrian turned the door handle, but the inn was locked. She pounded and yelled, “Hello. Is anyone here? Joan, it’s Adrian. We need help.” She pounded again. Suddenly lights went on throughout the inn and Adrian heard footsteps scurrying toward the door. Locks were released and shortly the door opened. A sleepy-eyed woman in her mid-fifties wearing a red-plaid bathrobe yawned a greeting, “Adrian? What’s happening?” Joan asked. Her husband, Ned, a brawny man, stood behind her.
Adrian narrated the night’s events so quickly she had to stop to catch her breath and as she spoke, she pointed to the van. The women and children had their noses pressed against the windows, their breath making misty circles in the glass. When the glass fogged over, someone rubbed an area to look out, and they eagerly pushed their faces close to see what was happening.
“Bring them in,” Joan said, peering around Adrian and eyeing the group.
“Thank you.” Adrian dashed to the van. “We’re going to stay at the inn for a while. Pile out.” She lifted her own children out and into the snow, then took Matthew and carried him to the inn. Everyone followed.
Adrian introduced Joan to the others who looked bedraggled, confused, and exhausted.
“You’re lucky that this is our off-season. We have several vacant rooms,” Joan said. “Let’s get these tired children in bed. Then I’ll make tea for anyone who wants it.”
“Thank you for your help.” Adrian nea
rly cried out the words. “But I need to call the sheriff’s department before I do anything to let them know about the intruder and where we are. I hope you have phone service.”
“Yes. You can use the one on the desk.” Joan pointed to the phone.
Adrian dialed 911 but was so excited when a dispatcher answered she could hardly get her words out. When she hung up, she told the others, “The deputy will immediately send a car to the lighthouse. Lucky for us it’s in the area. God willing, the weather won’t slow it down too much.” All of a sudden it hit her that Celeste couldn’t have gotten through to the sheriff since the dispatcher hadn’t been contacted before now. The intruder must have cut the phone line.
“Okay. Let’s get them upstairs.” Joan motioned to the group. They followed her up the stairs to the bedrooms. Once all the children were calmed and snug in a bed, Adrian and Lorraine went back down for some tea. Tomika and Marcy, still stunned and nearly catatonic, stayed with the children.
Adrian and Lorraine finally took off their coats and laid them over a chair.
“I’m surprised you have power,” Adrian said. “The lighthouse doesn’t.”
“We have a generator. It’s a must, especially when threatened with frequent power outages. Our guests get upset.” Joan carried a tea service and cups on a tray and ushered the women into a plush, comfortable sitting room decorated in shades of blue and mauve. As Joan served the tea she said, “From what you’ve told me up to this point”—she looked at Adrian—“you haven’t heard about the escape from Hawk Haven Prison, have you?”
Adrian nearly dropped her cup. “No. When? Do you know who it is?”
Lorraine’s eyes became huge circles as she turned to Adrian. “Do you think that’s who’s at the lighthouse? That’s a maximum-security prison. Those guys are dangerous.”
Joan sat across from Adrian at Lorraine’s side. “A guard found the prisoner missing during a count around five o’clock. The radio announcement said his name is Chad Wilbanks.”
Inevitable Sentences Page 17
