“No,” he answered.
“So why did they pay you?” Regina asked with a cry.
Regina and her father made eye contact and he could see that hurt was the emotion that fueled her most, not anger. Charlie Dean could not lie to his daughter.
“They said that there may be some temporary and minor side effects from chemicals, but that it was nothing to worry about. The money was just a token of their apology for all of the inconvenience. Once everyone found out that the plant would not reopen, people were scared. What would happen with the loss of jobs? So of course people signed the confidentiality agreement and took the money. What else could we do? After a while we noticed some changes in people, some people were more to themselves, some people left town, some melancholy but it could have been because of the hard economic times, the deaths, it could have been anything. There was nothing so noticeably drastic as to blame it on the explosion itself.
After a few years Riley Co. built the candy factory and the town was finally able to start getting back to normal.” Her father explained further. His naiveté would have been sickening to Regina if it had come from any man besides her beloved father. Normal was the last adjective that Regina would have thought of to describe Black Water.
“Did you notice anything strange, Daddy, did you notice anything?” Regina pleaded to receive some acknowledgement beyond the blanket of “nothing major” reasoning.
“Like what?” he asked.
“After the explosion, did you notice anything really strange about the people in Black Water?” Regina asked.
“Well …” he said rubbing his head gently, something he often did when he was thinking.
Her mother interjected. “Like he said before, maybe people were a little different, but that is to be expected after an accident like that. People lost their family members, their incomes; things were just not the same around here for a long time. Is this about me?” her mother wanted to know.
“Yes, it’s about you!” Regina lashed out with a scream as she slapped her palm against the table.
“It’s about you, it’s about Lola, and it’s about everything!” She finished, slapping the table three more times to give emphasis to the important points of her rant.
“Lola?” Her mother said as confusion traveled her face. “What do you mean?”
“Glen DeFrank, Mom, was he different? Was he, Mom, huh? Did you know? Did you know?” Regina asked.
“Know what? You think he murdered Lola?” Her mother asked before she hung her head a bit lower than before. “We knew that he was different, Regina. For God’s sake, he lost both of his parents in that explosion. He was sad, but we never ever thought that he would hurt any of you girls, which is why we didn’t stop the lessons. We could have never thought that he would hurt Lola.” Her mother reached out and placed her hand on top of Regina’s and her father grabbed her other hand. Regina pulled away from both of them and used her hands to cover her face and soak up all the tears that were streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
There was no point in telling them the whole of the truth that was to be known, it would only serve them more pain and as far as Regina could tell, they had been victims of everything just as much as she had been. There was no good in telling them, the money takers, the secret keepers, that they had failed to protect their children and that they had suffered for the unknowing actions of their parents. Regina gathered all of the pieces of herself that were shattered there on the table, pieces that may not have seemed like much to anyone else, but were all that she had, like a sad bag lady. She backed away from the table.
“Regina, honey …” her father began. Regina held up one hand to keep him from speaking.
“I’m sorry. I don’t blame you, I just want to take a shower and lie down for a little while.” Regina turned and disappeared from the room.
After her shower, in some ways she felt new and refreshed, but in the ways that mattered she still felt damaged. She would sleep in her towel and not bother with pajamas; she wanted nothing to hinder her from sheer undisturbed rest. Regina crawled sleepily under the sheets and comforter of her bed. Her head came to a gentle rest on her pillow and she stared off into the darkness at the back of her closet. She imagined all of the things that could be waiting inside that place and she breathed in and out, her chest rising and falling as fear grew in her one moment and subsided in the next. She blew it out and then drew it back in again until this rhythm of fear and tranquility was overtaken by the soft fluttering of her eyelids. To no avail she struggled to keep her eyes trained on the darkness, watching it, guarding herself, but it crept closer and closer as the slits in her eyes grew thinner and thinner until finally sleep came to her rescue before the darkness could ravage her.
When she woke, the moonlight filtered in through her open window. The house was silent except for the sound of the washing machine thrashing clothes around just down the hall. She looked at the clock: 8:00 p.m. Only one hour and forty-five minutes had passed, but it seemed as if she had been sleep for days, her head was muddled with the mess of what had become her life in the past three days. It took her several minutes to generate the strength to lift her body and plant her feet on the cold floor.
“Mom” Regina called out and waited, but was not availed with any response. She went into her bag and pulled out a pair of her most comfortable stretchy black pants and pulled them up over the layer of goose bumps that rose on her legs, then she put on a black tank top and a brown hooded sweater.
“Mom” Regina called again as she walked out into the hallway, but there was still no answer. Feeling her way along the hall she made it to the top of the stairs, went down and into the kitchen, which usually served as the hub of their home. Regina flipped the light switch and scanned the room to find what she had been looking for, a note on the refrigerator scribbled in purple ink.
Regina, we had to go to your aunt’s house, but we will be back later this evening. Dinner is in the oven. We love you. Mom & Daddy.
Regina opened the oven with a grunt. Now was not a time when she wanted to be alone, but besides the fact that her aunt’s health was failing and her parents went to Edgarton to check on her often she was sure that her mother needed to vent about the discussion that had taken place to her big sister, Charlene. In the oven, she found a plate wrapped in aluminum foil. Regina peeled the foil back to reveal yet another one of her favorites, Mom’s famous spaghetti and meatballs with garlic toast. The delicious aroma overwhelmed her. Regina took the plate out, placed it in the microwave and it began to heat. She poured herself a tall glass of ice water and gulped down several swallows before the microwave cried out. Regina grabbed the hot plate and began shoveling forks of spaghetti into her mouth. As much as she tried to muster it she was empty of reason, but emotions she was full of. Loneliness filled her heart and she thought of Lola. Although everything about this trip had been about Lola, it somehow felt that she had gotten lost somewhere along the way. Regina remembered the times that she spent with her best friend, the sleepovers, the swimming, exploring in the woods and as she sat there in the dimly lit kitchen she longed for her childhood friend. Regina could almost hear her laugh echoing through the room and she was suddenly taken by shame. Lola deserved none of this and she was the one who had lost the most, she did not deserve what she got from Glen and she did not deserve what she got from Regina and she did not deserve the injustice that was being propelled by all of the secrets that camouflaged themselves shamelessly among truth. A lifeless Regina could no longer fill her stomach with food because it no longer mattered considering the emptiness of her stomach was no match for the emptiness of her heart. Regina put her plate in the sink, she pulled on a pair of her boots that were left by the front door, grabbed the keys to her father’s car and left the house. The car steered itself and Regina relaxed and pushed all thoughts from her head.
A jack-o-lantern scowled at her from the porch of Lola Rusher’s home when her car finally came to a stop on the curb. The wind
ows of the home were warm with the glow of life inside and the porch light welcomed her. Before she had too much time to think about her visit she found herself on the porch.
Regina was at a loss for what she would say when the door flung open and she stood there emotionally naked at the threshold of the Rusher family home. A harsh breeze rushed passed her causing goose bumps to rise on her entire body; she looked to the sky and saw the dark storm clouds beginning to develop with methodical madness. Her index finger depressed the little, round cream-colored button and she heard the bell ripple through the house. At the sound of the leaves rustling playfully in the yard behind her she scanned the front yard for obscurities. A shadow appeared behind the glass in the door and she heard mumbling before she heard the locks began to clink to allow entry. Light poured over Regina.
“Regina! Are you OK?” Mrs. Rusher asked as she ushered her in from the dark night. The skin around Mrs. Rusher’s eyes was puffy and swollen with the confirmation that she had not stopped crying yet.
“You look terrible,” Mrs. Rusher said; her eyes trained on the dark circles that outlined Regina’s eyes.
Some nerve, Regina thought to herself.
She tried hard to speak, but it was as if her mouth did not work; her jaws were tense.
“Regina, has something happened? Are you OK?” Mrs. Rusher asked again. Regina could see that Leo was coming into the foyer to check on his mother. Though there was no outward sign of it, on the inside Regina fought hard with her body in order to make it move, in order to generate sound from her throat, she pressed against the cavities of her own chest, a little voice inside of her screamed and shouted, but there in the Rushers’ foyer all they saw was a silent, empty-eyed girl.
“I’m fine,” she finally croaked. “I’m OK, I just had a dream about Lola and I had to come.” The girl lied, which now seemed to be an action that was becoming a part of her normal life.
“Oh, honey.” Mrs. Rusher sighed. “Do you want some tea?” Mrs. Rusher asked. “No. Can I go up to Lola’s room for a minute?” Regina asked, skipping the common courtesies and racing to the point. Mrs. Rusher narrowed her eyes in concern.
“Are you sure that is such a good idea?” she asked as her head unconsciously cocked to one side.
“I just need to be close to her for a moment. That’s all,” Regina explained. Mrs. Rusher’s better judgment advised against it, but her heart told her to allow the girl to go to the place that compelled her and she waved her hand up the stairs in a go-ahead to Regina. Unsteadily, Regina began up the stairs.
The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. At the sound of the answering machine Mrs. Rusher hung up the phone and dialed again, but got the same result.
Ringing penetrated the Dean house, but there was no one there to answer the phone, there was nothing but darkness with the occasional flashes of searing white light that illuminated the house with schizophrenic timing as the storm brooded toward them.
“No answer,” Mrs. Rusher said to her family as they sat in the living room watching her, they looked toward the ceiling where they heard Regina creeping softly into the room of the dead girl.
Regina wrapped her hand around the doorknob and pushed the door open. The room was dark, except for the closet light that gave a dull orange hue. Regina went to the window where she got on her knees and peered out at the same view that Lola had marveled for sixteen years. Regina watched the naked trees sway in a seductive dance that welcomed the rain. She laid across the bed and felt the thick cotton mold to the curves of her back. The closet light drew her eye and seemed to spotlight on the clothes hamper. Her mind rewound rapidly to the last time that she was in this room and she scrambled over the bed and knocked the hamper to the side, she pulled up the carpet and removed the loose floorboard. Regina pushed through all of the miscellaneous photos, papers, and trinkets until she found what she had been looking for, the journal. She opened the journal and rediscovered the same letters in white envelopes with the crimson hearts decorating them. She opened one of the letters and her eyes moved across the words on the paper in critical analyzes. The words on the paper stabbed her and the blade turned violently every time she came to the end of the letter and read the signature that was anteceded with the same closing each time, All my love…forever. She read the next letter and the next and they were all the same; testaments of obsession and worship to the point of idolatry. He had been on the verge of stalking Lola and her best friends had never even known it. In the letters he spoke of how he watched her, followed her, how much he loved her, how much he wanted nothing more than to be with her. This was more than a high school crush, dangerously more. Regina knew no one anymore, everyone was a stranger. She was guilty of so many things and this was another. Lola had been trying to tell her something before she died; something that Regina had simply brushed off with a laugh. Regina continued reading through letter after letter of the same adulation. She shoved the letters into her bag and ran out of the room, not bothering to conceal the hiding place. The woman yelled a quick good-bye to the family as she scrambled down the stairs and darted out of the house. Within seconds the only thing in the night air was the echo of Regina’s squealing tires as she shot off into the night to the home of her newest suspect.
24
The land around Barron’s home was murky and haunted by the imaginary shadows that bordering a cemetery usually causes onlookers to see. The rain was just beginning to shower as Regina pulled her father’s car into the cement drive in front of the house. Regina felt her heart beating furiously, her stomach began to cramp with anxiety. In the car she took several deep breaths before opening the door, the girl closed her eyes and sucked as much air as possible into her lungs, pushing the air down through her entire body, and then allowing it to come up out of her mouth again. There were several breaths before she felt the beat of her heart returning to a normal pace. Regina pulled her hood over her head, stepped out of the car and started fast toward the door. As she approached the small cement porch steps in a rapid jog, the door flew open and Barron emerged from the darkness and charged her. She screamed and her body stiffened to a halt. Barron purposely stumbled himself so as not to cause a head on collision.
“Regina?” he called as he squinted his eyes, trying to see clearly in the night. “Barron, I need to talk to you.” she yelled to be heard over the gentle shower that was quickly mutating into a roaring storm. Behind him, a girl came tumbling out of the door in a yellow rain coat. Regina realized that it was not a girl, but a woman.
“Regina,” Barron’s mother smiled at her.
“Mrs. Forte,” Regina offered a weak smile.
“I have wanted to see you, but I can’t talk now or I’ll be late for work.” Mrs. Forte gave her a quick squeeze and scampered off toward her truck.
“Open the door, Barron, and hurry up.” Mrs. Forte yelled back to him. Barron pointed a handheld black device toward the truck and then Regina heard a clicking sound.
“Just go inside and wait for me. I have to drop my mother off at the hospital and I’ll be right back.” Barron told her. She wanted to yell, “No! Stop!” but everything happened so quickly that Regina barely found the time to nod her head. She ran up unto the porch and into the lightless house.
Regina fingered the walls looking for the light switch in the living room. She ran her palms against both sides of the entryway to the living room, but still the switch escaped her. In the flashes of lightning, she was able to make out a lamp, she went over and turned the little black knob, which washed the room in depressing amber light. Regina couldn’t help but smile remembering all of the fond memories that had been created in this house with Barron. Endless nights of being sprawled out across this floor, claiming to do homework, but really just flirting for hours on end. Regina noticed that Mrs. Forte had gotten new carpet and furniture, but the wood paneled walls remained. Regina peeled off the wet sweater that stuck to her skin. She sat on the couch and thought of turning on the television, but decided tha
t the incessant, brainless chatter of that idiot box would only make her more nervous about the confrontation that lay ahead of her. How could she tell Barron that she thought his little brother might be a murderer?
A persistent rain pounded the tired earth now and she worried about Barron and hoped that he would be OK and even more importantly, that he would return quickly. She was cold and beginning to get frightened by the strange familiar surroundings. As the shadows began to play hide and seek among the knick knacks and books that covered the shelves, she realized that she had never been alone in this house. Creaking floorboards whined in the hallway, her breath froze dead away inside of her throat and she held it so as not to make a sound. She saw movement in the dark hallway; something was bobbing up and down, a long object, brown; a bat. Her breath expanded inside of her throat choking her as she tried to scream. In the next moment, Carter’s face came into the light and he drove straight toward Regina holding the weapon high above his head. Regina jumped upon the back of the couch and threw up her arms to protect her from the tremendous blow that was about to land on her head.
“CARTER NO!” she screamed as she lost her balance, falling off the back of the couch and into the window frame that was just behind the sofa.
“Regina?” she heard him call out. Her eyes popped open and she saw Carter standing only inches from her, the bat lowered.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, his features tightened in irritation, his eyes tired with sleep. “Barron is not here, he took my mother to work.” Carter informed her.
“I know,” she said, finally able to regain her breath. “I saw him as he was leaving. He told me to come inside and wait for him.”
“Well I’m glad someone told me.” Carter added sarcastically. “I was about to kick your ass.” Carter held out his hand and pulled her back onto the couch.
“Sorry,” Regina responded meekly. “I didn’t know you were here,” she told him. He sat down and let the bat fall to the floor, it rolled around aimlessly and seemed harmless compared to the lethal weapon it had been just moments before.
Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers Page 28
