Soul Hostage

by Jeffrey Littorno

  She returned the smile and said with only a slight tremble, “And I have missed you, Uncle Lou.” She reached out and touched his arm for just a second.

  I was not sure whether Stoaffer pulled his arm back first or if Theresa broke their contact. Either way, the physical contact seemed to cause some pain to both of them. Louis grimaced as if he was being branded with a hot poker. For her part, Theresa’s face twisted like she had touched something slimy.

  Before either of them had a chance to put their emotions into words, Joey spoke up, “Well, I hafta tell you how touched I am by this emotional reunion, but we gotta get down tuh bizness, Lou.”

  Theresa was confused by Joey’s comment and started to ask a question. However, before she could get the words out of her mouth, Stoaffer said in his most fatherly tone, “Don’t worry about my impatient friend, Theresa. We will have time to discuss things in more detail later.”

  Chapter 13

  Things relaxed after that. The mood in the house was actually very pleasant. To anyone who happened to peak into one of the windows, the four of us would have looked to be a group of old friends spending time together. The topic of the money on the sink and counter was ignored. Instead, upon seeing that the kitchen had been searched, Theresa assumed we must be hungry and offered to prepare a meal. The offer was quickly accepted and together we scrambled around the kitchen helping to prepare what Theresa promised would be the best spaghetti we had ever eaten. I had to admit the meal lived up to that promise.

  Maybe it is true what they say about the company making the food taste better, because I don’t remember enjoying a meal as much as I enjoyed that one. Of course, the main reason for my delight was Theresa’s presence. She was truly enchanting. Every time that she looked my way I felt warmth spring up from deep inside of me. Her face practically sparkled with innocent beauty. I probably sound like some pimple-faced kid with his first crush, but I am just trying to describe how I was feeling in the best way I can. Everything that came out of her mouth struck me as incredibly clever and insightful. I am sure my behavior did not go unnoticed by the others. Whenever Theresa said anything even mildly amusing I laughed more enthusiastically and longer than anybody else. While I was certain Theresa enjoyed my attention, Louis was clearly irritated by my action and Joey had other things on his mind.

  “That was some damn good spaghetti!” He said leaning back from the table and taking a drink from his wine glass. “Now, I hate to be the turd in the blanket here, but we hafta talk about some stuff. Right, Lou?” He looked over at Stoaffer who was focused intently on Theresa.

  Joey’s direct question shook Stoaffer from his concentration upon the young woman. It was not an interruption that Stoaffer welcomed. He shot a look of extreme irritation at Joey before answering, “I don’t think we need to ruin such a wonderful reunion by speaking of unpleasant matters.” He turned his attention back to Theresa and smiled.

  The awkward silence that followed signaled that the mention of unpleasant matters had indeed shattered the enjoyable mood in the kitchen. Confusion showed in Theresa’s eyes and an uneven smile was stuck on her lips. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked, “What is he talking about, Uncle Lou?”

  Louis gave her his fatherly smile once again and said, “Oh, there will be plenty of time to discuss those things later. Right now, let’s just enjoy getting to know each other again after all these years.” He leaned closer to Theresa and started to put his hand on her shoulder.

  Just before Stoaffer’s hand made contact, Theresa leaned away and said, “What else could there be to discuss? I told you that my parents left nothing of yours here.” Her eyes had coldness in them that had not been there previously as she continued, “In fact, Uncle Lou, my mother hated you for killing Daddy. She used to flip out at just the mention of your name. Does that sound like someone who would keep something…would keep anything of yours?” The coldness had become the heat of anger, and she stood up from the table.

  Theresa grabbed her plate off of the table and turned quickly to the sink. With her back to us, she flipped open the tap and began rinsing. After a few seconds, she slapped the tap down and said, “Uncle Lou, it’s been great to see you, but I have to study for an exam tomorrow.” She turned toward us once more, but this time an unconvincing smile was forced on to her face.

  I tried to say something to regain the wonderful mood that had filled the room just moments earlier but instead I said, “I … we … uh-”

  Louis interrupted, “Thomas, it would be better if Joey spoke to Theresa, don’t you think?”

  Before I had a chance to answer, Joey said, “Sorry, but yer not gonna be studyin’ much tonight.” A humorless laugh rattled out of him. “I’m here with my buddy Lou ‘cuz he sez you got some stuff yer dear ol’ daddy and mommy took from him.” He paused for a moment and watched Theresa’s confused expression.

  “I’m sorry … uh … Thomas, is it?” Her face showed irritation but still held her bright smile.

  “Joey,” Stoaffer corrected. “This is Joey.”

  Theresa looked from Louis back to Joey and said, “Well, Joey, I … I have no idea what you are talking about. You have been misinformed. Nothing here belongs or belonged to … Uncle Lou.” She glared at Louis at the mention of his name. “He killed my father! Does it make sense that my mother would keep anything of his?” When she turned her gaze back to Joey, the broad grin she found enraged her. “I am not sure what you find so funny here, but I think it would be better if you all left my house!” She glanced in the direction of the front door as if she expecting everyone to jump up and head for the door.

  The cold, rough laugh which burst from Joey shattered her expectation and left her visibly confused. Before Theresa understood what was happening, Joey had jumped up from his chair and was standing uncomfortably close to her.

  “We ain’t goin’ nowhere ‘til we get what belongs to Lou.” Joey’s voice was calm and cold and left no doubt his words would be followed.

  The threat left Theresa even more confused, and she stared silently at Joey for a long time. Finally, she turned to her eyes to Lou and said, “Uncle Lou, I don’t understand. You know there is nothing of yours in this house. It sure sounds like you are here to rob me.” She smiled as she realized how ridiculous her words must sound.

  She looked around the room to find her smile was not returned.

  “Theresa, I realize this whole thing must be kind of a shock. I mean, you don’t know me or Joey, and you haven’t seen Louis for years.” I tried to offer some comfort to her in an uncomfortable situation. “We come busting in here asking about stuff which belongs to him.”

  My attempt to provide a little comfort went unnoticed. Instead, Theresa stared blankly at me for a moment and then turned toward Stoaffer to say, “Please tell me that this is some kind of misunderstanding, Uncle Lou.”

  A long awkward pause froze everything in place.

  “Oh, I remember thinking of you for so many hours,” Louis said quietly. “I swear I could see you face looking at me from my cell wall.”

  “Why would you spend so much time thinking about me?” The confusion was clear in Theresa’s voice. “I mean, I was a little kid when the … when the … uh … the accident happened.” She got that faraway expression people get when they are picturing something from the past. “I was only ten years old, but I … I remember that night. The last time Daddy was…” She stopped as her tears started.

  I started toward her, but she shot me such a ferocious glare I froze in my tracks.

  “What do you remember about that night, dear?” Stoaffer’s voice overflowed with concern.

  “Yeah, do you remember yer Uncle Lou gettin’ a

  little too friendly?” Joey asked with a smirk. Louis slapped him with a glare which wiped the expression off his face and put a chill in the air.

  Theresa faced Joey for a moment before glancing at Stoaffer and looking downward. “What I remember is waking up and seeing people around my bed. A lot of
shouting. And… Uncle Lou, you didn’t have any clothes on.” She raised her eyes to Louis for an instant and lowered them again. “I had never seen a naked man before. As you can imagine, it was kind of a shock. I kind of … I didn’t understand what all the shouting was about. Mom grabbed me and shoved me out of the room and down the stairs. We were downstairs, and she asked me about where I’d been touched. I couldn’t understand what she meant and then we heard the gunshot. Mom was crying. I was crying and trying to climb the stairs, but she kept pulling me back. I don’t remember too much after this. Just kind of a blur of people rushing in and out of the place. Mom alternated between sobbing and cursing and shouting. Oh … wait … I don’t know how I forgot this part! Mom found a female paramedic and insisted I have an exam done.” Her eyes stayed down and her voice got lower as she continued, “You know, an exam done … an exam done to check if I had been molested.” Theresa’s body began to shake with her sobs.

  I glared at Stoaffer for harming the young woman. Louis stared back at me for a moment, before he gave a slight grin and said, “And as we both know, the exam showed nothing, because I did nothing to you. Isn’t that right, Theresa?” She stopped sobbing long enough to look up at him as he continued, “I could never hurt you, my dear.”

  The words brought an expression of searing rage mixed with confusion to Theresa’s face. She had trouble finding her words but finally said, “You killed my father.”

  “Ouch! She got ya with that one, Lou.” Joey chimed in with delight.

  Stoaffer ignored Joey’s comment and said to Theresa, “Is this what you think, dear?” He shook his head, and his mouth slowly curled into a humorless smile. “I suppose it is to be expected. After all, I haven’t seen you since then. I never got to tell you my side of the story.”

  “Your side of the story?” The disbelief was clear in Theresa’s voice. “I heard you shot my father. The only story I needed to hear.”

  A harsh chuckle erupted from Stoaffer’s throat, and he started to speak but was cut off by Joey, “All this family reunion and repressed mem’ry stuff is touching. And I do mean touching, Lou.” He gave a broad grin to Louis before continuing, “Anyway, as much as I’m enjoyin’ alla this, we need tuh get down to bizness.” The two of them stared at Joey for a moment as if they had forgotten he was even in the room.

  “Yes, you are right, Joseph. We should be concentrating on the matters at hand rather than rehashing events from the distant past.” Louis replied.

  “So why are you here, Uncle Lou?” Theresa asked. “Surely, it wasn’t to see me after all this time.”

  Stoaffer’s smile was large if not warm. “Always very insightful and impatient to get to the heart of matters, my dear. I am glad to find you have not lost these qualities.”

  Even under the strange conditions, Theresa’s face brightened at the praise from Louis. She started to thank him for the compliment but bit her tongue to stop. Instead, she said, “Great, but you didn’t answer the question. Why are you here?”

  “Well, I am not sure how much your parents told you about how they made the money to buy all of this.” Louis spun his finger in the air to indicate the expensive, well-furnished home in which we stood. “Your father and I were in business together and-”

  “Mom was the bookkeeper,” Theresa interrupted. “I know all of this, but you still didn’t answer my question. Why are-”

  Joey could no longer hold back and interrupted, “Lou, why’re we dancin’ ‘round like this?” He jumped up and stood next to Theresa in a flash. In the next instant, he pushed the Glock into the middle of her forehead. “Theresa, we’re here tuh get back some of the stuff yer mommy and daddy stole from my friend. He’s too much of a kindhearted guy tuh tell ya this, but yer gonna help us or we’re… I’m gonna do some stuff to yer sweet little body…the kinda stuff yuh never even imagined.” He let out such a cruel, harsh laugh the room itself seemed to shiver. “First off, how ‘bout tellin’ us where the packs o’ cash in the freezer came from. Have you got some scam goin’ or what?” He grinned as he pulled the gun away and stood back to wait for an answer.

  Theresa appeared unable to comprehend what was happening. She simply stared straight at Stoaffer without speaking. He returned her gaze for a few seconds before moving his eyes away. Finally, she said, “My mother never trusted banks. Always thought they were cheating her.” Lou nodded at her words, but Theresa ignored him. “Those packages in the freezer are money she wanted to keep safe. I haven’t been able to bring myself to deposit the money in the bank.” The young woman paused. “I suppose as long as the money stays in the freezer Mom stays alive.” Theresa’s sniffling was the only sound in the kitchen for a couple of minutes.

  “I mentioned your mother’s mistrust of banks earlier,” Stoaffer said as if he meant to comfort Theresa. Joey did not wait to see whether or not Stoaffer succeeded.

  “A woman who doesn’t like banks and stashes loadsa cash in her freezer?” Joey smiled at Theresa. “Too bad yer mom ain’t around cuz I think I’m in love!”

  Theresa might have gasped at Joey’s words. In any case, her face turned a deep red as she fixed her eyes upon Stoaffer.

  Joey continued, “The next thing we need fer you tuh do for us is open that safe upstairs.”

  Theresa kept her eyes on Lou even while Joey was speaking. The red had left her face and the trace of a smile curled her lips as she turned away from the old man and toward the room upstairs. Once the eye contact was broken, she stood and walked toward the stairs with Joey following closely. Louis and I trailed behind.

  Back inside the study, Louis was again drawn to the big, dark wooden desk. He slowly caressed the top. Theresa swung back the painting to reveal the safe.

  “So, Theresa, I have to ask you a question. Just how did my desk wind up here?” Louis was beaming with pride.

  Caught off guard by the question, she stammered a bit before finding an answer, “I … uh … I had no idea that the desk belonged to you. Mom put all the furniture in storage after Dad’s office closed and pretty much forgot about it. After she was gone, I went to the storage unit. I brought home the desk because I wanted to have a study room. That’s all.”

  She stood looking at Stoaffer’s back as he faced the desk in question. “Wait! Is that what you meant about having something which belonged to you?” Theresa giggled like a mischievous child at the thought. “You’re sure welcome to take it. But I didn’t notice a moving truck anywhere on the street.” She turned back to the safe and began typing the code into the keyboard.

  All of a sudden, Stoaffer launched himself away from the desk and stood right behind her. The huge smile remained plastered across his face.

  “Are you trying to say you had no idea the desk belonged to me?” Stoaffer’s smile trembled and collapsed before he was able to force it back into place. “Do you want me to believe you just happened to choose my desk as the piece of furniture you wanted to bring into your home?” His voice grew louder and higher pitched as he continued, “Do you want me to believe of all the lovely pieces in the office you just happened to choose my desk? I think we both know better.”

  Louis spun around and walked back to the desk.

  This time Theresa followed.

  “I’m not even sure why I care about this,” Theresa began as she started walking after Stoaffer. “But for some reason I do. You’re right, Uncle Lou. Lots of beautiful furniture came from the office. All I can say is something about the desk stood out to me. If you want to say this happened because somewhere deep inside I realized the desk had been yours, I can’t really say you are wrong, I guess. I never really thought about any deep reason for choosing the desk.” She stood looking at Stoaffer’s back as he faced the desk in question.

  The smile on his face could be heard in Stoaffer’s voice as he spoke without turning toward Theresa. “Thank you for your honesty, my dear. We both know of the bond we share. There is nothing of which to be ashamed. However, before we discuss our relationship, I must take
some time to show my friends the reason we are here.”

  At Stoaffer’s mention of a bond and a relationship, Theresa’s face turned pale and took on an expression of horror. She started to say something but then stopped.

  Louis kept his hand on the desk as he moved around it to the chair. We all watched him as he slid his hand tenderly over the surface. He slid the black leather desk chair back. But instead of sitting, he pushed the chair away, knelt down, and stuck his head in the space under the desk. The room was silent except for the sound of some soft tapping coming from beneath the desk. Suddenly, Stoaffer bounced out of his hole and stood up.

  “They are still here!” He announced as if we would know exactly what they were.

  At our puzzled expressions, he gave another broad smile and began pulling the drawers of the desk completely out. He piled the drawers on the floor a few feet away. The formerly big, solid, dark oak desk now appeared feeble and weak, just a skeletal frame. Stoaffer stuck his hand and then arm into one of the dark cavities in the desk. The scratching sound of his fingernails searching within the desk whispered through the room. Something rustled from inside the desk. Louis yanked his arm out of the dark space. For an instant, he seemed to be shaking his hand in pain. Then I realized he was not shaking his hand but was excitedly waving a manila envelope.

  “So they didn’t take everything from me! As much as they tried, they didn’t get everything! And now I am here for the last laugh!” Stoaffer threw his head back to let out a roar of laughter which I can only describe as crazy.

  Even in the bizarre scene, I could not keep from smiling. I glanced over to see a grin forming on Theresa’s face that matched the expression on Joey’s.

  “Yes, you’ve sure got a wonderful envelope there, Louis,” I commented struggling to sound sincere.

  Theresa started to giggle, and I could not stop myself from joining her. After a moment, Joey’s angry voice broke through the sound of our laughter, “Don’t tell me we came all the way here for some tiny, fuckin’ envelope!”