by Pamela Wells
By this time they were living in a rather large and beautiful home, built for them on the Niagara Parkway. A long road along the Niagara River below the escarpment and the Falls, it was a house to be proud of. There were many beautiful homes on that road.
The Bloone house stood on several acres of land and was surrounded on three sides by a variety of trees. The fourth side faced the beautiful Niagara River. The Niagara area was known for its variety of fruit. Hilda Bloone loved to eat fresh fruit throughout the summer. She insisted Harold plant a mixture of peach, apple, cherry, and plum trees.
They also had a large garden with strawberries, raspberries, and an assortment of vegetables as well. The Bloone’s could easily have hired a gardener if they desired but that was too extravagant for Hilda and she insisted on doing all the household chores herself, with the help of her two children.
Harold immersed himself in his work and was rarely home. He found Hilda to be a demanding and overbearing woman. She was a perfectionist in keeping a spotless and immaculate home. Hilda ruled the two children with an iron fist, demanding perfection from them as well. The love that Harold once felt for his wife faded just as Hilda’s heart grew hard. Harold was an old fashioned man and it never occurred to him to seek happiness elsewhere. Deep down, he truly loved her; he just didn’t understand the woman she had become. He chose to devote himself more to the hotel business than to Hilda. As his hotel empire grew, his marriage did not. Gerhard was just seventeen and Christine only twelve when their father died of a heart attack. They didn’t cry at the funeral. They could find no reason for tears for they barely knew the man who died. He was a stranger to them. He was the type of man that thought children should be seen and not heard. He had never made an effort to build any sort of relationship with his children.
After Harold died, Hilda spent less and less time out in her garden and more time in front of her TV. She eventually realized the need for some help and hired a local man to come to the property a few times a week and tend to the yard and garden. The man, Ralph Milgrom, proved to be more than capable. The Bloone property grew to be one of the finest looking ones on the parkway. The house had four bedrooms with three full baths on the main floor. It also contained a large open room for the family living room, dining area, and a large kitchen with an island in the center. The living room was fully carpeted. A stone fireplace and a cathedral ceiling extended into the dining room. A large screened in porch and an outside sun deck, with access to the kitchen made the room bright and sunny. The view from the kitchen was breath taking. A beautiful gazebo was just down the garden path to the Niagara River which could be seen through the trees just beyond. Harold also had a home office but he had seldom used it, preferring to be out of the house altogether when there was work to be done. The house had an attached three car garage that faced the side of the property. The basement was huge and only partially finished.
Hilda became very possessive of Christine after Harold died. At twelve years of age Christine had many friends at school. She would rather be out with friends instead of coming home after school to be with her sad, overweight, weepy mother, sitting in front of the TV. Christine was happiest when she was away from home. A trip to the mall with her closest friends was best! Hilda was suspicious of what Christine might be up to and she used Gerhard to be her spy to follow Christine after school for a week to see where she went and who she spent time with. Gerhard, wanting only to please his mother, gave her a full report of everything Christine did and everyone she talked to.
Hilda was not happy to find out that Christine was seen talking to a young man outside of school on a regular basis. She was afraid that Christine might do the same sort of thing that she herself had done and run off with someone. She couldn’t handle the thought of Christine leaving her. She panicked just thinking about it. She decided that she would pull Christine out of school and teach her at home. She would do the same with Gerhard. They would all stay home together. She was sure that was the right decision. She could handle the home schooling and Harold had left some well trained people that saw to the management of the hotels. They seldom bothered Hilda with any details, simply because she wasn’t interested. As long as the money kept coming in she had no interest in business. Gerhard however, like his father was extremely interested in the hotel business and dreamt of someday taking over the operation.
For the next three years Hilda ran the house like an army sergeant might. She was strict with her children. From eight o’clock in the morning until four o’clock in the afternoon they worked at their studies. Three of those hours involved independent study so Hilda was free to watch her TV shows. For the first year Gerhard was allowed to leave the house to run errands for the family but other than that, no one was allowed to leave. After completing his high school grades Gerhard then was allowed to go to a near by university to take hotel management type of courses. It was clear that he was to return home as soon as his last class was over. This was an arrangement that Hilda was happy with, Gerhard didn’t seem to mind but Christine loathed it. At first she screamed at her mother and raged out her protests. Her mother locked her in a section of the basement and refused to let her out until she quieted down. It wasn’t a dark and damp basement. This was a beautiful home, so the basement was a modern bright one. There was a large section without windows and with the door to that area locked; there was no way of escape. Hilda would only open the door at meal time, having Gerhard stand guard, so Christine couldn’t leave. When Christine eventually was allowed to emerge from the basement she was told that if she did leave the Bloone household she would be given no money. She would have to make it on her own. At twelve years old she would be too young to get a job and therefore the police would simply bring her back home, so she might as well get used to it. Christine did get used to it, to a point. For three years she put up with it. She plotted and took whatever money she could find. At the age of fifteen she slipped out the door one night and hid in the back seat of her brother’s car. Unaware that his sister was hiding in the backseat he went out the next day to run some errands.
After he left Hilda noticed Christine was missing. Insane with anger she blamed Gerhard for helping Christine to escape.
Life in the Bloone household became a nightmare. A day wouldn’t pass without Hilda screaming and yelling at Gerhard. She considered herself a very giving, selfless mother therefore Christine could only have left because of Gerhard. She blamed him.
Hilda would often have dreams of Christine, walking the streets of Niagara Falls, shivering in the cold. She would then wake Gerhard from a sound sleep and make him drive her around town, certain they would see Christine. Finding her daughter became an obsession for Hilda. After filing a missing person report, Hilda called the police station every day to see if there was any news of Christine, often yelling at them for their incompetence. With each day that passed Hilda’s frustration grew and she channeled that into a rage against Gerhard. Like his father he immersed himself in work at the hotel to escape his mother’s wrath.
For the next thirty years Gerhard listened to his mother moan about the loss of Christine. He lost count of the times he had driven his mother up and down the streets of Niagara Falls looking for her. He searched on his own outside of the Falls as well but he knew that Christine did not want to be found. His sister had confided to him how much she hated their mother and how badly she just wanted to be free of her. She didn’t care about the family fortune. She just wanted to get away. She dreamt of becoming an actress. Gerhard thought she might possibly head for Toronto first and then perhaps try to get to California. He tried to warn her how hard it would be but Christine wanted so desperately to escape her mother, she didn’t listen to his warnings.
About three years after Christine ran away Gerhard got a phone call at work. It was Christine! He recognized her voice instantly although she sounded weak and scared.
“Gerhard, please help me.” She was calling from Toronto and she was in trouble, could he come? Chris
tine begged him not to tell their mother, Gerhard told Hilda he was going to the city on business and expected to return late that night. During the hour and a half drive to Toronto he thought about how he would deal with Christine. After three years of listening to his mother’s ravings there was no way he was going to let his sister go. She had to come home with him. Even if he had to force her into the car, that is what he would do. He had gone so far as to purchase a chain and lock, willing to do whatever it took to get his sister back home. As he drove he began to smile in anticipation. He thought of the look on his mother’s face when he would walk in the door with Christine.
Finally, all the screaming would stop. Perhaps his mother would find some joy in life again and even return to the happy person he remembered from his childhood.
It took some effort to find the address that Christine had given him. He was shocked and disgusted to see the house his sister was living in. How could this possibly be the correct address? The location was definitely not what one would call ‘the nicer part of the city’. Gerhard looked around nervously as he got out of his car, checking twice to be sure it was locked. He looked at the address again, stunned at the thought of his sister living there. The dilapidated house looked might have been a nice home at one time. In its current condition it could only be classified as a hovel. All of the windows were either cracked or boarded up. The front door hung by its hinges, the porch sagged with dry rot and paint was peeling. Garbage littered the ground and steps leading up to the door. Gerhard cautiously made his way to the entrance telling himself there had to be some mistake. His sister couldn’t possibly be living in these conditions. He looked back at his car, making sure that no one was in the process of stealing it. He cautiously knocked on the door. There was no answer so he knocked a little harder, and still no answer. Gerhard, feeling a sense of frustration at having driven so far and getting his hopes up at bringing his sister home, banged on the door and yelled for Christine. This time he heard a faint voice call his name.
As he entered the house the stench of the place hit him like a physical slap in the face. From just inside the front door he could see to the right, into the kitchen and what Gerhard saw sickened him. Fast food containers covered every surface. Moldy scraps of food left behind on the counter. To the left was the living room and like the kitchen every piece of furniture was covered in more garbage. The cardboard covered windows darkened the room. He didn’t see her until he heard her call out his name once more.
Christine was curled up on the couch. Gerhard hurried over to her, repulsed at the person he saw.
“Christine? What on earth happened to you?”
Before him lay an emaciated, shadow of the sister he once knew. This was not the healthy young girl that left home three years ago. When Christine saw Gerhard she began to cry, softly at first then the tears changed to sobs.
“Talk to me Christine; tell me why are you are here in this awful house?” But she couldn’t even get the words out she was crying so hard. Gerhard picked up his sister and carried her out to his car. He gently placed her in the front seat, forgetting all about the chain and lock, only wanting to get away from there as quickly as possible.
As they drove away, Christine slowly began to tell Gerhard about the past three years of her life. She came to Toronto with dreams of being a great actress but found that dream to be quickly shattered. The money she had saved had been stolen from her. She soon found herself out on the street with no one to turn to and no where to go. She was scared and didn’t know what to do until she met a young man who promised to help her.
He seemed so nice, at first. He bought her food and gave her a place to stay. He even promised to introduce her to some people that could get her some auditions for television commercials. But he was NOT the nice man he appeared to be. He gradually introduced her to drugs until she was addicted. He got her involved in other things that she couldn’t bring herself to tell her brother. Gerhard assured his sister that it would be ok now and that he would take care of everything. Christine was relieved to see her brother, she had missed him dreadfully. Feeling reassured she fell asleep for awhile and Gerhard continued the drive towards home. At one point during the drive Christine awoke with a start and demanded to know where Gerhard was taking her.
“It’s alright Christine; just go back to sleep you need to rest. I’m taking you home where you can get clean clothes and some decent food into you”.
Christine flew into a rage and insisted she would rather go back to her life in Toronto than home to her mother. She tried to jump out of the car in the middle of the highway. Gerhard grabbed hold of Christine’s wrist and hung on to her as he carefully maneuvered the car off the road. He yelled at her for her foolishness, he took the lock and chain out of his pocket and secured her to the armrest of the car door.
“How dare you lock me up, undo this chain right now!” shrieked Christine, with tears streaming. The weak girl Gerhard found on the couch in Toronto, was now filled with a rush of adrenaline, tried to hit and scratch at Gerhard demanding the keys. Gerhard tried to calm her down as best he could.
“Christine, I can’t take you back, that place you were living in, I can’t even call it a house, was horrible! What would you do if I did take you back? You called me, remember? You want some help so I’m going to give it to you. You need some descent food and no doubt a thorough check-up with our doctor. Trust me, it will be ok.
I’ll get you home soon; you can have a nice hot shower and get into some clean clothes while I fix you something to eat.”
Christine argued some more but realized it was pointless. Gerhard had his mind set and his sister chained to the car. She calmed down and sat still as she thought about what she had to do.
Gerhard became aware that his gas tank was nearly empty. He pulled into the nearest service center. Before exiting the car he sternly told Christine to behave herself and be quiet or she would be sorry she ever called him. He paid for the gas, picked up some sandwiches and drinks. All he could think about was how pleased his mother would be when he brought Christine home. Hilda would stop yelling and crying all the time. Life would be so much better. There was no way he was going to let her go. When he returned he found Christine unconscious with an empty pill bottle in her hand. He almost screamed in frustration! His foolish sister would rather overdose on pills than return home. He should have checked her pockets for drugs! What was he thinking? He tried desperately to wake her. Gerhard wasn’t sure what to do. He slapped her, first on the face, yelling at her to wake up. He then slapped her back, even sticking his finger down her throat, hoping to make her throw up, but with no success. Finally Gerhard got behind the wheel of the car knowing he had no choice but to rush her to the nearest hospital. As he drove he thought of his mother’s reaction to all this and how she would no doubt find a way to blame him. He cringed at the thought.
It took Gerhard some time to find a hospital, fighting through the busy traffic towards Niagara Falls. He quickly pulled into a parking spot and then turned to his sister.
She looked very pale. He felt for her pulse, there was none. Was she dead? Gerhard sat in the car staring at his sister. The girl he had searched for for three years. She didn’t look much like the young woman he remembered. Her cheeks were sunken in; her hair was dirty and stringy. Her face was white, so white. Gerhard didn’t want to believe it but she was really dead. The thought of this was slowly starting to sink in. Gerhard’s thoughts went to his mother. How would she react? Of course she would blame Gerhard.
“Murderer, you killed your sister!” Hilda would yell at him. Gerhard cringed at the thought. If the last three years had been bad he knew that the years following would be much worse. All the blame would rest on his shoulders. He couldn’t let his mother find out.
Gerhard quickly looked outside the car to see if anyone had noticed him sitting there with a dead girl in the front seat. People were walking by, going about their own business and even if they had seen Christine, would probabl
y have thought she was sleeping. Gerhard started up the car and cautiously pulled out of the parking lot. His mind raced, now what should he do?
Gerhard drove back towards Toronto thinking all the time that it would be better to dispose of his sister’s body in busy place. Someplace where the police might find dead homeless, drug addicts every day. The body of a young girl wouldn’t make the news. As Gerhard drove the skies grew darker which suited him quite nicely. It’s would be much easier to get rid of a body under the cover of night. He decided to dispose of Christine’s body in the water at the harbor. With any luck the body would be in the water for several days before it would be discovered, making identification more difficult, if not impossible. Gerhard found an isolated area, undid the chain on his sister and gently carried her body over to the docks. Tears began to roll down his face as he lowered Christine’s body into the water. He watched her sink slowly beneath the surface and then turned and walked away.
“I’m sorry Christine” he cried, “This is not how I wanted it to be.” His shoulders shook with great sobs. He thought of the young girl who used to do puppet shows with him and he cried harder. Slowly he pulled his car away and began the long drive home.
To say that the years following Christine’s death were difficult would be a gross understatement. Gerhard often had nightmares of the night she died. In his nightmares Christine was still alive when he lowered her into the water and he watched in horror as she gasped for air, calling his name before she slowly sank. Gerhard would wake up in a cold sweat; certain he could hear his mother’s voice screaming at him, “Murderer, you killed her!” He had this nightmare so often that a small part of his mind began to believe it might have happened that way and he began to accept the thought that he was responsible for his sister’s death.
