A Pale Paradise

by Carol Anne Vick

  ******

  She first heard the low, menacing growl in her dream.

  Thad sat upright, and she rolled to the side a little, then sat up with him, pushing her hair off her face. The moon light was streaming through the gauzy drapes, and she glanced over at the clock. A little after four. She felt her heart start to beat rapidly, and she looked over at her husband, who had slid out of the bed, and was quickly pulling on his plaid pajama bottoms. She heard Bear growl more deeply, then commence to barking frantically. She tried to keep her breathing under control as she slid out of the bed and pulled on a tee shirt, seeing that Thad had unlocked the hidden compartment behind the nightstand and was now loading his pistol. He turned to her, his face grim in the darkness. Bear's barking was unceasing, and that worried her more than anything.

  "Stay here," he whispered to her, the white moon-light glinting off his face. "I'm going to check things out."

  "Be careful," Phyl murmured softly as she touched his arm. "I'll call the police." She rubbed her lips, and tried to slow her breathing. This was not good. Not good at all. Bear continued his frenzied barking, and she watched as Thad quietly opened the bedroom door and slipped out into the hallway, shutting the door softly behind him. She picked up the receiver and quickly dialed the emergency number, whispering to the dispatcher as she answered his questions. After hanging up the phone, she moved past the foot of the bed and stood a few feet from the white door, trying to hear something, anything, but there was only Bear's incessant barking that broke the stillness of the night. She had to do something. She couldn't just stay in here, not knowing what was happening on the other side of the door. She took a deep breath, and just as she was about to reach for the knob, the door opened and Thad reappeared, holding a growling Bear by the collar.

  "Keep him in here." Before she could say anything, he had deposited the dog in the room, closing the door softly behind him. She saw Bear look up at her, then assume a threatening stance, and growl at the door, baring his teeth. She had to do something.

  "It's okay, Bear," she whispered as she rubbed his head, but he didn't react to her touch, and continued his low, deep growl. "Stay, boy. That's good." She tiptoed quickly to the door, and opened it as softly as she could, trying to breathe as normally as possible, then she slid around it and closed it behind her. She stood in the dark hallway for a moment, and hearing nothing from the living area, tiptoed down the hall and peered around the door jamb into the kitchen and beyond to the living room. She could just make out Thad, his back to her as he stood at the living room window, his pistol arm bent, as he held the drape and peered out onto the balcony. The moonlight fell on his rigid features, and glimmered off the furniture in the otherwise pitch-black room. She slid her feet silently across the wood floor, her eyes skittering around the room, then she stopped at the dining room table as she saw Thad, obviously unaware of her, turn and flip on various lights as he headed toward the stairs. He took the stairs slowly, and she could see that he had turned on the lights downstairs. She was about to step out into the area between the kitchen and dining room, when she heard voices from downstairs. Oh, my God, the intruder had been in her office. Her eyes skittered around the room, as she tried to figure out her best course of action, and she spied one of her tall vases on the dining table. She grabbed it and and turned the pot upside down and moved softly and quickly toward the stairs, but with the strange sensation that everything was happening in slow-motion. As she neared the landing, she heard the man's heated voice below her.

  "I know you have the evidence here somewhere."

  She couldn't waste any time. As softly as she could manage, she placed her bare foot on the first step, hearing a small creak as she put her full weight on the tread. She closed her eyes and held her breath, moving as close to the wall as possible.

  "I'm telling you, that there's nothing here." Thad spoke slowly and his voice was surprisingly calm. She knew he was trying to take his time, waiting for the expected siren so the man would take off. She opened her eyes and crept down two more stairs, and could see the intruder's blue-jeaned legs and white tennis shoes beyond the door to her office. Good, he was facing away from her, and she rubbed her lips, knowing that if he heard any creaking, she was plainly visible in the lit stairwell should he turn around. She took a deep breath and descended a few more stairs.

  "Did you take them to someone?" the man demanded. "We know Martin gave them to you in Lucaya."

  "And I am telling you that he gave us nothing while we were there." Thad responded.

  She could see more of the man now, and Thad's lower torso, as he stood with his hands out to the side. He would see her first, if he hadn't already, and she didn't want him to shift his gaze to her and inadvertently warn the intruder. Hopefully, Bear's barking would help to mask her movements. She managed to get down the rest of the stairs and she tiptoed toward her office door. She stopped and stared at the intruder's back. He was a thin man about her height, and his focus was directly on Thad, with his gun clearly visible. She had to do this. She could do this. She crept up behind him as he raised his voice again, demanding that Thad tell him the location of the papers, and she took a deep breath, held onto the lip of the vase with both hands, and swung her arms around as hard as she could, letting the bottom of the heavy pot hit the man squarely on the side of his head. He let out a pained 'oomph,' then collapsed to the floor, his gun flying out of his hand. Phyl leaned over, panting, peering down at the man she had just possibly killed, and she let the pot fall from her hands and it landed with a thud onto the floor beside her. She looked up at Thad, who had raised his eyes from the unconscious man and was staring at her in stunned silence.

  "My God, Phyl."

  She saw him speak, but his voice was coming from somewhere far away, and she couldn't catch her breath to answer. She looked down and stared at the young man lying prone on her office floor. There was blood on his temple. She had killed him. But, she didn't care. Thad was all right, and that was all that mattered. She was vaguely aware of Thad picking his own gun up off the floor and setting it on the table, then he returned to her and she felt him wrap her in his arms and she rested her head against his warm chest. After a moment, they pulled apart and he stared hard into her eyes as shrill sirens joined the sound of Bear's continuous barking, and she felt her chest calm as they heard the squad car squeal to a halt in their driveway. She nodded up to him, knowing they would process all of this later. Without a word, Thad strode over to the front door. She looked down at herself and realized that she was in her underpants, and she ran back upstairs into the bedroom to pull on her jeans, and headed back down to see the same two young officers standing in the office with Thad.

  "You got here very quickly," she commented as she joined them, trying to keep her voice steady.

  "We've been patrolling the area, as we said we would," the young officer named Jerry nodded at her, as they all eyed the man on the floor. "We were just a short distance away." He turned to his partner as he knelt down and felt for a pulse. "John, call for an ambulance, if you would." His partner turned and headed to the patrol car.

  Phyl wrapped her arms across her chest, noticing that she was shivering uncontrollably and glanced up at her husband gratefully as he joined her, and they moved to stand in front of her desk. He hugged her to his side, rubbing her shoulder to keep her warm.

  "Well, my love, I guess we're even now," he whispered to her, half-winking as he slanted his dark eyes down at her. "Thank you. I'll be forever grateful that you didn't listen to me when I told you to stay in the bedroom." She laughed softly, remembering her words to him on the island after he had carried her down from the plane, 'one of these days I'll rescue you,' and she could tell that he was slightly unnerved himself over the recent events, judging by the number of times he was squeezing her shoulder. They answered the officer's questions as he wrote in a notebook. Within a few minutes, the sound of sirens could once again be heard over poor Bear's barking. They heard the sirens wind down
as the ambulance crunched over the gravel driveway. Within ten minutes, the still unconscious intruder was strapped to a gurney and transported to the waiting ambulance, and Jerry walked over to them.

  "This comes as no surprise, I'm sure, but this man was the one who ransacked your house yesterday." They nodded and he continued. "There were several reports of a suspicious man asking questions in Wellsley." She and Thad looked at each other. "He evidently had followed you to a restaurant last night, and then questioned the owner after you left."

  "But, wouldn't he have seen us at the lawyer's office before that?" Phyl thought that was odd.

  "Unfortunately, he must not have, or he would have broken in there to find the papers, in my opinion." The officer replied.

  "That makes sense." she conceded.

  "That was the first report on him. An hour ago, we got a call about a vehicle parked in some woods on your neighbor's property south of you." He looked from one to the other. "That's where we were when we got the call to come here. There were some papers in the back seat with your names and address on them. We were waiting to get a trace on the car's owner."

  "Did you find out anything?" Thad asked as he rubbed Phyl's shoulder.

  "Yes, in fact, something you'll find very interesting." Jerry smiled at them. "The car is owned by the Sullivan Institute and is registered in Rhode Island."

  "Wow, that is truly amazing." Phyl breathed softly. She and Thad turned as they heard the sounds of tires on gravel. They heard doors slam and footsteps on their porch. Emma poked her head inside the open front door.

  "We heard the sirens and were frantic to make sure you two were all right."

  "Oh, Emma, we're fine now." Phyl left the warmth of Thad's arm around her shoulder, and went into the hall to greet their friends. "It was scary for a while there." She hugged them and they went back into the office.

  "Hello, again, Jerry." Emma smiled at the young officer. "As fond as I am of you, I hope this is the last time we'll need you in these parts."

  "That's my hope as well, Mrs. Lambertson," he laughed with her, then returned to addressing Phyl and Thad. "We'll keep you informed as soon as we hear anything. The federal government is co-ordinating with our department on an emergency basis to bring this drug ring to a swift conclusion. I think they're ready to act. And, hopefully, we'll get some more information from this guy when he comes to. The feds will make sure it's to his advantage to squeal on his boss."

  "Thank you for everything." Phyl extended her hand, and he shook it solemnly.

  After shaking hands with Thad, and nodding to Pete and Emma, the young officer left. Thad shut and locked the front door.

  "Poor Bear, he hasn't stopped barking since all this began." Phyl started up the stairs. "It's getting light outside now." She turned to them. "Why don't you two stay and join us for an early breakfast."

  "Are you sure we won't be an imposition?" Emma looked over at Thad. "You've been through so much this morning."

  "We insist." Thad held his arm out for them to precede him up the stairs. "There's no way we could get back to sleep." They all went up to the living area, where Emma and Pete removed their jackets and hung them on the wall hook. "I think I need to get dressed." Thad laughed, rubbing his bare chest as he headed toward the bedroom. "I'll make the coffee, Phyl." He came up behind her as she reached the kitchen and he grabbed her shoulders, kissing her soundly on her neck. "You are amazing, you know that?" She turned and smiled up at him, and took a deep breath as he strode into the bedroom. He returned quickly with a very hyper dog, and opened the back door for him to run out onto the balcony, where he immediately sniffed around. Thad headed back to the bedroom, and Phyl started pulling out pans from the cabinet and reaching into the fridge for the bacon, eggs, cheese, and butter for their breakfast.

  "What on earth happened, Phyl?" Emma rested her arms on the counter and peered over at her as Pete made himself comfortable in the white rocker, then changed his mind and started stacking logs in the fireplace.

  "She just saved my life, that's all." Thad called out to her before Phyl could reply. He strode into the kitchen pulling his blue polo shirt down over his jeans. "Phyl knocked him out cold with one of her pots. It was an impressive sight to see." Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked over at Phyl who had placed a pan filled with strips of bacon on the stove and was picking up an egg from the carton to crack into a large, glass bowl.

  "Tell me more," she insisted, leaning forward on the counter, her eyes wide.

  "Emma, I hardly remember it now. Honestly, it felt like I was in a dream," Phyl laughed as she finished breaking the eggs, and began whisking them in the bowl. "Everything was in slow motion." She turned to her husband as he started their coffee. "Thad, I was petrified that you would look at me and he would turn around."

  "I saw your legs on the stairs first, out of the corner of my eye, then I saw the pot in your hands. After that, I made a point to stare at him and keep him engaged in conversation as you snuck up behind him," he laughed down at her. "But, Phyl, when you swung that vase at him, you weren't playing around." He turned to Emma. "I would not have wanted to be the recipient of that pot." He kissed the top of Phyl's head as he maneuvered around her in the small kitchen, and he pulled down four plates and mugs from the upper cabinet, setting the plates by the stove and the mugs by the coffee pot. Phyl laughed at his statement as she scrambled the eggs in the cast iron skillet, and he gathered up napkins and utensils, and set them on the counter in front of Emma, still shaking his head in amazement.

  They filled their plates and mugs and made their way to the living room. Thad thanked Pete and lit the fire as they settled in to enjoy the breakfast.

  "What a beautiful day this is going to be." Phyl took a bite of bacon and turned to gaze from her vantage point on the sofa to the golden sky above the serene lake.

  "It certainly is so far." Emma patted Phyl's hand and tilted her head as she scooted back a little on the sofa next to her. "You know, Phyl, I think your encounter this morning has erased your recent fears. You are your usual brave and fearless self. The Phyl I've admired for the last two years, since you moved here and faced the unknown."

  "That's sweet, Emma. You may be right." Phyl smiled at her, then glanced over at Thad, who was watching her intently from the overstuffed chair, his dark eyes narrowed and glistening, and she was suddenly taken back to that night when he'd come during the blizzard to save Bear. He'd had that same look in his eyes when she'd peered at him over her pile of afghans as she drifted off to sleep on the sofa. She smiled softly, unable to take her gaze from his. Her husband, her lover, her friend. What might have happened to him if she hadn't crept down those stairs toward the unknown. She wouldn't let herself think about that. She wouldn't. He was safe, she was safe, and they would live their lives to the fullest. They smiled at each other, and turned their attention back to their friends, enjoying their company for a relaxed hour, discussing any other topic but their present situation. Hearing the familiar bark, Thad went over to the door and let Bear back in and he went to lay in his usual spot by the fireplace.

  "After having Bear with us, I'm almost tempted to get another pet." Pete looked over at the contented dog. "We do miss our old retriever."

  "Yes, Honey was a good dog," Emma looked at her husband. "Pete, I think it's time we let these two get some rest." She rose from the sofa.

  "Thank you for the wonderful breakfast." Pete stood up and joined her. "It's always a pleasure to eat by a roaring fire."

  "I'll second that," Thad laughed as he and Phyl rose from their seats. "And I'll add, especially nice if it's with good friends."

  "We are so very grateful that you two are all right." Emma dabbed at her eyes, and pushed back a stray curl off her forehead. "Maybe now, everything will get back to normal."

  "We hope so, Emma." Phyl stood and Thad joined her, resting his hand on her waist. "I'm so glad that no one bothered you and Pete."

  "I think we will take it easy the next f
ew days, and just see what happens with the upcoming arrests." Thad pursed his lips.

  "We'll be watching the news every night." Emma headed toward the stairs and took their jackets off the hooks. Pete helped her into her jacket, then shrugged on his own.

  "I'll call you if we hear anything before it hits the news channels." Phyl joined them at the landing, and Thad led the way down the stairs. They bid their friends goodbye with hugs and handshakes, and waved as Pete and Emma's truck turned around and disappeared down the driveway. Thad closed the door and locked it, then turned to her, his hand on his hip.

  "I need to repair the window in your office as soon as possible." He squinted his eyes down at her, and she wrapped her arms around his waist as she leaned back and gazed up at him.

  "Can that wait a while?"

  "Hmm..m. I suppose it could." He had that amused look on his face, and she saw his eyes crinkle as he smiled down at her. He slowly encircled her waist with his strong arms, and ran his hand through her long hair. "Why? What did you have in mind?" His deep voice was warm and enticing.

  "Do you want me to be specific?" Her voice was soft, as she tilted her head, feeling close to tears, and she raised her eyebrows at him, a slight smile on her lips.

  He gazed into her eyes. Without a word, he turned, keeping one arm around her waist, and they headed toward the stairs.