“That’s not all I took either, is it, Vicky, honey. We were very intimate. I made you a woman that day…,” Harold closed his eyes and leered at the memory, breathing deep as if he was inhaling her scent.
“Stop it!” Vicky was quickly losing her composure, her skin crawling as if Harold were touching her. She involuntarily rubbed her arm to warm herself, but it wasn’t that kind of chill.
In the outer room, Aidan clinched her fists, trying to control her mounting anger, while she forced herself to stay put. Luckily for Aidan, Kline intervened.
“It was a perversion of intimacy, Mr. Cassidy and I think you need help. Never-the-less, we are not impressed with your antics. Now Vicky has a question she wants to ask you. Are you man enough to answer it?”
A challenge. Harold hated to be challenged. He opened his eyes again and sneered at Kline, but he said to Vicky, “Ask your question so we can get rid of this guy. He’s starting to piss me off.”
Vicky gritted her teeth together, the muscles along her cheek bones, bunching in anger, as she forced herself to look him in the eyes. With a voice stronger than she felt, she asked, “Harold, why did you rape me?”
“Oh honey, is that what you think? It wasn’t rape, I made love to you and you begged me for more. Don’t you remember?”
“I was thirteen and I begged you to stop. But instead you ripped off‒‒”
Kline interrupted, “Don’t give any details, Vicky.”
But it was too late; Harold put his hand on his penis and began to masturbate.
Initially she was shocked, disgusted. But Kline patted her shoulder, and she realized it was all part of Harold’s game, and she couldn’t allow herself to be sucked in, she was on to his antics now. “Listen you bastard, just answer the damn question and quit acting like a prick!” Though Vicky couldn’t see or hear her, Aidan was applauding from the other room.
Harold stopped and leaned toward the table, “You want to know why? You pissed me off, that’s why. You and your parents, thinking you were so high and mighty. You and that girl of mine, always acting like you’re somebody special. Aidan didn’t deserve you and I had to make sure of that. I had to show you who you were, nothing more than a cunt for the taking.”
Vicky leaned forward, clasping her hands together on the table, trying her best to look in control. “Harold, did you ever…, have you been with‒‒”
Harold cut her off, “Oh, you’re jealous, is that it, Vicky, honey? Well don’t you worry, you are still my favorite. The other’s meant nothing to me.” Harold suddenly stopped. He was looking at the ring on Vicky’s finger, Aidan’s mother’s ring, and suddenly his whole demeanor changed, he became very angry, and shouted, “Give me back that ring, bitch! That’s my ring!”
“Calm down, Mr. Cassidy,” Dr. Kline sternly suggested.
Vicky looked at the ring on her finger, and the déjà vu she had had, became reality. When Aidan told of the attempted rape in their hotel room, she’d had vague remembrances of someone trying to pull her ring off, but she couldn’t get it to make sense, until now. She looked at him and said, “You tried to take this from me before, didn’t you? I thought it had been a dream?”
“You’re not of royal blood,” Harold angrily bellowed, “you aren’t good enough to wear that ring.”
What the hell is he talking about? Aidan wondered.
His disjointed anger was making Vicky very nervous, the hair on the back of her neck shivered with trepidation, and she was ready to leave. She had her answer, not that it answered anything really, other than to confirm to her that he was insane. She scooted her chair back and stood up, “Doctor, I’m ready to leave,” she said to Kline, who stood up beside her.
But Harold wasn’t done tormenting her yet. He jumped at her with so much force that the table scraped across the floor and she reared back in fear.
Aidan recognized that fear, it was the same fear Vicky showed at the house when she faced him for the first time as an adult. The sight of that terror on Vicky’s face was too much for Aidan to bear, and she rushed into the room just as Harold spit in Vicky’s face.
“Payback’s a bitch, ain’t it honey,” Harold said sardonically with a grinned.
Aidan rushed through the door and flew across the table, plowing her fist into Harold’s jaw, causing him to jerk back where the guard restrained him. Even with him restrained, Aidan hit him again. “Every fucking time, old man!” She was making good on her warning that she would beat him to a pulp every time she saw him.
“Aidan, let’s get Vicky out of here.” Dr. Kline handed Vicky his handkerchief.
The mere mention of helping Vicky, calmed Aidan’s anger, and she released her grip on Harold and shoved him back in the chair.
Vicky wiped the spittle from her face, fighting off the rancid churning in the bottom of her stomach. But she was not going to let him have the control. She was not going to let him have the last word, either. Turning to Harold she said, “I pity you Harold, as I do all fools.” She turned to Aidan and pulled on her arm, “Aidan, let’s go, he’s not worth any more of my time.”
Just as the three walked out the door, Harold yelled, “I know who you are, Aidan.”
***
“How’s your steak, Yvonne?”
“Very good, how’s yours, Jerry?”
“Very good. And the Texas fries are very good too,” Jerry replied, searching for what to say next, but Yvonne helped him out.
“So Vicky tells me you’re an agent for Homeland Security, do you like it?”
“Yes, I’ll be Aidan’s team leader, her right hand man, if you will. Together we’re going to go after the terrorist cell that hit the hospital.”
“Oh my, Jerry. That’s so dangerous. They wanted to blow up innocent people, sick people in the hospital. They are without a soul.” Yvonne looked at him and thought that even though he was in a dangerous job, it made him more virile somehow.
“I totally agree with you. That’s why they have to be stopped. But I actually haven’t started at the DHS yet, because of helping Aidan capture her father. And then of course the tornado got in the way too.”
Yvonne shook her head, “I didn’t get all the details after I talked with you on the phone, but I knew something bad was going on by the sound of your voice.”
“Oh, that’s right. We were supposed to go out that night weren’t we? I’m sorry I had to cancel, but Aidan needed my help.”
“I totally understood, Jerry. Can you tell me what happened?”
“It was pretty extreme. Aidan’s father was a slippery bastard.”
Jerry proceeded to tell Yvonne all about the desperate search for Harold Cassidy and his subsequent capture at the Montgomery’s house, where Harold was holding the Montgomery’s hostage. He described in detail the lengths Aidan went through to try and stop him, and how Jerry chased after Harold that night, and ended up tackling him to the ground. Jerry quieted when he told of the fear in Vicky’s eyes after he had brought Harold back to the house. That was a look he would never forget, and hoped to never see again. Then he proudly told of how Aidan beat the man senseless by cracking the cast on her wrist over his face. To Jerry’s way of thinking, that was a thing of beauty.
Yvonne was impressed with Jerry’s insight into the mind of this deranged man. She also appreciated Jerry’s delicate description of what Vicky went through at the hands of her rapist. She was glad Jerry had told her, though she would never mention it to Vicky. It wasn’t her place.
They talked a bit more about the second capture of Harold Cassidy during the tornado, but Jerry was afraid he was sounding like a braggart, so he turned the conversation around to Yvonne. Asking her questions to learn the types of things she was interested in, things that she like to do, and he was pleased to learn that they like doing so many of the same things. They talked about everything as if they might never talk again, and each became more emotionally bonded to the other, so much so that they knew, though they wouldn’t admit to it, they were falling in l
ove.
After dinner, Jerry and Yvonne walked hand in hand through the River Market, stopping to watch a juggler, or wave to a tug boat on the river, and then finally, just as dusk was settling over the city, he drove Yvonne home and walked her to her door. He hesitated for a moment, nervously trying to decide if he should kiss her goodnight, but Yvonne didn’t wait, she cupped his cheeks with her hands, and kiss him sweetly on the lips. Lips that now tingled with excitement. Oh yes, he thought, I definitely want to see her again… and again.
***
“I’m not playing your game, old man,” Aidan said insolently. She knew he would say anything just to goad her into one of his little mind games that usually left her bruised and bloodied both mentally and physically. But she was an adult now, and wasn’t naïve to his tricks. She knew who she was; she didn’t need him to tell her that. She was strong, independent and loved by the most wonderful woman in the world. What could he possibly say to top that?
“It’s not a game, my dear; it’s my gift to you.” Even though Harold tried to sound sincere, his whole demeanor came across as being unctuous.
“Your gift?” Aidan asked incredulously, “I don’t fucking want anything from you, you bastard.” In all the time Harold pretended to be her father, he never once gave her a gift. Not for her birthday, or at Christmas, not ever. Aidan’s suspicions reach through her anger, telling her that it was a ploy, but why?
Harold looked at Aidan and smiled, “Not even to know who your real father is?”
Aidan walked back into the room, followed by Vicky and Dr. Kline, and Harold sneered at them, knowing he had gained control again.
“Talk, you worthless piece of shit,” Aidan said sharply. He’s toying with you, don’t let him anger you into a fight this time.
“Nope, not going to tell you until you tell me what I want to hear.” Harold’s mind was racing a mile a minute. He had Aidan right where he wanted her, and he delighted in watching her struggle to keep her temper in check. A stroke of genius, he thought, one that will get him much more than just Vicky.
“And what would that be, Harold?” Dr. Kline asked quickly before Aidan lost control again.
Harold crossed his arms as if he had already won, and said seriously, “Immunity.”
Aidan laughed, “Immunity?” She leaned toward him, her hands flat on the table, every muscle bristling with rage. “Fuck that!”
“That’s the deal, my dear. Either Vicky keeps quiet or I do.”
Aidan started to say no, but Vicky interrupted her.
“I agree!” she blurted out.
“No! No way in hell,” Aidan yelled from panic, “Vicky, I won’t let you do it.”
It was Dr. Kline who interceded on her behalf, “Vicky, think about what you’re agreeing to. If you decide to do this, Harold could get out of prison much earlier. And I guarantee you, he will come after you.”
Vicky knew he was right and it frightened her. Harold would assuredly harass her if he was freed, and she would always be looking over her shoulder. It was a curse she was willing to face, in order to free Aidan from her own torment. All her life, Aidan had been abused and abused herself, because of that man, and if Vicky could free her from the last link Harold had to Aidan, it was worth looking over her shoulder. And in her heart, she knew she could fight back this time.
“I know what I’m doing, Richard.” Vicky said steadfastly.
“Yes, Richard, butt out.” Harold growled, “Vicky knows what she needs to do. Don’t you, honey?”
But Aidan was not about to let Vicky sacrifice herself like that. She pulled Vicky into the hallway and closed the door behind her.
Kline remained in the room with Harold, hoping to reason with him. “Harold, do you honestly think Vicky will help you get out of jail, after all you’ve done to her?”
“Didn’t you hear her? She said yes. She’s mine now, Richard.” Harold smiled and rolled his eyes back, as if he were savoring a bite of prime rib.
Aidan took a deep, calming breath, and said deliberately, “I am not making this decision for you, baby, but I am asking you not to make it for me either. Don’t you know that if you give him this we will never be rid of him? He’s not going to go away unless we stop playing his game. Please, baby, think it through before you sacrifice our freedoms. And I include my freedom in that because as long as he’s free, I will be on guard twenty-four seven.”
Vicky also took a cleansing breath, and replied, “Aidan, when we were children we use to play pretend, remember?”
Aidan nodded her head, wondering where Vicky was going with this line of thought.
“And every time, you pretended that John Wayne was your father. Why do you suppose that is?”
“I don’t know, I guess because he was larger than life. He could be strong even when he was being gentle.”
“Just like you, sweetheart. I remember that I never pretended my parents were anyone else but who they were, because they were everything I needed in a parent. But you, you were always searching for someone to be your father.”
“True. I remember wishing your father could be, but I was too scared of him to even get close to him. Except for that one time when I danced with him back when we were kids. I dreamed about that for years afterward.”
“Oh, I did too. Don’t you see sweetheart, that’s not your father in there. We just have to find out who your real father is and you won’t have to pretend anymore”
Aidan leaned in and kissed Vicky’s forehead, “You know what, kid, I love you so much for wanting to do this for me, but I’d rather not know who my real father is, if the price I’d have to pay is your freedom, possibly even your life.” Aidan shuddered at the thought. “Besides, you don’t know, maybe we’ll learn something while we’re in Ireland on our honeymoon. That is if it’s all right with you that we spend some time in a library?”
Vicky smiled, holding on to the anticipated excitement submerged deep inside of her, “Honey, it doesn’t matter where we spend time together, as long as we’re together.”
“But we can’t be together if we’re paranoid at every turn, Vic.”
Vicky smiled, realizing that Aidan was not going to change her mind, and this was a battle she didn’t really want to win anyway, “Are you sure, Aidan?”
“I’m sure, baby, I’ve never been more sure.”
Vicky placed her small hand on Aidan’s cheek and nodded her head. Together the two walked back into the room.
Harold, held down in his chair by the guard’s firm hand on his shoulder, smiled in spite of it; sure that he had won the game and he was anxious to savor the moment. Vicky’s stern, determined face gave no indication that he was defeated.
Vicky walked up to the table and looked at Harold. With a face that morphed from that of steeled resolve, to that of superiority, she said succinctly, “No deal,” and then she walked back to where Aidan stood in the door way and took her hand in hers, gently kissing it before she said, “We’ve got a honeymoon to get to, sweetheart.
Aidan grinned at her and together the two walked hand-in-hand out of the room and down the hall, oblivious to Harold’s screams of obscenities.
Dr. Kline shook his head at Harold, and followed after the newlyweds.
***
St. Frances Hospital had a special room reserved just for high level meetings, such as the board of director’s meetings. The room consisted of plush chairs around square tables aligned in a u-shape. Decorating the walls were several framed, poster size photographs of the Ozark Mountains, from the photographic eye of a general surgeon on staff at St. Frances. Mounted to the center of the far wall, was a state-of-the-art, HD live stream video conference monitor and camera. The monitor displayed the board room at the corporate offices in St. Louis, and St. Louis could also see Little Rock via their monitors.
“The board will come to order.” The local board chairman tapped his spoon against his water glass, and said, “We are doing something different in this meeting. Joining us via video conferenc
e is our corporate board in St. Louis. I will now turn it over to Ginnie Mayflower, Chairwoman of the Corporate Board.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This specially called meeting on behalf of corporate, is to discuss Victoria’s proposal for a new health center on the north end of the city. To consolidate matters, the two boards have been brought together to cast their votes. The proposal was sent to you a few weeks ago and you should have had time to read over it by now. So are there any questions before we have a show of hands?”
Both boards discussed the pros and cons of the proposal at length, and Vicky answered a lot of questions that she had already answered in her proposal. The local board was anxious for a vote because they wanted to build, thereby helping the depressed economy get back on its feet after the tornado. The national board was a bit skeptical, for the same reason, the depressed economy. Finally it came time to vote.
Because it was her proposal, Vicky was asked to leave the room while both boards cast their vote. As she was walking out of the room she heard Dr. Harris from the local board, ask for a caveat to the decision. What could he possibly object to?
Pacing the hallway, waiting on the decision from the board, Vicky literally ran into Aidan.
“Hey, baby.”
“Sweetheart, where have you been? They’re voting right now.”
“Sorry, I had to stop off at headquarters and check in.”
“Oh, right, I remember you told me that.” Vicky was a bit nervous, not something she usually felt when facing the board. Especially after she had laid it all out on the table for them that she was a Catholic who was artificially inseminated, and she was a lesbian. They had accepted her in spite of it. What could they possibly say or do to her now, she wondered.
“Baby, don’t worry so much. It’ll be fine I’m sure.”
Vicky smiled at Aidan, “I hope you’re right, honey.”
Remember This Day Page 21
