by Susan Vance
“What is going on? I just talked to Emma less than an hour ago and I brought over dinner. What happened?” he asked raising his voice again.
He was very upset and rightly so, but the family didn’t know anything other than what Marie had told them. Finally, Dr. Williams came out to the waiting room and motioned to the family to follow him. Jason went with them. Emma was awake and sitting up in the bed. She looked at her family and then at Jason. She held her hand out to Jason. She looked at Dr. Williams and then back to Marilyn who was crying.
“Emma, I am so sorry. I did this to you. Oh, sweetie, I am so sorry. I will never forgive myself,” Marilyn sobbed.
“This isn't your fault, Mom. The man from my nightmares is real. He was at the shop tonight with Marie. He’s her new boyfriend. His name is Charlie,” Emma spouted. “He’s real and he’s going to kill me. I need to talk to the police.”
“Emma,” Dr. Williams said walking over to the bed and putting his hand on her arm, “we know you think he’s real, but calling the police won’t help you.” He sounded just a little too patronizing.
Jason stepped up next to the bed, forcing the doctor to step back. “Emma, if you say he was real, then I believe you,” he said taking her hand and smiling at her.
“Mom, Dad. I need to speak to Jason right now. Dr. Williams, I need some privacy with my fiancé.”
Jody turned to her parents and reached for their hands. “Come on you two. Let’s let Emma and Jason have some time together.”
A surprised Jason looked at her. “Fiancé? Us? We’re engaged?”
“Yes, I accept your proposal. I love you and if you’ll still have me, I’m yours,” she said crying and smiling at the same time, her emotions running wild.
As soon as the door closed and they were alone he took her into his arms and held her tight. “What happened? Why are you here, Honey?”
“We need to talk to the police. I’m sure Mom isn’t going to call them. Not now that Dr. Williams has convinced them that I’m seeing things again. He is as real as you and I. Believe me. Take me to the police station. Help me find my clothes. Please, just take me there. Don’t tell them or they will try and stop us. Dr. Williams said I have to stay at the clinic for a few weeks. I can’t do that. He will figure out a way to find me. Please help me,” she pleaded. “Jason, do you still want to marry me?”
“Of course I want to marry you. My God, of course I do,” he said looking into her eyes and wiping away her tears.
“Jason, do you see me? Do you really see me? Look at me. I’m fine. I saw him and I’m fine. I haven’t lost any ground. Take me out of here right now and after we talk with the police I will marry you tonight. After we are married no one can ever put me away but you. I know you would never do that to me. I trust you, Jason, but please get me out of here. Where are my clothes? Hurry up. We can just slip out of here. Please, Jason? I can’t go back to that clinic. After we go to the police station we can fly to Las Vegas and get married, but let’s get out of here.” She was talking non-stop out of nervousness, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to was to get out of the hospital without any one seeing her leave.
Jason stood up, went to the closet and got her clothes. Emma was frightened, but she knew Jason was going to protect her no matter what. He handed her a bag of clothes from the closet and helped her get dressed. They walked out of the room and Jody was the first to see them. By the look on her face Emma knew Jody understood what they were doing. Jody tried to shield them from her mother’s vision, but Marilyn saw them anyway.
“Emma, where are you going?” Marilyn asked.
“We’re going to the police station, then I’m going home to pack a bag. Jason and I are flying to Las Vegas and getting married tonight.”
“Right on,” Jody said hugging her sister.
“What?” Marilyn said almost screaming. “You can’t get married right now. Jason, you’re not taking her anywhere. She needs help. Howard, do something,” she cried.
“Calm down,” Howard said as he walked over to Emma and held out his arms. “Call us when you get back. We’ll take care of the shop while you’re gone. Go on now, Sweetheart. Go on.” He turned to his wife and took her hand.
Marilyn was terribly upset. “Howard, she wants to go see the police. You already talked with them this afternoon. Once they hear what happened they’ll think she’s lost her mind. Howard, please do something. She’s having a breakdown. Maybe I’m having a breakdown. I’m so confused,” Marilyn cried.
“Mom, I’m okay,” Emma said putting her arms around Marilyn. “Nobody is having a breakdown. We need to think about Marie. She needs to be protected. Only the police can do that.”
* * *
Jason drove Emma to the police station where they talked to two detectives. It took hours to tell the story. One of the detectives had actually been on the case in the beginning. He was close to retiring and Emma was thankful he was still there. They went over and over the story. There seemed to be a problem with the way Emma was relaying the events. The detectives asked if they could speak with her family.
“Don’t you believe me?” Emma wailed. “I’m telling you the truth. Maybe I’m a little mixed up on some of the details, but I am telling you the truth. He’s as real as you or I. I’m trying to tell you, he’s going to kill me. He said he’d kill me if I told anyone about him. He’s the same man that’s in my nightmares.”
Emma looked at Jason for help and he tried his best to explain everything he knew. By the time he was finished both detectives seemed even more convinced that this was all in Emma’s mind. The harder Emma and Jason tried to convince them, the worse it got.
Frank Barber had been on the case years ago. He was responsible in part for arresting Henry Dalton. He and his partner had hunted him down and were able to get a confession out of him almost at once. Dalton had been very convincing about the fact that he was alone in the house. He had told Frank Barber and his former partner that something snapped and he went crazy. He never intended to hurt anyone, let alone kill the whole family. He didn’t have a weapon with him and he honestly thought no one was in the house. He was a burglar, not a robber and certainly not a killer. His lawyer attempted a plea of insanity, but after several evaluations he was pronounced sane.
Frank Barber seemed to have a little more compassion for Emma’s plight than did the other detective. He asked if he could talk with Emma in the morning at her parent’s home.
“No. Absolutely not. You have to protect us. You have to protect Marie. She thinks he is her boyfriend. Jason and I are going to Las Vegas and we’re getting married in the morning. You need to protect my family. He is a dangerous man. You have got to believe me,” she demanded.
Frank Barber stood up. He looked at his partner and then back at Emma and Jason. “You both need to be where I can reach you. Don’t go home. Go either to a hotel or somewhere that you feel is safe. I need a phone number where I can reach you at all times. Don’t go off to Nevada just yet. I’ll speak with Marie and see if we can find this Charlie. If he matches the picture that we have of Dalton’s son then we will arrest him. We’ll do what we can, but for now, Las Vegas will have to wait.”
“You need to do more than that. Find him,” Emma cried. “Why does he have to match the picture? Run some DNA, for pity sakes, do your job.”
“Emma, we will do our job. We aren’t planning on using just a photo, but we can’t arrest someone simply because you had a dream about him. We can bring him in for questioning and we will, but first we have to find him.”
“What? I’m telling you—I remember him. Show me his picture. Where is the picture?”
“We have to pull the file. This was a long time ago. Emma, go get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
* * *
Jason drove Emma to his house. They pulled up to the garage and Jason used his opener. They came in through the kitchen and Rosie came running.
“Jason, I need to call my mom and then I want to take a hot bath.
Do you have any bath salts?” she asked picking up the phone.
“You call your mom, I’ll fix the bath for you. I know how disappointed you must be, but I think Detective Barber is on your side. He’ll find Charlie and then you’ll be safe. I love you so much. Emma, you are safe with me. He doesn’t know where I live and in the morning we’ll call Alan and tell him that the shop will be closed for awhile. He can put a sign in the door so people will know you’re gone. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
Emma smiled and closed her eyes for a moment thinking, he is so perfect. I love him so much. We will get through this and live happily ever after. Emma called her parents house and was glad Howard answered the phone instead of Marilyn. Emma tried to explain what had happened at the police station, but she was so tired she was having a hard time thinking straight. She promised to call them in the morning. She heard water running as she walked into the bedroom. She went into the bathroom where Jason was lighting candles. He even had a glass of wine for her sitting on the edge of the tub. He turned off the lights. Emma undressed and slipped into the steaming water that smelled of Lavender and Lemongrass. It was delicious.
Jason handed her the glass of wine and kissed her forehead. “If there’s anything you need, just holler. I love you,” he said as he left the bathroom.
The only sound in the room was the slow drip of water out of the spigot. Remembering that she’d been given a sedative at the hospital, she set the glass down without a sip and closed her eyes. Beads of sweat were collecting on her face. She reached in the water and cupped her hands to rinse her face. It was a big tub and she was very comfortable. She relaxed in the water and then as she lay there she thought about going to Las Vegas when this was all over. She wondered if that was really the right thing to do. She knew she had panicked and Jason came to her rescue. Sure, he loved her and she didn’t doubt for a second he wanted to marry her, but they both wanted a family wedding. She thought about Marilyn and the rest of the family. Jody was so excited when she thought there was going to be a wedding. She thought about Jason’s mother, Brenda. How would she feel about her son getting married across the country in Las Vegas. Somehow it didn’t seem like such a good idea any longer.
Jason came in. “Do you need anything?” he asked.
She handed him her glass, then she reached for his hand. “I want you to come sit with me for a minute.”
“Sure, Honey. How do you feel? Are you relaxed yet?” He sat on the edge of the tub.
“Yes, very relaxed. In fact, I’ve been laying here thinking about us going to Las Vegas. I want nothing more than to marry you, but I think we should plan a wedding and do it right. How about if I live here with you until we get married and we make plans to get married in church? My family would be so happy if we had a church wedding. We could be married in two or three weeks if we get busy on it. So, what do you think about waiting a few weeks?”
He reached in the water and gently caressed her neck. “You’re right. My mom would be hurt if she couldn’t come to our wedding. And the look on your parents face when you blurted out that we were going to Vegas was priceless. They looked hurt beyond words. I’m fine with waiting. And I’m fine with you living here, too. There’s so much going on right now, but the main priority is to keep you safe, first and foremost.”
“Do you really think that Frank Barber believed me? I mean, he kinda did, but you would think that they would have rushed over to Marie’s house to get Charlie. Don’t you think so?”
“I do think he believed you. Let’s just trust that this will be over real soon. He said to stay put and he would call us in the morning, right? So, that is what we will do. You are safe here.”
“I smell something burning. Did you light a fire?” She hoped she was right and he hadn’t left something on the stove.
“Get out of that tub and come see for yourself, young lady,” he said smiling as he held out a big towel for her. Emma stepped out of the tub and into the towel. Jason dried her off and then led her to the bedroom. The fireplace was raging and the blankets were turned down on the bed. There were candles burning around the room and music softly playing.
Jason kissed her. “I need to ask you again. I want it to be official.” He pulled a little white box out of his pocket and dropped to his knees. “Emma, will you be my wife? Will you marry me?”
“Yes, I will marry you,” she cried.
Jason stood up, put the ring on her finger, took her in his arms and kissed her tenderly.
Smiling, she stepped back and let the towel drop to the floor.
Jason scooped her up in his arms. He had an odd smile on his face.
Emma was intrigued. “What?” she teased.
“Tonight’s your night, Emma. Prepare yourself to become my goddess. Tonight you will want for nothing.”
She knew this would be a night she would long remember. In the midst of all that had happened, they were about to make love. She could be in this moment and not think of anything else.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emma’s cell rang interrupting her thoughts. The sound of the ringing made her jump. She wondered how she could be so happy and frightened at the same time.
“Emma, this is Marie. The police were here last night.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“Did you tell them that my Charlie was a killer? They asked me where he was. Emma, what have you done? You know Charlie isn’t a killer–”
“He is a killer,” Emma replied. “He killed my whole family. He and his father killed them all. You need to get some protection. Go away where he can’t find you.”
“Where are you?” Marie asked curtly.
“I can’t tell you. I can’t tell anyone where I am.”
“You think I would tell Charlie where you are, don’t you? You’ve really gone off the deep end this time. Emma, please, I’m begging you, call the police and tell them you’re mistaken. Charlie is a good man. He’s so upset about all of this. He’s afraid to go to the police. He said that if they believed you, he could go to prison. Please–”
“That’s where he belongs. If he is Dalton’s son, then I’m right and he’s a murderer. Not only that, he’s been tormenting me for months.”
“You accused Mr. Elliot of stalking you, remember? Come to find out Mr. Elliot was innocent just like Charlie is innocent. I told the police that you’re having some emotional problems. You need some help. I love you, but it isn’t Charlie.”
“Where is Charlie? Is he with you right now?”
“I haven’t heard from him since I called him last night. He was furious.”
“You warned him? Emma asked incredulously. Why would you warn him? I’m calling the detective in charge right–”
“You stop right now,” Marie shouted. “I wasn’t warning him, I was helping him avoid this craziness.” She was sobbing now. “I gave the police, I should say, detective, Charlie’s address, but I called him to tell him what was going on. He never called me back so I don’t know what happened. He could be in jail for all I know.”
“Marie, stop. We aren’t getting anywhere and right now, I don’t think we will. Promise me you won’t go anywhere near him.”
Marie hung up the phone. Emma knew what she needed to do. She called Frank Barber and told him everything about the conversation she just had with Marie. He told her to stay put and only answer the phone if it was him or her parents. She promised to check the caller ID before answering and promised to stay with Jason who was taking time off from work until this was resolved. Emma called her father and asked him to go get Sam and take him home with him. She didn’t want to chance Charlie following her father here to Jason’s house. She had asked detective Barber to go with her father and keep him safe while he picked up Sam. That didn’t seem to be a problem and Frank agreed.
Jason made breakfast and he and Emma sat quietly eating. Emma wasn’t sure what to say, but she knew this might drag out. She was thankful Jason could take the time off, but he couldn’t be off
indefinitely. A hundred thoughts went flying through her mind. She was happy to be with Jason and she did feel safe with him. She tried to concentrate on all the good in her life, but this was a difficult time for everyone. She thought about Marie and how upset she was. Marie was angry at her and Emma understood what Marie was feeling. If someone had told her Jason was a killer she would argue to the death and defend him always. She loved and trusted Jason and she knew in her heart that if he had been accused of such a thing it would be a lie. That was how Marie was feeling. She was protecting the man she loved. Charlie was cunning and Emma knew he was only using Marie to get to her. He most likely knew more than Emma would have wanted him to know. Marie probably shared with Charlie many details of Emma’s life. Marie trusted Charlie as Emma trusted Jason. This frightened her all the more. Had she ever told Marie where Jason lived? She couldn’t remember.
“We better call Alan and have him go over to the shop now. I’ll call Becky’s mom and have her tell Becky not to come to work until she hears from me. While you were in the shower Marie called. I didn’t tell her where I was, but I can’t remember if I ever told her where you live. I can’t see why I would have, though,” she said lost in thought. “We could be locked up here together for a long time.”
“And your problem is?”
“I love you, Jason. You’re the very best,” she said looking down at her ring.
They each took a steaming mug of coffee into the living room where Jason turned on the morning news. He flipped through the channels looking for sports updates. Emma stared out the window and sipped from her mug. A half hour later she got up and took her cup back to the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher.
“I think I’ll get my shower now,” she said kissing the top of Jason’s head as she passed by the back of the couch.
* * *
It had been a full week since Emma’s run in with Charlie, who still had not been apprehended. Marie hadn’t heard from him and swore she had no idea where he was. The shop had remained closed and Emma was beginning to worry that Charlie had fled the state and would never be caught. Then late one afternoon Frank Barber called to let her know that they had Charlie at the station and they were questioning him.
