“You and I have a lot in common.”
I doubt that, Pam thought. Most shrinks annoyed her. But that was just her personal opinion. To him she replied, “That could be. After all, we’re both doctors. Where are you from originally?”
“Ryan Collins was my best friend.”
Cold liquid soaked Pam’s hand. She looked down at the shrimp sliding off her plate, onto her trembling hand. She placed the plate on a nearby table. Carl Tedford followed her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, not meeting his eyes.
“It still bothers me. The accident, I mean. I was with him that night.”
The noise blaring in Pam’s head made it difficult to hear him. His voice sounded so distant. Like he was reliving the scene. Part of her screamed for her to leave. Yet another part kept her feet weighted in place like cement.
“Sure, we were partying. It was senior week. Everybody was. But we smoked weed. We hardly touched the booze.”
Stunned by this new piece of information, Pam jerked up her head to meet his eyes. There she found a deep sadness. Much like she’d often felt herself. They’d both lost their closest friend under horrible circumstances. But there was more. In his steely gaze, she saw questions. Questions that demanded answers. “But I thought…”
Tedford interrupted her. “I could never figure out why the cops said he was drunk. And that he caused the accident. It didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t.”
The tingling sensation Pam felt at the base of her neck turned into a full-fledged red alert. To her surprise, he grabbed her forearm and stared at her intently. “I can’t let him continue taking the blame for something he didn’t do.” Then he put down his plate and left the room.
Truths Unveiled
Truths Unveiled
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Late into the night, back in her apartment, Pam tossed from one side of the bed to the other, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Carl Tedford’s face. He believed his best friend had been framed. But how? she wondered. And why?
He blamed her. She saw it in his eyes. The suspicion. The unspoken accusations that she was responsible.
At some point, Pam must have fallen into a half sleep. She found herself at the crash site. Rain pelted her face, almost drowning her. Lightning flashed. She could hear rolling thunder as she lay paralyzed on the ground. Another flash of lightning showed the figure of a man, dragging something. He was yelling. No, he might be sobbing. She couldn’t tell. Twigs broke nearby. Leaves rustled.
Pam felt the weight of footsteps coming toward her. She tried to call for help but no sound came out. The man stood over her. She couldn’t see his face but she heard him. He struck her. Hard. Across the face. He grabbed her arms and tried to drag her. But she was stuck. She couldn’t move her legs. The pain was excruciating.
“It’s all your fault!” he shouted over and over again. “Your fault! You killed them! You ruined everything!”
Lightning flashed again. She saw him holding something in his hands. Helpless, she watched him raise it high in the air. He was yelling, but his words were garbled. He was going to strike her. But she could do nothing to stop him. She stiffened, waiting for the blow.
Suddenly awake, soaked with sweat, Pam shot upright. She fumbled for the lamp. The sound of her pounding heart filled her ears. Then, right before the light switched on, she heard a faint, strange noise. Or did she? She held her head in her hands, trying to clear the nightmare’s awful visions and sounds.
There. She heard it again. A creaking sound. From the other room. Trying to calm her breathing, she tuned her ears to the silence.
After a few moments, Pam sighed. It was nothing. She shut her eyes, only to be startled by another noise. This time it was a rustling sound. Like paper. And it was real. Someone was inside the apartment.
Now she knew what it felt like to be paralyzed by fear. Unable to move, she fixed her eyes on the open doorway leading to the living room. What would she do if someone walked in? What did they want? Of course she’d left both portable phones and her cell in the other room. You’re such an idiot! she yelled to herself. She tried to scream but nothing came out. It was like in the dream. Instead, she remained soundless. And motionless.
Seconds passed like hours. Pam strained to listen but heard nothing else. Eventually, she felt fairly sure whoever was there, if there really was someone there, had gone.
Mustering her courage, she moved to the edge of the bed. Half of her thoughts told her to get back under the quilt and stop acting so childish. The other half told her she wouldn’t fall back to sleep until she assured herself that all the windows and the one door leading outside were secure.
Carefully, Pam started making her way down the hall. Maybe I’m still dreaming, she told herself. Perhaps her tired mind had made all this up. She probably didn’t hear anything.
Now chilled with each step, her head swarmed with fear and uncertainty. Should she call Tom? Or 911? No. They’d think she was hallucinating. She was beginning to reach that conclusion herself, but it wouldn’t do her any good to make it official. Maybe she should just try to scream and hope she woke up. Either that or it would scare the person away. If there really was a person.
At the end of the short hall, she peeked into the combination living room and kitchen. Her heart started to race before she had a chance to gasp. Light from the common hallway shone through a narrow opening, proving that the outer door was open.
Pam collapsed against the wall. Someone had been there! She had not imagined it! She closed her eyes. Okay, she told herself. Get a grip. Whoever it was is gone. Then she froze. A tall, shadowy figure appeared in the edges of the light from the open door. She screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Dr. Harrington?”
The overhead light switched on.
“Are you all right? I thought I heard something up here.”
“Warren?” Seeing the property manager, Pam almost collapsed with relief. Her shoulders shook as she tried not to cry.
Obviously unsure what to do, the elderly man took a step forward and awkwardly patted her on the arm. “Its okay, Doc.”
Pam nodded just as they heard a car engine. She ran to the kitchen window. “Look!” she cried out.
A car, cloaked in the shadows of the trees, pulled out of the parking lot and onto the dark, country road.
“He ain’t got his lights on,” Warren observed, over her shoulder.
“No,” Pam whispered. “He doesn’t.” The car was barely visible. There was no hope of seeing the license plate.
“Do you know who it was?”
Pam shook her head. “I have no idea.” She backed away from the window and fell into a chair at the kitchen table.
“Something ain’t right,” Warren declared. “I’m gonna call the police.”
Pam didn’t hear him. Instead, her eyes fell upon her high school yearbook. It sat open on the table. Someone had cut out Megan’s picture.
Truths Unveiled
Truths Unveiled
Chapter Forty
“What do you think?” Tom asked Bill Houser.
Pam observed them standing in her living room, watching another officer dust the doorknob and yearbook for fingerprints. She had just finished telling him about the night’s events.
“I think I’ll meet with Dr. Tedford first thing in the morning,” the deputy answered, his tone adamant. “If what he says is true, it puts the case in an entirely new light. I want to know why he didn’t come forward and say something earlier.”
Tom nodded. “It sure does. I want a restraining order on him, keeping him away from Pam. It’s just too much of a coincidence. First he tells Pam he thinks Collins was framed. Then, less than five hours later, someone comes in here and plants her missing yearbook on the table. There’s a connection somewhere. I can feel it.”
Mortified, Pam rose from the couch. “Guys, please. Don’t talk to him or get a restraining order yet! I’ve got to work with the man. L
et me talk to him. Last night, at the dinner, I was too shocked to ask him any questions. But now, after that dream I had… Maybe he knows something more.”
****
“On the phone, you said you may have remembered something else.”
Tom looked to Pam. She nodded to DeOreo. “I think so. It came in a dream. But it seemed so real.”
DeOreo nodded. “That’s not unusual. Tell me about it.”
Listening to Pam, Tom found it difficult to contain his frustration. The fact that someone actually broke into her Middleton apartment while she was sleeping made his blood boil. Who knew how far the guy would go next time? Strike that. Tom intended to make sure there was no next time. Between him, his parents, the Cartrights, and the officers Houser agreed to assign to her, Pam would rarely be alone.
Now two days later, they sat in a New York City hotel room. Rather than drive all the way back to Salem, they’d encouraged Roger DeOreo, a native New Yorker with family still there, to make the trip that far to see them.
Pam finished recounting her conversation with the psychiatrist, the dream, and the troubling episode that followed.
“The police are involved?” DeOreo asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Tom nodded. “And they’re taking the situation very seriously.”
DeOreo digested this, then looked to Pam. “In your dream, did you see the man’s face?”
She shook her head. “No. It was so dark. And the rain came down so hard. I could hardly see or hear anything.”
“What else can you remember?”
Tom turned to Pam. She tightened her fists and sat up straight. “I think I heard two voices.”
That floored him. She’d only mentioned one to him.
DeOreo held up a hand to silence his questions. “Male or female?”
“Both male. I’m almost certain. The dream keeps playing over and over in my head. Each time, I see or hear something else, but I can’t seem to put it all together.”
“Are you willing to be hypnotized again?”
Pam stood. Her eyes narrow, she planted her hands on her hips and looked directly at Tom. “Yes, I’ll be hypnotized again. But I want you to understand why.”
“Okay.” Tom couldn’t tell if she was upset or angry, but he’d definitely noticed a mood change during the drive into the city.
“It’s because I can’t stand feeling like a victim. I don’t want to be rescued. I don’t want this to be the focus of our relationship. But that’s what’s happening.” A tear trailed down her cheek. “And I hate it!”
Ah. Tom recounted all the things he loved about this woman. Other than her looks, which drove him wild, he admired her strength. Her determination and self reliance. He first noticed it years ago when both their rescue squads worked an accident scene together.
Soon after Pam joined the team in Hopewell, the counties banded together to help out at a nursing home fire. One glance over at Pam, working with a patient, impressed him far more than he’d expected. Even back then, at that young age, she portrayed a calm, professional manner. Yes, he confirmed. It was a good thing he didn’t hire her. He’d have been in jail within a week.
With that memory in mind, Tom stretched out his long legs and crossed them at his ankles. “I don’t think about it like that. But it probably feels that way to you because you’re so stubborn and accustomed to taking care of everybody else. It’s okay to need help now and then, Pam. Especially from me.” Seeing that he got her attention, he winked. “Chew on that, cutie!”
Stifling a smile, she looked down her nose at him and took her seat.
“You did not cause the accident,” DeOreo tossed in. “I’m convinced of that. And we are seeing progress. It’s just taking longer than we’d hoped. Are you ready to try again?”
Pam let out a groan. “I thought you’d never ask.”
DeOreo and Tom burst out laughing. In response, Pam sent them both an evil-eye glare. Laughing harder, Tom messed up her hair. “I love you so much!”
“Right.” Playfully, she pushed him away and sat back in the chair. She closed her eyes. “Let’s do it, Doc.”
“Go back to the part where you’re lying on the ground,” DeOreo instructed. “Tell us what you see.”
Tom watched the hypnotherapist help Pam reach the necessary level of consciousness. After a few moments, she squinted.
“Light. Bright light. It hurts my eyes. Can’t see. Something slams. I think I hear a voice. No. Two voices.” She stiffened.
“Do you recognize them?”
“Hard to hear. It’s still raining. Just not as hard. I can’t make out the words. I want to get away from them but I’m stuck. Pinned against the cold ground. They’re coming closer. I can feel them. The ground is vibrating.” She visibly recoiled.
“No pain, Pam,” DeOreo reminded her. “It’s just like you’re watching television. Tell us what you see.”
“Somebody is touching me. My face. I can’t see him. There’s a bright light shining behind him. He looks like a dark shadow.”
“What’s he doing now?” DeOreo asked.
“He’s saying something to someone. I can’t make out the words. I hear loud whispering. Almost arguing. “She did it!” I hear the first one say. “It’s all her fault!”
Tom watched Pam’s face contort in anguish. She raised her hands to her ears and began to sob. “Make him stop! Please!” she repeated over and over.
Alarmed, he looked to DeOreo.
The man held up his hand, as if to say, “Stay patient,” but his eyes mirrored Tom’s alarm.
Feeling helpless, Tom balled his fists. He wanted to see what she saw.
Slowly, she dropped her hands. The lines on her face faded.
“The calmer voice is back,” Pam said. “I think he’s telling the other man to leave. I hear car doors shut. Tires screech. I think somebody is driving away. It’s dark again.”
Tom watched DeOreo place his pen and pad on the table. “Where are you now?”
“I’m not sure if I lost consciousness. I think I’ve been lying there for a long time. It’s raining hard again, but I don’t care. It feels like I’m floating.”
The creases in DeOreo’s forehead deepened. Tom shot him a questioning look. The doctor shook his head. “Wait,” he whispered.
Then Pam exhaled. Her body began to relax. “I hear sirens. In the background. I see lights. Tom is there. I can hear his voice.”
“Do you feel safe now?”
She nodded.
Seeming satisfied, DeOreo brought her back.
“What’s up, Doc?” Tom asked. “I can see your wheels are turning.”
“You’re right.”
Tom thought he detected a hint of anger in the man’s voice. He watched DeOreo fold his hands on his desktop and peer directly at Pam.
“Someone messed with your head, Pam. Whether it was intentional, we won’t know, but it worked.”
Her eyes widened.
“Can you explain that?” Tom asked.
“Sure.” He looked to both of them, then back to Pam. “I believe we can now account for most of the guilt you’ve been harboring all these years.”
She furrowed her brows. “How?”
“I believe your dream was accurate.”
“Go on.” Pam urged.
“I also believe that in your fragile mental state right after the accident, your subconscious was very open to suggestions. Any comments or accusations, like ‘It’s your fault’ and ‘You did it,’ could leave a lasting impression. Especially when repeated over and over. When the first man blamed you in the harsh tone of voice you indicated, I suspect he convinced your subconscious that it was true.”
Pam sat very still.
“It’s often very difficult to alter that faulty type of thought process. Even now that you can recall the accident and you know you’re innocent, I’m sure you still harbor doubts. Don’t you?”
She squirmed, but remained silent.
The doctor nodded. “It’s understand
able. And distressing. For you, and the person who blamed you. Clearly, your return to Middleton is causing him or her extreme distress. Breaking into your apartment was a huge risk.” He paused, his expression saying he was choosing his words carefully. “You need to be very careful. I don’t think this person can leave you alone now even if they wanted to.”
Agreeing, Tom released a frustrated breath. Instead of finding answers, the situation was getting even more complicated. And definitely more dangerous. Standing now, he declared, “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Starting with Carl Tedford. Then we’re going to find the other guys.”
Truths Unveiled Page 19
