Worst Week EVER

by Angela Parker

  What Mr. Winters was telling her was something very different. He told her Owen Faradei had planned for his demise in a rather unusual way. Instead of making arrangements for his own funeral, and all of his assets, he stipulated anyone who was willing to take on the responsibility of his final expenses should have immediate and irrevocable control of his entire estate to do with as they wished. Mr. Winters had advised Mr. Faradei that his property and assets would likely go to the city and be auctioned off if he handled it in the way he was suggesting, and urged him to reconsider. The old man had been adamant, and insisted it would go where it was needed the most.

  Roslyn was stunned. She was also elated. This was the first good thing to happen to her since her parents had died and she had been left to her own devices at sixteen. She was finally going to have a home, and Mr. Faradei had also seen to her stability. She wouldn’t have to work another day in her life. She offered a silent blessing to him as she signed the papers.

  Chapter 12

  Paul got word from his contact in Victoria the morning after he left. His man said she was staying at this big ugly house right outside of town all by herself. He decided he should probably get his business taken care of now while the opportunity was golden. He might just have to come up with a few more things to liven up his fun. It would be too easy just to go in there and kill her.

  He couldn’t believe his luck. By midnight he would have had his quickest relationship ever. Hell he was surprised she had managed to cause him so much trouble in just a week. He thought just maybe she was a little smarter than he had given her credit for. There was no way she was too awfully smart though, to be all by herself less than a week after she stole half the money he had worked so hard to steal. Surely she didn’t think he was going to just let it go. Her little attempt to throw him off by buying different vehicles along the way didn’t go as well as she thought it would. He just called his buddy at the precinct with his problem and he had her tracked down in less than half an hour. He probably could have gotten ahead of her if he had called sooner, but he hated to admit to anyone he lost his pet. He had done his own searching for two days before he finally made the call.

  He had found the second car she had bought, and after he gave the detective the details it was a piece of cake. One car led right to another and the last two she had bought had GPS systems installed. She sure wasn’t very careful to keep herself off the grid. She might as well have painted herself polka dotted and paraded through a funeral.

  He was about forty-five minutes away at a cheap hotel. He settled in to watch some TV and catch a nap. He would need his strength if he was going to torture a woman to death tonight.

  Chapter 13

  She had spent last evening exploring the inside of her new home. She had found the master suite in the house exquisite. It was upstairs situated on the north side of the house. The bed was a king and like sleeping on a cloud. She had found fresh linens in the closet and she freshened up the room a bit, but it didn’t look as if it had been used in years. A thin layer of dust had settled over everything, and there were no fingerprints or things moved. She was still getting used to the sound of her home. It had been so long since she had one, she had forgotten how it felt to belong somewhere.

  This morning she was up early and out exploring the gardens. The whole place was in disrepair, but it wouldn’t be long before she had it all fixed up. The estate was beautiful, and larger than she had originally thought. The house had an attached greenhouse, with a trail of beautiful sandstone stepping stones which led to a bridge at the edge of a pond The bridge took you to a gazebo built right into the middle of the pond. The large backyard which contained all of these fascinating treasures was completely enclosed with a stone wall that stretched up ten feet. The wall was covered in wisteria and a colorful array of climbing roses. She found a shed tucked away in the back corner storing all kinds of vintage tools. She pulled out a set of trimmers and spent a large part of the day trimming up the various bushes around the back yard.

  As the evening approached she decided to go in and explore the kitchen in depth. After she had eaten she took a bottle of wine and a glass upstairs and ran herself a bath. The bathtub in the master suite was styled like an old copper wash tub, but concealed within were jets and bubblers. It was the most relaxing bathtub she had ever been in. She sank down into the bubbles and poured herself a glass.

  Chapter 14

  Her bath was starting to get cooled down when she thought she heard the door to her room open. She curled into herself and covered her head with her hands when she saw her ex move toward her. She was shocked and horrified with tears pouring down her face. She had no idea how he had found her but she was trying to think clearly enough to escape. He was almost to the door when it suddenly and inexplicably slammed in his face.

  He mocked her through the door while he pounded on it with his fists. She was frightened and disoriented but she knew the door wouldn’t hold forever. She needed to get up and figure out what to do.

  She was fumbling around in the closet for something to put on when something popped in the back. When she looked again she saw there was an opening at the back of the closet. She followed it into a narrow hallway leading to a flight of stairs. Another hallway curved back into the opposite direction and led to a set of stone steps which led downward into what must be a basement. It was dark and she was trying to feel for a light switch when a sconce attached to the wall burst into flames. This was the first time she stopped and wondered what was happening in this house. She had written the doors slamming off as coincidence, but she was hard up to find an excuse for what she had just witnessed.

  She didn’t have time to dwell on justifications for sudden flames and slamming doors, she had to find a way to get that monster out of her home. She quickly followed the steps down into the bowels of the house. It was dark and damp, but she wasn’t afraid now. She was thinking much more clearly. She needed to get to a phone and fast, but the only one she knew of was in the study, and it was back up on the first floor. She decided to take a leap of faith and ask the house to help her get there.

  Chapter 15

  Paul finally crashed through the door into the bathroom. He found the window open and no sign of his little pet. She must have gotten brave all of the sudden and took off out the window. He figured she was on her way to get to a phone right now. Good thing he had already thought of that. He had cut the line at the pole on his way in; he wasn’t going to take any chances on her getting smart on him again. He left the bedroom and shot back downstairs. He slipped quietly into the study and listened and waited. He knew she would be in there sooner or later. She wasn’t going to call anyone, and she wasn’t going anywhere either. He had made a pit stop by the garage and jerked the spark plug wires off of her car. She probably didn’t have the brains to put them back.

  He wondered how she had scored such a big house. She had stolen a lot of money from him, but it wouldn’t pay for this. He was angrier by the minute. She was nobody, and now she was living in a mansion. She must have been holding out on him. She obviously had some kind of hidden talent. She was a decent fuck if you didn’t have anything better, but she was far from mansion good.

  Chapter 16

  She asked the house for help, and boy did it respond. A gust of wind came from nowhere and pushed her in the direction she needed to go. It stopped suddenly in another narrow corridor and she looked around trying to figure out what it was she was supposed to do. Just then something popped and a door appeared where there had been a wall before.

  This door led to a staircase which only ascended one story. If her directions were correct then she should be right below the study. She carefully crept up the steps when she heard a loud grunt come from the other side of the wall and then a heavy thud. The hidden door into the study popped open and she ran in to pick up the phone. She recognized immediately the phone line was dead and dropped it and reached into the desk drawer for her cell. She had the sheriff’s number alre
ady programmed so she could dial him quickly. He answered on the first ring and she quickly told him her ex had broken in.

  When Sheriff Rosenberg arrived he expected to find a woman in distress. What he found when he entered the study was a capable woman standing over an angry intruder.

  Chapter 17

  When Roslyn saw Paul lying there unconscious she thought she had better incapacitate him or she would be running all over again. She found a roll of duct tape in the bottom drawer of the desk and she used nearly the whole thing to bind his hands, feet, arms and legs. As he was coming to, he began yelling profanities at her. With her newfound confidence she pulled a healthy strip of what was left of her roll and shoved it over his mouth. While he was down there helpless and struggling she delivered a swift kick to his gut. Small compensation for what he had done to her, but she didn’t have the heart to take it any further. She wondered at what had knocked him out in the first place, and as she looked around, she noticed the coat rack had fallen over.

  She knew her house had done that for her. She wondered then if the ghost of the previous owner was still here with her. It was a bit farfetched, but she had heard stories of it happening before. With all of the unusual things happening to her lately it wouldn’t even be surprising any more. She called out to Mr. Faradei and asked if it was him. A cup full of pens fell over on the desk in answer to her question. She moved over to the desk and spelled out for her with the arsenal of pens was YES – OWEN.

  She felt a bit weird talking to thin air, but she told him thank you for saving her life, and also for giving her a life.

  Chapter 18

  Sheriff Rosenberg took notes on the scene he saw before him. He scribbled everything he saw in detail. He took Roslyn’s statement. He asked her to begin with her real name. Cheryl Steinwurk told the sheriff all about her ex breaking in here while she was in the bath. She told him about the money he stole, and about the money she stole from him. He stopped writing and looked up. He asked her where the money was now and she picked up the bag from beneath the desk and handed it to him. He looked it over, and looked her over, and then he said she must have picked up this bag by accident when she left an abusive relationship. He told her he would take it down to the station, and go through the necessary paperwork and see to it that it got back to where it belonged. He also told her he would give the address and instructions to the local police in back in New York so they could recover the rest. He gave her the number of several people who could help her make her name change legal if she so desired, then he departed on his way.

  It was the damnedest thing, when the sheriff sent a deputy to transport the prisoner back to New York, where they intended to take him to trial for his theft, Paul took a bullet to the head at a stop light a block away from the precinct they were going to.

  Chapter 19

  Sheriff Rosenberg decided to deliver the news of the death of Roslyn’s ex to her in person. When he couldn’t get an answer at the door, he circled around back and found her planting lilies in a freshly tilled patch around the gazebo. She was in an old faded pair of jeans and a tank top, and she was flushed with a healthy pink glow. She looked a might better than any other time he had seen her. She had been pale and gaunt with stress, and if he could guess she had been about ten pounds lighter.

  When he told her what had happened she took a moment to process the information, and then she smiled. She told him she had never wished death on anyone, but she would be lying if she said she could muster up any sadness at all at his demise. She asked him to stay and have a glass of tea with her.

  They sat and talked until the sun began to cast a reddish glow over the landscaping. He was sure when he left she was going to be ok. She was living now, and free. It was a beautiful sight to behold. He promised to check up on her from time to time to make sure she was doing all right.

  Roslyn thanked the sheriff for all he had done for her. He was a hero in her eyes. She had enjoyed her afternoon and found herself hoping he made good on his promise to come by. She thought the two of them could be great friends. She took his glass and walked him to the gate. She waved to him as he drove down the driveway, then she turned to go into the house; her home. She smiled at the thought as she settled into a cushy lounge chair in the living area.

  She called out to Owen to see if he was in the vicinity, and smiled when she felt a light breeze waft through the room. The television flicked on and they settled in to watch old movies for the rest of the evening.