“I don't care!” Her eyes had grown wild. “Do what you want with me but I won't be here. I don't care what happens to me anymore.”
The defense attorney slumped down in his chair, running his fingers through his greasy hair. “I would like to call for a postponement on this trial. I need a chance to talk to my client.”
“Denied,” the judge said. “I'm sorry but if your client pleads guilty, that is the end of the trial.” He looked at Travis' mother. “Your sentence will be forthcoming. Dismissed.” He banged his gavel twice.
As the crowd began to murmur, a guard walked up to Travis' mother and pulled her away in her wheelchair. Cole motioned to stand but was struck by another flashback. He glimpsed an old man in a wheelchair being pushed by someone but his field of vision was too narrow to see who that person was.
“We can go now,” Meredith said by his side now at the witness stand, snapping him out of the vision.
“Uh, yeah, okay,” he said, shaking his head.
8
“That was an... eventful day,” Cole's mother said during the car ride home. It was the first any of them had spoken since the abrupt ending of the trial.
“Yeah,” Cole muttered. The sight of Travis' mother had brought back a lot of unpleasant memories as well as introduced a few unsettling new ones. “At least I didn't have to be up there long. I hated every second of it. And hey, now you don't have to testify,” he added, turning to Amy in the backseat.
“It looked so scary to be up there. You did well, Cole,” Amy said. “You know, seeing her break down like that, I kinda felt sorry for her.”
“I did too,” Cole said. “I would never want to be in that position.”
“Just horrible,” Cole's mother said quietly. “She was driven to the brink of insanity trying to protect her son. From a mother's standpoint I can almost understand her actions. I just would never have carried a gun. What a shame.” She shook her head. “Let's do one of our sessions now. Maybe it'll help clear our heads.”
“Sure,” Cole said. “Hey, Mom, remember I told you about that vision I got a few months ago? Well, I got another.”
“Another?” Meredith said. “That's so bizarre. What did you see in this one?”
“I caught a brief glimpse of an old man in a wheelchair. I didn't recognize him but he was laughing and someone was pushing him. I felt like I knew the person pushing him but I didn't see who it was. Are you sure you never heard of anyone having something like this?”
“Fairly sure. I'm a bit disturbed by this but I don't really know what to do. Would you maybe want to see a... psychologist?”
“Thanks, I'll pass.”
The rest of the ride remained silent. When they arrived at the house, Cole and Amy followed Cole's mother into her bedroom. As had become the custom, Cole lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, gradually letting the voices seep into his consciousness.
Over the course of the last few months, Cole's mother had taught him how to keep a strong hold over his consciousness so that he could permit the voices to take over and retain a way to bring himself back. So long as he kept that hold, the voices posed no threat. Then, once he learned to control them, he was able to gradually tune in to them. It had been very slow progress but now he was able to pick out random words and occasionally sentence fragments. Many of them sounded as if they were in foreign languages and the phrases he was able to catch seemed to be in code. When he asked his mother about this, she said she had never been able to decipher anything they said beyond the instructions. She had only been able to gain control over letting them in or blocking them out. The whispers themselves were always unintelligible to her. That had been a huge disappointment, but since then he had become determined to figure out what they were saying, his reasoning being that if they were speaking so fervently all the time, they must be saying something.
The strange presence in the back of his mind had been growing steadily stronger but was still lost amidst the jumble of voices. His mother had been unable to explain this, as she never had such an experience in her own life. Between this and the visions, he was becoming disheartened at how much his mother didn't know about the curse that had afflicted her for her entire life.
He had his eyes closed, listening to the cryptic talk. Hurried... crumbling... mistook... et tu... swinging... As he sank into the words, he used the technique he had been taught to stay grounded. He had to picture something that was uniquely his own, and hold onto it, keeping that in the forefront of his mind as the place to return to when he was ready. In his case, he always conjured the same image, Amy smiling at him. He saw her face in his mind and latched onto it as he sank deeper, gliding through the infinite abyss of blackness, nearing some unintelligible voices, then turning away to try somewhere else. In the background he heard his mother's voice, but he didn't really need it anymore. He felt confident in his control and didn't think there was much more she could teach him.
“Cole, wake up. Someone's at the door.”
It took a while for the words to reach him, but as soon as they did he shot towards his internal image of Amy, which drew him back to reality, like waking from a dream. The voices faded away to nothing as the doorbell rang again.
“Beth is getting the door,” Meredith said, “but I wanted you to be awake just in case they had to come in.”
Muffled voices floated into the bedroom and after a few seconds, they heard footsteps approach the bedroom. Beth entered, looking at them oddly. “Stop your little hocus pocus for a minute. Someone is here to see the two of you. It's that Roberts guy again.”
“Why would he be back?” Cole said, looking worriedly at his mother.
“They need to follow up on everything,” Meredith said. Her tone was guarded as she glanced at Amy. “It may be nothing.”
“Hopefully he picked up on a lead,” Amy said. “Poor Dr. Stern.”
“Yeah, hopefully.” There was a flurry of anxiety in the pit of Cole's stomach as he went to greet the investigator in the living room.
Leonard Roberts had seated himself on the couch, but rose on their approach. “How have all of you been these last few months?”
“We're well, thank you,” Meredith said, seating herself on the couch and indicating that he should do the same. “Any news on the case?”
“That's what I came to talk to you about,” Leonard Roberts said. “I regret having to tell you, but I may need to close the case. I haven't been able to pick up on any promising leads and the family is no longer paying me for my services.”
It was all Cole could do to prevent himself from leaping off the couch and shouting for joy. All his concentration was spent on keeping a neutral expression, lest a smile should creep its way onto his face. The voices were pushing their way into his consciousness, but he forced them back down. I don't need you.
“I am very sorry to hear that,” Meredith said, sadness in her voice. “I had truly hoped this would be solved and it was all a misunderstanding. That she left without telling anyone and would come back. Oh, Dr. Stern.” She clasped her hands and appeared to be fighting back tears.
“Yes, we are all deeply saddened by this,” Leonard Roberts said. “The main reason I wanted to speak with you was as a last ditch effort. I cannot tell you how much I would like to see this woman returned unharmed, or at the least, give some closure to the family. Has anything come back to you in the last few months? Even a small detail that you think is insignificant?” He surveyed each of them in turn, and Cole had a moment of paranoia that a fleeting emotion passed through the investigator's face as their eyes met.
“I wish I could help,” Amy said, her eyes watering. “I really liked – like – Dr. Stern.”
“As do we all,” Meredith said, and Cole just shook his head, afraid to open his mouth.
“So, nothing, then?” The investigator gave an exasperated sigh. “Couldn't hurt to ask. Well, if anything ever comes to you, you have my number. Thank you for your time. I guess I should get going.”
&nbs
p; Meredith walked him out, and once he was gone, the three of them returned to Meredith's room. It was silent for a few minutes as the three of them recovered from the unexpected visit.
“Ready to practice some more?” Meredith said, breaking them out of their internal reflections.
Cole blinked, interrupting his train of thought. “Actually, instead of that, I was wondering if you could tell me about you and Travis' father.”
“What do you mean? What about us?”
“Everything. I'm just curious. How you met. What happened between you two. How it ended. I don't know, everything.”
Meredith sighed and looked into his eyes. “It's kind of a long story.” She paused but Cole's and Amy's faces were eagerly watching. “I suppose I can do my best. Give me a minute to compose my thoughts.” She closed her eyes and leaned back, thinking. “It all started when I was thirty-four. I had recently moved back to this area and was walking home, when a man passed me on the street. Even before he turned around, I knew...”
* * *
Meredith ripped the map out of her jacket and unfolded it roughly, uncaring as a tear appeared along one of the folds. She put her back to the wind to keep it from blowing the map from her grasp. “How did we miss it? We walked up and down this block three times now. Here, do you see what I'm seeing? Am I missing something?” She shoved the map in front of Peter's nose and pointed to their current location. “That's us, and the side street should be right there.”
Peter peered at the map. “It does look that way, yes.”
Meredith gave an exasperated sigh, struggling to keep her emotions under control. “We're almost out of time. We can't screw this up because we couldn't read a map.”
“Let's try to get there by a different street,” Peter said, but before he had finished his sentence, Meredith was off running and he had to sprint after her.
Why weren't we given more time? Meredith thought as she gasped for air, refusing to slow. Five minutes isn't nearly enough time. Stupid voices. She rounded a second corner, and was about halfway down the block when she spotted the street. The map shows it goes through but it doesn't! She would have screamed in anger and relief had she had any breath to spare. Without checking to see if Peter was with her, she ran down the side street, looking for the woman, but no one was in sight.
We must be too late. Unwilling to give up, she continued along the street, her feet pounding the pavement, her breath raspy and her chest on fire. She reached an intersection, slowing just long enough to glance along this new street. There she is! The woman was walking away from Meredith at a brisk pace, her head down against the wind.
Except, she was not entirely alone. Two hooded men were walking towards her, and she seemed oblivious of their presence. Sensing the danger, Meredith hesitated, afraid to get involved in what she knew was about to happen. But, against her better judgment, she also could not stand by and watch.
“Hey! You!” she shouted between breaths, but the combination of wind blowing against her and her voice being weak from exhaustion prevented the woman from hearing. She tried again, closer now, and this time the woman glanced behind her. “Run! To me!” Meredith yelled, knowing how crazy she sounded but not knowing what else to do.
The woman watched Meredith come towards her, a puzzled and slightly fearful expression on her face. I'm not the one you should be afraid of, Meredith thought. Her yell had also attracted the attention of the two hooded men, who picked up their pace and were on the woman in a moment.
She sensed their approach from behind, and, feeling trapped on both sides, bolted to the side towards the nearest house, screaming for help at the top of her lungs. Meredith closed the gap between them as she racked her brains for a plan of action. The two men gave chase to the woman, and one had just grabbed her purse when Meredith caught up to them.
“Drop that,” Meredith said in the strongest, calmest voice she could muster.
The men looked her up and down and one snickered. “Get a load of this one. Hey there, sweetheart. Sure, you can give us your purse too. Just hand it over and it will make this a lot easier.”
“I don't think so.”
That was when the man caught sight of the switchblade in her hand, which only made his smile grow wider. “Wow, sweetheart wants to play. All right.” He pulled a knife out of his pocket. “Let's play.”
Meredith swallowed hard as she fought to keep her hands steady. She cursed her small frame, wishing she was more imposing. He called my bluff. Oh God, I'm gonna die for this stupid purse. I should just run. Right now. Run. The moment seemed to freeze. Meredith and the man stared each other down. The other man still had a hold of the woman's purse, but he had given up the struggle to watch the events unfold. The woman, too terrified and confused to move, watched the scene with wide eyes.
Her mind drifted back to Peter, remembering that he should be right behind her. More than remembering, she felt it. Part of her knew he was there even before she heard the footsteps. The men looked up as he approached, weighing this new turn of events.
“Why don't you get outta here?” Peter snarled. With his deep voice and fit body, he could be intimidating when he wanted and now was one of those times.
Meredith could see the hesitation in the men's eyes, now that the numbers were even. The knife moved around in the one man's hand and he started forward.
This is it. He's going to kill us. For all his size, Peter can't fight to save his life. If she hadn't been so terrified, she would have laughed at the irony of the thought.
In the silence, the faintest sound of a siren could be discerned in the distance. Before the man had taken a step, the other one let go of the purse and grabbed his arm. “Come on, man. Let's get outta here. It's not worth it.”
Meredith thought she caught disappointment in the eyes of the man with the knife, but he relented and the two of them took off in the other direction. No one moved or breathed until they were out of sight, and then a huge smile broke out over Meredith's face as she was overwhelmed by a sudden elation. Her heart was pounding, her adrenaline was pumping, and, boy, did she feel good. Never before had she stared death in the face like that. She looked over at Peter to gauge his reaction, and her smile shrank at the expression on his face.
“What's the matter, Peter? We're okay. And we helped out. Celebrate a little.”
“Are you crazy?!” Peter took a deep breath. “What were you thinking? You almost got us all killed. And why do you have that?” His gaze locked on the switchblade still in her hand.
In the excitement she had all but forgotten she was still holding it, and she stuffed it back into her pocket. “I started carrying it around for ease of mind since we keep ending up in dangerous situations. Like this. It makes me feel better knowing I have something to defend myself. Aren't you glad I had it?”
Peter hesitated, his anger dispersing now that the adrenaline was wearing off. “I don't know. Haven't you ever heard of pepper spray? You weren't going to use it, were you?”
“I don't think so. Maybe if he attacked me first.”
Peter rubbed a hand across his face as the sirens were grew louder. “Promise me you won't ever do something so stupid again. It's not worth getting killed over a purse.” Peter seemed to remember then that the woman was still standing there. “No offense. I'm glad you're okay.”
The woman nodded. She opened her mouth, cleared her throat, tried again. “Yes, of course. Thank you two so much. They might have killed me. How can I ever thank you?”
“You can thank us by leaving the switchblade out of the police report,” Peter said.
“Listen, Peter, there's something else,” Meredith said. “Before you caught up to us, before I could even hear you, I got this feeling like I knew exactly where you were. I sensed you. I don't know how to explain it, really. Did you ever feel that for me or anyone else?”
Peter glanced at the woman. “We'll discuss it later.” He looked towards the sirens. “I hope this doesn't take too long. Sue is going to be
wondering what happened to us. She'll be back from the store any minute and I don't want to leave her too long with the babies.”
“Yeah, I told Frank I'd be home soon. They just have no consideration for our convenience.” She smirked. She didn't want to mention the voices in front of the woman, but her meaning was not lost on Peter who gave her a smirk in return.
“Hey, at least be thankful it didn't happen when we had the babies. That would have been fun.”
She chuckled. “True.”
A police car rounded the corner, coming to a stop in front of them.
9
Meredith glanced up at the clock. “Oh my, it's getting late. I need to get Amy home in time for dinner.”
“No way. You can't stop there,” Cole said. “What happened next?”
“Sorry I'll have to continue another time.” She got to her feet.
“That's a crazy story,” Amy said, following suit. “Man, I am dying to hear the rest. Make sure you don't finish it without me.”
“Can't Amy just stay here?” Cole said.
“Cole, be reasonable,” Meredith said. She's just getting acquainted with her new foster parents. She should be there. And I already told them she would be there for dinner.”
“Lame.”
They all put on their sneakers and piled into the car.
“Do you have a picture of Peter?” Amy said as she slid into the backseat.
Meredith paused. “Sorry, um, no, I don't think I do.”
“Ah, man. I'm curious,” Amy said. “I assume you kept seeing him after that?”
“Yes, needless to say I did not listen to my mother. I had just made the biggest discovery of my entire life. I wasn't about to forget it ever happened. But I don't want to get into it right now. If Mr. and Mrs. Williams permit you to come over tomorrow, I'll tell you then.”
“You'd better,” Cole said. “Now we're in suspense.” That was when the thought occurred to him, something so obvious he was amazed he hadn't realized it before. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he forced the words out. “Mom? I was a baby at this time, right?”
Shadows Within (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 2) Page 6
