In Love by Christmas: A Paranormal Romance

by Nathan, Sandy

  “OK. My computer just booted up,” the attorney said. Silence as he read. “You’re sure this is real?”

  “‘She’s in the boxes at the back of the place?’ What is that? Look, I think the Havertin Institute is abusing mental patients and not giving them their Constitutional rights.”

  “What sort of abuse? Do you have more than this?”

  “They haven’t allowed me to talk to my daughter. Whenever I asked to speak to her, they said she was in isolation. They didn’t say why or for how long or what that was. I haven’t spoken to her since she’s been there. They’ve changed psychiatrists—or people they say were psychiatrists—on her three times. The whole place smells to me. There’s no visiting. They have a song and dance about their culture. God, Lewis, they could be doing anything.” His hands started to shake. “I admitted her involuntarily, as a danger to herself and others—you know that, you drew up the papers. But this time, I think I really made a mistake. We have to get her out of there.”

  “And the other patients.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Will had forgotten about them. “There’s hundreds there. It’s big.”

  “This looks like a ‘color of the law’ violation. Deliberately depriving anyone of rights or privileges protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States is a very large federal violation. This brings in the FBI and all the feds. A judge will jump on this. I’ll get moving.”

  Oh, God. Cass. Cass. Cass.

  Will expected Leroy to tell him to fuck off. He didn’t. He said, “If I save Cass, she’s coming with me this time. You have nothing to say about her anymore.”

  “Fine, Leroy. You were right. Please save her.”

  41

  I Love You, Arabella

  Arabella sat in her bedroom. Leroy had left her a message that he’d recorded before the helicopter came. She played it.

  “I wanted to say good-bye and thank you. This is all I got time for.” His power came out of the recorder with his voice, raw power, blasting her, filling the room.

  “I’ve loved Cass Duane since I saw a photo of her last March; a little girl jumpin’ a horse over a creek. I fell for her before I knew anything about her, but I learned all about her right away. We’re soul mates, my Grandfather saw it and confirmed it and blessed it. When she was a little girl, Enzo Donatore captured her. She ended up the way she is because of it.

  “I saved her life. That’s why Will gave me this trip and I ended up meeting you.” His voice thickened. “I love Cass, even though I’ve only seen her broken down and close to dead. I love her and I always will.

  “If you know about what she’s done and look down on her, think again, Arabella. You would have been like her in a week, if you’d gone to Spain.

  “Arabella, you are the leader of your family. I’ve given you all the power. Keep it and use it. Don’t squander it trying to save your parents or the mansion or anything else. That doesn’t mean you can’t figure a way to keep the Manor, but a good way, that makes people happy and doesn’t make you think you’re better than everyone else.

  “Do what you need to do, Arabella, go to school. Get expert advice from good people who care about you.”

  He stopped for a moment, clearing his throat. Breathing.

  “Arabella, I feel like I’m bein’ torn in two. I told you last night that I loved you. I do. I will always love you. We’re soul mates, my grandfather confirmed that, too. We would have had a good life together. Maybe we will.

  “I don’t know how this is going to shake out. Will said that Cass is in worse trouble than before. Maybe she’s dead, but I don’t feel that yet.

  “I can’t let Cass die.

  “And I won’t.

  “I will always love you. I will never forget you. You got my love and my blessin’ as long as I live.” His voice broke and the recording ended.

  Arabella wiped her eyes. How was she supposed to live, having had him touch her and love her?

  42

  The On-going Task of Destroying Cass Duane

  Enzo could not believe his good fortune. The Duane bitch, who had slipped her collar so regrettably in the New York brothel, had shown up in the place of business of one of his good friends. Should he go pick her up? Or delegate the very important task of killing her as unpleasantly as possible?

  He sat in his study in front of the see-stone. It was uncharacteristically dark. “See!” he commanded it. “See, wherever you are! Show me!”

  Dark and dull. The stone lit a bit. “See stone! It’s in the Catskills!”

  “See!” he commanded the see-stone. Greyish mist rose above it. The hospital was so far from anything that the see-stone didn’t work. Or, terrible thought, maybe the crystal was getting balky. Maybe it didn’t like the things he commanded it to see. Rape and pillage, that sort of thing. What they were doing to Cass Duane. He’d give pretty near anything to see that.

  Screaming interrupted his happy interlude. “Shut him up! Will you shut him up!” He had so much to think about and that idiot Dashiell Pontichury—what a name—kept howling. The idiot could spend money like he was made of it, but he couldn’t take a little torture. Transforming into his reptilian self in front of an internationally televised polo game! Which showed Leroy the Ape being a good guy and trying to help him. Before the robot horse and the rest of them galloped off to the Sherwood Forest, showing themselves to be as unnatural as possible. “Shut him up!”

  Dashiell had shown such promise, but promise is as promise does. They all let him down, relatives and friends alike. Had his brother repented and learned? As much as stupid Pondichury would soon enough?

  “Diego!” he screamed into the speaker. “Get down here! I have something for you to do.”

  Enzo took a moment to turn the see-stone on himself. Brilliant blue eyes, silver-laced hair that sparkled even in his gloomy study. Strong teeth, bulging muscles. Brilliance of form and intellect that no one could miss.

  They still called Will Duane a stud-muffin, but that was based on his performance years ago. The term was made for him. He could still fuck his way to January. And he didn’t care who or what his partner was. If only there was more of him to go around and he didn’t have to babysit for the recruiting sessions at the castle. A big one was scheduled to start tomorrow.

  “Diego. You have to take one of our planes to JFK in New York, then rent a car or find a smaller plane, and go here. The place is so small, they don’t have a proper airport,” he gave him the address. “It’s the Havertin Institute. Cass Duane is there. Get her and bring her here.” He snarled a bit at his brother, enough so that he knew what would happen if he failed again. “If you bring her back, expect good things. I want her alive.”

  “When should I go?”

  “Now! We’ll get there first and grab her before anyone knows. Will Duane will figure this out fast. Slimy bastard.”

  43

  The Race

  The Sullivan County airport was tiny. It was like a toy compared to JFK. Leroy saw why he had had to change planes in New York City. He was surprised jets could fly into the County airport at all. Leroy dashed toward the only hangar. The Numenon Gullwing was tucked inside, its logo visible on the jet’s nose. There was no sign of another airliner, other than his. They’d gotten there first, but anyone could be behind them. Pristine snow covered everything.

  “Leroy, get in.” Doug beckoned him from a black van, one of two parked near the hangar.

  When they pulled the door shut, Doug said, “We got here first, but they’re right behind us. The airport guy said another Gullwing was on its way in.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Donatore, I’d say.”

  The snow had turned to slushy mush where tires ran over it, but it wasn’t worn away. Leroy saw no evidence of a snowplow. This was a poor area, the houses along the way testified to that.

  “That’s the Institute,” Doug drove slowly past the entrance. The gate was an elaborate wrought iron job with sharp spears at the top of each upright
rod. An eight-foot high chain-link fence extended as far as they could see on both sides of the gate. The fence was topped with razor wire. A blanket of white, pure as a virgin’s breast, covered everything.

  “We’ll get in,” Hannah said. “Don’t worry.” She and the commandos wore bulletproof vests over their night-black garments. Hannah pulled a black hood over her head and took off with her troops.

  Hannah called them a minute later. “Come to the main gate,” came through a receiver Leroy wore on his ear.

  Hannah and her squad stood in front of the wide open, wrought iron gate.

  “It was unlocked,” Hannah said. “A gate with very sharp spines, a fence with razor wire on a mental institution. An unmanned guard station. No visual surveillance that I can detect. Lights should have gone on in the building when we got here.”

  They walked through the gates, crunching through the snow. The party fanned out on the other side of the gate, picking their way through the darkness.

  Hannah got them into the building the same way she had gone through the gate, by opening the door. “The place is wide open. It seems deserted.”

  They entered the building. Will had been told she was “in the back. In the boxes.” That didn’t make sense. They could see the snowy field behind the building. No boxes. And it was freezing out there.

  Hannah easily found the wing where Cass had been housed originally. “She was in minimum security. There are no bars or elaborate security measures in this corridor,” Hannah said. “I would not expect them to put their more severely ill patients up front where they might be seen.” The doors of the rooms were open.

  Leroy’s heart raced? Would they find Cass? Would she be dead?

  Hannah pushed her way into the first room. A chubby young woman lay face down on the floor, unmoving. Hannah felt for a pulse.

  “Alive, but sedated. Check the rest. Feel here …” She showed them how to find a pulse on their own throats.

  The rest were knocked out, some breathing laboriously. Hannah didn’t know how many: dozens, maybe hundreds. She didn’t have time for a count.

  “We’d better call the paramedics,” Hannah said. “Leroy, you and Doug find her. The note said she was in the boxes in back. That should be easy. Look for boxes.”

  He and Doug ranged across the vast snow-covered expanse behind the hospital. No boxes, nothing resembling a box. Just flat new snow.

  “Where is she?” Doug asked. “They’ve got to have some sort of facility out here. What could the boxes be? It’s fucking freezing. How could anyone survive?”

  The baying of a pack of dogs made both of them jump. Leroy saw them coming: attack dogs, just what every mental hospital needed.

  “Run, Leroy!” Doug cried, taking off at gallop.

  Leroy stood where he was, feeling the dogs’ energy. They were neglected and angry. He dropped to one knee and held out his hand to them.

  “Good dogs,” he said in his language. “You are lonely and think you want to bite. That is not true. You want to help.”

  They clustered around him, wagging their tails and demanding attention. “You are going to help right now.” He wiped his arm against their muzzles. “You must find creatures that smell like me. They are hurt. They need your help. Go!” He waved, taking in the entire back end of the pasture.

  The dogs went straight to the left side of the lawn where it met the forest. They stood in different places, six of them. The animals barked frantically, scratching at the ground.

  Leroy ran over and kicked the snow away from the ground where the first dog had dug. He found a cement square flush with the ground. More kicking revealed a metal door set in the top. Opening the first one took all his strength; a weakened woman could never get out. The stench had him throw up his hands to protect himself. Hannah had completed her search of the hospital and was out on the lawn. She and her men trotted toward them.

  “It’s not Cass,” Leroy said. “I know her smell. There’s six like this.”

  “We’ll see who’s down there,” Hannah said. “You get Cass. Leroy, when you find her, get her out of here. Take the van and get to the airport.”

  “Do you have anything of Cass’s?”

  “Yeah,” Leroy said, pulling a wrinkled scarf from his pocket. “I took this from Cass the first time we saved her. I wanted something of hers. Been carryin’ it.”

  He turned to the dogs and let them sniff the hat. “Good dogs. This woman needs your help. Find her.”

  She was in the second from the last hole. Leroy and Doug threw the door open. The stench was worst than the first one. He started to go down steep stairs.

  “No. Let me.” Hannah shoved past him. “You cannot see her as she is.” After few minutes, she said, “You can come down now.” Cass was wrapped in a blanket. The straitjacket she had been wearing was tossed on the floor.

  Cass was unconscious and in worse condition than the first time he rescued her. Her face was bruised and beaten. Leroy lifted her out and up the stairs.

  “They had a sack over her head and a gag in her mouth,” Hannah reported. “She was wearing a straitjacket. That’s all. She couldn’t defend herself in any way.”

  Leroy took off for the van at a run, holding Cass to his heart.

  The dogs clustered around the other blocks, barking and scratching at the snow. They had women in them, in slightly better condition than Cass. They were too weak to be hysterical.

  “Stay here and show the sheriff this,” Hannah told one of her people. “We have to go. We’ll get you home later.”

  Leroy didn’t worry about any of that. Cass was dying.

  44

  Why the Hell?

  “Why the hell did you send her there, Will?” the voice of an ancient, and angry, woman grated over the phone.

  “You know, Vanessa, it’s good of you to call me. I feel like the biggest shit in the world, and it’s nice to have my oldest friend confirm it.”

  “I didn’t call you a shit, Will. I said, ‘Why did you send her there?’ There’s a difference. I don’t want to beat you up. You’ll do that to yourself. I want to help her. Send her to me when they bring her in.”

  “No, she should go to Stanford Hospital.”

  “If she goes to Stanford Hospital, she’ll die. If not from her injuries, from Enzo Donatore’s goons. What do you think happened at that Institute? They all went nuts? No. Enzo got to them. And guess who can infiltrate Stanford hospital in the blink of an eye?”

  “Donatore.”

  “Yes. His brother Diego is after them now, and closing. Donatore knows she’s alive, Will. Must have picked it up on that stone of his. He’ll know if she’s at Stanford. That’s where you’d send her.”

  “Oh, God, will it ever end?” Will was weeping.

  “Send her to me, Will. Tell your pilot to follow my orders.”

  Will put a hand over his face and let the tears fall. He’d try. He’d change. He’d take good care of Cass, if she lived.

  45

  Dead in the Air

  They piled into the van and raced across the silent white countryside to the little Sullivan County airport. No doubt that Donatore’s men were close. The stench of evil was overpowering.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Hannah admonished. “They’re right behind us. Their jet is warming up over there.” It was a Gullwing, but not as fast as theirs. “On second thought, we will take a moment’s break.”

  Hannah pulled out one of her weapons, fitted it with a silencer and took two shots at the other plane. No one would ever notice the bullet holes, though they probably would notice the extreme drop in altitude in a few hours.

  Their jet launched into the air, heading to San Francisco International Airport. The ultra-fast plane screamed across the country. Its custom interior was set up with bench seating in some places and a few sleeping bays, in addition to rows of seats. They laid Cass on an open area of the floor.

  “Oh, Jesus,” Leroy said, looking at her feet. Her toes were black. Frostbite. “She’s
freezing.” She shivered, so deeply unconscious that she might as well be dead.

  “Lie next to her, Leroy. Take your shirt off and warm her up.” Doug began taking his shirt off. He opened her clothes. A vile odor filled the cabin, but he wrapped his naked torso around her anyway. “You do the other side, Leroy.”

  Leroy started to lie down next to her, but he couldn’t. He was crying too hard.

  Doug said, “It’s OK, buddy. This is worth crying about.” Leroy glanced at Doug and saw that his cheeks also were streaked. Doug had been in love with Cass at one time. This was hard for him too.

  “I’ve got warmed blankets,” Hannah hustled up with some folded blankets. “Lift up her legs, Leroy. We’ll wrap these around her.”

  Leroy thrust his arms under Cass’s thighs so that Hannah could tuck in the blankets.

  The sewer smell became much worse. Leroy pulled his arms out from under her. They were covered with brown-streaked red liquid.

  “Is that blood?” The liquid was gushing from beneath Cass. It became a flood. A tsunami. It flowed across the floor, puddling in the valleys and seams of the carpeting. Leroy couldn’t move.

  “She’s hemorrhaging. Doug, give me your T-shirt.” Hannah grabbed the shirt and cut it into wide strips with a knife on her belt. She rolled the strips into fat sausages, hands moving so fast they were a blur. “Hold her legs open.” While Doug and Leroy held her, Hannah packed the strips into Cass. The bleeding didn’t stop. The floor was drenched in a wide circle around Cass. The liquid stank. It was brownish red, not the red of fresh blood.