The girls came home later that day and I almost had a nervous breakdown when they wouldn’t stop screaming at each other and their invisible friend. Apparently he wanted them to draw but they did not want to.
“Girls, what have I taught you? Compromise!” I insisted.
They agreed, their faces sullen, but they picked up pieces of paper and began to write, acting like they were listening to what the invisible friend told them. I thought it was sweet that they both listened and wrote at the same time. They must be taking their cues from each other. My girls were fascinating creatures and watching them sometimes revealed the most amazing things.
For instance, Twilla did not speak until she was three. She would look at Lindy and Lindy would watch Twilla, as though Twilla were actually speaking. Then Lindy would turn to me or her father and tell us what Twilla wanted. For others it could prove freaky but I knew it had more to do with Lindy looking for nonverbal cues than anything that others might consider psychic. My girls had their own way of communicating and it was fascinating.
Mom slept for the rest of the day, waking only to take her pills when it was time. I put the girls to bed early and cleaned up the watercolor-covered papers left on their craft table in their room. I gasped as I looked at the papers. The girls had written the same words over and over.
“The Shadow Man is coming.” The words were written in red paint and the paint had run, making the words look like dried dripping blood. I looked over at my sleeping daughters and felt a shiver go down my spine.
There was something terrifying in this little display, something that made me very afraid. I took the papers down to Wes but he dismissed it.
“The girl’s favorite color this week is red, honey. That is all it is.”
Wes and I sat up talking quietly in the living room and I explained to him what had happened. We’d discussed the matter before but he had always left it up to me to handle the question. He knew it was only something I could ask her, after all.
“I have to admit, I am just as curious Clara, and I believe you have a right to know either way. If your mother was raped it may be hard to get the answer from her but you are right to ask. You have so many unanswered questions that need to be answered before she gets worse. Just try to be gentler next time.” Wes kissed me on the top of head as we rested on the couch together.
“What did the doctor say?” He asked quietly, his question hopeful.
“Do you want another child?” I asked, surprised.
“We are getting to a point where we should think about it again, I believe. We are getting older and we are stable financially. I kind of miss having a baby around, don’t you?” Wes said, murmuring into my neck as his hands began to roam under my shirt.
“We will have to start trying then, baby, because I am not pregnant now. We could change that though.” I said urging him to explore more by pushing my body up into his hands.
“Is it the best time for it?” Wes pondered, and I knew what he was thinking about.
“With Momma here you mean? No, it might not be the best time but when is that? After she has gone and I am heartbroken? Or now when she would have a chance to meet them and I would have something to comfort me? No, I think we should start trying. Tonight.” My words had been serious but I giggled as Wes jumped up from the couch and picked me up to carry me up the stairs.
“Your wish is my command, madam. Let impregnation commence.” We both giggled as the sun finally went down for the day and our clothes disappeared, our bodies comforting each other as the day ended. Later, when the house was quiet and the moon was high, I thought I heard a man laughing but dismissed it as part of a dream. I turned to Wes, needing his comforting presence to ease the fear that had shot through me. Asleep and deep within a dream I did not see the shadow of a man leap from the doorway of my daughters’ room to stand by the bed, staring down at me as he watched me sleep, his laughter bubbling out into the air.
Chapter Five
Somewhere in Georgia, 1982
Betty Taylor drove through Georgia, keeping an eye on the sky and the crawling traffic in front of her. She had driven straight into a raging storm and the rain was pouring down so fast the wipers could not keep up. She wanted to pull off of the road, onto the emergency lane and stop, but it was full of cars at three in the afternoon. She was not going to be able to get off the road until an exit finally showed up and she hadn’t seen one for miles.
Pushing a hand through her blonde hair, now kinked up because of the storm, Betty wished she had tied it up earlier. Applying her foot softly to the brake Betty slowed the car once more, seeing only more cars ahead of her. After twenty more minutes she finally spotted an exit and took it.
The storm was letting up by now but she still needed a break. An hour of pouring rain and tense driving had left her wanting a cup of coffee and stillness. She pulled into a roadside diner and ran in, shaking out the droplets of rain from her hair. It was still raining but nowhere near as bad as it had been.
Betty could see the diner was almost full but there was an empty booth near the left side. She aimed for it and smiled at the waitress as she followed Betty down the counter, holding up a pot of coffee with a smile
“Yes please!” Betty said gratefully as she sat down at the booth.
“That was some rain we had. Are you travelling?” The waitress asked as she poured the coffee into a white mug. Her name tag said Denise.
“I am heading down to Florida; I am starting a new job tomorrow. That rain has slowed me down some.”
“Do you want a menu or would you like a piece of pie or cake? Anything with the coffee?” Denise asked, reaching for a menu from a table behind her.
“I saw pecan pie on the way in, some of that might be nice.” Betty answered, pouring milk into her coffee. Testing it she found it was not too strong and held off on the sugar. She only put sugar in when the coffee was too strong.
Betty looked out of the window as she waited, thinking about the day so far. She had left her home in Charlotte, North Carolina around five hours ago. Another hour or two and she would be in Florida. Saint Augustine was just another hour or two from there. Two to four more hours of driving, that would get her there later than she had planned but she would just have to deal with it.
Betty was finally on her way to Florida, something she had been dreaming about for years now. Her parents were gone, her siblings, an older sister and an older brother, were married off and spread across the country, there was nothing holding her in North Carolina anymore. She had applied for a job in a hospital in Florida and had been offered the job immediately.
A little over a month ago she had gone down for an interview and had accepted the offer on the spot. She had found a house that she could afford on her salary, and close to the beach, rented out the house her mother had left her, and finished out her notice at the hospital she had been working at for so long now.
She was going to a place where it was always warm, where it never snowed, and to a new and exciting job. She had not worked with psychiatric patients before but she saw it as a challenge and a field that was often overlooked. Her friends at home had asked her if she was crazy, going to work in such a place, but she had told them about the pay and the benefits of living in a warm climate and they’d soon come to envy her instead.
The hospital was not just a psychiatric hospital, after all. This place was a mental institution for the criminally insane. Sighing deeply Betty felt a moment of worry but remembered how much she was going to be getting on her pay check every week. That helped ease the fear quite a bit.
Betty finished off her pie and had one more cup of coffee before she left the diner. She left the server a generous tip and waved as Denise called out to her.
“Good luck with that new job and the rest of your drive, sweetie! Come on back when you are driving this way again!”
Betty got into her car, an old Pontiac that had seen better days but ran like a dream, and smiled as the car started up. She di
d not know if she would ever be coming back this way again but she would make sure to stop if she did.
Betty drove into the parking lot of the facility the next morning and stared up at the intimidating building. Three stories tall and made of brick the facility had very few windows and those were covered in wire and iron bars. The building was intimidating and gave off an uninviting air. It was not a place that welcomed visitors or curiosity seekers; it was functional from the concertina wire on the roof to the pointed cast iron gate that enclosed the bottom floor all the way up to the wide veranda at the front. The entire building screamed stay away, I am designed to keep the world safe from the dangers I hold within.
Betty suppressed a shiver of foreboding as she stepped out of her car and looked up at the dark sky overhead. Yesterday’s storm in Georgia had followed her down to Florida and now the sky was dark and grey. Not the best way to start off her first full day here but she knew what was waiting for her when she got home.
The house she had rented through an agency was far more than she had expected. She could hear the ocean crashing into the coast from her front porch, smell the salt water even, and see the beach from her bedroom upstairs. The two-floored house had two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, living room, and a very wide front porch. It was far more than she had had in Charlotte and the fact that it was fully furnished made the whole thing even better.
Betty rounded her shoulders and marched up the six concrete steps to the front door of the hospital. Pushing in the double doors she walked into the lobby, as she had been instructed to do, and let the receptionist know she had arrived.
Betty inspected the area seen by most visitors and found it the same as the building, functional but secure. No color to alleviate the air of tension barely contained and no artwork to give the place some class, just functional green walls and a plain, cheap desk in the middle of it all. There was not even a chair for visitors to sit in while they waited.
Betty heard quick but muted footsteps approaching and turned to see an older woman, in her late forties or early fifties approaching. The woman wore the no-nonsense shoes most people associated with nurses in the time period, white leather with thick brown rubber soles, and the dress that seemed to lend the woman wearing it an air of authority. Betty found that often happened when nurses put their uniform dresses on. People responded to that authority and obeyed, as if the dress was some kind of magical talisman.
Betty liked the woman on sight. She was a no-nonsense kind of person herself. Serious, focused, and with little time for games and silly notions Betty was a good nurse and her skills had been complimented many times. At 30 years old she had little time for romance and sex, she wanted to succeed, and so far she was living out her dream. In another ten years she wanted to own her own home and have her retirement planned out. By the time she was 60 she planned on having enough money in the bank to retire here in Florida and live out her days in peace and quiet.
A much different way than her life had begun. Betty’s parents had often argued and her father often beat her mother. Betty remembered many nights spent under her bed, hiding from the angry words of her father and the frightened pain-filled screams of her mother. Betty did not know if her mother was just neglectful or if she did not have the money but the kids often went hungry, dirty, and without because of their parents. Drunk and unruly, both parents had been poor examples for their children and neither Betty nor her siblings had mourned for long when the pair died in a car accident when Betty was 18. She had learned one thing from them; love was a waste of time because it would just turn to hate and resentment in the end. She was never going to marry and if that meant she would never have children, so be it. She did not want to end up like her parents.
“Hello, you are Betty Taylor I presume?” The woman said with a smile. Betty saw that the woman’s white hair had been pinned under her stiff cap and though her eyes were an ice blue they were warm and filled with a smile. “You are quite pretty, are you not?”
Betty took pains to hide her looks, tucking her own hair away and wearing no makeup when she was at work. She had to wear it sometimes when she was out but most often it was only on special occasions. She wore a loose uniform to hide her figure and avoided flirtation. She did not have time for flings or dates. She had goals and kept to her path.
“Thank you. Yes, I am Betty, are you the head nurse?” The woman had been staring at Betty and hadn’t introduced herself yet.
“Oh yes, I do apologize! I am Margaret Bellows. I will be your supervisor and mentor. As it is your first day you will not be doing much work. If you will follow me I will give you the tour.” Margaret held her hand out in front of her and Betty started to follow.
“Where will I be working exactly?” Betty wondered out loud, wondering which floor she would be on.
“That may change as your needed elsewhere, you have quite a bit of emergency room experience and that will be helpful. During your training period you will likely be on the first floor but you may go up to the second and third floor. Most of the first floor is for administrative duties but we do have patients down here. This is my office, won’t you come in?” Margaret stopped to push open a door and walked through. “I need you to fill out some paper work then we will do the tour.”
Betty filled in the forms, tax papers and confidentiality agreements mainly, and looked around the office. A typical office with a desk and chairs but there were no photos or paintings on the wall and no heavy mobile objects. Betty realized then that these things could be used as weapons and the reality of where she was set in.
“Are there really dangerous people here?” Betty was not sure if her question sounded naïve or disbelieving but she meant to ask how dangerous the people actually were.
“Oh we have some of the worst here. We are just outside of Saint Augustine so the public is safe but security is extreme here. We house rapists, murderers, and some very dangerous people here. Have you heard of Travis Brown? He was found with a woman tied up in his basement. He had had her there for years and there were bodies found in his backyard, 23 women he had abused and killed. The man has some severe mental problems so he is here with us.”
Betty gulped as Margaret spoke. She had heard about him. Her conviction to work here wavered a little but then she remembered that house. She was tough and she would be trained. She could do it.
“I know it is daunting but it is best you know about the worst of it from the beginning. This is not a place for gentle souls or the timid. I understand you have moved a long way to work here?” Margaret asked, her gaze inquisitive.
“Yes, it has always been my dream to live in Florida. This job has allowed that to happen. As long as I am going to be trained I know I can handle it. We had drunks and drug users, and the mentally impaired, coming into the emergency room. I went home with bruises, cuts, and broken bones a few times. I will get the hang of this place too.” Betty hoped she had assured Margaret of her capabilities.
The woman seemed to make a decision and stood up.
“Welcome to the staff then, Betty. We are glad to have you.” Margaret shook Betty’s hand once more then led her out of the office.
Margaret took Betty through each floor and department, introducing her to patients and staff alike. Betty noted the presence of many strong burly men, both in security and orderlies, and felt reassured by their presence. After introductions were made and Betty was shown to the areas she needed to know about Margaret took Betty to the cafeteria.
“Most of your duties will consist of checking vitals, giving out meds, and keeping patients calm. If we keep them calm and head off conflict before it starts our jobs are a lot easier. Tea or coffee?” Margaret asked as they walked through the line.
“Coffee please.” Betty asked. She was trying to remember the names of one of the doctors she had met. He had seemed a very intelligent and earnest fellow.
“Do you have a boyfriend or husband Betty?” Margaret asked as they sat down at a table to go over some of
the rules and regulations of the place.
“Oh no. I am a lifelong, card carrying member of the bachelorette and happy that way society. I just do not have time for it.” Betty assured Margaret.
“Ah. I see. Then you will have time for studying then. Your first few weeks are going to be filled with a lot of memorizing and reading. We have a lot of rules here but it keeps us all safe. I do not suppose you will be breaking Rule 22 if you have sworn off love.” Margaret said with a joking smirk that made Betty want to giggle for some reason.
“Rule 22?” Betty asked, pouring cream into her coffee before stirring it.
“No fraternization between staff and certainly none between staff and patients. At all. We can all go on outings together but no romances. Ever.”
“That will not be a problem, I can assure you.” Betty promised before taking a sip of her coffee and grimacing. “Is it always this awful, the coffee?”
“It is better in the evenings but it keeps us on our toes. Now, let’s go over the rules in depth.” Margaret gave her a conspiratorial smile and Betty could not help but smile back. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here after all.
Betty spent the rest of the day going over papers, directives, and other reading that she had to start to learn. She made the rounds with one of the day nurses as she handed out pills and was amazed out how smoothly it all went.
By the time Betty went home that evening she felt overwhelmed but sure she had made the right choice. Florida was heaven and if her job was a little odd, so be it. Staring out over the ocean from her bedroom window she watched a storm rolling out to sea and knew this was the place she was supposed to be.
Chapter Six
Betty wandered through the halls of the hospital a week later, a little more confident in her abilities to handle the job but knew she needed to be careful. You had to watch what you said in a place like this. Andy Ledbetter was operating under the delusion now that he was a Hollywood star just because she had called him a star when he stuck his tongue out after taking his medicine.
Thriller: Emily Page 22
