Reunion (A Psychological Suspense with Murder, Mystery and the Paranormal)

by Jeff Bennington

  “You okay?” asked Zoe.

  Lana shook her head. Zoe squeezed again. Lana knew she had to talk. Her secret was too heavy to keep inside any more, paralyzing her with the weight of carrying it all those years.

  • • •

  Deputy Burns approached Kate.

  “Your husband’s on his way, ma’am. He’ll be here any minute. Apparently, there were some strange occurrences at Mount Carmel tonight as well.” He started to walk away and then stopped abruptly and added, “Oh, I almost forgot. The sheriff wanted me to tell you that David Ray is dead, whatever that means. Sounds like someone’s seriously confused.” He snickered. “That kid’s been dead for twenty years.” He walked away shaking his head.

  Kate cried tears of joy and pain, and then wiped her face and straightened her hair. Nick was coming? She wanted to be ready.

  • • •

  Tanner sat on the grass under the big oak tree, his back against the trunk. His elbows rested on top of his knees and his eyes stared up through the branches. Noah sat down beside him.

  “How you doing?” asked Noah.

  “Okay, I guess,” said Tanner. He took a deep breath and exhaled into the sprinkling rain. “I guess we got more than we bargained for, huh?”

  Noah nodded and forced a grinned. “Right.”

  “Do you suppose that thing…that poltergeist…was really David Ray’s ghost?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe. After twenty years of this, I’ve learned that anything’s possible.”

  “Seems like a long time, doesn’t it? A lot can happen in twenty years.”

  “Yeah.” Noah glanced across the courtyard and watched Lana walking with Zoe.

  “A lot can change in twenty years too.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Noah.

  “What do I mean?” Tanner nodded at Noah and said, “Look at you. You were the big man on campus, soccer pro, ladies’ man, and the love of Lana’s life. And now, you’re a preacher, single and a ghost chaser! I mean if that isn’t cool, I don’t know what is.” Tanner chuckled. “And Bryan, the school hero, was supposed to be a doctor. We all seem so different. It’s like we left this place and became the exact opposite of what we had planned to be. And now this? I just don’t get it, man. I thought I’d come here to clean up, to close the book on that chapter of my life. But now I think I’m going to leave here with more questions than answers.”

  “Right.” Noah wiped some rainwater from his face. “Life can be that way.”

  Tanner turned and stared at Noah. “Is that all?”

  Noah pulled his head back. “Is that all, what?”

  “Is that all you have to say? Life can be that way!” He adjusted his hat irritably. “Really? That’s all?”

  “Yes. That’s it. What else is there to say?”

  “How about something spiritual? How about the meaning of life or something that will make me feel better about what happened in there, Preacher-man!”

  Noah laughed and said, “Okay. How about this? We just walked away from a front-row seat to the fight of the century. It was a battle for David’s soul. We watched one of our brothers, albeit a murderer, lose his fight, while Maria and Bryan got caught in the ropes. Is that what do you want me to say? Do you want me to do the sign of the cross and wish some blessing on you?”

  Noah sighed.

  “Well I’m sorry, Tanner. It doesn’t work that way. You have to resolve this on your own. I can’t do it for you. But what I can tell you is, if you need to make sense of this, you’ll have to go after God yourself. My God is mine and He can be yours, but not unless you want to find Him yourself. I can help show you the way, but you have to be willing to believe in something you can’t see.”

  “And if I can’t?”

  “Listen, Tanner: you just got a glimpse of eternity. It can be ugly or it can be beautiful. The choice is yours. What I saw was beautifully painful. The pain is obvious. The beauty is that what happened in there only confirmed that just because I don’t see what’s going on in the spiritual realm, doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

  The two men sat in silence listening to the rain dwindle.

  Several long minutes later, Tanner reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his keys. He fiddled with them for a moment until he had separated his Jeep key from the rest. Noah sat quietly beside him thinking his own thoughts.

  “Well…” said Tanner.

  “Well, what?” asked Noah.

  “Well…I guess I’m going to make a choice.” Tanner turned to Noah and tossed the key for the Jeep to him. Noah instinctively reached out and caught it.

  “What’s this?”

  “It was the key to my Jeep. Now it’s the key to yours.” Tanner stood up and stretched his legs. Noah remained seated, staring at him in disbelief.

  “I don’t understa—”

  Tanner interrupted. “I’m done chasing, Noah. I’m done chasing carrots.”

  Noah looked even more puzzled and Tanner couldn’t help but remember his conversation with Lana. He laughed out loud.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Oh, nothing. It’s just—. Oh, forget it.” Tanner paused. “Anyway, the Jeep represents a lot of who I was before I came here.” He looked away from Noah, toward the parking lot. “I don’t think I can be that person anymore.”

  Tanner took a step forward then stopped. He looked back and said, “Noah, could you say goodbye to the others for me? I know I should go and do it myself but I just can’t face any more tears. I need to be away and think all this through. Tell them I’ll come find them again one day. Tell them I wish them the best.”

  Noah nodded, his eyes fully understanding Tanner’s sentiments.

  “I’ll get some stuff from the hotel and send an email to my partner regarding the business. And I’ll have him send you the title for the Jeep. We’ve worked together for a long time. He’ll be glad to run the business without me around, pushing so hard.”

  Noah grinned.

  “Thanks, Noah…for everything. I mean that.”

  Tanner glanced at the old school building, standing dripping wet in the rain. He then shook hands with Noah, walked to the Jeep and grabbed his backpack. He put on his rain gear, threw the pack over his shoulder and set off, without looking back. He tossed the rest of his keys into the air, caught them and stuffed them back into his pocket as he went.

  • • •

  Noah watched in amazement as Tanner literally began to walk a new path, boldly traveling in search of a deeper purpose to his life. Noah dropped his head and shook it as he walked away from the tree, quietly laughing to himself. He stopped for a moment to look back at the old school, knowing that he had once again been a part of one of life’s great tragedies that somehow seemed to be full of meaning. He looked out at the parking lot where more and more members of the community were gathering as word began to spread about what had happened.

  • • •

  Maria’s mother stood weeping by the ambulance where they were loading Maria’s body. Her black hair clung to her soaking-wet blouse and the sound of her voice mourning the death of her only child created a chilling noise across the campus. One of the firemen had his arm around her, offering what little comfort he had to give.

  • • •

  Noah walked to his new Jeep and looked it over. He studied its ruggedness, in awe of the vehicle he’d always wanted but never could afford. He then lifted his head and watched as Nick arrived on the scene in a patrol car.

  • • •

  Nick hopped out of the vehicle and scrambled through the crowd to find his wife.

  “Kate! Kate Tooley!”

  Kate looked up, turning her head in all directions as she thought she heard Nick’s voice.

  “Nick?”

  “Kate!”

  “Nick!” She spotted him running toward her, smiled and ran into his arms. They embraced as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. The love they had for one another felt more real than ever. Kate’s heart explo
ded with compassion for her misunderstood husband, and his heart winced with tenderness for the woman he had so taken for granted.

  “I love you, Nick! I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you!”

  “It’s okay! I love you too! I love you, baby!” They hugged each other again and passionately kissed, restoring their lost and forgotten love. He squeezed her and lifted her off the ground, feeling her body meld into his—like it had felt twenty years earlier.

  “I’m just glad you’re okay, babe! Can you forgive me for everything I’ve done?” Nick asked desperately. “Everything’s changed and I’ll straighten out now, I promise.”

  “Yes! Yes! I forgive you!”

  • • •

  Noah watched Nick and Kate with a happy heart, once again amazed at how God silently conducted the orchestra of life, a powerful symphony of grace and redemption. The music played in Noah’s head. He closed his eyes and gave thanks until Sheriff Richards interrupted the song.

  “Mr. Berkley?”

  Taken off guard, Noah stuttered, “Uh…ye…yes?”

  “I’m Larry Richards. I spoke with you earlier on the radio.” He stuck his hand out. They greeted one another.

  “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

  “Same here, Mr. Richards.” The sheriff awkwardly adjusted his hat. “I uh, just want to tell you that I’m grateful for all you did in there, keeping everyone calm and everything. And you may have heard…David’s dead. He really is this time. And although I don’t approve of Nick’s methods, he did the right thing. As it turns out, the spirit or whatever it was, forced one of the doctors to kill David. So Nick’s off the hook for murder, anyway. The doctor’s in a bit of trouble though, the orderlies are witnesses to him grabbing the gun and deliberately shooting David. I expect he’ll have to resign. But I imagine they’ll keep this all under wraps.”

  Larry took a deep breath and pointed indignantly across the way toward Nick. “You know, that son of a gun actually left me dumped out in the rain! I nearly killed him when he came back.” Larry shook his head in disbelief and then chuckled. “But anyway, at least he came back.” He sighed and said, “I don’t pretend to understand it all Mr. Berkley, but I know whatever happened wasn’t normal. It was paranormal and that scares me, because I don’t like it when life isn’t predictable. But I guess if David Ray’s spirit is finally at rest, then that’s all that matters now.”

  Noah replied, “Right. That’s a good thing. What about Bryan? How’s he doing?”

  “Yeah, well…” The sheriff looked down, clearly disturbed. “He’s not doing well. They say his lungs suffered a lot of damage from the steam and that his throat is severely burned. The doctor says even if his lungs make it, he might not be able to talk again because of all the scar tissue on his vocal chords.”

  “Oh! That’s terrible.” Noah cringed. “But I have to tell you, he was awfully brave in there. He did everything he could to stop that thing.”

  “I’m sure he did, and I’ll make sure that goes in the report. Thanks again.” The sheriff adjusted his hat, shook Noah’s hand once more and walked back to his men.

  Noah looked the Jeep over, feeling its rugged frame and large tires. He imagined what it would be like to ride the sporty machine with the top down through the rolling hills surrounding Crescent Falls. He anticipated the freedom and youthful adventures that had eluded his young-adult life. Before he stepped inside, he glanced back at the crowd and the school.

  He thought briefly about what he’d do with his gift. He’d stay for Maria’s memorial service and then go on a road trip before returning home. He’d then leave the Jeep with a local church to auction off before he went. He laughed to himself as he considered what the old Tanner would have said about that! His heart ached, because he was leaving for the second time under tragic circumstances. He’d somehow ended up with the Jeep, but he didn’t get what he really came for and he had no intention of coming back a third time.

  He had opened the driver’s-side door and prepared to jump in when he heard someone call his name.

  He turned back toward the school.

  “Noah, over here!”

  He zeroed in on the voice and saw Lana pushing through the crowd, holding Zoe by the hand. Naturally, he smiled and waved. The two women arrived, breathless, in the parking lot.

  “Hey, where’re you going with Tanner’s wheels?” asked Lana.

  Noah showed the key to her, smiled and said, “A gift from Heaven, and I don’t know where I’m going. Why? Do you need a ride to the hotel?

  Lana looked at Zoe and said, “Well, we don’t have to leave for another week. We’ll stay for Maria’s funeral and then—”

  Lana’s eyes were full of emotion. Taken aback, Noah looked anew at the beautiful woman in front of him. Lana stared at him with the same doe eyes he had fallen in love with twenty years before. He looked from Lana to Zoe, whose eyes also seemed filled with an unsettled joy or curiosity, he couldn’t tell which. Something had changed in the young woman, he thought, something transforming. Suddenly, Zoe threw her arms around him and held on to him tightly. He wrapped his big arms around her and held her close, thinking she needed comfort after the trauma of worrying about her mom. Noah looked at Lana over Zoe’s shoulder, at first with confusion and then with a dawning sense he realized that something had changed.

  • • •

  Nothing was said as Zoe spent her first moments in her father’s arms. Lana pressed her hands to her face to control her fragile emotions and watched as Noah visibly began to make sense of Zoe’s action. When Zoe let go and drew back for a moment, Noah gazed at her lovely young face, studied her features, and then looked away into the clearing sky.

  “Is she…?” he said to Lana. “Are you…?” he said to Zoe. And then his eyes filled with joyful tears when both simultaneously cried out, “Yes!”

  With tears running down his face, he scooped them both into his arms and all three of them cried together. They all hugged and spoke at once, trying to explain everything that had happened.

  There were consequences for the secret and bitterness Lana had held inside her for so long, but the payoff for revealing the truth now made her a wealthy soul and she knew it. She watched as her daughter’s lifelong yearning to know her father was fulfilled right before her eyes. She reached out and again embraced Noah, releasing the pull from its place of power in her life, freeing her from its shackles.

  That embrace was the first of many happy moments for the Berkley family. They took a day trip in the Jeep around the glorious sights of Idaho near Crescent Falls, making new memories for the future. They made time to ask and answer every question they had not been able to discuss in twenty years. Lana invited Noah to join them on the book tour if he promised to show her England. He agreed, with one condition: she had to marry him back home, in Winchester Cathedral and Zoe had to be the maid of honor. With great joy, mother and daughter accepted!

  Before they left Crescent Falls, Lana and Noah attended the memorial service for Maria with Kate and Nick. Their dear friend had been the one to start the quest for wholeness and organize the reunion that led to their release from the crippling past. But she had died. The memorial for Maria was a fitting tribute to a courageous and empathetic woman, the last valedictorian of Crescent Falls High. Maria’s mother, though heartbroken, stood proudly surrounded by her friends in the community where she had raised her daughter. Everyone cheered when they heard the mayor announce that the school was to be bulldozed and cleared for a community park, to be named in honor of Maria Vasquez. In it, he said, would be a special basketball and skateboard area, dedicated to the memory of all the victims, including Christopher Haden.

  • • •

  Kate and Nick’s marriage changed for the better. Nick joined AA, stopped drinking forever and returned to work, sober, for the first time in several years. He and Kate moved to the city to make a new start, and were astonished and delighted to discover that Kate was pregnant—with twins! After years of trying, Kate ha
d given up, thinking that, with Nick’s emotional condition, it was probably best not to have a family anyway. But now, she was elated at the thought of being a mother. Later, Kate also went on to Idaho State and earned a degree in art history.

  • • •

  Bryan remained in the hospital during Maria’s funeral, but his classmates visited him to say goodbye. They heard later that he retired from the force on disability, but became a volunteer at Mount Carmel State Institution, playing board games and walking on the grounds with the patients.

  • • •

  After all that had occurred, the survivors lived on. They learned to embrace life like never before, regarding each moment as more precious than the one before. In the end, the remnant of the final class at Crescent Falls High found exactly what they were looking for. And David Ray’s actions had become merely a ricochet in time. The disturbing music that he devised was replaced by a new song—a reframed masterpiece, created by a maestro unmoved by the trigger finger of one of the lost ones. For His time signature is eternity and His wisdom far exceeds human understanding.

  Without ceasing, the Master’s song continues in a world both seen and unseen. His hand keeps the time, controls the tempo and moderates the improvisation of the players. As difficult as it is to accept, we all have less control and less time than we think we do.

  To the survivors at the reunion, twenty years seemed like a long time, but to the Great Composer, it was only a quarter note in the first frame, and He will chose when the song is over.

  THE END

  About the Author

  Jeff Bennington is the author of Killing the Giants, a political thriller, and the short story, The Rumblin’. He lives in Central Indiana with his wife, four children and two stray cats. He also teaches creative writing for a homeschool co-op.