by Jeulia Hesse
“I’ll get you some of your own, dear. Time you got off your feet anyway,” said Mabel, leaving the group alone.
“Here, you can have mine.” Kevin shoved his piece in front of Christina.
She smiled. “What about the meat on your bones?”
“I’ll take the piece she brings back.” He smiled back, looking into her beautiful blue eyes.
“Who says I’d let you have it? That one is mine; whereas this was your special piece.”
“Does that mean you’re keeping them both?” Kevin chuckled out loud, elated with the exchange.
Shawn shook his head laughing. “Some things don’t change. I wonder how you keep your figure if you are still eating like that.”
Mabel delivered three plates of cake to the table. “Don’t take that boy’s cake, Crissy. Here’s yours.”
Kevin smirked at Christina, merriment in his eyes. She returned his smile, delighted with the additional cake. Her expression quickly changed to confusion as Mabel moved the large slice of cake away from her, replacing it with a much smaller modest piece.
“You have to be careful; you know issues with sugar can run in families. Your aunt had it all her life and controlled it real well. Not like the rest of us. I was on pills and had to go to the shots. Insulin! Don’t get old!” Mabel shook her head, but her eyes betrayed her merriment. “Ada was a good friend and helped me with that. Maude too. She just went on the shots last year. Such a shame what happened to Ada though. I guess you never know what’s gonna happen when you get up to our age.”
Christina’s appetite for cake seemed to be diminished by the topic of conversation. She picked at it with her fork, not taking a bite. The shadow from earlier was back on her face and her brow furrowed. “I thought she died from heart failure.”
Mabel patted her shoulder. “That’s right, dear. In the coma, her heart failed. But the coma was caused by sugar. The Sheriff was the one that found her on the floor. The poor thing. She’d been there all night.”
Christina looked over at Shawn. “Is that right, Shawn?”
Shawn swallowed a mouthful of cake and took a swill of coffee before answering. “You knew that, right? I found her that morning and called EMS. Beyond that, I really don’t know much more, ‘cept it was bad.”
“I know you were the one that found her, but did you know if it was caused by her diabetes?” Christina asked.
Shawn pulled his vibrating phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. “Well, duty calls, folks.” He rose wiping his mouth unceremoniously with his sleeve.
“Good to see you, Crissy. Safe travels back to the city,” Shawn said, exiting the parish center with long, purposeful strides.
“I never knew Ada to have too many ups and downs with her counts, but I guess you never know. Anyway dear, sit and enjoy your cake. We’ll start cleaning up in a bit,” Mabel said addressing the pair. Then she turned to Kevin. “Did you get a break from school?”
“Lunchbreak. I have to head back shortly,” Kevin replied.
Mabel left them alone at the table. The mood subdued as Christina picked at her cake.
“When do you have to go back?” he asked.
She looked up at him, her gaze melting his heart. He reached out to touch her hand, but pulled back at the last second, unsure of himself.
She noticed.
“In the morning.” She held his gaze; he could feel his face was warming. “I have to meet with Jeremy before I go.”
“I hear he’s been taking care of things. At the inn and all.” He cleared his throat. This was uncomfortable. He didn’t know where to go with the conversation and he needed to get back to work.
The shadow passed over her face again. She stood, gathering the plates from the table. “I should really...”
He stood as well. “Yeah, I need to get back.”
A forced smile came on her lips, but didn’t rise to her eyes. He knew he’d said something wrong. She must feel badly that Jeremy was taking care of things and not her. But Jeremy was an attorney, so it did make sense. She had always harbored guilt about her aunt and the inn. It was what broke them apart. Acid built in his gut, and not from the church lady luncheon food.
“Thank you for coming. It was good to see you,” she said.
He nodded to her and walked out to his car. He was glad to have seen her, but it seemed like any chance they had was still weighed down by her conscience. If only that terrible night hadn’t happened all those years ago...
Chapter 3
He clutched the steering wheel of the car, knuckles turning white. Bone deep hatred for them all was churning in his belly. He knew he had to go through the motions for the funeral and the other niceties. It was too much to bear. He had to get out of there.
Watching that little city slut parade around like a queen as everyone paid homage really made him burn. She needed to go the way of the others. He would see to that. He would get what he wanted.
It had worked in his favor for a while. Even though they didn’t get what they had wanted from the beginning. It was rightfully theirs! They were smart and he had figured out some better ways to get the money that they needed and deserved. It was so nice to have the ease of available cash. Life was pretty easy.
The old bat had suspected they were up to something. It was too easy to deal with her.
He was feeling pretty proud of himself. No one suspected a thing. Not one thing.
People were starting to trickle out of the parish center. He ducked down in his seat, not wanting to leave yet, but knowing that he really should.
Loads of old biddies came trailing out of the building. Done with their free lunches, now they needed to go home to sleep it off. They got nothing else to do. Damn lazy freeloaders.
It dawned on him that all of these people were here because of something he had done. All of them.
A feeling came over him. He recognized, welcomed and relished it. It poured into his veins and warmed his skin.
Power.
He had taken another human life.
Again.
He hadn’t been caught, not for this or for the last one.
He needed to keep it that way.
His hands shook as he gripped the steering wheel. A drink, he needed a drink. He craved the burn that would slip down his throat and the warmth spreading over his body. The thought aroused him. Maybe he would take advantage of that. There were a few women available, eager to be with him for the money he offered. He knew he helped to fund their drug habits, but didn’t much care, as it fed him in other ways.
He slipped his car out of the parking space and onto the main street and headed to the local bar.
Chapter 4
“Are you serious?” her friend Gina asked astonished, plopping herself down in the chair opposite her desk, “this isn’t some twisted late April fool joke, is it?”
Christina shook her head. “I wish it was some warped joke, but as far as I can tell, it’s real.”
She was still stunned at the revelation that Ada had left anything to her in her will, and was even more astonished that its contents included the Stone’s family home, which was currently set up as an inn. Ada had given her the entire business and everything she had left. Ada’s attorney, Jeremy Stone, had spoken to Christina at the parish center after the funeral service. He seemed in a rush, anxious to be sure that he caught her before she left for the city. The two of them arranged to meet with her in his offices the next day.
Christina had known Jeremy since she could remember. He was Annie’s cousin on her father’s side and was a few years older than them. The families were not close. Christina remembered him as a quiet, studious type, who was not part of her intimate group of friends. Though Christina hadn’t known much about or spent much time with him, he had done his best to ensure she was comfortable in his office. He was attentive and gracious, but his efforts made her feel awkward.
As she sat in his law office, she remembered that he had been questioned in Annie’s disap
pearance. Most of the boys in their group of friends had been queried as well. The police were adamant about leaving no stone unturned to find out what happened to the missing girl.
Nothing had ever turned up. It was if Annie had just disappeared off the face of the earth.
The details in Ada’s will were complex, containing information about the family home that had been converted to an inn in the 1940’s, after WWII. The inn had not been operational as a business for several of the past few years, though it was cared for by resident caretakers. There were additional details of the acreage, land use, stables, property abutments and historical society correspondence. Christina had been totally unprepared to absorb much of information presented.
The contents of Ada’s will was a complete and total surprise. Jeremy had understood her incredulous response. He had recommended that she take some time to absorb the whole idea of the inheritance, but said that she needed to return to see to legal details and the future of the property. He explained that there were matters that needed the new owner’s attention, including the inquiries of a real estate developer. His tone had made her feel there was an urgency to the situation and her anxiety began to rise.
Ada had made Jeremy’s firm the executor of her will and her power of attorney in Christina’s absence. In that role, Jeremy was also overseeing the continuance of the property and managing any issues, like paying of the bills. It was at that point in the conversation that Christina’s brain began to kick in. “Jeremy, Ada has been gone for months,” she said. “Why are you bringing this to me now, and not in February, right after she died?”
Jeremy stood up at her question, cleared his throat and came around the desk, taking her hand in his. “Because, Christina, a person cannot be officially declared deceased until they have been missing for over seven years. We needed to verify legally that the original heir that had claim to the property would not appear. Once we declared her dead, we moved forward to the contingent heirs to carry out the wishes of the deceased.”
It took Christina a moment to process this information. Her heart rhythm began to pick up, thumping loudly in her ears as Jeremy gazed into her eyes, imploring her to comprehend his words. When his meaning registered, she felt as if she had been physically struck. Her stomach plummeted, as if she was plunging down the highest hill of a roller coaster. Her silent nod to Jeremy indicated her acknowledgement of this stunning information. She was speechless.
Annie had been gone for over seven years last spring. She had just now been legally declared as dead. Christina was to inherit what was rightfully her dead cousin’s legacy. The pain and guilt that had pushed her to never return to this place came raging back as Jeremy held her hand and delivered this solemn news. It was an emotional gut punch. She had left Vermont to start her own life after Annie’s disappearance and to escape the constant grief and guilt. But the pain that had diminished with years and absence came roaring back.
Christina did not recall much about the remainder of the conversation, except that she promised to return soon to lay out the plan for the estate. She recalled bolting from the attorney’s offices, eager for a quick exit and hoping to leave all this information and pain behind her. It was too much to absorb all at once. She stopped quickly at the local hotel for an immediate check out and got on the road, desperate to be back in the city.
The few weeks after that meeting had been a blur of calls and emails from the attorney. Christina was bombarded with requests to coordinate the best time to be on site to take care of the details and to meet with an interested investor. Now, as she sat at her desk at work, across from her closest colleague, Gina, in the back offices of the hotel, she realized how surreal this inheritance was. “It’s true. But I wish it was and April Fool’s Day joke.”
“You are out of your mind!” Gina exclaimed, banging her hands on the arms of the chair for emphasis. “You have just inherited a house! More than that, it’s a historic inn in the country! It’s like winning the lottery for someone in our business – a ready-made dream come true!”
Christina sat back in her office chair and looked out over the view of the city. She had worked hard to get to where she was in the world and had put in the time to advance her career. She had done well and felt proud of her own accomplishments and aspired for more. “Well... not so fast. The inn is an old place, and it needs a lot of attention and upkeep. And, it will be difficult to manage the four-hour drive with my work schedule....”
“There you go again, Crissy – putting this place before everything else....” Gina scoffed, getting up from her chair and closing the office door for privacy. “Even after all that happened with the good ole boy club passing you over for the last promotion....”
Christina started to object, but Gina cut her off. “You know what I am talking about – the same thing happened to me two years ago. I am the best chef and you are the best Resort Manager this place has ever seen... but who is running the show, and who gets the promotions? Men... all of them! White, straight men to be exact!”
Christina started to speak and was interrupted by her phone intercom. “Ms. Wade, your two o’clock is here....”
“Thank you. I’ll be right out,” she replied, shutting off the intercom and turning to her friend. “All right.... I’ll be on my way to deliver some delicious meals for our patrons tonight.” Gina said, getting ready to leave. With her hand on the office door, she turned back to Christina. “When are you going to Vermont?”
“I leave Monday. I have two weeks’ vacation saved and it sounds like I am going to need at least that to get things squared away,” Christina replied. “I have to figure out what is what. And I also want to get a clearer story of what happened to my aunt to cause her death. It all sounds very sketchy. Was it heart failure or her diabetes? It won’t make a difference, but it feels like I really SHOULD know. The woman left me everything she owned in the world; I at least owe her that.” Especially after I failed her at the end, she added in her head.
Gina looked at her. “I could use a few days away. You want company? I am especially useful in these situations.”
Christina looked a little more closely at Gina. She looked tired, with defined circles under her eyes. Something was off with her friend, she noted. Gina quickly covered the bruise on her arm, pulling the sleeve of her blouse lower. Then she covered the area with her hand for good measure. The women looked at one another; the unspoken communication was clear to them.
Gina opened the office door to leave. “I’ll pick you up around seven o’clock Monday morning,” she replied to her friend.
Crissy responded with a silent cheerless smile and nod. As she watched Gina make her way down the hallway toward the kitchens, she felt worried for her. Obviously, Gina’s ex-husband had made an appearance again. Christina had known that there was a chance they would cross paths at some point, since they both worked in the same profession.
Gina’s ex was a famous French chef with a cable show in the US. They had started filming a series of his shows in the city earlier this week and he must have sought her out. Thankfully, his career kept him mostly in the California region when they were not traveling for the show. But nonetheless, Christina knew that no restraining order would keep the famous Jacques Moran away from Gina. He was above the mere common people. And after what happened the last time, Gina was reluctant to press charges.
Christina walked down the hallway to retrieve her appointment, trying to shake off the feelings of stress and worry for her friend’s situation with domestic violence. She would be glad to have Gina with her, because if Gina was away, she’d be hard to find. Selfishly, Christina also thought Gina could be a distraction for her. Up in Vermont, Gina would be the only one who knew nothing of her past and the incident that cost her friend her life.
Chapter 5
Christina pulled the rental car off the main road in Wardsboro and onto a picturesque dirt road. Gina stirred in the passenger side as the car turned the corner and bumped from pavement to dirt
, but she didn’t fully wake. Christina chuckled to herself. The few miles up the mountain between here and the inn would take them over a narrow road with high embankments and through thick woods with few views. Then they’d finally arrive at the base of the inn’s long driveway. There, the trees opened and showcased the beauty and views of the inn. She found she was looking forward to seeing the property where she had spent so many happy times, until it stopped being happy altogether.
It had been several years since she had seen the inn. Remembering Ada’s challenges with the upkeep of the historic property, Christina had tried to prepare herself for the reality that the building may not be in good shape. Even though Jeremy had assured her that the inn was being cared for, Christina was prepared for a dilapidated structure in need of much TLC. She couldn’t imagine that in her ailing health and mind, Ada would have been capable of managing the upkeep. Just as well, she sighed to herself. More of a reason to plan to sell it and put this place back into the past permanently.
As she drove the meandering road up the mountain, she glanced at her dozing friend. As she turned the final curve in the mountain road, Christina nudged her. “Hey sleepy head! You are missing the best part.”
Gina woke, frowning and stretching out her cramped limbs. “You didn’t say how long a drive this would be...” She paused and gaped past Christina, “Wow! Look at that view!”
Christina turned to look where Gina was pointing. She’d seen this view a million times, but it surprised her to see its beauty with fresh eyes. She gaped at the sight, taking her eyes off the road in front of her. It was truly stunning. The tree line opened at the field below, framing the view of the valley and the neighboring mountains. It was beautiful.
A car horn got her attention. Startled, she swerved to the right side of the road to avoid the on-coming car. The narrow road barely allowed the passage of two cars, but their slow speed on the dirt road spared them much risk from an accident. Nonetheless, Christina gripped the wheel tightly as her tires crunched the gravel, careful to avoid skidding on the loose stone. The oncoming car pulled alongside them, and Christina stopped the car. It was a Sheriff’s vehicle! Damning her eagerness to show off the local sites to Gina, she sighed. It was just her luck that she’d start her trip off with a ticket.
