The Lodge at Whispering Pines

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

Because then… whether Gina likes it or not, we’ll know the truth.

  ~*~

  “Hi Mom, I was just about to call you,” I said.

  I motioned to Miles and he nodded, then I stepped aside so that I could talk to Mom, and Miles and Xander could continue discussing our future fitness center without interfering with each other’s conversations. Doreen sat on the floor focused on her iPhone. Probably texting someone, she laughed now and then.

  “Hi honey, how is everything?” she asked.

  “Great, how’s Grandma?”

  “She’s doing really well, she’s amazing really. Aunt Louise and Uncle Tim are planning to stay, and your Dad and I are thinking of heading back tomorrow.”

  “Oh.”

  “Is everything alright?” Mom asked, instantly worried.

  “No, I just… will kind of miss Doreen, that’s all.”

  Doreen’s head shot up, her eyebrows knit in concern.

  “They’re coming back?”

  “Yeah, maybe tomorrow,” I said.

  Doreen sprawled on the floor and lay still. She was fortunate to be indoors, and not where we used to live before Dad lost his job. She’d have vultures circling her.

  “Well good,” said Mom with satisfaction. “That’s wonderful. You girls haven’t had a lot of time to spend together in—years, really.”

  “Yeah. So you’re coming back tomorrow, huh? When?”

  “If we leave about mid-morning, then we’ll get in around seven o’ clock.”

  “Fine. We’ll make sure she gets to school Tuesday morning, then.”

  “Well—honey, we can come pick her up on our way back to our house.”

  “What, are you coming by air? Because that’s the only way that sentence would make sense. And no way, she’d get to bed crazy late. She’s got school the next day, you know.”

  Mom laughed. A lot.

  “What do you consider a reasonable bedtime?”

  “Well a lot earlier than she’ll get to bed if you come pick her up and then take her home, and get settled in…”

  “What time did you make her go to bed Thursday night?”

  Mom was still laughing.

  “I didn’t. She stayed up all night eating ice cream, and skipped school.”

  Mom laughed even harder.

  I was feeling… I don’t know what I was feeling, I should probably stop talking when I feel this way.

  “You know the Miles whose name I cleared? When I proved him innocent, it freed him. He miraculously came back to life and I married him, not his great-great nephew.”

  Mom was laughing so hard, I was afraid she might throw up.

  I found I could no longer speak. I looked at Miles. He, Xander, and Doreen were all looking at me like I’d lost it. Maybe I had. I frowned.

  “Honey… what on earth are you doing?” asked Miles, quickly crossing the floor to feel my forehead. I rolled my eyes, but he still wouldn’t let me talk.

  Mom was still laughing.

  I glared and made an unzipping motion across my lips. Miles reached for my phone and pressed the mute button, then held it to his ear.

  “Well, she’s… laughing, anyway,” said Miles, taking some small consolation in what he could, since his wife had clearly lost her mind. He did allow me to speak again, now that he had the phone.

  “I hate lying to my parents, and I knew she wouldn’t believe me, and I just—needed to tell her the truth,” I said, pleading for him to understand.

  “Man, whatever Jenny ever does… I’m just gonna remember this and be grateful,” said Xander.

  I ignored that.

  Miles held the phone out to Doreen.

  “Why don’t you talk to your Mom for a little while,” he said. “Whenever she stops laughing.”

  Doreen took the phone, and prepared to wait.

  Miles hugged me. He probably had no idea what else to do with me.

  “Honey, I get it. I hated deceiving Grandma Polly, you remember that. And our friends. It just about killed me. I get it, I do. Is it out of your system, now? Do you feel better? I’d really prefer that you’d at least give me a heads-up if you decide to do this again, sometime.”

  I nodded.

  “Yeah. I feel better. You don’t need to lock me up.”

  “You know,” Doreen said, listening to the phone for a second, then holding it away from her ear again. “From now on if Mom says anything, remind her what the truth is. If she mentions the coma, say ‘no Mom, remember? Miles was never in a coma, he was waiting at the estate for me to prove him innocent and free him.’ It’s a funny joke to her, now. She’s never going to believe it no matter what, and you don’t have a reason not to tell the truth anymore.”

  “See, that’s why I did it,” I said, pointing at her.

  “Okay,” Miles said. He pressed his lips to my forehead. Probably checking for a temperature again, under the guise of kissing me.

  “Yeah, hi Mom,” said Doreen. “Yeah, it’s been awesome. Can I just stay here? I’ve got my own room and everything. Well when can I come back? Yeah, yeah, fine…”

  She held out the phone.

  “She wants to talk to Miles.”

  Miles took the phone from her, a faint crease between his eyes as he wondered… why.

  “Hi Mom,” he said. Then he made a face, bit his lip, took a deep breath and let it out. Letting go of me so he could press his hand to his forehead, he said, “Yes, the Lodge’s restaurant does serve alcohol, but no, Anika has not been drinking.”

  Doreen and Xander both fled the room, taking their laughter with them. I had an appalled look on my face, because—I was appalled!

  “Anika doesn’t drink, she’s just… got a great sense of humor. It was one of the things that made me fall in love with her.” Miles laughed, as he put his arm around me again. “Yes, well, the fact that she cleared my name and freed me, didn’t hurt.”

  Miles talked to my mother a few minutes more, then they said goodbye. He handed me my phone, and I put it back in my pocket.

  “Just… warn me first before you enlighten anyone else, okay?”

  “I will. I promise,” I said. “Thank you for being so understanding, and not being upset with me.”

  “With your truth ability, you probably felt compelled to set the record straight with your Mom,” Miles said.

  “Yeah. But I was scared too, and… I realized this week that Mom has a tendency to laugh off anything she finds unbelievable.”

  “Your sister’s right that we don’t have to fear saying something about my past, or how we met, and then have to cover for it. So in a nearly-give-your-husband-a-heart attack kind of way, your plan was brilliant.”

  “Brilliant rather than fever induced, huh?” I asked, and Miles laughed, then kissed my forehead again. I raised an eyebrow. “Not quite ready to announce a verdict, I see.”

  Miles laughed again.

  “You’re brilliant.”

  “Good answer, Mr. Bannerman,” I smiled.

  “…and beautiful, talented, funny, smart, did I mention beautiful? Sweet, loving, loyal, faithful, my best friend…”

  “Even better,” I said. Miles kissed me, then we went in search of Doreen and Xander.

  I had no idea where they went, but wherever they were… I had no doubt they were still laughing!

  We found them at the end of the hall, wiping away tears. When they saw us, they looked ready to gear up for more laughter.

  “Better not,” I gave them a narrow-eyed look and pointed.

  Doreen pretended to zip her lip.

  “Yeah, ‘cause we know how well that works!” I said, and she laughed. But not at me, anyway. Not exactly.

  We finished our inspection of the fitness center. The windows were a big improvement, the ones framing the mountains, in particular. The windows looking out onto the hall wouldn’t offer much of a view to anyone working out, but anyone walking by would recognize the room immediately for what it was.

  Jenny had the evening off, and she and X
ander were going out. So we said goodbye, and returned to our suite.

  We entered very quietly and all looked in Violet’s direction. Her luminous blue eyes looked back.

  “Your mom isn’t reading to you anymore?” asked Doreen.

  “No, her voice got tired. It’s harder to read than to talk, you know. I don’t know why, but it is. She talked a lot too, but she and Dad are both quiet now.”

  “They’ll be very glad to have you back again when you wake up,” I decided to point out.

  “Yeah, so do you know who killed me yet?”

  “We know that no one succeeded in killing you,” reminded Miles.

  “Oh, yeah, right,” said Violet with a wave of her hand. “But do you know who tried and didn’t succeed? I’d really like to wake up, but I’ve got to know.”

  “I’m sure it’s no surprise, but we know who it wasn’t. Spence is innocent and has no idea who did this to you,” I said.

  “Your dad said he’d call Spence today,” said Doreen. “Maybe he’ll be able to visit you.”

  “Really?” Violet’s eyes lit up. Since they were already luminous, that was quite an accomplishment. She had a faraway look, but not like before.

  “I’d really like that… I feel like I haven’t seen Spence in forever.”

  “It’s been a little over two months,” I said. “That’s a long time to go without seeing the guy you love.”

  “Please figure out who did this,” she said, her voice pleading.

  “Are you unable to go back unless you know?” I questioned.

  “Yeah, it’s like… if I don’t figure it out, something bad will happen.” She frowned, thinking. “Something will.”

  “Okay,” Miles said, his eyes concerned. “We’ll get this figured out for you.”

  “Yeah, you can count on us,” said Doreen.

  Violet nodded, then suddenly she smiled, and her face was filled with excitement.

  “I hear Spence!”

  She didn’t have to ask, we took ourselves to the family room as quietly as we could.

  We watched a movie.

  We ordered room service for dinner, which Miles picked up out in the hall so as not to disturb Violet’s visit with Spence. It didn’t surprise me that Spence stayed with her for several hours. I knew just how much he loved her, and had missed her.

  So we ate dinner in the family room.

  We took the dogs for a walk.

  We settled down for another movie.

  And Spence called.

  Doreen and I waited with wide eyes and bated breath as Miles listened. Then he said goodbye, and turned to us.

  “If you’re not ready, get that way. We’ve got a meeting to get to!”

  Doreen and I scrambled out the door for boots and coats, Miles right behind us.

  “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!” said my sister as we hopped into the elevator. “I was just sure this would happen tomorrow when I’m at school!”

  “Well… I can’t say I like the thought of you being near someone who may have tried to commit murder,” I said, putting my arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze. “But… you’ve come this far, we might as well finish this together.”

  Doreen smiled and looked pleased.

  I leaned against Miles, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.

  I needed to prepare for this interview. I needed to tamp down the justifiable anger I had toward Gina for trying to get between Miles and me, and for giving out personal information that almost got us both killed.

  I needed to be calm, and think clearly in order to ask the necessary questions and get the answers we needed to wrap this up. I couldn’t do that if I was seeing red.

  By the time Miles parked in front of the all-night diner where Gina waited inside…

  I was ready.

  Chapter 23

  The restaurant was dimly lit, which wasn’t ideal when it came to using my ability to see darkness.

  But that was fine. All I needed was for her to lie. Or tell the truth, that would work just as well. Either way, we’d know exactly what the truth was.

  Doreen, then me, then Miles, slid down the long bench of the booth where Gina sat, and faced her.

  She stared at us, her dark eyes wide and her face paling a bit.

  Then her color came back in force, and she glared.

  “That seat is taken. I’m meeting my date here.”

  I got straight to the point.

  “Spence Daniels’ girlfriend, Violet O’Neill, is in a coma. Do you have any idea what led to, and resulted in her injuries?”

  She blinked.

  “Did you try to kill Violet?” Doreen demanded.

  Gina gave Doreen an appraising look. Doreen gave her a look of scorn as only an eleven and a half year old girl can.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said sullenly.

  “How did Violet end up in a coma?” I asked. “I want to know exactly what happened the night of the party.”

  “I don’t know, I have no idea what you’re talking about!” she spat out.

  That’s not the truth. She knows.

  And now so do I.

  “I’m waiting for my date, and I don’t have to talk to you!” Gina added.

  “So who’s your date?” I asked.

  Gina gave me a baleful look.

  Doreen gave Gina a look of disgust.

  “It’s Spence, the guy you’ve wrongfully accused of attempted murder. Or have you forgotten you did that to him?”

  It took Gina a second to respond. I’m sure she was wondering who at the police station ratted her out.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gina snapped, turning away.

  That is so not the truth.

  “Don’t I?” asked Doreen.

  I ceased trying to curb the girl’s tongue long ago. Well, a day or two ago. It felt like much longer. I had all the info we needed, but was curious to know what my sister would say next. I was about to find out.

  “Here’s what I know. Instead of investing in real relationships, you invent imaginary ones and convince yourself they’re real. You decide a guy that’s with someone else and has never given you the time of day, likes you back. He just hides it really well, really well, but deep down—like really deep—he actually loves you and would rather be with you, than the girl he has a past and wants a future with. So what if he’s with her, asked her out on dates, he’s her boyfriend, he may have even given her a ring and asked her to marry him… but he really loves you, the girl he never even speaks to unless you use your father to manipulate him so that he has no choice.”

  Gina stared at her, speechless. Doreen’s words hit their mark, I didn’t need my truth ability to know that. For just a moment, Gina saw her behavior for what it was, and felt shame.

  Then the moment passed.

  “I don’t have to listen to this,” Gina muttered, then a strange look came over her face when she discovered it was impossible to get out of her seat.

  Doreen wasn’t finished.

  “When you finally accepted that Spence wanted nothing to do with you, then maybe you tried to kill Violet. I don’t know—yet. But you did go to the police and lie. You claim you saw him assault her. It’s not enough the girl he loves is still in a coma. You’ve got to try and ruin the rest of his life, because you can’t control him into liking you.”

  “If you want any hope of leniency, then go to the detective and tell him the truth,” I said grimly. “All of it. If you don’t… expect no more compassion than you gave Violet, that night.”

  Gina’s eyes opened wide at that, then she struggled to free herself from the invisible restraints that kept her in her seat.

  “Don’t bother,” I said. “We’re on our way out.”

  “We’re good here?” Miles asked me.

  “Yeah. We’re good. She told me everything I need to know.”

  Miles slid out of the booth, then Doreen and I followed.

  Doreen had on
e last thing to say as we walked away.

  “What you do is messed up, Gina. You need help. Counseling, medication, something. You need Jesus!”

  Gina was shaking, she was so—fearful? Angry? Probably a mixture of both.

  We left the diner in as dignified a fashion as when we came in, but once outside, Miles hugged me and swung me around.

  “You amaze me,” is all he said.

  I laughed, and Miles set me down and gave Doreen a high-five.

  “You too,” he said.

  “You made her see herself, and she didn’t like what she saw. She became defensive immediately after, but… you planted some seeds. Maybe it’ll make a difference.”

  “So did she do it?” asked Doreen, as we walked to our SUV, and Miles opened the doors for us. “Did she try to kill Violet?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to examine the truth, only a brief glimpse of it. I’ll do that when we get back to our suite. Then I’ll tell you exactly what happened.”

  “You girls handled everything fine on your own tonight,” said Miles, once we were all inside and on our way back to the Lodge. “You didn’t even need me.”

  “Yeah, we did,” I said honestly, squeezing his hand. “There was darkness involved, so I totally needed you beside me for that. I’ll need you when I take out this truth I gained, and examine it. You’re doing a very nice job chauffeuring us, and you did keep Gina from leaving.”

  “Oops,” said Miles, wincing.

  “You can release her from here, right?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I just did.”

  Doreen laughed.

  “So can you release the ice cream too?” she asked, and Miles and I both laughed.

  “Yes, Doreen. After Anika tells us what happened and we get Violet put back together… then we’ll celebrate with ice cream.”

  “And a warm fire,” I said, shivering a little in spite of the hot air flowing through the vents and into the vehicle.

  “That too,” said Miles, kissing the back of my hand.

  “But no matter what, we’ve got to get to bed on time and get you to school in the morning,” I said to Doreen.

  There was groaning from the backseat.

  “What do you consider to be ‘on time?’” asked Miles.

  I looked at the clock on the dash, and groaned.

  “Well—you have to go to school tomorrow! Mom’s going to catch on, if you skip any more.”