Marshall Porter answered the pounding on the front door. He squinted his eyes in response to the bright sunlight that hit him squarely in the face.
“What the…” That was all that came out of his mouth. His eyes widened at the sight of his next door neighbor. She was standing on his front porch looking disheveled, with her robe hanging open, and in her bare feet. And holding a dead, bloody chicken by its feet up in the air between them.
“What the fuck is this?!” she blurted out.
“Um, it looks like a dead chicken,” Marshall answered calmly. “The more important question is why are you standing there with it on my front porch?”
“You scared the crap out of my 5 year old. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Marshall, what is going…” Eliza stopped mid-sentence as she took in the scene of Marshall talking to the neighbor who was standing on their porch holding a bloody chicken high in the air.
“You really don’t want me as an enemy,” she told him slowly. She wanted to make sure that he understood how serious she was.
“Why is she here with that thing Marshall?” Eliza asked her husband, without acknowledging the neighbor.
Marshall did not respond. He just stood there watching the woman with the dead chicken.
Lindsey dropped the chicken in a heap on their front porch. Slowly and deliberately she told Marshall, “I’ve had enough of this harassment. I’m calling the sheriff. Maybe he can get through to that warped brain of yours.”
She walked away, leaving the chicken where she had dropped it. Marshall slammed the door in response.
Two hours later Sheriff Rex Roberts arrived to have a talk about the complaint he received. Mary stopped mid-stride when she saw him. She had been walking through the lobby just as he entered the Inn. She did a quick about-face, hoping he wouldn’t notice her. He did.
“Miss Carmichael, stop right there.” The sheriff had a deep, commanding voice, causing her to halt in her tracks, almost involuntarily.
Mary turned around slowly. “Oh hi, Sheriff. What can I do for you?” She threw out the most innocent voice she could.
“Which one are you?” he asked her.
“Which one what?”
“Which twin. I’d like to know exactly who I am speaking to,” he replied.
For an instant Mary considered throwing out her sister’s name, but decided against it. That would just be stupid, she thought. “Mary.”
“Okay Mary. Please go get your parents. And your two cohorts.”
Three minutes later, everyone had been assembled and they all sat down at the far corner table out on the cafe deck. It was slow for the time being, and they had privacy there.
The three teens did their best to not look at each other. They knew that they would never be able to hide their guilt if they did. In fact, none of them made eye contact with anyone.
“So…what did they do?” Roxanne asked Rex point blank. She looked over at each of the girls, who refused to look directly at her.
Rex turned to the teens. “Do you want to tell your parents what you did?”
Frankie and Piper both replied “No,” and Mary shrugged her shoulders.
“I see. Well,” he turned back to Tim and Roxanne, “I got a call this morning that your girls broke into the medical records office at the hospital.”
“What?!” Roxanne turned their way. “Is this true?”
“Are we under arrest?” Frankie asked the sheriff.
“Not yet.”
“Then we don’t have to say anything,” she retorted.
“Look, young lady, don’t get smart with me. I’m here as a courtesy to the Carmichaels. I have known them for years and wanted to give you all a chance to explain yourselves.” He glared at Frankie. “Just so you know, there are cameras all over the hospital. I have seen the tapes and I know you were there. What I don’t know is why.”
Rex looked to each of the girls for an explanation. No one was talking. Rex was a patient man. He could wait them out.
“Answer him!” Roxanne yelled. She was not the patient type. “What were you doing there?”
Tim had a blinding headache and just sat in the corner quietly. He knew Roxanne could handle the situation.
Mary started speaking first, her voice shaking. “We just wanted to…” She never got a chance to finish her sentence when Frankie interrupted her.
“We were lost and went into the wrong room. That’s all,” Frankie blurted out.
“Is that right?” Rex didn’t look convinced at all.
“Yeah, we went with Piper to pick up her paycheck. We got turned around. All those hallways and rooms look alike. That’s all.” Frankie sat back in her seat and folded her arms in front of her, satisfied that he would buy her explanation.
Rex looked over at the twins, who had said nothing at all to corroborate Frankie’s story.
Then to Piper, “Do you always use your master keycard to go pick up your paycheck?”
Oh no. Piper had no idea how to answer that question. Clearly, he already knew the answer.
Frankie held up her palm toward Piper, to keep her from responding.
“We told you that we had the wrong room,” Frankie answered. “It was just a stupid accident. You didn’t see us leave with anything, did you? So why else would we be there? When we realized our mistake, we left. That’s all there is to the story.”
Rex thought for a moment. “Okay, sounds like a plausible explanation,” he told her. “So, if you just accidentally walked into the wrong room, then why did it take you seven minutes and 38 seconds to realize it?”
Dead silence. You know that saying about how you can cut the tension with a knife? Yeah, it was like that.
“Girls. Someone needs to answer him,” Roxanne frowned.
Mary, who had been conspicuously quiet during the questioning, spoke up first. “We were just there talking for a few minutes. I was upset because a boy I like was rude to me. They were trying to make me feel better. We didn’t realize we were in there that long. We’re really sorry. It’s my fault.”
Frankie smiled ever so slightly at Mary’s story. She liked it. It was a plausible story. Teenage girls always had boy problems that they needed to discuss. If Mary had thrown in something more about it being that time of the month, the mighty sheriff would have run screaming from the Inn. Frankie laughed out loud without meaning to.
All eyes turned toward her.
“Do you have something you would like to add?” Rex did not look amused.
“No, I’m sorry.” Frankie held up her palms, as if in protest. “Something stupid just popped into my head. It won’t happen again.”
“Mmm hmm,” was his only response.
The sheriff stood up and everyone at the table followed suit, except Tim. He wanted to wait until they were finished, so someone could help him up.
“I’m going to talk to the hospital administrator about this. She is the one that reported it. I’ll let her know about our conversation and she can decide if they want to press charges. If they do, I’ll be back.”
As soon as Rex was out of earshot, Roxanne began speaking.
“So that’s what you were up to when you left with the car so early in the morning?”
“Yes,” Piper answered.
“Mmm hmm,” was all she said with narrowed eyes.
Somehow that was worse, and the girls expected trouble was coming their way.
Sheriff Rex Roberts had one more stop to make that day, before he headed home. It had been a trying day and he was looking forward to it being over.
“Hello Marshall. Eliza.” The sheriff was greeted by both of the Porters at the door.
“Sheriff,” Marshall replied. Eliza just nodded his way.
“That woman next door is crazy,” Marshall blurted out before Rex even had a chance to tell him why he was there.
“So you know what this is about, I see.”
“Yes. She told me she was going to call you when she came over here scream
ing at me about her kid…for no reason, I might add.” Marshall walked out onto the front porch and looked over toward Lindsey’s house. He saw a curtain drop closed, causing his fists to clench unconsciously.
“I heard there was a dead chicken involved. Where is it now?” Rex asked him.
“What are you talking about?” Marshall furrowed his brows for emphasis.
“Is it going to be like that now?” Rex asked. He wasn’t buying Marshall’s innocent act.
“Like what? I don’t know anything about any chicken.”
Rex looked around and noticed the remnants of water that was almost completely dried up around the edges of the patio. The water hose was neatly wrapped on the reel hanging on the wall nearby.
“Someone been hosing down the porch this morning?” Rex looked Marshall straight in the eyes as he spoke.
“Yeah…it was dirty from the storm we had the other day. Dirt everywhere. Is that a crime now?”
Eliza stood and took in the scene. She didn’t say a word as Rex looked up at her.
“Don’t get smart with me, young man.” Rex was not in the mood. He wondered why anyone thought it was a good idea to get snappy with him. Everyone seemed to be doing it that day.
“Sorry.” Marshall looked down at his feet.
“Look, son. Can you just leave the neighbor lady alone? You all have to live next to each other and you ought to try getting along. And leave her kids alone too. Keep your eyes on your side of the fence. Can you do that?” The words were easy going, but Rex delivered them in a way that sounded more like an order than a request. He had a way of doing that.
“Yes sir. I’ll do what I can.”
“Have a nice day now.” Rex walked away without another word. He hated dealing with neighbor issues more than anything. It made him feel like a glorified babysitter.
Chapter 16
One afternoon Marshall called Eliza into the living room to talk. Their previous conversation about the caller, and about the fact that she had cheated on him, was weighing on his mind. He had made the decision to forgive her for her indiscretion. He certainly wasn’t happy about it, but he wasn’t perfect either. The two of them needed to work it out. After all they had been through, he felt that they really had no choice. He felt that splitting up was not an option.
“We need to get back to figuring out what to do about that asshole that’s been calling you. We can’t just ignore him anymore. He’s not gonna let this go,” he told her.
As if right on cue, the phone rang. Eliza reached for it.
“Hello?”
“You gonna talk to me about your secret?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please don’t do this,” she begged.
Marshall grabbed the phone out of her hand, his nostrils flaring. He had just about enough out of the guy.
“We have money for you. Will that work to get you off our backs?” he said into the phone. Eliza looked at him in disbelief. “Why don’t you come on over to our house and pick it up.” He tried his best to sound calm, not wanting to scare off the caller.
“What are you doing?” Eliza whispered to him.
His eyes got big and he gave her the ‘shut up’ look. She got the idea.
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” the caller replied back, his voice still muffled.
“No, of course not. But, that is the only way you are getting the money. We just want to get this over with. You can come get it, then go and we’ll never talk again. Take it or leave it. Do you know where we live?”
“You know, I never asked for any money,” the caller added.
“Yeah, I know. But that’s what it all comes down to, doesn’t it? There’s no other reason for you to call and harass us. It’s always about money. We have it, so just come get it.”
Marshall sounded to Eliza like he was taunting the man. She didn’t like it. Not one bit. She knew her husband, and the whole thing made her visibly shake as she sat on the couch watching the exchange. Well, Marshall’s side of it at least.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Marshall looked over at his wife, giving her a one sided smile, and a small nod of his head. He knew he was getting to the caller.
“You still there?” Marshall asked him.
“Yeah, I’m still here. I know where you live.” With that, the line went dead.
“Marshall, are you out of your mind?” Eliza asked him as he put the phone back down on the table. “Why would you invite someone dangerous to our house?”
“We’ll find out, won’t we?”
Eliza just stared at him incredulously. She didn’t even know how to respond. He was putting their lives in danger and she was afraid.
“Besides, he already knows where we live. If he wanted to hurt us he could do it without us inviting him over.”
“Well, good point. But, it still sounds like a really bad idea to me,” Eliza replied.
“Look, he’s gonna come over. I think he is anyway. He didn’t actually say so. Either way, I want you to get the baby and go over and visit one of your friends for a while. I don’t want you two here when he shows up.”
“No freaking way. I’m not leaving you alone with a killer.” Eliza stood up and folded her arms in front of her.
“He’s not a killer. Don’t be so dramatic. He is just someone looking to get a payday. And, he thinks he found that with us.” With a tilt of his head and a smirk, Marshall was quite smug all of a sudden.
“What does that mean? What are you going to do?” Eliza was suddenly afraid for the bad guy, not Marshall. He had a mean streak and she knew it.
“Don’t worry, Honey. I’m not going to lay a hand on him. I’m just going to have a talk with him and explain how my father has money, but we don’t, and we have no way of getting that money. Then I will do a little threatening of my own. That should take care of him.”
“And if it doesn’t?” she asked.
“Don’t worry, it will. I can be very persuasive.”
The smile on his face made Eliza cringe. She loved him dearly, but knew what he was capable of. Because it would be much safer for Zachary to not be there, she agreed to leave the house with him for a little while.
“All right, I’ll go. But please promise me you won’t do anything that will land you in jail. It’s not worth it.”
Eliza gave him a questioning look and Marshall just shrugged his shoulders in response. She knew that was all she was going to get out of him.
“Let me feed him, then we’ll leave.”
An hour later, Eliza and Zachary left. She was certainly frightened for Marshall, but was more worried about the baby. She didn’t want him anywhere near the house when that man showed up. She wondered if it would be the last time she would see her husband alive.
Marshall paced the living room for nearly an hour after his wife and son left. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of the clock. The hour hand trudged forward as though swimming through thick syrup.
His mind racing and his heart thumping, he wondered if the carpet would reveal a worn down path from the kitchen to the window before the night was through. Marshall brushed his dark, shoulder length hair out of his eyes as he thought about his next move. He had no plan. Not really. Obviously having no money was going to be a problem. He was positive that’s what the caller wanted, though he had never actually asked for any.
Did the caller really know Zachary’s secret? Marshall wondered. How bad would it be if it got out? Bad. Really bad. Neither of the Porters would be able to face their friends and family if it did. He needed to make sure that didn’t happen.
While deep in thought, the doorbell finally rang, causing Marshall to stiffen his posture in response.
He looked toward the closed door, then calmly walked over to the fireplace and picked up the poker. “It’s go-time now,” he said out loud. He held the metal rod down at his side as he answered the front door.
No reaction showed on Marshall’s face when he saw who was standing in front
of him.
“Hi Marshall. How are you tonight?” The tone was light and friendly.
“Do you want to come in?” Marshall stepped aside and opened the door wider to allow his visitor to enter. He closed the door softly behind him.
“Is Eliza here? I would like to talk to both of you.”
“No, she took the baby out. She won’t be back for a while,” Marshall said through clenched teeth.
“Oh, that’s too bad. Little Zachary is who I was hoping to see. I was just on my way home from work, I don’t live far from here, and I thought I would stop by to check on him. I hope you don’t mind?” Nathan asked him.
“You just stopped by to check on Zach? Really?” Marshall replied.
“Well yeah. I wanted to see if his ear infection had cleared up.” Nathan looked at Marshall with uncertainty. He didn’t understand Marshall’s reaction to him stopping by.
Marshall moved just a bit, causing the fireplace poker to clank against the coffee table. Nathan looked down in response to the sound and saw what Marshall was holding in his hand. He looked back up at Marshall and could see pure hatred in his eyes. Nathan was perplexed. He didn’t understand Marshall’s reaction to him stopping by unannounced.
Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Nathan involuntarily broke out in a cold sweat. Without thinking, he wiped his clammy hands on his blue scrubs.
“Um, you know, this looks like a bad time. Maybe I’ll just call Eliza later.” Nathan did his best to sound calm on the outside. But on the inside, his heart was thumping hard in his chest, and his voice was trying desperately to crack and fail him.
Nathan turned and reached for the front doorknob. His hand never made contact with it.
Chapter 17
“Hello?”
“Hey Baby. It’s me. See, I’m perfectly fine. You need to come home now.” Eliza could tell that Marshall was making an effort to make his voice sound light and easy going over the phone.
Thorns on Wildflower Island Page 11
