Evil Agreement (9 page)

The face now appeared to be three dimensional. It was projecting
into the room itself. The face, now fully into the room, was still grinning at
her. She frantically tried to unlock the door. It wouldn’t unlock.

She turned to see that a hand was now extending out from the
mirror. It was reaching for her. She pulled on the door handle, desperately
trying to escape.

“Kelley.” The voice was deep.

She couldn’t bring herself to turn around. All of her energy
was fixed upon escaping.

“Kelley, I will have you,” said this deep voice from what
seemed to be inches from her. She gave the door handle a last desperate twist.
The door unlocked.

She flew from the bathroom with all the speed she could
manage. She closed the door behind her. She held the door handle tightly. Her
heart was pounding inside her heaving chest. She expected this monster to try
and follow her. At her feet she noticed the bathroom light had turned off. She
listened as best she could even though the pounding of her heart boomed in her
ears.

Silence.

***

Samuel enjoyed being in control. He was enjoying the sensual
experience Walter’s body was providing. He had no trouble restraining Walter’s
body from climaxing. He simply willed it so.

Judy had climaxed twice. She wanted Walter to climax now, so
the two could just relax together and enjoy the afterglow. Walter was not
slowing down—in fact he was picking up speed. Their lovemaking was beginning to
hurt.

“Walter, you animal. What’s gotten into you?”

No answer.

Walter’s face was twisted as he grimaced from the effort his
body was putting out.

“Walter, please, can’t we stop. It hurts. Please?”

At that moment Walter knells upright, as his arms shoot
straight up. He lets out a roar as if he were some sort of primeval animal. He
looks down at Judy.

Judy looks up at Walter. From the dim light of her nightlight,
she can see his eyes. The eyes are radiating red, like burning embers.

Kelley hears a sound coming from her brother’s room. It is a
moan. She steps back from the bathroom door and runs to her own room. She
quickly closes the door. Next she moves to her dresser and pushes it along the
wall until it blocks the door. Kelley goes over to the bedroom window and pulls
the drapes closed. She turns on the nightstand lamp and the overhead light. The
only sound she hears is the low rumble coming from the small air conditioner in
the lower half of her bedroom window. Kelley quickly removes her towels and
slips into a fresh pair of jeans and a short sleeve, light green blouse. She
puts on half socks and a pair of old sneakers. She removes a small hunting knife
and a flashlight from under her mattress. She sits on the bedroom floor in the
corner. She intends to try and stay awake through the night.

***

Walter’s eyes blink and in that instant Samuel releases his
grip on Walter. His eyes are now normal. They’re Walter’s eyes once again.

“Oh, Walter!”

Walter falls over onto his side. The waterbed’s rocking
motion recoils from his tumble. Walter’s heart is pounding inside his chest
with such force Walter is short of breath. For a moment he thinks he might be
well on the way to a heart attack. Judy rolls over one her side and begins to
stoke his chest with her right hand.

“Walter, do you know what I want to do now?”

***

Samuel’s mother and father have decided to head to bed for
the night. Steve and Connie silently climb the stairs to their upstairs
bedroom.

Steve Porter goes to the bedroom while his wife heads to the
bathroom. She opens the bathroom door and turns on the overhead light. She
immediately notices her daughter’s clothes heaped into a pile. After using the
toilet, she picks up her daughter’s clothes and tosses them into the hamper
under the sink. Connie turns off the light and heads to her own bedroom.

Samuel is fast asleep.

Elsewhere Kelley sits in the corner of her room with a knife
in one hand and a flashlight in the other. She is fighting going to sleep.

12

Aaron and
Korie
headed over to her
place after they finished the ice cream. They sat together on her couch,
reading from the Powell family diary.
    

“This is fascinating, Aaron,” said
Korie
.

“I know. I’m still in shock about all this.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, Aaron. You must have given it some thought by
now. If this is all true, then it stands to reason that this coven, or whatever
they are, will come after you.”

“I don’t know. Part of me wants to believe this stuff, but
part of me doesn’t. I guess the part that believes also feels that my mother
must have done a good job of shaking them off, because I don’t think I’ve ever
experienced anyone following me around. I’ve never even felt threatened by
anyone. Maybe they’ve given up or died off somehow.”

“You don’t believe that, do you?”

“I don’t know, honest,” he said as he raised his right hand
in a mock Boy Scout salute.

“But look at what the diary says. Your mother had to move
several times. She says that during the last five years she felt her phone was
tapped. Someone was reading her mail. Her house was broken into twice. She
writes about someone following her around during a holiday in Miami
that she took last year. Her words are filled with fear, Aaron.”

“Yeah, I can see it, but some of that could have been her
imagination too.”

“You’ve got to be on your guard.”

“I will, I promise.”

Korie
leans over to Aaron and gives
him a big hug.

Aaron whispers in her ear “but what about the land in Vermont?”

Korie
pushes him back.

“I don’t believe you,” she says with exasperation in her
voice.

“Look,
Korie
, what if I go to Vermont
and just check this property out? I need to know more about it if I’m to be
faithful to my ancestors, right? Several of them died on that land. Six
generations have been running from it ever since. I need...I don’t know how to
say it—I guess I want to see it, to feel it. I have to do this!”

Korie
rolls her eyes back. She
can’t believe this man. He’s so stubborn and maybe too naive for his own good.

“All right, go ahead and run yourself smack dab into trouble,
if that’s what you want.”

Korie
folded her arms in mock
protest.

“Don’t be angry with me. Listen, I was wondering if you’d go
with me. Sort of watch my back, you know, keep me out of trouble. What do you
say?”

“When were you planning this little adventure?”

“As soon as I could, tomorrow, the day after, whatever.”

“But what about my job?”

She was hooked.

“Look, I’ll pay you for whatever wages you lose by going with
me. I’ve got plenty of money. It’ll only be for a few days anyway. I’m sure
they can find someone to cover for you for a short while.”

“I don’t know, Aaron.”

He had to play his best card.

“I’ve got to go and soon, with or without you.”

Korie
had fallen in love with this
mysterious man. Common sense was about to be tossed out the proverbial window.

“Shit, I guess I’m going.”

Aaron was thrilled with her answer. He pulled her to him and
kissed her with a renewed passion. She too felt a new urge. She responded to
his advances with her own. She reached up with her two hands and held his head
in her hands. She ran her fingers through his hair. Gently she stroked his
ears, lightly tracing them with her fingers.
Korie’s
lips pressed against Aaron’s. Their breathing began to rise.

“Aaron, stay the night?”

“If you insist,” he said playfully.

She rose from the couch and took him by the hand and led him
to her bedroom.

That night they made love.

Later the next morning,
Korie
awoke
to the smell of fresh coffee.

Aaron had been up for the past couple of hours. Her mind
drifted back to last night. Their lovemaking was good, not great, just good.
They were both a little tense with each other. She began to drift off into a
dream recollection when a message flashed into her head, “
Vermont Trip
!”

“Shit!” she exclaimed as she tossed off the covers and pulled
a robe from of the bedpost. She hurried to the bathroom. Before stepping inside
the bathroom she spotted Aaron and gave him a friendly wave. He responded with
a smile that could melt any woman’s heart.

She didn’t want to look in the mirror. She had this thing
about mirrors and mornings. She used the toilet and then took a shower. Next
she brushed her teeth. She took a brush to her hair as she blow-dried her hair
only half way to dry. After this semi-morning ritual she dashed down to her
room to dress. She chose a comfortable pair of Gitano’s, a white tee shirt with
an outline of Cape Cod traced across the front. The
shirt’s message, read “Cape Cod, Where Summer Begins and
Ends.” She also put on white canvas dock shoes. She pulled a brush through her
hair once again. She also applied perfume to her wrists and a small dab behind
each ear. She decided not to wear any earrings.
 
 

Korie
now headed to the kitchen.
When she arrived in the kitchen, Aaron was on the telephone talking sternly to
someone.

“Yes, I understand you have a busy schedule. Look, I already
told you that I need to see him today. It can’t take too long to review the
matter of the land in Vermont.
How about if I agree to pay twice the firm’s hourly rate? Yes, I’ll hold.” He
held his hand over the
 
receiver, “I’m on
the phone with my mother’s law firm. The coffee’s in the carafe on the counter.
I sort of helped myself. Oh, and I’ve charged the call to my home phone.”

Korie
kissed him on the cheek.

“Yes. Hello, look, I was hoping … Oh, I see, she already
explained it to you. Uh huh...yes, Okay fine then,
three o’clock
it is. Thanks, I appreciate your squeezing
me in on short notice. Sure, all right. Thanks again, good-bye.”

Aaron hung up the phone.

“They’re willing to squeeze me in. How accommodating! Did you
hear? It took an offer to pay twice the hourly rate to get any attention. Well
anyway, it’s all set.”

“The coffee’s great,” said
Korie
.

“Uh,
Korie
, about last night, I was
a little nervous, I uh...”

She stopped him from continuing by placing her right index
finger to his lips. He kissed her finger.

“I’ll make breakfast. Omelet okay?”

“Sounds just right. Can I help?”

“No, just have a seat and read the newspaper or something,”
she said playfully.

Aaron left the kitchen and went to retrieve the morning
newspaper.

They were soon eating breakfast.

After breakfast, she called a co-worker of hers. They talked
for a while.
Korie
explained that she had a family
emergency and would need to be away for a couple of weeks.

“Could you take my hours?” she asked.

They talked some more and soon struck a deal. It appears that
her friend Liz owed her a big favor and would take her hours.

After breakfast, they headed to town and took a walk on the
beach. They held hands. Long periods passed without either one saying a word.
At lunchtime, they sampled some hot dogs and cold soft drinks from Buddy’s
Steamed Dogs push cart.

 
After lunch, they
climbed into Aaron’s car and headed to Boston
to meet with his mother’s lawyer about this mysterious property in Vermont.

Later that afternoon, they both were sitting in the same
office that Aaron had visited earlier that week. They sat alongside the same
long mahogany desk he had sat at during his previous visit. The lawyer was a
half an hour late for their meeting. After the customary exchange of
pleasantries, they got down to business.

“Mr. Powell, the property in Vermont
has been in your family’s possession for over a hundred and fifty years. The
arrangement that my firm had with your family for say, the past seventy years,
is that we are to transfer the deed to the property every couple of years to a
straw corporation that we create. The purpose is to make it as difficult as
possible for someone to trace the exact ownership of this piece of Vermont
property. We pay all the property taxes and handle all inquiries concerning
said property through this firm. We bill for our out of pocket expenses and we
are paid a retainer of three thousand dollars a year to represent the Powell
family.”

“Where exactly is this property and what’s it like?”

“It is located in Sutton, Vermont.
While I’ve never seen it myself, it would appear from the description in the
file that it is located in a rather inaccessible place on top of a mountain.
Here, see for yourself. I believe this is the file, ah yes, here it is.”

Aaron took the file from the attorney. He opened it on the
table in front of him.
Korie
and he quickly looked
through the few papers in the file folder.

“The description of the land on this appraisal card describes
it as a parcel of one hundred and ninety-two acres,” said Aaron.

“Yes, that is correct,” responded the lawyer.

“It also says there are three buildings—a large barn, a
smaller barn and a house.”

“Yes.”

“I wonder what condition the buildings are in?” asked Aaron.

“Probably really run down,” said
Korie
.

“Oh, I quite agree. The property has been unoccupied for over
a hundred years. However I believe there’s someone here at the firm who is
familiar with the area. Perhaps she could tell you what Sutton is like. Why
don’t I ask her to step in?”

“Sure,” said Aaron, “as long as we don’t mention this particular
property.”

“Of course.”

Using the conference room telephone intercom, the lawyer
buzzed the outer office. A young woman responded to his call.

“Miss
Houle
, doesn’t that new
paralegal who works for Edmund, come from Vermont?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Could you ask her to stop in for a moment?”

“Yes, I will.”

 
After a moment, there
was a soft knock at the conference room door.

“Come in.”

“I understand you asked for me?” said the tall slender woman.
She wore a dark black knee high skirt. She also wore comfortable flat black
patent leather shoes. Her blouse was of a conservative business style. It was
off white. She also wore a black business blazer that fit her perfectly. She
seemed nervous as she held her hands in front of her.

“I understand you’re from Vermont,
Ms. Shearer?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you familiar with Sutton?”

“Why yes, I am. I’m originally from Waterbury
which isn’t very far from Sutton.”

“It seems my clients are interested in some property in
Sutton.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll love it in Sutton. It’s a lovely place
nestled in a river valley and surrounded by several beautiful mountains.”

“Wonderful. Well, thank you for your time, Ms. Shearer.”

“Yes, thanks,” said Aaron as he extended his hand to her.

Instinctively she took his hand and shook it. Her hand felt
blazing hot to his touch. Her eyes locked onto his.

Aaron could feel the heat radiating from their touch. His
mind was suddenly slammed with two words.

“STAY AWAY.”

His eyes met hers and he could see a flash of fear in her
eyes.
Korie
watched the two shake hands, but her
attention was drawn to the look on their faces. It was a look that suggested
these two knew each other, or did they?

“Well, I’ve got to go,” said the woman as she turned and
quickly left the room.

Aaron turned to
Korie
. She hid her
reaction and feelings from him.

Aaron pulled a pen from his inside coat pocket and took a
page from the top of a small note pad the lawyer had placed near the middle of
the table. Aaron copied down the details of the property. He also wrote down
the property’s tax card number.

“I’m satisfied with the way you’re handling the property
issue. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Now look, I’ve been thinking
about all the other assets you described to me the other day. You know the need
to try and professionally manage them. I don’t think I’m a financial wizard,
but this is what I have in mind. You continue to manage my family’s affairs
exactly as you have before. However, I want you to place everything I own
outside of this Vermont property
into a living trust. I want you to hire the best asset managers you can. I want
to have my trust earn five percent net per year after taxes and expenses. Your
fee, if you’ll agree, can be for expenses and everything over the yearly
net—oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes, Mr. Powell.”

He clearly had the attorney’s attention.

“I want this done right now, while I’m here.”

“Now?”

“Do we have the makings of a deal, or do I have to shop
around for another firm?”

“No, indeed, Mr. Powell, there will be no need for that. Give
me a few moments to make some arrangements.”

This time, the lawyer pushed on a button which was recessed
into the top of the table in front of the lawyer.

A young woman pushed open the conference room door.

“Miss
Houle
, will you find Mr.
Hanauer
and ask him to join us. And Miss
Houle
, please come in as soon as you can.”

Moments later there were three other lawyers and a couple of
legal clerks as well as three secretaries seated around the oversized table.
Everyone had laptop computers. Questions and answers flew between everyone.
Dinner was ordered out for some. The choice was Chinese takeout. Aaron was as
animated as anyone as he responded to questions and tossed out a few of his
own. By
7:15 p.m.
that night,
everything Aaron had asked for was in place. Handshakes were exchanged all
around.
Korie
had even offered a few suggestions
along the way, but generally remained in the background. One of the lawyers,
had at one time during the session, referred to her as Mrs. Powell. Aaron
politely explained that she was not Mrs. Powell, but that she was a very close
and dear friend.