“
Ar-Arthur, is that
you?”
She had nightmares for months after she
found her parents murdered. The dreams never started the same.
Sometimes she was walking alone in the dark, or she was home alone
in her bed sleeping, when someone would attack her and try to kill
her. Those images raced through her mind. Backing away slowly, she
knew it was too good to be true. There was no way she was sleeping.
With every step backwards she took, the dark figure took one
towards her. When the silent shape reached the doorway of the
dining room, its hand reached out. A scream caught in Veronica’s
throat as the light popped on. There standing in the dining room
threshold was Arthur. Relief washed over Veronica. Her hand lifted
to hold her chest, as to contain her pounding heart.
“
Arthur, you scared me.”
Her voice shook—her whole body was shaking. She needed to sit
down.
“
Didn’t you hear me
knocking on the door? Why in the world are you sitting in the
dark?” Her knees felt like jello as she tried to walk. There was a
chance she might not make it to a chair, so she chose to lean
against the wall. Letting the wall support her, she needed to close
her eyes for a second.
“
Where have you been,
Veronica? Your workday ended hours ago.”
His words slurred and Veronica’s eyes popped
open.
“
Arthur, have you been
drinking?”
In response, Arthur launched himself from
the doorway, crossing the space between them in two steps. His hand
jerked Veronica’s face upward, forcing her to look into his
bloodshot eyes.
“
I asked you where you’ve
been, girl. Who have you been with?” he spat, and then smelled her
clothes and the air around her, as if he was trying to pick up on
something his eyes were missing. His grasp became tighter, and
Veronica could only think about getting away. Her hands thrashed
about, swatting to free herself from his clutch, yet Veronica was
unable to break the hold.
“
What the hell has gotten
into you, Arthur? Why are you drunk?” With a last ditch effort to
break the hold, Veronica dug her nails into Arthur’s arms. He
yelped and let go, giving Veronica a chance to move away from his
hands. She made it a point not to back herself against another
wall. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but I told you
before, you will not put your hands on me again.” She glared at
Arthur, challenging him to respond. “The computers crashed at work,
and I lost track of time while trying to put the system back in
order. Why didn’t you call or come pick me up, if you were so
worried about where I was?”
Arthur’s lips pull back into a sneer and he
took a step closer to Veronica.
“
Lies! Lies! Lies! That’s
all you do is tell lies,” he howled.
Veronica jump from his harsh tone. “Lies?
What lies? I haven’t lied to you about anything.”
“
Bullshit, Veronica. When
did you think it would have been a good time to tell me about the
little love affair you had with Darwood? Is that where you were? I
saw you two today, all cozy standing in the bakery. Is that where
you go to meet him? Have you two been sleeping together this whole
time? I trusted you and this is what you do?”
Veronica had hoped Arthur wouldn’t have
found out through someone else about her and Blake’s past. She
should have said something before it got to this point, but she
just didn’t know how.
“
I’m sorry you had to find
out about what happened between Blake and me years ago through
someone else. But Arthur, that was long before I met you. Long
before we fell in love.”
“
Love! Don’t you even think
about using that word, you filthy whore.”
Again, Arthur shot forward.
He moved faster than Veronica anticipated, and slapped her hard
enough to bring her to her knees. She whimpered, and lifted her
hand to her cheek. The force of the slap made her bite the inside
of her cheek.
How could he do this?
There was no point in talking to Arthur, not with
such a deranged glint in his eyes. Getting to her feet, Veronica
started to move towards the stairs.
“
Arthur, it’s time for you
to leave. You need to go take a walk or something to sober up. I
have nothing else to say to you. Tomorrow, once you calm down, and
you would like to talk, then—”
Veronica stopped at the foot of the stairs
and glared at him, still holding her cheek. “—And I mean talk about
everything, like our future together—then we can talk. I will not
talk to you like this. Not with you calling me names, and putting
your hands on me.”
As she started to climb the stairs, Arthur
spoke.
“
I always gave you your
privacy about that scar. But now it all makes sense. You’ve done
nothing but lie and keep secrets. You dragged me to this
hole-in-the-wall town so you could what, reconnect with Him?” Tears
ached to be free from Veronica’s eyes. She shook her head and
continued to walk up the stairs. “Answer me, Veronica!”
“
I told you, I’m done
talking to you! Goodnight!” She hated that she was shouting.
How have things gone so wrong?
She wished it all to stop. She wanted the kind,
sweet Arthur, she knew before they moved to Surpatch back, and she
hoped her past with Blake would fade into an old memory. Her legs
trembled with every stair she took. Arthur stirred behind her, but
she refused to look back.
“
Don’t you walk away from
me!” he bellowed. “I’m talking to you!” His voice was closer than
she expected. Veronica felt a sharp twinge on the back of her neck
as Arthur grabbed her by the hair, propelling her backwards. She
reached for the railing on the stairs, and tried to keep herself
upright. It was a useless attempt. Veronica tumbled down the
stairs, and a familiar pain zipped through her arm as she landed on
it. She let out a scream just before her head hit the stairs, and
everything went black.
S
ettling in after a long day, Blake was happy his parents’
anniversary dinner went well. He was also excited to be home. He
pulled Lindsay closer to him, and yanked a blanket from the back of
the sofa to place over them. She giggled and snuggled further into
his arms. Blake turned off the lamp sitting on the end-table and
hit play on the movie they were going to watch for the evening.
Besides the baby shower for Jessa the following afternoon, Blake
and Lindsay planned on spending the whole weekend together. The
movie had barely started when Blake’s cell phone buzzed. He was
positive he made it clear to everyone he didn’t want to be
disturbed over the weekend. It wasn’t often he and Lindsay spent so
much time together. Ignoring his cell phone, he tried to focus on
the movie. That didn’t last long. Once his cell phone finished
ringing, it went off again. This time letting him know there was a
voice mail. Not a minute after that, his house phone began to ring.
He sighed. It had to be important for someone to be calling both of
his phones. Blake paused the movie and removed the
cover.
“
I think I better get it.
Someone must apparently want to talk to me.”
A weak smile formed on
Lindsay’s lips, but as she slid out of the way, she gave him a
quick peck on the cheek. The phone was on the third ring by the
time Blake looked at the caller Id. Ulfred Miller and his cell
phone number flashed on the screen. Blake kicked himself.
Yeah, only Miller would call me back to back and
it is probably for nothing.
He rolled his
eyes and he headed back to the sofa. The phone had just hit the
fourth ring, and would be going to voicemail. Whatever Miller
wanted wasn’t important, it could wait.
Blake hadn’t made it to the
sofa before the house phone rang again.
Okay, maybe it is important.
Miller
may be annoying at times, but for him to call a third time, he must
need something. Snatching the phone off the hook, Blake put his
back to the TV and sofa where Lindsay sat waiting.
“
This better be vital, like
the town is burning down or something.”
As he spoke, background noises whizzed
through the earpiece. Blake wondered where Miller was, it didn’t
sound like Gilligan’s.
“
B, it’s Veronica.”
Miller’s voice came out at a rather high clip, like he was rushing
to get the information all out. “I found her-”
Blake wasn’t sure where this was going, but
when he walked out of the bakery earlier, he told himself that he
and Veronica had their own lives to live now, and what her fiancé
and she did was not his concern.
“
Miller, look, save it.
Whatever you have to say is not my concern anymore.”
He tried to keep his voice low, but he heard
Lindsay shift in her seat. He wondered if she caught onto what they
were talking about.
“
Blake, she’s in the
hospital. We think that bastard threw her down the
stairs.”
Blake’s blood ran cold. He
was speechless for a moment. Closing his eyes, he had to try to
stay focused and composed.
What has
Veronica gotten herself into?
“
Is she all
right?”
“
The neighbors called us
after they heard fighting, and then a loud scream. Once they saw
Stentson running to his car, and driving away like a mad-man, they
knew something was wrong. When I got to the house, I found her
unconscious on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. So far the
doctor says she has a concussion and a broken arm, but they’re
running more tests.”
Blake clenched and unclenched his fist
taking deep breaths to stay calm.
“
Where is he
now?”
“
We’re not sure. I have
Martin and Lloyd out combing the town. Blake, I only called you
because she doesn’t have anyone else. If you like, I can see if
maybe Hayley can come down. I would stay, but I want to find this
bastard.”
“
No, that won’t be
necessary. I’m on my way. Will you wait until I get there before
you leave?”
“
Sure. I’ll see you
soon.”
Blake spun and found Lindsay giving him a
worried look.
“
Is everything
okay?”
Should I tell her the
truth?
Not thinking that would go over
well, Blake
moved to the sofa and sat next
to her.
“
Yes, everything is fine,
but I need to step out for a little. I’m not sure how long I’ll be.
I know this was supposed to be our weekend, but is it okay if I
call you tomorrow afternoon once you’re done with the baby
shower?”
Lindsay’s face fell with a look of
disappointment, but nodded and began to stand.
“
Are you sure everything is
all right? You sounded really upset with whoever you were talking
to.”
Blake knew he should be honest and tell her
that the call was about Veronica, yet he didn’t want to get her all
worked up over nothing. Once he went and checked on Veronica and
saw it wasn’t as bad as Miller made it out to be, he would come
home and look forward to spending the remainder of the weekend with
Lindsay.
“
I just need to go check on
something, that’s all. I promise, I’ll call tomorrow and we can
figure out how to spend the rest of the weekend.”
Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek.
Miller was waiting for him, and he wanted to get there as quick as
possible.
Chapter 7
The drive to the hospital seemed to take
forever. Unlike most things in Surpatch, the hospital wasn’t
located on Main Street. Placed closer to the outskirts of the town,
it left plenty of room for growth as the town grew. Parking the
car, Blake got out and jogged to the building. The temperature
dropped since he left his parents house, and he hadn’t noticed
until he was in his car that he left his jacket in the house. Not
wanting to waste more time, he drove off without it. He stepped
into the warm building and walked to the nurse’s station. The older
lady sitting behind the desk immediately straightened in her seat
when she saw him coming.
“
What can I do for you
tonight, Mayor Darwood?”
Blake had seen her around town plenty of
times, but couldn’t think of her name. He was too focused on
finding Veronica and Miller to look at her name tag.
“
Yes. Um, I’m looking for a
patient that was brought in by Officer Miller.”
She didn’t need to look at her paperwork to
give him the answer he needed. He could see the moment it dawned on
her who Veronica was, and why he was there.
“
Oh, yes, of course.”
Standing, she pointed to the door behind her. “Go through this
door, and make a left, you’ll find her in the first room in that
hallway.”
Blake thanked the receptionist and walked
through the door.
He didn’t have to walk far before he ran
into Miller.
“
Hey, man,” Blake
said.
Miller looked tired. Blake wasn’t sure if
he’d ever seen Miller so disheveled.
“
Hey, she’s in there. The
doctor should be finished putting the cast on.” Miller grunted and
shook his head. “She’s a mess, B. You can see the places where he
hit her face, and the doctor said she has other bruises that didn’t
come from the fall. They look a few days older. I tried to talk to
her. You know to see what happened, but she won’t tell me anything.
I’m not sure if she is going to press charges. There’s nothing I
can do once we find this creep if she won’t talk.”