Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) (24 page)

Callie backed away from the open
grave. Tremors seized her body. She couldn’t allow Trish to do this. She turned,
intent on running. White hot pain exploded in the back of her head. Her knees
buckled and she plunged towards the ground. Hard hands pushed at her. She
tumbled backwards into the box awaiting her below.

The impact knocked her senseless. She
opened her mouth to scream, but couldn’t draw air into her lungs. The world
spun around her. She tried to lift her hands to her head, but they felt heavy
and laden. The blurred outline of Trish’s form stood over her. Panic clutched
at her heart. Jason’s face filled her mind. She wished she’d told him how she
felt instead of wasting time being afraid of his reaction. Now she’d never get
the chance. It was her last thought before everything went black.

Jason swerved into the layby and
screeched to a halt beside Max’s car. He beeped his horn, impatient at the
delay. Why the hell hadn’t Max kept an eye out for him? They were wasting
precious time. Jason gritted his teeth. Max struggled out of his car, a
cigarette clasped between his fingers. Jason wondered if the guy had been a
snail in another life.

He tapped his hand against the
steering wheel and willed Max to move faster. His heart pounded in his chest
and adrenaline pumped through his body, screaming at him to take action. He
held himself in his seat, while everything in him wanted to grab Max by the
scruff of his neck and stuff the man into the van by force.

Jason beeped his horn and waved an
impatient hand at Max. The man grimaced and threw a scowl in Jason’s direction.
He slung his half smoked cigarette butt on the ground and squashed it with his
toe before he finally strode towards the van. He opened the passenger door and
climbed into the seat, huffing loudly and grumbling under his breath.

“How far to the nature reserve?”
Jason threw at him before Max could even settle in his seat. “Where do I turn
off on this road?”

“Why are you persisting with this
nonsense?” Max bit out. “I have no desire to ever see that place again. It
brings back too many painful memories.”

“Didn’t you hear what I told you over
the phone?” Jason pulled out onto the road, the back of the van skidding
slightly as he went. He couldn’t just sit there and argue with the man. Too
much time had already passed. “Callie is in trouble.”

“What makes you think that?” Max
scoffed. “She’s perfectly safe now that your mad ex is dead.”

“Not so. I have it on good authority
that she’s in danger,” Jason replied evasively.

“Who’s authority?” Max pressed, his
tone condescending.

Jason sighed. He was reluctant to
disclose the truth to Max. He knew how nuts it sounded. He hadn’t really
believed Callie until he’d seen Sophie for himself. Even after what he’d
witnessed, he still barely believed it. He now knew how Callie had felt and how
hard it must have been for her to tell him about it. He wished he’d been more
understanding and supportive.

Max shifted in his seat to face
Jason. “I refuse to give you directions until you tell me where this nonsense
has come from.”

“Fine, but I doubt you’ll believe
me.” Jason gritted his teeth. “Sophie told me.”

Max choked. “What kind of cruel stunt
are you pulling? Stop this van at once! I will not stand for this.”

“It’s not a stunt or a joke. Sophie
came to me. As a matter of fact, Callie has been seeing her since she decided
to come and meet Sandra.” Jason drew in a deep breath. “I didn’t believe Callie
when she told me about her experiences, but I wish I had.”

Max remained silent for several
moments. “What did Callie tell you she’d experienced?”

Jason filled him in on as much as he
could remember. He could feel Max trembling beside him as he spoke. He only
hoped Max would believe him.

“Callie was sure that Sophie was
warning her about something.” He concluded. “We thought it was Lucinda, but now
I don’t think so. Sophie told me Callie is in danger, something about a bad
lady that had come back. She said the woman would hurt Callie.” Jason flicked a
glance at Max. The man had turned chalk white.

“It can’t be true. What you’re
suggesting is that someone killed Sophie and is now after Callie?” Max’s voice
sounded strained.

“I’m suggesting nothing. It’s what
Sophie told me.” Jason kept his voice hard. “Now direct me, damn it. If
anything happens to Callie because of your dithering, I’ll make you very
sorry!”

Max shook himself and stared at the
road. “You’ll need to turn soon. Keep an eye out for a water tower. Turn left
just before it.”

Jason kept scanning the area for the
water tower Max mentioned. “Callie and I suspected that there was some kind of
secret in the family. Trish mentioned that Sandra had pretended that Callie was
dead at birth. Do you know why that was?”

Max sighed. “Sandra was paranoid
after Sophie’s death. She was sure foul play was involved. Sophie could swim
and there was no indication that she’d hit her head. The theory that she’d been
tangled up in weeds under the surface didn’t sit right with Sandra. She decided
to lie about Callie and send her away where she was sure she’d be safe.”

Max hesitated briefly before he
continued, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s the reason Sandra never
contacted Callie. She was convinced Callie would be in danger if she did. I
never believed it, but I abided by Sandra’s wishes.”

“Why didn’t you or Sandra simply
explain all of this to Callie? Come to think of it, why did anyone want to hurt
Sophie in the first place? None of this makes sense.” Jason flipped on his
indicator as his eyes locked onto the water tower ahead. He turned down a small
dirt track, his tires screeching in protest at the tight bend he navigated at
speed.

Max grabbed hold of the handhold
above the window, holding his body rigid. He remained silent. Jason flicked his
gaze at the older man as they bumped along the road. What wasn’t Max telling
him? They drove for several minutes before they spied a car parked in a layby.
Max’s complexion turned a nasty ash grey.

“No! Oh, God, I can’t believe it.” He
plastered his face to the window and stared out. “She knows!”

Jason slammed on the break, skidding
to a standstill in the road. “Who knows what?”

Max rocked backwards and forwards in
his seat. He stared at the car parked just beyond the van, his eyes wide and
glassy. “Trish. She must have found out. All this time and she never said
anything.” His voice broke. “I never had a clue.”

Jason threw the door of the van open
and climbed out. He ran round to the passenger side and hauled Max out of the
vehicle. He was tired of being fobbed off. He slapped the older man across the
cheek to bring him out of his trancelike state. Max jerked and blinked several
times.

“We’re wasting time. Talk while you
take me to where Sophie died.” Jason pushed Max ahead of him. “What did Trish
find out?”

Max wrung his hands, misery etched deep
lines into his face. “About me and Sandra.”

The words were spoken so quietly,
Jason was sure he’d heard wrong. “Excuse me?”

Max cleared his throat. “Trish knows
that Callie is my daughter. Sophie was too.”

Jason’s stomach twisted and his jaw
dropped. “No!” He stared at Max in horror. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Don’t judge me, Jason,” Max snapped.
“It’s true what they say. You can’t help who you fall in love with.”

“She’s your sister, you sick bastard.
You should want to protect her, not sleep with her.”

Revulsion filled his being. He could
never imagine feeling anything but the brotherly love he held for Fay. Sandra
had been nothing but a child herself when she’d given birth to Sophie. Fourteen,
Trish had said. A whole year younger than Fay. Max ought to have protected his
sister from creeps that wanted to take advantage of her, not been the creep
that got her pregnant himself.

“Whatever you think of me, Callie is
my child. She was created with love.” Max sounded like some kind of pious
preacher. It made Jason sick.

“Stop talking! I can’t stomach any
more of this rubbish you’re spewing. You have no idea what love is.” Jason
slashed his hand through the air. “Just take me to where Callie is. That’s all
I care about right now.”

Jason followed Max until they burst
out onto the small lake Trish had mentioned. He licked his dry lips and ignored
the sick twisting of his guts. It was hard to tell if Callie’s imminent danger
or Max’s story churned his insides worse. Had Trish told Callie the truth? He
couldn’t bear to think how she must feel. He wished he could have been there to
comfort her when the whole sordid, ugly truth had been told to her.

Jason cocked his head to one side.
The sound of loud banging echoed through the clearing. Jason surged forward,
listening hard. He recognised the sound of a hammer striking in nails. Panic
gripped him. Callie!

“It’s coming from that direction.”
Max pointed into the trees.

“Wait here. I don’t want Trish seeing
you in case it drives her over the edge. Let me assess the situation first.”
Jason ordered over his shoulder as he ran into the trees.

He pumped his arms and legs, his
breath coming hard and fast. He hadn’t gone far when he spied Trish. She was
standing in a large hole, several long, galvanised nails clasped between her
lips. She glanced up at his sudden appearance, her expression wild. She spat
out the nails and leapt out of the hole.

“Oh God, what have you done!” Jason
staggered forward a few steps before he crashed to his knees.

He wrapped his arms around his body. Jason
thought his heart would stop and part of him wished it would. Pain seared
through him, rendering him incapable of movement. He was too late! His
beautiful Callie was gone, lost to him forever. The bright plans he’d started
making for their future, crushed with one deadly blow.

He roared out his agony, rage and
grief filled his entire being. Surging to his feet, he started towards Trish.
His hands flexed and in that moment he wanted nothing more than to wrap his
fingers around her neck. She’d stolen his Callie from him and nothing would
ever be the same again.

“Stay back.” Trish lunged at
something on the ground and came up with a gun in her hand. She levelled it at
Jason, her hands shaking. “Don’t interfere. I have to do this. Please, you
don’t understand. I can’t let Callie live. It’s too much for me. I just can’t
take it.”

Jason stopped short, her words
penetrating his fury. He frowned. She talked as if Callie were still alive. His
heart leapt in his chest and his gaze flew to the wooden box at the bottom of
the hole. The sound of dull thumps reached his ears.

“Callie?” His eyes shot to Trish.
“You were going to bury her alive?”

Relief and horror washed through him
in the same instant. He hadn’t lost Callie yet, but he still had to find a way
to get her out of that box before she suffocated. He sucked in a breath and
tried to calm his erratic heartbeat. He had to think clearly. He couldn’t risk
Callie’s life by acting rashly.

“I couldn’t live with the memories a
second time. It was so hard with Sophie. I couldn’t sleep for weeks. This is
the best way.” Trish shook her head, tears pouring down her face. “I had to do
it. You have no idea how hard this has been for me. He forced me into this with
his lies. You don’t know what he put me through.” 

Jason held his hands out to the side.
“I do, Trish.” He spoke softly, stepping slowly forward. “What Max has done is
terrible, but you don’t have to do this. He is a sick bastard. You can’t let
him turn you into a monster because of his depravity.”

“You know?” she choked out. Her eyes
bugged out of her head and her mouth hung open. “How the hell do you know?”

“Because I told him.” Max stepped out
of the trees, moving slowly towards his wife. Jason grimaced. Why the hell
couldn’t the man have left it to him? If his interference cost Callie her life,
Jason would kill him.

A sob burst out of Trish’s throat.
“What are you doing here? You were never supposed to find out that I knew.
Everything has gone wrong.” She dragged her nails down her cheek, leaving long
red lines in their wake.

“Why, Trish? Why did you never tell
me you’d found out?” Max stared at his wife, his eyes filled with unshed tears.

“How could I? Our family life would
have been over. I couldn’t pretend everything was normal and fine if you knew.”
She clutched at her hair. “And then there was Mitch. I couldn’t risk him
finding out. I wanted to shield him from the truth more than anything.”

“Well, it’s all out in the open now.
There is no going back.” Max held his hand out. “Give me the gun. It’s over,
Trish. Killing Callie won’t change anything.”

“Is it over? Are you and Sandra
over?” she shrieked, waving the gun at him. “Tell me, do you still love her?
Did you ever love me? I deserve to know.”

Max hesitated. Sorrow filled his
expression. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Trish closed her eyes briefly. “I
knew. I always knew you didn’t really want me.”

“I do love you, Trish. Just not in
the same way.” Max was almost on top of her.

Trish’s eyes snapped open. “Get
back.” She waved the gun at him and staggered several paces backwards. Max
stopped short. “You never cease to hurt me. How can you stand there and tell me
that you love me the way you should love Sandra? You’ve dragged me to the brink
of hell. Don’t you care what you’ve done to me?”

“I’m sorry, Trish. I truly am.”

“Sorry isn’t enough.” She gazed
around her with a dazed countenance.

Jason slipped slowly forward. He
could still hear the dull bangs emitting from the wooden box. He couldn’t bear
to think how Callie must be panicking shut up in that tiny space.
Hold on,
my love. I’m coming. Just as soon as I can. Hold on
. He sent the thoughts
to her like a mantra, praying she would feel his message and stay strong.