Luke's Quest 01 - Prisoner Of Time (v5.0), page 17
“I’m no shaman. Keep it away. I am not your shaman! Ta… Ta Tis… Tish Ta…”
I woke to find Lisa trying to calm me with a wet cloth.
“That was some nightmare you inspired!” I told her. “I was on this mound and …”
I saw the look in her face and knew the truth without asking, yet I did. “You were there weren’t you?”
She nodded. “Someday… Maybe someday I can take you there as well. You will love it.”
“TiLi wants to marry you doesn’t he?”
“He offered once as a way for me to get away from my husband and work. But I don’t love him, only you.”
I needed to change the subject quickly. "Willie and I were talking about the 4th of July," I told her. "We always go to Heber Springs for a weekend on the lake. Can you join us?"
"I’m not sure," she said apprehensively. "Besides, you will not be able to go to the lake."
"Why not?" I demanded rather indignantly.
"You have fresh scars, even if the stitches are out by then. The concussion will keep you out of the sun for a few weeks, also. So get ready for a restful 4th of July."
I tried hard imitate her fake pout look. She saw it and giggled. "You look more like the Frankenstein monster pouting with all those stitches. Besides, I can find a way to keep you inside and in bed for the weekend."
I was certain she could find a way to keep me in bed, even if it meant the bondage she had mentioned earlier. I had learned from our short time together that Lisa knows how to get her way.
Monday while Lisa was getting some rest at a nearby motel, the doctor walked into my room and closed the door. He asked Willie to leave. "We need to talk, Lucas," he started.
Doc Haynes had been my family's doctor all of my life. He had been with my mother when she died. He was a friend as well as our medical practitioner.
"I almost lost you, and I wasn’t ready for that. You are too young to die."
"And too mean," I said, trying to get the man to smile.
"I’m serious," he said. "You were more dead than alive when you reached the emergency room. If Willie had been just two or three minutes later, you would have died in Blissville. You did die in the emergency room here, and we revived you."
No one had told me this part of the story.
"Now, Willie and Steve explained to me that the police need me to say you fell down the stairs, but I know what happened. Whoever tried to kill you left you for dead. The person was a skilled boxer or fighter of some sort. From the examination of your hands and fingers, I know you didn’t fight back, which may be what saved your life. This man would have killed you with no problem. Struggling would have made it worse. I haven’t seen those kinds of marks since Vietnam. And a few Marines we had there. He paused before continuing. "He intentionally went for your heart and, in doing so, broke your ribs. I think you must have rolled or moved just as he hit you. Otherwise, he would have crushed your heart. He did damage it very seriously, though. We need to do more tests, but you need to recover first from the beating. You may still die from this encounter."
"Doc," I asked, "does anyone else know about the results?"
"No," he replied. "I know you have no family left, so I didn’t know whom to tell."
"Please," I said taking his hand, "tell no one else."
He looked at me and nodded. "That was what your mother said when I gave her the long face about the cancer."
Three days later, the doctor released me from the hospital. Willie drove me home. We were nearing Rob Fulton's property when I suggested we stop to see Rob. Willie agreed. Both of us had visited Rob many times over the years. It was just not something we did very frequently.
When we got to Rob Fulton's land, we would always stop at his farmhouse. He was never at the house, but we knocked on the door first. It was the proper thing to do. No one ever answered the door, as Rob has been single all his life and lives alone. Then we would walk toward the barns to find him. Of course, Rob knew by then that we were there, since he always has two or three dogs that bark as soon as a car or truck pulls into the driveway.
Rob still has one milk cow, which he milks twice a day, and a few chickens. He has another barn that is a workshop for his tinkering and inventing. It’s always off limits to all visitors. He would say they were too dangerous, but I had heard they just contained big piles of trash and old magazines.
Rob walked toward us in his slow, meandering way. By the time he reached us in the middle of the yard, he had taken out his pipe and his can of Prince Albert tobacco and began to fill the pipe. We knew it was a lost cause to talk about anything until he finished.
"Hi, boys," he said finally. He studied my face over very carefully. "That must have been some fall you took," he remarked. "If I didn't know better I’d suspect you got worked over pretty good."
"Just a fall," I told him with a smile. He nodded. "I was wondering about that box," I said. "Now that I had my fall, I expect things to be quiet again for awhile."
"I thought the same thing when I heard the news," he said. "Funny thing about falls, people tend to leave you alone afterwards." He grinned.
We walked into one of his pastures. There was an old 1934 pick-up truck slowly rusting into oblivion. The tires were flat. The windows were rolled up. The cab was still watertight. There on the floorboard was a trash bag. I opened the truck door and removed the bag. Then we walked back toward the house.
"I’m glad you thought to put it in a bag," I told Rob.
"I wasn't sure what was inside," he said, "but I thought it must be important for you to want it hidden out here. When I heard about your 'fall,' I understood why you had me sneak it out here. Really smart move on your part."
"Rob, someday I may be able to tell you all about it," I told him.
Willie looked at Rob. "He still hasn't trusted me enough to tell me the full story, though. I thought he had until we stopped here. Then I remembered that letter he asked me to give to you about the family photos. That must have been when you snuck everything out of the bank and your house."
Rob laughed a bit at first. "I was sure surprised when you gave me that letter asking me to bring the photos to him. Then when I picked up the box the next day at Darlene's Diner it was heavier. He just nodded to me, but when I got the box to my truck, I found the second note asking me to hide everything out here. I knew he must be in trouble, but I trust Luke will tell me when the time is right."
I smiled at Willie. "You never know who is listening at my house anymore," was all that I said. The day they burglarized my house, I hadn’t said anything to Willie, but had typed out a letter instructing him to ask Rob to bring a box of photos for me to scan for the library as a history project. When I gave Rob back the photos, the time-travel device, the journal and the computer disks were inside the box. I had written him a letter asking him to hide it at his farm until it was safe for me to retrieve them. Everyone had seen him give me the box in public and they saw me return it to him at the Diner, so no one was suspicious, not even Willie.
“By the way Willie,” Rob asked turning to face him, “did you ever find out who broke out your truck window?”
“What?” I asked, “I heard nothing about this.”
“One night while I was at the hospital someone broke into my truck,” he explained. “No big deal. They just stole my digital camera.”
“Too bad,” Rob replied. "Well, I’ll see you boys at the diner sometime and you can buy me a meal for all this hard work." He walked back toward the barns. I trusted Rob. I knew he hadn’t looked into the box at all, other than to remove his photos from the top of it.
"OK, Willie," I said as we got back into his truck. “Now who is keeping secrets from whom? I don’t believe that story for a minute.”
“You’re right,” he said, “but I was just going to wait until later to tell you. You needed your rest.”
“So what really happened?”
“Lisa and I walked down to her car. She needed to get a change of clothes and a shower at the motel. While we were standing next to my truck she started crying again. I took her into my arms to try to comfort her. A shot rang out, and my windshield exploded. At the time I didn’t know who or why they did it, although I now suspect you have given me the reasons. I got her back inside the hospital. I went back to the truck but found nothing missing. I took my tire tool and broke it out so it looked like a burglary. I got it fixed, and nothing else has happened. There is no doubt it was connected to you.”
“So who is in over his head now?” I asked.
“Maybe if I had known the full story earlier, I could have been ready!”
"When we get to the house, you will get the full story," I relented.
Willie looked me over. "You’re kidding, right?"
"No," I told him, "I’m deadly serious."
"Please, don't say 'dead.'"
Once at the house we double-checked everything. Other than needing to reload the basic software onto the computer and clean the office, I found everything else was just fine. Willie and Darlene had cleaned up my bloodstains and the things that had broken during the attack.
"Steve took the beer bottle," Willie told me, "but he doesn't hold out a lot of hope for prints."
"If we get more clues, great," I said.
I set the box on the dining room table and opened the trash bag. Willie recognized the box as the one Rob had brought to Darlene's Diner not so long ago loaded with photographs. I carefully opened the box and removed the journal. I handed it to Willie and told him to read it thoroughly. Then I showed him the census pages and other information I had found. "Now do you believe me?" I asked once he had finished looking at everything.
"I understand why you acted the way you did," he said.
I reached back into the box and removed the device. "Here it is," I said. I hit the power button. He read the table of contents.
"OK," he said in a low voice, "I do believe you."
We sat there for a few moments. He looked at all that I had assembled. "You really used this device to go back in time?" he asked.
"How much money do you have in the bank?" I asked.
"Right," he said. "So we could go back now to when you were getting beaten up. We could jump the guys before they attack you."
"In theory we could," I said. "I thought about doing just that. I’m wondering why they came looking for stuff here. Somehow, they suspect I’ve more information than they want me to have. Until I figure out why they came after me, I don't want to risk using this device again. They suspect I have the device and more information, but they wouldn’t kill me without getting the device back."
"Makes sense," Willie said shrugging his shoulders. "So where will you hide it now?"
"The backup CDs and the journal can go back to the safety deposit box at the bank. The device will go back into the gun safe. They were here and didn't find anything, so I don't expect them to come back here to look for it. I hope they are as confused now as I am."
Willie watched as I put everything away. "Now what are you going to do?" he asked.
"I don't have the faintest idea," I told him. “I’ve learned that anything is possible. My lack of information is causing the problems. The single right piece of information will make everything very clear. It’s just finding that single piece of the puzzle. I still need to find out who trapped Paul in the past and why."
"How are you going to that?" Willie asked. "So far, everything seems to have backfired on you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said. "They have confirmed that they don't want me nosing around, so I guess I cannot go back up there. I could just write a letter explaining everything to Paul and warning him. That seems to be the easiest way out."
"But what about Lisa?"
"I can show her everything, as well. She could die on the return trip. If she and Paul know it’s a dangerous trip, they can stay here. I might even ask her to walk away from it now and marry me. She and I could just move away. It would be like the witness relocation program."
"They have proved they can find you," Willie said. "Besides you keep overlooking one very strong possibility. Lisa may be the one who trapped Paul in the past. You could be helping the wrong person just because she’s good in bed."
Rage swelled from deep inside of me. I wanted to hit Willie. It was the first time since our days in junior high that I found myself ready for an old-fashioned fistfight with him. He and I had fought then until we were both bloody. We could do it again right now. I threw the glass of tea I was drinking across the room. It shattered when it hit the wall. Willie realized he had crossed the line. I wasn’t sure if he felt sorry for me or finally understood my dilemma. He stood up, walked over and started to clean up the mess.
"I’m sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn’t have said that."
"Why should you be sorry for saying what I keep telling myself? Come on, we both know my luck with women. She’s far better looking than any other woman I’ve ever dated. She’s a wildcat in bed. She’s sexy as hell, and she knows it. She flirts, teases and loves it." I thought about it for a second and added, "But right now, I’d kill even you if you tried to take her from me, even though I’ve doubts about her loyalties."
"I’m the last person who would try to take her from you," he said. "She loves you and only you."
I felt a wave of relief pouring from me. I had been harboring these doubts about Lisa from the very beginning but had been afraid to say anything. According to the journal, Paul had suspected Lisa of being the one to trap him. She had been the one who returned. I knew deep down there was a good chance she had used Paul and was now using me.
"I’ve no idea who sent those men," I said. "Lisa could have told them everything about me. I’ve given her enough hints about what I know. She has tried to get more information from me, and it upsets her when I refuse to tell her the details. Then you tell me she called only minutes after they beat me up. Maybe she was calling to see if they killed me." I fought back tears.
Willie walked up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "There is just one thing you have forgotten: I’ve seen the two of you together. She loves you more than you will ever know."
"Right," I said trying to justify my feelings of doubt about her. "She wouldn’t be the first to use a man and have him beaten or killed."
"That’s true," Willie agreed, "but remember, I was with you in the hospital when she arrived. When the nurses told her you were not expected to live through the night,” he paused taking a deep breath as if to steady himself, “they had to sedate her. She was so hysterical those first few hours, I had to hold her most of the time. She really loves you. She loves you more than I ever thought it was possible for one person to love another. If you had died that night, I expect she would have killed herself. That doesn't seem like a woman who is using a man."
I hoped he was right. I wanted him to be right. Lisa would be in Blissville Friday for the weekend. I wanted this to be a great time for us. I had to get rid of these doubts, or we would never have any future together.
"Luke, there is something else that I know." He squatted down sitting on his heels so he could look me eye-to-eye. "I know about your heart."
"Doc Haynes promised to tell no one about that!" I said angrily.
"He didn't tell me," Willie assured me. "Remember, I used to date Kelly, his nurse. I saw her at the hospital. Everyone at the hospital was ordered to keep it a secret, but she knew you and I are close friends. You have a lot of people worried, so no more fighting for a while, OK? You have to rest up if you want to save Lisa’s life."
I knew he was right, as I had no strength left.
Chapter 12
July 4, 2004 was on a Sunday. Monday would be the official holiday for the three-day weekend. I had resigned myself to the idea of no lake trip this year. The sun did hurt my eyes. The scars were very sensitive to sunburn. Any time I did spend out in the sun wasn’t that pleasant.
Lisa arrived Friday evening. She breezed into the house very excited to see me. Shortly after she arrived, it began to rain. The weather forecast called for lake wind warnings throughout the weekend and rain most of the three days. I was able to console myself that the lake trip would have been a wash out, anyway.
Willie stopped by long enough to tell us that he and his family planned to attend a family reunion Saturday. His family rarely went to such events, but with the rainy weather keeping them from boating, they decided it might be a pleasant change. I suspected the real reason he came by was to make sure Lisa had arrived safely. I knew he had been calling her every day since my attack. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I felt about their talking that much.
I was in the kitchen fixing supper when I realized they were having another one of those whispered conversations. I tried to listen, but could hear nothing. It irritated me, yet there was little I could do. I trusted both of them. I loved Lisa with all my heart and trusted Willie with my life.
After Willie was gone, I again asked Lisa about their secret conversations.
"You and I have secrets from Willie, so he and I can have secrets from you," she teased with a twinkle in her eye.
"Fine, see if I care," I told her.
She seemed to sense that I was upset or hurt. I really wasn’t angry, just bugged.
"He has been keeping me posted daily on your health," she explained. "You were in worse shape than you knew while you were in the hospital. I keep him advised if you’re doing all right, and when I’m gone, he keeps me advised on how you’re doing."
"You could ask me," I told her.
