Shadows and Light: The Complete Series, page 32
Not knowing what to say, Jared just nodded. The woman was almost completely out of breath. Jared recognized the signs of lung disease. She reached into the pocket of her bathrobe and pulled out her inhaler. She shook it vigorously and placed the mouthpiece into her mouth. She tried to push the release on the top, but her fingers were too weak. Pulling the inhaler out of her mouth, she tried to shake it again, hoping it would work.
Unable to watch her struggle with the device any longer, Jared calmly approached, removed the inhaler from her fragile hand, and placed it back up to her mouth.
“Please allow me to help you, Mrs. Cunningham.” Once she nodded her consent, Jared placed the inhaler back into her mouth and released the medicine.
“Do you need another dose?” Louise nodded a second time. Jared pushed the release again. A moment passed. “Is that better?”
“Yes, thank you.” Her color returned and she seemed to breathe easier. “I have such a hard time with that thing. You’re a kind man, Mr. McNeil, even if you are as dense as a log of wood.”
“Thank you, I think.” Jared smiled for the first time that day.
“Jennie will be home any time now. You’re more than welcome to come in and wait for her. She would be very happy to see you.”
“As much as I would love to do just that, I can’t wait. I have to be somewhere.” Jared regretted every word.
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Does it matter?”
“Dense as a log,” Louise said, shaking her head. “Do you care for my Jennie?”
“I am willing to protect her with my life.”
“What’s the matter with the young people these days?” she said, raising her arms and then dropping them to her side. “Why do you insist on making everything so complicated? You have left her alone long enough. Don’t you understand? Jennie won’t reach out to anyone.”
Jared tried to interrupt, but Louise stopped him. “No, let me finish. I’m not going to be here much longer. I can’t leave her alone, so whatever it is that is keeping you away, get over it, as your generation is so used to saying. No one should be as alone as that girl is,” Louise said, barely above whisper. Her lungs were empty of air again after the short lecture. Placing the inhaler back into her mouth, she again tried to push the medicine into her. Jared gently reached out and pressed the inhaler.
“She will not be alone, Mrs. Cunningham. No one will hurt her again. You have my word on that.”
“I swear, Jared McNeil, if you don’t do right by that sweet girl, I’ll haunt you to the day you die and then some.”
Jared’s cell phone vibrated. He didn’t have to look to see who was calling. He never meant to be out in the open this long. “I have to go, but can I help you in before I leave?”
“I don’t need your help, but Jennie does. You just keep your promise, you hear?” Louise moved slowly back inside. At the top step of her porch she added, “I’m counting on you. She needs you now.”
He yanked his coat close around his neck to ward off the chill, not from the outside temperature, but from deep within him, and skulked to his SUV. As he drove down the street, his gaze landed on Jennie who was a block away with a priest at her side. She laughed at something he said to her. Jared couldn’t hear the laugh, but it stroked him, warming him from the inside out.
Chapter Nine
Franklin Elementary School
Friday afternoon
Melodic tones of Joshua Bell resonated though the small CD/cassette recorder in Jennie’s fifth grade classroom. A mountain of reports from the 120 students she saw daily crowded her desk. Joshua Bell kept her mind focused on the essay assignment — the differences between weather and climate — instead of the numerous problems that kept her awake at night.
“Hi, Miss McKenzie,” the young girl said from the doorway.
“Hi, Erin, come on in. Are you waiting for your brother?” Jennie studied the young girl weighed down by a huge backpack. Her eyes darted around the room, but never landed on Jennie.
“Yea, I’m just hanging out. Would you like me to clean the boards or something, Miss McKenzie?”
“I can’t think of anything I need at the moment. Danny should be finished in about ten minutes.” Jennie set the essay back on the stack. “Is there something else you need, Erin?”
Erin lowered her eyes while the toe of her foot kicked at the spot on the floor. “Well, I wanted to ask … I mean, I was wondering what will happen with Danny and the camping trip?”
“I really don’t know. At this point, he’s not going.”
“But Miss McKenzie — ”
“Erin, this isn’t your problem to fix.” Jennie stood and moved to the front of the desk to sit next to Erin. “Danny has done very well this year. Up until last week, he was on the top of my list to attend the camping trip, but after the fight he started, I don’t see how it will happen.”
“That fight was not just Danny’s fault. Maybe if he makes up all the work, he can still go?”
“The school takes a zero tolerance position on fighting on school property. Danny had several alternatives he could have chosen.”
“Hey, let’s go, Mom is out front.” The young ten-year-old boy dressed in a pair of jeans and T-shirt twice his size stood in the doorway. He exited as quickly as he entered.
“Danny, wait up, you jerk. You didn’t say bye to Miss McKenzie.”
“Bye, Miss McKenzie.”
For the next several moments, Jennie’s gaze fixated on the empty doorway. “What a mess,” she whispered, as she dropped back into her desk chair. Everything isn’t going to be fine; I’m not fine. Nothing in her life was as it should be.
Jennie covered her face with her hands, the despair overwhelming. Students like Danny Merlot held a special place in her heart, and he was slowly slipping through the cracks. She couldn’t stop it. Mrs. C. was dying and she couldn’t stop that either. Jared was just not hers to love, and she was powerless to change it.
As a silent tear escaped down her cheek, Jennie lifted her hand to swipe it away. Halfway to her face, she froze. Hundreds of tiny goose bumps developed on her arm and traveled rapidly throughout her body. Fear clouded her every pore.
It was back; the feeling was back.
Damn, no one has the right to make me feel like this.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and slowed her throbbing heartbeat. She lifted her head from the desk and looked around the room. He was watching her, again, but no one was in the room. She could feel his eyes roam the length of her body. Chills followed.
Jennie moved around from behind her desk, hurried across her room, and peered into the hallway. No one was there. Returning to her desk drawer, she grabbed her cell phone, and punched in Jared’s number. She would never hit send, but just knowing that he could be on the other end of the line was a comfort.
After leaving the classroom, she eyed the end of the corridor leading to the playground. It was chained for the night. Turning right, Jennie headed toward the connecting wing where she ran into Erin and Danny. Startled from their bickering, both kids turned and face Jennie.
“What’s wrong, Miss McKenzie? You look white.” Erin asked.
“Did either of you pass anyone since you left my classroom?”
“No,” they both answered.
“Are you sure? You saw no one at all since you left me.”
“No, Miss McKenzie,” they both said again.
Worried about the expressions on the students’ faces, she quickly said, “I must be hearing things.”
“Would you like us to stay with you, Miss McKenzie?” Danny asked.
Jennie smiled. “No, but thanks, Danny. I’m fine.”
“Well, then, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow,” Danny said.
Once the kids were out of the wing, Jennie rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. “Am I going crazy?” she whispered to the empty hallway. He was there, I felt him, but I don’t feel him now.
Returning the way she came, Jennie checked every place anyone could hide. She had come from the only way out of the wing. Entering her classroom, Jennie continued meticulously checking possible hiding spots. When she found nothing, she returned to sit behind her desk. Lying on the chair in a messy bundle was a bunch of wilted, red carnations.
Chapter Ten
St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Baltimore
Friday evening
“Father Anthony, I looked everywhere. This has gone beyond creepy.” Jennie sat in the first pew next to the parish priest, her voice low and hoarse. Her hands were intertwined with each other in her lap, her fingers absently drumming out a nervous tap on her wrist. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting the faceless evil to pop out of nowhere. The shakes wouldn’t go away. But somehow, she had to hide them from the fifteen teenagers gathered in groups around the choir section of St. Luke’s. Practice for the Easter Triduum was scheduled to begin in ten minutes.
“Are you sure it wasn’t one of the kids? Maybe this is just a prank. They could have slipped in and out while you were down the hallway.”
“It’s not a kid; kids don’t make me feel like this.” She held up her trembling hands before dragging them back onto her lap. “Besides, I could see the whole wing from where I stood. No one entered the classroom or left it while I was out in the hall. He must have been in the room all the time.”
“Is there any way he could have entered through the window?”
“Those windows can only be forced opened and it would have triggered alarms all over the school.”
“Did he leave anything else besides the flowers?”
“No. They were scattered over the seat of my desk chair. However he got in, he left in a hurry.”
“Please tell me you reported it to Mr. Carroll.” Father Anthony knuckled his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
“I called the principal’s office the minute I found the flowers. I was so freaked out, the other teachers waited with me until Mr. Carroll checked the classroom.”
“Well, the flowers didn’t just appear out of thin air.” Anthony rested his elbows over the front wall of the pew and stared at Jennie. “I don’t like this. He’s too close. Did you contact the police?”
“Yes, but they just shook their heads and left.”
“Have you been keeping up with the Beltway Killer on the news? I think you know the man heading up the investigation. Maybe you should contact him and let him know what’s going on.”
Her breath hitched in her throat and she wrapped her arms around her middle. Shaking her head, she said flatly, “I can’t … ”
“Jennie, it’s his case.”
“If it happens again, I’ll reconsider.” Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She dug it out and glanced at the screen. “It’s Mrs. C.” Jennie shot a concern glance at the priest and answered the call.
“Jennie, it’s Mrs. Cippolla. I’m sitting with Louise.” The voice on the other end was high pitched and choppy.
Crystal Cippolla was Mrs. C.’s neighbor and best friend. Jennie had just left Mrs. C. only twenty minutes ago. “What’s wrong?”
“I went in the kitchen to heat up the dinner you left and I can’t wake Louise up. I called 911.”
Jennie’s heart began to pound, the blood rushing to her head. She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t support her.
Oh God, no. You can’t take her from me. I can’t lose anyone else.
“Jennie, are you there?”
Finding her voice, she said, “I’ll be there in two minutes. Her list of medications and other papers are on the table by the front door.”
“Yes, I have it all ready for the EMTs as soon as they get here. Please hurry.”
Jennie heard the phone drop. She continued to listen as Mrs. Cippolla struggled to place it back on the receiver. Father Anthony reached out and removed the phone clamped in her hand. She met his eyes. “Its Mrs. C. Mrs. Cippolla can’t wake her up. I have to go.” She frantically searched the church, not sure what she was looking for.
“Let me ask one of the boys to go with you. I don’t think you should be on the streets alone.”
“No, Father Anthony. I don’t care about that creep now.”
Jennie moved out of the pew. The students stood together in one large group, staring back at her, concern written all over their faces. “There’s supposed to be two adults here at all times.”
“We’ll be fine, just go, Jennie.” He escorted her to the door. “We’ll pray for both of you.”
Jennie jogged toward home, reaching the brownstone in less than two minutes. The ambulance had arrived and the EMTs were unloading their equipment. She darted past the men into the front entrance and across the living room to her friend slumped in the chair by the window.
“Mrs. C.” Jennie gently rubbed her arms, up and down, but there was no response. “Please wake up for me now, please Mrs. C.”
“Miss, you need to wait outside. Let us do our job,” one of the EMTs said as he pulled her away from Louise.
“Jennie, come.” Mrs. Cippolla wrapped her arm around Jennie’s waist and led her across the room.
Both women looked on as the room filled with medical personnel. The three men and one woman all focused on one thing, trying to decide if the woman sitting in the chair by the window had a pulse.
One of the men approached the pair. “Can you tell me how long she has been like this?”
“About fifteen minutes. I left her to heat up her supper and when I came back, I couldn’t wake her up. I called you and then Jennie. She lives with Louise.”
“Is that a list of her meds?” He reached for the sheet of paper in Mrs. Cippolla’s hands.
“Yes, and there’s a DNR order as well. She has end-stage COPD,” Jennie added, never pulling her eyes away from Louise.
The EMT briefly looked over the sheets of paper in the folder and handed it back. “She’s breathing on her own, but her pulse is very weak.”
Moments later, the EMTs placed Louise on the gurney, transported her outside to the ambulance, and loaded her into the bay. The doors slammed shut and she was gone.
Jennie stood on the sidewalk, her eyes following the ambulance to the corner.
“What could have happened to cause her to pass out? I never should have left her alone.” Mrs. Cippolla’s eyes began to tear.
Jennie placed her arm around the woman’s shoulder. “You did nothing wrong.” She stood completely still as the ambulance turned the corner and disappeared from sight. “The doctors warned us that something like this could happen. There must have been signs. I just missed them,” Jennie said, then swiped the moisture from her cheek. “I’ll get my car and drive us.”
“No, you go. I’ll lock up here.” Crystal hugged Jennie and climbed the steps.
Living in a city as large as Baltimore, parking was at a premium. Jennie knew it would take time to retrieve her car and find another parking place near the hospital. Instead, with the ease of a runner, she sprinted down the sidewalk. Just as she turned the corner after the ambulance, a horrific chill slammed into her. He was there, again, spying from the shadows. She stopped in her tracks, frozen. But instead of feeling terrified, anger took over. She circled with her fist at her side, and glared into the alley and darkened doorways for any sign of him. The aged street lamps gave off very little light, adding to the gloom.
“Show yourself. Face me, damn it.” She waited, but when no one appeared, she yelled, “You’re nothing but a damn coward. Leave me the hell alone.”
• • •
A weak brass desk lamp was the only light in the dreary room. Hundreds of copies of a single clipping covered every inch of the room. Ghastly shadows distorted the newspaper print of a young woman surrounded by children.
The young man propped his head against the cool wall and allowed the monster’s anger to invade his sanity. “It’s what she deserves,” a croaky voice whispered as one perfect fingernail scraped over the one-dimensional picture.
“She has no time for me. Smiles at me and leads me on, then ignores me. She’s going to pay for that!” With each word, the new personality consumed the old. “She thinks she can give everyone else her attention and ignore me. She wanted me. Just like the rest, she made a move on me and now pretends I don’t exist. But she will want me! They always want me in the end.”
With slow, meticulous care, the sharp scalpel sliced the face of the woman, down her neck, slashing through the children, and into the next clipping.
Chapter Eleven
Franklin Elementary School
Monday afternoon
The classroom was almost quiet for the first time. The sound of doors slamming and children talking echoed in from the hallway, but it was faint enough that it didn’t contribute to the pounding in Jennie’s head. The salty smell of popcorn from another room made her stomach growl. Her brain was so tired that morning she completely forgot to pack a lunch.
This day was the longest she could remember. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop worrying about Mrs. C. Her doctor said it was massive stroke and it was time for good-byes.
Jennie began to place stacks of papers that needed to be graded into her bag. From the corner of her eye, she could see that Danny Merlot was still at his desk. On most days, Jennie enjoyed time alone with one or two of her students who lingered behind. It gave her a chance to know a different side of them. All she had to do was tell him she was in a hurry and he would take off. But she and Danny had not been on the best of terms. She would love the chance to clear the air. He was a great kid.
Danny placed his backpack on his left shoulder and approached her desk with a stack of papers. “So, Miss McKenzie, this is my last day of detention.” He set the work in the box she kept for finished assignments.
“What’s all that, Danny?”
“You told my sister that I could make up the work I missed during my suspension. That’s all of it, even the paper on weather conditions.”
Lifting the papers in the stack, Jennie quickly ran through them. “You finished every assignment?”
