Anna's Visions (22 page)

She folded the paper, stuffed it into an envelope, and
put on a stamp. Then she carried it through the living room, carefully opened
the front door, and dropped it into the mailbox.

As she headed back upstairs, she suddenly felt as if a
huge weight had lifted – and she knew she would finally be able to fall asleep.
What a day it had been!

As she eased back into bed, she whispered to her
kindred spirit, “Goodnight, Jill. The nightmare is finally over.”

Tori awoke the next morning and noticed Jill was gone.
There were no sounds in the house, which meant her parents had gone to work.
Tori got out of bed, stretched, and looked around her. It was wonderful being
home and back in her comfortable bed and waking up without a head full of
cobwebs.

She glanced toward the dresser and her eyes came to
rest on the tin box. She slowly got out of bed, walked across the floor and
picked it up. It was heavy and it was the biggest cash box she’d ever seen. It
was the size of a small trunk to her. She decided she’d worry about the
contents later.

She got dressed, brushed her hair, applied a tad of
makeup, and started to leave her room, but the tin box seemed to be beckoning,
wanting to show her something. Grammy had made such a point of its importance
that Tori just couldn’t resist any longer. She knew that Jill would probably be
in a snit because Tori didn’t wait for her, but Jill could get over it, Tori
thought.

She tucked the box under her arm, went downstairs, set
the box on the kitchen table, and then headed to the basement. She got a hammer
and screwdriver from Ed’s toolbox. She went back upstairs and went to work. A
few whacks with the hammer and a few prods with the screwdriver did the trick.
She held her breath as she lifted the lid.

Inside she found several bags containing white powder.
Although she wasn’t sure if it was cocaine, she did know Cody, which meant it
wasn’t powdered sugar! She pulled the bags out and set them aside, and saw
several other small bags underneath containing a green leafy substance – which
she knew wasn’t oregano.

She removed those bags and set them on the table next
to the others. At the bottom of the box, she saw a manila envelope. She pulled
it out, opened it, and emptied the contents onto the table. She found a picture
of a pretty girl who looked to be in her twenties and it was signed,
Love,
Jody.

Then she saw something that made my heart leap. It was
a marriage certificate from Texas – for Cody Baxter and Jody Whitmore. She
quickly shuffled though the other papers, looking for a divorce decree – but
found none.

She wiped sweat as she wondered if she had married a
married man. She searched for their marriage license, but it wasn’t there,
either.
As she pondered about what it all meant, something
suddenly struck her.
Cody had not only been a married man, but he had
also lied to her when he told her that they got married!

As the impact of that revelation washed over her, she
said aloud, “I’m still Tori Hicks!” It was a relief unlike anything she’d ever
felt before, and she sat for a long time letting it all sink in. “Grammy was
right,” she whispered. “It was important that she knew she was never married to
that monster.”

She picked up another piece of paper that said, “My
Foster Homes” at the top. The list contained twelve foster homes, accompanied
by the dates and the names of the people.

The first date was 1953. The names were Mr. and Mrs.
Gilbert. Cody had only been seven years old when he was placed in the first
foster home. It was then that Tori knew what Cody meant when he said he wanted
a son so he could give him all the things he’d never had.

As Tori ran her index finger down the numbers and read
each name and date, she began to understand why Cody had once told her that he
didn’t know if he were a human being or an empty shell. He’d never stayed in
one place long enough to set down roots. He had no idea what a family was,
which explained why he’d been so jealous of Tori’s.

What a horrible, deprived life Cody had lived, and
when he was old enough to go out into the world on his own, he had taken to
drug dealing as a way to survive. It was a huge mistake, since Tori knew that
he’d been smart enough to be capable of making a comfortable honest living.

Suddenly, Tori smiled as she remembered a saying Poppy
sometimes used to describe people like Cody– “Too poor to paint and too proud
to whitewash.”

Cody had chosen the quick way to make money – and he
eventually paid for that choice.

Tori thought about
her own
family. They never had a lot of money, but they had the necessities, and they
had a great deal of love for each other, which made them richer than most.

Tori couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for Cody,
but she loathed him at the same time. After all, a hard childhood was no excuse
for becoming a killer – and he surely would have killed her and Jill if they
hadn’t stopped him. The more Tori thought about it, the madder she got.

She studied a few more minutes, and then realized the
drugs were what made him change moods so quickly. When he smoked the wacky
weed, he was sweet and loving. When he snorted the coke, he became violent with
her – and became mean enough to kill anybody who crossed him. “You were one
sicko!” Tori mumbled.

There was only one thin piece of cardboard left at the
bottom of the box, but as she pried it up, she was stunned to see several
layers of bright green $100 bills. Her hand trembled as she pulled them out and
began to count. By the time she had finished, she had counted out $20,000!

She sat down in a chair, unable to move for a few
seconds, until she noticed a small black book that she had removed with the
first batch of papers. She opened it and saw that it was full of names and
addresses, including a number of addresses in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and
Florida. Apparently, he hadn’t been on vacation in Florida the day they met,
after all.

It dawned on Tori that these were names of clients and
contacts. “And he called himself a pharmacist.” He was a drug dealing fool as
far as she was concerned.

She couldn’t help wondering if any of the various
drugs he’d poked down her throat would do permanent damage. She also wondered
how she could have been such a fool.

Tori’s instincts told her that she needed to turn the
box over to the police, but she couldn’t do that without implicating herself in
Cody’s murder! She shuddered, and then stuffed everything back into the box.
She decided she’d worry about it later, after she had discussed it with Grammy.

She hurried upstairs, stuffed the box under her bed,
dressed, grabbed her purse, found her wallet, and was surprised to find she had
several hundred dollars. She couldn’t remember where it came from, but it
didn’t matter at that moment. She ran downstairs, grabbed her mother’s car keys
from the pegboard, and headed out the door.

Tori stopped by The Ole Wood Shop. The store had a
great selection of carved canes. After looking at them all, she finally
selected what she considered a fancy lady-like cane.

She stood at the counter and waited as Mr. Greenwell
slowly made his way to the register. He said, “Good choice, young lady. I made
this one myself, you know. I made all the canes, of course, but I’m especially
proud of this one.” Then he looked at Tori and asked, “But what does a young
thing like you need with a cane?”

Tori smiled. “It’s not for me, Mr. Greenwell. It’s a
gift for my grandma. I think she’ll like it. You did a beautiful job making
it.”

“What’s your grandma’s name, child?”

“Anna Morgan,” Tori said, and she could feel her face
glowing as she said Grammy’s name.

“Get out of here!” Mr. Greenwell said with a large
smile. “You mean you’re Anna and Tom Morgan’s granddaughter? I’ve known them
for years. They’re the salt of the earth.”

“They sure are,” Tori replied.

“Anna has taken to a cane now? I’m sorry to hear that
she’s a gimp. She’s always been so spry.” Mr. Greenwell shook his head.

“Gimp?”
Tori repeated.

He laughed, rubbing his beard with his fingertips as
if he were filing his nails. “Us old folks call people who have bum legs a
gimp.”

“Oh.” She learned something new every day. She paid
for the cane, and Mr. Greenwell insisted that he wrap it in red paper for
Grammy. Tori smiled. “Perfect. Grammy will love the pretty paper, too.”

When he finished wrapping it, he handed it over.
“Well, young lady, I’d be pleased if you’d say hey to Anna and Tom for me, and
while you’re at it, tell them to drop in and see me sometime.”

“I sure will,” Tori said as she turned to go.

Twenty minutes later, Tori pulled into the driveway
and smiled. It seemed as if it had been three years since she’d been here.

She opened the front door, enjoying the familiar aroma
of Grammy’s cooking. “Grammy, I’m here!”

“In here, sweet,” Grammy called out from the kitchen.

Tori found Grammy sitting at the kitchen table,
holding a mug of hot coffee. She always said the warmth helped ease her
arthritic pain.

Tori gently hugged Grammy and said, “I think I’ll have
a cup of coffee, too.” She laughed as she filled a mug, sat beside Grammy, and
held her gnarled hand. “Grammy, I was wondering if you’ve seen a vision or
picked up on any feelings about a possible reunion for Wes and
me?
”

“No, sweet.
I haven’t thought much about it since you two split
up.” Grammy lowered her head as if she didn’t want to think about it.

Tori clasped the coffee mug tighter. Grammy was being
vague about the subject, which meant she knew that Wes and Tori were history,
but she didn’t have the heart to tell Tori. So be it.

Grammy eyed the cane wrapped in red paper sitting on
the table. “What have you got there, sweet?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so concerned about myself I
forgot what I was holding. Here, your early Christmas present.”

“Hum, I wonder what it could be,” Grammy said with a
sly smile as she tore off the paper. She held the cane out in front of her.
“Oh, my.
When you said you were going to pick out a fancy
one, you weren’t kidding! It’s beautiful – and I bet I know where you bought
it.”

“I’m sure you do,” Tori said. “And Mr. Greenwell said
to tell you and Poppy hello and asked you to come by and see him.”

“He’s a nice man. We do need to stop by and see him,
but I don’t get out much anymore. I’ve been – preoccupied,” Grammy said,
patting Tori’s hand. “Now that you’re
back
home, I
might get my old spirit back and mingle with the world again.”

“I’m glad,” Tori said.

Grammy gripped her new cane and eased herself from the
chair. “I need to use the bathroom. Sit tight and give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Take your time Grammy. I’ve got all day,” Tori said
as Grammy hobbled out of the kitchen. After Grammy was gone, Tori set her
coffee mug on the table, picked up her purse, and headed out the back door. She
scurried across the back yard, slid the concrete cover off the old cistern,
pulled out the gun she’d taken from Cody, and dropped it in. Then she slid the
cover back on.

She rushed back inside, quietly shutting the door and
leaning against it, as if the gun might jump back out of the cistern and chase
her through the house. When her heart had stopped pounding, she sat back down
at the table, and picked up her coffee mug. Sweat covered her entire body, yet
she shivered.

When Grammy returned to the kitchen, Tori said,
“Grammy, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to spend some time in my bedroom. I’ve
missed it so much.”

“Sure, sweet. You do what makes you feel at home. You
always did love that old feather bed. Maybe it’ll help erase – oh, never mind.
I’ve got to start making lunch for Poppy,” she said, and she had a twinkle in
her eyes that Tori knew had been missing for a long time.

As Tori stood, Grammy looked her in the eyes and
added, “Isn’t there something else? Didn’t Jill tell you–
”

“She didn’t forget, Grammy. We found the tin box, just
like you said. I opened it before I came out here, but I don’t know what to do
with what I found in it.”

“You know you can bring your troubles to me,” Grammy
said. “What did you find? And don’t feel like you have already brought enough
to me. I’m a tough old bird, and I’ve got all day, too.”

Before Tori could stop herself, she blurted, “I found
bags of what I think is cocaine, bags of marijuana, a black dealer’s book, and
a lot of money.” She inhaled deeply, and managed to say, “Twenty-thousand
dollars!”

“Hmm... I didn’t know about any money, but I picked up
on the other stuff. Drugs are evil, you know.”

“Yes, I agree. Drugs are evil and they make people
evil.” Tori waited for Grammy to comment about the huge amount of money but she
didn’t say anything. “Did you hear how much money I said was in it? Do you know
what we can do with that kind of money?” Tori’s eyes widened as she pictured a
red corvette parked in her driveway.