Happily Never After (24 page)

I almost couldn’t believe my eyes.

Instead of the back yard I was staring at a
bedroom full of ornate furnishings, a fire in the hearth and a
frantic Catherine packing a small valise.

She looked exactly as Jackson described.
Bruises covered her face, her lip was cut and swollen. Her golden
brown hair spilled halfway out of the combs trying to hold it up.
The dress she wore was very plain and inexpensive looking.
Remembering what Jackson said about their running away together, I
imagined that she didn’t want to stand out. That or her husband had
beaten the desire to look beautiful out of her. I also noticed the
necklace, the same one that drew me to the window, nestled in the
neckline of her dress.

I realized I must be seeing the night she was
supposed to meet him at the station, the night she died.

Suddenly, the bedroom door slammed open and a
large man strode in the room. He had light blond hair receding at
the forehead and cold scary eyes. Well over six feet tall, he was
one of the biggest men I’d ever seen. He wasn't fat, just hard and
lean. He radiated with a creepy vibe.

William Jennings.

Catherine clutched a pair of stockings to her
chest as she whirled around, surprised by his sudden appearance. I
saw the look of a trapped animal in her eyes. She knew what was
about to happen. Even as an observer, I could feel the fear pulsing
off her.

“What are you doing?” William asked. His
voice was smooth and quiet, not what I expected from a man of his
size. Still, it left me cold but with a hot prickling sensation on
the back of my neck. He took another step towards Catherine.

Like a fish, she opened and closed her mouth
trying to get air or words to form. William continued towards her,
one slow agonizing step at a time. Catherine’s eyes darted
frantically, searching for any means of escape. There was none.

“I saw a man leave here this afternoon. Who
was he?” Catherine shook her head, her eyes filled with panic. “I
assume it was Jackson Merriwether. I heard he was back in town.
What are you planning to do? Run away and meet him somewhere?”

Still Catherine was silent. I had a hard time
relating the young woman I saw to the mean, violent spirit I knew.
They were so completely different. This Catherine I pitied.

“N-no, I wasn’t g-going anywhere.”

William silenced her with a backhanded slap
that just about knocked her off her feet. She fell against the bed
sobbing. I imagine the cries had more to do with her missed
opportunity to escape than the humiliation and pain he caused,
which she was probably used to.

I watched as he advanced towards her,
grabbing her hair and standing over her.

“Why are you crying? Your place is here
beside me! I will never let you go, do you hear me?”

He tipped her face up and thrust his fist
down on it with a savage force. Sick to my stomach I watched him
repeat the movement over and over until her beautiful face was
nothing more than a bloody, oozing mess.

As quickly as he started, he stopped. William
panted and tried to catch his breath. When he did, he glanced down
and saw what he’d done.

In a move that sickened me even more, he
knelt down and brushed the bloody strands of hair from her face.
“I’m so sorry Catherine. It makes me mad to think of you leaving.
Promise you’ll never go. I love you so much. I need you.”

His arms enfolded her tenderly and drew her
close. The air whistled and gurgled out of her ruined nose. Her
hands came up and I wondered both how she still had the strength to
do it and how she could return his hug.

Only she didn’t hug him back.

Catherine’s shaking hands reached up to his
neck where they squeezed.

“You can’t hurt me anymore William. I never
was yours.” Her voice was weak and strained as she struggled to
draw in air as well as squeeze the life out of him.

It must have taken William by surprise
because it took a few seconds for him to react. And when he did it
was more violent than what I’d already witnessed.

I couldn’t watch.

Shutting my eyes tight I tried to block out
the sounds of fighting and screaming. A snap echoed over to me, the
sound of a bone being broken. I’d never heard anything like it in
my entire life. Finally, there was a steady thumping sound and then
silence. Well, silence except for the heavy ragged breaths of
William.

He crouched over Catherine’s broken body with
his hands gathered in her hair. From the blood pouring out of her
head I guessed the thumps were William driving her into the floor
repeatedly.

Vomit rose in my throat but I couldn’t tear
my gaze away. Slowly, the scene in front of me faded, replaced by
another.

I recognized the river but not the old wooden
dock that jutted out into it. The night was quiet, accented only by
the light of a half moon. William stumbled down the dock carrying a
large sack over his shoulder.

Catherine.

He took one quick look around before tossing
her body in the river as if it were nothing. Finally, the musty
river scent I always smelled when Catherine was near made sense.
That was where her body was tossed, nothing more than a piece of
trash. As he watched it sink, he pulled the necklace out of his
pocket and fingered it gently.

The scene faded once more and my normal
backyard returned. I felt sweat cooling on my skin and bile still
trying to force its way up my throat.

“What William didn’t know is that I was still
alive when he tossed me in the river.”

I spun to find Catherine sitting on my bed,
not as a shadow but as a form as real and solid as Margaret’s. Her
long dark hair curled past her shoulders softening her face even
more. Her skin was flawless, almost like porcelain. I expected her
eyes to be cold and flat but they weren’t. I could see why, in her
prime, Catherine had been the talk of the town.

My reaction surprised me. It wasn’t the cold
fear I normally felt around her presence, not after the horrific
scene I just watched. I felt pity and sadness.

Pitying her was dangerous. I couldn’t let
myself forget what Margaret said about suspecting her involvement
in my mama’s death. The safest thing right now was to push that
aside and concentrate.

She continued talking, “The potato sack he
stuffed me in was tied up too tight. The minute I hit the water I
tried to struggle but you saw what he did to me. I had no strength
left.”

Forcing myself to keep my guard up, I walked
over to the desk and sat in the chair. This was a side of her I had
no clue how to handle. Letting myself forget she’d tried to kill me
multiple times was not an option.

“What happened to you was terrible,
Catherine.”

She daintily raised an eyebrow at me. “I
didn’t show you that so you would pity me. You wanted to know why I
had a thirst for revenge and now you do.”

Wanting to steer clear of the revenge aspect,
I changed the subject. “How come you could move the necklace
tonight? The other day when you tried, it sparked at you.”

“Did you see me touch the necklace? Besides,
who cares if I touch it or not, it’s mine anyway.”

“Margaret gave it to me,” I said feebly. Now
I’d have an entirely different attitude about wearing it knowing it
was on her neck the night she died.

“It wasn’t hers to give!” Catherine’s voice
turned vicious and her image faded as the dark shadow grew in
response. Then, I watched as she gathered herself together and
became solid once more.

“So how is this going to work? Your killing
me?”

Her pretty face twisted into a smirk. “What
makes you think I’ll tell you?”

That was the problem. I had no clue. “We’re
family. Even as much as you hate our family, it should matter to
you a little.”

“It doesn’t. You’re confusing me with that
pathetic thing you saw just now. I’ll come for you, Quinn but I’ll
do it on my own power.” She stood and stalked toward me. I fought
the urge to run. “Not everyone gets their happily ever after.”

Her words reminded me of Mama and I couldn’t
stop the words that came out of my mouth.

“Did you do something to my mama? Were you
responsible for her death?”

At first, I didn’t think she would answer me.
Finally, she started laughing a cold, chilling laugh. “She was in
the perfect position to help me get what I wanted. Unfortunately,
she didn’t see the benefit of working with me. I couldn’t bend her
to my will.”

The truth hit me hard in the gut. Margaret
was right. The anger I’d been carrying since she shared her
suspicions with me faded to grief. I was breathless and lightheaded
and the room spun. Vaguely, I was aware of shaking my head back and
forth in a silent denial.

Before I could say anything to Catherine, she
disappeared in the blink of an eye.

I remained alone with my tears, my pain and a
renewed determination to beat Catherine and send her to Hell where
she belonged.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Jason surprised me about mid-afternoon. I
opened the front door to find him standing there, in his disguise,
grinning at me. It didn’t register at first to see him. I’d been in
a daze ever since last night.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed, unsure
why I kept my voice low.

“Don’t freak out. I waited until everyone
left.” He walked in before I invited him.

“So, why are you here?” Jason glanced at me
kind of funny, as if the question was rude and it hit me that it
was. “I mean, I’m glad you came by. I didn’t think we made plans is
all,” I trailed off.

“Are you already sick of me? I had the day
off so I thought I’d see if you wanted to hang out or do some
research.” He shrugged. “If you have plans, I can go.”

“No, Travis said to stay under the radar so
that’s what I’m doing. I can’t bring myself to leave here yet.”

Now that I knew the truth about Mama I wanted
to spend the day making sure I was ready for Catherine tomorrow.
Pretending it wasn’t going to happen was too much to risk.

“You’re thinking too hard,” he observed.

“I have mixed emotions about what’s going to
happen tomorrow so I’m a little out of it. Unfortunately, I might
not be the best company. Catherine showed me last night what
Jennings did to her. I can’t get it out of my head.”

He took my hands in his. “You’re scared; it’s
not lost on me. I want to be there for you, even if all I do is sit
there and not say a word. Besides, I stuck it out through all your
snarky attempts at playing hard to get. If I survived that, I can
take on anything.”

Before I could answer him, I heard a car door
slam. I peeked out the window and saw Marietta coming up the
walk.

“It’s Marietta.” I spun towards Jason. “You
have to hide. Go up to the attic and please, be quiet.”

He ran quickly up the stairs and I hurried
into the kitchen, busying myself with the dishwasher.

When Marietta walked in, I tried hard not to
make eye contact with her. I was convinced that after one look in
my eyes, she’d know I was hiding something.

“What are you doing back so soon?” I hoped
she didn’t hear the tiny squeak in my voice.

Instead of answering me, she set down the
local newspaper on the counter and pointed. I almost fainted.

On the front page of the Lifestyles section
was a picture of me and Jason kissing on a park bench. Right next
to it was one of us smiling for the cameras at the ball. How did
they know it was the same person? I scanned the article below the
picture.

“Seems as if Hollywood heartthrob Jason
Preston has found a new love right here in Savannah. Her name is
Quinn Roberts and she’s the daughter of one of the city’s oldest
families. It all sounds like a match made in heaven but according
to one of Roberts’ stepsisters there may be more to the story. ‘She
practices black magic,’ stated Suzanna Roberts. ‘She’s always doing
things to us and terrorizing us at home. Quinn can make bad things
happen and I often hear her chanting in a really, like, creepy
language.’ Suzanna adds, ‘She always sneaks out to meet guys too. I
think she puts spells on them or drugs them.’ Is Quinn Roberts the
same mystery girl we saw on Jason’s arm at the Savannah Heritage
Ball? Time will tell. Jason Preston is in town filming the movie
adaptation of Black Night and has been linked to several up and
coming actresses. The question remains, has Jason fallen for a
hometown princess? Or has he been lured in by a teenage girl’s Love
Spell?”

“Well, well, I have to tell you, Quinn, I’m
impressed you were able to snag a boy of Jason’s caliber. Of
course, keeping him is another story, one that won’t have a happy
ending.” She looked me up and down with a sneer. “What would he
ever see in you? I guess you can’t really blame him. I’m sure
you’re giving him exactly what he wants.”

I shook my head and opened my mouth but no
words came out. The hurt and betrayal from Suzie’s lies numbed me.
She finally got her revenge for the destroyed dresses. Of all the
things they had ever done to me, this was the worst. I’d never be
able to show my face around town again.

Marietta must have taken my silence as an
admission of sorts. She smiled smugly but it did nothing to improve
her looks. She was so pale and withdrawn and withered, death was
staring her in the face. Catherine was killing her. I took some
reassurance that this was Marietta talking now, all on her own.

“Don’t count on it lasting. You have
absolutely nothing to offer him. Take a good look in the mirror.”
She paused. “I have the worst headache. It must be a migraine. I
thought I’d take some of my pills and have a nap.”

I watched her leave. Catherine seemed to
linger behind, reaching towards me. I shrunk back against the
counter but she slithered out, leaving the room bright again. As
strange as it sounded, that didn’t go nearly as bad as I'd imagined
it would.