Veiled Passages (9 page)

If they went there tonight, he would be sure Bradley never left the park alive.

They approached the entrance of Krape Park and Gary felt the adrenalin rush. She could be his…tonight. But, the rush died and frustration replaced anticipation when the car moved past the entrance and continued down Empire Street towards the other side of town.

He followed them for a few more miles, passing through some residential areas, some small strip malls and finally arriving at the far south side of town where most of the property was commercial.  When Bradley’s car slowed and his left turn indicator signaled he was going to turn, Gary passed them on the right.  Peering inside, hungry for a glimpse of Mary, he accelerated quickly when she started to turn her face towards his car.

Pulling into the next parking lot, Gary found he could maneuver his car to a position on the far side that was adjacent to the restaurant parking.  The restaurant was the only business open in the evening.  The rest of the lots were dark and empty. He parked as close as he could, turned off his lights and reached behind the seat for the rifle. This could be the perfect opportunity.

Chapter Seventeen

Bradley steered the car into Cimino’s parking lot. “So, do you want to go in?” he asked, as he drove towards the far corner of the parking lot. “Or do you just want to park in the far corner and smooch?”

“Well, I’d choose door number two, but I’m actually pretty hungry and I know it would be so unsexy to have my stomach growl,” Mary replied with a grin.

“We could park in the back and I could call for delivery,” he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

“And how would it look to have the Chief of Police caught in a car with steamed up windows?” she laughed.

He turned to her and met her eyes. “Well, when they got one look at you, they would consider me the luckiest guy in the world,” he said. “But, on the other hand, when I walk through the restaurant with you on my arm, looking the way you look, every guy in the room is going to be jealous.”

“Bradley,” Mary chided. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I don’t think you realize how gorgeous you are,” he said. “So, just for your edification, we are going in.”

The car splashed through the slush and finally Bradley pulled into a parking spot at the far end of the lot.  He started to shift into park when he glanced over to Mary’s legs and then her shoes.

“Damn, I’m an idiot,” he said, shifting into reverse.

“What?” Mary asked.

“Your shoes,” he said. “Great to look at…no…amazing to look at, but how are they for actually walking in?”

Mary bit into her lower lip. “Not very good at all,” she admitted. “I only wore them…”

He smiled at her. “Yeah, I know why,” he interrupted. “And man, did it work.  And in honor of your sexy legs, I think tonight we deserve something special.”

He backed the car up and pulled around to the front of the restaurant, stopping right in front of the door. “Valet parking,” he said, reaching over and unlatching her seatbelt. “Come on, sexy, let’s go eat.”

The valet hurried out of the door and Bradley handed him the keys and a twenty dollar bill. “Keep it close by, in case I get a call,” he said and the valet nodded in understanding.

Chapter Eighteen

Gary placed the rifle back under the seat and nervously shifted the car into reverse.  They had been ready to park in the far edge of the lot.  Bradley would have been a perfect target.  Why had they changed their minds?  Had they seen him?  Were the police on their way?

He quickly pulled out of the parking lot, drove back onto South Street and headed towards his house on the other side of town. In the distance he saw a police car, so he turned right, slowly driving through some residential neighborhoods, watching to see if he was being followed.  As he passed the high school, another cruiser slipped down an adjacent street and Gary panicked.  They were trying to surround him.  They knew he had weapons.

His heart racing, he pulled back behind the school and turned off his car lights, sitting in the dark, watching to see if other cruisers passed by.  Loading the chambers of the rifle, he waited, panic turning into anticipation. There was something powerful about taking another life, watching the surprise, the pain and finally, witnessing the moment when the living entity actually slipped away.  He felt like a god.  He was in control.  He had all the power.  No one could tell him what to do.

Shivering with excitement, he willed the cruisers to come close.  He wanted an officer to knock on his window.  He wanted to see eyes widened in horror as the reality of death became evident. 

He waited in the darkened parking lot for ten minutes when he realized with disappointment that they were not coming for him.  That he was not under observation.  That he would not be killing a police officer tonight.

He started the car, turned on the lights and slowly made his way through the parking lot back toward Empire Street.  He passed a number of students getting out of an afterschool activity and slowed the car, considering whether the death of a student or two would give him the same rush.  Glancing at their faces, he saw a young girl who had the same features as Clarissa.  Yes, he could see Clarissa looking just like her when she was a teen.

He stopped the car, as the thought occurred to him.  Clarissa.  If Mary and Bradley were out, who was home with Clarissa?

The students forgotten, Gary smiled broadly and turned onto Empire Street in the direction of Mary’s house. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be a waste of time after all.

Chapter Nineteen

“Well, now, let me look,” Margaret said as she scanned the colorful cards in her hands. “I’m sorry. I have no threes. You’ll have to go fish.”

“That’s okay, Grandma O’Reilly,” Clarissa said. “I don’t mind, really.”

She flipped over the first card on the pile and located a three. “See, I got it on the first try,” she said.

“Good for you,” Margaret replied. “It’s the luck of the Irish you have for sure.”

“Really?” Clarissa asked. “Am I Irish?”

Margaret looked at her over her cards and winked. “Well, you’re my granddaughter, aren’t you?” she asked.

Clarissa nodded.

“Then you’re as Irish as the day is long,” she said, with a firm nod. “And no one’s to tell you otherwise.”

With a wide grin, Clarissa nodded and then looked down at her cards. “What number, Grandma?” she asked.

Margaret studied her cards for a moment. “Have you any twos?”

Clarissa smiled up at her. “Go fish!” she said.

Picking up the first card, she saw it was a three. “Well, perhaps all of my Irish luck is transferring to you tonight,” she said.

“Then I’ll have two times the luck,” she replied quickly, but then her smile quickly dropped.

“Grandma, do you know about guardian angels?” she asked, staring beyond the table to the front door.

“I do,” Margaret said, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck raise. “What’s wrong?”

“Mike, my guardian angel, said the bad man is coming,” Clarissa said. “He says we need to hide.”

Margaret was out of her chair in a flash, taking Clarissa by the hand. “Where should we hide?”

Clarissa looked over to the door again. “The basement, in the back room,” she said. “And then we should call the police.”

Margaret looked over to the door, “Thank you, Mike,” she said. “Now go get Mary and Bradley.”

Margaret guided Clarissa through the kitchen to the basement door; hurrying through it, she pulled it closed and then wedged a broom handle between the knob and the door, so it couldn’t easily be pulled open.  They hurried down the steps and Margaret picked up a flashlight on the shelf at the bottom of the stairs.  She flipped on the flashlight and then turned off the light.  “Just a moment, darling,” she said. “I want to make the way, a bit more difficult.”

She pulled a chair across the room, stood on it and, pulling her sweatshirt sleeve over her hand, unscrewed the light bulb from the fixture next to the stairs.  Once she climbed down, she laid the chair on its side next to the last stair. “Now, let’s move back a ways,” she whispered.

With the flashlight pointed to the ground, they slowly made their way back to the workroom.  Margaret opened the door and they both quietly slipped inside.  She bolted the door with the small hook and eye, and then moved them both to the far corner.

“I’m going to call the police now,” Margaret said. “Can you hide under that table?”

Nodding, her eyes wide and frightened, she obediently scurried under the workbench. 

Pressing 911 on her cell, Margaret listened to the sounds above her as the call connected.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

Giving the operator her name and Mary’s address, she added, “We’re down in the basement, but I can hear someone above me,” she whispered. “I don’t know if he’s still on the porch or in the house.”

“I’ll send someone immediately,” the operator replied. “And I’ll stay on the line with you.”

“That’s fine,” Margaret replied. “I’ll put the phone on the counter, so you can listen, but I’ll not be doing any more talking.”

She laid the phone on the workbench and knelt down next to Clarissa. “How are you doing, darling?” she whispered.

“Fine, Grandma,” Clarissa said softly. “Is the bad man going to get us?”

Margaret shook her head. “Oh, no, darling. If the bad man thinks he has a chance tonight, then he’s never run into an O’Reilly protecting her young before. You sit back while I choose my weapons.”

Clarissa watched in the dim light as her grandmother walked over to the corner where many of the tools lay on shelves.  She saw her lift several objects, test them in her hand and put them down.  Finally, she saw her lift a large object up and heard a soft chuckle.

“This will do fine,” Margaret whispered, hefting an ax with both hands.

Placing herself next to the door and in front of Clarissa, she lifted the ax and waited. No one was going to take her granddaughter. Not while she was alive.

Chapter Twenty

The music was soft and romantic, the lights were low and Bradley had arranged a table in a quiet corner of the restaurant. He reached over and took her hand in his, lifted it to his lips and kissed it softly.

She sighed and felt her heart flutter. If she hadn’t already been in love with him, this date would have sealed the deal.

“You look even better in candlelight,” he said, his voice low.

She cleared her throat, uncomfortable with all of his compliments. “Actually, it’s been proven that most women look better in candlelight,” she said, as he rubbed his thumb against her palm. “It, um, it makes our skin look better.”

“No, Mary, not most women,” he said firmly. “You. Only you.”

“Well, actually…” she began.

He lifted her hand again and kissed her palm. She felt the sensation throughout her entire body.

Clearing her throat softly, she met his eyes. “I can’t…I can’t think very clearly when you do that,” she said breathlessly.

He smiled slowly and kissed her again. “Good. Don’t think, just feel.”

He started to lift her hand again when he saw her eyes widen and she looked past him.

“What?” he asked, turning and looking over his shoulder immediately.

Mike was standing behind the table, his face grim. “Copper’s at Mary’s house,” he said. “Margaret and Clarissa are hiding in the basement. The police have been called.”

Bradley grabbed Mary’s hand and they ran through the restaurant. Before they reached the front desk, he called across the room, “I just got an emergency call, where’s my car?”

The valet flew across the room and pulled the keys from the board. “I kept it in the driveway, sir,” he said, “Just in case.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Bradley said, grabbing the keys and rushing with Mary to the car.

He started the cruiser, turned on the siren and sped towards Mary’s house.

“They’re safe,” Mary whispered, her heart in her throat. “They have to be safe.”

Bradley switched on the car radio and linked to the dispatcher.  They were both relieved to hear that Margaret had made the 911 call and the open line she had established with 911 was still fine.

Bradley reached over and squeezed Mary’s hand for a quick moment. “They are fine,” he said. “They are safe. Clarissa is with your mom. She can handle anything.”

Mary nodded, brushing back the tears in her eyes, “Yes. Yes, she can.”

They pulled down the street and saw the flashing lights of several patrol cars reflecting off the houses windows.  Bradley pulled his car behind the closest cruiser and they both hurried toward the house. 

An ambulance careened down the road and pulled up on the lawn in front of the house. Two paramedics rushed up the stairs with a stretcher and disappeared into the house. Mary watched them in horror and then grabbed the arm of the nearest police officer. “Tell me, whose hurt?” she demanded.

The officer shook his head. “It wasn’t Clarissa or your mom. They’re fine,” he said. “One of our guys.”

“Was he shot?” Bradley asked.

“No, he broke his arm,” the officer replied.

“How…” Bradley began, but before he could continue Ian grabbed his shoulder.

“Where are they?” he gasped, clearly out of breath. “What happened?  Why are we standing outside?”

Mary looked at Ian, dressed in workout gear, sweat still clinging to his forehead. “How did you know?” she asked.

“Mike dropped in while I was exercising,” he said. “I dinnae think I even turned off the machine, I just ran out the door.”

An officer exited the house and Bradley ran up the stairs to meet him. “What’s going on?”

“All’s clear, Chief,” he replied. “I think the sirens spooked him, because he was gone before we got here.”

“But, there’s an officer down,” Bradley said.

“Yeah, well, Mrs. O’Reilly set a booby-trap at the bottom of the basement stairs,” he said. “And Officer Killoran found it the hard way.”

“She set a booby-trap?” Bradley asked.

“Yeah, they’re both upstairs now, in the living room,” he said.

Bradley waved to Ian and Mary to follow him and he entered the house.