Anna's Visions (19 page)

“You can say that again,” Tori said. “Do you know that
I still hardly know anything about him?”

“Well, I’m not surprised,” Emma said with a nod. “I
suppose he’ll open up, sooner or later.”

“Maybe.”
But Tori doubted so.

After the apartment was completely furnished and
decorated, Tori’s closet was filled with new clothes, and she had enough shoes
to outfit an army, she suddenly found herself with nothing to do – and her
spirit sank. She began to cry for her family and Jill every day, and even when
Emma took her to a movie, she usually slept through the whole thing.

Before Cody came home from work each day, Emma cooked
a large meal and she usually ate with them. One evening while they were eating,
Tori said, “Emma, I see that you’re wearing a wedding band. If you don’t mind
me asking, where’s your husband? I’ve never seen him.”

After taking a drink of her iced tea, Emma replied,
“I’m married to a truck driver who’s gone most of the time, and I kind of like
it that way. We get on each other’s nerves after a couple days.” She took
another sip of tea. “When he leaves on a long haul I always tell him to keep
his big rig between the ditches and his little rig in his britches.” She
slapped her palm on the table, laughed, and gave a nasally snort as if she had
cracked the funniest joke ever told.

Tori laughed even though it didn’t strike her funny as
she watched Emma stuff a large piece of pork chop smothered with gravy into her
mouth, and a bit of gravy dripped on her chin.

You’re a sweetheart, but you eat like a pig
. Tori felt immediate shame for thinking something so
ugly when Emma had been nothing but kind to her.

Emma was Tori’s
constant companion, but Tori found that she had lost all concept of time. Days,
nights, and whole weeks all seemed to run together. She took the medication
that Cody gave her, and she began to notice that he switched pills from time to
time. It seemed as if she would just get used to a certain color and shape,
when he would give her something different. She figured he was experimenting to
see what would work best for overcoming her condition.

The most painful thing was that every time she
mentioned her family or Jill, Cody would quickly change the subject, and since
her memory was so poor, it wouldn’t take long and she’d forget what they were
talking about. And at times, he talked in circles, and Tori didn’t know if he
had given her an answer or just confused her even more.

One Sunday night, Emma said to Tori, “I’ve got a
dental appointment tomorrow that’s going to take all morning, but don’t worry –
I’ll drag you out of bed when I get back, okay?”

Tori assured Emma that she’d be fine. Tori went to bed
a little after eleven that night. When she awoke the next day and looked at the
clock on the nightstand, she gasped. She’d slept almost fifteen hours.

“Crapola!”
Tori cried, swinging her legs off the bed. She lifted
her arms over her head and stretched. To her surprise, she felt better than she
had in a long time. Her head wasn’t full of cobwebs and she was even hungry.

She went into the kitchen, grabbed a sweet roll off
the counter top, and munched on it as she made a pot of coffee. The roll tasted
so good that she had another one while she waited for the coffee to brew.

Tori loved the smell of fresh brewed coffee. When it
was ready, she filled a mug, sat at the table, and reveled in the feeling of
being her old self again. Everything seemed bright and beautiful. She had no
boo-boos, no heart racing, food tasted good, and her mind was clear and alert.
It was a miracle! Maybe she was finally cured!

She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and visions of
Grammy, Poppy, Momma, Daddy, and Jill danced through her mind.
Why did they
turn their backs on me? Why don’t they love me anymore?

She was still hurt, especially when she remembered
something Cody had said – though she didn’t know how long ago it had been. He
told her that her parents had called one night while she was asleep and had
told him to keep her in Atlanta and never bring her back to Madison. According
to Cody, they were ashamed of her for marrying a man she’d only known for two
weeks.

Tori rested her elbow on the table, rubbed her brow,
and wondered why she had believed that story. She couldn’t imagine her family
ever saying anything like that, and it wasn’t like them to hold a grudge.
Sooner or later, they always accepted a situation and moved on. The more she
thought about it, the madder she got.

As she sat sipping her coffee, she began to think
about other things that Cody had told her over the last few months. Many of her
memories were disjointed, but little by little, random pieces started to fit
together in her mind.

Suddenly, she slammed her coffee mug on the table.
“That lying, conniving, sicko!” she yelled. “How could I have been such a fool?
He just wants me all to himself. He’s jealous of my family, and he can’t stand
for me to have a best friend like Jill. He probably thinks that I love her more
than I do him. And he is so right!” she mumbled through clenched teeth.

Tori jumped as Emma opened the apartment door and
stepped inside.

“Tori!” she exclaimed. “I wasn’t expecting you to be
out of bed. Here, honey. I’ve got your medicine.” She reached into her pocket
and pulled out two pills. “
Oh,
and here are some pills
that Cody gave me some time back when I couldn’t sleep.” She reached into her
other pocket and pulled out several pills, then placed them in the ashtray on
the table. “I took one and I did sleep but the dang thing gave me such a
hangover it took me all day to shake it off. I never took another one.”

Tori eyed the pills.
Good ole’ Quaaludes!

Tori smiled. “Thanks, Emma.” Then she added firmness
to her voice. “And no offence, but I kind of want to spend the day by myself.”

“Well, I don’t know,” Emma said with hesitance. “Cody
told me not to let you be alone, honey, and–”

“Come on, Emma,” Tori said. “I don’t need a babysitter
around the clock, and today I feel like being alone.”

Emma nodded. “Well, okay, honey, but if you change
your mind, you know where to find me.”

“I know, and thank you.” Tori stood up and escorted
Emma to the door. “I’ll call you right away if I have any problems at all.”

“OK, honey, I’ll be right downstairs if you need me,”
Emma said as she walked toward the stairs, chewing on her knuckles.

After Emma was gone, Tori walked down the hallway,
entered the spare bedroom and looked around as if she’d never seen it before.
Her dolls sat on a large bookshelf, but she had only a vague memory of
arranging them. Then she picked up a picture album and slowly turned the pages.
Her eyes came to rest on a picture of the four musketeers.

Impulsively she ran her fingertips across Wes’ face.
How she longed to see him, touch him, kiss him. “Oh, Wes, do I ever cross your
mind?”

As she closed the album and clutched it to her heart,
everything became crystal clear. She was being held prisoner in Atlanta! All
those medications Cody had been giving her had nothing to do with helping her
get well. All that time, he had been keeping her liquored-up and drugged-out so
he could control her. She had been a first-class fool – but that game was over.
She was going to reclaim her freedom – starting at that very moment!

She threw the album on the bed, and screamed, “Well,
Cody, you can take your pills and alcohol and shove them where the sun doesn’t
shine! And that ain’t under your armpit, big boy!”

She stood for a second, and then hurried into the
master bathroom where she noticed two “blue dolls” and a “lude” lying on the
commode tank. “I forgot to take them,” she said, throwing them into the commode
and flushing. Again, pieces were fitting together. Her mind was clear that
morning because she had slept off the pills she had taken the day before and
she hadn’t poked another batch of poison down her throat that night, and she
hadn’t taken any that morning either.

Tori seethed as she walked back to the kitchen, where
she spied a new bottle of vodka sitting on the counter. She broke the seal and
poured the vodka down the drain. She turned on the tap and refilled the bottle.
Then it occurred to her, if the seal was broken then the bottle should have
vodka missing, too. “Right,” she said. “I’m rowing with both oars in the water
today!”

She turned in circles, and then she grabbed the wall
phone and dialed Jill’s number, her hand shaking with rage. She drummed her
fingers on the wall as the phone rang. “Answer the phone, Jill. Come on, pick
up.”

Suddenly, she felt Cody’s arm around her neck like a
boa constrictor, trying to strangle her. He yanked the phone out of the wall
with his other hand, threw it on the floor, and yelled, “Who the hell do you
think you’re calling?”

Cody released his grip and spun Tori around to face
him, his angry eyes flashing.

As Tori rubbed her throat, she said, “Cody, I didn’t
hear you–”

“No, apparently you didn’t. What the hell is going on
here? You’re not going to call Jill!
– or anyone else!”

He grabbed Tori by the hair and pulled her into the
living room, where he shoved her body down onto the sofa, and growled
menacingly, “Don’t you dare move. You’re going to take your pills and calm
down, or I’ll be forced to–”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but Tori knew he was
deadly serious. He reached into his pocket and then thrust out his hand, which
contained two pills unlike any Tori had seen before.

She knew she had to play it cool or she’d never escape
this evil, manipulative man. Stalling for time, she said meekly, “I’m sorry.
I’ll take my pills. I
am
in a bad mental state.”

Cody’s bristles seemed to lower as he watched her put
the pills into her mouth and his tone became much softer. “That’s a good girl.”

As Cody disappeared into the kitchen, Tori quickly
rolled the pills off her tongue and stuffed them between the sofa cushions. She
heard him take a glass from the cupboard, and then she heard a clang of glass
against glass. She listened closely and she heard a loud thud, which told her
he was throwing the phone into the trashcan.

A short time later, Cody reappeared, carrying a glass
of orange juice.

“Thanks,” Tori said, and she was just tipping the
glass when Emma burst through the door and came running into the living room.

Emma had a look of horror in her eyes as she asked,
“Is she okay? I’m sorry I had to call you, Cody, but I was afraid she’d–”

The look on Cody’s face froze Emma in her tracks. She
instantly pivoted on her heels and said, “Okay, good. It looks like everything’s
fine here, so I’ll just go back downstairs. Call me if you need me.”

Cody watched Emma go, then turned to glare at Tori,
his eyes wild, his hands trembling.

Tori turned up the glass and finished the orange
juice.

“Good girl,” he
said,
his
tone more gentle and warm. “I’ll sit here until you feel better.” He sat beside
her on the sofa and draped his left arm across her shoulders.

Tori closed her eyes, silently praying that she would
find a way out of this dangerous situation. A few minutes later, she opened her
eyes briefly and her gaze fell upon a clock above the TV that showed the time
and date. To her horror, it was September 15
^th
. She couldn’t believe
her eyes. She’d been in Atlanta for three months, but she couldn’t clearly
recall three full days. Somehow, she had to escape from this prison, but she
had no idea how.

Anna’s Note

September15, 1976

I feel weak this morning. It’s been three months since
any of us have heard a word from Tori, and that phone call made no sense. I
only hope that God will let me live long enough to see Tori again. I’ve been
praying for a sign or vision, and yesterday I got one.

I was standing by the kitchen sink when all of a
sudden I caught a flash of a white envelope – and on the envelope were the
initials CB. It was then that I realized the answer was in the mail. Since it
was four o’clock in the afternoon, I picked up my cane and headed down the lane
to the mailbox – but when I opened it, the box was empty.

For the first time in my life, I’m confused by one of
my visions – yet it was so clear. What could it mean?

Anna West-Morgan

Chapter Fourteen

Cody refused to let Tori out of his sight. When she
had to use the bathroom, he’d stand outside the door and wait for her to come
out. Then he’d take her arm, lead her back into the living room, and order her
to sit on the sofa beside him.

Tori sat like an obedient child, wondering what he was
going to do. Then he stood, looked her in the eyes, and commanded, “Sit tight.
I’ll be right back.”

Tori’s heart leaped with joy. She thought he was
headed outside to get something. And she was going to run out the back door.

Cody didn’t open the kitchen door. Soon, he walked
back into the living room carrying a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a bottle of
Dark Eyes. He poured a shot of vodka for Tori and a shot of Jack for himself.
With a cheery voice, he said, “Bottoms up!”

Tori shot it down as she chuckled to herself.
A
little water won’t hurt me.

Cody shot his down. He continued to pour shots for
both of them and Tori figured it wouldn’t be long before he’d pass out, and
then she’d make a run for it.

As they sat staring at the TV, pretending to watch a
ballgame, Tori nearly jumped off the sofa when she heard a loud pounding on the
door.

Irritated, Cody jumped up and stomped across the floor,
yelling, “Damn it, Emma, not now!” Tori heard him unlock the door and she
figured he was going to tell Emma to kiss off.

Then Tori had an idea.

She eased her body from the sofa, quietly started
across the floor, hoping she could give Emma eye signals and Emma would come to
her rescue. As quickly as her hopes rose, they sank and she reminded herself
that Emma was Cody’s marionette. He pulled the strings – Emma danced.

Then Tori heard a familiar voice from outside
demanding, “Where is Tori? I know she’s in there.”

“Jill,” Tori screamed, running toward the front door.

Seeing Tori, Jill immediately darted past Cody and
folded Tori into a bear hug.

Both of them were crying and talking at once – until
Cody forcefully pulled them apart like a referee separating two boxers. “Well,
well. You must be the famous Jill I’ve heard so much about. What are you doing
here? Are you lost?”

Jill opened her mouth to reply, but Tori quickly
intervened, “Yeah, Jill, you should have called first.” She gave Jill a secret
look they had shared hundreds of times in the past, letting Jill know that she
should go along with whatever Tori was about to say. Tori only hoped that her
three months of absence hadn’t dulled her and Jill’s ability to communicate
without words.

Jill nodded, looking embarrassed. “You’re right. I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t have dropped in without calling first. I guess I wasn’t
thinking. It’s just been so long–”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cody said, grabbing Jill’s left arm and
Tori’s right arm and pulling them into the living room. He clung tightly to
them as he said, “Tori and I were just about to go to bed. It’s late and I have
to get up early and go to work.”

He then gave Tori a fierce look that told her she’d
better keep her mouth shut.

As Tori felt Cody’s grip loosen, she looked into
Jill’s eyes and said, “Yeah, that’s right. Jill, we can talk tomorrow. I’m
tired and Cody needs his rest. If you follow me, I’ll show you to the guest
room. We can talk all you want in the morning.”

Jill stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “Actually,
that’s sounds good to me. I’m pretty beat myself. It was a long drive down
here.” She yawned again, and then continued, “But Cody is right. I showed up
uninvited. I think I remember seeing a motel just a few blocks from here. I’ll
stay there and see you in the morning.” She made a half turn.

As she turned to go, Cody surprised Tori by saying,
“No, Jill, that won’t be necessary.” He grabbed them by the arms again and
ushered them down the hall to the spare bedroom. “You’re welcome to stay here.
I think you’ll find it comfortable and the guest bathroom is right down the
hall,” he said, gesturing with his head, and gripping Tori’s arm until his
fingers dug into her flesh.

“Thanks,” Jill answered sweetly. “It would be nice to
sleep somewhere besides a motel. Again, I’m sorry I came so late without
calling. Well, you two have a good night’s sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She yawned again.

Boy, she’s good!
Tori almost giggled.

Cody waited for Jill to close the bedroom door, and
then through clenched teeth he mumbled in Tori’s ear, “Now let’s go to bed!”

Tori let Cody guide her as if she were the lost sheep
he thought she was. He locked their bedroom door, reached into his pocket, and
pulled out the pill pouch. He handed Tori
two Valium
and one Quaalude. “Take them!” he commanded.

Tori popped the pills into her mouth, but as soon as
Cody bent down to untie his shoes, she rolled the pills off her tongue and
slipped them under the mattress as she pulled back the bed covers. Then she
changed into her night gown, and crawled into bed.

Jill can’t sneak out and go for help because Cody has
the deadbolts locked and the keys are in his jeans pocket. I’ll wait until he
falls asleep.
She didn’t move
as she waited for Cody to fall asleep. She’d be able to tell because he always
snored – but he didn’t make a sound. She figured he was waiting for her to fall
asleep.

“Cody,” Tori said softly.

“What?” he answered in an amazingly gentle tone.

“I’m sorry Jill upset you. I’ll get rid of her
tomorrow and let her know that my place is with you,” Tori said with all the
conviction she could muster.

“Yeah, Tori, you do that.”

Tori must have dozed off because she was startled when
she felt Cody ease his arm from under her neck, lift his leg off her stomach,
and roll out of bed.

She partially opened her eyes and was surprised to see
it was 6:00 a.m. She watched him dress and walk out of the room.
She
listened closely, scared to move too soon. She heard the clinking of glass and
she figured he was fixing his orange juice. Then she heard the front kitchen
door open and close.

Orange juice to
go?
That was a first time –
that
she could remember.

She waited a few more minutes and when she heard no
more
sounds,
she jumped out of bed, hurried across the
hall, and opened the door of the guest bedroom. Jill sprang from bed, fully
clothed, her purse in one hand and the car keys in the other.

“Is he gone,” Jill whispered.

“Yeah, I heard the door close. We have to–”

“Here you go, girls.
Fresh orange
juice.”

Tori and Jill gasped as Cody walked into the guest
bedroom, carrying two glasses of juice. “I have to make a run to Alabama today,
but I thought I’d offer our guest some orange juice before I left.” He handed a
glass to each of them, smiling as if playing the role of a perfect host.

As Jill took a glass, Tori shifted her eyes from side
to side.

Cody handed Tori a glass and then pulled her into the
hallway, kissed her cheek, and sweetly said, “Have a nice visit with Jill,” as
he patted her bottom.

“Bye. Have a safe trip. Love you,” Tori said as he
turned to go. She stood transfixed, until she heard the front kitchen door open
and close. She finally took a breath, then hurried to the master bedroom and
peered around the curtains. She watched him get into the car and back out. With
a sigh of relief she ran back to Jill. “You didn’t drink any of the juice, did
you?” Tori looked at Jill’s glass.

“No, I caught your signal. What’s wrong with it?”

“He was being much too nice, which means he didn’t buy
my cockamamie speech I gave him last night, which means he was trying to slip
us a Mickey, and knock us out while he was gone. Thank God, you found me, Jill.
Now I can finally get out of here–” Tori shook her head. “How
did
you
find me?” Before Jill could answer, Tori said, “I know. Grammy saw a vision and
she led you right to my door.”

“Well, yes and no. I’ll tell you all about it when we
get away from here.”

“Yes and no?” Tori repeated, but she didn’t press
Jill. “Okay,” she said, practically dragging Jill across the hall and into her
bedroom.

As Tori hurriedly threw on a pair of jeans and a
pullover sweater, Jill asked, “What in the hell is going on here? Why haven’t
you contacted anybody?”

“It’s a long story. And like you, I’ll tell you all
about it when we’re on the road. I’ve got a lot of questions and I know you do,
too, but we’ve got to get out of here, fast!”

Tori’s fingers fumbled and her hands were trembling,
but she finally managed to get dressed. Then she grabbed a shoulder strap
purse, and Jill had to run to keep up as they raced down the hall.

Tori stopped abruptly and turned around. “I’ve got to
get my dolls and picture albums.”

“Are you crazy? Just leave them, Tori!”

“No! He thinks he’s either knocked us out or killed
us, depending on what was in the orange juice. I’m not going to leave my precious
stuff here where he can destroy it. I’m not leaving my stuff!”

She ran into the kitchen with Jill behind her, saying,
“Hurry!”

Tori grabbed a hand full of plastic bags from under
the counter. “Come on. We’ll just throw everything into these and then we’ll
leave.”

Jill heaved a heavy sigh. “Well, let’s get them and
go!”

They hurried back to the bedroom and frantically began
stuffing dolls and books into the garbage bags. Just as they were grabbing the
last of the dolls, they heard a menacing voice from the doorway, “Going
somewhere, my love?”

They whirled around and saw Cody standing in the
doorway, a gun aimed straight at them. He waved the gun and said, “Now, let’s
all walk into the kitchen
–
 
nice
and slow.”

Tori couldn’t think of anything to say, and she knew
instinctively that if she had said anything, it would have set Cody off, so she
and Jill slowly walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway toward the
kitchen.

When they reached the kitchen, Cody motioned toward
the table with the gun. “Now, sit at the table, girls.
On the
far side.”

Tori and Jill sank into the chairs, their backs to the
wall, their bodies trembling.

Still holding the gun on them, Cody reached into the
cabinet and pulled out a fifth of Jack Daniel’s. He placed the bottle in front
of Tori, took a few steps back, and picked up a shot glass.

“Pour,” he commanded, setting the glass on the table.

Tori filled the shot glass.

Cody reached for the glass, then lowered his hand and
backed away as if he were confused. He paced the floor for a few minutes,
running his hands through his hair, then grabbed the glass and tossed the
whiskey down his throat. Then he slammed the glass back down and screamed,
“Refill!” Sweat was running down his face.

As Tori reached for the glass, Cody began to pace
again, taking his eyes off them for the first time. It was then that Tori
noticed the ashtray filled with pills that Emma had placed behind the
centerpiece on the table. As quickly as Tori could, her eyes never leaving his
face, she grabbed several pills and dropped them into the empty glass. Then she
poured whiskey over them and watched them melt. She looked at Jill and saw the
look of terror on her face. It was a risk, but she had to take it.

Cody stopped pacing, reached for the shot, and quickly
tossed the whiskey and pills down his throat. He was acting strangely enough
that Tori couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t already taken some sort of
medication before confronting them.

Cody’s eyes narrowed as he wiped his lips, slamming
the glass back down, and yelled, “Again!”

Tori was amazed that he again turned away from them
and paced as she dropped three more pills into the glass and dissolved them
with Jack Daniel’s. He was obviously distraught and trying to decide what to do
with them.

Tori held out the shot glass, which Cody grabbed
violently and then quickly emptied. Then he deliberately set the glass down, as
if he’d come to some sort of decision.

His voice was calm as he looked down on them. “Well,
well. What am I going to do with your bodies, girls?” He pulled out a chair,
turned it around backward, and straddled it as if he were riding a horse. He
pointed the gun at Jill and then at Tori.
“Pow!
Pow!”

It was then that Tori noticed a strange looking object
on the end of the gun barrel.
Silencer?
He
wasn’t trying to scare them. He really was going to kill them. And knowing
Cody, she figured he had carefully thought of a way to dispose of their bodies
and nobody would ever find them.

His eyelids began to droop as he nodded toward the
kitchen clock. “Ten minutes, girls. Watch the clock. Meanwhile, I believe I’ll
have another shot.”