Anna's Visions (26 page)

Anna West-Morgan

Chapter Nineteen

Tori sank down onto her bed, and she had to lie on her
left side so the pain would ease somewhat. She wondered how much longer she
could hang on. She closed her eyes, took deep breaths, and tried to remind
herself that it would all be over soon.

A few minutes later, Wes stuck his head through the
door. “Are you asleep?”

Tori smiled, happy that she had such a considerate
husband, and then patted the bed and said, “No, I’m awake. Come on in,
sweetheart.”

Wes dropped his coat and gloves on the floor, sat
beside Tori, and held her hand. “I know you’re miserable, and it makes me
miserable to see you that way. Is there anything I can do?”

“I know you feel for me, honey,” Tori said, squeezing
his hand. “But there isn’t much you can do now. Once this is over, I’ll be so
happy that I’ll forget the pain – at least that’s what everybody’s been telling
me.”

Momma called up from the bottom of the stairs, “Tori,
Daddy needs help at the store. He’s having some sort of trouble with the
bookwork, so if it’s okay with you, I’m going to go help him.”

“I’m fine, Momma,” Tori replied. “Go ahead and help
Daddy.”

As Tori heard the side door slam, she looked up at
Wes. “I hope the roads aren’t too slick. Momma has some trouble driving at
night.”

Wes smiled and patted her hand. “She’s a big girl and
has been driving in snow all her life. She’ll be fine.”

Wes snuggled beside Tori on top of the covers and she
felt better being wrapped in his loving arms. She didn’t know how long they’d
been lying there, but just as she was about to ask Wes if he’d get her a glass
of water, the phone rang.

“I’ll get it,” Wes said, easing off the bed. A few
minutes later Wes returned. “That was Dad on the phone. He said Mom’s angina is
acting up. He put a nitroglycerin tablet under her tongue, but he’s a nervous wreck–”

Tori sat up as quickly as she could and waved her arm
at him. “Get over there! They may need your help.” Wes hesitated, so she
repeated herself, this time more firmly. “Go! I’ll be fine. I don’t need
someone by my side every second. I’m pregnant – not on my deathbed. Now go!”

“Okay,” said Wes. “But I won’t be gone long. If you
need me–”

“I know how to dial a phone, Wes Asner. Get moving!”

“The front door is locked and I’ll lock the backdoor
on my way out,” Wes said as he slipped his arms through his coat and slipped on
his gloves.

“Good idea,” Tori said in mock sarcasm. “Lock
everything up. Somebody might want to steal me.”

Wes laughed. “If somebody did steal you, they’d be
back in an hour, begging to pay me to take you back!” He kissed Tori’s forehead
and headed downstairs.

Tori lay back down and closed her eyes. It seemed to
ease the pain to think about when she and Jill were small girls running through
a field of purple clover on the Morgan farm. They’d run in circles, giggling
and basking in the simple joy of being together.

Suddenly, Tori felt her body jerk. She opened her eyes
and looked around. She must have dozed off for a few minutes.
She
struggled out of bed and walked to the window, and then looked out at the
snow-covered ground and the maple tree where she and Jill had played so often.
It was the same tree that she and Wes had sat beneath as they planned their
future during their high school days.

It was all so lovely, but she was also worried about
Wes’ mother. How long had she been asleep? Why hadn’t someone called to update
her on Mom Asner’s condition? Why hadn’t Wes returned yet?

She gazed out the window and thought how beautiful the
full moon lit up the yard. Then she thought she saw something move by the maple
tree. She stepped closer to the window and she was sure she saw movement down
below. It was a figure dressed in black, apparently hiding behind the tree.

Tori smiled. “Oh, Mr. Dickerson is out on the plains
again. He’s probably running from the Indians before they can put an arrow in
him.” The entire neighborhood had been laughing at Mr. Dickerson’s antics for
years, but Tori had never seen him out on such a cold night.

Tori was
relieved to see car lights pulling into the Moss’
driveway. It was the red Pinto.
Tori was
glad to see
that Jill was home. If there was ever a time when she could use the assurance
of her best friend, it was at that moment.

Tori watched as Jill got out of the old car and took a
few steps toward the Hicks house. Then Tori gasped as she saw the dark figure
leap from behind the tree and race toward her. It wasn’t like Mr. Dickerson to
jump out and scare someone that way.

Tori’s amusement turned to horror as she saw a flash
and heard a loud pop from down below, and then Jill’s body slumped to the
ground!

“No!
God No!”
Tori shrieked.

Her mind couldn’t register what had just happened. Her
first instinct was to race to Jill’s aid, but the man had a gun! As she stood
frozen with fear and indecision, she saw the shadowy figure slowly turn toward
her window – and in the brilliant moonlight, she saw his face.

“Cody Baxter,” Tori managed to whisper, holding her
throat, her voice fading. She clinched her fist, thinking she was still
dreaming, willing herself to wake up, until she suddenly realized she was
digging her nails into her palms, that she was light-headed from holding her
breath, and a metallic taste of fear was gagging her.

Tori backed away from the window, barely able to
breathe, and only stopped
herself
from fainting by
steadied herself against the bedpost. My God, Cody Baxter was outside, and he’d
just killed her best friend. There was no doubt in her mind
who
would be next.

Tori’s head was spinning. She was all alone and there
was nowhere to run – even if she
could
run, which was impossible in her
pregnant condition. What was she going to do? Just as she started down the hall
to call the police, she heard the sound of glass shattering from the kitchen.
Cody had smashed the glass in the window of the back door!

She had to get to the phone. She moved as quickly as she
could toward her parents’ bedroom, and just as she reached their door, she
heard the second step crack like thunder.

Cody was coming up the stairs!

Tori waddled faster and reached for the phone on her
parents’ nightstand – but when she held it up to her ear, there was no dial
tone. Cody must have cut the wires.

From the stairway, she heard an ominous voice call
out, “Oh, Tori. Come out, come out wherever you are. It’s time we had a little
talk!”

Then Tori saw the hallway light come on.

He was at the top of the stairs!

“Where are you, little darlin’? You might as well show
yourself. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

Tori dropped the phone and backed across the floor
until she found herself in the closet. Her heart pounded as she waited for Cody
to find her. It was only a matter of time.

Then she felt something cold against her bare foot.
She reached down and touched metal. What was it – one of her dad’s golf clubs?
She felt on down a little and her fingers touched wood – a wooden butt of a
gun.
Shotgun?
Rifle?
Was it
loaded?

Tori picked it up, stepped silently from the closet.
She tiptoed across the floor and hid behind the door. As she trembled in the
semi-darkness, waiting for a showdown, she heard the scream of a siren. Help
was on the way – but would they get there in time?

A moment later, she heard Cody walking slowly down the
hallway. “Come on out, Tori There’s no way you can avoid this. Why not get it
over with now?”

Taking a deep breath, she pressed the butt of the
shotgun firmly against her shoulder and stepped out into the hallway.

Cody stood a few steps in front of the grandfather
clock. She heard him laugh as he pointed his pistol her way. She pulled the
trigger.

A heartbeat later, she felt her left shoulder jerk
back violently, followed by a stream of hot blood flowing down her arm. She had
been hit – but where was Cody?

Tori looked down the hallway and saw him lying on his
back. The gun had been thrown from his hand. He made no move to retrieve it as
he lay motionless amid a growing pool of blood.

She dropped the shotgun and put her left hand over the
wound in her arm. Then she shouldered against the wall, slowly making her way
to the stairs, never taking her eyes off him.

Just as she was about to step past him, she saw his
bloody hand reach for the gun a short distance away. Instinctively she kicked
the gun from his fingers, sending it sliding down the hallway.

As her heel returned to the floor, Cody struggled onto
his stomach and grabbed her ankle. She lost her balance and fell against the grandfather
clock – the same grandfather clock she’d cussed a thousand times before – but
this time it kept her from falling all the way to the floor.

Using the clock for leverage, she jerked her foot
away, her eyes never leaving him. He reached into the back pocket of his jeans,
pulled out a knife, and slashed out viciously, slicing her ankle as she
struggled to get past him.

Tori screamed in pain, but kept moving as she saw Cody
begin to crawl toward her, leaving a trail of blood on the carpet. She made it
to the staircase and clutched the railing as she started down the stairs.

She heard him groan as he struggled to get to his
feet.

Her ankle barely supporting her weight, she walked her
way down the steps, but she was only halfway down when she heard Cody scream
from the top of the stairs, “Okay Tori. This is where we settle the score.”

She looked over her shoulder and saw him foaming at
the mouth as if he were a rabid dog.
Just like in my dream!

He rushed down the stairs, knife raised, ready to
plunge it into her back.
Just like in my dream!

She continued as quickly as she could move, but he was
gaining on her.

She was almost to the bottom step, but she knew there
was no way she was going to make it. He was going to win after all.

Suddenly, she heard a loud crack. At first she thought
it was the second step – until she watched in surprise as Cody’s body tumbled
ahead of her, landing face down on the floor with a hard thud.

She was disoriented by fear, but as Cody’s body hit
the floor, she managed to focus and saw another figure move from the side of
the railing to stand at the bottom of the staircase.

Tommy Hill? He stood with the lead tip cane raised in
the air, poised to whack Cody’s head again if he moved.

Tori stared at Tommy wordlessly. He lowered the cane
and started up the stairs – just as Tori lost consciousness and fell forward
into his arms.

* * * *

When Tori woke up, she found herself lying on the
living room couch with Tommy standing over her.

“Jill!” Tori said frantically, trying to get up. “He
shot Jill!”

“Shh!
Don’t
move,” Tommy
said, gently restraining her. “I found Jill and took her to my house. I told my
mom to call the ambulance and the police, and then I ran over here to see if I
could help you.”

“But how did you find Jill so quickly?”

“Well, while I was out on my daily walk this afternoon
and circling the block I noticed a stranger pacing up and down the sidewalk in
front of your house. He acted as if he were stalking you. So, after I got back
around to my house I sneaked across your backyard and hid behind the bushes on
the far side of your carport so I could keep an eye on him. You might say I was
stalking the stalker. I heard the shot and saw Jill go down–”

“Oh, Tommy, I saw her go down, too. I wanted to go to
her–”

Tommy patted Tori’s hand. “Don’t get upset. You
couldn’t have helped her.” He swallowed hard, and then continued. “I ran back
in time to see him smash the window on your back door and head inside. So while
he was concentrating on you, I grabbed the cane – well, you know the rest.”

Just as Tommy finished his explanation, two police
officers rushed into the living room, their guns drawn.

“Put your hands up and step away from the girl, son,”
one of the officers said, his gun trained on Tommy.

“But, officer, he–” Before Tori could tell the officer
that Tommy had come to her rescue, she heard a familiar voice, crying, “Tori!”
as Wes raced into the living room and toward the couch, followed by her
parents.

At that moment Tori’s mind no longer seemed to
function clearly. She could hear Tommy talking to the police officers, but it
sounded as if they were in an echo chamber. Her vision blurred and although she
was vaguely aware that Wes’ arms were around her, she felt as if she were
floating outside her body.

A moment later, Tori realized that Momma was wiping
her wounds with a cotton ball soaked with iodine, but she felt no pain. Through
the din and haze, she thought she heard someone say, “
There’s
a bullet graze on her shoulder and a pretty deep slice on her ankle. We need to
get her to the hospital!”