Black Horse (Breaking Black) (14 page)

“No! He killed Jessa and you know it!”

Corinne stormed away from Nathan, ran up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door behind her so hard that it caused the front windows to shake.

“Shit…” said Nathan as he loosened his tie and flopped on the couch.

***

Colton cried out in his sleep. His eyelids remained shut and his head rolled from side to side as if trying to shake himself from his nightmare.

“Momma!” he screamed out in a blood curdling cry.

Corrine’s eyes flew open. Her heart beat hard in her chest as she ran down the hall to Randy’s room. She tried to wake Colton, but he continued to cry out in distress. Lifting him up, Corinne took Colton to her bedroom and laid him on the bed as she tried to wake him. Nathan, who was sleeping, woke with a start. With shock apparent on his face, Nathan tried to make sense of what was going on.

“What’s the matter?!” Nathan said with a sense of urgency in his voice.

“He’s having night terrors. This child is traumatized… Hold him!”

Corinne passed Colton off to her husband as she ran to the bathroom. She ran a wash cloth under the faucet and allowed the cool water to dampen the terry cloth. Hurrying back to Colton’s side, she applied the cool compress to his cheeks hoping to wake him. Finally, he opened his eyes but the effects of the nightmare didn’t cease. Colton continued to scream for his mother as he gripped onto Corinne’s satin nightgown. His hands moved frantically, trying to seek comfort in Corinne’s warm embrace.

Softly, in nothing more than a whimper, Colton called for Jessa one last time.

“It’s alright, buddy…” Nathan said as he smoothed Colton’s hair against his face.

“He hurt her…” Colton said into Corinne’s ear. He sounded so much older than his five years should have allowed. Corinne’s heart broke for the child.

“Who hurt her, darling?” Corinne asked.

“My father… He hurt Momma…”

Corinne gave Nathan a grave look.

“Honey, what happened? Its okay, love… You can tell me.”

Colton was silent for a few moments, unsure if he should say anymore. His throat seized up, his belly tightened into painful knots and the truth found its way from Colton’s tortured heart into Corinne’s understanding ear.

“With the gun. Daddy hurt Momma with the gun.”

***

“Corinne, you don’t understand! The testimony of a toddler will not hold up in court. He was only three years old when it happened.”

“Nathan, he was there. He knows what happened and he is quite obviously traumatized. He knows
his mother was shot and he knows who did it. How could you possibly represent him when it is clear that he killed his wife?!”

“It’s not clear. The child had a nightmare, Corinne. I’m not going to trouble him further by putting him on the stand.”

“Nathan!”

“No, Corinne. I’ll not hear another word on the matter.”

Corinne shook her head as she put breakfast on the table.

“The Nathan Ford I know is a man of integrity. There is nothing responsible, decent or integral about this!”

She slammed his bacon and eggs in front of him as she rushed off to get the children ready for school.

Chapter Twenty

The Bargain

“Sit down, Tom…” said Nathan as he opened the door of his study.

Nathan hadn’t agreed to take Tom’s case yet, but then again, he also hadn’t refused, either.”

Tom did as he was told. He scratched his chin, which was irritated from having shaved for the first time in years. He was nicely dressed in a pair of black slacks, a white button down shirt and a striped tie that he had purchased from the Salvation Army just the other day. Nathan sat down at his desk across from Tom and watched him with a calculating look upon his face.

“I see you cleaned up your image…” said Nathan sounding neither complimentary nor disapproving.

“I am trying to turn my life around. I’ve done things that I am not proud of, but I am no murderer. I swear on my mother’s grave.”

She was probably rolling in it. Black Horse’s reservoir of dishonesty had a limitless supply of lies. Nathan continued to watch him. He appeared to be upon a precipice; deciding whether or not he was doing the right thing. Nathan knew that Corinne’s points were valid. He had a hidden agenda of his own, though. One that would benefit Corinne and Colton greatly. It was a way to protect his family and also keep a promise he made to Anna before her death.

“If the opportunity ever presents itself, and you find it within your heart to guide him, please lead my son away from the darkness,” Anna begged of Nathan over ten years ago.

He recalled this promise, and he felt pangs of guilt as he thought about what he needed to do. While he would do his best, he also planned to take advantage of the situation that was playing out before them.

The two men were shut in a locked study as Nathan decided what Black Horse’s future would be. Nathan knew he could win his case. His record was impeccable. He also knew that Tom could not afford his services. But if he could convince Tom to give up his rights as Colton’s father, he could help secure the child’s safety while he attempted to help Tom follow the right path. Offering pro bono services to Tom, it seemed a win-win for everyone involved.

“I have a proposition for you.”

***

And so it was. Tom gave up his rights as a father, and Corinne was granted emergency guardianship of Colton. Upon this news, Nathan made an urgent call to his colleague who specialized in family law to initiate the adoption process. By sleight of hand, Nathan had helped to ensure Colton’s safety from his father. Black Horse had no legal rights to the boy, and Colton settled into life in the Ford household where he would remain.

Corinne was still livid with Nathan, but after telling her about the plan to protect Colton and his promise to Anna, she backed off a little. Nathan visited with Tom in the study. They discussed his case in private. Tom actually seemed to be making amends in Nathan’s eyes. He confessed to robbing the San Queso Bank, stealing money from his mother’s bank accounts, and he even admitted to being guilty to domestic abuse charges. None of these charges were being brought up in court though. The State of Texas were focused on two counts and two counts only; two counts of murder in the first degree.

Tom made his visits brief, and he didn’t bother Colton when he came, not even to say hello. He pretended as if the boy did not exist. Corinne couldn’t decide if that made her furious or relieved.

***

Six months had passed. Finally, Tom McClain’s court date had arrived. As expected, the prosecutions case was weak. They had no witnesses that saw Tom shoot Jessa McClain or John Radcliffe. He presented a cool and calm demeanor in court. The jury was comprised of six women and six men of varying social stature, backgrounds and political standing. When it came time to deliberate, the jurors were gridlocked. Six voted for a not-guilty charge, while six went for a guilty charge. After seventeen hours at the table, the jurors that believed that the prosecution did not prove their case against Tom McClain had convinced the other half of the same. Everyone in the room knew in their mind that Black Horse was guilty as sin, but there wasn’t enough evidence to prove as much.

Tom “Black Horse” McClain was a free man.

Chapter Twenty-One

Eventide

Eventide crept over the valley as cries of excitement sounded from the backyard of the Ford residence. As the fiery sun departed, darkness set in leaving the land cloaked in shadow. The midnight blue of the sky covered the land like a blanket covering our eyes, just before the stars had made their grand debut.

A shock of light circled the yard as children chased each other around the border with sparklers in their hands, the brilliant glow of each stick swirling in the air leaving traces of light cutting through the night. Averi led the train of light with Randy and Colton behind her and Tim and Seth pulling up the rear. They couldn’t stop laughing at the sparkler let off heat and shone brightly through the dark yard. Running through the yard barefoot in their bathing suits with their sparklers held high above their heads like beacons.

It was late August now, and the summer heat showed no signs of wavering as September approached.  Corinne lit the tiki torches, one by one, that surrounded their in-ground pool. As the sparklers extinguished, each kid, one by one jumped in the pool, which was a comfortable 89 degrees. Even at the night, the sweltering heat was suffocating.

It had been four months since Black Horse’s court date and no one had seen hide nor hair of him.
 Once he was acquitted, he blended into the background, careful to stay under the radar and out of sight.

Colton’s adoption had gone through without a hitch. With Corinne already listed as his legal guardian, the state was more than happy to grant the motion.

It was a time for celebration… but they weren’t alone.

***

Tim and Colton plunged into the pool, splashing Averi, who sat on the edge of the pool, slurping on a popsicle.

“Hey!” she yelled as water dripped from her hair.

With a running start, Averi cannon-balled into the pool splashing Colton and her brothers in revenge. Nathan had emerged from the house dressed in a pair of swim trunks. He kissed his wife on the lips and without warning he ran towards the pool. His belly flop soaked everyone and he laughed loudly even though it stung a little bit.

Corinne re-emerged from the kitchen with a gallon of vanilla ice cream and a stack of waffle cones. With a smirk on her pretty face, Corinne hollered, “Who wants ice cream?!”

All the kids ran to her at lightning speed with Randy, Colton and Tim leading the charge. After a moment Colton fell back as a thought occurred to him.

So this is what happiness is… It had finally come at last.

***

Sitting in the shadow of the maple tree that sat adjacent to the Ford’s property, Black Horse stood waiting. He didn’t bother the Fords, but he did watch. He wanted to observe life within the walls of the American dream. It pained Tom to see his son so happy, when he showed such hostility towards him. There was no such anger or fear or hatred towards the Fords, though. He clearly loved them. Black Horse was jealous. His father made his childhood a living hell. He still had the scars to prove it. While he knew it wasn’t normal that he’d want his son to suffer, he did. He truly did want Colton to understand what it was to be unwanted. As if he hadn’t done a bang up job of that already. Jessa was gone. Anna was gone… and Corinne, oh, God help Colton if anything happened to her. Black Horse didn’t deserve a family, he knew it, but it didn’t stop him from getting jealous that his son was getting what he always wanted. The small amount of decency to walk away from Colton for good was being overridden by his lust to control his every move. He didn’t love his son. His son didn’t love him. It’s just the way it was. By walking away, Black Horse was doing his son a favor. Black Horse resented his son because he reminded him too much of Jessa.

Black Horse watched as Colton gave Nathan a high five.

“Nice throw, buddy!” Nathan said as he encouraged Colton.

“Thanks, Dad!”

Dad
.

Black Horse’s blood bubbled under the surface. As he snarled his upper lip, Black Horse retreated into the darkness.  

***

“Randy! Timmy! Mr. Doyle is here for you!” Nathan yelled up the front staircase as he checked to make sure his sons had everything packed for their sleepover. The boys bolted down the steps and yelled goodbye before running out of the house. “Bye Mom… Bye Dad! See you tomorrow…”

Chapter Twenty-Two

2:16 A.M.

Colton woke with a hand over his mouth to muffle his voice. The sickly scent of tobacco gagged Colton and the rough, calloused skin of the man’s hand made Colton’s blood curdle. His father had come for him.

“Make one sound and it will be your last,” said Black Horse as cold as ice.

Black Horse yanked Colton out of bed, keeping his hand firmly covering his son’s mouth. Colton bit down on the hand, sinking his teeth hard into the flesh of his father’s dirty hands. The boy drew blood, but Black Horse didn’t notice. He was desensitized to pain… just another side effect of his sociopathic personality.

Colton kicked his father as hard as he could. Again and again, harder, faster, but it was to no avail. Black Horse had taken Colton, stealing him away from the only place that he had ever felt safe.