Deadly Obsession (10 page)

Hysteria set in for Janice upon realization of true reality at that moment. Jason desperately tried to console her. His heart was breaking in two for his sister but there was no comforting her, her daughter was dead. Her only child had been tragically met by destruction. How could she ever overcome the horror she now felt, there was no bringing her back, she was gone forever.

“This is my fault; I should have protected her. Why didn’t I take her and run away from him. Oh my God, why her, why did this happen to my baby?”

“Janice, you can’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault; you didn’t know what he was doing.”

“I should have known; I should have stopped him. I’m her mother; it was my job to protect her.”

Jason felt horrible for Janice, not only had she lost her only child but felt it was her fault. He held her tightly as she began to grieve for Carol. She finally managed to pull herself together and went to the receptionist and asked for direction on how to go about making arrangements for Carol’s body to be sent back to Georgia for her funeral. An officer approached.

“Mrs. Avery, I’m the officer who spoke with you on the phone.”

“Yes sir, how can I help you?”

“First let me say, I’m very sorry for your loss. How much did you know concerning Carol’s circumstances with the police?”

“I know they think that she kidnapped Dexter Crane but that’s about all I know. She made no mention of it.”

“What does all of that have to do with what happened tonight?”

“We were in pursuit of her when she crashed her car. She led us on a high speed chase. We still don’t know where Dexter Crane is as he wasn’t in the car with her. Do you know where she might have taken him?”

“Why would I know, she didn’t tell me anything?”

“Dexter made mention of a cabin during his last phone conversation with his fiancée; do you know where she might have been talking about?”

“No I don’t, now if you’ll excuse me I need to make arrangements for my daughter’s body.”

He turned and walked away, suddenly it hit Janice.

“Wait a minute officer. There’s only one place that I know she could be talking about. We have a cabin in Ellijay; we vacationed there every summer when Carol was a kid.”

She gave him directions. He was on his way to contact Georgia with the news of Carol Avery’s death as well as, the address to the cabin and as usual, it didn’t take the news long to circulate throughout the small community of Felton.

Carmen had just put Zachary down for a nap when her mom appeared in the doorway. The expression on her face indicated trouble.

“What’s wrong mom?”

“She’s dead, Carol was killed in the wreck but Dexter wasn’t with her. Police still don’t know where he is. But they did mention a new lead; something about a cabin in Ellijay.”

“Dexter said she was holding him in a cabin but he didn’t know where it was located. His surroundings bore no familiarity.”

Carmen felt sick. Carol had left Dexter behind at the cabin. Was he still alive or was his murder the reason for her being on the run?

Carmen cried herself to sleep as the only man she’d ever loved could be dying and there was nothing she could do to help him. Her son would never know his father and the slightest hope of ever finding him vanished completely with the news of Carol’s death. She was dead and her troubles were over but everyone she’d left behind was paying the price for her mistakes.

At Lakeland Medical Center, Janice Avery was finalizing her daughter’s arrangement to be sent back to Georgia.

“Can I see her please; I want to tell her goodbye?” she told the nurse in charge.

“Sure you can, I’ll show you the way.”

As they reached the door to Carol’s room, Janice froze up, she was having second thoughts.

“Jason, will you go in with me?”

He agreed. The nurse told them to take as much time as they needed. Janice slowly pushed the door opened. There she was, Carol was laid out on the table with a blanket covering the majority of her body, concealing the extent of her injuries.

“Oh Jason, I’m not sure I can do this.”

“It’s okay sis, I’m right here, I won’t leave you.”

She slowly inched closer; she had to tell her goodbye. Her body was a pitiful sight to behold, broken and distorted. How she must have felt in her last moments of life, was a horrifying thought for Janice. She took her hand and began to cry.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry, I should have protected you. I love you so much Carol, please don’t leave me; don’t go, I need you here with me. I don’t know how to get through this, how am I supposed to go on without you? If only I’d known what was happening to you, I should have known.”

Janice pressed her face next to Carol’s causing her more pain and anguish. There was no breath in her daughter’s body, not one sign of life, she was definitely gone. Her young life was over.

“Please tell me this is all a terrible nightmare, Jason; please tell me that she’s not dead. Oh God, my baby, my sweet girl is gone. What am I going to do?”

Jason was sad for Janice but there was nothing he could do to ease her pain, nothing but be there for her through her grieving process.

The necessary papers were signed and Carol was on her way back to Georgia as were Janice and Jason. Memories of the cabin and the summers they had spent there as a family came flooding back to Janice’s mind. She felt such an overwhelming need to be close to Carol.

“Jason, do you think that we can stop at the cabin on the way home, since it’s right on the way? I just want to be in a place where I remember Carol happy and having fun.”

“Sure, we can stop off there if you want.”

Meanwhile back in Georgia the authorities were already in route to the cabin, thanks to Janice. It was their last hope of finding Dexter, he had to be there. As they pulled into the drive it appeared to be abandoned at first. They suited up and prepared for a forceful entry. The entire cabin was surrounded, if someone was still here, they’d never make a successful escape.

“Police, is anyone there?” the officer yelled as he beat on the door.

He made one last attempt to summons the occupants to the front door, nothing happened. There was absolute stillness, no one was there. They forced their way through the front door and began to fully investigate the premises in search of Dexter.

“In here.” An officer yelled.

They all rushed in and to their surprise there he was; Dexter was tied to the bed, perfectly still and lifeless. His appearance gave no indication that he was alive. The officer checked for his pulse, it was extremely weak but present. They immediately requested assistance from paramedics. From the looks of Dexter, there was no time to waste in getting him to the hospital. The mystery of his disappearance was solved, and Carol Avery was the perpetrator. She had beaten him severely and left him here to die.

The sound of sirens was becoming louder as the ambulance closely approached. In no time at all, the paramedics had Dexter loaded into the back of the ambulance and were on their way to the hospital.

As the cops worked to secure the scene, they were suddenly distracted by the sound of chaos outside.

“Let me inside, this is my cabin, you can’t keep me from going in, move out of my way.” Janice demanded.

“Can we help you ma’am?”

“You can start by telling me what’s going on here. This place belongs to me; I want to know what you’re doing here.”

He advised the officer to let her in.

“Are you Mrs. Avery?”

“Yes, I am, who are you?”

“My name is Officer Smith. Based upon the information you gave authorities in Florida, we came out here searching for Dexter Crane.”

“Did you find him, was he here?”

“Yes, ma’am, he was. He was tied to the bed in that bedroom, badly beaten and close to death. He’s on his way to the hospital right now. We’re hopeful for his recovery.”

Janice dropped down on the sofa. She was ashamed of Carol’s actions.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what she was thinking; please tell Mr. Crane how sorry I am.”

“Yes ma’am, I certainly will but please don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. If you’ll please excuse me, I must go now.”

He placed another police officer in charge of the scene and told them where to find him if they needed him and asked to be informed of any new findings in the case.

Carmen was getting dressed after her shower when she heard a knock at the door.

“Hey Officer Smith, come in.” she invited.

“We found him.”

“What, is he okay?”

“He’s in bad shape but he’s still alive. They took him to the hospital not long ago.”

“Where was he?”

“He was at the Avery’s vacation cabin in Ellijay.”

“Will you take me to him please?”

“Sure, I’m going that way anyway.”

She ran to find her mom.

“I need you to watch Zachary; I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. They found Dexter, he’s in the hospital.”

“Oh Carmen that’s wonderful news, go, don’t you worry about Zachary, he’ll be fine. I love you.” She said kissing her on the forehead.

After what seemed an eternity for Carmen, they were finally arriving at the hospital. She followed close behind Officer Smith, anticipating the moment when she could finally put her arms around the man that she loved. It seemed as though he’d been gone for years now.

“This is his room.” He said opening the door.

Carmen couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Are you sure this is Dexter?” she asked with uncertainty.

“It’s definitely him, it’s Dexter.”

“How could she do this to him, this isn’t love.”

Suddenly her heart dropped as Dexter’s machine flat lined. This couldn’t be happening, not after everything they’d gone through to find him, he couldn’t die now.

“No!” she screamed in horror.

Code blue was sounding; a rescue team was rushing in with a crash cart. Carmen was escorted out of the room. She couldn’t be present as the team of doctors and nurses desperately worked against time to save Dexter’s life. Every moment was crucial in determining his survival. Officer Smith led her to the waiting room; she was an absolute emotional wreck. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Dexter; especially not now. He had held out so long, he couldn’t give up now. Thirty minutes later, the doctor came in.

“How is he doctor? Will he be okay?” she asked nervously.

“He’s stable and his vitals look good for now. It’s going to be touch and go for a while. I can’t make any promises but he’s young and strong and there’s a great possibility that he could very well pull through this, time will tell. All we can do for now is to wait and pray.” The doctor advised.

“Thank you, doctor, for everything.”

Carmen refused to accept the possibility of Dexter not making it. She would cling only to the strength of his determination pulling him out of this. They would finally be married and raise their son together as they initially planned.

“Hi mom, how’s Zachary?”

“He’s fine dear, how are things there?”

“He coded a short time ago but he’s stable now. I just want this nightmare to end.”

“I know dear, it’ll soon be over and you can leave all of this behind you and move forward. You just hang in there and everything will be okay. Don’t lose faith.”

“I love you mom, give Zachary a kiss and tell him that his mom is bringing his dad home to him. I’ve got to go for now. Thanks mom, I’ll talk to you later.”

Chapter Eleven

A week had gone by since Dexter’s arrival at the hospital and though his vitals remained stable he hadn’t yet regained consciousness. Carmen refused to leave his side; she wanted to be there when he woke up. The only time she considered stepping away for even a second was to get a brief shower and something to eat.

“How’s he doing today nurse?” Carmen asked.

“Everything looks the same, vitals are good and wounds are healing nicely. The doctor will be in soon.”

Carmen desperately longed to hear the sound of Dexter’s voice. Why didn’t he open his eyes, he just continued to lie there day after day, lifeless. Not a single movement did he make, not one sound did he utter, would he ever wake up? Would he be like this forever, this was no quality of life. She took his hand and began to talk to him.

“Dexter  you  have  to  wake  up, I need

you, and your son needs you. You can’t let that little boy grow up without a father. You know what that’s like; you can’t do that to him. I love you Dexter, I miss you so much it hurts, please wake up, please.”

She laid her head on his chest, her tears soaking his gown, she was emotionally drained. She felt helpless as there was nothing she could do for him. Suddenly he put his hand on her head.

“It’s okay Carmen, everything’s alright, I love you, please don’t cry.” Dexter told her.

She quickly rose up.

“You’re awake, I love you so much, I didn’t think I would ever hear your voice again. Your beautiful eyes are open, I’ve missed you so much, and I love you.” She said kissing him.