Lost and Found (A Novel) (19 page)

A flash of lightning illuminated the dimly lit kitchen. Caelie’s head snapped towards the open window, gazing at the darkening sky which seemed to be warning of an impending storm. She stood from the small table where she was seated and walked towards the window, surveying the lawn between their houses for any signs of Wilburn. She hoped that he would make it over to her house before the sky opened up, releasing its pent up tears to the ground. Even though it was a relatively short distance, she would hate to see him getting wet walking under the rain. Letting out her breath, Caelie leaned against the window frame, allowing the wind to caress her face as her mind began to wander again to the man who had kept her in fear.

Thinking back to Dale’s reaction over their meeting at the park, Caelie was somehow assured that her identity was still safe as long as she kept her distance from him. He did not appear to have recognized her face and had went on to play with Elise’s sons, not giving her a second thought. If he knew who she was, she was fairly certain that he would never have reacted in such a carefree manner. She still remembered his final words to her and she was sure that he would make good his promise. She shuddered slightly at the memory of his words and shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. She allayed her fears by convincing herself that if he really had wanted to do something, he would have come looking for her by now. The doorbell rang then and Caelie’s spirits perked up a little, knowing for certain that it was Wilburn. Besides, no one else would be paying her a visit, especially in such a weather.

Moments earlier, a blue Ford Fusion pulled up a block away from Caelie’s house. Switching off the engine, Dale leaned back in the driver’s seat and watched the house from across the street. His mouth twitched slightly at the anticipation of seeing Caelie’s shock face when he finally paid her a visit.

Dale had spent his every waking moment monitoring Caelie and searching her background. On the surface, his devotion in helping his friend find information on Caelie appeared admirable. In reality, his motive was far from it. He had a lot more to gain from finding out Caelie’s true identity. And found out he did. Through his contacts from the part-time investigation stint, he had already confirmed since two weeks back that Hayley had changed her name to Caelie Pierce five years ago. A maniacal chuckle came from him as he shook his head in amusement. Not only had Hayley changed her name, she had even gone as far as to change her appearance just so that he would not find her. How daft could she be? After all that trouble, they still met in the end.

Dale knew that Wynne was dying to find out about Hayley but he felt that it was not the time yet. He did not understand how his friend could be so besotted with her but Dale would show him what Hayley was really like. He felt a little guilty doing things behind his friend’s back but he was sure that once Wynne heard his story, he would understand why Dale had to do what he did. Thinking about how Hayley had destroyed his family, Dale gritted his teeth in rage as he finally stepped out of his car. That night, he would teach her a lesson she would never forget.

Smoothing the apron that she was wearing, Caelie walked up to the main door with a smile on her face. Wilburn had made it in time after all. Pulling the door open, her smile was instantaneously wiped from her face as her jaw dropped in horror.

“Well, hello Hayley. We meet again...”

Involuntarily, Caelie backed away from the door until she felt her body hit the armrest of the sofa. Too late, she realized that backing away and leaving the door wide open was one of the stupidest thing she could have ever done. Caelie made a move towards the door but Dale had already stepped into her house and shut it closed behind him. Feeling trapped, Caelie could only ran to the other end of the room to keep a distance between them.

“What do you want from me?” Her voice came out hoarse. She could feel tears stinging the back of her eyes.

“What do I want?” Dale threw his head back and laughed hysterically as if he had lost his mind. As suddenly as he had laughed, Dale stopped, narrowing his eyes menacingly at Caelie. “I want what was owed to me 5 years ago.” With that, Dale lunged across the room at Caelie.

Caelie screamed in terror and tried to run towards the kitchen. Her other option was to escape from the back door but Dale was more agile and his hand caught the sleeve of her dress shirt as she tried to flee. The impact tore her sleeve off and send them both toppling to the floor. Caelie scrambled to crawl away, kicking at the hands that were clawing on her legs. She found an opening and stood up but just as she was about to take a step away, a hand grabbed her ankle, pulling her down flat on her face and knocking the wind out of her.

Groaning, Caelie felt her body being turned over so that she was facing up and before she knew it, Dale was already straddling her with a hand strangling her neck. Caelie felt herself choking and started to frantically pulled at his hand. This made Dale more furious and he slapped her hard a few times across her face. Caelie whimpered in pain, tears streaming down her face.

“Please...let me go, Dale...” Caelie sobbed.

“Shut up!” Dale gave another hard smack. “You don’t have the right to call me by my name.” His jaws were clenched tight and his pupils were constricted with the rage that was boiling within him.

“Please...”

“I said shut up! This time, there is nowhere for you to run and no one is around to stop me from getting what I want.” Dale grabbed the front of her shirt and ripped it open. Caelie gasped, her hands automatically pulled at her shirt and clutching it tightly to her chest to cover herself. As her cries got louder, the madder Dale became and more aggressive attacks rained down on her.

Just as Caelie was about to lose hope, she felt the weight above her shifted. It took her a moment to realize that she was no longer being pinned down by Dale. She could hear two voices shouting at each other. Buttoning up whatever was left of her shirt, Caelie stood up quickly to see Wilburn and Dale scuffling. She looked on in horror as Dale flipped open a Swiss knife and started thrusting it in Wilburn’s direction. Caelie could not let Wilburn get hurt from trying to save her. She should call for help now but there was no time and she did not want to leave Wilburn here with a crazy Dale. Looking around, she saw Annetta’s walking stick standing against the drawer cupboard not far from where she was. That would have to do for now, she thought grimly. Walking quietly so as not to attract Dale’s attention, Caelie reached out for the walking stick and sneaked up behind Dale. Holding up the stick, Caelie swung as hard as she could, hitting Dale across his back just as he was about to plunge the knife into Wilburn who had fallen on the floor.

Dale cried out in pain and turned around to see what had hit him. He swore when he saw Caelie standing behind him and holding the walking stick in a fighting stance. “You bitch!” He spat out.

“Don’t come near me!” Caelie tightened her grip on the stick, her knuckles turning white.

“Or else what?” Dale sneered as he advanced towards her.

Caelie swung the stick towards him but Dale caught it and pushed her away. The movement threw Caelie off balance. She tripped on her own feet and fell backwards, her head hitting the edge of the drawer cupboard.

“Caelie!” Wilburn shouted, his face paled at the sight of the blood that was now pooling around her head. He had to protect her even if it might caused him to lose his life. With that determination, Wilburn pulled himself up and went for Dale who was standing over an unconscious Caelie.

Wynne rode his bike at breakneck speed in the heavy rain. He was grateful that the road was almost deserted, making it easier for him. Besides, he knew that it was dangerous to ride like this especially with the rain blurring his sight. But he had to reach Caelie’s house fast. The urgency in Wilburn’s voice was warning enough that he would regret it if he did not make in time. Wynne wasn’t sure to what extent Caelie was in danger. Wilburn had only rambled on about a suspicious man who had parked for a long time across their street before going into Caelie’s house and pleading with him to come over. It was a good thing that he had been near the outskirts of the town area, otherwise it would take him forever to make it across the countryside.

Finally, the silhouette of Wilburn’s house came into view. It was clear that Wilburn was not at his house. His eyes traveled towards Caelie’s house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary but he was sure that if there was nothing to be worried about then Wilburn would have called him back. Deciding to park at Wilburn’s house, Wynne jogged over to Caelie’s house and crept up against the living room window. He had to assess the situation that they could be in before he went barging into her house. After all, he did not want to appear silly if there really was nothing amiss.

Peering into the partially opened window, he saw the back of a well-built man throwing punches at a struggling Wilburn. Caelie was nowhere in sight. Dropping back on the ground, the first thing Wynne did was to call for the police. He knew that this was not a simple case of arguing and the man may not give up his assault even after Wynne had walked in. Once he was done giving information to the police, Wynne ran around to the front of the house. Wilburn did not look like he could hold off the man’s attack for much longer. The front door was already wide open. Wynne rushed in and pulled the man off Wilburn, taking him by surprise.

“What the h...” Dale’s voice trailed off when he saw that it was Wynne who had interrupted their brawl.

Wynne was already at Wilburn’s side, checking on his condition. Wynne’s gaze traveled towards him then and his face scrunched up in confusion when he recognized the man who stood before him. “Dale? What’s going on?”

Wilburn looked up at Wynne in surprise. “You know this man?”

Wynne glanced at Wilburn and nodded his head grimly. He walked towards Dale, running a hand through his hair in a distraught manner. “Answer me Dale.”

Dale laughed sarcastically. “Wasn’t it you who wanted me to find out if she is Hayley?”

“I didn’t ask you to attack them.” Wynne gritted his teeth in frustration, yet he still wanted to know if his intuition was right. “Is she?”

Dale scoffed at his friend. “She is definitely Hayley and boy, don’t you want to know what the real Hayley Price is like.”

So his guess had been right all this while. Wynne’s fist clenched tight. He did not like the way his friend was talking. In fact, the man before him did not seem like the friend that he had known all this while. There was a certain madness to him that spelt danger and he still did not know where Caelie was. “Where is she Dale?”

“Where do you think she is? I didn’t hide her anywhere. Can’t you see her?” Dale smirked.

Wynne’s eyes darted around the room, his brows knitted together as he tried to search for Caelie. Finally his eyes landed on the body lying on the floor. Her clothes were tattered, cheeks swollen and there was a crimson liquid where her head laid. Wynne could feel anger soaring though him and his body was shaking with his own rage. It had happened again. He had failed to protect her even now. Without warning, his fist shot out, hitting Dale on his jaw. He could not forgive Dale for the monstrosity of his actions. Dale staggered backwards, taken off guard by Wynne’s sudden movement. He had not expected his friend to hit him. He could taste blood on his lips. Wynne tried to throw another punch at him but this time, Dale managed to avoid it.

“If that is how you want it to be then I will fight you Wynne. No one is going to stop me from getting what I want. Not this time.”

“You are a beast Dale. I am not going to let you off.” Wynne’s arms were fast swinging at Dale, throwing punches after punches at him and getting some in return from Dale.

Wilburn left the two man to fight as he rushed over to Caelie. He had heard enough to have his own doubts of Wynne. He did not know what Wynne’s motive was but his foremost thought at the moment was Caelie’s well-being. If Wynne was the cause of all this then it was up to him to end it himself. His eyes watered as he looked down at Caelie. He checked her head where the gash was. Blood was still trickling out. Taking off his shirt, Wilburn placed it against the gash to stop it from bleeding out any further. He shook Caelie’s body gently in an attempt to wake her up. She was still breathing albeit a shallow one but nothing seemed to be able to stir her awake. Wilburn’s panic was growing with each passing minute. Caelie needed medical attention soon before her condition became worse.

Meanwhile, the brawl between the two friends were getting more intense. Wynne was getting tired and slipshod in dodging Dale’s attack. Dale clearly knew that Wynne’s stamina was lacking and used it to his advantage. He attacked Wynne continuously, not giving him any chance to throw hits of his own. When Wynne was distracted, Dale swept his feet off, causing Wynne to fall backwards. He saw his Swiss knife a few feet away and swiftly grabbed it before Wynne had a chance to recover. Raising the knife, Dale was about to plunge it in Wynne when the sound of sirens stopped his movement. His eyes grew wide with fear and his hand lose its grip on the knife when he saw policemen running into the house with their guns aimed at him.