Mystery's Choice (Vengeance Of The Fallen Book 1) (13 page)

Several hours later, Sarah found herself dozing, so she got up and put out the fire. She carefully checked all the doors and windows, and finding them locked, she went upstairs to bed. When she walked into her bedroom, Sarah stopped and stared at the large bed, which dominated the room. She was awed at the surge of loneliness that swamped her. David had moved into the guest room three months before he died. Yet, she guessed she missed having someone else in her bed. Resigned, Sarah dressed for bed, covering her white silk gown with a matching robe. She turned the hunter green satin sheets down and climbed into bed. After turning down the light, she settled in and closed her eyes. Her heart lurched when she felt someone sit down on the bed beside her.

“Hello, Sarah.” A gravelly voice greeted her.

“Who’s there?”  Sarah asked when she opened her eyes and found no one sitting beside her. Fear stole her breath because she saw the indentation on the mattress, but she could not see the person sitting there.

“I am afraid you must die for the pain you caused Mystery over the years.”  The disembodied voice said.

Sarah could feel hands closing around her throat.

“No!” She pulled, trying to free her throat, “Please!”

She screamed as invisible claws raked down her abdomen, she fought the urge to gag as the wet sound of her intestines sliding out of the gaping holes in her belly, filled her ears.

“Now the fun begins!” said the gravelly voice.

Sarah vaguely registered the sound of classical music growing loud enough in the room to burst her eardrums. The pain became too much and she leapt into the darkness reaching out to catch her. Next door her neighbors complained about the classical music blaring from the house, no one heard the screams.

Mystery stretched like a contented cat and bounded out of bed. She’d slept like a baby last night. She whistled while she showered, blotted herself dry and got dressed. Once downstairs, she decided she would go and get the rest of her things from Sarah’s house, she no longer thought of the woman as her mother.  She collected some boxes and bounced out of the door.

When Mystery pulled up in front of Sarah’s house she had to sit in the car and wait for her hands to stop sweating and shaking. She smoothed her hair and got out of the car. As Mystery neared the door she saw it was slightly opened. She pushed it back with her hand and called Sarah’s name, but she stopped mid-syllable. There was blood all over the walls. Mystery went into the kitchen, thinking Sarah had hurt herself last night after the maid had left. She went through the kitchen and into the breakfast nook and found what was left of the maid. She back-pedaled out of the nook and panicked, ran upstairs, yelling for Sarah. At the top of the stairs, someone had left her a message scrawled in blood:

MYSTERY! GIVE INTO YOUR DESTINY!

YOU BELONG WITH US!

Mystery backed against the railing, her hand covering her mouth. She gagged as a thought filled her mind. Turning she ran down the hall to the master bedroom. She stepped through the doorway and her tennis shoe squished. Looking down she watched in horrified fascination as blood seeped up to cover her feet.

Mystery whirled around to run to the bathroom, and froze. Sitting on top of the dresser was Sarah’s head. As Mystery spun around to sludge out of the room, she spotted various body parts scattered about the room. She screamed and screamed until darkness engulfed her.

When Mystery came to she was in the hospital with a nurse peering down at her. The nurse’s eyes were too close to her face and so they were out of focus. The result being they were somewhat monstrous and Mystery let out a long hysterical scream. She continued screaming and screaming until there was an entire team of out of focus faces and unfamiliar hands trying to restrain her.

Slowly, the memory of all the blood came flooding back. She went totally still.

“Seth!” she tried to get up and was gently lowered back.

Seth's stormy gray eyes instantly filled her vision, they were full of tears, but the sight of his face was familiar and comforting.

“Sarah’s dead.” She whispered.

“I know, hun.”  Seth said, tears rolling down his face. “There’s somebody here who needs to talk to you.”

Seth’s face faded and was replaced by an unfamiliar face.

“Miss Williams, I’m Detective Sergeant Jeffries.”  Sam pulled out his badge.

Mystery looked at it dully. “I don’t know who would want to kill Sarah. I didn’t see or hear anything”, she gagged, “except for the blood squishing under my feet.” She closed her eyes.

“The fresher it is in your memory, the more you’ll be able to give us.”  Sam looked at the pale face, closed eyes, sighed and turned to leave. “I’ll leave my card with your boyfriend.”

“Wait.” Mystery swallowed, “I’ll try.”

“Are you sure you don’t know anyone who would want to hurt your mother?”  Sam took a seat by the bed.

“Oh God!”  Mystery reached for Seth, he took her cold hand. “Oh God!  This is my fault!”

“No!  We had no reason to think they would go after her, she hated you and she had no part in taking you from them.”  He forced her to look at him, “She was mean and vindictive, and she thrived on hurting you!  I won’t have you trying to take the blame for her death. Yes, it’s sad she is dead, but YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME!”

“I should have known she wouldn’t be safe.”  She pulled her face out of his hands, “The dreams, the dreams told me it was all the truth.”

“This was not your fault, Mystery. I won’t let you think it was!”  Seth said fiercely.

“Excuse me.” Sam cleared his throat, “Why would you believe any of this is your fault?”

“Two months ago my father…” she closed her eyes and Seth squeezed her hand. “My father was killed in a car accident.”  She swallowed hard. “At the funeral, Sarah informed me I was not their biological child.”  Tears slid down her alabaster cheeks. “She said my father had stolen me from a cult…” she faltered and Seth continued.

“Sarah said she had received a phone call warning her the cult wanted Mystery back and they would stop at nothing to get her back within the fold.” He stood and began to pace. “They had killed and would kill again to fulfill the prophecy. And whatever spell David had used to protect them had begun to fade and it would only be a matter of time until they came for her.”

“We reported a breaking and entering/vandalism. We have spoken with two detectives from the Occult Crimes Division. They told us the cult was real and they will keep harassing us, but we had no reason to believe they would harass Sarah.” Seth said as he whirled around and came back to hold Mystery’s hand, “Sarah Williams was a cold, self-centered bitch who delighted in tormenting her child.”  Seth stood again, his anger making him rigid. “If you could have seen the look of joy on her face, as she crushed her daughter’s world.” He struggled to relax; “Sarah never said anything to us about the cult bothering her, as far as we know she didn’t report anything to the other detectives. She made her break with Mystery quite clear to everyone.”

Mystery turned to face Sam. “It was as if the phone call reminded her how much she hated me. Things had been civil between us for the last couple of months. After she got the phone call. Pow! Just like we had dreamed the peaceful time, things were back to the way they had always been. When my father was gone, she didn’t have to keep his secret anymore.” She wiped at her cheeks. “Instead of mourning her husband, she was basking in the knowledge she had the power to completely destroy the perfect world my father had built for me.”

“Did she know which cult you were taken from?”  Sam asked looking down at his notebook.

“No. If she had known she would have tried to give me back, years ago.”

“No one has tried to contact you?”

“Not…” she looked away. “No one has tried to contact me.”

“Ms. Williams, if someone has contacted you, I need to know. You are in great danger, if it is the group I think it is.”  He took her hand, “They have left a trail of bodies all over town and I don’t think they would hesitate to harm you or Seth if they thought it was written in some sacred book somewhere.”  He looked at Seth. “So if either of you know anything about them, you need to tell me.”

“We have been getting hang-ups. No one ever says anything and those haven’t been happening as much.” Mystery began.

The door burst open and a round, cheery man, with a beard like Santa Claus’ came bounding into the room. All three of them turned to look at him.

“Sorry detective.”  He stepped between Seth and Sam, “I need my patient and she needs rest. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”  He pointed at the door. “Now, get out, please.”

“Ms. Williams,” Sam peered around the chubby-little doctor, “if you decide to tell me whatever it is you think I won’t believe, please call.” He handed Seth a business card. “Good day.”  Sam walked out of the room.

“Now. Let’s talk baby.”

Mystery and Seth joined hands and nodded their heads.

“You and your baby are absolutely fine.”  He smiled, a big lop-sided smile. “And you can go home tomorrow, but you are not up to attending a funeral.”  He raised a red, soap-chafed hand when Mystery protested; “I’ll keep you here.”  He paused for affect. “You just had a horrible shock, you don’t need to follow it up with a funeral. “ He crossed to the bed and pushed her chin up, so he could look into her eyes, “Are we clear?”

“Yes, Dr. Harbinger, we’re clear.”

“Very well.”  He turned to Seth, “You, ten more minutes.”  He didn’t wait for an answer, but bounded out, the way he had bounded in.

“He was quite a character.”  Seth said.

“Yes, he was.”  Mystery managed a small smile back.

11

Mystery woke up screaming. She glanced around her hospital room and heaved a sigh of relief she was alone. She got a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table and took a long, slow swallow. She spit it out, it tasted like blood; and looking down she saw it was blood. She gagged and threw the glass across the room.

She shrank her legs up under her as mist crawled out from under the bed, filling the room with its malignant whiteness. There was a sudden breeze and the door blew open.

Mystery felt herself being drawn out of bed and towards the door. She slowly stumbled out of bed and walked through the door, looking around for the doctors, nurses, and other patients. The entire floor was deserted. She walked through the double doors leading to the operating room. Once inside she felt someone watching her and gasped as a figure stepped out of the darkness.

A tall dark-haired man fixed piercing blue eyes on her, pinning her to her spot. “I am your destiny. You were born mine and you must serve me, my child.”

The piercing blue eyes, slowly, became glowing red eyes, which glared through her soul. She grasped her arms as a chill passed through her being. She felt helpless, hopeless. She felt as though there was no light or happiness left in the world. Even as she fought the feeling what he said was true, she knew in her heart of hearts it was. Out of nowhere, a feeling of peace and serenity blanketed her.

“Your existence is the culmination of generation after generation of evil’s union with evil. It goes back to Eve’s union with Satan which begat Cain, my husband and your father. It is time you face your heritage and join us.”  The words echoed in Mystery’s mind, as a female figure slinked out of the mist to join the red-eyed man. “Meet your grandfather, my child.”

Mystery shivered as the red-eyed man began to move forward. She shrank back as pure, unadulterated evil filled the room and a long, graceful hand grasped her wrist trying to pull her into the mist.

“Stop fighting us, my daughter, join us before there is no more time. Join us before there is only time to die.”  The female figure said, concern in every syllable.

Mystery struggled to free her hand, but she was being pulled further into the mist. Laughter laced with the hisses of the damned echoed in her ears.

Mystery woke up screaming.

The next morning, Seth bounded into Mystery’s room with a big bouquet of red roses, a smile beaming on his handsome face.

“Hello, gorgeous.” He arranged the flowers on the bedside table. “I saw them in the flower shop downstairs. I knew you would love the vase. It has the same pattern as the crystal my mother gave you for Christmas last year.”  Seth finally looked over at Mystery. She was just sitting there staring off into space. “Mystery?  Baby, what’s wrong?”  He sat on the edge of the bed. She still didn’t move. Alarmed he turned her face to him. Her pupils were dilated and she continued to stare at nothing. “Mystery!”  He shook her. Her head flopped back and forth, unsupported by her neck. Seth gently laid her back on the pillow.

He pushed the button for the nurse. Tears blurred his vision. He looked at Mystery; she was just lying there like a life-sized doll. The young, perky nurse from the day before came in.

“What’s wrong with her, she won’t talk to me.” Seth grabbed Mystery’s hand it was icy. He started rubbing it, trying to warm it.

“Mr. Parsons, when we came in this morning for morning rounds,” the nurse went to the other side of the bed, “she wouldn’t respond to anything. The doctor will be in to explain your girlfriend’s condition to you in a moment.”  She went to the door, and turned around. “I’m sorry.”

Seth sat there murmuring to Mystery, telling her it would be all right. The doctor came in and touched him on the shoulder. Seth jumped.

“Sorry.” He went to the other side of the bed and checked Mystery’s pulse. “I’m afraid Mystery is catatonic. We don’t know what brought it on; she was fine through the night. However, this morning she was like this.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?”  Seth’s voice was full of tears.

“You can keep talking to her. Brush her hair; sing to her, treat her like she is here with us. And maybe, just maybe she’ll want to come back and participate in her life.”

“Thank you, doctor. But would you want to come back to her life?”

“I know she has had a rough time of late, but she strikes me as a fighter. She’ll come back, as long as you are here waiting for her.”  He patted Seth on the back. “Because one thing she has that’s going right in her life, is you, my friend, she’ll come back for you.”  He walked out and left Seth to his murmuring.

Sam decided to go back to the hospital and try talking to the girl one more time. It had been two weeks, and they still had nothing. Each night the members of the task force waited in horror for the phone to ring and tell them there had been another murder. She was the best lead they had in this nightmare of a case. He checked his watch and stepped out of his car.

Sam sighed when he got out of the elevator and saw the boyfriend standing outside the room. Great. Another confrontation was just what he needed. Sam braced himself, but the boyfriend just looked at him helplessly, his big grey eyes full of tears. He didn’t try to stop Sam as he walked into the room.

He looked back at the boyfriend and he walked over to the bed. The girl was restrained she stared vacantly at nothing.

“Ms. Williams?”  Sam watched her face; there was no recognition, no sign she even heard him.

“She won’t talk to anyone. Periodically she starts screaming and trying to claw something no one but she can see off of her arms, so, they restrained her so she wouldn’t hurt herself.”  Tears choked his voice. “They sedated her, but she won’t go to sleep no matter what they give her. They say if things don’t change soon, she will die.”

Sam looked back at the girl’s ashen, drawn face. “Mystery.”  He said softly as he took her hand. He jolted back as a surge of energy shook him to the core.

She grabbed his hand with lightening speed, breaking the bond on her wrist. Her green eyes speared him.

“Please.”  She whispered, her eyes never leaving his,

“Please, help us. Help Seth. Take him away.”  She dropped his hand, her eyes going blank again.

Sam backed away from the bed, stepping around an astonished Seth. He turned around and fled the room. Once back inside the safety of his car he fought the urge to be sick. There had been something desperate about the look in her eyes. It had been as though someone or something was slowly drawing away her life. He shivered, started the car and drove away from the hospital.

Seth straightened out his jacket and tie and ran a nervous hand through his long, blond hair. He took a deep breath as the elevator doors opened, and he walked down the hall. He looked from side to side until he found the suite he was looking for. He slowly opened the door and stepped into the typical looking reception area. There was no one else in the waiting room, as he made his way to window.

“May I help you?”  The average looking middle-aged woman behind the counter asked.

“Yes. My name is Seth Parsons, I have an appointment at three.”

“Yes sir. I’ll let the doctor know you are here.”  She closed the window and went out the door to the side.

Seth went to sit down. He looked at his watch, he hoped the doctor wouldn’t take the full time; he had left Mystery with Detective Ramirez. And while he trusted her, he didn’t like to leave Mystery alone for long. He was afraid something bad would happen, something the detective couldn’t handle alone. Seth sighed, if he was honest with himself, he knew even if something happened the detective couldn’t handle, he would be little to no help.

“The doctor will see you now, Mr. Parsons.”  Seth jumped, startled out of his reverie. He stood and the receptionist showed him to the doctor’s office.

“Just one moment, Mr. Parsons, I need to refill my coffee.”  A female voice said from an adjoining room.

Seth shrugged and took a seat in the chair on the far side of the room. He smiled to himself, there was no way he was sitting on the sofa. She might make him lie down and tell her all about his mother.

A tall, thin, elegantly dressed black woman came through the door. She was older; her short hair was completely white. She smiled at Seth as she put a huge coffee mug down on the table beside the other chair in the room.

“I see you avoided the sofa. Everyone always thinks I’m going to make them lay down on it.”  She said with laughter in her voice. “I’m Joyce Thayer.”

“Seth Parsons. Nice to meet you.”

“Would you like some coffee?”  She said as she took a sip of hers.

“No. I don’t drink it anymore. It keeps me too hyped up.”

She smiled. “So, you don’t have a problem with uppers?”

“Ah, um, no. I have a problem with tranquilizers and pain killers.”

“When did this problem start?”  She put on stylish glasses and began to take notes.

“I was getting headaches last year around Thanksgiving, so, I wrote myself a prescription for OxyContin. They switched my shift at the hospital and I was having trouble sleeping, so, I wrote myself a prescription for Xanax.”

“When do you think you stopped taking them because they helped a real medical condition? And when do think you just took them because if you didn’t you would have had withdrawal symptoms?”  She looked up from her notes.

“I guess about three or four months ago.”

“But you didn’t decide to get help until your supervisor caught you.” She took a sip of coffee. “Why?”

“Things have been rough at home. My girlfriend lost her father, found out she was adopted, and found out she had been stolen from some kind of fanatic religious cult.”

“Did your girlfriend, what is her name…”

“Mystery.”

“Did Mystery know about your drug problem?”

“Yes. She was trying to find a way to talk to me about it, when Dr. Francisco called me in and gave me the choice.”

“Did you talk about it after, you were caught?”

“No. We had a couple of break-ins at the house. Vandals broke in and trashed everything. We started getting hang-ups and we came home to broken windows more than once. A short time later we found out Mystery was pregnant.”  Seth looked down at his lap, he held out his hands, and smirked when he saw they were shaking. “And as icing on the cake, her adopted mother was murdered. I mean splatter movie murdered. And Mystery found her. No one knows why but once she was in the hospital, she had some kind of mental breakdown and now she is catatonic.”  He wasn’t aware his voice was shaky.

“She had some phenomenal stuff to deal with, it’s only normal she needs a little break. However, you still have a drug problem. Losing yourself in her problems and in taking care of her won’t make your problem go away. You began taking drugs for a reason and until you deal with whatever the reason is, you’ll still have a drug problem.”  She looked him in the eye. “Wouldn’t it be great, if when Mystery came back you had no drug problem?”

“Yes. It’s funny; I haven’t slept through the night once since I brought her home from the hospital. But I still feel the need to take a little yellow pill before I even try.”

“That’s why they call it a drug problem.” She raised her eyebrows at him.

Joyce and Seth spent the rest of the hour talking about his family. Where he had grown up. What he wanted his specialty to be when he finished medical school?  As Seth drove home, he wondered if Ryan would come and stay with them for a while. He and Mystery had never met each other, but he was good at taking care of people. It was probably part of the reason why he had become a priest.