Slow Burn (31 page)

“Ron…may I call you Ron?” When he nodded, the
therapist smiled. “Please, move that chair to the other side of the
lounge. You can sit there, but you mustn’t interfere.”

Ron nodded. “I understand. Thanks for
allowing me to stay.”

“I can bend my own rules once in a while.”
She walked to Ashley’s side, touched her arm. “Come with me, my
dear.”

She led Ashley to the lounge next to a table
with a single candle then sat on a chair facing her. Ashley took a
deep breath and slowly exhaled. Ron’s presence behind her felt very
reassuring.

“I need to know if you’ve had any
recollection since we spoke,” the therapist asked.

Ashley gave her a sheepish grin. “I’m not
sure if a dream counts. Remember the sketch I showed you last
week?” The hypnotist nodded. “I saw the same man in my dreams.” She
removed the sketches from her bag and handed them over to the
therapist then quickly explained what she saw. “Do you think this
was part of my memory or something I cooked up?”

Dr. Reuben was quiet for a moment as she
studied each drawing, her forehead creased. She handed the sketches
to Ron and turned to face Ashley. “There are many different
theories as to what causes dreams. The basic belief is that a
little bit of our memory and imagination combines to form dream
imagery—a mesh of our subconscious thoughts and our desires.” She
leaned forward. “In your dream, it could be that it was easier for
you to put a face on the villain hurting your mother and the one in
your sketch was handy. Or it could be exactly what happened ten
years ago.” She studied Ashley’s expression, her smile gentle. “But
that’s where hypnosis comes in. Since it provides access to the
subconscious mind, it can help you to relive those particular
events.”

Ashley nodded. Maybe it was all her
imagination. Maybe no one killed her parents. She could hope
despite what Ron had told her, couldn’t she?

“I want you to remember what we talked about
last week, Ashley. You’ll be able to hear me during the entire time
you’re under. You’ll tell us everything you see, feel, touch and
smell. If you become scared or need a break, I’ll press your right
knee. Immediately, you’ll go back to a happier time or a safe place
where nothing can hurt you. When you’re ready to go back and deal
with the situation, I’ll touch your left knee, okay?”

“Okay.” Right knee meant happy times. Left
knee meant going back in the mix of things. Ashley took another
deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Good. Now, lie down on the lounge. Be
comfortable. Remember, you have nothing to fear. No one is going to
harm you.” The doctor glanced at Ron. “You have people who care
about you here. Everything you’ll see has already happened.”

Ashley looked at Ron, smiled, then nodded at
the doctor. “I think I’m ready now.”

“Good. Let me get everything set.”

Dr. Reuben lit the candle on the side table.
As though on cue, Ron pressed a button on a remote control and the
lights in the room went off. The glow from the candle cast eerie
shadows around the room. With the silence that now filled the
house, they could have been conducting a séance.

The therapist quickly explained the basic
method of guiding someone into hypnosis for Ron’s sake, but her
soft voice soothed Ashley’s nerves. The decision to be a
participant and not an observer during the process had been hers.
She wanted to relive every last moment of that night so she didn’t
miss anything.

“I’m going to help you relax, Ashley,” Dr.
Reuben finally told her. “Concentrate on my voice and follow my
directions. No matter what other sounds you may hear, just
concentrate on my voice. Every time you hear it, know that you’re
safe.”

Ashley nodded.

“I want you to take a long, deep breath
through your nose and hold it. Count to eight, then exhale slowly
and completely through your mouth. That’s very good. Now tense all
your muscles from your toes to your jaw. Make them very tight.
Count backward from ten to one and relax them.”

Ashley smiled as a surprisingly warm feeling
surged through her body.

“I want you to look at the candle,” Dr.
Reuben instructed. “Keep your eyes on it and breathe slowly and
freely. With every breath and passing moment, you’re becoming more
peaceful, more relaxed. That’s good.” After a few seconds of
silence, she added, “Now I’m going to count down from one hundred.
When I reach eighty, you will find your eyes becoming more and more
tired. When I get to sixty, your eyes will close.”

Ashley concentrated on both the flickering
flame and Dr. Reuben’s voice. Her eyes grew heavier until they
closed. A tingling sensation started from her toes, moved up her
feet, her legs. It made her limbs warm, heavy and relaxed. It moved
up to her chest, shoulder and arms, and finally, her neck, jaws and
facial muscles. She felt as though she were floating. It was
blissful.

“You’re in a boat, floating down a gentle
river,” the doctor’s monotonous voice reached her, loud and clear.
“The sky is blue. The aroma of flowers and birdsong fill the air.
Everything is beautiful, peaceful. The boat stops and you step out
of it. There’s a building in front of you. Walk to the door and
open it. It’s your fifteenth birthday. You just finished
celebrating with your cousins and had a wonderful time. You’re now
saying your goodbyes, following your parents into the car….”

Ashley was completely aware of the
therapist’s presence as the scenes and sounds from her past slowly
unfolded.

Ashley leaned forward from the backseat of
the car, her hands gripping the edges of her mother’s seat. She was
too excited to sit still or mind the seat belt. “Are we there yet,
Dad?”

Her dad laughed. “Almost, pumpkin.”

“
You’re going to love it, babe,” her
mother added, her voice ringing with excitement.

Her dad signaled and left the street. He
drove down a narrow road lined with trees to a gated entrance.
Ashley craned her neck to see the house, but the trees blocked her
view. Her dad rolled down the window to speak to the guard, then
they drove through.

She pressed her face against the window for a
better look as the house came into view. It had three floors, large
windows of different shapes and levels of roofs. Lights were on
downstairs, spilling through the windows to the lawn and the
parking lot. A jazz tune filtered outside through the open windows
and filled the night air. The car stopped in the parking lot and
her Dad stepped out and opened Ashley’s door.

“
It’s beautiful.” Ashley gripped her new
camera tight, jumped out of the car and hurried to her mother’s
side. “Are we going to live here?”

Her father exchanged a look with her mother.
“Well, sweetheart, we’re buying the house for something very
special. Your mother and I thought we should turn it into a school
for all those gifted children who don’t have a place to go. We’ll
have singers, dancers and artists of all ages learning in different
rooms, and also performing locally at events. You could even help
out if you like.”

“
Why can’t we live here too? It’s a big
house. We could live upstairs and make downstairs the school.” She
didn’t wait for their response. Instead, she ran up the stairs to
take a better look through the windows. Cascading crystal
chandeliers dangled from the high ceiling and beautiful paintings
adorned the walls. To her right, she saw what appeared to be the
bottom of a majestic staircase. Her parents reached her
side.

“
Stay right here. I want pictures for my
collection.” Ashley went to the bottom of the stairs, turned and
lifted the camera. “Smile and wave.”

Her dad put his arm around her mother’s
waist. They grinned and waved. Ashley pressed the button and the
flash lit up their faces. She was about to take a second picture
when the door opened behind her parents. The jazz tune grew
louder.

A pretty mocha-complexioned woman with a
fancy hairstyle spoke briefly to her parents, then her mother
beckoned Ashley forward. “This is Sherry McKinney, the manager. She
says you can watch T.V. in her office while Daddy and I sign the
papers downstairs.”

Ashley hardly paid any attention to them. Her
gaze was on the foyer with its gleaming tiled floor. A huge mirror
dominated the wall opposite a grand wooden staircase winding to the
second floor. No way was she sitting in some old office to watch
T.V. when she could explore. Where was the music coming from?

Mrs. McKinney disappeared downstairs with her
parents and left Ashley in a tiny office with the television set on
some teen show, but the music kept calling to her. Besides, it was
hard to hear anything above the pulsing beat. Someone had replaced
the jazz with a hip-hop song, and it appeared to come from a room
on the other side of the foyer. She could sneak out, check the
place out and be back before her parents came for her.

Just as Ashley got up to investigate, the
headlights of a car swept the windows and drew her attention. She
peered outside just as a woman stepped from behind the wheels of a
dark car and glided toward the entrance of the house. She wore a
grey fur coat and a fancy scarf draped her head and crisscrossed
under her chin. Ashley’s jaw dropped when the light fell on her
face.

Nina Noble? Here? Chase and Baron would not
believe she saw Nina tonight. She was their favorite actress.
Unless....

Ashley fumbled with her camera and lifted it
as the actress hurried toward the entrance. Her grey coat whipped
open to reveal a shimmering golden dress. Before she could take the
picture, another car pulled up and a tall man jumped from the
driver’s seat. He hurried toward Nina, his mouth opening and
closing. Ashley couldn’t hear what he was saying until he caught up
with Nina at the bottom of the stairs.

“
Don’t do this. I understand you’re angry
at mother, but selling the house is going too far. You’ll break her
heart.”

“
Heart?” Nina snapped. “Our mother is the
Tin man in Wizard of Oz, Gregory. She’s cold and spiteful, totally
incapable of loving anyone or anything. No, I take that back. She
has a soft spot for one person…you. Grandpa left me the house. Me.
Not her. Not you. And I can do whatever I want with it. Now, excuse
me, big brother. I have papers to sign.” She started up the stairs,
her heels tapping on the cement steps.

Gregory ran after her and grabbed her arm.
“Our grandfather built this house with his bare hands. Doesn’t that
mean anything to you? I can lend you the money.”

“
I don’t want your money,
Gregory.”

“
Then what is it you want? Mother’s
attention? She’ll not be blackmailed into doing something she
doesn’t want to do. The two of you need to work out your
differences without resorting to selling our legacy.”

Nina’s laughter rang through the night.
“Legacy? Why should I want to keep a house filled with terrible
memories and pain? She made father’s life miserable in this house,
and if he hadn’t died young, he would’ve sold it to spite her. Go
back and tell her you failed, Gregory. That will be a first but the
hag will forgive you. She always does.” Nina’s voice was shaking by
the time she finished speaking.

“
You’ll regret this, Nina,” Gregory
growled. “You push everyone away with your tantrums and
selfishness. Even Noble is getting tired of your foolishness. One
day, you’ll wake up and find yourself alone.”

“
I’m an actress, Gregory. I’m never
alone.” The front door opened and slammed shut. Ashley blew out the
air she didn’t know she was holding. Her eyes followed Nina through
the glass window between the office and the foyer, until the
actress disappeared through the doors leading to the
basement.

A sound drew her attention back to Gregory,
who’d turned on his heels and now hurried toward his car. A man
stepped out of the shadows, forcing him to stop. Ashley couldn’t
see his face, just his back. He was dressed in all black.

Ashley lost interest in them. She turned to
sneak across the foyer and downstairs, but a stretch limo pulled up
beside Gregory and Nina’s car. The back window rolled down and a
hand waved at the two men, a ring on one of the fingers catching
the yellow light of the parking lot. Gregory and the man in black
moved to the limo, but the conversation that followed couldn’t have
been pleasant. The man in black lurched forward as if to punch the
occupant of the limo. Gregory pulled him away and pushed him toward
the house. Ashley ducked to avoid being seen, but a few seconds
later, the front door opened and closed. When she looked outside
again, the limo was pulling away. Gregory stayed near his car, his
head bowed, then he left too.

Tiptoeing, Ashley went to the door of the
office and peered around the foyer. The man in black was gone, and
Mrs. McKinney wasn’t around to stop her from leaving. Her camera
clutched against her chest, Ashley hurried across the room, pushed
open the door and closed it before the pounding music could alert
the people downstairs of her presence. Just one picture of Nina was
all she wanted.

Voices drifted upstairs from below as she
tiptoed along a short hallway with a set of stairs in the middle
and a door at the end. She looked around with interest. Pictures of
legendary singers and movies stars, even a few of Nina, covered the
walls. She was careful not to make loud sounds on the hardwood
steps as she crept downstairs.

Halfway down the stairs, Ashley stopped and
peered into the room. The floor was lighter than the wall panels,
but the burgundy velvet chairs matched the drapes. Her parents and
Uncle Kirkland, two other men and Nina stood near a bar, talking.
Nina had removed her fur coat to reveal the beautiful golden
sequined-covered dress. Laughing, a glass in her hand, she was the
center of attention. One of the men with them was the man wearing
all black.