Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2) (38 page)

“There is no coming to terms with it!”

“It was no secret what Bernard did. I have nothing to hide. No secrets to bury. I fought for my life and I won.”

“You didn’t win. Not yet.”

“What did I ever do to you, for you to hate me so much? I didn’t even know you before you came to town…”

Angie’s anger intensified to a furious level.

She screamed, “You survived him!”

“What about your sisters? What about April Dearing? They didn’t survive
you
. In this case Bernard Kendricks is not the monster.
You are
.”

“I’m not a monster! I’m a victim!” screamed Angie dramatically.

“You are off your rocker! Let me guess… You went off your meds?” guessed Tristan.

“What would you know of that?!”

“Bernard went off his medication just before he took me, you know. Let me guess… You’re a sociopath just like him.”

“You have no idea what it’s like!”

“You’re right. I don’t and I never want to know what it is like to feel that kind of hatred in my heart. What did your sisters ever do to you that was so horrible that you felt the need to murder them in cold blood?!” yelled Tristan who was now standing less than an inch from Angie’s face.

“Tiffany was an insufferable snob and she stood in between me and my future,” said Angie cryptically.

Tristan shook her head in disgust and asked, “And what about Courtney?”

“I have my reasons,” said Angie with a charged expression on her face.

“You know, I don’t buy your excuses. I think that you were jealous that they both, at some point, showed attention towards Hunter.”

“Don’t make me laugh! Hunter! He was a tool. He served a purpose.”

“Or… Maybe the real reason you killed Tiffany was because she knew one of your darkest secrets. And oh, my God, is it dark!”

“What would you know about it?!” screamed Angie, becoming more paranoid by the minute.

“I know more than you think. After all, I spent three days listening to Bernard’s incessant rambling.”

“What did he say?!”

“Everything. I know everything I could possibly need to know about you or him. Now what about April Dearing?! Did she know your secret, too?!”

Angie remained silent.

“You should know by now that all secrets eventually come to the surface. Now what did April Dearing do that was worthy of being executed in a park?!”

Angie finally cracked.

“She knew too much!”

“Yeah, I guess she did. She suspected that you were the one responsible for Tiffany’s death. Then when Courtney turned up dead, she told DiNolfo her suspicions.”

“It was none of her business! What I choose to do is my business. Anyone who stands in my way is asking for trouble! Now what did he say?! He promised not to tell!”             

“There are consequences for your actions, Angie…”

“What did he tell you?!”

“He told me
everything
.”

“He promised not to tell!”

Tristan rolled her eyes at Angie. Angie glared back angrily.

“Little Miss Morrow. Do you know why I put you on my list?”

Tristan rolled her eyes again.

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

“Because you walked away from his torment virtually unscathed. You survived.”

Tristan looked Angie dead in her eyes. Tristan knew that Angie had gone completely mad. Her blue eyes scanned the room wildly, as if looking for her lost sanity somewhere in the chamber. Angie would not find it on this or any other night. Angela O’Mara’s mind was tarnished and warped beyond repair.

“You survived him, too…” said Tristan calmly.

“I didn’t! I’m an empty shell!”

“You were obsessed with him. Your own cousin. And it boils you to this day that he chose a woman that didn’t love him over you. Does it piss you off that I look just like her?”

“Yes!”

“Pathetic! The woman hated him!”

“Don’t speak about Catherine to me!”

“Why? What did she ever do to you?”

“She existed! She was the cause of his unraveling…”

“Ah, Angie… That’s where you’re wrong.”

“I’m not wrong! I’m never wrong.”

“You are. You see, because it wasn’t Catherine who brought Kendricks to his death. She was petrified of him. I was the one who had the courage and the nerve to deliver Kendricks to the devil’s door.”

“Jack Morrow.”

“Yes. The devil in Bernard’s eyes. He was dead in a matter of seconds. So if you want to be pissed at anyone, it’s not my mother, but me.”

“
You
…” growled Angie in a sinister voice. She looked like she was about to pounce.

“Me,” confirmed Tristan in a serious voice.

“I’ll finish you.”

“You won’t get close,” said Tristan in an annoyed voice as she pulled out her gun. She had heard enough. “I’m nobody’s victim to claim. And neither is my aunt or my friends. Your sisters’ lives were not yours to take, and neither was April Dearing’s! But count on this… By the time the sun rises, your life will be ours to take.”

As the moonlight poured into the cavity and filled the heart of the mine, Tristan cocked her gun and pointed it at Angie’s head. This time, she had made damn sure that the gun was loaded.

***

Frank’s truck halted at the intersection at Mountain Road and Cross Street as he waited for the traffic light to turn green. The traffic light swung lazily over the intersection and time seemed to stand still. A cool breeze blew in from the southwest plain. The smell of fire laced the air as smoke billowed from the forest floor. The scent alone caused Frank to turn his head. Just as the light turned green, something else caught his attention; a raised voice that he would recognize anywhere cried into the night. Frank put the truck in park and stepped out onto the dirt road.

“Uncle Frank?” asked Blake with a perplexed tone of voice, clearly not understanding why he was getting out of the truck.

Frank ignored his nephew’s question as he casted a serious look towards the Forest of York. Rather than asking questions, Tommy followed his uncle to the tree line. He trusted his uncle’s judgment completely and he knew better than to ask questions when Frank was having a train of thought. Suddenly, Frank heard the sound again. Franks eyes darted to the ground. The noise was coming from beneath them.

“Go in my truck and get me my chainsaw, my flashlight and the long rope.”

Without asking questions, Tommy went and quickly returned with the supplies that his uncle had asked for. Frank went over to the driver side window and spoke to Blake and Shane in no uncertain terms.

“Do not leave this truck. Do not attempt to follow me. If there is any trouble go straight to the police station. Nowhere else. Do you hear me?”

Blake and Shane nodded, wide eyed and alarmed. Before they could ask any questions, Frank slammed the driver side door shut and raced into the Forest of York with Tommy on his heels.

***

“Liam! Stay with us!” Bridgette yelled as she continued to move rock and debris with her good arm. Her right arm was still in excruciating pain from her own bullet wound.

“I am,” said Liam groggily.

“Damn!” yelled Bridgette as the pain became too much for her to bear.

“What’s wrong?!” yelled Adam.

Joe replied, “Bridgette was shot too… The pain is getting to her.”

“I can’t get any reception down here… We called for a medic over an hour ago, but I don’t think the call went through.”

“Just hold tight. We’re gonna get you out of there…” assured Joe with a nervous look on his face.

***

Jack and Cole reached the heart of the mine where they found Tristan holding Angie O’Mara at gun point. She had the gun pressed to Angie’s forehead firmly. Tristan could hear footsteps approaching. She craned her neck to see who was entering the mine. With Tristan distracted by the noise behind her, Angie capitalized. She twisted her body around, quick as a snake, and laced her hands around an old wooden lever that was installed in the floor of the mine. She pulled hard on the splintering handle and smiled grimly as a sharp metallic groaning emitted from the ground below.

Tristan didn’t know what was happening. One minute she was standing on solid ground staring back at her father and Cole, and the next, she was plummetting down far below the earth’s surface. Free falling into the dark depths of the mine, Tristan screamed at the top of her lungs. Her fear consumed her. In that dark, weightless moment, Tristan closed her eyes and prepared for the very worst.

What felt like an eternity falling through time and space, was really only seconds and a matter of thirty feet. Tristan crashed into the hard dirt with a violent thud as pain coursed down her spine to her legs and feet. Dust billowed around her body as she tried to shake off the pain. As the air cleared, the trap door slammed shut. Tristan sat up as a muffled scream escaped from her lungs. She was in pain, but she was alive. In the distance, she could hear something shuffling along the mine floor.

“Can anyone hear me?!” yelled Tristan in a cracking, desperate voice.

No one answered. The silence of the chamber was deafening. Tristan was absolutely, unequivocally alone.

***

Frank Kilpatrick’s chainsaw roared to life, scaring away the wildlife that called the forest home. Squirrels and chipmunks scurried away from the noise as birds fled from their branches.

“Stand back!” yelled Frank to Tommy who was standing at the base of the Bone Tree.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“This is a hollow tree. We can get them out through here!”

“They are all down there?!”

“Pretty sure. I heard Bridgette and Liam’s voices. I just heard Joe’s too.”

“Which means the killer is down there.”

“I would just about guarantee it,” said Frank sharply.

“Get me down there now,” said Tommy with a dark edge to his voice.

Frank nodded. Though he shouldn’t encourage violence, Tommy had every right to be pissed off. As he revved his chainsaw one last time, Frank said, “You do what you gotta do.”

Frank applied his blade to the white bark of the Bone Tree as the wood began to splinter. The tree groaned as if it was in pain as the grinding teeth of the chainsaw tore through its core.

“Get back!” yelled Frank trying to see which way the tree was going to fall.

He prayed that it would not land on the roof of Montes. Fortunately for Frank, it didn’t. The monstrous tree fell with a great crash, bowling over the thicket and moss-strewn boulders that lay scattered about in the forest. Tommy was amazed by what he saw before him. There wasn’t a tree stump, but an empty hole. It was as if the tree had just been placed there to cover up a man hole.