Wings of Deception (21 page)

Then he remembered the words written on the back of Carol’s drawings.
The man she claimed would die.
It
must have been
John Herbert
she meant
!

Carol
had
said tell him it’s not his fault when that man dies
. He’s go
ing
to live with Jesus in Heaven.

He shook his head for he was thinking that he hoped the little girl was right and John was in a place called Heaven.
There is no Heaven and there is no God
, Jacks!
But what if…

                                                                                 THIRTEEN

“It’s alright Momma, don’t cry. It
don’t
hurt no more.”

Brenna squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop the tears
,
but failed.
Joe sat on the other side of the hospital bed holding Carol’s hand.

They had rushed her to the hospital early that morning
,
when she came into their bedroom complaining of the pain in her head. Now they watched
her
helplessly as they waited while the doctors looked at the
latest
MRI. They were not ready for Carol’s time to be up and dreaded seeing D
octor
Walker come through
the door.
He wore a grim look and suggested they walk outside.

“I will bring them right back Carol, I promise.”

Brenna kissed her and promised too. Joe just squeezed her hand and then they followed the doctor out.

After the door was closed and they were in the hall
he said, “Joe, Brenna,
we
knew the day would come when Carol would not go back home with you
and
I
am
afraid
that time
is here.
Her brain has been pushed as far as it can
go
and is
causing severe damage to the optic pathway and
affecting
the pituitary gland. I am sorry but it won’t be long before she will not
see at all
, after that…
her body will slowly quit functioning. She will need around the clock care.
”

“How long do we have D
octor
Walker?”

Joe uttered the words quietly while squeezing Brenna’s hand.
The doctor knew he was not talking about her eyesight which was already failing rapidly.

“We can
only
guess at it
,
Joe
.
T
here
have
been cases that went on for a while…weeks,
while others lasted only days.
”

He continued with
a
compassion
that most doctors lacked.

“
She is in God’s hands now. We will make her as comfortable as we can and she will not suffer any pain. Spend as much time with her as you want, we will move her to a room where she can have visitors as well. I’m sorry. You know I am here for you.”

He patted Joe on the shoulder
.

“Let’s keep her as cheerful as
we can, it won’t be easy for you, I know. Shall I come back in with you?”

“No, it’s okay. We will be fine. Thank you Dr Walker
,
for all you have done for her…and for us. Like you said, it is in God’s hands now.”

Joe had his hands on his wife
’s shoulders to comfort
her, but Brenna was dry eyed
now
remembering back to the time she conceived Carol. The happy day they brought her home from the hospital on Christmas Eve. She felt so blessed and gave her a name that reflected the carol’s being s
u
ng all around
the world
that day.

She
had
wanted other children but it
just did not
happen
, so she and Joe gave their little girl all the love parents could give, thankful for the bright spot in their lives.
S
he
always
realized how lucky they were to have such a special child.

She smiled
at Joe
and the doctor.

“Yes, thank you Dr Walker, you have been wonderful. Carol has been strong
for us
these last three years, now it is our
turn
to be strong for her.
Joe, I want to go back in now.”

Todd
Walker nodded before walking off. He
had become
too attached to the family by now not to feel their hurt. Cancer was a horrible thing but when it was a child even more so. He never felt more helpless than right then but he was a doctor and doctors couldn’t afford to get emotional about their patients or so was taught during training. Still, he felt a misery welling up inside him that defied what was supposed to be.

Carol’s tumor was declared fatal from the very beginning but he had hoped something would change.
Saying a silent prayer
for her and her parents,
he went about seeing
his
other patients whose outlook was much better than Carol’s.

                                                                                FOURTEEN

Sheila stood at her father’s grave reluctant to leave
,
yet knowing she must. She laid the single purple rose on top of the mound of dirt and walked away. Her consolation was that he was at peace with her mother
and Jesus
Christ and that Morgan Belk had nothing more
for which he could
blackmail her
for
. She was sure he could
just
have her done away with
which
was more desirable to her than living with him.
Either way she was free,
it did not really matter
if she had to die to achieve it.

She walked past the long black car waiting for her. Past the man sitting in it who realized she was also walking away from him. He did not move until she was out of his sight and then
he
told the driver to take him home. He would think of something, he had to for she had become the
one
thing in life he desired more than anything else.

Sheila walked until she was tired and then hailed a cab. She had only a few dollars in her purse and hoped it would cover the fare. She was going home at last, taking nothing more than what she was wearing
and
the
small handbag
which contained money and the card Jacks had given her.

She gave the cab driver all
of
the money. It
ended up
more than enough but she wanted not even a penny left that came from
Morgan.

“I am free!” She said over and over as she walked through the house touching beloved items, feeling their warmth and welcome. Her mother’s piano, her father’s easy chair,
and all
the familiar things she remembered. She knew her bedroom would be exactly as the last time she saw it too, but she would save it for later.
Right now it was more important to get in touch with Jacks.

She went to the phone
kept on
her father’s desk
, the same corded phone he had had for thirty years, always refusing to update with times saying that if something wasn’t broken, no need to replace it.

Refusing to give in to tears she picked it up and dialed the number to the clinic
where
her letter
gone
. It was the only number she had for Jacks.

It was four-thirty and Honey was getting ready to leave when the phone call came. She asked Betty who it was and Betty shrugged and said, “
A Miss Herbert
.”

Honey
immediately
picked up the phone.

“Hello, this is Honey Magill?”

“I am the woman who sent the letter for Jacks. My name is Sheila and I need to talk to him
and
this
is
the only number I
h
ave
.”

“Yes, yes Sheila. Of course, I do have his number hold on, it’s on my cell.”

She
pulled her cell phone out of her purse
. 

“You sound upset
.
A
re you okay?”

“I will be. Thank
you
.”

“Here it
is
,
601 557 5555. Did you write it down?”

The voice on the other end sighed deeply, “I did. Thank you.”

“You are welcome, if you can’t reach him keep trying, sometimes his reception is
not
so great out where he lives.”

“I
will do that,
goodbye.”

“Bye Sheila.”

Both women hung
up
each
thinking
about the other.

Honey knew when something was not right and
remembering
some things from the conversations she and Jacks had
.
S
he felt whatever it was
,
had to be connected to the people in New York too. She hoped she would hear from Jacks.

Meanwhile
,
Sheila was curled up in her father’s chair when he answered his cell phone.

“J
acks, thank goodness you answered your phone!”

“I always answer my phone. Sheila
, is this you?
Where are you
, a
re you alright?”

“I feel great
!
I feel free
!
O
h
,
dear Lord
,
I feel so free!”

Sheila bubbled over with
details of her father’s
funeral and burial
,
then how she just walked out of the cemetery and went home. She started off calm but when she finished
,
he could hear hysteria in her voice.

“I am home Jacks and he will have to kill me now
,
because I won’t go back. I won’t!
You know he
probably
will
kill me!
”

“
O
kay
Sheila
,
he is not going to kill you. Having the courage to leave the freak was the hard part. Now
, I want you to listen to me and do exactly as I say.”

“Okay.”

“Do not answer your phone. I remember your fathers old thing, do
esn’t
even have caller ID.
When
I call
,
I
will let it ring three times and hang up
. You can call me back.
You got to get a cell phone girl!” He laughed trying to lighten the mood but it was not working
,
so he told her, “
I a
m going to make some phone calls right now and take care of everything. Stay in and do not leave the house for
any
thing or
any
body
.”

“Okay.”

“I have some friends
I can trust
on the police force there
and
I can get
them
to do me a favor. I will have the house watched. Now get off here so I can get this done. Sheila, you did the right thing.
I was making plans to kidnap you and you
have
saved me the trouble.
”
This brought a giggle from her at least.

“Thank you Jacks, bye.”