Kevin O'Brien - One Last Scream

But she could hear something else, too. It sounded like a car approaching. Up ahead in the distance, she saw the beam from a pair of headlights sweep across the bushes and trees. After a few moments, another car sailed by. Karen raced toward the road, and civilization. Her lungs burning, she pressed on. She could actually see the edge of the forest now, and cars whooshing past. By the time she emerged from the woods and felt the pavement beneath her, Karen was almost delirious. She didn’t know if she had stumbled back onto Newcastle-Coal Creek Road, or if it was another street. She didn’t have any idea how to get to her car from this spot.

She tried to wave down an SUV, but it passed her by, its horn blaring. Karen swiveled around and shined her flashlight into the woods.

She saw him for only a second-a tall figure ducking behind a tree. He had a small shovel in his hand. He couldn’t have been more than a hundred feet away.

Karen swiveled around. “Help! Help me, please!” she screamed, waving at another approaching car, a beat-up Taurus.

The car pulled over to the side of the road.

Karen caught her breath. “Thank you, God,” she whispered.

“This teenager in the Taurus was so sweet. The poor kid, I had him driving one way and then the other before we finally found where I’d left my car.”

The cell phone to her ear, Karen stood outside a RiteAid in a Bellevue strip mall. Under the glaring halogen lights, she could see her reflection in the storefront window. With her brown hair a mess, dirt on her clothes, and scratch marks on her face, she looked as if she’d been beaten up.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” George asked for the second time.

“Somewhat traumatized, but okay,” Karen replied with a shaky laugh.

“And you don’t want to call the police?”

“Well, at this point, we don’t have a body,” she said. “And I’m sure all of those trail markings will be gone by the time anyone goes back into those woods, searching for one. I don’t think calling the police would do any good right now. Besides, I’d like to get Amelia some help before the cops and the press start going to town on her. And you’ll think I’m crazy, but there’s still a part of me that believes she’s innocent.”

“I feel the same way, Karen,” he said. “Still, she could be dangerous, you said so yourself. There’s every indication that she killed Koehler.”

“I know,” Karen sighed. “But that man chasing me through the woods tonight, I think he’s the same one who was in the basement at my father’s rest home yesterday. I’m more worried about him than I am about Amelia. Shane spotted her being very intimate with some strange man in a car a few months ago. It could be this same guy. Maybe he has some kind of weird power over Amelia. Maybe he’s hypnotizing her or something, I don’t know.”

“I was planning to go to Salem tomorrow,” George said. “Jessie’s supposed to look after the kids. It was just a day trip, but maybe now, I ought to stay put. You shouldn’t have to take care of Amelia all by yourself. She’s my responsibility-”

“You’re going to Salem?”

“Yeah, I want to find out who paid for Duane Lee Savitt’s cemetery plot. They wouldn’t tell me over the phone and suggested I come down there.”

“You should go,” Karen urged him. “If we can find out more about her early childhood, it could end up helping Amelia quite a lot. Go. I’ll watch over Amelia. We’ll be fine. I don’t think the police will be looking for her at my place tonight. They’ve already been by today. In the morning, I’ll get her to a specialist. I have some names.”

“Well, your faith in Amelia’s innocence is a lot stronger than mine,” he said. “She’s my niece, and I love her. But I wouldn’t trust her around my kids right now. And I don’t think I’d sleep very well under the same roof as her.”

Karen peered through the RiteAid window. She noticed an aisle marker that said Sleep Aids. “I know what you mean,” she said. “I probably won’t sleep too well, myself. But I’ll make sure Amelia does. Will you call me from Salem tomorrow as soon as you find out anything?”

“Of course, Karen,” he replied. “And phone me tonight if anything happens. Even if it’s just that you’re scared and can’t sleep. I want you to call me, okay?”

She smiled. “Okay, George. Thank you.”

Karen stirred the ingredients from four sleeping capsules into the chocolate sauce as she heated it over the stove. The diazepam she’d given Amelia last week had calmed her a bit, but hadn’t made her sleep. And Karen needed to make sure Amelia was conked out tonight.

Rufus sat at her feet, watching her every move. He always did that while she was cooking in case she accidentally dropped a piece of food.

Amelia was upstairs, changing into her pajamas. She and Shane had watched The 400 Blows and then eaten dinner at My Brother’s Pizza. Before calling them, Karen had left a message with Dr. Danielle Richards, the most qualified psychologist on her contact list. Dr. Richards had called back, and agreed to meet with Amelia in the morning.

Shane had dropped Amelia off at 9:20. By then, Karen had already showered, changed the sheets in the guest room, and taken Rufus for a quick walk. After what had happened in Cougar Mountain Park, she’d decided to tuck her father’s gun in her coat pocket for the short trip down the block and back. She wished she’d had it with her during that hike in the forest.

Amelia let out a gasp when she saw the scratch marks on Karen’s face and hands. Karen reassured her that she was all right. She told her what had happened in the woods, focusing on the fact that there was no actual corpse, and no reason to go to the police just yet.

At the same time, she wondered out loud about the man who had chased her through the forest. Did Amelia know someone who could have done that? It couldn’t have been Shane. Did she have any other male friends, maybe someone Shane didn’t know about?

Amelia couldn’t think of anyone. She became more upset the more Karen pressed the issue, and finally Karen just dropped it. She suggested Amelia change into her pajamas, and they could watch a movie on TV.

That had been about fifteen minutes ago.

She could hear Amelia coming down the stairs now. The crystals from the sleeping pill capsules still showed up in the chocolate sauce. Karen turned up the burner, and rapidly stirred the concoction. Then she went to the refrigerator freezer for the ice cream.

Amelia stepped into the kitchen. Her hair was pinned up; and she wore an oversized pink T-shirt, flannel pajama bottoms, and thick gray socks. She sat down at the kitchen table. Rufus strolled over to her and put his head in her lap.

“I’m making sundaes,” Karen announced.

Scratching Rufus behind the ears, Amelia sighed. “Oh, I think I’ll pass. I’ve had a nervous stomach ever since this afternoon. Thanks, anyway.”

Standing by the stove, Karen turned to gaze at her. “But I heated up the chocolate sauce just for you,” she said. She tested the sauce with a little dab from her spoon. It didn’t have any detectable foreign taste. “Hmm, it’s good stuff too. And I know you like chocolate. C’mon, one scoop won’t kill you.” She prepared Amelia’s dish, dousing the ice cream with chocolate sauce. Then she set it on the table in front of Amelia.

Perking up, Rufus showed more interest in the dessert than Amelia did. Karen dished out a scoop of ice cream for herself, and brought it over to the table. She sat down. “Go ahead, dig in,” she urged her.

Amelia gazed at Karen’s bowl and frowned. “Why aren’t you having any chocolate on yours?”

“Because chocolate goes right from my lips to my hips. It’s bad enough I’m having this ice cream.” With her spoon, she pointed to the bowl in front of Amelia. “C’mon, don’t let me be the only one pigging out here. Have some.”