Deadly Deception

Chapter 7



Anne couldn’t help but continue to stare in wonder at Adam who sat across from her at the white-on-red cotton-draped table. They were at breakfast in a quaint little café in town. Adam read the newspaper and drank his black coffee. When Anne awakened that morning, she questioned whether it had been just a dream but when Adam asked about the broken glass on the deck she knew it was indeed true. Carter was alive. She threw out a random excuse and showed him her bandaged foot.

They took separate cars to the café; Adam had to head to Duluth and finish his case there. The Friday morning air felt heavy, almost suffocating. There was a light layer of fog that hung low over the pine trees. It danced across the lake like a scenic ballet. Soft pink tones painted themselves through the sections of the watery haze.

Anne took a sip of her coffee and began fidgeting with her ring. How could it be true? Adam was always so gentle and loving with her. He would give her the world on a silver platter if he could. He looked so average reading his paper; he didn’t look like a contract killer. Adam shifted his gaze toward her. She quickly looked away.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

Closing his paper, he turned toward her.

“Nothing,” Anne said, giving him a quick smile of reassurance.

“You seem restless. Is this about the broken glass? Look, my mom isn’t even going to notice, so don’t worry about it.”

If only that was the biggest of her worries.

“I know. Will you be gone all day?” she asked, attempting to sound casual.

“I don’t know. I’ll do my best to wrap it up so we can enjoy the rest of the weekend together. I’m sorry about last night, but you did look quite sexy wearing my shirt,” Adam said as the corner of his lips lifted.

A flush of heat spread over the apples of Anne’s cheeks.

“Yeah, me and sexy don’t go hand-in-hand all that well.”

Adam enveloped her hand in his, kissing it softly.

“I think you’re sexy no matter what you wear.”

She smiled and looked out toward the road where she noticed a black Escalade parked across the way. Carter ducked inside. Anne gasped, nearly knocking over the coffee-filled white porcelain.

“Whoa, what was that?” Adam asked, puzzled by her sudden jolt.

“Um, just a chill. I shouldn’t have worn a dress out today. It may be spring but the temperatures aren’t quite that warm yet,” Anne replied, trying to recover from her seizure-like behavior.

Adam motioned to the waitress for the check.

“So what are you going to do today, darling?” he asked.

Adam had many endearing pet names for her, which always caused a flutter in her chest. Until she knew more, she couldn’t envision him as a cold-blooded killer.

“I think I’ll just do some antique shopping and then head back to cabin and read.”

“That sounds nice and relaxing. Just what you needed.”

“Yeah,” Anne replied quietly.

There would be no relaxing for her. They walked hand–in-hand to the gravel-spread parking lot. She kept from gazing in Carter’s general direction. Adam squeezed her hand as they stopped at her driver’s side door.

“I’ll call you when I’m finished and I promise it won’t be late like last night. I love you.”

He kissed her on the lips chastely. Anne had to remind herself to breathe.

“I love you too,” she replied, wanting to tell Adam the truth, tell him everything, but she withheld the notion.

“Stay out of trouble, my angel.” He smiled and gave her a playful wink.

They both got into their cars and exited the parking lot. He went one way toward Duluth and she turned the other, waiting for Carter to follow her lead. About a mile away from the café, the black Escalade sped up behind her. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw his face in her rear view mirror. They continued down the two-lane highway when Carter began to flash his headlights at her, motioning for her to turn left onto the upcoming dirt road.

Anne was unfamiliar with where this road led but she did as she was instructed. Gripping the steering wheel with both hands, she guided the car carefully over the unstable softening dirt. Up ahead, on their right stood an old abandoned barn. Most of the once vibrant red paint was chipped away and weathered by the many years of frigid northern winters. They parked on the side of the barn that was not visible from the road.

Anne’s instincts were to immediately run over to him and kiss every inch of his olive skin but her open-ended emotions held her back. She walked over to him as calmly as she could while the tremors shook her core. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days and his hair was hidden under a navy blue baseball cap. Layered with a blue thermal was a red t-shirt that hung loosely over his dark jeans. For someone who has been dead for three years he sure does look good, Anne thought.

“Let’s go inside where we can talk.”

He gestured toward the rickety barn door.

“You mean hide,” Anne replied snidely.

The inside of the barn was hollow. There were about a dozen stacks of hay left and a couple of bags of feed. The critters of the outside made their homes there during the cold winter months. Anne’s brown leather boots that covered her legs just over her knees were sinking into the pockets of mud and hay. The lingering smell of horses was still quite prominent.

“Did Adam suspect anything?” Carter asked, leaving an ample amount of comfortable space in between them.

“No, but you promised me you would tell me everything, so start talking.”

Anne crossed her arms in front of her.

“What do you want to know?”

She rolled her eyes in annoyance to his question.

“I want to know everything! Hey, let’s start with where the hell have you been for the past three years?”

“I had a friend of mine make me a fake passport, driver’s license and social security card. I took on a whole new identity then decided to leave the country for a while, just until things cooled down. I traveled all over South America and a little in Africa,” Carter said very matter-of-factly.

“Well, isn’t that nice. You took a vacation while I spiraled into my own personal hell.”

“Anneliese, it wasn’t a vacation and you know it. There wasn’t a second that didn’t go by that I wasn’t thinking about you. After a year, Sam returned to the States from Asia and became my watcher, if you will. I had to make sure you were all right.”

Anne began circling the barn, absorbing Carter’s surreal explanations. She had heard through the grapevine that Sam went to Asia to close a business deal for Carter’s company; he was familiar with the supplier. After Carter’s death, Sam tried to fill the role the best he could.

“So you had Sam stalk me?”

“I like the term protect better but then he informed me about your relationship escalating with Adam. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away very much longer. I know I hurt you and I’m sorry.”

Anne hurled daggers with her glare.

“Hurt me? Really? I was devastated, Carter! I don’t understand why you couldn’t trust me! We could’ve left together or you could’ve at least told me what was going on!”

She walked over to the loose bales of hay and sat down. Tears dotted her beige cotton dress.

“I was pregnant, Carter.”

The words stung as they broached her lips. She looked up at him; his mouth was agape.

“Pregnant?”

Carter moved closer to her pensive body.

“I was late but wanted to wait until I went to the doctor. I would have dreams of a little wavy-haired boy running to me, pointing back at you yelling ‘Daddy’ and you would scoop him up in your arms and kiss us both.”

Anne choked, feeling her heart ache with loss. The pain was almost too much to bear. Falling to his knees in the muck and mud, he placed his hands on the sides of her legs. She removed his baseball cap and ran her fingers through his disheveled hair. Strands of auburn reflected the shaft of sunshine that peeked through the holes of the dry-rotted roof.

Anne continued. “When Sam called and told me that you had disappeared and were presumed dead I blacked out and woke up three days later in the hospital, where they told me I had lost the baby. I had lost our baby.”

Carter laid his head in her lap, searching for words of comfort but he had none to give.

“Shit, we were going to have a baby,” he choked out.

“So Carter, not only was I mourning you but I was mourning our baby too. The last connection I had to you was gone just like you were.”

Carter grabbed her, pulling her into his embrace, trying to soothe her plaguing agony.

“I’m so sorry, my Anneliese. I’m such an idiot.”

Carter wiped away the black mascara that streaked down her face. She tilted her head ever so slightly and kissed his lips. They both inhaled deeply, feeling the rush of air expand in their lungs. Carter ran his hands inside her dress and up her thigh, leaving a trail of white as the blood vessels were thrusted away. The thumping of her heart increased to the point it thudded in her ears.

“I want you always, Anneliese,” Carter whispered between breathes.

The palm of her hand pushed against his stalwart chest to cease what would have been Anne’s yearning since she set eyes on him last night.

“What is it?”

Muddled by her abrupt decision, he moved back from her an inch or two.

“This is…I can’t….,” Her voice trailed off. “But I don’t want you to leave me again.”

“You have me right here, right now.” He replied, interlacing his fingers through hers.

“What about tomorrow, Carter, and the next day? We have to figure something out. You can’t keep running.”

Carter pulled himself away from her.

“There is no we in this. I will fix it. I know who I’m dealing with and I’m not going to put your life at risk.”

“Um, isn’t that a little too late due to the fact I’m engaged to the man who was going to supposedly kill you? Plus everyone is going to find out you’re alive.”

Carter cringed at the sight of the engagement ring but quickly calmed when seeing the strand of pearls grace her ivory neck.

“You need to keep quiet,” he demanded.

“Adam will figure out what is going on. He isn’t stupid,” Anne contradicted.

“I know but in the mean time you need to play it off like everything is perfect.”

Anne threw her hands up in the air. Was he serious?

“I am so pissed at the both of you. This is something out of the The Sopranos. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen here.”

“You’d be surprised, and these people are dangerous. They will come after you, so let it be.”

She picked up his cap that was lying on the ground next to her feet and flung it at him with such force he flinched at her aggressive actions.

“Let it be! Are you joking? To be honest with you, Carter, I don’t know what to believe or who to trust. How do I know that you aren’t lying to me? Looking me right in the eye and lying—it seems to come so naturally!”

Carter’s face flooded with anger. His movements toward her were swift and forceful.

“How could you say that to me? You know me better than anyone. I’m risking everything being here right now!”

“I’m so done with this!” she barked.

Anne’s attempt to walk away was unsuccessful as Carter grabbed her by the arm and jerked her back.

“I’m not playing with you! Your impulsive behavior is going to get us killed!”

Anne yanked her arm away, feeling his grip reluctantly release.

“My impulsive behavior? You lurk around in the dead of night. You have your best friend do your dirty work for you and stalk me. Who the hell does that?” She looked him and down. “I don’t know this Carter and I didn’t know that one either, I guess. Everything that I once believed in is gone. How can I trust you? When it all fell apart you left me. You handed me right on over to Adam. You did that.”

The veins in his neck were roaring with venom but he knew the words she spoke were true. Anne had nothing more to say as her heart crumbled inside her chest. Turning her back to him, she hurried out of the barn. Her senses were ablaze but yet she felt so defenseless. No amount of medication would correct what she was feeling at this moment.

“Anneliese!”

She could hear that Carter was running by the pounding of his footsteps on the thawing earth. She hesitantly turned to face him.

“Please, Carter, I need to go.”

“Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.”

Anne turned her gaze to the bare cornfield off to the other side of the road, seeing exposed dirt fighting the elements of the unforgiving season—oh, how she could relate. He was exposing her to a corrupt world she was unaware existed here. Carter’s quote from Pride & Prejudice did not move her emotionally or otherwise. In fact, she felt insulted, as if one charming quote would entice her back in to his arms. At one time it would have, but things were now different.

“How can I let them bring me pleasure if they were nothing but fallacies?” She opened her car door. “And that is directly from me.”

Carter stood there in defeat with his hands tucked inside the pockets of his jeans. Taking one last look in her rear view mirror, the scene of their rendezvous became smaller in dimension and then was no longer visible. Her mind was on auto pilot. She reached the cabin in what seemed to be mere seconds.

Anne wandered down the marked stone path that lay silent on the side of the cabin fortress and opened up to the cobbled beach. The bitter wind pushed the ungracious waves toward her. Guilt ran over her like the waves did the tiny stones beneath her feet; slowly eroding away her entire being. She grabbed a handful and tossed them into the gray waters, watching the peppered ripples. She unleashed an un-earthly scream that had lain dormant since late last night.

If Carter thought she was going to sit idly by and let her future be determined by lies and deceit, he was sadly mistaken. They were strangers to one another; it was not the reunion she had dreamt about so many times before. Becoming eerily aware of being stalked, she looked down the beach, assuming Carter was nearby, watching her. Walking back to the cabin, she went inside and secured all the doors and windows.

***

It was mid-afternoon; the winds brought thick dreary clouds that skirted deep in the sky. Anne sat in the club chair next to the fireplace with both legs draped over the arm, staring out into the colorless atmosphere. She knew confronting Adam would be haphazard, but what other options did she have. Taking off the diamond ring, she looked at it as a small smile brushed across her mouth. Adam’s proposal was so beautiful; how could it all have been a lie?

On one knee he had knelt down, taking her hand in his. The room was aglow with candlelight and the scent of fresh roses filled the air around them.

“Anne Corinne Jamison, I have loved you from the second I saw you in that ballroom. You opened your mouth and a symphony poured from your lips. I will spend the rest of my days on this earth bringing you nothing but happiness and love—that is, if you will let me. Anne, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” Without hesitation, she had accepted his proposal.

Sorrow crept in once the memory faded. She placed the ring on the side table next to the chair. How could she continue to wear a ring that promises love and devotion when she didn’t know if his heart had been in it at all? Was she just a pawn in this lethal chess game?

Anne heard the lock to the front door unlatch. Adam was home. She watched him walk into the foyer and place his brown leather briefcase on the floor. Her hands fidgeted.

“Hey there…what’s going on?” He asked placing his black knit scarf around the base of the railing, feeling the intensity surround them.

“We have to talk. Please, come sit down.”

His steps were slow and curious. He sat down on the couch across from her and noticed the ring sitting on the table.

“Why is your ring off?” Adam asked with urgency.

“Why are you with me?”

“What’s this about?”

“Answer the question, Adam. Why are you with me?”

“Because I love you. Did something happen today?”

His expressions continued to change but hers remained stagnant. Her head was slightly lowered, her eyes hooded.

“Do you have alternative motives for being with me? Are you truly in love with me and want to marry me or was there some other reason?”

Adam cleared his throat, obviously feeling uncomfortable with where the conversation was heading.

“Are you truly in love with me? Let’s be honest here, I compete against a ghost every day. So, Anne, are you?”

Anne promptly realized the tables were being turned. Damn him, she thought.

“You quickly forget that I’m the psychologist. I take pleasure in mind games.”

He stood up, loosening his navy tie and rolling the sleeves of his crisp snowy shirt. He crossed the room to the rustic bar.

“How quickly you forget, I’m the lawyer. I take pleasure in arguing my way out of tight situations.”

Pouring himself a brandy, he had a satisfied look on his face. He was pleased with his brilliant rebuttal.

“I was just thinking if we’re going to enter into a union of forever, don’t you think we should lay it all out on the table? Honesty is such a lost art these days,” Anne countered, jumping right in to the game.

Adam finished off the amber liquid, placing the glass down with a thud.

“Something has apparently riled your opinion regarding my feelings toward you, so if we’re going to talk about honesty, let’s start with that. What happened?”

Anne began to open her mouth but was startled by her ringing phone.

“Saved by the bell,” Adam said, motioning for her to answer it.

“Casey?”

“Anne! You need to come back to the Cities!” Casey spoke frantically on the other end.

“Why?”

“It’s your patient, Stella McGuire. She’s in the hospital with self-inflicted wounds.”

“Oh my god, yeah, I’ll leave right now. What hospital?”

Anne dashed the length of the living room then up the stairs to the bedroom.

“Regions Hospital in St. Paul. I’ll stay here with her mother until you arrive.”

“Thanks, Casey, I’ll hurry as fast as I can.”

Hanging up her phone she threw it on the king-size bed. Poor little Stella, so traumatized, so fragile.

“What was that about?” Adam asked, trailing behind her.

“One of my patients attempted suicide. I have to go.”

She wasn’t worried about folding or nicely placing her items in the suitcases. She just wanted to get to Stella.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Should you be driving?”

“I’m fine,” Anne replied, trying to dodge his body that seemed to continuously get in her way.

“We need to finish this conversation. Maybe I should drive back with you and we can talk in the car.”

There was no way she was going to be trapped in a moving vehicle with him for four hours with the possibility of him dumping her body out on the side of the interstate after she told him the week’s past events.

“Not right now. I want to be alone. It’ll give me time to clear my head.”

He finally trapped her in the closet after all her efforts of dodging and weaving him.

“The truth is this. I love you. I’m in love with you and I don’t know who’s been whispering in your ear but usually the one accusing is the one who is being dishonest.”

His face was ashen and his hazel eyes had lost all vivacity.

“Usually the one being accused only becomes defensive when they have something to hide,” Anne countered.

They could have gone several more rounds but Anne needed to leave this conversation for later. Before heading out the front door, Adam requested that she at least text him when she arrived at the hospital so he knew she was safe; she agreed as she got into her Jetta. Adam rested his body against the frame of the front door, watching her car vanish behind the black evergreens.

He took out the engagement ring out of his pocket and placed it on the center point of his open palm. He watched the rainbow of colors dance on his hand like little orbs of light. Closing it into an impervious fist, he squeezed until he winced at the pinching pain of the diamond. He gave one last glance to the empty gravel driveway, turned around and firmly closed the cabin door.