Second Sight ...Part 4 of 4
It was a clear spring night, filled with stars that seemed to heighten the excitement of seeing Tara again.
She looked lovely as I remembered, although sad and upset. She fell into my arms and clung to me, and I held her tightly and tried to soothe her.
We were out on the rooftop terrace at a small table overlooking the university grounds and Queen’s Park Circle.
It was strange in a way—the candlelit tables, and the romantic ambiance, contrasting with our reason for being there—her husband’s mysterious arrest.
“I suppose you’re aware of the scandal in the news,” she began.
I nodded sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Tara—I know this must be hard for you. How’s Ward holding up?”
She looked at me with tear-blurred eyes, “I have no idea—I haven’t talked to him in months”
I was shocked. “I don’t understand.”
She took a sip of Shiraz and shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. “No, you wouldn’t know—Ward served me with divorce papers the day after you were at our house.”
“Why—did something happen?”
“Apparently, he felt I was becoming unstable and my ‘scandalous behavior’ as he put it would embarrass him in his social circle.”
“I saw no inappropriate behavior on your part.”
She smiled and reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Thank you, Zach—I appreciate your support.”
I stared out at the twinkling lights of the Toronto skyline as the purple twilight deepened into night.
“It was Ward that was mad,” she whispered. “He was ranting like a man possessed.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was scary, Zach. His eyes were glassy and he had this crazed look on his face. He kept saying, you’re not going to haunt me—it’s not going to work.”
“That’s bizarre.”
“It got worse. After a week, he got in touch with me and offered me huge sums of money to stay out of his life. He was deluded. He thought I was stalking him somehow. He claimed he’d see me sitting by the lake or walking down the hall.”
“Do you think he was suffering some kind of mental breakdown?”
She shook her head. “No. I think it was a guilty conscience, Zach. He said to me, "I know you can’t come back. I made sure of that.”
“You think he was referring to his missing wife?”
She nodded. “She’s no longer missing, Zach. The police dredged the lake and found her near the very spot where I used to sit staring out into the lake.”
“How did they find out—did you tell them your suspicions?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t have to—Ward confessed. They interviewed me, of course, and put it all together and figured out where he concealed the body.”
I gently touched her arm to console her.
“It reminds me of Hamlet when he says, "murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ.”
She nodded. “It was a crime as nefarious, but so insane, Zach—Ward claimed his murdered wife was talking through me—speaking in French and demanding he confess.”
She began to sob. I slid my chair beside hers and put one arm around her and waited for her tears to subside.
“Well, the nightmare’s over,” I reassured her, “and you can get on with your life.”
“I suppose. I really don’t know what I’m going to do. I loved Ward for a time—I really did. Everyone thought because of the age gap between us I was just a trophy wife—a gold digger. But I never cared about things like that. And I never really felt comfortable in that huge house, or playing the role of hostess or trying to act the perfect wife.”
“So what do you think you’ll do?”
“I don’t know—get a small apartment somewhere—go back to my job working in a publishing firm.”
“Will that make you happy?”
She gave a little chuckle. “You know, I think it will. I miss the simple life.”
“You’ll start over—make new friends.”
She reached across and grabbed my hand. “I think I’ve already started in that direction.”
“I think you have,” I smiled back.
I didn't tell her about the paranormal activity I witnessed surrounding her at the manse.
She was an unwitting part of a larger mystery I felt was better left unsaid.
Besides, there was magic enough in our meeting to last a lifetime, and somehow I sensed it would.
Great story and if can't be explained...thanks for your tales my friend @johnjgeddes
thank you, Jeff :)
I love the ending - well done John. So when are all these short stories going to be in a book?
books are so passé - I don't know where they fit
Thought you might say something like that. :)
ha ha...you know me by now :)
Just starting to peel back the layers on the onion.
I tried that once - ended up with nothing :)
That is good to know. :)
Totally unexpected ending, really caught me by surprise. Great Story . Thank You.
Thanks, awgbibb - it kind of got away from me, but these characters--you never know what they'll do LOL!!
This post has been ranked within the top 50 most undervalued posts in the second half of May 03. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $6.46 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: May 03 - Part II. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
thank you :)