THE SUSPENSE ACCOUNT by Charles Thomas Peters jr. Copyright 1989, 1993 Charles Thomas Peters jr. FLAME BY THE SEA by Charles Thomas Peters jr. Copyright 1993 Charles Thomas Peters jr.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Daniel walked through a thicket of overgrowth toward the Raveen Family Cemetery. He'd received a strange, anonymous letter telling him that there, in the cemetery, he might learn something about himself. Although he wondered if he might be walking into some kind of trap, he decided to take a chance and risk the danger.

As Daniel walked beyond the thicket, he walked carefully, trying not to trample the colorful wild flowers in his path. He walked cautiously, hoping he was not walking into an ambush.

Seeing a red cardinal light on a rotted picket fence near the northwest edge of the cemetery, Daniel stopped a moment. He noticed two marble markers. One of the markers was small and was located next to the picket fence. Daniel figured it marked the boundary between the Raveen Estate and county owned forest land. The other marker was large and odd shaped. Daniel realized someone had carved the large piece of marble into the shape of a seven branched candelabrum to mark a different kind of boundary--the boundary between life and death.

Daniel tiptoed through the wild flowers and knelt near the carving. Because he saw the name, Meredith Menorah, inscribed on the candelabrum's base, he knew he was looking at the tombstone that commemorated her life and supposed death. Daniel smiled. He was glad that Meredith Menorah had not yet crossed the boundary--the boundary between life and death--marked by the tombstone.

Smelling the colorful flowers growing wild around the tombstone, Daniel sneezed. Trying to hold his head up and away from the smell, he carefully crawled through the flowers and eased closer to the tombstone. He attempted to read what was inscribed on each of the seven branches of the candelabrum; but a blackish shadow cast darkness over the tombstone and made it impossible for Daniel to read the finely engraved inscriptions. Daniel frowned as he ran his fingers across the monument to Meredith Menorah. He could only wonder what secrets the monument might hold.

In the eerie shadow cast by Sounder's Bluff, Daniel stared up at the cliff. Then in the twilight of darkness surrounding Daniel, Daniel eyed a tombstone inside the picket fence. Daniel scratched his head. He wondered. He noticed that the shadow cast by Sounder's Bluff spanned the exact distance between the two tombstones--one several feet inside the picket fence and one several feet outside the picket fence. He was amazed at seeing how bright sunlight seemingly outlined the area of near darkness between the graves, creating an awesome glow beyond the shadow of the jagged cliff.

Staring at the strange glow, transfixed, almost hypnotized by the view, Daniel didn't see Mary standing near Captain Raveen's Manor and looking for him. She spotted him though and called out to him. He didn't seem to hear her.

Mary hesitated and then slowly, dreading each step she took, walked closer to Daniel. She walked closer to the place she'd feared since she was a child. Her heart pounded harder and harder as she neared the spot where she'd found the body of her childhood friend, Nathaniel. Mary was only six years old when she found the decapitated body at the very grave where she now saw Daniel down on his knees.

Mary walked out of the bright sun and into the shadow of the bluff. Trembling, she stopped. She couldn't believe how afraid she was. It was like she was six years old again and she'd just discovered the mutilated body of her friend. Mary closed her eyes and attempted to block the awful memory from her mind. Then she took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

Standing in the edge of the cliff's shadow, Mary stared at the grave now covered in a beautiful mix of colorful flowers. She smiled at Daniel who somehow had gotten his leg entangled with a thorny vine and was fighting to escape.

Suddenly, Mary saw a red cardinal flying toward her, swooping near her face. Dodging away from the bird, Mary stepped backwards. With the awful sensation of mushy, muddy red clay creeping over her sandals and feet--realizing she was sinking into a puddle of mud--Mary stumbled sideways and felt something cold touching her leg. Scared, feeling faint, Mary gawked down at the weathered, marble tombstone against her leg. She became even more scared when the image of a hooded man with a bloodied axe flashed in her mind.

Shaking with fear, Mary backed away from the tombstone. She didn't see what was behind her. Without realizing it, she stepped into a half sunken grave. For a second, everything seemed okay. Then the ground began to give way beneath her, and she felt trapped. Falling into the grave, there was nothing she could do but scream in terror, "Daniel! Help me!" Horrified, Daniel saw Mary disappear into the unmarked grave. Desperately, he struggled against the vine wrapped around his leg and tried to pull himself free. While grappling to break the tough, thorny vine away from his ankle, Daniel queerly sensed someone watching him. He looked around the cemetery, but saw no one. Still, he felt someone was watching, and he was right.

Kate Benton stood in the distance, scrutinizing Daniel's situation and smiling. "Should I offer to help?" Kate asked herself. And she laughed. "Na. Watching is more fun."

Finally, Daniel broke free from the vine. Racing to help Mary, he screamed, "I'm coming."

Kate giggled. "Pervert."

Lying in a bed of splintered wood and red clay, Mary found herself in the cold embrace of a smiling skeleton. As she tried to push herself away from the skeleton, her ring finger slipped tightly into the skeleton's small, grizzly, hollow eye socket. Crying, Mary desperately fought to free her finger, but the dainty, gold and emerald ring she wore held her finger tightly trapped.

Mary heard a faint whisper. "Suck the sweat from my lip."

Mary looked up and saw Daniel standing over the grave. She screamed, "Get me out of here."

"Give me your hand," he told her.

Mary cried, "My finger is stuck in the skeleton's eye socket."

Daniel sat down on the edge of the grave. Careful not to step on Mary, Daniel slipped down into the red clay and splintered wood of the rotted coffin.

. . .

Sheriff Beacham startled Kate Benton from behind. "What's going on?"

Kate held her chest. "Damn! You scared me."

Sheriff Beacham pointed to the grave. Again he asked, "What's going on?"

Kate smiled. "That goody two shoes Mary fell into one of the graves."

Sheriff Beacham asked, "Isn't that Sounder Raveen's grave?"

"No. She fell right beside Sounder's grave. The grave she fell into isn't marked."

"You know what I thought when I first saw that young man there?"

"What?"

"I thought maybe there in the grave he'd found the treasure--the treasure we've been looking for."

. . .

Gently, Daniel touched Mary's hand. Carefully, he attempted to work her finger free from the skeleton.

Mary stared at the loving expression on Daniel's face as he tried to free her finger. Then she stared at the vacant smile on the skeleton's face and noticed the bullet hole between the skeleton's eye sockets.

Again, a voice whispered in her ear, "Suck the sweat from my lip."

Staring into Daniel's blue eyes, Mary repeated the whispered words, "Suck the sweat from my lip."

"What?" Daniel looked shocked.

Mary explained, "That's what I heard someone whisper. It is also part of what Mark and I heard up at the church in the choir loft." Mary pointed to the bullet hole. "I'm sure this is the unmarked grave of Preacher Bertram."

Daniel puzzled. "It's hard to believe that the Raveen's would have allowed Preacher Bertram to be buried on Raveen property."

"Preacher Bertram was shot between the eyes. And that whisper. . . . This is Preacher Bertram. Maybe the Raveens didn't know about the burial. That's probably the reason this grave is unmarked."

Daniel pointed. "Meredith Menorah's tombstone is right over there past the fence and the boundary marker. I wonder."

"Wonder what?"

Daniel pulled out his pocket knife. "When I get you out of here, I want you to see something."

Mary looked at the pocket knife. "What are you going to do?"

"I've got to carve part of the skeleton's bone away from your finger."

Mary closed her eyes as Daniel took his knife and began to chisel into the greyish white bone that trapped her finger. With her eyes closed and trying not to think about the knife so close to her finger, Mary began to think about her friend Nathaniel. She thought about that last day they played together before he was to have moved with his aunt to Burgundy. At first they played on the beach, but then they sneaked away from the beach to the cemetery as they often did. Mary remembered in the cemetery they had argument, but she couldn't recall what the argument was about. Still, she remembered how she stormed away from him, leaving him in the cemetery alone. When she returned less than thirty minutes later to apologize, he was. . . .

Mary felt her finger sliding from the skeleton's eye socket. She opened her eyes and looked at the dark green stone set in the ring still on her finger. The expensive ring was a farewell gift from Nat, given to her that last day before he was to have moved to Burgundy. Mary regretted that when Nat gave her the ring, she didn't make a big deal about how pretty or expensive looking the emerald ring was. She didn't even thank him. She just made a big deal about the ring being too big for her finger. Then she questioned him about where he'd gotten the expensive ring.

Mary wondered. Was the ring what they'd fought about?

Suddenly, the ring flew from Mary's finger and fell down into the pocket of the rotted black suit hanging loosely on the decaying bones of Preacher Bertram. Reluctantly, Mary reached down into the pocket for her ring. There, she felt a small book next to the ring.

Mary heard Preacher Bertram whisper, "Take the bible."

Mary pulled both her ring and the small red bible from Preacher Bertram's suit. Mary handed the bible to Daniel.

Daniel stared at the bible's red cover and then put the bible in his back pocket. Daniel crawled out of the grave and reached down to Mary. Mary took his hand, and he pulled her from the cold embrace of the smiling Preacher Bertram.

. . .

Kate looked at Sheriff Beacham. "They don't seem to have removed anything from the grave."

Sheriff Beacham nodded. "What do you say we go talk with them? I want to make damned sure they haven't accidentally discovered something." Sheriff Beacham stuttered, "Something, something, I, I, I mean that might help us find the money that was stolen from the church."

Kate stared at the sheriff. "Let's spy on them from a distance, a little bit longer. We might discover more from them if they don't know we're watching them."

"I don't know. We need to get closer."

. . .

Daniel looked at the tombstone to the right of Preacher Bertram's unmarked grave. Daniel read the name SOUNDER FOUGERE RAVEEN inscribed on the tombstone. The date of Sounder's birth and death were undecipherable.

Daniel said, "My grandmother once told me that her father's name was Sounder. She never told me that his last name was Raveen, but I am sure this is the grave of my great-grandfather."

"That's the reason you kept asking people around town if they knew how Sounders Bluff came to be called Sounders Bluff. No one could tell you, could they?"

Daniel shook his head no. "Look at this grave and then look over at Meredith Menorah's tombstone. Do you notice something?"

"What?"

"The bluff cast a shadow the exact distance between these two tombstones."

"That is kind of odd. Isn't it? Meredith Menorah was supposed to have died up at the bluff. Sounder has the same name as the bluff. Strange. The bluff cast a shadow the exact distance between these two graves."

"You mean these three graves. The unmarked grave--Preacher Bertram's grave--is also in the shadow of the bluff."

Mary looked at the unmarked grave and thought about Nat. Mary couldn't help but wonder where Nat was secretly buried. It seemed terrible to her for a person to be buried in an unmarked grave, with no reminder that they'd ever lived.

Daniel looked at Mary. "You're thinking about your friend, aren't you?"

Mary seemed puzzled. "You know about Nat?"

"Jay told me. He was on the beach that day. Everyone on the beach heard you screaming."

Mary remembered all of the people who followed her and her father to the cemetery where she'd found the decapitated body. Some of the crowd seemed almost disappointed when there was no body. They accused her of playing a prank on them; but Jay took up for her. He somehow knew her tears were real, when not even her own parents would believe her.

"I'd told Jay how we met in the town cemetery, and he told me what happened to you here at the Raveen Family Cemetery. He couldn't understand why no one would believe you, when it was obvious that you were not pretending."

"Nat and his aunt were outcast here in Portabay. No one cared that I might actually have seen what I know I saw. They didn't bother to check to see if Nat and his aunt had moved to Burgundy or not. The people in this town just didn't care."

Daniel asked, "Where exactly did you find Nat's body?"

Mary pointed to the tombstone shaped like a candelabrum. Daniel took Mary by the hand and they walked past the picket fence. They walked to the tombstone where Meredith Menorah was supposed to have been buried.

Mary said, "This tombstone always fascinated Nat. He once told me that in jewish religion, the seven branched candelabrum represents the seven days of creation. He said its fitting that the candelabrum marks the grave of Meredith Menorah, since the seven branched candelabrum is called a Menorah."

"Nat was pretty smart, wasn't he?"

"He was very smart."

"There are inscriptions on each of the seven branches. Did you or Nat ever figure out what the inscriptions say?"

"The inscriptions are references to St. Matthew in the bible."

Daniel pulled the small bible from his back pocket. "Can you read to me the references that are inscribed there?"

Mary knelt down and looked at the tiny engraved inscriptions. Mary placed her hand on the first branch of the marble candelabrum and ran her fingers over the inscription.

Mary whispered, "This feels warm. Sounder's tombstone felt cold."

"Shaded from the sun by the bluff, both tombstones should feel cool."

Mary pressed her finger against the inscribed numbers. She read, "23:13."

Daniel opened the small bible and thumbed through the pages until he came to St. Matthew 23:13. Daniel read, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."

Mary moved her finger down and across. Mary read, "23:16, 23:17, 23:18, 23:19, 23:20, 23:21."

Daniel read, "Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but Whosoever swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! - Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? - And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but Whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. - Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? - Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. - And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein."

Mary moved her hand downward and read, "23:30, 23:31, 23:32, 23:33, 23:34, 23:35, 23:36, 23:36."

Daniel read, "And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. - Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. - Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. - Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? - Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: - That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. - Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."

Daniel asked, "Was 23:36 inscribed twice or did you just read it twice?"

"It was inscribed twice."

Daniel repeated 23:36. "Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."

Mary moved her hand to the second branch and read, "24:13, 24:14, 24:15, 24:16, 24:21, 24:22, 24:23, 24:24, 24:29, 24:30, 24:34."

Daniel read, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

Mary said, "Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Mary asked, "Was Jesus saying that those who lived during the time he walked the earth, would also be alive during the end of time?"

"I don't know. Maybe it just sounds that way because we're not reading this exactly in context."

Mary repeated, "24:14, 24:15, 24:16, 24:21, 24:22, 24:23, 24:24, 24:29, 24:30, 24:34."

Daniel read, "And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. - When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand.) - Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: - For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. - And except those days should be shortened, there should be no flesh saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. - Then if any man say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. - For there shall arise false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. - Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: - And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. - Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

Mary moved her hand to the third branch and read, "25:18, 25:20, 25:21, 25:24, 25:25, 25:26, 25:27, 25:28, 25:29, 25:30."

Daniel read, "But he that had received one (talent) went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. -

And so he that received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. - His lord said unto him, Well done. . . . - Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: - And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. - His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: - Thou oughtest therefore to have put money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. - Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. - For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. - And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Mary moved her hand to the forth branch and read, "26:07, 26:08, 26:09, 26:10, 26:11, 26:12, 26:13."

Daniel read, "There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. - But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose was this waste? - For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. - When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. - For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. - For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. - Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her."

Mary moved her hand to the fifth branch and read, "27:03, 27:04, 27:05, 27:06, 27:07, 27:08, 27:09."

Daniel read, "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priest and elders, - Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, 'What is that to us? see thou to that.' - And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. - And the chief priest took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. - And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. - Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. - Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;"

Mary moved her hand down and across. Mary read, "27:46."

Daniel read, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, la'ma sa-bach'tha-ni? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Mary moved her hand further down. Mary read, "27:50, 27:51, 27:52, 27:53."

Daniel read, "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. - And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; - And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, - And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

Mary moved her hand to the sixth branch and read, "28:18, 28:19, 28:20."

Daniel read, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: - Teaching them to observe all thing whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Mary moved her hand to the seventh branch. She read, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. In the heaven and the earth, Jesus was the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the son of God and the son of man."

Daniel looked at Mary and in the corner of his view, he saw Kate Benton and Sheriff Beacham half hidden by a tree. Daniel whispered to Mary, "Don't look, but we're being watched."

Mary whispered, "Who?"

Daniel smiled as he closed and put the small red bible into his shirt pocket. Daniel kind of laughed, "Kate Benton and Sheriff Beacham."

Sheriff Beacham stepped out in front of the tree and tugged at his holster. Kate stepped next to Sheriff Beacham and tugged at her bra.

Mary asked, "Should we run?"

Daniel whispered, "Look toward the Raveen Manor and wave."

Mary and Daniel turned and waved. Loudly, Daniel said, "Will you look a there?"

While Kate Benton and Sheriff Beacham were distracted and looking toward the Raveen Manor, Daniel took Mary by the hand and together they quickly vanished into the woods. In the woods, remaining hidden out of Kate Benton and the sheriff's sight, Daniel and Mary circled to the other side of Captain Raveen's dilapidated mansion.

Daniel and Mary stepped upon the steps to the side porch of the Raveen Manor. The worn grey boards creaked as Daniel and Mary climbed the steps and walked up onto the half fallen, rotted porch. They only took a step or two on the porch, when suddenly a key flew from the rafter above Daniel and into his hand.

Daniel took the key and opened the side door off the porch. Reluctantly, Daniel and Mary entered into a storage room inside Captain Raveen's home.

. . .

Kate Benton tapped Sheriff Beacham on the shoulder. She pointed to the side porch just as Daniel and Mary vanished through the doorway.

. . .

Barely noticing the large stacks of old newspapers and magazines lining the storage room, Daniel and Mary walked from the room and into the Raveen library. In the library, staring at the many rain filled, rusty buckets dotting the white tile floor, they noticed one of the buckets was turned over. In the middle of where the rusty water had stained the white tile, there was the clear print of a hand.

Daniel and Mary walked over and knelt next to the reddish stain and hand print. The imprinted image of the hand seemed to be pointing toward a portrait of Molly, which hung strangely lopsided over a white, marble top desk.

Daniel and Mary stared at the portrait of Molly, but neither of them knew who the beautiful woman in the portrait was. Daniel whispered, "God, look at her."

Mary smiled. "She is so pretty. I wonder which of the Raveens she was."

An image flashed in Daniel's mind. The lovely young woman was with a handsome young man in a lush green meadow. The woman stood up, and the image of her seemed to move nearer to Daniel.

Daniel heard a soft voice in his ear. "Sounder. I think I've softened Frenchy up for you."

Daniel heard his own voice. "My son is a hard man."

Daniel saw the young man rise. He laughed. "Molly wants me to forgive you."

Then everything went white like a bright light. Daniel couldn't see anything.

Daniel heard his own voice. "Son, I need more than your forgiveness. I need your help. I'm going blind. Without your help, my plans for the music box will go unfinished. My life's work will die undone."

Daniel heard Mary's voice. "Daniel, look at her hand in the portrait. Look at that ring she is wearing. Doesn't it look familiar? It's the ring that Nat gave me." Mary pointed to the ring on her finger. "It is this ring."

Daniel tried to see, but he couldn't. Everything seemed a mass of white fog. Daniel whispered, "Mary, I can't see."

Mary looked into Daniel's vacant stare. She put her soft hand to his pale face. "You can't see?"

Daniel said, "I had a vision of sorts about the woman in the portrait, and now I can't see. It'll be temporary. It's got to be temporary."

Mary asked, "How could a vision make you lose your sight?"

"In the vision, it was like I was Sounder Raveen. In the vision, I became blind like Sounder."

"What do you mean, it was like you were Sounder Raveen?"

"I was speaking to Molly and Frenchy Dean as though I were Frenchy Dean's father; as though I were Sounder."

"As though you were speaking to Molly? The woman in the portrait is Molly Raveen."

Daniel nodded. "Yes."

Mary shook her head. "And you were Sounder Raveen. Do you think maybe, maybe in a past life, you were Sounder Raveen? Is it possible that you are the reincarnation of Sounder Raveen?"

"I don't know what to think."

Slowly, the fog began to clear and again Daniel could see. As the fog cleared, Daniel expected to see Mary's face; but instead, he saw Molly's face.

Molly looked at Sounder. "Sounder, why won't you publicly announce Frenchy as your son and give him your name; the Raveen name."

Daniel heard himself speak. "Why does he so much want to have the Raveen name? Raveen is my adopted name. I'm not a Raveen by birth or blood. It's just a name I was given."

Molly said, "It's not the Raveen name so much that he wants. He just wants to be accepted."

Daniel heard his voice fade. "But I do accept him. I'm proud. . . ."

Daniel looked at Mary.

Mary looked into Daniel's eyes. "You can see again, can't you?"

Daniel smiled. "Yeah, I told you it would be temporary."

. . .

Half hidden behind a door, Kate Benton and Sheriff Beacham stared at Daniel and Mary from just inside the dining room.

. . .

Suddenly, there were banging sounds at the front door to the mansion. Then Daniel and Mary heard the voices of some men talking.

"What we supposed to do with this package Joe? Ain't no one here to sign for it. I told you there wouldn't be. Hell, everyone but your stupid ass knows that Captain Raveen is dead."

"Jack, we were given this box to deliver to this address and that is exactly what we are doing. Ain't no law that anyone has to sign for it, for us to leave it here."

"But it is company policy. Someone has got to sign. If the box gets lost, we could get sued."

"Who the hell is going to sue us? Captain Raveen? I thought you said he is dead."

"Maybe the person who sent the package. They might sue us."

"So let them. The box is delivered and I'm going home."

"Well, if we get sued, it'd better be your head on the chopping block; not mine."

After the men left, Daniel and Mary walked from the library, through the hall, and to the front door. Daniel opened the door and found a large box wrapped in brown paper. He quickly dragged the box inside and closed the door. The box was addressed from Officer Carlson and Elysa Eden at Portis Sanitarium.

Daniel told Mary, "Mark and I saw Mark's uncle, Doctor Aveline, force Officer Carlson into Kate Benton's car. We wanted to help him; but when I called the police and told them I saw Officer Carlson being abducted by Doctor Aveline and Kate Benton, the police laughed. They didn't take me seriously. After Mark and I got to thinking about it, we figured his uncle probably had Officer Carlson legally committed to Portis Sanitarium just like he did my grandmother."

"Doctor Aveline committed your grandmother to Portis Sanitarium?"

"Yeah. Mark said that during a very strange conversation--a conversation Tommy and he had with his aunt and uncle--his uncle admitted that he had my grandmother committed to the sanitarium under the name Elysa Eden. From what we'd heard and seen at the hospital, we'd already figured as much. Anyway, Mark didn't question his uncle about Officer Carlson; cause for obvious reasons he doesn't trust his aunt and uncle, and he didn't want to tip them off to what we'd seen and heard."

"But he did confront his uncle about your grandmother?"

"No, Tommy did. Tommy overheard his uncle and Kate Benton talking and saw them, well, doing more than talking if you catch my drift. Anyway, Tommy is the one who confronted his uncle about my grandmother. He'd heard them saying something to the effect that they might have to kill her."

"My God!"

"I think she is safe for now; but as soon as I can, I need to get her out of that place."

"What about Officer Carlson?"

"Well, I'll try to get him out too; but right now, I can't figure out how to rescue either one of them. I've been thinking though. We know Doctor Aveline did what he did because he's being blackmailed. He's got his wife believing that the blackmail has to do with her mother, but from what we heard Officer Carlson saying to Doctor Aveline, the blackmail really has to do with some kind of accident that happened. Knowing that, I figure my best bet is to work on Doctor Aveline and his wife and see if I can convince them to secretly help me. I'm just not sure how to approach them. If I'm wrong about Doctor Aveline, and he's doing what he's doing for more reason than just because he's being blackmailed, then my approaching him for help might backfire."

Mary stared at the box. "I wonder how your grandmother and Officer Carlson managed to have this box delivered from the sanitarium."

"I don't know. I wonder what's inside the box."

Mary pulled an attached envelope from the top of the box. She opened the envelope and read the note inside:

Mary noticed that a second sheet of paper was stuck to the back of the letter. She pulled the second sheet from the back and read:

. . .

Inside the dining room, Kate Benton looked at Sheriff Beacham and saw how guilty he looked. "Oh God," she swore, "damn, how could I have been so stupid?"

Hearing Kate, Daniel and Mary spun around toward the dining room and saw her grabbing Sheriff Beacham's arm. Kate fought Sheriff Beacham, trying to keep him from drawing his revolver; but he shoved her and she fell hard against the floor.

"Oh no," Daniel screamed as he rushed toward the sheriff. "Get out of here Mary."

Sheriff Beacham smiled as he gripped his revolver and yanked it with ease from his holster. Daniel jumped through the air and tackled the sheriff, knocking him down next to Kate on the floor. With Daniel on top of the sheriff, Kate carefully reached between them, trying to steal the revolver out of the sheriff's sweaty hand.

The sheriff screamed, "Stop! Stop before one of us gets killed."

Daniel belted the sheriff with a swift left in the jaw and followed with a hard right in the stomach. Hitting the sheriff again in the stomach, Daniel screamed, "Mary! Run! Get out of here while you can."

Mary looked at the door and then she looked at Daniel. "I can't just leave. I've got to help you."

Slowly, Mary stepped toward the dining room.

Kate screamed, "Go get help."

Sheriff Beacham rolled over on top of Daniel. "You son of a bitch." Sheriff Beacham shoved his revolver deep into Daniel's ribs. "Say your prayers boy. Say farewell."

Screaming, Mary ran out the front door of the mansion. "Help! Someone! Please help. Someone. Sheriff Beacham is. . . ."

Plain as day, Mary saw the ghostly image of her childhood friend Nat. She saw him standing in the shrubbery next to the porch, and then just as she heard the soft click of a trigger, he vanished.

Boom! Mary heard the sound of a gunshot. She cried. "Oh God. Daniel." Shaking, she turned.

Sheriff Beacham rolled off Daniel. Still holding the revolver, the sheriff's hand was covered in blood. "I. . . ."

Quivering, Mary screamed uncontrollably.

As blood oozed from behind the silver badge on his shirt, Sheriff Beacham struggled to sit up. With a hollow glare in his eyes he looked at Mary screaming like she'd lost her mind, and he looked at the box wrapped in brown paper near Mary. Sadly, his lips formed a smile as he looked at Kate next to Daniel. Then quietly his lips moved. "I love you."

Kate wrinkled her brow. "You betrayed me. You played me for a fool."

In pain, Sheriff Beacham laughed. "You betrayed yourself. You played yourself for a fool. Maybe that's why I love you. We're two of a kind. We're both fourflushers; but the only ones we've ever beaten with this poker hand that life has dealt us are ourselves. In the end, I suspect, the only ones we have ever truly fooled, conned, or betrayed is ourselves" Sheriff Beacham closed his eyes. "It's fitting. I tried to kill Daniel; but like the fool I am, I only managed to kill myself."

For a moment, Sheriff Beacham sat up. "Oh." He fell sideways over Daniel and his head fell softly against Kate's stomach. "I. . . ." Gasping for air one last time, he died.

Kate gently touched Sheriff Beacham's face as she sat up and his head slipped down into her lap. Staring down at him, she whispered, "He said he loved me."

Then Kate looked at Daniel. Daniel didn't move.

Mary whispered, "Daniel."

Kate eased Sheriff Beacham off Daniel, who remained still, silent, as though he were in a peaceful sleep.

Mary cried, "Daniel!"

Kate looked at the thick blood on Daniel's shirt and then she looked at Mary. "There was only one shot. How could both Sheriff Beacham and. . . ." Kate placed her fingers down into the blood.

Mary shook. "Look at the sheriff's back."

Kate shook her head. "What?"

Then Kate saw what Mary was seeing. Slowly, a stain of blood appeared on the back of the sheriff's shirt. Sheriff Beacham had been shot in the back. The bullet had passed all the way through him.

Kate ran her fingers through the blood on Daniel's shirt to see if she could feel a bullet hole in the shirt. Kate shook her head. "There doesn't seem to be a bullet hole."

Mary heard a small boy's voice scream, "Look out."

Just as Mary saw Nat's reflection in the window, suddenly, there was a second shot. Mary dodged behind the large box near her, while Kate reached for Sheriff Beacham's revolver. Rolling across Daniel and over Sheriff Beacham, Kate pulled the bloodied revolver from Sheriff Beacham's cold hand.

Daniel moved.

Kate saw a cloaked figure standing on the staircase beyond the entrance room. She pointed the Sheriff's revolver.

Aiming a shotgun at Kate, the cloaked figure laughed. "Fool!"

Kate pulled the trigger. It clicked. She pulled the trigger again. Again the revolver clicked.

Kate moaned. "Oh shit."

The cloaked figure shook his head as he cocked the shotgun. "What? No bullets."

Daniel opened his eyes. "Oh." Gripping his arm where he'd been shot, Daniel sat up. He looked at Sheriff Benton and then stared at the cloaked figure. "Damn!"

Turning the shotgun away from Kay, the cloaked figure laughed and turned the shotgun toward Daniel. "Boy, I thought I killed you." Seeing the cloaked figure taking aim, Daniel tossed his legs up into the air and flipped himself, reeling backwards and over onto his stomach. The cloaked figure pulled the trigger before fully correcting his aim and just barely missed shooting Daniel.

Feeling the bullet breeze near his head, Daniel shouted, "Woe, that was close."

The cloaked figure laughed. "You're good. But boy, you might as well face it. There's good and then there's good. Boy, like, you're good as dead."

Mary thought she'd heard the cloaked figure's voice before, but she wasn't sure. The person beneath the black hood was disguising their voice by trying to do an impression of W.C. Fields.

Daniel crawled behind a large chair near where Kate was standing. As the cloaked figure pointed the shotgun back toward Kate, Kate quickly ran behind the chair and knelt beside Daniel.

Mary took hold of the large box in front of her and started pulling at it. Slowly, she maneuvered the box into the middle of the doorway. She stopped for a moment and then again began moving the box, when suddenly the cloaked figure screamed at her, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Blocking the doorway," Mary screamed as she took off running.

Daniel whispered to Kate. "That box. That is what he is after."

Kate whispered, "Why do you say that?"

"Because of the way he reacted when Mary moved the box."

Kate asked, "If the box is all that he is after, then why did he shoot Beacham? Why does he want you dead? Hell, why does he want me dead?"

Daniel whispered, "I don't know." Then Daniel peeped up over the chair. "Damn! I can't see where he is."

Kate said, "We've got to get some ammo out of Beacham's holster. This revolver is no good without it."

"You run zigzag toward the hall and library, while I run zigzag toward the box. Then I'll zigzag away from the box and go up the stairs. When I've got him distracted, you go for the ammunition."

Kate asked, "Isn't there an exit just past the library?"

"Yeah, that's the way Mary and I came in here."

"Well, are you ready?"

"Ready or not, let's go for it."

Kate stood in a crouched position from behind the chair and ran crazily in zigzag circle toward the hall. Daniel tried to stand, but fell down. He hadn't realized how weak he was from the gunshot wound in his arm.

Kate reached the hallway and kept running toward the library. She had no intention of going back for the ammo; but then just inside the library she heard Kay call out to Daniel, "Are you in there Daniel?"

Daniel saw Kay standing behind the box in the doorway. He screamed out to her, "Kay, get out of here."

Then Kate heard Kay yell in horror. "Stay away from me."

Daniel saw the cloaked figure walking toward the box and saw Kay frozen with fear, unable to run. Seeing the cloaked figure jab Kay in the face with the shotgun, Daniel struggled to stand. Cautious not to make a sound, Daniel reached for a lamp near the chair.

Kate heard Daniel scream, "Take this." She heard a crashing sound; and then she heard Daniel scream, "Run Kay."

Kate looked at the door on the other side of the library. Then she felt a heavy pain in her chest. Her head began to throb, like someone was repeatedly hitting her over the head with a hammer.

A voice seemed to echo inside her. "Timmy is gone. Beacham is gone."

All the sorrow she hadn't felt since she was a little girl seemed to overwhelm her. She heard her own childhood voice whisper from within her, "Uncle, father is not crazy. What do you mean I can't ever see him again?"

Then she heard the nervous sound of a deep teenage voice protesting out of her past. "Tulip's my friend. What do you mean, when you let me out from down there, I can't ever visit with her again?"

Then she heard the defeated sound of her teenage voice pleading for mercy. "Uncle, you're hurting me! Uncle, please don't lock me down there. Uncle, please don't do this to me. I love you, uncle. Uncle, I'll never try to help Tulip again. Please don't lock me down there with her. I promise. I will never try to help her again. I'll never try to help anyone again."

Quietly, Kate looked at the doorway to the library and shook her head. In a hushed silence, she whispered, "You cold blooded son of a bitch. You made me. . . ." For a moment, Kate closed her eyes. Then she solemnly walked out of the library and up the hallway. At the end of the hallway, Kate stopped. She saw a lamp shattered on the floor near the box. She saw near a desk, the cloaked figure lying on the floor and holding a shotgun pointed up at Daniel. Kay didn't seem to be anywhere in sight.

Kate sneaked toward Sheriff Beacham's body. Quietly as possible, she knelt and took some ammunition from the sheriff's holster. With her hands trembling and her heart racing, she opened the chamber to the revolver and placed six bullets in the revolver. Then quickly, Kate stood from where she'd knelt.

Slowly, the cloaked figure stood up. Still holding the shotgun pointed at Daniel, the cloaked figure crawled over the box in the doorway. Then he limped from the doorway and disappeared into the woods.

Daniel turned and looked at Kate. He smiled and then holding his arm, he gritted his teeth in pain.

Kate looked at Daniel. "I heard Kay."

Daniel breathed, "She ran like I told her. I hope to God she got away."

"What do you mean, you hope she got away?"

"He went in the same direction as Kay."

"He was limping though. Kay will outrun him, and I'm sure she is smart enough not to let him sneak up on her."

Gasping for air, Daniel fell to the floor. Breathing heavily, Daniel stared up at Kate. "I need your help."

Kate said, "I'll call an ambulance."

Daniel moaned, "No. I can't go back to Portis Hospital. I wouldn't be safe there. And Mary is in danger." Thinking about his dream, Daniel gasped trying to shout, "I've got to stop that phantom."

"But you're bleeding and I think in your fight with Beacham you must have cracked a rib. The way you're breathing, I think. . . ."

Daniel sighed. "I can't be taken to Portis Hospital. You've got to get me up to one of the upstairs rooms and hide me before Mary or Kay comes back with help." Daniel pointed. "You've got to hide this box as well. It's important."

"Daniel, you don't know what you're asking me to do. If I don't call an ambulance and let the authorities know what happened here today--and then you die--who do you think people will blame for your death?"

Daniel closed his eyes. "Please don't call an ambulance. If you do, I'm as good as dead, and you will have been responsible."

Kate shook her head. "You bastard."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

In the moonlight, Timmy stared in awe at the large flowing stream. "Look at those fish jump."

Captain Raveen sat the lantern down on a large bolder and pulled a knife from his belt. He cut a small branch hanging from the Oak tree above the bolder and then quickly whittled a spear for himself.

Still holding the whip he found on the wall in the dungeon, Timmy placed the whip next to the lantern on the bolder. Then, holding his spear, Timmy walked closer to the creek, turned, and looked back at Captain Raveen. "Hurry up."

Holding the spear he'd just cut, Captain Raveen put his knife back into his belt and walked next to Timmy. Timmy dipped his big toe into the creek and screamed, "This is cold."

Captain Raveen pulled off his boots and rolled up his pant's leg. Then Captain Raveen dipped his left foot down into the creek. Captain Raveen laughed. "This is ice."

Slowly, Captain Raveen and Timmy waded into the creek. Captain Raveen pointed his spear. "There's one." Captain Raveen thrashed the spear down into the water. "Damn. I missed."

Timmy laughed. "Let me try."

Captain Raveen pointed a large fish out to Timmy. Slowly, Timmy lowered the spear down into the water as the fish swam between his legs. Trying to spear the fish, Timmy stumbled, and splashed over into the water. Raising his head up and pushing his wet bangs out of his eyes, Timmy spit creek water out of his mouth. "I missed."

Captain Raveen and Timmy waded further out into the creek. Quickly, Captain Raveen sank his spear down into the water and came up with a large fish fighting and struggling on the end of Captain Raveen's spear.

Timmy stared at the strange looking fish and laughed. "That fish has whiskers and a beard. It actually has a beard. That is one weird looking fish. Is that the kind of fish that you and grandfather use to call a catabass?"

Captain Raveen answered, "No, it's not. I've never seen a fish like this one before."

Captain Raveen waded toward the creek bank and threw the fish toward the lighted lantern shining brightly on the bolder. Then Captain Raveen waded back toward Timmy. About a foot from Timmy, startled, Captain Raveen jumped as Timmy disappeared beneath the water of the creek that had suddenly turned murky.

Suddenly, Timmy came up laughing. "I speared one. Do you see it?"

Captain Raveen looked at the huge fish on the end of Timmy's spear. "Now that fish is what your grandfather and I used to call a catabass. But let me tell you, neither your grandfather, nor I, ever caught one that huge. That is one giant fish you've caught there. That fish could make one hell of a good meal for us, all by itself."

Timmy laughed. "What can I say? Am I a great fisherman or what?"

Captain Raveen smiled. "Yeah you're great. You're Timothy's grandson. But you know, I think you're even a better fisherman than he was."

Timmy said, "I want to spear one more. Then let's eat."

"Okay, but the two fish we've caught will be more than plenty enough for the two of us."

As soon as Captain Raveen took the fish off of the end of Timmy's spear, Timmy darted through the water looking for another fish to spear. While going to throw the giant fish up onto the bolder, Captain Raveen chuckled, "To be young; such enthusiasm."

Then, as Captain Raveen tossed the fish near the lantern upon the bolder, suddenly, the island rocked with a thundering explosion. Quickly, the light from the lantern died into fading shadows as a storm cloud slowly shrouded the moon, and the waters of the creek seemingly sank into the pitch black of total darkness. Captain Raveen stumbled in the dark waters toward Timmy screaming in horror.

Timmy screamed, "Something's wrapped itself around my leg."

A torrential rain began flooding down into the creek. Desperately, Captain Raveen rushed toward the sounds of Timmy's cries for help. Then Timmy stopped screaming. Captain Raveen yelled, "Are you okay?"

Timmy did not answer.

"Oh no." Captain Raveen wailed, "Timmy, are you okay?"

Timmy laughed. "Yeah, I'm okay. It was just a vine."

Then Timmy screamed, "Oh God!"

As the creek began to rise quickly, Timmy swam up to Captain Raveen and grabbed hold of his arm. Timmy said, "I saw her reflection in the water. Then I heard her speak."

In the pouring rain, Captain Raveen pulled Timmy out of the creek and onto the bank. "Whose reflection did you see in the water? Do you mean the girl you saw in the dungeon?"

"Yes. She asked if I remembered. There was something--what's the word--familiar about her. It seemed almost like I knew her." Timmy looked around. "And you know, this place, I've never seen this place before either, but it also looks familiar. Maybe, I guess, that's because when mother would speak about here on the island, I could picture this place like I was seeing it as she spoke. But that girl--that ghost. Why would she ask me if I remembered? Why would she look familiar?"

"I don't know."