Beverly Sims Menage & More 09 Caroline's House

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Caroline s House 181
Hell, yes. I damn near ran over a guy crossing the road out by that big
old house just got fixed up. Must have been drunk or drugged, cause he
didn t seem to even see me. He was running like the devil was a-chasin
him.
So you saw the woman before you saw the man? Do I have that right?
Yup. What s all this about?
Georgia had heard Lucas. She bent down to hug him, planting kisses on
both cheeks. You have just saved a man s life. She dropped into the chair
and slowly explained the situation, including Larry in jail.
Jeff s car roared into the parking lot. He came through the door like a
charging bull. Doc met him, whispering a few words, and then introduced
him to Lucas. Lucas answered all Jeff s questions, including, Did you see
anything else unusual that day.
Lucas thought and then answered. Well, there was a pickup beside the
road about where I saw the women in the water. That s about all.
It was enough for Jeff. With this witness, Larry would be released,
exonerated. Caroline s death would be ruled either a suicide or accidental
drowning. Since there was no suicide note and nothing to indicate she was
under stress, the coroner would rule drowning. Doc, Georgia, and Jeff
nodded, tacitly agreeing that no one need ever know the ghost story. Jeff
would not tell Doc, but Georgia also knew she must stop going to Malcolm.
182 Beverly Sims
Part 2
Chapter 39
There was no funeral, just a small memorial get-together at her house.
Larry had not wanted to go back to the house again, ever, but Georgia and
Doc convinced him that Caroline s soul was there in the home she d loved
so much.
She was cremated, as per her will. Larry climbed down the cliff to the
beach below as their friends stood on the roadside above and he cast her
ashes into the wind. All said their own silent goodbyes all but Larry. He
could not bring himself to say goodbye. She was in his heart and mind now
and forever.
She had not changed her will in the few short weeks they were married,
but she had no living relatives. Probate would turn it all over to Larry, with
an inheritance tax near the national debt, Marv as his attorney, pointed out.
Caroline had been a very wealthy woman.
The get-together was more of a celebration of her life than a solemn
affair. James Duckworth made sure there was plenty of imbibes. He brought
everything from sodas to beer to a couple cases of hard stuff. Sadie helped
Georgia with snacks and canap�s. Larry put a pile of records on the player,
all the artists he knew she d loved. It was hard for him, for them all, but he
was determined to see it through. Soon the drinks relaxed everyone, and
each had one or more funny stories to tell about Caroline.
Martha Gillespie had to leave, sober and early, for rounds at the
hospital. Sadie decided James needed something more than coffee& she
proposed sleep as she helped him to their car.
Jeff had passed the invitation to join them; no one was surprised. Lucas
Tyler stopped in at Larry s request and did not pass by the envelope of
money Larry pressed in his hand. Marv Slattery and Charlie Dow of the
Caroline s House 183
newspaper came for a short time, but left when they decided their
companion Tom Parker, the realtor, had consumed more than his share of
the liquor. Hal and his daughter Lisa, without Margo, brought a framed
photo of Caroline and Lisa the day she signed the girl s book at the
stationary store.
Doc and Georgia stayed to pick up after everyone was gone. The three
of them sat in the kitchen, talking little, but drinking a lot. Larry
remembered Jeff s asking about Caroline s novel. He found it on her desk
and returned to the kitchen to read it aloud. He read only the first page
before wadding it up and throwing it across the room. His pain and fury
were etched in lines on his face, a face that had aged 10 years in two days.
He would burn the damn thing in the morning, he thought. Later, in the light
of day, he simply boxed it up and put it with other unfinished works he
would find in her little writing-room.
Georgia stood and found herself swaying. Doc, I am too drunk to drive
and so are you. Call the kids and let them know we will stay here tonight
and be home when our eyes can focus in the morning, but in time for the
breakfast crowd. Larry, hope you don t mind two uninvited guests. With
that, she flopped back in her chair. Doc smiled as he picked her up to carry
upstairs to one of the bedrooms. She had not even heard what Larry had
said.
Larry watched his friends and was proud to have such loyal people,
people he knew he loved and could always count on. He called the pets
inside, fed them, locked up, turned off the lights, and went upstairs. He
stopped at the door to the big room that he had shared with his beautiful
wife. Remembering their nights of lovemaking felt as if someone hit him in
the stomach. He rushed to the bathroom to rid himself of his overindulgence
of alcohol. He staggered back to the bedroom and dropped face down on the
bed. Within seconds, he was asleep, or more likely passed out.
He heard Doc leave and assumed Georgia had gone too, so he just rolled
over and went back to sleep. Sometime later, he heard noises, enough to
force him awake and to the bathroom before he could investigate. He
splashed his face with water and dried it as he moved down the hall to where
the noise was. The door was open.
Malcolm grinned at him as he continued his sexual movement on top of
a naked Georgia. Her eyes were closed, but her arms and legs were around
184 Beverly Sims
him, and she made little murmuring sounds. Larry turned away when
Malcolm called out, Come on in. Maybe you would like a turn. She s not
as good as Caroline, but she likes it better. Sometimes I don t think she can
get enough.
His voice was enough to bring Georgia out of her lust. She saw Larry
and once again tried to push Malcolm away, but he would not stop until he
was finished. Larry did not stay for the ending but went back to the
bathroom to throw up again; this time not from alcohol, but from nausea and
disgust at what he had seen. In him mind, he pictured Malcolm on his wife
the same way he was fucking Georgia.
Larry wanted to run from the house never to return, but his brain refused
to leave Georgia to this monster. He ran back to the room, where he grabbed
Malcolm s arm to pull him up just as Malcolm reached his climax and was
defenseless. Larry hit him with such strength that he rolled off Georgia,
bouncing his head on the floor so hard it sounded like rocks breaking. He
did not move. Georgia jumped over him, running to the bathroom to retch.
She returned for her clothes, dressing quickly but unselfconsciously.
Larry, I never meant for this to happen again. I promised myself that I
would never give in to him again, but that doesn t seem to matter to him at
all, as long as he can get me to cooperate. Lord knows, I can t stop myself
from cooperating with him. It is worse than any addiction. I use the excuse
that he will kill Doc if I don t comply, but down deep, I know it is simple: I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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