On Emma's Bluff by Sara Elizabeth Rice, edited by davebccanada (audio ebook reader txt) 📕

gets right in my face and says, "You stay the hell away from Emma."

"Oh my God," Cindy exclaimed.

" Then boy, I guess Joy was really thrown for a loop because then she said, in this real fake syrupy voice, "William, what ever are you talking about?"   He just looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time and said, "Shut up, Joy. You make me sick."

If he hadn't looked like murder waiting to happen I would have laughed right out loud. It was crazy."

"What did Joy do then?"        

"What could she do? She started to cry."

"Then what did he do?"

"He left. I had to pay for their pizzas. Karen and I had to take Joy home.   That was a drag."

"He must be crazy." Cindy still could not believe what Jim had just told her. "I mean of all the things he could have done, or not done for that matter. That doesn't even make sense. Are you sure you had not mentioned Emma earlier or something to set him off?"

"Positive. The guy is just goofy."

Cindy missed what ever Jim said after that as her mother came rushing into her room.

"Get off the phone, Cindy!"

"Mom?"   She held her hand over the receiver.

"They just said on the ten o'clock news that they caught the murderer.   Now get off that phone."

Cindy could not help but wonder as she said a rushed good bye to Jim if she were about to hear another story that would affect Emma.

Roy and Liz sat on the living room sofa watching a made for TV movie. Liz had propped her feet up in his lap and he messaged them gently. Roy watched her partially open mouth and heavy eyelids.

"Bout to fall asleep, mamma?" He jostled her.

"No." Her expression made him wish he had not used the old term of affection in addressing her.

"You reckon they are going to recover those diamonds?" He laughed with little humor.

"Oh, I expect so. It seems they always do."

He stretched out an arm to secure one of her hands.

"Roy, what do you think hell is like?" She asked this so calmly that Roy wasn't sure what she was looking for in the way of an answer.

"Oh Liz, I suppose it must be pretty bad, the total absence of a good and gentle God."

"Oh God's not gentle, Roy." she spoke with certainty.

"It may not always seem that way, but the Lord loves us and always wants what is best for us."

"I see." It was more of a dismissal than an acceptance. "But what do you think hell is like?"

"Liz, there is no reason..."

"I think I know what hell is like, Roy." He turned on the couch so as to face her directly. He wanted to just stop her, maybe just hold her next to him, but something in her face held him still.

"What Liz?"

"I think it is being still tied to this world and not knowing you are dead. Caught up in all your petty desires with no way to possibly fulfill your needs and wants. No real flesh to indulge."

"Possibly, but..."

"I think Barbara Lee is in hell."

"My God, Liz." He jerked himself upright on the couch and grabbed her shoulders. "No, Liz..."

"Our baby is in misery. I can feel it."

He shook her and watched her head bob up and down, her chin snapping back from her chest. "Liz, you got to get a hold of yourself."

When she looked up at him fully there was a harsh rationality about her expression.

"Oh Roy, I didn't mean to frighten you." She reached her arms up and clasped her hands together behind his neck. "I..." she began, but faltered. "We have to be more careful that is all. Because if Barbara Lee could force her will upon us now, I think..." She once again stopped unable to voice the words.

"Liz, honey, did you hear what that man on the television just said?     Did you hear what he just said?"

But Liz heard no one she was still wrestling with her own thoughts. "I wonder why she hates Emma so much."

Liz had told her not to worry about going to school if she didn't feel like it. The late night announcement of Lacey's arrest had kept the Wilson family up for quite a while. First there were phone calls, people wanting to know if they had heard the news or if they had any idea that this was about to happen.   Roy had found the phone line already tied up when he tried to reach Harvey Johnson. The whole community had been affected by the murders and it seemed that everyone wanted to know if it was finally safe to rest. When Sam Prather had called and asked if he could come over and talk with Roy, the Wilson's had already resigned themselves to a long night. Sam was really shaken up. First he had wanted Roy to go down to the station with him and demand Lacey's release, then he began to come around to accepting that his old buddy probably was the killer. After this realization he was outraged and horrified that he had been so close to the mad man. Sam had been the closest thing to a friend that Lacey had. From Roy's point of view he just wanted to find out everything about Lacey that Sam knew. He was hoping to find some kind of relief in learning what had triggered such violence.

Emma had sat at the foot of the stairs and listened to the conversations in the kitchen. When the phone had first awoken her she had feared more bad news, but when she came down to listen to the one sided conversations she had pieced together the story. The nightmare was over. In her long gown she had hugged her knees and prayed that this would be the end of the horror.

As soon as she got to school she spotted Cindy making a b-line straight toward her from the crowd in front of the school.

"Emma," she shouted while she was still a ways away. Emma supposed she couldn't wait to ask her about the arrest, but she was surprised when the red head grabbed her arm and began hustling her toward the jeep. "Have you seen Bill?" were the first words out of her mouth.

"Cindy, I have hardly seen you yet."

"He's off his rocker. I don't think Joy will ever speak to him again. Boy, what a jerk he made of himself."

Emma was afraid that she had missed some vital part of this conversation. "Cindy, what are you talking about?"

Cindy relayed a modified version of Jim Richardson's story as they made their way across the parking lot.

"I don't understand? He was upset about me and Jim Richardson? I barely know Jim."

"Yeah, I know that, Emma, but you should see him this morning."

"See who?" Bill asked from directly behind Cindy. She almost swallowed her tongue when he spoke.

"Hi." She grimaced.

"Cindy, would you please excuse Emma and me?" He stood unmoving beside the jeep, obviously waiting for Cindy to leave.

"That all right with you, Em?" Cindy looked confused.

"Yeah," Emma felt a little awkward under Bill's unwavering gaze.

"Well it's your life." Cindy responded and loped back toward the schoolyard.

Emma kept her head down after Cindy walked off, waiting for Bill to speak.

"Emma, if I asked you to leave the school grounds with me, would you?"

"I don't know." She still could not bring herself to look at him. They were silent for at least a full minute, Emma kicking the gravel around with her toe. When she was sure he wasn't going to say anything else, she looked up at him. She was taken back by what she saw. His face was all red and screwed up and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Bill," she said hastily dropping her books to the ground. She spun him around to where his back was to the school yard. She wiped his face with her hand. "What is it?"

"I think I am losing my fucking mind. I can't take this anymore." He laughed at his own pathetic state, never knowing that what he felt as weakness and defeat on his part was what made Emma decided she would go anywhere he asked her to. A sympathetic smile broke across her face.

"My poor baby." She leaned forward to rest a hand on his cheek.

"Isn't this ridiculous." He balled up a knuckle to rub under his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know." She joined his quiet laughter.

"Ohhhh," he sighed and threw his arms around her, "I just need to do this." He squeezed her tight. "We really need to talk."

"Uh huh, I think so too." She agreed. She could feel the weeks of pressure, tension falling away. This was the right thing to do.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Cindy demanded to know upon getting in the jeep at lunch to find Emma waiting.

"Oh, we kind of skipped first period and went to Po's for cokes and honey buns." Cindy caught the gesture toward the back seat where Bill was firmly planted. She tried to force a smile his way. "You don't mind if Bill joins us for lunch do you, Cin?"

"No, of course not," Cindy said stiffly. Both Emma and Bill broke into laughter over Cindy's flustered expression.

"It's all okay now, Cindy. Mr. Simmons, here, is back to normal again."   With that Bill reached up to the front seat to pinch Emma's arm. And though this did not seem the least bit funny to Cindy, Emma and Bill just laughed that much harder.

The three of them were still together after school. Cindy was stretched out across Emma's bed while Bill was straddling Emma's desk chair backwards. Emma paced and did most of the talking.

"So you see, Bill dreamed about her too." What had just a week before seemed too horrible of a thing in which to speak had become a teenager's delight of intrigue. With the real murderer caught they were impressed by the psychic phenomena of their like experiences.

"Except I didn't know who she was. I mean I hardly ever knew Viola Grace even when she was living. The difference was I actually felt myself killing Barbara Lee in my dream. It was like I was pinching her head off." He illustrated with his hands. "So you can see why I freaked out and all I knew was that Emma was the reason and she was in my dream too."

"Weird," Cindy said.

"Freaky," Emma added. "But the thing is we both know neither one of us actually killed Barbara Lee. How could we have? Thank God they caught Lacey Caine."

"I guess both Emma and I were going through a weird psycho guilt trip cause we were afraid Barbara Lee would keep us apart." He nervously fingered the spindles on the back of the chair.

"Yeah Bill." Emma nodded. "But the whole Viola Grace part is what is really strangeroni. I think it is time we went back to her house."   She waited for this to sink in with the other two.

"I don't know, Emma, that place gave me the creeps," Cindy said remembering her own dream that had bothered her after they had been to the old house before.

"Don't you see, that Viola Grace, there is the spooky part, it's like some part of her is reaching beyond the grave." Emma said this with her hands cryptically stretched out fingers parted wide, in front of her face. At that moment she looked like a small, enchanted child.

"Hey, I am up for it." Bill was once more his relaxed outgoing self.   Cindy was the only one uncomfortable with the idea. She wondered if Bill really could be trusted. She was not sure that they were not getting into something that was better left alone, but she kept all these worries to herself.   "What do you think we could accomplish by going back there?" she finally asked.

"I think we can summon up the ghost of Viola Grace," Emma answered widening her eyes. "I think we could have a séance out at her old house