Read Christmas At Timberwoods Online
Authors: Fern Michaels
Christmas At Timberwoods (19 page)
“I’m looking, I’m looking, and I think you’re right. How could somebody do such a thing? Poor, precious little puppies,” Amy said, cuddling one of the tiny bundles to her cheek. “They sound hungry. We’d better fix them some of that milk you brought.”
“But what if they’re too little to drink it out of a bowl?”
“They probably are, but I have all kinds of baby bottles and things. Let’s go into the kitchen and see what we can do. I’ll make the bottles and you go into the garage and get an empty box. Then get a towel from the bathroom, a nice fluffy one, and we’ll put them in a box near the fireplace, where it’s warm.”
When Angela came back into the kitchen, Amy said, “I think I’ll mix up the formula powder you got and make a bigger hole in the nipple. What do you think?”
“Sounds good to me.” Angela grinned as she folded the fluffy pink bath towel. “I wonder if they’ll like this color. Welcome to the Puppy Hotel,” she told the squirming trio.
“All ready,” Amy called after about fifteen minutes. She came into the room where Angela was, her hands full of baby bottles. “Let’s feed them one at a time. Wouldn’t you know it, three females,” she said as she examined the puppies. “You were right, Angela, they could never eat on their own. Look, their eyes are barely open.”
Angela and Amy each took a puppy and put a bottle to its greedy mouth. Angela was suddenly quiet and intent.
“Angela, do you want to talk about it?” Amy asked after a while.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“That’s no answer. ‘Because.’ What kind of answer is that? Didn’t they teach you any better than that in school?”
“Sure,” Angela said as she put down one puppy and picked up another. “Do you suppose you have to burp them?”
“Burp them? Lord, I don’t know. How do you burp a puppy?”
“Maybe you rub its tummy. I think you do that with babies. They made us take health class back in high school,” Angela said, not adding how often she hadn’t bothered to show up.
“Wrong. So much for health class. You pat their backs.”
“Well, I was close.” Angela laughed.
At 1:30 in the afternoon the phone on Eric Summers’s desk buzzed.
“Summers here.” He recognized Noel’s low voice when the other man said hello and waited for him to speak.
Noel didn’t waste time on small talk. “Listen, I want to try hypnotism on Angela.”
“Okay, Noel. She’s with Amy now. But I won’t have you doing it at my house. It’s too much for Amy.”
“I understand. But I do need somewhere quiet.”
“You’ll get it. I have an idea. I can’t leave the mall, but I’ll send Lassiter. Maybe you can use Heather Andrews’s apartment.”
Heather opened the door of her apartment to admit Noel, Lex, and Angela. She smiled at Angela. “You look frozen. Sit down and I’ll get some nice hot coffee. What about you guys? Would you like coffee or something stronger?”
“Coffee,” the two men said simultaneously.
Heather gathered their coats and scarves and hung them in the hall closet. “Be right back.”
Angela perched on the edge of a chair as if poised for flight. “Are you sure this is the right thing for me to be doing?” she asked Noel. “I really don’t want to see that again. It was so terrible, and what if I see any of you and I say it while I’m under?”
“You’re safe here,” he reassured her. “Say whatever comes to mind; it’s as simple as that. We have to do it, Angela. There may be some important details that are hidden in your subconscious. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Sure,” she answered, taking a cup from Heather’s hands. “I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, but why can’t I convince you that there isn’t anything you can do about it? The things I see in my mind’s eye—they happen. There’s no stopping them.”
“Maybe yes, maybe no. We have to try, Angela. Isn’t it better to try than to do nothing at all?”
Angela nodded as she sipped the steaming coffee. “Why don’t we just get on with it, get it over with?” she asked fearfully.
“Any time you’re ready,” Noel said, setting down his coffee cup. “Stretch out on the couch and close your eyes.”
Angela did as she was told. Noel watched her and began to speak to her, his voice calm and soothing. “I want you to trust me, Angela. Nothing will hurt you. I’m your friend. Now, just close your eyes and relax. I want you to listen to my voice. You want to listen to my voice. You can hear me. You trust me. You know I’m your friend.”
Angela listened to Noel’s directions. She visibly relaxed. Soon she felt warm and drowsy . . . so sleepy . . . so safe . . .
“Angela, you know I’m Noel Dayton. Can you hear me?”
“Yes, I hear you.”
“You will listen to me very carefully, Angela, and answer me truthfully at all times. You’re asleep, Angela, sound asleep, but you can hear me speaking to you. You told me something about these visions, but I need to know more. They started when you were young—is that correct?”
“Yes. I—I saw a dog die in an accident. I was very frightened. I thought it was a dream.”
“After that you saw many things, is that true?”
“Yes.”
“How did that make you feel, Angela?”
“Frightened. I told my parents and they took me to doctors.”
“That’s fine, Angela. Remember now, you’re sound asleep but you can hear me. I want to talk to you about one of your latest visions, the one about the Timberwoods Shopping Mall. You will remember how you had the vision and tell me all about it. Can you do that, Angela?”
“Yes.”
“We’re going back in time now, to the day you had the vision. You’re asleep, Angela, but you can hear my voice. It is now the morning of the day you had the vision. It is time to wake up. You have been asleep all night and now it is morning. When you open your eyes, you will see the bright light and you will tell me what you see. When I tell you to open your eyes, you will do so.”
“Yes,” Angela whispered, the fear and strain showing on her face.
“The morning is here, Angela. Open your eyes and see your vision.”
“Oh no, not again!” Angela screamed. “I don’t want to look. Don’t make me look!” Tears gathered in her eyes as she continued to fight to keep her eyes closed. “Please, please, I don’t want to see!”
“You want to tell me what you see, Angela. After you tell me, you can go to sleep and forget it. What do you see?”
“Red. Everything is red. All the Christmas colors. All that red. Blood.”
“Are you sure it’s blood, Angela?”
“Red. Too much red. I can’t see anything but red. Make it go away,” she begged.
“Not yet, Angela, you must tell me more.”
“There’s too much blood. Too much red.” Angela sobbed. “I don’t know what it is. I can’t be in two places at one time. Some man . . . he’s bending over. The red . . . I don’t know what he’s doing! He’s afraid . . . his hands are shaking. Too much red, I can’t see his face. He’s going to kill everyone. He’s sick. The blood’s in his way!”
“Can you tell me more about him?”
“No . . . everything is in a red haze. He’s holding something big and round. It’s soft, there’s something in it. He’s sick, he keeps wiping his face. He’s so afraid.”
“What is he afraid of, Angela?”
“I don’t know. He has no strength in his hands . . . it won’t move.”
“What won’t move?”
“His hand, he’s trying to squeeze something in his hand. He’s cold, the wind is blowing all around him. White and red!” Angela’s voice was a mere whisper; beads of perspiration broke out on her forehead. “He’s cursing. He’s angry.
Today,
he’s saying,
it has to be today. This has to work!
He wipes his forehead, red is going away. No, it’s back!”
Today,
he’s saying,
it has to be today. This has to work!
He wipes his forehead, red is going away. No, it’s back!”
“Angela, what day is this happening?”
“Today. I have to die today!”
“Angela, what day is it?” Noel asked again, this time more firmly.
“I don’t know what day it is . . . the day he has to die. He’s very angry . . . cursing . . . oh, he fixed it . . . now he’s happy, the red is back.”
“Think about the day and time, Angela. Did you go into the mall at all?”
“Yes, I’m in the mall now. Everyone is shopping. Christmas carols are playing. I have to leave now; I have to go outside. Something is going to happen. I have to warn people not to go in there.”
“Why do you have to go outside?”
“To warn people. They won’t listen, but I have to try. He wants everyone to die with him.”
“Where is he now, Angela? Do you know?”
“He’s walking around the mall. I can’t see him, but I know that’s what he’s doing. I can feel him thinking. It’s almost time for the explosion.”
“Explosion?” Noel queried. “Is it a bomb?”
“It just blows up. It’s going to blow up. See all those little boys in their school uniforms? They came on a class trip. They have to leave. There’s a skinny one who can’t see—you have to make him leave! He’s going to get lost! It’s almost time!”
“The day, Angela, what day is it?” Noel asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Angela was near hysteria now, but he couldn’t bring her out of the hypnotic state until she gave them the details they needed. “What day is it, Angela?”
Angela squirmed on the sofa as though hot brands were scorching her. “I have to go outside. It’s time. Why are Mr. Summers and Mr. Lassiter running like that? I’m running, too. Fast. Hurry . . . I’m outside in the parking lot . . .” She screamed, pressing her hands against her skull. “Oh my God! Run! Run! Run as fast as you can . . . another one . . . another one . . . everything is black!” Angela went silent.
Noel, watching her, was deeply troubled. Had he gone too far? The emotions Angela was suffering were so intense that he actually began to be afraid that they were too much for her to handle. He grabbed her wrist and checked her pulse. It was racing far too rapidly for comfort. The girl’s lips held a blue tinge, her eyelids fluttered madly, her skin was cold to the touch—all signs of physical shock. Did he dare to continue with this? Noel’s voice was unsteady. “Angela, you may wake up now. Come back to the present, Angela.”
“No! No!” Angela’s voice was a low moan coming from deep within her. “I see a word . . . white letters on black . . . one word . . . ” She trailed off, an anguished sob catching in her throat.
“What is it?”
She shuddered, still in a trance. Then she answered in a whisper. “Hope.”
“Just one word? Do you know what it means, Angela?” Noel fell silent, unsure of what to ask next when she didn’t reply.
Lex was sitting on the edge of his chair, the color gone from his face, leaving a ghostly pallor.
Heather was gripping the door frame, her eyes bright with tears as she watched Angela. “Hope, huh?” she said in a shaky voice. “That’s better than nothing. I wish she could explain.”
“It’s dangerous. I have to bring her out of it, now,” Noel replied. “Angela,” he called softly, “Angela, you are still asleep. You are deeply asleep. You cannot see anything but darkness. You are not frightened any longer; you feel peaceful. When I snap my fingers, you will awaken. Sleep, Angela.”
Noel’s expression was tense and thoughtful. Putting his hand close to Angela’s ear, he snapped his fingers.
Then he moved the switch on the recorder to Off.
Chapter 13
Eric Summers sat down, coffee cup in hand, his long legs stretched out. His dark eyes were brooding as he sipped the bitter leftover brew. “Do you feel it?” he asked. His question hung in the air of the quiet office.
Harold shot him a look. “What?”
“We’re doomed. It’s in the air. I know that sounds crazy, but that’s what I feel. And those damn Christmas carols are about to drive me out of my mind! Canned music has got to be the scourge of mankind.”
“Yeah. I know what you mean. But we have to keep going. It ain’t over until it’s over,” Harold said.
“If there was only something we could do. Anything, anything at all. Angela Steinhart is standing outside the mall and telling people not to shop here. I didn’t tell her to go home. If Richards finds out, he’s going to have the police pick her up. Christ, at least she’s doing something. Say, Baumgarten, you don’t want a dog, do you?”
“No. What exactly is she saying?”
“Who the hell knows? The truth of the matter is, I don’t want to know. Mike Wollek called me when the mall opened. I’ve got him stationed at number seven, and she’s doing her thing right there. I told him to leave her alone. People aren’t listening to her, anyway—they’re just rushing past her, calling her crazy if they notice her at all. She must be frozen stiff by now. She’s been out there for three hours and it’s eighteen degrees. She’s trying, though—God, she’s trying. And what the hell am I doing? Nothing! Not a goddamned thing.”
“Well, I know how she feels. I did something this morning, and it got me nowhere.”
Eric’s ears pricked up; Harold had his full attention.
“I called the newspapers, spoke to the editors, and in some cases—when I could get through—to the owners, or board executives. I told them what was going on around here and begged them to print it. Each time their answer was an unequivocal no. Finally, in desperation, I said I was going to take out an ad, warning people not to shop here. They said they wouldn’t print it. They have too much to lose. All the shops here buy advertising space in their papers. No way are they going to take a chance on losing the goodwill of the shop owners. I’ll tell you, Eric, I even thought of having handbills printed and handing them out. But then I reconsidered. I know when someone sticks a handbill at me I don’t pay any attention to it.”
“Contact your local blogger,” Eric said dryly. “The situation will be all over the Internet in minutes.”
“And no one will take responsibility for starting a panic,” Harold said quietly. “But I don’t know that we have a choice.”
“What are Lex and Heather doing?” Eric asked.
“I ran into them down in personnel. Lex wanted to go through the list of employees at the mall. Heather was going to talk to some of the shop owners about their staffers. I haven’t seen either of them in the past hour. Lex did say that it was an all-day job. He’s taken two of the assistants from the administration office to help him. Come hell or high water, there’s always paperwork, right?”
In a warm, two-story colonial home about two miles from Timberwoods, the spirit of Christmas was evidenced by the aroma of cookies baking and children decorating a tree. The wall phone in the kitchen jangled and an attractive brunette left her baking to answer it.
“Cheryl, this is Mary,” said the voice at the other end of the line. “Listen, I hate to do this, but I can’t go with you to the mall tonight. I have to take Mack to the airport, and it’ll be too late when I get back.”
“No problem. I want to take Sirena to the vet.” Cheryl’s glance fell on the tiny Yorkshire terrier that had been a birthday present from her husband, Al. “She’s having trouble with one of her ears. When do you want to go then?”
“How about Thursday? I can make it for the whole day and into the evening if you want. My mother is taking the kids after school. Why don’t you send your kids over there, too? Mom is filling stockings and making popcorn balls for the community day care center. The kids can all help. She’ll give them dinner and we can pick them up when we finish shopping. What do you think?”
Cheryl smiled. Mary was a live wire, a small, compact woman with bright red hair and a perpetual elfin quality. Aside from being quick and sharp, she had a heart of gold. “Great idea,” she said. “That’ll give me an extra day to see if I can wrangle some money out of my darling husband. Is this lunch and dinner?”
“Let’s put it this way—I have twenty dollars in cash. I have to buy a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. What’s left over is for lunch and dinner. I was planning on using plastic.”
“You and me both. Can’t get through the holidays without credit cards. By the way, where are we going?”
“What do you mean, where are we going? We only have one place to shop—Timberwoods.”
“That place makes me nervous. They had a bomb scare over there the other day.”
“That’s nothing new,” Mary said airily. “Maybe it’s a disgruntled customer or something. Hell, I haven’t figured out how to get in and out of there yet. Every time I go over there I get lost and have to walk five miles to my car.”
“That’s just it,” Cheryl complained. “I can never find the exits, either. That place is overwhelming. Too big and too many people.”
“You’ve got two choices: Timberwoods or the huge discount store out on the highway—”
“Which is a nightmare,” Cheryl interrupted. “Let’s hit the mall. But I’m staying on one level and I’m making sure I know where all the exits are.”
“You’re nuts,” Mary complained. “I have some store gift cards I want to use, and store charge accounts. How can we stay on one level?”
“Use your credit card, then you can shop anywhere,” Cheryl answered snidely.
“My main one is up to its limit,” Mary said. “But I haven’t used the ones for the individual stores yet. I must have five or six of those. You can never have enough charge cards!” She laughed.
“I wish you’d try telling that to the husband. When I tell him, somehow it loses something in the translation.”
“You worry too much. We have the whole year to pay it off. Think of the fun we’re going to have. No kids, lunch and dinner out, and a dozen or more charge cards between us. Do you have any cash?” Mary asked craftily.
“Nope. You’ll have to buy me lunch. I’ll skip dinner.”
“You’re lying, Cheryl, I can tell. Or else you’re trying to sidetrack me. How much money do you have?”
“Okay, so I won fifty dollars at bingo.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” Mary screeched. “You’re buying lunch and dinner.”
“I knew I’d never be able to keep it to myself,” Cheryl grumbled.
“We’ll buy the Jordan almonds for Susie’s wedding favors with my money, and we’ll eat with yours. We’ll even buy some of that peanut butter fudge you like so much. You know how hungry you get when we’re traipsing around all day.”
“Just what I need,” Cheryl mourned, looking down at her more than ample figure. “I can eat my weight in Jordan almonds and peanut butter fudge.”
“Shall we get spiffed up or go in our regular clothes?”
“If you mean those worn-out jeans and sneakers you wear, we’d better get dressed up. If I’m taking you to lunch and dinner, I don’t want you to look tacky,” Cheryl said tartly.
“Smart-ass. Fifty bucks, huh?”
“So, all right, it was seventy-five. I spent twenty-five dollars.”
“I knew it, I knew it!” Mary yelled. “Nobody wins just fifty bucks at bingo. I’m glad you told me. You’re all heart, Cheryl.”
“I hope I still feel that way after I’ve fed you. See you Thursday.”
Angela happened to spot Charlie as he was heading for the restrooms and stopped him. “Hey! Where have you been? Why haven’t you answered your phone? I’ve been calling you for days. I wanted to—”
Her barrage of questions seemed to startle him. His plain features contorted with anger. The sight made her wonder again why on earth she’d found herself drawn to him in the first place—and trusted him enough to sleep under his roof.
Then, he had been nothing but kind to her.
Now . . . she had to try to get him to talk to her, for reasons that weren’t clear to her. Then again, nothing was clear after she had been put into a hypnotic state by Dr. Noel Dayton. He’d said she was safe; he’d said she would awaken. Neither seemed precisely true. A sense of foreboding, stronger than all the rest, assailed her as she looked into Charlie’s eyes.
“Get out of my way!” Charlie cut her off rudely and pushed past her.
“No, Charlie, wait.” Angela grabbed his arm and held on to him. “At least give me a chance to explain what happened. Once you hear, you’ll understand—”
“Nothing you can say will change my mind.” Charlie stared at her with cold, malevolent eyes. “You ruined everything, Angela. We were going to have such a wonderful Christmas, and you blew it. To hell with you. You’re just like all the rest of them. I never should have taken you in, for starters. You’re a user.”
“I’ll follow you into the men’s room if I have to, Charlie,” Angela threatened. “So you’d better listen to me. Besides, there’s something even more important that I have to tell you—this mall is gonna blow up. I don’t know when. I just know it will. You have to get out of here, Charlie.
“Please, I beg you. You’ve got to get out!”
He wasn’t listening to her, she could tell. He was too angry to hear a word she was saying. When she met his gaze, she was taken aback. She had never seen such hatred in a person’s eyes in her life. Short of getting down on her knees and begging him, there was nothing else she could do. His face was grayish white as he stared at her, and his eyes hadn’t blinked once. That frightened her more than his stony silence.
Angela looked at him, feeling like a wounded animal, mute and hurt. Then she walked away. What was the use? He was too angry to listen to anything she had to say, even when what she was saying was meant to save his life. She pushed through the double-door exit and went back outside.
She stamped her feet and rubbed her numb hands together as she tried to keep warm. What was she doing here, anyway? People were avoiding her as if she had the plague. The few people she had managed to talk to laughed at her. One of them had called her a cokehead. Well, what had she expected? You couldn’t just go up to people and tell them not to go into the mall without giving them a reason why. Obviously they all thought she was crazy. All she could do was tell them that something was going to happen. Secretly she was surprised that the police hadn’t come for her. She knew the security guard had reported her after one of the customers had pointed her out to him.
There was a lull in pedestrian traffic, and Angela huddled up against the cold. She didn’t know which was worse—the freezing temperatures or the cold she had felt inside ever since that afternoon when Dr. Noel Dayton had hypnotized her. He had played the tape of her own voice back to her.
It sounded as if she had become someone else, someone she didn’t know. The thought was terrifying.
If she was ever going to do anything, she had to do it now! Believing wasn’t enough. Somebody had to do something! Starting with herself. She shivered violently. And if that wasn’t bad enough, now she had Charlie to worry about.
“Angela, honey, what are you doing out here in the cold? Do you know it’s only eighteen degrees?” Murray Steinhart put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders.
Angela stiffened at the physical contact and tried to draw away from him.
Run,
her mind screamed,
run!
Run,
her mind screamed,
run!
“Daddy, what are you doing here? Look, I have to go now,” she said, jerking her arm away from him.
“Angela, please, I’m not here to make you come with me. I just want to talk to you. Let’s get some coffee. My word on it, no one is going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. All I want is to talk to you. I know it’s a little late . . . it’s a lot late . . . but I’m here now to help you any way I can.”
“Oh, Daddy, I’m so glad,” Angela cried, wrapping her arms around her father, tears streaming down her thin cheeks. “I’m so glad!”
“Me too, Angel,” Murray said huskily. “Let’s go get that coffee before we both freeze to death.”
Angela, the coffee mug cupped in her cold hands, stared at her father. “I don’t know what to do. I did everything I could think of. I even let Dr. Dayton hypnotize me. He said it helped, but I don’t know how. They won’t close the mall, Daddy. I keep coming back here, hoping I’ll think of some way to stop it. But . . .”
“I know,” Murray said wearily, rubbing his eyes, “I understand. I’ll stay here with you. Your mother went—”
“Don’t, Daddy. I understand, I really do. I don’t want to talk about Mother. I’m so glad you’re here. Boy, you don’t know how glad.” She smiled.
“You know something, Angel—I’m glad, too.” Murray sounded surprised, even to himself. “Real glad,” he repeated softly. “Whatever happens, you can’t blame yourself. You know that, don’t you?”
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