Chapter 23
Sloan wassilent as I began the drive back to my trailer, and the paleness hadn”t left her face. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye, deliberating. Her profile was the same – same old Sloan. Any person who happened upon the two of us wouldn’t think anything was amiss; just two old best friends out for a drive, enjoying the comfortable silence between them. But I knew better. I could feel her tumultuous emotions under the surface of her decorum.
I held off speaking for as long as I could, trying to stay calm, to formulate some kind of plan, to make sense of everything. I made it three miles down the road before I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided to play dumb at first. “Sloan, what”s wrong with you?” I asked. “You’re not yourself. Did something happen when I was gone? Other than you breaking up with Dan?”
She shook her head. “No.” She was staring out the window like an angry, sullen teenager. I pressed her.
“Come on, Sloan. I know you better than that.”
She started to say something in protest, but then her phone rang, the familiar bars of Aerosmith”s “Love in an Elevator” blaring loud in her pocket. She pulled the phone out with a groan and hit the silent button. She shoved it back in her pocket and resumed staring out the window. She clearly couldn”t wait to get out of my vehicle. I”d not only lost Phillip, but I’d lost Sloan, too. I set my mouth in a firm line, beating back tears. When had it happened? When had she turned on me? And why?
Lydia”s words came back to me, her warning. The death card in the tarot. The death of a relationship...a betrayal of trust...The signs had been there all along, and I”d ignored them. I had assumed it meant my marriage, or even losing Phillip. I”d never thought the dying relationship would be mine and Sloan”s.
I decided when we got back to my house, I”d open a bottle of wine and just lay it all out there, tell her I knew the truth, and then beg her to stop this, whatever it was. If she needed to come clean about something, she should. Before I had to find out another way.
Her phone rang again as I was wiping away one wayward tear, hoping she wouldn”t turn and see. With a sigh, she pulled the phone out of her pocket and stared at the screen, deliberating. Finally, she answered. “Yeah?” I watched her fingers stray to the volume button and turn the sound down. She didn”t want me to hear whoever was on the other end of the line.
She said nothing, only listened, giving a small nod now and then. Finally, she sighed, closed her eyes, and put the phone in her lap, then said, with her eyes still closed, “When you get to the light, head toward the bridge. We”re going to Jekyll.”
“Why?” I asked.
Her eyes were still closed. “He wants to see you.”
“Oh,” I said, unsurprised. “So it’s all going to happen sooner than I thought. I finally get to meet the infamous Guthrie, aka Guth, aka Gus.”
She opened her eyes and looked at me. “How long have you known?” she asked, her voice low and shifty. Her posture was tense and stiff, like a bratty teen who just got caught coming in late; I half expected her to open the truck door and fling herself out.
“Since about five minutes ago when I got to the parking lot and figured it out.”
She looked at me in surprise. “You mean you didn”t know before? Wasn”t that the point of going to see Renee?” Renee?
“I knew she was Guthrie”s sister,” I answered. “But I didn”t know that Guthrie and Gus were the same person, and I certainly didn”t know that you were in cahoots with him this whole time to betray me.”
“I didn”t -” she started. “I never-” She flushed deeply. Apparently, I”d rendered her speechless for the first time in…well, forever. “Well, anyway, he got your message. And he wants to see you.”
“Lucky me.” I couldn”t keep the bitterness from my voice. “It”s all coming up Millhouse today, isn”t it? I lose the love of my life and my best friend in a twenty-four-hour period. And now after weeks of manipulating me from afar, a drugged out, evil, crazy man is summoning me to his house. I can hardly contain the excitement.”
“He isn”t evil,” she said, swallowing. She looked guilty as hell. “I mean...I don”t think...he doesn”t want to hurt you or anything. He said he just wants to talk.” She chewed her fingernail. “And anyway, wasn’t that what you were hoping he’d do?”
I didn”t answer. The truth was, I wasn’t sure what I was trying to accomplish by advertising my presence to Guthrie. I only knew that I was tired of hiding from him, tired of Lee popping through like the Kool-Aid man every time I exhaled, telling me to go here or go there to stay safe. Coming home and “turning myself in,” so to speak, had been an act of protection for Phillip more than anything else, though I did have a few ideas up my sleeve. Sloan didn’t need to know about those, especially not now. Now that she’d betrayed me.
I turned onto the road that led to Jekyll and concentrated on driving. “How long have you known?” I demanded. It was getting dark. I flicked my lights on, a sudden sense of unease filling me. For two years she”d said as little about the man as possible, her affair with him the one secret she”d ever kept from me, and I”d just let her. I’d never pushed her to reveal more about him or asked any questions. My chest felt tight.
“Known what?” she asked.
“Who he was, what he wanted with me. About him and Phillip...and Lee and Lydia...” I stuttered. “All of it. How long have you known?”
Her face softened a little. “Just a couple of days, actually,” she answered. “I”m sure it must seem...you must think I... But no, I didn”t know. I tried so hard to keep you apart from him, because I was ashamed.” She stared out the window again, but I could see her pained expression. “He did ask about you sometimes, but it was casual, like he was just showing interest in my life, you know? He said he wanted to meet you, but I always put him off. I was embarrassed. About what you”d think. He”s so much older, and he deals drugs, and he”s still married to his crazy ex-wife.” I thought back to Lydia and smiled grimly. I could only imagine the stories Sloan had heard. “But I swear, Storm, I never knew that he had such a fixation on you. I never knew about Phillip, or the spell, or any of it. He kept me in the dark. He only told me about it the night you left. I went to see him that night and I mentioned that you”d gone to Boston, on a trip with some guy, and he hit the roof. He started screaming and yelling, and the next thing I knew he”d called in Tess and Shank and his son, Lee. He had us all lined up like little ducks, and he was screaming at everybody. I didn”t know what was going on.”
“Then what happened?”
“Lee pulled me aside and told me everything. He told me that he”d kept your trip from his father to give you time to get away. I didn”t believe him at first – it all just seemed so crazy. But his story matched the one you tried to tell me, you know, the night we got pizza. He told me how Guthrie and his mom knew Phillip from back in the day, how they”d given him that spell, and how the two of them had basically been fighting over it ever since, with him caught in the middle. And then you did the spell and all hell broke loose.”
“I know what Lydia wanted with us,” I said bitterly. “But as for Guthrie, I”m still in the dark.”
“You”ll have to ask him,” she said. “I don”t know, either. But I do know he”s obsessed with you. He knows so much, Storm. He”s been watching you for a long, long time. He”s had Tess feeding him info, and I didn”t know it, but he was getting stuff from me, too. He”s been grooming you for this from afar. He knew you were going to do the spell long before you ever decided to. It”s so fucked up.” That was the truth; I felt it in my bones. But how? It was impossible, but every cell of my body felt it was the truth.
“What happened after he got everyone together?” I asked, gritting my teeth.
“Guthrie sent Lee and Shank after you guys. He told Lee he”d better fix his mistake, or he”d answer for it. He sent Tess and Roberta, too.” I wondered if she”d really known Roberta all along, had known Tess worked for her boyfriend, and just hadn”t wanted to tell me. “Lee didn”t want to go, he pleaded with Guthrie to leave you be, but he insisted. He told them to get you and bring you back here – without Phillip. By any means necessary.” She swallowed. “Did you know that Lee was the one who knocked on your door that night when I was there?”
“I had assumed as much.”
“He kept trying to warn you. He was so desperate for you not to do the spell. But when I answered the door, he bolted because he knew I”d recognize him. And then after you”d done the spell, he tried to warn you again. He wanted you to get away from Guthrie, but you wouldn”t be any safer in Boston, really. Not with his mom there. He was really upset. He wants to see you safe, but he keeps fucking shit up. I think...I think he has a thing for you.”
“Poor thing,” I said, not bothering to hide the acid in my tone.
She didn”t seem to notice. “Guthrie”s been making me stay at his place in case you got in touch with me. I”ve been keeping my phone dead on purpose so I wouldn”t get your calls and texts. After a couple of days, though, he noticed, and made me charge it. He changed, Stormy.” Her face was wistful and sad, but there was something else there, too, something furtive and calculating. I wasn’t sure if I was getting the whole story, the truth, even now. “He was a cool guy at first, but after a while he just wore me down. I tried to get out of the relationship, but he kept drawing me back. But nothing in the past two years compares to what he”s been like this week. I never knew he could be so...awful.” She shuddered.
“I guess that explains why you totally abandoned my cat with no food or water,” I retorted.
“I couldn’t exactly get to your house, as I’ve just said,” she shot back. “But he’s fine, Stormy. He’s a cat. He can take care of himself. It’s not like you were gone a month.”
“Still, you gave me your word-”
“Gus was basically holding me hostage, Stormy!” Her voice rose; she was almost yelling now.
“Did he hurt you in any way?” I asked, my heart softening a little bit. I could tell she was really upset.
“No,” she said, “Not yet. I worry though, now that you know...”
“He”s not going to hurt either of us,” I said firmly. “I”m going to end this shit once and for all.”
“He knows things about you, Stormy,” she said. “Secret things, private things, things that only me and your parents would know. Like, from your childhood. Things about your parents, Storm, things you’ve only ever told me. And some things you’ve never told me. Things about you and Tess. He used me. He”d done all these things to try and, like, reel you in. That vinyl at the flea market, sending Lee to your house. I bet he got Renee to sell you stuff for the spell.” Her voice wavered. “I never even made the connection until you dragged me to the farmers’ market today. I never even paid attention, never noticed that Renee had a booth there. And I”ve been in the woman”s house dozens of times! I”ve been such a fucking idiot. You must hate me.”
“No,” I said. “I don”t hate you.” But I sure as shit don’t trust you anymore, either.
“It was Guthrie who ran us off the road,” she said. “Guthrie and Shank.”
That explained why the person I”d seen in the rearview mirror had kind of looked like Lee. I wasn”t surprised. So Lee had been telling the truth when he said he hadn”t done it. I smiled in grim relief; a small part of me had hoped he wasn’t capable of real violence.
“After he told me that I realized, really realized, how big this all was. He could have killed us that night. Gus claims you have powers, powers that are like his or something, that the two of you together can...I don”t know. I don”t know what I believe. But I do believe he”s obsessed with you. That he wants something from you. And he”s willing to hurt you to get it.”
“Why did he care if I did the spell in the first place?” I wanted to know.
“Why else?” she answered with an obvious shrug. “He wanted to see if you could.”
I wasn”t sure what hurt the most. That this man who I”d never even met had involved my ex-husband, my best friend, or that he had hurt Phillip, all to get to me. And why?
“Turn onto Beach Road,” Sloan said, gesturing. “Storm, I know what it looks like, but I swear, I didn”t know. Gus can be shady, but I just thought it was the nature of our job, you know? I never considered he was actually, like, a bad guy. He always kept us in the dark, because-”
“What do you mean ”our job”?” I asked.
“That”s how it started,” she said miserably. “I met him at Beachy Keen, remember? He asked me if I needed money. I thought he was propositioning me at first, but then later...” She saw my stricken expression and rushed to explain. “I never did anything horrible, I swear, Stormy. I never hurt anyone. I just sold a little reefer for the guy. A pill or two here and there. And after a couple of months I told him I couldn”t do it anymore. Just the weed.” She looked ashamed. “I was just so broke.”
“But you were seeing him, too.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “There”s something about him. I fell for it. I”m not proud, Stormy. But every time I tried to get out, every time I”d meet somebody new, somebody nice, it was almost like he – he sabotaged it. Every time. Like he had some kind of power over me, he could make everything just crumble in my hands. It’s gotten to where I just don”t even want to try anymore.”
“I get it.” I sighed. And I did. “But Sloan, it was goddamn shitty of you not to warn me about all of this. You couldn”t have sent one text?”
“He threatened me,” she said, her voice giving way to tears. “The things he said he”d do to you – to Phillip – to Dan – I couldn”t risk it, Stormy.”
“Is that why you dumped Dan?”
“Yeah,” she answered. “I had to protect him.”
Rage burned inside me. It was one thing to mess with me. Another thing still to mess with the man I loved. But to find out the extent he”d manipulated and threatened my best friend? I would tear him limb from limb.
“Take the next right, Franklin Road,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. She really did look miserable. “And it”s number 5099, on the left. Big blue house with white shutters. Five minutes, tops.”
“That”s right across from Driftwood Beach,” I exclaimed. “Less than a mile from the trail I always take, near the dunes.”
She stared at her lap, her face full of guilt.
Realization hit me with a jolt. “The man,” I said, more to myself than Sloan. The memories came back to me in a flood. Out on the beach. The day of the storm. He”d been standing right there when that massive thunderclap hit, then the hail, then the bolt of lightning, striking a foot away from me, such a force of pure electricity that it had split the dead tree in half and thrown me into the sand. I had felt the force of it in my fingers, the current jolting through my hands like scalding-hot water, like a child touching an electric fence. Guthrie had been there, off in the distance. Standing, watching. Had he made it happen?
I knew, suddenly, without a doubt, that he had.
Sloan’s voice was quiet in the dark car. “I”m sorry I didn”t believe you, Stormy. About Phillip.”
“Oh, that”s okay,” I said. “Who the fuck would have?”
“I thought you had lost your fucking final marble,” she said. “I really did. I was ready to ship you off to the funny farm.”
“I wish you had,” I said. “While I still had a chance to get away from all of you.”
I”d expectedsome huge monstrosity covered by dark trees, with peeling paint and haunted, dark windows, like a smaller version of Hill House, or something out of a southern gothic mystery, but Guthrie’s two-story home was the same cracker box house with a garage underneath, high, reinforced porch and palm trees in the yard as every other beach house on Jekyll. I parked the truck under one of the trees and got out, not bothering to take a moment to collect myself or even think about my game plan. I was too angry, too eager to see this man, look him in the face and tell him exactly what I thought of him.
Sloan led the way up the creaking steps to the top of the porch. I followed, looking around, memorizing my surroundings. The shades on the windows were drawn, but I could see a dim light peeking out. The sounds of a football game were coming from the house, and I could hear voices. A scraggly, skinny black cat with one white patch on his chest darted out of our way as we reached the front door and scurried off the porch.
“That”s Tito,” Sloan said, and then lightly rapped her knuckles on the front door, which had recently been painted white – I could still see the streaks of gray underneath.
“Who?” a curt voice on the other side of the door asked.
“Me,” answered Sloan in a voice unlike her own. It seemed her rudeness was in place here.
“Come in.”
She pushed the door open and turned to me with an “after you” gesture. I was suddenly without desire to go inside, after everything I”d done to facilitate this meeting, but I squared my shoulders and went in anyway.
I was standing in a small living room, filled with blue-suede couches that were faded and worn and covered with cat hair – from the scraggly beast I”d seen outside, no doubt – and two men sat on the biggest one, facing the TV, both holding Xbox controllers. The football game I”d heard outside was not an actual game, but rather a video game. One of the men playing was Lee, his light-blond hair shoved under his usual baseball cap. The other one, with a large stick-on bandage covering the bridge of his nose, was Tess. When I entered the room, Lee put down his controller and turned to me with a large smile. Tess did not acknowledge my arrival. For the first time, I felt no pain in his presence.
“Hi, Stormy,” Lee said, his voice welcoming but his eyes giving away his wariness. He had warned me to stay away, and I had ignored him. I found myself smiling at him, genuinely glad to see him despite the circumstances. I opened my mouth to speak to him, then the man standing near my right shoulder, half hidden in the hallway, caught my eye. I turned and looked at him, my chest filling with dread.
So this was Guthrie. I squared my shoulders and evaluated the man. He was short, shorter than I”d imagined, though that shouldn”t be a surprise since Lee wasn”t that tall, either. I guessed his height at maybe 5”10, 5”11 on a good day, since I myself was 5”9” and we were practically eye to eye. He was balding just at the top of his head, but what hair he did possess was a ruddy golden-red, much like his sister”s, with a brushing of white at his temples. His beard was also reddish, but his eyes were that same icy blue as Lee”s, and he had that same smattering of freckles all over his face, just as I’d suspected. His eyes were a disconcerting shade. In certain lights, it was almost as if the eyes had no color at all, devoid completely of emotion and feeling. I”d only seen it in glimpses with Lee, who was always amiable and charming, even in the most stressful of situations, but with Guthrie, it seemed to be his natural state. Those eyes had no feeling as they looked me over, and despite the warm smile his mouth was making and the jovial, familiar way that he extended his hand to shake mine, I knew without a doubt that this was a very, very bad man. He might look a little like his son, or an aging, genial Opie Taylor, but he was not a nice man, a good man. I shook his hand and suppressed the shudder that went through my body when his skin touched mine.
“So you”re Stormy Spooner,” he said with friendly grin. “Finally, I get to lay eyes on the woman who has entranced everybody I know.”
What utter horseshit. I smiled benignly. “But you”ve seen me before, haven”t you? Just across the road, on the beach? Remember? The day of the storm?” He shook his head, feigning confusion, never losing his smile. “The infamous Guthrie. I can”t say I know your last name.”
“And I can”t say that I want to tell you,” he said with a laugh. “I prefer just Guthrie. Or Gus, if you want.” He had a lisp. When he said “Gus” it sounded like “Guth.” Now it made sense, though I wondered how anyone – Sloan, Phillip, Lee, or anyone else- had felt comfortable enough to tease this man with a nickname. Everything about him – his posture, his eyes, his very aura – was oozing with malignity. And yet, I wasn”t afraid. Not anymore, when I had nothing else to lose.
I looked him over with cool eyes. “I met your wife,” I said.
“I apologize.” He laughed again. “She”s not a very warm person. And I heard that she made things a bit difficult for you.” When I didn”t respond, he put a hand on my arm, to try and disarm me. My skin tingled where he touched me, and it wasn”t a pleasant feeling.
“Can I sit?” I asked coolly, gesturing to the couch where Lee and Tess were perched, and he nodded.
“Of course you can. I know you must be tired. I heard you drove all the way from Boston yesterday.” He leaned past me to embrace Sloan quickly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I clenched my fists; I wanted him to keep his hands off her, though she made no indication that she was uncomfortable. “Hi, darling. Can I get you both a drink? I”ve got beer, wine, water, tea...”
“Did you want a tea, Storm?” Sloan asked me, a wide smile on her face. “I can make a pot.”
“No, thanks,” I said, walking over to the love seat and sitting down so I was catty-corner to Lee and Tess. I wanted to keep my eye on the door at all times. “I”m good.”
“I”ll take a beer,” Tess said, tearing his eyes from the video game, but he still didn”t look at me. He was trying his hardest not to from the looks of it. I stared at him warily; any love or desire I’d felt for him had finally shuffled off to die. What I was looking at was a coward - a shrunken, dejected, shell of the man he used to be. I pitied him.
Sloan ignored his request and so did Guthrie, who had sauntered over and took a seat beside me. Sloan sat in the corner in a burgundy colored easy chair with a blue afghan. She curled her legs up under her, obviously familiar with this house, comfortable here, but she looked so miserable and frightened that I couldn”t bear to look at her. She was going to make me lose my nerve.
Guthrie took no more notice of her than he had of Tess. He only had eyes for me, it seemed. “I”m glad to finally meet you, Stormy. But I must say, I’m surprised you reached out to me. After all this time, trying to see you under cover of darkness, you come right out into the light. What brings you here? What can I do for you?”
I took a deep breath. Now or never. Might as well lay it all out there. I was sick of these people. I wanted to go home and sleep for two weeks.
“I have a proposition for you.”
“You do?” Guthrie didn”t look surprised.
“Yes.” I steeled myself and dived in. “I think I know what you want from me.”
He smiled. “And what’s that?”
“Access to me, my power...whatever you want to call it,” I said. “You want to see what I can do – paired with you.” I looked him square in the eye. “And I”m prepared to give you that.”
“Are you?” He smiled. “I”m a bit surprised. I thought you were quite uneager to-”
I cut him off again. “Don”t you want to know my terms?”
“By all means.”
“You”ll leave them alone. Forever. Forget they exist.” He stared at me, emotionless. “You”ll release Sloan from your employment, and from whatever...relationship you”ve got her trapped in. You”ll get out of her life for good.” I gestured to Lee. “And him, too, if that”s what he wants. I know he”s your son, but he doesn”t want to work for you, either. He”s trapped between you and Lydia and he”s fucking miserable.” Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lee”s shocked expression.
“What about me?” Tess piped up, finally acknowledging I was in the room. “You gonna release me, too?”
“No,” I said, not bothering to look in his direction. “You”re on your own.” I heard a laugh bubble up from Sloan in the corner.
Guthrie was smiling through tight lips. “I hardly think-”
“I”m not done,” I went on. “I imagine you know your wife Lydia is dying. And I’m sure you don’t care.” Sloan’s eyes widened. “But if…when…she succumbs to her illness, I’d like to bring her back. It was what she wanted, and I’m prepared to do it.” If he was surprised, he gave no sign. I felt butterflies in my stomach as I talked. It was only yesterday, on the long drive home, that I’d even begun to consider helping Lydia. I hadn’t fully decided I would until I’d stood in Guthrie’s foyer. Then I’d known, without a doubt, that I wanted to help her. Living with this man for years could not have been easy, and despite her gruff, abrasive demeanor and shady dealings, I knew she’d done everything she had to try and protect Lee.
Plus, I had a lot to learn, and who better to learn from?
“You’ve got quite a list of demands, don’t you, doll?” he said smoothly.
“I’m not your doll,” I spat. “Lastly, you”ll leave Phillip alone. I want him to be free to live his life – a real second chance. It isn”t his fault that any of this happened. He didn”t ask for it, not really. He didn”t know what he was asking. He’s...good. But he thinks he’s not, and that’s partly your fault.” I felt tears prickle my eyelids and willed them away. I didn”t want to cry in front of this man. “I will need your word that you”ll leave him alone – forever. Or the deal’s off.”
“My dear, you don”t have the first idea of what you”re talking about. You don”t even know half of your own powers, much less mine. We need to sit down and talk about all of this before-”
“I don”t care,” I said, meeting his cold blue eyes. “I don”t give one single solitary fuck. I know the most important thing. Me, my magic, whatever it is, is important to you. Important enough to stalk me, have me kidnapped, spied on through the people I love. I’m important to you. So make the choice, Guth. Me, or all your little henchmen.”
“You just want me to release them all?” he asked. “And you”ll give yourself over to me.” I felt a chill as he said the words.
“Yes.”
“I”ll require a contract,” he said after a moment. His face, somehow old and young at the same time, was thoughtful.
“Fine.” I wanted this to be over.
He smiled a slow, chilling smile and stood up. “Give me just a moment.” He left the room and I turned, triumphant, relieved, until I saw the looks on the faces of both Sloan and Lee, who were staring at me in horror. Even Tess looked vaguely uncomfortable.
“You don”t know what you”re doing,” Lee said in a quiet voice. “Stormy, rethink this. He”s much more powerful than you know. You have no idea what he-”
“It doesn”t matter,” I said, shaking my head firmly. “I don”t care. All that matters to me is getting the people I love out of harm”s way.”
“By putting yourself in our place?”
“If that”s what it takes,” I said steadily.
He shook his head, beginning to say something else, but was interrupted by a loud banging on the front door. Sloan jumped about a mile in the air. The four of us sat there, frozen in the living room, waiting for Guthrie to reappear and answer the door, afraid to move or breathe. Something had come, and it was angry.