Part Three: Chapter One

 

Part Three

Survival

 

Chapter One

 

            James paced the old wooden floors of the hunting cabin. Anger washed over his body as he looked down at the small girl who was now curled up on the small cot, the puppy had gotten her weeks before rest on the foot of the bed beside her, its bright brown eyes following his rapid movements around the room.

            Emmy had changed so much since he saw her last. She looked older and stronger. Trisha had robbed him of his sweet daughter who had been as delicate as a rose petal. She no longer looked at him with adoration or love and to James the thought of how her face twisted into fear as he lifted his daughter from her bed was enough to murder that b***h of a wife of his.

            Trisha was even more of a dimwit the he had imagined but now he knew that he had no use for such a despicable woman. James could still taste the muddy earth as he woke up from his unconscious state. Trisha had been devastatingly wrong when she thought that she could kill him and get away with it. Trisha thought she knew James but what she didn’t realize was that he had been not only drinking and playing golf with the most prominent townspeople but humoring them with entertainment and as with the wealthy most of their enjoyment came from narcotics.

            The first time James humored the mayor by partaking in this act he felt a sudden rush of euphoria. He was going to take over this town and he knew nothing could get in his way. From then on he had always kept his own stash at home, neatly tucked away under his expensive Paul Malone silk ties. He had quickly found that he had banked a resistance to even the stronger prescriptions. He soon had to mix his whiskey with them to feel a strong effect. It was this habitual habit that had saved James Spilling his life.

            Trisha had given him enough sleep aid to kill any regular man but James now knew that he was no ordinary man. The sleep aid was enough to slow down his heart along with his breathing enough for anyone who was not a medical examiner to believe that he was in fact dead and just as in the 1300s Trisha had buried him alive.

            The slower breathing along with the flooded yard had helped James conserve the small amount of air around him until he came to. Then the real struggle began as he had to dig his way out of his shallow coffin and remove the heavy bags that weighed down his body. The shock of waking up under those conditions, coupled with finding his house forlorn and his child’s bed empty would have been enough to break the spirit of most men but as he already knew, James was no ordinary man.

            He knew right away with out a doubt that Trisha had been a part of his close death and the absence of his daughter. He always knew she would end up doing something to jeopardize everything he has worked for. The therapist was one thing but this was in a totally different ball park. If a congressman has a divorce he is looked down on by the media. Even if it was an amicable separation there were always rumors of infidelity and the like. No he would not go to the cops with his little problem. He would take care of this himself. After all; his wife was no more then a bug under his shoe. It wouldn’t take much to squash her and when he does, James will gladly smear he across the floor.

            James found out that he couldn’t do it completely alone, and with such a delicate task he knew there was only one person he could count on to keep quiet, Duncan, his business partner. Duncan was just as sly and dark as he was. James respected his steely eyes and his fast actions, he may not be the brightest of his colleges but he ran off of his instincts and James respected them.

            It had been Duncan’s idea to black mail the sheriff into finding putting up a search for Trisha’s SUV. It hadn’t taken as long as he had expected. Within a week Duncan and he had cruised across the country to a backwoods cabin in the middle of the woods. There was Trisha’s vehicle parked out front, covered in mud and blood. There was an even greater feeling of shock as they busted down the door to find an uneducated scrawny man wearing nothing but overalls lounging inside with a pack of hounds.

            Of course two overcame one and the hounds looked on with only slight interest as James beat the man for information.

            “She swapped!” the man had finally spat out as a wad of tobacco squirted from the inside of his cheek as James’s fist collided with the side of his face again.

            “I’m sorry!” He begged as he threw his hand up in front of his face. His legs instinctively curled into his body as he tried to ward off any more blows.

            “I said I sure could use a big vehicle like that one out there.” He nodded towards the gravel strip of driveway where he parked the large SUV.

            “I figured I could bring a bigger catch home if it had something as nice as that.” His voice came out in a strangled whine as he hurriedly tried to make the two intruders understand.

            “She said she wanted to trade and I didn’t think it was going to ruffle any feathers. You can take it back!” He added as he clamped his eyes shut as he expected another blow at any moment. Behind him one of the dogs gave a bored yawn and rolled over onto the floor.

            James reluctantly decided that the man wasn’t worth killing but after finding out the information about the man’s pickup truck they gave him a painful reminder to keep their visit quiet. Duncan made a few phone calls and was given the name of a small town just a few hours away.

            Abbot County, James chuckled to himself, was exactly the kind of place Trisha would have ran off to. She was born white trash and it never would have taken her much to end up back in a place like that. He knew about her past and it had always shamed him that he had let her take advantage of his giving nature.

            Sure, she was a catch in college, with her long blonde hair and slim waist all the men on campus had wanted a piece of her, but James had always thought in the back of his mind that she was going to cause him all kinds of trouble and grief. She was out spoken and hard headed. He had always expected to marry a woman, who was soft spoken and knew her place, but he had let her sweet smile and bubbly laugh get under his skin.

            He used to find these qualities endearing, he figured that she would settle down once she grew up. He had kidded himself and now he resented her for the trouble she has done to him. He was forced to take a leave of absence from his election meetings in order to hunt her down. Precious time being wasted while he knew that sleazy weasel O’Brian was working feverishly to get ahead of the game.

            The town depended on him. They were just as soft headed as Trisha was, constantly trying to get into some kind of foolishness that only he could see the error in. Hell, just last year they had tried to make that butch of a constable Ashley Walters in the Sheriff slot, thinking that George the town’s Sheriff was going to retire. It took James weeks to talk George into not retiring. It might have taken a hefty pay raise but James knew that woman wasn’t fit for the uniform. Women had their place, even if they wore a strap on.

            James had thought of all of these things as he lay low and watched Trisha from afar. He knew he had to make his move soon and the very next day he found his opening.

            Trisha had been spending a lot of time with a thick skulled southerner. Lance, he had found out worked at the newspaper, an eligible bachelor and easy going by nature. Meaning he was an idiot in James’s books.

            It was all too easy breaking the window in the back of the house as that young girl danced around in the kitchen listening to music on her headphones. He was up the stairs and back out before she even had a chance to let out a squeak of surprise.

            With his daughter in his arms again he knew it wouldn’t be long before Trisha found her way to him. He just had to make sure he laid out the clues for her.

Reviews

[Craig2591]

"even if they wore a strap on"?! That came out of left field!

Nice explanation of how James survived the attempted murder. Otherwise I wouldn't have believed it. Looks like Trisha's problems are a lot more than finding fake ID now!

[Tabitha t]

was the strap on bit to much? lol I had to do alot of research for the explanation but I think it came out to be believable. and yes there is alot worse going on now.

[gombeggar]

interesting...but u had better clarify your story titles better so folks can keep up with which story is which...or leave notes with each additional post

[Tabitha t]

I only have two novels out there and yes I guess I should probably add the title to each book chapter to make it easier. besides "interesting" can I get a bit more info

[gombeggar]

as soon as i'm able to follow everything chronologically i'll give u more input fer sure

[Tabitha t]

all you have to do is click on the book title and every chapter is there in perfect order