Running Into the Past

Chapter 3

The second day that changed her life and seared her soul was just around the corner.

After she left her dad, about five or six days went past and she had managed to play along with Slate and avoid anything drastic. She knew she would make her move to leave or have him leave and it would happen. It had to. Then the phone rang.

She picked it up although she didn't recognize the number. As she listened to the words, they sounded like a movie. She hadn't realized she had hit her knees on the floor and her face was flooding with tears. No, it couldn't be. They were wrong. He was the toughest person she knew. He can't be gone.

As she drove to her childhood home she wasn't sure what to feel or to expect. She met the coroner on the threshold of the doorway. He must have been in his late sixties and one foot into retirement. His gray face had seen too much and years of cigarettes had stained his skin. He said, Kara, I've known your dad for years. We will figure this out. We will make sure he is taken care of. She vaguely heard his words in her fugue state. She was numb Then she saw him. He looked so frail, so fragile lying there on the floor. They said it appeared he slipped and hit his head on the counter, but they wouldn't rule out any foul play.

Days past and she coasted through the funeral arrangements and memorial service. People came and went. She avoided Slate. He gave her space. She met her cousin Lisa at her dad's house to start to go through some things. They had been going through all the papers scattered in his private office when she saw it. An envelope that had her dad's hand notes on it. She opened it and nearly fainted. He had found out what she had asked him. And it was more than she could bear. Slate it was him. But the name said Nick Caster. He was married to an "Emily Caster" who had gone missing and no body or evidence had been found. What the hell was this?

She didn't give Lisa an answer. She just grabbed the envelope, shaking, took her keys off the counter and left. When she got home, he wasn't there. She quickly packed her things. She had to get away. She was packing as feverishly as she could when she heard the door shut. As he ascended the stairs she franticly looked around for something to defend herself. She grabbed the scissors from the night stand. Slate walked in and could tell the air was different.

She knew.

He grew so angry so fast. She hadn't seen this side before. She was terrified.

He shouted, spitting words from his mouth, "I told you if I can't have you no one will!"

"You had to go to your dad, didn't you? You couldn't just love me, love us and be happy you bitch."

"I've done everything for you!"

She tried to scramble around him but he was so fast. She barely felt his grasp before he had thrown her on the bed like she was the weight of a feather. She screamed but he covered her mouth. When he struck her, the pain stung behind her eyes. He looked startled and said, "I'm sorry, you made me do that!" Kara quickly took the scissors in that moment of hesitation he gave and shoved them as hard as she could into his shoulder. He arched in pain and that gave her an opening. She grabbed her bag on the way out and ran. She got outside and saw he had let the air out of her tires. She didn't care-she would run if she had to, but she would get away. As she ran towards the highway she was thankful she lived in the city as she saw a taxi and flagged it down. The driver could see the angst and wasted no time. She went to her dad's house. She knew he always left the keys to his Ford in the Foldgers can above the fridge. She grabbed it and was so thankful when she heard their metal jingle in the can. She ran to the truck and it started right up.

"Thank you dad!"

She drove to Leon Sparks, her dad's old partner. She told him everything. He called it in. He seemed to be on the phone forever. When he ended the call, he looked at her and said" the police have gotten there Kara, he's gone. No signs of a struggle and no signs of him. He must have cleaned it up and left. You can stay here for the time being and we will figure this out." She knew he would find her wherever she was, and she had to leave. She was so exhausted. She needed to get her thoughts together and had no idea what to do. She hadn't realized how late it was. She agreed to stay for the night and her exhaustion was setting in.

The next morning, she was awoken to the smell of frying bacon and coffee. Leon had never married and was always great around the kitchen. He said," Here you need to eat." She agreed. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. It was nice to have a hot breakfast. She told Leon she couldn't stay. He tried to stop her, but he knew there was no use. He gave her a burner phone, his escape cash, and said we will find him Kara. She told him "Leon, do you think it was him? Did he do this to dad?" Leon seemed to answer in his silence.

Driving down the highway, she didn't know where she was going. She just knew she couldn't stay. She was angry and his words were haunting her. She could hear his angry voice screaming at her about going to her dad. How? How did he know? Who did he know? Does he have someone inside the station to tip him off? Was he recording her? There were so many questions and not enough answers. What she knew was she felt it was her fault her dad was gone, and she could never tell him how sorry she was for pulling him into her mess.

She had to pull herself together and had to clear her thoughts. Who can I trust? Where can I go?