By
Brynn Morgan
Copyright © 2023 by â Brynn Morgan â All Rights Reserved.
It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited.
Chapter 13
Silence blanketed the house the next morning. Davis stepped out of his downstairs bedroom and into the hallway. He wandered to the kitchen, grabbed his favorite cup from the dishwasher, and started the coffee machine. It was always Davis's favorite time of the morning , before Lainie and Bella were awake; he would sit on the porch with his coffee to watch the sun peek over the hills and enjoy some time alone with his thoughts.
Davis loved looking at his stabled Arabians, too, as the stable hands let them out for their morning exercise.
Davis was startled by a soft moan coming from the living room. His dark eyes widened as he approached Emily, who was resting on the couch. Her dark eyelashes fluttered open and widened when she saw him standing beside her in his white T-shirt, green plaid pajama bottoms, and now-messy hair. He smiled softly at her.
"Mornin."
Emily sat up, self-consciously meeting his gaze. Davis asked if her sleep had been troubled by bad dreams and then suggested they step onto the porch with a fresh cup of coffee while they waited for Lainie and Bella to awaken.
Emily was so tired. She felt like she had been drugged. The idea of coffee sounded good.
Davis poured them two cups of coffee, and then Emily joined him outside on the front porch. They sat in white rocking chairs. It was cool out, and Emily saw a big black pickup truck coming down the gravel lane and parking at the stables.
Davis took a slow sip, and his voice was deep.
"That is Callie and her brother Clive," he said. "They get here early to feed the girls and let them out to pasture."
Emily looked at the young teenagers hop out of the truck and head toward the stables, chatting a mile a minute.
She sipped on the hot brew and felt her insides warm up.
Davis cleared his throat.
"Why did you end up on the couch, Emily?" he asked curiously.
Emily looked at him.
"I had a bad dream about Amori." she shivered, remembering how Amori looked at her, dead and lifeless.
"Bad enough that you leave a comfortable bed and choose a hard sofa instead?" he asked with a slight boyish grin.
"Yes," she said sullenly.
"Care to share?"
Emily sighed and breathed in the cool morning air.
She was quiet for a few seconds, and Davis thought that she had passed on that suggestion, but then she spoke softly. Her voice was tiny and just above a whisper. Davis had to strain to hear her.
"I was in the house, and it was dark. I saw Amori lying on the floor. She then started to move and looked at me with the most soulless eyes. Amori approached me, and I tried to scream for help, but I could not form the words."
Davis looked at her and noticed how tiny she was. She was so fragile, like China; she looked like she could fall and shatter into a million pieces. Lainie told him a little about what Emily had endured, and his heart went out to her. She was so young to have suffered so much loss.
Davis knew about loss but of a different sort. He lost many of his men in Afghanistan. That could mess a man up, so he could only imagine what it must be like to lose his whole family. He knew about nightmares, too. The kind that would wake you in a cold sweat, sheets soaked through. Yes. He knew about loss.
"It was only a nightmare, Emily. It is not real, and you are okay." he assured her and reached out and touched her hand.
Emily looked down at the tanned hand on top of her ivory one and let it remain there. She did not pull away.
"That was not why I came down here, though."
Davis stared at her.
"Ok?"
"You will think I am insane when I say this."
Davis left his hand on top of hers.
"Try me."
Emily stared at him, and then her eyes landed somewhere beyond him, and he knew she was seeing something else, beyond him or anything around them.
"I was scared, so I left the lamp on, but when I woke up from the dream, my comforter was gone, and the lamp was off, Davis. The room was so incredibly dark, and I sensed something or someone was there with me. I could not breathe, and my chest ached."
Davis listened as she continued.
"Then it turned back on. It turned back on like a remote control or something was running, and then it went off again. It terrified me so bad that I came down here." She finished lamely.
Davis looked at Emily, and his voice was husky. She returned his stare.
"You are safe here, Emily. I will let nothing hurt you," he promised.
Shortly after that, Lainie and Bella got up, and the house became loud and frenzied with movement.
Davis disappeared to the stables. Lainie pulled out her notepad again, and Bella went into the living room and watched cartoons on the Disney Channel.
Emily went back upstairs to the bedroom warily, afraid to open the door, and breathed hard as she walked into the room and stood for a moment. It was normal.
Emily hurriedly dressed in some blue jeans that hugged her hips and wore a light banana-colored T-shirt that fit her tiny waist. She put her hair in a ponytail and then fit her feet into white canvas tennis shoes.
While putting her toiletries in her bag, Emily heard her phone ring. She walked back into the bedroom, where it lay on the pillow, and her eyes widened in shock. The phone name was displayed (Amori). She did not answer, and her hands shook. She tossed the phone on the bed and tried to breathe. Who was calling from Amori's phone!?
Emily pressed play. She heard the notification that a message had indeed been left.
"Uh. Hi Emily. This is Phillip BlackâAmori's husband. I want to speak with you if I can. I will be busy preparing for the funeral, but uh .... I want to speak with you as soon as possible. Just give me a callback. Please."
Emily sat down on the bed and closed her eyes tightly. She had met Phillip at he and Amori's wedding years ago. Emily remembered him being very debonaire, outgoing like Amori, and thinking they made the perfect couple.
She had to call him. Emily could not ignore him. She dialed Amori's number. Phillip answered on the first ring.
"Emily?'
Emily spoke softly.
"Hi, Phillip. I just got your message."
There was a sigh, and then he spoke.
"Thank you for calling me back."
Phillip sounded like he had been crying. He said the words so pitifully, and Emily's eyes watered up.
"I heard from the Sheriff that you were out there and found Amori, Emily." he paused, and she could hear him break down.
"What happened to her, Emily? What in the fuck happened to my wife?" He demanded.
Emily breathed before she answered.
"Phillip, I got out there to the house with a friend of mine to see the damage to the kitchen, and she was at the bottom of the stairs," she said
"They said that she fell. She fell?" he exploded. "She was fine that morning, Emily. When she left for work, she was fine. She went out there to see you! Now please tell me what happened!"
Emily began to get upset. She was not going to let him accuse her of anything.
"I did nothing to her, Phillip!" She shouted. "I stayed with some friends the night before and was returning to stay there, even though that was the last thing I wanted. I was fulfilling my duty to the contract. I went over there with my friend, and that is when he discovered her, and then I walked in and saw her. I am so sorry, Phillip, but I had nothing to do with Amori's death."
Phillip was quiet, and then he spoke again, calmer this time.
"So, my wife ingcoming out there to let you go from the job had nothing do with you or your friend?" he asked hoarsely.
Emily spoke questioningly.
"What? Let me go? I knew nothing about that!"
"Did you get a phone call from her? I see she tried to call you earlier that day." He sounded so accusing.
Emily was feeling very defensive.
"No. I did not receive a call from her. She was coming out to let me go?" she asked incredulously.
Phillip sighed into the phone receiver.
"Yes. I went through her messages, and Hillary Gant called her last night and told her that she did not think it was working well for you there and wanted to release you from the job. She said something about how she had rehired her former caretakers, and they would be there within the week."
Emily was furious, shaking so severely that her hands trembled, and she almost dropped the phone.
"Can I hear the message, Phillip? I knew nothing of this."
Phillip fumbled around, and then she heard the message.
"Hi, Amori. This is Hillary Gant. I received your message last night, and I am appalled to hear that there has been a break-in at Hastings, and the kitchen that I put a lot of money into has been destroyed within just a couple of days. I thought that Emily was responsible, but that is not the case. I trusted your judgment. With me here in New Zealand and you in the States, that was vital, which is why I hired you."
There was a pause.
"Well, that is the help for you. I want Emily gone by tomorrow evening, and I want pictures of the damage so I can send them to my adjuster. I have rehired Claude and Moreen to come back to Hastings as caretakers. They will be there within the week. Oh, and Amori, If I decide ever to sell Hasting's, you will be the first to know, dear. Have a good evening."
Pure and utter rage filled Emily, and her voice shook as she asked.
"May I have Mrs. Gant's number, Phillip? I need to speak to her myself."
Phillip sent her the number and a recording of the voicemail.
"I am sorry that I blamed you, Emily. I cannot believe my Amori is gone, and I will never see my baby girl."
His voice broke again, and he ended the call.
Emily gathered her composure as best as possible and dialed Hillary Gant's number. It rang twice, and then a soft southern voice answered.
"Hello?"
Emily paused. She almost hung up but could not let this woman by with what she had done.
"Is this Hillary Gant?'
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
"Who is asking?" sweet and syrupy as honey was Hillary's tone.
Emily tried to keep the anger out of her voice, but she had to struggle.
"This is Emily Buchannan. Your former housekeeper."
There was another pause, and then Hillary said.
"How did you get my number?" Her voice was coarse.
Emily breathed deeply again before responding to this witch of a woman.
"Her husband gave me your number. You see, Amori could not follow through and give me the message herself."
Hillary was silent.
"It is nothing personal against you, Emily darlin, but I just don't think you are a good fit for my house."
Emily was going to enjoy this.
"Would you like to know why she could not deliver your message to me?" she asked Hillary questioningly.
Hillary let out an exasperated sigh.
"Please stop playing your games, Emily, or I am going to hang up the phone," she warned.
"Of course, Mrs. Gant. Whatever you say, Mrs. Gant. Amori could not deliver the message because Amori was found dead at the bottom of your staircase yesterday morning."
There was a gasp, and then the phone went dead. Hillary had hung up.
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