Abby Ch. 19

Passion In James County XI

Abby

By D.C. Roi

Chapter nineteen

"Abby, that was the best meatloaf I ever ate," Greg said while he pushed himself back from the dinner table.

"You're just saying that," Abby replied, blushing. "It really isn't that good."

"Well, yeah, I am," Greg said, grinning. "My mom's was better, but she's dead, so hers doesn't count any more. It was good, though. I really liked it. I bet it's a special recipe you got from your mother, right?"

Abby blushed and shook her head. "My mother was a terrible cook," she said, "I...I got the recipe from a cookbook."

"Well, you sure did follow the directions well, then," Greg said. He was a contented man. He'd never dreamed he'd get to spend as much time alone with Abby as he'd spent with her that day, and the longer he was with her, the more he liked being with her. Not only was she dynamite to look at, she was a genuinely nice person. "I think I need to do something to work off all I ate," he said. "Could I talk you into taking a walk to look at the sunset?"

Abby smiled. She thought Greg was sweet. He'd been such a big help to her that day, and being with him was so much fun she'd almost forgotten the other problems she'd been having. "I'd like that, Greg," she said.

"OK," Greg said, standing up. "Afterward, I'll help you with the dishes. Come on, the sun's going down."

They left the cabin and walked down to the shore of the lake, then they started walking along the shore, toward the main lodge.

"It must have been nice to grow up with a place like this to come to every weekend," Abby said.

"I guess I never realized how lucky I was until I was an adult," Greg said. "I mean, it was just a place we always went, you know? I'm not sure I ever realized most of my friends didn't have anything like this."

"My folks took us to the shore every summer," Abby said. "I liked that, but we always rented a place. It wasn't like this, somewhere you could go any time you wanted to."

"Are your parents still alive?" Greg asked.

Abby shook her head. "My father had a heart attack when he was fifty-nine," she said. "And my Mom didn't last two years after he died. Her death certificate said she died of heart disease, too, but it was more like she died of a broken heart."

"That's sad," Greg commented, "My folks didn't have me until fairly late in life. My dad was almost eighty when he died, and my Mom was eighty-one when she did. They had a full life. They lived here at the lake full-time for about fifteen years."

"I know it's none of my business," Abby said, "but how come a man as nice as you isn't married?"

Greg shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "I guess I just haven't found the right woman to marry, yet. It sure isn't that I don't want to get married. I'd really like to have kids."

"Any child that has you as a father, and gets to grow up in a place like this, is one lucky child," Abby commented. She glanced at Greg after she said it and saw him blushing. For some reason, that touched her.

"What about you?" he asked, "I mean, what are you going to do about your marriage?"

Abby looked out across the lake. "I don't know," she said, "I...I guess I'm going to wind up divorced. I'm not sure I can ever live with Lee again, not after the way he's been treating me the last few years, and especially not after what I saw the...the other night." She felt tears welling up in her eyes and choked back a sob.

This time Greg didn't hesitate. Since Abby was standing next to him anyhow, the minute he realized she was crying, he put his arm gently around her and was delighted when she leaned against him and buried her face in his chest. He held her like that, her soft hair tickling his chin. As he held her, he wondered if there were any chance that she might someday develop an interest in him.

Abby felt safe in Greg's arms, as if it were the place she was meant to be.

"Hey, look," Greg said. "Over there, by the island."

Abby straightened, turned, and looked in the direction Greg indicated. She saw a huge bird circling above the trees on the island. "What...what kind of bird is that?" she asked.

"A bald eagle," Greg said. "Isn't it wild? I've always thought being an eagle wouldn't be such a bad thing."

"It's beautiful," Abby said softly, still leaning against Greg, his arm still around her. "So is the sunset."

The falling sun had colored the sky a brilliant orange, and had disappeared almost completely behind the trees on the opposite side of the lake.

They walked on, toward the dam which formed the lake. It seemed natural for them to hold hands, so they did.

"Do you think I'm in danger?" Abby asked, "I mean, if someone wanted to cut my tire, would they do something worse?"

"I wish I could say definitely," Greg replied, "but I can't. I mean, maybe I'm getting you worried for nothing. Maybe it was just a random act of vandalism. God, I hope that's all it was. The problem is, it could be something else, and if someone's wacko enough to slash a tire, they just might be wacko enough to do something worse."

"Can...can you protect me?" Abby asked, "If...if it wasn't vandalism, I mean."

"I sure as hell intend to try," Greg said. As he spoke, he turned, glanced back up the lake toward his cabin, and saw a column of smoke rising above the trees. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. "Jesus H. Christ! Come on, Abby!" he yelled and bolted for the main lodge.

Abby looked up the lake, saw the column of smoke. She wasn't sure what it meant, but Greg seemed concerned, so she ran after him. "Greg, what's wrong?" she called.

Abby rounded the corner of the main lodge and saw Greg standing on the porch, along with the caretaker.

"...tell them we have a possible structure fire," Abby heard Greg saying. "...either at my place or at the Marklin place."

The caretaker dashed into the house. Greg jumped down off the steps and saw Abby standing there. "Come on," he said, starting up the road.

"Greg, what's the matter?" she asked, starting after him.

"I think either your cabin or mine is on fire!" he said.

"Oh, God!" Abby exclaimed. She broke into a run, but quickly found she wasn't able to keep up with Greg.

After he'd run up the road a short distance, Greg realized there wasn't anything he could do if he was right and Abby's house was burning, so he slowed down and waited for her to catch up with him.

"Do...do you really think our cabin is on fire?" Abby asked as she and Greg walked rapidly up the road.

"From where the smoke is rising, it has to be either your place or mine," Greg said.

"Oh," Abby said, feeling sick inside. She could see the smoke rising above the trees now, and it did look like it was coming from the area where her cabin was located. Was someone out to harm her? If so, who? She couldn't imagine either Albert or Bill doing anything like that. Lee? He was out of town when her tire was slashed.

"It looks like it may just be your garage," Greg said when they got nearer to the cabins. "That fire looks like it's too close to the road to be your cabin."

Abby saw what he was talking about. A heavy body of fire and a lot of smoke showed over the roof of Greg's garage. "Are you sure it isn't your garage burning?" she asked.

"If it was my place, you'd see more fire," Greg said.

Faintly, in the distance, there was the sound of sirens, and the sound was getting closer.

They arrived at Greg's cabin and found that, in fact, the Marklin garage was totally involved in flames.

"If the fire department gets here soon, they should be able to knock it down and keep it from extending to your cabin or my garage," Greg said. "But I think I'll get my truck and patrol unit out of the garage, just to be safe. Why don't you stand over there, Abby?" He indicated a spot near his house, where he was pretty sure she'd be out of the way, then he got the two vehicles out of his garage. He was walking over to where Abby stood when the first fire engine rolled in.

The fire truck braked to a stop, men and women in fire gear jumped off it, and began pulling hoses out of the back.

"I think, maybe, it would be better if you stayed at my place tonight," Greg told Abby.

The fire engine's motor revved up and water began spouting from the hoses. Another fire truck rolled in, and made it's way down a narrow lane to the lake. Men jumped off the second fire truck and began pulling hoses.

"Do...do you really think I'm in danger," Abby yelled to Greg.

He nodded. "I've got to go in the house and do something," he yelled, "Do you want to come along?"

"I might as well," Abby said. "There's nothing I can do out here."

When they got in the house, Greg called the sheriff's department headquarters and asked them to advise the county's fire investigator that the fire in Abby's garage was likely arson.

Abby decided Greg needed to know the whole truth, even if it meant losing his respect. If whoever was doing this was crazy enough to set her garage on fire, they might be crazy enough to harm him.

"Greg, there's something you...you need to know," she said hesitantly when he came out of his office after making the phone call. "I...I didn't tell you...everything that...that's happened. I..." She told him what had happened with both Bill and Albert, all of it.

"Do you think either of those guys is capable of setting your garage on fire or slashing your tires?" Greg asked after Abby finished her story.

She shook her head. "N...no, I...I can't imagine either of them doing anything like that."

"Your description of what happened with that Coughlin guy comes pretty close to rape," Greg said. "I mean, it sounds like he forced you to have sex with him twice. In my book, a guy like that is capable of almost anything."

"I...I guess I never really thought about it like that," Abby said. "I...I don't know. I...it's hard to think about someone you know as a criminal, I guess."

"Yeah, it is," Greg said, "but that doesn't stop it from happening. Maybe I ought to have the detectives check on the whereabouts of both of the guys you told me about for the last couple of days."

"Do...do you really think it could be one of them?" Abby asked.

"I don't know," Greg said, "I suppose it could be your husband, too."

"But why would Lee want to harm me?" Abby asked.

"Well, if something were to happen to you, he wouldn't have to worry about a divorce, or a divorce settlement, would he?" Greg said.

"Oh, God!" Abby exclaimed, and burst into tears.

Greg walked over to where she was standing and took her in his arms. "I don't think your husband is trying to kill you," he said. "If he was, he would have set the house on fire when you were asleep," he thought, but decided not to say it out loud. Abby was upset enough.