Fate and Destiny Read online

  “Please don’t shoot me, even though I deserve it. I swear, I don’t want to hurt you. I came here to help you.”

  Hoping her voice sounded as steady as her hand, Destiny eyed him warily.

  “Why would you help me? You left me here. You tried to kill me already.”

  “I didn’t want to. I couldn’t kill you. They wanted me to shoot you and bury you but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t think you deserved that.”

  “How much did Charles pay you to get rid of me? What am I worth? I don’t have any money. I can’t make a counteroffer for my life.”

  The gun didn’t waver. Neither of them moved. The clock in Destiny’s head ticked away.

  “I didn’t get paid anything yet. Lenny didn’t tell me how much we were going to make, only that I could pay off what I owed. I’m sorry about all of this. Please believe me. I want to help you.”

  He looked sincere, but Destiny was no fool. He came back to kill her and the sleazy guy probably had a gun pointed at her head right now.

  Glancing around, the hairs on her neck prickling, Destiny yelled loud enough to be heard by anyone nearby.

  “I’ll shoot him! Show yourself!”

  No one came forward. Doug’s look of sincerity morphed into complete confusion.

  “There’s nobody else here. Just me. Lenny got arrested in town. We found out you were up here and alive and he wanted to come back, but the cops took him to jail. I came up here alone to help you before he gets out.”

  Unsure of what to do next, Destiny moved closer to Doug, circling around behind him, sliding but still maintaining her footing. Doug didn’t move at all. His hands out in a non-threatening manner.

  “Destiny, please listen to me. I won’t hurt you ever again. They couldn’t pay me enough to hurt you now. I’m so sorry I left you here.”

  Glad her brain was clicking faster than her heart, Destiny thought through her options.

  “How did you get up here?”

  “I have the plow. I drove it up here. Its parked at the cabin just around the road there.”

  “Why did you come out of the woods?”

  “I heard the truck coming down the hill. I hoped it was that guy from the cabin and you were up there alone so I could go up and talk to you. This cabin here is sitting just on the other side of the trees. If you look, you can see it. I’m hiding out there.”

  “This is what we are going to do. We are going to walk over there very casually. You are going to lead and I am going to follow, and I am going to keep the gun pointed at the back of your head. You do anything that makes me nervous and I blow you away. Understand?”

  Doug nodded, slowly walking back the way he came through the woods. As she turned to follow, she looked past him, glimpsing the corner of a log cabin through the winter tree limbs about fifty yards from the road. Another ditch of ice flanked the opposite side of the road. Reaching the edge of the trees, Destiny found traction under her feet.

  Doug walked in front of her, not taking the risk of looking back. Although she didn’t keep the gun pointed levelly at him, it would only take a second to raise it up and pull the trigger. The cabin came more fully into view. Instead of two windows, it only had one medium sized window on the front. The glass and most of the wood panes were broken.

  “Doug, when we get there, you just open the door and walk in. Then I want you to go as far away from me as possible so I can keep my eye on you. Don’t make any sudden moves. I don’t want to shoot, but I will.”

  “Yes Ma’am,” Doug’s hands remained in the air where she could see them even though she didn’t instruct him to walk that way. The clearing around the cabin was not as large as the one around Andrew’s. Thinking of him moistened her eyes. This was no time to cry. Any sign of weakness, and Doug may take that opportunity to turn on her.

  At the door, Doug did exactly what Destiny wanted him to as if he were a very large child. He opened the door, left it open for her, and then slowly walked across the room to a couch. The couch must be a foldout because the cabin consisted of one room similar to Andrew’s. An armchair sat across from the couch. Destiny sunk into it, exhausted. Her body had not healed as much as she previously thought. Doug placed his enormous hands on his equally large knees, always careful to move slowly. The barrel of the gun remained steadily pointed in Doug’s direction although Destiny didn’t have the strength to keep her arm up, instead letting it rest on her leg. “Okay Doug. I need to know some things.” Doug nodded but didn’t speak. His face void of any emotion.

  “What did Charles do with my laptop and my papers?” She didn’t think it possible, but Doug’s face became even more blank.

  “Doug. What did Charles do with the papers and computer he found in his dad’s house when he killed him?”

  A spark of understanding lit Doug’s eyes.

  “I didn’t know those were yours. Charles took them. I don’t know what he did with them.”

  “If you didn’t know those were mine, then why did you think they wanted you to kill me?”

  “Dunno.” He shrugged. “I just did what Lenny told me to do. I never really talked to Charles. He talked to Lenny and Lenny talked to me.”

  “You were going to kill me and you didn’t even know why?”

  Doug shook his head. Usually she liked a man of few words, but this one was just irritating.

  “Okay Doug.” Closing her eyes, she regrouped her thoughts. Time to try a new attack. “Why did you come back?”

  “I want to help you.”

  “No, I mean the first time, earlier today. When you were still with Lenny. Why did you come here then? Didn’t you think I was dead?”

  He shook his head again.

  “No. I hoped you weren’t, but I wanted Lenny to think you were.”

  “How did you know I wasn’t dead?”

  “I didn’t stir the pills up. I didn’t shoot you. You fell asleep and I pulled over and pushed you so you fell into the snow. I didn’t know Charles wanted to see you after you were dead.”

  “So you came back to find me?”

  He nodded again.

  “But I won’t hurt you. I want to help you.”

  Her irritation grew. Normally, she saw herself as a calm person, but the recent dramatic changes in her life ripped away the human side of her. She raised the gun.

  “You keep saying that! How are you going to help me? What in the world makes you think I believe for a second you won’t hurt me if I give you half the chance?”

  Doug’s lower lip trembled. He spoke softly.

  “I brought you here and left you, now I came to take you back. I got the truck. I’ll drive you back to Las Vegas. Wherever you want. I made you hurt and suffer. I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting you now. I can’t ever take back what I did, but I think I can make it better.”

  The arm holding the gun dropped back down, the tip pointed to the floor. Destiny didn’t know what to say. The physical pains would heal, and Doug could not possibly know the aches in her soul would live on forever. He couldn’t protect her from herself.

  “You don’t know what you are saying Doug. Anyone who gets close to me suffers. Do you want to spend the rest of your life suffering?”

  In the darkening room, he nodded his head. She could barely see his brown eyes were large and grief filled.

  “I already suffer. I’ve suffered my whole life. For you, I would at least have a reason to suffer.”

  “I don’t want you to suffer Doug. I don’t want anyone else to have pain because of me. Do you know what you can do for me?”

  Forgetting any harm the big man might inflict on her, Destiny rose from the chair, walked across the room, and sat by him on the couch. Needing to comfort him, she took one of his hands in both of hers. The lack of light gave him the appearance of being more ferocious, but up close, she decided he could have been a decent looking man if he was a normal size.

  The extreme proportions of his body distracted the viewer from the sensitivity of his eyes and the
innocence in his face. This man could never intentionally hurt anyone. His eyes lit with hope as he searched her face for proof she could end his torment by letting him help her.

  “I will do anything for you.”

  “Would you testify against Lenny and Charles? Sit in front of a judge and jury and tell them what really happened?”

  Doug’s head bobbed up and down before she finished speaking. Excitement filled his eyes.

  “I will. I know a bunch more stuff too. I’ll tell the cops and the judge everything they’ve done. They just think I’m a big dummy, but I watch them. They do a lot of bad stuff.”

  He gripped her hand with joy, nearly crushing her fingers in the process. Her sharp intake of breath and the attempt to pull back alerted him to her discomfort. He relaxed his grip but didn’t let go.

  Destiny wanted to shout to the treetops. Doug could be her salvation. She may not have physical proof Charles stole all of the money from Marcus, but Doug could easily clear her name in the murders. As long as the jury believed him. Then again, it would be her word and his against whatever proof Charles concocted.

  “That’s what we’ll do, Doug. You can go to the authorities and clear my name and I will hide out until then. Once they drop the charges against me, I can come back out into public.”

  Doug looked crestfallen.

  “You want me to do it alone? I thought you would go with me. Cops make me nervous. They always think I did something bad. I’ll get all nervous and they won’t believe me.”

  “No. They will believe you because you’re going to tell the truth. If I go with you, they will lock me up right away. You would have to do it alone anyway, but I would be in jail until they found enough evidence to let me out.” He still looked frightened and unsure. “It's okay Doug. Just trust me here. You can do this.”

  “No I can’t. I’m too stupid to be able to talk to the police and make them believe me.”

  “You aren’t stupid Doug. Who told you that?”

  She already knew the answer, but she needed him to figure it out too.

  “Lenny always tells me I’m stupid. Even when we were kids.”

  She made the connection between Lenny and Doug.

  “And you believe Lenny? He’s done nothing for you except get you in trouble. What would Lenny do if you went to jail for trying to kill me? Would Lenny stand up for you?”

  She was getting to him. She could almost see the wheels in his head spinning.

  “No. I don’t think so.”

  “Doug, why do you think Lenny made you kill me instead of doing it himself? He’s a big chicken who makes you do his dirty work.”

  Doug nodded. The cabin had dipped into a deep black, but there was enough moonlight to see his head tipping back and forth.

  “He is a big chicken. He makes me do everything he doesn’t want to. I always got in trouble and he never told anyone he made me do things.”

  Squeezing his hand, jubilant at her triumph, Destiny laid the final nudge on the table.

  “Okay then. Lenny gets you in trouble and he gets away free and clear. If he and Charles decide to, they will probably try and make you part of Marcus’ murder. They will tell the cops you were in on the whole thing with me and it’s all your fault. You will spend the rest of your life in jail and Lenny will still be free to do bad things to people. Do you want that to happen?”

  “No. That’s not fair. I won’t do it anymore.”

  “Then you have to go tell the police what you know.” He paused. She thought for a moment he would still retreat from the challenge. Desperation had her ready to beg and plead.

  “I’ll talk to the police by myself. But I’m doing it for you and for everyone else Lenny hurts. I’m not doing it for me.”

  “Doug. Do it for both of us, okay? Not just me and everyone else. Do it for yourself too.”

  “Okay. Can we do it tomorrow, though? I’m really tired now.”

  Containing the cheers echoing through her head, Destiny laughed softly at him.

  “Of course. Sleep now. We can go tell them tomorrow.”

  Instead of lying down on the couch, Doug stood up, taking Destiny by surprise. She sensed him moving away from her. Within seconds, the room glowed with light from an array of candles set on the fireplace mantel. He then walked to the end of the couch, opened a trunk and pulled out blankets.

  Finally, he entered the kitchen area, taking a propane heater from under the sink. Light, blankets, and heat. The man wasn’t nearly as dumb as he seemed. Despite the broken window, now covered with one of the blankets, Doug slept soundly on the floor while Destiny curled up on the couch. They both slept deeply with exhaustion, completely dressed, coats and all.

  19.

  When Destiny woke, excitement raced through her. Doug would take her back to Vegas and testify on her behalf. The truth would come out and she would be free to go on with her life. Doug still slept on the floor, mouth open, snoring softly. Folding her blanket, she placed it back into the chest. Except for the broken window, which she would try to send money back to repair, she didn’t want to leave any evidence of their visit.

  Removing the blanket from the window, careful of the glass shards, she intended to fold it up and put it away. Revealing the true shade of the light outside, it was impossible to tell what time of day it was. She assumed when she woke it was early morning, however cloud cover blocked the sun, hiding its position in the sky. Fluffy snow drifted through the air. Inhaling deeply, the cold air entering her lungs felt like freedom. Clean, pure.

  It would be beautiful up here in the spring when the leaves came back. The trees offering a shady retreat from the heat in the summer, a scenic painting when the leaves changed in the fall. Even dressed in white, the mountains and scenery were wonderful to see.

  Through the excitement, pangs of regret and sadness seeped through. She would not be here to see the forest in any manner except the one she currently viewed. No more fantasies. Only realities, and the reality was she would soon be able to grieve for Marcus and heal from Andrew. Ready to turn from the window and the memories, she decided it was time to wake Doug so they could get out of there before anyone discovered them. Her eyes skimmed over the getaway truck, excitement growing again until she noticed the vehicle parked behind the plow truck.

  Stretching up on her tiptoes, a row of red and blue lights appeared over the top edge of the truck. Heart hammering, she backed from the window, taking a quick glance at Doug, verifying he still slept. Quietly, she went out the front door, wrapping the scarf around her face as she went. Metal on metal stopped her in her tracks. The familiar sound of Andrew’s rifle cocking caused her to freeze in place, hands dropping the ends of the scarf as she turned to the sound. It was not Matt standing near the truck as she expected, but Andrew. The rifle she shot him with now pointed squarely at her.

  “I don’t know what your game is, but I’ve already been conned once this year. I don’t plan on being conned again. Wake your friend up and get out here.”

  A whispered prayer escaped her lips.

  “Oh Lord. Andrew.”

  She could hear the pitiful sounds coming from her, as if someone else spoke.

  “It’s not what you think. There is no con. Doug is going to testify against Charles and Lenny to help get me out of this mess.”

  Cold, hard eyes sliced through her. She didn’t think anything could hurt her heart more than her flight yesterday, but she was wrong.

  “As far as I know, you did kill that guy in Vegas and you’re hiding out. What was your plan? Did you think I was well off since I have a cabin in the mountains? Were you going to kill me when you were done with me? Women like you wouldn’t be satisfied just stealing my truck.”

  Everything was turning out so wrong. Unable to speak, Destiny could do nothing to defend herself, except violently shake her head in denial.

  “Oh no. No. Andrew, I needed to get away. Doug came here to try to help me. I didn’t want you involved in this.”

  �
�Yeah I’m sure you didn’t want me involved. You and your friend there are trying to get away with murder.”

  Matt rounded the back of the truck, placing a gloved hand on Andrew’s shoulder.

  “That’s enough Andrew. You can’t think straight. Put the gun down. If you pull the trigger, I’ll have to arrest you and you’ll never forgive yourself. Don’t put either of us in that position, Cousin.”

  Matt’s words sunk through the white-hot blaze of blinding anger which controlled Andrew. She had deceived him so convincingly, so completely. He was angry with her, but even angrier with himself for falling right into her trap. When he heard the truck start and drive away, he felt nothing but fear that the thugs had come back and kidnapped her again.

  Getting to the cabin as fast as he could, he got on the radio and called out to Matt, hoping the sheriff would hear him even if Andrew could not hear any reply.

  Andrew wanted her back. He wanted her safely with him. He was so frightened, the empty feeling in him growing every second until Matt showed up a couple of hours later. When Matt told him the Jeep sat in a ditch just down the road, the empty feeling grew into confusion. Hearing Matt did a little scouting around and found the snowplow at another cabin near the abandoned Jeep, the confusion quickly became rage. He wanted nothing more than to get down the hill and drag her out by her hair, demanding answers. Matt spent most of the long night calming Andrew down. He offered alternative scenarios, but only one made sense to Andrew. Destiny had played him for a fool since the very beginning.

  The guy in the jail cell in town, Lenny, wasn’t saying anything. He wanted to make a phone call, but Matt had not allowed him to yet. Cooling his heels in jail, the guy was a punk, demanding they release him and throwing around idle threats. They didn’t know who they were messing with and they would be sorry when he got released.

  Andrew didn’t listen to a lot Matt said throughout the night. The anger in him surged until Matt allowed him to come down to this cabin, only after laying down a few ground rules. First, Matt had to drive him. He would not allow Andrew to come alone. Second, he could only use the gun in self-defense. Third, Andrew would give Destiny a chance to explain. Matt remained calm all night, laying out plans and ideas. None of which Andrew paid any attention to. Needing to play by the rules, so far, Andrew had not pulled the trigger and he grudgingly let Matt drive the Bronco. The third condition was harder to abide by. He didn’t want to hear anything Destiny had to say.