The Road to Maine is Bloody Part 45

“I was waiting until you got here. I thought you might like to watch.” The man said and his voice sounded familiar to Ashley. She wished she could see who it was. Ashley managed to get the gag loose with her tongue and she let out a loud scream.

Randall walked over to her and pulled out a blue scarf from his pocket and tied it around Ashley’s mouth and put his mouth near her ear.

“If you scream again, I’ll slit your throat and rip your windpipe out.” Randall snarled and lightly tapped her covered cheek with his palm.

Ashley sobbed quietly to herself, salty tears running down her cheek, dampening the hood on her head and she didn’t scream anymore. She listened to what they were saying instead.

Randall laughed, watching her squirm, then looked at Tim. “Stephen’s going to be pissed if we don’t get rid of her. We’ll take her to the abandoned mill outside town; no one will ever hear her. Go get dressed and I’ll put her in the car.”

Tim grabbed the black duffle and walked into the next room to get ready, nodding at Randall.

Randall started untying her legs and when they were free, Ashley tried to kick him in the face and Randall grabbed her ankle, twisting it painfully to the left until Ashley cried out. “I’ll break every bone in your body if you do that again.” He told her in no uncertain terms.

He untied her hands from the headboard of the bed and stood up, pulling her hands hard enough she stood up and he hoisted her over his shoulder and walked out the door. He went around back where he had the car waiting, a 78 black Cadillac with a dent in the driver door.

He fished in his pockets for the keys and when he found them, he opened the trunk with one hand and lifted the trunk lid. Randall dumped her into the trunk, not caring when she bumped her head lightly on the floor board of the trunk and shut it with a loud bang. As soon as he closed the trunk, Ashley began kicking the trunk lid and screaming. Randall slammed his fist onto the trunk. “Shut the fuck up. No one can hear you anyways.”

The Road to Maine is Bloody Part 44

Ashley thought she was having a nightmare when heard a soft creak and opened her eyes in the darkness, not able to make out much until a shadow loomed over her. The shadow was very familiar. Before she could scream, a gloved hand covered her mouth pressing tightly against her lips. She began to struggle, kicking and clawing at his head.

She felt a poke in her right arm and her body went limp and the shadowed figure picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her from the room and slipped quietly downstairs and out the front door, taking the time to lock it before he walked down the steps of the large front porch.

Ashley’s long hair bounced up and down, her head bobbing up and down, her limp body hanging over his shoulder, as the figure carried her around the back of the house toward the woods.

She woke a few minutes later, groaning softly and slowly opened her eyes. Ashley had a massive headache and she realized she couldn’t see. She felt something covering her face and she could taste musty smelling fabric in her mouth. Ashley realized she was gagged and had something over her head to keep her from seeing.

Ashley started to scream, the sounds muffled from the gag in her mouth. She struggled, twisting her arms and felt the burn of rope around her wrists. When she moved her legs, she heard chains clanking together and felt the metal shackles on her ankles. Whoever took her tied her up and covered her head to prevent her from identifying them.

She could see faint light to her left and heard crackling sounds and felt heat on her legs. There must be a fire nearby. She heard someone clearing his voice and felt him near her. “Please let me go. I didn’t do anything, please, please let me go.”

Whoever was near her didn’t say anything and pulled on the ropes she was tied with to make sure they were tight enough. Then Ashley heard a door open and she felt a cool breeze kiss her toes and then heard another voice she didn’t recognize, talking to whomever kidnapped her.

“I hope no one saw you. Why haven’t you killed her yet? She knows too much and we have to get rid of her now.” Randall said.

The Road to Maine is Bloody Part 43

Ashley folded the paper like it was before she read it and put it back in the journal, tears streaming from her eyes and put the journal back in the drawer. She started to put things back when she heard the front door open and Stephen and Tabitha’s voices, sounding like they were coming upstairs. “Oh shit.” She whispered to herself. Stuffing the jeans and dress slacks back in the drawer as best she could and slamming the drawer shut, she looked to make sure she got everything and quickly ran out of the room and back to the guest bedroom.

It seems like only seconds later when Tabitha poked her head in the door and smiled at her. “Are you okay dear? You look a little flushed.” Tabitha said, noticing her red cheeks and watery eyes.

Ashley nodded, faking a smile. “I’m fine; how did the press conference go?” She asked her and Stephen appeared in the doorway, his arm sliding around Tabitha’s waist. She looked away quickly and lowered her head, looking at the floor and her heart began to quicken.

“It was great; Stephen answered some questions and signed some autographs for a few people. We went to dinner after at the diner and had some steaks. I brought you back some if you’re hungry, they’re in the refrigerator.”  Tabitha said softly and grabbed Stephen’s hand.

“Thanks Tabitha, I’ll eat it tomorrow, I’m not very hungry now. I had a sandwich earlier.” Ashley told her, not looking up from the floor and pushed her bare foot back and forth on the carpet, trying to sound normal when she felt anything but normal.

“Okay dear, come on Stephen, let’s go to bed, I’m really tired.” Tabitha said and told Ashley goodnight before they left her room and walked down the hall to their bedroom and shut the door. It was only then did Ashley look up and she looked at her suitcase still packed and sitting next to the overnight stand.

She had to figure out how to get out of here before Stephen discovered she’d been through his things and before he decided to get rid of her. Ashley lay on the bed and closed her eyes. She’d wait until they were sound asleep and then try to leave. Ashley fell asleep herself though and didn’t hear the door open.

The Road to Maine is Bloody Part 42

She closed that drawer and opened the next one. This drawer contained various colored t-shirts and a few white buttoned down dress shirts with a tie attached to each one. There wasn’t anything in that drawer or the next so she moved to the last one at the bottom. Kneeling on the floor, Ashley tried pulling it open and found it was stuck from being so full of jeans and dress slacks in both black and brown.

She managed to finally get it open and picked up the stacks of jeans and sat them on the floor, praying she’d remember exactly how they went so Stephen wouldn’t find out. Looking inside, she picked up a black leather journal and it was bookmarked around the middle of the book. Ashley opened it and her hands trembled when she picked up a photograph of Stephen and her mother.

Her mom was dressed in a blue chiffon dress and had on a pale blue orchid corsage. Stephen was wearing a black tuxedo with a sharp white dress shirt and a black silk necktie tied in a neat bow. The photo was faded and slightly yellow with age, the edges of it crinkled and slightly torn. It was dated August of 1976, three years before she was born. It look as if it might have been at the prom so it meant Stephen had lied about how long he’d known her mother.

Putting the photo back where it was, she thumbed through the journal for any more clues and the next to the last page there was a folded piece of white paper, grown soft from the many times it had been folded. She opened it and put the book down so she could read what it said. It was a letter to Stephen.

My Dearest Stephen,

By the time you read this, I will be gone. I need to pursue my dreams of being an actress and you need to write. Even though we’re both ships that pass in the night, along the same waters, it can never work. You need to continue your dream and I need to find mine. Perhaps one day we’ll meet again, a little wiser and a little more grounded.

Please take care of yourself. I’ll always love you. You’ve given me the courage to go after my dreams, thank you. Please remember me when you’re writing your next book.

Love Annie.

The Road to Maine is Bloody Part 41

Stephen smirked and leaned his left shoulder in the door, blocking her path. “Where are you going Ashley?” He asked her, not moving from the door as if daring her to try and get past him, putting his right hand on the other side level with Ashley’s head.

“I have to get back to Washington to my job.” Ashley told him, her voice sounding edged in fear. “Can you please move?” She asked nicely, trying to not sound completely terrified.

Stephen leaned forward, his hair brushing Ashley’s face and she could feel his breath in her ear. “I saw you in the woods. I could smell your perfume. I know you heard something and I trust you won’t say anything. I’d hate to have to hurt you. Now put your suitcase down, you’re not going anywhere.”

Stephen left her standing in the doorframe and Ashley’s heart pounded hard in her chest. She walked over to the bed and sat down, her suitcase on the floor in front of her. Ashley’s eyes welled with tears and she came to the realization that Stephen planned to kill her.

It wasn’t until after dinner that Ashley had the chance to be alone in the house. Stephen and Tabitha were attending a Press Conference for the soon to be released Dr. Sleep. She waited until they’d been gone for about half an hour and went to their bedroom to look around.

Surely Stephen had something that would give a clue to what had been going on behind Tabitha’s back. Ashley still couldn’t grasp the fact that she’d overheard Stephen say he had a part in killing her own mother. Ashley began rifling through the chest of drawers next to the large king sized bed.

There were framed pictures of Stephen with his children, Naomi, Owen and Joe, pictured outside their large mansion in Florida, next to the swimming pool. The kids looked to be about 16, 14 and 12. They were all wearing swimming suits except Stephen; he was wearing Khaki shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt.

Ashley sifted through black socks and white one’s not finding anything except receipts from Needful things and an old silver Timex watch that was missing the glass faceplate.

The Road to Maine is Bloody Part 40

“What were you two talking so seriously about when I came in?” Tabitha asked her husband and gave him a kiss before sitting next to Ashley at the table filled with plates of pancakes, eggs, bacon and a fresh pot of coffee in a ceramic pot.

“Nothing dear, just asking Ashley if she was having a nightmare last night. We heard you all the way down the hall. You must have been having one hell of a dream.” Stephen told her, staring at her as if silently telling her what he said wasn’t the end of it and gave her a smile without breaking his stare.

Ashley swallowed, feeling as if something stuck in her throat and thought it was a knot of fear she had for Stephen. “Yes, it was an awful nightmare but I’m okay now.” She said feeling uneasy with Stephen staring at her.

Stephen finally looked away and smiled at Tabitha. “Tabby tells me she saw you going towards the woods, is that how you got your scratches Ashley?” He asked her, looking at her for a second, then reached for the plate of bacon, stuffing the piece in his mouth.

Ashley could have sworn she saw pointed teeth as he chewed the meat but her imagination was playing tricks on her, his teeth were normal. “Yes, I went for a walk in the woods. I couldn’t sleep and was curious about where Stephen’s cabin was he writes in when he wants to listen to his music while he writes. I tripped over a branch and landed in a thorn bush.”

“After breakfast we’ll clean you up and put some bandages on your hands dear.” Tabitha told her and picked up the coffee pot and poured the steaming black liquid into her cup then sat it back on the trivet.

Ashley nodded and concentrated on eating her breakfast, although she didn’t have much of an appetite, not after what she heard out in the woods. She excused herself after finishing her meal and left the kitchen, running up the steps and to her room. She pulled out her Leopard print suitcase and started pulling out her clothes from the drawers. She had to get out of here and she began packing as quickly as she could. She grabbed the suitcase and opened the door. She screamed when she saw Stephen there.

The Road to Maine is Bloody Part 39

Ashley shrieked, clawing at her throat and gasped for air. She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw she was in the guest bedroom at Stephen’s house. “I can’t believe that dream, it seemed so real.” She thought and when she placed her hands on the bed to sit up, she whimpered, feeling pain in her skin. She brought her hands up to her face and examined them. They were full of tiny puncture marks and she had scratches all over the back of her hands.

Gulping, Ashley looked down at her legs and saw they were all scratched up as well and she realized it hadn’t been a dream, at least the part about going into the woods but the rest had to be, and Stephen wouldn’t kill her mother or have someone kill her would he?”

The door opened and Ashley jumped, cringing back against the bed when Stephen stood in the door frame. “Hey Ashley, how are you feeling? Breakfast is ready if you’re hungry.” He said no more and closed the door before she could answer.

Groaning when she stood up, she gingerly walked to the bathroom, leaning over the white porcelain sink as she ran the cold water and splashed her face with the cool soothing liquid. When she stood up and looked in the mirror, she saw fresh scratches on her neck, like someone grabbed her by the throat. Her mind flashed back to the dream and Stephen grabbing her throat before he sunk his teeth into her flesh.

Shuddering, she shut off the water and walked back to the bedroom and over to the white dresser and opened the first drawer, choosing a short sleeved pastel blue peasant blouse and opened the second drawer and pulled out a white pair of slacks. Ashley dressed and went downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, she sat across from Stephen, not saying anything.

Tabitha wasn’t in the kitchen and Ashley felt a sense of panic when she realized she was alone with Stephen. “Where’s Tabitha?” She asked quietly and didn’t raise her head to look at him.

“She’ll be along shortly.” Stephen told her and leaned over and whispered in her ear. “How much did you overhear?” He asked her and Ashley realized everything was true & now she feared for her life. Stephen sat back up when Tabitha came in & winked at her.