Chapter 1
August 2005

The summer had taken a long time to make its entrance this year. At the beginning of June, most people were still wearing their coats and jackets. During the daytime, the sun did its best to warm up the sky, but after the evening fell, there was a nasty chill in the air. But just as everyone feared that springtime would somehow magically turn into fall and the year would skip summer altogether, the sun finally came around. It was as if she thought she had to make up for lost time, because by the start of the summer holiday, people were complaining about the heat and already thinking longingly of the fall.
The people in Brideford however, were happy to welcome summer. The wooded area allowed for soft and gentle evenings and cool nights and the summer heat guaranteed good business for the local shops and restaurants. As long as you took care not to stay out between noon and three, you’d be OK. At least, that’s how it was on most of the days.

On this particular Saturday, late August, however, the heat was starting to become unbearable even before eleven in the morning. The main road lay simmering in the summer heat. The flowerbeds had cracked after weeks of draught and the brown grass around the playground was only a sad excuse for a lawn. Still, children were skipping and hopping happily while their parents attempted to finish their weekly shopping run before the heat of the noon. By the side of the road, where the sunshades offered a little more protection from the blistering heat, a few elderly people strolled around. Younger people walked on the sundrenched sidewalks, their tanned skin flaunting under shorts, dresses and miniskirts.
Grace took another sip of her iced tea and sat back in her chair on the café terrace and listened absentmindedly to the clickety clack of heels on the wooden sidewalk as she took in the sights and sounds of late summer. The air was filled with the sound of children laughing and shouting and teenagers chattering away. The boys whistled at the girls walking by; the girls giggled at the attention they got. Somebody was already firing up the barbecue. There was a faint smell of burning charcoal in the air. Grace loved how, when the sun came out, the whole town seem to come alive with a vibrant energy and activity.
She’d gone out to town early today, hoping to be back in the comfortable coolness of her woodside two storey house before it got too hot. As she sat on the terrace, sharing an iced tea with her friend and discussing the plans for the charity event they had been hosting for the past four years, she let her mind drift away to the barbecue she and Marc were having tonight. Alan and Barbara Marchfield, the head of the police department and his wife, were coming over later on today. Since Marc had become an active member of the neighbourhood watch they had gotten to know the Alan and his wife as kind and loving people. Even though he ruled the police with a tight hand, once he got home, Chief Marchfield couldn’t have been a more gentle man. He and his wife had been married for over 35 years and he still loved her as if it was the first year. She had the looks of a fragile film diva, which contrasted sharply with his strong tall figure. Grace would sometimes wonder if she and Marc would grow old in the same loving manner as Alan Marchfield and his wife.
From the head of police and his wife, Grace’s thoughts moved over to her shopping that she had to do this morning. If she hurried, she might even be able to squeeze in a bit of window shopping as well. Last week she saw a skimpy red summer dress in a little boutique off the High Street that was actually too expensive and too bare for her taste, but that she wanted to try on anyway. And before she got back home she had to remember to pick up some supplies that Marc needed for the dark room.

“So, what do you think?” Muriel’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked up and confusion must have shown on her face.
“You weren’t even listening.” Her friend sounded only slightly accusing. “You were thinking about that dress again.” Muriel waved a long thin finger at her.
Her nails were painted a bright pink, which clashed violently with the electric blue of her dress. That was Muriel all the way. With her bizarre sense of fashion and amazing wardrobe of dresses, skirts and barely-there tops, her liveliness and love of glam rock, she couldn’t have been more different then Grace. Grace, who wore jeans, T-shirts and turtlenecks, Grace who was the pensive and quiet one, Grace who loved classical music and opera. And yet, within weeks of Graces arrival in Brideford they’d become friends and had been ever since.
Grace smiled at her friend.
“Well then, let’s go and get it.” Muriel had already gotten up and threw a few pounds on their table.
“It’s just not me, and it’s too expensive anyway” She knew she sounded as if she was making excuses, which, truth be told, she was.
“Too expensive, bullocks. Let’s at least go and try it on”. Muriel strode of the terrace and was already halfway across the street, when Grace shrugged and went after her.

The dress fitted like a glove. It wasn’t a bright red, which might make a dress this exposing look cheap, but a rich deep burgundy red. The colour brought out the soft tan of her skin and the dark maroon of her hair. Over the past months, Grace had gained a few pounds at just the right places and the dress clung to every curve as if it was made for her and left her looking fabulous and incredibly sexy. She could only imagine Marc’s surprise if she came out tonight wearing such a dress. And yes, it was expensive, but it had been ages since she bought anything for herself and she knew that Marc would be only too happy if she’d gone out and treated herself for once.
Looking in the ceiling high fitting room mirror she twirled around, a movement that made her feel all girlie and carefree for a moment. She looked over at Muriel, who leaned against the fitting room door, her grin giving away her approval. She held up her hands in surrender.
“Hey, don’t look at me. You know you look amazing in it. Just take it and make that husband of yours a happy man.”

As she walked out of the shop with an embossed white bag, tied together with a pink ribbon, in her hand, she smiled a genuinely happy smile. The sun was out, she had friends, she had Marc and for the first time in years she had bought a dress, something that actually looked flattering on her. Life was good. This was how it was all supposed to be. She felt a ridiculous urge to start skipping and giggled nervously. Muriel gave her a warm smile.
“You know, it’s not often that I see you this happy. You usually have this stern look behind your eyes. You should do this more often. It suits you.”
In an impulse, Grace gave her friend a hug and kissed her.
“Thanks for pushing me on this one.” For all her loudness and energy, Muriel was not used to displays of affection and seemed to be actually moved by this one. She gave a shy smile and took Grace by the arm.
“Come on you, let’s go and get your groceries.”

It was already past noon when Grace and Muriel finally came out of the supermarket. The heat made the parking lot feel sticky on their thin leather soles and both of them hurried to get the grocery bags to Graces car.

“There you go” Muriel placed the paper bag she had been carrying in the car and bend over to airkiss Grace goodbye.
“Have to run. It’s my turn to pick up Kevin from football practice. His father had another lame excuse not to make it.” She shook her head in exasperation.
Grace bent over to Muriel and then froze. Looking over the roof of her car she saw a ghost of the past, waving at her.


* * * *


Miller felt like he had been standing in the sweltering heat for hours already. While he looked at his watch impatiently, he lit another cigarette. His seventh already and it was only noon. She’d be furious if she knew.
“You silly boy, you’ll kill yourself with these horrible things.” In the back of his mind he could hear the dismay in her voice and all of a sudden the cigarette didn’t taste half as good anymore. He threw it across the parking lot.
Instead of the nicotine he took a sip from the can of lukewarm coke that was standing on the hood of the car that he was leaning against. She wouldn’t really approve of caffeine either, but at least it was not as bad as the cigarettes that he loved so much.
He finished the coke and looked at his watch again. Ten past twelve. He had only left home little over two hours ago, but he felt that he had to get back soon. He never left her alone for more then three hours. That was one of his rules. He had once read that everyone should eat every three hours. And even though he did leave water and a straw so she could help herself to a drink if she needed, he couldn’t really leave any food. Eating was only allowed under his strict supervision, so he could make sure she ate all he prepared.
At one time, not even so long ago, she had tried to starve herself of water. Luckily he had caught it in time and he had made sure she never tried anything like it again.
“No mother, it’s not time for you to go yet.” A thin wolf like smile slid across his face. He still had plans for her. It had taken him a long time to get here, a long time and a lot of searching, waiting and planning. Now that he was getting so close, he couldn’t let mother go yet. He still needed her.
As he turned to take another sip of coke, from the corner of his eye, he saw a movement by the dark grey station wagon.

He looked up and grinned viciously while he made a small wave with his hand.
“Well hello there, Caroline. Miss me?”


* * * *


Time seemed to stand still for Grace. The grocery bags dropped from her hands. She vaguely saw tomatoes rolling across the tarmac. The bright red seemed in sharp contrast with the black of the parking lot. The bottle of champagne crashed to the ground and she heard the faint sizzling sound of the bubbles on the hot surface.

“Grace, are you OK? Grace? Talk to me, hon. What’s happening?” Muriel’s voice was tight with concern, but Grace barely heard her.
“I have to go now, have to leave, have to find Marc” Grace was stammering the words and stumbled into the car. Later she would wonder why Muriel had let her leave, considering the state she must have been in. She assumed Muriel was as shocked by her reaction as Grace was by seeing Him again.
Once inside the car, she seemed to have completely forgotten how to drive a car. It took forever to realise she had to put a key in the ignition to start the car. All the while she could see Him standing across the road, just looking at her. Muriel was standing outside the car, gesticulating frantically at her.
In hindsight, it couldn’t have taken more than a minute or so before she managed to get out of the parking lot, but at the time, it felt like forever.

In a haze she drove out of town and past the high school and its playing fields. She could see the local football team round up their practice, their blue and white uniforms stained with sweat and dirt. The boys were punching each other playfully in an attempt to impress the few girls that were standing by the side of the field. She could see Kevin’s tall blond figure. He was talking intimately at a petite brunette who seemed to laugh at everything he said. Even at the early age of fifteen, Kevin had everything to go on breaking hearts when he grew up. Muriel had gotten pregnant with Kevin when she was only twenty. His father hadn’t been thrilled at the thought of having a kid, but under significant pressure from his family, he still married Muriel and made a pathetic attempt at being a father. The marriage had lasted for five years. Once Kevin was out of his toddler years, Muriel decided that she didn’t really need, or want for that matter, another toddler to look after for the next twenty years and had filed for divorce. Contrary to his father, his paternal grandparents were crazy about the little blond boy, their only grandchild. Even ten years after her divorce, Muriel still had a close relationship with Kevin’s grandparents. They were the ones that paid for Kevin’s private school and his summer camps, and Muriel had the grace to accept it and be thankful for it. Looking at Kevin, somehow, brought Grace back to her senses.
Her first sane thought since seeing Him again, was to wonder if Muriel would manage to pick up Kevin in time and to think that even if she was late, Kevin didn’t look like he would mind a lot.
She drove the car to a stop area by the side of the road and pulled over. Her hands were still shaking with shock, but her breathing had gotten easier and her heart wasn’t pounding as much anymore.
She still couldn’t imagine how he could have found her there. They had been so careful to erase every trace. She looked in the rearview mirror, she didn’t even look like the same woman anymore.
Maybe it had just been her mind playing tricks at her. Maybe it was just a man standing there looking at the two of them. Was she even sure that he waved at her? He might just have waved at Muriel, who was used to getting male attention everywhere she went.
Carefully she went over the events in her head again. Had she even gotten clear look at his face? He had been standing at least 100 meters away and the sun had been very bright. She couldn’t say why she was so sure it had been him. When they had just moved here, she saw him everywhere in the back of her mind. But over the years, the nightmare had faded and she had stopped seeing him. Was it all in her head, or had it really been him this time? She couldn’t say. After a while, she shook her head and decided that it was impossible that he could have found them.
Much calmer now, she drove home, wondering how on earth she was going to explain this to Muriel.



* * * *



From his spot by the car, Miller had enjoyed the whole scene. With perverse satisfaction he saw how Caroline completely panicked. The grocery bags dropped to the ground and the bottle of champagne she had been carrying shattered to pieces on the hot tarmac. So she did remember him. He grinned, he hadn’t been absolutely certain that she would still recognize him after five years, but he shouldn’t have worried. He had changed. Taking care of mother all that time had left him little time to take care of himself. Where he had been strong and muscular five years ago, the lack of regular exercise had made him fat. He hated being fat. He hated the soft, soggy feeling of his stomach. And he blamed them for it. Well, he could really only blame Ben, but he wasn’t one for discriminating. If he could hurt Ben by hurting Caroline, than that was how it was going to be. And this time, he intended on succeeding. He’d had five years to plan, nothing would go wrong this time. The friend, though, might cause a problem. That was a feisty one. He’d have to take care of her soon. And he knew just the way to do it.
An eye for an eye. A life for a life. You take my mother, I’ll take your wife.