| |
Four months later
The roadster hugged the many twisting turns of the country road. A fat winter moon was high in the sky, lighting the empty fields, plowed and waiting for the spring planting. This had become one of his favorite drives, and he always did it at night and never once stopped the car. Tonight he would.
Rory drove into the valley and straight to the rolling hills of the newly christened Portola Ranch. The place looked good. Brush had been cleared from the old farmhouse, making it visible again to the outside world, and it had been painted. A new truck was parked in front. The fruit stand had been rebuilt and decorated.
A frost warning had been issued. The smudge pots were lit in the orchards to protect the budding green oranges from damage. He drove to a large mailbox set beside the road, stopped the car, and set the brake. A red flag had been raised, indicating that what he had requested was inside.
He got out and opened the mailbox. A manila envelope waited. Taking the envelope, he tore it open with his thumbnail and shook the contents into his palm.
Madelyn had gone to a photo booth and taken pictures of herself smiling, clowning, and several that were very serious in tone where she looked directly at the camera as if confronting him with the question What about me?
Unfortunately, that was a question he could not answer. Jane Doe 611 had gone to the grave as Madelyn Porter, and Dorin had stopped looking for her, but he had not stopped looking for Rory. For months they played an odd game of cat and mouse, and deep down he knew this was a man he had to take seriously.
Dorin wanted power and a legion of immortals at his side. Los Angeles was a city well suited to harboring an underworld of such grandeur. Without doubt, Dorin would try again to achieve his goal. Someday their paths would cross, and when they did, someone would suffer. It was as predictable as the tides, and he had only to wait for it.
The farmhouse door opened. Someone darted across the porch and ran out into the shadows of the orchard. “Rory!” Moonlight lit Madelyn’s face as she called out to him. “Wait for me!”
The pleading tone of her voice stilled his heart. She haunted his thoughts. Not a day went by that he didn’t fight the impulse to drive north, seek her out, and climb into her bed. He’d lie to himself and say that he could handle the temptation, and that drinking from her one more time would be enough. He lied and he lied....
Moving as fast as he could, he leaped into the roadster, pulled the brake, and stomped on the gas. The photos spilled onto the floor, and for a horrible moment, he feared they might fly into the air and out of the car like glossy bits of confetti to be forever lost on the road, but they slid beneath the seat instead.
He dared to glance in the rearview mirror. Madelyn stood in the road, frantically waving her arms. The shapeless denim pants she wore with a man’s jacket and a pair of work boots were a far cry from the glamor girl she’d once been, but he thought she looked beautiful. Her new life seemed to suit her and that made him happy, but deep down, he knew he’d never get used to calling her Maggie. Wrenching his gaze from the mirror, he whispered, “Goodbye, Madelyn.”
The End.