Chapter 21

On Thursday morning, December first, Wally Keller cleaned out room ten. Alone in the motel room, the memory of Gina Carracci’s ominous words sent chills up his spine. But when the task was complete and the spaced aired out, it seemed no different from his other motel rooms.

As the month progressed, thoughts of Anthony Marino were replaced with happier ones. Ryan and Jimmy hung their Christmas stockings over a cardboard fireplace—one purchased at the local five and dime and assembled by their father. Christmas lights sprouted up all through town, dotting the horizon with festive colors.

At Coulson House, Gladys contacted the interior designer Mrs. Coulson employed every year and arranged for the annual decorating of the estate. It would be decked out for Christmas, by the time Vera returned home.

Garret wondered what had happened to the cool guy, who was willing to buy him beer, but it was a passing thought and soon even Garret forgot about the man. The teenager surprised his family by getting straight As on his report card. In spite of his academic achievements, he didn’t abandon his wild ways.

At the Chamberlain house, Alex and Katie helped their mother decorate Christmas cookies, while Tommy helped their father put up the Christmas tree. As the gifts began to appear around the tree, the three Chamberlain children fondled the colorful packages, making guesses as to the contents.

The FBI no longer believed Anthony Marino was in the Coulson or Clement Falls area, so they began looking elsewhere. While they continued to keep an eye on the Clement Falls boarding house, should Marino return to see his sister, they no longer had any interest in Coulson or its residents.

Up at Clement Falls, Gina Carracci grieved for the loss of her brother. Nick Carracci tried to be patient with his wife, yet was silently thankful Anthony Marino was out of their lives. Unlike his wife, he was not certain his brother-in-law was gone for good—but he prayed, each night, the man would never return.

After 1961 arrived, a new president, John Kennedy was sworn into office. As the country rolled into the sixties, its landscape changed in ways Randall’s bride, Mary Ellen Browning, would never have imagined. Coloring the decade was social unrest, a civil rights movement, a slain president, murdered civil rights leaders, and an unpopular war in Vietnam. Man was preparing to walk on the moon while back on earth hippies marched for peace and free love.

By the time Sonny returned from his European tour, he decided he no longer wanted to be called by his nickname but insisted on using his legal given name. It caused a certain amount of confusion sharing his father’s name, but the family quickly adapted.

It didn’t take long for Randall to realize his eldest grandson had no business aptitude, but he did have a flair for charming people. Randall kept Sonny moving, transferring him from one Coulson-Enterprise location to another. The younger Harrison’s responsibilities at the company were insignificant at best, which made the young man quite happy. The life of a roving playboy, who simply had to smile for the camera when the public relations department needed a pretty face, suited him well.

Garret left Coulson to attend college, two months after graduating from high school. After completing his bachelors, he went for his masters. Maintaining high grades was keeping him out of the draft and out of Vietnam, but he understood he might not be able to avoid the draft indefinitely.

In the fall of 1968, Russell Coulson was the last of the three brothers to still be living at Coulson House. Russell, Tommy, and Ryan were all juniors in high school—the same grade Garret had been when he had saved Alexandra from the third grade bullies. Alexandra and Jimmy started high school that fall. They had become close friends over the years, and Jimmy was no longer the pudgy first grader but a lean young man with a ready smile.

Wally Keller never remarried, but he had several lady friends over the years. He had remodeled the motel and business proved steady. It had been years since he had thought about Anthony Marino, and not a single motel guest reported seeing a ghost in room ten.

Up on Clement Falls, Gina Carracci passed away a few years after her brother’s disappearance, leaving her husband to raise their young daughter alone. With Gina gone, there was no one left to ask—or care—about Anthony Marino’s fate. Even the FBI had moved on, believing Marino must have pissed off one of his former employers and was wearing a pair of concrete boots. Since his disappearance, there had been no hits with his trademark touches. What those were exactly were never revealed—just in case he was still out there