Epilogue

Two Years Later, Dani

Much has changed since the conviction of Clay Jackson. Dad and Grace were married in a lovely ceremony in December after the trial. Grace looked stunning in her lace and satin wedding dress with its delicate, waist length veil. Uncle Bill and Frankie were both Dad’s best men. Uncle Bill had a dual role, for he also walked Grace down the aisle.

Uncle Bill and Evelyn got married last spring. He had the Gunderson House renovated to Evelyn’s specifications, and he and Aunt Evelyn have moved into it. They look so cute, sitting and holding hands on the now pristine, white porch, looking out at Lake Gossette.

Frankie also has a girlfriend, a little French girl named Gabrielle, who moved to this country last year. Frankie adores her with her deep brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. Although she knew English before moving here, Frankie is teaching her the real English. Who knows if this is serious? They’re both so young.

Uncle Bill had the Cunningham House demolished after removing any keepsakes and other items he wanted to save. Recovering those things had been another disturbing experience for him. Then he had every brick and every board destroyed and hauled away. He wanted all reminders of what had occurred in that house gone forever. In its place he had a beautiful home built for Dad and Grace. It took a lot of convincing, but Dad finally accepted the gracious gift.

On the opposite side of Dad’s new house, Uncle Bill is building a house for Joel and me. We’re getting married in October. I’m having Uncle Bill’s mother’s gorgeous wedding dress altered for me. Mary had also worn it for her wedding too. It’s a tea length dress with both satin and lace fabric and a scooped neckline with tiny cap sleeves and pearl beading on the bodice.

As for me, I oftentimes think about the nightmares. I know my grandfather didn’t want to spend eternity where his spirit was held captive. Looking back and knowing what I know now, I guess he was trying to shock me into action. I think the man in my nightmares wasn’t just one man. Sometimes he was my grandfather; sometimes he was Uncle Bill; sometimes he may even have been Clay Jackson. Confusing as that may seem, maybe it was the only way my grandfather could ask for my help.

I have also moved on career wise. I received my Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Valencia. I had finished my case study involving the Cunningham murders with straight A’s. I’m now continuing my education at the University of Central Florida, hoping to get my bachelor’s degree soon. I have also begun the Florida Law Enforcement recruit training program. I’d like to join the Nawinah Police Department.

As for Joel, he made detective last year. I’m so proud of him. He and Sean are partners now and have become great friends.

To our dismay, Clay Jackson cheated us by dying six months after his incarceration at the Florida State Prison. The judge had sentenced him to death by lethal injection, but he didn’t make it to that long-awaited event. Uncle Bill didn’t say much when he learned of his death. He simply said, “So be it. May he burn in hell!”

Sometimes I see Uncle Bill sitting on the Gunderson House porch all alone, sadly staring out at Lake Gossette. I think he realizes he can’t change what has occurred in the past, and he has forgiven himself, though no one ever thought he had anything to forgive. I know he’ll never forgive Clay Jackson. That’s okay because he has at least come to terms with all that has happened.

Among the few pieces of the past he has preserved are the paintings of his family he and Frankie had found in the house. To this day, Uncle Bill doesn’t know who saved them and buried them in that closet. He had a small addition put on the Gunderson House, where the portraits are displayed with perfect placement and lighting and a plush, round stool sits in the middle of the room. Aunt Evelyn knows he needs their presence.

Members of the Jordan family were originally shunned by their community, ostracizing them because of Claude Jordan’s deeds. They weathered the storm and eventually established themselves in good standing with their friends and associates. I guess they realized, as we did, that just because you’re related to a monster doesn’t mean you are a monster too. Surprisingly, we have all become very good friends. We went to Casey Jordan’s high school graduation last year. He was accepted at the University of Florida, Uncle Bill’s alma mater. Casey received a baseball scholarship.

Frankie has become good friends with Casey, Jason, and Justin. They’re always skyping, texting, or talking to one another. As often as they can, they get together and include Dylan in their gatherings.

Little Nicole has become Uncle Bill’s sidekick. Whenever she visits or he visits the family in Ocala, she never leaves his side.

Dad said he went with Uncle Bill to Doug Plimpton’s office to change his will once more. Uncle Bill keeps no secrets from us. He told us he had previously changed it, adding the three of us as his beneficiaries. With the new change, he has also included the Jordan and Hinkle families, and Evelyn, his new wife. As for all the property he still owns, he has not yet decided what to do with it. Several developers have approached him to sell large acreage for housing or business developments. He has also talked about having some of it made into a children’s park and a baseball field to be named Travis Field after his son.

I have asked Marcella Hinkle and Linda Jordan to be in my wedding. Of course, Emily will be my maid of honor. Emily got engaged to Troy last year, but they haven’t set the wedding date yet.

Financially, Uncle Bill has promised to pay for Craig and Marcella’s children’s college educations. Craig is a proud man. It took a lot of convincing for him to agree. Dad told them Uncle Bill felt he had to do this. He was devastated a brother of his could let his own family suffer because of his actions. He wanted to reimburse them somehow for their pain. Dad told me Uncle Bill has also set up trust funds for the children.

Clay Jackson would turn over in his grave if he only knew how close we have all become with the Jordan and Hinkle families. Perhaps this is the way Uncle Bill is getting his revenge. Perhaps out friendship has also brought us all a little more closure.

Arna Jordan is still having difficulty reconciling with the kind of man her husband was. She and Evelyn have become close friends, and Grace is helping Arna work through her issues.

I felt a need to see Nafia Celik one more time. Dad and Grace went with me. I sat in the same brocade chair where I had sat on my prior visits. The small table was covered with a forest green cloth. The same eerie light was dimly lit in the corner of the room, casting those spooky shadows across the ceiling.

After the four of us were seated, Nafia started to connect with my grandfather. She called on him, then began to communicate in that gibberish tongue, half chanting and half speaking. Eventually, I heard the familiar sound like a train whistle getting closer and closer until it enveloped the entire room. When the room became silent again, Nafia listened attentively. Then she softly spoke in cryptic babble as she moved her head and upper body in crooked circles with her eyes closed and her face and arms pointed upward. Next, she was still and quiet, all her frenzied movements stopped, and the atmosphere in the room returned to normal.

She dropped her head to her chest and slowly opened her eyes. She raised her head to stare directly at me. “Your grandfather is content. He wishes to thank you and expresses his love for you, your brother, and your father. He has now escaped the chains binding him to misery in his spirit world. He is pleased with the three of you and knows you will be happy with the lives you have chosen.”

Nafia paused. From across the table she gently clasped my hands. “One last, very important thing. He wants you to tell William Cunningham he is looking after William Cunningham’s family, Mary, all his children, and his mother and father, in the spirit world just as William Cunningham is looking after your grandfather’s family; you, your father, and your brother, in this world.”