Black Widow

By Hayden Lee Hinton

Another fictional novel with the usual twists and turns with most every turn of the page as is the writing style of Hayden Lee Hinton. This smooth reading, exciting, and unusual story of a live-in nurse who murders the man she is caring for or does she? A book you wont want to put down.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456738433

Hayden Lee Hinton

Hayden Lee Hinton was born in Tucson Arizona in 1955 a military brat.  He attended Knob Noster High School graduating in 1973.  Was by no means an academic high achiever, but did excell in sports.  Joined the Air Force at age 17 during the Viet Nam War after graduation he enjoyed tours in Germany and England.  Seperating in 1981 he obtained degrees in Psychology and Sociology.  Upon graduation he returned to the AF only with the Civil Service this time. In1997 he obtained his Master in Public Administration.  This year he received his 30 year pin for serving his country.

Book preview

Synopsis

Black Widow

ANOTHER FICTIONAL NOVEL WITH THE USUAL TWISTS and turns with most every turn of the page as is the writing style of Hayden Lee Hinton. This smooth reading, exciting, and unusual story of a live-in nurse who murders the man she is caring for – or does she? A book you won’t want to put down.

Dedication

TO MY BEAUTIFUL AND LOVING MOTHER

Contents

Synopsis

Black Widow

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

CONCLUSION

About the Author

Chapter 1

DRIVING DOWN THE DRIVE I STILL ADMIRE the plants with their flowers in bloom and have ever since I can remember. Pulling up to my Father’s estate I just sat for a minute looking at the majestic architecture of the house. Most would call Father’s place a palace, but it was home to me.

The drive and the house weren’t kept as immaculate since Mother and my brother Matthew have both passed away. Good, honest workers were hard to come by, and Father’s health wasn’t the best, so he couldn’t get out and watch over them. Over the past few years the neglect was beginning to take its toll on the old place. Though the deterioration wasn’t all that noticeable I knew better and having seen the grounds, the plants along the drive, and the exterior maintained in impeccable condition.

Looking about the grounds I can still see Mother and Father sitting on the lawn under the big pecan tree while my younger brother Matthew and our lab, Ben, chasing after us. How we took for granted having a wonderful family would go on forever.

Now my Mother and Matthew were gone. Mother had passed away when I was about 17. Then about 5 years ago Matthew was diagnosed with diabetes. Within a year of being told he too passed away. Now there was just Father and me. Well my family too.

I got out of the car and went to the door. A few years ago I would have knocked and our house keeper Miss Boo would have come to the door to let me in. She’d gotten too old to make it the house, let alone clean any more. I never knew her by any other name than Miss Boo. When I was just a baby I couldn’t say her name, or so I’d been told, and would call her Boo. Boo turned into Miss Boo and the entire family began calling her Miss Boo affectionately. I reached into my purse and pulled out the key to the front door as I didn’t want to bother Father.

Opening the door I could see everything was in its place as always, but could tell it needed a good dusting. Wondering into the living room there wasn’t any sign Father had even been in there. I decided to look in the kitchen when I heard my Father call out my name.

Kat, he’d called out. I turned and looked up the stair well. There was Father standing at the top of the steps. Kat, my Dear. I wasn’t expecting you today, he said to me. Tuesday was my usual day to come by and visit with him, but I’d stop in if I was in the area.

Hello Father I replied. Kat was short for Katherine. My Father has affectionately called ‘Kat’ since I was a baby. All my family and close friends consequently also call me Kat. I always knew when I was in trouble as my parents would use my full name of Katherine. Being a pretty good child I seldom heard Katherine from them.

Dad slowly started down the stairs. We went for sure how old Father was but he had to be nearing his mid 70s at least. To watch him walk up or down the stairs always made me grimace as he looked as though he might fall with each step. I have been on him for some time now to get someone to replace Miss Boo incase he did fall or have some sort of accident. He could also easily afford a lift to carry him up and down the stairs. His response was always the same. He was fine and didn’t need any help. Father was a stubborn man and he always got his way. I think this stubborn streak came from his upbringing in Europe and all the things that had happened to him as a young man.

Father was of Jewish descent, but was born in Czechoslovakia. His family was of the countries hierarchy and very wealthy. Father has never told me personally his life story, but over the years I’ve heard enough from Mother and others about all his growing up and all he has been through in his life. His Father was a bank broker for one of the largest banking firms in all of Europe. This allowed for Father to attend the best of schools. He finished his education with a Doctorate in Science from Cambridge University in England. I’m not sure just how much money the family had, but have been told it was in the millions. Father was quick to obtain a reputation as a near genius among the world’s scientists. It has been said that the country all but forced him into the field of nuclear science for the government. This upset him as he was supposedly a man of integrity and full of happiness for life. Father would do as he was told and not complain.

He married a young Jewish woman whom he had met while attending Cambridge. She was the joy of his life. They had continued to correspond by mail after he had graduated and returned to his home. After a couple of years of writing they were married and she moved to Czechoslovakia to be with him. Not long after they had their first child. In all they had three children. I was never told the children’s names. Father continued his work for the government. Though his family was wealthy the government took very good care of all my Father’s and his family needs. The one thing the government would not allow my Father was for him to leave on vacation or any other reason out of the country. I was told this and his being forced to work with nuclear materials for weapons gradually began to take its toll on his exuberance for joy in living. He became introverted and seldom spoke except to his family. He began to not trust other people as he felt that the government had spies watching his every move.

Though no one ever new Father’s exact birth date, it was said to be around the end of WWI. In part this was due to the fact he had secretly immigrated to the United States and all records and information about him are still concealed by the United States government as being classified. Father would never talk about himself so we never the exact date to celebrate his birthday. My guess is that his birth date might have been 11 November 1918, the date WW1 ended. That Father did not want to be associated with this date just as he had not wanted to be associated working with nuclear weapons. Mother had mentioned sometime around 1920, but she also never knew for sure.

Another date we were never sure of was the date the Nazis soldiers arrested Father at work and placed him in a concentration camp. We knew this happened for a fact as he bore the tattoo number the Nazis soldiers put on those in their concentration camps. Without his knowing it Mother had an investigative friend to research my Father’s tattoo number. He found out he was arrested and imprisoned some time towards the end of the war. One date and camp Father was held in he was able to come up with and that was the Neuengamme Camp in 1944. There were no records as to what happen to his wife and three children. We never even liked to assume what might have happened to them. This investigator friend was also able to find out Father’s parents met the same fate only they were sent first to the Ravensbruck Camp, and ultimately died in the Dachau Camp. This investigator was able to find out that Father arrived in America sometime around 1946 in New York City, but that was all.

Most of his family’s wealth had been taken, but fortunately his Father was a very shrewd businessman and had put most of his fortune in a Swiss bank account. He had let Father know about the account and Father was able to ultimately secure the money from the bank. Father was greatfull to be in America and willing to work for the United States government as a scientist upon arriving in America. We never knew exactly what it was that he did, but I am sure he supplied the American Military with all he knew about the German nuclear program.

Father had been raised Catholic and continued to attend the Catholic Church soon after arriving in America. It was at a Catholic Church in the Washington D.C. area where Father met my Mother. Father’s name is Thomas César Smoltz. Mother’s name was Samantha Rosaline Roberts. I was their first born child. They named me Katherine Rosaline Smoltz. Mother told me Rosaline was a family name of hers that had been passed down to the first born daughter in the family for as long as she could remember. Four years later my brother, Matthew Dawson Smoltz was born. Mother told me she had a difficult birth with Matthew and could not have any more children.

Mother, like Father, was a rather quiet, gentle person. She never worked. Women of money didn’t work in those days. She proudly raised myself and Matthew. She was a very beautiful woman right up until the day she died. Mother often told me how she kept herself the way she did as she always wanted to make Father happy. And that he did for Mother was my Father’s life. Mother had a passion for horses. So Father had bought our large estate with acres and acres of grass lands for the expensive horse he would get Mother. I learned to ride almost as well as Mother until she became ill. We never knew Mother was ill with cancer as she never complained of the pain she suffered daily, and Father never told us. I’m not sure he even knew at the time as cancer was a new a relatively new disease to the medical field. There was no treatment for cancer in those days so she was only able to tolerate the pain, never going to a doctor that we knew of. Mother passed away at the young age of fifty-three. It was the day before Valentine’s Day. I remember she was in bed when Father came home with the most beautiful flowers. He entered the house with a big smile on his face and went directly to Mother’s room to give the flowers to her. Matthew and I were playing in the living room at the time. Father didn’t come out for some time and when he did there were tears running down his checks. He came over and hugged both Matthew and me. Then he told us Mother had gone to heaven. We all had a good cry and then Father told us we were not to ever cry over Mother again. He told us we were to only have good thoughts about her. I have never cried over Mother ever since that day.

About half way down the steps Father pulled up grabbing his hip. Father, are you alright, and I rushed up to help him.

Daw gone hip. Just one of those shooting pains I get every now and then Kat. A part of getting old is all, he told me. I helped him down the rest of the stairs and to the leather couch.

Sitting with him I told him, Now Father. We’ve had this discussion. I insist that you let me look into finding someone to at least be with you during the day.

Now Kat. I’m old, but I am just fine. A little pain from time to time doesn’t justify me having someone watching me all day long. You already got me one of those emergency pager things if I were to fall down, he replied.

One Father? We have gotten you at least 5 pagers and where is one right now? You don’t even have one on you, I said to him.

There are too many rooms in this house for me to keep up with so when I set one gadgets down I forget where, he told me. He was right. The house had way too many rooms. I remember when I was little trying to count all the doors in the house and once got to 40 when I got confused as usual and gave up trying. Why he had such a large mansion built? I knew the answer. I knew it was for Mother. There was a room for everything a woman could imaginably want. There were 8 huge bathrooms incase Mother was in any section of the house there was a bathroom nearby. She had a sewing room, a reading room, a room to do her painting, and rooms to sit and just look out to different parts of the grounds so she didn’t get board looking at the same scenery and her horses all the time. He couldn’t just put a big picture window. There was an indoor pool. I don’t recall how many guest bedrooms the house had. There was the nursery and nanny room for Miss Boo. Miss Boo also had her own kitchen, living room, bathroom, and a guest room of her own incase she had a relative come to visit. My two favorite rooms were the kitchen and pantry, and the magnificent ball room. I can still picture Mother and Father putting a record on the phonograph player. They would then gracefully glide around on the marble floor just the two of them. I remember one occasion Father had an entire orchestra come to the house to play so he and Mother could dance to the live music. Whenever they had an event the room would be full of grownups dancing. The men all were wearing their black tuxedos and the women in their magnificent gowns with all the different colors in a rainbow. That was a sight to behold. Matthew and I had a play room next to the ballroom with all sorts of toys, books, and musical instruments for us. I was fifteen at the time and could hardly wait till I was old enough to join in on the dancing. Being one of the older children I was allowed to leave the play room and go to other rooms. That is how I came to enjoy the kitchen area so much. Mother had a fulltime staff to cook our meals at these gala events and whenever she wanted him to do the cooking. Michael was the head chef. He was a very handsome man, with a big black handlebar mustache. Michael would lift me up onto a counter and let me watch him work his magic as he cooked. He could make the most wonderful tasting food. Mother was over all the staffs on the estate. There was Miss Boo of course, Michael and the other kitchen workers, the maids, and estates grounds keepers. She treated some as though they were a part of the family and all with the utmost respect. I never heard once have a harsh word with any of the hired workers. With Mother’s passing the big room now gathers dust as Father never remarried. The kitchen does the same.

For years now my husband, Ted, and I have insisted on Father moving in with us. Our home is nowhere near the size of Father’s, but there is plenty of room. Our two children, Karen and Benjamin, are both now old enough that they wouldn’t be a burden on Father. He wouldn’t give it a second thought. Said the memories of Mother were in this house and he’d rather die than leave. The four of us tried to come over on weekends and keep the place clean and the grounds mowed. We quickly found to do so was a full time job. Then were hired staffs as Father had done before, but none of them could please him, and they would all leave after a short time. Ted finally had the pool drained, and most of the doors to the house were closed for good unless Father wanted to go into one. We had to constantly remind him to close the door after he went into a room, but he paid us no attention. After all it was his house. We were not even permitted to say the word ‘sell’ about the estate to him anymore. We’d gone round and round on the issue trying to get him to be rational about staying in such a large place all by himself. Father wouldn’t even consider the idea. He had agreed to carrying the emergency device in the event he did fall or needed some assistance, but he was always misplacing them. I’d even got one that was like a wrist watch, but he’d take it off for fear of breaking it while doing something, and then forget it. There were too many rooms for me to even begin to look for the things. I’d thought about buying one for each room in the house, but decided that wouldn’t work either. We did have electronic lazier devices strategically placed in the primary room that were to go off into in the case of an emergency. But they were constantly going off and the emergency responses got to the point we had to shut them off. He couldn’t see to push the buttons on a cell phone, so we’d also had old rotary phones installed in most rooms as he knew where the numbers were on them. Ted and I have given up. We have a maid come once a week to do as much as she could without upset Father. Ted had a landscaper come in and had most of the trees and plants taken up along the drive. A landscape crew would come once a month and mow and trim what remained. This seemed to satisfy Father and Ted and I felt comfortable with these arrangements.

I decided to change the subject with Father. So Father, anything new going on with you? as I always asked.

Can’t say there has since you were here just a couple of days ago, as he most always replied. He did have an occasional old friend to stop by to tell me about. Most of his friends had either passed away or moved to a home or somewhere else. A good many had moved to Florida for the warmer weather as the Vermont winters seemed to be rougher each year. That’s probably me getting older too. Fortunately, Father had a good ventilation system built for the heat to get from fire places to the rooms. I sometimes worried about him not keeping the fire places going that he needed to, but whenever I’d come to visit the rooms were always warm.

When Mother was a live we use to do most everything as a family. White River Junction was a small community that developed at the cross roads of the Connecticut River and others, and then came the railroads. We spent a lot of time on the water as Father had become an avid sail boat pilot. We’d swim, fish, and camp a good bit. Like the other small townships that had sprung up in the area the area remained rather peaceful. Then the railroads came along and the downtown area was now too touristy for Father’s liking. This was about the only subject I heard my Father talk bad about. All the tourist stores and strange people roaming about bothered him. When he’d first come to White River Junction it was a community where everyone knew most everyone else. Strangers stood out and were treated very nicely. There never had been much in the way of crime to speak of. All the surrounding small communities located up and down the rivers resembled one another. Each were composed primarily of white European immigrant families. Money was another commonality amongst most. Houses were most all Colonial estates with acres of land. Now tourists and businesses to support the tourism had taken over. Smaller housing developments had begun to spring up, diving the estates as one by one they were being sold.

We didn’t talk much when I’d visit. During winters Father and I mostly sat by the big fire place in the living room. During the summer we’d usually go to one of Mother’s favorite sitting rooms and look out over the grounds. Father would occasionally have a memory of Mother mostly, but sometimes they’d be about the family. He did like to brag a lot about Matthew. Most of Father’s memories were always happy thoughts he’d be having at the time. He still never uttered a word to me about when he had lived in Europe and I never asked.

Today I found myself looking at the man I was sitting next to. It struck me that he while he spoke of Mother and the family the wrinkles in his face all but disappeared and he was almost smiling. He seemed a man at peace within. Father could have been a man full of hate, but had somehow put all he’d been through behind him and moved on. He still had a head full of thick hair, but it was now all pure white. He looked very distinguished and still sat with an upright posture. We said our good-byes and I headed home.

Chapter 2

THEODORE JACKSON ADAMS AND I MET WHILE attending Boston College. I was majoring in Business and Ted was majoring in Architecture. We were both in our sophomore year. I had pledged to Chi Omega sorority. School came easy for me and being the outgoing person I naturally had been my entire life I attended most ever college event. Dances, sporting events, and trips were some of the social activities I always tried to go to. Though I was never a prom queen or anything all my close friends were always trying to talk me into trying at least. I would say I was pretty popular with both the girls and the boys around the campus.

Ted on the other hand could not have been such a total opposite person from me. He seldom, if ever, attended school social events or social affairs. It was quite by accident that we even met as he was all but a recluse and seldom left his room where he studied constantly. He would venture out to the library when he needed to. The library was the one place on campus I seldom went to. Turned out his spending all of his time studying was not entirely his choice. Boston College is a fairly expensive University to attend. Ted’s family wasn’t pour, but they’d had some hard times. He was the oldest of five children. His father worked for the railroad and wasn’t home much. Ted had to, more or less, spend all of his time helping his Mother with raising the younger ones. While Ted was in high school his Dad lost a leg in a work related accident and was medically retired. His Dad no longer made as much as when he’d been on salary, and he could no longer put in the long overtime hours which brought them a good bit more money. The initial medical bills were consuming much of their retirement money. His Mother was forced to go to work. Now Ted not only had to tend to his brother and sisters, but to his Dad also. When his Dad got healthy and was able to get around on his own he found a fairly good job working as a mechanic at a nearby garage. With the medical retirement money, his Mother and his Dad now both working they managed to keep their house and almost the same life style they had enjoyed before the accident. Ted graduated from high school among the top of his class. He hadn’t had the time to play any school sports so there wasn’t any sort of athletic scholarship available to him and there definitely wasn’t family money for him to pay for college. Ted had still applied to all the local colleges and universities requesting for an academic scholarship. It turned out fortune was on his side. Though he was working odd jobs after graduating from high school Ted had persisted in sending letters to schools. He would later find out that upon receiving a third letter from Ted that the Dean of Boston College had paid attention to his last name – Smoltz. The man did some research and sure enough he and Ted’s Dad had immigrated to America at the very same time.

Ted finally received his academic scholarship to Boston College while I was attending. The only other activity Ted did was a part time job in the Student Lounge cleaning. One day I happened to be in the lounge by myself. Ted was working at the time and came over to dust the coffee table I had my feet on. I hadn’t noticed him working as I was reading a magazine. He was politely wiping around my legs still propped up on the table not wanting to bother me when I noticed what he was doing I apologized and put my legs down. Then it happened. Our eyes met one another’s. I can’t explain what it was that came over me, but it all but sent shivers down my back. I’d never experienced such a warm feeling before from merely glancing into a young man’s eyes before. Ted continued on with his cleaning. I had assumed he must have a girl friend as he seemed to not even take notice of me. I found myself coming alone to the same spot day after day just to get a look at him. Ted was a tall good looking young man. It was like he’d cast a spell over me, yet all he’d said to me was excuse me as he had wiped around my legs on that first occasion.

After going to sit in the Student Union for a few days, all but staring at this young man diligently working and never stopping or talking to any of the student’s, I finally got up the nerve to say something to him.

Hi, was what I said.

Hi, he said back and kept right on working. That was it.

The next day wasn’t much better as it went something like, Hi. My name is Kat, I managed to get out.

Hi. My name is Ted, and once again he continued on working. Well I decided I’d show him and wouldn’t go back again. After two days of moping about the campus I ended up right back on that stupid couch watching and starring again at this young man. All I knew was his name was Ted. I had plenty of nice looking male friends on campus. So why was I so infatuated with this guy? He was headed over to my table to clean it. This time I wasn’t going to be so meek. He was going to talk to me, but what was I going to say to him so he’d stop working and talk to me. He’d began to wipe the table when it blurted out of my mouth.

Say you. Don’t you even notice me sitting here day after day? and I couldn’t believe that was what blurted out of mouth. He merely looked up at me at first. I couldn’t tell if I’d insulted, shocked, or whether I’d even made an impression of any sort with what I’d asked him.

You weren’t here the last two days, he finally said. So he had taken notice of me. Now what? My mind was racing for something next to say before he was off cleaning at another table.

Well, was all I managed to get out.

Well what, he replied. I didn’t know what. I still didn’t know if he had a girl friend. He appeared even more handsome as I had more time to really look him over this time. He wasn’t lazy either as I’d watch him working for a while now and he never once stopped working to take a break.

Well, aren’t you going to ask me out, was what blurted out next. I was stunned that was what came out as well. I’d never asked a male friend such before, and here I was asking a total stranger. I evidently got his attention as he was still standing there at my table. Then it dawned on me. What if he said yes? Was this something I really wanted to do? I wasn’t even sure if he was attending BC, but most young people who worked on campus were students. I mean he wasn’t dressed like a janitor or anything. I’d just assumed he was a student.

Sure, he said. That was it – sure? Now what? I mean I did catch him off guard at least to some degree. What had I got myself into? Was he thinking of a place to ask me to go with him to? I didn’t know him and couldn’t read his body language. He was just standing there. He finally spoke again. Kat – right? he asked and I nodded yes. Where would you like for me to take you? Oh boy, now he’d done it and it was my fault. I’d have to come up with a place. A movie was the first thing to come to mind. There would be plenty of people there. But I wouldn’t be able to talk to him any and find out who this Ted was. He looked athletic enough. There was a basketball game Friday night I could get tickets to. No that would be too loud and what if he was a fan and merely wanted to watch the game and that would be it. Then the perfect thing came to mind.

Well Ted. Do you like canoeing? I asked him. Now that sounded about as stupid a thing to suggest. Who would ask someone, a told stranger at that, to go canoeing? He would surely decline and probably think I was a ditz and leave. He opened his mouth to speak.

You know I haven’t been on the water in a long time. Canoeing sounds like a good idea Kat. When would you like to go? he replied.

Saturday, popped out. Now I was stuck. There was no getting out of going canoeing with this guy – Ted.

Why don’t we meet here about noon Saturday and we can walk down to the bay and rent a canoe? he asked me.

That was it. I was going canoeing this Saturday with a total stranger. The next few days seemed strange to me. Hard to explain. I was both anxious yet excited about being with this Ted. I’d be able to find out some about him, as there would be just him and me in the canoe, yet others around so I’d be safe. It was fall, but the winds were still warm enough to go out on the water. Maybe canoeing wasn’t such a bad idea. At least Ted had agreed to go.

Saturday finally came around and I found myself sitting in my usual spot on the couch waiting. I’d even gotten there at 11 O’clock. I was never this early for anything. The minutes creep by as I sat watching the second hand slowly go around the clock hanging on the wall. There were a few other students in the big room gathered watching cartoons on one of the TVs. Then I saw him. Ted had entered the room and was approaching me.

He was carrying something over a shoulder and had what appeared to be a blanket under the other arm. When he got closer I could see what he had over his shoulder. It was a book bag. Oh no! I thought. Ted was a book worm. He’d brought class books with him to study. Boy I really know how to pick them. This was going to be a lot of fun spending the afternoon with a geek was all I thought.

Hi Kat, Ted said to her with a nice smile. Ready to go get out on the water? he asked. Suddenly I didn’t want to go canoeing. I didn’t want to go anywhere but back to my dorm room. I glanced out the window. It was a nice day. What would it hurt, just one afternoon? While he had his head in his books I could relax watching the beautiful sail boats. I’d by a bag of bread crumbs and feed the ducks and swans that always came up to the boats and canoes out on the water.

Sure Ted. I’m ready, I said trying to smile back and sound sincere. We left the Student Union and headed down to where the rental canoes were stacked. I went over and bought the bread crumbs while Ted went to get the canoe. He was down with the canoe already in the water when I caught up. He held the canoe and helped me in.

I remember the first time Dad and I went canoeing. I turned the thing over getting in. Got soaking wet before I’d even handled a paddle. Dad laughed, but we ended up having a great day together, he told me. At least he had some sense of humor and was from what sounded to be a nice enough family. We got into the canoe, without tipping over thankfully, and Ted started paddling us out.

The day could not have been better. The skies where blue with big, white, pillow looking clouds slowly floating along. There was a slight breeze, but it was nice. I then looked about. Most of the trees were already turning to their fall colors. There water was a green-bluish color with slight rippling waves. I then looked at Ted. He had a red tee shirt with a red and black