Dark Places

By Ann Carol

Have you gone through any dark places in your lifetime? Times when you think the pain, suffering or depression will never stop. Do you question if its worth it? Do the benefits outweigh the consequences?
Life's problems are no different for the people in this small community off the western shores of Lake Erie in Ohio. Friends and neighbors celebrate the good times together and support each other through the bad times.
How bad does it get? Well, one shoots their spouse and goes to jail. A serial killer comes to their community taking lives in a very gruesome matter. Car accidents take peoples' memories as well as their lives. Just to name a few.
These things could destroy them, but they don't because they all ban together. With help from God, family and each other, as well as courage and determination, they each move from their dark place into the light again.
It isn't all bad, there is love, lifelong friendships, engagements, marriage, and even a baby or two.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463440121

Book preview

Dark Places

SKU-000411773_TEXT.pdf

Ann Carol

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2011 by Ann Carol. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 08/31/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4011-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4014-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4012-1 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011913009

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

This book is a work of fiction.

Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

Most locations in the book are real.

Contents

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my husband Eli.

My partner, my closest friend,

and the love of my life.

Thank you for always believing in me,

caring for me, supporting me, and

for loving me for more than 45 years.

I love you more than life itself.

Me

CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS

Jensen Family

Molly Jensen—Main Character

Matt & Malinda Jensen—Molly’s Parents

Linda Jensen—Malinda’s Twin Sister/Molly’s Aunt

Three Lifelong friends:

Caitlyn Delaney

Shu Liling Chen (her American name Sharona)

Vic Thomas

Chuck & Ella Suzano & Family—Next door neighbors

Louie & Danielle Schwartz—Chuck & Ella’s daughter and son-in-law

Suzie—Chuck & Ella’s Pekingese dog

Alice Robbins & Family—Next door neighbors

Sarah McGinty—Alice’s 91 year old Mother (they live together)

Casey—Alice’s Pekingese dog (and Suzie’s brother)

Alice’s Children & Grandchildren

Pete, Gloria, Rochelle & Jacob Robbins

Samantha, James, Larry & Laura Schultz

Dr. Ken Cooper’s Family

James Peterson—Uncle (famous novelist)

Jeanette—Uncle’s Jim’s live in housekeeper and friend

Steve & Ginny Hopper—Couple across the street

Ed Schmidt—Criminal Attorney at Schmidt & Turner

Mercy Hospital Staff

Dr. Ken Cooper—Head of Emergency Medicine

Dr. Ping Xin Quan—Emergency Room Resident

Dr. Joyce Kaye—Resident Psychiatrist

Serial Killer—John (known to law enforcement as Lover Boy)

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Matt and Melinda Jensen had built a beautiful home on the western shore of Lake Erie. It had three bedrooms, two full baths, and a garage attached to the house with a screened in breezeway. There was a large deck on the back of the house facing the lake where they all loved to watch the sunset together before going to bed.

Matt was an executive for a company whose main office was based in downtown Cleveland. Matt’s job sometimes entailed traveling, but when he was home he spent all his time with Malinda, the love of his life. Malinda worked for the Domonkas Library in Sheffield Lake as well as tirelessly raising money for the non-profit organizations they supported.

Linda, Malinda’s twin sister, had been there for Malinda during the time she was trying to get pregnant, then through the rough pregnancy. Malinda had been ordered to stay in bed for six months to hopefully carry their baby to term. It has been very difficult for Malinda because she was such an active person; but she wanted this baby more than life itself, so she had to do exactly what the doctor ordered.

Matt told Linda he would match her salary if she quit her job and would even tell his brother Ed she was leaving. Matt had promised to find Ed the perfect replacement secretary for Linda when his brother blew a fuse. But, Ed loved Matt and both girls and had finally relented, of course, after he calmed down. It didn’t hurt when Matt reminded him he would be Uncle Ed before long as well as the baby’s Godfather with Linda as the Godmother.

So, Linda had quit her job with Attorney’s Schmidt and Turner to take care of her twin because they were so afraid she would lose the baby. Matt had also asked Linda to give up her apartment and move in with them so it would be easier for both sisters.

Malinda had a difficult delivery and hemorrhaged so much, they didn’t know if she was going to make it or not. They had to give her several pints of blood before they finally got her stabilized. Malinda had been unconscious and didn’t know everything that happened. But what she did remember was quickly forgotten when she saw her beautiful little girl, Molly. Matt and Linda fell in love with Molly too the minute they saw her. She had blond curly hair and huge green eyes. They all thought she had been worth it after all.

Molly had been a gift from God. She had the best of everything from day one. She had every item any child could even dream of. Molly wanted for nothing. Her parents loved her very much and Aunt Linda was an added bonus. If mom and dad didn’t give it to her, she went to Aunt Linda or Uncle Ed. He was a softy too. She knew how to dial his number and he would show up at the door with what she told him she wanted.

She was one spoiled child, but everyone loved her. Molly had a heart of gold. She was good hearted and happy most of the time. With Aunt Linda living there, it was like she had two moms. Even though they looked exactly alike, Molly knew them apart. Many of their friends couldn’t tell them apart, but both Matt and Molly always knew.

Malinda was trying to finish getting dressed because Matt was taking her out to dinner for their anniversary. Finally, she went to find Molly to spend a few minutes with her and tell her good-bye. She found Molly by following the squeals she heard coming from the living room. Matt was saying his good-byes by tickling and kissing her.

Matt was such a wonderful father. He always spent as much time as possible with his beautiful little daughter. He loved her so much.

Matt suddenly stopped what he was doing and wolf whistled. Molly and Aunt Linda turned to see Malinda coming down the stairs. She looked beautiful in her blue silk dress, pearl necklace and earrings. Malinda twirled around for the full effect. Molly ran to her and hugged her and Matt went to get her wrap. Linda hugged her and told her how beautiful she looked.

Matt looked her up and down and then told her something is missing. She touched her necklace and earrings, and looked down at her matching silver strap heels. Then she opened her silver clutch and made sure she had her identification, lipstick, and powder and his present and said, No I think I have everything. Then he handed her a velvet box and said Happy Anniversary Darling. It held a beautiful diamond and sapphire bracelet.

Malinda was excited as he fastened it on her wrist. He told her that her outfit was perfect now. She laughed and opened her clutch and handed him a small box. He opened it to find a diamond tie clip that matched his cufflinks. She took it and pinned it on his tie. She told him how handsome he looked. They kissed and he slipped on her wrap. He checked to be sure he had his wallet and credit cards and they were ready.

Linda and Molly wished them a happy anniversary as they walked them out to the car and blew kisses as they pulled out of the driveway. Aunt Linda wrapped her arm around Molly as they walked back into the house.

As Matt was driving on I-90 towards Cleveland, Malinda was thinking about bringing up the baby subject again. She was hoping he had gotten over his phobia about her getting pregnant and wanted to feel him out. Whenever she would bring it up, he would always tell her that he wanted to enjoy Molly for a while longer before bringing another baby into the world. Then he would remind her of the six months she had to spend in bed while she was pregnant and how miserable she had been.

He could only remember how frightened he had been when she had the baby. He had almost lost her and he never intended to let her go through that again because he loved her too much. The doctor told Matt that she wouldn’t live through another pregnancy. He had begged the doctor not to tell her and promised he would make sure she never got pregnant again. It would kill him if something bad happened to her or Molly.

Malinda had forgotten how bad it really was and only remembered how much she loved her beautiful baby girl. She wanted another baby and was hoping for twins this time. She had, in fact, stopped taking her birth control several months ago in hopes of getting pregnant. She intended to tell him over dinner tonight that she was already expecting and hoped he would be as happy as she was. She had hardly been able to keep it a secret because Linda had found her in the bathroom with her head in the toilet so she had to tell her a few days ago. She made Linda promise not to breathe a word to Matt or Molly until she was ready to tell them.

Linda was scared because she knew everything that had happened before; but, had promised Matt not to tell Malinda that she and the baby had almost died.

Now she knew that Malinda had been put off too long and had finally taken matters into her own hands.

Malinda was already pregnant. Linda knew her sister planned to break the news to Matt tonight over dinner and could only imagine how he would take it.

Matt handed the keys to the valet and opened the door for Malinda. The restaurant had beautiful chandeliers, centerpieces with candles on each table and wonderful music. Malinda listened to the band as she waited for them to be seated.

The waiter took their orders and Matt asked her to dance while they waited for their appetizers. They made a lovely couple on the dance floor and people stopped to watch them and applauded when the music stopped.

The waiter waved at Matt when their appetizers arrived; so they left the dance floor. Matt had ordered sparkling cider because they didn’t drink alcoholic beverages and they toasted each other and their wonderful marriage.

They reminisced about things that happened over the years as they finished their steaks. They ordered desert and coffee and just as it arrived, Malinda told Matt she wanted to talk to him about something. She looked very serious.

Matt sat there while she tried to find just the right words to tell him, and trying to muster up the nerve. He laughed and asked her if it was bad news because she was so hesitant. She said she thought it was wonderful news but didn’t know how he would feel about it. He told her anything that made her happy was bound to make him happy too.

Has Linda finally found a man she wanted to date for the second time? They both laughed. Had Molly done something else amazing? Had Uncle Ed bought something else for Molly too huge and ridiculous for words?

Malinda said No, it’s about me. That piqued his interest, scared him actually. Matt sat waiting and getting more nervous by the minute. She hemmed and hawed and finally said Well you know how I have been talking about another baby? He just looked hard at her and said yes. Well she said I’m pregnant.

Matt just stared at her. Well say something Malinda said. Matt shook his head and dropped it down looking at his coffee cup. Malinda knew he wouldn’t be thrilled, but didn’t expect this reaction.

Finally Matt raised his head and said Well, what’s done is done, I just hope we can all live with the consequences. What a weird thing to say. Malinda started to cry. Matt got up and hugged her and asked if she wanted to dance any more. She shook her head and got up and headed for the door. Matt paid the bill and got her wrap and they went out to their car.

Matt told her Stop crying, things would work out. Malinda couldn’t understand why Matt was so negative. She told him I know I had a difficult pregnancy and delivery before, but this time it will be different.

He tried to get the words of the doctor out of his head. (She would not make it through another pregnancy.) He couldn’t lose her, but what could he do now? How had she managed to get pregnant? They were always so careful and she was on birth control. But they say it’s only 90 something percent effective. He had planned to get a vasectomy, but had kept putting it off and now it was too late. He was going to lose both of them. He would call the doctor right away and see if anything could be done.

He looked over at Malinda and said, "I love you sweetheart, and I’m sorry I didn’t act happy about the baby. I would love to have another child.

I’m just worried about you honey. She looked over at him and said, I love you too, and I’m sorry I deceived you and quit taking my birth control pills.

That explained it. Linda told him he had put her off too long. She had mentioned several times that she wanted another baby. He hadn’t listened, and now it was too late.

He was deep in thought when he looked back at the road. Headlights were coming at him from a distance. Since I-90 had a lot of curves, he thought it was an optical illusion, but, as it got closer, he realized it WAS on his side of the road and the car was weaving badly. He was watching as other cars ahead of him tried to get out of the path of the drunk driver.

As the car got closer, Matt tried to anticipate where the car would be when it was on them. He tried heading toward the side of the road thinking maybe that would be his best bet. Malinda was watching in horror as the car got closer and closer.

The drunk driver hit the other car just ahead of them and both came straight at them. Matt tried his best to maneuver his car so they wouldn’t hit them, but it was impossible. They were hit head on at an incredible speed. Malinda screamed as the car hit them and Matt whispered a prayer as they started rolling down the embankment.

The drunk driver’s car was crumpled and he was knocked unconscious so he didn’t see the other cars burst into flames. Matt and Malinda’s fairy tale life ended that fateful night on their way home from their anniversary dinner.

Aunt Linda had put Molly to bed and was sitting up reading waiting for them to get home. It was getting late and she started to get worried. Why were they so late? She expected them home already. Well maybe they were having a good time dancing and decided to stay longer. She fell asleep on the couch and didn’t wake up until a knock on the door woke her.

Did they forget their keys? When she got up she realized it was light outside. When she opened the door, she saw two police officers and fainted when they told her that her Matt and Malinda were both killed in a car accident. They carried her to the couch to lay her down. When she came to she sat with her head in her hands sobbing.

Are you sure it’s them? Maybe you made a mistake. No, no, it can’t be true. Molly heard Aunt Linda crying and came downstairs. Aunt Linda gathered Molly in her arms and tried to explain what happened. How do you tell a young child that both her parents were gone forever? She had no idea. Aunt Linda was told they died instantly, but that didn’t make her feel any better.

Ella and Alice saw the police car and came over immediately. They couldn’t believe what had happened. They held Linda and Molly and cried with them. With the help of their friends and neighbors they somehow managed to get through the funeral. It was just awful. Malinda was her twin and she loved her so much; and knowing Malinda was pregnant made it even harder.

Aunt Linda had to pull herself together for Molly’s sake and get on with their life. Molly was now her full responsibility and she would do whatever it took

There were no living relatives now and Linda was so lonely. If it hadn’t been for her neighbors, Alice and Ella, Linda would have lost it for sure. They made sure she was okay, took her places, checked on her and treated her like a sister. She could call them day or night and they didn’t care. Molly grew up with their children and her best friends, Sharona, Vic, and Caitlyn and thought of them all as her family.

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Around the same time, a family in Georgia was about to face a crisis known to very few people. John, barley eighteen overheard something that shocked him to the core. He could not believe what he was hearing. His parents not only abused him all his life, but now he overheard them discussing removing him from their will and leaving it to that stupid charity they loved so much because he wasn’t their real son. What did they mean real son? No matter, that would never happen.

They didn’t realize he had overheard them. He was very angry! He went to his room and paced and thought. He finally concocted a plan; a good plan. He was tired of things never going his way. He figured out a way to finally slant something (good) his way. He was of age now. He had a car, and he knew the long lonely road they would take home that night from their fancy party.

They told him good-bye and left for their fancy party; their last! He broke into the safe and found the adoption papers. That explained the real son part of it.

He set his plan in motion immediately. He packed protection, a jumpsuit, and gloves. Then he waited. When he knew they would be driving home, he just happened to find them and stopped to help them.

He got out of his car and walked over to where his dad had the trunk open and the spare, jack and tire iron out. He picked up the tire iron, and when his dad looked up and said thanks for stopping to help, he hit him over the head with the tire iron knocking him out, nearly killing him.

He slipped around the side of the car toward the passenger side. His mother looked up and asked what he was doing out there. He opened her car door and told her to get out of the car.

He grabbed her arm and forced her up. Then he led her to the back of the car where she saw her husband bent over bleeding. She started screaming. That was all he needed. The adrenalin kicked in and he slapped mommy dearest hard and told her to run. She looked into his eyes, his cold hard eyes and knew he meant business. She took off running in her party dress and high heels. She didn’t get far before he was on her. She was screaming. She slapped and kicked at him trying to defend herself. He knocked her unconscious and was in the process of raping her when she came to.

She started begging now and wanted to know why. Why was he doing this to her. At the same time fighting against him. Why? You know why! You knew what he was doing all those years and you did nothing to stop him.

He put his hands around her throat and raped her as he slowly squeezed the life out of her. He enjoyed watching the life seep from her body. Wow! Such a high; the biggest in his teenage life! Okay, he was beginning to feel a little better.

He went back to see if dad was still alive. He hoped he was alive because he had big plans for him too. Dad wasn’t where he left him. Even better, the chase was on. He followed the footprints into the woods on the other side of the road. He looked for other signs like broken branches. He had been a good Eagle Scout and that training was coming in very handy now.

He tracked dear old dad to his hiding spot behind a large bush. Dad was crouched down hoping he was hidden. He had run as far as he could and was starting to have chest pains. He was opening his heart pills just as he felt his son’s hands on him again.

The pills fell to the ground as John came face to face with him. Why are you doing this? He was gasping for air already as he felt hands around his neck.

He knew this was it; he was going to die right here, right now. Before he blacked out, he felt his clothes being pulled down and his son saying to him Let’s just call this a little payback for what you repeatedly did to me all those years.

When John finished, he needed to set the scenes. He wiped off the pill bottle and put it in dad’s hands. He scattered the pills around him. He set dad up against the bush again, and cleaned the site of all evidence.

Then he went back to mom, re-dressed her and straightened up the scene so hopefully they wouldn’t find any evidence of him being there.

Even though he had on gloves, he wiped the scene of all evidence. He wiped the tire iron off and the car door and anything else that might have been touched. He hoped it would look like a random killing and no one would ever suspect who had really done this. He had to stop somewhere and dispose of his gear far away from the scene.

Hopefully, the police couldn’t find any evidence, and he would be off scot free and very wealthy. His parent’s dirty little secret had died with them.

He felt so energized. It was the biggest high he had ever been on. He drove home and tried to sleep, but he was too pumped. He looked upset when the police knocked on the door to tell him what had happened to his parents. He kept a low profile and looked exhausted and sad at the funeral. He kept that sad face on until the will was read and he finally got his money.

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Some years later, Molly is all grown up and preparing to leave for the beach to meet her friends. It was a beautiful warm summer day. Molly had worked hard losing a few pounds so she would fit into her suit from last year. She found the cooler, her