Line of Sight

By Belinda Cheramie

Terri Spencer, Rachel Collins, Laurie Keats, and Abigail Dawson had known each other for as long as they could remember. They had attended the same school and shared the same interests. They were inseparable. Through the years, the four had become like sisters. But their lives take a turn when Terri falls asleep at the wheel and is killed in the crash.

Believing the surviving friends need time to themselves for healing from the shock of Terris death, Rachel offers Abby and Laurie an all-expenses-paid trip to Spain. Meanwhile, in Spain, Mateo Solis mourns the death of his wife, Samia. When he catches a glimpse of Abby, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his late wife, his grief-stricken brain follows through with a wild scheme. He kidnaps Abby and plans to continue where his life left off.

While her friends frantically search for her, Abbywhos trapped in an emotionally abusive marriage with her husband, Jakebegins to have feelings for Mateo. Abby wonders if being at the wrong place at the wrong time was an act of fate. Should she put her fear on the back burner and follow her heart?

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491742891

Belinda Cheramie

Belinda Cheramie was born and raised in southern Louisiana. She spends her free time writing from her home situated on the banks of Bayou Lafourche. Cheramie enjoys vacationing in the Caribbean as well as camping with friends and family.

Book preview

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Chapter 1

The rain was coming down hard as the three women walked away from the burial site, all of them shedding tears for their dear friend Terri. The last few days had been devastating for the three of them. Their lives would never be the same again. Their group of four had become three. Terri Spencer, Rachel Collins, Laurie Keats, and Abigail Dawson had known each other for as long as they could remember. The four had attended the same school and shared the same interests. They were inseparable. All of them came from single-child families. Through the years, the four had become like sisters. Rachel, Laurie, and Abigail had just said good-bye to not only a friend but also a sister.

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Terri’s parents had housed their daughter and two grandchildren after Terri’s twenty-two-year marriage ended in divorce. Shortly before her death, she had saved up enough money to purchase a home of her own. Unfortunately she had become so preoccupied with work that she had missed several opportunities to view potential homes. Terri’s son and daughter were both in college. Up until the time her daughter began kindergarten, Terri was a stay-at-home mom. She had made a firm decision to go back to college to obtain a nursing degree. That she did, and she was thereafter a workaholic up until the time of her death. The situation grew worse when her youngest began college. She took on a lot of overtime. It filled the void of no longer having the children around.

Her death was the result of a tragic accident caused by self-deprivation—something that could have, perhaps, been avoided. Terri was on her way home after completing a twelve-hour night shift when she fell asleep at the wheel. She crashed into an oncoming vehicle and died instantly.

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Abby and Laurie would always remember the look on Rachel’s face as she demanded they drive safely as they exited the postfuneral gathering. Rachel had always been like the mother hen to the rest of them. Even during their school years, she had acted more responsibly and seemed to have matured sooner than her peers. If one of them needed a shoulder to cry on, Rachel would drop whatever it was she was doing at the time and rush right over to comfort her friend. Her sister. When someone had a problem, it seemed she was the one to solve it. As for Laurie, she was the antithesis of Rachel. She was a bit flirtatious but meant no harm. Most of the time she exhibited her flirtatious behavior just to get the rest laughing. Laurie was a bit too trusting when it came to the gentlemen. She seemed to have a problem with keeping relationships going. As for Terri, she was definitely the workaholic, but back in her days of youth, she enjoyed her free summers. Summertime consisted of lounging around the pool with the rest of the gals, discussing everything from the newest crush to the latest fashions.

All four of them were little ladies, except on occasions when their tomboy tendencies surfaced. For instance, when a group of neighborhood machos challenged them to a game of basketball, a bicycle race, or a ridiculous fishing tournament held in a nearby canal, they were always ready to answer the challenge. Of course their hormones eventually kicked in, and their childish behaviors then ceased.

Abby was the most introverted of the four. Like her friends, she had grown up an only child.

She had a loving mother and father and had enjoyed a wonderful childhood. She was a bit more dependent on others than the rest. She had depended on her parents for love and security, as does every child; her friends for support and companionship; and her husband for all of the same. She was a follower, not a leader. She enjoyed the simple things in life and normally tended to the needs of others before her own. In life, she had pretty much placed herself on the back burner. Abigail Allen was a mild-mannered girl who had blossomed into a beautiful, mild-mannered woman. Everyone loved her. She wasn’t like the rest of the women, who became fussy over little issues such as hair, weight, clothes, etc. She was naturally beautiful with olive skin, auburn hair, and emerald-green eyes—eyes that were rare; eyes that showed a bit of shyness and uncertainty at times. On that particular day, the day of her friend’s burial, her eyes displayed grief, deep sorrow, and mourning that only time could bandage. Bandage, but never heal.

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Later that night, Abby didn’t see Jake’s pickup as she pulled into the drive. He must have been on his way home by then. As she walked inside the house, she wiped her eyes, still shedding tears of disbelief. Abby walked upstairs to prepare a hot bath. As she undressed, she stared into the running water and reflected back on the funeral. She remembered how she had looked around for Jake, sure he would be there, but he never showed. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to redirect her thoughts, as she turned the old faucet handles that desperately needed replacement. She sat back in the tub, hoping to relax her sore muscles. The hot water was a relief to the body but not to the mind. It was time for rest. The last few days and nights had taken a toll on Abby as well as the others. The shock hadn’t worn off. They hadn’t seen it coming. If she had been ill, the four of them could have prepared for it. The pain would’ve been no less, and it would’ve caused a long bout of suffering for their dear friend. Death? Life? Abby thought as she lay back in the tub with water up to her neck. What’s it all for?

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Abby was lying in bed when she noticed the time. It was almost midnight. Thursday. Beer night, she said aloud as she reached over to turn the lamp on. She could hear the slamming of the front door; Jake wobbled and swayed as he walked up the stairs. As he entered the bedroom, Abby watched as he tried to undress. With a look of disgust, she remained silent as she watched him try to make his way to the shower. As the water ran, she could hear shampoo bottles hitting the shower floor. It began to sound more like two people in battle than one person trying to shower. That was always how beer night ended. Thirsty Thursday, as he and his buddies called it. The irony of it all lingered in her mind.

Thursdays were their night too—meaning it was a gals’ night in. It was always takeout and a movie. It had been their little ritual for years. It was a bit more subtle than Jake’s beer night. Quieter for sure. But it was all over now. The Thursdays the four had enjoyed together would be no more. It was the first Thursday that would end the ritual. Terri hadn’t always made it, but they all understood that her work days often included nights, and that sometimes left her worn. It just wouldn’t be the same without her, and they all seemed to be in agreement with the thought.

Jake crawled into bed as Abby leaned over to turn off the lamp. No one spoke for a while. Abby decided to break the ice. What happened today? You weren’t there, she said.

Extra busy, he answered in a muffled voice. Sorry I wasn’t at your friend’s service today, okay, he said in a mocking manner. What made this so bad was that he had known Terri for a long time. He knew that of the four, she and Abby were the closest.

She had a name, Jake; her name was Terri, Abby said as her voice weakened and a tear rolled off her cheek and onto her pillow.

Yeah, he murmured without feeling as he fell asleep.

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The following morning, Abby was awakened by the ringing of her cell phone. It was her mother calling to check up on her. Fran Allen was a tall, medium-framed silver-haired woman with a tough exterior, and she was stern when she needed to be. She had been a landscaper for more than thirty years. She owned her own business yet still participated in the actual landscaping. That was her passion. She was a very energetic sixty-year-old woman—or as she’d put it, sixty years young. She and her late husband, Everett, began the business when Abby was around ten years of age. Abby spent many days with her parents at the workplace and learned a lot about the business by observing her mother and father. She’d help her mother in the store. She often dealt with customers, which enabled her to shake off some of her shyness. She helped her father handle sacks of feed from the adjacent feed store, which the Allens also owned. She learned about plants, trees, and animals. Animals were her favorite. As she grew older, she learned to appreciate nature, all the while realizing that all the beautiful things were gifts from God.

When Abby was young, she became the neighborhood animal activist. She could remember her father complaining to her mother about her hauling stray cats to the house. She would fall in love with every stray cat she encountered, and she considered it her duty to bring them all home, groom them, and secretly feed them food from the fridge. She would occasionally find a dog wandering about and treat it the same. She adored the little critters and acted as though they had been sent to her from above to love and nurture, all the while believing that she was the only being that could properly care for them. Eventually her father prevailed and allowed her to keep only a couple of cats. She narrowed her choices down to two males: Sam and Mark. Sam was a Siamese, and Mark was black with four white paws and a long white mark on his forehead—hence the name Mark. Abby kept the two felines for many years until Sam died of old age. Mark disappeared a few weeks after and was never seen again.

Fran tried to comfort her daughter by concocting a story she hoped would ease her daughter’s pain. She explained that Mark missed Sam so much that he decided to leave for a while to visit some old cat friends of his so that he wouldn’t be so lonely. Abby eventually bought it. Remembering the pain she felt at Sam’s death, she vowed never to own a pet again. This was a promise she kept up until her married years. That was when she met Kiki, a fawn-colored Great Dane puppy she eyed while doing a landscaping job for a couple who bred the gentle giants. She was one of a litter of ten and absolutely gorgeous. Abby immediately phoned Jake and persuaded him to let her take the puppy home. She thought it would be a great dog to have around because the breed was excellent with kids. She knew that Sean would be thrilled to have a pet. Abby threw Sean’s name into the conversation, ensuring Jake’s stamp of approval. Jake was busy at work, so being anxious to end the conversation, he said yes. Abigail failed to inform Jake of the exact breed. He hadn’t asked, so she figured that if he didn’t ask, it really didn’t matter.

Kiki was Abby’s little girl. She always dreamed of having a daughter. Not that she loved her stepson any less because he wasn’t biologically hers; she just would’ve liked a child of her own. To give birth was a natural phenomenon that most women she knew longed for. So Kiki was her girl. Little girl? Not for long. At a year old she weighed in at 130 pounds with still another year to go to reach full maturity. Kiki had become Abby’s big girl and was loved by all.

Every morning the two of them went for walks on the levee. A highway separated Ormond Estates and the levee that kept the river hidden from view. It was the perfect place for walking. They always encountered other dog walkers, joggers, and cyclists. Some of them would comment as they eyed the large dog and thin-framed woman, Who is walking who here? or When you gonna put a saddle on that thing? Abby would laugh with the friendly townsfolk. It was all well meant, of course.

Summers were fun too. While everyone was busy working, Abby and Kiki would enjoy taking dips in the pool. Abby swam around as Kiki acted as lifeguard on duty, periodically jumping into cool off. It took Jake awhile to accept Kiki. He had pictured a much smaller canine companion for his son, but after seeing Sean interact with his new pal, he kept his comments to himself. He did inform his wife and son that they would have to tend to the dog’s needs. Period. He didn’t care for animals, and they were both aware of that, as he refused to show affection toward their new pet. The only animals that were acceptable to Jake were cows—dead cows in the form of steaks that sat on his dinner plate. Abby made her way to the phone and caught it on its last ring. Hello, she greeted sleepily.

Hey there. Sweetheart, you know that you can come into work anytime, but I really think it best to take some time off. Do something for yourself for a change. You have been through a lot. Fran’s voice echoed as Abby held the phone to her ear.

Abby smiled when she recognized her caller. I know, Momma, you’re probably right, replied Abby as she gazed out of the french doors that faced the backyard.

I’m always right! answered Fran, trying to lift her spirits. Heck, I got Millie here helping me out, and she’s swifter than you! Let’s see, today is Friday; why don’t you call me or stop by sometime next week and let me know when you feel the need to resume activity.

Okay, I’ll do that. Love you, Momma, said Abby.

I love you, my baby, replied Fran in the I loved you first manner. Abby smiled as she ended the call. She walked over to the bathroom and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she spotted her first gray hair. She singled it out and gave it a tug. Where did the years go? she asked herself. She began reminiscing of her youthful days, when she and her friends were carefree, when everything seemed to happen in slow motion. A time of happiness. It all passed by so quickly, she thought as a tear rolled down her cheek. She tried to get back into her daily routine and keep her thoughts positive. It was the only thing that would enable her to get her tasks done.

Abby threw on a sweatsuit as she headed to the sun room, where Kiki patiently awaited her for their walk on this cold January morning.

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A couple of weeks had gone by since Abby, Rachel, and Laurie had seen one another. They spoke on the telephone practically every day but hadn’t met in person. Unlike Abby, who worked only a few hours once or twice a week, outside of the home that is, Laurie and Rachel were full-timers. Laurie was employed at a law firm in the city, and Rachel, alongside her husband, David, owned a real-estate agency in town. Collins Realty was located in Mautry. Mautry was a town just ten minutes from the city, which was close to home for the couple—a convenient location indeed. The office was situated in a small plaza. It consisted of a doughnut shop, nail salon, insurance company, and travel agency, and in its center was the real-estate office. Rachel sat at her desk while David observed her gazing out the window that faced Augie’s Travel Agency. She was withdrawn, but she was also determined to show up at the office. David had insisted she stay home, but she had ignored the suggestion. You okay? asked David in his usual caring manner.

Yes, she said as she looked over to him at his desk.

I’m not buying it, he said as he walked over to her and began massaging her shoulders as he stood behind her.

Go home, Rachel; I’ll manage.

Nope, I’m staying here, right here. I have to keep busy, she replied as she kissed his arm.

I’ll see you later, he replied as he exited the office to meet his ten thirty client. David was showing a small wood-frame house in the town of Good Hope that had been on the market for months. It wasn’t just any house, though. It was the house Terri never got the chance to view. Rachel had phoned Terri about it when she first received the listing, but she had failed to set a date with Terri. She felt that maybe the shortened drive from work to home would have kept Terri from falling asleep at the wheel. Maybe I could have saved her. I’m not going there, she said aloud as she grabbed hold of her forehead while she leaned an elbow on her desk. She took a couple of aspirins out of her desk, popped them into her mouth, and walked over to the water fountain to take a swig. She then went back to the window and again stared out at the travel agency. She forced a smile because she had an idea. A great idea! Perhaps this idea would serve as a bandage for them all.

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Chapter 2

Rachel grabbed her handbag as she headed out of the office. She turned before locking the door and flipped over the out to lunch sign. It wasn’t even time for lunch, but she had an idea in her head that needed immediate attention. She walked over to the travel agency and stared at the posters of Paris, Athens, and Rome that hung on the windows. As she entered, she viewed the brochures that sat in their slots. The chubby, bald-headed agent smiled impatiently, anxious to get to his new customer as he held the phone’s receiver to his ear. He eventually ended the call and arose from his cluttered desk. Hello, dear, how are we doing today? he asked as he approached Rachel, who was still viewing the brochures.

Fine, she answered. And you? she asked out of courtesy.

Great, he answered. Are you looking to travel in the States or abroad?

Don’t know, really, just have to get away. Someplace quiet maybe, she answered.

I understand completely, dear. Let’s see what we have here, he said as he walked to his computer.

Rachel was kind of pressed for time. I heard you talk of Spain, she said.

Yes, Spain is lovely. Traveled there myself. Me and the wife about five years ago. Barcelona is nice, but I would suggest traveling to the southern part of Spain. Seville, Cordoba, something of that nature. he said.

Quiet? Rachel asked.

Depends on where you stay and what you plan while you’re there. It would be the most relaxing route.

The phone began to ring.

Okay, I’ll get back with you, thanks, Rachel said as he motioned good-bye. She headed back to the office to find a couple of clients waiting at the door. Sorry, she said as she unlocked the door and flipped the sign around again. She tended to her clients and sent them on their way.

David walked in as the last client was leaving. He had sold the house. Usually when a house or business sold, they would go out to celebrate. Not that night, though. He smiled at Rachel as he walked over to his desk. His smile was disturbing, fake. Sure, he was glad to have made the sale, but he wished it would’ve been to a different buyer—a buyer named Terri Spencer.

Sold? asked Rachel.

Sold, he answered as he walked over to her desk, not knowing how she would react.

It’s okay, David, she said as she stood up to meet him at eye level. He pulled her closer and kissed her on the forehead. I love you, woman; you’ll get through this, he said lovingly.

Thank you for handling the sale, she whispered, her voice breaking a little.

I’m your partner; that’s my job, he said as he eyed the brochures that lay on her desk. Where are we going? he asked jovially.

"We aren’t going anywhere," she answered as she forced a smile.

Oh, okay. He walked back to his desk. "You are weird!" he said as he stared at her from his side of the room.

It’s just an idea I have, she said.

Oh God, he said, covering his ears, hoping to keep her trapped in her good spirit realm. She explained her plan as he nodded. He was touched at the thought of her generosity and gave her his blessings. He unselfishly agreed with her plan and hoped that Laurie and Abby would allow her to give them the precious gift that she had in store. He watched as she spoke via telephone to the travel agent. She smiled as she wrote down the info. Perhaps this would be the best medicine for the three of them—getting away from everyone and everything. Lifelong friends enjoying time to themselves. Time unhurried, as in the good old days. If there were ever a time for that, it was now. A time to heal, thought David as he remembered an old classic rock hit that used Bible scripture in its lyrics. It was one of his favorites from the book of Ecclesiastes. He never forgot the lyrics of that song: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to reap; a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to laugh and a time to weep … a time to build up and a time to break down; a time to dance and a time to mourn; a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together … a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing … A time to gain and a time to lose … To David, that just about summed