Lucas entered the dark Wicca Store that he had gifted Gail as a wedding present and glanced around the quiet property that his mother used to own. There was a strange presence here and it caused his urges to run wild; however, he was not here to have his usual fun and was looking to discuss what had happened in the early hours of the morning.
'And here I was thinking that you had gotten over our little mishap' Gail stated sarcastically from the small office at the back of the Store, then entered the main area with Luke in her arms.
'Da...da...' Luke called and reached for his father.
'That's my boy' Lucas smiled proudly, willing him to say his name first and reached for his son instinctively.
Gail handed Luke over carefully, then paced the large room and ran her fingers over the large cabinets filled with old merchandise and literature. 'This place is a gem' she advised, still fascinated by the secrets it held.
'My mother believed it was haunted' Lucas recalled and smiled fondly at the thought of his mother.
'But Malcolm called her crazy' Gail said knowingly, then turned towards her husband and watched him closely.
'Get outta my head love' he ordered calmly, then shifted Luke to rest on his hip and watched Gail intently.
Gail sensed his intrigue with her and let out a small laugh. It was evident that he was attempting to come up with a reason for her strange behaviour earlier and she had no answers for him. 'I don't know what happened, I probably just had a nightmare with all the stress I'm under so just let it go' she sighed, choosing to address the matter head on rather than dancing around in their usual fashion.
Lucas slowly walked around the large room with Luke, then stopped in front of her and stared deep into her eyes. 'I haven't had a nightmare since I avenged my mother, did I ever tell you about that?' he asked casually, sensing her darkness closer than usual and feeling his own beginning to rise within him.
Gail stared at him cautiously, sensing his dark desires and held his intense gaze. Lucas had not fully opened up to her about his mother and she was not sure that she trusted his motives right now.
Lucas sensed her distrust and laughed. 'You're strugglin' to trust me?' he asked in disbelief, then placed Luke carefully into the small cot Gail kept in here for him and approached his love again.
Gail inhaled deeply when he closed the distance between them, she had rushed out this morning as she did not want a confrontation; however, it appeared her husband would not let the matter go and she suspected he was angrier than his current disposition suggested.
'Can you blame me when I woke up with a pillow preventing me from breathin'?' he asked and watched her reaction carefully.
'You held a knife to my throat on New Years eve and you want to play the victim now?' she replied defensively, feeling her darkness try to take hold of the situation.
Lucas grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, then shook his head slowly. 'Oh no Darlin', you don't get to turn this around on me this time' he warned, inserting his dominance and waited patiently for her to respond.
Before Gail could come up with an appropriate response, the door of the Wicca Store opened abruptly. She bit her lip to stifle her relieved sigh and turned her attention towards the interruption, ignoring Lucas' fury at the disruption. 'Adam?' she asked confused, surprised at his unannounced visit.
Adam instantly sensed that he had interrupted something between the couple and shifted uncomfortably on the spot. 'I need you' he stated in an urgent tone.
Lucas raised an eyebrow at the statement and turned towards Gail proprietorially. 'Oh he needs you now?' he asked possessively and narrowed his eyes distrustfully at the man.
'Jealousy doesn't suit you soulmate' Gail teased, then smiled reassuringly at Lucas before placing a soft kiss on his lips and heading towards Adam.
'We ain't finished love' Lucas advised sternly, not impressed that she was choosing another man over him.
'We are for now' Gail replied in a firm warning tone, then left him with Luke while she exited the Store with Adam.
Caleb rode up to the side entrance to his home and dropped his bicycle carefully onto the ground. He sensed Rose was wary about being here and signalled for her to follow him, excited at the chance to show off his extravagant home.
'I don't think my momma would want me messin' around here' Rose said nervously, knowing her mother would ground her if she knew she was intruding in the Sheriff's home.
'Well my momma wouldn't mind my friend spendin' time in my home' Caleb stated confidently, then took Rose's arm and dragged her around the side of the property.
'Your momma's dead' Rose gasped, wondering if Caleb had gone crazy due to all the tragedy he had suffered.
'I mean Gail silly, she's basically my momma now' Caleb shrugged, then stopped when they reached the back of the property and peered at the large garden in front of them.
Rose was about to enquire about the relationship that he had with his cousin, then caught sight of the large back garden and stared at it in awe. She had rode past this Mansion on a number of occasions; however, she had never imagined the property could be as vast as this and it held an old fashioned charm that she had not come across anywhere else in Trinity.
'Cool ain't it?' Caleb asked proudly, then took her hand and led her closer to the large old fountain at the beginning of his backyard.
'It's all so big, how do you even keep it tidy?' she asked, gobsmacked at how well kept the garden was.
Caleb glanced around the area, then leaned on the large fountain attempting to be cool. 'Gail I guess, she's always around back doin' somethin' or other...I wanna fix this up for her, but I don't know where to start' he pondered and ran his finger over the old fountain carefully.
'You start by keepin' strangers away from it' Lucas advised in a scolding tone, as he came around back with Luke in his arms after sensing an unauthorised person on his property.
Rose's eyes grew wide when she saw the Sheriff and she started to run away towards the front of the property; however, he blocked her path.
'You in a rush Darlin'?' he smiled charmingly, catching the innocent beauty of the child.
'We weren't doin' nothin'' she gulped nervously under his intense attractive stare and shifted uncomfortably on her feet.
Lucas sensed her admiration of him and laughed it off, then turned his attention to Caleb. 'You really wanna fix that up?' he asked, remembering how much Gail had wanted to restore this part of their property; however, they had both gotten sidetracked by other ventures.
Caleb came to Rose's side and stood tall beside her. 'I would if I could, Rose'll help me too I bet' he advised and shot her a friendly smile.
Lucas sensed how much Caleb was attempting to impress this girl and did not have to heart to shoot down his aspirations in front of her. He had done more with older girls at Caleb's age than the boy could imagine and it was about time that his eldest focused on something other than their family.
If Caleb wanted to take on a project to further his position with this girl, he would not stop him and it would be good for the boy to spend time with a pretty girl close to his own age. 'Alright, we'll work somethin' out, but not now. You both wanna grab some grub, then come down to the Station and see what police work looks like?' Lucas asked in an inviting tone, not wanting to leave them alone here in case they decided to snoop further down towards the back of the property.
Rose's eyes lit up at the suggestion and they both nodded frantically.
'Well OK then, lets take your brother and go have some real fun' he smiled, not bothering to hide Caleb's true relationship to Luke and led the children around to the front of the property, towards his car.
Lucas returned to the Station with the children after he had treated Caleb and Rose to a burger, then left them to be entertained by Ben and headed straight to his office with Luke. He had made the decision to transfer Dylan back to the Station holding cells earlier, in the hopes that Adam would withdraw his interest in the position of Mayor and run to his clients rescue; however, he had not expected the man to involve Gail and decided it was best for him to be on hand, in case his love chose to interfere with his plans.
Gail sensed her family as soon as they entered the building; however, she did not react. She was currently standing at the door to the holding cells, rereading the note Adam had given her and pondering over the best course of action to take. 'He can't be serious with this can he? I mean, it's got to be the stupidest move I've ever come across' she stated in disbelief and stared into the cells through the small window on the door.
Adam did not like this turn of events, he had been ready to change his stance and defend Dylan if the man brought about a good enough argument; however, what was written on the note was clearly a lie and an attempt to blackmail himself out of this situation, which Adam wanted no part of. 'I know it's not true, I only have to see the way you and the Sheriff look at each other to know that there's no chance in hell of this, but if he gets a chance to say it in public...'
'I'm a Reporter Adam, I know how this works. Hell, if this claim wasn't about me I'd run with the story myself' she laughed, in an attempt to hide her fury at the situation she now found herself in.
'So we're on the same page with this?' Adam asked hopefully, aware that the only good thing to potentially come out of this was a stronger bond with her.
'Of course we are and I'm assuming you're now fully committed to the election, rather than to this cockroach?' Gail asked bluntly, understanding that she was forming an alliance with the man before her and aware that Lucas would not be impressed.
Adam let out a long sigh and nodded, then ran his hand through his hair in exasperation at his own actions. 'You're a Reporter and I shouldn't be involvin' you in this. I could've gone to the Sheriff but wasn't sure whether that was the right play, with the note directly namin' you' he explained apologetically for dragging her down here.
'We don't want Lucas getting involved in this, trust me when I say he wouldn't take too kindly to Dylan's accusation' Gail advised knowingly, then signalled for Adam to wait outside the door and entered the holding cells alone.
Gail hated this place, she had been here when Matt got himself locked up and when Billy got accused of some stupid crime. She did not know how it was always so easy for her to get into here, when technically her Reporter status should make this area off limits; however, she supposed this was a benefit of being the Sheriff's wife. It was a good job that she cared about her integrity and would never cheat her way to a story, as it appeared that most of the Deputies here would not hesitate to give her the inside scoop.
'So you came' Dylan said bitterly when she came closer to his cell, then got up from the dingy bed that he was sitting on.
The sound of his voice took her away from her thoughts and she focused on the task before her. 'You accused me of cheating on my husband with you and begged for me to come, how could I refuse such an appealing offer?' Gail replied sarcastically and stopped a few yards from the cell.
'You turned on me' he accused in a hurt tone.
'You raped helpless women who were too weak to stand up for themselves, then stalked me' Gail advised in disbelief at him behaving like a victim.
'Your husband made me confess to bein' in Goat Town the night that man was murdered, why'd he do that Gail?' Dylan asked curiously, disregarding her previous comment and actually enjoying having a conversation with her. He had a lot of time to think in here and some things just weren't adding up, so he decided to use this meeting to his advantage.
Gail's demeanour remained unchanged and she regarded him pleasantly. 'My husband wouldn't do such a thing, he's the Sheriff of Trinity and highly regarded around here...If you believe you were coerced in some way, you should've raised that with your Lawyer or an unbiased Reporter, not one who's married to the guy' Gail laughed at his stupidity, not falling for his attempt to engage her.
'You took my Lawyer!' Dylan shouted and ran towards her, then punched the cell in frustration.
Gail continued to stand casually, unfazed by his attempt to appear dominant. She had dealt with a lot of misguided men in her time, who believed they had an upper hand against her and in the end they all fell without much effort. 'I took nothing from you, your Lawyer decided to run for Mayor' Gail shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest to indicate her boredom.
Dylan shook his head at her lack of interest in him and let out a grim laugh. 'You're just as rotten as your husband and when I get on that stand in front of the Jury, I'm gonna tell everybody that I fucked you hard and how much you liked it...let's see who's focused on puttin' me down for a crime I didn't commit then' he advised viciously and watched her smugly through the bars.
Gail held his gaze firmly and moved forward slowly, until her face was nearly touching the bars to his cell. She felt herself being dragged to the back of her subconscious and was watching what transpired next as if through water.
Dylan watched her carefully, surprised that she had come so close and obeyed curiously when she signalled him to come closer.
Gail felt herself smile as he obeyed her like a curious puppy, then she was engulfed by darkness. 'You're wrong you know?' she whispered sweetly, moving her face closer to the bars. 'I'm not as bad he is...I'm worse' she stated calmly, then lost all control of her inner barrier and Rosemary clawed her way out.
Dylan smiled smugly for a moment, sensing that he had her where he wanted her. His smile faded suddenly when her eyes changed from a vacant haze to a dark black and he stepped back from the bars slowly, sensing an urgent need to get away from her; however, her eyes were fixed on his and he could feel his control on his body being pulled away fiercely.
Dylan tried to fight the takeover, but it was no use and his control completed faded. A dark shadow come over him and he felt an intense fear when the dripping wet woman appeared in front of him, with her hair draped heavily over her pale face. He wanted to scream from the top of his lungs; however, his mouth remained shut and no sound came from him.
Dylan felt himself move towards the bed and pulled off the bed sheets slowly, with tears streaming from his eyes and down his cheeks. He did not understand what was happening and the other version of Gail, with her claw like nails and dripping wet appearance, was causing terror to flood over him.
Gail remained still as she watched Dylan climb onto the bed and thread the bed sheets through the overhead cell bars, then start making a noose. She felt a sudden need to stop this; however, Rosemary was strong and she was determined to protect her family. When she saw the tears streaming down Dylan's cheek she wanted to close her eyes, but she could not turn away from what ultimately was her doing. When Dylan placed the noose around his neck, she screamed as loud as she could to alert Adam and kept her control of Dylan.
Adam rushed into the holding cells and saw what Dylan was about to do. Gail was frozen in shock and shaking; therefore, he put his arm around her to comfort her, then turned his full attention to Dylan. 'You don't wanna do this man, I'll keep the case and we'll get you a great defence...It's not worth goin' out like this' he pleaded, hoping for Dylan to see reason.
Lucas rushed in with Luke when Gail's scream pierced through his ears, then stared at the scene before him bemused. He handed Luke to Ben and signalled for him to get his son out of here, then turned his attention towards Gail who was frozen on the spot with Adam's arms around her. He sensed Rosemary was out of her cage, then suddenly realised what was happening and spotted Gail's control of the situation was wavering. He did not understand why she was doing this publicly; however, he understood that something had threatened his love, to convince her to fully release her darkness in this setting.
Gail felt Dylan fighting Rosemary's control and suddenly felt faint. Adam tightened his grip on her waist to keep her upright and saw something change in Dylan's eyes that indicated he was starting to reach him.
Lucas did not appreciate any man touching his wife, least of all one who was interfering with his plans for Mayor and instinctively took a step forward to go to his love; however, he sensed her power weaken, causing him to return his focus to Dylan and he released his twin to intervene. 'Come on Dylan, this ain't how this is gonna go so just take that thing off your neck and get down' Lucas ordered, playing the part required of him.
Gail sensed Lucas' twin take over from Rosemary, then released her hold of Dylan and blacked out as Lucas' words travelled to her ears. When she came back around, she heard the sound of bone snapping and opened her eyes to see that Dylan had hanged himself in front of them all.
Gail turned to her husband confused and wanting to go to him; however, Lucas just shook his head dismissively and signalled for Adam to get her out of there, while he dealt with this mess. Gail watched him as she was dragged out of the room and felt her darkness subside, leaving her feeling empty and alone.
-To be continued-