Chapter 7

Natalie stood shaking, her hands over her mouth as she stared wide eyed at the figure outlined in her window. "What's wrong?" Emily called as she pushed pass Richard and moved to her. Richard, meanwhile, eyed the area while grabbing a fire poker on his way into the room. "Practical, Richard," Emily chided as she pulled Natalie into her arms.

"Well, a baseball bat wasn't handy," he remarked as he looked towards the window to see a man pressed up against it, clothing apparently wet and rapping against the glass. "My G-d! He looks like he needs help," Richard added as he lowered the poker.

"You. . .you see him too. . ." Natalie asked, raising her head from where she had buried it in Emily's shoulder as the figure backed away.

"Of course we do," Richard confirmed, approaching the two women.

"I'm not going crazy then?" Natalie asked as she shifted to look at him, her head resting against Emily's shoulder as the older woman rubbed her arm soothingly.

"What is this about? Do you know that person?" Emily wondered.

"I know who he's supposed to be," Natalie answered as she allowed them to lead her to the couch.

"Who?"

"My late husband, Christian."

"Good Lord, this keeps getting odder and odder," Emily commented.

"Perhaps not," Richard mused.

"You consider this normal?"

"I consider this to be a scare tactic. A divergence if you will."

"Because if she's focusing on this. . ." Emily started, only for Natalie to cut in: "I won't be focusing on the trial." Straightening her back and wiping her tears with that realization she continued: "And I fell for it! I tell anyone and I appear to be losing it. Why didn't I see this before! She's setting me up and I've played right into her hands," she continued as a knock sounded on her door.

"You don't think?" Emily wondered as she eyed the door wearily, as the person on the other side started to pound.

"I'll get it."

"But. . ." Emily started to protest as the person started to yell for Natalie.

"It's Antonio," she remarked unconcerned as she headed towards the door.

"Be careful," Richard cautioned as he and Emily followed her, stopping in the archway between the living room and entranceway.

Rolling her eyes at their concern, Natalie opened the door: "Antonio what is going on?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" he demanded as he gripped her upper arms.

"Tell you what?" she asked confused as she looked down at his tightening grip.

"That you'd seen him."

"Antonio, you're hurting me!" she said uneasily, hoping that Richard and Emily would stay where they were. Natalie could tell that something was wrong with her former brother-in-law, and although she was fairly sure she could handle him, she didn't want to see him go off the handle and do something to the couple. Uneasily, she shot a pleading look to Emily, who read its meaning and put a hand on Richard's arm, shaking her head as Natalie looked back to Antonio as he continued to yell at her. "WHY?" he demanded again, loosening his hold..

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Christian."

"What about Chris?" she asked, forcing herself not to pull away from him.

"That he's. . ." shaking his head, Antonio let her go and threw up his hands. "I saw him! He was here!"

"No. No, Antonio, you didn't," she sighed as she rubbed at her arms.

"Don't lie to me!" he yelled, grabbing her again.

His ferocity scared her, and Emily could barely keep Richard from going to her. Only her whispered warning that he might make it worse kept him in place. "I'm not!" Natalie cried as she tried unsuccessfully to pull away.

"You are! Just like everyone else!"

"No. No, Antonio, listen to me. Christian is dead. You know that. You're the one who told me, remember?"

"But I saw. . ."

"Someone someone wants us to believe is Chris. Think about it. If he were alive would he let us think he was dead? Would he put your mother through that?" she tried to reason as his hold loosened and she was able to pull away.

"Damn the Santis!" Antonio cursed as he turned and punched a hole into the wall near the door, the action causing the two women to flinch and Richard to take a step forward.

"Do you. . ." he asked.

"No. It'll be OK. But you two had better leave," Natalie answered without looking at them as Antonio leaned his head against the wall.

"If you think we're leaving you with someone who might do you harm," Emily started to protest, only for Richard to stop her with a hand placed on her arm.

"He's not going to hurt me. Go on and leave. There's nothing else you can do here. That I want you to do."

Emily looked startled at that as Richard dropped his own hand and put both of them into his pants pockets. "Come along, Emily. The girl clearly doesn't want us here. But I will say that once we walk out. . ."

"I think I know the score by now," Natalie answered as Antonio turned around.

"Very well then, as long as we're understood," Richard told her stiffly as he moved towards the door. "Come along, Emily."

"Yeah Emily, go along," Natalie said keeping her gaze firmly fixed on the wall over Antonio's shoulder.

"Well, I never!" Emily replied throwing up her hands in exasperation and heading towards the door.

"I wish I can say the same," Natalie replied looking down at the floor and waiting for the door to close behind the departing couple.

"I didn't realize. . ." Antonio sighed embarrassedly on an inhale.

"Don't worry about it, I was trying to find a way to get rid of them anyway."

"Who were they?"

"Just some people who thought they knew me," she shrugged. "You want to talk?"

"I don't know. Why didn't you say something to me?"

"I don't know. You have so much else going on and I guess I thought I was following a Lord family tradition and going crazy. I'd see a figure wet and banging on my window with a stump and. . ." she shuddered, wrapping her arms around her chest. "It took me a while to realize it couldn't be him. That someone wanted to gaslight me."

"Why?"

"Paul I guess."

Antonio frowned at that, "or you just want people to think that," he accused.

"What?!?!"

"It's not the Santis. No. You want people to think that someone's framing you. You must have hired someone. Yeah. . .that's it. Evangeline told me she was worried you'd do something stupid. It's why she sent me. . . you have someone watching me don't you? You're the one setting people up!"

"I don't believe. . .Get out, Antonio. Just get the hell out!" she ordered over her shoulder as she ran up the stairs.

Standing on the steps Emily glared at Richard. "Was that necessary?"

"You think I like leaving her any more than you do?" he asked.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Was that act necessary?"

"She knows it's just that."

"Are you sure about that, because it took me a moment to realize it myself," she rebutted as she moved down the steps, Richard following her.

"We have a plan of action that we need to stick to," he reminded as they reached their rental.

"Of course we do! And by the way, I still don't agree with it either!"

"Emily," he protested as they got into the car.

"Just drive so we can go home, Richard. If I have to stick to this ridiculous plan, at least I can still have Friday night dinner!"