Chapter Fifteen:
Skinner woke up very suddenly. He could feel some water in his lungs and he coughed violently. He had dreamt it again. This time it felt more real than it did when it actually happened. He didn't mean to shoot her. He didn't want to hurt her. But she had hurt him and he was blinded by that. Otherwise, he wouldn't have held a gun to her in the first place. He felt tears prick at his eyes. The guilt he felt when he thought he had killed her was rushing back to him quickly.
He thought talking to Angela would make him feel better. After talking to her, he hadn't felt all that much better. Of course, he was slightly drunk at the time. One probably shouldn't talk to one of God's Angels when one is drunk. That was probably why he fell overboard.
So, now he was sitting in his dark room, crying. He would never see Kate again because he had to leave her trapped in the ice, and he loved her as he would never love another woman he would ever meet in his life. His eyes fell on her despatch-box on his bedside table. He had never been able to open it and discover her secrets as he had hoped to.
Skinner picked up the box and examined it again. The silver had become tarnished. The lock was still locked. The writing on the lid had faded even further. He never could read what it said. He ran his fingers along its surface. "Kate," he whispered. "What are you keeping from me?"
He returned the despatch-box to the table and walked to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a vial of poison he had taken from Kate's belongings. The poison's name was written on the label in Kate's neat handwriting, Selenium. He knew small amounts of the element would be fine. But if he swallowed the entire vial…
He pulled the cork out of the vial and took a deep breath. As he tipped the vial's contents to his mouth, he felt someone grab his wrist and take the vial from him. The person spoke, "Mr. Rodney Skinner," he said. "I will not allow you to take your life. For as you know, all suicide victims go to Hell. You will not find Kate there."
"Who are you?" Skinner asked.
"A friend of Angela's," he said. "Listen carefully, Mr. Skinner. You need to keep faith and trust in Angela. She can lead you to Kate. Do not give up."
Skinner turned on a lamp. He was alone in the room.