Chapter 8

"Stupid people," Luis sighed to himself as he drove back into Harmony. Leave it to a little town like this to have thousands of love triangles. For the third time this week the same woman had called the station because her boyfriend and her husband were ready to kill each other.

Thank God he was back in the quiet town of Harmony, where almost nothing ever happened.

Almost…

Luis thought back to Theresa as he reached a stop light and couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She was shaken up when she first called him, she wanted to get out of the house and seemed almost paranoid about her son. Ethan wasn't home and Theresa claimed she needed to find Gwen. Something didn't add up… With that thought, Luis turned in the direction of Theresa's house.

She finally arrived at her destination with her captives. Little Ethan wasn't bound but he was too terrified to speak. Pilar was bound and gagged, so mortified from her daughter's image, she couldn't move. Even though Gwen was horrible to Pilar, she acted rather sweet towards Little Ethan.

When they got inside Gwen's choice of secrecy, she led them down a dark hallway and into a room. The room was too dark to see anything and Little Ethan grabbed onto his grandmother in fear. Gwen switched on the light and a feeling of comfort and panic washed over Pilar.

He was lying on the cot that might as well have been a wooden board when the light switched on. His eyes blurred at the sensation as he lifted himself up to a sitting position.

"Oh, my, God," Ethan breathed as his son ran towards him.

"Daddy!" Little Ethan screamed.

They were blocked by the bars but Ethan did his best to wrap his arms around his son. Gwen walked a bound Pilar to the door of the cage and shoved her inside, pushing her to the floor. Ethan ran to Pilar and helped her up.

"Pilar!" he cried when he saw her bloodied face. He tried to hold her up steady, but she was still dizzy. Gwen looked on in disgust when Ethan acted to attentively to Pilar. "Where's Theresa?" he demanded to know.

Gwen turned back to him. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about her anymore," she said with a smile. Gwen took Little Ethan's hand, pulling his away from Ethan, and led him to the door. Then she turned off the light and left Pilar and Ethan in darkness…

When Luis approached the house, he found that the front door was slightly ajar. Drawing basic police instinct, Luis' hand went to his holster and he drew his flashlight, shining it into the darkness of the house.

"Theresa?" he called into the house as he walked in. His flashlight illuminated the room and the light caught something on the floor. It was Theresa. "Oh, my, God!" He ran to her quickly. As fast as he could, he picked her up and raced to the hospital.

The room was cold and Ethan had given Pilar his blanket. They sat on the cot, Ethan doing his best to nurse Pilar's wounds.

"What happened?" Ethan asked as he used a napkin to clean the cut on Pilar's head.

Pilar took a moment as the events replayed in her head. "Luis called me," she began. "He said that Theresa had left Little Ethan with him but he had gotten called into duty. So he asked me if I could watch my grandson…" she paused, trying to get the room to stop spinning. Ethan watched her cautiously and told her to take her time even though his mind was screaming to know what happened. "So, I went to your house and waited for Luis to drop off Little Ethan." She paused and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. "After I put Little Ethan to bed, I went downstairs to the living room. As I walked down the stairs, I noticed the lights were off. I tried the switch, but it didn't work. I just figured that the fuse had gone out. I didn't know where you keep the extra ones, so I started to go back upstairs. Then the lamp from the living room turned on. That's when I saw her. She was sitting on the couch, swinging a knife. Gwen asked me where Theresa was and I told her I didn't know. She didn't believe me and she came at me. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't see. I ran upstairs and tried to protect Little Ethan. She cut my arms and attacked me when she tried to get him from me. She threw me and pushed my head into the wall." Pilar stopped, trying to fight her emotion. "I don't know what happened next. The next thing I can remember is that Theresa was there. That's when Gwen showed up again. She came out of Little Ethan's closet and flew at Theresa. They struggled and I tried to get to Theresa, but I couldn't. I could hear her screaming in the hallway. They went from room to room, fighting. The next thing I knew, Gwen was dragging me downstairs and I saw her there. Gwen's knife was lying on the floor by the stairs and Theresa was lying there, not moving. I tried to call to her…, I tried to touch her, I tried--" She began crying and Ethan tried his best to comfort her. That's when he finally asked:

"Where is Theresa?" Ethan said in a whisper. Pilar stared at him and did her best not to show it. But she couldn't hide it anymore. Her tears fell and she leaned into him, muffling her cries. Ethan swallowed hard and he knew…

The deafening beeps of the machines around him reminded Luis that this was very real. It was happening all over again.

He held her hand and prayed to God that he'd bring her out of this. "I'm here, Theresa."

The curtain opened with a swipe as a nurse entered. Luis watched her check Theresa's chart and her IV. "How is she?" Luis asked.

"Well, I guess she'll be okay. Poor thing. She's in for heartache when she wakes up. I couldn't even imagine..."

"I know. She's gonna be devastated."

"I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could say."

"It's okay. Thank you."

The nurse excused herself and left the room.

"Luis?" a groggy voice asked.

Luis looked up and saw that his sister had awoken. "Theresa, thank God."

Theresa found that her arm was bound in a cast, her throat was bruised, her head was bandaged and pounding, and she was lying in a hospital bed for the second time in four months. "What… What happened?" Theresa stared at Luis and then it all flooded back to her. A hazy image of Gwen choking her and pushing her down the stairs came into view.

"Theresa, who did this to you?"

The memories fought their way in and made Theresa's eyes water. "Where's Mama?" Theresa wanted to know. "Where's Little Ethan? Where's my son?"

"I don't know. You were the only one there."

"She took him… She took my son!"

"Wait, wait, wait. Theresa, who took him? Who took your son?"

"Gwen! She took my son. She took Mama. She took Ethan. And she almost killed me! She's taken everything from me! Everything! I have nothing left!" Tears fell down her cheeks as she cried. Luis held her hand and looked down, trying to push the lump out of his throat and Theresa noticed his hesitation. "Luis? What is it?" Luis looked up to his sister with sad eyes. "What happened?"

Luis swallowed hard and tried to find the words. "Uh… I don't know how to tell you this, but-"

"Tell me what?"

"I'm so sorry, Theresa."

"Luis, you're scaring me."

"W-when Gwen pushed you down the stairs… um- I… Theresa. Jesus…," he sighed hard. "You- you were five weeks pregnant, Theresa." Theresa's eyes surged open and she sat in shock. "But… and the fall- the fall…" He tried his best to get the words out, but he couldn't. "I'm so sorry." Luis didn't need to say anymore. Theresa knew exactly what he was saying.

Her breath was becoming short and she began crying. "No… It can't… No!" she screamed into Luis' arms. "She has taken everything!" Theresa was hysterical. It was a hard thing to lose a child, but she had lost a lot more than that. She had lost two children, her husband, and her mother. And all to her mortal enemy. Theresa knew one thing though. This was all far from over…

"Theresa, what happened?" Luis asked her.

After Theresa recounted the violent night to her brother, Luis pulled something out of his pocket. "Theresa, I found this next to you at your house. Do you know what it means?"

She stared at the words and was so frustrated with her inability to interpret, she began to cry. "I don't know! She's playing games now. And I have no idea what it means!"

"Shh, shh, Theresa. Don't worry. Okay? Right now, you just need to rest."

"No! I need my son! I need Ethan! I need my mother! I can't-"

"No, you need to, Theresa. Don't worry about it right now. We'll talk about it later." Luis squeezed her hand in reassurance. He left the room to get some coffee and Theresa stared at the haunting words…

The next day, Luis took Theresa back home. The sight of her empty house made her choke up. Things were still strewn about all over the floor and the lights still didn't work. Luis walked Theresa over to the couch and helped her sit down.

"How you feeling?" he asked.

"I'll live."

Luis held her close and rubbed circles on her back. "Yeah."

"Hey, Luis?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"I wanna see the note she left," Theresa said, outstretching her hand.

"Theresa, are you sure? I don't want you to get worked up again."

"I want to see it."

Luis hesitated. "Okay," he said, pulling the piece of paper from his pocket. "Here." Theresa took the paper and studied it, down to every last crinkle. "Have any idea what it could mean?"

Theresa shook her head. "No." She stared at the words and read them aloud.

"MADE OF WOOD AND SPURNED OF SHINE

MANY NIGHTS WHERE HE WAS MINE

STOLEN SONG AND COLDENED RAIN

TRUSTING AND DECEIVING RESULTS IN PAIN."

Theresa and Luis both sat back in silence, contemplating what Gwen could have meant by those words. "She's playing games with me. She wants me figure it out."

"Figure out what?"

Theresa was silent and she had no idea that the answer was literally in her hands. "Figure it out… figure it out… figure what out…? Damn it! Theresa, think!" she yelled at herself. "Wait a minute! That's it! I got it!"

"What? What's it?" Luis asked excitedly.

"It's a riddle…"

"A riddle? What does it mean?"

"I don't know yet. But… but, if I just think about it, I might be able to get it."

"Okay, so let's take this one step at a time. The first sentence… 'MADE OF WOOD' do you have any idea what that means?"

"No. The only thing I can think of is Sarah's coffin-the grudge that she has against me. That's probably what she means. 'SPURNED OF SHINE…' Spurned of shine?" she repeated. "Shine? Shine…? The sun?"

"It could be. But what does the sun have anything to do with Sarah?"

"Maybe saying that Sarah is up in heaven rather down here with her mother, where she wants her to be?

"It's possible."

"'MANY NIGHTS WHERE HE WAS MINE…' He? Who was hers?"

"Would it be Ethan?" Luis asked.

"Maybe. But, I don't understand what he would have to do with this thing made of wood. She doesn't blame Ethan half as much as she does me for Sarah's death. In fact I don't think she does blame him. She sees me as the only one at fault. And what would nights have to do with Ethan…?"

"Well, read the next line. Maybe it'll make sense," Luis encouraged.

"'STOLEN SONG AND COLDENED RAIN?' Stolen song? I never stole a song from her, let alone any kind of music. She already referred to Ethan so I don't know what else I stole from her." She sat, pondering this. "What if… song. Songs…? Songs are usually referred to as feminine. Could she be referring to Sirens?"

"Sirens? The Greek myth?"

"Yeah. Sirens sang. They sang songs to lure men into their confines to kill them. So, what if 'SONG' is being associated with the Sirens-- girls. Girl, her daughter, Sarah. Maybe she's talking about her daughter. Saying that I stole Sarah from her."

"It's possible, but it sounds like reaching to me."

"I know, I know. But I have no idea what a stolen song could be. And 'COLDNENED RAIN?' Coldened rain is what? Ice? What does ice have to do with anything? I can't…. I don't remember anything about ice or rain that has to do with anything that's happened between us in the past."

"No, neither can I."

"Well, it's obvious that there was something. She wouldn't have put it in there if she didn't want me to know about it."

"What about…? What about the time that you almost drowned when you fell off the prom boat? Could she be referring to you almost drowning in the ocean?"

"I don't know. Again, what does that have to do with a stolen song? Or Sarah?"

"I don't know. But what if she means that if you did drown that night instead of Ethan saving you, Sarah would still be alive…?"

Theresa thought a moment and wondered if Luis was right. It seemed very possible. It might have been reaching but it was the best that she had at this moment. She couldn't think of any other reason why Gwen would associate Sarah with rain or ice. If that was what she meant by those things…

"And the last line, 'TRUSTING AND DECEIVING RESULTS IN PAIN' is kind of obvious. It's her warning to me. She used to trust me and I deceived her and it will result in pain." Theresa sighed a breath of confusion. "I just don't understand what she wants me to know. So far all we have is something made of wood- Sarah's coffin, the sun- Sarah, Ethan, ice- me drowning, and revenge on me. I don't see how any of that means anything. It doesn't make sense. Why would she leave me this when it points me no closer to her?"

"Maybe she just did it to taunt you. Why would she want you to find her?"

"That's why she didn't kill me last night. She wants to see me suffer more. And this- this note, it's telling me something, but I'm missing it. I don't understand. It has to be something simple. Something that I would understand immediately, but I can't. It's staring me in the face. I know it. I just have to think. Something wood, with the sun, about Ethan, about Sarah, with ice, and for revenge… I'm missing- I'm missing something!" Theresa stood in anger and paced her living room, pressing her head to think.

"Uh, Theresa? Look on the back," Luis said with a warning laced in his voice.

Theresa turned it over and read. The words horrified her. "Oh, God!"

She ran her eyes over the words again and again.

There was no mistaking it.

Gwen's message was clear…

The seven little words held so much meaning and Theresa was terrified. She swallowed hard and knew exactly to whom Gwen was referring…