Riding the Thunder - Deborah MacGillivray [142]
“Who? Where?” he asked confused.
“In the diner. Laura and Tommy saved me. At one point, just before you arrived, they materialized in the shadows and distracted him, gave me time. Then they killed him—executed him.”
“Ghosts, haunted jukeboxes . . . you know something, Asha, my brothers would tell you I’m a rather logical man. Yet, here at The Windmill I find all things possible.” He squeezed her hand.“Only Faulkner was electrocuted by the Wurlitzer. A freak accident. It knocked you on your arse the other day—”
“The point being, it knocked me back. It took and held onto him.”
“He was standing with one foot in water—”
“I pushed that bucket out of the way. I kicked it earlier coming out of the kitchen. Yet it was right there again for Monty to step in.”
“Asha, please can we forget about this for now. It’s too fresh. You have no idea how . . . helpless . . . I felt pounding on the glass door and couldn’t reach you. Bloody safety glass! I cracked the one window, but it wouldn’t shatter. I was forced to run around to get in through the damn motel entrance. Those seconds were the longest of my life.” He tried to smile. “Besides, I was supposed to rescue you. You handled it yourself, my brave warrior woman. I just picked up the pieces. I should’ve been there for you.”
“You were, when I needed you most. I couldn’t have done one more thing.” She stroked his hand. “Have you checked on Delbert?”
“Sam said he’s resting well. Due to his age they’ll keep him another night, just to be on the safe side.” Jago gave a faint chuckle. “Colin said we should drive a stake through Monty’s heart . . . just to make sure. I still don’t get it, Asha. Why attack you? If he killed Tommy and Laura over forty years ago, why now?”
“He’d been away for a long time; most around Leesburg assumed he had moved. He only came back after his father died and he inherited the old estate. Mostly, he kept to himself, didn’t come to The Windmill often. Then that night you were there and he saw you. He kept saying you had Tommy’s eyes. Even Delbert saw the likeness.”
Jago exhaled in frustration. “The police said they’re now looking into other unsolved crimes in the area for the past three years, wondering if he’s done anything else since his return. The one detective handling the case told me that Monty was institutionalized for over ten years—his father’s doing—some fancy country club-type sanitarium in Ohio. He was released when the money ran out after old man Faulkner died. I guess Monty played things pretty close to his chest since, fearing they might put him back in custody.”
“He’d only come into The Windmill a few times since I came back to take over the businesses. The night he complained about salt in his water—that was the trigger. He saw your eyes—so like Tommy’s. Your coming here, the music playing reminded him of the accident, it all set everything off. After that, he’d fixed it in his mind I was a witch, that I had called you to The Windmill to seek vengeance for Tommy and Laura’s death. He heard the place was going to be sold, then everyone in the county gossiped about me fighting to save it. I think if The Windmill had been sold, bulldozed for a shopping mall, then all the ghosts from his past would finally be laid to rest. He evidently started stalking us after the incident at the diner. Broke into your cabin to snoop. Stole the letter. He removed the screen from my window on Halloween, hoping to get in that way to leave the letter, but I returned to the cabin and interrupted him.”
Jago added more details. “They believe he stole Colin’s key ring to get into your bungalow to leave the letter. Colin thought he misplaced it, hunted all day for it, but then it turned up in the floorboard of his truck a few hours later. Everyone