Continued from the previous page…
Part-II
Sheriff John Allen looked thoughtful and asked, “So, you’re sure that the girl is an imposter, not your sister?”
The brown haired man sitting opposite of him rubbed his trimmed beards anxiously, “If she was my sister, she could not refuse to meet me.”
“Mr. Stephen Christopher, so far the police have found no evidence against your brother-in-law that he had killed his wife and daughter. Effie has died in an accident; she was cycling recklessly on the highway. Your sister could not bear that trauma and lost her sanity. She has forgotten her past and cannot recognize herself as Angelina. Police initially thought that her mysterious disappearance has some secrets, but today many people have seen your sister and tried to speak to her. However, she refused to recognize them. Mr. Duncan gave an explanation that he went to Florida for her treatment. They came together to the local police station today and complained about trespassing.” He paused and said, “I think your sister’s case is an unfortunate incident, but not obviously a crime.”
Stephen furiously patted on the desk, the Sheriff looked unpleasant, “Please Mr. Christopher, keep control of your anger; otherwise, I’ll be forced to put you in jail.”
Stephen controlled himself but was not looking calm.
“I am sorry, without any solid evidence, I cannot take action against Mr. Daniel Duncan. He is no ordinary man…..”
“Yes, owner of a large estate and pampered son of a millionaire.” He left his seat and briskly said, “Good Night, Mr. Sheriff.”
When Stephen came out from the Sheriff’s office, he was looking devastated. His wife Marcella was waiting for him in the car, she asked him, “how was the visit?”
“Useless, Marcella; the scoundrel is far more shrewd than I ever thought. He has managed to hire a woman who exactly looks like Angelina and gives an impression that she is alive but has lost her memory.” Stephen said.
“Cannot we meet the woman?” Marcella asked.
“I tried to speak to Daniel; he came and insulted me like anything. He also threatened me that if I try to go near his wife, he’ll file a case against me.”
“But she is your sister….”
“She is an imposter.” Stephen said, “Little Effie has not received peace even after her death. She wants to say something; she wants to show something; which we cannot understand. I have seen her twice in the terrace and remember the mysterious pieces of papers we received in our letterbox. All those have bizarre drawings, so horrible.”
Marcella pushed her golden hairs aside and started the car. Stephen tightened the seat belt and said, “What did your milkmaids say?”
“Milkmaids or my spy?” Marcella smiled, “They have seen the woman, spoke to her; but she could not recognize. Not only that, but the woman also visited the graveyard. The old caretaker has seen her.” Marcella started driving the car carefully on the Highway. “She was not looking insane, but a completely different personality.”
“Now we have only one way to confirm,” she again said, “We should visit the manor house. If Daniel leaves or sells the house on an excuse of his wife’s treatment; we cannot prove anything.”
Marcella turned the car in the opposite direction, Stephen could not say anything. This portion of the road was not well lit; moreover, the fog was setting down gradually. In the late night, visibility would decrease remarkably. It was not safe driving during this time, but he had no other way.
In the distance, the silhouette of a woman appeared against the car light. The woman was running like mad. Marcella suddenly halted the car with a great jerk. The woman collided against the vehicle. They opened the door, came out and looked at the unconscious body of the woman.
Stephen gasped in horror. A woman with strong facial similarity with his sister Angelina was lying unconscious before him. She could easily claim herself as Angelina, except the birthmark she had on her neck and Angelina did not have.
“Angelina?” Marcella asked with bewilderment.
“The imposter girl, see, the birthmark on her skin.”
Her neck was partially revealing through the collars of her grey overcoat. Marcella removed it slightly and examined that too, “We have got a chance. Why don’t we bring her to the hospital and call the police? Then it will be all clear.”
Suddenly, the women rose with a great jerk. She opened her eyes and looked at them unnaturally. Her glance was as cold as death.
“Stephen, my brother,” She uttered the first word in a whispering tone.
Marcella looked at Stephen; he petrified hearing the voice. The woman got up from the road and looked at her too, “I know, my Effie is still in the world, she wants to convey a message.”
“Angelina? You cannot be my sister.” Stephen cried historically, “imposter girl, a puppet of a killer, whore….”
“Brother….” She wanted to touch his hand, but Stephen shrugged her hand violently.
“Don’t call me brother, whore.” He shouted, “You know we are on the way, so, you came here to prove that you are Angelina.”
“I am Angelina,” she replied calmly, “I did not come here to prove myself but to show you what my Effie wants to communicate. Do not you give me a chance, brother?”
“Stephen,” Marcella tried to convince her husband, “let’s see….”
“Marcella, you are a lawyer, you must understand criminal mind better than me. She knows everything about Angelina, and now she’ll tell every small and big thing regarding her life for proving herself genuine.”
Stephen threw her away from his way and got into the car. Marcella followed him. Now Stephen was in driver’s seat. He had already started the car and asked her to check his pistol.
“Today, I’ll kill the scoundrel and his whore together.” He started driving madly; Marcella noticed that the speed meter had crossed hundred.
“Calm down, dear;” she looked back and gasped in horror.
“What’s wrong?”
“The woman is running after our car.” The woman was running at an incredible speed. She was not too far from the car.
“I’ll kill her; she is an imposter.”
Suddenly, Marcella felt that something jumped over the car and the car halted with a violent jerk. Marcella expected to receive severe injury, but nothing such thing happened.
“Damn, how come the car stopped?” Stephen tried to find out fault.
A vast blanket of dense fog started swallowing every distant object, it swooped in and skirted around the trees like a giant eraser removing indiscriminately to eradicate what was once there into something that’s not. Moisture dampened the windscreen and obscured front vision completely. Marcella found her voice choked in fear and confusion.
They looked upwards; the fog rolled low over their heads. It was coming inside through the thick glasses. Gradually, the freezing fog wrapped them like a blanket. Marcella held out her hand in front of her and watched it become partially obscured. She looked at the windscreen; the steamed glass had imprints of hands. The woman was crawling, trying to come inside. Marcella screamed.
“Sit calmly, Marcella,” Stephen said, “The woman cannot win. I have to find out the truth.”
‘Truth’ his voice echoed. Suddenly, they felt a jerk, and the car started running without driving.
“No, it cannot be possible,” Stephen cried. Marcella saw perspiration all over her body. They were running at an incredible speed and sudden halt after an hour journey.
“You have reached,” a cold feminine voice announced from outside. Marcella realized that the woman traveled all along them on the car roof.
“Where?” Marcella asked in a feeble voice.
“Reached to the truth,” She announced and opened the doors. Fresh fog entered inside. Marcella could not see her but only heard her footsteps. The woman’s footsteps echoed like stones off a cave wall. She melted into the darkness, leaving them in fear and confusion.
Part-III
The door was opened with a big bang. Daniel raised his head and found his wife Sarah entered the hall confidently. Today she was wearing a grey woolly overcoat, which Angelina once used. Though he had no idea from where she had got it but felt a bit irritated. A cold freezing wind came inside the hall, as she entered.
He wanted to say something but stopped. She was looking odd; her brown hairs were messy and disheveled as she had run miles without taking rest. Her feet had blisters, and the shoes were looking dirty. He noticed injuries in her leg, but still, she had no expression of pain.
“Where have you been?” He asked.
“I should ask you the question, Danny.” She said coldly.
Daniel felt a freezing sensation in his spine. Sarah never called him Danny, it was Angelina who gave this name, but Sarah had no knowledge of her. She had no idea that he was married earlier and widowed a few months ago. He kept her away from the truth intentionally.
“One of my clients called me; he is interested in buying the old property.” He lied. The real cause could not be revealed. “Now you answer me.” He demanded.
“I went for a walk.” She smiled oddly.
“Where?” He asked in a demanding voice.
“In the graveyard.” She replied cheerfully.
“What?”
“Yes, in the graveyard, where my little girl Effie is sleeping in peace. No, I am wrong; she has not got peace even after her death…” Sarah went on.
He interjected, “what the hell are you talking about? Who is Effie?”
“Our daughter passed away in an accident…” she smiled, “I remember all, Danny….”
“Damn it; don’t call me Danny, Sarah.” He shouted.
“Angelina,” she smiled, “I am Angelina.”
Daniel could not resist himself. He ran towards her and pulled her towards him. He grabbed her collar and put his mouth near her ears, “You are Sarah, not Angelina.”
“I am Angelina,” she repeated desperately.
“You whore; where did you hear this name? Tell me?” he shook her violently. “Where have you been? Whom did you meet?” Daniel started behaving violently.
Sarah freed herself from his tight embracement; Daniel felt unnatural strength in her body. She was far stronger than he imagined. Sarah started laughing; her laughter echoed in the wall, “Angelina, I am Angelina…”
Daniel covered his ears by hand, “you crazy woman, who is Angelina? “
Suddenly Sarah raised her hand and pointed towards the abandoned fireplace. Daniel saw flames in the fireplace, but there was no coal. She started walking towards them, and the flame automatically extinguished.
“No, don’t go there, Sarah….”
“Daddy…” the voice of a little girl called him from the back. Daniel looked back. He saw mist was coming through the main door taking the shape of a little girl in a pink frock standing before him. She was the replica of her mother Angelina, the brown haired girl, grinning broadly. Daniel felt weak for a moment; the child had nothing to do with her mother’s fault but died only for him.
“Daddy,” little Effie called him again.
“Effie,” he mesmerized.
“Mommy has come back,” she said.
“No, she is not your mother, she is Sarah…”
“She is mom…”
“NO, ANGELINA IS DEAD, I KILLED HER.” He shouted hysterically. Suddenly, he felt a thick cover of fog engulfing everything, and he was standing amid of white fog. Angelina or Sarah was laughing hysterically.
“Forgive me,” Daniel begged.
“Your crime is unforgiving, Danny. You have not only killed me but also killed my daughter too.” Angelina announced in cold voice, “but the law will punish you.”
He saw black silhouettes of two figures, one man and a woman; he heard the voice of Stephen, “Finally you confessed.”
“No, you cannot prove anything. I’ll deny it in court.”
“I have recorded, Mr. Daniel Duncan and the police is arriving shortly.”
Epilogue
When Sarah recovered from the trauma, she discovered herself in the city hospital surrounded by police and two unknown couples, whom she never knew. Daniel once came to her, begged apology for not disclosing about his previous marriage. No one could save him from long-term jail or death sentence. His offense was unforgiving. Sarah found herself in utter confusion.
“ I am sorry for your suffering, Mrs. Duncan;” the brown-haired man, who claimed himself the brother of deceased Angelina Duncan said, “ I initially thought you an imposter, but you helped us to know the truth.”
“Please,” she begged, “can anyone tell me, what my husband has done actually?”
“I am telling you,” the woman walked forward, “I am Marcella, a practicing lawyer.”
“What my husband has done?” she repeated her question.
“Before knowing that please tell us, where and how did you meet him?”
“It is unnecessary now. I met him online and developed a good friendship that turned into a legal marriage.” She replied.
“Without knowing his past?” Marcella asked.
“He told me, he had lost his mother in young age and his father remarried, so, he seldom visits him. He also told me that he is the son of a millionaire, and had inherited a good amount of money and estate from his father, but the old manor house was haunted. So, his father gave it to him.” she paused and said, “I was an orphan girl, did not have a family of my own.” She choked. Marcella put her hand on her shoulder.
“I can understand.”
“So, he lied?” she asked haplessly.
“Not fully, but partially. Yes, he is the son of a millionaire, proprietor of a big business estate, but he did not have any dispute with his father and his family. He lived in this manor house for a long time, and everyone was familiar with him and his wife.” Marcella paused awhile and continued, “He married my sister-in-law seven years ago. They initially had a good life, but gradually Daniel started losing his temper on trivial issues. He apologized for his behavior and explained that loss in business was the main cause. Angelina started suspecting that over-consumption of alcohol or drug was the main reason for his losing temper. She found odd sleeping disorder in Daniel, but he claimed it over exhaustion.” Marcella paused.
Sarah was also familiar with this habit, but she never suspected that her husband was drug addicted.
Marcella went on, “Daniel started suspecting her on everything and developed a sensation that she was not loyal to her husband. Things were getting worse day by day, Angelina decided for divorce. It invoked his anger, and he cried, ‘if I cannot have you, no one can.’
He killed her, beheaded her with an ax and destroyed the body in the fire. He concealed the murder weapon under the fireplace.” Marcella’s voice choked, “Police has discovered everything. Angelina’s skeleton was recovered from the hidden vault; it was half burnt, half damaged.”
The description was shocking, Sarah closed her eyes. “How did Effie die?” she asked in confusion.
“Effie was on her cycle, playing in the garden. She heard her mother’s screaming. Initially, she ignored it because it was their everyday’s routine. However, when the scream was growing louder, she came near the window and tried to see. It was a foggy morning, she could not see anything properly through the steamed glass, but heard her father’s loud voice. She erased moisture from the glass; saw her father with an ax. The terrified girl wanted to save her mother, but the door was locked. She tried to enter from first-floor balcony but could not. Finally, she decided to raise the alarm, but it too was damaged. She wanted to take help from the police or neighbors. She was cycling recklessly on a highway and met an accident. She could not save her mother.” Marcella sounded remorse.
“So, the murder was a planned one? Daniel intentionally damaged the security alarm and kept the girl out of the house?”
Marcella nodded in agreement, “Maybe.”
Stephen added, “When Daniel concealed her body and murder weapon, he realized that the girl was no more in the garden. He came out, looking for her and heard the news of the accident. The girl died on the spot, could not say anything before death. So, no one knew why she was cycling so recklessly on a highway and thought that it was entirely of her fault.” Stephen said weakly, “Daniel spread the news that his wife is in trauma and lost her sanity after hearing the news. He made a plan with his family physician and brought out the medical certificate. Everyone believed that she is in an asylum, but I did not. I demanded a meeting, he refused, Angelina had lost her memory, and she was under treatment.” Stephen paused for a while and resumed, “I suspected something foul, but we had no evidence. Wimberley is a less populated area, and those who knew Daniel would never go against him. He discovered your facial similarity with Angelina and made friends with you.” He stopped.
“But it was me, who asked him to come here,” Sarah remarked.
“He made a little drama for increasing your curiosity.” Stephen said, “I also received the same message from Effie through her drawings. I demanded an investigation, proper police inquiry but could not gather any evidence.”
Sarah looked outside through the window. Tears came in her eyes, she dreamed of having a family of her own, where she might have had a sweet girl like Effie. She was possessed by Angelina’s ghost on the night of revelation though she had no control over herself but felt unknown happiness of motherhood after seeing the girls’ spirit. Bitter memories darkened the sweeter ones, Daniel once told, and now she realized.
In the distance, the white mist was drifting peacefully outside the window taking the shape of a woman holding the hand of a girl; they were smiling sadly before disappearing forever.
