Grace Anne - By Kathi S. Barton Page 0,80

think so. Since your…accident, things have been going very nicely. But as I choose to tell you what happened, I will. Michael, my Gracie’s soon-to-be husband, shot you in the head. I had hoped that I could have controlled Ginny just a bit longer, but she took over at the last second and jerked from the bullet. As it is now, you’ve had some extensive brain surgery. Just enough to get rid of Verrie and, of course, Ginny. Now, my dear, it’s just the two of us. And I’m not going to leave you until you do what is necessary.”

“Necessary? I don’t…” Guinevere stiffened. “You can’t mean for me to kill myself? Why what would my children… No, I won’t do it. Not now, not ever. And if you think you can drive me to it then—”

“Oh, I don’t think I can, Guinevere dear, I will do just that. And starting today. You’re either going to give me the peace that I want or I never give you any again.”

Guinevere was suddenly afraid. “I’ll just escape. I’ll just walk out one day and—”

The chilling laughter again and then Guinnie spoke. “Walk? I’m sorry. Did I forget to mention that you are also paralyzed?” She laughed again. “Michael is now my favorite person. And before you think you can talk any of your children into taking care of you I’ve already spoken to Grace. She is going to make sure that none of them ever come to see you again.”

Guinevere looked at Peter again. He was staring at her. She had no idea what he’d been saying and, for the life of her, she couldn’t drudge up enough concern to wonder if what he’d been saying was of any importance. She simply stared.

By the time that he left her she had not only discovered that she couldn’t move her feet, but she couldn’t even twitch her fingers. She tried to will her body to move, to do anything, but all she could do was hear Guinnie.

“Now, let us begin. I read somewhere that reading is good for the mind. And there was a time when I read a book to Grace. She loved the story so much that I read it to her nightly. Today and everyday for the rest of our lives, I’m going to read the same story to you.”

Guinevere was almost afraid to ask. “What story do you think you’re going to read to me?”

“Green Eggs and Ham, of course.” Guinevere could hear her laughter again. “‘I am Sam. I am Sam. Sam I am. That Sam I am. That Sam I am. I do not like that Sam I am…’”

~~~

Grace had been home a week when she got the call from the hospital. Her mother had committed suicide. It hadn’t been something she was surprised about, but the timing. She would have thought that Guinnie would have taken a lot longer to drive her mother to it. She hung up the phone and sat in the chair in the kitchen, feeling nothing. She told Cain when he came in to get a glass of tea.

“You said she would do it. I just…I’m not even sure I care. How about you?”

She shook her head at his question.

“I’ll call the rest of them later. Oh, there’s a letter for you from some lawyer. I laid it on the table. I didn’t know you were in here.”

Grace went to the dining room table and picked up the light gray envelope. It had the return address of New York. She almost threw it away, but opened it instead. It was from Matthew Gray, a name she barely remembered.

It said she was to come to his office in the morning. There would be a plane for her and a ride to and from the airport. She felt the tears roll down her face as she read the reasons why. She was to finalize the sale of the Washington building and other matters.

Michael’s lawyer had finally contacted her. She’d been expecting it for over a week now. After he’d left her the day after she’d talked to the FBI. She hadn’t been able to give him back his ring and wondered if and when he’d realize that he’d didn’t have it. Now, it seemed, he was going to get it all.

She’d told him she couldn’t marry him. He didn’t say much at first, but the more she told him, the angrier he got until later, she’d told him why.

“I could be just like