Free Darkness Before Dawn by Ace Collins Page A

tone revealed she fully understood exactly
     why Heather really wanted her to spend some time with her. She was trying to be a
     good friend and on another night she might need a friend. But not tonight! “Heather,
     listen, I really do have something to do, and I’m not going home to be alone. Honest!”
    When Meg stopped beside her Mustang to dig through her purse for her keys, Heather
     gave it one more try. “Are you going over to your mom’s? I haven’t really visited
     with her in months and I’d love to . . .”
    Raising her voice so she could be heard above the biting north wind, Meg said, “Heather,
     if you want to visit with Mom, that would be great.” After finding her keys and unlocking
     her car door, she turned to face her friend. “But you’ll have to go by yourself because
     I don’t plan on seeing Mom tonight.”
    Meg eased into the driver’s seat, jammed the key into the ignition, and started the
     car. Looking back at Heather, she smiled. “Maybe we can do it tomorrow. I really appreciate
     you being there for me. But right now I have to do something very important. So please
     forgive me. You have a good evening and try not to worry about me.” She closed the
     door and shoved the shifter into reverse.
    Meg, out of habit, pushed her favorite
American Idol
CD into the player. Yet as the music played, she was oblivious to the song or the
     singer. The only thing on her mind was the address of a teenager who lived on the
     other side of town. She couldn’t believe she had found him. As she pulled off the
     parking lot, she smiled. This was what she needed. She was sure just seeing where
     he lived would somehow ease her pain.
    Walnut Street was well off the main drag, over five miles from downtown and the hospital,
     and just a stone’s throw fromthe country club. Meg had been to a few parties at the club during high school, but
     her family had never had the money to join the social elite on a regular basis. Still,
     the area was not foreign to her. She had often driven down the broad streets of this
     neighborhood admiring the houses and beautiful, rolling, tree-covered lots. She and
     Steve had even dreamed of someday owning one of these large brick homes set on such
     finely landscaped grounds. But dream homes and notions of wealth now seemed unreal,
     especially when placed against the reason for her trip today.
    She crossed Elm and then Maple, hardly noticing the homes that had once so enthralled
     her on those streets. Then, when she came to Walnut, she made a sharp right and began
     to look much more closely at the addresses so proudly displayed on each ornate door.
     For three blocks, she eased the Mustang by house after house, each seeming larger
     and more impressive than the former. And then, the one she sought came into view.
    It was immediately obvious that the Thomas’s house was the most impressive on the
     block. A two-story red brick, with paned glass windows and a four-car garage, the
     home itself must have included more than seven thousand square feet. Over the privacy
     fence surrounding the backyard, she saw a slide and diving board indicating a swimming
     pool. On the far side of the home was a private tennis court. This wasn’t a residence;
     it was an estate!
    Passing the ten-hundred block of Walnut, Meg made a U-turn and parked her Mustang
     directly across the street from the house. After turning the car’s engine off, she
     examined every facet of what could only be called a mansion.
    The roofline reached more than fifty feet at the highest point. There was no wooden
     or vinyl trim work; the brick went clear to the roof. Many of the windows were rounded
     at the top. Three reached more than thirty feet up the house. The walkswere made of polished stone. A new Mercedes and Lincoln set in the driveway. If they
     were sitting out in the weather, what was in the garage?
    Here were people who obviously had everything money could buy. These were folks that
     the