Free Darkness Before Dawn by Ace Collins Page B

community always considered important and influential. And these people, this
     family, were the ones she’d be fighting in order to gain some kind of justice. Suddenly,
     her simple little plan to extract personal punishment and satisfaction from James
     Thomas had taken on David and Goliath proportions. And because of these overwhelming
     odds, hopelessness pushed its way into the car, squeezing her wounded heart like a
     vice as she lingered and studied an enemy that now seemed unbeatable.
    As the car began to lose its heat, Meg pulled her coat a little tighter around her
     body. Searching through her pockets, she found her gloves. Still, even as it grew
     later and colder, even after she had looked over the house from top to bottom a dozen
     times, memorizing even the minutest details, she waited. She didn’t understand why,
     but for some reason, just being at the place where her husband’s killer lived gave
     her some purpose, some identity. And maybe, if he somehow came out of the house, she
     could put a face to her pain. How she needed that face!
    With nothing new to see, time passed slowly, and as the temperature continued to drop,
     it became more uncomfortable. By 7:30, it had become so cold she could now see her
     breath. Just about the time Meg was going to give up and head to her apartment, a
     car drove up to the front curb of 1034 East Walnut. It was a late model sports utility
     and when it stopped, and the passenger door opened causing the interior light to come
     on, Meg could clearly see it was filled with teenagers—two boys and two girls.
    For a while, the car just sat there, motor running while the kids remained in the
     vehicle. Then after a few minutes, a boy eased out the rear passenger door. He was
     tall, about six-foot-two and wore a letter jacket and jeans; his sandy-colored hair
     was uncovered and blowing in the wind. And in the dim light, Meg spotted a large Band-Aid
     on his forehead. This had to be him! She strained to get a better look at James Thomas.
     It only took a few seconds for her to realize this was the kid who had held the ER
     door for her after she’d viewed Steve’s body. How she wished she’d known that then!
    As she anxiously took in the scene playing out just across the street, she turned
     on the keys and eased the window of her car door down in order to catch the kids’
     conversation. She first heard the driver’s voice.
    “So, Jim. Your dad say anything about getting you another car?”
    “He will,” the blond youth answered. “After all, he did the last time I totaled one.”
    “Yeah, but last time nobody got hurt,” the other boy replied.
    “Well,” Thomas’s tone was casual. It was as if the accident was just an insignificant
     inconvenience that had dropped into his life. As he explained his father’s reaction,
     the boy even smiled. “Dad was pretty steamed about that. He informed me that next
     time I got drunk, it’d probably be me that cashed it in. Still, I think the fact that
     I was hurt a little got me off the hook. You know as well as I do, he can spring me
     from the charges. He’s always been able to. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t had to
     pay already. You know the coach isn’t even going to let me play in the basketball
     playoffs until I get these stitches out. I’ve been looking forward to that all year.”
    Meg was amazed by the boy’s tone. His selfishness shocked and enraged her. He obviously
     felt no sense of remorse. Heactually claimed abuse because he wasn’t going to get to play in a basketball game.
    A girl, now left alone in the back seat, handed Thomas a gym bag. Reaching back into
     the car to pull it out, the boy gave the young, giggly blonde a long kiss, smiled
     at the other two kids, and then whirled and ambled up the walk to the front door.
     Within seconds, he found his way inside and the others had driven off.
    Even though she was once again alone, Meg continued to stare at the house. She’d been