The Tree Goddess Read online

  Daren was appalled, “Don't feed the dog at the table. He's going to expect you to feed it whenever it's meal time.”

  Mary returned an angry glare, “You know Daren; I'm beginning to realize that you're jealous of Muffin. You're jealous that I get something to keep me company while you're gone. Well he's not going anywhere! Muffin is here to stay. Isn't that right my little baby?”

  Rat Dog licked Mary's lips in response to her up-close baby talk.

  Bedtime was very much different than the previous nights spent in the Trivelli house. Of course Rat Dog didn't appreciate Daren sleeping in bed and Daren vice-versa.

  Daren yelled over the vicious barking, “You let the dog sleep with you? You're not supposed to do that! He'll think he's equal to us!”

  Mary was furious, “Daren, if you don't like it then you can sleep on the sofa! He's the one who's with me night-after-night, not you! Muffin will sleep in this bed whether you like it or not!” Then she coaxed the yorkie to lie down, “Shhh! Lie down, lie down. Lie next to momma; go seepies.

  And that was the night Daren lost his status in the marital bed. Children couldn't be made, now. Rat Dog slept close to Mary and would become vicious if Daren touched her.

  * * *

  Eventually, Rat Dog became conditioned to Daren's presence and relaxed it's compulsion to bark at the unwelcomed stranger. Because of the nature of his job, it was necessary for Daren to travel which caused the small dog to lose any memory of the man who fought for Momma's affection. Hideous barking would resume for a day or two upon Daren's return. But the dog became a way of life and Daren simply accepted it.

  Romance resumed between husband and wife, provided Mary coaxed Rat Dog to lie down and “go seepies”. But the yorkie expected to participate in the exchange of affection so that there would be a third party involved in the loving making. Daren would have to enjoy the sight of Rat Dog licking Mary's arms and legs while often growling at the man who dominated Momma. It was a serious turnoff for Daren! Aside from that, the panting of stinky breath was most unpleasant!

  Chapter 46

  Dead winter came and went and there were no further dreams or “communications” from the mausoleum. And despite how her husband hated Muffin, Mary realized the importance of the dog. Loneliness was not a good thing, and the yorkie remedied its harmful effects.

  On a Sunday afternoon in April, nearly a year since getting married, Mary sat at her desktop PC in the den while browsing for some new recipes to try. Daren sat in the family room while watching the ballgame. Muffin laid on the ground at Mary's feet, somehow aware that the typing was connected to food.

  Finding an interesting recipe for pork tenderloin, Mary opened the WordPad with the intention of copying and pasting the text to be printed. In Mary's opinion, the advertisements and pictures just wasted ink. She was only interested in the actual recipe.

  Mary wasn't the most skilled in operating a computer. She knew how to “get around”; type up documents, browse the web, etc. And she knew how to highlight text so that Edit could be selected followed by Copy.

  But for some reason, Mary only highlighted the text of the recipe and then switched over to the WordPad to select Edit then Paste. Whatever had been copied before Mary sat down, it now appeared on the WordPad. It wasn't her expected recipe for pork tenderloin. Rather, it was the most bone-chilling writing one could ever read.

  Mary could feel herself shrink in size and fall deeper into the chair as the blood rushed to her head, heart nearly palpitated and controlled breathing attempted to stabilize her consciousness. It was an obituary, Mary's obituary! Somehow she recognized the writing format to be appropriate for a young woman. Opening by stating her full name, age and of belonging to the town of Mapleview; it soon took a bizarre direction by mentioning that foul play was suspected. In fact, it quickly turned into more of a newspaper article that told a gruesome, story-like confession that was narrated by Daren. Apparently he had written the document and copied and pasted it to be stored on some remote email account, never to be saved on hard drive. Maybe he kept a journal.

  The startling text on the PC screen read, “I loved her more than anything, more than anyone could comprehend. She was my wife who lived under the same roof. We were intimate together. I even had the pleasure of observing her naked as she dressed each day. How much more could I have possibly wanted of my wife?

  But it wasn't enough! It felt as though there was an invisible veil between myself and her and I couldn't fully touch her as deeply as I wanted. It's normal for a man to want to love his wife. But I wanted to love her in such a crazy way. I mean I just wanted to LOVE her; LOVE the very life from her and keep her mine forever.

  Late at night, I followed through with my plan. I grabbed my beautiful wife by the throat and choked her to death! Unable to scream, her eyes spoke of the terror while pleading for my mercy. I watched her lifeless body lie at the foot of the stairs.

  Then a great sadness overcame me. I would never hear her voice, hear her laugh or enjoy the many things she does. It was better to enjoy my wife who was alive and wore the imaginary, invisible veil over her body.

  Fortunately, this is only fiction. My beautiful wife is still alive. So I now search for a woman who looks just like Mary. Even if she possessed only a few subtle features, I could LOVE the life from her and keep her forever!"

  Still in shock, Mary leaned over her chair to verify that Daren was on the sofa. As usual, his eyes were glued to the TV with beer in hand.

  For the first time in the marriage, Mary decided to keep her finding and suspicions a secret. She quickly printed Daren's story, folded it up and put it in her pocket. Then she copied the intended recipe and printed that up.

  “What are you doing, Mary?” Daren called out across the family room.

  “Oh, nothing; just printing a recipe for tonight.”

  “What's for dinner?”

  “Pork tenderloin.”

  Daren stood up for another beer, “Alright! I can't wait, Babe!” At least he appreciated his wife for one thing or another!

  * * *

  While alone; Mary often read Daren's short story, pondering its meaning and at least finding comfort that she had been spared strangulation. Perhaps it was only a dark fantasy, a release from his daily frustrations. But what if as the years unfolded, Daren's dark fantasies became overpowering, and his aged mind did follow through with killing Mary? It would certainly be worth considering, maybe prepare for the future.

  But there was something even greater that disturbed Mary. The mention of finding a substitute woman to murder along with Daren's vague mention of owning her was troubling. Mary wouldn't dare consider that perhaps the imaginary people living in the mausoleum were a collection of Daren's murdered women! But this dreaded theory was met with the firm belief that the answer was in Daren's mausoleum.

  But how could she access this off limits building that remained locked? The last time she requested a tour, Daren had turned frightening and nearly abusive. And the more Mary recalled the tour, the more she remembered how Daren had gone out of his way to open the crypt at the front of the building. On that morning, he and Mary both stood at the deepest wall of the mausoleum with Daren's back towards the wall while Mary faced Daren. It was necessary for him to pass his wife and open one of the crypts at the front of the building.

  Dreams and memories distort as time passes. Perhaps she was only filling in the gaps; but Mary recalled the dream of walking out to the mausoleum while being aware of someone in one of the crypts of the far wall (where Daren stood the following morning). No wonder his behavior turned dramatic. The other crypts could not be opened!

  Many nights while Daren was home, Mary lay awake and thought of rummaging her husband's pants pockets for the key to the mausoleum. She could learn, once and for all, the answer to the mausoleum's mystery while her husband slept. But what if he awoke with the terrible feeling that something was wrong in the backyard? What if he suddenly appeared just as Mary made a gruesome di
scovery? Surely, she would become an addition to the mausoleum, or at the very least, receive harsh punishment.

  It would take a month after the frightening story was discovered before Mary could have her wish. This took place on a Sunday afternoon in May while Mary did her yearly planting of impatiens, mums and marigolds throughout the backyard. Being the new owner of the historic Trivelli house, Mary could plant however she wished and expanded the yearly gardening so that the entire perimeter of the yard and house were outlined with flowers.

  Daren was home that weekend and agreed to help his wife by making an emergency run to the home improvement center for more planting soil. Suddenly, Mary was aware of Muffin missing.

  “Muffin?” She really should have had a small fence to separate her yard from the woods. “Muffin?” Now in a panic that the dog had ventured out of the yard, she ran towards the direction of where the yorkie was seen last, in the direction of Daren's mausoleum.

  “Muffin?” Mary walked towards the front of the building to discover that for some reason the door had been left unlocked and probably blew open from the wind. The curious dog now stood inside of the mausoleum, poking his nose around.

  “Muffin, you're not supposed to be in here.” She knew the building was off limits and projected her guilt onto the dog. For the first time, Mary was alone with an opportunity to investigate what was in that crypt nearest the deep wall. The locks didn't look terribly challenging to open. Daren did it with some ease on the morning of Mary's tour.

  Suddenly, Muffin began to sound his excited bark while running out of the building. Daren was home which meant an unsuccessful end to Mary satisfying her curiosity. But she left the door undisturbed while quickly leaving with the intention of exploring the inside, later. It wasn't her fault that Daren had left the door open. It was best to leave it alone. As Mary walked out to greet her husband, she could determine that he was unaware of the invasion. Hopefully, Daren would remain off guard for the evening.

  Although Muffin was responsible for the discovery, he later destroyed any hope of Mary entering the mausoleum, later. The day's work of planting flowers had been completed. Husband and wife lounged in their chairs while overlooking the beautiful backyard. And the light of sunset bled through the leaves of trees. Muffin was getting braver and able to venture further away from Mary. On evenings like this, he often strolled about the yard, exploring and rolling around, maybe chewing a bone left over from dinner.

  Of course the curious dog went beyond the bushes and towards the front of the mausoleum which was hidden from the view of Daren and Mary. Rat Dog was near the front of the building longer than Daren liked. He exclaimed concerned. “What's the dog doing over there? Did he go down into the woods?”

  He quickly rose from his seat and ran down the stairs, then nearly flew to the front of the mausoleum.

  Mary was aware of what concerned Daren. He didn't care of the dog's safety; wolves could have dragged little Muffin away and this would make the man happy. With only a slight delay, Mary ran down the stairs equally as fast. Maybe her presence at the discovery of the open mausoleum would welcome another tour.

  As Mary approached the side of the building, she heard the sound of the door closing. It wasn't a slam shut; it was more of gentle, cautious close as if not to let Mary know that the door had been left open. Then Daren quickly emerged around the corner with Muffin in his arms.

  Mary was quick to ask, “What happened?”

  Daren was a little more worried about Muffin than what was normal as he replied, “The dog was halfway in the woods. We've got to get a small fence to keep him away from there.”

  Daren had lied. Mary knew that curious Muffin went into the building. This was her first concrete piece of evidence that something was being hidden from her.

  * * *

  The following week, Daren was still home and preparing for an upcoming biomedical equipment convention. Mary returned from the flower shop on that Monday afternoon and took notice of subtle tire imprints on the backyard grass. They suggested that Daren's vehicle had been backed up to the mausoleum.

  Mary asked her husband, “Did you drive on the backyard lawn?”

  “Yeah, I had some electrical equipment to bring to the mausoleum. The AC is on the fritz; had to do an upgrade.”

  It sounded fishy to Mary. Just what sort of electrical equipment would weigh heavy enough to require backing up on the lawn?

  There were no further happenings or unusual phenomenon with the mausoleum that summer. Of course Mary kept watchful eye on the building along with any opportunity to finally enter alone. She would lay awake on the nights that Daren was home, only a split second from rising out of bed to rummage through Daren's pants pockets. How easy it would be to enter the mausoleum while he slept. Still, it was too risky. And aside from that, Mary was worried of making a gruesome discovery in the dead of night, alone.

  Chapter 47

  The summer had come and gone, and it was nearly a year since the mysterious disappearances of Mapleview.

  It was a Saturday night in mid-October with Daren supposedly on his way home from another business trip.

  Mary held out the keys to Daren's mausoleum for her best friend, Shelly, to see. “They were lying on the floor, near the edge of the bed. He probably knows they were left behind but afraid to call me and ask about them.”

  Shelly laughed. For months, Mary had been updating her with the findings of Daren and the Mausoleum. Based on what Shelly heard, Mary was the last person who Daren would have wanted to find the keys!

  She commented, “I bet it was a miserable week for him! But what time does he come home?”

  “I don't know. Supposedly he left Seattle 4 hours ago. He usually calls once touching down, but then he has to drive up through Robin Creek. It takes him a little over an hour. I think we still have time. I wish I would have vacuumed earlier in the week!”

  Shelly tried to lighten up the situation, “Are you sure you don't want to whip up some of your famous margaritas before we go outside? It'll be fun, like a spooky Halloween party!”

  Mary remained serious. “No Shelly, I want to be sober for this one. It's time I see the truth of what Daren is hiding. The answer is out there.”

  The two women put their autumn jackets on and stepped outside. Mary was sensitive to the cold, October air and did her best to contain herself. Instead, she broke down in uncontrollable shivering while exclaiming, “I have so much anxiety right now!”

  Her best friend patted Mary on the back. Times like this required much support from a friend. “It's okay; this will all be over, soon. You've always wanted the truth. I've known that about you all these years. Once the truth is known, you'll feel better.”

  They made it to the edge of the yard where the building stood behind the tall bushes. Suddenly, Mary stopped and pulled out her cell. “I better call Daren and make sure he's not close.”

  It was dead silent in the cold, night air as Shelly listened to the faint sounds of the callout tone which pinged Daren's own cell. After 4 rings, his voice could be heard, “Hello?”

  Shelly could detect the nervousness in Mary's voice. “Hey! Did you touch down, yet?”

  “Yeah; you know Mary, I stopped in Robin Creek at some hotel. I'm so exhausted and keep falling asleep behind the wheel. Do you mind if I spend the night?”

  Whereas most wives would be disappointed and suspicious of a husband who couldn't drive an hour home, Mary sounded nearly relieved. “No, go on right ahead. I'd rather you be alive.”

  Daren could be heard over the receiver, “Thanks, Babe! You sure you're not mad?”

  “No, Daren; I don't care. You work hard and I'm sure you're exhausted.”

  “Alright… Oh, hey, I was wondering if…”

  The keys for the mausoleum? Was Daren going to ask Mary if she found them? But he stopped short after the word, “if” and then continued, “Nah, never mind! Love you, Babe! See you tomorrow morning!”

  “Love you too, Daren!”
r />   The call ended and Shelly couldn't help but add her comment of what was overheard. “He was going to ask about the keys, wasn't he?”

  “I think so.”

  Once at the front of the mausoleum, Mary unlocked and opened the door. The light switch was flipped on; two illuminated sconces on the far wall provided light for the women to inspect to their heart's content. There was a mild smell of bleach in the air that Mary immediately found odd. “He was cleaning in here. I didn't notice bleach back in May.”

  Mary walked to the far wall where the illuminated sconces were mounted. Shelly followed and they both faced the crypts that were on the left side wall (left if one were entering the building).

  And then Mary paused before touching the lock of the crypt that she was most curious of. Her back now faced the far wall as she spoke to her friend. “Daren was standing right here, and I was where you are standing, now.” She demonstrated while speaking, “He actually walked around me and went over to the crypts over here!”

  Shelly agreed with Mary's suspicion, “That's weird! I think this is the first crypt you should open.” She pointed to one that Mary was most curious of."

  The two women nearly held their breaths as the simple lock was undone and the crypt open. But to their disappointment, it was empty, waiting for a resident.

  There were four crypts on the two sides of walls, giving a total of eight crypts. Both women took turns opening them. Before each lock was undone, hope filled the air that the vault would produce a most gruesome discovery and a mystery solved. They were like children who had been given lottery scratch tickets, waiting for the grand prize! And for extra luck, they didn't open the crypts in the order of their positioning. They would bounce between walls while randomly selecting another lock to undo.

  “No, do this one first!”

  “But that one's directly below! Do the diagonal one!”