Читать книгу Haunting at Remington House - Laura V. Keegan - Страница 12

On the night Elise died, Tom held her in his arms. His fingers gently stroked her golden curls, caressed her pale cheeks; he gazed into her unfocused, brown eyes. He watched her take her last breath, watched her eyes close for the last time. Begging her to forgive him his selfishness, he pleaded with her to understand, to believe he never meant his love to be a punishment.

Whether she understood, or even heard him, he did not know. She died quietly—never granting him final acknowledgment that she even knew he was there. All night he held her—not able to understand that she was dead, only glad to be holding her so closely. In the warmth of his arms, she was very much alive that long, quiet winter night. Elise, his cherished wife, was his again. He clung to her, praying morning would never come.

But it did come. A cold, sunless January day dawned. No birds sang this day. There were no peals of laughter from the children in the neighborhood, only hushed silence. A heavy snow had fallen in the night, shrouding the world in a blanket of white. Few ventured out, choosing to stay inside, sheltered from the icy cold. The quiet of night continued into the morning. Lily, the housekeeper, discovered Tom and Elise late the next morning. Contrary to her usual high-strung nature, she remained calm and controlled as she ran to get Nate, Tom’s right hand man, who was having breakfast in his office, going over a contract. Nate called 911.

Tom cradled Elise, holding her tightly. Nate sat by his side as Tom quietly explained to him, “I won’t leave her—not after we’ve found each other again.”

“Tom! Oh, God, no. What happened?” Nate whispered, trying to take Elise from Tom’s tightly clenched arms. “Tom, Elise is gone, man. You have to let go.” When the EMT’s came into the room, Tom screamed at them, “Elise is fine! Leave us alone!” He continued ranting, struggling to hold on to her lifeless body. The EMT’s tried to pry him away from her. “Don’t take her from me! Get out! All of you. Get the hell away from us! Let me go, you sons of bitches!”

Tom’s doctor arrived minutes after the ambulance. Nate held Tom down while Dr. Robeson gave him a shot of a sedative to knock him out. Crying out for Elise, Tom slumped backward onto the bed. The coroner examined Elise’s body, pronounced her dead, and she was taken to the morgue. The following week, the autopsy would determine that Elise Gardner had died of an overdose of numerous narcotics ingested in a mixture of brandy and water. No suicide note was found.

Tom had only vague memories of the weeks that followed. Elise had been buried, her funeral attended only by Tom and his family. Her mother could not be located, though his sister, Cassie, had tried. Tom had vague recollections of Cassie and Nate trying to console him as he literally fell apart. The following months were the easiest for Tom. He resided in a drug-induced fantasy. For several blissful months, he shared all his time with Elise. During these months, she never left his side—the outside world no longer existed. Content, he made plans with his wife. Together, they began to build their future.

Cassie, having a family of her own to take care of, left Tom in the care of Dr. Robeson and returned to New York City. Unfortunately, Robeson’s idea of treatment was giving Tom all the drugs he wanted. After pleas from Nate, Cassie finally came back to Jamestown to see for herself why Nate was so concerned. She was devastated, realizing her brother was slipping further and further away from reality, living in a fantasy world shared with his dead wife. Cassie took charge.

For the next six months, the renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Kyle Gerard, treated Tom at Jamestown Psychiatric Hospital. Dr. Gerard slowly reduced the amount of drugs Tom had been dependent on until he was able to exist with only the aid of sleeping pills—to get him through the long nights. The sleeping pills afforded Tom hours of dreamless sleep. Without the pills, his nights were unbearable. Elise came to him—no longer as his lover—but to taunt and torment him. Tom tried unsuccessfully to sleep without the pills, finally gave up. After all, there were plenty of other doctors willing to give him what he needed when Dr. Gerard refused to write him any more prescriptions.