Mystery: The Coming Back: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Thank You

  Booklist

  The Coming Back

  (Mystery Thriller Suspense novel)

  James Kipling

  Mystery Thriller Suspense Publications House

  The Coming Back (Mystery Thriller Suspense novel)

  Copyright 2015 James Kipling, Mystery Thriller Suspense Publications House

  License Note:

  Thank you for purchasing this e-book. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes without permission from the author.

  If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy online where they can also discover many other works by this author.

  Thank you for your support.

  Chapter 1

  Ten years ago…

  “I have to go,” Stanley insisted. The sun was already setting and he knew his mother would worry. “My mother will be waiting for me.”

  “What are you afraid of?” Timothy asked with a small grin. Stanley ignored him, too taken with the car and the fact that he had finally obtained his license and now had more independence.

  “Nothing, but I think the weather is going to change,” he explained. “I will see you tomorrow.”

  “It would take you less than thirty minutes to get home,” Timothy nodded. “But go, I am not stopping you.”

  Stanley saw how Timothy’s lips stretched over his teeth and his eyes narrowed. He couldn’t miss the anger in his eyes, even if the other man tried to hide it. Stanley was easygoing and he knew some of his many friends enjoyed making fun of him, but Timothy usually didn’t do that. This time, however, he noticed something else under his wounded pride. It wasn’t difficult to notice, but Stanley wasn’t used to it.

  But now things were somehow different. The thought of the dark was making him feel uneasy. With each passing day, things between them were becoming more difficult. Today things were even worse. The cold wind was blowing harder and the trees near the road were moving like animated beings. The entire day, Stanley had the feeling that something was following him. Something cold and unmerciful, someone who didn’t love him at all. He had asked Timothy if he felt it too, but his friend had only laughed at his imagination.

  Stanley was feeling the urge to run back to his house in search of safety and love, but he didn’t want to seem weak. Especially in front of his friend. “I was thinking that we can go for a road trip tomorrow,” he offered, but Timothy acted as if he’d heard nothing. He was looking outside, moving his eyes up and down the road, as if examining its condition. “Okay, then I am going…” Stanley repeated and climbed into the car, thinking that his friend was acting really odd that day.

  Stanley Douglass took a deep breath and started the car, glad to be finally able to drive by himself. His whole life until now had been hard and rather lonely, but now he had his license and was feeling more independent.

  The road was almost empty and the few cars that passed were going fast, eager to get home. Stanley drove carefully, watching the sky and thinking that the weather was taking a turn for the worse. He found it difficult to see the road and was debating what to do next, when he noticed that a car was following him.

  The old Ford was unknown to him, but the car had taken all the turns he took and when Stanley decided to stop on the side of the road for a call home, the Ford also stopped. Now, he was driving on the highway, heading home and hoping that everything would go well. Suddenly, rain started falling, making it almost impossible to see the road. Stanley slowed down and the other car smashed into his rear bumper. His car was carried off the road into the forest.

  Stanley cried, but there was no one to hear him…

  The cold was slowly freezing his body and the dark was making things worse. The rain continued to fall and the sounds of the forest were terrifying. Stanley remembered how his uncle described the death. According to him, it was as if an icy wind blew in from nowhere and there was the howl of the wind and the icy touch of the snow. The snow is bad, but the real problem is the wind, which makes you shiver and dream about fire and comfortable beds. And the wind burns, worse than fire. It burns you from inside, gets inside you and fills you with ice. It is impossible to fight it. And that is only the beginning!

  You are alone and there is nothing you can do, but sit and go to sleep. You have no strength to do anything else and no desire to try. His uncle said that at the end you feel nothing, not even pain. You simply sink into some strange sea, which feels hot and impossible to explain.

  Stanley slipped into unconsciousness just when a shadow approached his car, looking menacing…

  Chapter 2

  The man walked away from the car without a second glance back. The walk back to the road was difficult, but his thoughts were so heavy and dark that he almost didn’t feel it. In front of him, a rabbit ran out from under a bush and there was some dragging noise coming from behind. It was almost as if someone was digging through the wet earth and walking through the puddles of water.

  The rain had already made everything wet and slippery, making the holes, fallen branches and leaves dangerous and difficult to avoid. Now the man was turning back every few seconds, as if expecting to see someone following him. His shoes were not suitable for the weather and the woods, but it was too late to change that.

  Night had long since fallen, the sky was filled with clouds which occasionally hid the moon had disappeared. The man looked up, searching for stars, but the only light he could see was coming from the headlight of the cars driving on the highway. The people inside those cars knew little about the dark secret hidden in the woods, but they would soon suspect it and fear the woods and stay out of them.

  “This is madness,” he murmured to himself, and there was no one to answer him. Somewhere deep in the woods, he heard a wolf howl. “You made a mistake,” he said, but also looked around, as if there was someone else to talk to you.

  The man listened for a while, peering into the darkness. The wind continued to toss the branches of the trees, making shadows move and form horrifying images. “There is something rotten…,” he muttered, listening to the wind.

  Suddenly, the clouds moved and through an opening the moon looked down at him. “Shit!” he yelled. The moonlight illuminated the knife he was holding in his hand, making it shine in the darkness.

  The shadows were hiding his face, but his eyes were shining in the darkness with the same intensity as
the knife. The three points of light looked unreal amidst the dark forest. Another car passed on the road and its headlights illuminated the trees along the road.

  “I have to get to the car.”

  He started to walk again, avoiding the boscage and heading for the last hill. The dirt under his feet was slippery and unstable, but he somehow managed to climb the hill on his hands and knees. He tried to avoid making noise, but something behind him was doing a good job of waking up the woods.

  When he reached the top of the hill, he looked back and saw the car, lying in the ditch with its doors open and the front smashed against a tree. It was well-hidden from the road and only visible to someone directly in front of it. For the first time, the man smiled and started to work. He used the broken branches to cover the car, after trying unsuccessfully to burn it. The car was too wet and the little gas it had in the reservoir had diluted.

  Slowly, the man tugged the branches and threw them over the car, creating a two-foot thick pillow over it. Now the car was completely invisible and impossible to find even if someone walked right over it. Happy with his work, the man let go of the last branch and walked towards the road.

  Hidden behind a group of trees, his car was waiting for him and the man climbed inside and drove away. There was very little he could do now, but he made sure to look around and avoid other cars. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still covered by clouds. Most of the people were still in their beds, sleeping peacefully and completely unaware that someone was lying in a wet grave, while another was driving with his hands covered in blood.

  The man slammed the brakes on his car and skid to a screeching stop. The sky was dark blue and he had been driving to somewhere. It didn't matter, he supposed. He looked around at the empty highway and to the left, just inside the tree line, a shining car came into view. He didn't remember seeing it before, and his hallucinations were usually clearer, but that could be the only explanation for the car appearing like that. He drove towards it and it took off, so he stepped on the gas and followed right behind. The landscape changed, suddenly, disorienting him so that he slowed and when the world corrected itself, he was in front of his house.

  Life was difficult to understand and there was something dark in it, something difficult to place in the rosy picture most people wanted to see. The darkness however was always there, well-hidden inside the human heart and behind closed doors. And no matter how hard we run or try, in the end it always manages to reach us and in one way or another ruin our lives.

  Somewhere, deep in the forest, the leaves continued to fall and the wind never stopped painting new images under the trees. The wolf and the rabbit didn’t care about the fresh grave inside the hidden car; all they wanted was to find something to eat and a safe place to hide during the day.

  There was no sense in complaining. Nature was going to do its work. The wind became colder. The rain began again and the air filled with the smell of wet earth and green grass. There were new sounds in the woods now, something like hisses and whispers, something that spoke of death…

  Chapter 3

  Lydia Chen sighed and sat down in the chair behind her desk at Emory University. This day was the most important in her life, but she couldn’t concentrate enough and actually think about the future. At the age of forty-one, Lydia had achieved much, but her life’s work was only now appreciated.

  “Doctor Chen, Doctor Chen,” her assistant called, entering the room running. “Mark Thomson just called to cancel the appointment for his son.”

  “That is okay, Alice,” Lydia smiled sadly. “I am not in the mood for work anyway.”

  “They still have to call, right?”

  “Yes, my friend told me they are discussing my work for two hours now,” Lydia explained in a low voice. At only five feet ten, she was a good-looking woman with a sharp, inquisitive mind. Most of her life, she had worked as a family counselor and therapist, but her dream had always been to develop a revolutionary new treatment for behaviorally challenged children.

  She had a Chinese-American background and a family that loved and supported her in all her battles. She had grown up in a hard-working family in a big city, dreaming to change the world and do something big with her life. After college she started working and developing her theory, studying the behavior of challenged children.

  The work of her life was now being examined by the university board and the wait was killing her. As a behavioral specialist and therapist, Lydia was aware that most of her colleagues rejected her work, but she still hoped the university would see the good in it and give her a chance to develop it further.

  The ringing of the phone summoned her out of her erratic thoughts and Lydia took a few calming breaths before lifting it. “Doctor Lydia Chen,” she said calmly.

  “Doctor Chen,” the head of the University said from the other side. “I am sorry to inform you that your revolutionary method had been rejected by your colleagues.”“Thank you,” she answered, as soon as he said the last syllable and closed the phone. Life as she knew it was over for her. Without her work there was no reason for her to stay at the University.

  “What happened?” her assistant asked from the door.

  “It is over,” Lydia murmured. “Alice, would you help me collect my things?” she asked with more confidence. “I think it’s time for me to change the scenery.”

  The younger woman asked no more questions and helped her collect everything, clean her desk and library, copy the files on the computer and finally carry everything downstairs. Once everything was ready, Lydia wrote her an excellent recommendation and went to give her letter of resignation to the boss.

  “Lydia, I understand your feelings, but don’t you think it is a bit too drastic to leave your work?” the man asked in a completely uncaring voice.

  “Thank you, but my place is no longer here,” Lydia answered in the same cold voice and left the room without another word.

  The long drive home gave her some time to think things over, so that when she opened the door of her apartment, she had made a few important decisions. Thankfully, Ross, the man she lived with wasn’t home, so she was able to relax alone.

  The next morning, when Lydia woke up the pain was already gone. She thought about calling at work, but didn't feel this was the type of conversation to have over the phone. What was she going to say? That she didn’t care anymore about them disregarding her work? That she was going to be okay and able to create a new life for herself? As much as she wanted to believe it was so simple, Lydia was still skeptical. She had for so long tried to avidly track something big and wonderful, that now life was losing its sense without that big goal. Mostly she had lived for her work and an occasional affair. Sometimes she even made a friend. Her boyfriend, well, she still had to decide about him.

  The beginning of her new life was a few days away and the thought of starting from the beginning twisted nauseatingly in her gut. She hadn't told anybody that she was afraid of getting stuck. That she feared her ability to fight had finally had enough of being put down and wouldn't let her stand up. In the moments when her colleagues had taken over, when she could smell the joy in the room and had let it slide down her throat like thick syrup, she hadn't wanted to continue. Being back down was easier, decisions had a clear-cut path. When she was out of the University, she didn't have to worry about University norms or other scientists. If something threatened her, Lydia studied it and won it over. The action was all instinct. There was an odd sort of peace about that.

  It was a terrible secret to keep, but in that moment before she started, she knew her purpose, knew what her heart was telling her – she knew that it was all on her and she trusted herself to do that. She trusted herself to know when she had gone too far and to stop.

  Her existential crisis could wait; nothing else mattered now except finding a new purpose in life.

  Lydia found herself aimlessly wandering around in the apartment, pacing back and forth. Restless inside the white walls, she left for
a walk in the city and some shopping.

  She hadn't planned on going back to the University, but she was sure she would not find peace until she did. He could smell the food from the canteen before she saw the building, and she smiled despite herself.

  "Look what the cat dragged in," Doctor Harrison said from his place at the window table. “Do you care to join me?”

  "Hi," Lydia finally said, tapping out a rhythm on the little black table.

  "Hi," Thomas agreed. "What do we do now?"

  "We do nothing now," Lydia motioned to herself and then to him. The man stayed uncharacteristically silent.

  "I'm not sure that is the best idea," he finally said.

  "What do you mean, you heard what the University said. My work is over."

  "Yeah, yeah, I heard them, but…" He bit at his lip. "It's not like you to give up."

  "That's never stopped you before," he countered, surprised at Lydia’s hesitance.

  "It's never been like this before," Lydia said like it hurt. She didn't need to say it out loud, as the man heard it just the same. They rejected my life’s work.

  "It was our best shot," Thomas said, watching how her lips turned into a thin line.

  "Right… Now I am leaving." Lydia slid her hand over his, as she got out of her chair – a quick glide of skin that lasted an eternity. “I hope to see you again.”

  As it turned out, Doctor Lydia Chen was right. Everyone acted as if they believed her story and the head of her department said nothing to disregard her. The only downside of the whole situation was the fact that they sent her away, to search for a job elsewhere. It was hard for her to say goodbye, but Thomas insisted it was a necessary evil.

  There continued to be jokes going around the University about Lydia and her downfall, or at the very least opinions that she should have done something, and each time somebody said something, Thomas would look up, his eyes darkening slightly, and then he would grin in his or her direction and give him or her a little wink, as if he was more than interested in the idea. He had been definitely interested, but Thomas was also another professor and their relationship was something private, just between them. At least, that’s what he’d told himself initially.