Laura Ray (Ray Series) (5 page)

Thirty minutes later, two men arrived at Ralph Hudson’s house. Ralph’s wife had already gone to bed early. She saw all the scratches on Ralph’s face. He always made some vague excuse when he came home like this. She never believed him, but didn’t dare to say anything. She went to take her sleeping pills and sink into oblivion. That’s where she found the most peace.

When Ralph went to the door
to answer the knock, the two men asked him to step outside. He couldn’t see them well. Their hats shaded their faces; something about this didn’t feel right. He hesitated about stepping outside. Feeling uneasy, he stepped back to shut the door. That’s when both men reached out to grab an arm and propel him outside. He had no choice but to go with them.

A policeman patrolling the streets drove by the Hudson Accounting Office and noticed the front door wide open. He called for backup and asked the dispatcher to call the
Hudson residence about the door of their Accounting Office being open. Another patrol car drove up about the same time that the dispatcher called back to say that there was no answer at the Hudson home.

“Okay,” the first police officer answered, “We’re going in.”

The two officers approached the open door cautiously with guns drawn. The receptionist office appeared clear. They saw the office door open also. Carefully they approached it. Then they saw the blood on the couch and smears on the floor. They checked behind the desk and in the closets. Nothing. They then proceeded to the break room and restroom. All clear. The first officer made his report to dispatch.

A store owner found a body early the next morning which had been dumped beaten and unconscious in the alley behind his store. The investigating officers surmised that he had been dropped shortly before midnight and it appeared that his right hand had been run over by a car. Probably by whoever dumped
him.

By the time the ambulance took him to the hospital, he was barely alive. Dr. Moots said that he should live but he had severe injury to his stomach, several broken ribs and he would never be able to use his
right hand again.

The police assumed that the blood on the couch and floor were Mr. Hudson’s blood. Mrs. Hudson wasn’t much help. She said that he had come home and ate supper with her. She neglected to tell about the scratches on his face. She was too afraid of her husband to divulge that information. She told them that she had taken a sleeping pill and
gone to bed early. No, she hadn’t heard the phone ring.

When the police came by Laura’s house to ask questions, Mary met them at the door. She told them that Laura was home with the flu.

When they insisted that they needed to speak to Laura anyway. Laura came out of the bedroom with John’s big robe tucked up to her chin to hide her bruises. Her face looked red and swollen and the police apologized for getting her out of bed with the flu.

The officers sympathized that she looked really sick. They told her, “Mr. Hudson was found beaten and unconscious this morning in an all
ey. He’s in the Moots Hospital in really bad shape and may never work again.”

Tears started running down Laura’s face. Mary put her arm around Laura and told the policeman that she needed to go back to bed.

One question please, “Do you know anybody who would hurt Mr. Hudson?”

Laura stood there with tears still in her eyes and shook her head.

The policemen apologized again for getting her out of bed.
As the officers left they commented to each other how sad Laura was about losing her job. She must have really cared for him.

Harold brought Danny over after school to get more clothes and see his mother.

Mary sat across the kitchen table from Harold while Danny collected his clothes for school and visited his mother. That’s when Mary saw Harold’s hands. His knuckles on both hands were raw and skinned. She looked up questioningly to his eyes. He had this determined look on his face that said, ‘Don’t mess with me.’ She looked down at his hands and again back to his eyes. She nodded.

He relaxed. She knew and approved. They never spoke of it.

Chapter Six

Nora came
home for her Christmas break while Laura finished her Christmas shopping. As she drove in the driveway she saw Nora’s car in the driveway. She left the bags in the trunk so she could wrap them later without little eyes watching. When she opened the front door, wonderful aromas filled her nostrils.

“I
can’t remember when someone cooked the evening meal for me,” Laura smiled.

“Today is your lucky day,” Nora laughed as she stood up to give her mother a hug.

Laura felt pleased to see that her daughter still maintained her slim figure. She mentally sighed in relief as they went into the kitchen to complete the meal Nora kindly had prepared.

After
satisfying the first of their hunger, Nora asked, “So how have things been for you?” looking at Laura.

Laura glanced at Danny, “Good. I quit my job last month. So I have been enjoying my stay at home for a while.”

She and Danny had discussed what they would tell Nora. In no circumstances did Laura want Nora to know what she had been through. Not now anyway, not while she was away at school. Thankfully Danny had honored her wishes and kept his mouth shut on the subject. Next, came the dreaded question.

“Why did you quit your job?”

“Mr. Hudson got hurt. Somebody took him out and beat him up. He is unable to work right now.”

Laura sat up in her chair in shock, “Really? Did they find out who did it?”

“No, there was some blood on his couch and his door to his office was left open. That’s really all they know,” Laura answered truthfully.

“So do you think you will go back to work?” Nora inquired.

“Yes, I plan to find another job after school starts but I want to try something different,” Laura responded taking another bite of chicken.

“What about you, Danny? What’s happening with you?” Nora asked.

“Nothing. Aaron and I hang out a lot. Mr. Roberts has been showing us some stuff about sparing with boxing gloves,” Danny said with a grin.

“Are you pretty good?” Nora said responding with a grin.

Danny sat up straight in his chair and asked with relish, “Would you like to take me on?”

Nora laughed, “Danny, I think you would send me flying head over teakettle.
Let me see your arm muscles.”

Danny stuck out his chest, “I am
pretty strong.” He showed the muscles in his arms.

Apparently Danny understood the importance of letting Nora deal with her own problems without troubli
ng her with theirs. She was relieved that Danny hadn’t brought up anything about his problem with Bobby Jackson.

Laura saw
in the paper that Bobby’s parent’s divorce had been granted. The poor boy probably had more problems than any child his age should have to deal with she surmised. His bullying might be a result of his other conflicts at home, but she didn’t want him to take it out on her son.

She felt thankful that Harold Roberts was kind enough to help the boys deal with Bobby. She wondered if they kept her in the dark about it to spare her because she had been ill over the rape or because she gave Danny bad advice. Who knew? At least, Danny had a male figure to guide him through this growing up stage that baffled her.

“Mom, Jeremy should be home late Friday night. It’ll be so late that I probably won’t see him until Saturday morning,” Nora stated matter of factly. Then with new enthusiasm she excitedly exclaimed, “I can hardly wait!”

Laura happily enjoyed her daughter the two days she had her to herself.
They shopped for Nora’s Christmas gifts and wrapped all their gifts. Nora found more decorations she wanted to put up around the house. They drove around in Laura’s Chevy Bel Air and enjoyed Christmas lights and decorations in the nearby towns.

Nora had picked up several books at the library simply for the joy of reading. This surprised Laura that her studious daughter actually relaxed enough to kick back and enjoy herself. On the first day Nora got home she picked up a book that Laura had on the table beside the big chair and it was almost like an addiction. Nora had devoured
the novels in her every spare moment.

On Friday night, knowing that Jeremy would soon be home but that she had to wait until morning to see him, Nora took her book to bed with her to finish reading it.

Laura also took a book to bed with her to read. At almost midnight Laura heard noises at the back door. Then she knew that Jeremy had come to see Nora. Laura thought a minute about what Samantha said about something needed to be done to help them referring to their vacation trip they took before going back to their universities.

Laura turned out her bedroom lamp and rolled over in bed. Samantha was right. Something needed to be done.

The next morning Nora moped around the house all morning. Laura thought she must be tired or maybe she and Jeremy had a disagreement, but she decided to let Nora tell her when she had it all worked out.

Samantha surprised Laura with a phone call. “We need to talk,
when will you be available?”

“How about late this afternoon?”
Laura submitted.

“Okay, let’s meet at Pat’s Café for a cup of coffee.” Samantha suggested.

After the coffee was served, Samantha asked, “Did Nora tell you anything about what happened last night?”

“No, she moped around the house all morning but didn’t say much.”

Samantha leaned forward, “Well, here’s what Jeremy told me. After Jeremy submitted his experiments to the Harvard professor, he was discouraged. He applied to Oklahoma University and they recommended that he apply to Oklahoma State University since they specialize in the program he wants to study. When Nora found out that Jeremy was accepted at Oklahoma State in Stillwater, she got the idea to transfer to Tulsa also. She hoped to be nearer to home and Jeremy.”

Samantha stopped to catch her breath and take another drink. She continued, “Nora had hoped to surprise Jeremy with her transfer as a Christmas present but couldn’t hold it and told him last night. However, Jeremy realized if Nora was that close to him he could spend every weekend with her.”

“I’m surprised that Nora kept her transfer a secret from me,” Nora felt left out wishing her daughter had confided in her.

Samantha’s eyes sparkled with her ability to provide information, “Don’t feel bad. Nora didn’t mean to exclude
you; she just wanted it to be a surprise for Jeremy. That’s where the problem came in. Nora misunderstood him. Jeremy needs a minute for things to sink in. Especially something that affects him that much. He was thinking about driving to see her every weekend, but he wants to sleep with her not spend his weekend sleeping in the car or whatever.”

“Oh,” Laura understood. “So, what do you think he will do?”

Samantha laughed, “Here’s the fun part.” She rubbed her hands together happily. “Jeremy sort of accidentally asked me to help, but I need your assistance. What do you think about us arranging a wedding before they go back to school?”

Somewhat surprised at Samantha’s bold plan, she could see the merit in it. “That would solve one problem, but what about their living arrangements? Nora has free dorm through her scholarship, but boys aren’t allowed in there.”

“If we can convince Nora to get married during Christmas break, I pretty sure that Jeremy won’t have a problem with it. As for sleeping arrangements, I will need to enlist Donald’s support.”

“I really appreciate you pitching in to try to help our kids,” Laura smiled.

“Don’t worry about thanking me, this is the most fun I’ve had in a while,” Samantha broke into a big smile. “I don’t have a daughter to plan a wedding for so a mother has to take what she can get.” Samantha finished her coffee, “By the way, would you bring your family over for Christmas dinner? I think if we can all pull together, we can make this happen. What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me.”
Laura left Pat’s Café with confidence that Samantha had Nora and Jeremy’s problem well under control.

Samantha left her meeting with Laura and bought a handful of wedding magazines to show Nora. After all,
she told herself, she didn’t have any daughters and this may be the best opportunity she would get toward planning her own daughter’s wedding. Now that she had Laura’s input, she felt that Laura agreed with her. The next trick would be getting Donald to jump the hurdle and get on the same page with her.

With Samantha in control, by Christmas evening, Nora set the wedding da
te for New Year’s Day. Things were all set to rent an apartment for Nora and Jeremy to live in until their graduation. After that Jeremy should be able to get a job to support them. They had one week to plan the wedding.

The next few days flew by like a whirlwind to Laura. Samantha dragged them all over Pryor and Tulsa searching for the perfect wedding dress for Nora. Most of the time Jamie was also with them in order for her to find her bridesmaid dress.

Nora in her little obstinate way refused every wedding dress brought before her. Apparently Samantha’s idea of a wedding dress for her first son’s bride didn’t flow in the same direction as Nora’s.