Chapter 3

Edgar Rio stirred in his sleep hearing the distant beating of a drum. He tossed in his bed trying to block out the noise that was disturbing his sleep. His wife laid next to him oblivious to it all. He curled his arm about her waist and drew her close. He settled in to return to sleep when the sound appeared again.

He was groggy. He fought against the noise but it came again. More quickly. More urgent. Once the fog had cleared he realized someone was knocking on the front door.

He tossed on a rob over his silk pajamas and found his brown leather slippers. He owned a sprawling mansion with ten bedrooms, five bathrooms, a study, game room, and all the luxuries that came with hit.

Edgar was wealthy. He enjoyed his lifestyle and the material things that his money could provide. His nephew didn’t approve of his way of life. Raven was always lecturing him that God was more important than money and that in the end money couldn’t buy salvation. Edgar wasn’t looking for salvation. He wasn’t even sure what salvation meant. It wasn’t important to him anyway. All he cared about was what was in his home right now even if he couldn’t take it with him when he left.

Edgar killed the alarm as he exited the bedroom, leaving Clarice sleeping in the bed. The staircase was long and curved into an ornate living room. The ceilings were tall with crystal chandeliers hanging from them. Edgar flipped the nearest light switch and bright light filled the entry way.

The urgent pounding continued as he made his way to the front door. It wouldn’t stop.

At last he reached the door and tore it open. In a whirlwind of excitement, a woman barged into his home, quickly slamming the door behind her and fastening the locks. She leaned against it breathing heavenly.

At first he did not recognize her. The once silken gold hair was unkempt. There was none of the make-up he was used to. The gown was soiled with blood. She wore no shoes and her feet were dirty and blistered. She was bruised along her arms and several marks similar to scratches were etched around her wrists.

He could see panic and fear in her eyes. This set his mind to spinning in all directions. He was deeply concerned for this girl.

"Rose?" He waited. "Is that you?"

"I’m in trouble," is all she could say before she collapsed and Edgar caught her in his arms just before she hit the ground.

"Clarice," Edgar yelled to his wife. "Get down her now," he ordered.

It was only a few minutes before the elegant Clarice came bounding down the stairs. "What is it?" she asked in a state of panic, belting the sash around her waist as she hit the last step.

"It’s Rose," he acknowledge as he laid her gently on the couch. "She’s been hurt. We need to call the police."

"No," she scolded, looking down at the lifeless, battered and bruised body of Rose McKenna. "They may be looking for her."

Edgar straightened . "You are right," he admitted. "We need to get her cleaned and into fresh clothes. Then we will take her to Raven until we find out what kind of mess she has gotten herself into."

Clarice backed away from the couch and started back toward the stairs. "You get a bucket of hot water and some soap. I’ll get her some clothes out of the closet."

Edgar returned to Rose’s side with a bucket of warm water and soap and a wash cloth. He knelt beside her to begin washing the blood and dirt from her flesh. He noticed that the injuries seemed fairly recent. This explained her absence this past week. Everyone had been looking for her when she hadn’t shown up for work.

At first no one really noticed, or cared. It was not unusual for Rose to decide to take a customary day off every now and then without calling anyone. She worked harder than anyone and they all agreed that those occasional days off were well deserved. They came to expect it about every six to seven months.

The concern started when she did not return to work the next day and she could not be reached either at home or on her cell phone. Edgar could not reach her mother either and he began to fear the worst. Something dreadful had happened.

He and Rose had met one summer twenty-five years ago when she was just seventeen. Her mother had been hospitalized at Green Lake during one of her worst schizophrenic episodes. Doris was not receiving adequate care and much needed medication. The hallucinations had gotten worse. Her mother was extremely suicidal and self-destructive. Rose had wanted her mother moved to another hospital so that she could be evaluated by more qualified doctors.

At the time Doris had not been insured and had been without employment. Hospitals would not accept her. But that was not her only obstacle. Rose, herself, was only a minor and they could not take orders from a minor.

So the court process began. Doris had to be declared legally competent to sign over her authorities and make Edgar her legal power-of-attorney and make him the legal guardian to Rose Elizabeth McKenna.

The battle was a long and hard, but well fought and in the end they were the victors.

Edgar had taken sympathy on Rose. She had been such a young child but had seemed so grown up at the time. He had remembered her coming to his office with a nice red dress, white silk stockings, and black lace shoes. She had always been a pretty girl with gold hair that looked just like satin ribbons. Her eyes were a mixture of green and brown, with just the slightest hint of blue. Her skin was the fairest shade of ivory, her lips cherry red.

In all her innocence, Edgar had watched her grow from an adolescent child into a beautiful woman. He had taken care of Rose and her mother so many years ago. He still took care of them today. He had paid Doris’s hospital expenses, provided them an adequate place to live. And though he never asked for a dime in return, Rose was determined to pay him back for every cent he had ever given them.

She had worked two jobs while working her way through college. She didn’t have a Masters from Harvard, or a doctorate from Princeton. But to Rose, her college degree was just as impressive, just as important.

She had chosen a career in Real Estate. Edgar was never certain just why she had chosen that field of study. But after her graduation, she had set up an office on the south end of Douglas with ten thousand dollars that she had borrowed from him with a five percent interest rate.

He had tried to encourage her to take more money from him. But she had been adamant about accepting anymore. She had agreed to pay him back in less than five years.

Edgar had to be honest with himself and had thought that Rose was getting in over her head. But she had quickly proved him wrong.

She had graduated from college at age twenty-three. She set up a two-room office in a tall sky-scrapper in downtown Douglas. Edgar soon realized that Rose had a special talent. That she had a remarkable way of reading people’s thoughts, knowing their ambitions and goals in life, zoning in on their needs and wants and meeting them head one.

Rose focused on the individual. She listened to them. She treated them well. Always took the time and patience needed to give them what they wanted. Rose was of exceptional character. She never lied or hid things in order to deceive anyone. She was like a breath of fresh air and people were soon flocking to her office, searching her out. Word-of-mouth spread like wildfire.

Within two years she had moved from a two-room office, to an office building with a suite of offices with a lakeside view and tennis courts. She had paid off half her loan, with interest. She had hired a few associates to run the office and she created a partnership with three other people. Luke Conrad, Justin Parrish and Rachel Gomez.

The partnership was set up with specific goals and ethics in mind and Rose expected everyone to adhere to those ethics. Anyone who did not would be diminished from the partnership.

Over the years the partnership had flourished. The partnership had grown from four to ten. Money was rolling in and Rose was more successful than she had ever dreamed. And in the end, she had never changed. Honesty and integrity always played a major role in her life. Edgar admired her for her traits. Just a little over a year ago, she had finished paying off the rest of her loan and the money that he had paid for Doris’s hospital expenses and for the small house he had bought her.

He and Clarice had become Rose’s second set of parents. She confided in them when necessary. She asked for their guidance and advice when things seemed shady or uncertain. If it did not feel right, she could not and would not go through with it.

Edgar had watched as Rose had developed into this avid career person. He watched her interact with people and she was great with them. She could laugh, have a good time, and entertain people like no one else could. But Rose was lacking in one area. Trust.

Trust did not come easy to her. And without trust, she could never open herself up to love. The only people Rose had come to love was her mother, and him and Clarice. Other than that, her life remained empty. Void of real romance, passion, and true intimacy.

For that, he felt truly sorry for Rose. Since he and Clarice had had no children of their own, Rose was the closest thing he had to a daughter. Rose and Raven were like his very own siblings. He loved them both and would take care of them until the day he died. He would protect them from harm and do whatever it took to keep them safe. That’s why he had to get Rose to Raven's immediately. He would know what to do.

Edgar left the room to change while Clarice dressed Rose into a powder blue silk button blouse and a pair of black dress slacks. Clarice knew the clothes would be too big for Rose as Rose was a dainty girl. Though she was dainty, that did not keep her from being curvaceous. Her breasts were somewhat larger than one would imagine her to have and her hips flared with a definite hint of femininity.

Rose was sophisticated and charming. The men never failed to look less than twice at her. When she entered the room all heads turned to watch her walk. She was poised and always dignified. She was never proud or vain. Never treated anyone differently than she would want to be treated. She was honest and forgiving. Clarice could not imagine what Rose had gotten herself into. Whatever it was, Clarice was sure that Rose was not at fault.

Edgar came back into the room. He lifted Rose from the couch and headed toward the kitchen and into the garage. He laid her to rest on the back seat of the Chevy Blazer. He buckled her in, shut the door, then kissed Clarice good-bye. Edgar could see the worry on her face.

"Don’t worry about Rose, she’ll be in good hands." He kissed her one last time. "I’ll be back around noon tomorrow. Call the office and have them cancel all my appointments."

Clarice closed her husband’s door and as he pulled away she whispered, "You take good of our girl?" But Edgar couldn’t hear her. Clarice did not return to the house until the blazer was well out of site. She tried to go back to sleep, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t. She kept thinking of Rose and her tortured body. She thought of calling Raven and warning him that he would be having a house guest for a few days. But then she thought better of it. Raven was not one who liked to be disturbed in the middle of the night. He liked it even less when he had unexpected house guests. Especially those of the female persuasion.

Raven was a temperamental young man. He was in his early thirties. Clarice could never remember exactly how old he was. Raven was his sister Betty’s son. Her and her husband had been killed in an auto accident when he was only seven years old. So she and Edgar took the boy in, made their house a home and showered him with all the love they could give him.

But all their love was never enough to replace the love of his own mother and his own father. As a small boy, Raven had resented the fate that had allowed both of his parents to die. At such a young age he could never fully understand the loss. He had blamed it all on God. He had cursed the God that had taken his parents. Clarice had always hoped, that in time, his grieving would vanish and that he would come to terms with the death of his parents.

But her wish had come true, but was short-lived. As Raven grew into young adulthood, he had turned into a rebel. He sometimes drank too much, hung with the wrong crowd, just trying to see how much trouble he could get into. He once stole a car, robbed a liquor store for kicks and all before the age of twenty.

He had been sent to a detention center in his last year of high school. But it had little effect on him at all. It was only when he met Emaline that his world began to change.

He found Christ again in his life and it had changed him dramatically.

Emaline was a gorgeous creature. She was tall and sleek, like a panther on the prey. But despite her beauty, she had a number of flaws. Clarice never liked Emaline much. She could never really say why. It was just a feeling she had.

Emaline liked to drive fast cars. She was wild and always seeking some kind of thrill. Nothing held her interest for very long. She never took life seriously and Clarice never thought she was serious about Raven.

Raven was twenty-three when he had met Emaline. He had just gotten out of jail a few days before for having taken the neighbor’s car out for a joy ride. If Clarice was honest, she thought that was what had enticed Emaline in the first place.

But being in jail had also changed Raven. He’d been visited by some church group while he was there. Though the visits where limited, they had made an impact on Raven.

Emaline was much older than Raven by about ten years. She had long bleach blond hair, a gorgeous tan and looks that could kill. She was more like the runway model type. Her legs were long and lanky. She strutted her way around wherever she went instead of walking. But she was cold and calculating and moody.

But to Raven she was perfect in every way. He closed his eyes to all her faults. He closed his mind to anything that wasn’t right and they were married only a few months after they had met.

And despite the misgivings Clarice had had about Emaline, she was the most positive influence in Ravens life. Where she and Edgar had failed, Emaline had succeeded in turning a troubled boy into a mature man. Or maybe that had been God’s doings and not Emaline’s at all.

Clarice didn’t understand how it had all happened. She assumed Raven just needed someone to believe in him. Only then could he believe in himself.

But as Raven began to change and grown more confident in himself, he began to change as a person. He was no longer Raven the rebel, he was Raven the husband. Raven the man who had to work to make a living. Raven, the man with responsibility. He took pride in himself and the things he did because he was doing it for Christ. He was doing it to please God. And, in the past, he had never taken the time to please anyone, not even himself. But whenever he visited, Clarice could see the light shining through him. It was a true blessing that Raven had turned his life around.

But once he had, it didn’t take long for Emaline to become bored with the man that Raven had become. The thrill was gone. There was no more excitement. And with it all, the passion died out. Though Raven had always been faithful, living by the commandment that God had given, Clarice could not say the same of Emaline.

There were many out of town escapades. The tabloids could not wait to print the latest story about the newest man in Emaline’s life. They were young or old. To Emaline it didn’t matter. She never tried to keep it a secret. She flaunted her affairs openly, destroying Raven more and more with each one.

Though he never said anything, Clarice new how much it had hurt Raven. But he was determined to work things out even though the love was gone. He did not believe in divorce, because God opposed it himself.

The marriage had lasted up until three years ago. That was the breaking point for Raven. Emaline had gotten pregnant. Raven was not sure who the father was, but he knew the baby wasn’t his for he had been made sterile at the age of ten in a bicycle accident.

It was the only secret Raven had ever kept from Emaline. So when she told him of the pregnancy it really did not come as a shock to him. Even when Emaline had told him of the pregnancy he had never told her of the accident. He just went to the nearest attorney and filed for divorce. At first Emaline protested against the divorce because of the baby. And at first the judge agreed and was about to throw the case in the garbage. It was only when Raven produced his medical records to the judge, that the truth came out. He had blind-sided Emaline. Hit her where it hurt her the most. She ended up with nothing.

Two weeks after the divorce Emaline had gone to the hospital and had an abortion. Though Raven new the baby was not his, he still grieved for its loss. In his eyes, Emaline had committed murder. Taken the life of an innocent unborn child. It had been a cold and callous thing to do.

Three years later Raven still had not recovered. Once again he had turned his life away from God, became bitter and cynical, resenting all who got too close. He was ill-tempered and much preferred to be alone. In a way, she pitied Rose for being unmercifully thrown into the lions den. She was sure to be eaten alive by the likes of Raven. Clarice knew it may take a while for Raven to see the light, but once he did, he would do anything for Rose. That much she was sure of. It just might be painful in the mean time. But she was sure Rose was up to the challenge.

She had yet to see a battle that Rose could not win. She was strong and determined. Spirited. She just might teach Raven a thing or two.

Clarice smiled, wondering if this was the opportunity that Raven had been unknowingly searching for in his life. Maybe this was God’s answer to his silent, unspoken prayers.

Clarice was a believer in Christ. She fought daily with Edgar because he was not. It was a constant conflict between the two of them. At one time, Raven had even tried to convert Edgar over, but after he and Emaline had grown apart, the Spirit in him had died. He had become a driftless wanderer. Though he still held onto his principles and his integrity, Christ was no longer the center of his life. He no longer governed his life by the laws of God. He made his own laws. He ran his life according to his own will, regardless if he or anyone else were hurt in the process. He was determined to stand God up, show him who had the upper hand.

Clarice was certain that one day God would win and Raven would see what a huge mistake he had made in his choice.

Clarice prayed often for a quick end to all of this. But it lingered on, causing her to pray even harder, giving it all over to God, who was far more powerful than she could ever think of being. She knew God was capable of handling anything. Even Raven himself.