Philip Dampier's Blog

Episode 13

A copy of the morning paper was lying on the top of his desk next to the computer. The story of his wife had made the headlines.

One Attempted and One Accomplished Murder

Yesterday, city police answered a call to a quiet residential area of the city. They found a telephone company employee critically wounded on the front porch of a recently rented home. The employee died later in the afternoon in spite of the heroic efforts of the EMTs and the local hospital emergency room. Mr. Arvie Anderson, the renter, was located in a neighbor’s house where he had taken shelter from the assailant. According to the police reports, Mr. Anderson was attacked with a large knife two separate times by his estranged wife. She also is believed to have used the knife to kill the phone company employee whose name is being withheld at this time. Mrs. Anderson was already being sought by the police for injuring a nurse at the local psychiatric ward. Mrs. Anderson is considered dangerous. Anyone having information as to her whereabouts is asked to contact the local police department at once.

Arvie read the rest of the article and then put the paper down with a sigh. He was still finding the whole scenario hard to believe. It was like being in a bad dream, and he thought any moment he would wake up. His phone startled him with its buzz. He answered it and then got up and walked down to Mr. Shute’s office. He liked his job, and he didn’t want to move, but he was scared. Afraid for himself and for Jill. If the police would just find Wanda.

Wanda woke up, dazed and sore from her fall. She looked around, and a frightening feeling came over her. Where was she? She opened the door and stepped into Jill’s bedroom. She recognized the bed and bedspread. She recognized the chest and Jill’s small chair. She did not recognize the room at all. She had no idea where she was or how she got there.

Wanda moved to the door and out into the dining room. She saw her furniture and in the living room area the same thing. The only thing she didn’t recognize in there was a recliner. What was this house and why wasn’t she in her apartment? She opened the door to the bedroom. It was definitely her bedroom suite, but it was not her bedroom.

She turned and walked back through the dining room and into the kitchen. A table occupied one side of the room, and her favorite place-mats were at each end. The table is set for two and not three. What was going on?

She turned and started towards the back door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large butcher’s knife laying on the counter. It was the only thing she had seen since waking up, besides the recliner, that she did not recognize. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. She wondered for a minute if she might be going mad.

The thought came to her that she should call Arvie and find out what was going on. She looked around the kitchen, but there was no phone on the wall or the counter. Wanda retraced her steps through the dining room and the living room. No phone on any surface or any wall. That was strange. She had always insisted there be a phone in at least two rooms.

Wanda went to the back door and opened it. She saw the grass that made up the backyard and the garage without a door. Behind the garage was another house. The backyard of the house she was in was separated from the driveway of the other house by a row of peonies. Their bright colors were dazzling in the mid-morning light. She decided to walk across the yard, wade through the peonies and knock on the neighbor’s door.

Wanda stood on the front porch and sighted the doorbell. The porch was neat, and there were red and white geraniums in large clay pots. She could tell the lady must be a neat housekeeper. She pushed the doorbell and waited. She heard a voice call, “Just a minute.” Wanda waited patiently, and in a few seconds, the door opened wide.

Wanda barely had time to see the woman before the woman screamed and slammed the door shut. Wanda heard the lock on the door click. She just stood there not knowing what to do. She waited several minutes for her blood pressure to ease and then rang the bell again. This time there was no reply. She thought she heard voices but wasn’t sure.

Wanda tried to peek in the window, but the blinds were drawn. In somewhat of a shock, she managed to walk down the steps and onto the sidewalk. Instead of going through the flowers she walked out to the main walkway and turned down the walk towards the house where she had spent the night.

Her head was hurting, and she was confused. Where was she and why was her furniture in that house and where were Arvie and Jill? It took her several minutes to make her way back onto the porch and into the house.

She left the door slightly ajar as she entered the kitchen. She thought she would look for something to eat. She discovered that she was hungry, very hungry. She couldn’t remember when she had eaten last. She couldn’t remember a lot of things. She knew her name was Wanda and her husband was Arvie, and their little girl was Jill. The rest seemed foggy to her.

The voice Wanda had heard was actually the voice of Mrs. Doris McClain talking to the police department on her recently repaired phone. She had trouble talking, she was so frightened, but the desk sergeant was able to walk her through it. It was just the break they had been looking for.

“Keep your door locked and don’t go to the window. I’ve got a car on the way; you’ll be safe if you stay inside.”

Mrs. McClain had no intention of unlocking the door or of going outside. She called her husband who said he would come right home. Then she called Joanna. They were still talking when the first police car drove up to Mr. Anderson’s house. Mrs. McClain was talking to Joanna about moving to a new neighborhood.