Twilight Images - A Haunting Journey of Suspense
Prologue
Thad Connors never saw either of his parents alive again. The true details of all that happened were a bit vague . . . one dog-eared and yellowed newspaper clipping….
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FAMILY QUARREL ENDS IN DEATH OF TWO
On the evening of April 14, 1995, a Mr. and Mrs. Jim F. Connors were both found, brutally slain, in their family retreat, located high in the mountains a short distance from Denver, Co. Apparently it was a case of Murder-Suicide. It appears, after conducting numerous interviews with several close friends of the deceased that Jim and Ellen Connors were on the verge of divorcing. A Mr. Tom Avery, coworker with Jim Connors at the assembly plant, where they had both been employed for the last twenty years, was reported as saying, “Jim met this new girl, Luann Cody, if my memory is clear. And anyway, he, Jim that is, told me himself that he was planning on leaving the missus, and running off with this new girlfriend of his. He said, Jim did, that they was going up to the cabin for a secret weekend, and that as soon as they got back he was going to tell Ellen, the little wife, that it was all over. But I reckon the missus found out about the little trip the two of ‘em had planned, and I just imagine she followed ‘em and gave ‘em both one hell of a surprise. And then . . . well I guess only the Good Lord knows for sure. I mean . . . I hear things got pretty darned messy after that.”
Captain Eddie Jenkins concludes the report in saying, “It appears, from all the evidence gathered at the scene of the crime, that Mrs. Connors surprised her husband, and the so called girlfriend, in the master bedroom of the secluded cabin. Mrs. Connors fingerprints were found on the blood covered butcher knife, presumed to be the murder weapon that was found next to herself, and the mutilated body of Mr. Connors, her husband. The body of the so called girlfriend, aforementioned to be Ms. Luann Cody, was never recovered. It is assumed that she evidently fled the scene of the accident unharmed.”
Jim Connors, 56, and Ellen Connors, 50, are survived by one child, a son, a Mr. Thad R. Connors, who currently resides in Pueblo, Co., where he is enrolled in CSU-Pueblo College.
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---and nothing more. Vague! Now that was almost comical. Thad shuddered, feeling his anger and frustration mounting, and exclaimed aloud in the silent room. “How about nonexistent?” He refolded the crumpled newspaper clipping and stuffed it back into the faded manila envelope that contained a few cherished mementos he had kept of his mothers’. He had her favorite pearl necklace, a small oval, ivory backed mirror she always carried in her purse, and a battered photo of the three of them---his mom, his dad, and himself---on their last outing to the cabin. It was the last photo that showed his mother smiling and looking so very happy. He didn’t care that his dad was in the picture. How many times over the years had he felt threatened to rip the picture in half? To remove the face of his father? But in the end, he had always managed to change his mind. Maybe someday---some long and distant day far into his future—he might want a reminder of the old man’s ugly face!
Thad placed the haunting memories, along with the envelope back into the trunk, and felt himself shudder as he closed the lid.
There had to be more---something, anything---and by God, Thad wasn’t going to rest until he uncovered all of it. Even if it killed him in the process, he was determined to find the answers to all the nagging questions that had tormented his mind for the past ten years. All of them, each and every one . . . even if it meant he would have to relive it all over again. He had to know the truth. He had to know it all . . . even down to the very last morbid detail.