by Josie Belle
Chapter 27
Pain, insistent, relentless, throbbing pain, roused Maggie. She blinked and for a moment she was sure she’d been blinded as complete darkness was all she could see. But then, a faint line in front of her alluded to light and she stared at it until her eyes adjusted and she could make out the bottom of a door.
She sat up and stretched her legs out, but she hit a wall. She reached out with her left hand and hit another wall. She could feel another at her back and she knew she was in a closet. But where? Was she at the house? She turned her head and it throbbed, clearly resistant to being moved.
She reached out with her right hand, trying to feel in the darkness for anything that would give her a clue as to where she was. Her fingers closed around a scratchy fabric.
A muttered oath made her jump, making her head pound even harder. The scratchy fabric was on a body, but whose?
“Who are you?” Maggie demanded. She cringed against the throb in her temples.
A muffled answer made her realize that whoever it was was gagged. Ruth! She’d seen Ruth bound and gagged in the cellar. It had to be her.
“Hold on,” Maggie said. “Let me untie you.”
She felt around in the darkness until she found Ruth’s head. She followed her hair until she found the knot for the gag, and she tried to untie it. It was difficult in the dark. Whoever had tightened the knots had done a heck of a job. Finally, Maggie got the gag loose enough to slip over Ruth’s head.
“Ruth, is that you?” she asked.
“Yes.” Ruth’s voice wasn’t much more than a rasp.
“Where are we? Who did this to you? Why are we bound in a closet?”
“Mary Lou,” Ruth said.
“What? Is she in danger, too?” Maggie asked.
“No, it’s her,” Ruth said.
“Mary Lou did this?” Maggie gasped.
“Shh,” Ruth hissed. In a whisper, she continued, “I don’t know where she is.”
“Do you know where we are?” Maggie whispered. “Are we in my house?”
“Sort of,” Ruth said. “She dragged us into the tool shed at the back of the property. I think this is some sort of closet. I hope there aren’t any spiders. I hate spiders.”
The cramped space did have a particular musty odor like mushrooms blended with cedar. Maggie thought it smelled familiar from the tour of the shed she and Sam had taken a few weeks ago.
“How did she get us here?” Maggie asked.
“She carried me and she dragged you,” Ruth said. “I heard your fiancé roar up, but Mary Lou just shut and latched the door.”
“Oh my god, Sam is going to go completely mental if he gets to the house and we’re not there,” Maggie said.
“Why would he care about me?” Ruth asked.
“Because when I saw you through the basement window, I called Sam to tell him you were tied up down there,” Maggie said. “He was on his way when I went into the house to help you and got clobbered on the noggin.”
“You shouldn’t have come in,” Ruth criticized.
Maggie wanted to say Really? but she held it in, knowing that Ruth had probably had a much worse day than she had.
She heard Ruth shift and it occurred to her that the poor woman’s hands and feet were still tied.
“Here let me help,” Maggie said. Again, she felt her way around in the dark until she found the rope that was tied around Ruth’s legs. It was tight and her fingers ached as she tried to pry the knots apart.
“I don’t understand why Mary Lou would do this,” Maggie said. “She said you were—”
“Crazy?” Ruth guessed when Maggie stopped in mid-sentence.
“Well, yeah,” Maggie admitted. She felt the rope give way and she swiftly unwound it from Ruth’s skinny legs.
“I’m not,” Ruth said.
It was clear from her sharp tone that she was irritated. Maggie couldn’t really blame her. The crazy one, Mary Lou, had played them all, setting up Ruth to look like the nutter that she actually was.
“But why?” Maggie asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Because Mary Lou’s father William Sutter is the illegitimate son of Jasper Kasey and Penelope Sutter,” Ruth said.
Maggie gasped again.
“I know,” Ruth said.
Maggie began to work on the knots around Ruth’s wrists. “But Jasper was engaged to your mother.”
Ruth sniffed. “Not for long. My mother got Jasper Kasey’s number and broke off the engagement. Apparently she found out about his relationship with Penelope Sutter and that he had gotten her pregnant.”
“But then he was with Ida Dixon,” Maggie said.
“My mother tried to warn Ida that Jasper was a philanderer but Ida refused to listen. She was in love,” Ruth said.
“How do you know all of this?” Maggie asked.
“I’ve been piecing it together since you discovered the skeleton,” Ruth said. “Some of it was in my mother’s diary and some of it came from other sources.”
“Mary Lou gave me your mother’s diary,” Maggie said. “But there are pages missing.”
Ruth let out a curse. “So that’s what she’s trying to do. She wants to make it look like my mother is the killer when it was really her grandmother.”
Maggie untied the last knot and Ruth shook her hands out and rubbed her wrists.
“How do you know Penelope killed Jasper Kasey?” Maggie asked.
“Because it’s the only thing that makes sense,” Ruth said. “The Kasey family was from Dumontville and they were loaded. The Sutters were poor. Marrying Jasper would have changed Penelope’s whole life. How could she not be angry that she was pregnant and he ditched her for Ida? Penelope must have killed Jasper in a rage and then buried him in the Dixon root cellar as the ultimate revenge.”
“But why is Mary Lou trying to cover it up now?” Maggie asked. “It’s not like she’s going to jail for a crime her grandmother committed.”
“Family honor,” Ruth said. “It makes people do crazy things.”
“What do you think she plans to do with us?” Maggie asked.
“At a guess?” Ruth asked. “Kill us.”
The words hit Maggie in the chest with the weight and force of a boxer’s gloved fist. Oh hell no.
“That’s not happening,” Maggie said.
She rose up on her knees and began to feel for a doorknob. When she found it, she turned the handle only to discover it was locked, naturally.
“Be quiet,” Ruth hissed. “If she hears you, she’ll come for us.”
“We’re all the way in the backyard, she won’t hear us. And even if she does, good,” Maggie said. “I’m in the mood to kick her behind.”
Her headache was easing, probably because rage and terror were pushing it out of her skull.
“Well, if you’re going to be so pigheaded, let me help,” Ruth said. “But be ready in case she’s waiting for us.”
Ruth muscled Maggie over and began to work on the lock. Maggie knelt down on the floor and tried to peak under the door. She got an eyeful of grass for her trouble and not much else. The light outside the door was weak, as if coming from a distance, probably the house.
She heard Ruth huff a breath and then she heard a click and the door swung open.
“Ha!” Ruth said. In the dim light, Maggie saw her shove a hairpin back into her hair. Impressive.
Ruth pushed up to a standing position and Maggie followed her. Her knees ached from being bent and her back felt bruised but she was ecstatic to be out of the shed and in the sweet fresh air.
“We have to get to the house,” Maggie whispered.
Ruth bobbed her little birdlike head. She gestured for Maggie to follow her. Instead of going straight across the yard, they crept along the side, clinging to the cover of the shadows and the trees.
Even in the dark, Maggie could see that Ruth looked pasty and weak. Maggie thought the poor woman needed a sandwich before she keeled over. Ruth had other ideas. She scurried aro
und a large copse of trees and headed for the side of the house where she began to creep toward the front of the house.
“Where are you going?” Maggie asked. She rushed after her.
“To the front of the house,” Ruth said.
“Why?” Maggie asked.
“Because if Sam came looking for you, who do you think is going to be Mary Lou’s next victim?” Ruth asked. “If she hasn’t gotten him already.”
Maggie felt her heart plummet down to her feet. Ruth was right. Sam was the only other one who knew as much about the house as Ruth and Maggie. If Mary Lou was bent on keeping family secrets, she’d be going after Sam, too.
Chapter 28
It took just a couple minutes of stealth to get to the front yard. Maggie figured terror could do that for you.
“What do we do now?” Ruth asked.
“Find Sam,” Maggie said.
“No duh,” Ruth said. It was so singularly uncharacteristic of the older woman that it startled a half laugh out of Maggie.
“All right,” she said. She peered into the front window, hoping to get a glimpse of what was happening. Her chest clutched a bit when she saw Sam’s car parked in the driveway but no sign of Sam.
Ruth was behind her and nudged her with a pointy elbow to the back to get her in motion.
“Panic will not help him,” Ruth whispered.
Maggie knew she was right. But when she saw that the front door of the house was open and no lights were on, her worst fears were realized. What if Mary Lou had killed Sam? Maggie didn’t think she could bear it.
She stepped from behind the tree, planning to run into the house and call Sam’s name. Ruth grabbed her by the back belt loop of her jeans and forcibly held her back. For such a little thing, Ruth had quite a grip.
“Let go!” Maggie demanded.
“No,” Ruth snapped. “Get yourself together. Mary Lou can’t know we’ve escaped or she’s liable to go ballistic and then who knows what she’ll do. You could be putting Sam at risk if you go flying in there.”
Maggie blew out a breath. She knew Ruth was right, but still she wanted to run in and make sure Sam was okay.
“What do you suggest we do then?” she asked.
“Let’s haunt her out,” Ruth said. Even in the darkness, Maggie could see her white teeth gleam in a mischievous smile. “She’s probably been the one who’s been doing all of the haunting. Well, let’s scare her silly.”
“I like the way you think, Ruth,” Maggie said. “Okay, we’ll go in the back door and then we can split up inside and cover more ground that way.”
Together they hurried back around the house. Maggie took the spare key that she had hidden under a flower pot on the back porch and carefully unlocked the door and let them in the house.
It was dark, and Maggie paused to listen. If Sam and Mary Lou were in here, she heard no sound to verify it, but Sam’s car was still here so it stood to reason that if Mary Lou had grabbed him, she had him in the house somewhere.
“I’ll go upstairs,” Ruth said. “You wait and see if she appears. My guess is she caught him in the basement since that’s where she got me.”
“What were you doing in my basement?” Maggie asked.
“Looking for my mother’s diary,” Ruth said. “Mary Lou set me up. She told me you had taken it.”
“Me?”
Ruth gave her a sheepish look. “Sorry. I should have known better.”
Maggie shrugged. “She tried to run me down with your car and I thought it was you.”
“Me?” Ruth looked affronted.
“I’d say we’re square,” Maggie said. “Now let’s not let her get us again. Be careful.”
Ruth nodded. They crept through the kitchen and into the dining room. On a fold-out table in the corner, there was a stack of linens. Maggie felt her lips curve up. The mothers worked fast. She led the way into the main room where she and Sam had camped out in front of the fireplace.
The door to the cellar was open and the light from below cast a wide yellow rectangle across the floor. It took everything Maggie had not to run down the stairs and see if Sam was there.
“Wait for my signal,” Ruth said and she squeezed Maggie’s hand.
“What will it be?”
“Oh, you’ll know it,” Ruth said and she turned and hurried up the stairs.
Maggie retreated to the shadows, hoping that she and Ruth were doing the right thing. In moments, she heard a door creak and then slam. Even though she had expected it, it still made her jump.
She waited to see if Mary Lou would take the bait. She heard a voice from downstairs but no sound of movement.
Come on, Ruth, she thought. The lights flickered in the basement. Maggie had no idea how Ruth had managed that but she couldn’t help but think, Nice!
The clatter of feet running down the hallway upstairs sounded and then two more doors slammed. This time there was movement in the basement, and Maggie pressed back into the shadows when Mary Lou came racing out of the basement door.
“Who’s there?” she cried.
The light flicked on overhead, but it went right back out. Again, Maggie had no idea how Ruth was accomplishing these electrical feats, but she was awesome.
“Stop it!” Mary Lou cried. “I don’t believe in you, Ida Dixon. You’re dead. You can’t hurt me.”
A moan sounded from upstairs along with the creak of footsteps on the stairs.
“Who’s there?” Mary Lou called again. She sounded frightened.
Maggie knew her chance to slip past Mary Lou and check the basement for Sam was fast approaching. If Ruth could just draw Mary Lou out a little bit more.
A door banged again and this time Mary Lou jumped. She tiptoed across the floor, glancing wildly around the room as if expecting a specter to jump out at her. But no, it was just Maggie slipping behind her to go down the basement steps.
When she got downstairs, she scanned the area. There was no sign of Sam. Had Mary Lou knocked him out and dragged him off somewhere like she had Ruth and Maggie? But then, why was Sam’s car still here and what had Mary Lou been doing in the basement?
She heard several doors bang upstairs. Mary Lou yelled something and then the sound of running footsteps could be heard. Maggie figured Mary Lou was chasing Ruth through the house. She had to hurry before Mary Lou caught her. Ruth was spry but there was no way she could hold her own against the larger and younger Mary Lou.
Maggie walked the perimeter of the basement, hoping that Sam was just in a dark corner somewhere, but no. There was no sign of him. Beginning to feel frantic, Maggie hurried to the stairs. She was going to take Mary Lou out at the knees if she had to and demand to know where Sam was.
As she passed by the old root cellar where Jasper had been found, Maggie saw a set of parallel tracks in the dirt. It looked as if someone had been dragged into the old root cellar.
Maggie raced to the door and forced it open. Enough light shone in from the basement that she could see a body. Sick with dread, she dove at the familiar form of her fiancé.
He was lying on his side with his hands and feet bound and a piece of duct tape over his mouth. Maggie ripped off the tape and cupped his face in her hands.
“Mary Lou!” they said together.
Maggie kissed him quick and then set to work on his bound hands. The knots weren’t as tight as the ones on Ruth, and Maggie made fast work of them.
“Where were you? How did you find me? Where’s Ruth?” Sam asked.
“Ruth is upstairs trying to scare Mary Lou so I could get to you,” Maggie said. “She had us tied up in the shed.”
“But why?” Sam asked. “What does Mary Lou Sutter have to do with any of this?”
“Her father William Sutter is the illegitimate son of Penelope Sutter and Jasper Kasey,” Maggie said.
Together they untied his legs and Sam rolled to his feet, stooping on his way out of the low-ceilinged room.
He took Maggie’s hand in his and led the way out of the base
ment and up the stairs.
“We have to hurry,” Maggie said. “If Mary Lou catches Ruth there is no telling what she’ll do.”
“Stay with me,” Sam said.
“I promise,” Maggie agreed. She really had no wish to take on the crazy woman all by herself.
At the top of the stairs, they paused to listen. Maggie found the lack of noise in the house more disturbing than the flickering lights, footsteps and door slams. At least when that was happening she had an idea of where everyone was.
“Ruth went upstairs,” Maggie whispered.
Sam nodded and led the way out of the basement. They crept across the main room, through the dining room. Maggie paused to snatch one of the table linens off of the neatly folded pile. If nothing else, she figured she could hide under it if everything got too real.
They crept through the kitchen to a small door Maggie didn’t remember.
“What’s—,” she began but Sam shushed her.
He opened the door which creaked a little, causing them both to freeze. When no other sounds were heard he continued to open the door. He pulled a chain and an overhead light snapped on.
Maggie looked over his shoulder at a narrow staircase. Then she looked at him.
“I found it when we were examining Jasper Kasey’s remains,” he said. “It’s a back staircase that leads up to the master bedroom.”
“Handy,” Maggie said. “It’s sure going to make those midnight ice cream binges easier.”
Sam flashed a smile at her and led the way upstairs. Maggie noticed that he was stepping to the side of the stairs, probably to keep from stepping on the creaky middle. She did the same and they made it to the top without alerting anyone. Sam switched on the light and then slowly opened the door.
Thankfully it didn’t creak, and it opened into the walk-in closet of the master bedroom. They stepped inside the closet but did not switch on the light. Maggie quietly shut the door to the stairs behind them.
Sam held on to Maggie’s hand as he moved across the closet to the door. It was closed and he waited in front of it, listening. Maggie strained her ears trying to pick up noises but there was nothing.
Her heart hammered in her chest. She was worried about Ruth. If Mary Lou had been planning on killing them, there was really nothing stopping her now, and Maggie didn’t think Ruth had the strength to fight for her life.
