The Tower of Evil (Bye-Bye Mysteries)

by Robert A. Liston

  “Sorry, ma’am.”

  “What were you doing up there anyway?”

  “Just curious, ma’am. The tower looks so interesting, I wanted to—”

  “I don’t believe you. Mrs. Uberreich said you were at the door earlier when she went up. You taped the lock open, didn’t you?”

  “Ma’am, like I told Mrs. Uberreich, I—”

  “Who are you?”

  She looked fearfully at Dragon. “Irene, sir.”

  “No you’re not.” He stepped toward her. “I thought you looked familiar yesterday morning. Now I know who you are.” Before she could stop him, he jerked off her wig. She heard gasps.

  “Why she has red hair,” Uberreich said.

  “She’s DeeDee Byerly.” Dragon sounded so smug. “Looking for the Sykes kid, are you?”

  She opened her mouth but no sound came out.

  “You’re going to find him all right. Dirk, take her to the tower.”

  Rough hands gripped her arms.

  “It won’t work. My husband knows I’m here.”

  “And what’s he going to do about it?”

  As soon as she was shoved inside the tower she heard a squeal. “DeeDee, DeeDee!”

  Jamie ran into her arms. Tears filled her eyes as she hugged him. “Thank God, you’re all right.”

  He squirmed away from her. “I got a puzzle.” He took her hand and tried to pull her toward the couch off to the right.

  “In a minute, Jamie.” She looked at the woman. The words vulnerable and waif leaped to mind. She was a person you wanted to protect. “You look like your photograph, only your eyes are more beautiful.” She smiled. “You’re Amanda Sykes, Jamie’s mother.”

  “Yes, but —”

  “Let me explain. You left Jamie with Karen La Rocca, who works for me at DeeDee’s Flowers. I’m DeeDee Byerly. Karen couldn’t keep him, so my husband and I took over—until he was taken from us and brought here.” She smiled again. “Jamie is such a dear boy. You are a wonderful mother.”

  “Thank you.” She shook her head. “But I’m still confused.”

  “I’ll start at the beginning.” She sat on the couch, playing puzzle with Jamie, while she filled in Mandy Sykes.

  “And here you are, held captive like Jamie and me. I’m so sorry.”

  “It was stupid of me to get caught, but don’t worry. Walter, that’s my husband, has a plan. With luck he should get us out of here tomorrow night.” She sighed. “But poor Walter, he’s going to be beside himself with worry. I just hope he doesn’t do anything foolish.” Now she laughed. “Walter is never foolish.”

  “You must love him a great deal.”

  “He’s my very breath.” She looked around at her surroundings. “Not very commodious, is it?” There was just one room encircled by the stone wall. The single window above permitted some light to come in. The furnishing were spartan, basically just a table and folding chairs. “I guess this couch becomes the bed.”

  The worst thing is there are no facilities, just a chamber pot and camp thermos.”

  “You mean—” She looked around. “—no toilet or running water.”

  “The only electricity is that single bulb hanging from the ceiling. If it goes out, we’re in the dark.”

  “The tower must be for show. No one is supposed to live here.” She kept shaking her head. “But here we are.”

  “DeeDee, let’s do another puzzle.”

  “Where did you get the toys, Jamie?”

  “A man….”

  Amanda answered for her son. “I said it was cruel to lock up a little boy with no toys, nothing to do. They brought these. They look old. They must’ve found them in an attic.”

  “I’m sure they’re new to this little darling.” She helped him for a moment, then said, “Is Jamie’s father Justin Wright?”

  She gasped. “How do you know that?”

  “There’s a rumor. We put two and two together, rather my husband did. Is it true?”

  “The biggest mistake of my life, anybody’s life. It’s been hell.”

  “You can get help, you know.”

  “I never wanted to hurt Justin, that’s why I never said anything, demanded anything. Then he became governor and mentioned for the White House—”

  “On a campaign of holier-than-thou family values.” She smiled.

  “That made it worse. People had seen us together in his Congressional office. There was talk about…you know. I left as soon as I knew I was pregnant, tried to disappear, but—”

  “Everyone’s hunting for you, especially his political opponents and the press.”

  “I kept changing names and moving, but it never lasts long.”

  “I talked to Cyn Wu. If she knew who you really are she didn’t tell me.”

  Mandy Sykes smiled for the first time. “Cyn Wu, I miss her, I didn’t think she knew.”

  “How did you happen to come to Santa Barbara?”

  “Harry Gould contacted me. We used to date here at UCSB, sort of stayed in touch. She sighed. “He phoned me one day and said Jamie’s father wanted to meet his son and provide for him.”

  “Did he know who that was?”

  “Not at first, but later he did.”

  “Go on.”

  “He arranged the meeting. I was to fly out here with Jamie. He’d have tickets for me at Logan Airport.”

  “Did you trust him.”

  “I came, I must have.” She sighed. “The truth is, I needed money so badly. All I really thought of was support money for Jamie.”

  “I can understand that. Did you know the Kinkaids were behind it?”

  “I do now.”

  “At the last minute you became frightened for Jamie and left him with Karen—a near stranger.”

  “She seemed so nice, and the two boys got along so well. I knew no one would look for him there.”

  “Why didn’t you take Jamie and leave town?”

  “I thought of it, believe me, but I was about broke, and I had hopes of getting some money.” She sighed. “A big mistake.”

  “But an understandable one. What frightened you?”

  “I don’t know. I-I just became increasingly uneasy. I guess I felt they were more interested in Jamie than me. Somehow I felt I was putting him at risk and—”

  DeeDee patted her hand. “You were right. “

  “When they brought me here, they kept trying to force me to tell them where Jamie was, but I wouldn’t.”

  “They had half the town looking for him. They found him because Karen’s boyfriend got greedy for the $25,000 reward.”

  “What’s going to happen to us now?”

  “What’s going to happen is that we get out of here.”

  23: Screams In The Night

  HE LISTENED TO BEETHOVEN on a classical radio station, Fourth Piano Concerto, his favorite. Her car had a nice radio. A fun car actually. No wonder Doreen loved it. But it must be hell on a long trip, like riding in an egg carton.

  He saw the van pull into the parking lot. About time. He got out of the Z4 to wait for Doreen. Needed to stretch his legs. The van parked so the sliding door was on the side away from him. He heard voices, footsteps, then the sliding door slammed shut. The driver walked toward the Elite offices.

  Where the hell was Doreen?

  He ran, caught up with the driver. “Hey, where’s my wife?”

  “Oh, I remember you. Is Irene your wife?”

  “Where is she?”

  “She didn’t come back with me, must’ve worked late.”

  “No, she wouldn’t!”

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be along soon. They’ll drive her in or call a cab. It happens a lot.”

  He grabbed his arm at the elbow. “I’m telling you she didn’t work late. She would’ve phoned me.”

  The driver pried his arm loose. “Have it your way, mister. I ain’t got nothing more to say to you.”

  Byerly watched him disappear into the building. Lord God, Doreen was still out there. Somethi
ng had gone wrong. They’ve kidnapped her. This couldn’t be happening.

  He hopped into Doreen’s car and headed for the castle, swerving in and out of traffic, careening around curves, taking reckless chances. The smell of burned rubber was sickly sweet in his nostrils.

  It seemed forever, but he finally screeched to a stop at the gate, pushed the button. “I’m Walter Byerly,” he screamed. “You’ve got my wife in there. I demand you release her at once.”

  No answer.

  “Do you hear me, this is abduction, kidnapping. You can’t hold her against her will. Release her at once or I’ll make you pay! Do you hear me?”

  No answer.

  He got out of the car, banged at the call box with his hand. “Answer me, Goddammit, or I’ll…I’ll….”

  The silence maddened him, and he clutched the gate, shaking it as hard as he could, screaming over and over, “Doreen, Doreen, DeeDee, answer me, please answer me. Oh God….”

  Finally he climbed back into the car and drove, again at breakneck speed, to Lupe’s place on San Pascual Street.

  “You must help me. They’ve got her and God knows what they’ll do to her.” She stared at him. “Don’t you understand? We have to do something. They’ve got her. We have to—” He grabbed her shoulders and shook them. “Don’t just stand there. Help me!”

  “Walt, please.”

  “What’s the matter with you, don’t you care?”

  “Calm yourself, you’re making no sense. Who has who and what do you want me to do?”

  He stopped, stared at her, suddenly saw how he must look. He inhaled sharply, let it out. “You’re right, I’m not making sense, am I?”

  She smiled at him. “That’s better. Now what’s wrong?”

  “Doreen didn’t come home from the castle. I’m sure they’re holding her, just like Jamie and Amanda. They’re all in the tower, most likely.” He saw her expression. “I know, you said it was dangerous, we should have listened—”

  “I wasn’t going to say that at all.”

  “I went out there, shouted and screamed at the gate, like a madman, I’m sure.”

  “Did you get in?”

  “Nothing happened, that’s just it. I couldn’t get through the gate and nothing came over the squawk box, just complete, utter, stony silence. I've never endured anything like it.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Come with me. You’re a police officer, they’ll have to let you in.”

  She shook her head. “No they won’t, not without a search warrant, Walt.”

  “Then get one. We have to do something!”

  She touched his arm. “I understand how upset you are, but believe me it isn’t helping. Come in, let me make you something to eat, at least a drink.”

  “I don’t want a drink, I want you to help me.”

  “I’m trying to do just that, Walt.” She sighed. “No judge will give a search warrant. How long has DeeDee been missing? Are you sure she’s at the estate? She could be lots of places. Why would well-known, law-abiding citizens hold her against her will? And what was she doing at the estate in the first place? Have you and your wife been having marital problems? Is she under a doctor’s care? Are you taking any medications? Need I go on?”

  He stared at her a long moment. “I am being foolish, not helping Doreen a bit. I’m usually calm, all together in crises. I take pride in it.”

  “You’ve never had your wife held captive before.”

  “Is there nothing we can do?”

  “Not at the moment, I’m afraid.” She shook he head. “You have a plan to rescue Jamie and his mother tomorrow. I know it’s hard to wait, but you can rescue DeeDee, too.”

  “Yes.” He even managed a smile. “I think I’ll take that drink now.”

  The vodka-rocks helped, or something did, for his agitation lessened and he became aware of his surroundings. Lupe wore faded jeans and a splattered shirt. “I’m interrupting your work.”

  “Not really. I’m refinishing an old icebox. I work at it whenever the spirit moves me. Right now I’d rather talk to you.”

  “What’re you going to do with an ice box?”

  “I’m not sure. I bought it at an estate sale. I thought I might put books or CDs in it.” She looked a little flustered. “I’m having a salad—you know, suffer for the bod.”

  Ordinarily he would have had an answer for that. Clearly he still was not himself. How could he expect to be? Doreen was gone, perhaps never— Stop! Don’t even think it.

  “I could fix you something else.”

  “I’m not hungry, really. You go ahead.”

  She picked up a salad bowl, wine bottle and glass. “Let’s go out on the patio, it’s nice this time of day.”

  He followed through a dining and living room, then a den. Her house was small, but he had a sense of both comfort and style. Great care, even love, had gone into each item. They reached a terrace bedecked in dozens of potted plants. Visible beyond in the fading light was a small and vibrant garden. Lots of roses.

  “You’ve made yourself an oasis, haven’t you?”

  “I do sometimes think of it as an island.”

  “Your island, inhabited only by you, your refuge.”

  She gasped. “I hope I’m not keeping anyone out.”

  “I’m sure you’re not.” He smiled. “Your home is definitely you, Lupe, you’ve done a beautiful job.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’ve created the home you never had. Is it the one you always dreamed of?”

  “Heavens no, that’s a palace.” Now she laughed. “I’ll never be rich enough for that.”

  They sat at a glass and wrought iron table. He sipped his drink, while she dug into her salad. Their silence was comfortable, a good sign of friendship.

  Finally she asked, “Have you and DeeDee always been as much in love as you are now?”

  He was silent for a time, looking away. “You do ask tough questions.” Again he was silent. “Were we in love, sure, no doubt of it, but there was some tension. We were so different, opposites in many ways.” He hesitated. “Then our parents, both sets, died…rather close together. Doreen and I became closer after that. “

  “How did that happen?”

  “Oh, we both realized how short life is. No sense in wasting it in spats and disagreements.” He smiled. “All of a sudden my foibles and bad habits became charming and her foolish vanities made her more endearing. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but both of us started to treat the other with genuine affection, as though we were courting. Too bad we hadn’t done that all along.”