“Well, we better hurry and come up with a plan, then.” She pointed to the floor. “The water is already rising.”
“Yeah, you people better come up with a plan.” Caraleigh glared at them with her hands fisted on her hips.
“Who are you to demand a plan?” Nans asked. “A few minutes ago you were going to shoot us!”
“Well, I wasn’t going to do the actual shooting.” Caraleigh looked repentant. “My brother was.”
“Still, I don’t think we’ll be including you in our plan,” Lexy said.
“Why not?” Caraleigh whined. “We’re in this together now.”
Lexy’s brows mashed together. She couldn’t believe the nerve of the woman. She took two large strides, getting right in Caraleigh’s face.
“Let’s get this straight.” Lexy spat out the words. “We are not, and never will be, in anything together!”
Caraleigh straightened her spine and glared down at Lexy.
“Don’t be a sore loser just because my bakery did better than yours,” she said poking Lexy in the breastbone with her index finger.
The anger that had been simmering inside Lexy bubbled over. “You’re nothing but a scammer. I bet you never baked even one thing in your life!”
Lexy pushed Caraleigh’s shoulder. The other woman stumbled backward, crashing into the wall with the force of Lexy’s anger, causing a large chunk of concrete to come loose from the top of the wall. Lexy watched in horror as the chunk tumbled down, bonking Caraleigh on the head. Caraleigh’s face registered an instant of surprise, right before her eyes rolled back in their sockets and she crumpled to the floor.
Ida clapped her hands. “Yay, Lexy. You got rid of her!”
Lexy looked down at Caraleigh, her stomach twisting with anxiety. If by “getting rid of her” Ida meant she’d killed her, she certainly hoped not. It was true she didn’t like the Caraleigh, but her dislike wasn’t enough to go to jail for her death.
Nans squatted beside Caraleigh and picked up her wrist, feeling for a pulse.
“She’s not dead, is she?” Lexy asked hopefully.
“No,” Nans said, standing and brushing off her pants. “Just knocked out.”
Lexy breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I mean I know I pushed her kind of hard … maybe too hard, but I don’t want to go to jail for murder.”
“I wouldn’t say you pushed her too hard,” Ruth said. “I’d say you pushed her just right.”
“Huh?” Lexy turned to see Ruth pointing at where the concrete had come loose. Behind it, there should have been more concrete or dirt. But instead, Lexy saw a hollow darkness indicating a space behind the wall.
“Is that what I think it is?” Nans asked.
“It looks like a space,” Ruth answered.
“Maybe another room,” Ida said.
“Or another tunnel and a way out,” Lexy suggested.
The ladies reached into their purses and dug out their Swiss army knives and nail files, then shoved Caraleigh’s unconscious body out of the way and got to work on the concrete. When the hole was big enough to look through, Nans jumped up on the empty cart that had been left in the room and shoved her flashlight into the dark hole.
“It’s more tunnels!”
She hopped back down and the ladies attacked the wall with renewed vigor. Lexy spotted a thick board in the corner and helped hasten the pace by using it to bang on the wall, thus causing more cracks in the old concrete.
After almost an hour of furious work, the hole was big enough for them to walk through.
“Let’s go!” Ida grabbed her purse and scurried through the hole.
“What about her?” Nans pointed to Caraleigh.
“Let’s just leave her,” Ruth said. “She was going to shoot us and leave us here.”
Nans gave Ruth the look. “We can’t just leave her. The water is rising and she’ll drown. We’ll have to take her with us.”
“How are we going to do that?” Ida’s brows knit together. “Carry her?”
Nans sighed and looked around, her eyes coming to rest on the empty cart.
“We’ll wheel her on the cart!” Nans said. “Helen, get out your duct tape. We’ll tie her up and tape her to the cart. That way she can’t cause trouble when she wakes up and we’ll be able to deliver her to the police.”
“That’s a great idea,” Helen said, digging in her purse. “We’ll have solved the mystery of the skull, recovered the money stolen in the bank robbery and be handing over a criminal.”
“That should get us a write-up in the Police Gazette for sure,” Ruth said as the ladies got busy securing Caraleigh’s wrists and ankles before loading her onto the cart.
“Okay, now help me get this cart out into the tunnel.” Lexy lifted one end of the cart. Ruth and Helen lifted the other and they climbed over the pile of crumbled concrete, lowering the cart to the ground on the other side of the tunnel wall.
“The floor here is pretty dry. I guess the water hasn’t made it this far,” Lexy said.
Nans aimed the beam of her flashlight down one tunnel and then the other. There was nothing to indicate where they were or which way they should go.
“So which way do we go?” Ida asked.
Lexy felt a chill run up her spine. She could hear running water near them. How much time did they have before the tunnels filled up?
“I’m not sure,” Lexy said. “But we better pick one and move forward quickly while we still have the chance.”
Chapter Eighteen
“This direction is parallel to the offshoot tunnel we found the money room in,” Nans said pointing straight ahead of her. “So if we go this way, I think it might intersect with the main tunnel.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lexy said.
They started in that direction with Lexy bringing up the rear, tugging the cart with Caraleigh strapped on it.
A few minutes later, they were at the intersection. Lexy looked at the larger tunnel, a shiver running up her spine as she noticed the water level had increased to about an inch deep.
“This must be the main tunnel.” Nans aimed the beam of her flashlight to the right and then to the left.
“You mean the same one we walked down to get here?” Ruth asked.
Nans nodded.
“So, if we go to the left, we’ll pass the intersection where we found the room with the money?” Ida shaded her eyes and squinted to the left as if that would help her see further into the darkness.
“Right,” Nans answered. “And to the right takes us further downtown.”
Helen stood in the opening, looking first right, then left. “I vote we go back the way we came. Then we can escape out the doorway in Lexy’s basement.”
Ruth nodded. “I agree. It’s the only sure thing.”
“Well, it’s not really a sure thing,” Lexy said. “Victor might have locked the door behind him and if he put that plank back in, we’ll never get through it.”
Ida’s forehead creased. “But why would he do that? He thinks we’re locked up in the money room. He’d have no reason to take that precaution. I vote we check it out.”
“That does seem like the most logical course of action. The only other way out is the manhole cover in the center of town, and we have no idea which sewer route to take to get there.” Nans turned, shining her flashlight on the group. “Are we all in?”
Lexy and the others murmured their agreement. Even Caraleigh let out a shallow groan from the cart.
As they turned to the left and sloshed into the tunnel, Lexy felt her heart squeezing in her chest. She wondered how fast the water would rise and what would happen if they got to the entryway into her basement and found the door locked. Would the water be so high by then it would block off any other route to an exit? The manhole cover in the center of town was the only other way out and, even if they could figure out how to get there, they wouldn’t be able to open the cover.
“Oh look, here’s the lipstick mark I made!” Helen aimed the beam of
her flashlight toward the side of the tunnel where a bright red arrow marked the intersection with the tunnel they’d taken earlier.
“Good, then we are on the right trail.” Nans’ voice was edged with excitement. She picked up the pace, leading them further into the tunnel. Lexy trailed along, the last one in line.
She glanced back at the cart where Caraleigh lay, still out like a light.
Must be nice, she thought. The cart seemed to grow heavier with each step and her shoulder burned from the strain. If she wasn’t faced with drowning in the cold water that was getting deeper by the minute, she might have laughed at the irony—here she was sweating it out while Caraleigh lay on the cart sleeping blissfully as Lexy pulled her to safety.
After a few minutes, Nans slowed down, shining her light on the side of the tunnel, looking for the connector that led to Lexy’s basement.
“It should be around here somewhere …”
Lexy switched the handle of the cart to her other hand to give her arm a break and concentrated on thinking positive thoughts as she listened to the sloshing sounds their feet made while they waded through the now ankle-deep, frigid water. Her feet were starting to feel numb and heavy, like they did at the beach when the ocean temperature was in the 50s—except she suspected this water was much colder. Her heart pinched as she thought of Nans and the others—they were much older than she was, how much of this could they take?
“There it is!” Ruth pointed to something up ahead. They sloshed up to the opening and turned into the tunnel.
The short tunnel angled uphill so, thankfully, the water level dropped off quickly. Lexy now realized the buildings had been built higher than the sewer with the access tunnels, so any flooding wouldn’t reach into the basement. Of course, the uphill angle made the cart even heavier, but Lexy navigated it with a burst of energy—a few more seconds and they’d be free!
Or trapped.
Nans’ flashlight cast sinister shadows on the wooden door … it was closed.
“It might not be locked,” Ruth ventured.
“Right.” Lexy dropped the handle of the cart and she and Nans pushed against the door.
“It opens inward, so pushing should work.” Nans’ voice held a tremor of uncertainty. “Maybe it’s just stuck.”
“Back up,” Lexy commanded. She took several steps backwards then launched herself at the door, butting into it forcefully with the side of her body.
Pain exploded in her shoulder as it met the unyielding mass of the door with a dull thud. She backed up and tried again.
Did she feel the door budge just a little?
She tried again.
And again.
But the door didn’t open. It was locked, probably secured with the thick piece of wood they’d removed when they opened it. Victor had covered all his bases, Lexy thought as she gave in to the sinking feeling they were trapped inside the sewer with nowhere to go.
“It’s no use,” she said, her voice cracking. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She turned to Nans. “We’re trapped.”
“Nonsense!” Nans said. “The Ladies Detective Club does not admit defeat. There has to be another way!”
Lexy felt drained from the exertion of ramming the door. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears keeping time with her pounding headache.
“I hope there is another way,” she said, massaging her temple. “Too bad I can’t think with this pounding going on in my head.”
“Wait a minute.” Nans tilted her head. “You hear that too?”
“Yeah. You mean it’s not just my head aching?”
“No, I hear it too,” Ruth said.
“And me,” Ida added.
Nans cocked her ear toward the main tunnel and her face lit up.
“I think I know how we can get out of here!”
Chapter Nineteen
Nans ran back into the main tunnel, the water splashing over her sensible old-lady shoes. Ruth, Ida and Helen followed with Lexy and the cart bringing up the rear.
“Mona, wait up!” Ida yelled after Nans as she waded into the tunnel.
“Can’t! We have to hurry!” Nans shot back over her shoulder.
“At least tell us where we’re going,” Ruth said.
“Do you hear that drumbeat?” Nans asked.
“Yeees.” Ida drew out the word.
“Well, that’s not a migraine starting … it’s the drums from the rehearsal parade,” Nans said. “You know—when they do a practice run of the entire route to make sure everything will go off without a hitch during the real parade tomorrow?”
“Yeah, so?” Helen slowed down a bit, flashing her light at the sides of the tunnel.
“Yeah, so what?” Caraleigh piped up from the cart.
Nans stopped and turned to look at them.
“Don’t you guys know what that means?” she asked in an exasperated tone.
“No,” Caraleigh said meekly.
“If we can follow the sounds of the parade, it will lead us straight to the center of town …” Nans’ voice drifted off as she cocked her ear toward the ceiling, apparently listening for the parade.
“And right to the manhole cover!” Ruth added.
“I think we are on the right track to head downtown, because we’re passing the lipstick mark I made when we went into the tunnel where we found the money room.” Helen pointed to the red arrow scrawled in lipstick on the wall at the juncture of two tunnels.
“Oh, by the way.” Caraleigh’s voice drifted up from the cart. “Thanks for making that lipstick mark. I might never have found you or the room full of money otherwise. Although in retrospect, I might have been better off if I hadn’t.”
Helen stared at Caraleigh. “You mean to say if I hadn’t left that mark, we might not be in this predicament?”
Caraleigh shrugged as much as she could, seeing as she was bound up with duct tape. “It’s hard to say.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Nans said. “Let’s go … I hear parade noises up ahead.”
“I think you guys can unstrap me from this cart,” Caraleigh said. “It’s not like I’m going to run away.”
“Yeah right,” Lexy snorted.
“It will be a lot easier on you instead of having to drag me around.” Caraleigh wiggled on the cart as if to illustrate her point.
“Cut it out or I’ll leave you tied up and the cart here,” Lexy said as she struggled to drag the weaving cart through the watery tunnel.
“You wouldn’t dare … that would be sentencing me to death!”
“I still don’t get why you went to all the trouble of opening a bakery when you simply could have broken into mine just like you did last night,” Lexy said.
“We figured we’d need time to explore the sewers and find the money,” Caraleigh explained. “If we broke in while you were still operating a business there, the break-in would be discovered the next morning when you came to open up. If we didn’t find the money on the first try, we didn’t know if we’d be able to break in again, so the plan was to drive you out of business and then rent the space ourselves. Then we’d have as long as we wanted to look around down here for the money.”
“So why did you break in last night, then?” Helen asked.
“We found out about the sewer project cutting off the access and the locks being opened. We knew if the sewers flooded, it could wash the money away so we figured it was our last chance. I saw you leave by the front door and thought you’d gone home.” Caraleigh’s voice ended in a sob. “It was all Harvey’s idea … I hope that old man didn’t hurt him. I just have to get out of here and make sure he’s okay.”
“Shhh …” Nans hissed at them. “Will you two be quiet? I need to listen for the parade.”
Nans cocked her ear toward the ceiling again and Lexy, Ruth, Ida and Helen followed suit. Lexy could just faintly hear drum beats to the left … and the sound of rushing water to the right.
“I think it’s over there.” Helen pointed to the left.
“Yes, I hear it too,” Nans said. “But how do we get there?”
“There’s got to be a connecting tunnel.” Ida sloshed ahead. “Helen, come up here with that flashlight.”
“I can make a lot of ruckus if you don’t untie me, and then none of us will get out of here.” Caraleigh started singing, an ungodly wail of a tune.
Lexy, Ruth and Nans put their hands on their ears.
“Stop it, that sounds awful,” Ruth yelled.
“And I can make it real hard to maneuver in here too,” Caraleigh wiggled on the cart, sending it swaying from side to side. The more it swayed the harder she wiggled until she’d gotten quite a momentum going. The cart splashed up water onto Ruth and Lexy. Freezing cold water.
“Hey! I’ve had just about enough of you,” Ruth said.
“Yeah, what are you going to do about it?” Caraleigh yelled.
“I’ll show you what I’m going to do. I’ll shut you right up with this.” Ruth rummaged in her purse, coming up with a roll of duct tape and waving it threateningly at Caraleigh who continued to rock the cart and splash water.
“Things were much nicer when she was unconscious,” Nans said.
“They sure were.” Ruth’s eyes drifted up to the side of the tunnel where a big chunk of concrete had come lose and was ready to crumble off. “I sure hope that concrete doesn’t fall and knock her out again.”
“What?” Caraleigh jerked her head up, the motion causing the cart to lurch sideways, smashing against the side of the tunnel and loosening the concrete chunk. Everyone watched, wide-eyed as the chunk seemed to teeter back and forth before crashing down … right on top of Caraleigh’s head.
“Oh, heck,” Caraleigh said just before it knocked her out cold.
“Well, I’ll be,” Ruth said. “That certainly was convenient.”
Nans nodded. “Ask and you shall receive.”
Helen and Ida sloshed back down to them. “There’s a tunnel to the left up ahead and I can hear the parade, let’s get a move on!”
Lexy grabbed the cart handle and they hustled up the sewer tunnel, turning left behind Ida and Helen. Once they were a few feet into the tunnel, the parade sounds became much more distinguishable.
8 Scones, Skulls & Scams Page 10
