I tried to get her to drop me, but she was a quick learner. Her grip was very tight. So tight, I could hardly breathe.
My heart pounded loudly in my ears as she walked around the back of the building, past Jake, who lay motionless on the grass, and into the house.
I cried as she stomped through the kitchen and lounge and back to the room with the secret entrance to the safe room without breaking a sweat. I didn't want to go back in there. If I did, I didn't think I would get back out.
She moved to the fireplace and used her free hand to open the secret door. She then attempted to get both of us into the small opening. Only I wasn't having that. I spread my legs wide and strong. She cursed and tried to ram me into the doorway. I felt the pain shoot up my leg. I wasn't sure if my ankle was broken from my fall or just sprained. Either way, the pain was excruciating.
But it didn't matter. I wasn't going back into that room. No way. Nuh-unh. It was like trying to get a square peg into a small round hole. It wasn't happening.
Sally screamed with frustration and threw me on the floor. "My God, you're an annoying cow!" she yelled as my head bounced off the boards.
I cried against the pain, but I sat up quickly, wanting to face my opponent at all times, even though I'd never have picked it to be Sally. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I could make her out quite clearly. "Why did I ever want to be like you?" she screamed.
I scurried on my backside to the wall farthest away from her.
"Do you have any idea what I've had to do over the years to be like you?" she continued.
I eyed the exit, shuffling that little bit closer to it. I remembered Stuart had left the key in the outside of the door. If I could get out there while she was distracted, I could lock her in. Even though I knew Stuart was in there too, there didn't seem to be too much I could do about that. I hoped she would be so mad at me for locking her in, she would forget about him. All I needed was to keep her distracted long enough to get to the door without her noticing.
"W…what…ha…have you had to…to do?" I asked.
Damn. I'd hoped my voice would sound a lot stronger than that. I guessed an office job was all I was ever cut out for.
Sally spun around, facing me. "The correct question, Alex, is why do I want to be like you?"
That was actually a very good question. "W…why do you want to be like me?" I asked. Wow, I was sounding stronger already. I only stuttered once that time.
"Do you know what I had to do to make people notice me? How many bloody birthdays I've had to remember or how many cakes I've bought? Hundreds, that's how many. How many have you bought, Alex? But it didn't matter, did it? Jake noticed you anyway. He never noticed me."
I was stunned by her statement. "Yes, he did! I remember him helping you with your mum. He used to go to your house and mow the grass whenever you needed it."
"Oh yes, Jake was my best friend. And if it wasn't for you, things would have been very different. Mum always told me so."
I shuffled a little bit closer to the door.
"As far as Jake was concerned, it was always you. It still is. Poor Faith. Even though I did do my best to try to get rid of her tonight. Personally, I can't stand the woman."
My heart stuttered at her words.
She laughed. "I didn't actually mean to get rid of her though. I never set out tonight to do that. That was kind of an accident." Sally sighed. "I nearly bloody died when she turned up later in the studio. I was sure she was dead after I hit her."
"You hit Faith?" I asked, moving another millimeter closer to the door.
"Yes. I walked into the toilets, and she was in there. I was going to quickly leave again, but I heard her talking on the phone complaining about you, so I stopped and listened. Man, did she go on!" Sally scoffed at the memory. "She was convinced Jake was still in love with you. Got to admit, I think she was right. Which was actually good for me. Anyway, I got a bit caught up in what she was saying and didn't hear her open the door. She stepped out of the cubicle and saw me. If I hadn't been dressed as you at the time, it wouldn't have mattered, but I did the only thing I could do. I grabbed the vase on the counter and hit her with it. She's a lightweight. Didn't take much."
"You…you were the one running around dressed as me?"
"Yeah, that was me."
"Why?" I asked, stunned yet curious.
"Another good question," she commented, moving toward me.
She squatted in front of me and grabbed a handful of my hair. Well, I was glad I was being a good student.
"But what do you want to know the most? Why I dressed as you tonight or why I dress as you at all?"
She leaned close and smelled my hair. Goose bumps broke out on every millimeter of my skin as it crawled under her touch.
I took a deep, calming breath and replied, "I don't mind. You choose. Whatever story you want to tell the most is fine by me." Sally laughed, dropping my hair and moving away from me.
"That's one of the things I've always liked about you, Alex. You have a weird sense of humor."
Good to know I was amusing her.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but it's a long story."
Good, the longer she talked about herself, the more time I had to scoot closer to the door and the more time Sam and Matt had to find me. I also had my fingers crossed that Jake would regain consciousness and go for help. Sally seemed to have forgotten all about him.
"Before I tell you, though, I just need to go and check on Jake." Damn. She stood and moved to the door. "Now, don't go anywhere, will you? I won't be long." With that, she closed and locked the door behind her.
* * *
Whilst she was gone, I jumped to my feet and checked the window to see if it would open. It wouldn't. The timber frame was painted shut. At some point in time, the glass had been replaced with the opaque glass you find in a bathroom window. That prevented anybody from seeing in, but it wouldn't stop me from smashing it.
I looked around the room for anything that would help me smash the glass. I considered throwing myself through it, but I'd check for anything more suitable first. That glass was extra tough, and with my luck, I'd cut a main artery on the way out and bleed to death before I even made it for help.
Unfortunately, the room was empty. I remembered there was probably something in the safe room that would help, but did I have enough time to get down there and back before Sally returned? I didn't know, but I had to try.
I quickly moved to the fireplace. When I'd pushed it shut earlier, I hadn't noticed how to reopen it. The room was dark, and as my phone had died outside when Jake dropped it, I had nothing to help me.
I used my fingers to feel around the fire surround, hoping to find something that would open the secret door. It felt like I was moving slowly, even though I knew I was moving the fastest I had ever moved in my life.
Thankfully, I found a small divot in the timber which I pushed my fingers into and pulled. The fireplace moved. I pulled it all the way open and almost fell down the stairs in my hurry to get back to the safe room. I ran down the short passageway and into the room. Stuart was still lying in the armchair, so I gave him a very quick check over as I looked around wildly for anything I could use to break a window. His pulse was weak, but it was still there. Thank God.
I spotted a small timber stool pushed under the desk, grabbed at it, and turned to go back the way I came. Only instead of moving back down the passageway, I stopped as I came face to face with Sally. Damn. I hadn't been quick enough.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
"I had a feeling you'd try something," she said, her tone suggesting she wasn't impressed with my antics.
She snatched the chair from me and moved farther into the room, closing the metal door behind her. Oh God! Now what would I do?
Sally took some calming breaths and forced me backward, closer to the desk. She pulled up the desk chair. "Sit!" she demanded.
I did as requested.
Turning, she looked at the walls. "I found this room y
ears ago," she said, losing herself in her memories. "When life got too hard, I used to like to come here and be alone. No one ever knew I was even in here. I was safe. I could do whatever I wanted, and nobody would ever know. A couple of times over the years, I thought I might be caught, so I had the locks fitted to the outside of these doors so nobody could get in. I always managed to steer Stuart away from it. Because nobody knew the room existed, nobody ever went looking for it. It became my secret. As you can see," she said, spreading her arms wide and sweeping them around the room, "I made good use of it."
I followed her eyes as she scanned the room. She picked the blanket up, off of Stuart and rubbed it between her fingers.
"I knew where we were," I said.
Sally's face paled as she spun to look at me. "What?" she spat.
"When I woke up in here with Jake and Stuart, I knew where we were."
"How did you know?"
"I remembered the book."
"What book are you talking about?" she asked quietly, sitting deadly still.
"The old book about Westport. Sam found it in the studio, and I read it while I was waiting for him. It told of the rumor of this room and how the crazy mayor had it built."
Sally stared at me, her eyes huge with a hint of insanity. I guessed this room was only useful to crazy people.
She turned to the desk and immediately started lifting papers. Haphazardly, she threw them aside as she hunted for something. Only once everything was scattered across the floor did she turn back to me, fear in her eyes.
"That book was mine!" she yelled. "It was mine! I found it. It belongs to me!" Okay, so she didn't like sharing her books. "You shouldn't have been reading it."
"But…but it was in the studio for everyone to read," I explained. I was starting to wish I'd kept my mouth shut about the damned book. She was obviously very attached.
"Who put it there?"
I shook my head. I had no idea. She pulled at her blonde ponytail, releasing her hair from its band. It fell rattily around her shoulders, making her appear even more like a crazy person.
She started to pace backward and forward, muttering to herself. I couldn't make out the sentences, but a few words caught my attention. Like I made a mistake… they'll come…can't be found…worked too hard, things like that. When she stopped pacing, she looked at me.
"Why can't the book be in the studio?" I asked, quietly hoping to calm her down. Really, though, I should have thought before opening my mouth. If I had, I probably would have changed the subject.
"Because, Alex, if certain people read it, they will find my secret, and all my hard work will be for nothing." She picked up the teddy bear that Jake had given me and started to once again pace the small area. "I needed to be you. That's what Mum said. Be like Alex then Jake will notice you," she said, looking around at all the possessions that had once been mine, completely lost in her own thoughts.
I eyed the door. The desk chair had wheels, so I rolled it a few millimeters toward it. "If you try to run for it again, Alex, I'll have to kill Stuart. You don't want that, do you?"
I stopped. No, I didn't. Tears stung my eyes as fatigue and guilt swept through me. Guilt that Stuart wouldn't be here if it weren't for me.
"I was going to tell you a story, wasn't I?" she asked, pulling herself from her memories, much calmer than a few minutes ago. "Before I got Jake, I was going to tell you why I had to become you."
She sighed and sat on the edge of the desk, pushing the bear under her arm and picking up a photo as she moved.
"See this picture?" she asked, turning it to me.
It was of a young Jake and me sitting on the beach. We'd spent a lot of time there when we were together. This time, Jake had his arm around my shoulders and was kissing my temple, his body language oozing the love he had for me. I wore my red bikini, smiling happily, snuggling into him as the glow from the sunset lit up our faces.
Even though the photo hadn't been taken front-on, it was actually a really good photo. One I would have proudly displayed at the time. However, until now, I didn't even know that it existed.
I remembered the afternoon it was taken. Jake had just told me for the first time that he loved me. After the sun had set and darkness had enveloped us, we'd made love on the beach, and the world had been perfect. We'd both thought we were alone.
"This," said Sally, pulling me from my memory, "is where it all started."
Nausea rolled in my stomach as I once again looked at every photo on her walls. She'd been watching me for years.
"Jake was meant to be mine. Mum loved him. She used to say to me, 'Sally, you need to marry that boy. He will look after you.' But once you came along, he didn't even want to know me anymore. At first, I planned to get rid of you, but when I saw this photo, I knew I had to change my tactic. He loved you, and even if you died, he would still love you. So instead of killing you, I decided I should become you. I had it all worked out. I figured becoming your friend would get me in closer, so I started the whole birthday thing. Mum always told me you could catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. So I became sweet Sally, the girl who did everything for everyone but who nobody really appreciated."
She stood and paced again.
"I started following you and Jake, taking a few photos when I thought I needed them, stealing a few of your things when you weren't looking. You never once noticed me though. All you were interested in was Jake. Not that I blamed you for that. He was all I ever saw when I looked at the two of you. But then Faith turned up and nearly ruined everything. When she seduced Jake, I thought all my hard work had gone to waste. But I could see that no, it hadn't. He may be with her, but it was you he still loved. So I still had to become you."
I wanted to say that none of this made sense, but I saw the crazy in her eyes and figured it didn't matter what I thought. It wouldn't change anything.
"What about Stacey and Dean?" I asked quietly. "Did you do anything to them?"
I might have been out of my depth here, but I knew the longer I could keep her talking, the more chance I had of getting both Stuart and myself out of here alive. I just hadn't figured out how yet.
"Yeah, I didn't mean to hurt Dean. Stacey was different though. I wanted to make my teeth crooked like yours, so I discussed it with her. She got a bit nosy and even accused me of having a mental problem." Sally scoffed. "All she had to do was write a referral to an orthodontist so that I could get some braces made to change my teeth. That was all. But no. She said she remembered me from school. How I would get obsessed with someone, and did I remember the girl in the eighth grade? Of course I bloody remembered her. She was gorgeous. Your hair reminds me of hers, Alex. It was all shiny and blonde. Only her eyes were greener than yours. Other than that, the likeness is uncanny. Look, I'll show you a picture."
With that, she turned to the desk and pulled out an old school photo from an album, showing me a photo of a young teenage girl. And I could definitely see the similarities.
"What happened to her?" I asked.
I knew the answer before I even asked the question. I recognized the girl's photo from the news, but I wanted to know if Sally was involved.
"Well, I got a bit carried away one day. She agreed to meet me after school, and I may have accidentally killed her. You know, I didn't mean to or anything. Anyway, I panicked and got rid of her."
"But didn't the old butcher get found guilty of her murder?"
"Yes, but he didn't murder her. He just went to jail for it. I got lucky with that because he was a bit of a perv and always watching her. It was so creepy."
Did she not see the irony in that?
"Anyway, back to Stacey. She got me so mad that day going over old times like that. She said I had mental issues. I do not have mental issues! Anyway, after I hit her, I still wanted your dental records and my referral, so I quickly copied it all and got out of there. I think I may have hit the wrong button, though, cuz it appears I wiped everything from her servers. Oops."
; My stomach flipped, and I wondered if I were going to throw up as the crazy in Sally's eyes shone bright.
I put my hand over my mouth, willing the nausea to stop.
"Oh my God, Alex. You're not going to throw up, are you?"
Tears stung as I took some deep breaths, but Stacey filled my mind. Only when I got some control back did I pluck up the courage to ask, "Did you break into my apartment?"
"Yes, of course I did. When everything here was being organized for tonight, I saw an old photo of you wearing that WTN T-shirt. I never had one of those. I needed it. I remember you wore it all the time. However, your nosy neighbour, Dean, caught me climbing over the railing, so I hit him as well. A bit too hard. I really don't know my own strength sometimes." Sally laughed. "I used to be so weak and fat but not anymore. I'm strong now. It was part of my plan. I needed to be strong. It helped me get rid of the bodies."
"I still don't get it," I said.
"What don't you get, Alex?" she asked patiently.
"All of it!" I yelled, hysteria bubbling fiercely. "Is this about Jake? Because if so, why didn't you just tell him how you felt? Maybe he would have loved you."
"I did tell him," she replied, her patience quickly disappearing. "One night, I was in the production booth, and I overheard him talking to Brent about how he was going to tell you he loved you. When Brent left, I plucked up the courage to tell Jake how I felt. He said he could only love you."
Bloody Jake.
"When I followed him that night and took this picture, I knew what I had to do. It was simple. I had to become you."
"But what about Faith? He married her. She's the one sleeping with him every night, not me!"
"Calm down. Geez," said Sally. "Don't overreact."
I dropped my head between my knees, trying desperately to suck in air, willing the hysteria to settle itself down.
"Listen, when Rachel arrived at the station a few months ago and suggested tonight's reunion, I kind of had a plan." She sighed. "But I had lost sight of the prize, Alex. Jake. He was the reason I did all of this. I didn't really want to be like you. I just needed to be like you. Now I know he married Faith, and I know the two of you were so long ago, but I also figured that after tonight, that marriage wouldn't last. He would see you again and remember how he felt. Then all I had to do was get rid of you somehow and step into your shoes. Easy. And if it didn't happen that way, it was okay. There would be another opportunity. I'm a patient woman. I would wait an eternity for him if I have to."
Invitation to Murder Page 19
