Mr. Calhoon, seated at the table, lifted his face from his hands. “I wish we dealt with Max when we had the chance. Put a bullet in his brain.”
“What he knew mattered too much,” Timberland replied.
Deputy Painter scoffed. “It was a lack of commitment that allowed the snake to escape us.”
“We should’ve just burned down the whole plantation,” Mr. Calhoon said. “Toasted him in those passageways he adored so much.”
“I’m glad we didn’t,” Timberland said. “Because all the blackmail he has could still be inside. I don’t care what the bastard said. There’s no way he’d destroy his family’s work.”
Yates sniffed his coffee, seemingly getting rid of all his stress. “Instead of going around in circles for another two hours, we just need to decide what we want to do about Evelyn. Eventually, she’ll figure out what we did to her father. Worse, finds out he’s alive, and then we’re really screwed.”
Painter leaned back, arms behind his head, and looked up at the crack on the floor and directly at Evelyn.
28
The Woods
Evelyn pulled her face away from the crack. Her heart raced. Painter got out of his chair, keeping an eye on the loft above his head. The other men looked at him inquisitively. Evelyn slowly stood. The floor creaked beneath her feet. All of the men turned their eyes to the loft.
“Is there someone up there?” one of them asked the others.
Silent as death, Deputy Painter climbed the ladder. The rungs groaned under every step.
Evelyn’s stomach dropped.
Sticking her phone in her pocket, she dashed for the window.
Painter quickened his pace.
Evelyn slid down the inclined tin roof.
Footsteps stomped through the loft behind her.
When Evelyn reached the end of the roof, she jumped off. The ground came up much quicker than she would’ve liked. It was a twelve-foot drop. She got a few bruises, but nothing felt broken. Evelyn pushed her body off the dewy grass. The sky was turning from black to indigo. Evelyn raced around the front of the barn as Painter peered out of the broken window.
Shouts sounded in the barn.
Evelyn weaved back through the cars. The barn door opened as Evelyn rounded the bend on the dirt path. She unlocked her car with the clicker and clambered inside. She turned the ignition and floored the gas petal. Kicking up dust and pebbles, the minivan skidded down the dirt path and onto the main road.
Evelyn constantly glanced back in the rearview mirror as she got farther and farther away. It didn’t look like she was being followed. Nonetheless, Evelyn couldn’t tell herself to slow down. When the barn was miles behind, Evelyn reached for her cell phone and the incriminating evidence inside.
She felt her coat pockets. It wasn’t there. I thought… she tried her front and back jean pockets. Wallet, but no cell phone. She lifted her bottom a few inches off the chair and felt around beneath her. Nothing. She checked the cubby at her feet. Nope.
Dread flooded over Evelyn. She tried to remember where she could’ve lost it. It had to have been when she was sliding down the roof or when she jumped. I have to go back. Evelyn pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. She withdrew her tablet from her purse and tracked the men’s cars. They were dispersing. Two were coming her way and one going the other, with no way of knowing about Painter or Yates.
Evelyn turned off her minivan and stayed parked in front of the restaurant as Timberland’s red sports car raced by. Soon after, one of the sheriff’s cruisers zipped down the street. Evelyn watched them vanish. She restarted her van and returned to the main road. Looking both ways, Evelyn went back the way she came down the field-flanked road
Driving the speed limit and trying to appear inconspicuous, Evelyn returned to the dirt road. The sun cast its golden rays. Evelyn parked in front of the gate to the dirt road. The chain locked it to a metal post. Evelyn would have to walk in.
She ducked under the rail and jogged down the dirt path. She was out of breath by the time she arrived at the vacant barn. Pacing across the place where the cars had been parked, she searched the ground for her cell. After a few minutes and no results, she wondered around the side of the barn. It seemed like the most logical conclusion. Evelyn slowly walked back and forth in the grass. No luck. She climbed up to the coop and peeked at the roof. No sign of it. She returned to the loft. Hay bales, loose straw, still no cell phone.
Evelyn ran her hand up her scalp. This is bad. Very bad.
Winded, she arrived back at the minivan empty-handed. She pulled out her tracker app, wondering if she still had her own phone’s data on there. She did. Evelyn followed the blip down the opposite side of the road where she came from. Before she could overlay and see which man’s car it was in, her phone blip disappeared.
“Oh come on!” She tried restarting her tablet and walked around, searching for a signal. She got a bar, but her blip wouldn’t return. The revelation hit her. They broke my SIM card.
Evelyn didn’t know why they broke it, but they wouldn’t have done so unless they knew she was filming. She had assumed that any or all of them now knew she was spying on them. Evelyn chewed on her nail and rushed home.
She didn’t waste time closing her van’s door. She sprinted inside and upstairs to the guest bedroom. She burst through the door. Terrence shot out of bed with an alarmed look on his face.
“Dang, Eve!” Terrence yelled. “You nearly scared me half to death!”
“Terrence, I messed up,” Evelyn said breathlessly. She told him what happened back at the barn.
Terrence covered his mouth and averted his eyes. After a long while, he pulled his hand away from his face. “Yeah, that’s not good. Do we have any idea who took it?”
“It doesn’t matter. They could’ve told the others. We need to assume the worst.”
“Let’s get a hold of Officer Bailey,” Terrence said, trying to think up a game plan. “She can… you can tell her your testimony.”
“I suppose, but I don’t expect her to buy it,” Evelyn replied.
“It’s that or run,” said Terrence, putting on his pants.
“Make the call,” Evelyn pulled out the policewoman’s card.
Upon hearing what they were talking about, Bailey shut them up. “Don’t say any more over the phone. Come to the station. We’ll talk in private.”
Not wasting time on a shower or to change her clothes, Evelyn headed to the police station. Terrence drove, giving Evelyn a little time to recover. It seemed like she hadn’t breathed normally since she left the barn.
The police station was a little bigger than the sheriff’s department, but not by much. It was still a single-story rectangular building, but just had a little more to it. It had a large flagpole outside the front of the building. Two flags flapped in the wind: the American one and the Georgia State flag.
Keeping as calm as they could, Terrence and Evelyn walked side by side through the double doors with the police department’s decal over it. The bullpen was relatively compact, with only a few officers manning desks. There was a receiving desk manned by a male officer with glasses whose frames looked like orange slices. His hair was a malt gray color, and his stern expression made Evelyn miss pretty desk girl Sunshine back at the sheriff’s department.
As Terrence was about to speak to him, Office Bailey approached and gestured for them to follow her. Her frizzy red hair was in a tight bun on the back of her head. Officer Davis hunched over a desk, with his eyes locked on the outdated, box-shaped computer monitor. When he saw them pass, he stopped clicking on the keyboard and followed them into the unused interrogation room.
Bailey told Davis to check the observation room and make sure this meeting wasn’t recorded. None of them said a word until Davis returned. Though there was a table and chairs, no one sat.
“Mr. Calhoon, Mayor Timberland, Dr. Gregory, Sheriff Yates, and Deputy Painter. Those are the men,” Evelyn explained.
“You sure?” Bail
ey asked.
“I had them on video before the footage was destroyed.” Evelyn gestured to herself. “Look at me. You think I would’ve come out here covered in dirt if I wasn’t serious?”
Davis traded looks with Bailey and then locked eyes with Evelyn. “You saw the Mayor and Sheriff Yates, in the same room, plotting your murder and conversing about how they killed your father?”
“In a sense, sure.” Evelyn crossed her hands over her chest and chewed her thumbnails.
“Ah,” the officers said condescendingly.
“Hey, we wouldn’t lie about this,” Terrence declared.
“It’s just as far as tall tales go, this one takes the cake,” Bailey said.
Her partner seemed to agree. “And your convicting video record was conveniently destroyed so you have no evidence to support these claims.”
Terrence twisted around and rubbed his hands up his bald head.
Evelyn took a breath. “What do we need to do to convince you?”
The duo of officers thought for a moment. Bailey spoke up. “You say your father is alive. Bring him in. Let us hear his testimony, and you may have a case. Otherwise, there’s nothing we can do.”
The drive back to Quenby didn’t inspire confidence. Evelyn propped her head against the window and watched the world blur by.
Terrence put his hand on her thigh. “We’ll find a way.”
Evelyn kept her mouth closed. It felt like some invisible force was pushing down on her, seconds away from crushing her scarred body.
Quenby House came into view. Horrified, Terrence leaned over the steering wheel as the van came to a stop. Evelyn straightened her posture and saw what terrified her husband.
Blood.
Thick and dark red, it splattered on the steps leading to the mansion and splashed across the front door, as if someone had slung gallons of crimson paint on the porch and door. Evelyn quickly exited the car. Terrence followed. With cautious steps, they hiked the steps and avoided the dripping blood. By the looks of it, someone had splashed it here within the hour.
They reached the front door. Painted in the blood and lopsided, the word “LEAVE” looked directly at Terrence and Evelyn. Nearby, a black bird cawed. The breeze ruffled Evelyn’s blonde hair. There must’ve been at least two gallons of blood.
“Is it real?” Terrence asked soberly.
Evelyn outstretched her bony finger and dipped into the letter L. She brought back her red fingertip to her nose and sniffed. She turned to Terrence and nodded.
Terrence cursed softly and then loudly. He turned back to the red brick path flanked by old oaks and at the single lane road beyond.
Evelyn dialed 9-1-1.
Screaming sirens were followed by two squad cars. The first car hailed from the police department. The other ventured from the sheriff’s office.
Officers Bailey and Davis stepped out of their car while Deputy Painter and Sheriff Yates stepped out of his.
With his eyes, Davis traced the messy trail of blood to the front door. He spat dip spit into a bottle.
Bailey directed her attention on Yates. “What are you doing here, Sheriff?”
Yates took a sip from a fat thermos. By his joyous expression, it seemed like he was drinking the manna from heaven. “I promised the Carrs that I’d look after them if anything happened. A sheriff keeps his promises.”
“That’s fine and dandy, but Davis and I got this covered,” Bailey argued.
With lust, Deputy Painter observed Bailey’s body that looked very blocky in her uniform. “We won’t be long, sweetheart.”
Yates hiked up the steps, careful not to get his polished boots bloody. He looked at the door and took another gulp. “Looks like cow blood.”
“How do you know?” Evelyn replied, keeping her expression hard.
Yates smiled at her. “Just a guess.”
“Probably should’ve sold the house,” Painter added, his left boot slight stepping in the blood. Red partial boot prints followed his trek through the double colonnades and to the front door. Officers Bailey and Davis eyed him suspiciously.
Bailey studied the word “leave” written in blood. “I ain’t ever seen anything like this before.”
Yates nodded. “Bad omen. Mrs. Carr, I know of a few motels you might be interested in staying at for a number of days. I know money is a little tight for you at the moment. So, on behalf of the sheriff’s department, I am offering to cover the expenses.”
“You know,” Evelyn said and wrapped her arm around Terrence’s lower back. “I think my husband and I are fine right here.”
Terrence glared at her. “Evelyn,” he nudged. “They’re offering to cover our expenses. Maybe we should listen to them.”
Bailey read the word again and shook her head. With a pitying look, she said to Evelyn, “I have to agree with Sheriff Yates. I don’t believe this place is safe anymore. Tell us your motel and room number when you make a decision and we’ll provide the necessary protection.”
Painter agreed. “Yep, we’ll make sure you’re taken care of. There are some real creeps out here. You never know who might show up.”
Evelyn cast her eyes down to the cow’s blood, just imagining the figure pouring it from a bucket as he walked backwards up the stairs. She glanced at her watch. It was almost eleven in the morning.
“You want us to drive you over to the motel now?” Yates asked politely. “We can wait here until you pack your things.”
Officer Bailey smiled falsely at the sheriff. “We’ll take her. Y’all got work to do.”
“Every one of you can leave,” Evelyn said. “Terrence and I need to clean this mess up.”
“We need to wait for Forensics to get samples first,” said officer Davis.
“The sheriff is probably right,” Evelyn said. “It’s likely just cow blood. I should clean it before it ruins the hardwood.”
“While we’re waiting, you can pack,” Yates suggested.
“Good idea,” Terrence said, obviously wanting to get away from the blood.
Evelyn nodded at the officers. With Terrence, Evelyn left the officers, deputy, and sheriff behind. Her walk turned into a jog as she rounded the bend of the massive house. Running between the vine-covered left wall and the line of tall trees, she reached the side door to the kitchen and hustled inside. Once Terrence entered, Evelyn closed the door, locked it, and pressed her back against it.
“We need to leave, Terrence,” Evelyn said as directly as she could.
“I think that’s a brilliant idea,” her husband replied, using a rag lying on the stove handle to pat down his sweaty face. “You’re not thinking about going to the motel though, right? I only went along with it to play village idiot. It really sounds like a trap.”
“Probably because it is,” Evelyn paced. “Within six hours of learning of their conspiracy, they’re already making their moves. I underestimated them. Big time.”
“You think they’ll try to kill us?” Terrence asked awkwardly, as if he didn’t believe the words.
“I don’t know, but they’re royally pissed. After Forensics comes and does their thing, we’ll grab anything that can fit into our minivan and get out of town.”
“What about the victims?” Terrence asked. Evelyn could tell he was more concerned with Evelyn than helping the ghosts. “We turned down millions of dollars to help them.”
“I don’t know. Maybe we can come back later,” Evelyn hated saying it. It felt like she was going against everything that defined her by leaving the job unfinished. Nonetheless, she couldn’t deny her fear any longer. These men that tried to kill her father were nearly untouchable, and now they had Evelyn in their crosshairs. They could wait until Bailey and Davis left and put a bullet in Evelyn and Terrence’s heads, hide the bodies, and get rid of the minivan. To the world, it would look like the Carrs had left town. There wouldn’t be any need to warrant an investigation. That was the worst-case scenario, of course, but Evelyn would be an idiot if she didn’t recognize the pos
sibility of such a thing.
“I’m going to call Mayor Timberland,” Terrence said. “See if he’s still willing to buy the place. Is that alright with you?”
Feeling her heart twisting inside, Evelyn gestured for him to proceed. You’re not a bad person, Evelyn told herself. You’re doing what you can to survive. The dead aren’t going anywhere. You can come back when the situation has mellowed out. As much as the internal dialogue gave her some justification for her actions, she knew that the moment she left Adders behind, she would never be able to bring herself to return. Too many bad memories. Too many possibilities for things to go wrong. While she was here, there was a sense of urgency, one that pulled on her like a strong wind. She felt it now, stronger than ever. Hurry up and make the call, Terrence, before I put us any more at risk.
“Timberland speaking,” a voice said on the other end of the phone.
Terrence put the phone on speaker and placed it on the large kitchen island. “Hey, Mayor Timberland. This is Terrence Carr. I was hoping you’d have a moment to talk about the Quenby property.”
“What’s there to talk about?” the man said gruffly. “Your wife turned down the money.”
“Yeah, uh, that’s why I’m calling,” Terrence said with a nervous chuckle. “We’ve had some time to reconsider your proposal and would like to sell the property. Right now, if you wish.”
The line went quiet on Timberland’s end.
“Hello?” Terrence asked. “You still there?”
“Tell your wife that she has made her decision,” Timberland said spitefully. “We don’t want the property anymore.”
Evelyn spoke into the phone. “A million dollars, it’s yours and we leave right now. Forever.”
“No.” The mayor’s voice thundered through the large, empty kitchen. “You made your bed, Mrs. Carr. Lie in it.”
The line went dead.
Evelyn and Terrence stood in silence for a long moment.
Terrence put his phone away. “Well, it’s not exactly how I thought our vacation would turn out.”
The forensics team from the state arrived and took the necessary blood samples and photographs. Evelyn and Terrence watched them leave.
The Haunting of Quenby Mansion Omnibus: A Haunted House Mystery Page 33
