The Ultimate Mystery Thriller Horror Box Set (7 Mystery Thriller Horror Bestsellers)

by Perkins, Cathy

  “Get out of here.”

  “…waiting to see what you…”

  “Now!”

  “…were going to do.”

  He glared at Riley. The ghost stared back.

  Three minutes passed in silence and neither broke the gaze.

  “All right,” Bowden said at last. “This isn’t getting us anywhere.”

  Riley nodded.

  “So, what do we do? Wait?”

  “I think someone will come back and let you out with some demands. If that’s the case, we’ll know at least one of the people involved in this. But they’ve already killed one person and they might leave you down here for four days and come get you when you’re dead.”

  Chase bit his lower lip then walked to the base of the stairs and glanced up at the door. He looked back at Riley. “Can you go up there and take a look around?”

  Riley nodded.

  He stepped to the side so Riley could step past him, and watched as the ghost walked up the stairs and right through the metal door.

  10

  Riley walked out of the concrete vault and stood in the small room behind the bookcase. The steel door had been dropped into place and a two-by-four wedged between the door and an exposed floor joist overhead. Riley kicked at the board and his foot fluttered through it. He kicked at it again, much more violently, achieving the same results.

  He shook his head in despair. A four year old could have knocked the board down, and he was helpless. But Tara would help him. He knew that he could go to her, even if Bowden didn’t trust her completely.

  Riley stuck his head into the office and saw two men standing in the room between the door and the desk. One was Barry, who gestured with both hands. His pudgy cheeks flapped as he yelled at the man across from him. Riley took a second look at the other man and realized that it was Andre Fonck. He took a chance that the two men wouldn’t see his shadow while he watched them closely.

  “I told you not to come back,” Barry yelled.

  “The police think I killed Adam. They came out to my office and questioned me.”

  “You could have called me.”

  “They probably bugged your phone.”

  Barry glanced at the phone, then walked over to it. He picked up the cordless phone and looked at it, finally opening the back and taking out the battery.

  “Well, maybe it’s a wire tap,” Andre suggested.

  Barry put the phone back together. “Did anyone see you come in?”

  “I don’t know. I thought I was followed to work, but then no one followed me into the parking lot. I think I’m seeing things.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  Andre’s mouth fell open. “You don’t like this? You? I’m the one they suspect of murder. They want to know how I happened to find the body, if I didn’t kill him. They want to know what I was doing in the house.”

  Barry pulled at his fat lips. “So, do they have any other suspects?”

  “They arrested some guy who came into the house after I did, but then let him go.”

  “Why?”

  “He came in after I made the phone call from Issaquah. I reported Adam dead before this other guy broke into the house.”

  A knock on the office door ended the conversation.

  “What?” Barry yelled, grasping his thinning hair in both hands.

  “The door’s locked.”

  Riley recognized Kay’s voice.

  Barry shouted at her through the door. “It’s locked for a reason.” He looked at Andre and shook his head, muttering, “Women.”

  Andre smiled, and nodded in understanding sympathy.

  Kay replied, “Your boss is on the phone and wants to talk to you. He says it’s important.”

  Barry stuck his chubby hand on Andre’s back, and pushed him towards the door. “I got to take this call.”

  Andre tried to stop, but Barry pushed harder, keeping the momentum going.

  “I didn’t hear the phone ring,” Andre mentioned, his head cocked off to the side.

  Barry glanced back at the phone on the desk. “Um, maybe the call came through when I had the phone apart.”

  He opened the door and shoved Andre out. The two men left the room and three seconds later the front door slammed. Kay rushed into the office, followed by Barry.

  “Who’s down there?” she asked desperately.

  He responded by shaking his oversized head. “I don’t know. I thought it was Andre until he showed up at the front door.”

  “What did he want?”

  “He’s scared because the police think he killed Adam.”

  Kay gasped. “Oh, Barry. No!”

  She collapsed into the chair behind the desk and spun it towards the hall, her blond hair smashed against the headrest.

  “I don’t think he did it,” Barry said. “He doesn’t… I don’t know. I just don’t think he could.”

  Kay sat forward. “How did you know someone was down there?”

  Barry pointed at the window. “The blinds. They are never closed. I came in and had to open them, and it dawned on me that someone had been in this room. I thought I’d better check on the painting, and heard voices.”

  Kay gripped the edge of the table and her heavily shadowed eyes widened. “There’s more than one?”

  Barry nodded and his jowls swung with the motion.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I’ve got to think about it. I’ve got to think.” Barry started pacing.

  Riley closed his eyes and pulled back behind the bookcase. He wasn’t going to have time to enlist Tara’s help. He needed the darkness and it wasn’t here yet. He wondered how dark the little room he stood in was going to be when the bookcase was opened. Would they be able to see him easily?

  He looked back into the office. Kay had left and Barry sat on the edge of the table deep in thought, staring at his shoes. Riley walked back into the basement and found Bowden leaning against the wall at the base of the stairs.

  Bowden glanced up eagerly. “What’s going on?”

  “They think two people are down here. They’re afraid to open it up.”

  “Who’s afraid?”

  “Barry and Kay.”

  Bowden scratched his chin. “Okay. You’ve got to make them do it.”

  “I can’t until it gets darker.”

  Bowden glanced at his watch. “Right.”

  “You nervous?”

  “Hell, yes.”

  “Don’t worry about it. If they don’t let you out, I’ll get Tara to do it.”

  Bowden pushed himself off the wall. “Yeah. I know you’ll try. I just don’t have control of the situation, and I can’t stand it.”

  Riley nodded and smiled. Bowden had just described the same feeling that he had felt a few moments ago when he tried to move the two-by-four. “You can rely on me.”

  Bowden scowled. “I don’t rely on anybody!”

  “Maybe this time you’ll have to.”

  Bowden turned and kicked the wall.

  The sound bounced around inside the concrete room. Riley wished he could do that. He walked up the stairs and looked into the office. Barry was gone.

  Riley stepped through the bookcase and into the room. He glanced at his feet and noticed that he was beginning to take on form. He stayed close to the wall in case someone came in. He knew that he could step into the wall to avoid being seen. He looked through the wall into the hallway.

  Barry stood at the front door with a coat in his hand. The door was open and the wind whipped in. Kay held his arm, begging him not to go.

  “I’ve got to get a gun,” he explained harshly.

  “Don’t leave me alone with them in there.”

  “I can’t take you with me.”

  “Then I’ll leave. I’ll go to the mall.”

  Barry struggled to put his coat on as Kay gripped one of the sleeves. “I need you here when I get back,” he said.

  She shook her head. Her blond hair bounced across her shoulde
rs. “I’ll just call the police. They can get them out.”

  “We can’t call the police. I reported the painting stolen and they’ll find it, then I’ll go to jail.” Barry jerked the sleeve free of her grasp and shoved his arm through it.

  Riley watched quietly. What he heard confused him. He had always considered Barry to be a suspect in Adam’s murder. The conversation that Barry had with Andre hadn’t alleviated that suspicion. It looked like Barry might even try to set up Andre, the way he had rushed him out of the room. But what about this conversation with Kay?

  Maybe Kay didn’t know who killed Adam, but she was aware of the cellar and the fact that the picture had been hidden in it. Maybe Barry did it, and was keeping Kay in the dark.

  Barry slammed the door and Kay stared it at for several seconds. Riley slid into the wall just as Kay glanced down the hallway. She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with an eight-inch knife. She stalked into the office, pausing just inside the door to look around and listen. Then she walked around the desk and pushed the chair out, rolling it to the middle of the room. Holding the knife in her right hand, she sat down and stared at the bookcase.

  Riley frowned. Kay had selected the same type of weapon as the murderer. It cast a shadow of doubt on Kay. Did she grab the knife because she was afraid, or was it something that had worked for her before?

  Riley glanced at the ceiling overhead and wondered if Tara was home. He ran silently up the stairs and down the hall to her room. Night was moving in fast and Riley’s strength was growing. He hoped it would be dark before Barry returned.

  Riley raised his hand and knocked on the door, his knuckles disappearing into the wood. He shook his head in wonder. It had been a long time since he had done something like that, but old habits die hard. He stepped through the thin piece of wood into Tara’s room. The lights were off. She wasn’t home.

  Riley sat down on the edge of the bed and took the fedora off. He ran the rim through his fingers, spinning the hat in a slow circle. How was Andre involved? The nephew had come to his uncle for help and been brusquely ushered from the office. Barry hadn’t indicated any belief in Andre’s guilt or innocence in the murder. He also didn’t reveal the fact that someone was trapped in the cellar with the hidden painting. So why had Andre come to Barry for help?

  Riley stared at the gray fedora in his hands and frowned. Too many pieces were missing. Riley felt sure of one thing. Everything was tied to the painting.

  A car drove up the driveway. It was too soon for Barry to be returning. Riley walked over to the window in Tara’s bedroom and looked down at the driveway. The car’s headlights swept across the front of the house as it turned and parked. It was Tara’s car.

  He smiled expectantly and rubbed his hands on the front of his overcoat. It was funny that he felt an attraction to Tara, especially knowing that it could never be.

  As he watched, Tara stepped from car and ducked her head against the rain. She pulled the collar of her jacket up around her ears and slammed the car door. A moment later she was out of view and Riley heard the front door close.

  “Hello?” Tara called out.

  “I’m in the office, dear,” Kate replied.

  Riley walked to the head of the stairs and looked down. The light in the office was on and he could hear the faint voice of the two women. He had just decided to go down and listen when Tara walked out of the office and started for the stairs. She had hung her coat in the closet and wore a red turtleneck sweater and black slacks. Her hands held a pair of black boots.

  Riley ran back to Tara’s bedroom and looked for a place to wait. He heard her footsteps in the hall outside the door, so he sat on the edge of the bed. The door opened a second later and Tara stepped into the room and stopped, her blond hair settling around her shoulders.

  Her mouth opened as she started to say something. She stopped and pushed the door shut.

  Riley stood up, his hands dropping in front of him. His lips trembled as he tried to think of something to say. “Hi.”

  Tars crossed the room and stood in front of him. She stepped in close and looked up into his face. “What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”

  He looked down into her brown eyes and sighed. He still wasn’t sure where to start.

  She lifted her left hand and reached toward his chest, her palm facing him. Her hand stopped and hovered an inch from the jacket as she stared back into his eyes.

  “You know about the painting being stolen?” he asked.

  Tara nodded slightly, questioningly.

  “It wasn’t stolen.”

  He expected her to back away, but she just blinked.

  “I’ve found it here in the house,” he continued. “Barry and Kay… um, your mom and dad, hid it in the cellar.”

  Tara pursed her lips. “We don’t have a cellar.”

  Riley nodded, convinced of her innocence in the scheme. Her red lips were six inches from his and he dipped his head, turning it slightly. He desired the warmth and the softness of her lips, the fullness of her love. He stopped and swallowed hard, then took a step back to remove himself from the temptation.

  A spark in Tara’s eyes flickered out, and her head dropped. This crushed Riley. His head fell to his chest, hiding his eyes from her with the fedora. When he finally looked up, Tara stood with her back to him, her arms wrapped around her chest.

  “There is a…” Riley’s voice broke and he cleared his throat. “They, your mom and dad, have locked Chase Bowden in the cellar. You remember him?”

  She turned and nodded, her arms still wrapped tightly around her.

  “Your mom is in the office, where the entry is, watching to make sure Bowden doesn’t get out. Your dad went to get a gun.”

  Her gaze fell to the floor. “Why would they want a gun?”

  “They don’t know who’s down there. I need your help getting Bowden out.”

  Tara looked up and met Riley’s gaze. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Go downstairs. Tell your mom that Chase Bowden is in the cellar, alone, and that he won’t hurt her, but that she has to let him out. He can help you.”

  She nodded slowly. “What’s going on, Sam?”

  He sat down on the edge of the bed, reached for his hat and realized what he was doing. He didn’t want her to see the bullet hole in his forehead, and brought his hand back down, empty.

  “Your grandfather, Pierre, left a lot of money when he died. He didn’t will it to anyone because… well, because it was illegally obtained. He left the painting to reveal the location of the money.”

  “That’s why all my relatives have been visiting, to look at the painting?”

  Riley nodded.

  “Even Michelle?”

  “I don’t know. I think Adam knew about the painting. I think he was killed because of it.”

  Tears formed in Tara’s eyes. She raised both hands to cover her face and wept.

  Riley wanted desperately to reach out to her, to touch her, to put his arm around her shoulder and hold her. He sat motionless on the bed.

  She rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her red shirt then looked at the wet streak on it. “Do you know who killed him?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Okay. Let’s go downstairs.” She opened the door and looked back at Riley.

  “I can’t go with you.”

  She stood in the doorway, staring down the hall.

  Riley rose from the bed and walked over to her. “The entry is behind the bookcase. Kay knows how to open it. If you need my help, just step out of the office. I’m sorry Tara, but I can only give you advice.”

  She nodded and took a deep breath, then stepped hesitantly into the hallway, leaving the door to her room open. Riley followed her to the top of the stairs and watched until she reached the office door. She glanced back at him, and he gave her a reassuring nod. Taking a deep breath, she entered the office.

  Riley ran down the stairs and slipped into the wall by the office door. He arrived a
s Tara placed her hands on Kay’s shoulders.

  “What’s wrong, Mom?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You never sit in the office.”

  “I… Why don’t you go to the mall or Gilman Village or something?”

  “I can’t. I need you to do something for me.”

  Kay turned in the chair so she could look at Tara. “What is it?”

  “I need you to open the cellar and let Chase Bowden out.”

  Kay’s mouth fell open and her brown eyes widened considerably. “How do you know about the cellar?”

  “From when I was a little girl.”

  “How do you know that Bowden is in there? Who is he with?”

  “No one, Mom. He’s there alone. Open it up and let him out. He’s here to help us, not hurt us.”

  “He’s here to help Vincent,” Kay grumbled bitterly. “Vincent doesn’t need the money, we do. When your grandpa left us the house, we had no idea what the taxes on the property would be. It’s fifteen percent of our income, Tara. Fifteen percent! We need that money more than Vincent does.”

  “Mom, let Mr. Bowden out.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Positive.”

  Kay rose to her feet, and dropped the knife on the desk. “I wish Barry were here.” She turned and looked at Tara. “Maybe we should wait.”

  Tara shook her head. “We can handle this ourselves. We don’t need to wait for Barry.”

  “You don’t need to wait for Barry,” an angry voice roared from the office door, “because I’m already back!”

  Tara spun around and stared at her dad.

  Barry filled the doorframe. A big gun hung in his right hand and his face burned bright red.

  11

  Barry raised the big blue revolver and pointed it at Tara. “Sit down,” he growled.

  “Dad, I…”

  “Sit!”

  Tara sat in the chair that her mother had just vacated.

  Riley pulled his gun out and looked at it, sadly shaking his head. Other than a bluff, the gun was worthless. He’d proven it to Bowden just the other day.

  Barry waved the heavy Colt Python at Tara. “You don’t know what’s going on here. I kept you out of it on purpose, so don’t go shoving your nose in a crack where it don’t belong.”