Even In Darkness--An American Murder Mystery Thriller

by Lynn Hightower

  ‘Cletus Purcell. Reginald Harvey. This is the FBI. There are three SWAT teams in position around you, and we have an army of agents posted at every entrance to the cave.’ A flood of light breaks the spell of darkness, and I squint and use a hand to shade my eyes.

  ‘We have hostages,’ Purcell shouts.

  Harvey turns me to face the floodlights, using my body to shield his own. He puts the muzzle of his gun against my throat. I remember the pictures of Jimmy, Darrin and Gloria. He’s a throat man, is Harvey.

  ‘Go,’ he says to Purcell, behind him. He is the only one who is calm.

  ‘Nina,’ Andee cries. ‘Nina.’

  ‘Hush, baby,’ Caro says. ‘Mommy’s right here.’

  Harvey pulls me backward, and he has to drag me. I am dead weight, though it doesn’t slow him down.

  ‘I’m not going,’ I whisper. Only Harvey can hear what I say.

  ‘Think about this, Joy.’ He sounds appallingly kind and only slightly out of breath. ‘You don’t go, I don’t go. You’re safe, but what do you think Cletus will do without you and me there to keep control? What happens to Caro and Andee then?’

  ‘I can’t.’

  ‘You can. You can if all you think about is Andee. Just Andee, that’s all you keep in your head.’

  I tell myself I am dead already, and there’s no reason my corpse cannot go into those rocks. But I’m dealing with phobia. Logic doesn’t hold much sway.

  ‘Ten feet, Joy. That’s all. Go ten feet into the passageway and then it opens up, and there’s a little chamber on the other side that leads right out. Ten feet and you’re free. You’ll be through before you have time to think about it.’

  It is this that finally moves me. That and Andee. I will do what Harvey tells me and keep my mind on her.

  The FBI is back on the bullhorn, trying to talk Purcell and Harvey in. It is clear there is little to bargain with, other than a promise not to shoot them on sight, and even the agent behind the bullhorn doesn’t sound convinced. I think about SWAT team snipers and wish they’d take their best shot. If they hit me by accident I promise to understand.

  ‘Kill the lights,’ Harvey says. ‘Do it now or she’s dead.’

  And I am she. I am she who will be dead. Don’t, please, I will them. Don’t kill the lights.

  But the agent in charge is cooperative. I flash on Agent Harris in Arkansas who doesn’t cooperate no matter what.

  The lights go out and my stomach sinks in the darkness. I am cold. I want it to be over. I am tired of being afraid.

  Harvey nudges me forward, giving me a hand and hauling me up the hill of rock, while my feet scrape and slip. Once I’m up on the ledge, he does not give me time to catch my breath. He pushes me toward the passageway, keeping me off balance.

  ‘On your back,’ he whispers, his breath a warm tickle on my cheek, and I scratch like I’ve been bitten by a bug. He lifts my right hand. ‘Hold this arm up over your head and keep your other arm down by your side. Remember, Joy, ten feet, and then you’re out of the cave. Get along as fast as you can, but be very careful of your head. I still have my flashlight, and as soon as we’re out of range of the Feds, I’ll pass it up to you.’

  How long will it take, I wonder, before the FBI figures it out? How long till they send agents creeping into the darkness to find out where we’ve gone when we disappear? Will they be delayed, thinking we’re hiding in the water? How much time will it take before they find the narrow opening in the rock?

  That is my last thought as I lie on my back, right arm raised over my head. I squirm along on my back, deep into the heart of the wall.

  FORTY

  I push myself along, listening. The others are not far ahead. I see the occasional flash of their lights and hear the echo of voices ahead.

  It is warmer, just a little, in this passage of rock. My heart pounds and I am shivering, but still I sweat. I hit my head and groan softly, wiping a smear of wet grit and blood from the top of my scalp.

  Harvey taps my foot. As promised, he shines the light.

  I feel the stir of panic build as I see how the rock presses so close. It gets smaller, this passageway, and I begin to wonder if I will fit.

  Think like a predator, I tell myself. Beat them at their game. But thinking gets me a throat full of hysteria. I take deep breaths and let the image of Andee safely tucked in her bed fill my head.

  A scream echoes from inside the rock. I’m disoriented before I realize it is Andee I hear. I move quickly now, going forward, and I hit my head again, and something scrapes a layer of skin off my cheek. She screams again and again.

  I sob, pushing myself along, and I hear Caroline’s murmur. Harvey grunts and pushes close to my feet and I think then how much larger he is than the rest of us. I wonder he does not get stuck.

  And then I hit a foot. It is Caroline, wedged into the passage ahead of me.

  ‘Joy?’ she says, loud, so I can hear her over my granddaughter’s cries. ‘Andee’s stuck somehow. She won’t go.’

  ‘Cletus,’ Harvey bellows. ‘Cletus, are you there?’

  ‘He’s gone,’ Caro says. ‘Andee stopped and he dragged her. Then she got stuck, and I think he went ahead.’

  He’s left us behind, I think, this man who does not leave witnesses. He must think we can’t get out. I know we’ve gone further than the ten feet Harvey described.

  ‘Caroline. Can you see what she’s stuck on?’ Harvey sounds so calm. The echo of his voice is eerie.

  ‘No, that son of a bitch took the light.’

  ‘We’ve got one,’ I say quickly. ‘Tell Andee we’ll get it to her, but she has to stop screaming.’

  Caro murmurs and Harvey pushes the light as far as he can up the top of my leg. I tell myself to move slowly. I push away the thoughts that come into my head, how Floyd Collins stayed wedged in a passageway much like this one, talking off and on to his would-be rescuers till the moment of his death.

  ‘Caro? I’ve got the light here. Can you feel it on your foot?’

  ‘Yeah.’ She sounds breathless. ‘Nina is here, Andee, I promise. And look, she’s brought you a light. She says it’s your turn again.’

  Andee finally winds down to tiny sobs and hiccups. The silence is a calming, blessed relief. I can finally breathe.

  ‘How’s she doing?’ Harvey asks.

  ‘She’s OK,’ Caro says. ‘She just panicked. I don’t think she’s really stuck, but I can’t get her to move.’

  ‘Caroline? Is there any chance you can get around or over her?’ Harvey says.

  ‘Yeah, it’s wider here, thank God. Still tight, but I think—’

  ‘Just make sure to take it slow,’ Harvey says. ‘Test it out so you don’t get wedged. Joy? Once Caroline gets ahead of Andee, she can hook her toes under Andee’s armpits. She pulls while you push Andee’s feet, and that way we can move her along if she’s still too scared to go.’

  I want to ask him how much further, but can’t see how the question will help matters as much as it could hurt.

  ‘Ready,’ Caro says.

  ‘Andee, it’s Nina.’ I try to touch Andee’s slender ankles and instead get a handful of cold mud and rock from the bottom of her shoes. ‘I’m going to push and your Mama’s going to pull, and we’re getting you out of here, OK?’

  Andee speaks so softly I’m not sure I actually hear what she says. I love you, Nina may be nothing more than wishful thinking on my part.

  I hear Caro groan and we’re moving again. It works surprisingly well, Harvey’s plan. It’s a relief just to move again. And soon I feel a rustle of air, distinct, upon my face.

  ‘Oh God.’

  ‘Caro? What is it?’

  ‘A chamber, Joy. Hang on. Be careful, Andee. Joy, stop pushing, just for a minute. Let me maneuver out.’

  Now that I know we are almost there, I feel another panic, and it’s all I can do not to push and fight my way through. I concentrate on breathing, listening to the noises Caroline makes. Andee inches forward, moving
easily now, without any help from me.

  ‘Joy, it’s an exit. It’s dark in here, some kind of chamber, but I can see the moon.’

  I can hear Caro’s tears, even if I can’t see them on her face. The light disappears, but it’s back again in seconds, and Caro lights my way.

  And suddenly my arm dangles out into nothing. I feel the caress of fresh air.

  ‘Are you there? Caro? How far down is it?’

  But even as I’m asking she takes my hand. ‘Five or six feet, but I’ve got you.’

  Two small hands join the larger ones. ‘I’ve got you, Nina,’ Andee says. ‘You’re safe.’

  I flop like a hooked fish on to the ground, but I am not hurt. Caro and Andee have made sure to break the fall. We are in a round little chamber, twelve feet wide, maybe ten feet high, and no more than a few steps away from a door-sized opening into the night air. Even from here I can see the stars.

  ‘Purcell?’ I ask.

  Caro shakes her head. ‘Don’t know.’

  I glance back to the passageway. Bend close to Caroline so she can hear my whisper. ‘It’s going to take some time for Harvey to push his way out.’

  Caro gets it immediately. Harvey is a big man. It will take him some time to maneuver. We have our chance to escape. But even as she gathers Andee into her arms and moves for the opening, the moonlight is blocked, and Cletus Purcell rises, gun in hand.

  ‘Glad to see you made it,’ Purcell says.

  Caro shines the light in his face, and he blinks and points the gun straight at her.

  ‘No.’ A scream. My own voice.

  A scraping and tearing is followed by the thud Harvey makes as he pushes his way out of the passage, like the survivor of a difficult birth.

  Harvey and Purcell face each other, two predators in a small chamber. I press myself into the rock, and see Caroline and Andee do the same. They are closer to the entrance but, close as they are, Purcell blocks the way. And Purcell has the gun.

  If a lion faces off with a tiger, which predator will win? A lion is heavier, and not as fast. A tiger is longer, has a face full of cunning, and superior skills for the hunt. Still, a lion’s days are filled with constant fighting, deflecting the challenge of other males who want to rule the pride. And hunting and fighting are different skills entirely.

  Cletus Purcell moves swiftly, one glance over his shoulder, aim and fire.

  But in the end, it is the lion’s capacity for calm analysis and appraisal that rules the day. Harvey takes the slug in the meat of the muscle below his shoulder, but does not flinch. He is moving steadily, deliberately. He takes Purcell’s neck in a windpipe lock with one huge hand, deflecting the gun with the other.

  And here it comes down to bulk, bone density and tensile strength.

  Harvey slams his head into Purcell’s temple, a blow that shatters bone. It is a death blow, ensuring that Purcell will be dead in just under two minutes, but the tiger does not have even that long to live.

  Harvey is graceful. He arches forward and bites Purcell’s throat in the vulnerable mid center, ripping flesh and cartilage, and crunching the delicate butterfly of Purcell’s hyoid bone.

  We do not scream, Caro and Andee and I. We run. Fueled by instinct, we tumble out of the chamber into open air and a cliffside, landing at the top of a trail. In the split second it takes to catch our breath I hear a distinctive click, and we are suddenly bathed in light.

  ‘Man-bears,’ Andee shrieks, catching sight of the SWAT team, bundled in helmets and Kevlar.

  I put my hands in the air. ‘Hostages. Don’t shoot.’

  A dog yelps and growls and I hear a shout. I expect nothing less than a tide of gunfire from the FBI that has hounded me since this nightmare began.

  Instead I am knocked backward by Leo, who licks my face and snuffles my neck and whimpers while I hear someone give the order to stand down.

  Andee flings herself at Leo’s neck, and he is happy to knock her over as well. Caroline is laughing insanely, and sinks down beside me, and Leo stands between all of us and the rows of men in Kevlar, and growls at anyone who tries to come close.

  More orders, and bulky soldiers stream into the chamber entrance while three men stand near us, one of them scratching his head.

  ‘Can somebody give us a hand here with this idiot rescue dog?’

  I hear the crunch of footsteps.

  ‘I might be able to help.’

  I know that voice.

  ‘Ma’am, you’re going to have to get that dog under control.’ Hal bends down and smiles at me. He shoves Leo sideways, without a second look. ‘Down,’ he says firmly.

  ‘I am down,’ I tell him. Somewhat out of breath.

  He grins and looks back over one shoulder. ‘This one must be OK. She’s making fun of me.’

  FORTY-ONE

  Andee has been clamoring to see the burned-out wreck of my house. I refuse her request to go inside, so instead we wander in circles in the yard. The scorched shell seems to fascinate rather than upset her. Leo has retrieved three balls hidden in the grass. He has managed to stuff two in his mouth and trots beside us, immensely pleased with himself. He maintains a two foot perimeter around us.

  Either that, or Andee maintains a two foot perimeter around Leo. It is hard to know. I watch Andee for signs of trauma. I know that she will not sleep without Ruby in her bed and a light on.

  I do not know if it was luck or design that compelled Hal to go to my hotel room and demand they let him in to retrieve Leo. He says that he had some notion of using Leo to find us, if things went badly. If there was a need. I do know that having Leo to hug made all the difference to Andee. How much she saw of Harvey’s teeth ripping into Purcell I do not know. I do believe that the unconditional love and balanced energy of a dog is healing. Hal says that Leo washed out of the rescue program because he is a dog with his own agenda. He also says he thought Leo and I would be a perfect match, because Leo has the best heart of any dog he’s ever worked with. So perhaps Leo was meant to be my dog. I like to think that I am Leo’s agenda.

  ‘Mommy finally told me what happened to Daddy.’ Andee is holding Leo’s soccer ball, and I’ve got his Frisbee and rope.

  ‘She did?’

  Andee jumps up and down three times for no particular reason. ‘She said most of the time he was a good person. Look see, I can play jump rope without a rope. Mommy says Daddy had some sad past that made him scary sometimes. Is that true?’ Andee’s eyes are wide, her air deceptively casual.

  ‘Yes, that’s true.’

  ‘Mommy says one day Daddy scared her so bad they had a big fight and Daddy got dead.’

  I wait for her to ask me the details of how her father got dead, but she doesn’t. Perhaps she’s not ready to know.

  ‘She says she feels sad about what happened, and sometimes she thinks it’s all her fault. Do you think it was Mommy’s fault, Nina? Are you mad at her because Daddy died?’

  I pick Andee up and settle her on my hip. She’ll be too big for me to lift by this time next year, but for now she is even lighter than she was last summer. Those were long days in the cave.

  ‘No, Andee, I was never mad at your mother. Your Daddy had troubles in his heart, but he was in charge of how he acted. Do you understand what I mean?’

  ‘You mean it was Daddy’s fault.’

  I have to smile. Nuances and seven-year-olds never mix.

  ‘Mommy’s boyfriend is coming to pick us up.’ She looks at me intently. ‘His name is Sanderson. Do you mind, Nina?’

  ‘Not if he’s a good driver.’

  ‘Do you think Daddy minds?’

  ‘I think he wants you and your mom to be happy.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Because I’m a wise old lady.’

  Andee nuzzles her head in my shoulder, combining affection and practicality by wiping her nose on my sweater. ‘You’re not old, Nina. Not creepy old. You’ll be fine if you stay out of caves.’

  ‘From your mouth to God’s ear
, little darlin’.’

  FORTY-TWO

  The rain is falling in fat-bellied drops and brings in a whinge of chill. There are lights on inside my home, and I know exactly which ones – the faux twenties floor lamp beside the corner book case, and the Tiffany ceiling fixture in the hall. I manage the lights in sequence, changing the pattern every four days. Yesterday was the last day for the kitchen.

  It is not the casual intruder that has me worried, of course. It is Reginald Harvey, who never came out of the cave, not to the knowledge of the FBI. Certain eager members of the SWAT team shed their padding and made their way through the labyrinth, thinking Harvey went back out of the chamber the way he came in. They found a place where the passage forked, but of Harvey himself, there was no sign.

  The light behind the shutters of my windows beckons. Hearth, home and safety. I will turn on the fireplace and sit with Leo in my Beatrix Potter bungalow, which I own outright with the money from the insurance settlement on my house. My new home is long on charm and short on maintenance and needs a lot of work, but was amazingly inexpensive. Real estate prices are a bargain in this small Kentucky town where I live now.

  There is a good regional university nearby, and I teach classes in comparative religion, part time. My students are bright and curious, some of them hard-working, and it’s a pleasure to watch them find their way.

  As is usual in old houses, there is a particular knack to getting the key to turn the lock. I have to twist, then pull the knob toward me and hold my mouth just so. Leo is in his bed by the fireplace, ears back, and waits for me to call him to my side.

  My phone rings. Calls from numbers I don’t recognize make me nervous, but a lot of things make me nervous these days. And this is a number I know by heart.

  ‘Home safe?’ Hal asks me.

  ‘Yes. Let me set my stuff down. Hold on.’

  I leave my purse and the book I’ve been reading on a drop-leaf table just like the one that Caroline has. I found it two weeks ago while out antiquing and I’ve tucked it beneath the windows. It is usually covered in stacks of mail, but is handy for those rare occasions when Hal and I sit indoors instead of out on the porch.

  ‘Listen, Joy, my rotation’s been changed. I go off at midnight tomorrow. How about Sunday morning breakfast? I’ll pick you up at nine, unless you want to sleep late, in which case we’ll make it ten. Do you mind if I pack a bag? I’ve got a few days off. Save me the long drive back.’