Scene of the Crime: Bachelor Moon

by Carla Cassidy

  Frank’s flashlight made it easy for Sam to follow him, although he moved cautiously so as not to make any noise that might alert Frank to his presence.

  Sam’s heart beat so hard, so fast, he wondered how Frank couldn’t hear it. And as he followed, he felt the beginning stirrings of rage inside him.

  Frank stopped and Sam froze, holding his breath as he waited to see what Frank’s next move would be. To Sam’s shock he reached down and lifted what looked like a door in the ground, then he disappeared from Sam’s sight.

  Sam waited a heart-stopping moment before he hurried to where he’d last seen Frank. Wooden stairs led down to a door that was now closed.

  A homemade cellar, that’s what it was, similar to what were found on many old farms in the Midwest. Sam’s first instinct was to race down the stairs and storm inside, but he had no idea what he’d be rushing into, and the last thing he wanted was to put Daniella and Macy in further danger.

  Instead he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jim Thompson’s number. “Jim,” he said softly into the phone when the sheriff answered, “Frank has them. I don’t know if they’re alive or not, but he’s got them in an underground cellar of some kind just north of his cottage. He’s down there now, and I’m waiting for him to come back up. If you aren’t here quick enough, by the time you arrive you’re going to have to arrest me for murder—for real this time.”

  Sam clicked off the phone, pulled his gun and sat to wait.

  Each minute that passed was torture. He had no idea what was happening belowground, no idea if Frank had killed them and buried them in this place. The one thing he knew with certainty was if Frank had hurt or killed either one of the females Sam loved, Frank would never live to see the morning light.

  The beam of a flashlight in the distance let him know that Jim had arrived. Sam rose to his feet and hurried to meet him.

  “Do I need to use my cuffs on you?” Jim asked in a pseudowhisper.

  “Not yet. He’s still down there. I don’t know if Daniella and Macy are okay or not.” Sam kept his voice equally low.

  “You sure they’re in there?” Jim looked old and tired in the glow from his flashlight.

  “What else would he be doing out here after dark? If he dug out this cellar, then he’s been planning this for a very long time.” Sam’s stomach ached with anxiety.

  “Should we go in? Between the two of us we can take him down,” Jim said. “And Deputy Wilkerson should be here soon, as well.”

  More than anything Sam wanted to rush down those stairs, burst through the door and see if Daniella and Macy were alive and well. But he was terrified of the consequences of such actions without knowing specifically what was on the other side of the closed door at the bottom of the stairs.

  “I think we need to wait until he comes back up. If Daniella and Macy are down there I don’t want to turn this into some kind of a hostage situation. I believe he killed Samantha, and that means he’s capable of anything.”

  “Then we wait,” Jim agreed, and clicked off the beam of his light.

  Sam had never known that minutes could creep by so slowly, that an hour could feel like an eternity, but as he and Jim waited for Frank to resurface, time seemed to stand still.

  Deputy Wilkerson arrived and took up a position on the other side of the door, and they waited some more. Sam’s head filled with horrifying images.

  What was happening below the ground? Had he raped Daniella? Had he killed them both and was he now merely visiting their bodies?

  The serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had killed his victims and saved parts of them so they would be with him forever. Did Frank have the same kind of brain disconnect?

  As they waited he told Jim in hushed whispers what had made him suspect Frank in the first place, and after that the men fell silent.

  Sam was just about to explode with his need to do something when he heard the sound of the door at the bottom of the stairs creaking open and then closed.

  Footsteps scraped against the wooden stairs, and then he appeared. Sam didn’t wait. With a roar of rage he threw himself at Frank.

  Frank yelped in surprise and kicked at Sam’s gun hand. The gun flew from Sam’s grasp and into the dark ness, but that didn’t slow Sam.

  His first punch clipped Frank’s chin and his second landed square in the man’s stomach. Sam was aware of Jim calling out for him to stop, but he didn’t want to stop. He wanted to hurt Frank, to punish him.

  “They’re mine!” Frank screamed. He managed to hit Sam with a fist on the side of the face. Sam reeled back ward and then lunged once again, this time tumbling himself and Frank to the ground. Sam felt more than a little bit crazy as he pummeled Frank. The monster he’d always feared resided inside him was loose.

  “Stop it. Damn it, stop it, both of you!” Jim yelled. “Don’t make me shoot you both.”

  Deputy Wilkerson pulled at the back of Sam’s shirt in an effort to get him off Frank. Sanity returned to Sam and he got up.

  Wilkerson pulled Frank up off the ground. His nose was bloody and one of his eyes was already beginning to blacken, but he smiled at Sam. “You’ll never have them. They’re my family. They’ll always belong to me.”

  His words iced Sam’s heart as Wilkerson slapped cuffs on Frank. “He should have keys on him,” Sam said. Wilkerson dug in Frank’s pocket and pulled out a set of keys, then tossed them to Sam.

  His fingers trembled as he raced to the top of the stairs. Let them be okay, he prayed as he stumbled down to the door. Please let them be safe and sound.

  They’ll always belong to me.

  Frank’s words roared in Sam’s head as he fumbled to find the right key to unlock the door. When he finally unlocked it, he eased the door open.

  Shock ricocheted through him as he saw the space on the other side of the door. It was an entire room, like an efficiency apartment.

  And it was empty.

  He nearly fell to his knees. If they weren’t here, then where? He saw another door and, numb with grief, he moved on wooden feet toward it.

  He froze in the doorway. Daniella and Macy were curled together on a small bed, and for one agonizing moment he thought they were dead. “No.” The protest fell from his lips. Although it was nothing more than a mere whisper it thundered in the silence of the room.

  Daniella and Macy jumped up. “Mr. Sam!” Macy cried, and scrambled off the bed to race toward him.

  Sam heaved a deep breath and captured her to his chest. He picked her up in one arm and by that time Daniella was in his other. He squeezed them tight against him as tears momentarily blurred his vision. At that moment Jim appeared in the doorway.

  “I knew you’d come,” Macy exclaimed as Sam set her back on the floor. He didn’t release Daniella. He couldn’t. He needed to breathe in the scent of her, feel the warmth of her body to assure him that she was really okay.

  She made no move to leave the safety of his arm around her. She leaned into him, and he felt the tremors that shook her body.

  “Thank God,” Jim said. “Thank God you’re both safe.”

  “It was Frank,” Daniella said. “He took us while we slept and brought us here. He wanted us to be his family. He was crazy.” The words tumbled out of her as if forced by pressure. “He murdered Samantha and he killed Johnny.”

  “He was a monster,” Macy said, her eyes wide. “He was a bad monster.”

  “We caught the monster, Macy. He won’t ever bother you again,” Sam replied. “Let’s get you two out of here.”

  As they climbed up the stairs out of the dungeon of Frank’s madness, Sam realized that he’d found them just in time to tell them goodbye.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The night went on forever for Daniella. She was taken by Jim to the sheriff’s office, where both she and Macy were interviewed about everything that had taken place with Frank.

  Sam hadn’t come, and she ached with the need to be held in his arms as she relived the horror of that time in the underground ce
llar.

  It was almost two in the morning by the time Jim took them back to the bed-and-breakfast. Macy fell asleep on the drive back, and when they reached the driveway Daniella’s heart expanded as Sam stepped out on the porch.

  He looked big and strong in the silhouette from the porch light as he walked out to meet them. When he saw the sleeping child in the backseat, he opened the door and gently lifted Macy into his arms.

  “I’ll be in touch if I need anything else,” Jim said as Daniella got out of the passenger seat. “Daniella, I’m sorry about everything. You know, I’m sorry about Johnny.”

  She nodded and then closed the door and followed Sam into the house. He carried Macy into her bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. Macy didn’t stir.

  As he walked out of her bedroom Daniella went directly into his arms and began to softly cry. She’d held the tears in during her captivity, not wanting Macy to see her cry, but now she could no longer hold back her tears.

  “Shh,” Sam said as he smoothed his hands down her back. “It’s over now. You’re safe. Frank can never bother you again.”

  She nodded. She knew all that, but the knowledge didn’t stop the tears of fear and relief, and finally of grief. Her emotions were a jumble, and it was impossible to pick any one that was stronger than the other.

  All she knew was that she never wanted to move from Sam’s embrace, that she needed him to hold her until the morning finally came.

  He finally stepped back from her as her tears began to ebb. “Come on, let’s get you into bed. It’s been a long night.”

  Wearily she went into her bedroom and pulled her nightgown from her drawer. “I want…I need to shower,” she said, desperate to somehow wash off the night’s events and be fresh.

  Sam took her by the shoulders, his eyes as dark as the night outside the windows. “Daniella, did he touch you?” His voice was thick with emotion.

  “No.” She shook her head quickly. “No, he didn’t touch me or Macy. I just need to feel clean again.” He dropped his hands to his sides, and she went into the bathroom.

  Once in the shower she allowed the hot water to spray over her as her mind played and replayed everything that had happened. She was viscerally aware that if Sam hadn’t figured out that Frank was the guilty party, she and Macy might have never been found.

  It’s over, she told herself. There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore. She had a houseful of guests for the weekend, and life would go back to normal.

  She turned off the water, dried and then pulled on her nightgown. Life was returning to normal, but at the moment she still felt vulnerable, shaken by what had happened.

  Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed as she returned to the room. He rose as she entered, and at that moment she realized she was going to lose him, that now that the danger had passed he would leave.

  “Hold me through the night?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  She got into bed, and a moment later he joined her. She snuggled into his arms and felt as if she was home. They didn’t speak, nor did she try to start any deeper intimacy.

  It was enough to be close enough to him that his heart beat against hers, that the achingly familiar scent of him seemed to wrap her in a bubble of warmth and security.

  The danger was over and soon the heartache would begin. For now she just wanted to exist in the limbo of the moment. She fell asleep almost immediately and awoke at dawn alone in the bed.

  Reaching her hand over to the pillow that Sam had used the night before, she felt the warmth of him still retained there. He must have awakened just before she did.

  Her heart already felt his absence, an empty ache she knew would be with her for a very long time. Time to get up and get to business as usual, she told herself. At least for the weekend, hopefully, she wouldn’t have too much time to focus on the fact that Sam might leave at any moment.

  The morning flew by with breakfast and Daniella getting acquainted with the guests she hadn’t met the day before. She hadn’t intended to tell anyone about what had happened, but once Macy was up the little girl told everyone that they’d been kidnapped by a monster and Mr. Sam had saved them.

  Sam didn’t make an appearance until just after lunch. Daniella was in the kitchen when he appeared in the doorway, his suitcase in hand. Even though she knew this was coming, Daniella’s heart crashed to the floor.

  “So it’s time,” she said softly.

  He nodded, his eyes dark and unreadable. “I’d like to tell Macy goodbye, too.”

  “I’ll go get her and we’ll meet you at your car.”

  A few minutes later Daniella and Macy walked outside where Sam stood beside his car. His suitcase had already been stowed and his hands were in his pockets.

  He looked so handsome, with his dark hair gleaming in the sunshine and his handsome feature schooled in somber lines. He was just supposed to be a guest leaving after his visit, but he’d become so much more to Daniella.

  “Mr. Sam, don’t go.” Macy ran to him and threw her arms around his waist. “Stay here and be my new daddy. My old daddy isn’t lost anymore, but he’s dead. I want you to stay.”

  Sam looked tortured as he bent down to one knee and pulled Macy into a hug against his chest. “Honey, I can’t stay here. I have to go home.”

  “Why can’t you make this your home?” Tears trekked down Macy’s cheeks. “It’s a good home, and we’d take good care of you.”

  Sam stood as if he couldn’t stand it anymore. “I have to go. I’m sorry, Macy.”

  With loud, choking sobs Macy turned and ran back toward the house and disappeared inside. “I’m sorry,” Sam said to Daniella.

  “She’ll be fine. Kids are resilient.” Her voice cracked as she felt her own tears rising precariously close to the surface. “Oh, Sam, I don’t want you to go, either.”

  “I have to,” he said with a fervent tone. “I can’t be a part of this. I can’t be a part of you and Macy.”

  “Why not?” She knew with a woman’s heart that he loved her. Why couldn’t he accept love in his life? Why was he so determined to be alone?

  He stared out into the distance, as if he hadn’t heard her question. When he finally looked back at her there was a burn in his eyes that spoke of deep, inner torment.

  “Don’t you get it? When I got hold of Frank it was like something wild unleashed inside me. I smashed his face and would have beaten him to death if Jim hadn’t been there to stop me.”

  “And I would have clawed his eyes out and smashed his face if I’d had the physical strength to do it,” she countered. “What does that have to do with love? What does that have to do with us?”

  “Because I’m afraid.” The words blurted out of him with a stunning force. He drew in a deep breath as if to steady himself. “Because I’m afraid that I’m my father’s son, that there is a monster inside me that might someday harm the people closest to me.” His eyes now held the hollowness of a broken man.

  “Oh, Sam, you couldn’t be more wrong.” She stepped closer to him and reached up to place her palm against his cheek. “I’ve seen your heart. I know what’s inside you. You are your mother’s son.”

  Macy came running back out the door and toward them, her princess crown in hand. Tears still raced down her cheeks as she stopped before Sam. “You told me you chase monsters. You need to take this, Mr. Sam.” She held the crown out to him.

  “Honey, I can’t take that,” Sam said, his voice thick and deep with emotion.

  “You have to,” Macy said, shoving it toward him once again. “It will keep you safe against the monsters. Take it with you so I’m not scared for you.”

  In obvious reluctance Sam took the crown. “A monster wouldn’t win the heart of a little girl, he wouldn’t win her princess crown,” Daniella said.

  He didn’t say another word, but turned on his heel, got into his car and just that quickly he was gone.

  Macy ran back into the house but Daniella stood and stared after him until
his car was no longer visible. She’d known it was going to hurt, to tell him goodbye. But she hadn’t anticipated the depth of her pain.

  It lanced her like a sword through her center, and the worst part of all was the reason he’d told her goodbye. Because he feared he might be a monster, because he feared he was his father’s son.

  Her gaze moved to the pond that she now knew was her husband’s final resting place. Jim had indicated that they would drag the pond in the next week to bring up the body of the man Daniella had once loved. Johnny’s parents had died in a car accident a year after he and Daniella had married. Thankfully they would never know the horror that befell their son.

  The grief she felt when she thought about Johnny was distant, not a fresh emotion. She’d grieved deeply for him a long time ago. There was some satisfaction in knowing that he hadn’t willingly left her, that he’d died loving her.

  One man who loved her had been wrenched from her through murder, and the other who loved her had chosen to walk away from her in some misguided belief that he might hurt her.

  With a sigh, she turned and went back into the house. She had dinner to prepare and guests that needed attention. There wasn’t time for a broken heart now. Later, she knew, the full devastation of Sam’s absence would haunt her.

  SAM HAD HUNG THE PRINCESS crown on his rearview mirror, but after driving almost a hundred miles he took it down and tossed it onto the seat next to him. He couldn’t stand looking at it and remembering Macy’s tears.

  He couldn’t stand to see it and think about Daniella. Had he made a mistake? Had he just made the biggest mistake in his life by leaving them?

  He could be happy in Bachelor Moon. He could be happy with Daniella and Macy. He’d never thought about happiness before, but he recognized that there had been times over the last two weeks that he’d felt it in his heart, in his very soul.

  “You are your mother’s son.”

  Daniella’s words reverberated around and around in his head. It was an alien way of thinking to him. It had always been his father who had taken front and center in his mind.