Genny's Ballad: The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series, Book 5

by Becki Willis

  Genny tired long before he did, but he drug her along, insisting that they finish the entire CD. Did she remember the music? He created it himself, a collection of songs that he claimed had special meaning during their time together. Genny remembered few of them, but she dared not tell him so.

  At last, the music ended and he suggested they take a break.

  “I have a late-night supper for us, my dear. I hope you’re hungry.”

  Her forehead puckered. “What day is it? How long was I out?”

  He looked at her quizzically. “It’s Friday night, of course. Or, technically, I suppose it is Saturday morning.”

  “They’ll be looking for me, you know.”

  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” He seemed unconcerned with the notion. “Come; see what I have for us.”

  Genny nibbled on the plate of cold meats, cheeses, and breads, but only because she had skipped lunch. She was surprised to discover how hungry she actually was, given the circumstances. But if she had any hopes of getting out of here, she had to keep up her strength. Eating might be her only salvation.

  “I remembered your favorite wine,” he said, presenting a chilled bottle from a cooler on the floor. He worked the cork open and stashed the corkscrew out of sight. Genny pretended to watch him as he poured the wine with a flourish, but she was searching for the potential weapon through her peripheral vision.

  He made a toast, touching his goblet to hers. “To us, my love. And to happier times to come.”

  “Yes,” she agreed. “Happier times.” When I am free, and you are rotting in prison, or, better yet, in hell.

  Pembrook gathered the dishes and stashed them into another plastic container. He took bottled water from the cooler and handed it to Genny. “Here. You may have this, in case you get thirsty tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  “I have to leave you, I am afraid. But no worries. I will return tomorrow.”

  She was terrified at the prospect of being left here alone for the night. More so, when she discovered it would be in the dark.

  “Do you need to use the private facilities? Go now, for it will be much too dangerous to attempt during the darkness.”

  “You’re taking the lights?” she cried.

  “I’m afraid I must, my dear. I can’t have you wander off and become lost. It could be deadly, you know. This cave has many dark and cavernous pits that fall for unknown distances. Some into water, so I hear. Come. Follow me.” He led her toward the far corner of the large room, to where stalagmites and flowstone rose up like the jagged ridges of a dinosaur’s back.

  “You can squat behind these,” he said, motioning to the area between the formations and the outer wall. He thrust a paper napkin toward her. “Use the water to wash up when you’re done.”

  He went back to the table, where he continued to tidy up and stash the remains of their supper into the plastic container. As Genny took care of business, she studied every inch of the cave. She tried memorizing the lay of the room, and how far it appeared from one point to another. As her eyes swept the area, she spied her bags near one of the plastic bins. From where she sat earlier, the bag was hidden, but from this vantage point, she had a clear view of her purse and overnight bag.

  A measure of relief flooded through her. As she passed the bags, Genny began to count her steps.

  “I think I’ll lie down now,” she said, as nonchalantly as possible. She kept count in her head, counting off thirty-one paces from the plastic container to her cot in the alcove. She mentally plotted the exact path she would take, knowing the correct angle would be crucial in the dark. Genny slipped off her shoes and pointed the toes in the direction she needed to take.

  “Yes, my dear, you need to get your sleep,” Pembrook agreed. “Tomorrow is the big day.”

  She dared not ask him what he meant. Hopefully he referred to the festival and Homecoming Dance, and not some sick plan he had for the two of them. With any luck, she would escape long before he ever returned.

  He began turning off lights, most by the remote he kept in his pocket. A few he turned off by hand. When only a few remained glowing, only enough to light his path to the corridor entrance, he made his way forward with the plastic tub and stopped at her cot.

  “Are you warm enough, my dear?”

  “I suppose.” In truth, the temperature inside the cave was quite pleasant, now that the shock had worn off her body. “But a light would be nice, Pembrook. Please?”

  “Not tonight, I’m afraid. Perhaps tomorrow, between visits.” He swooped down and picked up her shoes. “I’m afraid I’ll have to take these, too, my dear. Can’t have you following me. Not and spoil my plans for our special day.”

  Before he turned out the lights, Genny quickly marked the direction of the plastic crate with the corner of her blanket. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

  “Good night, my love. I hope you sleep.”

  Genny made no comment. She watched as Pembrook stepped to the entrance of the narrow corridor and turned out the lights with his remote control. She was immediately plunged into complete darkness. She heard him retreat, bumping his way for several feet before he turned on the faintest of pin lights. She drank in the glow of the weak light, following its retreating path as it trailed down the pathway and slowly faded from sight. She could not tell if the light went left, right, rose with an incline, or simply faded away into nothingness.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When she was certain he was gone, Genny carefully extracted her legs from beneath the covers without disturbing their arrangement. In the darkness, her fingers found the pointed edge of the blanket. She aligned her body with the angle and started in that direction.

  She counted paces, but found that without shoes, and in the dark, she was tempted to take smaller steps than before. The rocky floor bit into her feet, still tender from her recent walk. She could only hope Granny Bert had a cure for this, as well.

  Did caves carry diseases? Were there bats in here? She had heard their guano carried all sorts of nasty and vile diseases. When her foot found a moist spot on the floor, she imagined she stepped in a pile of bat doo. With the next step, she stumped her toe and forgot all about the potential dangers of guano. Jagged rocks and crusty-edged craters were a clear and immediate danger to bare, tender flesh.

  Around step twenty, she stumped her toe on flowstone and fell forward. Genny thrust out her arms to keep from planting her face into the crusted earth interior. She cried out in pain as her wrist twisted and as fine bits of crystals dug into her hands and knees. She tasted blood when her teeth slammed into her tongue. Her toe throbbed something fierce.

  Genny took a few minutes to catch her breath and forge through the pain. Then she gingerly pushed to her feet and tried to recall her count. Twenty-two, wasn’t it? Or was it twenty-three? And how far had she fallen forward? It was amazing how complete darkness could disorient a person!

  After stumbling once more, another stumped toe, and a thousand pricks into her feet, Genny counted thirty-one steps. She felt around in the darkness but found no crates. She took a few more steps and swung her arms outward, trying to make contact with something, anything.

  She moved in small increments, adjusting her angle by only a few feet each time. Perhaps when she fell she veered off-course. Genny floundered around in the darkness for at least ten minutes, trying to locate the crate, when she finally swung her arm and caused a chair to topple. The noise echoed like a cannon in the huge space.

  Patting her way forward, Genny made contact with another item. Good news, she found the crate. Bad news, it was with the battered end of her toe.

  She swiftly found her purse and unzipped the opening, digging for her cell phone. With a press of a button, blessed light sprang to life.

  Before she even looked for a signal, Genny used the light to locate her shoes within the overnight case. She shoved her feet inside, sans socks. Only then did she turn back to her cellphone and look for bar strength. As
she suspected, the hope was in vain; deep beneath the earth’s surface, there was no cell service.

  Genny looped her purse over her head and used the phone’s flashlight feature to find a lantern on the cavern floor, one not controlled by remote access. She stashed her phone back inside her purse to conserve the battery, grabbed the lantern, and set off. She lost no time in finding the exit Pembrook had taken and following the long, narrow tunnel away from the makeshift ballroom.

  The uneven ground gently rose at a slow and unassuming rate. She might not have noticed the incline, had it not been for her tightening leg muscles. She hoped the incline meant she traveled in the right direction, closer to the earth’s surface, and closer to the mouth of the cave.

  Even with a light, and even wearing shoes, it was a slow journey. The stone lined walls were inconsistent, at times bottlenecking into a narrow passage, at times widening enough to accommodate a car. At one point, Genny ducked to avoid drapery along the ceiling, and came upright to find herself at a sudden crossroad.

  The path parted into two distinct directions. The opening to the left was wider, the one to the right smaller and visibly more crooked.

  After a brief moment of indecision, Genny opted for the wider path and turned left. The opening here was much easier to navigate and she made swift passage down the corridor. When the way wound sharply to the left, she followed. When the ground beneath her feet took a sharp descent, she trailed downward. She had but two choices: keep going forward, wherever the pathway might lead, or turn back.

  Another turn to the left and the lantern showed a spacious cavern ahead. Genny maneuvered around a boulder, navigated a series of tall, cone-shaped formations, and drew up short. By light of the lantern, she saw a familiar plastic crate, with a table beyond.

  She had gone in one big circle!

  Frustration burned in Genny’s eyes. She dropped into the chair and rested long enough to catch her breath. A blister was forming on her heel, so she rummaged through her bag and found her socks. After slipping them on her feet, she replaced the bag where Pembrook had stashed it, grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler, and started again. She would try the right passage this time.

  The right passage was full of twists and turns, but Genny felt she curled inward. She would not have been surprised to find herself at a dead-end, winding herself into a tight spiral. Yet Pembrook had taken this path, so it had to lead to freedom, didn’t it?

  She began to doubt herself. Perhaps she had missed another tunnel somewhere along the way. A hidden off-shot that led directly to fresh air and wide, open spaces. Pembrook may have never come this way. She might be chasing the weak circle of light for nothing.

  It took enormous control to ignore the claustrophobia begging to overtake her mind. The walls threatened to close in on her. The floor taunted her, blurring beneath her eyes as it inched upward to crowd her space. The air was stale, too thick and too dry to flow in and out of her lungs with ease. Darkness lurked just beyond the weak imprint of light.

  She walked for what seemed an eternity. The path was not only crooked, it staggered with swells and drops, a roller coaster of ups and downs that was exhausting. When she came to another choice of paths, Genny stood in the middle of the cross section, almost reduced to tears. Which way did she choose?

  She turned right, if for no other reason than she had originally chosen left at the first intersection. She walked a scant dozen or so steps and found herself in a wide opening, some twelve to fifteen feet across. A good, solid path led along the far side of the corridor, but her light reflected a deep cavity yawning along the right wall.

  There came a spot when Genny had another choice to make: remain upright but uncomfortably close to the pit, or crawl along the far wall, beneath a low overhang of rock. She chose a compromise of the two, turning to walk sideways, as far from the exposed edge as possible.

  Eight or so feet in, Genny could move closer to the left wall and further away from the pit. As she saw the funneling passageway ahead, she had the sense she had been here before. She carried on, fearing she had become disoriented and lost.

  When she saw the alcove ahead, Genny was too exhausted to care that she had traveled in another complete circle. All she saw was the cot, and the comfort it offered to her weary body.

  Before collapsing, Genny took a few precautions. In case Pembrook returned before she left on her next expedition, she needed to hide her discoveries from him. Taking her cellphone and a few other necessities from her purse, she stuffed them inside the sock she jerked off her foot. She returned her purse to its place behind the crate, erased any evidence she had moved about the cavern, and replaced the lantern it its rightful position. She used her cellphone to quickly find the alcove. There she took off her shoes, crawled onto the cot, and hid the contraband beneath the far side of the cot. She arranged the edge of one blanket to cover the goods completely.

  The hardest part was turning off the cellphone and plunging herself into darkness. It could not be helped, however. She could not afford to have Pembrook return and find the light, else he would take it all away. Better to control the light herself and maintain the possibility of freedom, than to indulge in the luxury now and lose her best opportunity of escape.

  Exhausted, it did not take Genny long to fall asleep. She shut her eyes to the blackness that surrounded her, willed her body to relax, and promptly fell into a deep and much-needed slumber.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

  Pembrook’s voice spoke near her ear. Genny jerked awake, almost overturning the narrow cot on which she lay. She recoiled when she saw how close his face was to hers.

  “I take it you slept well,” he said, straightening at last.

  “I was exhausted,” was all she said.

  He turned toward the larger room, turning on more lights with his remote. “I brought breakfast.”

  Genny stole a look toward the edge of the cot, making certain the blanket still pooled at its foot where her shoes were stashed.

  Pembrook began setting food out on the table. When he opened a Thermos and Genny got a whiff of coffee, she thought she might sweep with joy. She stood up and attempted to traverse the pocked path in her bare feet.

  He noticed her halting progress and said, “Wait, and I’ll bring your shoes.”

  She stopped in her tracks and waited for him to deliver the high-heeled shoes. He even knelt at her feet to slip them on for her.

  “What happened to your feet!” he exclaimed, seeing the dried blood along several toes. His eyes traveled up to her scuffed knees. “Genesis?” His tone was part concern and part alarm, flavored heavily with suspicion.

  “I-I had to go to the bathroom in the night,” she lied. “I stumped my toes.”

  “You went all the way over there?” he asked incredulously, looking toward the far wall some sixty feet away. “In the dark?”

  She shook her head, pointing to a vague spot along the left side of the room. “No,” she admitted, trying to sound contrite. “I-I couldn’t go that far. I went only to there.”

  His nose flared in distaste, but Pembrook made no further comment. He helped her with the shoes and led the way to the table, where Genny greedily gulped down her first cup of coffee.

  “I brought breakfast sandwiches,” he said, handing her a croissant filled with bacon, eggs, cheese and spinach. Genny recognized it immediately.

  “You went to New Beginnings?” she asked in surprise.

  “You should see them. They are all in a tizzy, wondering where their beloved proprietor could be. The place was abuzz with worry.” His pale eyes lit with excitement.

  “Was Cutter there? Is he all right?” Genny wanted to know.

  “I tell you the whole town is worried sick about you, and he’s the first thing you think to ask about?” Pembrook asked in disgust.

  She was in no mood for his goading. Her voice was sharp. “What did you do to him last night, Pembrook?”

  “
Don’t fret so, Genesis, or you’ll create worry lines along your lovely brow. The man has a hard head. I doubt I hurt much more than his pride.” Pembrook unwrapped a sandwich for himself and opened cups of orange juice for them both.

  “Did you see him?” she continued. “Was he there?”

  Pembrook’s hand came up to his neck, where Genny noticed a red mark. “He was there,” he replied tersely, rubbing the offending reminder. “He was none too welcoming, but he was too concerned with asking me questions to insist that I leave. He was putting together a search party as I left. A dozen people signed up on the spot.”

  “They didn’t cancel the festival, did they?” Genny asked worriedly. “We worked so hard to put it together!”

  “If you are referring to the many pop-up tents and junk tables littering the streets, then no, your so-called festival was limping right along. I slipped out of town while the parade was marching down the street to a questionable tune played by a very unorganized marching band.”

  He nattered on about the eccentricities of a small town and the amusing things they did for entertainment. Genny watched him with sullen eyes as she ate her breakfast, but she tuned out his prattle. What was going on in that sick mind of his? What did he have planned for her today?

  She needed another cup of fortification before she could ask that question. She held her coffee cup forward. “More?”

  “I have a grand day planned for us, my dear,” he said, pouring more of the dark brew from the Thermos.

  Genny drank half her coffee before asking, “What is it you have planned, Pembrook? Why have you kidnapped me and brought me here? What are you going to do to me?”

  An odd expression touched his face. The man looked surprised by her questions. Cocking his head to one side, he sounded almost sincere. “My dear, you must know I would never harm you. I still love you, Genesis. I have always loved you. And I have a wonderful future planned for the two of us. I can make you happy, Genesis, I know that I can. You must give me a chance.”