by B. J Daniels
Casey couldn’t help looking skeptical.
“I can prove it,” Emery said indignantly as he put down the device with the buttons. He turned around to face the shelves again. She took that opportunity to saw at the tape that bound her wrists. She was so close. Once her wrists were free, she’d be free of the chair as well. She would be able to run, which she knew was her best chance, given Emery’s size and strength.
He turned back holding a notebook that she noted resembled the one that Finn had found. He opened it to a page filled with tight scrawl, and she recognized the handwriting and the name Rosemarie Langley on the list he’d written.
With a shock, she saw that it had to be a list of names of the young women who had been buried in the basement of the hotel. She tried not to cringe in horror as he pushed it in front of her face. She saw that there were names and information about the women that he must have gotten from their driver’s licenses.
“If I had done it, I would have written down her name. See?” he demanded, tapping the notebook with his large, calloused finger. “I never forget. I write down each one. It’s just like I told Vi. I don’t lie. I write down the names.”
All Casey could do was nod as he snapped the notebook shut and turned to put it back on the shelf. Vi knew. That was why she wanted so desperately to buy the hotel. She was trying to help her brother hide his crimes.
She quickly sawed while his back was to her, feeling the last of the tape about to give. Just a little more...
For a moment, he stood there, hunched over, his back to her. She felt the tape give a little more. Once free, she could run. He had his back turned. She could... She tried to pull free of the tape, the chair. The chair creaked, and she saw him freeze.
He turned slowly to look at her, something different in his eyes. “You don’t believe me.”
“About Megan?” Her voice cracked. She licked her lips and tasted that disgusting water he’d made her drink.
“Vi didn’t, either. She told me I had to get the bones out of the basement before someone came to demolish the hotel. I tried.” He sounded defeated and scared. “I tried, but then that man moved into the hotel. I could only work late at night. I worried that he would hear me and catch me. I didn’t want to hurt him. I tried to scare him away but he wouldn’t leave.”
Finn. The noises he’d heard. Emery had been banging around in the basement trying to get the remains of the young women out before Casey returned and sold the hotel.
“If you didn’t hurt Megan...” Was it possible it was true? Maybe he’d just forgotten.
“It wasn’t me,” he said, shaking his head.
“I believe you.” She realized the moment she said it that she did. He’d been meticulous in writing down the names. He hadn’t killed Megan.
With a start, Casey realized that two other names were also missing from Emery’s list. “What about Devlin and Claude?”
He frowned. “I don’t know anything about them.”
“Did you put the padlock on the wine-cellar door?”
“I don’t steal. I wouldn’t take anything.”
“You didn’t put the padlock on the door.” Her heart pounded as she saw the answer on his face. It wasn’t him.
Then who had killed them and hidden them in the wine cellar?
* * *
FINN OPENED THE trapdoor and looked down into the semidarkness. He’d expected a ladder. Instead there were some badly cut steps in the dirt that made the entry more like a chute, the end of which lay in total darkness. In any other situation, there was no way he would have dropped to the edge of the trapdoor, held his breath and shoved off with no idea what was at the bottom.
But he knew in his heart that Casey was down there. He had the two Scrabble board pieces in his pocket. He grabbed the closest thing to a weapon he could see, a steel stake, slid on the hardpacked earth over the few narrow steps and dropped at a rate of speed that should have terrified him. At first he’d tried digging his heels in to keep from falling too quickly, but it hadn’t worked. The slope was steep, and it only took a moment to realize that he was out of control. Behind him, he heard the trapdoor slam shut as if he’d triggered the closing.
He barely had time to swear before he hit bottom and came to an abrupt stop. He felt a little dazed as he pushed to his feet in a space that was no more than four feet wide and about six feet high. At six-three, he had to lean over to move.
Glancing back up the chute, all he could see was black. He looked in the only other direction and saw cave-like darkness around him. But in the distance he could make out a light. With the metal stake he’d picked up, he moved toward the light. He hadn’t gone far when he heard a male voice.
He slowed as he approached. Then his heart lifted as he heard Casey’s voice. But it quickly fell again. Someone had her down here. She was still alive, but for how long?
* * *
CASEY THOUGHT OF Finn and everyone else still in the hotel. “Emery, don’t do this, please,” she said as he replaced the notebook and picked up the device again. He looked like a broken man standing there hunched over in this secret room of his as he pulled out a battery.
She tried to imagine where they were. Under the hotel? And if she did have a chance to run, which way would she go? Maybe if she could warn everyone in time... All she could see was darkness on each side of this slightly larger space.
“Where are we?” she asked him.
“Somewhere safe.”
Down here, there was no way of knowing which way to run toward the hotel. “Emery, you need to let me go.”
He shook his head. “I can’t.” He sounded miserable as he looked down at the device. “Once I connect this to the battery... It’s too late.” His gaze rose to hers. “I don’t have a choice now.”
Casey shifted on the chair. She felt the tape give. But what now? Unless she could locate something she could use for a weapon and get her hands on it fast enough... But even if she got away, she still didn’t know which way to run. What if she managed to get away, only to run into a dead end?
She heard the sound of a boot heel scuff the hardpacked ground the same time Emery did. Someone was coming. She saw it in Emery’s body language; she felt it heart-deep. Finn.
Emery wrapped the loose wires around the battery and pushed the first button.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
LEROY HEARD THE first explosion and turned to look back at the hotel. He’d gotten as far as the middle of the parking lot. Now he stared in awe and horror as small explosions seemed to move along the lower outside of the hotel like dominoes that had been knocked over. He prayed that Casey Crenshaw wasn’t inside.
One after another, the explosions began to go off around the building all within a second. Puffs of smoke rose as the building collapsed in on itself as if melting. Smoke and debris rose in the air as the ground shook beneath his feet.
He couldn’t move. He watched as the hotel disappeared. Smoke and flying debris rose in the air over it, obliterating the town in the distance.
He realized he’d been holding his breath and now let it out in a gasp.
“Did you see that?” Hepner said, suddenly next to him. There was shock in his voice. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Leroy had, from videos his uncle had given him. But he’d never seen it standing only yards away. He had a new respect for his uncle. His father was wrong about his brother. Pete just loved to destroy things in the coolest of ways.
“You don’t think she’s inside?” Hepner said.
“I hope not.” Either way, there was nothing they could do now. He just hoped Finn hadn’t gone back in for her and that the two were inside there. He pulled out his phone to call the bomb squad, but as he heard the sound of a helicopter approaching, he pocketed it again.
He could see people in town rushing in their direction. In the silence that followe
d the last explosion, the cloud began to settle over the smoldering remains of the Crenshaw Hotel. “Let’s keep those people back,” Leroy ordered, and Hepner jumped to it.
As he stood, still transfixed, he realized that he’d gone from two murders to maybe a dozen. But never in his life had he expected to find dozens of bombs that could have gone off with all of them inside.
Leroy glanced toward the woods and the last place he’d seen Finnegan James. He hoped to see him coming out of the trees with Casey Crenshaw at his side. Unfortunately, there was nothing but the breeze swaying the pine boughs and the smell of destruction in the air.
At least the others were safe.
Then he looked back at the hotel. One corner hadn’t come all the way down. He felt a start and knew why. One or more of the bombs hadn’t detonated.
* * *
FINN FELT THE ground shift beneath his feet. One of the boards holding up the ceiling dropped down, grazing his shoulder painfully. He shoved it aside and pushed through the din, even more frantic to get to Casey. He’d been right. The booby trap had been a bomb. Or a series of bombs, he thought as the ground continued to shake.
He didn’t realize that he was calling her name until he heard it echoing around him. “Casey!” He had to get to her. He couldn’t lose her. Not after he’d just found her. All these months reading about her and her grandmother. He’d been half in love with her even before she’d appeared like a ghost outside his shower.
It couldn’t end like this, and yet he felt as if everything was coming to a point of no return. All these months of looking for a killer, and now he feared the killer had Casey, and if he didn’t reach her...
The earth seemed to shudder even harder. He feared the tunnel would cave in on him. On Casey. More dirt fell from overhead. He could barely see a step in front of him, but he kept pushing forward, determined to get to her. “Casey!”
The tunnel seemed to never end. Yet he feared at some point he would reach a wall of dirt where there’d been a cave-in. He told himself he’d dig through it with his bare hands if he had to. His heart pounded as he fought not to breathe in the dust still sifting down from overhead.
But he thought he could see the light growing brighter ahead.
Behind him, he heard the tunnel begin to cave in.
* * *
CASEY SCREAMED AND tried to push herself up from the chair. Her legs felt weak, from the drug, from sitting for so long in the same position. But she wasn’t able to stand anyway. The ground beneath her feet shook, knocking her back. Dirt fell like dark rain from the cracks between the boards over their heads.
There was a ringing in her ears. Over it, she thought she heard Finn calling her name. Her eyes burned from the dust in the air. Finn?
“Casey!” His voice was faint, but there was no doubt. It was Finn.
As the earth continued to shake, she thought for sure the tunnel would cave in, killing them both—and Finn. Because she’d heard him calling her name. She’d known he’d come, and now it was going to cost him his life.
The air had darkened. She could barely make out Emery’s hulking shape. He had fallen, apparently after one of the overhead boards had come down and hit him.
Casey tasted grit in her mouth and tried not to breathe too deeply as she pulled her shirt up to cover her mouth and pushed to her feet.
For a moment, she thought Emery had been knocked out and all she had to do was run—in the direction of Finn’s voice calling her name. Just run.
But as she started to take a step, the ground shaking again, Emery groaned and sat up, shielding his head from the debris plummeting down on him.
She realized running wasn’t the answer. He knew these tunnels. She didn’t. He would catch her—and Finn. She couldn’t chance that. Nor could she wait to be saved. She was on her own. Reaching behind her, she groped for something she could use as a weapon.
Her hand closed over a cold, heavy cylinder. It felt greasy, as if it were part of a piece of machinery. It was heavy and fit in her hand, and right now it was all she had, because Emery was struggling to his feet.
Casey took a step forward and winced as she swung the weapon. The heavy metal connected with his skull. Emery grunted and grabbed her wrist. He twisted her wrist so hard she thought he would break it, his grip was so strong. But she stubbornly held on, kicking him as hard as she could as he tried again to get up from the ground to give himself the advantage over her.
Once he got to his feet, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
One kick made him howl in pain before he jerked on her wrist, throwing her off balance. She lost her grip on the weapon as she hit the ground next to him. He was grabbing for her, trying to pin her down, when she heard her name called again—much closer.
Emery heard it, too. He hesitated, and Casey saw her chance. She elbowed him hard in the stomach and rolled away from him. She was on her hands and knees, trying to get her feet under her, when, from behind, she heard Emery lumbering to his feet. He grabbed for her, catching the tail of her T-shirt. She heard it rip, but he didn’t let go. She was trying to run but he still had hold of her shirt. He jerked her back. She stumbled and fell, but quickly crab-crawled away from him.
Emery had blood running down his face from where she’d hit him with the makeshift weapon. But it was the look in his eyes that told her he was no longer even pretending to protect her. She was now one of his victims and would be added to his book if she didn’t get away.
* * *
FINN CAME AROUND a bend in the tunnel and saw the giant looming over Casey. He reacted on instinct, letting out a roar as he charged the big man. As he did, he saw Casey pick up something from the ground. He plowed into the man, catching him off guard and throwing him back against the shelves along the tunnel wall. The man seemed to shake off the blow. Finn could see the older man’s strength return as he lumbered to his feet. The giant lunged for him, but before Finn could react, the man suddenly doubled over in a howl of pain. Finn realized that Casey had grabbed up a metal stake from the ground. It was now sticking out from between the man’s ribs.
There was a clatter as the shelves gave way and objects fell around the giant as he went down. Finn stood over him for a moment to make sure he wasn’t getting up before he turned to Casey, now curled up against the tunnel wall with a look of horror on her face. She was covered with dirt, her clothes filthy and her T-shirt torn. She’d never looked more beautiful.
“Are you all right?” he asked as he dropped down next to her.
She nodded and seemed to come out of her shock to throw her arms around his neck.
For a moment, he just held her tightly before lifting her to her feet. “We have to get out of here. We can’t go the way I came in. This way.”
He led her down through the underground tunnel, moving aside boards and debris that threatened to block their way. They both coughed, having breathed in so much of the dust that was only now starting to settle.
She could feel Finn’s anxiety and knew that, like her, he feared that they would reach a dead end or a cave-in and not be able to get out. Or, worse, that at any moment they could be buried alive down here.
Then in a dim overhead light she saw what was ahead and felt her heart drop. It was a dead end. Panic rose up in her like a primitive wail. She must have let out a cry, because Finn turned back to her. “Look, there’s a ladder up the side of the wall. That means there must be a trapdoor up there.”
She hadn’t seen the ladder. All she’d seen was the end of the tunnel.
“Stay here for just a minute,” Finn said.
She didn’t want to stay, but he was already climbing the ladder to try to open the trapdoor. That was when she heard movement behind them. Emery. He was coming. “Hurry,” she cried, even as Finn disappeared upward. She could hear him trying to force whatever was covering the exit. Heart in her throat, she could see more debris drifting d
own. With a final shove, he managed to get the cover to move a few inches, and she caught a glimpse of blue sky, sunshine and pine trees.
Her heart soared until she heard the rumble back down the tunnel. “He’s coming,” she cried, feeling the panic rising in her again as she looked around for something she could use as a weapon, but she saw nothing. She doubted she could fight Emery off again anyway. Just the thought of stabbing him again made her sick to her stomach. “Emery’s coming!”
Finn swore and groaned as he shoved harder, the trapdoor splintering as he threw his body into it. Sunlight poured down through the dust. She gasped in relief as Finn began to climb back down and reached for her hand. She started up the ladder, grasping for his hand, when she felt fingers lock around her ankle. She screamed and kicked with her free leg as she felt her hold on the ladder begin to give way. She heard one of her kicks connect. There was a loud snap like cartilage breaking, followed by an angry cry of pain.
She kicked again and felt the fingers release. Finn grabbed for her and pulled her up, pushing her through the hole left by the splintered trapdoor. She scrambled into the daylight and reached back for him.
Suddenly the ground beneath her began to shake again. She saw a flash of light in the direction of the hotel and heard what sounded like an explosion and then another.
Finn grabbed her hand, and she pulled him up through the opening and onto the dried pine-needle-covered earth beneath her. Then they were on their feet, running away from the tunnel. Behind her, she heard it begin to cave in.
They didn’t stop until they were a safe distance away. As they looked back, the tunnel continued to fall in on itself—and Emery.
Casey buried her face in Finn’s shirt as he took her in his arms and held her, whispering that she was all right now, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her, that she was safe and that it was over.
