Brian shrugged. “So? They’re pictures of this room. Not a big deal.” He turned and walked toward the stairs.
“You don’t understand,” Monique chirped. He paused and turned around. “These were found at the murdered woman’s apartment along with a blackmail note.”
Brian’s look became serious. “Let’s find Doc,” he said firmly. “I’m not so sure I want to be down here anymore.”
Both girls nodded in agreement. They hurried through the surgical lab, up the secret staircase, and to the secret entrance within the basement. Brian pushed on the door. When it didn’t open, he pushed harder. He inhaled deeply and spun on the narrow steps to face both girls.
“I don’t like this,” he said softly then motioned them back down to the lab. “I’ve been down here several times, and that door has never gotten stuck.”
Monique and Coleen hurried down the stairs with Brian practically pushing them.
“Where does that elevator go?” he asked as he hurried past them.
“Up to the main basement. There’s another, much bigger morgue,” Coleen informed him as they entered the sub-basement morgue.
The lights flickered and went out. Both girls screamed in response. All three fell silent.
“There’s, uh, a flashlight on the wall near one of those machines in the other room,” Brian said with a soft gasp.
“What are the chances the lights just happened to go out?” Monique asked softly.
The room was pitch black and didn’t allow them to see anything, including one another.
“Let’s not panic,” Brian said firmly, though his voice conveyed fear. “You two stay here. I’ll go find the flashlight.”
“No way,” both cried out and grabbed his arms.
“You’re not going anywhere without us,” Monique gasped. “You’ll disappear too!”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Jameson spun around in the darkness of the basement and shined his large flashlight in several directions. He saw his own shadow and jumped. Jameson sighed with relief and relaxed. There was a dull clunk from somewhere nearby.
“Asher?” he asked softly and looked past the mounds of old furnishings. He inhaled deeply and slowly removed his gun from its holster. “This is no time to play games.”
Jameson remained still a moment then moved against the wall and walked in the direction of the sound. He approached the opening to another room and paused alongside the doorway. He inhaled deeply, clutched his gun in his sweaty palm, and then jumped into the darkness of the room. There was a loud thud, followed by Jameson’s gasp, and then a thump. The flashlight struck the floor and rolled out the doorway.
†
There was a dull, electric hum as several red lights came on. Jill looked around the darkened basement barely lit by red lights. The emergency generator had automatically kicked on. Jill groaned and set her sign against a mattress. She looked around the cluttered storage area.
“Where am I?” she moaned softly.
She walked along the narrow path between mattresses and boxes. There was a sound further ahead. A shadow passed along the wall in the next room. The light was bright, indicating a flashlight. Jill slowly approached the room and noticed the old stairs before the room. She continued toward the opening and strained to peer into the laundry room without being seen. She saw Asher shutting one fuse box then opening another. Jill’s eyes widened and she held back her gasp. She turned and hurried away. There was movement from behind her. Jill looked back. There was no one there. She crawled behind some mattresses and remained still and silent. She could hear someone walk in the opposite direction, but she still refused to move. She waited another few minutes. Nothing moved except a mouse that ran past her feet where she was huddled. Jill watched the mouse without a sound, though her eyes were wide. She looked out from behind the mattress. Nothing moved in the red glow of the emergency lights. She slowly crawled out from behind the mattress on her hands and knees. Her hand touched something hard and smooth. She looked at the black, dress shoes. Jill’s mouth opened as she slowly looked up. An ax, held in black gloved hands, was coiled back. She attempted to scream as the ax blade came at her face. Blood spattered the mattress behind her, and the sound of her head was heard rolling across the stone floor. Jill’s headless body collapsed to the floor just near the black, dress shoes. Blood spilled across the floor in a small flood.
†
Jacey stood in the basement corridor and looked around the dimly lit area. The red, emergency lights created an eerie setting. She nervously looked around and listened to movement. It was more than likely just a mouse. She began to walk slowly along the corridor that led to a room. The room appeared darker than the corridor. She paused outside the archway and looked inside the room. She had no choice but to enter. She didn’t understand why the basement was designed with so many passageways and rooms. Her only guess was they had intended to use it for therapy and group sessions. She suspected they had changed their minds when they realized the patients brought in were more violent than they had originally anticipated. Jacey stepped on something. She paused and looked down to her feet. She picked up a Monique’s braided bracelet and stared at it. Jacey looked around with horror in her eyes.
“Monique,” she gasped softly. She spun around with concern. “That can’t be. They wouldn’t be here--” She inhaled deeply. “Damn it.” Jacey hurried across the room. “Monique? Coleen?”
†
Asher stood over a laundry bin within the laundry room. He held a blood-soaked towel then tossed it into the bin with a few other bloodied towels. Jacey’s voice was heard echoing through the vents.
“Monique! Coleen!” her voice echoed.
Asher heard her voice and suddenly looked around. His mouth curved into a scowl. “No, Jacey,” he muttered. “Why did you have to come down here?”
He hurried from the laundry room.
†
Brian held the gurney still while Monique climbed on top of it and pulled herself through the small opening into the raised elevator. She lay on the floor of the elevator and accepted the flashlight from Brian. Coleen climbed on top of the gurney and climbed through as well. Monique helped pull her the rest of the way. Both looked back at Brian. He climbed on top of the gurney and looked at the opening. He shook his head.
“I won’t fit,” he announced.
“Come on,” Monique firmly insisted. “Give it a try, Brian. You can do it.”
Brian attempted to move through the opening but couldn’t get more than his head through. “I won’t fit,” he said once more. “You two go for help. I don’t know if the lock is stuck, or if there’s a more serious problem. Under no circumstances are you to come back on your own. Do you understand?”
“What if there’s someone in there with you?” Monique gasped. “We can’t just leave you.”
“I locked the morgue door. I’ll be fine,” Brian informed them. “There are two sets of stairs in the basement. If you’re where I think you are, you’ll never find the main one in the darkness. There are stairs leading to the west wing if you just keep right. There’s a long corridor once you pass the room with shelves in it. If you go straight, you’ll end up in the gardener’s workshop. Make a left before the workshop. There are stairs there.”
Coleen glared at Monique. “Hear that? There are stairs by the workshop.”
Monique looked away with disgust. “Stop being petty.”
“Fight about it later,” Brian growled. There was the sound of someone within the surgical lab just outside the sub-basement morgue. Brian stared at the morgue door then looked back into the elevator opening. “Go on. Get someone back here right away.”
Both girls nodded in response. They scrambled to their feet and climbed through the opening above them to the main morgue in the basement. Monique helped Coleen to her feet then shined the light around the small room. The light revealed droplets of blood on the floor. Coleen grabbed Monique’s arm and pointed at the blood.
�
�Look,” Coleen gasped with the horror evident in her eyes. “That wasn’t there before.”
Monique followed the droplets of blood with her flashlight. There was blood up the side of the freezers and stopped at the first door. Both held their breath. Monique slowly shook her head.
“I’m not about to look in there,” she whispered with a shiver in her voice.
Coleen grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door. “Come on. Let’s get out of here!”
They ran for the basement morgue door, carefully stepping around the trial of blood droplets, and threw open the door. Asher stood in the doorway. Both girls screamed. Coleen slammed the door shut, and both threw their bodies against it.
“Open this door,” Asher cried out as he firmly pounded on it.
“We’re dead,” Monique gasped softly.
When they didn’t comply, the door was thrust open, tossing both girls partially across the room. Monique clutched the flashlight and held it above her head, prepared to strike.
“What are you doing down here?” he demanded in a harsh tone. “You can’t be down here.”
Coleen nervously looked down at the blood on the floor then back at Asher. His eyes strayed to the blood as well. He shined his flashlight across the morgue and up the wall to the first freezer. Asher took a step toward them and the freezer.
“Stay back,” Monique cried out and clutched the flashlight.
Asher paused and stared at her with a look of surprise. “What’s with you two? I’m not the enemy here. Now stop this behavior.”
Jameson fell into the doorway with his gun drawn. He had a cut on his temple, which bled freely. “That’s far enough, Asher,” Jameson growled lowly while nearly out of breath. “You just get away from those girls.”
Asher became still. His expression stiffened. He didn’t turn around nor say a word.
“Against the wall--hands where I can see them.” Jameson’s hand seemed to tremble slightly on the gun.
Asher’s expression remained stiff. He obediently did as he was told, placing his hands against the wall, with his cane still clutched in his hand.
“Drop the cane,” Jameson ordered.
Asher complied.
Jameson looked at the girls while breathing heavily. “Are you okay?”
Both girls sighed and nodded. Monique finally lowered her flashlight. Jameson removed his handcuffs and approached Asher. He attached the cuffs to Asher’s wrist and a nearby pipe. Jameson backed away and stared at the blood on the floor. He walked past the girls to the freezer, took a deep breath, and opened it. A cloud of cold air escaped then cleared. Monique nervously looked away and caught a glimpse of Asher. His head rested against the wall. His eyes were pinched shut as if he were in pain. Monique looked back at Jameson. Jill’s head was displayed proudly on the slab facing the open, freezer door. The look of horror was frozen on her face. Jameson appeared horrified and jumped back a step. Monique and Coleen screamed at the gruesome sight.
“My God, it’s Jill,” he gasped softly.
Monique looked back at Asher. His head lifted, and he looked to the freezer with surprise and yet relief. Monique’s eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Where’s Jacey?” Asher demanded. “I heard her down here.”
“Don’t you worry about Jacey,” Jameson snapped. “She’s not your concern.”
“Find her,” Asher growled lowly with narrow, evil eyes.
“Brian’s trapped downstairs,” Coleen told Jameson while avoiding looking at Jill’s severed head. “We have to get him out.”
Jameson shut the freezer door and looked at Coleen. “Downstairs? We are downstairs.”
Monique shook her head. “No, there’s a basement below this basement. A sub-basement. We’ll show you.”
He slowly nodded. “Okay. We’d better hurry.”
Coleen motioned for him to follow her. Monique paused and looked back at Asher. Asher stared back at her.
“If you care about your cousin, you’ll find her,” Asher said softly with raised brows. “Find her and bring her to me.”
Monique hurried from the room.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Doc ushered the last of the guests out the front doors of the dimly lit institution. “Sorry about the inconvenience,” he announced politely. “We’ll try again some other time.”
Timon closed the door and glared at Doc, Angela, and Maxwell. “No one’s seen either of them,” Timon remarked firmly.
Angela folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “Brian’s just doing his usual thing,” she remarked simply. “As for Jacey, well, she probably left to avoid hurting Maxwell’s feelings.”
Maxwell glared at Angela. “She wouldn’t have run out,” he snapped coldly. “The papers I’d gathered for her were scattered all over the floor. Something happened to her.”
Mayor Norad came out of one of the offices and approached the small group of four. “I spoke with Jameson on the hand radio just moments ago. He’s in the basement. He’ll keep a look out for Jacey and Brian.”
“What’s he doing in the basement?” Doc asked curiously.
Mayor Norad inhaled deeply. “He’s searching for Konrad Asher. He found evidence to link him to the murder of Roseanne. Sheriff Monroe is checking the upper floors of the main building, and Dr. Talbert went to look around the west wing.”
“Evidence?” Maxwell asked with a curious tilt of his head. “What sort of evidence?”
“They found the murder weapon in his home earlier today,” Howard replied. “More than that, I’m not at liberty to say.”
“I wouldn’t rely on any evidence found in Asher’s home, Mayor,” Maxwell remarked. “Asher said someone had broken into his house. The murder weapon could’ve easily been planted there to frame him.”
Everyone stared at Maxwell.
“I hope you’re not suggesting corruption of our police department,” Howard said loudly with his eyes wide.
“No, of course not,” Maxwell replied. He then looked at Doc. “I need to find Jacey. Excuse me.”
He began to walk away when Howard called after him. “The police can handle this, Dr. Alvord. It would be best if you just remained here and allowed them to do their job.”
Maxwell turned and stared at the mayor. “I’ve waited long enough already. I’m going to find Jacey.” Maxwell turned and continued down the corridor.
Timon ran after him. “Maxwell, wait! I’m coming with you.”
†
Jacey moaned with frustration as she looked around the filthy caretaker’s workshop. She looked through the open outside door and saw the two horses tied not far from the workshop. She shook her head with disappointment.
“I can’t believe them,” she muttered lowly.
Jacey looked around the dimly lit room filled with tools and gardening equipment. She approached the back wall and removed an old, rusted sling blade from above the tool bench. She drew a deep breath, looked around nervously, and carried it with her into the corridor. She wasn’t going to admit that she was paranoid, but she knew it didn’t hurt to be prepared. As she looked at the rusted sling blade in her hand, she wondered if she’d been hanging out with Asher too long. Had he made her cynical and distrusting? Or just scary prepared?
†
Coleen led Jameson to the hidden, secret passageway door within the basement. It was right where Brian said it would be, almost hidden in plain sight.
“It’s just through there,” Coleen said. “There are stairs that lead to a sub-basement of sorts. There’s a surgical room of some sort and a small morgue. We left Brian in the morgue.”
Jameson moved her aside and clutched his gun nervously. “Okay, you two stay back.” He opened the unlocked door and looked down the dimly lit stairs into the darkness.
Both girls were alarmed.
“That door was locked,” Coleen quickly informed him.
Monique clutched Coleen’s arm and pointed to a dark stain on Jameson’s tan pants near his nightstick. C
oleen tilted her head and raised her brows in silent question. Monique gently touched the bottom of the nightstick without Jameson’s knowledge. There was blood on her finger. Coleen stared at the blood. Monique pulled Coleen away from the small stairway as Jameson descended down the steps.
“What’s wrong with you?” Coleen asked softly. “It’s just blood from Jill. He touched her body. He’s going to have blood on him. He also has a cut on his head.” Coleen followed Monique and looked around the more familiar rooms. “Where are we going?”
“To talk to Asher,” Monique replied.
“What?” Coleen gasped. “Are you out of your mind? I’m more worried about Brian. What if Asher killed him?”
“I’m afraid Brian’s dead already,” Monique said stiffly. “The door to the secret passageway had been locked, but now it’s not.”
Both girls entered the basement morgue and saw the handcuff dangling from the pipe. Asher was gone! Both looked around nervously.
“I don’t like this,” Coleen whispered.
“Me either,” Monique said softly.
“Let’s go back upstairs and find the others,” Coleen said. “We need to find Maxwell and Timon.”
“Brian said the stairs were this way,” Monique said and pointed to the right.
They hurried from the morgue in the direction of the gardener’s workshop. After several minutes, they found the corridor. The stairs were right where Brian said they would be. They hurried up them.
†
Maxwell paced the small area in the laundry room while Timon poked around the fuse boxes located along the back wall. Maxwell exhaled deeply and appeared impatient.
“Have you figured it out yet?”
“I think so,” Timon announced. The lights went out completely. “Oops,” he said softly. “It’s okay. I can fix it.”
He suddenly cried out in pain. The red lights came back on. Timon clutched his bleeding forearm. Maxwell hurried to his side and examined the bleeding cut.
“Looks pretty deep,” Maxwell said. “You’d better go upstairs and let Doc have a look at it.”
The Deadliest Institution Collection Page 22
