by Linnea West
I had to go slow, concentrating on every step that I was taking. Every time I tried to go faster, the pain in my head multiplied. The pain was shooting through my head and it felt like my vision was closing in like a box. I tried my hardest to focus on the steps to make sure that I didn't miss a step.
"Oh come on Tessa," Dawn said. Her steps were slow and sure on the concrete. She was full of so much confidence that she wasn't even trying to speed up to get me. "Don't make me chase you. That will just make things so much worse for both of us."
I grabbed the handrail, trying to ignore the pain in my head as I started to climb the stairs. As much as I wanted to rush up the stairs to the door, I knew that I needed to go slow so that I didn't trip. It took effort to make every single step and to make sure I got my foot onto the step instead of slipping off of them.
The pounding in my head was intensifying, becoming so overpowering that I just wanted to lay down and shut my eyes. I could feel the pain spreading throughout my entire body. It was getting hard to focus on anything except the pain.
The twin flashlight beams came through the doorway into the first room. Dawn's face was twisted with a strange sort of glee as she slowly made her way to the stairs. I tried to focus on going up the stairs.
"Tessa, just come back down here," Dawn said. "You are making it so much harder on yourself."
"Are you insane?" I managed to yell. I hoped that maybe someone would happen to be in the kitchen and hear me, but the chances were slim.
"On the contrary," Dawn said. "I think I'm actually quite intelligent. I didn't sign the divorce papers so that our divorce wouldn't be final. I made the perfect plan to kill Jake without suspicion so that I would get the money. And then once you became suspicious, I threw you off the scent by scattering clues around and made you suspect not one, but two different people. And finally, I even managed to lure you down here with some stupid idea of a backgammon set. Just admit it, Tessa. I win."
I should have kept going up the stairs, but I just couldn't help it. I whirled around to face Dawn, which was a mistake. Spinning round so fast made my head pound terribly. By now, Dawn was at the bottom of the steps and I was about halfway up. I just had to have my say. While I always knew that my mouth was my downfall, I didn't know that it meant that literally this time.
"You think this is a game?" I shrieked. I couldn't help it. Now I was just mad. I was so mad that I actually took a step down towards Dawn instead of up towards freedom. "This isn't something you can win, Dawn. You killed a person, a person you used to be in love with. And for what? For money. That is disgusting. You didn't win anything."
Dawn's face was stony as she took a step up towards me. I knew I was in trouble because she was close enough to touch me now. I put all of my effort into making it up the staircase.
I whirled around and started climbing the stairs as fast as I could, one hand holding onto the wooden railing for dear life while the other one tracked along the wall. There was nothing for me to hold with the other hand, but I used the wall to try and keep myself upright.
The pain in my head was excruciating. Blackness was starting to close in and I was having a hard time seeing the stairs in front of me. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, feeling for the next step and trying not to pass out from the pain.
"Poor Tessa," Dawn said. "She's about to have a nasty fall down the stairs. Good thing I'm here to get some help for her."
I ignored her as I took another step up. I was only about three steps from the door into the kitchen, but this time the step wasn't just another wooden step. This time there was something on the step, something that was making it slippery.
As I stepped up, my foot started sliding around. I had been trying to go as fast as I could, so I had stupidly stepped up before making sure I had my foot solidly on the stair. I tried to hold onto the railing as tightly as I could, flailing my other foot forward to try to find the next step, but it was too late.
I could feel myself falling down the stairs, back down into the darkness of the basement. I tumbled head over feet, hitting step after step until I landed with a hard thud on the concrete floor at the bottom. I could feel bruises starting to pop up instantly all over my body. My eyes were squeezed shut from the pain that was now coursing through my body. My head hurt the most, but every part of my body now felt bruised and battered.
I opened my eyes to see Dawn standing over me. To my surprise, there were tears rolling down her cheeks as she shakily pointed the flashlight beams towards the floor next to my head.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she said. "Why did you have to try and figure it out? I thought that if I put fish sauce in his food, that everyone would just think there was some sort of awful accident and no one would ever think twice. I even broke into their room and hid Jake's bag with his medicine to make sure we couldn't get to him in time. You know, I still loved him. Even though he treated me like garbage, a part of me still loved him."
"You don't have to do this, Dawn," I whispered. "You can stop right now and I can help you try to make things right."
"Of course you would say that," Dawn said. Her face twisted back into the sinister sneer she had been wearing before. "You just know that I've won. I've bested you and you want me to quit before I've actually finished everything. Well I can't do that. I need everything to go according to the plan so that I can get that money and pay off my debts."
She still hadn't figured it out. I guess I would have to be the one to break it to her. I took a deep breath before I spoke again.
"It doesn't work that way," I said. "I checked. It only takes one person to sign the divorce papers. Jake signed, so you were legally divorced and he legally married Anna. You are out of luck."
The last thing I remembered before everything went black was Dawn raising the flashlight above her head before smashing it down on the top of my head just as the door to the kitchen opened and all of the power came back on in the B&B.
Chapter Thirty-Four
When I came to, I was laying on the couch in the living room. The fire was still crackling in the fireplace, but now a few of the lamps around the room were also on. I could hear the furnace was on and chugging along, trying hard to warm up the house that hadn't been warm for days.
I glanced out the window and saw that while it was still snowing, I could actually see outside. The blizzard must have died down, even if it was still snowing. I wondered briefly if the blizzard was actually over or if this was just another small break in the storm.
"How are you feeling?" came a familiar voice from next to me.
Max was sitting next to the couch, on his knees on the ground. I turned to look at him. His dark eyes were full of worry and concern.
I wanted to ask him what he was doing here, but as I tried to sit up, my head felt like someone was smashing it with a hammer. Suddenly, the memory of Dawn hitting me on the head with a flashlight came rushing back with the pain.
"Where is Dawn," I said, scrambling to try to get off of the couch. I needed to find Dawn and make sure she didn't get away or try to hurt someone else.
But my head was full of so much pain that I ended up falling onto my knees next to the couch. My head was pounding so hard that I could hear the whoosh of my blood flowing in my ears. The light suddenly felt very bright and I squeezed my eyes shut tight. My body felt like it was covered with bruises, but the pain of the bruising paled in comparison to the pain in my head.
"Whoa there, Sweet Thing," Max said softly. He gently picked me up from under my armpits and helped to slide me back up onto the couch. As I put my head back on the pillow, he picked up my feet and put them back on the couch, sitting down next to them.
"Everything is alright," Max said. "Dawn is in custody. Jake's body has been taken to the hospital. The blizzard is winding down. And you are safe because I found you just in time."
"Okay, and just so you know, there is one more clue but I'm not sure how it all fits in," I said. "I found Jake's weddin
g ring upstairs and I hid it in my room. I should bring you up there and show you."
"Not right now," Max said. "I'll go up and get it in a minute, right now I just need you to sit here and wait for the ambulance."
So many questions were floating around in my head, but every time I tried to grab hold of one, it eluded me. I was having trouble focusing on anything besides the pain in my head, but I finally managed to put a few words together.
"How did you know?" I asked. I tried to focus on his face, but the light was too much and I shut my eyes again.
Max took my hand in his. His hands were large and soft. I'd held his hand so many times that it was familiar and I feel like I could pick his hand out of a lineup. When we held hands, our fingers fit together just so. It wasn't like the times when you tried to hold hands with someone and it ends up feeling a bit awkward. It was never that way with Max.
In fact, everything with Max was familiar. The beautiful thing about our relationship was that it was effortless. We could sit together on the sofa for hours, each doing our own thing but never feel uncomfortable. In that moment in time, holding Max's hand, I wondered why I ever wanted a relationship that was new or different from what Max and I had.
"I could just tell that you were walking yourself straight into trouble," Max said, giving my hand a squeeze. "I knew I had to get to you to make sure you were safe. I don't know what I would do if I lost you."
I had to open my eyes; I had to see Max's face. Slowly, I opened my eyelids, letting the light in a little bit at a time. Once they were fully open, Max's handsome face came fully into view. He gave me a big smile as his eyes searched my face.
"There's my girl," he said quietly.
He gently put his large hand on my cheek and used his thumb to brush away a few tears that were starting to fall. I wasn't sure why I was crying, but I think it was just from the relief of it all. I didn't realize just how much stress was building up inside during the last few days. The murder, the blizzard, Clark, everything together had been taking up all of the spaces in my brain. But now, I could let it all out.
"But how did you know that I was in trouble?" I asked. I pressed him for more because usually I was the one finding more clues and putting them all together. This time, Max had managed to read between the lines and he was the one who put some of the pieces together to figure out I was in trouble.
"I'm not sure, exactly," Max said. "But when you asked me about the divorce and Dawn not signing the papers, it was like it all came into focus. There was just something about Dawn and the fact that she was convinced that she would get his estate just because she didn't actually sign the papers."
"But when I went downstairs, the blizzard was still raging on," I said. "You said your car was stuck at the end of your driveway. How did you get here?"
Max blushed a little bit and looked away. I followed his eyes out the window where I could actually see more than a foot out the window. Sitting next to the cars in the driveway was a white and gold snowmobile that looked like it was older than I was.
"I kind of borrowed the Golden Ghost from my neighbor," Max said.
I snorted with laughter. The pain shooting through my head made me immediately regret that, but I just couldn't help myself.
"The snowmobile has a name?" I said. "It looks like it is older than either of us."
"Probably because it is," Max said with a laugh. "My elderly neighbor Earl said he bought the Golden Ghost brand new in the early 70's. When I went to ask him about it, he wasn't even sure it would start. But I knew I had to get here so by gum, I got it to start."
"And then you drove it all the way here," I said.
"Yes, I did," Max said. "I bundled up, threw on a snowmobile helmet and drove here as fast as I could safely go. I got here just in time too."
The door from the kitchen opened and Mandy backed into view, spinning to reveal a tray with coffee, water, and some snacks. Of course there were no cookies, but Mandy had put together a delicious, healthy snack tray of vegetables and hummus.
"Could I take the story from here?" Mandy asked as she set the tray on the coffee table. "Because I would love to tell you just the next little bit."
"Be my guest," Max said as a smile played at his lips. He knew what was coming and I wondered what in the world had happened.
"Well, the last round of the board game competition was just wrapping up," Mandy said. "Joe was winning which meant that he and your father were tied for first place. And you know how hard it was to see outside. The snow was swirling everywhere. All of sudden, the front door flew open and in walks someone totally covered by a large snowsuit and a giant helmet."
Mandy started giggling as she tried to continue the story, but every time she tried to talk, a giggle came out. I looked to Max to continue the story, but he started to giggle too. I looked back and forth between them, feeling a bit left out and hoping one of them would recover from the sillies soon. Finally, Mandy took a few deep breaths and continued on with the story.
"Honestly, most of us thought it was the killer, finally making his next appearance to kill us all," Mandy said. The smile on her face was an odd contrast to the story she was telling. "It was pandemonium in here. Most of us were screaming, your mother started throwing pieces from the board games at the killer, and thankfully Tank was all the way across the room because he started charging towards the killer and would have tackled him to the ground if Max hadn't taken off the helmet to reveal that it was him."
I couldn't help but laugh, even if laughing hurt my head. I wished I could have been up here to see it especially because that would have meant not being stuck in the basement with a killer.
"Once I got my helmet off, I could see you weren't here," Max said. "When they said they thought you and Dawn had gone to get a game out of the basement a while ago, I knew you were in big trouble. I opened the door to the basement just as Dawn knocked you out."
For a moment, we all sat in silence, totally aware that if Max had been just a few minutes later, things could have ended up much worse. It was bad enough already; I could hardly move without pain shooting throughout my body. But I was so grateful that Max had followed his gut to come and check on me.
Mandy quietly stood up and walked back into the kitchen. She could sense that we wanted to be alone. Max squeezed my hand again and I looked into his eyes. He was my knight in shining armor.
Max leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. It was a gentle, sweet kiss and I could feel Max's concern and love washing over me. As he pulled back, I opened my eyes and gazed at him. I felt such deep love for him in that moment that I never wanted to be apart from him again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see movement from the kitchen door. I looked over, expecting to see Mandy peeking in at us since she always seemed to spy on us. Instead, I saw Clark's shocked face.
At first, I felt bad. But then the memory of Clark kissing Candy came rushing back into my mind. If anything, we were even now. But as the kitchen door softly closed, I pushed Clark out of my mind and focused solely on Max in front of me.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Usually my Valentine's Day plans would involve going out for dinner and maybe a movie or some dancing. This year, I was lucky enough to move to the couch in the family room where Max and I were curled up watching a movie. We were watching some dumb comedy and eating pizza, so it didn't even really feel like Valentine's Day.
But then I looked at Max sitting beside me. He was laughing at the dumb movie and every once in a while, he would look at me, to make sure I was comfortable and laughing along. Even though I didn't actually think the movie was that funny, I loved how concerned he was that I enjoyed myself as much as he was.
Mandy had stopped by to check on me before she went out for a fancy dinner with Trevor. Of course she had been wearing a little black dress that looked fabulous on her slim body, even if it was a bit skimpy for the Minnesota winter weather.
It made me a little jealous as Mandy described the
eight course menu she and Trevor would be enjoying tonight along with a wine pairing for each course. I was especially jealous because at the hospital I had been told to avoid alcohol for a few weeks and while I'm not a big drinker anyways, it is always hard to be told you can't have something.
I thought back to the hospital. Shortly after I had woken up, the ambulance had arrived to take me to the hospital. Max had been allowed to ride in the back with me. He held my hand the entire way to the hospital, gently stroking the back of my hand with his thumb.
Once in the emergency room, I was given the very obvious news that I had a concussion and my body was pretty bruised up, but overall I was in pretty good shape, all things considered. I tried not to think about all of the ways my encounter of Dawn could have gone worse and instead I focused on how grateful I was that I didn't have any broken bones and I would be released from the hospital right away.
Ever since being released, I had been able to take it easy at home. I had been able to catch up on my true crime podcasts and watch a lot of true crime documentaries because apparently being involved in a real, true crime wasn't enough for me. On the other hand, I'd also read a lot of trashy magazines, rewatched a few seasons of an old sitcom that I loved, and tried to do some number puzzles, but too much thinking hurt my head. Needless to say, I was starting to go a little crazy being cooped up, but I also couldn't do much else without a raging headache and feeling every single bruise the basement stairs had inflicted on my poor body.
But then Max came over on Valentine's night with a hot, cheesy pizza from Mike's, a funny movie, and even a card that was both sweet and corny. It was perfect and I wondered if we could just do this for the rest of our lives. As the credits started to roll, I suddenly realized I hadn't even asked about what had been happening with the case in the last few days. Basically, since I got out of the hospital.