“I remember.”
Amanda continued to rub her temples. “When Nolan said he watched Noel drag Mrs. Kraus down into a hidden cellar, it occurred to me that maybe that was how she entered the kitchen without being seen or heard. I mean, we had the doors and windows locked up tight. I suppose she could have sneaked in somehow, or had a key, but the kitchen door was still locked and the piles of dishes we’d stacked against it were still in place.”
Sarah bit down on her lip. “June Bug, you may be on to something,” she said, in an urgent voice. “Sit tight. I’m going to find that hidden cellar.”
“I want to come.”
“You need to sit right here and stand guard,” Sarah ordered Amanda and placed her gun into the hands of her best friend. “Just pull the trigger if he comes back,” she said, and ran into the cabin before Amanda could object. But instead of racing into the kitchen, Sarah hurried down into the basement and made her way to the back on nervous legs. And there, to her horror, she saw that Noel had set up some kind of mad scientist experiment. But to her relief—if relief was possible—she saw the remaining virus tubes still sitting in the steel rack on the desk. Sarah quickly grabbed the two tubes and ran upstairs, looked around, and then decided to hide the tubes in a spare bedroom under a loose floorboard. With the tubes secured, she ran into the kitchen and began stomping on the kitchen floor, listening for hollow sounds. The kitchen floor was solid and hard in the middle, but when Sarah walked into the far corner of the kitchen, a location she had not explored the night before, she heard the sound of her foot transfer from a solid thumping noise into a hollow thudding sound.
Sarah quickly dropped down to her knees and began feeling the floor. As far as she could see, she was simply in the broom corner of the kitchen, where rows of hooks held ratty old brooms and an antique-looking metal dustpan. It was certainly no place special. But then her hand felt what seemed like a piece of fishing line, a very short piece in a loop.
“Bingo,” Sarah said and with all of her might yanked up on the piece of fishing line as hard as she could. As she did, a piece of climbing rope slithered out from under a floorboard. Sarah quickly grabbed the rope and yanked up on it. To her relief, a loud creak cried out through the kitchen and a hidden trap door that had been set into the kitchen floor with perfect precision and camouflage opened. “Thank you,” Sarah whispered.
With no time to waste, Sarah bent down over the dark hole below and peered down into a deep dungeon. She spotted a faint light crawling up from the hole. The light splashed onto a wooden ladder connected to the left wall. Sarah drew in a deep breath, swung her legs down into the hole, found the ladder with her feet, and began to crawl down, one careful step at a time. The ladder moaned and complained under her weight—and for a second, seemed ready to collapse—but it held. “Smells awful down here,” Sarah whispered, descending lower and lower down into the earth. Raw earth began to surround her. In her mind, she pictured the kinds of nasty beetles and snakes that might love a damp, dark hole like this one. “Stop it,” Sarah begged, and pushed the awful thoughts from her mind. She had no time to waste on thoughts that were not practical or helpful. “There could be an antidote down here.”
When Sarah reached the bottom of the ladder, she stepped down onto packed dirt and looked around. A large open room stood before her. To her shock, the room held a table, two chairs, a metal filing cabinet and boxes holding lab equipment. But to her horror, a dead body was resting in the far right corner partially covered over with a brown sheet. “It’s like a horror movie down here,” she said, thinking immediately about how the coroner would need to be notified; but she ignored that thought as her eyes locked onto a black backpack sitting on the table. “Oh please,” Sarah begged as she ran to the table and snatched open the black backpack with shaky hands and began exploring the contents.
“Come on—come on—” she said, pulling out pens, medical books, trail mix, bottled water, clothing—but no antidote. “No, no!” Sarah nearly began to cry. She threw the backpack across the room and then kicked the table. Before she could vent her fury any further, a wave of dizziness attacked her head. This time the dizziness was accompanied by a slight wave of nausea. “No time—” Sarah whispered and grabbed her stomach. She bent forward and began taking in deep breaths. “I have to calm down and think. What would Pete tell me to do?” Sarah closed her eyes and walked her thoughts all the way to Los Angeles, through heavy traffic, clear blue skies, palm trees, tall buildings, and sandy beaches, and wandered into a stuffy office filled with files, Chinese food, and cigar smoke. She spotted her old partner sitting behind his desk smoking a cigar and going over a case file. “Hey, Pete.”
Pete looked up from the case file and studied Sarah. “You went and got yourself into a mess, didn't you, kiddo?” he asked and took a puff off his cigar. The cigar smoke drifted into Sarah’s nose and brought back countless warm memories that nearly made her cry.
“I was bushwhacked, Pete,” Sarah explained. “I’m in a real bad spot.”
“Well, you gave this case your best shot, but there were too many unknown variables for you to fuss with. Who knew Noel was lying through her teeth?”
“I should have known.”
“No cop is perfect, kiddo,” Pete pointed out and snatched up a cup of coffee and took a drink. “You found the journal.”
“Yeah, but—”
“And by doing so you managed to get the truth from that low-down scumbag,” Pete continued.
“Pete, I don’t care about Noel or Nolan right now. Amanda and I are infected with a deadly virus—we’re dying, and we need help,” Sarah begged. “What do I do?”
Pete took another puff from his cigar. “You know what to do. Now think.”
“Pete, Noel played me like a fiddle,” Sarah confessed in a miserable voice.
“Oh, stop kicking yourself and focus,” Pete griped. “Now think back. You already know what you need to do, kiddo. Think about the look Noel gave you when you mentioned the hot springs. You’ve been thinking about it in the back of your mind this whole time, haven’t you? Tell me this—she wasn’t standing outside waiting for you for no reason, she was concerned and preparing to go look for you. Why?”
Sarah thought back to the basement. In her mind, she saw herself talking about the hot springs to Noel—and then she saw the strange look flash across Noel’s eyes. “Oh my goodness—that look—it was a look of worry. Oh, Pete, that’s why I can’t find an antidote—the hot springs are the antidote.”
“Well, maybe not the only antidote, but I would sure go see if they do something,” Pete ordered Sarah. “All I know is that this crazy woman is very deadly and she didn’t want you getting in the hot springs. So that’s exactly where you should go.” Pete puffed on his cigar and looked at a case file. “Now get out of here and let me get back to work, kiddo. I don’t have time to babysit a rookie.”
Sarah opened her eyes. Pete vanished. “The hot springs,” she said, and began coughing. With each cough, droplets of blood began to spray into the air. “Have to—hurry—the virus is maturing.” Sarah scrambled up the ladder, ran outside onto the front porch, and found Amanda hunched over the front porch rail vomiting.
“We’re—done for,” Amanda told Sarah with tear-filled eyes. “There’s blood in my vomit.”
“We’re not dead yet,” Sarah promised Amanda. “Gather all the strength you have and come on!” Sarah grabbed Amanda’s right arm and raced away toward the hot springs, trying not to trip. The track back to the hot springs almost proved impossible. With each step, Sarah grew weaker and Amanda nearly fainted. They held each other up by sheer force of will. By the time they reached the hot springs, both women only had enough strength left to collapse into the first hot spring. “Amanda,” Sarah begged, “keep your head above the water.”
Amanda, who was barely conscious, managed to roll her head above the hot waters of the spring, resting it on a smooth rock behind her. “Los Angeles, I love you,” she whispered.
“Love you too, June Bug,” Sarah replied with all of her heart as the world began to turn dark. For a minute, she thought she’d dropped into an unconscious state, but then her eyes popped open as an excruciating pain began to burn through her body like a raging wildfire. Sarah cried out in pain but managed to keep her body plunged into the hot waters. A few seconds later, Amanda’s eyes sprung open and she began to scream in pain. “The water, the temperature is killing the virus!” Sarah yelled, writhing in agony.
“I feel like I’m on fire—burning alive inside,” Amanda cried. She began to crawl out of the hot spring, but Sarah pushed her back down.
“Stay under the water,” Sarah begged.
“I don’t think I can stand it,” Amanda cried out in pain. “I’m burning—alive.”
“Try,” Sarah pleaded with every ounce of energy she had, gripping her friend’s arms tightly beneath the water even though she too felt like they were being boiled alive.
“Okay, I’ll try,” Amanda promised, and began fighting her pain. “Los Angeles, please forgive me for getting you into this mess.”
“Misery loves company,” Sarah replied, gritting her teeth in pain.
“If we survive, I’m going to buy you the prettiest dress O’Mally has,” Amanda promised, and nearly peed herself.
“Deal,” Sarah promised, and squeezed her eyes closed, waiting to either burst into flames or die. The pain seemed to come and go in waves, and just when it seemed to abate it would come back in force, as if their blood had circulated and found a new pocket of virus that needed to be destroyed. After an agonizing hour of painful fiery sensation, Sarah felt her body begin to ease off and it seemed the waves of pain stopped altogether. “Hey—I think I’m—done burning it off,” she told Amanda in an excited voice. She was still shaky from the heat of the hot springs and the terror of the situation, but she was so grateful to be alive she sent up a silent prayer of thanks.
Amanda looked at Sarah. Relief was in her eyes. “Me, too,” she said, and began to cry. “Do you think the virus is dead?” she asked.
“Yes,” Sarah answered her best friend and began to laugh and then cry, all at the same time. “I don’t know how, but this hot springs killed the virus.” After another twenty minutes or so when they were sure no more fiery pain was going to occur, Sarah took Amanda’s hand and pulled her out of the hot springs and hugged her. “We’re going to live, June Bug—we’re going to live to see another day.”
Amanda wrapped her arms around Sarah and cried. “I was so afraid I would never see my hubby or son again. I was trying to be brave.” Amanda placed her head down onto Sarah’s shoulders and cried until it hurt. They sat down together on a dry log to rest their shaky muscles. When Sarah finished crying, she looked up. “What now?” she asked, looking around at the beautiful wilderness in confusion.
“Now,” Sarah said, with an angry voice, “we’re going to go catch us two very dangerous bears.” Sarah took Amanda’s hand and stood up, and they made their way back to the cabin. “We’re going to change our clothes and get ready for war,” she promised in a determined voice that sent hope into Amanda’s heart. It was time to capture a deadly virus.
7
Sarah was sitting on the front porch sipping a cup of coffee when Nolan came walking back around the cabin holding Noel’s arms behind her back. She immediately put down her coffee and picked up her gun. “Hello,” she said, in a stern voice. “I assumed you would be miles away by now.”
Nolan coughed blood into the air and threw Noel down onto the ground. Noel landed hard, spun around, and kicked her legs at Nolan. “You’re dying!” she laughed, in a sick, demented voice. “You’re all dying. My virus has matured in your system just like I knew it would.”
Before Noel could say another hateful word, Amanda appeared behind Nolan and gently took his arm. Nolan looked at her, surprised to see her looking completely healthy and normal. Amanda let out a soft smile and a wink. “Come with me,” she whispered, and pulled Nolan away from the cabin as quickly as she could. Nolan followed without question, too weak to fight. Amanda rushed him to the path that led to the hot springs.
“Where is she taking him?” Noel demanded.
“You’ll find out later,” Sarah said, and aimed her gun directly at Noel. “I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing, Noel, but the game has come to an end.”
Noel climbed to her legs and brushed the dirt off her knees. “I’m in control, Sarah. I’ve always been in control. Dr. Kraus could have joined me, but instead, he betrayed me. Nolan, too.”
“You lied to me.”
“Lies are a matter of perspective. It’s all part of the game—allowing people to believe the lies can be very delicious, too,” Noel told Sarah. Then she stood very still and studied Sarah’s face. As she did, a strange expression—fear and sick foreboding—washed over her face. “You’re not exhibiting any symptoms? Why?” she demanded, as anger rushed into her eyes. “You should be. You should both be too weak to move by now.”
Sarah stood up, showing off with a straight posture and clear eyes. “I found your antidote,” Sarah deliberately lied in order to fish some truth out of Noel.
“Impossible! I buried the antidote in the cellar!” Noel cried out.
“So, you did bring an antidote with you after all,” Sarah said, and cautiously stepped down off the front porch. “You’re a very disturbed woman. Last night, you had me eating out of your hand.”
“I’m just doing what I need to do,” Noel snapped. “My task is too important to let a little thing like deceit get in the way.”
“Your task is killing millions of people?”
“My task is control,” Noel told Sarah, and her voice lowered to a menacing register. “Control is power. All my life I’ve let men have the authority. I even had two men shoot me in the back and leave me for dead while my so-called husband stood nearby.” Noel narrowed her vicious eyes. “My virus is ready. The virus Dr. Kraus created was a threat to me.” Noel kept her eyelids low. “He created three different viruses—test viruses, if you will. That’s what you found in the basement. Mrs. Kraus hid one of the tubes from me. She assumed by doing so she could blackmail me for more money, or to keep me from reaching my goal, anyway.”
Sarah struggled to keep up. Her body was healing from Noel’s virus at a rapid rate, but the long stay in the hot springs had drained her muscles and made her feel exhausted to the point of collapse. She couldn’t let Noel understand how tired she truly felt. “Mrs. Kraus sprayed your virus because she was injected with an antidote. That’s why you shot her.”
“I was foolish to trust anyone,” Noel told Sarah. “I believed I could trust a fellow woman. A woman who had cared for me for many years. I was wrong.” Noel studied Sarah's eyes. “I’ll find the missing tube and destroy all three viruses Dr. Kraus created.” A sick grin touched Noel’s lips. “Dr. Kraus was uncertain of himself. He created three viruses that are worthless against my virus.”
“How can you be so sure of that? Have you tested his viruses?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t need to,” Noel answered, in an arrogant voice. “My mind is far more brilliant than his was. I’m in control, Sarah.” Noel kept her eyes on Sarah. “You seem to be… well. I suppose you’re not lying, and you did find the antidote I hid in the basement.” Noel folded her arms together. “When you mentioned the hot springs, I became—concerned. Of course, your theory about the hot springs was merely theoretical, yet you somehow managed to strike near the truth. My virus, once it matures, can only survive at a certain temperature range within the body. No one can have a fever over 102.2.”
“Explain,” Sarah told Noel, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the virus.
“Gladly,” Noel replied, in a cavalier tone. “I designed my virus to attack the human immune system, which creates, at a very rapid rate, deadly cancer cells designed to attack the lungs, the heart, the brain, the liver, while at the same time bypassing typical flu-like symptoms such as a
sore throat, fever, runny nose. That way there is very little sign of the infection until it is too late.”
Sarah soaked in the information. “And the viruses Dr. Kraus created?” she asked.
Noel’s eyes grew dark with fury. “Dr. Kraus created three viruses to counteract mine. Well, to counteract the firewalls I created to suppress the flu-like symptoms. His viruses were designed to attack the immune system and specifically activate a fast-acting flu strain that triggers high fevers—well, high enough. Right around 102.2 or higher.” Noel gritted her teeth. “The bug I planted, Dr. Kraus located it. He assumed he blinded my operation. He wasn’t aware that I had his dear old wife working for me.”
“Why did Mrs. Kraus start working for you? Why did she betray her husband?” Sarah asked.
“Mrs. Kraus despised her husband for taking her away from civilization and forcing her to live like a bear in the wild. Mrs. Kraus was a city woman, Sarah. She met her husband on the busy streets of New York while working as an interpreter at the United Nations.” Noel smiled in a hideous way. “A woman can discover a lot of secrets while working at the United Nations.” She let out a sick laugh. “The United Nations is the largest terror organization in the world, and the silly people of America work their hands to the bone to pay their salaries.”
“You mean through taxes? Taxes paid my salary as a cop too, you know.”
Noel nodded. “You should be freed from such slavery! Sarah, you may see me as a monster, but you have to understand that my intentions are good. I mean to destroy the men who sit high and proud in this world, in order to allow women to rule in their place.” Noel unfolded her arms and motioned around. “Look around, Sarah, look what man is doing to this world. Look how men are suppressing women, creating wars, destroying all of the natural resources, and teaching women and girls that they are dogs.”
Hot Springs Murder Page 10