Past Due for Murder

by Victoria Gilbert

  “I imagine we are, but we have to find our way out of here.”

  Trish vigorously shook her head. “I’ve done enough wilderness hiking to know we can’t just take off in some aimless direction. We could easily wander around in circles and never find the trail. Especially since we can’t go back the way we came. Not with Bartos still on the loose.” She slumped against the tree and stared at me. “Thanks, by the way. That was risky, but it gives us a chance.”

  “You’re quite welcome. It was somewhat selfish anyway. Sure, I wanted to protect you, but I also really don’t want to die today.” I glanced beyond the tree where she was standing and noticed some stones rising up like monoliths, their dark-gray surfaces covered in moss. “It looks like there might be caves or at least some rock clusters nearby. What if we see if there’s any place where we could hide for a bit? If we’re lost, Charles probably is too, so he won’t necessarily be able to find us easily.”

  “That’s a thought,” Trish said, following my gaze. “Better than stumbling around and running right back into him. And I know there’ll be people out looking for us eventually. I mean, I’m pretty sure Chris and Hope will sound the alarm if I don’t come back with the car.”

  “And I know Richard and Sunny and my aunt will alert the authorities if I don’t show up this evening. Not to mention the fact that I was supposed to meet with Brad Tucker at four o’clock. He’s likely to be concerned if I don’t arrive for my appointment and no one knows where I am.”

  “Okay then.” Trish straightened and walked purposefully toward the rocks. “Let’s see what we can find.”

  After a quick examination of the wall of stone, we discovered fissures that created narrow passages leading deep into the mountain.

  “It’s like the entrance to Mona’s underground kingdom of the fae,” Trish said as she slipped into one of the passages.

  “Not comforting,” I replied, squeezing in behind her.

  “You don’t believe in that nonsense, do you?” Trish slid around a corner. “Here, this is better.”

  She was a lot smaller than me, so my progress was slower, but when I finally turned the corner, I breathed a sigh of relief. We were in a small cavern that was dry and had a natural air shaft perforating its granite ceiling. Glancing around, I was happy to see another passage that seemed, from the glimmer of light I glimpsed around one bend, to lead straight out into the woods. Which meant we wouldn’t be trapped in here with only one avenue of escape. I sank down onto a rock ledge that jutted out from one of the cave walls. “This is great, but how will any rescuers find us?”

  “I thought maybe we’d stay here until dark, then try to signal someone.” Trish patted her jacket pocket. “There’s a small flashlight attached to Chris’s key ring. We can use that.”

  “That might work, but it could also draw Charles to our location.”

  “But if people are out looking for us, what could he do? Sure, he could still shoot us, but that would be risky, especially if your deputy friend is anywhere around.” Trish slumped beside me. “I don’t know, I just have a feeling that Bartos won’t take the risk and implicate himself that way. I bet he’ll just skip town if he doesn’t find us soon.”

  “You’re probably right,” I said, wrapping my arms around my body. “Ugh, it’s cold in here.”

  “Lucky I wore my jacket,” Trish said, eyeing me. “Maybe we can share it? I can take it off and drape it over both of us. We’d have to huddle up, though.”

  “I’m okay for now. Maybe later, when the sun goes down …” I shivered. The idea of staying there, basically underground, brought back painful memories of another dark space where I’d been trapped. At least this cavern wasn’t damp and filled with muck, and we could walk out of it whenever we wished.

  Trish glanced up at me from under her lowered eyelashes. “You dated this guy, huh?”

  “Yeah, for about a year. Looking back on it, I guess I can see hints that he was capable of horrible things, but at the time I just refused to accept it. Sure, he was mean to me sometimes, although he was never physically abusive. But he was controlling and hard to please.” I frowned, clutching my upper arms harder. “My boyfriend has always maintained that Charles is a narcissist, but I don’t know if he really fits the clinical description. I think he’s just an egomaniac.”

  “He only thinks about himself, you mean.”

  “Right, but more than that. I don’t think he even views other people as humans. Not human on the same level as he is, anyway. I believe that he sees other people as things—objects to be used and discarded whenever he’s tired of them.”

  “Which is why he can shoot someone and feel no remorse?” Trish stared at the opposite wall, her eyes slightly unfocused. “Not like me. I feel regret every minute of every day for accidentally killing someone.”

  “I suppose.” I dropped my arms so I could slide one of them around her trembling shoulders. “You know what’s really weird? He pursued me with great determination when we first met. I was so flattered—here was this handsome, famous, talented guy chasing after me. He even employed the whole flowers-and-candy-and-expensive-dates routine. I was dazzled. But then, after I told him I loved him, it all changed. It was like night and day. He became standoffish and rude and condescending, always telling me what to do and how to do it. I should’ve seen all the red flags and walked away immediately, but I didn’t. I thought it was me. I wasn’t smart enough, or thin enough, or sophisticated enough. I just had to improve, to do better, and then he’d treat me like he had at the beginning of our relationship. Only, I know now that I was never going to be good enough again. Once he’d won me, he didn’t want me anymore. Not really.”

  “You never see that stuff when you’re in the middle of it. Just like I didn’t realize that when I told all those lies, I was only piling up enough stones to bury myself.” Trish stirred beside me but didn’t pull away from my sheltering arm. “After the hit-and-run, there was a time I truly thought I could get away with it. Strangely, with this whole Lacey wrinkle, I guess I really could have. But my conscience balked.”

  “Because you have one.” I squeezed her shoulder before pulling my arm back. “By the way, I’m willing to be a character witness for you, if you’ll have me. I could let the court know that your remorse is genuine.”

  “I’d like that. Thanks,” Trish said, then pressed her finger to her lips. “I think I hear something,” she whispered as she stood up.

  A loud rustle, like shoes disturbing the piles of dried leaves outside the cave, made me shrink back against the cool wall behind me. As Trish crept over to the passage where we’d entered the cavern, my fingers slid down the side of our natural bench, looking for a loose rock or any other type of weapon. Instead, they encountered something that felt like an old shoe.

  I pulled the object up into my lap, surprised by its weight. It was a leather pouch that had obviously been exposed to the elements for some time, based on the crackled texture of its hard surface. The loose knot in the rawhide tie gave way easily under my fingers. I opened the pouch slightly, just enough to glimpse the objects inside.

  Coins. I retied the knot and clutched the bag with both hands. The Frye family gold, found at last. Ada and Violet must have hidden it in here before they met their sad end. I clutched the bag with both hands, fervently hoping that Trish and I wouldn’t suffer the same fate.

  As I looked up from my lap, I noticed Trish walking backward to reach the center of the cavern. Facing her, and striding forward with the revolver pointed at her heart, was Charles.

  “Thought you could hide?” Charles swept some debris from his golden hair with his free hand. “What idiots you two are. I knew you weren’t smart enough to outwit me, but I didn’t realize that you’d conveniently provide a place where I can kill you and not worry about your bodies being discovered. At least, not before most of the evidence will have faded away.”

  As he aimed the revolver at Trish, I leapt to my feet. Fueled by adrenaline, I used every
bit of strength I possessed to hurl the leather pouch at his right arm.

  The loud crack of the gunshot reverberated throughout the cavern. Trish fell, clutching her shoulder.

  Charles, whose aim had fortunately been thrown off by the impact of the pouch, fell too—backward into the hard surface of the stone wall. He staggered and slumped to the floor, still gripping the revolver.

  Uncertain that I could take the gun from him without being shot, I ran to Trish and bent over her.

  She pulled me close with her uninjured arm. “Go,” she whispered in my ear. “He’s dazed, but he’ll be up soon. Get out of here.”

  “He’ll kill you,” I whispered back, after a swift glance at Charles, who was blinking and rubbing the back of his head.

  “No, he’ll chase you. He can leave me here to deal with later, since I can’t really move very well.” She released my arm and fumbled in her pocket, pulling out her keys with the attached miniature flashlight. “Go,” she said again, pressing the key ring into my hand.

  Charles had come back to awareness enough to mutter something like “won’t get away from me.”

  “Oh yeah?” I raised my voice as I straightened and headed for the wider exit. “Watch me.”

  I ran out of the cavern, hoping against hope that I wouldn’t hear another shot. I didn’t. Apparently, Trish’s gamble had paid off.

  Which meant that everything now depended on me. I had to find help, somehow. Even though I could tell by the cooler temperature and darkening sky that night was falling over the woods. Even though I had no idea where I was.

  I was tired and terrified and completely lost, but I had to persevere. I had to find a way to signal for help, no matter how dangerous it might be.

  More than my life depended on it.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  I stumbled into a tall cluster of rhododendron bushes and hunkered down for a moment to think. Crashing around the woods was obviously not the best way to escape Charles. I couldn’t outrun him. I had to outsmart him.

  Use his own failings against him. He thinks he’s more intelligent and cunning than everyone else. Prove him wrong.

  I uncurled my fingers, staring at the key ring. As I shifted it to my other hand, I vaguely registered the grooves the keys had dug into my palm.

  I needed only the flashlight. I slipped it off the ring and stuck it in my pocket, then rose to my feet and listened for any noises that could indicate Charles was nearby.

  Hearing nothing except the chirping of tree frogs and the rustle of the wind through leaves, I crept out of my hiding place. I moved on the balls of my feet, making as little noise as possible. When I reached a small clearing, I dropped the keys, then circled back the way I’d come.

  If Charles found the keys, I hoped he’d think I’d pressed forward, headed down the slope that fell away from the clearing. It’s what I would’ve expected from someone unfamiliar with these woods—to venture down the mountain, not farther up.

  I moved silently, determined to reach a spot where I could hide again. There had to be another cave or someplace where Charles wouldn’t readily spot me. I had one advantage—Charles and I hadn’t interacted for a few years. I was certain he still saw me as that rather awkward girl he’d met in the university library. He didn’t know what I’d been through since then, how my courage and resolve had been tested by other criminals and killers. I figured Charles was likely to picture me running wildly through the woods, screaming my head off. He wouldn’t expect me to remain calm and think my way out of danger. He didn’t realize how much I’d changed.

  I’d faced death before. I knew how to fight to survive.

  Creeping from tree trunk to tree trunk, I paused every few minutes to listen for any footfalls on the leaf-strewn forest floor. The rush of wings from an owl swooping over my head startled me, and I clapped my hand over my mouth to silence a scream.

  I glanced up at the patches of sky that peeped between the shifting canopy of leaves. Fortunately, the moon was nearly full, which meant the woods were dark but not impenetrable. With my eyes adjusted to the limited light, I was able to navigate without using the flashlight.

  Surprised that Charles wasn’t right on my heels, it seemed that perhaps my little gambit with the keys had worked, at least for a time. Gingerly holding back a spray of thorn-encrusted vines with one hand, I slipped into another thicket and made my way to the pile of scattered boulders I’d spied through the arching vines.

  At first glance, it appeared that the stones were aligned to form a solid wall, but closer inspection proved out my hope that there might be a hiding spot among the boulders. The front line of stones extended only halfway across, so between them and the back wall of granite was a narrow passage. I shimmed into this cavity, fighting my natural aversion to tight spaces.

  Down into the cold and dark … No, I couldn’t dwell on that memory. I had to control my breathing and force my shivering limbs to relax. I might be holed up in this spot until morning.

  If Charles doesn’t find me first.

  I closed my eyes for a moment, picturing my parents at Kurt Kendrick’s dinner table. I rewound the memory, mentally admiring how gracefully they’d deflected the barbs cast by Jim Muir, and how they’d hugged me when they left that Sunday, sharing their approval of Richard despite his parents’ bad behavior.

  Richard. I breathed deeply, slowing my racing heart. Behind my eyelids I could clearly see Richard’s beautiful gray eyes, so often filled with humor as well as love. And Sunny’s bright smile. And Aunt Lydia looking imperious and gracious all at the same time. I have to get back to them, I thought, and I will.

  Something rustled the fallen leaves on the ground beyond the thicket. I stilled all my movements.

  “Amy?” a familiar, unwanted voice called out. “Are you here? I thought I noticed a footprint back in that clearing, pointed this way.”

  Oh no. I bit my lower lip to prevent any sound from escaping my parched lips. Perhaps I’m not as clever as I thought either.

  But Charles wasn’t walking toward the jumble of boulders. Not yet, anyway. If he stepped into that thicket of vines, I would hear the crackle of bent branches. That was the point where I’d have to slide out of my hiding spot.

  And do what, Amy? I pressed my palms against the rough granite of the stone shielding me and considered my options. If Charles moved any closer, I’d have to run. It wasn’t likely to be a very successful escape plan, but it was the only one I had.

  If he finds me. If not, I knew I was safer staying put. I fought my natural inclination to flee as I heard Charles call my name again.

  “You know I won’t really hurt you, Amy,” he said in a tone I knew so well. The silky, seductive voice that had charmed me when we’d first met. “So if you’re around here somewhere, come on out and let’s talk this over. What do you say?”

  No rustling of the vines. I stayed in place, barely breathing.

  “It’s really all a misunderstanding,” Charles said. “Yes, I shot Mona, but that was in self-defense. I just wanted to frighten her with the rifle. Force her to abandon her ridiculous vendetta against me. She was trying to ruin me. No one should allow their whole career to be destroyed over such foolishness. Surely you agree?”

  I wanted to shout that he was a “lying liar who lied” but clamped my lips together instead.

  “If you and I could simply talk this out, I’m sure you’d understand.” Charles’s voice took on a wheedling tone. “I simply showed her the rifle and she lunged at me. Then I had to shoot. I was protecting myself, that’s all.”

  He probably believes that, I thought, swallowing back a hysterical burst of laughter. In his own twisted way, he undoubtedly believes that his career, his reputation, is worth more than any number of lives.

  Something blazed, illuminating the stones beyond the crevasse where I was hiding. Flashlight, I thought, but instantly realized that Charles’s yelp of terror made that unlikely.

  Besides, he didn’t have a flashlight. At l
east not one I’d seen. Perhaps he had one on his cell phone, if he’d thought to bring that with him, but the light I’d just seen didn’t look like a light from any phone.

  I inched over to the edge of my protective shelter and peeked out. A flare brighter than several camera flashes popping at once momentarily blinded me. I shielded my eyes with my hands.

  Charles screamed and, by the sound of his heavy footfalls, took off running. When I could make out anything, I spied the back of his jacket as he fled the area.

  Pursued by a globe of light.

  No, I thought, it can’t be following him. That must be an illusion. I blinked and rubbed my eyes as I stepped out from behind the rocks.

  Other globes of light rose from the floor of the forest and sailed up through the tangle of branches and fluttering leaves to hang above the tree tops.

  I moved through the thicket to reach open ground, keeping an eye on the surrounding woods to make sure Charles was nowhere in sight.

  But I could tell by the crashing sounds I heard fading in the distance that he was still running.

  Away from me.

  I exhaled a long breath. That was all that mattered.

  I knew I still had to be cautious. Slipping from tree to tree, I stayed on high alert for any sound that might indicate Charles’s return, but all I heard was the rush of wings as shadowy birds flew away from the brilliant white globes still bouncing above the trees.

  The mountain lights. They were real.

  They had saved me.

  I shook my head. No, it was simply some natural phenomenon, serendipitously occurring at just the right moment. If it can’t be proven scientifically, it’s nonsense …

  Still, the “nonsense” illuminated the sky above me like paper lanterns released by hidden hands. I zigzagged through the woods, using the blazing balls of light to guide me toward a thinning of the trees.

  It was the trail. I grabbed a nearby tree trunk and used it to support my trembling limbs as I caught my breath. Once my legs ceased shaking, I stepped away and studied the path, trying to determine which way to walk to reach the trailhead.