by Cindy Bell
“All right, Arnold, why don’t you play outside for a bit and I’ll take you for a walk later.” She jumped up and hooked a thumb in his collar. With fast steps she pulled him towards the back door. Peaches jumped up in the window beside the door and gave a deep purr.
“What is it with the two of you?” Ally shook her head. “One minute you love each other the next you can’t stand each other.”
Ally opened the door so that Arnold could go outside. Just as she was about to close it, Peaches jumped down and bolted out through the door.
“Peaches! Get back here.” She sighed and started after the cat. Peaches ran right under the shed. Ally couldn’t reach her there. All there was to do was wait. Ally frowned. She knew that if she tried to catch Peaches she would just run away. It was better to leave her then she would hopefully just come back inside on her own.
Just as Ally was about to walk inside she noticed the mailman drop off a letter in her mailbox. She waved hello and walked over to the mailbox and got the envelope out. As she held it in her hand she remembered Phillip mentioning the envelopes full of money that he deposited in Ben’s office. He said he had spoken to Dustin about it. Her eyes widened. Could Ben have been stealing? Did Dustin confront him about it? But that didn’t add up with what Kylie had said.
Ally walked inside and left the door open in case Arnold and Peaches wanted to come back inside. Ally wanted to investigate more about Ben. As she sat back down at the computer her cell phone began to ring.
“Hi Luke. I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I had to have my phone off for a meeting. Is everything okay?”
“I’m not sure. I think I might have figured out who is responsible for Dustin’s death.”
“Who do you think it is?”
“Ben.”
“The manager?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Just hear me out, this will sound odd at first.” She filled him in on her suspicions. By the time she finished, the silence on the other end of the line left her unsettled. “What do you think, Luke?”
“I think that we have to find some actual proof to tie him to Dustin’s murder. If we can’t do that then there’s no chance of getting an arrest warrant.”
“What about fingerprints or DNA?”
“He’s the manager of the hotel, not only does he have the right to be in any room of the hotel, he was with the police officers all through the crime scene. Unless we find his DNA under Dustin’s fingernails, which we won’t because there wasn’t any, we can’t prove that he caused Dustin any harm. Ally leaned back in her chair and groaned.
“I’ve been all through his history. There are no obvious red flags. The only thing I found is that he has worked at quite a few hotels in the past and he doesn’t seem to work at them for very long.”
“Interesting.”
“It is. But I don’t know if that means anything. I’m going to look harder and try and see if there’s anything else I can come up with.”
“I’ll ask one of the techs at the station to follow up on it. It might be a good lead. In the meantime, stay out of his way. No need to draw his attention to you.”
“That might be kind of hard. I’m supposed to meet with him and his lawyer later this week to sign a contract.”
“You’re going through with that?”
“What if I’m wrong? I can’t risk losing such a good deal for the shop. Besides, the contract isn’t with him, it’s with the hotel.” She sighed. “I know it probably isn’t right for me to think about things like that with all that’s going on, but I can’t ignore my responsibility to the shop.”
“No, I suppose you can’t. Hopefully we’ll have all of this figured out before that meeting. What are you doing for the rest of the day?”
“I’m going to head back to the shop in about a half hour. I just came home to feed the animals.”
“Maybe I’ll drop by later?”
“Sure.” She paused and fiddled with her phone. “I’d like that. If you’re available.”
“All right, I’ll text you when I’m on my way.”
“Great. Thanks Luke. Let me know if the tech finds anything.”
“Of course I will.”
Ally headed back outside. She felt a little calmer since she had actually spoken to Luke. After a short chase she caught Arnold. She rubbed his head and ears. As she stood up she gazed down at the pig. He stared at her for a moment then he began to snort and squeal. “Arnold, what is it?” Ally raised an eyebrow. Just as she started to turn to look over her shoulder a hand wrapped around her from behind. It smoothed tape across her mouth before she had the chance to scream. She struggled against the arms that tightened around her and pinned her arms at her sides. She tried to kick her feet back against the legs that she knew were there, but she missed.
Ally was pulled back across the yard towards the cottage. She shrieked against the tape. Even though it muffled the volume of her screams she hoped that someone might hear her. She didn’t want to be taken into the house where there was less chance that she would be found, she wanted to be out in the open.
Rather than going through the backdoor, she heard the creak of the doors to the crawl space. Her stomach sank. No one would think to look for her there. She struggled even harder. A fist struck her hard in the stomach. She buckled in response to the sudden pain. He took advantage of the moment and shoved her down through the doors of the crawl space. Ally scrambled to her feet, but it was too late. He barreled down after her and shoved her back down in the dirt. Ally felt her phone fall out of her pocket.
“Don’t you make a sound.” He grabbed her by the ankles and jerked hard. Ally struggled to see through the darkness and the tears that filled her eyes. Just as she had suspected, it was Ben that wrapped a rope around her feet and tied it so tight that her feet began to go numb.
“Don’t please, stop!” Whether he heard her through the tape or not, she didn’t know. He grabbed her hands and jerked them hard behind her back. As the second rope wrapped around her wrists, Ally’s tears fell harder. She could barely breathe from the panic that flooded her and her taped mouth made it even more difficult. As he waited for any opportunity to harm her, it dawned on her that Ben was going to have to kill her. She saw his face, she knew he was the one to put her in the crawl space. He would never risk her speaking to the police. She squirmed and tried to roll away from him. He placed his foot in the square of her back.
“You got into business that was none of your concern. Now I have no choice but to get rid of you. I’m sorry, it was my mistake. I never should have mentioned the chocolate. I was so careful to make it look as if Denise killed Dustin. But I was reckless, all because of those candies. You see, I brought my box with me to the local diner when I went to have some lunch. When I opened it up to have one, one of the ladies there mentioned that those were a brand new flavor, that no one else besides her and her two friends had tried those chocolates. Then I remembered that Lisa mentioned that only Dustin’s room had those chocolates. You’re a smart woman, Ally. I knew it wouldn’t take long for you to put two and two together. Unfortunately, I made a mistake, and now you have to pay for it.” His cell phone rang. “What now?” He sighed. He tightened the ropes on her despite her struggle. Then he was gone. Her heart pounded. Was he going to take the call and come back? Was he going to leave her there?
As soon as the doors closed behind her darkness flooded the crawl space. She tried to get free of the ropes around her hands and feet, but they were tied tight. She heard her phone vibrate as someone called her. She struggled to reach it but she couldn’t with the ropes around her hands. As loud as she could she screamed against the tape over her mouth. However, the sound that was emitted would never be heard outside the crawl space. Sure, she would be missed soon. Either her grandmother or Luke would notice that she hadn’t been around. But that didn’t mean that she would be found.
Chapter Fifteen
As Ally lay in the crawl space all she could hear was her own heartbeat. She closed her eyes and wondered how she would escape. If she could escape.
In time Ally knew that the crawl space would be searched. But by then it would probably be too late. She had no idea when Ben might come back for her, or what he planned to do when he did. Was he just going to leave her there? Would he try to burn down the whole cottage? Her stomach ached at the thought. She had many good memories connected to the cottage, and it had never occurred to her that she might not have the chance to make any more. A few minutes later she heard footsteps above her head. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard her grandmother’s voice. She wanted to scream.
“Have you tried tracing her cell phone?”
“I can’t just do that. But I am trying to get in touch with someone who can. She hasn’t been in touch with anyone she knows?” The sound of Luke’s voice was muffled by the floor, but Ally was relieved to hear it. She screamed as loud as she could against the duct tape, but only succeeded in tearing the skin of her lips.
“No one has heard from her. This is very unlike her. She was meant to come back to the shop. Not only that, but the animals were out in the yard when I got here. She would never leave them out if she wasn’t here. I promise you, Luke, she did not leave this house of her own free will. Someone took her.”
“But who?”
“I don’t know. She suspected the bartender, Phillip.”
“He’s been cleared. His alibi held up. He was with a group of friends at a bar blowing off steam after being fired. I don’t see how he could have been in two places at once. So, I think he’s in the clear.”
“Maybe you should go talk to him just in case.”
“I will. But she called me this afternoon and mentioned that she suspected the manager, Ben, so I’ll try to talk to him, too.”
“Really?”
“Something about some caramel chocolates.”
“Oh no, Luke, what if we can’t find her?”
“I will find her.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do!” His voice grew stronger. “I promise you, Charlotte, I’ll find her and bring her home.”
“Please do, Luke, please do.”
“I’m going down to the station to get that trace done on her cell phone. You stay here in case she comes back.”
“Okay, I will.” Ally’s heart sunk. She continued screaming, but it didn’t work. She couldn’t make a sound that was nearly loud enough. She willed Luke to think about looking in the crawl space. He had no reason to, but she hoped that he would.
“I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Oops, watch the cat she’s trying to get out.”
“Watch it, Peaches!” Luke’s voice raised. “Oh no, she’s out!”
“And Arnold’s right behind her!” Charlotte groaned. “This is not the time for this! Get back here right now, Arnold!”
Ally heard the squeals. She heard Charlotte as she fussed at Peaches.
“You bad, kitty, you shouldn’t have shoved open the door like that. Now get back inside. You too, Arnold. I’m sorry, Luke, they must be worried about Ally, too.”
She could hear Arnold’s feet running back and forth across the doors of the crawl space.
“It’s okay, let me get Arnold for you.”
Ally’s eyes widened. This was it, this was her last chance to get Luke’s attention. She rolled over in the crawl space and wiggled in the dirt. When her feet connected with a pipe, she was flooded with excitement. As hard as she could she kicked the pipe. Her shoes were too soft to make a loud thump, but she hoped that it would be loud enough for Luke to hear. Again and again she kicked the pipe. Arnold snorted as he continued to run. Ally’s heart pounded and she kicked harder. Please Luke, please look for me, she screamed within her mind. Just when she thought her legs couldn’t lift again she heard his voice right outside the crawl space.
“What is that?” Luke asked.
She heard the metal doors part and wondered if it might be a dream. Then there he was, Luke, his eyes filled with concern peered down inside the crawl space. When he saw Ally his eyes widened.
“She’s here, Charlotte! She’s here! Call an ambulance!” He climbed down into the crawl space and pulled a knife from his pocket. Carefully he cut through the ropes. She reached up and tugged at the tape on her mouth. It didn’t matter that her skin burned from the tear, she pulled it off as fast as she could. Luke wrapped his arms around her.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I think I’m okay.” She clung to him. “Thank you for coming, Luke, thank you for finding me. I didn’t think anyone would.” His arms tightened around her.
“I’m here, Ally. I would never have stopped looking. But it was Arnold who knew right where you were.” He shook his head in amazement. “That is one good watch pig and watch cat you have there. Peaches even pushed the front door open for Arnold to get out.” He brushed her hair back from her eyes. “Tell me what happened. Who did this to you?”
“It was Ben, the manager from the hotel. He’s the one that killed Dustin.”
“You’re safe now.” He held her close for another long moment. Charlotte rushed out of the house towards the crawl space just as they climbed out.
“Ally? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay.” Ally managed a smile, but still held onto Luke.
“Ally, I can’t believe that you were here the whole time. I’m so sorry. I should have known. You poor thing, you must have been terrified.”
“I’m okay, Mee-Maw. There was no way that you could have known. I’ll be fine. I just want to make sure that Ben is behind bars and Denise is free.”
“I’m working on that now.” Luke held his phone to his ear. Ally could tell by the tension in his gaze that he was not getting the answers that he wanted.
“They don’t know where he is, do they?” Ally’s chin trembled. “He’s gotten away, hasn’t he?”
“We don’t know that for sure, Ally. He could just be in hiding,” Luke said. “He probably didn’t think anyone would find you.”
“But I’m so glad that we did.” Charlotte squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes. “I should have known.”
“Mee-Maw, you know you couldn’t have.”
“Maybe.” She sighed. “But Arnold and Peaches knew.”
Ally stared off down the street for a long moment. When she looked back at Luke he hung up the phone.
“I know that look. What is it?” Luke asked.
“Maybe he doesn’t know that you found me,” Ally said.
“He probably doesn’t.” Luke shrugged.
“Then I should go back down into the crawl space, and you two should act like you never found me.”
“What?” Charlotte shook her head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea at all.”
“It’s the only way that we’re going to catch him. We have to draw him out.”
“Ally, we’re not going to use you as bait.” Luke crossed his arms. “That is out of the question.”
Ally raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “That decision is not only yours to make, Luke.”
“It is.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll have you in handcuffs before I let you go back down there.”
Ally clenched her teeth. She knew that Luke meant well, but she was not one to be told what to do.
“Luke, you’re not thinking clearly. If you were, you would know that this is the best thing we can do. The only option that we have. Otherwise Dustin’s killer gets away with everything.”
Luke stared at her. His eye twitched. Though his expression remained hard, his demeanor softened.
“It’s still a bad idea.”
“I’ll be fine. You’ll be right here with me. I won’t be alone. He won’t have the chance to hurt me.”
“You can’t seriously be thinking about this.” Charlotte stepped between them. “The very thought of you being trapped back under the house.” She
gulped and shook her head. “I can’t even consider it.”
“Mee-Maw, I will be safe. If I don’t do this, then we’ll never know when he might come back. He will have the upper hand and we will have to live in fear. Is that what you want?”
“No, it’s not.” Charlotte sighed. “If Luke thinks that we can keep you safe, then I guess we should do it. But Ally, won’t you be scared?”
“Maybe.” Ally bit into her bottom lip. The real answer was, absolutely. The thought of being in that dark crawl space again made her stomach twist with fear. But it was what had to be done. She wasn’t going to be afraid of Ben for the rest of her life. If he wasn’t in jail she would always be looking over her shoulder.
“I need to go back in before he spots me out here. Both of you will have to stay out of sight. Luke, you’ll need to let the Mainbry detectives know not to interfere.”
“I will.” His eyes widened as if the realization of what they were about to do dawned on him. “But there is no way you are going back in there.”
“I have to,” Ally said. “Otherwise we will never catch him.”
“No, what we will do is we will hide in the house so you are out of sight,” Luke said. “When he opens the door to the crawl space I will come and get him.”
“That’s a much better idea.” Charlotte nodded.
“Okay,” Ally agreed.
“I’m going to watch for him like a hawk, Ally,” Charlotte said. “He won’t get near you.”
“Thanks Mee-Maw.” Ally smiled at her. “It’s all going to be just fine.”
“It better be.” Charlotte pursed her lips.
“We need to make sure that Arnold and Peaches stay inside so they don’t get in the middle of anything,” Luke said.
“Okay.” Charlotte nodded.
“I will let the responding officers know what we’re doing, then they will help keep an eye on what is happening.” Luke pulled out his phone and made the call. When he had finished he turned to them. “Okay, let’s go inside.” Luke gestured towards the house.