by Cindy Bell
“Yes, that’s a good thought.” Charlotte snapped her fingers as she gazed down at the water. “We only saw three canoes in the water that day, but that doesn’t mean there were only three. Suppose, there was another boat on the water.” She looked up and down along the river.
“But we never saw another boat, the police never found another boat, so where did it go?” Ally shook her head as she climbed back up the slope to join her grandmother. “How could they have missed that?”
“They weren’t looking for it, that’s how. First, they assumed it was an accident, then they decided that the arrow was fired from above. They assumed that the only other people on the water were Frank and Christian. But what if someone else was there?”
“Who?” Ally shook her head. “Billy? Do you still think it could be him?”
“Billy, or someone we’ve never even considered.” Charlotte pursed her lips, then looked towards the water again. “You know, I used to spend a lot of time on this river. There are a few little streams that run behind the apartments on this side. They’re not easy to spot because of the reeds, but they are there, and some are deep enough to allow a small boat through.”
“Someone else?” Ally’s eyes widened as she scanned through her thoughts in search of another suspect. Had she missed someone? Could it just have been a random killing? She doubted that. Shooting someone with an arrow seemed personal. She was sure that whoever did it had a reason, it wasn’t just for fun or to satisfy some homicidal urge. Frank had a reason, Christian had a reason, even Billy had a reason. But if none of them were the killers, then who else could there be?
“There!” Charlotte pointed towards a tall patch of reeds. “I think that’s it, Ally. Let’s follow it.”
Ally peered at the reeds. She couldn’t even tell that the water continued on, as the stream was completely overgrown.
“Be careful, Mee-Maw. It’s hard to see where the edge starts.” She grabbed her grandmother’s hand and held it as they walked along. Arnold crept along the side of them. He appeared to be keeping his distance from the water.
“It’s all right, it gets a little wider up here.” Charlotte pointed ahead. “See? Now we can see it.”
“That’s amazing. I never even knew this was here.” Ally shook her head as she gazed at the stream. “And look, there’s a trail ahead also. I wonder if it’s the branch that breaks off from the trail that leads from Christian’s apartment? It was too dark to walk it when I spotted it.”
“It probably is. The woods are all connected around here. Maybe Christian stowed another boat around here? Or maybe he just found a place to stash the arrows?”
“There!” Ally pointed to an old dock, that looked like it had been abandoned many years ago. There was no house in sight, but the dock was still there, and tied to the edge of it was a small boat. “Just like you said.” Ally shook her head in amazement. “I can’t believe that you knew it was here.”
“It was a lucky guess.” Charlotte crept closer to the boat.
“Do you think we should call Luke and have him take a look?” Ally eyed the boat. It looked old itself, and she wasn’t sure if it had been used in some time.
“Not yet. Right now, all we know is that we found a boat. That doesn’t really mean anything. We have to find something that connects it to the killer. If we call Luke, it’ll draw attention to it, and that might alert the killer. I say we take a look at it ourselves, and maybe we’ll find something interesting.” Charlotte narrowed her eyes. “It’s a bit rough to get through to it, with all of that brush around the dock.”
“Let me go, Mee-Maw.” Ally met her eyes. “I know you’re tough and you can do anything, but just this once let me take a look.”
“Well, someone has to hold on to Arnold, right?” Charlotte shrugged as she smiled. “I guess I’ll keep an eye on you from here. But be careful.”
Ally smiled with relief. “I will.” She crept forward through the brush. She was almost to the dock when she kicked something hard. She stumbled forward and gasped in the same moment.
“Ally?” Charlotte lunged forward. Arnold pulled at his leash.
“I’m okay!” Ally caught her balance just before she would have fallen. “There’s something in the brush. Just a second.” She pulled back the tangled weeds. As she did the sunlight bounced off something metal and shone back into her eyes. She winced, took a step back, then blinked. As her vision cleared she saw what she’d tripped over. At first it looked like a jumble of metal poles, but after she drew back a few more weeds she realized what it was.
“Mee-Maw, it’s a bicycle!” Ally’s heart thumped against her chest as she turned to look at her grandmother. “It’s a bicycle,” she repeated, as her mind began to churn.
Charlotte seemed to be lost in thought as well as she met her granddaughter’s eyes.
Ally began to put things together in her mind. As each piece slid into place, her heart pounded faster. Could it possibly be true? She climbed over the bicycle and leaned across the edge of the boat. There it was. Right there, for anyone to see. A bow and the quiver, with the remaining arrows in it. Hopefully, all Luke would have to do was dust for prints and he would confirm her suspicions. Still, even as everything aligned in her mind, she found it almost impossible to believe.
“Mee-Maw, I’m calling Luke!” Ally reached into her pocket for her phone, but her hands were slippery from the damp weeds, and her phone coasted right across her fingertips. When she heard the splash her stomach twisted. Even if she was able to retrieve it, she knew that it probably wouldn’t be salvageable. As she crouched down in an attempt to grab it, she heard a muffled cry from just behind her. Arnold bolted past her, his leash flapping behind him. She looked up from the pig, in the direction of the cry, and saw her grandmother run.
“Ally! Someone’s shooting!” Charlotte gasped as another arrow whizzed past her and struck the boat Ally stood beside. “Run! Get down!” She ran towards her granddaughter as her heart raced. If anything happened to Ally she would never forgive herself. Instead of running as she told her, Ally began to head straight back towards Charlotte.
“Mee-Maw! Get low! Get low!” Ally screeched and did her best to get to her grandmother as another arrow sailed through the air. She hadn’t been able to call for help. No one was coming to their rescue. There was no way she was going anywhere without her grandmother. However, as she ran towards Charlotte her foot slipped. She hadn’t been paying attention and she had missed the edge of the stream.
“Ally, grab my hand!” Charlotte lunged for her, but Ally had already slipped over the edge. She splashed into the water. Her grandmother tumbled in right behind her.
Chapter 16
The icy water struck Ally’s skin with such force that she gasped and swallowed some of it. What she thought was a shallow stream turned out to be far deeper, and colder, than she expected. She tried to swim towards the edge, but getting through the brush was very difficult. Her foot tangled in some roots and reeds when she tried again. Panic began deep in her stomach, amplified by a rush of air inches from her cheek. Another arrow had flown past her head. She gasped and ducked under the water for a second to hide. However, that only caused her entire body to shudder in reaction to the water temperature.
“Ally! Are you hit?” Charlotte swam through the water after her. She sighed with relief when Ally resurfaced in the water. That relief faded as she realized that she couldn’t feel the bottom of the stream.
Ally was horrified to see that her grandmother was in the water as well. Hot tears flooded her eyes as she realized just how much danger they were in.
Charlotte’s stomach twisted as she became aware that she couldn’t find the bottom of the stream. She was an agile woman, but she hadn’t had to swim in ice cold water in a very long time. It took her breath away and her chest began to tighten both out of fear and exertion.
“Mee-Maw!” Ally turned to swim back towards her. “Who is firing at us? Can you see where they’re firing from?” She sca
nned the edge of the water, but there was no one in view.
“No, I couldn’t see. But I think it might be Anita! That’s her bike in the brush!” She gasped as the icy water lapped at her skin. “I can’t believe it’s true, but it all adds up.”
“Yes, I think so, too. But why? Why would she do this?” Ally wrapped an arm around Charlotte’s waist. “We have to get out of here, Mee-Maw. The water is too cold.” She shivered again. Despite the scorching sun, with the tree cover, the water hadn’t warmed at all. Which meant they didn’t have much time before they were both at risk from exhaustion and eventually hypothermia. She tried to calm herself down, but her breath was short.
“I know, I know, but whoever it is can see us even if we can’t see them. We have to keep moving and ducking, or we might end up being hit by an arrow.” Charlotte shuddered.
“Whoever it is has to run out of arrows some time, right?” Ally scanned the edge of the stream.
“Oh, you poor things! You must be freezing.” Anita’s sing-song voice reached them just before she stepped out of a patch of trees along the river’s edge.
“Anita!” Charlotte gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Taking care of business.” She shrugged. “You see, when I set out today to clean up after myself, I never thought that I’d run into anyone. It’s a hot day, this is an unknown stream, really. I had no idea that I would be greeted by old friends. All I had to do was sink the boat, and toss my bike in the water. Things would have been settled.”
“Settled?” Ally asked.
“Yes, settled. You’re actually quite lucky, you see. This isn’t my bow.” Anita gestured to the bow in her hand. It’s Billy’s. My bow is in the boat, if I had that I wouldn’t have missed.” She chuckled. “I had to use my bow for Josh. I needed to make sure I would make the shot. It’s a shame I had to leave it behind with my favorite bike.” She sighed. “You see I had to leave in a hurry and quietly, so I left my bike here so I could take the path that was more hidden. The one closer to the water. I had a new bike I had been meaning to use for ages. If people noticed that I wasn’t on my bike as usual they might have become suspicious. Anyway, none of that matters. All I wanted to do was clean up. Then once I spotted you, I thought I would have to shoot you both. But it looks like nature will take care of things for me.” She took a breath so deep that her chest puffed up, then fell. “At least it’s a nice day, hmm? A bit hot, though. Too bad none of that heat had a chance to reach the water.” She adjusted the bow on her shoulder.
Ally recognized it as the one from her closet. So, she was right, it was Billy’s bow.
“Anita, help us out of the water, it’s freezing! Please!” Ally tried to push through the brush, but a tangle of roots and weeds threatened to snag her foot.
“Sorry, Ally, I can’t do that. I don’t know what led the two of you to stumble on to my things, but I’m glad that we happened to be here at the same time. Yet another stroke of good luck for me.” Anita shook her head slowly from side to side. “Please don’t think it’s anything against the two of you. I’ve always admired how close you are, and the delicious candy that I get to feast on. But you must understand that you know too much now, and the only chance for me to preserve my freedom, is if you two meet an unfortunate end.”
“Anita!” Charlotte gasped out her name. “How could you do this? Why?” She stared at her as she struggled to keep her head above the icy water. “What did Josh ever do to you?”
“Do?” Anita shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. “Nothing. Poor kid. It wasn’t his fault. Honestly, it was mine. I made a terrible mistake when I was young, and if the truth came out about it, it would ruin my life. I had to make sure that didn’t happen.”
“What mistake?” Ally lingered just beside her grandmother. She watched her closely to be sure she didn’t slip under the water. She knew at this range Anita could easily fire an arrow into either one of them. Trying to escape was not a wise idea. “If we’re going to die for it, we should at least find out why.”
“You want the whole story?” Anita nodded and stepped closer to the edge. “I guess I would, too. I’ll try to make it fast, since you probably don’t have much longer.” She brushed her hair back behind her shoulders and gazed at the sky for a moment before she looked back at the two of them. “My family was not rich. Well, they were once rich, long before I can remember, but the money disappeared. I wanted desperately to be wealthy. I pursued a career as an appraiser of antiques, knowing that it would lead me to rubbing shoulders with rich and influential people. When I first met Karen she had some furniture she needed appraised. She’d been bragging all around town about the amazing find she’d made. She was sure that it was priceless furniture. When she brought them to the company I was working at, for me to appraise, I could tell that they were imitations. But I knew if I told her it would crush her, and cut off our chance for a relationship. So, I lied, I said they were antiques. I even forged my boss’s signature. I verified them and gave her a certificate of authentication. After that, she called me about every antique she found, which led to us being friends.”
“But then they left the furniture to Josh?” Ally’s teeth chattered.
“Yes, when Josh inherited the furniture, I knew it would be a problem. His lawyer would want to have it authenticated again, and of course would not want me to be the one to do it, since I also inherited from the estate. The truth would come out and it would be traced back to me that I forged the signature and falsified the documents. Finally, I was rich again, rich beyond my dreams, but Josh was going to ruin that. I tried to get him to sell me the furniture, but he refused. He said that it meant a lot to him, since it was specifically left to him. He was more willing to part with the property than he was the furniture.”
“So you needed to get the furniture from him?” Ally shivered.
“I tried to convince him the adventure park was a bad idea and not to start a business with Frankie, because I wanted Billy to get the property and the furniture. If they set up a business on the land Billy would have been more reluctant to try to get it and not bother about the furniture. I stirred things up with Billy, so he would try to get the property and the furniture as I knew once Billy got it, I would be able to con him out of it. He’s just not that bright. But Josh was very intelligent, and he refused to be coerced into giving up his inheritance. Then he changed his mind about the business on the morning of the picnic and he decided that he would go through with it after all. Billy decided to drop the lawsuit around the same time. At that point, I realized I only had one choice.”
Anita crouched down near the edge of the water. Ally considered whether she might be able to get to her and pull her in, but she knew the moment she moved a muscle, the woman would fire at her or her grandmother.
“You always had a choice.” Charlotte groaned as her muscles began to contract from the cold. “You could have asked me for help, or anyone else. We wouldn’t have cared that you lied about some old furniture.”
“Sure, you would. All of you would have shunned me, I’m not stupid. I would have lost my good reputation, and Josh could have even sued me for everything I had. No, it wasn’t a risk I could take. I couldn’t risk a lawsuit. You see the will wasn’t finalized, and in the event that Josh was deceased first, everything would be left to me. So, I needed to ensure that Josh was deceased in a timely manner. Of course, I couldn’t have the crime coming back on me, so I decided to deal with another problem in my life at the same time. Billy had started to suspect me, I think, of conning his mother into friendship. So, when I decided to kill Josh, I made sure I used Billy’s bow and arrows. I knew of the stream, and the boat, so I knew I could get in and out of the river without anyone else seeing me.”
“But you gave Billy an alibi? Why would you do that?” Ally stared at her. She tried not to count the seconds in her mind as she clung to her grandmother. Maybe if they were close together they could keep each other warm.
“To keep him on my side
of course. I didn’t want him to go to jail. I just wanted him to owe me something. So, I made up the alibi to give to Luke, and your dimwit of a boyfriend lapped it right up. I told Billy as long as he never said a word against me I would never change my story. Billy didn’t have a leg to stand on without me, it was his arrows, and he had motive to kill Josh.” Anita straightened up as she crossed her arms. “Now that you know the whole story, does it make you feel any better?”
“You’re not going to get away with this, Anita. You need to protect yourself from things getting worse. If you help us now, it will look so much better to the police. You can make a deal.” Ally shoved her foot through the weeds and roots beneath her, but they wouldn’t budge. She felt as if she was trapped in a watery hug. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a trace of warmth in it.
“Not a chance.” Anita laughed, then turned on her heel to walk away.
“Anita! Don’t do this!” Charlotte called out to her, but she continued to walk along the river bank, towards the thick woods ahead. Ally was aware that when Anita disappeared beyond those trees, there would be no one else to hear her cries for help. Her phone was lost somewhere in the water, and her grandmother’s was now waterlogged as well.
“Mee-Maw, we have to get to the edge of the water.” She wrapped her hand tightly around Charlotte’s. “No matter what, don’t let go, okay?”
“Ally, no.” Charlotte’s voice had become thin and exhausted. “There’s no way you can get both of us out of here. You go and call for help.” She gave her granddaughter a light shove and tried to wrestle her hand from her grasp.
“No!” Ally tightened her grip even more. “You look at me right now!” She gazed fiercely into her grandmother’s eyes. “I will never leave you behind. Understand?”
“Yes.” Charlotte sighed. Her body felt so heavy and numb. She was so sleepy, that she imagined sliding under the surface of the water would be the best way to get some rest. But each time the water hit her chin, she woke from her dazed state enough to fight against the tug.