Secrets Can Be Deadly
Page 15
“You…you killed my mother.” Mason glanced at Sophia. She was crying.
“So, big brother. How much do you love daddy now?” Sam said. “Guess it’s in the genes. Like father, like daughter. Well, okay, maybe I’ve killed a few more people. They were all liars. Kept secrets.”
“Tell me about the others.” Mason was stalling. He needed more time.
“You really want me to tell you?” Sam paused. “Okay. Why not—you’ll never see me after today. I’m going to disappear.”
“Yes, I want to know…everything.”
“Grandfather used to bring me out to this barn for beatings. Five horsewhips hung on the wall. Each trip the barn, I had to choose which whip he’d use on me. That’s my childhood.” Sam looked at Mason with disgust. “I learned to do what Grandfather told me. Whether I wanted to do it or not. It was better than a beating. I was going to leave the day I got my high school diploma, but Grandfather fell off the roof. After he came home, we had an argument. I won, Grandfather died.”
“Grandfather was your first kill?” Mason asked.
“Well, technically, grandmother was. Grandfather put powder in her tea and I’d give the tea to Grandmother. I didn’t realize for years what that stuff did.” Sam stopped to adjust the ropes. “I thought I was happy living with Harold and Connie. That is until the day I found out they were going to leave me.”
“Kenneth and Mae were so gullible,” Sam snickered. “They never had a clue what was going to happen. Then there was Mark. He cheated Grandfather out of the family business and family money. I did feel sorry for Lisa. She didn’t deserve to die, but she was part of the liars’ group. You understand. Right, Mace?”
“You killed our family,” Mason said.
“And daddy killed our mother.”
Sam glanced at Sophia, then Walter, adjusting the ropes. She looked directly at Mason. “Who is it going to be? Save Sophia, the woman you love, or daddy? I’m going to jump off this stack of hay bales and hang them. Ready?”
“Wait!” Mason shouted. “First, tell me why you played this game with me? Why didn’t you try to kill me?”
“It was fun.” Sam smiled. “I didn’t kill you because you never lied to me. Bye, big brother.”
Sam jumped off the bales of hay, untied the ropes from her waist, and tied them to a ring in the floor. She didn’t stay to see which one Mason would save. Sam went out the window and onto the roof into the back of a pickup truck Frank had parked there earlier in the day. She quickly drove through the field to the road.
Sam left the truck in a grocery store parking lot in Maquoketa and walked two miles to the motel room. The DO NOT DISTURB sign still hung on the doorknob. She unlocked the door and looked inside. The maid had obeyed the sign. The bed was unmade. She’d missed lunch. Sam walked to Kentucky Fried Chicken and bought a two-piece meal.
Sam ate on the bed, watching TV. She wanted to know which one Mason saved. Probably Sophia, she thought.
Nothing on the five o’clock news. Sam thought for sure the story would make headlines. At five forty-five there was a breaking news alert. Delmar scene of tragedy. Details at six. Sam was giddy with excitement. She waited anxiously for the six o’clock news.
Good evening. I’m Dan Ransom. We have a breaking story out of Delmar. Reporting live from the scene is Rebecca Chandler. I’m standing in front of a barn that was a scene of an attempted double murder. Samantha Pierce, seen here in this picture, attempted to kill two people late this morning. Both are in critical condition at Jackson County Regional Health Center. The suspect has not been apprehended. Samantha Pierce is considered armed and dangerous. If you see this woman, please call the Maquoketa Police Department. Reporting live, Rebecca Chandler.
“How could that be? There’s no way Mason could have saved them both. I had the perfect plan. One or both of them were supposed to die.” Sam screamed. This is not what was supposed to happen.
A knock. Sam jumped off the bed and looked out the peephole. “Who is it?”
“You okay? I heard a scream.” A man in a white shirt and tattered jeans stood at the door.
“Sorry. Saw a cockroach. They freak me out.”
“Call the front desk. Make them pay for your stay.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Sam’s heart was pounding. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Only one other person knew her in this wig and he wasn’t smart enough to figure out the connection. Taking the wig from Connie had come in handy. The picture they showed on TV didn’t look like her now.
What could have gone wrong? Sam paced. Maybe the rope was bad and it broke from the weight. Maybe Mason untied the ropes. Sam decided she’d walk the mile to the hospital.
Sam sat on the bus bench across from the hospital. She watched the nurses walk in and out. Several police cars lined the front entrance, but no officers in sight. A nurse walked across the street, sat on the bench and set her purse down.
“Excuse me,” Sam said. “Do you like working at the hospital?”
“Yes.” The woman gave Sam a strange look.
“I have a job interview in the morning. That’s why I was asking. I’m from out of town and came by tonight to check things out.”
“Some of the doctors don’t have the best bedside manners. There are some top-notch nurses.” The woman kept looking down the street as though she was willing the bus to arrive quicker.
“What floor are the critical patients on?”
“Second floor, east wing. I work in pediatrics. They’re on third, west wing.” The woman looked at her watch, then down the street.
“Are there always police cars out front?”
“There was an attempted murder. The hospital was buzzing all afternoon.” A bus pulled up. “Are you getting on?”
“No. I’ll take the next one,” Sam said.
Sam walked back to the motel and turned on the TV. It was time for the news.
An update to our breaking news story at six. Reporting live from the Jackson County Regional Health Center is Rebecca Chandler. Tonight, two people are fighting for their lives after Samantha Pierce, seen here in this photo, tried to kill them. The suspect is the daughter of the man in critical condition. Apparently, a family dispute led to this tragedy. Samantha Pierce is still at large, and considered armed and dangerous. If you see her, please call the Maquoketa Police Department.
They were both still alive. Sam thought she’d be on her way to Florida in the morning. Instead, she’d be killing her father. He needed to die. She’d have to make another plan.
54 Friday, March 14, 1980
Sam put on the blonde wig she’d taken from Connie and the white lab coat taken from the nursing home in Sheldon. She was ready for the final chapter.
She was glad the woman at the bus stop had been preoccupied with time because it made it easy to steal the hospital badge clipped to her purse. The woman wouldn’t miss it until she got to work in the morning and by that time, Sam would be long gone.
Sam arrived at the hospital at four in the morning. No police cars—a good sign.
She walked in the front door. A few people were sleeping in chairs in the waiting room, an elderly man reading the Bible. She picked up a Better Homes and Garden and walked to the elevator, pushed the UP arrow. If anyone came out of the elevator, she’d pretend to be reading so she wouldn’t have to make eye contact. Luckily, the elevator was empty.
Sam got off on the second floor. She walked to the nurse’s station, where a doctor was writing on a chart. Sam noticed a large white board listing each patient’s name, room number, and assigned doctor. Walter Pierce—202. Sophia Knox—210. Three other patients were admitted on this floor.
“Are you assigned to this floor?” the doctor said sharply.
“Yes,” Sam said.
“Where have you been?” The doctor glanced at the magazine. “Decided to take a little break, did you? Where’s Rochelle?”
Sam remembered what the woman at the bus stop had said about doctors
with no bedside manner.
“She’s supposed to be here. What can I do for you?” Sam walked behind the counter.
“Mr. Pierce in 202 needs his IV replaced. I noted it in the chart. Please do it, stat.” The doctor handed Sam the chart. “Page me if his condition worsens.”
The doctor walked around the corner. Sam heard the bell of the elevator and footsteps. She waited until she heard the second bell. The doctor was no longer on the second floor.
Sam walked in room 202 where her daddy was lying in bed. He had a tube in his throat and an IV needle in his left arm. She took a needle out of her pocket.
Sam leaned down and whispered in his ear, “You should have died a long time ago.”
She inserted the needle in his arm. “Nighty night, Daddy.”
“Bravo, bravo,” Mason said as he clapped his hands. “You’ve made my job of arresting you for murder easy.”
“You’re not even going to try to save him?” Sam was bewildered.
“He died yesterday at the barn,” Mason said solemnly.
Sam smiled. “So you’ve decided to follow the family tradition.”
“I had to lie to get you to come to the hospital,” Mason said. “Nice wig.”
“You lied to me. You know this means I have to kill you.”
Sam still had Mason’s service revolver. She felt it in her pants pocket.
Sam pulled the gun out, aimed it at Mason. Her right shoulder jerked backward, then her chest burned. She tumbled backward against the wall. She looked down and saw blood, slid to the floor.
Sam looked at Mason one last time. He was holding a gun in his hand. The last words she heard were I’m sorry, Sis.
55 Thursday, March 20, 1980
Ten of Mason’s closest friends came to celebrate his dad’s life. “First, thanks for being at my dad’s funeral yesterday,” Mason said. “And secondly, thanks for coming over tonight. You’ve probably read articles in the paper, but I want to tell you the story in my own words.”
“When I was ten, my dad told me my sister and mom died in a car accident. That was a lie. At the same time, my mom thought my dad and I’d been killed in a house fire. Another lie. My mom somehow found my dad in Sheldon and there was a fight. My dad killed my mom and buried her in a country field.
My sister grew up with our grandparents, who apparently were not nice people. My sister found all the secrets our relatives had kept throughout the years and killed them…grandfather…Harold and Connie…Kenneth and Mae…Mark and Lisa.
Samantha came to Sheldon to kill my dad. It is true she tried to hang both my dad and Sophia. My dad actually died of a heart attack. I saw his face when it happened. I knew he was gone before he was hanged. As soon as my sister jumped off the hay bales, I ran to save Sophia.
Note to everyone here…always keep a Swiss army knife taped underneath your passenger seat. No one ever thinks to look there for weapons. I was able to cut the rope before any harm came to Sophia. I took Sophia to the hospital right away and then got the Maquoketa police department involved.
It was my idea to run the story that my dad had survived. It was the only way I knew I could catch my sister. And she fell for it. She came to dad’s room to kill him, pulled a gun on me. I had to kill my sister. Secrets in my family hurt a lot of people. I make a promise today never to lie to anyone, especially Sophia.” Mason took Sophia’s hand and kissed it gently.
The room erupted in applause.
“Quiet, quiet,” Mason said. “I have one more thing to share with you. I asked Sophia a very important question last night and she said yes. We’re flying to Las Vegas tomorrow and getting married.”
Cheers and chants. Sophia’s friends circled around her and shrieked gleefully.
“We’ll have a formal reception in a few months. And yes, you’re all invited.”
“Better have a few kegs of beer,” Carl said.
“Always thinking about yourself, aren’t you?” Mason chuckled. “No wonder you’re still single.”
“Can we talk in private a minute?” Carl whispered.
“Sure.” Mason said. They walked outside.
“I had no idea Katrina was your sister.”
“I know. She was very good at deceiving people. She dated you so she could get information on me.”
“How’d you figure it out?”
“It was like putting a puzzle together. The fake flower soda glass arrangement found at a break-in, the note in Sophia’s purse. When Samantha wore the blonde wig at the hospital, the pieces came together.”
“I’m sorry, Mace.”
“Me too, Carl.”
Sophia helped Mason clean up the mess after the guests left.
“You know. This time tomorrow night we’ll be husband and wife.” Mason smiled at Sophia.
“No secrets. No lies. Ever,” she said.
Mason held Sophia tight. Thunder rumbled in the distance. A storm was brewing.
Family Tree
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nancy Roe is a Midwest farm girl at heart.
She currently lives in Tennessee with
her husband and four-legged child.
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Map of Iowa
1 Tuesday, January 16, 1968 (Sam)
2Wednesday, January 16, 1980 (Mason)
3Wednesday, January 17, 1968 (Sam)
4Thursday, January 17, 1980 (Mason)
5Monday, January 13, 1975 (Sam)
6Friday, January 18, 1980 (Mason)
7Thursday, January 13, 1977 (Sam)
8 Monday, January 21, 1980 (Mason)
9Sunday, May 22, 1977 (Sam)
10Saturday, January 26, 1980 (Mason)
11Monday, May 23, 1977 (Sam)
12Sunday, January 27, 1980 (Mason)
13 Tuesday, May 24, 1977 (Sam)
14 Friday, February 1, 1980 (Mason)
15Friday, May 27, 1977 (Sam)
16Saturday, February 2, 1980 (Mason)
17Friday, June 3, 1977 (Sam)
18Monday, February 4, 1980 (Mason)
19Saturday, June 4, 1977 (Sam)
20Thursday, February 7, 1980 (Mason)
21Sunday, December 25, 1977 (Sam)
22 Friday, February 8, 1980 (Mason)
23 Friday, January 13, 1978 (Sam)
24Tuesday, February 12, 1980 (Mason)
25Friday, May 25, 1979 (Sam)
26Friday, February 22, 1980 (Mason)
27Monday, June 4, 1979 (Sam)
28Saturday, February 23, 1980 (Mason)
29Monday, August 6, 1979 (Sam)
30 Wednesday, February 27, 1980 (Mason)
31 Tuesday, August 7, 1979 (Sam)
32 Thursday, February 28, 1980 (Mason)
33 Wednesday, August 8, 1979 (Sam)
34 Friday, February 29, 1980 (Mason)
35 Thursday, August 9, 1979 (Sam)
36 Saturday, March 1, 1980 (Mason)
37 Monday, August 20, 1979 (Sam)
38 Sunday, March 2, 1980 (Mason)
39 Friday, December 7, 1979 (Sam)
40 Thursday, March 6, 1980 (Mason)
41December 14, 1979 (Sam)
42 Friday, March 7, 1980 (Mason)
43 Friday, January 4, 1980 (Sam)
44 Saturday, March 8, 1980 (Mason)
45 Saturday, January 12, 1980 (Sam)
46 Sunday, March 9, 1980 (Mason)
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47 Saturday, January 26, 1980 (Sam)
48Monday, March 10, 1980 (Mason)
49Tuesday, March 11, 1980 (Sam)
50 Tuesday, March 11, 1980 (Mason)
51Wednesday, March 12, 1980 (Sam)
52Wednesday, March 12, 1980 (Mason)
53Thursday, March 13, 1980
54 Friday, March 14, 1980
55Thursday, March 20, 1980
Family Tree
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Other books by Nancy Roe: