The Body Thief

by Stephen M. Giles

  As Isabella stomped down the wide corridor, her blood was boiling. How dare they cut her out? She was family, after all.

  Isabella stalked toward the storeroom door and threw it open. Inside the dimly lit room she was confronted by Adele’s terrified eyes blinking back at her.

  “Isabella, you scared me!” said Adele, her voice shaking. She was holding a large book in one hand and a lantern in the other. “I thought you were—”

  “Uncle Silas?” interrupted Isabella. “I know what you are up to, cousin. You and that homicidal orphan are trying to steal Uncle Silas’s hidden treasures—I’m ashamed of you both!” She looked around. “Where is your partner in crime?”

  “Put a sock in it, Isabella,” snapped Adele as she shut the storeroom door. “The only thief in this house is you.”

  Isabella gasped. “Me? How dare you! I am not a thief!”

  “Of course you are,” said Adele matter-of-factly. “But that’s not important right now. Uncle Silas is going to hurt Milo and I’m certain it’s connected to what Dr. Mangrove is building in the basement. That’s why we have to find a way in.”

  Isabella frowned. “What do you mean, hurt Milo?”

  “I’m not exactly sure,” admitted Adele. “I just know that Dr. Mangrove has all these twisted theories, and Uncle Silas brought him here for a reason. Milo is locked in his room, and they won’t let me see him. Something is very wrong, Isabella.”

  “Cousin, do I look stupid to you?” she said sharply. “The truth is, you are looking for Uncle Silas’s pile of gold, and you’re trying to cut me out. Well, it’s not going to—”

  “Please, Isabella, just for a moment try not to be such a brat!”

  Isabella’s mouth fell open, but amazingly she did not speak.

  “This isn’t about money or treasure or who will inherit Uncle Silas’s fortune,” said Adele sternly. “It’s about something dark and awful happening underneath our feet. Milo needs our help, and we are going to give it to him.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you, cousin?” said Isabella slowly. “Milo’s really in trouble?”

  “I think we all are,” whispered Adele, “and that’s why we have to find out what’s going on in the basement.” She handed the book to Isabella. “The blueprints clearly show that the only entrance to the basement is in this room. But so far, I can’t find any sign of it.”

  Isabella glanced at the faded yellow pages. They showed a labyrinth of tunnels underneath the mansion and a set of stairs located in the southern corner of the storeroom. But if they had been there once, they certainly weren’t there any longer.

  “It doesn’t make sense,” said Isabella, glancing around the cluttered room stacked with crates and overstuffed boxes. “How does an entrance just disappear?”

  Adele held a finger to her lips. “Shh!”

  A scraping sound, like a box being pulled along the ground, was coming from a darkened corner of the room. Isabella froze. Trembling, Adele stepped forward, holding the lantern out in front of her. The storeroom fell quiet again.

  Adele let out a sigh of relief. “Probably just a mouse.”

  “A mouse?” said Isabella, looking terrified.

  Then he emerged from the darkness into the lantern’s warm glow. He was grinning.

  “Looking for something, children?”

  Isabella screamed.

  “Uncle Silas! No, we weren’t looking for anything,” she said nervously. “Adele and I were just…playing hide-and-seek. It’s such fun, isn’t it, cousin?”

  “No,” said Adele firmly. She did her best to swallow the fear rising in her throat. “We were looking for a way into the basement.”

  “Were you indeed?” said Silas coolly.

  Adele nodded. “You see, we know what’s going on down there.” It was a lie, but Adele was desperate. If she could make Uncle Silas believe that they already knew what he was planning, then perhaps he might reveal what was really going on. “We know all about Dr. Mangrove and his building project. We know everything, Uncle Silas.”

  “Excellent work, Adele,” he sneered, his dark eyes sparkling with pure hatred. “You have no idea how much I want to believe you, but alas, I cannot. The truth is, child, if you really knew what was going on in the basement you would not be looking for a way down.” He shook his head, his eyes never leaving her. “You would be running far, far away.”

  Suddenly Isabella exploded into a loud laugh. “Oh, dear—Adele’s lost her mind! I blame all those books she reads.” Slowly stepping back, Isabella began edging toward the door. “Don’t worry, Uncle; I don’t believe any of it. Adele is just confused, that is all. I suggest you have her locked up in an asylum until she sees sense. That seems fair, don’t you think?”

  Swiftly Silas moved his chair forward, blocking the doorway. Isabella screamed, jumping back.

  “Don’t be in such a rush, child,” said Silas coolly. “Let us bond for a while—that’s what families do, is it not? Perhaps we could start by discussing the stolen property my security staff discovered in Adele’s closet a short time ago.”

  Adele gasped. “What…stolen property?”

  “Tell her, Isabella,” said Silas softly. “Tell her what you did.”

  But Isabella could not speak. In fact, she could not even look at her cousin.

  “Isabella?” said Adele, confused. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  “Valuable items have been steadily disappearing from the house,” explained Silas. “Isabella discovered the identity of the thief and bravely brought that information to me. This evening while you were at dinner, Adele, all of the missing items were located in your closet.” He rubbed at his pale lips. “Naturally, I will have to alert the police.”

  “But I didn’t do it,” declared Adele, looking at her cousin with a mixture of hurt and fury. “Tell him, Isabella! I never stole anything! I wouldn’t!”

  “Oh?” said Silas. “Then who did?”

  “Well…I can’t say.” She closed her eyes. “I mean, I don’t know.”

  “What a shame,” said Silas. “You are sure to be Ratchet’s House newest inmate now.”

  “Ratchet’s House?” said Isabella anxiously.

  “It is a place where unwanted children are locked away,” explained Silas triumphantly. “That is where your cousin is to be sent when she returns to Tipping Point empty-handed. Isn’t that so, Adele?”

  Adele found herself nodding.

  As she watched her cousin, Isabella’s face grew pale. Adele was going to be locked away? No, surely not! Who would do such a thing to their own daughter?

  “So, Adele,” said Silas softly, “I will ask you one more time—if you are not the thief, then who is?”

  Exposing Isabella as the real thief would be simple, but Adele knew that if she did that then in some strange way Silas would have won. He thrived on dividing people, turning one person against the other, breeding hatred. But today he would not have his victory. Adele would not give it to him.

  “I could tell you, Uncle Silas,” she replied honestly, “but I’m not going to.”

  Silas regarded her coldly. “Foolish child.”

  An uncomfortable sensation stirred and shook Isabella and she did not like it one bit. Adele was covering for her; sacrificing her freedom to protect the very person who had set her up. Isabella gasped. It reached out and up, and she could not stop it.

  “Then I will send for the police immediately,” she heard Silas announce.

  “Wait!” cried Isabella. “I was wrong. It wasn’t Adele who stole from you…it was Mrs. Hammer.”

  “Mrs. Hammer?” Silas looked delighted.

  “Isabella,” said Adele anxiously, “what are you doing?”

  “That’s right, Mrs. Hammer,” said Isabella quickly. “The poor dear can’t help herself; she steals anything that isn’t n
ailed to the floor. I caught her red-handed lifting the silverware and she started crying like a baby, begging me not to say anything. I guess I felt sorry for her—she’s so old and unattractive. I’m sorry I lied about Adele, it was a dreadful thing to do.”

  “This is a surprise,” said Silas with a dark grin. “Mrs. Hammer has been such a faithful servant these last forty years. I shall send for her now and force a confession. Of course, we will have to lock her up until the police arrive.”

  “Is that really necessary, Uncle?” said Isabella, gulping. “I gave the old bat a very stern talking-to and she promised to never do it again. I think it would be far more sensible to just drop the whole thing and pretend it never happened. Don’t you agree, Uncle?”

  “No,” said Silas coldly, his grin slipping away. “I do not. Her life as a free woman ends today. With your testimony, Isabella, I will make sure that Mrs. Hammer is locked away until her dying day.”

  “You can’t do that.” Isabella lowered her head and the soft groan that escaped from her mouth was the sound of surrender. “Mrs. Hammer didn’t steal from you,” she said slowly. “Neither did Adele. It was me. I’m the one.”

  Silas closed his eyes and laughed softly.

  “Well, of course you are,” he told her. “You are a thief just as your father is—I knew that before you set foot on Sommerset. You befriend wealthy girls, get yourself invited to their homes, and then steal from them. That is your modus operandi, is it not?”

  As Silas spoke, Isabella felt like he had cut her open and exposed her soul to the whole world. The shame washed across her face in a river of deep crimson.

  “You are a fraud, Isabella Winterbottom,” declared Silas. “A common criminal; little more than a glorified pickpocket. And that is all you ever will be.”

  “That’s not true!” shouted Adele, stepping forward to challenge her uncle. “Isabella may be a thief and a two-faced liar and a stuck-up princess, but when it really mattered, she told the truth.” She turned and looked at her cousin. “If you ask me, that counts for something.”

  Despite the fact that her cousin had just called her a variety of unpleasant names, Isabella smiled. “Thank you, cousin.”

  “Family unity,” said Silas with a disappointed sigh. “How very dull.”

  “Enough!” Adele shouted angrily at her uncle. “You’re just trying to distract us, and it won’t work. We know you are hiding something down in the basement, and we won’t leave this room until you show us what it is!” She folded her arms and stared directly at her uncle. “I mean it, Uncle Silas. Show us what you are hiding…or else.”

  “Take us to the basement, you revolting old bag of bones!” declared Isabella, stamping her foot for added effect.

  Silas smiled thinly.

  “As you wish.”

  Reaching into his coat pocket, Silas grasped a small remote control and pushed on it. Immediately the stone floor beneath Adele and Isabella fell away, and before they were aware what was happening, the two girls dropped through the trapdoor, swallowed into darkness.

  21

  The Departed

  Milo was up before the sun. Although his cuts and bruises still hurt, he felt a great deal better after such a long sleep. With Bingle snoring loudly in the armchair by the window, Milo dressed quietly, careful not to wake him. When he was done he tucked his crutches under his arms and headed straight for Adele’s bedroom.

  He wanted to know if she had made any progress regarding Dr. Mangrove.

  Milo knocked on her door. No answer. He knocked again and entered.

  “Adele, you awake yet?”

  The room was empty. Completely empty. Adele’s clothes, her books…everything was gone. Apart from the bed and an armchair, the bedroom was bare.

  It made no sense. Milo’s pulse quickened.

  Hopping down the corridor, he threw open Isabella’s bedroom door.

  Empty.

  The cold hand of fear wrapped its claws around his heart.

  His cousins had vanished without a trace.

  ***

  Mrs. Hammer walked quickly across the second-floor landing wearing a deep scowl. She hated sneaking about, but what choice did she have? When an old friend asks you for a favor…well, you do what you can to help. Besides, the master would not be awake yet, so she was safe enough.

  Turning toward the east wing, the old housekeeper nearly jumped out of her skin when Silas appeared from behind a large marble column.

  “Sir!” she gasped, clutching her chest. “Oh, dear! You startled me.”

  “How unfortunate,” said Silas, his dark eyes staring intently at her. He pointed to a piece of paper clutched in her right hand. “What have you got there, Mrs. Hammer?”

  “Oh…this? Well it’s…it’s a note, sir,” she told him. “Just a note.”

  “Who is the note for, Mrs. Hammer?”

  “Well… ” She hesitated. “It’s for Master Milo, sir.”

  Silas put out his bony hand. “Give it to me.”

  Dutifully Mrs. Hammer handed over the note, and Silas opened it carefully.

  Milo,

  Meet me by the cottage, tomorrow morning at sunrise. I reckon it’s time you knew the truth about your uncle.

  Moses

  Silas folded the note and slipped it into his pocket. “I will see that my nephew gets it, Mrs. Hammer. You may go back to the kitchen. Oh, and, Mrs. Hammer—if you value your position here at Sommerset, keep your distance from Moses. The old man is deranged.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Just a moment, Mrs. Hammer,” called Silas, waving her back. “Send someone down to the orchard to fetch Knox. Tell him to meet me in my study at noon. I have a job for him.”

  Mrs. Hammer nodded and walked swiftly to the stairs. She was in such a hurry to get away she did not notice Milo storming along the western corridor with a look of thunder in his eyes.

  “Where are they, Uncle Silas?” the boy demanded, hopping toward his uncle as fast as his crutches would take him. “What have you done with my cousins?”

  “Ah, yes, your cousins,” said Silas calmly. “They are gone, Milo. They left last night while you were sleeping.”

  “Left?” Milo did not try to hide his fury. “I don’t believe you!”

  “You don’t? Well, that is the truth, child, whether you believe it or not.” Silas moved along the landing, then stopped, turning back to face his nephew. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to tell you this,” he said. “But your cousins were stealing from me. Yes, that’s right—stealing. I discovered their crimes and confronted them. They confessed everything.”

  “Adele wouldn’t steal,” declared Milo firmly. “You’re lying, Uncle Silas. I know you are. Where are they? Now tell me where they are!”

  Silas sighed wearily. “Do you know why Isabella and Adele came to Sommerset? They came for my fortune, Milo. I don’t blame them, of course; their parents are vultures. However, once I was alerted to the stealing, I had no choice but to ask them to leave. I chose not to call the police.” Silas smiled thinly. “Returning to their parents is punishment enough.”

  “It makes no sense,” said Milo, shaking his head. “Adele wouldn’t have left without talking to me first. She wouldn’t have.”

  Silas laughed softly, his pallid face buckling in a wave of creases.

  “What do you think I’ve done with them, Milo?” he said softly. “Locked them away somewhere? Come now, do you really think me capable of harming my own nieces?” He reached out for his nephew’s hand, but the boy pulled away. “I’m not a monster, Milo. Just a sick old man trying to do what is right. Look, you can phone your cousins tomorrow and see that they have arrived home safely. Now that’s fair, isn’t it?”

  Milo looked down at his hands. He wanted to cry but stopped himself. Adele and Isabella needed him, and he wasn’t going to let them dow
n.

  “Yes, Uncle,” he said, nodding his head, “that’s fair.”

  ***

  Deep under Sommerset House a labyrinth of tunnels spread out like a spiderweb. Down there, the chilled air had the pungent stench of rotting fish. The walls were damp and a small stream of water trickled along the tunnel floor on a carpet of silky moss.

  The prisoners were being held in a remote tunnel under the east wing.

  “This is just great,” groaned Isabella, yanking on her chains. “I thought Uncle Silas’s basement was supposed to be full of gold and jewels and priceless treasures. The only priceless thing down here is me!”

  The girls were secured to the floor by a thick chain connected to leather straps clasped around their wrists. They stood side by side midway along an enormous stretch of tunnel that narrowed to a hazy ball of dim light at the far end.

  “Uncle Silas is going to pay for this!” shrieked Isabella. “My father will be furious when he finds out what that horrid man has done to me! Oh, cousin, my arms hurt, and this smell. If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to throw up!”

  Adele said nothing. She had barely spoken since waking up on the tunnel floor, chained like an animal. Her mind was a tangle of muddy thoughts, churning like a mixing bowl. Had anyone discovered they were missing yet? Was Milo okay? Was he even alive?

  “How much longer are we going to be stuck down here?” whined Isabella. “He can’t keep us chained up forever.” She looked at her cousin, seeking a little reassurance. “He can’t, can he, cousin?”

  “I don’t know,” answered Adele. “I really don’t.”

  Suddenly the tunnel went black. Then a flicker of light began to break the darkness like a torch being switched on and off. Both girls looked down the tunnel and saw the unmistakable silhouette of their uncle moving steadily toward them. He had a box on his lap and was tossing large pieces of raw chicken and water buffalo along the tunnel floor as he went.

  “What on earth is he doing?” said Isabella nervously.