by Nicole Ellis
I stopped short in front of the farmhouse kitchen scene and Desi crashed into me.
“Wh—?” she started to ask, but then stopped when she saw what I was looking at.
Angela lay on the floor with her hands and feet bound and a wad of cotton stuffed in her mouth that looked suspiciously like it was from one of the zombie costumes. Blood poured from a gash in her head and she wasn’t moving.
My eyes widened. What had happened to her?
“Is she dead?” Desi asked.
“I don’t know.” At the very least, Angela was unconscious. At the most, she was … well, I didn’t want to think about that.
“Jill!” Desi said urgently, tugging at my arm. “I saw her breathing.”
I let out the air in my lungs that I didn’t know I’d been holding. Thank goodness.
“We’ve got to get her out of here.” I moved toward her, scanning the kitchen props for something to free Angela from the ropes. I didn’t have a plan for moving an unconscious woman yet, but cutting the ties came first.
Desi picked up a knife from the kitchen counter. It wobbled in the air. “They’re all fake.”
“Yeah, think of the liability we’d have if we used real knives in the haunted house.” I glanced down at Angela. “Although at this point, I’d gladly take on that risk.”
We heard footsteps and rolling wheels behind us. I crossed my fingers that it was Adam looking for us and not whoever had tied up Angela.
“Hide!” Desi said. We scurried around the back of the scenery.
“I hate leaving her out there,” I said under my breath.
She held up a finger to her mouth and hissed, “Shh.”
Through a crack in the boards, we watched as Angela’s husband, Drew, approached the farmhouse kitchen, pulling a cart that I knew Adam’s crew had used when they were building the sets.
Desi and I looked at each. “Drew?” she mouthed. I nodded.
He dragged Angela onto the cart. She still didn’t wake up.
The movement stirred up some construction dust and I sneezed.
He stopped and cocked his head to the side, listening. Before Desi and I could react, he’d rounded the corner and was standing in front of where we crouched on the floor. I instinctively moved backward, closer to Desi, as if he were a mountain lion and making ourselves appear bigger would help.
He sighed. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”
We were too scared to say anything.
He waved a knife at us that didn’t look like it was made of rubber. “Come out here so I can figure out what to do with you.”
Desi and I complied. All the while, I was trying to figure out an escape plan. I knew the farmhouse kitchen was on a dead end in the haunted house, so there wasn’t any other way out than the way we’d come in. I didn’t want to call out for help for fear that Adam could be caught in the same trap. A ribbon of fear shot through me. What if Adam was laying helpless somewhere else in the maze? We had to get out of there.
Reluctantly, we followed him back to the farmhouse kitchen. While the haunted house was in full swing, it was frightening, but now, with only a soft glow trickling in to this scene from the overhead lights, it was terrifying—especially when a madman was waving a knife at us. My eyes darted around, looking for a means of escape, but the only way out was past Drew.
Desi held her hands up in the air. “Just let us go—we won’t tell anyone.”
“Right. You’re as dumb as those other MUM bimbos that Angela likes to order around,” he sneered at her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but I jabbed her in the side.
“Why did you tie Angela up?” I asked.
He cast a disparaging glance at his wife. “She knew too much. I told you that she was always sticking her nose into everything. She found out this morning that Mindy and I were having an affair.”
That explained why Angela seemed so down today, but what about Mindy?
“But you killed Mindy?” This wasn’t making much sense. Why would he have killed his lover?
He sighed. “Mindy wanted me to break things off with Angela. Which I gladly would have done, but everything we owned was tied up in Angela’s trust—the house, the art, the antiques—everything. If I left her I’d get nothing.”
“Ok,” I said slowly. “But then why is Angela tied up now if she already knew?”
“After she put the pieces together today about my affair with Mindy, she told me she wanted a divorce. It caught me off-guard and I wasn’t sure how to proceed. But now I do.” He glanced down at Angela with a gleam in his eyes. “With our prenuptial agreement, I’d lose everything, but if she dies, I’ll inherit everything and nobody will be the wiser.”
Now I knew why Desi’s muddy footprints at Ella’s birthday party had stayed on my mind. When I’d first arrived at Angela and Drew’s house the day that Mindy died, his shoes had been wet. If he’d been telling the truth about not having left the house that day, they would have been dry. Instead, they’d squished down the steps when he’d directed me to the shed.
“Was Angela really embezzling from the MUMs groups?” Desi asked, staring down at Angela’s prone body.
He laughed. “Not that I know of.”
“So where did the forty thousand dollars come from that we found in her office?”
He sneered at Angela again. “She was always paranoid about keeping all of her money in the bank, so she kept some of it in the house, in case of emergencies. When you two discovered it, I knew it was my chance to point a finger at her for Mindy’s murder. She’d told me all about your past sleuthing efforts and I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist hunting for more clues about Angela’s embezzlement.”
My mind was reeling. He’d used us to cast blame on his wife to hide his involvement in the murder. It was a smart move, but it made me mad.
Apparently, it did the same for Desi.
“You used us?” She stared at him with fire in her eyes and took a step forward.
“Uh uh.” He jabbed the knife in her direction. “Stay right there.” He looked at me. “You too. Don’t get any bright ideas.”
I took a step back. “Ok, ok.” How were we going to get out of this? An idea came to me, but I needed a little time to put it into action. I reached into the deep side pocket of my overalls and retrieved a Kleenex. Dabbing my nose, I asked, “What do you plan to do with us?”
He moved the cart with Angela in it, as if contemplating how he’d get all three of us out of there without anyone noticing.
“Just shut up. I’m thinking.” His gaze darted around the farmhouse kitchen.
He didn’t find any weapons either. Desi kept looking at me, her eyes widening, as if to ask me if I had any idea how to get out of this mess. While his back was turned, I winked at her. She smiled almost imperceptibly.
“I guess we’re going to have to do this the hard way.” He grabbed twine out of his pocket and motioned for Desi to kneel and hold her hands out to him.
Desi looked at me and I nodded. “Do what he says.”
Drew looked up at me. “Good girl. This will be easier for all of us if you do what I say.”
He bent down to tie her wrists, putting the knife down just beyond her reach. While he was distracted, I reached into my pocket again and touched a button. Within a few seconds, a machine kicked on. Drew looked at me.
I shrugged. “It’s an old building with a loud furnace.”
He returned to tying Desi’s hands and feet, while still keeping an eye on me.
Thick gray fog shot out from behind the refrigerator façade in the farmhouse kitchen, swirling around Drew and Desi.
“What the …?” He leaned back, coughing. He fumbled in his coat pocket for something. “Did you do that? Turn it off. I’m asthma—”
The rest of his sentence was interrupted by another coughing fit, this time racking his whole body as he fought to breathe. Desi scooted away from him, kicking the knife toward me. I quickly cut through her bindings an
d we backed away.
We hurried around Drew and I grabbed the cart handle, dragging Angela out of the direct path of the fog. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t hurt her, but better safe than sorry. From behind us, I heard a noise, followed quickly by a welcome sight—Adam.
“I heard him threatening you. Are you ok?” He put his arms on my shoulders and looked me up and down. “I’ve called the police. They should be here any minute.”
I nodded.
“I’m fine, too, thanks for asking,” Desi said, mock glaring at her brother.
He sighed and was about to say something back to her, but he noticed Drew on the floor sucking on his inhaler. The fog continued to assail him, rendering him a coughing mess on the floor.
“Here,” I said, handing Adam some twine from the floor. “Use this.”
He grabbed Drew’s feet and then his hands, tying them together but allowing enough range of motion for him to continue to use his inhaler.
“I think you can turn it off now,” he said.
I reached in my pocket and hit the off button on the fog machine’s controller.
The fog dissipated quickly. With the machine turned off, the sound of police sirens was apparent.
“I’ll go get them,” Desi volunteered. She returned a minute later with four police officers in tow.
“She needs medical attention.” I pointed to Angela, still unconscious in the cart. “Her husband hit her over the head with something.”
The police office called for an ambulance. When the EMTs arrived, they rushed Angela away to the hospital. Another ambulance came for Drew, who was still suffering the aftereffects of the fog machine.
When everyone finally left, I checked my cell phone. I had several frantic messages from my parents wondering where I was. I called them back to let them know we’d had an emergency situation at the Boathouse but that we were all ok.
When I hung up, Adam was standing next to me.
“What happened to Angela? Where were you?” I asked. “I was so worried.”
He sighed. “I took the trash out to the dumpster, but the dumb lid was stuck and I had to pry it open. It took me longer than usual and when I returned I heard voices in the haunted house. That’s when I found you.” He put his arms around me and pulled me close. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. How do you and Desi keep getting yourselves involved in these situations?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. They just seem to happen. Maybe the event planning business is more dangerous than you’d think.”
He pressed his lips together and eyed me as though he was about to object. Instead, he just kissed me and held me close. By this time, Tomàs had arrived and I could see Desi receiving the same lecture. This had definitely not been the perfect opening night I’d hoped for.
22
“With any luck, this night will go better than last night,” Desi said. We were both watching as each person in line entered the haunted house. “They look like they’re enjoying it.”
I nodded. “I don’t think it could get much worse.”
As soon as I said that, Nancy Davenport came into view. I ducked behind the counter in the lobby. “I take that back.”
Desi laughed at me. “Still scared of the wicked witch?”
“Haha.” I looked up at her. “Is she gone yet?”
“Yes. She just went in. You’re safe for a few more minutes.”
I groaned. If only she could get lost inside the haunted house.
“I’ll go find Adam. I’m sure he’ll want to show her the kids’ section of the haunted house.” She probably wouldn’t approve of it, but at least he’d tried.
“Anthony said it was awesome,” Desi said. “His words, not mine.”
“Mikey too. Adam somehow made it scary enough but not too scary for little kids.” In all the years we’d been married, I’d never known Adam had such a creative side, but it had really shown through on this project. I’d have to keep it in mind when Mikey came home with all of the projects I knew he’d have when he entered elementary school the next year.
I located Adam and we waited outside on the dock for Nancy to exit the haunted house. She came out alongside her husband and youngest daughter. All of them were smiling. Whoa. Something had actually made Nancy Davenport smile. Had Adam put laughing gas in there today?
Nancy spotted Adam and me standing there and came over to us.
“Adam, that was great. I loved it. I’m so glad you took my suggestion to make a kids’ section.” She looked at me pointedly. “Jill said that you wouldn’t be able to do it this year, but you must be more efficient than her.”
I bit my tongue, but I could feel the anger rising up in my chest, threatening to spill over.
Adam smiled graciously. “Thank you.” He put his arms on my shoulders and started to lead me away. “Jill and I had better get going now. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes here.”
He guided me back to my office. “Better?”
I nodded. “She really gets to me.”
He shrugged. “Nancy does seem to hate you for some reason. What did you do to her?”
“Nothing! I swear.” I sighed. “She’s just a mean witch.”
“Well, you’re going to have to figure out a way to work with her. Mikey will be at that school for another year and, in a few years, Ella might go there. It’s a waste of energy to fight with her for that long.”
I stared at him. He was probably right, but I didn’t know if I was ready to give in to Nancy and play nice.
“I’ll make an effort to be nice to Nancy.”
“Great. Now really, we have work to do.” He grabbed my hand and I followed him back to the haunted house.
“Oh my gosh,” Desi said. “Aren’t they just the most adorable things you’ve ever seen?”
I laughed. We’d hung back at the street and allowed Mikey and Anthony to go up to a house to trick-or-treat on their own. The boys were standing on someone’s front porch in their Halloween costumes, holding out their fat plastic pumpkins so the man at the door could dump candy in the opening. Their eyes were wide as he gave them each four pieces of candy and they thanked him profusely.
Adam and Tomàs stood next to us. My husband wore his Luke costume and he’d convinced me to wear the Leia outfit, so for the first time in a long time, I was wearing a costume on Halloween. I had to admit, it was actually rather fun and I felt like I was a part of the whole Halloween celebration.
Angela, Beth, and Lincoln were running the haunted house on its last night so that I’d be free to go trick-or-treating with the kids. Angela and I were never going to be best friends, but if Beth decided to offer up the Boathouse for the event next year, I had a feeling that things would go better between us. She’d even begrudgingly complimented Adam on his creepy farm designs and asked him if he’d be willing to help with it next year. The state had enough evidence in Mindy’s murder to put Drew away for a long time, and I think she was a little lonely in that big house by herself, because she’d invited our MUMs group for a holiday tea at the end of November.
It seemed crazy to think that Thanksgiving and Christmas would be upon us before we knew it. While Halloween was Adam’s favorite holiday, I loved how Christmas seemed to bring families together. What I didn’t love was the stress that came along with it. Beth and I had sat down yesterday to finalize the Boathouse’s calendar for mid-November through the end of the year and we were booked solid for almost every weeknight and completely sold out for the weekends. I wouldn’t have much time to hang out in front of the Christmas tree eating cookies this year, but on my days off, I planned to make up for lost time by hanging out with Adam and the kids. Nothing was more important than my family.
“Hey,” Desi said, cutting into my daydream about Christmas trees and cookies. “Did Mom tell you that Will and his family are coming to visit for Christmas this year?”
“No, she didn’t mention it.” Will was Adam’s older brother and I hadn’t seen him in a few years. H
e and his wife lived in Phoenix, and due to his job as an in-demand dermatologist, they weren’t able to come and visit their parents much, much to my mother-in-law’s dismay.
“Hmm. She must have forgotten to tell you. I think she spoke to Adam about it.”
“Maybe.” I glanced at Adam. He was reaching for Mikey’s hand to help him cross the street to the next row of houses.
“I told Will that you’d be happy to have them stay with you while they’re here. We just don’t have room for them at our house.” She laughed. “Much as I love our old house, it just isn’t that big.”
I froze. “What?” Will and his wife Tania were rather standoffish and they had three obnoxious kids. My house went through enough having a four-year-old boy living there; I didn’t think there’d be a house left standing if Will and his family came to stay. “I thought they usually stayed with your parents.” I held my breath. I knew they were Adam’s family, but I really didn’t want them staying with us.
“They’re having their house painted in December, remember? Tania can’t be around paint fumes. She says they make her head hurt.”
“Oh.” I stared at Adam and Tomàs, who were now a few houses away, down the street. “I guess that would be ok.”
Desi broke out into laughter. “Gotcha!”
My eyes drilled into her face. “What?”
“I’m joking. They’re coming to visit, but they’ll stay with Mom and Dad.”
“What about the painting?”
“Oh they’re going to put that off until January.” She laughed again. “You should have seen your face.”
“Desi!” I slugged her arm. “That was mean.”
“Hey, that’s my brother you’re talking about.” She danced away from me down the sidewalk.
Immediately, I felt bad. “I just mean …”
“That his kids are horrible?” She gave me an impish grin. “I’m in complete agreement. But they’re my nieces and I still love them. Besides, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen them. Maybe they’ve improved.”