by Cushnie-mansour, Mary M. ; Jamieson, Bethany (EDT); Tanguay, Danielle (EDT)
After an hour of questions, Caroline stood. “You know, I don’t like what you are insinuating, officer. I’m not saying anything more until I have a lawyer present. If you are going to arrest me, then do it.”
Jason’s face turned red. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, Sarah stood. “I think that will be all for now, Caroline. We’ll be in touch. Let’s go, Jason.” Sarah gave her partner a stern look. “We need o go talk to Nathan,” she added.
Caroline saw them to the door. She watched the car speed down the lane, throwing stones everywhere in its haste. “That Officer Jason sure is ticked,” she said to Princess. Caroline climbed the stairs to her room and turned on the computer. “Okay, Ruth; now what?” Caroline began to type…
Ruth was not happy with the turn of events. Who did that police officer think he was, refusing to give her the scoop on the story? After all, she had been the one who had discovered the first two bodies. Come to think of it, he had been a pain in her side ever since he had come to the Precinct and taken over Captain Joe’s position. Ruth really missed Joe. She had never printed anything he told her was off the record, but he had always given her the full scoop.
She slammed her car door shut and sat for a moment before taking off for home. On the way, she had a change of mind and headed for the location where the last body had been found. Maybe she would be able to piece together some information on her own. As she approached the wooded area, she got the uneasy feeling she was being followed. Ruth checked her rearview mirror. Not a car in sight. She shut the engine off and got out of the car. Before entering the woods, she checked up and down the road again…
Caroline’s train of thought was disturbed by the doorbell. She saved her document, shut the computer off, and headed downstairs. When she opened the door, Nathan was standing there. He looked angry.
“Do you know what the police are trying to say, Caroline? They think I killed my grandfather!”
Caroline was shocked. “What did you say to them?”
“Nothin’. That male cop…I can’t even remember his name, I’m so upset…he was badgering me like crazy.”
“Don’t take it too personally; he did the same thing to me. Spent an entire hour here, drilling me about why I killed your grandfather. If I had killed him, why would I have called the police? The guy must be dense!” Caroline’s statement elicited a giggle from Nathan. “Want a pop?” she offered.
“Sure.”
Caroline returned with a pop for Nathan and a glass of wine for herself. She pointed him to one of the Muskoka chairs. “So, why does he think you did it?”
“There were fresh marks on the sand beside my grandfather’s boat, and fresh footprints—mine, of course, because I had the boat out yesterday. I told him that, but it was like he didn’t believe me.”
“When did you have the boat out?”
“After supper for a bit.”
“What time?” Caroline was curious now, wondering if Nathan had been the person she had seen on the lake last night.
Nathan tensed. “I don’t know; after supper.”
“Was it dark?”
“I don’t know—yeah, maybe.”
“You should know whether it was dark or not,” Caroline pushed.
“What difference should it make to you? Gee-whiz, you are as bad as that cop!”
“I saw someone on the lake last night, but I couldn’t tell who it was; nor could I quite see how many people were in the boat. And the boat was heading toward my cottage.”
“What are you saying, Caroline?” Nathan stood. His face was contorted in anger. “Do you think I killed my grandfather and then planted him in your boat house?” He threw the pop can out onto the driveway and the liquid bubbled into the stones. “I’m out of here. I came here ‘cause I thought you were my friend!”
“Nathan,” Caroline reached for his arm, “I’m sorry.”
“You have no idea how sorry you are going to be for this!” he retorted, and before Caroline could say another word, Nathan was running to his boat.
Princess was pawing at the screen door. Caroline opened it for her. “What have I done, kitty? I didn’t mean to accuse Nathan of killing his grandfather, but so many strange things have been happening around here.” She sat down on the chair. Princess jumped onto her lap. “And he was on the lake last night.” The sound of a car drew her attention to the lane. She hoped it was not the police returning to drill her with more questions. If so, should she tell them Nathan had been on the lake last night after dark?
To Caroline’s relief, a red convertible pulled up in front of the porch. Mark Dawson stepped out. “I came as soon as I heard,” he said, bounding up the steps. “Are you okay, Caroline?”
“I’m fine,” she replied.
He studied her for a moment. “You look a tad shaken.” He paused and then pointed to the lake. “Who was that? He looked pretty angry.”
“Nathan, Mr. Malcolm’s grandson. He came here looking for a shoulder and I’m afraid what I gave him was accusations. I didn’t mean to, but he said he was on the lake last night and I saw someone on the lake; I was just trying to get him to tell me what time he was out there so I could rule him out.”
Mark’s face lost its concern. “You saw someone on the lake last night?”
Before she thought about his question, Caroline answered. “Yes, but it was so dark I couldn’t see clearly, and I actually couldn’t tell if there were one or two people in the boat. I just made sure all my doors and windows were locked up and went to bed. Then, around ten o’clock I thought I heard a scream, but I wasn’t going to go outside and check it out.”
“So you didn’t see who it might have been?”
Caroline wondered why Mark was asking that question when she had just told him she had not seen who was in the boat. His eyes were very dark, bringing back memories of someone from long ago, but she still could not put her finger on whom. “I told you, I didn’t see their faces!” she retorted sharply.
“So, there was more than one then?” Mark pushed on.
“Look,” Caroline shouted, “if you came over here to badger me about something that is really none of your business, you should just leave! I’ve had enough for one day! There was another girl found…killed the same as the other two…face severely burned. I found a dead body in my boat house this morning…the police think I killed him…I just about accused his grandson of being the killer…and now here you are pumping questions at me…what’s going on with you? I thought you came over because you were concerned about me? If that is not the real reason you are here, just turn around, get back in your fancy car and leave! And you can forget about our date tomorrow night while you’re at it!”
“Caroline, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean…well, I don’t really know what got into me. I guess I was just worried. When people get worried, sometimes things come out the wrong way. I will be living on this lake pretty soon too and I want to make sure it is safe. My mother and sister will be joining me once I get settled.” Mark reached for Caroline’s hand.
Princess hissed and leapt at Mark. He jumped out of the way, just in time. “What’s wrong with your cat?”
“Princess!” Caroline reached down and scooped her up. “What’s wrong, baby?” Princess was looking at Mark, her ears flat on her head; her tail switching angrily. “She was probably upset that you were yelling at me. You know, Mark, I thank you for coming over and all, but I think we should just call it a day and start over tomorrow. Before you go, though, could you tell me if there are any good lawyers around these parts? The way that one officer was badgering me, I think I might need one.”
“I’ll confer with my secretary, Sally, on who would be the best one, and have her give you a call. I truly am sorry, Caroline.” Mark started down the steps. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six if that is still okay. In the meantime, if anything else out of the ordinary happens, don’t hesitate to call me. Here’s my card; it has my cellphone number.”
“
Just have Sally call me with the lawyer’s name; I’ll still have to think about our date,” Caroline articulated.
“No problem.” Mark got in his car and drove away.
Caroline looked across the lake. Nathan was standing on his porch staring over at her cottage. She turned to go in the house. It was then that she noticed the file she had left out for Mr. Calvin was still there. Why had he not picked it up like he had said he would? Oh well, she would just leave it. He was probably busy. If he really needed it, he would be by. Caroline stepped into the cottage and locked the door.
sleeping again that night. Mark’s face kept flitting in and out of her dreams. One moment it showed concerned; the next moment it was contorted with fury. And then Nathan’s face leered up, and the next thing she saw was Nathan and Mark in a canoe, and Mr. Malcolm was tied up in the bottom. There was blood all over his face! And Nathan and Mark were laughing! And when they got to the boathouse, Mr. Calvin was waiting for them and he patted them both on the back and told them it was a job well done! He had a young, blond girl with him, a file up against her neck. There was a gas can in his hand. The girl looked terrified. And then the phone was ringing…
Princess’s meowing woke Caroline up. The phone was actually ringing. She grabbed the extension by her bed. “Hello.”
“You’re next,” a gritty voice spoke into the receiver.
“Who is this?” Caroline shouted.
The phone went dead. Caroline pushed the talk button. There was no signal. She looked over at her computer. The monitor, which she usually left on, was off. She tried the lamp by her bed. It would not turn on. Caroline felt around in the night table drawer for her emergency matches. She kept a candle in each room. She felt her way over to the desk and located her candle, lit it, and then headed downstairs to find her cellphone. “Stay here, Princess,” Caroline hissed at the cat.
Once in the kitchen, Caroline located her purse and dug around for her cellphone. She turned it on and waited impatiently for the signal. Finally. She dialled 911.
“Emergency Department…how may I direct your call?”
“Police Department…hurry.”
“What is the problem, miss?”
“I think someone is trying to kill me!” Caroline’s voice was hysterical. “Someone called and said I was next and then my lines went dead and my hydro has been cut off and I had to find my cellphone and I need you to get a police car out here right away. I’m at 55 Deerfoot Lane.”
“We’ll dispatch someone as soon as possible, miss. In the meantime, make sure all your doors and windows are locked.”
A loud crash came from the living room. It sounded like breaking glass. “Did you hear that?” Caroline screamed into the phone. “Someone’s in my cottage!”
“Get yourself somewhere safe, miss. As I already said, an officer will be there as soon as possible. I’ll stay on the line with you, so don’t hang up.”
Caroline darted for the basement door and ran down the steps. There was one place she might be safe. The room. As she ran past the traps, she had an idea. She could hear someone moving around upstairs and she quickened her pace.
She closed the door on the room and slunk down to the floor. Her breathing was irregular. “Oh, Ruth; what are we going to do?” Tears ran down Caroline’s cheeks. She looked up at the barred window and thought she saw a shadow cross by.
“Have you dispatched a cruiser yet?” she whispered into the phone. “There is someone in my house. I am hiding in the basement, but it is only a matter of time before they come down here…”
“A car has been dispatched, miss. Just stay quiet; someone will be there soon.”
Caroline fixed her eyes on the window. The moon cast a beam of light into the room. She moved out of its range, crouching in a corner. She could hear the footsteps upstairs. She could hear things being moved and dropped to the floor. She prayed Princess would stay hidden.
at how Caroline had questioned him, but as the day wore away, he realized that she was just scared. He’d had a fight with his grandfather and he had actually decided to leave. Nathan had taken his grandfather’s boat onto the lake with the intention to dump it way down the lake. But, as he had rowed away, he had second thoughts and turned back to the cottage. When he had arrived back, his grandfather was not there anymore, so he figured he had just gone into town for a drink to cool off after their fight. Of course, the next morning, he was told his grandfather had been murdered and the police were treating him as a suspect.
He had been gazing over at Caroline’s cottage when he noticed some movement down by her boat house. Nathan began to worry, so headed to his boat. He paddled across the lake, pulled up on the shore just down from Caroline’s and then walked in the shadows up to the cottage. He heard the window break just as he reached the back of the building. Nathan hid in the bushes next to a basement window. Finally, he gathered the courage to try and get in the house and see if Caroline needed help.
worked hard to keep his real identity from being found out. His mother, Sophie, had promised, but something had gone wrong with her in the past couple of months. She had begun acting strange, just like before the last fire. She had been lucky to get out alive and even more fortunate that no one had seen her going down the fire escape at the back of the house. She had staggered into the woods and he had found her lying by a stream.
They had spent the next two years of their lives putting back together the pieces and she had been doing really well. They had even located his older sister, who had been using a different last name, and she had helped with the rehabilitation. Mark had gone to school and finished a real estate course, and when he had seen the ad in the paper for a real estate agent in cottage country, he had applied. Mr. Donaldson had been quite taken with him and offered him a partnership after four months. It was a huge tragedy and loss for Mark when the old man took ill suddenly and then died. Mark was humbled at having been left the business.
He had been visiting his mother and sister when he received a call from Sally that Caroline had called. Mark had filled his sister in and left immediately. They had actually decided to postpone their move until their mother, who had come down with the flu, got better. Mark had thought his mother had been sleeping, but as he left, he noticed her looking at him. Her eyes had been glazing mad!
Mark was worried now. His sister had called him and said their mother had taken off with the car. Then she informed him she had gone off a few times and every time she returned, she had acted quite strange. She also told him their mother was having nightmares and was calling out names. Mark had recognized those names—they were the girls his mother had kidnapped. His sister said their mother was especially obsessed with two names in particular: Malcolm and Caroline!
Upon hearing that, Mark had jumped in his car and headed to Caroline’s cottage. On the way, he called the police station and requested that a cruiser be sent out to 55 Deerfoot Lane. They told him one had already been dispatched there. His foot pressed down on the gas pedal!
the porch. Someone had broken the window and then opened it to get into the house. He looked around nervously. He could hear a commotion inside. He was no hero, but if Caroline was in trouble, he needed to get in there, especially with all those murdered girls that had been found lately, and his grandfather’s murder. He stepped through the window, dropping lightly to the floor. He wiggled toward an opening across the room and found himself in the kitchen. Nathan noticed a door that was slightly ajar. He stood and darted to it. Pausing a moment at the top of the stairs, he drew in a deep breath and then headed down.
The surprise that met Nathan at the bottom of the stairs sent excruciating pain into his foot. He screamed and fell to the floor. He could faintly hear what he thought was a roar, and then running feet before he passed out.
Caroline heard his scream and smiled. Did she dare to go and see who had broken into her house? Her father’s traps had come in handy after all. She stood from her hiding spot and left the room, walking slowly to the
bottom of the steps where Nathan was laying. His face was riddled with pain. As she knelt beside his body, an eerie feeling curdled in her blood. Suddenly a light from above washed over her. She looked at the top of the stairs, stood, and began to back away—back to the room and safety. She crouched in a corner, wrapping her arms around her legs.
“Caroline! Where are you? Come out, dear, I won’t hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you, Caroline. You were the prettiest of them all, you know. Caroline?”
There was a pause in which Caroline could hear the clicking of footsteps coming closer to the room.
“Caroline, don’t be so difficult. You were difficult then, too, I remember, but I liked that in you. I forgive you, Caroline. I know it wasn’t really you who brought the police to my house. It was that cop, Malcolm. But I’ve finally looked after him. Caroline? Do you want to know how I did him? It was easy for me. He was like mush in my hands, such a needy man. Of course, he was a too large for me to get into the boat by myself, so I had to call on a friend—the same one that helped me with the girls…are you still listening, Caroline?”
The footsteps ceased. The doorknob began to wiggle. Caroline drew in her breath. There was nowhere to run from this mad woman! She was trapped in the room. She looked around to see if there was anything she could use as a weapon.
“I know you’re in there, Caroline. I can hear you breathing. I told you I wouldn’t hurt you. Caroline?”
The door was opening.
“Mother!” A familiar voice rang out and another set of footsteps were fast approaching the room.
“Oh, Mark, I’m so glad you’ve come; Caroline is being difficult.”
“Enough, Mother! This has to stop; you’ve gone too far.”
The sound of an approaching police siren gave Caroline even more hope. She heard a car squeal to a stop and two doors slam. Heavy footsteps thundered overhead as the officers raced into the house.
“Mark, you need to help me get out of here!”
“I can’t do that this time, Mother. You killed those girls and from what I heard as I came down the stairs, you also killed Mr. Malcolm. He was a cop, Mother—you murdered a cop!”