by John Mathews
Tammy swallowed hard and sounded on edge. “And? Is my husband dead?”
“Mrs. Worthington, I don’t know how to tell you this. Nobody could have survived a fall like that. But when they looked inside the car, it was completely empty. We have a car identified that was in a terrible accident, but there’s no body.”
FOUR
Tensing her body, Tammy leaned forward, staring at the cell phone in astonishment. She had a morbid, sinking feeling, and her heart was racing. It took her a lot of effort just to breathe in the cold, smoke-filled air. What on Earth is going on here, she thought, and why the hell is everything going so wrong. She spoke with trepidation into the cell phone. “How the hell can a car go over a cliff with nobody in the damn thing? Where then is my husband?”
“Ma’am, I don’t have any further explanation at this time. All I can tell you is that with the rate the snow is falling right now, we won’t be able to dig that car out until the weather changes.”
“But then he must have been thrown from the car somewhere before it crashed. Could he be buried in the snow? Did you call the hotel and restaurant down the road from here? Maybe he’s there and can’t get through to me! I need to know where in the hell he is.”
“We’re doing our best and making plenty of inquiries. Do you have supplies in your cabin?”
“I have some food and water. I already dang well told you that the heat is out! I lit a fire in the fireplace this morning and nearly died from inhaling smoke. Can you frickin’ understand that?”
“Yes, I can understand everything. Our trucks can’t easily get that far up the mountain. My best advice for now is to stay inside the cabin and use blankets and extra clothing to keep warm. What is most important is that you stay safe, right where you are, and not panic. We’ll locate your husband, Mrs. Worthington.”
Tammy ended the call abruptly and hurled the cell phone at the sofa cushion. Then she lay on the living room floor with her head pressed against her hands. She felt a bolt of pain shoot up her spine and made every attempt to calm herself and avoid one of her paralyzing headache spells. She was completely frazzled and wanted some answers.
After a few minutes she walked into Maria’s room. Maria was wrapped in blankets and seated near the window. “Are you warm enough and breathing ok?”
“I guess so. But who was that calling you? Was it dad?”
“No, honey, it was the police calling me back. They’re looking around for his car. I’m sure we’ll know more in a little while.” Tammy sounded anxious. “I need to clean things up in the rest of the cabin. Why don’t you go outside and play in the snow. After all, that’s what you’ve been waiting to do, right? We can keep this window open while you’re outside until the rest of the smoke clears out of the room.”
Maria nodded. She put her winter boots, jacket, and gloves on. Then she headed out the front door to explore.
Tammy closed the door behind her. She went into the master bedroom and took a separate prepaid phone from inside her suitcase. Then she called Stephen’s attorney, Tom Murphy. “Tom, it’s me! Can you hear me?”
“Tammy, yes. Is everything finished as we had planned?”
Tammy took a deep breath to calm her trembling voice before responding to Tom on the private cell phone. “No, there have been some problems. I called the police department. The accident went right as we’d planned it. But when they found the car, Stephen wasn’t inside it! Can you friggin’ believe that? I mean the car crashed at the base of the mountain, just the way it was supposed to, and he is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the heat in the cabin went out and it’s freezing up here. So I lit a fire in the fireplace only to have the damper close shut on me and nearly smoke the whole dang place out…”
“Ok Tammy, calm down. Let’s talk this through.” Tom spoke in a comforting tone. “So you are telling me that the car went over the cliff and crashed at the bottom? Stephen was the only one that left driving it?”
“Of course!”
“Well then where else could he be? Could he have been thrown from the car while it went over the mountainside? Either way, surely he must have been killed.”
“I don’t friggin’ know. I told the police that it’s urgent that we find him. I thought you had somebody out here who rigged the roadway and guard rail and tampered with the car. Didn’t he see what happened?”
“I don’t know, Tammy. I sent out the best man hunter that money can buy and I trust in his work. I haven’t heard anything from him, so I’ll have to give him a call. What did the police tell you?”
“They said they can’t do nothin’ until the snow stops coming down. They’re gonna find out more and then let me know.”
“Ok, so then there is no reason to panic. What I want you to do is sit tight and don’t worry too much about it. Let’s wait to find out more when we can. Stephen must be dead, otherwise he would’ve come back to the cabin. I’ll check with the guy that I hired. Call me when you know something else unless I call you back first.” Tom ended the phone call and Tammy put the prepaid phone back in her suitcase.
***
She had known about attorney Tom Murphy from the time that she and Stephen got married. Stephen said that he was a local guy who had taken good care of his grandfather’s estate. Then, after the marriage to Tammy, Tom also became Stephen’s best friend. But after doing some investigating, Tammy found that just a few years before Tom had been guilty of a private practice violation of the ethical code. She knew that receiving a twelve-month suspension had been really damaging to Tom’s reputation. Tammy figured that once he was reinstated, he would be really hurting for business, and was the perfect person to seek out to help with her plan to get rid of Stephen.
Through private phone calls and emails, she cunningly manipulated Tom, and probed him for information. She convinced him that his career was in a shambles beyond repair, and that he needed to be selfish to get ahead in life. She was sure that she was only doing what every other young and beautiful woman dreamed of – trying to live a lavish life while being free from any man to tie her down. Even after being treated so well and loved so deeply, she had not the least bit of remorse about murdering her husband. He should have known that a woman like her would never want him for any reason other than his money, she thought. Her mental health problems, diagnosed anxiety disorder, and childhood behavioral issues didn’t mean a thing now. She firmly believed that if you want to get ahead in this world, you have to watch out for number one, and that meant doing whatever is necessary. Tammy would be the first person from the Caldwell family to finally get way ahead in life financially, and she couldn’t wait to brag about it.
And of course they would do the right thing and leave nothing that could be used as evidence against them or even raise suspicions. Tammy was overjoyed when Tom agreed to go along with the plan to murder Stephen, and she confided in him completely. After all, she was going to give him twenty percent of her half of the more than twenty million dollar inheritance, and so he would never have to worry about his previous violation and suspension again. Tom was a risk-taker much like herself, she thought, and would make the perfect partner in crime.
So under the new will which was set up, Tammy would inherit a fortune, with a trust fund set up for Maria for which Tom would be the executor. And Maria wouldn’t have access to anything until she turned 18 which was many years off from now, and who knows what might happen to her in the meantime. As long as Tammy got all the money, fortune, and impending fame that she richly desired, the rest of her life was all set. She was just too young to be tied down to any man and living the family life. Tammy was feeling giddy knowing that she was going to pull off such a heist and smirked at the thought of the new fame and lavish lifestyle that awaited her.
***
Maria stood in front of the cabin, almost knee-deep in the thick, fluffy snow. The reflection of the sun’s rays against the snow covered road ahead was practically blinding. She walked to the edge of the road and checked to her right
and left. There was no sign of any traffic, and the road looked totally unsafe for driving on anyway. Then she crossed the road, hopped over the guard rail, and made her way close to the edge of the cliff.
Maria gazed off through the snow glare into the bright blue sky. She peered down to try and see how far the drop was from the top. The side of the cliff was mostly jagged rock that was not as covered with snow. Maria estimated the drop to be at least twenty stories. The thought of someone driving off the top of this cliff sent tingles down her spine. Then, just before she was about to turn around and head back, she saw something shiny. On a small ledge of rock, about ten feet below the top of the cliff, there was a paper bag. It was torn open and something inside it glistened under the sun. Maria took a couple of steps closer to the edge of the cliff, and bent down on her knees. Then she squinted to try and see what was inside the bag better. It looked like a metal tool of some kind. She turned around, wondering if the bag had fallen out of someone’s car, and decided to go back inside the cabin to keep warm. Being outside, alone in the snow, just didn’t seem like that much fun anymore.
***
Tammy made her way over to the fireplace. Poker in hand, she reached inside and again tried to push open the damper, this time with more force. It was really stuck. She grunted and ground her teeth together while shoving the poker up into the chimney flue as hard as she possibly could. Finally the damper moved, and a big cinder block fell down into the fireplace with a loud crashing sound. Well what the hell? Could that have fallen down the chimney? That prospect seemed very unlikely, she thought, since the concrete block was very heavy and cumbersome.
Tammy wanted to know what was going on. She went into the kitchen and moved a chair closer to a window. Then she got up on the chair, stood facing the window, and opened it. A thick layer of snow had been pressing against the glass. She moved the snow back as best she could so that she could see the rooftop better. Then she stood on her tiptoes, with her arms stretched out the window, and leaned forward. She was able to get a decent view of the chimney.
There was nothing but snow around the base of the chimney and no signs of any cinder blocks. Her hands trembled and she felt a lump in the back of her throat. Someone had to carry that cinder block on top of the roof and push it down the chimney. Someone would have had to be waiting and saw the smoke rising. A multitude of concerns filled her mind. She closed the window and hopped down off the chair. Then she went back into the living room and closed all the windows.
Tammy checked inside the master bedroom. It was still dark and quiet with the wind and snow blowing a bit inside. She closed and locked that window as well. Back in the kitchen, she decided to leave the window open since it was up high and smaller, which meant that nobody could use it to come inside. She checked the living room door and made sure that it was securely locked from the inside. Tammy approached another door leading from the living room. Realizing that she had never opened it, she thought that it must lead to the den. She turned the handle but it didn’t move. There was a small keyhole and the door seemed to be locked from the inside. Tammy yanked the handle in frustration trying to get it to budge. Not sure how to open it, she began to look around the cabin more in hopes to find a key.
Near the fireplace was a rustic wooden desk with 4 drawers, a 1920’s brass antique lamp on top, and a late-Renaissance Revival style antique armchair. She opened the drawers to have a look inside. There was a pen, a tablet of paper, and a box of tissues. In the center of the room there was a brown leather sofa with two small down feather pillows, a matching loveseat, and rustic oak coffee table on top of a thick shag rug. She took a peek under all of the couch cushions and found nothing. Next to the loveseat was a small table with a drawer inside it which she opened and found to be empty.
Along the wall behind the sofa was an oak bookcase. There were a few old books in the case held together by two brown and white marble book holders. Also on one of the book case shelves was a flashlight, and an ornamental dagger made of jade. The only other items in the living room were a couple of more elegant chairs placed beneath the large windows. Tammy looked quickly through all of the books and on every shelf of the bookcase and did not find a key.
Just off the living room was a half bathroom. Tammy opened the door, and saw a sink with medicine cabinet. The cabinet had inside it some band aids, cotton balls, cloths, safety pins, razor blades, some other simple first aid accessories, and a bottle marked “Chloroform”. Tammy had a look of shock on her face as she took out the Chloroform bottle. What the hell would this be doing in the bathroom of a rental cabin? This is used to make people go unconscious. It looked old, with the seal broken, and the cap was hard to turn from some dried liquid underneath. It seemed as if it had been used recently as a bit of liquid had run down the side of the bottle. She also noticed that there was a toilet, a folding rack to hang wet clothes on, and a small window towards the back that was already closed and locked. She set the Chloroform bottle on top of the sink.
Tammy went back through the living room and into the kitchen. It was very rustic, mostly done in wood, with a small floor rug. There were several cupboards, drawers below them, and a large table with four chairs. She opened up the drawers and found just the usual things – silverware, towels, a napkin holder, and other kitchen utensils. There were pots in cupboards above the countertop, and sets of plates, bowls, glasses, and some snack foods. She checked inside all the cupboards, on the shelves and tabletop, around and inside the oven, and found nothing unusual.
There was an antique mahogany tea cabinet with lace place settings, some tea trays, a teapot, cups, and saucers. She opened the refrigerator and to her dismay, found that it was practically empty. Well what the hell, this place was supposed to be fully stocked! Now what exactly am I gonna friggin’ eat? Seeing nothing else of interest to check in the kitchen, she went back into the living room.
Then Tammy opened the door to the master bedroom and turned on the light. The king sized bed had a thick, cherry wood frame, and she had left it a mess with the blankets and pillows strewn about. There were paintings of the mountainside hung on the wall and an elegant lamp sat atop a small end table. She checked inside the drawer to the table as well as inside another drawer that was part of a writing desk, and found only a day planner. There was a rocking chair near the window, and a basket for dirty clothes. At the far end of the room was a walk-in closet, as well as the door to the master bath. Now where would the renter of this dang place put the key to the den? It should be in a place that someone can damn well find it. I’ve done already bathed in the master bathroom and it sure as hell wouldn’t be in there. And why did he even have that room locked before we arrived?
She went into the walk-in closet for the first time, turning on a small light switch. There were a variety of shelves, drawers, and a long, metal rail to hang clothes on. A shoe rack was placed just beneath one of the long shelves. On each side of the closet there was a small stool to sit on when putting on your shoes. Hanging on the back wall was a long, oval antique mirror. Tammy looked through the drawers, and scoured every inch of the huge closet space. There just wasn’t anything special to find and she was feeling overwhelmed. She didn’t want another one of her headache spells to start. She sat on the small stool and put her face in her hands, perturbed, and racking her brain for clarity.
This is a total nightmare, and as usual, I’m the dang victim! Could Stephen still be alive and was he even injured from the crash? Did he escape from the car before it went off the cliff and is he somewhere outside? The fucking police need to find him so I know what the hell is going on. But if he’s alive, why wouldn’t he call me? He can’t possibly suspect me of doing anything wrong or know that I had anything to do with the car failing. After all, cars have mechanical problems all the time, especially in this weather. He loves me way too damn much, and I was here in the cabin all night waiting for him. So then who the hell put the cinder block down the chimney? And how would anyone get on top of the roof?
She wiped a small tear from her cheek and opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred as she rubbed her face and let out a breath of cold air. Still a bit foggy, as she sharpened her focus, Tammy noticed something that she hadn’t seen before. There was a leaf with a bit of dirt in the back of the room near to the wall. Tammy looked puzzled. How in the hell did that get in the closet? They’ve got this whole place spotlessly clean. I never even walked inside here before. She went to where the leaf was, close to the antique mirror on the back wall. The mirror hung on two large metal hooks extending horizontally from the wall. She picked up the bit of dirt and it felt cold as if it had just come from outside. Could someone have been inside this closet? She examined the mirror all over, and then pushed it gently to the side, swinging it carefully from the hooks that held it. Behind the mirror was a low, arch-shaped pine wood door with a small metal handle. The door was really old looking with cuts and indentations in the wood. She took the mirror off the wall and set it aside. Well I’ll be damned! Why is someone trying to keep this door covered up? With what I remember from the brochure, this must lead down into the wine cellar. But how would someone get into there from outside and come up inside the closet? I slept here all night and am sure as hell that nobody was inside this room. Nervous and with her heart pumping, she turned the handle. The door swung open revealing a stone stairway descending into darkness.
FIVE
Maria was huddled up in the middle of her bed with her jacket on and a blanket wrapped around her. The sun had come up and some light shining through the window warmed the room just a little. She got up to look around and admire the room’s fancy décor. The carved walnut antique double-bed had a new mattress with a warm goose down comforter and gold velvet duvet cover. Four matching goose feather pillows rested against the headboard. Next to the bed was an antique oak rolltop desk with many drawers and compartments. On the other side of the bed there was a small wooden end table with an antique brass desk lamp. She felt like she was in a very grownup place.