A Game of Greed and Deception: A Mystery Drama

by John Mathews

  She waited a few more moments. “I fixed us a nice pot of tea with some ginger cookies. You know back home where I’m from, in Wilmington, we had midday tea every Sunday. It was a chance for the family to talk through their week and iron out any differences. This has all just been one huge misunderstanding. I understand if you’re upset with me, Maria, I would be upset too.” Tammy took the skeleton key and unlocked the bedroom door. She tried to open the door but it only budged a couple inches before hitting the bed frame. She peeped inside and saw Maria seated on the bed turned away from her. “Maria, would you speak with me please? I just want to have a chance to say that I’m sorry.”

  Maria whisked her head around and gazed angrily at Tammy. “You want to say you’re sorry, Tammy? For what, being crazy as hell? You’ve blamed everything on dad this whole time and tried to kill him. You even used me as bait to get dad! Then you’ve lied to me about everything. You’re dangerous and psycho and the police are gonna to take you to jail.”

  Tammy kneeled down so that she was looking up at Maria through the crack in the doorway. “You’re absolutely right and I know that is seems as if I’ve acted badly, Maria. I can’t defend all of my actions. But this whole situation has just been really hard on me.” Tammy’s voice cracked with emotion. “I know that you knew about the explosion in the wine cellar, and that’s ok. Stephen helped you set that up, didn’t he? I’m not even the least bit angry. We’ve all made some mistakes in judgment, right? Look, I hurt both my leg and my hand. You think that has been easy on me? Let me make things up to you, honey.”

  Tammy hesitated for a moment. “As I said before, this whole weekend was one big test for Stephen. This was a risky situation that we all got ourselves into. He might not have understood that and said or done some things that he shouldn’t. But now everything will be just fine. There is nothing left to worry about. Stephen and I can just patch things up with each other and move on. Come out in the living room and have some tea with me and we’ll feel much more relaxed.”

  Maria remembered everything in the letter from her father, including the part about Tammy rigging the car to go off the cliff. She also remembered being told to go along with what Tammy asked of her as best she could. She knew that Tammy was relentless when she wanted her way. After all the lies Tammy had told her, she wasn’t going to believe a thing the woman had to say. Despite her growing trepidation, she thought it better to go along with her so she pushed the bed out from in front of the door, and followed Tammy into the living room.

  They sat down on the sofa. Tammy turned the tea tray so that one cup was in front of her and the other in front of Maria. “Here you go, sweetie. The ginger cookies are fresh and crispy. And the tea is Rooibos, your favorite. Drink up while it’s still hot.” Tammy took her cup of tea in her hands and had a small sip. Her eyes were riveted on Maria even when Tammy moved her head.

  Maria remembered the time when, after being married to Stephen for just a couple of months, Tammy had an abrupt change in her behavior. She had been so interested in Maria’s school work and group of friends. She asked Maria what the other girls talked about with her and gave her advice on being popular and earning respect. They had long talks about how being a lady can be so glamorous and exciting. But then Tammy stopped having these talks with Maria, and spent most of her time going through Stephen’s papers. She was still sweet to Maria, but in a more cold, and calculated manner, as if she wanted to keep her happy without being too involved.

  Maria looked at the tea, and saw a few little bubbles fizzing at the top. This seemed suspicious to her since she hadn’t yet added any sugar. She grabbed her cup and took a whiff of the fruity aroma. Then she paused and set the tea cup back down. “I don’t know if I’m really that thirsty right now, Tammy.”

  Tammy put her hand on Maria’s leg. “Oh but, honey, this will help us relax and talk things out. Try the cookies, they are so nice. I know that I’ve been an awful person on this trip and I don’t know what else to say. Everyone needs a second chance, right? And all I can do is try and make things up to you and Stephen in every way possible.”

  Maria glanced up at Tammy and then back down at the tea and cookies. She noticed the determined look in Tammy’s eyes. It wasn’t the type of look that one would expect from someone who felt guilty or remorseful. Even though Tammy spoke with emotion, her eyes were clear and penetrating. They looked void of emotion or feeling. It was the same look that she had when she was with Stephen at the restaurant, and Maria had seen it many times before when Tammy wanted her to do something. Maria had trouble looking at Tammy directly. She knew that Tammy would only be kind to her if she needed to take advantage of her in some way. “I bet you wish that dad was here drinking some tea with us, don’t you?”

  “Well of course I do, sweetie. I miss the close times that we’ve shared as a family. In the year that Stephen and I have been married, the three of us have only sat down to share a tea together once. We really should have done this more often.”

  “So then why are we doing this now without dad even being here? If we only did this one time in a year, how did it suddenly become so important?”

  “Because, sweetie, I want you and I to patch up our differences and do what’s best for Stephen and the family. I’m pleading for your forgiveness and this is the best way that I know to talk, relax, and become close again.”

  Maria nodded. “I need some sugar in my tea. I like it really sweet. Can you get me some? Then I can drink it.”

  Tammy rolled her eyes. “But why don’t you try it the way it is? It tastes so good naturally. Rooibos doesn’t need to be sweetened.”

  “Because I always sweeten anything hot with sugar or honey. Please go get me some sugar from the kitchen. I saw some in the tea cabinet.”

  “Fine…I’ll be back in just a moment.” Tammy set her tea cup down and stood up abruptly. She went into the kitchen for a few moments and then came back out with a small cup of sugar.

  Maria took her tea cup while trying not to let Tammy see that she was shaking, and put a teaspoon of sugar in it. She stirred it and watched as the sugar dissolved. Then she held the cup up to her lips. She blew on the tea a bit and then took a small sip. “Mmm, that’s good.” She added a bit more sugar and stirred it again. Then Maria started drinking more of the tea.

  Tammy smiled warmly as she sat down, picked up a ginger cookie, and her tea cup. Her eyes were back to normal. “There you go, now isn’t that delicious? It’s nice for us girls to share some tea together. I really wish your father was here to join us.” She took a bite of the cookie and a gulp of her tea.

  Maria smiled. “Why yes it is, thank you, Tammy. I think I will accept your apology.” Maria took a ginger cookie and had a bite. She licked her lips to catch some of the sugar crystals from the cookie. Then she finished the rest of her tea and set the cup down on the table. She poured some more tea from the pot into her cup and had another bite of the cookie.

  Tammy had a bit of a dry feeling in her mouth and took another mouthful of the tea. It tasted a little funny and after hesitating she spit it out onto the floor. Maria jumped up and backed away from Tammy.

  “You little bitch! Get the hell over here!” Tammy screamed at Maria and jumped up off the sofa. Maria wanted desperately to get back into her room, but Tammy was too close to the door. Maria grabbed the knife and kept her eyes focused on Tammy.

  Tammy grabbed her flail. She bent her knees, started to swing the weapon, and inched closer to Maria. Maria knew that Tammy would act impulsively and was thankful that she had years of gymnastics training. Tammy looked at Maria squarely in the eyes. “You think you can outsmart me? That will be the fucking day.” Then she swung the flail violently at Maria’s head. Maria leapt backwards, dodging the attack, and scurried across the room, using the sofa as a barrier.

  Tammy turned again towards Maria. Her eyes looked like dark blue caverns in the night waiting for a weary traveler. “You ain’t going nowhere, bitch.”

  Maria stayed be
hind the sofa, holding on tightly to the knife, and waiting for Tammy to make a move. She smirked and responded with levity. “You think so? I don’t see how you can catch me, with that broken hand and all. You’re too slow to get me, Tammy. Come on – try it.”

  Tammy suddenly lunged across the sofa at Maria, swinging the flail at her once more. It narrowly missed Maria’s head, and Tammy fought hard to keep her balance while controlling the awkward weapon. Maria slipped around the edge of the sofa and shoved the coffee table at Tammy’s legs, making her trip and fall to the floor.

  Maria darted back behind the corner of the sofa. She saw that the trap door in the center of the floor was uncovered, and wanted to get past Tammy to go down the narrow ladder, knowing that nowhere else inside the cabin would be safe. She waited anxiously, holding the knife tightly in her hand.

  Tammy got back up on her feet, and swung the flail over her head. It whooshed around in circles. She wanted to trick Maria into moving the wrong direction. She lunged across the sofa as if to strike, but as Maria jumped out from behind the corner of the sofa, Tammy flung the weapon right where Maria was scurrying to.

  Maria’s reflexes were cat-like. She held the knife out and the nails in the flail ricocheted off of the blade. The force with which Tammy had swung the flail caused her to fall right on top of the sofa. Maria made a bolt past Tammy towards the trap door and opened it with the metal loop. Surprisingly, there was a flickering light coming up from down below. Tammy leaned over and lunged at Maria, grabbing her by the leg. Maria kicked wildly until she broke Tammy’s grip. Tammy hurled the flail at Maria one more time. Not able to get up in time to move, Maria tried to block the attack with the knife. Although the brunt of the blow was softened considerably, the sharp nails in the flail deflected off the knife and struck Maria on the shoulder.

  Howling with pain, Maria hurled the knife at Tammy’s head. Although it missed her, Tammy staggered back, and Maria was able to launch herself down into the tunnel. In an instant, Maria disappeared down into the unknown of the basement with the trap door slamming closed behind her, and left Tammy wheezing and panting for air.

  EIGHTEEN

  Tammy sat still on the hardwood floor for a moment. She heaved in shallow breaths of air through her mouth which was dry as cotton. Her stomach swelled from the sheer terror in knowing that she had ingested some of the poison and thinking about what effects it might have on her system. Trying not to panic, she jumped up, ran into the kitchen, and bent over the sink. She stuck two fingers deep into her throat and gagged herself until she started to dry heave. After a couple of minutes she was finally able to vomit. Then she swallowed a few swigs of water from one of the bottles.

  Back in the living room, Tammy sat on the floor to catch her breath and keep from hyperventilating. She reminded herself that the little bit of poison she had swallowed would not be fatal and could take days to even begin to affect her. So it all comes down to this – they must both be down there waiting for me. They think they’ve done got me trapped and there’s nothing else that I can do. Well, I sure as hell don’t want to disappoint them. She took the flail and draped it over her shoulder by the rope. Then she stuck the jade dagger in her back pocket.

  Tammy opened the trap door and peered at the ladder that led down into the tunnel with a dim light coming upwards. Being careful not to bump her injured hand, she descended into the tunnel backwards. She stepped slowly not knowing how far down the metal ladder went. A bit of light kept flickering up near the ladder helping Tammy to keep from bumping into the hard, clay walls around her in the narrow space. After more than twenty steps, she reached the bottom of the ladder. Looking up, the entrance to the living room was now just a small hole. Tammy turned around and saw that ahead of her was a narrow tunnel. The walls were made of the same dark brown clay and there was barely enough room in between them to pass through. She started carefully through the tunnel, looking up and down before each step to be sure that it was safe to move forward. She soon passed by the source of light – two iron torches, one on either side of the wall, burning a bright flickering yellow flame.

  A few more paces ahead Tammy reached a three-way fork in the tunnel. Pathways went straight ahead, to the left, and to the right, with more light coming from inside them. Shit, I don’t know where these tunnels lead to. I can’t get myself lost in here. I need to be able to remember how to get back exactly to this damn spot. She turned and started down the tunnel to her left.

  It wound along a slight curve. The air was cool but not cold and bone dry. Tammy looked up and noticed that the ceiling was simply dirt that had been burrowed into. She went further along the narrow tunnel, keeping her bandaged hand in front of her so as not to bump it against the wall. A little further on the tunnel ended at what appeared to be an ancient prison cell door. It was made of wrought iron and dark wood paneling, with a latch that was kept locked with an old padlock. Tammy took the skeleton key and tried it in the lock, but it was too big. She yanked on the padlock hoping that it might open. Then she took the jade dagger out of her back pocket and hit the padlock several times as hard as she could. The lock was made of solid brass and would not break.

  Wait a minute – the key that I took from Maria! Tammy reached into her pocket and took out the small brass key. It fit perfectly into the tiny keyhole and the padlock opened. She grunted as she opened the big, heavy wrought iron door.

  She stepped through the doorway into a space where the tunnel suddenly widened dramatically. Against the walls just inside where it expanded were two more lit torches. Tammy stepped slowly past the torches into the more spacious area.

  As she looked to her left and right in the now nine-foot wide walkway, she also saw in front of her that the floor suddenly dropped. A trench had been dug down below the surface level of the tunnel, several feet deep and around seven feet across. The right side of the trench stopped at a narrow walkway that was at surface level and ran along a concrete slab wall. On the left side, the trench ran all the way against a second concrete wall. Two surface-level openings in this wall led to small rooms with light coming out from inside. Looking straight ahead the trench went on for a long while ending at a clay wall well off in the distance with two more flickering flames.

  Tammy could feel her pulse pounding in her already knotted stomach as she inhaled deeply to take it all in. At the bottom of the trench, the clay was cracked and full of fissures, indicating that at some time it was filled with water. Leaning against the concrete wall on the right side walkway were a couple of old boards. Holy shit, I’ve read about somethin’ like this before. They did this in Africa. It looks like a damn place to hold prisoners. They would be kept in those rooms and not allowed to leave. Then that trench is filled up with water and electricity is run through it. If they try and get out, they have to go into the water and die. Those boards are set down as bridges to move people in and out of those rooms.

  She stepped down carefully onto the hard, cracked ground in the trench. Small pieces of dirt crunched under her boots. Then she walked along around twenty feet until she got to the opening to the first room. Tammy peered up trying to see better inside, but it was difficult as the intense light from another well-lit torch was blinding. She crawled out from the trench onto the floor of the room and went inside. Tammy stood in the center of the room and slowly turned around in circles. She gasped and her mouth hung open as she was mesmerized by the macabre setting.

  There was a pile of old bones in one corner of the room. Four old rusty metal chairs were bolted to the walls. Above each chair were two chains at the end of which was a shackle. But the most stunning thing was the handprints all over the walls and ceiling. There were literally thousands of them made from bleeding hands that had left dried red marks. Most of them were overlapping each other and covered almost every inch of wall and ceiling space.

  Geezus Christ, that Oliver musta been some crazy bastard to dig out these tunnels. So what, he just kept people trapped in these rooms and they died trying to
get out? Those chairs musta been used to torture some of them or just keep them locked up with those chains. I bet he starved them and got off on some of them jumping into the water and getting electrocuted. And from the look of those old bones he wasn’t exactly the best housekeeper.

  Tammy got out of what she had recognized as a torture cell and let herself back down into the trench. She looked back to her right again before continuing on to the left. The dead silence and still air were numbing. She moved along a little bit further until she was in front of the second small room on her left. She again climbed out of the trench and inside this other torture cell illuminated by a burning torch.

  Against the right wall she noticed a type of bed made from a concrete slab that looked like something inside a prison. The bed had cut marks on it and was stained with red and brown smears, the color of blood and feces. Attached to the bed were two old leather straps that had cracked from decay. One end of the bed butted up to the corner of the wall where there were two chains with shackles on the end. On the other end, there was a wooden wheel attached to some kind of pulley system. The pulley had long rusty chains wound tightly around it.

  Tammy shuddered, shaking her head in disbelief, literally paralyzed with fear for a moment. So he done made a torture dungeon. He musta tied people up on the bed and pulled on their limbs with these chains until they bled and shit themselves. I guess I’m even more damn normal than I thought I was. Hell, I didn’t even want to kill Stephen myself. What a sadistic fuck.