Twistered

by J. L. Wilson

  Drew's hand on my shoulder was like a lifeline of sanity. "Relax your arm," he said, his breath warm on my ear.

  I took a long, steadying breath and let my arm sag. I popped free of my cocoon with only a few bruises to show for my capture. I hurried as fast as I could back the way we came, bumping my head on an outcropping once. Stars danced in my vision but I didn't pause until I saw the doorway ahead of me. As I neared it, I had to tighten my shoulders, bending my head until my neck muscles cramped.

  "Good God, I need to lose weight," I muttered as I got stuck once again. I wiggled and managed to free myself, squeezing out of the passage like a cork from a bottle. I bounced into the Tube and ricocheted on the far wall, leaning against it and sighing with relief. I would never feel claustrophobic again in the tunnel, not after that adventure.

  I let the coolness seep into my clothing, chilling the panic-sweat on my back. "What did you see in there?" I demanded as Drew emerged, his dark khaki shirt gray with dust.

  He closed the door carefully behind him, lifting it on its hinges so it made no noise. "I'm not sure, but I think that tunnel leads to the caves below the pasture."

  I blinked in surprise. In our childhood, we used to play near the deep stream that wound through the farms in the area. The caves were accessed at the bottom of the pasture hill by climbing a rocky slope overlooking an acre or so of flood plain. I remembered one spring when the rivers all rose and the caves flooded, flushing out an old skeleton that brought two anthropologists from the University to verify it was a Native American from ancient times. Every kid in town wanted to be Indiana Jones at Halloween that year.

  I didn't go into the caves as a child because I was claustrophobic, even back then. But the boys--and Mina, I remembered--used to play in there all the time. "I suppose that makes sense." I mentally mapped the property. "That doorway is on the north side of the Tube and that's where the caves are. I wonder if Mr. Burke built the tunnel."

  Drew shook his head. "It's not handmade. It seems natural. I'll bet it was there and when he built the Tube, he found it." He reattached the flashlight to his belt as he stared at the metal door. "I wonder who knew about this."

  "About what? That this leads to the caves?" I took a step back, not anxious to get closer to the cool, dark passage we recently left.

  "Mel probably knows." Drew slipped the padlock back on the hasp and brought the metal ends together. The click echoed in the passageway.

  "Not necessarily. I wonder if Glynnis knew about it. What do you think it's used for?"

  Drew's face stilled. "You heard the rumors, I suppose, about the drugs?" He hesitated. "How are Mel and Hank doing for cash? Are they okay?"

  I stepped back again, but the wall of the Tube was against my shoulders. I shivered and settled for standing in the middle of the passage. "Now wait a minute! Of course they need money, who doesn't? But Mel wouldn't do anything to endanger Baby Dot. Or the animals," I added in all honesty.

  "How did Wade get the key? He hasn't been around here. Who would be in contact with him?" Drew watched me, his eyes now cool and curious.

  I held up a hand. "Not me. When he left, I said good riddance." I frowned, remembering my earlier thoughts about Wade. "I can't see him hooking up with a motorcycle gang. Jack Tinsley told me that he's been tracking that gang for more than a year. I can't believe Wade could survive a week, much less a year, with a gang like that."

  Drew's eyes bored into mine. "That reminds me. You need to be careful what you say around Tinsley. He doesn't know you as well as I do. He might misinterpret what you say."

  I stiffened at his brusque tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Tinsley has his own reasons for going after that gang and he doesn't have the best interests of the general public at heart." His mouth narrowed and his eyes closed briefly. When they opened, he glared at me as though blaming me for the pain his old injury was causing. "Heart. That's a good one."

  "What?" I couldn't decide why Drew was so tense. The minute he said Tinsley's name, his whole body language changed.

  "Tinsley has a heart problem. That's why he was sent here. I contacted a friend of mine in the St. Louis FBI office. Nathan said Tinsley had problems at his last physical. He has a heart defect. He was sent to Kansas City for a desk job but when word of the Wickeds came in, he argued for a chance to get back in the field and work the case. He had a run-in with a member of the gang out East a few years ago. A woman he was involved with had a son in the gang. The son was in a university near Baltimore and he got involved with this gang. Tinsley tried to help the kid and things got messy."

  "Messy?" I remembered Tinsley's face when he talked about the gang. At that moment he had appeared human, his icy hauteur thawing. When he said that line about "love making a man do unusual things," his face hardened again into an impenetrable mask.

  "The kid was killed and the woman blamed Tinsley." Drew paused as though considering his words. "They were engaged and she broke it off."

  I knew very well there were two sides to all breakups. I would probably never know the whole story of Jack Tinsley and his lost love. "Why do you think he doesn't care about the public, though?"

  "It's something he said earlier tonight." Drew shot me an angry look. "After you chatted with him at the police station."

  "I had to be fingerprinted and he was there." I held out my hand as though Drew could see the ink I wiped away earlier.

  "He said you were curious about the Wickeds. You asked him about his involvement. And you defended your..." Drew hesitated, "...your involvement with me."

  I straightened. "I told him you were the most honest man I know. And that your feelings for me--your old feelings for me--our old feelings for each other..." I stammered to a halt. "You know. I said it wouldn't matter."

  Drew regarded me, his face unreadable. "Speak for yourself, Dorothy." He started up the slope to the doors at the end of the Tube. "Don't tell anyone about that passageway."

  I was so surprised I was rooted to the spot. I hurried to reach him. "What does that mean?"

  "I think you know." He tossed the words over his shoulder at me so harshly I flinched.

  "Drew, I had no idea. I didn't know you--I wasn't sure--" Nothing I said was coming out the way I wanted so I changed tack. "What did you mean earlier? You know, when you said I need to be careful what I say because Tinsley doesn't know me."

  "You tend to blurt the first thing you think. Don't do that around Tinsley. You might get in trouble." He stopped a few yards short of the entry and I almost ran into him.

  "I don't blurt. I'm just a straightforward sort of person."

  He turned and I was suddenly in his arms. "Don't be straightforward around Tinsley." He brushed a quick kiss against my lips. "You don't need to lose weight," he said softly. "You're perfect just the way you are." He released me and was gone, striding quickly to the entryway and stepping through.

  I waited a second or two to catch my breath then followed, pausing outside as Drew crossed the farm yard to his squad car. He watched me then he opened the car door and slipped inside.

  "...old for you." Mel's angry voice sounded from my left.

  I peeked around the side of the barn. Mel and Baby Dot were emerging from the front of the barn, ignoring Drew as he drove along the lane. Mel had her back to me, facing the house. Baby Dot faced her, arms crossed. My goddaughter's ragged black hair, liberally streaked with maroon and purple highlights, stood out like an aura around her pale face. Her deep black mascara gave her a raccoon appearance but it also framed her startling blue eyes, as pale and clear as a winter sky. As always, she wore black--a black, thin-strapped jersey top under a faded black denim jacket, sagging black jeans, and black Army-like boots. The only variety to the unrelieved funereal garb was the grinning skull's head in red on her shirt.

  "You don't even know him. Maybe he's not like that." Baby Dot was a small-boned girl whose petite stature belied the wiry strength gained from years of sports, horseback riding, and yard work
. Although she only reached Mel's shoulder, she radiated angry energy.

  "It doesn't matter. You're barely fourteen years old. I don't want you out with that crowd." Mel looked to her right and I followed her gaze. A tall, lanky figure was walking through the side yard going to join another figure, leaning against the fence, back to us. A motorcycle was parked in the road near them. The one near the cycle was staring into the distance and I wondered if Drew had paused to have a word with them as he left. Mel turned her attention back to Baby Dot. "That's final, Dorothea."

  I winced. When Mel used Baby Dot's full name, she was pissed.

  Baby Dot knew it, too. "That's so unfair. If my mother was alive, she'd let me do it. I know she would. She'd let me get my ears pierced and she'd let me get a tattoo." She whirled and stalked to the side yard, cutting through it to the two people who waited by the fence.

  I hurried to Mel's side. "She didn't mean it."

  Mel sighed wearily. "I'm sure she did. And the sad thing is I'm not sure if I'm right or if she is. Her mother probably would let her do those things, but I'm not sure if she would let Dot do them at this age." Mel stared after the angry teenager. "I really don't know anything about raising children. If she was a kitten or a foal, I could handle her." Mel shrugged. "But a human child isn't my strong point."

  "What's the problem now?" I watched Baby Dot gesture angrily to her two friends. They both were much taller than her but it was hard to see their features because of the shadows from the setting sun.

  "She was supposed to meet with the other judges for the dog show and she blew it off."

  "You're kidding. She loves doing it." The Annual Any Breed but Pure Dog Show had been held on Memorial Weekend Sunday every year for the past thirty years. We changed it this year to Saturday night to take advantage of the AMRAK crowds. It was a huge fundraiser for the local humane society, drawing people from as far away as Topeka and Kansas City. Baby Dot was the judge for the Baby Class, the puppy division. She'd been judging for the last three years. I helped coordinate the show every year and loved doing it.

  "She says she's too busy with her friends. Plus she wants to spend time with a boy and I don't want her seeing him. Dot's too young and he's too old for her." Mel rubbed at her forehead where a streak of dirt mingled with her frizzy hair. "And we argue about a million other things. Hank and I can't give her the same kind of gadgets the other kids have. Dot wants an iPad and we can't afford it. She needs a new computer, everybody else has a cell phone with unlimited whatever, her after-school activities cost money, and it seems like she grows out of her clothes as soon as we buy them. I thought running an animal sanctuary was expensive but it's nothing to raising a teenager."

  I made a sympathetic noise. Baby Dot's father had died shortly after her birth, and the insurance money from the accident that killed Baby Dot's mother was invested for college, which meant Hank and Mel incurred the expense of raising their orphaned niece. They were always scraping for cash for either Baby Dot or a rescued animal, leaving none for them.

  Then I remembered. I won a cash prize. I quickly decided a shopping excursion with my goddaughter might be in my future. I smiled at the thought. "She's a good kid, Mel. It's only rampant teenage hormones at work."

  Mel grinned, her plain face briefly young again. "I know. I remember." She eyed the setting sun. "I've got to get the animals settled for the night."

  "Well, come over for pizza and Monopoly if you want. Leo and I are going to veg out and relax."

  "Some other time." She started back inside the barn but paused and stared back at Baby Dot, still talking to her friends. "Kids."

  I silently agreed. I considered walking casually past the teenagers near the road so I could check out the boyfriend, but my stomach rumbled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten much today. So instead of eavesdropping, I went down the hill to my house, smiling when I passed the windows of my den and saw Leo and the Professor inside at the Monopoly table.

  I hurried inside to join them, happy to finally call an end to my frantic day.

  o0o

  We played a few tosses of the dice on our perpetual Monopoly game then the Professor went home. Leo insisted on staying with me that night and I didn't argue. It felt good to have the company, especially knowing the Tube which ended in my basement also connected to the caves on the far side of Mel's property. The thought of what might be in those caves gave me the creeps, especially tonight.

  Leo took the spare room a few steps away from my bedroom and while we made the bed, I filled him in on what happened with the health inspector, keeping my excursion with Drew (and the passionate kiss) a secret. After that, Leo kept up a steady stream of gossip as I prepped for bed. I was accustomed to having him as a house guest because he stayed in my house while his was being remodeled several years ago. It was like old times to hear him in the bathroom we shared between the master bedroom and guest room, gargling and brushing his teeth.

  "Honey said Rosemary is suing Mina," he said between spits.

  "You're kidding." I lay in bed, SoSo taking up his half and barely leaving me enough room to spread out. "Over what?"

  "Well, she's not suing yet, but she's threatening." There was the sound of running water then Leo emerged to stand in the doorway to my bedroom, wiping his face with a towel. "I suppose I should get in on the action since it might affect me, too."

  "Why?" I peered out the window when I heard a motorcycle go by on the road leading to Mel's house. The loud muffler reverberated in the still night air.

  "Rosemary told Honey she's got water in the basement and Rosemary blames Mina. And Wade, of course." Leo leaned back into the bathroom to put the towel away before continuing. "Wade and Mina were business partners when the subdivision was laid out. It won't affect you because your house has been here since dirt was forming, but our houses are new and are on lower ground. Rosemary said their basement is always damp." He went back into the bathroom and his voice echoed back to me. "I have a sump pump and it seems like it runs constantly. You know, if Mina knew about the problems and they sold us the land anyway, that's fraud."

  "But isn't there a caveat emptor sort of clause in all housing contracts?" I tried to remember the details of my house closing years before, but it was a foggy memory of massive amounts of paperwork in exchange for my hard-earned money.

  "Mina and Wade's company was the builder for this subdivision, the mall, and three or four other subdivisions on this side of town. They'll be liable if there are problems and they knew about it and proceeded with their plans anyway."

  "I thought the city was supposed to inspect property before anyone can build. I had to get a city inspection certificate to have that extension put on the garage."

  "This area was just starting to be annexed, remember? We had to sign agreements about sewer and water and all that. Maybe it slipped in under the radar. Or maybe Mina fudged the paperwork about it." Leo poked his head out of the bathroom to regard me. "I wouldn't put it past her."

  The phone rang and I lifted the extension next to the bed, working my way around sixteen pounds of Siamese cat to do so. "Hello?"

  "This is Agent Tinsley. I was wondering if you have time to talk to me tomorrow morning."

  It wasn't a question but a demand. I frowned and said automatically, "No, I don't know if I will. I have several appointments."

  Leo cocked his head at me quizzically. I held my hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, "Tinsley."

  His eyes widened. "Ooh. A late night tête-a-tête. Don't let me interrupt."

  "Oh, for heaven's sake." I turned my attention back to the phone and Tinsley, who was speaking.

  "...long. I have a few questions about your ex-husband."

  "I'll be at the library at ten. Before that I have to..." I thought frantically, wondering what errands might necessitate my presence.

  "Car insurance," Leo whispered loudly. "You need to get your new car insured."

  "I have to meet my insurance agent." I smiled gratefully at Leo, who ma
de a small salute before retreating to the bathroom. "And I have to go to work."

  "I'm busy at ten. I'll come to the library in the afternoon." He hung up before I could agree or disagree.

  "Rude man." I dropped the phone back in the charging base.

  "He's got a badge. He's allowed to be rude." Leo came back into the room. "If you hear anything suspicious tonight, give a holler. I'm just across the hall."

  "Thanks, Leo. I appreciate it." Actually, I was already half-asleep and an intruder was the last thing on my mind.

  "I think that Fed is interested in you." Leo paused in the doorway. "I saw the way he acted around Drew."

  "He's interested in me as a possible suspect, you mean." I turned over, tugging the covers closer. SoSo grumbled at this disarranging of his bed.

  "Seriously."

  "Go to bed, Leo." I closed my eyes.

  "Okay. Good night."

  "Night," I mumbled. I slitted my eyes and peeked to see Leo disappear from my doorframe. I settled back in the bed with a sigh. As I closed my eyes, I felt Drew's lips on mine. My body warmed. No, I'm lying. My body got HOT, especially certain parts, as I remembered how it felt when he held me. He was always a spontaneous and impetuous lover, surprising me with his passion at times when I least expected it. Was it because he was my first man that I remembered him so well? Or was it because it was Drew?

  "He's interested in you, girlfriend!" Leo called.

  My eyes flew open. "Who?"

  "Who do you think? Jack Tinsley. You mark my words..."

  I pulled my covers, cat and all, closer and closed my eyes again.

  Chapter 9

  The day after the storm was clear and bright, a perfect early summer day in Kansas and the perfect kickoff to Memorial Day weekend. Low humidity, balmy breezes, and the heady smell of blooming roses reminded me why I loved this place. My memories of hot humid days and freezing winter nights vanished as I contemplated a pristine summer day.

  I dressed in my usual work clothes of Docker pants and summer-weight sweater then packed a dieter's lunch of fresh fruit, half an egg salad sandwich and four Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, my secret vice and caloric downfall unless curbed rigorously.