“That tunnel … I still think it leads to the house. We must have missed an opening. It may have been sealed closed so we just didn’t notice it.”
“If a tunnel did come from the house, it must have led to that small cavern you fell into. If that’s the case, it’s now blocked with a ton of dirt. Does it really matter anymore?”
“Well, I can’t explain why but I would like to know if a tunnel exists from the house to the shore where we came out.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell him that I thought Abigail used the tunnel to escape her father and secretly meet her love. Such a revelation might not mean much to Kade. As for me, I felt it could lead me to an important clue as to why their energy was still stuck here in an endless cycle of sorrow and despair.
“You aren’t thinking about going back there and checking it out are you?”
I didn’t answer him because I knew he wouldn’t like the answer. My silence was enough.
Kade set his cup down on the kitchen island counter top and put his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “No, Tess. Please promise me that you won’t go back into that tunnel.”
“Then I’m going to go check out the basement, see if I can find where a tunnel could come in.”
“I thought you already did that?”
“No, I checked out the cellar only to get a feel for the ghosts. I didn’t check for possible hidden tunnels.”
Kade ran an agitated hand through his hair, the worry in his eyes quite blatant. “Why is it so important anyway? Even if a tunnel does lead from the house, what’s the importance?”
Somehow I knew he was going to ask that. “Let’s go sit outside and talk about this, shall we?” He nodded, grabbed his coffee cup and followed me back out to the patio. We sat at the table, drank our coffee in companionable silence for a few minutes and then, giving a sigh, because I knew he was waiting for me to explain my harebrained idea, I turned and looked at him. He was watching me quite closely and I wondered what thoughts were going through his mind. Oh to be a mind reader! More than likely he was going to think it silly that I wanted to prove my theory that Abigail used to sneak from the house through a tunnel.
“I feel it is important, Kade, because a sense of urgency grips me from within …” I paused and tried to think how best to explain my reasons for putting myself at risk again. “I don’t believe there’s anything to worry about. The tunnel is not going to cave in. We saw how most of it is comprised of hard clay.” I paused again for his resolute expression told me he was going to argue against anything I said on this subject. “Abigail wants me to know and I can’t ignore her urgings.”
“How can your knowing that tunnel leads to the house have any bearing on anything?”
Heaving a heartfelt sigh because I was so tired and weary, I just couldn’t find it in me to rustle up an argument. I didn’t want to argue with Kade, about this or anything. “I can’t explain it other than what I’ve been saying … Abigail wants me to know.”
Kade’s features hardened into frustration and worry. He looked away, thought for a long moment, and then gave a resigned sigh, rubbing a hand over his weary face as he did so. He dropped his hand and looked at me, his expression telling me he was not going to budge on what he was about to say. “Then you must let me do it. I’ll go in and see if I can locate another opening.”
“No. You’ve put enough strain on your leg and I can’t let you do it.”
“You can’t let me? Since when are you my keeper?”
“Since when are you mine?” We stared at each other for a tense moment and then both of us started laughing. We were acting like an old married couple. It was an uncomfortable thought. Although we met just a few short days ago, it seemed as if I’d known him forever.
“Tess, please … let me do the exploring in the tunnel. I’m stronger than you. If we do find another opening, it must be covered as you said and you probably won’t be able to dislodge the blockage.” He took a sip of his coffee, eyed me over his cup. “You can explore the cellar while I’m in the tunnel, listen for sounds. You might be able to figure out where I’ll come out and if it’s blocked from the cellar side, you can remove the blockage with an axe if need be.” He frowned at that last suggestion then gave a quick grin. “Of course, you’ll have to get Jack and Nancy involved by that point.”
His argument was logical. I knew that but didn’t want to give in just yet. “I don’t feel right making you go back into that tunnel to satisfy my curiosity about something.”
“Not just your curiosity, Tess. It’s bugging the hell out of me not knowing why that tunnel is there; though why I should care I don’t know.”
I was pretty sure it was because he felt the same urging that I did. Somehow or other, Kade was picking up Abigail’s message. His close brush with death, the losses he’s suffered … it’s made him more aware of the other side on an unconscious level. “We can’t tell Jack and Nancy. They will not allow us to do it.”
“Then we’ll get up early tomorrow morning. At first light before anyone is up and about.”
I didn’t like sneaking behind Nancy and Jack’s back but I felt the end result would justify the action. “Okay. First light it is.”
Kade stood, stretched, and rubbed his leg. “I better go get some sleep then. You should do the same.” He checked his watch. “It’s just past ten now. How about we meet at five tomorrow morning?”
“Five it is.” I walked with Kade to the edge of my patio. We both stood awkwardly for a moment and then turned to each other at the same time. “Good night, Kade.”
“Good night, Tess.” He put his arms around me and drew me in for a hug. He felt so solid. So sturdy and reliable and dependable. So alive. I put my arms around him and closed my eyes. His strength flowed through me and I could only hope he felt my effort to return it in kind. Kade turned his head and kissed my temple. The skin there prickled with a little shiver that spread to every other part of my body. What was it about him that made me so … so aware of him? I wanted to press against him, hold tighter, but I stepped back instead.
“Sleep well, Kade.” He gave me a crooked smile and my heart fluttered. When his eyes dropped to my mouth, my breath hitched and I had to resist the urge to lick my lips. He lifted a hand and cupped my cheek, then slid my hair back and tucked it behind my ear.
“Good night, Tess. Sleep well.” He dropped his hand and turned away. I watched until he made it to his patio before entering my cottage. Despite everything I’d been through, I felt quite peaceful as I washed out our cups, prepped the coffee pot for the morning and then prepared for bed.
As I slid beneath the covers and sighed with pleasure to be doing so, I thought about Kade and smiled again. He was a good man and I was glad he was here. Then I thought of Mike and my smile slipped away. “Don’t worry, Mike. Nobody will ever get in my heart as you did.” My contentment gone, I felt sad and alone as I turned over and closed my eyes.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I dreamed of Mike and Tootsie again. We were at home and he brought me red roses … thirteen of them. I was pleased with the gesture and buried my face in the dark red blooms. As I drew in their fragrance, Mike yelled for me to be careful and Tootsie started yapping loudly at my feet. My face pushed further into the petals and I felt thorns poke into my face. I drew back from the flowers and pressed them to my chest but the thorns pierced my skin and felt as if they were pressing into my heart. I woke from the pain and found my face wet with tears, my hands pressed to my chest.
I rolled over and looked at the illuminated bedside clock. It was 4:29 am. The alarm was set for 4:30. I reached over and shut off the alarm and stared up at the ceiling. A faint light was just beginning to chase away the dark, casting my room in gray pre-dawn shadow. I thought about my dream and wondered what it could mean. It had to mean something. Because of its vividness, the fact that I could recall it so well, I knew the dream was significant. Was Mike and Tootsie warning me that I was in danger? If so, in danger of what?
Frustrated at my inability to figure it out, I rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. If the dream was a warning, it didn’t matter. Nothing was going to change my plans for the day. If danger lay ahead, then I would be alert to it and hope to avert it somehow. We were going to solve the mystery of that tunnel this morning and that was that.
* * *
I could not ignore the shiver of coldness that slowly pervaded my skin as Kade and I walked along the shore toward the cove. I took note of it and concentrated on being open and aware, alert for any further messages that might come through. Neither of us said much as Kade prepared to squeeze through the opening between the boulders. He had with him a small chisel, a rope, his headlamp and a canteen of water. Just before he slid from view, I grabbed his arm. “Please don’t take any risks. Be careful.”
Kade caressed my cheek and my heart pounded in response. Was that going to happen every time he touched me? “I’ll be careful. Wait here. If I don’t come back in the next ten or fifteen minutes, head for the cellar.”
“Okay.” Kade winked then slid out of sight. My heart continued to pound and I looked around me nervously. Something was about, something not good. I saw nothing, but I felt it and that was enough for me.
I waited ten minutes, though it seemed more like a half hour, and yelled into the opening. Kade did not reply. He must have made it to the small, reinforced room that wasn’t so reinforced anymore and entered the tunnel.
I swung around and surveyed the beach. No one in sight and yet I did not feel alone. Awareness prickled the skin on my neck and scalp and the cold shiver that ran across my back was not a good omen. I started walking back down the beach but continued to survey the area as I did so. It wasn’t yet 5:30 in the morning; no one was up and about, not as far as I could see anyway. Maybe it was Nathan. That thought had me relaxing a bit. I wasn’t afraid of ghosts after all. If Nathan wanted to hang around to see what we were up to, that was fine by me.
It didn’t take long to make it to the house. I walked around to the side where the cellar doors were and stopped to look around before lifting the door and descending the steps. I found the light switch and turned on the lights before going back to shut the cellar door. I didn’t want anyone who might pass by to be alerted that I was down here.
The sense of being watched now gone, I stood for a moment to feel out my environment. Nothing lurked in the cellar with me, no residual energy, no ghosts. Glad to not have any distractions from the Tri-State, I started a slow meticulous search for a hidden door or opening in the cellar walls. I looked everywhere, knocked on wood to see if it sounded hollow behind it, moved crates, and pressed against loose boards. I found nothing. Frustrated and disappointed, I wondered for the thousandth time how Kade was doing and checked my watch. It was a little after six. Kade had been in the tunnel now for just over a half hour. Suddenly, that didn’t sound good at all. Shouldn’t I have heard a noise by now if he had found another passage?
Without giving it any further thought, I turned and ran for the stairs. My heart was pounding again with alerted fear. Something was wrong. I felt it as surely as I felt my pounding heart. I ran up the steps, pushed the cellar door open and rushed out, throwing all caution to the wind as I ran down the path leading to the shore. The only thing I could do during my mad dash to the tunnel entrance was pray that Kade was okay and wish I could run faster. Already my lungs were protesting and I was just passing Kade’s cottage. Burning lungs did not slow me down. The feeling that something was wrong was now so strong that my emotional control was rapidly slipping towards sheer panic.
Activity on the beach was picking up at this hour of the morning. Boats were out on the water; people were looking for whatever may have washed ashore the night before. Ignoring them all, I ran to the little cove and scrambled up the rocks to the tunnel opening. What I saw made me cry out in alarm, fear, and shock.
Rocks and dirt now thoroughly blocked the entrance. Frantic with worry and fear, I pulled at the rocks but it soon became apparent that the entire cavern within had caved in as well. How? How could this have happened? I sat back and brushed at the tears running down my face and tried to think back. Had I heard anything while in the cellar? No, nothing. So when had this happened? I scrambled across the rocks and waved down two middle-aged women who were collecting driftwood on the shore. “Excuse me … hello?”
The women looked up, saw me approach them and waited for me to join them. “Good morning.” One of the ladies, the one holding most of the driftwood, raised a hand in greeting.
“I was wondering … did you ladies see anyone up there among those rocks earlier or hear any sort of noise?” I pointed toward the tunnel’s buried entrance and swung back to look at the women.
The one who initially greeted me nodded her head. “Yes, I heard a noise. Like a bunch of rocks falling. It sounded rather muffled, though, like it was coming from in the ground. Maureen here thought we were having an earthquake but I told her that Maine doesn’t really have anything like that.”
The woman identified as Maureen, nodded in agreement with her friend. “It did sound like it was coming from in the ground, but I think that man had something to do with it. He was hanging about that area you just waved at. We saw a lot of dust blowing around near that banking.”
“What man?”
The first woman, whose name I still did not know, answered. “An older guy was standing there. We wondered what he was doing but he wasn’t concerned about our seeing him as he tipped his hat and waved at us.”
“He was wearing a hat?”
“Yeah, a ball cap,” Maureen said.
I backed away, now more anxious than ever to get to the cellar. It was imperative that I find that other tunnel and get Kade out of there. “Thank you, ladies.” I turned and started running. Fear filled my soul. Were the ladies talking about Hank? Had he filled in the cave and if so, why? Surely he hadn’t meant any malice. He couldn’t have known that Kade was in the cave. We told no one. He probably thought he was doing a service filling in the tunnel, ensuring no one else got hurt by exploring it. That had to be the answer. For now I couldn’t worry about it, I was too overcome with terror that I wasn’t going to make it in time to save Kade. He was buried beneath the earth, lord knew where and it was all my fault.
I didn’t worry about being seen as I retraced my earlier path to the cellar. I raced down the steps and then stopped and closed my eyes. Willing myself into calm was difficult because I knew time was of the essence, but I needed a clear head if I was going to rescue Kade. “Please, Sheila, please help me. Or Abigail, you can help as well. Show me where the tunnel’s entrance is.” I waited for the feeling of cobwebs to lightly brush my face but experienced nothing more than a sinking heart. No Sheila. A shiver of cold seeped through my skin, though, and I knew that Abigail was going to help. I moved forward slowly and focused on the fragile contact. I glanced around the cellar and then walked to the door that divided this room from the other side. It was locked. Maybe the entrance was in the wine room? The wall that divided this room from the next was only about ten feet long. I followed along it until I got to the end where a large wooden barrel was located. It was lying on its side with the top of the barrel facing me. It rested on a platform that had been constructed to hold the barrel and keep it from rolling away. The back of the barrel, which was actually the bottom, was pushed up against the wall. I turned the rusted latch and began to twist the top of the barrel off. When the heavy lid fell forward, cold damp air rushed out at me. I shined my flashlight into the barrel and saw that it was pushed against an opening in the wall. My heart now pounding hard, I realized I found what I’d been looking for.
Without hesitation I crawled into the barrel, which rocked under my weight, and then entered the tunnel. It wasn’t quite big enough for me to crawl on my hands and knees but it was roomy enough to maneuver without much difficulty. Dressed in jeans and a sweater and wearing gloves, I was more prepared for tunnel crawling than I had been yesterd
ay. I prayed it wasn’t too late to save Kade and moved as fast as I could. My flashlight showed that I had quite a way to go. I thought about rats but remembered that I hadn’t seen any indication of them the day before. Besides, none of that mattered. Rats or not, I had to rescue Kade. Just please God, don’t let it be too late!
Eventually the tunnel grew bigger and I was now able to get up on my hands and knees though I did have to keep my head level with my back which meant I couldn’t look forward while I crawled. Finally my light showed a barrier up ahead. When I got to it, I could see that it was a rusted square piece of metal of some sort. Iron maybe? It was covered in dirt and discolored rust and unless someone looked carefully, it would be hard to tell it was anything other than a continuation of the dirt wall. That's why we wouldn’t have noticed it yesterday as we crawled by it. I pushed at the metal and it wouldn’t budge. I banged against it and hoped that Kade would hear. My hope was that though the cave had filled in, the tunnel would still be intact. I ran my hands along the edge of the metal and realized that it was wedged firmly into the dirt walls. I pulled a small chisel from my pocket, glad that Kade thought to give me one. Apparently, he had raided Jack’s tool shed before meeting with me this morning.
I dug around the edges of the metal, banging against it every now and then to make as much noise as I could. If Kade was in the tunnel crawling around, and I prayed he was, I wanted to draw him to me. Finally the edge of the square metal came into view on three of the four sides. One more side and the thing should fall down and open to the tunnel behind it. I worked quickly, unaware that tears continued to fall for I was terrified that I was too late. What if Kade were in the cave when it all fell in? The metal began to wiggle free and with one hard punch, it fell forward. I poked my head into the opening and shined my light first one way and then the other. I was willing to bet that the tunnel to my left led to the small cavern where I had fallen in. Maybe Nathan used that entrance first but then realized he could be seen from the house and so had created a new tunnel that led to the shore? “Kade? Kade! Can you hear me?” I heard no response. Lots of dust floated in the beams of my flashlight when I turned it toward the tunnel on my right. I crawled through the opening and went right. I was pretty sure it led to where we came out yesterday. As I crawled along the tunnel, I called Kade’s name every few minutes. The intervals between calls were deafeningly quiet. When I finally made it to the cave’s opening, I could barely see through the fog of dust. I could just make out the room beyond and what I saw made my stomach clench in fear. It was completely destroyed. The dust was so thick I could barely breathe and I pulled my shirt up around my mouth to help filter the air. Frantic with worry and afraid of what I would find, I slowly flashed my beam of light about the room and then cried out Kade’s name when I saw his prone body, face down and covered with dirt and debris.
Be Still, My Love Page 18