“Cousin Brenda,” Mary gasped, pretending to sound relieved and shocked at the same time. “Thank goodness.”
Brenda threw a pair of angry eyes at Mary, saw the woman running at her wearing a black cloak, and nearly screamed out in terror. A red rag was shoved into her mouth, held in place by a thin rope, preventing any cries for help from leaving the living room. When Mary removed the tape and extracted the rag, Brenda gulped for air. “Oh, Mary, you gave me such a fright.”
“Who did this to you?” Mary asked in an urgent voice.
“That evil little man held his gun at me and forced me into the living room,” Brenda complained. “I thought he was going to kill me.”
Mary studied the rope holding Brenda’s hands together. The knot securing the rope in place was a simple knot made by an old man who was experienced in tying sea knots. The type of knot Mary’s eyes locked on clearly told her that Brenda was speaking the truth: Brenda and Matthew were no longer standing on the same bridge together. Yet, she reminded herself, Brenda remained a very dangerous woman. “I’ll have you untied in just a second…I need something to cut these ropes.”
“Hurry,” Brenda begged. “Matthew has gone crazy.”
“Matthew?” Mary asked.
“What?” Brenda said in a puzzled voice, realizing her tongue had spoken a fatal error.
“You said Matthew,” Mary replied in a careful voice and waited for Brenda to trap herself before continuing.
“Oh…I meant…Ralph has gone crazy,” Brenda struggled to correct herself.
Mary sat down next to Brenda and wisely moved a pawn forward on the chessboard. She had an opening and needed to be cautious in order to secure victory. “Cousin Brenda, Betty and I know the truth. We know that Ralph is dead and that his brother, Matthew, has been playing his part. You should have told us. We would have helped you.”
Brenda sat in shock. So the secret was out. Now what was she supposed to do? What direction was she supposed to run in? She wasn’t certain. After all, how much did Mary know? How little did Mary know? Information was power. “I was…frightened,” Brenda told Mary and decided to play the victim. “Matthew pushed my mother down the stairs and then threatened to kill me.”
“Why would Matthew push your mother down the stairs?” Mary asked Brenda even though she knew the answer. It was time to play Brenda like a fiddle.
Brenda struggled against her ropes. “Please, untie me and then we can talk.”
“No,” Mary answered, “I think we need to talk first,” she told Brenda in a stern voice. “And we need to hurry before Matthew is indeed loose. He’s planning on burning down this mansion with us inside.”
“What?” Brenda said in a terrified voice. “Mary, please untie me…hurry, please.”
Mary shook her head. “Cousin Brenda, what do you know about a woman named Sarah McCane?”
Brenda’s face went pale. “Sarah…McCane?” she asked.
“Ralph McCane’s daughter.”
Brenda lowered her eyes. “I haven’t the faintest idea,” she lied.
“Sarah McCane has been hiding inside of the mansion walls for weeks now, watching you and Matthew. And you knew she was hiding, that’s why you never went into the hidden hallways.”
“Mary, I insist you untie me at once,” Brenda demanded, “and stop with this…this foolishness.”
Mary shook her head. “Matthew stashed his brother in a hidden room,” Mary continued. “Sarah found her father after she broke into the mansion.”
“Mary—”
Mary held up her hand. “Sarah watched two men carry your mother to a car and rush her away after Matthew pushed her down the stairs. Then she watched you and Matthew leave with the doctor. That’s when she broke into the mansion and found her father.” Mary looked at Brenda. “You knew Matthew was holding his brother captive in this mansion, didn’t you? And so did your mother.”
“Mary, I demand you—”
“Cousin Brenda,” she said, “you and your mother knew Matthew was not Ralph, didn’t you?”
Brenda closed her eyes and let out a miserable cry. “Yes…if you want the truth…the truth is Mother and I knew Matthew had harmed Ralph and we became terrified of him.” Brenda kept her eyes closed. “Ralph was a kind and loving man, Mary. He treated me so well. Even after he realized the truth…that Mother wasn’t the woman his wife had written about in her diary…he still treated me like a daughter, a real daughter.” Brenda opened her eyes. “I don’t expect you to understand any of this.”
“Oh, I understand more than you realize,” Mary assured her. She studied the living room doors. “Matthew could be anywhere,” she warned Brenda. “It’s not safe to talk here.”
“Please untie me,” Brenda begged.
Mary hesitated. “Cousin Brenda, you knew that Matthew was going to steal his brother’s fortune, didn’t you? Matthew knows that his brother’s actual will is—” Mary stopped. “Oh my,” she gasped, “that’s why he needs the birth certificate.”
Brenda nodded. “Matthew found Ralph’s will,” she said in a miserable voice. “But Ralph put a stipulation in his will.”
“What?” Mary asked.
“Ralph has a legal representative,” Brenda said in a quick voice. “A man named Mr. Zeller. Mr. Zeller is the only man alive who has a copy of Ralph’s will.” Brenda searched the living room door. “Ralph must have known Matthew was up to no good because he managed to contact Mr. Zeller before he fell ill and ordered Mr. Zeller to demand proof of his birth certificate each time any changes were to be made. Also,” Brenda lowered her voice, “Ralph had Mr. Zeller put a hold on all of his money.”
“A hold?”
Brenda nodded. “Mr. Zeller will call the bank holding all of Ralph’s money and have the bank release it only when he shows up in person and presents his birth certificate. Matthew found Ralph’s will but he could never find the birth certificate.”
Mary pondered Brenda’s words and then asked a quick question. “Brenda, Matthew made a telephone call from his bedroom. Who did he call?”
Brenda lowered her eyes. “Probably Ms. Baker…a lady friend who works at the bank Ralph has his money housed in.” Brenda sighed. “I’m sorry I lied to you, but I couldn’t chance you going into Matthew’s bedroom. His bedroom is the only room in this mansion that has a telephone.”
“What about your car?” Mary asked.
“I lied about that, too,” Brenda confessed. “I do have a car, but you must understand that—”
“That you were planning to kill Matthew and drive his body away in your car,” Mary finished for Brenda.
“Yes,” Brenda confessed. She looked at Mary. “Mary, this mansion belongs to me and only me…everything belongs to me…all of Ralph’s money. Mother told me what Ralph wrote in his will…she told me Ralph wanted me to have everything he owned.” Brenda’s voice became angry. “Mother wasn’t going to stand by and let Matthew steal what was rightfully mine so we…we formed a plan.”
“Fake papers,” Mary said.
Brenda’s eyes grew wide. “How did you…I mean…” Brenda stumbled over her words and then slumped. “Yes, Mother made a call one day and soon after a man showed up at the front door. Mother…always had a way of locating anyone she needed…and she seemed very confident that her plan was going to work. I was very scared, mind you. Matthew is a very dangerous man, and I was worried he would discover our secret.”
“Keep talking.”
“Mother pretended the man working for her was a local man from town hired to do chores for her. Matthew seemed…” Brenda’s bat-like face twisted up in pain. “Somehow Matthew discovered the truth and confronted Mother. Mother held her ground and insisted she knew nothing of what Matthew was accusing her of. I became terrified and hid all of the fake papers in a secret place and by the time I returned…I saw that horrible man push mother down the stairs.” Brenda looked at Mary. “I heard Mother yell…yell…”
“Yell what?” Mary asked.
“Yell at Matthew that she didn’t know where Ralph’s birth certificate was…and then he pushed her down the stairs,” Brenda finished. “Mary, I honestly don’t know how Matthew discovered what Mother and I were doing…he kept insisting that Mother was hiding Ralph’s birth certificate from him. When Matthew discovered our secret, he became filled with rage and…lost control of his mind.” Brenda looked at Mary. “Then…Sarah McCane arrived. Matthew became frightened.”
“Why?”
“Sarah began haunting us,” Brenda explained. “She would make scary sounds, wake us at all hours of the night…make these horrible screams that made you cringe all over.” Brenda looked toward the living room doors. “Matthew wanted to kill me. He knew I hid the fake papers. He knew I saw him push Mother down the stairs. He knew I wanted him…dead.” Brenda shifted her eyes to Mary. “Matthew couldn’t kill me…not yet. And he couldn’t find Sarah and kill her.”
“Why couldn’t Matthew kill you?”
“Because of Mother,” Brenda explained. “Mother is in a coma, but if she ever wakes up, she’ll be able to speak the truth. If Matthew kills me and Mother wakes up, he’ll be in some very serious trouble that his lying tongue won’t be able to flatter. Matthew is waiting for Mother to…die…and then he’ll kill me. My time to rid myself of him instead is very short.”
Mary took a second to collect her thoughts. “Cousin Brenda, I saw you look out of the front door earlier tonight. I was hiding in a hidden hallway. Who were you looking for?”
Brenda averted her eyes. “Looking for?”
“Yes. And don’t lie to me.”
Brenda steadied herself. The time for speaking lies had come to an end. “I was searching for Timothy Strapland. I managed to call Timothy tonight while Matthew was out of his room.”
“Timothy Strapland…the man who has been making the fake papers?”
Brenda shook her head. “Oh, dear no, that man vanished into the wind after Matthew pushed Mother down the stairs. He was a shady character that cared only for money and he definitely never approved of this mansion. He always claimed this mansion was…dark.”
“Who is Timothy Strapland then?” Mary asked.
“Timothy Strapland is the man I am going to marry,” Brenda said in a bashful voice. “We met in Sparrow Falls while I was visiting Mother.” Brenda threw her eyes at Mary. “Oh, Mary, Timothy is coming here to kill Matthew for me. It has to end…it has to. Matthew has to die.”
Mary stared at Brenda. “Oh my,” she whispered and looked at the living room doors. “Perhaps it’s time we talk in a more private location,” she said and began struggling with the ropes holding Brenda hostage.
Outside, a bolt of lightning flashed across the dark night sky and transformed the mansion into a spooky scream.
9
Mary looked at Brenda. “I can’t untie these knots,” she fussed. “I need to find something to cut the rope with.”
“The kitchen,” Brenda said. “You’ll need a knife. Hurry.”
Mary looked at the living room doors. Matthew was nowhere to be seen, and that worried her. “Matthew could be anywhere.”
“It’s a chance we have to take.”
“I know,” Mary agreed in a worried voice. “Sit…well, just sit tight.”
“What other choice do I have?”
“I’ll hurry,” Mary promised and bolted from the living room on scared legs. She ran into the foyer, slid to a stop, studied the staircase, found it empty, and then dashed away into a large dining room and finally made it to the kitchen—where Matthew was waiting.
“Ah, my dear,” he said, sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee. “I see you took my bait.”
Mary skidded to a stop. Her eyes ran to the gun Matthew was holding in his right hand. “You used Brenda to trap me.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Matthew confessed in his oh-so-polite voice. “My dear, tonight has not been very favorable, I’m afraid. I have encountered many unfortunate hardships that have irritated my anger. The time has arrived for a…harsh…approach.” Matthew motioned for Mary to sit down at the kitchen table. “Now,” he ordered.
Mary kept her eyes on the gun. Matthew was prepared to shoot her at any second if she disobeyed. It was abundantly clear the creepy man was fed up with remaining patient. “Betty is upstairs,” she warned Matthew. “She’s calling the local sheriff.”
“I do not think so, my dear,” Matthew said and flashed a hideous grin. “I cut the telephone wire. We are now without any way to contact the outside world.”
“You cut the telephone wire…no,” Mary groaned.
“I am a gentleman,” Matthew reminded Mary, “and I am also very clever. Now sit down.”
Mary sat down across from Matthew. As she did, her eyes searched the kitchen and spotted her faithful fire iron leaning against the back wall. “What are you planning to do?” she asked.
“I want to propose a deal,” Matthew said without removing his gun from Mary’s sight. He picked up a cup of coffee with his left hand and took a sip.
“A deal?” Mary asked, staring into Matthew’s deadly eyes.
“Yes, a deal,” Matthew confirmed. He set down his coffee cup and slowly lowered the gun. “If you try to run, I will kill you,” he warned her in a voice that held no compromise. “It is clear to me, my dear, that you are one of the…good people that believes in honor and ethics. However, tonight I am going to teach you that allowing your mind to think in such a way is very foolish.”
“You’re a monster,” Mary told Matthew. “You pushed an innocent woman down a flight of stairs hoping to kill her. You scared your own brother into an episode and hid him in a closed room and waited for him to die. And you undoubtedly would have killed Cousin Brenda by now if her mother had died during her fall. And why?” Mary asked. “For money…awful money.”
“For power,” Matthew hissed at Mary. “My dear, I am after absolute power, and money is power.” Matthew struck the kitchen table with his hand. “All of my life I have played…second fiddle…to my brother. Ralph was the man who built up a fortune, not me.” Matthew narrowed his eyes. “Ralph saved his money…patiently counting his pennies. I grew impatient with being poor and wanted to gain power and wealth as quickly as possible…and in doing so became victim to seaside card games…losing everything while my brother gained the world!”
“So you hated your own brother because you made foolish decisions?”
“I hate…hated my brother…because he never once looked down at me, scolded me, corrected me. My brother never once insulted me for losing my money to greedy men. Instead he offered me work, fed me, clothed me, cared for me as if I were a poor fool…and perhaps at the time I was a poor fool.” Matthew gritted his teeth. “I wore the clothes of a poor man…ate the food of a poor man…walked in the shoes of a poor man…at least compared to the clothes my brother wore, the food he ate, and the shoes he walked in. I swore someday I would take all that was his.”
“Why?” Mary asked. “It seems to me that your brother cared for you.”
“My brother shamed me,” Matthew growled. He looked down at his hand, saw that it was squeezed into a fist, and forced his anger to weaken into an angry sigh. “This is no way for a gentleman to be speaking to a lovely lady. I apologize, my dear.” Matthew shook his head. “Now, where were we? Oh yes, the deal.”
“I will never make a deal with you,” Mary told him.
“First hear my words, my dear, and then decide,” Matthew urged Mary. He picked up his cup of coffee, took a sip, and then focused directly on Mary’s face. “You are a very lovely woman, my dear. I really do not wish to harm you. So please, sit there quietly and hear my words.”
“I…what choice do I have?” Mary asked.
“That’s a good girl.” Matthew smiled his creepy smile. “Now, as you know, my brother is dead.”
“You killed your brother…Brenda is innocent,” Mary snapped at Matthew before she could contain her tongue.
Matthew sig
hed. “Such interruptions are always so rude,” he told Mary and then simply shrugged his shoulders. “I suppose the little lie I told you upstairs didn’t sink in very well,” he said and raised the gun. “I said my hands were not capable of savagery. I lied, my dear.” Matthew lowered the gun. “It was I who put a knife in my brother’s back. Ralph was staggering toward the front door…weak…disoriented…helpless. Oh, he was a very pitiful sight…the poor man was simply staggering toward his own grave.” Matthew sighed. “The time had come for my brother to die…mercifully, of course. However, Brenda tried to prevent me. She turned off the lights hoping I would fail my mission, but as you clearly saw, my mission was a success.”
“You horrible, awful man,” Mary said in a disgusted voice.
“Am I?” Matthew asked. “In your eyes I suppose I am a horrible man. No matter,” he said, “you now know the truth, so let us return back to the deal.” When Mary only stared at Matthew with anger, he sighed. “My dear, do not look at me in such a way.”
“How can I not?”
“Because if you care for your friend Betty and wish to see her alive again, you will play nice,” Matthew replied. He pointed toward the ceiling. “I do hate venturing into the hidden passages my brother created; however, at times such voyage is necessary.”
“What are you talking about?” Mary demanded.
“It was such a shame to find my brother’s lovely daughter lying unconscious,” Matthew said in a sad voice. “However, I was very pleased to see your friend Betty trying to operate my telephone. It was very simple to greet her when she exited my bedroom.” Matthew stared at Mary and waited for his words to sink in. “Your friend Betty was very smart to hide the birth certificate she escaped with. I was not very pleased.”
“What did you—”
Matthew held up his hand. “Earlier I acted very foolish…and out of blind anger and impatience, I placed a phone call to a woman whom I assumed I could trust. However,” Matthew continued, allowing a bit of anger to touch his voice, “the woman I spoke with decided that the stakes had become too high in the game and betrayed me.” Matthew searched the kitchen with his eyes. “At that very moment I was determined to burn this mansion down in order to force the…rats out…instead of searching for them. However, I now admit such thinking was foolish. I have come to realize that a calmer approach is needed.”
Mary Had a Little Scare Page 13