by Evelyn Amber
“You’ve been there?”
“Did I say the café?” she said tapping her head. “Silly me. I meant my kitchen.”
Alice knew something wasn’t right. She’d known her best friend for too many years to not see through her lies. She stepped back, feeling for the door behind her. Something screamed at her to get out of the house.
“I can see you’re busy,” Alice choked. “I-I can come back later. I just remembered, I have somewhere I need to be.”
“Wait!” Minnie called as she walked towards her, knocking over a travel bag. “Let me explain.”
The bag was unopened, and the contents spilled onto the carpet. Two old books toppled out, both facing up at Alice, their covers taunting her. She shook her head, unable to believe that Minnie had the elusive copy of Alice in Wonderland, along with her rare Pride and Prejudice.
“I can explain,” Minnie said, moving closer. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“I think it’s exactly what it looks like,” Alice said, her voice shaking.
“I found them!” Minnie cried with a forced smile. “I–I was just about to bring them back to you. I promise, Alice. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“You’re doing it right now.”
“Alice…”
“I know you, Minnie.” Alice swallowed hard. “And I know what you’ve done.”
Alice’s survival instinct kicked in and she darted for the door as fast as she could, but Minnie was much smaller and quicker. Minnie knocked her to the floor with such force, it sucked the wind out of her. Scratching at the carpet, she tried to crawl away, but she couldn’t move fast enough. Minnie gripped her legs, her sharp nails digging into Alice’s flesh.
“Why did you have to come here?” Minnie cried as she turned Alice on her back. “Why couldn’t you stay out of things?”
Alice thrashed her legs about uncontrollably and her foot connected with Minnie’s shin, knocking her to the floor. She let out a loud groan. Alice knew it was her only time to act. Her body felt like lead as she pulled it backwards, her arms shaking under the weight. Alice’s head connected with the door and the feeling of hope was so overwhelming, she thought she would choke. If she could just open it, she would have a chance. The rational side of her brain was telling her the situation couldn’t be real, that it was a nightmare; Minnie was her best friend.
Alice cursed her body for being unable to stand and instead turned on her front. She stretched her arm out and it ached, but she continued to reach for the door handle, her sweating palms slid off. She gripped it a second time and pulled, and the door opened a fraction. She tried to pull the door further, but her body slid away from the door. She was unable to do anything but lash around.
A searing pain burned through her head as something hard connected with her skull. She begged for her mind to stay awake, but her eyes grew heavy and the darkness was too enticing to deny. As she slipped away, she felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hall.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
15
Alice’s eyes fluttered open, her surroundings nothing more than a blur of shapes and shadows.
She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see what it was. An agonising pain split through her head, causing her to groan. She tried to lift her arms, but they felt as heavy as ton weights.
She looked down at them, noticing they were tightly wrapped with ropes connected to a metal chair. She knew how bad the damage was from the impact as warm blood trickled down the right side of her face.
The smell of damp was almost suffocating, and she gagged on the heavy air. She pulled and squirmed in the chair, but the friction caused her wrists to ache.
After a few moments, the dark room came into focus and she noticed it was a basement. She turned her head again to what had caught her eye only moments ago, and her blood turned as cold as ice when she saw her best friend stood in the corner, a manic smile on her face.
“Minnie,” Alice croaked, her voice barely audible. “What are you doing?”
She hoped her brain was playing a trick on her and it was all nothing more than an illusion. Perhaps she was at her shop, passed out on the floor from a gas leak? Or maybe she’d been in a car accident, and this was just the cruel taunting of the medicine keeping her alive? She clenched her eyes, but the side of her head stung; the blood felt too warm to be anything other than real.
“How are you feeling?” Minnie asked, rushing to her, and placing her hand on her forehead. “You were out for quite a while. I thought I’d killed you.”
“What’s going…” Alice asked, her head lolling to the side.
“Shhh,” Minnie interrupted, stroking Alice’s damp hair. “You’ll only exhaust yourself.”
Alice tried to move her head away from Minnie to no avail. The throbbing in her head became more prominent the more she tried to move. Minnie knelt in front of Alice, her eyes wide and crazed.
“I didn’t want it to end this way,” Minnie said, her thumb stroking Alice’s knee.
“What way?” Alice whispered. “What’re you talking about? Where am I?”
“Questions,” Minnie said, shaking her head. “So many questions. You must be thirsty.”
Minnie rose from her kneeling position and scurried to a sink in the corner.
“Trevor loved it down here,” Minnie said in a sing-song voice, her back to Alice. “He was always fixing one thing or another. Of course, I wasn’t allowed down here. Not that I wanted to. It’s disgusting, but you know what men are like with their tools.”
The sound of running water reminded Alice of how sore and dry her throat was. Minnie turned back to Alice, her smile twisted. As soon as her eyes homed in on the discoloured water in the glass, she felt sick to her stomach.
“I guess he didn’t fix the taps down here.” Minnie shrugged as she raised the glass to her eye level. “But it looks drinkable.”
“I’m not thirsty,” Alice lied.
“You’re an awful liar,” Minnie said, tilting her head.
“Much worse than you,” Alice spat, regretting the words as soon as they left her lips; she was in no condition to throw insults. Minnie threw her head back and laughed, the sound unnatural.
“You’re too nice for your own good,” Minnie said, walking closer to her. “I’ve always said that. Being nice doesn’t get you anywhere.”
Minnie raised the glass to Alice’s lips, and the smell turned her stomach.
“Drink up,” Minnie said, seeming to enjoy the fear in her friend’s eyes.
She tipped the glass of water and Alice tried her best to seal her mouth shut. The water trickled down her chin.
Minnie stood and put one of her hands on her hips as she tutted. Alice thought that she knew her best friend, but the woman in front of her was someone she didn’t recognise.
“Now,” Minnie said, crouching again, her eyes level with Alice’s. “Is that any way to treat your friend?”
Minnie raised the glass again to her lips and when Alice resisted, she gripped her nose, cutting off the supply of air. Alice clamped her mouth shut for as long as she could. Her eyes watered as her lungs cried out for air, and as soon as she opened her mouth, Minnie forced the liquid down her throat. She spluttered as her stomach rejected the water.
“See?” Minnie cooed, like a mother talking to her child. “Isn’t that much better?”
“Why are you doing this?” Alice cried through coughs.
“You have to stay hydrated,” Minnie scolded.
“What did I ever do to you?” Alice said, tears rolling freely down her face. “I only ever tried to help you.”
Some warmth returned to Minnie’s eyes, but it was fleeting and didn’t last long.
“I know.” Minnie stroked her cheek. “But you know too much now. I knew you would’ve figured it out eventually, but I was hoping I’d be long gone by then.”
“Trevor was your husband.”
“And what good did that e
ver do for me?” Minnie bellowed, the anger in her eyes terrifying Alice. “He never loved me. He loved her. He was going to leave me with nothing! I couldn’t let that happen.”
Minnie stood again, looking down at Alice like she was a parasite, before looking to her side. Alice followed her gaze and saw she wasn’t the only person there. In another chair, out the corner of her eye, she saw white-blonde hair.
“So, you killed him?” Alice asked, trying her best to feign some sort of confidence. “Then, you killed Barry and tried to frame an innocent man?”
“Aww,” Minnie said. “You had a soft spot for Thomas, didn’t you?”
“He doesn’t deserve prison.”
“Really, Alice?” she replied. “They had squat on him, but that little bookmark was handy enough to keep the police off my trail. You shouldn’t leave things lying around. I only went to your house to get that book and to leave Barry’s hat there, but there that bookmark was, on your coffee table. I knew it was his because I saw them in his case when he visited my café. He had no idea who I was. It would’ve been a wasted opportunity to not take it.”
“How did you even know about my book?”
“Barry told Thomas in my café.” Minnie chuckled as she shook her head. “Men! They always think women aren’t paying attention, but we are.”
“Am I next?” she replied. “Your best friend that you’ve known since we were little kids?”
“You can come with me,” Minnie said, gripping Alice’s hands a little too tightly, the crazed look returning. “We can leave this place. You and me. Those books are worth a fortune!”
“What are you talking about?” Alice pulled her hands away. “My children are here.”
“They’re old enough,” Minnie said, her eyes widening even more. “We can go to France. We always wanted to go. Remember?”
“We were just kids,” Alice moaned.
“So?”
She moved to were Faith was and pulled the chair closer to Alice. She brushed the hair out of Faith’s face and shook her violently. Faith stirred and looked around her. Her eyes locked with Alice’s.
“You’d rather stay down here?” Minnie asked, standing behind Faith. “With her? At least you wouldn’t be on your own, I guess. I’d hate for you to spend your last dying days alone.”
“Why did you do it, Minnie?” Alice searched her friend’s eyes for any glimpse of the person she thought she knew. “He wasn’t even going to leave you.”
Minnie raised a brow at Alice and everything clicked into place.
“He didn’t write that letter, did he?” Alice said. “It was you.”
“To say you have your head buried in books all the time,” Minnie laughed cruelly, “you aren’t that smart. It was too perfect. That bimbo leaving the letter behind, Barry leaving his hat in the pub during the wake. I even put on Trevor’s work boots to disguise my tracks. He was quite confused when he came home and saw me in them, but that didn’t last long because I killed him. Who knew teapots could be so lethal? I’m lucky everything worked out so well.”
“I knew it!” Faith mumbled.
“I’d keep my mouth shut if I was you,” Minnie said, kneeling in front of Faith. “I have no qualms in killing you.”
“Where was Trevor when he was supposed to meet Faith?” Alice asked.
“I convinced him he’d left the book at the café,” Minnie shrugged as though they were talking about something as trivial as the weather. “He had no idea I knew about the affair or the book. Then again, he never was the sharpest tool in the toolbox. Looking for that book kept him busy enough for her to read that letter and leave.”
“You killed your husband for a book?” Alice cried, her anger starting to rise to the surface. “What is wrong with you?”
Minnie laughed again as she stood, the shrillness of it made Alice’s head ache.
“He deserved it! He thought I was stupid. I knew all along about him and that stupid bimbo. It was almost as if he wanted to be found out.”
“And Barry?” Alice spat. “Did he deserve it?”
“Collateral damage,” Minnie said. “He was stupid enough to give you that book in the first place, and he was as good as dead anyway. He owed a lot of money to the wrong people. You learn a lot about your neighbours working in a café. People say too much when they think the sweet café owner isn’t listening, but I always listen.”
“You killed people for a few thousand pounds?”
“A few thousand pounds?” Minnie said, moving her face closer to Alice’s. “Thomas was truly ripping Barry off! That book is worth tens of thousands. Trevor knew so the minute he brought it home. He should have kept his mouth shut. I just needed to do a little shopping around to find someone who would give me a good offer. Luckily for me, I found a nice lady with an obsession for all things Alice in Wonderland. I was going to sell the book to her today and then make my grand escape out of the country. The perfect plan.”
“No amount of money is worth murder,” Alice said. “You’re sick.”
Minnie sneered and gripped Alice’s hair, causing the pain to intensify so much, Alice was sure her head would explode. She cried out and Minnie let go.
“You would have done the same!”
Alice knew no amount of money would tempt her to murder. She realised that Minnie really didn’t know her if she thought so. She tilted her head to the side as she felt her lids grow heavy. The darkness welcomed her, but before she had the chance to slip away, cold water struck her face.
“Don’t fall asleep!” Minnie cried. “Not yet.”
Alice tried as hard as she could to break free from her rope prison, but it was no use. She didn’t even loosen the rope. Minnie had done too good a job tying them. She looked to the door at the top of the stairs leading to the rest of the house. Minnie followed her trail of vision and tutted again.
“You’re never going to get out of here,” Minnie said as she turned to head back to the sink area. “Not without my say so.”
Minnie turned back around, the knife in her hand reflecting the dim light of the bulb.
“Please let me go,” Alice begged, the fear clear in her shaking voice.
“Can’t you see that I can’t do that?” Minnie cried, running her hands through her dishevelled hair. “You know too much now. Why couldn’t you have stayed away? I didn’t want to have to kill you.”
“You don’t have to,” Alice said softly. “You can still make this right.”
“It’s too late now.” Minnie walked towards Alice, raising the knife. “It’s too late for all of us.”
“There’s no point trying to reason with her,” Faith said, her head lolling to the side. “She’s sick.”
Minnie walked to Faith instead, fury burning in her eyes.
“Shut up!”
“Why?” Faith screamed. “You’re going to kill me anyway. You are sick, aren’t you? Although, I suppose, hiding it wouldn’t have been too hard.”
“I’m warning you!” she bellowed. “I’ll kill you!”
“Do it then,” Faith replied, before turning to Alice. “Trevor told me a lot of things. Your best friend here suffers from something that only pills can stop.”
“What?” Alice asked.
“Stopped taking them again?” Faith spat, smiling smugly at Minnie.
“What are you talking about?” Alice asked.
“Anger issues,” Faith retorted, not tearing her gaze from Minnie. “Can get nasty without pills, can’t it? I don’t know why I didn’t realise earlier that it was you who killed Trevor. I can’t believe I felt sorry for you. I can’t believe I felt guilty!”
Alice flicked her eyes from Faith to Minnie. For the first time since she had been trapped down there, she saw Minnie’s demeanour shake.
“You don’t have arthritis?” Alice muttered, everything clicking into place. “Do you? All this time, you’ve been taking pills for something else.”
“Arthritis?” Faith laughed. “Good one.”
Minn
ie looked back to Faith and slapped her hard. She cried out and then moaned, her head dropping.
“Is this true?” Alice cried.
Minnie then turned back to Alice lifting the blade high, confirming her question.
“What difference does it make?”
Alice closed her eyes tightly, accepting her fate. Images of her children at different stages of their lives flashed before her eyes. She was proud of all three of them, and yet she would never be able to tell them. Her body shook as she started to cry.
At that moment she heard a loud bang followed by the familiar voices of her sons. She smiled as she daydreamed about her children. She would never be happy about them being motherless, but she was at least happy they would be her last thoughts.
“Mum!” Lucas’ voice shouted, sounding clearer.
The banging grew louder and louder and as she opened her eyes, she realised she wasn’t imagining voices. The door leading to the basement flew off its hinges and Lucas and Justin ran down the stairs. Her heart leapt when she saw them, but Minnie took no chances and ran to Alice, the knife at her throat.
“Come any closer and I’ll do it!” she cried, the knife so close Alice could feel it pressing against the delicate skin of her neck. “I swear!”
Justin and Lucas stood across from them, their arms in the air.
“Minnie,” Lucas said, his voice soft and soothing as he took a tentative step towards her. “Please, put the knife down.”
She pointed the knife towards him for a few moments before placing it back against Alice’s throat.
“One more step,” Minnie said, “and I’ll do it.”
“You won’t do it,” Justin said, taking his turn to try and diffuse the dangerous situation.
“Try me,” Minnie sneered.
Minnie moved the knife away from Alice’s neck and glided it along Alice’s arm. Alice screamed as white-hot pain seared through her skin.
“Don’t call my bluff!” Minnie commanded. “It will be her throat next time.”
Both Lucas and Justin stood immobilized, clearly terrified that any movement would end with terrible consequences. They looked to each other and then to Alice, knowing the urgency of the situation. The look of defeat in their eyes terrified her.