Murder by Decay

by Suzanne Young

  The night wasn’t warm, but the air was gentle with a definite smell of spring. She’d arrived at nearly the same hour as she had several nights ago. Exactly like that other evening, the setting sun turned the windows into opaque sheets of gold, making it impossible for Edna to tell if lights were on inside the building. The eerie reenactment of that fatal night almost convinced her to opt out of proceeding with her plan, but she had to recover her cell phone. If there were a chance it might be in the clinic, she had to check. Besides, she figured she’d have to face her ghosts sooner or later, or give up Gordon as her dentist forevermore if she couldn’t bring herself to enter his office.

  “Ready, Annie?” She looked down at the terrier who gazed up adoringly with a wag of the tail. Regardless of the canine’s diminutive size, Edna somehow felt better with the dog at her heel when she entered the building. As she walked resolutely to Gordon’s clinic at the end of the corridor, she tried to ignore the myriad butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

  The police hadn’t removed the yellow tape that crisscrossed the door, but since she’d had the word from Charlie, Edna felt no compunction in taking it down herself. Until she reached for the knob, she hadn’t considered the door might be locked. Tentatively, she twisted. The door opened. Had the police failed to secure the office, or did they think the crime-scene tape would suffice to warn away unauthorized persons? Sudden memory of the unlocked door on her last visit and what it led to nearly made her turn around and run back the way she’d come. As she hesitated, Annie took over.

  Apparently, the metallic click of the latch encouraged the little dog to push her nose against the jamb. The gap widened and the terrier wiggled excitedly into the room, pulling Edna along at the end of the leash.

  She closed the door before dropping Annie’s lead and patting the wall for a switch. When the overhead fluorescent lights flickered on, she felt a shiver of relief but glanced nervously toward the rear rooms. She wanted to find her mobile in this room so there would be no need to search the operatory.

  Apparently oblivious to the human’s anxiety, Annie sniffed along the floor as she wandered her way toward the back rooms, nylon rope trailing behind her. Edna hoped her little friend wouldn’t uncover any surprises and would come when called. She had no idea how much training or how obedient the terrier was.

  Turning her mind to the task at hand and forcing away the more gruesome memories, Edna envisioned her awkward return to the reception area when she’d stumbled after finding Billy Rob Kailey’s body. She pictured herself sprawling across the two chairs nearest the back hall and recalled the sound of her tote slamming into the small credenza that stood next to the farther seat … or had it been the bag’s contents she’d heard crashing into the cabinet?

  She pulled both chairs out from the wall and, turning one sideways for support, placed a hand on the seat as she bent to examine the floor. Her glance skimmed along the baseboard and suddenly caught a glint behind the small cabinet. She leaned for a closer look and saw the phone on its side. Almost invisible, the instrument was wedged between the wall and the credenza. She squeaked with relief, but her attempts to grab the mobile soon made her realize she’d have to get on her knees and use only thumb and forefinger to wiggle the darn thing out of the narrow space.

  Age had stiffened her joints and her legs weren’t as limber as they’d been ten years ago, so it took a little grunting and groaning to lower herself to the floor. She worked the phone free, straightened, and was leaning on the chair seat, preparing to rise when Annie materialized at her side. The dog’s tail was rigid, her eyes glued to the outer door.

  Unexpectedly, the little terrier uttered a low growl that began at the back of her throat. The sound wasn’t loud, but it was fearsome as the dog continued to stare at the entrance. Edna’s heart started to thud. Still on her knees, she followed Annie’s gaze. The outer hall was dark and the inside light distracting, but she thought she saw a shape behind the door’s frosted glass top. Was it her imagination? Abruptly, her glance was drawn to the knob. The handle moved so slowly at first she thought her eyes were playing tricks until the door inched open. At the motion, Annie lunged at the wood panel, barking furiously.

  “Call him off,” called a low, gruff voice.

  Edna knew that sound. The vague memory it evoked wasn’t pleasant. Her heart raced and her mind whirred. Where had she heard him before? As fast as her aging bones would allow, she pushed herself upright, using the chair for support. Once on her feet, she remained silent as she strained to put a face to the voice. Annie’s barking grew more frantic as she pawed the wood.

  “Call off the dog or I’ll hurt him,” the man spoke only a fraction louder.

  Afraid of being overheard? Who was he? What was he doing here? Edna felt instantly nauseous. “Don’t come in,” she called out. “We’re just leaving.” For a second, she imagined dashing to the door and slamming it shut, but she was a good dozen feet away. Even if she made it across the expanse, would she be strong enough to push it closed on a man? At that moment, the door jerked and hit the dog. Annie yelped.

  Realizing whoever was in the hall would actually attack the little terrier, Edna cried, “Come, Annie. Come here.”

  Was anyone else in the building? If they heard Annie’s barking and Edna’s voice, would they come to her rescue?

  The dog backed away from the door, but ignored Edna’s command. Instead of moving forward to grab Annie’s collar, Edna side-stepped behind the reception desk. From there, she saw the shoulder and arm of the man through a widening crack in the door. He was big. Glancing quickly around the desktop for something she might use as a weapon, she yelled, “Come, Annie.”

  Perhaps the small dog sensed Edna’s fear because she retreated a few more feet, all the while keeping an eye on the door. Her bark returned to the low growl that caused the hairs on the back of Edna’s neck to rise.

  A second later, the door swung wide and the carpenter stood in the entrance, holding a raised hammer in one hand. His surprise at catching sight of Annie showed he’d expected a much larger dog. As his eyes rose to Edna’s, he lowered his weapon and allowed it to slip into a loop of the tool belt on his hip. Stepping across the threshold, he twirled a roll of duct tape in his right hand. “What are you doing in here?” Tony Somner asked in his soft baritone.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Edna retorted, attempting to show she wouldn’t be intimidated. She ached for someone else to be in the building. If they heard voices, would they investigate? Her eyes fell to the silver tape and, at once, the image of a dead body taped to Gordon’s dental chair flashed in her head. She drew in a sharp breath.

  “Office is closed. You’re trespassing.” As he spoke, Somner stepped aside. Without taking his eyes from her, he reached out and shut the door.

  “I’d say you’re the one trespassing,” she retorted, tightly clasping her hands to keep them from trembling. She desperately didn’t want him to know how much he was scaring her.

  He took a step closer with a scornful glance at the growling dog. “I got a master key to the building.” His tone was both cocky and patronizing. “Came to check on the studio. Saw lights on and thought I’d see who broke in.”

  “I did not break in. The door wasn’t locked.” Edna watched his face steadily, but her mind was on the telephone near her right hand.

  A grin replaced the scowl on Tony’s face, but Edna preferred the frown. There was nothing pleasant in the twist of his lips. “Seems to me I have a responsibility to protect this building, seein’ as I have access and all.”

  She dismissed the cordless instrument as too flimsy a potential weapon. “You’ve seen I’m no burglar, so you can go now. I was just on my way out myself.” She didn’t want to leave the protection of the desk until the man was gone.

  Paying no attention, he strode to the center of the room, stopping a few feet from the desk’s front edge. “I’m not sure I can do that, ma’am.”

  “Why not?” She stayed opposite hi
m, keeping the greatest possible distance between them while staying within reach of the table top. As she waited for his answer, she tried to decide what to throw. The big stapler? The ceramic cup filled with pens and pencils? Would either give her enough time to reach the door? She frantically tried to think if he’d locked it.

  “You been askin’ about my green Honda. I think you saw me that night.” He fast-stepped to the side of the desk. Edna lurched away. Annie gave a sharp bark, staying between Edna and the man. Retreating a pace, Tony patted the hammer in his belt. “I’m warning you. Control the dog or I’ll bash its head in.”

  Edna was now close to the doorway leading to the back rooms. As quickly as it popped into her head, she discarded the idea of running that way. She’d be trapped. Praying the little terrier would be still, Edna concentrated on the man. “I saw nothing. Why are you threatening me?” She tried to sound indignant, but in that same instant, the certainty she was facing Billy Rob’s murderer made her stomach heave. With a growing dread, she wondered how he would kill her. The dead man had a bruise near his temple, but it hadn’t looked like a fatal blow. If Tony hadn’t subdued Billy Rob with the hammer, what had he used?

  As if reading her mind, Tony said, “It was an accident. He fell. Hit his head on the corner of my work table.”

  The words weren’t what she expected. A confession? She was suddenly more afraid than she’d been before. She was such a fool. She should have realized how much danger she was in when he entered the room twirling that role of duct tape. By then, of course, she was already trapped.

  “Your work table?” she asked, the quaver back in her voice. Her only chance now might be to keep him talking and pray someone would come by. “In the studio?” That sounded dumb, but he didn’t seem to notice.

  “Looking for his old pal Resnik,” Tony continued in his soft voice. Immediately, Edna had the impression he was reciting a memory. It didn’t seem to matter who was listening. “Thought the good doctor was hiding in his office. Billy Rob walked right into the studio, bold as you please. Asked me if I had a key, as if I’d be glad to open doors for him.”

  Why is he saying this? Edna thought frantically. Was it some sort of guilt-ridden confession to her because she had found Kailey’s body? She didn’t want to bring attention to herself, but she wanted him to stop speaking. If she didn’t hear his admission, maybe there was a chance he’d let her go.

  “I didn’t recognize him.” Tony’s words hadn’t stopped, and he seemed surprised as he relived the night. “He knew me though. Soon’s he came into the room.” Somner gave a sharp laugh that made Annie bark again, but she didn’t resume her growl. It was as if she were listening to the man’s story, too. “Must’ve startled him ‘cause he called out my name.”

  Edna was terrified, but mesmerized. “Plastic surgery? Is that why you didn’t recognize him?”

  “Yup. If he’d kept his mouth shut, I’d never have known him, but he had to brag. He’d fooled everyone. Gotten away with murder.”

  Incongruously, Edna wondered if Tony realized the irony of his words.

  The man’s lips twisted. “Lost my temper. He deserted my sister and his kids. He abandoned them, left them to clean up his mess, and he didn’t care a whit.” Somner’s hands squeezed the half-used roll of tape into an oval. “I wanted to shut his mouth with my fist, but I didn’t. I pushed him. Not even as hard as I could have. He slipped on the tarp. Hit his head. I thought he was dead.”

  “Why didn’t you phone for an ambulance?” Edna asked, not so caught up in the tale that she was unaware of his inching toward her.

  “I wasn’t gonna help that scumbag.” Tony raised his voice, but only slightly. He took a bigger step.

  She skittered back an equal distance, bumping into Nancy’s rolling chair in the process. “You said it was an accident. A good lawyer could help you prove you didn’t mean to kill him.” As she spoke, she bowled the chair at Tony in a feeble attempt to unbalance him.

  He merely shoved the chair aside and stepped closer.

  Staggering away to the desk’s front corner, Edna studied Tony’s eyes and tried a different tact. “Why did Billy Rob come back? Even if he wasn’t physically recognizable, surely he’d give himself away somehow.” Realizing that’s exactly what he’d done as soon as he ran into his brother-in-law, she didn’t want to dwell on the obvious. “He’d been a big deal in this small community, and I imagine, he’d be arrested for embezzlement, at the very least.”

  Tony snorted in disgust. “He said the statute of limitations was up. He was here to watch his son graduate. Can you believe that? The son he abandoned, left to think his dad had been killed. The bum came home to watch Robby graduate from college.”

  Trying to calm the increasingly agitated man, Edna asked, “What was Billy Rob doing in this building? Did he know his son worked with you?”

  Tony shook his head. “Already told you. He was looking for Resnik, his partner in crime.” Tony was working the roll of tape, apparently trying to put it back into shape. He took another step toward her, stopping abruptly at a bark and lunge from Annie. He frowned at the dog and lowered his left hand to the hammer.

  Edna’s heartbeat surged. She didn’t want him to hurt Annie. Neither did she want to die. She must get to the door and out of the building. Could she run fast enough if she stunned him? She’d need to catch him off guard. “Why did you bring him in here?”

  “What?” He seemed genuinely confused as he stared at the tape in his hand, apparently forgetting the hammer.

  “Why did you put Billy Rob in Gordon’s office?” she said, focusing on getting to the door. Could she get to the door before Tony got to her?

  “Resnik’s office would have been better, but this one was closer. The idea was to put Billy Rob in a dentist’s chair. Figured Pieter would be smart enough to guess someone was onto him, too.”

  “If you thought Billy Rob was dead, why tape him to the chair.”

  “Turns out he wasn’t dead. He groaned when I dumped him in the chair. I didn’t want him getting away, so I taped his arms.” The image seemed to amuse Tony because he laughed. “That really brought old Billy Rob around. When he started yellin’, I taped his mouth.” Tony sputtered another laugh that seemed to end in a choke.

  “Why give him gas?” Three, maybe four seconds to the door, she calculated.

  “He started squirming and kicking so I used the gas to quiet him down. I had it once and I didn’t die.” Tony looked genuinely repentant for an instant when he said, “Didn’t mean to kill him. Thought it’d just knock him out. Then he’d have some explaining to do when the cops showed up.”

  Edna’s hope rose for an instant. If Tony truly was sorry, could she talk him around? “You say you didn’t mean to harm Billy Rob, so why not let me leave? I can help you find a lawyer.” Jason Lyneman’s face popped into her head. “I already know someone who would take your case.” Assuming he isn’t arrested for killing Pieter Resnik. The thought flitted through her head unbidden and she suppressed it as quickly.

  Tony shook his head. “No good. You know too much. I need time to disappear before someone else figures it out. Can’t have you puttin’ the cops on my trail. ‘In for a dime, in for a dollar’ as my old man would say.”

  He stood at the far corner of the desk near the back of the reception room. When he moved toward the chair well behind the desk, Edna threw herself to the opposite side. She was relieved when Annie, uttering a warning rumble, stayed with her. Keeping an eye on Tony, Edna decided the heavy stapler was her best bet. After that, she’d pick up the cup of pens and pencils to throw. She needed enough time to reach the door and get into the hall.

  Tony suddenly feinted toward her, flinging the tape. She blocked the roll with her forearm, and dove away. Now, she and Tony were cattycorner. Edna was on the reception room side of the desk. Tony had his back to the rear hallway.

  “Scared?” he jeered, but the sneer disappeared from his face when Annie leaped forward and clamped her
jaws onto his jean’s cuff. Shaking her head vigorously, the terrier backed away, tugging Tony’s leg. The surprise attack nearly sent him sprawling onto his backside.

  Hopping on one foot, he tried to shake her off. When she didn’t release her grip on his pant leg, he reached for the hammer on his tool belt. Edna grabbed the stapler from Nancy’s desk and hurled it at his head. Somner was already off balance, fumbling at his belt with one foot in the air and Annie hanging on for dear life. When the stapler hit his ear, he fell flat on his back with a howl.

  Edna heard a sickening thud as Tony’s head smacked the wood floor. She wasn’t about to wait around to find out how badly he was hurt. She called to Annie as she spun toward the door. At that moment, the panel flew open with such force, Edna thought the frosted glass would shatter. “Freeze,” yelled a voice. Edna’s heart nearly stopped for the few seconds it took her mind to register the carroty-red mane, mint-green tunic and white trousers.

  In a half crouch, Mary filled the doorway, holding a gun with both hands. Fortunately, the weapon was pointed toward the side wall. When she saw Edna, Mary’s green eyes widened. “What’s goin’ on?”

  “Quick. Help me,” Edna wailed as Tony groaned. “He’s the killer. Help me tie him up.”

  “Use this,” Mary said, rushing to the desk to pick up the roll of duct tape.

  For the next few minutes, Mary stayed at the side of the desk, gun within reach, as she tore strips of tape from the roll and handed them to Edna. Crouching near the semi-conscious man, Edna bound Tony’s wrists and ankles while Annie kept watch at his head.

  “Bet he’s concussed,” Mary diagnosed, helping Edna to her feet after the last adhesive strip had been tightly applied. “Call nine-one-one.”

  Weak with relief, Edna sunk onto the desk chair and, hand shaking, reached for the telephone.

  Chapter 20

  After speaking with the emergency dispatcher and assuring him she was no longer in danger, Edna hung up to wait for the police and medical personnel. Seconds later, the realization that she was safe hit her like a tidal wave, washing over her with a force that left her weak, trembling and exhausted. She felt like laughing and crying at the same time.