BACKWOODS RIPPER: a gripping action suspense thriller (12 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Paige shrank back as far as the limited space behind the door would allow. Hands still clamped over her mouth, she tried to calm her breathing and listen. Heavy feet moved around the far end of the room. A door clicked closed and, once more, the room fell silent. Sure that Lizzy was in the bathroom, Paige waited. After a few minutes she heard the sound of flushing followed by groaning pipes and running water.

Paige squeezed her eyes shut and waited, praying Lizzy would go back outside. The bathroom door creaked open and heavy feet stomped not away but closer to Paige’s hiding place. In her mind, Paige pictured Lizzy flinging open the door and pointing the shotgun at her, its impossibly large barrels filling her vision and then, one last moment of horror before the woman pulled the trigger. It made perfect sense; Lizzy could blow her head off and still cut the baby out of her body before it was too late.
Maybe that’s been her plan all along
.

The footfalls bypassed Soona’s room and moved to the left. The doorknob clattered, and an errant floorboard squeaked. Lizzy was in her bedroom. Paige peeled her hands away from her face and pressed her ear to the wall between the two rooms. A chain of indiscernible noises followed, then what sounded like a drawer opening. Paige could faintly make out a tinkling, like a set of small bells.

Terrified that Lizzy would hear her breathing, Paige covered her mouth again. Lizzy’s bedroom door closed with a snap and footsteps moved across the room. The tinkling turned into a jangling and Paige realised that the bells were in fact keys.

The steps halted, and Paige waited. For a moment nothing but the distant sound of birds twittering in the trees beyond the house filled the air. The moment seemed to expand and Paige wondered if Lizzy had left without her hearing. She began to lower her hands when she detected movement.

Footfalls scuffed back across the room, still heavy, but now slower. With each step came a metallic jangle. The sound suggested that Lizzy had put the keys in her pocket. As the jangling drew nearer, Paige became convinced that Lizzy had heard her or caught a glimpse of her through the door jam.

The air in the room felt heavy and stale. Tiny beads of sweat gathered on Paige’s upper lip. The urge to wipe the moisture away became overwhelming, but she resisted for fear any movement, even the whisper of her skin against her dress, would be thunderously loud in the silence.

A board groaned outside Soona’s room. In her mind’s eye, Paige saw Lizzy standing in the doorway sniffing the air like a witch catching the scent of lost children. The image started a shiver at the base of Paige’s spine, but she clenched her teeth and kept her body rigid. After a few seconds, Lizzy’s footsteps moved away and withdrew. The door connecting the suite with the sitting room closed with a rattle.

Paige remained frozen behind the door, every nerve in her body hummed with concentration. It could be a trick – Lizzy pretending to leave then creeping back across the room so she could crouch on the other side of the door. Paige made herself count to thirty, pausing between each number. When she’d finished, she hesitated, still unsure if it was safe to move. She thought of peeking around the door, but imagined Lizzy on the other side, bent over, large square teeth bared like a wolf.

Paige felt sweat run down her back. She remembered the way as a child the shadows had crowded into the corners of her own bedroom, like a witch uncurling out of the dark. Forcing the memory away, she looked around the room with wide eyes.
She
was a mother now; she had to be brave enough to stand up to monsters.

If she didn’t move, she’d remain behind the door paralysed with fear until her legs gave out. She stepped out from her hiding spot and saw Lizzy on all fours grinning like a hyena. Paige gasped. The image changed into the shadow of the armchair.

She leaned back against the door jam and put her hands on her knees. She took two long, deep breaths, and then straightened up. She didn’t know how long she had before Lizzy and Soona came back. She had to find the keys to the Ford, and quickly.

She opened the door to Lizzy’s room. Weak light filtered through the flouncy curtains shielding the window. The first thing that struck her was the clutter. The room looked clean enough but photos filled the walls, embroidered cushions covered half the bed, and piles of letters and papers were strewn on the dresser and bedside table. A distinct odour assaulted her senses, sour milk mingled with that same musky scent present in the outer room.

Paige grimaced and pulled out dresser drawers filled with blouses, socks, nightdresses, and a selection of sensible – mostly beige – underwear. Next she searched the small drawers on the bedside stand. The top one contained the usual equipment: reading glasses, hand cream, toenail clippers. The second drawer was stuffed with old photographs. Paige lifted them and searched the bottom of the drawer. Nothing. As she placed the photos back, she noticed the one on the top was of Lizzy. A much younger, slimmer Lizzy.

Paige held up the photo, a colour snap taken at the front of the house. Lizzy looked about twenty, smiling happily in her nurse’s uniform. Next to her stood a tall, hulking man in a grey suit, between them a dark-haired toddler staring vacantly to the side. There was something off about the scene but Paige couldn’t quite put her finger on it. With no time to linger, she put the photo back and closed the drawer.

Next she tried the wardrobe. One thin black bar held a collection of old uniforms and a few skirts in brown and navy.
Nursing’s not just her job, it’s her whole life
. A tiny sliver of sadness scratched at Paige’s heart. She pushed the thought away and reached up to search the top shelf.
If a person’s hiding something, it’s usually on the top shelf or in the bottom drawer.
She’d read that somewhere, most likely a mystery novel. It made sense though, the eyes first landed on what was in front of them, not above or below.

The top shelf sat a few centimetres above Paige’s head. A brightly coloured vanity bag and a plastic tub filled the space. She could see the items on the edge of the shelf but not whatever lay hidden beyond them. She grabbed the bag and lifted it down, then turned and placed it on the bed. A circular zip secured the top of the bag. Paige unzipped it and opened the lid. The case was stuffed with blister strips of tablets, there had to be hundreds of them. Some were loose, others secured with elastic bands.

Paige read a few of the brand names, but the medications meant nothing to her. At least this solved the mystery of where she’s been getting painkillers for Hal. Paige looked at a few more strips. Many of the names ended in
ine,
she was sure she’d read somewhere it meant the pills were morphine-based painkillers. She stuffed them back in place and zipped up the case.

Before returning to the wardrobe, she took a peek out the window. The flouncy curtains were covered in green and yellow daisies. An odd choice for a woman like Lizzy. There was a narrow gap where they’d been partially opened, about ten centimetres or so. Paige stood to the side of the gap and angled her head so she could see outside.

A narrow bar of the backyard showed. The doors to the large shed stood open. Paige could see Wade’s bike parked nearby. Something metallic just beyond the doors caught a glimmer of sunlight. It was impossible to be sure, but she thought she’d caught a glimpse of a car farther back in the gloom of the shed. She stepped away from the window and inhaled sharply. How many vehicles were hidden on this property? And more frightening, where were their owners?

Paige stepped up to the window and ducked sideways when she saw movement. Sure that she was concealed by the side of the curtain, she risked another look. Lizzy ambled out of the shed. She emerged into the light like a bear coming out of a cave and tossed something aside. She wiped her arm across her face leaving behind streaks of dirt or oil.

Paige watched Lizzy regard the bike. Then the woman used her foot to hit the kickstand up and wheeled the black and silver Harley into the dark.

Satisfied that Lizzy was busy disposing of all traces of Wade, Paige returned to her search. She pulled the plastic tub down from the top shelf of the wardrobe. It was transparent, its contents – sewing paraphernalia – clear without the need to open it.

Paige dropped the tub and winced at the way it thudded on the scuffed boards. She hesitated before continuing her search. If Lizzy had heard, she’d be heading for the back door. After a minute or so she decided that the thud had probably been loud in the confines of the room, but not so loud as to carry outside.

She rose up onto her toes and tried to see the back of the shelf. There was something there, but the angle made it difficult to make out more than a dark shape. Stretching her arms as far as they would reach, Paige trailed her fingers along the back. Her hand touched something cold and solid. She pulled her fingers back as if stung, and then reached forward to hazard another touch. The object was cylindrical and smooth. She curled her fingers around it and slid it towards her. The barrel of the shotgun came into view.

“Yes.” Paige muttered and pulled the gun down.

She laid it on the bed and reached up fanning her hand out and running it over the wood of the shelf. It closed over a box; she dragged it forward. A rolling came from inside.
Not many left, but it’ll have to do.

With the shells and the gun on the bed, she put everything else back on the shelf and closed the wardrobe. The beginnings of a plan formed in her mind. But something else gnawed at the edges of her thinking. Something important, just out of reach. She didn’t have time to ponder, she had to find the keys.

The only place she hadn’t checked was under the bed. Flipping back the chenille bedspread, she dropped to one knee. Her thigh and shoulder pulsed, a large plum-coloured bruise already spread across the top of her leg from where Lizzy’s blow had sent her thumping to the ground. She bit her lip and crouched as low as her swollen belly would allow.

Two matching black cases were slotted next to each other, taking up almost three quarters of the space.
It’s about time something went my way.
Paige pulled one of the cases out by the rim. A thin, yellow ribbon dotted with stars flopped around the handle. The ribbon had been Paige’s idea. Before leaving for their honeymoon in Bali, she tied it on her case so she could tell hers from Hal’s.

Paige grasped the ribbon between her fingers and rubbed it as if it had magical powers; that by touching it, she’d be transported back in time. The baby gave a sharp kick.

“I know, I’ve got to keep moving,” she said and pushed the case back under the bed. It was Hal’s case she needed.

She reached under and grabbed the corner. It was lighter than hers because he never seemed to need much when they travelled. Thankful for that, she pulled the case out from under the bed. It slid across the boards with a whisper. They hadn’t bothered with locks this trip so opening it posed no problem.

How long has it been?
It seemed like a few minutes, but it was probably closer to ten. She unzipped the case and flipped up the lid. Pushing back a pile of T-shirts, Paige and found what she was looking for.

For a second, she doubted what her eyes saw. After everything they’d been through, the sight of the spare car keys seemed too good to be true. Paige’s hands shook as she snatched the keys out of the case and put them on the bed with the gun.

Shoving the case back under the bed, she used the side of her bare foot to sweep the dust balls that had been pushed free by the cases out of sight. She scanned the room, making sure nothing looked out of place. Her eyes came to rest on a stack of papers on the chest of draws. It looked like mostly old receipts, bills, and flyers. A letter folded in three segments, caught Paige’s eye. It looked new compared with the rest of the pile. The bottom third of the page was unfolded and she could see the unmistakable stamp of a government department.

Don’t
, her mind screamed.
Get out now, before she comes back.
Her instincts told her to grab the gun and the keys and get moving, but something about that letter, the way it was perched on top of the pile, the unfolded end beckoned her closer like ghostly hand. Whatever secrets the letter held, wouldn’t help her and Hal. The smart thing to do would be skedaddle. But instead of getting out of the room, Paige found herself in front of the dresser picking up the letter.

She unfolded the paper, her damp fingers almost sticking to the edges. It was from the Health Department and dated three months ago. Much of what was written was of no interest until Paige came to the second paragraph.

While we offer our condolences and gratitude in recognition of your father’s many contributions to the health and wellbeing of our service men, without a licensed Medical Practitioner, Mable House Aged Care Facility is no longer eligible to serve as a licensed care facility. Under the Aged Care Act of 1974, in the absence of a General Practitioner, State and Federal funding shall cease and the facility will be required to suspend operation.

A Health Department representative will visit Mable House on the 29
th
of August to assist you in making arrangements for your remaining two residents to be transferred to Steven Tate Hospital in Albany.

Paige stopped reading. A few days before Lizzy stumbled upon Paige and Hal, Mable House had been closed
and,
judging by the tone of the letter, against Lizzy’s wishes. Coming on top of the death of Lizzy’s father, it could explain why the woman snapped. Paige had a feeling that Lizzy had always skated close to madness, but maybe her father and her work kept her from reaching the edge and diving into lunacy.