Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 03 - They Call Me Ace (16 page)

Chapter Thirty

By the time I reached Turnbal House, the rain was coming down in torrents and I was glad I’d left the dogs at home. Even though I ran from the car to the overhang on the porch, I was drenched from head to toe.

The warm breeze I’d noticed when I left home had turned into a vigorous wind, and it seemed to pick up even while I stood on the porch. My wet hair blew in my eyes and I brushed it away.

Turning the doorknob, I pushed the door open and looked around for my little family. I didn’t see them and stepped inside, wiping my feet on a towel they’d placed on the floor.

“Hello?” I called.

Silence greeted me.

“Hello?” I called, raising my voice.

Still nothing.

“Judith? Where are you?”

Nothing. I wondered where they were. Glancing out the window, I realized the Jeep was gone, but I was sure they wouldn’t have left the front door unlocked if they’d gone somewhere. I walked to the dining room and looked out the

window that faced Kimberly’s house. I could see the twins and Judith standing in the kitchen talking.

Oh, well. I decided I’d take advantage of the quiet and do some searching of my own. I headed for the basement. That was where we’d found the first secret compartment and I wondered if there might be more down there.

Pulling boxes away from the wall, I started tapping, listening for a hollow sound. I’d been at it for about five minutes when I heard Judith come in. I could hear her footsteps as she crossed the floor.

Walking to the bottom of the stairs, I put my hands to my mouth and called, “Judith, I’m down in the basement.”

Apparently she hadn’t heard me because she didn’t reply. I could still hear her footsteps though, and it had begun to thunder. I loved summer storms.

“
Judith?
” I called louder.

The sound of footfalls stopped. I waited for a moment and the noise started again.

“Judith, will you please answer me?” I started up the stairs. She was just nutty enough to try to scare me. I could picture her leaping out and yelling, “Boo!” That sounded like something my eccentric mother-in-law would do.

Instead, the door to the basement slammed shut.

“This isn’t funny, Judith.” I reached the top of the stairs and reached for the doorknob, but just as I put my hand on it someone yanked it open. That same someone threw something over my head and pushed me back toward the stairs, slamming the door shut again.

“
Hey!
” I yelled, arms flailing, trying to get a grip on something. Whatever was on my head fell off and I grabbed the first thing I saw, which happened to be the banister. I felt my arm wrench. My back screamed in pain, but I held tight. My body wanted to continue on down the stairs. I hung tighter. My wet shoes slipped and my body twisted – my knees slammed into the stair steps. My grip on the banister

loosened, but by that time I was half lying on the steps.

And I thought I heard someone whistling
Beautiful Dreamer
.

It took me a moment to come to my senses. Letting go of the banister, I realized the muscles in my shoulder hurt with a vengeance. I sat, and I breathed, and I heard footsteps running through the house, followed by the slamming of the front door. Trying to take a deep breath, I groaned from the pain it caused in my back.

Lightning lit the basement and immediately thunder slammed through the air. It cracked loudly and I knew it was right overhead.

I heard the front door open and close again. Pulling myself up, I limped up the stairs. You might catch me unawares once, but not twice. I opened the basement door and closed it behind me as quietly as possible, and looked around the kitchen for something to protect myself with – like a sledge hammer. Not your typical kitchen implement, but anything would do. Shaking, I picked up a screwdriver that rested on the sink. Judith or Chris Sr. must have been using it.

The footsteps were now headed in my direction.

“
I’ve got a weapon and I’m not afraid to use it
,” I yelled. Yelling made my back hurt and I groaned again. I couldn’t help myself. My shoulder was throbbing. Glancing toward the back door, I wondered if I could make it outside in time to miss being knocked down again, or worse.

“Pamela?” Judith entered the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, my! You look like a drowned rat. Did you say something about a weapon?” She walked closer and studied me.

I dropped the screwdriver on the sink and rubbed my shoulder. I did the unthinkable. I started to cry.

“Pamela, what happened?” Judith grabbed my shoulders and I cried harder. She realized I was in pain and let me go.

“Oh, Judith. I’m so glad you’re here.” I looked past her, hoping no one had snuck in behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder, trying to figure out what I was looking at in the other room.

“Tell me what happened.” She gently took my good arm and led me toward a chair in the dining room. “You look awful, and you’re shaking.”

“Someone tried to push me down the stairs. I grabbed the banister and it saved me from falling all the way to the bottom.” I pulled my pant legs up, and glancing down I saw that my knees were red where they’d hit the steps. I ached all over.

Judith looked at my knees and didn’t question my story. “Are you sure whoever pushed you has left?”

I nodded.

She hurried to the front door and locked it before coming to sit by me.

“Chris and Mikey should be back soon. They left to pick up some In-N-Out hamburgers for lunch.” She appeared flustered, and I couldn’t blame her. Reaching out, she gently touched my face. Somehow she’d come up with a tissue and she wiped my tears away. “Maybe we’d better take you to the hospital.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I think I wrenched every muscle in my body, but other than that I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

Again, I nodded, somehow feeling like a child who’d just fallen and skinned her knee. I took a deep breath, trying to pull myself together.

“Why would someone push you down the stairs? I don’t get it.”

“At least I’m alive. Look what happened to Kimberly. It could have been worse. I could have fallen all the way down the stairs and broken my neck.”

Judith winced.

I knew someone really wanted whatever treasure might be hidden in Turnbal House. “I feel like I’m in the middle of a second-rate movie. Thunder and lightning for sound and visual effects. A monster biding his time and pushing me down the stairs. Hidden treasure. And a murder to solve. It’s all about whatever Marguerite left behind. I know it.”

“Okay, here’s what I
really
don’t get. She’s been dead and gone for a long time. Why is someone just now trying to find whatever’s hidden? Why not a year ago? Ten years?” I had a feeling Judith was trying to distract me from my pain and fear. She wasn’t babying me.

“I don’t have an answer,” I said, rubbing my shoulder and rearranging the way I was sitting because of back pain. “I can only guess that someone just recently heard the legend and decided to try to find it. And now that the house is up for sale, their time is more limited.” I let my hands rest in my lap. The shaking was subsiding.

“You could be right.”

“What were you doing with the twins?” I asked.

“They called me over because they were bored. Mikey had gone over and asked if they wanted burgers, and they told him to send me over. I sure wish I hadn’t left.”

“No, I’m glad you did. You’re older than… I mean, you’re smaller than me… It was probably a good thing that I was here instead of you.”

Judith didn’t comment, and thankfully she chose to ignore my little lapse in judgment. “Where’s your purse? I want to use your cell phone.”

“It’s in the basement.”

She left me alone while she retrieved my purse. I kept a close eye on the front door, and the stairs, just in case our visitor hadn’t really left when I first heard the door slam.

“Oh, Pamela. There are scratch marks on the wall where you tried to catch yourself.” Her face was an unhealthy shade of pale and her voice cracked.

I put my good arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “It’s okay, Judith. Everything is okay now.” Suddenly I found myself consoling her. Somehow we’d switched places.

She gently touched my face again before pulling away and sitting down. “I’m calling Chris. Your Chris, not mine. He needs to get over here.”

“But I’ve got the car.”

“Okay, then I’m calling Chris Sr. on his cell phone. He can stop and pick up our son.”

“Where’s
your
cell phone?” I asked.

“We only have one, and hubby took it with him. That’s why I need yours.”

“Ah.”

Judith called Chris Sr., and rather than scare him she simply said I’d had a small accident – that I’d fallen down the stairs but I was okay. She asked him to pick up the Bogey Man, her words, not mine.

I reached for the cell phone, but she held up her index finger before she punched in another number.

“Chris, this is your mother. Your father is coming by to pick you up and bring you over here.”

There was a pause before she spoke again.

“I don’t care what you’re doing, Junior. Someone tried to push Pamela down the stairs, and – ”

There was a slightly longer pause before Judith could get in another word or two.

“She’s fine. Very sore, but fine. And, no, she doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Now you get your fanny outside and wait for your father.”

There was one more short pause before Judith said, “Hello? Hello?”

I reached for the cell phone thinking that maybe Chris wanted to talk to me.

Judith shook her head. “He hung up. I think he’s probably already outside waiting for his father.”

We sat quietly for a few moments while we listened to the heavy rain splatting against the windows while the wind howled.

It thundered again, still sounding close, just as someone pounded on the front door.

Chapter Thirty-one

Judith jumped out of her chair like she’d been shot. The pounding at the door continued.

I reached out with my good arm and grabbed her. “Don’t open the door. Find out who’s there first.”

She nodded before running to the door. “
Who’s there!
” It sounded like an angry accusation rather than a simple question.

I was too far away to hear the answer.

“Who?” she asked. Apparently a crack of thunder had drowned out the reply.

Reaching over, she unlocked the door and threw it open. Apparently she’d heard the reply the second time. Watching her, I thought she’d have done well on a soap opera. Opening the door appeared to be a dramatic moment for her. I assumed Chris Sr. would walk in with Mikey, even though I knew they hadn’t had time to pick up my husband yet. Instead, Carol and Coral walked in with a definite purpose to their steps.

“What’s going on over here?” Coral power-walked over to me and studied my face closely.

Carol followed her. “We could see you two from Kimberly’s house. You look like you’ve been crying, Pamela. And we saw you holding your shoulder like it hurt.”

“So what happened? Did you have an accident?” Coral was way too close. I could smell coffee on her breath.

I leaned back a little, but made a face when the pain in my back made me catch my breath.

“Someone pushed her down the cellar stairs,” Judith explained. “We’re lucky she wasn’t hurt worse.”

Carol stuck her face next to her sister’s. Her breath smelled like orange juice. I closed my eyes for a moment. I didn’t want to be rude, but I wanted them to back away. “Why don’t the two of you sit down and I’ll tell you what happened?”

Judith left us to return to the front door, which she locked as dramatically as she’d thrown it open.

It was a short story and it only took a couple of minutes to bring the twins up-to-date. By the time I was done Coral was clucking her tongue and Carol was
tsking
.

“And where are the men in your family?” Coral asked.

“They’re on their way.” Judith handed me my cell phone. “I called my husband on Pamela’s phone and he’s picking up Chris. If we hadn’t been so busy gossiping about the neighborhood, maybe we’d have seen someone sneak in here. Maybe we could have saved Pamela. Maybe – ”

“It’s okay, Judith,” I said. “
I’m okay. You couldn’t have known someone would come in here during the day, and with you just next door.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Carol’s hand few to her mouth. “You could have been here by yourself, Judy. You’re such a little thing. This guy could have done some real damage.”

At least she hadn’t mentioned Judith’s age as I had.

“He did,” Judith said. “Take a look at Pamela, for crying out loud.”

Coral leaned toward me. “Could you tell who it was?

Did you see anyone?”

“No. Whoever it was threw something over my head. I would have gone down the stairs if it hadn’t fallen off so I could see the banister.”

“Well, that son-of-a – ”

“Coral, don’t be crass.” Carol shook her finger at her sister. “You really need to watch your language. Cursing isn’t a becoming trait in a woman your age.”

Coral bristled. “Oh… Shut your pie hole. I’m only a couple of minutes older than you, so you’re a woman of the
same
age.”

The twins inched their chairs away from each other and I almost laughed out loud because of the precision timing. They were actually making me feel better and distracting me from myself.

We talked for a few more minutes and then we sat quietly, just listening to the storm. I couldn’t believe the twins had run out of chatter.

The thunder had moved past the house, but the rain was still falling.

A thud sounded upstairs and all four of us jumped. Maybe my attacker hadn’t left, after all.

“
I still have a weapon, and I’m still not afraid to use it
,” I yelled. It was easy to be brave and aggressive when the sound had come from
upstairs
and I was
downstairs
– and I wasn’t alone. My head pounded and I wished I really had a weapon.

We listened and didn’t hear anything else.

“There are four of us. Maybe we should go up and see what the noise was,” I suggested.

“Okay.” Judith looked like she’d rather be anywhere except upstairs.

“Sure.” Carol sounded unsure of her reply.

“Yeah. We should.” Even Coral didn’t look too enthused. Having second thoughts, she said, “What are we? Chickens?”

“Cluck, cluck,” Judith said.

I rolled my eyes. How could I not? Cluck, cluck? “Come on.” I stood up and headed for the stairs.

I tried to turn and see if they were following me, but my neck was stiff and I couldn’t look over my shoulder. I stopped and turned around. Three faces looked at me expectantly. I was surprised that Coral wasn’t more aggressive, but the fact was, she looked like a frightened old woman. All bark, no bite maybe.

“Wait! I said I have a weapon, and I don’t. One of you needs to grab something we can take upstairs with us.” I did a quick look around the living room and spied a pair of study glass candleholders.

Pointing at them, I waited while Judith brought both of them back. She kept one and handed the other to Coral. Coral lifted it up and down to see if it was heavy. It was, and suddenly her bravado returned. She straightened her back and took the lead, heading up the stairs.

Judith and Carol followed her with me bringing up the rear. I was moving slowly. My head, neck, shoulder and knees hurt. Each step up the stairs made me grit my teeth. The ladies waited for me on the top landing.

“Let’s start with the room at the front of the house,” I whispered. It was one of three bedrooms, and I knew it was empty. Most of the furniture had been left behind, but for some reason this room didn’t contain much of anything.

I reached for the doorknob and thunder boomed overhead.

“
Damn
,” Coral said, jumping. “Here we go again. Listen to the rain. It’s pounding on the roof.”

Judith pushed me out of the way and turned the doorknob, quickly shoving the door open and leaping into the room, candlestick held high, ready to clobber someone.

There are moments that make me wish I had a camera handy. This was one of them. Itty bitty Judith was out for

blood, but there was no one to attack.

She tiptoed out of the room and headed for the second bedroom – the room where we’d found Kimberly’s body. We’d been making so much noise that I wasn’t sure why she was tiptoeing. She reached for the knob, turned it and threw the door open with such flair that I almost clapped for her. It was nearly as melodramatic as when she’d opened the front door. It was award-winning.

And we found the culprit. At least, we found what had made the thud. A piece of the rain-soaked ceiling had fallen in, knocking over a chair.

You could hear a collective sigh as we all relaxed.

“I’ll go find a bucket to put under the leak,” Judith said.

“You’re not expecting
us
to fix the roof, are you?” Coral asked. “I mean, we’ve let you keep the contents of the house.”

Judith ignored her and left to find a bucket. She gave me a look on her way out of the room, but I couldn’t read it.

“Hello? Where is everybody?” Chris’s voice sounded from downstairs. “Pamela?”

“I’m up here,” I called, walking out to the landing. “The roof is leaking and your mother is coming down for a bucket.”

“We’ll bring one up,” Chris, Sr. hollered. “I know where to find one.”

“Are there any other problems with this house that you’d like to share with me?” Judith asked, looking at Coral.

“No.” She sounded a little like she was hoping the roof wouldn’t be a deal-breaker. “I’ll tell you what. How about if Carol and I split the cost of roof repairs with you?”

Carol didn’t look too happy about her sister offering to spend her money so easily, but she didn’t say a word.

“I’m going downstairs,” I said.

I left the three women to discuss the roof. I wanted to see my husband and son. I wanted them to comfort me and I wanted Chris to promise to find the person who’d pushed me

down the stairs.

He didn’t let me down. “Sweetie,” he said, coming up the stairs to help me limp down, “are you okay?” His face was a study in anger and concern. Apparently he wasn’t quite sure which direction to take.

“No.”

Mikey walked on my other side, taking care not to jar the injured arm. He held his hand under my elbow without touching me.

Chris started to lead me toward a dusty old cloth-covered couch in the living room, but I pointed to the dining room. We changed directions. I was afraid that once I sat down on the couch I’d have trouble getting back up.

Chris was very gentle and helped me sit. “Where does it hurt?”

“Everywhere. But my shoulder and knees are the worst.” I told him what happened, and how I’d twisted around as I fell. The concern on his face was touching, but the anger underneath the concern was a little scary.

Mikey stood on my good side and gently patted my back.

We looked up when we heard the women coming down the stairs, all talking at once.

Chris, Sr. passed behind us with a bucket. He stopped by Judith. “Where’s the leak, Judy?”

“Center bedroom.”

He grimaced, not caring for what he called the Den of Death. I wondered how he’d ever manage to be comfortable in Turnbal House. Not my problem.

The women gathered around my little family.

Chris looked at the twins. “Did you see the guy who lives next door to Kimberly’s house today? Was he at his mother’s house?”

Carol and Coral nodded.

“Did you see him heading for
this
house?” Chris asked.

“Well…” Coral didn’t have an answer.

“Um…” Neither did Carol.

“You see…” Judith wasn’t any better.

“Did anyone see
anything?
” Chris sounded frustrated.

“Well, Junior, it’s like this. I went over to visit with the girls, and we were talking out in the kitchen. We really couldn’t see anything from there. Not a thing. We never would have suspected that Pamela would show up and someone would come after her.”

Judith made sense, actually. I hadn’t told her I was coming over. None of the women were expecting me.

“Maybe we should call Janet,” I suggested.

Mikey continued to pat my back, and as much as I adore that child, it was beginning to annoy me. I glanced up at him and he stopped patting, taking hold of my hand instead.

“And what good would that do?” Chris was
not
a happy camper. “There’s not a damn thing she can do that we couldn’t. None of you saw anything. No one knows anything. And yet here you sit, Pamela, in pain and lucky not to have a broken neck.”

I didn’t say a word, deciding it might be best to let him vent.

He turned to Carol and Coral. “You wanted to help. I only asked you do to one thing. Watch that guy. And did you? No! You were too busy yakking in the kitchen. A fat lot of good that did.”

“Okay, Junior, settle down,” Judith said. “It’s not like we were having tea and crumpets. I took a little break and went next door to visit. Your father and I have been working hard today. Take a look at the kitchen. We’ve done a lot of cleaning and repairing. I needed that break. Instead of yelling at us, count your blessings that your wife is okay.

“Why, you should have heard how brave she was when I came in. When she heard me she yelled out that she had a weapon and she was ready to use it. I found her in the

kitchen with a screwdriver in her hand.” She reached over and stroked my hair. “I was proud of her.”

Carol and Coral watched the mother and son with wide eyes, waiting to see what would happen next.

I waited, too.

Mikey squeezed my hand. He took a step forward and I pulled him back, barely shaking my head. Now would not be a good time to come between a mother and her son.