Authors: Nancy Roe

Secrets Can Be Deadly (18 page)

BOOK: Secrets Can Be Deadly

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5
4
Friday, March 14, 1980

S
am put on the blonde wig she’d taken from Connie and the white lab coat taken from the nursing home in Sheldon. She was ready for the final chapter.

She
was glad the woman at the bus stop had been preoccupied with time because it made it easy to steal the hospital badge clipped to her purse. The woman wouldn’t miss it until she got to work in the morning and by that time, Sam would be long gone.

Sam
arrived at the hospital at four in the morning. No police cars—a good sign.

She
walked in the front door. A few people were sleeping in chairs in the waiting room, an elderly man reading the Bible. She picked up a
Better Homes and Garden
and walked to the elevator, pushed the
up
arrow. If anyone came out of the elevator, she’d pretend to be reading so she wouldn’t have to make eye contact. Luckily, the elevator was empty.

Sam
got off on the second floor. She walked to the nurse’s station, where a doctor was writing on a chart. Sam noticed a large white board listing each patient’s name, room number, and assigned doctor. Walter Pierce—202. Sophia Knox—210. Three other patients were admitted on this floor.

“Are you as
signed to this floor?” the doctor said sharply.

“
Yes,” Sam said.

“Where have you been?” The doctor
glanced at the magazine. “Decided to take a little break, did you? Where’s Rochelle?”

Sam
remembered what the woman at the bus stop had said about doctors with no bedside manner.

“She’s supposed to be here. What can I do for you?”
Sam walked behind the counter.

“Mr.
Pierce in 202 needs his IV replaced. I noted it in the chart. Please do it, stat.” The doctor handed Sam the chart. “Page me if his condition worsens.”

The doctor
walked around the corner. Sam heard the bell of the elevator and footsteps. She waited until she heard the second bell. The doctor was no longer on the second floor.

Sam
walked in room 202 where her daddy was lying in bed. He had a tube in his throat and an IV needle in his left arm. She took a needle out of her pocket.

Sam
leaned down and whispered in his ear, “You should have died a long time ago.”

She
inserted the needle in his arm. “Nighty night, Daddy.”

“Bravo, bravo,”
Mason said as he clapped his hands. “You’ve made my job of arresting you for murder easy.”

“You’re not e
ven going to try to save him?” Sam was bewildered.

“He died yesterday at the barn,”
Mason said solemnly.

Sam smiled. “So
you’ve decided to follow the family tradition.”

“I had to lie to get you to come to the hospital,”
Mason said. “Nice wig.”

“You lied to me. You know this means I have to kill you
.”

Sam
still had Mason’s service revolver. She felt it in her pants pocket.

Sam
pulled the gun out, aimed it at Mason. Her right shoulder jerked backward, then her chest burned. She tumbled backward against the wall. She looked down and saw blood, slid to the floor.

Sam
looked at Mason one last time. He was holding a gun in his hand. The last words she heard were
I’m sorry, Sis.

55
Thursday, March 20, 1980

T
en of Mason’s closest friends came to celebrate his dad’s life. “First, thanks for being at my dad’s funeral yesterday,” Mason said. “And secondly, thanks for coming over tonight. You’ve probably read articles in the paper, but I want to tell you the story in my own words.”

“When I was ten
, my dad told me my sister and mom died in a car accident. That was a lie. At the same time, my mom thought my dad and I’d been killed in a house fire. Another lie. My mom somehow found my dad in Sheldon and there was a fight. My dad killed my mom and buried her in a country field.

My sister grew up with our grandparents, who apparently were not nice people. My sister found all the secrets our relatives had kept throughout the years and killed them…grandfather…Harold and Connie…Kenneth and Mae…Mark and Lisa.

Samantha came to Sheldon to kill my dad. It
is
true she tried to hang both my dad and Sophia. My dad actually died of a heart attack. I saw his face when it happened. I knew he was gone before he was hanged. As soon as my sister jumped off the hay bales, I ran to save Sophia.

Note to everyone here
…always keep a Swiss army knife taped underneath your passenger seat. No one ever thinks to look there for weapons. I was able to cut the rope before any harm came to Sophia. I took Sophia to the hospital right away and then got the Maquoketa police department involved.

It was my idea to run the story that my dad had survived. It was the only way I knew I could catch my sister. And she fell for it. She came to dad’s room to kill him
, pulled a gun on me. I had to kill my sister. Secrets in my family hurt a lot of people. I make a promise today never to lie to anyone, especially Sophia.” Mason took Sophia’s hand and kissed it gently.

The room erupted in applause.

“Quiet, quiet,” Mason said. “I have one more thing to share with you. I asked Sophia a very important question last night and she said
ye
s. We’re flying to Las Vegas tomorrow and getting married.”

C
heers and chants. Sophia’s friends circled around her and shrieked gleefully.

“We’ll have a formal reception in a few months. And yes, you’re all invited.”

“Better have a few kegs of beer,” Carl said.

“Always thinking about yourself
, aren’t you?” Mason chuckled. “No wonder you’re still single.”

“Can we talk in private a minute?”
Carl whispered.

“Sure.”
Mason said. They walked outside.

“I had no idea Katrina was your sister.”

“I know. She was very good at deceiving people. She dated you so she could get information on me.”

“How
’d you figure it out?”

“It was like putting a puzzle together. The fake flower soda glass arrangement found at a break-in
, the note in Sophia’s purse. When Samantha wore the blonde wig at the hospital, the pieces came together.”

“I’m sorry
, Mace.”

“Me too
, Carl.”

Sophia helped Mason clean up the mess after the guests left.

“You know. This time tomorrow night we’ll be husband an
d wife.” Mason smiled at Sophia.

“No secrets. No lies. Ever,” she said.

Mason held Sophia tight. Thunder rumbled in the distance. A storm was brewing.

Family Tree