Authors: Jude Pittman
Stella frowned. “It’s funny how you can think you know someone and yet when it comes to something bizarre like this, you realize you don’t really know them at all. Still, Krystal might try to convince Penny that Anna’s killer was after her and she needs Penny’s help to save her own life.”
“Which means she probably won’t kill Penny until she can set it up so it looks like Penny was killed by the kidnapper.”
“I don’t understand. I thought Krystal invented the kidnapping in order to get Andrew out to the beach house.”
“That’s true but she doesn’t know we know that. As far as Krystal’s concerned, the police are still searching for the kidnapper. Now that Andrew is dead, the only way she can make the kidnapping story work is to produce a kidnapper.”
“How can she possibly manage that?”
“There’s only one way—by choosing someone who fits the profile of the kidnapper, then killing him.”
Stella gasped. “You make her sound like some kind of a monster.”
“She’s a murderer,” Kelly said. “And that makes her a monster. Not only that but judging from the way she’s been manipulating everyone, she’s an incredibly smart murderer.”
“Krystal’s always been clever,” Stella said. “If she makes up a story, you better believe it’ll be a good one.”
“I just wish I could think of where she might take Penny.” Kelly picked up his fork. The waitress had set their food on the table and automatically, without even noticing what was on the plate, he began to eat.
Stella picked at her own food and for several minutes they ate in silence, each absorbed in private thoughts. Finally, Kelly put down his fork and slid out of the booth. “I’m going to give Bubba a call,” he said. “Maybe somebody out at Indian Creek has seen her.”
“Do you think she’d go there?”
Kelly shrugged. “I don’t know. But I can’t think what else to do. Gus has got the city covered. If nothing else, at least I can find out how Jake’s been holding out.”
When he returned, he picked up the bill and helped Stella on with her coat.
“Where to now?” she asked.
“Indian Creek. Bubba didn’t answer, which is kind of strange but he might be up at the Hideaway. We’ll stop there then I guess we wait. Maybe by the time we get to the cabin Gus will have some news.”
Stella followed him out to the car and handed over the keys. “You drive. It’ll be easier since you know where you’re going.”
Kelly nodded took the keys and opened the door to let Stella into the car. On the way to Indian Creek, Kelly, lost in thought, drove in silence.
“I’ll just be a minute,” he said when they pulled up in front of the Hideaway. “I don’t imagine you feel like meeting any strangers.”
“No, thanks.” Stella settled back in the seat. “I’ll just wait out here.”
Five minutes later, Kelly climbed back in the car. “Bubba hasn’t been around,” he said. “We’ll go to the cabin and I’ll give him a call.”
When Kelly turned into the drive leading to the flea market, he drove straight up the hill to the cabin. “I’ll park the car right here in front just in case we have to leave in a hurry,” he reached for the door handle.
The minute he opened the car door, the frantic barking and yapping of a dog going nuts assaulted their ears.
“What the hell?” Kelly jumped out of the car and raced for the cabin. “You stay there,” he yelled over his shoulder at Stella as he bounded up the steps.
Grabbing the knob, he yanked open the door and Jake, leaping through the opening, nearly knocked him off the porch.
“Hey,” Kelly shouted after the dog but Jake kept on going, racing at top speed, across the stretch of grass that fronted the cabin and clear on down the hill.
Frowning, he watched until Jake stopped in front of the main entrance to the flea market, then Kelly turned and ran back to the car.
“I want you to go inside the cabin and call Gus,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Stella’s voice shook and she wore the scared expression of someone waiting for an explosion.
“I think Krystal’s inside the flea market,” Kelly said. “Gus’ number is in the book beside the phone. Call him and tell him I’ve gone in after her. Then you stay in the cabin until I get back.” Without waiting for an answer, Kelly turned and started down the hill after Jake.
At the main entrance, Jake stood guard beside the front door. When Kelly joined him, he growled low in his throat and lifted his front leg to scratch at the door.
“Take it easy, boy,” Kelly grabbed the wooden handle and gave the door a yank.
The padlock, which Kelly had left securely fastened the day before, had been unlocked and left to hang in the clasp. The lock hadn’t been forced, so whoever was inside had used a key. If it was Bubba, as Kelly suspected, he wasn’t alone or Jake wouldn’t be raising such a racket.
“Wait here,” Kelly said to Jake, then stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him.
The barn was pitch dark and Kelly groped for the flashlight he kept on a shelf by the door. When he had it in hand, he clicked on the beam and focused it across the barn. Pale yellow light spilled across rows of sheet-covered tables turning them into ghostly shadows. Kelly stopped for a moment, removed his cowboy boots and grasping them in his hand, made his way noiselessly across the concrete until he reached the shops on the far side of the building. In the silence, a sound like the thump of someone bumping into a table, echoed through the barn. Kelly stooped and put his feet back in his boots. Then he listened. He made his way to the light post beside the refreshment stand, and deciding that it would be better if she knew someone was here, he flicked the switch. Nothing happened. “Krystal?” His voice rang loud in the silent barn. Praying that Bubba and Penny were still alive, Kelly was gambling that Krystal wouldn’t kill them if she knew he was in the building.
Kelly called her name again and waited. She didn’t answer and he started forward again, moving slowly in the direction of Anna’s stall. At the refreshment stand, he stopped and peered through the serving window. The old refrigerator cast its shadow across the tiled floor and his light glinted on the stacks of pots and pans lining the shelves.
Kelly listened for a minute, then moved around to the small outdoor patio where Luis Morales served up the best hot tamales in Texas. With his stomach muscles clenched from anxiety instead of hunger, Kelly focused his eyes on the row of shops that ran along the wall next to the refreshment stand.
One glance was all it took to confirm his hunch. There was a light coming from under the curtain that covered the front of Anna’s shop.
Reaching into his pocket and removing his revolver, Kelly crossed the aisle and stopped in front of the shop. Parting the curtain, he peered into the room. There was no sign of Krystal but he spotted Bubba right away. He was on the floor, curled up in a fetal position with blood seeping from a wound on his head. Kelly tightened his grip on the revolver and stifled an urge to rush to Bubba’s side.
Keeping his eye on the private enclave at the back of the room where Anna used to do her paperwork, Kelly sidled into the room and crouched with his back against the wall.
Now that he had the full room in view, Kelly spotted Penny sprawled in Anna’s rocker. A blanket had been thrown over her shoulders and her head slumped against her chest.
Kelly listened for several minutes but there was still no sign of Krystal. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he crept across the room, grasped Bubba’s hand and wrapped his fingers around his wrist. Then he let out a sigh of relief. Bubba’s pulse was faint and rapid—not a good sign—but at least he was still alive.
Taking off his jacket and covering Bubba as best he could, Kelly crossed to Penny. Bending his head to place his ear against her chest, Kelly heard the reassuring thump of her heartbeat. She’d been drugged from the looks of it but she too, was alive.
“Stand right there!” Krystal’s voice, cold as ice, came from behind him. “Keep your hands where I can see them,” she snapped, when Kelly moved his arm.
He stopped and stood motionless.
“Now turn around, slowly.”
Kelly turned and faced the girl he’d thought he loved. It was like looking into the face of a stranger. Her wide green eyes stared, unblinking, into his and her face flushed with a feverish glow.
“Put the gun down on the floor.” She pointed a small pistol at Kelly’s head. When he hesitated, she stiffened her arm. “I’m an expert shot,” she said. “Don’t force me, Kelly.”
Kelly crouched and laid his gun on the floor.
“Back up,” Krystal moved forward and shoved the gun away with her foot.
Keeping his eyes on Krystal, Kelly backed against the wall.
Bubba groaned and Kelly turned his head to look at his friend. “At least let me see to Bubba.”
“Why? He’s not going anywhere.” She waved the gun in a manner that made her meaning clear.
“Gus is on his way,” Kelly tried again.
She tossed her head. “Then I’ll just have to work faster.” She waved the gun again. “Get over there beside Penny and squat on the floor with your back toward me.”
Kelly complied.
“Now give me your hands.”
Kelly extended his hands behind his back. She moved up behind him and his muscles tensed as he felt the smooth fiber of a nylon cord being wrapped around his wrists.
“Now back up against that chair and bend your head.”
Kelly did as she ordered.
Krystal tugged the rope, taking up the slack until the fibers cut into Kelly’s flesh. “There!” She moved back in front of him. “I’ve wrapped that rope around Penny’s neck, so if you’ve got any ideas about trying to break loose, you better be prepared to strangle her.”
Bubba moaned in the background and Krystal strode over to him. She stood for a minute, then bent down and picked up a flat piece of board. “We can’t have you waking up right now,” she said in a high, taunting voice. Then she lifted the board high in the air and brought it down on the side of Bubba’s head.
Kelly jerked forward, felt the rope tighten and forced himself back against the chair.
“What was the point of that?” He struggled to keep the anger out of his voice.
Ignoring him, Krystal walked over to Anna’s cubbyhole and disappeared behind the wall. When she came back into Kelly’s view, she had a large gas can clutched in her hand.
“What are you doing?” Kelly asked.
She stopped and stared. Her wild, dilated eyes looked right through him. “Why couldn’t you have stayed out of this?”
Kelly shuddered. Krystal’s intent was clear. She was going to set fire to the flea market and if Gus didn’t get here soon, he and Bubba and Penny would all be burned to death. Kelly’s only hope was to keep her talking.
“Why did you bring Bubba into this?” he asked.
“That nasty man.” She spit out the words. “He’s the kidnapper and he’s going to die in the fire. I’ll tell the police Penny and I came here looking for you and he trapped us inside this barn. Of course I’ll get away but unfortunately, I won’t be able to save Penny.”
“That won’t work, you know,” Kelly said.
“Why not? Because you’re here? Why did you have to come? By morning, it would’ve been all over and things could’ve still been good between us. Now I’m going to have to tell the police you came in here trying to save me and that man jumped you and got your gun away. Then he shot you.
Kelly shook his head. “Gus already knows the truth, Krystal. I found the letters you had hidden in your toy box. That’s how I knew you’d killed your mother. Gus has them, so there’s nothing for you to do now but give yourself up. It’s too late for Anna and Andrew but Penny and Bubba don’t have to die. They’ve never done you any harm and Penny has been your friend. You don’t want to kill her, Krystal. You know you don’t.”