In the Event of My Death (31 page)

Neil sat bolt upright in bed.
That’s
what he had been trying so desperately to recall! He reached for the phone and dialed Laurel’s number. No answer. He glanced at his watch. Eleven-thirty. Laurel wouldn’t be running around with Audra at eleven-thirty. Something was wrong. He hated doing it, but he rang Monica’s room at the Wilson Lodge. Once again he got no answer. In dread, he looked up Crystal’s number and called. The phone rang in an empty house.

“That does it,” Neil said, climbing out of bed. “I can’t just lie here all night worrying. I have to do something, but I’m not sure what.”

3

Crystal walked over to Monica, withdrew a knife from her coat, and began sawing at the rope around her wrists. “Don’t think because you’re bigger than I am, you can overpower me,” she warned Monica. “I’ve got a gun.”

“You would never have gotten me in that car trunk without it,” Monica said bitterly.

Crystal severed the rope. Monica rubbed her wrists. Crystal gave her the knife. “
You
cut the rope on your ankles.” She pointed the gun at Monica’s head. “And don’t try any heroics. Two shots and you and Laurel will both be dead.”

“You’d actually kill us in front of Audra?” Laurel asked, noticing how weak her voice was growing. She wouldn’t be able to talk much longer.

“She’d forget in time. Children are very resilient.”

“Maybe it’s better you never had a child,” Monica snapped. “You don’t have a clue about how children’s minds work.”

“Shut up!” Crystal hissed. “As if
you
with your fancy career and your men and your life in New York would know
anything
about kids.”

“This might come as a surprise to you, Crystal, but career people in New York City actually have children and do a good job of raising them.”

Laurel didn’t know if Crystal heard the apprehension in Monica’s voice, but
she
did. Monica’s doing the same thing I’ve been doing, she thought. She’s trying to get Crystal unfocused, flustered, so we can overpower her. The problem was she didn’t believe either of them had the strength to overcome Crystal. Laurel was beginning to feel terribly sleepy, even fuzzy, and she knew by the way Monica sawed clumsily at the rope around her ankles that she too was losing her battle with the cold.

“Hurry up!” Crystal prodded.

Monica looked up at her. “Why don’t you just shoot me and get it over with?”

“Because that’s too easy. You forced
me
to take part in your Satanic rituals. Now I’m going to force
you
.”

Monica sighed. “Crystal, how many times do I have to tell you the rituals weren’t
real
. And no one forced you to do
anything
.”

“You
did
. I was scared not to do what you said.”

“Oh? Tell me, what did you think would happen to you?”

“I…I didn’t know. You seemed so powerful, so capable of anything.”

“
I
seemed capable of anything?” Monica managed a ragged laugh. “God, Crys, you really
have
gone around the bend.”

“The rope is cut. Quit stalling.” Crystal put the gun against Monica’s’ temple. “Get over there, step up on the bale of straw, and put your head in the noose. Just like Faith did.”

1

After he got in his car, Neil’s first impulse was to drive to police headquarters. But what would he say? “No one I call is home?” That should electrify the cops, he thought wryly. Most of them probably held the same view of him that Kurt Rider did, anyway. He was just some nut who wrote ghost stories and was probably trying to stir up some publicity for himself. No, he had to have a little more to tell them if he expected any action.

So, where should he start? With Laurel, of course. It was her failure to answer the phone that disturbed him the most. He drove to her house, cursing the snow, the slick roads, the rental car that didn’t handle like the Porsche he’d left in California. It didn’t even handle as well as his father’s old boat of a vehicle, but he’d brought it because it had a cellular phone.

He pounded on Laurel’s front door. There was no answer and the door was locked. He walked around the house. As he neared the back, he heard the dogs barking. He tracked the sound and pecked on a window. A dog nosed open the draperies and looked out at him. It was the long-haired female, but something was wrong with her face. The eyes—they were inflamed, pouring water. When he circled the house, he’d spotted a dog door: He went back to the main door, tried it to find it locked, and knelt at the dog door, calling to them. He could still hear their frantic barking, but they didn’t come near the door. They were shut in a room. He considered crawling through the dog door, but he was too big. He walked back to the front of the house, muttering angrily to himself. Laurel and Audra could be inside the house hurt, or even worse. He considered finding a rock and throwing it through the front window. Then he saw a splash of color beneath a layer of snow near the driveway. He stiffened, his first thought that he was seeing a bloody body. He rushed to it.

Reaching down, he started to laugh in relief. It was a teddy bear. A melon-colored teddy bear, not much more than a foot long. But where had it come from? The house. But why was it here?

He picked up the bear and walked back to the driveway, studying the snow. Blurred tire tracks lay in front of his car, but they didn’t go all the way into the garage. He shuffled around to the side of the garage and looked into the uncovered window. Laurel’s Cavalier. He went back and studied the car tracks, then saw a patch of snow that looked as if it had been churned up by some kind of struggle.

Suddenly Neil was certain Laurel and Audra had been taken away in another vehicle, a full-sized car, and not too long ago judging by the width of the tracks and their depth in the snow. Either Audra had left the teddy bear in the yard as a message or she’d dropped it and not been allowed to pick it up. He knew who had taken them. He just wasn’t sure where.

2

“Unless you want to carry me over to that bale of straw, you’ll have to wait a minute,” Monica told Crystal.

“Why?”

“Because my legs have gone numb. Let me get the blood flowing again.”

“It’s a trick.”

“Oh, dammit, Crys, what difference does a few seconds make?” Monica fired back. “After all, you’ve been planning this for months, haven’t you?”

“Only since I went to see Angie.”

It’s my turn, Laurel thought. Monica was clearly exhausted, her husky voice rough as sandpaper. “All these years I’ve thought so often about that night here with Faith,” she said. “How about you, Crystal? Did you keep picturing it like I did?”

Crystal looked at her in confusion, as if Laurel had just presented her with a difficult math question to answer. “I don’t know. I guess I did sometimes.”

“I dreamed about it. None of us ever talked about it. I’ve always wondered if anyone else dreamed about it, too.”

“I don’t dream,” Crystal said flatly.

“I dream,” Audra volunteered.

Crystal’s face softened. She lowered the gun from Monica’s temple as Audra grabbed her attention. “What do you dream about, sweetheart?”

“Mostly about good things, like having a puppy or playing the piano as good as my daddy. But sometimes I have bad dreams. I had a bad dream tonight. I went to Laurel’s room. She said even grown-ups have bad dreams.”

“You won’t have bad dreams when you’re with me,” Crystal said firmly. “We’re going to have such a good life, Audra, although I think I’m going to change your name to Bettina. Do you like that name?”

Audra opened her mouth. Laurel knew she was going to protest. She squeezed the child’s hand. Crystal seemed completely caught up in her and took another step in Audra’s direction. She didn’t even notice Monica moving toward her slowly and silently. “It’s a beautiful name,” Audra said obligingly. “Lots better than Audra. How did you think it up?”

Bless you, Audra, Laurel exulted silently. Just keep her focused on you.

“When I was little, my grandmother read me a book about a girl named Bettina. Later she gave me a lovely porcelain figurine and I named her Bettina. I told people she’d been stolen, but she wasn’t. She’s safe, hidden in the old farmhouse here. When you’re my little girl, I’ll give her to you.”

“Really?” Audra beamed.

A board creaked. Crystal whirled to see Monica lifting a hand, ready to land a karate chop on Crystal’s wrist, making her drop the gun. She was a second too late. Audra screamed at the explosive sound of the gunshot. Then Monica fell.

3

Neil wasn’t about to call Wayne Price at this point and tell him he thought Audra had been kidnapped. Instead, he tried to figure out where Audra and Laurel could have been taken. He sat in the car for five minutes, thinking. There had to be a logical place, one that wouldn’t easily spring to mind if the police were searching for someone. It would be somewhere away from town, somewhere secluded.

Somewhere that had special meaning for the killer.

He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Idiot, where else?” he yelled at himself. He started the car and backed out of the driveway, then headed for the Pritchard farm as fast as the slick roads would allow, constantly picturing that hangman’s noose he’d seen in the old barn. Dear God, he prayed, don’t let someone be putting that to use.

Ten minutes later Neil turned into the rutted lane leading to the farm. A couple of times the car skidded perilously close to the edge. With each slide his breath nearly stopped. If he slipped into a ditch, he’d never get the car out without the help of a wrecker, and he didn’t have time.

The wind blew harder, slanting the snow. His windshield wipers worked at top speed, but still it was hard to see. This was the kind of night he’d create for a scene in one of his books—the kind of night that never had a happy ending.

As he drew near the farm, he saw two vehicles ahead. He pulled up to the first one and looked at it closely. A dark blue Chrysler New Yorker, an older model, ten years on it at least. It was empty and covered with a light layer of snow. He pulled forward about thirty yards. The second car huddled under a blanket of snow. It must have been here for hours.

Leaving his own car running, Neil got out. A blast of cold air hit him so hard it nearly knocked him sideways. Bitter snow strafed his face and he had to shield his eyes. Bracing himself, he walked to over to the second auto. No one appeared to be inside, but he couldn’t tell much about the car itself except that it had a strange mound of snow on top.

He used his sleeved arm to brush aside the mound of snow on the roof. Lights. Emergency vehicle lights. “Oh, God,” he muttered, frantically wiping away more snow. As the car emerged, his mouth went dry. It was black. The side bore the insignia of a badge with “Ohio County Sheriff’s Department” written inside. A police cruiser.

Stumbling, Neil ran back to his own car, jumped in, and picked up the cell phone. Now the police would listen to him.

4

Audra continued to shriek as Monica slowly collapsed on the cold dirt floor. “Shut her up!” Crystal shouted.

Laurel knelt and put her arms around the little girl. “Hush, baby. Don’t scream anymore. It just makes her madder.”

Audra immediately stopped screaming but she drew long, shuddering breaths and Laurel’s stomach clenched when she heard a slight rattle in the child’s chest. She’d barely escaped pneumonia earlier in the week. What would tonight do to her?

Crystal bent over Monica. “It’s just her shoulder.”

“Are you sure?” Laurel asked, shaking with cold and shock. “Is she breathing? Is she conscious? How bad is it?”

“Do I look like a doctor?” Crystal flared. “She’s breathing. I told you it’s just her shoulder.”

“Crystal, you have to stop the bleeding.”

Crystal looked at her as if she were crazy. “
Why?
”

Laurel cast frantically in her mind for an excuse. “Because you wanted her to die like Faith did. That can’t happen if she bleeds to death.”

Crystal’s gaze darted around the room. For the first time she didn’t look sure of herself. She seemed like the slightly inept, vulnerable Crystal Laurel had always known. “What should I do?”

“Apply pressure to the wound.”

“How?
You
do it.” She stood up looking at Monica as if she were some kind of disgusting insect.

“Stand here while I help Monica,” Laurel told Audra.

“No,” Crystal said. “She comes with you. I don’t want her to run off.”

Audra clung to Laurel’s hand as they walked to Monica’s body. My feet are completely numb, Laurel thought. My body doesn’t even feel like it’s my own anymore. Monica and I might possibly have overpowered Crystal before, but I don’t know how we can do it now.

As they neared Monica, Audra gasped. She wore a white dress coat, the coat she must have worn to Denise’s visitation, and blood spread across the right shoulder.

Laurel knelt, unbuttoned the coat, and turned to Crystal. “I need something to press against the wound.”

Crystal looked affronted. “Well,
I
don’t have anything.”

Audra took off her wool scarf. “Here. It’s not dirty.”

Laurel smiled at her. “Thank you, honey.” Did I have her bravery and presence of mind when I was eight? Laurel wondered. No. She’s more like Monica. She’ll grow into a strong young woman.

Laurel pressed the wool against the small wound in Monica’s shoulder. She wondered if the bullet had gone straight through flesh and muscle or whether it had hit bone. It seemed to her the flow of blood was slowing, but maybe it was only being absorbed by the wool of Audra’s scarf. In a moment, Monica’s eyelids fluttered. “Monica, can you hear me?” Laurel asked anxiously.

“I can hear you,” Monica answered weakly. “But I feel like hell.”

“Don’t talk like that in front of Bettina,” Crystal snapped. “Sit up, Monica.”

Laurel looked at her pleadingly. “Oh, Crys, can’t she just rest?”

“She’s got an eternity to rest after this. Get
up
!”

Laurel and Audra helped Monica to her feet. Her face hadn’t an ounce of color except for her burning green eyes. She staggered but regained her footing.

“How do you like not being in charge?” Crystal asked her. “Now
I’m
the boss.”

“I was never the boss.”

“Yes you were. You made us all dance to your tune.”

“Oh, God, Crys, when are you going to stop blaming me for everything that’s happened to you?” Monica asked.

“Never. You’re all responsible, but you the most. I explained that to you, but you never listened to anyone else in your whole life.”

“You’re wrong, Crystal. I listened to my father. He was the most important person in the world to me and he threw me away, just like Chuck threw you away. I went to a woman who didn’t want me and let me know it every day of my life. Yes, I enjoyed being leader of the Six of Hearts. It was the only time I felt like I had any control, that anyone
really
listened to me. And I enjoyed scaring you all with that occult nonsense. But I
never
meant for anyone to get hurt. And Crystal,
I
didn’t hurt anyone.
You
did.”

“Shut up.” Crystal’s face took on that strange, hard look again. “You’re on your feet. Climb up on the bale of straw.”

“Crys, she’s wounded,” Laurel tried.

“She won’t be in pain much longer. Go on, Monica.”

Monica closed her eyes briefly. Then, pressing Audra’s scarf to her shoulder, she stepped onto the bale. “Now put your head in the noose.”

“Crystal?” Audra ventured.

“
Mommy
,” Crystal corrected.

Audra’s lips parted but she forced out, “M-Mommy, please don’t do this to her. It’ll make me cry.”

“I cried the first time it happened. I cried for days. But then I stopped. So will you. Monica, I said to put your head in the noose.” With a resigned expression, Monica used her left hand to slip the noose over her head. Crystal moved the kerosene lantern about a foot away from the bale of straw, then took Laurel’s hand. In the other she held her gun. “Now, Bettina, you hold Laurel’s other hand. Then we’ll do the chant.”

Laurel, who now felt on the verge of collapse, moaned. “Oh, God, Crystal, not that.”

“Yes. It has to be just like before.”

“I don’t even remember the chant.”

“I do. I’ve said it every day since Faith died. I’ll go through it once, then you repeat, just like we did that night. You either do it, or I’ll shoot you.” And she will, Laurel thought fearfully. “Ready?”

Crystal began pulling them around in a circle, repeating the words Laurel now vaguely remembered:

“Hail, the Lords of Darkness. In the name of the rulers of the earth, the kings of the underworld, rise to this place. Open the gate and bring forth your faithful servant, Esmé Dubois, who died for doing your work among the God-worshipers. Azazel, Azazel, scapegoat released on the Day of Atonement, its destination hell. Appear before us, Esmé and Azazel. Appear before the Six of Hearts, your modern-day servants. Let us bask in your glorious presence.”

The lantern created jumping shadows, hollowing eye sockets and cheeks. Wind whistled around the old barn. Audra looked terrified. Monica and I might deserve this, Laurel thought, but not Audra.

Crystal looked around at them. “Now, you begin to chant, too.”