A Game of Greed and Deception: A Mystery Drama (15 page)

“Remember
this, you little bitch. You done think you’re so damn good, now don’t you? You
think you’re better than me?
DO YOU?
”
She paused to savor the look of fear on
Karen’s face. Then she cocked her hand back and slapped Karen on the face as
hard as she could. “Well you aren’t, because nobody is. You better let me win
next time. Got that? I don’t like to finish in second place.”

FOURTEEN

Maria sat up in her bed after
catching her breath. Her wrists hurt from the small cuts she had made but not
as much as her ankles did from the rope burns. She had heard Tammy moving about
in the cabin and was glad that she had locked the bedroom door. She went over
to the window, closed it, and locked it securely. Whoever was out on the roof
was not going to get in here, she thought.

She
took some razor blades out of her pants pocket and set them on the writing
desk. Then she opened the drawer to the desk to take out a tissue. In doing so,
she saw the tablet of paper that she had been drawing on earlier. Only now, the
page that had been drawn on was missing. The next page was a long hand-written
note to Maria. She looked the page over quickly and glanced down at the
signature: it was signed Stephen Worthington. She stopped breathing for a
moment as a lump formed in her throat, and she wiped a small tear from the
corner of her eye.
Oh my god, did dad
come inside the room while I was outside? I did leave the window open a little.
But how come he didn’t see me or talk to me? He must be scared of Tammy doing
something awful.
I hope Tammy didn’t
see him.
She trembled a bit as she started at the top and began to read the
letter carefully.

‘To my darling daughter Maria,

I love you more than anything in the
world and don’t want something bad to happen to you. This whole situation has
gotten gravely out of hand as I am sure you have noticed. Your stepmother is
completely insane and can’t be trusted. I found out that she has a long history
of mental problems. Tammy brought me up here to kill me by rigging the car, so
that when I drove off the other night, it would crash down off the edge of the
cliff. But I was able to escape at the last possible moment. I am not injured
in any way but am terribly afraid of what Tammy might do.

I realize now that she only got into this
marriage for my money and has been plotting my death for a long time. She
doesn’t care a bit about you either, Maria. I just want you to know that I am
all right and not to worry. We can’t trust Tammy in the least bit and must
consider her desperate and dangerous.

She has rigged the cabin with booby traps
and wants to catch me and torture me. I know that she is using you to try and
find me, right? I am asking you Maria – please – be careful with Tammy. You
might have to go along with what she tells you, as long as you remain safe. She
is manipulative, sadistic, and greedy, but can easily be outsmarted. I want to
punish her severely for what she has tried to do. Now, I have a plan to deal
with her, and will need your help.

Down in the wine cellar there is a group
of old barrels. I need you to go down into the cellar through the closet in the
master bedroom when Tammy is asleep or has locked herself in the den. Take the
flashlight from the living room bookshelf with you. I don’t think she will
sleep in that bedroom again. When you get down into the cellar, go to the back
of the big room. Find the barrel on the far right and on top of the others. You
will notice that it has a small sealed opening on the front and near the
bottom. That hole is sealed with paraffin wax and has a wick coming out. The
inside of that barrel has been filled with pure hydrogen gas. This is a very
dangerous explosive when that wick is lit. There is also some gas slowly
leaking into the rest of the cellar.

Once you light the wick, there will be
exactly fifteen minutes before a terrible explosion occurs. You need to light
the wick and then get Tammy to come down into the wine cellar again. So light
it, go up back upstairs, and act hysterical. Pretend that you have seen or
heard me down there and that you are afraid. That will get her to go down for
sure. Stay patient and just get Tammy to think I am in the cellar. Once she is
down there, just close the door and wait in the den. Move the footstools in
front of the door so that she can’t get back out too easily. The floor, walls,
and ceilings are fire-proof so the explosion will not damage the rest of the
cabin. You will be completely safe after the explosion occurs. That will take
care of Tammy and then you and I can get out of here. And please honey – hurry,
before Tammy does something horrible. I don’t want her to see me coming inside
the cabin, as I am more afraid for your safety than I am for my own.

I know I can count on you. You are
daddy’s little girl and I love you.

Hugs and kisses,

Stephen

Maria
took a moment to digest all that was in the letter. Her heart was pounding with
excitement, but she also had a sense of inner calm and happiness, since she was
sure that she recognized her father’s signature.
So Tammy is doing all of these things herself. I knew it, she is
totally crazy. She was trying to kill dad all along and acts like he is the one
out to get her. What a bitch, I hate her so much. And her story about the
therapist was all a lie. Dad is scared for his life and hiding out from Tammy.

Maria
remembered when, just before he got married, Stephen made a promise to her. He
said that he would do everything in his power, no matter how busy he was or
what kind of challenges he had in his life, to be there for her in any time of
need. He said that he would lie in front of a moving truck if it meant saving
his daughter
. I need to be there for my
dad, no matter what.
I gotta do what
he needs me to – he would know what is best. But Tammy scares me so much. I
gotta be strong like the way that dad taught me to. I gotta do this for him.

***

Tammy kept the
Capri
stuck between her lips, and went back into the den
to close and lock the windows. She took some more of the long rusty nails from
the can on the shelf in the den. Using the jade dagger again as a hammering
device, she pounded them into the lower part of the windows to seal them shut
as best as she could.
Well that is better
than nothing.
Hell at this point, if
he wants to come inside the den through that window, there ain’t nothing I can
do to stop him. He will come inside the cabin again tonight and I need to be
ready for him. I don’t think I can do much with only one good arm and a hunting
knife. I need another more potent weapon.

She
looked up at the mountain lion head mounted to the wall. It was being supported
by a thick shelf that was held in place with several smaller pieces of wood.
Tammy examined the small pieces of wood and decided they were strong and solid.
She grabbed the animal head with her good hand and pulled it until it came free
from the mounting device. Then she took the dagger, wedged it between one of
the pieces of wood and the wall, and pulled until it came free from the nails
that had held it. She did the same to free up one of the other small wooden
pieces.

Tammy
went into the living room and brought back with her into the den one of the
heavy marble book holders. She wedged the book holder between the two pieces of
wood. Then she took some more of the long nails and pounded them into the
pieces of wood, tightly securing them to each other. Next, she continued to
pound additional nails through the pieces of wood so that they stuck out more
than an inch through the other side. Finally, she took the nail-studded piece
and tied a long portion of the rope securely to it. With both arms, she swung
the hand-made flail weapon around wildly, ignoring the pain that is caused her.
As it whooshed through the air, she pictured the sharp nails sinking deep into
Stephen’s flesh. Tammy laughed hysterically in hopes that someone would hear
her. For a few moments, she didn’t even remember that her hand was broken.
Wow, that son of a bitch is heavy and those
nails are sharp. You wanted a crude weapon, Darnell, well here you fucking go.
That can definitely do some damage and it has a long reach. If Stephen even
gets anywhere near me, I’ll smack him so hard with this, he’ll need a fucking
surgeon to get it loose.

Tammy
went and stood outside Maria’s bedroom. She pressed her ear against the door to
listen for any movement. She spoke loudly so that she could be heard through
the door. “You can come out anytime, Maria. You don’t have anything to worry
about because I’m not gonna hurt you. Stephen is the one we have to fear. He
was moving around on top of the roof. Didn’t you hear his footsteps? He’s
stalking me like a fucking animal. He done tried to kill me when I was in the
den. I stuck my head out the window and he threw a concrete block down at me.
It hit and broke my hand. I’m hurt and in terrible pain. If you don’t believe
me, come take a look for yourself!”

Tammy
waited a few moments in silence without getting a response. “I know you’re in
there, Maria. Fine then, have it your way. But be careful. Do you really think
you know who you can trust? Don’t be surprised if Stephen comes and tries to
kill you too. I’ve got the key to your bedroom, Maria, and I can come inside
any damn time I want to. I think I’ll be needing you later so be ready when I
come and get you. And don’t even think of leaving that room as I will be awake
in the living room all night and will keep a close eye on that door. I know
Stephen’s gonna try and come inside the cabin again and I’m gonna be darn well
ready for him too. You will see for yourself just what kind of crazy bastard he
really is.”

***

Maria knelt silently in front
of the bedroom door, breathing quietly. Her heart was racing but she felt
confident about confronting Tammy if she needed to. She listened while peeping
through the keyhole into the living room. She was able to see Tammy standing as
she spoke. She also got a glimpse of her bandaged hand. When Tammy had finished
speaking, Maria sat down with her back against the door.
How can she lie to me like that and think I’m gonna do what she says?
She probably hurt her hand on purpose like
some crazy person to fool me.
At least
I can just watch her this way and know when I can get out of my bedroom without
her seeing me. I’ll have to keep my door closed and hope that she thinks it’s
locked from the inside. I hope she goes out of the living room soon. How else
am I gonna get past her and into the cellar? And what am I gonna say is the
reason why I went down there?
Maria sat on the bed and carefully read
through the hand-written letter once more.

FIFTEEN

Tammy opened the kitchen
cupboard and surveyed the variety of snack foods. She grabbed a bag of chips, a
handful of ginger cookies, and some more of the bottled water. She looked in
her purse and saw that she was completely out of cigarettes. She let out a long
sigh and carried the food back into the living room. Then she closed and locked
the door to the den with the skeleton key. She set the hunting knife and dagger
next to each other on the coffee table.
Now
when Stephen comes into the cabin tonight, I need to be awake and ready. I’ll
just have to stay up all damn night. I’ll need to know where that bastard is at
any time. If he comes in through the den, I’ll hear him unlock and open that
door. But what if I close my eyes and start to doze off? I don’t have any soda
or cigarettes to help keep me awake. I’m gonna need something to make a sound
so that I will know when he comes inside. Same damn thing if he tries to come
in through the front door.

Tammy
examined the bookcase and thought that it would make a bit of a stumbling block
near the front door. It wasn’t too high and only had a few books in it. Knowing
that she couldn’t use both hands to move it, she leaned up against the side of
the bookcase and started to push. It was heavy and she winced using her body to
move it. Tammy grunted and gathered her strength. Being sure to keep her
injured hand down to the side so as not to bump it, she slid the bookcase along
the hardwood floor until it was nearer to the front door. She moved it so that
it was partially in front of the door, but left a few inches of space in
between.

Exasperated
and out of breath, she bent down on one knee.
Goddam that was heavy.
But
now at least if he comes in through the front door, he’ll think I done tried to
block the entrance with the bookshelf. Then he’ll be able to move that bookcase
out of the way and I’ll have time to hear it and be ready when he actually gets
in.

Tammy
stood back up and looked towards the door to the den. She surveyed the living room
again with the sofa, loveseat, deck, armchair, coffee table, and shag area rug.
I need something that isn’t too heavy
that I can move more easily. I think I can just slide the rug over near the
door to the den and push the coffee table more in front of it. That way if he
unlocks and opens the door, it will hit against the bottom of the coffee table
and he’ll have to reach in to move it. That will be enough time for me to get
up and be waiting when he opens the door.

She
grabbed a hold of the rug with her good hand and started to pull. It was a
thick rug which was heavy with the table on top and difficult to move. She
moved the coffee table off the shag rug. Then she grabbed the edge of the rug
and pulled harder until it started to slide across the floor over near the door
to the den. Tammy stopped suddenly and stood with her mouth hanging open in
disbelief at what she saw after the rug had been moved. Underneath where the
rug had been there was a section where the hardwood floor boards had been
removed. Below where the boards would have been was an old trap door with a
metal loop attached.

Well I’ll be damned, that must be the
fucking way down into the basement! No wonder that damn map I found showed that
dotted line from the living room.
Someone must have run the floorboards right over that trap door
intending for it never to be opened.
She bent down and pulled on the metal
loop. The trap door creaked as it opened revealing a metal ladder descending
into darkness. She closed the trap door and stood back up.

So that bastard has been fucking coming
up through THERE at night. He must have found the key to the den, and locked
himself in there the first night to stay warm. And I had no idea how he was
even getting into the cabin. But that’s just perfect, now I know exactly what
he’ll plan to do. I’ve got his ass now right where I darn well want it. I’m
gonna be waiting when he comes up through there into the cabin tonight.

Tammy
moved the rug away from the door to the den and back on top of the trap door,
leaving just a bit of the door exposed with the loop. Then she turned the
coffee table so that the trap door could open just a bit but the table would
have to be moved for it to open completely. She slid the sofa more behind the
trap door, on the opposite side from where it opened. She set the knife and
dagger at the end of the sofa. Then she sat on the sofa, dressed warmly with
her walking shoes on, and held the hand-made weapon by the end of the rope.
Tammy felt a sense of nervous excitement.
So
how did Stephen know about this sealed off basement? And if he uses it to come
up into the cabin, there must be another entrance from the outside. But that
doesn’t really matter because this is the only way INTO the cabin from outside.
He must’ve done researched all of this long before we left for the mountains.

***

Maria sat on the floor in her
room looking through the keyhole into the living room. Tammy was sitting on the
sofa and hadn’t moved in a while.
If
there was only a way to get her to go outside or into the den. I need to
distract her with something. But what?
Maria scratched her head and racked
her brain for ideas.
About the only way
Tammy leaves that living room is if she thinks dad is outside trying to get in
the cabin from somewhere else. I would have to go outside and do something. I
need to create some kind of distraction. Something that would make Tammy get nervous.
I think I can at least crawl out my window pretty easily and get back in later.
Maria went over and cracked the open the window. Looking down, she saw the
pile of snow that she had made before to climb up on.
That still looks safe to jump down on. But when I came back inside last
time, someone tried to grab me. Who would have done that? It must have been dad
wanting to talk with me. He wouldn’t be out there with anyone else that would
hurt me. Otherwise he woulda told me something in the letter.

She
took the chair from behind the desk and set it in front of the window. Climbing
up on the chair she bent over the window sill to see around outside. The air
was cold and still, and there was barely a sound. The night was setting in as
the last rays of sunlight were reflecting off the snow-covered treetops. Maria
felt even more confident that she could get in and out of her window with
relative ease.

She
hopped off the chair, and went around to the other side of her bed.
I’ve got to block my bedroom door so there
is no way Tammy can come in and find out that I’m gone.
She braced her feet
against the wall and grabbed a hold of the bed frame. Then with all the
strength that her 80-pound body could muster, she pushed the frame until it
slid more than a foot in front of the door.
Now
at least she can’t get in here too easily.
Maria took a moment to catch her
breath. Then she bundled up in her warmest coat, a knit cap, and snow shoes,
and jumped out the bedroom window, landing safely on the snowy ground below.

She
walked slowly along the side of the house towards the back. She moved nervously
on the snow and ice covered ground, looking down with each step. This was the
first time she had walked in snow this deep and her legs hurt from her shoes
sinking into the snow with each step. She heard a rustling noise coming from
inside the pinewood forest and kept looking back behind her and above her to be
sure that nobody was there. Then she heard the noise again, only this time
louder, as if someone was going to spring out at her from the trees. Maria
stopped in her tracks and peered out into the forest.

A
mountain goat stepped just past the tree line some twelve feet in front of
Maria. With its’ ears pinned back and sharp, black horns pointing forward, the
animal started directly at the defenseless girl. With her heart pounding
through her chest, Maria stood motionless, petrified with fear. She remembered
from her Girl Scout training that wild animals generally won’t attack a
motionless object unless they feel threatened. The standoff continued as the
goat stopped dead in its tracks and let out snorting and puffing sounds through
its nostrils. It stayed with its head in between the trees while Maria kept her
eyes staring right at the animal and prayed that it would go away.

The
goat was sniffing deeply as if picking up a scent from the girl. It moved a
couple feet closer, seemingly intrigued by her. Then it stamped its feet
wildly, making piercing snorting sounds. Although terrified, Maria slowly
walked along the side of the cabin, a few feet further down from where the
mountain goat stood and out of its line of sight. She stood still again,
waiting to see what it would do next. Finally, after a few more grueling
minutes had passed, the goat turned and retreated into the forest.

***

Hearing the ringtone of her
private cell phone, Tammy jumped up quickly,. She grabbed the phone from her
purse in the master bedroom and answered quickly when she saw Tom Murphy’s
number.

Her
heart was racing as she answered. “Tom! You got my message?”

“Ok
Tammy, just callllm down. Yes, I got your message. Tell me exactly what’s going
on.”

“Stephen’s
stalking me and has plotted revenge against me. He was up on the rooftop and
hurled a cinder block at me that done broke my friggin’ hand! And I found the
entry to the basement, right here in the living room. He’s been coming inside
here when I’m sleeping!”

“So
you are telling me that he was not injured in the crash and was able to get
inside the cabin?”

“Yes,
as far as I know. He’s been in the den and down in the wine cellar. He left a
trap down there to kill me. He must have planned everything in advance and
wants to make my death look like an accident. Darnell and I talked all about
it. Stephen keeps trying to be one fucking step ahead of me. And Maria doesn’t
believe anything that I’ve told her. She is completely against me.”

“What
did Darnell tell you? Has he seen Stephen?”

“No!
Neither one of us have! We think he’s hiding down in this basement. Darnell
agrees that I need to find and kill Stephen before he kills me, and that Maria
will only get in the way. So I really need to take care of both of them. He
wants me to use Maria to find Stephen. But I tried that and it didn’t work! I
had her tied up on the front porch and put her head in a fucking vice! Stephen
didn’t so much as make a peep.”

“So
Stephen is staying hidden but doing things to try and kill you?”

“Yes!
I went outside looking for him, to see how he got onto the roof. There was no
sign of him, but out in the forest, I found some crazy hunter. So I asked him
if he had seen Stephen.”

“Hunter?
What do you mean?”

“Some
old, demented guy is out here, living in the woods. It seems that he lives off
the land, hunting wild game. He done told me that he was the one who cured the
meats I found inside the cabin. Then suddenly, the meats disappeared, and I
found this guy’s knife down in the cellar. What if he saw Stephen and is on his
side? Should we worry about this weird guy too? I told Darnell and he said that
he would look into it.”

“I’ll
talk to Darnell. Did you check the basement out and see what’s down there?”

“I
haven’t been down there yet – heck, I just found the trap door. He had a lot of
shit planned out for me in this cabin. And my headaches have been coming back,
Tom. They hurt so much and make it so hard for me to concentrate. And now this
is nothing but cold-blooded murder, and when the police come out here, I’m…”

“Ok,
Tammy, just relax for a moment, and think this whole thing through. So far, you
haven’t done anything that could get you in trouble with the police. Nobody can
prove that you had anything to do with the car crash since you were in the
cabin with your stepdaughter. In fact, from what you’ve told me, it’s Stephen
trying to hurt you! So at this point, you’ve been injured and are just
defending yourself. If Stephen never went to the police, then it really is a
life and death battle. You can tell them he is insanely jealous of you even
though you’ve been nothing but faithful. At this point, you have no
CHOICE
but to defend yourself, and
killing him sounds like the only reasonable way to do that. And let’s face it,
that’s what you came up there to do in the first place.”

“Well,
that’s what I’m fixin’ to do. I’ve made a weapon, will sleep in the living room
tonight, and be right here waiting for him when he comes inside. But what about
Maria?”

“Ok,
well whatever you do, keep eyes open in the back of your head. As far as Maria
goes, you will have to come up with something that would seem like an accident
or can be covered up later. If Stephen doesn’t come inside again, I think you
need to go down into this basement and find him. You might want to drag Maria
down there with you and use her as bait.”

“I’ll
do it.”

“Perfect.
I’ll call Darnell back and tell him not to leave the area for a while. If you
get things taken care of, call me back right away!”

“Will
do, Tom.” Tammy put the prepaid phone in her purse and sat down again in the
living room.

***

Maria drew in deep breaths of
cold air and tried to control her shaking after the encounter with the mountain
goat. She started to walk along again slowly, anxious to figure out what to do
next. As she approached the back corner of the cabin, the slope became more
treacherous. She crouched down on her hands and knees and grabbed onto a
support column. As she tried to get around the column, Maria’s feet slipped out
from under her on a piece of solid ice, and she swallowed hard to keep from
screaming. Still holding onto the column, she got back up, and carefully pulled
herself around to the back side of the cabin.