Captives (Nightmare Hall) (11 page)

Tears of frustration stung her eyelids. If he hadn’t attacked Lynne, she told herself in fury, we would have left this house without ever knowing he was here. We couldn’t have told anyone where he was hiding, because we wouldn’t have known.

Then she remembered the noise they’d heard from upstairs, when they first arrived, and she knew that wasn’t true. Ernie would have said, “Someone was murdered tonight and the police think the killer is hiding out somewhere around here until the roads clear.” And then she and Lynne would have looked at each other, both thinking the same thing at the same time, and one of them would have said, “Nightingale Hall. He could be at Nightingale Hall. We heard a noise upstairs.”

That’s why he wasn’t about to let them out of here alive. He knew they’d heard him. He knew they’d tell.

Four of them had come into this house. One of them was lying unconscious in a trunk in the attic. One of them had been pushed from a second-story window and was missing. One had left the house to seek help.

That left only one other witness to report that a fugitive was hiding in Nightmare Hall. Molloy Book.

A sound from upstairs sent Molloy flying out of the kitchen and down the hall into the library, where she crouched behind the overstuffed couch, her panicked eyes searching the darkness for a better place to hide. She didn’t see one.

She hid there for what seemed like hours. She heard other sounds, faint scratching sounds and dull, distant thumpings, but she heard no footsteps on the front stairs leading from the upper floors down to the first floor. Telling herself the other noises could have been made by a squirrel or a mouse, wanting desperately to believe that
,
she wrapped her arms around her bent legs and huddled against the back of the couch, struggling to think through her fog of fear.

Daisy found the trek down the hill easier than climbing up it. She slid most of the way, as if she were sitting on a piece of cardboard on a snowy slope.

The creek was her biggest problem. The water had risen several inches since they crossed it. Frothing and foaming like a mad dog, it churned through the woods like a raging river.

Daisy surveyed it with hopelessness in her eyes. On the other side, in the distance, she could see the police car, parked in the middle of the dirt road as if it had been waiting for her all this time. Had Reardon left the keys in the ignition? Probably not. But she could start it without a key. She knew how.

What she didn’t know how to do was swim. And the body of water in front of her, which was probably a harmless little creek in good weather, looked like it would swallow her up the second she stepped into it.

Daisy walked a little way to her left, then to her right, hoping for an opening, a place where the water seemed shallower, tamer.

Her only hope was the huge boulder that had nearly flattened them into mulch. It was lying peacefully now, in the middle of the creek, looming up out of the darkness like a large, gray hippopotamus seeking respite from the heat.

If she could get to that boulder …

With the aid of the flashlight, she located a long, thick tree branch lying on the ground. She picked it up, clutching it tightly.

Okay, here goes nothing, she told herself, taking a tentative step into the water, then another. If it hadn’t been for the tree branch, which she had implanted firmly in the bed of the creek, the swirling waters would have knocked her off balance instantly. The water rose to her hips, and its force took her breath away.

With the aid of the branch, which she repeatedly thrust into the creek bed just ahead of her, maintaining her grip on it, and then half-walking, half-floating forward until she was alongside it, she made her way to the boulder and clung to its rough, sharp edges, fighting to catch her breath. The rushing water tugged at her. Daisy held on, thinking of Lynne and Toni and Molloy.

The car, the car, I have to get to that car, she told herself over and over, and by doing so, managed to pull herself up, an inch at a time, to the top of the boulder. She lay there, wet and cold and shaking violently, until she had enough energy to stand upright.

The flashlight was gone, lost to the turbulent water. But she was halfway there, halfway across the creek, halfway to the police car and its radio that would make everything all right again.

Rain pouring down upon her, Daisy looked down at the raging creek and thought, I can do this. I can.

Steadfastly refusing to think of what would happen to her if she failed, Daisy Rivers gathered all of her remaining strength together and jumped from the boulder, aiming her body toward the opposite bank of the creek.

Despite her exhaustion, despite the extra weight added by sodden clothes, the slender figure, arms outstretched for balance, legs kicking for momentum, seemed almost graceful as it flew through the air above the churning water and landed, face-down, on the muddy bank.

Only Daisy’s feet and legs still belonged to the creek. The rest of her was safely on solid ground.

Not taking the time to rejoice, she pulled her legs free and stumbled up the bank to the police car.

The doors were unlocked. Daisy, almost collapsing with exhaustion, yanked the blue-and-white door open and slid into the front seat, pulling the door closed after her.

It felt incredibly wonderful to be out of the rain and the wind. She wanted nothing more than to lay her head back against the seat, close her eyes, and breathe deeply until she felt restored again.

But there was no time.

The radio was at hand, beside her right arm. It looked simple enough. She was pretty sure that all she had to do was take the receiver from its console and say something into it, anything, until someone answered her.

It’s almost over, she thought, reaching for the receiver. Relief washed over her as the creek water had. I’ll get the police, send them to the house, they’ll find Toni, and the paramedics will fix up Lynne and that young police officer, good as new.

She picked up the small, smooth, black mouthpiece and began speaking into it, saying whatever came into her head. “This is Daisy Rivers, I’m on the back road behind that place called Nightingale Hall and there’s a killer in the house and my friends are hurt. Someone, someone answer me, we need help, answer me!”

Not a sound came from the console. It was as silent as the telephone had been.

Daisy turned the receiver over in her hand. Fumbled at the console with her other hand, feeling for a switch, a knob …

Just as her fingers touched the wires protruding crazily from the bottom of the console, wires which she knew with sickening certainty should have been attached to something, a voice in her ear said, “Even if it was still working, which it isn’t, you’d have to push in the button, stupid,” and strong, angry hands came from behind and fastened themselves around her throat, squeezing until small black and red dots danced before Daisy’s eyes and she could no longer breathe.

I made it this far for nothing, was her last thought before she slid into a void that was as dark and deep as any wild and raging creek.

I
N THE SECURITY GUARD’S
car on campus, the guard finally reached Officer Sloane and was told that Ernie Dodd had been checked out and was free to go. Then the guard explained to a thoroughly frustrated Ernie why they couldn’t go looking for Molloy and her friends.

“Not my job,” the guard said staunchly. “Campus and campus personnel only, that’s my territory. Your friends, they’re not students here.”

“Well, they
will
be, if they ever get here!” Ernie cried. “They’re already preregistered for the math session. Doesn’t that count?”

“Not as far as I know,” the guard insisted stubbornly. “They don’t become my responsibility until they show up on campus. Sorry, fella, but with everything that’s going on around here tonight, I wouldn’t dare leave, anyway. Got a murder on our hands, y’know.”

“Would I be this worried if I
didn’t
know? Okay, then, if you won’t help me look, at least use your radio to find out if Officer Reardon found anything at Nightm … Nightingale Hall. He was on his way there after he dropped me off at my dorm. Call, okay?”

The guard made the call. Talked for a few minutes. Replaced his radio. “No one’s talked to Reardon,” he said. “I just talked to Officer Sloane. He said Reardon’s probably still checking the house and grounds.”

Ernie was aghast. “Reardon dropped me off a
long
time ago. He should have been back on campus by now if there wasn’t anything there. Is Sloane sending someone else to see what’s going on down there?”

“No reason to.” The guard’s voice was maddeningly calm. “Look, kid, like I said, we’ve got our hands full here. We’re handling it. Relax, okay?”

“Relax?” Ernie threw the car door open. Rain assaulted him. “A killer’s on the loose out there, my friends are missing, and what you’re telling me is that you don’t intend to do anything about it.”

“Can’t. Sorry. Doing my part right here on campus. You need town police, maybe the state police. Might try calling them.”

“I can’t,” Ernie bit off angrily, “the phones are out. Thanks for nothing.” He got out of the car, slamming the door much harder than necessary.

Tanner Leo’s words kept ringing in his ears as he slopped through puddles. “If I were going to look for a fugitive, I know where I’d look. Nightmare Hall.”

No one had heard from Reardon?

That seemed almost as dire as no word from Molloy. At least with Molloy, he could blame no word from her on the state of the phones. But Reardon had his radio.

Why hadn’t he used it by now?

Maybe … maybe he couldn’t.

The possibility of Reardon, a trained police officer, discovering something at the off-campus dorm that he’d been unable to deal with, turned Ernie’s steps in the direction of his dorm. He
was
going to Nightmare Hall. Someone had to. But he wasn’t going empty-handed. He’d find something in his room … a hammer, one of his weights, anything, to use as protection.

Simon and Elise were waiting for him, sitting on the floor outside his room, playing cards. Arthur Banks was with them. All three looked like drowned rats.

“I thought you guys would be long gone,” Ernie said, unlocking the door to let them in. “When’d you get here, Arthur?”

“He just got here,” Elise said, getting up. “So did we. Simon and I ate, and then came back up here to wait for you. We finally gave up. I went to bed and Simon went up to Arthur’s room to see if he could camp out there.”

“I wasn’t there,” Arthur filled in as they all trooped into Ernie’s room. “I was downstairs in the computer room until the electricity started acting weird. It’s still on, but it’s very shaky. Wouldn’t be surprised if everything went black all of a sudden.”

“We wanted to know about Molloy,” Elise said as Ernie quickly changed into dry clothes and scanned the room looking for something to use as a weapon. “I guess you didn’t find her yet. Where have you been all this time?”

“With the cops.” He could use one of his weights, maybe. They packed a wallop. “They seemed to think I might have been the one who decimated Dr. Leo’s skull.”

“I can’t believe the cops thought it was you, Ernie,” Elise said. “Everyone knows you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Everyone but the cops,” Ernie said, hefting the weight. Seemed about right. Could he actually hit someone with it if he had to? Elise was right about him. But if someone was threatening Molloy, well, that was different.

“So I guess they didn’t find that guy yet?” Simon asked.

“Guess not. It’s my bet they’re not looking in the right place. I think he’s at Nightmare Hall.”

All three stared at him.

“Nightmare Hall?” Simon shook his head, “What makes you think that?”

“It’s isolated; it’s off-campus. He wouldn’t want to hang around campus, not after what he did … and Tanner Leo said it’s empty now. The perfect hideout, if you ask me. A police officer went to check the place out, and he hasn’t come back yet. Or radioed in. I’m going down there.”

“You talked to Tanner Leo?” Arthur said, sounding astonished. “Tonight?”

“I had to. I know it’s not the best time, but I had to know if she had any idea who killed her father and where he might have gone,”

“Did she?” Simon’s voice didn’t register disapproval as Arthur’s had. “Does she know who did it?”

“No. But she’s the one who suggested Nightmare Hall. I would have been there by now if I didn’t look like the criminal type. It’s the long hair, I guess.”

“So, were the police questioning Tanner?” Arthur asked. “I mean, she and her father weren’t exactly the best of friends, from what I hear. And who says it had to be a guy who killed him?”

“We already had that discussion, Arthur,” Elise said, getting to her feet. “We all agree it could have been female. But it wasn’t Tanner. Tanner Leo wouldn’t hurt anyone, not even her jerk of a father. She’s not like that.” To Ernie, she said, “We’re coming to Nightmare Hall with you. If the killer is there, you can’t go in there alone. That’s nuts.”

“Oh, right.” Ernie glared at her. “Let’s get a bunch of people together and go trooping up the driveway in plain sight. Then, we’d certainly catch him by surprise, wouldn’t we?”

Elise looked hurt.

“Sorry,” Ernie amended quickly. “Look, there’s something else I’d rather have you do. There’s this cop on campus, Officer Sloane. Middle-aged, balding, bushy eyebrows. He was at the infirmary, but he’s probably left there by now. See if you can find him. If you do, tell him I lied about my alibi, and got my roommate to lie, too. Tell him you know I did it.”

Elise looked at him with a blank expression on her face. “Did what?”

“Killed Dr. Leo,” Ernie answered impatiently.

“Ernie!” Arthur, his mouth full of chocolate-covered raisins, swallowed. “You want us to lie to the cops?”

“You have to. Tell them I’ve gone to Nightmare Hall. Because … because I heard the housemother hid money in the house, and I needed money to get away. Or make something up, I don’t care. Just get the cops down there, and fast!”

“This is not a good idea, Ernie,” Simon said, his eyes on the weight in Ernie’s hand. “Gotta be a better way.”