The Butterfly Conspiracy (26 page)

Moon said, “Yeah, maybe.
 
But I thought she was some kind of health nut.
 
From what they say, she didn’t even eat meat.”
 

Jerry asked, “Do you really think she could have been murdered?”

“Who could have done it?
 
Moon asked.
 
“Mr. Kahle?
 
The nephew?”
 
He paused, “An intruder?”

Jerry replied “I heard that someone was after Mr. Kahle’s nephew.
 
Maybe it was them?”

Moon set down his cup of coffee.
 
He wanted to steady his shaking hand.
 

“Yeah, maybe.” Moon whispered.

“Come on, Jerry, let’s go.”
 
Karen stood up.
 
“We’re headed over to the movies to see ‘The Stepford Wives’.
 
Want to come with us?”

 
Moon threw a dollar on the table.
 
“No, I got to go.
 
If you find out anything more about what happened, let me know.”

During the drive back to Grand View from Munising, Moon wondered if Stephen was thinking about the same thing he was.
 
Who killed Kahle’s girlfriend? Was it related to Stephen’s kidnapping?
 

A smile broke out on Moon’s face.
 
This was the answer to his problem.
 
Now he had a plan to get Stephen back into the clutches of Paulie and to get both of them out of his life and make some damn good money for himself on top of it.

Chapter 32

Jeanette had retreated to her room.
 
She was exhausted.
 
The shock of Britt’s death together with the relentless questions from the police had worn her out.
 
It was so sad to watch Phillip deal with his grief.
 
She got the feeling that the authorities seemed to think one of them was responsible for Britt’s death.
 
It was all too much to deal with.
 
She knew Stephen and Phillip were feeling overwhelmed as well.
 
The serenity of Cliffside Manor was shattered.
 
She wondered if it would ever return.

There was a soft knock on her door. She opened it and saw Stephen standing there with a forlorn look on his face.
 

Stephen said, “Hi, sorry to bother you. I just needed someone to talk to.”
 

“I’m glad you came by, I was just sitting here being miserable by myself.
 
Let’s grab a cup of coffee and head up to the library.”

Once in the library, Stephen stood at the window and gazed down at the pounding surf.
 

“My mind’s been racing and I just wanted to see what you thought about some questions I have,” Stephen started. “We know Britt’s dead, but I can’t figure out why the police won’t tell us anything.
 
Was it a suicide?
 
Was it something else?”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Jeanette replied.
 
“But think about it, Stephen.
 
If it was a suicide, there would be no questions.
 
Wouldn’t they just come out and tell us that Britt had killed herself and ask us why we thought it happened?”

“Yes, unfortunately, that’s what I’ve been thinking too. And that’s why it seems at times like they think one of us did it!”

Jeanette said, “Well, if it was murder, someone had to do it.”

Stephen nodded.
 
“That’s the scary part. I know you didn’t do it, I didn’t do it, and Uncle Phillip didn’t do it.
 
So who’s left?”

Jeanette thought.
 
“You’re forgetting one very important thing.
 
You were kidnapped just days ago. It seems to me these two things must be related.”

“But I was being held as an insurance policy on a gambling debt my father owed.
 
Britt and Uncle Philip didn’t have anything to do with that.
 
Why would someone take my father’s problems out on them?”

“Stephen, you’re attempting to apply logic to criminal thinking.
 
Who knows how those people think?”

Stephen turned from the window.

“Let’s try and think of another angle.
 
What about those protesters at the gate every day.
 
That’s not a normal thing.
 
We know Britt was hated by all of the hunting organizations around here.”

“They never caused trouble before.”
 
Jeanette said.

 
“But they hated Britt. Maybe one of the picketers broke in and killed her?”

“At first they seemed to be local people, people I knew.
 
Lately, some strangers were picketing too.”

 
“We also know she was a flirt.”
 
Stephen said.
 
“Maybe one of her old boyfriends came back for revenge?
 
We don’t really know her past, do we?
 
What went on in
Hollywood
?
 
Maybe that’s why she never wanted to go back?”

Jeanette took a sip of her coffee.
 
“Hmm, I never thought of that.
 
Maybe Britt was really just hiding out up here in the north woods.”

Stephen got up from the chair.
 
“My head’s aching from constantly thinking about this.
 
I’d like to go to the theater and get lost in a movie, what do you think?”

“That’s a great idea!” Jeanette responded.

They walked out of the library down the hall to the theater room.
 
Built-in shelves from floor to ceiling held hundreds of movie reels.
 
Stephen read the titles as he went from shelf to shelf.
 

Stephen said, “I think it would be fitting to watch one of Uncle Philip’s movies.”
    
“How about ‘Attack of the Piltdown Man’?” Jeanette asked. “The movie that built this house.”

“Perfect, let me see if I can find it.”

After a few minutes of searching, Stephen opened the first canister and threaded the film into the projector.
 
They settled into two red velvet theater seats and started watching the movie.

As the opening credits appeared on the screen, Stephen whispered to Jeanette, “Look, the creepy old mansion in the movie looks just like this house.”

“I know.
 
Remember, I told you, your uncle built this house as a tribute to this movie.”

In the darkness, Stephen wanted to reach over and take Jeanette’s hand.
 

After the movie, Stephen returned the reels to their metal cases and put them back on the shelf.
 
He and Jeanette returned to the library.
 

“How did you like it?” Jeanette asked.

“I thought it was great.
 
A little campy, for sure, but I felt the whole movie took place right here, not on some movie lot.
 
The front of the house looked the same.
 
The foyer was identical.
 
The big stairway leading to the second floor was the same. Even the library where the scientist gets killed looked exactly like this room.”
 

“I’ve seen the movie a few times myself,” Jeanette said.
 
“It’s hard to believe that they made it on a set and not here at Cliffside Manor.”

Stephen got up and walked over to a large world globe sitting on an antique wrought iron stand.
 

“This has to be the same one used in the movie,” Stephen said, spinning the dark brown globe.
 
“And look, this lions head on the wall. It looks just like the one that the mad scientist turned to open the secret passageway to his laboratory.”

Stephen grabbed the lion head and twisted it.
 
He heard a soft click as the bookcase in front of him silently swung open.

Jeanette jumped up, “What did you do?”

“Nothing! I just turned this sculpture, just like in the movie and it made the bookcase swing open!”

Stephen and Jeanette peered into the pitch black opening behind the bookcase.

Chapter 33

Moon drummed his fingers on the bar at the Freighter View.
 
A half full glass of beer was in front of him. He felt nervous.
 
He knew six hundred bucks was riding on his next move and he didn’t want to blow it.
 
He picked up his glass and thought to himself, I’ll make the call after one more beer. Moon waved to the bartender.

“Frankie, get me another draft, will you?”

“Okay, Moonie.
 
Here you are.
 
Something bothering you today?”

“No, why?”

“You seem kind of quiet.
 
You know, most of the time when you’re in here, I can’t shut you up.
 
But today, not a word.”

Moon sipped the foam off his beer.
 

“I just got a few things on my mind, that’s all.”

“Okay, just checking.” The bartender said, turning to attend to another customer at the end of the bar.

Moon walked over to the public phone.
 
The booth was constructed to look like an antique phone booth from a
London
pub.
 
Moon entered the booth, a light switched on as the door closed.
 

Moon cleared his throat a few times and said a few practice words using a disguised voice, which sounded much lower.
 
He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and dialed.
 
The phone rang four times and then switched over to an answering machine.
 
Moon heard Jeanette’s voice on the recorded message, “Thank you for calling the office of Phillip Kahle Productions.
 
Mr. Kahle is not available to take your call.
 
At the sound of the tone, please leave your name, number and the nature of your call.”

Moon heard the beep.
 
In his disguised voice, Moon said “This message is for Jeanette.
 
I got some news you may want to know about who grabbed Kahle’s nephew. I also got some info about what happened to Kahle’s girlfriend, there. You need to bring five hundred bucks to Devil’s
Kitchen
Cave
at nine tomorrow night. Only you and that nephew, no one else.
 
I get the money, you get names.”

Moon stuffed his paper back into his pocket and hung up the phone.
 
He walked back over to the bar.
 
He was drenched with sweat.

Frankie was bent over washing bar glasses and glanced up as Moon climbed back onto his bar stool.

“You look like shit, Moon.
 
You got the flu?”

Chapter 34

Stephen was staring into the dark entrance of the passageway. He turned to Jeanette, “Is this another part of the movie? Does this go anywhere or is it just a joke Uncle Phillip had installed?”

Jeanette peered into the opening.
 
“I don’t know, Stephen.
 
I never knew this was here.
 
Your Uncle never mentioned it and I never saw anyone use it.”

“Come on, let’s see where it goes,” Stephen said.
 

“Let me get a flashlight.” Jeanette said.
 
“I’m not walking into that darkness without any light.”

“There must be lights somewhere.” Stephen said, feeling around the edge of the door.
 
“Yes, here’s a switch.”
 

Stephen flipped the switch and a string of dim, dusty bulbs turned on, illuminating the passageway.
 

Slowly Stephen and Jeanette entered the opening.
 
The air was cool and smelled musty.
 
As they inched along, they could see the corridor had been used as a storage place for hundreds of props from Phillip’s many movies.
 

They passed a suit of arms, a guillotine, and a huge stack of bundled movie posters leaning in the corner.
 
Stephen ducked under a giant model airplane hanging from the ceiling.

Stephen turned to Jeanette, “I wonder if this goes anywhere, or is it just an elaborate storage area for old movie junk?”
 

They turned a corner and Jeanette let out a scream.
 
Just ahead of them in the gloom was an enormous stuffed bear, its arms thrust upwards in a menacing way.
 

Jeanette started laughing, “I feel like I’m in one of Phillip’s old horror movies myself.
 
I forgot all about this bear.
 
Phillip used to place it out on the patio when we had parties for his
Holl
ywood friends.
 
It opens in the back and that’s were your uncle kept bottles of expensive whisky.”

“I never hear of a bear bar.”
 
Stephen laughed.

“Britt hated that bear.
 
She thought it was cruel to use a dead animal as a party prop.
 
She made him get rid of it, but I see it’s still around.”

Twenty feet past the bear the corridor ended and they looked down a narrow set of stairs.

“I guess this answers your question, Stephen.
 
It must go somewhere.”

They followed the staircase down to a landing and continued walking along a tunnel that ended in front of a large wooden door.
 

“So where do you think this goes?” Stephen asked.

“I can’t imagine.
 
I’m so turned around down here, I’m not sure what direction we’re headed.
 
I guess we need to open it and find out.”

Stephen twisted the door knob. The heavy door slowly swung open with a loud creak.
 

“Those hinges need some oil.”
 
Jeanette exclaimed, holding her ears.

“It looks like we’re in a basement.” Stephen muttered, with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
 
“Are we under the garage?”