The Dead Game (15 page)

Linda heard Todd laughing with the duke. Alan gave Todd a loud smack on his back in response to whatever he had said to him. Todd looked over and noticed Linda watching them. Giving her a warm smile, he promptly returned to her side. He put his arm possessively around her shoulder. This made her feel safe and warm inside. She smiled up at him and he placed a friendly kiss on top of her head.

Amy whispered in her ear, “You will never find a nicer person than Todd. He’s caring and loyal—just like my husband. That’s why they’ve remained close friends for such a long time. No one could ever break their strong bond: they are like brothers.”

“I haven’t known Todd that long or that well. We have become friends only recently,” admitted Linda.

“Give your relationship a little more time and then you’ll see what I mean about loyalty and trust,” winked the duchess before joining her husband on the dance floor.

Caroline von Strobe seized the opportunity to speak with her alone. She hesitantly smiled as she spoke. “We would love to have you as a guest at our castle. It isn’t cold and drafty like the way castles are usually depicted in books. It has been completely modernized with all the luxuries of a hotel. We have fox hunting, tennis, swimming, and any sport you could think of…I get lonely in the large place all by myself. John is away a lot on business and I would love to have a companion at those times.”

“That sounds very tempting, but I’ve been very busy with my new store. However, when I have some free time, I’d love to visit your country. I’ve never been outside the United States.”

“Then most definitely you must visit. I’ll have John arrange something with Todd. In a few months, there will be fox hunting. It is a very popular sport in our country.”

Linda unhappily replied, “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to skip the hunting. I adore animals and couldn’t imagine allowing one to be chased to be killed.”

“We don’t kill the fox; we eventually let him go. The chase is the whole fun.”

“But the chase is cruel. The poor animal is running for his life—not knowing if he’ll live or not or if he’ll ever see his family again.”

Caroline hung her head in shame. “You’re right! Now I can never go hunting again.”

“I’m so sorry; I feel bad that I’ve ruined the whole experience for you. I’ve ruined many Disney movies for my friends. I could still visit and we could do anything else.”

“Sure! We’ll find something that we both enjoy.”

John walked over, excusing himself and his wife for the next dance. “The dance is a waltz. It is the most romantic dance, and we never miss it. We’ll see you again soon.” He bowed and left with his wife for the dance floor.

She turned and found the Russian couple standing right behind her. Oh no! What could she say to them without putting her foot into her big mouth?

Count Vladimir walked over to politely ask, “We would also like to welcome you to visit our country. Russia is beautiful, but it is also tough on its inhabitants. Everything in Russia is held very dear, since at any moment in time, everything that we own and even the people we love could be easily taken away. The Russian way of life teaches you to appreciate life and family. You will never forget your trip to Russia.”

The count seemed very impassioned about his speech and his country. Linda didn’t know if she was so eager to visit such a tough country, but quickly responded, “Yes, we need to discuss this further at some other time—maybe the next time we meet.” To herself she prayed that he would forget her and his hastily given invitation. They’d only just met, and who knew what kind of people the Stravinskys really were?

Todd must have noticed her uneasiness, because he rushed over to rescue her. Bowing to her, he asked, “My beautiful Linda, would you honor me with your presence at the next dance? I have always wanted to dance the waltz with you, my love.”

She placed her hand on his extended arm and followed him to the dance floor. She didn’t know what game he was now playing. He had introduced her to his friends—who had strangely never met any of his other women. He was a young and healthy male; so of course, he must have had many women over the years. But what kind of women were they that they couldn’t be introduced socially?

Then he’d treated her like a sister in front of them, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. What was that about? And what did they think about her? Were they wondering if she was his girlfriend or just his buddy?

And the serious Russian couple, they looked big and strong. The countess wore animal furs—with the animal faces and tails still attached to their skins. When she’d spoken to Leona, she’d felt like the dead animals’ beady eyes, their bodies wrapped as scarves around the countess’ heavily bejeweled neck, were staring back at her. All she had been able to think about was how the animals had been ruthlessly chased, caught, brutally killed, and then uncaringly stuffed for a large pompous Russian woman. She had no desire to visit Russia or Romania: these countries had no respect for wildlife. She was happy enough in America.

At some point during her wandering thoughts, Todd had led her onto the dance floor and in the correct position for the waltz. She looked up and was surprised to find Todd across from her, ready to begin the dance. She didn’t even remember walking there.

The orchestra began to play. The dancing partners bowed deeply to each other. The waltz began.

Oh no! She panicked. She didn’t know how to dance the waltz. Gazing around at the other guests, she realized that every person in the room was dancing, but somehow there was more than enough room for everyone. The dance floor seemed to have expanded to accommodate everyone. Then she looked down and realized that she was also dancing. She had never danced the waltz, but somehow she knew all the correct steps and positions.

Todd twirled her around and around the room. She felt as light as air, flying high above the other dancers. Her feet didn’t even hit the ground. Looking down, she saw that her feet were not touching the floor…maybe she’d had a little too much to drink.

The music stopped. The dance was over.

Todd led her off the dance floor, grasping her hand tightly in his. Unfortunately, Hayden was blocking their way. He was standing at the edge of the dance floor, glaring at them as they drew near. However, as soon as they reached him, he abruptly turned around and marched away.

Hayden had always made her feel uncomfortable. His mouth wore a permanent smirk. He was a tall, dark-haired man; everything about him was dark and foreboding. His dark eyes looked cruel…just like Wolf’s eyes…maybe that was why they were such good friends.

Placing her arm securely through his, Todd escorted her to the refreshment table. There were salads, sliced meats, fish dishes, soups, arrays of fruits and vegetables, and a large display of desserts. She wasn’t the least bit hungry, but smiled pleasantly as he filled their plates. They sat down at a table for two beside one of the tall windows overlooking the sweeping gardens.

Linda moodily gazed out at the paved walkways, softly lit by torches and the soothing light from the full moon. The gardens were filled with carefully aligned rows of bushes, many of which were colorfully spotted with red roses. Dainty white metal benches were scattered throughout the meandering walkways that zigzagged through the colorful foliage.

The most beautiful spot in the garden was the large fountain, where water spouted from a mermaid’s mouth down her half-human limbs. On the surface the mermaid appeared to be just a statue, permanently posed in her position. But her eyes revealed a whole other story: a story of hope of one day returning to the ocean. Studying her face, Linda noted the profound sadness reflected in her frozen expression.

Party guests were slowly escaping the loud music to be outside in the moonlight. Linda desperately wanted to be strolling with Todd through the peaceful gardens—just as carefree as the other guests— without her usual fears or anxieties about unexplained disappearances and creeping shadows.

Across the dance floor, she watched Sam holding Shana very close as they sashayed to the slow music. She wanted to be held like that again by Todd.

This scene is so romantic, so why do I feel afraid? Why can’t I relax and enjoy the music and the company?
She knew the answer: it was because her friends were being brutally terrorized. The party and the gardens appeared peaceful, but the perpetrator was probably here tonight plotting his next move—just like the rose bushes which were beautiful to admire, but had sharp thorns that drew blood.

Once again correctly reading her thoughts, Todd gently murmured to her, “Don’t worry—we’ll catch whoever is responsible and the town will be safe again.”

“It won’t bring back the dead woman on the beach.”

“No, it won’t….But we’ll make sure that there are no other killings like that,” promised Todd.

“Come, let’s dance again,” he softly whispered, pulling her slowly to her feet. He led her back to the dance floor and held her close.

Happy and content that he was finally being attentive to her, she rested her head against his shoulder. Earlier she had tried to escape from his arms, but now all she wanted was to remain safe and warm inside them.

They danced every dance until midnight. She loved being held by Todd, his arms holding her securely. She felt his rippling muscles beneath his suit. She hoped that he was strong enough to protect her from the evil intent on destroying their small town. And when the dust settled and the bad guys were taken care of, they could have a future together.

At precisely twelve o’clock, a sequence of twelve loud bongs vibrated through the large room. The music stopped playing. Everyone stood still, listening to the chimes of the huge grandfather clock. After the last bong, the music resumed playing and the sounds of voices and laughter could be heard once again.

Todd politely excused himself, promising to return in a few minutes. Linda was left all alone in the middle of the dance floor. She was surprised to find that most of the other residents had already departed from the party. The chimes seemed to have cleared out the room: very few people were left dancing among the statues.

Strolling through the sculptures, she felt as if they were watching her. Passing one, she hesitantly peered into its glass face. It portrayed a young woman crying with tears, which actually appeared wet and shiny as they flowed down her glossy cheeks. She quickly moved away, hoping that the creepy statues didn’t come to life at night and become the haunting shadows that roamed the town.

She noticed Shana, Mike, and David, whispering in a corner. Walking over to them, she curiously asked, “Where did everyone vanish to?”

Mike also seemed to be very perplexed. “After the clock finished chiming, the hill people disappeared—one by one, up the staircase. They didn’t say goodbye or anything, but just left.”

Shana was waving her arms during her whispered conversation with Mike and David. She had to be bursting with some new idea or scheme.

“It is show time!” exclaimed Shana. “I’m not waiting any longer for Sam to include me in his secret meetings and plans. We must follow them up the stairs and discover what they are planning tonight.” She led them up the circular staircase.

Climbing the stairs, they peered through the clear glass to watch the diminishing party below. 
Where is everyone
? Linda asked herself.

She was surprised to find the second floor to be half the size of the main level. The back half was sectioned off behind a protective glass railing, with the railing running down the center of the house, dividing the floor into two equal halves. The front half was left wide open to the high ceiling, where the huge glass dome sparkled and glistened as it provided a green-tinted window to the night sky.

Turning from the banister, Linda was faced with three closed doors, standing side by side. Linda had heard about the three doors in the basement of End House and prayed that elaborate traps didn’t also await them here. She cautiously swung open the first door.

The room turned out to be a large bedroom with a massive canopied bed. The dresser and end tables appeared colorless. At first glance, all the furniture seemed to be carved from glass, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the pieces were soundly constructed from ice. She touched the bed to make sure and found it freezing cold to the touch. It was strange that the furniture was frozen solid while the room remained warm; she couldn’t understand why the furniture wasn’t melting.

“I hope the other rooms don’t hold hidden surprises like the revolving rooms at End House. I don’t want to live through that frightening experience again,” Linda moaned, backing away from the ice furniture. The room reminded her too much of the frozen pool—the one filled with blood at End House.

“‘Live’ is the operative word,” exclaimed Shana. “We lived through that experience, and we’ll live through this one now. None of us want to repeat that encounter, but this time we’ll stick closer together and handle the situation more calmly than we did at End House—with much more backup for each other.”

Looking over at David, Mike not so subtly hinted, “Some of us left the others on their own to fend for themselves. We must promise to watch out more carefully for each other.”

“I’m really sorry, Mike. I was so terrified that night that I ran ahead without thinking. I’ll keep a level head this time,” promised David.

“Good,” gruffly replied Mike.

They continued on to the next room. Entering first, Linda gasped out loud when she realized what this room contained. Spread out before them was a gigantic greenhouse. Water was cascading down a huge waterfall in the middle of a thick forest of trees. The sound of chirping birds could be heard over the running water. Not only was she able to spot birds, but also tiny marmoset monkeys, swinging from one tree to another. Colorful flowers bloomed among the splendor of the green forest. She could even see bees dancing from one flower to the next.

The room looked surreal—too much like the greenhouse at Wolf’s house. Whereas Wolf’s greenery had only snakes and sounds of wildlife, this room contained birds, animals, and even insects. Linda was confused. “How could this enormous room possibly fit into this house? From the outside the house appears to be much smaller.”