The Old Cape Teapot (28 page)

I buffered my fall by curling my legs up and trying to land and roll. My lower back hit the ground first. On impulse, I rolled onto my right shoulder, but the force of the impact took control and pushed my upper
body to the other side, like a pinball. The jagged stones in the dirt jammed their sharp edges into my back. The pain took my breath away. With a dull thud, my left shoulder finally slammed against a large boulder. I felt my body rock back and forth a few times before I
blacked out.

Present Day

ORLEANS – CAPE COD

THE GENERAL STOOD
watching the woman fall into the hole, waiting to figure out what he should do next. When she finally lay still, he looked around the woods to see if he had any other company. There was no one. With the click of his knee brace, he
limped down the embankment to where the ground was level then slowly lifted his
good leg over the stones so that he could swing the bad one next to
it. He pushed his ratted hair back under the band of his eye patch to get
a closer look at the situation. The woman lay a little to the left of
Silas. The kid was still face down over the half buried backpack.

“I can do this,” the General grunted. He winced in pain as the heels of his black boots sunk into the dark soil. “Fuck!” Determined to retrieve the backpack, his body swayed back and forth as his big boots, caked with mud, clumsily made their way to where the two
bodies were lying. When he finally stood over the woman, he swiveled her
upper torso further away from where Silas was lying, “Sorry, lady.” The General then pushed Silas’s body closer to the stone wall and onto his back. He was surprised to hear his young accomplice moaning. So he wasn’t dead after all.

With a few awkward pulls on the strap, the dirty nylon bag popped out of the dirt, sending the old man onto his butt. He sat with his legs outstretched, going through the contents of the bag, like
a little kid playing in a sandbox. It was all there, just as he had left it three years ago. His eyes moved swiftly over the fifty packs of small bills that were bundled with rubber bands. Under each band was a square piece of paper with the number 2000 scrawled across it.

Intent on making sure all of his money was there, the General never noticed the approach of someone else in the woods.

***

Nick grinned when he spotted the yellow caution tape up ahead. His
presence in the woods was non–intrusive; he’d been trained well. The stones of the old foundation appeared in the distance on his right, confirming that he was on the correct course to the mill. He stopped a few feet from the edges of the crumbling stonewall and
stared down into the hole.

An old man was sitting on the dirt between what looked like two
dead bodies. “Now what?” Nick sighed. The unexpected scene took
him off guard and his foot stepped onto a dry twig instead of over it.

The General heard the crack. He stopped rifling through the bag
and cocked his head to listen, his hands curled around a bundle of cash. He sat motionless until his attention was diverted to a gold coin in the dirt next to the woman’s side pocket. Shoving the cash back into the bag, he reached for the yellowed object. Then with one
hand holding the coin and the other gripping the strap of the backpack, he tried to
push himself up to stand. He fell backwards. Next he rolled over and balanced on his knees in another attempt to get up, but with no luck. He did manage to lift his head, only to see a stranger looking down on him.

“What’re you doing, buddy?” Nick came closer to the old man who was on all fours now. Nick reached for an elbow. “Let me help you.”

The General swatted at the intruder who was interfering with his plans. “I don’t need no help.”

“You sure?” Nick grabbed at the half-open backpack and
spotted the cash inside.

The old man wouldn’t let go of it. “Don’t touch that. It’s mine!”

Nick raised his hands in mock submission. “Take it easy, I just want to help you out.” He watched the leather coated geezer
eventually stand. Peering beyond him, Nick recognized one of the bodies as Mrs. C. “What’d you do, old man?”

The General clutched the backpack against his chest and turned
to get away. Nick knelt down next to Mrs. C. He felt her neck and
found
a pulse, then he awkwardly reached behind her to unfasten the
antique
necklace. The clasp wouldn’t open. He fiddled with it for a few
seconds before it came free. He shoved it into his coat pocket.

By this time, the General had already started to walk up the slope of the embankment to head out of the woods with his found money.

“Hey, where you going?” Nick yelled out as he hustled after
him.

Just as the General reached the high point of the hole, he fumbled for his gun under his coat. Nick took the opportunity to land a solid right onto the old man’s chin, sending him to the
ground…out cold.

Nick picked up the bag filled with money and checked the old
man’s pockets for anything else that looked interesting. He found a gold coin, a bottle of heart pills, and the Smith & Wesson. He took the gold coin plus the backpack and continued up the path to the old mill site, a sinister grin now darkening his face.

Present Day

ORLEANS – CAPE COD

MY EYES SLOWLY OPENED
to see gray sky. For a moment, I wasn’t sure where I was. I turned my head slightly to the left, then right and up a little…nothing but dried oak leaves and dirt. My left hand lay listless by my side. Lifting my right hand, I rested it across my stomach then wiggled my feet up and down. I could feel my
legs…a good sign. My body started shivering and shaking as shock took over.

I remembered the old man who’d pushed me down. Where’s my phone? Shit! He’d knocked it away from me. I turned my head to the right and gasped when I realized there was a body lying beside me.
It was the creepy guy who’d been with the old man. His eyes were closed. Was he dead? Oh, dear God, what have I gotten myself into this time? I looked above me, through the tree branches, where a
bird flew across the sky. I had to get out of here.

My body didn’t listen as I tried to sit upright. Each time I thrust forward, I fell back in pain. Maybe I could roll to the side and get up
on my elbow; that might work. I took some deep breaths then slowly raised my upper body onto my right elbow and forearm. Everything started spinning. Rolling backwards, I tried to breathe. I felt sick to my stomach. After a few seconds, I rolled over again and managed to stay put, but as my injured left shoulder sagged, its weight pulled
my left side closer to the ground. It felt like someone was yanking my arm
right out of its socket. I thought I would pass out from the pain.
Trying to hold still, I didn’t know how long I could stay on my side. It hurt too much to breathe deeply, but my lungs were screaming for air. An aching pain began to crawl up the side of my neck. I rolled onto my back again.

Dizzy as I was, I coached myself to keep going. It was almost more than I could bear but I was determined to get up. I unzipped my jacket and put my wrist inside of the opening. It acted like a sling
and enabled
me to try again. Finally once on my side, I pressed my cheek against the ground, then my forehead, turning, pushing, and trying to maneuver myself up so I could sit back onto my legs. With my arm
stabilized, the pain subsided long enough for me to think a little. I must stand up, I
told myself. The stone walls that surrounded me seemed insurmountable, but maybe they could offer leverage to help me get off my knees. But first I had to roll flat again. I hit the ground with a
cry of pain then caught sight of the guy opposite me. He was still not moving.

Moving my upper body closer to him, I gripped my jacket tighter and wiggled my torso nearer to his side. After a deep breath, I was able to roll over just enough so that I could lay my good forearm across his chest to reach the wall. It was agony. I stretched
as far as I could for
any stone that stuck out from the rest. He groaned a little and I
noticed a small amount of blood by the zipper of his jacket.

My fingertips finally found a grip across one of the stone edges. With all my strength, I started lifting and pulling my body up to a sitting position, keeping a hold of the gritty surface. Wet sand
crumbled
as I clawed up the gray bumps, trying to gain some more height. It felt as if my fingers would break away from my hand. I felt two fingernails split under the pressure but my body was finally rising
up. Don’t
stop…keep going…pull up! I was able to place a knee on the guy’s upper thigh. This gave me a chance to get my other knee closer so I could stand up. Another groan came from the still body.

Once upright, I peered over the old wall; my head almost level with the ground. I’m going to be okay, I assured myself, only to come face-to-face with the old man, who was lying on his stomach. His eye patch had flipped to one side, revealing a large mottled scar
that should have been an eye. I recoiled at the horrifying image. The position of his body gave the impression that he was sleeping. His arm was oddly stretched out beyond his head across the forest floor, as if he was pointing to something.

I heard my cell phone ring to the tune of
Pirates of the Caribbean
. But where was it? I couldn’t see it anywhere. Just as I took a step to start walking out and away from the old walls, I felt something latch onto my foot. I panicked and almost fell over, but grabbed onto the wall again. Turning, I realized the guy on the ground was holding my ankle.

He pleaded with me, “Lady, don’t go. My name is Silas. Please, help me.”

“Let go!” I screamed back at him, shaking my foot with enough force that his hand broke loose and he fell back to the ground.

He moaned as he closed his eyes. “The General shot me.”

“The General?” Who’s he talking about? I looked down at the scared kid, “I’ll get some help, I promise.” Why the hell did I tell him
that?

The old man was still laying on the edge of the hole with his face towards me. He looked like he wouldn’t be doing any more harm to me, but I certainly couldn’t be sure. I decided to come back and help Silas later, but right now I need to save myself.

I was able to regain enough strength to slowly walk to where the
ground was level and lift my feet over the rock foundation. My shoulder
hurt like hell, but I continued up the embankment and past the old
man’s body in search for my phone. It was too painful to bend over,
so I kicked my foot around, trying to uncover it. I heard it go off
again. I listened for it, but still couldn’t locate it.

I glanced around the woods to get my bearings and to see if
anyone else was nearby. There was a body on the ground and a body in the old cellar. What a predicament! I wasn’t sure what to do.

The sound of a shovel slicing into dirt caught my ear. I didn’t have to walk very far before I saw someone digging near the old mill site. I shuffled towards the hunched-over figure. He heard my
approach and looked over his shoulder. It was Nick! But I thought he’d left the Cape already.

“Nick! Is that you?” I tried to walk a little faster to get to him but my breathing became labored and I had to stop. The pain in my shoulder was returning with a vengeance and I could feel my strength growing weaker by the second. The surprise of a familiar
face lowered my defenses and everything began to move in slow motion. My eyes
wanted to close. I felt faint. No! I’ll be okay, I thought, now that I
know Nick is here. He’ll help me.

Nick stood up and came towards me. “Mrs. C, you all right?”

His arm was strong around my waist as he helped me over to a large boulder. I couldn’t even talk. I just wanted to sit down. When
my hurt arm finally rested across my lap it actually felt comfortable.

I looked up at Nick. “What are you doing here?” My eyes moved away from him for a second so that I could settle my bottom to a flatter part of the boulder’s hard surface. “I thought you left the
Cape.”

Nick picked up a trowel. “I was on my way over the bridge when I got a call from the Corps. My assignment was delayed again.” He knelt down and continued digging. “I decided to hang
around a bit; take in some of the sights.”

Questions flew into my head, but every time I moved, even
slightly, the pain shot up into my neck and clouded my reasoning. I asked again, “But what are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer. I could see the W stone was moved to the side and he was digging deeper than I had gone. I began to feel uneasy about his coincidental presence in the woods and the fact that he was digging under the W stone.

“Nick?”

He slowly met my eyes with a look that sent a chill up my back. “Look, you bitch, just sit there and shut up!”

Present Day

BREWSTER/ORLEANS

PAUL HUNG UP
the phone and threw the client’s information into the trash bin. “Boy, that’s disappointing.” He started to leave but stopped to massage the back of his neck and think a minute. Leaning over to retrieve the paper from the trash, he smoothed it out on his drawing table then placed it in the file labeled ‘potential sales’.

The wall clock hadn’t reached 10:00 AM so there was still time for him to join Nancy up at the mill site. He grabbed his phone, pressed Nancy’s number and waited for her to answer. He slid it back into his pants pocket when she didn’t pick up. Once inside the house, a quick peek at her desktop revealed notes as to where the site was located. Paul jotted the directions down and signaled to Martha, “I’ll be back in a few hours.” He went to get his camera in
the studio.