First to Die (19 page)

“I think you’ll probably win,” I said. “Thank you for coming over.”

“Oh, I was going to check on you anyway,” she said. “Your friend Jason called and told me everything that happened. I promised him I’d keep an eye on you until he gets home.” She wrinkled her nose at me like she knew more than she was telling.

“My team of bodyguards.” I snorted and pulled out the key and showed it to her. “Do you know what this key is for? It has my house number on it.”

“Oh,” she said. “Where did you find that?” She pressed her lips together. “Everybody had to hand those over to the city years ago when they blocked the tunnels off.” She reached out and took the key from my hand. “We used to play in them when I was a little girl. All the houses were connected.” Her blue eyes sparkled. “We’d get lost for hours down there.”

“There’s tunnels under here?” I took the key back. The blood raced through my veins and I pressed my hand to the pain on the side of my head. Her words were spinning around in my head and making me dizzy.

“Yes, there’s an entire network of tunnels that run under the historical district.” She scrunched her face at me. “They sealed them off when I was about your age, and that was a long time ago,” she laughed. “It wasn’t a big deal. Most people covered the entrances with shelving units or some kind of build-out. Most have cement block.”

“What?” My voice raised and startled her. “What were the tunnels used for?” I thought of the huge shelving unit on the back wall in my basement.

“They led to the old coal mine out past Baker’s Ridge.” She blinked a few times. “Back end of the woods, way behind our houses.” My footsteps pounded against the oak floor as I paced, in unison with my heart.

“They shut that mine down back in the thirties.” Warning signs plagued the area. It was off limits. I hadn’t been around there in years, but I knew where it was. A straight shot out my back door. Exactly two miles.

“They did, Sam, but they didn’t get around to sealing the tunnels off until sometime after the war.” She stopped at the basement door, spun on her heels and walked to the counter to rest.

“Mrs. Schultz, are you sure they closed them all off?” I felt the pressure rising in my head. The Reaper was getting in through the tunnels. He was right here the entire time. Hiding. Waiting. Crazy Lady Brooks and the recent break-ins. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. The noises in my basement. My knees went weak. Max.

“Positive.” She picked up the picture on the counter that I stole from Hayes’ office. “Look how young your parents were.” She slid her glasses to the bridge of her nose. “Poor Bobby Hayes.”

“Who?” I felt my eyes grow to the size of melons. “Who is Bobby Hayes?” I took the picture from her tiny hand and stared at it.

“That’s your chief’s little brother.” She held her hand to her cheek.

“Little brother?” I felt my stomach tighten and cut my air off.

“Sure thing. He was quite a bit younger than him and not right in the head.”

“Why, what did he do?”

“What didn’t he do?” She twisted her hands together. “Word around town was he’d found a way into the tunnels and that he was that Phantom that terrorized everyone years ago.” She waved her hand in the air like she was swatting a fly. “Nobody could ever prove it.” She lifted her hand and tapped her finger to her head. “Come to think of it, your mom went into some kind of rage over her friend Louise. Bobby had a crush on Louise and your mom was terrified of him. Said she saw something, but nobody believed her.” She took a breath. “Hayes already had Bobby sent away again.”

“Are you sure, Mrs. Schultz? Are you sure he was already locked up again?” Bobby had been Louise Harper’s secret admirer.

“Everybody took Hayes for his word. Everybody but your mom.” Her voice was just above a whisper. “He was the one that was found in your house all those years ago. Don’t you remember?” Her head tilted and she squinted her eyes.

“What are you talking about? I don't remember that?” I held my next breath and stepped back.

“It was so long ago, you probably don’t.” She reached over and touched my shoulder. “Everybody kept pretty tight-lipped about him because of Hayes being a cop.”

“Why?” I felt a sinking feeling rushing over me.

“Crazy as a loon, that’s why.”

“What kind of crazy?” My voice cracked.

“The kind that gets you locked up in St. Mary’s Hospital.” She raised her eyebrows. “He was in and out of there more times than I can remember.” She put her hands together and rested them on her face like she was saying a prayer.

“St. Mary’s closed down way before that picture was taken.”

“They brought him home for a while.” She shook her head. “I remember like it was yesterday. Your dad found him hiding in your house one night, in the basement. Had red lipstick painted all over his face.” She pointed at the place that made me cringe. “When your dad found him, he almost beat him to death. Took Hayes and about five others to pull him off. It was just an awful mess.”

“What happened to him after that?” Stephanie Mason and Jennifer Edwards screamed in my ears.

“Sent him off to some place down south. I don’t remember the name.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “That boy never made it out again. They said he hung himself.”

I went for the nearest chair and sat down to catch my breath. “Shit!” I yelled as I sprang up and stomped off to the office. I grabbed the keys off the hook from under the desk and opened the safe. I pulled out a Glock 19 and shoved it in my pants.

“Bobby,” I mumbled. Hayes had lied about the picture. He had lied about his brother. He’d lied about everything. I slammed the safe door. I shoved a flashlight in my back pocket and raced down the hall toward the door. I grabbed my cell from the counter and dialed Jason. No answer. Voicemail full. “Shit!” I yelled again.

“Sam, you’re scaring me.”

I walked over and wrapped my arms around her. “As soon as I walk out that door, start calling Jason. Don’t stop dialing that number until he picks up.” I took a deep breath. “Tell him everything that you told me. Everything about Hayes, his brother Bobby, and the tunnels. He’ll know where to find me.”

“Where are you going?” Mrs. Schultz looked at me with wide eyes.

“Straight to hell.”

Chapter 28

I
'd never been one to heed a warning unless I was staring down the barrel of a gun. Nope. I couldn't leave well enough alone. I wasn't the type to settle for an empty mine shaft when I knew if I dug deep enough, I'd hit the mother lode. I was like my dad that way. Neville and Jason were out of town. I didn’t trust anyone else. I was on my own.

Church Street draped the eastern edge of the city from north to south, lined with beautiful trees and historic homes dating backed to 1851. It was breathtaking. My house was at the south end, and Hayes’ was two blocks north, nestled between the original town hall and the old depot station. They were only open for special or private events. Flashes of my memorial service hitched a ride and followed me to an old farm house perched between the trees.

I switched off my lights, pulled in his driveway and was half-tempted to pull out until I saw the back end of Hayes’ vehicle sticking out from behind the storage shed. My windows were down, and I waited for signs of life to come from the house and from out back. The only thing I heard was the crickets singing and a quiet wind ruffling through the trees.

My heart fluttered. I pulled the handle on the door and my boots crunched on the ground. The pebbles sifted into the sand. I pulled my gun, and flashlight. There was no way to make a quiet entrance. I walked up the stone path, reached the porch, and turned the knob. No movement. It wasn’t opening. No sound. I could hear my heart pounding. I tried again. Waited. There was no sign of him.

I walked back to my car and stood at the door. That car was my ride to safety. I could get in and drive away and forget about everything until Jason came home. The warning signs flared up and sent a signal to my brain.
This is not a good idea. Get back in your car
. My body had no intention of listening to reason, and I headed back to the door. There wasn’t going to be another body. Not on my watch. I was going in.

"Shit." I cursed at myself. "Turn around." I felt like a prowler sneaking around, a stalker—or worse, his next victim.

“Don't go sticking your nose around where it doesn't belong. Someone’s liable to shoot you,” I heard my dad's voice from long ago.

"It's not like I haven't been here before," I said out loud, debating with myself. I knew his house inside and out.

I turned the knob and pushed on the solid wood. It was stuck at the top corner. I pressed my shoulder and weight against the door and it snapped open. It was pitch black. I could smell a strange, pungent odor. I didn't recognize it. I cupped my hands around my gun and flashlight and eased my way through the front hall. Every hair on my body stood on end. It didn't feel right. I wanted to leave.

I slid the soles of my boots along the wood floor and inched my way down the hall. A glow caught my eye towards the back of the house, in the kitchen. I tiptoed the rest of the distance and swung around the door with my gun aimed at the light on the table. Hayes was sitting and flipping through papers.

“Where’s Bobby?” I moved through the dark room. My eyes darted in every direction. My ears perked up.

“I can’t find him.” His voice was low and strained.

“You’ve been hiding him for years. Why?” I spit my words at him.

“I did what I had to do.” He looked up at me. “I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t handle it anymore.” He stood up and pushed away from the table. He reached down and picked up a gun with black-gloved hands.

“Put the gun down, and step back,” I yelled in a seething voice.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I did the best I could.” He raised the gun.

“Put it down.” I felt the weight of my gun lurch in my hands. “I don’t want to do this. You don’t have to do this anymore.”

“I can’t do it anymore.” His eyes glistened in the dim light. “I can’t fix it anymore.” He moved toward me. “Your mom figured it out right away. I didn’t know what else to do. I put her down there, Sam. With him.”

“Jesus, put the gun down.” I shouted. “Put it down.” My heart was breaking. I could feel it crumbling apart somewhere deep in my chest. It was pushing in all directions, sharp edges piercing all of my emotions. I could feel the heavy weight of loss pushing down on me, and my eyes were glassing over. He stepped closer. “Back the fuck up.”

“I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve already done enough.” He held the gun to his head. “Your dad finally put all the pieces together. It’s all here in his file. I didn’t want to do it, but I had to protect Bobby.”

“You mean you had to protect yourself, you son of a bitch.” I had my finger on the trigger and I was aiming between his eyes. It took everything I had not to pull the trigger and put him back the region of hell that he belonged in. “Put the gun down, now,” I yelled, and took a deep breath. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“This is where it ends.” I saw tears running down his face.

“I know you thought you needed to protect him and clean up all his messed-up shit through the years, but you don't have to do it anymore.” He moved closer, shifting his gun back and forth in the air. I stepped back. “Chief, please don’t move, please don’t make me pull the trigger. Let me call the station and we can sit down and talk about everything that happened. Everything will be fine, I promise.”

His gun jerked up to the side of his temple and the blast shook me to my inner core. Hayes fell to the ground. I felt warm splatters of blood run down my cheek. I wiped my arm across my face. I stood there for a moment and looked at the man that had taken my family. I had no feeling for him. All the lies. All to protect his precious Bobby.

I bent down to check his pulse. He was dead. I pushed up to make the call and a hand circled around my mouth and an arm held me around my waist. A muffled noise pushed out through my nose. I fought and pushed at him, but I couldn’t break his suffocating grip. He yanked the gun from my hand and I heard my phone hit the hard floor. My boots scraped the ground as he pulled me back into the darkness. I kicked as hard as I could. I grabbed his hair and didn't let loose. His hand moved and squeezed my throat until I couldn’t breathe. I gasped for air.

I heard the grind of hinges open behind me. Not down there. My heart stopped and sent a sharp pain through my chest. He tossed me around and pinned me against the wall. His eyes were black as coal. The same eyes from the news footage.

“Bobby.” I fought to speak. He squeezed harder and threw me down into a black hole. An overwhelming pain circled my head. I bounced and rolled until I hit a hard, flat surface. I tried to stand. I couldn’t move. I was broken and tasted a rush of nasty iron in my mouth. I spit it out. I heard a whimper off in the darkness. I heard thrashing in the corner. I wasn’t alone down here. A large shadow loomed over and grabbed my face. I fought to stay awake. I heard a loud crushing sound in my left ear. I closed my eyes.

Chapter 29

I
lay on the cold dirt for what seemed like days. Time had passed quickly as I floated in and out of consciousness. I could taste the blood in my mouth. My hands were tied behind my back, my ankles bound and attached to a frail support. I wasn’t in the basement anymore. I was in a section of the tunnels. There wasn’t any need for a gag because my screams proved that no one could hear me. I was cold and shaking, still alive in a grave that was intended to be mine. A long, butcher-block table was to my far left against a crumbling stone wall. A single light bulb hung from a thick wire directly in the middle. There was no sound, no movement except my own fight to free myself. The smell of decay and rot consumed me. I felt nauseous from the pain that radiated throughout my body, and I wondered when he would be back. There was no way out of the tomb, and no one was coming for me. I wondered if I could will myself to die before he returned.