Holly Grove Homecoming (27 page)

He, in turn, jerked Myrna’s arm, then pulled her in front of him. His lip curled. “So, Miss Morrison, what clued you in—Myrna’s use of my old nickname?”

Carly merely stared at him.

“Yes, I think it must have been my nickname. Eric would have referred to me as Pap. I’d threatened his family if he ever used my real name.

“Ah, I see I’ve surprised you. Did you think I wouldn’t have had my suspicions when a strange woman moved in down the street from me and kept to herself the way you did? I began looking into your background. It wasn’t that hard to find out who you really are and then to discover your connection to Eric. I figured you were looking for me, but I wasn’t overly worried until Trooper came back to town and started hanging out with you.”

Carly straightened her back as a bead of perspiration trickled down her spine. “So what Eric told me is true? You killed Mr. and Mrs. Myers and Larry Abbott and made it appear to be a murder/suicide.”

Myrna gasped and tried to lunge forward but Mr. Underwood tightened his hold on her. “I’m sorry, Myrna, that you had to learn about this. I always liked you, and I hated to kill your sister, but she brought it on herself. She apparently suspected that something was bothering Larry Abbott and she was trying to get him to confide in her. I warned him to keep his distance from her, but as I approached the Myers’ mailbox that afternoon, I saw Larry going in their front door. I pulled into the grove of trees right beyond the Myers’ yard, got my gun—which of course wasn’t registered—and slipped up to the front door to see what was going on.

“None of them noticed me. Larry was too busy confessing to your nosy sister and her husband, telling them how I’d made approaches toward him and he’d succumbed but couldn’t get me to leave him alone. He was even telling them about Eric and how he’d gotten hooked on the drugs I gave him. I couldn’t have that. I eased my way inside. Jimmy was the first to spot me, so I shot him first. The Abbott boy froze but your silly sister didn’t. She started toward me, as though she thought she could stop a bullet. She immediately discovered she couldn’t. I suspect she was dead before she hit the floor. Then I realized I couldn’t trust Larry so I shot him too, then put the gun in his hand.”

“But how did you come up with a suicide note so quickly?” Carly asked. She was watching the blood draining from Myrna’s face and was now playing for time.

Mr. Underwood laughed. “That was the funny thing. Larry had given me a note the night before, saying our affair was over. He even threatened suicide if things didn’t change. I had it with me, so I merely scribbled Mary Myers’ name at the top and left it there.

“After I got back to my car, I stayed hidden and killed some time until I saw Charles Graham arrive. He tapped on the door but I’d left it open so that whoever arrived first would likely go on in. That’s exactly what he did. A second later, I heard him shouting, then some swearing. When he came back outside, he was wiping his face with his handkerchief. I guess he’d used the Myers’ phone to call for help. He stood on the front porch until the deputy arrived. That’s when I pulled out into the road and pretended I’d just left the Myers’ mail in their box.

“I parked on the side of the road, walked into the yard as though I was curious about what was going on. I even got as far as the front door and watched the deputy pick up the note and read it. I knew it wouldn’t stand up to a lot of scrutiny, so after I got home that afternoon I typed one up with a lot of details in it, supposedly from Larry detailing the love affair between him and Mrs. Myer and how she was breaking his heart and he didn’t want to go on living without her. I slipped it into an envelope and went to the sheriff’s office, claiming I’d found the envelope addressed to Mary in the Myers’ mailbox that afternoon but hadn’t paid any attention because of all the excitement. Everyone accepted that as reflecting Larry’s state of mind, assuming he left the letter in the mailbox for Mary to find before he decided to confront her with a gun and murder on his mind.”

“Is that the note that Trooper’s been looking for?” Carly asked.

“Yes. I got a little worried after a few days, knowing that if anybody ever suspected me, they could trace that note to my typewriter keys. When the sheriff asked me to come back in for another interview, I waited until the two of us were alone in his office, then pretended to get sick at the thought of what had happened to the Myers and Larry. The sheriff stepped out of the office to get me a drink of water, and I slipped both notes out of the folder on his desk.”

“So, is that the note Tommy had?”

“Yes. He wasn’t supposed to be home when I got there that afternoon, but he was, and he saw the typed note. I told him there were several copies floating around and this was one of them. He asked to keep it and I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. Later, of course, I found it in his closet and destroyed it.”

“Now, then, Miss Morrison, if your curiosity is entirely satisfied, it’s time to—” He sputtered to a stop when Myrna twisted out of his grasp and twirled to face him. Before he could react, she’d pulled back her arm and slapped him hard in the face.

“Damn you, Sam Underwood. How can you stand there and talk about killing my sister and brother-in-law with as little remorse as if you’d stepped on a bug? What kind of monster are you, anyway?”

Mr. Underwood raised his hand to his reddening cheek and a sly smile lifted the corners of his lips. “I’m so glad you did that, Myrna. I’ve always liked you, but now I have no qualms about doing this.”

And with a swiftness and strength that startled Carly, he raised both hands and gave Myrna a shove that sent her stumbling backward and then off the dock and into the lake. Her cry of distress was quickly cut off as she went under water.

Carly took advantage of Mr. Underwood’s momentary distraction to pull her cell phone out of her pocket and throw it with all her might toward the shore. She didn’t take time to be sure it landed before kicking off her shoes and diving into the water.

Carly was a decent swimmer but she’d never had to try to save another person before. At the same time, she knew she had to get Myrna above water and to safety as quickly as possible because she didn’t doubt that Sam Underwood intended to drown both of them.

The second she came to the surface following her dive, she looked around for Myrna but was immediately blinded by water as Mr. Underwood cannonballed into the lake just to her right. Another half a foot and he would have landed on top of her.

Figuring she had a couple of seconds at the most before he could surface and grab her, she pulled in a deep breath and dove toward her left, away from Mr. Underwood. She just prayed she wasn’t also moving away from Myrna. If Mr. Underwood got to Myrna first, Carly wasn’t sure she could save her.

When she surfaced again, she glanced back. Mr. Underwood was shaking water out of his face. Myrna was nowhere to be seen. Carly glanced toward the shore, praying Trooper would be there, but the grounds were empty as far as she could see. Still, hoping someone was within hearing distance, she shouted at the top of her lungs. “Help. The lake. Help!”

She was still pulling in breath to yell again when she felt Mr. Underwood’s hands grasp her shoulders from behind. She barely had time to close her mouth before she went under. She kicked backward, hoping to incapacitate him, but unfortunately she didn’t even manage to touch him.

Although she had suspected that his feebleness was a pretense, the extent of his strength startled her. His grip on her shoulders tightened as he continued to hold her under. She couldn’t free herself, and she couldn’t hold her breath much longer. All she could do was hope that somehow Trooper would arrive in time to save them.

T
rooper had picked
out half a dozen tomatoes, two zucchinis, and several cucumbers to take to Myrna when Charles Graham walked out onto the porch carrying Trooper’s cell.

“Your phone just beeped a couple of times and when I glanced at it, I saw that a text had popped up on the screen. It made no sense to me, but I thought maybe it might be some sort of important FBI code.” He held the phone out to Trooper.

Trooper took the phone and looked at the screen. The text had disappeared, so he had to swipe to open, enter his passcode, and then go to his messages. He couldn’t imagine what sort of message might make Mr. Graham think it was FBI code.

A smile lifted the corners of his lips when Carly’s name appeared at the top of the screen but the smile immediately faded when he read her two-word message. “Carly’s at the lake and needs help,” he yelled over his shoulder as he made a dash for the door. “Call the sheriff.”

He didn’t wait for either his uncle or Charles Graham. He bolted out the door and took off in a hard run toward the lake. He spotted Carly’s SUV parked under one of the oaks, but he couldn’t see her. Had he just heard her scream for help?

Thank heavens his daily runs had kept him in shape. He covered the distance between his uncle’s house and the lake in a matter of seconds, but then he paused, looking frantically at the lake’s surface.

A head bobbing in the water at the end of the dock drew his attention. For a second he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. “Aunt Myrna?” he murmured aloud. Yes, it was his aunt all right. Had she ever learned to swim? She’d talked about it when he was in high school, but she hadn’t done anything about learning before he left town. He didn’t know what she might have done after that, but he couldn’t take any chances.

He kicked off his shoes and sprinted to the end of the dock. However, before he could jump in, his aunt raised her right arm and pointed to the far side of the dock. “I’m fine. Sam’s got Carly over there. Help her.”

Two long steps carried Trooper to the side of the dock. A second later, Sam Underwood’s head bobbed to the surface, but where was Carly? If he was too late to save her, he’d never forgive himself. Why on earth had he left his phone lying on that kitchen table? Then he saw her hand break the surface of the water. Apparently Underwood was holding her down.

Trooper pulled in a deep breath and dove, aiming for a spot close to Carly in hopes he could help her get her head above water. When he hit the water, he went as deep as possible before twisting his body and sweeping his arms in an attempt to locate Carly on his way up. The lake waters were far too murky for him to see underwater, so he had to depend on his other senses, and he prayed they wouldn’t fail him.

But there was no Carly. Was Underwood dragging her away with him or had she already lost consciousness? Trooper surfaced and frantically looked around. Underwood was swimming toward the shore, but where was Carly?

“Nelson! There! Over there!”

He looked toward his aunt, who still clung to one of the posts supporting the dock. She was pointing behind him.

Carly, gagging and sputtering, was treading water several feet out into the lake. Trooper reached her in a matter of seconds and pulled her into his arms.

“Hang on another minute, love,” he murmured. “I’ll get you back to shore.”

“Myrna?” Carly gasped between coughs. Tears poured down her wet cheeks. “I couldn’t save her.”

“Apparently she saved herself. She must have learned to swim at some point. In any case, she’s back at the dock.”

“Thank heavens.” Carly looked toward the dock. “I see Myrna, but where’s Sam Underwood?”

“I don’t know but he can’t get too far away. When we get back to shore, you’ll have to explain how you learned he is Pap.”

Carly nodded. Her coughs had diminished to the point that she appeared to be breathing normally. “I can swim by myself now,” she said. “Let’s go check on Myrna.”

“Okay, but don’t push yourself. We can stop and rest as often as you need to.”

But Carly didn’t need to rest. It was fairly obvious that she was eager to reach Myrna, who was now climbing the wooden ladder leading from the water up to the dock. Charles Graham stood on the right side of the ladder ready to lend her a hand, and Roy stood on the other.

By the time Trooper and Carly reached the ladder, Myrna was safely out of the water and Roy was bundling her up in a towel.

Trooper waited in the water until Carly had safely negotiated the ladder and climbed onto the dock with help from Charles. Then he clambered up himself. Myrna was fussing over Carly, demanding to know if she was really okay, so Trooper took time to look toward the shore. “Anybody see where Sam Underwood went?” he asked.

Charles Graham answered. “Last I saw of him, he was headed for the highway on foot. I yelled at him, but he didn’t slow down. What’s going on? How did everybody end up in the lake?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Roy interjected.

“I’ll explain later,” Trooper said quickly. “First I need to try to catch up to Sam. Anybody have a notion as to where he might be headed?”

“I don’t,” Roy said, “but the sheriff might. He just turned into the driveway. I called him and told him to get his tail on out here because he was needed. Looks like he took me at my word.”

Everyone turned to watch the sheriff’s cruiser ease down the driveway.

“Say,” Charles exclaimed. “Isn’t that Sam Underwood in the backseat?”

Trooper grabbed his shoes and slipped them on, then jogged through the grass toward the sheriff’s cruiser. Mike rolled to a stop beside Carly’s SUV, and Trooper waited until he cut the motor and rolled down his window.

“What’s going on here, Trooper?” the sheriff asked. “Mr. Underwood was thumbing a ride out on the highway. He claims you folks got upset with him because he fell in the lake.”

Mr. Underwood spoke up from the backseat. “I would have been fine if Myrna and that girlfriend of Trooper’s hadn’t jumped in after me. I almost drowned trying to save them.”

Trooper shook his head. “That’s pretty far from the truth as I saw it, Mike. But Carly and Aunt Myrna know more about what actually happened than I do. I see them coming now.”

Carly and Myrna, both wrapped in beach towels, trudged through the yard toward the cruiser. Charles and Roy accompanied them. Mike climbed out of the car to greet them, and although he lowered the side window in the backseat of the cruiser, he didn’t offer to let Sam Underwood out. The sheriff nodded toward Carly. “You want to tell me your side of this story, Miss Morrison? Mr. Underwood says you folks have been pretty rough on him today.”

Carly narrowed her eyes. “I don’t doubt that he’s lying through his teeth, Sheriff, but the bottom line is this: Twenty years ago, Sam Underwood killed Trooper’s parents and Larry Abbott and today he tried to drown Myrna and me.”

The sheriff’s eyebrows shot up. “Those are some pretty serious accusations, Miss Morrison. Do you have anything to back them up?”

Myrna spoke up. “I can vouch for everything Carly just said. He admitted as much to the two of us, and I saw him trying to drown Carly.”

Mr. Underwood yelled through the car window. “That’s a lie. I was trying to save Miss Morrison, not drown her. I was holding her from behind so she couldn’t grab on to me and pull me under with her. When Trooper finally arrived and jumped into the lake, I knew I could let go and save myself and that’s what I did.”

The sheriff grimaced. “Looks like it’s going to be one person’s word against another’s.” He looked toward Roy and Charles. “Did either of you hear or see anything?”

Both men shook their heads. Trooper pulled in a deep breath but before he could speak, Carly stepped forward. She pulled her right hand from beneath the towel and held up her cell phone. “With any luck, I’ll have a recording of Mr. Underwood telling Myrna and me all about his movements the day he killed Trooper’s parents and Larry Abbott. I had the record button engaged on my phone as the three of us were walking from my car toward the lake. As soon as Mr. Underwood realized that I’d learned his nickname and associated him with another boy he’d abused, he started talking. I think you’ll find the full story on here, assuming my throwing it from the dock onto the bank didn’t damage it in any way.”

Trooper’s lips stretched into a wide smile of pure admiration. Carly’s presence of mind when she must have been scared half out of her mind was amazing. He could think of a dozen agents who wouldn’t have thought to use their phones to record a confession under those circumstances.

“Wait,” Mr. Underwood yelled from the backseat of the cruiser. “I didn’t know I was being recorded. Isn’t that against the law?”

The sheriff ignored him, turning instead to Carly. “Let’s see if your phone still works. You want to try to play back the conversation you mentioned?”

Carly nodded, then tapped the face of her phone a few times. A second later, Mr. Underwood’s voice could be heard: “So, Miss Morrison, what clued you in—Myrna’s use of my old nickname? Yes, I think it must have been my nickname. Eric would have referred to me as Pap. I’d threatened his family if he ever used my real name.”

“Who’s Eric?” the sheriff asked.

“Eric is the reason I moved to Holly Grove,” Carly said. Her eyes filled with tears. “I couldn’t save him, but I feel pretty sure I’m going to be able to avenge him.”

“Stupid slut,” Mr. Underwood screamed from inside the cruiser. “You can’t use that recording against me. I’ll get the best lawyer in the country. I’ll beat you, and I’ll drag your name through the mud. You’ll be sorry you ever heard of Sam Underwood.”

“A lot of people, especially young men, already are,” Carly retorted, which set Underwood off again, screaming through the car window, calling her names, threatening all of them with law suits involving slander and whatever else he could think of.

“Good God,” the sheriff finally muttered. “Good thing I’ve got a deputy on the way. I’ll have him take Underwood in and charge him with disturbing the peace until I can sort out the rest of this. I’ll need to talk to each of you, get your statements, and take it from there.” He turned to Trooper. “And after all of this is over, I’d like us to meet. Something has come up that I want to talk to you about.”

Trooper nodded. He couldn’t imagine what the sheriff might want to talk to him about, and at the moment, his main concern was getting Carly and Myrna back home where they could get into dry clothes and hopefully unwind a little bit. He wouldn’t mind unwinding himself. For a few minutes there today, he’d been afraid he might lose both Myrna and Carly.

And if he’d failed to save two more people he loved, he didn’t think he could have ever recovered.