Murder Games (8 page)
Authors: Elisabeth Crabtree
“Where’s Hunter?” Laura asked. “Has anyone seen him?”
“He was supposed to be with you and Molly,” Grace pointed out.
Sabrina
let out a high pitch squeal as the door to the outside suddenly swung open behind her.
Molly
rushed into the foyer from outside. She wrapped her arms tightly around her body trying to keep herself from shivering.
Ivy
balled her hands on her hips. “Where have you been? You scared us to death.”
“
I accidentally got locked out,” Molly said through chattering teeth. “The back door next to the sunroom was open, so I stepped outside for just a second to see if anyone was outside and when I turned back around the wind slammed the door shut. I couldn’t get back in.” She looked around at their worried faces. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
Rupert walked to the coat closet
and pulled out his coat and hat, as Ivy filled Molly in on the noise that they had heard. “I’ll go check out back. Maybe a tree fell or something.”
Molly shook her head.
“I thought I heard something when I was outside.” She glanced down at her feet. “I had to walk all the way around the house in these shoes,” she complained as she shook the snow off of her Mary Janes.
Ivy led the poor shivering girl to the dining room. “Oh, dear,” she said, pushing Molly into a chair
, “I’ll go make you some hot tea. That should warm you up.”
Molly rubbed her hands over her arms
as she kicked off her wet shoes and socks. Getting up, she walked into the foyer. “Where’s Austin?”
“Who’s
Austin?” Caroline asked as she descended the stairs.
“I mean Fortune
Hunter.” Molly suddenly gasped. With a worried frown, she raced through the foyer and past the staircase. Grace and Kyle followed her through a narrow hallway past the kitchen, the billiard room, the back staircase, and the door to the backyard.
Noticing a draft as they passed the
back door, Grace paused. She walked up to the door, surprised to find it slightly ajar. She glanced around the backyard for a second before pulling the door closed and racing to catch up with Molly and Kyle.
Sh
e caught up to them as they turned down another hallway leading toward the sunroom, the downstairs bathroom, and the cellar.
“
I thought I saw Austin heading this way before I went outside. I hope he’s not hurt.” Molly stopped in front of the cellar door and turned the handle. “It’s locked.” She turned, walked to the bathroom and looked inside. “Maybe he’s upstairs,” she said with a shrug before turning around and walking toward the back staircase.
Kyle watched
Molly until she disappeared around the corner. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black box.
“Did you
notice that the back door was open?” Grace asked.
Opening the box and selecting a long lock pick, Kyle grinned. “
Curiouser and curiouser. I hate to tell you, Rose, but I’m starting to suspect that your sister killed Ivy.”
“Hmm. Maybe.” Grace glanced out the window just as Molly, Jerry
, and Laura passed by. “What are you doing?” she asked as he stuck the lock pick into the lock.
“
Molly seemed certain Austin was down here. I wonder why?”
“
Do you think you can open it?” Grace asked.
Reaching for the door handle, Kyle
threw her an exasperated look.
Grace held up her hand. “Sorry
.” She sometimes forgot that Kyle used to be a magician and knew his way around locks.
“Do
you think you can get it open?” he mimicked as he pushed open the door. He felt around the side of the wall, groping for the light switch. Finding it a few inches away, he flicked the switch. When nothing happened, he flicked it again a few times. “Do you have a flashlight?”
Grace put her hands on her hips. “Where would I carry one?”
Suddenly, they heard a groan and a weak call for help from below.
Despite the darkness, Kyle and Grace made their way carefully down the narrow wooden steps. “
Austin?” Kyle called. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so
. Be careful. I fell down the stairs.” Austin made a disgusted guttural sound. “What is this?” he asked with equal parts of disgust and horror. “There’s something all over me.”
“
Just hold still,” Kyle said. “We’ll be down—” Just then, Kyle’s foot slipped off the staircase. He fell back into Grace, accidentally knocking her against the rickety banister. The bannister made a loud crack, and with a sense of sickening horror, Grace felt herself falling.
CHAPTER S
even
“Are you all right?” he asked worriedly.
Nodding, she sat up on the staircase. “What happened?”
“I slipped on something. I’m so sorry, Grace. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked quietly, his voice rough with emotion.
“I’m fine.” She grabbed a hold of his arm and with his help, pulled herself into a standing position.
“What happened?”
Austin asked tightly. “Are you two okay?”
The sound of
Austin moving down below caused Kyle to shout, “Stay where you are. We’ll be right down.”
Austin
groaned in response.
Grace, feeling her heart finally return to a normal beat, let go of Kyle’s arm. Testing every step they took, they slowly made their way down
the stairs until they finally reached Austin.
“Be careful,”
Austin warned, “there’s a bunch of glass on the floor.”
Kyle crouched down next to the other man.
“How badly are you hurt?”
“I
think I just had the wind knocked out of me. I’ll be fine once I get upstairs.”
“I don’t think you should move just yet,” Grace said. “Let’s wait until the ambulance gets here to check you out.”
“You called for an ambulance?” Austin asked sharply.
“No, not yet,” she said warily.
Austin gave a sigh of relief. “Good. I don’t need an ambulance. I’m fine.”
Grace stepped around the debris. “You could be seriously hurt.”
Her eyes now adjusted to the light, she glanced around the cellar and shuddered. Dank and dark was the only way to describe it. The smell of mold and mildew was overpowering, and in every corner and archway was a filmy spider web. She felt her skin crawl just looking at them. She turned back to Austin. “You should have someone look you over just in case.”
“Nonsense,”
Austin said through gritted teeth. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself off the floor and with Kyle and Grace’s help; he came to a standing position. Leaning heavily on Kyle, he added, “I’m just a little shaken.” With a great deal of effort, he straightened his back, stepped away from Kyle, and began to ascend the staircase.
Just then
, they heard a gasp from above. Molly stood at the top of the stairs. She was just about to race down when Austin shouted for her to stop and to stay where she was.
“What happened?” Molly asked.
Austin shook his head. “I’ll explain when I get up to you.” Coming to the spot where Kyle and Grace fell, he hesitated briefly, before carefully and with a great deal of effort, skipped over the step. As soon as he was within Molly’s reach, she wrapped her arms around him and led him down the hallway.
“He’s certainly hard
-headed.” Grace looked up the long narrow staircase. “I’m shocked that not only is he alive, but he’s moving.”
“
I wonder what he was doing down here.”
Grace shrugged
as she glanced up at the single bulb hanging from the ceiling. “What I want to know is why the lights aren’t working.” Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up to the bulb, her fingers barely grazing the glass. “It’s still warm. It must have burned out.”
Kyle’s fingers joined hers. He easily reached up and twisted the bulb within its socket flooding the room with light.
Looking at the barren musty old cellar with its green tinged stone walls, dirt floor, and bug covered wooden support beams with distaste, Grace said, “Light’s not helping its appearance any. I’ve seen cellars in horror films that were decorated more cheerfully.” She walked over to the only piece of furniture in the room, a lone bookcase and wine rack now lying in pieces at the bottom of the staircase. She was just about to reach forward and pick up a wooden shelf, when she noticed several jagged pieces of glass lying among the debris.
“Hey, you two,”
Sabrina said from the top of the staircase. “Are you both okay?” Jerry and Laura stood behind her, peering over her shoulder.
Feeling all desire to investigate the
cellar suddenly evaporating as a large hairy spider crawled across the floor at her feet, Grace answered in the affirmative before carefully making her way up the steps. As soon as she reached the top step, she felt Sabrina and Jerry’s hands encircle her arms and pull her into the hallway.
“Thank
goodness, you all weren’t hurt,” Sabrina said.
Grace glanced behind her as Jerry peppered Kyle with questions about their ordeal.
Turning back around, she followed Sabrina into the cheery sunroom located at the back of the house where the others had gathered following Austin’s mishap.
Austin
sat in one of the yellow and green flowered chairs, wincing as he rotated his wrist. He glanced up in annoyance as Laura passed in front of him. She circled around looking at every one suspiciously, before finally sitting down in the back corner of the room away from everyone else.
Rupert stood stoically off to the side with Caroline. Both look
ed more annoyed than worried. In contrast, Ivy and Molly fluttered around Austin. They adjusted the cushion behind his back, examined his head, pressed cold compresses to various places on his body, and generally pestered him more than helped.
“
I just don’t understand how you got into the cellar.” Ivy ran her hands through his thick dark hair. Frowning, she looked at her fingers before wiping them on the back of Austin’s suit coat. “We keep it locked up, but really, you should have known better than to go down there. Didn’t Rupert tell all of you not to go into the cellar? I’m sure he did. In fact, I distinctly remember hearing him say that we couldn’t be held liable if you go off exploring on your own. Especially in places that you aren’t permitted. That’s why we have everyone sign a waiver of liability at the hotel,” she said in a rush without taking a breath. “You did sign a waiver, didn’t you?”
Austin
, craning his neck in an attempt to get away from her hands, muttered an annoyed yes.
“Good,” Ivy said
.
Molly,
who was hovering nearby, pressed a small handkerchief to his forehead. “You’re bleeding,” she said softly.
Austin
moved her hands away gently. “Molly, please don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“
Oh, I hope you don’t need stiches, but don’t worry, I was a candy striper in my youth,” Ivy announced brightly. “You’re very lucky I’m here to take care of you.” She clucked her tongue as she leaned forward and inspected the small gash on his forehead. “Oh, my, we might need to cauterize this wound.” She poked at the gash with the tip of her fingernail, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from her patient.
Austin
quickly reached up and grabbed Ivy’s hands. “I promise you, I am not going to sue,” he said, spacing each word out for emphasis.
Ivy
breathed a sigh of relief before dropping into the chair next to him. “Oh, thank goodness.” She laughed nervously. “You wouldn’t have gotten anything from me. I’m completely broke.” Finally noticing Grace still standing by the door, Ivy’s eyebrows lifted up to her hairline. “What happened to you?”
Surprised by Ivy’s question, Grace looked down at her dress and groaned. Dark black stains covered her
purple dress. “I had a little problem with the stairs.” Feeling something crawling on her head, she lifted a hand up, horrified to discover a cobweb clinging to her hair. Quickly unclipping her hair barrette, she leaned forward and began shaking out her hair. She knew she must look like a crazy person, but the thought of spiders crawling over her was too much to bear. A few seconds later, she felt Kyle’s hands join hers.
“I think you’re fine,
” he said with a touch of amusement.
She lifted her head and looked up at him somewhat annoyed. They went through the
same thing and he looked like he had just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. His dark blue pinstriped double-breasted suit looked as clean as it did when he first put it on. While she, on the other hand, was doubled over in a stained and ruined dress trying to shake out any potential spiders that were thinking of nesting in her hair. “How in the world do you do that?”
Kyle looked down at her in bewilderment.
“What is all of this?” Austin asked, disgustedly plucking at his clothes. He lifted his arm to his nose and sniffed. “Strawberry?”
Ivy gasped. “Oh no, my jam
.” She jumped from her chair and ran from the room.
Molly
leaned forward and sniffed. “I smell grapes.”
“The wine,” Rupert said
in horror as he quickly hurried to the cellar.
Running her fingers through her hair, Grace
looked up at Kyle and asked, “How do I look?”
“
Beautiful,” Kyle said automatically. “Of course, it couldn’t hurt to find a washcloth.”
“Wonderful,” Grace said
as she walked out of the sunroom and toward the bathroom near the cellar. She winced at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Brown and red smudges ran alongside her cheekbone and across her bare shoulder. She reached up and ineffectually rubbed at the greasy substance on her cheek. Deciding a shower and a wardrobe change was in order; she reached for the door handle only to freeze at the sound of a door slamming shut.
“
I say we throw him out,” Ivy said, “he’s not even supposed to be here.”
“No!
” Rupert snapped. “He’s already here. We can’t throw him out now.”
“
Why not?”
“The other guests will
wonder why he was asked to leave. He might be disruptive.”
“Then let’s kill
his character off,” Ivy said, “he’s not part of this version of the game anyway.”
“How?”
“What do you mean how? We’ll get the girl to do it. We’ll tell her we forgot to include him in her list of victim’s.”
“That’s not going to work.
He’s not interested in the game. Trust me; he’s not going to leave.” Rupert sighed. “It’ll all be over with tomorrow. I’m afraid we’re just stuck with him for the time being.”
“Oh
, I see now,” Ivy said irritably. “Just how much did he pay you?”
“
Pay me? I don’t know where you got that idea.”
“
Oh, I don’t even want to hear it. Did he at least tell you why he’s here?”
“He wanted to talk to Erica.”
“Well, why didn’t you tell him that she’s not here?”
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
Rupert asked sarcastically. “Of course, I told him that, but he said he’d like to stay anyway.”
“Why did he want to see Erica?”
“He didn’t say. Maybe he’s fond of her.”
“Who would be fond of her?
” Ivy asked. “She’s a delusional, lying, backstabbing, little thief, who couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag. I know she’s the one who stole that woman’s jewelry during the last game.”
“No, she didn’t
,” Rupert responded.
“Oh, how do you know?”
“Because she wasn’t even here when the lady’s baubles—”
Ivy snorted. “Those were not baubles.”
“That’s not the point.” Rupert’s voice grew strident. “Erica wasn’t even here when they went missing. She had nothing to do with it.”
“Why are you always taking her side?”
“Me? You’re the one who hired her. I told you not to, but you did it anyway.”
Ivy sighed.
“Yes, I know. You keep reminding me. I’m just so glad she’s gone. Now if we could just get rid of her friend in there. I’m serious, Rupert, I want him gone. I don’t trust him.”
“Fine. I’ll
get rid of him, just calm down.”
“Make sure to lock
the cellar this time.”
Grunting, Rupert grumbled, “It was locked before.”
“Then how did he get down there?”
“How should I k
now?”
“Erica has a set of keys,” Ivy said
. “Maybe she gave them to him. They spent a lot of time together during the Christmas performance. I don’t like this at all. When’s the last time you went down into the cellar?”
“
Yesterday. This old house is a death trap. I’ll be glad when we move to California.”