The Precipice (16 page)

“Good, that will come in handy.” He turned and headed deeper into the woods. She followed behind, wondering what he was up to. Was he actually going to help her or was he leading her right back into Perkins’ custody?

Chapter 20

E
lizabeth and Kurt stopped short of emerging from the woods near Acadia House. She searched his face to see if she could tell what his intentions were. She wasn’t sure she should trust him. He turned to her. “There is an opening to the tunnels just to the left of the steps going up to the back door to the Hutchins’ room. We need to get to it without anyone seeing us.”

He looked around, and then stepped out of the safety of the woods. “C’mon.” They stayed low and headed across the grass toward the end of the building. Elizabeth followed behind Kurt as he approached the first set of steps in the back of the building. He passed the steps and went directly to the left of the steps, into the bushes, that were evidently concealing the entrance to the tunnel. She watched as he reached into the greenery and yanked on a hatchway door. It seemed to open fairly easily as if it was used regularly. Odd for a tunnel that had been sealed off for years. “Ladies first.” He motioned for her to enter. Oh, how she hated the tunnels. Curiously, she wondered what she would find starting from this end. At least she had a decent flashlight this time. Cautiously she descended the steps. Just as she reached to switch on the lieutenant’s light, she heard a voice approaching. She stood still.

“Mitchell!” It was Perkins. Had he seen her? Her feet were frozen in place. “What are you doing?” She held her breath.

Kurt swiftly closed the door behind her with a loud thud. “Just checking the tunnels, making sure the access points are secure.”

She heard the latch click into place on the hatchway door. She was locked in! “That Bastard!” she yelled in a whisper. She
knew
she couldn’t trust him! “Damn it!” The tunnel was suddenly darker than any darkness she had ever seen before. She waited for her eyes to adjust but the absolute darkness remained. She stood still, barely breathing, listening to hear if they were still there. She didn’t dare turn on her light yet. She couldn’t afford to be detected by Perkins. Wouldn’t he be happy if he did? She listened as the voices trailed off. Somewhere off in the distance in the tunnel there was a dripping sound. The familiar damp, musty air of the underground permeated her nose. She waited until she couldn’t stand the dark any longer and pushed the switch so the flashlight came to life. Taking a moment to let her eyes adjust, she glanced around her. Nothing unlike the other end of the tunnel. She took what comfort she could from that. Well, she had wanted to get back down into the tunnels and she did have a good flashlight with her this time. But she was locked in. Maybe Mitchell had her right where he wanted her. Suddenly she wanted to get out of there. Her cell phone! She could call Rashelle to come to her rescue. Her friend could come and let her out. All she would have to do would be to break the lock on the hatchway…Of course, calling her would be very risky. They were probably monitoring her cell phone on GPS. One call and more than just Mitchell would know where she was. “Alright, Elizabeth. Think.” Her voice was barely a whisper. It sounded odd to her. The tunnel suddenly seemed colder and wetter and emptier than before. She shined the flashlight down the tunnel shaft and listened. It was quiet. She put her free hand on the back of her hip while she thought for a moment. Should she attempt to find her way to the main building of the inn? What would she do once she got there—if she found her way there? It didn’t look like she had much choice. There was no leaving through the hatchway. She would have to devise a plan as she went. Then she realized the hand on her hip should have brushed the magazine that she had swiped from the Hutchins’ room. It wasn’t there! Had she dropped it in her haste to get down the hatchway? Did Mitchell slip it out of her pocket? She didn’t want to think about either possibility. It was time to start moving. If she was going to be a target, it would be better for her to be a moving target.

Taking a deep breath, she started hesitantly down the dark, dank tunnel. The trooper’s light was of much better quality that the two rusty cast-offs that Rashelle had rescued from the desk drawer of the office. She was fairly confident that this one might actually stay on. Elizabeth made her way slowly down the tunnel, taking small steps and stopping periodically to listen. Oh, how she hated the tunnels. It’s no wonder why she was forbidden from exploring them as a child. She was barely a few feet from the hatchway when her cell phone came to life in her pocket and made her jump. “Shit!” She plunged her hand deep into her pants to retrieve the noisy offender. One glance told her it was an area code of 917. Drescher again. He was certainly persistent. She had to give him that. Probably the last person she wanted to speak to right now. She just flipped opened the phone and closed it again. She acted quickly enough so that it only rang twice. Was it enough for them to detect where she was? Elizabeth didn’t have time to think about it. She quickly shut off the phone and shoved it back into her pocket.

Elizabeth pressed on, shuffling her feet a few dozen yards, until she noticed the reflection of a light, bobbing along the wall. She quickly extinguished her light and watched the reflection. It was gradually getting brighter and closer. Someone was in the tunnel, coming right toward her. There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere to go. All she could do was to wait until the person reached her. Her breathing quickened. Her palms became damp. She had to focus on not dropping her light. The person was shuffling his or her feet. Almost on top of her. Suddenly there was a light shining in her eyes. She quickly turned on her light and pointed it at the intruder. “M-Mrs. Leibowitz? W-what the—What are you doing here?” Elizabeth couldn’t believe her eyes. There, standing in front of her, in the dark, damp tunnel, was none other than one of the inn’s regular guests, Mrs. L. She stood there in Elizabeth’s light like they were casually meeting in the hall of the inn. Of course, in reality, no meeting with Mrs. Leibowitz was casual. Then Elizabeth noticed she was holding something down at her side. She moved the light lower to get a better look. “A bottle of wine? Mrs. Leibowitz, you’re sneaking a bottle from the inn’s wine cellar?” Elizabeth was incredulous. A long-time guest was using the old tunnels to pilfer wine. She moved her light back up to Mrs. L’s face, looking for a response.

“Bah!” Her free hand gestured as if to say, “no big deal.” “The wine you had sent up earlier was of questionable quality so I thought I would help myself and make my own selection.” Elizabeth couldn’t believe her ears. She had obviously done this before and knew right where to go to find the inn’s wine cellar. Before she could wonder how long this had been going on, the defiant guest pushed past her and headed for the end of the tunnel Elizabeth had just left. Mrs. L. called back to her as the darkness quickly swallowed her up, “I’ll just leave the unopened bottle in my room to be picked up.” Elizabeth watched as her light bobbed for a few seconds and then disappeared out of sight.

“What a bitch!” Her voice was barely a whisper. Elizabeth just stood there alone in the dark shaking her head with her mouth opened slightly. She wasn’t about to do her any favors and tell her the hatchway was locked. She would see her on the rebound. Her feet starting moving again.

Several minutes passed while Elizabeth shuffled her feet, making her way toward the wine cellar below the main building. She couldn’t shake her encounter with Mrs. Leibowitz, but she really needed to be focusing on other matters right now. What or who was she going to find when she got to the cellar? Would Perkins and/or Mitchell be there to greet her? She felt trapped like a rat. She had no choice but to keep moving. Her feet proceeded at a steady pace. Then she smelled it. It hit her in the face like it had before. The odor was so strong, it almost made her eyes water. She slowed her feet until she was nearly standing still. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to see where the odor was coming from but she kept moving. Slowly she crept closer. A few steps at a time. The smell was very strong now. It couldn’t be too much farther. A few more steps. Then her light shined on something dark in the middle of the tunnel. She stopped dead in her tracks. What was it? She held her breath. She took a few more steps closer, squinting her eyes to make out the lifeless form on the floor a few feet in front of her. A few more steps closer. Then she noticed the fur. It was just an unfortunate animal that had met its match in the bowels of the inn. Not a very large animal. Hard to tell what it was and what did it in because it had obviously been there decomposing for a while. She was relieved that the carcass was not human, though. Gingerly, she stepped over it and moved on. The more space she could put between herself and that smelly mess, the better.

Elizabeth picked up her pace as much as she dared, but kept her feet as close to the ground as possible to avoid slipping and falling on the damp, dirt floor. She pressed on, further into the tunnel. Oh, how she just wanted to get out of there. Her thoughts went back to Mitchell. She couldn’t decide if she could trust him. Did he have the Hutchins’ magazine? If so, what was he going to do with it? Would he give it to Perkins so he could use it to charge her with breaking and entering? Oh, she wished she could call Rashelle to ensure someone was going to be on her side when she exited the tunnel. Elizabeth hated to think about what kind of a welcoming committee would be there to great her. She decided to just put it out of her mind for a while and keep going. Suddenly she became aware of her feet. She felt as though they had sped up while she was deep in thought so she reached out with her free hand to run it along the wall. It was cold and damp. All of a sudden the air in the tunnel felt very cold. A shiver ran down her spine. She felt so alone down below the ground. The urgency to get out of there was stronger than ever, but she stopped for a moment to listen. It was too quiet.

“Get out!” The voice startled her. It was a whisper in her ear. She jumped and turned her head back and forth trying to determine where the sound came from. It was a woman’s voice, but not one she recognized. It certainly wasn’t Mrs. Leibowitz’s. She couldn’t decide if the voice had originated from behind her or in front of her. It almost seemed like it was all around her.

Elizabeth decided to heed the warning just the same and she resumed her trek toward daylight. Her feet started to move at a pace that was flirting with the danger of slipping on the wet ground beneath her, but her desire to escape had never been stronger.

She had covered a few yards when the hand that was running along the wall felt a subtle vibration, which made her stop and listen again. What was that? She took a few tentative steps, keeping her hand on the wall, stopping to listen again. Somewhere near her there was a creaking sound, like a heavy weight was causing something to give under the pressure. Elizabeth blacked out before she saw what happened next.

Chapter 21

E
lizabeth was struggling to open her eyes. She became acutely aware that the back of her head ached like she had never felt before. She moaned as she started to stir from her prone position on the floor of the tunnel.

“Liz!! Are you alright?” Elizabeth was vaguely aware that she was hearing a familiar voice. “Lizzi! Oh my gawd, are you all right? Tawk to me.” As Elizabeth slowly regained her consciousness, she strained to see her friend. There was a bright light in her face that was hard to see past.

A gruff voice barked directions to someone. “Get the light out of her eyes, for God’s sake. Give her some room to breathe!” Elizabeth suddenly realized who was speaking. Perkins had found her.
Was he responsible for the throbbing in her head?
Her stomach turned over and she suddenly felt nauseous. She struggled to remember what had happened and was frustrated that she couldn’t. She knew this couldn’t be good.

“Liz. What happened? Are you all right, girlfriend? Tawk to me. Can you sit up?” Rashelle was desperately trying to help Elizabeth. She grabbed onto one of her arms and tried to encourage her to move.

“Whoa, Miss Harper. Give her a few minutes to gather herself. She’ll be fine. Just give her some time.”
What is Perkins up to? He was sounding entirely too compassionate.
Elizabeth wondered exactly who was hovering over her.
She was becoming aware of several people. It seemed like a crowd that gathers at a car accident. She kept blinking to clear her eyesight while squinting to try to see past multiple flashlights. She wished she knew what had happened. Damn, she could use some ice and several hundred milligrams of ibuprofen. Elizabeth reached with one hand to the back of her head to perform a tactile examination. She felt a large lump that was excruciating when she touched it and her hand felt wet when she pulled it away.

“Take it easy, Miss Pennington. You’ve suffered quite a blow to the back of your head. Take your time. If need be, we can carry you out of the tunnel. Suddenly, she felt the need to sit up and get out of the limelight of a half a dozen flashlights. She tried to sit up and the whole world started to spin.

A very firm hand latched onto her left upper arm to steady her. There was a new voice. “Elizabeth, you heard the lieutenant. There’s no rush. Take your time.” It was Mitchell. She guessed she shouldn’t be surprised that he was with Perkins. But Rashelle?

She took a deep breath and exhaled. “I know, I know. I just would like to get out of here. What happened?”

“We can fill in the details in time. Let’s first get you safely out of here.”

What is Mitchell up to?

“Do you feel that you can stand up?”

“Let’s give it a try. I really want out of here.” There was a real sense of urgency in her voice.

Another unidentified voice broke in. “Actually, sir, we really should vacate the tunnel. It’s not as stable as it once was. We don’t know how long we really have.” As if on cue, Perkins and Mitchell reached down and each grabbed onto her forearms.

“Ready, Elizabeth?”

She nodded her head. “Let’s do it.”

Slowly the two men lifted her into a standing position. Her knees started to buckle so they held onto her until she was steadier on her feet. Her head was swirling after all that movement, but she was so glad to be upright and on her feet. She had had enough of the tunnels. She wanted out. Slowly they made their way toward the exit. Elizabeth pushed herself as hard as she could. She plodded along forcing her feet to move. She was acutely aware that Mitchell was on one side and Perkins was on the other. She wondered if they were taking her into custody.
She almost didn’t care. She just wanted out of the bowels of the earth and hoped she never saw the tunnel walls again.

After several yards of shuffling her feet, she felt absolutely drained and started to slow down. The back of her head started to throb. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She felt very light-headed. Things started to spin again. She started to black out again on her way to becoming a heap on the cold wet floor. Someone scooped her up and headed toward the way out.