Chapter 9

Running furiously to keep up the pace, Trask's shoes and feet were soaked from the many puddles he splashed through. He was determined to keep the evidence as intact as possible to give to Mrs. Stoddard. When he finally reached the road where the car had stopped, he watched both car doors opening and umbrellas fanning out. Each carrying a brief case, two dark-haired gentlemen stepped out of the car and walked together toward the main entrance. As quickly as they stepped to the entrance, the large doors flung open, and they hurried inside. Something was not right about this.

Taking a deep breath, Trask decided to brave the recklessness of running to the door himself and knocking. He wasn't sure if this was something Dick Tracy would do, but regardless, it was the only thing he could do.

Thunder crashed as he faced the door and began knocking. No one was answering.

Growing frustrated from the tension of the situation, he started banging the door and calling out Mrs. Stoddard by name. No one came, but he persisted on knocking until suddenly he heard the latch being turned.

"Go away! You've no business to be here screaming and carrying on like this! If you're not gone immediately, I will have you arrested for trespassing!" a woman's voice threatened as she started to slam the door shut.

His hand forced the door back open before it shut. "Mrs. Stoddard! It's me! Jerry Trask! Remember, the private investigator you hired?" he pleaded.

"I don't care who you are, just leave me alone!" she whispered and hissed at him. "I paid you to do a job and now you're trespassing by coming here with no valid reason! Will you please leave?!" Elizabeth's eyes were frantic with panic and fear.

"Murder is a valid reason!" Trask shouted as he burst through the door past her. Elizabeth gasped as he said the word. "Yes, murder! I know all about what has happened with Paul Stoddard!"

Elizabeth cried out and turned away as the two men in suits ran out of the drawing room into the foyer where he was standing.

The elder spoke first. "Young man, you picked a poor night to come here barging in and shouting about things you know nothing about. I'm going to have you thrown into prison for trespassing and harassing my client."

Trask stood still and his heart skipped a beat. "Wh-what?! What are you talking about? She hired me to follow her husband and find evidence of his infidelity. She said he was up to something, and she asked me to find out what it was! Don't you understand? I have all the evidence here and I've seen it with my own eyes!"

The elder spoke again. "You have nothing of any consequence, and you will leave this house immediately! Matthew!"

Thinking quickly, Trask pulled Betty Hanscombe's journal from his coat and held it out. "This is what I have, sir. Paul Stoddard not only committed adultery, but also murder! I saw the body of the girl! He wasn't working alone, but he tried to frame Mrs. Stoddard and me for the murder! I have all the evidence here." From his left pocket, he pulled out the empty revolver and waved it. "And also here."

"Recognize this gun, Mrs. Stoddard? It's yours. Your husband used it to set us up for the murder of Betty Hanscombe. A murder that he committed!" Trask slammed it down on the table inside the foyer.

Everyone in the room stood stunned and silent. The two men looked at each other, exchanging worried glances. From atop the stairs, a large-framed man about thirty years old opened the door with an angry scowl on his face.

The younger of the two suits held up his hand to the man at the top of the stairs. "Matthew, wait."

Stopping dead in his tracks, the large man snarled as he looked down the stairs at Trask. His eyes were as black as coal and burned with a ferocity he had never seen before. Trask knew that, if looks could kill, his corpse would have been ice cold by now.

"Young man, give that to us," the elder replied.

Trask backed away from him defiantly. "I don't think so.

This is for Mrs. Stoddard's eyes only. I'm her private investigator, and the girl who wrote this only wanted her to see it."

"Well, we're her attorneys, Richard and Thomas Garner. You're in way over your head, Detective. Give this to us and we'll forget we saw you. Otherwise, you may find yourself drowning in the trouble that you've stirred here tonight," answered the elder attorney.

"I'm giving it to Mrs. Stoddard, and whatever she decides to do with it is up to her." Trask boldly fired back, handing both the book and the revolver to her.

Despite the thick tension inside the room and the heavy wind and rain beating against the house, Trask spoke calmly and matter-of-factly to Elizabeth as she stood still.

"Mrs. Stoddard, it's all in here. Your husband had an affair with the daughter of your servant. Her name was Betty Hanscombe, and he seduced her and fathered a child with her. Mr. Hanscombe retired so that he could get Betty and her baby away from here to a safe place and protect themselves from your husband. She has evidence here to show that Paul had Mr. Hanscombe killed a couple of months ago. He was working with someone to try and set both of us up for Betty's murder so that he would have power of attorney over the estate and the family fortune. Take a look for yourself, Mrs. Stoddard. They drugged me and planted evidence on me last night to make it look like you paid me to kill this girl."

Turning away, Elizabeth stood trembling with her head down. Trask directed his focus away from Elizabeth and spoke to the two attorneys and Matthew. "I intend to see that he pays for what he did to this girl and to you, Mrs. Stoddard. If we all work together, Paul Stoddard won't have a prayer in court."

"BUT I KILLED HIM TONIGHT!" Elizabeth shouted.

"Elizabeth! Don't say another word!" Richard Garner reprimanded her.

"What?!" Trask exclaimed. He felt as if his heart was going to explode.

"I killed Paul Stoddard myself! He was going to run away with the money and abandon Carolyn! He's dead!" Elizabeth ran into the drawing room weeping and she collapsed on the sofa. She sat up, ringing her hands and gasping for air.

Before he could move to follow after her, Trask felt two large hands grabbing him from behind and slamming him against the stone wall several times. Matthew grunted as he Trask's body was slammed against the wall repeatedly, cracking his ribs and crunching his back with each impact.

"Matthew, stop!" Thomas Garner ordered.

Trask felt as if he had been just been hit by an express train. He could feel his entire body pulsating with agonizing pain. Matthew Morgan's eyes met his only inches away, and the titan's hands held him in place so that he couldn't move away.

"Where is the body of the girl, Mr. Trask?" Thomas Garner asked.

Stunned from the impact of Matthew's blunt force, his lips pulled every muscle to try and form the words he spoke. "B-Blue Whale. In a...parked car...behind...in the...trunk..."

"Matthew, go get the vehicle. Hurry into town, get in the car, and start driving. Don't stop until you get to my office in Bangor. I'll tell you what to do from there. Go on, now." The elder Garner ordered.

Trask's limp body fell to the floor, and he groaned in excruciating pain as Richard Garner was approached toward him. "As for you, Detective, I told you to leave, but you didn't listen. You can't leave now. There's too much risk. You're going to come into the drawing room with my brother Thomas and myself, and you will not say one word unless I speak to you. Is that understood?"

Trask only glared up at him.

"Mr. Trask, I understand you are upset. There is a process, however. You want to do right by the girl, and so do I. In addition, I came to help Elizabeth. She called me in a panic, and I came. Do you know what would happen to this town if you go to the police now? The entire town would go under. Elizabeth could possibly be sent to prison, but even if she didn't, the scandal would be something to haunt her for the rest of her life. The Collins Enterprises would never recover from such a black mark, and it would be on your head, Mr. Trask. Paul Stoddard committed some heinous acts against you and Mrs. Stoddard, and also against this servant's daughter, yes, but more lives are at stake now," Richard replied coldly.

Finding a second wind from the anger swelling within, Trask stood up and faced his opponent toe-to-toe, never breaking eye contact with him. "I follow the law, Mr. Garner. Betty Hanscombe's blood was shed tonight in a gruesome murder. Forget about me, but your client was going to be framed for murder. Justice must be served and the family name cleared. The police will understand the situation, and Miss Hanscombe's death will not be meaningless while I am still alive!"

(DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Dark Shadows. This story is a creation of my own within the universe of Dark Shadows with the sole intention of entertaining the reader. I do not profit or receive any royalties from the owners of the property, Dan Curtis Productions)