Chapter 12: Idlewild Revisited
Nancy's first waking impressions were of discomfort. Her head throbbed, and there was a dull ache in her arms, which were bearing all her weight. She managed to get her knees under her and stood up, moving slowly to let the buzzing in her head subside. When her head cleared she looked around, assessing her situation. The room was dark, the air cold and moist- a cellar, then. And she was not alone: two dark forms lay huddled on the floor across the room. Nancy thought she could hear breathing from at least one of them. She put aside her concern for the moment and turned her attention to her bonds. Her ankles were free, but her hands been placed one on either side of the newel post at the bottom of the stairs and tied together on the other side. She couldn't slip her hands over the top of the post because of the railing. Nancy tested the strength of the rope and its knots, knowing escape wouldn't be as easy as that, and found them both secure. She sighed, wishing Bess would wake up.
Several minutes passed. One strap of Nancy's dress had slipped off her shoulder and lay drooping against her arm, tickling her bicep. It was only a minor irritation; under the circumstances, Nancy was not even sure if it qualified as a valid irritation at all. Nevertheless, it was driving her crazy- and truth be told, Nancy was glad of the distraction. It gave her mind something to hold on to other than fear. Nancy wriggled, attempting to get a grip on the strap with her chin and drag it back into place. No luck.
Across the room, one of the dark shapes on the floor stirred and moaned. "Nancy!" she cried out, fear sharpening her tone.
"I'm here, Bess," Nancy said, abandoning the strap to its waywardness. In the gloomy half-light she watched Bess struggle for a moment, discovering the limitations of her own bound wrists and ankles before managing to rock to a seated position.
"It's been awhile since this happened," she said in a small, shaky voice. "I used to have nightmares about being tied up."
"I'm so sorry," Nancy said into the dark. There was a long pause, broken finally by a gasp from Bess.
"Nancy. There's a body in here!"
"I know, sweetie. I think it's Glenna Davis."
Bess whimpered and scooted herself farther away from the supine figure. "Is she- is she dead?"
"I don't think so. Drugged, maybe. I'm pretty sure I heard her breathing earlier."
"We have to get out of here!"
"We will," Nancy said firmly, attempting to check the rising tide of her friend's hysteria. "Can you get your hands free?"
"No," Bess said after a few moments. Her voice was wavery again, tear-filled. "I was fighting with Tom. I d-didn't want to go to that stupid dance so I was being such a bitch and n-now I'm never going to get to tell him I'm sorry!"
"Stop that. Of course you're going to see Tom again," Nancy said sharply.
Bess, forehead resting on her knees, gave a shaky half-laugh, half-sob. "I know," she said. "I'm sorry, Nan. You always get us out of these situations."
Nancy's heart sank a little under the burden of responsibility. This was worse than their old adventures. This time, she was responsible not only for Bess but for the future of Bess's husband and her little girl. Too much was hanging on the outcome, on her resourcefulness. She bit her tongue on all the words she could have said and flexed her wrists again, pulled and twisted until she could feel warm blood welling up from her raw skin. It made no difference. The cords bit into her skin, tight and sturdy as they had been when she started.
A few hours passed, by Nancy's estimation, before the girls heard a door opening and the clatter of two sets of feet descending the stairs. A powerful flashlight beam bobbed ahead of their visitors, dazzling the captives' eyes. Amber came into view first, followed closely by her unlikely accomplice.
"Ashley!" Nancy said as her memory came flooding back. The revelation struck her as funny and she laughed.
"Shut up," Amber said, giving her a shove as she passed by. Nancy stumbled, her bound hands catching her with a sharp jerk that sent pain flashing through her shoulders and wrists. Ashley, his lips drawn back in a horrible parody of a smile, aimed a kick at her as he came into range.
"Leave her alone!" Bess cried.
"Little Bessie Do-Good," Amber sing-songed. "Why can't we all just be friends?"
"Ha!" Ashley laughed, kicking at Nancy again. He seemed to enjoy inflicting pain. Nancy did not give him the satisfaction of seeing her wince. When he stepped in to kick her a third time she hooked his ankle with one of her legs and knocked him off-balance.
"Bitch!" he yelped, jumping up. He would have attacked her again if Amber hadn't interrupted.
"Ashley!" Amber snapped. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get over here."
"Let me kill her," Ashley panted. "Nobody gets to knock me down. You didn't pay me to get knocked down." He turned away, though, and Nancy seized the opportunity to scramble back to her feet. She wouldn't take another blow without a fight.
"I won't pay you at all if you don't get over here." Amber was rummaging at the far end of the room, searching through shelves and boxes for something. "Where did you put it?"
"On the shelf. Ha! Not tall enough." Ashley crossed the room obediently and reached down a large plastic jug, holding it out to the woman. Amber crossed her arms and stared at him.
"Pour it into a cup, idiot."
"Cup, cup, cup," he repeated, turning around helplessly.
"Here." Amber thrust a large plastic cup into his hands and stood back, watching him fill it from the jug.
"Amber," Bess said, pleading this time. "Amber, please. We're both mothers. You should understand. Please let me go free."
"I can't do that," Amber said, avoiding eye contact with her former friend. It was the first indication she'd given that she could feel guilt. "Just stop talking to me."
Bess wouldn't shut up. "Are you going to kill us?"
Knowing this train of thought could not possibly be helpful for Bess (and oh, Bess, I need you to keep a level head. I can't do this alone.), Nancy interrupted. "This is where you confess, Amber. We already know you kidnapped Glenna and sabotaged my brakes. Did you kill Sebastian and Rowena?"
Amber grimaced. "I only meant to kill Sebastian. That bastard was going to take Ryan away from me. Rowena was in the wrong place at the wrong time." She laughed suddenly. "Can't say I'm broken up about it, though. She was a snooty witch."
Ashley suddenly clamped one hand onto Nancy's skull and thrust the cup against her lips, tipping it until liquid sloshed against her skin. Fearful of being drugged like Glenna, or even poisoned, Nancy struggled until Amber finally stepped over and pinched her nose shut until she was forced to gasp for air. Ashley poured the contents of the cup into her mouth, making her choke and gag. She swallowed quite a lot of it before Ashley released her head and allowed her to stagger back against the post.
"Bess, don't make a spectacle of yourself," Amber said contemptuously, moving away from Nancy. "It's just water. Drink." Again, Ashley filled the cup from the jug. Bess sobbed, but she drank her portion without making a fuss.
"Good girl," Amber said.
"Were you the one who ransacked Rowena's motel room?" Nancy asked, having recovered her composure. Amber shrugged.
"I figured I should see if she had any cash. I didn't realize she was sitting on a fucking gold mine. That ring got me some quick money, and the letters are going to set me up for life."
"Why did you take Glenna?"
"I had to," Amber said. "Her old man didn't know it, but she always knew about Sebastian and I knew they talked sometimes. She might have known who I was. Plus, with Glenna out of the picture, Ryan stands to inherit the whole estate. Can you imagine, my trailer trash kid owning an estate?" She giggled. Ashley laughed too, in a dutiful fashion.
"But you couldn't kill her," Nancy said evenly. She was beginning to feel odd, slightly out of sync with her body and her surroundings. There had definitely been something in that water. Across the room, Bess sat silent, her head pillowed on her drawn-up knees.
"Got to set everything up nice with Sir Grandpa first," Amber said. "Once he changes his will to benefit Ryan, maybe we give him his girl back. Maybe we don't. Either way, I have his letters. He'll have to pay out for the rest of his life."
"Amber, his wife is dying. That's the only leverage you've got. He's not going to pay you off forever and he may decide he doesn't need to at all once she's gone. Let us all go and you'll be in much less trouble. You don't want to commit a murder."
Ashley corrected her. "Three murders. Three." He sounded almost eager. Nancy turned her head to glare at him.
"What are you doing with this asshole anyway?" Her voice sounded thick in her own ears, and it was an effort to string the thought together.
"He's been very useful to me," Amber said.
"I like working for Amber. It's so boring sitting behind that desk."
"Stop talking," Amber told him. "Come on." They shelved their half-empty jug and left, abandoning the girls and Glenna once more to the cold and the dust and the dark. Bess picked up her head, startling Nancy.
"What are we going to do? They're going to kill us!" she said, voice filled with panic. "Did you swallow that water?"
"Couldn't help it. Thought you were knocked out, Bess."
"I suspected something was wrong with it so I let it trickle out the corner of my mouth instead of swallowing. Good thing it's dark in here."
"Clever girl," Nancy said, smiling.
"It was definitely drugged, though. I feel a little wobbly. How bad are you?"
"I'm okay," Nancy said, though the world was swelling and surging around her as though she were standing on the deck of a boat. Just a few hours ago she had been dancing with Joe, the music bubbling through her veins, completely happy. It felt like another lifetime. If only I'd finished sending that text to Joe!, she thought angrily. She wanted to apologize to Bess, but the words wouldn't quite make it past her leaden tongue.
She must have slipped in and out of consciousness for awhile because the next clear impression she had was of Bess's frantic voice babbling at her between steady sobs. She was headed toward hysterics at the thought of being on her own in that cellar and she was certain of being killed and never seeing Tom and Myra again.
"Nancy, please wake up," she begged. "Please, Nan. I need you. I don't want to die alone."
"Bess. No. Not alone," Nancy said. Her voice didn't sound right, the words didn't sound right. Bess burst into a fresh bout of sobbing.
"What are we going to do?"
Nancy ignored her. She was beginning to realize that not all the world's motion was in her head. Her falling weight from Amber's shove and Ashley's kicks must have loosened the old newel post in its socket. It was shifting, not much but enough to reignite hope's slow burn in her chest. Nancy summoned all her strength and focus and rocked against the post again.
"Are you even listening to me?" Bess demanded. Nancy's head snapped toward her friend and she gathered as much mental clarity as she could muster.
"Bessie, what's your favorite cake recipe?"
"Have you lost your mind?" Bess said angrily. She needed Nancy to be strong and lucid. Nancy didn't blame her. She was more than a little angry herself at the growing temptation to close her eyes and surrender to the blackness again.
"Not my mind, just a bet. C'mon. What's the best you've got?" She tugged, fingers going numb from the increased pressure on her bindings, and the post creaked. Bess took a long, shaky breath. Nancy had hoped the question would calm her, give her something to focus her mental energy on, and she was right.
"My N-Nana's German chocolate cake is good," she said, hiccuping. "But I'm not sure I should give it to you."
"Why?" Nancy gritted out, slamming her body against the post. It was definitely moving more now, rocking, beginning to give way.
"My poor Nana would roll over in her grave if she knew her recipe was going to be used for immoral purposes. What are you doing over there? Are you okay?"
"Yes." Slam. She was going to be black-and-blue- hell, she was already black-and-blue, and her body was protesting louder by the moment- but the post was beginning to groan. "Tell me the recipe, Bess. I promise- " slam- "I won't let Joe eat it off my naked chest." Slam. "I need a fudge frosting recipe, too."
Bess giggled hysterically. "I don't believe you. I've seen you guys together now. You're volatile."
"Well, next seance I have, I swear I won't tell your Nana. Recipe, sweetie."
Bess's voice quavered, but she began her recitation. She had barely made it past the toasted coconut when the newel post gave way, twisting and splintering off its base. Nancy fell with it and landed like a dancer or a jockey, softening her muscles and rolling to let her shoulder take the brunt of the impact. She lay for a moment, waiting for her lungs to fill with air again, letting reality wash over her in long, rolling waves. After a bit she forced herself to her hands and knees, disentangled herself from the wreckage, and lurched drunkenly over to Bess. The two girls untied each other's hands and then Nancy crawled over to check on Glenna while Bess untied her own ankles.
"Her pulse is weak, but she's alive," Nancy reported, resting her forehead on the floor for a moment and wishing the room would stop moving. Child's pose, her brain said helpfully. Good lower back stretch. Should we do some sun salutations next?
"What are we going to do now?" Bess's voice cut through her meandering thoughts.
Nancy took a deep breath, trying to focus. Her tongue still felt heavy, like it belonged to someone much older and larger than she. "They're not guarding us or that crash would've brought them down here."
"So let's get out of here!" Bess said urgently, heading for the staircase.
"We can't leave Glenna."
"We'll call the police when we get away," Bess said. "Come on, Nancy."
"I'm not sure I can run," Nancy said, easing herself upright and resting her spinning head against the wall. "Can you?"
"I'm fine. My dose was much smaller than yours." Bess came back over to her and knelt in front of her, peering into her face. Now that there was a definite course of action in front of her, Bess had become very calm. "Hold on, Nan. I'll get help."
"Brave Bess," Nancy said affectionately.
"I'd be bawling in a corner if it weren't for you," Bess said.
"Switch shoes."
"What?"
"Shoes. My shoes. Hannah chose my shoes."
Bess nodded her understanding, already sitting down to yank off her frivolous heels and pull on Nancy's low wedges. "Good idea. Even drugged you're smarter than I am." Bess scrambled to her feet, trembling but determined. She bent down to look Nancy in the eyes. "I'm going to go now. I think I can make it to the manor house and get help. You're going to be okay."
The cellar seemed darker after Bess had gone. Nancy finally yanked her fallen dress strap back up onto her shoulder and felt a little better. Her body ached and her head was spinning; she was sorely tempted to lie down on the dirty concrete floor and join Glenna in slumber. She forced herself to remain upright and be on her guard. The door undulated in and out of focus in front of her eyes and the darkness in her peripheral vision swirled with things half-seen. Nancy caught her head falling forward time after time. Time ceased to have any meaning. Bess could have been gone five minutes or five hours. Nancy felt panic welling up inside her and she concentrated on taking deep breaths, remaining calm. Bess is fine. Help is coming. Don't break now.
Finally Nancy heard something other than her own and Glenna's labored breathing. There was a scuffling sound from the floor above, followed by blows and curses and a heavy thud, and the world rolled on its axis again and suddenly Bess and George were at her side. George, sweaty and grinning and radiant, put her arm around Nancy and helped her stand up.
"Just like old times, girls," she said merrily.
"You look like an angel," Nancy whispered, letting her head land hard on the dark-haired girl's shoulder. George laughed.
Bess's face loomed in close. "The police are on their way. George and Joe beat them here. Joe is upstairs guarding the prisoners."
"I'll go change places with him. He wants to see you." George shifted Nancy onto Bess's shoulder and went bounding back upstairs. After a moment Joe was there, his arms around her, his face buried in her hair.
"Drew," he said into her ear, "you don't get out of our date that easily." And Nancy laughed, swaying against him.
"She got a much bigger dose than I did," Bess's voice said from somewhere behind him, and then Joe was picking her up. He sat down on a crate, holding her in his lap and cradling her head against his chest. Nancy heard sirens, heard Chief McGinnis's booming voice upstairs, and started to laugh.
"He's still wearing his kilt, isn't he," she said, and Joe laughed too.
After a few minutes somebody called for them to come upstairs. Nancy wanted to walk, but Joe carried her. George followed, and Bess, carrying her shoes, brought up the rear.
"Where are they?" Nancy asked.
"Your two captors are on their way into town," Chief McGinnis answered. "Ms. Marvin here was able to make a positive identification. In light of your current condition, I'd like you to come down to the station and give your statement in the morning."
"Thank you," Nancy said drowsily. "Did somebody tell Sir Morgan?"
"He's here, Nan," Bess said. "He's with his daughter."
"Set her down, please, Joe," a paramedic said, approaching with a medical bag. "Do you have any idea what substance you were given?"
"Check the cellar," Nancy said.
"They added it to our drinking water," Bess told the young man. George ran downstairs and soon returned with the half-empty jug and a bottle of sleeping tablets. The paramedic checked the bottle, noting how many pills had been used, and looked angry.
"You'll be fine," he told the girls, "but you got lucky. I don't know what they were thinking, giving you such a random dose."
"I don't think they cared much whether they lived or died," Joe said, his voice taut with fury.
"Glenna?" Nancy asked.
"I can't say anything definite, but she should recover." The young man packed up his equipment and returned to the ambulance, where his colleagues were just finishing loading Glenna's stretcher.
Nancy sat up, rubbing her aching head. "I'm so sorry I got you involved in this, Bessie."
"Don't be. I'm glad I was here with you," Bess said loyally.
"Wow. You really do hate square dancing," Nancy teased.
Chief McGinnis approached the group again. "Hardy, take your young lady home," he called out. "That's an order. We're all finished here. Well done, Nancy."
Joe guided her to his truck and helped her in, his touch gentle despite the tension evident in his muscles. Nancy sat back gratefully, letting her eyes drift close.
"I wish you'd told me where you were going," he said.
"I tried to." Nancy forced her eyes open, forced her head to turn toward him. "Started texting you and then Bess took off like a crazy person and there was a gun."
Joe nodded. He reached across the seat to take her hand and he stroked it gently, aware of her bruises and welts. He didn't have to tell her that he understood. Joe had lived this same situation many times over. He knew that she didn't need second-guessing or recriminations right now. She just needed space to heal and process and come to terms with the conclusion of another mystery. So he kept his peace and he held her hand and he drove her home to Hannah's waiting arms; and he kissed her, before he left, with passion and relief and complete acceptance.