A Game of Greed and Deception: A Mystery Drama (4 page)

“Well
I’m all right for the moment – I mean I got the dang fire burning and a blanket
around me. She’s in the bedroom sleeping.”

“Ok
good. Please stay right where you are. The roads are completely iced over and
driving in these conditions is treacherous. It would be impossible to send an
officer out to that area right now.”

Tammy
gulped audibly and elevated the tone of her voice. “Great, so what I am gonna
do, just sit here all day and freeze to death? And what about my husband?
 
He’s missing and someone needs to find out
immediately if something has happened to him!”

“We
will have some guys going out in a truck soon to look all around the
mountainside. I will give you a report as soon as we find out something.”

“Bless
your heart, Mr. Benson, and please – hurry.”

Tammy
hung up the cell phone and lit up another
Capri
to help calm her nerves. The hot tea was soothing to her sore throat and cold
chest. As she let out a mouth full of smoke, she heard Maria speak with a
scratchy voice from the smaller bedroom.

“Tammy,
come here, it’s so cold in my room and my feet are freezing!” Maria was awake,
curled under the blankets like a snail in its shell. Her cute little face
dotted with freckles and framed by shoulder-length blonde hair poked out from
under the covers.

Tammy
turned her head to look into the smaller bedroom. “I know, Maria, the heat is
out, so just stay under the blankets to keep warm.”

“I
need another blanket and something to drink. My throat is cold and it hurts.”

“Okay,
just stay there. I’ll bring you some hot tea.” Tammy poured another cup of hot
water over a bag of Rooibos and took it into Maria’s bedroom. “Here, sit up and
drink this. Keep your legs and feet covered with the blanket.”

Maria
had a sip of the warm tea and looked up at her stepmother. “Where’s dad? Is he
awake?”

Tammy
looked away from Maria for a bit. “Well, honey, I’ve got some bad news. Your
father went out late last night with the car and hasn’t returned. The snow is
really coming down outside and I’m afraid that the car must’ve gotten stuck
somewhere. I just hope that nothing bad has happened to him.”

Maria
yanked the blanket off her shoulders and swallowed hard. Her eyes glossed over
with a look of confusion. “What do you mean he got stuck somewhere? Do we know
if he’s ok? When will he be back here?”

“I
don’t know, Maria, but we can surely hope for the best. He probably just got
caught in the snowstorm. I called the police department just as a security
measure and am waiting on them to call me back. They’re gonna check all around
for his car. They said that cars get stuck in the snow pretty often out here
this time of year, so I really wouldn’t worry too much about it. There is
nothing more that we can do.”

“But
why did he go out if there is so much snow outside? Do they know what our car
looks like?”

“He
had snow tires on that car and knew to drive slowly. He took the car last night
to go to the hotel that we passed on the way here. He should’ve been back last
night. I gave the police all of the information, sweetie.”

Maria
pulled her knees up to her chest from under the blanket. The tone of her voice
got sharper. “So then why isn’t someone trying to find him? We can’t just leave
him stuck out in the snow!”

“That’s
exactly what the police are gonna be doing soon. They will locate our car and
certainly find Stephen. Don’t worry, Maria, I’m sure he’ll be ok. This isn’t
the first time your father has disappeared for a while without saying
anything.”

Maria
recalled the only other time that her father left for several days without
telling her. It was shortly after the wedding, when he had an important
out-of-state business meeting. He always told Maria if he had to travel
somewhere and just how much he loved her before leaving her with a nanny. But
on this occasion he had gotten into an argument with Tammy before he left about
the management of his business computer files. Maria just remembered Tammy
drilling Stephen for his passwords, and him storming out of the villa in anger.
When he returned, he had a big bouquet of flowers for Tammy, and was very
apologetic to Maria.

“But
did you even check the cell phone? Maybe he tried to call! Did you try to call
him to see if he answers?”

“Maria
dear, I’ve had the cell phone with me the whole night. Of course I tried to
call. When your father is able to, I am sure he’ll call me back. Now please,
stop badgering me with questions.”

As
Tammy stepped out of the bedroom, she began coughing profusely. The living room
was filling up with smoke that came pouring out of the fireplace. She waved her
hands back in forth in front of her eyes to clear the smoke so she could see
what was happening better. Somehow, the smoke was not going up the chimney.
Tammy ran towards the fireplace and grabbed the iron poker. She pushed it
inside the fireplace and up towards the flue to discover that indeed the damper
was closed. Unable to open it, she rushed into the kitchen and started to fill
a large pot with water. The smoke was rapidly filling the room and it was
becoming difficult to see. She closed her eyes for a moment to stop the burning
and then darted towards the fireplace. Tammy hurled the water onto the fire and
ashes went flying up and into her face. As the flame and hot coals were
extinguished, even more smoke came into the room. In a fit of coughs and barely
able to breathe, she ran into her stepdaughter’s bedroom and closed the door.

Maria
shrieked as Tammy came into to the bedroom. “Tammy, my nose and eyes are
burning. Where’s all that smoke coming from?”

Tammy
opened the bedroom window. “It’s coming from the fireplace. There’s a lot of
smoke inside the house so come here to the window ledge and breathe in some
fresh air.” Maria inhaled the ice cold air from outside and let out a few hard
coughs. Tammy threw a blanket at her. “Here, keep this around you and put your
dang jacket on. I need to open some more windows.” As she exited the room,
Tammy held her breath, and then ran to open windows in the living room and the other
bedroom. Her lungs burned with each inhale but it was better to breathe in
freezing cold air than dangerous smoke, she thought. She sat on the floor where
there was less smoke and covered her eyes with the palms of her hands. Her
nerves were a wreck and she was brooding.
I
made sure that goddam fireplace was open. There’s no fucking way that smoke
should’ve come into the cabin like that.
How could things be going so horribly wrong? And what the hell is
taking the police so damn long?
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by
the ringing of her cell phone.

“Mrs.
Worthington? This is officer Benson.”

“Hello.
What did you find out?”

“I
had two of my deputies go out in the truck and investigate the area down the
mountain side from your rental cabin. They found an area of the road leading
southwest near a hotel and restaurant where the guard rail was broken. Skid
marks there led them to believe that there had been an accident and that a car
went over the edge of the cliff. At the base of the mountain they discovered a
2014 BMW 428i xDrive Coupe, color silver.”

“My
God, that is my husband’s car! Is Stephen ok? Was he trapped inside the car?”

“What
time did you say that your husband left from the cabin in the car?”

“He
went out last night around 10:15 just after we got back from dinner. He just
left to run a quick errand and never returned.”

“Ok
so we’ve located the vehicle. It must have skidded and crashed into the guard
rail and then took a long fall from the roadside. It fell hundreds of feet down
the mountain, was completely totaled, and partly covered in snow. My deputies
cleared the car as best they could to have a look inside.”

Tammy
swallowed hard and sounded on edge. “And? Is my husband dead?”

“Mrs.
Worthington, I don’t know how to tell you this. Nobody could have survived a
fall like that. But when they looked inside the car, it was completely empty.
We have a car identified that was in a terrible accident, but there’s no body.”

FOUR

Tensing her body, Tammy
leaned forward, staring at the cell phone in astonishment. She had a morbid,
sinking feeling, and her heart was racing. It took her a lot of effort just to
breathe in the cold, smoke-filled air. What on Earth is going on here, she
thought, and why the hell is everything going so wrong. She spoke with
trepidation into the cell phone. “How the hell can a car go over a cliff with
nobody in the damn thing? Where then is my husband?”

“Ma’am,
I don’t have any further explanation at this time. All I can tell you is that
with the rate the snow is falling right now, we won’t be able to dig that car
out until the weather changes.”

“But
then he must have been thrown from the car somewhere before it crashed. Could
he be buried in the snow? Did you call the hotel and restaurant down the road
from here? Maybe he’s there and can’t get through to me! I need to know where
in the hell he is.”

“We’re
doing our best and making plenty of inquiries. Do you have supplies in your
cabin?”

“I
have some food and water. I already dang well told you that the heat is out! I
lit a fire in the fireplace this morning and nearly died from inhaling smoke.
Can you frickin’ understand that?”

“Yes,
I can understand everything. Our trucks can’t easily get that far up the
mountain. My best advice for now is to stay inside the cabin and use blankets
and extra clothing to keep warm. What is most important is that you stay safe,
right where you are, and not panic. We’ll locate your husband, Mrs.
Worthington.”

Tammy
ended the call abruptly and hurled the cell phone at the sofa cushion. Then she
lay on the living room floor with her head pressed against her hands. She felt
a bolt of pain shoot up her spine and made every attempt to calm herself and
avoid one of her paralyzing headache spells. She was completely frazzled and
wanted some answers.

After
a few minutes she walked into Maria’s room. Maria was wrapped in blankets and
seated near the window. “Are you warm enough and breathing ok?”

“I
guess so. But who was that calling you? Was it dad?”

“No,
honey, it was the police calling me back. They’re looking around for his car. I’m
sure we’ll know more in a little while.” Tammy sounded anxious. “I need to
clean things up in the rest of the cabin. Why don’t you go outside and play in
the snow. After all, that’s what you’ve been waiting to do, right? We can keep
this window open while you’re outside until the rest of the smoke clears out of
the room.”

Maria
nodded. She put her winter boots, jacket, and gloves on. Then she headed out
the front door to explore.

Tammy
closed the door behind her. She went into the master bedroom and took a
separate prepaid phone from inside her suitcase. Then she called Stephen’s
attorney, Tom Murphy. “Tom, it’s me! Can you hear me?”

“Tammy,
yes. Is everything finished as we had planned?”

Tammy
took a deep breath to calm her trembling voice before responding to Tom on the
private cell phone. “No, there have been some problems. I called the police
department. The accident went right as we’d planned it. But when they found the
car, Stephen wasn’t inside it! Can you friggin’ believe that? I mean the car
crashed at the base of the mountain, just the way it was supposed to, and he is
nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, the heat in the cabin went out and it’s
freezing up here. So I lit a fire in the fireplace only to have the damper
close shut on me and nearly smoke the whole dang place out…”

“Ok
Tammy, calm down. Let’s talk this through.” Tom spoke in a comforting tone. “So
you are telling me that the car went over the cliff and crashed at the bottom?
Stephen was the only one that left driving it?”

“Of
course!”

“Well
then where else could he be? Could he have been thrown from the car while it
went over the mountainside? Either way, surely he must have been killed.”

“I
don’t friggin’ know. I told the police that it’s urgent that we find him. I
thought you had somebody out here who rigged the roadway and guard rail and
tampered with the car. Didn’t he see what happened?”

“I
don’t know, Tammy. I sent out the best man hunter that money can buy and I
trust in his work. I haven’t heard anything from him, so I’ll have to give him
a call. What did the police tell you?”

“They
said they can’t do nothin’ until the snow stops coming down. They’re gonna find
out more and then let me know.”

“Ok,
so then there is no reason to panic. What I want you to do is sit tight and
don’t worry too much about it. Let’s wait to find out more when we can. Stephen
must be dead, otherwise he would’ve come back to the cabin. I’ll check with the
guy that I hired. Call me when you know something else unless I call you back
first.” Tom ended the phone call and Tammy put the prepaid phone back in her suitcase.

***

She had known about attorney
Tom Murphy from the time that she and Stephen got married. Stephen said that he
was a local guy who had taken good care of his grandfather’s estate. Then,
after the marriage to Tammy, Tom also became Stephen’s best friend. But after
doing some investigating, Tammy found that just a few years before Tom had been
guilty of a private practice violation of the ethical code. She knew that
receiving a twelve-month suspension had been really damaging to Tom’s
reputation. Tammy figured that once he was reinstated, he would be really hurting
for business, and was the perfect person to seek out to help with her plan to
get rid of Stephen.

Through
private phone calls and emails, she cunningly manipulated Tom, and probed him
for information. She convinced him that his career was in a shambles beyond
repair, and that he needed to be selfish to get ahead in life. She was sure
that she was only doing what every other young and beautiful woman dreamed of –
trying to live a lavish life while being free from any man to tie her down.
Even after being treated so well and loved so deeply, she had not the least bit
of remorse about murdering her husband. He should have known that a woman like
her would never want him for any reason other than his money, she thought. Her
mental health problems, diagnosed anxiety disorder, and childhood behavioral
issues didn’t mean a thing now. She firmly believed that if you want to get
ahead in this world, you have to watch out for number one, and that meant doing
whatever is necessary. Tammy would be the first person from the
Caldwell
family to
finally get way ahead in life financially, and she couldn’t wait to brag about
it.

And
of course they would do the right thing and leave nothing that could be used as
evidence against them or even raise suspicions. Tammy was overjoyed when Tom
agreed to go along with the plan to murder Stephen, and she confided in him
completely. After all, she was going to give him twenty percent of her half of
the more than twenty million dollar inheritance, and so he would never have to
worry about his previous violation and suspension again. Tom was a risk-taker
much like herself, she thought, and would make the perfect partner in crime.

So
under the new will which was set up, Tammy would inherit a fortune, with a
trust fund set up for Maria for which Tom would be the executor. And Maria
wouldn’t have access to anything until she turned 18 which was many years off
from now, and who knows what might happen to her in the meantime. As long as
Tammy got all the money, fortune, and impending fame that she richly desired,
the rest of her life was all set. She was just too young to be tied down to any
man and living the family life. Tammy was feeling giddy knowing that she was
going to pull off such a heist and smirked at the thought of the new fame and lavish
lifestyle that awaited her.

***

Maria stood in front of the
cabin, almost knee-deep in the thick, fluffy snow. The reflection of the sun’s
rays against the snow covered road ahead was practically blinding. She walked
to the edge of the road and checked to her right and left. There was no sign of
any traffic, and the road looked totally unsafe for driving on anyway. Then she
crossed the road, hopped over the guard rail, and made her way close to the
edge of the cliff.

Maria
gazed off through the snow glare into the bright blue sky. She peered down to
try and see how far the drop was from the top. The side of the cliff was mostly
jagged rock that was not as covered with snow. Maria estimated the drop to be
at least twenty stories. The thought of someone driving off the top of this
cliff sent tingles down her spine. Then, just before she was about to turn
around and head back, she saw something shiny. On a small ledge of rock, about
ten feet below the top of the cliff, there was a paper bag. It was torn open
and something inside it glistened under the sun. Maria took a couple of steps
closer to the edge of the cliff, and bent down on her knees. Then she squinted
to try and see what was inside the bag better. It looked like a metal tool of
some kind. She turned around, wondering if the bag had fallen out of someone’s
car, and decided to go back inside the cabin to keep warm. Being outside, alone
in the snow, just didn’t seem like that much fun anymore.

***

Tammy made her way over to
the fireplace. Poker in hand, she reached inside and again tried to push open
the damper, this time with more force. It was really stuck. She grunted and
ground her teeth together while shoving the poker up into the chimney flue as
hard as she possibly could. Finally the damper moved, and a big cinder block
fell down into the fireplace with a loud crashing sound.
Well what the hell? Could that have fallen down the chimney?
That
prospect seemed very unlikely, she thought, since the concrete block was very
heavy and cumbersome.

Tammy
wanted to know what was going on. She went into the kitchen and moved a chair
closer to a window. Then she got up on the chair, stood facing the window, and
opened it. A thick layer of snow had been pressing against the glass. She moved
the snow back as best she could so that she could see the rooftop better. Then
she stood on her tiptoes, with her arms stretched out the window, and leaned
forward. She was able to get a decent view of the chimney.

There
was nothing but snow around the base of the chimney and no signs of any cinder
blocks. Her hands trembled and she felt a lump in the back of her throat.
Someone had to carry that cinder block on
top of the roof and push it down the chimney.
Someone would have had to be waiting and saw the smoke rising.
A multitude
of concerns filled her mind. She closed the window and hopped down off the
chair. Then she went back into the living room and closed all the windows.

Tammy
checked inside the master bedroom. It was still dark and quiet with the wind
and snow blowing a bit inside. She closed and locked that window as well. Back
in the kitchen, she decided to leave the window open since it was up high and
smaller, which meant that nobody could use it to come inside. She checked the
living room door and made sure that it was securely locked from the inside.
Tammy approached another door leading from the living room. Realizing that she
had never opened it, she thought that it must lead to the den. She turned the
handle but it didn’t move. There was a small keyhole and the door seemed to be
locked from the inside. Tammy yanked the handle in frustration trying to get it
to budge. Not sure how to open it, she began to look around the cabin more in
hopes to find a key.

Near
the fireplace was a rustic wooden desk with 4 drawers, a 1920’s brass antique
lamp on top, and a late-Renaissance Revival style antique armchair. She opened
the drawers to have a look inside. There was a pen, a tablet of paper, and a
box of tissues. In the center of the room there was a brown leather sofa with
two small down feather pillows, a matching loveseat, and rustic oak coffee
table on top of a thick shag rug. She took a peek under all of the couch
cushions and found nothing. Next to the loveseat was a small table with a
drawer inside it which she opened and found to be empty.

Along
the wall behind the sofa was an oak bookcase. There were a few old books in the
case held together by two brown and white marble book holders. Also on one of
the book case shelves was a flashlight, and an ornamental dagger made of jade.
The only other items in the living room were a couple of more elegant chairs
placed beneath the large windows. Tammy looked quickly through all of the books
and on every shelf of the bookcase and did not find a key.

Just
off the living room was a half bathroom. Tammy opened the door, and saw a sink
with medicine cabinet. The cabinet had inside it some band aids, cotton balls,
cloths, safety pins, razor blades, some other simple first aid accessories, and
a bottle marked “Chloroform”. Tammy had a look of shock on her face as she took
out the Chloroform bottle.
What the hell
would this be doing in the bathroom of a rental cabin? This is used to make
people go unconscious.
It looked old, with the seal broken, and the cap was
hard to turn from some dried liquid underneath. It seemed as if it had been
used recently as a bit of liquid had run down the side of the bottle. She also
noticed that there was a toilet, a folding rack to hang wet clothes on, and a
small window towards the back that was already closed and locked. She set the
Chloroform bottle on top of the sink.