Murder Games (20 page)
Authors: Elisabeth Crabtree
“Madison,” Grace muttered. “His real name is Allen Madison.”
Ivy smiled. “Thank you, Grace.
Now, don’t you feel better?”
“
Loads.”
Groaning, Rupert turned toward th
e door. “I’d better go find him and make sure he’s not getting into any trouble.”
Ivy nodded. “Go put up your leg, Rupert.”
He grunted.
Ivy turned to Grace.
She fussed with the blankets covering Grace’s shoulders and lap. “I hope you apologized to him. You could have seriously injured him with that butcher knife.”
“
It’s on my to-do list right after escaping.”
“Grace,
you know you wouldn’t even be down here if you would have just agreed to help us search for the ruby, or at the very least, agreed to stay out of the way.” Ivy pulled up a chair. She dusted it off and sat down.
Deciding to change tactics, Grace smiled.
“I’d be happy to help you search. I want a piece of the treasure, as well. Rupert just surprised me when he tossed a bag over my head and I guess I just overreacted.”
Ivy tsked. “You really aren’t that good of an actress my dear. Pity.
You’re so pretty.” She smiled brightly. “Just think of all that money. We’re not greedy. We would have been happy to split it with you and Kyle. I doubt Kyle would have been a problem. He was more than eager to help us search before you disappeared.”
Grace lifted an eyebrow. “No kidding
?”
Ivy nodded. “If it weren’t for you and your absolute refusal to
join us, he could be up there having fun with the rest of them right now, instead of worrying about you.”
“Why don’t you go and let him in on your plans? Maybe he will still join in.”
Ivy smiled. “You know he wouldn’t. That boy is in love with you. He’d do whatever you wanted. He’s up there going crazy because he thinks someone has taken you away from him.” She looked up at the ceiling sadly. “He’s absolutely heartbroken.”
Rendered speechless by Ivy’s statement, Grace closed her mouth
as her eyes began to water. Heartbroken? Kyle? She couldn’t believe it. Since she had met Kyle, he had always been happy and cheerful, no matter what obstacles they faced. She knew that he cared for her but . . . could Ivy be right? Was he in love with her? He hadn’t said anything. Of course, Grace had to admit, she hadn’t said anything to him either, and she did love him. Very much so, she thought, blinking back tears.
“If you insisted on calling the police and destroying everyone’s chance of improving their lives
, he’d go along with you in a heartbeat. No, when we realized we had to tie you up, we knew that he would never help us.” Ivy leaned forward. “But like I said, we’re not greedy. We’re still willing to share with you two.”
Grace snorted.
“No, it’s true. If we find the ruby, we’ve decided to give you both a percentage—albeit a rather small percentage, but I’m sure it will be more than enough to satisfy you both.”
“How generous. In exchange for what?”
“Well, we were hoping you’d keep this little incident just between us.”
“So, you
do plan on letting me go?” Grace asked. Oddly enough, she wasn’t that worried, but she wanted confirmation just the same. Since dragging her down into the cellar, her captors had been incredibly apologetic and solicitous to her. Each one making sure she had enough food and water and apologizing profusely, while sharing exactly how they planned to spend their ill-gotten gains.
“
Of course, we weren’t going to keep you down here forever, just until we find the ruby.”
“What happens if you don’t find
it?”
Ivy’s face clouded. “Well, if we don’t, we’ve all agreed to
say that you and Kyle are lying. That you both got drunk and damaged the house in your zeal to win the game, and are now just making things up to avoid prosecution. Don’t forget there are six of us against you two.”
“Only six? Well, I guess that explains why
Austin and Molly haven’t been down here to babysit me. Are you planning to cut them in, as well?”
“We’re kind of hoping they’ll sleep through everything.”
Grace frowned. “Why are they asleep?”
Ivy crossed her legs and glared at the ceiling. “
Austin didn’t seem to like our idea of selling the ruby and Molly was starting to wonder where you were. So, we gave them something to help them relax.” Catching Grace’s horrified expression, Ivy said defensively, “Well, we had already tied you up, and frankly, dear, we were running out of rope. Drugging him and Molly seemed to be the best solution. That way, we could search in peace.”
“Did you give something to them last night
, too?”
“No, why would we? We didn’t know about the ruby then.”
Ivy shook her head. “If Kyle would just sit down and have something to eat or drink, we could send him to bed, too.” She smiled. “Then he wouldn’t have to worry. When he woke up tomorrow, you’d be right next to him.”
“
Dead or alive?”
“
Well, alive, of course.”
“
Did you tell that to Erica, too?”
Ivy looked concerned. “I didn’t hurt Erica.”
“Someone did.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then it was Rupert—”
“It wasn’t Rupert, either.”
Ivy laid her hand on her heart. “I swear, it wasn’t us. I overheard that deputy ask Kyle about someone named Drew Yates. Maybe he killed them both. He may not even know about the ruby. Why, he could just be a maniac for all we know.”
“
More reason to call the police. It’s getting dark, Ivy. Whoever killed those two women is probably still here. Do you really want to be in this house with a killer running around?”
Ivy bit her lip.
“I need the money, Grace. I’m not young anymore. I don’t have a savings and I don’t have children. It’s just Rupert and me. The hotel is going to throw us out at the end of the month. We’ll be homeless. This ruby could change our lives.”
“Might not be for the better, Ivy.”
“It couldn’t make it worse at this point,” Ivy said sadly. “I don’t think we have to worry. If you’re telling the truth about last night, and Erica was the one who you saw being dragged out of here, then there’s a good chance it had nothing to do with the ruby. I’m sure there were people lining up to kill her. She’s such a horrible, nasty girl.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It was just the way she treated people. She’s one of those types that think the sun revolves around her. She felt that just because she wanted something that automatically meant she should have it.” Ivy shook her head. “She stole Molly’s beau.”
“Really?” Grace asked
, determined to keep the woman talking. She tested the ropes around her wrists, trying not to wince as they cut into her flesh.
“He was a t
errible actor, who went by the name Rusty Rocker.” Ivy made a gagging motion.
“When did they meet?”
“Last June. He was in one of our community theater plays,
Finger Lickin’ Filibusters, the Musical
.” Ivy smiled happily in remembrance. “We set some of our finest Congressmen’s filibusters to song. Rupert’s reenactment of Senator Huey Long’s recitation of his favorite shrimp and oyster recipes was the critic’s favorite. Jimmy Parson of the Snowtop gazette absolutely raved about it. Turned out, the fried oyster recipe was the best he had ever tried. We almost sold out two complete rows one night.” Her face turned sour. “Rusty played the part of the podium. He was horrible, but the play was great fun.”
“Sounds like it.”
“Yes,” Ivy said with a nod, “poor Molly. She was absolutely devastated when she found Erica and Rusty making out behind the flag. Disgraceful.” She made a face before shrugging lightly. “To tell you the truth, I was glad. He was no good. He was always forgetting his lines, showing up late, or drunk. He was convinced he was the next Olivier, and we should all be honored to be in his presence. Molly’s got a thing for the bad boy types. It was shameful the way she and Erica fought over him.”
“Where is he now?”
“Gone. I heard he was waiting tables somewhere on Hollywood and Vine. I did see him in a TV show last month. He was in one of those detective shows playing a corpse. He wasn’t even convincing at that.”
“
What do you know about Belinda Forrest?”
“
You still think that’s who they found in the pond yesterday?”
“Don’t you?”
Ivy shook her head. “Rupert told me it’s a guest who got drunk and decided to go ice skating.”
“And just where did he get this information? Was it from his usual source?”
Ivy tilted her head as she considered Grace’s question. “Hmm. Good point.” She shrugged. “I don’t really know anything about Belinda. I’ve never met her. All I know is that she’s a distant cousin of Erica’s. Erica only recently became close to her cousins when she discovered that a few of them were making it big out in Hollywood. Of course, big is a relative term. Suddenly, she couldn’t stop raving about them, especially Belinda. Cousin Belinda supposedly knew all the important people and traveled in all the right circles. Humph, if you want my opinion, they were both a couple of users. It must run in the family.”
Grace stopped trying to release her hands and looked up. “You seem to have a pretty low opinion of someone you’ve never met.”
Ivy
shrugged. “I know enough about her to know I’d never want to deal with her. She contacted Erica the week before Thanksgiving and conned the dumb girl into loaning her some money. Belinda filled her head with a bunch of hogwash about an independent movie she was planning on producing. According to Cousin Belinda, they had a script and a couple of big names interested in the lead roles. Belinda just needed a little capital to get it started. Erica cashed in some savings bonds and ran off with Belinda to Hollywood, convinced she was going to make it big. She left here all puffed up, acting as though she’d never have to work with us lowlifes again.” Ivy giggled. “She was back here the very next week. Much poorer than when she left, but still as dumb and mean, as ever.”
“She
must have been furious with her cousin,” Grace said with a frown.
“You’d think that
, but no. Erica blamed Belinda’s business partner.” Suddenly, Ivy’s eyes grew wide. She squealed and grabbed her chair, lifting it up over her head.
Grace ducked as a bat suddenly dropped from the ceiling and flew past.
He fluttered around the room. Ivy lunged for the secret door and pushed it open. As soon as it was open, she dropped the chair and flew out of the room, squealing all the way as the bat flew after her.
Grace felt like squealing herself. She glanced up hoping that
the bat was a loner. Suddenly, something furry touched her ankles. Choking off the scream that was forming, Grace looked down, surprised to see a pair of pink eyes looking back up at her. She smiled. “Am I glad to see you!”
Abry twitched his nose.
She looked around the dingy little room, expecting Kyle to appear at any moment. When he didn’t, she looked back down at the bunny. “Can you chew ropes? What am I saying? Of course, you can. You chew everything in sight. Go on, Abry. Chew the ropes.”
He stared at her blankly.
“Go on, baby, you can do it.” She twisted in her chair as much as possible, hoping the bunny would see the ropes around her hands and get the hint.
Abry’s ears turned slightly toward her. Backing up, he twitched his nose before hop
ping onto her lap, lying down and closing his eyes.
“Big help. Thanks.” She glanced down at the bunny. “Lassie would know what to do.”
CHAPTER
eighteen
Hearing the
door slam, Ivy came rushing out of the kitchen. “Kyle, Grace just called.”
Kyle sat down on the bench next to the coat closet. He spared a passing glance at Ivy as he removed his boots.
“She did? What did she say this time?”
“Well, she wanted to talk to you
.” Ivy wrung her hands nervously. “I tried to find you, but she said she had to go and to tell you that she was sorry for being so rude before. She said that she had been covered in mud and just wanted to get cleaned up. Then she said to tell you that your real name is Allen Madison.”
For the first time since arriving back at the manor, Kyle smiled.
“I have no idea what she meant by that. Isn’t your name Kyle?”
Still smiling in relief, Kyle
waved his hand. “I had it legally changed. I’ve never been fond of Allen Madison.”
“
Oh, I quite like it.” Ivy said. “She also wanted me to tell you that she’d see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow
? But I thought she would be coming back for the denouncement tonight.”
“She’s
got the flu. She sounded just awful on the phone.”
“Yes, she did.
Sounded nothing like herself, actually.”
Ivy’s face froze.
“Well,” she said tightly, “I didn’t think she sounded
that
bad.” She shook her head. “So, are we okay now?”
“We’re fine. Better in fact.” Which was the truth. Grace was obviously being held captive
, but she was still among the living, he thought happily. He reached over and slipped his wing tipped shoes back onto his feet. No doubt about it. If she was at the resort and perfectly fine, she would have told Ivy that, his name was Aleksis Dragovich, not Allen Madison. There was no way Ivy could have come up with Allen’s name on her own. She could only have gotten it from Grace. He looked up at Ivy’s smiling face. Of course, Ivy could be an unwitting patsy. Whoever was holding Grace may have relayed that name to Ivy, while pretending to be Grace, but regardless, it was still proof that Grace was alive, Kyle thought as he came to his feet.
“Good.” Ivy linked her arm through his and began to lead him to the front door. “Kyle, why don’t you go back to the hotel
now? Get some rest.”
Kyle
turned around and led her to the study. “And leave before the mystery’s solved? I can’t do that. I want to win that trophy. You know for someone who’s supposedly dead, you’ve been quite active these last few hours.”
Ivy’s smile faltered
. “Well, you’ve just been so upset, dear.”
He patted her hand. “I know
, and I’m really sorry about that.” He looked up at Laura who was standing on a ladder, inspecting the brass light fixture hanging from the ceiling. He watched as she carefully unscrewed one of the fixture’s red hurricane globes. Jerry stood next to the ladder, holding it steady as she worked. “Ah, Doctor Nightshade! Cal! Let’s talk about poisons, shall we?” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ivy slowly backing out of the room.
* * *
Rupert tipped his chair back. “Do you know just how many different types of manure there are in the world?”
Grace
shook her head politely as Rupert continued his unique form of torture.
“Now most people think you can use all of them in gardening
, but you can’t.”
“Really?” Grace asked,
testing the strength of her ropes once more. “I didn’t know that.”
“
Take cow manure for instance—”
They looked up as the door opened and Ivy stuck her head in. She glanced up
at the ceiling fearfully. “It worked. He bought it.”
“Good.”
Ivy held out a cell phone. “Billy’s been calling. He apparently has more gossip to share.”
Rupert stood up. Supporting himself on one foot, he
leaned a hand against the wall before taking the phone. “’Bout time. No telling how many bodies they’re going to pull out of that pond before they’re done.”
“Oh please,” Ivy
said dismissively. “You will believe anything, won’t you?”
“Bodies?” Grace asked. “As in more than one?”
Rupert nodded. “Billy told me they found another body under the ice thirty minutes ago. I’ve been waiting for him to call back. Wonder what’s been taking the boy so long.”
“Do they know who it is
yet?” Grace asked, wondering if the killer had thrown Erica’s body into the pond after he dragged it out of the manor.
Rupert shrugged. “Don’t know. The police have that whole area roped off.”
Ivy snorted. “Yet,
Billy
supposedly knows that they found another body. Are the police now consulting Billy boy?”
“If they’re not, they should.” Rupert stuck his finger out. “Billy knows things. There’s not a th
ing that goes on here that he doesn’t know.”
“Maybe we should just ask Billy where the ruby is then,” Ivy said sarcastically.
“Maybe we should.”
Ivy placed her hands on her hips. “Well, I have news for
you; Billy wasn’t too accurate about that drunken skater. That woman was seen this morning, alive and well.”
“Where did you hear that
?” Rupert asked.
“I have my own sources
.”
“Becky?” Rupert asked with a snort.
“Yes, Becky, and she said that they found that woman passed out at the arcade.”
Rupert kicked at the dirt floor with the toe of his boot.
“Well, Billy can’t always be a hundred percent accurate.”
“Yeah
, right,” Ivy said. “I think Grace may be right. What if it was Belinda they found in the pond?”
Rupert shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Well,” Ivy said, “Becky also told me to wrap up the mystery game early.”
“Why?” Grace asked.
“She said the hotel is getting some bad publicity and the police are complaining that the games are interfering with their investigation. It’s almost over; I don’t know how a few more hours could hurt.”
“Just as well.” Limping, Rupert walked to the door
. “You stay here with her. I’m going to go upstairs and call Billy.”
Ivy turned frightened eyes back up to the ceiling.
“I’m not staying down here.”
“
Then go get one of the others.” Rupert grimaced.
“They won’
t come. They said they’re too busy searching. We can’t leave her alone down here, not with all the vermin crawling around. What if there are more bats down here?”
Rupert rubbed a hand across his scraggly beard. “All right. I guess I can stay down here with her
for a little longer.”
Unable to stand another lecture on manure, Grace shouted,
“No.” A little calmer, she added, “I’ll be fine. Really. I’ve got Abry. He’ll protect me.” She indicated the bunny lying near the portable heater with a jerk of her head. Hearing his name called, Abry sleepily lifted his head, before rolling over and facing the wall.
“We can’t leave the bunny down here
, either,” Ivy said. “We just got Kyle calm, Rupert. If he notices the rabbit’s gone too, he might panic.”
“Trust me,” Grace said, “Kyle’s used to
him disappearing. He won’t think much of it.”
Ivy reached down and picked up the bunny.
“I’ll take him up to the bedroom. You stay here with her.”
Rupert tied the gag back around Grace’s mouth. “I want to talk to you first, Ivy.” He limped out of the room and held the door open for Ivy. “I’m worried about Heckle and
Jeckle up there. I’ve been thinking, and I think one of them may be thinking of double-crossing us. I’ve also been thinking that they may
all
be thinking of plotting against us.”
“That’s a
whole lot of thinking you’ve been doing. Tired?” Ivy asked as the door shut behind them.
Grace pulled at the ropes tied tightly across her wrists and around her ankles. She winced as the rope around her wrist began to chafe her skin. No matter how she twisted and pulled, they wouldn’t come undone. Sighing, she stopped struggling. If she could break the chair
, maybe she could get her legs free at least, she thought, as she began to rock herself from side to side. She felt the chair begin to tip over and braced herself. Her breath left her in a whoosh as her shoulder collided with the floor. Just then, the door opened.
Grace groaned in frustration, disappointed
that Rupert had returned so soon.
“Grace!”
She looked up just as Kyle reached down and pulled her and her chair back up. He ran his hands through her hair, tugging the gag out of her mouth. Gripping her face with both hands, he kissed her passionately. His lips moved down the side of her cheek as he awkwardly hugged her and the chair. Smiling, he knelt down in front of her.
“Kyle!”
“I knew I’d find you,” he said excitedly before quickly adding, “I knew the moment I returned to the house and you weren’t there that something had happened. I didn’t know who to trust. I figured pretty quickly—”
“Kyle!”
Sensing the urgency in her voice, he cupped her cheek. “Don’t worry, Grace. You’re safe now.”
Grace smiled down at him. “My hero.
” Using her chin, she indicated a point behind his shoulder.
Still on his
haunches, he swiveled around. Rupert was standing at the door holding a rifle and pointing it straight at Kyle.
* * *
“What kind of knot is that? Tie it tighter,” Kyle ordered.
“It’s as t
ight as it’s going to get,” Rupert snapped in Kyle’s ear. He glanced helplessly at the others gathered around the room. Ivy, Sabrina, Laura, Jerry, and Caroline, had stopped their search for the ruby and had filed down into the cellar as soon as Rupert had raised the alarm. Ivy stood the closest, half-heartedly pointing the rifle toward Kyle. The muzzle dipped to the floor again as she glanced up at the ceiling. Every so often, they could hear something moving in the darkened corners of the room.
Kyle groaned.
“At least make it a challenge.”
Everyone
, including Grace, glared at him.
Rupert stood up and walked over to the others. “You’re
not going to get out of those restraints.”
“Ha
! I’ll be out of them before the last one of you makes it up those stairs. Don’t forget to tie my legs.”
“Would you shut up,” Grace ground out under her breath.
Sabrina pointed to the wall where various types of farm equipment hung. “Maybe we should use those chains.”
Kyle nodded enthusiastically.
“Excellent idea.”
Feeling the rope tied around her wrists tighten and dig into her skin, Grace looked over her shoulder. Laura was kneeling behind her, tying another knot and looping a section of the rope higher up Grace’s forearms. “Thanks, but mine are tight
enough.” Laura tugged on the ropes for good measure before standing and walking towards Sabrina.
“We don’t need the
chains,” Rupert said, “there’s no way he’s escaping.” He picked up a sheet and began tearing it into strips.
Kyle
laughed. “You might as well give it up and let us go. You can’t tie me up, because it won’t work. I’m a magician. There hasn’t been a lock I can’t pick, or a rope I can’t untangle.”
Rolling his eyes, Rupert knelt down
and tied Kyle’s ankles to the chair legs.
Caroline narrowed her eyes.
“I thought you were a detective?”
“I am.
” Kyle raised his chin proudly. “I’m both.”
Laura raised an eyebrow.
“You’re a detective magician? What do you do, find lost rabbits?”
Grace snorted, earning a look from Kyle. “I do much more than that. Have any of you
really thought this through? Just what do you plan to do with the ruby if you find it?”
Grace shifted in her seat restlessly.
“Look, everyone, there’s probably a reward. You all could split that. It would be legal and what’s more, no one would have to be tied up.”
Kyle shook his head. “Oh, I doubt there’s a reward. The original ow
ner’s long gone and even if they weren’t, they’d get much more on the black market.” One look at Grace and he began to backtrack. “But you all have a bigger problem. How are you going to sell the ruby? Do any of you have any idea? The hotel will probably claim ownership since it’s on their property, which means you’ll have to sell it illegally.”