Night of the Living Thread (A Threadville Mystery) Page 26

  “I could be totally wrong about her. I can have a wild imagination.”

  I knew what that was like. “You could have talked to our police chief. She was in the banquet hall.”

  “She was? I didn’t see any police officers.”

  “Chief Smallwood and Detective Neffting came as dinner guests. Last I knew, they were heading toward the parking lot, too. I hope we can catch them before they leave.”

  “I’m scared. If Juliette killed Heru and Isis, and guesses that I suspect her . . .”

  I knew that feeling, too, and I still wasn’t comfortable being alone with Patricia. High-heeled sandals and all, I sped my pace. We came out into the parking lot.

  Most of the cars had already left. Juliette and Dare stood chatting near an expensive sports car. Dare’s hand was on the roof. I checked and checked again. No police cars, no Vicki, and no Detective Neffting.

  42

  In the distance, I heard a siren. Had Haylee called the police?

  The sound became quieter.

  Juliette turned her face toward us.

  Whimpering like a scared rabbit, Patricia took off. Sandals pattering on the cobblestones, she dashed down toward the lodge.

  I backed behind rhododendrons and whispered to her to wait, but she kept going.

  I peeked out. Juliette was talking to Dare. Maybe she hadn’t recognized us.

  If Haylee had not yet called Vicki, she would soon. Maybe Patricia would tell Haylee what she’d just told me.

  Meanwhile, I could hide from Juliette and watch to see where she went. But I didn’t dare stay where I was in case she’d seen me peeking out at her. All I had to do was climb the hill between fake gravestones and peer down on the parking lot from the shelter of the woods above it.

  All?

  I pushed through a break in the hedge. Brushing bits of foliage out of my eyes, I started up the sloping lawn through the haunted graveyard. I had to lean forward as I climbed, or my heels would have sunk into the ground.

  Clay and his crew had not put any gravestones in the woods above the parking lot. Very few leaves had fallen so far this year, but last year’s leaves and a few twigs made sneaking quietly impossible.

  Below me, I heard Dare’s bored rumble, and then Juliette’s laugh.

  I peeked around a fat tree trunk.

  Dare’s back was toward me, but Juliette was facing me. Was it my imagination, or did she look up toward me? I ducked behind the tree.

  A car door slammed. I edged around the tree trunk again. Dare was talking to Brianna between his car and hers, and Juliette was leaning against another one. Patricia’s?

  Carrying her bowling ball bag, Juliette strolled to the edge of the parking lot nearest me, at the foot of a steep embankment. She wasn’t going to climb it in her long white velvet gown and party shoes, was she?

  I heard Brianna’s sardonic laugh, then Dare’s lazy drawl. “Juliette, what are you doing?”

  “I think I saw Patricia. I’ll go tell her not to wait for me.”

  Brianna was becoming a regular laugh machine.

  But I didn’t have time to wonder about her sudden tendency toward merriment. Below me, I heard a stone roll down the embankment.

  Again, I was at a disadvantage in my shoes. Running down the hill to the lodge would be nearly impossible. The replica of the Evans City Cemetery chapel was much closer, and I could dodge from tombstone to tombstone on the way.

  Knowing that Juliette had a steep climb to reach the top of the hill, I sprinted on tiptoe past two tall gravestones before ducking behind a shorter one.

  I couldn’t see Juliette, but I heard her thrashing through underbrush. I dashed to the nearer of the chapel’s doors, the side one.

  It was locked.

  I turned around. In her long white gown, Juliette had reached the edge of the woods, and was gazing down toward the lodge. I zipped around the back of the chapel, past the side farthest from Juliette, and crept into the front doors, still open all the way since last night’s haunted graveyard extravaganza.

  Struggling to control my ragged breathing, I stood where I could watch for Juliette to go on down the hill toward the lodge. The doorway was wide. If she ran into the chapel through it, I could easily avoid her and run out.

  Minutes passed, and she didn’t show up. I was about to trot down through the fake graveyard toward the lodge when I heard someone try the chapel’s side door.

  Had she seen me come this way?

  Maybe the locked door would make her go back to the parking lot or to the lodge. By now, Haylee should have reached Vicki and told her to come back from wherever she’d been heading. That siren I’d heard, though—would Vicki need to attend another call before returning to the Elderberry Bay Lodge?

  With only the slightest creak, the side door behind me swung open. At the same time, the doors in front of me closed.

  Clay must have built in switches to operate the doors, and Juliette must have found one.

  Even with the side door open, the chapel was almost completely dark inside. Trying to keep my bearings and plan an escape route, I stared down toward that doorway.

  What was I seeing? Not fireflies in October. Probably not glowworms, either. These glowing spots were so small that I had trouble convincing myself I was actually seeing them. But I was. They moved, all at the same time.

  Juliette had sewn many different ribbons to her dress, and she’d apparently stitched them on with glow-in-the-dark thread. After losing the spool of it she’d taken from the fire station, she must have bought more from Brianna.

  Juliette had encircled herself in light.

  I could see her, but could she see me?

  “Patricia?” she whispered.

  I said nothing.

  “Willow?”

  Again I stayed quiet.

  “I know you’re in here,” she said. “And I want to know why you’re chasing me and spying on me.”

  I still didn’t answer. She obviously didn’t have a light or she’d be shining it around in an attempt to locate me. Did she have a weapon?

  Maybe she would decide I wasn’t in here and that I hadn’t been spying on her after all, and she’d leave.

  The glowing stitches on her gown stopped swaying. She was standing very still. She’d stopped talking. Was she listening for me?

  I didn’t move. I barely breathed.

  Finally, the glowing stitches undulated toward the side door and disappeared.

  The door creaked shut. A latch clicked.

  43

  If Juliette had any sense, she would cut through the woods behind the chapel, go all the way up to Shore Road, walk back to Naomi’s place, pack, get into her own car, and drive home.

  I did not know how to open the doors of this replica chapel, but I would not be trapped long. Haylee would find me. Or Clay would. And when he did, I might even indulge in a tiny bit of damsel-in-distress histrionics.

  For the moment, though, I didn’t move. I hoped to hear Juliette crunching on leaves uphill from the chapel, which could mean she was heading for Shore Road and away from all my friends in the lodge. All I heard, though, was a loud bump and a bitten-off curse spoken in her voice. Juliette was downhill from the chapel.

  Was Juliette heading to the lodge? Would she harm my friends? Wouldn’t a murderer be continually on the lookout for people who might figure out her guilty secrets? If Juliette had noticed Patricia and me peeking at her, she may have gotten an inkling that we suspected her of murdering Isis.

  Juliette might guess that my friends also suspected her. I couldn’t wait here for my friends to find me. I needed to warn them.

  I needed to find a way out of this chapel.

  The previous night, the front doors had slammed open, and zombies had poured from it. Clay and Ben had been working behind the scenes. Did that mean that th
ey opened the doors remotely? Juliette had found a switch on the outside of the chapel. Were there also switches on the inside?

  It was inky black inside the chapel. I patted the left side of the double doors as high as I could reach. Nothing. I felt my way along the door to the left jamb and rubbed my hands up and down the wood. Finally to the right, about elbow height, I found a switch and flicked it.

  With a roar that resounded all over the hillside, the doors flew open and slammed back against the walls. No pyrotechnics this time, but the building shook. And so did I.

  My foot snagged something. That zombie cloak. The color of my dress was too light. I threw the musty-smelling thing around my shoulders. Wonder of wonders, it even had a hood.

  Way below me, at the foot of the hill, lights were on inside the lodge, and through the lobby windows, I could see the legs of people, men in pants and women in dresses, running through the lobby to the front door. Maybe they thought a real zombie invasion was about to occur.

  Halfway down the hill, Juliette was squatting behind a tombstone and peering over it at the lodge below her.

  Unbuckling those sandals seemed to take forever, but finally, I was barefoot. Leaving the shoes behind, I pulled up the hood of the cloak and slunk downhill to the nearest fake tombstone.

  Juliette still seemed intent on the people streaming out of the lodge. Afraid she might turn around and see me, I zigzagged from monument to monument.

  Calling, “Willow!” Haylee, Clay, and Ben strode up the hill.

  Juliette was lower on the hill, and couldn’t see them over the hedges, but she could hear them. In a weird sort of crouch, she ran across the hill toward the parking lot.

  Cloak flying, I took off after her. I stepped on a pebble and, without trying to, started limping like a zombie. I dropped one shoulder, raised the other, held my head at a strange tilt, and kept going.

  Juliette must have seen me. She stopped and gestured urgently. “Help!” she whispered.

  I caught up. “What’s wrong?”

  She stared at my face for a shocked second. “Willow? I thought you were a zombie.”

  I couldn’t help smiling. “Sorry to disappoint you.” Apparently, she didn’t know for sure that I’d been inside the chapel with her, and she was going to play innocent. Fine. To save my skin, I’d play along and try to hide my suspicions.

  She clutched her bowling ball bag to her chest. “The people who murdered Isis are after me!”

  “I doubt that. I heard them call me.”

  “Yes, but . . .”

  “Let’s go see what they want, okay?”

  “I don’t know . . .”

  Below us on the pathway, a man laughed, a cruel, sardonic laugh.

  “It’s Dare,” Juliette crowed. “We’ll be safe with him.”

  I wasn’t sure about that, but Dare could be an improvement over being alone on this unlit hill with Juliette. Mentally apologizing to Ben and his gardeners, I shoved rhododendron branches aside for her, and she struggled to the cobblestones where Dare was.

  I followed her out of the shrubbery. The hood of the cloak nearly stayed behind, but eventually the cloak and I pulled it out with us.

  Before Dare could make one of his sarcastic remarks, I said quickly, “Dare, there’s something inside the lodge that you may want to see for your research.”

  Dare eyed my zombie cloak. “What have you rurals cooked up for me this time? A vampire reenactment? International spies?”

  Juliette tugged at Dare. “Weren’t you going to take me home?”

  Behind me, Brianna snorted. The way she crept up behind me, Dare didn’t have to look far for a spy.

  Juliette corrected herself. “I meant back to Naomi’s so I can pack?”

  “I thought you said you came with your friend, the treadle-woman, and that’s why you went crashing up into the woods.”

  Juliette hugged her bowling bag. “I couldn’t find her.”

  “I think she’s in the lodge,” I said helpfully. “Let’s go see.” I turned toward Dare. “And we could use your expert opinion.”

  He started toward the front door. “Okay, and maybe we’ll find your ride, Juliette.”

  We came out from behind the hedge. Haylee, Ben, and Clay were halfway up the hill. Clay turned around, and I beckoned to him. He must have recognized me despite the flapping cloak. He grabbed Ben and pointed down the hill toward me. I beckoned again. Haylee, Ben, and Clay started running down the hill.

  I led Dare, with Juliette in lockstep beside him, into the brightly lit lobby and from there, into the dining room. I turned to give the other two, and Brianna, straggling behind them, an encouraging look. Beyond them, Clay, Haylee, and Ben entered the lobby. Her finger to her lips, Haylee raised her eyebrows. She was telling me she’d already warned Clay and Ben not to spook Juliette.

  Gord, Edna, Mrs. Battersby, Naomi, and Opal stood beside our table. They appeared to be merely planning the next day’s wedding celebration.

  That table was the only one with its tablecloth still on. The candlesticks and bouquet were still on the table, along with my evening bag, my phone, and one dessert plate bearing the vestiges of fudge frosting. And one small and slightly curved piece of glass.

  My shawl was still draped across the back of my chair.

  Before I could point out the broken glass, Dare announced in a sarcastic voice, “Lake Erie thrills at their best! A bunch of people dressed up around a white tablecloth, and everyone else departed! Maybe the zombies got them.” He glanced at me and my hideous cloak. “They got one of them already.”

  “Come see,” I urged him.

  “What did you find, a horrible, terrible, scary spider intent on destroying all of humanity?”

  But he came with me, and Juliette did, too.

  People whispered behind us in the dining hall doorway. Clay, Ben, and Haylee stood aside to let Neffting and Vicki into the dining room, then closed ranks behind them. We all gathered around the table. Juliette paled and moved closer to Dare.

  On Dare’s other side, Neffting carefully watched Edna and Gord, not Juliette, as if he expected to connect the evidence Haylee must have told him about to Edna. Vicki inserted herself between Juliette and me.

  I pointed at the tiny fragment of glass in the dessert plate.

  Dare raised one finger in the air. “Aha! They fed us ground glass tonight. We must find someone to save us. My cousin can finally be a hero!”

  Ben looked pained. Haylee spoke up, “Actually, that piece of glass fell off Juliette’s shoe.”

  Dare placed one hand dramatically over his heart. “They fed us food cooked in shoes?”

  Vicki ignored his antics. Neffting continued eyeing Edna.

  Vicki asked Haylee, “Did you see that piece of glass actually on the shoe?”

  Haylee shook her head. “If I did, I thought it was only one of the sequins. But I saw it fall, and it had to have come from the shoe.”

  Dare stared at the fragment. “Now I see the fascination. They fed us bits of glass with mantras printed on them. The plot is unfolding—evil spiders try to take over the world by forcing everyone to meditate.” He closed his eyes and intoned, “OMMMMMMMM.”

  Juliette turned as if to go. “You’re joking. I think we’ve seen enough. Coming, Dare?”

  Smiling, Neffting turned to Dare. “And there will be this one state trooper who sees the whole plan and attempts to stop it.”

  Vicki asked Juliette, “Can you explain how that piece of glass got on your shoe?”

  Juliette heaved a sigh. “I guess it happened when I was changing a lightbulb at home before I came to Threadville. It broke. Maybe a piece of it got wedged in with the sequins.” She glared at Dare. “Let’s go.”

  Dare didn’t seem to hear her. “A state trooper?” he repeated to Neffting.

  Neffting puffed out his c
hest, which looked strange considering his paunch, stem of a neck, and bulbous head. “A detective, perhaps. For instance, I’m a detective with the Pennsylvania State Police, which means I’m also a state trooper. A proud one, I might add.”

  Vicki asked Juliette quietly, “May I see your shoes?”

  Juliette scowled.

  Neffting was still lecturing Dare. “You can call me Trooper Neffting.” He wagged a finger. “But it wouldn’t do to forget that I’m also a detective.”

  Vicki reminded Juliette, “Your shoes.”

  In one smooth movement, Juliette stepped back, lifted that vinyl bowling bag by its handles and swung it toward Vicki’s head.

  Neffting and Dare were still not paying attention to the rest of us.

  I reached behind Vicki and grabbed for the bag. The fingers of my left hand closed around one of the handles.

  I’m right-handed, and that horrible cloak hampered me. Clumsily, I slowed the bag down slightly, maybe, but with a sickening thud, the crystal ball, still inside the bag, slammed into the side of Vicki’s head.

  Vicki slumped to the floor.

  44

  Juliette let go of the bag, but I was still hanging on to it, and the momentum of the crystal ball inside it sent me flying, cloak and all, backward into Clay.

  Juliette ran away, across the dining hall. The soles of her shoes slapped against the oak floor in a rhythm that I remembered from the night of Isis’s murder, when Juliette, wearing the same shoes, had fled up Lake Street.

  Ben and Haylee surged after her.

  Clay lowered me into a chair, then took off after the others, while Gord and all three of Haylee’s mothers knelt beside Vicki.

  His mouth a round O, Neffting tore his attention away from Dare and turned toward me.

  There I was, with that bowling bag still dangling from my left hand. I couldn’t seem to think of anything to do besides shake my head.

  Yipping and yelling to the point that he was practically yodeling, Dare pelted out of the dining hall behind Clay.

  Neffting shouted into his radio for backup and an ambulance.

  Juliette had disappeared into the lobby.