The Visitor (27 page)

Forty-Eight

I
had every intention of following the nurse's advice and grabbing an early dinner in the cafeteria before returning to Dr. Shaw's room. Instead, I found myself driving back to the guest cottage to collect the viewer that Nelda had given to me the day before. I'd promised Devlin I wouldn't go back to the cemetery or to Rose's house alone, but I could at least study the stereogram we'd found.

I entered the main house first to give Nelda an update on Dr. Shaw's condition, but when I couldn't find her, I went out through the French doors and crossed the garden to the cottage.

Someone had been in to tidy up while we were out. The bed was made and fresh towels had been left in the bathroom. I couldn't imagine that Nelda did all the work herself, but as I moved about the tiny space, I detected the faintest hint of cloves.

The cottage unsettled me so I snatched up the stereoscope and hurried back outside to sit in a patch of sunlight on the steps. I would linger only for a moment, I told myself. Just a quick look at the stereogram and then I'd drive back to the hospital.

I inserted the card in the holder and lifted the viewer to the light. As I searched the house in the background, I once again experienced the sensation of being watched. Shifting my focus to Nelda, I peered into her three-dimensional eyes and the feeling grew stronger. The intensity of her gaze startled me and my first instinct was to set the viewer aside. I wasn't certain I wanted to uncover whatever Rose had meant to reveal.

But the secret was right there in front of me. Literally staring me in the face. A mask had lifted when the shutter opened, allowing a glimpse of something feral in the curl of Nelda's lips, in the angry flare of her nostrils.

A breeze swept through the trees and as I looked up from the viewer, I saw the real, flesh-and-blood Nelda standing before me. She hovered in the shadows of her garden watching me.

“What has Rose left for you now?” she asked in a pleasant voice.

I didn't respond. I was still reeling from the weight of my discovery.

Placing one hand on top of the other, she leaned heavily on the head of her cane. A subtle change came over her features and I could see something cold and calculating in her eyes. “You don't know it,” she said in a raspy voice. “The energy you call an entity. But it knows you.”

Fear stole my breath as my heart began to pound. “Who are you?” I gasped, but I really didn't want to know the answer. “
What
are you?”

“Oh, I'm still Nelda. Only stronger and smarter. A better Nelda, you might say.” Her eyes cleared and her voice lightened. “My visitor is here, too. My dark caller. We've coexisted quite nicely all these years.”

“How?”

“Oh, I think you already know the answer.” Her lips curled again as she hobbled toward the steps, but I didn't feel threatened. Not at that moment. The entity that used Nelda Toombs as a conduit was limited by the constraints of her body. I could outrun her. I could get away whenever I wanted. Right now, I had a compulsion to hear what she—
it
—had to say.

“Rose has been waiting a long, long time for you to come into your own. We all have, I suppose. But for very different reasons.”

“What do you mean?”

“The rules kept you safe even from Rose. So she waited until you were free of them and strong enough to help her. She was clever luring you here with that old stereogram. Very clever indeed.”

“Did you send someone to break into my house to get it back? Why?”

“I had to find out what Rose was up to. I needed to know what she'd revealed to you in that image.” Nelda cocked her head as she gazed up at me. “The resemblance still amazes me, but you're not as cunning or as clever as your great-grandmother. Truth be told, you're a bit dense about all this. But you're stronger than Rose ever was. You've got that going for you. I doubt you realize how much power you possess, let alone how to wield it. You're the only one left who can truly do us harm.”

I clutched the viewer to my chest. “How can I harm you? By finding out the truth? Are you afraid of what I'll uncover in the cemetery? In Rose's house? Are you worried I'll reveal what you did to all those colonists? That was you, wasn't it?”

A sly smile flashed. “That was
us
. The idea was mine, though. It's what made me so desirable.”

“Desirable?” I stared at her for the longest moment as a revelation washed over me. “It was attracted to you because of what was already inside you. Darkness... Evil...” I paused. “You let it in, didn't you? Your dark caller. It didn't have to cajole or seduce or barter. You wanted that thing inside you.”

Impatience flared as her head came up. “Don't you understand anything? It
chose
me. Not Rose, not Mott, not any of the others.
Me.
” She put a foot on the bottom step and I caught a strong whiff of cloves. The scent was overpoweringly sweet, but the spice couldn't disguise the putrid essence of the malcontent inside her. I rose and retreated to the porch.

She laughed. “Oh, are you afraid of me now? Imagine that. Someone so young and vibrant threatened by the likes of me.”

“You enjoy that, don't you? Creating fear and chaos. You thrive on negative emotions. Is that why you wanted all those colonists dead?”

“What do you think, Amelia?”

My heart lurched at the sound of my name coming from her odious lips. I took another step back from her. “I think there was another reason. You said the idea was yours. You wanted them dead before the entity possessed you. Why?”

“Why does it matter?” she returned.

“You were little more than a child at the time. What could have motivated you to do such a thing?”

“Very well, if you must know.” She stirred restlessly as if bored by all my questions. Later I would realize that her apathy was only an act. My distress and curiosity must have been highly entertaining while she killed time waiting for her conspirator. “Ezra wanted to take Rose away from us. He wanted to leave the Colony and go somewhere new, make a fresh start. I couldn't allow that to happen. Rose was the only mother Mott and I knew. She was our protector. What do you think would have happened to us if she'd left? Louvenia would have undoubtedly placed us in a home or a hospital, where we would have been poked and prodded and stared at like some carnival sideshow attraction.”

She climbed to the next step and paused in a beam of sunlight. I could see the entity clearly in her eyes now and in that rictus smile.

“Why kill all the colonists? Why not just Ezra?”

“Because
it
wanted me to. And because poison was so much easier for us to manage. A simple matter to take the container from the barn and sprinkle it into the food. Mott and I went to the Colony so often that no one paid us any mind that day.”

“But Ezra wasn't there. He'd gone to see Rose.”

“His absence made things more difficult, but not insurmountable, as you know.”

“And Mott? Did she want him dead, too?”

Nelda sighed as a shadow flicked across her features. “My sweet little twin, always facing backward. Always at my mercy. Always wanting to see the best in people. She knew nothing until it was all over.”

“But she must have known about Ezra. She was right
there
. Even if you managed to fool her about the poison, she would have heard the gunshot. She would have felt the recoil in her body.”

Nelda nodded. “There was no help for that, I'm afraid. She was horribly upset, as you can imagine, but I convinced her to remain silent or we'd be put away. Still, it tormented her. She couldn't eat or sleep and I knew it was only a matter of time before she cracked, so she had to be gotten rid of, too.”

“How?”

The eyes gleamed. “I drowned her like an unwanted puppy.”

A shudder ran through me at the image. Poor Mott, trapped by the confines of her body and bound for eternity to the twin that had become a monster.

“You used cloves to cover the smell, but not from the decay of Mott's body. From the stench of the entity inside you.”

“So you've finally figured it out. You've solved Rose's puzzle.”

Despite her taunt, my mind was still working frantically to put it all together. To connect all the dots. “Rose knew about you, didn't she? She could see it inside you. So you blinded her. And then you killed her.”

“She'd been slowly losing her sight for years. That's why she'd learned braille, in anticipation of her coming darkness. Given her gifts, perhaps she saw it as a blessing.”

“Is that what you told yourself when you put out her eyes with that key?” I asked angrily.

Her eyes darkened. “You should have heeded the warning. At least Louvenia was smart enough to stop asking questions. But
you
. You had to keep digging. You had to keep poking.” She started up the steps, using the cane for support. I backed away, keeping my distance, still certain that I could outrun her. Still certain I was in no immediate danger.

Suddenly, the door to the guest cottage flew open and the sound caught me by surprise. As I whirled toward the newcomer, Nelda whipped the cane across my shins and I went down hard on the porch.

Then she struck me across the back. Still I tried to rise. I even managed to get to my knees before a blow to the head flattened me.

“I'm surprised that one didn't kill her,” Owen Dowling said as he came to kneel beside me.

I tried to lift a hand to the explosion of pain at my temple, but I couldn't muster the strength. I lay there paralyzed as the world spun around me.

“Take her phone,” I heard Nelda say. “And that key around her neck...give it to me. Quick!”

The last thing I heard was Owen's chuckle. The last thing I felt was the ribbon sliding from my neck.

Forty-Nine

I
woke up in complete darkness with no sense of where I was. Disturbing images floated through my mind. The stereogram...the keys...all those numbers. Nelda staring up at me from the bottom of the porch. The door of the cottage flying open...a struggle...a blow to my head...an explosion of stars...

As I fought my way out of the confusion, I realized I was lying on my back in a very close space. I lifted my hands reflexively and discovered a flat surface only a few inches above me.

My first panicky thought was that I had been placed in a tomb or coffin, probably somewhere in Kroll Cemetery. A scream rose to my throat as I pressed against the lid with the heels of my hands and then pounded with my fists until my knuckles grew raw. I felt sick, disoriented and on the verge of a claustrophobic meltdown.

With an effort I forced myself to lie back and slow my breathing.
In...out. In...out. Don't think about the walls closing in on you. Don't think about the weight of a tomb pressing down on you. In...out. In...out.

Once I felt calmer, I tried to take stock of my prison. I wasn't in total darkness as I'd first thought. I could see the silhouette of my hand when I held it in front of me and I had a sense of space when I peered straight ahead or to the side. And I could feel a draft. Which likely meant I wasn't buried underground or enclosed in a tomb.

But that breeze carried a scent. A trace so foul that I thought at once of the odor wafting from beneath Rose's porch.

I knew where I was then. I was under Rose's house. Locked inside that strange fence where she'd once trapped the entity that now resided in Nelda Toombs's body.

Terror gripped me and I lashed out, kicking and pounding the floorboards in a blind frenzy. But the rotting planks held fast, and in a flash of reason, I realized that a dislodged support could bring the whole house down upon me.

I fell back against the ground, spent and shivering. I had to get control of my fear. Panic was the enemy. I'd been in close places before, dangerous places, and I was strong. Stronger than I even realized, Nelda had said. I could get out of here. All I had to do was remain calm. Concentrate. Make my way to the side of the house and find an opening.

Breathe. In...out. In...out.

And hurry.

I had no idea if Owen Dowling had left me there for dead or if he would return to finish me off. A vague recollection niggled. An overheard conversation so hazy I couldn't be sure it had really happened. I had been floating at the edge of consciousness. Dreaming, perhaps...

“Is she dead?”

“No, there's a pulse.”

“You'll have to finish her off, then.”

“Oh, God, Auntie. I'm not cut out for this.”

“Do you want your money or don't you? And let me remind you, there are bigger stakes to consider. Once we take care of Louvenia, all of the Kroll holdings will someday be yours.”

“What about Micah? He won't just roll over and play dead, you know.”

“Micah will never again see the light of day once Louvenia's body is discovered. Why do you think I brought him back here? His troubled history makes him the perfect scapegoat. Now he can take the blame for Amelia's demise, as well. Everything is falling into place, nephew. You just have to do your part.”

“All right. Give me a minute—”

“Not here! That cop could come back at any minute. Take her out to Rose's house. There's a crawl space underneath. She won't be found until we've had time to set everything else in motion...”

As the conversation faded, I came back to my original question. Had Owen left me for dead or would he return soon to finish the job? I had no weapon with which to defend myself. I'd been stripped of my phone, and the pepper spray was still in my backpack. I felt weak and disoriented. My head throbbed miserably. My whole body ached from the beating and perhaps from being dragged through the woods and the maze. But I had to rally and get moving because my only hope was to be long gone if and when Owen returned.

Rolling to my stomach, I began easing my way over the hard ground. In such a confined space, I had no sense of direction and the discarded junk beneath the house obscured my view. All I could do was crawl toward the draft and hope that I could find the gate or another way through the barrier.

Gravel cut into my hands as I inched along. I paused to pick what I thought was a pebble from my palm, but the texture made me think of bone. I wouldn't dwell on that. Not now. I had to keep moving. I had to keep breathing.
In...out. In...out.

An obstruction lay directly in front of me. I thought it was nothing more than a heap of old rags and I put out a tentative hand to shove them aside. Then I recoiled in horror. The barrier was a body.

My first thought was of Louvenia. Nelda and Owen had planned to do away with her and pin the blame on Micah. They must have gone through with their scheme, probably after dumping me here.

I eased back up to the body, running my hand along the motionless arm until I found her wrist. I couldn't feel a pulse, but in that moment of contact, the tingle of cloves on my tongue overwhelmed me.

I drew back in shock. The dead woman was not Louvenia after all, but Nelda. How she had ended up under the house I had no idea, but I could only surmise that Owen had betrayed her. Maybe he'd decided with both Nelda and Louvenia out of the way, the Kroll fortune would fall to him sooner.

Her skin was cooling but not cold. She couldn't have been dead long. She may even have drawn her last breath while I lay unconscious only a few feet away.

As I lay there beside the body, a dreaded certainty washed over me. I wasn't alone. I could feel and smell a presence, though I couldn't see it. The entity was not unlike the one I'd encountered in Asher Falls. It was no longer a ghost, if it ever had been. It was colder and darker than any ghost. Negative energy that had evolved into pure evil. And it was there with me under Rose's house. At the moment of death, it had left Nelda's body and was now crouching in the gloom observing me.

The tingle of cloves faded as a hint of witch hazel wafted from the shadows. I could sense it moving closer, slithering unfettered through the piles of debris as it sniffed and circled, a netherworld predator on the hunt for a conduit. I still couldn't see it or hear it, but the underlying stench of its being overwhelmed me.

My hand flew to my chest, seeking Rose's key. It was gone, of course. Nelda had ordered Owen to take it from me. But he wouldn't have understood the significance unless she'd told him. Was it possible he'd left the key on her person? Could it still be in one of her pockets or around her neck?

Hope surged as I steeled my resolve, inching toward the body only to be propelled backward by an unnatural gust. I grabbed on to the nearest thing I could find, a wooden support beam, as that strange vortex swirled around me. Then the wind died away as suddenly as it had risen. I huddled in the dark, the air so stale and fetid I couldn't breathe without retching. The entity was right there, squatting beside me, touching my hair, running a finger down my arm as it tried to find a way inside me.

From outside the enclosure, I heard the abrasive rattle of a cicada. Almost at once, the entity retreated back into the shadows and I could sense its wariness. For whatever reason, it had a healthy respect for Mott's power.

I took advantage of the reprieve and eased back up to the body, running my hands over the stiffening torso, searching one pocket of Nelda's smock and then the other. I wanted to scream in frustration.
Where is it? Where is it?
But then as I jostled the body, I heard the faint tinkle of metal.

Mott's diversion had been momentary. Already I could feel the entity creeping back in as the smell grew stronger. It was coming for me. Getting nearer with each passing moment...

One hand pressed to my nose and mouth, I thrust the other hand back into Nelda's pocket, searching, searching until my fingers finally grasped the skeleton key.

I turned, clutching the key to my breast, but the talisman seemed to have no effect. Prowling and predatory, the malcontent kept coming. Closer and closer. Stroking its icy tentacles down my face, sliding feelers into my memories, seeking darkness or a weakness that would allow it to enter my soul.

I wanted nothing so much as to roll over and vomit up the filth of its presence, but something inside me held fast. I gathered my strength and every ounce of my courage. I would not let that thing in. I would not.

I sensed hesitation. Then frustration and rising anger.

The tentacles snaked around me, poking, prodding and then finding no way in, they withdrew. The odor faded. The entity hunkered there in the darkness, thwarted and enraged.

I kept moving. On and on until I reached the fence. Darkness had fallen outside and clouds drifted across the moon. I smelled rain in the air and I drew in a long, cleansing breath as I curled my fingers around the chain links and peered out. The maze was a dark outline against the horizon. I wanted to take comfort in the sight, but another scent drifted to me on the night air.
Smoke.

The acrid smell was hardly discernible at first, but the scent grew stronger as the wind rose. I could see wisps drifting up into the sky, and a fresh terror seized me. I realized then why Owen hadn't bothered to finish me off. He'd intended all along to come back and burn down the house, turning the evidence of his dark deeds to ash along with Rose's numbers and keys. Along with any clues still undiscovered in her sanctuary.

I shook the fence in desperation and then lay on my back and tried to kick the supports loose. The enclosure held fast, and as smoke seeped down through the floorboards, hysteria bubbled.

Turning, I crawled along the edge of the house. The back porch lay straight ahead, but I felt certain Owen would have locked the gate. Still, I had to try.

Defeat bore down on me, and I could feel the entity slithering back through the haze of smoke as if attracted by a whiff of my vulnerability.

Think.
Think.
There had to be a way out.

The trio of keys had been left on my nightstand for a reason. Each served an important purpose in solving Rose's puzzle. The plain door key had allowed me entrée into her sanctuary. The pointed teeth key had unlocked a secret compartment in Kroll Cemetery. The skeleton key had the power to keep the ghosts at bay, but might it also serve a real-world purpose?

Even as all this flashed through my head, I was already scrambling for the gate. With trembling fingers, I inserted the teeth into the keyhole. The rusty latch clicked open and I crawled out of my prison as the floorboards over my head began to pop from the heat.