Кэти Дэйли - The Curse Of Hollister House

Day 4 was again recorded by me. This case is closed on account of Stella being a big baby I am never going to speak to again.

Oh, God. I must have written that on the day Stella went missing. I guess that would explain why we’d never closed the case as we usually did. I guess it also explained why the logbook was left in my possession. I’d been the one to have it when Stella had died.

It was too early to call Cass, so I texted him and told him I had an important piece of news and that he should call me as soon as he woke up. A sub. Of course. We suspected the killer might be a substitute for the county. In my gut, I knew that if we could identify the person who subbed for Stella’s art class, we would find the killer.

Of course, once I’d stumbled upon this piece of information, I became hugely impatient. Cass was a deputy. He was probably used to being woken up in the middle of the night. Surely, he wouldn’t mind if I called his cell even though it was only four fifteen in the morning.

I called. He didn’t answer.

Dang. Maybe I should try 911, but this really wasn’t an emergency. Making a quick decision, I jogged downstairs to my room, pulled on some clothes, and headed out into the night. If Goliath wasn’t going to answer the phone, the mountain was going to go to Goliath. Or something like that.

When I arrived at Cass’s, I found his vehicle gone. I knocked on the door, and he didn’t answer. Milo came to the door barking like he was going to kill whoever was on the other side. I waited to see if the barking would wake Cass, but when he still didn’t come to the door, I figured he was out. But where could he be? It was still a couple of hours until sunrise.

I returned to my car and considered what to do next. I supposed Cass might have been called out on a call. Patricia’s murder had been wrapped up, so he could have responded to a call connected to Tracy’s murder, or he might be out on a call of a different sort altogether. Should I wait? Head home? Drive into town and go by the station to see if he was there?

I tried calling his cell again, but the call went directly to voice mail. I had to admit this had me worried. Despite the voice in my head telling me to wait before acting, I found myself calling Naomi, who answered right away.

“Callie? Is everything okay?”

“I’m looking for Cass. I have this gut feeling he might be in trouble, and I need your help.”

“Of course. What can I do?”

“The story you told us about running through the woods and seeing the man in the coat and then telling an adult who was watching the girls practice volleyball. Can you remember what the man looked like?”

“The man in the woods?”

“No, the man watching the game. The one you told about the man in the woods.”

“Wow. I don’t know. It’s been so long.”

“Try to remember what you can. It might be important.”

“Okay.” She paused. “I remember he looked familiar, yet I didn’t know his name. I think he had dark hair. Short. I don’t know. I didn’t pay all that much attention.”

“Stella thought the man who was subbing for the art class was watching her. Do you remember him?”

“I had marching band, so I didn’t have art.”

I tried to remember what Cass had told me about Harvey Underwood’s schedule at the middle school the year that Stella died. “I think the same guy subbed for Mr. Donnelly’s history class later in the year.”

“Oh, wait. I know who you are talking about.” She paused. I supposed she must have been thinking about what she’d seen, attempting to remember. Eventually, she spoke. “Yeah, now that you say that, I do think it might have been him. The thing with the guy in the forest happened early in the school year and the guy you are talking about who took over Donnelly’s class when his wife had a baby, subbed for him late in the year. I’d never made the connection, but it totally might have been him.”

“His name was Mr. Underwood. Does that ring a bell?”

“Not really. It was twenty years ago,” she reminded me.

“I know. But I suspect that Underwood might be the killer Cass is looking for. He worked as a sub here in Foxtail Lake when both Stella and Tracy died, and he worked in Rivers Bend when Hillary died.”

“Hillary?”

I explained who she was and how her death compared to Stella and Tracy’s.

“Does Cass know this?” Naomi asked.

“He does. He was at my place last evening, and when he left, he told me he was going to track down Buck Darwin and attempt to find out who he was covering for. I didn’t think he was going to do that last night, but I’ve tried calling him, and it went straight to voice mail. I’m at his place right now, and he isn’t here. I’m worried that Darwin told him what he wanted to know, and he went after the killer alone only to have the killer turn the tables on him.”

“And you think Mr. Underwood is the killer?”

“It fits. He was in all the right places at the right times. Stella thought he was watching her. You found him watching the girls’ volleyball team of which Stella was a member on the day of your encounter in the woods.”

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know. I guess we call one of the other deputies assigned to the town.” I thought about the options.

“Rafe volunteers for me sometimes. I have his number. I’ll call him. Why don’t you come over here and we can figure this out together?”

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

Chapter 26

The lights were bright, the air stale, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was sure I was going to be sick, but I suppressed the urge.

“Dr. Whilton you are needed in the OR,” someone said over the loudspeaker.

“It’s going to be okay.” Naomi squeezed my hand.

“What is taking so long?” I asked for the tenth time in ten minutes.

“These things take time.”

I supposed they did. God, I hated hospitals. I’d spent as much time in one as I ever wanted to, but I couldn’t leave. Not with Cass in critical condition. “What if he doesn’t make it?”

“He will.”

“He lost a lot of blood.”

“Which is why God invented transfusions. Try to relax. You look like you are going to pass out.”

I glanced at Naomi and nodded. Passing out in an effort to escape the lights and the noise wasn’t the worst idea. I remembered the lights, the noise, the smell of vomit and blood after my own accident. I thought I was going to die. I hadn’t died as I thought I might, but there had been times during my recovery after the accident, before I came back to Foxtail Lake, that I’d wished I had.

“I wonder when Rafe will get here.”

“I don’t know. He said he’d be by when he had the chance. Here comes the doctor,” Naomi said.

I stood up on wobbly legs. She stood up next to me, still clinging to my hand. I wanted to hear what the doctor had to say, but at the same time, I didn’t. What if Cass was dead? What if the bullet that pierced his chest had ended his life?

“Deputy Wylander is out of surgery. It went well. He is still in critical yet stable condition, but barring further complications, I expect a full recovery.”

“Can I see him?” I asked.

“He is still in the recovery room. He won’t wake up for hours. I’m going to suggest the two of you go home. Get something to eat. I can call when he wakes up.”

I wanted to say no. I wanted to inform the man that I’d stay right here until I could see he was fine with my own eyes, but Naomi responded to the doctor before I was able, agreeing to his suggestion. She led me out of the hospital into the bright sunshine. I squinted against the intensity.

“How about we do as the doctor suggested and get something to eat?” Naomi asked.