HOME OF THE RED FOX - Segment Twenty-Two

Chapter 106

         One by one, the listeners returned to their seats to hear Walker read the letter.

         “My name is Nancy Edgeworth, and I’m writing this in the hopes some kind understanding soul in the future will find it. After Jason found Marianne’s journal, it seemed the best place for my confession. He’s tried to get me to admit killing Hannah, but I can’t tell him the truth. He would never believe what I must write down here, and I wouldn’t survive prison.”

         At this point, Walker returned to sit down next to Samantha and continued reading. Shock replaced the eagerness on his listeners’ faces.

         “One cold dark winter day last year, I was watching Hannah in our little room on the third floor. Outside, the snow was blowing wildly, but we were warm and cozy as my Hannah played peacefully with her dolls. Colin, her noisy little brother, was finally taking a nap in his room, so I had a chance to be alone with Hannah. Marianne wasn’t happy I spent so much time with the girl. She had become even more withdrawn and bitter since Colin’s birth three years ago. One would think she hated her daughter, the way she acted towards her.”

         Samantha interrupted Walker by saying, “I remember from the diary she regretted not being a better mother to the little girl,” and looked sadly at the others. Walker nodded his head at that memory and returned to the papers in front of him.

         “As Hannah was cuddling Teresa, her favorite china doll, the door to the room burst open. Marianne pushed me out of the way and pulled back a rug near the front window. I saw a latch to a door I’d never known was there. When she yanked at it, a part of the floor came up, and I saw stairs leading down into the darkness. She returned to where Hannah was sitting on the floor and grabbed the child by her upper arm. In her free hand, she took the lantern from the shelf behind me and started dragging the screaming child towards the open hole in the floor. I begged and begged her to let Hannah alone. By now, she managed to climb onto the first step of the stairs and headed down. The lantern wasn’t bright, but I was determined to stop whatever the madwoman was planning on doing to her child.”

         Walker paused and looked towards Jack who was sitting nearby, cursing methodically under his breath. He knew how Jack felt but returned to reading the letter, knowing they needed to learn the fate of little Hannah Edgeworth.

         “The three of us continued ever downward on the dimly lit hidden stairway. Marianne was yelling obscenities at the child, saying she was the reason her husband no longer loved her. She blamed the hysterically crying child for being a worthless girl instead of the boy Jason demanded of her years ago. I caught hold of Hannah’s dress and pleaded with her mother to stop. The child kept losing her balance as her mother practically raced down those dangerous wooden stairs, never letting go of Hannah’s hand. Every time she fell, her mother dragged her back to her feet, ignoring the blood dripping from the many splinters, cuts, and scrapes on Hannah’s exposed limbs. After what felt like hours, with endless steps in the near darkness, we reached a large wooden door. Marianne managed to push it open and continued through one large area and then a long tight area until we reached a second, larger underground chamber.”

         “The bone cavern.” Mary said, to no one in particular, but everyone nodded.

         “At the back of the chamber, Marianne stopped by some openings. I’ve never seen such an evil look on a person’s face as there was on hers at that moment. She continued to ignore me like I wasn’t even there. In the dim light from the lantern, placed on the uneven ground, I could see the pitiful condition my darling little girl was in. Bruises covered her arms, both from the many falls she had down those stairs and where her mother had left finger marks from her tight hold on Hannah’s arm. The rough handling of the child ripped her dress to shreds. I could see her hair tangled around her tearful young face. Still hanging from one hand were the broken remains of her china doll, Teresa.

         “What Marianne did next happened so fast I didn’t have time to stop her. With one last blasphemy, she picked up her child. Marianne smashed Hannah’s head against the chamber wall, instantly killing her. Still ignoring my cries of horror and pain at what I’d just witnessed, she walked to one of the opening. The limp and bloody body of her daughter dangled over one arm. I knelt on the ground, unable to stop her, as she stuffed the small body into the hole, pushing and pushing until I could no longer see Hannah.

         “After finishing the gruesome task, she turned around and looked in my direction. ‘You are just as guilty, Nancy, since you took my husband’s love away, too. If you tell anyone about what just happened, they’ll cart you off to prison. I’ll swear you did it, and I tried to stop you.’

         “I knew a servant like me wouldn’t have a chance with the law so have kept quiet, even after marrying Jason. His recent behavior, though, has forced me to write this letter. I pray someone will know I’m not my Hannah’s murderer. If you are reading this letter, please have a kind heart and find that innocent child. She deserves a proper burial, something I can’t give her.”

         “It stops here,” said Walker, quietly folding the letter and putting it in his shirt pocket. “Randall, I think you should give me the plastic bag back.” The other man understood and simply nodded.

         “Walker, may we have her buried on these grounds?” He looked at the tearful face of the woman sitting next to him.

         “Sure, Sam, I’ll arrange it with the mortuary in town. That child deserves to have people around her who care, even if it’s only after her death.” With the mystery of the bones resolved, the friends soon left for their own rooms, some to have nightmares of a small child, murdered and thrown away like a bag of garbage.

         Walker sat alone in the living room with unashamed tears flowing down his face. This gentle and sensitive man would find a way to honor the child. Today, however, all he had for her were those sad tears.

Chapter 107

         The next morning, a tired and subdued group of friends met for a late breakfast. Joshua and Sue Beth joined them just as the adults were ending their barely touched meal. With their excited chattering, the children never noticed the sad faces on the people sitting around the large table.

         Forcing herself to speak cheerfully to Walker’s young wards, Samantha smiled at Joshua to ask, “Well, munchkin, what are your plans for the day?”

         Before he could answer, Sue Beth interrupted in her eagerness to share the exciting news. “I’m going to learn how to knit. Belle promised to show me if I come up right now.” She looked over at her guardian, who suddenly had a strange look on his face. “Mr. Walker, it’s okay, isn’t it? She said she’d show me how to knit a green and white scarf for you.” Thinking he was mad at her for calling an adult by a nickname, Sue Beth quickly added, “Belle gave me permission to call her that. Honestly she did. I know you said it might be rude, but she did say I could.”

         “Sweetheart, I’d love the scarf, and, yes, it’s okay to call her that if she said so.” Speaking quietly to not scare her, Walker asked the question everyone around the table wanted to ask. “I’m just not sure I remember who Belle is. Why don’t you tell me?”

         Sue Beth gave him a disgusted look, as she wondered why adults are so forgetful at times. “You know her. You said I should try to make friends with her since she’s so shy.”

         “Oh, my God,” As if from a distance, Walker heard Samantha say, “Belinda Ayers is Belle, Charlie’s second wife.” She stared at Walker in horror, “She’s been here all the time and probably is the one who ...” She stopped mid sentence, aware of the listening children.

         Filled with guilt, Walker just stared at the puzzled little girl. He realized he had put his children into danger by allowing them near Belle, if she, indeed, had been the one who murdered Charlie Maxwell. Struggling to remain calm, he tried to speak to Sue Beth, but words failed him.

         Randall, used to tense situations in his line of work, was the one to speak to the waiting child. “Honey, I’d love to meet your friend. Do you think I could go with you to visit Belle?”

         “Mr. Randall, I know she’d love to meet you.” Sue Beth ran over to him with a big smile on her face. She pulled him out of his chair in her eagerness to get going. Joshua was watching the other silent adults during the exchange. He sensed something momentous was happening, although he was unsure if it was a good or bad thing. When Joshua looked closer at Walker’s face, he knew it was bad.

         “Randall, I think I’d better go with you.” Angela stood up and went to stand by her supervisor. “Anyone else coming?” She showed no surprise when the other four adults followed them out of the dining room. Not knowing if he should go with them or not, Joshua remained by the empty table. Being a typical little boy, though, he did not want to miss anything and ran to catch up with them.

         After checking with the desk clerk to verify Belinda was in her suite, Walker and Joshua raced each other up the flight of stairs. Everyone else crowded into the elevator, not being as energetic as those two so early in the morning.

         All the adults, whether on the stairs or in the elevator, dreaded what might await them on the second floor.

Chapter 108

         The thought running through Walker’s mind was that the shy, elderly woman who answered the door could not be a murderer. This innocent woman, who still believed in Santa, was the last person he would imagine to be a cold-blooded killer.

         “My goodness, Sue Beth,” he heard the woman say, all sweetness and light in her voice, “you brought me company. How lovely. Please, all of you come in and set a spell.” Belinda, or Belle, moved aside out of the doorway to let them into her suite. “What a pleasant surprise. I’m afraid some of you I don’t know.”

         Remembering her manners, Sue Beth introduced the three visitors and looked up at Walker. When she saw his nod of approval, she giggled and raced into the small living room.

         “Belinda, we’re sorry to descend on you this way,” said Samantha, after taking a chair. She waited until Belinda also sat down on a sofa before asking, “Do you think Angela could use your bathroom for a minute? She needs a mirror to put in her contact lens, which slipped out just now.”

         Angela, who had perfect eyesight, understood what she needed to do. After receiving Belinda’s permission, she walked into the bathroom and closed the door. The medicine cabinet was over the sink, and she immediately opened it.

         Among the usual medications and toiletry items, she saw a large bottle containing yellow liquid. About half an inch of the liquid remained at the bottom of the bottle. Floating in it, Angela could see bits of material that looked like dried leaves. The handwritten label on the bottle from a local health food store stated the liquid was celery root oil.

         When she came back into the crowded living room, the bottle still in her hand, she immediately went to Walker and handed him the incriminating item. Belinda saw what she had and jumped to her feet. A look of hatred made her almost unrecognizable.

         Before she could say anything, Walker turned to the boy standing beside him. “Joshua, please take your sister up to my rooms. We’ll be there as soon as we can.” When the child hesitated, unsure of what was going on, Walker commanded him in a stern voice he rarely used with the children, “Now, Joshua. Sue Beth? Go with Joshua.”

         “But, Mr. Walker…” whined the little girl. This was as far as she got. Samantha stood up, took a child’s hand in each of hers, and practically dragged them out of the room and into the outside hallway. The door closed loudly behind them with Sue Beth’s crying tapering off in the distance.

         Once he knew the children were safely away, Walker stood up and showed the bottle’s label to Randall and the others. “Dr. Brown, our town’s ME, found excessive celery root oil in Charlie Maxwell’s body. It caused his lithium level to rise to a toxic level. Belinda, do you know anything about it?”

         The woman looked at Walker and practically spit out her words, “The bastard thought I was dead years ago. He didn’t even recognize me, but I knew it was him as soon as he came in the front door that first day.” She stood up and slowly walked over to the front window of the room. With her back to them, she continued, so softly her voice was hardly audible, “I want to thank you, Walker, for bringing both of us here. I’d searched for him for years after he deserted me.” She turned back to face him, ignoring everyone else in the room. “When I saw all those other silly women here, I knew he’d done the same to them. He deserved to die, you know it’s true, don’t you? I couldn’t let him do that to any more women.”

         The smile on her face chilled Walker. He realized the woman standing in front of him was insane, hopelessly and completely insane. “Jack?”

         “Yes, Walker?”

         “Call Sheriff Bitson and have him come here as soon as possible. I’ll stay with Belinda until he gets here. I want the rest of you to go to my apartment and stay with the kids.”

         Randall interrupted him. “I think I’d like to stay to keep you company.” Unlike Walker, he knew even an elderly woman could have inhuman strength if she felt threatened. Belinda had killed already, and he did not want Walker to be her second victim.

         Not understanding Randall’s reason, Walker still agreed to let him stay. After everyone else had gone, the two men sat in silence, cautiously watching Belinda for signs of attempted escape. Instead, she sat down in a chair and picked up a book from the coffee table. She spent the next hour quietly reading until the sheriff arrived.

         After listening to Walker’s explanation, Sheriff Bitson left with the now subdued woman, shaking his head at such an unbelievable turn of events.

         Closing and locking the suite’s door behind him, Walker gave a big sigh of relief. Not looking at Randall, he started towards the stairs. “I need a drink, a stiff drink. You, too?”

         “Oh, yeah, at least one.” With that, the men climbed the stairs to Walker’s apartment to join the rest of their friends. With the children playing in his bedroom behind the closed door, Walker poured two drinks and handed one to Randall. The others peppered them with questions until Randall called a halt. He noticed these last two days had finally caught up with Walker. His friend sat on the sofa, starting to doze off, the half-finished drink still in his hand.

         One by one, they tiptoed out of the apartment until only Samantha remained with the now lightly snoring man. She removed the glass and put it on a table. Knowing he was asleep and would not feel it, she leaned down and gently kissed him. She meant it as a goodnight kiss from a friend, but the warmth of his lips on hers left her wanting it to be more. She pulled back quickly, but saw his blue eyes looking sleepily up at her.

         Without saying a word, embarrassed, she hurried to the front door and out into the hallway. Walker closed his eyes, wanting to return to his dream of a redheaded angel.

Chapter 109

         The last few days of the San Franciscans’ visit passed without incident. The mansion practically buzzed as news of Belinda’s arrest passed from person to person. Walker decided to keep secret the knowledge of the body retrieved from the cavern until the day of her burial. The local mortician, once apprised of the situation, pushed through the paperwork. A couple of workers from the mortuary arrived early the next day to prepare the ground. Walker had let Samantha pick out Hannah’s final resting place, and he approved of her choice.

         The afternoon before Randall and his crew planned to leave, a solemn group of people gathered under a large weeping willow tree. While the attendants slowly lowered a small white casket into the ground, those who knew Hannah’s tragic story quietly prayed for her soul to find peace. Just before the casket disappeared from view, Walker knelt to say a final silent good-bye. Earlier, he had placed the doll from his hidden room inside the casket next to the child’s pitifully few remains.

         As people left to return the short distance to the mansion, Walker stayed behind by himself and stood near the trunk of the sheltering tree. All around him, signs of spring pushed back the last remnants of winter. Snow no longer covered the land as it had for the past months. Looking around, Walker saw a field stretching out in front of him covered with yellow wild mustard. “Hannah,” he said softly, to the spirit of the child resting beside him, “you will be remembered, I promise.” In his mind, a plan was already forming. It would be a way to honor this child and help other unloved or abused children.

         Later in the evening, the friends gathered for one last time in Walker’s apartment. With Sue Beth and Joshua asleep in their own beds one flight down, the adults relaxed to discuss the events of the last few days.

         Mary, always the logical one, looked thoughtful before commenting, “You do realize, Walker, you still don’t know what happened to Nancy. There might be another body somewhere on your property waiting for you to find it.”

         “Thanks a lot for not letting me forget that,” he said with a laugh, heaving a small sofa throw pillow at the grinning woman. In the short time the forensics agents had been at the mansion, Walker had seen Mary, once shy and withdrawn, changed into a self-assured woman. He credited Jack with her metamorphosis. The young couple was rarely apart, and Walker wondered if he might be losing Jack soon to San Francisco. He decided to have a serious talk with Jack to find out if there was a way to bring Mary back here permanently.

         Randall, temporarily admitting defeat in his quest for Samantha’s affection, also recognized the growing attraction between Jack and Mary. “Walker, your place seems to attract criminals. You might even need a forensic specialist on staff here permanently.” As he said this to Walker, Randall almost saw the light bulb go on over Jack’s head.

         “Yeah, I guess I’ll have to discuss this with my idea man. How about it, Jack?” Walker and Randall shared an amused look at the unspoken excitement passing between the couple sitting on the opposite sofa.

         “I’ll get right on it, Boss. An advertisement in the forensic magazines should bring in CVs from hundreds of qualified applicants.” His friends heard him groan at getting a punch in his ribs from a laughing Mary.

         “Make it so.” With those final words from Walker, the conversation turned to other subjects. The rest of the evening passed quickly, and the friends parted company just before midnight.

         Not wanting a repeat of the previous night’s embarrassment, Samantha made sure to leave with the others.

Chapter 110

         The rising sun found Randall bringing the rental car to the front of the mansion. Stacked in the driveway were the suitcases of the three San Franciscans. While he and Jack loaded them into the car’s trunk, Mary and Angela were tearfully saying good-bye to the two sleepy children, all of them standing just inside the mansion’s front room.

         “Next time you can come visit us,” promised Angela, finding it hard to stop hugging Joshua. The little boy, who often complained he was much too old for hugs, smiled bravely at the woman as she finally released him. He turned to Mary, who immediately swept him into another tearful embrace. Meanwhile, Sue Beth was getting her share. Having felt her hugs in the past, the two women were prepared and knew they would miss these embraces when the little girl outgrew them.

         When Randall returned inside, he also had the same thought. After a manly goodbye handshake with Joshua, he picked up the six-year-old girl, hoping he would be around to get one of her hugs at her wedding, many years in the future. Walker and Samantha waited outside and walked with their recent visitors to the car.

         “Be sure to let me know when Belinda’s trial will be,” said Randall, getting in behind the wheel. “We’ll probably have to testify, won’t we?”

         After helping Mary into the back seat and Angela beside Randall in the front, Walker nodded. “Yeah, unless they simply commit her for psychiatric observation. I’ll keep you posted.”

         Just then, Geoffrey came outside, carrying three small boxes tied with red ribbons. “I packed you something to eat on the plane.” He smiled at Mary, knowing how much she appreciated his excellent food. “This one is yours,” he said, as he handed one in through the open car window. “I made a special treat just for you.” With that, he waved at the other two and went back into the mansion, ready to yell at his staff as they prepared breakfast.

         “Well, I guess it’s back to work for us.” Randall turned the ignition key. With one last look back at the small group standing by the mansion’s doorway, the San Franciscans rode slowly away. In the rearview mirror, Randall watched his friends grow smaller and smaller.

         From where she was sitting in the back seat of the car, Mary asked, “Do you think we’ll be coming back?”

         Angela, who was sitting next to Randall, turned around to smile at the other woman. “I think we can count on it, Mary. Don’t you think so?” She aimed her question at the man beside her.

         As the car turned a corner, finally hiding the mansion and its occupants from view, Randall started laughing. “Oh yes, I think we’ll be back. I can’t imagine Walker’s place staying quiet and peaceful for long. There will be mysteries to solve and maybe a body or two. Yes, Mary, we’ll be back.”

         On that note, the car disappeared, leaving behind what promised to be more adventures at Maison du Renard Rouge.

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