A friend will help you move, but a really good friend will help you move a body. Part Two
"Sir, we got a report that someone was hit on the head and bleeding," Officer Grant said, stepping forward.
"You can come on up and take a look, we are fine," Dave said with a wave of his hand, inviting the officers to climb the stairs. Officer Grant led the way up the stairs toward the bedroom. They looked around and saw everything was in order. There was no trace of blood anywhere in the room.
"Everything looks fine to me," Officer Sampson said.
Dave took the officers aside, "Nancy here is a little, 'unstable' at times. She sees things that aren't there, imagines things. I have a feeling that while I was working out in the garage, she had an episode. Do you know if she mentioned a friend who lives down the block?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, as you can see there's no 'down the block'. Nancy sometimes reverts back to her childhood when she lived in the suburbs of Chicago. The 'friend down the block' comment is a good sign that an episode is happening. She's harmless though when she has one she goes into a catatonic stupor and it all takes place in her head."
"Well, I see that nothing is harmed here, except maybe your shirt," Officer Grant said, pointing to the ripped shirt Dave was wearing with a slight chuckle. "We'll be on our way."
Dave looked down at the torn shirt and missing buttons and chuckled too. "I'll show you out. Thanks for coming by."
Dave showed the officers to the door, as soon as he saw they were in their car and pulling down the drive he shut the door and turned to Nancy, "Why do you want me dead?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me. Dumb doesn't look good on you."
"I don't know." Nancy was frightened. "Where is Michelle?"
"Don't change the subject. What do you mean you don't know?
"I don't know, it was an accident"
"You just, accidentally drugged me and dragged me upstairs, hit me over the head with a marble lamp? Made it look like I attacked you by ripping my shirt? That was all an accident? It just happened? Come on Nancy, you can do better than that."
"You don't need to ask me why I want you dead. You know exactly why. You just want me to say it."
"Well?"
"You are a bastard, you know that?" Dave stood staring at Nancy waiting for an answer.
"You are different Dave. Something has changed."
"Changed? And how exactly have I changed?"
"You're angrier. You didn't used to be this mean. I know it was you who killed Tim."
Dave began to climb the stairs. "Are you still going on about that? That whole thing is over and done with, it's long gone."
"It was three weeks ago, Dave."
"It was an accident Nancy. The police said so."
"Yeah, well, I know how smart the police are in this town." Nancy took a few steps back away from the top of the stairs. "There is no way that Tim's death was an accident."
"He FELL, Nancy. How much more accidental can you get?"
"I heard you yelling. You never used to yell."
Dave circled Nancy, never taking his eyes off her. "I yell a lot. I've always yelled. You just bring out the best in me. You've made me not want to yell."
"Where is Michelle?"
"No changing the subject." Dave stood behind Nancy and leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Why are you so certain I killed him?"
His voice was like ice and she felt like the hand of the grim reaper was holding her heart. Nancy swallowed and held her breath unable to speak.
"ANSWER ME!"
Nancy jumped. "The door to the basement stairs from the kitchen was painted shut. That door has never opened in the past 30 years his family has lived in that house. The only way to access the basement was through the storm cellar doors in the back yard."
"Interesting, and if in the past 30 years his family wasn't able to get that door open, how do you suspect I was able to?"
"That's what I'd like to know," Nancy said as she turned to face him with newfound courage. As Nancy stared defiantly into Dave's eyes she realized the person she was looking at was no longer Dave, her courage began to fade away and terror took it's place.
"Where is Michelle?" Nancy asked again.
"She's safe. That's all you need to know."
"I don't believe you."
"Why do you bother asking me questions when you don't even give my answers a chance?"
"Why don't you just give me a straight answer?"
Dave paused for a moment, thinking things over. "I guess it's about time you joined her, come along." Dave led Nancy over to the attic door, he was tall enough to reach the rope easily and he tugged on it. The door swung down toward them and Dave pulled the ladder down. "After you, my dear."
Nancy looked up into the darkness of the attic and then to Dave. "It's dark up there," she said stalling. She didn't want to go up there if she couldn't see what she was walking into.
"Don't worry, there's a flashlight up at the top of the stairs."
Nancy climbed up into the darkness of the attic with Dave close behind. She felt around at the top of the stairs for the flashlight. Her right hand bumped something solid and heard it roll away from her. "Crap," she muttered under her breath, "there goes the flashlight." She climbed the remaining stairs and moved toward where she felt the flashlight went.
"Don't go too far," Dave said and placed a hand on Nancy's ankle.
"I knocked the flashlight, it rolled away."
Dave released his grip and Nancy crawled around, feeling for the flashlight. Her eyes began to adjust to the low light and she saw the yellow casing just in front of her right hand. She grabbed for it and switched it on. The beam of light hit the wall in front of her and flashed across the room as she turned to face Dave.
"Where is Michelle?" Nancy asked.
"This way," Dave said and waved toward the left of the stairway. He led her to the far back corner of the attic. There, among the forgotten trunks of clothing, boxes of Christmas ornaments and lights was a strange box with flashing lights Nancy hadn't seen before. Dave pushed a couple of buttons on the box and a door slid open. "Get in," he said.
"What is that? I'm not getting in there."
"Shut up, and get in," Dave said tugging on her.
"Stop it!." Nancy said struggling to get away.
Dave pulled her arm hard and dragged her on her knees into the box, the door slid shut and she was alone, she looked around with the flashlight, but the box was as big as a coffin and was made of solid metal. Nancy pounded on the wall that was the door, "David, let me out of here! What is this? What's going on?"
Nancy heard noises and then her vision went fuzzy like a TV not tuned in to a real channel. Everything was quiet and there was a bright light. She squinted and turned away from the source while she waited for her eyes to adjust to the brightness. When she could finally see, she saw she was in a large cage, in a giant room. Her cage appeared to be on a pedestal and even from her sitting position it gave her a decent view of the room there were rows and rows of machines between her cage and the other side of the room. She got the impression she was in a laboratory of some kind.
"Nancy? Is that you?"
"Michelle?" Nancy looked around, "Where are you?"
"Over here, to your right."
Nancy turned to her right and saw Michelle next to her, also in a cage. "Where are we? I don't recognize this place."
"I don't recognize it either, I can't even explain how I got here. One minute I'm climbing into your attic the next, I'm here in this cage and my head is pounding."
"Dave dragged me into some box with lights and buttons that was in the attic. The next thing I knew I was here," Nancy said.
"DAVE? He's alive?"
"Yeah, just as the police arrived and I was heading up the stairs he appeared and was fine. No blood, no dent he was perfectly healthy."
Michelle leaned against the bars of her cell, "But that's impossible."
Nancy moved closer to Michelle, "Yeah, about as impossible as being in my attic one moment and here the next."
"I see your point." Michelle said as she leaned back against the bars of her cell.
There was a flash of light across the room. The girls stood to try and get a better view of what was going on. She could see someone moving between rows of machines. Nancy tried to look up at the ceiling of the room. It looked to be a very high ceiling, and was made of wood, like a barn. She could hear the scuffling of footsteps coming closer.
"Well, well, well! There are my girls." It was Dave. "I suspect you're both comfortable." He tugged at the doors to each of their cages and seemed satisfied they were secure.
"Where are we?" Michelle asked at the same time Nancy asked. "What do you want with us?"
"So many questions, so few answers." Dave walked away from them.
"Come back here!" Nancy shouted.
Dave turned and looked at her. There was a look in his eye that turned Nancy's heart to ice. "How dare you give me orders. You will be dealt with in due time." He walked away.
Nancy walked over to the door that David tugged on. There was a keyhole and a handle on the outside. She looked around her cell and saw the flashlight on the floor. She walked over to it and sat down and carefully took it apart.
"What are you doing?" Michelle asked.
"I'm trying to see if there is anything in this flashlight I can use to pick the lock on the cage."
"Have you ever picked a lock before?" Michelle asked.
"No."
"Then how do you know if there is anything in the flashlight you could use to pick the lock? You're just going to ruin the flashlight."
"What's it to you? It's my flashlight. I'm not going to sit here and wait to find out David's diabolical plan."
"I'm sorry, I just...I don't know. I feel like I've been in here forever. I'm not thinking clearly."
There was a rustling noise from behind them, both girls snapped around at the sound. There wasn't much room between their cages and the back wall. There was about ten feet of space with much clutter of piled up cardboard boxes and garbage bags. Nancy scanned the clutter looking for the source of the rustling. Finally she saw an opened door and a man dragging the clutter outside. The man looked strangely familiar. She looked at Michelle to see if she saw him too.
Michelle nodded and then she motioned for Nancy to move closer. When Nancy was on the wall of bars closest to Michelle, she whispered, "Is that Old Man Franklin?"
Nancy looked again at the man and she finally recognized him, "Yeah, it is."
TO BE CONTINUED..



(c)2002 Piratealice