Scene Of The Crime: Means And Motive. Carla Cassidy
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might be the only fun you’ll have while you’re here,” Gabriel said to Jordon as he pulled his wallet from his pocket.
He paid for their admission and Jordon swallowed against the faint simmer of alarm that attempted to grip her. It’s just a silly tourist attraction, she told herself. She went through the turnstile with Gabriel just behind her. Don’t freak out. Mirrors can’t hurt you.
A dark corridor led into the maze, where she stepped into a space with five reflections of herself staring back at her. Gabriel was right behind her, a calming presence as the back of her throat threatened to close up.
“This way,” he said and led her into a corridor of mirrors to the right.
“Have you been in here before?” she asked.
“No, it’s my first time, too.” They both jumped as one of the mirrors lit up and displayed an image of the demented mouse and a loud, wicked cackle sounded from overhead.
“If I find you, Mouse, I’ll tie your tail into knots,” Jordon said as the mirror returned to normal.
“Come on. Let’s find our way out of here.”
She followed Gabriel’s lead through the disorienting corridors as she fought against dark flashbacks. The scars on her hip burned and the phantom scent of cigarette smoke and sizzling flesh filled her nose.
Mouse suddenly appeared behind another mirror. “Beware. If you aren’t fast enough I’ll pull you into my mouse hole and nobody will ever find you again,” a deep voice whispered over the speaker.
Jordon stared at the fat mouse with the oversize teeth and she was back in the cellar clad only in her bra and panties, her arms above her head with her wrists in shackles connected to chains that hung from the low ceiling.
Nobody will ever find you here. You’re mine to play with until I get tired of you. Ralph Hicks’s voice exploded in her head. I’m going to take my time and have lots of fun with you, and you get to watch.
She closed her eyes to dispel the memory and when she opened them again Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. She was alone...with the mirrors, and a deep, gripping panic froze her in place.
Help! Somebody please help me. The pleas filled her head. Don’t let him burn me again. Don’t let him do all the things to me that he did to the other women. I don’t want to die this way. Please help me!
“Gabriel?” His name croaked out of the back of her throat, which had become far too narrow. “Gabriel!” This time the cry was a half scream.
“I’m right here.” He appeared next to her.
She grabbed on to his hand and forced a bright smile. “Whew, I thought you were lost.” She hoped her voice betrayed none of the sheer panic that had momentarily suffused her.
“I think I found the exit—follow me.”
She dropped his hand and practically walked in the backs of his shoes and cracked several bad jokes in an effort to relieve her own tension. After several twists and turns and more warnings from the mouse, they found the door that led outside.
“That was sort of lame,” she said as they walked toward his car.
“From what I’ve heard, this is a really popular attraction among the teenagers in town. And as Kevin said, Jason and Hannah and their friends enjoy it.”
“Probably because the girls scream and clutch on to the nearest testosterone-filled boy,” she replied drily.
He smiled. “You want to get some dinner before I take you back to your room?”
Knots of tension twisted in her stomach and the taste of panic still filled the back of her throat. “I’m really not that hungry right now. Maybe you could just stop someplace and I’ll grab a sandwich to take back to the room for later. I can put it in the mini-fridge until I’m ready to eat.”
“There’s a sub place not far from here—we can stop there.”
They got into the car and Jordon was more than grateful to leave Mouse’s Maze of Mirrors behind. She hated her own weakness. She hated that she still felt a bit shaky and dark memories clutched at her heart and invaded her brain.
The last thing she wanted was for Gabriel to sense any weakness in her. “So, what’s on the agenda for tomorrow? A roller-coaster ride through a cave? A tour through Ripley’s Believe It or Not?” She forced a flippant tone in her voice, determined not to let the memories pull her down.
“Nothing quite so grand. We need to chase down all the men Kevin said he was with Sunday night and confirm his alibi.”
“Even if his alibi is confirmed until around midnight, that doesn’t clear him for the murder, which took place much later than that,” she replied.
“True, but in order to make a solid record, we need to corroborate everything.” He pulled into the parking lot of a small place called Subs and Such.
“I’ll just run in and grab something,” she said. “You want anything?”
“Nah, I’m good. I’ve got some leftover meat loaf waiting for me at home.”
It took her only minutes to get a submarine sandwich, several bags of chips and peanuts and then return to the car. All she wanted now was a long soak in the tub and time to put the mirrors and her memories behind her.
She might not have been woman enough to make her marriage work and she might not have been the daughter her parents wanted her to be, but she was one hell of an FBI agent. That was all she needed to be.
“Do you want me to drive into the station tomorrow morning or are you planning on picking me up?” she asked once they were back in the Diamond Cove parking lot.
“Why don’t I come here around seven in the morning to get you? That way I can start the day with one of Joan’s breakfasts.”
“Sounds good to me.” She gathered her purse and the white bag holding her sandwich and snacks. “Then I’ll see you in the dining room at seven in the morning.”
She gladly escaped the car and stepped into the cold night. She just needed a little time to get herself centered again. The little foray through the maze of mirrors had definitely shaken her up more than she’d expected.
She carried both her purse and her bag of food in her left hand, leaving her right hand to rest on the butt of her gun as she made her way down the path toward her cabin.
The night was once again silent around her and smelled of the clean evergreen that reminded her of Gabriel’s attractive woodsy cologne.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached her door. She stepped into the warmth of the room and noticed a folded white piece of paper that had apparently been slid beneath the door at some point while she’d been gone.
It was probably something from Joan and Ted, perhaps concerning breakfast the next morning.
She dropped her purse and the sandwich bag on the coffee table and then picked up the paper. She unfolded it and a sizzle of adrenaline whipped through her as she read the message written in red block letters.
U R Next.
For the first time in months Gabriel’s thoughts weren’t filled with mayhem and murder. Instead they were filled with a woman who smelled like spring and had almost had a panic attack in a tourist attraction meant to be fun.
She’d played it off well, but he’d picked up on the signs of her distress while they’d gone through the maze. Although she’d made a few jokes, her voice had been slightly higher in pitch and with a hint of breathlessness. When she’d grabbed his hand hers had been icy cold and had trembled. What had caused her such distress?
She