“I think Dirk and his gun are scarier than anything that would be in here.” She continued to scoot along inside the cave. “I used to play in here as a kid. There are other exits. If we keep moving, we’ll find them. And bears don’t hibernate this time of year. Foxes are scared of us. The worst it could be is bats.” She shuddered but kept inching along the wall.

  The pair edged slowly into the cave’s cooler interior.

  Cassidy’s foot bumped into something. She tripped and fell forward, almost pulling Beau with her. Something soft and warm broke her fall. Whatever she landed on started to groan. It can’t be a bear. Relax and don’t be silly. That groan sounds almost human. She jumped up to get away from whatever moved. Catching her breath, she checked her hands and knees for injuries. No pain in her arms or legs.

  “What happened?” Beau’s baritone voice boomed in the cave. “Is everything okay? Cassidy, what happened?”

  “Uhhh… Help me.” A weak, but somewhat familiar voice came from the direction where she’d fallen. “He tried to kill me. Get away from him. He’ll try to kill you, too. He wants it all. You have to get away from him before it’s too late.”

  “Karl, is that you?” Beau asked. “It’s me and Cassidy. Dirk was chasing us in the woods. We’re hoping we lost him. We’ve got to find a place to hide. He’s coming for us. He has a gun.”

  “Huh. You gotta get away. What? Beau? Not Dirk…my head hurts…and I dropped my phone. It’s got to be somewhere around here.” Karl’s voice faded in the darkness.

  “Stay still. We’ll get help for you.” Cassidy dropped to her hands and knees. “Beau, help me find his phone.”

  The two of them felt around in the darkness of the cave. She tried not to think too much about what she was crawling around on and all the little critters that could be waiting to bite her fingers. “Beau, head to the other side and work your way back. When he dropped the phone, it may have skidded further back. We’ve got to find it before Dirk figures out where we are. This is a relatively small space. We can find it.”

  Their painstaking search stretched on unbearably long for Cassidy’s already frayed nerves. How long has Dirk been gone? If he can’t find us in the woods, he’ll know we ran into the cave. It’s a matter of time before he figures it out. We’ve got to get out of here and get help. But what did Karl say about Dirk? Is he confused in his addled state? We’ve got to find that phone, our only link to help. It’s here somewhere. I hope it still works.

  Cassidy tried to calm the butterflies flapping around in her stomach and focus on her search. Slow and steady. Keep going. We’ve got to find that phone. If we try to run out of the front of the cave with an injured guy, we’ll be targets. The phone will help us find the other exits and contact help. She pushed forward. “The phone couldn’t have bounced far. We’re going to find it. Karl, hang on. We’ll get you out of here.”

  Karl groaned again. “I can’t believe he’d turn on us all… squabbled and fought over the years…he stole from us… took what was ours… Johnny figured it out.”

  “Karl, be still,” Beau ordered. “Save your strength.”

  The bass player moaned again and rustled. “Cassidy… got to get away from him… now.”

  Karl’s voice came from Cassidy’s left.

  Still on target. I’m so afraid of getting turned around in here. The darkness and the echoes make it so disorienting. Take a deep breath, girl. You can do this. That phone is around here somewhere.

  Cassidy’s foot bumped against something that didn’t feel like a rock. It skittered across the floor. She scrambled to see what it was. If it was his phone, she prayed she hadn’t jut broken it.

  Feeling around with both hands, she landed on something that was not rock nor dirt. The coldness of the plastic and glass felt like a million dollars. She touched the screen, and the light illuminated the space like a beacon of hope. “I found it! Karl, what’s your password?”

  “5-2-7-5. It spells Karl.” His voice was weaker than minutes before.

  There were no bars on the screen. They were too deep in the cave to make a call. Crossing her fingers, she racked her brain for the sheriff’s number. Remembering Deputy Turner’s, she banged out a quick text and said a silent prayer when the “delivered” note appeared under it.

  “Here, give me that.” Beau reached for the phone.

  “There’s no service here. Help me with Karl. We need to head that way and then through the tunnel. There are exits on the other side of the garden. I’ll use the phone as a flashlight, but I need you to help me keep Karl on his feet. We’ve got to get out of here before Dirk finds us.”

  “We should go for help and come back and get him. He’ll be okay. Come on. We need to get out of here.” Beau grabbed her arm. She tightened her grip on the phone.

  Karl moaned again. “Don’t leave.… He’ll come back and kill me, or he’ll leave me here to die. You shouldn’t be out there with him…try to kill you too…can’t trust him.” Karl gasped and collapsed onto the stone floor.

  “We need to take him with us. Grab him on one side. I’ll take the other.” Cassidy tried to hoist Karl to a standing position, but he was too heavy for her to lift and hold the light at the same time.

  Beau reached over and pulled the bass player to his feet. “Man, Karl. You’ve gained weight. I’m struggling here. Come on, help me a little. Work with me.”

  “Everything hurts, and I’m dizzy,” Karl whined. “I want to go to sleep. Leave me alone. I’m going to die here anyway. You said so yourself.”

  What did Karl just say?

  They raised Karl up. He made a feeble attempt to hold on to their shoulders. Cassidy grabbed his waist with one hand and pointed the phone’s flashlight to shine in front of them. “Come on. There are tunnels back here. Both lead out to the other side. We can find a way to escape and call for help.”

  “Let’s go before Dirk realizes we’re in here. This may give us a chance.” Beau pulled Karl forward. “He won’t know about the other exits.”

  Several yards ahead, tunnels forked off in a Y shape. “Which one?” Beau asked.

  Cassidy squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, reaching back into her memory of this place. It had been a long time since she’d been here. She and her grandfather used to explore the area when she was younger, looking for relics from cavers from days gone by. They had found cans and discarded camping equipment. One of the walls had some graffiti on it dating back to the 1920s. She always wondered who the other visitors were. Family lore told of a relative’s bootlegging operation here during Prohibition. It was the perfect place to hide the illegal hooch. The underground climate was the right temperature for storage, and it was out of the way of prying eyes.

  Cassidy shook off the memories. “The right one. If I remember correctly, the opening is bigger, like a door, and we don’t have to climb up and out of the exit. It’ll be easier for Karl.”

  Karl moaned more as they moved through the tunnel. The roofline sloped upward slightly, and the walls narrowed. The three barely fit standing shoulder to shoulder.

  The walls seemed to close in on them. The floor sloped uphill, and light streamed in from an opening ahead. Cassidy blinked several times for her eyes to adjust to the brightness ahead of them.

  “We made it.” Beau let out a small puff of air. “We’re safe.”

  Cassidy and Beau dragged Karl the remaining few feet to the opening. Outside, they helped the injured man to a seated position on a large rock near an oak tree. He moaned and leaned forward, grasping his head. “We’ve got to get away from him now before it’s too late.” He moaned again. “I’m gonna be sick.”

  “Take some deep breaths. We’ll get help for you soon.” Cassidy tapped on Karl’s phone.

  “Hey, wait. Y’all be quiet. I hear something.” Beau stood on a nearby rock and scanned the wooded area. “I definitely heard something. Maybe we need to go back inside the tunnel. What if it’s Dirk? We need to be quiet,” he whispered.

  She tapped out 9-1-1 on the cracked phone screen. The call connected quickly. “This is Cassidy Jamison over at Celebrations on Ivy Ridge Road. We’ve got an injured person here on the back of the property near the cave and the gardens. It’s Karl Schultz. Also, there’s someone after us. He has a gun. Please send someone fast. And make sure to let Sheriff Howell know. The victim is related to his murder investigations. Please hurry.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Beau took a menacing step toward Cassidy. He balled both hands into fists and stepped closer to her.

  Her face must have registered shock at his outburst because even Karl paused his groaning to stare at the pair. “I was letting the ambulance know about Karl. He needs help now.”

  Beau’s friendly features melted into a menacing sneer. Beau took another step closer, then another until they were mere inches apart.

  “Ma’am? Cassidy? Who is with you? Are you all okay? Police and rescue are on the way. Please let me know you’re there and safe. Cassidy? Cassidy?” The dispatcher’s voice became more frantic.

  Beau and Dirk. Beau and Dirk. What was Karl trying to tell me? An icy chill rocketed through Cassidy when the realization hit her. Dirk wasn’t chasing them to kill them. He was trying to help. Random facts started fitting together. The giant puzzle was slowly coming into focus. The murderer was here in plain sight all along.

  Money. It all revolves around money.

  Before Cassidy could react, Dirk crashed through the underbrush and skidded to a stop between Beau and Cassidy.

  “Run. He’s got a gun!” Beau yelled as Karl let out a noise that sounded like a wounded animal.

  Dirk kept one hand in his jacket pocket. “I found you. You can’t hide. You’re going to pay for what you did,” he hissed.

  SATURDAY

  “I can’t believe what you did,” Dirk sneered. “I’m not letting you get away with this.”

  “What are you talking about? It’s you who’s going down for all of this.” Beau stepped closer to Cassidy’s side.

  Karl looked up, his face lined with confusion. “But you’re the one…”

  “Shut up. All of you,” Beau growled. “And put your hands where I can see them. I’ve had enough. I am done with you all.”

  Dirk slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket and put both palms upward. “This is far from over. You have my word on it. You won’t get away with this. You may run, but you will pay for what you did.”

  Thoughts zoomed through Cassidy’s mind. Those puzzle pieces were clicking into place almost faster than she could process. It wasn’t Dirk after all. Beau was the one cheating them. Johnny had to be neutralized when he found out about their manager’s deeds. Beads of sweat popped on her forehead, and her hands quaked slightly. Remembering the phone, she hid it behind her and kept the line open. She could hear the dispatcher faintly calling her name.

  “Beau, Dirk, Karl, what is going on here?” Cassidy spoke loudly, trying to provide information to the dispatcher. “Karl is hurt. I can see that. But the rest of us can help him back to the office. It’s a long hike to the maintenance road, but we can make it back if all three of us pitch in and help Karl get away from this cave.”

  Beau’s and Dirk’s heads jerked toward Cassidy at about the same time they realized someone was still on the line.

  “Tsk. Tsk. Too bad for all of you. No more stalling. And we’re not going back. All of you inside the cave. Now.” Beau shoved Dirk. “And give me that phone before someone gets hurt.”

  Karl, Dirk, and Cassidy stared at the manager whose wild hair and beet-red face gave him a crazed look, so unlike the normally polished, fast-talking, perfectly styled professional they knew.

  “Enough, I said.” Beau pulled out a gun from his belt and waved it around. “You all have been too busy messing around in my business. And lucky for me, I have you all in one place. I can take care of this before anyone gets here. Now turn around and march. Back inside the cave. And give me that phone.” He lunged for Cassidy.

  Not wanting Beau to grab the phone, she threw it as hard as she could inside the cave. The phone crashed into the wall and made a cracking sound as it bounced on the rocky floor.

  “That was stupid. But at least nobody will be using it now. All of you get a move on. Inside. Now.” With his finger on the trigger, Beau waved the gun around. “I’m tired of playing with you all. I have things to do. You’re wasting my time.”

  “What about me?” Karl tried to stand, but he toppled over in the dirt.

  Cassidy turned to help him, but Beau pointed the gun in her direction. “Leave him for now. He’s not going anywhere. I’ll take care of the two of you and get him later.”

  “Beau, you’ve been cheating us for years, but this scheme was low even for you. And Johnny found out, didn’t he? And you killed him.” Dirk shook with fear or rage, or perhaps both. “Despicable.”

  “Yeah, why? What were you thinking?” Karl looked around, his eyes wide and his gaze unfocused. At the very least, the poor man had a concussion. “Why, man? What did he ever do to you, except make you rich? We were your gravy train for a long time.” Karl slumped back. “We’re all going to die here like Johnny.” He whimpered, reminding Cassidy of Elvis when his favorite toy got caught behind the sofa and he couldn’t reach it.

  Beau swung the gun around and stepped closer to Karl. “He, like the rest of you, never appreciated anything I’ve ever done for you. I have given up my life and my family to be at your beck and call for almost forty years. And not once were any of you grateful for the opportunities or everything I did. I made you what you are. And Johnny was going to toss it all away. I spent countless hours getting you out of jams and keeping your stupid antics out of the paper. And for what? By the time you added up all the hours, I was working for less than minimum wage and losing way too much sleep. This job and all of you destroyed my life and my health. It was time to take care of me. And I’ll be set to enjoy the rest of my time on earth without even thinking of you ever again.”

  “But why kill Johnny?” Dirk shook his head. “We were getting ready to go in the studio for another album.”

  “The writing was on the wall.” Beau waved the gun around carelessly. “Johnny was tired of traveling and performing. He wanted out. There was no new album. He was done.”

  “But you said you had had enough. If it was over, you should have let us go. We all would have still had the royalties,” Karl whined.

  Dirk glared at Beau. “Not us. Just Beau. He made sure of that by killing Johnny.”

  “It was an accident.” Beau lowered his voice. “We were arguing, and things just got out of hand. It was all a big mistake, but it turned out for the best. Your albums have been selling like gangbusters since it happened.” A weird grin crossed the manager’s face.

  “But that wasn’t the whole story,” Cassidy interjected. “Johnny found out you were skimming and rerouting the band’s royalties. You were telling them their sales were down, but actually pocketing the money.”

  Beau ran his empty hand through his silvery hair and glared at Cassidy. “It worked for a long time. And then people started sticking their noses in my business and asking stupid questions.”

  “Yep, we’re those meddling kids.” Dirk sneered. “We trusted you. You were part of our family. And this is how you treat us? I am going to be in the front row every day of your trial. The band’s going to do every interview, blog, and podcast we can find, so everyone knows the truth about you and what you did.”

  “There won’t be a trial. They’re going to find your bodies in the cave in a week or so, and I’m going to do a teary press conference about how Karl was hopped up on drugs. It’ll be something like a robbery gone bad. When he realized what he had done, he took his own life. You said yourself he’d been acting weird lately. Easy.” Beau shrugged his shoulders. “I may even help all the volunteers look for you all.” His crooked smile made Cassidy shiver.

  “I’m not killing anyone,” Karl growled, and then pushed himself off the ground where he’d fallen. “You can’t pin this on me. Not cool.” Karl lunged but fell forward into the leaves and dirt.

  Cassidy moved over to help him, but Beau waved the gun at her again. “Leave him there. He deserves to sit and think about all the things he’s done that got him in this jam. And now there’s no one to bail him out.”

  Cassidy took a couple of steps backward, trying to get as far away from Beau and his gun as she could.

  “Wait, Karl. I’ll take care of it for you,” Beau interrupted Karl’s litany of groans. “Like I always do. Think of this as the last hurrah. You stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes to fix everything. Now don’t go anywhere while I’m gone. Relax. It’ll all be over soon.”

  Adrenaline surged through Cassidy. She had to do something fast. The police were nowhere in sight. They could not go back in the cave with Beau. That would be the end. They had to stay out here and stall until help arrived.

  She took a deep breath. Karl still lay prone in the dirt, so she attempted to catch Dirk’s eye by tipping her head slightly, but she wasn’t sure he understood that she was trying to signal him.

  It’s now or never, girl. Go for it. And hope Dirk backs you up. You have to try something.

  Cassidy let out a wail and lunged for Beau, causing him to lower the gun to try to catch his balance when all 110 pounds of her slammed into him. Dirk followed suit and piled on like a linebacker trying to get a loose ball. He landed on Beau, who knocked Cassidy over. As the two men scrapped in the dirt, Cassidy crawled out from the melee and scrabbled for the gun.

  Grabbing the cold metal of the gun, she trained it on the tumbleweed of arms and legs. As their wrestling match continued, she darted into the cave and searched for the phone. Maybe, against all odds, it was still working.

  After what seemed like an eternity of searching, she found the phone and hurried back out to survey the damage.

 

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