Gift of Fire (Gift #2)

Gift of Fire (Gift #2) Page 70

"Had to." A twisted craftiness appeared in Slade's eyes. "I got scared. There was so much blood. Knew I had to get out of there, so I ran back to my room to pack my things and get out. Then I realized I could just hide the body in the tunnel—no one would ever know. I went back down to the torture chamber but I was too late. The light was on and I knew someone had found her. Verity was in there. I saw her when I dumped Maggie's body in the tunnel. She must have run in there to hide when she heard me coming."

Jonas froze. He swung around, his eyes threatening violence. " What have you done with Verity?"

Spencer peered at him, blinking rain out of his eyes. An insane intelligence blazed in his eyes. He grinned slowly. "I left her in the tunnel with the old bitch, naturally. You don't know about the tunnel, do you?

That was Hazelhurst's big secret. Verity's in there now and you'll never find her. No one will ever find any of them. But that's the best way, you see. There's no proof. As long as all of them are buried in that tunnel, there's no proof."

"Did you hurt Verity or just leave her in the tunnel?" Jonas's hands tightened around Spencer's neck. His fury and despair made him oblivious to everything except finding the truth in Spencer's mad eyes.

"Answer me, you crazy bastard. What did you do to Verity?"

"You'll never find her or Frampton's body. Just like no one ever found Hazelhurst. I'll bet Verity thought she was hiding from me when she ran in there. She thought she'd be safe in that tunnel. But now she's locked in there forever. No proof. No proof." Spencer started to giggle. Then he looked frightened. "My pills. It's time for my pills."

"You don't get your pills until you tell me if you hurt Verity." Jonas tried to keep his voice calm; tried to remind himself that he was dealing with a certifiable lunatic.

Spencer looked mildly surprised. "I didn't hurt her. I didn't have to. I told you, she can't get out. Stupid woman ran right into the tunnel. She'll never find her way out. It took Hazelhurst months to learn how to operate the tunnel doors. Even if she finds the lock, it won't work. I jammed the mechanism on the outside. The only witness, you see. She's the only witness, the only one who saw me put Maggie's body into the tunnel."

Jonas thought of Verity lost in the endless darkness of the hidden corridor. If she couldn't get out through the torture-chamber door, she would have to find her way back to the bedroom entrance. And he'd never explained to her how to operate the door mechanism. She would be shivering in abject terror there in the endless blackness of the tunnel, searching for the secret to unlocking the door.

Jonas looked deep into Slade Spencer's insane eyes. He wasn't going to learn anything else from this bastard. He slammed his fist into Spencer's jaw, and the man dropped to the ground without so much as a gasp. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Jonas left Spencer lying in the mud and ran for the villa. The wind howled through the trees. Branches snapped at him and the rain was a sheet of ice.

He burst through the front door of the silent villa and took the stairs to the second floor in great, hungry strides. Then he was racing down the hall to the bedroom.

Jonas pounded into the bedroom. The tunnel door was closed. He struggled furiously with the mechanism behind the tapestry and watched the stone door swing ponderously inward. It seemed to take forever.

A quick glance through the widening crack showed no sign of Verity. Either she had not been able to find her way back to the bedroom, or she was still trying desperately to open the door at the other end of the tunnel.

Jonas stepped through the opening as soon as there was room. He shone the flashlight quickly to the right. Verity wasn't anywhere in sight.

A rattle of bones and a scraping sound from behind the tunnel door made him whip around in a dangerous crouch. The flashlight beam illuminated the face of his beloved.

Verity emerged from behind the door with a stark, savagely determined expression. Her eyes were strangely unfocused. Her arms were raised above her head, her hands clutched around the hilt of the stiletto that had been buried in Digby Hazelhurst. Digby's bones rattled at her feet.

Jonas stepped hastily out of reach and held up both hands. "Easy, honey. I'm a reasonable man. You want to delay the wedding a couple of weeks while you buy a fancy dress? We'll delay the wedding, no problem."

" Jonas!" Verity dropped the stiletto. It clattered on the stones as she flung herself against his chest. "It's about time you got here."

"Always nice to feel appreciated." Jonas wrapped his arms around her and held her so tightly he was afraid she would break. But all she did was give a small squeak. "Jesus, honey, I was scared. But I should have known I wouldn't find you huddled shivering in terror. Did anyone ever tell you that you do a nice impression of Lady Macbeth?"

"You were scared! You want to compare notes? I've never been so frightened in my life. And I couldn't see who was coming into the tunnel a minute ago. It's so dark in here that I was blinded when you opened the door. I thought it might be Slade." Verity lifted her head, her eyes wide. She was blinking rapidly. "Jonas, Spencer's nearly killed Maggie. She's at the other end of the tunnel, unconscious and bleeding. We've got to get her out. Then we've got to do something about Slade."

"I've already taken care of Spencer. I found him making a try for the boat. He panicked, thinking he'd killed Maggie and sealed both of you in the runnel. I gather he lost what was left of his nerve at that point and decided it was time to vacate the premises. I don't know how far he thought he was going to get in this storm."

"But where is he? What did you do with him?"

"He's tied up outside. Come on, let's get out of here. I'm sure you've had enough of this tunnel to last you a lifetime."

"We'll have to get Maggie out. We can't just leave her there."

"I'll take care of it," Jonas said gently. He urged Verity out into the bedroom. She was shaky but in control of herself. That was the thing about tyrants, he told himself with pride. They were tough. Then he saw her looking down at something she had just pulled out of her pocket. "What have you got there?"

Wordlessly she opened her palm and displayed an egg-shaped piece of green crystal.

Jonas took a step closer, awed by the realization of what she had found. "Where the hell did you get that?" he asked softly.

"It's Maggie's. She had it on that chain she always wore around her neck. Digby must have given it to her. I found it when I checked her throat for a pulse. I must have grabbed it when I heard Spencer returning. Funny, I didn't even realize… " She looked up at him, her aquamarine eyes questioning. "It's the right one, Jonas. It's the crystal you've been looking for, the one you think will unlock the vision."