A Broth of Betrayal (A Soup Lover's Mystery) by Archer Connie

Author:Archer, Connie [Archer, Connie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2013-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

THE SMALL AMOUNT of light filtering through the cellar window was fading. Elizabeth felt she was losing all sense of time and day. It was afternoon, but why wasn’t it brighter outside? Was a summer storm on the way? How many days had elapsed since she’d been locked in? She should have been doing her best to mark the days. Anything that would offer a sense of order was important. She thought she had been locked in this room for five days, and now it seemed this fifth day was ending. If she didn’t have someone to talk to, she’d lose her mind. With the chair in pieces, reaching the window was impossible. Unless she was strong enough to tear the toilet from its mounting, there was absolutely nothing to stand on to reach that one window. The only possibility of escape was to get Maggie to open the door and force her way out.

She lay on the sleeping bag willing herself not to scream in frustration. Perhaps if she left the food untouched for a day or so, Maggie would become concerned, open the door and enter the room. She had once not returned a dirty plate to the opening at the bottom of the door to see if Maggie might unlock it. Maggie had only slipped a fresh plate of vegetables under the door later that day. But what if she could hold out and lie on the floor as if unconscious or dead. Would Maggie be fooled into coming closer? It was a thought. If only she could last without any food. It was the one plan she could think of. If it worked she’d be able to overpower Maggie and escape.

She heard a heavy footstep above her. It couldn’t be Maggie. Maggie was quiet and light on her feet, afraid to disturb anything around her. Elizabeth lay quite still in the fading light. Had the dark enhanced her hearing? Someone else must be in the house. Someone was with Maggie. A voice that was low but deeper. She couldn’t hear a response from Maggie, but it sounded as if a two-way conversation were taking place on the floor above her. She didn’t care if there really was someone Maggie feared. She had to escape. She had to get help.

Elizabeth struggled to her feet. She was stiff from lack of activity. She grabbed a shoe and rushed to the washroom. With all her strength, she began to bang on the pipes that ran up the wall to the ceiling. The clanging sound echoed through the walls. She shouted for help. If someone else was there, they would hear and come down to the cellar to investigate. She screamed and banged for what felt like an hour and finally, exhausted, stopped to catch her breath.

It was completely quiet above her. Had it been only her imagination? Was Maggie alone? Was it merely a voice on the radio? She dropped the shoe and sank to her knees, sobbing.

*

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