Girl in the Glass, The [S.S. Col.] by Ford Jeffrey

Author:Ford, Jeffrey [Ford, Jeffrey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Short Stories
ISBN: 9780061976902
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-13T03:00:00+00:00

TALK TO ME

Isabel and I had to help Antony along for a good part of the journey to the opposite side of the mansion. I got under one arm, she got under the other, and I know he must have been in pain and perhaps dizzy, because there were times when it felt like he was bearing down on us with his full weight. I wanted to know how he felt but didn’t want to ask, as every time he tried to speak it came out as a rasping cough. Eventually, he let go of us, straightened up, and croaked, “Okay.” Still he moved slowly, and we had to wait up for him.

We finally saw light ahead, emanating from the parlor where we’d had our initial meetings with Parks. I called out for Schell as we approached the room. He came to the door, holding the candle, and waved us on. As we entered, he said to me, “Parks is dead.”

“How?” I asked, trying to see into the shadows beyond the bubble of the combined candlelight.

Morgan Shaw appeared behind Schell like a specter of some kind herself, her face and hair aglow. “Horrible,” she said with an anguished expression.

“It looks like someone drove their thumbs into his eyes. His face is a bloody mess; empty eye sockets. There’s nothing we can do here,” said Schell.

Antony sidled past Isabel and me. “Boss,” he said in a harsh whisper, “we’ve gotta scram.”

“Yeah,” said Schell, and then the sound of Antony’s voice registered, and he looked up at the big man’s face. “What the hell happened to you?”

“We ran into the killer,” I said. “I’ll tell you in the car. Let’s go.”

Schell’s gaze remained locked on Antony for a moment as he addressed Isabel. “Listen, the butler and the guard are already dead, are there any others still in the house?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “The other maids live in town. They go home at night.” For the first time since she’d rescued Antony and me, there were tears in her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled, and I put my arm around her.

“Go,” said Schell. Finding our way by the light of the candles, we moved quickly toward the front of the mansion with Isabel leading the way and Antony bringing up the rear.

It was a great relief to finally stand outside in the cool night air where there were no dark corners to conceal murderous things. I took a few deep breaths while waiting for Antony to catch up. When we got to the car, the big man handed the keys to Schell and waited for Morgan, Isabel, and me to squeeze into the backseat. As soon as the Cord was running, Schell put it in gear and took off, driving as fast as he could bear, down the long driveway. We passed the dead guard, lying next to his booth, and two minutes later were out on the road, making for home.

Schell eased off the gas once we had escaped the grounds of the estate.

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