Chapter Four. At three o'clock in the afternoon, it started getting very dark and windy and the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees

At three o'clock in the afternoon, it started getting very dark and windy and the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees.

"It's getting a little chilly. Why don't we go in the other room and light a fire?" Maggie suggested.

"Need a hand?" I held out my hand and helped her up.

As we walked through the foyer, I looked out the window to see Chance snooping around the front yard. Maggie saw her too.

"Why don't you get her? I'm sure the poor thing is cold. Bring her in by the fire," she offered.

I opened the door and whistled. Chance looked up, saw me and started racing for the door. She was dirty around her snout so I knew she'd been digging at something. She came to the door and sat staring up at me.

I wagged my finger and tried my best role playing of mistress and canine. "Man, you better behave yourself or I'll put you right in the car."

Then I remembered I had no car in which to put her. So much for my threat. Chance followed me down the hall as I went in the direction Maggie had gone with her cane. I stood in a massive doorway and looked into an expansive room. The opposite wall had two big French doors, which led out onto a huge deck and the surrounding woods. A couch right in front of the fireplace and two overstuffed chairs to the left, separated by a table, gave the room a cozy, comfortable feeling.

Maggie stood by the fireplace struggling to get the wood. As she awkwardly gathered the wood, it was obvious her ankle was causing her pain. I thought I would offer my expertise. "Why don't you let me do that? I love playing with fire."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Maggie replied as she stood back.

In minutes, I had a roaring fire going. Fires were one of my specialties, and even I had to admire it. I turned to see my dog on Maggie's lap, sleeping.

Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder. Chance yapped and jumped off Maggie's lap and scooted under the coffee table.

"What a coward," I said shaking my head as I sat next to Maggie on the couch.

"Leave that poor dog alone," Maggie scolded and I turned to face her.

I was going to argue with her but was tired of quarreling. Besides, she looked exhausted.

"It's been a long day, hasn't it?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, and interesting," she answered. "While you were in the kitchen with Doc, Aunt Hannah told me your father was a detective. Are you following in his footsteps?"

"He wanted me to join the force. He came from a long line of policemen and firemen. Seems the thing to be if you're Irish and from Chicago. He could see I had a flair for it, but it wasn't for me. I think he was a little disappointed, although he never let on. I did, however, try my hand at being a private investigator for a few years." I stared at the fire, visions of that night flashing through my mind... the dark cellar, Bob covered in blood, someone screaming in pain. A cold shiver ran through me now when I remembered I was the one screaming. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't catch Maggie's question. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked what became of your business." She watched me as if I were nuts.

"Oh, the fun went out of it." What a lame reason, I thought to myself. Looking at her, I could tell she knew I wasn't telling the truth. How in the world could I tell anyone? Dammit, why did she have to ask me? I'm fine when I don't think about it.

" Not talking or thinking about this will not make it go away. You have to face your demons, Kate," the hospital psychiatrist said, calmly.

"Don't patronize me! You don't think I know that?" I yelled and slammed my fist on her desk.

All at once, my heart started pounding in my chest and the claustrophobic feeling started. Don't start this again, I begged the gods above. But they didn't seem to hold me in very high regard these days. Beads of perspiration broke out on my brow and I hastily wiped them away and walked over to the fire. Maggie said nothing but I was sure she noticed the change. How could she not? I took a deep breath and turned back to her. She was sitting watching me and smiling slightly.

"I suppose I can't get away from my insatiable curiosity," I tried to explain. "I shouldn't be surprised when I find myself in this type of situation. I'm only following my instincts."

"And they led you here," she said quietly.

I smiled slightly and said, "I think so." We were silent for a moment.

"I'm glad they did. So, how long have you known Jan and Barb?"

"I've known Jan for almost eighteen years. We went to college together and became fast friends. She's a card. I met Barb after she started seeing Jan about two years ago. So, how long have you known them?"

"It's the opposite. I've known Barb for ten years. She was a nurse at Cook County. Thank God, she got out of that place."

"Ten years, did you meet her in grammar school?"

"Grammar school?" she asked frowning. "Say, what is it with you? First, it's 'my age' and now this. Do you have an age fetish? How old do you think I am?" she asked. I heard the anger rising. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know."

"Can we drop this? I'm sorry," I said quickly. This kind of conversation could cause nothing but trouble.

"So what else did Aunt Hannah and you discuss?"

"Nothing. Is there more?" I asked.

"N-no," she hesitated. "It's nothing."

"Why don't you tell me and then we can decide if it's nothing?" I asked.

She looked into the fire. I waited silently, hoping she'd open up.

"Margaret, if you don't tell her I will!" Hannah exclaimed as she leaned in between us.

I nearly jumped off the couch. As soon as my heart rate returned to normal, Hannah repeated herself.

"Margaret!"

"All right," Maggie started. "About two months ago..."

"Someone tried to kill her," Hannah blurted out.

My eyes widened as I stared in amazement.

Maggie tensed and said, through clenched teeth, "No one tried to kill me. It was an accident."

"Wait a minute..." I said.

"Good heavens, someone in the stable hit you from behind...knocked you out cold...and that's not attempted murder?" Hannah asked.

"Hold on, when..." I started.

"Christ, Aunt Hannah, this is precisely why I didn't want anyone to know. Christ!" Maggie said. I noticed her hands beginning to shake.

"Well pardon me for caring." Hannah turned to me. "We went to the police, and they were absolutely no help. They investigated but found nothing. Well, of course they found nothing. Whoever did it is a murderer, not an idiot!"

But before I could even open my mouth...

"And what about the woods?" Hannah asked. "Don't even tell me someone wasn't following you. Whoever it was scared you senseless on more than one occasion."

"Okay, ladies, if we could..." I always wanted to be invisible.

"Aunt Hannah, could we please stop this? I know what happened. I know you care and I know you're scared. Well, so am I dammit, and I don't know why it's happening or what to do!" She was on the verge of hysteria. "So please, can we stop this? I feel like I'm going insane." She laid her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

Hannah sat on the arm of the couch and held her. "I am sorry, sweetie," she whispered, stroking Maggie's hair.

Maggie cried softy for a minute then looked up at her.

Her aunt reached down, dried her tears with the back of her hand and kissed her cheek.

I coughed softly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ryan," Maggie said.

"Kate, please, and there's no need to apologize. We should take this step by step, don't you think?"

"So, where do we start?" Hannah sat next to Maggie, and held her hand.

"Well, obviously, we've got to figure out why someone would want to kill...uh, attack you. When did this start? Was there anything going on at the time that might offer an explanation?"

"I can't think of anything. I've been racking my brain for two months. Maybe money. All I have is money. But why now? It doesn't make sense. I've had money all my life."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really, how much money?"

She looked at me and grinned. "I'm a poor little rich girl. I thought you knew that."

The phone rang and Hannah got up to get it. "Don't talk without me," she said over her shoulder.

Of course, we did.

"Maybe it's my imagination. Maybe none of this is happening. Perhaps it's a coincidence. I swear, when I ran into you this morning and I fell, I thought, God please, not again. I expected to see your car race down the road away from me, but when I saw you and you looked so concerned I knew you weren't part of whatever this is."

"Was anyone with you during any of these attacks?"

"Why, do I need a witness?" she asked.

"No," I said. "But if there was someone with you, maybe they saw something you didn't."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit jumpy."

Hannah came back into the room. "You're talking without me." She got no farther then five steps before the phone rang again. "Jiminy Christmas!" She turned on her heels. "No talking," she called over her shoulder.

I leaned over at put my hand on Maggie's, not surprised to find it freezing. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

"I'm not sure what it is. Sometimes, I think I'm going nuts. I mean I'm a reasonably intelligent woman and I can't figure out why this is happening much less who is behind it." She looked at me then. "You do believe me, don't you?"

I looked into the scared blue eyes. "Yes, I do."

Hannah came back in the room. She looked disapprovingly at both of us. "You talked without me. I could hear you in the other room. So, now you have to tell me everything. Go on." She sat down.

Maggie looked at her. "Who was on the phone?"

"Stan," she said, not looking at me.

I waited for her to tell me what he said. Then I waited some more. Finally, I took a deep breath. "Okay, what did he say?"

She sat there, dusting off her dress or picking lint or something. I have no idea.

"Hannah?" I asked.

"Well, do you want the good news or bad news first?"

"Bad news? There's bad news? How can there be bad news?" I asked.

She smiled and gave me an inquiring look but wouldn't say a word. I wasn't sure who was more infuriating, her or her niece.

I took another deep breath and caved. "Okay, give me the good news first."

"I knew you would be a good-news-first person!" she said triumphantly. "Shows you're an optimist. I always say, show me a person who is a good-news-first person and I'll..."

"Christ, Aunt Hannah, will you please give her the good news," Maggie said.

Here we go again, I thought. I said nothing. I was not in control with these two.

"Oh, all right. Well, the good news is that your car will cost next to nothing to fix." She smiled broadly.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. "And the bad news would be?" I was so frightened.

"He had to get a part for the bumper and it won't be ready for two days," she said as her voice trailed off to a whisper.

I leaned back on the couch and looked at the ceiling. The ceiling was beamed in beautiful, dark oak that reflected the warm light from the fire and made the room feel cozy and peaceful. It belied the bedlam in which I found myself.

The fire needed stoking. I dutifully put another log on, and it started to blaze again. I returned to the couch and was actually quite comfortable. I looked over to see both of them looking at me, with more than a little anxiety.

Hannah said in a voice as low, deliberate and calm as a doctor who was about to put a straightjacket on you, "We would love you to stay the night. We have plenty of room. Don't we Margaret?" She looked to Maggie for help.

"Of course we do, Kate." The straightjacket was coming as she continued, "It's pouring and Chance seems to be having fun."

I looked at my cur sprawled in front of the fire. "True, true. She does look comfy. That is important," I said.

"And it's getting late and you haven't eaten supper. And you two never told me what you were talking about when I was on the phone," Hannah added with a hopeful smile.

"And Aunt Hannah is terribly sorry she had your car towed. Aren't you, Aunt Hannah?" Maggie added, scowling at her aunt.

"Yes, very sorry, truly I am."

She did sound sorry. As I'm sure Murphy may have sounded right before his law went into effect.

Well, I thought, it could be worse. I could be on the side of the road, stranded in a storm. However, right at this moment...

"Please say something dear, you're making Margaret nervous," Hannah said with a wicked grin.

Oh, this woman.

I started chuckling. What else could I do? "Thank you, I'd love to spend the evening."

Hannah breathed a very heavy sigh of relief. "Good, now let's go into the kitchen, we'll make dinner, have a nice bottle of wine, and oh, I have a marvelous idea. We'll have a slumber party!" she howled with excitement.

I wasn't sure about Maggie, but I was dumbfounded.

Hannah laughed and conceded. "Well, let's start with a nice bottle of wine and then let the chips fall where they may!"

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