A Twist In The Tail

A sly look came over Barbara’s face. ‘About what I was doing to the flockenberries. Someone had to get rid of those nuisance berry plants. Still hadn’t perfected the poison though, I had a few experiments going on.’

I remembered the dead plants in her office. Had she been experimenting on those?

‘So you poisoned the berries to get rid of the gulls?’ Ron asked.

‘No. Not the gulls, but hey, they are a nuisance. Town should thank me. I was trying to save the lousewort from getting choked out. If the lousewort dies the cliff will no longer be protected and next thing you know a big giant hotel will be looming over us ruining the quaint ambiance of the town.’

‘That’s preposterous,’ Ron said. ‘Those lousewort plants must have been there for generations.’

Merooo!

Marlowe wound around Barbara’s feet and she glanced down annoyed but then looked right back up at us. Guess she didn’t want to be distracted too long for fear one of us would lunge for the gun which, of course, had been exactly my plan.

‘That’s where you’re wrong. That lousewort was never here. I imported it and planted it to stop the hotel from being built. Cost me a pretty penny and was a lot of work keeping it thriving. And you people,’ Barbara waved the gun at me and Stella as we jumped back. ‘Don’t even appreciate my efforts! Now where would the town be if I hadn’t done that!’

I remembered Jen had mentioned that Barbara got dirty packages. Had it been the lousewort? Where had she imported it from? I knew it was protected here in New England, but thought I’d heard my mother mention something about it growing like a weed in some other country. Maybe she’d sent away for it and no wonder she’d had to spend so much time ‘mothering’ it, the cliff wasn’t its natural habitat and it needed extra care.

But none of that mattered now. The only thing that did was making sure we did not get forced down into that basement.

Barbara smiled, but it wasn’t a warm and fuzzy smile, it was cold and calculating mixed with a bit of pride. She shoved the gun forward. ‘To the basement door!’

We shuffled over more. Now we were right next to the door. Time was running out. I glanced at my watch.

Barbara laughed. ‘Hoping someone will come back early from dinner? Hardly. It’s only eight o’clock and your guests will be at the Marinara Mariner for another hour at least. Guess your little plan to lure the killer here didn’t work out so well after all.’

‘Well, it did lure the killer here...’ Even facing death, I felt defensive of my plan.

‘Yeah, but it gave me an even better idea. Now that I have to get rid of you and the evidence, a nice fire will do the trick!’

My gut clenched. She was planning to shove us in the basement and set the place on fire. My mind raced. I had to do something to stop her. I glanced around for a weapon, but only saw bowls, dish towels and canisters.

Barbara moved forward, stepping on Nero’s tail and earning a screech and hiss from him. ‘Open the basement door and shove those cats down there first.’

Nero looked up at Barbara and wrinkled his nose, then glanced at me.

My heart clenched at the thought of the cats burning in a fire. At least maybe I could save them. ‘Not the cats. Let them go, they’re innocent.’

‘Yeah,’ Stella agree. ‘Killing us is one thing but not innocent kitties.’

I glanced at Stella. She actually had a heart?

If the cats could understand Barbara, they were being awfully calm about their fate. Marlowe stretched and Nero trotted over to the cellar door. He glanced up at me and then at the doorknob. Suddenly I got an idea.

‘Ok. I see we have no choice but to go down there. Stand back though. The door sticks and I need some room.’ Stella and Ron stood back and I grabbed the knob.

The cats sat to attention, eyes on Barbara, tails swishing on the floor.

I planted my feet and tugged. I twisted the knob. I made a show of trying to open the door holding my breath and letting my face turn red. I glanced at Barbara. ‘It won’t open.’

Barbara rolled her eyes. ‘Figures. This old place isn’t even worth fixing up. Good thing I wrote all those violations. I’m doing the town a favor by burning it down.’ She stomped over to the door. ‘Let me try. You’re wimpy.’

But just as she reached me, I whipped the door open. The movement surprised her and she teetered at the opening. Marlowe and Nero sprang into action. Weaving around her feet. I gave her one hard shove.

She stumbled forward, tripping over the cats and losing her grip on the gun.

The gun clattered to the floor.

And then, as she was teetering at the top of the stairs, Stella gave her one last push and she fell down into the dark hole of the basement.

‘I’ll get you for this!’ Her words were punctuated by Ouch! And Dang! As she hit each stair going down.

Ron dove for the gun and I slammed the door shut just as the kitchen door burst open and Mike and Sheriff Chamberlain ran in.