Chapter 20
When Hayley pulled the Mercedes onto the dirt road that led to the cabin, she immediately felt a sense of unease. When she could see the cabin she noticed the front door was wide open, and her fears were confirmed.
“Mona, did you remember to lock the door when we left?”
“Of course I did!” Mona barked defensively.
They all jumped out of the car, leaving their luggage they had packed in the trunk, and trudged over to the door to inspect it.
The wood on the frame was severed and the lock on the door was mangled.
“Somebody must have used an ax or a sledgehammer to bust their way in,” Mona said, shocked.
They slowly poked their heads inside to look around.
The place was ransacked. Chairs were tipped over on the floor. The lumpy old couch in the center of the room had been torn apart and stuffing spread everywhere. Even the ratty old curtains on the windows had been ripped off the rods and cast aside.
Mona cautiously stepped inside first to survey the damage, followed closely behind by Hayley and then Liddy, who kept herself close to the door for a quick escape if necessary.
“What were they looking for?” Liddy asked, visibly shaken.
“Beats me,” Mona said, shuffling around the room, kicking into a corner some broken glass that had smashed on the floor when the intruder, or intruders, had cleared off the kitchen counter of some beer mugs and dishware. “But they sure as hell did do a number on this place!”
“Do you think this has anything to do with Jackson Young’s murder?” Liddy asked.
“I haven’t a clue,” Hayley said, shrugging.
“Should we call the police?” Liddy asked, searching her bag for her phone.
Hayley scoffed. “What for? Sheriff Daphne won’t care. She probably won’t even bother to show up here let alone investigate.”
“To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was her doing to scare us into leaving town,” Mona said, walking around the room, carefully picking up a couple shards of glass before anyone stepped on them.
“Oh, Mona, I don’t know if she would go to those lengths . . .” Liddy said.
“She’s made no bones about keeping me from Corey. And she’s proven she’ll do anything to make that happen by falsely arresting us!”
“Well, it’s only fair to point out again that we did enter that hotel room knowing it was illegal,” Hayley reminded her.
“Whose side are you on?” Mona growled.
“Just keeping it real, as the kids say,” Hayley said.
“They don’t say that anymore, Hayley. You’re about five years behind the times,” Liddy said.
“Thank you for reminding me just how out of touch I am, Liddy,” Hayley said, annoyed.
Suddenly a scream flew out of Liddy’s mouth, startling Hayley and Mona.
“Liddy, what’s wrong?”
“That’s my makeup bag on the floor. I must have been in such a rush to leave this place I forgot to pack it! I knew I left something behind!” she cried, still clutching the doorframe and refusing to come all the way inside the cabin. “Mona, would you mind picking up my lipstick over there and putting it back in my makeup bag, oh, and I see my mascara in the corner, it’s very expensive, I bought it in Spain, and I don’t want some rat running off with it!”
“I am not your housemaid, Liddy! Why don’t you come in here and pick up your own junk?” Mona bellowed.
“I can’t,” Liddy said quietly.
“Why not?” Mona asked, throwing her arms up in the air.
“I . . . I’m . . . s-scared,” Liddy stammered.
Hayley walked over to Liddy and took her gently by the arm. “It’s okay, honey. I know it’s a shock to come back here and find the cabin looted.”
“Looted? It doesn’t look like they actually took anything, I mean, seriously, what kind of thief wouldn’t bother to take imported mascara from Spain?” Liddy scoffed.
“A thief who doesn’t give a whit about your stupid expensive makeup!” Mona yelled.
“It’s not like you have to worry about someone stealing anything of yours, Mona,” Liddy sniffed. “You own nothing of real value, least of all that ridiculous sweatshirt you insist on wearing to bed that belongs to your husband, the one with the picture of a lobster and the phrase, ‘Just looking for a good piece of tail!’”
Mona chuckled. “He loves that sweatshirt. He’d kill me if he found out I took it from his drawer and brought it with me. But it’s just so comfy.”
“Well, when you wear it, it sends an entirely different message,” Liddy reminded her.
Mona’s eyes went wide. “Damn! You’re right. I never thought about that!”
“Liddy, whoever broke in here is clearly gone, so there is no reason for you to be afraid anymore. It is perfectly safe now,” Hayley said.
“You really think so?” Liddy said, eyes darting around the cabin.
“Look around. It is just the three of us, and if it makes you feel any better, Mona and I will take turns staying up tonight to keep watch just to make sure no one tries to come back,” Hayley assured her.
“Okay,” Liddy said, before slowly, hesitantly, with Hayley’s help, stepping inside the cabin.
Mona marched past her and outside to the car to carry their bags back inside since it looked like they were going to be stuck in Salmon Cove at least one more night, if not more. She came in struggling with Liddy’s luxurious four-wheeled Louis Vuitton suitcase with cowhide leather trim.
“Thanks, Mona, you can just put them over by the closet,” Liddy said.
“You do it! I got at least two more loads in the trunk I’ve got to get in here,” Mona growled, walking back outside.
Liddy sighed, and pulled the suitcase by the handle over to the closet before setting it down on the floor and unzipping it. “I want to hang a few of my tops so they don’t get more wrinkled than they already are from being packed in here all night!”
She removed one red silk number from the suitcase, stood up, and opened the closet door while Hayley grabbed a broom and began sweeping up the broken glass on the floor.
As Liddy absentmindedly reached for a hanger, her eyes suddenly went wide and she let out a bloodcurdling scream, which caused Hayley to jump.
A large man, over six feet, in a black T-shirt and jeans and wearing a nylon stocking mask over his face, lunged out of the closet and wrapped his hands around Liddy’s throat. He shoved her forward as Hayley watched in shock before coming to her senses and rushing over to help her friend by pummeling him on the back with the edge of the broom handle.
Hearing the screams from outside, Mona rushed back from the car, appearing in the doorway, shocked to see Hayley frantically buffeting a man over the head with a broom as Liddy’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as he squeezed his giant hands around her throat!
Mona sprang into action, and raced over to them, leaping onto the man’s back and getting him into a chokehold.
He was big and strong, but quickly got spooked by the all-out assault. He released his grip on Liddy’s neck and tossed her aside, catapulting her halfway across the room. She smacked face-first into the battered and dusty icebox, before slumping to the floor, dazed.
Mona kept her arm fastened tightly around the robber’s neck, and he stumbled, as she squeezed tighter, cutting off his oxygen supply. This just made him madder and more determined to shake her off before he got too light-headed and passed out. Meanwhile, Hayley kept up the blows with the broom handle, whacking his arms and legs.
The assailant jerked his body back toward the wall, slamming Mona against it, one, two, three times, hoping to dislodge her. But Mona was in the zone, hooting and screaming like a mother gorilla protecting her young.
But on the fourth try, he gave it his all, and the impact knocked the air out of Mona, and she stopped hollering, and let go. She fell to the floor, but managed to reach out and grab the man by the foot as he tried to run.
Hayley aimed for his groin, but he anticipated the move and threw his hands out in front of it and grabbed the broom handle, wrenching it from Hayley’s grasp. He then wielded it like a baseball bat and bashed the side of Hayley’s head. She saw stars and stumbled back, maintaining her balance but disoriented.
The man, in one final violent act, used his free foot to swing it around and kick Mona in the face. Blood spurted from her nose and she instinctively let go of him and covered her face to avoid any further blows.
The masked man bolted out the door and disappeared into the woods.
Hayley raced over to Mona, who waved her away. “I’m fine. It’s just a nosebleed.”
“Liddy? Liddy?” Hayley shouted, jumping over the debris on the floor to get to her friend, who had crawled to her knees, a hand pressed over her forehead.
She glared at Hayley.
“It is okay to come in, Liddy! It is perfectly safe, Liddy! Don’t be afraid, Liddy!” Liddy yelled, mocking Hayley’s reassuring tone.
Hayley had an overwhelming sense of relief. As long as Liddy was giving her a hard time, that meant she was not seriously hurt.
But Liddy had been right about one thing.
There was no reason to feel safe in Salmon Cove anymore.