“I told you when you moved in that I have very strict rules for my tenants. Having a man in your bedroom is not permissible.”
Toni’s head hurt it was spinning so fast trying to catch up with everything happening right now. “I know it’s…unorthodox, but—”
“That’s what you call it?” The landlady shook her head. The long, dangly earrings she wore swung back and forth. Between the white pixie cut and her stylish comfortable clothes, she seemed like a fun aunt who would get you that shimmery lip gloss for Christmas. Or the world’s hippest Sunday School teacher. It really was a shame that, for the life of her, Toni couldn’t remember what the woman’s name was.
“I really should go check on my friend.”
Jeff had said there was someone outside. And they were skulking around? That couldn’t be a coincidence.
“You know, I said nothing when you didn’t find some friends to hang out with. You outlined your whole plan to investigate that girl’s death because it’s what you’d rather be doing. But a man in your bedroom?”
Toni went to the window but didn’t see any skulker out there in the dawn light. They were cutting it close to be able to get back up to the cabin before the sun broke over the horizon. And yet, being out all night, they’d managed to make more progress than they had in all the preceding days.
“Are you even listening to me, Tonya?”
Toni spun around. Tonya? “Say what?” Her head pounded harder now.
The landlady raised two perfectly-styled brows. The woman had more fashion sense in one strand of hair than Toni had in her whole body, and she didn’t need her memory back to know it.
A smoke smell drifted through the air. The pounding in her head grew until it felt like a sledgehammer. Fire.
“Do you smell that?”
Toni said, “We have to get out of here.”
It didn’t matter that Jeff had found a wall of papers about his sister. It didn’t matter that none of her memories had returned simply by coming here. Nor did it matter that she wanted to spend hours looking around at the sparse things in this place…after she took a serious nap.
All that mattered were the alarm bells clanging in her head just from the tang of smoke up her nose.
“On the way out, you can tell me who that man is.”
In a small town like this? There was no way she could give Jeff’s real name. Not when this woman probably knew all about Hope Mansion and his mother.
She made her way to the door, contemplating the guilt she was already feeling at the idea of lying. She normally told the truth to this woman? That was good to know. “I don’t want to lie to you, but unless he wants to tell you himself, I’m afraid that’s not something I’m able to share with you.”
The woman nodded. “I see. He’s one of your secret friends.”
Toni felt her eyebrows rise. “Excuse me?”
“The ones you’re not allowed to talk about.” The landlady shrugged. “It’s fine. I understand enough not to ask too many questions.”
“Um…o-kay.” The wealth of information flying at her didn’t help her head. She twisted the handle on the front door. “It’s locked.” From the outside? Toni tried it again, pulling on it several times with increasing fervor. Okay, she was panicking. “We’re locked in.” She turned to the woman. “Why are we locked in?”
The landlady patted her pockets. “I have my set, so it wasn’t me.” She tried the handle as well. “At least not on purpose. What is this?”
“It might have something to do with the man trying to kill me. Though, how he found me here is anyone’s guess.” Her brain caught up with her mouth, and Toni realized Greg Simmons might have given her home address to whoever tortured him.
The man by the lake?
“There’s a man trying to—”
“Never mind.” Toni waved her hand. “Forget I said that. Everything’s fine, or it will be once we get out of here.”
“You haven’t been doing a good job laying low if someone’s trying to kill you...”
Toni stopped halfway down the hall and glanced back, waiting for her to finish and trying to hide her exasperation.
“...I’m just saying.” She looked at the bedroom door, an interested expression on her face.
Toni wondered if she’d ever actually seen the papers spread all over the bedroom wall. Or was this woman being so nosy because of Jeff? She wanted to be mad that he’d left her to fend for herself—with no memory—speaking to a woman she was supposed to know but didn’t remember. One asking entirely too many questions for a woman without all her memories intact to adequately answer.
The smoke smell was more pronounced in here and coming from the closet.
That wasn’t good.
“Did he set a fire?”
Toni said, “Can you call the fire department? I think we’re going to need some help.”
“That might be true, but you of all people know it was the fire department that started this. After what they did to Ted and Jess, are you sure you want to call them in? I mean, all the bad ones were fired and whatnot. But can you really clean house that fast?”
She wanted to know more about all of that, but had to ask, “And if there’s a fire downstairs in the barn?”
“I’ll get the extinguisher.” The landlady turned and strode out with a purpose.
Toni went to the closet where the trapdoor in the floor was located. She left it closed, not wanting to open it before it was necessary so that the air didn’t rush in and make the fire bigger. She had to get down there if Jeff was inside. He could be injured, or unconscious, and unable to get out while flames roared around him.
Toni’s knees gave way, and she slammed her hand against the wall to steady herself as images rolled through her head. Flames. She could feel their heat on her hands and face while the smoke filled her lungs, and she fought for a breath through the spasming coughs that rocked her whole body.
“Tonya?”
She blinked and saw the landlady with the fire extinguisher. “You really should call emergency services.” She coughed against the scratch in her throat. “We’re trapped up here with no way out and the barn downstairs seems to be on fire.”
“Okay, but…are you okay? You seem kind of pale. As much as someone with your coloring can be pale. If you don’t mind me saying so.”
Toni didn’t like people to tiptoe around her skin color. It wasn’t an “issue.” It was part of who she was and not something she could—or would want to—change. For which she was glad, considering it was her heritage. Her identity.
Deep longing for her family washed over her. She had people in her life she loved, and some she’d lost, like her sister Maya. What she wanted was that connection. More than anything, she needed a place to belong.
Because she didn’t have it anymore?
Had she lost everyone?
Maybe that was why she’d had Jeff’s address in her pocket. Whatever connection she had with him had made her want to find his sister’s body when everyone else had seemingly given up looking. And it had brought her here. Because they had a history?
How could that be when he didn’t even remember her?
“I need to find my friend.” Then she could ask him. And yet, so much would remain unanswered until she figured out the right questions to ask. She needed her memories back. “Stay up here. I’ll go down and look for him, but you should remain here where its safe.”
“I’ll call Conroy while you do that.”
“Who?”
“The chief of police.” She produced a cell phone from her jacket pocket. “I always take it with me on my early morning walk. I’ll let him know we need help, and he needs to come personally and see to it. He’s got plenty of secret friends of his own, if you know what I mean. He’ll have no problem knowing what to do with you and yours.”
As if that made any sense at all…and at the same time, it kind of did answer any worry Toni might have. Instead of revealing the fact she didn’t remember much of anything at all about who she was, Toni said, “Tell him to be careful. There could still be a dangerous man out there.”
“You know, stuff like that convinces me you’re a good person, Tonya.” The landlady turned to the hall.
Toni winced. There was no time to fix any of this. She grabbed a long sleeve T-shirt off a hanger and soaked it in the bathroom sink before tying it over her mouth with the sleeves back behind her head.
On the way back to the closet, her gaze snagged on a framed photo on the bedside table. A Bible. Her things.
If the house burned down along with the barn, was she going to grieve those things as soon as she remembered their significance? It didn’t matter more than Jeff’s life, so she put it out of her mind. Though, already she could feel emotion gathering like a storm on the horizon.
It didn’t matter. That was what she told herself.
She needed to get to Jeff.
Toni readied the fire extinguisher and then pulled up the trapdoor. She took a step back, none too soon, as flames immediately rushed through the opening. Had she been any closer, she’d have singed off her eyebrows.
She pulled the trigger on the extinguisher and waited a few seconds while white foam sprayed through the opening. Then Toni lowered her legs and ignored the inferno as she dropped down onto the floor. She sprayed the contents of the fire extinguisher around her. It wouldn’t put out the fire. The whole barn was lit with flames, filling the air with heat and smoke that burned her eyes.
She stared for a moment, unable to do anything but that. In her mind, she could hear people yelling. Calling out to one another. Screams of pain filled her ears. A child cried.
The fire extinguisher sputtered and died.
Toni tossed it to the ground and looked around. She’d cleared a corner. Where was Jeff? Maybe he’d gotten out, and she’d come down here for nothing. But if that was true, he’d have pounded on the door outside.
Unless he was dead.
He’d faced down this guy before and gotten shot. What happened this time?
“Jeff!” She called out his name as loud as she could as she made her way carefully through the barn. The extinguisher foam made her slip a couple of times. “Jeff! Where are you?”
No one could know he was here because it would blow his cover. That was what she’d gathered so far from the way he lived and what he’d told her.
“Jeff!”
It was becoming apparent there was no one else in here. She wasn’t in immediate danger from that man who’d tried to kill her already. But now tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Jeff.” She could barely whisper, her throat now raw.
Her lungs burned.
“Where are you?” It was little more than a whimper.
Across the room, the flames still roared. She couldn’t get out the way she’d come down. The ladder on the barn wall was burned. Even if it wasn’t too hot to touch, she couldn’t trust that it wouldn’t give way as she climbed. The door at the far end was blocked by a wall of fire.
Whoever set this fire intended for them to die inside. And they would probably succeed in doing away with at least one of them. Where was Jeff? Did he get out?
Toni had to do something, so she kept going, making her way around the room. Checking the stalls. She even pulled the hot tarp off the car and pulled the handle to check inside. No Jeff.
“Where are you?”
She didn’t want to be alone. She wanted to be wherever Jeff was. She’d come this far to find the place she belonged—with him—risking it all to make that dream happen. She wasn’t going to give up now.
She reached the back corner and found a cage door. Jeff lay inside, eyes closed.
Not moving.
“No!” Toni grabbed the metal latch and screamed.