Chapter72 Mary's Murdered…Again

"This is crazy! What the fuck's going on?" Beth's furious. "That bitch sat there with fucking tears in her eyes holding my daughter! And; you're telling me, it was all a fucking lie…that she wasn't the real Mary Howell? What the fuck, Cindy? Why?" Beth falls back into the couch, placing her hands over her face, crying. Cindy sits down beside the highly upset Beth and rubs her upper back. "I don't know what's going on, Beth. Every time we think we find out a truth about this haunting; it turns out to be a lie. I honestly don't know what to believe anymore." Deputy Hopkins interjects, "I hate to say it; but, it doesn't really surprise me that she was lying. After all, Roy was the one who led us onto to her. The whole damn thing was probably a set up by old Jackie boy." The sheriff asks the deputy, "But, why would he have her tell Beth and the Professor that his dad was there that night; and, that it was good ol' Phil's ‘brain child' to have her relocated with a new identity?" "Damned if I know, Lloyd…maybe it was supposed to make us believe that she had to be telling the truth; since what she said could have incriminated the good Steinman name." "And, I reckon there'd been no way to prove what she said was either the truth, or a lie; that was until the real Mary Howells' skeleton turned up." "You got it; pardner!" "Very good, Mike. We'll make a true Texan out of you yet." "Oh dare I dream?" Professor Rhyies enters the living room from trying to get a hold of the woman claiming to be the relocated Mary Howell on the phone. He remains silent when he rejoins the others; taking his glasses off and cleaning them vigorously. Cindy looks at him and starts worrying. "What's wrong, Professor?" The professor doesn't reply; he just continues wiping the lenses off. Cindy repeats; a little louder, "What's wrong, Professor?" Nothing. He wipes away. Cindy hollers, "Professor!" Finally responding, "What is it, Ms. Lidestrom?" "Did you talk to her?" "No…no I didn't." He goes back to cleaning his glasses. "What's wrong, Professor? Weren't you able to reach her?" "No, Ms. Lidestrom, I wasn't." He continues wiping. "But, you'll try later; right?" "No; I won't." He continues wiping. Cindy's totally baffled. "Why not, Professor?" In a sudden outburst…which is totally unlike the usually mild mannered professor… he flings his glasses down to the floor; smashing them into several pieces. He blurts out, "Because she's dead, Ms. Lidestrom!…Dead!" A total silence befalls the room. The professor stands, runs his hand through his gray, Albert Einstein-esque hairdo and walks over to the fire place. He rests his arm on the mantle and turns to look at the others; who are still flabbergasted by the news of the woman's death. "I do apologize for my little episode, Ms. Lidestrom. I was just so overwhelmed with finding out that she'd been…" "Been what; Professor?" Sheriff Faulkner asks. "Murdered; Sheriff." "Murdered? How? How'd you find this out, Professor?" "When I called for her, a New Hampshire homicide Detective Williams answered the phone. When he asked why I was calling for Mrs. Johnson, I told him about our recent visit up there with her; and, explained to him why we initially went out there. After that, he informed me…in absolute confidentiality of course…about what happened." "You are planning on at least telling us; aren't you, Professor?" The deputy asks. "Of course." The professor, out of habit, reaches to take off his glasses; which are no longer on his face. He lets out a soft laugh. "How absent minded of me. I broke my glasses; didn't I? Oh well." He becomes silent. "Professor," Cindy asks, "what happened?" "Evidently, her husband's been on a business trip the past few days; and, when he got home this morning, he found her in their bedroom. Her body was dismembered with an ax." "My God!" Cindy exclaims before throwing her hand over her mouth as she gasps. "There's more." The professor informs them. "More?" The sheriff asks, "Shoot, Professor; what else is there?" "Whoever did this wrote a message on her wall using her blood." "Another message in blood? Great. What did it say, Professor?" "It said…‘Now you can be Mary Howell'."