Blackvine Manor Mystery by Wendy Meadows Page B

we’ll find her. What are you doing?”
    “Whatever is buried here is the reason she’s … she’s in the state she’s in.”
    Maxwell catches Alexis under the arm and hauls her to her feet. “I’m going to stop you before you outdo your mother’s legacy by adding grave robbing to your arrest report.”
    “I need to know if it’s here. If Fenton’s stolen jewels are here then we can stop him from hurting anyone else.”
    Maxwell pulls her back again. “Fine. If I’m going to be your accomplice, we’re at least going to be smart about this. Otto has a metal detector. We swing by his place and borrow it.”
    Alexis swipes the hair out of her face. “Okay, fine. You go get it. I’ll wait here.”
    “Alexis, please, come with me.” He tugs her gently away from the headstone.
    “But what if she comes back?” She blinks tearfully.
    “We’ll come back, I promise.”
    The drive to Otto’s house is quick and silent. As they turn the corner to his house, Maxwell tightens his grip on the steering wheel. The garage door of the craftsman is wide open and the dusty retired Crown Victoria is gone. Alexis opens her door just as Maxwell throws the car into park. Johnny is barking inside the house, scrabbling at the interior door of the garage.
    “He’s gone. Where would Otto go in the middle of the night?”
    Alexis’ eyes go wide. “Oh God, what night is it?”
    “Thursday, why?”
    She grabs his arm and pulls him urgently towards the car, “Tonight is the anniversary of Delia’s death. He’s at Blackvine Manor!”

    * * *
    M axwell’s car squeals up to the curb outside Blackvine Manor just as lights start coming on in all the upstairs apartments.
    Alexis’ phone starts ringing. “George? George, what’s going on?”
    “Someone is in the penthouse, he’s yelling loud enough to wake the dead!”
    Maxwell sprints into the apartment building and up the stairs with Alexis right behind him. He shoos the residents back inside their apartments, telling him his grandfather is suffering from dementia and he can handle him. George grabs Alexis by the arm as Maxwell heads up the stairs to the penthouse.
    “I think he’s going through it again,” George tries to explain.
    “What?”
    “Just come on.” George pulls her down the back staircase just as she hears Otto coming down from the penthouse. “He’s yelling at Delia just like the night she died. If you’re right, he follows her to the laundry room.”
    Alexis leads the way down the back staircase and through the basement hallway of storage stalls. She waves George back from the laundry room door as he wheezes up behind her.
    Maxwell has just caught up to his grandfather and is standing, speechless, in the other doorway as Otto continues to yell, “You knew I was after him. How dare you help him! You betray our marriage and make a fool out of me in front of the whole department. What do you have to say for yourself, you whore?!”
    “Please, I love you.” Alexis can see Delia drop to her knees before her enraged husband.
    Otto’s eyes are black as his hands reach out, fingers flexing. Maxwell leaps from the door to pull him back before Otto’s hands start choking the air. “Stop! What are you doing?”
    Alexis rushes in to help and in the struggle Otto swivels to face her. “You!”
    “I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Maxwell grunts as Otto punches him in the stomach and lunges towards Alexis.
    “Always hiding and watching. I see you, Amelia!” Otto charges across the laundry room.
    “Run!” George yells and pushes her past him into the hallway of storage stalls.
    Alexis stumbles and when she gets up everything looks different. The names on the storage stall doors have changed. As she sprints up the stairs, the carpet is shaggier. The light fixture hanging above the mailboxes in the foyer has a different shade.
    Feeling dizzy with the encompassing vision, Alexis stops to shake her head. Otto shoves George out of the way and runs after