The Beast House

On the dark stoop waited a man and a woman. The man was about forty and bald. He wore a blue windbreaker. His fists were clenched at his sides. Gorman had never seen him before. The woman, an attractive blonde, looked familiar. She wore jeans and a checkered blouse and an open leather jacket. She looked like an older version of Janice. Gorman realized he had seen her at the Carriage House where she’d been performing hostess duties.

These people are Janice’s parents.

He felt a little sick.

“Mr. Hardy?” the man asked in a taut voice.

“Yes.”

“I’ll try to be civilized about this, but it’s two o’clock in the morning and our daughter is missing. Is she here?”

“No, of course not. Come in and see for yourselves.” He stepped away from the door to let them enter. The woman shut the door and backed against it as if to prevent Gorman from escaping.

The man, after a glance at the beds, stepped into the bathroom and turned on a light. He came out a moment later, and checked the closet. He looked at the connecting door, then at Gorman. “What about Mr. Blake?”

“I really can’t answer for him.”

“You’re together. You paid both rooms.”

“He is my associate, yes. But I have no idea why you suspect either of us might be harboring your daughter.” As he spoke, he walked past the man to the connecting door. He rapped it with his fist. “Brian?” he called. He opened his side and tried the knob of Brian’s door. Fortunately, it didn’t turn. With any luck, if the girl was in the room, she would have time to get out. “Brian?” he called again.

“Let’s have a look,” the man said, striding forward.

“He drove her someplace,” the woman said, speaking for the first time.

“I’ll take a look anyhow.”

Gorman stepped out of his way. He watched Janice’s father insert a key and unlock the door. A lamp was on. Relieved, Gorman saw that both the beds were made. He waited while the man entered to search. Turning to the woman, he said, “Is the car gone?”

She nodded. Her face was grim, lips pressed together in a tight line, eyes glaring at Gorman.

“I honestly don’t know what to say,” he told her. “You suspect that she and Brian went off together?”

“You wouldn’t know anything about that,” she said, her voice bitter.

“I’m afraid not.”

The man came back into the room. “Okay, buster, where’d they go?”

“I have no idea. I don’t even know your daughter. Would she be the young lady who registered us?”

“She would be.”

“I haven’t seen her since then.”

“Don’t lie to us!” the woman suddenly blurted. She rushed to her husband’s side. “Show him, Marty. Show him!”

He pulled a folded sheet of paper from his back pocket. It shook in his trembling hands as he opened it. “We found this in Janice’s room,” he said, and held it out.

Gorman took the sheet. He stared at it. The bitch, he thought. Oh, the bitch! She was supposed to hide it! Brian’s fault. Where is he? What could’ve possessed him to keep her out so late and allow this to happen? He’s ruined it. He’s ruined everything!

“What do you say to that, Mr. Hardy?” the woman said, almost snarling.

He managed a smile as he handed back the contract. “Janice planned to surprise you,” he said. “If the proposed book is as successful as my previous one, this agreement will likely earn her in the neighborhood of a million dollars.”

The news had its desired effect. Janice’s parents looked at each other, then at the contract. They seemed to soften, as if their pent-up rage was melting away.

“Is this on the level?” Marty asked. He sounded suspicious, but a hint of excitement glittered in his eyes.

“It most certainly is. The agreement gives Janice fifty percent of all earnings from the book. This includes the advance and all royalties. We’re talking here about a hardbound sale, book club and paperback sales, foreign sales, probably a movie deal. So far, my previous book has brought in over three million dollars. I suspect the Beast House story will do as well, or better. And Janice will receive half of it all.”

And she will, he thought. Good Christ, she will. Now there was no chance of tricking her out of it. He felt sick.

The woman raised her eyes from the contract. She looked wary. “What did Janice have to do for this?”

“The book was her idea. She initiated the contact with me. And she provided me with a resource that gives invaluable insight into the subject.”

“What’s that?” Marty asked.

“Janice doesn’t wish that known, but since you’re her parents, I see no harm in telling you that she found a diary written by Elizabeth Thorn, the lady who…”

“Where is Janice now?” the mother asked. “I realize this puts a somewhat different light on the subject, but where is she? Does it have something to do with this?” She nodded at the contract.

“I honestly don’t know. When did you last see her?”

“Around nine,” Marty answered. “She said she was going for a walk. This was right after she came back from delivering an ice bucket to Mr. Blake—which, by the way, he didn’t need in the first place. I saw two in there.”

“I can only suppose,” Gorman said, “that Brian invited her to accompany him. Perhaps she lied to you thinking you might disapprove of her traipsing off with one of the motel guests.”

Marty and his wife exchanged a glance.

“I take it she’s done such things before.”

“Wherever they went,” Marty said, “they should’ve been back long ago.”

The woman said, “There’s no excuse for this.”

“I quite agree,” Gorman told her.

“Where did he take her?” Marty asked.

“We have no proof that she went with Brian at all, but he left with the intention of exploring an area behind Beast House. He was hoping to locate and photograph a hole near the rear fence.”

“A hole?”

“It’s mentioned in the Thorn diary. Allegedly, an underground tunnel leads from the hillside to the house’s cellar. If Brian finds the opening, it lends a certain credence to the…”

“Janice wouldn’t go anywhere near that place,” her mother said.

“Well, perhaps she didn’t. I’m simply pointing out the purpose of Brian’s search. That’s where he intended to go.”

“She must’ve gone with him, Claire.”

Claire shook her head. She looked resigned, rather weary. “I guess I wouldn’t put it past her,” she admitted. “This Brian, I saw him at the restaurant. He’s a very attractive man.”

Marty put a hand on Claire’s back. In a gentle voice, he said, “I’ll drive out and bring her home.”

“I’m sure she’ll be right along,” Gorman said.

“We’ve been waiting up for hours, Mr. Hardy. Have you got any idea what goes through a parent’s mind when your kid’s out at this time of night and you don’t know where she is, what’s happened to her? You tell yourself she’ll walk through the door any minute, and all the time you’re wondering if maybe some lunatic got hold of her, if maybe you’ll never see her again.”

“I can assure you, Brian’s no lunatic.”

“Why isn’t she home?” Marty demanded. He sounded a little frantic.

Claire sighed. “She probably got carried away and forgot the time.”

“I’ll remind her of the time,” Marty snapped, “when I get my hands on her.” He frowned at Gorman. “Where, exactly, is this hole supposed to be?”

“If you’d like, I’ll accompany you. I’m rather concerned, myself, at this point.”