Now Playing: The Silent Child
New to These Parts? To Start the Story From the Beginning, click
Episode Eighteen concluded with:
“You see, my brother and I,” Rupert smiled
condescendingly at Clarence, “were discussing our plans to murder you folks
after Mrs. Thompson left the store.”
“We had just put the finishing touches on a
dandy scheme, when we turned around and there was this kid. Her mother had
given her a penny to come back and buy another piece of candy.”
“Clarence and I had been makin’ our plans from
behind the counter. Never occurred to us that a customer might come in.”
Enoch’s voice was now steely. “So, that
afternoon you rode out to the Thompson’s place and murdered them. You couldn’t
take a chance that Pixie wouldn’t tell her mother and father what she had
overheard.”
Episode Nineteen
“Yep,”
Clarence shook his head. “Didn’t bother wearing masks. Seemed no need. We
killed the kid’s folks, but she got away. We searched all over for her. That
Dehner fella found her before we did. We tried to take her from him, but it
didn’t work.”
“A
lot of stuff hasn’t been workin’ out, Clarence. Think this whole project is
jinxed?”
“You
always was too superstitious, Rupert. Running from black cats and all that.”
“Guess
so. This basement is givin’ me the shakes. I’ll be glad when Laszlo gets here.”
Enoch’s
jaw dropped. Could Laszlo be an accessory to murder?
Clarence
chuckled; he understood Enoch’s shock. “Laszlo thinks we’re playin’ a game with
the child. He’s gonna kick on the trap door when the nine ‘o clock train pulls
into town. We might not be able to hear the train down here.”
“Why?!”
Kate asked.
“Gunshots
make a lot of noise,” Rupert explained. “We think bein’ in this cellar is
enough. But we can’t be sure somebody won’t hear the shots and get the
sheriff.”
“Some of our ideas ain’t worked out
so well.”
“So far, all of our ideas ain’t
worked out so well. But we have high hopes for this one. We’re gonna kill you
folks while the train is a whistlin’ away and then burn this place down.”
“You’ll
never get away with it!”
Rupert
laughed. “You don’t sound very convinced, Enoch. Sure we’ll get away with it.
That picture of Mrs. Thompson in your saddle bags sure has tongues wagging. The
way we see it, people will think you killed Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, then went
plum crazy: set fire to the store, killed your wife and the kid and, for an
encore, killed yourself.”
Clarence
smiled contentedly. “The town will be talkin’ about it for years. A lot of that
talk will take place over the cracker barrel at Bushrod Brothers’ General
Store.”
“We
ain’t got a cracker barrel!”
“Remind
me to order one.”
Tomorrow:
Episode Twenty of The Silent Child
