Never Open That Door – Epilogue

Gabby sat down with Mrs. Montgomery. She was shaking and fiddling with her bracelet at the same time.

It was too much for her. She burst into tears. Deep sobs.

“Let it out," said Mrs. Montgomery in a calming voice. “Let it out, dear.”

When Gabby finally stopped crying, she turned to Mrs Montgomery.

”I don’t know what would have happened if Daniel had not turned up when he did.”

“Who was that in the chair?”

It was Mrs. Montgomery's turn to cry. They were quite tearful, more from relief than anything.

“I asked Daniel to do some digging. I don’t know why," she began, "I just had a hunch."

“When you described Cory to me, some things stuck, especially how he stuttered. I remember my daughter saying that her boyfriend had a stutter. I never got to meet him, but Leslie did. When Daniel spoke to Leslie, she confessed that there was something about Cory. He seemed all too familiar and was creepy. That is why she left and moved in with Daniel.”

“He was watching us all the time,” interjected Gabby. “He saw me undress in the shower, everything. What sort of sick person does that? All that video equipment and cameras that he had.”

“When Daniel dug a bit deeper, it turned out that Cory, Cory Baham to be precise, had died two years ago. The same year my daughter was murdered.”

Mrs. Montgomery paused as if to gain strength for the next part of the story.

“The girl in the chair was my daughter Marion. After he killed her, he dug up her body, dressed her in a bridal gown, and set her in the chair. He was never caught because he assumed the identity of Cory.”

Mrs. Montgomery put her hands over her face to hide her tears. Gabby hugged her tightly as she cried. The pain of two years without closure for her daughter was overwhelming.

“Daniel was on his way to arrest him. His timing was perfect, as it turns out,” said Mrs. Montgomery, breaking the silence.

“There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but Daniel will get to the bottom of them. He is a smart boy,” Mrs. Montgomery finished with pride.

“Now, my dear, we will have a nice cup of tea. You will move in here with me until you are back on your feet and can find a proper place for yourself. There is no rush at all.”

“I like having you around, and I think we get on well,” she said warmly.

****

Gabby graduated at the end of the year. Then, she became an investigative journalist for a newspaper. She became good friends with Daniel and his fiancée.

She ended up moving into Mrs. Montgomery's house and, truth be told, was in no hurry to leave. Mrs. Montgomery was the mother she never had.

Cory faced charges for killing his girlfriend. He also exhumed a grave and had other charges linked to his cameras and videos. He is in custody awaiting trial.

All's well that ends well...

Till next time,

Calvin