Unknown Assailant

Chapter 1 Questions

Birds floated lazily on the breeze while bees hummed as they gathered nectar. The smell of honeysuckle flowers, wild roses, and hydrangea floated in the open window next to my desk and filled my mind with images of an open field of tall grass that waved and flitted with the fingers of the wind .

“Miss Niven, if you would not mind, please come out of the daydream you are in and finish your work,.” a commanding voice sarcastically spoke breaking through my reverie. “Now that I have your attention, I would like you to finish up your world history, geometry paper, and English literature homework before I come again next week.” The harsh voice of Miss Renik grated against my nerves as she continued. “Oh, also your uncle asked that I begin teaching you business and accounting. He said that you would be going with him to work in the company soon.”

Miss Renik is the commanding and spinsterly woman who had been hired several years before by my uncle to oversee my education. She could be even more harsh and unforgiving whenever I made mistakes in my homework.

Inwardly, I sighed as I acknowledged her statement. “Yes, Miss Renik, the homework will be completed. Did my uncle say any more about what duties I would be doing when I start to work at the company?” I asked with more interest than I had had before her admission.

“Why would he tell me more? May I ask? All I am is a hired servant that sees to your schooling as well as that ruffian’s when he is sent home from boarding school after he causes trouble.” Miss Renik returned rather vehemently as she slammed down the book she had been perusing. “I must leave now. Remember to keep that promise!” she said as she went hurriedly through the classroom door pulling on her hat and shawl.

With a sigh, I moved my papers around on the desk. The room seemed smaller than it was. Since my parents had died 10 years before, I had lived and been cared for by my aunt and uncle. My cousins, Sophie and Theodore, went to boarding schools but I had preferred staying at Greenbriar. My Uncle Roger and Aunt Annita both decided that I could choose where I would like to stay. I chose to stay at Greenbriar and have my own tutor instead of going to a boarding school. They said it would be easier for me because I could learn school subjects as well as any trade I’d like instead of going to a traditional school.

As I was reflecting on what Uncle Roger meant about me working at the company, the door to my classroom slowly opened. A young boy stealthily moved through the gathering shadows till he was directly behind me.

“Alright, stick your hands up or I’m goin’ to shoot you.” The youthful voice commanded as a sharp object was shoved against my back through the slats in the chair, I sat in.

Lost in thought, I jumped considerably at the command which brought a fit of boyish giggling from my assailant.

“Teddy!” I exclaimed turning on him and grabbing his shoulders roughly. “What are you doing home so early in the week?” I asked in surprise. “I thought you had baseball practice and a club meeting you were supposed to attend before the weekend?”

“Oh, I got sent to the headmaster’s office again.” Teddy shrugged off his confession as he did my hands.

“Really? What was it this time?” I asked as I turned back to my own homework.

“Oh, some girls didn’t like the fact that I had a snake in the classroom, including the teacher.” He added, “But, it was just a harmless garden snake that I wanted to keep.”

“Teddy, you know most people don’t like snakes or crawling things!” I exclaimed as I turned back to him. “Where’s the snake now?” I asked curious as to where he had stashed the harmless serpent.

“Headmaster Crowe made me release it back outside.” He huffed as he kicked his foot at little dust mites floating in the waning light from the window. “He said that if I did anything like that again, I would be expelled.” He muttered before brightening at a sudden thought. “Hey, then I could have a teacher like you! Wouldn’t that be swell! Maybe Father would let you be my teacher! You wouldn’t get mad at me for bringin’ toads or snakes or injured animals into the classroom, would you?” He asked imploringly with an expectant expression on his round face.

I searched his big green eyes for a moment before answering.

“I don’t think that you could bring anything into the classroom that would bother me, Teddy.” I answered sincerely.

His face brightened into a broad grin as he turned to rush out the door, calling over his shoulder as he went.

“I knew you would say that I am going to go ask Father about you being my teacher!” He exclaimed before he slammed the door with a loud bang which broke off my protestations mid-sentence.

With a soft chuckle, I turned back to my work with thoughts of how disappointed Teddy would be once he had talked to Uncle Roger. I also thought how fun and exciting it would be if my uncle actually agreed to Teddy’s proposal.

I must have fallen asleep because when I became conscious of the world again, darkness had replaced the ebbing sunlight of late afternoon. I pushed away from my desk and glanced out the window. In the middle distance, I could see that the streetlamps were lit. Neighboring mansions also had blazing lights that reached and pushed out into the darkness. Still a little foggy with sleep, I stumbled towards the door. As I turned the knob, I paused a moment to listen. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. I pulled the door open and tread softly down the darkened corridor to the landing. At Teddy’s door, I paused as I opened the door. Searching the depths of the darkened room for any movement, I carefully listened for the slightest sound. Nothing moved as the light of the moon illuminated the furniture creating shadows across the floor. Shivers walked up and down my spine as I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. I softly closed the door. I continued down the hallway until I reached the stairs. Pausing once more, I strained to hear anything or see anything in the many shades of black and grey of the darkness that surrounded me. I felt as if I should not turn up the lights. Noticing a flickering of light under the study door at the base of the stairway, I carefully traversed my way down the darkened steps to the bottom. I cautiously made my way the rest of the way to the door of the study before again halting to listen. Still there was no sound nor light emitting anywhere else in the house except from the study. My hand gripped the door handle and pressed down. Opening the door softly, the door stopped when I saw the scene before me. Everything was as it usually was except for my aunt and uncle who lay sprawled face down in the center of the expensive oriental rug in the middle of the floor. The fire in the fireplace blazed happily as I stared at the horrific scene before me. I began shaking and felt suddenly cold all over. Sinking to the floor, my heart felt like it was beating a staccato making it difficult to take a deep breath. Thoughts swirled in my head. I tried to make sense of everything before me, but no thoughts sped forth of any consequence except that I was alone and my guardians were both dead, horribly so.

“This is a nightmare.” I thought. "I’m only dreaming.”

My stomach churned and revolted at the sight. Gagging, I stumbled from the room and collapsed onto the hall bench. A twig snapping in the sitting room fire across from the study brought me out of my trance into the harsh reality that my aunt and uncle lay dead in their own blood and I could not bring them back. I turned to the end table where the telephone sat and was about to call the local police when I thought of Teddy. I hadn’t seen him anywhere and he was definitely not in the study with his parents. He had not been in his room either. I began to systematically search the house for him. When I could not find him in any of the rest of the rooms of the manse, I branched out into the garden and back property. I found him under bushes in the garden. He was bleeding from several scratches and cuts on his face, arms, and side. The deepest cut was on his forehead which was bleeding profusely. I picked him up and carried him to the house where I found some towels to use as bandages to help assuage the bleeding.

I knew how to drive Uncle Roger’s Studebaker, so I began searching for his key. I found them on the end table and ran to where he had it parked in the garage. Opening the wide bay doors, I jumped into the car and shakily started it. I drove around the wide roundabout till I was right up against the front door.

Running inside, I gently picked Teddy up off of the settee where he lay, with a grunt at his dead weight in my arms. He groaned as I carried him to the car and placed him on the back seat. I jumped into the driver’s seat and pulled the heavy door closed behind me. I pressed the clutch and accelerator as I shifted gears. At first, the car was sluggish and lurched forward. I shifted it further into gear and it purred as it gained momentum down the tree-lined drive leading away from the horror of the Greenbriar.

As I drove rapidly down the highway, tears coursed down my cheeks as I replayed the events of the evening over in my head. Shuddering, I could not fathom the fact that the rest of my family had been hurt whereas I had not been. What is going on? Why had I been spared by the murderous executioner? With every thought, my foot pressed harder on the accelerator as I shifted the car to greater speeds. Anxiously, I looked into the rear seat to check on Teddy. He lay pale and unmoving in the leather seat with only an occasional groan of pain.

“Teddy, please hang on, don’t you die on me too!” I wept to the prone figure behind me. I glanced forward as I roughly dashed the tears from my eyes. “Get a hold of yourself, Elaina Niven, you need to be strong.” I commanded myself. “You need to find out who would do such a thing and why.”

Glancing in the rearview mirror, I spied headlights growing larger every second. I noticed that my speedometer read 60 miles per hour, just as red blinking lights flashed on behind and the whelp of a siren reached my ears. I did not want to slow down but knew that I probably should. I took my foot off the accelerator and put it on the brake as I shifted gears. Pulling to the shoulder of the road, I began manually rolling the window down. The trooper walked up as I completed the task. He began to say something when I interrupted.

“Officer, I need to get my cousin, Teddy, to the hospital. He has been badly hurt.”

Scanning the rear seat, the trooper carefully shined his flashlight across Teddy’s prone body.

“Also, Officer, my aunt and uncle were murdered!” I cried.

Concerned, the Officer pulled a notebook out of his breast pocket.

“Now Miss, can you please start from the beginning and tell me all the details?” he asked.

Anxiously, I began “I was doing homework and fell asleep because it was such a beautiful day but when I woke up Greenbriar was so quiet even though Teddy was home, and everything was dark.” Taking a shaky breath half sobbing, I continued “I walked downstairs, and the only light came from the study where my uncle usually works in the evening. When I opened the door, all I could see was blood everywhere and I saw my aunt and uncle were dead.”

He immediately told me to follow him, and he rushed back to his cruiser. With siren blaring and lights flashing, he sped around me toward the city. I wondered if he had used his two-way radio to inform the police chief of everything I had told him. As the lights of the city appeared, I breathlessly prayed to God that he would allow Teddy to live.

Bustling with the vices of night life, Canyon City continued as it had since its founding, carefree and nonchalant of the horror and sorrow that crept through its outskirts.

Reaching the entrance to the hospital behind the trooper’s cruiser, I braked and shifted gears bringing the blue Studebaker to a jolting stop. I flung the door open and moved the front seat just as the trooper reached the car.

“Miss, I will carry him,” he stated as he moved around me to reach into the vehicle.

Exhausted, I acceded to his statement and stepped back to give him room. Carefully, he lifted Teddy off of the seat and carried him up the few steps into the lobby of the main hospital. A stern nurse greeted him and asked what he was doing.

“I am bringing a patient in need of emergency treatment and demand that the attending physician be called immediately.” The trooper barked out.

The nurse looked shocked for a moment before hurrying from behind her desk to search for the physician. An orderly appeared with a gurney on which the trooper gently placed Teddy. Wheeling away, the orderly retreated down the well-lit and clean smelling hallway away from me. He was met by several men and women in starched white uniforms. They talked a moment, which seemed an eternity to me, then disappeared through swinging doors.

Suddenly, I felt as if my legs had lost all feeling and I watched as the floor rushed up to meet me. Everything swirled before me. I barely registered that an orderly and the trooper had caught me before I reached the floor. They helped me to a seat and the orderly hurried away to get me a glass of water.

“Miss Niven, several troopers and the homicide detectives have been dispatched to your home.” The trooper stated, “We will need more information and details to try and piece together the puzzle properly.”

Feeling nauseous as I thought of what I had seen, I looked up at the man in uniform standing before me.

His weathered face was still young but held the knowledge of the horrors of life. Piercing and dark, his eyes held questions that he had yet to voice as his pen poised over his notepad.

“I do not know much more than what I already told you, Officer. Excuse me, but what can I call you instead of just Officer?” I asked.

“Oh, yes, I forgot in all the rush of getting Teddy here to introduce myself properly.” He held out his hand as he said, “I am Ian James, Sergeant James of the Canyon City Highway Patrol.”

Placing my hand in his for a brief shake, I acknowledged his introduction with a nod.

“Why don’t we take a short break,” James suggested as he noticed the orderly appear with a glass of water.

I nodded gratefully. “Thank you.” I included the orderly as I took the glass of cool water from his hand.

As I sipped the water from the glass, I gazed at the scene around me. Every few minutes, I glanced down the long hallway to the doors behind which Teddy had disappeared. After several minutes, Sergeant James quietly cleared his throat.

“Miss Niven, can you please explain all you know now that you have regained some of your sensibilities?” he inquired with anticipation of what clues I might add to the horrific murder that involved my family.

Deliberately, I placed the glass that still held a little water on the table to the right of the chair I sat in.

“Sergeant James, I can only tell you that I must have fallen asleep around dusk. When I awoke, I did not hear anyone moving about. This seemed strange as my cousin Teddy makes as much noise as a stampede of wild horses when he’s home, so I quietly made my way downstairs where I found my aunt and uncle lying dead on the study floor.”

Here, I paused a moment as I relived the terror of finding my guardian’s bodies lying on the floor. A shudder passed across my shoulders. I continued.

“After checking to see if they were alive, I went to the phone to call the police but then remembered that Teddy was not in the study with my aunt and uncle. I decided to search the house and grounds, especially his favorite haunts, to find him. I found him under some bushes in the back garden and brought him back to the house. I bandaged him up as best I could.” I paused for a breath.

Sergeant James interjected. “What about calling an ambulance after finding him?”

“Well,” I contemplated as I thought about his question. “I was very upset over everything, and I didn’t think Teddy could wait the length of time it would take an ambulance to reach Greenbriar. Since Uncle Roger taught me how to drive, I thought it would be best to get Teddy to the hospital as quickly as I could.” I concluded.

Behind us, a loud commotion reached our ears. Turning, I saw several officers marching toward us as Sergeant James rose from his seat to greet his Superior who led the group.

“Sir, this is Miss Elaina Niven the ward of the deceased, who alerted us of the homicide,.” Sergeant James reported as he saluted briskly.

Acknowledging the salute, the chief of police turned to me with a stern and cold gaze that sent a shiver of apprehension up and down my spine.

“James, what information have you gleaned from the suspect?” the Chief growled before I could say anything or ask any questions. My mouth dropped open, and my mind went blank at his use of ‘suspect’ in reference to me.

I was already exhausted and numb from all the excitement and the grotesque scenes I had witnessed this evening. Also, I had had no chance to eat dinner which after all that I had seen probably would not have stayed down.

“Sir, what do you mean suspect?” Sergeant James incredulous question interrupted my inner thoughts. “She is the one that informed the department of the matter and rushed her cousin here to save his life.”

Unexpectedly, I felt as if I was just an observer of the dramatic scene before me. I could hear noises and sounds but could not understand any words being said. Inside my head, my thoughts screamed at me that everything was just a dream and none of the events up to this point were real. As these thoughts grew louder and more vehement, the swinging doors down the corridor opened to emit several people wearing starched white uniforms. In my peripheral vision, I saw them walking slowly towards me. A man in the forefront wore a somber expression and shook his head at a question as he advanced towards me.

Breath and strength left my body at the same moment as I collapsed to the ground. Light and noises receded from me as darkness engulfed me.