Southern Greed Read online

  I suddenly realize this had been planned. They had fixed up this room so I couldn’t get out. This must have been plan B. Adam must have thought that with me out of the way, he would be next in line for the inheritance.

  He obviously didn’t know that if I didn’t inherit, then all the money would go to charity. There was no way I would tell him, but either way I was still doomed unless I could get someone to help me.

  My meals were brought up to me and they fed me well. The only thing I was given to drink was milk and I wondered if they knew I was pregnant.

  A few days later Adam brought Doctor Sims up to see me and left her in the room with me alone.

  “You’ve got to help me,” I said as she examined me. “I’m a prisoner here. Did you know that? They’re keeping me locked up here. You’ve got to get me out of here.”

  She pulled the surgical gloves off her hands and looked at me with sympathy, “Kathy, Adam loves you. He feels horrible about the way he’s treated you but he wants this baby. I know it feel like you’re a prisoner but you’re not. Just give him another chance. He wants to be a loving husband to you and a good father to the baby.

  “Sometimes, when a woman is pregnant, she becomes delusional. It will pass. You and the baby are doing really well by the way. You must have been taking good care of yourself.”

  “Please, doctor, you’re not listening to me. They keep the door locked. I really am a prisoner. I’m not delusional. Please help me.”

  She looked at the door and then back at me, “The door wasn’t locked just now when Adam brought me up.” She patted my hand, “Get plenty of rest and take some walks. It will help you when you get ready to deliver.”

  That gave me hope, “Tell Adam I need to walk. Maybe he will let me out to walk.”

  “I’m sure he will,” She said with a smile and walked out.

  Either she didn’t believe me or she was in on whatever their plans for me were. I gave her a few minutes to get down the stairs and then ran to the door. It was unlocked and I got confused. I walked right out.

  I stood at the top of the stairs and listened to the doctor tell Adam that I was a little delusional and for him to call her if that got any worse. Then she told him that I needed to take walks and he said, “I’ve been trying to get her to take walks with me but she refuses.”

  “Try to be patient with her, Adam. She’s been through a lot but she’s a healthy young woman and I think she will be all right.”

  He saw her to the front door and then started back up the stairs. I ran down the hall and hid in another bedroom. This one was done up in shades of burgundy and gray. It looked very masculine. I heard someone coming and I hid in the armoire. I knelt down and prayed to the God I wasn’t sure I believed in anymore.

  The door was jerked open and Adam and Mrs. Dover pulled me out and forced me back down the hall to the gold room. Adam pushed me onto the bed and they went out and locked the door.

  Everything seemed so hopeless that I cried myself to sleep that night. The next morning Adam came up and got me right after breakfast and said he was taking me for a walk.

  I saw several of the servants on the grounds, who had testified against me and knew it would do no good to try to run or to get help from them.

  CHAPTER 28

  As the weeks went by the doctor’s visits became more frequent. I finally gave up trying to convince the doctor that I was being held prisoner.

  I didn’t believe the doctor was in on the scam and I started to believe she had only been trying to help my grandmother before. I now believed that someone was slowly poisoning my grandmother. I believed that they had decided to quit after I got there and decided to frame me for murder. Both Adam and Rachael had made sure they were out of town when my grandmother was murdered, but they could have put the poison in the mince meat before they left.

  One day Adam and Mrs. Dover came to tell me that my grandmother’s lawyer was waiting downstairs to see me.

  “He has the final papers for you to sign for your inheritance,” Adam said. “I told him you weren’t feeling well and that we would bring him up here as soon as you put on a robe.”

  He pulled out a gun and handed it to Mrs. Dover who went into the closet but left the door ajar.

  “Mrs. Dover will have the gun pointed at you at all times. I want you to sign the papers, make small talk and let him leave. If Mrs. Dover thinks at any time that you are trying to signal him, she will shoot both of you. She’s a good shot. I taught her.

  “I want you to tell him how glad you are that we’re back together, that you’re happy and can’t wait to have my baby. If he asks how you’re feeling, you’re to tell him you don’t feel real well right now but that your doctor says you are doing great. That you’re just a little tired. Do you understand all that, Kathy?”

  “I hate you,” I said and he laughed.

  “I really don’t care how you feel about me. All I need you to do is have this baby.”

  Adam went down and got Colin. I did as instructed and he had me sign the papers.

  “Don’t you want to know how much money you get?” He asked.

  I shrugged and he laughed, “You get, after my fees, 143 million dollars which includes this mansion and the surrounding property which is valued at 3.8 million. Kathy, I will be happy to still act as your attorney if you want or you can get someone else.”

  Adam hadn’t told me how to handle this part so I just agreed that he would still be my attorney.

  He stood to leave and smiled at me, “If you need anything at all or need some questions answered, don’t hesitate to call me. My card is there inside the folder I’m leaving you. Do you have any questions for me now?

  “No, but I will call if I need you. Thank you so much Colin.”

  Adam had been standing in the doorway the whole time and, as he led Colin out, Mrs. Dover stepped out of the closet. She had a big grin on her face, “143 million dollars,” She said. “Too bad you won’t be around to help spend it.”

  “Are y’all going to kill me?”

  She laughed, “What do you think?”

  I was crying when Adam got back to my room and he looked at Mrs. Dover, “What did you say to her?”

  She looked scared and I realized how dangerous Adam was. “I didn’t say anything to her,” Mrs. Dover stuttered.

  I took my robe off and started to get back into bed and realized they had quit talking and were staring at my belly. It was getting big. The look they gave each other terrified me. They looked downright triumphant.

  I now realized that the only reason they were keeping me alive, the only reason they were keeping me healthy was so that I would give birth and I dreaded to think about what their plans were for me after I had my baby.

  They must have known about the will, so they were counting on the baby for the money.

  One day Mrs. Dover came into my bedroom and asked me where the jewels were.

  “I don’t know anything about any jewels. My grandmother never mentioned them.”

  “You’re lying, you little bitch,” She said as she hovered over me.

  She terrified me the way she kept screaming and at one point she even shook her fist at me until Adam came in.

  “What’s going on here? I could hear you from outside, Mrs. Dover. What are you up to?”

  “I’m trying to get Kathy to tell us where the jewels are but, being the little bitch she is, she won’t tell me.”

  He tried to take a different tactic and put his arms around me, “It’s okay, darling. Just cooperate and things will go all right for you. I’m going to be up front with you. I’m going to tell you our plans for you.”

  The funny thing about being held hostage is that you get to the point where any small act of kindness is like a bucket of water in the desert. You will soak it up, even if part of you knows that there are no good intentions involved.

  He held me while I cried on his shoulder. Then he dried my eyes with a tissue. “It’s okay, darling. We’re not going t
o hurt you,” He said. “After you have the baby, you will be taken far away from here. Mother and I and Rachael will keep the baby. We will say you have run away. Dr. Sims knows that you have been delusional and after the baby is born you will run away.” It was then that I realized that Mrs. Dover was his mother.

  “Don’t try to go to the cops. You will be watched for years. You won’t even know who will be watching you, it could be your doctor, you yard man, or whomever. We already have false ID for you and you will be given plenty of money to live on.

  “The child will be safe with us and I promise you he will be well taken care of by us, his grandmother and daddy. But for now, we need you to tell us where the jewels are. Since we’re having to wait for the cash, we need those jewels to sell so we can continue to run the mansion, it’s not cheap you know.”

  “But I honestly don’t know where they are. If I knew I would tell you. Please believe me, Adam.”

  He looked up at Mrs. Dover, “I think she’s telling the truth. We have to wait for the money. In the meantime, let’s start looking. Rachael will help us.”

  CHAPTER 29

  The doctor’s visits suddenly stopped when I was over eight months pregnant. No one explained it to me but then a very fat Mexican woman was brought to me by Mrs. Dover.

  Mrs. Dover introduced her to me, “This is Lucinda. She is a midwife and will be delivering your baby.”

  I stared at the woman in horror. She looked filthy. She had on a long jeans skirt and a peasant blouse that used to be white but was now just dirt colored. She was barefoot and her hair needed an oil change.

  Lucinda looked at Mrs. Dover, “You go way. I examin.”

  Mrs. Dover crossed her arms over her breast, “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Lucinda copied her and crossed her arms, “I examin. You go way!”

  Mrs. Dover uncrossed her arms and looked at Lucinda and then at me and then back at Lucinda. She finally nodded and left.

  Lucinda pushed me back on the bed and took off my panties. I pointed to the bathroom wanting her to at least wash her hands. She looked where I was pointing and then at me. Then she went over to her bag and reached inside and got out a pair of surgical gloves. I noticed her fingernails as she was working the gloves on. They were long and dirty.

  She was rough when she examined me and she hurt me really badly. When she finished she nodded as she snapped off her gloves, “Soon,” she said and started for the door.

  “Wait,” I said in a loud whisper. I motioned her to come back. She bent down so she could hear me because I was whispering. “Please help me escape. I will give you lots of money.”

  She frowned and I said, “Money, money.” I didn’t know what else to say. She obviously couldn’t speak or understand English very well.

  Finally she said, “Ah, money, yes, they pay,” She motioned toward the door.

  “I’ll give you more,” I said spreading my hands wide. Tears started running down my face as I became frustrated.

  Then I saw what looked like a light come on behind her eyes and I thought she was beginning to understand. It did no good, however because, just as soon as I thought I was getting through to Lucinda, Mrs. Dover opened the door.

  Lucinda nodded at Mrs. Dover and said, “Soon.”

  Mrs. Dover led her out but when she got to the door, she looked at me over her shoulder and winked. It gave me hope. I thought maybe she had understood what I was trying to tell her.

  Mrs. Dover came back and told me that Lucinda would be back when I went into labor and what little hope I had, evaporated.

  I became more and more depressed and, if it hadn’t been for the baby, I think I wouldn’t have cared what happened to me. I would have given up completely.

  CHAPTER 30

  The pain woke me up at around three a.m. I didn’t want to wake anyone and I was scared not to. It didn’t last long and I thought it was just indigestion or something. I dozed back off and heard a knocking at the head of my bed, and then another contraction hit me. I gasped and the knocking continued.

  “Let me in, Kathy,” A voice whispered.

  I had noticed that here was no headboard on this bed but just some heavy draperies that were hung a few feet over the bed. It was one of the things I had thought was so ugly about the room. The knocking sounded like it was coming from behind the drapery.

  I pulled back the drapery and found a bare wall. I sat up in bed and put my ear against the wall and heard the voice again. I recognized Ronnie’s voice, “Kathy, let me in.”

  I whispered back, “How?”

  “There’s a tiny button under the left side of the bed.”

  I felt along under the bed frame and felt what might have been a tiny bump, almost like a flaw in the metal. I pushed on that but nothing happened. I scooted back up to the head of the bed again and another contraction hit me, this one worst than the last one.

  Ronnie was whispering, “Please hurry, Kathy,” But I couldn’t reply until the contraction passed.

  It finally passed and I took a deep breath and whispered, “I pushed but nothing happened.”

  “You have to use a pen and push hard.”

  I got up off the bed and, holding my belly, walked over to the dresser. I looked in all the drawers but could not find a pen. Then I remembered I had one in my purse in the top of the closet. I found my purse easily and pulled it down. It came open and everything spilled out.

  I saw the pen on the floor and bent down to get it and a wave of nausea hit me. I took deep breaths until it passed and bent down again and picked up the pen. I went back over to the bed and ran my hand under the frame until I found the button. I pushed the pen against it and heard a faint click. Ronnie pushed a small door open and crawled through onto my bed.

  I hugged him and he was grinning from ear to ear. I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life. “How did you know about this?” I asked.

  “Granny Grace showed me. This used to be her room. I used to visit with her.” He got tears in his eyes, “I loved granny grace.”

  Just then another contraction hit me and I gasped.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I think I’m about to have my baby.”

  “You can’t have a baby now, Kathy. We have to get out of here.” He patted my back, “You can have it when we get out.”

  I nodded and could feel the pain easing up, but when I looked at the opening he had come through I didn’t think I could fit through there and told him so.

  “You have to, Kathy. I’ll help you.”

  He went first and I got the top part of my body through but my belly got hung up. I was terrified of hurting my baby but I pushed in on my belly and was able to get through.

  Ronnie pushed another tiny button beside the door and the door closed and a light came on. We were on a landing made of concrete and there were concrete stairs beyond going down. Going down the stairs wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. They weren’t steep and I didn’t have any contractions going down.

  When we got to the bottom of the stairs we were in a shallow cave. Outside just a few feet from the cave entrance was the ocean. The first hint of sunrise was coming up over the ocean and the water and sky were pink.

  I still wasn’t having any more pain and decided that what I had been experiencing was false labor. The baby wasn’t due for another three weeks.

  Ronnie led me over to some rocks that made up the jetty and we sat down beside them on the sand so that we were blocked from sight from the house. It was low tide and the water was calm.

  Ronnie looked at me and grinned, “I rescued you, didn’t I, Kathy?”

  I pulled him to me and hugged him, “You sure did, Ronnie, but how did you know I needed rescuing?”

  “I tried to go see you but your mean husband wouldn’t let me. You should have married my dad. He’s nice but he told me not to come back to the mansion. I told him I had to come rescue you but he told me to forget it. That’s why I had to sneak out tonight.”
/>   I looked around but only saw the ocean. The mansion was isolated. “How are we going to get out of here?”

  “My dad will come over from the mainland in his boat as soon as he gets up. He’ll know where I went. I’ll be in trouble. You’ll stick up for me, won’t you, Kathy?”

  “Of course I will, but what do you mean, he’s coming over from the mainland?”

  “This mansion is on Tybee Island. That’s why it’s right on the ocean. They had to build it on the ocean so they could bring in the treasures from other ships.”

  “Who told you this, Ronnie?”

  “Granny Grace. Her granddaddy was a pirate,” His chest swelled out as he told me this.

  “So, that’s how they made their fortune,” I said to myself. “And that’s probably the jewels everyone’s talking about.”

  “And I know where they are,” Ronnie said with a smirk on his face.

  “You do? Did your granny tell you that too?”

  “Yep, and she let me play with them. You should see them, Kathy. There’s regular jewelry but there’s also swords and what granny called drinking vessels. I’ll show you where they are as soon as we bust these crooks.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Did you decide not to have the baby right now, Kathy? It would be better to wait until we get you to our house.”

  I laughed, “It’s not up to me when to have the baby, Ronnie. It’s up to God or nature or whatever.”

  “I don’t think I would ever want to have a baby anyway,” He said.

  I laughed and he said, “Hold on, I think I hear a boat.”

  I followed him in the opposite direction along the beach and we came to a small cove and there was a boat pulling in. I saw Eugene jump off the deck and onto the dock and tie a rope to one of the posts. Ronnie ran up to the boat and said, “I rescued her dad. I saved Kathy.”

  Eugene looked at me, “Are you all right?”

  I nodded and then broke down and cried. He jumped off the dock and opened his arms to me and held me while I cried for all the losses I had had but had been too afraid to cry about. I cried for my grandmother, for my fake of a marriage, for the loss of my mama that I had grown up with and found out she was a fake too.