Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
While I was exhausted and looked wrecked, I knew I had one more thing to do before I collapsed on the bed and went to sleep, and that was to film and record the podcast. It would be the first time I'd ever done it on my own.
We'd gone from three women having fun, drinking wine and talking about true crime to Morgan being tied up with personal commitments, Tessa in the hospital with a great deal of pain, and me having survived an attack on my life.
Maybe this hadn't been the brilliant idea we'd thought it was.
I opened my laptop and set up the lights and microphone, but I didn't bother to brush my hair, change my clothes, or apply makeup to my somewhat ravaged face.
Tessa had said being authentic and real would resonate better with the listeners, and I agreed.
Plus, I just didn't have the energy to change.
Clearing my throat, I made a few notes on the pad of paper next to me, checked the audio and the video and then hit record.
"Hello everyone. As most of you know, I'm Cassidy, one-third of the Mysteries Uncorked podcast team.
Tessa is in the hospital recovering from the surgery needed to repair her broken leg, which occurred when she fell down the stairs at the Stonecross Inn.
At least, we hope it was an accident and not that someone gave her a push.
Unfortunately, she doesn't remember much about that. "
Pausing, I added, "I hope you saw the short video we posted on our page earlier with greetings from Tessa.
She wishes she could be here, but she needs to focus on healing.
Morgan is also absent, taking care of her family in New York, but I am proceeding with our investigation into the disappearance of Natalie Warren and several other women who have gone missing while staying at the inn or after their departure. "
I took a breath and said, "You might wonder why I look so bad tonight. On my way home from the hospital, I came across a detour on the main highway. I took the road to the coast, the only one available. It was very twisty, with sharp turns, and perilously high drop-offs."
My voice shook as the memories flooded back.
"And then I saw lights behind me, blinding lights.
There was a car coming up fast, and I had nowhere to turn off.
I hit the gas. I drove as fast as I could, but the car kept coming, and then it hit me.
I barely maintained control with that first bump.
But the second one was harder, and I yanked the wheel to the left to avoid the cliff, but the turn was too sharp.
I lost control and went over the side. I can't even describe how it felt to fly through the air and tumble down a steep, rocky hillside.
Luckily, my car didn't flip, and the rocks prevented me from crashing into the sea. "
I let that sink in, then continued, "It was the most terrifying moment of my life, and I could feel the car precariously clinging to the hillside.
Every breath I took, every slight move I made, the car seemed to slide just a little.
Fortunately, someone had seen my car go over the side, and they came down the hill to rescue me. "
Clearing my throat, I continued, "At first, I was afraid the person approaching my window was the same one who had sent me crashing, but I had to trust that they weren't. Because I didn't have a choice.
The car wasn't stable. I had to get out.
Fortunately, my rescuer was able to help me out of the car, and we hit the ground seconds before the rocks gave way, and my vehicle tumbled into the sea. "
My voice shook as I relived that horrible moment. During my pause, I could see the comments flying in the chat window. I couldn't focus on them now.
"But I survived. And I know that it wasn't an accident.
Someone tried to kill me tonight. Someone who thinks I'm getting too close to the truth.
They wanted me dead, out of the way, no longer able to ask questions, to shed any kind of light on Natalie's disappearance.
But I'm still here. I'm still filming from the Stonecross Inn.
I might not be here much longer. The town wants me gone, but I'm going to try to stay, because I still have questions, and I still want to know what happened to Natalie. "
I let that sink in, then added. "To catch you up, I want to fill you in on some other things I learned today.
One involves a woman who was staying at the inn.
She took a boat out and never returned. Her name was Jessica Trent, and no one knows what happened to her, either.
A third woman who was staying at the inn when I arrived seemed to vanish in the early hours of dawn.
There's a disturbing pattern going on here, and someone needs to find out why it's happening.
I'm not sure that law enforcement is as interested as we are.
I've been given a lot of explanations as to why all these women simply wanted to live their lives without scrutiny and just walked away, suggestions that they don't want to be found, and that I might actually be hurting them by looking for them.
I don't think that's true. So, I'm going to keep looking, as long as I can. "
Staring at myself in the monitor, I added, "I know that we're not investigators.
That people have questioned how we can find answers when professionals have been unsuccessful.
Maybe we can't. But we're still trying, and that counts for something.
I wouldn't want to disappear and not have anyone look for me.
These women deserve to have someone focusing on their cases, and maybe that will convince law enforcement to take another look at their cases.
I hope to be back tomorrow with an update.
Let us know your thoughts. You're on this journey with us. Until next time."
I smiled and turned everything off, blowing out a breath as I did so.
A moment later, my phone rang. It was Tessa.
"Oh, my God," she said. "What happened, Cassidy? Why didn't you call me?"
"I assume you just heard the podcast."
"Yes. I watched it live. I can't believe you were run off the road. You should have texted me."
"I didn't want to worry you, and there was nothing you could do." I saw that Morgan was trying to call me, too. "Hang on, I'm going to make this a group chat with Morgan." I put us on the same call and said, "Before you ask, I'm fine."
"How can you be fine?" Morgan shrieked. "Someone tried to kill you."
"And who rescued you?" Tessa wanted to know.
"Finn," I said.
"Finn?" Tessa echoed. "I wasn't expecting that."
"Neither was I. I have to admit I wondered if he was the one who'd sent me over the side, but it was a steep hill, and he risked his life getting down to me, so I don't think it was him. He also backed me up with the sheriff by saying there was another car."
"You're talking about the bartender at the pub?" Morgan asked.
"Yes."
"Thank God he was there," she said.
"Tyler was there, too. He arrived a little later. I was actually on the phone with him when the crash happened. He rushed to find me and called 911. He was a good buffer between Finn and me and the sheriff when it was all over."
"The sheriff has to realize that something is happening, right?" Morgan asked. "He's going to investigate."
"No, he's not," I said. "He blew it off as me driving poorly on an unfamiliar road in the dark, and that it was just a local who knew the road and was driving fast behind me.
He suggested that I got spooked and drove myself over the side.
Not even Finn's account changed his mind, because Finn was too far away to give a description of the other car.
Anyway, he's not going to investigate. He wants me gone.
And so does Ellen. She tried to kick me out tonight when I got back to the inn. "
"That's cold," Tessa said. "After everything you just went through."
"The sheriff was here when I got back. I made a short stop at Tyler's after the accident.
I needed a breather before facing anyone.
But in that short time span, the sheriff found out about the podcast and told Ellen.
There were a lot of people around because it was happy hour, and I was in the living room talking to Dorothy when Sheriff Holloway and Ellen confronted me about the podcast."
"Damn," Tessa muttered.
"Wow," Morgan murmured. "What happened?"
"She tried to kick me out, said I was abusing her hospitality, trying to ruin the reputation of the inn. It was a brutal scene, and I knew I wasn't going to convince her to change her mind without playing my ace."
"You told her," Tessa breathed.
"I had to. It was the only way I could stop her from putting me in Ray's truck or some taxi to take me to another hotel."
"How did she take it?" Morgan asked.
"She looked genuinely shocked. I had thought maybe she suspected, but now I know she didn't have a clue. She knew we were up to something, but she didn't know what exactly until the podcast came out. She had no idea about the family connection."
"Are you sure?" Tessa questioned. "Maybe Ellen is just a good actress. Think about the note under your door a few nights ago, telling you to leave, and then me falling down the stairs or getting pushed…that would suggest someone at the inn wanted us gone."
"That's true. It could have been her or maybe Ray. My grandmother might not know what's he's been up to."
"I believe Ellen knows absolutely everything happening at the inn," Tessa said dryly. "She's a sharp lady. So how did it end?"
"I told her I wasn't leaving until we talked about my father, and she just walked away. The sheriff left after that, and most of the others, too. And I decided to come upstairs and do the podcast. It might be the last one from Stonecross."
"It was a good one," Tessa said. "The way you described what happened to you was chilling."