Wilmington, NC 03 - Murder On The Ghost Walk

together. The kids in high school all treated me like a freak. The guys called me 'Sissie.' The girls accepted me as one of them but ridiculed me behind my back. Do you think I didn't know what went on?
    "Then Shelby and Reggie befriended me, and it was li ke they held up a mirror for me - a magic mirror in which I was everything I dreamed of being. They . . . they cared about me."
    Melanie screeched, "Oh, please, spare me the hearts and flowers. You've got what you want. Now untie me! My arms are numb."
    "If you loved them so much, why did you kill them?" I asked.
    Teddy became distracted. His eyes flitted about, sweat glistened on his upper lip. Maybe it wasn't hopeless; maybe I could get the gun away from him. Or untie Melanie so we could make a run for it. Moving cautiously, I sidled closer to her. She eyed me intently. Read my mind. Kept her mouth shut.
    "You've got it wrong," Teddy cried. Tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm not a killer. Not unless I'm forced to, like Mirabelle forced me. And that awful Cecily, threatening to expose me. It was Mother. Mother killed Reggie and Shelby. She found the three of us together one night. Mother was very possessive. Until Shelby and Reggie, it had just been the two of us. My dad abandoned us when I was a baby."
    "But I thought your father was dead." I took another step toward Melanie.
    "That's what we wanted everyone to think," Teddy said , agitated .
    I had to keep him talking. "Deborah found the three of you in . . . the bedroom?" Poor Teddy. I almost felt sorry for him.
    Teddy laughed hysterically. The tears on his cheeks shone in the candlelight. "Mother said they had corrupted me. She forbade me to ever see them again. She insisted they leave me alone, but they refused. So did I. She didn't understand."
    "And she killed them to protect you," I said sympathetically.
    Teddy seemed not to hear, lost in memories of that terrible night. "Why did she have to interfere? The three of us were happy together. I hate her. I'm glad she's dead."
    "You don't mean that," I said, trying to soothe him. I recalled the bullet hole in the bedroom door frame. "She shot Reggie, didn't she? She was trying to protect you."
    "She must have crept up the stairs that night. She had a gun. I didn't know she owned one. Reggie tried to reason with her. One minute he was talking calmly to her and reaching out to take the gun. The next minute the gun exploded. Mother shot wildly, out of control. Reggie raised his arms to cover his head, and the bullets struck him in the chest. One of them must have hit his heart. He fell . I couldn’t save him ."
    Teddy was sobbing now and I seized the opportunity to move closer to Melanie. "At least, he didn't suffer," Teddy gulped. "Not like my darling Shelby."
    "Shelby ran," I guessed.
    "Poor Shelby. She was so scared. Mother was waving this gun at her. She took off. Ran out of the room. Mother shot after her but missed. Then we heard an awful thud. There was no mistaking that sound. Shelby fell down the stairs. I ran after her but I was too late to save her." Teddy raised his free hand to his forehead, covering his eyes as if to blot out the memory.
    One more step and I'd be able to reach the rope. Melanie's eyes were huge, she seemed to be holding her breath.
    "Shelby's death was an accident," I said soothingly, hoping to keep him distracted.
    "Oh, jeez. Oh, jeez." Teddy doubled over, clutching his stomach. The gun pointed at the floor. "Stop it! Stop talking about it. I can't take any more." He looked straight at me.
    Poor Teddy. What a tormented soul. But I couldn't let myself feel pity now. I had to use his grief against him. Use it to free us.
    Yet Teddy seemed unable to stop talking. Probably, this was his first opportunity to confess the terrible events of that night. "She made me put their bodies in the wall. Mother made me. She was very clever. She made me put on Reggie's clothes, and she put on Shelby's. We pulled hats over our faces and carried suitcases out to the car. Old lady Burns used to prowl around at night. Mother felt sure she'd see us. Then she'd tell every body she'd seen Reggie and Shelby leave town."
    "What did you do with the car?" I asked. Teddy was sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chin. The gun dangled loosely in his hand. I reached behind Melanie and began working on the knots.
    "We drove to the airport and left it in long-term parking. When it was found, it supported the story that Shelby and Reggie had flown to