I frantically tried to think of what would keep him talking. "To me? But—but what about Ann Feeney? Is she nothing, too?"
He made a high-pitched howling sound that was so eerie I could feel chills race down my skin. "She was everything! Everything, Tess, but she laughed. I proposed to her, but she laughed at me. Said nobody proposes after only three dates, and she was getting ready to break up with me anyway. I showed her."
His lips parted in an insane grin. "She'll never laugh at anybody again."
"I—oh, Vern," I whispered.
But he was off again. "Did you like it? Did you like the ring? Ann threw it back at me, but you liked it, didn't you, Tess? We just have to keep that stupid tiger away from you."
I edged toward my left an inch or so, backing away from the door so as not to spook him.
"Come downstairs, Vern, where we can talk, okay? Let's put Mellie on the couch to rest, and you can tell me all about it. About Ann and the ring."
His eyes lit up for a moment, but then he scowled. "Trying to trick me. You don't love me yet, but you will. Once I kill that tiger, you'll love me. I'll keep you with me until he's gone. You'll love me then."
A slight sound from outside gave me hope and a little bit of courage.
"Yes, Vern. Yes, I'm sure I'll come to love you, But I'm afraid of knives. You don't want to scare me, do you?"
He took a step down, still dragging Mellie, and stared at me suspiciously. "You don't mean it," he said, and he pulled Mellie toward him, slicing a shallow cut on the side of her neck.
I caught my breath and then started crying. "Yes, I do mean it. I promise I do, Vern. But now you're scaring me. I don't like the sight of blood after what happened to Jeremiah. You know about that, right? Please let Mellie go, and we can talk."
Vern studied my face and then came down the last step, finally releasing Mellie. She slumped sideways but didn't fall down hard enough to hurt herself more than she already was.
I saw the faint flicker of a shadow outside the window.
"Vern! Vern, look at me," I said, needing him to turn his back to the window. "We can talk about where we'll go on our honeymoon, okay? I'm tired of Dead End. How about Hawaii? Or Europe? Wherever you want."
He stumbled toward me, a terrible hope in his eyes that was terrifying to see. "Yes, Tess. I think I'd like to go to Alaska. I never want to be hot, like it is here, ever again. You're the apple of my eye, Tess. Youarethe apple of my eye."
I tried not to flinch. "I know, Vern. I know."
"We can live in a little log cabin, and we can go fishing, and…"
I prompted him. "Yes! I love fishing. Uncle Mike taught me how when I was a little girl. We'd have so much fun in a log cabin. Maybe we could—"
An explosive shattering of glass announced Jack's arrival on the scene, and Vern whirled around to face him, crouching, knife in hand.
I bent down and grabbed the palm log I'd carried in from the kitchen earlier and put on the floor next to the stairs and gave it my Dead End High softball team best, aiming to swing it clear through his back. When it connected, it knocked him down to his knees and the knife went flying. Vern frantically scrabbled for the knife, but it was too late.
A full-grown Bengal tiger now stood between my stalker and his weapon of choice.
I ran up the steps to Mellie, pulling out my phone to dial 911.
For once, Belle, the dispatcher, didn't give me any crap. "Andy, Susan, and the ambulance are on the way, Tess."
I hung up and put my arms around Mellie. "It's okay, Mellie. It's okay. The ambulance is on the way."
She opened her eyes and stared at me. "Is it really you? Oh, Tess, thank God. Thank God."
She burst into tears, and I was crying, too.
"I knew you'd figure it out. I knew you'd understand the jelly donut message," she sobbed.
I laughed while still crying. "Mellie. Maybe next time try something a little less subtle."
Within minutes, the sheriff was there, and Susan took Vern, now screaming incoherently, into custody.
