The Mystery of Echo Caverns — Rachel C. Payes

On the basis of nothing more than a vague letter and an uninformative telephone call, Gwen Fisher had given up her public relations job in New York City and headed upstate to see if she could help an old friend. The friend, Meg, always gay and lighthearted in college, evidently was no so gay now, the caverns that her father had developed years ago as a tourist attraction suddenly seemed to have become frightening -- “malignant” was the word Meg used.

Gwen hoped that, if by any chance she had misunderstood Meg's hints and implications, the trip would at least serve to distract her from her currant and painful memories of Keith Jones. Because, try as she might, Gwen could not forget the man who had let her love him and then walked out and married someone else.

Gwen's hopes were in vain; there was indeed something malignant about Echo Caverns, and as for forgetting Keith, that was impossible, Keith was Meg's husband!

Shocked and dismayed at finding herself with Keith again, especially under such circumstances, Gwen planned to leave Echo Caverns Lodge immediately, but a much-changed Meg pleaded with her to stay. Not that Meg ever asked help directly, on the contrary, she denied being upset and pretended that she had never asked Gwen's help with public relations. It was the look in Meg's eyes and the tensions of the lodge that gave Gwen her clue.

Meg's life revolved around the caves, which she know owned. In Echo Caverns Lodge, other lives too, revolved around the caves. Besides Meg and Keith, there were the brawny receptionist, Valerie Valento; the barely civil scientist Doug Benson; and an employee of long standing -- and a devoted admirer of Meg -- Hal Varole. The relationships within the group were not cordial.

Nor were the caverns themselves cordial, at least not to Gwen, who was observant to jeering echoes and underground caves. But to understand the was held of Keith's whispers that he must see her alone, his own unwilling explanation of the labyrinth, and Meg's mysterious screams and fainting spells.

Every day Gwen wanted to leave, and every day something happened to keep her there just a little bit longer. Then one night, when Gwen was doing some sleuthing in the caverns, she over hears the angry echoes of a quarrel, she shouts for help and a sudden, chilling stillness.

Now it was impossible to leave the lodge; a murder had been committed, and the police were detaining everyone. Fortunately for Gwen, an old friend of Meg's -- Arnie Lantz -- had arrived the day before the tragedy, and, as Gwen, he had come because of a vague but distinct plea for help. As the police asked more and more questions, tension mounted. Anyone could have been the murderer, everyone seemed to have a motive. Gwen realized to her horror, that she herself was under suspicion and that Keith, the man she once planned to marry, was even more so.

Only the late arrived Arnie, appeared to be in the clear, along with the uncommunitive Doug Benson, who had other things to be mysterious about. Then some suspect was eliminated by murder, again in that chamber of horrors the caverns.

Yet Gwen had to go down there one more time to report what appeared to be an important new discovery to the captain of the police. She could not locate the captain, but wandering helplessly in the underground maze, she came into an unexpected passage and met someone waiting patiently for her, waiting for her to make her the next victim.