by Cindy Bell
“Can I see what you’ve picked out?”
“Sure, come on in.” Mary turned to face her.
“No, that’s not going to do.” Suzie walked slowly around Mary and swept her gaze over the long dress she wore. “You look like you’re going to a funeral, not shopping for a new car.”
“Suzie.” Mary sighed as she flopped her hands against the skirt of her dress. “You know I have no idea how to do any of this. But this is the best dress that I have. It’s not like I’m going to fit into anything of yours.” She patted her belly. “You’ve never been this size.”
“Mary, you’re gorgeous. The dress is pretty, but not for what we’re doing today. I think we can come up with something. Let me just take a look.” She stepped around her and into her closet. As she sorted through the clothing she began to see the colors and styles come together. Soon she had an outfit for Mary to try on.
“That blouse and those pants together?” Mary scrunched up her nose. “Don’t you think that’s a little showy?”
“I think it will look gorgeous on you.” Suzie thrust the hangers towards her. “Now change quickly, we want to get there before he closes up for the day.”
“All right, fine I will. But I’m still not sure about this.” She frowned as Suzie headed out the door of her room.
“Just put it on, trust me.” Suzie closed the door behind her, then checked her make-up in the hall mirror. She didn’t usually wear much, but on this occasion she’d gone a little heavy. They needed to look the part if they hoped to get any information from him. Jason’s warning echoed through her mind. Just how dangerous of a man could Benjamin Kline be?
It was quite a drive to get to Kline’s high-end dealership, which gave them both some time to rehearse their roles.
“I’m not sure I can pull this off, Suzie.” Mary smoothed down her blouse. “I’ve never been wealthy, I’ve never even had more than I needed.”
“It’s not so hard. Just remember, you have enough in your purse to buy whatever you please.”
“I’ve never experienced that.” Mary laughed. “But I guess I can pretend.”
“Don’t worry, we can handle this.” Suzie turned into the parking lot of a large building with several glass walls. It wasn’t hard to see the flashy cars through the glass as they were all brightly colored and aimed towards the outside.
“Let’s do this.” Mary shot Suzie a brief, nervous look, then stepped out of the car.
“It’s almost closing time, I doubt there will be any other customers inside.” Suzie stepped out of the car as well. “We need to put some distance between us and this car or he’s never going to believe we’re well off enough to step inside his showroom.” She caught Mary’s elbow and drew her along beside her. As they reached the towering glass door, it swung open to reveal a tall, fit man wearing a well-tailored suit.
“Welcome.” He smiled as he held open the door for both of them. “I wasn’t expecting another appointment today. Did you have a chance to schedule one?”
“No, I’m sorry, we didn’t.” Suzie smiled at him and offered her most endearing laugh. “My friend, Mary is in the market for a car. When she told me this, I just knew I had to refer her here. I window shop your cars all the time. I’ve never been daring enough to come inside, but Mary, she’s a lot braver than I am.”
“Is that so?” He smiled as he turned his attention to Mary. “I guess you know a good thing when you see it.”
“I do.” Mary clutched her purse, but did her best to keep her voice smooth. “I’m interested in something very reliable, and of course with all of the bells and whistles. I do like my little luxuries.”
“As you should.” He offered her his arm. “Can I get you both some coffee? Tea?”
“Nothing for me, thanks.” Mary swept her gaze over the assortment of vehicles lined up in the showroom. She’d never laid her eyes on most of them.
“She’d just like to look at a few, I think. We wouldn’t want her to get overwhelmed.” Suzie patted the curve of Mary’s shoulder, then eased her in the direction of a cherry red sportscar. “This one looks like it would suit you just fine.”
“Hmm, it seems a little bright.” Mary leaned close to peer through the window of the front driver’s side door.
“You don’t have to look from afar, go on and get inside.” Benjamin reached past her to open the door.
“Oh no, thank you.” Mary stepped back as she imagined trying to bend the right way to get into the car. Her knees were not likely to cooperate. “What about this one?” She started towards another car in the showroom.
“Perhaps before we try any out, we could find out a little bit more about you, Benjamin.” Suzie turned to face him, his gaze was focused on Mary. He glanced at her, then raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t recall introducing myself.” He stared at her, the question in his eyes quite evident.
“No, you didn’t. You must be off your game tonight.” Suzie smiled and casually glanced at Mary, before looking back at him. “No matter, I already know who you are. Benjamin Kline. Did you know Graham from Graham’s Garage?”
“Wait a minute.” His hands balled into fists at his sides. “Is this some kind of sting? Are you the police?”
“No, we’re not the police.” Mary walked over to join her. “But we do want to know the truth about Graham’s death. Did you know him?”
“Not in person.” He frowned, then glanced at his watch. “I have nothing to say to either of you, I’m going to call my lawyer if you continue to harass me.”
“We’re not harassing you, we just want to know if you know anything about Graham.” Suzie nodded, and offered him a confident smile.
“This is ridiculous, I know nothing about what happened to him.” He took a step back.
“You’re right, we don’t belong here.” Mary met his eyes as she interrupted him. “I will never be able to afford a car like this. But I will spend every ounce of my energy to find out what happened to Graham. Do you want to fight that battle, or do you want to give us a little information?”
“I don’t want any trouble. I’ve got nothing to hide.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at both of them. “What do you want to know?”
“You said you didn’t know Graham in person, what does that mean?” Suzie locked eyes with him.
“It means that we talked now and then. I have a few customers in Parish, and a few more in Garber. We don’t have a service department on site and they don’t like traveling far for their service. So, I arranged with Graham for him to work on their cars. He came highly recommended. Then my customers’ cars started getting stolen. As you can imagine, I was not pleased.” He shrugged.
“Not pleased, or enraged?” Mary studied him. “Just how angry did it make you that somehow your customers were being robbed, and it was likely your fault?”
“I don’t like what you’re implying. I asked someone to look into this matter for the sake of my customers. Of course, I wanted to know what happened. My customers invest a lot of money in these vehicles, and part of their draw is the state-of-the-art security that goes with them. I think that somehow the keys were being cloned and I wanted to know how that was happening and who was doing it.”
“Cloning?” Suzie asked.
“Yes, thieves clone the frequencies from the keys. So yes, I wanted to know how the cars were being stolen. But I wouldn’t have done anything to harm anyone. I’m a businessman, that’s it.” He looked between them. “Now, if that’s all, it’s time to close up. You two have a nice night.” He walked back over to the door.
“One more thing.” Suzie followed after him. “What do you know about Brody and Carlene?”
“Brody? Carlene?” Benjamin blinked, then shook his head. “I’ve never heard of them. Last chance to leave without me calling the authorities.” He held open the door for them.
“Okay, sorry to have bothered you.” Mary nodded.
“Goodnight, Mr. Kline.” Suzie gestured for Mary to
step out ahead of her.
Chapter 15
On the drive back to Garber, Suzie and Mary discussed their meeting with Benjamin.
“I honestly don’t think he had a clue what Marlin was up to. He didn’t seem to recognize Brody or Carlene’s names at all.” Mary frowned as she wove the car in and out of the traffic build-up that came with rush hour. “Why do you think Marlin kept threatening Carlene? She could be lying about it, but if he is still threatening her he has to know something we don’t, something more than just her gang affiliation.”
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out. Pam told me he mentioned that he’s staying at the Bluebird, just outside of Garber. I say, we make one more try to get information out of him.”
“Are you sure?” Mary gazed through the windshield of the car. “It’s getting late, and we’re supposed to meet with Carlene, remember?”
“Oh, I remember, that’s why I want to talk to Marlin first. Here’s the hotel, the next right.” She pointed out a sign on the road. Suzie quickly sent a text to Paul explaining that she might be a little late for dinner as they were planning on picking up the car that night.
“I see it.” Mary turned into the parking lot of the Bluebird Motel. For a low-cost motel, it managed to keep its grounds clean, but its customers were another story. It was known for hosting seedy characters. “There he is.” Mary pointed to a motel room as Marlin exited it. She watched him get into the driver’s side of a car. There was a large sticker advertising the rental company in the rear windshield. “A rental car.”
“Oh, he’s backing out,” Suzie said. Mary followed behind him as he pulled into a grocery store parking lot. The parking lot was almost full. After driving down a few aisles, Marlin parked in a spot. “Pull in there.”
“Okay.” Mary pulled into a spot a few spots away from Marlin’s.
“What’s he doing?” Suzie asked as they stared towards his car.
“It looks like he’s just sitting there,” Mary said. “Oh, he’s pulling out now.”
“Weird, he didn’t even get out of the car.” Suzie frowned. “Keep your distance so he doesn’t spot you.”
“All right, I’ll hang back. Then we can get behind him.” Mary drummed her fingertips on the steering wheel as she slowed down. Marlin’s car came into view, she waited a few more seconds to be sure that he wouldn’t spot them. However, as she watched him continue through the parking lot, her eyes widened. “Isn’t that Carlene’s car?”
“Where?” Suzie sat forward in her seat and peered through the windshield. The crowded grocery store parking lot was full of cars on the move, but it only took her a few seconds to spot Carlene’s car. It was right in front of Marlin’s. “Oh wow, yes I think it is. Do you think he’s following her?”
“He doesn’t seem to be the type to let things slide, so I’d guess yes, he is.” Mary frowned as she slowed down a little more. “Should we keep following him?”
“Sure. It kills two birds with one stone, right? Besides, I don’t want Marlin to have the chance to point his gun at her again. I still don’t trust him, and at this point, he might be after her more out of revenge than because of a job.” Suzie glanced towards the stoplight at the end of the parking lot. “It looks like they are planning to go left. Hang back some and let a few other cars get between you and Marlin, otherwise we’ll all be lined up together and I’m sure we’ll be spotted.”
“Okay.” Mary took a deep breath and turned down an aisle of the parking lot, away from Marlin’s car. She wound her way back through to the exit, once a few other cars had piled up in the left turn lane. As she turned on her turn signal she glanced over at Suzie. “Maybe you should drive?”
“It’s too late for that.” Suzie pointed to the green arrow that popped up on the stoplight. “We’re going. You can do this. All you have to do is drive, I will keep track of where Marlin is going.”
As Mary wound through the streets after the two cars, she realized they were getting far away from Garber, and Parish.
“They’re headed into the mountains.” Mary glanced over at Suzie. “I’ve never really driven up there before.”
“It’s all right, I’m sure they’re not going to get too far before they turn in another direction.” Suzie stared hard through the windshield. To her surprise, Marlin began to wind his way up the mountain. She hadn’t driven on the mountain much either. There was never a need to. But she’d heard stories about the treacherous roads. It was an unincorporated area, and neither town wanted to claim ownership and tackle the repairs that the roads needed.
Mary continued along the road with some space between her car and Marlin’s. The road wasn’t very populated.
“Do you think he will notice us? I mean, he must.”
“I think he’s too preoccupied with following Carlene to suspect that anyone is following him. But he’s speeding up.” Suzie frowned.
“I’m not going to lose him.” Mary increased her speed. As she did the wheels of the car bounced through some potholes and uneven patches on the road.
“Mary, slow down!” Suzie braced her hands against the dashboard as the road became even more uneven. “Something isn’t right, slow down!”
“Okay, I’m trying.” Mary frowned as she pressed her foot against the brake. “It’s the slope of the road, it’s making it hard to control the car.” She looked over at Suzie and caught sight of the fear in her eyes. She wished Suzie was driving, she was much more confident than her. “It’s okay, I’ve got it. Just hold on!” Mary pressed down harder on the brake and held the wheel steady as the car shuddered in response to the sudden pressure. Ahead of them, Marlin seemed to be having more trouble. The rear of his car slid back and forth, then the front aimed towards the edge of the narrow road.
“Oh no!” Suzie gasped as she saw Marlin’s car head for the edge. “He’s going to go over!”
“Maybe not, maybe he’ll just—” Mary let out a short scream as the front wheels of Marlin’s car tipped over the edge of the road. “We have to do something!”
“Focus on the road, Mary!” Suzie grabbed the steering wheel as the car began to drift towards the edge as well. “There’s nothing we can do! It’s too late.” Her voice trembled as her words were punctuated by the grind and squeal of Marlin’s car as it continued over the rim of the cliff.
Tears blurred Mary’s vision with panic, as she pushed the brake harder. Finally, the car came to a stop. She threw the car door open and jumped out, with Suzie only a few steps behind her. As Mary ran towards the cliff, she noticed that Carlene’s car continued on. It didn’t even look like it had slowed down.
“Should we go try and help him?” Suzie moved towards the edge of the cliff. She could barely take a breath as her heart pounded and the world around her spun. Had she just witnessed the end of a man’s life? She hoped it wasn’t true, but she knew that it very likely was.
“No, Suzie don’t.” Mary caught her by the elbow and pulled her back towards her. “We need to call for help. We don’t know what caused Marlin to lose control. It could have been an oil patch, or it could have been the slope or—”
“Or someone could have tampered with his car.” Suzie narrowed her eyes at the thought. As her heart began to slow, she could think clearly again, and immediately she realized how strange it was that Carlene continued on. There was no chance that she hadn’t seen Marlin slide off the road. She was only a few feet ahead of him when it happened. In fact, she must have sped up in order to avoid a collision. Had she known it was Marlin? “Oh Mary, what if Carlene really had something to do with this?”
“We have no proof.” Mary lowered the phone in her hand. “I just called Wes. He said help is on the way. Jason is coming, too.” She wiped a hand across her forehead and looked back at the edge of the cliff. “Maybe if it wasn’t so steep, we could find a way down there.”
“No.” Suzie breathed. “Don’t even think it, Mary. You were right, it’s far too dangerous.”
“I know it is.” Mary wi
nced as she did her best to hold back her tears. “But Suzie—”
“I know, sweetheart.” Suzie wrapped her arms around her and held her close. “I know, it’s just terrible, but there is nothing that we can do now. We called for help, and hopefully they will get here quickly. Let’s go back to the car. It’s safer there.” She led Mary back to the car. Sirens screamed through the balmy evening air.
The next few minutes were a blur of flashing lights, endless sirens, and uniforms. Minutes later, Wes’ car pulled up, followed closely by Jason’s patrol car. The narrow mountain road, barren not long before, was now spotted with large, bright vehicles. The headlights of all of the vehicles gave the area an ambient glow.
“Mary!” Wes ran towards the car, just as Mary stepped out of it.
“Wes, we’re both okay.” She looked over her shoulder at Suzie. “Marlin’s car went over the edge. There are rescuers down there, but no one has come back up.”
“It doesn’t look good.” Suzie crossed her arms as she looked past Wes towards Jason. “It’s such a sheer drop.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Jason paused beside them. “What happened?”
“It looked like he just lost control.” Mary frowned. “Our car was slipping on the road, too. But it was like he couldn’t slow down.”
Wes stepped aside to speak briefly into his radio. As he did, between the crackle of the connection, Mary tried to hear what they were saying, but she couldn’t hear anything. She turned towards Suzie, whose expression indicated she was trying to do the same thing.
“Looks like he’s going to be okay. A few injuries, of course, but it looks like he’s going to be fine.” Wes walked back towards them. “Luckily, it’s a rescue.”
“Are you okay?” Jason asked.
“It’s just such a relief.” Suzie sighed.
“I’m sorry, I have to investigate this. How did all of you end up on this road?” Wes looked into Mary’s eyes.
“We were following him.” Mary’s cheeks flushed. “But I didn’t get close to him.”