Final Ride

by Nic Saint

  We all stared at Marisa, wishing her to simply shut up already!

  “You’re not helping, honey,” said Mom finally, displaying a tight smile.

  “Oh,” said Marisa, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I just wanted to point out the real dangers that are involved when G-force is combined with—”

  “Honey—I think we’ve got it,” said Dad, holding up his hand.

  “All right,” said Marisa, confused.

  “Look, I can understand that this is your livelihood we’re talking about here,” said Lynsey. “But we’re also talking about thousands of people who are at this moment climbing into rollercoasters that may or may not have been sabotaged, just like the Body Wrench was. Cast members who are shooting at each other with guns that may be loaded with actual live ammunition!”

  “No one is shooting at anyone,” said Dad. “We cancelled all the firearm-related activities and we’ve confiscated every single firearm for inspection. And as of an hour ago, we’ve stopped all rides and are going over them one by one before releasing them and allowing them to run. There are going to be no more accidents or sabotages, Fabrice. You have my word on that.”

  Lynsey didn’t seem convinced. “This is not just on you, Clive. It’s on me, too. I’m responsible. If I don’t shut Charleneland down, and one more incident happens—one more casualty—it’s on me. And you,” he added, his accusing finger describing a wide arc across the room. “All of you.”

  “Do you know how many days this park has been closed since we first opened our doors in 1993, Lynsey?” asked Charlene.

  ”No, ma’am, I don’t.”

  “Not a single one. We never close. Charleneland is open year-round. We never have any downtime and we never close our doors. Just like I’ve never missed a show since I started doing them. It’s the Charleneland guarantee.”

  “You’ve never faced a crisis quite like this one, ma’am. And your guarantee should be to keep the people safe—not just entertained year-round.”

  ”We have the best safety measures in place,” Charlene insisted. “Just ask Mia. She’s been on top of this thing since it happened. Just ask Dale over there. He’s getting to the bottom of this unfortunate accident as we speak.”

  “It’s Blane,” Blane said, keeping an eye on the dogs, who were resting at his feet, eagerly glancing up at him, as if he was about to throw them a bone.

  “Whatever,” said Charlene. She patted the table, her bangles clinking merrily. “The point is, we’re the last word on safety at Charleneland, not you.”

  Judging from the beads of perspiration on the inspector’s brow, the sheets of flame shooting from Charlene’s eyes were hotting up his collar. He didn’t budge, though. “I think you’ll find you’re wrong there, ma’am. The last word on safety and security at Charleneland is me. And I’m shutting her down.”

  Abruptly, Charlene rose to her feet. “Charleneland is not closing! No pencil-pushing bureaucrat is going to decide otherwise. Not now. Not ever!”

  Chapter 18

  With tensions rising, and Charlene and Fabrice Lynsey going head to head, my phone suddenly beeped. I checked the display and saw it was Dylan.

  Deciding to take the call, I walked out of the conference room and into the first available office, which turned out to be Marisa’s.

  “Yeah, Dylan,” I said, closing the door and taking a seat on Marisa’s desk.

  “Hey, Mia. Just thought I’d let you know that our search so far has yielded no clues to the identity of our saboteur.”

  ”Damn,” I muttered under my breath.

  “But Catina and I will keep on looking, all right?”

  “Thanks, Dylan,” I said, and disconnected.

  I sat lost in thought for a moment. How in the world had anyone managed to disable all the cameras for a full hour, and then make his way to and from the Body Wrench and the Rusty Spur without being picked up on camera?

  And just when my brain was working overtime trying to formulate a theory, suddenly a male figure jumped up from underneath the desk!

  “Surprise!” the man yelled, a happy smile on his face.

  He was young—he was handsome—he was… buck naked!

  The moment he saw me, his face fell and he quickly covered his manhood with his hands. “Oh,” he said. “Oh, hiya, Mia.”

  I recognized him as one of our accountants. “You’re… Kevin, right?”

  He nodded, looking pretty self-conscious. “Um, yeah,” he said. “I just… wanted to surprise… um… Marisa.”

  Of course. Kevin Woods was the secret admirer Maya had been going on about at the breakfast table.

  I allowed my gaze to slowly take in Kevin’s six-pack, his manly chest, and his well-defined muscular arms. With his square, clean-shaven jaw, his green eyes, and his tousled sandy hair, he reminded me of Henry Cavill. Superman.

  I flashed him a smile. “So you like my sister, huh?”

  He nodded seriously, then grabbed his glasses from the desk and slipped them onto this face. Hello, Clark Kent.

  “And does she like you?”

  A hesitant smile crept up his face. “Well, I certainly hope so, Miss Rugg.”

  “Just call me Mia, Kevin. Do you guys do this often?”

  ”This?”

  I gestured at his hands, still covering his private parts. “This game of hide and seek.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Oh, no, Miss Rugg—I mean Mia. This is the first time. Marisa had no idea I was going to, um…”

  “Pop up.”

  He smiled apologetically. “Yeah.”

  Just then, the door opened and Maya burst into the office. “Mia, that inspector is such a—well, what do we have here?”

  “This is Kevin Woods,” I said. “He’s surprising Marisa, but instead he got me.”

  ”And me,” said Maya appreciatively.

  Kevin, not used to all this female scrutiny, blushed deeply. “Oh, hello, Miss Rugg.”

  ”Maya,” said Maya, her voice a little hoarse. “Is this surprise restricted to Marisa or do you offer your service to all the Rugg sisters?”

  ”Oh, strictly Marisa, I’m afraid,” said the handsome young accountant.

  Maya focused on Kevin’s hands. “What are you holding there, Kev?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I think we’ve taken up enough of Kevin’s time, Maya. It’s time he went back to work.”

  “Back to work? Isn’t that what he’s doing right now? You’re one of those Strip-O-Gram guys, right? Who hired you?”

  “Oh, I can assure you I’m not a Strip-O-Grammer, Miss Rugg—Maya. I’m—” He hesitated, as it probably wasn’t in his job description to strip naked in his boss’s office.

  “Kevin is an accountant,” I explained. “He works for Marisa.”

  Maya frowned. “I didn’t know accountants stripped naked these days. Is that a new thing? And if it is, why didn’t anybody tell me?”

  “Let’s just give Kevin some space,” I suggested, but Maya wasn’t letting go.

  ”Look, if this is a new thing, I’m wondering why Kevin hasn’t flashed me yet. I mean, it’s not fair that Marisa would get this perk and we don’t, right?”

  ”It’s not a perk,” I said, then leaned in and whispered, “I’m pretty sure he’s the boyfriend you were talking about this morning! The secret admirer?”

  Maya’s jaw dropped. “The boyfriend?” She fixed Kevin with an inquisitive look. “You’re Marisa’s boyfriend? Hot guy like you? Are you crazy?”

  “Crazy about Marisa,” I muttered, earning myself a slap from my sister.

  Kevin gave us a feeble smile. “Maybe I better get dressed…”

  “What are you guys doing here?” suddenly a voice asked from the door. When Marisa caught sight of Kevin, still butt naked, she uttered a strangled cry. “Kevin! What are you doing here?”

  “That’s what I would like to know, “ said Maya, frowning at our sister.

  Marisa’s cheeks matched Kevin’s in color and she blinked confusedly.

>   “I… wanted to surprise you, Marisa,” Kevin said, looking as if he’d rather be anywhere but here.

  “He thought I was you,” I explained.

  “And then he thought I was you, too,” Maya added.

  “I’m so sorry,” Kevin muttered, casting down his eyes.

  “No, it’s fine,” I said. “It was a pleasant surprise. And at least now I got to meet my sister’s boyfriend.”

  ”Yeah, the pleasure is all mine, I’m sure,” said Maya, holding out her right hand to shake Kevin’s—and possibly welcome him into the family.

  Since shaking Maya’s hand involved Kevin to take his own hand away from his nether regions, he was in a quandary on what to do. On the one hand he seemed like a well-mannered young man, who couldn’t ignore an offered hand, especially the offered hand of his potential future sister-in-law. On the other, he probably didn’t want to flash his two potential future sisters-in-law, for fear this might leave an indelible impression and would become one of those stories that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

  I slapped my cheeky sister’s hand away. “Just leave him be.”

  Just then, Blane waltzed in. “I’m going to have a little chat with—well, well, well,” he said, catching sight of the extraordinary scene: three Rugg sisters and one very well-endowed male. His eyes flicked to me and I read both confusion and reproach in them.

  “Meet Kevin Woods, Marisa’s new boyfriend. Kevin, Blane Jamison. Blane is a police detective with the Sapsucker PD.”

  Kevin whimpered slightly. “Oh, hello, Detective.”

  Blane stared at Kevin for a long beat. “Woods?” His eyes dropped to Kevin’s business, then he shook his head. “I don’t want to know.”

  “You better get dressed, Kevin,” Marisa advised. “Before Mom and Dad see you.”

  “Or Charlene,” Maya said, still smirking widely.

  At the mention of Charlene, Kevin’s rosy cheeks turned deathly pale. He gave his girlfriend a quick nod and ducked behind the desk. When he popped up again, he was covering his lap with a pair of dark slacks, a nice white shirt and bunny socks. Sidling out of the office, he muttered a feeble excuse to me, Maya and Marisa, in that order. We watched him scoot down to what I assumed was his own office, passing Charlene, Mom and Dad, whose eyes all popped from their skulls at the sight of the streaker in the offices of Rugg, Inc.

  Maya couldn’t suppress a snort of amusement. “Your new boyfriend made a big impression on Mom and Dad, Marisa. And can I say I love his socks?”

  Marisa shook her head and heaved a deep sigh. “Aiaiaiaiai.”

  Chapter 19

  Blane sat down with the ART inspector. While the family had returned to the conference room, the two men had accepted Mia’s suggestion to take over Karin’s office. Blane noticed the small space was like a home away from home for the feisty middle-aged woman: flowers and plants adorned every available surface, and an entire shelf was devoted to pictures of the Rugg family.

  No pictures of the sisters and their parents at the Grand Canyon, though, or splashing in the surf at Fort Lauderdale. The Ruggs were devoted to Charleneland, and rarely took a vacation away from this place. When they did, they made sure they were in constant contact with the home front, and the moment something happened, they were back here before the dust settled.

  “Look, I can understand your position,” he began, taking one of the two visitors’ chairs, Lynsey sinking down in the second. Both men leaned forward.

  “You can, huh?” asked Lynsey wryly.

  “Sure. You want to keep the visitors of this park safe. But you have to understand the Ruggs’ position, too. They want to save this park from going down in flames.” He repeated the arguments Mia had given him about shuttering the park. To his satisfaction he saw Lynsey nodding along as he ticked them off on his fingers one by one.

  ”I get it, I really do,” said the ART man. ”I mean, I’m not the bad guy here, Jamison. Heck, if all the parks in the state closed down I’d be out of a job, too. Besides, I know the governor is a big fan of Charlene’s and wants this situation resolved quickly and to the satisfaction of everyone involved.”

  “The governor?”

  “Yeah, I got a call from the governor, if you can believe it.”

  “Well, I can,” said Blane. “Charleneland is a state treasure, as is Charlene herself.”

  “She sure is. And I love the crusty old dame myself. As a teenager I used to buy all of her records. Not because I particularly liked her music, but because of the saucy covers!” He laughed heartily at the recollection.

  “Look, why don’t you just give them some time to sort this situation out? Let’s say a week. If nothing else happens, we’re off the hook. The moment another incident occurs, I promise you I’ll close down this park myself.”

  Lynsey frowned. “What’s your involvement here, Jamison? What’s your deal?”

  He was going to say his involvement was with Mia Rugg, but figured that wouldn’t go over well. So instead he said, “I’m investigating the death of Steve Geyser. And while I’m at it, trying to figure out who sabotaged that rollercoaster. That’s my involvement. As a law enforcement professional.”

  Lynsey nodded, then stared over Blane’s shoulder at the row of pictures. Finally, he relented. “All right,” he said. “I’ll allow the park to stay open.” Then he wagged a finger in Blane’s face. ”But at the first sign of trouble I’m shutting her down, Detective. And this time, nothing you or anyone else says is going to stop me.”

  “Fair enough,” said Blane, shaking the other man’s hand.

  Lynsey held on to his hand, giving it a gentle tug. “And you tell your girlfriend to catch the SOB that did this. Before anyone else gets hurt.”

  Blane grimaced. Fabrice Lynsey was smarter than the hardass image he projected. And he’d just been outed as the cop who covered for his girlfriend.

  He wasn’t sure how the inspector had found out, but he was damn certain that if one more incident took place, Lynsey wouldn’t merely shut down the park. He’d have Blane’s badge to go with it. And his dumb head on a stick.

  Chapter 20

  The die was cast. Somehow Blane had convinced Lynsey the park was to stay open. We all breathed a sigh of relief, not least of all Charlene, whose reputation was closely connected to the park that carried her name.

  “I think this calls for a celebration,” she said.

  We were all gathered in the conference room Lynsey had left. Now it was just us Ruggs, Blane, and Leo. And Ceci and Terri, of course.

  “Celebration?” asked Dad with a frown.

  “Yeah. We managed to keep out the pirates. We saved the park from going under. We won!”

  “What about the murder investigation?” asked Dad. “What about the guy who just destroyed our most popular rollercoaster?”

  “Oh, you’ll figure it out,” said Charlene with an airy wave of the hand, her jewelry rattling. ”Let’s break out the champagne!” she shouted, addressing Marisa, as if she was now the official caterer.

  We all stared at the diva.

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Mom,” said my mother, sensibly.

  ”Nonsense! Whenever something good happens, you should celebrate!”

  Well, it was true that Charlene was great at celebrating. Whatever the occasion, there had to be champagne. And judging from the way she looked, you could almost surmise that champagne was the true elixir of life.

  ”I don’t really feel like celebrating right now,” I said, speaking up.

  Marisa shook her head. “Me neither.”

  ”Or me,” added Maya with a sigh. ”Besides, Charlene, don’t you think it’s time you laid off the booze? That stuff will kill your complexion.”

  “Poppycock,” Charlene snapped. “Champagne is great for your complexion. Cleopatra used to bathe in champagne.”

  “I think that was milk and honey,” Marisa said.

  “Pretty sure it was champagne, darling,” said Charlene. “Now fetch
.”

  “Maybe when we find Steve’s killer and catch the saboteur,” I said.

  Charlene heaved an exasperated groan, rolled her expressive eyes, snatched her Corgis from the floor, and strode to the door. Before she swept out, she fixed us all with a scathing look. “Sometimes I wonder if you people are related to me at all! Let’s go, Leo. Let’s have a drink.”

  Leo cleared his throat. “I don’t think so, Charlene.”

  Charlene seemed taken aback by this, even going so far as to stagger back a few paces. “What did you just say?”

  In all the years he’d worked at Charleneland, I’d never known Leo to refuse a direct order from Charlene. Even though he was her biggest fan, and would bend over backwards to cater to her every whim, it now appeared that the man had suddenly developed a backbone.

  “I can’t do this anymore,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I mean I can’t be a party to what borders on gross negligence,” said Leo, and proceeded to astonish us all by plunking his lanyard and badge onto the glass tabletop. “I quit.”

  We watched him walk out, head held high, avoiding our astonished looks.

  “Leo!” Charlene cried.

  He turned.

  “Why are you doing this to me? Why?!”

  He gave her a blank look. “I’m sorry, Charlene.” Then he lumbered off.

  “Is this a joke?” Maya whispered in my ear. “This is a joke, right?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I think we just lost Leo.”

  “God,” she muttered. “This is Titanic all over again.”

  I broke into a trot and caught up with Leo at the foot of the stairs, just before he burst out of the building and into the hustle and bustle of Chinatown. “Leo,” I yelled. “Wait up.”

  When he turned around, he had a look of such resoluteness in his eyes my heart sank. “You don’t have to do this,” I said.