by V. M. Burns
I hadn’t even heard B.J.’s arrival until she spoke. “Isn’t it funny how someone can seem so attractive one minute and the next minute all you can see is the dirt on the inside.”
“What a jerk. Did you see the way he looked Stephanie up and down like a prized heifer at a 4-H fair?” Monica Jill put her hand on her hip.
“Yeah, I saw it,” Joe mumbled. “I should have let Turbo take that smile off his face.”
Red patted him on the back. “Alright, remember you’re working.”
Joe nodded. After a few moments, he turned to me. “What now?”
“It’s time for the auction.” Dixie glanced at her watch and then hurried off.
“It’s show time.” Beau took Chyna and Leia’s leashes.
I handed Rex and Aggie to Addison and Mai. Dr. Morgan took Lucky and Max and they all headed out back to the RV.
Part of my plan involved the dogs, specifically Rex, being left with minimal supervision. However, now that the time had come for implementation, I was having second thoughts. Stephanie must have noticed the fear in my eyes, because she hugged me and whispered, “It’ll be okay.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. Addison and Mai were to be seen taking the dogs to the RV but then would return to the auction. Beau and Dr. Morgan were to take turns watching the RV and being seen in the museum. Plus, I knew Red had police dispatched around the building watching the RV while he, Joe and a half-dozen plainclothes officers kept their eyes on Eli and Fergus Kilpatrick.
Once the auction began it went well. Periodically, I glanced around to make sure I knew exactly where Eli and Fergus Kilpatrick were. After a while, I got wrapped up in the bidding and almost forgot about the poodle trap. It wasn’t until I noticed Red talking to someone through a wireless Bluetooth audio device that I became concerned. One of the waiters approached Eli and grasped him by the arm and another guest escorted Fergus out back. It was all done quickly and with very little attention. I doubted that any of the guests even knew what was happening.
Red exchanged a few words with Joe and then they both rushed out the back.
One of the stipulations I made to get Red to agree to my plan was a promise to stay inside when I saw things start to go down. I tried to keep that promise, but things were not going the way I planned. Eli and Fergus hadn’t gone for the dogs.
Stephanie whispered in my ear. “What just happened?”
I looked around carefully. “It’s Fiona and Mary. They’re not here.” That’s when I broke my word and rushed outside.
Stephanie and I arrived at the RV to find Dr. Morgan and Beau on the ground, bound with dog leashes.
I hurried over to them. “Are you two okay?”
Both men nodded. There was a trickle of blood coming from Beau’s forehead, but otherwise he looked fine.
“Where are Addison and Mai?” I glanced around frantically.
Dr. Morgan coughed and spit blood. “Addison’s fine. She’s inside.” He inclined his head toward the museum.
Red had been standing nearby talking to one of the policemen. He came over and said, “They took Mai and Rex. We have the GPS tracker on the dog.” He pulled up his cell phone. “We’re tracking them and we’re going to get them both back. Now, go back inside and let me do my job.” He gave me a hard stare.
I nodded.
He gave me another look and then he, Joe and Turbo took off on foot.
Dr. Morgan was helping Beau into the RV to treat the cut on his forehead.
I stood outside for several minutes. This was my fault. This was my plan. Now, thanks to me two of my friends were injured. Rex and Mai were in danger. For several moments, I wallowed in guilt and self-doubt. Afterward, I heard the dogs barking in the RV and my mom Spidey sense kicked in. I recognized Aggie’s bark in the cacophony of barking dogs.
I went to the RV and opened the door.
Like a flash of lightning, Aggie raced down the steps and took off.
“Aggie. Come back.” I chased after her but in heels I knew I’d never catch her.
I removed my shoes and then hopped in the RV.
“Mom, what happened?” Stephanie asked.
“Aggie just took off and I think I know where she went.” I looked at the RV’s complex cockpit and for a few seconds, my courage faltered.
That’s when Stephanie hiked up her dress, kicked off her shoes and slid into the driver’s seat. She started the engine, took two seconds to find the right controls and then strapped her seat belt. “You better buckle up. This might be bumpy.”
I grabbed my seat belt and fastened it. Then I pulled out my cell phone. My hands shook and I struggled to enter my passcode. After a couple failed attempts, I used the fingerprint access instead. Once, I was in, I quickly found the GPS tracking app for the device on Rex’s collar. When I had the app up and running, I turned to Stephanie. “They’re headed to the river.”
Chapter 21
I talked Stephanie through the directions to the Tennessee River and she maneuvered the 30-foot vehicle with four adults and four barking dogs.
When we pulled up to the river, we saw Red, Joe and Turbo along with a crowd of police with guns pointed toward Fiona who had removed Rex’s collar and was holding him up by the scruff of his neck with a crazed look in her eye. Mary Kilpatrick had her arm around Mai’s neck and a gun pointed at her head.
I opened the door to the RV and hopped out. Red glanced around and, seeing me, he shook his head and yelled, “Stay back.”
I froze.
Fiona extended her hand so Rex was now dangling over the river. She snarled, “Stay back or I might just lose my grip and drop him.” For a brief second, my mind cleared and remembered Dixie mentioning the gun Beau kept in the glove box. I leaned back in the vehicle and slowly and quietly opened the glove box. I reached my hand in the glove box until I felt the gun.
“Drop your weapons on the ground or I’ll blow her brains out,” Mary Kilpatrick yelled.
Red and the other officers delayed until Mary fired a shot into the air. The blast from the gun and the crazy look in her eyes must have convinced them that she meant business.
Turbo was growling and barking and lunging toward Mary, but Joe held onto him.
“Keep that dog away or I’ll kill her,” Mary yelled.
Red tried to rationalize and get Mary to drop the gun and let Rex and Mai go, but both women were beyond reasonable thought.
“Shut up,” Fiona yelled. “I’ve waited too many years to get my hands on this.” She held up Rex’s collar. “There’s no way I’m walking away without it.”
I hid the gun by my side and took several steps forward. I could tell that Red saw what I was doing, but he gave no indication of anything happening behind the women.
“Why did you kill Archibald Lowry and Paul Carpenter?” Red kept their attention focused on him.
Fiona cackled. “I didn’t kill Lowry or Carpenter.” She spat. “That was Eli. We’ve been poisoning him for months with arsenic while we tried to figure out what the old man did with the money.” She shook her head. “That was the plan, poison him slowly and then when we got the rest of the money, one big dose. Clean and easy with no blood and no mess, but he couldn’t wait.” She snarled with disgust. “Eli had to get greedy and start siphoning the money out of the trust.” She snorted. “How dumb. Of course, Archibald found out and put two and two together.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Aggie crouched down by a concrete pillar behind Fiona. She was on her stomach like a sphinx and was crawling on her belly, inching closer and closer to Fiona the way Chyna and Leia did when going through the crawl tunnel in the agility ring.
“We knew there was more money than what he had in that trust. He had the money from the bank robbery. We just needed to find out what he’d done with it. Eli went to the art museum and Lowry told him he knew he’d been draining the
trust and he intended to stop him. They argued and Eli killed him. Right before he died, he saw the jewels in the collar and figured out what the old man had done.” Fiona stared at the collar and then smiled at Red. “Now, we have it.”
Mary laughed. “That’s why we needed to get our hands on that blasted dog. Once we found out what that old man had done, putting the jewels out in plain sight on that dog, we just needed to get him and then be on our way.”
I took a few more steps forward but stepped on a leaf which sounded like a bomb exploding in the quiet of the night.
Fiona turned. “What are you going to do?”
I pointed the gun at her.
Red shouted, “Lilly, no!”
Fiona laughed. “If you shoot me. I might just lose my grip on this little rat.” She shook Rex and my heart skipped a beat when I heard him yelp.
Mai gave a loud yell. “NOW!” Then she bent forward and kicked her head backward, head butting Mary.
Mary screamed, and in one smooth, quick move, Mai reached up and pulled back on Mary’s fingers. We heard a crunch and Mary slumped to the ground.
Fiona glanced over toward Mary and that’s when Joe released Turbo who took one flying leap toward Fiona and bit down on her arm.
Fiona opened her hand. Rex let out a scream and then splashed down into the river.
Joe commanded Turbo to release his hold while he moved in and secured Fiona down onto the ground.
The other officers swarmed forward and secured Mary who was rolling on the ground, screaming in pain.
Red began removing his shirt and shoes, prepared to jump in the water.
That’s when I saw a blur from the corner of my eye as Aggie took a flying leap from the pier and leapt into the water.
“Aggie, Noooo,” I screamed.
Stephanie opened the RV door and yelled, “Lucky, go.”
Like a golden flash, Lucky flew past me and leapt into the water as well.
My knees buckled and I collapsed. Red hesitated for a split second, unsure whether to come to me or save my dogs.
Stephanie rushed to my side and put her arms around me. “I’ve got Mom. Save Rex,” she called to Red.
He nodded and then dove down into the black murky depths of the Tennessee River.
Chapter 22
Sirens blared. Lights flashed.
I have no idea how long I sat on the ground, but eventually I looked up and saw Red, soaking wet, walking toward me with two drenched dogs clutched to his chest. Beside him, Lucky shook several times and then trotted over to Stephanie who threw both arms around his neck.
I wrapped my arms around Red, nearly crushing the poodles. “Are you okay?”
Red nodded. “I’m fine.”
I held onto him and the poodles for several seconds until an EMT rushed up and threw a blanket around his shoulders. “I’m sorry. You must be freezing.”
He smiled. “Actually, I’m feeling pretty warm right now.”
I laughed. “If you’re well enough to joke then you must be okay.”
He handed Aggie and Rex to me and I clutched them to my chest.
“I’ve got to go.” He motioned toward the police and when I nodded, he left.
I glanced up. Dr. Morgan embraced Mai. Stephanie embraced Lucky, and I hugged my two poodles.
Later, Stephanie, Red, Joe and I sat in the RV drinking hot coffee. Red took a hot shower and changed into a pair of Beau’s clothes, which were too big but had the advantage of being dry, while Dixie put his into the RV’s dryer.
Joe had an arm draped around Stephanie while she rested her head on his shoulder. Lucky was sprawled across her lap and Turbo was lying next to Joe with his head on Joe’s leg.
Dixie hovered over Beau who had a bandage over the cut on his head.
Mai and Dr. Morgan were snuggled together and he had a tight grip on her hand.
Rex was still shivering as he lay on my shoulder and Aggie was asleep on my lap.
Addison sat cross legged on the floor with Chyna and Leia while Monica Jill and B.J. sat at the dining room table.
“Will someone tell me what happened?” Monica Jill ordered.
Red looked around and then began to explain. “Eli and Fergus saw that we were watching them, so they got Mary and Fiona to go for the dog.”
B.J. shook her head. “Ain’t that just like a man, leaving the dirty work to the women.”
Red smiled. “I think Eli just intended for them to get the collar away from Rex. He swears he didn’t order them to take anyone hostage.”
Monica Jill turned to Mai. “How did you end up getting taken as a hostage?”
Mai shrugged. “When Fiona busted into the RV, she tried to take Rex. I wasn’t about to let her have him. That’s when Mary came in with the gun and said, ‘Let’s just take her too. We might need a hostage.’”
“Where did you learn to fight like that?” Stephanie asked.
Mai smiled. “Two years in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.”
Dr. Morgan gawked. “You’re just full of surprises.”
B.J. turned to me. “So, Lilly was right? Archibald Lowry was the brains behind the bank robbery?”
Red nodded. “Eli Goldstein is spilling his guts. According to him, Lowry was the brains behind the entire thing. Clarence Darling and Ivan Bradington were the muscle, but things went badly and Bradington shot the bank teller. The police got him, but he served his time and kept his mouth shut.”
B.J. snorted. “I’ll bet he kept his mouth shut.”
Red smiled. “He never ratted out his partners, but that didn’t help him while he was sitting in jail. Clarence Darling and Oscar Goldstein died.”
“Fiona Darling was a niece and Darling told her everything. Apparently, Oscar Goldstein told Eli. When they were old enough, they both went to Lowry expecting a cut.”
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” I said. Red stared at me. “That’s what Archibald Lowry said to me that night at the museum.” I turned to Dixie. “Remember, he said, ‘People always ask me how I made my money’. Remember what he said?”
She thought for a moment. “He said, ‘The same way every other person has become rich. I stole it.’”
I nodded.
B.J. stared. “So, Lowry took the bank money while Ivan Bradington went to jail. Bradington gets out and then comes and works for Lowry?” She shook her head. “That don’t seem right.”
We turned to Red. “Apparently, Lowry told him the money was tied up in investments, real estate and businesses. I don’t think he told them about the jewels, or they would have figured out about the collar sooner. Bradington was pushing Lowry to divest and give him his share.”
“In the meantime, Eli and Fiona had partnered to get more than the share they felt was owed to them on behalf of their uncle and father. They wanted the whole lot,” Joe said.
“Fiona got a job with the bank’s insurance company so she could keep an eye on things and make sure no one else got close to the money.” I turned to B.J. “Remember, you said your contacts from the insurance company felt she was too close to the case.”
B.J. nodded. “Well, I’ll be.”
“Why’d they kill Paul Carpenter?” Monica Jill asked.
“Remember at the dog show, he said ‘I don’t claim to be something I’m not. I don’t argue with someone and once he’s dead pretend that we didn’t disagree.’” I think Eli was afraid that Carpenter had seen and heard too much.”
Red nodded. “He heard Eli talking to Fergus and realized they weren’t Lowry’s relatives, nor were they running a legitimate foundation.”
“Who were they?” I asked.
“Fergus and Mary were grifters,” Red said.
“What’s a grifter?” Dixie asked.
“A con artist,” Stephanie, Joe and Red all said together and then l
aughed.
Dixie glanced at me. “That explains the mixed-up accents.”
Red stretched. “Grifters are often great actors.”
“Eli defended him when he was just starting out. Later, he looked him up and promised him a cut of the money. Eli set up the phony foundation and the story about Mary and Fergus as distant relatives. He knew Lowry was goofy over all things Scottish.” He shrugged. “I guess he figured worst case scenario, if he killed Lowry and all of his wealth went to the foundation, then he would still be able to get his hands on the money.”
I shivered. “So, they killed the chauffeur, Carpenter, because he overheard them talking and figured out what they were up to.”
Joe nodded. “Plus, Carpenter was an extortionist. Once a blackmailer, always a blackmailer.”
Dixie turned to Red. “Mrs. Huntington?”
“She saw Mary and Fergus poisoning Lowry’s tea.” He shrugged. “Or they thought she saw them.”
“So, they really did push that poor woman down a flight of stairs?” Monica Jill asked.
Red nodded. “Pushed her and then planted the flask filled with alcohol so we’d think she tripped.”
Addison yawned.
Monica Jill looked at her watch. “Oh my God. I didn’t realize how late it was. I’d better get this girl home before her father strangles me.”
Addison stretched. “Do we have to go? I want to hear more.”
“Yes, we have to go. I have to try and explain all of this to your father, so get moving.” Monica Jill grabbed her purse and a reluctant Addison and they left.
B.J. stood up. “I need to get out of here too. Snoball will be mad that I left her so long and will most likely have left me a package to clean up.” She waved goodbye and left.
Dr. Morgan and Mai were the next to leave, taking Max and Skye with them, but not before Mai promised to stop by the police station the next day to complete her statement.
Red’s phone rang and he stepped outside to take his call. After a few moments, he stuck his head in the door and asked me to step outside.
Once we were outside, he stared at me. “You promised me you’d stay in the museum.”