Wrong Turn

by Mary Mantle

  24

  Out to Glenda's house

  Hours of navigating the county parcel map doesn't sound like a lot, but my eyes were tired. Click after click. Finally, I found the hidden treasure, the needle in the haystack. I couldn't believe it. Glenda Gunning lived at 1550 Secret Lake Road. It was a rural road that went from town out to Secret Lake, which wasn't much a secret despite its name.

  I looked up the house on Zillow, and the last sale was 1995. I was almost falling asleep when I found her address, but it jolted me alive. The Chief thought I was the girl crying wolf, but I was certain this time.

  All I needed was a plan. I knew Tanner wouldn't let me go out there. Not in a million years. Not after all that had happened. It would be like the times back in Russia, where my friends and I snuck out of the house to explore the town and have adventures.

  It was nostalgic and thrilling at the same time. Guilt crept in too. If I was going to get out without Tanner knowing, I needed to have someone else go there with me, or meet me there, for safety reasons.

  The first name that popped into my mind was Scott Carter. Our relationship was off to a rocky start, but he was more familiar with the world of crime, and he probably had a gun. I made sure the door to our home office was closed. I stared at his business card and then dialed his number.

  After five rings, he answered.

  "Hello?"

  "Hi, Scott. This is Tatiana Johnson."

  I could hear him sigh and imagined he rolled his eyes.

  "What do you want?"

  "I need your help. I know we haven't got off to the best start, but I know who killed Gary Hollister and poisoned Mr. Thompson. It was Glenda Gunning."

  No one else seemed to believe me, so I didn't expect Scott too. I figured I'd have to convince him.

  "So, what do you need from me?"

  "The police don't want to do anything; I need to get her to confess."

  "And, where am I suppose to fit into the picture?"

  "You get the headlines, which would be good for your business, and if you meet me there, then you could bring a gun if you have one. Also, you deal with these things, so I figured you knew what to do."

  Silence. I couldn't tell if he was considering my plan, or if he thought I was crazy.

  "I don't know. It doesn't sound like you have any hard evidence."

  I explained what happened earlier to Scott with my brakes after I confronted Glenda.

  "I don't know. I got a hot TV dinner ready to eat, and I'm about to watch a Seinfield re-run."

  "Okay, I will go out there by myself, and maybe she is the killer. If something happens to me, you will have to live with it."

  Once I brought up him having a guilty conscience, I knew he was game.

  "Okay. Where does she live?"

  I tried not to sound too excited.

  "She lives out on Secret Lake Road. 1550 Secret Lake Road."

  "Okay. I will be out there in twenty minutes. Don't do anything before I get there. Got it?"

  "See you there."

  I had my backup, but I had to figure out how I was going to get there. I left the office and walked down the hallway to the master bedroom. Tanner had a long day at work, and he was on the bed, taking a nap. He took late afternoon naps once in a while.

  His keys were on the nightstand next to the bed. I changed into black sports pants and a sweatshirt. For some reason, it felt like the right thing to wear. I grabbed Tanner's keys and headed out.

  I walked slow and steady on the way out. Luck plays a factor sometimes. Tanner didn't close the garage door when we came home. That was good because closing it might have woken him up.

  I started the car and didn't realize my palms were so sweaty until I put them on the steering wheel, they slid around on it like it was an ice skating rink. Using my shirt, I wiped my hands dry, took five deep breaths, and backed out of the garage.

  Usually, when I'm nervous and heading to a confrontation, whether it is a public speaking event or confronting a person about something, the time goes fast. Not on the drive to ole' Glenda's house. It felt like a lifetime.

  When I arrived, I checked my watch, and it had been 15 minutes since I talked to Scott. I was early. My car was parked on the shoulder where I could see her house, but she probably couldn't see me. I planned on watching her house with my binoculars until Scott arrived.

  Scott didn't arrive. The wait went from 5 minutes to 45 minutes. In a rush to leave the house, I realized that I left my cell phone at home. My focus was on getting Tanner's keys and leaving the house undetected.

  I itched my left elbow; my right foot tapped on the floor. At that point, it appeared Scott had a change of heart, and I needed to go to Plan B. Not that it was good, but my backup plan was going to her house and saying I'm sorry about accusing her earlier, which seemed to go against my mission of getting a confession. Without my phone to call Scott, I realized my chances of getting a taped confession went out the window.

  I fidgeted with my watch and thought that even though I'd never used it, I was sure that my Apple Watch could record a voice memo. A surge of momentum percolated in me; I was back in business. With my index finger, I searched through the apps on the watch, and sure enough, the voice memo app was there. I opened it and pressed the red record button.

  Seconds after I did, the passenger door opened, startling me. I turned my head, and it was Glenda Gunning. She had a little black pistol in her hand.

  She said, "Don't do anything stupid or crazy now. Got it?"

  I froze like a car engine during a Siberian winter. I couldn't think or speak.

  Glenda put her seat belt on, which seemed funny. She kept her small pistol pointed at me. My heart felt like it was going a million miles per hour.

  "Now, drive into my driveway and go into the garage," Glenda said. "No funny business."

  With great caution, I drove back onto the road and then made a left turn down her driveway. I scanned the rearview mirror, hoping for Scott to show. Nothing. Not even another car. I was on my own.

  We approached her one-story, dark brown ranch style house. The garage door was open, and it had enough room for one car among the boxes of junk. Once in the garage, with her left hand, she pulled out a garage door opener and closed it.

  As the garage door closed, so did my hope of survival.

  25

  Glenda’s Hostage

  Glenda pushed the gun into my shoulder.

  "Get out of the car."

  "People are going to come here looking for me."

  "No, they're not."

  I realized my watch was recording the audio. Thank god.

  "Scott Carter should be out here any minute," I said.

  "What is he going to do when he doesn't see your car?"

  "I don't know, but he isn't stupid. He knows what you did."

  Glenda laughed.

  "Just get inside the house."

  "I can understand why you killed Gary. I don't know why you went after Kitty and Mr. Thompson. If that wasn't enough, you went after Sally Hollister. That I don't understand."

  I glanced back to see her face as I said it. A flash of guilt swept across her face, but it didn't last long.

  "Why go after Sally Hollister?" I asked. I knew she didn't go after Sally; I hoped she would get mad.

  From the garage, we went through a laundry room with cheap linoleum that was long past its prime and had several sections peeling up. From there, Glenda led me into a back bedroom, that had one twin bed in it. The curtains were closed. One corner had a wooden chair.

  "Sit down in that chair," she ordered.

  I sat down. She went to the closet and came back with rope and wire ties.

  "Why, Sally? Why, Mr. Thompson? Why did you visit my friend Hannah?"

  Anger boiled up in her face.

  "I didn't do anything to Sally. You got that. Gary, he had it coming. Kitty and Mr. Thompson, well, they kept the ChemCorp real estate deal alive. Anyways, the poison I made wasn't even strong enough
. I messed up, and it was too weak to kill them. Hannah made the mistake of calling me and asking if anyone against ChemCorp might have wanted to hurt Gary."

  "What did Gary do to you? Was it the new factory that he was brokering?"

  "That was one of many things. He evicted my late husband and me out of our first house. It gave my husband a heart attack; he survived but was never the same. That same story played out with many of our friends and families. Then the chemical factory comes along, it isn't going to add much value to our community, but he found a way to line his wallet, so that is all he cared about. You've talked to people in town; no one is going to miss the guy."

  "Maybe so, but that doesn't make it right what you did. You decided to poison Kitty and Mr. Thompson once they didn't stop the ChemCorp deal. Cutting my brake lines was another big mistake. You tried to destroy the footage, but a local tech guy was able to retrieve it," I lied.

  Glenda looked stunned. It didn't last long.

  "Put your hands behind your back," she said.

  She used several of the big wire ties and zip-tied my hands together behind my back. She pushed me back in the chair, and my hands scrunched up against it. She had to secure my legs, but it posed a difficult challenge for her. It wouldn't be easy to do it without me having a shot to make a move on her. Securing my hands was easy because she was behind me and didn't have to bend over.

  I could tell she was trying to figure out how to secure my feet. She had to tie them together; the wire-ties weren't large enough, or strong enough.

  "How are you going to tie my feet up?" I asked.

  "Shut up."

  She grabbed a pillow off the bed, took the sheet off the pillow, and tied a pillowcase around my head, gagging my mouth.

  I tried to talk, but it was a mumbled mess.

  "You know I've killed, and I won't be afraid to do it again," she said as she pushed the gun into my stomach.

  "I'm going to tie your legs up, and if you try anything, I'll shoot you. Nod if you understand."

  I nodded.

  "Good."

  She kneeled and began tying the rope around my legs, and kept the gun in her right hand. I had a small window, maybe 30 seconds. Life is all about the chances we take. I kicked with my right leg and caught her in the jaw; she fell over and grabbed her face. The gun fell out of her hand and slid across the floor to the other side of the room.

  It was hard, but I got out of the chair. Once I was up, I went for the gun. Glenda regained some composure as she laid on the ground, and she stuck her leg out and tripped me.

  With my hands tied behind my back, I fell face-first toward the floor. At the last second, I twisted my body, so I landed on my right shoulder. It hurt like heck but saved my face and nose.

  Like a snake, I slithered toward the gun. I needed to grab the gun somehow. Once I got to the gun, I rolled over, so my hands could grasp it. I grabbed it, but my hands had no range of movement. It would be hard to use the weapon, but I had it, which meant she didn't.

  She rolled over and crawled over toward me.

  I wanted to say something but couldn't because I was gagged.

  Glenda reached over and snagged the gun. I couldn't do anything about it as she shook her head and laughed.

  "Well, any chance of a quick death just went out the door," she said.

  She had a little blood trickling down her face from a cut above her eye.

  "Get up," she said. "We are going outside. I don't want a mess in here."

  Before I could stand up, the doorbell rang. It was a generic ring, but it was the most beautiful noise I had ever heard.

  Glenda put her finger over her mouth to shush me. I wanted to shout and scream but couldn't.

  26

  Final Battle

  I hoped someone would kick her door down and barge in to save the day. The doorbell rang again. My heart sunk a bit, thinking that maybe someone wouldn't come in. I imagined Scott at the front door.

  After the second ring, there wasn't another one. Glenda waited for about ten minutes. It felt more like ten years.

  "Stand up, and walk out the back door," Glenda ordered.

  It was hard getting up with my hands tied behind my back, but I managed. We walked out the back door to a porch. There was a woodshed fifty feet away.

  "Tatiana. Glenda. Anyone home?" Scott shouted in the distance.

  His voice sounded distant, and I assumed he was around the front of the house, peeking in a window.

  Glenda pushed the gun into my back. I froze in my tracks.

  She whispered, "Don't make any noise."

  Again Scott shouted, "Glenda, Tatiana. Anyone home?"

  It felt that Glenda was frozen and didn't know what to do. I knew she was a killer, but she wasn't a professional. Heartless, but not an expert.

  I needed to make some noise without getting shot. My mind ran through as many scenarios as it could. It had to happen fast. If Scott left, my hope left with him. I didn't feel the gun pressed against my back. I turned my head enough, so my peripheral vision could see what she was doing.

  She was distracted, looking back through the door deciding if we should go back inside or go to the woodshed. I noticed the gun had pointed downward at a slight angle. Like a bull, I rammed backward into her. Caught off guard, she dropped the gun.

  With my foot, I kicked the gun away. Then, with all my might, I kicked the side of the house. I couldn't scream, but I could make noise.

  Before Glenda could get up, Scott came running around the corner with his black Glock out and pointed right at Glenda.

  "Glenda, freeze right there?" Scott said.

  He threw some handcuffs toward her, and they clunked on the concrete walkway.

  "Put those on," he said.

  "No."

  Scott glanced at me.

  "Tatiana, you alright?"

  I nodded.

  Scott turned his attention back to Glenda.

  "Put the cuffs on, okay."

  Glenda caved and reached down, picked up the cuffs, and cuffed her hands.

  Scott pulled out a pocket knife and cut the wire ties off my hands and untied the gag.

  I hugged Scott and said, "Thank you, you saved my life."

  "Sorry, I was late. My car wouldn't start. It had a dead battery, and I didn't think you would go alone."

  "I thought you changed your mind."

  Glenda said, "What are you guys going to do with me?"

  "Taking you downtown," Scott said.

  He grabbed her, and all three of us walked to the front driveway.

  I said, "I need to get my car out of her garage." I looked at my watch. "Also, I have an audio clip of her admitting everything that the police might like."

  "I'm sure they will. You go inside and open the garage and get your car. I'll watch her."

  I walked into the house through the back door since the front door was locked. My pulse rose as I stepped inside, and I hurried through the house to the garage. I opened the door and pressed the garage door. I got in my car and backed out.

  Scott and Glenda were still standing there.

  I rolled down my window.

  "You did a good job on this one kid. Real good. Maybe we can work together in the future."

  I nodded.

  "Thanks for saving my life again, and I'll think about it. Also, I keep forgetting, but I will talk to the coach about Kevin."

  Scott nodded.

  I pulled out of the driveway and looked back to see Scott haul Glenda to his car. I felt safe and drove off.

  27

  Back Home

  As I pulled into the garage at home, I saw the kitchen lights on. Crap, Tanner was up. I took a moment in the car to take a deep breath before I walked into the house. My adrenaline was still pumping as I made my way down the hallway. My head was down like a guilty dog; I expected a big argument.

  Tanner was in the kitchen, chopping tomatoes and onions on the island. There was a plate of spinach, avocado, and sweet peppers next to him; l
ate-night salads are his favorite. He looked up, and his face was tense with worry and anger. Barsik walked into the kitchen, looked at his food dish, and meowed. Everyone relaxed.

  "You alright? I was worried sick," Tanner said.

  "Yeah, I'm alright."

  He rushed over and hugged me. It felt good, exactly what the doctor ordered. Tanner pulled back from the hug and looked me in the eyes.

  "Scott Carter kept calling your cell, and it woke me up. Hannah called and said she will be out of the hospital in a few days. Also, she talked to her boss, and she still has her job. You had the car, and I couldn't go anywhere. So what happened?"

  I spent fifteen minutes explaining what happened, finally crying and absorbing the fact that I had a gun pointed at me. Tanner kept nodding as he ate his salad. His face would scrunch and then relax.

  "I can't believe a lady like Glenda Gunning could do something like that. It goes to show that people are capable of anything. Please, don't ever do that, again," he said. "If you are going to leave like that, at least leave a note."

  "I'm sorry. Do you forgive me?"

  I gave my biggest, fullest smile. Tanner nodded.

  "Yeah, I forgive you."

  "I'm sorry it won't happen again."

  "What do you mean, again?"

  "Well, Scott Carter might want me to work for him in the future, and to be honest, I might have a knack for these things."

  "I don't know. It's dangerous."

  "Yeah, that's true. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it anymore, but it would probably only be part-time."

  "Maybe if something got stolen at the school or something, help with that, but not murders."

  "You're right. The good thing is, after all of this, school will seem easy."

  We both laughed.

  I added, "It wouldn't hurt to keep an open mind about the future."

  "I guess so."