Lunacy Lake

by Kathi Daley

“Turbulence my ass.”

  The pilot swerved sharply to the left, causing Saul to fall onto his side. What on earth was the pilot trying to do? Get us all killed?

  “Hey,” Saul yelled. “What was that all about?”

  “Like I said, wind shears.” The pilot headed toward the summit, gliding over the top with only feet to spare. It might have been more than feet, but I could tell that we’d cut it close. Once he was over the top he swung around sharply, causing Saul to grab for a barf bag.

  When we arrived at the airfield, a black car with tinted windows was waiting. A man got out and approached the chopper. “Who is this and where are the girls?” he asked.

  “Change of plans,” Saul said. “I only have the one hostage, but she is worth more than all the others put together.”

  “Okay. I just hope the boss knows what you are doing.”

  So Saul had a superior and wasn’t the boss himself. Interesting. I also found it interesting that a black SUV had pulled onto the road behind us after our car hit the highway. Saul and the driver were both sitting in the front seat, chatting about nothing in particular, while I was tied up in the back seat. I’d noticed the SUV when I’d ventured a last look at the pilot who, in my mind, had been acting oddly, but I didn’t think the other two had noticed that we were being followed. When we arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse, the driver slowed, then stopped. The SUV drove past.

  “Continue around the building and park in the back,” Saul instructed the driver.

  We parked behind the warehouse and Saul got out and grabbed me by the shoulder. He pulled me into the warehouse and tied me to a chair that was placed off to the side. No one seemed to be paying attention to me, which was fine with me, but my hands were tied behind me so I was unable to get to my phone to call for help. I just hoped the GPS was turned on. If it was, once Zak received the ransom demand he would be able to find me.

  “Where is the other hostage?” Saul asked.

  “In the back. Now that we have the value package, should we eliminate her?”

  Saul shook his head. “Just leave her be for now. This thing isn’t over until we have the money. We may still need her for leverage.”

  “So what’s the plan now?” one of the men asked.

  “I’ll call her royal highness and let her know the mouse is in the trap,” Saul said. “She made it pretty clear that she would take care of things from this point. Our role now will be to sit back and wait for the transfer to take place.”

  “And once it does?” another asked.

  “We’ll get our cut and disappear,” Saul answered. “I’m going to hit the head. Keep an eye on the dame and make sure she doesn’t try anything. But don’t hurt her,” he added. “That little thing is going to fetch us enough to retire for good this time.”

  It sounded like I was in for a bit more of a wait. I hoped it wouldn’t be too long. The bindings around my wrists were tight, so I was beginning to lose feeling in my hands. I was about to ask the man closest to me if he would consider loosening them when I heard a loud noise outside. Before I could respond in any way to what had to have been an explosion, the door slammed open and a sea of men in black vests stormed in.

  The next few minutes were tense as gunfire erupted all around me. I hoped I wouldn’t get shot in the cross fire, but given the fact that bullets were flying everywhere, not being wounded was most definitely not guaranteed. After what seemed like a lifetime but was probably only a minute, the gunfire stopped and there was blessed silence. One of the men wearing a vest, which I now realized said FBI, came over and untied my hands.

  “Are you okay, ma’am?”

  I nodded. “I’m fine. How did you know I was here?” I hadn’t had a chance to use the phone, and until Zak received the ransom demand he would have no idea I was in trouble. I figured it might be quite a while before it even occurred to him to check the GPS on my phone, and even when he did that, it would take time for him to notify the authorities and for them to find me.

  “I’ll take it from here,” the man who had been the pilot in the chopper said to the man who had just untied me.

  “Who are you?” I asked, rubbing my wrists.

  “Agent Upton.”

  I frowned. “So you knew I was in trouble even before I left the camp. How?”

  “Someone named Gunnar picked up your SOS call over the radio from someone named Fletcher. The call cut out right away, but when he couldn’t connect with Fletcher to make sure he was okay, he decided to drive over to his place to check things out. He found the note you left, called the number on it, and that led him to your husband, who called us.”

  I supposed it was nice to know that my harrowing journey down the mountain hadn’t all been for naught. “So if you are FBI and you knew what was going on, why not just storm the cabin at the camp? Why bring me here?”

  “We suspected that there was at least one other hostage, but we didn’t know where she was being held. We took a calculated risk that Saul would bring you to the same place, so we let them take you and followed to see where they went. We had folks listening in when Saul gave me the coordinates.”

  “Which is how you had an SUV here to follow us before we even arrived?”

  The agent nodded. “I apologize that we needed to use you as bait to lead us to the other captive. Your husband wasn’t thrilled about it, but he did agree to the plan. He said you could take care of yourself. It appears he was right.”

  I smiled. “This isn’t my first kidnapping, believe it or not. Are the other captive—is she okay?”

  “See for yourself.”

  I turned to see two men leading a young woman I didn’t recognize into the main room, where the other FBI agents were securing their captives.

  “I’m so glad you are okay,” I said.

  “Thanks to you. My name is Maia. I was sure I was going to die.”

  I turned back to Agent Upton. “The men at the camp? Are the girls safe?”

  He nodded. “They have been arrested and we are making arrangements to take the girls and the remaining staff home. Your husband hired a private jet to take the group from Zimmerman Academy back to Ashton Falls as soon as we can get them to the airport.”

  “Can I call him? He must be worried sick.”

  Agent Upton raised his hand and waved at another man, who came in our direction. “Agent Willis will help you with that. I need to talk with my boss and then I’ll take you to the hospital, where you can be checked out and arrangements can be made to get you home.”

  Chapter 15

  Friday, July 19

  Zak met me in Denver. The FBI wanted to interview me before I was allowed to go home, which I wasn’t thrilled about because I was anxious to see Catherine and Charlie, but I did understand that the more they knew about what had occurred, the easier it was going to be for them to wrap this whole thing up. It seemed that it was Goddess Lakshmi who had come up with the idea of kidnapping some of their rich guests and holding them for ransom. As I had heard while at the camp, the company was hurting financially and Goddess Lakshmi had cheated on their taxes. Not only was the head goddess looking at bankruptcy; now she was looking at jailtime as well, because charges had been brought against both the company and the board of directors, and Goddess Lakshmi, aka Gwendolyn Price, had decided to grab whatever cash she could and disappear. She had planted Saul at the camp to put her plans into action. They had arranged to kidnap Maia, who was used as leverage, to get Adira and Isis to cooperate. The two goddesses had both been assured that no one would be hurt as long as they did as they were told. Saul was able to convince Adira that he simply wanted the cash from the parents, who could well afford to fork over what they were asking in exchange for the health and well-being of their precious daughters. Adira didn’t want to be responsible for Maia’s death, so she went along with Saul, and Isis was only brought in later, after she began to get suspicious.

  I wondered why Maia had been taken a full ten days before the kidnapping
plan was to be put into place and was told it was because Saul knew he’d need leverage with Adira, and Maia just happened to be the easiest goddess to nab.

  I asked about Rhea and Thalia and was assured that they really had simply quit after they realized how isolated the camp was. The biggest surprise, however, was that it turned out that Ainsley really had died of a heart defect that, when combined with the heat from the sauna, had led to a heart attack. When I considered that the only reason I started nosing around in the first place, and the only reason I’d found out about the kidnapping plot in advance, was because of Ainsley’s death, I realized that I owed the deceased goddess quite a lot. Who knew what would have happened if I hadn’t: Alex and the other girls would really have been taken by Saul and his men.

  “This is what life is really all about,” I said to Ellie as we sat with Catherine, Eli, and Alya while Zak, Levi, and a group of Zimmerman Academy students played water volleyball in the pool.

  “I totally agree. I think that this past week has turned me into even more of a homebody than I already was. I mean seriously, why would I want to go anywhere when I have a husband who loves me, two children, the best friends in the whole world, and this beautiful setting right here at home?”

  Charlie wandered over and lay down at my feet. I was sure that everyone had missed me, but if I had to guess, he had missed me the most.

  “I agree about the awesomeness of home, but I think that once things settle down a bit, I might plan a trip overseas.”

  “Overseas?” Ellie asked.

  “Ireland to be exact. I think it is time for Catherine to meet the ghost she was named after. I was sort of hoping that the Denton family would come along. I’m planning to invite my mom, dad, and Harper, and my grandpa and Hazel as well.”

  Ellie turned so she was looking directly at me. “Ireland? Really? It sounds like fun. When would you go?”

  “I’m thinking for Christmas. The Academy will be off for winter break, so Zak and Alex won’t have to miss any class time. Scooter will be off school too, and Levi will be off work. It is a busy time for my dad’s store, but he has a new manager, so I think I can convince him to turn things over to him and make the trip. Catherine will be two this Christmas and if Zak and I are talking about trying for baby number two next year, I’d like to make the trip before I get pregnant. What do you think?”

  Ellie nodded. “I think I’d like to come along very much. I’ll need to talk to Levi about it.”

  “Of course. And I still need to talk to my family. Zak and I have discussed it in depth and I mentioned it to Nona and she seemed to be up for it.”

  “Will we be staying in the castle?”

  I nodded. “I spoke to Lord Dunphy and he is excited to have us come for a visit. He has plenty of guest rooms and is willing to reserve the entire castle for the Donovan-Zimmerman clan for two weeks over Christmas and New Year’s. I plan to call and invite Millie Monroe as well, so she can help me communicate with Catherine.”

  “Millie Monroe was the kooky psychic you told me about?”

  I nodded. “She seemed to have a direct line to Catherine, so having her there is a must. I will invite her to bring a friend along too. I’ve wanted to do this since Catherine was born and this Christmas seems like a good time for it.”

  “I will definitely talk to Levi and let you know for sure, but yeah, I’d like to come along.”

  I smiled. “Awesome. I’m really excited about the idea.”

  “Will you be bringing Charlie?” Ellie asked, as the dog in question put his head in my lap.

  “Of course. I’m going to talk to Aspen about staying here at the house and watching the other animals. You can bring your four-legged babies here and she can watch them as well. Actually, by the time you throw in my parents’ dogs, she is going to have a houseful, but Aspen loves animals so I’m sure it will be fine. I’ve already checked with Jeremy to make sure he will be around to cover everything at the Zoo. The Fisher family does not have any out of town plans this Christmas, so that works.”

  “It sounds like you’ve thought of everything.”

  “I’ve tried to. This family has a lot of moving parts and there is a lot to take into consideration. I even spoke to Pi, who is not only planning to come, he is going to bring his new girlfriend.”

  “Pi has a girlfriend?” Ellie asked. Pi was now Zak’s business partner, who had started out as his ward until he turned eighteen.

  “He does and Zak says it is serious. I’m actually hoping to meet the girl before Christmas, but if not before then, in Ireland for sure. Pi lives in Europe, so Ireland is actually closer for him than Ashton Falls.”

  Ellie’s grin grew even larger. “Wow, Christmas in Ireland. The more I think about it, the more excited I become. I’m sure it is going to be a dream vacation.”

  “Yeah , but you might not want to call it that because all my dream vacations seem to be jinxed. You do remember Zak and my honeymoon, right?”

  Ellie cringed. “I do. And I remember what happened the first time you went to Ireland, and the time you went to Alaska to deliver Sitka to the search and rescue team. Have you ever had a vacation that didn’t result in a life-or-death situation?”

  I thought about our trip to Hawaii and the ski trip to Canada, and the camping trip we’d taken two summers ago. “No, I don’t think I have. I hope that this time will be different. I mean, what are the odds?”

  Ellie laughed. “Knowing you, pretty good, but I’m still in. Christmas in a haunted castle seems just too good an opportunity to pass up.”

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  Monday, May 6

  Almost every Monday evening for as long as I have lived at the Gull Island Writers’ Retreat, the gang living on the property have gathered to share a meal and discuss whichever cold case mystery is currently on the table. Anyone living at the resort and attending the meeting is welcome to present a situation they would like help with, and then, once presented, each group member can decide whether they want to help out. Tonight, my boyfriend, Jackson Jones, plans to present a mystery regarding an email he received from a man he had never met following the unprecedented success of his latest thriller. Jack has always attracted his share of fan mail, but this email was different.

  “I have a couple of announcements before we begin,” I said after calling the meeting to order. “First off, I want to remind everyone that Garrett and I are throwing a big, kickoff-to-summer cookout on Memorial Day and you are all invited. If you would like to bring a guest, they are welcome as well. We just ask that everyone RSVP by May 22 so we know how much food we will need.”

  Everyone in the room murmured that they wouldn’t miss it.

  “Additionally,” I continued, “as you all know, the group voted at the last meeting to invite the four new permanent residents of the Gull Island Writers’ Retreat to join the Mastermind group. All four are here this evening. I’d hoped we’d have had the opportunity to gather beforehand for a meal, as we often do, so the new members could be brought up to speed, but things didn’t work out as planned, so I’m going to make quick introductions. I think most of you already know one another, but I want to be sure our newest residents have met everyone.” I took a breath and looked around the room, which suddenly felt much too crowded. At the time we voted to invite new members into our group, it made sense, but with four new members starting all at once, our intimate group suddenly felt awkward. I hoped that would change once we all got used to one another. I continued. “To start off, my name is Jillian Hanford, Jill for short. I, along with my brother, Garrett Hanford, oversee the management of the retreat.” I turned to Garrett, who sat to my left. “Garrett is not a writer, but he is the owner of the resort and has been a member of the Mastermind Group almost since the beginning. Sitting to his left is Clara Kline. Clara writes paranormal mysteries, and to her left is George Baxter, a novelist who focuses on traditional whodunits.”
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br />   I took a breath before continuing. “To George’s left is one of our new members, Lorelei Walker. Lorelei also writes mysteries. She moved to the retreat in March, so I believe most if not all of you have met her.” I smiled at the woman who had lost her husband this past year and hoped she was settling in. Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes and I suspected she was still grieving. “To Lorelei’s left is Rena Littleton, a fantasy and paranormal novelist, who moved to the retreat about five weeks ago.”

  Rena, the youngest member of the group at just twenty-four, was sitting next to Brit Baxter, one of our original members, a chick lit writer and George’s niece. Once Brit was briefly introduced, I introduced another of our original members and the last of the three members still in their twenties, science fiction writer Alex Cole. To Alex’s left sat our newest resident, Jax Sheraton, a man in his sixties and the author of psychological thrillers who had only been living at the retreat for a little over a week. Sitting next to Jax was my best friend, romance writer Victoria Vance, Vikki for short, and next to her sat Grayson Meadows, another man in his sixties who wrote thrillers and had been living at the retreat for the past four weeks.

  “Which brings me to Jackson Jones, Jack for short,” I continued. “Jack writes hard-core mysteries and thrillers and also owns the local newspaper. Jack will be presenting our mystery this evening, so I will turn the floor over to him.”

  Jack stood up and faced the group. I’m not sure how the custom of presenting a mystery to the group in a formal manner got started, but that was the way we had always done it and I saw no reason to change it now. If you asked me, there were already enough changes underway. Twelve Mastermind members suddenly seemed like a lot.

  Jack began in a strong voice. I appreciated the fact that he got right to the point. “Last week I received an email from a man who only identified himself as Sam. He started off by telling me that he had read my latest novel and had enjoyed it.” Jack paused to slowly scan the room, pausing to briefly make eye contact with each of the Mastermind members as he did so. “At first the email read much like any other piece of fan mail, but by the end, Sam had shared that the main reason he enjoyed my story about a serial killer was because he himself had killed eight people and felt he could identify with the killer in my story, who like him, had a very good reason for doing what he had.”