by Norma Lehr
Abby let her hand drop to her side. If that’s what he thought, the son-of-a-bitch was deranged. Never in a million years could she be family to him. She took a deep breath. “Of course. Sounds like a plan.”
He came and stood over her. The candle flames lit up his features, and Abby could see the wild look in his eyes. “Now let me take a peek at that hand.” He unwound the tissue soaked with blood. When the horseradish smell hit his nostrils, he sneezed twice. He gingerly held the tissue between two fingers and rushed over to toss it in the trash under the sink. “Awful stuff, that root.” He shook his head. “My mother was a sadist using the herb. Keep it away from me. I’m highly allergic.” He opened a drawer and came back with a box of Band-Aids. “I may not be a doctor, but I’m a dentist with medical training. And of course I had children I mended when they took their spills.” His eyes glittered in the candlelight. “I believe I told you about my twin girls. Did I not?”
Abby observed him as he kneeled and bandaged her fingers. He was short of breath and reeked of liquor. She flashed back to Trish’s last chapter and a new plan formed in her head. “Yes, you did. How are your daughters?”
“I believe you know.” He gave a cynical flick of his eyebrow. “Am I right?” He pulled in his chin and stared.
“No.” Abby feigned innocence. “Trish hasn’t told me much about you or your family. She’s private about her friends. Old and new.”
“Don’t play games. The only reason you’d know I had Trish here was if your mother told you what happened.” Anger flared in his eyes. “The tragedy that befell one of my beautiful girls.” He ran a thumb along his jaw. “Unfortunately, Trish didn’t agree with me about Thomas. Oh, of course, she thought he should be stopped and held accountable, but not the way I planned it. I kept her here and took care of her, hoping she would change her mind about going to the police.”
He kneaded the back of his neck. “I believe you know more than you’re telling.” He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You know why I killed Thomas.” He snickered. “The benevolent surgeon.” He glared up at her. “Am I right?”
Abby couldn’t find her voice. She opened her mouth to speak but a growing fear overtook her. If she fought to get her mother out of here, this maniac might kill them both. She froze.
Another groan came from the loft. Louder this time. More frantic.
A sudden shot of adrenaline renewed her. Trish had to know she was here. She jerked her hand away and rushed to the steps.
Reynolds was at her heels. He reached out to grab the back of her sweater but Abby was too quick for the old guy. She took two steps at a time with him pounding up close behind. At the top, her frantic eyes searched the area. In a darkened corner on a camp-sized cot, Trish lay in a fetal position, her hands and feet bound, her mouth taped, her eyes wide and pleading.
When Reynolds reached the loft, Abby twirled around. “You bastard. Look what you’ve done.”
He held up the knife and wielded it above her head. She ducked and looked to his side. Nothing she could use as a weapon. He had her blocked. She frantically dug through her bag searching for something, anything to defend herself. Her fingers brushed the horseradish root buried beneath the snake chain with the cat’s eye metal disk. She dragged out both, and in one quick move, whirled about. With her bandaged hand, she used her palm to shove the root into his mouth. He gagged and wheezed, which gave her time to twirl the heavy chain. She slashed it across his forehead then back across his chin. Blood spurted. He dropped the knife and fell face down on the floor, writhing like an injured animal. Then she rushed to the cot and worked at loosening the bonds that kept her mother hostage.
Outside the cabin, cars screeched to a halt. Abby pressed her mother’s hand as loud male voices shouted orders. Within seconds, they hammered at the padlocked door and forced it open.
Blade was the first to reach her. “What the hell, Abby? What were you thinking facing this lunatic alone?” He planted his foot firmly on Reynolds’ back, while Dawson put the cuffs on. Dawson hauled the dentist up to his feet. “Downstairs, now!”
Abby ripped at the tape that bound Trish’s hands. With one hand free, Trish pulled the tape from her mouth. “Thank God, Abby. I prayed you’d find me.” She held her tight. “How did you know where to look?” Trish reeked of the same liquor she’d smelled on the dentist. “It’s complicated, Mom. I’ll fill you in later.” She guided a wobbly Trish to the top step of the loft and down.
Reynolds slumped as he was hauled away. When he reached the open door, he looked back over his shoulder with tired eyes.
CHAPTER 19
Trish lay across the back seat of the VW, covered with a blanket taken from the cabin. Abby sat up front next to Blade, bundled in his jacket. When he made a sharp right from the dirt road and followed Dawson’s police car on to the main highway, Abby leaned closer. “How did you find me?” she whispered hoarsely. “I tried to call you—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Blade grunted, “but you didn’t.”
“I tried. Really I did. I realize now I should have left you a message sooner. When I got here and tried to get in touch, I couldn’t get any reception.” She studied his profile. Neck taut. Mouth set. “I suspected Reynolds knew where Trish had gone. I thought he liked me, so I figured he’d tell me or show me if I followed alone and reasoned with him. Really, I didn’t know if she was being held captive or if she came here with a plan.”
“No plan,” Trish mumbled from the back seat.
Abby turned. “I know that now, Mom, but I couldn’t be sure.” She waited until they reached the cutoff at Banning. “So. How did you find me?”
Blade turned into the take-out lane at McDonald’s. “You want coffee, tea? How about you, Trish? Anyone hungry?”
Trish answered with a light snore.
Abby sighed. “Hot tea, please.”
Blade handed her the cup then pulled over into a parking spot. He shifted around in his seat and faced her. “Your aunt Ginny saw you get into the cab this morning. Dawson and I chased down the cabbie. He told us where he dropped you. The rental place put through a call to ONSTAR. They gave us the crossroad.”
The hot tea had perked her up. “Good. I appreciate you two finding me,” she motioned with her chin to the backseat, “finding us.” Her mind reeled back to earlier when she’d made the decision to walk, not drive, the dirt road to the cabin.
Blade wasn’t saying, but the guys must have spotted the Equinox parked on the side of the highway and figured she’d gone up the side road.
Blade gulped the last of his coffee. “Do you have any idea how concerned your friends and relatives have been for your safety?”
“I can only imagine, but—”
He dismissed her with his hand. “No buts. And now you want me to believe that crazy killer likes you?” He leaned toward her. “Good God, Abby, he was ready to kill you.”
“At the time, I just felt I had a better chance to find Trish if I faced him alone.”
Blade snorted. “So, how did that work out for you?”
Abby spoke up in her own defense. “I did leave Renee a message asking her to stay with my aunts,” she turned to face him head on, “and I’ve been trying to call you for the last two days since I left Yucca. All I got was a brusque message from your cell.” She stared at him. “Where have you been?”
He put the car into gear. “With Dawson. Gathering evidence to arrest the killer.”
“I left an envelope for you both listing a probable motive and a possible method for the murder.”
He pulled out to the road and shot her a sidelong glance. “That you did.”
Blade gave her the silent treatment until they pulled up to the bungalow. Trish slept in the backseat and never changed her position. “Your mother’s exhausted.” He reached for Abby’s hand and his eyes softened. “Before you go in, you’ve gotta know how much I care. The other night in Yucca Valley ….”
The door to the cottage flew open and Dorie raced to the car. She peered
through the window at each one before she clapped her hands with delight. “I prayed to Calliope you’d all be safe and sound.” She focused on Abby. “Did you use the horseradish root?”
Abby and Blade exchanged knowing looks. They both gave Dorie a weary smile.
Inside the bungalow, Abby faced her worried and excited family. Her aunts fussed and poured tea as they maneuvered Trish down the hall and into bed. But Trish had awakened after the ride back to the Springs and she wouldn’t stay put. Abby observed her mom. She’d sit for only a few minutes before she stood and paced the living room. Each time, Dorie followed in an attempt to calm her, while Ginny pushed for Trish to let them take her to be checked out at emergency.
Exhausted, Abby excused herself and left the sisters to handle Trish. She wandered into the kitchen and poured hot water over a tea bag. Taking the cup over to the kitchen table, she stirred her tea and thought about her mother. If she’d been drinking with Reynolds since Friday night, maybe she wanted more now that the liquor had worn off. Damn him! Had he forced her? Had that been the only way to keep her calm?
Abby gazed out the sliding door as dawn peeked through the tall palms next to the pool. The early light helped soothe her soul as it cast flashing diamonds over the calm blue water. After all of the calamity she’d been through in the last twenty-four hours, she needed a couple hours of rest.
When her aunt came and sat next to her at the table, Abby forced her gaze away from the pool. “Ginny. Where’s Renee? Did she leave?”
“She did. After your call saying Trish was all right, she called her friend Logan to pick her up. He was all apologetic about being gone so long and not keeping in touch.”
“Why?” Abby asked. “Where has he been?”
“Seems there was a memorial service held at the mortuary here in town before the surgeon’s remains were shipped back to Florida. His family asked that Logan and Michael Heath attend. They wanted to meet the men who’d been with Thomas at the time of his death.” Ginny bit her lip. “I suppose they invited the dentist too ….” She gazed down at her clasped hands. “Sugar, I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through.”
Abby covered Ginny’s hands with her own. “I’m tired now. When I’m more rested I need to hear all the facts from Trish. How she got to the cabin. What he did to keep her there.” She yawned and rubbed her brow. “But those questions will have to wait.” She gazed longingly through the arch to the hall. “If Trish isn’t going to sleep right now, mind if I lie down on the extra bed?”
“You go right on ahead. I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed. Meantime, I’ll find out what Trish has to say.” She glanced toward the living room with narrowed eyes. “And it better be good.”
Abby stood and finished her tea. “Don’t be too hard on her. She’s been through a lot.”
Ginny cleared the cups and took them to the sink. “Where did your PI friend go?”
“Blade?” Abby asked. “He called to say he was with Dawson at the station.”
Still fully dressed, Abby pulled her sweater around her and spent a restless time on top of the comforter in the guestroom. Each time she closed her eyes, visions of Reynolds wielding his knife caused her to sit up and stare around the room. After what seemed like hours—but only forty-five minutes by her watch—she was fully awake and heard a man’s voice out front. It was 7 a.m. By the time she reached the living room, Ginny was closing the door.
Abby looked around. “Where’s Trish? Was a man here?”
Dorie came over and put her arm around her waist. “Did you get some rest, honey?” Ginny swept by them and headed to the kitchen.
Abby broke free of Dorie and followed Ginny. She peered out the kitchen window as her mother got into a white car. “What’s going on? Who’s the man with my mother?”
Ginny squirted dish soap in the sink before she turned around. “She made a call about fifteen minutes ago and then he came here.”
Abby crossed to the counter and leaned into her aunt’s face. “And you just let her go? Why didn’t you come and get me?”
“No need to get your tights in a bind. She introduced him as her sponsor. I know his father. He’s driving her to an AA meeting.” Ginny hunched her shoulders. “I tried to persuade her to wait, but she insisted that she needs to go and wondered if you’d pick her up in two hours. Left the address by the phone.”
Abby agreed with Ginny. Seemed a bit too soon for a meeting, but Trish was a long-time member of AA. She must feel that for her it was the right time to go.
Two hours later, Abby pulled up to a gray building on Palm Canyon Drive. She sat in the Lexus and watched as folks drifted out to the sidewalk after the meeting. She spotted Trish—nicely dressed in white pants and a purple top and conversing with a man and woman—and waited until they left before stepping out of the car. When Abby reached her, she held out her hand. Trish grasped it and tears filled her eyes. “Abby, I hope you weren’t upset because I didn’t wake you. It was crucial I get to this noon meeting.” She motioned with her head. “The man you saw me talking to is my sponsor. Has been for years. I needed him and this meeting today more than I needed questions from family or the police. I hope you can understand.”
“I do understand. And I’m sure your sisters do too.” Trish’s hair was stringy, and she wore no makeup. “You’re looking better. Where did you get the fresh clothes?”
Trish answered with a weary smile. “Pants and shoes—Ginny. Shirt—Dorie.” She dug in the pants pocket and opened her hand. “Got my twenty-four-hour sobriety chip today.” She looked up and a flicker of determination crossed her eyes. “It’s a new beginning. Again.”
Abby linked arms with her mom and nodded. “Come on. You gotta be hungry. Dorie made ‘organic spiritual’ sandwiches and insisted I bring them. Don’t know what’s in them, but let’s go find a quiet place and give them a try. Whaddya say?”
Trish directed Abby to Ruth Hardy Park, not far from the Movie Colony. They parked and walked to a picnic table. Abby was suddenly famished. She opened the top slice of the full grain bread and took a sniff. “I don’t know what she used for a dressing, but it’s not horseradish! If she had, I wouldn’t mind. I’m getting used to the strong smell.” And I’ll never forget how that damn root came in handy. She grinned and took a bite. “Really. This sandwich is quite tasty. I’m impressed.” She looked at Trish. “You going to try it?”
“Later.” Trish held the sandwich in her hand. “I’m not really hungry. Ginny insisted I have toast with my tea this morning. Guess it filled me.”
“This park is lovely,” Abby commented. “Close to Sterling Stamm’s house.”
Trish’s eyes brightened. “You’ve seen his place?”
“Seen it, ate there and slept there. Both Renee and I.” She smiled across at Trish. “Logan has been a gracious host.”
Trish nodded. “He’s Sterling’s wonderful son.” She remained quiet for a few moments. “I suppose he filled you in about my long-time affair with his father.”
“He didn’t have to. The place is loaded with memories of you and Sterling. And I wouldn’t call it an affair, exactly. It reads more like a life-long, enduring love story.”
“Then you’ve read my memoir,” Trish stated. “And now you know that he was your biological father.”
“I have. I had to. I went to Yucca Valley searching for anything I could find that would give me a clue to where you had gone.”
“Not gone,” Trish corrected, “had been abducted.”
Time now for the sequence of events Abby had been waiting for. Trish’s story.
Trish placed her uneaten sandwich on the table. “I left the poker game and sped from the Villa, driving blindly. Not sure where to go. The police? Tell them I thought Thomas had been murdered? What if he hadn’t? What if he’d died of natural causes and I’d cast suspicion on innocent men? I know I was hysterical. The shock of seeing him collapsed over the table had my head in a whirl. It’s not clear now how Preston caught up to my car, but I
recall him waving for me to follow him into the parking area. He pulled up next to me and got out of his car. I rolled down my window, and he said I’d been driving crazy.” She hesitated and gazed up at the mountains. “Too bad the cops didn’t see me and pull me over. Could have saved everyone a lot of misery.” She patted Abby’s hand. “Anyway, I told him we needed to go to the police. He was adamant and reassured me we should wait. He said going to the authorities would only complicate things.”
Trish shifted on the bench. “At that point, I didn’t know he was responsible for Thomas’ death. Oh, I knew he thought he had a reason to do it, but I was more inclined to suspect Michael Heath. I wondered if somehow he still had connections with the Philly mob and they’d put a hit out on Thomas. He’d done facial reconstruction work for them in the past. Maybe they figured he was a danger to them.”
She smiled sadly. “I’m so relieved he’s innocent. Nice man, Michael.” She looked up questioningly. “Have you met him?”
Abby nodded. “I did. He told me what happened with you two in Atlantic City. Your mob involvement.”
Trish rubbed her brow and lowered her head. “I didn’t want you to know. I’ve tried to keep it from you.”
“Then you’re not planning to include it in your memoir?”
“No. No. Never!”
“Heath told your sisters he blames them for what happened back then. Now they’re both worried and scared. Please, Mom, assure them you have no intention of writing about it.”
“I’ll do it. Soon as I see them.”
After a long silence, Abby prompted, “Tell me what happened next in the parking area.”
Trish’s hand shook. “Preston came around and sat in the passenger seat. Offered me a drink. My nerves were shot. I remember looking at his silver flask and wishing I could. Times like that, longing for the bottle is strong. I didn’t take any at first but Reynolds has a soothing voice. He kept on offering while saying that one little sip would help calm me. I took it. Big mistake. Took it and wanted more. Reynolds let me keep the flask. Things got blurry then, and I vaguely recall him getting out of the car and opening the door on my side. It all moved in slow motion. I couldn’t feel my legs. He finally pulled me out. That’s all I remember until who knows how much later. I recall being seated in the cabin while he spoon-fed me soup. He kept talking. On and on. Crazy stuff. Confessed to what he had done. Poison, he said, and I wondered if he’d poisoned me too. I still felt hazy, but begged him to turn himself in. Or at least let me leave. I promised I wouldn’t go to the police. He grew angry then. Accused me of lying. He paced around, insisting I owed him my silence and support.” Trish stopped and licked her parched lips.