by Kathi Daley
“Back here,” both replied.
Well, at least they sounded okay. Bree and I headed down the hallway. I gasped when I arrived at the office to find both Mike and Tony tied to chairs.
“What happened?” I asked as I began untying Tony, and Bree began untying Mike.
“There was someone here when we arrived,” Mike began. “They’d parked around back, so we didn’t see the car. They took us by surprise.”
“They had a gun,” Tony added. “They had me tie Mike up, and then the guy tied me up while the woman held a gun on us.”
“Thank God all they did was tie you up,” Bree said as she stepped back, and Mike stood up.
“When I first realized we weren’t alone, I thought we were dead.” Mike pulled Bree into his arms. I could see that the experience had shaken him, although he was trying to appear calm.
“But the woman just told Mike to drop his gun and then they tied us up and left,” Tony said as I finally got the rope around his feet loose and he stood as well.
“Do you know who it was?” I asked.
“The pair wore masks, so I didn’t see the face of either individual, but Tony said he recognized the woman’s voice,” Mike answered.
“Who was it?” I asked.
“Celia Bronson,” Tony answered.
“The woman who tried to buy the desk from Star first and then Colton?” I asked.
Tony nodded. “I’ve spoken to her on the phone twice. She has a way of rolling her Rs. I’m sure the woman today was the one I’ve spoken to on the phone.”
“Do you think they are the ones who killed Star and Colton?” I wondered.
“I don’t,” Mike said. “I think if the pair we stumbled upon had already killed two people, they probably wouldn’t have hesitated to kill us. I didn’t get the feeling they wanted to hurt anyone. I think they were here looking for something, and then we showed up. They probably saw us through the window and had time to get into place before we entered the office. They were on us before I had any idea that anyone was already here.”
“So they either must have been looking for the desk or for whatever they believed was in the secret compartment,” Bree said.
“I think we will find that Ms. Bronson and her partner in crime are the ones who broke into the furniture store as well,” Tony added. “All we need to do now is to compare the prints on the gun with the ones on the picture frame.”
I noticed Tony glancing at Mike’s gun, which had been left on the desk. “She picked it up?” I asked.
Tony nodded. “The man told Mike to drop his gun, and he set it on the floor and kicked it forward, and then the woman picked it up and put it on the desk. She was not wearing gloves.”
Mike used a towel he found in the bathroom to pick up and wrap the gun so as not to smear any prints that might have been left.
“So, what now?” I asked. “Did you see the car they were driving?”
“We didn’t,” Mike answered. “But Tony is pretty sure the woman is Celia Bronson, so I have a place to start. I’m going to head back to the office to run the prints on the gun just to be sure. Once I’ve done that, I’ll pay a visit to Ms. Bronson.”
“And we should get over to the carnival,” I said to Tony. “Assuming you aren’t injured in any way.”
“I’m fine. And your mom will be frantic by now, I’m sure.”
I looked at Bree. “Do you want to come with us?”
“You guys go ahead. I’ll stay with Mike.”
“We never did look for the documents we hoped to find,” Tony reminded Mike.
“Maybe we can come back later. I’ll call you.”
Tony agreed, and we all headed out to the drive. I planned to drop off the Jeep at my cabin and then head into town with Tony. It was a good thing all the animals were safe and comfortable at Tony’s. I had a feeling this was going to be a long night.
******
When we arrived at the carnival, we found it packed with locals and tourists alike. I guess I was somewhat surprised by how crowded it was, given the fact that it had been snowing off and on all day. Of course, today’s snow was the gentle sort that fluttered around a bit but didn’t amount to much when it came to overall accumulation. The overnight forecast was still calling for precipitation that would be measured in feet. If that occurred, I was pretty sure the carnival would be over almost before it got started.
“I have to say, the place feels festive,” I said to Tony.
He grinned. “It really does. If not for the fact that we promised your mom we’d help out, I’d buy a roll of game tickets. Where are we supposed to meet her anyway?”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t expecting this crowd and figured we’d just look around for her. I’ll text her to see where she is.”
As it turned out, Mom was in the ticket booth, so we took off in that direction. I hoped she’d ended up with enough other volunteers; Tony and I had both fallen down on the job. Not that we didn’t have a good excuse for being late, but Mom had been so stressed all week that I’d wanted to be there for her.
“Hi, Mom, sorry we’re late.” I offered the woman who’d given birth to me a warm hug.
“I was wondering what had happened to the two of you.”
“We were helping Mike,” I explained. “But we’re here now if you need us.”
Mom glanced out toward the rides. “Actually, I seem to have plenty of volunteers tonight. Tomorrow may be another story altogether unless the snow we are expecting actually shows up, in which case there may be nothing to volunteer for.”
I looked up toward the sky. “It’s not too bad right now.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way.” Mom paused as a woman with three children came up to buy three wristbands that allowed for unlimited rides for the evening. “So, you’re helping Mike with his murder cases?” she asked after the woman and her children left.
“Sort of. We helped him to open the secret compartment in the desk at the center of whatever was going on with Star and Colton.”
“Did you find anything that would point to a motive?”
I shook my head. “It was empty. But Mike has some new evidence he is working on, so we might have some answers by tomorrow.” I decided not to mention that Mike and Tony had been left tied up in Colton’s house. Mom was stressed enough as it was. “We’re going to meet him later to go over a few things.”
“I’m glad the two of you are getting along. A mother doesn’t like it when her children are at odds.”
Tony and I hung out for a while, mostly just to enjoy the festive atmosphere. If the storm did blow in as expected, tonight could end up being both the first and the last night of the event. After we’d eaten some junk food and played a few games, I called Mike, who informed me that he’d arrested Celia Bronson and her brother for trespassing and accosting a police officer. As we suspected, Celia was after an old deed that she believed had been stored in the desk. Mike promised to tell me the whole story later, but he needed to get off the phone right away. Before he hung up, though, I asked if he thought Celia and her brother had shot Star and Colton, and he said that he was fairly certain that he was back to square one on that particular question.
Tony and I decided to head out to his place. It was late, and we were tired, and the thought of snuggling up with the animals in front of the fire seemed too good to resist.
Chapter 16
Saturday, December 21
By the time the alarm clock went off the next morning, we were blanketed in a layer of snow that was going to take some serious shoveling to dig out from. Mom called to let us know that the carnival portion of the event was canceled for the day, but she hoped to dig everything out so it could reopen tomorrow. The craft and food vendors were warm and cozy in the community center, and the local snowplow drivers were busy clearing the town streets so that those who were inclined to head into town would be able to do so.
Given the fact that Tony lived up on the mountain, w
e figured we wouldn’t see a plow for at least a day, so we reconciled ourselves to settling in and enjoying the first major snowstorm of the season.
“I spoke to Mike,” Tony informed me as he slipped a breakfast casserole into the oven.
“Oh. What did he have to say?”
“Apparently, Celia Bronson’s grandfather was one of the first people to settle in White Eagle. He carved out a large ranch for himself that he handed down to his two sons, who divided the land rather than running it together. At the time the ranch was divided, a map was drawn with borders clearly marked so each son would know what land belonged to him and what belonged to his brother. Over the years, the property lines blurred until a major dispute between two present heirs, Celia’s brother and their uncle’s oldest son, Seth, erupted. Celia felt it important to track down the original map and document that described the split, but she couldn’t find it. Eventually, she remembered her grandmother’s desk with the secret compartment.”
“I wonder why she thought the documents would be in the desk.”
“Her grandmother had once mentioned to her that all her most important documents were in that compartment, so Celia thought that perhaps the map and land deed were there as well. The problem was that her mother hadn’t liked the desk, and when she inherited it, she sold it. Celia spent a lot of time tracking the desk down, but by the time she’d traced it to Graham Beaumont, he’d passed away, and all his possessions had been sold off. Celia was able to determine that Star was the one who’d bought the desk, so she called her and offered to buy it. Star told her that she was the second person to call about the desk, and while she and her partner planned to sell it eventually, they weren’t ready to do it quite yet.”
“So I’m assuming it was Celia who told Star about the secret compartment?”
“It was, but she didn’t tell her how to access it, only that it existed, and that she would be willing to pay her simply to look inside the hidden panel for a document she believed belonged to her. While Star was mulling this over, someone else apparently called with a similar request. According to Celia, she said that she needed to speak to her partner and would get back to her, but Star was shot and killed before she was able to return Celia’s call.”
“So Celia sought out Colton,” I assumed.
“Yes. At some point, Celia found out who Star’s partner was, so when she learned that Star was dead, she called Colton and once again offered to buy the desk. Colton wasn’t ready to sell the desk but agreed to call her when he was.”
“Colton probably realized that the reason Star had been shot and killed could very well be due to whatever was in the desk so many people seemed to want.”
Tony nodded. “I suspect that is true. Also, keep in mind that when Star was shot, she had already cleaned out her safety deposit box. We are assuming that means that she was able to access the hidden compartment in the desk and that she had initially stashed whatever was inside it in her safety deposit box, but then thought better of keeping it there for some reason.”
“What reason? What could be safer than a safety deposit box?”
Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. What we do know is that by the time we found the desk, it was empty, and when Mike checked the safety deposit box, it was empty as well. We still have a lot of blanks that need to be filled in.”
I took a sip of my coffee. “Okay, in summary, we know Celia desperately wanted the map and deed to the land, which she believed was stored in the desk by her grandmother. She figured out who the desk had been sold to and tracked him down, but he had died. She then traced the desk to Star and offered to buy it. When Star was killed, she sought out Colton, and when he was killed, she broke into his store and his home, looking for the map and deed she needed.”
“That seems to sum up what we know or suspect at this point. Celia told Mike that she had broken into Star’s home and business as well, but she never found what she was looking for.”
“Because it wasn’t there,” I said. “I mean, if you think about it, we looked and looked and didn’t find anything like the map and deed Celia says she is looking for. Sure, we didn’t know exactly what we were looking for at that time, but I think an old map and deed would have stood out as being relevant if we’d come across them.”
“I agree. So the question is, where are the map and deed, and where is the envelope Star received from Denton’s friend?”
Boy, did I wish I had the answer to those questions.
Tony got up to check the casserole, and I refilled both our mugs with coffee. It had stopped snowing, although it was still overcast. According to the weather report, the storm had moved on, and we were expecting fairly mild weather for Sunday.
“So if Celia is behind the break-ins at the furniture store and Colton’s house, and she is not responsible for either murder, who is?” I asked.
“Another good question.” Tony headed to the refrigerator to pull out a fruit salad he must have prepared while I was still upstairs.
“We have the man who kicked Jillian out of Star’s store, who may or may not be associated with my dad or whatever is going on regarding him. He seemed like the cold blooded sort who would walk up to someone’s door and shoot them.”
“I agree. He does make a good candidate. But there are others.”
“Such as?” I asked.
“Celia’s brother is in a land dispute with another relative. We also suspect that Star told Celia that someone else was also interested in the desk. It seems possible that this other someone could have approached the situation a bit more forcefully than Celia did.”
“I suppose that is true. We should try to find out who the other person interested in the desk actually was.”
“Mike might know,” Tony answered. He pulled on a pair of mitts and reached into the oven for the casserole. It looked delicious. Nice and cheesy, with egg, bacon, onion, and spinach.
Once we’d eaten and cleaned up the kitchen, Tony and I headed outside with shovels and the snowblower. It took us three hours to clear the walks, driveway, patio, and decks. A plow would come by at some point to clear the streets, but for now, we were snowed in.
As soon as we’d finished shoveling, we decided to take a spa. There was something wonderful about sitting outside in a tub full of hot water while jets hit your back as snow flurries caressed your face.
“By the way, how did Shaggy’s meeting with the video game company go?” I asked, as my mind wandered from one random subject to the next. Shaggy was Tony’s best friend, and the two of them had been working together to develop a new game. They had a prototype ready for testing, and Tony had told me that Shaggy had meetings set up with several distributors.
“All the meetings have gone well,” Tony answered. “I think we will have more than one company willing to make an offer, which means that we should get top dollar.”
I leaned my head back against the headrest as the water bubbled all around me. “That’s wonderful. I bet Shaggy is over the moon.”
“He is. He’s even talking about using part of his portion of the profit to expand his store.”
Shaggy owned a store that sold video games and comic books.
“And what are you going to do with your share?” I asked. Tony already had a lot of money, so the profit from the game wouldn’t affect his lifestyle as much as it would Shaggy’s.
“Actually, I am going to donate my profit to the shelter.”
I opened my eyes and sat up. “The shelter? You mean the animal shelter?”
Tony nodded. “I’ve spoken to Brady about it.” Brady was the local veterinarian and owner of the only animal shelter in town. “I really love the ideas the two of you have for not only expanding the training facility but for offering a permanent residence for senior dogs and cats and other hard-to-place pets. Brady and I went over some designs he’s been playing around with but didn’t think the budget would support. With the proceeds from the game, he should be able to do everything he can imagine.”
; I let out a little screech of happiness and moved onto Tony’s lap. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him. “I love you. And not just because you are making my dreams come true as well as Brady’s, but because of your big heart.”
He smiled and kissed me back. “I love you too, and not just because you are sitting on my lap, which is giving me all sorts of ideas.”
Chapter 17
Quite a while later, Tony called Mike about some ideas he’d had regarding the research he was helping him with. I was trying very hard not to insert myself into the situation and take over completely, but that didn’t mean that I wasn’t listening with both ears. Tony had filled me in on most of this already, but I was still interested in the direction the conversation would head once Mike had a chance to give his feedback.
“I found out that Ivana Kowalski first worked for Layton Henderson in his import-export business,” Tony said into the phone. “About eight months before she became pregnant and ran away, she was transferred to his facility in Hungary, which presently deals with artificial intelligence but at that time dealt with the manipulation of human intelligence utilizing a variety of methods. We knew that and have discussed it before. What we didn’t know prior to my research yesterday is that after Ivana became pregnant and left the facility, we assume without permission to do so, she began using the name Polly Davis. She came to the United States using the Polly Davis alias, as a guest of Grant Tucker, who, interestingly enough, was Henderson’s head of security prior to running off with Ivana.”
I couldn’t hear Mike’s response because Tony had not put the phone on Speaker, but from the long silence on Tony’s end of the conversation, it seemed apparent that Mike had quite a lot to say about the situation. When Tony had first told me that Grant Tucker had worked for Henderson in a very high-ranking position, I’d been surprised as well. What could have led our dad to turn his back on his boss and run off with one of his assets? Had Dad been in love with Ivana, or had he simply befriended her because he felt sorry for her? I supposed this was a question we would never know the answer to. The other answer we might never know was who Grant Tucker was before he began working for Henderson. According to Tony, he wasn’t anywhere on any radar, nor did he have a paper trail until shortly before taking the job with Henderson. It was Tony’s theory that Dad might have been deep undercover when he’d hooked up with Henderson to find out what he was doing with his human test subjects. I supposed that fit what we suspected: that at some point, my father had been CIA or a member of some other supersecret agency. If he had taken on the name Grant Tucker to go undercover, I had to wonder who the man I’d called Dad was before taking on all the aliases.