Lucille Pfiffer Mystery Series Box Set

by Tanya R. Taylor

  “This one’s feisty,” the quiet one said. “Maybe she needs a tooth or two knocked out so she’d know better than to give grown men any orders.”

  “Now, calm down,” Jake told him. “Take it easy. After all, she’s just an old lady with a disability. We don’t wanna seem cruel by treating her harshly, do we?”

  On that note, he placed his large, rough hand around my throat and gripped it. “We’re here for the cash, lady – every cent of it. You hand it over like a good broad and we’ll let you live. Give us any trouble and I will personally plant a bullet right here.” He tapped the center of my forehead.

  “What cash are you referring to? I don’t have any money. I live off of disability checks.”

  “Not what I heard,” he said. “Thanks to your good friend, we’re gonna cash in big time tonight.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about and my attempt to figure it out was interrupted when Nilla came running into the room at full speed and charged at Jake’s feet.

  “What the hell!” he yelled, kicking at her.

  “Nilla! Go back!” I screamed. But she wasn’t budging; she knew something was wrong, particularly since the guy still had his hand around my throat. He went to kick at Nilla again; simultaneously freeing my throat from his grip. I reached down to get her away from him and that’s when the quiet one yanked my hair and pushed me to the floor.

  Nilla had grabbed on to the tail end of Jake’s pants and was not letting go.

  “Shoot the damn dog!” the quiet one said.

  “Please, don’t!” I cried. “Let me take her outside; she won’t get in anyone’s way. Whatever you came here for, we can talk about. Just don’t hurt my dog!”

  Nilla was growling. It was then that the quiet one reached down, grabbed her and tossed her across the room. I screamed, thinking right then he’d killed or seriously injured my dog. I heard her whimper as she hit the floor.

  “You bastard!” I hurried up and ran over to Nilla.

  I turned in the direction of that brute. “You touch her again and I’ll kill you!” I felt ferocious anger boiling in my veins.

  To my relief, Nilla was fine and I cuddled her protectively in my arms. Without warning, she wiggled her way out of my grip and dashed back over to where the men stood, this time biting the ankle of the man that threw her. Those guys were in for a fight! Nilla was not backing down.

  While they were distracted by her, I picked up the side table lamp and approaching the intruders from behind, sent it crashing down on the head of the guy who had the nerve to put his filthy hands on my dog. He went stumbling to the floor. Jake reached to grab me, but lost his footing and stumbled also. I could’ve sworn I saw a glint of something slide from his finger and roll underneath the couch. I grabbed Nilla and dashed toward the front door to get her to safety. The moment my feet hit the threshold I heard Jake’s command: “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

  Without a moment’s thought for my own safety, I halted, rested Nilla on the porch and sent her off. “Run!” I said.

  Jake yanked me inside by the collar of my blouse and shut the door behind us. I was just relieved that Nilla was no longer in harm’s way.

  Holding his head, I wasn’t surprised when the other guy started hurling expletives at me and threatened to wring my neck.

  “Relax!” Jake told him. “The dog's gone. Let’s focus on what we came here for.”

  “I hope you get the biggest bump Chadsworth’s ever seen!” I exclaimed.

  “Shut up, lady!” Jake pressed his gun against my cheek. “You’re a lot of trouble for a blind one.”

  “You haven’t seen trouble yet, young man! None of you numbskulls have!” I believe at that point all fear had left me and I was pissed off Big Time! That idiot who barely opened his mouth that entire trip turned out to be a crude, animal abuser and it set me off.

  “Look lady...” Jake was still trying to intimidate me with his weapon. “I want that money and I want it now.”

  “What money? You must be getting me confused with someone else. Don’t let the size of this house fool you. I’m a widow living on disability like I told you.”

  “That’s not what your friend said,” he whispered into my ear. I almost vomited when I really caught a good whiff of his foul breath; even coughed it out. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating, but the guy probably hadn’t brushed his teeth in days.

  “Friend? What friend are you talking about?” I asked.

  “The one I partied with.”

  “Merlene?”

  “Yeah. That’s her name! She said you came into a half a mil.”

  My heart sank. I couldn’t believe my ears. Would Merlene have done that after I confided in her and asked her not to tell a living soul? Jake couldn’t have known it otherwise. Merlene was the only one I told. I felt betrayed and realized why I’d kept Donnie’s life insurance payout to myself for so long. One weak moment while trying to help Merlene’s son, I told her about it, thinking I should be able to trust her. I could’ve kicked myself. Now look at the position I found myself in and the abuse my beloved Vanilla suffered at the hand of that maniac!

  “We’re going to the bank,” Jake spoke softly. “You’re going to withdraw every penny of it and after it’s safe with us, we’ll let you go.”

  “I can’t,” I said.

  “You what?” the other jerk asked.

  “You heard me! I can’t do it.”

  Jake grabbed me by the throat again. “What do you mean you can’t do it? I told you what we’re gonna do.”

  “If you get your filthy hands off me, I can explain.” I struggled to get the words out.

  He released his grip.

  “The money is not in the bank. It’s in a special fund that my lawyer controls.”

  “Liar!” The jerk lashed out again.

  “I swear to you, it’s been set up that way ever since my husband died. It’s the way Donnie wanted it since I’d lost my eyesight and he trusted our lawyer enough to hold the funds on my behalf in case I needed it for my care.”

  Jake twisted his mouth, then said, “So, you expect us to believe you have no access to your own money?”

  “You can believe what you want, but I’m saying my lawyer has control of it.”

  Jake walked off a little and gestured to his sidekick to join him. They spoke quietly for a minute, then I heard him tell the other one: “Go outside and find the dog. Don’t come back in here without it. We’re gonna kill them both since the old broad is useless and wasted our time.”

  I was stunned. Was he serious? Was he even that demented to actually threaten to kill not only me, but my dog too?”

  The guy headed for the door.

  “Wait!” I said. “I can go to the bank and get some money for you. I have a savings. I’ll give it to you.”

  “Do you have a half a mil saved?” Jake asked while his partner continued toward the door.

  “I don’t, but I have a few thousand.”

  “Sorry, lady. We came for a half a mil. Anything less than that is a vain trip. Get the dog, Sal.”

  Sal – that’s the first time I’d heard Jake call his partner’s name. “No, Sal! Wait! I can get the money – the five hundred thousand. I can get Mickey Carey, my lawyer, to withdraw it from the fund.”

  Jake motioned for Sal to halt. “You can, huh? I thought you had no access to your own money.”

  “I don’t, but it’s my money and I can give him instructions,” I said.

  “Are you sure about this?” He looked at me suspiciously.

  “I’m positive.”

  “Okay.”

  He turned to Sal. “Let’s get out of here. Go make sure the coast is clear and I’ll grab the old lady.”

  “Sure,” Sal replied and headed out the door.

  “He’s not going to bother my pet. Is he?” I asked. Nilla’s safety was my only concern.

  “No, we’ll leave the dog alone, but you’re coming with us to make sure we get what’s due to us. You understand?”


  “Oh, you’ll get what’s due to you all right.”

  “Are you trying to tell me something?”

  “I meant the money, Jake. It’s okay for me to call you Jake, isn’t it?”

  He thought for a moment, twisting his mouth again. “I guess it’s okay. Nothing wrong with us partners being on a first name basis.” He grinned.

  I always believed that he who laughs last laughs the best. He might’ve been laughing then, but I intended to be the one laughing later at those knuckleheads. Right then, I had no idea how I was going to get out of that mess and if I’d even get out. But Lucille Velma Abigail Pfiffer was no fool. Between now and the time I had to hand over that cash, I was bound to think of something.

  8

  _________________

  I breathed a sigh of relief when the front door swung open and Nilla was nowhere to be seen. Jake didn’t want to draw any of the neighbors’ suspicions, so he told Sal to walk in front of me while he acted as if he was nicely assisting me to the car. It was supposed to appear that I was simply going out with friends and wasn’t under any duress. The green sedan they’d pulled up in was parked in front of my gate and as we approached the gate, seemingly out of nowhere Nilla dashed at Jake getting him good on the right ankle. The big crybaby screamed and went to kick Nilla, but she dashed off again, then circled back to teach him a better lesson. Jake rushed me to the car and pretty much shoved me inside just before Nilla got him again on the same ankle, then took off again further into the yard. This time he raised his gun toward her and I screamed. In his rage, he must’ve realized shooting off that gun in my neighborhood would’ve certainly attracted unwanted stares their way, so he shoved it into his pocket and hopped into the car as Nilla stood a few feet off, barking furiously.

  “Don’t worry, snookums!” I told her. “I’ll be back soon. I love you!”

  Jake sat in the back seat with me. I don’t know where he thought I was going to run. He wrapped his ankle with an old sock he picked up from the floor of the car. If he was in pain, I couldn’t tell. I surely hoped he was.

  As we pulled off, it broke my heart to watch my Nilla standing there in our front yard with a worried look on her pretty little face. She knew those men were bad and did everything she could to make them go away. I wished I could tell her she was my hero and she hadn’t failed.

  “Where are you taking me?” I demanded.

  “Not in another suburb; that’s for sure!” Sal laughed heartily from the front seat. It was clear that my suffering gave him immense satisfaction. It’s a pity I couldn’t locate something heavier at the time to crash on his head.

  “We’re going where no one will bother us. Somewhere nice and secluded,” Jake said. “You’ll be able to make the necessary arrangements for us to get our money. And after that’s sorted out, we’ll drop you back off to your nice, cozy house and you’ll never see us again.”

  “I see.” He explained it so nicely, so much so that if I didn’t know better I’d have thought he was doing me a favor.

  We were driving for a while before Sal made a detour into a part of the city called Brighton which I’d never ventured into before. Brighton was like a little town in itself and actually had its own jurisdiction separate and apart from the rest of Chadsworth due to its large populace. We had long passed the nice boutiques and parlors and were now in a somewhat dreary location where no one in their right mind would wander into even during the day.

  The streets were lined with mostly dilapidated houses and guys were sitting on dirty walls - smoking their preferences and others with their almost empty bottles of liquor sat nearby. We made a left turn onto a narrow gravel road embraced on both sides by thick bushes which brushed against the car as we traveled along. By then, dusk was drawing near and a dreary shift in the weather made it appear even later in the evening than it actually was.

  Finally, after about a three minute drive through the track road, we came upon a small brick house straight ahead. All-white, it had a high-pitched roof with dark gray shingles and an old wooden front door.

  I didn’t say a word the entire time, feeling there was no use asking them anything more until I actually saw what would be my destination. The property itself gave me an eerie sensation and added to it was how very quiet the surroundings were. Birds could be heard chirping and leaves rustling, but nothing more. Standing in supreme prominence, the house surrounded by dense thickets, suddenly seemed bigger than it really was supposedly since there were no other homes in sight.

  “Well, here we are,” Jake said to me. “Home sweet home.”

  “Where have you taken me?” I asked as if I could not see. “And how long do you plan on keeping me here?”

  “As long as it takes.” He grabbed me by the arm and led me out while Sal locked up the car.

  The interior of the house was in desperate need of a woman’s touch, in my humble opinion. The living room was a mess. Shoes and articles of clothing were strewn everywhere and I could see that the kitchen was in no better shape than the living room. Used dishes had been piled into the sink and a pot and skillet with hardened food at the bottom sat on the stove. I was convinced that whomever lived there was a slob. Thank goodness there didn’t seem to be any animals around. I shuddered to think how they might’ve been neglected.

  Jake pushed me onto the sofa while he went and grabbed two beers from the refrigerator. He handed one to Sal after he walked inside.

  “There’s no reason to be rough with me, young man,” I told Jake. “It’s totally uncalled for. Didn’t your parents teach you any manners? You never learned to respect your elders?”

  Sitting down on the couch, the men glanced at each other, then laughed.

  “Sorry ma’am,” Jake started, “but I didn’t have any parents. I grew up in and out of foster care. Sal here pretty much raised himself since none of his strung out folks thought leaving a kid alone all the time could get him into all kinds of trouble. So to answer your question, no one taught us anything, so we have a legitimate excuse for being your worst nightmare if we don’t get our money.”

  He rested his beer on the center table and leaned forward. “Here’s what we’re gonna do tonight… You’re gonna call that lawyer of yours and tell him you need to withdraw the half a million tomorrow morning. Under no circumstances are the police to be involved. If they are brought into this situation, someone’s gonna die and it’s not gonna be me or Sal. Got it?”

  “You mean you’re keeping me here overnight?” The very thought of that distressed me, though I had considered the possibility.

  “I believe I made myself clear,” he said. “Didn’t I, Sal?”

  “You surely did!” Sal shook his head eagerly.

  Jake turned to me again. “I’ll provide you with the location for the drop off and you'll relate that to good, ole Mickey. After we have our cash in hand, Mickey will take you back to your cozy little suburb and this little nightmare of yours will be forgotten.”

  “I hear you,” I said.

  All I could think about was how upset and confused Nilla must’ve been and I wondered if Theodore or Anthony realized I was actually missing. Hopefully, one of the neighbors saw something and alerted the boys, if not the police.

  Jake got up, grabbed his beer and headed into the kitchen. He yanked open a cabinet, retrieved a small plastic container and poured out a couple of pills into his hand. He swallowed them down with his beer. I noticed a single letter “I” on the little pills. Must’ve stood for idiot. He then leaned forward against the counter with his head lowered and hands braced against the edges. I was convinced something was a little off with this guy.

  As he turned around, my own inner lights suddenly went out. Dammit! All in my view was darkness.

  “This is not the time!” I cried.

  “What? What’d you say?” Silly Sal asked.

  “Nothing,” I mumbled.

  “Get her into the spare room,” Jake told him.

  That’s when Sal put his grimy
hands on me and pulled me into a room that smelled like toe jam. He sat me down onto what I assumed was a twin-sized bed, considering when I landed on it, I had to prevent myself from falling off the edge.

  “Stay in here and relax,” Jake said. He sounded like he was a few feet away, probably near the doorway. Didn’t know he had followed us. “We’ll be out front, so don’t even think of trying anything.”

  “Won’t you allow me to at least call my house to let everyone know that I’m all right?” I asked.

  “Nah,” Jake answered. “Let them wonder where you are for a while. The more worried they become, the more seriously our request will be taken when you get your hotshot lawyer on the phone.”

  “Psychology!” Sal chuckled.

  “Yes indeed, my friend.”

  The door closed and I was alone in that stinking room.

  9

  _________________

  The TV was on and I could hear them conversing in the other room. Not sure if it was the living room or another bedroom. They seemed to be having the time of their lives, talking about their latest sexual escapades and what sounded like secret criminal collaborations. Their voices suddenly lowered when they got to the latter, so I couldn’t make sense of what they were saying. I got up and carefully felt my way around the room, almost tripping over what I could’ve sworn were those smelly shoes. I found my way to the door and tried the knob. As suspected, it was locked – from the outside.

  A couple of hours must’ve passed before the house became completely silent, other than for the buzz of the television. I figured they must’ve drifted off to sleep and that a few beers had aided them in that regard. Sitting on the bed for so long was becoming tiring and I wanted to lie down, but the thought of what might be on that sheet repulsed me, especially after listening to the type of fun those two criminals described they had in great detail. There was no telling if any of them used that place for some of the aforementioned gratification. After a while, I felt I had no choice but to lay back and try to get at least a little comfortable.