This time Holly didn’t hesitate. She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and Manelli’s number was the last call made to her. She hit ‘Return Call’ and wanted to scream when the phone went to voice mail.
“Detective, this is Holly Donnelly. I really screwed up...”
56 MISSED MESSAGES
“So why do you think Mazer told his sister he was up here, when he wasn’t?” Rivera asked as she and Manelli descended the mountain trail.
“Good question,” Manelli replied.
“It doesn’t bother you that we came all the way up here for nothing?”
“Don’t you need to take your physical test next month? Consider it practice.”
“Seriously? I just don’t get people. Why would anyone do this for pleasure?”
“You never went camping?” Manelli asked as they reached the parking spot.
“No. How about you? You don’t impress me as the camping type.” Rivera drank from her water bottle.
“I’m not. My last camping experience was courtesy of Uncle Sam.”
“In the army? Where?”
“Viet Nam.”
“You’re a Viet Nam vet? You never talk about it.”
“Nothin’ to talk about,” he said, as he unlocked the car and threw his jacket on the back seat.
The clock on the dashboard read 4:30. “Check for messages,” Manelli said as he started the car and got on the road. Rivera plugged his phone into the speaker jack and called in.
“Detective, this is Holly Donnelly. I really screwed up. Ivy and I walked down to the Boathouse Café for lunch. She went to use the ladies room and when I went to look for her she was gone. Just disappeared. Please call me. I don’t know what to do. I’m walking back to the house right now. I know I was wrong, but please, please call me. I’m terrified.”
“What time was that?” Manelli asked, looking in the rearview mirror and stepping on the gas.
“2:30.”
“Great! Hit the “return call” for me. You call headquarters on your phone. Find out if she called there, and if not have them send a squad car over to her house right now before she does something stupid.”
Rivera hit “return call” and it went to voice mail. “This is Manelli, Holly. Don’t do anything until I get there. Call me back as soon as you get this.”
When Rivera completed the call to the station, Manelli said, “Call her home phone.”
Again, it went to voice mail. ”Holly. This is Manelli. I know you’re there. Pick up.” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Listen to me. If you get a call from a kidnapper, do not attempt to respond to it yourself. You have to trust me. A police car is on its way over to you. Let us deal with this. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Manelli shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Anything else you want me to do, sir?” Rivera asked.
“Pray.” Manelli said as they got on the Thruway, and he moved into the fast lane.
58 THE MATCHBOOK PLAN
Holly sprinted up the block to the house. She unlocked the door and ran inside going straight to the answering machine. No messages. Manelli call me.
Lucky stood looking up at Holly. “Lucky, what have I done? Why didn’t we just stay home? Please, dear God, don’t let anything happen to Ivy.”
She stared at the phone willing it to ring. Nothing. She walked into the living room, sat down on the couch, stood up, paced. He’ll call. He’ll call.
She screamed when the phone actually rang. “Hello.”
“Holly Donnelly?” It wasn’t Manelli.
“Yes.”
“You have something I want, and now I have something you want.”
“Let me talk to my sister.”
After a brief lull, Ivy’s voice came on the line, “Holly, I’m okay…”
Before Holly could say a word, the male voice returned. “That enough for you? I’ve got her and she’s alive as long as you cooperate.”
“What do you want from me?”
“You know what I want.”
“No, please, I don’t. Please just tell me.”
“The matchbook.”
“The matchbook? But don’t…” Holly caught herself. “We gave it to the police.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
Holly heard Ivy cry out in pain.
“Hear that? She’ll get much worse if you don’t stop lying and get me the matchbook.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll give you the matchbook. Just don’t hurt my sister.”
“You meet me in Mrs. Hagel’s backyard at midnight. Don’t bring the police. If you do, I’ll kill your sister. Whether they get me or not, I’ll make sure she’s dead.”
“No, I won’t contact the police. I’ll be in Mrs. Hagel’s yard at midnight.”
He hung up.
What am I going to do? If he doesn’t have the matchbook, where is it?
“If he wants a matchbook, he’s going to get a matchbook,” Holly said out loud, heading downstairs to her office. She turned on her computer and found the scan of the matchbook cover. On the supply shelf, she located some glossy photo paper and put it in the printer. She flipped on the printer switch, sat down at the computer and sent the scan to print.
Removing the printout from the print tray, she examined it. Too big. She resized and reprinted it. This time, when she examined it, she was satisfied. She found a piece of cardboard in the file bin, opened the desk drawer and got out the X-acto blade. Carefully, she cut along the outline of the image. She ran upstairs and found a pack of matches in a glass dish on the fireplace mantel. Returning downstairs she used the stapler remover to detach the matches from the pack. Next she carefully folded the scanned image along the same folds as the match pack cover. Finally, she stapled the matches into the scanned cover. This could work. It better work. Ivy’s life depends on it.
Holly went back up to the kitchen, got out a sandwich bag and placed her fake matchbook inside. Now, how am I going to make this exchange without getting both of us killed?
Holly sat down, closed her eyes, and re-constructed Mrs. Hagel’s backyard in her mind. She mentally retraced her steps the day Lucky chased the groundhog. She went back over every step from the patio to the bush in the corner, and back again to the path blocked by the rosebush, then to the shed. I can do this, but I need help.
She jumped up, ran down stairs and rummaged through her inbox. Thank, heaven! She picked up a piece of paper with a phone number on it, reached for her cellphone.
“Peppy? This is Holly Donnelly. Do you remember me?”
“Holly Donnelly. How could I forget you? You callin’ with that GED info?
“No, I need your help.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Where are you?”
“Hangin’ with my posse on Market Street.”
“Give me the address and I’ll come and get you.”
In ten minutes Holly spotted Peppy on the sidewalk in front of a bodega on Market Street. She tapped the horn. Peppy waved and crossed the street. Holly hit the unlock button, and Peppy got in.
“Cadillac? Nice wheels, Mami,” Peppy said, smiling in admiration as she pressed the button to move the seat back. She looked over at Holly, and the smile left her face. “You look awful. What’s wrong?”
“My sister’s been kidnapped and the kidnapper wants something from me that I don’t have. He said not to call the police or he’d kill her. He wants me to meet him in Mrs. Hagel’s yard at midnight tonight. I’m afraid this man will kill us both, but I have a plan for how to get my sister away from him. The only thing is I need you to help me.”
Peppy raised one eyebrow. “You helped my cousin, Juan. I don’t see how I could say no. What’s your plan?”
“Let’s go back to my house first, and I’ll explain everything there.” Holly pulled away from the curb.
“Do you know who has your sister?” Peppy asked as Holly turned onto Pineland Avenue.
“I think it’s the man who made it look like Juan s
tabbed Mrs. Hagel with the garden knife.”
“Hijo de puta! Let’s get this scum.”
Holly finished describing the phone call she’d gotten when they reached her driveway.
“Hey, what’s this?” Peppy said, reaching down and picking up a plastic bag that had fallen out of the car when she opened the door.
Holly’s eyes widened. “I don’t believe it!” she said grabbing the bag, staring at the matchbook cover inside. “You may have just saved my sister’s life. Peppy, this is what the man wants in exchange for my sister.” For the first time since she picked up Peppy, Holly smiled. “C’mon.”
Inside the laundry room, Lucky greeted them.
“You got a dog! Nice puppy,” Peppy said, kneeling to pet Lucky.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Holly said. In the kitchen, she showed Peppy the fake matchbook she had created.
“So what’s this one?” Peppy asked as she continued to pet Lucky who’d followed them to the kitchen.
“I made it from a scan of the matchbook Ivy made before she left to go to the police station. What do you think? Could it pass for the real one?”
“Looks the same to me.”
“Great! Maybe we can actually get my sister back and still keep the real one.”
“Why does this guy want this matchbook so bad?”
“I don’t know, but it’s got to be some seriously incriminating evidence for him to resort to kidnapping to get it back,” Holly explained. “I can’t believe this was in the car all the time.”
“Yeah, it must have popped out from underneath when I moved the seat back.”
“That’s right. The night I was in jail with you, my sister got mugged. She was taking that down to the police station, when she got knocked out in the driveway. When she came to, the matchbook was gone so we thought the mugger got it. But it must have fallen out of her bag and slipped under the seat when he grabbed the bag. Now I remember! She bought a stupid bag when we were in the Catskills. She wanted to buy me one…” Holly started crying. “I said no because it didn’t zip on top and I knew stuff would fall out.” Holly wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
The phone rang. Holly didn’t move. “Aren’t you going to pick it up?” Peppy asked.
“No. Let’s just listen.”
“Holly. This is Manelli. I know you’re there. Pick up. Listen to me. If you get a call from a kidnapper, do not attempt to respond to it yourself. You have to trust me. A police car is on its way over to you. Let us deal with this. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Peppy looked at her. “You want to wait for him?”
Holly grabbed her keys. “No. I called him before I got the kidnapper’s call. That’s why he’s calling me back. I can’t wait. I can’t take any chances with my sister’s life. The kidnapper said he’d kill her if I called the police. We have to get out of here before that police car gets here.” Holly ran to the living room and through the window saw a police car turning the corner.
“C’mon. They’re here already. Follow me.” Holly grabbed the two plastic bags with the real matchbook and the fake. “Sorry, Lucky. You have to stay.”
Peppy followed Holly out the back door. They heard the front doorbell ring as Holly closed the door.
“We have to climb the fence. We can get to the park through the other side of my neighbor’s yard,” Holly whispered. She struggled as she tried to climb the plastic coated chain link fence that separated the two yards. Peppy gave her a push and she was over. Peppy got one leg up and the other followed in one fluid motion. Together they crossed the yard and made it safely into the park.
58 THE THRUWAY
Manelli was cruising at 80 miles an hour. They passed the Saugerties exit and were making much better time than they had on the way up.
“Call headquarters again,” Manelli said. “I want a car to go over to the Hagel’s and bring Dina Hagel in for questioning tonight.”
Rivera called in and relayed Manelli’s order.
“Put him on speaker,” Manelli said.
Rivera hit the speakerphone.
“Who’s this?”
“O’Rourke, Detective.”
“O’Rourke, you tell whoever goes there not to come back without her. If she’s not home, find out where she is and go get her. You hear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Rivera disconnected the call. A moment later the phone rang. She hit the speaker phone button again.
“Manelli here.”
“Detective, it’s Jensen, sir. We’re at the Donnelly house. There’s no one here. What do you want us to do? Stay here?”
“No. No point. Go back to headquarters.
“Yes, sir.”
Rivera disconnected. “You don’t think Donnelly’s hiding in the house?”
“No. She probably got a call from the kidnapper who told her he’d kill Ivy if she called the police. She’d already called me, and so she knew she had to get out of there. When she got my message saying I was sending a squad car over, she bolted.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s going to do what she apparently always does--try to handle it herself. She’s not going to risk her sister’s life. Whatever he wants, she’s going to try to give it to him in exchange for her sister.”
“What do you think he wants?” Rivera asked.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know.”
“Where do you think she went?”
“I don’t know that either.” Manelli sighed.
“I could try to have her cell phone located.”
“Go ahead, but I’ll bet you’ll find it’s sitting on her kitchen table.”
“This woman’s really somethin’, isn’t she?” Rivera asked looking over at Manelli.
“Yep, she’s really somethin’.” Manelli replied stepping even harder on the gas pedal.
.
59 TIA SELENA
“So what’s the plan?” Peppy asked.
“Give me a minute. I need for my heart to stop pounding in my ears,” Holly replied as they crossed Pineland Avenue to the baseball field.
Peppy laughed. “Lemme guess. This is the first time in your whole life you ever ran away from cops.”
Holly laughed. “Yes, Peppy. At my age you’d think I wouldn’t have any ‘first times’ left, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, this could be the start of a whole new life for you,” Peppy teased.
“I don’t think so.” Holly shook her head.
“Listen, we can’t hang in the park until midnight. Manelli will probably have cruisers out looking for you,” Peppy observed looking around. “I got an idea. My Tia Selena lives down on Main. You up for a walk? What am I sayin’? Of course, you are. Let’s go. You can tell me the plan on the way.”
In fifteen minutes, they were in front of one of four apartment buildings angled perpendicular to Main Avenue. Peppy knocked on the door of Unit 20. “Tia Selena. Es tu sobrina favorita,” she called out.
The door opened and Tia Selena, a small woman with gray hair pulled back in a bun, opened her arms widely to greet Peppy. “Bienvenido, Chica, ven aqui.” Holly was unable to understand all of the words in the rapid fire exchange that followed between the aunt and her “favorite” niece, but there was no doubt Tia Selena was delighted to see Peppy.
After a moment, Peppy turned and introduced Holly. “Tia, es mi amiga, Holly Donnelly.”
“Tu amiga?” Tia Selena asked, raising one eyebrow, looking Holly up and down. Whatever she was thinking, she extended her hand and said, “Mucho gusto.”
Holly replied, “Mucho gusto en concerse.”
“Adelante, por favor,” Tia Selena said, opening the door wide and gesturing Peppy and Holly inside.
After locking the door, she pointed to a chair and said to Holly, “Tenga un asiento, Señora.”
“Gracias,” Holly said as she sat down on a red colored couch covered in plastic. The room was small and cramped with furniture. A vase filled with silk flowers was centere
d on a dark wood coffee table. An ashtray shaped like a sombrero also sat on the table with the word “Acapulco” painted across the side. The TV was on mute, a telenovela on the screen. The smell of spicy food cooking filled the apartment. Holly smiled, feeling a bit uncomfortable under Tia Selena’s gaze. She knew the woman was suspicious of her, wondering what this older woman was doing with her young niece.
“Ven conmigo, Peppy,” she said turning and heading through the door to another room that had to be the kitchen, the source of the spicy aromas.
Peppy looked at Holly. “I’ll be right back. Don’t worry,” she said, appearing to have picked up on Holly’s concern.
“Listen, Peppy. I hate to ask you to lie to your aunt, but I don’t think it would be good to tell her the truth.”
“Don’t worry,” Peppy repeated. “When I tell her you’re the woman who helped Juan, she’ll be fine. I’ll just make something up about why you need my help today. I got this.” Peppy smiled and jaunted out of the room.
Holly could hear voices, but couldn’t make out the words. She turned her attention to the television program. Even without sound, she was able to make out who was out to get whom and who was in love with whom. After about ten minutes, Peppy and Tia Selena came back into the living room. Tia Selena sat beside Holly. She took Holly’s hand in hers and said, “Señora, thank you for help mi sobrino, Juan. Mi casa es tu casa. Vamos a comer. Come. Eat.”
Tia Selena led Holly into the kitchen where the table was set for three, and a platter of enchiladas was steaming in the middle of the table. Continuing to hold Holly’s hand, Tia Selena gestured for Holly to take a seat. With her other hand, she reached out to Peppy. “Gracias a Dios por esta comida.” She released both their hands sat and said, “Por favor, come.”
“Muchas gracias,” Holly said, feeling just a bit overwhelmed by this woman’s hospitality. She had so much less than Holly, yet she offered the best she had to her, a total stranger. Holly closed her eyes a moment and offered up her own prayer. Please keep my sister safe.
Second Bloom Page 23