"Pull into the grass up there and stop." When they reached the grass area, Charlie stopped the truck.
"OK, lady, slowly around the front," the man said. Jenny got out and was just rounding the driver's side when the man said, "Stop, right there."
He opened the rear door, got out and said to Charlie, "OK, now you; slowly get out and put your hands behind your back."
Charlie felt the plastic tie restrains go on around his wrists. When he felt them being synched tighter he yelled, "Run Jenny!"
Charlie pushed back hard, sandwiching the gunman between himself and the truck. He felt the gun roll sideways between his back and the other man's chest. Then he felt a burning sensation in his shoulder when the gun fired.
"Run Jenny!" Charlie yelled again as the gunman dropped away behind him. The bullet, cutting a path between them had traveled through the gunman's head, which had been over Charlie's left shoulder, when the gun went off. He was pleased when he saw that Jenny had disappeared into the woods. He turned back and saw that the sedan had slid off the road 150 feet back. At that point he could see that it wasn't a police car, but a security service car. The driver was only 30 feet away with a gun pointed at him.
"That stupid dimwit was supposed to wait for me. At least he got your hands cuffed. Now move over there," she said, pointing 15 feet away from the truck.
When Charlie moved to the spot she had indicated he asked, "Having trouble finding good help, Margret?"
She picked up the other man's gun and replied, "Like they say, Charlie, if you want it done right then do it yourself."
"Thought you were always safely behind the scenes."
"Well, you changed that when you screwed everything up for me. I wouldn't miss this, though, even if dimwit was standing here. Move over there, just inside the trees, and sit on the ground."
He did as she asked. When he was on the ground, she sat on a fallen tree about 20 feet away, her gun ready to fire. "Jenny," she yelled. "Come on back now, or I'll shoot him before I go after Gracie."
"She's long gone. Did I tell you she went All State in track?"
"No, she's not far, funny guy. She wouldn't leave you with help so far away," Margret said confidently. They heard a thud deeper in the woods followed by a brief scream, then total silence. Margret waited a few moments then called out, "Jenny you have one minute until I start taking shots at this hunk of yours."
Charlie's heart raced at the thought of Jenny being badly hurt in the woods. Margret was too far away for him to rush her; he would be shot the moment he started to stand up. What help would he be for Jenny, he thought. He had to get them looking for her.
"Maybe nature took the fun out of it for you. Or, when you kill me, you'll always be looking over your shoulder for her."
"I'll be gone tomorrow. The police will give up their intense search within a few months," she said, but she knew Jenny wouldn't. She needed to keep him alive to draw Jenny out if she was hidden and not hurt. Either way, she wasn't leaving the woods without both of them dead.
She pulled a long flash light from the belt of the security uniform she was wearing. "Get up, I'm 15 feet behind you and will shoot at the slightest wrong move."
He got up and walked into the woods in the direction the sound had come from. He moved slowly, keeping his head faced forward, but looking from side to side for a way to run. The trees were large and spaced far enough apart to make the walk easier. Most of the underbrush was gone due the large umbrella the trees had created. Charlie stumbled a few times and feared the bullet that would take him down. They walked half way in and stopped. Margret called out to Jenny again, but the surrounding silence was not broken.
Chapter 31
Jenny turned to run into the woods and after two strides turned back in horror when she heard the gun shot. She saw the man behind Charlie fall to the ground and another figure run towards him from the other car. When Charlie told her to run the second time she dashed into the woods, just deep enough to be out of sight but still be able to watch Charlie. The rain had stopped mid afternoon but there were still intermittent clouds blocking what light the moon could give. She looked around frantically for anything she could use as a club, but everything large enough was over 12 feet long. There were no rocks small enough to hold in her hand. She was searching along a curved path that allowed her to keep sight of Charlie. Jenny then realized it was Margret in a security uniform that had him at gun point. She moved deeper into the woods as she saw Charlie walk into the woods and sit down. She couldn't think straight, overwhelmed with fear of potentially watching Charlie being taken from her by Margret firing the gun. When she heard Margret call out to her, it helped her focus a little. She knew there wasn't much time left for them and no one was looking for them yet.
The only thing I can do, she thought, is draw them deeper into the woods and then double-back to the truck and call for help.
She went as fast as she could deeper into the woods. She found a fallen section of a tree, about two feet in diameter and five feet long, resting at the top of a small slope. She pushed as hard as she could to try to get it rolling without any luck. Feeling that time was running out, she grabbed a small stick and dug out the debris on the downhill side of the tree section. She pushed it again from the backside and felt it move a little. She had it rocking and with a final push it rolled down the hill striking another tree with a loud thud. She screamed at top of her lungs for two seconds and then fell silent.
She circled back around to where Charlie was, just off to the right of her, and the truck straight ahead.
Come on. Come and get me Margret, she thought. She heard Margret call out to her again and she panicked. This was it, she thought, she's going to kill him. She stood up from a crouched position, prepared to leap towards them. Jenny would not allow her world to be taken from her while she watched, frozen by fear. She heard them talking and stopped, but couldn't make out the words. Charlie stood up then and moved deeper into the woods. She thanked the Lord for his help and moved quickly towards the truck.
They were out of sight now and she ran to the back seat to search for her purse. It wasn't there. She looked on the dash for Charlie's phone and realized it must still be in his front pocket where he usually kept it. She saw the keys in the ignition but knew there was no hope to save, Charlie if she went for help. She remembered Charlie's gun under the seat and reached for it. She put the truck keys in her pocket and with the gun in hand she turned back towards the woods, ran to the tree line and slowed down to keep her steps quiet in the woods again. She was driven by fear, the anticipated sound of gun fire ahead that would kill her also. Then she heard another car pull in and it park beside the truck.
Chapter 32
"Stop, Charlie, this has gone on long enough. Dropping you here will give me 75% of my expected satisfaction. I don't think your little widow will be able to follow me around the world anyway," Margret said.
"Was it always about the money Margret?" Charlie asked.
"Until now, yes. Now I really wanted to see your face as I take everything away from you the way you took everything from me. But I don't get that either, the satisfaction of having you watch the life drain out her."
She raised the gun towards Charlie's head, when they heard a call from behind them.
"Margret, are you out there?"
"Yes, I've got Charlie. Jenny is ahead of us hurt," Margret shouted back.
"Wait there, I'm just behind you. Don't do anything else stupid."
Charlie couldn't believe his ears and, when Detective Eberhart came into view, he said, "I didn't see this coming, you had us fooled."
Detective Eberhart ignored him and turned to Margret. "Where's Jenny?"
"We were going to find her. She fell out there, I think, hurt or dead," Margret said.
"I must say I was impressed with you, Margret, when you married James less than a year after Constance's accident when you showed up on my radar. Staging her accident and the climbing tragedy were brilliant. I'v
e enjoyed my additional income by allowing you to walk around free. I was looking for a remote island to buy when you got James and Gracie out of the way, and now you've blown that. Couldn't follow a simple plan and you've made a real mess of this."
"Black mailing me wasn't enough, you greedy bitch, you wanted to take it all. You screwed this up, telling me to use these two as patsies… and then your kidnapping plan backfired," Margret said.
"I told you they would jump and they did. It would have worked, if you didn't have those clowns following them, and getting caught. When, Santa Clarita PD heard the story and had the Highway Patrol find the girls, it was too late. You're just a major liability now."
Nicole pulled out her gun and shot Margret in the head.
"You're a real piece of work," Charlie spit out.
"The original plan was to give Gracie a few bucks. Your getting too nosy put her in danger. James had to go he was a workaholic and not much of a father anyway."
"Oh, you're quite the humanitarian," Charlie said.
"I like kids and hate pedophiles just like you do."
"How'd you find us?"
"The same way I found John Ellis in the back of your truck, the tracking device they put on your truck. By the way, he's not singing now, he did a year ago when he told me about Constance Wentworth's accident which allowed me a small fortune from Margret, but not anymore," she said. "Margret was right about one thing; you two were a bad choice."
"So, you shot Ellis too?"
"No choice, he knew too much. Two more bullets and this mess, is cleaned up," she said as she raised her gun to shoot Charlie.
Charlie saw Jenny approach from behind Nicole, and dropped to the ground just as Detective Eberhart pulled the trigger.
Jenny fired a round into the sky just over Nicole's head.
"Drop it!" Jenny shouted.
Charlie knew it was over. He couldn't take Nicole down from where he was on the ground and he knew Jenny couldn't shoot her.
"Seems, I have nothing to lose," Nicole said dropping her aim towards Charlie on the ground.
"Seems I have everything to lose," Jenny shouted, sweeping her gun down and firing. The bullet hit Nicole's upper arm, a split second before Nicole fired her gun.
Nicole fell to the ground in pain, her gun was knocked out of reach. Jenny looked at Charlie. "Are you hit?"
"No, but it was close," he said. "She might have another gun."
Jenny stepped on Nicole's left hand as it was sliding a gun out of an ankle holster. Nicole cried out in pain from the weight of Jenny's foot. Charlie was up quickly and kicked the gun away. With his own hands tied behind his back he was of little help.
"Jenny, find the flash light and check in Margret's belt for something to cut this." He turned showing her the restraint.
She found a small clipper and another set of tie cuffs. When she had cut him free, she handed him the cuffs. He brought Nicole's hands together and bound them.
"We have to slow her bleeding," Charlie said. He lifted Nicole and carried her toward the truck. Jenny saw her purse around Margret's neck and retrieved it.
When they reached the truck, Charlie pulled some duct tape out of the glove box and wrapped Nicole's arm where she was shot.
"She's passing out, Charlie."
"Either shock or loss of blood, Call 911; tell them we have Detective Eberhart, and that she is wounded. Tell them she murdered Margret Wentworth, and we're headed towards Marina. You drive. I'll hold her in the back seat."
Charlie got settled in the back seat with Nicole. Jenny was on the phone talking while she navigated the muddy road towards the highway. When the truck stopped sliding and the tires grabbed a hard road surface. She accelerated hard.
"What the hell is going on Charlie? Nicole was our friend!"
"I would've bet my life on her too," he said.
"You did… We did! I'm still in shock, when I saw who it was…"
"I thought we were both dead back there when you shot over Nicole's head. In my mind I saw her shoot me then quickly turn and shoot you, because neither one of us could stop her; me on the ground and you unable to shoot her. I don't know what we take with us, but the sight of you being shot would be intolerable for me. You saved my life in that moment."
"I realized how selfish I really am in that moment. My prayer was a life for us Charlie… "
"How is that at all selfish, Jenny?" Charlie said, cutting her off.
"The gun in my hands seemed to move on its own. After the warning shot over her head, all I saw was her bringing her gun down, to kill you on the ground. My gun was pulling my hands down. I pulled the trigger as it passed the middle of her head Charlie," Jenny said. "I didn't wait to pull the trigger as the gun dropped to her arm to simply wound her. I was ready to kill someone to keep you for me. I have to accept that I'm capable of what I hate so passionately about Nicole and Margret…"
"Not at all the same. We're trying to save her life here, a chance we have only because you had the gun and not me. I don't know if it was divine intervention, your sub-conscious mind, or you're just being a lousy shot. What I do know is, if you had hesitated a moment longer we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"I know that. How could she be such a monster too?"
Jenny saw the flashing emergency lights when they approached her ahead. She pulled to the side shoulder and flashed the headlights. One police car blocked the road behind them. The ambulance made a big U-turn and pulled up beside their truck, the other police car was blocking the road in front of them. Jenny had the rear door open as the EMT helped Charlie move Nicole out of the back seat onto the wheeled stretcher. They took her vitals and started an IV drip.
"Only injury in her right arm?" one of the EMTS asked.
"Yes," Charlie said.
"Her vitals are stable; I think she'll make it."
"Turn around, sir," the other EMT said, looking at Charlie's back. "Were you injured?"
"I think my new lucky jacket took most of it," Charlie replied. Jenny went over to see for herself.
"Did you get shot Charlie?" she asked, very concerned.
"I'm fine."
"That will need some attention to avoid infection," the EMT said.
"I hear salt water is good for scrapes," Charlie said, smiling to relax Jenny's concern.
The EMTs gave Charlie a puzzled look and loaded Nicole into the ambulance.
A police officer approached them. "Mr. Watson, we're aware of the situation here with Mrs. Wentworth and have been watching your home for signs of her," the officer said, "but why did we just load a San Jose Detective into the ambulance?"
"That detective was behind this whole mess with Margret and shot her in the woods," Charlie stated.
The officer called to his partner and said, "Cuffs on the detective, and go with her, looks like we have a dirty cop." His partner climbed into the back of the ambulance. One of the police cars followed it as it took off towards Marina with sirens blaring.
"We've already dispatch a detective he is in route. Can you take us back to the scene?" the officer asked.
"Sure. There's also another man where we were first taken hostage," Charlie told him.
"Is he at large?"
"No, you'll need the coroners van for him also."
The officer removed his radio and called it in to the station. They drove back to the scene and while they all waited for the crime scene detective, the officer took a full statement from Charlie and Jenny. The detective arrived and spent 30 minutes studying the scene. When the two bodies were removed, he approached Charlie and Jenny.
"I'm Detective Edwards, there's still a lot I don't understand here, Mr. Watson. Will you two please follow us back to the station?"
"Sure, but we're as confused as you are," Charlie said, sliding into the driver's seat of his truck after helping Jenny in on the other side. When he drove back towards Marina, he noticed the other police car was following very closely behind them.
"Maybe, things were not rea
l clear with the detective," he said. "Do you want to give Gracie the good news that she has nothing to fear from Margret anymore?"
"That's exactly, what I want to do. Focus on the good that comes out of this horrible situation," Jenny said grabbing her phone. Charlie listened as Jenny relayed the news to Gracie. When she put the phone back in her purse, He was pleased to see a broad smile of satisfaction on her face.
"James is awake, Charlie. Isn't that wonderful?"
"They must have found out what the poison was?"
"From some rare, African lizard; that's why they couldn't see it in his blood tests."
"How do you get something like that, I wonder? Something else Nicole found along the way and figured she could use one day. Do they expect a full recovery?"
"On his feet in a day or two, back to normal inside of a week. Gracie's so thrilled about rebuilding a relationship with him."
"That's good news," Charlie said.
"I'm in a fog, here. How did Margret, get Stefanie's phone number to threaten her?" Jenny asked.
"Probably when Stefanie called Nicole to vouch for us when we first showed up on their doorstep in San Diego."
"Then she gave it to Margret, to call her, make the threat and find out where they were," Jenny said.
"You did good back there, partner. I think you're a natural at this detective stuff."
"We're a damn good team, mister. I can't really explain it, didn't even know it was there before, but helping Cindy, and now Gracie, has made me more. Not that something was missing, but maybe it's just the awareness of something new in me. Does that make any sense?"
"Answering a call for help, from a voice we didn't recognize, has made us more. I know exactly how you feel, partner," Charlie said, "and as you said before, about us being many things, let's just focus on being mates for a week in Hawaii."
"To quote a very wise man," Jenny said, laughing, "Works for me."
They spent four hours in the Marina Police Station, going over their account of the last few days. They arrived home shortly after midnight reassured that Nicole was under heavy guard at the hospital.
Watson Manor Eventually (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 1) Page 20