Ellie was still curled up in a corner of the couch. I was happy to see that her movements were more natural, not so stiff, and that her bruises were fading. I’d seen Sal looking at them but she’d asked nothing. Hopefully she’d put two and two together and gotten ‘running from a crazy person’ and not something more sinister. Although, come to think about it, that was sinister enough in itself.
‘OK, girls. This is what I think we need to do.’ Sal’s abrupt announcement jerked me back to the present, and even Ellie perked up a bit. ‘I’ve got enough supplies down cellar to outlast anyone trying to flush us into the open.’
I almost fell over. Number one, who even says ‘down cellar’ any more and number two, who has one?
‘What do you mean, “flush us out into the open”?’ I was rapidly moving from confident to concerned, with Sal sounding even more like that homespun vigilante than someone who could help.
‘I think we just need a phone, Sal,’ piped up Ellie. At last! A suggestion that didn’t smack of conspiracy.
‘I’ve got a phone you can use,’ Sal countered, jerking a thumb toward a darkened room just off the front door. ‘It’s one of those satellite contraptions. Got it when I thought I’d have to hunker down during an enemy invasion.’
Oh, boy. We’d gone from running from a killer to hanging out with a nutcase survivalist.
Could it get any worse? The answer, unfortunately, turned out to be a resounding ‘Yes’.
Chapter Twenty-four
I just managed to keep myself from gawking at Sal. Who in their right mind would prepare for an ‘enemy invasion’ and install a satellite phone? Or even think about invasions of any kind? (I think the key words there are ‘right mind’.) I was beginning to wonder what else she might have ‘down cellar’ aside from food. Visions of barricaded doors and night vision goggles danced through my already boggled mind; instead of planning how to escape killers, I needed a plan to escape from kooky old women.
You know how some folks can surprise you, no matter how well you think you know them? Dear Ellie managed to do just that.
‘Let’s get that phone hooked up, Sal,’ said Ellie, rising to her feet and stretching. She’d sat still for so long – probably in recovery mode – that she was probably stiff as a board. Thankfully, her mind was still working. At least, I hoped it was, especially since she’d disappeared into the office of a crazy woman, alone and unarmed. I debated following them in there, wondering if I should stay close to the door in case I needed to make a break for it. Finally, with one last lingering look at potential freedom, I rose from my seat and walked into a center of technological wonder.
I’ve seen made-for-television movies where an average citizen becomes the hero of the day, defending the town against an alien invasion – the kind where all the houses are flattened by laser; except for the hero’s house, of course.
I’m dead serious: the woman had a virtual armory of stockpiled guns in cabinets and hanging on the wall, an impressive shelving unit containing boxes of ammunition and goggles that looked like the night vision variety, and a desk that looked like the master command center for the CIA. In short, Sal Bacon was ready for Armageddon.
I just wanted to get in touch with San Blanco Police Department. Hopefully they’d already started searching for us – at least I trusted they had.
Ellie had already settled into the impressive leather chair that sat at the desk, switching on buttons and powering up the biggest cellphone I’d ever seen in my life. Sal was flipping switches on a computer that sat on one side of the desk, syncing it to a hand-held device she casually pulled out of her shirt pocket. I shook my head in amazement: I’d never seen such a set-up in anyone’s house. Actually, I’d only seen things like this on the cable military channel and in those movies where there’s always an on-the-run ex-spy who’s been wrongly accused of some terrible crime and the government is out to get him. Maybe Sal had more of a past than I thought.
‘OK, it’s working,’ announced Ellie. She turned to look at me. ‘AJ? Do you want to call Annie or shall I?’
Actually, I’d thought of calling our dynamic detective duo, especially since I hadn’t had my Detective Baird fix for the day. ‘How about Detective Fischer?’ I suggested with my best innocuous look. I should have saved it.
With a masterful eye roll, Ellie passed me the phone. ‘Go ahead. Give your Detective Dimple a call, AJ.’ As I took the monster device from her, I stuck out my tongue. Sometimes that feels so good, you know?
Crediting my near-photographic memory – or an obsession with a certain dimpled detective – I punched in the number to Baird’s cellphone. By the third ring, I was feeling slightly anxious. When his voicemail picked up, I disconnected. I wasn’t positive about police protocol and all that, but it seemed to me that they had to remain available.
I shrugged my shoulders at Ellie, handing back the phone to her. She took it without a word and dialed quickly, calling Detective Annie Bronson, I assumed.
‘Er … Annie? This is Ellie, Ellie Saddler. Yes, that Ellie.’ I could hear Annie’s voice faintly and from the look on Ellie’s face, something was off. ‘OK, we’ll stay put. No, we’re all right.’ Here she glanced over at Sal with a questioning look, who returned it with a nod. ‘We’re at Sarah Bacon’s house, the one just behind yours … yep, that’s the one. You do, huh? Well, is that so?’ Ellie smiled at Sal whose face wrinkled back at her mischievously. I had a sudden sneaking suspicion that Sal and Annie were old acquaintances.
After Ellie hung up, she turned on Sal, hands on hips. ‘You are one tricky lady, Sal. Why didn’t you tell us that you were ex-PD? And that you were Annie’s aunt?’
I must confess, with deep apologies to my mother, that my mouth almost unhinged, falling open to its full extent. This whole thing was just getting weirder by the minute.
Sal gave a deep chuckle. ‘Yep, guilty as charged. Annie got into the business because of me. I raised the girl and she always wanted to do whatever her Auntie Sal was doing. And I must say, she does one heck of a job.’ She looked at me and then back to Ellie. ‘So, are we all set for the time being?’
I exchanged shrugs with Ellie. It seemed we’d be as safe here as any other place, and I admit I was feeling better about the whole ‘crazy lady with guns’ thing.
‘Sure, we’re good.’ I answered for both of us.
In addition to having her own arsenal, Sal had an awesome food supply as well. With me and Ellie ensconced in the cozy front room, she bustled around in her kitchen, slicing vegetables and dumping them into a simmering pot of seasoned chicken stock. When she pulled rolls from the fridge and began brushing them with melted butter, I almost swooned. I am a bread person through and through, and I could eat a dozen hot buttered rolls by myself. I’d need to watch my manners.
‘So,’ I ventured, ready to hear some old tales on Annie. ‘How did Annie come to live with you?’
Sal was silent a moment and I felt awkward, hoping I hadn’t offended her. She still had all those weapons, after all. Wiping her hands on her shirt, Sal leaned back against the kitchen sink.
‘Well, her daddy was my youngest brother. I felt like his mama most of the time, and when he left home, he moved in with me. Eventually, I lost him to Annie’s mother, some young thing he met over at the university. They eloped, had Annie, and died in a car crash when she was still a baby. I’m the only family she’s ever known, really.’ Sal cleared her throat gruffly. ‘But I’ve always felt blessed to have had her in my life and my home. Like I said, she always copied me, determined to do everything I did. I was so proud the day she joined the force.’ Sal’s face was soft with the memory. With a small sigh, she turned back to her cooking.
‘Darn it!’ Ellie’s words cut short the moment. ‘My cards, AJ. I left them behind at Annie’s.’
She was worried about her cards? I was concerned about escaping with my life!
‘Really, Ellie? Your flippin’ cards? What good have they done us so far?’ Oh, boy. Open mouth,
insert foot, AJ.
To my surprise, Ellie smiled. I mean it – she truly smiled at me, even after I’d committed the unforgivable and had insulted her beloved deck of cards.
‘I know. But, AJ, you’ve got to admit that they have given us some guidance.’ Ellie sat examining her perfectly groomed cuticles as if she’d just spotted a hangnail.
‘Whatever,’ I answered stubbornly. ‘They made Fernando mad at us, and that’s about all.’
Sal waded into our little exchange then, probably heading off a huge argument.
Ellie and I can have some doozies.
‘Are you talking playin’ cards here, girls, or some other kind?’ She sounded curious, and Ellie ate it up like a starving man on a Christmas ham.
‘My Tarot cards, Sal,’ Ellie said with a touch of pride in her voice. Good grief. To hear her talk, you’d think she invented the darn things. ‘I use them to help folks, to give them answers.’
OK. I’d had about enough of her sanctimonious attitude. It was time to kick some Tarot tail here.
‘What Ellie really means, Sal,’ I said with my sweetest voice and smile, ‘is that she uses the cards to butt into others’ problems and make them even worse.’ Now I’d done it, but I didn’t care. I was feeling reckless. In one short week I’d faced death and disaster, and I could handle Ellie. Or so I thought.
If steam could really issue from someone’s ears, Ellie would have been able to power her own engine at that moment. I’d pushed the one button that could really set her off; questioning her motives. Ellie fancies herself as a people’s person, a true humanitarian, and I suppose she is. I mean, she was usually the one to talk to the new students, to welcome the odd person out to our lunch table. I always wondered why she did it, though, especially since she was also the first to start a tiff with anyone who crossed her.
Sal turned a stern face on me and I felt like I’d time-traveled back to Grandma Tillie’s house when Ellie and I would be scolded for fussing.
‘I’m sorry, Ellie. I guess I’m just tired of this whole thing.’ I gave my cousin a rueful smile and, thankfully, she smiled back. War averted.
‘It seems to me that the both of you have had a few rough days,’ Sal said, moving to the cabinets and taking down three bowls ‘Come and get some grub. Food always makes folks feel better.’
I couldn’t have agreed more. By the second hot roll I felt much better, and by the end of the meal, I could have gladly flipped the cards for Ellie and would have been delighted to do so. Sal’s chicken vegetable soup was magic.
Chapter Twenty-five
The shadows that had huddled in the corners of the front room began to move inward, and I was surprised to see the glint of a superb sunset outside the windows.
We’d eaten and cleaned the small kitchen, chatting as if we’d known each other all our lives.
Aunt Sal, as I’d come to think of her, was amazing. Her stories of the early years on the police force, just one of three women on the beat, left me filled with appreciation that I’d never had to experience a boss or peers like she’d had. I couldn’t imagine being treated as if I were a second-class citizen, all because of a few chromosomes that had been left to chance.
Thinking of bosses led my thoughts to Stan West and I grinned to myself, wondering how that gentleman was getting along. As much as I’d have liked him to have an issue or two to deal with, I knew he’d most likely shovel it over his shoulder at folks like Maria.
I glanced idly around the room, my eyes falling on a squat bookcase that hugged a darkened corner. It was filled to overflowing with books of every shape and size, and I was curious what a woman with Sal’s eclectic lifestyle would read. Curiosity being one of my stronger points, I stood up and walked over to the shelves, plopping myself down on the floor in front of them.
Within five seconds my alarm bells had begun to ring, and another ten seconds passed before I registered the form standing behind me. Aunt Sal leaned over and touched my shoulder, making me jump sky high.
‘Surprising, ain’t it?’ Her voice was amused, and I craned my neck to look up at her. ‘Surprising’ wasn’t the word I’d have chosen. Maybe ‘unbelievable’ or ‘mind-boggling’, since that’s exactly how I saw the situation, certainly not a mere ‘surprising’.
‘Yes, it sure is … “surprising”,’ I agreed, turning back to the shelf just in front of me. The titles almost screamed at me: “Thinking Critically” by Drs Evans and Galas; “Knowing Your Mind and Theirs” written by Samuel Johnston, PhD; “Turning Their Reaction into Action” by F. Bacon, M.S.
That last author made me stop and consider. Was this a Bacon family member, as in Sal Bacon? I must have telegraphed my question loud and clear because Sal reached down and lifted the book from the shelf as tenderly as if she was picking up a newborn.
‘This is the book my brother published just before his death,’ Sal said softly, stroking the book with wrinkled hands. ‘He was almost finished with his doctorate when … well, when it happened. I was glad to have this to remember him by.’
I was beginning to think that the Bacon family might be something to contend with. After all, Sal’s brother seemed to know how to manipulate folks and their minds, while Sal herself was someone you wouldn’t want for an enemy. I figured that I’d need to rethink ol’ Annie Bronson as well.
I returned to my browsing in Sal’s private library. If we had to stay here much longer – not that I was complaining, mind – I needed something constructive to do.
Unlike Ellie, I liked to read things like books, not all that abstract nonsense like reading cards.
Behind me I could hear Ellie and Sal chatting, the rocking chair squeaking gently on the worn carpet. Calm had settled down over the room like an old familiar quilt, and I found I’d forgotten for a few minutes why we were even here. Chicken soup can do that to me.
I suddenly recalled some of Sal’s earlier comments that had made me think she knew something about the fake ID ring. I replaced the book on the shelf and stood up, curious about how much she knew. With Detective Annie Bronson as her niece … well, Aunt Sal was probably pretty savvy when it came to the local crime scene.
‘Sal,’ I ventured, verbally stepping all over Ellie in my curiosity, ‘I’m wondering exactly how much you know about … you know, about the problems at the Miramar.’
The rocking chair came to an abrupt halt. I could almost hear the protest from its rockers as Sal firmly planted both feet on the floor and looked me square in the eyes.
‘I know about as much as you two, AJ.’ Her canny expression spoke volumes, and I had a feeling that she was one up in the information department.
Ellie and I exchanged uneasy glances. We actually didn’t know much, aside from the fact that three people were dead, there was a list of names that seemed to be important enough to kill for, and we were on the run for our lives. Other than that, we knew zilch.
I cleared my throat, more of a silence-filler than for any other reason. It’s one of my nervous tics, kind of like chewing fingernails or picking at your cuticles. I needed to know exactly what Sal knew and if she had some ideas that would: a) save me and Ellie from certain death and; b) get us out of San Blanco and back on the road to home sweet home.
‘OK,’ I said, sounding like a cardsharp trying to bluff information from an opponent. ‘This is what I know, what we know,’ indicating Ellie with a nod. ‘Three people are dead. Ellie recovered a list of names and one of the dead men was on the list. His brother has been arrested for harassing me and Ellie, and someone took potshots at us today.’ I looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to show her hand.
Sal stared up at the ceiling, eyes narrowed in thought. She stayed that way for so long I was afraid she might have gone catatonic on us. As nervous as I was already, her sudden ‘aha!’ nearly stopped my heart.
‘Annie told me about an identification theft ring she’s been investigating for a while. She and that ex-whatever of hers, that Detective Fischer, found some links to the
Miramar resort and they’d sent a few folks in to nose around.’ Here Ellie and I looked at one another in surprise. Who in the world was she talking about? ‘Unfortunately, you two came along and seemed to get in the middle of the whole thing.’ I began to protest, but she shut me up with a majestic motion of her hand. How was I to know anything about what was going down at the Miramar? ‘Annie rang me up and told me that you’d be at her house and to keep an eye out, which is what I was doing when you came tearing over that fence.’
Well, I suppose I should have been relieved that Sal Bacon didn’t tote that gun around all the time. I didn’t need another person gunning for me, pun clearly intended. Ellie stirred around, hands fiddling in her hair. I could tell she was itching to get to those cards; her own nervous tics give it away.
‘If you two don’t have any more questions, I need to start powering down for the evening.’ She got to her feet, pausing to let her body adjust to the movement. Startled, Ellie and I glanced at each other. Sal sounded like she intended to dock the small house at some space station and recharge. Come to think about it, I wouldn’t have been surprised in the least to see her take out a talkie-thingy like I saw in every space movie and say something like, ‘Beam me up, Scotty.’ San Blanco was fast becoming home of the weird and weirder.
‘Is there anything I can do?’ I figured if Sal was going to lock us all in for the night, it would be smart to know exactly how to reverse everything in order to spring myself and Ellie to safety.
‘If you’d like, you can walk the perimeter with me,’ answered Sal, pulling a tatty old cardigan from the closet by the front door. She gave me the once over then tossed an equally worn jacket my way. ‘Better bundle up. It can get a tad nippy out there.’
Where were we headed? To the North Pole? As far as I knew, this was summer in a coastal town, and the chill really didn’t set in until the sun went down.
Murder at the Miramar (Augusta Burnette Series) Page 15