Stopped Cold

by Pallotta, Gail;

  I started toward my desk for paper and a pencil, banged into the bottom drawer, and knocked it open. The sight of the wadded-up, black polyester pants and turquoise blouse I’d worn to the hospital the day Sean had the stroke stopped me in my tracks. I gripped my aching leg while sadness fell over me.

  I snatched up the shirt, yanked it until it ripped, and threw it on the floor. The pants legs stretched as I clutched one in each hand and pulled until my eyeballs nearly popped out. The slacks wouldn’t tear. With rage running through me I snatched the scissors off the desk and snipped at them until the black reminder of the worst day of my life lay in tiny fragments.

  The scraps cluttered the carpet like ashes from a volcano. Dad and Mom mustn’t see this mess. I dropped to the floor and crawled around picking up the tiny shreds one by one from the tufts of floor covering, putting them in the trash. With my arms, legs, and heart aching I lay on the bed while sobs erupted from me.

  Joe would get more help finding the drug dealers from me than he could ever imagine. I swung my feet to the floor, wiped my tears, and punched his number on my cell.

  “Garrett speaking.”

  “Hi Joe, this is Margaret McWhorter. I have something to give you. Can we meet?”

  “Sure. Come over to the precinct.”

  Yes.

  I hit the off button and punched Jimmy’s contact number. “Joe can see us now. Can you go?”

  “Absolutely. Call Emily.” Eagerness rang in his voice.

  My fingers trembled with excitement as I hit Emily’s speed dial icon. “Emily, Joe will meet with us now if you want to go?”

  “Of course, I do.” From the tone of Emily’s voice, I imagined her eyes wide.

  I washed my face then slathered on more make-up than usual to hide that I’d been crying. Hopeful steps took me to the den.

  Dad looked at me and smiled. If he only knew what I was up to. A twinge of guilt pricked my skin, but just for an instant. My mission would help the entire family. “I’m going to meet Emily and Jimmy. If that’s OK?” If Dad said no, I’d go back upstairs, climb out my window, latch onto the oak tree near the roof, and sneak out.

  “Want me to take you to Emily’s?”

  “No, thanks, it’s not far.”

  “All right, honey. See you later.” Dad directed his gaze back to the TV.

  I took off toward Emily’s practically running and tore up the rock steps onto the porch. The breeze I created set the oriental wind chimes tinkling. Come on. Come on, Emily.

  She opened the door. “Hi, come in. I’m almost ready. I’ll be right back after I grab a sweatshirt.”

  My foot tapped on the wood floor while I waited. If she didn’t hurry, I would explode.

  At last she returned, and we scooted in her car.

  “I can’t wait to connect with Joe and see these creeps arrested.” I shut my door as Emily cranked the engine.

  “I hope you won’t be too disappointed if Joe doesn’t let us tag along,” she said as she backed out.

  I thought he might reward us for helping in the investigation. “After we give him the clues, surely he’ll realize we’re up to the task.”

  “Whew.” Emily blew through her mouth as she pulled up to Jimmy’s two-story, white Colonial home, where he picked up a tree limb in the yard. “I guess we can hope for the best.”

  Jimmy slung the branch and sent it sailing into a bush behind him. Then he hurried to the car and hopped in the back seat. “I’m considering becoming an undercover detective. What do you think?”

  Emily turned her head and backed out. “You’ll forget about it after we’ve solved this case.”

  “I might for now, but not later. I like this type of work.”

  Jimmy’s friendship meant so much to me. I wanted to encourage him. Not only that, I couldn’t imagine how Emily and I could have faced all of the evil and danger without Jimmy’s strength and courage. “You’ll have good experience for it.”

  Within the next five minutes, we’d parked in a huge lot at the suburban precinct, a modest brick building. We piled out and walked to the big glass door.

  The three of us passed through a scanner then Jimmy and Emily dropped down into two of the ladder-back chairs lining the bare beige walls of the large lobby.

  The only receptionist, a woman in a blue uniform, stood behind a black counter with iron bars across the window. I strolled over to her and put as much authority into my voice as I could muster. “Hi, I’m Margaret McWhorter. I have an appointment with Joe Garrett.”

  “I’ll call him.” Her tone matched the glum harshness of the room.

  “Thank you.” I figured my words fell on uncaring ears and said them softly.

  I turned around and sat beside Emily as a guy in a pair of jeans with holes in the knees and a short-sleeved black T-shirt sauntered in. A tattoo of black roses covered his left biceps. He leaned against the wall, crossed his right foot over his left ankle, and stared at me with cold blue eyes that made my skin crawl. Was he a gang member, thief, or murderer?

  The lady cop behind the bars called out, “OK James, he’s ready for you.”

  The man stopped glaring at me and stomped off.

  A couple of men, who wore red bandanas and held motorcycle helmets, opened the front door and swished through the metal detector. My stomach knotted. Coming here was a mistake. Could my seat open up and swallow me?

  Joe walked into the lobby and gestured to us. “Hi, come in.”

  Relief pulsed through me as I jumped up. I couldn’t rush through the doorway fast enough.

  A lock clicked behind us as we trekked down a narrow hall. We entered a cubbyhole of an office, and Joe pointed to three folding chairs in front of a black metal desk. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?” He sat down across from us.

  “I think we found the people who sold Sean the drugs. We even have handwriting for analysis.”

  Joe’s dark eyebrows darted up. “What?” Shock ran through his voice.

  Jimmy leaned forward and handed Joe his neatly folded handkerchief. “We have evidence to give you.”

  Joe’s mouth gaped as he reached out his large, square-shaped hand. He opened the package on his desk and leaned in. The clues looked official in his office with him studying them.

  Jimmy pointed to the paper. “We thought a hand-writing expert could analyze this note.”

  Joe pulled at the collar of his T-shirt. “You kids have gotten involved in police work.” Wrinkles formed on his brow. “That’s a bad idea. Tell me what happened.”

  His voice made me bristle. I told him about our encounters with Eight-Ball, the two men in the forest, and the monk with his vestments on the wrong side.

  Joe tapped his fingers on the desk. “You could be in grave danger.” He sat straight up. “These people mean business—dirty business. They’re living in the same world as you and me, but they’re part of a sub-culture you don’t understand. If you get in their way they’d just as soon kill you as look at you.” Joe rubbed his hand through the top of his brown hair.

  His words set my insides shaking. “We told one of the men we were looking for samples for Emily’s botany class.”

  Joe put his palms on the desk. “That’s good, if he believed you.” He sounded relieved. He pulled at his shirt collar again. “Have you noticed anyone following you?”

  “No.” I answered quickly.

  “These criminals have a profitable business. They’re not about to let three high school kids mess it up. Do you understand?”

  My heart sank to my toes. “Yes.”

  “From now on I want you to leave this case to the police. Stay out of the woods away from that old farm house and the temple.”

  Joe’s words dashed my hopes of working with him. “What about you? What have you found out?”

  Emily stiffened. “Yeah, have you been to the temple?”

  Joe’s jaw tightened. “Whoa, there’s a reason they call us undercover cops.”

  “We know that, but look, we came
in here and told you a bunch of stuff. We didn’t have to do that.” Jimmy gestured with his palm up.

  Joe slammed his hand on his desk. “No, you didn’t, but it’s a good thing you did. These people are not playing a game.” His voice sounded as though it had steel in it.

  We weren’t idiots, but Joe didn’t know that. “We were careful.”

  “Actually, we thought you might want us to show you the temple—” Jimmy shrugged his shoulders “—unless you already know where it is.”

  “You’re trying to trick me into telling you whether I know about it or not, but I don’t have time for it. I need to leave now.” Joe stood and shoved his chair up to his desk. With an intense gaze he studied the evidence we’d given him as though he thought it was important.

  My burden to do something for Sean lay a little lighter on my shoulders. I needed to know I’d found something that would help the case.

  Joe’s gaze told me we had.

  He tapped his finger against his thin lips. “Emily, are you positive the monk was an imposter?”

  “Oh, no doubt. Monks only wear their vestments on the right side if they want to ask Buddha a question. He had his on the right side and said he hadn’t come to ask Buddha a question, but to pay homage.” Emily glanced at Jimmy and me then Detective Garrett. “I’d have known anyway. Buddhist monks aren’t rude. They want to help people have better lives, and they’re always patient.”

  “OK.” Joe sounded accepting. “I do appreciate your coming to talk with me, but I insist you stay out of those woods. Once more, do you understand?” His voice boomed into the room.

  He mustn’t mention our nosing around to Mom and Dad. They already had too much to worry about. “Yes sir, but will you promise not to tell my parents?”

  “Neither I, nor your parents can change what you’ve already done.” He gazed at me with a sober look. “As you can imagine, undercover cops keep secrets really well. Yours is safe with me under one condition.”

  “Anything, Mom and Dad can’t be upset.”

  He stared at me with eyes of stone. “You stop playing detective.”

  My tense shoulders relaxed. No one had gotten hurt, and my parents never would know. I smiled. “OK.”

  Joe walked us back to the lobby.

  I breathed a little easier when we breezed out of the police department and piled into Emily’s car.

  Jimmy sat down in the backseat but poked his head over the console. “Let’s follow him when he comes out. We’ll find out what he knows.”

  Shock reverberated through my entire being. “You’re kidding. I just told Joe I’d stop nosing around.”

  “We won’t investigate. We’ll just see what he does.” Jimmy’s eyes pleaded.

  We’d only be observers. Did we dare risk it? I probably wanted to find out what Joe would do a lot more than Jimmy did. We’d been careful so far. We probably could hide, watch him, and not get caught. “All right.”

  Emily’s eyes widened. “Whatever you think. I don’t need to be home until dinner time.” She started her car.

  We were working with Joe. He just didn’t know it. Excitement pulsed through me as I sensed the final push to win the race against the drug dealers.

  “There he is. Getting in a bright blue, sporty car. I’d love to drive one like that. I think I will be a detective.”

  Joe pulled out.

  “Go. Follow him. Hurry.” Jimmy’s blue eyes danced with excitement.

  Did he like this case or me? He seemed more enthusiastic about chasing thugs than he did spending time with me. “Well gee, Jimmy, I’m sorry you aren’t driving.”

  “It’s OK. I think it’ll be all right if Emily stays back far enough. Actually, let one car get between us.” Jimmy sounded so serious. Obviously, he’d missed the edge I’d put in my voice.

  Emily slowed down. She waited for a big vehicle to pass then followed it to the two-lane highway that wound around the mountain. “I doubt Joe sees anything except that coal barge in front of me. What is that, an over-sized SUV?”

  Jimmy stared at the vehicle. “Looks like it.”

  Emily kept both hands steady on the steering wheel as we entered a dimly lit rock tunnel. Light seeped into the entrance at the other end, becoming more plentiful as we drove toward it.

  The bright sunshine nearly blinded me. Barely able to focus, I put on my sunglasses then caught sight of Joe turning left on a gravel road leading into the woods.

  Jimmy slapped the back of the seat. “I bet he’s going to the temple.”

  The SUV drove straight ahead.

  Emily turned left but kept two car lengths between Joe and us. “Could we have driven there?”

  I glanced over at her. “If we’d known the way.”

  Emily’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel. “What do I do now? There are no other cars out here.”

  A black truck backed out of a dirt driveway on the right.

  I tapped Emily’s arm. “There’s somebody now.”

  She slowed down and let the pick-up pull out in front of her as she drove deep into the forest. “Who do you think’s in that truck?” Her voice quivered.

  Jimmy leaned forward. “It’s probably an old farm—Emily, stop.”

  She came to a screeching halt.

  Joe’s empty car sat on the shoulder.

  Jimmy waved his hand toward a spot twenty-five feet away. “There’s a dirt clearing behind those trees. Park there.”

  Emily accelerated, pulled in, and cut the engine. The three of us filed out and crossed the road, Jimmy and Emily stepping tentatively past the pine trees and hardwoods. I wanted to charge to the temple as fast as I could. This time I wouldn’t run away scared out of my wits. Inside I’d laugh at that imposter while Joe set a trap for him.

  From this approach the building appeared like a phoenix rising from evil.

  I stopped short. Guilt and fear pulled at my insides as though they were having a tug of war. “We shouldn’t have come. I promised Joe I wouldn’t go near here.” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “But I can’t stand it. Now I’m here, and I have to see what’s happening.”

  Jimmy hugged me. “It’s all right.” He put his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him. “We can do this and not get caught.”

  “Are you sure?” Emily knitted her brows.

  “Yes, we’ll be fine. Follow me.” Jimmy waved us toward the temple.

  Emily and I caught up to him and the three of us crept along the edge of the forest. We advanced toward the cabin from the side and ducked behind the mountain laurel bushes to hide. Then we tiptoed onto the sprawling plank porch and crouched underneath the large window. Faint, muffled voices wafted outside.

  If you get in their way they’d just as soon kill you as look at you. Joe’s words spun in my mind. I shuddered. If those guys saw us Joe would be awfully angry with me, but he wouldn’t let them kill us.

  Now that I’d accomplished my goal, my courage wilted inside me. But the hatred toward the drug dealers fueled it. I motioned for Jimmy and Emily. They squatted down, waddled over, and glanced in the window.

  The people inside stood with their backs to us, but there was no mistaking Joe’s muscles bulging in his T-shirt.

  “You know, your high, your high, your highness, sir, I’m sorry today isn’t convenient for you. I’ll make better arrangements next time.” He sounded like such a bumbler.

  “You’re disgusting.” The monk’s harsh voice made me quiver.

  Joe grimaced. “Well, nonethe-nonethe-nonethe-less, I was told to talk, talk to, talk to you if I wanted to strengthen my muscles.” Joe flexed his arm and pointed to his large biceps. “That’s about all I can do with iron.”

  The monk touched Joe’s arm. “Someone will meet you in the staff parking lot near the athletic fields at Meriwether Christian High School.”

  A gasp escaped, but I put my hand over my mouth to quiet it. How did Joe stand having that creep’s hand on him?

  “A
re you su…su…sure I won’t be disappointed?”

  In his droning voice the monk said, “You will not.”

  My eyes were on missile-lock, my brain soaking up their words, but what if they saw us? My hand trembled as I tapped Emily and Jimmy and motioned for them to leave.

  We scurried off the porch as fast as we could without making noise, walked to the side of the cabin, and stopped to catch our breaths while we hid behind the mountain laurel bushes.

  Jimmy danced around as though he was so excited he couldn’t stand still. “We must go back to the school.”

  He may have wanted an adventure. A fire of hate raged in me. “Right.”

  We raced across the clearing and through the woods to Emily’s car. She and Jimmy flung open the doors, and we fell into our seats. She sped away.

  Jimmy leaned over the console. “That supposed monk set up Joe with a contact who sells steroids.”

  Emily’s speedometer registered forty-five. If only I could tell her to go faster to get back to Meriwether, but it wasn’t like it wouldn’t be dangerous. “It’s all happening so fast.”

  Jimmy thumped his fingers on the console. “Yeah, hurry.”

  “We’re almost there.” Emily turned onto the road leading to the school. Then she wheeled into the back entrance.

  Jimmy ran his hand through the hair on his forehead. “Stop at the athletic complex.”

  Emily cut the engine in a space beside an oak tree. An SUV, a black sports car, and a blue sedan sat in the parking lot.

  “How did that supposed monk know not to expect a crowd today?” Jimmy asked.

  What would it take for Jimmy and Emily to see someone at the school was involved?

  The sound of a car running over a soda can pierced the air as Joe drove in. He parked next to a row of holly bushes.

  We sank down in our seats.

  My nerves shifted into high gear. I shot up, took a glance out the window then plunked back down. “We can’t see or hear.” The aggravation in my voice startled me.

  Jimmy rose up and scanned the area then slouched. “When Joe’s looking the other way, we can sprint to the concession stand. That puts us halfway to his car.” Jimmy poked his head over the console. “We’ll wait behind the building until it’s clear then run to the holly bushes. From there we can see and hear everything. Leave when I say ‘go.’” Excitement rang in his voice.