Paranormal Mystery Boxset Books 1-3: Legends of Treasure

by Lois D. Brown

  Karl continued to stare at the ceiling. Maria worried he’d fallen asleep.

  “Karl?”

  As if the bed had lit on fire, the man jumped off and planted his two feet on the ground. He was a pitiful sight with shoes and pants covered in dirt and a shirt with large sweat stains under his armpits. Living in the hills outside of Kanab had not helped his lack of personal hygiene.

  Karl glared at Maria. “Lady, you ain’t listenin’ to me. I didn’t take the kid.” He took a breath and stepped closer to her. His breath reeked of week-old garbage. “But, I wouldn’t mind takin’ you for a while. Don’t you think we could have fun together?”

  Maria couldn’t take another second of his idiocy. “You are the last man on earth I would ever want to be with.”

  Karl took another step forward and slapped her. Pain radiated through her face. He pulled a knife out of his back pocket and flipped it open. “That was rude, and I don’t like rude people.” Karl turned and began to pace back-and-forth across the bedroom, swinging the knife to this side as he moved.

  Behind him, Maria’s bedroom door was open. The lights were off in the living room as well as in the kitchen. She wished she could see the clock on the wall. She had no idea what time it was. “Why would I believe that you didn’t take Justin? Prove it to me.” She had to keep him distracted.

  Karl studied her face. “First off, I don’t do kids. They bug me. Always have. What would I do with some snotty-nosed brat underfoot?” He snorted. “No, I stick to the basics—drugs, stealin’, that kind of stuff. Every once in a while I get in a fight—but no kids. That’s not my style.”

  Maria continued squirming her wrists back and forth, hoping to create more slack in the rope.

  “When I pulled that knife on the kid at the creek, it was you who made me do it by pulling out your gun. That wasn’t cool.”

  “You were high on drugs, Karl.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe you were high when you took Justin, too.”

  “I didn’t take the kid!” Karl spun and began pacing again. “Though I wouldn’t mind getting the ransom money. But there are other ways to get money.”

  Despite the repeated pang of fear in her gut—one that anyone would have being tied to a chair against her will by a knife-wielding crazy man—Maria’s CIA training was kicking in. Try as he might, Karl didn’t have the menacing character he was trying to portray. And his profile wasn’t that of a kidnapper.

  In fact, Maria had always been somewhat incredulous that a guy like Karl had been able to pull off a kidnapping. He was the sort to tumble through an open door drunk and make a huge scene. Then again, the man had managed to get into her house and take her prisoner. The only excuse she could come up with was that she had been overwhelmingly distracted. A lame reason, but one she told herself to not get so mad she was in this situation.

  Karl was getting more and more agitated, scratching at his face and mumbling.

  “Karl?”

  Silence.

  “Karl? What are you going to do?”

  He slashed at the air with the knife. “Shut up! I’m thinkin’.” He walked back and forth, stashing his knife in his back pocket as he did.

  Maria was unsure whether she should continue to egg him on or ignore him. She wanted to speed the process up and didn’t know which would be the quickest way to incite him to do whatever it was he planned to do with her. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. But the longer Maria was stuck in the chair, the more time ticked away for her to go to Jarbidge and find whoever the real kidnapper was. Karl didn’t have a killer’s instinct, but whoever had spoken to her on the burner phone did. The thought of that conversation caused beads of sweat to break out on Maria’s forehead.

  Time passed much too quickly as Karl paced. Maria had decided to ignore him, hoping that would cause some action on his part. To each of his questions, Maria remained silent and wore the expression that she was daydreaming about a Hawaiian vacation.

  After a minute or two, Karl was red in the face. “Are you even listenin’? Look at me!” He approached her chair and then bent over so he was only inches from her face. “Don’t ignore me.” Spit flew out of his mouth and sprayed her.

  She would be showering and throwing away her bedding once this was all over.

  Think, Maria, think.

  The fact that Karl hadn’t seen her gun on top of the dresser was encouraging. The second he untied her, that gun would be in her hands pointed at his heart. She might end up with a knife wound, but those weren’t fatal … typically. It would be worth it to save Justin.

  Karl slapped her face a second time. “I asked if you were listenin’?”

  “What did you say?” Maria couldn’t help it. Now she was egging him on.

  “I said I need a way out of this town. I need money and a lot of it. Because of you I’m not going to be able to show my face anywhere without it being on some policeman’s radar.”

  Maria startled.

  Behind Karl, down the hallway, she had seen a movement. It had been brief, but someone had been there.

  Was it one of her ghosts? Or Pete, maybe? What a stroke of luck that would be. He would bring his gun in here and end this nonsense. But why was he taking so long? Why didn’t he hurry?

  Then again, Pete was a level-headed man—he was probably assessing the situation before rushing in blindly.

  Patience. This will end soon.

  Relief spread throughout Maria’s tense muscles. She focused on Karl’s face so he wouldn’t clue in to what was happening behind him. “You need money, huh?” Maria asked. “How much are you talking about?”

  “A hundred thousand dollars. I need it by tonight.”

  Maria laughed. “You think I have that much money just hanging around, ready to be given to some druggie?”

  Karl slapped her again. This time he made it sting. Maybe he had more bite to him than she’d assumed.

  Behind Karl, someone had exited the second bedroom and was creeping down the hall toward Maria’s bedroom.

  Rod!

  That was good … and bad. Rod didn’t use a gun—a weakness Maria had tried to change—but he’d refused. Instead of a firearm, in his hand he held her marble rolling pin from the kitchen. If things hadn’t felt quite so desperate, the sight would have made her laugh.

  “I’m sure you got plenty of stuff that’s worth money around here. Jewelry, for example. What do you have hiding in your dresser?”

  No!

  The last place Maria wanted Karl to go sniffing around was her dresser with her Glock sitting on top.

  Hurry, Rod. Hurry.

  Sensing her new onset of apprehension, Karl sneered at Maria and stood up straight. “You don’t like that idea much, do you. Makes me wonder what might be in that dresser of yours.”

  The minute Karl turned around to walk to the dresser Rod would be spotted. Maria wasn’t sure how his marble rolling pin would fare against Karl’s knife. Probably not so well.

  “Okay,” said Maria loudly, “I can get you the money.”

  Karl quit turning and shot her a sickly grin. “Glad to see you’ve changed your mind, but that’s not going to stop me from seeing what’s in your dresser that you don’t want me to find.”

  Rod crossed the threshold of her bedroom. He held the rolling pin up.

  Faster!

  “But—” began Maria.

  Her ploy to distract Karl didn’t work. The man turned to walk to the dresser, saw Rod, and instantly pulled his knife out. “Hey!”

  “Hey, you,” said Rod, a look of terror on his face.

  “You lookin’ for trouble? Cause you found it.” Karl wielded the knife in front of him, not like an expert, but he most definitely had used it before.

  On the other hand, Rod gripped the rolling pin like it was his childhood security blanket.

  “You’d better … uh … drop the knife,” said Rod, who had raised the rolling pin in front of his chest.

  “Don’t t
hink so. Why don’t you come get it from me?” Karl laughed.

  Rod hesitated for only a second and then launched himself at Karl.

  Maria shouted, “Careful, Rod!” Her heart thumped in her chest like a flat bicycle tire, going around and around on a hot asphalt road. She was light-headed and sweating. It was one thing for her to get stabbed a few times, but not Rod. He wasn’t a fighter.

  At the last moment of the attack, Karl swung his knife low and swiped in the direction of Rod’s gut, but before the blade made contact Rod dropped one end of the rolling pin, causing it to fall down and block Karl’s weapon.

  Chink.

  Without missing a beat, Rod used the man’s close proximity to tentatively kick him, almost as if he was gauging what his reaction might be. Karl’s eyes dipped and that is when Rod took full advantage by swinging the rolling pin up under the man’s chin, connecting first with the soft flesh under the jaw and then continuing the force upward. Maria heard the crunch as Karl’s head flew backward and his lower teeth crashed into his upper ones.

  Karl stumbled back and groaned, but kept a grip on the knife.

  Maria’s eyes widened at the succinct execution and gracefulness of Rod’s moves. He had barely broken into a sweat.

  Maria continued to tug at her ropes. If she could get loose she could stop this in an instant with her gun on top of the dresser, but the knots held fast.

  This time it was Karl who bolted forward, on the attack like an injured animal. He roared and pointed his blade straight at Rod’s heart.

  Please no! Maria watched helplessly.

  Rod jumped aside, the tip of the knife barely missing his chest. And then Maria watched spellbound as Rod used his right hand with fingers together to karate chop the side of Karl’s neck, just above the collar bone.

  Karl bellowed.

  Playing on forward momentum, Rod jumped into the air and shot his leg outward, connecting his foot with the side of Karl’s leg, causing the man to topple to the floor sideways. As Karl fell, he slashed the knife in the air, trying to connect with some of Rod’s flesh, which he did.

  Rod’s forearm oozed blood that dripped on Maria’s bedroom carpet, but he didn’t seem to notice. Finally sweating and breathing more heavily now, a look of intense concentration framed his face.

  Karl dropped to the floor, spun around and was up a second later. The man was more flexible than he looked.

  “You’re dead,” he barked. As if he were brandishing a sword, he dragged his knife back and forth through the air at an amazingly fast speed.

  Rod looked confused for a second until he brought up the rolling pin he was still holding, reared his arm backward, and let the pin fly into the air. The marble log soared toward Karl, who dropped the knife in order to deflect the oncoming object.

  Within seconds, Rod had made a well-placed side kick to Karl’s gut and a powerful elbow jab to the man’s nose. He fell to the floor, blood gushing from his face.

  A carpet cleaner would definitely be a must.

  Karl moaned. Rod ran to the knife that had landed next to Maria’s bed.

  “Quick,” said Maria, “cut my ropes.”

  Seconds later the cords around her wrists and ankles snapped apart. Maria shook them from her arms and feet as quickly as she could and ran to the dresser, picking up her Glock and feeling its familiar handle in her palm. The sensation was comforting.

  She spun around and aimed the gun at Karl who still lay on the floor. “Karl, I’ve got a gun aimed at your head. Don’t even think about moving an inch.”

  Rod’s phone was next to his ear. “Pete,” he said, “how far away are you?” He listened for a few seconds and then answered, “Good. She’s out of danger now. Karl’s contained. See you in a minute.”

  He ended the phone call and looked at Maria. “Pete will be here in less than a minute. Are you okay?” He panted, trying to catch his breath.

  “Yes,” said Maria, an incredulous look on her face she couldn’t hide. “Where on earth did you learn to fight like that?”

  Try as he might, Rod couldn’t stop a grin from growing ear-to-ear. He unsuccessfully humbly shrugged. “I did a little Tae Kwan Do as a kid. Ever since the confrontation at the cave with Sherri Mercer I started lessons again. I think I’ve taken to it pretty well.”

  “I would have to agree,” said Maria, stunned.

  Rod put his cell phone back into his pocket. “But, I think I’d better go sit down on the couch if that’s okay. I’m feeling a little light-headed. It was my first real fight.”

  “Sure, but open the door for Pete first. I think I just heard him on the porch.”

  As Rod walked out of the room, Maria couldn’t help but think how unfair life was. Here she was accidentally married to a man who had just saved her life and things were so awkward between them she didn’t even dare hug and tell him thanks.

  Less than thirty minutes later Karl was booked in the Kanab jail—again. The FBI was questioning him, and Maria and Rod had been excused, Rod so he could get the cut in his arm looked at by a nurse and Maria so she could go file paperwork on the incident.

  Maria walked Rod out of the front of the police station. He had, after all, saved her from a rather horrible experience that might have turned nasty. She owed him at least a police escort to his car. As she followed him to the driver’s side, she asked, “You know, we haven’t even had a second to talk. Why were you at my house this afternoon anyway? Not that I’m complaining. I appreciate you saving me.”

  Rod fumbled with his car keys. “Yesterday evening, when you and I spoke, you said you’d be willing to come to Mr. Walden’s with me to see if he’s hiding something—if that’s why he wants to leave Kanab so badly. I called you but couldn’t get you on the phone. Pete said you might be at your house so I stopped by.”

  “Thank heavens for Pete.” Maria sighed. “He seriously needs a raise.”

  Rod looked at her a bit funny. “Yeah, he probably does.”

  “And thank heavens for you, too.” Maria blushed. “I didn’t mean to say it was all Pete’s doing.”

  Now it was Rod’s turn for his cheeks to turn pink. “I never said you did.”

  Maria thought to speed the conversation along before she completely insulted him. “And how did you know Karl was inside?”

  “I saw his dirt bike. He’d parked it in a hurry around the side of the house, but it was in plain view approaching your place from the south, which I was. I remembered you said you’d been chasing him last night and he was on a dirt bike. An alarm went off in my head.”

  “You know what I call that?”

  “No.” Rod had found the right car key at last and had slid it in the keyhole.

  “I call it instinct. Yours is strong.”

  “Huh.” By the look on Rod’s face, he’d clearly enjoyed the compliment. “So, my ‘instinct’ told me to look into your kitchen window. At first, I didn’t see anything going on. At least, not in the kitchen. I also had a pretty clear view into the living room and didn’t see anyone. From my vantage point I could only see a sliver into the bedroom. After watching a moment, I was pretty sure I saw movement in there.”

  “Instinct again.” Maria playfully pushed his shoulder. As if she’d touched fire, she recoiled her hand. Sometimes it was hard to remember their relationship was over.

  Rod didn’t seem to notice. “I knew where you hid your emergency key, so I let myself in the front door. The minute I was in the living room I could hear Fossum’s voice.”

  “And then you saved me with the rolling pin.” Maria laughed and then spoke quietly. “I really owe you one. Thanks, Rod.”

  “Nothing that you wouldn’t have done,” Rod mumbled, opening the door.

  Maria grinned at him. “If you ever decide to give up your law career, you may have a future in the police force.”

  “Hah!” Rod held out his hands. “No gun, remember?”

  “Yeah, well. I’m still working on it.” A grin traveled across her face. “I’m happy t
o go see Walden with you right now, but don’t you need to have someone look at that cut on your arm?”

  “I’ll get it looked at later. It’s not that deep.”

  “Okay, then I’ll do the paperwork about Karl later, too.” More than ever, Maria didn’t think Karl was the kidnapper. As far as she was concerned, her trip to Jarbidge was still on for later that evening, in five hours to be precise, unless she heard from the FBI that Karl confessed and they’d found Justin. The phone conversation she had with the kidnapper ate at her.

  “Let’s go give Walden a visit then. I don’t know if it will pan out, but he’s been acting so weird. Distancing himself from me. John and I have been associates for a while now. I’ve worked on projects with him before. Now he acts like he doesn’t want anything to do with me and he has to get out of this place or he’ll die.”

  “I didn’t know you were friends from before.” Maria walked around the car and got into the passenger seat.

  Once inside the car, Rod started the engine and said, “Yeah, I’ve known John for several years. We first met in Phoenix. He’s a top-notch developer, but I’ve never seen him act like he has the past few weeks. It’s like he’s had a total turnabout of personality. Can that happen to a man his age? Like could he get some mental illness that would turn him into a crazy kidnapper?”

  “I think just about anything can happen to anyone who is under enough stress. If he’s not acting like himself, I definitely think we should have a talk with him. I have a little bit of time right now.” Maria glanced at her watch. She had to make sure she left herself time to catch her plane that evening to Jarbidge.

  Luckily, the ride to Mr. Walden’s was short. Going most places in Kanab didn’t take long. Once they arrived, Rod parked and somehow got out and walked around the car before Maria had finished putting her cell phone back into her backpack. He opened the car door for Maria and she thanked him. He always had been good at that sort of things—standing up when she entered a room, having her go first when ordering a meal. Once a gentleman, always one.