Dark Secrets and Dead Reckoning, A Red Pine Falls Cozy Mystery (Red Pine Falls Cozy Mysteries Book 3)

by Angela C Blackmoore

  She’d just managed to get Becky into the passenger seat of the rental car when she heard Gabe call out to her from his truck. She turned and saw him leaning out of the driver’s side window, so she ran over to him and leaned up, giving him a deep kiss before he could say anything. “I’ll see you at the Sheriff’s office!” She said, holding the sides of his face and looking up into his hazel eyes with all the intensity she could muster.

  He reached up, curling his warm, strong hand around hers and squeezing it as he looked back. “I’ll see you there.”

  Chapter 20

  Lanie, the spunky female deputy, was waiting outside of the station when they all pulled up. Abby felt a bit strange trailing the line of police vehicles and ranger truck with their flashing lights, but it was a short trip. Becky was holding her hand in a death grip when she got there, and after she’d parked, Abby gave her friend as much of a reassuring look as she could muster.

  “It will be okay, Becky,” Abby said, nodding at her friend who still looked stricken. Becky had been dating Charlie Bennard for several weeks, just after she was cleared from her murder investigation. The two had hit it off when Becky had gone to the clinic to ask the doctor about Mushroom poisoning.

  Now, he had been kidnapped by bikers. Abby stepped out of the car before going to the passenger side and helping Becky out. Then the two friends followed the small group of law enforcement and Gabe as they escorted a terrified Frank into the station.

  Lanie and another deputy busied themselves with locking Frank in a holding cell in the back, while the Sheriff, the other deputy, and Gabe went into a side room and disappeared. That left Abby to sit in the lobby and comfort Becky.

  “Why do you think they took Charlie?” Becky said, her voice sad and lost.

  “I think they took Charlie so he could help with gunshot wounds,” Abby said softly, holding Becky’s hand. “And I think they need him alive and unharmed to do that. I’m pretty sure Charlie wouldn’t be brave enough to tell them no, so he should be okay.”

  “Should be?” Becky asked.

  Abby breathed out a sigh and nodded, emphasizing the next words. “Will be. They can’t hurt him. If they do, he can’t help their friends, right? Charlie’s not going to say anything stupid to them. He’s going to be okay.”

  Becky nodded, then looked down at the floor. “Yes, he will be ok. He will be! I can’t see Charlie mouthing off at a bunch of bikers anyway. It’s not like the movies. He’s not brave like Gabe.”

  “Uh, I wouldn’t mouth off at any bikers, either,” Gabe said, coming out from the back with the Sheriff. “I am brave, not stupid. Besides, I’ve already been beaten up by an overweight bank manager. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t last long against a bunch of bikers.”

  Abby wrinkled up her lips and looked at Gabe with concern. “Isn’t that what you’re going to go out and do right now?” She asked.

  “Well,” Gabe answered before sitting down next to Abby. “Yes, but I’ll have the Sheriff with me.”

  Abby nodded, worry suddenly gnawing at her middle. She looked over at the clean lines of the rifle that Gabe held by his side away from Abby. It was matt black, with clean lines, ridges, and bits she didn’t understand, but it was still strangely beautiful. It was also deadly looking, and Abby didn’t know how she felt about it. “Promise me; you’ll come back,” she said, suddenly feeling just as afraid as Becky was. “I just got you back, Gabe.”

  Gabe leaned in and wrapped his free arm about Abby, then kissing her on the top of her head. “I promise I’ll be back with Charlie. The Sheriff isn’t stupid, and neither am I. We’ll get it done.”

  “Who do you think shot up those bikers?” Abby asked suddenly, changing the subject. She hated thinking about Gabe going into danger.

  “We don’t know,” The Sheriff suddenly broke in. “No one wanted to talk to us and no one appeared to have seen the shooter, although they mentioned it sounded like it was at range. The only ones that might have seen something were the Sun Riders, and none of them stuck around for questioning. I think it came from a ridge from across the highway, but when we went up there, we didn’t find anything.”

  “Who are the Sun Riders?” Abby asked.

  “That’s the name of the gang,” The Sheriff answered. “Their range covers northern California and Oregon, but we don’t usually see them except in passing. They don’t usually make any trouble around Salem.” The Sheriff glanced over his shoulder at Frank lying on the bunk in the holding cell. “Maybe now we know why.”

  “But why would someone shoot at them?” Gabe asked. “I’ve heard of them. They’re a rough bunch. The question is, who would be stupid enough to take shots at them?”

  “They have lots of enemies,” the Sheriff answered, looking over at the two other deputies who had suited up with flak vests and gotten rifles of their own. There were a couple more flak vests lying on the front counter next to rifles for the two other rangers that were coming from the station. “They aren’t the largest criminal gang, but they try to make up for it in brutality. They moved into this area after pushing out another biker gang about fifteen years ago. The Ghost Pilots didn’t know what hit them. They only dealt in small time shenanigans, so when the Sun Riders came in, they didn’t stand a chance.”

  “What about this John Troutdale guy,” Gabe asked.

  The Sheriff shifted, giving Abby a look before answering. “He’s family. As in, a member of a family that’s being watched by the Feds. I’ve got reports that he and the Sun Riders fell out of favor with each other a few years back. They used to do business, but not anymore.”

  “I got that feeling when I ran into them at the Food Emporium,” Abby said drearily.

  “What happened at the Food Emporium?” Gabe and the Sheriff asked at the same time.

  Abby looked at them both, realizing she hadn’t told them this part of the story. “Uh, well, two of the bikers, these Sun Riders I guess, came into the Emporium and, uh… well, they started to bother me.”

  The Sheriff was grim-faced, but Abby saw Gabe getting angry, and he suddenly stood up, gripping his rifle tightly. “I think I really want to go out with you and help get these bikers,” Gabe said to the Sheriff, gritting his teeth. He turned back to Abby looking a little wild-eyed, and Abby felt a small thrill run through her. “What happened next? What did they do to you?”

  “Nothing,” Abby said calmly. “John Troutdale and his men interceded, and I’m pretty sure they saved me from being attacked or kidnapped. We went over to McGradys afterward, and they were asking me if I knew of anyone that could serve as a guide for hunting.”

  “Wait, you went out to lunch with John Troutdale?” The Sheriff asked incredulously. “Abby Morgan, I swear you are going to be the death of me. Is that why he was hanging around your booth at the farmers market?”

  “I’m sorry, Sheriff,” Abby said. “He was polite, and honestly, I owed the man for saving my life from those two bikers. Besides, we were at McGradys, and there were a lot of people there. It’s not like he could have done anything to me.”

  “You were just lucky, Mrs. Morgan,” The Sheriff said. “People around the Troutdale family have a history of disappearing.”

  “Recently?” Abby asked, raising her eyebrow at the Sheriff.

  The Sheriff returned her look with a deep frown, his mustache bristling over his lip. He didn’t answer right away, but when he did, he didn’t sound happy. “No, not recently, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful.”

  Abby sighed softly but nodded. She knew the Sheriff was right to be concerned. She was concerned, but she was having a hard time reconciling the dangerous mobster with the polite, handsome man. Still, she remembered his dangerous face at the Food Emporium, and there was just too much evidence for her to ignore everything.

  Just then, Conner and Julia came in the front door. The Sheriff and Gabe began helping them into their flak vests, and soon everyone was gathered and ready to go.

  Abby, Becky, and Lanie stood the
re in the lobby, each holding the other’s hands as the police and rangers headed out into danger.

  “Good luck,” Abby whispered when the door closed, leaving them all in silence. It was the loudest silence she’d ever heard.

  Chapter 21

  “Well,” Lanie said, looking at Abby and Becky as she flopped her hands at her side. “Looks like I get stuck babysitting, and I don’t mean you two. I thought Frank was out in the woods for weeks? He actually doesn’t smell that bad.”

  Abby nodded. “You can thank Gabe for that. He made Frank, who was caked in mud, take a shower up at the ranger station. Caked! It was terrible. I don’t know how he managed to get so cruddy since he did have a car.”

  “They’re going to kill me,” Frank moaned from the back.

  Lanie, in a brilliant show of compassion, rolled her eyes and ignored Frank. “Well, I for one will be buying Gabe a beer for that. The jail isn’t that large. Does anyone want something to drink or a snack?”

  Becky looked up, her eyes sad. “Do you have any chamomile? I think I need something to calm me down.”

  “I think I could use a cup of tea, too,” Abby said, giving Becky a side-armed hug.

  “Coming right up, though it will have to be in our very exotic and special cups called styrofoam.” Lanie made air quotes around the last word before moving toward the back kitchenette. “I know, don’t thank me. I had them imported from the next county.”

  Abby couldn’t help but chuckle as Lanie moved into the back. The woman was short and petite but had an attitude about as large Portland. She’d also been a good friend to them when Cheerio had gotten injured in the car accident a few weeks ago. On more than one occasion, she’d dropped by the house to check up on Cheerio and make sure he was doing okay.

  “It will be okay, Becky,” Abby said again. “Everything was okay with Gabe and I’m sure everything will be okay with Charlie too. Mark my words.”

  Becky looked up, nodding and trying to rally at Abby’s words, taking a deep breath and squeezing Abby’s hand back. “Okay, I…Okay. I know it will be okay. It has to be.”

  When Lanie came out of the back room with a tray and three cups of steaming liquid, Frank sniffed and sat up on his bunk, looking out soulfully as Lanie walked by. “Can I have something to drink?”

  Lanie gave him a sidelong look as she delivered the cups to Abby and Becky, the little tabs hanging off of the side as the tea soaked. “Hold your horses, Frank. I’ll get you something in a minute.”

  “Can I have some Chamomile tea, too?” Frank asked, taking a shaky breath. “I think I need to calm down. I’ve had a terrible few weeks.”

  “Because of you,” Becky said angrily, narrowing her eyes in the direction of the holding cell. “All because of you, Frank.”

  Living up to Abby’s opinion of his intelligence, Frank scoffed. “No, it was your fault that all of this happened,” he barked back at Becky. “If they hadn’t fired me from the bank, those men would never have come to town. It was me keeping the town safe!”

  Abby and Lanie looked at each other in disbelief, but Becky stood up with her hands clenched at her side and her face flushing into a beet red. “What?!?” she screeched, stepping up to the counter that separated the lobby from the rest of the police station. Abby was secretly thankful it did, or she’d have been across the room like a shot at Frank. “What the heck are you talking about, you idiot?!”

  “It’s true!” Frank replied, gripping onto the bars and peering out at them. “I protected this town! Without me, who knows what those bikers and gangsters would have done? As long as I was taking care of them, they stayed away! Then you had to go and screw it all up!”

  Spitting mad, Abby was sure that Becky would have crawled directly over the counter if she and Lanie hadn’t gotten their hands on her. “Becky! Don’t listen to him!” Abby said loudly. “He’s an idiot!”

  “He’s just making excuses, Becky!” Lanie yelled as they tried to get Becky’s attention off of Frank. “I swear to God, Frank. Shut up!” Lanie roared across the room, making Frank flinch and sit back down. The large man sat there, staring at them as if he’d been punched. Satisfied that he wasn’t going to continue to antagonize Becky, the two women worked to calm their friend down.

  “Becky! Come on, he’s not worth it,” Abby said to her friend, feeling Becky shaking under her grip. “Besides, Lanie won’t open that cell and let you in there. All you’d be able to do is scream at him.”

  “Oh! I could do more than that! There’s plenty of stuff here I could throw!” Becky fumed. She was still staring at Frank, but at least she’d stopped trying to climb the furniture.

  “Come on, now,” Lanie said, slowly relaxing her grip as Becky began to calm down. “Don’t hurt him. If you hurt him, I’ll have to do a ton of reports. I hate doing reports.”

  Becky sniffed before turning her head. “I’d help you with them,” Becky said. “It would almost be worth it to learn. How many pages are there?”

  “Uh, in triplicate, about fourteen, and that’s just for him,” Lanie said, finally dropping her hands from Becky. “For letting you back there to attack him, there’s probably another twenty.” She turned, glaring at Frank and shaking her head. “Don’t worry, you big baby, I’m not going to let her attack you. Stop looking so scared.”

  For his part, Frank just shook his head and whimpered, repeating “Oh, God,” over and over. Finally, the three ladies realized it wasn’t them that Frank was looking at, but someone behind them. They turned to see John Troutdale and his two goons, Reggie and Brian, standing at the door to the jailhouse.

  Abby wasn’t sure how long the three men had been standing there, but John was chuckling and shaking his head. “So Frank is the savior of the town?” he said, taking a step forward. “Somehow, I can’t bring myself to believe that at all.”

  “Oh, jackrabbits,” Becky breathed just before Lanie drew her gun.

  Chapter 22

  Frank began screaming, “Shoot him! Shoot him, now! Oh God, he’s going to kill me!” while John raised his hands up flat in front of him. Lanie began shouting as well, telling all three men to freeze and hold their places, but Reggie and Brian had both moved to the side, making it hard for Lanie to point her gun at all three of them.

  “Hold on! Just hold on!” John shouted as Abby and Becky took a step back, looking at the three men and Lanie. Reggie and Brian were still edging to the sides, which just served to make Lanie louder as she called for them to freeze.

  John noticed and looked back at his two men, his hands out towards them as he twisted his head. “Reggie, Brian, just stop. Don’t move and put your hands up where the good deputy can see them. I don’t really want a hole in my suit!”

  Reggie and Brian both stopped, their ice-cold stares were firmly on Lanie, but they obeyed John and slowly raised their hands. John turned back to Lanie and kept his hands where she could see them. “Okay, they’ve stopped. We’re not going to do anything. I promise.” He said slowly and gently, keeping his own hands motionless.

  Lanie watched as John got his men under control though she didn’t lower her gun. Instead, she kept her eyes moving quickly between the three. “Put your hands on your heads! Now!” She yelled, almost stamping her foot as she said the last word.

  John complied, and when they’d seen him do it, the two thugs followed suit. “Just calm down, ma’am. All we did is come in to see the Sheriff to talk about some things. That’s all.”

  “Shoot him!” Frank suddenly screamed from the back, making Lanie flinch. Abby was looking right at John when she did, and she watched as the handsome man gritted his teeth, but he kept his hands on his head. It couldn’t have been easy to keep your cool looking down the barrel of a gun, but then Abby remembered when she’d been standing in front of an entire group of State Police doing the same thing. She knew it wasn’t easy.

  “I’d take it as a kindness if you wouldn’t shoot me with my hands on my head,” John said, trying to remain calm but there was cl
early a bead of sweat making a trail down his forehead. “We aren’t armed, officer, and I wasn’t kidding when I said we only came to talk to the Sheriff.”

  “I know who you are, Mr. Troutdale,” Lanie said dangerously. “I also know what Frank was doing for your family and that he’s stolen money from you. Despite what a dirtbag he is, I am not going to let you do anything to him.”

  John looked at Lanie with his lips pursed together before nodding slowly. He didn’t move his hands, but the look on his face was one of sadness or regret. “I understand what you think you know, and I don’t blame you for thinking it, but I’m not here to do anything to Frank.”

  “He’s going to kill me!” Frank wailed once again from the holding cell. “Dammit! Why won’t anyone listen to me?!”

  “Will you please shut up?” Lanie growled. She turned her head slightly toward Frank but kept her eyes on the three men in front of her. “I swear to God, if you say one more word, I’ll shoot you myself.”

  Abby watched Frank slouch in the holding cell and start muttering to himself. She didn’t know what he was saying, but she prayed he’d stop yelling. He wasn’t making the situation any better for anyone.

  “Let me have a fire extinguisher, and I’ll spray him the next time he says anything,” Becky said dangerously, casting her own eyes toward the holding cell. Abby watched as Lanie considered the idea before discarding it, shaking her head and resettling herself as she held the three men at gunpoint.

  “John,” Abby said softly, meeting the man’s intense blue gaze. “You have to know how this looks. The Sheriff just left with most of the deputies, and you show up out of the blue while sitting in the jail cell is the man we know stole money from you. How can we believe you?”

  John gave Abby a sad look, nodding after a moment. “I know. I know how this looks. Honestly, I was hoping to catch the Sheriff before he left.”