None of them say much; they just shake their heads when questioned by the police. They look my way and give a half-wave as if to say thanks. Finally, both couples walk over and introduce themselves as the Courtwrights and the Shorts. They all thank me for what I did. I thank them and tell them it was nothing heroic, just a gut reaction. Just then, an officer comes over to question me. Before he can begin, I hear a familiar voice behind me. “I’ll question this one, officer.” It’s big Steve and as usual where I’m involved, he is not a happy camper. “Mickke D, what the hell have you done now?”
“What have I done?” For a split second, I almost forget he is a friend and consider smashing my fist into his face, but the thought quickly passes. I take a deep breath and calmly reply, “Well for starters, I probably saved those two couples over there from being blown up by a car bomb placed under my vehicle.”
He waves at the four civilians and I’m not sure he knows how to continue. “Whatever. Tell me what happened,” he replies with a frown as the last of the horns stop honking. The air is suddenly quiet but filled with the smells of burning metal, gasoline, and the stench of terror.
As he takes notes, I replay the entire moments before and after the first blast. I include the fact that someone was also firing a weapon at us. “It sounded like an AR-15 on automatic and I think it was coming from that building.” I point to what looks like a vacant building about a hundred yards away. “So, do you now believe I’ve opened up a can of worms and that someone murdered Sissy Adams and maybe her husband David, or do you still not have enough evidence?”
With arms folded across his chest, he replies slowly and quietly, “I think you and those folks over there are very lucky to be alive, and yes, I am probably going to re-open Sissy’s case.”
“Well, detective, at least that’s a beginning.” I walk away and over toward the remains of my brand-new vehicle. Detective Reynolds does not follow. I gaze at what’s left of my SRX and then turn back, and walk back to where big Steve is standing. With as serious a look on my face as I can muster I say, “Steve, I need an automatic rifle.”
Stuart can’t believe he pushed the wrong button on his cell phone and gave the PI just enough time to escape. He cleans up the brass on the rooftop and disappears before the authorities arrive.
Chapter 40: Donna Wakes Up
In Bucyrus, Donna Crist finally opens her eyes, is alert, and taken off the serious list. She has a broken arm, cuts and bruises, and a concussion. The doctor says she should be released within a couple of days. The authorities question her, but she can’t remember much of anything about the crash and has no idea what type of vehicle hit her.
She asks for her cell phone and one of the nurses brings it to her. Thank goodness she brought along her charger as well. The nurse plugs it in for her and the first person she calls is her sister at Lakeside. Her sister had no idea why she didn’t show up and why she has been unable to contact her. She tells Donna that she will be down to pick her up.
The second person she calls is Mickke D. “Well, I never made it to Lakeside.”
He replies, “Yeah, I know. Glad to hear you’re still among the living. I talked them into putting a guard on your room. Do you remember anything about the accident?”
“No, not a thing. They want to release me in a day or two. Where should I go?”
He thinks about that for a few seconds and then says, “I think you should go on to your sister’s. Can she pick you up? By the way, does your sister have a different last name?”
“That should not be a problem, and yes she has a different last name.”
“That’s good. I will speak to the locals and make sure you go out a back entrance so as not to be spotted in case someone is watching for you. I’ll make all the arrangements and then you need to call me when you get to the lake.”
He calls the local authorities in Bucyrus. Big Steve had told them that he might be contacting them. He asks them to post a release date for Donna and then have her really leave the day before and not out the front door. They agree, although they would have liked to set a trap for the person who attacked the hospital employee and was probably after Donna.
Stu is back in Bucyrus at the crack of dawn on the day Donna is to be released. He is very upset when she never walks out the front door. He wants to go in but decides it would be too risky. He also notices several people who look like undercover cops patrolling the area. He now turns his attention back to the PI. He will deal with Donna Crist later.
Chapter 41: Offense
After a mostly sleepless night, I call my insurance company the first thing the next morning. I need a means of transportation. They agree to rent me a car and replace my SRX before I head back to the beach. They want me to send them a police report about the accident. I call big Steve and he says he will fax the report to my insurance company. He also tells me he approved my borrowing an AR-15 and some ammo from the police weapons room. All I need to do is to stop by and sign for it. He warns me in a pleading sort of way to please not shoot any civilians.
About an hour later, a rental company drops off a Chevy Impala. I go directly to the police department and sign for my weapon. They give me a receipt so I can show I have proof to have the weapon in my possession. I place the weapon in the trunk of the Impala. I lock and load a full clip of ammo in the rifle and place three more full clips where I can get to them in a hurry. I am tempted to go on up to Reynoldsburg and stick the rifle up the nose of Dr. Spineback, but instead, I opt to go have a nice late breakfast. While enjoying my meal, I start to put a plan together to find out which brother is trying to kill me. Then all of a sudden, after biting into a delicious crispy piece of bacon, it hits me. What if both of them are after me? What if one of them killed Sissy and the other one killed David?
I don’t see Dr. Spineback doing the everyday grunt work of killing someone, although Detective Connehey in Reynoldsburg seems to think he had a hand in the killing of Sue Ellen North. I also do not believe he would have the ability to put together the bomb I saw under my vehicle. That took someone with a military or government black ops background. So if he isn’t my attempted killer, then who is?
I get out my phone and go back to the pictures I took at Papa Boo’s at Buckeye Lake. I send them off to Jim in Myrtle Beach and ask him to see if any of his friends at the bureau might be able to recognize any of the people in the pictures.
Jim calls me thirty minutes later. “Well, boss, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that my friends at the bureau recognized only one of the people in your photos, and the bad news is that he is a real bad ass. His name is Stuart Peterson and he has been listed as a person of interest in several murders in the central Ohio area, but no one has come up with enough evidence to arrest him or indict him.”
“Who was murdered?” I ask.
“They were all drug dealers and pimps.”
“So did they give you any background information on the guy?”
“Sure did. He’s an ex-CIA intelligence officer. He was asked to leave the CIA after several prisoners in Afghanistan died while being interrogated by him. He also has a degree in computer science. He landed in the central Ohio area about five years ago and runs a computer consulting business out of a small storefront in Reynoldsburg. No arrests or convictions on his record. The CIA gave the bureau a heads up on this guy in case they ever ran into him.”
“Interesting. That’s the same time frame when one of my victims was killed. So why is he a person of interest with the bureau?”
“Don’t know. I am going to guess that part of his file is confidential. I would guess he is on their watch list.”
“Thanks, Jim. Email me the computer store address. Maybe I’ll stop in and see if he can fix my laptop. How about notifying your friends at the bureau that I may be stopping by and not to panic just in case they have eyes on him?”
“Be careful, Mickke D. The bureau does not like to have someone spook a possible suspect. Don’t step on any toes or my
information channel may dry up.”
“No problem, Jim. I’ll be careful.”
I receive the address on my phone, check to see that my .45 is loaded and take my new ride toward Reynoldsburg. I find the computer store in a strip mall off East Main Street, not far from the intersection with Route 256. I drive through the parking lot to see if I notice any surveillance teams. I don’t detect anything out of the ordinary, so I park out in the lot at a location where I can easily watch the storefront.
I wait until I see several people enter the store. I figure he won’t cause a problem with lots of witnesses. I carefully place my .45 in the concealed holster in the small of my back and walk up to the storefront next door. I slowly walk over to the window of the computer store and peer inside.
There are several people inside talking to a man who probably is the same one Jim told me about. He sort of looks like the guy in the photo. I continue to peer in the window and then suddenly he looks up and sees me watching him. I can tell by the look on his face he is incredibly surprised to see me staring back at him. As soon as he looks back at one of his customers, I disappear from the window and go back to my car. Several minutes later I see him open the front door and step outside. He looks all around and then goes back inside the store.
I have put my plan in motion. He now knows that I know who he is and where he works. He is now on the defense and I’m on the offense. I need to be very careful from now on.
While I’m in Columbus, I elect to shake up someone else and call on Von Spineback. I go back to the building where I interviewed Robert Dane, find Marian and ask to see Mr. Spineback. She tells me, after indicating how nice it is to see me so soon, that he is not in, but if I’d leave my card, Mr. Spineback will get back to me. I leave my card, tell her I’ll be in touch, and leave the building. I would love to see the look on his face when she gives him my card. I will not hold my breath until he calls me back.
Stuart Peterson is livid. How in the world did that PI find out who he was and where he worked? How dare he come to his workplace? Stu has always been the intimidating one but now he is being intimidated and he doesn’t like it. He wonders if someone leaked the information to the PI and if so, who it was. He knows his third employer did not leak any information, so it has to be one of the Spineback twins or Ginny.
He immediately calls Von Spineback and asks that same question. Von denies any knowledge of a leak from him, Ginny, or Robert Dane. After a while, Stu settles down. He realizes that getting rid of the PI just became a lot tougher. He has to be more careful and calculating.
One hour later, Von Spineback is also livid. The PI who Stu was supposed to eliminate was just in his office and wanted to talk to him. He must have gone directly from Stu’s shop to his office. He calls Stu, tells him the news, and makes it very clear to him that if the guy is not gone soon, he will hire someone else to do the job.
Von’s next stop is Robert Dane’s office, where he tells Robert to be ready for a possible visit from the annoying PI from Myrtle Beach. He informs Robert not to see him or talk with him but call immediately if he does come around or calls.
Next, he calls Ginny and tells her the same thing. She wants to know what’s going on but Von cuts her off, tells her to do as he says, and hangs up.
Chapter 42: Setting a Trap
Once I return to Shaw’s, I figure it’s time to get ready for all-out war. I’m guessing that between the Spineback twins and Stuart Peterson, someone will be out to get me real soon. I need to work this out so that I pick the place of battle and not my aggressor.
I call big Steve and tell him how my day went and that I’m expecting trouble before very long. I give him all the information I have on the two cases and tell him that I may need his help at some point in time. He tells me that if I had left well enough alone and let the authorities do their jobs, I wouldn’t be it this situation. To that statement, I reply, “If I had not opened a can of worms, the authorities would never have reopened either case.”
After a slight delay, he responds, “I suppose you’re right. Be careful and call me 24/7 if you need help or get in a bind.”
Before I hang up, I ask, “Is there an Army/Navy store somewhere in town?”
“Yeah, just south of town where the old Lancaster Sales store was located.” He replies with skepticism in his voice. “But they don’t sell hand grenades, in case that’s what you’re looking for.”
“Very funny. I’ll talk with you later.”
Next, I call Jake and give him an update. When I tell him about someone blowing up my car in the parking lot behind Shaw’s, he tells me he knew that had to have something to do with me even though the article never mentioned my name. I laugh and teasingly tell him he should have been there, it was more fun than the altercation at Buckeye Lake. Without answering, Jake hangs up.
I drive over to the Army/Navy store to look around. I end up purchasing camouflage pants, a long-sleeve shirt, a floppy hat, some face grease, and some insect repellant. I don’t feel right wearing camouflage with tennis shoes but I did not bring my combat boots with me. I also purchase an ammo belt and a hunting knife with a sheath. Next, I stop by a pawn shop and pick up a cheap voice-activated tape recorder as well as a small maglite and a backpack. I wonder what Jake is going to think when he sees these purchases on my expense report.
I go back to Shaw’s and try to figure out how I am going to lure my enemies to where I have decided to meet them head on. I can come up with only one plausible location. Mt. Pleasant.
I call Dr. Jon Spineback and Von Spineback. I know I won’t be able to get through to them and I am right. Both calls are forwarded to their voice mails. I leave the same message with both. This is Mickke MacCandlish and I would like to have a face-to-face meeting with you to advise you of what I have discovered about the deaths of Sissy Adams, David Adams, and Sue Ellen North before I go to the authorities. Maybe we can make a deal. I need the meeting to be in a public place, so how about meeting me up on Mt. Pleasant Friday morning at 9:00. Come alone.
Chapter 43: Beverly Arrives
Beverly Beery arrives in The Bahamas at Andros Town International Airport, located at Fresh Creek. Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas chain. She takes a taxi to the house Liz rented for her. It is a cute, nicely furnished, two-bedroom, two-bath bungalow situated just across the street from the beach and comes complete with a Jeep in the driveway. After getting her things positioned in the house, she arranges her long blond hair in a ponytail, and puts on a ball cap and dark glasses. She locates the keys to the Jeep and heads off to find a consignment shop called Artsy Fartsy Flamingo Bay about two miles away. Liz told her to ask for Lanne Crystal. Lanne appears from behind a curtain. Beverly smiles at her and says, “My name is Cathy Mars. Do you have a package for me?”
She follows Lanne into a back room where she is given a gym bag with the name “Cathy Mars” on it. Beverly thanks her, gathers it up, and leaves the shop. She makes herself a mental note to come back and look around when she has more time. The shop has some neat things in it.
Once in the Jeep, she opens the bag and finds a loaded .9mm handgun and a small .25 caliber revolver, along with three full clips for the .9mm and a box of shells for the smaller weapon. The .25 caliber weapon will fit nicely in her purse or in an ankle holster, which she also finds in the bag. She can wear it when wearing long pants or it will stretch to fit on her thigh if wearing a skirt. In a sealed envelope, she finds $2,500 in cash and a credit card with the name Cathy Mars imprinted on it, along with a driver’s license and passport with the same name, and a cell phone. As usual, Liz has thought of everything.
On the way back to her new abode, she stops and makes 500 copies of the 8 X 10 photo Liz gave her of Stephanie. She adds to the photo, “Missing sister – Last Seen Here - $500 reward for info leading to her return – call 843-555-1212.” She stops at a local hardware store and purchases a staple gun and a box of staples, along with some heavy- gauge Scotch tape. After leaving the hardw
are store, she stops by a small local grocery store to purchase some food and a bottle of wine.
She is ready to begin her search but decides to wait until tomorrow. She finds a beach chair in the bungalow, slips the small .25 caliber weapon into her cut-off jeans, along with the envelope with the cash and cards. She puts the gym bag with the .9mm under the bed. She pours herself a glass of wine and walks over to the beach. It’s just another beautiful day in paradise. Time to relax before the real work begins. As she relaxes on the beach, she closes her eyes and allows her mind to wander. The sun, the beach, the small beads of sweat beginning to moisten her legs, brings back some good memories. She thinks to herself, I wonder what Mickke D is doing in Myrtle Beach today.
She abruptly awakes as a shadow passes over her body. She reaches for her weapon but doesn’t complete the move. She takes a deep breath and watches as two young girls pass in front of her, blocking the sun for only an instant. She takes a deep breath and quickly glances at her watch. She sees that she has dozed off for about thirty minutes. She finishes her glass of wine and goes back across the street to the bungalow.
As she walks up the three steps to the porch, she feels a shiver go through her body as she notices a shadowy figure inside the house. She immediately freezes, sits her empty glass on the railing of the porch, and pulls out her weapon. She senses danger.
Chapter 44: TC
TC returns to the Georgetown Library and goes back to work looking at the old coastal maps. He knows exactly where the wreckage of The Queen Beth is now located, but he does not know how far she traveled in those two days between the aforementioned burying of the treasure and the demise of the ship. From prior entries in the logbook, he has determined that depending on the wind and currents, she could have traveled anywhere from five to twenty-five miles in that two-day period. So if he backtracks from the ship’s current location, it may be anywhere from Murrells Inlet to beyond Georgetown. On the other hand, the ship could have sailed past Murrells Inlet and then turned back toward Pawleys Island. A strong breeze or a powerful storm could have sent her off course. In addition, she could have been lurking in one of the many inlets along the coast waiting for prey. Another possibility is that Captain Swinely may have been looking for a way to abandon ship and leave the crew to fend for themselves. If he was worried about a mutiny, that may have been the best solution. Get off the ship and then return and get the treasure.
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