by Judith Mehl
It wasn’t until he’d overheard two men talking last month about the development of a resort in the area that he even gave Margaret a thought. She’d never been mean to him but she sure went along with whatever her husband said. He was her nephew, for God’s sake. She could have made more of an effort to be nice to him. She’d offered to take him to church a few times. And even gave him a birthday present. After he and his friends started causing havoc in the herb fields she wouldn’t even talk with him.
Now that his mom was dead he thought he’d be the only living relative and he could have the herb farm. He’d checked and the farm was just on the edge of the property the developers wanted. That thought gave him some strength.
I bet they’d pay me a pretty penny for that land. I’ll hold out just long enough to get a great price.
He faced the Hartman lady now, and managed to speak with authority. “You did know your herb farm land was valuable, right?”
She pursed her lips and shook her head in a silent “No.”
Great. Didn’t she know anything that was going on? “You know about the resort development coming in, right?”
Another silent “No,” but he saw a flicker of awareness when he said resort development. He wondered what it meant.
“Men are waiting for the deed to your property to begin excavation for a grand resort development. I heard they were going to call it, Maura World Development.” When her eyebrows met in the middle he knew she was catching on. “Now you need to sign your deed over to me so I can sell it to them.”
“Why on earth would I do that? If I sign it over to you, you’ll kill me right here. Otherwise I could cry coercion and you wouldn’t get a thing.”
“I wouldn’t kill you here. They’d find your body in my house. That’s dumb.”
“And me giving you my property isn’t dumb?”
Irving started shouting obscenities. How was he going to poison this woman and take her somewhere to die if she wouldn’t cooperate? He may not be a genius but he knew better than to tell her that plan. She sat there unmoved, unknowing of her real fate.
No lawyers called him yet about the inheritance. They must have a copy of the will with the two women on it. Probably didn’t even know he existed. With both women dead he could pop up at the lawyer’s office—the one listed right there on the will.
Of course, he’d forge one with a later date and him as the only heir.
First, let’s take care of this problem.
“I’m going to move you closer to the table so you can write me this nice note. You know, something about how if Margaret were alive and knew I was still around she’d have willed the herb farm over to me. You could say you saw a copy of the will with my name on it.”
“Again, why on earth would I do that?”
His anger and insecurities took the forefront. “Because I’m the one with the gun.” He looked around the kitchen trying to figure out where he’d set it after he pushed her into the house.
Chapter 38
The width of your lower case letter ‘e’s will tell how open you are to new ideas. A nice even width indicates you are tolerant of other people and their thinking and behavior. It is interesting to see what these people will do when challenged beyond normal limits.
Kat drove home after leaving the station, devastated that Chandler and his man couldn’t lead them to Agatha. When her cell phone trilled she strangled it one-handed before it could swing too far into her ring tone, “Say My Name.”
“Kat, thank the good Lord, you’re there.”
“Carmelita is that you?”
“I think I just saw someone shove Agatha into a car in front of her house. I’m trying to follow them.”
“What?” Kat swerved to the side of the road and parked. “You sound like you’re out of breath. Slow down. Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Carmelita shrieked into the phone. “I was just driving by like I have been since Agatha’s been gone. You know. Just to check on the house. And see if she was back.”
“Carmelita, can you pull over to talk?”
“No, not if I’m going to keep up. Should we call the police?”
“Well, what did you see?”
“Agatha walked out of her front door with a man directly behind her. He could have been holding a gun. I couldn’t see since I was just coming up the road, you know.”
“Agatha was upright, walking on her own.”
“Yes, yes.”
“And you couldn’t see so he might have been holding a gun, or a cell phone, or a small box—anything?”
“True, true. I’m not sure. It didn’t seem natural though, her walk. It’s not like they were talking or laughing together or anything. Agatha looked scared. By the time I got to her driveway he had peeled out of there. I kept driving behind. I don’t think he has seen me,” Carmelita rattled on.
Kat had already moved back into traffic after putting Carmelita on speaker and tossing the phone onto the passenger seat. She made an abrupt turn and sped towards Agatha’s. “You’re doing fine, girl. hang in there.” She flew around another curve, keeping the car to her side of the road with both hands on the wheel. “I’ll try to catch up. Where are you exactly?”
Carmelita read off cross signs as she passed them. “He seems to be heading back to Mountain View.”
Kat took the next right turn and angled more toward town than toward Agatha’s house, hoping to save some time. She wondered if she should call the police. She knew they were looking for Agatha. But if she hung up on Carmelita, and then fumbled around trying to call the police station, she would lose valuable time. She worried the idea back and forth.
Carmelita’s voice cut into her thoughts. “I called Dave first. I had him on speed-dial from work and wanted help quick. He was already on the road and said to keep following the guy and he would try to meet me at the big crossroads. You know, the one with a park and drive area on the side?”
“Great. If the guy stays on the same course, we should all be able to meet up there. What kind of car is Agatha in?”
“I don’t know cars. Mine’s an old rusty green car. He’s driving a clean car, blue. A sedan.”
Kat heard a screech and held her breath.
Carmelita was back on the phone before Kat passed out. “Sorry. We’re still on the main road. I thought for a minute he was going to turn and I wouldn’t be able to meet you. I forgot to tell you, I called the sisters, too. Before Dave. I knew they lived near here and might be close enough to help. I was looking for numbers.”
“Did you have a game plan?”
“Well, no. But lots of people on my side sounded like a good idea.”
Kat went back to thinking of calling the police. If this was an abduction, then the police were the best to deal with it. On the other hand, if it wasn’t a kidnapping it could turn into a vigilante ambush gone bad. Real bad. She feared it was a kidnapping and went with her instincts.
“Carmelita, I’m going to hang up now and call the police. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
She called Detective Hill’s cell phone and was happy to hear his message kick in. This would go faster without questions. She gave the briefest version possible and directions to where they were heading, then called Carmelita right back.
Kat hoped the cops would take over, but if necessary, she and her sidekicks would need a scheme. First they had to find the guy. As she neared the crossroads she saw Carmelita’s rust bucket turn into the parking area. A dirty Volkswagen pulled up behind and Dave ran out and jumped in Carmelita’s car. Kat slowed at the light, stuck her head out the window, and motioned them to stay ahead of her.
Dave had picked up Carmelita’s phone by the time they’d maneuvered into a spot three cars behind the sedan. “Kat, is that you? What should we do?”
“Did you lose him?”
“No, no. That’s why we sped up. He’s only a few cars ahead now. But we are moving into more open country. Not many cars
out here.”
“I know. Listen.” Kat reassured them with the beginnings of her makeshift idea. “Assuming he stops soon, here’s a plan. You two keep on going as soon as he stops. Then circle around as soon as he can’t see you. I’m further behind so I should be able to pull in somewhere before he sees me.”
Kat was afraid to hang up and lose their connection. But she wondered if Hill had received her message and what the police were doing. Too late now. Carmelita’s car had slowed considerably, then kept on driving. The blue car they were tailing had pulled into a driveway.
Kat turned into one a few doors beforehand. The driveway was long and she was able to get completely out of sight. Hopefully, the homeowner wasn’t there. But she couldn’t see what was happening, either. As she left the car, Carmelita pulled up behind her and a few seconds later, a dark Ford. Delia and Lizzie hopped out of both sides simultaneously. They all spoke at once.
“Halt,” Kat shouted. “We need quiet, and a plan. Stay.”
She inched forward until she could see the blue sedan. It was empty. Good. She turned back to the others and whispered. “Here’s what we’ll do. We don’t yet know if Agatha has been kidnapped. So we stay flexible.”
She motioned to Carmelita. “Do you have a tire iron?” She told her to get it as she retrieved her own from the trunk. She looked at the old Ford and didn’t even bother to ask the sisters. Anyway, she wanted them as low-key in this maneuver as possible.
Then Lizzie pulled out a Browning pistol and held it at the ready. “Let’s go. Where do you want us?”
Kat stood still and raised both eyebrows, looking directly at Lizzie. “That’s not your dad’s antique gun.”
“No, this one was government issue. Back when I worked for them. I just forgot to return it. If I tell you any more I’ll have to kill you.”
Kat snorted. Then said, “Okay, you stand guard at the back door. Try not to shoot that thing. Delia will come with me.”
Then she set the plan in motion.
Chapter 39
One can read much from signatures. The most simple knowledge comes from the kind named ‘what you see is what you get.’ Compare the note to the signature. If they match, the signature is an honest reflection of the writer.
A voice hurled through the back door as if on a catapult. “Put up your hands. Don’t move.”
Kat came through the front door swinging the tire iron wildly. “What?” Irving shouted, looking confused.
The water glass crashed.
Agatha’s body hit the rope as she tried to jump up and couldn’t go any further. She screamed. “Help!”
Irving swung around as a curled up Dave crashed through the now broken back door and rammed Irving in the stomach, tackling him to the floor. Kat stood guard as Dave sat on Irving’s back and pulled the man’s hands behind him.
Carmelita stood next to him after opening what was left of the back door that she’d smashed in. She held the tire iron at the ready.
Kat approached Agatha, grateful she didn’t need to use the tire iron. She was much better with a Beretta, but hers was still at home. Maybe she should start carrying it regularly. She set the tire iron aside.
Agatha’s screams halted as her head turned back and forth between them all. Kat asked Carmelita to untie Agatha and give her the rope. She wanted to secure this guy tight before he remembered to move.
At that moment, Lizzie and Delia came hesitantly through both doors, almost simultaneously. Kat noticed that, for once, they didn’t seem to know what to do.
“Agatha, are you okay?” Carmelita asked as she knelt down to help wrap the rope around the wrists of the guy on the floor. “Who is this?”
With one hand braced on the table, Agatha managed to stand upright. She tested her legs a few times before letting go of the table and facing Carmelita. “That ugly man kidnapped me. At gunpoint, no less. He wanted me to give him Margaret’s herb farm so he could sell it.”
“Wow!” Carmelita said. “Why would he think you’d do that?”
Kat stood up and ushered Agatha back into her chair, while Carmelita grasped Agatha’s hands, making soothing motions up and down her fingers to help calm her.
Agatha appeared grateful that the man was immobilized. “He is Irving Brantley, the son of George’s sister. George never knew where they’d gone. I got the feeling he didn’t like him when just before his death, George made up the will to give Margaret and me equal shares in the herb farm. We all discussed it and decided it evened the burden for Margaret and helped ensure the success of the farm. If Margaret ran into difficult times, my income could sustain us for a while. Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Dave told Kat he overheard Irving mention a gun just before hurling through the door. She sent him to look for it. She saw him pick it up off the living room end table and turn back to the kitchen.
“Put the gun down and don’t move.”
A policeman appeared at the front door and assumed that marksman stance with gun in both hands that Kat had seen on TV a million times. It seemed more threatening from this viewpoint.
Dave lifted both arms slowly. “Where should I put it?”
Another policeman had stormed through the open back door, gun drawn. He was slowed by seeing two women in casual conversation at the kitchen table. He hadn’t even seen the guy laying on the floor in the corner.
“Stop,” shouted Kat and Agatha at the same time.
The policemen didn’t know what to “stop,” so kept their eyes on Dave and looked to Detective Hill as he walked in the front door. Dave, arms still in the air, smiled at the sisters. He saw Lizzie slip her gun unobtrusively into her handbag as soon as they saw the police uniforms.
Agatha shouted louder this time. “Will you all stop this? Dave rescued me from the kidnapper. The bad guy’s the one face down on the floor behind you.” She pointed past the policeman who’d come through the kitchen.
He helped Irving to his feet and stood to the side, awaiting instruction.
Hill had heard Dave’s plaintive, “Where should I put it?” as he walked in the door.
“You can give the gun to me.”
Dave held it in two fingers and passed it to Hill like it was a hot potato. “I only picked it up a minute ago—to eventually hand to the police. When we managed to catch our breath. We followed this guy here after we saw him shove Agatha into his car.”
Agatha stood up and agreed. “Yes, that man—his name is Irving Brantley—came to my home and insisted I come with him. He shoved me into his car at gunpoint.”
By the time Hill turned to Kat he was all frown. “We can’t have every Tom, Dick, and Harry following kidnappers. It puts everyone in danger.” He pointed directly at Kat. “And why didn’t you answer your phone, when I called you back?”
Kat realized she’d left the phone on the front seat of her car. Purse, too. She shrugged, hands lifted, to reveal no phone on her.
Carmelita piped up. “It’s my fault she’s here. I didn’t have the police on speed dial on my cell phone. I had Kat’s number. I called everybody hoping for help. Dave, the sisters and then Kat.”
Hill urged her to continue.
“I’ve never followed anyone before. Not someone with a gun. Those folks have all been a help to the herb farm ever since we got short-handed with the loss of Margaret, and then Agatha.”
Lizzie said, “Sorry, Agatha. We came as fast as we could. That old Ford wouldn’t turn over.”
Delia nudged her in the ribs. “I told you it needed a tune-up last time you had it out. All cars need tune-ups every fifty years or so. We almost missed all the action.”
“You exaggerate. Why we had it tuned up before we went to see Uncle Billy.”
Delia rolled her eyes. “That was at his funeral. Ten years ago.”
Detective Hill looked like he’d lost total control of the situation. Kat gave him credit for recovering quickly. The detective ordered everyone down to the police station. He motioned to the cop in the kitc
hen. Take him in and lock him up.” He turned to the rest. “All of you back at the station immediately. We’ll straighten everything out there.”
Chapter 40
The squarish ‘D’ shows signs of paranoia, possibly a fragile ego. Combined with other things, it could easily mean a person on the fringe of sanity.
Detective Fulton Hill stood arms akimbo, scanning the crowded room. Kat stood still, watching him. Everyone else was hanging around like panthers at the zoo, back and forth, around the perimeter and back again. It was well past noon and feeding time. Her stomach growled. Maybe that’s where the image came from.
Detective Hill had organized the order of interviews, conducting some himself. Two policemen had ushered Irving Brantley directly into a holding cell when they arrived. Officers Columbia and Bartello were in the interrogation room now. Hill had left to talk with the sisters. Kat was grateful the sisters weren’t searched, what with the gun Lizzie had. She heard the end of his questioning as he ushered the women out of the office.
“That’s it. You didn’t do anything else?”
Lizzie winced and turned it into a cough. “Pshaw, what else could two old ladies do?”
He dismissed her, congratulating her on her ability to stay out of trouble.
Kat’s eyes widened at his misconception of her two friends, but she said nothing.
Agatha had returned from having a medic check her over and Kat brought her to a chair and sat next to her. “I don’t know why I had to be checked out. I was fine.”
The medic confirmed that when Hill approached.
Hill ignored her smirk and swiped a sandwich out of the bag an officer just brought into the station. Mouth full, he headed back to the interview room. Kat snagged the officer before he walked away and grabbed a sandwich for herself and Agatha.
Agatha said to Kat, “In the police car on the way over I told him I was fine. And I apologized for waving off the officer escort this morning without telling anyone where I was going. I’m sorry if I worried you Kat. I just wanted the comfort of my home. I was very careful that no one followed me.”