However, Von was smart. He had several offshore accounts that no one knew about. He started his own oil and gas consulting firm in Columbus and hired a small staff. One of the people he hired was James Mulhand. James replaced his former “solve all problems” guy, Stuart Peterson, who was killed on Mt. Pleasant by Mickke MacCandlish, a private investigator from Myrtle Beach.
James is a hired killer, aka “soldier of fortune” or “problem solver” who Von found online, and he came highly recommended. He was born in the U.K. and served in the army for six years. He left under questionable circumstances. He came to the United States ten years ago, got his green card, never renewed it, and got lost in the shuffle. He was excited when he spotted Mickke MacCandlish at the Pink Cricket, but not totally surprised. A friend in North Carolina who used to work with him back in the U.K. contacted him. She said she overheard a conversation, which made her think that he may be headed his way. Turns out, she was right.
Von had given him a list of four people to do away with, and the list is now down to two. The first two are deceased and their bodies will never be found. Those two, along with Ginny Ridlinger, Von’s significant other at the time, were the only people who could tie Von to the murder of Sissy Adams, the newspaper reporter who died on Mt. Pleasant. Ginny died in Antigua at the hands of Von’s twin brother, Dr. Jon Spineback, who also died in Antigua. That leaves Detective Steve Reynolds of the Lancaster Police Department and Mickke MacCandlish, aka Mickke D.
Killing any type of law enforcement officer is very risky and a little bit more difficult, but doable, and since he now knows Mickke D is close by, it will save him a trip to Myrtle Beach. He contacts Von and lets him know Mickke D is back in town.
Von Spineback blames Detective Reynolds and Mickke D for all of his past problems. If it weren’t for them nosing around into the death of that newspaper reporter, he would be sitting pretty today.
He is happy to hear that Mickke D is back in town and he asks James to come to his office and discuss the matter. He wants to come up with a plan to kidnap Reynolds and Mickke D and make them suffer before they die.
James does not like the idea. He knows that the longer a person is kept alive, the more the chances are that they can cause problems, particularly if they are law enforcement. It’s much easier to shoot them than to kidnap them.
CHAPTER 74
Following my meeting with Reynolds, Connehey and Barrish, I grab lunch and a beer at the Fairview Inn on Fair Avenue across from the Fairgrounds. After my second beer, I decide it’s time to make another trip up Mt. Pleasant to have a look at the location of the earthquake.
I guess I’m still not in great shape, or it could have been my second beer, because I make two stops along the way to rest and catch my breath. As I near the crest, my mind wanders back to that night when I was shot and almost lost my life trying to catch a cold-blooded killer. The killer is dead, but it’s hard to shake the events of that night.
I clear my head and take the same path I took that night, except I am walking instead of running for my life. There is a sign hanging from a chain supported by two metal posts at the point where the path begins, “Dangerous, Do Not Enter.” I ignore the sign and start down the path. I notice several dead birds and dead squirrels along the path, which seems rather strange to me. The entire area almost has an evil feel to it.
As I near the location of the forked tree, I stop. The tree is gone and I see that everything on the other side of it, including the cave and the path, is gone as well. All I see is the rock-strewn side of Mt. Pleasant. It looks very natural but also foreboding in its own grotesque way.
I sit down along the path and close my eyes. I try to go back and remember everything I saw for the few minutes I was in the cave. I remember seeing several tunnels going off in different directions and an unpleasant smell. Of course, I was more concerned with what was happening outside the cave instead of what was going on inside the cave. However, after Reynolds and the others mentioned a clinking sort of metal-on metal noise, I vaguely remember that as well.
I get up and start to walk back toward the main trail, but suddenly I stop and turn around. If I remember several tunnels in the cave, what if that wasn’t the only entrance? What if there is another opening somewhere?
Suddenly all is quiet, nature seems to be taking a break. A minute later, the sounds begin again, and so does the feeling that I am not alone up here. I instinctively touch my .45 to build my confidence and retreat back toward the crest of the mountain and the concrete steps.
As I get back to the steps at the crest of Mt. Pleasant, the evil feeling has disappeared and I have pretty much decided that I am going to go over to the other side of the mountain, off Fair Avenue, to look around.
I park on Lake Street just off Maple and walk back up the hill to Fair. I take the same path I took on the night I setup the ambush of Stuart Peterson. However, this time I take it slow and easy, looking for anything resembling another entrance to the cave complex. After about an hour, I end up right back at the crest of the mountain and none the wiser.
Either I’m wrong about the possibility of another entrance or I will need to spend a lot more time up here looking around. On my way back, I get that feeling that I am not alone, and it is not a good feeling. Something is going on here and I don’t like it.
CHAPTER 75
Beverly Beery, Mickke D’s on again, off again girlfriend, is back in Atlanta, trying to figure out if she wants to get out of her very dangerous line of work. She has really enjoyed the travel benefits and her salary, and she feels in her heart that the people she has eliminated deserved exactly what they got. They were all bad people and society is better off without them. However, the fact that she may never be able to have a meaningful relationship still bothers her.
Her worrying ceases when she gets a call from her boss, Liz Woodkark, aka GG, with a new assignment. Beverly tells her to send the info, and after looking it over, decides to accept the mission. She is thinking this may be her last rodeo.
CHAPTER 76
Ric Wertz and Terry Miller leave a bar in downtown Lancaster around 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning and decide it would be fun to go up on Mt. Pleasant and fool around. Ric says they should not go through Rising Park because the police patrol it on a regular basis at night. He tells Terry that he knows of a back way off Fair Avenue. They park on Fair close to Madison and with a couple of beers and a blanket, they venture up to the old, rusty gate, which reveals a hidden path. They are trying not to laugh or talk too loud. Ten minutes into their adventure, Ric stops and says, “Shush, quiet. Did you hear that?”
Terry quickly responds, “Hear what? I didn’t hear anything but I’m getting ate up by mosquitoes. Let me put that blanket around me.”
Ric hands her the blanket and they continue on their way. Ten more minutes into their journey and deeper into the thick woods of the mountain, Ric stops again. “You didn’t hear that? It was like someone banging pans together.”
“Come on Ric, you’re scaring me. Let’s just turn around and go back. We can go to my place.”
Without much thought, he responds, “Yeah, I think you’re right, let’s go.”
The mosquitoes are the least of their worries. Screeches and screams fill the night on Mt. Pleasant, but they are not heard by anyone at this time of night and this deep into the woods. Ric and Terry waited too long to turn back. They never made it back to their car.
CHAPTER 77
Mid-morning Tuesday as I am thinking about looking around Mt. Pleasant, I get a call from big Steve. He tells me to come over to the station ASAP. I ask what’s going on and he says he will fill me in when I get there.
I am confused. I don’t think I have done anything wrong this time, at least not yet. Since the police station is only a few blocks away, I walk and when I arrive, he is waiting for me in the lobby. I check my weapon at the front desk and after he picks up a box of doughnuts, we proceed to his office. He takes two doughnuts from the box and takes the remain
der over to the break room. He returns, closes the door, and asks, “Care for a doughnut?”
“No thanks.” I reply.
He looks at the doughnuts, picks one up, puts it back down, and then begins. “There’s a couple that has been missing since early this morning. Their car was found on Fair Avenue close to the mountain. The car belongs to Ric Wertz, the owner of Wertz’s Auto Body Shop here in town, and we think the female is Terry Miller, an aspiring local artist, who has been doing painting classes around town. They’ve supposedly been a couple for about two months. They were last seen leaving a local bar around 1:00 a.m. this morning. No one has seen them since.” After five seconds of silence, he continues, “Sort of reminds you of Jake, doesn’t it?”
I get a sick feeling in my gut as I respond, “Yeah, it sure does.”
CHAPTER 78
James decides it’s time to make a head-on attack on Detective Reynolds. He has been following him for several weeks now, and the one thing he does every day at work is to have a dozen doughnuts delivered to the station at 9:30. James actually is in the lobby, wearing a disguise, while checking out where the cameras are located when the delivery guy brings the doughnuts. He watches as Reynolds goes into the first office, takes out two doughnuts and then walks down the hallway into what is probably the break room with the remainder.
James follows the delivery guy back to the doughnut shop and then he goes to a local consignment store and purchases some clothes that resemble the delivery man’s uniform. He finds a jacket the same color, which will work. He also finds a ball cap the same color as the real delivery guy.
He purchases a dozen doughnuts the night before from the shop in the same box and same bag. He is wearing a wig, dark glasses, and a fake beard. He does not notice any cameras in the doughnut shop. Upon his return to his apartment, he injects a lethal poison into the doughnuts and returns them to the box.
He arrives at the police station at 9:15 the following morning, wearing his fake jacket and hat, along with his wig and dark glasses. He walks directly into the lobby area and stops dead in his tracks. There in the lobby is Detective Reynolds and Mickke D, who is checking his weapon at the front desk. He is now caught between a rock and a hard place. If he turns and retreats, someone may ask why is he leaving without delivering the doughnuts?
One cannot be shy in his line of work. He brazenly walks right up to Reynolds, keeping his back to the cameras and his ball cap pulled down over his face, and hands him the sack with the box of doughnuts inside. Reynolds takes the bag and says, “What happened to Jerry?”
He changes his voice tone and replies, “He’s a little bit under the weather today. I’m filling in.”
Reynolds reaches into his pocket to pay for the doughnuts, but the delivery person says, “It’s on us today, Detective. Enjoy.”
James turns and leaves the lobby. Outside he keeps his face turned away from the cameras. Just as he gets to his vehicle, which is parked on a side street with no cameras, the real delivery guy is pulling into the station. James smiles as he takes off the jacket and replaces it along with a new ballcap. He is thinking he would love to be there when the real guy shows up. He is pleased with himself. After today, he should have only one person left on his list, Mickke D. Of course, he could get lucky and Mickke D may have a doughnut.
That was fairly easy, he thinks. He could have shot both of them at the same time, but he was unarmed and in a police station. He figures the poison will do the job.
CHAPTER 79
After our short meeting, Steve walks me out to the lobby. As I’m retrieving my weapon, I hear him say, “Jerry, I thought you were sick?”
The delivery guy, with doughnuts in hand, gives him a funny look. “Not me, never felt better.”
With a bewildered look on his face, Reynolds says, “That’s funny, a guy from your company just delivered doughnuts fifteen minutes ago.”
“That is funny. I’m the only delivery person. If I get sick, it’s carry out only that day.”
We both look at each other at the same time. Reynolds points at the delivery guy and says, “You. Stay here and don’t move.”
We both turn and run to the break room. The box of doughnuts is on the table and six are missing. I know Steve took two so that means four are missing. Steve runs back to the reception desk and gets on the intercom. “If you took a doughnut from the break room, do not eat it. I repeat, do not eat it! Lock the building down, now!”
We start down the hallway looking for the missing doughnuts. What we find are two officers and two secretaries coughing, gagging and turning blue. I look at Steve and yell, “Call 911! I’ll get the box in the break room.”
I get about halfway there when I am stopped by someone pointing a gun at my face. It’s Detective Connehey. “Mickke D, what the hell are you doing? What’s going on?”
“Follow me to the break room and put that damn gun away!” I reply.
“Right behind you,” he responds, holstering his weapon.
We arrive at the break room and the six remaining doughnuts are still there. I close the lid, grab the box, and we head back to the lobby, stopping to place the two from big Steve’s office back in the box. The paramedics have just arrived and are beginning to remove the victims. All seem to be alive and breathing.
I hand the box of doughnuts to Reynolds, who asks, “Did you get the two from my office?”
“Yes, I did,” I answer.
He hands the box to Officer Barrish. “Go along and tell the doctors that whatever made them sick is probably in the doughnuts.”
*****
After everything settles down and the building is searched and then reopened for business, Steve and I go back to his office. After several seconds of silence, he finally says, “How did that guy know who I was and that I was a detective? What the hell is going on here? Everything was nice and quiet, and then you get back in town and all hell breaks loose.”
“I’m going to guess he has been watching you.” Then I laugh and say, “And, how can you say that to someone who just saved your sorry ass?”
“I give up. And how did you do that?”
“Well, if I hadn’t been here, you would have eaten both of those doughnuts and would be on your way to the hospital with the other victims. Be sure and let Sharon know that too.”
“Good luck with that thought. She’s going to blame you for the entire incident. The first thing she is going to ask is, ‘Was Mickke D there?’”
We both laugh and then I ask, “So who in this town has it out for you and the police department?”
“I would guess that’s a big list, but most of them are all talk. Why are you asking the questions? I’m the detective here. Why don’t you get out of here and let me do my job.”
“Yes sir, detective,” I say and salute. Just as I am leaving, I turn and say, “Hey, what about our old friend Von Spineback? He could be blaming you and the police for his downfall. Did the delivery guy look like him at all?”
“I don’t even remember what his face looked like. Hold on a minute.” He gets on his phone and tells the officer at the front desk to make a copy of the tape from the cameras this morning and that he wants to see the tapes from the past week.
We wait patiently for the delivery of the tapes. They arrive on a thumb drive and we watch as it all takes place on his computer. The delivery guy knew exactly where the cameras were located and kept his back to them. His ball cap was pulled down over his face as well. There are no clear views of the man’s face.
After reviewing the tapes from the past week, we notice the same man was in the lobby on Wednesday around 9:30 a.m. just as the doughnuts were delivered.
Reynolds and I both agree that the man caught on the cameras does not resemble Von Spineback, who is short and stocky, whereas this man is tall and rather thin.
“But that doesn’t mean he didn’t hire someone to do the job. He hired Stuart Peterson, didn’t he?” I say, “Do you have an address for Mr. Spineback?”
&n
bsp; “No, but even if I did, it’s out of our jurisdiction.”
“Yeah, but he’s not out of my jurisdiction. I’d be happy to call on him and let him know we’re keeping an eye on him.”
Steve gets on his computer and runs Von Spineback’s name. A consulting company comes up with the owner being a Mr. Von Spineback. Steve writes down the address and hands it to me. “This did not come from me and I would suggest you be very careful with this guy. Remember, you killed his right-hand man.”
I give him a thumbs up as I’m leaving. “Keep your eyes open old buddy. Someone out there does not like you. Let me know if you find that missing couple. Also, lay off the doughnuts.”
“That will not be a problem,” he calls out.
*****
Minutes after Mickke D leaves police headquarters, Detective Reynolds receives a call from the hospital. All four victims are going to be fine. It seems as if they each had only taken one bite of the doughnut before Reynolds made the announcement on the intercom. They were a little bit stale and the poison gave the donuts a bitter taste. The doctor stated that if they had consumed the entire doughnut, they would all be dead. He concluded there was enough poison in each one to kill a horse.
He hangs up and says aloud. “Thanks, Mickke D, I owe you one.”
CHAPTER 80
The local Central Ohio TV evening news stations have reporters doing interviews outside police headquarters and the following morning’s local paper has large bold headlines: Police Headquarters Poisoned. The paper and the TV news both report that all of the victims are alive and well. They also both note that the police have no suspects at this time.
Terror Grips the Beach Page 15