The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag - #2 Swept under the Rug

by Jennifer L. Hart

  “I think he might have hired someone. You know, before the fire? I don’t know what to do.”

  “Contact the police, and ask for Detective Capri. She’ll put you in touch with the FBI.”

  “I know it’s horrible of me to ask, but do you think you could come over and stay with me while they’re here? I read about you in the newspaper and I know you know how to handle this sort of situation.”

  The wince escaped despite my best efforts. Holding up under police interrogation was not something I wanted people to remember about me. She made a decent point though. Valentino had set me up, cast suspicion on my good name and made my life hell. Didn’t I have a vested interest in seeing the evidence of his perfidy?

  “Where are you? Where’s the file?”

  “I’m at the office and I left the file on his desk. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  She sounded so distressed, I made up my mind. “I’ll be there shortly. Call the police now; they’ll probably be right behind me.”

  “Thank you,” Sierra sniffed.

  “What’s up?” Sylvia stood, stretching her back.

  “I’ll update you on the way.” I snatched up my bag, unhooked my car keys from the ring, donned my jacket.

  The drive to Safari took less than ten minutes and I filled Sylvia in on what Sierra had unearthed.

  “So now you think Candie was innocent of staging the abduction? Valentino was behind it all?

  I made a left into the parking garage. “No, I think he played her, just like he did me. She stepped out, went back to her girls behaving badly phase, tried to undermine him by sneaking crucial information to Richard Head. He retaliated by hiring some thug to kidnap her, to show her who was in charge.”

  “What about the fire? I doubt that was part of his plan.”

  “Right, I think whoever took Candie got pissed off with Valentino, tried to teach him a lesson. Candie’s death was part of it.”

  “But who?” Despite the heat pumping from the vent Sylvia shivered. “Who killed her? And Richard?”

  “That I don’t know, which is why I agreed to come here. Maybe if I get a chance to look through the files, I can piece it all together.

  “Do you want me to come up with you?” Sylvia asked, looking as though she might vomit if I said yes.

  I shook my head. “No, the police will be here any minute.” As if to punctuate my words, sirens blared in the distance. “Do me a favor though, call Neil and tell him what’s happening. Marty too.”

  Sylvia squeezed my hand. ”Be careful. And don’t get arrested.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Parking garages always creeped me out. Even though they were monitored via video camera, something about the absence of light, the absolute quiet unnerved me. I power walked over to the elevator, assuming I needed to check in at the security desk before going up to see Sierra.

  I pushed the down button and the doors opened immediately. Pools of filthy water, probably tracked in from various boots were visible on the floor of the car. I tip toed around them, and pushed floor number one. The car lurched, and I yipped in fright, but the ride progressed smoothly. Fishing in my bag so my ID would be handy, I didn’t pay attention to the lit numbers tracking the car’s progress.

  A soft ding sounded before the doors slid open. Where the heck was my driver’s license? Security might give me a hard time if Sierra hadn’t already notified the desk of my impending arrival.

  Distracted, I stepped off the elevator, glancing up when my boot heels clicked against concrete instead of the anticipated carpet. The elevator hadn’t delivered me to the brightly lit lobby. Instead I found myself in some sort of basement.

  “Oh, what the hell.” Annoyed, I turned to face the elevator when I felt the prick of something sharp penetrate my jacket right below my left shoulder blade. Then a jolt of energy and unexpected pain ripped through my system and the world slid away.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The smell of mildew invaded my nostrils, forcing consciousness back. Something gurgled, water I thought, rushing through pipes. Face pressed against cold, damp concrete, I had no idea if my eyes were open or closed. I tried blinking, but nothing came into focus. My body, sluggish and weak as a newborn, didn’t respond as I willed my arm forward to check my eyelids.

  My hands were tied behind my back.

  What the hell happened? Remembering the elevator, the basement, the sting as something sharp bit through the layers of clothing, I pieced together that I’d been zapped, most likely by a Taser or stungun. Who’d done it though? And why?

  “Hello?” My voice was as pathetic as my body, my tongue thick and heavy in my mouth. “Who’s there?”

  I listened, but no one replied. “Sierra?” She was the only person who knew I was coming here. “What’s going on?”

  Footsteps sounded distantly and I struggled to sit upright, no easy feat with my hands tethered. Florescent light sputtered to life, blinding me as effectively as the darkness. Scrunching my eyes closed, I called out again. “Sierra?”

  “Oh, she’s not available right now. I have her stashed elsewhere.” The man’s voice and cadence sounded familiar and foreign all at once. I slitted one eye open but still couldn’t see worth shit.

  “Who are you?” I asked as I felt more than heard him move closer.

  A high pitched giggle, almost effeminate was my only answer. Retrenching, I asked, “Why did you tie me up?”

  “You’ve proven yourself to be resourceful and I can’t have anyone mucking with my plans.”

  Dread, slimy and cold settled in my gut. “What plans?”

  “The destruction of Safari and all of Valentino’s minions, of course. The time has come, and out of the ashes of his wicked empire, the phoenix will rise and live for a thousand years.”

  Hell, my unconscious mind had set me up in a crappy B movie. This couldn’t be real. “Tell me who you are, why you’re doing this.”

  A flashlight with enough juice to power the greater Boston Area, clicked on directly in my eyes. I yelped and slammed my eyelids down before my retinas sizzled up like fatty bacon. The man laughed again, and perspiration popped out on my forehead as I picked up on the hysterical note.

  “Every villain must have a foil and I am Markus Valentino’s. My father was the lead engineer on Valentino’s power solutions team in Austin. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of signing an intellectual property rights agreement that allowed Valentino to have first dibs on his every innovation. Years, I spent, watching him profit from my father’s work, reaping all the benefits of someone else’s labor. I watched as my father withered while that bastard flourished, married a rich debutant and soared to even greater heights. Too weak to fight the evil. I was with him when my father breathed his last. And then, Maggie, the most amazing thing happened. My father’s essence filled me.

  Sick. I retched in my mouth, swallowing the tangy bile back down since the damn flashlight was still trained on my face. This guy was disturbed on a level I’d never fathomed. Some survival instinct warned he wouldn’t appreciate my take and I kept my lips compressed together.

  “As his final gift to me, my father gave me the means to bring Valentino down forever. I am my father reborn, the phoenix.”

  The man liked to talk and I decided to use it to my advantage. As long as he blathered his heart out, nothing bad could happen. Sylvia would come in eventually and the police were nearby. “That must have been hard for you, living your father’s life instead of your own.”

  “Greatness demands sacrifice, but the rewards will soon abound. I thought Valentino’s wife would be my first reward. She came to me, just as my father’s spirit had predicted, offering to help on my quest. And for a time, I thought I could slip into his life, keep his woman for my own. But she was impure, sullying herself with her own sex. Sickening.”

  “Candie wanted you to bring Valentino to justice. She didn’t see your vision.” I prompted, trying not to wet myself in fea
r. God knew I didn’t have the faintest idea what I was messing with and this guy was bat-shit crazy.

  Apparently, I’d said the right thing. The flashlight lowered and satisfaction emanated from him in waves. “You understand. I knew you would. Smart girl, devoted to her cause, just like me. It’s not your fault you entered the game too late and on the wrong side. If you were beautiful, I might consider keeping you for my own. Alas you are too ordinary.”

  “Hey!” Why the hell was I annoyed? Oh gee, Mr. Lunatic phoenix hack-em-up doesn’t think I’m beautiful. BFD. Unfortunately, my logical brain was sitting backseat to adrenaline. “So how did you find out that Candie was just using you and your vision to her own ends?”

  “It was you, actually,” I winced, not willing to take on responsibility for Candie’s evisceration. “You mentioned it during your meeting with Valentino. His chauffer has proven to be a reliable asset, willing to record Valentino’s conversations and sell them to the highest bidder.”

  I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “And Richard was another bidder.”

  My captor snorted. My vision had improved and I could make out a shadowy shape, small to average for a man. “What a waste of flesh. And his obsession with Valentino and his fortune was as disgusting as it was unnatural. Of course, I would have left him be, but Candie had brought him in, promising him all sorts of ridiculous rewards. I couldn’t have an outsider privy to what happened in my company, could I? Putting out his light was pure pleasure.”

  So what we have here is a homophobic daddy’s boy on a mission to kill, maim and incinerate anything in his path. Skippy. Unfortunately, I still didn’t know who I was dealing with, and the deficiency put me at a serious disadvantage.

  “So what’s next?” I asked, curious despite my better judgment.

  The light bobbed as the man moved. “Well, Valentino’s lost his wife, his reputation is in tatters and his home reduced to a pile of cinders. The only thing he has left is this building. But not for long.” This statement seemed to amuse him and that chilling laugh reverberated off my concrete prison.

  “You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” Despite my question, I knew he wouldn’t have explained all this if he intended to let me go.

  The giggles cut off abruptly, and I winced as he crouched down beside me. A cold hand brushed my cheek and I flinched at his clammy touch.

  “All good things must come to an end. I’ll be sure to send your husband my regrets. He doesn’t need to know you were running around using your maiden name, it will only add to his pain.”

  It clicked into place. “Oh my God, Alan Garner.”

  * * * *

  Garner, the sick bastard, appeared delighted by my reaction. “Never suspected me, did you? Neither does anyone else. Sierra knows now, since I chloroformed her after encouraging her to call you. She and the others in this building will be sacrificed for the greater good. Fifteen minutes from now, they will be nothing but corpses buried under mountains of rubble.”

  “Why kill everyone? Valentino’s your target; no one else has to die.”

  “Oh, but I want them to die. I want to feel their mortal lives ending, to acquire a piece of their souls and make it my own. Just like my father’s. It’s my destiny.”

  “I thought your destiny was to take Valentino’s place.” Nothing worse than a psycho who couldn’t keep his story straight.

  Garner shrugged. “I’ve learned to multitask, I can be both.” With that, he stepped back into the darkness, directed the light in my face, interrogation style. “The end is upon you, Margaret Sampson Phillips. If you choose to repent, I will hear your sins.”

  “Freaking Drama Queen.” I shouted into the darkness. “You’re nothing but a sneaky snake in the grass. You’re pathetic.”

  In all the books I’d ever read, this kind of goading would see some volatile reaction from the antagonist. Garner laughed his creepy, girly laugh again.

  “Oh, Maggie, still fighting the good fight. I admire your weak attempts to unhinge me, but they are all in vain. I have a plan you see, a flawless plan.”

  “From what I understand, every tech geek and his brother are racing to find a way to make solar technology a living reality. What makes you think you’ll get there first?”

  “I’ve been siphoning off money from under Valentino’s nose for several years now. I’ve sent the little file Sierra phoned you about to the police. When he goes to jail for murdering his wife, I’ll be ready to run things in his absence. And I’ll be sure to visit him, to let him know who was behind it all. For a man as arrogant as Valentino, no torture could be worse than realizing he was had by one of his drones.”

  He chuckled, the flashlight bouncing maniacally as his body shook with raptures.

  “They’re going to investigate. Someone will discover you set the explosion.”

  Garner, still laughing softly, moved off and I panicked, trying to get my feet under me. Whatever he’d jolted me with still had my muscles twitching to the point that my body felt like unset jell-o.

  “Since I told Markus that the maintenance staff was an unnecessary expense, he fired the lot when rough economic times struck. The hot water heater is going to overload, just another tragedy which could have been avoided with proper maintenance. Believe me; no one will bother looking further than Markus Valentino.”

  “You’re wrong. Detective Capri won’t be satisfied with a tidily wrapped case and coincidence. She’ll find you.” So would Neil, but I didn’t want to make him a target.

  “Ah, Maggie, I’ve enjoyed our chat. Try and take comfort in the fact that your essence will live on, through me.” The light clicked off and I heard his footsteps fading away. A high-pitched whistling disrupted the gloomy quiet; bringing a distinct change in air pressure.

  Panic snaked through my brain, muddying my thoughts. If this lunatic had his way, I’d never see my family again. They needed me to act, just as the innocent people in this building needed me to get off my keister and stop Garner. I didn’t have a plan but one thing was clear, no way would I let him waltz out of here. Rocking to my feet, I stumbled toward the mechanical whine. Footfalls sounded to my left and I dogged him, hoping to take him by surprise.

  Still unable to see, I focused on my other senses. The humidity had increased, similar to the feeling in the air right before a major rainstorm. Sweat trickled down my neck, chaffed the fabric around my bound wrists. The blood pounding in my ears roared, commanding too much of my attention. I stopped, focused on breathing through my nose and listened. The footsteps were gone.

  Clink, clink, clink. The noise, too random to be mechanical was coming from my left. Was Garner there? I had no weapons and my hands were bound, sorry odds against a nut-job and his Taser. The rubber soles of my sneakers made no discernable noise so I might have surprise on my side, as well as a rabid desire to live. The metal on metal sound grew louder and this weird deja vu sensation tickled my brain.

  “Hello?” I called out. “Is someone there?”

  “You fool,” My mother’s voice hissed in reprimand, “He’s there!” I ignored her and called out again.

  The clanging increased to a frantic level and I staggered towards the sound. The basement was huge and my sense of direction severely compromised by barely stifled fear. My feet tangled in something and I went down hard, face first. Something light fluttered down wrapping me up like a gag gift.

  “Crap,” I moaned, sure my nose was broken. Blood, hot and tangy gushed down my chin. I rolled and bucked until the sheet which had ensnared me gave up. Good news was it had been covering a small window, and darkness turned to dimness. I wiped my face on the sheet and used my stomach muscles to pull myself upright.

  The elevator was nowhere in sight, but I made out the cylindrical shape which vibrated alarmingly on its concrete platform. More than five times the size of my own hot water heater, the prospect of that thing exploding was beyond terrifying. My ears popped as I swallowed blood, but I managed to lurch forward.

  W
hat I understood about hot water heaters couldn’t fill a Dixie cup, but I did recall an episode of Mythbusters when the guys had intentionally detonated one by steadily increasing the pounds per square inch. The tank hadn’t technically exploded, more of launched itself through the building which housed it, but considering the total destruction, I doubt anyone would argue semantics with the rubble.

  It seemed to me the big thing was just an overgrown pressure cooker, and I did know how to work one of those. There had to be some sort of release valve, to ease the pressure and keeping the thing from taking off like a rocket. If I were the guy to design this, where would I put it?

  “Within easy reach,” was the logical answer. Easy, that is when one wasn’t disabled by bound hands. I was so focused on the tank; I almost missed the small shape tethered to one of the pipes. The clinks had originated from the metal cuffs imprisoning her.

  I squinted and rushed forward. “Sierra?” Holy God, this was just like that dream, except, my mind had superimposed Candie Valentino as my fellow prisoner. Pushing the thought away, I turned around and groped with my numb fingers, feeling my way to the flimsy gag. “Just hang in there, I’ve almost got this.”

  I yanked, and the final knot slipped free and Sierra bubbled over. “Oh, Maggie, I’m so sorry! It’s Alan; he’s lost his mind and I—”

  I interrupted her with a sharp noise and spun around, assessing the situation. Not enough time to work her free first. “Sierra, do you know where the pressure release valve is for the hot water tank? We need to vent the steam before it goes critical.”

  “I don’t, I’m sorry.” She started to cry. “My kids, oh God, I don’t want to die!”

  “Listen to me. We are going to get out of this, you have to trust me.”

  Her answer was a wordless whimper.

  “Sierra, listen to me.” I squatted down with my back to her, my bound hands in line with hers. “Can you untie me?”

  Her fingers fumbled, nails scraping my abused wrists. “I don’t know, it’s so tight and I can’t see.”