“Ah-h-h!” Judd screamed, jumped into the air and clamped his hands over his mouth to silence himself. Tony pushed Judd down to the ground and shushed him. Snapping his fingers twice, Curly returned to him and sat down next to them, panting.
In the distance, a door creaked open and they heard a woman’s voice say, “I thought I heard something outside.”
Tony put his arm around Curly and whispered, “Speak, Curly, speak.”
“W-WOOF! R-RUFF! A-ROO-O-OO!”
A few seconds later that same distant voice said, “Oh, it’s just a neighbor’s dog. Really, mother! Look at this fog! How are we going to fly in this weather?” The door slammed shut and the clicking sound of a dead bolt echoed through the air.
“Sorry, Tony. You scared the livin’ daylights outta me!” Judd said in a low and excited voice. As his breathing returned to normal he asked, “What is that place? Is it down by the lake?”
“That’s okay, Judd. That was a close call though. That place is the Whittaker’s super-duper boat house. It’s the nicest one on the lake. I was in it once with a bunch of people before Felicity noticed and threw me out. Let’s see, upstairs it’s got a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. Downstairs, of course, is where the boats are docked. I couldn’t tell, was that Miss Brady yelling?”
“Yeah, that was her. I’d know her voice anywhere,” Judd said.
“Did you also hear her call for her mother? What’s that all about?”
“Yeah, I heard that. What’s her old lady doin’ there?” Judd asked as he stroked his chin.
“I don’t know, but this whole situation is getting weirder by the minute.” Tony stood up and looked toward the lake. “There’s something down there, but I can’t make out what it is. I can hear the waves lapping against it. I bet it’s the seaplane, ‘cause most of the boats are out of the water by this time of the year. C’mon!”
Tony and Judd sneaked down to the Whittaker’s cement seawall. They noticed the small mercury light that lit the entrance to the wooden dock and extended out into the lake. They tiptoed down the dock so they wouldn’t make any noise.
“There it is! I knew it!” Tony said, keeping his voice low. A red and white Cessna 185 seaplane sat at the end of the dock, lazily floating up and down in the lake waves.
“Whoa! Lookie there, an arrowplane tied to the dock! I told ya it had big feet! Hey, Tony, what are you doin’?”
Stepping onto the seaplane, Tony reached up to the door, opened it, stuck most of his body inside and rummaged around the cabin. “Aha! Here it is. Help me out, will you.” Judd grabbed Tony’s legs and pulled him onto the dock.
“What did you find?”
Reaching into his pocket, Tony brought out his LED pen light, turned it on, handed it to Judd and said, “Shine it on this binder. This is the navigation charts the pilot used to fly down here. Look, they definitely flew out of Canada. What I want to know is where they are going next.” Tony quickly scanned the chart, tracing the flight path with his finger and said, “According to this chart, they’re planning on flying about 200 miles south of here and landing here: on Hideaway Lake.”
“Hideaway Lake? I think me and my Dad fished on that lake last year. There’s nothin’ or nobody down there. We camped down there with a couple of other fellas. Why would you fly there?” Judd clicked off the pen light and gave it back to Tony.
“Well, if you want to avoid the police or witnesses; that would be a good place to land a seaplane. Maybe they’ll have a car down there waiting for them.” Tony took the pen light and casually tapped it on his front teeth as he thought out loud. “I still don’t understand why Tisha thought it was necessary to kidnap Ash. She must be smart enough to know she’ll get into a bunch of trouble. Why the seaplane? Who flew the seaplane? Why is her mother here? What am I missing? What’s the connection?”
Judd stood with one leg on the dock and the other leg on the float of the seaplane, anxiously placing his weight on one leg then the other, making the seaplane bob up and down in the water. “I don’t know, but if I was filthy rich like Felicity’s Dad, I would—”
Tony snapped his fingers and blurted out, “That’s it! Judd, you’re right! You’re a genius!”
“I am?” Judd replied as he bobbed the seaplane faster and faster.
“Yeah, You’re right! I’ve been looking at this the wrong way. It’s not all about Felicity making the cheerleading squad. It’s about the money! Tisha wanted to marry Mr. Whittaker and be Mrs. Whittaker, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But, he would only marry her if Felicity gave him the green light, right?”
“Yeah,” Judd said in a tinny voice, still not quite following Tony’s logic.
Pacing back and forth, Tony continued, “Well, Felicity didn’t make the squad. She’s only a substitute. I bet she got so angry about not being a regular cheerleader that she told her dad not to marry Tisha. Yeah, this is making sense now!” Tony stopped and slapped his forehead, “Now, Tisha goes from being a wealthy fiancé back to a not-so-wealthy high school counselor. That’s motivation to commit a crime!”
“Woof!” chuffed Curly as he stood up and stared back at the boathouse intently. “Woof! Grr.”
Tony snapped his head around at Curly’s sound of alarm. “Uh-oh, I think someone’s coming out! Quick, throw this binder back in the plane. We gotta get back to the shore!” Tony tossed the binder to Judd and whispered to Curly, “Go, go, go!”
In Judd’s excitement to open the seaplane door, he yanked it too hard and the door flew open, knocking the binder into the lake. Fortunately, it floated long enough for Judd to pick it up and toss it into the cabin.
With Curly in the lead, Tony and Judd sprinted down the dock as fast as they could without making much noise. As soon as they reached the shore, they dove behind another huge hydrangea shrub and tried to catch their breath.
Sure enough, the dead bolt clicked, the door opened and a woman stepped out onto the landing. Before closing the front door, she turned and yelled inside, “All right. I’m going to get the charts. I’ll be right back. Make sure everything is packed and ready to go. Also, make sure you do your hypnosis thing with Ash what’s-her-name. I don’t want her having a hissy fit about flying. The last thing I need is a little girl screaming in the plane. And make doubly sure J.B. is tied up tight!”
Judd whispered in the lowest voice he could, “Did you hear that! Ash is in there!”
Even in the dark with the fog all around them, Tony could see Judd’s face get red and his body tense up for action. He grabbed Judd’s arm with all of his strength and drew him near to whisper, “Ssh! Don’t do anything yet. We gotta call for reinforcements, remember? Ssh! Here she comes.”
As the woman strode down the seawall lighting her way with a flashlight, she stopped in front of their bush, leaned against the Whittaker’s flagpole, took off her right shoe and shook it forcefully. Tony and Judd breathed as slowly as possible and even Curly seemed to pant softer. Humming to herself and satisfied that whatever was bothering her foot had been shaken out, she replaced her shoe and walked briskly down the dock to the seaplane.
Tony moved to his left to see if he could watch her better, but she disappeared in the fog and the only thing he was able to see was the glow of her flashlight as the light bounced around from her movements. He heard her open the door, step onto the float with a dull thud and then silence for a moment. She must have sat down in the seat, he thought. Then he heard a little high-pitched squeal, followed by an angry voice that shrilled, “What in the world! What happened to this!” He heard another dull thud, then the door was slammed shut, not once, but three times. He saw the glow of the flashlight bouncing again and heard the woman’s footsteps pounding the dock as she returned to the shore. As she passed by their shrub, he could hear her muttering something about charts, ruined and wet, yet he couldn’t quite distinguish everything because the woman was so furious.
The woman stomped up the wooden stairs so hard, To
ny was afraid she might snap one of the steps in two. When she threw open the door and entered the boathouse, once again she slammed the door not once, but three times in a fit of fury, yelling incoherently after each slam.
“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone go off the deep end like that,” Tony said as they stood up. “What was she so mad about? Could you make out what she was saying, Judd?”
“Well…” Judd began as he nervously kicked at a clump of grass. “I don’t know what she was sayin’. Though, it could be ‘cause I accidentally dropped that binder into the lake and everythin’ got all wet. Sorry, Tony.”
Tony grinned, grabbed Judd by the shoulders and said, “Sorry? Sorry for what? That was brilliant!”
Judd perked up. “It was?”
“Yeah, are you kidding? They can’t fly without those charts. They won’t be able to take off until tomorrow morning! That’ll give us plenty of time to get the police—. Wait a minute, there’s someone else in there. What was the last thing that lady said as she was coming out of the door?"
“Um, I think she said, ‘bubbly shure, shady tree is tied up like a kite!’ or somethin’ like that,” Judd said with a knitted brow.
“Shady Tree? Who is Shady Tree and why would they tie him or her up like a kite?” Tony walked around in circles thinking out loud. “Shady tree? A shady tree? Shady tree...let’s see...two women...why would they tie someone up unless...unless...they were stronger than them! It’s gotta be a man they tied up...’cause...’cause they’re afraid of him being loose. Aw, who could it be?”
Slapping his thigh and jumping up and down, Judd laughed and said, “I got it! Officer London talked to a shady tree on his telephone at the school. I remember he distinctly said, ‘Shady tree, call me back’ or somethin’ like that. Yeah, that’s it, must be some guy with the last name of Shadytree!”
“What? I’ve never heard the last name Shadytree before.” Tony cupped his hand under his chin and said, “Hang on, what did my Mom say at the football game? Of course! It’s not a last name, it’s a first name. It’s not Shadytree, it’s J.B.! They’ve got Detective Bouguereau tied up! Doggone it, why didn’t I think of that sooner. He was following Tisha all through the town. In all the excitement, I completely forgot about him!”
“Let’s call your Dad! We gotta get Ash and Detective Boogaroni outta there!”
Digging into his pants pocket, Tony brought the cell phone out and looked at the display. “What! Aw, no! I don’t have any bars here!” Tony walked to his left, then to his right, holding his cell phone up, holding the cell phone down, but it was no use. “Let’s go down to the end of the dock. Maybe I can get better reception down there.” Walking down the dock, the bar increased by one, two and held steady on two when they stood next to the seaplane. “Two isn’t good enough, Judd. I need at least three and at best five or more. If I can get higher I might get more bars.”
Judd looked at Tony and said, “Stand on the arrowplane. That’ll make you taller.”
“Yeah, good idea.” Tony stuck the cell phone back into his pocket, studied the seaplane, stepped onto the float and then climbed up onto the wing strut. “Give me a boost, Judd, there’s nothing to grab up here and the top of the wing is slick from the fog.”
Grabbing Tony’s leg, Judd pushed him up and onto the top of the wing section. Tony momentarily felt a little seasick as the seaplane bobbed in the water from his weight. Lying on his back, he waited a second for his head to clear, brought out his cell phone and looked at the display. Three bars! He held the phone up higher. Four bars!
“I got four bars! I bet I can get more if I stand up. Hey Judd, hold onto the wing so it doesn’t rock when I stand up, okay?”
Judd latched onto the strut with one hand and with the other hand held the wing by its edge. “Go ahead, Tony. I’ll try, but this arrowplane still moves even when I hold her down with all my strength.”
Turning onto his stomach, Tony centered himself on the wing so that he was directly over the windshield area. He figured the boat wouldn’t move as much if he was in the middle. Bringing his knees up underneath him and splaying them out slightly, he seemed to gain a good deal of balance and the seaplane didn’t rock much, probably due to Judd, he thought. Bending over and placing his hands in front of him, Tony stood on his feet, but still kept his hands on the wing and the seaplane bobbed slightly from the shifting of his weight. “Hold it still, if you can, Judd!” Tony half-whispered and half-snapped to him.
“I’m tryin’, I’m tryin’. It’s awkward holdin’ onto this thing!”
Raising himself up from his crouched position, Tony swayed with the seaplane twice then steadied himself to be confident enough to take his phone out of his pocket and look at the display. “I got five bars, Judd!”
“All right! We’re cookin’ with gas now!” laughed Judd.
Tony pressed his Dad’s number, after two rings Anthony Jr. answered and Tony whispered into his phone, “Dad, we found them... Ash and Detective Bouguereau are both being held captive by Tisha and her mother...Yeah, that’s what I said Tisha’s mother, isn’t that weird...You and Officer London need to come quick...We’re over at—”
In the excitement of speaking with his father, Tony forgot for a second that he was standing on an unstable seaplane and shifted his weight slightly by making a gesture with his arm. That and the moisture on the seaplane’s wing was enough to make his legs do the splits and he put his free hand down to break his fall, his other hand he held up so the cell phone would not be damaged. What he didn’t count on was the energy of his fall rocking the seaplane, first toward the dock, then toward the lake. He slid halfway down the wing, grasping the wing’s edge and slowing himself down. The next movement of the seaplane, however, forced him to roll on his back and the hand with the cell phone whipped over and slammed onto the wing. The cell phone launched into the air, bounced once, then slid to the far side of the wing where it stopped, teetered and then plopped into the dark water. He could hear his father calling his name over and over until the cell phone disappeared and sank to the bottom of the lake.
Chapter 29- The Plan
“What’s the matter J.B.? Cat got your tongue? “Tisha’s mother smirked as she walked up to Bouguereau and ran her hand through his hair.
“Do you two know each other?” Tisha asked with a surprised expression on her face.
“Oh, yeah! We go back a long way. Don’t we J.B.? How long has it been? Ten, fifteen, twenty years? I can tell you exactly, J.B. It was twenty-two years ago when you refused to recommend leniency in my trial, even though ol’ J.B. here knew I had just given birth to you and he knew I would be sentenced to at least five years in jail.” Tisha’s mother bent over and lightly slapped Bouguereau’s cheek several times as she cried out, “Yes, indeed, time really flies when you’re sitting in prison and you miss the first five years of your precious daughter’s life!”
“Madame, are you quite forgetful of the circumstances or is it just a blind eye, hmm?” Bouguereau said with a cold stare. “How convenient it was for you to steal $25,000 from the Dog & Cat Protection League fund raiser—”
“You stole from puppies and kittens? You ought to be ashamed!” Ash added, “Miss Brady, I’m tired of playing this game. I want to go home!”
“Be quiet, you sniveling, little brat or I’m going to tape your mouth shut!” Tisha’s mother sneered at Ash.
“Oh yes, Madame, you already had a criminal record several inches thick when I arrested you. You had conned many charitable organizations throughout the country,” Bouguereau smiled as he said, “And yet, you wonder why I did not recommend leniency?”
“What was that!” Racing to the door, Tisha opened it and said, “I thought I heard something outside.” Her mother joined her and they stood outside the door to listen.
Seizing the opportunity to speak with Ash, Bouguereau leaned toward her and whispered, “Do not be too afraid, ma chérie. I will protect you in any possible way I can. However, I am afraid this
is no game. Please believe me when I tell you that Mademoiselle Brady has hypnotized you. Do not trust her and certainly do not trust her mother, no matter what they tell you. Do you understand?”
Ash smiled nervously and nodded.
“I can only hope my colleagues from the police department will figure out where we are and rescue us.” Warily eyeing the two women standing outside the door, Bouguereau went on, “Are you comfortable? Did she tie you too tightly?”
Jiggling the ropes around her wrists, Ash replied, “I think I can get out of this knot. She didn’t tie it too well. It’s pretty loose.”
“Ah, do not escape just yet. We must wait for the right moment. In the meantime, I shall let you in on a little secret.” Bouguereau lifted his cane slightly. “This is a special cane. Do you see this button? If you press it, there is a sword that will come out. It is a very sharp sword and will cut these ropes like butter. When the time is right, you may have to use it to cut me loose. Do you understand, Mademoiselle Richardson?”
“I think so—”
In the distance a dog barked and howled, “W-WOOF! R-RUFF! A-ROO-O-OO!”
Ash giggled, excitedly turned to Bouguereau and whispered, “That’s Curly! Tony and Judd must be out there somewhere!”
Glancing back inside, Tisha’s mother noticed them speaking to each other. With a little “grr” sound, she strode back in and demanded, “You two can cut out the whispers. Whatever little escape plan you’re trying to hatch, it won’t work. We’ll be leaving as soon as possible. That is, the three of us will be leaving.” She poked her finger hard into Bouguereau’s chest and added, “Except for you, you’ll be staying here all by your lonesome.”
Standing with her arms crossed at the top of the outside stairs, Tisha looked inside and with a loud voice informed her mother, “Oh, it’s just a neighbor’s dog.” She raised her arms into the air and asked, “Really, Mother! Look at the fog! How are we going to fly in this weather?”
Touchdown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader Page 13