Too Many Crooks Spoil the Plot

by Sarah Osborne

  “Nice to see you too, Captain.”

  “We have an APB out for your car.”

  “You’ll find it in Nancy Creek, half a mile from here. Someone ran me off the road. And Dan is being held hostage at Sandler’s mansion.”

  “Not any more. No one’s there now.” Blakely took a chair across from Mason. “It’s time you know what’s going on.”

  “Past time, I’d say.”

  At that moment the EMTs arrived and pounded on the door. Once we let them in, they took over. They questioned Mason about what had happened, took his vital signs, and moved him to the gurney. As they were about to leave with a protesting Mason, Blakely asked for a minute with the patient. When they resisted, he flashed his badge.

  “Thirty seconds,” one of them said as they moved reluctantly into the hall. Blakely closed the door.

  “I’ll keep it brief. Mr. Sandler called in the police after Billy Joe was killed. He wanted things kept as quiet as possible. The police chief and he go way back. That’s why you got pulled.”

  Mason nodded. “I knew it wasn’t you who pulled me off.”

  “Sandler was determined to handle the whole thing without getting the press involved, and the chief went along with him. Sandler brought in Tom Brown to help identify the mastermind of a corporate espionage scheme—it had to be someone who knew the business and knew what the new product would be worth to the right bidder. Before Billy Joe got killed, Sandler knew his grandson was involved, but Billy Joe wasn’t smart enough to be the mastermind. That’s where Eleanor Winston came in. Brown got her involved. She was to offer to help Billy Joe and his mysterious boss pull off stealing the information.”

  “So you’re saying my brother was working for Mr. Sandler and not against him?”

  “Yes. Tom Brown is on our side.”

  “And Ellie was too.”

  “She started out on the right side before everything went south.”

  At that point one of the EMTs stuck his head into the parlor. “We have to get this man to the hospital.”

  Blakely stood up.

  I asked if I could ride in the ambulance.

  “No, ma’am. We’re taking him to Piedmont Hospital. You can see him there.”

  Eddie, Blakely, and I remained silent until the EMTs left. Then I told Blakely about my conversation with Tommy. “He threatened to come here for the memory card but he never showed up.”

  “You have the card?” Blakely said. He sounded incredulous. And something else I couldn’t quite name.

  Eddie disappeared for a moment and returned with the card. “Dan has a copy on his computer.”

  “I’ll take them both.”

  For the first time I noticed that Blakely was alone. Eddie appeared to have the same realization.

  “Where’s your backup?” she asked.

  “I don’t need backup for this.”

  Eddie nodded. She saw Blakely eye the laptop on the table beside the sofa. “That’s my Mac,” she said. “Let me get you Dan’s.” She hurried out of the room and returned moments later with a Toshiba.

  She closed the door on Blakely before either of us spoke.

  “You don’t trust him?”

  Eddie shook her head. “He came here alone. How do we know his story is the truth? Marie said she was scared of the police. I’m just not sure about Dave anymore.”

  “He’ll discover you gave him the wrong computer.”

  “He might not check it. He’s got what he wants. And I’ve still got contacts on the police force. I’m going to make some phone calls.”

  I left Eddie with her cell phone in hand and hurried upstairs.

  Lurleen poked her head out of the bedroom. “Is the coast clear? Is everything all right?”

  “I’m not sure about that. But we’re alone for now.”

  “Any news about Dan?” Lurleen asked. Her lip quivered.

  I held her hand. “He’ll be all right,” I said. “He’s tough and he’s smart.”

  Lurleen nodded but the look in her soft, hazel eyes said she didn’t believe a word I was saying.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Lurleen pulled herself together the way I imagine people do when they have to go on stage. She made two staccato whistles that sounded like birdcalls. Lucie responded with one of her own. Then the kids exploded from the bedroom.

  “It’s our code,” Lurleen whispered to me. “You’d think we were just two birds talking to each other, wouldn’t you?”

  I nodded. “Two birds that got locked up in a 1905 farmhouse.”

  Jason and Lucie skipped down the stairs. We followed behind. Lurleen had managed to calm their fears and make them feel safe. I wished I could do the same for her.

  “Did you hear me, Aunt Di?” Lucie asked at the bottom of the stairs. “Lurleen taught me to sound like a mockingbird.”

  “I did hear you. Where did you learn that, Lurleen?” I was almost afraid to ask.

  “Oh, you know. Another beau. Let’s see. Not Maurice. Not Simon.” She furrowed her brow in mock concentration. “No, it was Arneau. More the bookish type. Loved his birds. And me, of course.”

  Lucie giggled. “Why didn’t you marry him, Lurleen?”

  She knelt down beside her. “He never made my heart tingle,” she said.

  “You mean like Detective Garrett does for Aunt Ditie and Uncle Dan does for you?”

  “Exactement.”

  “Where is Uncle Dan?” Jason asked.

  For just a moment, I thought Lurleen might lose it. She turned away. “I hope he’ll be on his way home soon,” I said.

  “And Detective Garrett?” Lucie asked, peering into the empty parlor.

  “He’s being checked out at the hospital,” Eddie said, “but he’s going to be fine. I think you can start calling him Mason. Now, who’s ready to make dinner?”

  “I am,” Lucie said.

  “Me too,” I said. I took Lucie’s hand and headed for the kitchen, two steps behind Eddie.

  “Well, Jason, that leaves you and me,” Lurleen said. “Maybe it’s time I told you about the days I worked as an undercover agent for the French police.”

  “Under the covers?” Jason said. “You stayed in bed?”

  “Not exactly.”

  That was the last we heard from the two of them as they tromped back upstairs. Once this was all over, we were going to play outside for at least a week. Go camping or to the beach. Once this was finally over.

  I got Lucie set up at the sink peeling carrots, and I was rummaging through the refrigerator when Eddie poked her head into the kitchen.

  “Can I have a word?” she asked. I looked at Lucie and she nodded back at me.

  Eddie took me into the parlor. “It’s about Dave Blakely. I reached my contacts. They couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me much. They claimed they didn’t know where Blakely was. Thought he was on leave. We’re on our own.”

  My cell rang. It was the ER doc I’d spoken to earlier. I’d asked him to ring me once he’d examined Mason. “Detective Garrett is doing fine,” he said. “Looks like he has a slight concussion and some bruised ribs. We’re keeping him overnight for observation.”

  “Thanks for looking after him. Can I talk to him?”

  “Sure.”

  A moment later Mason was on the line. “I’m good. Any word from Dan?”

  “Not yet. I’d like to see you but I think I need to stay with the kids.”

  “Don’t come. Just get me out of here tomorrow morning as early as you can.”

  “Will do.”

  I didn’t tell Mason about our current situation. I was afraid if I did, he’d leave the hospital against medical advice and come home. I turned to Eddie. “What do we do now? Do you think Tommy will still come?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ll get prepared,” Eddie said, show
ing me the gun she had in a flat holster, hidden in the pocket of her slacks. “We still don’t know where Charlie Flack is or how he fits into the espionage scheme. Does Lurleen actually know how to shoot a gun?”

  “I wouldn’t count on it, but I would count on her ability to protect and hide the kids if it comes to that.”

  “Do you know how to shoot?”

  “I learned at my mother’s insistence. Tommy’s the real ace. But if you have a rifle, I can use it.”

  “Good. First we feed the kids and get them settled. Then you and I will keep a vigil tonight.”

  We heard Lucie singing “Alouette” and joined her in the kitchen. I helped her make pineapple coleslaw while Eddie cooked hamburgers and sweet potato fries. She turned on the radio to a sixties rock-and-roll station, and we were dancing by the time Lurleen and Jason joined us. Jason made a face when he heard the music, but Lurleen had him doing twists and turns until he was breathless with laughter.

  We ate every bit of food, including some molasses cookies for dessert. Cleanup was an assembly line, and then I got the kids ready for bed. Eddie must have explained the plan to Lurleen because she came up twenty minutes later to take over her post.

  “I’m gonna sleep with you guys, okay?” she said. “I get lonely in that big bed and I want to have a sleepover.”

  “A sleepover?” Lucie asked.

  “You know, where your friends come and spend the night.”

  Lucie shook her head.

  “Well, you’ll have your first one now,” I said. I kissed the kids. “I’ll leave you to it but no talking after nine p.m.”

  “Oui, maman,” Lurleen said. “If we don’t make too much noise, she’ll never know,” I heard her whisper as I left.

  I found Eddie downstairs. “What do you think we’re waiting for? Captain Blakely has the memory card. Aren’t they done with us?”

  “I don’t know,” Eddie said, “but I want to be prepared.”

  I made another attempt to reach Tommy. No answer.

  We pulled the shades in the kitchen, checked the doors and windows one more time, and decided we’d station ourselves in the parlor. Eddie brought me a rifle from the gun cabinet and loaded it. She settled in the oversized stuffed chair. I lay on the sofa. We talked softly, as if we were in a library.

  “What do you think is going on?” I asked. “Is Blakely corrupt?”

  “I’ve known Dave for ten years. I don’t want to think anything bad about him. But how did he get here so fast? Why didn’t he have anyone with him? Mason said he’s changed since he got a divorce two years ago. He’s a lot more cynical about life and seems to have financial worries.”

  “And Tommy? Do you think Tommy’s involved in this?” I asked.

  “If we believe Blakely, then Tommy’s trying to sort things out.”

  “That’s a big if,” I said. “For all we know, they’re both on the wrong side.”

  “I’m sorry, dear, but you could be right about that.”

  We grew silent. I grabbed a magazine to read and Eddie took up her knitting. Every time I dozed off I woke up to find Eddie sitting up straight in her chair, unspooling more yarn.

  At two a.m. we heard it. A scraping sound. From the back of the house? On the porch?

  Eddie held her gun two-handed in front of her and headed through the kitchen to the back door. She pulled back the edge of the curtain on the door as she turned on the porch light. There stood Tommy and Dan.

  She lowered her gun and motioned for me to turn off the alarm. I put the rifle down and did what she asked. When she opened the door, Tommy and Dan burst into the room. I rushed up to Tommy, but he backed away. Eddie put the safety on her gun and lowered it as Dan tried to motion behind him. A moment later, from the shadows, came Charlie Flack. He had a gun pointed at all of us.

  “Put the gun down,” he said to Eddie. She placed it on the counter. “Look,” he said, “I don’t want to hurt anyone. Just get me the memory card and the computer, and we’ll be out of here.”

  Tommy stepped away from me. “Do what he says, Mabel, so no one gets hurt.”

  “Captain Blakely has the memory card,” Eddie said calmly.

  “Then get me the damn computer,” Charlie yelled. “He said he made a copy.” Charlie motioned to Dan.

  “Do it,” Dan said.

  I went to the parlor, got the computer, and brought it back.

  “Show me it’s there,” Charlie ordered. “Now.” He nudged Dan with the gun.

  At that moment, Jason burst into the kitchen.

  “Daddy, I heard you. I knew it was you. I couldn’t sleep. I knew you’d come.”

  I scooped him up before he could run to his father.

  “Damn,” Charlie shouted. “Get my kid out of here.”

  Lurleen stood in the doorframe of the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry,” she said to me. “He was too fast for me.”

  I handed him off to Lurleen and she backed away.

  “No, no.” Jason wriggled out of her grasp. “I want my daddy.” He was on his father before any of us could stop him. He hugged his leg and pulled at his arm to be picked up. Charlie kept his gun and his focus on the rest of us. Jason seemed oblivious to anything but his father. “Daddy, you came back for me.”

  I made a move toward Jason, but Charlie had already peeled his son off him. He used him as a shield as he grabbed the computer. Then he pushed his son toward us as he ran out the back door.

  Tommy and Dan ran after him.

  I picked a sobbing Jason up from the floor. “It’s okay,” I said. “It’s okay.” I took him to the parlor, while Eddie called the police.

  I sat with Jason on the sofa until he quieted. His body was rigid with pain.

  “Daddy didn’t say nothing to me.”

  “I know, Jason. I’m sorry.”

  “He didn’t want me.”

  There wasn’t much I could say to that, so I held him tight and rocked him. But Jason was too angry to sit still. He jumped off my lap. “Daddy is a bad guy. Like Mommy said.” He ran around the room, swooping his cape. “Daddy had a gun. I saw it. Daddy hurts people.”

  “We don’t know that, Jason,” I said. I remembered how frightened Charlie Flack was when he had me in the car. “Your daddy’s scared. Really scared. Sometimes being scared makes people do bad things.”

  Jason wasn’t listening. “I’m Superman. I’ll get Daddy. I’ll take him to jail.”

  Eddie and Dan joined us in the parlor. “Tommy and Flack are long gone,” Dan said. “They left in the same car. I’m sorry, Ditie.”

  I nodded.

  Lurleen rushed to Dan. “Are you all right? Are you really all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  For five minutes, we said nothing. Lurleen examined every inch of Dan to make sure no limbs were missing. I got Jason to curl up beside me, and when he was asleep, I carried him upstairs.

  Lucie had somehow managed to sleep through the whole encounter. She stirred slightly as I settled Jason into the bed next to her. I stayed with both of them until I heard the sound of heavy breathing. Their breathing settled me, and I could have watched them all night. But not this night.

  I left the door open and crept downstairs. Dan was ending a conversation I wanted to hear. Lurleen was hovering over him.

  “I’m putting him to bed,” Lurleen said. “Eddie can fill you in, and I’ll look after the kids.”

  “Thanks.”

  We heard them walk slowly up the stairs. I turned to Eddie. She looked exhausted.

  “It’s still a confusing story,” she said. “Dan spotted a car outside the house early in the morning. Marie Vanderling was sitting in the passenger seat. When he questioned her, she said she had to talk to Lurleen. When he started to look around for the driver, someone stuck a gun in his back and put a chloroformed cloth ove
r his face. That’s the last he remembers until he woke up at Sandler’s house tied up. Sandler said they wanted him out of the way before he messed things up. They monitored the call he made to us, and then they left him tied up in an upstairs closet. He heard the police but couldn’t get to them. When the police left, Tommy found him and untied him. Charlie Flack appeared from nowhere and brought him to our house.”

  “So Tommy is involved,” I said.

  “Flack had the gun. Dan still doesn’t know if it was aimed at Tommy or not. Tommy was focused on getting Flack to settle down. Flack was intent on getting the memory card. Before it was too late, he said.”

  I was sitting on the edge of the sofa. “Maybe our part is over,” I said and leaned back into the cushions. “We don’t have any more information. It’s all been taken. The police have the card. Flack has the computer.”

  “The police don’t have the card,” Eddie said. “I went up the food chain. Blakely hasn’t shown up at headquarters. No one can find him.”

  We saw the lights of the police car before we heard their knock. Two officers showed up at the door. “A neighbor heard a commotion,” one of them said.

  “We did have a break-in, but the perpetrators are gone. Dan Devalle is upstairs. He was held hostage but he’s back and safe. Captain Blakely knows all about it.”

  The first officer looked at the other. “Let me make a call.” He went outside and returned a minute later. “Captain Blakely says we can follow up in the morning since no one’s hurt.”

  “Thank you,” Eddie said. She showed them out. “Something’s not right,” she said. “No one knows where Blakely is, but these two reach him immediately. And Blakely says they don’t need to investigate tonight.”

  Eddie and I stayed put for the rest of the night with our guns close by. I dozed and woke with every unexpected sound. In the morning, we both showered before the kids got up and tried to look as if we hadn’t been awake all night. The guns were locked up in the gun cabinet before Lurleen and Lucie came down. Eddie took care of breakfast, while I checked on when I could pick up Mason.

  Dan slept until eight. I found Jason curled up in bed beside Lurleen and still asleep. As I stood there, Jason opened his eyes, smiled at me, and then closed them again. Maybe the night before would seem like a bad dream.