Baby Brother Blues (Sammy Dick, PI Series: Book 1)

by Trudi Baldwin

  As we rode along through the desert, I unlatched the saddlebag, pulled out my cell phone and snapped a shot of Delilah. She looked like a clothed Lady Godiva of the Country Circuit. As usual, Cloud was being a gentleman and leading the way through the desert underbrush. I handed my cell to Delilah who snapped me in my cute little bandanna-fringed outfit. They would have been great pics for Facebook, but then they’d also be evidence of breaking and entering, not the smartest move in the private eye handbook.

  Delilah guided Cloud up beside me and handed the phone back. I circled the reins around the saddle horn and texted the photos to Geo. We figured he’d get a kick out of them, and even if he didn’t, we got a kick out of sending them. We came upon an erosion wash and reined the horses down the uneven slope into the bed. When we came up the other side, we’d reached the back of Zaiid’s property. We could see his home almost like a mirage towering up through the wavering desert heat.

  I wanted to scout out the back of the property in case we needed to make a quick exit of some kind. We rode along the outside of his fence. As far as we could tell, there were no other entries into Zaiid’s acreage other than the front gate. Not a soul stirred on the property. His stucco brown, monolithic fortress just sat there, frying quietly in the desert sun. The temperature was rising quickly; both Delilah and I were sweating in our cowgirl outfits already.

  We followed the edge of the spearhead fence first south then east, all the way around to the front gate. The front gate soared a good fifteen feet in the air with a heavy stone arch curving over the entry like a testosterone rainbow. Here is where I’d test Freedom Rings. We looked around again, not a soul in sight, so I dismounted, took the plastic instrument, shaped suspiciously like a TV remote control, and aimed it at the locking device on the gate. I had to stand right next to the operating box to get any reaction out of the device. When I pressed it, the button gleamed a disquieting red. Nothing. Seconds passed, then it shifted to yellow. Then, wonder of wonders, it gleamed a bright, inviting green. Freedom Rings! Something clicked in the gate mechanism and the heavy, wrought-iron barrier shifted slowly open, giving us a clear shot at the house.

  “Hot damn,” I muttered, “It works. Now that’s scary. Let’s hurry before the Swann Company tour ends,” I said as I swung back up on The Big Easy.

  “I thought you said we had hours of safe time?”

  “We do. We do. I’m just being my usual cautious self.”

  “Yeah, right!” Delilah snorted. “Sammy, you don’t even know how to spell cautious. You’d better not be getting us into deep shit like you always do.”

  “Always, is a strong term, Delilah; it’s more like once in a blue moon.”

  “It’s more like fairly often and it only takes one blue moon to land us in jail, or worse, get us killed!”

  “Since when have I gotten us killed?” I laughed, but quieted down when I realized Delilah wasn’t really laughing along with me. We guided our horses under the arch, looking all around for signs of life.

  Luckily, Delilah was instantly distracted as soon as we entered. “Look, Sammy, stables!” Delilah was kind of whispering as she pointed to the south of Karl’s property.

  Sure enough, eight or so covered stables filled with horses lined the south side of Zaiid’s property. Desert shade trees surrounded the stables’ perimeter, so they’d been obscured from our vision before. Ignoring our primary mission, Delilah and I immediately trotted our horses over to check out the stables. Every single horse was an appaloosa, and a prime example of one, too.

  “Wow! An appie breeder!” I crowed. “Karl’s got at least one redeeming trait.”

  “These are fine looking animals. Look at this one, Sammy, a stallion,” Delilah chimed in. “Maybe you’re suspecting the wrong guy?”

  Neither Delilah nor I could imagine someone who breeds horses being all that bad. We both guided ours near the stallion who started to snort and buck about in his pen to show his dominance as our horses approached. He wore an expensive leather halter. A brass nameplate adhered to the nose band. I guided Easy even closer to try and read the stud’s name. Perfect Storm. Sweet name, Karl!

  By this time, Perfect Storm was bucking and snorting to beat the band in an effort to protect his own turf. He had the white-rimmed eyes that were typical of the appie breed. They made him look a little crazy, and we backed off. The classic bright white, black-spotted leopard markings were splashed across his rump, while the rest of his coat was pitch black and glossy. A magnificent specimen.

  “You’re right, Delilah. It’s hard to imagine someone with this much interest in horses being that bad of a guy, but that’s what we’re here to find out. I really don’t know who the quote, unquote, bad guy is yet anyway, or if there even is one. Geo and I don’t have enough evidence to get a solid lead. It’s just like if you met this Karl dude, you’d suspect him too, right after the first handshake.”

  “He had ya at hello, huh?” Delilah giggled. “Well, let’s quit lolligaggin’ around the appies and check out the property, so we can get the hell out of here pronto and quit breakin’ the law!”

  “You’re even startin’ to talk just like a country gal, Delilah! Let’s tie up the horses behind the house so they’re hidden from view in case someone drives in, and then let’s see what we can see.” We reined the horses around to the west side of the house where some mature acacia trees stood and tied the horses to the branches. By now it was getting really hot and the cowgirl outfits, wigs and Stetson hats were becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

  I stepped back and surveyed my horse. I wasn’t so sure that The Big Difficulty wouldn’t rear back and bust his reins at the slightest provocation, but a country girl’s got to do what she’s got to do. I told him to be a good boy. He rolled his eyes at me and Delilah and I pivoted on our high-heeled, kick-ass cowboy boots and headed toward the front door of the house. I tried not to limp because my boots were so tight.

  The closer we got to the front door, the more I could feel the adrenaline course through me. I grabbed some latex gloves from my fanny pack and pulled them on.

  At this point, true to form, Delilah balked, “I thought you said we were just going to peek in the house?”

  “We are just going to peek in the house, Delilah. From the inside, though. With Karl gone, this is just too opportune a time to ignore.”

  “Sammy, what if he comes home while we’re in there? What would we do then?”

  “It’s not gonna happen. Do you know how far away the Swann office is from here? It’s only ten in the morning now. It’s an hour drive in and an hour drive back. There’s no way the tour’s already over. Besides, you know they’ll offer the clients lunch.”

  “Sammy, I’m uncomfortable enough with trespassin’. I never signed up for breakin’ and enterin’.”

  I noticed Delilah hadn’t lost the country drawl. That was a good sign! She was still in character, as it were, so there was hope for talkin’ her through the door.

  “Delilah, look, it’ll just be for a minute or two, and we’re completely in disguise. I don’t even know if the Freedom Rings device will work on the front door. Let’s just give it a try and then when it doesn’t work, we’ll head on home after a nice ride in the desert.”

  Delilah still looked resistant. Time to lay it on thick. “If you don’t want to do it for me, how about for Geo? We just got the biggest check of our lives yesterday, and we need more of them. Geo’s got huge student loans hangin’ over his head. And next Friday, when it’s paycheck time again, our clients want genuine evidence. How can Geo and I get genuine evidence in that short time without taking a few minor risks?”

  As I slathered on my reasoning to Delilah, I was simultaneously edging us closer and closer to the front door. As we neared the front of the house, I could see security cameras aimed at the entryway.

  “Look, Delilah. Just one teensy, weensy test of Geo’s new device and then we’re outta here. But keep your head down so that our faces are obscured by the brims of
our cowboy hats from the security cameras.”

  “Oh, fine, Sammy! Just what I want, to be captured forever on Karl Zaiid’s security videos, while I’m in the act of breaking and entering.”

  Oops, she’d lost her country girl twang. Time to get in and out fast. “No worries, girl. That’s why we have our disguises on. Also, let’s not call each other by name once we get in the house, just in case it’s bugged or something. Karl seems like a sneaky dude. But don’t worry, I doubt this device will even work on Karl’s front door.”

  Even though I was talking big to calm Delilah down, by the time we actually stood under the twelve-foot arched entry and I started pointing Freedom Rings toward the security mechanism, my adrenaline was spiking at a fever pitch. The huge colas we’d downed and Reese’s we’d gobbled up weren’t helping either. Seconds passed again, then, bing, Freedom Rings! With the security temporarily disarmed, I slipped out my lock pick, fiddled around for an apprehensive minute or two, and then we were in! I gently swung open the door and grabbed Delilah’s green satiny arm and dragged her in behind me. Our cowboy boots clacked loudly in the tiled entry. I turned and pulled the door closed behind us.

  Now my adrenaline was surging like a burst dam rushing through my veins. The expansive foyer was dark and cool. We decided to leave the lights off, if, by some horrible off chance that Zaiid returned unexpectedly. It had taken us longer than planned to situate the horse trailer. Even more time had elapsed when we’d stopped to admire the appaloosas, but then, who wouldn’t?

  “Doesn’t feel like anyone is here,” whispered Delilah.

  “Thank God,” I gushed with feeling.

  “What exactly are we looking for?”

  “Haven’t got a clue, but I’ll know it when I see it,” I said confidently.

  “You’re not improving my comfort level. That is, if I ever had a comfort level to begin with, which I didn’t. Sammy, this is another one of your harebrained schemes that could get us in big trouble, so let’s hurry up before I run out and ride my pony home.”

  “Okay, okay. Come on. Let’s see if we can find something that looks like an office, or at least something that looks like genuine evidence.”

  We turned down a wide hallway. All the floors were paved with gigantic beige tiles. Inlaid southwestern mosaic patterns broke up the monotony of the solid tile floor. Zaiid ran the air conditioning at nearly freezing temperatures and the tiles held the coldness. A sunburst pattern of tiny mosaic pieces embellished the foyer floor, and the doorway to each room was marked by a band of darker brown mosaic in the tile. Very classy. The ceilings were about twelve to twenty feet high, depending upon the room.

  We glided down the halls as silently as possible, trying not to make clacking noises on the tile in our kick-ass boots. We looked into each room. The ultra-cold air conditioning felt great. The foyer gave way to an immense living room with twenty-foot-high ceilings and towering windows set one after another all along the back. But rather than look out at the awesome desert view, Zaiid had made a courtyard completely enclosed with soaring stone walls, like a secret garden. Within this secluded courtyard, a fountain flowed down into a small pond where desert flowers, strange looking cacti, and other blooming plants flourished. The tall walls of the courtyard truncated the desert light into a half cast. For me, at least, the effect was beautiful, but eerie and secretive.

  Delilah and I had both stopped in our tracks at the entrance to the living room, mesmerized by the interior garden. Then a body darted out from behind one of the rocks by the fountain. Delilah screamed. I grabbed her and made the shush sign with my latex-gloved index finger pressed to my lips, never taking my eyes off the secret garden.

  The darting body was an iguana. What looked to me like a huge iguana, for as much as I knew about iguanas. Four to five feet long and at least two feet high from its spiky front toes to its spiky head. It darted straight toward the glass, separating us from him and bonked his head against the glass. Delilah screamed again.

  “Delilah! I whispered. “Shut up. Your screams are infuriating and confusing him.”

  “He can’t possibly be more infuriated and confused than I am by now,” Delilah hissed back.

  We both just stood and stared at the giant lizard that kept bonking his head against the glass and darting his tongue in and out at us. A green tint covered most of his body, but his head was a reddish, ruddy color. Long spines stuck out of his back from his head to the end of his slashing tail. Strange ear-like things jutted out from each side of his head. He’d cock his eye at us and then bash his head against the window again. He had a waggly bunch of skin hanging down from his chin like a rooster or my Grandpa, only much longer, waggier and worse than Grandpa’s. Also the waggly thing was red, too, in some sexually suggestive way. Maybe it was mating season.

  “Let’s move on, Delilah, out of his eyesight before he kills himself bonking his head on the glass.”

  Just then the unspeakable happened! We heard the sound of the front door opening and male voices in the hall.

  “Fuck!” whispered Delilah uncharacteristically.

  “Double fuck. Maybe even triple fuck!” I whispered back, somewhat characteristically.

  “Now what?” Delilah’s narrowed eyes met mine. A mix of fury and fear were sparking like lightning in her huge brown eyes.

  I tried to rapidly calculate our next move. We had no idea of the rest of the house’s layout, so I beckoned Delilah to follow me. I scurried into the nearest room that looked a lot like the Master Bedroom. On the far side of the gigantic room, tall sliding mirrors appeared to enclose some kind of closet. I clacked across the floor as quietly as possible in my too-tight boots, gingerly slid open the doors and yanked Delilah by her cowgirl belt in behind me. Then I slid the door closed as silently as possible.

  Not a moment too soon. The male voices alternated between raucous, guttural and soft, teasing sounds. Uh-oh, an uneasy, sinking feeling began to twist in my gut. My instincts told me those were pre-sex sounds and my instincts were almost never wrong. Well, only about 20% of the time, but I wasn’t the type to keep track. Others were. Like Delilah, for instance.

  She stood beside me, shivering with fear. Luckily for us, the closet we were in was large enough for raising several third-world children. Plus, it had an alcove at the back which didn’t seem to make much sense architecturally, but it made blindingly good sense at the moment. I grabbed Delilah’s shaking hand and scooted us back toward the rear of the massive closet. When we got there, we found that it harbored a finely polished wooden ladder with a four-wheel base. Zaiid must use it for accessing the high shelves of the closet that soared to the same heights as the bedroom. No matter, I shoved the ladder out of the way and pulled Delilah in with me. Then I quietly rolled the ladder back in front of us. A poor excuse for cover, but it’d have to do.

  The male voices grew louder and closer. Sweat popped out all through my scalp under my Stetson. I pulled Delilah behind me further into the alcove. Her hand was cold as death, even through the latex gloves.

  I recognized both male voices. One, of course, was Karl’s—deep and dominant. The other was a soft, teasing voice. Most definitely belonged to Liang. Even in my fear, my interest grew. However horrifying the situation I find myself in, it’s hard to douse my curiosity. What were they saying? I strained to hear through the mirrored doors.

  “I’m so glad you faked the stomach virus, so I could offer to escort you home,” Karl murmured in a husky voice.

  “And a fine escort you are, but you’ll find I’m even better,” Liang sang back seductively.

  Oh shit, I thought, we might be at the quadruple fuck stage of the game, and I mean literally. Still I strained to hear more.

  “Today, I want to show you my deep, and I do mean deep, appreciation for all the subterfuge you’ve been playing with your father. I know you take risks for me all the time and right now I’m going to extend my gratitude to you in every possible way.”

  Zaiid drew out the words deep an
d extend, imbuing them with obvious sexual undertones. I could hear Liang giggling in response, almost licking the air in his desire to win approval from the powerful Zaiid.

  “I just met again with Dad and the stakes have grown even higher. The largest run of all will be a week from Monday, and I expect a reward in return from you, sweet Karl, of immense proportion,” drooled Liang passionately.

  I detected the sound of their shoes dropping on the floor and zippers unzipping. Oh my God! Still, I wanted to hear more, and besides, what else was I going to do, given the situation we were in?

  “Just a few more runs, dear boy, and we’re out of here. Perhaps we retire together to Thailand where we can play out our days, uninhibited by family, or work, where we would have to kiss up to some fucking boss.” Karl crooned the first part of this retort, but he was almost growling by the end, his voice a strange mixture of lust topped with pent-up rage.

  Karl’s voice continued. “And you will be my little slave boy, starting today. I have some handcuffs, and a whip, and so much more in the closet, so prepare yourself for the ride of your life. You shall fulfill my every whim!”

  Oh, pentuple fuck! Maybe it was pentangle fuck! Or whatever the highest level of “you’re fucked” is called, I thought as the closet door slid open. We could hear Karl making his way towards us. We shrank back as far as we possibly could into the little alcove. I noticed that there was a small shelf over our heads. Oh, please, please don’t let that be the sex toys shelf, I prayed.