GRIPPED (Romance Mystery & Suspense Box Set)

by Abbott, Alex

  “Lily gave me his name. See if you can bring his address up online.”

  Ginger got her phone out and pecked away. “Okay, what’s his name?

  “Sam Pennington. I’m not sure of the spelling, but try it different ways and see what comes up.”

  “Sam Pennington, 143 Harris Avenue.”

  “That’s not far from here. Let’s go pay Sam a visit.”

  “Justin, do you think that’s wise? I mean maybe the police should speak to him first?”

  “I know what you’re saying is right Ginger, but I can’t just wait on them. I have to talk to him now.”

  But Justin would have to wait since Sam wasn’t home. He made some calls to his club. They were to have ‘church’ as soon as everyone made it back to the clubhouse.

  Lily stopped by Amy’s house and picked up Big Red and Aaron and brought them to the clubhouse that morning. Connor stopped by Red’s house and brought a change of clothes for him and another oxygen tank. Red used the oxygen 24/7 so he went through a lot of tanks.

  Lily made a breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast for Red and Aaron in the clubhouse kitchen, but neither ate.

  “You guys need to eat, especially you Red. You need to keep up your strength. Do it for Amy.”

  Red didn’t answer, just pushed his plate aside. He stood up and walked out of the kitchen into the clubhouse.

  “Well, at least you eat,” Lily said as she looked at Aaron. He picked up a piece of bacon and chewed on it. She ruffled his hair and walked out of the kitchen. Connor was coming in the clubhouse door carrying one of the oxygen tanks.

  “Hey Red, let me check the gauge on your tank, see if you need a new one.”

  The gauge read 50%. “I think you’re okay for a while.”

  Red didn’t say a word, just looked out the club window like he had done at Amy’s house.

  Connor walked over to Lily and said, “How’s he doing?”

  “Not good. He won’t eat or talk. I’m worried about him.”

  “Yeah, we all are. How are you holding up?”

  “Not good either,” Lily said as her eyes filled with tears. “What’s happened to her Connor?”

  Connor put his arms around her. “I don’t know babe, I just don’t know.”

  Justin and Ginger walked in the door. Lily quickly wiped her eyes with a tissue.

  “Is everyone here?” Justin asked.

  “Everyone but Merlin,” Connor replied.

  “I can’t wait on him. Let’s get started. Lily, would you mind keeping Ginger company until we’re done?”

  “Of course. Come with me Ginger. I just put on another pot of coffee. Would you like a cup?”

  “That would be wonderful.”

  Justin turned to Ginger and said, “I won’t be long.”

  “Take all the time you need.”

  Justin smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking into the meeting room. The rest of the guys filed in, leaving Big Red alone staring out the window. Aaron joined Red and started playing a game on his phone. If it keeps his mind occupied Ginger thought, it’s a good thing.

  Lily led Ginger into the kitchen where they sat at the long counter. Lily poured them both a cup of coffee and offered Ginger cream and sugar. The two made a little small talk and then Lily asked how Ginger and Justin were getting along.

  “I saw that peck on the cheek,” Lily said smiling.

  Ginger blushed. “Oh we barely know one another, but he seems very sweet. And of course good looking.”

  “Of course,” Lily laughed then sighed. “Wow, it feels good to laugh.”

  Suddenly her eyes filled with tears again. Ginger reached out and held Lily’s hand.

  “It’s been so hard to stay strong for everyone, even myself.” Lily began to cry.

  “Oh Lily, I’m so sorry. I know this must be hard for you too being her best friend.”

  “It is, but I don’t want to show my emotions around Big Red or Aaron.”

  “You can around me.” Ginger squeezed Lily’s hand.

  “Thank you. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold it in.”

  Ginger allowed Lily to have a good cry while she gathered some napkins for her to dry her tears. After a few minutes Lily said, “That felt good. I really needed to get that out of my system.”

  “I think tears are a woman’s way of relieving stress,” Ginger said, giving Lily a heartfelt smile.

  “I think you’re right,” Lily answered. She stood up and gave Ginger a hug.

  Ginger liked Lily right away. She filled her in on the morning’s activities. Stopping by the police department, the text message on Amy’s boss’s phone, and Sam Pennington.

  “He wasn’t home, but Justin wants to talk to him. I’m sure he’ll try again. Can you tell me more about Amy?”

  Lily proceeded to tell Ginger about her and Amy’s relationship. They’d been friends since high school. Although she knew Connor and Justin through Amy, Lily and Connor hadn’t started dating until a year ago.

  “Why did it take so long for you two lovebirds to finally get together?”

  “Well, I was married for about four years. It didn’t work out and we didn’t have kids so it was an amicable parting.”

  “Was Connor married before?”

  “No,” Lily said. “He says he was waiting on me. Honestly I never thought about dating Connor, he really wasn’t my type.”

  Ginger had wondered the same thing. Lily was beautiful with her clear blue eyes and blond hair whereas Connor was very average looking. Not that a plain looking guy couldn’t get a gorgeous girl like Lily, but they seemed so opposite. Conner never seemed to smile, yet Lily was always in a good humor. Connor seemed very possessive as well, always by Lily’s side with his hand on her. Oh well, maybe Lily liked it that way she thought.

  “So how did you two end up together?”

  “He basically wore me down.” Lily laughed. “He kept hounding me to go out with him after the divorce. I really didn’t want to. I mean I just wanted to be alone with no man in my life, but eventually I gave in. And he’s been very good to me.”

  Lily looked down at her engagement ring and twirled it around her finger.

  “Amy was helping me with the wedding, but only because I begged her to.”

  “What do you mean?” Ginger thought that to be strange. This was her best friend who was marrying and a man who was like a brother to her. Why wouldn’t she want to help?

  “Well, she was actually trying to talk me out of marrying Connor.”

  That threw Ginger for a loop. “Why would she do that?”

  “She just didn’t think we belonged together. I would try and ask her why but she’d never give me a cohesive answer. Everything was very vague, like she didn’t want to tell me something.”

  “That is odd.” Ginger thought it more than odd though. What did Amy know about Connor that she didn’t want to tell her best friend?

  Aaron walked into the kitchen and the girls changed the subject.

  “Could we order a pizza?” Aaron asked.

  “I knew you’d get hungry sooner or later,” Lily said. “Sure, I’ll make the call.

  *****

  Justin filled the WWMC in on what he learned that morning regarding Amy’s disappearance, including the text message received by her boss Mr. MacGregor. He also told them about Sam Pennington, the man Amy dated a few times, but who was still calling despite her desire not to see him anymore.

  “This whole thing with the Pennington dude is bothering me,” Justin remarked as he rotated the gavel around in his hand. “I don’t know anything about the guy except what Lily has told me, and she didn’t know much either. Only that he kept pestering Amy to go out although she’d already told him to get lost. Could he have snapped and taken her?”

  “I don’t want to think that, but it’s starting to look like someone has taken her,” Conner replied. “I think we need to look at all possibilities right now because time is getting away from us.”

&
nbsp; “I agree,” Trigger chimed in. Trigger was one of the old school club members. He was 53 with a shock of grey hair and a mustache to match. He wasn’t tall, but he was solid. He could take on any young guy in the club and knock the shit out of them. They all knew it and gave him the respect he deserved. But he could also fly off the cuff at a moment’s notice, so his moniker suited him well.

  “I say we pay Mr. Pennington a visit and find out what he knows about Amy’s disappearance,” Connor said.

  “I already stopped there this morning. He’s not home.”

  “Do we know where he works or any other particulars?” Trigger asked.

  “No we don’t,” Justin answered. “I’m trying to lay somewhat low. The police have already told me to let them handle it.”

  “That’s bullshit,” spouted Trig. “They don’t have the man power for a full on search. What do they expect? For us to just sit on our balls?”

  “They can fuck that all to hell,” raged Trick as he twisted in his seat towards Justin. Trick was skinny, but light on his feet. He was young and stubborn, ready to blow at a moment’s notice. He and Trigger made quite the duo. Fortunately for Justin, the rest of the WWMC were level headed. While they didn’t take guff from no one, they also didn’t go off half cocked either. Normally Merlin, the voice of reason could always talk them down, but he was late to the meeting.

  “Listen,” Trick said, brushing his black hair out of his eyes. “I say we pay Pennington a visit and if he isn’t home we just let ourselves in. What if he’s holding Amy in there?”

  Justin winced. Now it was out there. They’d all been thinking it but no one until now had come out and said it. The churning in his stomach escalated, allowing the full blown knowledge of the gravity of the situation to sink in. As much as he didn’t want to, he had to let it in and consume him. The fact was, he might never see his sister again.

  The meeting room door opened and Merlin walked in. “Sorry I’m late. I distributed some of the flyers on the outskirts of town.”

  Merlin sat down in one of the empty chairs. He was tall and lanky, in his mid forties with salt and pepper hair. He was the anchor of the club, providing reason where none could be found.

  “We’re discussing our next move,” Justin explained. “The guy Amy was seeing didn’t like taking no for an answer. He should be next on our list but he wasn’t at home earlier.”

  “Like I was telling the group, I think it’s time we pay him another visit and if he isn’t home, go in anyway. Amy could be in there,” Trick insisted.

  “Well that sounds like a sound plan,” Merlin scoffed. “So how much use are you going to be to Amy locked in county for breaking or entering?”

  Trick leaned back in his chair. “So you got a better plan?”

  “I don’t think we should all go. A bunch of burly bikers on his doorstep won’t loosen his lips.”

  “It might show him we mean business,” Trigger added.

  “Yeah, but we don’t know this guy from Adam. Better to walk softly and scope him out first. We come in guns a blazing he’ll shut down tighter than a virgin on prom night.”

  “Fine,” Trigger said. “Let’s do it your way first.”

  “I agree with Merlin.” Justin told the group. “We need to use our brains not our emotions on this. We don’t want to do anything that could jeopardize Amy’s life.”

  Trick and Trigger nodded. They knew what Merlin and Justin said made sense. It was just hard for them to sit back when one of their own might be in harm’s way.

  “I’ll take care of Sam Pennington. The rest of you continue the search.” With that Justin adjourned the meeting.

  The group filed out of the meeting room. Five pizza boxes sat on one of the tables in the clubhouse. The guys gobbled down a few slices before heading out on their bikes. Aaron sat at a table with Lily and Ginger slowly eating his pepperoni and cheese.

  “Hey buddy, how’s it going?” Justin said as he sat down at the table.

  “Okay I guess.”

  Ginger’s heart hurt for the boy. She knew what it was like to lose a parent. When she got the news that her parents were both killed in an auto accident, her world spun out of control. She was orphaned at a young age by a cruel twist of fate. Since she was an only child she had no one to share her grief with. Ginger’s extended family lived half way across the country and were basically strangers to her. Her friends helped all they could, but they didn’t understand the pain and misery she was feeling by losing the closest two people in the world to her. How much worse it must be for Aaron. At least Ginger knew what happened to her parents. The uncertainty of this situation was torture. She was glad Aaron had a strong support system. But she also worried about Big Red. He wasn’t eating or talking. She doubted if he was sleeping much either. The caring side of Ginger, the part that wanted to help make things better for people felt so useless. She wasn’t sure how to help, but anything Justin needed, she would be there.

  “Aaron, when you get finished eating, why don’t you check out a new game on my computer.”

  “You don’t like me messing with your computer.”

  “Not my work computer, but I bought a laptop last week and it’s just for fun.”

  “Cool…okay.”

  Justin got up from the table and motioned Ginger and Lily to follow him. Aaron continued chewing on his pizza slice.

  “Lily, if you don’t mind, take care of Aaron and Red for me. And have the prospects do the work in the auto shop.”

  “No problem. That computer game should keep Aaron busy and I’ll try and get Big Red to eat something.”

  “Thanks hon,” Justin said giving her a quick hug.

  He turned to Ginger and said, “Would you mind coming with me out to Pennington’s place again?”

  “Whatever I can do to help,” Ginger said sliding into her jacket.

  Justin couldn’t help himself. He took her head gently in his hands and kissed her lips softly. Ginger was surprised, especially him kissing her in front of several club members. But it felt right. She didn’t understand the warm feeling in her chest as she’d never felt it before meeting Justin. Was this how true love felt? How could it happen this soon? Maybe it was intuition or the merging of two souls that always knew they should be together?

  A jumble of thoughts ran through Ginger’s head as they walked out the door. She hoped her instinct was right and that she’d finally met a bona fide match. However, her intuition was about to be put to the test.

  *****

  When Justin and Ginger pulled into Sam Pennington’s driveway, they noticed a vehicle that wasn’t there before.

  “Well, it looks like somebody’s home,” Justin said as he pulled into the driveway.

  “Hopefully it’s his vehicle and we can get some answers,” Ginger replied as she opened the door to get out of the SUV.

  The house was located in the older part of town, where most of the homes were inhabited by people with little means. However, the outside of Sam Pennington’s home wasn’t in disarray like those surrounding his. It was well kept, with a curved sidewalk leading to the front porch. Hanging plants surrounded the porch. The vines stranded down from the decorative painted clay pots. The porch itself was surrounded by green shrubs and ornamental grasses. Someone painstakingly took care of the landscaping.

  They could hear banging as they approached the front door. Justin knocked hard on the door so he could be heard over what sounded like hammering. The noise stopped and a few seconds later the door opened.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Are you Sam Pennington?” Justin inquired.

  “Yes I am. What can I do for you?”

  Sam Pennington was shorter than Justin had imagined. Actually Justin wasn’t sure what he would look like. He had brown hair and what looked like the beginning stages of a receding hairline. His pock mocked face revealed a person who fought acme scars, likely from puberty. He wore an old black t-shirt and pants that were streaked with white paint and brown s
awdust.

  “Do you know Amy Taylor?”

  “Why yes I do. Is there anything wrong?”

  Justin thought it strange Sam would automatically jump to that conclusion.

  “She’s gone missing--since yesterday morning. No one’s seen her. I’m her brother Justin and this is my friend Ginger. We heard you’d been dating her?”

  “Only a couple of times. Here, come in,” Sam said as he backed into the living room of his home to allow Justin and Ginger to enter.

  “I’m sorry for the mess,” Sam said as he moved tarps and paint cans out of the way. “I’ve been doing a bit of renovating. This is an old home and it’s needed some updating.”

  Ginger and Justin stood just inside the door. “So when was the last time you talked to Amy?”

  “Gosh, it’s been a few weeks I believe. You say she went missing yesterday?”

  “Yes,” Justin answered. “Her son was the last person to see her before he headed off to school.”

  “Well if I hear from her I’ll be sure to let you know.”

  Justin felt the guy was trying to usher them back out the door already. What was he hiding? Justin wasn’t about to let the guy take the lead.

  “So you say you’re remodeling the place?” Justin stepped into the living room and headed towards the back of the house. Ginger stood in the same spot, not sure whether to follow Justin or not. Sam hurried after Justin.

  “I wouldn’t go in there. You might get sawdust all over you,” Sam said to Justin’s back.

  But Justin wasn’t deterred. He walked into the kitchen which was entirely gutted. Justin looked around the room and noticed a hammer lying on the sub floor amid the tattered remains of what was once plaster board. There was something red on the handle. Justin leaned over and picked the hammer up by the opposite end. The red liquid, now partly dry, appeared to be blood.

  Before Sam knew it, Justin grabbed him by the shirt collar and threw him against the doorframe. Sam yelled out as his head made contact with the wood frame. Ginger ran towards the two.