by Joanne Pence
“Sandy himself,” Marta answered. “Your questions made him curious. He started his own investigation and quickly turned to the Sandorista scholarship account. It was an account he rarely, if ever, checked on. Why should he? We were long-time, trusted members, so of course we handled it for him.”
Henry jumped in. “Sandy wanted to know who was getting the scholarships, and how the money was being used. After we heard Sandy started questioning people, we waited outside his condo for him to get home. We stopped him as he was pulling into his garage, sounding contrite and saying we needed to talk. He had us enter the garage and ride up to his condo with him on the private elevator.”
“So no one knew you were there,” Rebecca said.
“Marta’s Spirit Guide had warned her he was suspicious, even ready to go to you, Rebecca, with his accusations. We had to stop him. And we did.”
“So why didn’t you stop with Sandy’s death?” Rebecca asked.
“Because we’ll need money. With Sandy’s death, there’d be no more Sandoristas, which meant no more money coming in for us. So we decided to kill two—or more—birds with one stone, so to speak. Get Marta’s inheritance, and get rid of everyone who might realize we were behind this, namely, Lucian and ‘Thelma and Louise’ there.”
“What inheritance?” Richie asked.
“The Bruckmann gold. It’s hidden here, somewhere. It’s ironic that we told Sandy about this place, expecting he would get the ghost to tell him where the gold was hidden. But he couldn’t even get her to appear to him—he only said he did. And then, he decided to do a TV special about her and the gold. Once that happened, we knew we’d have treasure hunters from all over the country sneaking in to try to find the gold.”
“But Sandy said the Bruckmann gold was just a local myth, a fairy tale,” Rebecca stated. “People have searched for it for years, and no one has ever found it.”
“That’s what Sandy thought, but we know it’s real.” Henry gloated as he announced, “Marta’s mother was Inga Bruckmann, the ghost’s daughter. Her father, Gunter, did survive the trip out to the sea that day. He wasn’t far out from the pier when he saw the skiff start taking in water, and then understood just how crazy his wife was. The only thing he loved about his life in Falls Meadow was his child. He made it ashore and took his daughter away with him. All that’s known is that, eventually, they ended up living in Sacramento. The wife went nuts. What a vengeance, don’t you think?”
“Supposedly, Gunter told Inga where the gold was hidden, but by the time Marta learned that the bizarre stories about her family were true, it was too late. Inga had developed dementia. Anyway, when we saw that those two women have a gift that’s even stronger than Sandy’s. Marta’s spirit guide told her what we had to do.”
“The energy in this room is wonderful,” Marta said. “Two scared older women, a younger man worried about his mother, a woman who’s in love with him worried about him. This is exactly what we need.”
“You’re wrong about one assumption,” Rebecca said.
Richie’s eyebrows went up. “That’s the only thing you have to say about all this?”
Rebecca frowned at him.
Henry chortled. “What’s happening here reminds me of the poison dart frog and how when they get scared they secrete a poison so deadly it can’t be legally transported, but for those of us who have traveled a lot in our youth, you’d be surprised at what we’ve managed to get our hands on and to bring home.”
“I don’t care how much you travel,” Rebecca said. “You can’t easily transport that kind of poison.”
“Who said it was easy? I may have been ‘just’ a high school science teacher, but each summer I could take two months off to travel around the world with my dear wife. I learned some amazing things over time.”
“Enough of all that,” Marta said, her patience gone. “It’s time for the six of us to hold a séance, to put the energy here to good purpose. Together, we’re going to get my grandmother to tell me where the gold is.”
“Why would she want to tell you anything?” Carmela asked. “You’re a terrible person! A killer! She should strike you dead!”
“I can feel her presence,” Marta claimed. “She’s waiting to speak to me.”
“Waiting to disown you,” Carmela muttered.
“Marta, you hold the gun to the mother’s head while I tie up these two,” Henry said. He had Richie sit on a chair between Carmela and Geri, and situated Rebecca between him and Marta.
He tied their torsos to the back and seat of their chairs, leaving their arms and hands free and then did the same with Carmela and Geri. He needed all of them to be able to hold hands in a circle.
Next, he lit three candles and put them in the center of the table, then shut the door and, since it was only three o’clock in the afternoon, he drew the drapes to make the room as dark as possible for the séance.
He and Marta took their places at the table. “Breathe in, everyone. Focus on the candles, and now breathe out,” Henry said. “Breathe slowly. In … out. Focus.”
Marta blew out the first candle.
“Take each other’s hands,” she said, “and be sure not to let go, no matter what happens.”
She blew out the second candle. “Shut your eyes and relax,” she ordered, in a hushed voice.
Carmela snorted.
“Come, Astrid!” Marta called. “Come to us!”
“You’re going to die,” Carmela said, “and I don’t need spirits to tell me that.”
“Come spirit! Astrid Bruckmann, it’s me, your granddaughter Marta calling you. I need your help. I need to find the gold. Help me, please.”
Nothing happened. Marta leaned forward and blew out the last candle. The room was now completely black except for a scant amount of light seeping in at the top edge of the heavy red drapes.
Marta repeated her plea. Again, all remained silent.
Richie’s eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, and he could make out some images.
Marta called even louder. “We welcome you, Astrid Bruckmann. Give us a sign you’re here.”
Richie slowly slid his and Carmela’s joined hands under the edge of the table top.
“Come, Astrid, Grandmother. Are you here?”
Richie lifted the table ever so slightly, let go, and quickly put their hands back in place on top.
Geri shrieked, so did Marta.
“What was that?” Carmela asked.
“Don’t let go!” Marta shouted. “Maintain the circle.”
Henry looked suspiciously around. “That didn’t sound like any ghost,” he said.
“Sound?” Geri said. “I didn’t hear nothing. But I kind of felt something.”
“Me, too,” Carmela said.
“Be quiet, Henry,” Marta said. “Those two are good. They feel her. Astrid is near.”
“But I felt the whole table move,” Henry said, clearly annoyed.
“Quiet, everyone. Breathe again, in unison. In … out,” Marta said. “Is that you, Astrid? Are you with us?”
Silence.
“Come, spirit! I know you’re here.”
Again, nothing. Marta and Henry squeezed their eyes shut. Richie felt Marta’s hand tighten so much on his he was surprised she had so much strength.
“Please, Grandmother!” Marta was all but begging. “Please tell me where the gold is! I need to know so I can escape. We need a way to live once we’re out of the country.”
“I’m here, child,” a deep, breathless but ethereal voice called out.
Richie squinted, trying to see in the darkness. He was pretty sure the words had come from Geri. It seemed she had her head tossed back.
“Grandmother, is it you?” Marta’s voice quavered.
“Yes.” The voice was eerily different from Geri’s. This voice was higher and even lilting. “I didn’t know I had a granddaughter. Why didn’t you ever come to visit me?”
“I didn’t know about you, or I would have,” Marta cried. “I’m so s
orry! My mother never told me. She believed you wanted to kill her.”
“I never wanted to kill my own daughter.”
“I know you didn’t, Grandmother. Please tell me, where is the gold?”
“Leave it, and leave here. Danger is coming for you. Run, my dear.”
“I’m not going anywhere without the gold, dammit!”
“You will not blaspheme in this house. Leave now.”
“Look.” Marta sounded peeved. “This is important to me. Now that you’ve learned you didn’t kill your husband and daughter, you can go on to wherever ghosts go. You don’t need to hang around this house anymore. That should be worth something to you, right? So how about you tell me where the gold is. One favor for another. Tit for tat, and all that. Okay?”
There was a long silence, and then the high, sing-song voice said, “It’s buried behind the barn.”
“Barn?” Marta repeated. “Grandmother, there is no barn here.”
“How could your great-grandfather run a dairy without a barn?”
“Oh,” Marta said. “Henry, it must have been torn down. But a barn wouldn’t be too far from the house. You’ll have to find it.”
“What if she’s not telling you the truth?” Henry said.
“Why wouldn’t she?” Marta asked.
“You don’t believe me,” Geri cried, still with her high, squeaky voice. “You’re just like your grandfather! He never believed me either. I’m going.”
“No! Wait.”
“Good-bye.”
“Grandmother! Astrid!”
Silence.
They all dropped their hands.
Henry pushed back the drapes to let sunlight into the room.
Marta glared at her husband. “Henry, you idiot!”
“All I wanted was some proof,” he said.
“Yes, and you got my grandmother pissed off at us. Now go out there and find that barn.”
“How am I supposed to know where it used to be?”
“Look for old boards, or maybe where the ground seems different from what’s around it. How the hell should I know?”
He shook his head. “Maybe I need to get rid of them first. We don’t need them anymore.”
Richie and Rebecca eyed each other, trying to come up with something to stop them.
Marta stood up, her gun in hand. “What if it’s hard to dig, or there’s so much gold you need help loading it? We might need his help.” She thrust her chin towards Richie. “Threaten to torture Momma, and he’ll do whatever we want.”
Henry nodded. “Good thinking.”
“There’s a shed on the far side of the house,” Marta said. “It probably has some tools in there. Maybe a pick or a shovel you can use.”
“Great.” Henry grumbled his way out of the house.
Richie waited, shaking his head at Rebecca so she wouldn’t try anything foolish. Before long, they heard what sounded like a pick striking hard ground over and over.
“I guess he found where the barn used to be,” Marta said with a smile. Seeing that her charges were docile, she took a seat, still holding the gun on them.
Richie caught Rebecca’s eyes. He looked down at the table top, then up at her. She gave a small smile and nod.
With that, he put his hands on the edge of the table, and then stood as much as he was able to while tied to the chair. Rebecca did the same and together, in one quick motion, they lifted the table top, tipping it onto its side as they pushed it forward into Marta. The table knocked her backwards off her chair. She fired the gun, but the shot went wild. Her head hit the wall behind her, and the table landed on top of her legs.
At the same time, Richie slammed the legs of the chair he was tied to against a wall, splintering the old, dry wood on impact. The loosened ropes all but slid off his body.
He picked up the gun Marta had dropped as she fell, and then untied the knot at Rebecca’s back and helped her pull off the ropes. He gave the gun to Rebecca.
The sound of the pick had stopped and they both expected Henry to either come in or to shoot at them through the window.
Rebecca stood ready to fire if needed as Richie untied his mother and Geri, and then tied up Marta. Marta was dazed and crying with pain, saying her kneecaps had been smashed when the table fell onto them.
They ignored her.
All remained quiet outside.
“I’m going after Henry,” Rebecca said. “You keep Carmela and Geri safe.”
“They’ll be fine waiting here. I’ll be right behind you.”
“No, Richie!” Carmela cried.
“She’s not going out there alone.” He aimed his words at Carmela, but knew they also told Rebecca not to waste her breath arguing.
Rebecca stood next to the dining room door, Richie at her side. She reached out and opened the door a little ways. She saw no movement or any change in the parlor. She opened the door wider and took a better look, then glanced back at Richie with a nod. The room was empty.
Slowly, her gun leading the way, Rebecca crossed the room. Richie looked around as he followed, and even peeked out the window. He saw and heard nothing.
He wondered if Henry had run, leaving Marta behind.
As Rebecca edged her way to the front door, Richie stayed near the wall at her side.
She opened the door. When nothing happened, and no sound was heard, she slowly crept onto the front porch, looking over her shoulders and all around.
Richie inched towards the side of the house, then froze. A black Maserati sports car was parked under some trees. He took Rebecca’s arm and nudged her closer to him. “Look.”
They both peered around the corner of the house.
“What the hell?” she said as she lowered the gun.
Vito, holding a pick in his hand, stood near Henry. Henry look like a stick figure alongside Vito’s girth. Shay sat on an ancient barrel with his Smith and Wesson aimed at Henry.
“It’s about time,” Richie said, strolling off the porch and out to meet them. “I expected you a lot earlier.”
“My biggest problem was to make sure I didn’t blow past you on the highway.” Shay nodded towards his sports car. “We didn’t want anyone watching to know you weren’t alone.”
“You could have come inside and helped,” Richie said.
“What, you couldn’t take care of one little old lady by yourself?” Vito asked.
Richie just shook his head and went to get Carmela and Geri. Rebecca, he saw, was already heading inland, trying to pick up a signal on her cell phone to call the local authorities.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Thank goodness I can go home soon,” Carmela said as she got into the ambulance with Geri. The paramedics insisted they be checked out by a doctor in the hospital after their harrowing experiences, although both women knew they were just fine.
“You two really had them going,” Richie said with a smile. “They believed you could communicate with spirits.”
“You think we were joking?” Carmela asked, her expression serious.
Richie looked so stunned, Carmela and Geri both laughed at him for being taken so easily.
“Actually, I wanted to tell them the gold was in the outhouse,” Geri said, “but I didn’t think I could do it without laughing.” She and Carmela now guffawed so hard they almost did need hospitalization. “We ‘connected with spirits’ the same way during séances, once we saw how they worked. We were afraid they’d realize we were faking, but they never questioned us at all.”
“That’s the trouble with people who believe in any new crackpot thing that comes along,” Carmela said. “They’re easy to convince.”
“I decided to send Henry outside to get him away from Marta,” Geri added. “I knew once they were separated, and Richie and Rebecca didn’t need to spend all their time worrying about us, we’d get through this.”
“Girl power,” Carmela said and the two high-fived. But then she faced Rebecca and Richie. “We also want to apologize to both of you.”
“No need,” Rebecca said. “You didn’t do this on purpose.”
“In a sense, we did. Oh, not that we planned to get kidnapped or to put you in danger,” Carmela hastened to explain. “But we should have let you know we suspected Henry and Marta as soon as we heard poor Sandy was dead.”
“Are you kidding me?” Richie bellowed. “Why didn’t you tell us? You could have been killed.”
“We never dreamed everything would turn dangerous so fast,” Carmela said. “At least you found us. How did you do it so quickly?”
Richie froze. “Uh … Rebecca was here once before.”
He and Rebecca glanced at each other and both struggled not to grin.
The ambulance soon left with the two women plus Marta of the damaged kneecaps and her police escort, while Henry went straight to jail. More police and a local towing company were already dealing with Lucian’s body and car down on the beach.
Vito and Shay had taken off in Shay’s Maserati as soon as Rebecca went in search of a cell phone signal to call in law enforcement. Rebecca couldn’t believe it when she saw their tail lights. She had no idea how she was supposed to account for them to the police.
A couple of detectives from San Mateo county were delayed. Rebecca and Richie agreed to wait for them to arrive to give them their statements. They were due within the half hour.
“Let’s walk,” Richie said. “Just the two of us before we need to talk to those detectives, and then wait forever for the doctors to look over my mother and Geri. I’m going to try to get them to stay at my house tonight so they won’t be alone and start thinking of the horrible things that might have happened to all of us. You can join us if you’d like.”
“I think I’ll skip that pleasure,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. But she was glad to have some time alone with him. She had never thought of him as particularly brave before, but everything he did, from going into the warehouse to rescue Claire Baxter, to searching for a way down the cliff to try to save the occupants of Lucian’s car, to attacking a woman holding a gun on him, made her see him as brave now. “I’ll probably be at Homicide all night. I’ve got a few cases to clear.”