“Where would Winters go? Do you know?”
Through swollen lips she mouthed “Buh, buh, uf.”
“Maybe she’s saying Bluffs?” Alice said.
“But where? None of these guys lives there? We can’t just go barging in to every house out there. We’re not even sure who they’re friendly with except maybe Barry McCann and he’s not about to let us in. Besides, he’s surely passed out by now.”
The ambulance arrived and took Kim Smith away. Roberts also appeared, face beet red, looking ready to kill. “I warned you, Steele. Guy, throw her and her fellow senior citizens in the wagon and take ‘em to the station. They want a sleepover? Let ‘em have it on the city’s dime.”
“You can’t do that, Douglas!”
“Watch me.”
“We knew Kim Smith was in mortal danger. We couldn’t just go home and do nothing!”
“That’s when you call us. Now shut up and get in the wagon. At least I’ll know you’re safe.”
“Winters got away!” I called over my shoulder. “He did this to Kim, then drove away.”
My words fell on deaf ears as the fours of us were dumped side by side in the city’s decrepit paddy wagon. Guess who sat across from us? Rico and the gang. How cozy. At least they were shackled and tied so they could do any damage. Wilda and Frank disappeared and I wondered why they were not crammed in with us. Just as well, they needed to get back to Mike and Josh.
“You’re toast, bitch,” Rico said, glaring at me.
“That coming from the person who’s all tied up, neat and tidy.”
“I’ll be out by morning and I know where you live.”
“And I have Chas watching my back, or have you forgotten?”
“Fuck Chas. He’s a fuckin’ myth, any way. Everyone knows that.”
“Watch your mouth,” Alice said.
Unlike our fellow detainees, we had not been frisked. The cops had taken possession of my gun and my bag was in the car, but I had my keys and cell phone in my pockets. Surreptitiously, I pulled out the phone and called one of Josh’s burners. He answered on the first ring. Before I could explain about a possible Bluffs connection, he said, “She’s gone.”
“What are you talking about, who?”
“Mike, her car’s in the driveway, but she’s gone.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
“We decided to stay the night here with my folks. After dinner, she went out to the car to get some things. When she wasn’t back in ten minutes, I went out to find her and she was gone. The back of her car was open and stuff was thrown around, but no sign of her.”
“Shit,” I muttered, thinking of Kim Smith and Jimmy Chen, then Charlie. “Does her dad know?”
“Yes, I called him right away.”
“And?”
“He called the cops. They came out, but there’s no sign of her Rick.”
Chapter 43
Charlie picked us up at six a.m., the earliest Douglas agreed to release us. Lolly was almost comatose after three hours in a dark, cold cell furnished with toilet and soiled mattress thrown on a rickety cot. Mercifully, they put two of us together—Katie and Lolly, Alice and me. “She’s a wreck, Rick,” Katie said. “In shock. Gotta get her home and warm.”
I took one look at my dear friend and nodded. “Yes, let’s all go home. Charlie’s going to drop us at my car.”
We departed the station and rode into the Highlands in silence. When everyone but me had hopped into the Subaru, I turned to him. “Charlie, I am so sorry.”
“For what? Mike’s a big girl. She knew what she was getting into.”
“Not this! Never this. I don’t even do this.”
“She can take care of herself.”
You don’t know these people, I thought, and you haven’t seen Jimmy or Kim. “I can’t believe Wilda left her. And, where the hell was Spike?”
“Knocked out. They found him in his car down the street.”
“Oh Charlie, I’ve failed her in every way.”
“Go home, take a shower, let the cops do their job.” His eyes were kind, but I could see the fear in them, too. Fear for his beloved daughter, who might be able to take care of herself in a war zone, but not against such unmitigated evil.
I nodded. “Please let me know if you hear anything.” I hugged him, wanting to hang on forever.
As I opened the door and hustled Lolly in for the first shower, I noticed an envelope on the floor. It had been slipped under the door. I tore it open to find a grainy black and white copy of a photo, with the words “back off or she dies.” The picture was of Mike, tied to a chair, duct tape over her mouth. Her eyes stared straight at the camera, calm and steady.
“Bastards,” I muttered.
“What is it?” Katie said as Alice took care of Lolly.
I held out the paper. “Oh, my God, Rick. Can you tell where she is? Anything?”
I studied the background, which was mostly in darkness. It looked to be a store room, boxes and garbage bags lying around. I shook my head. “Could be anywhere. Cops tore Meridian apart a few hours ago so it’s definitely not there. Listen, I’m going to throw some water on my face, brush my teeth and change clothes, then head over to the hospital. Kim Smith knows more about all this.”
“I’ll come,” she said. “Alice will stay with Loll. She says she’s had enough.”
“You should stay, too. Bob would kill me if he knew what we’ve been doing.”
“No such thing. I’ve been giving him regular updates. He’s keyed.”
“Ready in ten then?”
“Roger that!”
As she bustled off to change clothes, I washed up in the kitchen sink, then pulled out jeans, a clean tee shirt, socks and undies. I called Josh and told him to stay put. I also called Wilda and insisted she return to the Bluffs and take Spike’s place. Frank would trail me and Vinnie agreed to come over and sit with Lolly and Alice.
When we reached the emergency room, we were told Kim Smith was with the doctor and could not be disturbed. As I paced, Katie poked around, making friends with everyone on the floor. By the time the doctor departed, her new best friend, Karla was only too happy to usher us in to see Kim. “Only a few minutes, ladies. She’s groggy and needs to rest.”
Kim’s face was still black and blue and even more swollen than before, but now she also had stitches on her forehead, lip and jaw. Her jaw was set and her left arm was in a wrist to elbow cast.
Hey, Kim,” I said, approaching the bed slowly.
She eyed us warily. “Where’s Dennis?” she said through clenched jaws.
“We haven’t been able to locate him.”
“He’s going after them. They’ll kill him.”
“Where are they, Kim? Please help us. They’ve taken one of my associates, a young woman.”
“I don’t know, truly. The sales and auctions are Fiona’s business. I just looked after the kids.”
“Auctions?”
“Well, only two that I know of. When you stumbled into Meridian and they killed Jimmy, they had to change the way they handled the kids. The room at the warehouse, mirror and all. That had to be dismantled.”
“And?”
“And, they found a client willing to host an auction. That’s how Lin and Joy were placed.”
“Sold to the highest bidder?”
She nodded. “I believe whoever it was may have taken both girls as they were inseparable and refused to eat, sleep or do anything without the other.”
“Who took them?”
Her head listed to one side and she looked as if she were about to fall asleep. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. If I did I’d tell you. You’ve got to believe me.”
“You said auctions.”
“Last night,” she said, closing her eyes. “They took a few kids for one last night.”
“Leave it, Rick. She doesn’t know anymore and she needs to rest.”
“Come on, we’re going to the Bluffs,” I said. I phoned and asked Wilda to gra
b Josh and bring him to my dad’s. I doubted the Peabodys were involved in Meridian’s dirty dealings, but I didn’t know who to trust.
Chapter 44
Rita greeted Katie and me at the door. “What’s with Whip Woman?” she whispered, ushering me through.
“Wilda is a woman of few words,” I said. “It’s a vigilance thing.”
The group was assembled in Dad and Rita’s living room. My father rose as we entered. “Darling, thank God you’re safe.” He hugged us both, then indicated empty chairs. “Can we get you something to drink or eat?”
“No thanks, we’re great.” Katie did not look so great. In fact, she looked like she could eat a horse, but sat down and nodded thanks as Rita handed her a bowl of peanuts which disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Lolly and Alice are at my house. They’ve had enough. Vinnie’s with them.”
“Not that shady neighbor of yours,” Rita said.
“Vinnie saved our lives yesterday,” Katie said. “He’s good people.”
Rita shrugged as she sat down next to Dad.
“What’ve you found?” Josh said. He looked ready to crawl out of his skin.
“Not much, but we think someone here may be involved with Meridian. They apparently held an auction last night.”
“Really?” Rita said. “I was just up at the owner’s club. I didn’t see a notice.”
“You wouldn’t have,” I said, “it was private.”
“What kind of auction?” Dad said.
I hated to voice the truth about Meridian’s dirty business, but took a deep breath and filled them in, summarizing what we knew.
“I can’t believe it,” Rita said when I finished.
“Did you see anything unusual after the clambake? Maybe a lot of cars at someone’s house?”
“Now that you mention it, the Ramsay’s looked like they were having something,” Rita said. “I saw a lot of cars when I walked Skipper. We walk on the beach, then cut through at the point and come back on the Annex road.” Skipper was her terrier mix, small, white, and unlike most small dogs, very quiet and unobtrusive. She rarely barked and mostly you remained unaware of her presence. “That’s not unusual, though. Linc is always entertaining when Catherine’s out of town. She left the clambake for their Providence condo cause she’s leaving today for a garden tour in England with her ladies group.”
“Have you ever been to one of Linc’s parties?”
Rita guffawed. “Surely you jest. We are much too lowly for that.”
“Once,” Dad said. “They had a lawn party a few summers ago. Hundreds of people.”
“What about kids? Do you ever see any children around the Ramsay’s?”
Rita waved her hand. “Hon, there are very few kids living out here. I feel a bit sorry for those new people, the Richardsons’ kids.”
We talked a while longer and then I proposed that Katie call Muffy and Flip Richardson for a pop-in. After receiving a welcoming ‘sure, come on over,’ we decided to take the beach route which would lead us up to the side of the Ramsays’ property. Their house was the most enormous of a row of gigantic monstrosities. In the style of a French chateau it seemed to go on for miles grabbing up as much beach frontage as possible. A high wall made peeking a challenge, except from the beach side where the twelve-foot wall was made of plexi-glass so as not to obstruct the castle’s unobstructed views.
“Yikes, this must’ve cost a fortune,” I said as all four of us stopped and stared.
“And, think of the staff that must be out here every day to clean it,” she said. “Salt and ocean spray must cloud it constantly. I’ve only seen one other wall like it.”
All around us private property signs were posted, many with warnings about trespassing, but as long as we stayed below the high tide mark, even Lincoln Ramsay could keep us out. A terrace ran the length of the beach side of the house, dotted with furniture and topiary. No one appeared to be out enjoying the magnificent view.
Once we turned away from the ocean, the wall was brick. At twelve feet with no peek holes, it appeared dull and lifeless, not a single vine of clump of ivy to help scale it. When we reached the road, we walked for several hundred yards until the brick was punctuated by twelve-foot high iron gates. Just inside there was a gatehouse. We peered around, but couldn’t see whether someone was manning in.
“Surely you’re not thinking we can break into Fort Knox here,” she said, as we resumed our stroll.
“Who knows,” I said, “maybe they’ll invite us in.” I gazed back at Wilda who gave a slight shake of her head. It was weird seeing her out in broad daylight. She looked really uncomfortable.
“I don’t know, Rick,” Katie said. “We may have met our match.”
“Nonsense. Maybe Muffy and Flip have a ladder they can lend us?”
“Ha, ha,” she said as we rounded the corner and headed downhill.
“I can climb this,” Josh said. “Are we thinking they’ve got Mike in there?”
“Who knows. They use those Javelin people for their grunt work. They could have taken her anywhere, but I’m thinking close by just cause she was grabbed in the Bluffs.”
He started testing foot holds as we neared the Richardson’s until I told him to lay off. Wilda declined to join us and remained on the street as the three of is strolled up the Richardsons’ gravel drive. A beach house on steroids greeted us. Shingled with pale blue shutters, it had a weathered look like it had been there for years. The grass was perfect, the gardens a work in progress, the plantings not yet filled in.
Muffy greeted us at the door. “Hey, welcome, ladies! So glad you called! It’s great to have visitors! The Annex crowd are not exactly chummy types. Don’t get me wrong, as a getaway, this place is great, but it doesn’t have what you’d call a neighborhood vibe. Flip took the kids to Old Harbor for miniature golf and ice cream, so it’s mercifully quiet.”
After a house tour with lots of oohing and aahing, we sat on the back terrace, iced teas in hand. Katie and Muffy discussed their mutual friends back home and other mundane topics until she turned the conversation toward the Ramsays. I could have hugged her.
“I don’t know them well,” Muffy said. “I mean, look where they live. The biggest, most gorgeous property on Billionaires Row. They don’t socialize much, at least with us.”
“We heard they had a big party last night,” I said.
“Oh? I wouldn’t know. They have a driveway area that can fit fifty cars I’m told so you wouldn’t know what they were doing unless you peeked through the gates.”
Like my nosey stepmother. “Different world, I guess,” I said.
She nodded. “I mean don’t get me wrong, Flip and I are very comfortable. We’re just not in Lincoln Ramsay’s league. Never will be. I was just saying to Flip yesterday that maybe we’d have been better off to build in the Bluffs. At least there’s a few kids over there. Your parents live in the Bluffs, don’t they Josh?”
He nodded. “No kids though.”
“Well, we’ve spotted a few around.”
“Oh?”
“I saw Barry’s grandkids last week. In fact, I wanted to catch him at the clambake to see when they’ll be visiting. They looked about our kids age.”
“Excuse me? You mean Barry McCann?” I said, looking at Katie, who nodded.
“Yes, why,” she said.
“Have you actually met these grandkids?”
“No, just saw ‘em from afar. Two little girls.”
“Can you describe them?”
Muffy stared at me as if I had two heads. “Oh... well, let me think. Dark hair, cute summer dresses like they’d just been to a party. Only saw them from the rear. Never saw their faces. I’d say one was around four, the other maybe eight or nine. Our Cassie who’s seven would kill for a playmate out here.”
“How often do they come?” I asked.
“As I said, I have no idea. I was going to try and catch Barry or Sarah last night. I’ve only seen them the once, a week or so ag
o.”
We chatted a few minutes more, then made our excuses. Time to visit Lincoln Ramsay and then Barry McCann.
Chapter 45
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Katie said, as we reached the street.
“The McCanns don’t have kids, so how can they have grandkids?”
“Exactly,” she said, hands on hips. “So what’s the plan?”
“First, we check out Fort Knox. Then we pay Uncle Barry a visit.”
“It could be Lin and Joy,” Josh said. “I’ll head down there and—“
“No one’s heading anywhere alone,” I said. “We are staying together. Now, come on.”
We walked the perimeter of the Ramsay’s great wall searching for the least exposed section. Wilda refused to allow anyone to stay behind so the first two over the wall were Katie then yours truly. It was an inelegant process to say the least and involved lots of inappropriate touching and shoving. Josh stood on Wilda’s shoulders and I stood on his to push and shove Katie over. She waited for me, lying flat across the top of the 6-inch-wide wall, then we contemplated our descent into what appeared to be rose bushes with five inch thorns.
“I feel like the prince in Sleeping Beauty,” she said.
“Except no magic sword,” I said. I wondered if Ramsay had found a way to make hybrid roses with poisonous thorns.
As we contemplated our fate, Josh hopped up, beside us, Wilda following in short order. It looked like she’d flown. “Come on, boss. We’re sitting ducks up here,” she said, pointing to a spot where the rose bushes parted slightly.
“Geez, Louise,” I said, pushing off, heading for the spot which I missed by a mile and landing on a bed of thorns that pierced every piece of clothing except my sneakers. I grimaced, but keep silent, in agony as I scrambled to my feet. Without warning, Katie followed, landing partially on top of me, ramming my side, thorns and all into the ground.
As I fought to throw her considerable bulk to the side, Josh and Wilda flew through the air, clearing the bushes and landing on soft, cushy grass. Damn them!
“Hurry,” Wilda said, pulling us to our feet. “Won’t be long before they set the dogs on us.”
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