by Curry, Edna
“So you shot out her tire to stop her?”
“Sure. With a flat tire, she pulled right over for me.”
“And after you shot her, you took her purse and cell phone and rolled her car into the lake?”
“Right.” He sent me a nasty glare. “You think you know everything, don’t you?”
“But why didn’t anyone driving by on the highway see you?”
He laughed. “Some cars did go by, but it was almost dark by then and nobody paid any attention. They’re used to seeing cars parked there and people fishing in that lake.”
“So, then you went back to her house and used her keys from her purse to get in. You sent emails to cancel her appointments so people would think she went out of town like she often does, didn’t you?”
“Sure. I found her schedule in her smart phone, but not all their email addresses. But don’t think you’re going to live to tell anyone.” He rounded the next curve, then swore and gasped, “What the hell?”
A very large semi truck was parked sideways across the narrow road, almost touching the tall pine trees on both sides.
Chapter 11
It looked like Paul’s truck!
I stared at it the big white box in our headlights, my heart pounding with hope. Could it really be him?
Geoffrey slammed on the brakes and managed to stop just before hitting it, then he tried to drive around it, but there wasn’t enough room between the truck and the trees on either side of the road. And nothing but a dead end at the lake a few miles behind us, so we couldn’t go back. We were trapped.
As Geoffrey stopped again and started to get out, a large man appeared from the shadows, yanked the driver’s door wide and pulled Geoffrey out. The thud of a fist hitting flesh and then a curse and a grunt sounded in the still night.
Now what? Who had grabbed him? Was it Paul or not?
Geoffrey’s gun still lay on his seat. I managed to turn and get my fingers around enough to press the button to unfasten my seatbelt. Then I leaned over to grab the gun. I tried to point it toward the fighting men. How I was going to aim with my hands tied behind me, I had no idea. But I managed to loosen the scarf enough to point the gun to one side. I got it aimed out of the open driver’s door of his car, but my fingers were numb from being tied. I wasn’t sure I could even pull the trigger, let alone hit Geoffrey instead of the other man. Maybe just the sound of a shot would stop them.
Over and over, I heard the thuds of fists hitting flesh, but in the darkness, I couldn’t tell who was fighting Geoffrey. The car’s headlights shone straight ahead and the men were off to the side. I didn’t dare shoot for fear of hitting the wrong person.
Then I heard another grunt and a thud and there was enough light from our headlights to see it was Geoffrey who lay on the wet roadside and didn’t move.
A large shadow loomed toward the car. “Are you okay?” Paul’s deep voice asked.
It was Paul! Thank God!
I nodded and dropped the gun, too upset to answer. He ran around the car and opened my door. In a moment he’d pulled me out and into his arms, hugging me tightly. I could hear sirens in the distance, coming closer.
“What the hell?” he said, realizing my arms weren’t responding.
“My hands are tied,” I mumbled, swallowing the bile in my throat.
He turned me around and untied them, tossed the scarf aside and then crushed me close again. “God, I was so afraid I wouldn’t make it here in time. When you didn’t show up right away, I thought sure I’d already missed you and you were on your way to the cities or somewhere that I’d never find you,” he said. He kissed me over and over and I reveled in the familiar smell and feel of him.
“Water,” I managed to gasp, dropping my head against his chest. “I need a drink.”
“Oh.” He let me go, glanced toward Geoffrey on the ground to be sure he was still out, then ran to his cab, got a bottle of water and handed it to me.
I gulped it down, washing the bile taste from my mouth. I hadn’t actually thrown up, but had come close enough to taste the bile. “Thanks.”
The sirens blared close now and two sheriff’s cars roared up and stopped on the other side of the truck. I could see them under the truck’s box. Ben and two deputies jumped out of their vehicles and raced around the truck’s cab toward us.
“You called the sheriff?” I asked Paul.
“Yes, as soon as I heard him threaten you and tell you to get out of your car,” Paul said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t make it here before Ben could. Turns out I was faster. I figured if he hadn’t gotten off this road yet, I could trap him with my truck. It worked.”
“Is she okay?” Ben asked. He reached out and turned my face toward him, to see me better in the light of his headlights. “Say something, Lacey girl.”
“I’m fine, now,” I said. “But please take Geoffrey over there into custody. He kidnapped me and called Patti demanding ransom. He told her he’d shoot me if she didn’t give him lots of money to get out of the country.”
“I know. Patti called and told me Geoffrey had kidnapped you and demanded money. She recognized his voice. Then, when Paul called me to tell me what he’d overheard on your cell phone and then we couldn’t reach you when we tried to call you back, I knew you were in trouble. He’ll be sitting in jail for a long time for this.”
We watched the two deputies pull Geoffrey to his feet and handcuff him. They shoved him into their car and drove away.
“Now then,” Paul said, turning to Ben. “Tell me what the hell is going on here?”
“It’s a long story,” Ben said, eyeing the way Paul kept his arms around me. “Why don’t you two lovebirds go home and Lacey can explain it there? And maybe she could clean up your face a bit, too.”
“Good idea, Ben,” I said, shivering against the cool night air. “Oh, Paul, you’re hurt. I’m sorry, I was so upset I didn’t notice.”
“I’ve had worse. No problem. But going home sounds like a great idea.”
“Right. It’s getting chilly out here. And the mosquitoes are out already, too.” I slapped at one biting me on my forehead. “Let’s go to my house in your truck and you can switch vehicles in the morning. I don’t really care if anyone sees your truck there overnight.”
“Okay,” Paul said, handing me up into his cab. “I’ll have to maneuver Minerva to get her out of here, though. And I still didn’t get my shower.”
“I have a shower you can use, Paul.”
He laughed. “Of course you do.”
Ben turned back to him, asking, “Minerva? You name your truck?”
“Sure. I spend a lot of time with her,” Paul said, grinning.
Ben laughed, shaking his head. He got into his car and drove away.
***
At my house, Paul brought in the duffel bag of clean clothes he always keeps in his truck when he’s driving cross-country.
Scamp greeted us with joy. I let him out for a run while Paul went up to shower.
Knowing he’d want to talk, I went to the kitchen, started the coffee brewing and put out cups and some cookies.
Then I went up to my bathroom where I found Paul getting out of the shower. I helped him towel off, getting in a few kisses and caresses along the way.
“No, you don’t,” he said, pushing my hand away from his member. “First I want to know what’s been going on around here. Then you can take me to bed.”
“Okay,” I agreed. I put antiseptic on a cut on his cheek, evidently made by Geoffrey’s ring. The bruises looked painful, but would heal. “I’ll bet Geoffrey looks worse,” I quipped.
“Yeah, he probably does,” Paul agreed. “Do I smell coffee?”
“Yes. Get into a clean outfit and come on downstairs,” I directed.
By the time I’d poured the fresh brewed coffee and taken my first sip, savoring the fragrant liquid, Paul was dressed in a casual slacks and pullover shirt. He sat across from me and Scamp curled up beside him, his eyes adoringly watching Paul.
“Okay,” Paul said, sipping his coffee and biting into a cookie. “Let’s have the whole story. And don’t leave anything out.”
So, I told him the whole sordid story, though in a shortened version. After all, Paul doesn’t get home all that often and our nice queen-sized bed was waiting for us.
“So who sent those messages canceling Agnes’ appointments?” Paul asked.
“Geoffrey. He admitted he took her purse and saw her calendar on her cell phone and. So he cancelled some of her appointments from the cell phone, thinking no one would miss her so soon. Then he snuck into her house Friday night and sent the rest of those emails from her computer and searched for the files she’d told him she had.”
“So money was the cause of it all,” Paul said.
“Yeah, I guess so. Both Roscoe and Harold’s money embezzled from their law firm and Agnes’ money that she made in the stock market. I guess she was pretty eccentric after all.”
“That she was,” I agreed. “But in a very nice way.”
“Now after all this, are you ready to swear off murder cases, Lacey? Please promise me you’ll never take on another one.”
I swallowed and chewed my bottom lip. Did he really mean that? “Only if you promise me something in return,” I hedged.
“What’s that?” he asked, looking worried now.
“You’ll never drive on another icy mountain road. You know that scares me to death, Paul.”
“How can I not do my job? I can’t control the weather.”
“You could pull into a motel and wait out the bad weather. Wait for the sand and salt trucks to do their job before you go on.”
“But what if I have a deadline? I often drive a reefer, remember? That load of perishables has to get where it’s supposed to go on time or it rots. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do know that, Paul,” I said gently. “And you know I have to take cases that don’t always turn out to be safe rides, either.”
He laughed. “You’re right, Lacey. We each have to do our jobs, even if they’re scary for our partners. We have to trust each other to do our best to stay safe.”
“And maybe sometimes, like tonight, we can even help each other out.”
“Yeah. And like you saved my neck when my brother was killed and they meant to kill me.”
I shuddered at the memory of that case that had brought us together in the first place. “Let’s not think about that tonight.” I got up and put our cups in the dishwasher, then reached out a hand to him. “Our bed is waiting.”
He grinned and jumped up, took my hand and we raced upstairs to my bedroom. “Last one undressed is a rotten egg.”
Our clothes were unbuttoned and half off by the time we got there. One piece after another flew through the air toward the chair. I couldn’t resist helping him unbutton his fly and fondling the already stiff member lurking there. He groaned and kicked off his shoes, then shoved his jeans and shorts down, and stepped out of them. Reaching behind me, he unsnapped my bra and pushed it aside, dipping his head to take first one nipple then the other in his mouth.
“So beautiful,” he murmured. “I never get enough of them.”
I pushed off the last of my clothes and pressed up against him. “There is nothing so wonderful as the feel of skin on skin,” I said, rubbing our tummies together.
“You know it,” he agreed. He pulled me down onto the bed and began kissing me all over. Then he spread my legs and kissed and nibbled the inside of my thighs.
“Paul,” I gasped as waves of pleasure slid over me. I tried to squirm away from him.
“Hold still, I’m not done yet,” he said, grasping my legs and moving his mouth to my center. When he found and teased it with his tongue, I screamed, “Oh, my God. Stop, Paul.”
“Really?” He looked up at me, then swirled his tongue across my center again, sending another wave of ecstasy racing through my midsection.
“Yes. I mean, no, don’t stop. Oh, my.”
Quickly, he found a foil packet from the bedside drawer and covered himself. Then he rose above me and slid inside, so that the next wave of throbbing sensations closed around him. He kissed me over and over, pulled back and then pushed deeper until our bodies were joined to the max.
As he began to move, I rose to meet each thrust, faster and faster until I saw stars of passion behind my closed eyelids and we both groaned our release.
“I love you, Paul.”
“Love you too, Lacey.”
I pulled up the blanket and cuddled against him, wishing we could spend every night just like this.
The End.
***
About the author:
Edna Curry lives in MN and often sets her novels there among the lakes, evergreens and river valleys. She especially enjoys the Dalles area of the St. Croix Valley, gateway to the Wild River, which draws many tourists who give her story ideas. Besides non-fiction articles, she writes mystery, romance and romantic suspense novels.
Edna is married and is a member of the Romance Writers of America and four of its chapters: Midwest Fiction Writers, KOD, WISRWA and Northern Lights Writers.
Circle of Shadows (half of Deadly Duos #1) was a finalist in RWA's prestigious Golden Heart Contest.
Visit her webpage at http://www.ednacurry.com
Recent or upcoming books by Edna Curry:
My Sister’s Keeper
Secret Daddy Whiskey Creek Press
Best Friends
Bear Trap
Double Trouble
Flight to Love
Circle of Shadows
Traveling Bug
Never Love a Logger Whiskey Creek Press
I’ll Always Find You Whiskey Creek Press-Torrid
Meet Me, Darling Melange Books
The Lilliput Bar Mystery
Mystery Series:
Yesterday’s Shadow A Lacey Summers’ PI Mystery #1
Dead Man’s Image A Lacey Summers’ PI Mystery #2
Dead in Bed A Lacey Summers’ PI Mystery #3 Whiskey Creek Press
The Eccentric Lady A Lacey Summer’s PI Mystery #4
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Meet Me Darling page at Melange-Books.com:
Large man is angry to learn Jolie is back. He should have killed her twenty years ago.
Graphics designer, Jolie meets Bart at work and they begin dating. He discovers her sleeping on the job and learns she has insomnia. Nightmares she’d had during childhood returned after she came to Minneapolis. On one date, a psychic lady stops and spouts poetry, warning her to guard her little girl from danger. The only little girls in Jolie’s life are her nieces, so she panics and drives her sister wild calling to ask if they are okay and telling her to protect them.
Then the psychic tells the police where to find a dead woman and claims there’s a connection to Jolie. Complications and attempts on their lives continue as they fight the problems and fall in love. Can they solve the mystery, prove Jolie’s innocence before someone succeeds in killing them?
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Best Friends
By Edna Curry
Two high school sweethearts meet again as they plan their tenth reunion. They have to deal with bitter feelings from their breakup in the past and reconcile their differences. She has an important city job. He loves his small town business and wants to raise his son there. A tornado literally tears apart their hometown. Can they pick up the pieces of their love as easily as the tornado debris?