Murder in Mariposa Beach

by Teresa Michael

  “What?” Pilar asked.

  “The lamps,” she said pointing towards the elegant burgundy ceramic lamps on the end tables. Libby laid the knife on the floor and then pulled Terrence’s arms behind his back, first one, and then the other. Because of his girth, they barely touched.

  “Why?”

  “We’re going to tie him up with the electric cords.”

  Pilar set the first lamp next to Libby and the still-unconscious man. She picked up the knife and turned it over in her hand.

  “Be careful with that. It can make a nasty cut if you don’t know how to open it.” Libby took the knife, carefully pressed the pin and demonstrated how to open the blade.

  “Was Richard killed with a knife?” Pilar asked. “I didn’t hear any gunshots that night at my house.”

  “Yes, he was. I’m so sorry.”

  “Do you think this was the knife?”

  “Probably. Now we’re going to use it to tie him up, so we can get out of here.” Libby cut the electric cords, circled the cord around his wrist and tied it off. Then she wrapped it around the other wrist a couple of times and tied it off again.

  Pilar unplugged the second lamp and used the knife to cut the cords. She brought the cords to Libby, and they tied Terrence’s feet together.

  “Get a washcloth from the bathroom,” Libby said, as she carefully closed the blade, put the knife in the right side pocket of her cargo pants and buttoned the flap. “We can stuff it in his mouth. That’ll keep him busy for a few minutes when he wakes up.”

  Libby rolled the washcloth, pulled down his jaw and slid it into his mouth. She stood, wiped her hands on her pants and then motioned towards the door. She opened the door to find Max pointing a gun at her.

  “Surprise,” he said walking towards them. Libby and Pilar backed into the room with their hands up. Libby noticed he had the briefcase draped across his body like a messenger bag.

  Max looked around the room, and when he saw the now hogtied Terrence, he laughed. “You ladies are quite resourceful.”

  “Max, surely you realize it’s over,” Libby said. “SWAT has this house surrounded.”

  “Yeah, I got a text from Jason that just said ‘cop,’ and then, nothing. He must’ve gotten picked up. Also, it looks like the cops have the street blocked off further down towards Hemingway’s. This whole thing is going to shit, and I need to get out of here before they come in. There’s a private jet waiting for me at the airport,” he said, waving the gun in front of them.

  “Max, you won’t make it. You should surrender. I’m sure they’re outside getting ready to come in. You don’t want that to happen.”

  “What do you mean?” Max asked going to the window. As he started to pull back the sheer panel, Libby pushed him aside and jerked the drape closed.

  “Are you crazy? There’s probably a sniper with his scope pointed at this window right now. I don’t want to see your brains splattered all over the walls, the floor and me.” Libby was beginning to sweat. She wondered if the SWAT commander had cut the power to the house.

  “We have to get out of here. I have to make that plane.” He returned to pacing and waving the gun around, the briefcase flapping against his thigh as he paced.

  “Give it up. Maybe you can provide evidence and get into Witness Protection. As you said, you’re just the middleman. That gives you leverage.” Libby was reaching but was going to use everything in her power to talk him into surrendering. “Otherwise, you’ll be dead. You know, they shoot first and sort it all out later.”

  “Not if I have two pretty women in front of me. Besides, if I turn state’s evidence, then I’m a dead man anyway. You don’t know these guys. They’re ruthless.”

  “Then, you should let Pilar go,” she said moving towards him.

  “Now why in the hell would I do that?”

  “Because you have your hands full with your stuff and the gun. You can’t control both of us. Let her go.” She took a step closer, keeping Pilar behind her. “I promise I’ll go peacefully as long as you promise to let her go and not to hurt me when we get to the plane.”

  Max lowered the gun, glanced at the unconscious man who was starting to moan and stir, looked back at Libby, and said, “Okay, she can go, but you stay with me all the way.”

  “Whatever you say. Now let’s hurry before we have company.”

  Max opened the door and motioned towards the stairs with the gun.

  “Libby, I can’t leave you here,” Pilar whispered as she followed Libby down the stairs.

  “Don’t worry about me.” Libby could feel Pilar’s hot breath on her neck. “When you get out of here, ask for Detective Seiler and Detective Bauer.”

  “I should have known you were in with the cops,” Max snarled.

  Ignoring him, Libby repeated her instructions to Pilar. “Find the two detectives – Seiler and Bauer. They’ll help you. Tell them everything. Understand?”

  “Yes. Okay.”

  At the bottom of the stairs, Libby removed the white doily from under the flowers on the foyer table. She handed the white cloth to Pilar and looked her straight in the eyes.

  “Wave this out the door. Make sure they see you and then move slowly outside onto the porch. Keep your hands in the air as high as you can.”

  “Get on with it,” Max snapped, pacing the foyer, waving his gun about.

  “For her safety and ours, she has to understand what’s going to happen,” Libby said, the determination and assuredness in her voice unable to be ignored.

  Max grumbled and continued to pace.

  Turning her attention back to Pilar, Libby continued, “Move slow. And don’t make any sudden moves. Walk slowly down the stairs. Let the police officer come to you. They’ll have big guns. Don’t be frightened. Remember to keep your hands high and in sight.”

  Pilar shook her head, tears starting to pool.

  “Answer me. Tell me you understand,” Libby said.

  “Yes. Yes, I understand.” The tears began to spill down her cheeks. “Libby, I’m so sorry I got us into this.”

  Max stood behind Libby, his gun now at her back.

  “Don’t worry about that now. Stay focused. Okay?”

  “Yes.” Pilar hugged her. “Thank you for coming to get me. Be careful.”

  “Enough, already,” Max said. “We’ve got to get out of here.” He grabbed Libby’s arm and pulled her towards the back door.

  “Just a minute. Let’s get her out the door. The officers will be focused on her. We might be able to get at least a head start out the back.”

  Libby turned Pilar towards the door. Once at the door, she slowly turned the doorknob, then pulled the door towards her enough for Pilar to stick her hand out to wave the flag.

  “Keep waving. You’re doing great,” Libby said. “Now move slowly out the door and onto the porch. Keep your hands high and in sight. Keep waving the flag. All right.”

  Pilar nodded her head. Libby pushed her out the door and shut it. She peeked out the window and saw Pilar heading down the porch steps.

  Max pulled her arm from behind, “We have to go.” Libby could see he was sweating and even though the briefcase was looped over his shoulder, he held it tight against his body as if he were guarding precious cargo.

  He pushed her down the hall in front of him. They passed the recording studio and entered a large, open kitchen that looked like it had dropped out of the Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen Makeover issue. There were white cupboards and a large island in the middle of the room.

  He shoved her through the kitchen to French doors that opened onto a covered lanai with an outdoor seating area. He stopped just where the covered area opened onto a flagstone patio.

  She looked back at him.

  He was breathing heavily and surveying the backyard.

  To their left, there was a stainless steel outdoor kitchen and grill area; to the right, beyond the edge of the patio, was a detached garage and a black SUV. In front of them was a small, beautifully lan
dscaped backyard garden.

  “I don’t see anyone, do you?” He asked.

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Okay, here we go,” he growled. “Stay in front of me.”

  Oh God, he’s starting to sound desperate.

  Max put his left arm around Libby’s neck, and the gun was in his right hand. He slowly eased forward pushing her in front of him as they moved toward the car, her step matching his as if rehearsed. She felt the clamminess of his sweat-soaked shirt on her back as they began to inch towards the driveway.

  “What’s the plan when we get to the airport?” Hoping that conversation would add to his anxiety and distraction of the situation, Libby tried to unbutton the pocket of her cargo pants with her right hand.

  “We have a flight to the Caymans.”

  That’s where your money’s stashed. “When we get to the airport, are you going to let me go?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Okay, what are you going to do with me in the Caymans?” She got the first button open and was working on the second.

  “We could start a duet and play the bars,” he said, as sweat began to drip off his face onto her shoulder.

  “You are delusional.”

  As if from God, Libby heard, “Halt. Stay where you are.” She had the second pocket button open and her hand inside ready to pull out the knife.

  Max panicked, pulling her backward by the neck.

  Libby stumbled and let go of the knife. Fortunately, it was still in her pocket. She reached for it again and felt the sleek handle. She slowly pulled it out of her pocket.

  “Max, stop before they shoot us.”

  Max stopped and shouted, “I need to get to the truck. You got Pilar back. Just let me get to the truck.”

  “Drop the gun and let the lady go. You have ten guns pointed right at you.”

  “I’ll kill her,” he yelled back, ducking behind Libby as he pulled her toward the truck while keeping his back to the house.

  Libby pulled the knife from her pocket and turned it over in her hand feeling for the button. Please don’t cut off your fingers.

  As Max inched closer and closer to the SUV in the driveway, Libby was hoping the SWAT guys were watching her through their scopes and would not take a shot while she was so close to him.

  Her fingers felt for the release button along the sleek edge of the knife. Feeling a bump with her index finger, she figured that had to be it. She sucked in a breath and pressed.

  The pain was so quick and sudden that she stumbled, and almost dropped the knife again.

  “Stay on your feet,” Max yelled.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, her hand getting slick and sticky from her own blood. She tightened her grip on the knife.

  “Stop. Don’t move.” Came the disembodied voice of another police officer.

  Max stooped down so that he was totally behind Libby while they were backed up against the house, still inching towards the SUV in the driveway.

  “We’re almost there.”

  Libby could feel his hot, wet breath against her ear.

  She took a deep breath, held the knife out from her body, turned it around, and in nearly one fluid movement, stabbed Max in the leg and threw herself onto the ground.

  Libby heard him scream and then a gunshot. She looked over and saw him, face down, trying to get to his feet, his fingers wrapped around the handle of the knife trying to remove it. She rose to her knees, crawled toward him and leaped onto him.

  “Dammit stay down!”

  “You stabbed me.” He struggled against her, trying to get up.

  “Stay down, or they will shoot your stupid head off, and I don’t want to take the chance of them hitting me.” She slammed her elbow into his shoulder driving his face into the flagstone.

  Suddenly, there were bootsteps behind her. Then someone put his hands on her arms and lifted her up. Libby saw bloody handprints on Max’s shirt and the flagstone by her side.

  “It’s over, ma’am.” She looked up to see a man in full SWAT body armor. He helped her up and then sat her on a cushioned chair in the adjacent seating area. Four SWAT officers had Max sitting up, though he was bent over, moaning, with his hands on the knife. From the driveway, two paramedics appeared and immediately went to Max who was moaning and pulling at the knife in his leg.

  “Pull it out,” Max cried. “Pull it out!”

  The paramedic pushed Max’s hands away from the knife and persuaded him to lie down. Libby watched as they applied a tourniquet and finished removing the knife. The paramedic who removed the knife dropped it into a paper evidence bag.

  Max looked towards her, meeting her gaze. He shook his head, then moaned as the paramedic pulled the tourniquet tighter to stop the flow of blood.

  Jack came around the corner of the house in a run with Bauer close behind. He slowed long enough to locate her and, within a few steps, was immediately by her side. Bauer stopped and spoke with the SWAT leader standing over Max and the paramedics.

  “Are you all right?” Jack asked, sitting in the chair across from her. He took her hand and looked up at her. “You’re bleeding.” To the paramedics, he yelled, “Hey, she’s wounded. We need attention over here.”

  One of the paramedics left Max and brought his kit to where Libby and Jack were sitting. He took her hand in his and placed rolled gauze into her palm. She focused on his name tag, ‘Kevin.’ He closed her hand over the roll and wrapped an ace bandage around it to apply pressure. I’m not going to pass out, she kept telling herself.

  “Squeeze tight,” he said, wrapping her hand. “We’ll get you to the hospital as soon as we can. It looks like you’re going to need a few stitches there.” He then returned to Max’s side.

  “They were ready to give the breach order when Pilar came out. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her coming through the door,” Jack said, shaking his head.

  “I convinced him he couldn’t handle both of us.”

  “You did great. I’m so proud of you,” he said, patting her hand.

  The SWAT leader walked towards them carrying the evidence bag. “Is this yours?” He asked, holding up the evidence bag that held the knife.

  “No, it belongs to the very large, very pissed off man upstairs.” She looked at Jack. “I think he’s the one who killed Richard.” She looked back at the officer. “With that knife.”

  “We’ll get it to the crime lab. They’ll be able to identify if there’s any trace evidence from that case,” the Commander said. “The asshole had practically pulled the knife out before the EMTs got to him. That would’ve been a real mess.”

  At that moment, one of the burgundy lamps flew out the window, bounced off the outdoor kitchen shelter and crashed onto the patio.

  “I think he’s awake,” she said, looking up at the window. “Those were nice lamps.”

  Chapter 30

  Tuesday - Lower Keys Medical Center Emergency Room

  More Stitches and an Ex-Husband

  Libby lay in the Emergency Room at the Lower Keys Medical Center. The doctor had just put six stitches in the palm of her right hand and then bandaged it, telling her to keep it elevated and to follow up with her family physician in a few days.

  Jack stuck his head inside the treatment room door and asked, “What’s the diagnosis?”

  “Six stitches this time,” she said holding up her right hand.

  “Any other damage?” He shut the door and stood at the foot of her bed.

  “Apparently no nerve damage. I never was very good at flipping those things open with one hand.” Using her left hand, she pulled the blanket up to cover her thin hospital gown. The forensics team had taken her blood-covered clothes as evidence. “Can you please bring me my backpack? They’ve taken my clothes. This is definitely not my best look.”

  “This is the second time in a week you’ve worn the hospital designer outfit.” He flashed a quick smile as he moved towards her left side and gripped the bed rail. “Libby Marshall, you are a sight f
or sore eyes. I regret ever suggesting you go in there.”

  Not exactly sure how to respond, she asked, “Are the cops finished with me? I’ve talked to both Detective Bauer and the guy from FDLE.”

  “I think so, but they may have more questions.”

  “How’s Max? What happened to him?”

  “He’s in surgery. You did a job on his thigh. They have to repair some ligaments. Thank God you didn’t get the femoral artery, or he would probably have bled out right there.”

  “I didn’t see any other way to stop him. I knew we would never make it to the car, and I just couldn’t wait for…”

  “Considering the worst case scenario, he got off fairly easily.”

  “What’s going to happen to him?”

  “Too soon to tell. I’m sure they’ll try to get him to testify.”

  “He’s just a middleman. He got into this mess because his dad cut him off, and he didn’t want to get a day job that would take away from the time he spent on his music.”

  “Seriously?”

  “It’s true. He told me that in the recording studio.”

  “Maybe that will give him some leverage for them to get the big guys. Maybe get Witness Protection.”

  “Could you hear anything at all while I was in that room? It has extra soundproofing, and I was worried about that.”

  “Pretty much static during that time. But later, I was ready to go in…especially when you got hit.”

  “You heard that?”

  “Then the connection went dead, and I knew he either found it or hit you so hard it broke.”

  “I think I took flight. I ended up on the floor against the wall. Bruised chest. Wanna see?” She winked.

  “Are you high?”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s going to wear off fairly quickly, so you’d better take advantage while you can.”

  “I plan on taking you up on that offer and keeping that promise I made earlier.” He held her left hand, the good hand, and kissed it, causing her to feel almost giddy. Must be the drugs.

  “Tony wants to see you,” Jack said, still holding her hand.

  “He’s still here?”

  “Mark is finished with Pilar’s statement, and she’s released from the ER, so Tony’s taking her back to Miami with the stipulation she makes herself available when necessary. They want you to go with them. There’s a plane waiting at the airport now.”