Watson Manor My Journey Home (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 4)

by Ronald S. Craig

  "I was marginally on board before, but now, Brittney, you said her name was? Well she changed that. I want front row seats when you take her down."

  *****

  The doctor left Charlie's bedside with the good news that he was progressing well, and the disheartening fact that he would be there at least another two days for observation.

  "I'll leave you the station wagon tonight, after we take Sandy home. Edwards can come get me, sorry I need to get back," Walker said.

  "I'd miss Nurse Heidi, but I can certainly lie in my own bed to heal."

  "You'll follow the doctor's orders, mister." Jenny's hands ridged on her hips and the lack of a smile told him, not up for discussion, non-negotiable. His Jenny, often open to alternate ideas and thoughts, one of her best qualities, but there was no question the anchor was set, pulling the line a fruitless effort.

  "Then you go home with Chief Walker after dropping Sandy off this afternoon. Maddy needs her mother and I have Nurse Heidi here."

  "Chief Walker, has Special Agent Baker let you know what's going on?" Sandy asked.

  "Last word was the exchange was to be at noon, but," Walker was cut off when his phone rang and he answered it. "Walker?"

  "Chief Walker, this is Special Agent Andrews. Mr. Richards insisted for her safety that we remove his wife from their home before he'd continued, meet with the perps. I have Linda Richards here, in the car with us, wanting to talk to her daughter, Sandy Richards on your end, Sir." Walker took his phone to Sandy standing by the window in the hospital room. She looked at him quizzically.

  "Sandy, it's your mother."

  She took the phone. "Mom?" Her tone urgent for a connection to family, words of well-being.

  "Sandy, can you tell me what's going on? I'm in the car with two FBI agents telling me they are taking me to you, not in Arizona."

  "Dad didn't explain … anything?"

  "No. He's at work as usual … .Wait! Is Don in trouble?"

  "He's helping the FBI, Mom. Are they bringing you here, to the hospital?"

  "The hospital? They told me you were with friends."

  "I am. One of my friends is here, I'm not hurt. I'll tell you when you get here. Don't worry Mom, but I have to give this phone back now."

  "Okay, they say we're thirty minutes away from you. This is all so confusing." Sandy handed the phone back to Walker and waited until he'd disconnected the call.

  "Why are they bringing my mother here and I'm not going home, Chief Walker? Did something happen to my dad?"

  "From what I was told by Agent Andrews, it was what your father wanted, before he met with those responsible. Sandy, I'm waiting for the same good news you are, that it's over, the threat eliminated."

  "Sounds like your father didn't want to worry your mother," Jenny said moving over to the window. Sandy remained standing there, glancing between the window and the security of her new friends in the room. Her world beyond that window had changed, fear no longer distant, a fear intruding, destroying, shattering the naive sense of being sheltered, a fear beyond her control, a world where she was kidnapped, pulled into a place where lives were threatened and lives were taken. It was as if her life channel had been switched from 'There's no place like home' to a starring role in a horror movie.

  Pulling the inner strength back that had drifted away, Sandy wiped a frustrated tear from her cheek and turned to face Jenny standing beside her. "That would be my dad. How do I tell mom what's going on? Why I'm here?"

  Jenny reached for her hands. "I suggest the truth … just not all of it yet. You are with friends. Your father is working with the FBI, and wanted you and your mother together until he was done. Overprotective doesn't seem a hard sell for your father, Sandy."

  "I guess you're right." Sandy turned to Chief Walker. "Please, can you get word from Agent Baker? I'm worried about my dad?"

  "I'll see what I can find out." Walker turned and left Charlie's room to make the call.

  "When were you last home, Sandy?" Charlie asked.

  "Thanksgiving. Dad sent me plane tickets to surprise mom. You think my dad is overprotective, mom still hasn't cut the cord."

  "I don't think mothers ever can, Sandy."

  "All the more reason for you to go home, Jenny," Charlie said.

  *****

  The two hours of waiting did little to simmer Don Richards' contempt for these people invading his life, threatening what he held most precious, turning a knife in his emotional gut. He was standing with Special Agent Sanchez in the lobby of Branson Systems ten minutes before the two o'clock meeting time in the park.

  "We'll have agents all over the park, Don. Keep this transmitter in your shirt pocket and we'll hear your end of the conversation, and can track your movements if necessary. If they insist that you use their transmitter, nobody takes the device from you, use it this time, the data in their possession will be enough."

  "I understand. I won't push for a physical exchange of the device. I imagine Brittney will be my daughter in this charade. If it takes three agents to tackle her, I'll leave a happy man."

  "Thank you, Don, for doing this. Good luck and don't leave your car if possible."

  "I'd better go." Don Richards left the lobby for his car in the parking lot.

  Chapter 25

  Henry watched as Brittney entered the mall to shop for her transition through a wig and clothing to be Sandy from distance. Brittney had voiced Henry's own concern that something was not right here. The final moments of obtaining the prize were always tense, but he'd been successful because he wasn't sloppy, this was getting sloppy. He called the car rental agency in Phoenix Arizona to get confirmation that the van had been returned that morning. He was asked to hold while the rental agent checked the return log for him.

  "Hello Mr. Waverly. I'm George Finley, the manager here. I was hoping you could shed some light on our van?"

  "Mr. Finley, my employees were supposed to have returned it, late last night or early this morning. I take it that has not been done?"

  "You were not informed that our van is being detained in San Jose, California?"

  "Detained?"

  "I thought the word strange also. Apparently there was a problem with the van's brakes and your people took it to a repair shop. The shop manager called us. My counter girl gave him the number for our agency in San Jose to have it picked up, but he hasn't called them yet. There's an 800 number on the rental contract, but your people didn't call that number either. I tried calling your headquarters, Mr. Waverly and a recorded message informed me that you were unavailable. Like I said, I was hoping that you could fill in the blanks for me."

  "Thank you, Mr. Finley, I'll contact my employees and get back to you. Do you recall the name of the repair shop?"

  "Sally, my counter girl didn't get the name of the shop or the phone number, as she thought their calling our San Jose agency would resolve the problem."

  "Okay. Let me see what I can find out, goodbye." Henry hit speed dial on his disposable phone for both Randy and Frank and neither call was answered. He pulled a California map from his glove box and located the reservoir on Highway 152 that Brittney relayed was used by Randy and Frank to ditch Sandy's body. They had stopped for gas and food when they discovered she was dead. Santa Nella showed a truck stop on that highway. Directory Assistance gave him the phone number for a Speedy-Mart at that location and he dialed the number.

  "Speedy-Mart, You're talkin' with Dan."

  "Hey, Dan. Steve Rogers with the Trib. Heard you had some excitement out there last night, buddy?"

  "Understatement, my man. Saw the whole thing."

  "Want to get your name right in my paper, what's the last name, buddy?"

  "Dan Porter. In the paper, wow."

  "Yes, your name in print. Got a minute to tell me what happened?"

  "This dude is leaving the store, coffee and sandwiches. Seemed nervous, in a hurry, so I'm watching him like maybe he's casing the store for a hit, you know we get hit? So he's walking through t
he gas pump island, must have parked deep in the lot, wasn't getting gas. I was ringing up another customer when I heard the gun shot. Things went nuts then. I see this other dude fall to the ground and the first dude is running toward the dumpsters. Then this old station wagon pins the first dude against the dumpster. I'm at the window now, glued to the action."

  "Hey Dan, did you see what the first guy was driving?"

  "Not until later, when it was towed away. But listen, the dude that was shot gets up and nails the other dude that’s pined against the dumpster by the car, had his own gun."

  "So, Dan, the guy that bought the coffee, did he run or was he killed?"

  "A goner, man. The dude that shot him gets in the car and circles behind the dumpsters. Couldn't have been more than five minutes and the station wagon is hauling ass to the freeway."

  "Going east or west?"

  "East, the second dude was shot, sure they were going to the emergency room."

  "You said the dead guy's car was towed, got a description of it?"

  "Yeah, a mini-van. But the dead dude wasn't alone. The CHP hauled his buddy away before they hooked up the mini-van."

  "Did you happen to notice the license plates on the mini-van?"

  "Like get the numbers, no way, man."

  "California plates?"

  "Oh, no, out-of-state, red I think. Maybe Arizona, I've seen plenty of them, yeah Arizona."

  "Ok, Dan this is really great. The guy that was shot first and left in the station wagon, big guy, little guy, young or old, anything you recall about him?"

  "Didn't see him in the store or his face, only from behind. Tall, brown hair, no gray in it so not old, but the other dude, with him looked like a marine, a little older."

  "The other dude?"

  "I figured there were three of them. You know that came in the old station wagon, the dude that was shot, the marine dude and the driver."

  "Did you see the driver, buddy?"

  "Now that I think about it, she might have been the gal that was in the store, earlier. She got out of the car for just a moment after the pinned dude was shot. Yeah it was her, I remember now because she was a babe, bought coffee and an empty pizza box, a little weird."

  "So you got a good look at her?"

  "A looker for sure, long brown hair, killer smile, late twenties I'd guess. Married, I always look when the pretty ones are in here."

  "You've been a real help, Dan. This will be a great story, look for it in tomorrow's paper." He disconnected the call.

  McBride went through his disposable phone's speed dials and informed his crew to abandon their surveillance positions and that the job was being scrapped. He did a casual look around the parking lot and wiped down his disposable phone with alcohol towels and removed the battery before he left the SUV and headed into the mall. Assured that he wasn't followed into the mall, he dropped the phone into a trash can, just inside and out of sight through the glass doors and then set out to find Brittney.

  *****

  Don Richards was sitting in his car scanning the park and its two parking lots at 2:30 when his phone rang.

  "Don, it's over," Agent Sanchez told him. "McBride and Scott are heading south on Interstate 5, the rentals we've been following, his crew we think, are being turned in. Somehow, he was alerted to us."

  "So what now? Retaliation? That Brittney is going to be hopping mad."

  "Our agents are tearing the rental house apart, but McBride is a seasoned FBI Agent, we don't expect to get anything we can use to arrest him."

  "The men that held Sandy, can they be pressed to give him up?"

  "One is dead and the other never set eyes on either Henry McBride or Brittney Scott. These guys work through a broker. Randy Staples, aka, Randy Simons spoke with a woman, but both phones were pre-paid, over the counter and are dead ends."

  "This device and transmitter links to a specific receiver, not a cheap throw-away phone. We still have that, don't we?"

  "We know he was three blocks away initially, so the range is limited. We lost our chance to send the data, Don."

  "I'll never forget her voice, can that be used? My God, these people kidnapped my daughter, put us through hell and we have nothing?"

  "Don, the two men directly involved with Sandy's abduction, one is dead and Randy Simons will be prosecuted, no question. We've been looking into Henry McBride and Brittney Scott's financials from day one, we'll get them! They won't walk away."

  "So my family and I wait for an untraceable, brokered hit man to deliver their disappointed message? Is that where we are? Right now, I need to see my daughter and I guess at this point, pull my frightened wife off the ceiling."

  "Come by your office, I want our tech team to analyze the device, transmitter and the phone they gave you. I'll have the address where your wife and daughter are now and will contact you there after speaking with Special Agent Baker."

  "See you in ten." Don started his car.

  Don Richards had given everything to Agent Maria Sanchez and found it difficult to stay under eighty miles-an-hour as he drove to Mercy Hospital in Los Banos. He appreciated Maria's attempt to calm his fears by indicating McBride was after information, not revenge, but the photo he was shown of his daughter strapped to that bed, five men lined up, bare chests in only jeans, the implication clear without need of Brittney's narration, was all he could see in his mind. He wondered if that vision would ever leave him. He didn't have an ounce of hope that it ever would.

  He was surprised when he reached the hospital that Linda and Sandy were waiting for him below the overhung roof at the hospital's main entrance. Spotting him crossing the parking lot, they matched his run to meet midway.

  "Daddy, I'm really okay!" Sandy said, responding to the worry and tears on her father's face. He pulled her into an embrace, urgent, emotionally driven and life acknowledging. Linda completed the circle wrapping her arms around her family.

  "Did they… ?" he started to ask, his voice cracking.

  "No, Daddy. It was true what I said in your message." Sandy eased back to see his face. "I want you to meet some really wonderful people, they rescued me."

  "I love you both, so much," he said. "I don't know what I'd do without…"

  "We're both safe, Don. You didn't need to keep all of this to yourself, honey," Linda said.

  "I couldn't open that door to hell for you, Linda. Misery shared is not misery deluded. I just thank God; we're all here, all together now."

  Sandy took his hand, "Come inside now and meet Jenny, Charlie and Chief Walker." Sandy led the way as Don slipped his free arm around Linda. Walker was waiting just inside the main doors and move toward them, his hand extended.

  "Mr. Richards, I'm Rodney Walker and very pleased to meet you, Sir."

  "The pleasure and gratitude are mine. How could I ever repay your actions, saving our daughter, giving us our lives back?"

  "The way I see it, we got to meet a very special young lady here, all the reward we could ask for. Agent Baker is coming here to give us all an update. Sandy, take your father back to meet the Watsons, the real reason your daughter is safely here."

  Chapter 26

  Bad things happen to good people, bad things could always be worse things, Sandy standing beside her father and mother was a blessing, Charlie recovering beside me, well, I don't even want to drift into how much worse that could have been.

  "So they just never showed up for the transfer," Charlie asked Don.

  "I may have been to blame. The remote transmitter was very clever of them; they'd never take possession of the device. I figured all would be lost, and now … it is."

  "The agent at your office couldn't tell you what happened?" I asked.

  "All she told me, Jenny, was that McBride was leaving, southbound on Interstate 5, headed home."

  "Do they think your family is out of danger?" I had to ask, the bond I saw here could, and almost was, ripped apart.

  "Chief Walker said Special Agent Baker was coming here," Charlie sai
d. "Maybe with some positive answers." I felt Charlie's need to bring comfort back to this family.

  "It's New Year's Eve," I said with as much joy as I could muster. "New beginnings for all of us!"

  "Jenny, I can see why Sandy thinks the world of you and against your wishes, I repeat, how indebted we are to you and Charlie, but they stole my footing, my contented smile at night allowing sleep, my faith that I could protect my girls."

  "Don, we have complete faith in you." Linda reached for his arm.

  "Daddy, you know it was them, not anything you failed to do for mom and me."

  I never wanted more than in that moment to have words for this loving father's shattered self-worth, words planting the seed of healing. He wasn't even given a small degree of closure with the arrest of these monsters, seeking information to sell, but stole so much more.

  "Don, Linda and of course Sandy, this may not have come up before, but Charlie and I just happen to have a B&B with a vacant two bedroom unit you may want to bring in that New Year with."

  "I'm in," Sandy said without hesitation, "Come on Daddy, family time is what we all need."

  "It does sound great, Don. A few days away, all together for New Years'."

  It was a small grin on his face, but enough to see some hope return when he replied, "That's three votes. How could I refuse, Jenny? Thank you, but I insist we're paying our way."

  Charlie started to laugh and a sharp pain in his side cut the enjoyment short. I moved over and took his hand. "Now Charlie, don't go stirring things up. That was no reflection on you, Don, or your being welcome in our B&B. Charlie just knows; I have a drawer full of special discount coupons I like to use."

  "Yeah, the Arizona State University family weekend bonanza coupon, saw that one right on top last week." Charlie was fighting another laugh but let the smile show.

  We all turned to the door when Special Agent Baker entered Charlie's room and Chief Walker moved into the room right behind him.