Beautiful Girls

by Gary S. Griffin

  Rob gave her bottled water. It was late afternoon. She had been in the trunk for several hours. Her back, arms, legs and behind all felt itchy from the wool blanket she laid on in the trunk.

  Suddenly, she got a chill. Sitting in the shade on this big rock made her wish she had worn different clothes. The leotard she had on was small and very lightweight. She was cold all over. But, she didn’t want Rob to know. He had to know she was freezing. Plus, Rob couldn’t keep his eyes off her chest. She summoned all her courage and refused to cover herself. She just stared back at him.

  After long minutes passed, she asked, “What are you going to do now?”

  “I will reunite you with Garrett and your sister. We’re going to a show. You’ll get something to eat. Then, we’ll end this hunt.”

  While Harmony stared at Rob, he said, “But, first, do you need to go to the bathroom?”

  Excalibur

  The Excalibur hotel and casino looks like a castle with its red and blue colored turrets, flowing flags and brightly lit white buildings. We parked in the garage and followed the signs to the main lobby and found our way to the Tournament of Kings theatre. The Excalibur employees all wore medieval garb.

  Our tickets were at the Will Call window. Our seats were in the first row of the Norway grandstand section, just as Lieutenant Lomita said. It was 5:20. The doors opened at 5:30. We killed that time by walking around and keeping our eyes open for Harmony and Rob. We didn’t see them anywhere.

  My thoughts shifted to Rob’s clue as we crowded outside the theatre. What would the battle be? I had no idea.

  The doors opened and the audience poured into the horseshoe-shaped arena. There were five seats in our row. An older couple sat to our far left. Melody sat in the aisle seat to my right. The seat next to me stayed unoccupied. We had a shelf in front of us; I assumed that was for eating dinner.

  Our section, Norway, was at the lower right side of the U-shaped arena. Each grandstand was named for one of the knight kings in the tournament. Spain occupied the bottom of the U. I spotted the four detectives not more than seventy-five feet away. They were in the second row as planned. I still didn’t see any signs of Rob or Harmony.

  The crowd grew in size and excitement. The lights dimmed in the grandstands. A spotlight shined on a little person in the arena. It was a jester. He entertained the crowd for a few minutes.

  Then, I felt a hand placed on my left hand. It was Harmony! She had sat down in the seat to my left.

  I hugged her and said, “Oh my God, my prayers have been answered! How are you?”

  “I’m OK. I can explain later.”

  “OK.”

  Mel had come over and hugged Harmony and kneeled between our seats.

  Harmony then spoke to us in a stage whisper, “Rob is here, somewhere. He has a gun.”

  “How did you get here?”

  “He snuck us in back there.”

  She pointed to the far end of the arena, at the top of the U.

  She continued, “He saw you two sitting here. He had me walk slightly in front of him underneath here and he had his gun in his coat pocket. When we got to this grandstand’s entrance he pushed me toward you when the lights went down. When I looked back, he was gone.”

  “Wow, that’s unbelievable, Harmony.”

  Mel asked, “What do we do now?”

  I said, “Wait. Look for a clue. Think…”

  Harmony spoke up, “Oh, I forgot. He gave me the next clue.”

  Harmony pulled a small envelope from the waist band of her black leotard. She handed it to me and said, “Here it is.”

  It had my name written on it. It looked like the other clues. The lighting was too dark at that moment to read it.

  Then, an actor dressed like Merlin the Wizard appeared in a light blue robe and pointed hat. He welcomed us to the tournament with an elaborate speech, explaining the events of the evening. Dinner was first.

  The lights then came up and our feast was served. The first course was tomato soup. We quickly learned that we ate the meal like in medieval times, without utensils. That wasn’t too hard with the soup, but it became a challenge later with the main course of a whole small chicken, steamed broccoli and potato wedges.

  Harmony looked OK. Her leotard was stained and her face and arms were dirty, but she didn’t have any serious injuries. She filled us in on the time she had been with Rob. She was scared but after they left the desert she felt he wasn’t going to do anything to her, at least not right away. She was starving and drank all her soup and attacked her chicken with both hands.

  With the lights up I could see the four detectives. I discreetly pointed them out to Harmony. I guess the officers saw stress in my face. I’m sure they realized who was sitting next to me. It was weird. I wasn’t sure what to do. I felt we were sitting ducks. So, I opened the clue. The envelope held the usual two pieces of paper.

  The Bible excerpt contained the final verses of 1 Samuel, Chapter 25 that concluded that story of vengeance and restraint.

  She bowed low to the ground and responded, “I, your servant, would be happy to marry David. I would even be willing to become a slave, washing the feet of his servants!” Quickly getting ready, she took along five of her servant girls as attendants, mounted her donkey, and went with David’s messengers. And so she became his wife.

  The clue read:

  David,

  We are near the end. Sins from the past are repeated again and again through the generations. You are part of this history.

  Enjoy the Tournament of Kings. The end will come at the top of the Pharaoh’s monumental temple.

  Nabal

  I passed the clue to both twins.

  Harmony said, “Weird as usual.”

  “Agreed,” I said.

  Mel said, “This must mean he is going to the Luxor and will be somewhere at the top of the pyramid.”

  I said, “Wow, what a way to end this.”

  Harmony spoke in a soft voice, “I know, Stevie, it is so bizarre. What sins have been repeated over and over?”

  I said, “I’m not sure.” I had a guess but kept it to myself.

  Dinner ended and the tournament began. The knights, on top of big horses, rode out and circled the arena. They dismounted and sat at a round table that was lowered from the ceiling. They sang a song announcing the contests. King Arthur called them to prepare for the coming battle against the evil black Dragon Knight.

  Harmony said to me, “Stevie, I really need to use the bathroom.”

  I could only imagine it had been hours since she used the facilities. I didn’t know what was the right or wrong thing to do, so I agreed. I felt Rob was watching us. I noticed as Harmony stood and walked away that the female detective got up and exited the Spain grandstand.

  I pulled a piece of white meat from my chicken. As I ate it I looked for Rob in the crowd. I didn’t see him.

  A few minutes later, Harmony returned.

  She said, “I spoke briefly to the female detective. Her name is Aubrey Meyers. I told her what we know. She said to continue to watch the show. They are checking out everyone here.”

  “OK.”

  “They plan to take Mel and me away from here when the show is over.”

  “Good.”

  Next, in the arena, ten drummers and five flag carriers marched in announcing the games for the knights. The contests included a race for flags upon their horses, spear throwing, swordsmanship and jousting. The crowd got pumped up. They screamed and cheered for their knight. The jousting was an amazing thing to see. Several knights were violently thrown from their saddles to the arena floor. It looked so realistic! I still don’t know how they didn’t get hurt.

  At the end, the games were considered a success. King Arthur told the knights that they are ready for battle.

  I worried. My anxiety was getting to me. I told the twins, “I really don’t like this.”

  Harmony asked, “Why not?”

  “You’re both safe. There’s no reason t
o stay here. I think he wants to hurt all of us for some sin he thinks we’ve done. It’s crazy.”

  Melody began to speak, but her words were drowned out by the loud sound effects and fireworks.

  Just then, the arena darkened. The evil black Dragon Knight and his minions entered the ring, ready to fight the good knights. The minions were dressed in black and their heads were covered by hooded masks. Swords were drawn by all and the battle began. It is a fierce contest with all kinds of magical effects. Then, King Arthur is killed. His royal scepter is handed to his son, Prince Christopher. The heir to the throne rallies the other knights to fight the dark forces.

  Through the blue smoke and pyrotechnics I see one beastly minion turn from the fight and come our way, towards the Norway grandstands. Time seemed to slow. The blue smoke is lit and darkened by strobe lights. It hides and then reveals the person.

  Still, I see the dark warrior coming. He raises his arm. I’ve seen this movement before. The horizontal limb is pointed to my right, to Melody. I try to push her out of the line of fire. I see a flash from the man’s hand. I feel a sharp pain in my upper right arm, near the places where a brick hit me and a knife cut me in the past.

  My push knocks Melody to the floor. I grab at my upper arm and look back at this medieval actor gone mad. He’s now aiming his arm at my left, at Harmony. She’s frozen. She is shocked. She can’t move. I’m able to just reach over and push her a few lifesaving inches. A bullet hits her in the upper right chest, just below her shoulder bone. She is stunned. I see the hole in Harmony’s t-shirt. I look back at the costumed character one more time. Now, he has his right hand pointed straight towards me. Before I can react, the man flinches; one, two, three, four bullets enter his upper body. The shots come from my left, from the Spain grandstand. The man in the arena collapses and falls to his left, away from the hail of bullets. As I turn to look at my saviors, Harmony lists to her left and I grab her before she falls out of her seat.

  I held Harmony up. I looked down at the lifeless body in the arena. A knight walked over and pulled the mask off this gunman’s head. The face was frozen and the eyes were lifeless. The house lights came up to show it is Rob Nealy. He died in the dirt of the Tournament of Kings.

  The grand sword battle ended simultaneously with the conclusion of the short gun battle. I believe some in the audience didn’t comprehend all that happened. Most of the crowd booed and shouted because the show ended prematurely. The people near us witnessed the event and moved back from our table.

  “What happened, Stevie?”

  It was Melody, seated on the floor to my right.

  I said, “Harmony’s been shot in the chest. Rob Nealy did it.”

  Mel said, “Your arm is bleeding, a lot.”

  I shifted in my seat to see my wound. Blood was trickling down my upper arm and dripping steadily on Harmony’s jeans.

  Mel asked, “How bad is she?”

  “I don’t know. We need help. How are you?”

  “You really shoved me. My shoulder is killing me.”

  Melody put her right hand on the source of her pain. Within seconds she moved her hand from wetness and looked at it. It was covered with her own blood.

  I said, “You’ve been hit, too. I reacted too slowly…”

  “I’m surprised. It’s not so bad,” she said.

  At that moment, Detectives Ozick and Meyers appeared at our sides.

  Ozick said, “Don’t move. We’ve called an ambulance. What are the injuries?”

  I explained them. Both women had been shot in the upper chest, Mel below her left shoulder and Harmony below her right shoulder. I guessed Harmony had the worse wound since she was moaning and only semiconscious. Detective Meyers wasn’t so sure. Neither twin had an exit wound from their backs; the bullets were still inside them.

  The detectives guessed the first bullet created a path across my bicep and then continued on or ricocheted into Mel’s chest. The bullet from Rob’s second shot had entered Harmony directly.

  My concern was getting the twins to the hospital. Harmony never completely lost consciousness. She knew Melody had been shot too. She knew we were now safe. I lowered Harmony and laid her on the floor. I held a napkin against her entrance wound. Detective Meyers had Mel lay down too and pressed a wad of tissues against her wound. An Excalibur employee brought us a first aid kit. Detective Ozick put a thick piece of gauze on my arm and tapped it tight.

  I was kneeling on the floor the entire time and never saw what happened to Rob Nealy’s body.

  After Shocks

  Time sped up. The emergency medics arrived and took over the twins’ care. I remember riding in the back of the medical transport truck with the twins. We arrived at the University Medical Center off Charleston Boulevard in minutes.

  Both women were taken to the emergency room. They were calm patients. A doctor told the twins that while their injuries were not life-threatening, they still required surgery to remove the bullets, which were lodged under their clavicle bones.

  I had a flesh wound, a bad one I suppose, but still only a flesh wound. The bullet had dug a channel across my bicep, an inch above the knife-wound scar of sixteen months earlier. They wrapped my upper arm in a bandage.

  I remember sitting in the waiting room. Someone told me that the twins’ operations would each be about two hours long.

  Harmony went in first. Before she did, I stood next to her bed. She had tubes connected to her arm. Her clothes had been removed and she wore a white gown. She looked like a hurt angel.

  She looked at me and said, “You will be here when I wake up, Stevie.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  “Of course I will be.”

  “And, you will stay with Melody.”

  “Sure will.”

  “Please hold my hand. I am somewhat nervous.”

  “Sure you are. But, I’m here. And, so is Mel. All of our troubles are over once we get through these procedures.”

  “Yes, they are.”

  “We will have things to talk about tomorrow.”

  Harmony was getting drowsy.

  She said, “I love you, Stevie.”

  I looked at Mel. She nodded.

  I winked at Harmony. She tried to wink back but could only blink both eyes. I leaned over and kissed her. She squeezed my hand and said, “Thank you. Say a prayer.”

  I did. Then, she was off.

  I spent the final minutes before Mel’s surgery next to her bed.

  She said, “Stevie, you saved our lives. I can’t believe it. Thank you.”

  “I should have protected you better. We were almost killed.”

  “That’s just it. It almost happened, but didn’t. That’s because of you.”

  “Oh, Mel, it was too much of a close call.”

  “Why did Rob do these things?”

  “We don’t have all the answers. But, I hope to have more by tomorrow.”

  Then, my cell phone rang. It was Lieutenant Lomita again. I told Melody I had to take the call. I walked out of the pre-surgery room to the hallway.

  He said, “Garrett, how’s everything there?”

  “OK. Harmony’s in surgery. Mel goes next, in a few minutes. They think it will take about two hours to remove the bullets and repair the damage.”

  “How about your arm?”

  “I’m OK. It has a bandage. I took a pain pill.”

  Lomita said, “Good. I spoke to Andy Ozick, the lead LVPD detective. They think you acted bravely in the arena.”

  “Well, I was lucky that I figured out it was Rob walking towards us on the ground.”

  “No, that was good instincts, Garrett.”

  “Ozick and his men saved my life.”

  “They didn’t miss Nealy, did they?”

  “No, I think Rob took four shots within a second or two after he shot his second bullet.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Ozick said.”

  I asked, “So, what do we do now?”

  “What do you mean? We
got the bad guy and you’ve saved four beautiful girls’ lives.”

  “We haven’t figured out everything yet. These twins are linked to Rob somehow, even though he told Mel he wasn’t Edie’s father. That Sister Carrie is involved, too.”

  “She could be.”

  “Right now, I need to call Edie.”

  It was after nine o’clock. She would be worried.

  Lomita said, “Good luck with that.”

  “I hear you.”

  “Well, before you call, I have some news.”

  “What news?”

  He said, “We got the blood test results.”

  “Oh, really. What do they show?”

  “The blood on the mansion’s driveway was the girl’s.”

  “Yes, that’s what we thought.”

  “It matches her mother’s DNA.”

  “Sure.”

  “Here’s the weird thing; it also matches up with your fiancée’s DNA.”

  “What?”

  He answered, “Yes, Tawny and Edie share some DNA.”

  “How can that be? Bambi was Tawny’s mother.”

  “That’s true; they match. However, your fiancée and the girl’s DNA must match on the father’s side.”

  He explained what he meant.

  Then, Lomita said, “I told the lab guys to take a deeper dive into the blood of everyone.”

  “There are three others I want to test, too.”

  The Lieutenant asked, “Who?”

  I took the time to explain my theory. He listened. He didn’t say much. He didn’t say no. He also agreed to fly to Tucson and meet me there early the next afternoon.

  When I finished talking to Lomita I went back to pre-surgery. Mel was about to go. She was getting her IV started. I held off asking her questions about her time with Rob.

  She said, “Wish me luck.”

  “I will be praying for you, Mel.”

  Then, I kissed her and touched her wonderful red hair. She smiled through her tears and winked.

  ***

  Detective Ozick said, “This was on his body.” It was another envelope with my name written on it in blue ink. He pushed his right hand through his short blonde hair. He held his Dodgers baseball hat.