Larkin's Landing_A Tombora Springs Mystery

by SK Wee

  The man stared at me for what seemed like forever but was actually mere moments before he spoke. “Okay, try to call her but don’t leave any messages. If she answers, be quick and ask what you need and make sure you don’t give out anything about where you are or who you’re with. Any wrong word and I will kill you. Understand?”

  “Ah . . . yeah, I got it. I trust her implicitly though. She would never turn us over, that much I’m sure of. But you are right, they might be watching her or even with her. I think I’ll be able to tell if they are.” He handed me what looked to be a brand new cell phone. “Is this going to work way out here? Is there cell phone service in this area?”

  “Yeah, but we’ll have to walk out near the road. Butch, you wait here.” He tugged my arm and led me outside and to the edge of the clearing before he stopped. “This is the best signal area, but that’s not saying much. Just be quick.”

  As fast as possible, I punched in Fee’s number and she answered on the first ring. I knew Fee was smart enough not to contradict anything I would say. “Good. You’re home. I need you to get that information from your friend about Dale’s storage locker right away. I know it’s too late tonight, but I’ll call first thing tomorrow and I really need the exact location and number.”

  “Umm . . . what time will you call? I think I can get the information by about ten. Will that be soon enough? Why the rush?” Fee must be thinking that someone would be listening in on the conversation.

  “Just get the information as soon as possible.” The old man gave me eight fingers and then used one of them to mimic slicing across his neck. I took that as by eight o’clock or else I’m dead. “I’ll call at eight a.m. and expect the location. Don’t let me down.” I quickly took the phone away from my ear and made it look like I shut it down though I left the connection intact. There may be a way to trace the call, and I wanted any advantage at all.

  To distract the man, I asked about my earlier suspicions. “You’re related to Dale, aren’t you? I’ve only see him a few times but the resemblance is remarkable.”

  “Yes, Tara, dear. I’m your long lost uncle, Jason. But our horny hit man doesn’t know the connection and I’d like to keep him out of the loop, if you don’t mind. The less someone like him knows, the better off we all are.” At least he hadn’t asked for the cell phone back, which was my main objective.

  It was already past midnight and I felt exhausted. I knew once I tried to relax, visions of Cal would intrude. As long as I was still dealing with these thugs, I could keep the image of him lying in the ditch at bay.

  We walked back toward the porch and when we got to the steps, my uncle reached for the cell phone and I knew I needed to close off the connection. I snapped it shut and handed it back to him.

  “What should I call you, anyway? Butch calls you boss and I can’t call you Uncle. I wouldn’t imagine you wanted me to use your real name of Jason.” The thought of claiming a relationship with the man left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I also didn’t want to call him ‘the old man’ or ‘boss.’

  “Slade,” he answered. “Let’s get some rest. Too bad we don’t have any internet service out here. I would love to check out storage locker facilities. Any idea how many are in the area?”

  “Hmm . . . I’m sure about three of them. There is one just to the north of town and another on the west side, but there is a small one just east of town near his son’s old house. That is the one we believe he was using. I’ve already driven through it, but there was no way to tell which one he rented.”

  Slade talked a little more about surveillance cameras but I told him I hadn’t noticed on my fictitious investigation. I did recall that there was a facility because I had driven by it many times. Slade took the master bedroom and told Butch to watch over me for the rest of the night. I grabbed a quilt and stayed in one of the recliners while Butch stared at me from the sofa.

  “Wouldn’t you be more comfy over here with me?” Butch patted the sofa beside him and I hoped he wouldn’t push it.

  “I’m fine over here. Just remember what your boss said and don’t even try to touch me.” I hoped the threat would work. I was wrung out, tired, scared, and still trying to hold back the grief that wanted to engulf me.

  When I felt the quilt being removed, I knew I had somehow relaxed enough to doze off. I grabbed onto the blanket with all my strength, but that just drew his laughter. “Come one, now. If you just relax this won’t have to be such a struggle. Your little whimpers while sleeping got me hard as a rock.” Butch had his hands under the quilt, no longer trying to wrestle it away. He placed one hand at the waistband of the sweat pants that were several sizes too large for me.

  “Get your filthy hands off me!” I struggled to remove his hands but he was a lot stronger than I was. He pulled on the pants and they easily slid down. I began to kick with all my might. Though I aimed for his crotch, he easily side-stepped my attack. He grabbed hold of one leg and got the pants off while moving in between my legs. As he uncovered his erection, I continued to fight with everything I had left in me. There was no way he was going to have an easy time of it.

  “I thought I told you to leave her alone.” Slade was standing behind my chair and I couldn’t see him but Butch looked up at his boss, clearly frustrated.

  “She’s hot and ready for me! Damn it, boss, I need this!” Still unable to see Slade, I noticed that Butch was beginning to back away from me. I could see him raise his hands in a silent plea and heard the gun shot. Butch jerked violently to the side and landed on the floor. Though I closed my eyes, I was not near quick enough to avoid seeing brain matter spray on both the wall and window. The smell of sulfur hit me full force. I swallowed with difficulty and turned my head away before opening my eyes once more.

  When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw Slade still holding his pistol, and looking quite grim. “I should never have to worry about whether or not my orders are being followed. Stupid bastard.” I tried to get my sweatpants pulled back up and didn’t think I should say a word.

  As I stood up, the front door was slammed open, and I heard Logan scream to get down. I fell to the floor immediately. Though Logan yelled at Slade to throw the gun down, Slade instead fired toward the door, and I heard an answering squeal from someone and then a return volley of gunfire and the recliner I recently had been sleeping on was hit a couple of times before I heard Slade hit the wall behind it.

  “Tara? Tara, are you alright?” Logan yelled as he pushed furniture out of the way to get to me.

  “Yes, thank God you’re here!” I heard sirens out on the road and knew he had backup. But the tight rein I had held on all my turbulent emotions broke free in that one single moment when I knew I was safe. The tears turned to wails, which though I’m not too proud of, I had absolutely no control over. I clung to Logan like he was the only scrap of sanity left in a world fallen to chaos.

  When more deputies arrived through the doorway, Logan tried give them instructions on what to accomplish while I was draped and sobbing into his chest. Slade was hit but not killed. Butch was most certainly dead. When Logan guided me out the door, I noticed Vanessa outside getting helped from some paramedics. Fortunately, she was wearing a vest and only suffered some minor bruising.

  “Come on, Tara. We’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital.” Logan helped me over to his vehicle hidden behind the trees. Vanessa went with the ambulance to keep an eye on Slade, and the deputies were charged with securing the scene. Occasionally, I would recognize Logan’s voice come through the noise of my sobbing saying, “It’s going to be all right.” I had no idea how anything was ever going to be all right ever again.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Fee

  The hours were tense while we waited to hear from Logan. When Tara called me, they weren’t set up to trace the phone call. Vanessa had just recently arrived from DC and they immediately set up the equipment. They had already gotten information from Pastor Dale on the whereabouts of his cabin, and so it was sur
prisingly easy to ascertain that the call had originated from that vicinity.

  Since the first calls had come through to Tara, Vanessa and Logan had learned about Dale’s ex-partner, who also was his older brother, and had traced him to the area. They had interrogated Dale in prison and found out what Jason might be looking for and how desperate he was likely to be to find it.

  So when they received the call last evening about Cal being found along the county highway, they already had a good idea who they were looking for, and the make and model of his vehicle. They made plans immediately to scope out the area around Dale’s cabin. Logan had called to say that they were surrounding the cabin, which was definitely in use. I had just hoped that no harm had come to Tara before she could be rescued. She meant the world to me.

  When my cell phone rang, my heart nearly stopped. We had been waiting hours to hear the news but now I was petrified to finally get it. “Hello.”

  “Fee,” it was coming from Logan’s cell, but Tara was on the line. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. “We’re on our way to the hospital but we are fine.”

  “Thank God! I was so scared. Oh Tara, when they found Cal . . .”

  “Don’t . . . let’s not go there right now. Not over the phone.” I could hear the catch in her voice and knew that she hadn’t quite come to terms with everything that had happened to her yet.

  “I’m waiting at the hospital for you, and I can already hear the ambulance sirens. I’ll see you soon, sweetie.” I looked out the window of the hospital room and waited to catch a glimpse of the ambulance. The siren was blaring louder and louder, and then I saw it come into view and I noticed Logan’s car right behind it. “They’re here. She’ll be up here shortly.”

  “I just hope she won’t mind my new scar.” Cal put his hand up and touched his bandaged head. He had lost consciousness when he fell and banged his head on a large boulder alongside the road. The gunshot had been aimed directly into one of his Batman ears, and actually did little but leave a crease on the left side of his head. The mask probably saved his life since the fake ears sat so high on his head.

  It wasn’t more than ten minutes when we heard a timid knock on the door. I got up and opened it. Tara looked dreadful and absolutely beautiful at the same time. I hugged her and we were both crying as I pulled away from her.

  “So the baby isn’t the reason you’re at the hospital. How come you’re here?” I realized that Tara still had no idea who was in the room. I also realized that she didn’t even know that Cal was alive and well. As soon as I moved off to the side so she could get a view inside the room, it didn’t take long at all for her to figure everything out. I heard her sobs turn to a high-pitched scream as she launched herself into the room. I decided that they didn’t need any company and firmly closed the door behind me.

  About the Author

  S K Wee lives in West-Central Wisconsin with her husband, Jeffery, and their pooch, Sissy. She is retired from the Postal Service and spends most her time reading and writing, but loves to travel. Her first novel, Absence of Color, is the beginning of a four book fantasy series, Spectrum of Color, which is available through Amazon. She also has written a follow-up trilogy centered on the children of the main characters we grew to love in the Spectrum of Color Series. The Whispers From Beyond Trilogy will soon be available in its entirety.

  This is the first contemporary story she has written and she would love to get some feedback.

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