by Patricia Fry
“You will not! You need a place to crash, it’s yours. End of story.”
“Sure do appreciate it. Where will I find the key?”
“It’s a code now. Punch in four-nine-four-nine. That’s it!”
Savannah hesitated, then said, “I have a cat with me.”
“No problem, Savannah—you know that. Enjoy. I hear the weather’s great this week.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice. I really hadn’t noticed. But yeah, it’s nice.”
Once Savannah ended the call and began driving toward the beach community, Margaret turned to her and asked, “Hey, why the aliases?” She laughed. “Are you and Rags incognito for a reason?”
Savannah glanced at her. “Yes, we are. For one thing, the ransom note was addressed to me. We don’t know who sent it, so I sure don’t want to reveal my identity in case we happen to cross paths with the kidnapper. I figured it’s best for me, especially, to hide my identity.”
Margaret cocked her head. “Yeah, that makes sense. But why call Rags Smokey, for heaven’s sake?”
“Hey, you’ve been with me when his fans have mobbed us. If someone were to recognize him from the documentary or the children’s books, or hear me use his real name, that might put us in jeopardy. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I guess so. You don’t want us to wind up where Brianna is.”
“Exactly.”
Chapter 3
“Vannie, Vannie,” Margaret called. “Your phone. Vannie, wake up.”
“Huh? Oh.” Savannah rolled out of bed and tried to remember where she was and where she’d left her phone.
Margaret pointed. “There.”
“Oh, thanks.” In her gravelly morning voice, she said, “Hello?”
“Sleeping on the job, huh?” Craig quipped.
“Oh, Craig. Where are you?”
“Just arrived in LA. I’m about to grab a cab. How far are you from the airport?”
“I’d say about thirty or forty minutes.” She squinted, trying to see her watch. “What time is it?”
“Breakfast time. Are you gals ready for breakfast?”
“I don’t know, is it light out?” She walked to the nearest window and pulled back the drapes. “Yeah, I guess it is. Sure, come on out here. You remember where Peter’s beach house is, don’t you? I gave you the address last night.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
She suggested, “Shall we eat at that place where we ate when we all stayed here a couple of years ago? Remember that?”
“Sure do. They have great coffee and one of the best Denver omelets around.”
****
Forty-five minutes later, the trio was seated on an enclosed patio at the ocean-side restaurant. They’d left Rags with his breakfast at the beach house.
“Craig, did you get any sleep?” Savannah asked.
He nodded. “A little.”
“Where’s Michael?” Margaret asked. “Wasn’t he traveling with you?”
“Yeah. He thought he’d better go home and help Gladys with the kids. Plus, Bud had a big case involving some mysterious disease out at a ranch and wanted Michael’s help with inoculating all the cattle or pigs or something…” He grimaced. “He’s also concerned for Bud. Poor guy’s having a rough time with Brianna gone and all.”
Savannah smiled. “That’s my man.” She dabbed at one eye. “He’s such a good guy. I’ll owe him big time when I get back.”
After they’d placed their orders, Craig asked, “So what’s going on that’s so important you had to drag me all the way down here?”
“Well, Craig,” Savannah started, “the biggest thing is seeing that fabric patch on that guy’s shirt and learning that someone who was either a traveler or who works for the company had it. Craig, I think we need to get a roster of those on the trip with Brianna and start interrogating them.”
Margaret chimed in. “Yeah, that Bruce guy with the suspenders and patch is supposed to be getting that for us.”
“If we can rely on him,” Savannah said, shaking her head.
Craig gazed across the table at the women. “Suspenders, huh? Sounds like a snappy dresser.” He asked in a more serious tone, “Have you received anything else from anyone?”
“Well, I haven’t been home, as you know. But Mom didn’t say anything suspicious had come in the mail.”
“Have you checked your email, texts, voicemail?”
Savannah jumped a little in her seat. “Email. Oh my gosh, I haven’t looked at my email since we left yesterday.” She tapped on her phone for a few minutes, finally announcing, “No, I don’t see anything here. So Craig, do you have any ideas?”
“Well, that guy says he took the fabric from an envelope he found lying around, but he didn’t see who had put it in there.” He looked at the women. “He doesn’t even know if it was a guest or an employee?”
“That’s right,” Savannah confirmed. “He told us he found the envelope in the business center at the company’s office, when no one was in there.”
“Why don’t we start with some of the employees? Do you have any names?”
Savannah slumped in her chair. “Just Paul Carter. We didn’t get Robin’s or Cindy’s last name, did we, Auntie?”
Looking smug, Margaret said, “You mean you didn’t notice the name plates on their desks? Let’s see, it was Cindy Trenton, I believe, and Robin Salinas.” When Savannah stared at her aunt in disbelief, Margaret said, “What can I say, I’m observant. Besides, you were doing all the talking. I needed something to keep from getting bored.”
“I wasn’t either doing all the talking,” Savannah defended.
“Good job, Maggie,” Craig commended, making a couple of notes. “I’ll run a check on these people.” He took a swig of coffee, then asked, “Do you know this Bruce guy’s full name?”
Savannah gazed at Margaret, who said, “Don’t ask me. I’ve done my part.”
“Well, it must be Carter since he says Paul’s his brother. Try that, Craig,” Savannah suggested. “How long will that take?”
“Huh? Oh, to check these people out?” Craig asked. “Not long. I’ll get someone on it right away. In the meantime, you can show me where they work; I might just pay them a visit.”
Savannah squinted. “You don’t want to spook them, do you?”
“No.” He grinned. “I want to sign up for one of those adventure trips.”
Savannah and Margaret chuckled.
“What’s funny?” he asked, pretending to be insulted.
“Oh nothing,” Savannah said.
Margaret wasn’t so gracious. “Yeah, they’ll probably see right through that. What sixty-year-old man is going on one of those trips?”
Craig frowned at her. “First of all, I’m not sixty.”
“Almost.” Margaret laughed. “You look sixty.”
“Thanks a lot,” he groused. He added, “Second of all, ever heard of the mid-life crisis? Isn’t this one of those things you’d do in order to—you know, retain your youth?”
Savannah chuckled. “Or die trying.”
****
After eating, the threesome returned to the beach house, where they received a warm feline greeting. Craig watched with interest as Rags snaked around Savannah’s ankles. “I still can’t believe you brought him.”
“Not on purpose,” Savannah grumbled. “He hitched a ride without us knowing it until we’d gone too far to turn back.”
Margaret chuckled. “Yeah, that cat’s no dummy. He knows a free vacation opportunity when he sees one.”
Craig shook his head.
“That Bruce guy sure liked him,” Margaret said. “He kept asking Savannah if he could have the cat.” She grinned. “I don’t know why she didn’t give Rags to him.”
“Yeah, sometimes I wonder too,” Savannah said. She ran her hand over Rags’s fur as he walked past her toward Craig. “He’s a handful, all right. But yeah, Bruce was really into Rags. He must have asked me three or four
times if he could have him.”
Craig stared down at the cat, then said, “Okay, here’s the plan: you’re going to take me to the office, drop me off, and I’ll go in and see what I can find out. I’ll meet up with you around the corner and we’ll decide what to do from there.” As they prepared to leave, Craig looked down at the cat and asked, “Isn’t he going with us?”
Savannah frowned. “Why?”
“Yeah, why?” Margaret protested.
Craig cleared his throat and pursed his lips. “Well, you never know when he’ll come in handy.” He looked at Savannah. “You don’t really want to leave him here all day, do you? We might not be back by dinnertime.”
“Not that I’m eager to spend the day with him,” Margaret said, “but think about the damage he could do to this place if he gets bored or something.”
Savannah let out a sigh. “Oh, you could be right. Okay, Ragsy, let’s get you ready for an outing.”
****
It was nearly ten that morning when the women dropped Craig off around the corner from the adventure-company office. Savannah fanned herself. “It’s stuffy in this car. Let’s take Rags for a walk, shall we?”
“Sounds good,” Margaret agreed. “I wouldn’t mind walking off some of that cinnamon-bun French toast I ate for breakfast. Dang, that was good.”
Savannah laughed. “Looked good.”
“Yeah, it’ll be looking good on my hips for a long time to come,” Margaret complained. She gazed in the direction Craig had walked. “Gosh, I wish we could go with him.”
“Why?” Savannah asked.
“I want to see how Craig operates.” She giggled. “…and see how Cindy and Robin react when he tells them he wants an extreme adventure.”
“Yeah, we pretty much burned that bridge yesterday, didn’t we? They know who we are and that we’re looking for Brianna.”
****
While Savannah and Margaret were taking their walk with the cat, Craig stepped into the travel office and was greeted by a pert young woman. “Good morning, how can I help you?” she chirped.
“Just want to pick up a brochure and ask a few questions,” Craig said.
“Won’t you have a seat?” the woman invited, sitting down at the desk opposite him. She offered her hand. “I’m Cindy and you are…?”
“Chuck. Tell me about some of your adventures, will you?”
“Sure, are you looking for something special?” She studied him for a moment, then suggested, “Strenuous, tame, a planned itinerary of your choice, or a mystery trip? What’s your pleasure, Chuck?”
“Oh…um…let’s see, maybe one of the mystery trips—that’s where I don’t know where I’m going or what’s going to happen until I get there, right?”
“Yes. And we offer those in extreme travel, tame, and in-between.” She gazed at him for a moment. “You look like an in-between man to me. I mean, too manly for the tame adventure and too smart to take the extreme one.”
Craig flashed a crooked smile, then asked, “Have you been on one of those trips yourself, Cindy?”
She shook her head. “Not yet, but I plan to go.”
Craig looked around. “Can I speak with someone who has been on one?”
“Sure, we can put you in touch with a couple of people.”
“Is there anyone here today who has been?” He winked. “Maybe someone who has led an adventure?”
Cindy glanced at Robin, who sat at the other desk. “Yeah, I think Mr. Carter’s in.”
Robin nodded.
“Just a minute,” Cindy said, standing and walking into the back. When she returned, she invited Craig to follow her into Paul Carter’s office.
“Hello! Chuck is it?” Paul asked, shaking his hand. “Paul Carter. Please sit down. How can I help you?”
****
“Where are you guys?” Craig asked into his phone several minutes later. “I’m at the car.”
“Oh, sorry, Craig,” Savannah responded. “We took a walk. I can see you. We’re on our way back.” When she and Margaret caught up to Craig, she asked, “So what did you find out?”
“Not much.” He chuckled. “They sure wanted to sign me up, though. I may be going on a jungle excursion or an African safari.” When he became aware that the women weren’t in the mood for his jokes, he said, “Okay, here’s what we know. There’s no criminal history on any of the three in this office. I also had my people check out Nancy and Bart Goff. He’s been in and out of the courtroom defending his butt in lawsuits relating to business deals gone bad. He may be or may have been a swindler. But nothing monumental that would raise a red flag in this case.” He let out a sigh. “Just wish we could get some information on the guests who were using that business center when your friend found the swatch.”
“Not our friend,” Margaret asserted. “The cat’s friend.”
Craig stared at Rags for a moment.
“Can’t you get a search warrant for the office—their records and stuff?” Savannah asked. “I mean, we are dealing with a possible abduction.”
Craig looked at her. “Yeah, maybe. Let me think about that.”
“Why do you have to think about it?”
“Well, we aren’t absolutely sure that Brianna has been kidnapped. Remember the extortion scenario I mentioned as a possibility?” Craig reminded her.
“Yeah,” Margaret said, “but that’s criminal too, isn’t it?”
Craig nodded. “Yes, but we don’t want to jump the gun. The court demands that you have a pretty darn good reason for invading someone’s privacy or disrupting a business by taking their files—you know, evidence that they’ve done something illegal.” He scratched his head. “In the meantime, I’d like to check out the residence of Paul Carter.”
Savannah looked surprised. “You think he had something to do with this? He seemed like an ordinary, nice guy to me. Didn’t he, Auntie?”
Craig looked at the women. “Do you know how many crooks and scoundrels appear to be ordinary, nice guys?”
“Yeah,” Margaret said, “I read recently that one-third of criminals own cats.”
Craig frowned. “Well, isn’t that a useless piece of trivia?”
Savannah was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Do you know where Paul Carter lives?”
“Yes. I also have addresses for Cindy and Robin, but I doubt those two are involved, unless…”
“Unless what?” Margaret asked.
He shrugged. “Well, unless they are, I guess.”
Margaret and Savannah exchanged looks.
****
“Nice place,” Margaret said nearly an hour later when Savannah parked in front of an older home in a quiet neighborhood. “Sure wouldn’t want to make that drive to work every day, though.”
“Well, yeah, but we hit it at rush hour,” Craig explained.
“I thought the morning rush hour was eight o’clock,” Margaret countered.
Savannah laughed. “Rush hour in LA is just about any time, these days. It’s even more crowded than when I lived down here.” She turned to Craig. “What now?”
He took a deep breath, glanced around the neighborhood, then looked back at the cat. “Well, I want to find out if anyone’s at home—a wife or a housekeeper or someone. If so, I’ll come up with a reason to go inside. If not, I’ll do some snooping around the outside. Oh look, there’s a neighbor watering her lawn. I think I’ll go talk to her. Maybe she’s noticed something she’d like to report to us.” He glanced into the back seat at Rags. “Let’s take him and see what he’ll tell us.”
“Shall we all go or…?” Savannah asked.
Craig thought about it. “Yeah, let’s do. We’ll pose as relatives. Yeah, relatives on a…a…genealogy pursuit.”
Savannah chuckled.
Margaret rolled her eyes.
Before they stepped out of the car, Savannah grabbed Craig’s arm. “Oh, by the way, I told them in the office that I’m Elizabeth…Liz.” When he looke
d confused, she added, “Craig, I’m the one who received the ransom note. Whoever sent it knows my name and we don’t know who that is.”
Margaret chuckled. “And Rags is famous, so he’s incognito on this trip too.”
“Yes,” Savannah said. “He’s Smokey.”
The detective stared at Margaret, then at Savannah, grinned, and shook his head. “Hello there!” he called to the neighbor as they approached her moments later.
“Hello,” the woman said hesitantly, turning off the spray nozzle on her hose. “You aren’t selling something, are you?” She looked down at Rags. “I’ve never seen anyone go door-to-door with a cat. That’s a first.” She dropped the hose and crouched to get Rags’s attention. After petting him for a few moments, she said, “It’s a good way to sway me to buy something. I’m a sucker for cats.” She stood and addressed Craig. “But I’m curious, what is it you’re selling?”
“Oops,” Savannah said, stumbling a little as Rags tugged on the leash. “Where are you going?” She started to pick him up.
When Craig noticed that the cat was trying to lead Savannah toward Paul Carter’s home, he used hand gestures to encourage her to let him go. Then he did his best to engage the neighbor in small talk while keeping an eye on Rags. When the cat walked up to a crawl space under the Carter house and began pawing at the screen that covered it, Craig became even more interested. “I wonder what the cat’s after,” he said, walking in that direction. He joined Savannah, squatted, and attempted to peer through the screen. “What it is, Rags?” He quickly corrected himself. “…I mean Smokey.” When Craig couldn’t see or hear anything under there, he removed the screen and stuck his head into the space calling, “Hello! Hello!”
Rags, in the meantime, pulled and tugged fiercely against the leash attempting to go into the crawl space.
“No!” Savannah said sternly.
Craig sat back on his haunches. “Sav…um Liz, do you have a flashlight in your car?”
“Yes.”
She started to hand her aunt the leash, but Margaret said, “Give me your keys; I’ll get it.”