by Patricia Fry
Before Margaret had returned with the flashlight, Craig said quietly to Savannah, “Clearly there’s something under there that interests him.”
Just then, the neighbor woman approached and called out, “Ebony! It’s Ebony!”
Craig and Savannah returned their attention to the crawl space and saw a pair of yellow eyes peering out at them. Savannah picked up Rags and motioned for Craig to step back as they watched a beautiful silky black cat wearing a rhinestone collar walk out into the open.
“So that’s where she’s been,” the woman said, picking up the cat. She explained to the others, “Ebony went missing day before yesterday. We were all so worried.”
Craig looked around. “That cat’s been missing? Why didn’t anyone hear her? She must have been howling her lungs out under there.”
The woman chuckled and snuggled with the cat. “Well, she’s a Persian, you see, and she has a very soft mew. I guess the search team couldn’t hear her cry for help.”
“Search team?” Margaret asked as she returned with the flashlight.
“Yes. The whole neighborhood was out looking for her yesterday.” She nodded to a house across the street. “Mrs. Maroni let her out in her backyard and she must have followed that naughty ginger cat over here and crawled under Paul’s house before he finally put that grate back up there. It’s always falling off.” She laughed. “I wonder if the ginger cat is under there, too. I’ll have to warn Paul to watch out for him. Now, his yowl you could hear. So I’d say either he’s not under there or he’s contented. Heck, he may have a whole harem of beautiful cats under there with him.”
The woman looked into the black cat’s face. “Ebony, you are a naughty girl. Your mom has been looking everywhere for you.” She started to walk away with the cat, then turned. “It was your cat who found her, wasn’t it? How fortuitous that you came by just when we were about to give up on her.” She choked up. “We thought for sure one of the coyotes had taken her.”
“Why does that woman let her out?” Margaret challenged.
“Oh, Ebony doesn’t usually leave the yard. She’s only allowed out during the daytime and she’s trained to stay in the yard.”
Margaret scowled. “Not well-enough trained.”
The woman gazed at Margaret for a moment, then said, “I’ll have a talk with Mrs. Maroni. She’ll probably keep a closer eye on her since this happened.” She glanced at Rags. “So glad you brought your cat along.” She returned her attention to Craig. “Now what is it you folks are selling?”
“We’re not selling anything.” When Craig saw Ebony struggling in the woman’s arms, he said, “Why don’t you go get the cat settled, then we’ll have a chat.”
The woman returned a few minutes later wearing a wide smile across her face. “Mrs. Maroni is thrilled and so grateful. She wants me to thank you for finding Ebony.”
“Sure,” Craig said. “Now, Ms….um…”
“Oh, I’m Lottie Dean.”
“Ms. Dean, when is a good time to catch Mr. Carter at home? We’d like to surprise him.”
She looked suspiciously at Craig and both women. “Surprise him?”
“Yes. Now, he lives alone, am I right?”
“Yes. His brother’s there sometimes—I think for meals, mostly. But yes, since Carolee left many years ago, he’s alone now. Doesn’t leave the house much except to go to work and he takes a trip with his company now and then. His old dog died, so he doesn’t have anything holding him down.” She leaned toward Craig. “He lives a rather dull life for a guy who hasn’t even hit fifty yet. A surprise would be nice.” She tilted her head. “If you don’t mind my asking, what sort of surprise do you have in mind?”
He gestured toward Savannah and Margaret. “We’re working on our genealogy and the research has led us to Mr. Carter. We’re hoping he can fill some blanks in our family tree. Now you won’t tell him about us, will you, Ms. Dean?” Craig asked. “I know he’ll be excited when we share some of the information we’ve found on our family.”
“Oh no. I won’t say anything. I don’t actually see Paul much. When he’s home, he keeps to himself.”
“Good. You’ve been most helpful. Thank you.” Craig started to walk away, then turned back. “Uh…Ms. Dean, I see that Mr. Carter has a unique fence across the back of his property. I’ve been trying to decide what kind of fence to put up around my house. Do you think it would be okay if I look more closely at it? You can walk along with us, if you wish.”
Lottie Dean frowned, then said, “Sure, I guess. I can’t see any harm. Go ahead. You should catch Paul at home around six this evening. Tomorrow’s Sunday. He mows his lawns after church on Sundays, so come by after the noon hour.”
“Thank you,” Craig said, with a slight bow.
“Relatives of Paul Carter, huh?” Margaret chortled. “Doing genealogy research? Do you think she bought it?” she asked after they’d returned to the car.
“Why wouldn’t she? Don’t you think I look like an honest fellow?” He gazed at Rags. “My buddy sure made an impression. High-five, guy,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, imagine if Rags hadn’t come along. That poor black cat might have died.” Savannah lowered her brow. “I wonder why she didn’t meow.”
Margaret shook her head. “Like Ms. Dean said, Persians have a soft voice. But some of them can sure yell out if they need to. She might have been meowing all day when Paul was at work and lost her voice. Sometimes cats will do that. The smart ones save their vocal chords until they hear someone nearby.”
Craig stared at Margaret for a moment. “Really?” He looked down at Rags again. “They’re more complex than I realized.”
Savannah ran her hand over the cat’s fur as he sat on Craig’s lap in the front passenger seat. “So what’s next, Craig?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“I have a family to get home to; I need for us to stay on track. What’s our next strategy?”
Craig studied her for a moment, then said in a serious tone, “I don’t think Brianna is being held here.”
“Why not?” Margaret asked. “I mean, this guy probably had access to her carpetbag—it’s his brother who has a piece of it—and he’s home a lot. It makes sense to me that she’s here.”
“First of all, Rags didn’t give any indication of her being here and I was watching him closely.” Craig shook his head. “No. I doubt that Brianna is here or Rags would have reacted.” He chuckled. “All he was interested in was that glamorous black cat.” He continued, “The neighbor hasn’t seen anything unusual. I believe that if she had, she would be telling us about it. The only thing that has me tripped up is the fact that, according to Ms. Dean, he’s here so much—doesn’t go out after work and so forth. And that worries me. It could mean that…”
“What, Craig?” Savannah asked.
“Well, if she isn’t here, who’s watching her? Where are they hiding her?”
“Ms. Dean could be wrong.”
“Bingo!” Craig said. “That’s why I’m going to have this guy watched.”
“But you said Rags didn’t notice anything…”
Craig faced Savannah. “I guess you didn’t see the bomb shelter.”
“Bomb shelter?” Margaret screeched. “For real?”
“I think that’s what it was.” He glanced at Savannah, then back at Margaret. “People all over the United States were building them in the fifties and sixties. Those things are more secure than the Denver mint. Rags wouldn’t be able to catch a scent, even if someone was cooking a turkey dinner in there. Yeah, we need to put a tail on Mr. Carter—find out what he buys at the grocery store, what sort of deliveries he receives, where he goes, and most of all, what he might be hiding in the cellar I saw tucked under that old pepper tree on the back of his property.”
“That was a bomb shelter, huh?” Savannah asked.
“I’m pretty sure it was.”
“So you’re going to hire someone to follow him around?”
&
nbsp; “I know people on the police force down here. I think I can get someone to stake this place out. Like you said, Savannah, we don’t have a lot of time. And we have other things to do while we’re here in LA.”
“Like what?” Margaret asked. She grinned. “Go to the movies?”
Craig smirked at her, then said, “No, I’d like to talk to that guy in the suspenders.”
“Bruce?” Savannah said.
Craig nodded.
Savannah pulled the car away from the curb. “Okay, where to, Craig? Where do you want to look for Bruce?”
“Well, first, I’d like to visit a car rental place. Do you know where to find one?”
“Yes, I think so. Why do you want to rent a car?”
“Because, Savannah, the people we may want to watch have seen this big family car. We need to navigate below the radar in something more common, like a dark-colored sedan that looks like every other dark-colored sedan clogging up the Los Angeles freeways.”
Margaret grinned. “So you’re not talking Corvette, Hummer, or Jag, then.”
Craig glanced briefly in her direction, then said to Savannah, “We’ll dump this tub back at the beach house, then go in search of Mr. Suspenders.”
“Why?” Savannah asked.
Craig let out a deep sigh. “I’m going to have to fire you, girl. You’re losing your touch.” He turned toward her. “Didn’t he tell you he could get the roster from the trip Brianna took? We need that roster.”
“He said he might be able to,” Margaret explained. “He’s supposed to call my phone when he has it. Vannie gave him my number.”
Suddenly, Savannah’s face brightened. “Oh, that reminds me; I think I found someone who went on that trip with Bri.”
“What? How could you forget that?”
“Well, the email came in while we were walking earlier, then you came back with information, and we started talking about…”
He waved his hand in the air. “Never mind. What did this dude—or gal—say?”
“It’s a man. He said he knows Brianna and he may have information we can use. I emailed him back. Hopefully I’ll hear something from him soon.”
****
By one o’clock that afternoon, the three of them had let themselves and the cat into the beach house. “I’d better check in with my family,” Savannah said, stepping out through the sliding doors and plopping down in a lounge chair on the beach-side deck.
Meanwhile, Craig and Margaret went in separate directions inside the house.
“Hi, Mom,” Savannah said into her phone. “How is everyone?”
“Wonderful, dear. How are you? Any word about where Bri is?”
“Not yet.”
“You sound tired, honey.”
“It’s exhausting—the traffic, the uncertainty, the games we have to play in order to get the information we need…”
“I can’t even imagine,” Gladys said. She paused. “When will you be home, Vannie?”
“I just don’t know, Mom. I so want to be there now, but we need to see this thing through. We have a clue we’re trying to follow. If all goes well, we’ll be home sooner rather than later.” She groaned. “I miss my babies so much.”
“And they miss you,” Gladys said.
“Is Teddy doing okay?”
“Oh yes. He’s a dream. He slept six hours last night. And Michael is really helpful since he got home. You know, Vannie, Lily is quite well-adjusted. She doesn’t seem to be affected very much by your absence.”
When Savannah remained silent, Gladys said, “Vannie? Vannie, are you there?”
“Yes, Mom,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “So she doesn’t miss me at all?”
“Oh no, honey, I didn’t say that. It’s just that she isn’t miserable. A well-adjusted child can handle change better than some other children. You can be proud that she isn’t crying for you all the time. Oh, she misses you and, she sure does love you.”
“Well, I’m glad she’s contented with you there. That’s comforting. Give them both hugs and kisses for me. And tell them…”
“I know, Vannie—that Mommy loves them very much. I sure will.”
“Okay. I’d better go. I need to call Michael.”
After Savannah had talked to Michael, she looked around and saw that she was still alone. She began scrolling through her emails, deleting those that she wasn’t interested in and saving those she wanted to address later. Suddenly she stopped and stared at her screen, feeling her heart leap into her throat. It’s a response from that guy who traveled with Brianna. Oh my gosh. I need to speak with him. She opened the email. Before she could read it, Craig stepped out onto the deck.
“It’s nice out here,” he said. “I’d like to go for a swim, but I’ll bet that water’s cold.”
“Yeah, it always is.” She faced him and said more excitedly, “Craig, I got another email from that guy who went on the trip with Brianna.”
He sat down in a chair next to her. “What does it say?”
“I was just about to read it. His name’s Rodney. He says, ‘I understand you’re looking for Brianna Jordan. I was on the adventure excursion with Brianna and, in fact, helped her through some rough spells. This trip obviously was not her cup of tea, although she wasn’t quick to cry uncle. Being a psychologist, I was able to see beneath her attempt to exhibit a tough exterior and I got her to admit that all she wanted was out. She found a way to leave. I, and a few others, advised her against it. I felt she was safer staying with us. We only had a few days left to go. But she chose door number two and she split off with a few others. She promised she’d stay in touch and she gave me her cell number. I’m concerned because I can’t get through to her. When I saw your request for information about Brianna, I became even more concerned that door number two was as dangerous for Brianna—or more so—than the difficult adventure trip. I hope that she has checked in with her family by now. If not, ring me up. I might have some information you can use to locate her. Sincerely, Rodney B. PS: I live and work in Southern California.’ And he leaves a phone number.”
Craig tightened his lips. Savannah could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Finally, he said, “Call him. I’d like to find out more about this danger he sensed.”
When Margaret joined them, Savannah walked to the other side of the deck to make the call.
“Maggie, has Mr. Suspenders contacted you?” Craig asked.
She shook her head, then drew a deep breath. “I love the sea-spray aroma. They ought to bottle it.”
“Have you checked your phone?” Craig persisted.
“Yeah,” she said, “just now. No call or text.”
“Let’s go,” Savannah said, pocketing her phone. “His office is just around the corner. Shall we walk?”
Craig thought about it for a moment. “No. Let’s take the rental car. There are a couple of things I want to check out after we see that guy.”
“Can you come back and get me before you take off on your next adventure?” Margaret whined. “I’d sure like to spend some time right now sleeping in the sunshine. I’ll keep an eye on the cat,” she offered.
“Yeah, okay,” Craig said. “We’ll be back shortly.”
****
After parking the car near the psychologist’s office, Craig cleared his throat. “Uh…Savannah, let me do the talking, okay?”
Startled at first, she shrugged. “Sure. Okay.” She chuckled. “Is that why you were relieved when my aunt decided to stay back and take a nap? She can be outspoken.”
Craig rolled his eyes before stepping out of the car. Once they’d entered the small office and found no one in the reception area, Savannah discovered a bell. She tapped it and a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties walked into the room.
He tilted his head. “Savannah?”
She nodded.
“You and your sister…”
Savannah grinned. “No, we don’t look much alike, that’s
for sure. But we are blood sisters.” She gestured toward the detective. “This is Det…” she started.
“Craig Sledge,” he said, offering his hand. He grinned. “Not related; just friends.”
“I see. Well, come in, won’t you?” Rodney motioned for them to enter his office, then he walked across the reception room and locked the front door. He winked at them. “Don’t want any interruptions.” Once everyone was seated, he frowned and asked, “So Brianna really is missing? Are you sure she’s not just playing out her little game of rebellion?”
“Uh…no,” Craig said. “So tell me what you observed about Brianna. Did you both start out on the trip together on—what was it—May twentieth?”
Rodney nodded. “Yes, and we hit it off—became friendly.”
“Became friends or friendly?” Craig asked.
Rodney focused on Craig. “Strange question. We were just friends. I’d like to hope we still are, actually. But yes, we started the trip together and seemed always to be in the same group for the activities and challenges. I think that’s why I noticed Brianna struggling. Oh, she tried to keep up and to enjoy the challenges, but it was obviously not what she’d expected. After the first five days or so, all she wanted was to make it through the…the hell, if I may, and go home to her family.”
Savannah shook her head. “Doesn’t sound like my sister.”
Rodney stared at her for a moment. “The program’s designed to make the tough even tougher. But it has the opposite effect for someone like Brianna. It can break a person.”
Savannah began to tear up. “Poor Brianna.”
“When did you last see her?” Craig asked.
“I was concerned about her even before she left the group.”
“Yeah, you indicated in your message to Savannah that you thought she was headed for danger if she left.”
Rodney nodded. “I’m fairly certain that she made it to LA.” He fidgeted with something on his desk, then said, “The leaders had split me from the group and sent me on a sort of fool’s errand, if you will—you know, to distract me. I went off to take care of that task, then doubled back in time to see Brianna and two other gals being loaded into the baggage compartment of one of those puddle-jumper planes. Paul Carter was in the cockpit with the pilot.”