by Patricia Fry
“Are you sure?” Craig asked. “What do you know about this guy?”
“Not much—he’s Paul Carter’s brother, or so he told us. Maybe he just said that so he could take the medicine Rags found,” Savannah suggested.
“Oh no,” Margaret lamented. “Didn’t you tell me it was some sort of manly-man potion to help men get—you know, more romantic?”
Savannah shot her aunt a wide-eyed look and gasped. “It sure was. Do you suppose?”
“Oh, simmer down, you two. I think you’re putting two and two together and coming up with seven. Let’s be logical.”
“That guy lied to us,” Savannah observed.
“How’s that?” Craig asked.
Savannah reminded him, “He told us he found that swatch from Brianna’s suitcase in an envelope.”
“Sounds more like he’s the one who put it in the envelope,” Margaret said. “The creep.” When Rags strolled up and rubbed against Margaret’s leg, she laughed. “Hey, maybe you can trade the troublemaker for your sister.”
“Huh?” Craig said. “What troublemaker?”
“The cat. He wanted the cat in the worst way,” she said, chuckling.
“Oh yes, I heard you say that.” Craig sat back in his chair and looked down at Rags, finally asking, “Savannah, do they make GPS systems for cats?”
“Um, I believe they do. Why?” When she saw Craig grin down at Rags, she said, “Oh no. No, you don’t. We’re not giving Rags to that criminal. There has to be another way.”
“You said he told you he goes to the adventure company every afternoon, didn’t you—maybe to catch a ride with his brother or something?”
Savannah nodded.
“Let’s happen to be there with Rags wearing his new…um…GPS doo-dad.”
“It’s Saturday,” Margaret said. “What if he doesn’t go to the office today?”
Savannah thinned her lips. “Gads, we’re supposed to meet him tonight at midnight. We don’t have time to go all over town looking for that galoot.”
Craig considered what she had said, then continued his line of thinking. “What size are those things, anyway—will it fit around his neck? How conspicuous is it?”
Savannah let out a sigh. “Here, I’ll show you.” She tapped on her phone screen. “See, they’re a bit cumbersome—you wouldn’t be able to hide it in his fur or anything.”
“Oh, that could be a problem,” Craig said.
“Not if you can convince Bruce it’s something else—something important that he must wear,” Margaret suggested.
“Yeah,” Savannah agreed, “the guy’s kind of…um…dim, actually, so he’ll probably buy any story we make up. But, do I really want to…?”
“It’s probably our only chance to get Brianna back,” Craig reminded her. “That is if we can find the…um…galoot today. And your cat will be wearing the GPS, so it will be no problem locating him when this ordeal’s over.” He stood. “Come on; let’s go buy Rags a nice new necklace.” He looked at his watch. “We only have ten hours to find Mr. Suspenders.” Craig stopped and looked at the women. “Wait, he called you; you should have his number on your phone.”
Savannah thought about it for a moment, then said, “I can’t call him, he’ll recognize this number. Craig, could you call him? Or we could use a pay phone, if we can find one somewhere.”
“Yeah, if we can find one,” Margaret said. “I heard the other day that over seventy percent of pay phones have disappeared in the last ten years.”
Craig stared at her. “Where do you get this stuff?” He then looked at Savannah. “Does this Bruce fellow know who you are—I mean would he recognize you as Brianna’s sister?”
She grinned. “No. Remember, we told you I used an alias. The people in the office think I’m a friend of Brianna’s. And Bruce probably doesn’t even know that. As far as he knows, I’m Elizabeth Alton.”
****
“He looks pretty official, there, doesn’t he?” Craig said, chuckling. He petted the cat. “Are you ready to hit the streets, buddy?” He frowned at Margaret. “What are you doing?”
“Taking a picture of him in his new costume.”
Craig winked. “It’s not a costume. It’s his uniform.”
“So where are we going to look for Bruce?” Savannah asked.
“Let’s start at his brother’s place.”
“We’re going to drive all the way out there again? That’ll take a lot of time.”
Craig pointed. “No, we’re going to have a cold beverage at that hamburger joint. I’ll call my surveillance team and find out if they’ve seen Brucie around.”
Margaret chuckled. “Brucie, huh?” When she saw Craig pocket his phone, she asked, “So what did you find out?”
“Yeah, he was there earlier, but he left about—would you believe—an hour and forty-five minutes ago.” When the women stared blankly at Craig, he said, “Just about the time you first spoke with him on the phone, Savannah.”
“Oh, that’s right,” she said. “His next call came thirty-eight minutes later, as if he had to drive to where Brianna is. So you don’t think they’re keeping her in the bomb shelter?”
Craig grinned. “You didn’t see any barnyard animals around his brother’s place, did you?”
“They could have been playing a video for background noise to fool us or the TV was on when Vannie was talking to him,” Margaret offered.
Craig shook his head. “No, ladies, I believe our perp has her hidden away on a farm someplace—maybe he’s keeping her a secret even from his brother. It’s hard to say at this point. Anyway, I’m hoping that Mr. Suspenders returns to his brother’s place. The deputy will call me as soon as he does. I’ve also asked him to get Bruce’s phone number.”
“But we have his number,” Savannah reminded him.
“Maybe we do and maybe we don’t.” When Craig noticed that the women seemed puzzled, he said, “The phone he used to call you might be stolen or it’s one of those pay-by-the-minute deals. Any kidnapper worth his salt would never use his own phone in the ransom negotiations. If you call him back at that number posing as Liz, you could blow the whole investigation.”
“So how’s the stake-out guy going to get his real phone number if he’s watching the house secretly?”
“Savannah, Savannah, I am going to have to fire you. Has motherhood crushed your natural investigative instincts? He brings in a woman, of course—someone who stops Brucie before he goes inside and is clever enough to come up with a reason why she needs his number—her puppy’s lost, she’s lost, or she wants to date him. She’ll play it by ear.”
“But what if he wonders how we got his number?” Margaret asked.
He squinted in her direction, then looked at Savannah. “I’m banking on the fact that he isn’t smart enough to question that. But if he happens to ask, we’ll just say that one of the girls in the office gave it to you.”
Savannah shook her head. “Gosh, your job requires a lot more devious conniving that I ever imagined, Craig.”
“Devious conniving?” He laughed. “No, it’s called being shrewd and clever.”
The trio had just about finished their cool drinks when Craig received a call. He announced, “He’s back at his brothers and we have a phone number.” He chuckled. “They got it off a for-sale sign in the back window of his clunker car.” He motioned with a nod. “We’ll use the phone booth we saw back at that strip mall.” He looked at Margaret. “Or I guess you could call on your phone.” He handed her the number. “He might be just sharp enough to recognize Savannah’s voice. Have him meet us in the parking lot in front of the office.”
Margaret talked to Bruce for a matter of seconds, then motioned to get Craig’s attention. She said into the phone loudly enough for the detective to hear, “So you don’t want to drive to the office? Where would you like us to meet you?”
Craig smiled, letting Margaret know she was on the right track.
“T
he McDonalds on North Briar?” Margaret repeated.
Craig glanced at Savannah, who nodded that she knew where the place was. Margaret agreed and ended the call.
****
“There he is,” Savannah said as the three of them and the cat watched from the rental car. “Isn’t that him getting out of that old black Toyota?”
Craig studied the man carefully. “Okay, you gals take the cat to him. I don’t want him to spot me or this car. Be all friendly-like, you hear?” He cautioned Savannah, “Try not to say much. You don’t want him to recognize your voice.”
“Got it,” Savannah said.
Margaret nodded.
Savannah took a deep breath and stepped out of the car with Rags on his leash. Margaret followed. Once she’d caught up with Bruce, she called out, trying to distort her voice, “Bruce, hi. It’s Liz; remember me?”
Bruce frowned and stepped back a few steps. “Yeah. Hey, I’ve been thinking. Why do you all of a sudden want to give me the cat?”
When Savannah hesitated, Margaret jumped in. “You said you’d like to have him. We’ve decided we don’t want him anymore.” She took the leash and handed it to him. “Here, just go ahead and take him.”
He squinted suspiciously at them. “Is this some sort of trick?”
Margaret chuckled. “Trick? No.” She nodded toward her niece. “She’s been planning to find him a new home. Right Liz?”
Savannah nodded. “He’s such a nuisance.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Bruce said, taking the leash. He looked down at Rags. “Hey, what’s that you’ve put on him?”
Using her most beguiling demeanor, Margaret said, “Well, Bruce, that’s part of the problem. You see, his vet recently discovered that he has a low thyroid and he prescribed this magnetic therapy.”
“That’s a magnet?”
“Yes,” she lied. “And it’s really important that he wear it all the time. Don’t take it off,” she warned. When he looked skeptical, she said, “We almost lost him night before last. We got the magnetic therapy started just in time to save his life. He has to wear it for another week, then you can take it off him. He should be fine by then. Okay? Promise me you’ll do that.”
Bruce smiled widely. “Sure I will. I’ll take real good care of him.” He started to walk away, saying, “Come on, cat.” He then turned and asked, “Oh, what did you say his name is?”
“Ra…uh…Smokey,” Margaret said.
He glanced at each of the women, then turned and walked away with Rags.
Savannah hurried to the waiting car, climbed in, and sighed heavily. “I hope we’re doing the right thing.”
“He’ll be okay,” Craig said. He showed her his phone screen. “Look, here. You can watch where he is at all times.”
After sitting quietly for a few minutes, Savannah turned to Margaret. “You ought to be a detective.” She laughed. “Craig, you should have heard the lies she told. Talk about deception and trickery. Auntie, I’ve never seen that side of you.”
Margaret simply grinned and shrugged.
“Let’s get dinner,” Craig suggested.
“What about the money?” Savannah asked.
“What money?”
“Shouldn’t we get the money before the banks close?” When Craig looked confused, she added, “You know, to give to Bruce.”
Craig glanced at Margaret, then looked at Savannah. “No, honey. We’re not going to give him any money.”
“Then how will we get Brianna back?”
“That’s Rags’s job. He’s going to help us with that.” When Craig noticed that Savannah seemed to be brooding, he said, “The plan is to get Brianna out of wherever they’re keeping her before any money is exchanged.”
“I sure hope he doesn’t blow it,” Margaret said under her breath.
Craig stared at her, then mentioned dinner again.
“We haven’t even had lunch,” Margaret complained.
“Well, you can call your meal lunch, if you want to,” Craig said. “…a late lunch. I prefer having an early dinner. I saw a place a mile back or so where we should be able to get both—including all-day breakfast, if we’re lucky.” He glanced at the two women. “Okay with you ladies?”
“Sure,” Margaret said.
Savannah nodded.
A little while later, Craig asked, “Aren’t you hungry, Savannah? Better eat up. We may have a long night ahead of us.”
She took a ragged breath. “I’m sorry. I just want to be home with my family and Rags. I’m so homesick.”
Craig took his phone out of his pocket. “Here, let’s see where your cat is now, shall we? Looks like he went back to Carter’s house. Yup. That’s where he is now. They aren’t too far from here, you know.” When he saw Savannah’s eyes tear up, he patted her hand. “He’ll be okay. Come on; eat something, will you?”
She wiped at her eyes. “Okay. I’ll be okay. It’s just been so stressful.”
“I know, honey. I know,” Craig comforted, then added, “By the way, I have a tail on Brucie too. So we’re giving him a double whammy. He’s not going to get away with anything tonight and he won’t get away from us.”
“Wait!” Margaret said loudly. When the others looked at her, she said, “Didn’t Paul Carter see your cat, Vannie?”
After thinking about it, she said, “I don’t think so. Remember, you took him outside before I went into his office.”
“But he walked through the reception area while we were sitting there with Rags. I wonder if he noticed him,” Margaret said.
Savannah shook her head. “I really don’t think so, Auntie. Rags was on the other side of my chair, pretty much out of his sight. Paul didn’t even seem to notice us as he walked by.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “I guess you’re right. He did seem preoccupied. Whew, I just got to thinking that if Bruce went back to his brother’s with Rags and Paul recognized him, we could be toast.”
Craig, who had been intently listening as the two women discussed the disturbing possibility, relaxed when things seemed to be resolved.
Savannah was quiet for a moment, then said, “Let’s just hope Bruce didn’t describe us to his brother or something.”
“Oh, come on,” Craig said. “That’s known as borrowing trouble. It’s something you don’t want to do in this business.”
“But you want to cover all your bases, don’t you?” Margaret asked.
“Maggie…” Craig started in a scolding manner.
She put up both hands as if to surrender. “Okay, Okay. I got it. The plan is in motion, so no waffling, right?”
“Right,” Craig said, taking a bite of his Philly cheesesteak sandwich.
****
After eating, they returned to the beach house to get a little rest. An hour later, Savannah asked, “Craig, where’s my cat now?”
He pulled out his phone. “Oh, a missed call.” He frowned. “How did that happen?”
“It probably came in when you went for that swim,” Savannah said. “I took a walk and Auntie must not have heard your phone ring.”
“It’s from Bruce’s tail.” He listened to the message. “Damn! They lost him.” He looked at Margaret, then Savannah. “Both guys left the house twenty-three minutes ago. They followed them to a deli. The brothers—if they are brothers—ate, then went their separate ways. Somehow Officer Barazza lost our perp.”
“I guess we’ll have to rely on Rags to tell us where he is,” Savannah said. “Unless…”
“Unless what?” Craig asked rather curtly.
“Well, unless Bruce didn’t take Rags with him. He could still be at Paul’s house.”
Craig tapped his phone screen, then smiled and said, “No. He’s not there. He’s on his way someplace.” He showed Savannah his phone screen. “Are you familiar with this area?”“Yeah. There’s not much out there, but I can tell you that road leads to a lot of different places. We’ll know more about where they’re going once they ge
t closer to their destination.”
“What do you say we head out that way?” Craig suggested. “Then we’ll be in a better position to make the nab, just in case he doesn’t plan to take Brianna with him to the ransom drop site.”
Savannah let out a sigh. “When he finds out we don’t have money, we may never see Bri or Rags again.”
“That’s why I want to get the jump on him, and that’s exactly what your cat’s going to help us do. Come on. Let’s go.”
Once the three of them had piled into the rental car, Savannah directed Craig toward the highway where they’d tracked Rags to. By the time they neared the place where they’d last picked up the signal, almost ninety minutes had passed. Craig handed Savannah his phone. “Okay, see where he is now.”
She gasped. “Oh my gosh, Craig, there’s no signal! We’ve lost him.”
“No way,” he said, pulling off the road. “Let me see that.” After studying the screen, he said, “That’s just…” He shook his head in disbelief. “Do you suppose that dude took it off him?”
“Maybe Bruce met up with someone who told him that was a GPS,” Margaret suggested.
“Could be.”
“Now what?” Savannah asked, sounding panicked. “How will we ever find him? Oh my gosh, this is awful. I should never have agreed to this.” She stomped her feet on the floorboards. “Damn! Damn!”
“Okay, let’s not overreact,” Craig said calmly. He stared down at his phone, then suggested, “Savannah, why don’t you call your psychic friend?”
Margaret patted Savannah’s shoulders from the back seat. “Good idea, Vannie. She may have some ideas.”
“Yeah,” Craig agreed. “You have her number, don’t you?” He glanced around.
“I’d better find a safer place to park this thing.”
Meanwhile, Savannah picked up her phone and placed the call. “Hi, Rochelle.”
“Savannah, I’ve been thinking about you. Is everything all right with your sister?” She paused, then said, “You sound upset.”
“No. Rochelle, Brianna is missing and now so is Rags. They might be at the same location, but we can’t be sure. Can you give us any ideas about where they might be?”