by Carol Durand
“Damn,” Ramirez stared at him, impressed.
“Yeah, great job, Beckett,” Brasco nodded. “I need to make some phone calls.”
Brasco knew how to put things in motion, dispatching a team of officers to secure Andrew Benson’s hotel room, as well as Missy’s and Beckett’s. He also tasked Detective Ramirez with trying to establish whether Benson had any potential hiding places locally, or if there was evidence that he had left the area. He called Missy’s cell phone in the vain hope that she’d answer, and wasn’t surprised when his call went to voicemail. He knew that finding the apparently missing girl within the shortest amount of time possible was crucial to her survival and feared that too much time had been lost already.
Chapter 18
Missy waited until she heard the crunch of the van’s tires receding as Andrew drove away before trying to work her hands free in earnest, which was no easy task with all of her body weight on top of them. She wiggled and struggled, grunting with her effort. She had to get out of the bungee cords and off of the cot. If she did that, she could try to tear her bonds by rubbing them back and forth across the bricks in front of the wood-stove. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was the best that she could think of in her weakened and frightened state. She scooted over as close as she could to the edge of the cot and bucked her body violently, causing the back legs of the cot to rise off the ground a few inches and slam back down. She knew that she had a limited amount of time and bucked again with as much strength as she could muster. She felt the back legs rise up higher this time and turned her face quickly to the right, bracing for impact as the cot flipped over on its side, slamming her to the floor. She drew her knees up as much as she could, struggling to slip her bound feet underneath the first set of bungee cords. The sun had risen, shining its golden light in the window, and combined with the hellish heat of the wood-stove had turned the small room into a furnace.
Missy could feel beads of sweat forming on her face and trickling down her back as she worked her feet free to the knees. Using them to brace herself on the floor, she tried in vain to scoot higher up on the cot. Realizing that her strategy wasn’t working, she tried another tactic and bent her knees again, trying to work her feet through the second set of cords. She had almost made it when her feet caught on the cords and refused to budge. She was exhausted, and knew that her strength was entirely spent, so she simply allowed her body to go limp, tears of frustration falling in warm drops to the rough wood floor. She heard the crunch of tires in the drive and was faced with the realization that she was most likely taking her last breaths. Her heart ached with loss at the thought of never seeing her beloved Toffee again, or never knowing what it felt like to press her lips to those of her hero, Chas Bennett. Her sweet little store would close, and her loyal assistant Ben, whom she loved like a son would be bereft and unemployed. She wept silently, preparing to die. The door burst open suddenly, blinding her with sunlight, and she knew the end was near.
“Missy!” she heard the most precious voice in her world and assumed she must already be dead. She opened her eyes and saw the handsome face of Chas Beckett looming over her, backlit by the sun. “Brace yourself,” he said, and tore the duct tape from her mouth.
“Oww…” she cried weakly. “Chas, you’re okay…I was so worried about you,” were the first words out of her raw lips.
His jaw tightened with emotion as a voice behind him said, “Let’s get her turned right side up and get these cords off.” Chas and Detective Brasco gently set the cot back on its feet and undid the bungee cords, helping her to sit up. Both brought out their standard issue knives and went to work on the duct tape securing her hands and feet, freeing her within minutes.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Beckett whispered, pulling her into a hug as soon as she was freed. “Are you okay?”
“I am now,” came the muffled answer as she sobbed into his chest. She pulled back, still crying and grabbed him hysterically by the lapels of his button-down shirt. “Chas, it was Andrew! Andrew killed Marta, and he’s the one who hurt you, and he tricked me into getting into his van, and he brought me here, and you have to find him!” she pleaded.
Chas stroked her hair and spoke soothingly. “We will, Missy. We’ll find him and bring him to justice,” he promised as she rested limply against his chest once more.
Suddenly Missy heard the grating tones of Detective Ramirez just outside the door. “Look what the cat dragged in,” she called out, roughly pushing a handcuffed and highly agitated Andrew Benson up the drive in front of the door. Missy trembled at the sight of her wild-eyed captor and buried her head in Beckett’s chest again.
“This dirt bag had the audacity to get out of his van like nothing had happened and started hitting on me,” Ramirez complained, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Take the trash out, Ramirez,” Brasco directed, practically sneering at Benson. “Book him.”
Epilogue
With warm Louisiana sunshine glinting off of her golden coat, Toffee bounded joyfully into the arms of her owner, covering her face with sloppy doggy kisses. Missy cried and held on tight, glad to be home, glad to be greeted by her best friend, and glad to have been saved yet again, by her scarred and shy hero, Detective Chas Beckett. She was alive, she was recovering from the trauma inflicted upon her at the hands of a psychopathic ‘man scorned,’ and she had a booming business that had only profited from the publicity generated by the horrific crime that she had helped solve in Las Vegas. Ben had handled things perfectly during her absence and her home, her shop, her best friend and her heart were all safe and secure. Life at the moment was like a good batch of muffins, sweet and meant to be enjoyed.
Recipes!
Vegan Coco-Loco Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
240g self-raising flour
140g golden caster sugar
1 tsp baking soda
240g egg-free mayonnaise
2 large or 3 small ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g vegan dark chocolate chips
For the icing
80g vegan margarine
250g icing sugar
25ml vegan milk (we used almond milk)
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat heat your oven to 350 degrees F and line the muffin pan with tins.
Then combine the sugar, flour, 1⁄2 tsp of salt and the baking soda together in a bowl. Using a second bowl you’re going to mix the mayonnaise, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas together to form the wet ingredients.
2. Next, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mixing just until combined (be careful not to over-mix the batter else your cupcakes can come out heavy).
Spoon the batter into the tins and bake for about 20 mins.
3. Take the cupcakes out of oven take the chocolate chips and sprinkle them over the top – so that they melt. Be sure not to touch them during this process as we need the chocolate to harden again uninterrupted.
4. To make the icing, place the icing sugar & the vegan margarine in the bowl of an electric mixer, and slowly add vegan milk. Start mixing on slow then ramping up the speed until the mixture is completely combined. Next, run the mixer at high speed for 3 mins to further combine. Lastly, take the peanut butter and stir it into the icing mixture. To decorate, take the icing and place it into a piping bag and slowly pressing, create a nice swirl of icing on top or you can just spread the icing on top with a spatula. Store in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.
Casino Caramel Royal Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (200g) packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick or 115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 large eggs, must be at room temperature
1 teaspoo
n vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk (or even buttermilk, do not use skim milk or 1% milk)
SALTED CARAMEL ICING
1/2 cup (1 stick or 115 grams) salted butter (or unsalted butter)
1 cup (200 grams) packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups (240-360 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
additional pinch of salt, as needed
salted caramel candies for decoration, optional
INSTRUCTIONS:
To start, Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Place liners in a 12-cup muffin pan, and line a second pan with just 2 liners for the excess. Next, to prevent any warping of the pan while cooking, fill the other 10 muffin cups with water and set aside.
Take a large bowl and whisk together the baking powder, flour, and salt. In a medium bowl, cream the sugars and butter together on medium to high speed just until they are light and fluffy, so about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until completely combined. Now slowly fold in the four mixture completely, scraping the sides of the bowl down as you go. Then slowly stir in the milk just until it’s incorporated, you don’t want to over-mix the batter.
Fill the cupcake liners about half way with the batter and bake for 22-23 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Place the cupcakes on a rack to cool before frosting, so for about 1 hour.
While the cupcakes cool, take the butter and melt it in a small saucepan on medium heat. Once melted, mix in the heavy cream and brown sugar stir to dissolve the sugar. Next add the salt and let it bubble for 3 full minutes and no more. Then remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool for about 15 mins. (Note: Don’t put it in the fridge to cool, it needs to cool slowly.) Once cooled take the mixture and place it in a mixing bow and beat in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until it’s nice and smooth. If you want the icing to be creamier or a little thinner you can mix in a little heavy cream; about a tablespoon or so. If the frosting tastes too sweet add in a tiny bit of salt to balance it out. Top cooled cupcakes with icing and place a little chocolate & caramel candy on top to finish it off.
5. A letter from the Author
To each and every one of my beautiful readers: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me what you think by leaving a review!
I’ll be releasing another installment in Late May 2015 so to stay in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff) Join my Book club.
Stay Curious,
Carol Durand