4 Big Easy Hunter

by Maddie Cochere

  “No, but you know my house,” she said. “You were in it two weeks ago stealing my grandmother’s silver and my change jar. It was all quarters, and there was probably close to $500 in it.” She was choking back tears as she spoke.

  I peered closely at her name tag. “Serena,” I said sincerely. “I promise you, it wasn’t me. I know Detective Bentley personally, and the police are doing everything they can to catch this thief, but they know it’s not me. I’m really sorry this happened to you.”

  She sniffled. “I’m sorry, too, but everyone says it’s you, and I don’t know what to think. It’s not right someone can come in while we’re sleeping and take our stuff. It still scares me.”

  “Serena, I truly am sorry, but I didn’t do any of it. The detective told me no house has been robbed twice, and the thief gets out before they see anyone. You don’t need to be afraid. This isn’t a killer.”

  “I’m just so tired of everything,” she said. “I hate working here at the mall. I never know if the next man who comes to the counter is the rapist and will be lying in wait for me when I leave.”

  “You do have Barry walk out with you at night, don’t you?” I asked. I couldn’t believe she would go into the parking lot alone.

  “Most of the time I do, but he’s not always here,” she said. “I’d quit working if I weren’t trying so hard to save for college, and it hurt to lose all those quarters.”

  I nodded in sympathy as I took my wallet out of my purse. I pulled out one of my business cards and wrote the number for the local Slimmers center on the back. “Serena, if you want a safer workplace, and more money than you’re making here, call Angela at this number. She can use some extra help in the evenings. Tell her I told you to come in to see her. You can show her my card.”

  She seemed surprised and smiled a little. “Thanks, Susan,” she said. “That’s nice of you. I’ll do that. Do you still want a smoothie?”

  I laughed and said, “Yes, please. A Pina Colada Delight.”

  “What was that all about?” Samantha asked when I returned to the table. Her smoothie cup was nearly empty.

  “I guess I should have thought twice about leaving the house at all,” I told her shaking my head. “She must have recognized me from the newspaper article. Their home was robbed, and of course, she thought it was me. I think I convinced her it wasn’t, but she’s really upset. She said she’s afraid to work here at the mall, so I told her to talk with Angela over at Slimmers. Angela can put her to work, and it will be safer for her there.”

  Samantha nodded in agreement. “There were two more attacks here while you were gone,” she said. “Dick said both women were pretty. One was from out of town, and she had no idea this wasn’t a safe area.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. I could only frown at how crafty this person must be. With extra patrols in the evening, you would think it would be impossible for someone to abduct and rape someone.

  “What about the break-ins?” I asked.

  She looked at me with sympathy and said, “Dick told Larry there weren’t any break-ins while you were gone, and there weren’t any sightings of the Chevelle.”

  “Crap!” I blurted out. “I hoped this break-in mess would be solved by the time we got back. Detective Bentley didn’t say anything about it in New Orleans, so I thought maybe they caught whoever it was.”

  “What was Detective Bentley doing in New Orleans?” she asked with a look of confusion. “Was he invited to the wedding, too?”

  “No,” I said with a big grin. “But I have so much to tell you. Nate got blown up, I was locked in a tomb overnight, and we had a ghost in our presence.” I made big scary eyes with the ghost comment.

  “NO WAY!” she yelled with her own eyes open wide. It came out of her mouth extremely loud and echoed throughout the food court. Everyone behind all of the counters, as well as the two old men, looked our way.

  We both started giggling, and I realized just how happy I was to be home again. I spent the next hour giving her blow-by-blow accounts of our trip. It was easier than I thought it would be to tell her what happened in the tomb. Her reactions to my storytelling pleased me. She laughed, she was astonished, she cried – well, just a few tears. It was fun to catch up with her.

  I glanced at my watch and was surprised to see it was nearly 8:00. If I wanted to be out of the mall by sunset, I’d have to do my shopping right now and be quick about it.

  “Sam, I have to go. Do you want to come with me to look for a gift?” I asked her hopefully.

  “I can’t,” she said. “I told Larry I’d be home at eight. We’re going over to Husky’s for a few beers and a dip in the pool. I’m going to be late as it is.”

  We gave each other hugs, said our good-byes, and I made my way to the gift shop of the nearly-empty mall. I was hoping John McNutt wouldn’t be working today. I didn’t want to have to tell him the giraffe he sold to Ron for me was an atrocity.

  Thankfully, there was only one employee in the store, and he was behind the counter talking on his cell phone. I walked around the displays and marveled at the absurdity of so many of the items in the store. There were giant mugs, porcelain waiter figurines which did nothing more than sit on the edge of a shelf and dangle their feet, lava lamps, a rack of wooden signs with such profound sayings as Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed, and I didn’t see how any of this would be appropriate or appreciated by two people in their 80s.

  Aunt Sony still liked to write letters. Maybe I could find some pretty stationery. I walked around a display of gaudy jewelry to check the wall shelves by the greeting cards and nearly ran head-on into Lugnut.

  “Oh my gosh, Lugnut!” I screeched as I jumped back. “You scared me. I didn’t know anyone else was in here.”

  He laughed and said, “I’m sorry, Susan. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He held up a bag for me to see. “My wife still won’t come down here, so I’m picking up a few things for her.”

  “Mick said the car won’t be done for a couple of days yet. Is that right?” I asked the question somewhat accusingly. He had jumped on one of my nerves, I was on edge, and I wanted to put him on the spot. Lugnut was a good mechanic, and the shop used a great body man, so I couldn’t understand what was taking so long.

  His eyes darkened, and he squinted at me. “I think it’ll be done tomorrow. I’ll call Mick if it is, and we’ll give him a lift to come pick it up.”

  I softened my tone and said, “Thanks, Lugnut. I’m not used to not having my car, and I was disappointed when it wasn’t finished when we came home.”

  “I understand,” he said with a slight smile.

  I looked at my watch again and completely gave up on the idea of picking out a gift. I’d send a fruit basket tomorrow.

  I turned to walk out of the store, and Lugnut said, “I’ll walk out with you, Susan. The sun is starting to set.”

  I nodded my head, and we walked together in silence as we made our way to the exit doors. Before walking out, I stopped and looked around for Barry.

  “You comin’?” he asked as he opened the door for me.

  “I want to wait for Barry,” I told him. “I promised Mick no matter who I was with, I’d still wait for Barry before walking out into the lot.”

  “It’s up to you,” he said, “but Barry doesn’t seem to be around. I’ll watch out for you, Susan.”

  I looked around again, and saw he was right. Barry was nowhere in sight, there were no patrol cars of any kind in the lot, and we seemed to be the last customers in the mall.

  I smiled at him and said, “Ok, Lugnut. You’re right. Let’s go.”

  There were a few cars scattered about the lot. My car wasn’t too far from the door. When we were nearly to the car, I felt Lugnut’s hand on my back. I whipped around to face him to ask what he thought he was doing, but Barry came running out from one of the mall doors.

  “Susan, hold up a minute,” he yelled as he slowed to a trot.

  Lugnut backed off.

  What now? I ha
ted feeling on edge like this, and I wanted to go home.

  “I walked Samantha to her car a little while ago and noticed your car. Was it like this before you got here?” He walked around and pointed to the driver’s side of the car. There were key marks back and forth at least a dozen times across both doors.”

  I could only stand there with my mouth hanging open. Who would have done this to our car – to Mick’s car? I could understand someone marking up the Chevelle, but not Mick’s car.

  “We can fix it up easy, Susan,” Lugnut said trying to reassure me. “Tell Mick to let me know when he wants to drop it off, and we’ll get right on it.”

  I had nothing to say to either man. I called Mick to let him know I’d be late, and I called the police station for a patrolman, so I could make a report. Lugnut left to go home to his wife, and Barry leaned against the car with me while I waited for a police officer.

  “Barry, is Lugnut here at the mall often?” I asked.

  “No, can’t say that he is,” Barry said. “I don’t think I’ve seen him since the last time he walked you out before the big storm. He’s a nice guy. We’re lucky to have an honest, hard-working, experienced mechanic in town.”

  I nodded in agreement and said, “Yeah, I guess we are.” It would be easier to sing Lugnut’s praises if he hadn’t hit on me the way he did, and his hand on my back tonight sent a shudder down my spine.

  It was almost an hour later when I arrived home. Nate had worked a noon to nine shift, and he pulled in right behind me.

  “Hi, Nate!” I said cheerfully. “How was work today?”

  “It was a busy one today,” he said with a smile. “A group of about thirty beauty pageant contestants are staying at the hotel tonight, and after only a few hours of their high-maintenance demands, I feel sorry for the night shift.”

  He held the building door open for me as I asked, “What kind of demands did they have?”

  He laughed and said, “One wanted a toaster oven in her room, another wanted scent-free toilet paper, one was asking for bendy straws, and one girl was checking to be sure there would be Cap’n Crunch cereal for the Continental breakfast in the morning. And I think they were all calling down to the front desk asking for more towels.”

  “Will there be Cap’n Crunch cereal?” I asked, smiling.

  “Of course not,” he said with a laugh. “But I didn’t tell her that. I told her we’d try to accommodate her. I left a note for the night guys. If someone wants to run to Walmart to get cereal for a pretty girl, more power to him.”

  We were both chuckling as we stopped in front of my door. “Come in for a minute, Nate,” I told him. “I have a little leftover roast beef sandwich for you to take to Joe.” I had already made the sandwich for the dog from the crockpot roast beef Mick and I had for dinner.

  As we entered the apartment, we were overwhelmed with the smell of roses. Nate and I stared at each other with mirror expressions of wide-eyes and mouths hanging open.

  “Aunt Sony’s mother,” I whispered.

  I knew Nate was getting tired of passing out and ending up with bumps, bruises, and broken appendages. He quickly leaned against the wall and slid down it as the room went reeling. He put his head between his knees.

  “Mick! Mick!” I yelled. “Hurry!”

  I heard him knock something over in his office and run down the hallway to the living room. “What? What?” he answered excitedly. He saw Nate on the floor, but he didn’t have a clue as to what had happened.

  “The smell!” I told him. “The smell of roses is so strong. Aunt Sony followed you home!”

  I was upset. I absolutely, positively didn’t want a ghost in our house. And I didn’t want her ogling Mick when he was naked. We would probably have to get an exorcist or have some strange ritual done to cleanse the apartment.

  Mick took a good look at the two of us and burst into laughter. He was laughing so hard, he could barely speak.

  “What?” I asked him. “What’s so funny? Nate can’t stand up or he’ll pass out.”

  Mick walked around the corner of the dining room and reappeared a second later with a huge vase full of at least three dozen roses.

  My mouth hung open yet again, and Nate peered up from the floor to see what was going on.

  “Susan,” Mick said. “Before we left New Orleans, I ordered roses to be delivered for you today. I placed the order before we went to Aunt Sony’s. After I found out about her mother and the rose smell, I meant to cancel the order this morning, but we were busy at work, and I forgot. The delivery man was running late, and the flowers were his last delivery of the day. They came about an hour ago.”

  Mick set the flowers down on the coffee table and gave Nate a hand getting to his feet. “You two looked so funny when I came running in here,” he said still smiling. “It was just like in the movies when they show someone who looks like they’ve seen a ghost.”

  We ended up having a good laugh out of the situation, but it wasn’t funny when we thought Aunt Sony’s mother had actually taken up residence.

  I took the sandwich from the refrigerator and handed it to Nate. I watched him for a moment as he ambled down the hallway to his apartment. I wanted to go with him to see Joe, but I wanted to see Mick more. I could spend time with Joe tomorrow.

  I closed the door, turned to Mick, and threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Thank you so much for the flowers,” I said sweetly. “They really are beautiful. And I know your office manager will like them just as much. Tell Shelly they’re from both of us, and we appreciate the hard work she does at Raines Construction. The smell is making me sick, and I want them out of here in the morning.”

  He smiled and simply said, “I understand.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  It was hot. I’d been in training classes all day, and I was on my way home from Chagrin Falls. It would be after 6:00 when I arrived, and Mick would be in around seven. The air conditioning in the small Toyota was on full blast, but it was still humid in the car.

  I was wearing a thin silk blouse with lightweight cotton slacks. Even with the lightweight clothing, my shirt was sticking to my back. I exited the highway to run into a local Quick Mart and grab a giant slushy from the wall-to-wall beverage machine. I chose the white cherry. Any mishaps while driving wouldn’t leave red cherry stains on my clothes.

  I paid for my drink and spent the next few minutes enjoying the cooling treat. After enduring a wicked attack of brain freeze, I hopped back into my car, made my way back onto the highway, and continued the drive home. The refreshing slushy had done its job, and I no longer felt so hot and cranky.

  I pulled in, drove around back, and parked beside the carport just in time to see Nate coming out of the building with Joe on his leash.

  “Hi, Joe!” I called over to him as I stepped out of the car.

  The dog nearly dragged Nate across the lot trying to get to me. I stooped down and encouraged him to come faster.

  “Hi, boy!” I said happily as he jumped up on me, and I gave him a good rubbing about his neck and ears. “Did you have a good day today? Did you chase any rabbits? Did anybody love you today?”

  “We’re on our way out back for a romp,” Nate said. “I know it’s hot, but do you want to come?”

  “Of course,” I told him with a big smile. “I’m going to take a shower anyway when I get inside, so I might as well have some fun with you and Joe.”

  We went back to the field, and Nate switched to the 30-foot leash. We could then run and play with the dog, but he wouldn’t be able to run away. A hound follows his nose, and even though he wouldn’t want to run away, he might forget for many miles.

  Twenty minutes later, all three of us were hot and tired. We returned to the parking lot, and I saw the Chevelle parked in the carport. My heart skipped a happy beat. Mick was home, and he had picked up my car. We’d have to take it for a spin later to run down to the construction office to pick up his BMW.

  “Aren’t you coming up?
” I asked Nate as he headed toward his car with Joe.

  “No. We’re going to run down to Martin’s deli,” he said. “We’ll be back in a little bit.”

  I smiled and waved as Joe jumped into the front seat and waited patiently for Nate to put the window down so he could stick his head out. I waved exuberantly at both of them as they pulled out of the lot.

  I took the stairs two at a time. My heart was full of happiness, and I couldn’t wait to see Mick. I was pretty sure I could talk him into taking a shower with me. I giggled at the prospect.

  The apartment door was open slightly, so I pushed it open and yelled, “Mick! I’m home!”

  There was no response. I walked back the hallway toward his office, and called out again, “Mick, where are you?”

  I never saw him coming. He slammed me against the wall from behind. His hand was over my mouth as his other hand pushed a knife against the side of my neck. The fortune teller’s words flashed through my mind – “Death comes to you in the form of a knife. You must be quick.”

  He was my height, my build, and I saw glimpses of the blonde wig he was wearing. I couldn’t see his face. I couldn’t wriggle free. I was pinned so hard against the wall, I could barely breathe.

  He spoke through gritted teeth and said with intense anger, “Susan Hunter. You think you’re so great, so special. You think you’re so much better than everyone else.”

  I tried to scream, but his hand clenched my mouth harder. His strength was astounding. “I tried to be nice to you, but you would never talk to me. You thought I wasn’t good enough for you. Well, it’s my turn now. I’m going to show you that I am good enough for you, and then I’m going to kill you. You took my life away from me, and I’m going to take yours away from you.”

  I struggled to get free, and I felt the knife press harder against my neck. A sharp pain ran into my brain, and I knew the knife had pierced my skin.

  He was breathing heavily. I could feel every bit of his body behind mine, and I was terrified at what he was going to do to me. He moved the knife swiftly and cut my blouse down the back. I tried to scream and the knife was immediately thrust to my neck again. There was another sharp pain.