Bunny Elder Adventure Series: Four Complete Novels: Hollow, Vain Pursuits, Seadrift, ...and Something Blue

by J. B. Hawker

  She seemed to be all too noticeable to those with a murderous bent, unfortunately.

  The car stopped and Bunny could see from her seat in the back of the SUV, wedged with her hands tied behind her back between Taffy and the window, there were many more mobsters here, just like the bruisers who had surrounded them at the roof garden.

  Some were watching the warehouse windows and doors, all now closed, including the one they’d entered.

  A few of the men were huddled in front of the enclosed office area. They seemed to be waiting for something.

  The villain who was the ringleader at the Royal Palace went inside the office after instructing their driver to stand outside the car and keep an eye on the prisoners.

  Taffy had been whimpering off and on since being bound and tossed into the car.

  Now the three were alone, she found her voice.

  “Bunny, what did you do to make these men so angry with us? Tell them you’re sorry and maybe they will let us go,” she hissed hysterically.

  “Settle down, now, Linda. We’re going to be fine, if we just keep our heads.”

  Max spoke soothingly down at Taffy where she leaned awkwardly against his shoulder in the cramped space.

  “Yes, I’m sure this is all some misunderstanding. It might be a little easier to get them to release us if you hadn’t tossed that fellow off the roof, though,” Bunny offered.

  

  Lucca made a complete report to Don Parma, while deferring to Felice as well, keeping in mind the order of succession in Camorra.

  “So, you have finally managed to bring in this dangerous gang of three, eh? And only one casualty, too. Impressive,” Don Parma sneered.

  “Let us see these foxes who snatched our chickens from under our noses, then, and learn who sent them.”

  Mashed up against the window, Bunny couldn’t see the group of men approaching.

  The car door was jerked open and Max was roughly pulled out.

  Hands reached in and drug Taffy out next.

  Before she could slide over to exit the car, Bunny heard a man’s voice saying, “Ma va là! But it is she! Madonna mia!

  Poking her head outside the car, Bunny saw who was speaking.

  “Anthony! What are you doing here? Is this some sort of surprise party?”

  Parma gasped out, “You, too!” and collapsed onto the concrete.

  Bunny ran to the unconscious man and kneeled down beside him.

  “Untie me, you louts, Anthony needs help. Call nine-one-one, or nove-uno-uno, or whatever you dial over her. Don’t just stand there! Can’t you see this man is ill?”

  The others stood slack-jawed as they stared at Bunny and the old man.

  Felice snapped out of it soonest and, flinging Bunny away from his uncle, began shouting orders in Italian to the men.

  Don Parma was carried into the office and laid upon a worn and cracked red leather couch.

  Felice rounded on Bunny, who lay where she had fallen near the front tire of the SUV, Max hovering over her, unable to help while his hands were bound.

  “What does this mean? How do you know my uncle? Who are you?”

  Bunny struggled to sit up, and pushing against Max’s legs for leverage, managed to get shakily to her feet.

  “I am Bunny Elder, a tourist from Idaho, USA. These are my sister, Taffy Bracket, also of Idaho, and my friend from Texas, Max Banks. We ran into Max while sight-seeing at the Royal Palace. Taffy and I met Anthony Parma, the man you say is your uncle, on our flight to Venice. And I have no idea what any of this means. I just want to go home.”

  So saying, she slumped against Max in exhaustion.

  “Is anyone getting help for Mr. Parma?”

  Taffy stepped forward as she spoke.

  “I have some experience with nursing, if you would like me to see what I can do until medical help arrives. You have called for a doctor, I hope. Your uncle didn’t look at all well.”

  Felice hesitated for just a moment, then pulled Taffy into the office and untied her hands.

  Taffy reverted to her role as caretaker and began to see what she could do for the elder Parma.

  As she laid her hand on his forehead, his eyes snapped open.

  He looked at Taffy a few moments, smiled and sighed, “Not hell, then. Praise the good God.”

  Chapter 14

  They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. Isaiah 24:22

  Tenny Opijnen contemplated the warehouse from across the street.

  Once again checking the directions on his cell phone, he confirmed this was the location he was given.

  He was edgy and eager to complete this business and set sail for home.

  Nothing about this transaction was going as planned. The repeated delays were unsettling and, just now, when he rang Roberto’s cell phone to let the men know of his arrival, the call went immediately to voicemail.

  Tenny was afraid to return to Venezuela without completing his assignment and he was equally afraid to enter this forbidding warehouse unannounced and without confirmation of his welcome.

  He was pacing where the taxi had dropped him, about one hundred yards up the block, when a large car sped up to the warehouse bay doors.

  He watched the doors slide open and then quickly close again as the car disappeared inside.

  At least someone was definitely in the building, but he had to find out what was going on before attempting to go inside.

  With so much cash in his duffle bag, he feared an ambush. He had only recently faced just how vulnerable he was in this deal.

  Tenny crossed to the warehouse and crept up under a window having a small clear section of glass incompletely painted over.

  He stood on tiptoe to peer inside.

  Fortunately for Opijnen, the mobsters guarding the windows were distracted by the sudden illness of their leader and the resulting commotion around the office. He was able to look in without being observed.

  Tenny couldn’t make out very much at first, but as his eyes adjusted to the gloom inside, he saw about a dozen men scattered around the warehouse.

  The lighted office in the rear of the space appeared to be the focus of their attention.

  The car seen entering the building was parked just in front of this office alongside a black SUV with tinted windows.

  He could make out two figures leaning against the front fender of the SUV, a man and a woman with their hands bound behind them.

  The man turned to speak to the woman and Tenny couldn’t believe his eyes. It was his shipmate, Max!

  What was Banks doing here? He wasn’t in league with the mobsters or his hands wouldn’t be tied. Had he found out what Tenny was up to and tried to horn in on the deal?

  And who was the woman?

  Opijnen had too many questions. There was no way he was going into that building until he found out what was up.

  Where were Lucca and that gorilla, Roberto?

  He failed to see them among the men milling about. Maybe they were inside the office.

  Opijnen decided to keep watch and bide his time. He did not want to return to Venezuela empty-handed.

  He would never get another important assignment after such a failure.

  

  When the doctor arrived, Max and Bunny expected Taffy to rejoin them, right away, but it had been at least fifteen minutes with no sign of her.

  “Why do you suppose they haven’t sent her out, Max? Do you think they’ve hurt her?”

  “Nah, she’s probably just been pushed into a corner and overlooked. They’re all concentrating on the old man, I’m sure. I don’t think they would hurt her after she offered to help.”

  “But what if they suddenly remember about the man she threw off the roof? They might want to hurt her then.”

  “She didn’t exactly throw him off, although the results were the same as if she had, I’ll grant you. I think if they were going to retaliate for that, the
y would have done it right away, don’t you?”

  “You’re probably right. I’m just so worried.”

  “Don’t be. Don’t forget your sister could always take care of herself in a roomful of men.”

  Bunny smiled at Max’s comment and then sobered.

  “It doesn’t look like our chances of getting out of here alive are very good, does it? In case we don’t make it, I want to tell you how much I admired your attempt to protect us at the Royal Palace. You were my hero today, just like when we were kids. You have always been my knight in shining armor, you know.”

  “Oh, I’ve known, alright.”

  Max paused, frowning, then shrugged and continued, “Armor can get pretty heavy on a guy who’s still a teenager, Bunny. That was a dirty trick you played on me.”

  “What do you mean? What did I ever do to you? I’ve adored you since we were in grade school. You were my whole life.”

  “You made me out to be a cross between Superman and Elvis, and you let me know it. That sort of hero worship can be flattering, at first, but it is pretty hard to live up to over the long haul. Through the years, I tried everything I could think of to make you see I was just a regular guy, Bunny, but you refused to look past the fantasy you’d built up about me. Why do you think I was so rotten to you? For a long time I cared too much about you, and was too cowardly, to hurt your feelings by telling you outright how I felt. Then, after we were married, when even my flagrant infidelity didn’t make you take an honest look at me, I had to just leave. I think maybe you are having the same problem now with that God fixation of yours. You have a long history of clinging to wishful fantasies.”

  Bunny was stunned.

  This was a picture of her relationship with Max she had never seen.

  Her all-consuming love for him was bone and sinew of her self-image. Max’s words shook her to the core.

  Seeing Bunny’s face go pale and her eyes widen with shock, Max regretted putting his feelings so bluntly, under the circumstances. But, maybe being in such jeopardy was the reason he had finally been able to tell her.

  “I’m sorry to attack your faith, again, Hon, especially while we are in this mess. It isn’t the best time or place, I know. Try not to get too upset. We can talk about it, later, when we are all safe.”

  Bunny took a couple of deep breaths, gulped back her tears and stood up straight.

  The shock of Max’s words had pierced her and changed her perspective in a matter of seconds. It was as though the solid ground beneath her feet had suddenly turned to Jello.

  If hers had not been restrained by duct tape, she would have taken Max’s hands for support as she spoke.

  “I’m not upset by what you said about my faith, Max.”

  Her voice quavered, but she swallowed again and went on.

  “I have looked quite clearly at that from all sides, and I’ve known how you feel about it for a long time, too. What I, honestly, never guessed until this very moment, is how you resented my feelings for you. For the first time I am forced to see things from your perspective and I can’t believe I was so blind!”

  “My infatuation with you began when we were both self-absorbed preteens and I guess it just never changed or matured. I am so ashamed! I didn’t once think about the effect of my single-minded devotion on you, as a person, so how could I claim to love you? All I ever thought about were my emotions and desires. Real love isn’t that selfish.”

  She paused briefly to gather her thoughts and then went on.

  “Those times when you tried to show me you were a mere mortal, I just told myself I loved you for your potential, for the man you were going to become, and so I overlooked the reality in front of me. Believe it or not, I actually did tell myself, once, that I loved a fantasy. But that was just sour grapes, my attempt to downplay my loss and try to make myself feel better after you were gone. How is it I never considered what it must be like to be the object of such misguided idol worship? How foolish of me!”

  “I wish you had been able to tell me how you felt back then. I’m sorry I made it so difficult for you to be honest with me. Maybe if I had been able to be honest with myself we might have worked out our marriage. It’s more than likely, though, we would have grown in different directions, and never married, at all, if my puppy love hadn’t morphed into such a Cujo-type obsession. I am so sorry!” she finished with a teary gulp.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Bunny. It’s not as though we were involved in a Fatal Attraction kind of relationship. Like you said, I should have told you how I felt instead of trying to manipulate you into getting fed up with me. I put the burden of our relationship on you. That wasn’t fair, either.”

  Before the couple could speak further the door of the office opened and Felice called out, “Come in here, you two. It is time to get this settled.”

  Bunny didn’t like the sound of that, at all, but despite her trepidation, she obediently pulled herself together and shuffled with Max toward the office and whatever awaited them inside.

  Chapter 15

  …so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.

  Numbers 27:17

  Opijnen watched as Banks and the woman disappeared into the office.

  He needed to see what was going on in that inner sanctum.

  Creeping stealthily around to another bank of windows at the back of the warehouse, he inched carefully around crates and barrels, trash and utility boxes, snooping at each window until he was finally rewarded by hearing voices from inside.

  Spying an old, rusty Coca-Cola cooler amidst the junk, Tenny decided to stash his duffle bag for safekeeping before approaching closer to the source of the sounds.

  Even though these windows were also painted over, one of the panes had a small gap where the streaky white paint didn’t completely obscure the view.

  He was just able to make out one side of the room. There were several men inside, one of them he recognized as Lucca, but Roberto was not in view. An old man lying on a cracked leather couch appeared to be either dead or dying and a dark haired middle-aged woman was sitting to one side, clutching the man’s pale, limp hand.

  A stout, balding man stood next to the couch.

  He seemed of a different ilk than the others and had the demeanor of a professional, perhaps a lawyer or doctor. He was older and not as hard-bodied as the mobsters.

  Tenny heard a rough voice growl threateningly, “We know you have the icons. We have already impeded whatever plans you had, so tell us the truth. Who sent you here? You can tell us the easy way, right now, or the hard way. But I assure you that you will tell us.”

  Hearing this, the old man seemed to be struggling back to life. He tried to sit, then sank back, waving his free hand feebly and moving his lips.

  Tenny could not make out what he was saying.

  “It’s all right Mr. Parma. Please don’t exert yourself. I’m sure we can straighten out this misunderstanding, if we all stay calm,” Taffy leaned over and cooed into the elder Parma’s ear.

  The doctor rummaged in his bag and withdrew a syringe. After filling it, he gave the old man an injection.

  Parma struggled a few more moments and then sagged against the couch, but continued to shake his head in agitation.

  “You see? Anthony knows us! He knows you are making a terrible mistake,” Bunny pleaded from the other side of the room.

  “My uncle is ill. He doesn’t know what he is saying. We are allowing the woman who calls herself Taffy to stay beside him while she is able to comfort him. Once she is no longer of use, she will be tied and interrogated along with the two of you. Don’t mistake my lenience in this one instance for weakness.”

  Felice motioned to Lucca to take Max back out of the room.

  He had decided to make the women talk first.

  He knew from experience women frighten much more easily than men and seldom stand up to the physical pain of even the mildest torture.

  “Where are you taking him? What are you
going to do to him?” Bunny asked frantically.

  Parma smiled at this new tool the woman was giving him. She obviously cared for this man.

  Perhaps they would only need to threaten to harm him and she would tell all. But, Felice would allow himself a bit of recreation before trying that tactic.

  He had been looking forward to having these creatures in his power for too long to let them off so easily.

  At a nod from his leader, Lucca pushed Bunny over to a straight-backed chair and tied her to it with a cord around her waist.

  It was awkward and painful with her hands behind her back.

  Bunny was feeling sick with fear and lost track of the Psalm she had begun to recite in her head after Max was taken out of the room.

  “Now, we know Bunny is not your name, so tell me who you really are and who sent you.”

  Bunny sat up as tall as possible and lifted her quivering chin as she replied.

  “My full, real, legal name is Leveline Beulah Davis Elder. I came to Italy with my sister, Linda Avril Davis Bracket, to buy a Neapolitan presepio for her collection. I am a U.S. citizen . . . and I want to go home.”

  “If you are so innocent, Levaleen, why do you and this woman you claim as your sister use code names, eh? I think you are not so innocent as you pretend. Ora, we will try again. Who sent you here to steal the icons?”

  Bunny swallowed bile and tried to compose herself.

  How was she to convince these men they were making a horrible mistake?

  When she hesitated, Parma casually leaned forward, as though to whisper encouragement.

  His vicious backhanded slap jerked Bunny’s head hard against the chair and forced tears from her eyes.

  Her head swam, making it hard to focus on the ugly words he spoke, even though he pushed his face into hers and she felt his spittle on her cheeks.

  “Now talk, strega! No more foolishness. Your tears are powerless here. Who sent you?!”

  Seeing the mobster strike her sister, Taffy had started up in Bunny’s defense, only to be jerked back, thrust into her chair and held there by Lucca’s hands on her shoulders.