Death Loves a Messy Desk

by Mary Jane Maffini

  He said, “Fifteen minutes won’t make a difference to Fredelle. So don’t go early! Bye now.”

  I used the head start time to do one more run through SIT, LIE DOWN, STAY, LEAVE IT, and COME. I was amazed at how much improvement there had been in a few days. Meaning that they did COME and SIT once each. Perhaps they could become therapy dogs after all. Unless a whole new set of challenges was thrown at me at the orientation meeting.

  I changed quickly into the clothes I would need for that session: crisp chinos, a white T-shirt, my fuchsia cashmere hoodie, and casual flats. I grabbed my umbrella because the sky had clouded over alarmingly. I tossed the dogs a couple of treats and told them they were in charge.

  By the time I slid the Miata into the visitors’ parking area at Quovadicon, the trees on the fringe of the property were swaying alarmingly. There was no sign of Robbie’s silver Camry, but I spotted Fredelle’s shiny red Ford Focus parked near the loading docks rather than the front door. The bright yellow Volkswagen convertible was parked next to a Mercedes SUV. And an unmarked white Ford Taurus of the type favored by the Woodbridge police department was angled in that way that says cops own the world. It almost blocked a battered black Civic with dusty plates. The door to the Civic was ajar. I crept over to it, expecting to find Barb Douglas. I still wasn’t used to thinking about her as Angie. But the car was empty. Had she gone inside? I couldn’t imagine why.

  I was supposed to wait for Tierney, but he must have figured that didn’t work both ways. Nice. I just love that whole two-sets-of-rules attitude. Because he had a gun and a sense of his own importance, he could just waltz in anywhere.

  Well, Fredelle had called me, and I was pretty sure she’d talk to me. I stepped out of the Miata just as the first large heavy drops splashed on the car roof. A rumble of thunder followed, and then the rain began to sluice down. I grabbed my umbrella, but it flipped inside out as I opened it. By the time I could adjust my hoodie to cover my hair, it was plastered to my head. Not that my hair was so important, but I knew that if anything in the slightest bit news-worthy was to happen here, Connor Tierney would appear crisp and chisel-jawed and generally heroic on WINY news. I was equally sure that if the cameras were rolling, I would be soaking wet and windblown with just a hint of homicidal mania tossed in for the viewers’ appreciation.

  The front door opened and Autumn appeared, absentmindedly stepping out and squealing as her long hair swirled around her in the gale winds.

  She ducked back into the building, peered, and spotted me with a start of recognition. She waved and called. “Oh, hi, Caroline! Hurry up! You’ll drown.”

  I staggered up to the entrance, fighting the wind and rain. Autumn and I struggled to open the front door and pull it shut behind us.

  “Awesome,” Autumn said. “This is really something.” Her keys dangled in her hand as she assessed her chances of getting to her vehicle. “I don’t even have an umbrella.”

  “Wouldn’t do you any good,” I said. “It would blow inside out in a minute. Do you have a raincoat?”

  She shook her head. “I’m glad you got here. Fredelle’s been really worried about you.”

  I’d been worried about her, too, but I had no idea why she’d be worried about me. “Because of the storm?”

  Autumn blanked. “Wow. I have no idea. I’m sorry.”

  Being Autumn, she’d never think to ask, either. But of course, why was I even surprised?

  “Don’t worry about it, Autumn. Did Robbie ever show up?”

  “I didn’t see him. And I have to leave now.”

  “So where is Fredelle now? In her office?”

  “No, she’s over in the loading dock. I don’t know what she’s doing there. She told me to get lost.” Autumn’s face fell. “That’s not really cool, is it? I don’t know what it is about this place, but everyone seems to be really nasty lately.”

  “I hear you.”

  “Do you need me to show you the way? I have this sort of date with a guy I met and I’m like really late. I wasn’t even supposed to be here this evening, but Fredelle called me back in. That was before she told me to get lost. Do you think that’s fair?” She bit her lip.

  “That’s okay,” I said. “Don’t miss out on your date. I know the way to the dock. I’ll find her.”

  Her pretty, vacant face lit up again. “Awesome. Wow. Thanks, Caroline. I’m sure glad I put the top up on my Bug or I’d be really soaked.”

  As she leaned hard to open the door in the face of the wind, I said, “I’ll bet. By the way, did you see the police officer come in yet?”

  She turned, braced against the door to open it into the wind. “Police officer?” She frowned. “Red hair?”

  “Yes.”

  “Really hot?”

  “I suppose. Depends on your taste.”

  She laughed and licked her lips. “He’s to my taste.” The laugh stopped midgurgle. “Oh, sorry, Caroline. Is he your boyfriend?”

  “Definitely not. His car seems to be here. Have you seen him?”

  “Earlier. Maybe he went straight to the warehouse. Could be that’s why Fredelle was acting so weird.”

  “Could be.”

  “But I have seen him before.”

  “Right. Okay, thanks. I’ll find Fredelle.”

  Perhaps Connor Tierney had chosen to sneak up on Fredelle. But at least he was there. And he was smart enough to avoid the spectacular airhead Autumn. In fact, I was starting to hope she’d vanish into the storm, because a conversation with her could bring on a headache in less than five minutes. Autumn twirled her hair into a neat twist and stuck a pen through it to hold it in place against the wind and rain. On her, even that looked good.

  “Bye!” She waved, the keys dangling from one hand and her cell in the other. She gave the door a serious shove with her shoulder.

  Something twirled in my mind, too. What was it? Something wrong. Really really wrong.

  As she approached her car, I ducked back inside, making sure I could see where she was going, without being noticed. I couldn’t think of a single good reason why airy Autumn would have been carrying the silver key chain that Detective Connor Tierney liked to juggle.

  Luckily, she wasn’t the only one with a cell phone. I hugged the nearest wall and whipped along through the darkened central office space. I ducked into Fredelle’s office and peered out the window. Autumn unlocked the door to Tierney’s car and climbed in.

  I decided only two things were possible: Either they were working together and conspiring to get me into the loading docks for some unknown reason. Perhaps they were holding Fredelle? Or Autumn and Fredelle were working together, again for unknown reasons, and they had Tierney in the docks and didn’t want me to know about it.

  Of course, by the time I’d articulated these two possibilities, I’d realized there were others. But the main thing was, people were lying and cars were being moved by people who shouldn’t be moving them. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t good. I’d found myself in a tight situation without a trusted police officer or, better yet, officers. There was a good chance that Fredelle or Tierney was in danger, although possibly from each other. To say nothing of Robbie.

  I stopped again. The red Ford Focus was Fredelle’s, and then there had been Tierney’s unmarked white Taurus, now parked by the warehouse, and Autumn’s yellow Bug. But who owned the SUV? It wasn’t Robbie, for sure. Could someone from the warehouse afford a Mercedes SUV? Did that mean there was someone else in the building as well? I hurtled along the hallway toward the staff room and the door that led to the loading docks. Before I got there, I stopped outside the IT area and glanced behind the baffle Fredelle had placed there on my instructions. I needed to call for help and fast. I hurled myself into the IT area and scrambled behind Robbie’s desk. I shivered as I thought of Dyan dying behind the next desk. At least the room had been cleaned up since, including the legendary desk surface. No sign of the stinky sardine can or the ripe sneakers, although it was hard to forget those aromas. E
xcept for a cotton scarf forgotten on the coat rack and a few files on Robbie’s desk, it was spotless. The tangle of cables had been sorted and stacked in a cardboard box behind Barb’s (as I still thought of her) newly neat desk. I figured Barb had gone to a lot of trouble to create that messy desk, most likely to keep people away from her while she investigated, but it sure hadn’t worked out for her. As I crouched there, I decided against speaking out loud on my cell phone. I sent a text to my misfit group, asking them to alert the police to trouble at Quovadicon. I added Pepper to that list. I had just finished when a low rumble filled the air. I took a chance, climbed on a chair, and stared out the window. A big rig rolled slowly, ominously toward the building.

  I found myself shaking, catapulted back to my terrifying encounter with the late Mel and Del. It would be a long time before I could see a truck like that without reacting. They’re dead, I told myself. But what did this mean? Was it just business as usual? A trucker arriving to unload or load cargo? In which case, could I count on him to help?

  I decided against trusting. A good thing. The rig stopped and the driver’s door swung open. It took me a second to recognize Autumn’s father as he jumped down and came around to the near side and let down a long ramp from the back of the trailer. While my jaw was still hanging, Autumn arrived in Tierney’s Taurus and deftly drove the car up the ramp. I heard the rumble of a door opening into the docks.

  They knew I was there. Was I going to be the next person whose car was driven away? A terrible thought hit me: What if Tierney was in the trunk of his own car? Would he just be delivered to some death site? Or was he part of the welcoming committee for me and I had foolishly invited him to the party?

  Who was watching the show in the loading dock? If Fredelle or Tierney was being held prisoner, they couldn’t be left unguarded. Was a third person involved? Was it Robbie?

  I slipped my cell phone into my hand and crawled under the desk. If Robbie was involved in whatever was going on, I didn’t want him to sit in his chair and spot me cowering there. I didn’t dare make a phone call, but my fingers got busy with a new text:

  Update: Prisoners @ loading dock Quovdcn. Tierney in danger. Brng police asap! Before I sent it to my misfits, including Pepper, I added: Hiding cars. Maybe bodies.

  My phone vibrated back quickly.

  I squinted at it. Under a desk in a room with no lights on at dusk isn’t the ideal reading space. Pepper’s text read: Officers on way. U hav no idea. Danger. GO.

  GO? Get out. Easy for her. She must have been out of the hospital, but she wasn’t stuck under a desk. Of course, she wouldn’t have fit under the desk.

  I texted: Trapped.

  My legs were cramping from hunkering down. I thought hard. Whatever was happening to Fredelle and Tierney would need more than me to stop. If I opened the door to the loading dock, Autumn and her father would see me and presto, I’d probably find myself in a remote wooded area in the trunk of my car. I’d be no use to anyone.

  On the other hand, if I could just get out of the building, I could call 911 and direct police to what was happening. I wondered if Mona Pringle had an address for text. I decided if I survived this time, I’d make a point of getting it.

  I took a chance and crawled out from under the desk and stood up. I climbed on the chair and peered out the windows over the bookcases. With the slope of the surface in front of the building, there was a good ten-foot drop there. I glanced around. Could anything break my fall if I leaped? A chair cushion? Anything.

  I came up empty. I checked around for rope. Perhaps I could lower myself. Pepper and I had done that from her bedroom window often enough at the tender age of fourteen. I probably still had the knack. Just needed the equipment. I stared at the many coils of cable in the box. Could I join some together to make a rope substitute? If I used the chair to break the window, would they hear?

  At the sound of voices, I ducked back again.

  “I don’t know where she is. She didn’t go out the front door, I’m sure of that. Don’t worry. She won’t get away.” Autumn’s voice, but where was the airy attitude, the spoiled dozy failed college girl who couldn’t get through a minute without saying awesome? This person sounded totally in charge.

  “She can’t be far,” the male voice said. I recognized the commanding tones of Autumn’s father. “I’ve got the other bitch. At least that’s over.”

  Bad, bad news for me.

  23

  Be prepared for wardrobe malfunctions:

  Keep a compact sewing kit with decent scissors in your handbag.

  “You’re right. Her Miata’s still there,” Autumn said.

  The deeper voice. “Won’t help her much. She’s a long way from anywhere.”

  “Yeah, and I disabled it, just in case.”

  “Good, let’s deal with those other jackasses and get the hell out of here before anyone else shows up.”

  Very bad. I wasn’t crazy about this new version of Autumn. Or her father. And who were the jackasses? Fredelle? Robbie? Tierney? Was one of them a collaborator?

  “Okay, baby, I’ll check around outside to be sure. You cover in here.”

  Gee, thanks, Daddy.

  Autumn said, “She’s probably cowering under one of the desks. Shouldn’t take long. Nowhere to hide once I peek under. Bang bang.”

  “No bang bang yet. Bring her back with the others when you find her.”

  “What for?”

  “The cops already suspected her of murder. This time we’ll do a better job of making sure it sticks. We have to get rid of the rest of them anyway. We can’t let them out of here now.”

  “Good thinking. That snoopy bitch has it coming.”

  Oh double crap. Even if Autumn started at the front and made the rounds of the cubicles and the desks, it still couldn’t take her more than a couple of minutes to check out the entire office. I hoped she’d try Barb’s desk last. I thought about dialing 911, but I knew that the sound of the operator’s voice might be enough to attract Autumn and her weapon.

  I needed to do something fast before Sally and Margaret showed up. I’d thought their presence would deter any violence. Now I realized anyone in the way of Halliday and Autumn was out of luck. I opened my phone. Luckily the phone offered just enough light for me to text them a warning to stay away and call the police again.

  I would have liked a weapon, even though I wouldn’t know how to use one. I closed my eyes and thought hard. They popped open. I knew where there was a weapon and I did know how to use it. Robbie and Barb’s space was close to the staff room, and the baffle in front of IT meant there was a small blind spot. If I played it right, I could get out of the office area and into the staff room without being seen.

  I peeked into the corridor and saw no sign of Autumn, although I could hear her taunting me from what I thought was Fredelle’s office.

  “Might as well come out, Charlotte. I’ll go easy on you if you don’t make me work too hard. Remember, I’m the one with the gun.”

  Like I could forget that. I scooted along the hallway and into the staff room. The large glossy red fire extinguisher was right where it should have been. My office fire warden experience had just paid off. Big-time. I also knew that if it had been properly filled, it would have a force like a cannon. Knowing Fredelle and Missy, it had been properly filled.

  I snatched it off the wall and crept back toward the IT area. Autumn was standing on the other side of the baffle, facing Barb’s desk and calling my name. She said, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and . . .”

  My heart was pounding, but not enough to drown out her voice.

  “Well, Charlotte. This is the last room. The last two desks. I guess I’ll just have to fire into both of them.”

  I said from around the corner, “I may be able to blow your house down. So I have a deal to propose to you.”

  She snorted. “Don’t make me laugh. What kind of deal could you have to offer me?”

  “You want to hear it or not?”

&
nbsp; The hardest thing was keeping the shake out of my voice. Sound strong. Sound confident. My mother always said, Fake it until you make it.

  “You’re not in much of a bargaining position,” she said. “I have plenty of ammo.”

  “I’m sure you do. But if you kill me, then you’ll never know what I have to say.”

  “What if I don’t care what you say?”

  “You’re the one looking at life in prison.”

  “Make it good.”

  “On my terms.”

  “Get real. You don’t have any terms. You’re a perfect target. I’m here ready to fire.”

  In the past year or so, stalling has become one of my best talents. So have guessing and filling in the blanks.

  “Here goes: The police now know you stole my phone; you had access to it. They also know that you told Fredelle the call came from Reg and that he’d called the meeting, so you could clear out the place and deal with Dyan. You needed to get rid of her because she’d been snooping around. She was getting close to uncovering your secret.”

  I didn’t tell Autumn I didn’t know what the secret was, because I was faking it. I gave it my best guess. Logically it had to be connected with the fact that Quovadicon was a shipping company and that Daddy must have found a way to use the facility for his advantage. No wonder he’d planted Autumn where she’d have access to schedules and equipment. Who would ever suspect that dimwit?

  “What did she do? Figure how the shipments were working? Just a matter of time until she worked out who was behind—”

  “Dyan was a nosy bitch, just like you. Found some info when she was peeking at Barb’s desk.”

  “So she was getting closer.”

  “You know, I don’t think you really do have any useful information, and you haven’t persuaded me not to shoot you.”

  I took a chance. “Here’s another argument in favor of cooperation: Tierney had it all figured out. And it doesn’t matter if you have him here. He doesn’t work alone.”