Once they reached the airport, Grant parked on the street around the corner from the entrance. They all jumped out of the car and passed through the gate in the chain link fence that surrounded the airport.
They all filed into the small office of the airport director who pointed out the three planes, which had been readied for flight. Each one was under a security light. Stan was glad it was dark now. That would allow them to hide better as they waited for their man. Of course, it also meant that he might be able to hide from them better. But it would be more difficult for him to hide if he had Alison with him.
They split up and each found a hiding place near one of the planes. Stan’s plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza. It was dark all around but the security light gave enough light that he could easily see the red stripes running the length of the plane and the door on his side. The light didn’t illuminate much beyond the plane, but that should be enough to recognize anyone trying to board it.
Half an hour later, the three men had just checked in with each other having nothing to report when a pickup came through the gate and headed toward the plane Stan was watching.
He keyed his mic. and spoke softly. “I’ve got activity.” He heard two clicks as Grant and Frank only keyed their radios in answer. He knew they would both begin working their way toward the Beechcraft so he maintained his position on the side by the door. Anyone planning to board would have to go past him.
When the pickup stopped, it was between Stan and the plane with the passenger side door next to the plane. He could see the driver but he didn’t get out right away. Stan knew they had their man when the guy eased the door open just enough to step out. He stood there for a moment then pivoted slowly all the way around to survey the area.
Stan still couldn’t tell if it was Monroe, but it had to be. He heard a click in his ear then another one. Grant and Frank were now in position. He had to move now and he had to move quickly and quietly.
As he started toward the man at the truck, his soft-soled shoes made no sound at all. He was right next to the guy before he turned toward Stan. All he had to do was stick his Glock in the guy’s stomach and say, “Put your hands on your head and don’t move!”
The guy looked into Stan’s eyes. It was Monroe all right. Stan had looked into those hate filled eyes once before. Grant and Frank were there now. Stan pulled his cuffs out and pulled one of Monroe’s hands down to cuff it.
Monroe let out a yell that sounded almost like a woman’s scream and leaped out of Stan’s grip. As the guy ran, he pulled a gun out and began firing. Stan’s gun was back in it’s holster so he could cuff the guy. He hit the ground and heard several shots coming from where Grant and Frank were. Monroe cried out and went down in a heap.
Stan felt winded when he yelled, “Everyone okay?”
Grant and Frank both gave the all clear. He had a stray thought then wondering where the shots Monroe fired had gone. Then the adrenalin that had been pumping through his system eased up enough for him to realize he’d been hit in the chest. He placed his hand there and only felt what appeared to be a dent in his body armor. Man! That was close. His chest hurt, but he didn’t think he was bleeding.
He pulled his Mini MagLite out of his back pocket and turned it toward Monroe. Grant and Frank were also shining their lights on Monroe who wasn’t moving. Stan ran around to the other side of the truck and wrenched open the door. There sat Alison with a blindfold over her eyes and a gag in her mouth. Her hands seemed to be tied behind her back.
“It’s me Alison! Everything’s going to be okay now.”
He pulled his pocketknife out and cut her blindfold and gag off. When he cut the rope on her hands, she leaped out of the truck and into his arms.
In the background, Stan could hear Grant calling it in and asking for medical to respond. “Hey Grant, Alison needs a little medical attention too. Her wrists are chewed up where the guy had her tied.”
He leaned in toward Alison and said, “Can you walk okay?”
“Yes! Oh Stan, I’ve never been so scared in all my life. Wilson was going to take me to Mexico and when he was finished with me, I know he was planning to kill me.” It all came out in a rush then she shivered.
Stan growled. “I think Monroe’s dead, but I’d sure like to have another chance at him right about now.”
Chapter Seventeen
Alison knew she couldn’t have slept a wink last night. She was so tired that she could barely raise herself up enough to look at her alarm clock. She knew it must be time to get up. The sun was already up. Maybe she did sleep a little. When she focused on the clock, she let out a gasp. It was nine o’clock. She should have been at the office over an hour ago.
She sat up and brought her legs around to sit on the side of the bed. Ouch! Her ankles hurt where the rope had burnt them. They hadn’t been bad enough to bandage, but the paramedics had bandaged her raw wrists last night. They were quite sore this morning.
She was trying to get her body to move so she could get down from the bed when there was a soft knock on the door and it opened a crack. Kelly stuck her head in and said, “Oh, you’re awake.”
She came into the room and sat on the bed next to Alison. She didn’t say a word, just wrapped her arm around Alison’s shoulders, and squeezed tight.
After a few minutes, Kelly turned to Alison and said, “I won’t ask how you’re doing, I’ll just ask if you’re better.”
Alison made a feeble attempt at a laugh. “Since you put it that way, I’d have to say that I am better. But you’ve got to admit that I couldn’t get much worse than I was last night though.”
“Yeah, you kind of resembled a zombie last night when the guys brought you home.”
Alison giggled. “Oh please, don’t get me started laughing. I may not ever be able to stop.”
Then Alison remembered work and she slid off the bed and tried to stand on wobbly legs. “I’ve got to get to work.”
Kelly reached out both hands to steady Alison.
She heard voices in the hallway coming closer. Then the door opened wide and Sarah, Sybil, and Beth Newcomb all filed into the room.
Her mother spoke first. “What’s this I hear about work?” She shook her head and her blond hair flew from side to side just like Alison’s always did. “Not today, dear. You need lots of rest and lots of TLC.” She looked around at the others. “And we’re all here to see that you get plenty of both.”
There wasn’t much she could do but go along with the others. “I need to call Mary and tell her then.”
“Already taken care of.” Kelly smiled at her and hung onto Alison as she took a step and almost fell.
“I didn’t realize my ankles were so sore.”
Kelly helped her to the bathroom and left her there, closing the door behind her.
Alison knew she did not want to look into the mirror. Avoiding it, she pulled her nightclothes off and stepped gingerly into the shower. There was no way she was going to be able to take a shower and not get her bandages wet. Well, she’d just have to bandage them again somehow when she got out of the shower.
When Alison entered the large kitchen, the other women were all seated around the table. Kelly jumped up and met her at the door. Alison had dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and wrapped her hair in a towel.
She started for the coffee maker, but Kelly said, “Just sit down, Alison. I’ll bring it to you.”
She had just taken her first sip of coffee when she heard the front door open and a moment later Stan and Grant were on each side of her, leaning over to give her a hug.
Grant brought a chair in from the dining room and the two men sat down on either side of Alison. Grant was sitting between his sister and his wife.
Sarah was the first to speak. She looked at Sybil then Beth and said, “I think we would like to know everything that happened yesterday.”
The other two older women voiced their agreement.
Stan looked over at Alison. “Do you feel like telling the story one mo
re time?”
She nodded and began. “Well, I was at work, and after the sales meeting, I went back to the break room to get a cold soda. It seems that Wilson must have gotten ahold of my keys while he worked there and made a copy of the back door key. I have the only two keys, one at my house and one on my key chain.”
Recognition came to her face and she looked at Stan. “Oh, do you think he might have stolen the one at my house when he tore it up. I forgot that a ring of keys was missing after that. I didn’t worry about it since I had all the locks at the house changed.”
Stan nodded. “That’s probably how he did it.”
“Anyway, I was bending over to get my soda out of the machine when a hand with a cloth in it covered my face. I didn’t think not to inhale until I started feeling dizzy. Then I felt a pinprick on my arm just before everything went black. When I woke up, he had me tied to a chair with a blindfold and gag on.”
Sybil spoke up when Alison paused. “Did he hurt you in any way, dear?”
Alison knew what she meant. “No, he barely touched me to tie and gag me. But he left nothing to the imagination as to what he wanted to do to me once he got me to Mexico.”
When she heard grunts from her brother and Stan both, she looked around the room. She noticed that all of the others were frowning. Then she continued, “He fed me a hot dog once then he took me out to the pickup and drove me to the airport. I only heard voices and shots after we got there.”
Stan took over from there. “I caught him unaware and was attempting to cuff him when he took off. He started shooting at us but Grant and Frank Davis from the Highway Patrol shot him.”
It seemed that Sybil and Sarah decided to do the same thing at the same time. They came around the table and hugged Alison from both sides.
Sybil spoke first. “Well now, Alison, we can all concentrate on your wedding. It is just four days away now.”
With that, they all laughed and for the next thirty minutes, the conversation centered on the wedding preparations.
When she thought she could do so without disrupting anything, Alison stood and pulled Stan out onto the patio. When he shut the door behind them, she turned to him.
“Are there going to be any problems for Grant for shooting Wilson?”
Stan shook his head. “No, it looks like the investigation is going good and should be finished in another day or two.”
“That’s good.” Then she reared back and hit him hard on the shoulder.
“Ouch! What was that for?”
“That was for not telling me that you were hit by one of Wilson’s shots last night.”
“It was nothing. It hit my vest.” He thought about that. “Wait a minute. How did you find out?”
She snorted. “Not from you obviously. I just happened to overhear the others talking about it this morning as I was coming into the kitchen.” She gave him as stern a look as she could manage. “I know it still hurt. Didn’t it? Do you have a bruise there?”
She could tell he was trying to decide how to answer that question. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, there’s even a little swelling there too. But I’m okay, really.”
She tried not to smile at the little boy way he said that. Instead, she pulled his head down for a kiss.
* * *
Stan stood in the same place he had just three weeks ago. The only difference was that this time he was the groom not his best friend. They were getting ready to go through the rehearsal for the wedding tomorrow.
Alison and the other women were in the bridal room off the foyer and he was standing at the altar with Pastor Caldwell, Grant, Harold Newcomb and Leo. He looked up to see Wayne Newcomb coming down the aisle toward them. What was that guy doing here? He’d better not cause any trouble tonight.
Stan thought back to the four days since Alison had been kidnapped. It had been great. He and Alison had spent every possible moment together. With the attacker dead, they didn’t have to worry and could go anywhere they wanted at night.
Just then, Alison came through the double doors from the foyer. He was surprised to see Sonia with her. Not that he minded anymore, but what was she doing here?
Alison walked up to him, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him. He sure could get used to this.
When she pulled back and looked into his eyes, she said, “Stan, I hope you don’t mind, but Sonia and I have become such good friends that I would like for her to stand up with Kelly and me.”
He smiled down at her. “Of course, Alison, I told you that you can have anything you want for our wedding.”
She giggled. “I like the sound of that, ‘our wedding.’ Doesn’t it have a nice ring to it?” Her smile was replaced by a frown. “That leaves us with a problem though. We’ll be off balance with three of us on one side and only you and Grant on the other side.”
She looked over to where the other men were standing and whispered to him. “What about Wayne? I think he’s learned his lesson with me, and anyway, we all know he’s sweet on Sonia.”
When Stan didn’t respond, she said, “Why don’t you go over there and ask him right now?”
Stan wasn’t so sure that this was such a good idea, but he would do anything for Alison, and if she wanted Wayne then he would get Wayne for her.
As he walked over to Wayne, an idea hit him. “Wayne, good to see you.”
Wayne grinned as they shook hands. “Yeah, my sister insisted that I come. I don’t know why, but now I see a reason although I don’t think that was what Kelly had in mind.”
Stan followed Wayne’s eyes, which were of course staring at Sonia. That just solidified his plan to get Wayne to agree to be in the wedding party.
He leaned toward Wayne and said. “You said you wanted us to help you get to know Sonia, right?”
Wayne grinned but kept his eyes on Sonia. “Sure, what do you have in mind?”
“Okay. Alison wants Sonia in the wedding party, which leaves an opening on my side. If you take that position, you’ll walk with Sonia and even sit with her at the dinner tonight and the reception tomorrow.”
Wayne’s face lit up then he turned to Stan and said, “What do I have to do?”
Stan walked back over to Alison with a smile on his face. She reached out and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re the greatest and I love you so much.”
Stan wished he’d had a camera when Sonia realized that she was going to be paired with Wayne. He watched the emotions come and go on her face. First, there was recognition, then shock, and finally anger. He thought things were going to get rather interesting, quick.
As they went through the rehearsal itself, Sonia drew back each time she was supposed to place her arm in Wayne’s and walk with him up the aisle.
Once when they were standing around waiting to go through it one more time, Sonia stepped up to Stan and said, “Can’t you do something about this?”
He didn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about. “Don’t look at me. It was Alison’s idea.”
Sonia groaned and with a frown said, “I thought she liked me.”
Stan only laughed in answer, which earned him an elbow in the ribs. He was so startled that he yelped drawing attention to him. Since Sonia had already walked off, everyone just stared at him. He looked across the room where Sonia was grinning at him and he couldn’t help but think that she was turning out to be okay.
The rest of the evening was a blur to Stan. They had reservations at La Mexicana appropriately for their rehearsal dinner.
All through the dinner, Sonia was turned toward Kelly on her right and away from Wayne on her left. In spite of that, Wayne seemed to be having the time of his life. Stan wasn’t about to try to figure that one out.
Finally, he was dropping Alison off at Grant’s house. It had been a long day and an even longer evening and Stan was beyond tired. He just wanted to go home and sleep.
When he pulled into the driveway, Alison turned to him and said, “Just think Stan, tomorrow at this time we’ll alread
y be married.”
“It’s all I’ve been thinking about all day. After all that has gone on over the past three weeks, and especially the mob scene tonight, I just want to be alone with you.”
“Oh, Stan, that’s so sweet. Thank you.”
She kissed him and he was surprised when she pulled away before he could deepen it and was out the door in a flash.
“We both need to get as much rest as we can tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”
With that, she shut the door and ran into the house. Stan sat there almost in shock. Then he laughed loud and long. That was Alison. No! That was his Alison. Now, he could truly say that. He sure was looking forward to being married to her. His life would never be the same.
* * *
Alison was so excited that she couldn’t sit still while she waited for Kelly to finish getting ready. She was anxious to leave the house to go to the church. They were both dressing in jeans and t-shirts. They would be putting on their wedding clothes at the church just like when Kelly had married Grant. Was it only three weeks ago today? Oh my! There sure had been lots of things going on in those three weeks. But she wouldn’t think about all of that right now. The only thing that had happened in the last three weeks that she did want to think about was that Stan had finally declared his love for her, and she had finally realized that she loved him too.
Kelly came out of the master bedroom and with a mischievous smile said, “I’m ready, are you?”
Alison only laughed and followed her sister-in-law out the door. They took Kelly’s red Mustang and Alison was glad since she didn’t think she could drive right now without hitting something. It wouldn’t be good for the bride to be late because of something like that, especially when the groom was a police officer, would it?
When they walked through one of the glass double doors at the front of the church and into the foyer Kelly said, “I’ll go over to the fellowship hall to get the corsages and your bouquet from the refrigerator over there. I’ll be right back.”
Accepted Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 2) Page 24