Sun, Sand and Murder: A Suzette Bishop Mystery (Suzette Bishop Mysteries Book 3)

by Kristine Frost

“If you ever want to see your sister alive again, you’d better follow my instructions.” He gave her an address. She grabbed a napkin and Sam’s pen from the pocket of his work shirt. “Come alone or I’ll be sending you pieces of her body in the mail. Got it?”

  “Yes. But I don’t know where this is,” she said in a panicked voice.

  Angrily, he gave her the directions. “And remember–NO POLICE.”

  “I’m on my way.” The phone went dead.

  Sam gripped her hand. “What is it?”

  “Remember the guy in the parking lot?” Sam nodded. “He has my sister. If I don’t come to this address, he’ll send pieces of her through the mail.”

  “Damn it to hell. Let me get a map. I’ve lived here all my life and I’m not sure where this is.” He dashed into the back room and returned in 30 seconds with a large scale Florida map. Opening it on the bar, he looked in the index then pointed to a section of the map. “This is it. It’s a very small hamlet outside of Melbourne. You take this road.”

  “I know that road,” she said, slowly. “That’s the road where we found Justin.” She jumped off the stool. “I’ve got to go. Every minute I waste--”

  “Suzette. Listen to me. Give me your OnStar number.”

  “I don’t know it.” She tried to jerk away from Sam. “Sam let me go.”

  He limped around the bar. “Suzette, you’re going off half-cocked. You won’t be able to handle him alone.”

  “But he said--”

  “I don’t give a damn what he said. He’ll kill both you and your sister. You know that, don’t you?” His voice was rough.

  Suzette nodded, numbly, tears coming to her eyes.

  “And you recognized the voice, didn’t you?”

  Again she nodded.

  “It was your ex?”

  “Yes.” The sound was barely a whisper.

  He shook her. “Suzette, get a grip. He’s gone psycho, but we’ll beat him at this if you keep your head. Leave the address on the bar so you have to come back for it. Get the number and then come back for the address. It will just make you seem frazzled. You give me the number. Then when you turn to leave I’ll try to stop you. You pull away hysterically. Got it?”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll get one of these bums who has OnStar to let me use his car. I’ll follow you having OnStar track you, okay?”

  She nodded, turned and ran through the door. While she was gone, he quickly copied the address and slipped it under the bar. As soon as she ran back in and grabbed the napkin, he walked over to one of the men at the bar. “Hey, Jake, your car has OnStar, doesn’t it?”

  Jake nodded, his eyes glazed. “Yeah–the deluxe--”

  “You’ve had too much to drink. It’s against the law for me to let you drive. I’ve called a cab for you, but I need to borrow your car,” he said as he grabbed the keys.

  “Hey, the rest of you bums, I got a life and death emergency. I need to close, so everyone out.” There was some grumbling, but everyone got up and left. Sam shoved Jake into the cab, saying, “I’ll bring your car later.”

  As soon as he locked the door, he ran to Jake’s car and triggered OnStar. Quickly, he explained the situation and asked for their help.

  “I’m not sure we can do that,” the lady protested. “I don’t know if the Federal Regulations prohibit that.”

  “Listen lady, I don’t have time to argue about Federal Regulations. This is a life and death matter.”

  “Sir, I can’t--”

  “Do you have a supervisor available?”

  “Oh, yes. That’s a good idea. Hold on, let me get my supervisor.”

  A different voice sounded over the radio. “My name is Alice. Melissa tells me you have an unusual problem.”

  “Yes, I do. My friend is walking into a trap or rather driving into a trap. A man has tried to kill her at least five times. I’ve been with her several times when it’s happened so I know that she is telling the truth. Now he has kidnaped her sister and is holding her hostage for my friend. She is headed toward Melbourne, but I don’t think she’ll get there. If she does, I’m sure that both women will be killed. I know my friend will be killed because he told her he would kill her or he would kill her sister and that the choice was hers.”

  “Who would do something like that?” Alice sounded indignant.

  “Her ex-husband. I am trying to follow her, but if her ex finds out, he’ll kill Rebecca, her sister. So I really need your help. Her car has OnStar. I have the number. I want you to track the car.”

  “I don’t--”

  “Lady, please, put aside your scruples and help me save some lives here.”

  He heard a male voice say in the background say, “Go for it, Mrs. P. Or let me do it.”

  “All right, Zac. You do it. You’ll handle it better than anyone else.”

  “Right on, Mrs. P.” A new voice came on. “Hi. My name is Zac. Give me the number and I’ll find her for you.”

  ‘Thank God,” Sam breathed. “The number is 8476302987.”

  “Got it. Hold on a minute. I’ve got to do some finagling here so I can superimpose your screen on her screen and give her a different color dot so I can keep the two of you straight.” A few moments later, he said, “I think that will do it. Okay. She is heading south on A1A. You’re about 7 miles behind her.”

  “I think I had better close up to just under a mile, just in case. I don’t suppose you can track the cars around her, can you?”

  “No, only if they have OnStar and right now, I’m not picking up any of our cars.”

  “Okay, let me know before I overtake her.”

  “Easy! Don’t get too close. From what I can tell, there doesn’t seem to be much traffic.”

  “You’re right. It is very thin at this time of night.”

  “It looks like she’s turning onto the 520. I’d move up a little closer now.”

  “Right.” Sam’s hands were sweaty on the steering wheel. Carefully, he took his hand off the steering wheel and wiped his palm on his pants. Another car cut in front of him, forcing him to swerve and slam on his breaks. He was shaking as he grabbed for the wheel.

  “Hey, man, are you okay? I thought you were going to go into a spin for a minute there.”

  “Yeah, I think I’m okay. I don’t suppose you can track the jerk, can you?”

  “No, he doesn’t have OnStar.”

  “Wait a minute. That car could have been a white Camry. That could be our man. The man who is trying to kill Suzette has driven a white Camry rental car every time he tried to run over her.”

  “Do you want me to have the police standing by?”

  “No! He might monitor the police bands. That could sign her death warrant. Besides, we need to find out where he’s holding her sister. I’m thinking that he’ll direct her there and that it will be in an isolated area.”

  “Get ready. She’s turning again. She’s heading west on Route 192.”

  Sam turned on a small flashlight and glanced down at the map on the seat beside him. “That’s only a two lane paved road.”

  “There’s nothing much the way she’s going. There’s a small town called Deer Park just off 192 in about 12 miles, but then there’s nothing until Holopaw.”

  Chapter 36

  Suzette turned out of the parking lot, heading south. Her phone rang. “Leave the phone on. I’ll give you directions as you go.” With trembling hands, she plugged the phone into the cigarette lighter so it wouldn’t go dead.

  “Okay.” Her voice shook a little.

  “What’s the matter, Suzette, a little scared?” The voice sounded immensely satisfied and self-confident, almost smirking.

  “Why should I be scared?”

  “It’s very simple. I’m going to kill you, slowly and painfully. The way you killed me when you left.” The malevolent tone sent shivers down her spine.

  All of a sudden, she knew she was in more danger than she had ever dreamed. “Dear God help me,” she prayed. “It’s James
and he’s really gone over the edge.”

  “James, why are you doing this?” She said out loud.

  “Well dear, sweet Suzette,” his voice dripped acid. “I told you when I married you that I’d never let you go, but you wouldn’t listen. You left. You left! Damn you, you left me!” His voice had risen to a scream that was choked off by a sob.

  A soft voice in her head whispered, “He’s not just gone over the edge. He’s taken a flying leap!”

  His voice interrupted her thoughts. “But that wasn’t enough, was it, dear sweet Suzette? You got me fired. You were always investigating my claims. Disallowing them because I’d sold the policies. That detective from Las Vegas–you turned him against me–you turned all of them against me.”

  “James--”

  “Everywhere I went, you turned people against me.” He stopped, then he whispered, “Suz,

  do you know what it’s like to be in prison?”

  “No.”

  “I wanted you to know what it was like to suffer in prison the way you made me suffer. Prison made me an old man. It killed my spirit.”

  “You tried to kill Derek and frame me, didn’t you, James?”

  “It was such a wonderful plan. It would have succeeded but the jerk had his hands all over you. You shouldn’t have let him touch you. You know you belong to me. You’ll always belong to me.”

  You’d better sooth him down, Suz, the little voice in her head said. In the state he’s in, he’s perfectly capable of killing Rebecca before you ever get there.

  “You’re right, James, I shouldn’t have let him touch me.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have. You wouldn’t be out here right now, if he had kept his hands to himself.” His voice grew soft and dreamy. “My plan was perfect, absolutely perfect.”

  Suzette carefully reached down into her purse, pulling out her recorder. If he kills me, she thought, I’ll have it on tape.

  “I was in prison for eighteen months, Suzette. Eighteen long soul-killing months. But I survived that time by planning.”

  “Planning what?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but she had to keep him talking.

  “Why, planning the rest of your life. Oh Suzette, you would have been so proud of me–the attention to detail, the following of each little consequence, figuring out what you would do in each situation that I put you in. It was so much fun, figuring out a life-threatening scenario and then watching you try to get out of it. It really made my stay a lot more bearable. But the best part of it all was when you couldn’t slide out of my trap, when my knife was at your throat and you’d plead with me to take you back, not to kill you. But the climactic moment was watching your startled expression as my knife slid slowly into you and you watched the red blood run down your white dress. You’re wearing a white dress tonight. That’s why I had to do this tonight. Because I want to see the red blood on the white dress.”

  Suzette shuddered. How am I going to get out of this one? He really means to kill me and this time he may succeed.

  “So tell me about your plan. It must have been incredibly brilliant.”

  “I knew I had to get you away from San Francisco. It had to be somewhere that was totally new. Where you didn’t know the lay of the land, so to speak. But, it had to be somewhere that I knew like the back of my hand. I grew up in Florida. Did you know that, Suz?”

  “I think you mentioned it once, but you never talked about it.”

  “No. My childhood wasn’t something I wanted to remember. My uncle was my guardian after my parents abandoned me. He lived just off this road on Lake Hell ‘n Blazes. He used to laugh about it. He said he had a blazing temper and liked to make my life hell.

  “He did make my life hell, until I got bigger. I’m taking you to the shack where I killed him. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed anything more than I did when I killed him. I made sure he was afraid before I finished him. He was more afraid than he’d ever been in his life.”

  He laughed. “I thought of that shack when I began my plan. That’s where I have your sister. She’s all tied up. I don’t think she’s very comfortable but I wanted her to hate you. I don’t want anyone to love you but me. Do you understand that? No one but me.”

  Chapter 37

  Zac said, “Did you hear what that guy said? I tried to patch you into her OnStar program, but I’m not sure if I succeeded.”

  “You did. I heard everything.” Sam had to clear his voice.

  “Hey, man, are you okay?” Zac asked. “The guy’s off his noodle, for sure. Can you protect her by yourself? Man, how I wish I was there to help you.”

  Sam shook his head. “I’ll say the guy’s off his noodle. None of his ducks are in a row.”

  “I’d say he’s ‘quacker’s’,” Zac said seriously.

  Sam could hear the groans in the background. “Okay, sorry,” Zac protested, “I couldn’t resist it.”

  Sam said, “Zac, do you have cell phones where you are?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. I’m going to give you some numbers. I want you to get someone to call these men. Get someone who can give them detailed instructions on how to get to Hell ‘n Blazes Lake. But the big thing is, tell them not to use radios. Got that? Make sure they understand that they have to use cell phones because if they use radios and James is monitoring them, Suzette is dead.”

  “Go ahead. I’ve got a pencil.”

  Quickly, Sam read him the cell phone numbers for Mitch and Mike. “Tell them to get here as fast as they can, but as quietly as they can. No sirens blaring, etc.”

  Zac said, “Just so you’ll know, I’m recording the conversation. I think it would be a good idea if we put this guy away for a long, long time.”

  “I agree.”

  “Hold on. Something’s happening.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t really tell but I’d guess that the car behind her just ran her off the road. You’d better get there fast, but cut your lights. I’ll guide you. The road is straight for about a mile, then there is a curve. She’s on what looks like a pullout or a wide spot.”

  Sam automatically shut off his lights as he followed Zac’s directions. Using his flashlight to show his odometer, he went the mile, then pulled off the road, just before the curve. “I’m going to sign off now,” he told Zac.

  “Hey, good luck. Let us know what happens, okay? I don’t think any of us will sleep tonight if you don’t.”

  “I will, and thanks.” Silently closing his door, he began jog-limping down the road. As he rounded the curve, he saw Suzette’s car a few yards away. Quickly, he ran up to it. He flashed his light around the inside but it was empty. He began looking for footprints when a soft voice whispered, “They went this way.”

  His flashlight picked out Hallie’s very white face. She was hiding behind a thick stand of baby Palmettos. “Who are you?”

  Quickly she introduced herself. Looking embarrassed, she said, “I was spying on Suzette. I was curious about the man she was meeting at the bar so I climbed in the backseat and wedged myself between the seats so I could find out who she was meeting.”

  “Let’s go. You can tell me about it later.” Quickly, Sam broke off two long, thin branches. He laid them from the car to the path. Then he put some smaller branches by them, making arrows to the path. “I hope we’ll be getting some back-up pronto. The man’s a walking mental case.”

  “I know. He scared me to death the way he was talking to her but about her at the same time, like she wasn’t a real person. It was weird.”

  “I know.” He pulled his revolver out of his pocket. “Find a heavy branch. You can use it as a club.”

  “I have Suzette’s gun. I don’t know if I can hit anyone with it, but I can point it and look tough.”

  “Okay, come on.” He started down the path, then paused, “We’d better grab some heavy branches anyway. There may be gators here. If we shot one of them, he’d know we are here.”

  Hallie s
hivered. “Okay I’d just as soon not meet up with a hungry gator. Suzette’s ex will be enough of a problem.”

  Sam whispered, “I think there is enough moon for us to see our way. The path seems to stand out, white against the darker vegetation. It may slow us some, but it will be safer for everyone if he doesn’t see our lights.”

  Chapter 38

  Suzette looked around her. “I’m glad there’s a moon, but it makes things look spooky.” She mouthed the words, not wanting James to hear her comments.

  Suddenly, the car behind her swerved out to pass, but abruptly cut in front of her, forcing her to slam on her breaks and jerk the steering wheel to the right. She felt rather than heard her front fender scrape the side of the other car, then the two cars came to a stop on a pullout. Before she could move, someone jumped from the other car, yanked her door open, grabbing her and dragging her from the car.

  “Stop it,” she demanded. “I’m all right.”

  The hand on her arm tightened, and began pulling harder. She tried to shrug off the hand, but the grip tightened unmercifully. She looked up into James’ black eyes. Eyes so opaque as to be empty. There didn’t seem to be an iris and a pupil. Just solid, lifeless black, flecked with red, the eyes of an insane man. She’d seen eyes like that when the San Francisco Stalker tried to kill her.

  She drew a quick, frightened breath. “James, please, wait a minute. I’ve got to undo the seatbelt or I’ll never get out.”

  “Don’t try anything stupid,” he said, pressing something cold and round against her neck. “I don’t want to shoot you here. It will take some of the fun out of my plans, but I will shoot you rather than let you go free.”

  “I won’t try to run away. Why should I? I always thought we were friends.”

  “Don’t give me that crap, Suzette. You hate me as much as I hate you.” As soon as the seat belt clicked, he yanked her out of the car.

  “This way.” He motioned with the gun toward a barely seen path.

  Slowly, desperately praying, she stumbled down the long strip of pale white, James shoving her along, gripping her arm in an unbreakable grip. After a few hundred feet, the path ended at an old dilapidated shack. James motioned for her to push open the door. Slowly, she stepped up onto the porch, trying to avoid the huge gaping holes and broken boards. She discovered that the door had to be lifted open before she could walk in.