Bob Moats - Jim Richards 01-03- 3 for Murder Box Set

by Bob Moats

  “You think Davey will fall for it?” she asked.

  “Well, so far he doesn’t know we know. It may work. We have nothing to lose, so we’ll see.”

  She hugged me and said, “don’t let go.”

  We waited about two hours, then turned Cindy loose after coaching her. She dialed the number, and after a couple of rings he answered. She put it on speaker so we could hear. He must have seen the caller ID. He said, “What’s up, baby?”

  “I really need you, Davey. I’m getting so hot just thinking about you. It’s been so long. You miss me?” She poured it on.

  He paused. “I miss your fine body, woman. What do you want to do about it?”

  “Davey, I’m sneaking out of this stinking place tonight. There’s a bar in New Baltimore that I can get to. Want to meet there? I may not even come back here. It sucks. We could just run off together.”

  I whispered in her ear not to overdo it.

  He paused, thinking, I guess, then said it sounded like a winner. He asked the name of the bar. She told him what we told her. She said she’d be there by 9 P.M. and would be wearing her sexiest outfit. I could almost hear him drool. Idiot. He said he’d be there and hung up. Cindy looked at us, and we decided to go scout out the bar for best attack. I asked Luther to round up four of his best men with their bikes and follow us to the bar.

  We headed down 23 Mile Road and arrived at the “Bore’s Head” bar, I liked the irony of the name.

  The bikers and hot rods roared in scaring half the people in the parking lot. We parked off to the side, and Buck, Luther and I scouted out the lot. Deacon sat in his patrol car across the street in a restaurant parking lot, waiting for us to signal him to ride to the rescue. We figured on grabbing Davey while he was in the lot so as not to endanger any patrons inside the bar. We had Cindy stand out front, and the rest of us milled about the lot where most people were starting to party before heading into the place.

  It got to be 9:00 as we waited. No sign of Davey. Buck and I sat in his van and watched the road for the black Bonneville. Luther was hanging off his Harley about 20 feet from Cindy, talking to Boon.

  It was now 9:30, and I was beginning to feel uneasy. We waited another 15 minutes, then I said to Buck, “Something’s wrong. He should be here by now.” He agreed.

  I called Deacon on his cell phone and told him Buck and I were going back to his place to check. He said he’d continue watching the bar in case Davey still showed up. Buck went to Luther and told him our plan. We left the parking lot and headed back to Buck’s.

  We pulled into Buck’s drive and got out. There was no one in front, and it was way too quiet. I started to worry. We drew our guns and slowly went around back. There was no one there, either. We went up to the back door, and I looked in the window. I could see the people we left, sitting on the floor in the living room, feet and hands tied.

  “Shit!” I yelled, yanked open the door and ran into the room. Everyone was tied and gagged. I pulled a gag out of Mouse’s mouth, and she cried, “They got Penny!”

  My heart stopped. I got on my cell and called Deacon, telling him to get the hell back here and bring everyone with him, Penny was taken.

  Buck and I untied the eight people in the room, and I started grilling Mouse.

  She said speaking fast, “We were all in the backyard except Missy and Frank. They were up front. We saw a man and a woman come around the house with guns pointed at Missy and Frank’s heads, saying they would kill them if anyone moved. The woman told Penny to get over by her. Penny said not to hurt anyone. She seemed to know the guy as she was scolding him for all this and asking how could he do what he did. The guy told her to shut up. He grabbed Penny and pointed the gun at her head. They ordered us all into the house, and the guy pulled out some rope he had in a pack on his back. He ordered Frank to tie everyone, and then he tied Frank. They left, and you guys showed up.”

  I asked how long ago. She said not long, about 20 minutes. Deacon and Luther came flying in, and we filled them in on the details.

  I asked Frank, “Did you see the car they came it?”

  “Yeah, it was a black Bonneville,” he replied.

  Luther yelled to his men, “Get on your bikes and spread out to see if you could spot them. Boon, hit the freeway towards Detroit and call if you see them.”

  My heart was in my throat, and I was having trouble breathing. I felt like someone ripped off both my arms, and I couldn’t do anything. I had let her down.

  *

  Chapter Seventeen

  Deacon got on his radio and reported a kidnapping to the county sheriff and New Baltimore police. He requested they put out an all-points bulletin. He called Trapper from his cell phone. I was in no mood to talk to Trapper and told Deacon that. I could almost hear Trapper yelling through the phone in Deacon’s ear. He moved it back. Deacon knew I was hurting, so when Trapper wanted to talk to me, Deacon said I was out somewhere.

  I sat at the dining table. My mind was spinning. Buck sat across from me, knowing nothing he could say would do any good.

  I had to pull myself together. I had to find Penny. I looked at Buck and said, “They want to make their little film so they won’t kill her right off. The police got their video equipment from the cabin, so they would have to buy new equipment or steal it. Where would they go to tape it?”

  My mind went blank again, nothing coming out that would help. I took a breath and let it out. “OK, let’s do this by steps. First, they need a place to tape. Second, they need the equipment. Third, and this is the thing that scares me, they would have to force Penny to confess and apologize for what the cheerleaders did. I’m afraid that Penny won’t cooperate with them, and they would have to hurt her. She’d fight them all the way.”

  Luther came in and said, “I got on my radio and put the word out to all the Harley riders I know and they’d spread the word to others to be on the lookout for the car. It’s a big network. In an hour every hog hopper in the state would be watching.”

  I thanked him and went back to thinking. I couldn’t because my mind was so filled with the thought of harm coming to Penny. Buck could see I was on the edge.

  He finally spoke. “Jimmy, stop beating yourself up. It happened, and there’s no one to blame, least of all yourself! Can you just get yourself back into finding her now? This is serious and we will need to stay focused. Time doesn’t wait, man.”

  I looked at him and got angry, not with Buck but with Waters and Morgan. The anger was welling up in me, and I had to do something. “OK, let’s put our heads together and work it out.”

  Boon ran in and said someone from the Warren Chapter Harley Riders called in saying a black ‘98 Bonneville was seen on I-696 around Van Dyke Avenue, heading west. They said there were a man and woman in the car, but they didn’t see anyone else. They were relaying between hogs, following the car. Buck and I jumped up and went out. I started heading to my car. Buck yelled to follow him. He went to the garage off to the side, pulled open the door and told me to get in as he pointed to his souped up T-Bird. Deacon yelled that he would run blocker with sirens and lights. He radioed the sighting and reported he was in route.

  We sped out 23 Mile Road to I-94 and down the freeway until we hit the junction for I-696 then headed west. Luther and most of his men were keeping up with us on their hogs. It must have been a sight for drivers as we were roaring past, cop car in front followed by classic cars and then bikers. The last call from the Warren riders was that they lost sight of the car between I-75 and Woodward.

  We continued on. It was about 11 P.M., and traffic was thankfully light. We made good time. All the way I kept wondering why they were heading that way, what was out there. I watched the scenery flashing by and realized I had seen this twice when we went to Penny’s studio for her show.

  I yelled, “Of course!” startling Buck. “They’re going to the TV station. Morgan worked there and has a passcard. There’s plenty of equipment to finish their video. It has to be where they’re
going!”

  I called Deacon on his cell and told him my thought. He said he’d head that way and that he would call Trapper about our progress. About three more miles down the road, traffic started to back up. We had already passed the last exit and were in the walled section of I-696, the concrete ditch as it was called, no way out. Deacon carefully went up on the shoulder, followed by us, and rode down to where a tractor trailer semi-truck hauling dirt was over turned. It was completely across the freeway from side to side. Deacon got out and found the truck driver. We came up behind him.

  “Fucking black car was weaving in front of me, and then the bastards started shooting at my front tires and my windshield. Hell, I hit the brakes, and the whole damn truck just jack-knifed and went over. I’m lucky I’m alive and didn’t kill anyone else. Son of a bitch!” The truck driver was furious.

  Someone had called the Oak Park police as they came down the shoulder stopping behind our caravan. They didn’t look happy, but Deacon told them about Waters and where we were heading until this happened. They helped get traffic over. Deacon and I got in his patrol car and Buck in his T-Bird. While the bikers helped direct traffic, we drove the wrong way on the I-696 shoulder to the last exit off Woodward Avenue. Driving up the on ramp, scaring the hell out of motorists, we spun around onto Woodward and headed back to the service drive along I-696. We got to an overpass that took us to 10 Mile Road and out past Greenfield Road toward Southfield. The TV station was on 10 Mile so we got there shortly. At night there would be just a skeleton crew and a few news and weather people hanging around the building.

  We pulled up to the guard shack. It was empty. Deacon got out of the car, went over to push the button to raise the gate and found the guard dead on the floor of the booth. He raised the gate, got on his radio and called the Southfield police to report the murder and our reason for being there. We drove in and parked up front. The lobby was closed, and the doors were locked. Buck just said, “fuck it,” pulled out his .38 and blasted the glass in the door, shattering it. Deacon stood looking at him and said, “Nice play, grace”.

  “What, you wanted to wait for a locksmith?” He went through the door, followed by Deacon and me.

  From the lobby I had no idea where we were going, so we headed down the hall and kept a watch for movement. Just as we got to a door, someone opened it and walked into three guns pointed at his head. He quietly said, “Shit,” and we asked him if he knew Davey Morgan. He said he’d heard about Morgan but hadn’t seen him. I asked where they stored small VHS camera equipment. He said in the electronics office locker. He told us the directions, and we left him after warning him to get out of the building before he was killed and to take anyone else with him. He nodded and headed fast out the way we came in.

  ~~*~~

  In another part of the building, way back in a secluded prop room, Morgan was tying Penny to a prop bed, spread-eagled. She was gagged and was just coming out of unconsciousness, having been drugged by Waters. Julia was setting up the video camera they had stolen from the electronics locker. She popped in the tape marked “Wickens.” Julia then walked over to a long extension cord lying on a prop table and yanked off the female end, stripping the wires with a knife she had in her pocket. She cleaned the ends and bared the wires, separating the ends so they didn’t touch as she plugged the other end into the wall socket. She carefully taped the wire ends together and produced a nice spark. She grinned.

  Davey ripped open Penny’s tank top and cut her shorts with the blade he carried, then stood back admiring her almost naked body.

  “Can I have fun with her before she dies?” he asked.

  “No, dear brother. You can’t,” she snarled. “You’ve already had enough fun screwing that biker chick.”

  “Yeah, well, it was fortunate she was involved with this bitch. We might have never found her.”

  “OK, that is the only time I’ll look past your screwing another woman. Only I get that pleasure.” She smiled seductively. “This plan works even better. We’ll film the confession from her and get it on her own TV station as one of their breaking news stories. These media bastards love gruesome news. They feed on it and pander to the masses of mindless scum, soaking in the gory details.”

  Occasionally Davey was a little afraid of Julia. Her mind would go off in strange directions, but she was a good lay so he played along.

  Penny was making small noises. Carrying the plugged in extension cord, Julia went to her. She got real close to Penny’s face and snarled, “You will do what I ask, or I will make you regret it.” She snapped the ends together, and a spark flashed in front of Penny’s eyes. Penny panicked, but with the duct tape on her mouth, she couldn’t scream. Julia brought the wires to Penny’s abdomen and touched the skin quickly, causing Penny to tremble in pain. Julia laughed.

  “Now, my dear Penny, I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do. You will listen and obey, or this will happen.” She hit Penny again with the wires. Penny stiffened again. “Over and over till you get your part right.” She hit Penny a third time, a bit longer that time. Penny writhed in agony until Julia backed away. “Davey, remove the tape from her mouth.” She snapped the wires together so Penny could see and said, “Don’t scream or cry out, or I’ll make you suffer.”

  Davey yanked the tape, causing Penny to cry out in pain.

  “Davey, that wasn’t nice. You’re hurting her.” Julia laughed.

  ~~*~~

  Back in the electronics room, Deacon found the cabinet that had video cameras. We did a quick inventory and deduced one camera was not in its assigned spot. We went back out the electronics room door, and we decided to split up. Three people searching would be better than everyone together.

  Buck said, “I’ll fire a shot to let you know when I found something.”

  I said, “That might work, but most of the studio was sound proofed. Use our cell phones.”

  I went down one hall, Buck down another and Deacon through a door to yet another part of the studio.

  I walked through the darkened halls that led to the back of the building. I went down a side hall that had three doors. In the dark I didn’t see a short step stool in front of me, banged my knee and leaned into a table with electrical things on it. The table tipped and dumped the contents on the floor making a horrible racket. I looked around at the doors, waiting to see if anyone would come out.

  No one did, but I didn’t know that Julia and Davey had heard the noise. Julia told Davey to watch Penny. She went through the prop room to the entrance, listening at the door. She opened it a crack and peeked out. She saw me going into one of the other three doors marked “Studio C.” I had gone in a ways and walked around the set. It looked like a sports show setting. There was baseball equipment laying around the set.

  I didn’t see Julia slip quietly in. I took my cell phone out and called Buck. He said he hadn’t seen anything or anyone. I told him I was in studio C.

  Just as I was going to say good-bye, Julia came up behind me with a baseball bat she must have picked up from the sports show set and started hitting me with it. I dropped my phone and tried to ward off Julia’s attack, but she kept up. I fell to one side and found a spotlight housing on the floor. Picking it up I started to swing at Julia, hitting her around the knees, causing her to scream in pain. The housing had pointed edges, and I must have made contact with her leg. She limped away from me, dropping the bat by the door as she went out.

  She went back into the prop room and took her gun away from Davey. She told him to stay there again, and she went back out, carefully. I had already come out behind her from Studio C and went into the other door, this time with my gun drawn. I was lucky to have picked the door that Julia wasn’t behind. She came out, just missing me. I went into a room that looked like a small storage room. The walls were lined with shelves containing what looked like video tape canisters. I found another door at the back of the room. I opened it carefully and went through after listening for sounds. I heard something and we
nt in.

  ~~*~~

  Davey was pacing and irritable, mumbling about how Julia treated him like some puppet. Penny could see he was losing it and stiffened when he walked to her. He sat on the edge of the bed beside her. He took his own gun from his belt and sat it on the bed, next to him.

  “Hey, pretty Penny. You always looked so good when you pranced around the station.” He moved his hand up her stomach, to her breasts and back down between her legs. She spit at him, and he smacked her. “Look, bitch, you aren’t in any position to do that. I’m in charge here!”

  “I think Julia would argue that,” she hissed. He picked up the extension cord and started hitting her with it all over her body, causing her to scream in pain and bounce on the bed. He stopped.

  “You bounced so nice on that bed. I’m going to give you something to bounce for.” He started to undo his belt and his pants. Before he dropped them he came to the edge of the bed. He let his pants fall and pulled down his briefs. Penny closed her eyes, expecting the worst to come.