A Merry Christmas Anniversary Mystery Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #9 (Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series)

by Anna Celeste Burke

  "We'll find him," I said, reassuringly. "Max is tougher than he looks. Trust me, I've gone more than a few rounds with him, in which I threw in the towel long before he was ready to give up. You're right about it being a rough day. You need to rest."

  "The day's over for you," Jack added. "Thanks for your help explaining the fake green project."

  "Her prof had a word for it—boondoggle. Have you ever heard that one before?"

  "As a matter of fact, I have." That word had been used more than once to describe one of Max's projects as a waste of time or money on an unnecessary or questionable project. Charlie had used it more than once!

  Stacy and I made the rounds as I introduced myself to the other men who'd survived today's ordeal. They all seemed eager to talk, which is another of the things, like a negativity bias, that our brains are wired to do. My counselor had told me it's normal to process unusual events by ruminating about them, but it can help to share your story with others. They all described the three men in much the same way. One of them thought he'd seen the older man before, so wondered if he worked for the construction company or somewhere on the property.

  "I hope you told that to Jack," I said, pointing at him.

  "I will when he gets to me," he said, smiling. "I'm sure I'm next. Thanks for the bonus. That will take a load off, given how hard it is to make ends meet these days. Not that I'm griping, uh…"

  "If you were griping, I couldn't blame you after the day you've had. I understand what you're saying about money—it just seems to evaporate, doesn't it?"

  "That's a good term for it out here in the desert. It's nice to meet you both, and I'm looking forward to that dinner you've promised us."

  Once we'd finished our rounds, I said goodbye to Jack. I promised to call him if I could locate Cindy Lucas, so he could send someone to interview her about the group she'd created and its members. Jack didn't have to tell me why. He was hoping to find a shortcut to identifying the other two men with Kenneth. From what I'd heard about them, I was most concerned about the older man. He had to be the ringleader.

  "Stay out of trouble," Jack said as he walked us to the cart.

  "It's too late for that given the promises I'm made to hand out bonuses without being clear I have the authority to do it. I may need to hire Jessica. Where is she, by the way? Did Frank ever reach her?"

  "I don't think so, but he called the construction company, and the receptionist confirmed she had a three-thirty appointment with a guy whose last name was Sedgwick or something like that."

  "Did they see her arrive and leave?"

  "I don't know, but I'll ask Frank."

  "Please, Jack, I'm worried," I said.

  "I'll go do it right now."

  "Let me know what you find out. I'm going to call Shirley and see if Cindy Lucas is still around so Stacy and I can speak to her as soon as possible." Jack waved and kept moving. Then I had another thought.

  "Jack, Frank has the name of the foreman Jessica went there to meet. Do you have any idea what he looks like?"

  I didn't have to say another word. Jack was calling Frank's name as he ran to find him.

  "Shirley, Stacy, and I are on our way back."

  "Are they okay?"

  "One of them has a knot on his head, but apart from being worn out, even he seemed to be fine. Listen, do you know Cindy Lucas?"

  "Of course, she often pitches in here since she won't be needed full-time until the hotel's open."

  "Do you know where she is now?"

  "Yep. She's at the hotel returning some items we borrowed to speed up the evacuation of guests. Cindy's either at the front desk or in the office nearby. I can call Kendra if you need me to ask Cindy to stick around."

  "Would you, please? Then I can concentrate on getting to the hotel as fast as we can."

  "I take it we're in a hurry," Stacy said when I'd hung up.

  "We are. We don't have much more than an hour before it's time to meet the press."

  "We have plenty to tell them. I've added to my talking points, so I could speak to them now. Then, I'll introduce you, and you can play the big-hearted company rep. I don't believe orange is a bad color for you if it comes to that."

  15 Laid to Rest among the Sweet Peas

  Stacy and I parked the cart in a space in front of the hotel. It had taken us twenty minutes to get here. Still, the pressure was on!

  "Don't worry, Georgie," Stacy said. "Press briefings often start late. Trust me, they want the scoop and won't go anywhere."

  "I'm sure you know what you're talking about," I said as I dashed into the hotel lobby. A young woman was waiting for us with Kendra.

  "Hello, you two," Kendra called out and introduced us to Cindy Lucas.

  "Have I done something wrong?" she asked with worry on her face.

  "No," I replied. "We have some news to share with you. Do you want to sit down in your office?"

  "Is it that bad? It's not my family, is it?"

  "Nothing like that," Stacy replied as Kendra stepped away.

  "Can we go out back where I can get some fresh air? If it's bad, I might have to have a cigarette. I'm trying to stop."

  "Let's go," I said as we hustled out back to the enormous patio.

  "What's up?" she asked. "Please just get it over with quick."

  "Kenneth O'Rourke was involved in the mishap this morning and was killed during the incident."

  "I knew it!" Cindy said. "That idiot! I tried to tell him to get help before he got into more trouble. Was he trying to get back at everyone because he was fired last week?"

  "We don't know for sure. He wasn't alone, and the police are trying to track down his accomplices."

  "Was it that friend of his?" Cindy asked.

  "One of his partners has been described as a young, nerdy guy, but we don't have a name," I replied.

  "I can give it to you—Bobby Bush. Kenneth didn't have many friends. That guy was always in trouble, but he got away with it because his dad is a company bigshot and knows people in high places. Maybe Kenny got involved because he was ticked off about being fired. Bobby would have done it just to see things go boom."

  "Why do you say that?" Stacy asked.

  "I did this project for a class I was taking," she said, and Stacy nodded.

  "We know—Karen Taylor told us about it and about the fact that you were friends with Kenneth. That's why we're here. She didn't want you to hear about Kenneth on the news."

  "Well, I told Kenneth about the project, and he told Bobby. Bobby thought the whole idea was great. I told them both it wasn't great; it was sad. Bobby said the only thing sad about it was that I didn't tell people what to do to change things. I told him I didn't want to know what he meant by that, and if he told me, I'd call security. He just shrugged, and Kenneth laughed! I was still mad at them both when Kenneth asked me to help get him a job with Marley World. He wanted to quit construction before he tore up his back or killed himself," she paused and shook her head. Then her eyes widened as she looked at us.

  "Kenny was in trouble because he'd dropped a barrel, and it started to leak. 'I scared them because the stuff coming out of it blows up really easy if there's a spark from a cigarette.'" Cindy asked in a voice mocking him.

  "I told him it wasn't funny, and I'd had it with him. Should I have reported him?"

  "If anyone had responsibility for reporting him, it was his foreman," I said. "My husband, Detective Jack Wheeler, is helping with the investigation. They need to hear this from you. Can you stick around until he has an officer interview you?"

  "Why not? That's the least I can do since my almost-a-boyfriend has turned out to be a first-class dirtbag. Have they found his dweeby friend and whoever else decided to pull this stunt?"

  "They're searching for Bobby Bush, but they haven't identified the third man, bald, in his fifties, barking orders at them."

  "You're kidding? Did he have a crooked tooth in the front of his mouth?"

  "No one mentioned it," I replied, itching
to call Jack.

  "If he does, it has to be Sedgy—that's the nickname Kenny used for his boss. Bobby loved it because it has a botanical meaning too, and he's nuts about plants."

  "Well, if that doesn't beat all…" I'm not sure if Stacy had more to say because a blood-curdling scream came from the biodomes beyond the resort recreation area. The screams grew louder as someone came running toward us. When Linda came into view, she spotted me.

  "Georgie help! There are bodies in the gardens." Larry came huffing and puffing as he caught up to Linda. He bent over as if he might keel over.

  I hit speed dial and called Jack. "Jack, you need to get over here quick!"

  "What is it?" he asked.

  "We're at the hotel, and Larry's assistant Linda says she's found bodies in the garden," I said.

  "How many?"

  "I don't know. Does it matter?" Then I caught myself. "How many?"

  "Four," Larry replied. "And they're not dead."

  "They aren't?" Linda asked. "Are you sure? They were wearing burial shrouds."

  "No, they weren't. Couldn't you see them wiggling?" Linda promptly ran to a nearby flower bed and lost her lunch. They looked more like ears of corn or corn cob husks to me. All laid out among the sweet peas. I never thought I'd live to see someone make an old Southern threat like that come true. We really are growing sweet peas near where we found them," Larry added. "We're started unwrapping them, but they don't have anything on other than their underwear. What should we do with them?"

  "Georgie, will you tell me what's going on. How many?"

  "Four, Jack, and they're not dead, even though they're wrapped in burial shrouds and wearing only their underwear."

  "How did I forget we're still in Marley World," Jack groaned.

  "Larry, what did you mean that someone wants to make a bargain with me?"

  "For Max," he replied, handing me a note.

  "Jack," I said, looking at it. "They left a ransom note."

  "It was pinned to the cheesecloth used to wrap one of the bodies—uh, people," Larry said. "You still haven't said what we should do with them."

  "Take them to the spa. There can't be anyone in there. If there are, it won't be that unusual to see men in their underwear."

  Kendra, and Luke, the security guard, had joined us. I hadn't noticed until Kendra spoke.

  "Luke, unlock the door to the spa. Then take robes to the poor men. They're registered guests, so their belongings are still in their suites. We'll get their clothes for them or escort them to their rooms when they've had a chance to pull themselves together."

  "Larry, can you and Linda take food to them?"

  "Will do." Then he leaned in, trying to speak into my phone.

  "Don't let Georgie forget to tell you about the deal the kidnappers want to make. Tick-tock, tick-tock!" Thankfully, he and Linda dashed inside before I could act on my urge to yell in his ear.

  "I assume you heard what Larry just said since my ears are ringing. Please get over here and bring EMTs! The deal Larry's talking about is spelled out in a note. It says the return of Max's guests is a gift because of the holiday season. I'm also supposed to regard it as evidence of good faith that they'll release Max if we pay them two million dollars. They want cash, in small bills, placed in a satchel near the bag drop at the golf course by eight o'clock tonight or the deal's off."

  "The EMTs are already on the way. One of the officers on duty called in about the screaming. Two million is a modest request after causing ten or twenty times that amount by blasting a hole in the tunnel and damaging the loop system."

  "They called it a bargain too, although they spelled satchel wrong," I added for no clear reason. "Do they understand how they were able to cause so much damage without using explosives?"

  Jack gave me what he called the two-minute summary. I tried to follow his explanation that the arson team had come up with so far. After hearing what he said, I didn't think there was anything I could share with the press. Then Jack tried to cheer me up.

  "Hey, two million dollars is more good news because it also suggests this is about money and not a crazed act of revenge or self-annihilation," Jack added.

  "You're right. If they were intent on killing Max, they could have requested an amount of money we couldn't put our hands on. Not that putting together two million dollars is going to be easy unless you've already got money in a briefcase you confiscated from drug dealers. I hear they handle lots of small bills," I quipped. "By the way, Cindy's here, and guess who she identified as Kenneth's nerdy buddy?"

  "Bobby Bush and the third guy, Kenneth's foreman Cramer Sedgwick is the older man."

  "Yep," she's sitting beside the pool and just ordered a Mai Tai. Cindy was doing well until Linda came running toward us, shrieking about four bodies. Speaking of tick-tock, I've got to get back to my office before members of the press arrive. Can I leave Kendra and the police officers who are already on duty in charge here?"

  As I asked that question, I looked at Kendra, who gave me a thumbs-up. Then she sent a staff member who was standing nearby to have one of the police officers from in front of the hotel go to the spa. I was relieved to hear they'd also made their presence known while I was completely distracted.

  "Sure. If the press asks, you can tell them the distinguished gentlemen who were meeting with Max today are all present and accounted for," Jack added. "No details. Keep it to generalities—you can't give details about an ongoing investigation."

  "I'll do my best unless one or more of those distinguished gentlemen come running into the room wearing nothing but their underwear, threatening to sue us," I sighed.

  "The hotel and Visitor Center are miles apart. That's not going to happen," Jack said, laughing.

  "Go ahead, jinx me," I said. "I need to find twenty million dollars in my spare time. Charlie's out of it, and I don't want to contact Sid until we're sure Bobby Bush's uncle, Eric Sandler, isn't mixed up in this mess somehow. The timing of all this mayhem with what's happened to Charlie and the presence of so many distinguished, rich gentlemen bothers me. Anyway, the note also says I'll get a call later from Max as 'proof of life.' The nerd must be a crime movie buff."

  "Let me see what the county can do about the money. It won't be drug money, but they may have cash on hand to use for a sting operation. I'm sure they'll understand that Max is good for it. Can you keep the line free to take the 'proof of life' call from Max?" Jack asked. I suddenly recognized a whirring sound in the background.

  "You're driving while you're on the phone, aren't you?"

  "No, I have an excellent driver. She'll take you back to the Visitor Center if you and Stacy stick around for ten more minutes." Jack paused. "Correction! Gerry just held up five fingers. Go out front, and you can see us coming."

  "Stacy and I were already on our way. I'd love nothing better than keep my line free—for about three weeks! I can see you, so I'm hanging up now," I said.

  "Were you able to follow all that?"

  "Well enough. If it weren't for the fact that Max is still missing, we could all have a good laugh at how stupid this has been," Stacy added. "Two million dollars is a drop in the bucket when it comes to cleaning up the mess the trio of clowns left behind."

  "Jack said something like that when he told me what they've learned about the blast. What you probably didn't hear is how the clowns did so much damage. The arson team believes they put combustibles in the tank of a nearly empty fuel truck. Then they lit a fire under a welding tank or maybe a drum Cindy said that Kenneth dropped."

  "Something easy to bust open and very flammable," Stacy said.

  "Yep. That first blast blew the truck up in the air and opened a hole into the tunnels. Then the truck dropped headfirst into the opening. There must have been more inflammable materials in the cab of the truck. They fell through the windshield into the hole before the truck hit the ground and became a plug. That's what caused the second bigger blast."

  "Was it on purpose?" I asked.

  "I
t would have been hard for anyone to do it on purpose, so they believe it was a fluke. The arson team, and the explosives experts from the Marine base, claim the size of the second blast was an unforeseen consequence of the first."

  We watched silently for a minute or so as Gerry sped toward us. When she stopped, Jack disembarked. Gerry's bike had a much sleeker appearance without towing a trailer. I greeted Jack with a hug and a question.

  "I'm sure I don't need to ask you this, but security has checked to make sure Bobby Bush isn't anywhere on the property, haven't they?"

  "Once we decided he was worth talking to Bobby about giving Charlie steroids, we checked on him. He was not on the property. His boss at the golf course said he had the day off. That doesn't mean Bobby couldn't have planted the note and the men in the gardens earlier. We didn't' begin searching for him until after you spoke to Angie. I promise we're monitoring his whereabouts now. If he decides to collect the money from the bag drop—we'll be ready."

  "Can you refrain from using the word 'planted' when referring to the men? All we need is for the 'corn cob' line to reach the press," Stacy begged. "Argh! What a mess. Give the little jerk the money, so we can get Max back safe and end this nightmare."

  "Since I need to keep my line open, you call Larry, Stacy. Tell him not to say another word to anyone, and that comes with an 'or else' from Georgie. He knows better than to push me too far. I'm going to go out on another limb, Jack. I'm going to ask Carol and Rita to help me get the money from my division accounts or somewhere else to pay the ransom. If you haven't heard from the county in the next hour, I'll tell them to wire the money to a bank in Palm Springs."

  "I'll do my best," Jack said. "Is Cindy Lucas still waiting for me by the pool?"

  "Why yes, she is," Kendra replied. "Follow me, and I'll introduce you."

  "Where do we sit?" I asked Gerry. She pushed a button, and seats appeared on either side.

  "Hop in. We'll be less aerodynamic than if I were on the bike alone. The doesn't mean we can't get you back to the Visitor Center fast. I know you don't mind a bit of speed, so I'm going to move faster than I did when I was dragging cargo behind me. Buckle up and put on the helmets."