The Hewey Spader Mystery Series (The Complete Trilogy * Books 1 -3 )

by Tanya R. Taylor

  I shook my head. “Nope. You?”

  “Nope,” he answered.

  Sam looked more worried than before. “It can’t all be a coincidence, can it?” she asked.

  I sat down with them. “I doubt it. None of these people had dogs, yet they’re gone.” Then I started to think deeper. “Well, to be fair guys… just because those neighbors weren’t at home when we checked doesn’t mean something happened to them.”

  “I think it does if all the cars are still parked in their yards,” Sam replied. “Were the cars there?” She glanced at Rob and me.

  We both nodded.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I forgot about that very important detail.”

  “Yeah. I doubt they all went for a neighborhood stroll,” Rob commented.

  Those awful dogs must’ve done something to them!” Sam cried.

  “Let’s not jump to any conclusions,” I calmly said.

  And it was the first time I’d ever seen such a glare coming my way from Sam’s eyes.

  “Jump to conclusions?” she snarled. “Are you in denial, Hewey Spader? My parents and the others are gone! Are you blind or stupid?”

  Rob looked quite startled. He was used to Sam verbally bashing him whenever he managed to get on her nerves, but she was usually far more patient with me. I guess there’s a first time for everything.

  “Hey guys…” Rob suddenly had a very worried look on his face. “If Sam’s folks and some of the other neighbors around here have upped and disappeared, I wonder if my folks are still around.”

  “That’s a good point,” I said. “Now’s a good time as any to check.”

  We’d have to go around the bend and further up the road to get to Rob’s house.

  “Let’s go,” I said to them.

  “No,” Rob replied. “I think it’s best I go alone this time. “You two wait here for me, okay?”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yep.”

  He proceeded to leave.

  “Please be careful,” Sam told him with both hands interlocked beneath her chin.

  4

  _________________

  Rob returned less than twenty minutes later. His folks were both at home and pretty much the same as usual—which added to the mystery as to what happened to the others. None of this was making sense, considering that it was publicly announced, in so many words, that only people whose dogs no longer wanted them around were the ones who’d be shipped out.

  Sam had taken a quick shower and a change of clothes while Rob was gone. “I’m glad your peeps are all right,” she told him.

  Sam looked rather distressed as she sat alone on the couch. I was still standing near the door after letting Rob in. He’d gone over to the sofa and put his feet up.

  “Get your dirty shoes off that chair!” Sam barked.

  He immediately obeyed. Sometimes, Rob did the dumbest things. Everyone knew how Sam and her folks were when it came to certain conduct, and putting one’s feet up in any of the chairs, especially with shoes on, was completely out of the question.

  “Oh, sorry! I forgot,” he blurted. Then he looked at me. “So, what now?”

  I started back over to the couch when my cell vibrated. Quickly, I slid it out of my blue jeans pocket and noticed the call was coming from a private number.

  “Hello...”

  “It’s me. Where are you?”

  I recognized Jeffrey’s voice right away.

  “At Sam’s place,” I said.

  “Meet me down the road. You know where. Same as last time.”

  “Okay. Leaving now.”

  “It’s Jeffreys,” I told Sam and Rob who’d been staring me down the entire conversation. “We gotta go.”

  “Where?” Rob asked.

  “The spot. Gotta leave now.”

  Sam secured the house and brought the front door key with her. During the walk back, we barely spoke a word to each other. I suppose all of our minds were consumed with thoughts of what Jeffreys and Hugo might reveal. Sam suddenly found herself in the same situation as I was—not knowing where her family was, so I knew firsthand how she felt.

  We noticed the area in vicinity of my house was vastly different from the street Sam’s house was on. There was little activity at a few residences here and there as we continued along. However, Sam’s road was more like a ghost town.

  We met Jeffreys waiting on the step in front of the back door, which was well out of view. He seemed a bit nervous, though it was evident to me that he was trying to hide it. The moment we got inside, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it with his lighter.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” I said. “We can talk more freely and won’t have to worry about being heard if anyone happened to pass by.”

  “Good idea,” he replied.

  “Where’s Hugo?” Sam asked.

  “He’s at home. He thought it best I meet with you all alone this time. We have to be so careful.”

  “I know what you mean,” Sam said.

  When we got upstairs, Jeffreys took the same seat he had the last time. Sam and I sat on the bench together and Rob stood near the doorway.

  “Have you found out anything?” I asked, eagerly.

  He nodded and took a puff. “Why else do you think I’m here?”

  He had a point. Guess it was a stupid question when you really think about it.

  He crossed his legs and looked me dead in the eyes. “I know where they took your family,” he said.

  I slid more towards the edge of the bench. “Really? Where?”

  “They’re being held in that new facility the government’s been building for the past two years. I don’t know if you knew about it, but it’s way out in the western end of town. Huge place. Rumor has it they were setting up some sort of military base or something. Not sure though.”

  “Okay... I think I heard about it. So, can you take us there? Sam’s family are also missing. We just found out today. Maybe they’re there too?”

  He shrugged. “It’s a possibility. According to Hugo, a lot more’s going on than what those in charge decided they’d share with us. As for taking us anywhere, that’s not gonna work.”

  “Why not?” I was puzzled.

  He leaned forward slightly. “Look, I told you the last time I was here that if we’re going to do anything, we need to have a plan. You can’t possibly think we can just drive up there, grab your family members and leave without finding ourselves staring at the business end of a possibly very big gun. Or even worse—getting chewed alive by some dangerous canines who happen to be currently acting like humans.”

  “Okay. So, how can we take care of this?” I asked him.

  I heard all of his talk of a plan, but I was thinking beyond that. I just needed to get there and would’ve figured everything out afterwards. I told you that was usually my MO.

  “First of all, regardless of who else’s parents have gone missing, there’ll be no we?”

  “What do you mean by that, Jeffreys?” Sam seemed very offended.

  He looked at her. “Hugo and I have spent a lot of time thinking this thing through ever since he got word of where people were being held. Spader will be the only one going out there with us as we can’t afford to take reckless chances. It’s very dangerous.”

  He turned to me again. “And you’ll have to travel in the trunk.”

  I didn’t care if he said I’d be tied underneath the car, I just wanted to get there. “Fine. When do we do this?” I asked.

  “Hugo has to go to the facility, now known as their headquarters to meet his commander early tomorrow morning. You’ll come along with us,” Jeffreys replied.

  “So, how do we get them out? Does Hugo have access to any weapons in case we need them?”

  “You won’t be getting your family out tomorrow,” he said. “You’re only going along to see what we’re facing and then we all will decide the best way to proceed.”

  “I got what you’re saying,” Sam chimed in. “You’ll b
e like staking out.”

  “Precisely!” Jeffreys exclaimed as if it was the first sensible thing he’d heard for the day.

  “And after y’all see what’s happening, y’all will go in there and get Hewey’s peeps and mine.”

  “We’ll rescue your peeps,” Jeffreys replied with a tinge of sarcasm.

  Sam seemed satisfied. I guess as far as she was concerned, any plan was better than none at all.

  Rob took a seat on the floor. “But how will Hewey get to see anything if he’ll be stuck in the trunk?”

  “Good question,” I added, looking at Jeffreys.

  “You’ll get to see what you need to; trust me,” Jeffreys told me.

  “So, has anyone thought about how we’ll get out of town once they’ve been rescued?” Rob asked.

  “Believe me, young man… Hugo has got a plan that just might stop all this madness and hopefully, change things to the way they were before.”

  “Really?” Rob’s eyes widened.

  “Yup. We all have to pray it works.”

  Jeffreys didn’t stay at the distillery a minute longer than he deemed necessary. He told me what time he’d pick me up the next day and I couldn’t wait for dawn to come.

  5

  _________________

  Shortly after 6:00 A.M., Jeffreys pulled up at the rear of the distillery. He’d called my cell and allowed it to ring once before hanging up. As discussed the previous day, that was the signal he’d use to let me know he was outside. I was wide awake and dressed from 4:00 A.M., so in a flash I was downstairs. Rob locked the door of the distillery behind me.

  Jeffreys was standing next to his twenty-year-old Chevy sedan and he opened the back door directly behind the driver’s seat and gestured for me to get in. However, I noticed the seat adjacent to the trunk was lying down flat and I could see the inside of the trunk. It wasn’t so small in that I knew I could fit in there rather comfortably. If he ever kept anything in there, it was all cleared out now.

  “Should I go in the trunk now?” I asked.

  “Yup. We’ll keep the seat down until we’re almost there, before sealing you off,” Jeffreys replied.

  Hugo was in the front passenger seat looking spiffy in his military uniform. He even had dark green and silver semi-rectangular stripes on his sleeves.

  “A wonderful day to you, young man,” Hugo said.

  I nodded to him as I made my way into the trunk, figuring Jeffreys had me get in that way instead of the normal way so I’ll know how to maneuver later. Moments later, we were off.

  I could feel every dent and bump in the road during the long drive. Jeffreys’ car was obviously in dire need of new shock absorbers, among other improvements. I guess the best improvement would’ve been for him to finally get rid of that old car and invest in something new. Jeffreys was a miser though; saved every dime possible as if all of it was going with him in the grave. The house he was living in had been passed down to him from his parents, and he never knew what it was to find money to pay for a mortgage, unlike my folks. Other than having Hugo around, he didn’t have a wife or children—no one else to care for except, of course, his beloved dog.

  Lying in a fetal position in the trunk, I just imagined how fat Jeffreys’ bank account was. I never could figure people like him out. I’d met some folks over the years that were very stingy, but they spared no expense when it came to getting stuff for themselves. Not Jeffreys though. I’m sure, in his mind, that money was always better off right where it was in that local bank downtown. He was bound to ride that Chevy into the ground before he paid a penny for a new ride.

  I heard him and Hugo engaged in conversation part of the way. Hugo spoke very intelligently and conducted himself like a real gentleman—I guess it would be gentledog. He had a rather calm, cool and collected demeanor; didn’t seem to be bothered by much. Apparently, he brought some balance to Jeffreys’ life although Jeffrey wasn’t radically different. Jeffreys could be a major pain in the butt though, so it took a special dog to care to be around him. Maybe he was like that because he’d had it so good and was a spoiled brat. I arrived at that conclusion when I visited ninety-year-old Ms. Dottie Pearl one day, who was Jeffreys’ next door neighbor and had been friendly with his folks when they were still alive. Ms. Pearl often had me come over to help her change a light bulb or do some odds and ends around the yard. She confessed she didn’t like the boy because he was a spoiled rascal; got what he wanted most times and threw a devilish tantrum when he didn’t. Inwardly, she blamed Jeffreys for his folks’ eventual illnesses—Mae Jeffreys came down with a stroke while Ed battled a heart condition. She said she listened from her li’l house as Jeffreys complained about this or that from the time he was a young man straight up until Mae had another stroke and ended up in a nursing home. She was only there for six months before she died and poor Ed escaped to the sweet by and by one night in the middle of his sleep. I’d asked her what Jeffreys always created the upset about and she said it ranged from any li’l senseless thing to some land he wanted them to turn over to him early so he could sell it and wouldn’t have to work for that marketing firm he’d been employed with. Mae and Ed wanted to hold on to the land in case they needed it, but Jeffreys was insistent that they were denying him his inheritance because they were mean and didn’t want to see him have it easy. The way Ms. Pearl spoke, sounded like Jeffreys was a real scrooge and manipulator too. After she enlightened me with his business, I took pleasure egging his house, along with the guys, every so often. To me, it was payback on behalf of his folks and Ms. Pearl too. Ms. Pearl had made it to ninety-seven before her eyes closed for good.

  “Hey! Spader!” I heard Jeffreys say.

  “Yeah,” I answered.

  “We’re almost there. In the center of the back seat, there’s a short rope. Once you pull on it, it’ll seal off the trunk. Later, when I give the seat a li’l knock, that’s your cue to open the latch and crawl out, but stay down when you do. Got it?”

  “Okay.”

  “Don’t move a muscle and if you’ve gotta sneeze or cough, find a way to keep it in. One wrong move and we’re all in deep trouble. Got it?”

  “I do,” I replied.

  “Okay. Pull up the seat and keep quiet.”

  I had to give the seat a good yank, but it landed right in place and I was suddenly plunged into vehicular darkness.

  We drove a while further before I felt us going over a couple of speed bumps, then the vehicle slowed to a complete stop.

  “I’m here to meet with the commander,” Hugo told someone. I presumed we were at a security check point.

  I heard the light clashing of metal and then a rolling sound. That must’ve been a gate. Shortly thereafter, the car was moving again.

  “Just passed security,” Jeffreys indicated, moments later. “Driving up to the front of the main building. Hugo will get out here, then I’ll go and park.”

  I didn’t respond, specifically since he didn’t give me previous instructions that I should. I wasn’t about to do anything that could potentially jack up our plans. We’d come too far for that.

  About a minute later, the car slowed again. I heard a door open, then shut. I presumed Hugo had left the vehicle. After that, we were moving again, but at an even slower pace.

  “Parking now,” Jeffreys said.

  I could tell that he was pulling into a spot, then we stopped completely and he shut the engine off.

  “You can push the seat back down,” he said. “But don’t come out until I tell you.” I guess just speaking his wishes instead of leaning back and knocking the seat like he said he would’ve made more sense.

  I followed his instructions and was relieved to see the light of day again. We were parked facing the east and directly under the shade of a large tree.

  “The coast is clear. You can ease out and have a quick look; just keep your head lowered,” Jeffreys spoke quietly.

  I crawled out of the trunk and stooping low from the back seat, I looked through the
window on my right. The compound we were on was huge! The ground was compacted dirt mainly—that stage right before an area is paved. Throughout the compound were several buildings and at each side of the front entrances that were visible to me were either a couple of guard dogs or armed men. One of the buildings looked like a large office space with a double door entrance while the other three resembled long, rectangular warehouses. I noticed a few people and dogs walking from the main building to their vehicles, and others from one building to the next. They all appeared to work there or at least for them. A chain-link fence with barbed wire on top surrounded the property and I couldn’t help thinking that whatever the government had initially designed this compound for it was likely to have been for something major. Now, the canines had taken it over for whatever purpose they had in mind. I noticed seven or eight large, yellow buses parked along the southern side of the fence, a good distance away from the main section of the parking lot.

  Jeffreys had made a smart move when he pulled up in that particular spot as we were primarily away from where the other vehicles were situated, yet not too far from what I deemed the office building.

  “Hugo went in the one directly behind us,” Jeffreys told me, as he stared through his rear-view mirror.

  “Did you see anyone when you drove into this place?” I loudly whispered.

  “You mean like anyone you know?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “No, I didn’t. This is Hugo’s first time here too. Let’s just wait and see what he says, shall we?”

  I nodded.

  “The good thing is he’d be able to see what the setup’s like and what we’d be facing.”

  “I understand.”

  Other than for a little foot traffic in the parking lot, there wasn’t much of anything going on from what I could see. Peering further back, I noticed the security booth we would’ve passed to get in. I noticed a couple of heads through the glass window of the booth and two armed men and a bad-looking uniformed Boerboel standing with them.