Badger

by Dale Mayer

  Was it to make light of a job that allowed him to carry guns? She shook her head and leaned back. “You guys are crazy.”

  “You are the one who got kidnapped.”

  She reached a hand to her temple. “I certainly didn’t mean to. They grabbed me when I was getting in my car.”

  “So obviously you were targeted. They caught you just after you left the office and before you made it home. They could have caught you in your office, or they could have also caught you at your house. So why the vehicle?”

  He spoke in such a contemplative voice that she realized he was seriously trying to figure out the kidnappers’ thought process.

  “I was just about to start my car when,” she admitted. “I realized I forgot to set the alarm.”

  “Yes, you did. We’ve already been through your office.”

  She stared at him in shock. “How did you get inside?”

  He gave her a droll look. “Have you forgotten what we used to do?”

  She shook her head slowly. “No, I just hadn’t considered the applications in today’s world or how it might impact me.”

  “Well, now you have firsthand experience,” he said cheerfully.

  But she knew the whole time he was talking to her in that light pleasing tone, his gaze was searching all around the area. “Are you expecting them back right away?”

  “Of course I am,” he said. “But I’m not expecting any trouble taking out the kidnappers.”

  “Of course there will be trouble,” she said wearily. “We’ll be lucky if there isn’t one or two of them sporting bullet holes.”

  “I don’t give a damn about the two kidnappers. But my boys, they had better not be sporting any.”

  Just then Cade’s phone went off. He pulled it out, gave a nod of satisfaction and said, “It’s Badger.” He hit the Speaker button and said, “Badger, what’s up?”

  “You can bring her back in. We have two kidnappers trussed up in the kitchen. Would be nice if we had some information from her so we know how to proceed.”

  She was already out the door and standing on the sidewalk, waiting for Cade. Together the two walked around the corner and in the front door. As they walked to the kitchen, Kat realized that the two men were now sitting on kitchen chairs tied up like sheep. She grinned at them. “Fancy meeting you here like this.”

  The two men just glared her.

  “Do you know these two men?” Badger asked.

  She shook her head and quickly brought him up on the details of how she’d been kidnapped.

  He nodded and tossed her a wallet. “The big one’s name is Paul Keiling.”

  “If you can believe that. Isn’t it easy for them to get fake IDs these days?” She studied the driver’s license in the front window of the wallet. It was well done and looked passably close to him. “Maybe it is him?” She went through the rest of his wallet, hoping he had a couple credit cards, but inside, tucked in the back, was one of those secret flaps. And in there she pulled out a note.

  Paul struggled against his bonds when he saw her do that.

  She waved it in front of him. “Oh, is this something you don’t want me to see?” She handed the wallet to Erick for him to peruse. She quickly opened up the note and let out a silent whistle. To the rest of the men she read, “I know what you did.” And she held it up for the others to see. She glanced down at the big man. “So, are you the one who’s been sending me those notes?”

  From the blank look in his eyes, she realized he didn’t know anything about them. But something else was going on in the back of his gaze. What would make a man kidnap her like he had? On a hunch, she pulled up a chair and sat in front of him. “Have you been getting these?”

  He nodded slowly.

  “So have I. Are you getting one a week?”

  The big man nodded again slowly.

  She nodded. “Yeah, me too. Mine comes every Wednesday. What about yours?”

  He nodded.

  She sat back, her fingers dancing up and down on her arm as she contemplated him. “So, I guess the question here is, what did you do?”

  This time he just glared at her, that same bullish look coming back into his eyes as she’d seen before, and his lips pinched shut.

  Badger wanted to laugh at the sour look on the kidnapper’s face. But that same sense of laughter was a very thin cover over the anger that fired through his system. What kind of an asshole would kidnap a woman, especially one like Kat? She did such good with her work; everybody needed her skills. And these assholes were hell-bent on taking her out of the picture. He leaned forward and gripped Paul’s throat in his big fist. “What were you going to do with her?”

  Paul gasped and choked, but Badger didn’t relent. He knew the asshole would have shot Kat. Badger had to get to the bottom of this, and he had to get there now.

  The other man spoke up. “We were following orders.”

  Badger stepped back slightly and looked at him. “Whose orders?”

  Both men shrugged. Paul said, “I got a letter. I was told to kidnap her and keep her prisoner in this house. Otherwise he’d tell.”

  “And what was he going to do with her?”

  Silence.

  Kat got up and walked nervously around the kitchen. She had her arms wrapped around her chest as if to keep warm.

  But Badger knew the chill wasn’t on the outside. It was on the inside. He gently stroked her back. “Remember that it’s okay. We found you in time.”

  She gave a small nod and a grateful smile. “But how do I handle the nightmares when I wake up realizing how close I came to not being found?”

  He understood because he woke up with nightmares consuming him over the bomb that blew apart his truck. There really was no good answer for her. “Time. It will ease back with time.”

  She gave him a small smile and looked back at the two kidnappers. “How did he give you your instructions?”

  The smaller man answered. “He’s had seven letters. Today he got an eighth one. But this one told him that he needed to snatch you off the street and bring you back to the house and keep you here until we receive further instructions.”

  Badger immediately checked the time on his watch.

  “We?” Erick asked, pouncing on his turn of phrase.

  The smaller man shrugged. “Paul’s a buddy of mine. I wouldn’t leave him to deal with this on his own.”

  Badger studied the two of them. Even in the darker side of life, everyone needed to have friends. Maybe Kat was right. Maybe he should consider friendship over vengeance. But it was damn hard.

  Cade studied the two kidnappers. “Were there any other instructions?”

  The smaller man shook his head. “Not yet. We only just got here.”

  Badger studied his face for a long moment, wondering if he was telling the truth. Finally he decided there was no deceit in the man’s voice or eyes. Then again they’d been caught. No point in lying at this stage. He glanced at his buddies and caught their slight nods. He looked back to Kat to see her frowning at him.

  “What are you up to?” she asked in a harsh tone.

  He just grinned at her. How she knew so much about him and could understand who he was on the inside, he didn’t know. Maybe it was because she was the doc. Maybe it was because she dealt with guys like him all the time. On the other hand, he’d like to think there weren’t a ton of guys just like him. But, for whatever reason, she got under his skin and seemed to understand who he was. He motioned at the two men tied up on chairs. “The man pulling their strings hasn’t checked in yet to see if they were successful.”

  She tapped her foot on the floor and gazed at him. “And …”

  “And …” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied her, “if we all stay where we are, there’s a good chance he will contact them with further instructions of what they’re supposed to do with you.”

  Her gaze widened into understanding. “And you’re thinking we can capture him then?”

  H
e shrugged. “I don’t know about the timing, but capturing him would obviously be the end result we would like to achieve. He might just give them more instructions.”

  She turned to look at her two kidnappers. “Do we trust them?” Both men tried to put trustworthy looks on their faces. She snorted. “Of course we can’t trust you.”

  “Hey,” Paul said, “I wouldn’t have laid a hand on you if I hadn’t had my back pushed to the wall.”

  She glared at him. “But you did lay a hand on me. And I won’t forget that kind of terror easily.”

  Cade stepped forward and held out her phone. “In all this mess, I forgot I retrieved this for you.”

  Her face lit up as she reached for her phone. “Awesome.” She swiped the top glass, and her smile fell away.

  In two seconds Badger was at her side. “What’s wrong?”

  She shrugged irritably. “I didn’t say anything was wrong. I missed a text.”

  “I didn’t text you, but I called your phone, and of course you didn’t answer.” He watched her face as she went through her phone.

  She clicked on something, and her lips thinned. “This is the first text communication I’ve had from him.” She held up her phone so Badger could see. It was the same messages as on the letters. I know what you did.

  He read that statement out loud. Then turned to look at the two kidnappers.

  Both focused on Kat with an interested look on their faces.

  Paul said, “I am not talking about that, but I’d sure be interested in knowing what you did.”

  She raised both hands. “I wish I knew what he was talking about too. I didn’t do anything. I’m not a thief. I didn’t sleep with anybody’s husband …”

  Paul snorted. “Well, I don’t know that I believe you. He obviously thinks he has something worth doing this for.”

  She tapped her foot on the floor. “How long ago did whatever you did happen?”

  Her question was a little convoluted, but Badger understood she was figuring out a time frame here.

  Paul said, “Last summer.”

  She frowned. “Do we know anybody else affected by this guy?”

  Paul shook his head. “No. Why?”

  “I’m looking for a time frame that I could search my diary and see if something went down that maybe he’s thinking I did. I honestly haven’t a clue what he’s talking about.” She turned around and said, “Where did my purse and keys go?”

  The two kidnappers shrugged. “Probably still in your car where we picked you up.”

  She frowned. “That’s possible.” Suddenly she looked nervous. She turned to Badger. “I need to get those as soon as possible.”

  Cade stepped forward. “Your car wasn’t in its usual spot at the office. Where is it now?”

  “I was about to turn the car on when these two idiots grabbed me.” She glared at the smaller man, the one prone to take orders.

  “I drove your car here, following Paul, but it’s parked down the block.”

  Cade nodded. “I’ll be a few minutes.” He slipped out the back way.

  Badger loved working with these two. They didn’t have to be told how or why or what to do. He wished he had some idea what was going on here. He knew the general logistics, but, if she couldn’t come up with something she’d done, then it made him wonder just how severe an incident this guy was talking about. He checked his watch for the time once more. “Do you guys have any idea what the blackmailer’s ultimately looking for?”

  Paul shook his head. “No. I was pretty pissed when I started getting the letters,” he admitted. “But, the bottom line is, I just wanted him to go away. When I was told to collect her, I was hoping that would be the end of it.”

  “But you know it’s not going to be. Chances are good he might have wanted her killed.”

  He ignored the soft gasp of dismay from Kat. She was holding on, waffling between anger and tears. He wanted the anger to win. He was no good when it came to women in tears. The other men seemed to look at her sideways, like she was a bomb about to go off. He figured they couldn’t handle crying women either.

  Paul shook his head. “I don’t think there’s any point in that. The only reason to do something like this is if he could get something from us. Obviously he needed somebody to kidnap her. But what can he get from her?”

  Everyone turned to look at Kat. She shrugged. “It depends.”

  But her tone had changed. Badger stepped forward, reached out a hand and tilted her chin so she looked at him. “It depends on what?”

  She sighed. “It depends if he knows about the rare coins I inherited.”

  Chapter 5

  She hadn’t wanted anyone to know about them. The fact that they were gold coins from the 1800s meant they were worth a ton of money. She had six of them.

  She cast a glance around the room, everyone staring at her. “They were an inheritance from my great uncle,” she announced. “No, I didn’t kill him. No, I didn’t steal them. I have no idea if that’s what this guy is talking about or not. But I don’t know anything negative connected with them. I didn’t know they existed until my great uncle died.”

  “How did your uncle die?”

  She winced. “He was murdered.”

  Dead silence followed.

  “An intruder broke into the house and shot him. The police suspected it was a botched burglary attempt.” She reached up a hand to brush tendrils of hair from her temple. “And, if you guys think I killed him, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

  “Did the suspicion ever fall on you?”

  She shrugged. “I think the suspicion fell on everyone at one point. They never found out who did it, so that’s still something. He lived in town, so I had the opportunity. He was murdered early evening, and I was at home alone. So, as far as the police were concerned, I had a motive in the sense that I inherited his coins. But I didn’t know I was inheriting the coins, and that’s because I didn’t know he even had the coins.”

  “We need to get a hold of that police file.”

  She gave a harsh laugh. “Good luck with that. I can’t even get them to give me an update on my uncle’s case.”

  “Who gave you the coins?”

  She shrugged. “My uncle’s lawyer.”

  “And what about the rest of your uncle’s estate? Who got that?”

  “His second wife. His much-younger wife. She was pissed when she found out I got the coins.”

  “No love lost between you?”

  Kat shook her head and stared down at the floor. How did she explain the strange relationship between her uncle and his new wife? “My uncle was married for thirty years, happily married. But Aunt Ethel died from breast cancer four maybe five years ago now. Before I knew it, he was suddenly married to this woman, Marge.”

  “You don’t like her?”

  She lifted her gaze to study Badger. “I don’t know. I haven’t really given her a chance. I loved Aunt Ethel. It was a blow to lose her. Particularly the way she died. And then when my uncle suddenly turned around and seemed to have dealt with it all so quickly, it made me suspicious that maybe he’d been carrying on with Marge before Aunt Ethel’s death. For the longest time I didn’t talk to him, in case I accused him of just that. But he seemed so damn happy, it was hard to be upset with him. He’d gone through hell with Aunt Ethel during those last eighteen months of her life. If he could find a little bit of happiness, then who was I to question him?”

  She hoped Badger believed her. But, at the same time, she knew the police had had trouble with it. “I will say,” she added quietly, “Marge did try to throw some of the blame on my shoulders.”

  Badger’s eyebrows went straight up. “Why?”

  “Because she was pissed about the coins, I think,” Kat said. “But I can’t be too sure.”

  He nodded absentmindedly. “It’s possible this person believes you killed your uncle in order to get the coins.”

  “Does everyone just turn around and kill their family in the hopes the
y get something? I had no reason to think he would be leaving me anything. He has no kids, and, in fact, he probably made Marge a very wealthy woman.”

  “That bothers you?”

  “It shouldn’t. But there’s that little bit of doubt that she had something to do with my uncle’s murder, so, if she did, I would hope to God she wouldn’t get to keep the spoils of her actions.”

  “You know the detective handling your case?”

  “If I can get my purse back, I have his card.”

  Just then the door opened, and Cade stepped inside. He held up her purse. “It looks like it was untouched.” He handed her the purse and car keys.

  “Thank you so much,” she cried out happily. She pocketed the keys and went through her purse. “Credit card and cash are all in here,” she said with relief. “I was so afraid I’d have to redo all my cards again.”

  “Again?”

  She turned to Badger. “Yes, I had my purse stolen a few months ago.”

  The three men exchanged glances.

  She looked at them and frowned. “Why?”

  “Well, it gives whoever stole them your full name, your address”—Badger waved his arm around the property—“potentially access to the property. You’d be surprised what guys can find out about a woman through her purse.”

  She stared at him, her jaw dropping slowly. “I just don’t think the way you guys do.”

  “Neither do you think like a criminal, and that’s a good thing. But it also makes you naive.” He motioned at the purse in her hand. “Do you have the detective’s card?”

  She sat down with her purse on her lap, going through the pockets. “Here it is.” She pulled it out and handed it to Erick.

  Erick looked down at it. “Laramie Birch.” He frowned and handed it to Badger. “I’ve never heard of him.”

  “We don’t know many cops here,” Badger said. He stared at the card. “Might be time we developed a network in town.”

  “In Santa Fe, New Mexico?” Kat shrugged. “The only point to developing a network here is if you’re planning on staying. And, as we all know, you’re heading off on a fool’s errand, getting yourself killed.”