“Let’s call them.”
“You’ll have to. I let my battery die so I wouldn’t have to get any more texts from Mother with prospective date photos for the dinner.”
Leaning against the cabin door, I punched call beside Griff’s contact picture, a photo I had snapped of him biting into a giant cookie.
“Hello,” a feminine voice cackled. “I just knew you would call. Listen carefully.”
Chapter 26
“Who is this?” I snapped. The hairs on the back of my neck stood as the speaker laughed the answer back at me.
“It’s Regina,” I hissed to Sam in a whisper, covering the mouthpiece. Sam leaned her head against mine to listen.
“Regina, where is Griff? And Alice?”
“I’ll ask the questions here,” Regina barked over the phone. “What did Alice tell you?”
“Nothing. We never got to speak with her. Did you set the cabin fire?”
“Aren’t you a smart little cookie; if you keep your mouth shut, then nobody has to get hurt.”
I could feel my blood boiling. “Nobody else, you mean? Last time that I checked, two people are dead.”
“And isn’t that unfortunate. Unless you want it to be your boyfriends here, you’ll do as I say.”
She must have Landon too, I realized.
Sam grasped my hand and I squeezed back. “What do you want, Regina?” I asked.
“I want you to go bake your crummy desserts tonight and act normal. Don’t go poking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Tomorrow, I’ll send instructions where you can find your friends and that idiot cleaning woman with the big mouth.” Regina hung up without waiting for a response.
I tried calling again but got an error message. “She must have turned the phone off,” I told Sam.
“If she is going to release Griff, Landon, and Alice tomorrow, then that must mean she has a way out tonight. She is planning on getting away with the murders.”
“Come on. We have to go bake.”
“What?!” Sam’s jaw dropped and she looked at me like I had lost my mind.
“You heard Regina. She specifically said we have to make desserts and pretend things are fine. What if she has someone here watching us? Or she shows up herself? We don’t want to put the guys in more danger if we can prevent it.”
“Urghh.” Sam growled and stood. Stomping off down the path she called over her shoulder, “This is stupid you know. Stupid. We have to do something about this and for once cookies are not the answer.”
~
I sprinkled the last few lines of blue sanding sugar onto the plates, arcing it up and down to give the appearance of waves. “Are the Mini Seashell Cakes ready to be plated?” I asked Sam without looking up from my work. We had gone to the kitchen to bake, as instructed. I wouldn’t risk going against Regina; the outcome for Griff and Landon was too unpredictable.
A long pause filled the air before finally she answered, but not as I expected. “I’m really worried.”
“About the cakes?”
“No. About Griff and Landon. Alice too for that matter.”
“I’m thinking of a plan. First, we have to get through dessert tonight. Are the cakes ready?”
“Yes,” Sam grumbled. She brought over a tray of cooled and frosted cupcake-sized personal cakes, each decorated to look like a seashell.
These would be our star dessert tonight. They have to be just perfect. I arranged and re-arranged the Mini Seashell Cakes up on the platter to appear as if the waves washed them to shore.
“Tell me. What exactly is the plan?” Sam asked.
“Pray.”
Sam nodded and did just that. Whispering, she began. “Father in heaven, we don’t know what to do or where to find our friends. Please help us; please protect Griff, Landon, and Alice. Please help us find them.”
~
Regina did not show up for dinner or dessert at the wellness retreat that evening as far as Sam and I could tell. I peeked around the doorframe once more. “I still don’t see her.”
“Do you think she already fled the area?”
“I don’t know, maybe. Are you ready to go?” We skipped dinner; neither of us had an appetite for eating.
Sam nodded and removed her apron, hanging it over a stool. “Yeah. Tell me, where are we going? And please, please say the police station.”
“Well, not the police station, but maybe the police,” I told her in a low voice. “Come on,” I motioned that she should follow me out through the back door.
Outside I glanced around. We appeared to be alone; not a soul meandered down the trail, the porch rockers sat empty and still. “We can’t go to the police station. That would attract too much attention and people might not believe us. But, if we can find Officer Grumpy, we can talk to him. I’ve already been arrested so a follow-up from the police wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. He’s got to be around here somewhere.”
“Okay. Split up or stick together?”
“It would be faster to split up…but honestly I think we should stay together. Every bad thing that ever happens in a scary movie happens when the group goes separate ways.”
With a serious expression and not a single sarcastic remark about TV not being real life, Sam nodded. “That’s true. Together it is.”
We scoured the whole resort from the beach to the main office. I kicked at loose pebbles in the parking lot by the office. “Of course! Of all the times for Officer Grumpy to make himself scarce, he picks today. Any other moment he’d be popping out of the bushes trying to arrest me, but now he’s vanished.”
“Here,” Sam handed me a business card she had swiped off the front desk. “Call him.”
Sure enough, Officer Campbell’s name and cell were printed neatly in front of me. I dialed. And waited. The phone rang and rang but, in the end, went straight to voicemail. “Officer Gr..uh..Campbell, this is Piper Rivers. Please give me a call the moment you get this.” Rattling off my cell number, I hung up.
“Now do we go to the police station?” Sam begged, tugging at the hem of her t-shirt and looking around. Sam never fidgeted. Her actions told me better than words how scared she felt and I couldn’t blame her. Oh God, please don’t let anything happen to Griff, to any of them.
“Let’s try one more place,” I said. Grabbing Sam by the arm, I towed her with me and sprinted to my truck.
“What are you doing? Your keys are in your bag at Griff’s cabin, aren’t they? We’re going the wrong way.”
Letting go of Sam’s arm, I crouched on my knees by the driver’s door and leaned as far as I could underneath my truck. “Tada!” I extricated myself and held up a single key with a grin.
Sam rubbed the sides of her head and shook it at me. “This is because you lose your keys so often, isn’t it?”
“Hush. Get in the truck.” I stuck my tongue out at her and moved to unlock the door. I revved the engine and threw it in drive before Sam even buckled her seatbelt.
“I would ask where we are going again,” Sam said, after the buckle to her seatbelt clicked into place “but I’m afraid I already know.”
“It’s the only other place we might get information.”
Sam groaned.
Chapter 27
I parked on the far side of the Dollar Store parking lot, below a light pole with darkened, shot out bulbs. Gathering storm clouds had darkened the evening sky faster than expected. The darkness could be a foreboding sign, or a blessing of concealment; I chose to be thankful for the concealment. We sat in silence, but not the companionable sort. More like the terrified, barely breathing, afraid to talk, not daring to move sort.
“Now what?” Sam finally whispered.
I shrugged. “I thought we would wait a bit and watch the door. If Regina comes out, we call 911 and report a robbery, or kidnapping, or car theft – whichever we can get them to respond to, I don’t care which.”
“That’s it?” I could hear the surprise in my friend’s voice. I hated to disappoint her.
<
br /> “Not quite,” I squeaked.
“What if Regina doesn’t come out?”
“That’s the part you aren’t going to like.”
“Piper…”
“If Regina doesn’t come out, then we go in. Maybe BeeBee thought of something else to tell us or can point us in another direction to look.” I glanced over at her in the dim interior. “It’s the best I can think of; we have to get them back.”
“I know,” she sighed.
We returned to our silent vigil. For ten minutes there wasn’t a single movement outside other than trash blowing across parking lots as the wind picked up speed.
BAM!
The door to the Thai Massage Parlor opened and the wind ripped it from the small hand holding it, banging the door into the wall.
“Is that…” Sam leaned forward.
“No. It’s the one they called Mamasan.” I recognized the petite Asian women we met on our previous visit. “If she’s leaving, there is a chance we can sneak in and talk to BeeBee.”
We watched as Mamasan shuffled across the parking lot and into the vape shop on the other side of the massage parlor.
Waiting no longer than it took for the shop door to close, I scrambled out of the truck and sprinted for Thai Massage. I heard Sam’s door shut and felt her catch up to me.
“Glad you brought sensible shoes on this trip,” I teased. She wore sneakers and it was in fact only one of about four times I’d seen her in something flat. She even wore heels at the bakery most days.
“Remind me that trips with you are a bad idea in any footwear,” she retorted in a whisper as we crept near the door. With a glance behind us, I turned the knob. “Thank God. It’s unlocked.”
“That might not be a good thing,” Sam whispered. “It might mean she’s coming right back.”
“Then we better hurry.”
We eased inside the building and closed the door inch by inch to avoid making noise. The fluorescent lights were all turned off; only a few lamps lit the hallway. When nobody came to greet us, I exhaled a sigh of relief. The small foyer sat empty, unless you counted the layers of lingering grime and dirt from cigarettes and who knows what – those were thick enough to pull up their own chair.
“Look,” Sam pointed to a framed certificate on the wall to our left. “This health inspection is from six years ago.”
Unsurprised, I shook my head. Creeping down the hall, we made our way to the door where our visit with BeeBee had taken place yesterday. At least, we tried to creep. I bumped into a side table and Sam nearly knocked a mirror down as she flattened herself up against the wall.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Trying not to be seen,” she hissed.
I rolled my eyes, a gesture she missed in the dark of course. “You aren’t a chameleon!”
Sure enough, our stealth mode wasn’t at all effective. A throat cleared and we both jumped. Not Regina, please not Regina I prayed silently.
“Piper? Sam?” the voice sounded small, shaky.
I turned and looked at the young woman approaching us. “BeeBee!”
“Thank God,” Sam slumped on the wall, clutching at her chest. “You gave me a heart attack, a mini one maybe, but I’m certain it stopped for a second.”
“What are you doing here?” BeeBee asked.
“It is a really long story. Have you seen this woman?” I flicked my phone to life, the bright screen temporarily blinding me, then scrolled to my screenshots. Holding up the headshot of Regina, I watched BeeBee’s face. A flash of recognition lit her eyes, then confusion furrowed her brows.
“She has come in a few times. Only to talk to Mamasan and she never stays long. I saw her here today.”
“Really?” Sam stood up, excited.
“We need to know anything you know about her,” I said. A rattling sound at the door halted anything BeeBee might have said.
“Quick,” she pushed us into a side room and eased the door partially shut. “Shhh.” She held her index finger to her lips and waved us to the corner. We listened, barely daring to breathe, as the front door opened and closed followed by footsteps tapping across the floor. An eternity later, we heard another door close.
BeeBee peered out. “You have to leave.” She huddled next to us and whispered, “I don’t know what happened but Mamasan is very angry today and that woman whose photo you showed me, she showed up in a rage this afternoon. Bad business is going down, I just know it. You can’t be found here and especially not with me.”
“Please, BeeBee,” Sam reached out to her but BeeBee jerked back.
“No. I don’t want to end up like Coco. I can’t help you, I’m sorry.”
“Landon is missing,” I told her. Hope flared inside me as she paused.
“That is very sad, but there is nothing I can do to help.” She shook her head and my little flame of hope whooshed out. “I will make sure the coast is clear. You leave. In one minute, you go.” With that she whisked into the hall and left no time for argument.
I kept time on my watch. At the one-minute mark, I placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “We have to go.”
Without a word, she tiptoed to the door and flattened herself against the wall again. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. That’s it, no more spy movies I resolved. Rather than wait for 007 to peek out the door with only her eyes six more times, I moved past her and opened it wide. Muted voices could be heard behind one of the doors, though I couldn’t tell which.
Waving Sam behind me, I slipped into the hall. My footsteps rang in my ears like thunderclaps and I froze. The voices continued. Taking to tiptoe again, we were halfway down the hall when I started to breathe normally again. We’re going to make it. Elation and adrenaline coursed through me, followed by crashing disappointment. I guess we have to go to the police after all. I squeezed my eyes shut against the tears that threatened. I had been so hopeful we could get a lead or find Regina and convince her to release the guys.
I pushed back the negative thoughts and feelings. Not much further and we would be out. Then, all hell broke loose.
Chapter 28
Dory from Finding Nemo chose that moment to shout “Eh Mr. Grumpy Gills. Eh Mr. Grumpy Gills” over and over. Okay, maybe it wasn’t Dory in the fins so to speak; rather, that was the ringtone that I set up for Officer Grumpy. It played on a loop from my phone. Loud. That man has to have the worst timing ever.
“Crap. Crap!” I fumbled to silence the phone but dropped it. Too late, our presence had been announced. Mamasan, BeeBee, and a lithe Asian man, a bit taller than them and bare shoulders covered in tattoos of some kind of demon mask, came bursting from a back room. Sam and I sprinted for the door.
“Ow!” Sam yelped behind me.
I looked back and sucked in my breath. Looked forward. Only a foot from the door. So close, yet so far.
“Let her go,” I raised my hands in surrender. “We were just leaving. Sorry, we didn’t realize you were closed.”
The man retained a tight grip on Sam.
Behind Mamasan, BeeBee’s eyes bulged wide in fear and her lower lip trembled.
With soft, graceful movements, Mamasan glided forward and bent to pick up my traitorous phone from the tile floor.
“You had phone call, yes? Let’s see who.”
I groaned inwardly.
“The police?” Mamasan looked up, eyes narrowing, gaze sharp. “Who are you? Why the police call?”
“I’m nobody; don’t worry,” I tried. It was useless. She had dismissed me already, no longer listening.
“Asnee, take them to the back,” she instructed her deadly looking muscle. “Tie them up.” Turning, she pocketed my phone and shoved past BeeBee on her way to the front office.
Sam wriggled and I lashed out at the man’s face as he reached for me. His grip on her didn’t loosen.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement as I dodged his hand again. BeeBee screeched and leapt onto his back. My jaw dropped. I kicked out at him, but on conn
ecting with his solid, muscular legs, I only managed to hurt my foot and earn a scowl.
Asnee pivoted backward and slammed BeeBee into the wall. The girl crumpled to the floor unconscious.
Mamasan, inserting herself into the melee with force, wrenched my arm back and pierced the skin above my elbow with her dagger-sharp nails. “Bring that one,” she tossed her head at BeeBee and proceeded to lead the way down the hall. I followed without resistance. Now had proven not to be the time for escape.
Asnee lifted BeeBee around the waste and carried her like a limp sack in the crook of one arm. I prayed the girl would be okay. I didn’t glimpse any blood.
We were hustled down the hall and jerked to a stop in front of the third locked door. Mamasan let go of my arm to fish a key out of a deep pocket, the pocket that had swallowed my phone up, but it wasn’t like I had anywhere to go with Asnee assuming a wide-legged pose and blocking the path to freedom.
I looked at Sam; fear etched lines into her face, but the clench of her jaw gave me hope. She was calculating, thinking, she hadn’t given up. I nodded at her and she nodded back. A silent exchange, but deeply understood regardless. We might be caught, but we would get out of this and we would do it together.
Mamason unclipped the heavy padlock from the bolt on the door and swung it inward. My eyes widened. Heart leaping to my throat, I drank in the sight of Griff. Next, I saw Landon and even Alice. All three sat on the floor, zip-tied. Cloth wound around their mouths, holding them silent.
Alice shrank back in fear as Mamasan pointed me into the room, but the expressions on the faces of Griff and Landon didn’t waver; fury emanated from them. Griff met Asnee stare for stare, with hard eyes narrowed, growling as Sam was shoved into the corner by Alice.
Sam and I were fitted with matching accessories, bound tight hand and foot. As Mamasan leaned near to gag me, I head-butted her. She returned the favor with a sharp backhand; the stinging lip was well worth it because, while she stood and rubbed her head, I scooted close to Sam and mouthed knife in my pocket. She gave me a sharp nod then looked away.
Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set Page 28