by Cindy Sample
The first welcome sound was a soft click as my innovative implement finally succeeded in picking the lock.
The louder noise was the screech of the metal door in the back of the room signifying a person or persons had returned to the warehouse area.
Uh oh.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
I kicked pieces of the broken lightbulb under a chest of drawers placed next to the door I’d unlocked. As the men’s voices increased in volume, I grasped the doorknob and opened it. I put my finger to my lips as I entered the room.
In silence, I hugged both women. I didn’t think Liz would let me go, but she suddenly bent over and clasped her stomach. She winced, then mouthed the word, “contraction.”
“We need to get out of here,” I said in a low voice.
“Obviously,” Adriana grumbled. “What’s your plan?”
Plan? Wouldn’t it be great if I actually had one? My entire goal had been to find my missing friends. I’d never formulated an escape route.
My phone vibrated and I grabbed it from my pocket. Detective Ali Reynolds?
“Hello?” I whispered into the phone.
“Who is this?”
“Laurel McKay. You called me. Are you on your way?”
“I must have butt-dialed you. Remember, I have more important—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. But right now my friends and I are being held hostage in this pawnshop.”
She snorted. “You’ll say anything to get my attention.”
“I can guarantee you delivery of at least one of your murderers. Send help, please.”
“Fine, but it better be worth it.”
“It will. Oh, we could use an ambulance as well. My friend is in labor.”
That got her attention. “I’m on it. Stay safe.”
Finally. troops were on their way. Hopefully from the Reno P.D. because South Lake Tahoe was still close to an hour away, even if the detective maintained top speed. Were we safe in this office? How likely was it the men would stop to check on the two women?
The click of someone shoving a key into the lock provided my answer.
I thought fast. The men wouldn’t expect to find an additional woman tucked away, so I moved to the side of the door, hoping I’d remain hidden for a few seconds, giving me enough time to—
The door burst open, slamming against the wall where I’d planned on hiding.
Confused ice blue eyes met mine.
“What the—?”
Faster than you could say snickerdoodle, I whipped out my stun gun from the back pocket of my cargo pants and zapped his chest. He jerked back, rubbing his chest. One beefy arm smacked me across my right cheek and I fell to the floor.
The extremely dirty carpeted floor. My mother would have a fit at their shoddy housekeeping.
He roared and grabbed me by the collar of my T-shirt, lifting me close to the ceiling.
Then Adriana kicked him with the toe of one pointy heel, somehow managing to connect with one of his more tender organs. He dropped me like a boulder and I crashed onto the carpet again.
He whirled around and faced her. “So the hottie’s got some life in her. How about I take you down a peg or two?”
As he reached for her, I rolled over, stuck my hand in my pocket and prayed.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Thank you, Damsel in Defense for making a pepper spray that can take down a giant. With his eyes closed shut and orange dye marking his face, the hulk roared in pain, stumbling around the room in search of relief. As he drew closer, I slammed the door into him and he toppled to the ground.
I hustled Adriana and Liz out of the office, then debated which direction to go. Out the rear door of the warehouse or try to find the retail section of the store? When a voice from the back of the store yelled “hey, you,” I had my answer.
The three of us weaved between antique chairs, contemporary tables, stacks of boxes and crates, even a jukebox, stopping only once when Liz stooped over and clutched her belly. She maintained amazing control; not a single cry of pain was uttered, merely a mumbled British expletive or two.
By now, several men were chasing us. Their four-letter oaths grew louder and more emphatic, and they increased in volume as they drew closer to us. We zigged to the left and zagged to the right, throwing brass lamps, china plates, Waterford crystal, virtually anything we could lift, at the men. Whatever it took to slow them down.
I grabbed a small wooden box from a shelf and heaved it over my shoulder.
Score! The box must have contained ammunition because bullets rained down on the concrete. Curses interspersed with shouts of pain as one of our pursuers slipped and crashed onto the floor.
Our trio finally reached a double set of doors. I pushed on the safety bar and bright light welcomed us as we entered the safety of the pawnshop. The tall, gawky sales clerk I’d spoken with earlier stood off to the side of the doorway. He appeared to be rooted to the floor, his mouth open wide as he flicked his gaze back and forth between the three of us and a fourth determined woman.
Who was holding a gun. Pointed directly at me.
CHAPTER SIXTY
My canvas soles skidded to an abrupt stop on the slick floor. How to remain nonchalant when a gun is staring you in the face.
“Hey, Kimberly, nice Beretta,” I said. “Your store has a great inventory of guns for sale.”
She blinked before her face resumed its standard pissed-off glare.
“What the blazes do you think you’re doing? You and your friends just destroyed thousands of dollars of merchandise in our warehouse.”
“Sorry. My best friend”—I pointed at Liz—“is in labor.” As if on cue, Liz bent over and let out a guttural shriek that made my insides crawl.
“Knock it off.” Kimberly pointed the gun inches from Liz’s head. My friend’s normally porcelain complexion turned a pasty white. Then she sank to the floor, her billowing maternity dress wrapping around her like a shroud.
I dropped down next to Liz frantically fanning her face. One eyelid popped open and she winked at me.
What a trouper.
“I’m sorry about the damage,” I said, looking up at Kimberly, “but why were my friends locked up in the office?”
“I can tell you why,” said Adriana. “I accused her of killing my fiancé. Obviously, I was right.”
“I told you I did not kill Gino.” Kimberly bared her teeth at Adriana. “Although I can’t believe he dumped me to marry you.”
I interrupted her pity party. “Gino got on board the gondola with your employee. And a few minutes later, Gino was dead.”
“I’m sure you’re mistaken,” Kimberly replied.
My voice rose as I tried to talk above the sound of approaching sirens. “I saw the man with my own two eyes.”
Kimberly’s attention drifted to the front of the store as the sirens grew louder.
I didn’t want her to realize the police were nearing the pawnshop. At least I hoped they were getting close to our location, so I explained, “I called for an ambulance for Liz, so we’ll be on our way and out of your hair in no time at all.”
I helped Liz to her feet and we attempted to stroll away, Adriana following quietly behind us. We made it three steps.
“Stop right there,” Kimberly cried. “No one is going anywhere.” She turned to the lanky clerk, who cowered in the corner. “You. Go lock the doors and put the closed sign out.” When he hesitated she pointed the gun at him. “Now, before I get angry. You don’t want me to get angry, do you?”
He shook his head and scurried down the aisle. Within seconds, the doors were locked, the shades were drawn and the pawnshop turned into a barred-window fortress.
“Where’s Hugo?” Kimberly asked one of the men who had chased us through the warehouse.
“He’s out cold.” The man pointed at me. “She must have a weapon on her.“ I shook my head, but Kimberly’s eyes zeroed in on the bulge in my cargo pants pocket.
“Hand that over to Buddy,�
� Kimberly demanded.
I folded my arms across my chest. “Make me.”
She whispered in Buddy’s ear and in less than a second, a knife appeared, barely an inch from my throat.
“Buddy can be most persuasive,” Kimberly said. I didn’t doubt it since Buddy’s yellow-toothed smile seemed to widen as the knife inched closer to my carotid artery.
I slowly reached into my pocket, pulled out my hot pink weapon and turned it over to Buddy. He dropped his knife on a mahogany sideboard while he evaluated the stun gun.
Buddy smirked. “I can’t believe this housewife knocked out Hugo.”
Housewife?
I shoved my hand into my back pocket, pulled out a tiny metal canister and aimed for Buddy’s beady black eyes.
He screamed and raised his palms to his face, dropping the stun gun at my feet. With Kimberly’s attention diverted by Buddy’s howls, I picked it up and threw it to Liz, who was only inches from our captor. She zapped Kimberly with the might of a woman trying to save her child’s life. Kimberly wilted and Adriana caught her Beretta as it dropped out of her hand.
I reached for a statuette of Elvis in his glory years. Much as I hated to destroy a collector’s item of “the King,” the sound of the ceramic smashing into Buddy’s head was worth it.
I could almost hear old Elvis applauding from up above.
With all the racket the three of us had created, we almost didn’t hear several people banging on the locked front door. They asked if anyone needed an ambulance.
Did we ever!
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Hours later, actually twelve hours later, since Master Colin Daley decided to take his time joining the rest of us, I finally had the opportunity to update my family. Mother and Bradford had arrived several hours ago, long after Tom’s speedy drive up Highway 50 with his best friend, Brian Daley—Liz’s husband.
Brian and I had each held one of Liz’s hands as she shrieked her way into motherhood. But one look at newborn Colin’s bright blue eyes and she fell in love. Feeling that my part in the birth process was done, I left the new mother, father, and son alone, and walked down the hall into the waiting room, where my family waited for me.
I plopped into the empty chair next to Tom. The hard surface of the molded green chair didn’t provide much comfort, but it was nice to get off my feet.
“Are you okay, dear?” asked Mother. “You’ve had a tough day.”
I shrugged. “Faced a killer, helped deliver a baby. No biggie.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand how you can joke about something like this. You could have been killed.” She glared at me. “Yet again.”
“But I wasn’t. And I thought I handled it like a pro.” I turned to my husband. “Didn’t I?”
He threw his arm around my shoulders and drew me close. “Indeed you did. Even Ali was impressed at how you rounded them all up.”
“She actually said that?”
Tom squirmed. “Not in quite those terms, but you handed her the leader of a huge burglary gang that has been operating in Tahoe and Reno.”
“Not to mention a murderer,” I added. “Did Hugo confess when he woke up?”
“He confessed that Kimberly ordered him to scare Gino. Hurt him a little. He said he didn’t expect a jab from his elbow to Gino’s neck would break it.”
I punched the air with my fist. “I knew Kimberly had to be involved. Did she admit to killing Gregg in the timeshare office?”
Tom shook his head. “She hasn’t admitted to anything. No murder. No robberies. The last I heard they were waiting for her attorney to arrive.”
“Did Hugo explain why Kimberly wanted him to get tough with Gino?”
“Yeah, he did,” Tom said. “After Ali offered him the possibility of a plea deal he’s been spilling his guts. Evidently, Gino had been laundering money for the gang. Something to do with paying off big gambling debts he incurred and loans he got from Louie’s. I don’t have all the details yet.”
“Hmm. Interesting. I wonder why Kimberly wanted to harm him if he was helping her?”
“Because he supposedly wanted out. Wanted to start over once he and Adriana got married.”
“Aw, that’s so sad. He really did love her.” I looked around the waiting room. “Where is Adriana?”
“While you were busy coaching Liz, Adriana was informing Ali exactly what went on while she and Liz were at the pawnshop.”
Once the cops rounded up all the suspects onsite, I’d only been given a few moments alone to chat with Adriana before they bundled Liz into an ambulance and allowed me to ride along with her to the closest hospital.
Although she was reluctant to admit it at first, it seems Adriana’s interviewing technique lacked finesse.
“Guess I should have worked up to ‘did you kill my fiancé?’” Adriana said to me. “She got real pissy after that question. Walked out of the office and locked us in.”
“That’s why you need to let the pros handle an investigation,” I replied.
She reached out and gave me a hug. “You were kinda awesome, you know.”
I smiled. I kinda was.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
I woke with a start, the doorbell ringing nonstop like the chimes of St. Mary’s during a hurricane. Since the racket refused to stop, I quickly slipped out of my nightgown and into a slightly more guest-worthy cotton shift. The clock read noon, a mere three hours since I’d fallen into a blissful sleep after our long drive home from Reno.
I peeked out the window, sighed and grudgingly opened the front door.
“What do you want?” I asked Hank.
“Nice greeting.” He peered at me while I yawned back in reply. “Looks like you had a late night.”
I covered a second yawn. “Yep. Knocked out a killer, busted a robbery ring and delivered a baby. All in a night’s work.”
“I’m impressed,” he said. “Next thing you know they’ll be making a Hallmark movie about you and your new career.”
I smiled. Highly unlikely but it was nice to receive praise from my ex.
“Not to be rude, but I only got a couple hours sleep. What do you want?”
“I’m ready to take Scout off your hands.”
“Scout?” I shouted.
Upon hearing his name, our rambunctious dog slid across the entry on all four paws, almost knocking Hank over in the process.
“Sit,” I commanded and he did. Scout, that is. Hank never did anything I asked of him.
“You’ve even trained him. Thanks. He’s going to be a great chick magnet.” Hank beamed at the dog he planned to use as date bait.
“Wait a minute, buster. This dog isn’t going anywhere,” I said as I stroked Scout’s head. “He’s a part of our family now.”
Hank gave me a quizzical look. “Are you sure? I was certain you’d be thrilled for me to take him back.”
As if he could tell we were discussing him, Scout stared at me with soulful brown eyes.
“Quite sure.”
Twenty-four hours later our household hummed with activity as Jenna prepared for her high school graduation, including practicing her class salutatorian speech. Her voice resounded with authority as she reflected on her high school years. I eavesdropped in the hallway, silently applauding her.
“Mom?” she cried out.
Jenna’s bionic hearing would be useful in her crime-solving future.
I peeked my head around the doorway to her bedroom. “You sound great, honey.”
Her face reddened. “Thanks. Is that last line okay?”
“Best commencement speech I’ve ever heard.”
She laughed. “You’re biased. How’s your head feel?”
“I’ll survive.” I gently touched the bruise I’d received from Kimberly’s henchman. “Sorry I missed your awards ceremony last night.”
“It’s no biggie. You caught a ring of thieves. That’s so awesome.”
“And at least one murderer.” I brushed my hands together. “Any
way, my work is done. Now I’ll have free time to spend with you kids.”
“Don’t forget we’ll be working together,” she said with a broad grin. “I can’t wait to get started on some casework.”
Which meant our firm better go out and round up some new clients.
The five of us made it to the Ponderosa High School campus seconds before the graduation ceremony was scheduled to begin. Scout had decided to snack on Jenna’s mortarboard while she practiced her speech one last time. He was chewing his way around the cap when Ben discovered him. Hopefully no one would notice her abbreviated gold tassel.
We pulled into the one remaining parking space in the crowded lot. As we rushed toward the football field where the ceremony would take place, Jenna stopped next to a beat-up white sedan with muddy plates and a crumpled front bumper.
“That’s the car,” she cried out. “The guy who rammed me.”
Tom scrutinized the vehicle. “You’re sure? Honda Civics are a popular model.”
Jenna nodded, her tassel swinging in affirmation. “I doubt many Civics have a set of lime green foam dice hanging from the mirror.”
“We can deal with this later,” I said, grabbing her hand and running toward the ceremony. “You have a speech to give.”
Mother, the Queen of Punctuality and Propriety, had managed to save a row of bleacher seats near the temporary stage for all four generations of our family. As one of the students who would address the audience, my daughter sat in the front row between Todd, the valedictorian, and Drew, the senior class president, who was also the school’s star quarterback. Her long auburn curls glowed against the forest green gown like a beacon of light every time she moved her head. And for some reason she continually shifted in her seat, shooting glances in every direction while the valedictorian gave a lengthy and sleep-inducing speech.