Killer Instincts and Savory Pie

by Angela C. Blackmoore

  Gabe had already gotten out and was peering in through the glass of the brightly colored ice cream store. “I don’t think we’re going to have to worry. Ben’s not in there. It looks like Mira’s covering the store, though.”

  Both of the women peeked in the window and looked at the counter. Inside, a young, dark-haired girl was busy serving up an ice cream cone with a smile. After a second, all three of them pulled back from the window and exchanged glances. “Maybe you should put out an APB for him?” Abby said.

  Lanie shook her head. “No, I can only put out a report that says we want to talk to him, which I’ve already done. We don’t have enough for me to put out an actual arrest order. Let’s go talk to Mira and see if we can get any information, but don’t be too direct. Most family members tend to be pretty protective of each other.”

  Gabe and Abby both nodded. “How is Mira related to Ben?” Abby asked.

  “She’s his daughter,” Lanie said as she opened the door.

  Inside the happy, brightly lit interior only a few people were enjoying the variously flavored ice creams that Butters had to offer. They made their own ice cream from scratch which was rare in this day and age, and in fact, Abby loved their vanilla. She’d never tasted such fresh, natural flavors before.

  “Hello! What can I, uh, get for you?” Mira asked quietly. Abby watched the girls eyes flick to Lanie as she spoke, and she didn’t look pleased to see her.

  “How about three cones,” Gabe said, pulling out his wallet. He smiled brightly at Mira, clearly trying to set the younger woman at ease. “My treat. How are you doing today, Mira? Having a good Monday?”

  “Um, yes. I’m having a good Monday,” Mira answered, mostly keeping her eyes down. “Sugar, waffle, or regular cone?”

  After they’d chosen, Mira got to work getting their scoops, still keeping her eyes averted. They could tell that she was nervous and when her back was turned, they shared concerned looks. For Abby, that just cinched it for her that Ben Martinez was the killer. Why else would Mira be nervous?

  “Doesn’t Ben usually work during the week?” Lanie asked as Mira handed the cone to the deputy. She did a good job of acting casual.

  “Oh? Uh, yeah, he usually does, but he had some business to take care of,” Mira said, giving the deputy a nervous smile.

  “I hope he’s okay?” Gabe offered, once again dazzling Mira with his bright smile and dimples. For once, Abby was happy he turned them on someone else, since for a moment, she smiled back, clearly distracted from whatever was on her mind.

  “Yes, yes, he’s, uh, he’s fine,” Mira said, blushing slightly as Gabe laid on the charm. “He had to go into Salem for some reason. I don’t know. He told me he would be back in a few days or something.”

  “Well, everyone deserves a vacation, right?” Gabe said, taking his own cone from Mira.

  “I wish it were a vacation,” Mira mumbled before realizing what she’d said. She blinked, then looked very frightened.

  They all stared at each other for a long moment before Lanie took action. Leaning forward, she put away all pretense and simply looked the young woman in the eye. “Mira, if your dad is in trouble, you have to tell me. What’s going on?”

  Mira froze, giving Lanie a wide-eyed look. Abby watched the girl begin to tear up and glance between all three of them, looking as if she might bolt from the store. Abby quickly stepped forward, reaching out and taking the girls hand which drew her eyes off of Lanie and onto her own. “Mira, it’s okay. We just want to know if we can help.”

  “I… I don’t know what’s going on,” Mira whimpered “Dad started getting letters and phone calls a few weeks ago, and he started getting really depressed. Then he got upset, but he wouldn’t tell us what was happening. Is he in trouble? I don’t want him to be in trouble!”

  Abby squeezed her hand, putting herself in between Mira and Lanie so she wouldn’t see the uniform and badge. “Shhh, it’s okay, Mira. We only want to help Ben.”

  “Do you know what’s going on?” Mira asked, tears starting to fall down her face.

  “No, no we don’t, but we want to help him, whatever it is,” Abby said, feeling terrible for misleading the younger woman. However, her mind was even more made up that Ben was the person that was killing councilmembers. If he’d been caught up in the senator's scam and was suddenly in terrible debt, it could drive even someone as pleasant as Ben Martinez to kill. “Do you know where he might have gone to in Salem?”

  “He didn’t tell me. I’m so sorry.” Mira answered. “If you can help him, please! I’m so worried.”

  “We will help him, I promise,” Abby said before turning for the door, following Lanie and Gabe out to the truck.

  After they’d gotten back in Gabe’s truck, Abby turned to look at Lanie. “What do we do now?”

  Lanie took a deep breath, giving Abby a serious look before answering. “I think it’s time to head into Salem and see if we get a warrant to search Ben Martinez’s house.”

  Chapter 23

  Before heading into Salem, Lanie asked to stop by the police station to update the other deputies as to what they had found. Josh Palmer was holding the fort down with Ranger Julia, so they gathered those two into the meeting room to tell them what they’d learned that morning.

  When they finished, the deputy and ranger both looked flabbergasted, hardly believing what they’d heard.

  “Ben Martinez? He’s the nicest guy I know,” Josh said, rubbing his hand over his almost shaved head. Despite most of his hair being gone, it was plain to see that Josh had very red hair because of the head fuzz, and his beard and eyebrows.

  “I know you like him, Josh,” Lanie said, her voice soft. “We all thought the same thing, but facts don’t lie. Something happened to him that twisted him, and now we need to find him before something else happens.”

  “Why do you think he went into Salem?” Julie asked, leaning forward. She had also expressed her disbelief but was more pragmatic than the red-haired deputy.

  “I don’t know, but that’s not why we’re going into Salem,” Lanie said. “Josh, I need you to get Sam and be ready once I get the warrant. Once I do, I want you to search his house for that paperwork. If it’s what I think it is, it should give us one more piece in the puzzle. If we get lucky, he’ll be home as well, and you can take him into custody. Be careful, he’s dangerous.”

  “Okay,” Josh said, his face set in determination. “We’ll be ready.”

  Lanie nodded and then stood, turning to Abby and Gabe. “I’ll meet you out front. I’m going to go get my car since we’re on official business. Besides, I always like to show off my car to the city boys.”

  Abby grinned but didn’t answer, following Gabe back out to his truck. She saw the scrape mark on the front fender which momentarily reminded her of the almost-accident they had and what it might mean. She was almost certain that had been the killer, or more accurately, Ben Martinez trying to run them off the road, but there was no way to be sure. At least, unless they saw Ben driving a blue car with damage on the fender.

  Shaking it off, she got in with Cheerio leaping into the back seat, and they waited for Lanie. A moment later, the sleek shape of the sporty police car zipped around the corner, slowing to wait as Gabe pulled out and followed her onto the main road to Salem.

  Abby found the road much more inviting in the daytime than at night, peering deep into the woods as they passed by the trees. It was always interesting to her to see the various dips and creases in the landscape that flowed back into the woodsy darkness, and wondering where each little trail might lead.

  “Are you doing okay?” Gabe asked, giving her a worried look and reaching over to squeeze her hand.

  Abby turned, smiling at Gabe and wondering how she got so lucky. Gabe cared about people, and even more, he cared about her. Attentive and warm, he was also incredibly supportive of her. Instead of trying to put himself in between her and any danger, he stood by her side, letting her be her own person and tackling t
he recent trials together as a pair. It was incredibly sexy to her, and she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else at this moment.

  Squeezing his hand back, she nodded. “Yes, and thank you.”

  “For what?”

  Abby tilted her head, continuing to study the side of his face. “Just for you being you. I love you.”

  He smiled, and his eyes flicked to hers, holding an immense warmth and affection. “I love you, too. I sure hope we can get that warrant.”

  “Do you think we’re going to have trouble?” Abby asked.

  Gabe nodded. “Yes, I do. I think Lanie is expecting trouble as well. For the most part, everything we have is circumstantial. There’s no real proof that Ben has anything to do with all of this.”

  “Do you think that he didn’t commit the killings?”

  Gabe shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s hard to believe having known him all of my life. He’s had troubles before but never went on a killing spree. Heck, all of us have had issues and hard times. I just can’t picture Ben tipping over the edge like this.” He stopped, glancing over and seeing the uncertain look on Abby’s face. “However, I do think it’s worth looking into. Everything is circumstantial, but a lot is pointing in his direction.”

  Abby nodded but didn’t answer. She hadn’t known Ben Martinez long, but she agreed with Gabe. He was a nice man, and he was well respected in the town. What could turn someone like that into a murderer? She kept her eyes on the trees for the rest of the way into Salem, watching them flash past. It was mesmerizing and allowed her to think about everything that had happened. Two people were dead, and if they didn’t catch the killer, several more lives could be in danger. They couldn’t keep using the police station as a hotel.

  Finally, they moved to the outskirts of the populous city. Though the trees hadn’t disappeared entirely, there was far more concrete than greenery, and it was always a bit jarring to Abby. It amused her, considering she had lived in Phoenix Arizona until last year, and Salem was like a garden compared to that city.

  They arrived in the courthouse parking lot not long after, parking next to each other and trooping into the building. “You’ll have you wait out in the lobby while I go in and try to convince the judge to give us a warrant. Hopefully, they won’t give us any trouble.”

  “Why would they give us trouble?” Abby asked with a frown.

  Lanie shrugged. “It depends on the judge. Senator Clark and Superintendent Ketch both have a lot of friends here in Salem. I wish it weren’t that way, but we’re still getting lots of resistance to doing our job. That’s why I wanted to come in person and see if I couldn’t talk to a more reasonable judge.”

  Chapter 24

  Being Monday, the courthouse was busy with all kinds of people moving through the hallways. It was an unusual place for Abby, seeing regular people, suits, and police moving each on their own business. Being a courthouse, there seemed to be more people looking upset. Abby kept her distance, However, for people watching, it was a fascinating place.

  She and Gabe sat in some semi-comfortable chairs toward the front of the building, talking quietly and watching the stream of people pass by, but both of them took notice immediately when their diminutive friend got off of the elevator. It was clear that Lanie hadn’t gotten the answer she wanted, and almost everyone from the elevator to where they were sitting cleared the way for the livid deputy.

  “I can’t believe these idiots!” Lanie hissed angrily, clenching her fists.

  Abby and Gabe exchanged glances before looking back at Lanie. “I take it things didn’t go well?” Abby asked.

  Lanie sighed and shook her head. “No. I got Judge Gibson who is a total… well, let’s just say he didn’t want to listen to anything I had to say. He actually told me to wait until the Sheriff was able to come down so the grown-ups could talk. Ugh!”

  Abby frowned. Clearly, Judge Gibson had some issues with women, and she didn’t like that, wishing she’d been there to give the man a piece of her mind but knowing if anyone didn’t need help, it was Deputy Lanie. “What do we do now?”

  “Nothing, except go back to town and hope we can find Ben on our own,” Lanie said, slapping her hands against her thighs in frustration. “The judge was firm in saying that we needed to find more information other than hearsay and rumor from town gossips.”

  Gabe shook his head. “I was afraid of this, but I’m not sure I can blame him. It wasn’t very firm information though I’d hardly call it from town gossips. Do you think he was in the pocket of the senator and just giving you trouble?”

  “I don’t know. The judge was polite enough until I started in on my spiel, and then he quickly shut me down.”

  “Okay, well, we better get back to town, then,” Abby said, leading the three out of the courthouse and toward their vehicles. They got about half-way there when they noticed two men leaning against Lanie’s police car which immediately put Lanie into an even fouler mood. It only got worse when she realized who it was.

  “Well, well, well, if it isn’t detectives Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dummer,” Lanie snarled. “Get your hind ends off of my car.”

  Detectives Ed and Mike both stood, grinning at Lanie although they didn’t quite move out of the way of the driver’s side door. “Is that any way to talk to a fellow police officer?” Mike said, his deep voice filled with thinly disguised contempt. “Seriously, though. I thought they might have told you that your jurisdiction ended in the middle of the woods, deputy. Why’d you drag your back-woods justice here into the city?”

  “As if you didn’t know,” Lanie snapped back. “Who called you? Did Judge Gibson tell you that we were here?”

  “The Judge was just concerned his valuable time was being wasted,” Ed said. Between the two of them, Ed was smaller and a bit more level-headed then Mike, but both of them were crooked. Abby couldn’t help but flash back to the cabin when they’d gunned down Bakes and Wallace, the two bikers that had killed Don Buckshire. They had saved Abby’s life in the process, but she hadn’t been sure they wouldn’t have killed her too if the sheriff hadn’t arrived just in time. The two detectives were firmly in the pocket of the senator, and their being here today couldn’t be good.

  “We’re not wasting anyone’s time,” Lanie said. “If you two actually did your job instead of sniffing after the senator, maybe you’d recognize police work when you saw it.”

  “Now, just wait a minute!” Mike growled, moving as if to step forward. He was a big man and was well used to using his height and bulk to push other people around. Despite out-massing Lanie by more than double, the spunky deputy didn’t move. Thankfully, Ed stepped forward and grabbed Mike’s arm, turning and whispering intently to him.

  The bigger man’s eyes didn’t stray from Lanie for several moments, but slowly he calmed, finally throwing Ed’s arm off and turning around, stomping away a few steps. Ed stayed like that, staring at his partner for a few moments before finally turning around and giving Lanie, Abby, and Gabe a critical eye. “Yeah, the Judge told us how you were doing your job. Someone stomps down the street, and he ends up being accused of murder? Wow, Lanie. That’s pretty harsh, even for some backwoods cop.”

  “Shut-up, Ed,” Lanie said. “Unlike you, we’re not going to gun the guy down in the street. He’s a suspect, so we’re going to find him and talk to him.”

  Ed laughed softly. “Maybe you’d have fewer problems if you did gun them down,” he said. “I think Red Pine Falls is becoming the murder capital of the Pacific Northwest.”

  Lanie drew in a breath to respond, not about to back down. Abby was worried about the two detectives and why they were here. They wouldn’t have shown up without reason, though maybe it was only to harass them. Suddenly, she saw something that made her blink. A blue car was pulling out of the parking lot of the courthouse and on its front fender was a long scrape. In the driver’s seat, she thought she saw Ben Martinez. “Gabe! Lanie!” she said, pointing frantically at the car as it began to drive down the str
eet. “It’s a blue car, and I think I see Ben!”

  Lanie and Gabe both looked over the detective's shoulders, gasping as they too saw the driver. “Holy… Ed get out of my way!” Lanie said while Gabe and Abby raced toward his truck. They scrambled to get in while Lanie practically shoved Ed down, wrenching her door open and diving inside.

  The two detectives went for their own car just as quickly, flicking their lights on as they revved their engine, tearing out of their parking place and almost causing a crash with Gabe’s truck.

  “You’re out of your jurisdiction, deputy. We’ll catch your bad guy for you! Ha!” Ed yelled, waving his fist out of the side of the unmarked car as they headed for the parking lot exit. They could only watch as they drove after Ben Martinez, disappearing around the corner after him.

  Chapter 25

  Lanie slammed the hood of her police car as they watched Ed and Mike handcuff Ben Martinez, putting him in the back of their car. There were two other city police cars with their lights flashing, making sure to keep people back while they secured the prisoner. Mike ignored the three of them, but Ed smiled and waved, rubbing in the fact that Lanie didn’t have jurisdiction here.

  “At least Ben is in custody,” Abby said glumly, watching Ben’s face as he sat in the back. He looked terrified which gave Abby mixed feelings. However, she had to remind herself that a killer was now in custody and friends of hers were safe. “I know it’s going to be a problem in some way, but I have no clue how.”

  Lanie gave Abby a sour look. “It’s a double-edged sword, for sure. The biggest problem is that they can restrict access to him. Not forever, but it’s going to be a pain in my keister to get the chance to talk to him.”

  “For how long?” Gabe asked.

  “Upwards of a week, depending on their reason,” Lanie answered, glaring once again at Ed and Mike. “The wheels of bureaucracy can turn slowly, especially when the senator and his cronies are throwing sand into the works. At least our main suspect is off the street.”