That got a chuckle from both of us.
Fab swapped her Porsche for the white beater truck I kept parked at the office. For once, she hadn’t parked out in the hinterlands. Unlike the cop van, she’d found a space in front, opposite me, where she and Didier were hunched down, watching my every move and at the same time keeping an eye on traffic entering and exiting the lot.
A young guy, baseball hat pulled down, rushed out of the store, not watching where he was going. He clipped my leg and grouched, “You need to stay out of the way.”
His irritated tone caused me to look up in shock. “I’m sitting, dude.” You walked into me.
“If it’s not one excuse…”
I searched his face. There was something familiar about it that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, a weird sense of having seen him before, but where? “Have a nice day,” I said sarcastically.
Without saying a word, he turned and stalked to an older model Ford pickup, and when he backed out, I noticed it was minus the rear plate.
“He needs to lay off the coffee,” the cop in my ear said.
I looked down and smiled.
I pushed my dark-tinted sunglasses down and checked out the parking lot over the rim of my coffee cup. Nothing exciting. People doing exactly what you’d expect them to do—buying groceries and leaving. I swiped at my neck hair, hating the sensation of it standing on end. It did no good. The uneasy feeling wasn’t going away.
I checked my watch for the umpteenth time and sighed to see that the time allotted for the stakeout was about over for the day. I’d be happy to go home, as I’m sure would the others. I knew we all wanted it to be over. I switched back to my card game to see how badly I was losing.
Out of nowhere, Addy Clegg stood in front of me, a gun in her hand, finger on the trigger. “It’s up to you how many people die.” She gestured with the gun. “Get moving.”
There was something hypnotizing about the barrel of a gun being pointed in one’s face. No one seemed to have noticed…except, of course, me. “Gun,” I whispered and rose in what felt like slow motion, trying to assess my options for escape. But I didn’t see any that wouldn’t put a lot of people at risk, not to mention a bullet in my back.
“Move it,” Addy repeated and moved behind me, poking the muzzle in my back.
It felt like the order was coming from the gun itself rather than Addy, and there’s no arguing with a gun. Ironically, she was parked right next to Fab, who stared out the window, unable to get her door open, as Addy had blocked it with her own. She shoved me inside, and I felt rather than saw the needle that jabbed into my shoulder. Cooperating had been a very big mistake, but it was too late now, I thought as I slumped down on the seat.
Addy jumped behind the wheel and raced away.
Realizing that I wasn’t completely out of it, I struggled to move and sit up, which turned out to be a useless attempt. I continued to lie at an awkward angle, face smooshed against the seat. Whatever Addy had drugged me with, I hadn’t passed out but was, instead, relaxed to the point of being useless. I peered up through the window and mumbled, “Blue skies, white clouds.” I highly doubted that would be the least bit helpful for those I hoped were hot on her bumper. The silence that answered me scared me even more.
Addy drove for what seemed like hours but probably wasn’t. Eventually, she jerked the steering wheel, sending the car careening onto loose gravel, losing traction and then finding it again. I felt the tires scramble to find a grip. We skidded sideways, and she parked.
I sighed in relief.
Addy jumped out, jerked open the back door, and pointed the gun at me again. “Get out.”
I tried again to sit up and slumped.
Addy reached in and grabbed my arm. Grunting, she dragged me off the back seat and dumped me unceremoniously on the ground, shoving me with her foot. I looked around and was surprised to see that she’d found another piece of cleared land in the midst of the mangroves. This time, the clearing felt more remote in an already isolated area. This piece of land was smaller than the last, the house on wheels parked in the middle, this time still hooked to a trailer.
Addy cast a glance in my direction, then unloaded a box from the back of the car and into her house. She came back and hooked her arm around me, attempting to pull me to my feet, and ended up dropping me back down.
A sharp pain ripped through my palms, but it grounded me and cleared my brain somewhat. I breathed in a deep lungful of air as though I’d been deprived.
“I know you’re capable of standing, and if you don’t, I’m rubbing your face in the dirt. A few ant bites, and you’ll be up on your feet.” Addy gave me a sharp kick in the hip.
Where is everyone? I didn’t see any way out of this on my own.
I managed to crawl into a sitting position and looked up at the woman. “Are you going to kill me?”
Addy’s beady brown eyes sliced over me. “Not right away. I’m looking forward to having my friend back.”
What friend? Her words frightened me. They made no sense, since we were never friends and, to my knowledge, had never met casually or even been introduced, for that matter.
A truck rumbled into the driveway, which gave me momentary hope. It was dashed when I looked up and didn’t recognize the dark vehicle. The guy who got out was the same one from the parking lot.
He jerked me up one-armed and hauled me up the steps and into the house. “Where do you want her?” he asked Addy.
Addy pointed behind me.
The guy dumped me on the couch that ran along one side of the small oblong space. Two or three hundred square feet, if I had to guess. On the opposite wall was a strip kitchen, and a bed at the far end. One door, which I assumed was the bathroom. Even assuming I could shake the lethargy, the windows were too small to climb through.
“Really, Ma, you and your collection of friends are downright weird.”
“Shut your mouth,” Addy snapped.
“Whatever. You need anything else before I go to the warehouse?”
“I got it under control.”
He kissed Addy’s cheek. “Stay out of trouble.” He laughed at his joke.
What had gone wrong? Addy! She’d somehow driven into the parking lot under the radar and taken me in broad daylight, and no one, not even me, was paying attention at the right time. This wasn’t supposed to end with me facing down a crazy woman alone.
As though reading my mind, she said, “So stupid of you—sitting duck is what you were.” She took her gun of out of her pants and put it on the counter.
“I agree,” I murmured under my breath. The stupid thing had been agreeing to this stakeout, thinking that nothing could go wrong. “What was in the shot you gave me?” I asked.
“Valium. It relaxes you without putting you out cold. I want you to be cooperative, not asleep. An old woman like me can’t be hauling you around.”
Cooperative? Seemed like another word for giving up. I’d become numb but could feel the fear settled in my spine reaching new heights. Would this be one of my last memories before I died? I was certain there was no get out of jail free card. Where were the others? They should have been there by now.
“Don’t look so worried, sweet thing,” Addy said, snapping open a folding chair and sitting across from me. “I’m not going to kill you. At least, not right away. Don’t make the mistake the others did—” She waved her hand absently. “—and try to get away. There’s nowhere to go.” She cackled. “Although, somehow, you and your friend got away the first time. I’ll want to hear the details of how you managed it. It brought a lot of cop attention out this way when there’d been almost none. It used to be a nice, quiet place to live how you want.” She laughed again.
I turned toward where she’d waved and, for the first time, realized that I shared the room with three… A scream lodged in my throat. There were two women—my identification based solely on the clothing choice: dresses on each—their visible body parts wrapped in gauze, including what would h
ave been their faces. Each had on a wig, one of them a red-head. In the only chair was what I guessed was a man due to the suit he wore, with netting down to his shoulders. I inched away, my butt slipping into the crack between the couch and a built-in cabinet.
Noticing that she no longer had my attention, she said, “A lot of people disappear, never to be seen again. You’ll be one of them soon enough. Enjoy life while you can, I always say.”
I looked into her face and saw pretty much what I was expecting, a vacantness, a slyness. She thought she was about to get away with another… I balked at putting it into words. My brain was on overload, processing this nightmare slowly.
“Let me go,” I pleaded. “You want a friend; I’ll come visit.”
“You’re lying. Saying what you think needs to be said to get out of here,” Addy said bitterly. “If you’re always here, you’ll be at my beck and call. I’m thinking I might enjoy more than one-sided conversations. You play cards?” She brightened at the thought.
I nodded and drew in a deep breath. “I could introduce you to my friends who run the local funeral home. The three of you could share tips; they might even hire you. They’re opening a funeral museum and are looking for ideas.” I went on to tell her what they had planned, most of which I made up since I hadn’t listened that closely. Anything to get me out of there.
“Now that’s really weird.”
Three people in various stages of decomposition wasn’t weird? I cast a sideways glance at the threesome and wondered how they got caught in her web. Did she kidnap them all? Keep her talking, I told myself, buy time for reinforcements to show up.
Addy’s hand began to shake. She stood and opened the cupboard to one side of the sink, taking down a bottle of scotch and filling a glass halfway. She downed it in a gulp. Tossed her head back and belched. Screwing the cap back on, she put the bottle back in the cabinet.
I was trying to fight the effects of being drugged, but was overcome by moments of vagueness, having to remind myself where I was and how I got there. Being drugged did crazy things to the brain. I didn’t see any avenue of escape and had to admit that I wasn’t in any shape to make a run for it. My only hope was talking her into letting me go, as remote as that seemed. Time to use my eccentric-people skills. Homicidal added a new layer to Addy’s personality that I didn’t deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Addy opened a drawer and pulled out a hypodermic needle, laying it on the counter. “A treat for later. Don’t want to give you too much. I’m looking forward to the card game.” She tossed a deck down. “Just know, you cease to amuse me and…” She drew a line across her neck, complete with sound effects.
The door crashed open and hit the wall.
“Hands up,” an officer shouted, gun pointed at Addy. He moved out of the doorway, and another officer joined him, weapons all trained on the woman.
Outside, sirens split the air and cars rumbled across the gravel, squealing to a stop.
Addy made a lunge for her gun.
“Don’t do it,” the first cop shouted.
Addy hesitated. The second officer knocked the gun out of her reach.
Not one to give up, Addy picked up the chair and tossed it at the officers. When she bought the place, she obviously hadn’t thought about the extra space she’d need to make a successful getaway. It took both officers to bring down the screaming, cursing woman. They held her down and cuffed her, then hauled her up and outside, reading her her rights.
Creole rushed inside and grabbed me, holding me to his chest. “Are you all right?” he murmured in my ear.
He meant physically, I guessed, and nodded. “Get me out of here,” I whispered softly.
“I’ve got you.” Creole squeezed harder. “And I’m not letting go. Let’s get you home.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned.” Creole carried me into the house, setting me on the couch.
I’d refused a trip to the hospital since Addy hadn’t physically hurt me and the effects of the valium were wearing off.
“You need to call Harder,” I said. “One of the sons the cops are looking for is hanging out in a warehouse somewhere close to where Addy lived. My guess is that it’s Deuce’s old criminal headquarters.”
“Too bad I don’t have your phone; he’d answer faster,” Creole joked as he called Harder. When he answered, Creole relayed my message and hung up. “Harder said to tell you he’ll call tomorrow and he’s happy you’re safe.”
Fab bounced down next to me. “You better be okay.”
“What took you so long?”
Fab’s face filled with frustration. “I was ordered to stand down and wait for law enforcement. You don’t know how hard it was, sitting by the side of the freakin’ road grinding my teeth. If Didier hadn’t physically restrained me a couple of times, I would’ve busted in and shot her ass.”
I laughed and smiled at Didier. “It’s quite a job being her partner.”
Didier leaned down, hugging me hard, and sat down next to Fab. “Happy to see you.”
“Fab’s the reason we found you as quickly as we did.” Creole smiled at her. “Thanks to the GPS units she outfitted you with. The equipment went down, you disappeared, and I about went out of my mind before Fab called and told me she was in hot pursuit. About halfway there, our electronics went back up.”
“I hate it when you go off on your own,” Fab grouched.
“We agreed long ago that we can’t both get arrested at the same time, and now I’m adding kidnapped. It was comforting knowing that you were out there and would be tracking us,” I said.
“What did she do to you?” Fab asked.
Didier tugged on her arm. “We should go and let Madison rest. We can get updated another time.”
“Nooo…” Fab wailed.
“Stay.” I held up my hand. “It’s easier to tell you all at the same time. Once you hear some of the details, you’ll understand why I won’t want to be repeating them.”
They took a seat. I wasn’t sure where to start and just dove in.
“I don’t know what happened to the necklace.” I patted my neck. “No pictures.” I frowned.
“It came off when Addy was manhandling you into the back of the car,” Fab said. “I’m sorry it got that far. I was afraid she’d shoot you if I pulled a gun.”
“She probably would have,” I said. “The upside is that, if not now then soon, the cops will have the whole Clegg family in custody. There must be murder in their DNA, if there is such a thing.” I told them everything that’d happened.
“Addy killed so she could have friends?” Fab asked in shock.
“And the sons as initiation into a club.” Didier shook his head.
“In all my years in law enforcement, I never had a case where the whole family was homicidal,” Creole said. “Sounds like a few cold cases are going to get solved.”
I leaned back into his arms. “Which one of you is cooking dinner?” I looked up at Creole, then over at Didier.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Two mornings later, Fab and Didier showed up with a pink bakery box filled with danishes. Creole and Didier had a meeting, and Creole didn’t want me to be alone.
“I’m fine.”
“Humor me.” He kissed me. “If Fab’s got some new client, you tell her, ‘Have fun without me.’”
I laughed.
It was like the old days; the four of us sitting around the island drinking coffee, and Fab and I being grilled about our plans for the day. Since I didn’t have any, I let her weave some nonexistent agenda that the guys laughed at.
Creole’s phone rang, and after looking at the screen, he took it outside to answer. He wasn’t gone long. “That was Harder,” he said, coming through the door. “Your tip on the warehouse panned out. Both Clegg brothers and several others were arrested. They had two stolen sports cars in the place.”
“Happy to hear that the whole lot of them are behind bars,” I said.
“If anyone suggests looking at land out in Card Sound again, I’m going to pass.”
Didier laughed. “Agreed there.”
“Enough of the Cleggs,” Fab said. “Didier and I are going to invite the two of you to dinner.” She sported the secret smile that made sensible people do a double take.
“Why not just do it and stop hinting around?” I said.
“Didier and I are trying to agree on the perfect restaurant.”
“We are?” Didier teased her.
“Hmm… that means that the two of you are up to something, probably unsavory…”
“Not if Didier is involved,” Creole cut in.
“The answer is no,” I said.
“We’re busy.” Creole tried not to laugh but failed.
“You don’t even know the date,” Fab fumed.
“You want a guaranteed yes?” I asked the pouting woman. “Have Didier cook, and we’ll eat out on your end of the beach. You’ve got all that fancy furniture that no one ever sits in. Time to break it in.”
“Hamburgers?” Didier offered, ignoring Fab’s snort.
“Dinner is the surprise?” I asked. “That seems understated for you. I bet you’ve got something else up your sleeve.”
“I wish I hadn’t been sworn to secrecy.” Fab zipped her lips and turned her eyes to Didier, apparently hoping to change his mind. Instead, he glared a warning.
“Since when do you do what you’re told?” I asked Fab.
Didier crossed his arms, amusement in his eyes. “I’m interested in the answer.”
“I do my best.”
The three of us laughed at the outrageousness of that statement.
* * *
The guys had barely cleared the threshold when Fab announced, “Field trip.”
“What does that mean?” I asked suspiciously.
“It means it’s local, so we’re not going far.”
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