by Diane Rapp
As Paxton watched the two women pause, a knot formed in his stomach. A minute later he noticed Paula crouch in front of the window and used the screwdriver to release the window. Tension eased when Tamara helped Paula raise the window sash and they climbed inside the room. Paxton breathed a sigh of relief but started pacing as he waited.
Inside the room, Bentley licked Phyllis politely as she gave him a warm hug. She whispered, “What are you doing here?” Tamara handed her the carryall and watched as the two women dug through the shoes and clothes, grinning with pleasure.
Phyllis slipped on a pair of tennis shoes and pulled sweatpants over her bare legs. Maureen, the red-haired woman, pushed her head and arms through a T-shirt and donned a baggy pair of shorts. She frowned as she held up shoes to her overly large feet. Finally she unlaced the shoestrings and shoved her toes into the largest pair of shoes in the bag. Her feet hung out the back, squishing the denim. “I often wear clogs, so this will be fine,” she whispered.
While the women dressed, Paula worked on picking the old lock on the bedroom door. A click sounded, but Paula did not open the door. She listened for a moment and turned to the two victims. She whispered, “Go across the roof and climb down the trellis at the corner. We have men below who will help you get to safety.”
Phyllis shuddered. “I’d rather wait until you get the other women out safely. We all leave together or not at all.” Her lips quivered but she raised her chin in a defiant expression. Maureen nodded and folded her arms over her chest in a sign of solidarity.
Pushing a fringe of sweaty bangs off her forehead, Paula sighed and nodded. She sent a text message to Paxton and went to work. She squirted oil into the door’s hinges before opening the door and moving into the wide hallway. Paula glided across the wooden floor, and Tamara marveled at her quiet movements. She picked the next lock with the efficiency of a cat burglar. When the door popped opened, she oiled the hinges and winked at the three women hovering in their doorway.
Two frightened faces stared at Paula from inside the bedroom. She held a finger up to her lips and motioned for them to move across the hall and into the first bedroom. She quietly relocked the door and returned to the first bedroom herself. Charlotte and Bonnie saw the bag of clothes and quickly pulled on items to wear.
Suddenly Paula held up both hands, demanding silence.
Heavy footsteps plodded down the hallway which caused the women to freeze in terror. The footsteps stopped at their door, and the doorknob rattled. Luckily Paula had already locked it. No one relaxed when the footsteps crossed the hallway. Finally the footsteps retreated slowly down the hallway, and the women finished dressing.
Standing in the room, wearing mismatched clothes, the women waited for instructions from Tamara. She whispered, “Are you ready to get out of here?” She gestured at Paula, who silently climbed through the open window onto the roof. The women eagerly followed.
Without moonlight each woman carefully inched her way across the roof to find the trellis. Although their eyes were wide with fright, their faces were filled with determination.
Tamara lifted Bentley through the window before she climbed outside. Squeaks along the rafters seemed to shout the progress of the victims’ escape, and loud voices argued inside the house as they climbed down the trellis. By the time Tamara arrived at the edge of the roof, the motley group of women already marched in a line behind Paula as she led them through bushes into the dark.
The door crashed open as a man’s voice shouted, “I see them running across the field.” He ran out the door waving a gun as he shoved his feet into a pair of boots. “You better stop now!” he yelled at the women.
Keeping an eye on the angry man, Tamara climbed down the trellis. When she landed on the ground, she gave Bentley a hand signal to jump. He floated through the air, hitting her outstretched arms with an awkward thud. Although her dog weighed only fifty-five pounds, his solid mass struck her in the chest and almost toppled her over.
A strong pair of hands grabbed Tamara’s shoulders, preventing her from falling. Biting back a yelp, she gazed up into Paxton’s sparkling blue eyes. Warmth spread through her chest and she felt safe once again.
They ran away from the porch, holding hands. Hearing pounding feet following them, they bent and zigzagged through the heavy brush. Bentley thought this was a fun game, so he wove back and forth keeping time with his humans. As the angry man got closer, he growled.
Paxton and Tamara reached safety, but the man chasing them ran smack into a group of police officers. They surrounded him with guns raised. A wide-eyed goon dropped his gun and accepted handcuffs on his wrists as the police shoved him into the back of a cruiser.
Tamara sighed with relief but didn’t want to let go of Paxton’s firm grip. For the first time since she lost Jeffrey, she felt a strong attraction to another man. Did he feel the same about her?
Chapter 14—Building a Tight Case
The couple dashed behind the green Honda, before Paxton gave his signal to the group of police. Suddenly sirens and lights flashed through the dark night. Police on blow horns shouted, “Put down your weapons! We have you surrounded!”
Paxton guided Tamara toward his team’s large van. He said, “Troy will drive your Honda back later, so I’ll go take him the keys.”
As he went to find Troy, Tamara peered inside the van and recognized the four kidnap victims huddled together on the rear seat. Pale faces and wide eyes peered over heavy blankets.
She asked, “Are you all okay?” The women all nodded.
The blonde said, “I was wearing flip flops from the bag, so I stubbed my toe on a rock. I’ll live.” She grinned and added, “My name is Charlotte Baxter. The gang called me Marilyn Monroe and forced me to watch her movies for hours. They wanted me to act like her on camera.” She pointed at her black eye. “This is what I got yesterday when I refused to cooperate.” Charlotte seemed proud of the shiner.
The small dark-haired woman sitting next to Charlotte added, “I’m Bonnie Jamison. I don’t ever want to see a Natalie Wood movie again! They twisted my arm to punish me when I couldn’t mimic her voice. They didn’t want the bruises to show on camera.” She held up her arm. Large fingermarks darkened her pale skin and her dark brown eyes flashed with anger. “Lot of good that did them.”
Maureen Collins introduced herself and laughed. “Those jerks insisted my name was now Rita Hayworth, but I wouldn’t use the name myself. My Irish ancestors would haunt me.” She lifted her long red curls to show a bruise on the back of her neck. “My battle wounds were supposed to be covered by my long hair.”
Tears glistened in Tamara’s eyes as she gazed at Phyllis Rodriguez. “I’m so sorry they grabbed you at your open house. When I escaped I didn’t realize they’d go after someone else,” Tamara said.
Phyllis shrugged. “It’s not your fault I was the next one on their list. I’m grateful to you and Bentley for coming to my rescue. They didn’t have much time to work on me, but they told me to speak with a low, husky voice and called me Suzanne Pleshette.” She fingered the short dark hair along her neck sadly. “They cut off my hair to make me look more like the actress.”
The conversation fell silent as gunshots rang out from the farmhouse. Paxton boosted Tamara into the van, climbed inside, and slid the door closed. Paula opened the driver’s door and settled into the seat. “We’ll take you all to safety, ladies. The bad guys aren’t ready to get arrested just yet.” She turned the key and the van’s motor fired up.
Clutching a seatbelt, Charlotte declared, “Those men are not the worst ones in the gang. Their ringleader is a woman, so you need to catch her as well.”
Paxton leaned closer and asked, “Have you seen the woman yourself?”
The women all shook their heads. Maureen said, “I heard her voice when they spoke over the phone. She sounded cold and cruel. The men called her Boss. They’d laugh and tell us we’d learn to obey, or she would hurt us.” Maureen shivered and pulled the blanket up to her ch
in as tears streaked her freckled cheeks.
Bonnie added, “One man, who dressed in a fancy suit, told the Boss they needed time to get better film of us but she scoffed, said the bids were already coming in. He claimed our husbands should get the chance to match the highest bids.” Bonnie fingered the fringe on the blanket. “My brother, Sam, doesn’t have much money, but I know he’d try to raise funds to pay them.”
Tamara grabbed Paxton’s hand. “That’s why they kidnapped married women. They hoped their husbands would agree to bid on the women.”
Paxton touched an app on his phone. “Shirley, dig into communications between the kidnapper and the victims’ husbands. Evidently a woman ringleader was negotiating bids.” He listened a moment nodding his head. “Okay, trace the source of those e-mails, and we’ll see you at the Brinkerhoff location in fifteen minutes. Please alert Tamara’s aunt about our arrival.”
Tamara’s eyes rounded with surprise. “We’re heading to Aunt Jessica’s house?”
He nodded. “Your aunt insisted. She has dinner waiting and plenty of guest rooms upstairs. We decided her place is the best safe house in town.” He turned to Phyllis. “My team says your husband, Josh, received an e-mail after you were abducted. He contacted our office and has been cooperating. My team will tell him to meet us at Brinkerhoff.”
Phyllis beamed with pleasure. “Josh would never let criminals profit from kidnapping me. He’s a Marine and believes in taking the battle directly to the enemy.” Her lips quivered as she fingered her short hair.
Tamara said, “You look just fine, Phyllis. He may even like the new hairdo.” She noticed the purple nail polish on the woman’s fingernails. “Where did you get that nail polish?” she asked.
“The girl who cut my hair insisted on painting my nails. I broke down crying when I saw hair falling to the floor, and she claimed a manicure would make me feel better.” Phyllis waved her fingers and small white gems on the fingertips sparkled in the dim light.
Charlotte Baxter pointed at her toes. “The same girl painted my toes after she styled my hair. She’s good.”
Tamara gripped Charlotte’s hand and asked, “Did she have a purple streak running through her black hair?”
All three women nodded. Maureen added, “Her name is Zina. She said purple is her favorite color, and she works an office job. That seemed odd.”
Fifteen minutes later their van arrived at the Brinkerhoff house and everyone walked toward the open door. As Aunt Jessica guided the kidnap victims inside, Tamara took Paxton aside. “The receptionist at Dana Thompson’s office also sported purple nail polish and had a streak of purple in her hair.”
Paxton nodded. “I remember her. She didn’t seem very bright, but you think she’s the hair stylist who worked on the women?”
“I’d bet her real talent is working as a beautician. We didn’t have a positive impression of the broker, Dana Thompson. We both felt the woman seemed cold, and you said she resembled a vampire.” Tamara shuddered at the memory.
“Sorry. Since the kidnapper was a man, I didn’t seriously consider her as a suspect. Still, she might be the brains behind this gang.” Paxton pressed an app on his phone. “Shirley, we need you to get a warrant for phone records of the real estate brokers, Dana Thompson and Travis Jenkins. Dana might be the gang’s boss.” He listened to her reply. “Sure thing, we’ll save you some lasagna.”
Paxton walked inside the house with Tamara. “Shirley must be a mind-reader. She already prepared paperwork for the warrant on both brokers and is on her way to get the judge the governor recommended to sign it. She claims to be starving.”
“Don’t worry.” Tamara pointed at tables filling the long entry hall in Aunt Jessica’s house. “I’m sure there’s enough food to feed twenty, and it smells delicious.”
“Your aunt is a treasure.”
Tamara hugged her aunt and asked, “How did you get all these tables into the entry hall?”
Jessica grinned. “These drop-leaf tables were already lining the walls along the hall. Teenage helpers cleared off the displays, raised the leaves, and pushed the ends together to create a long dining table down the middle of the hall. Tablecloths finish the look.”
Paxton cast a worried glance toward the kitchen. “Are your helpers screened for security?” he asked.
“Troy ran their names through some sort of database, but I assured him I employ these kids for all my dinner parties. They live in the neighborhood, and I’ve watched them grow up.” Jessica pointed to empty chairs nearby.
Paxton and Tamara took seats as the kidnap victims loaded their plates with lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. The women ate with gusto, sighing with pleasure after each bite.
Jerry and Troy arrived and sat next to Paula, who had filled several plates with food. Jerry gave Paxton a “thumbs up” and took a large bite of lasagna. After swallowing, he said, “The suspects are locked up tight, but they refuse to talk without lawyers present. Big surprise! Troy gathered their phones and found some interesting texts in this one.” He slid a phone across the table to Paxton, who read a text on the glowing screen. “Don’t worry. Shirley already got a signed search warrant for the info on all devices confiscated during the arrest tonight.”
Grinning, Paxton told the group. “Evidently there is a private plane arriving at midnight, and the Boss gave orders to bring the women dressed up to meet their buyer.” He asked, “Whose phone was this?”
Adding more lasagna to his plate, Troy replied, “Travis Jenkins carried the phone in his suit pocket but denied ownership. He claims someone planted it on him during the arrest.” Troy chuckled. “Too bad the phone’s screen is covered with his fingerprints.”
Tamara leaned over to read the next text. “Jenkins said he’d deliver the merchandise at midnight. I guess we need to show up at the airport to arrest the Boss and her buyer.”
Silence filled the room as the four victims stared at each other with somber expressions. Tamara stammered, “I didn’t mean to suggest we’d take you to the airport. We’ll get police women to impersonate each victim.”
Shirley burst through the door, carrying sheets of paper in her hands. “Got all our warrants signed by the judge.” She eyed the silent room. “Did I miss something important? Don’t tell me the lasagna is gone!”
Everyone laughed as tension dissipated. Paula shoved a plate filled with food toward the empty seat at her table. She said, “We were deciding who might fit into the Marilyn Monroe costume and your name came up first thing.”
“Me?” Shirley’s eyes grew wide as she stared at Paula through her large eyeglasses. “Oh, I get it! Tease the short computer nerd, as usual. Well, I studied theater arts in college, so I can imitate a sexy actress with the right amount of makeup and ample padding.” She swayed her hips and puffed out her chest. As everyone chuckled, she plopped into the empty chair and took a large bite of lasagna, moaning with pleasure. “If I eat much of this, I won’t need the extra padding.”
Paxton tugged at his ear lobe as he studied the four kidnap victims. Finally, he announced, “Shirley is the right size to play the role of Natalie Wood, and Paula could wear a long red wig to resemble Rita Hayworth. We just need two female police officers to play the roles of Marilyn Monroe and Suzanne Pleshette.”
Charlotte’s fork clattered onto her empty plate as she scowled at Paxton. She huffed, “You really think I’d let you arrest the gang’s boss without me? I was the first one kidnapped, and I organized the other women to resist the kidnappers’ demands. If anyone gets the chance to confront the Boss in person, it will be me!”
“I agree with Charlotte!” Tamara added, “I want to be with the group at the airport.” She stroked Bentley’s head as he leaned against her leg. “Don’t argue, Paxton. It’s decided.”
Aunt Jessica entered from the kitchen, pushing a serving cart filled with dessert and coffee. She handed out steaming cups and announced, “We have angel food cake covered with strawberries or cheesecake drizzled with chocolate
. Who wants a slice of each?” Laughter filled the room as all hands shot into the air.
Paxton turned to Charlotte. “You seemed very hungry. Do you want to describe how you were kidnapped for the record? We need precise information to build an airtight case.”
Shirley clicked a button on a tape recorder and everyone stared at Charlotte. She swallowed a bite of cake and stated, “A vile man entered my brokers’ open house at the end of the day. He was dressed in a pinstriped suit and handed me a business card, but I had bad vibes about him right away. I quickly walked him through the house, keeping well ahead as I guided him through the property. After we entered the master suite, he lunged and jabbed a needle into my arm.”
Charlotte paused and took a long slow sip of coffee to steady her nerves. “I didn’t have a chance after I was drugged!” The other women wiped tears from their eyes as they nodded in agreement. “Evidently, he didn’t manage to give me a full dose, so I woke up too soon,” Charlotte continued. “I heard high heels climbing the stairs and a woman’s voice giving him instructions, telling him how to pose my body for pictures. When I felt his grubby fingers touch my skin, I jerked away. The Boss screamed, calling him a dumb thug. She jabbed another needle into my thigh and I blacked out completely. I found bruises on my leg and upper arm the next morning.”
Paxton said, “We arrested Max Jacobs, and he won’t bother you again.”
Charlotte’s eyes narrowed and she gave him a curt nod. “Good! The other men in the farmhouse joked about an attack-poodle that took Max down.” She grinned as Bentley popped up to give her a doggie smile. “They tried to blackmail me with the pictures they took while I was unconscious. But I knew the truth.”
“What do you mean?” Tamara asked, leaning forward.
