by Terry Spear
“Mr. Lee said we could have the boxes. We paid for them,” the guy said.
She didn’t believe him.
“It was mostly just junk, but our aunt has an antique store, and the price was so reasonable for the boxes of stuff that she wanted us to get them for her. We put the thumb drive in one of the boxes and planned to haul them off to the pickup truck. But we needed to move it closer to where they were located. When we returned for them, they were gone.”
At least now Brooke knew what the men wanted, but she hadn’t received anything from the estate yet but the wolf statues. Would they even believe her if she said the other merchandise hadn’t arrived? If so, they’d already revealed who they were and what they wanted, so she was afraid she wasn’t going to get out of this situation unscathed.
The other man approached the counter and propped his arms on it. As soon as he did, she saw the grip of a gun in a shoulder holster underneath his jacket. “We need to see the boxes.”
“I just moved here, and I’ve got stacks of boxes all over.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was three o’clock, but Josh would probably need until closing to finish all the investigating he needed to do.
“Come on. You’ve got to have some idea where the boxes are,” the darker-haired man said.
“Look it up on your computer,” the other guy said.
She woke up her computer and desperately wanted to email Josh, but she didn’t even know his email address! She wasn’t sure what to do, but her first idea was to stall them.
Her cell phone was on the counter and so was her shop phone, neither of which she could use to call for help. The heavy cast-iron skillet was sitting on the counter, the price tag on it. If she had to, she could use it as a weapon. But there were two men, not just one. The other would eliminate her next if she managed to take out the first one with the frying pan.
At least one of the men was armed. She suspected the other one was too. She needed to bluff her way through this. Worried they would kill her if she said she knew where the boxes they wanted were and then they weren’t there, she had to prolong the pretense that she was looking for them. What if she told them the boxes hadn’t come in yet? Would they hold her hostage until they arrived?
If these guys were in league with the other two men who had shot her, at least she knew they weren’t after anything her great-aunt had owned. Like the Chinese vases that could be worth millions.
“Well?” the darker-haired guy asked.
Thank God neither had moved around the counter to see what she was doing on the laptop. She knew she wouldn’t have a prayer to crack one in the skull with the frying pan if one or both of them joined her.
“I’m looking through all the deliveries. They’re not listed by estate sale. I had to look up when the estate sale took place and then try to search the records showing deliveries made from Phoenix. I actually purchased stuff from three different estate sales there that month”—she lied, hoping that would give her more precious time to come up with a plan to get herself out of this—“and sometimes after a sale, the items arrive late. Especially with all the Christmas deliveries that are being made right now.”
“Just hurry it up.”
“I am.” Her shop phone rang, and Brooke saw Josh’s name on the caller ID. Before they could stop her, she quickly answered it, hoping they wouldn’t shoot her.
Her skin chilled, she was glad she might have a chance to get word to Josh that she was in trouble. Again.
If she had to protect herself, she would use the frying pan on at least one of them.
* * *
On the way to Ty’s house, Josh got a call from Jefferson at the bureau. “Hey, got some more news for you. The dead guy who was cut up by the window in the antique shop? His name was Pinky Struthers. He’s been in and out of lockups for years. Mostly for armed robbery.”
“Good work. Thanks, Jefferson.”
Josh called Brooke next to check on her. “Hey, Brooke, I’m making some headway in the Jingles case. Is everything going well there?”
“No. I don’t have any more sleigh bells in stock right now. I’m sorry.”
She sounded worried, and he immediately suspected the worst. She was in trouble. If she wasn’t and he was rushing to protect her when she didn’t need him to, they’d have a good laugh about it later. But he wasn’t taking the chance.
Josh spun his car around and headed back to Brooke’s shop. “How many are there?”
“Two. I had two in stock. Correct.”
“Males?” He wanted to kill them.
“Yes. Just the two.”
“Is the man who shot you there?” His heartbeat accelerating, he had to reach her in time before they could hurt her.
“No. They were brand new.”
“Armed?” He wondered if the other guy was out of the picture along with his dead partner.
“At least one.”
“Is anyone else in the shop?” He was hoping there were no other people in harm’s way.
“No.”
“Good. I’m on my way.”
“Thanks. Maybe I’ll have some in a couple of days. Bye.” She hung up on Josh.
He hated that she had to break the connection, but he knew the men would make her end the call before long, and he didn’t want them to believe she was giving the caller clues. He also hated that he hadn’t been there for her. Damn it.
His heart beating triple time, he floored the gas pedal, racing down the street while calling Adam. “Brooke’s got trouble at the shop. Two armed men. Not the same men who shot her. There’s no one else in the shop. No sirens. Unless I’m mistaken about this, but I don’t think so, she’s in trouble.”
“Better to be safe than sorry. I’m on my way.”
“I’ll meet you there.” Josh ground his teeth, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. He tried calling Ethan too. Because Ethan was DEA, he wasn’t involved in matters like this, but they were friends. All Josh got was his voicemail, which meant Ethan could be in a situation of his own right now.
Josh called the bureau for further backup, at the same time thinking of the best way to handle this. He damn well didn’t want the armed men to hurt Brooke. He was going to have to stay with her day and night. Were these men in league with the ones who had shot her? Or some random thugs looking to steal cash?
It seemed to take forever to reach the shop, and Adam drove up right behind him. Josh motioned for Adam to head around to the back door of the shop through the courtyard, then waited for him to have enough time to get there. Josh intended to be the distraction. He’d open the door to the shop that would jingle, while Adam opening the back door wouldn’t make a sound.
He had to give Adam time enough to jump the men while Josh got their attention. Then he worried the men had locked the front door. He carefully tried it. Not locked. Someone drove into the parking lot, and he turned to see if it was other police. It was. Good. But he still didn’t want Brooke in the line of fire.
If the armed men had really been on the ball, they would have put the Closed sign on the door and locked it. Josh opened the door, the bells jingling, and the two armed men turned to see who it was. Thankfully, Brooke was behind the counter, so she had a little protection if the shooting started.
Adam lunged forward and got the drop on one of the men. The other raised his weapon to fire at Josh. Before Josh shot him, Brooke grabbed a cast-iron skillet sitting on the countertop and bashed the gunman in the side of the head with a heavy thunk. He collapsed on the floor like a sack of rocks.
Adam was wrestling with the first man, trying to confine him. Josh dashed across the floor to help him, yanking the gun from the armed perp and sliding the weapon across the floor. Three other policemen rushed into the shop to help.
While Adam secured the one man, Josh tied up the other. EMTs were called to check on the
injured man who was just coming to. Josh hurried around the counter to see to Brooke, who was looking pale and visibly shaking.
“How are you holding up?”
“I have to…to wash the blood off the…the frying pan.” Tears filled her eyes, but she managed a quirky smile.
Josh hugged her. “Come on. Why don’t you sit in the kitchen and have some water?”
“Sure.”
Josh took her into the kitchen and helped her to sit down, then brought her a glass of water. “What did they want?”
“A thumb drive in one of the five boxes from Gulliver’s estate sale in Phoenix. The one man said that Mr. Lee sold the boxes to them for their aunt’s antique shop, but I don’t believe them.” She explained the rest of what he’d told her.
“I take it they didn’t have a sales receipt for the boxes, nor did they give you the name of their aunt or her antique shop.”
“Nope.”
“Then these men are in league with the other ones who shot you?”
“I’m thinking they were. They didn’t mention them, but since those men didn’t find whatever they’re after and made a mess of things, whoever is sending them must have hired these two. Instead of breaking in during the night and shooting up the place, these guys were being civil. I caught a glimpse of the one guy’s gun in a shoulder holster and knew they had to be bad news. They didn’t know you were a police detective and my savior who was calling to check on me.”
Josh kissed her. “I’m so sorry. I’m sticking with you from now until we catch the one responsible, but when I interrogate these men, I’ll make sure you’re well protected.”
“I never thought to check to see if the man who left the estate had died of natural causes. I just assumed he had. I was so busy getting ready to leave Phoenix that I wasn’t paying any attention to the news,” she said.
“You said it was a Gulliver?” Josh asked, doing a search on his phone.
“Randall Gulliver, Phoenix, Arizona.”
“Murdered. Hell, what’s going on?”
Brooke’s jaw dropped. “Oh wow. Where did he die? And how?”
“At his home. He’d had a break-in. They don’t know who murdered him, but he was shot to death.”
“Were things stolen in Mr. Gulliver’s home?”
“Yeah. Jewelry, a coin collection, and a stamp collection. The place was trashed. So the motive was listed as a robbery.”
“Why would the thumb drive be so important to them? And why would they have dropped it in one of the boxes Mr. Lee gave me?” Brooke asked.
“I suspect they didn’t put the thumb drive in the box. Someone else did. And they have to get it for whoever hired them to do the job,” Josh said.
“If we consider it has something to do with the murder of Gulliver, who had the most to gain from it?”
“Four surviving grown children: Pattie, Daisy, Ralph, and Nat Gulliver,” Josh said. “Often, family or someone the victim knew is the murderer. It’s more unusual if it’s a perfect stranger.”
“Hmm, I wonder if the children received a life insurance payout.” She sipped some of her water. “It would be a good motivation for murder, as wealthy as he was.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you think Mr. Lee put the thumb drive in one of the boxes?” she asked.
“If he did, he put you at risk.”
“Can you bring me the skillet?” she asked.
“I’m afraid it will be in evidence for a while.”
She sighed. “Years.”
“It’ll be worth even more when you get it back. I need to learn what I can about these guys and then I’ll return. Are you going to be okay?” He hated to leave her for even a moment, but he had to know what was going on if he was going to stop it.
“Sure.”
Adam was checking the armed thugs’ pockets for IDs. Josh already recognized the man Adam had taken down by both sight and smell. Dishwater blond with a grungy beard and pale-blue eyes narrowed at him. “This one’s been in jail any number of times for possession and armed robbery. Lonnie Matson. How the hell he keeps getting out is beyond me.”
“Same with the other one, Howie Carpenter. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them together on a job. Maybe they hooked up in jail.” Adam looked over their ID. “Their ID still shows they’re from Phoenix though.”
“What happened to him?” one of the EMTs asked, coming in treat the injured man.
“He was going to shoot me. Brooke Cerise, the owner of the shop, protected me,” Josh said.
“I heard you were dating her. I’d sure be careful about making her mad,” one of the officers said.
The other policemen there chuckled, Josh and Adam smiled, and then the two would-be thieves were hauled off.
Once all the other policemen and the EMTs left the shop, Josh figured Brooke needed to close the shop now instead of in two hours like usual. She came out of the kitchen with a mug of hot lavender tea. “Do you mind staying with me until the shop closes?”
Josh was going to mention closing now, but then a couple of ladies came into the shop and a fortyish man too. Josh eyed him with wariness. “You bet.”
“Me too,” Adam said.
“Good, and thank you both.”
“You’re welcome,” Josh and Adam said.
“I’ll be on the phone in the office to learn what I can and direct another couple of our men to check out Lucas’s girlfriend’s story. Apparently, she’s Lucas’s alibi for the night that the black truck was picked up on video outside your shop,” Adam said.
“But…?” Brooke asked.
“Reindeer hair was left in the truck.”
She smiled. “So we’ve caught them in the lie.”
“Yes. They’ve lawyered up, but we’ll get them.”
Josh agreed with Adam.
“Talk later.” Adam took off for the office.
The female customers started to look at the merchandise in the shop, but the man headed straight for Brooke.
Josh put his hand on his holstered gun.
Brooke smiled at the man and said, “May I help you?”
He glanced at Josh and then frowned at Brooke. “Are you the one I talked to about the vinyl records for sale?”
“Oh yes.” Brooke snapped her fingers. “You’re here to look them over.”
“Buy them, if they’re in as mint condition as you say they are.”
Brooke took him into the office. “There’s the record player. The records are right there. Enjoy listening to them. I’ll be in the shop working.”
Adam smiled at the guy. “You’re a collector?”
“Yeah. I got hooked on them some time ago. I always had them, but now I’m more into collecting the real rare records.” He shook Adam’s hand.
They began talking about the records while the sound of Beatles music mixed with the Christmas music overhead. “Do you want me to turn off the Christmas music for now?” Brooke asked.
“For now. Thanks,” the customer said.
Brooke did and then returned to the checkout counter.
Josh took Brooke’s hand and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for you earlier.”
“You needed to do your investigative work to catch these guys. We didn’t think they would come here during the day again. I never believed two different men would show up, but I had seen them before. They supposedly came to see Jingles and Cinnamon. They’d been perusing the shop and made me nervous then too. I certainly didn’t believe there was a connection between them and the other men though. Once they came back today, I wanted to call you, but I couldn’t. After you and I talked on the phone, I was glad you were able to realize what was going on.”
“Right away. I couldn’t get here fast enough. It won’t happen again. I’m assigned to your care, and I’
m sticking like glue. When those boxes from that estate sale arrive, we’re going to have an army of wolves watching over them.”
“Thank you, Josh. I so appreciate you and Adam. Oh, and I don’t even have your email. Though I guess that wouldn’t have helped while you were driving.” Then she noticed a couple of ladies heading to the counter, and she went to check them out.
Josh was still feeling shaken from the situation. He didn’t remember a time when he was involved in shoot-outs or apprehending dangerous criminals that he’d felt that unsettled. Not until now when Brooke’s life was in danger. Well, and when the rookie cop he’d dated put both his and her life in danger. “I’m texting you my email address.”
She texted hers to him.
About a half hour later, while hearing the vintage songs playing in the background, Josh saw the customer who was interested in the records come out with a whole stack of them. It looked like Brooke had done well with some sales.
“I’ll be back after the new year once I get my tax refund, and I’ll listen to some of the other records you have,” the man said. “I’d take all of them if they were in this good condition, but I have to watch my bank account.”
She chuckled. “I totally understand.”
With his armful of paid-for records, the customer left the shop, and she turned on her Christmas music again.
“Good haul?”
“For both of us. I gave him a deal, but I still made a bundle.”
“That’s good. Maverick and I might have a bunch of old stuff we could sell.”
“You never know. How long have you had the reindeer ranch?”
“Forever. Our grandparents started the ranch. The ranch house is only ten years old, but there’s an old house way off on the property that was abandoned about a hundred years ago. We never tore down the old homestead because it reminds us of our heritage.”
“Hmm, what if it contains some treasures?”
He smiled. “Does everything remind you of treasure?”
“You bet.”
When the ladies took their purchases and left the shop, Josh asked Brooke, “Which boxes did you want me to take to the house that we can work on tonight?”
