Suddenly, I remembered the glinting object I’d seen roll under the couch after Jake had stumbled, and at that precise moment and to my relief, my inner vision returned. With no other logical explanation for its sudden reappearance, I tied the two together.
Under the couch, parked against the wooden left leg was a gold ring with a row of sparkling diamonds on top. Engraved on the inside of the ring directly beneath the diamonds were three tiny words, which I couldn’t clearly read.
Something about that ring gave me a terrible vibe concerning those guys. I was beginning to feel like they were not just petty thieves or amateur criminals, but that their crimes were much darker and more disturbing.
I had to take a deep breath in and tried to relax, hoping to convince myself that I’d only jumped to conclusions. After all, Jake’s willingness to help Merlene stood out in my mind. There must’ve been some good in him.
I chose to believe that. It was the only way I could actually cope with being in that house with those men. I desperately wanted to get back home to Nilla and choosing to be optimistic would help me get there. Furthermore, they were convinced I couldn’t see them anyway, so they couldn’t have perceived me as being any sort of threat.
The bedroom was worse than I’d thought it was when they first confined me to it. I could now see the light blue carpeted floor that had suffered quite a few spills of dark brown gravy and a number of other stains. Tennis shoes and several socks were scattered about as well. Thick curtains were hanging mostly lopsided on rods that only needed to be properly adjusted to the wall. And the bed I was sitting on was dressed in a soiled, fitted sheet that seemed to have turned dark gray from inadequate washings. In essence, the place was a real dump; certainly not what I’d been accustomed to. Again, I felt so grateful that there were no animals around to be neglected and mistreated by those slobs. I guess I should’ve blamed Jake since he was clearly the owner of the house. My mind drifted into the living room again where they were stretched out on the chairs. A small, framed photograph of Jake standing with an attractive young woman was on the side table. The top edge of the photo leaned helplessly against the wall of the room since the cardboard support at the back of the frame was bent. She must’ve been something special, I thought. I assumed she might’ve been the lady of the house and that something might’ve happened to her. Then in the second bedroom, which pretty much resembled the one I was in, stood a wooden pantry with a Master lock – yes, a pantry! I couldn’t fathom why in the world a pantry would be in the bedroom. That is, until I was able to have a look inside.
Stocked on every shelf of the pantry were various types of weaponry—handguns, rifles, a sword which appeared sharper than any I’d ever seen before, a little ammunition, butcher knives and a dagger. On the very top shelf at the back was a tiny leather bag with a string tied around it. Fortunately, my inner vision wasn’t obstructed by the leather-type concealment, so I clearly saw its contents – sparkling diamonds and a few other expensive pieces of jewelry.
“What in the world?” I muttered.
Did these guys eat, sleep and breathe trouble? I wondered if the abrupt return of my inner vision was, at that moment, a blessing or a curse. What I saw undoubtedly made me a bit edgy, but I figured I must’ve been allowed to see it for a good reason. At least, that’s what I was hoping. Was Sir Clement at the core of this situation too? Was he given directives of when I should and should not see, considering it was the ring that first appeared to me when my sight returned?
“Are you here with me, Sir Clement?” I whispered, immediately thinking it was a stupid question since I’d always seen when he was with me at the house. Why would he be invisible to me now?
Of course, he didn’t respond. I didn’t expect him to, but figured it was worth a try anyway. I knew nothing about ghosts – whether they could move around from location to location or if they were stuck in the place you found them. Anyway, I resolved that with or without Sir Clement’s help, I had to get the hell out of there and fast. These guys had a whole arsenal of deadly weapons and my recently established optimism was quickly fading.
I heard a twist of the door knob which, in the midst of my worrisome thoughts, startled me.
“It’s time,” Jake said, standing in the doorway. “You’re gonna make that call now.”
Sal came in and got me and as usual, he didn’t try to be gentle.
“Must you always be a jerk?” I asked him as we started to walk out.
“Be gentle!” Jake told him. “We need her in one piece to get paid.”
“Really?” I stopped in my tracks and turned in his direction. “Until you get paid, huh? You think I can’t read through that? You think I’m stupid? Your plan is to rob me of my money, then kill me and bury my body where it’ll never be found. You think you’ll trick Mickey and my family into believing you’re going to release me. Just be honest with me. I’m not a naïve little girl!”
“Come on!” Sal yanked me by the arm, forcing me out into the living room again. By then, it was dark out and since the TV had been shut off, all I could hear were the crickets outside and the buzzing of the refrigerator.
I was made to sit on the couch, and placed directly on the center table in front of it was a telephone. Jake sat down next to me.
“I know you’re upset, Lucille. Your name is Lucille, right?” he said.
“Don’t play with me. You knew what my name was before you two even planned to kidnap me from my home with the intention of taking the money my late husband left for my welfare. Where is your heart? Where is your conscience? Has your life been that crappy that you can’t find any type of decency left inside of you?”
“Thanks for the lecture, Lucille, but we’re too far gone to change. Look… I apologize for my partner’s here treatment of you. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. See… I do have a heart.” He smiled wickedly.
“Apologize to the lady, Sal!” he demanded in a joking way.
“I’m sorry.” Sal smiled. “I’ll try to think of you as a sweet grandma from now on, okay?”
“And I’ll think of you as being six feet under, okay?” I replied. I still detested the guy, mostly for his treatment of Nilla. He didn’t have to handle her the way he did.
“Let’s just get down to business,” Jake said. “You’re going to call Mickey and tell him you need him to get the half a mil first thing in the morning. And when he has it in his possession, he is to call the number I will tell you. We’ll meet at a designated spot and the exchange will happen —you for the cash. Then boom, mission accomplished and we’re out of your life for good.”
“It’s that simple, isn’t it?” I replied.
He nodded. “Uh huh.”
“Well, I’m not doing anything until I call my boys and check on my dog.”
I knew that Nilla would’ve waited near the door until Theodore or Anthony got home from work. Anthony would’ve been the one to arrive first since Theodore often worked overtime. I was confident that Nilla would’ve been back inside long before dark.
Jake looked at Sal contemplatively, then replied, “Look, lady… the lawyer first and your family next.”
I immediately shook my head. “You two are the ones that are desperate for the money. I specifically stated that I wish to speak with my family first. They need to know that I’m all right. If you have a problem with that, shoot me, stab me, torture me or throw me off a ledge right now and you’ll never see a single penny of that half a mil. I once starved myself for a month just to see if I could. You might say I’m strong-willed.” I couldn’t believe I said such a load of crap! I can’t seem to control this tongue sometimes even when danger’s staring me right in the face.
It seemed like a long time before anyone responded. I was quietly hoping they wouldn’t take me up on any of those offers. All of those options were frightening enough, but the torture part was definitely the worst.
“What do you think, Sal? Should we give her that phone call first?” Jake asked.
Jake nodded; his eyes caught a glimpse of the photo on the side table. It was the one he’d taken with the pretty lady.
“Okay.” He looked at me. “This time I’ll give in, but don’t think for a second that you can tell us what you will and will not do. If you knew us well enough, you would’ve kept your mouth shut and simply did what you were told. Don’t let it happen again. Now, what’s the number?”
He thought it necessary to coach me as to what I should and should not say, then handed me the handset and dialed the number.
It felt so good to hear Anthony’s voice.
“Lucille, is that you?” he asked before I got to utter a single word.
“Yes, it’s me, Anthony. I want you all to know that I’m all right. How’s Nilla?”
“She’s fine. I found her outside on the porch and the living room a mess.”
I managed a half-smile - Nilla was all right; just as I’d thought.
“Where are you?”
“I’m just staying with some old friends tonight. We have a little catching up to do,” I said.
There were a few moments of silence, then he asked, “What happened in here, Lucille, and why was Nilla outside?”
Jake whispered something into my ear. He had his ear pressed against the handset the entire time. Guess it was the only phone in the house.
“I’m sorry, Anthony, but I really have to go now. I’ll be back home tomorrow, okay? Just give Nilla a big hug and kiss for me and tell her I’ll be home soon.”
“Okay… I will,” he hesitated. “What time will you be home tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Oh, okay.”
I then heard Theodore’s voice in the background. Anthony had confirmed it was me on the phone. He asked to speak with me, but Anthony told him I couldn’t talk any longer.
“I’ll see you all tomorrow,” I told him.
“Okay, Lucille. Don’t worry about Nilla. She’s fine. Just call if you need one of us to come and get you.”
Anthony was such a sweet boy. I knew Nilla was in good hands and that helped me to cope in the situation I found myself in. We hung up and Jake took the phone.
“Okay, you got your wish. Time to get down to business.”
He asked me for Mickey’s cell phone number which he dialed right away, this time using what looked like a disposable phone. Sitting across from us, Sal jotted down the number on a used letter envelope and gave Jake a nod.
I couldn’t believe I was actually about to do what those guys were forcing me to do and I couldn’t digest the fact that Merlene’s big mouth had put me in such a predicament. If you can’t trust your best friend, who can you trust? It all seemed so surreal.
Mickey answered on the first ring. He was always happy to hear from me. Guess he thought I had another matter for him to get a boatload of cash out of me. I’m sure this time, he would’ve been most disappointed. Surprised by what I had to say, but disappointed, nonetheless.
“Mickey, it’s good to hear your voice too,” I said, “but I must get right to the point. I have an emergency and I need you to empty that fund for me.”
“You mean the five hundred thousand?” he asked with obvious shock in his tone.
“Yes. That’s it.”
He acted as if I had another fund he was overseeing. I decided to look into that when I was clear out of this mess.
“May I ask what your emergency is, Lucille?”
“Someone is here to explain it.” Jake was literally breathing down my neck when he took the phone.
“Mickey Carey!” he started. “It’s good to finally speak with you, man to man.”
“Who am I, you ask?” Jake said, moments later. “I can be your best bud or your worst nightmare, but you can call me ‘J’ for short.”
He went on. “Lucille here is doing just fine. No need to worry about her just yet. You’re going to put that half a mil in a nice briefcase and meet me under the old Pulia Bridge tomorrow morning at ten o'clock sharp.”
The Pulia Bridge was located in a fairly remote part of town. The bridge itself was declared impassable by the city two decades earlier after it was inspected and found that one of the mechanisms responsible for holding the bridge together was in need of replacement. However, that was never taken care of. The cost of the repair was said to be excessive and since it was an old bridge, rarely ever used at the time by residents, the city didn’t deem it a wise investment.
Jake listened again. “You can’t get it done by ten? Well, Lucille here has a lot to worry about then. You not getting it to the location I just pointed out by ten is gonna cost Lucille her life. But maybe that doesn’t matter to you.” He glanced at me.
“It does? Well, that’s more like it, Mickey,” he said, moments later.
He reiterated the details.
“If I see any sign of the cops, you can kiss your client goodbye. Listen to me good, Mickey. There’s just one chance to get this right. There will be no other opportunities.”
I suppose Mickey insisted on speaking with me again because Jake handed me the phone. “Lucille, I’m so sorry about the situation you’re in. Do you know where you are?”
“No,” I answered.
“Well, don’t you worry about anything. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you get home safely, okay?”
“Okay.”
Jake snatched the phone. “Remember… ten o’clock sharp,” he said.
After ending the call, he rubbed his hands together and the men did a victorious high five. They were acting as if they'd just hit the lottery, and in a way they had. The only problem was… it was my money.
10
_________________
They allowed me to wash up in the bathroom and to my surprise, it wasn’t nearly as messy as other parts of the house. The single window was missing two panes and they had the opening boarded up with plywood from the outside.
“Can’t you take me to a cleaner bedroom or at least get rid of whatever has that room smelling like death?” I asked Jake as he led me from the bathroom back down the dark hallway.
“This isn’t a hotel, lady. You take what you get.”
Sal snickered from the living room. I heard him snatch the keys, then I followed his footsteps to the front door.
“Going to get the supplies,” he told Jake.
“All right. We shouldn’t need much. She’s not gonna be around for much longer.” He laughed.
Jake’s last remark and the supplies they were referring to puzzled me, but I tried not to let my thoughts get the best of me. After that, I was locked away in that bedroom again. I noticed before Jake left he did bend down and pick up the socks off the floor and took with him a pair of tennis shoes as well. Of course, he had no idea I’d seen that and I got the impression that this guy actually might not be as bad as he portrayed himself to be.
I sat down and tried to make myself as content as humanly possible. There was nothing else I could do. I was famished since I hadn’t eaten in hours, tired and frustrated. I just hoped the night will go by quickly so that we could make some headway pertaining to my returning home, if in fact I was going to make it home ever again.
I’d finally started to doze off when I heard the rattle of the doorknob again.
“Hungry?” Sal stepped inside the room holding a crumpled brown paper bag.
I hadn’t heard the car pull up.
“A little.” I sat up in bed.
He flipped the light switch on and placed a small white bowl in my hand. “Jake said you can have this.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Pea soup. If you’re picky about it, let me know and I’ll take that off your hands. And here’s your water.”
Why wasn’t I surprised by his remark?
; I couldn’t bring myself to tell him thanks and I couldn’t care less if he was looking for it. He switched off the light on his way out, probably figuring I couldn’t see anyway, and locked the door behind him again.
I peeled off the lid and smelled what was in the container. It smelled like soup and pretty good too. I figured he wouldn’t have tried poisoning me because they hadn’t gotten “paid yet”, as they put it.
The soup wasn’t bad. I actually enjoyed it. About a half hour later, I walked to the door and called out to them. The TV was on in the living room again, and I heard another in the next bedroom. I figured they both would be staying there for the night until this mission of theirs was complete.
“What? What do you want?” Sal was clearly annoyed as he opened the door.
“I need to use the bathroom, if you don’t mind,” I said.
He sucked his teeth, grabbed my arm and quickly took me to the bathroom.
Two minutes later, he banged on the door. “What’s taking you so long in there?”
“I know you’re not that bright, Sal, but when I’m finished I’ll be out,” I answered through the door. “If you don’t want to stand there and wait, just leave and I’ll call when I’m ready.”
“I ain’t goin’ nowhere. Hurry up before I get pissed off.”
“And then what?” I asked? “You’re much dumber than I thought. Can’t you tell by now that I’m not afraid of you? Anyway, the more you talk, the longer I’ll take to finish. You’re slowing me down, so do me a favor and shut up!”
I took my time in there and kept him waiting for another five minutes. Not that I had to, but I wanted to. I felt pretty good afterwards knowing I’d pissed him off again.
The walk back to my room was even faster than when we’d left. He didn’t care if I wasn’t able to get one foot in front of the other with each step. It didn’t faze me though. I’d come to expect the worse from that guy.
He guided me to the bed, then proceeded to the door. “Now, go to sleep and don’t think of bothering us unless it’s an emergency.”
Lucille Pfiffer Mystery Series Box Set Page 16
