Scottsdale Silence: a fun, romantic, thrilling, adventure... (Laura Black Mysteries Book 9)

by B A Trimmer

  “If you need an attorney who likes to take on hard criminal cases, give my boss, Leonard Shapiro, a call. Have him go in with you. Call this number, and Sophie will set you up.” I then handed him one of Lenny’s cards from the office.

  “I’ve heard of Leonard,” he said as he looked at the card. “He’s the one who got Muffy Sternwood’s boy out of trouble about a year ago. I was first going to see if any of the foundation’s lawyers were qualified to handle something like this. But if not, I’ll give him a call.”

  ~~~~

  We left the building and gathered around the blue van in the truck company parking lot.

  Largo strapped on the body armor Roberto had been wearing. He seemed more comfortable with the bullet-proof vest than Roberto had.

  Max unrolled a satellite picture of the outside of the house. It had apparently been brought over while we’d been inside. He laid it flat on the floor of the van while Largo, Carson, and Gabriella gathered around.

  “Trying to take out the guard through the gate will likely only raise the alarm,” Max said. “We brought along a small tactical ladder. I propose we hop the wall and enter the compound here.”

  He pointed to a portion of the outer wall. It was around the corner and out of direct view of the gate. “We can then swing back around and take out the guard from behind.”

  “That is smart,” Largo said. “From there, the obvious path into the house is through the main entrance. However, going in through the front door may be a problem. Any defensive measures they have will be strongest there. I would enter in through this door to the side.” He pointed to a point on the map near a six-car garage.

  “I was thinking that as well,” Max said. “Let’s head out.”

  ~~~~

  We drove in a small caravan of two black SUVs and the blue van. Once we got to Cameldale Way, we pulled over in a small dirt lot that seemed to be for use by maintenance vehicles. Max then directed one of the SUVs to park about a hundred yards further up the road to watch for anything unusual.

  Using the blue van to block the view of what we were doing from the street, everyone got out. Gabriella handed out the beanbag shotguns and two extra shell holders to the raiders.

  Señor Largo seemed pleased when he felt the weight of his gun. “I can see the benefit of this,” he said. “However, I will not hesitate to use my pistol if the situation calls for it.”

  “Neither will we,” Max said. “But for the sake of both groups, I don’t want anyone killed or seriously injured if it can be avoided. That will only complicate things for everyone.”

  “Agreed,” Largo said.

  It might have been my imagination, but as with Gabriella, he seemed disappointed that he wasn’t going to use live ammunition on anyone.

  Carson used the strap on the shotgun to sling it across his back. Max slid out a small black extension ladder from the back of the van and handed it to him.

  “Is everyone ready?” Max asked.

  There was a murmur of acknowledgment from the three other raiders.

  “Let’s do this,” Max said. “We’ll go in, get Danielle, and get out as quickly as possible. Protect yourselves at all times. Any last questions?”

  No one had any. Max then looked to Largo, who nodded his head.

  Carson silently placed the ladder against the white-stucco wall and quickly scampered over the top. Largo, Max, and Gabriella rapidly followed.

  A rope had been tied to the ladder. Once everyone was inside the compound, they silently pulled it over the wall.

  It was like a magic trick. One second there was a ladder leaning against the ten-foot-high wall. The next second it was gone. From start to finish, the entire event lasted less than a minute.

  Sebastian and Roberto joined me at the SUV. From the looks on their faces, I could tell they were as worried about Danielle as I was.

  As Sebastian had reported, a uniformed guard was stationed inside the main gate from the road. We could dimly see him from where we were parked.

  We briefly saw a blur of movement. Again, it was like magic. The guard patrolling behind the gate disappeared.

  The three of us sat in the SUV on the side of the road and waited. The two men were in the front, and I was alone in the back.

  The blue van with two of Max’s men was directly behind us. The second SUV was still positioned a hundred yards up the street.

  Everyone settled in to wait.

  ~~~~

  Minute, after minute ticked by. Through our open windows, we thought we might have heard a couple of dull thuds of the beanbag shotguns going off, but we couldn’t be sure.

  At five minutes, Max checked in to say they had entered the house and were looking for Danielle. We expected a follow-up call, but there was nothing.

  The three of us were getting frustrated, sitting in the SUV and not being able to do anything. Sebastian checked in with the men in the other vehicles every five minutes or so, but everything was quiet.

  ~~~~

  When twenty minutes had slowly ticked by, we all started to get nervous. During the planning, Max said they would likely be in and out in twenty minutes, thirty minutes tops.

  I had seen Largo having a private discussion with Sebastian before the raid. I didn’t know how long he’d been instructed to wait before calling in a general attack from the Black Death, but I suspected we were getting close.

  At thirty minutes, Sebastian reached for his phone. As he did, the front gate opened, and a black sedan came racing out. It turned down Cameldale Way and rapidly accelerated. Within about ten seconds, the gate closed again.

  Sebastian got out and motioned for the men in the SUV to follow the sedan. The big vehicle took off to learn where the sedan ended up.

  “Damn,” Sebastian said after the street again became quiet.

  “Let’s think this through,” I said. “We don’t know who was in the car. But I’m thinking it could hold five men, six tops. That means either Danielle or at least some of the team is still inside.”

  “I agree,” he said. “I should call this in. We have men on standby.”

  “From what I understand, you haven’t had any luck in the past whenever you send in a big raiding party. From what I hear, they simply shoot anything that moves.”

  “That’s true,” he confessed. “But we can’t wait for our people to simply come out on their own.”

  “I know,” I said. “We need to go in and get them.”

  I saw the look he gave me.

  “Hey,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. “This should be simple. According to Barrett, there are only three or four guards in the compound. Max already took out the one at the front gate. And, I bet one of them was driving the car. Worst case, there should only be one or maybe two still in the house.”

  “Don’t forget about Benny,” Roberto said. “He could still be in there. That guy sounds completely insane.”

  “Well, hopefully, he left in the car.”

  “Okay,” Sebastian said after he thought about it for a moment. “It makes sense for us to go in and try to rescue them. But how are we going to enter the compound? There’s a ten-foot-high wall around the estate, and the ladder’s on the other side.”

  “I think I know a way in,” I said. “Um, I suggest that one of you follow me in. The other one should stay out here to coordinate with the rest of the team.”

  At a motion from Sebastian, Roberto went to the back of the van and grabbed the last beanbag shotgun. He smiled as he held it up. “I have a pistol, but this should be more useful.”

  “Good,” I said. “We’ll definitely need the gun. But we can’t walk around in this neighborhood looking like bandits.”

  I dug through the back of the SUV and came up with an old sweatshirt.

  “Use this to wrap it up,” I said as I handed it to him.

  “I’ll give you fifteen minutes,” Sebastian said as he looked at his watch. “But if I don’t hear from you by then, I’m calling in a general raid.”
r />   ~~~~

  Roberto and I walked up the street and eventually spotted the gate to Stig Stevens’ estate.

  “This is where the actor lives?” Roberto asked as we walked up to the entrance. “I agree with your thinking. There’s likely a common wall between the two properties. But how do you propose we get over the gate? It looks higher than the last one.”

  I lifted the cover off a keypad, which was embedded in a post next to the road.

  “Well,” I said as I started pushing buttons. “Assuming Stig never got around to changing the gate code, it’s eleven, fifteen, ninety-two.”

  As soon as I entered the last digit, there was the whirring of a motor and the gate smoothly swung open.

  I started to walk up the drive and turned to see Roberto still standing at the gate.

  “Wait a minute,” he said, clearly confused and slightly suspicious. “How did you know the code to Stig Stephens’ front gate?”

  “It’s a long story,” I said. “Hurry up. Let’s cut through to the end of the property. If I remember correctly, we should be able to hop over the wall in the back without any problems.”

  ~~~~

  We skirted along the wall as we walked toward the vast bulk of Camelback Mountain. The landscaping at Stig’s estate was lush, beautiful, and well maintained. The property reminded me of one of Tony’s resorts.

  After walking past two hundred yards of palm trees and tropical foliage, we had made it past the central part of the house. We were getting to the point where I could see the back of the property, where Camelback Mountain jutted up.

  A voice called out to us. “Hey, you two. Stop.” The voice was coming from somewhere above us, and it sounded familiar.

  I looked up to see Jerry Phifer, Stig’s long-time business manager, standing on a balcony on the house’s second floor. He had a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

  He wore an open terrycloth robe despite the cool December temperatures, which revealed a pair of red swim trunks and two boney white legs. His hair had grown longer and was even more unkempt than usual.

  “Hey, Jerry,” I called out. “It’s me, Laura Black.”

  “Laura? Long time, no see. What are you doing out there?”

  “I’m working on an assignment. We heard there might be some trouble next door.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I think you’re right. It sounded like someone was shooting over there a few minutes ago. I’ve been trying to look over the wall, but I can’t tell what’s going on.”

  “A friend of mine might be in the house. We’re going over to check it out.”

  “Sure thing,” Jerry said. “But if you’re going to jump the wall, go all the way to the back. It’s only about four feet high where it butts up against Camelback.”

  “Thanks, Jerry,” I called back.

  “You do know that’s Oswald Knight’s house, right? He has security guards. You want me to call the police or anything?”

  “No, I think we’ll be okay.”

  Jerry shrugged his shoulders then seemed to have an idea. “Hey, Stig’s having a New Year’s Eve party on Saturday night. I know he’d love to see you again. I think Christine will be here as well. Why don’t you come over? It’ll start up around nine or so. If the gate’s closed, I see you still remember how to get in.”

  “Thanks,” I shouted back. “Unfortunately, I’m going to a wedding on New Year’s Eve. But, sure, feel free to invite me the next time Stig has a party. It would be great to see him again.”

  “Alright then,” he said. “I’ll see you around. Good luck over there.” He lifted his drink in a salute, flicked the cigarette butt into the yard, then turned and went back inside.

  ~~~~

  Roberto and I climbed towards the back of the estate until we came to the nearly vertical rock wall that was Camelback Mountain. As Jerry had said, the wall dividing the two properties at this point was no more than four or five feet high.

  “You stay here,” Roberto said. “There’s only one shotgun. I have a pistol I could give to you, but it’s basically useless for what we’re doing, except as a last resort.”

  “I’m not letting you go in alone. Keep your pistol. With all of the guns in there, I’m sure I’ll be able to pick up something helpful along the way.”

  “Okay,” he said as he shook his head. I wasn’t sure if he seemed glad for the company or not. “But please be careful. I don’t want Max or the black-haired woman with the crazy eyes coming after me if this doesn’t go smoothly.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “They’re both used to me doing stupid things.”

  Roberto unwrapped the shotgun and handed me the sweatshirt. I didn’t want to leave it on the ground, so I tied it around my waist.

  He hopped the wall then let me know the coast was clear. When we’d both made it over, we looked down the hill to the massive house.

  “Everyone went in at a point close to the front gate,” Roberto said. “Should we follow their footsteps or go in through the back?”

  “I’d say the back way. If there’re some bad guys still in the house, they won’t expect it. At least, I hope not.”

  ~~~~

  Roberto called Sebastian to let him know we’d made it over the wall and were about to enter the house.

  Unlike Stig’s professionally maintained estate, Oswald Knight’s landscaping mainly consisted of dirt and rocks with a few dry and stunted bushes. From the dead trees and bits of trash that had accumulated over the years, I could see that the Knight family’s fortune had indeed dwindled.

  We made it to what looked like the bedroom wing of the house. With the slope of the hill, this would form the upper story of a two-story house. We tried the first sliding glass door we came to, but it was locked.

  Not wanting to make a lot of noise by breaking it, we went to the next door along the perimeter. This one opened smoothly.

  Roberto went in first, shotgun at the ready. I quietly slipped in behind him.

  The bedroom we entered was lived in and was nicely furnished but very messy. Dirty clothes, food wrappers, and empty beer bottles were in several piles scattered around the room. The effect was to give the place the aroma of a locker room next to a trash dumpster.

  We stopped and listened, but the house was completely quiet. I think I would’ve felt better about it if there’d been some noise in the distance.

  We left the bedroom and went down a long hallway. Although it was beautiful with polished marble floors and white Greek columns, I was struck by the lack of furniture or any sort of artwork on the walls. It didn’t look like any sort of mansion I’d ever been in before.

  We went around a corner and saw a uniformed guard on the floor. His back was against a stone balcony railing.

  He was alive, but his face looked like someone had kicked it a couple of times. It was puffy and red, with one eye swollen completely shut. He held a revolver in his limp hand and seemed to be waiting for something or someone.

  When the guard saw us, it seemed to focus his attention. With surprising speed, the guard lifted the revolver, his one remaining eye on Roberto.

  Roberto swung the shotgun up, and they both fired off a shot. I heard a grunt of pain next to me. Roberto had fallen to the floor and was clutching the upper part of his leg.

  The beanbag had glanced off the guard’s arm, but he didn’t seem to notice he’d been hit. He slowly lifted the revolver and pointed it at Roberto, trying to finish him off. I could see the gun sway in the guard's hands as he tried to regain his focus.

  “Watch out,” I yelled at Roberto.

  Roberto quickly regained his senses and managed to swing the shotgun around. He racked in another shell, sighted the gun, and fired.

  This time, the beanbag hit the guard squarely in the chest. He let out a grunt, and his eye rolled up in his head. The guard’s revolver clattered to the marble floor as he toppled over.

  From what I could tell, the bullet had put a crease through the outside of Roberto’s leg. He
was grimacing in pain and had started to bleed. I untied the sweatshirt and gave it to him to hold against the wound.

  I thought he’d be okay once we got him to a doctor. Still, Roberto would be out of commission for the rest of this fight. I helped him move against a wall where he could have some protection.

  “I’m going to see if I can find Max and Danielle,” I said. “I don’t think the guard will give you any trouble, but I’m going to disarm him anyway.”

  “Okay,” Roberto said through gritted teeth. He racked the shotgun, the spent shell clattering to the floor. “You take this. I’ll still have my pistol.”

  As I walked toward the balcony, I noticed the area had a strong medicinal smell. The guard had passed out and was completely limp.

  A pair of handcuffs were in his belt, and I used them to secure his hands behind his back. I then picked up his revolver and tossed it into one of the rooms, further down the hall.

  The medicine smell was even more pungent as I looked over the balcony railing to the floor below. Max, Gabriella, Carson, and Largo were sprawled out on the polished marble floor of a short rectangular room.

  I recognized it from the map Barrett had drawn. He said the hallway was part of the house’s security system.

  I had a brief moment of panic as I saw their unmoving bodies. But as I looked closer, I could see they were all breathing.

  I knew I needed to go down and make sure they were alright, but I didn’t know if any other bad guys were still in the house. I carefully made my way around the balcony and found a sweeping marble staircase.

  Shotgun in front of me, I crept down to the first floor and found the door to the room where everyone was passed out. It was locked from the outside, but it was easy enough to open.

  As I swung the door wide, the medicine smell rolled over me. Although I desperately wanted to rush in to check on everyone, I stepped back to let the room air out.

  After waiting for almost a full minute, the smell had mostly gone away. I went in to make sure everyone was alright.

  Gabriella and Carson were moaning and weakly moving their limbs. Señor Largo was still out, but he seemed to be breathing without difficulty.