No Good Deed

by Ali Franklin

  Something moved in her peripheral vision and she turned her head. Gus had vanished from sight. She cursed inside but refused to let the men see her frustration.

  “Lipinski, come out from behind the car. Jack is on his way. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

  Lipinski did come out from behind the car. But he was holding a weapon. He sauntered toward Nicki.

  “It looks like it’s you against me, ‘Chief,’” he sneered. He looked back toward his friends. “Who do you think will win this here showdown, boys? The campus cop or the Sheriff’s detective?” He waved his gun while he talked.

  Then Gus looked like he had a new thought. He turned back to the car, reached in, and pulled Ryan out. He cocked his pistol and set the muzzle against Ryan’s temple.

  Without a word, Nicki put the safety on her weapon and laid it down. She kicked it toward Lipinski. Chase picked it up.

  “Get something to tie her up,” said Gus. Chase ran into the house, still holding the gun.

  Nicki walked toward the car. Her only play now was to convince them to take her along, not to leave her tied up at the house. She raised her hands, then clasped her fingers behind her head and leaned chest first over the trunk of Gus’s car.

  Recognizing the move from every cop show ever, Dexter ran over and started patting her down.

  “Take it easy,” said Nicki. “I can still kill you with my bare hands.”

  Dexter grunted and continued to feel up the insides of her legs. When he got to her butt, he made a smart-ass comment about how much she must work out to keep her “ass so tight.” He reached around her waist and removed her duty belt. Then he found and confiscated her phone.

  Chase came out with a roll of heavy twine, which he used to tie Nicki’s hands behind her back. She turned her head to make eye contact with Ryan and mouthed the words, “It’s OK.” Ryan remained silent.

  When Chase was finished, Gus checked Nicki’s bindings.

  “Good. She’s not going anywhere.” The detective looked at the brothers. “Put them both in the back. Dexter, you sit in the middle.”

  Dexter started to protest, but Gus raised the gun a few inches, cutting him off. Dexter pushed Ryan back into the car and pulled Nicki in behind him.

  Jack Prieto exited the little room rubbing his face with both hands. He looked at the other detective who’d been in the interrogation with him.

  “I can’t remember the last time an interrogation went that long. This guy is a real piece of work.”

  The other detective nodded. “My wife’s going to kill me for missing dinner.”

  They parted ways and Jack went to his desk. He pulled his phone from the drawer to find seven messages from Nicki Statton. His heart skipped a beat. Had something happened at the campus?

  He listened to the most recent message first, then pressed the number to call her back. She didn’t answer. He tried again. Still nothing, so he left a message:

  Statton, it’s Prieto. I got your message and I’m on my way. Don’t do anything till I get there.

  He hung up and called Dispatch to send two units to the Arrington’s address. He couldn’t find Gus, so he scribbled a note and stuck it on his partner’s desk phone. Then he ran for his car.

  He wasn’t even out of the parking lot by the time the dispatcher called to tell him there was no one at the Arrington’s house.

  “I’m going to give you a number,” Jack told the dispatcher. “I want you to do everything you can to tell me where that phone is.” He pulled the phone away from his ear long enough to find Nicki’s number and read it aloud. “This is priority one.”

  “Don’t worry, Detective. We’ll find it.”

  Chapter 23

  Ryan watched as Gus got in the driver’s seat. He turned to look at the passengers in the back.

  “You girls keep your mouth shut until we get there, you understand? There won’t be any bathroom breaks and we’re not stopping for snacks.” He waggled the gun, then laid it on the dash. “We’re going to have a nice, quiet trip.”

  He pulled out of the driveway and zigzagged through town until they reached the highway. Ryan’s mind raced as they left town going east on I-30. On one hand, she was glad Nicki was with her. On the other hand, they might both die today.

  She tried to lean forward to see if Nicki had any ideas, but Dexter wouldn’t even let them make eye contact. Then she heard Nicki whisper something to Dexter. The man grunted. She heard more sounds and Dexter nodded his head.

  Ryan imagined Nicki was doing something to try to get Dexter on her side. Wasn’t that what they always did in the movies? Tried to get the bad guy to realize he had something in common with his victim? She was sure Nicki would use every tactic she knew to give the women an edge.

  The uneventful trip continued for two hours, until Gus turned off the highway onto a smaller road. Then he turned onto an even smaller road, which changed from blacktop to gravel after another thirty minutes. Not long after that, he turned onto a tiny road with a fence blocking the way. He got out of the car, manipulated a combination lock, and removed the chain holding the gate closed. Then he drove through the gate and repeated the process in reverse.

  Ryan memorized every move he made, in case they had a chance to get out of there. She knew Nicki was doing the same.

  The car arrived at a log cabin. Gus pulled around one side so the car was not visible from the little dirt road. Ryan took in the surroundings. It didn’t help—this place looked as desolate as any in East Texas. They weren’t going to get help from any neighbors out here.

  Gus got out and opened Ryan’s door. He motioned for Chase to do the same for Nicki. Ryan got out and Dexter followed, taking Ryan’s arm. They all stood in the shade of the Live Oak trees and looked around.

  “Nice place,” said Chase.

  Gus nodded. “Hunting cabin.” He looked at Ryan and Nicki. “There’s nobody out here, so don’t bother screaming.”

  Gus led the way into the little structure. It was dark and musty. The curtains were closed and when Chase flicked the light switch, nothing happened. Gus grunted.

  “I need to go turn on the power. You guys put the girls in a corner somewhere.” He hung his keys on a hook by the front door and walked back outside.

  Ryan looked at Nicki. Something was up. Her friend was darting her eyes from Ryan to Dexter and from Dexter to the back room. Nicki made the slightest nod of her head and Ryan understood.

  “Dexter,” said Ryan. “I need to use the bathroom. You can come with me to make sure I don’t try to run.” Ryan looked at Nicki, who was nodding her head almost imperceptibly. Whatever Nicki’s plan was, Ryan hoped it was a good one.

  Ryan held onto Dexter’s arm as he led her to one of the closed doorways leading off of the main room. It was a bedroom. The second was also a bedroom, but the bathroom was in the back. They went in and he checked the bathroom for escape routes. Seeing that there were none, he allowed Ryan to enter the bathroom by herself.

  “I hope you can take care of your business with your hands cuffed.”

  Ryan nodded and went into the little room. She closed the door most of the way but didn’t lock it. Almost immediately, she heard muffled sounds and a few thuds from the front of the house. She limped into the bedroom to find Dexter gone.

  Nicki shouted and Ryan hobbled into the main room. The chief was lying on her back on the floor. Chase stood over her, holding her gun. Nicki held her bent arm close to her chest, wincing in pain.

  “You bitch,” Chase was shouting. “You think you’re gonna beat me up?”

  Ryan ran to her friend and knelt. “Nicki, what happened? Are you okay?” Ryan’s fingertips grazed Nicki’s right arm. The chief winced and pulled it away.

  “I’m fine,” said Nicki. “But I think he broke my arm.”

  Gus came in through the front door and stopped short. “What the hell happened?” No one said anything for a few seconds. Gus took a deep breath. In a voice that demonstrated his desire to rem
ain calm he said, “Chase, would you like to tell me what happened here?”

  Chase walked a few feet away from Nicki and pointed. “She got untied during the drive. As soon and Dexter and Ryan went into the other room, she attacked me.”

  Ryan smiled to herself. Atta baby, Nicki. The chief wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

  Gus pulled his gun from his waistband. “I should waste you right here, Statton.” He reached into his pocket and tossed a small key to Chase. “Put those cuffs on Statton.”

  The detective’s phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “I need to take this. Put the girls in that bedroom.” He pointed toward the room Ryan had been in earlier. “They can’t get out of there.” He walked back out the front door.

  Chase held the gun while Dexter removed the handcuffs from Ryan and told Nicki to hold her hands out in front of her. Dexter then put the handcuffs on Nicki. Ryan could tell the movement hurt her friend, whose swelling arm was already as big as a melon. But Nicki wasn’t a complainer. And she didn’t want the men to know that, even injured and handcuffed, she’d do everything she could to escape.

  Once they were alone in the bedroom, Ryan put her arms around Nicki, careful to stay on her uninjured left side. “You gonna be okay?”

  Nicki’s smile looked forced. “I’ll be fine. Let’s look around for anything that can help us.”

  Ryan was stunned for a moment at Nicki’s single-minded focus. The chief wouldn’t even stop for a moment to let herself catch a breath. Of course, they wouldn’t have many breaths left if they didn’t get out of here.

  They examined the room inch by inch. They checked under the bed and between the mattress and box spring. They checked every drawer in the dresser. They checked every nook and cranny in the small bathroom. Finally, they looked in the armoire that sat in the bedroom’s far corner.

  “Bingo,” said Nicki. She reached beneath a pile of shoes on its bottom shelf and came out with a dusty rifle. Even cuffed and injured, she managed to inspect the weapon.

  “See if you can find any shells,” said the chief.

  They inspected the entire room again, with no luck. Nicki hefted the weapon in her hand, trying to find a good way to balance it.

  “We may not be able to shoot it,” she said, “but we can still use it as a weapon.” She grimaced as she tried to swing it with her injured arm.

  Ryan reached for it. “I know you’re the pro here, but I can swing with two good arms. She grabbed the stock and took up a batting stance, wincing inwardly at the pain still evident in both hands.

  “That’s backwards,” said Nicki. “You want the heavy part of your weapon to be the part that’ll come into contact with your target.”

  Ryan flipped the weapon so she was holding the barrel. “Got it.” She took a few practice swings, wincing as she turned her still-aching hip. “So what do we do?”

  “We have to take them out one by one.” Nicki looked around the room. “And once we do, we’ll have to tie them up.”

  Ryan walked to the narrow windows on the outside wall and lifted the string that maneuvered the Venetian blinds. “Will this do?”

  “We can make it work,” said Nicki. “Can you cut it with something?”

  Ryan laid the rifle on the bed. She walked to the bathroom and looked through the drawers again, this time finding a key. She used it to cut through the heavy string, then pulled it from the mechanism. She repeated the process on the other blind.

  Nicki was trying to tear the electrical cord from the lamp on the nightstand, but it was difficult to work handcuffed and with only one good hand. Every time she tried to use her injured right hand, spasms of pain shot from her arm through her chest. Ryan joined her. Together, they managed to separate the cord from the lamp.

  Ryan pulled a few webbed belts from the dresser and they threw their stash next to the gun on the bed. Nicki grabbed a few pairs of socks and added them to the pile.

  “We can use these as gags,” said Nicki. She pointed to the pile. “Let’s hide these in the bathroom. We don’t want them to get wind of what we’re doing until it’s too late.”

  Ryan nodded and gathered the strings, cord, and socks into her arms. She stuffed them in the cabinet under the bathroom sink. Then she returned to the bedroom and pointed to the gun.

  “So how do you want to do this?”

  “I think I can get Dexter to come in here,” said Nicki. “During the drive, I found out he hates the fact that he’s the little brother. Chase and Gus never let him forget it. He might trust me enough to come in here if I call him.”

  She took a few steps and stood squarely in front of Ryan, her face inches away. “Regardless of who comes in here, if he’s alone, we have to disable him. Chase and Dexter are big men, and I don’t think I can take them like this.” She held up her cuffed wrists. “That means you have to knock somebody out with that gun.”

  “I understand,” said Ryan.

  “You swing that thing like your life depends on it, Ry.” She paused. “Because it does.”

  Ryan closed her eyes and visualized crashing the butt of the rifle into Chase’s skull. She had to be prepared to do that three times today. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

  “I’m ready. Get him in here.”

  Chapter 24

  A moment later, they heard Chase and Dexter approaching the bedroom door. Nicki reached down and pushed the rifle over the far end of the bed so it wouldn’t be seen. She pointed, directing Ryan to pick it up once one of the brothers entered.

  Dexter burst into the room. “I gotta pee,” he said, walking to the bathroom. Nicki watched him pass, then walked to the bedroom door. Chase was moving toward the kitchen. Nicki silently closed the door.

  Ryan lifted the gun by the barrel. She limped around the end of the bed and took up a position on the far side of the bathroom door. With any luck, Dexter would come out of the bathroom and turn the other way to exit the bedroom. If he did, Ryan could hit him from behind.

  Nicki stood near the bedroom door, hoping to catch Dexter’s attention as he came out of the bathroom. She turned and raised her hands to the base of her skull. “Aim for way up here,” she told Ryan. “And swing hard.”

  Ryan nodded and held the gun behind her body with one hand. They heard the toilet flush. As the doorknob rattled, Nicki called out.

  “I’m surprised they let you come in here by yourself, Dexter.”

  He came out and turned toward the sound. “No kidding. They think I’m a—”

  Ryan focused on the lower half of Dexter’s skull. Keep your eyes on the ball, she told herself, just as she had done through years of softball games. She swung, and the heavy stock hit its target. Ryan could’ve sworn she saw the man’s skull buckle inward. He crumpled soundlessly to the bed.

  Nicki jumped into action. “Grab his other arm and help me drag him into the bathroom.”

  It took a few seconds, and tears streamed down Nicki’s face from the pain in her arm, but they dragged Dexter into the bathroom. They propped him up against the bathtub. Ryan opened the under-sink cabinet while Nicki checked his vital signs.

  “Is he okay?” asked Ryan. “It felt terrible.”

  “He’s fine, but he’ll be out for a while. That was a perfect shot.”

  Ryan used one of the Venetian-blind cords to tie Dexter’s hands behind him, with Nicki offering suggestions as she went. Then Nicki stuffed a sock in his mouth.

  “Chase will be in looking for him any second,” said Nicki. “You should get behind the bedroom door.”

  Ryan’s adrenaline was running so high she was ready to hit someone again, but she could still feel the throbbing in her left ankle. She grabbed the rifle and flattened herself against the wall behind the door.

  “Are you going to call him?” Ryan whispered.

  “I will if you’re ready.”

  Ryan nodded, gripping the muzzle with both hands.

  “Chase,” yelled Nicki. “You’d better get in here. Dexter needs you.�
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  “What the hell, Dexter?” shouted Chase, walking toward the door. “What is it now?”

  He came into the room to see Nicki pointing toward the open bathroom door. He stopped for a moment.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You’d better see for yourself,” said Nicki.

  Chase huffed and took two steps toward the bathroom. Ryan stepped forward and swung for the fences.

  The stock landed squarely on Chase’s right ear. He staggered into the wall, knocking two framed pictures to the floor. He turned around to see who had hit him. This time, Ryan called on her golfing skills.

  Chase doubled over in agony and fell on the floor, holding his groin. Nicki grabbed her gun from his waistband while Ryan shoved a sock in his mouth. Nicki held the gun on him while Ryan used the other cord from the blinds to tie his hands. Then Ryan grabbed Nicki’s phone and the key to the handcuffs from his front pants pocket. Finally, the women maneuvered Chase into the bathroom and sat him next to his brother.

  Ryan uncuffed Nicki and watched as her friend massaged her arm.

  “How does it feel?” Ryan asked.

  “I’ll be okay.”

  Ryan nodded, but she noticed that Nicki couldn’t keep the pain from reaching her eyes.

  “How do we make sure they don’t run off?”

  The chief jerked her head toward the brothers. “We just have to keep them here long enough to get away.”

  She saw Chase, whose eyes were wide with shock at seeing his brother unconscious. “Chase, do you want to take a nap with your brother?”

  His eyes got wider and he shook his head furiously.

  “Then don’t cause any problems.” She stood and looked at Ryan. They walked into the bedroom, closing the bathroom door.

  Nicki checked her weapon. It was still loaded. She left the safety on. “You got my phone?”

  Ryan pulled it from her pocket and held it toward her friend. Nicki reached out and placed her thumb on the fingerprint sensor but didn’t take it.

  “Call Jack,” she said. She walked to the bedroom door. “I’m going to listen for Gus.”