“This is a technology-free trip for us,” an older male proudly announced. “It’s a way of reconnecting, as a family.”
Vance scoffed and looked at the extended family of four adults and five kids. Two of the kids looked as though they were in high school. Vance zeroed in on the girl, a short blonde with an unhappy expression on her face and waggled a finger at her.
“I need to borrow your phone.”
“You heard my grandfather,” the girl said, as she shook her head, “there are no cell phones allowed on this trip.”
“I don’t have time to argue this,” Vance snapped. “We’re after a killer, and he’s gonna get away if you don’t loan me your phone. Now, please, hand it over.”
“But…” the girl protested.
“There’s no way you would have left your phone behind,” I added, coming to Vance’s aid. I then met the disapproving stares coming from the girl’s parents and grandparents. “She’s not going to be in trouble, is that understood?”
The girl reluctantly slid a purple, blinged-out cell phone case out of her back pocket and handed it to Vance.
“Teresa!” the older man scowled. “You said…”
“Another time,” Vance interrupted. “Teresa, you’re my new best friend. I’m Detective Vance Samuelson, and I’m commandeering this phone. I’ll get it back to you, okay?’
“Will it really help catch a killer?” Teresa eagerly asked. “Oh, that is soooo going up on my page!”
“Thank you all for your help,” I said, as I turned to follow Vance.
“Zack?” Vance asked, several minutes later. “Where’d you land?”
“Remember that first lateral, as Mick called it?”
“Where the river first narrowed and the water sped up?”
I nodded, “Right. I landed in there.”
“Ash must be nearby. I’ll call it in.”
“You know, you didn’t have to take that girl’s phone,” I told my friend.
“We needed a phone, pal. I don’t have mine.”
I unzipped my suit and pulled out my phone.
“But, I’ve got mine.”
“You went in the water,” Vance reminded me, without bothering to turn around. He was busy dialing numbers on Teresa’s phone. “We need a working phone. I… well, I’ll be damned. Had a premonition, did you?”
I held up the clear plastic bag in which I had sealed my phone.
“Not really.”
“Then why the bag?” Vance wanted to know. He finished dialing and held the glittery purple phone to his ear.
“Let’s just say I didn’t want to be the one to ruin it.”
Vance turned to look back at me. “Huh?”
“I was afraid I might pee on it, pal.”
Vance snorted with laughter. “We weren’t supposed to jump, buddy. Why… Detective Samuelson here. The operation to apprehend Jerod Jones was a bust. We were all drugged. For all I know, the plane… what’s that? It’s already landed? Good for them. I’m glad to hear they’re all safe. Us? Me and Zack. Yeah, him. We were, uh, forced to deplane at 12,000 feet. Mm-hmm, that’s right. Our pal Jerod insisted. Now listen carefully. We still have a chance to apprehend Jerod.”
We did? Since when? Curious as hell, I sidled closer to Vance.
“I managed to slip my cell in Jerod’s jumpsuit. We already know he’s a quick-change artist, so he’s bound to discover my phone sooner rather than later. We need to trace my cell phone as soon as possible. Yes, exactly. Yes, I’ll hold.”
“How the hell did you get your cell phone in his jumpsuit?” I quietly asked.
“Remember the turbulence? When Ash and I both stumbled into Jerod, and we all went down, I managed to tuck my cell into his shirt. Oh, don’t look at me like that. He’ll figure it out, if he hasn’t already done so.”
“That’s why we need to act now,” I guessed. “Nice one, buddy! Where do you think…”
“I’m here,” Vance interrupted. “Yes, sir. It’s me, Chief Nelson. No, I’m using a civilian’s phone. Mine is hopefully still with the fugitive. The marshal? He was drugged, but still… uh… well, he’s a persistent guy. He followed the three of us out the plane. Yes, I can tell you where to find him.”
As Vance relayed instructions on where the marshal could be found, and request an ambulance at the same time, I heard the sounds of an approaching engine. Turning, intent on flagging the motorist down, I raised my arms. But, when the car came into view, I dropped them both with surprise.
I was staring at my Jeep. Jillian was behind the wheel, and both corgis were in the front seat, with their heads visible above the dash. My Jeep skidded to a stop and before I knew it, my fiancé had rushed out of the car and had thrown her arms around me.
“Zachary! What… oh, my. You’re soaking wet! What happened? When I got word that there had been trouble on the plane, I… I didn’t know what to think.”
“What are you doing here?” I finally managed to say. I gave Jillian an affectionate hug and then noticed both sets of canine eyes on me. “And the dogs? Let me guess. They knew something was up?”
Jillian nodded, “I’ll say. One minute, they’re as calm as could be. And the next? Both jumped off the couch and started running in circles, like something had spooked them. Once I let them outside, they ran straight for your Jeep. That’s when I knew something bad had happened.”
“And you used your phone to track my phone,” I guessed. “Nicely done, my dear. Now, could I drive? We need to see if we can nab ourselves one over-confident, pain-in-the-ass mass murderer. Vance! Get over here! We’re leaving!”
“Yes, sir,” Vance was saying. “I’ll keep you posted, sir. Yes, sir. It will be from this number. Or Zack’s. Thank you, sir.” The detective finished his call and then looked up at Jillian, with surprise etched all over his face. “What the hell? Where did you come from? How did you get here?”
“Two very displeased dogs indicated something was amiss,” my fiancé said, as she hurried into the passenger seat. “Sherlock? Watson? Back seat. Keep Vance company.”
Both dogs took one look at Vance and practically fought each other to see who’d be first to land in his lap.
“Hi, guys,” Vance said, as he gave each dog a thorough scratching. “I don’t have anything with me now, but as soon as I do, I’ll personally buy each of you a ten pound bag of doggie biscuits.”
“Where to?” I asked, as I pulled out of the campground and headed back to town.
While Vance pulled up his phone’s location, and wrestled with removing the bright red jumpsuit he was wearing, he read off directions. I filled Jillian in on what had happened as we drove.
“You saved Marshal Binson’s life?” Jillian asked, amazed. “I’m so proud of you for keeping your wits about you, Zachary.”
“For the record,” Vance began, “I didn’t know Ash had followed us out of the plane, or I would have… you know… not pulled my own cord so quickly.”
“Don’t sweat it, pal,” I assured my friend. “How much further?’
Vance looked at the purple phone’s display. “He’s close. Look for somewhere to pull off. It looks like the road widens just around that bend. I think he’s there. Stop the car. I had better approach on foot.”
While Jillian and I waited in my Jeep, I turned to the corgis and gave each of them a warm welcome. “Hi, guys. No, I’m okay. Don’t freak out. Watson? It’s not necessary to… okay, fine. Come here. I’ll hold you, just stop wriggling.”
My phone started to ring. I took the call on my stereo and was surprised to hear Chief Nelson’s voice.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Anderson? Is that you? It’s Chief Nelson.”
Jillian’s eyebrows shot up, as did mine. What was he calling me for?
“Hey there, Chief Nelson. If you’re looking for Vance, he’s checking out the area his phone is supposed to be located. It’s just around the bend from us.”
“Please tell him Marshal Binson has been located.”
> “Is he okay?” I worriedly asked.
“He is, yes. His chute became tangled with several trees, and he was suspended nearly twenty feet off the ground, but the paramedics got him down. He’s got a few broken ribs, but other than that, he’ll be fine. And I hear that’s all thanks to you.”
“I did what had to be done, sir,” I said, shrugging.
“Mm-hmm. I don’t know about that. Have Vance call me when he can.”
“Will do, sir.”
“I’m glad he’s okay,” Jillian softly said. She took my hand in hers and her eyes teared up. “That was close, Zachary. Too close. I don’t want to lose you.”
“And you won’t,” I promised, giving her hand a kiss. “How do I know this? By staying the hell off planes for the foreseeable future.”
Vance appeared at the door and hurriedly let himself in.
“Son of a bitch found the phone,” Vance grumbled. “I should have known. The little turd even left a note.”
“On your phone?” I asked, surprised.
“No, by my phone. It was sitting there, on a stump. Next to it was a piece of paper and a rock, to hold it down. He knew I would be tracking it. Come on, we need to get back to town. Hey, could I borrow your phone? I need to call Tori as soon as possible.”
“Sure, pal,” I said, as I handed the phone back to him. “Chief Nelson called. Wants you to call him when you get a chance.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Vance mumbled, as he hastily dialed a number. “Tor? It’s me. Listen, I… what? You heard about the plane, too? Hey, there’s nothing to worry about. Both Zack and I are fine. I don’t know about Ash as of yet…”
“He’s going to be fine,” I softy whispered. “He’s been found. A few broken ribs, but he’ll survive.”
Vance nodded his thanks. “What’s that? No, there’ll be no more trips like that for me. I’ll take my mid-life crisis, thank you very much. Listen, don’t worry about that right now. I need you to get the girls and get out of the house. Go down to the station, would you? Why? Well, I just want you to be safe.”
Alarmed, I shared a look with Jillian. What was going on? In response to my unasked question, Vance handed me a slip of paper. On it were the following words:
Cute. Hope it was worth it.
“From Jerod?” I mouthed.
Vance nodded. I haven’t seen him this worried since he had accidentally jabbed himself with a syringe at a crime scene while we were working on a case which involved someone dying by arsenic poisoning.
“They’ll be fine,” I told Vance, as I stomped on the accelerator. “Jerod’s not stupid enough to try for your family, especially not when everyone knows what he looks like.”
“He’s known for changing his appearance,” Vance reminded me. “The smug bastard thinks he can do what he wants, when he wants, and there isn’t anyone to stop him. Well, he’s not gonna get within ten miles of my family.”
“Hear, hear,” I added.
We made it back to town in record time. We were headed east, on Oregon Street, and just made the light at 4th. Turning left, we headed north, toward the police station, when the unimaginable happened. Both dogs suddenly perked up, walked over Vance’s lap, and stared out his window. Sherlock then started firing off warning woofs.
“What are they doing?” Vance wanted to know.
“We’re passing the spot where the Square L used to be,” I pointed out. “It’s part of Gary’s Grocery now. Sherlock has barked at this place for quite a while now.”
“Grocery store,” Vance softly repeated. “No. He’s not that stupid, is he? He wouldn’t be that bold, would he?”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Zack, stop the car. Go back.”
“Go back? To where?”
“The grocery store. I think we need to check it out.”
“But… what about your family?” I protested.
“They’re going to the police station,” my friend reminded me. “They’ll be okay. Hurry, Zack, will you?”
I looked over at Jillian, who shrugged. Flipping on the blinker, I flipped a one-eighty and headed back to the grocery store. I parked next to a highway maintenance truck and turned, expectantly, to Vance.
“Now what?”
Vance shrugged, “I’m not sure. I… wait a minute. I want to check something.”
The detective exited my Jeep and inexplicably squatted next to the maintenance truck parked beside us. After a few moments, Vance nonchalantly rose to his feet, reached through my open window and took my phone off the dash, and quickly sent off a few texts.
“What are you doing?” I quietly asked, as though I was now afraid of being overheard.
“I’m investigating a hunch,” Vance quietly answered. “Do you see those tires? They’re a match for the tracks I found back on that road running parallel to the Rascal.”
“It’s a maintenance truck,” Jillian pointed out. “I’m sure they’ve probably visited quite a few sections of the surrounding area.”
“Probably. I just want to see… Zack, look down. Jillian? Grab that magazine there and pretend to read it. Whatever you do, don’t react to my presence.”
Curious as hell, I complied. I watched, mystified, as Vance dropped into a crouch and concealed himself by my front fender. Anxious to see what he was looking at, I turned in my seat to see an older fellow, wearing a dark green jumpsuit with a bright yellow vest over it, slowly approach the truck. He had a large soda in one hand, and a bag of snacks in the other.
It was Jerod’s father!
As Jason, or Robert, or whatever his real name was, inserted the key to unlock the driver-side door, Vance suddenly appeared behind him and thrust his gun in Jason’s back.
“Hey, pal. Remember me? You look a lot different than the first time I saw you.”
Jason finally turned to see Vance standing behind him. The look on his face was priceless.
“You? What the hell… how did you find…?”
“That’s enough,” Vance ordered. A set of handcuffs were produced and quickly snapped into place. “Where’s your son? Where’s Jerod?”
“You’ll never find him,” Jason sneered. “He’s too smart for the likes of you.”
Right on cue, both dogs squirmed in their seats. I think they heard Jason’s challenge, and both were saying, in their own way, they accept. I quickly unloaded the dogs as the first cop car arrived on the scene. Jason was transferred to the car just as the leashes went taut.
“Jillian, stay put,” Vance ordered. “Zack? Lead the way. Find him for me, buddy.”
Sherlock and Watson pulled us up to the threshold of the grocery store. I knew dogs were not allowed inside an establishment like that, unless, of course, they were service dogs. Well, I mean, yeah, they were performing a service, but not that type of service. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about it. Sherlock veered right as we neared the front entry. A few moments later, we were walking along the outside of the store. Then, as if he couldn’t make up his mind, we changed direction again. This time, we were heading out, across the parking lot. What was that way? Well, if we kept to a straight line, it was one of the Mexican restaurants here, in town: The Lonely Gringo.
My two corgis are fairly well known in town, so the simple act of me walking those two glory-hounds would usually have brought out the townsfolk and their cameras. These two dogs, regardless of where we were, would always end up attracting onlookers. Fortunately for us, no one tried to stop us this time, or take their pictures.
We navigated around a large parcel delivery truck that was parked in the outer grocery store parking lot when we saw him. At least, I think it was him. A young man, with his back to us, was casually – but purposefully – headed toward the restaurant. Just like that, the man changed course again and headed west, on Oregon Street.
Both dogs veered left.
“Is that him?” Vance whispered. “Can you tell?”
“He’s walking with a purpose,” I quietly answered, “and he’s chan
ging direction for no reason that I can see. Vance, I think that’s him.”
I had no sooner finished the sentence when the person we had been following took off like a shot.
“That’s him!” Vance cried, overjoyed. “Give me your phone!”
I slapped my phone in Vance’s outstretched hand. A split second later, my friend tore off after our fugitive once more. Jillian hurried up to me.
“Was that him?”
I nodded, “Yep. He changed directions a few times, no doubt to see if he was being followed. He must have seen his father being apprehended, so he must have pulled off another quick-change. Lucky for us, Sherlock and Watson were having none of that. They kept leading us straight to him. I hope Vance gets him.”
Just then, the two of the four cop cars Vance had summoned to the grocery store peeled out of the parking lot and raced west, on Oregon Street. Apparently, the other two didn’t want to be left out, so they raced off after them, with their sirens so loud it made my ears ring. I waited for the eardrum-splitting noise to fade away, but when it didn’t, both Jillian and I turned left to look west. We couldn’t see the police cars, but we could hear them. Plus, we could see reflections of their flashing lights. I could only hope that Jerod didn’t make it far.
As it turns out, luck had been on Vance’s side. He told me later that night that, while in full pursuit of PV’s Most Wanted, Jerod had been about to duck into an open door along Main Street. My guess was Jerod wanted a few private moments so he could try to change his appearance again and slip quietly away. However, as soon as he stepped foot onto Main Street, and started to run for the door, a small, powder-blue car appeared out of nowhere and knocked him flat on his ass. The driver’s door had opened and the vehicle owner appeared, spitting mad.
“I warned you never to stiff me, darlin’. Karma will come to get you every time, Sugar.”
It was Clara Hanson. From what she told the police, it was just a case of mistaken identity. Clara thought Jerod was Marshal Binson, and since she hadn’t heard from the marshal, had erroneously assumed he was trying to leave town without paying the bill. She had been relentlessly driving through town, looking for him.
Case of the Dysfunctional Daredevils Page 18
