Tj Jensen Cozy Mystery Boxed Set 2: Books 6-10

by Kathi Daley

  Kyle drew lines through the area Grandpa indicated.

  “It does seem this much smaller area should be our target.” Bookman pointed to the smaller section that was left.

  “There are cabins off the dirt road that used to service the old sawmill,” Grandpa said. “If I were a betting man, I’d say we should start here. The cabins are rustic, powered by generators and wood burning stoves and heaters. None of them have plumbing. The cabins utilize outhouses and hand-dug wells. If I wanted to be close to town but still off the grid, this is where I’d hide out.”

  I looked at Kyle. “Let’s check it out.”

  “We’ll all go,” Bookman said once again.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “It could be dangerous.”

  “Which is why we’ll be safer in a group.” Bookman looked at Grandpa. “You still have a couple of hunting rifles?”

  “I do. Haven’t used them in years, but I suppose they might still be functional.”

  Grandpa went for the rifles while Bookman used the gas pumps at the resort’s filling station to top off his tank. Once we were ready, Kyle and I climbed into the van with our troupe of geriatric sleuths. I hated to put the men in danger, but I knew they were clearheaded adults able to make up their own minds.

  There was only one road leading to the old forest service cabins. Bookman followed the highway until Grandpa told him to turn off onto a rutted dirt road. Even though Bookman had a four-wheel drive van, the going became rough. He drove, Grandpa sat in the passenger seat providing directions because he was the most familiar with the area, Doc sat in the middle seat chatting with them, and Kyle and I sat in the very back, holding hands and whispering to each other. It would have been sort of romantic if I wasn’t so terrified. The closer we got to the old sawmill where most of the cabins were, the harder my heart seemed to pound.

  “Once we reach the sawmill, there’ll be two roads,” Grandpa explained. “You’ll see cabins dotted along both roads. The one to the right will take you farther up the mountain, while the one to the left runs parallel to the lake and mostly maintains a constant altitude. If I had to guess, our kidnappers would keep to the left.”

  “Especially if whoever was in the Ford Focus that followed us is part of this whole thing,” I added. “The road that climbs the mountain demands four-wheel drive when you begin to climb. The one leading off to the left is accessible in most cars, although I imagine the undercarriage would get pretty torn up.”

  When we arrived at the sawmill, Bookman pulled over and turned off his headlights. “If we keep going in the van, they’ll hear us coming,” he pointed out. “I suggest a couple of us head out on foot and a couple stay back in case of emergency.”

  “I brought several of the radios we use at the resort so employees can communicate among themselves,” Grandpa said. “They’re short range, good for only a mile, but I wasn’t sure what the cell reception would be up here.”

  “Kyle and I will go. The three of you wait here,” I said. Grandpa was a spry old guy, but he’d already suffered one stroke. I didn’t want him risking his health.

  “I’ll go with you,” Bookman said. “Doc can stay with Ben.”

  Doc didn’t argue, so I didn’t either. Bookman was the youngest of the friends at fifty-nine, and he kept himself in pretty good shape.

  Kyle, Bookman, and I took three of the radios and one of the rifles, while Grandpa and Doc held on to the fourth radio and the second rifle. The first of the cabins was only a hundred yards up the road or so, but from what I could tell, it was completely dark. I tried to breathe regularly as we approached, but no matter how hard I tried not to I couldn’t help but hold my breath. After approaching the cabin, we walked toward the front of the structure and looked in the window. Although the interior was dark, from what we could see, the cabin was deserted.

  “This could take all night,” Kyle said.

  “It could, but it seems to be our best bet,” Bookman reminded him.

  “Should we split up?’ I asked.

  Kyle shook his head. “Too dangerous.”

  We took our time, walking slowly and quietly and peeking into every cabin. We had no way to know if there was anyone inside, and whether they’d be asleep or awake if there was, but the lack of any sort of possessions or supplies as we looked through the windows seemed to indicate which were empty and which might have been recently occupied.

  “Did you hear that?” I asked.

  Everyone stopped walking.

  “Hear what?” Kyle asked.

  “A humming noise. It sounds like a swarm of bees.”

  Both Kyle and Bookman looked silently around the area. The sound was becoming fainter as we listened.

  “I have no idea what that was, but I don’t hear it any longer,” Bookman whispered.

  “Yeah, it’s gone,” I agreed.

  “There are a lot of cabins in the area on generators. The noise we heard could have been a generator turning on and then off again,” Kyle suggested.

  I hoped he was right, because I couldn’t get the idea of a lunatic with a chainsaw out of my mind.

  Once we were convinced the sound we heard was gone, we continued on our way. The cabins in the area were more often vacant than occupied, but we did have the occasional visitor during the summer that was looking for a rustic experience.

  “I see a light ahead,” Kyle whispered.

  We all stopped walking.

  “Should we just go up and knock on the door?” I asked.

  “It’s a risk,” Bookman answered.

  “If we aren’t going to check out occupied cabins, why are we even up here?” I demanded in a voice that sounded a lot angrier than I intended. “I’m sorry,” I said in a softer tone of voice. “I guess the stress is getting to me.”

  “That’s understandable,” Bookman said, sympathy evident in his voice.

  “How about if I go to the door alone. I’ll pretend to be lost. If someone pulls me inside then the two of you can rally the troops and save me,” I suggested.

  “You’re not going up to the house alone,” Kyle insisted.

  “It really is the best way.” I glanced at Bookman. I could see that he agreed with me.

  “It will be less suspicious if Tj goes alone,” Bookman said.

  “Unless the person who took Gina knows what she looks like,” Kyle argued. “I’ll go.”

  “But,” I started.

  Kyle didn’t even respond. He just handed the gun to Bookman and headed toward the door. I held my breath as Kyle knocked on the door and waited. A tall man with a plaid shirt answered. The men spoke for a minute and then Kyle went inside.

  “What is he doing?” I screeched.

  “Shhh,” Bookman reminded me.

  “We need to go and get him.”

  “Give him a minute.”

  I foolishly agreed to do so, not realizing it would be the longest minute of my life. Just when I had reached the point of going after Kyle in spite of Bookman’s wishes, Kyle came back out. I let out the breath I’d been holding and waited.

  “The men inside are here to fish. They all reported seeing a blue sedan coming and going on the road in front of the cabin, but they didn’t know where the people in the blue sedan were staying.”

  “We were followed by men in a blue sedan,” I said. “It could be them.”

  “I think we’re in the right area,” Kyle agreed.

  “So what should we do now?” Bookman asked.

  Kyle looked off into the distance. “Ben said the range on the walkies is a mile. Let’s continue on to that point and then turn around if we haven’t found anything.”

  Bookman and I both agreed.

  It wasn’t until we’d traveled almost to the end of that mile that I noticed a small cabin further off the road than the others. It was dark, but something about it caught my
attention. After looking in the window as we’d been doing as we made our way up the road, I put a finger to my lips and tiptoed to the entry. I saw not only red mud on the stoop, but also a wild lilac bush near the front door.

  “We need to look inside,” I whispered.

  Kyle and Doc nodded.

  I slowly opened the door. Kyle went in first, carrying the rifle, I followed, and Bookman brought up the rear. The cabin appeared to be empty, but unlike the others, it had a lived-in feeling to it. Kyle crept to the bedroom door, holding the rifle in a ready-to-shoot position, while Bookman slowly opened the door. I glanced inside and gasped. “Gina.”

  Chapter 14

  Sunday, August 13

  When we found Gina last night, she was lying on the bed, passed out. At first, I thought she was dead, but then I realized she was breathing. We called for an ambulance and waited there for it to arrive. Once Gina was safely inside the emergency vehicle, we followed down the mountain. By the time we arrived at the hospital, Gina had been taken in for treatment. The woman at the ER reception desk didn’t know anything, so we sat down to wait. It was after two a.m. by the time a doctor came out to tell us she was stable and resting comfortably. I wanted to see her, but he said she was asleep and wouldn’t be able to talk to us until the following day. I didn’t want to leave, but the others persuaded me to head home to get some shut-eye.

  I must have fallen asleep in the van because the next thing I knew, I was waking up in my own bed. I looked over the side, expecting to see Echo, but he wasn’t there. I didn’t remember arriving at the resort, but it seemed Kyle carrying me to bed was quickly becoming our thing.

  I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was eleven thirty. Had I really slept that long? I certainly hadn’t meant to, but it had been days since I’d had any decent sleep. Apparently, I’d been able to relax enough now that Gina was safe to allow my body to shut down and get the rest it needed.

  After I made sure I was fully awake, I rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, then dressed in shorts and a tank top. I piled my wet hair on top of my head and went downstairs.

  “There she is,” Grandpa greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and a hot cup of coffee.

  “I didn’t mean to sleep so long. You should have woken me.”

  “No need,” Grandpa said as he set a plate full of a stack of piping hot pancakes and crispy strips of bacon on the table. I sat down and opened the syrup. “Roy called and said he and Kate had spoken to Gina. He’ll be by later to fill you in on the status of the investigation. In the meantime, he said Gina would be allowed visitors beginning at one.”

  “And Kyle?” I asked as I drizzled syrup over the pancakes.

  “He went home after he got you tucked into bed. He said to call him when you got up and he’d come over with Echo.”

  I took a big bite of the sweet, fluffy pancakes. Suddenly, I was ravenous. When was the last time I’d even eaten? I guessed it must have been the two bites of hamburger I’d had the night before. “I’d like to go by to see Gina, but the girls will be home today.”

  “I can keep an eye on them if Jenna drops them off before you get back from the hospital.”

  “Thanks, Grandpa. I know you’re busy, but I don’t think I’ll be able to relax completely until I see Gina awake with my own two eyes and hear her tell me she’s okay.”

  “I understand. Now finish your pancakes. I’ll call Kyle to tell him you’re awake.”

  By the time I finished my second stack of pancakes and had washed them down with three cups of coffee, Kyle had arrived with Echo. After greeting them both, I went upstairs to finish getting ready. If Gina was allowed visitors at one o’clock, Kyle and I would be there at one o’clock on the dot.

  “Last spring, I was working on a secret project for Jeremy Titan,” Gina informed us after Kyle and I had confirmed she was indeed okay. She’d hit her head when her car hit the tree and had a mild concussion, so the doctor wanted to keep her overnight for observation. If all went well, she’d be released to go home the following day. In the meantime, Kyle and I were keeping her company. She’d already told Kate and Roy most of what she was telling us, but I found I preferred to hear it from her rather than secondhand from Roy. “Jeremy owns several large corporations, all operating under the umbrella of Titan Industries.”

  “I’ve heard of Titan and his companies,” Kyle said. “He’s a visionary who focuses on things that might move mankind forward in terms of technology, transportation, or communication.”

  “Exactly,” Gina confirmed. I was happy to see her eyes were clear and her cheeks were pink. “The man’s a total genius and he isn’t afraid to chase an idea whether others think he has a chance of catching it or not. He’s truly the most spectacular person I’ve ever met.”

  “So how did you manage to get hooked up with a guy like that?” I asked. “Not that you aren’t brilliant and awesome in your own right,” I quickly added.

  Gina laughed. “I’m nowhere near Jeremy’s league and I know it. I doubt I could even get near him now if I didn’t already know him. Jeremy’s an untouchable billionaire, but I was lucky enough to meet him a few years ago when I worked on a project of his while I was in grad school. It was a small project, mapping communication strings on the internet. Our findings didn’t amount to a whole lot then, but in the short time we worked together, I realized he was not only brilliant, but also imaginative and hardworking. I was totally captivated. We became friends and, truth be told, I consider him one of my closest friends even today.”

  “Wow. I can’t believe you’re friends with Jeremy Titan,” Kyle, who appeared to be starstruck, practically drooled. “Do you think you could introduce us?”

  “Sure, if you’re ever in DC.”

  “For the chance to meet Jeremy Titan, I’d make a special trip.”

  Gina smiled. “Okay, I’ll set something up. Maybe you and Tj could take a romantic trip to the East Coast.”

  Kyle smiled and agreed a romantic trip sounded like just the thing, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to compete with someone like Jeremy Titan for Kyle’s attention on the first couple’s trip we took together. I didn’t say as much, however. Instead, I asked, “So how does the fact that you participated in this project relate to what happened over the past couple of days?”

  “The project I was recruited to work on this past spring was a new communications system called SCABS. I can’t go into detail, but suffice it to say, the concept is unique and daring. All I did in April was work out the math needed to make the concept a reality based on the specs provided by a physicist, an engineer, and a few others who were also working on the project. Bringing the concept to reality won’t be an inexpensive venture, but Jeremy has plans to build a prototype after he has the chance to sell the idea to a few investors.”

  That made sense. Even if you were a billionaire, it was smart to use other people’s money when you could.

  “Somehow, word about the project got out,” Gina continued. “I don’t know how the concept was leaked because very few people knew what we were doing, but someone must have talked. Anyway, I received a phone call from Jeremy at the end of June, saying he was going to have to move up the timeline he’d originally worked out to launch a working prototype so he could patent it before his competitor beat him to the starting gate. He wanted to know if I’d be available to meet with one of the astrophysicists working on the project, and I said I would. Jeremy said he’d be in touch with the details, so at that point I just went on with my life.”

  “What does this have to do with Bristow?” I asked.

  “Hang on, I’m getting to that.” Gina took a sip of water before she continued. “For you to understand everything, I’ll need to weave several threads together chronologically, but in the end, you should have the whole picture.”

  “Okay. Sorry,” I said. “Go on.”


  Gina nodded, then continued. “Right about the same time Jeremy contacted me, I found out my dad had had a heart attack. He and I aren’t all that close and I hadn’t seen him for quite some time, but my cousin called because he thought I should know what was going on, despite the fact that my dad had chosen not to call me to fill me in himself. According to my cousin, Dad was fine and even home already, but he said his insurance had lapsed and it looked as if he was going to lose his home if he couldn’t come up with the money to pay the hospital at least part of what he owed. I wanted to help, but I didn’t have nearly enough saved, so I put out a few feelers to friends and associates, letting them know I was looking for some summer work. A few days later, I was contacted by Striker Bristow. He had a development he was trying to get approved and he thought he might need help to do it. I’m not sure where he got my name, but he was offering me an obscene amount of money for only a couple of months’ work. I decided to meet with him and look at his proposal. It wasn’t bad, but it did need some work, so I decided to take him up on his offer. I knew I could help him develop a plan that would meet his goals and benefit the community, and in the process, I would earn the money I needed to help my dad with his debt.”

  I wanted to point out that Bristow was an ass and therefore unworthy of Gina’s help, but I decided to hold my tongue, especially because the reason she needed the money was a good one.

  “About a week after I signed on with Striker,” Gina went on, “I received an email from a man claiming to be my half-brother. I hadn’t seen Spencer since I was a toddler and didn’t remember him at all. We shared a mother who died when I was just two, but because we were both raised by our fathers, we hadn’t crossed paths. I thought the timing a little odd, but I’d always wanted to meet him, and he seemed to know things only my brother would know. I agreed to have him come here for a visit, but almost immediately after he arrived and we spent time together, I started to have my doubts about him.”

  “Which is why you asked Hunter to do a DNA test,” I supplied.