Stalking the Phoenix

by Karen Woods

  I touched her face. “Are you okay? And sprout?”

  She smiled at me. “We’re both fine, Geoff. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “Wonderful. Well, are you going to open any more of the presents?”

  “Now you sound like a little kid at Christmas,” she teased.

  “Of course. It’s infectious . . . I can imagine all the Christmases after this next one with kids wandering around down here, like I used to, shaking boxes and peeping into stockings hanging by the fire. We are going to have such a good life together, you and I.”

  ‘Licia’s smile was wistful. “I know.”

  “Now open those presents, woman . . .”

  The gifts were a mixture of practical, elegant, and whimsical. Finally, there was only one package remaining to be opened. The music died away as the CD finished playing.

  ‘Licia rose from the floor to clear away the wrapping paper and to carry the presents into the dining room where all the wedding gifts were being displayed.

  Then she returned to the living room. I was looking at the package. I motioned for her to be quiet.

  “What is it?” she whispered.

  “Hush! I thought that I heard a sound coming from the box. Listen.”

  ‘Licia looked at the box, noticing for the first time that it hadn’t been delivered by UPS. In fact, there were no markings on the parcel except for a typed name label.

  The guards were keeping an eye on the house. ‘Licia went to get the man who was guarding the front door.

  Tall, muscular, and thick-necked, James Brodwell, definitely looked like a bodyguard. Either that or a thug. But, then again, how do you easily tell the difference?

  He took a look at the package.

  “Do you have someplace big enough so that I could submerge this?” James, the bodyguard, asked almost too casually.

  “Is it a bomb?” ‘Licia demanded, not buying the casual tone.

  “I don’t know. But, I don’t like it,” James said.

  “The laundry room has a large sink,” I told him. “You go immerse it, I’ll call Phil.”

  Chapter 27

  PHIL

  I stormed into the house with two uniformed officers in tow. “Good grief, Al! Can’t you stay out of trouble for even eight hours?”

  “Very funny, Phil,” she said in a voice which told me that she found the situation anything except amusing.

  “What do you have here?”

  “I hope nothing. But, the package was making a rhythmic sound. And it had neither a return address nor any sort of postage/ UPS marks. It looks as though the package was simply placed on the porch, among the rest of the wedding presents,” she told me quietly with strain in her voice.

  “So you decided to drown it?”

  I know that my anger was reflected in my voice. If I hadn’t immediately realized that, I would have known how harsh my voice had sounded by the way that she had flinched.

  “Don’t you know that you should have left this for us? Water won’t hurt some bombs. And then there are designs that could use being immersed as a trigger. This was a profoundly stupid thing to do.”

  Al blanched.

  James Brodwell, one of the bodyguards whom Geoff had hired, spoke up. “I take the responsibility for that decision.”

  “Well,” I said. “It’s far too late to second guess this. Let’s see what we have here. Al, why don’t you get out of here.”

  “Maybe I would rather stay,” she responded.

  “This could get messy. It would be better if you were out of harms’ way,” I told her.

  “I can take care of myself,” she replied.

  “I know that, Al. However, you have more than just yourself to consider. There is someone who can’t take care of himself. Consider him.”

  Al sighed. “You’re right.” Then she turned and left the room without another word.

  I looked at the bodyguard, then at the officers whom I had brought with me. “Well, this is one drawback of being on a small force. We have to do everything ourselves. Shall we begin?”

  Cautiously, I slit the wet paper on the top of the package. Using a flashlight, I looked inside the wrapping, down the upright sides of the parcel for trigger strings coming from the packaging. Finding none, I peeled the paper from the piece of luggage.

  I looked for a long minute at the overnight case. A brass plate on the front of the tan leather case was engraved with AMJ, Al’s initials. Very slowly, I turned the case around. Several half inch holes had been drilled in the backside of the case. Water still drained from the punctures. With the flashlight, I looked into those holes.

  Scales. Reptilian Scales.

  I barely suppressed a shudder. With most wildlife, I could adopt a policy of live and let live. But, I hated snakes with a passion. This was a snake: probably not a pleasant one, if snakes could ever be pleasant. Personally, I had never met a snake I could like.

  “I’m not going to open it,” I said firmly. “We’ll take it over to Glenna Clarey’s and have her x-ray it. She should be able to identify the creature from the x-ray.”

  “What is it?” John, the bodyguard asked.

  “Look for yourself,” I said as I handed over the flashlight.

  “Holy sh . . .” John exclaimed, then caught himself. “Timber rattler.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Hell, yes,” the bodyguard replied. “I’ve seen enough of them while hunting. The color of the scales is distinctive.”

  Al hadn’t been in the living room for more than a couple of minutes when I walked in. She had obviously been pacing the room.

  “Well?” she asked.

  I sighed. “Do yourself a favor. Don’t open any other presents until we can x-ray them. Don’t eat any candy sent to you. Check your car before you start it. Be careful. Be very careful.”

  “You are frightening me,” Al replied.

  I nodded. “I intend to. You have cause to be frightened. Not holding onto that fear could prove fatal. You know that, Al. You’ve told me virtually the same thing yourself. Just be extra careful.”

  “Then it was a bomb?” Geoff demanded.

  “No. It wasn’t a bomb.”

  “Don’t tell me that I ruined a clock?” Al teased.

  “It wasn’t a clock.”

  Geoff looked at me. “Care to tell us what it was?”

  I knew that tone. It was one he used frequently in cross-examining hostile witnesses.

  “It was a rattlesnake.”

  Al looked at me in open disbelief. “A rattlesnake?” she croaked.

  “If you had opened it, the snake would have struck, probably repeatedly.”

  Al crossed herself as she sank into a chair. “A rattlesnake?”

  “John ID’d it from the scales. I’ve sent the cruiser over to Glenna Clarey’s with it. The vet should be able to give us a positive identification of the species,” I responded. “While people don’t usually die of snakebite, I’d say that someone definitely wanted to make his point.”

  “Lord,” Geoff prayed.

  Al’s color became even more pasty. “I feel ill . . .”

  I nodded. “I’d be worried about you, if you didn’t. The bodyguards and two of my men will be, with your permission, searching the house to make certain that there are not any other little nasty surprises around.”

  Geoff nodded. “Go ahead. Can you take a look at my cars as well?”

  “No problem. You ought to know that the snake was delivered in an overnight case.”

  “The overnight case? Was it the one of mine which disappeared during our trip to Chicago?”

  “The case was tan leather. The initials on a brass plate on the front of the case were AMJ.”

  She drew a deep breath. “I was afraid of that.”

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “About as well as I could expect to be,” she said. “I’d like to lay down for a while.”

  “Let us check your room first. The last thing that we
need is some kind of unpleasant surprise like yesterday’s.”

  Al sighed. “I am so sick of this, Phil.”

  I nodded. “We’ll catch him, Al. We’ll catch him.”

  “Before or after he kills me?” Al asked.

  Geoff looked at his fiancee in surprise. “There is no need to bite Phil’s head off. The police are doing the best job that they can do.”

  It was obvious as she sank into a wing chair, that Al was struggling for self-control, and that the struggle was difficult. “It may not be enough, Geoff. We have to face that. It may not be enough.”

  “Baby?” Geoff asked.

  “Just leave me alone,” she said in a tone just over a whisper. “Please. Just give me some time alone. I have to pull myself back together.”

  “I’ll be here, whenever you need me,” Geoff told her.

  “I know.” Al said as she lost her battle with tears. “This isn’t going to work, Geoff. Hernandez will never leave us alone.”

  “We’ll catch him,” I pledged.

  “Then what? He’ll be out on parole in less than twenty years, probably less than ten, Phil. And he’ll be after me again,” Al said.

  Geoff cleared his throat. “I won’t lie to you, Alicia Marie. You know what the criminal justice system is like. But, if Hernandez is behind this, he has some major charges to face.”

  “I know, but what are the chances of his being put away for good? Slim to none? He faces charges in California in connection with the death of a police officer, rape and attempted murder charges from the hospital incident, and God knows what else. Then there are the grand theft charges, the arson charge, the assault charge in connection with his hurting Geoff, and at least two counts of unlawful entry.”

  “That’s enough to put him away for a very long time. Besides, California does have the death penalty.”

  “And how often is it enforced?” she demanded.

  “In cases of cop killers, fairly often,” I told her.

  “Come on, Phil. There’s no guarantee that he would get that sentence if the matter went to trial. Some smart lawyer would have him plead mentally ill and he would be placed in a hospital,” Al said. “And even if that doesn’t happen, he could be out of jail rather quickly. You know it, and I know it. I would be living in fear of his getting released. What kind of life is that to ask anyone to share?”

  “Are you trying to call off the wedding?” Geoff asked.

  Her face crumpled as the scattered tears became a steady stream.

  “It isn’t fair to you to ask you to marry me,” she said through her tears. “It isn’t . . . charitable . . . to purposefully place you in danger.”

  “What about sprout? Is it fair to him for us not to get married?” Geoff asked.

  “You’ve already been harmed because of me? Do you think that I want to see you be killed for me? Is it fair to sprout for me to take his father from him?”

  Geoff slowly rose from the sofa and went over to her. Carefully, wincing as he knelt on the floor in front of the chair in which she sat, he told her, “Baby. Don’t do this. Don’t. I love you, Apple Juice.”

  “Don’t you see, Geoff? Hernandez has to die. That’s the only way that we will be safe.”

  “Hush, baby. Don’t make threats in the presence of witnesses.”

  She laughed harshly. “Geoff. That wasn’t a threat. I strongly believe that the only way that we are going to be rid of Hernandez is to get rid of him.”

  Geoff drew a deep breath. “Sweetheart.”

  “You couldn’t live with that, could you? You couldn’t live with that. One way or another, this is going to tear us apart. Slowly, he’s taking everything away from me. My car, my house. And now, he’s trying to take my sanity and my relationship with you.”

  Geoff looked at her as he took her hands in his. “He can’t win if you don’t let him. Fight back, ‘Licia. You have to keep fighting.”

  “I know,” she admitted. “It’s just so hard to fight someone who won’t show his face.”

  “Don’t take any precipitous action,” Geoff advised in his best lawyer tone. “If you come face to face with him, make damned sure that it is self defense, clearly and without any doubt. The last thing that either of us needs is for you to land in jail on a murder charge.”

  “I have no intention of landing in jail, Geoff. Absolutely no intention,” she said.

  Geoff smiled at her. “That’s my ‘Licia.”

  She looked over at me. I had simply stood there watching the exchange. I would never want to be on Al’s enemies list. There was no doubt in my mind that she was plotting some way of taking out Hernandez, if this was Hernandez doing this.

  Personally, I still wasn’t convinced that it was Hernandez. That was too entirely cut and dried. Life was seldom that convenient. Geoff was the only one who could place Hernandez in the area. I still couldn’t dismiss the lurking suspicions that Geoff was somehow involved in this besides as a victim.

  I know that Geoff’s stated theory was that Hernandez had faked his death, collected the money, and come hunting for Al. I was more than a little uncomfortable with the fact that she had accepted that explanation so readily. It was what she wanted to believe. But, if it wasn’t true, then where did we stand?

  If Geoff was involved in this plot, then he had to have an accomplice. The Houston girl was kidnapped while they were both in Chicago. There were so many pieces that didn’t fit.

  One thing was certain, Geoff was hiding something. I’ve known him almost all my life. He’s been my best friend since we were both first graders. I know when he’s hiding, lying about, or up to, something. Red flags were going off in my head about this. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it, at all. I didn’t like having to suspect him of mentally torturing his fiancee, of stealing her car, of demolishing her house, of kidnapping her daughter, of staging his own beating. No, I didn’t like it. Not at all. However, part of me couldn’t blame Al for how she felt in her desire to put the person behind all of this out of her misery. The cop part found the kind of vigilante action I thought that she was planning to be totally unacceptable. But, I understood what was driving her.

  “You think that you could go through my room, first. I would like to lie down,” she asked me.

  “Sure thing, Al.”

  A few minutes later, I stood on the stairs listening to them talk. I could see into the room from my vantage point. I was going to simply go into the room, but I heard Geoff talking about me.

  “You and Phil seem to be getting along much better,” Geoff observed. He was seated back on the long sofa.

  She didn’t move from her position staring out the window onto the back garden. The set of her shoulders spoke of the tension that she was under.

  “‘Licia?” Geoff asked. Then he spoke to her more firmly. “‘Licia!”

  Slowly, she turned to face him. “Sorry, Geoff. What did you say?”

  Geoff smiled at her. “You and Phil are getting along better than you used to.”

  Al shrugged. “Are we? I wasn’t aware that Phil and I ever appeared to have problems getting along with one another. I’ve always liked Phil. But, maybe, there is something to what you are saying.”

  Geoff shook his head slightly. “I’m glad to see my girl and my best friend becoming close friends for their own sake.”

  “Am I really that difficult to get to know?” Al asked. “I’ve never thought of myself as rigid or unbending.”

  “You are a little intimidating,” Geoff replied gently. “Not that you mean to be, but I’ve seen you freeze people out.”

  She shrugged again as she moved over to a Queen Anne chair. Settling within it, she sighed. “I am so tired, Geoff.”

  “I know, sweetheart.”

  I returned to the room. In my hands was a clear, evidence bag containing a plastic bag of white powder, a syringe, a silver spoon, a partially burnt votive candle, matches, and a length of rubber hose. “Al, are these things yours?”

  “What are they?�
� she asked, not getting a good view of the contents.

  “A kit for shooting up heroin,” I said. “Complete with nearly a pound of the stuff.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding!” Al almost shouted. Then her tone became more resigned. “I suppose that it wasn’t unexpected that something like this would happen. Hernandez has taken most of the things that I care about from me. I suppose that it is only expected that he would try to take my reputation from me, as well.”

  “You are sure that this isn’t yours.”

  “Absolutely. I’ve never done drugs, Phil. I’ll gladly submit to a bank of blood tests and physical examinations to prove that. You can look at my arms and legs. You won’t find any needle tracks there. You won’t find my prints on any of that stuff because it isn’t mine!” Al replied.

  “I’m confiscating this kit.”

  “Good,” Geoff stated. “The last thing that we need is to leave something like that laying about.”

  “When is this all going to end?” Al asked.

  “To be on the safe side, since you know that there has been an intruder, you should probably go through the cabinets and throw away every bit of food that has been opened. I may be paranoid, but I can’t help thinking that there might have been poison or drugs slipped into packages.”

  Al closed her eyes and sighed. “I’ll do it tonight.”

  I leaned against the stainless steel counter in Glenna Clary’s examining room. I didn’t at all like what Glenna was telling me.

  “You’ll want to keep the snake preserved as evidence, of course,” the middle aged, petite, blond, chocolate brown eyed, vet stated. “I’ll take care of that process for you.”

  “Better you than me.”

  Glenna laughed at him. Her dark eyes sparkled with amusement. “You always did hate snakes, didn’t you?” she said.

  “How long have you known me, Glenna?”

  “Almost all my life, Phil. You can’t fool me. I bet that you had to force yourself not to run out of the room when you saw that it was a snake in the case,” she said in amusement.

  “I’m just glad that Al didn’t open it.”

  Glenna sighed. “How’s she holding up?”