Connie Cobbler

by James DeSalvo

  I stared at the MP 3000. It was probably too early to call Cuddles at the police station, but I knew I could get hold of A.J. He was an early riser. I picked up the phone and dialed his house. Mary answered.

  "Hello? A.J.?" she said in a panicked voice.

  "No, Mary. It's Connie. Is everything alright?"

  "Oh, Connie! A.J. didn't come home last night. I don't where he could be. Have you heard from him?"

  "I saw him yesterday," I said, trying to hide the concern in my voice. "He was helping me out with a case at your house."

  She wept into the phone. "Yes, I remember. He ran out after you left, saying something about you being in danger. Connie, what's going on?"

  I couldn't tell her the whole story. Somehow, Debbie had gotten her disguise into A.J.'s basement to make him look guilty. If she were listening in on this conversation, it would put Mary's life in danger, too.

  "Mary, I want you to hang up and call the police station. Ask for Captain Cuddles. If he's not there, ask for Sergeant Rook. Let them know that A.J. is missing. Then I want you to head down there and wait. Do you understand me?"

  "But, what...what if A.J. comes home and needs me? What if he's hurt?" she cried.

  "A.J.'s a resourceful toy. I want you to follow my directions. Can you do that?"

  It sounded like Mary was trying to compose herself. "Yes. I can."

  I hung up and tried to think. It wasn't like A.J. to not go home. I hoped that Debbie hadn't got him. He had plenty of combat experience, but Debbie was turning out to be full of surprises.

  I decided that I had to go look for A.J. in the woods. I looked around the cabin for anything I could use for protection. All I saw were a bunch of pictures.

  The photographs around the cabin were mostly of A.J. and Mary on their honeymoon, at their wedding, and hiking in the woods. There was even a group picture that the Pastry Pals took with A.J. and Gramma Tart. I guess A.J. was always a bit sentimental.

  I wasn't going to lose another friend.

  I spotted a lamp next to the bed. It would make a good weapon for protection. As I unplugged it, the MP 3000 began to ring. I ran and answered it.

  "A.J.?" I said, hoping my friend was alright.

  "Did you lose another friend?" a voice laughed on the other end.

  "Debbie, if you've hurt A.J., I swear..."

  "Debbie?” the voice cut me off. "This isn't Debbie."

  "Then who is it?" I demanded.

  The voice laughed hysterically. "That's for me to know and you to...oh, you know the rest. I want you to do me a favor."

  "I'm doing nothing for you," I shouted.

  "You'll do exactly what I say if you want to keep your friends alive."

  "What have you done with A.J.? Where is he? Tell me!" I shouted.

  "Aren't you the bossy one? You always have been. Your friend A.J. is fine so far. I'm not so sure about the other one. What's her name again? Oh, yeah. Debbie. Debbie Danish. She has a nasty head wound."

  I had to give in. I calmed myself and spoke gently into the phone. "What favor do you want?"

  The voice chuckled. I still couldn't tell if it was male or female. "Don't forget to say please."

  "Please."

  "Ah, that's better. Go out onto the back deck of the cabin. There's a telescope out there. I can see it from where I'm standing."

  "What? Where are you?"

  "Don't get too excited, Connie. I'm not that close. Now, when you get to the telescope, point it towards the Gumdrop Bridge. You do remember where that is, don't you? You'll find a little surprise waiting for you. Bye." The phone went dead.

  I ran out to the telescope. I pointed it towards the Gumdrop Bridge in the distance. What I saw chilled my heart.

  Hanging upside down from the remains of the bridge were A.J. and Debbie. They were bound with rope. Above them was a figure in a fedora hat and a trench coat. Brown curls peeked out from the front of the hat. Its face was concealed with a black scarf. It was waving to me with a knife.

  I saw it dial its phone. Inside the MP 3000 rang. I ran inside as fast as I could and answered it.

  "Were you trying to get a look at my face? That's cheating. Now, I'm going to give you a choice," the voice said.

  "Why are you harming them? It's me you want. Come get me!"

  "All in good time. They each have about fifteen minutes until their ropes break. I snipped them a little. It should take you about ten minutes to get over here and climb the bridge. All you have to do is decide which one you save first before the other one plunges into the river."

  "Why are you doing this?"

  "Now it's fourteen minutes. Better hurry!"

  Chapter Eighteen

  I ran from the cabin and headed towards the Gumdrop Bridge. I ran as fast as I could, knowing I couldn't waste a single step. I closed the distance to the bridge, hoping that I made up some time so I could save both A.J. and Debbie.

  As I got closer, I could see A.J. struggling to free himself. Debbie looked like she was regaining consciousness. I was almost there.

  Then I fell. Hard.

  I rolled over and saw the figure standing over me between me and the bridge. It laughed. "Oops, did I trip you? Sorry." It lunged at me. I went to kick its legs out from under it, but it seemed to anticipate that and jumped out of the way. "You'll have to do better than that."

  I got to my feet and turned towards the bridge. A.J. had gotten his hands free, but his rope was fraying faster. I didn't have time to play around. Quickly, I faked to move right, then turned left around the figure. I hit it on the back and it tumbled to the ground. A small metallic device fell from the scarf around the figure's face. I recognized it as a voice changer. They were used in television to make a toy's voice different. That's why I couldn't tell if the figure was male or female on the phone.

  I rushed to the bridge and gently walked out on the rusted beams. I had to be careful, but I also had to be fast. I made it out to A.J. first.

  "Hold on! I'm going to pull you up," I yelled down to him.

  "Save Debbie," he hollered back. "I'll make it."

  "I can't just leave you," I said.

  "Don't argue with me!"

  I knew A.J. was right. He always seemed to get out of dangerous situations. I turned my attention to Debbie. She was fully conscious now. She stared down into the Custard River and started to scream.

  "Debbie, don't worry. I've got you."

  She looked up at me with panic in her eyes. For a moment, I thought she was Tiffany Tart. I froze.

  "Connie, help me!" Debbie's cries brought me back. I grabbed hold of her rope. It was almost torn through. As I started to pull Debbie up, the rope snapped. I braced my feet against the crumbling beams and pulled the rope with all of my strength.

  "I've got you, I've got you..." I repeated until Debbie was safely on the bridge next to me.

  "Thanks," said Debbie as I loosened her ropes. She began to untie the rest of her ropes and I ran to A.J. He had managed to pull himself up most of the way. I saw his hand reach over the beam.

  "A little help, please," he said. I reached out for his hand and took it. He started to put his other hand up when I felt the bridge shake.

  "Hurry up, A.J.!" I ordered.

  He forced his hand up and grabbed my other hand. I pulled, but the bridge was shaking too much for me get him to the top. I felt A.J. start to slip.

  "Connie," he yelled, "let me go. Save yourself."

  "Sorry, not this time," I shouted, as I tried to firm up my grasp on A.J. I was losing him. A.J. was inches away from slipping from my fingers. Suddenly another pair of hands grabbed A.J. by the wrists. I looked next to me and saw Debbie tugging A.J. up to the bridge. I doubled my efforts and together we got A.J. to the top.

  "I'd love to stay and say thanks, but I think we should get off this bridge first," A.J. said as he took our hands and forced us to run back towards land. The bridge was rapidly collapsing around us. We were still a few yards from the edge of the bridge when A.J. pu
shed Debbie and I as hard as he could. We hit the dirt with a hard thud and turned around in time to see A.J. leap from the bridge as it fell into the Custard River. There was a cloud of dust and I was blinded for a moment. As the dust cleared, I saw A.J. standing in front of us, a big smile on his face.

  "And that's why I'm called Action Jim," he said.

  I suddenly realized that the figure disguised as me was still nearby. I stood up and looked around me. The spot where the figure fell was empty.

  "Everyone be careful," I warned. "Whoever kidnapped the two of you is still around here."

  Debbie and A.J. stood closer together. "I guess there's strength in numbers," said Debbie as she stared into the woods for any sign of movement.

  "Let's head back to the cabin," said A.J.

  "Not so fast," said a voice from the woods. It was muffled, but I could tell that it belonged to a female doll. From the woods in front of me came my imposter. She was holding her knife and pointing it at me. "I want you, Cobbler."

  "You'll have to go through us first," said Debbie. She and A.J. limped in front of me, offering themselves as protection. I knew A.J. was a great fighter and Debbie was tenacious, but neither one of them was in any condition to fight. I saw exhaustion in their eyes.

  "No," I said to them. "This is personal. Step aside."

  "You can't be serious," said A.J.

  "Very serious. Please, A.J. Let me handle this." I reached out and pulled them behind me. "Wait back here. This shouldn't take long."

  I looked at my opponent. She was still wearing the hat and scarf, but had taken the trench coat off and put it on the ground. This was probably so she could move easier. It was an old technique that A.J. taught me. I took my coat off and wrapped it around one of my arms to protect myself from her knife.

  I couldn't see her face clearly, but something was familiar about her eyes. I had seen them before, but I was too focused on the moment to try and remember. I was more concerned about ending this quickly.

  I charged at her and she sidestepped me easily. She was good. I turned and moved just as she thrust the knife at me. I blocked it with one hand tried and tried to hold her arm with the other. She pulled away and dropped the knife. I kicked it out of her reach. Now the odds were a little more even.

  "I don't need a knife to finish you, Cobbler!" she screamed. She rushed at me with her fists clenched. She was getting angry. Toys start to fight sloppy when they're angry. I kept my cool and did a jumping front kick, hoping to knock her to the ground. She moved out of the way and caught one of my legs as I was still in the air. She pulled me to the ground hard. So much for sloppiness.

  I lay there, waiting for her to get closer. I was hurt, but still able to fight. I had to make myself appear more hurt than I was. Maybe I could get the upper hand.

  "Is that the best you have, Cobbler?" she hissed. "My grandmother could fight better than you." She came closer as I moaned on the ground. She bent over to pick up a rock. "This should do the job nicely," she laughed as she came closer. I snapped my feet out and kicked her in the knees. The rock dropped from her hand and hit her on the head. She lay on the ground, not moving. I looked at her and saw that she was still breathing.

  I got up and ran to my friends. "Hurry up! Run back to the cabin," I ordered.

  "Not without you," said Debbie.

  I looked back at my unconscious foe. I couldn't leave her there unguarded. "Then we have to take her with us. I need something tie her up with."

  Debbie ran and got the trench coat from the ground. She put it on and took out the belt from around the waist. "Will this do?" she asked.

  "It's perfect," I said as I took it. I slowly walked over to my opponent. As I got closer, I got a better idea. "Maybe I'll use this, too," I said as I reached for the scarf around her face. It was time to see who wanted me dead.

  I started to untie the scarf.

  "Be careful," warned A.J.

  I gingerly pulled the scarf away. Then her eyes opened. She grabbed the scarf from my hands and pulled it back over her face. She kicked my legs out from under me.

  "Two can use that trick!" she laughed. She clumsily jumped to her feet. "This isn't over, Cobbler. I'll see you soon." She ran off into the woods.

  The three of us stood there, tired and wounded.

  "At least it can't get much worse," I said.

  It started to rain.

  Chapter Nineteen

  We rushed back to the cabin as quickly as we could. On the way, A.J. and Debbie both explained how they had become captured.

  A.J. had said that, on his way back home, the black sedan hit his jet bike. Even though he had been wearing a helmet, he was still knocked unconscious. The next thing he knew, he was hanging upside down from the Gumdrop Bridge.

  Debbie's story was different. She had awakened in the middle of the night and saw the figure standing over her. She was hit on the head and came to as I was about to pull her up.

  Neither one of them got a look at their assailant.

  A.J. opened the door to the cabin and ushered us in. "Let's get out of the rain and eat something. I'm starving."

  I tried to warn Debbie about the ancient food packets, but she didn't seem to care. She wolfed down a packet of dried liver and broccoli, then chased that down with another.

  A.J. ran to the phone. "I should call Mary and let her know that I'm okay."

  "That's good idea. When you're done, I'll call Captain Cuddles and let him know we'll need a ride," I said. I was sure Cuddles would be furious to find out that I was still involved in the case, but this time the case came looking for me.

  "That's funny. She's not answering the phone," said A.J.

  I heard a faint buzzing. I looked around, searching for its source. Debbie reached into the pocket of the trench coat she was still wearing and pulled out a phone.

  "That's Mary's phone. Why would her phone be in that coat?" A.J. cried. "You...you don't think she's been taken, too, do you?"

  I took the phone from Debbie and held it out to A.J. "Do you recognize the number on the caller ID?" I asked.

  "Yes," he said as he hung up the MP 3000. "That's this phone." Mary's cell phone stopped ringing.

  "Wait, I thought you called her at home," Debbie said.

  "I installed a device on our house phone that could bounce a call to our cell phones if we didn't answer at home. Where could she be?" I heard the panic rising in A.J.'s voice.

  "Calm down," I said, knowing my words would be useless.

  "Calm down? We have to find her!" he shouted.

  "I know, but let's put a plan together first. I'll call Cuddles and Debbie can get her picture on the news."

  "That's right, A.J." Debbie said. "A picture on the news will help a lot. Do you have one here that would help?"

  He pointed to the photos that lined the walls. "Take your pick," he said trying to fight back tears.

  Debbie went to get a picture, but I decided to pick one. I've handled a few missing toy cases and selecting the best photograph is important. I saw a nice one of Mary by herself next to the group photo of the Pastry Pals with Gramma Tart. I picked it up and stared at it. It would do nicely.

  Then I stared at it again. The eyes. I put my hand over Mary's mouth in the picture and stared at the eyes. They were the same eyes I had faced moments earlier.

  Mary was the one who wanted me dead.

  "Connie, what's the matter?" A.J. said. I barely heard him. I couldn't believe what I was thinking. My best friend's wife wanted me dead. It was impossible to believe.

  Then I thought about the clues.

  The evidence I found in A.J.'s basement: the bomb wires, the disguise.

  The cell phone in her pocket. I had called A.J.'s house that morning. Mary had sounded concerned, but that could have been an act. It was easy for her to fake that she was home. The call could have been bounced to her cell phone. That's how she could have called the cabin right after I hung up.

  But why? Why would she want me dead? There was n
o motive.

  I had to be sure. I looked at the picture again. Mary was smiling and happy.

  Her eyes weren't. They were the same eyes I had faced in battle.

  I turned and looked at A.J. I didn't know how to tell him my suspicions. I had to get more information about Mary. "A.J., why don't you tell Debbie all about Mary so she can do a better report on the news?"

  "What do you want to know?" asked A.J.

  Debbie gave me a look that said she wasn't sure of what to ask.

  "Um, why don't you give me a physical description?" she started.

  "She's about Connie's height with blond hair and the cutest smile," he said. "Look, do we really have to do this? I want to find Mary."

  "This will help," I said, hoping to reassure A.J. "Why don't you tell Debbie about Mary's background?"

  "Yes, that will help," said Debbie.

  "Okay, Mary was orphaned at a young age. She was raised my family members in Gamingtown and came to Toy Town a few years ago." A.J. seemed to relax a bit.

  "Does she have any hobbies?" asked Debbie.

  "Not really. She liked to knit and she seemed to have fun when I taught her martial arts. She really got into that."

  That explained why Mary was such a good fighter.

  "She also loved to cook," A.J. continued. "She especially liked to make custard. She always smelled of it. That's why she loved to come out here. The Custard River was her favorite smell."

  I'd smelled custard several places that day. When I found my old Pastry Pals outfit in my closet I thought I'd smelled custard. Could it be that Mary had put it there that evening when I slept? Why? She was making custard when I went to see A.J. at home. I thought I smelled it when I saw Gramma Tart, but I just believed that was the smell of the river below.

  I put the picture down next to the photo of the Pastry Pals and Gramma Tart. I picked up that photo and looked at it. Something caught my eye.

  "Hey, A.J. Where did you get this picture?" I asked.

  "That's Mary's. She was always a big fan of the show. I actually met her at Tiffany Tart's funeral. She came over and introduced herself. We hit it off right there. I remember I was looking for you. I wanted to introduce her to you."