Too Many Crooks Spoil the Plot

by Sarah Osborne

  “Yes,” Lucie said. “Jason’s five. He’s a big boy now. He’ll be very careful with it.”

  Jason beamed.

  We walked downstairs together. I’d put the memory card on a tissue and carried it like it was the Holy Grail. We found everyone seated in the parlor, planning strategy I suspected. They stopped talking as we entered. I opened up Jason’s hand and put the tissue with the tiny object in his palm. “Jason has something to give you.”

  Jason walked painfully, slowly toward Mason, hand outstretched, eyes never wavering from his treasure.

  Mason put on a glove and took it from him equally carefully. “You found this where?” Mason asked me.

  “Lucie’s locket. The perfect hiding place.”

  Eddie, Mason, Lurleen, and Dan fussed over the kids while I made hot chocolate. The adults got a little Kahlua added. It had been a long day.

  By the time I got back to the parlor with my tray of hot chocolate, Dan was on his computer, finding a way into the memory chip.

  “Ah,” he said a moment later. “It’s all here. The formula for the new product. It’s going to be called the Sandler Shake.”

  We stared over his shoulder as he talked through what he was finding.

  “It’s a new vanilla milk product, like a milkshake. Shelf life a year or more. No refrigeration needed. It represents a new direction for Sandler’s. Actually has significant nutritional value. According to the marketing plan, it will turn Sandler’s around. A blockbuster in the making. Millions of dollars in estimated sales in the first five years.”

  Eddie had heard enough. “I’ll take the kids upstairs. You all can finish this without me.”

  I nodded gratefully at her, hugged the kids, and watched as they walked hand in hand up the stairs.

  “All this money for a milkshake?” I asked.

  “A milkshake that requires no refrigeration. As important as the product is, it may be the container that is the truly innovative part of this. You just shake it up and activate the can. The shake gets cool, creamy, delicious. At least that’s what the marketing strategists claim.” Dan was reading from the computer screen. “Revolutionary. Tasty. Good for you.”

  “So this was enough to cause the death of two people?” I asked.

  “You left out Schmiddy,” Mason said. “He must have been on to what was going on. That’s why he was shot. Not a random drive-by but a calculated murder. And somehow his notes were destroyed.”

  “This looks big,” Dan said. “Plenty of companies are coming up with more nutritional products, but a container that gets cold when you shake it? That’s a secret formula worth having. And it’s all here. I don’t know how Ellie managed to get so much information.”

  “She had to be working with someone on the inside,” Mason said.

  Lurleen jumped in. “Kathleen Sandler talked about money skimming, leaks, a lot going on. Maybe this memory card was the way out for someone within the organization. Grab a bundle of money by selling the information to a rival company and escape to some place safe to spend it.”

  “An insider like Marie Vanderling,” I suggested.

  “Oh, no,” Lurleen said. “Not Marie.”

  “Kathleen said she wanted to force Marie into an early retirement,” Mason said. “Maybe Marie didn’t like that idea.”

  “Everyone is a suspect,” I said. “Even my brother.”

  Lurleen shook her head. “It’s not Marie. Marie has been my friend for fifteen years.”

  “People change,” I said. “They get desperate. They fall in with the wrong folks.”

  Lurleen kept shaking her head. Her glorious curls caught the waning sun. “Not Marie. You heard how frightened she sounded. Scared to death. She’s running from someone.”

  “Or to someone.” Why was I arguing with Lurleen? I wanted her to stand her ground and convince me that people could be trusted. If Marie wasn’t involved in something bad, maybe my brother wasn’t either.

  “I’m sorry, Lurleen.” I grabbed her hand. “This whole thing has unnerved me.”

  Mason looked at both of us. “We’re a step closer to finding out what’s going on and who’s behind it. This is the evidence we’ve needed. I’ll have to take it to my captain tomorrow.”

  “You want me to take it?” I asked. “Since you’re officially off the case.”

  “We’ll go together. Can you make a copy of all this, Dan?”

  “Already done.”

  “Get some sleep,” Mason said to Lurleen and me. “Dan and I will look out for things tonight.”

  “You mean in case Charlie Flack or whoever tries to break in again?” I asked.

  Mason nodded. “This is what they want,” he said, nodding at the card now enclosed in a clear plastic bag, “and the information is priceless.”

  I didn’t think I’d sleep that night. I was too keyed up. We’d found what Charlie and the others wanted. If we could just get it to the police, maybe the kids would be safe. That is, if the police could be trusted. Mason and Dan had planted a lot of doubts in my mind. Who were the good guys? I needed to think, which meant I needed to bake.

  First I needed to make sure the kids were okay. Lurleen and I walked quietly up the stairs and found Eddie standing outside the children’s room. “They’re fine,” she said.

  “Mason has sent us off to bed,” I said. “But I’m not sleepy. I’m going to do some baking if that’s all right with you.”

  “Be my guest,” Eddie said. “I’d join you but I’m bushed. Fending off criminals isn’t quite as easy for me as it used to be when I was younger.” She gave Lurleen and me a kiss on the cheek and disappeared into her bedroom across the hall.

  We glanced in the children’s room. The night light was on and both children were sound asleep in the middle of the very large bed.

  “I’m also a little tired,” Lurleen said. “But if you need a sous-chef, I’ll get my vent second in a minute or two.”

  “No need for a second wind. Would you mind sleeping with the children tonight? I’ll join you later.”

  “Of course, chérie. I will sleep on the far side and leave the side near the door for you. A bientot.”

  “A bientot.”

  Mason was none too pleased about my plans to bake, until he realized it might mean some hot-out-of-the-oven cookies to be consumed.

  “What sounds good?” I asked them.

  “Make whatever you want,” Dan said, “and we will come.”

  It sounded like a good plan since I was wide awake, and they would be up all night guarding the house and the memory card. I thought about a few projects I had in mind. Finding the best ginger cookie was one. Not the crisps but the big chewy molasses ones. I poked through Eddie’s cookbooks and the computer in her office to come up with something.

  While I was there, I thought I might just spend a few minutes looking for news on Sandler’s. Would there be anything online about the new product? Or about financial difficulties? Nothing. Lurleen was the true guru of the Internet, but she was sound asleep. I’d see what she could dig up tomorrow. Sandler had some good PR folks and a strong clamp down on the news media. No word of any problems. While Detective Schmidt’s and Billy Joe Sandler’s deaths had made the news, there was no association with problems at the company. Schmidt’s death was said to be the result of a drive-by shooting, still under investigation. Billy Joe was said to have died in a car crash. End of story.

  I printed out a couple of recipes for ginger molasses cookies and set them on a stand Eddie had for recipes and cookbooks. If I combined them, adding a little more of this and a little less of that, I might just come up with the perfect mix. It took twenty minutes to get the first batch in the oven. Now I had ten minutes to think.

  Ellie had found the information everyone wanted. She’d even found a way to smuggle it out of Sandler’s without being detected. So why ha
dn’t she given it to Billy Joe and Charlie Flack as she initially intended? Why did she put them off and get herself killed in the process? Had she gotten a better offer from someone else? A better offer would mean more money—that’s always what Ellie wanted.

  I looked in the oven. The cookies were almost ready. Another minute or two.

  Ellie never understood the danger she was in until it was too late. Was that what had happened this time? Did she go off to meet her killer thinking he—or she—was going to give her money and not a bullet in the head? Poor Ellie. And poor Lucie and Jason. Ellie was too smart and too stupid for her own good.

  Time to get the cookies out. The smell was enticing enough to lure Dan into the kitchen.

  “Give them a minute to cool,” I said, waving away his hand. “I’ll bring a plate out with coffee in five minutes.”

  I ripped open a paper bag and laid the cookies on top to cool, slipped another two trays into the oven, and sat again on the stool to wait while the coffee brewed and the cookies cooled.

  Did Ellie have any sense of right and wrong? That made me think of Tommy. Where was Tommy in this mix? He’d seen Ellie, that’s for sure, but he didn’t mention it to me. Were they working together? How could it be I knew so little about either of them? I could tell I was getting tired.

  I poured the coffee. None for me or I really would be up all night. Mason and Dan came in as I was putting a dozen cookies on a plate.

  “We’ll eat in here,” Mason said. “You don’t have to wait on us. We’ll even do the dishes when you’re done. That will keep us alert.”

  I sat down with them and nibbled on one cookie. It was as good as I hoped. Unlike Phil, the recipe was a keeper. I smiled at my own joke.

  “What’s the smile about?” Mason asked.

  “It’s a long story,” I said. “Mostly it’s about being pleased with how the cookies came out. What do you think?”

  “Good enough,” he said, grabbing the last cookie as Dan was reaching for it.

  I got the last batch out of the oven, scooped them onto the paper, and turned off the oven.

  “If I can trust you boys to put what you don’t eat into a plastic container, I’ll head for bed. Let them cool completely before you put them away.”

  “Understood,” Dan said, giving me a mock salute.

  “Did you learn that from Jason?”

  “He’s a great kid, isn’t he?” Mason said. “And so is Lucie.”

  “Ellie was a good mother,” I said, “even though she did some really stupid things.”

  I suddenly felt like crying. Such a terrible loss. I left the kitchen before I got started. Walking slowly up the stairs, I could cry as much as I wanted to. Privately. I drew a bath and soaked and cried until I was finally ready for sleep. I slipped into bed beside Jason. He handed me one of his action figures and rolled over to sleep on his other side.

  I slept soundly. So soundly I heard nothing in the night.

  In the morning, Eddie shook me awake. She whispered in my ear. “Where are they?”

  I sat upright, stared at the children beside me. “They’re here. They’re fine.”

  “No. No. Where are Dan and Mason?”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  I gave Eddie a blank look and climbed out of bed. No one else stirred. It was still dark outside and the bedside clock said 6:10 a.m. She motioned me into the hallway and closed the bedroom door before either of us spoke. I realized I wasn’t breathing.

  “What do you mean? They’re both gone?”

  “Mason’s car isn’t in the driveway. They’re not here. No note. Nothing.”

  I tried to keep my voice steady. “Any sign of a struggle?”

  “No,” Eddie said. “No struggle. Just gone.”

  At that point, I went into doctor mode, trying to diagnose a difficult case. No emotion. Just the facts.

  “They never would have let anyone into the house,” I said.

  “No. They must have seen something. Followed someone outside. That’s the only explanation. Dan’s cell phone is in the parlor. Mason may have his, but he isn’t answering it.”

  “And the memory card? Gone as well?”

  Eddie shook her head. “Mason and I have a hiding place for valuable objects. I checked it, and the memory card is still there. Dan’s laptop is in the parlor. Nothing seems to have disappeared but the two of them.”

  “You called the police?” I asked as I followed Eddie downstairs. She led me into the kitchen and motioned to a chair as she set about making coffee.

  “Not yet. The alarm is still set, and it never went off,” Eddie said. “Mason had the presence of mind to do that—turn it off and on again. So it isn’t as if they were grabbed unaware.” She sat down beside me. “I need to think like a cop. No struggle. No alarm sounding. Both men gone. And we have no idea when this all might have happened. Did you hear anything last night after you went to bed?”

  I shook my head. “I left them in the kitchen around eleven.” I looked around the room and spotted a plastic container with half a dozen cookies in it. “They had time to finish off most of the cookies and clean the kitchen.”

  “I didn’t hear anything either,” Eddie said. “But something woke me up early. Maybe a door closing. That’s it. I heard the front door close. That’s what got me up. That would have been around six. I went downstairs, checked outside, and then came to wake you.”

  “If anyone had broken in they would have set off the alarm.”

  “Right,” Eddie said.

  “So they must have seen something outside.”

  “I can’t believe they both would have left the house. If that were the case Mason would have yelled for me. They’d never leave us unprotected. It’s more likely one of them left to check something out and the other followed later. Someone reset the alarm, and Mason’s car is gone.”

  “Dan’s car?” I asked.

  “In the garage.”

  “Maybe Dan saw something suspicious outside and got grabbed by someone when he was checking it out. And Mason had to follow.” I sighed. “He reset the alarm, but didn’t have enough time to call you.”

  That made sense. Of course, there were a dozen other scenarios that probably also made sense. I couldn’t think of a single scenario in which they voluntarily left. There would have been a note or a call to Eddie. They obviously had to react in a hurry. Maybe they saw someone prowling and jumped in Mason’s car to chase him. “When do we notify the police?”

  “We give them another ten minutes and then we call. Time for Dan or Mason to reach us. After all, we still have the memory card.”

  Ten minutes. Long enough for someone to be killed. I didn’t say that out loud, but Eddie responded.

  “I know,” she said. “I’ll make a sweep of the yard. Don’t worry. I have my gun. Set the alarm when I’m gone and don’t open the door unless you can see it’s me and I’m alone. The best vantage point is the window on the upstairs landing.”

  Eddie left. I set the alarm and ran upstairs to the landing. I watched her search the front yard and then disappear along the road, which curved around the side of the house. I couldn’t see what she was doing back there without entering the kids’ room, so I stayed at my post and counted the minutes. They stretched into what felt like an eternity. I looked at my watch. Eddie had been gone seven minutes. How long did I give her before I called the police myself? Something bumped my legs and I put a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming.

  It was Majestic. Mewing at me. Hungry no doubt. I picked him up and stroked him and then went back to staring at empty space in the front yard. Majestic wouldn’t settle in my arms. He insisted on jumping down. Paced around me and then away from me—toward the kids’ room. I noticed for the first time the door was ajar. I’d closed it tightly.

  I walked over to the door and looked inside. The bed lay muss
ed. And empty, except for Hermione, who was snoring peacefully in the middle of it. I’d read a book once where half the people disappeared one day. No one ever knew why. This time I did scream.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  My scream stopped midway as I clamped a hand over my mouth. The bathroom door opened slowly, and Lurleen appeared as two terrified children looked out from behind it. She ran up to me and patted me as if she wanted to make sure it was really me.

  “I heard what Eddie whispered,” Lurleen said. “And then I heard someone running up the stairs, so I grabbed the kids and we hid in the bathroom. I had no idea it was you.”

  I got down on my knees and beckoned the kids to me. Hermione got there first and licked me all over. “I’m okay,” I said to her, and to the kids.

  Lucie was crying like she couldn’t stop. Jason was biting his lip. “Big boys don’t cry,” he stammered. Another unnecessary message from Ellie.

  “Big boys do cry,” I said. “And big girls too.” Now I had managed to traumatize the kids along with myself. “I got scared when I couldn’t find you, but we’re all fine now.”

  “I thought . . . I thought the men got you like they got Mommy,” Lucie sobbed.

  “I know, honey. I’m so sorry to scare you like that.”

  “I need my cape,” Jason said.

  I grabbed it from the bedpost and tied it around his neck.

  “I sleep with my cape,” Jason said.

  “Okay from now on.” I sat on the bed hugging both of them until our heart rates had settled and the tears had stopped. “You all get dressed and I’ll meet you downstairs for breakfast.” Lurleen went to her room to get dressed, and I left the kids to resume my post at the window. Miraculously, I saw Eddie backing away from the front porch, staring up at the window with her hand shielding her eyes against the porch light. I rushed downstairs, turned off the alarm, and let her in.

  “Where were you?” I said. “I waited and waited. Then I couldn’t find the kids. They’re fine. I panicked. I’m sorry. I stirred up everyone.”