Found and Destroyed: The Second Sarah Martin Mystery

by Danelle Helget

  “Older,” he said with a sly smile, “I’m only twenty-eight.”

  “Well, we just got some nice jewelry in,” I said leading him over to the display. “Does she wear jewelry?”

  “I think so,” he said looking at the different pieces. “These are nice.” He moved a step closer to me and closed the space. I felt his heat move through me. He smelled good. Really good.

  “Yup,” I said catching my breath, “Those are one of my favorites.”

  We stood there making small talk about jewelry for a few minutes then moved on to scented candles. When he’d picked out enough items, we went to the counter. I checked him out and offered our free gift packaging service. He accepted, so I got out a gift bag, tissue, and curling ribbon and started in. When the bells on the door chimed we both turned our heads to see eight loud, older women coming through the door. They were all dressed in obnoxious red and purple outfits. It was the Red Hat Society! We had a few Red Hat items in our store, so I recognized them as that group right away. It was clear that they had been drinking by their volume and giggles. The group ranged from tall to short, from fat to thin. Some were colored and some were gray. All were dressed in red and purple polyester outfits each differing a little from the next. Two had huge hats, the rest had headbands with things sticking up on them or big bows on top of their heads. Large pieces of purple and red plastic jewelry serenaded their wrists, necks, and ears. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

  “Wow,” Rex said under his breath.

  “Oh, boy, there’s a huge bus outside. It looks like there’s more of them on it!” I said through a huge grin. “What? You’ve never heard of the Red Hat Society?” I asked.

  “The what?”

  “The Red Hat society!”

  “Ah, no,” he said, looking concerned.

  I looked down and continued to bag his purchase. Then I overheard them talking from the scented candle area.

  “Oh, gee, look at the nice one up by the counter,” one said.

  “Oh, yeah, he’s a looker,” said another.

  “Where? Oh, wow! Look at him in that uniform—nice and tight in all the right areas,” said a third. By this time they had all stopped looking at merchandise and were staring in our direction. I looked up at Rex and tried not to bust out laughing.

  “So, Rex,” I said quietly, “what’s your sister’s name?”

  “Amanda,” he answered.

  His face was beet red. He was trying his best to not make eye contact with them. One of the ladies gave another shove and said, “Lorretta, why don’t ya go over there and ask him to join us on the bus?”

  “Oh, yes. That’d be great! Maybe he’d dance for us,” said another.

  “Oh, shit!” Rex whispered. He looked at me, his back to the women and asked, “She’s not coming over, is she?”

  His eyes were wide with fear. I looked past him. “No, not yet,” I said with a giggle.

  “That there’s probably his girlfriend,” one said.

  “Oh, yeah, I bet it is. You could cut the sexual tension in here with a knife,” said still another.

  I finished his bag and handed it to him.

  “You’re all set!” I said with a smile. I couldn’t help it.

  “It looks great,” he said, smiling like an apology. “Thanks for your help. This was fun. Next time I need a gift, I know where to come. Have a nice day.”

  “Thanks, you too,” I said back as he started walking away.

  The women all shushed and turned to pick up items they pretended to look at as he passed.

  “Ask him, Lorretta! He’s gonna leave!” one said to another with an elbow jab.

  “No way! You do it!”

  Rex gave them a small nod in passing, “Ladies.” Then he stepped out the door.

  All the ladies were giggling and chatting about how good looking he was. Some were fanning themselves after he walked past. It was a hoot! I laughed with them and then walked over to see if there was anything I could help them find. One announced that she’d found the Red Hat stuff, and they all moved over in that direction. The bells chimed and about twelve more women dressed in red and purple came through the door. They really lit the place up.

  About a half hour later I was around $1,000 dollars richer, and in need of more Red Hat items on the shelves. They’d about cleaned me out. The rest of the day went pretty fast and at 3:00, when Ginger showed up, I realized that I hadn’t eaten all day and was starving, so I walked over to Morning Glory.

  When I came through the door everyone in the place looked at me, like they do at everyone. I grabbed a booth and sat down. The menus were on the tables, so I picked one up and was trying to decide what I wanted when I heard a familiar voice.

  Chapter Eight

  Well look what the cat done dragged in! Hey, sugar!” Tannya said. “Ya want coffee?”

  She was holding a full pot of coffee in one hand and the other one was on her hip. She had the face of a twenty-year-old but the voice of a fifty-year-old. Today she was wearing dark-purple eye shadow and red lipstick. It reminded me of the ladies who’d been in the store earlier. She had her hair up in the usual high pony with pen stuck through it. Her roots were getting bad. She was a brunette trying hard to be bleached blonde. Her pony was holding the dead, dry hair that looked more like fuzz.

  “No, no coffee. Just a diet pop,” I told her.

  “All right, hun. What do ya want to eat?”

  I quickly scanned the menu and chose a French dip with fries.

  “I’ll put this order in, and check on my other tables, then I gotta talk to you about something,” she said, lowering her voice to almost a whisper.

  “Okay,” I said a bit unsure that I was ready for what she had to say.

  After I’d paged through the weekly paper I’d taken off the abandoned table next to me, I looked up to see Tannya buzzing around. I was nervous. I wondered what she wanted and couldn’t concentrate on anything I was trying to read, so I folded the paper up and set it aside. Finally, Tannya came over and sat across from me.

  “Okay, I got your phone number and gave it to Miss Kitty. I wanted to give you the head’s up. She’ll be calling you soon to discuss …” she looked over her left shoulder and her right. Then she leaned into the table more and lowered her voice, “… her needs.”

  “Her needs?” I asked, leaning forward with tightly wrinkled brows.

  “Yes. She has some things that she needs you to look into and thinks that you’re the girl to do it.”

  “What? What needs? Why me?” I asked kind of panicky. “I don’t know Miss Kitty. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen her before.”

  “Miss Kitty is smart. She knows stuff, and she thinks you’ll be perfect for the job.” Tannya said with a hushed voice.

  “What job? Who is she?”

  I had a million more questions and felt like I had two minutes to find them all out. My heart was beating fast and I didn’t even know why.

  “She knows who you are and says it’s for her to discuss with you. She just asked for your phone number. She said if I got your number for her I’d be thanked for my time and discretion.”

  “How did you get my number?”

  “I went over to the shop when you weren’t there and asked Ginger for it,” she said with a look on her face like “duh.”

  “So how did she thank you?” I asked curiously.

  “Money. She has lots of it. She told me to meet her at Amoco and bring the number with. I called first to make sure it was right. I think I got your mother.”

  “Yeah, she mentioned that you’d called.”

  “When I got there,” Tannya said, “Miss Kitty pulled up in her Mustang convertible and got out. She walked over to my car and leaned in. She took the number and handed me an envelope. Then she blew me a kiss, gave a finger wave and a wink, and got back in her vehicle. I looked in the envelope, five hundred dollars!”

  “Five hundred dollars? Holy crap! How would she even know that you could get
my phone number? It’s not like I’ve known you very long.”

  “Honey, I know everyone and everything in this town,” she said snapping her fingers as her hand moved in a Z formation. Seriously?

  “Well, then tell me what she wants.”

  “Okay, well, I don’t know everything, but it’s just a matter of time before I find out.”

  “Tannnnnya! Order up!” a voice shouted from the kitchen area.

  “I’ll be back,” she said and got up.

  I really just wanted to go home and rake leaves, or maybe call someone about raking leaves. I didn’t want to get involved in Miss Kitty’s problems.

  Tannya returned a moment later with my order. She set it down on the table then went to the other tables, coffee pot in tow, to check on the other customers. I saw her give out a few bills to those who were almost finished and refills to those who weren’t, and returned the pot to the warmer. She walked back over and sat down again across from me.

  “So like I was sayin’, she knows who you are, read about you in the newspaper. She knows about your ‘special abilities’ and investigative skills. Her words, not mine.”

  “I don’t have special abilities or skills! Tell her that!” I demanded.

  “I tried but she wouldn’t listen. And what Miss Kitty wants, Miss Kitty gets.

  “Who is she? Does she live around here?” I asked dipping another fry.

  “She grew up here, but has more than one property. She’s only in town a few months a year. She made her husband buy her a nice property on a lake so she could feel at home once in a while. She married up. Way up. She has a lot of money and spends it on anything and everything she wants.”

  I took a gulp of Pepsi and secretly wished I’d packed a flask. “Who’s her husband? Is he from around here?”

  “Vincent Alburgus. Wealthy man. I have no idea where he comes from but he’s not from here. But he has money and a lot of it! He’s old too, like seventy or more—too old for Miss Kitty if you ask me. Eww! But that’s just me,” she said with a curled lip.

  “How old is Ms. Kitty?”

  “I don’t know. And I’m sure she’s had a lot of work done, too. But she’s got to be at least forty or more.”

  “Tannya! You workin’ or talkin’ today?” the guy from the kitchen yelled across the restaurant.

  “Yah, Yah. Don’t get your undies in a bunch, Marv! I’m coming!” she bellowed back. Then she turned back to me. “I gotta get back to work. Watch for her call. I’ll talk to ya soon,” she said and walked away.

  My mind was wondering and my stomach turning. I did my best to finish eating. Tannya was busy with some newcomers, so I left cash on the table to cover my bill and give her a nice tip. I waved to her as I walked out. She looked up from her note pad and gave me a wink and nod. I walked back to my Jeep, which was parked behind Lost and Found, and climbed in.

  When I got home I turned on my computer. While it booted up I grabbed a phone book and looked up a local landscapers. I looked up a few of the ones with bigger ads on the Internet. One had a really nice web page and large ad in the phone book. I figured that they must be run well and have lots of customers if they could afford a big ad in the phone book. I thought I’d give them a shot. I dialed the number to C.S. Landscaping.

  “Yes, who is this?” a voice answered.

  “Um, hi. Is this C.S Landscaping?” I asked, confused and taken aback by the abrupt greeting. Maybe I dialed wrong.

  “Yes, Yes. What you need? Mow? Rake? What?”

  Geez! The man sounded like he was Mexican, and in a huge rush.

  “Uh, yes … rake,” I said. Now I felt rushed. This was weird.

  “Okay. Where you live?”

  I gave him my address.

  “You wait,” he said. I heard him put the phone down on the desk. Then I could hear him typing. When he got back on the line a minute later he was still in a hurry. “Okay, I Google Earth you. You have many tree. Will be much work. I send men on Thursday. They rake and mow and weed whip and blow and clean up all leaves too. It be $250 for whole yard. You have big yard, yes?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Okay, Thursday. You have cash or credit card, bye-bye,” he said and disconnected.

  Well, all righty then. That’s done. Not like I had much say in the arrangement, but at least I can check it off my list. It’s kinda funny. No wonder he had such a big ad—anyone calling is booked. I felt kinda suckered, but I guessed I’d wait and see what kind of job they did before I complained. I wrote landscaping on Thursday’s square on the calendar inside the kitchen cupboard then went back to my computer.

  I checked my fake Facebook page I’d set up to help Derek out. I had fifteen more friends, both male and female. I played some dumb games to make it look active and wrote “Doing homework again. Does it ever end?” as my status. I searched and made a few more friend requests, a few being friends of Cory’s. After I checked my real email, I shut the computer down. I was just headed out to the patio with a hot chocolate and book when my cell rang. Derek.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Hey,” he said exhausted. “What are you doing?”

  “Just relaxing. I have a few new friends on the fake Facebook page.”

  “Okay. Let me know when you request him, maybe wait a day or two.”

  “I will. I requested a few of his friends so if they bite then I request him next. Any change on Kelly?”

  “No, nothing. Her vitals are good but no change. They told my mom they’re going to put in a stomach tube tomorrow to feed her. Hopefully some nutrition will help,” he said sadly.

  “Oh, man … I hope it helps. Are you at home?” I asked.

  “Yes, I’m going to go to bed. I can’t think straight anymore and I’m getting more angry every second this guy remains out there. I needed to take the night off and recharge. I’ll give you a call tomorrow or Wednesday. If you don’t hear from me, feel free to call me too. Okay?”

  “Okay, get some sleep. Good night.”

  “Good night,” he said and disconnected.

  I lay in bed wondering what I could do to help. I felt so bad for Kelly and her family. I tried to close my eyes, but every time I did I envisioned what had happened on Friday night. It was hard to relax. I got my book out and read for a bit to take my mind off it. I said yet another prayer for healing and peace for Kelly and her family, and for guidance for Derek to find Cory. Then I drifted off.

  I woke up Tuesday morning to my phone ringing. I ran to the kitchen where it was plugged in and answered. It was Derek. I looked up at the clock noticing it was still dark out. 5:10 a.m.

  “Hello?” I said with a raspy voice.

  My mind went straight to his sister.

  “Hey, sorry to wake you. I wanted to tell you that my mom just called and said that Kelly is moving her hands and body a little bit. She still hasn’t opened her eyes, but they are turning her pain meds way down to see if it will help her be more alert and maybe wake up.

  “Oh, Derek, that’s great news!”

  “I know. I’m heading there this morning. I want to be there if she wakes up. I’m hoping she’ll be able to give me some information on Cory I can use. The Morris Police Department isn’t getting anywhere. I wanted to let you know right away.”

  “Thanks for that. Do you want me to come with you?”

  “If you want to meet me there you could. I’m not really sure there’s anything you can do, but I’d love to see you if you don’t have anything else going on. But, I understand if you can’t or you’re busy … You don’t have to. I know you have the store to hold down … But if you want to, great.”

  “I’m scheduled to open today, but I bet if I call Ginger she’d come in. If she will I’ll call you back and let you know. If she can’t I could still head out of town about 11:00 when I get off.”

  “Okay, well, let me know. But don’t feel any pressure. I told work that I’d be back on Thursday at the latest, so I plan to stay overnight. You’re welcome to jo
in me,” he said his voice getting higher at the end of the sentence. Almost like a “pretty please” mom tone.

  “Okay, let me figure things out, then give you call later,” I told him with a sweet voice. Now I was really missing him and wanted to see him again.

  “Thanks, sweetness. Talk to ya soon,” he said and disconnected.

  I hung up the phone with some new energy, and decided to use it for a run. I threw on a t-shirt and old sweat pants. After I laced up my tennies, I threw on a light fleece sweatshirt, as it was only fifty degrees out according to the weather channel. I opened the front door, and Faith came over and peeked out the side window. She meowed.

  “Yes, I’m going for a run,” I told her.

  “Meow,” she taunted again.

  “I’ll try to make it more than a block! Thanks for the confidence, Faith! Sheesh,” I told her.

  I gave her a quick rub on the head and shut the door behind me. The cold, crisp, fresh air that one only get in the country hit me, and I inhaled deeply. Ahhh. I loved the smell. I threw my arms up and stretched out my sides then started a slow jog. It was just starting to get light out, so I could see where I was going. It was a good thing because I wouldn’t tempt running in the dark. I ran about two miles and returned home. When I got inside I tossed my shoes in the closet, sat on the living room carpet, and stretched while I watched the morning news.

  At 6:00 I jumped in the shower and was feeling pretty proud of myself for running so far. I envy people who get out of bed every morning and run. I thought that I could get used to that proud feeling, but I knew the consistency would never happen. I’m not a get-out-of-bed-earlier-than-necessary kind of girl. I dressed casually, knowing I’d go to Morris later. I had nothing else to do and could easily get someone to work my shift or, if not, just close the store. I love my life—freedom, flexibility, and never a worry about having enough money. I looked up at the ceiling and thanked Nana and Papa for the inheritance.

  I grabbed a small suitcase from the closet and packed it for three days, just in case. I wheeled it out to the Jeep and loaded it in the back. Then I went back for Faith. I didn’t really know anyone in town yet who would be willing to watch her, so for now I was taking her to work and to Morris. I could easily sneak her into a hotel.