Easy Like Sunday Mourning

by Jennie Marts

  Edna closed her hand over the shoe and yanked. “Got it!” She brought the shoe up and used the spiked heel to whack at the red plastic covering of the brake light.

  “Be careful. Those are expensive shoes.” Maggie still didn’t like the woman in the trunk with her, but she hated to see a great pair of shoes get ruined.

  “It’s fine. I don’t care,” Charlotte said from behind her. “She can mangle that shoe all she wants. As long as it gets us out of here.”

  Maggie jumped as the elevator music stopped, and Mac’s voice came over the phone. “Officer McCarthy here. How can I help you?”

  The three women all spoke at once, crying for help and giving him instructions.

  “Hello?” he asked. “Settle down. Who is this?”

  Maggie shushed the other two women. “Mac, it’s me, Maggie.”

  “Maggie? What’s going on? Are you in trouble?”

  Trouble was an understatement. “Yes. I’m with Edna and Charlotte Foster. We need your help. We’ve been kidnapped. We’re trapped in the trunk of a car.”

  “All three of you are locked in a trunk? Together?”

  Maggie rolled her eyes. “Yes. It’s a big trunk, all right?”

  “Okay. Take it easy. Is anyone hurt?”

  Maggie was surprised at how much calmer she felt now that Mac’s reassuring voice was on the other end of the phone. “No. I don’t think so.”

  “Okay. Try to stay calm. Can you find anything in the car to knock out the reflector around the brake light? Can you try to kick it out?”

  “We can’t kick it out. As you can imagine, we’re packed a little tight in here.” Maggie knew it was no time for sarcasm, but geez. “Edna’s whacking at it with a shoe.”

  “Good. Now, tell me what happened. Do you know who took you?”

  Edna stopped hitting the reflector and hollered over her shoulder. “That little weasel Leonard!”

  “Shh, Edna. We don’t want him to hear us. Just keep working on that light.” They could hear music pumping through the car speakers, so Maggie was fairly certain their voices would be masked, but she wasn’t taking any chances. “Mac, it was Leonard. His car was parked in the garage by Jeremy’s office. He had a gun and forced us into the trunk.”

  “All three of you?”

  “No. Charlotte was already in here.”

  “This story just keeps getting better and better. Can you tell me anything about the car?”

  “Yeah. We’re in the trunk of a burgundy Mercury Marquis. It’s an older model.”

  “Put out an All-Points Bulletin for it.” Edna turned and called in to the phone. “If I only had my danged purse. I have the license plate written down in it. I think it has a seven in it. And a one.”

  Mac’s sigh could be heard through the speaker. “You can thank Ms. Allen for her advice and then tell her that I’ve got this.”

  “She can hear you. It’s on speaker.”

  A loud crack filled the trunk as the shoe heel cracked through the plastic and light spilled in through the broken reflector. Edna whooped in celebration. “I got it!”

  “Can she see anything out of the hole?” Mac asked. “Anything to tell me where to find you?”

  Edna wiggled her body, but couldn’t get any traction to scoot up. “I can’t get to it. I’m too danged short.”

  “Tell her to stick her hand out and wave it around. Maybe another car will see it and call it in. I’m heading to dispatch right now to see if any calls have come in. Maybe someone saw something in the parking garage and may know which way you were headed.”

  Edna grunted as she tried to push her hand through the reflector hole. “I can’t get my whole hand through.”

  “Then just do the fingers. Anything to get another car’s attention,” Maggie told her. “Mac, she’s trying now. Don’t hang up.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I won’t leave you gals.”

  A lump filled Maggie’s throat and tears filled her eyes. She knew they could count on the detective. “Thank you.”

  “Hey now. No crying. We’ve already had enough of that for one day. I’m still here.” He chuckled. “It takes more than one failed pass at you to run me off.”

  Edna gasped. “He made a pass at you?”

  “Oh, my gosh, Edna. Focus. Sadly, right now, you are our best hope at getting us out of here.”

  Maggie appreciated the cop’s attempt to joke with her. Regardless of their earlier encounter, she knew he would do everything he could to find them. He was too good of a cop to let a little thing like a kiss get in the way of doing his job.

  “Hey, we got something,” Mac said excitedly. “Someone just called in to say they were behind an old car, and someone was sticking their hand out the back brake light and flipping them off. Wait. Flipping them off?”

  “Edna, are you giving people the finger?”

  “I told you I couldn’t get my whole hand out there, and you said use your fingers.” Edna cackled. “You told me to get their attention.”

  “You’re doing fine, Edna.” Mac’s breathing sped up. “I’m running to my car now. The 911 operator is keeping them on the line, and she’ll keep in contact with me through the radio. The caller said they were out on I-9, coming up to the bridge where you crashed into the lake.”

  Maggie’s heart went into overdrive, beating wildly at the memory of their car plunging into the water. “What if Leonard’s planning to finish us off by driving this car into the lake?” She knew how fast the car would fill with water. The thought of drowning while trapped in the trunk of the car had Maggie squirming and gasping for air.

  “Maggie, it’s okay.” Charlotte spoke calmly behind her. “Leonard loves this car more than anything. He would never crash it into a lake.”

  That thought calmed Maggie a little. Plus, the thought of the blonde thinking of something she hadn’t really irked her. She tried to control her breathing. Think. She had to calm down and think. “Of course. I know where he’s taking us. He’s going to Jeremy’s.”

  The image of seeing Jeremy filled her heart. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry for not believing in him and not coming to him to talk it out in the first place. Hopefully, she would get that chance to talk to him. Who knew what Leonard’s plans were once he got to Jeremy?

  Mac spoke calmly from the speaker phone. “You’re probably right, Maggie. I’m sending a squad car to Jeremy’s place, and I’m headed that way now. If you are near the bridge, you’re probably less than five minutes away. I need you to be prepared for when the car stops.”

  “Okay. What should we do?”

  “I don’t want to lose this line of communication with you. I need you keep the phone on speaker, and I’ll mute my end so he won’t hear me. You’ll need to keep it somewhere on you so I can still hear what’s going on. It has to be somewhere that Leonard won’t notice. Can you hide it in a pocket or something?”

  Maggie knew the perfect something to hide it in. “We’ll put it back in Edna’s bra.”

  “Oh-kay. I probably didn’t need to know that, but there is a fairly good chance that Leonard will not search there.”

  “I’d say it’s a hundred percent chance,” Edna said. “Nobody messes with my goodies.”

  Maggie hoped she meant the trail mix and not her actual goodies. “Okay, as soon as we stop, we’ll hide the phone and make sure it’s pointed out toward Leonard. I’ll try to let you know what’s happening.”

  “Good girl,” Mac said. “But, don’t be too obvious. Remember, I’m a detective. I’m pretty good at figuring stuff out. Don’t do anything that will alert him. I’m about ten minutes away, but I’ll get there as soon as I can. Don’t worry if you don’t hear us. We’re not using sirens because we don’t want to alert him that we’re on to him.”

  The car turned sharply, throwing the women against each other, then came to an abrupt halt. Maggie spoke quickly into the phone. “Mac, we just stopped. I’m passing the phone to Edna. Hurry!”

 
“I’ll be there,” he said, then the line went silent.

  Maggie handed the phone to Edna who dumped it back down the front of her shirt. She heard the sound of a key inserted into the lock, then she was squinting into the sun as the trunk opened and filled the crowded space with light.

  “Get out!” Leonard had the gun pointed at them.

  Maggie sat up and tried to help Edna climb from the trunk, then gestured to Charlotte. “What about her?”

  Charlotte pleaded with her coworker. “Leonard, please. Do not leave me in this trunk.”

  Leonard squinted at the blonde, as if he were really thinking through his response. “Fine. You can come in, too. Hurry up, though. I don’t want the neighbors to see us.”

  Yeah, a man holding a gun on three women climbing out of a trunk just might raise suspicion. Maggie scooted forward in the trunk, then turned to reach behind her. She pulled the blanket the rest of the way off Charlotte and gasped. The younger women’s blouse was torn and bloodied. A purple bruise swelled under her eye and angry red welts encircled Charlotte’s wrists where a thick rope was knotted around them. Maggie looked her nemesis in the eye. “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

  Charlotte’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry too. I’m so sorry. Nothing happened with Jeremy. He didn’t even know I was in his bed. I snuck in to his house to wait for him. But he never wanted me. He always wanted you.”

  Maggie was stunned at the tearful confession. Jeremy hadn’t cheated on her. He didn’t even know the woman was in his bed.

  “That’s enough confession.” Leonard leaned into the trunk and pulled Charlotte forward. He grabbed the loose piece of duct tape from the trunk floor and pushed it roughly back against Charlotte’s mouth. “Get out of the trunk.” Leonard yanked Maggie’s arm and pulled her from the car.

  She stumbled, her legs cramped from being in the trunk, and grabbed for Edna. Speaking directly into her breast, she loudly asked, “What are we doing at Jeremy’s?”

  “What do you think we’re doing here?” Leonard jerked Charlotte up, pulling her from the trunk. He kept a tight hold on her arm as he motioned with the gun for Maggie and Edna to move forward. Charlotte still wore one shoe and limped alongside her captor. “We’re gonna go see your boyfriend and end this once and for all. I’m tired of messing around. Jeremy needs to pay, and soon he’ll be joining Jim.”

  Chapter Twenty-two

  They rang the bell like a misfit band of trick-or-treaters. Maggie could hear Chewie barking, and prayed that Jeremy was home.

  She sucked in her breath when he answered the door, pulling it open with one hand and holding the mangy dog with his other.

  He looked terrible. His hair was a tousled mess and his glasses were askew. He wore black and yellow Batman pajama pants and a wrinkled white t-shirt. By the various stains on the front of his shirt, he looked as if he had been wearing the same clothes for several days. Although Maggie wasn’t sure how he was covered with food stains, because he looked like he had lost weight.

  That was just great. Over the last week, since they broke up, she had plowed through four cartons of cookie dough ice cream and gained five pounds. He looked like he had been eating pizza and something brown, and he loses weight. Life was not fair.

  Jeremy squinted at the group, as if he couldn’t quite grasp that they were standing on his doorstep. “What the heck are you all doing here?”

  Maggie watched his expressions change as he took in her presence, then Charlotte’s bruised face and duct-taped mouth, then finally the gun that Leonard held in his hand.

  Leonard kept a tight grip on Charlotte’s arm and pointed the gun at Maggie’s head. “Don’t try anything, Superhero. Let’s just all go in the house.”

  Jeremy stood back. “What are you doing? What’s this all about, Leonard?”

  Leonard hustled the women into the living room. He shoved Charlotte to the floor by Jeremy’s desk and motioned for the other two women to join her.

  Maggie and Edna huddled on the floor, Maggie’s arm around the older woman’s shoulder.

  Edna shifted her bosom and spoke loudly. “Yeah, Leonard. Why don’t you tell us what this is all about? And speak up, I’m an old lady, ya know. I can’t always hear so good.”

  Oh, my gosh. Talk about subtle. Maggie watched Leonard look questioningly at Edna, then turn his attention back to Jeremy. Once his head turned, she reached up and pulled the tape from Charlotte’s mouth. The tape was only loosely stuck to her face, but Maggie was sure it must have been hard to breathe through the sticky patch.

  Charlotte sucked in air, then whispered, “Thanks.”

  Maggie was happy to help the woman, but her main focus was on Jeremy and what she could do to assist him.

  He looked over at her, pain evident in his eyes. “Maggie, I’m so sorry. I’ve been trying to call you. Nothing happened with Charlotte, I swear.”

  She nodded in assurance. “I know. Charlotte told me.”

  Jeremy looked miserable. “I’m so sorry I got you into this mess. If anything happens to you, to any of you, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “It’s okay, Jeremy. We’re okay.”

  “All right. Enough of this lovey-dovey nonsense. Everyone needs to quit talking so I can think.” Leonard rubbed his hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in haphazard spikes. “None of this is going how I planned. I only wanted to take Charlotte. To take her away and make her fall in love with me again. If these two stupid bitches hadn’t have been snooping around my car and heard her in the trunk, we would be gone by now. I never wanted any of this.”

  Confident now that the women were okay, Jeremy turned his attention back to their assailant. “What do you want, Len?”

  “What do I want?” Leonard’s eyes took on a crazed quality as he waved the gun around Jeremy’s living room. “This. This is what I want. I want a fancy car and a house like this and a woman like that.” He pointed the gun at Maggie and Charlotte. “And I had one, then you took her away.”

  Chewie growled at Leonard, and Jeremy pulled the dog closer to him. “I don’t understand. I pay you a very good salary. You could buy a house. You could easily get a new car.”

  Leonard hung his head. “It’s so hard. I had so much debt, and I have to pay for mother’s debt, and I spent so much money on her.” He pointed the gun at Charlotte. “I bought her clothes and shoes and jewelry. I loved her.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a square ring box. “I bought you this. I was going to ask you to marry me. I spent four thousand dollars on an engagement ring. For nothing.” He threw the box violently across the room.

  The game of fetch was too much for Chewie. He broke loose from Jeremy, running to sniff the box. Maggie quietly called him over and he ran to her, the tiny box in his mouth. She grabbed for his collar and pulled the big dog into her lap.

  Holding the dog against her, she tightened her grip on his collar. The dog tags and the small Chewbacca head toy hanging from the collar swung against her hand. Maggie grabbed for the toy, and it popped open in her hand. She had never paid much attention to the action-figure head before, because she was usually trying to keep the giant mutt from slobbering on her.

  Looking closer, she twisted the Chewbacca head in her hand. Holy zip drive! The little toy hanging from the dog’s collar actually contained a hidden flash drive. She nudged Edna and nodded slightly to the toy in her hand. Edna’s eyes widened, then cut to the desk behind them, in silent communication.

  The three sat on the floor in front of Jeremy’s desk. His monitor sat on top, bubbles floating around the screen. The computer sat under the desk, two empty USB ports on the front. If Maggie could just get a little closer, she could insert the flash drive. She fidgeted with the collar, trying to get the toy loose and slowly scoot closer to the computer.

  Leonard appeared not to notice her movements, his full attention on Charlotte. He took a step toward her, his voice full of pain. “I loved you. And you used me. You took everything I gave you, then
dumped me and moved on to Jim.” He swung the gun to point back at Jeremy. “And to him. All I wanted was for you to love me, to make a life with you. But, you still loved Jeremy. Even when he loved someone else. Even though you think he’s a murderer.”

  Jeremy held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not a murderer. I didn’t kill Jim. I didn’t kill anyone. I don’t even kill spiders. I put them outside.”

  “That’s true,” Edna said. “I’ve seen him do it.”

  Maggie kicked out a foot at Edna, shushing her so she wouldn’t draw any unneeded attention to them. She had the Star Wars head free and gripped in her hand. She just needed a chance to slip it into one of the USB ports.

  Charlotte spoke up for the first time. “What he’s saying is true. I do love you, Jeremy. Working for you has changed my life. You’re the reason I come to work in the morning. And I don’t care what you did. I’ll stand by you.”

  Jeremy stared at Charlotte in shock. “Charlotte, I didn’t do anything. I did not murder Jim.”

  Charlotte shook her head, as if trying to digest this new information. “What do you mean, you didn’t murder Jim? But I thought once you found out that he was selling the secrets of the new video game to Skyler, you killed him. That’s why I lied and said you were with me the night of the murder. I gave you an alibi. I was trying to protect you. Jeremy, I still love you.”

  “I appreciate that, and I do care about you as a person, Charlotte, but I’m in love with Maggie.” Jeremy still had his hands in the air. “And I didn’t find out about Jim selling the game information until after he was murdered. So I had no reason to hurt him.”

  “But what about the emails and the money? I saw the threats you made to him.”

  “I didn’t send those emails. Someone’s been trying to make me look guilty, but I liked Jim. I gave him that money as a bonus for working so hard.”

  Leonard laughed. “You’re such a patsy. You deserve to go to jail for this murder. You gave a guy a bonus that was stealing your code right out from under your nose. I worked twice as hard for you, and you never gave me a bonus.”