Lakeside Mystery Series Box Set

by Gregg Stutts

  “What’s going on?” Michelle said. “Where are you going? I thought we were going to bed?”

  “I’m sorry, Shelle. I need to, uh, meet somebody.”

  “Who’s Josh?”

  This wasn’t going as he’d planned. “Well, he’s someone I gave…uh, a phone to.”

  Michelle cocked her head slightly. Her arms were folded across her chest. “A phone? You mean your phone?” she said.

  “No, not my phone. Another phone.”

  “Another phone? What are you talking about? What other phone?” Now her hands were on her hips.

  “Look, Shelle, I don’t really want to get into this right now. I’ll be back in an hour or so.” He grabbed his wallet and keys and headed toward the door.

  “Oh, so you don’t want to get into right now?” she said. Her eyes were wide and her eyebrows jumped with every word.

  “Look, Shelle, in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been dealing with a lot. I didn’t ask for any of this, ya know.” He could hear his voice getting louder. “I didn’t ask to get caught up in Dante’s murder last year. I could have done without seeing Dan Jenkins’ lifeless face staring at me in the dark. Not to mention, being attacked in my own house.” He regretted that last part even as he heard the words leaving his lips.

  “So, there it is,” she said. “I was waiting for it.”

  “What are you talking about? Waiting for what?” he said as he opened the door.

  “You blame me for Chris attacking you,” she said.

  It had been a long time since either of them had even mentioned his name. As far as Max was concerned, Chris was no better than Lord Voldemort, ”He Who Must Not Be Named.” But in a moment of total frustration, he’d let it slip. Well, he’d almost let it slip. Michelle filled in the blank for him.

  “I gotta go, Shelle. We can talk about this later.” He shut the door behind him and walked to his truck.

  She opened the front door and yelled, “That’s right we’ll talk about it later.”

  He didn’t respond. He got in his truck, pulled out of the driveway and began the drive back to the coffee shop where he’d just met Josh.

  Chapter 59

  The man picked up his phone and made the call. It was answered on the second ring. “We just got a hit on the phone, sir.”

  “Where is it?” the voice on the other end asked.

  “It’s in a town about twenty miles from Lakeside. It looks like it’s Bentonville. It’s pinging right now.”

  “How did Jenkins’ phone get there?”

  “I have no idea. I just know it wasn’t on him at the marina. And we’ve had no hits until just now.”

  There was silence for a moment. “So between him taking a bullet and the cops arriving, someone else was on that boat. Someone who took the phone.”

  “Yes, sir, that’s how it appears.”

  “So why are we just now getting a hit on it?”

  “I don’t know, sir.”

  “I don’t have to tell you how much is riding on getting this cleaned up.”

  “Yes, sir. We’re working on a remote wipe now. Chances are good they won’t even have time to see anything before it’s wiped clean.”

  “Just do what you have to. Your future, my future, depends on it. Now get it done.”

  “Yes, sir.” There was silence on the line. The man looked at his phone and said, “Are you still there?”

  “I’m still here. And you better hope no one saw you and your team at the marina. If whoever took the phone hung around and saw…”

  “No one saw us. Other than the cops. And we dealt with them.”

  “I WANT THESE LOOSE ENDS CLEANED UP NOW!”

  “Yes, sir. We’re trying.”

  “Don’t try. Just do it.”

  “Yes, sir.” The man slipped his phone back in his pocket. “Speed it up,” he said to the driver. The four men in the black SUV would be in Bentonville in twenty minutes.

  Chapter 60

  Max parked on the street in front of the coffee shop. He could see Josh sitting at the same table they’d used that morning. If he made it quick, he could still be home by 11:15. He was feeling more and more guilty about how he’d left things with Michelle.

  He went inside but didn’t order anything. It looked like they were cleaning up behind the counter anyway. He sat down across from Josh who was drinking a cup of coffee.

  “Hey Josh, thanks for working on this so fast.”

  “No problem, coach. I had to use a couple tricks, but I got it working almost immediately. Good thing you kept it in the rice.” He handed the phone to Max. “I guess it’s all there. Contacts. Pictures. Notes about something called the Freedom Protection Act. His emails are there. Looks like we got it all.”

  Josh swiped the screen, typed the password and handed the phone to Max.

  “How did you figure out his password?” Max said.

  “There’s a way around everything, coach. The new password is 1-2-3-4-5-6. So, who is this guy anyway?” Josh asked.

  “I really think it’s better if you don’t know any more than you already do.”

  “Okay, coach. I’ll take your word for it.”

  Max typed in the password to unlock the phone. He tapped the email icon, but the inbox was empty. “Huh?”

  “What is it?” Josh said.

  “I don’t see any emails.” Max handed the phone back to Josh who tapped and swiped several times, but only looked more confused. “I’m telling you coach, it was all here. There were emails, notes, pictures, browser history it was all in here.”

  “So, what happened?”

  Josh opened several more apps. “I don’t get it. His iTunes library was full of stuff. So were his email and pictures. I don’t…”

  “What, Josh? What is it?”

  “Somebody did a remote wipe.”

  “A remote wipe? What are you talking about?” Max said.

  “Someone got into his account and remotely erased everything on his phone,” Josh said.

  “You can do that?” Max said.

  “Can…and did,” Josh said. “It’s all gone. I’m really sorry, coach.” He handed the phone back.

  “So, you saw some of what was on here, Josh?”

  “Yeah, some of it, but I don’t know how much I remember.”

  “And between the time you called me and just now, someone erased everything?”

  “Yup,” Josh said. “If you know what you’re doing, you can do all kinds of things. Did you know you could track someone’s location from any computer? Or even from someone else’s phone?”

  “What do you mean you can track someone’s location?”

  “It’s got a GPS, coach. If you have someone’s account information, you just login and it’ll show you right where your lost phone is. Of course, it has to be turned on.”

  “So, someone with access to Dan…ah, this guy’s account, would be able to find this phone?”

  “Yup. Find the phone. Erase the data. It’s easy.”

  Max suddenly stood up and grabbed Josh’s arm. “We have to leave. Come on.”

  “Whoa, what’s going on, coach? What’s the hurry?”

  “If they erased the phone, then they also know where it is,” Max said. “Isn’t that what you said?”

  “Well, yeah, but who are we talking about?” Josh asked.

  “I don’t know. I just know we can’t be here when they show up. We have to get out of here.”

  On the street, Max realized he still had the phone, which was totally worthless now. He hurried back inside and went to the men’s restroom and dropped it in the garbage. Josh was still waiting for him when he came back.

  “Josh, listen to me. Go home. Forget about the phone. Don’t mention it to anyone. Ever. Do you understand me?”

  “Yeah, sure, but what’s the big deal?”

  “I can’t explain,” Max said. “Just trust me. Go home and don’t ever mention this to anyone. Please.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I’m
sorry I couldn’t help.”

  “You did more than you should have,” Max said and then hurried across the street to his truck. “Get out of here, Josh,” Max called after him.

  He watched as Josh got in his car and drove away. Max was about to get in his truck when he suddenly turned and sprinted toward the coffee shop. The young woman who was cleaning up was about to lock the door. He flew past her toward the bathroom.

  The moment he made it inside, a black SUV squealed its tires as it rounded the corner.

  Max dug through the garbage to get the phone back. His fingerprints were all over it.

  Chapter 61

  The phone was sitting on top of dozens of wet paper towels. He thought about turning it off and taking it with him, but he didn’t know if the phone could somehow be tracked even if it was powered off. He used some of the wet towels to wipe it off and then dropped it back in the garbage.

  He opened the door to the men’s room, saw the place was still empty and was about to hurry to his truck when a black SUV screeched to a stop right in front of the coffee shop. Two men in suits got out on the passenger side, looked inside the coffee shop and then up and down the sidewalk.

  His heart was pounding and sweat broke out on his forehead. His legs felt rubbery. Two men from the driver side walked around the vehicle and joined the other two. One of them was the man he’d seen with Blair Morgan at the restaurant. They all looked like linebackers.

  He considered walking out right past them. They had no idea he’d been hiding under the dock that night. But knowing it was one thing. Walking past them like nothing had ever happened was a completely different story. He’d never been good at bluffing when playing poker. This wasn’t the time to see if that had changed.

  He looked behind him. There was a back door that would lead into the alley. Keeping an eye on the front door, he slowly backed away, pushed open the door and slipped outside. He peered through a crack in the door just as two men walked inside.

  He couldn’t risk sticking around but would have to wait until they left. On a Monday night, there were very few people out. There were no crowds to blend into. And there were only a few vehicles on the street. His truck being one of them. He hoped they wouldn’t notice his Lakeside Football bumper sticker.

  The alley was dark, but he’d feel better putting a little distance between himself and the coffee shop. He made his way in the dark while glancing back at the door every few steps. He was about twenty yards away when the door opened and one of the men stepped outside into the alley.

  Chapter 62

  Max stepped into a doorway to get out of the light from the coffee shop that was now illuminating the alley. A gust of wind whipped dried leaves and bits of trash into the air. After the door shut, it was dark again. He waited another moment…listening. He was about to move again when he heard a voice.

  “We’ve got the phone, sir, and we were able to wipe the data clean.”

  Silence.

  “Ah, no, sir. We found the phone in a garbage can.”

  More silence.

  “We’re working on it, sir.”

  He could hear the man’s shoes against the sandy pavement. He was getting closer.

  “Yes, sir.”

  The man ended the call and slipped his phone into his pocket. He swore loudly before heading back inside the coffee shop.

  Max remained still. These were the same four guys from the marina. He was sure of it. He’d seen them clearly now, but they hadn’t seen him. They couldn’t know he’d taken the phone. Now he had to hope the girl cleaning up at the coffee shop wasn’t good at remembering faces.

  He waited several more minutes before slowly making his way up the alley toward the street where he’d parked his truck. He was kicking himself for taking Dan’s phone, not telling anyone and then getting Josh involved. This night could have turned out badly.

  He stopped at the end of the alley that intersected with the street where he’d parked his truck. He poked his head around the corner and saw the SUV coming right at him.

  Chapter 63

  Max jerked back into the darkness and hoped they hadn’t seen him. He started to run, but it was too late. If they’d seen him, running wouldn’t do any good. If they hadn’t seen him, then his only chance of making it out of this night was to hide in the shadows and pray like crazy they didn’t decide to search the alley again.

  The vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. The wind blew the exhaust into the alley. He pressed himself against the building and held his breath. The white reverse lights came on as the SUV backed into the alley. The rear bumper was almost close enough to touch. Help me, Lord. If anyone inside looked to their left, they’d be staring right at him.

  A moment later, the tires kicked up dirt as the SUV sped from the alley and back in the direction from which it had come. He heard the engine rev louder as it picked up speed and drove off into the darkness. Only then did he realize it was safe to exhale.

  He hurried to his truck. There was no time to waste. He had to get away from the downtown area. It wasn’t until he tried putting the key in the ignition that he could see how badly his hands were trembling. After three attempts, and dropping his keys twice, he got the key inserted and the started his truck. The dull headache he’d battled for a week was raging again.

  He’d been counting on getting something from Dan’s phone that would incriminate Blair Morgan, but now he had nothing. What he did know was that two city councilmen were dead. Four cops were dead. And Blair Morgan was involved. None of it made sense though. What was so important that she would have had Dan Jenkins killed? And most likely, Andy Reynolds, as well.

  The drive back to Lakeside was excruciating. Every oncoming headlight felt like needles being stabbed in his eyes. Twenty minutes later, he passed the Lakeside Marina and replayed the events of August 4th just like he had every night since. He desperately wanted to erase the memory of Dan’s blank stare and the bullet hole in his forehead. But he couldn’t shake it.

  He also wished he could take back what he’d let slip out of his mouth before he’d left the house. It was almost a year’s worth of frustration coming out in a careless comment. Things were better with Michelle, but now he wondered if they really were or if they were both choosing to ignore reality.

  He’d held his tongue about Chris and the pregnancy. Tonight though, he’d slipped. He should have been more careful. Willy had once told him to guard his heart, to not let anger take root, because it gave the devil a foothold.

  Thirty minutes after his narrow escape, he pulled into the driveway and shut the truck off. He wasn’t ready to go inside though. He held his hand straight out in front of him. It was still trembling. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but all he could see was Dan’s face. And then the rear bumper of the black SUV just inches away. And then Chris swinging the metal poker and almost killing him.

  He took several slow deep breaths. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. He desperately wanted to believe it.

  Chapter 64

  Tuesday, August 12th

  Max was too wired to sleep so he turned the television on and caught the last half of Terminator 2: Judgment Day before finally drifting off around 2:00 o’clock. It wasn’t the best decision he’d ever made. He dreamed that he was being chased by Arnold Schwarzenegger who kept yelling, “I’ll be baaack...for the phone.”

  He woke up at 6:30 to the smell of coffee. Michelle sat next to him on the couch, kissed him and handed him a mug. “I’m sorry for the way I reacted last night,” she said. “I was…”

  “No, Shelle, I’m the one that needs to apologize. I didn’t need to say what I did.”

  Michelle took a sip of coffee. “Do we need to talk about it?” she said.

  “I don’t know. Do we?”

  “What are you thinking?” she said.

  “We’re good, Shelle. What’s in the past is in the past.”

  “Really?” she said.

  “Yes, I mean it. Let’s
both keep moving forward with a clean slate.”

  “Well, I was going to tell you last night. I wanted it to be special, but then…”

  “Tell me what?”

  “The paternity test.” She started to cry. “You are Carrie’s father.”