“Tell me what he told you!” the man insisted.
“He didn’t tell me anything!” Maggie shouted.
The man raised his eyebrows at her. “You had dinner with him last night. He didn’t tell you then? Come on, Ms. Edwards, I find that hard to fathom.”
Maggie shook her head. Her mind spotted a temporary solution, and she took it. “No. No, I didn’t have dinner with him last night,” she lied.
“You’re lying!”
“I’m not! I’m not. I can prove it.” The man narrowed his eyes at her. “Check my phone,” Maggie exclaimed, pointing with a shaky hand. “Check it. The code is 1753. Check the texts. You’ll see, I told him I was running late. And then check the call log. I called him and we rescheduled. For tonight, actually! So, I haven’t spoken with my uncle about anything.”
The man squinted at Maggie before swiping through her phone. He fiddled on it for a few moments before he toggled off the display. He narrowed his eyes further at her. “See?” Maggie questioned. “I could call…”
“No!” the man roared. “No calls.” His lips twisted into a gruesome smirk. “Let’s pay dear Uncle Ollie a visit, Ms. Edwards.”
Chapter 7
Maggie swallowed hard, fighting back tears as she flipped the shop’s sign to closed and pushed the door shut. She turned the deadbolt, locking the door. Maggie crossed to the cashier’s counter to retrieve her purse. “Uh-uh-uhhh,” the man said.
“I need my purse. It has my keys! Unless you’re proposing we walk to Aberdeen? Or maybe you’re planning on taking that swanky sports car?”
The man smirked at her. “No, we’ll take your car. But I’ll handle the bag. I don’t want any surprises.” The man shooed Maggie and Piper from the counter, grabbing hold of Maggie’s purse from the cabinet underneath it. “Where are the keys?”
“Middle pocket,” Maggie directed. The man reached inside the purse. “No, no, the other middle. On the left. No…” Maggie sighed. “It would be easier if you let me get them.”
The man grumbled but waved Maggie over with his gun. He pulled the purse away from her as she approached. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned.
Maggie nodded in response and reached into her purse. She withdrew her keys, dangling them in front of the man. The man’s mouth curled into a smile. Palming them, Maggie pressed a button on her key chain, exposing a small but sharp blade. She swung it at the man, slicing his shoulder. He cried out in pain but managed to block her second swing.
He caught her arm mid-swing and twisted it behind her. Pain shot through her wrist. “Drop ‘em,” the man growled in her ear.
With a defeated cry, Maggie dropped the keys. The man snatched them from the floor, ripping off the key chain and tossing it to the ground. It clattered across the floor and out of Maggie’s reach. Maggie choked back a sob. The man shoved the keys toward her. “The next time I won’t be as generous. Now, let’s try this again.”
Maggie grimaced at him, plucking the keys from his hand. She wiped at a rogue tear that had fallen onto her cheek during the struggle. “My car’s out back,” she choked out.
The man shimmied the gun in the direction of the shop’s rear. Maggie stalked across the shop. “You too, Rainbow Brite,” he growled, signaling for Piper to follow Maggie.
Piper sniffled; her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Maggie put her arm around Piper’s shoulders, drawing her close as they proceeded to the shop’s rear entrance. “Stick close to me,” she whispered. “We’ll be okay.”
Piper nodded without responding verbally. Maggie felt her tremble as they reached the back door. Bright sunlight streamed in as Maggie swung the door open. They descended the stairs and Maggie slid into the driver’s seat of her sedan. Piper crossed to the passenger side, but the man waved her back. “No, you’re in the back seat with me.”
He shoved Piper into the rear of the car and climbed in behind her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pressed the gun into her ribs. “There we are, nice and cozy. Any funny business and Rainbow Brite gets a bullet to the lungs, got it?”
Maggie nodded as she fumbled with her keys, dropping them once before successfully shoving them into the ignition and firing the engine. She glanced in the rearview mirror as she shifted into reverse. Tears streaked Piper’s face. Maggie eased the car from her parking space, shifted into drive and pulled onto the road.
As Maggie aimed the car toward neighboring Aberdeen, she glanced in the rearview mirror again. “Could you at least take the gun out of her ribs?”
“Worry about yourself, Ms. Edwards.”
“Unlike jerks like you, I don’t just worry about myself,” Maggie shot back.
The man lunged forward and clutched her throat. “I wouldn’t tick me off any further, Maggie,” he hissed in her ear.
Maggie shrieked as his hand grasped her throat. She choked down a swallow as he released her. He sunk back next to Piper, pointing the gun at her again. This time he kept it a small distance away.
Maggie navigated the short distance to Aberdeen, winding through the streets toward the outskirts. She turned the car onto a tree-lined street. Houses dotted the sides, each of them with generous yards. Maggie swung the car into a driveway a quarter of the way up the road.
Ollie’s neatly trimmed lawn fronted his Craftsman-style porch. Maggie killed the engine. “Now what?”
“Now we pay Uncle Ollie a visit.”
The man popped his door open, dragging Piper out of the car with him. Maggie emerged from behind the wheel. With legs that felt like jelly, Maggie forced herself up the walk to Ollie’s porch. She rang the bell and waited outside the door. Within a few moments, the door swung open.
“Maggie?” Ollie questioned, glancing around her at the other two people. His brow furrowed.
Maggie’s lip trembled, and she pouted her lower lip as she tried to force a smile. “Hi, Uncle Ollie,” she said in a shaky voice. “Can we come in?”
Ollie stood to the side, silent as he motioned them inside. “I’m sorry,” Maggie whispered as they crossed the threshold.
The man shoved Piper through the door and stepped inside. He pushed the door shut behind them. “Let’s all sit down, shall we?” he said, using his gun to wave them into Ollie’s living room.
“What’s going on?” Ollie whispered to Maggie as they made their way to the couch.
“Hey!” the man objected. “No talking!”
Maggie sunk onto the edge of the couch with Piper as Ollie eased into an armchair. “This… person,” Maggie spat out, “wants to know the location of the other two ankhs. I told him you may have some idea but… since I missed dinner last night, I didn’t know anything.” Maggie stared at Ollie, giving him a slight nod and praying he picked up on her lie.
Ollie nodded back. “No, you wouldn’t have any idea. I planned to share my research with you tonight… assuming you were on time,” Ollie noted, playing along.
The man waved the gun in front of him as he spoke. “I don’t care about your missed dinner date, doc. I want to know where the other two ankhs are located. And I want to know now.”
Ollie nudged his glasses further up on his face. “All right,” he said calmly. “But first, let my niece and her friend go. There is no reason to involve them.”
“I’m not going to play your games, Dr. Keene. Tell me the locations.”
“Not until Maggie and Piper are safe!” Ollie argued.
The man leapt from his chair. He grasped Maggie’s wrist, jerking her to standing. His arm wrapped around her, his hand clutching her throat. He pressed his gun to her cheek. Maggie whimpered and tugged on his hand but could not escape. A tear rolled down her cheek as her knees threatened to buckle underneath her. Ollie rocketed from his chair.
“I’m not playing games, old man,” the man growled. “Tell me what you know, or your pretty little niece gets a bullet in her brain.”
“Okay, okay, please,” Ollie begged, “let her go.”
The man shoved Maggie towa
rd Ollie. She stumbled a few steps and Ollie caught her. “Don’t tell him,” Maggie insisted.
“It’s okay, Maggie,” Ollie answered, squeezing her shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s not worth your life.”
Maggie sniffled but nodded. She sunk onto the couch next to Piper. Maggie’s hand found Piper’s. She grasped it and squeezed it hard.
“Now,” Ollie began, “I don’t have any clear answers…”
“The location, professor, NOW!”
“Germany,” Ollie responded.
“Germany? I’m going to require more information than that, Dr. Keene.”
Ollie swallowed hard. “The Ruhr Museum. In Essen. One of the ankhs is on display there.”
The man’s brow furrowed as he considered the information. “Here,” Ollie said, “let me show you.” The man rose cautiously from his chair again. Ollie held his hands up. “I’d just like to retrieve my laptop and show you proof.”
The man waved him on with his gun and Ollie snatched his laptop and notebook from the desk against the far wall. He popped the display open and typed a few words before spinning it to face their attacker. “Here,” he said, pointing to the screen, “the museum contains artifacts from the Roman occupation. It houses Julius Caesar’s ankh.”
The man squinted at the screen and rubbed his chin. “How certain are you of this?” he questioned.
“Very,” Ollie answered as he pushed the laptop closed.
The man directed his gun toward the two women on the couch. “Enough to bet their lives on it?”
Ollie nodded. “Yes,” he stated.
“All right then, professor. That’s one. Now what about the second?” He pointed the gun back at Ollie.
“Well,” Ollie croaked. “That’s where things get hazy.”
“You’d better not be stalling!” the man warned.
“I’m not, I’m not. I’m just mentioning that this one I am less certain of.” Ollie paused a moment, then continued. “After extensive research, and not very many leads, I’ve narrowed it down to one of two places. Either the Louvre or the Cairo Museum.”
“Those are pretty distinct places, doc. Sure you can’t be more specific?”
“Not with one hundred percent accuracy, no. But I can say my bet would be on the Louvre. I found an obscure reference to a stone cross in storage there.” Ollie paged through his notebook with a shaky hand.
“Come on, come on, doc, I don’t have all day!” the man yelled.
“All right, all right, just let me find it. I’m sorry, I’m nervous, I’m not thinking.” Ollie paged backward and forward a few times before settling on a page. “Here, here it is. See?” Ollie turned the book toward him. Maggie spied the page from her position on the couch. In typical Oliver Keene fashion, messy, nonsensical notes filled the pages.
The man shook his head. “What am I looking at?”
“Right here!” Ollie insisted, pointing to a note dead center on the page.
“Small stone cross,” the man read aloud. “So?”
“So, this is the reference I found. I’d bet it’s the third ankh. It’s listed as being in storage at the Louvre along with several other pieces. The other pieces in the collection all have some tie to Marc Antony. My educated guess tells me this ‘stone cross’ is Marc Antony’s ankh.”
The man paced the floor for a moment while he rubbed his chin. “All right,” he said. “Now it’s time to play a little game. Let’s all move to the dining room.”
“Why?” Maggie demanded.
“I’d tell you, but I’d hate to spoil the surprise. NOW MOVE!”
They filed across the room and entered Ollie’s dining room area. “Everyone pick a seat except Ms. Edwards.” The man sneered at them as Ollie and Piper sat at the dining room table. “Now,” he said to Maggie, “tie them up. Zip ties around their wrists and ankles.” He produced a fistful of black cable ties from his pocket. They landed at Maggie’s feet as he tossed them to her.
Maggie retrieved them, a tear escaping her eye. She wiped it away hastily with the back of her hand. Maggie approached Ollie. “Why don’t you just go…” Maggie began.
“The zip ties, Ms. Edwards,” the man encouraged.
“We’ll promise to give you a head start,” Maggie argued.
“Wrists and ankles or I’ll give myself a head start in the form of a bullet in each of you.”
Maggie’s lower lip trembled as she nodded. “Sorry,” she whispered to Ollie as she knelt behind him.
“Nice and tight,” the man instructed.
Maggie pulled the cable ties tight around Ollie’s wrists, binding them together. She then secured each of his ankles to the chair legs. The man eyed her work. Satisfied, he turned his attention to Piper as Maggie secured her to the chair.
Maggie stood when she completed her work. She glared at the man, her jaw set, her eyes narrowed. “Good work, now it’s your turn. Take a seat,” he directed.
Maggie sunk into a chair next to Piper. The man zip tied her wrists together behind the chair’s back before securing her legs to the chair. “Ow!” Maggie objected, twitching as he secured her left leg.
The man stood and crossed the room to retrieve Maggie’s keys from the coffee table. “And now, I bid you…” The man’s voice cut off sharply as a new sound rung through the house.
Chimes echoed throughout the space. The man whipped his head toward the front door. Someone stood on the opposite side. He crept to the front window, inching the curtain back a tad to peer outside. He swore under his breath. His eyes scanned the room, his fist tightening on the grip of his gun.
The chimes rang through the house again. He grimaced, his jaw tightening. The man shoved the gun in his waistband. He crossed the room and grasped the poker from the fire tools near the fireplace.
A knock sounded at the door. “Ollie?” a voice called.
Maggie’s heart leapt at the sound of Henry’s voice. She craned her neck around to view the door. The man swung the door open, using the bulk of it for cover.
“Henry!” Maggie called from across the room. “Don’t!”
Her warning came too late. The man leapt from behind the door as Henry entered the foyer. He swung the poker, striking Henry in the gut. Henry doubled over, choking as the air left his lungs. The man used his temporary shock to continue his assault. He raised the poker high overhead, then swung it downward, pummeling Henry across the back. Henry swung blindly at him with his fist.
The man attempted a third swing, but hands grabbed the poker, stopping him from finishing the attack. Charlie grasped hold of the poker from behind the man. As Henry stood, the man elbowed Charlie in the gut, then the face. The attack sent Charlie stumbling back several steps as blood poured from his nose.
Henry swung at the man again, this time his fist connected with his target’s ribs. The man swung the poker but missed Henry. Henry leapt back a step, and the two circled each other. Henry lunged forward at him, but the swinging poker drove him back. They danced around each other a second time.
With a shout, Henry lunged at him again. The two locked together as Henry pelted his fists into the man’s gut. In response, the man trounced him with the poker, earning a yelp from Henry. He landed a second blow, driving Henry back.
The man retreated several steps, throwing the poker down and pulling the gun from his waistband. “Uh-uh-uh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Taylor,” the man warned.
Henry heaved a sigh as he raised his arms. Charlie followed Henry’s lead. The man waved them over to the dining room. “Why don’t you have a seat and join our little party?” the man instructed.
Henry took a seat across from Ollie next to Maggie. Charlie, blood covering his face, sunk into one of the remaining chairs. The man pulled a pocketknife from his pocket and swung it open. He approached Maggie. With his gun trained on Henry, he cut Maggie’s bonds.
She grasped her wrists and rubbed them. He nodded to the zip ties on the dining room table. “You know the drill, Ms. Edwards. Nice and
tight, especially on your boyfriend.”
Maggie rose from the table and grasped the cable ties. She made her way to Henry, securing him to the chair, then she moved to Charlie. As she pulled the last zip tie around Charlie’s second ankle, the man yanked her to standing. She stumbled along as he dragged her around the table and shoved her into her seat. He secured her wrists behind her, then her ankles to each chair leg.
He scanned the table, a smile forming on his lips. “Today must be my lucky day,” he said. “To take you all out in one fell swoop. And without a mess or risk of being caught!”
“Why don’t you let me loose and we’ll fight this out like men?” Henry suggested.
The man’s smile dissolved into a grimace. “That’ll be quite enough from you,” the man stated. He swung the butt of his gun and cracked Henry on the skull. Blood streamed down Henry’s face as a split formed on the side of his forehead. Henry’s eyes rolled back, and his chin dropped to his chest.
“Now,” the man continued, “it has been fun, but I must leave you. Enjoy the rest of your short lives.” The man snickered. He pulled a small bottle of lighter fluid from his pocket. A steady stream of the flammable liquid sprayed over the couch and curtains in the living room. He emptied the bottle across the carpet in a line leading toward the dining room.
“That should do,” he said, admiring his handiwork. He flung open a lighter and snapped it. The flame danced on the wick. Maggie followed its path as the man lobbed it across the room and onto the couch.
Chapter 8
The sofa burst into flames. The man smirked and offered them a final snicker before he disappeared through the front door. Maggie heard her car’s engine spring to life. She glanced around the table. Henry’s head still lolled near his chest. Charlie struggled against his restraints, but to no avail. Tears streamed down Piper’s face.
“What are we going to do?” Piper cried, her voice shrill with panic.
“Can anyone get free?” Ollie questioned.
Maggie scanned the room behind her. The flames on the couch shot higher. They climbed the curtains inch by inch with each passing moment. The fire crept closer toward them. The building smoke reached the smoke detector. It screamed its shrill alarm through the house. Maggie struggled against her bonds. “I may be able to,” she choked out as she struggled against her bonds. She wiggled her left leg up and down as she grunted with effort.
Secret of the Ankhs: A Maggie Edwards Adventure (Maggie Edwards Adventures Book 2) Page 9
