I hung up and a pit of nerves and anxiousness balled up in my stomach, and I quickly changed my course and headed towards the bakery. When I got there I was relieved to see his car parked outside, but the relief left as soon as it had appeared when I realized that something was wrong.
The driver side door was still left open, and there was a beeping sound coming from the inside where his keys were still left in the ignition. There was a cup of coffee knocked over and spilled onto the seat, and he had clearly left in a hurry. Or he was taken.
My eyes went wide and a tiny whimper left my lips as I came to the sudden realization of just how much danger Logan was in. There was only one person who would go through that much trouble to make sure that Logan stayed quiet and was made to look guilty. The real murderer. And, by the way that his car was left in such a state of disarray, the killer had managed to catch Logan by surprise and somehow subdue him.
The killer had taken Logan, and somehow I was the only person who knew about it. I could feel the panic starting to set in as logical thinking slowly ebbed out of my mind, but I took a steeling breath and tried to center myself.
Logan was in danger and I was likely the only person who knew yet so I needed to act fast, because I was sure that his life literally depended on it.
Chapter 27
I couldn’t believe what was happening. My head was spinning. All I could think about was Logan. I didn’t know if he was safe or hurt or even something worse.
I dared not think that it could already be too late. I needed to be optimistic for as long as I could. If I couldn’t scrounge up hopefulness, I needed to hold onto the idea that there was still time to change the course of events that were unfolding before us.
I had to do it for Logan’s sake.
My hands were shaking so hard that I could barely get my phone out of my pocket. However, when I was able to, I immediately called Vivian.
“Hello?”
“Vivian, I need you to come over as soon as possible. Logan is missing. I think he’s been taken by the killer.”
“Oh dear. I’m with Henry right now. We’ll be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, darling. Just breathe until we get there.”
“Hurry,” I said before I hung up.
I was about to call Detective Spinner when I saw that he was calling me.
I immediately answered.
“Detective Spinner, thank goodness you called,” I said. “I have an emergency.”
“Has something happened?” he asked, deadly serious.
“It’s Logan. I think he’s been taken by the killer. I don’t know what to do.”
“Alright, Coco. I need you to calm down. I was calling with information about the killer.”
“You know who did it? They might have Logan.” I felt like I might faint as I talked to him.
“Well, Sam Porter has just shot up to the top of our suspect list.”
“Sam?” I asked. “Why Sam?”
“We developed the remaining roll of film you found. Sam Porter was in them. They were quite racy.”
“I don’t understand. Was he by himself?”
“No, it appears he was with someone other than his wife. Someone with short blonde hair.”
I instantly knew who the killer was. All of the pieces suddenly clicked into place.
“Detective Spinner, that just solved the case.”
“It did? What do you mean?”
“I know where Logan is. The killer will be there too. Please, just meet me at this address.”
I told Spinner where to go and hung up. Right as I did, Henry pulled up to the curb.
Vivian rolled her window down. “Need a ride?”
I hopped into the back seat. “I’ve figured out the case,” I announced.
“Just tell me where to go, Coco. I know you’re always right about these things,” Henry said.
Henry sped off once I told him the address. His car was faster and sleeker than mine and Vivian’s combined.
I waited anxiously for us to arrive. Vivian and Henry used the time to go over what they needed to do when we arrived.
“I recall a bust like this,” Vivian said. “We had the building surrounded. We weren’t sure what was inside, but we just had to prepare for the worst case scenario.”
“You remember a bust like this?” I asked. “When?”
“Oh, back when I was younger,” she said. “I did all sorts of things back then.”
Her vague answer wasn’t all that satisfying.
“Vivian, that doesn’t answer the question. What was the bust? What happened?”
“Oh, that’s not even the most interesting one,” she said. “We shouldn’t spend so much time on it.”
“Oh, I remember a similar murder trial that I observed. I was still in law school, but it was one of the most interesting cases I ever had the pleasure of witnessing. The guy was a twin.”
“A twin?” I asked. “An identical twin?”
“Yes, Coco, exactly. An identical twin. So of course all the defense has to do is prove to a reasonable doubt that it could have been his brother. And eyewitnesses can be wrong anyway. So the whole trial was based around how different they looked.”
“You’re awfully quiet, dearie,” Vivian said. I realized I had gotten lost in my thoughts.
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m just so nervous.”
“There’s a good chance he’ll make it out of this, Coco,” Henry said. “Logan is a tough young man. He’s in his prime. He’ll be back in your arms before you know it.”
“This will be a wonderful story to tell your grandchildren, too,” Vivian said with a giggle.
“Vivian,” I scolded. “We’re not even talking about that sort of thing yet.”
“Oh, if you save him, you will be soon enough,” Vivian joked.
“You know, back in my day, it was generally the man who was expected to save a damsel in distress, but I like that you’re doing it the other way, Coco. You’re a modern woman. I like that about you,” Henry said.
“I hope that being a modern woman will pull us all out of danger,” I said looking out the window.
“Being a modern woman has never done me wrong,” Vivian exclaimed. “And I’ve been a modern woman far longer than you so I know what I’m talking about.”
I had to smile at that. It was very Vivian, and it was a nice reprieve from the constant stress.
Still, nothing could make the reality of the situation completely go away. My knuckles were white from how tightly I was clenching my hands. Even with Henry speeding through the city streets and pulling some somewhat illegal maneuvers to get us there faster, I still couldn’t help but feel like every passing second was one second closer to tragedy.
When we finally pulled up to the location, I immediately got out of the car and began to pace nervously.
“Oh, Coco, don’t do that,” Henry said.
“We have to wait for Spinner,” I said.
“We’ll get him back Coco,” Vivian said, holding my hand.
I hoped more than anything that she was right.
Chapter 28
When Spinner finally arrived, he got out of his car looking furious.
“This isn’t the right place, Coco,” he said. “You’re wasting our time. Every moment counts.”
I felt a small twinge of doubt before my chest filled up with righteous anger and pride.
“You told me that I was onto nothing this whole case,” I said. “I was paying attention to everything around me. I know for a fact that this is the place, and you’ll find the killer and Logan in there. You can see for yourself.”
He looked towards the fairgrounds.
“This place is half set up for the Harvest Festival, Coco. I know that this is where we found Daniel’s body, but are you one hundred percent sure that Logan and the killer are somewhere in there?”
I thought about Logan and all the time I had spent on the case so far. The killer was slippery, but they were no match for me.
I nodded. “I’m one hundred and ten percent sure. I’m betting Logan on it. I don’t take that lightly.”
He stared at me for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. I’m going in. But all of you need to stay here.”
We all nodded in agreement. Spinner walked into the fairgrounds, ready to face whatever was in there. Once he was out of sight and out of earshot, I turned to the others.
“He has ten minutes,” I said.
They both nodded. “Agreed,” said Henry.
I pulled my phone out and watched the clock. I didn’t hear anything for ten agonizing minutes. I worried about what would happen if I heard gunshots, but all I heard was silence.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go in.”
Vivian turned to Henry. “I’ll take left flank. You take right.”
He nodded, and they went off in their separate directions. I was feeling less confident now that I was going in on my own, but I had to do it for Logan.
I walked into the fairgrounds and found myself in the center of the Harvest Festival. The kiosks were partially decorated.
Just as I suspected, in the middle of everything was Spinner, Logan, and Ernestine.
“Hello, Ernestine,” I said, cautiously moving forward. Spinner was standing as still as a statue. Meanwhile, Logan was tied up at her feet. He was groggily looking around.
“Coco?” she said. “What are you doing here?”
I rushed forward to check on Logan.
“Stop right there,” she called out. I was only a few feet away from them, but in between me and Logan was a gun that Ernestine was pointing right at my chest.
Logan tried to say something through his gag, but I couldn’t make it out.
I put my hands up. “I’m not here to hurt you, Ernestine,” I said. “I just want Logan back.”
“I don’t want to hurt you either, Coco. You’re the only one who understands. You understood how much he was hurting my baby girl.”
“You mean Daniel?” I said. “Yes, I know he was. And he was hurting you too, right? He was blackmailing you with those photographs of you and Sam.”
She looked shocked. “How did you know about that?”
“Daniel hurt a lot of people, Ernestine. I understand that better than anyone. But you murdered someone. I just want everyone else to be safe.”
I looked over at Detective Spinner for help. He looked terrified and he was still standing perfectly still.
“You shouldn’t have followed me in, Coco,” he said.
Ernestine laughed. “Watch your step, Coco. We don’t just collect vintage guns. We also have a few special traps as well. This one is one of my favorites. It’s deadlier than an anti-personnel mine, and you get to watch them pretend to be a statue until they can’t stand it anymore. As soon as Spinner steps off of that button, the trap will go off and he’ll be filled with shrapnel.” She laughed maniacally.
I looked around. I had very narrowly missed stepping on one on my way up to Ernestine. It seemed like Spinner wasn’t so lucky.
She cocked the gun. “I have you all right where I want you. You see, even if you figured it out, it was still the perfect crime. It really worked out so perfectly.”
She turned to Logan and grinned. “You should have never given me that parking ticket. Once I realized you used the same cleaning service as my daughter, it was just too easy. I stole one of your guns, and hid it in her collection. Of course everyone would blame you once I did that and dumped the body here.”
She turned back to me. “And now, the ending of the story. You, Coco, and Detective Spinner all met your ends in a tragic murder-suicide. With the trap, everything will be such a mess that they won’t know who killed who first.”
She began to laugh hysterically. I saw Vivian out of the corner of my eye. I knew at that moment that I had to take my shot.
I lunged towards Ernestine and started to wrestle the gun off of her. She tried to push me off, but I held on tightly.
Vivian and Henry immediately jumped in to help. I was pushed off of her and landed hard on the ground next to Logan.
With wide eyes we watched as their wrestling match got closer and closer to Spinner.
I yelled out to stop, but it was too late. All four went toppling to the ground. Logan propelled himself on top of me.
We all anxiously waited for the explosion that never came. After a brief second of anxious silence, Spinner managed to restrain Ernestine and Henry wrestled the gun away from her.
Vivian went over to investigate and laughed.
“Sorry, Spinner. You must have forgotten she likes her weapons vintage. This one is a dud.”
I quickly untied Logan and wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back tightly. Moments ago, we were certain we would be dead, but now, all we could focus on was how good it was to be alive and together.
Chapter 29
Laurel arrived as soon as Ernestine was being loaded into the back of a police car. I watched from the edge of the ambulance I was sitting in with Logan.
Ernestine had hit him over the head after requesting his help. I had to admit that it was a good plan. She wanted to use his good heart to make him look like a murderer. Even though they didn’t like each other, Logan could never resist helping a lady with a broken down car.
Or, in this case, turning his back long enough so she could knock him out.
I turned to Logan and pointed to Laurel. “I think I need to go help with this. Detective Spinner isn’t exactly known for his bedside manner.”
“You go ahead,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I walked over to Laurel who looked increasingly upset.
“But how could she do such a thing? I don’t understand,” Laurel said.
She saw me and tears began to well up in her eyes.
“Oh, Coco,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know something so horrible was happening.”
I reached out and hugged her. At first she was surprised, but then she hugged me back.
“I understand,” I said. “I don’t blame you. It’s just like with Daniel. We’ve both suffered.”
I pulled away and took her hands. “But I think you’ve suffered more here,” I said.
She looked terribly upset. “I don’t know what I’ll do without her.”
“You finally have the chance to be you, Laurel,” I said. “No one is yelling at you or telling you what to do anymore.”
She looked surprised, but the tears stopped. She nodded. “I have the chance to be me.”
She looked at her mother in the back of the police car. It was difficult to read her expression.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You’ll have to excuse me. I need to go.”
“Please let me know if you need a friend, Laurel.”
“I will, Coco. I will.”
“I think Alric would like to be your friend too.” I gave her a small smile.
She blushed and tried to not smile. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so.”
She nodded again. “Thank you.” She walked off towards her car, and got in it and drove away.
Detective Spinner turned to me after we watched Laurel drive off. “So, how did you know it was Ernestine? I still don’t follow the train of thought myself.”
“That’s because you don’t know how to discern rumors from what’s important,” I said. “Ernestine hated Daniel more than anyone. She wanted him gone. And I knew that Sam was cheating on his wife and had as much to lose as anyone else Daniel was blackmailing. And the blonde woman in the photos matched the only person on my suspect list whose alibi I hadn’t cleared.”
He nodded as he followed along. “You’re very smart, Coco.”
“Thank you, Detective Spinner.”
“Even my top men weren’t able to crack that and do what you did.”
“Don’t be too hard on them. You weren’t able to either.”
He looked taken aback and gave me a rare smile. “You’re right. Perhaps I should hav
e my ear to the ground a bit more.”
Suddenly, Stella turned up. She looked around at all the police cars and at us. We were all bruised, but otherwise okay.
She sighed heavily. “I never get to do any of the fun stuff,” She said. “You all went on without me.”
Vivian walked over and gave her a hug. “It’s alright, Stella. We needed you to carry on for us if we all tragically perished.”
Henry came over and clapped her on the shoulder. “That’s right. It would have been your job to carry on our legacy and solve the case.”
She sighed. “Well, I would never wish for any harm to come to any of you, but that does sound awfully exciting.”
“Consider our safe return a consolation prize,” Henry said.
Stella pulled him into the hug too. “Oh, none of you are a consolation prize. You’re all better than a blue ribbon at the county fair.”
I smiled at the scene and went back to Logan. He had been patched up and was back on his feet.
“You recover quick,” I commented. “Have any tips for that?”
“Keep your stress as low as possible,” he said. “It’ll give your body time to heal.”
“Low stress, huh?”
“Exactly. I had almost no stress.”
“How did you have no stress? You were tied up and with a possible concussion by someone who planned to kill you. And we were surrounded by exploding traps.”
“That didn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
“I knew you would come to save me.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but I knew I was touched.
He smiled down at me. I smiled back up at him.
I reached out and pulled him into a long embrace. He did the same for me. We held each other like that until we heard Vivian’s comments.
“Hey, this is a crime scene, you know. You can’t get all lovey dovey here.”
I pulled away a little embarrassed. We looked at each other and laughed.
I wrapped my arm around his. “Come on,” I said. “I’ll take you home.”
“My place?” He asked.
“How about mine?” I suggested. “I have a nice plate of blueberry muffins and a cup of coffee with your name on it.
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