Hostage!: A Hugh Ranier Novella (Hugh Ranier Short Series Book 2)

by Robert E. Crull

  The fourth was what appeared to be a mini castle stuffed on top of a mountain. Large block stone construction with flat roofs. There were turrets at the two front corners of the house. Way different from what I was looking for so it was out.

  I typed Christy a response saying I’d like to see number three and more like it and, I had some available time in the afternoon if she could pull some visits together.

  +++

  I jumped in the Wrangler and headed out. It was a semi warm day of about seventy-five degrees with a bit of a breeze. The drive to Blairsville would be nice I thought. Something about what Don had said about buying something for me rang true. I was suspect to listening to other people and making a decision I wasn’t at all happy with long term. I’d buy something I wanted. Not for Don and Victoria, not for Dallas, but for me. Reviewing the email in my head, the fourth property with the castle look did interest me.

  I picked up the phone and dialed Christy.

  “Christy McDougal.”

  “Christy, Hugh. I’ve changed my mind and would like to look at the castle fortress from the email. Is it too late to try to see it?”

  “Not at all, it’s actually one of my listings and the owners only use the house once a month or so and have decided not to visit it while it’s on the market.”

  “Great,” I said. “I’m pulling into Blueridge and should be there in about thirty minutes.”

  “See you then,” she said ending the call.

  Crossing the town line, heading down the long decent on state road 515 I saw the light in front of me had turned red. I was far enough away I’d probably catch a green by the time I got there. It was maybe a three minute amount of time which passed for me to go through the busy little section of Blueridge and I was back up to a decent speed.

  I travelled several miles when the approaching traffic burst into a ball of dirt, grass, and broken trees.

  I slowed and pulled the Wrangler to the side of the road with the flashers on. As I approached the vehicle I could see the driver was mostly hanging out of the open side door. There wasn’t any smell of gasoline so there was no imminent threat to the driver and I decided to leave the victim in the car. I kneeled down next to the front door and saw the person had not been wearing a seatbelt and the airbags had deployed.

  “Can you hear me?” I asked.

  After several seconds which seemed like hours there came a response.

  “Yes,” the voice croaked out.

  “I’m going to leave you where you are for right now and am going to call the medics.”

  “Ok.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Ellen, Ellen Page,” she said.

  “Ellen, I’m Hugh. I’m going to stay here with you until the medics show up.”

  I looked around the area and saw other people had stopped to see if they could offer assistance and saw at least two people on their phones and assumed someone had called 9-1-1.

  “It hurts so bad,” Ellen said.

  “What hurts Ellen?”

  “My legs, stabbing pain, I can’t feel my feet.”

  I looked down as best I could and saw her legs had been crushed. There was a steady stream of blood coming from her lap. Luckily, the blood did not spurt with the beat of her heart. She’d somehow managed not to open a femoral artery.

  I heard the sound of sirens approaching and couldn’t tell if it was an ambulance or a sheriff.

  “Helps on the way Ellen,” I said.

  “I’m beginning to get cold. What does it mean?”

  She was loosing blood rapidly and if something wasn’t done soon she would die right there in the front seat of her broken car. I reached down, grabbed my belt and looked to her legs to see if one was bleeding worse than the other. Belt in hand I reached down and tied off her left thigh as high up the leg as I could. Within seconds the flow of blood began to slow.

  She’ll make it a little longer, I thought.

  The ambulance approached and parked as close to the scene as they could. Two paramedics jumped from the van to grab the gear from the back to carry over to Ellen. They rushed in, and I moved from the side of the car.

  “Ellen, the paramedics are here and will take good care of you.”

  She’d lost consciousness.

  I watched as the medics pulled her from the wreckage and began to administer trauma care as best they could. Immediately, they put a tourniquet on Ellen’s right leg to minimize any further blood loss. Simultaneously, another medic started an IV and began pushing what I could only assume was pain killers.

  I stepped back out of the way and returned to the Wrangler. I’d have to call Christy to let her know I was going to be a little late. As soon as the way was clear, I started the Jeep and made my way down state road 76 toward Blairsville.

  I arrived at the office and went inside to be greeted with a gasp by Christy.

  “What happened to you?”

  “There was a car wreck and I was first on scene. I sat with the driver while the medics made their way in,” I said.

  “Is any of the blood on your clothes yours?”

  It was then I’d looked down and saw how much of a mess I was. My shirt sleeves were soaked through and most of the front of the shirt had various size stains.

  “No, none of it is mine.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “Is there a store around I could grab a shirt?”

  “Sure, you passed a super store on the way here. But, are you sure you don’t want to reschedule this for another time? A car wreck is pretty traumatic it seems.”

  “I’ve seen worse in the Navy,” I said. “I’d like to clean up a bit if it’s ok and maybe stop by the super store and buy a standby shirt.”

  “The restroom is right through here,” she said showing me the way.

  It took several minutes to wash the blood off my hands and fore arms, and I knew I’d need a scrubby pad to take it all off but, at least now I was presentable minus the shirt.

  “Ok Christy, you ready?”

  She looked a little squeamish.

  “I don’t want to be rude Hugh, but can we take your car?”

  I started to laugh one of those deep belly laughs.

  “Why are you laughing at me?” she asked with a bit of a pout.

  “I’d never have suggested otherwise Christy. I’m a wreck and mostly have already gotten the Jeep filthy, I wouldn’t want to trash your Infiniti.”

  “You don’t think me as selfish do you?”

  “I view you as being smart.”

  With the little chuckle out of the way we headed toward the Jeep. As we approached I remembered I kept a change of clothes in the emergency bag I kept at the ready. You never knew where a lazy drive might take you. Reaching into the bag I pulled out a long sleeve t-shirt, and began to change in the parking lot. I think Christy must have been a little shy as she turned around as if to give me some privacy. I was in the middle of an open parking lot, how was I going to be private.

  Changed, we jumped into the Jeep and headed out for the first property.

  “What made you change your mind on the fourth piece of property Hugh?”

  “After looking at it again I was intrigued to see what the inside looked like and what the layout might be.”

  “We’ll go there first as it’s the closest to where we are,” she said.

  “Great. Where are we headed?”

  “It’s all setup in the navigator on my phone. Let me start it.”

  The device began delivering directions, and Christy and I talked about the area, and local hang outs.

  In three hundred feet turn left at Sycamore Road.

  “Wow, this is pretty close in,” I said.

  “I thought you might like being a little closer to town than up on the side of a hill some place.”

  “It does have it’s advantages.”

  The navigator gave me the destination is on your left message and I looked over and saw a house which resembled one of the old Englis
h or Scottish castles of days long forgotten. I pulled onto the cobble stone grey paved driveway and found it too had a circular drive like the house in Kennesaw. I appreciated the feature for the simplicity it offered.

  As I left the Wrangler I noticed the quality of the construction of the driveway. The stones were tightly seated and offered no give when I walked across them. The house itself was made from a similarly colored stacked stone which must have taken awhile to construct. It too was of high quality as there was not a single blemish of concrete I could find.

  “Let’s walk around the outside first,” Christy suggested.

  “Sure.”

  “I think you’ll like the back of this place. Its perfect for entertaining or relaxing.”

  “Let’s have a look.”

  We walked to the back of the house down a gradual slope. I had been looking for something more flat than this but, I’d reserve judgement until I saw the whole package. The lawn was mostly natural woodlands with enough carved out to make the drive way. Arriving at the back of the house I was amazed.

  There was at least five acres of what appeared to be an old English bowling lawn in the back. It was a little over grown at the time, but the Bermuda grass looked to be as good as any you’d find at a country club. Walking away from the house to get an idea of what the total picture was, I became more impressed. The back was fairly simple, but elegantly done.

  In the middle of the house was a patio built directly on top of a walk out basement. It wasn’t a deck as so many of the builders would construct but an actual concrete structure covered in the same stones used in the driveway. The banisters around it were simple, and concrete. It appeared as though there’d been no shortage of money when the house was built.

  “What do you think?”

  “It’s pretty impressive I have to admit,” I said.

  “Lets go up to the main level and back around front.”

  When we arrived back at the main level we went to the front of the house and through the massive black wooden doors into a spectacular entry way. It must have been fourteen feet tall. From the entry you could see straight through to the patio in the back. It was at least forty feet from front to back of the house.

  “Wow,” I said.

  “Nice isn’t it?”

  “Nice is a bit of an understatement.”

  “Well, lets take the tour.”

  We visited the grand expanse of a living area with an open kitchen to the left. It was definitely more kitchen than I’d ever use but damn it was awesome. Large scale commercial cook top with a set of double ovens and large scale refrigerators big enough to almost walk into. Whoever built this place sure as hell didn’t scrimp any.

  The rest of the house held four large master suites each with their own bath. The basement was loaded with a wine cellar, theater with a bar, and workout room.

  “This place has it all, doesn’t it?”

  “It sure does,” she said.

  “So whats the asking price for this place?”

  “So let me tell you the rest of the story.”

  “There’s more than this.”

  “There are a total of twenty-four acres of woods connected to this house and they can be segmented and sold off separately if you’d like.”

  This was sounding like it was too good to be true. It had enough property for me to do the things I’d wanted to do for Don and Victoria should they want to visit. There was enough room in the house to hold the most important people I knew; Don and Laura.

  “You’re making this kinda hard to walk away from,” I said.

  “Hugh, this place is a steal. It’s listed for one and a half million, but I think the sellers would reduce by about a quarter.”

  “Hmm. Can you give me a few minutes in here alone Christy?”

  “Sure, I’ll be out front.”

  I wanted to walk the house by myself, see what it said to me.

  It was definitely a great house and property, but did I need anything this big, I thought.

  The answer was no I didn’t. The real question then was; do I want this much? It had the wow factor covered nine ways from Sunday, for sure. It had enough property to do what I wanted to do if I decided to do anything and, it was coming in below what I’d intended to spend by about half.

  I went out front to join Christy.

  “Well, what are your thought’s?” she asked.

  “I think it’s a hell of a place Christy. How much of the twenty-eight acres has roadway frontage?”

  “It’s a straight shot down the front road for about five hundred feet.”

  “Cool.”

  “What did you think of the kitchen?”

  “I think it’s more than I would ever use, but it does scream for a big meal to be cooked, doesn’t it?”

  “Like Thanksgiving or Christmas. And, the patio is one of the best I’ve seen for a summer holiday party.”

  “Yeah I agree with you,” I said.

  “Do you want to see the other house, since it was your first choice?”

  “You know what, lets offer them one point three and see if they’ll take it.”

  “You sure you don’t want to try for the one twenty-five, save yourself some money.”

  “Yeah I forgot about it. Let’s do it,” I said.

  “Since I’m the selling agent for this place, let me give them a call right now,” she said while dialing her cell phone.

  “Charles, this is Christy McDuogal, I’m here with a potential buyer for your Blairsville property. Right, those were his words exactly. He’d like to make an offer Charles, and before I put the proposal together, I wanted to see if you would be willing to sell for one and a quarter million.”

  I had to admit rattling off those kinds of numbers made my ass pucker a little. I said I’d wanted to spend three but hearing them spoken out loud with the potential I would have to turn loose of it wasn’t as easy as I thought.

  “Let me ask him. Hold on,” she said.

  “Hugh they are countering with one three five.”

  “Tell him you’ll call him back to him in ten minutes.”

  “Charles, the buyer would like ten minutes. Will you still be available?”

  She ended the call.

  “It’s a hundred and fifty less than the asking price Hugh.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s hearing those numbers made me a little nervous.”

  “This is definitely a want to have versus a have to have I understand.”

  “Truth told, I don’t need another house. It would be nice sure but, I don’t need it.”

  “Thats true Hugh, you don’t need it. Lets look at it another way. The property is appraised at short of five million and you’re picking it up for one thirty-five. Give it a couple years and it will be back at five million if not more.”

  “I didn’t realize property up here had taken such a hit during the recession.”

  “Most everything up here is luxury items or second homes. When times get tough you know as well as I do, people start liquidating for what they can.”

  “That helps a lot,” I said.

  “So, whats your call?”

  “Take the offer.”

  The drive back to Christy’s office was mostly quiet. I felt like a little shock had set in. I committed to spend a lot of money and for some reason felt like it was the last couple dollars I’d ever see.

  At the office Christy started the offer for the house. I could hardly believe I’d bought a house I didn’t need simply because I could. It was a bit surreal. While Christy was doing the paperwork shuffle I stepped outside to call Don.

  “Don Coyne.”

  “Hey, I put an offer in on a house up here.”

  “Really! That was quick.”

  “Yeah, the deal was too good to pass up.”

  “Now comes all the fun of furnishin’ it. Aren’t you lucky?”

  “Ah shit. I forgot about decorating.”

  “No rest for the weary bubba,” he said.

&nbs
p; “There has to be someone I can hire to decorate, right?”

  “I suppose there is yeah, but they’re damn expensive.”

  “I’m having enough trouble with the money I committed to and now I need to spend more.”

  “Dude, I told you a couple of weeks ago you have plenty of money and, that was before the David Smith case.”

  “Thanks for the reminder,” I said.

  “Sure man.”

  “Ok let me go back in and see how the paper work is going.”

  “See ya.”

  I walked back into the office to see Christy pulling a set of documents from the printer.

  “Perfect timing,” she said.

  “You ready?”

  “Let me highlight what you need to sign and we’ll be all set,” she said setting about the business of going through the documents with a highlighter.

  I sat on the opposite side of her desk and thought about how good life was. We’d done a hell of a lot and, helped a few people along the way. The business was good and it looked to be getting better.

  This doesn’t suck.

  “Here we go,” she said. “You’ll need to sign here to authorize me to represent you in this transaction. Here giving permission to make the offer as outlined above. And, here saying it’s ok if I run a credit check to help you qualify for a loan.”

  “I won’t be needing a loan.”

  “You’re making this one hell of a good day for me Hugh.”

  “I’ll write a check when the time comes.”

  “Alright, scrap the last signature then,” she said.

  “When do you think we’ll be ready to close?”

  “Shouldn’t take more than a couple weeks to have the title search done, and everything ready from the sellers point of view.”

  “Great. Do you need anything else from me today?”

  “Not right now. You’ve had a hell of a day haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, it sort of hit me. I’m tired.”

  “I’ll bet you are,” she said.

  “Give me a call if you need anything,” I said standing to leave.

  Christy stuck out her hand to shake mine and walked me to the door.

  “I’ll wrap this up as soon as I can.”

  “Thanks Christy, I’ll see you soon,” I said as I left the office.