Just as we were leaving Richmond and entering El Cerrito I noticed a guy on a motorcycle duck behind a parked car as we drove by. A couple of blocks further, I saw another parked bike with one of our guys sitting on it. It looked like the Devils got there too late to help us, but they’d be following us.
Our captors didn’t seem to care if we saw where we were going. My imagination ran wild with thoughts of one-way rides in gangster movies – you know, when they don’t care if you see where you’re going because they’re going to kill you anyway.
I look at our two captors. Neither resembled the picture I’d seen of Carpenter. The driver appeared to be the boss. He’d been telling the others what to do, and he was the one who’d made the phone call.
A few more turns and, sure enough, we pulled into Carpenter’s driveway. I didn’t want them to know I’d ever been here before, so I let them lead me in even though I knew the way. I purposely didn’t tell Josie where we were so she couldn’t accidentally give it away either.
We were roughly pulled out of the car and pushed into the house through the same side door we’d used to load the garbage truck. No one spoke to us. They led us through the house, through the library and into the secret room. They untied our hands. The door’d been fixed. I heard it lock after us. We were standing in total darkness.
I’d had a moment to survey the hidden room before the door closed behind us. Things were very much as before, but the desk had been righted since I last saw it. Fumbling, I managed to find and turn on a lamp. The light revealed the rest of the room I knew only too well. No windows, just the one door we’d come through. A small ventilation screen way up the wall, nothing I could ever reach. A couple of chairs sitting side by side. About all we could do was sit down and wait.
“What do you thinks’ going on?” Josie whispered to me.
“I’m not sure, but this is Carpenter’s house,” I told her.
“Do you think we’re in any danger?” What could I say?
“I don’t think so.” I made a snap decision not to share my thoughts about being killed because they hadn’t blindfolded us. Not useful. Also not useful was remembering that they’d killed twice already.
“I bet he’s gonna try to reach Smitty through us. We should be okay,” I said, trying to sound a lot more confident than I felt. “Did you notice the Devils spotting us on the way up?”
“No. Where were they?”
“The two I saw were on my side of the car, and they were definitely keeping an eye on us. At least your Dad knows where we are.”
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have stopped in the parking lot,” Josie said shaking her head. “I should have just kept going. I bet I could have outraced them.”
‘Doesn’t matter. We’re here now. I’d bet we’re gonna meet Carpenter. But we have to pretend we don’t know who he is, that we don’t know his name or anything about him. Okay?”
I couldn’t tell Josie but I was really worried. It was beginning to look like Carpenter, or at least some of his goons were capable of almost anything, and killing definitely made the list. What could I do if they got rough with us? The thought of Josie being harmed sent chills through me.
CHAPTER 45
So far everything had been an adventure. I’d convinced myself that I was kind of once removed from what was going on.
Not anymore. Now I had to protect Josie. Up till now, Smitty’d had Josie protecting me, as well as acting as my chauffeur, both motorcycle and car. Now it was my turn.
“We need to relax,” I whispered. “Keep calm. Conserve our strength. Sooner or later we’ll have a chance to get away, either with your dad’s help or on our own. But for now, there’s really nothing we can do except wait. This’d be a good time to learn more about each other,” I said half in jest.
“Okay, me first.” To my surprise, it appeared that Josie took me seriously. Actually, I realized after the fact that I’d come up with a reasonably good idea. It’d help pass the time, and hopefully keep Josie’s spirits up.
“First question,” Josie said. “Why did you leave home?”
“Short story. To go to college.”
“Where’d you go?”
“Junior college in Concord, for two reasons. One, my grades weren’t good enough to get into Cal. Second, I couldn’t afford Cal. Now it’s my turn. Did you go to college?”
“Yeah. I did go to Cal., but I didn’t get my degree. I majored in boys, mostly. Just kidding! I really wanted to major in oceanography or something like that. Unfortunately marriage got in the way. We met in college. He was lots of fun at frat parties, college games and stuff like that. We both thought we were in love, but after the fact, I think it was just ‘like,’ not love. He had lots of family money. We bought our house while he was still in college. I quit school and started playing housewife. I mean, really can you imagine me a housewife?”
“So what went wrong, if I may be so bold to ask?”
“Well, he stayed on at school, and he also stayed on with the frat parties. Eventually, among other things, he got a sorority girl pregnant and got himself in a lot of trouble with the law and her family. His family got rid of me by giving me the house they’d actually bought for him.”
“Do you still see him?”
“Never! Not once! Good riddance!”
I wanted to keep her mind occupied so I asked her about her childhood, where she was born, where she went to school, her first date and so on. It was interesting. Needless to say, having a dad like Smitty created some pretty unique problems. Whenever other kids, teachers or neighbors saw something in the paper about Smitty, she’d hear about it. The kids would tease her. She said they could be real mean sometimes.
I had an ulterior motive with some of my questions. I gave her plenty of opportunities, but she never mentioned anything about current boyfriends. Finally, though, my curiosity got the best of me. “Since your divorce, do you date much?” I asked flat out.
“Nope. Like I told you before, most guys get scared off because of my dad. Would you have been scared off by him?”
“Maybe, at the beginning,” I admitted. “Now, I really like him. He strikes me as tough but fair. I certainly wouldn’t want him for an enemy. I’ve heard some stories about him that are pretty scary.”
Josie laughed. “They’re probably true. Though Mom used to say, ‘Don’t believe all the stories you hear about your dad.” Then she’d laugh and say, “They’re only about three quarters true.”
“Actually I think they really were true. I think he did some really terrible things years ago. He was just lucky not to have been caught. I think almost all the guys did horrible things in the past. There’s still a younger part of the gang that I’m glad Dad’s broken with.”
We passed a couple of hours getting to know each other much better, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Josie told me that Smitty had always been there when she needed him, for money and clothing, those kind of things, but she never felt close to him until after her mom died. Since then they’d become friends as well as dad and daughter.
She told me how hard it’d been for her when her mom died in a motorcycle accident. . Smitty’d taken it really hard, even blamed himself for her death.
“He said she’d never have been in the accident if it wasn’t for him. Eventually he’d turned to me. From then on, we’ve been closer than ever before.”
For quite a while, we almost forgot where we were. Josie admitted that she really enjoyed my company, but she’d held back ’cuz she didn’t know who I was, fearing I just another biker type that she wouldn’t want to get serious about.
“So what was your first clue, you know, that I wasn’t a biker type?
“You mean outside of the fact that you’re useless on a motorcycle? I guess when I noticed how shy you were. I kind of liked it. Most of the younger gang members think they’re hot stuff, that they can snap their fingers and the girls’ll come a’runnin’. Hah, not this girl!”
“What an education, g
rowing up around this crowd,” I chuckled.
“Well, as far as my dad’s concerned, I just ignore him,” Josie said breezily. We sat for a while in silence. Gradually her head gravitated to my shoulder as she fell asleep. I couldn’t move for fear I’d awaken her.
CHAPTER 46
I think we’d both been dozing when I heard the door to the outer library being opened, and then our inner door swung open as well. One of our captors came in with two bottles of fruit juice in his hands. Right behind him, the other was holding a couple of homemade sandwiches. They put the food on the desk and asked if we need to go to the bathroom.
We both did. The first guy says he’d take us, one at a time. I was buoyed up by this, them wanting to treat us pretty well, until I saw how roughly they manhandled Josie and me. The closest one reached for Josie’s arm and forcefully dragged her out of the room. I’d been hoping they’d be gentle on us, but they were no. They didn’t seem to care if they hurt us.
When she returned, they yanked me to my feet and force walked me to the bathroom. It was outside the library, through the living room and down a short hall. I’d been in the living room but I was seeing the short hall for the first time. I really needed the bathroom, but kept my eyes open for anything else useful.
The small guest bath had a proportionally small window, but the guy kept the door ajar and I barely had time to dry my hands before he herded me back out. I did have a chance to wad up a small handful of toilet paper and stuff it in my pocket. Perhaps I’d have a chance to drop it by the door to our cell and it could keep the door from completely closing.
It didn’t work. I dropped it okay, but the guy saw it and nonchalantly kicked it out of the way before pulling the door shut, I heard it lock. It hadn’t been much of a plan anyway.
I remembered that the door was rigged with some sort of a spring lock. When we’d broken in, Nips had simply pushed on it and it had sprung open. Being on the inside, it seemed logical that pulling on it might produce the same result. I tried every which way I could think of, but nothing budged. It stood to reason that Carpenter’d had a way to let himself out of the room, but neither of us could find anything that worked. Maybe they’d disconnected it.
Josie asked me if I’d noticed anything on the way to the toilet that might be of any help. I had to tell her no. She gave me a big hug and told me to eat my sandwich and drink my juice, that we needed to keep our strength up.
“I agree with you,” I told her and reached for the sandwich. “And I take it as a good sign, that they’ve been ordered to take good care of us.”
We ate deliberately slowly, to make the time pass. Just as we were finishing, the two goons came in and hustled us out of our cell. No explanation. They just yanked us to our feet and prodded us out.
This time their manner was clearly threatening. Josie was scared and so was I.
CHAPTER 47
We were being dragged into the living room and told to sit down on a sofa. In a few minutes, Carpenter walked in. It had to be him, judging by the deference the others showed him. The pictures I’d seen of him must have been really old. He looked to be in his early seventies. Lean, a full head of black hair, somewhat distinguished. I had to remind myself that he was a murderer.
He walked in and leaning one hip on the corner of the desk, stared at us for a couple of minutes. No one said anything.
He was dressed in a tweed jacket, sport shirt open at the neck, slacks and loafers. Not at all what I’d expected. Not even a cigar.
“I know all about you two,” he said finally. “I know you’re Smitty’s daughter and I know your name is Casey. I know all about the motorcycle gang.”
I was surprised by his voice. High, yet gravelly. He went on for a while telling us what he knew about the gang, and Smitty’s house. It was for all practical purposes, an admission that he’d done all the things we thought he had.
I gradually got the impression he was fishing for more information. He’d found out a whole lot of physical things –but he was completely mystified as to why Smitty was doing him all this harm. He didn’t get it that Smitty took murder personally.
“I don’t know why you guys broke into my house. All I want is my papers back.”
He must think we’d just taken them, not read them. I glanced at Josie. She appeared to be on the same wavelength as me.
“As you can see, we haven’t harmed you in any way. Did you enjoy your little snack? Our food isn’t quite what it used to be, since I lost my chef – thanks to you guys. But we did the best we could.” He didn’t give us time to answer.
“I want you,” pointing to Josie, “to call your father and tell him you’re both fine. I want you to tell him you’ve been given food and drink, and that you have a message to him from me. Tell him that I mean you no harm. Tell him I’ll trade you for the papers.”
He told Josie to make it short and clear. “Tell him he and I can meet at the public library here in El Cerrito for the exchange tonight at eight-thirty. A public place, safe for both of us. And tell him not to bother coming looking for you. I’m moving you. Take a few minutes to compose what you’re going to say and then I want to hear it.”
Josie took a moment. “I guess I can say something like this? ‘Dad, it’s me. I’m supposed to tell you that Casey and I are okay and we’re not being harmed. Mr. Carpenter says to tell you all he wants are his papers back and he wants to trade us for them. He wants to meet you at the El Cerrito library at nine tonight.’ Is that okay?”
She glanced at Carpenter who nodded okay and told her to go on. “I don’t know where we are, but Mr. Carpenter says he’s going to move us anyway by then. Outside of being locked inside a small room, he’s treating us okay.”
Carpenter, perched on the corner of his desk, thought about it for a second or two and then laid down the rules.
“Sounds okay to me, just don’t deviate from the script. I’m putting the phone on speaker so I’ll hear both you and your dad.” He handed her the phone.
Once she had the phone in her hands, Josie hesitated for a second and started to say, “I don’t know if I –”
Before she could finish her sentence, one of the goons behind us grabbed a handful of her hair and twisted her head around, saying, “Don’t think. Just do it.” Josie fell to the floor crying in pain.
Without thinking I jumped up and grabbed at the guys arms. In a flash, Carpenter reached out and belted me a vicious chop that sent me straight back to the sofa. He was much stronger and way faster than he looked. The other guy threw a wire around my neck and pulled back, I started to choke. I thought I was going to die.
Carpenter said, “Don’t kill him.”
The goon loosened the wire a little, just enough to let me breath.
Carpenter was perched on the edge of his desk again, calmly watching me die.
“Dear me, Casey. Now what do I do? I don’t really need you to negotiate with Josie’s dad, do I? Maybe I should just get rid of you right now. What do you think?”
Josie yelled at him. “Stop it all I wanted to say was I didn’t know whether to call him on the home phone or the cell phone!”
Within a moment or two order was restored. Josie and I were back sitting down on the sofa. The goon left the loosened wire around my neck. My head felt like it was going to fall off. The two goons were calmly standing behind us again.
Josie repeated, “All I wanted to know was whether to call him on the cell phone or the house phone.”
“Cell phone, that’ll get him wherever he is.”
She got Smutty on the phone and gave him the message. He countered with a demand of his own. He’d have the papers available for the trade only if he saw his daughter first. He wanted Carpenter to have us with him and to let him see us before he’d meet with him inside the library.
Carpenter told Josie to ask him to wait a minute. He was silent for a short time, then told her to just say “okay” to her father, then hang up.
As she hit the off button, Carpenter
barked out.
“You know what to do with them” to his guys, then left the room. We were taken back to our little room with no view.
The two flunkies were just as polite as they’d been before. They shoved us back into our little cell.
Josie had a headache from having her hair yanked so hard. My ear hurt like hell where Carpenter had belted me, my throat hurt from the wire and my voice was raspy. Josie gave me a big hug and said, “We’re in a heap of trouble, wouldn’t you say?”
I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to keep her spirits up, but I couldn’t help agreeing with her.
Carpenter scared me. I thought I was up against a psychopath again. I thought he was really capable of ordering me killed. I wasn’t about to share my fears with Josie.
“Yeah, Carpenter’s a nasty piece of work. But I think he wants Smutty, not us. Just don’t aggravate him; he’s got a hair trigger temper.”
Privately I thought Carpenter was surely a psychopath. His vicious reaction to me and then instantaneous calmness with Josie was alarming.
CHAPTER 48
We sat on the floor, hugging each other for almost an hour, when suddenly the door was flung open. The two goons strutted in.
“Get up. We’re going on a trip,” they informed us.
“Can we use the toilets on the way?” Josie asks politely.
They allowed each of us a pit stop before they hustled us out the side door to the driveway where two large sedans were sitting, idling. Carpenter was behind the wheel of the front car. The two guys pushing us along opened the rear doors of the second car and shoved us in. We weren’t tied up – just locked in. I surreptitiously tried the door handle but it wouldn’t budge. Probably had a kiddy lock on it.
Carpenter got out of his car and walked back to our car. He leaned in the driver’s window and said, “Stay close and don’t lose me. I’m going to go slow and not attract attention. Can you handle that?”
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