by B A Trimmer
“Alright,” I said. “I guess you’ll be hearing from me.”
~~~~
I left the main hotel building and walked through the lot to my car. As usual, there wasn’t a hint of a breeze. There almost never is in Scottsdale unless it’s part of a summer monsoon thunderstorm. Sometimes I visit other places and I’m constantly noticing the wind on my face.
~~~~
I was due to meet with Elizabeth at eleven, which gave me about an hour to get up to the hotel. I decided to stop by my apartment first and change. I put on a loose pair of gray shorts and a maroon polo. I then found a pair of black sneakers that seemed to go well enough.
I had walked out of my apartment and had turned to lock the door when Grandma Peckham stepped out into the hallway. I saw she was dressed to go shopping.
“Well hello Laura,” Grandma said. “How’s your week been?”
“Oh, you know. The usual.”
“Well dear, I hope you’re being careful. I know how the usual is for you.”
“How was the movie Tuesday night?” I asked. “Did Tom Cruise stop the bad guys?”
“Well, that movie wasn’t showing any more. For some reason he wanted to see a movie about a group of vampires.”
“I talked to him in the hall the other night. He said you told him you liked vampire movies.”
“I told him I liked the Dracula movies when I was a kid. I hadn’t watched a vampire movie since House of Dracula right after the war.”
“Well, how was this vampire movie? Was it as good as Dracula?”
“Honestly, I don’t understand the movies anymore. This one was about a group of teenage vampires having a fight with another group of teenage vampires. After a while, they also started fighting with a bunch of teenage werewolves. For some reason, I think one of the vampires had fallen in love with one of the werewolves. But then she changed her mind and fell in love with another vampire. Then one of the werewolves fell in love with a baby vampire. There were a few humans but they only seemed to be in the way. The only time everyone stopped fighting was to have sex with each other. Then there was a big battle between the good vampires and the werewolves on one side and bad vampires on the other side. A lot of them died in all sorts of gruesome ways. I’m not exactly sure why they stopped fighting, but it seemed to involve some sort of time travel. When the fighting stopped, everyone who had died was now alive again. At the end, everyone seemed to become friends again except for some of the good vampires. They were mad because they still wanted to kill the bad vampires. It was a little confusing, but I think in the end the werewolf married the baby vampire.”
“Not the kind of vampire movies you remember?”
“Land sakes, not at all. Bela Lugosi lived in a coffin in a castle dungeon with dirt and cobwebs; these vampires lived in a big house with really nice bedrooms.”
“I guess it would be harder for them to keep having sex with each other if they only slept in coffins,” I said.
“My kind of vampires turned into skeletons and died if you drove a wooden stake through their heart or if they were exposed to sunlight. These vampires wore sunglasses and sparkled in the sunshine. They could only be killed by pulling off their heads and then setting them on fire.”
“How was the guy? His name was Grandpa Bob, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, he seems alright. Not so much of a stuffed shirt as some of the others.”
“Well, hopefully you’ll remember what this one looks like when he asks you out again.”
“I made sure this time. There was a booth at the movie theatre where they give you a strip of pictures for five dollars. We went in and posed while the machine took our pictures. After the movie, we came to my apartment and I put them on the Frigidaire with a magnet. He said it was sweet but I wanted to have a picture so I could remember what he looked like. There have been so many men lately I’m getting a bit confused.”
“You brought him back to the apartment? How did it go?”
“Well,” Grandma said as she bent close to me and lowered her voice, “let’s just say I’m glad you were out for the evening on Tuesday. With the thin walls of these apartments, you wouldn’t have gotten a lot of sleep.”
~~~~
The drive up to Elizabeth’s hotel went smoothly. I half expected to see either the FBI or some goon from Chicago following me. Even though I kept a constant lookout, I didn’t see a thing.
I made it to the Hyatt and parked in the main lot. I took the escalator up to the lobby and found Elizabeth waiting for me next to the queen palm. She was nicely dressed in an above the knee blue pleated skirt, a white polo, and white sneakers with blue ankle socks. It was a perfect outfit for poking around and looking for a treasure.
“Good morning,” I said. “How was your night?”
“It’s the first time I’ve felt like myself since they read the Will on Monday. After you left, I went to my room and fell asleep right away. I slept until almost ten this morning. I would have woken up even later but the maid knocked on my door. It’s a good thing she did since I hadn’t set an alarm.”
The lobby had several groupings of couches and chairs. I led Elizabeth to one of these and we sat.
“We need to decide how we are going to go about this,” I said.
I pulled out my phone, found the pictures I had taken of the card in the vault, and sent them to Elizabeth. After she had gotten them, we both looked at the pictures.
“According to the card, we need to look below the coffin rock as seen from Dobbins Lookout,” I said.
“Where’s Dobbins Lookout?”
“It’s on the top of the mountain in South Mountain Park. You can see it from your granddad’s house.”
“I assume you and Les were already there?”
“Yes and we didn’t find a thing. We also came back to the house and looked around again. I’m assuming the chest with the jewelry is in another hidden room. We just need the clue on how to find it.”
“Well,” Elizabeth said. Let’s go to South Mountain Park and look around. Even if we don’t find anything, it will help orient me as to what you’ve already done.”
“Alright, that sounds good. Are you hungry?”
“Starving, I haven’t eaten since Flagstaff, last night.”
“What are you in the mood for? A chain or something local?”
“Local, definitely local. Spicy is good, but not too spicy. I think it will take me a while to get accustomed to the food here.”
“I know the perfect place,” I said. “And while we’re at it, maybe you could meet the women I work with.”
We stepped out of the hotel and walked to my car. I had noticed earlier that Les would flinch at the heat when he walked out of the air conditioning, but Elizabeth seemed to enjoy it. When we walked into the parking lot, she sighed with contentment.”
“I know you’ll think I’m crazy,” she said. “But I love how hot it is here.
I gave her a look that said her feelings were a bit unusual for a tourist.
“Look, you have to understand one thing about me. I live in Chicago and I’m cold all of the time. Winters are slow torture, it doesn’t matter how many layers I wear. The only time of the year I’m even sort of comfortable is in the middle of the summer when its ninety-ninety.”
“Ninety-ninety?” I asked.
She looked at me as if I was a confused child.
“Ninety degrees and ninety percent humidity. That means it’s hot.”
“Ah,” I said as we got into my car and took off. “Desert, remember? We never discuss humidity levels here since we really don’t have one. The only time I remember anyone talking about humidity levels was when I was a kid. After we’d have a good summer monsoon the neighbors would complain the humidity was too high for their swamp coolers to work.”
“It must be interesting living in a place where the humidity isn’t a major topic on the news every night,” she said.
“The heat doesn’t bother you?”
“No, I l
ove it. It’s the first time I’ve been warm in years. This might sound crazy, but I’m finding the air conditioning is set too low in the restaurants at the hotel. I’ve had to step outside a few times to warm up.”
“As a kid, the worst part about summer was going out to restaurants. I could never figure out why they were so cold. We’d order our food then Dad would let us go outside to warm up before our dinners came out.”
We drove down Scottsdale road and had passed Jackrabbit when I got a text. I glanced down and saw it was from Les. My adrenalin kicked in. I told myself not to get too excited. Just because the text had come from Lester’s phone didn’t necessarily mean it had come from Les.
“I got a text from your brother’s phone.”
“What’s it say?”
I pulled into a parking lot and read the message. “It says he’s OK and he’s decided to work with Morningstar for a few days to look for the jewelry. He’d like to meet with me tonight to see what I’ve learned. I can’t be sure, but for now, I’ll assume it actually was your brother who sent the text.”
Elizabeth looked relieved but also confused.
“I’m glad he’s OK, but who’s Morningstar?” Elizabeth asked.
“He one of the leaders of the criminal gang out of Chicago. He was the one who ordered a goon called Magic to get your brother the other day. I don’t think either one of these guys can be trusted.”
“Does it say when or where he wants to meet with you?”
“Nope, I guess I’ll need to wait.”
I texted him back that I’d be willing to meet. I also told him to let me know when and where the meeting was to take place.
I pulled out of the parking lot and drove down Scottsdale Road until we got to Old Towne. I then parked in my covered space at the law office. I saw Sophie and Gina both had their cars parked there as well. Elizabeth and I went in through the rear security door and then made our way up to the front reception area. Sophie was typing at her computer and Gina was walking out of Lenny’s office with a stack of folders.
“Ladies,” I said. “This is Elizabeth Bright Murdock, Les’ sister.”
Everyone shook hands and started talking.
“Is Lenny in?” I asked. “We got a text from Les’ phone. It says he’s OK and he’ll be working with the hoods out of Chicago for a while. They want to meet with me tonight to go over what I’ve learned. Les will let me know later when and where we’ll meet.”
“Lenny’s out for the morning,” Sophie said. “He’s back over at the district station seeing what he can find out about the murder.”
“Let me think about how to approach this meeting,” Gina said. “These aren’t nice people you’ll be dealing with. Call me before you go over there?”
“No problem,” I said. “I’ll want your advice on how to handle it.”
There was a brief pause as everyone’s thoughts lingered on Les and the gangsters. Gina looked at Elizabeth. “You’ve been through a lot this week. How are you holding up?”
Elizabeth thought about it for a second. “Well, Monday I took a day of vacation and went to a lawyer’s office. He said Granddad had left a large estate and Les and I were supposedly rich. So Monday night, I’m flying halfway across the country to get the jewelry. Of course, it’s hidden somewhere and I’m supposed to start a treasure hunt to find it. Tuesday I have the first real conversation I’ve had with my brother in about fifteen years and it was an argument. Tuesday night we find a dead body and are interviewed by the police until two in the morning. Now Les has been kidnapped and is supposedly working with criminals. So yeah, you could say I’ve had a difficult week.” Elizabeth again thought about it for a second and laughed. “And it’s only Friday. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
“I hate to tell you,” Sophie said, “but it’s par for the course around here.”
“I was about to take Elizabeth to Dos Gringos,” I said. “Have either of you had lunch yet?”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Gina said. “It’s been weeks since we’ve all been there.”
“Oh yeah,” Sophie said. “I was thinking it’s almost lunchtime. And since this will be sort of a business meeting, I’ll charge it to Lenny. I’m sure he won’t mind buying everybody a nice lunch.”
We headed out of the front door and Sophie locked up. We walked down the street then crossed over. Five minutes later, we had made it to Dos Gringos. We asked Elizabeth if she wanted to eat inside or out, the inside having air conditioning. She said outside would be perfect. We found a great table in the shade, underneath one of the overhanging trees on the front patio.
We’ve always liked going to Dos Gringos. It’s a small Baja restaurant in the middle of the Arts District. Baja meaning the food is what they have on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. There’s typically a lot of fish and shrimp at a Baja place. Dos Gringos is always lively with a festive atmosphere. We usually like sitting on the front patio, although we sometimes go to the deck on the roof. At night, the crowd is mostly twenty something’s but during the day it’s a more mixed group. It’s not unusual to see men in business suits or mothers with strollers next to a group of college aged day-drinkers. Lively pop and indie rock was coming out of a dozen overhead speakers.
After we gave Elizabeth a chance to study the menu, everyone ordered a bottle of Corona and a lunch. Gina had the grilled chicken Caesar salad, I had the six-pack of carne-asada street tacos, Sophie had the steak fajitas, and Elizabeth had a shredded chicken burro. The waitress brought out the beers, a bowl of sliced limes, and some chips and salsa. We all started munching while we waited for our lunches to come out.
While we were waiting, I texted agent McCoy to let him know Les was apparently alive and OK and I had a meeting set up that night with Morningstar. He texted back that he wanted all of the details on when and where the meeting was to take place. He said he also wanted a phone call when it was over.
“What do you do in Chicago?” Gina asked.
“I work in marketing,” Elizabeth said. “I handle television and internet advertising for three accounts. One’s a car company and two are retail.”
“That must be exciting,” Sophie said. “It beats what we do around here.”
“I wouldn’t call it exciting but it pays the bills.”
“Are you married?” Sophie asked.
“No, divorced. It’s been five years.”
“Way to go,” Gina said, as she held up her hand and gave Elizabeth a high-five. “It’s the same with everyone here. I’ve been divorced for seven years, Sophie’s been divorced about five years, and how long has it been for you?” she asked me.
“It’s been a little over three years,” I said. “I joined the law firm not too long after it was final.”
Sophie held up her Corona bottle. “Here’s to freedom from annoying husbands.” We all clinked our bottles together.
“Now then,” Sophie said. “What about a boyfriend? Husbands are a pain to deal with but everyone needs a boyfriend.”
“I broke up with my last boyfriend about two months ago,” Elizabeth said. “But honestly, I was only using him for sex. I’m trying the internet dating thing now for something long term but so far I haven’t found a decent one yet.”
“Don’t tell me,” Gina said. “The good looking ones don’t have jobs and the ones with the jobs look like trolls.”
“You nailed it,” Elizabeth said. “I hate to lower my standards too much but I also hate spending Saturdays alone.”
“Well,” Sophie said. “Before you go back to Chicago, we’ll need to take you out to the clubs. We’ll show you what the men of Scottsdale are like.”
“Although truthfully,” Gina said with a laugh. “They probably aren’t a lot different than the men in Chicago. But at least they all have tans.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Elizabeth said. “I’d love to go out. Let’s plan on it.”
“Besides,” Sophie said, “if we can’t find you a boyfriend, we can at least get
you laid. Then you’ll have a nice memory of your visit to Scottsdale when you’re in Chicago shoveling snow next winter.”
Elizabeth blushed but then smiled. Sophie took that as a yes. She held up her bottle. “To finding Elizabeth a man.” Everyone laughed and we all clinked our bottles together.
“What’s your next step in hunting down the treasure?” Gina asked.
“Can you imagine having that much jewelry?” Sophie asked. “I agonize for weeks before I buy a pair of gold loops. I couldn’t imagine how it would be to have a real treasure chest with dozens of big sparkly pieces. Especially ones so old and famous. I heard about Elizabeth Taylor’s engagement ring. Could you imagine going to a party with that on your finger?”
“That one’s nice,” Elizabeth said. “But my favorite is a necklace with an eagle surrounded by pearls, and diamonds. Granddad got it in Germany. It’s somewhat gaudy but as a girl he let me put it on and I would pretend I was a princess.”
“We’re going to head up to South Mountain,” I said. “The card in the vault said it’s where to go to find the coffin rock. Les and I didn’t have any luck but maybe having Elizabeth and a fresh pair of eyes will help.”
“Maybe the treasure chest is hidden underneath some nasty old coffin buried on South Mountain and you’re supposed to dig it up,” Sophie said. “You know, find the grave, grab a shovel, and keep going until you get the jewelry. It would sort of be like something from Pirates of the Caribbean, only instead of a tropical island with coconut palms, you’d be on a mountain in the desert with saguaro cactus.”
“Didn’t the clue read that the overlook was only the place where you could see the coffin rock?” Gina said. “Maybe the coffin rock isn’t at the overlook at all. Maybe you can only see it from there.”
“I’m not sure where it is,” I said. “Les and I looked both in the overlook and in the area surrounding it. But at this point, I’m willing to take any suggestions.
Our lunches came out and conversation stopped for several minutes while we stuffed ourselves. Elizabeth seemed happy with her choice and she eagerly attacked it.
