by Mike Faricy
“Woofy, get the hell out of my car. You too, Swindle.”
“It’s Pepper,” she barked back, then fired up a cigarette which of course brought on another coughing jag.
“Pepper? You’re not the dancer, are you?” Woofy asked.
“Oh, you better believe it, honey,” she said then took a long drag from her cigarette and linked arms with Woofy. “What’s your pleasure, baby?”
Woofy sort of gulped audibly, looked a tad bit embarrassed and said, “I think you already know.”
The two of them followed me into the restaurant. There was a relatively small entry way then another door made of heavy wood planks with a window that was a sort of triangular shape with the sides curving up toward the point at the top. I held the door for the loving couple, then followed them inside and managed to get in front of them just as a woman approached with an armload of menus.
“How many tonight?” She asked then gave a quick glance at Woofy and Swindle standing behind me and seemed to make an even quicker assessment.
“Actually, I’ve a reservation for the banquet room at 6:30.”
“Oh, Mr. Haskell, is it?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And you’re all together?” she asked, sounding a bit confused, indicating Woofy and Swindle with a nod of her chin.
“Yes, we’re together,” I said.
“Okay,” she said, but in a sing-song sort of way that suggested something along the lines of “I hope you know what you’re doing.” She made a quick notation in a reservation book sitting next to the cash register then said, “If you’d like to follow me.”
We wound our way into the back of the restaurant toward a door with a sign on it that said “Private”. She opened the door, stepped inside, and then held the door for us.
“Whoa, pretty damn fancy,” Swindle said as she entered arm in arm with Woofy. When she passed me I noticed her black thong had risen up in the back maybe two inches above her leopard skin stretch pants.
“I’ll have a server join you in just a moment,” the receptionist said as she distributed menus around a large round table set up in the middle of the room. A white table cloth was draped almost to the floor, with elegant silverware and a napkin placed in one of the two stemmed glasses set at every place.
“I‘d like a drink,” Woofy said.
“I’ll let your server know,” she smiled, then fled the scene.
Tom Connelly arrived a few minutes later. He had a bottle of Peroni, an Italian beer, in his hand. He set an empty glass on the table and proceeded to sip from the bottle. “Hey, Haskell nice set up.” He waved a manila file in his hand. “I brought a copy of the paperwork, just in case someone has any questions. This her?” he asked nodding at Swindle and sounding more than a little surprised.
“No, just one more person who hasn’t had the most positive experience dealing with Austin Hackett. Tom Connelly, this is Swindle Lawless.”
“Swindle?”
“Why don’t you just call me Pepper, honey. It’s a real pleasure to meet you,” she said, then unhooked herself from Woofy and stepped in close next to Tom. “Tim?”
“No, Tom, Tom Connelly.”
“And Tom, I’d like to introduce Marcel Barker. Marcel this is Tom Connelly.”
“Yeah, hi. Everyone calls me Woofy. Hey, where’d you get that beer, anyway?”
At that moment a server came in and headed toward us. “May I take your drink order?” he asked. He looked young, maybe early twenties, lean, still somewhat baby-faced. Swindle was giving him the once-over while still standing as close to Tom as possible without actually getting in his pocket.
“Nothing for me,” I said.
“Double Jack Daniels, on the rocks,” Woofy said.
“Bottle of your best tequila,” Swindle said.
“Maybe just a glass of white wine for the lady,” I said.
“Don’t give me that lady shit, come on, loosen up,” Swindle said then reached down and tried to grab my crotch which caused me to jump back.
The server sort of looked at me wide-eyed, and remained frozen in place.
“I think just the drinks will do for now,” I said.
As he opened the door to leave, Nancy Reilly and an attractive brunette I guessed was Marcia Paxton walked in and headed for our small group. Seeing the two women together and being very aware of Heidi’s physical characteristics, I could see the commonality between them. Nice figures, well endowed, all approximately five feet five inches tall and they carried themselves with an air of self-confidence. Not at all haughty, but they held their heads up and looked everyone in the eye. Nancy took my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“You holding up okay?” she asked.
“Nancy, thanks for coming, and you must be Marcia,” I said.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Haskell.”
“Call me Dev, please. Thank you so much for coming. Thanks to all of you for coming. If we could all take a seat and chat for a few minutes, I expect Heidi will be here shortly. I’d like to just go over what I want to cover.”
Chapter Forty-Four
It seemed to be a no-brainer. Though maybe not as polished as Nancy, Marcia or Tom Connelly, even Woofy and Swindle had it pretty much together. Now, if I could just keep Woofy away from the Jack Daniels and Swindle away from Tom, I figured we had a pretty good shot at convincing Heidi.
At five minutes before seven I went and stood next to the receptionist.
“Is there something I could help you with sir?”
“No, thanks. Actually I’m just waiting for our final guest. She’s always notoriously late so I wanted to grab her the moment she came in the door.”
“Maybe just take that end stool at the bar. What’s her name just in case she calls?”
“Bauer, Heidi Bauer.”
“If I hear anything I’ll let you know, sir.”
That was at just a little before seven. At about ten minutes to eight I was still on the bar stool, waiting. I’d phoned Heidi’s cell twice, her office once, and her home three times, but always ended up leaving a message.
I caught the receptionist’s eye. “I’m sorry to bother you, would you mind if I ran back and checked with my guests? I think I’ll have them go ahead and order dinner. I’ll be back in just a moment.”
“Not a problem, I’ll keep an eye out for Miss Bauer.”
All heads turned toward me as I entered the banquet room.
“Anything?” Nancy asked.
“Afraid not. She’s usually late wherever she goes, but this is getting extreme, even for her.”
“I wonder if he got to her,” Nancy said, saying it more to Marcia than me.
“It would be just like him to find out.”
“But how would he even know? No one here would have talked to him.”
“She told him,” they said almost together.
‘She wouldn’t do that, would she?”
“She checked in with him, or more likely he called her. He’s probably calling about every hour and a half, telling her how much he loves her,” Nancy said.
“He’ll be planning their next big getaway, and then at the last minute something will come up and they won’t be able to go. It’s part of the scam, you start thinking he’s so dedicated to helping folks you lose sight of the fact that he’s leading you down the primrose path,” Nancy said.
“But she’s not the sort of woman to fall for that routine.”
The two of them looked at one another, nodded, and said, “She told him.”
Then Nancy said, “He probably came and took her from the office, promised something, a trip, Paris, the Bahama’s.”
“Do you know anyone in her office, someone you could call to see if he was there?”
“God, I just might. Listen, why don’t you go ahead and order. I’m going out front just to see if she showed up. I’ve got a call I can make, too.”
“Good luck,” they said.
I looked at the receptionist as I sat do
wn on the corner bar stool. She shook her head no, then led a couple to an empty table in the back. I pulled out my phone and called the number Kate had phoned me on earlier that afternoon. I was still in the middle of saying a prayer when she answered. I could hear a child in the background.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Kate, it’s Dev Haskell.”
“How did it go?”
“It didn’t. She hasn’t shown, she’s over an hour late.”
“Damn it, I knew it. Hackett showed up a little before five and was in her office. I left at five so I don’t know how long he was there or if they left together. I’m sorry. I guess I hoped since she had already arranged to be with you that she’d keep the date. God, I’m really sorry, Dev.”
“Not your fault, Kate. She’s an adult.”
“She’s gone crazy if you ask me. You want me to call down there? I doubt anyone is around, but I could check.”
“No, don’t worry about it. I called her office but ended up leaving a message. No answer on her cell or at home. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“Oh, creepy. I’m so sorry,” she said then we hung up. I phoned Heidi’s cell again, but got dumped into her message center after a couple of rings.
Everyone looked up from their meals expectantly as I walked into the banquet room. It must have been written on my face.
“No luck,” Tom Connelly said, making a statement rather than asking a question.
“I can’t reach her on her cell phone. I’ve left messages at her home and her office.
“Bastard’s gone ahead and grabbed her,” Woofy said.
“Sounds like we might just have all night,” Swindle said and slid her chair just a little closer to Tom Connelly.
“I have an idea,” Marcia said. “If Hackett’s still in town he’ll most likely be at home. If his car is in the driveway, he’s either there or, he’s taken a taxi to the airport.”
“But what if he’s still working or just out to dinner?” Tom said.
“We know how to check for that, but we should leave now. Every second’s going to count at this stage.”
Tom cut a large piece of steak and shoved it into his mouth, Woofy drained his drink, and Swindle moved a little closer to Tom.
“We can’t all fit in one car. I’ll be happy to drive,” Nancy said standing up.
“I got a better idea,” I said.
Chapter Forty-Five
I made a quick phone call.
“Hello?”
“You available?”
“Now? Who is this, anyway?”
“Dev Haskell, calling for some help.”
“Help? Everything okay?”
“Here’s what I need,” I said then explained the situation.
“That’s one tall order, man. Okay, I know I owe you. Tell you what, you be ready in twenty minutes. I’m already on my way,” he said then hung up.
Richie DeVon showed up driving a white stretch limo wearing his driver’s hat, a Minnesota Vikings football jersey and a pair of shorts.
“Sorry, but it’s what I was driving today. A photo shoot all over town for some punk band I never heard of before who promised to mention me on the album. I’m not sure I want that sort of endorsement.”
I ushered everyone out the front door and into the limo, then sent Nancy back in to grab Swindle out of the ladies’ room.
“Everyone set back there?” Richie asked.
Woofy, Nancy and Marcia sat in the backseat, Marcia had left as much space as possible between her and Woofy. Tom sat opposite the three of them, next to the bar. Swindle seemed to be glued to Tom and had her head resting on his shoulder. I was in the front seat with Richie.
“Just tell me where to go, Dev.”
Marcia shouted an address from the backseat and Richie took off. Twenty minutes later he pulled up in front of the massive wrought-iron gates to Austin Hackett’s mansion. The gates were closed and there didn’t seem to be a light on anywhere in the place.
“That red BMW parked in front of the door belongs to Heidi. They must be in there,” I said.
“I don’t see Austin’s car anywhere,” Marcia said.
“Maybe it’s in the garage?”
“He never parks in the garage unless it’s winter. Likes to advertise the fact that he’s got a fancy car, not that anyone cares,” Nancy said.
“You think they’re in there?”
“I’d say no, but I suppose we could check.”
“How?” I asked.
Marcia pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She hung up a moment or two later. “Dumped me into the message center, no one’s home.”
“You sure? Maybe they’re, you know, in bed?”
“Mmm, that sounds fun,” Swindle said and snuggled up against Tom.
“Let me get out and check. I’ll just climb the fence or something,” Tom said.
“I’ve got a better idea,” Nancy said. “Dev, will he recognize your phone number?”
“My phone number?”
“Yes, have you ever phoned him before?”
“No, never.”
“Good, call this number,” Nancy said then gave me an area code I didn’t recognize as local and a phone number.
“Where the hell is that?” I said as I punched in the number.
“Another one of his scams, a phone service actually in Mexico. By the time people catch on they’ve already made a month’s worth of international calls and get hit with some exorbitant bill. They have to pay it before they can get picked up by a new carrier. Doesn’t sound like much, but Austin ends up making a couple grand a month plus the carrier gives him free service. He’s such a putz,” Nancy said.
I held up my hand to signal quiet as the phone began ringing. After four or five rings a male voice answered. “Hello?” I could hear a news report in the background, a radio or maybe a television. I wasn’t sure what to say so I sat there looking more stupid than usual and didn’t say a thing. “Hello? Hello is anyone there?”
Nancy snapped her fingers and I handed the phone to her. As I handed the phone back my hand brushed against Swindle’s hair. She let out a little moan and said, “Mmm, so you’d like a piece of me, too.”
Nancy put the phone to her ear and a finger to her lips to signal Swindle to be quiet.
“Relax, baby, I’ve got enough for everyone,” Swindle cooed.
“He hung up,” Nancy said a moment later. “It was him, definitely him, and he was driving. I could hear the radio.”
“How do you know it wasn’t the TV? Maybe he’s in there, sitting in the dark, and he’s got Heidi tied up in the basement or something.”
“No, he’s got a subscription radio service in his car. That’s what he was listening to. Believe me, I’ve heard it many times before.”
“We both have,” Marcia added. “Nancy, he’s going to the lake place.”
“Yeah, Bear Valley.”
“Let’s all get bare,” Swindle said, then kicked off her stiletto heels and tried to climb up on Tom’s lap.
“You want to trade places?” Tom asked Woofy.
“Bear Valley? I know that place. Miss Pepper, it’s where I took you and those four guys,” Richie said.
“Humph, they couldn’t keep up,” Swindle said sounding like she was just making a simple statement rather than bragging.
“How far away is it?”
“Normally about three hours. This time of night, I can get us up there in about two and a half. As long as you promise not to tell Clarence.”
“I promise, believe me.”
“You know the way if I get turned around up there?” Richie said looking at Nancy and Marcia in the rearview mirror.
“Oh yeah,” Nancy said. “I vowed I’d never set foot up there ever again in my life, but I just might make an exception for this.”
“Tom?”
“It would be worth the trip just to see the look on Hackett’s face. I just need someone to change seats with me.”
Everyone rem
ained very quiet. Marcia and Nancy sort of looked at their shoes, Woofy stared out the window. Swindle moaned then lowered her head down onto Tom’s chest.
“I’ll trade with you, Tom. You can ride up here in front with Richie.”
Once we exchanged places, Richie drove toward the interstate and then headed north. Woofy was snoring within five minutes. Swindle ended up with her head in my lap, but mercifully asleep. Nancy and Marcia chatted quietly, exchanging Austin Hackett stories, none of them very nice.
Chapter Forty-Six
Two hours later we were on a two lane county road in the middle of some very dark woods. Occasionally we were able to catch the reflection of the full moon off the surface of a lake as we passed.
“Ladies,” Richie said. “I’m thinking this is looking pretty familiar. Isn’t there a little store or something up here where I turn?”
“Yes, a few more miles,” Nancy said. “Actually it was a one-room school house and now I think the county uses it for meetings and a polling place or something.”
“I always wanted to look inside there, does it have blackboards and desks?” Marcia said.
“I never took the time to look and see.”
The two of them became very quiet as we passed the building a few minutes later. It looked exactly like what a one-room school house should look like with a little bell tower over the door in the center of the wood frame structure. There was some sort of county sign out in front of the place. A three-stall garage large enough to accommodate trucks for snow plowing had been built back behind the place. A large pile of sand sat next to the garage, literally dwarfing it.
“Up there, just past that speed limit sign is the road you turn on. You’ll want to take a right,” Nancy said.
Richie began to slow as he passed the sign posting the speed limit at sixty-five, then made a quick turn to the right onto an unmarked road. The road seemed to just disappear into the dark woods.
“Austin owns the land from about a quarter mile down this road all the way to the lake. At least that’s what he always told me,” Marcia said.
