Poppy McVie Mysteries: Books 1-3 (The Poppy McVie Box Set Series)

by Kimberli A. Bindschatel

  At one o’ clock in the afternoon, the heat was more than uncomfortable. The horses labored, huffing with sweat. Maria didn’t seem to care. She pushed her horse up the inclines and we had to keep up. She said nothing. Simply led and we followed.

  Finally, with my blouse soaked with sweat and my inner thighs raw from rubbing the saddle (of course I wore shorts), we came into the clearing where the roasting shed stood amid the concrete slabs. We dismounted and a guard led the horses to a shaded area with a trough.

  I tried to hide my excitement. This was it. Once Dalton saw the class I species inside, there’d be no question she was the kingpin.

  Maria led us around the corner of the shed and as we stepped inside I stopped short and my knees turned to jelly. It was empty. The two old coffee roasters stood in the corner and that was it.

  She gestured toward a couple of folding chairs. “Have a seat.”

  What was this about? I glanced at Dalton. He acted the dopey husband, as he’d said he would. He happily grabbed a chair and popped it open, placing it in front of me, then set up another for himself. He plopped down as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Before we go any further,” she said. “I just want to clarify a few things.” Her eyes bore into me. I met her gaze, as steely eyed as she was. “You came for a monkey, did you not?”

  Dalton grinned. “Yeah, my sweetheart wants her own.” He beamed at me, love in his eyes. At least he was following our plan. What was Maria up to?

  Maria smiled demurely at Dalton. “John, dear, I hate to be the one to tell you, but your wife has been a very busy lady making some arrangements of her own.” She stepped closer to him and ran her fingers through his hair. “And here, I thought we had something special.”

  “What?” My head snapped toward Dalton. “What’s she talking about?”

  He pursed his lips. “Nothing, honey bunny.” He grinned wide. “Sweetheart.” He glared at Maria. “She’s trying to drive a wedge between us of mistrust.” He shook it off. “It’s an old business tactic. Don’t fall for it.” He looked her in the eyes. “Our deal stands. You know I’m willing to pay a fair price. Let’s just see what you’ve got.”

  I eyed him, then looked back to her. She wore a sly grin. Maybe I should give her what she wants. See where this leads.

  “What’s going on, John?”

  “Nothing.” He wouldn’t look at me. “I said don’t worry about it.”

  I drew in a sharp breath and covered my mouth. “You’ve been sleeping with her!” Holy crap, I didn’t see that one coming.

  “Oh, honey, can’t you see? She’s making you––”

  “Don’t you honey me.” I turned my back to him.

  “Oh, you’re one to talk,” he said.

  I spun around and glared at him. What the hell is he doing? He crossed his arms and huffed, like he was trying to get up the nerve to say something. “You’ll sleep with any young stud with a ponytail.”

  My mouth dropped open. “How dare you?”

  “You think I don’t know? You sneaking off during the day to get some action. While I’m working to put food on the table. You promised you’d stop. This trip was supposed to be for us.” He managed a hopeful grin. “To bring us together.”

  I clamped my mouth shut. I didn’t know what to say. I had to trust Dalton. He had just reminded me, improv was the cornerstone of undercover work. Go with it. But what the hell was going on? I looked to Maria. She stood with her arms crossed, a smug expression on her face, nodding approvingly. She was enjoying this.

  I glared at Dalton and said through gritted teeth. “You have the nerve to accuse me. And you’ve been with”—I jerked my head toward Maria—“her.”

  He shrugged, a noncommittal, it-doesn’t-matter-anymore shrug. “Can we just do some business here? Talk about this later?”

  My mind went into overdrive. What does Maria think she knows? After I’d confronted her, had she tried to seduce Dalton to probe him for information about me? Or had he been sleeping with her all along? And if so, what had he been planning? Wait—he said ponytail. Noah. But why would he give him away? Unless Maria already knows. That means—

  “Yes, let’s get to business,” said Maria. “I have just the right pet for you.” She brought her fingers to her lips and whistled, one of those loud whistles that can be heard in the next county.

  One of the guards came through the door carrying a cage with a cloth draped over the top. He set it down next to her and stood behind her, his hand on the weapon strapped over his shoulder. The cage was situated so the door faced away from me. I couldn’t see what was inside. Maria opened the cage, reached in, grabbed hold, and rose to face us with a monkey in her grasp, her hand wrapped around its tiny neck. A white-faced capuchin. Squirming and squealing. It’s little hands reached up to grip her wrist and I saw it. The right hand was missing.

  Oh my god. It’s Clyde.

  Maria grinned with evil pleasure. She shook Clyde, tightening her grip around his neck, and he let out a shriek. “What do you think?”

  My gut turned to water. Think. Think! What the hell is going on? Poor little Clyde. She knows all about Noah and Isabella too! Dammit! Of course she’d know who was targeting her operation. But Dalton must have known something, somehow. He covered with the adultery story. But how? Why hadn’t he mentioned it to me?

  She must think I’m an activist, an eco-terrorist. It was the only thing that made sense.

  Clyde whimpered. Maria gave him another shake. “¡Cállate!” Shut up!

  My breath came in short pants. Not Clyde! I wanted to grab Maria by the neck and shake her, shake her until her brains spilled out. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t move, couldn’t act. Instead, I had to convince her I was a slutty, rich bitch who’d sleep with anything for sport. That Noah was a coincidence. If she thought I was an activist, here to infiltrate her operation, she’d kill us both. Dalton knew it, too.

  I glared at him. “Are we still on the monkey kick?” I added an eye roll. “I never wanted a frigging monkey. That was your idea. But you couldn’t let it go.” I crossed my arms. “Oh, darling, let’s have a baby,” I mocked. “Don’t you get it. I only married you because I got pregnant. And you were so—” I shook my head. “So damn sweet. Then we lost the baby anyway.” I rolled my eyes again. “But Jesus, can you be any more boring in the bedroom? The lights always have to be out, really? Always on top? My god, screwing a Hobbit would be more exciting than you.” I blew out my breath. Where do I come up with this stuff?

  His bottom lip quivered. “You always have to do that, don’t you. Emasculate me in front of other women.”

  “Emasculate? Wow, been working on your vocabulary, have you?”

  “Oh, you think I’m stupid? I knew you were sleeping with him the moment I saw him. The way he looked at you. You don’t care about me. You don’t care about him. You only care about the size of his—”

  “Enough!” We both jerked our heads toward Maria. She held Clyde up and shook him again. He squirmed in her grasp, his little eyes begging me to help. I couldn’t. I can’t. If I showed any emotion, any sign of caring about him, we’d all be dead. I turned back to Dalton so I wouldn’t have to look at Clyde’s pleading eyes. “Jerk,” I said, acting as though I was too mad at him to even notice the monkey.

  “Bitch,” he muttered back.

  “What’d you call me?” Keep it up. Keep the attention from Clyde. Maybe we’ll all get out of this alive.

  Dalton grew silent, solemn. He put his head down. “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, for you to have special things.”

  “Well, honey bunny, all you need to do then is shut up.” I turned my attention back to Maria. “You dragged us up here in this god-awful heat.” I pulled my wet blouse from my skin. “Look at me. I need a shower.” I shot her a look of disgust. “Do you have an offer or what?”

  She didn’t miss a beat. “Right now, I’m offering you this monkey.” Her eyes bore into me like a dentist’s probe,
poking into the dark crevices of my thoughts, scraping at my emotions. “What do you think? Do you have a buyer for him?”

  “Don’t waste my time,” I said. “I told you. I’m only interested in big ticket pets. Exotics. I can get a monkey anywhere.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You’re right,” she said. I breathed a little. “These are a dime a dozen. Besides”—she held up his right hand—“this one is damaged. Worthless.” She rubbed the top of his head with one hand and tightened her grip on his neck. His tiny tongue stuck out from his mouth. Her eyes locked on me and she said, “Another mouth to feed.” With a quick jerk of her wrist, she snapped his neck and tossed him to the floor at my feet. His little body landed with a thwack.

  The breath left my body. I stared, way too long. Clyde lay still, a tiny pool of blood forming under his head. I tried to find my voice. All I could think about were soldiers, soldiers who give their lives for liberty, for freedom, for justice for all. Young boys who go off to war, for a promise of amber waves of grain, of purple mountain majesties, for a land of the free and the home of the brave, willing to give the ultimate sacrifice. For a cause. For something they believed in. For their brothers.

  Poor Clyde. I could not let his death be in vain. I would not. For your brothers, Clyde.

  I raised my chin and looked her in the eye. “What the hell woman? You almost got that on my shoe.”

  Dalton shook his head and muttered, “Heartless bitch.”

  I turned my gaze on him so I could think without her seeing my eyes. This was a test. Just a test. I drew in a deep breath. Hold it together, McVie. Think!

  Okay. None of this changed the fact that she was desperate to sell. She’d brought us this far. She must’ve had a plan once we passed the test. If she had class I species, they couldn’t be crated, ignored for days, then transported like snakes and frogs. They’d need regular care. They had to be housed somewhere. I was betting it was nearby. And we’re here now.

  I huffed an annoyed huff. “You’re wasting my time.”

  Maria studied me as though she still wasn’t convinced. I rose from the chair. “C’mon, John. Let’s go.”

  He got up and followed me toward the door.

  Maria followed right behind us. “Now let’s not be too hasty,” she said.

  I shrugged as though I really didn’t care either way.

  She passed between us and turned and motioned for us to return to the shed. “I’m sure you understand, in this business, I can’t be too careful.” I knew it. This was really happening. “I’ll have my man bring some samples right away.” She whistled again.

  A guard came around the far corner of the shed and headed toward us with a two-way radio in his hand. He nodded to Maria, then looked right at me. It was the guy, the one who had chased Noah, the one I clobbered. Crap! I dropped my head, but it was too late. He recognized me. “Es ella. ¡Esa es la chica!” he shouted and raised his weapon.

  Dalton looked at me. “What’s—”

  “Run!”

  CHAPTER 19

  Bullets zinged past me—pop, pop, pop—as I sprinted double-time across the concrete slabs. I plunged into the wall of green, branches and leaves whipping at my face.

  Dalton was right behind me. I could barely hear Maria shouting commands to her guards, telling one to follow the ridge, another to follow the tree line and flank us.

  I tore through a tangle of vines, dodged tree trunks, and ducked under broad-leafed palms, my lungs burning, my heartbeat banging in my ears.

  At once, I realized Dalton wasn’t with me anymore. I whipped around. He was limping toward me, his pant leg soaked with blood at his ankle. “You’re hit,” I said. As he neared, I noticed blood dripping at his elbow, too.

  He didn’t slow. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine. We can’t run like this.”

  “You can. Go.”

  No women in combat burst into my head. Then our whole conversation. I looked into his eyes and realized he’d purposely run directly behind me, shielding me from the gunfire. Oh, Dalton!

  Pop, pop, pop came the crackle of gunfire. I couldn’t think about that now. I turned my head one way, then the other, listening. She’d sent them to flank us. That meant they’d separated, spread out. That was good. I looked around to get my bearings. To the right, about twenty paces should be a bell alarm. To the left, one at about fifty paces. “Can you make it about—”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “Okay, follow me,” I whispered. “I have an idea.”

  We moved through the foliage like predators. My dad had taught me how to stalk prey, how to hide, how to become one with the forest and sneak up on a subject without making a noise. Dalton was a SEAL, so, needless to say, I had to keep checking to be sure he was behind me.

  I came upon the bell wire and held out my hand to halt Dalton. I pointed down. He saw it and nodded. I stepped back to whisper, “We need to draw them in.”

  He frowned. “There are five of them, armed. We’re outnumbered.”

  “They’re not military. They’re boys with guns.”

  He held his right hand at his left shoulder where a blood stain had formed and winced. “Yeah? How do you know?”

  I heard movement behind us. “No time. Fall down and act hurt.”

  He glared at me with big eyes. “I’m not going to put myself in a prone position.”

  The sound of a weapon, scraping through foliage was near by. We both heard it.

  “Trust me,” I said. He hesitated. I stepped on the wire, enough that the bell made a light tinkle that only someone close by could hear.

  Dalton gritted his teeth.

  I gestured for him to go down.

  He regarded me with a cold examination. No doubt, he was running through the tactical advantages, remembering my skill at hand-to-hand combat, sizing me up against the probable skill of the guard who was now twenty paces away and closing.

  In an instant, he spun around, grabbed some branches and stumbled, flailing at leaves as he went, then tumbled to the ground with a grunt.

  The guard halted. He’d heard him. He launched into a run toward us.

  I dropped to all fours. The guard barreled by. I lunged at him from behind, catching him right in the knees. He collapsed, face down in front of me. I crawled on top of him. He tried to roll, but he was encumbered by his weapon. I pinned his hands to the ground. Dalton crawled toward us and wrenched the weapon free. He flipped it around and trained it on the guy. The guard put his head down. “¡No disparen! Me rindo. Me rindo.” Don’t shoot! I surrender. I surrender.

  I scanned the forest floor. A thin vine ran up the side of a nearby tree trunk. I grabbed hold of it, ripped a length from the tree, and wrapped it around his wrists. I pulled his legs up to his back and tied his ankles together and to his wrists.

  Dalton smirked. “Been cattle ropin’ much?”

  “Hey, he’s not going anywhere.”

  Dalton checked the magazine. “Five rounds.”

  I nodded, but I really didn’t want to have to shoot anyone.

  There was movement to my left. I looked at Dalton. He’d heard it, too. He scooted to get his back against a tree. I rolled under some ferns.

  The guard came running, tromping through the jungle like a bull elephant in rut. I stuck out my foot and he tripped, performing some kind of sideways triple salchow maneuver. I got to my feet to pounce, but he swiped my ankle with a well-executed leg sweep. I fell into the ferns, tucked and rolled, and I was back on my feet. He was scampering along on his hands and knees, one arm out, groping around in front of him. He’d dropped his weapon.

  I jumped onto his back, slamming him to the ground just as he’d found the gun. Pop, pop, pop. Bullets zipped through the leaves. I wrapped my arm around his neck and got him in a chokehold. He bucked and flipped me over on my back, the full weight of him on top of me.

  A third guard appeared, his weapon pointed at us. He was the one who’d recognized me. The guy I was holdin
g with his belly facing the gun grunted a terrified, “¡No disparen!” Don’t shoot!

  Dalton fired. The bullet grazed the guard’s shoulder. Purposefully no doubt. These men weren’t trying to kill us. The man threw down his weapon and his hands shot upward.

  Dalton motioned with his rifle for him to get down on the ground. I rolled my opponent off of me. He put his hands behind his back, anxious for me to tie him up. I quickly wrapped their wrists with some vine like I had done with the first guy.

  Dalton scanned the forest. “Something’s not right. That was too easy.”

  I sat back on my haunches and pulled moss from my hair. “Seriously?”

  “We need to move. Now.” He picked up the other two weapons.

  “Wait,” I said. “There are two more. We don’t know where they are.”

  “Exactly. But they know where we are. Now move.”

  “But we know they’re headed this way, right?”

  He glared at me. “Defensive tactical maneuver. We need to move.”

  I shook my head. “If we retreat, Maria will have time to get away, to alert others, to get rid of evidence, to—” I shook my head “—do other stuff. No way I’m giving her that chance.”

  Behind Dalton, a walking palm tree stood tall, its multitude of roots reaching out in many directions. I pushed past him, grabbed hold of a root, and shinnied upward, hand over hand, until I was about twenty feet off the ground.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Dalton said in a whisper shout.

  I surveyed the surroundings. The foliage was thick, but I thought I caught sight of movement about fifty yards out. I zeroed in. There it was again. A bird. Nothing. I slid back down the tree.

  “I don’t see anything,” I said. “The other two must be with her.”

  “We don’t know that,” Dalton said. He quickly checked the other weapons for rounds. One was empty, the other had two left. He handed it to me and tossed the empty one into the green abyss.