Alien Allure: A Garden Girls Cozy Mystery (Garden Girls Christian Cozy Mystery Series Book 23)

by Hope Callaghan

  “No. We haven’t found a body.” Ruth rolled her eyes and pressed the speaker key.

  “You’re hosting an alien convention, and you haven’t found a body yet?” Pearl snorted. “It must be a slow week. Well…give it time. I’ll track Joe down and have him give you a call.”

  “Thanks.” Ruth jabbed the end call button. “Seriously. What does she think I’m running here?”

  Gloria began to pace. “While we wait for Nelson to call back, I think we need to work on a profile – the characteristics of child kidnappers.”

  “I can tell you already.” Ruth slid her chair back and stood. “Most are men. Unmarried. Typically considered social outcasts who have had little contact with children and were victims of sexual abuse.”

  “Time to start a list.” Gloria grabbed a yellow pad and pen from the counter. “Abductor Suspects.” She drew a line underneath. “The number one suspect is John Smith.”

  “Second on the list would be Penelope Victor,” Eleanor said.

  “She doesn’t fit the profile,” Ruth argued. “So what if she didn’t show you the back of her van? Maybe she’s a slob.”

  “We’re not ruling anyone out.” Gloria tapped her pen on top of the pad. “Let’s talk about Leonard for a minute. He was driving your van. He had children’s clothing in the back. Is Leonard married?”

  “No,” Ruth shook her head.

  “Children?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Would you consider him a social outcast?” Gloria asked.

  “No. I mean, he runs one of the largest spy and surveillance sites in the country…maybe even the world.”

  “He’s still making the list.” Gloria jotted his name on the paper. “That’s all we have.”

  “What about Mavis Davis from Detroit?” Margaret asked. “We don’t know anything about her or her husband.”

  “You’re right. I’ll add her to the list, but not because she’s from Detroit.” Gloria compared the list and profile characteristics.

  “I’m going with John Smith. We’ll know more if we can get the authorities to run a check on his plate.” Ruth’s cell phone chimed. “Speak of the devil. It’s Nelson.”

  “Hello, Joe. Thanks for calling me back. We think we may have a couple of leads in the attempted child abduction and possible abduction.” Ruth briefly filled him in on what they found, how John Smith had paid in cash. “His vehicle matches the van in question.”

  Ruth became quiet as she listened. “Is there any new information on the missing boy from Lakeville? I see. Well, thank you.”

  Gloria waited for her to disconnect the call. “What did he say?”

  “They already ran checks on all of the vehicles matching the description.”

  “And?”

  “He wouldn’t tell me. He said it was a police investigation. He knows something. I would bet money on it. As far as the missing boy, they’re still searching for him.”

  “We can’t give up,” Lucy said.

  “We’re not. I think we can knock one of these people off the list fairly quickly. All we need is for someone to lure the suspect away from her van.” Gloria jabbed her finger at Eleanor. “And I think I have the perfect person for the job. We’ll get started right after I wrap up my afternoon schedule.”

  *****

  “How is this going to work?” Eleanor swallowed hard as she eyed the back of Penelope’s van.

  “You’re going to tell Penelope you have a friend, Rose, who concocted a special vitality potion that has worked wonders for you,” Gloria said. “Maybe you could do something to show off your stamina, convince her it would help her during lengthy stakeouts even more than eating the itty bitty fishies.”

  Lucy shook her head. “I don’t know about this. What if Eleanor hurts herself?”

  “I’m not going to hurt myself. Check this out.” Eleanor bent her knees and lowered into a squat. She powered up and then lunged forward. “I’m a mean, lean exercise machine.”

  “You win. Okay. So, Eleanor is going to convince Penelope she should stock up on Rose’s vitality potion.”

  “But the only way to do it is to visit Rose at her booth because it’s somewhat of a complicated process,” Gloria added.

  “Which is true. I sometimes get messed up mixing the pureed rattlesnake skin, water and oil. I’ll tell her Rose is running a convention special, that the stuff is a bargain,” Eleanor said.

  “Exactly.” Gloria gave her a thumbs up. “While you’re distracting Penelope, Lucy and I will move in and search the back of her van.”

  “I think I can distract her for a solid fifteen minutes.” Eleanor squared her shoulders.

  “And since the rear of her van is facing the field, no one will see us checking out the back,” Gloria said.

  “It’s time to get this search underway.” Lucy clapped her hands.

  The women watched as Eleanor tentatively approached the campsite. She circled around back and then returned to the front, giving Gloria and Lucy a shrug before joining them. “She’s not here.”

  “Great. Now what?” Lucy tapped her foot on the ground.

  “We move onto our next suspect…suspects.”

  “Mavis Davis and her husband,” Lucy guessed.

  “Yes, although they’re not hitting my radar,” Gloria admitted.

  “Suspect the least suspect,” Eleanor said.

  “You stole my line. You’re right. We should at least chat with them.” Gloria waved the women forward. They began making their way to the next street, rounding the corner at the same time as Penelope Victor.

  “That’s her,” Gloria whispered under her breath.

  “I’m on it.” Eleanor hurried ahead and began waving her arms.

  Penelope slowed and waited for her to catch up.

  Eleanor shrugged her jacket off, rolled up her sleeve and flexed her muscle.

  Lucy choked back a laugh. “Oh my gosh. Did you see that?”

  “If that won’t convince the woman she needs a vitality elixir, nothing will.”

  The woman offered Eleanor a tolerant smile. She took a tentative step in their direction as if to keep moving.

  Not ready to give up, Eleanor blocked her path.

  The woman placed a hand on her hip and slowly nodded. Finally, she did an about-face and they began walking in the opposite direction.

  “Good job, Eleanor. Let’s roll.” Gloria and Lucy hustled down the road. They strode past Penelope’s van before circling back.

  Gloria slipped in behind the bumper. Lucy quickly surveyed the perimeter and then crouched low.

  “Do you have the tools?”

  “No.” Lucy shook her head. “I thought you had them.”

  “Lucy,” Gloria gasped.

  “I was kidding. Of course, I have them.” Lucy pulled a small tool set from her jacket pocket and studied the lock. “The rear locking mechanism is almost identical to Ruth’s van. I’ll have this open in no time flat.” She flipped the top of the case and pulled out a small screwdriver.

  Lucy eased the tip of the tool in the opening and gave it a gentle turn. “This one is too small.” She swapped it out for the next larger tool and repeated the process.

  There was a faint pop.

  “And…there we have it.” Lucy handed the tool to Gloria and eased the door open.

  The rear storage area was stacked floor-to-ceiling with boxes, all identical in color, size and shape.

  Gloria’s heart sank. “We don’t have enough time to search all of these boxes.”

  “We have to start somewhere.” Lucy grabbed the top box and lifted the lid. “Shoes.”

  Gloria removed the box next to it. Inside was a pair of shoes identical to the ones Lucy was holding except in a different color. She set them aside and pulled out another box. Inside were more tennis shoes.

  “The back of the van is full of shoes.” Gloria cast a quick glance toward the road before removing a box from the bottom. It was covered in a wet, oily substance. She held it
up. “This box of sardines is leaking.”

  “Yuck.” Lucy wrinkled her nose.

  “It looks like we wasted our time.” Gloria shoved the box back inside. She started to ease the door shut when a small baggie in the corner caught her eye. She picked up the bag of zip ties. “Check it out.”

  “Zip ties,” Lucy studied the bag. “Shoes, sardines and zip ties.”

  “An interesting combination, no doubt.” Gloria returned the zip ties to the back of the van and gingerly shut the door.

  “What’s worse…Rose’s Alien Allure or rotting sardines?”

  “It’s a toss-up.” Gloria caught a glimpse of someone over Lucy’s shoulder. It was Eleanor and Penelope, heading their way.

  “Duck!” Gloria hit the ground, pulling Lucy along with her. “They’re coming.”

  “…and then I said to my friend, Gloria, I think I would pay a hundred dollars to see an honest to goodness UFO,” Eleanor said. “I’m sorry you weren’t interested in Rose’s vitality potion.”

  “I don’t think I’m ready to subject myself to the possible side effects.” Penelope’s voice grew louder, and Gloria could see the tips of her tennis shoes near the rear tire.

  “Although the people camped next to me are here for the alien convention,” Penelope said, “they seem interested in spy equipment and surveillance stuff.”

  “Which would come in handy if you were trying to spy on aliens,” Eleanor said. “Say…before I leave, I was wondering if you could show me those night vision goggles you were telling me about.”

  “They’re in my glove box.” Penelope moved away from the back of the van, and Gloria let out the breath she was holding.

  Lucy sprang to her feet and took off running.

  Gloria scrambled to her feet, not realizing she hadn’t cleared the bumper. She whacked her head and tumbled backward.

  “Did you hear something?” Penelope asked.

  “Huh?” Eleanor cleared her throat. “No. I sure didn’t.”

  Gloria clenched her jaw and pressed a light hand to the back of her head. She rolled onto her stomach and crawled to the other side of the van.

  From her position, she could see Lucy had cleared the campsite and stood several yards away motioning, wildly for Gloria to make a run for it.

  Gloria’s pulse ticked up a notch as she frantically searched for a way out. Penelope spun around, facing her direction.

  Lucy threw her hands in the air and began to pace.

  Eleanor’s voice grew louder. “You’re lucky to have such a spacious campsite. There are so many tall bushes and trees giving you extra privacy. Have you noticed any wild animals back here?”

  “No. It is a great lot. A premium lot, in my opinion.”

  Eleanor was talking to her. Gloria shot a frantic glance at the stump fence bordering the property. She studied the fence line and spied an opening large enough for her to crawl through.

  “Do you mind if I try the night vision goggles on the front of your van?” Eleanor’s voice moved away.

  Gloria scrambled to her feet. She sprinted to the fence line and dropped to her knees. She slithered through the shallow opening and was almost home free when her hip caught on the edge of the stump.

  She flipped onto her side, pushing with her feet and dragging herself through, all the while praying Penelope and Eleanor were still near the front of the van.

  Gloria gave it all she had as she sucked in her gut and kicked her feet. The final push was the momentum she needed to get through.

  Woo-oo-weet. Lucy’s head appeared over the side of the fence line. “Over here.”

  Gloria dashed across the open field. “I’m trapped. There’s only one way in and no way out.”

  “You’re gonna have to climb over.”

  Gloria’s eyes narrowed as she studied the jagged stump fence. “I’ll impale myself.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. Put your foot in the notch and swing over.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “I think you’re out of practice,” Lucy teased.

  Gloria placed her foot on a small ledge and swung her right leg over the top. She cleared the center and then came to an abrupt halt. “I’m stuck.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  Lucy leaned in to assess the situation. “Your shoe is caught.” She reached through a gap in the fence and gave Gloria’s ankle a solid nudge, freeing her foot.

  “Thanks.” Gloria lowered to the ground, landing with a light thud. “That was a close call.”

  “No kidding.” Lucy flung her arm around Gloria’s shoulder. “Did you see Eleanor? She handled it like a pro.”

  “Hey.” Eleanor hurried toward them. “You made it.”

  “Thank you for giving me the hint to take the fence line.”

  “I didn’t know what else to do,” Eleanor said. “Were you able to find anything?”

  “Yeah. A bunch of rotting fish.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Boxes of tennis shoes and some zip ties,” Lucy said.

  “I guess we can cross Penelope off the list.”

  It was a quick trek back to the front. As they got closer, Gloria spotted a patrol car parked nearby. The officer was sitting inside his car, staring at a computer monitor.

  He gave the women a curt nod as they walked past and stepped into the office. Ruth was inside, her face pale.

  “There’s a deputy out front,” Gloria said. “What’s going on?”

  “They picked up Leonard.”

  Chapter 14

  “The authorities claim they received an anonymous call from someone naming Leonard in the attempted abduction. They took him to the Montbay Sheriff’s station for questioning, and plan to put him in a lineup to see if the Bearney boy is able to identify him.”

  “I hate to say this, Ruth, but do you think it’s possible Leonard was involved?” Gloria asked. “I mean, other than the group you’re in, you know little about him and his personal life.”

  “No.” Ruth stubbornly shook her head. “Absolutely one hundred percent not. He was here this morning at the time of the alleged incident in Lakeville. I told the authorities he was here, but I’m not sure they believe me.”

  “Were you with him the entire time?” Eleanor asked.

  “Not the entire time, but enough of it.”

  “I’m sure they’ll sort it out.” Gloria studied her watch. “I had better check on Ryan. I’m sure he’s getting antsy by now. Is there anything else you need me to do?”

  Ruth assured her that between Cliff and Bernadette, she had everything under control. “I have a surprise for later.”

  “What sort of surprise?” Margaret eyed her suspiciously.

  “Cameron Burke is today’s guest speaker.”

  “Who is Cameron Burke?” Margaret asked.

  Ruth’s eyes grew wide. “Are you serious?”

  “I don’t know who Cameron Burke is, either,” Lucy said.

  “Ditto.” Dot raised her hand.

  “Cameron Burke is a former FBI agent. He’s cracked a number of high-profile cases.”

  “That’s an interesting line of work. I’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say,” Gloria said.

  “He won’t have time to do a meet and greet. He’s going to give a speech. There will be ten minutes of Q&A and then he’s out of here.”

  “If he’s such a big deal, how did you manage to convince him to come to Belhaven?” Margaret asked.

  “Leonard. He and Leonard go way back.”

  “If this guy has connections, maybe he can put in a good word for Leonard,” Lucy said.

  “If only.” Ruth’s shoulders slumped.

  Gloria patted her friend’s arm. “It will be all right. I’m sure the authorities will clear Leonard quickly if he’s innocent. I’ll check back in a little while.”

  The walk to the vendor area was a slow go. Several people stopped Gloria to ask questions about the evening events.

  She f
inally reached Rose’s booth. Her table, once filled with bottles of potions, was almost empty. “Business must be booming.”

  “Booming?” Rose grinned. “My potions have been selling like hotcakes. I even ran out of business cards.”

  “I’ve been doing a brisk business, too,” Helena chimed in. “I’m almost out of prepper meals.” She pointed to a stack of empty boxes. “Rose and I were saying we hope there’s another convention next year.”

  “Join the alien task force,” a high-pitched voice echoed from under Rose’s table.

  “I recognize that voice.” Gloria watched as Ryan crawled out from behind Rose’s display banner, gripping his voice changer. “Are we leaving now?”

  “Yes. We’re going to head to the farm. Tell Rose thank you for keeping an eye on you.”

  “Thank you, Rose.”

  “You’re welcome, Ryan. We gonna see you later tonight for the alien antics?”

  “Are we, Grams?” Ryan tugged on Gloria’s arm.

  “Yes. We’ll be back to hear the keynote speaker, and then hang around for the Alien Invitation.” Gloria motioned to Helena. “What about you, Helena? Will you be here too?”

  “There’s no way I’m going to miss the alien hoopla. I’ve seen more interesting sights in the last day than I’ve seen in my sixty-plus years.”

  During the ride home, Ryan gave his grandmother a sampling of the different voices on his voice changer. As soon as they reached the driveway, he unbuckled his seatbelt and bolted from the car. Gloria caught up with him in the kitchen, talking to Paul and Tyler.

  “…and then I got this voice changer for being a sign spinner. Gram’s friend, Helena, let me try some space food.”

  Paul patiently listened until Ryan ran out of steam. “That was nice of her.”

  He flopped down in the chair and kicked his shoes off. “I can’t wait to go back. Rose promised to let me use some more of her potion to attract aliens.”

  Tyler rolled his eyes. “Aliens don’t exist.”

  “Yes, they do,” Ryan insisted.

  “Do not.”

  Gloria lifted her hand. “Boys. Enough. I need to think about starting supper.”

  Paul leaned his hip on the counter. “I was talking to one of the guys at the station. He said the authorities received an anonymous tip about the attempted abductor.”