Traverse Bound

by Jack Gibby

  Approaching Missy, Crumb reached out and snagged the sack off her head. Once again, Missy had on a sour face, but this time she kept it. She looked as though she were going to explode.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” she spit. “Untie me right now.”

  “Huh,” said Crumb, stepping back and getting a good look at her. “Aren’t you that slow chick from over at Laurent?”

  “I’m not slow, you buffoon,” said Missy. “I’m Missy Marlowe. You’re in my family’s winery and I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here, but you’re fucked. Let me loose!”

  “You’re Michael’s daughter?” said Crumb, swinging the baton around absently. “Why the hell are you breaking in this late at night?”

  “I wasn’t breaking in,” said Missy. “You can’t break in to your own property. You’re breaking in.”

  “I’m not breaking in,” said Crumb.

  “Then what are you doing here?”

  Crumb paused. Then he scrunched is face.

  “I don’t have to tell you,” he said. “I don’t give a shit about you.”

  “I know what you did, Sam Crumb,” said Missy. “I know you killed John Barnaby in the parking lot of the marina. I know because I was there. You shot at me, too!”

  Dunn remained perched and listening, not very happy to hear Missy completely spill everything she knew, but ready to back her up if he needed to.

  “That was you?” said Crumb. “They never told me it was Michael’s daughter.”

  “Yeah, it was me!” barked Missy, rocking back and forth again in her chair, feeling desperate to get out. She was seeing red, unable to parse everything that Crumb was saying. But Dunn heard it. It got him thinking.

  “Well, I was going to beat the shit out of you with this,” said Crumb, looking down at the baton. “That would be a bad idea now.”

  “Yes, that would be a very bad idea,” said Missy.

  “I think I should call Michael,” Crumb mused. “See what he wants me to do.”

  “Don’t call him!” Missy cried. “Dunn, stop him!”

  “Huh?” said Crumb.

  From the shadows, Dunn stepped out with his pistol pointed toward Crumb. He could feel his heart racing fast. He felt ridiculous. But there he was, pointing a gun at somebody when he should really just be back at home in bed with his girlfriend.

  “Hey, buddy,” said Crumb. “Don’t point that thing at me.”

  “Dunn, shoot him,” said Missy. “Shoot him now!”

  Dunn watched as Crumb reached into his jacket for his own gun, and before he knew it Dunn was squeezing the trigger. The shot rang out with a crack. Crumb reacted with a yell and a dodge, his body bending at his middle. But Dunn’s aim was nowhere close. In fact, he had hit a wine barrel, a barrel that was now leaking onto the ground below.

  As Crumb ran off, Dunn approached Missy and quickly began to untie her, his eyes moving back and forth from the knot in the rope to the general area where he had last seen Crumb. He was breathing heavy. This whole experience felt wildly insane.

  “Hurry up,” said Missy. “This is ridiculous.”

  “This is a really well-tied knot,” said Dunn, still trying.

  “If you’d taken more sailing classes,” said Missy. “You’d know a bit more about tying an untying knots.”

  “Oh, shut up,” said Dunn. “Now is not the time for teasing quips.”

  “There we go,” said Missy excitedly, the rope dropping to the ground. Without missing a beat, Missy reached back and took out her pistol. “Let’s get him,” she said as she stood up.

  “Get him?” said Dunn. “Are you mad?”

  “He’s getting away!” Missy called. “Let’s go.”

  Missy took off running, and Dunn, against his better judgment, followed behind her.

  When Dunn and Missy broke out into the parking lot, they saw Crumb’s car speeding off into the night with a screech of the tires. Missy sighed and tossed her hands up in the air, obviously perturbed that they had let him get away.

  “If you could have untied me faster,” accused Missy. “Or maybe if you had untied me when you first found me…”

  “What would you have done if you caught him?” Dunn asked with incredulousness. “Shot him?”

  “Yes,” said Missy. “Yes, I would have. The guy threw a bag over my head and tied me up. He was planning to beat me with that baton until he found out who I was. Who knows what else he might have done. And let us not forget that he’s a murderer who also shot at us. Yes, Dunn, I think I’d like to shoot that guy.”

  Dunn held his head in both hands. It was really beginning to sink in what he had done. He’d left his girlfriend in bed in the middle of the night to come rescue Missy. He also fired his gun off at Crumb. Luckily, it was a miss and Dunn himself wasn’t also a murderer.

  “I can’t do this anymore, Missy,” said Dunn. “This has gotten too insane for me. I’m out.”

  “You’re out?”

  “I’m out,” Dunn reiterated. “I don’t want to play these games anymore. Let’s just turn this guy in to the cops and let them take it from here.”

  “You’re not at all interested why we saw Crumb at both Laurent and my family’s winery?” said Missy. “That doesn’t give you pause?”

  “Yeah, it gives me pause,” said Dunn. “But this is too much for me. I almost shot the guy. Back at home, Brooke could wake up at any moment, wonder where I am, check downstairs, look outside to see my car is gone… I don’t know how I got wrapped up in all this nonsense. This very much feels like mafia stuff to me—at least, what mafia stuff looks like in the movies—and that’s not why I moved to Traverse City.”

  “Dunn,” said Missy, her attitude changing from riled anger to a softer empathy. “C’mon. We’re so close. There are still so many unanswered questions. Aren’t you having fun with me?”

  “This is how you have fun?” Dunn asked, shaking his head. “This has moved beyond fun, Missy. This is risky and dangerous.”

  Missy frowned as she accepted Dunn’s words. She nodded slowly.

  “Okay,” she said after a moment. “We’ll just turn him in and we’ll end this.”

  “Thank you,” said Dunn. “I don’t know who you took me for. I’m not a detective. I’m just a retired corporate computer guy.”

  “It’s just…” said Missy, waffling on how to put her feelings into words. “The murder really had an affect on me. And now that I’m seeing that it’s somehow intertwined with my family life, I just can’t ignore it. It’s making me feel things I don’t want to feel.”

  “Yeah, I understand,” said Dunn.

  “I’m not dumb, you know?” Missy continued. “I can connect the dots. I just don’t want to believe it.”

  “There’s something much bigger and much deeper going on here,” said Dunn. “I admit it. Something nefarious. And it seems like maybe your father is involved somehow.”

  “Yeah,” said Missy with sharp sarcasm. “Dunn, I get it.”

  “I didn’t mean anything by that,” he replied. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Missy said, softening once again. “Look. I’ve known there are secrets in my family for a long time, and I just didn’t want to believe it. It’s hard, you know? It’s one of the reasons I avoided working in the family business for so long. But the shooting, it scared me, and it sent me into my father’s arms. I knew that if I got involved, I’d be safe. But now I’m just regretting it all. I wish I didn’t still live with my parents. I wish I could make it out on my own.”

  Dunn paused. He could see Missy’s eyes begin to water. Stepping closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her and brought her in for a tender hug. Missy put her arms around Dunn’s waist and accepted the embrace. She put her head on his chest and held onto him.

  “I’m sorry, Dunn,” she said with a sniffle. “I didn’t mean to get you involved in all this. This is my problem to deal with.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Dunn.

  “
You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said, still holding to him.

  “No, I don’t think so,” said Dunn. “I’m glad I met you. I’m happy we’ve become friends.”

  “Me, too,” Missy said.

  After some time, Missy loosened her grip on him and stepped back. She wiped at her eye and she smiled.

  “We can just turn him in and be done with it,” she conferred. “I’m okay with that. The other stuff, it’s probably not my place to know.”

  Dunn flattened his lips and nodded slowly.

  “You should go back to your girlfriend,” Missy continued. “Tell her you saved my life. That’ll earn you Brownie points.”

  “I don’t think it will,” said Dunn. “I’m not sure she’s a fan of yours.”

  “Huh,” mused Missy. Then she shrugged. “Tell her you went to the 24-hour grocery to pick up some ibuprofen PM. Help you sleep and all that.” Missy smiled coyly. Dunn let out a small laugh.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to tell her,” he said. “I don’t know if this thing will even work out. I haven’t been the most straight forward with her. You can’t build a relationship like that.”

  “I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” said Missy, reaching out for his shoulder and placing her lithe hand on it. “Thanks for saving me, Dunn.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said. “We should meet up tomorrow or the next day and figure out how we’re going to do this.”

  “Agreed,” said Missy. “And I’m going to have to figure out how to talk to my father about all this.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I can’t imagine Crumb will keep this from him.”

  “Well, maybe he will keep it secret,” Dunn proposed. “He didn’t know he had tied you up. You think he wants to tell your father he tied up, and almost tortured, his daughter?” Missy laughed.

  “Okay,” Missy said. “Yeah, you might be right.”

  “Just let it percolate,” said Dunn. “Don’t say anything you don’t have to.”

  “You’re slick, Dunn,” said Missy. “You’ve got to teach me your cunning ways.”

  “This is where years of navigating the corporate world has got me,” Dunn admitted. “I’m good at lying.”

  Missy grinned.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Missy said.

  “Yep,” said Dunn. “See you soon.”

  Missy offered him one last smile before she turned away from him and walked to her car. Dunn watched for a moment, then he realized he was parked directly next to her and he jogged a few steps to catch up to her. Turning her head to see him coming, Missy laughed and waved. Dunn smiled.

  It had been a pretty messed up night.

  Chapter Nine

  Dunn sat on the steps outside of his house taking sips from a bottle of beer. It was sometime in the middle of the afternoon, another sunny summer day. He was barefoot, dressed in a pair of madras shorts and an unbuttoned polo. Dunn had spent much of the day taking care of odds and ends around the house, mowing the lawn, doing a little painting out back. Now he was relaxing with his beer. He had a bemused smile on his face.

  Turning his head slightly, Dunn saw Walt meandering up toward him. Dunn sat up straighter, and he waved. Walt put up his palm in greeting.

  “There’s my guy,” said Walt with a grin. “I was going to ask how you were, but you look positively unflappable today.”

  “I’m really good at appearances,” said Dunn. Walt laughed.

  “So you are,” Walt replied.

  “Can I get you a beer?” Dunn asked, holding up his bottle.

  “Thank you, but no thank you,” said Walt. “I appreciate it, though. And I appreciate this yard. I didn’t want to say anything, but those blades of grass were beginning to grow a bit shaggy.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” said Dunn. “I’ve been preoccupied lately. But that’s coming to an end.”

  “A new relationship will do that to you,” Walt said with a wink. Dunn grinned.

  “I don’t know about that,” he replied.

  “What?” said Walt. “Hitting some rocky waters with your special lady?”

  “You could say that,” admitted Dunn. “She’s a little upset with me. And she’ll probably be even more upset with me soon.”

  “Huh,” Walt intoned. “Well, that’s just how it goes sometimes. Stick with it, though,” he said, wagging a finger in seriousness. “That girl is a catch. Plenty of guys would love to have a crack at her. If I was a bit younger and unattached, I might even throw my hat in the ring.” Dunn laughed, and then drank from his bottle.

  “I just don’t know, Walt,” said Dunn after a moment of reflection. “I’m not sure that I’m a good match for her. I end up marching to my own beat, you know? That doesn’t always fly with some women.”

  “Well, what was your ex like?” Walt asked with interest. “Did it fly with her?”

  “In a way, yeah,” Dunn admitted. “We were both pretty career driven. She could forgive my foibles because she wasn’t often around enough to deal with them.”

  “And what about Brooke?” Walt pushed. “You don’t think she could forgive your foibles?”

  “I think she’s looking for something really serious,” Dunn said. “And when it’s not her level of seriousness, it causes friction.”

  “I’ve been married to Liddy a long time,” said Walt. “Can I give you a little advice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Some battles, you’ve just got to give to them,” said Walt. “If you want to make it last, you can’t always be the winner. Even if you’re right. Even if you know you should win this one. A little compromise goes a long way.”

  “Yeah,” said Dunn absently. “We’ll see how it goes.”

  Walt grinned.

  “I know,” he acquiesced. “A young, good-looking, well-off guy like yourself, Gannon, you’ve got your pick. Just choose wisely.”

  A sedan rolled up to the curb in front of the house, and both Dunn and Walt looked toward it. The car parked, and out from the driver’s side came Missy. She was smiling, dressed as though she’d just come from sailing, sunglasses over her eyes, her hair fluttering in the breeze. Missy sauntered up to where the two men were conversing, her hands in her back pockets.

  “Yo,” she said.

  “Missy,” said Dunn. “This is my neighbor, Walter Polk.”

  “Missy Marlowe,” said Missy, shaking Walt’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Missy,” said Walt. “Marlowe, huh? You wouldn’t happen to be related to the Marlowe family that owns Emperor Vineyards, would you?”

  “No relation,” Missy said, slipping her sunglasses up on her head and grinning. “Though how nice would that be?” Walt laughed.

  “That would be pretty nice,” Walt agreed. “If you like wine, of course.”

  “Oh, I do,” Missy assured him.

  “Don’t we all,” Walt conferred and laughed. “All right. I won’t keep the two of you. Missy, great meeting you. Gannon, you remember what I said.”

  “Yes, sir,” said Dunn. “Thanks, Walt.”

  “You got it,” he replied. “Have a great afternoon, you two.” Walt gave them a wave and ambled off back toward his own house.

  Once Dunn was sure that Walt could no longer hear them, he spoke up.

  “No relation, huh?”

  “Thought I’d just practice manipulating the truth,” admitted Missy, still grinning. “Why not, right?”

  “You’ve got to be careful with your lies,” said Dunn. He now stood up from his stoop. “If you lie for no reason, you might forget you did it. And that could come back to bite you. What if Walt stops into Emperor one day and sees you there?”

  “Funny thing,” said Missy, speaking as though she were talking to Walt in this hypothetical. “I just got a job here, Walt. I’m not even related to these people. It’s just a crazy coincidence.” Dunn laughed.

  “Come on,” said Dunn, waving her to f
ollow him. “Let’s go inside.”

  “He hasn’t said anything,” Missy said, sitting on the kitchen counter. Dunn stood opposite her, leaning against the counter on the other side. He nodded. “I don’t think Crumb told him what happened.”

  “So what’s the plan here?” said Dunn. “We’re sure it’s him, right? Crumb’s the guy?”

  “You saw the surveillance footage,” said Missy. “We’ve seen him up close. That’s him.”

  “What about the other guy?” asked Dunn. “The guy at the shooting range?”

  “No idea,” said Missy. “I haven’t seen or heard anything from that guy. Probably the same one who broke into your house and was following me around the marina.”

  “Yeah,” mused Dunn. “So we’re just going to turn him in?”

  “As much as I want to keep digging deeper,” said Missy. “I’ll yield to you, Dunn. I know you’re not happy it went this far.”

  “I just think it’s getting a little dangerous,” said Dunn. “I’m ready for it to be over.”

  “Okay,” said Missy. “Let’s end it.” She paused, kicking her feet back and forth a few times. It took a lot for Missy to give up the case. But she valued Dunn’s friendship, and that was more important to her.

  “So we know that, some how, Crumb is involved with both Chateau W. Laurent and Emperor,” Dunn went on. “We can tell the police they should be able to find him at one of those two places.”

  “Dunn,” said Missy, her face conveying trepidation. “I want to spare my family in all of this.”

  “You do?”

  “Right,” she said. “I know it doesn’t look good. I’ll be the first to admit that. But I can’t sell my family out. I don’t want to mention anything about Emperor.”

  “I get it,”said Dunn.

  “You don’t hate me for that, do you?” asked Missy. Dunn could tell Missy was torn.

  “It’s your family,” Dunn said with a shrug. “Even if they’re involved with some shady stuff, you’re going to protect them. That’s just how it goes.”