by JL Phillips
I stand in the deepest shadows and wait. I don't have to wait long. I see the men move toward the front door. My ears pick up the quiet sounds of one of them picking the lock. He's good too, as within seconds the front door slowly opens. When they don't hear an alarm go off, they move inside. I also see the outlines of guns. Dammit.
I'm hoping my element of surprise throws them off balance enough that they won't think to shoot me as I step forward.
“Now really guys. Guns? Against a woman? Is that really necessary?”
In the dim light, I see it's Sid and the one called Dom. “Well, look at that. The dead comes alive. I heard you were here,” Sid motions for Dom to lower his gun.
“Yeah, I'm like a cat that way,” I say as I move a step forward.
“I owe you one for pushing me in that hole,” Sid says.
“Well, you left me in that same hole to die. So I think that makes us even.” I watch the two men as Dom puts his gun away, then he steps over to the left of his boss.
Sid shoves his gun in the back of his pants. He flexes his fingers and his smile disappears.
“It's gonna to be a pleasure to get my hands on you.”
I relax my whole body, my concentration on both men.
“Yeah, you like hitting women don't you? Big man,” I sneer as I say the words. Then I wait.
“Bitch,” Sid growls out and then lunges for me.
He's a wide man. Not tall, but wide. I knew he was going to be tough, strong, but I have agility. I'm also not above fighting dirty.
I move at the last second. Sid hits me with his shoulder and I turn with it. As I turn, I grab his gun from the back of his pants and toss it further down the hall. His shoulder hits my upper chest. Feels like a damn jackhammer. That's going to leave an ugly bruise.
One of my legs goes in-between his and trips him as he rushes by. I hear a grunt as he hits the floor. I have no time for finesse as Dom decides to enter the fight. A large fist barely misses my head as I let
myself fall on top of Sid. My elbow digs deep into his gut. I hear the whoosh as his breath leaves him. The man is muscled, but through the years, he let himself go. His stomach is soft.
I lay all my weight into my elbow and roll to Sid’s other side. Just in time to throw my leg up in a kick toward Dom. I hit his kneecap with my biker boot. The man goes down on top of Sid with a scream as I roll backward. I'm running out of room in the short hallway. It’s time to head to the front.
I take a short run just as Dom is trying to get up. I kick his head and down he goes again. My leg feels like it hit a steel pole. Damn, these guys have hard heads. I keep the momentum going as I use Dom as a springboard to the front of the place.
I hear grunts and swear words that I didn’t even know existed, as Sid manages to throw Dom's now unconscious body off his. The low table is behind me when Sid makes a stumbling leap toward me. I jump up on the table and swing my leg around toward Sid’s head. He's ready, and grabs my foot and gives it a twist.
Son of a bitch that hurts. I can't let him get on top of me. He outweighs me by at least fifty pounds. If he manages to get on top, he could pound the hell out of me. He still has my foot in his hands as I end up flat on my back on top of the table.
Just as he lets go of my foot I twist my whole body towards the right. I scramble to get up as I feel Sid's hands on my arm.
“Now I'm gonna 'urt you, bitch,” he snarls.
I grab one of his fingers and pull it backward as hard as I can. I hear it snap along with his roar of pain. He lets me loose. That's two useless fingers in almost as many days. I'm on a roll. I use my elbow again and smash it into that soft underbelly. I smell his onion flavored breath as it rushes out of him.
I grab his arm and throw him over my shoulder, using his own significant weight as momentum. He slams hard against the floor, his head hitting the end of the table. He's out like the proverbial light. I'll take whatever help I can get, whether it’s from the table or something else.
I look over toward Dom to see if he is up yet and ready for another round. That’s when I spot Fedora leaning against the wall watching me. I glance down at his feet and see he found something to tie Dom up with. The man is still unconscious.
“Thanks for the help with that one,” I gasp, pointing a thumb backward toward Sid.
Fedora grins and says, “You had him. So I thought I would enjoy the last few minutes of the show.”
I hobble over to him, my ankle still smarting from Sid's twist of it. My chest feels like it's on fire and my elbow hurts like hell. I turn on the hall light. That's when I notice Fedora is most likely going to have one hell of a shiner tomorrow.
“Damn, that was fun!” I laugh but stop abruptly when it hurts my chest.
Fedora gingerly touches his eye and winces, "It was fun I have to admit."
“You got something in your bag of tricks to tie Sid up with too?” I ask Fedora.
“No problem. Mini blind rope works great in a pinch,” he tells me and holds up a pocket knife. “What are you going to do with them? Call the police?”
“Not just yet,” I answer as I knock on Angela's office door.
“Angela! Open the door!”
I wait a second, then pound on the door again. “Angela!”
I hear the lock click and Angela peeks out the crack in the door. I shove it open. I'm mad as hell. She watches me cautiously as I slowly limp into the room. Her eyes widen, and then she slowly backs up as I approach.
“You and I need to have another little talk, Angela,” I tell her as I force her to walk backward until her desk stops her. I can see she's frightened. Good, she should be.
“Are...are you ok, Dee?” She stammers as she scrambles around the desk and sits in her chair. “I was so worried and scared.”
“I just bet you were,” I say, as my eyes never leave hers. I stop when the desk is between us and glare down at her.
“Why are you staring at me like that? You're scaring me, Dee!” Her lip trembles as her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
“Cut the crap, Angela. I want the truth once and for all, dammit.” I try to keep myself from yelling or reaching over and slapping her, but it's testing my self-control.
“W...what are you talking about? I thought we already talked.” Her lip starts to tremble again and it just pisses me off more. She should have taken up acting because she's damn good at it. I point my finger at her.
“You have lied to me for the last time, Angela. Sid knew I was here.”
I notice her lip stops trembling. She glares up at me.
“Yeah, he let that slip while he was trying to kill me. Just how did he know I was here, Angela? There were only three people who had that information. Fedora, you and me! It wasn’t Fedora or me that told them, so that just leaves you.”
She frowns and her eyes dry up. I notice her hands on the chair arms curl up into fists, but she stays silent.
“Why, Angela? I haven’t figured out that one thing. Why? Why bring me on this case at all? What did you hope to accomplish?”
“All you had to do was find that damn deed.” Her head lifts and she glares at me. “That's all! I never expected you to find out who killed Tony, but I had to tell you something to get you here. So I told you that was the main purpose, to find out who killed him. I just wanted you to find the deed to the Wenner place.”
“Why me? Sid works for you, that much I know, now. You had him looking for the deed. Why get me involved,” I ask her as I sit down. My anger subsides a little as my bewilderment grows.
“Sid's an idiot. He couldn't find his ass to save himself.”
“Still doesn't make sense to call me.”
“The great DeeDee Watson! Now a private detective,” Angela sneers at me. “God, how I hated you in college. The popular Dee, the self-confident Dee. You were the one that everyone wanted to be friends with.”
The loathing in her voice catches me off guard. I never suspected she felt that way. I always thought that we were, well, maybe not exactly
friends, but I never thought she hated me.
“You always were surrounded by people, friends. I always stood on the outside looking in,” Angela's voice tapers off to silence.
“I invited you to join us many times. You always had your nose stuck in some textbook. You were always the smart one of the bunch. As far as me being popular, I never thought so. I'm socially inept at the best of times.”
I'm still pissed. Nothing excuses her from almost getting me killed. Angela starts talking again; there was a new hardness to her tone.
“I read a few months ago a story in the paper where you recovered that dog for the Holden family. So, I figured you could at least find a deed. If you ended up hurt in the process, well so much the better,” Angela tells me with an eerie lack of any emotion. “I knew the smugglers aren't happy someone bought the Wenner place. I have plans to carry on the tradition of the estate, keep the smugglers happy and make millions in the process. Tony just had to be convinced or bought out.”
“So that's why Tony was killed? Because he couldn't be convinced?” I ask her. Even she wasn’t that cold, was she?
“I didn't kill Tony!” she yells. Then she smiles a cold smile. “Not that I truly mind him being dead. Saves me some headache. I just need the deed. It still has my name on it.”
There is seriously something wrong with the woman. The cold smile, the icy eyes. I think I'm meeting my first psychopath.
Well, crap.
“You're not so great are you, Dee? You couldn't find the deed,” she says with a smile that would chill ice. It’s time to bust her bubble.
“I found it,” I tell her and watch her smile die. A small satisfaction, but pleasant nonetheless.
“Why didn't you tell me you found it? Give it to me,” Angela demands as she stands up and holds out her hand like a queen ready to accept her homage.
Now it is my turn to smile. “Your name might still be on it, but Tony was smarter than you gave him credit for. He had the deed changed. It's also in Cynthia's name. She holds the majority of it, just like Tony did. Something tells me she is not going to want to do business with you.”
“What? No. You're lying,” she gives out a small frustrated scream and smashes her fists on her desk. “That deed is mine!”
I feel Fedora's presence behind me. He probably heard every word. I should call the authorities, but I do not trust the Ashville police at the moment. If what I think is true, calling them would be as big a mistake as trusting Angela again.
The beginning of a plan takes shape in my mind. I might be able to find out who killed Tony and Nick. It will be risky, but what the hell. It's the only way. I need to talk to Fedora. Alone.
Before I leave Angela, I need a few more things cleared up for my own satisfaction.
“Why the little play in front of the hotel when I first got here? Between you and Sid? I assume that was for my benefit,” I say.
“Of course it was. I had to make you believe I was in danger for you to believe all the other stuff,” Angela looks at me and I’m shocked at how calmly she admits to things. Crazy is not a strong enough word for this woman. “I told him to slap me. He’s good at that anyway,” she shrugs her shoulders.
“What about Billy. Did you tell Sid to hurt Billy?”
“That kid knew too much. I caught him spying on me and he overheard a conversation I had with Sid. I couldn’t risk him tattling to you.”
Shrugging her shoulders again, she calmly tells me that when she saw Billy spying on her she gave orders to Sid to teach Billy a lesson.
“I could have told him to kill the kid instead. I thought a little lesson would be enough to shut him up. Not my fault if Sid enjoys his job a bit too much.”
I feel my body grow cold.
“You’ve changed since college Angela. I feel sorry for you.”
She frowns and says, “Don’t feel sorry for me. I have money, a lot of it. I don’t need your pity. I need to get hold of Cynthia, convince her to sell her share of the Wenner Estate to me.”
I watch the emotions playing over Angela's face. I am glad I told Cynthia to go into hiding, not only because of Ward but also because of Angela now too.
“Well, good luck with that Angela,” I tell her as I stand up. “I'm out of here.”
I turn and catch Fedora's surprised look. I wink at him and shake my head slightly. The surprised look fades and he puts on his executive face. I bet he wins at poker too. I do like smart men.
I turn to her once more as something suddenly strikes me, "What about the kid, Angela? He's not yours is he?"
She laughs a high-pitched laugh as if it's the biggest joke she's heard, "No, the brat isn't mine. He's my receptionists. I just borrowed his picture to convince you to help me. I hate kids."
I feel relief, as I would hate to leave any kid to Angela's upbringing. I turn toward the door one last time to leave.
“Bitch.”
I hear Angela call me the derogative name as I leave. The space between my shoulder blades tingle. I think if Angela had a knife, it would now be sticking out of my back. I'm just glad to get out of her presence for now. I walk out without saying another word. Fedora follows me out the front door.
Chapter Nineteen
Once we're on the sidewalk, I tell Fedora to meet me at Marlene's old house. I jump on the Harley and ride, my mind still trying to come to grips with Angela's furious hate. The woman has an issue that is for sure. Did she kill Tony? I don’t think so. I think I know who did, proving it is another thing.
I’m hoping the fast ride settles me. Nothing like getting on the road with the bike and just letting it rip. I lose sight of Fedora in my side mirror almost immediately; I fly past the turnoff to Marlene's and just keep riding. I have some thinking to do.
A couple hours later, I pull up in front of Marlene’s old house. I see Fedora sitting on the front steps with Tee. The moonlight shines down and lights up the yard. It’s peaceful. I join the guys on the steps.
“Sorry I was gone so long, I needed some time to think,” I apologize to Fedora. Tee jumps in my lap and I begin to pet him. He seems to sense my mood as he licks my hand and curls up in my lap.
“You alright?” Fedora asks me.
“Yeah, I'm ok,” I tell him.
I am too. Angela hating me for all these years is a shock. I was never that close to her, no one was that I remember. I'll get over it. Whether she does or not is her problem. I feel Fedora's hand on my shoulder as he gives it a squeeze.
“You're not going home, are you,” he states more than asks.
“I can't. Not until I finish this case.”
It was one of the things I thought about on my ride. I can't walk away from this. Not now. There are two dead men and a badly beaten friend that need justice. They can’t be ignored and shoved into a corner just because someone I thought was a friend turned out to be a sociopath instead.
“We can't do this alone, Dee, it's too big,” Fedora says.
“You're right, we can't do this alone. That's why I made a few phone calls before I got here,” I tell him as I continue to pet Tee.
I have a plan. It's not a great plan. It's probably not even a good plan. In fact, this plan might get me killed. It's a plan that once Fedora hears it, he will not like at all. It's all I got, though. So I hope like hell it works. Who would look out for Tee if I got killed?
“The others should be here soon. In fact, I believe some are arriving now,” I say as I see Tee's ears perk up as he looks down the dirt road. Then I hear the sound of an engine and see headlights. The first of my helpers are arriving.
“Who's that?” Fedora asks and stands up. I stand too with Tee still in my arms. The headlights blind us for a moment, and then they go off. In the moonlight, I see a big dark colored pickup. I smile as I see who steps out of the driver’s side. Tee gives an excited yip so I let him down. He runs to the large bald-headed man who scoops him up.
“There's my pup! How ya doing little guy?”
“Thanks for co
ming, Xenos. I appreciate it,” I tell the large man. Then I get a shock as the passenger side opens and out steps his Mama. This I did not expect.
“Hey, Chicka. My boy tells me you are needin' some help. So here we are!”
“Mama insisted on coming, Dee. She's smart, she wants to help,” Xenos tells me with a sheepish look.
“Hello again, Xenos mom,” I welcome her and hold out my hand.
She gives it a squeeze, then pulls me in for a hug, “Just call me Mama, child. I'll answer to that.”
“Thank you for coming, Mama,” I tell her. “This might get dangerous, as I explained to your son when I called him,” I warned her. I'm not sure what she could do and I didn't want her hurt.
“I told her, Dee. Mama can take care of herself though. Besides, she is one damn fine cook and we all got to eat, right?”
Xenos laughs as Mama beams at him with love. I introduce the mother and son duo to Fedora and spot more headlights coming down the road. We all wait for the vehicle. It stops behind the truck and I walk out to meet the woman who steps out.
“Thank you for coming so fast, Cynthia. I wasn't sure how close you were,” I tell the woman as I give her a brief hug. “Are you Ok with this?”
She nods, “I’m Ok.”
I walk with her to the others and make introductions all around. I usher them into the small house. Damn, with Mama and Xenos, it’s as if the house shrunk to half its size. I notice Mama has taken Cynthia under her wing, now I know she'll be ok through this.
“What now, Dee? I'm sure you have a plan, although I'm not sure how much your friends can help,” Fedora asks.
“They can help,” I assure him. "In fact they are crucial to my plan. I'll let everyone know what it is as soon as my last friend gets here.”
I look at my wrist. I keep forgetting my watch is dead. Habits are hard to break. I put my arm down again. My friend should be here soon.
“Another friend?” Fedora asks as we both watch Mama laugh at something Cynthia has said.
Cynthia gives a soft chuckle; I think the two women have bonded. Then I hear what I've been listening for. The whap-whap-whap of helicopter blades. There is just enough space in a field behind the house to land one. I go out to the yard to watch in the moonlight. Everyone follows me. We stand in a semi-circle as we watch the copter set down.
