Destroyed and Detained : Sara Martin Series

by Danelle Helget

  I shut the door behind them and went to the kitchen. My meds were totally worn off. The pain, on a scale of one to ten, was at an eight for my ankle and about a six for my stiches. I poured myself a glass of wine and went to the bedroom. I texted Derek back that I’d call him in a bit. He replied with another picture. This one was taken right after I kissed Rex. Our lips weren’t touching, but we were very close, and I had my hands on his chest. I was just pushing him away. It didn’t look good, either.

  Ugh, how was I going to explain this? Should I? I mean, really, Rex was right, it was an attack and retreat. The details would be boring to anyone. I knew the right thing to do would be to fess up … but my evil side was running the show.

  I got into my pajamas and brushed my teeth and then settled into bed with my foot propped up on a pillow. I dialed Derek’s number and took a deep breath. My evil side was whispering bad ideas into the phone. I was trying to shush her when he answered.

  “Well, hello, busy girl.” They were playful words but there was irritation in his voice.

  “Hi,” I said slowly. “Well, to update you, your ex, Jodi, is harassing me AGAIN. She was trespassing on my property and has my phone number now, too.”

  “Yeah, looks like she’s been busy, too.”

  “Ahh,” I sighed and let out a long exhale. “Look, I know that the pictures look bad, but they are nothing. Rex was over wondering about the abandoned car and if I knew anything about it. Tannya was here, too. I sprained my ankle earlier today, between that and my stitches, I was in a lot of pain so I took some pain killers, and I was having some bad reactions to them, so Rex was helping me relax.”

  “Well, isn’t that nice of him? He’s a great guy!”

  Silence.

  The silence was bad because it gave my evil side a chance to return. “Look, Derek,” my devilish twin said. “Think what you want. I don’t care. I’m not going to sit here and defend myself. If you want to play into Jodi’s games AGAIN then go right ahead. I don’t need this. Do me a favor and figure out what you’re going to do about her. It’s getting on my last nerve, and I’m tired of it. I’m going to hang up and ENJOY my night! GOODBYE!” I said and slammed the phone down on the counter. UGH!

  I drank the rest of my wine in one gulp. I just wanted to end this crazy day. I let Pepper out to go to the bathroom and then filled his and Faith’s food and water dishes. I climbed back into bed. Faith curled up on the pillow next to me and purred. I turned off the light, closed my eyes and wished the day would go away.

  I woke to a banging on the door. It was still dark. I looked at the clock … 6:00 a.m.

  Shit! Who’s waking me up this early? I stepped out of bed and yelped when I put pressure on my ankle. It was still swollen.

  I padded down the hallway to the entry and opened the front door to Rex. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said, looking all adorable in his uniform. I pinched my own arm to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

  I moaned at him with a wrinkly face. “What are you doing here? And why so early?”

  “I work a lot this week,” he said with a smile. “I thought that if I came out this way this early that you might still be in bed, so I brought you a treat.” From behind his back he pulled out a large coffee from the coffee shop on Main Street in Nisswa and a waxy to-go bag that looked like Morning Glory’s. I prayed that it contained a caramel roll.

  Ahhh, now how could I be crabby? “It’s a caramel mocha with espresso, and two caramel rolls. I know you like caramel. Oh, and Tannya says hi.”

  “Great, she’s going to be gossiping about this. You were here late last night and now you’re back in the early morning with treats. This looks bad,” I told him.

  “Not as bad as the picture your boyfriend got from his ex, who was stalking you last night,” he joked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t want to think about that. Why are you here anyway?”

  “I was wondering if you knew anything about the ship, er, boat, ah, floaty thing on the lake,” he said with an eye roll.

  “What?”

  “Yup, it looks like there are more lunatics in the area than we thought.”

  He has no idea.

  “Really?” I stepped aside and motioned him to come in. Then we went to the patio door and I pulled back the blinds. Holy crap! He was right! There was another … boat … out there. I set my coffee and rolls on the table behind me and grabbed my binoculars. This new one was an inflatable raft, large and octagon-shaped with three men in it dressed as pirates, and they looked to be Captain Morgan, Flying Dutchman, and Long John. They had rigged two flags on the raft. One was a skull and crossbones, the other said “Ocean’s Lie” in big letters. “Ocean’s Lie” was also painted on the side of the raft.

  What are those morons doing? Do they think they are going to be a threat to the ship?

  “Wow,” I said out loud.

  “Yup,” Rex said. “So you don’t know anything about this?”

  I shook my head. “I’m sure it has to do with the LARP, just grown boys playing around.”

  “There’s talk at the station about LARPing and some criminals out of Chicago being involved,” Rex told me. He stared at me hard. “Know anything about that?”

  “If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” I said with a wink. Rex didn’t smile back. “No, I don’t know any criminals.”

  “I’ll be around. If you hear anything, call me,” he said seriously.

  “Mmkay,” I said and followed him to the door. “Thanks for the coffee and rolls. I love them!”

  “You’re welcome,” he smiled slightly and winked. After he shut the door I called Tannya on her cell.

  She answered quickly. “If you come here to Morning Glory, I’ll tell you more of what I’ve learned. They’ve got me on the clock until 2:00 this afternoon, and then captain’s supposed to call and let me know where to meet them. I think we’re heading out on the ship.”

  I laughed out loud. Ship? She was in for a surprise! “I’ll be there in an hour,” I told her.

  I sat in front of the TV and ate my breakfast. I washed some Tylenol down with what was left of my coffee. Now that my foot wasn’t elevated it was throbbing again. It hurt, and so did my head. I was wishing Miss Kitty was here with some more magic pills. They sure did make me a bit crazy, but I had energy and no pain. I could use both right now.

  After I showered, I dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and a zippered sweatshirt. I put socks on, but it was a slow, painful process. I did minimal hair and make-up because I didn’t want to stand in front of the mirror.

  When I was finished with that I went to the entry and started the process of putting my size eight shoe on my size ten foot. I let Pepper out to do his thing and then left for Morning Glory.

  When I got there it was 8:00 a.m. The regulars were there, and Tannya was running around to the tables with a coffee pot. “Hey, girl!” She said with a big grin and wave, which always made everyone look. I hobbled to the closest booth and sat down.

  “Girl, we need to get you some crutches,” she said with a laugh.

  “No doubt!”

  She brought coffee over and a set of flavored creamers. “Miss Kitty called me this morning. She is very excited. She told me she has a surprise for us. She’s going to meet us here at 9:00, if everything’s on time.”

  “If what’s on time?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. She was quick on the phone, maybe she’s waiting on a dog sitter. Who knows with her?”

  Bing! “Order up!” Marv yelled from the kitchen. “Hey, Sara! How are you today?” he asked me.

  “I’m fine, Marv,” I yelled back.

  “Yes, you are!” he said through the window, then disappeared from sight.

  I looked at Tannya, and she rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what’s up with him right now. He’s been weird and … almost chipper all morning.”

  I read the paper in my booth until the crowd thinned out. Then I limped up to the bar area and sat on a stool. This way
I was close to Tannya’s work area.

  Bing! Tannya looked at the window. “Marv, what are you doing? I don’t have any orders out right now.”

  “Just wanted to tell you that you’re doing a splendid job today, Tannya,” he told her.

  “Marv!” she snapped. “Are you trying to get in my head?”

  “Just making a Pop-Tart in your head kitchen,” he said with a smile. He looked at me and winked. He disappeared from sight again.

  “Marv, you’re up to something!” Tannya yelled at the window with her brows pressed together. “Did you get laid last night or what?”

  I looked around the room to verify we were the only ones in there, and we were.

  “Boy, you are sportin’ four shades of ugly. No one is coming near that!” Tannya said.

  “Tannya, Tannya, love, calm down,” he said reappearing at the window. “I was out with the guys last night playing cards. There’s no woman trying to take your place.”

  “My place! I ain’t in no place. There ain’t a place in my life that YOU’D fit into either, so you just enjoy your boys and your card games, it’s the only excitement you’re gonna see in this town.”

  “Ya know,” Marv started, “bridge is a lot like sex. If you don’t have a good partner, you’d better have a good hand.”

  Pfft! I almost shot my coffee across the room. Tannya shook her head and handed me some napkins. “Don’t encourage him,” she warned me. I swallowed back my laughter.

  The bells on the door rang, and we turned. Miss Kitty. She was all dolled up again—shiny black leggings with a long, red, cashmere sweater belted at the waist. She wore a silver-colored scarf and silver earrings that would sink her straight to the bottom of the lake. On her feet were high-heeled, over-the-knee boots. Her hair and make-up were fully done up, and she smelled great. She was carrying a large bag on her shoulder, but it wasn’t her usual dog bag.

  “Hello, darlings!” she sang as she came in.

  “No Smoochy Poo?” Tannya asked.

  “No, she was up really early with me, and she was just too tired. I left her at home to nap.”

  “You look like you’ve been up for a while too,” I told her.

  “I was. I had to be ready for the surprise I have for us!” she said with a huge grin.

  “What’s the surprise?” I asked.

  “You’ll see soon enough,” she declared. “But first, Tannya, tell us what you know,” Miss Kitty said and sat down on the stool next to mine.

  “First off, I know you’re listening, MARV! Get back to work!” she said without looking at the window. A towel flew through the window and landed on the counter behind her.

  “Last night after I left Sara’s place, I was driving through town on my way home and looked in the lot of the little motel that the guys from Ocean’s Lie said they were staying at. Their truck wasn’t parked there, which I thought was strange since they said they were headed back to plan their attack. Anyways, I noticed that their truck was parked in front of Ye Old Pickle Factory, downtown, so I waited until they left at midnight and went in to talk to Bert.”

  “Oh, this is getting good!” Miss Kitty said.

  Tannya looked at me. “Bert is an old high school friend. We dated for a while.”

  “Okay.”

  “I asked Bert if he’d heard them talking. He bought me a drink and said he didn’t catch all of it, but it seemed like the big guy, who we know is Captain Morgan, was telling the other two about a plan to steal some gold back. He said the other two guys seemed shocked by the story, like whatever this guy was saying was really intense.

  When Bert asked them if they needed another round, they’d quickly shoo him away and keep talking.”

  “Did you tell Bert about the LARP?” I asked.

  “No, I told him it was my stepbrother’s friends causing trouble and just thought I’d check it out. Total lie, I don’t even have a stepbrother, but he didn’t seem to mind sharing what he’d heard.”

  “What else?” Miss Kitty demanded.

  “He said he was cleaning the glasses behind the bar and heard something about a jewelry store in Chicago. He wasn’t really sure, and it was noisy by the glass sanitizer. He said it sounded like a guy had stolen some gold and this pirate was getting it back.”

  “Oh!” Miss Kitty gasped. “What a clever storyline for the LARP! Geez, these guys go all out. They really get into this.”

  “Yeah, they do.” I agreed.

  “I don’t think it’s a storyline,” Tannya said. “I think this may be true.”

  15

  What do you mean you think it may be true?” Miss Kitty asked. I was thinking that too. This seemed too big for a role-playing game, but a clever way to go about it.

  I remembered Derek talking about working a shift in Saint Paul for an event called the Zombie Pub Crawl. He said it was a bar crawl event where everyone dressed up like zombies. People were covered in fake blood and limping, stomping and moaning from bar to bar. Some carried fake weapons as part of their costume. The event was huge. There were over 20,000 people up and down both sides of the streets for miles, stopping off at every bar for drinks and for the live music at some of the bars.

  He said the concern was that if someone was hurt or killed they would have no way of catching anyone. Every single person looked like a victim and every single person looked like a criminal. Trying to put out a description on a person at that event would do no good. That’s if anyone ever noticed a victim. At the end of the night there were dozens of passed out, blood-covered people lying on the streets looking dead. It was for real dangerous and scary. If you were going to stab someone that would have been the place to do it.

  Maybe the same was true of a LARP.

  “What if the story is personal? What if Captain Morgan really is trying to steal from Wayde?” Tannya said and looked at us both.

  “Steal what? The spray-painted-gold junk? That’s stupid. It’s fake!” Miss Kitty said. I wasn’t so sure. Tannya shot me a look. I stayed out of the conversation for the moment.

  “Ocean’s Lie just wants to be on top! And I say we take them down from the inside! Tannya, do you know where their treasure is and when they’ll have it unlocked so we can steal it?” Miss Kitty asked.

  “No. They said they’d call me later when they needed extra hands on deck. I told them I had to work until 2:00 p.m. and they said it would be after that.”

  “Ah, FYI, there was a large raft on the lake this morning. Rex came by and asked if I knew anything about it,” I informed them.

  “What? A raft?” Tannya said and put her hands on her hips.

  “Yup.”

  “Raft? What good is that going to do? How big is it?” Miss Kitty asked.

  “It’s a large octagon-shaped one, would hold maybe six people. It looked pretty crowded already with the three of them in it.”

  “They were in it?”

  “Yup, they were all screwing around with the pole and the flags— two flags. One was the typical skull and crossbones, the other said ‘Ocean’s Lie.’ The side of the raft was painted ‘Ocean’s Lie,’ too.”

  “What a joke! I signed up for a raft? I got a peek inside the trailer and saw scuba gear, so I thought for sure there was at least a boat. What kind of lazy pirates are these guys? At least they could have a small boat! What kind of ‘extra hands on deck’ is needed for a raft? There is no deck! Sheesh! Now I’m really glad I signed up for two LARPs and I’m captain of the other one. At least we have a boat!”

  “We do?” I asked.

  “Yes, Sara Narra, the pontoon. Duh,” Tannya said.

  “My pontoon?”

  “Let’s refer to it as our mini ship. Her name is Ella Vashow. Remember?”

  Oh, boy. Now who was taking this seriously?

  My phone buzzed, a message from Derek. Morning. Are you in a better mood?

  I replied, Yes, the pills made me a bit cranky.

  Derek answered, I’ll be up after my shift, if there’s room on your couc
h for me. It looked pretty crowded last night, but we can talk about that when I get there. I get off at 7:00.

  I replied, K.

  “I think we should go get Ella Vashow ready for launch!” Miss Kitty said excitedly.

  “I’m going to go check in at Lost and Found and make sure everything’s good there. Then I’m going home to make cherry pies. My mom sent six gallon-sized bags of cherries home with me months ago. I stuck them in the freezer, and I haven’t had time to make pies yet, but today, I plan to! We can meet at my house later,” I said.

  “I’ll help you with the pies!” Miss Kitty said eagerly. This was not what I had in mind, but the look on her face made me feel bad for her. She had no one else at home to keep her company. Plus I could probably teach her a thing or two in the kitchen. She was such a diva I doubted she’d ever picked up a measuring cup in her life.

  “Oh, okay. I have to make a stop at the grocery store too,” I told her.

  “No, problem. I’ll just follow you,” she said and stood up.

  “You two have fun, and save me some. I’ll let you know where I’m going and if I hear from the guys later,” Tannya said and gave us a finger wave.

  Miss Kitty followed me over to Lost and Found. I checked in with Ginger, checked the mail pile in the office, then did payroll quick.

  Forty minutes later, Miss Kitty had done some shopping in my store and upped my sales marginally! I was done with work for the week. I loved my job. It was nice to just swing in and be done for the week in forty minutes, not forty hours.

  We got into our vehicles and drove to the grocery store. I grabbed a cart and got all the ingredients I needed for the pies, starting with the ready-made pie crusts. I got two pastry shells and one graham cracker crust for the cherry cheesecake. I loaded up on snacks and other stuff too. Derek was coming, and I was always seemed to be out of food when he came.

  We arrived back at my house and carried the groceries in. Miss Kitty was actually helpful. She had come down off her pedestal a bit since the divorce. Her demeanor had changed, and she was for the most part turning into a pleasant woman. When I’d first met her, she was very demanding and self-focused. Over the last few months she’d lost her valley-girl tone, some of it at least, and now asked people for things instead of expecting them. She still had a maid come three times a week to do the cleaning and the laundry, but I understood that because her house was huge. She made her own meals or ate out, but what she made was usually a salad or a sandwich. She spent a lot of her time in the gym and at the salon. And her dog was very spoiled. She appeared to be a full-time job for her, as well. I was very surprised that Smoochy Poo wasn’t on her shoulder today.