I looked straight ahead and could see Marv’s head in the window. He gave me an approving nod and wink. I hid my smile. It felt good being the boss.
“Hey, Scooter!” Marv said with a wave.
“Hey, Marv!” Scooter answered. Tannya shot Marv a look and pointed at him warningly.
They stood there for a moment before anyone said anything. “If neither of us hears from him by noon, the deal’s off. I’ll find you and I WILL get my things back. The game’s over. At noon, this ends.” He turned to the door and left. Scooter followed.
“Asshole,” Val muttered and then looked back at her food.
“I certainly hope that Butch calls soon. What the hell are we going to do at noon if he doesn’t?” Tannya asked.
“He’ll call,” Miss Kitty said. “He wants the treasure.”
The other waitress came walking out from the back hall. She was tying on her apron. “Good morning,” she said to Tannya.
“Hey, girl. I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of today. Do you think you can hold down the fort if I cut out now?”
“Sure, go ahead. It’s never too busy anyway. You go and have fun!” she said with a big smile.
“Thanks, I’ll close out my tables before I go,” Tannya told her and then walked away. We all finished eating and paid Tannya. We decided to go back to Miss Kitty’s house to wait. Wayde could easily come to my house, but hopefully he didn’t know where Miss Kitty lived. We felt we’d be safer there.
Tannya rode with me, leaving her car at Morning Glory since I’d have to come past there on my way home again anyway. Aunt Val rode with Miss Kitty. Her car and things were still at Miss Kitty’s house.
Inside the house Miss Kitty got us all bottled water and put some snacks out on the island counter we’d gathered around. We talked a bit about Miss Kitty’s plans to renovate the mansion. She didn’t need to, though. Everything was less than nine years old and still very tasteful and modern looking. She said she was bored with it and wanted to change some things to help erase the memory of when her husband lived there. They had divorced last year when she found out he’d been cheating on her. He was also in trouble for drugs and involved in the death of a young woman who overdosed. He was in jail, and the house was hers. She had lots of money, so she didn’t care about the expense.
The doorbell rang. We all jumped. Miss Kitty hopped up and down and clapped her hands. “Eeeek!”
She took off to the door after we all exchanged glances. She returned with a small box and a grin. Quickly she tore it open and pulled out a black hoody zip-up sweater embroidered with “Gun Powder Gertie.” “Just as I promised,” she said.
“Ah! Thanks so much! I love it!” Val said and gave her a hug. She threw it on over her shirt.
Tannya’s phone rang. We got still. She pulled it out of her pocket.
“Hello?” she said and put it on speaker.
“Tannya, or should I say Captain Tight Ass?”
“This is she,” Tannya said, tipping her chin in to the air and puffing out her chest.
“This is Flying Ductchman—” the speaker started.
“You mean Butch?” she snapped.
Silence. Miss Kitty fist bumped Tannya. Val raised an eyebrow.
“Look, Butch, I know why you’re calling.”
“Good, then let’s make this easy. Leave the treasure outside of the house your friend owns on the lake, and we’ll pick it up. Then this is all over and if you want you can claim the win.”
“Screw you, Butch. First of all, you ain’t in charge here. I am. Secondly, we wanna know where Jodi is. Let me talk to her so I know she’s okay.”
“Oh, I see. NOW you care about her?”
“No, we don’t. But we do want her released, unharmed. We don’t want her life to have any link to ours after today. And, well, if you harm her in any way this could come back on us since we were involved in the game too.”
“All right, we’ll trade.”
“Let me talk to her. Put her on the phone,” Tannya said and looked at us. We all nodded to let her know she was doing a good job.
“Fine.” There was some rustling on his end. Then we heard him tell her to say hello.
“… hello?” Jodi said, sounding weak.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?”
“No, he hasn’t hurt me, but he won’t let me go!” she said angrily.
There was more rustling, and then Butch came back on the line. “There, see, she’s fine. Now I want the treasure. RIGHT NOW! I don’t have time for these games.”
“Well, we have an interesting situation,” Tannya told him calmly. “Wayde and Scooter also want the treasure. So you three can figure that out at the meeting site. We’ll return the treasure to you three. In return we want Jodi, unharmed. Meet us at the corner of County Roads 12 and 9 in thirty minutes. No guns, no games. There’s an old farmhouse there. Pull off the road back by the red barn. We’ll meet you there,” she said. Then she got a huge grin on her face and said, “This message will self-destruct in three seconds … BOOM!” she yelled in to the phone and hung up. She set the phone down and busted out laughing.
Tannya was doubled over, laughing so hard she could hardly breathe and couldn’t catch her breath. “I’ve always wanted to say that! HA HA HA!” she was laughing at her own, sad joke. It was contagious and made all of us start up. She started to collect herself and was wiping her tears away. We were all laughing hard at her. The joke wasn’t that funny, but her laugh sure was. We finished our waters and drove in two cars to my house to collect the treasure. I thought it would be a good idea to call Rex and let him know the plan.
“Hey,” he answered.
“Hi. I thought I’d let you know we have a bit of a plan.” I wasn’t really sure where to start.
“Okay …”
“So it turns out we do have some treasure … that we hid …”
He sighed. “And?”
“And, well, we’re going to give it back and get Jodi for it in a trade.”
“You know where Jodi is?” Ugh, I hated his worried tone.
“Yeah, but more importantly, I know where Butch, Wayde, and Scooter Potter are going to be in about a half-hour.”
“Great job, Sara! Where are you meeting them?” he asked eagerly.
“At the old farm house on the corner of County 12 and 9. Tannya told them to meet us at the red barn.”
“When?”
“In twenty-five minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll be out there with back-up and we’ll stay out of sight until the exchange is made. Then you girls need to get out of the way, because we’ll be making arrests. Just give them the treasure and work with them. They just want to get out of town, so I think they’ll fully cooperate with you. It should be quick.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’ll text you when we get close.”
“So where did you hide the treasure?”
“Um … in a safe place.”
“Uh huh … okay, call me in a bit.”
When we got to my place, Derek was there. “Hello,” he said to us from his seat at the kitchen table. He was reading the paper and had a coffee and box of caramel rolls in front of him. “I think you’re right, Sara. The ship’s sinking.”
“NO!” I said and rushed with the girls to the window. The ship was still above water but noticeably tipping to the back left side. “Bummer. I kind of liked the ship,” I said sadly. At first I’d thought it was annoying and sort of an eyesore, but now I was used to it, and I liked the excitement of having it out there. Plus, it made a great conversation piece.
“That’s so sad,” Val said.
“Maybe we can have someone fix it,” Miss Kitty offered.
“Can we keep it?” Tannya asked. We all turned our heads to her. “Seriously! Wayde’s probably going to jail, so what’s he need it for? If we fix it, maybe it can be ours.”
We were all quietly pondering the idea until Buzz Kill joined in the conversation. “Ladies,” Derek said, “You c
an’t just take it over. It’s sinking. Fixing that would take the service of a skilled marine engineer. We don’t have any around here. It would cost a ton, and the boat wasn’t skillfully built in the first place. Plus, you have to get it in off the water at summer’s end and store it somewhere.”
Everyone got quiet and until Derek changed the subject. “So what are you ladies up to now? What brings you by?”
“We’re picking up the treasure and trading it for Jodi in about twenty minutes,” Val blurted out.
“What? Where? Did you talk to Rex about this?” Derek asked standing.
“I called him a minute ago. He’s on his way with back-up and is going to hide out until we make the exchange. Then we’ll get out of the way so they can make arrests,” I told him.
“And he’s okay with this?” Derek asked me, with concerned eyes.
“I didn’t give him a choice. I told him what was going on and the plan we’d made. He’ll be there to watch over us.”
“Well, that’s nice of him,” he said sarcastically. “Look, Sara, I’m not okay with you being used as bait. That hasn’t gone well in the past. I’m not going to let it happen again.”
“Well, lucky for you,” my evil twin started, “you’re not in charge. You don’t need to be there, and you don’t need to be involved.”
“Sara.”
“What, Derek? This isn’t your jurisdiction, remember?” I said and stomped off to the laundry closet. I got a glance at Aunt Val’s face as I passed by her. She looked surprised. Maybe I had been too harsh. I was just tired of being bossed around. No matter what I did, someone wasn’t going to like it.
“Sara,” he said, following me to the end of the hall. He took my arm gently and turned me to face him. “What’s up with you lately? I’m concerned about your safety, but you don’t seem to care about anyone but yourself,” he said in almost a whisper. “I didn’t drive over here for the weekend to be treated like this.” His eyes were full of hurt. Hurt that I knew I had caused. I didn’t mean to be mad at him. I was just mad that all of the shit going on had to do with his rotten ex. I just wanted her out of my life, our life.
“If you go, I’m coming with you,” he told me and walked away.
“Fine. Sorry. We’ll leave in five minutes.” It was a half-assed apology, but I wasn’t very good at them, so that’s all he got.
“Fine,” he said and walked into our room. I opened up the hall closet and the girls came around the corner.
“Girl, you’re in a mood. He didn’t deserve that,” Tannya said. I looked at her and nodded. I was disappointed in myself too. And leave it to Tannya to tell me exactly what she thought. I loved her for that, but some days I didn’t need the reminder.
“I know,” I said quietly and went to work on the treasure. There were a lot of little packages. “I’ll go get some garbage bags,” I said and walked away.
After I shook the bag open, the girls piled in the packages from the washer. I tied that one off and got a second and third bag for the rest. The third bag was only half-full. “I have more in my room. I’ll get them,” I said and opened the door.
Derek was pulling on a sweatshirt. I caught a glimpse of his gun in his holster underneath it. It gave me the chills. I caught his eye but didn’t mention seeing it. I took the bag to the closet and grabbed the packages from under my sweaters. Then we walked back out to the entryway. We slipped on our jackets and piled back in the vehicles. I had the three bags in the back of the Jeep.
Derek rode with me in the Jeep, and Val and Tannya rode with Miss Kitty. We pulled in the driveway of the old farmhouse and parked so we were backed up to the barn. There was a rotten, half-collapsed house to our right, and a wooden shed about the same size as the barn to the left, but that one had a sliding door that faced the driveway. Miss Kitty backed in next to us. I didn’t see Rex, so I texted him.
Here.
He texted back: We’re behind the shed. Two cars, me and Johnson.
Derek is with me, going to stay in the back of the Jeep.
Good.
We waited what felt like forever, and then up the county road we could see Butch in his truck, and Wayde and Scooter in the rusty truck behind them. Derek climbed in the back of my Jeep, behind the tinted windows. He didn’t want to be seen. I exited the Jeep, and the girls met me in front of Miss Kitty’s car. “We may as well get the bags out now,” Val said.
Derek ducked down as we opened the hatch and got the treasure out. We set it in front of Miss Kitty’s car and waited as they pulled up. Butch came up the driveway first. He pulled past us, made a U-turn and then parked right in front of our vehicles. We were trapped. I wondered if he’d done that on purpose. Wayde and Scooter parked behind him.
They opened the doors to the vehicles, and I could see that Jodi was in the backseat of the pickup truck. Her hands still looked tied behind her. Butch stepped out, and then Wayde and Scooter. They walked around the vehicle and faced us. No one said a word. Butch and Wayde crossed their arms over their chests and leaned back on the truck. Scooter noticed them and copied their attitude.
We stood all in a row on our side, Miss Kitty closest to the barn, then Aunt Val, Tannya, and me. I was closest to the Jeep. The treasure was in a pile in between Tannya and me. We were all in a tight row slightly in front of it.
“Good morning, ladies,” Butch said. It was so strange to hear his normal voice and see him in normal clothes. He was clean shaven this morning, too. He looked nothing like he did a day ago. I guess that was probably smart on his end. “Well, I guess we’ll load up the treasure and you can have your friend back.”
“She’s no friend of ours,” Tannya said then spit on the ground and crossed her arms over her chest.
Everyone looked at her with surprise. I was trying to hold back my laughter. Man, she had a lot of guts. Scooter tipped his head in surprised approval at her remark. He looked proud.
Wayde answered back, “Well, she’s not our friend, either. You wanted her, and now you get her.”
“Fine, let her out,” Tannya said.
“Actually we’ll load the treasure first. Then we’ll let her out.”
Butch and Wayde looked at each other. The look gave me chills and suddenly made me feel very unsafe. I took a few steps back. And tripped over the treasure bags.
When I fell, all hell broke loose. Tannya turned to help me. At that very moment, Butch reached out and grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to him, simultaneously pulling a gun out of his pants and put it to her head.
“We don’t want no trouble. We just want what’s ours. When we get it and you get the girl, we’ll be on our way,” Wayde yelled.
I was still on the ground. I noticed Derek under the Jeep. He was on his belly and crossed his lips with a finger. Then he moved his hand to tell me to get back.
I moved my legs to get to a position from which I could actually stand. Butch noticed me and said, “Stay on the ground!” I froze.
I hoped that Rex was calling for more back-up. How in the world could he and Johnson—actually, I hadn’t even seen Johnson yet—hold off these crazy pirates? And now they had a hostage, too.
“You two, put the bags in the bed of my truck!” Wayde said to Miss Kitty and Val.
They looked at him in disbelief.
“The keys are in my pocket!” Butch said. “You, come and get them out,” he told Val, who was the closest. Val slowly walked towards him and reached her hand out towards his pocket. She made eye contact with me. She was telling me something with her eyes but I didn’t know what. Then, watching her body language, I figured it out.
She positioned herself behind the side of Tannya, who was closest to me. Butch was turning his hip out to help her reach the keys and in turn he was turning further away from me. I took that as an opportunity and rolled as fast as I could under the Jeep and out the other side next to Derek.
“I can’t find … there they are,” Val said extra loud, which helped cover the sound of the gravel when I moved.
Derek mouthed, “Stay here and stay down.” I nodded.
“Now put it all in the bed,” Butch ordered.
“Actually,” Wayde said. “You can put it in my pick-up.”
I caught Derek rolling his eyes and mouthing a swear word.
All I could see were feet. I bet the faces were really good right now.
“No, mine,” Butch said. “We’ll leave here and figure out the split later, like we agreed.”
“Actually,” Wayde said, “the plans have changed a bit.”
“Yes, they have,” Scooter’s voice said. I heard Tannya and Val gasp. Judging by in newfound confidence in his voice I was sure he’d just pulled a gun, too.
“Drop the guns!” Rex yelled, coming alongside the barn where Butch and Wayde could see him.
Derek moved to the back of the Jeep behind the driver’s side back tire. He peeked around and then quickly pulled his head back. He mouthed that Scooter had a gun.
“Scooter, you fool! You have NOT changed,” Tannya said.
“Shut up,” Butch said to her. “Put the treasure my truck, and, Wayde, if you’d like, you can leave here with me. That way we know it’s secure.”
“Fuck you, Butch. I’m in charge. This is my treasure! You quit when the stakes got big, remember?”
“I had a family, a wife, and a kid on the way! Stealing and drugs were not the path I wanted then. I was happy to get out. But that all changed when I found out you killed Mike. Mike was like a brother to me. You took his life! And for what, a measly treasure? And now you think you’re going to take it all and get away with it again? I spent the last three years of my life looking for you. And that cost me my family!”
“So what? What now?” Wayde asked.
“So, now, I walk out of here with the blood-treasure, and you go down with the ship,” Butch said. “You stupid son of a bitch!”
With the bad guys distracted, I quietly crawled to the front of the Jeep and peeked. Butch was still holding Tannya with a gun to her head and blocking my view of everything except Miss Kitty and Val. I scampered across the opening and hid behind the front bumper of Butch’s truck. I made it to the other side of the truck. I went to the back door.
Destroyed and Detained : Sara Martin Series Page 23
