Mud Run Murder

by Leslie Langtry

  Okay, it was more like we had done it once, but I admired her enthusiasm.

  "It's another area we need to strategize over," Kelly said.

  "After that," Soo Jin added, "we just run all the way down to the lake for the paddleboard race. Then we're done!"

  She looked like she'd just explained how to play Candy Land.

  "The girls are too young for paddleboards." Kelly made another lame attempt to be a responsible adult.

  "They've waived that requirement, and they'll have lifeguards on the water," Soo Jin responded.

  "At least if we fall into the lake," I added, "that'll clean the mud off."

  "I like it!" Riley clapped his hands together. "How do we get ready for this?"

  I gave him a you-aren't-going glare, but he avoided my eyes.

  "I still think that knowing this all in advance is a little unfair…" Kelly made her last pitch, but we all ignored her.

  "And," the doctor continued, "I know who the other teams are."

  "Aren't they other Girl Scout troops?" Hannah Number Two asked. Which was good, because I was wondering if she'd fallen asleep.

  "Are they otters?" Lauren asked.

  No one commented because it seemed like a reasonable question.

  "It's mostly girls. But—" Soo Jin held up one finger. "There's one team that will be out for our blood."

  "Why?" I asked. "We don't know any other troops. Who'd want to get us?"

  The lovely doctor's eyes settled on one of the Kaitlyns.

  "You don't mean…" the girl said and gasped.

  "Yup. Brian Miller's troop is competing. Your brother."

  Great. They really would be out for our blood. And I was pretty sure Brian would cheat and find ways to injure the girls. He couldn't lose twice to a bunch of little kids. And then I'd have to kill him and dispose of the body. Brian Miller was a pain in the butt.

  "Who's Brian Miller?" Riley asked.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The girls all started speaking at once until Kelly raised her hand in the quiet sign. She got to her feet and walked over to a TV with a DVD player on a cart. After plugging everything in, she turned it on.

  You know, I should've been embarrassed to be so gleeful about watching us beat that troop. Soo Jin and I were adults. I guess we should've tried to stop laughing. But Brian and his band of teenage boys had got what they deserved.

  During the laser tag game, I could hardly see in the darkness, but the camera had some sort of night vision capability, and I saw everything in bright green. Just as I'd suspected, the boys were completely oblivious. They played a tactical game. They played the way it should be played. Hell, they made the Navy SEALs look like, well, Boy Scouts.

  But they'd underestimated us. And that had led to their downfall.

  Riley was hypnotized by the whole thing. He laughed throughout but didn't take his eyes off the television once. He watched us crush those older boys, and I think he looked a bit proud of it.

  "That's amazing!" He smiled when it was over. "You guys did great! You'd all make excellent Special Forces soldiers!"

  The girls weren't easily dazzled by charm, but this time Riley had them enthralled. I remembered how the girls had dressed up for the guy who ran the game. Now I knew these children were entering their boy-crazy years. At least they didn't want to impress Brian Miller.

  "Those guys aren't going to let you win," Riley said as his enthusiasm started to subside. "You'll have to fight for every inch on that course."

  The Scouts nodded solemnly. They knew what was up. We had to win. Not just for the prize but to keep our status as champions.

  "So," Kelly said as she rejoined the circle, "we have a few things to figure out. But I don't want you to break the rules. I want you to win fair and square."

  Emily, who was sitting next to my co-leader, patted her on the shoulder. "It's alright, Mrs. Albers. We won't break the rules…"

  But we might have to bend them. Just a little…

  We decided to get together the next day, to give us all a little time to think about the course. And also because I still had the CIA breathing down my back, two murders to solve, and an evil screenwriter to take out.

  "Kelly's right," Riley said as we walked back to Rex's house. I was taking him down the back alley so that we wouldn't be seen.

  "About the cheating?" I asked as my eyes scanned in all directions.

  "That doesn't mean we can't use certain measures to help us."

  "There is no 'us.' You aren't going."

  That's when I noticed that he had the brochure Soo Jin had "accidentally" found in her purse.

  "Did you steal that from the good doctor?"

  He smiled. "She gave it to me because I asked for it."

  I let it go. There was too much going on to worry about this silly mud run. Maybe it was a good idea to have Riley help the team. Another brain trained by espionage couldn't hurt any.

  We let ourselves in through Rex's back door. It was getting late, and my boyfriend would be back soon. And that was when I realized that I had no idea where Riley had been living all this time.

  "Where are you staying? At the Radisson?"

  He shook his head. "I've been living in the SUV and taking showers at the Y."

  "You what?" Riley didn't live in cars. Even in the field he'd had the best hotel rooms. Now he was slumming it like a homeless guy?

  "You heard me."

  He looked at me expectantly, and I knew what he wanted. He wanted an invitation to stay here. But this wasn't my house. And I had the only guest room. Rex wasn't very happy with me right now, so I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be bunking with him in his room. And Riley wasn't sharing the guest bed with me.

  I tossed him the keys to my house. "You can have the guest room at my place since you're so keen to call it your bed anyway."

  From the look on his face, I couldn't tell if he was going to argue with me or kiss me. I shuddered a little inside. But after a moment he stuffed the keys into his back pocket.

  "I'll need a lift to my car," he said as he headed toward the kitchen.

  I didn't follow him into the kitchen. Instead, I pulled out my cell to see if Zeke had called back. He had. The voice mail said to call him in two hours. That was enough time to take Riley to what I assumed would be the black SUV he always rented.

  Men's voices came from the kitchen, and I walked in to see Rex and Riley speaking. I kissed my boyfriend, and it made me feel better. Something about the detective still made me a little weak in the knees. When this was all over, I'd have to give in a little on our commitment issues. On my commitment issues.

  "Any news?"

  Rex looked frustrated. Tired. "The feds are clamping down on the investigation. I can't make a move without consulting with them."

  "Have they told you anything about Pinter?" Seemed like they should trade intel, but I was pretty sure they wouldn't. The FBI and CIA didn't share their toys or play nice with regular police.

  "Nothing. They keep telling me it's classified while at the same time expecting me to solve the case without any information on who I'm investigating."

  "The Agency won't give you one inch," Riley said.

  "They don't know that you're here." Rex gave him a look I couldn't decipher. "I'm not going to tell them, but maybe you should. You could get info that I can't."

  Riley shook his head. "Bad idea. They don't like it when their agents go rogue."

  "Zeke called." I just remembered. "I'll take Riley to pick up his car, and then we can call him back."

  Rex's eyes narrowed. "Where are you staying?"

  Riley very casually threw his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of my house. "Wrath's guest room."

  While I was glad he finally acknowledged that it was mine, I was more relieved to see Rex relax over this information.

  "Anything new on Dewey?" I asked.

  Rex sighed. "No. And I can't understand it. That guy had no business being involved in this."

  "Maybe
someone just gave him a few hundred bucks to watch me?"

  "That's a possibility," Rex agreed. "But why would he have the poster for Spy Diary? You aren't on it. There's nothing to tie you to it. It doesn't make any sense."

  "Maybe it just doesn't make sense," I said. "Maybe Dewey's stoner brain couldn't do much more than make change for pizza."

  "That's true. Your idea could have merit. Could be Pinter paid Dewey to keep an eye on things until he got here. He probably knew your habit of ordering pizza."

  I nodded. "I do love pizza."

  "Love it?" Riley laughed. "With you it's a food group."

  I rolled my eyes. "So here's all we know. Dewey is shot in your driveway. He has the movie poster. He's just a slacker pizza guy with no history of doing…well…anything ever. And then Pinter shows up, breaks into my house, and is killed in my guest room. He has the screenplay. He knows where I live, and he's ex-CIA, so he somehow managed to track the movie to me."

  Rex dropped the screenplay on the table next to Riley, along with some rubber gloves. The whole thing was in a leather binder with Spy Diary embossed in gold on the cover.

  "They don't know I have this."

  My eyes lit up when I saw the mysterious script. I'd really have to make it up to Rex for "borrowing" it. When this was all over, I'd think of some way to thank him for taking such a huge risk.

  I continued, "We know someone allegedly took Riley's manuscript and turned it into a screenplay that was produced by Flying Bicycle Productions. So we have two murders and a movie. The murders are only connected to me by the movie. Which leads back to you…" I glared at Riley.

  He was engrossed in the script. "Hey! Look at this! They used my book almost word for word!"

  The man grinned like he'd won the lottery. The minute he saw that I was less than amused, he cleared his throat and set the script on the table.

  "I guess I can look at this later."

  "Come on. I'll take you to your car."

  This whole thing was a mixed-up mess. And Riley started it by writing a book. Who knew that he'd written it? He wasn't stupid enough to mention this at work. At least I didn't think he was. But then, I didn't think he'd be stupid enough to write it in the first place, so what did I know?

  I should call Maria. This whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, but I needed to know more. Rex's hands were tied. Riley had lied to me about this book and hidden from me in my own town. I wasn't sure I trusted him enough to include him. On the other hand, I didn't want to get Maria in trouble. I really didn't want that.

  Later tonight I'd call her. When I was sure she'd be home. By not calling her at work, the chance that I'd get her in trouble was reduced. Then I remembered that she'd said she'd call before any agents got here. But she hadn't. Rex said the feds were at the station. Why hadn't she let me know?

  Now I was starting to worry. Had Maria been busted? The Agency wouldn't take too kindly to her slipping me intel. Dammit! This was all Riley's fault. If he hadn't written that book in the first place…

  And what was wrong with him? None of his recent actions were like him. The Riley I'd known wouldn't have compromised us with a book. Hell, I didn't even know he could write! I had to check out the screenplay before Rex took it back the next day.

  My former handler and boyfriend (we'd dated for like a minute a long time ago) was acting bizarrely. The suave, confident, get-out-of-any-situation-with-a-smile Riley had vanished. Granted, he'd been through a lot in the last year—mostly due to me—but this man was a professional spy. He had never done anything that wasn't by the book. So why write a book now?

  That was disturbing. Maria might be getting fired as we speak, and Riley was AWOL from the Agency.

  "You ready?" Riley dragged me out of my thoughts.

  "Let's go," I answered. In minutes we were in the car, headed to Marlowe's Grocery Store.

  "I parked around back," Riley said as we pulled up.

  Of course he had. No one parked there but maybe a few employees.

  And he could walk. I stayed in front of the store.

  "I want to read the script," I said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

  To my surprise, Riley flushed a deep red. I'd never known him to blush before.

  "Well," he said very slowly as he measured his words, "I think I should go through it first. Just to see how closely it follows the book."

  "Seriously? I saw the movie. It certainly followed my life. Which means it followed your book."

  "Not everything was in the movie."

  "Well—!" I exclaimed as I threw my hands up in the air. "They only have ninety minutes. They'd have to cut some things out."

  Riley opened the door and stepped out. He shut the door quickly and started walking away.

  "Hey! What's been taken out?" I shouted through my window.

  He either didn't hear me or ignored me. My guess was the latter. I followed him back to Rex's, the question still on my tongue. What was removed? What was he hiding? Maybe he made me a villain? Or maybe he just doesn't want me to see what he wrote. That thought set off alarm bells in my head.

  Riley and I both parked in the alley behind Rex's house. That would have to change. I had a little hidden alley behind my house where he'd have to put his car. Mine was the only house on the street that had access, and it was hidden behind some very large bushes.

  "What do you think they took out?" I held the house key out of his reach.

  "Nothing. It's nothing." He grabbed for them, but I pulled back.

  "You have one hour to read it. Then I'm coming to get it. This is not negotiable." I removed the house key and handed it to him.

  "Are you going to change the bullet-riddled sheets?"

  I turned toward Rex's back door and called out over my shoulder, "Clean sheets are in the linen closet. Change them yourself. One hour, Riley. You have one hour. And if you're not there, I'm calling the CIA to tell them everything."

  I didn't wait to hear his response. He knew I had him. If he skipped out with the script, he'd become the investigation. I didn't really want to do that because if he didn't replace the manuscript in the morning, Rex would be in some serious trouble.

  "You're back." Rex met me in the kitchen and handed me a glass of wine.

  "Thanks." I swallowed it in one gulp. "I needed that. I'm heading over to my house in an hour. Something tells me I need to read that script. And I want to make sure you get it back."

  Rex agreed. "Good idea."

  He pulled me into his arms and gave me a long, satisfying kiss. Could it be that he wasn't mad at me anymore? That would be nice. Maybe we could go upstairs and…

  Oh wait.

  "I have to call Zeke." I pulled away. "Hold that thought, okay?"

  Rex kissed my forehead. "I'll be upstairs. But don't wait too long. I'm beat."

  I watched him and his perfect butt as he walked up the stairs. I was pretty sure I could take care of this and sneak in a little make-out session before heading over to my house.

  Zeke answered on the first ring.

  "Finn." He sounded odd. "No time for pleasantries."

  "What did you find out?"

  "I met the agents at Spago. It was pretty funny seeing all fourteen guys standing there, embarrassed to see each other."

  "Send me the video," I said and laughed.

  "Anyway, after insisting these guys tell me what's going on or I'd send some compromising videos I had to Langley, they wouldn't shut up."

  "That's good."

  "It seems that the CIA is convinced you're behind this. They're building a case to have you arrested for leaking classified info. The problem is that they can't tie you to the movie. They've got nothing. But they're looking, believe me."

  "Fantastic." I sighed. If the Agency wanted to put me away, they weren't above creating the things they needed to do that. They could fabricate proof if they couldn't find it.

  "Any chance you could slip away to the Caymans?" It didn't sound like Zeke was joking.

  I
could do that. I had enough money to drop everything and run away. And a year ago I might have done just that. But things had changed now. I had Rex. I had my troop. And I was the godmother of Kelly's baby. Leaving all of that wasn't an option I was willing to consider.

  "Can't," I said dejectedly.

  "I'll see what I can do," Zeke said. "I know you didn't do this."

  "You do?" Well, that was good.

  "You're not that stupid."

  Good thing he couldn't see me wince. Zeke didn't know Riley was responsible. It would be so easy to say that and let him tell the others. I pictured Riley in my house, reading. We had a history together, professional and romantic. I couldn't throw him to the wolves just yet.

  Oh yes, I was considering it. I know that sounded mean, but this was his fault. His mistake. And he was making me look bad by being out here.

  "Anything on Flying Bicycle Productions or Black Ops Productions?" I asked.

  "I found an address for both and stopped by. It's an empty office in a strip mall. The place was so clean that I wonder if they aren't spies themselves."

  Well, that was just great.

  "Okay. Thanks, Zeke. I really appreciate it."

  "Not a problem." He hung up before I could respond.

  I called Maria. It was late here in Iowa and even later on the East Coast.

  A robotic female voice answered. "This line has been disconnected."

  Disconnected? This was Maria's personal cell number. That was really bad. What happened to her to make her do that? Was she persona non grata at the CIA? Why get rid of her personal number? It didn't make any sense.

  This was a dilemma. After hesitating a few moments, I called her office number.

  It rang. And rang. And rang. The call didn't go to voice mail. There was no automated answering machine giving options. It just rang.

  This was bad. Very, very bad. Something had happened to Maria. And I was in no position to help her.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  "Riley!" I slammed the kitchen door to the garage behind me. "Riley!"

  He appeared in the hallway, wearing pajama pants and nothing else. A light, golden fuzz rippled across his tan and muscular chest. I tried to swallow but couldn't. Riley was beyond handsome. No matter how you felt about him, when you saw him undressed, he took your breath away.