Maggie's Image (Maggie McGill Mysteries Book 1)

by Sharon Burch Toner

  Allie looked uncomfortable, “I really didn’t like that. I guess I’m not cut out for deception. Anyway, he had no news. I’m afraid we’re at an impasse.”

  “Maybe we should take Harry up on his offer. Or maybe we should try to forget the whole problem.” As she said it Maggie knew how silly the last suggestion was.

  “Oh, I don’t know, Mom. It seems as if we’re going in circles. Maybe we should disappear for a while. I hate the idea of giving up, but I can’t think of another rock to turn over.”

  Maggie gazed at her for a moment. She looked around, first at the trendy shopping center, then across the highway at the sun-dappled hills, the university buildings in the distance. “Me, neither. Maybe we should follow Harry’s advice and carry on as usual. It’s a lovely day.” Maggie took a deep breath. She brightened and said, “I know. Let’s look at those condos you mentioned. I’d love to see them. It might be fun.”

  “Okay. We could do that.” Allie straightened up a little. “In fact, that might be a perfect thing to do. Let’s go. They’re just down the road.”

  Maggie pulled her camera out of her purse and said, “Good. I’m going to drop that roll of film for developing then I’m ready.” She entered the drug store and returned a few moments later, stuffing candy bars into her purse. “Ready! How about some chocolate? It’s my favorite antidote to frustration.”

  The condos were tiered up the hillside like a huge misshapen wedding cake, pale peachy pink and vaguely reminiscent of Roman and Grecian architecture. A tastefully discreet sign directed them to a sales office where they were greeted as potential buyers, and then directed to the next floor to tour nine different models. Armed with pamphlets and price lists, Allie and Maggie ascended to the third floor and started their tour. The model condos were scattered along the second and third floors of the building. Each model was designated by a small plaque indicating its model name and number. The apartments were spacious and airy and beautifully decorated. Having the place to themselves, Allie and Maggie wandered from apartment to apartment, exclaiming about one feature and another. “Allie, look at this deck. It has a marvelous view of the ocean.”

  Allie twirled around in a huge closet. “These walk-in closets are heavenly! What fun!”

  They entered another apartment. “Look, Allie, there’s a downstairs in this one.” Maggie bounced down the stairs while Allie examined the kitchen. Maggie wandered through a game room into a laundry room. She reached for a door, wondering where it might lead. Suddenly, steel arms closed around her from behind. A heavy hand clamped fabric against her month and nose, a sickly sweet smell. Maggie tried to twist away. She tried to scream. She was aware of a small whimper coming from somewhere and then darkness descended. She was enveloped in deep black velvet, spinning down, down, down.

  The two men looked at each other. Holding Maggie’s motionless body in his arms, the bulky swarthy man said, “At last. Look in her purse. Is it there?”

  The smaller man shook is head as he dumped the contents of her purse on the floor.

  “Hurry. The other one will be here in a minute.”

  The small man gathered the spilled contents back into the purse. Together they carried Maggie through the door, outside, along the base of the apartments to a construction parking lot where they put her into the back seat of a long black automobile. The whole operation took only a few moments.

  The large man slipped through the laundry room door just as Allie entered the laundry room, calling, “Mom? Where have you gotten to? Come see the kitchen up . . ..” She broke off as she saw the tall dark man. “Who are you? Have you seen my mother?”

  “Yes, Miss McGill. Come. No one hurt.” He held a particularly ugly looking gun close to his side. He spoke in heavily accented English.

  Allie gasped. “Where’s my mother? What’ve you done? What do you want? Who are you?”

  “No talking. Come. No questions. I take you to mother. Come now. Quiet.” He gestured with the gun, a small inconspicuous gesture that took on enormous proportions to Allie’s wide eyes.

  With shaking knees Allie walked through the outside door. The man walked close behind her. She could feel the barrel of the gun just touching her ribs from the back. The back door of the long black car opened, a hand shoved from behind and she found herself sprawled across the top of her mother’s inert body.

  “Oh, my God.” Allie gasped. Then shaking her mother, “Mom, Mom, are you okay?” Allie’s voice rose in alarm. Maggie’s body was as limp as a rag doll. Allie could get no response at all from her. She took her mother’s wrist and was reassured to find a strong, steady pulse. “Oh, what have they done? The bastards!” Tears fell down her cheeks. Then she sniffed the remnants of the heavy sweet smell. They must have drugged her.

  Through the heavily tinted windows Allie saw that the car was moving rapidly along the PCH. Familiar sights looked both strangely unfamiliar and poignantly familiar at the same time, as if she were watching a film of a long ago, happier time. As she watched, dark covers slid over the windows, apparently controlled from the front. A heavy black partition separated her from the front seat and the two men. In the dark Allie explored the surfaces of the doors. She did not really expect to find a handle and she did not. As well as she could, Allie stretched her mother out along the wide back seat, with her head in Allie’s lap.

  She focused on the movement of the car, attempting to count stops and turns, hoping to figure out where they were heading. The car was well insulated and the outside noises were muffled. Even so, Allie felt sure they had turned away from the ocean and that they were traveling through heavy traffic. After about an hour the car slowed and started climbing, making several sharp turns. Finally it eased slowly to a stop. She could hear muffled voices and a mechanical sound, maybe a garage door closing. The car door opened to a dim light.

  The large dark man grunted, “Out.”

  Squinting in the light, Allie hesitated, “What about my mother?”

  He said again, “Out.” He grabbed Allie by the arm and jerked her from the car. Maggie’s head bounced against the seat as Allie’s lap disappeared.

  Standing beside the car, Allie looked around at the interior of a roomy four-car garage. On the far side of the garage was a bright red Ferrari. Otherwise the garage seemed austerely clean. No miscellaneous stuff. Allie wrinkled her nose. There was a scent of fresh masonry. She felt a nudge in her ribs and looked around straight into flat black eyes. Behind the eyes was a small dark man, thin, greasy, black hair, a narrow ferret sort of face with a scraggly black mustache.

  In heavily accented English he said, “Go. This way.” He indicated that she head for a door in the corner of the garage. Together they walked into a spacious, sparsely furnished house. Allie stumbled in the dim light. A hand shoved her into an elevator. Up. The hand pushed her down a long hall and into a bedroom that was paneled in mirrors. She had time to notice an enormous bed, night stands, two deep armchairs and an opening that probably led to a dressing room and bath. The smaller of the two men indicated that she lie down on the bed. With a shiver she did so. He produced a rope and tied her feet and hands. Allie tested her bonds, but was hardly able to move a finger.

  In a few moments the large dark man arrived carrying her mother in his arms. He placed her on the opposite side of the bed, walked out and closed the door. The room was in total darkness. Allie closed her eyes and talked to the darkness, calling on every resource inside and outside of herself she could think of.

  ***

  “Harry? Pete here. We lost them.”

  “What?. . . When?. . . Where?. . . How?. . . Tell me you’re joking!”

  “No, really. They were just fine. They went for a walk this morning. Those are the walkingest women I’ve ever seen! I’m getting in better shape than I ever wanted to be. Then they went out the road, had breakfast, and made some phone calls. From there they went out to Malibu Manor, you know, those new condos out the road. They went in and didn’t come out. The car still is out front
. According to the people in the sales office they were looking at the models. But they are gone. Into thin air! Poof!”

  “Any idea who they called?” Harry asked.

  “Nope. But it was long distance. She punched a lot of buttons.”

  “Okay, Pete. I want you to go back. Go through every one of those models. Check out every inch, every inch. Check around outside. Are there people living there?”

  “Yeah. They have about forty percent occupancy.”

  “Good. Talk to everyone there. You know what to do. Do it!”

  Harry put down the phone. “Damn!” In his mind’s eye he saw the McGill women. Maggie’s face floated past, smiling her thanks on the airplane. He saw them happy and laughing in those ridiculous hats on top of the hill in San Francisco. He saw them lounging on the loggia at the Beach Club, Maggie’s serious face, Allie’s fierce one. “Damn it!”

  Chapter Six

  Floating up, up. Floating through black water, soft black water. Up. Pain. A heavy, fuzzy feeling in her head. A weird taste in her mouth. Maggie thought it would be nice to brush her teeth. But that would mean moving. She thought about moving for a while. Her left leg and arm were asleep. Shhh! she thought. Mustn’t wake them. Her grandmother’s joke. She thought about smiling. Too much effort. No sound. But of course, no sound under water. She thought about opening her eyes. They felt heavy, weighted, glued together. Then she felt herself once again slip down, down into the heavy, black water.

  Whispering, mumbling. Didn’t they know she needed her rest? The mumbling stopped and Maggie heard a sigh. Her left side was asleep. Maggie thought again about moving. Too heavy. Maybe if she opened her eyes. Heavy. With extraordinary effort she opened one eye. Nothing. Then the other eye. I’ve gone blind! For the first time she wondered where she was. She shifted her eyes. They seemed to be the only part of her that was mobile. Blackness. Then in the blackness, tiny sparkles of light. “Stars,” she squeaked softly.

  “Mom! Mom, are you all right? Oh, Mom. Oh, Mom. Thank God! You’re awake!” Allie said breathlessly.

  Maggie croaked, “Allie? Allie? Where are you? Do you see the stars?”

  Allie said, “They aren’t stars. It’s just little pieces of light. Reflections in mirrors, I think.”

  Slowly, with great effort, Maggie turned from her side onto her back. “My goodness, they’re everywhere!” she whispered. The electric prickles shot up and down her arm and leg. “Ooooh.” Then the memory of the condo and the sweet smelling cloth came back in a flood. “Allie, that nasty man! That nasty cloth! Where are we?”

  “I’m not sure. In a house somewhere. Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

  “My head aches a little, but my side was asleep. It’s waking up. Ouch!” Then, “Where are you?”

  “Here. On the other side of the bed. I’m tied up. Do you think you could untie me?” Allie whispered.

  “I’ll try. Why are we whispering?”

  “Well, I don’t know, but they may still be here. We don’t want to attract any more attention.”

  Moving carefully, Maggie stretched and tested her extremities. They seemed stiff and a little sore, but they began to feel more as if they might belong to her. As she tested them, they once again became obedient to her wishes and slowly she rolled over. On her hands and knees she inched forward in the direction of Allie’s voice, groping in the dark for Allie. “My goodness, this must be a big bed,” she whispered. Then her hand touched Allie. They both sighed, “Whew!”

  Maggie found the ropes binding Allie’s hands. They were stiff and the knots had been expertly tied. However, after a while Maggie began to loosen the knots. “At last, I think I’m making some headway,” she said. “It’s hard in the dark.”

  “Shhh!” From Allie. “Shhh. Don’t move! Listen!” Faintly from somewhere they could hear muffled voices that seemed to be coming nearer. “Quick, Mom. Lie down again. Pretend to be out still.”

  Maggie scrambled across the bed, lay on her left side once again and attempted to quiet her breathing. A door opened. A rough, masculine voice, “No. Everything’s okay. Old woman still out. They not go anywhere.” The door closed. A key turned the lock.

  Sighs. “That was scary. Good ears, Allie.” Maggie rolled over and once again started working on the ropes. As she worked, she mumbled indignantly to herself, “Old woman! Really!” Slowly, slowly first one loop and then another. As her bonds began to loosen, Allie wiggled her fingers and wrists. “Hold still. I’m not finished yet.” Then, at last Allie’s hands were free. They both rubbed and flexed her hands and fingers, helping the circulation to return. Together they worked on her feet.

  When Allie’s feet were free and working again the two women started to explore. Cautiously they crawled off the bed and worked their way to the perimeter of the room. Slowly they felt their way around it. The walls, they found, were hard and slick—glass, mirrors. Then they turned a corner and found an opening. Maggie pulled a slat away and a shaft of slanting moonlight came into the room. One wall of the room was glass covered by shiny vertical blinds. “They must be chrome,” Maggie whispered. Blinking, they poked their faces through the blinds and gasped in unison. They could see the Los Angeles basin spread out below them, sparkling lights as far as they could see.

  “We must be somewhere above Hollywood,” Allie hissed.

  They turned around, holding the slats aside. The ambient light showed them a large bedroom whose walls and ceiling were covered in mirrors. “Wow!” Any small point of light was reflected again and again, creating multiple pinpoints of light—Maggie’s stars. “Wow!”

  Beyond the glass was a small balcony. Even though it was high above the ground, they tried to open the heavy glass doors. The doors would not budge. “Darn!”

  “Now what?”

  “We have to get out of here, of course.” Allie’s voice contained bravado she really did not feel.

  Once more, this time standing upright, they inched around the perimeter of the room, past the door. No point trying the knob. Along the wall opposite the bed, to the opening that indeed led to a dressing room, a huge empty closet and a bathroom. “A loo! Thank God! I was beginning to be really nervous. I really need to use this.”

  “Me too. You first. I’ll wait outside. DON’T flush.”

  “Okay. Next. I’ll wait for you. DON’T flush!” They giggled softly.

  “That’s better. First things first. Now. Let’s figure out how to blow this place.” Together they inched around the rest of the room, ending back at the bed.

  ***

  “Harry?”

  “Yeah. Find anything?”

  “Not much. But something. One of those condos had a back door that opened out near the construction parking lot. We found a lipstick on the floor near that door. Pale pink. One of the neighbors said she saw a long black car out there this afternoon.”

  Harry sighed. “That’s not much, but it’s something. Anything more about the car?”

  “Nope.”

  “It doesn’t really matter. We’re pretty sure who it was.”

  ***

  Maggie and Allie sat side by side on the edge of the bed. “If this were the movies we’d pull out a hairpin, work some mechanical magic and escape,” Allie said dejectedly. “Women don’t use hairpins much these days.”

  Maggie mused, “What do we have to work with? A bed with bed linens. Two night stands with lamps. Two really heavy chairs. A room lined with mirrors—even the ceiling! My God, it makes you think.” She broke into a soft chuckle.

  “Mom, back to business. We can analyze the owner later.”

  “Okay. Okay. I read a novel once where the prisoners wired the doorknob so that when the villains opened the door they were electrocuted. What do you think? We could use the lamp cord.” Maggie whispered hopefully.

  “Great. But what if we screw it up and electrocute ourselves?”

  “What if we don’t?” Maggie responded.

  “You sound just like Pooh!”

  “I kno
w.” Maggie grinned in the dark. “But Pooh never let himself feel scared.”

  Allie whispered, “Yeah. I guess we can use some of that. Okay. Let’s check out a lamp. This would be easier if we could see.”

  “But then they might know we’re up and about.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Allie picked up the nearest lamp and followed its cord to the socket. She unplugged it and lifted the lamp. “Ugh. This sucker is heavy. Let’s see if we can find an outlet near the door.” They crawled again examining by touch the walls on either side of the door.

  “Psst. Found one. Bring the lamp.” Maggie held the cord near the outlet while Allie carried the lamp toward the door, stretching the cord out.

  “Rats.” The cord was at least eighteen inches too short to reach.

  “Now what?”

  Maggie sighed and took another deep breath. “Well, Sweetie, I have only one other thought right now. I really liked the electrocution idea. It had so much style.”

  Allie whispered impatiently, “Who cares about style. What’s the idea? We just need to get out of here.”

  “We could push the chairs behind the door and bash them with a lamp when they come through the door. No style at all, but probably effective,” Maggie said glumly.

  Allie smiled. “Sounds perfect to me, Mom. Let’s do it.”

  With much quiet grunting and panting they pushed the two chairs across the deep carpet to the door and placed one on either side of it. They placed the bed pillows lengthwise on the bed to give what they hoped would give a momentary impression of their two bodies still incapacitated. Finally they each took a heavy lamp and climbed onto a chair to wait.

  “If there are two of them, I’ll take the first one. You get the second. Okay?” Allie asked.

  “Right. You get the first. I’ll get the second. Boy, I sure wish I knew karate or something,” Maggie whispered.