by Cass Tell
“Where’s the person who was in the chair there?” Nalf said.
“He went to the restroom,” Flora replied.
Nalf turned to one of the volunteers and said, “Hurry up,” as the man went to the next table.
Nalf yelled out to Ward who was holding the microphone, “Boss, someone is missing. They went to the men’s room.”
“Go find him,” Ward said. “We can’t have any loose cannons running around.”
Nalf jogged to the exit door and disappeared.
Ward announced, “By the way, everyone at the reception desk is locked away and their hands are tied. In addition, we tied up all the waiters and cooks in the kitchen. We’ll do the same to all of you if you try anything. Just be patient and we’ll be out of here soon enough, and no one gets hurt.”
A minute later Nalf came back and cried out, “He ain’t there.”
He went back to Amy’s table and said, “Where is he?”
Then Nalf bent down and he saw Jack under the table and Nalf said, “What the . . . ?”
Jack shot out from under the table and sprinted toward the door to the kitchen. Amy didn’t hesitate and was two steps behind Jack.
“Hey, those are the two brats,” Larry cried out. “Get them.”
Larry and Nalf started to run across the room when Ward fired his gun into the ceiling. “You two stupid idiots,” he yelled. “We need one of you here.”
Larry nodded and pushed Nalf toward the door to the kitchen and said, “Go find them.”
Chapter 23
Amy and Jack ran through the kitchen but didn’t see any of the staff. Amy suspected they were secured in another room.
They ran down a hallway and Jack said, “In here.” It was the storage room where Robert the porter had given them clothing.
Jack dove into the large container with the lost and found clothing and Amy followed, and then they covered themselves with clothing.
A second later the door to the room opened and then it shut. They heard Nalf’s heavy footsteps in the hallway.
Amy’s heart pounded like a galloping horse as they waited for a few minutes. Then they heard heavy footsteps come back through the hallway.
Jack said, “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the golf cart room.”
“Where’s that?” She asked.
“Follow me.”
They went to the hallway and sprinted to the end where Jack opened a door to a room that was like a small garage. In it were three small golf carts.
Jack said, “Hide over here.”
They went behind a large case and waited. A few minutes later Marv and Maya came into the room carrying the four duffle bags. They placed them on the back of one of the golf carts.
“You wait here,” Marv said. “Ward went to the hotel office to take their cash. It shouldn’t be long. Larry and Nalf are still in the banquet room and they will be here soon.”
Amy wondered what they should do. Then she carefully picked up a wrench from the shelf in the tool case.
Maya went to the side of the room, pushed a button and the garage door opened. She went back and stood next to the golf cart with the money.
Amy quietly stood up while holding the wrench and she tip toed behind Maya, but her new sandals made a squeak.
Holding a gun in her hand, Maya turned, and Amy swung the wrench and struck Maya’s hand. Maya cried out in pain as the gun hit the floor.
Maya went for the gun but Jack was quicker and he grabbed it and pointed it at her.
“Don’t move,” Jack said.
Amy quickly opened the bags knowing that Ward had duct tape in his suitcase. It was likely to have been used to bind up the receptionists and the kitchen staff. She found a roll and wound tape around Maya’s wrists and ankles. Then they bound Maya to a worktable.
“Let’s take the bags,” Jack said.
Amy looked outside where the storm was raging.
“We can’t make it,” she exclaimed. “We will be blown across the golf course.”
“There’s a service road where we should be okay.”
“How do you know that?”
“Remember? I was snooping around today.”
They sat side by side on the golf cart seat and Amy wasn’t sure how to operate it.
“It’s electric. Just turn on the key and push the foot pedal,” Jack said.
She turned on the key and at the same time heard noise at the side of the room. Four men came through the door, Ward, Marv, Larry and Nalf.
Amy put her foot to the pedal, the electric motor engaged, and they shot out of the garage into the fury of the wicked storm.
Behind them, the four men scrambled to reach the two remaining carts.
Chapter 24
Amy kept her foot on the pedal, flat to the floor. Immediately the blasting rain pelted their faces. Leaning backwards, Jack kept one hand on the duffle bag to keep it from falling off.
They shot past the clubhouse, one corner of its roof flopping up and down.
“Where is the service road,” Amy cried out.
“We are on it!” Jack screamed, his voice hardly heard in the midst of the howling storm.
The cart wobbled from the strong wind.
Amy glanced behind them and saw the two carts cashing them. Larry and Nalf were on one, and Ward and Marv on the other. The large men seemed to overshadow the small golf carts.
Larry and Nalf were in the lead and Larry was yelling something at Nalf, but his voice was drowned out by the howling wind. Leaves flew across the small service road and the men appeared as a blurs in the background.
She looked forward and realized Jack was screaming at her, “Turn, turn, a log in the road!”
Amy pulled up her foot from the pedal and the cart immediately slowed, mainly from the force of the wind. She turned the cart and one wheel on the back left the ground. The car stayed upright as its side bumped against the fallen tree. She pointed the cart toward the golf course taking the direction of higher ground near a line of trees.
Behind them, she heard a loud bang and saw a golf cart hit the log and Larry and Nalf both flew over it. Ward managed to turn his cart in time and he aimed it toward Amy.
They sped on, the wind constantly causing Amy’s golf cart to wobble so she had to take her foot off the accelerator. The men were heavier, giving stability to the cart, so Ward’s cart was gaining on them.
Eventually Ward was a few yards behind, so Amy veered onto the main part of the course, going slightly downhill for a moment while picking up speed.
She went through a long puddle and Ward followed, but Ward’s cart slowed down in the slushy water because of the weight of the two men..
Ward yelled something and again he couldn’t be heard.
Amy raced across a putting green and Jack screamed, “Turn it, now.”
On the putting green, Amy had better control of the cart, as the wind pushed them in a favorable direction. In front of them was a deep sand trap that had become a small lake half full of water.
Ward and Marv raced forward, both of them focusing on Amy while ignoring what was in front of them. They flew over the edge of the putting green into the pond below them, the golf cart crashing into the water.
The shock of the impact left both men immobile.
Without looking behind her, Amy aimed the cart back toward the service road to reach the safety of the hotel.
Chapter 25
As they approached the hotel, they saw the lights of several police cars flashing. It was obvious that someone at the hotel had managed to call the police.
Police officers talked with people who were pointing in the direction of the golf course.
When Amy arrived at the police officers, she yelled out, “They are two of the men at the end of the service road behind a fallen tree. The two others are in a pond in a sand trap by a putting green.”
Police officers ran to their cars and they sped down the service road.
At th
e workbench, a woman police office used a cutter to free Maya. Once freed, she put handcuffs on Maya and led her to a police car.
Flora ran to Amy and exclaimed, “Oh, my poor little darling. Look at you. What happened to your hair and dress?”
Amy went to a long mirror on one wall and looked at herself. Her hair was a wet mop and the makeup on her face streamed down like a Picasso painting. Her dress hung like an old rag.
A police officer stood next to the golf cart guarding the four duffle bags.
Georgia looked at Amy and Jack and said, “You two are absolute heroes. But, how was it that two of those men seemed to know you?”
Chapter 26
The following morning the storm subsided and Amy opened the curtains to their room. She had been awakened by a telephone call from the bus driver. He was on his way to pick them up at the hotel.
She and Jack packed their few possessions into her sport bag and a plastic laundry bag and they went down to the lobby.
They walked past the security guy who was talking with a policeman. He held his cell phone discretely at his side.
Jack wondered why the security guy was so addicted to his phone. He always seemed to pull it out whenever anyone walked by, but now it seemed he was trying to hide it.
Robert the porter saw them and he smiled. “You two are amazing,” he said. “You enabled everyone in the hotel to get free because those crooks took out after you. Moreover, you managed to recover all the jewelry and other valuables. They are worth a ton of money.”
“We did what we could,” Amy stated.
“Did they arrest all the criminals?” Amy asked.
“No, just the woman and the two they fished out of a pond in a sand trap.”
“And the other two?” She asked, not giving their names as Larry and Nalf, hiding her anxiety.
“They managed to escape down the service road where they had a vehicle waiting. I’m sure the police will find them somewhere.”
A shiver went down her spine. Larry and Nalf were still on the loose. Could they somehow have learned that Amy and Jack were taking a bus to Houston?
Flora came into the lobby, walked up to Amy and gave her a hug. “My sweet girl. It was terrible what happened last night. I was so terrified for you.”
“Thank you,” Amy said.
“I’ve been thinking. Why don’t you and your brother come to live with us in Houston?”
“I’d love to,” Amy said, “But Jack and I need to accomplish something. Maybe someday.” Amy dearly wanted to live with Flora where she and Jack would have a mother and father, but knowing about the men in California made her hesitant. It would endanger Flora and John.
Flora had a look of disappointment but then she smiled. “You know that the jewelry in those duffle bags is worth millions. Everyone was impressed by your bravery and grateful you recovered their possessions. We took a collection and have two hundred thousand dollars for you.”
“Two hundred thousand?” Amy exclaimed, her mouth wide opened.
Flora laughed. “There were one hundred and sixty people giving two or three thousand each. Believe me, that’s peanuts for those people.”
“They don’t have to do that,” Amy exclaimed, knowing about their bank account at Northern Bank.”
“They want to,” Flora responded. “So, what do you want to do with it?”
Amy thought for a moment, feeling uncomfortable in putting all their money in Northern Bank.
She had an idea and asked, “Could John manage it in his hedge fund?” Then she whispered, “Only can he make it secret so no can connect our names to it?”
Flora paused. “I now understand that you are trying to hide from something, but I won’t ask. Yes, for sure he can do it.”
Amy looked at Jack and he nodded. She said, “Please go ahead and do that. We will contact you at some point in the future. Can you give me your phone number and email address so we can contact you sometime?”
“As you wish my dear. And if you ever get to Houston please come and stay with us for as long as you want.”
Robert walked over to them and said, “The bus is here, but the police are coming this morning to talk with you.”
“We need to take the bus,” Amy firmly responded. “I’m sure there are plenty of plenty of people here that are willing to speak with the police.”
They went outside and Jack and Amy went to the large bus that filled the driveway to the hotel. Flora gave them both hugs and Amy and Jack boarded the bus.
After taking their seats, the driver slowly drove down the driveway and then onto the main road. Getting on the freeway he headed west in the direction of Houston.
The end
Preview of The Insidious Hope, Book 4 of the Adventures of Amy and Jack:
Chapter 1
Amy took a bite of a sandwich, looked around the large hall and something didn’t feel right. A man across the room caught her attention. It wasn’t like he was doing anything unusual. He was simply leaning with his back against a wall and was reading a newspaper.
Was it his clothing? His pants and shirt had grease spots as though he worked around machinery. A well-worn baseball hat bent low on his head making it impossible to see his eyes.
He had a peculiar habit of putting his finger up his nose and then wiping it on his greasy pants. She lost her appetite for the sandwich.
What unsettled her was the movement of his head. From time to time, the brim of his hat moved up and with cold eyes, he peered at people walking by.
Several times she noticed him staring at her and Jack, and that made her uncomfortable. When she caught him staring, he quickly looked back at the newspaper.
Maybe it was nothing. For sure, her nerves were rattled. She and her brother had gone through a lot during the past days. Because of that, she was now hyper-attentive to everyone.
They were in the New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, a large building, a hub for busses and trains. They had just arrived after a five-hour bus ride from Tallahassee.
It felt good to get off the bus, to stretch her legs and move. Over the previous two days, they had experienced a hurricane while staying at a hotel in Tallahassee. The constant roaring the storm had unsettled her and she knew it was the same for Jack.
The hurricane was only part of their story. They had helped in the arrest of very bad criminals, and some rich people had given them a sizeable amount of money as a thank you. Flora, a woman who befriended them was married to a man who invested portfolios and he agreed to invest the money given to them.
Then they had taken a bus to Houston where Jack slept most of the way. Now he sat across from her and ate his sandwich in silence. They had a three-hour layover before another five-hour trip to Houston.
A thought went through Amy’s mind. She wondered if they should take the bus or wait another day. They were tired. They were rattled. They would arrive in Houston late in the day and where would they stay? Maybe they needed a day of rest, maybe even longer.
Between bites of her sandwich, she looked at Jack and said, “I’m thinking something.”
He focused on his food.
“I said, I’m thinking of something,” she repeated.
He looked up. “Huh, what’s that?”
“We should stay here for a day or two.”
“Here in the terminal?” He asked.
“No, of course not. We could find a hotel and walk around New Orleans. Evidently, it’s a nice city to visit. There’s a place called the French Quarter that has historic buildings.”
“Who wants to see old buildings? I’d rather get to Texas where we can start a new life.”
“New Orleans has good restaurants,” she stated.
Jack paused, looked up from his dry sandwich and said, “What kind of restaurants?”
“All kinds, and they have something called Cajun food. It’s like French cooking but different, I think.”
“It might be fun. What about our bus tickets? Will we have to buy new ones?”<
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“Our tickets are open, so we can take to any bus to Houston as long as we use it in the next thirty days.”
“Where shall we go?” He asked.
“I think the French Quarter is close by. Maybe there are hotels over there because they get tons of tourists. Let’s see if I can find something.”
She took her old cell phone from her sport bag and turned on the phone to search for a map of the city and a hotel. The phone’s screen was cracked and she was relieved to see that it still worked. She scrolled through the colorful icons and noticed that an email had come in, sent to her alias email account under a fake name. After opening the message she whispered, “There’s an email from Buddy.”
He also used an alias email used only for messages to her.
“Buddy? He hardly every communicates.”
“I know,” she replied. Buddy was their truck driver friend who had driven them from Long Beach to Las Vegas when they escaped from California. He knew why they ran away.
She read the email.
Dear A,
Potential trouble. They now know that bodies were missing in the ashes. Therefore, they are suspicious and are looking everywhere. Be very careful.
B.
She read the message again and then took a deep breath.
“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.
She whispered, “Whatever you do, just act normal, and I mean it.” She handed the phone to Jack.
He lingered over the message, handed the phone back to her and said, “Now it makes even more sense for us to stay here in New Orleans.”
“Why’s that?” She asked.
“People at our hotel in Tallahassee knew we were going to Houston. If the bad men from California tracked us to the hotel, then they would learn where we are headed.”
“I’ll find a place here for us to stay,” she said.
He nodded.
