Diana Anderson - Entering Southern Country 01 - Famous in a Small Town

by Diana Anderson

  The man dropped the card into his palm. Cal motioned for him to step back out of the way. After he’d moved back, Cal removed his weapon from his holster. He glanced back at his deputies with their weapons drawn and nodded. He inserted the key card, turned the knob, flung open the door, and went inside.

  A scream echoed through the small room. A man rolled off of a woman and stared wide-eyed at them. She grappled with the sheet to cover up her naked body. Hendrix passed by their bed and checked the bathroom.

  “What the hell!” the man said.

  Hendrix shook his head, and they hurried out. They headed down the sidewalk to the next occupied room. The manager took quick steps behind them as he tried to keep up.

  Cal unlocked the door and slammed it open.

  Smoke boiled out of the room. A young man with a long ponytail sat in a chair in front of the television with a bong in his hand.

  His bloodshot eyes looked at them through heavy eyelids. “Dude!”

  Hendrix checked the bathroom, came back out, and shook his head. They headed out again.

  When they came to the next room, the door was ajar. Cal kicked it open. A piece of cut rope was on the floor at the foot of one of the beds.

  Hendrix checked the bathroom and then came back out. He shook his head. “Nothing.”

  Cal turned toward the night manager who stood in the doorway. “Who had this room?”

  “I … I’d have to go check in the office. I don’t remember off hand.”

  “Well, let’s do it.” He looked at Hendrix. “Lock the door and tape it up. I don’t want anybody in here.”

  Cal handed the key card back to the manager and hurried along with him back into the office. The man sat down at the desk and found the tenant’s name.

  “Raven Sawyer.”

  Cal leaned down and looked. He shook his head. “Do you remember what she looked like?”

  “Yeah, she’s that famous author.” He looked up at Cal. “Well, that’s what she said. You know who she is?”

  “I know who she is, now what did she look like?”

  “Well, if you know who she is, then you ought to know what she looks like.”

  Cal grabbed the man by his biceps, yanked the man out of his chair, and turned him around to face him. “What the hell did she look like?”

  The man’s eyes were wide, and he stammered his answer, “Red hair, big boobs, short … .”

  Cal let go of him and hurried out the door.

  90

  “I’m tired, and I’m hungry,” Callie said as they drove past a McDonald’s. “Where are we going?”

  “The lake,” Angus said.

  Callie looked at him from where she sat in the passenger seat. “The lake?”

  “Yeah, I figure we can camp out there.”

  “I hate camping. Virgil talked me into going not long after we were married. It was awful. I had thought that sleeping out under the stars would be romantic. Well, it wasn’t. That was the worst night of my life.” She drifted off in thought. “Well, not the worst, but it came in second … or third.”

  “We’re not camping out. We’re going to rent a cabin.”

  “Oh. Can we stop and get some food? I haven’t eaten since lunch. My stomach is making noises.”

  “We’ll stop at a store along the way. Grab some bread and lunch meat.”

  She snarled her upper lip. “Lunch meat? I hate lunch meat.”

  “Potted meat then.”

  She made a face. “Eww! I’d just as soon starve.”

  “Starve then.”

  She eyed him. “Why, Angus, I remember a time when you’d never talk to me like that.”

  “That’s before you swindled me out of thousands of dollars. I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole now.”

  She squinted at him. “You liked it then.”

  He glanced in the rearview mirror at Emma and Thaddeus. “Knock it off, Callie. There’s a kid in the car.”

  She glanced over the seat at Emma. “Is that what that is? You know that she was almost my grandkid? Can you imagine? Me, a grandmother? Hardly!”

  “No, I can’t imagine you baking cookies.”

  She looked at him. “I’ve never baked a thing in my life. That’s what bakeries are for.” She glanced toward the backseat once more. “She was supposed to get rid of that thing. She spawned a demon from hell.”

  “What did you and Virgil eat?”

  “Whatever would fit in the microwave. Well, until Raven was old enough to cook, and then I made her get in the kitchen and whip something up. She got pretty good at it too, after Virgil brought home this old cookbook he’d found in a box of junk someone dumped off in a ditch.” She looked out the window and then back at him. “Where’d you get that gun?”

  “Out of the glove compartment.”

  “No, I mean where did you get it?”

  “Oh. At a gun show a few years back. I kept it in my car. I did have one in the safe at the house, but Lupe stole it.”

  “Oh, yeah, Lupe. Wasn’t she a piece of work?”

  “Yeah, she was.”

  “I doubt if Salvador and she will ever see the light of day again.”

  “We might not.”

  “What do you mean? When you came to me with this plan, you said it would work, it was fool proof. You said nobody would guess in a million years that it would be us. We’d dispose of the bodies and—”

  “Shut the hell up!” He glared at her and then glanced in the rearview mirror again.

  “You don’t have to yell.”

  “Just … just shut up. I’ve got to stay focused, and you’re not helping any with that constant yammering.”

  She turned her head away from him, rolled her eyes, and huffed out a breath.

  Not far up the two-lane highway, he spotted a store off to the side of the road. He slowed, pulled in, and parked a good distance from the door in a dimly lit area.

  “Stay here with them. I’ll be right back.”

  “Why can’t I go?” Callie asked as he opened the door.

  “Because you’re staying here and keeping an eye on them.” He slid out of the car.

  Her shoulders drooped for a moment. She perked up before he shut the door. “Get me a candy bar.”

  He eyed her and then shut the door.

  “Chocolate!” she yelled as he walked away.

  She looked over the seat at Emma. Emma glared at her.

  “Don’t you ever blink?” She turned back and looked out her window.

  It had been quiet in the car for a few minutes until the latch on the door clicked. Expecting Angus, she turned and looked. He wasn’t there. Emma ran toward the store. Callie looked in the back seat to make sure. No Emma and—no Thaddeus.

  “Shit!”

  She got out of the car and hurried toward Emma. Emma grabbed the store’s door handle and pulled it open. She screamed and darted inside. Callie scurried as fast as she could in her spiked heels.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  She stopped in her tracks and stared at the front door. Angus barreled out of it. With one hand, he gripped Emma’s arm and with the other, he toted the gun and a plastic bag. Emma’s feet stumbled to keep up with him. He hurried past Callie as she looked after him. Emma dug her heels into the gravel of the parking lot. He tried to yank her forward, but she wouldn’t budge. He stopped to get a better grip. She kicked his shins. He wrestled with her as he tried to get control. She clamped her teeth down on his forearm.

  He let out a yelp, and hauled her up with one arm, and then hoisted her over his shoulder.

  “Get your ass in the car!” he yelled at Callie. He tossed Emma through the open back door of the car into the backseat. He looked over his shoulder at Callie. “Where in the hell is that damned lawyer?”

  91

  The front door opened. Raven stood up from the sofa as did everyone from where they had been seated. They watched Cal come through the door. Raven rushed across the room and looked to either side of him.

  “Wh
ere’s Emma?” She looked at him and the solemn look on his face. “Cal?”

  “We’re looking for her now.”

  “What do you mean? Wasn’t she at the Inn?”

  “She’d been there. But by the time we got there, she was gone.”

  “What do you mean, she’s gone?” Panic seized her.

  “They took her. They’re gone, but we’re still looking.”

  “Oh no!” Raven’s knees went weak.

  He wrapped an arm around her and looked at Ted. “Come get her.”

  Ted hurried over and helped Raven back to the sofa.

  “Did anyone call?” Cal looked at each one.

  “Yes,” Ted said. After Raven was seated, he turned. “Four million in one hundred dollar bills and in a duffle bag. They said to have it ready by the time they called back.”

  “Who took the call?”

  Ted nodded at Raven.

  “Raven?” Cal stepped closer.

  Through tears, she looked up at him.

  “Was it Callie?”

  A creased formed between her brows. “Callie? No. Why?”

  “The description the night manager gave sounded like Callie.”

  She shook her head. “It was a man. I didn’t recognize his voice.”

  Porter stepped in the doorway. “Sir, we got a call.”

  He turned toward her and waited.

  “A missing person,” Porter said.

  “We don’t have time for that.” He placed his hand on his forehead and looked down. “Tell dispatch to get one of the night deputies on it.”

  “Sir?” Porter didn’t move.

  Cal looked at her again.

  “It’s Mrs. Wallace’s attorney who’s missing.”

  He took a deep breath. “Well, looks like she’s hooked herself another victim. Who called it in?”

  “His wife. Said he’s always home in time for supper. He’s not answering his cell or his office phone. She called an associate, and they said he’d left the same time as usual.”

  “Find out what kind of car he drives. Get a tag number.”

  Cal stepped outside the house and looked at the recent calls on his cell phone. He called Rebecca. After she answered, he explained who he was and gave a quick explanation. She looked on her phone and located Raven’s phone again.

  “It’s moving east on Highway Three Fifteen.”

  “How close to Sardis Lake?”

  “Hmmm, I can’t tell that. This thing doesn’t give distance. It’s more like a perimeter. But it doesn’t look like it’s very far away from the lake though.”

  “Sir, Feds are here,” Porter said.

  He nodded at her and said into the phone. “Keep track. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” He disconnected and walked on out to speak with the special agent in charge.

  Several agents walked past him with equipment and entered the house.

  SAC Thomas Norfield was a few inches taller than Cal. His gray hair said he was older too.

  Cal had just finished updating the SAC when Porter hurried over.

  “His wife said it’s a dark green Honda SUV. She didn’t know off hand the tag number.”

  He motioned his deputies over. He filled them in on what Rebecca had told him.

  “Sir,” Porter said. “There was a report over the wire just a few minutes ago. Shots were fired at Packer’s Pit Stop. That’s out by the lake. Could be related.”

  “It’ll take at least forty-five minutes to get a SWAT team from Southaven to the lake,” Norfield said.

  “We don’t have forty-five minutes.” He looked at his deputies. “Let’s go.”

  They all got into their squad cars and headed for Sardis Lake.

  Cal called Rebecca back. She told him that the cell phone was no longer on the move and on which side of the lake it had stopped. There were cabins located all around the lake. He’d been to the lake many times to fish and knew where most of them were. He was certain he knew where these were.

  He’d called the Panola County Sheriff’s Department to let them know about the situation at the lake since it was in their jurisdiction and to find out more on the shooting at Packer’s Pit Stop. Five people, other than the shooter, had been in the store at the time of the shooting—the shooter, three customers, and the store owner. The store owner had been shot but was in non-critical condition. He’d said that the shooter had opened fire when a little girl came running in through the door, screaming. The owner had stepped out from behind the cash register to help her. Her wrists were bound, and she had duct tape hanging from her cheek. They’d found Thaddeus Kingston huddled behind a dumpster not far from where the assailant’s car had been parked. Cal asked about the little girl. He was told that witnesses had said the little girl was last seen kicking and screaming all the way to the man’s SUV. They also saw a woman in the parking lot. She’d gotten into his vehicle, and they’d driven off toward the lake.

  Cal’s eyes stung with tears, but he forced himself to stay focused.

  They ran silent as they sped down the interstate with their emergency lights on and made the turn onto Highway Three Fifteen. When they made the final turn onto the blacktop road that lead around to the cabins, they killed the emergency lights.

  The cabins were located near the lake in John W. Kyle State Park. They were surrounded by the forest and sat just off the side of the road.

  They drove slow as they made their way around the winding road. A few floodlights shone near the front of the cabins. Cal observed each vehicle parked in front of each cabin as he drove down the road. He stopped and eyed a dark colored SUV. He called dispatch from the car radio with the tag number, and then pulled on up the road, and made a U-turn. When he got in viewing distance, he pulled off the side of the road, cut the headlights off, and waited. The deputies followed his lead.

  “Lima Alpha Romeo 856 registered to a Thaddeus Kingston, 492 West Hickory, Cypress, Mississippi.”

  Cal radioed his deputies. “We got ‘em. Let’s go.”

  92

  “Who’s going to make the call now, dumbass?” Callie asked, perched in a chair at the small kitchen table. She took a drink of water from a glass and then made a face. “This water is nasty.”

  Emma sat on the cool linoleum floor in a corner with a look of confusion on her face.

  “It’s probably well water.” Angus took the bread and lunchmeat out of the plastic grocery bag and set it on the kitchen table. “I’ll disguise my voice.”

  “Doesn’t taste like the well water at the trailer where Virgil and I used to live.”

  “Different area.” He slapped a piece of bologna on a slice of bread and then covered it with another slice of bread.

  She pushed her glass aside. “This whole idea of yours has gone to hell, if you ask me.”

  “I didn’t hear anybody asking you. You want out … ,” He nodded toward the door, “there’s the door.” He took a bite of his sandwich and eyed the little girl. He chewed and then swallowed. “You want a sandwich?”

  She glared at him.

  He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  “I told you that I don’t like lunchmeat.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to the kid.”

  “Your grand-daughter.”

  “That doesn’t do a thing for me. Never wanted kids and sure don’t care anything about grandkids. They just take up space.”

  Emma looked around the room. Her gaze landed on a spider web in the window, but she didn’t see the spider. She glanced around the floor and then looked at the dark paneled walls. She had decided not to sit on the green plaid sofa because it was too close to them. She had gotten as far away from them as she possibly could. She had her back pressed against the wall.

  “How long do you think it will take for her to get the money together?” Callie asked.

  “As soon as the banks open in the morning. I’m sure Suzanne will fork it over for her grand-daughter. She’s always had a soft spot for kids and animals.”


  “You really are pissed at her, aren’t you?”

  “You damned right I am. As many years as I put up with her only to get the boot just isn’t right. I deserve that money Lupe stole from me, and I aim to get it back.”

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Emma said.

  Callie looked across the room at her. “There it is.” She motioned with her head toward the small hallway.

  Emma got on her knees and pushed herself up from the floor. She stood and held out her hands. Her purse dangled by its strap at her elbow.

  Callie looked at Angus. “She needs her hands untied.”

  “Untie them.”

  “I’m not getting within three feet of her.”

  He tossed his sandwich down on the table, reached in his pocket, and felt around for his pocketknife. He turned toward Callie and held out his hand. “Give me my knife.”

  “What knife?”

  “I don’t have time for this. You had it last. Now give it to me.”

  She huffed out a breath, reached into her front pocket, and pulled out the knife. She dropped it in his hand.

  He stepped over in front of Emma, opened the knife, and sliced through the rope. He nodded toward the bathroom. “Hurry up.”

  She slid the strap of her purse back onto her shoulder, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door. She eased the lock in place and then looked around the room. Her eyes landed on the window between the toilet and the sink. She stepped over and tried to push up the window. It wouldn’t budge. She examined it and noticed it was latched at the top. She climbed onto the toilet lid, reached over, and flipped the latches. She pushed up on the window. It moved an inch. She got down off the toilet and put her strength into it. It slid up. She climbed up on the toilet again, leaned over as she held onto the window sill, and pushed her upper body through the opening. She forced her left leg up and then pushed off the sill with her foot. She fell out of the window into a pile of rocks and rolled down the hill at the back of the cabin. When she stopped, she muffled a cry from the pain of the fall. She grabbed her wrist and winced. Blood oozed from the scrape on her right knee cap. She let go of her wrist and reached for her purse. It wasn’t there. She looked back up the hill. The light shone from the bathroom window onto the ground. Her purse was on the pile of rocks. She tried to push herself up, but the pain in her right wrist caused her to cry out. She clamped a hand over her mouth.