Oh, Fudge!

by Nancy CoCo

  “I want the diamonds,” he said.

  “I don’t have them. I gave them to the police as evidence.”

  “You have two hours to get the diamonds. I’ll call back with instructions on where to drop them.”

  “But the police—”

  He hung up.

  “Did you get that?” I asked.

  “No,” the man with the equipment said. “They hung up too soon.”

  “What about where they sent the text from?” I said. “Can you ping the cell tower and find out their location?”

  “Not without a warrant, and even then there’s only one cell tower on the island. All it would tell us is if they are on the island or off.”

  “This is so frustrating,” I said.

  “Let me see that picture,” Uncle Alex said. I handed him my cell phone. Tori was sitting in a chair with her hands and feet bound, holding the paper with today’s date circled.

  “My poor baby!” Aunt June said and sobbed.

  “If I get my hands on these guys . . .” Uncle Alex growled.

  The call came over the police communicator that Trent received a call the same time I did. They sent him the same text picture and told him they would call him back in two hours to get the $2 million.

  Fifteen minutes later we were huddled around my table. My aunt and uncle and my entire team looked to Rex on what to do next. “They are definitely acting in coordination,” Rex said.

  “Why two different demands to two different people?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Rex said with a frown. “It’s clear they have one agenda.”

  “Take the diamonds and the money and run,” I said. “Clearly they know I would have access to the diamonds.”

  “And they know the Jessops have money,” Uncle Alex said. “But why not contact June and me?”

  “That is a very good question,” Rex said. “Perhaps they are unaware that you are on the island.”

  “They most likely know we don’t have the kind of money they are asking for,” Aunt June said.

  “What is going on?” I asked. “I thought you owned your own business in California.”

  “The economy is not what it was,” Alex said. “I had to sell off a lot of our assets. All we have left is our home and our retirement and that doesn’t add up to two million dollars. Not even close.”

  “So whoever the kidnappers are, they are aware of your financial situation,” Rex said. “Who have you spoken to lately?”

  “No one,” Uncle Alex said.

  Aunt June sniffed and dabbed at her eyes. “I spoke to Irene. We were talking about Barbara’s tragic death and Irene told me that she had lost a lot of money investing in something that Barbara had told her was a sure thing. I told her I understood losing everything.”

  “Irene Hammerstein?” Rex asked and stood.

  “Yes,” Aunt June said.

  “Sounds like she has a motive for murder,” Rex said and moved to the door.

  “But why kidnap my baby?”

  “Victoria was meeting with Irene,” I said. “She must have figured out that Irene had a motive to kill Barbara.”

  “If it is Irene then she has no reason to release Victoria safely,” Jenn pointed out.

  “Jenn!” Frances and I said at the same time.

  Aunt June sobbed and turned into Uncle Alex’s arms.

  Jenn cringed. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “We’re going to do all we can to get her back safe,” Rex said. “I’m headed over to Irene’s house with a few men. You stay here and wait for the next call.” Rex left us with Officer Charles Brown.

  “I hate waiting,” I said and paced. A thought occurred to me. “Aunt June, why don’t you go into my bedroom and lie down? We have over an hour before they call back.”

  “They’ll know you aren’t going to the police station to get the diamonds,” Uncle Alex pointed out.

  “Jenn and I will head that way,” I said. “Frances will stay here to answer the phone.”

  “What if they call on your cell phone?” Charles said.

  “I won’t pick up,” I said. “Not until we’re back here and I’m attached to the machines.”

  “But what if they hurt my baby because Allie doesn’t pick up?” Aunt June said. She looked terrible, as if she would shatter into a million pieces at any time.

  “Please go lie down,” I said. “You aren’t any good to her this way.” I gave Uncle Alex a hard look and he took her by the arm.

  “Come on,” he said. “I’ll stay with you.”

  They both went into my bedroom. I hooked Mal up to her leash, then looked at Officer Brown. “Can you let Rex know that I’m off to the police station to retrieve the diamonds?”

  “You can’t.”

  “The kidnappers don’t have to know that.”

  “You think they are listening in to our radio conversations?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to be cautious,” I said. “I’ll text Rex and let him know what is going on.” My fingers flew over the keypad on my phone and I sent off the text. A moment later he sent the thumbs-up emoji in reply. “We’re good to go.”

  “I’m going with you,” Jenn said.

  “We might as well go out the back,” I said. “If they are watching they would know it is the quickest route.”

  We went out the door, down the stairs, and waited while Mal did her business in her favorite patch of grass. “I was thinking,” I said low. “Maybe we can figure out where Tori is by what’s around her in the picture.”

  “Even if we figure it out, how are we going to get there?” Jenn asked low. “We’re supposed to be going to the police station.”

  “We go into the front door,” I said, “and sneak out the back.”

  “Okay,” Jenn said. “Let me see the picture.”

  We both looked at the photo. The room behind Victoria was dark, but it looked like it was paneled. She sat in an old wooden chair and the floor was covered in a rag rug.

  “That could be anywhere,” Jenn said with exasperation.

  “Looks like a remodeled basement,” I said as Mal finished, kicked up the dirt, and came toward us. I used a poo bag to clean up after her and stuck it in the Dumpster before we headed toward the police station.

  “Most of the cottages on the island have a basement,” Jenn pointed out.

  “Yes, but most are not finished. We need to figure out who has a finished basement.”

  “Do you think they’ll hurt Tori?” Jenn asked. “I mean for real?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “If these are the same people who killed Dan and Barbara, then my guess is that they wouldn’t think twice about another murder.”

  “Victoria must be terrified.”

  “I think she’s probably angry,” I said. “I know I would be. We have to find her.”

  “What we need is someone who has lived on the island long enough to know who might have a paneled basement.”

  “What about Liz?”

  “Oh, she might know,” Jenn said.

  I texted Liz to meet us back behind the police station. She texted that she was on her way. Jenn and I made a show of entering the station and asking the policeman at the counter to release the diamonds to us.

  “I can’t do that and you know it,” he said. His name tag said WILLIAMS.

  “Just loan them to me,” I said. “I’ll bring them back once Rex figures out who the kidnappers are.”

  “I can’t do it. They are locked up in the evidence vault. I don’t have a key.”

  I leaned over the counter. “So let’s pretend you do have a key,” I said low. “In case the kidnappers are watching. Have me follow you to the back.”

  “Right,” Officer Williams said. “Why don’t you and Ms. Christensen follow me to the back? I’ll see if I can’t help in some way.”

  We followed him as he opened the door for us and led us through the offices to the evidence locker.

  “Thanks,” I said. “I know you can’t give me t
he diamonds, but it needs to look like you did. The kidnappers may be watching us.”

  “I understand,” Officer Williams said. He was about five foot ten inches and solid muscle. “I wish I were out helping look for her.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Did you grow up here?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Fifth generation of full-time islanders. Why?”

  “Look at this picture,” I said. “Do you know anyone who might have a room or basement paneled like this?” I showed him the photo.

  “Gee, it could be anyone,” he said and ran a hand through his blond hair. “Paneling basements was big in the seventies.”

  “What about the chair?” Jenn said.

  He shrugged and peered at the picture. “It looks like any other chair. Sorry I’m no help.”

  “Thanks anyway,” I said. “We’re going to go out the back door. Okay?”

  He frowned. “Don’t you want them to see you leave?”

  “No,” I said. “I have some things to check out first.”

  “Rex briefed us all to keep an eye on you,” Officer Williams said. “We don’t need three of you in trouble.”

  “We’re meeting Liz McElroy,” I said. “We’ll go straight back to the McMurphy after.”

  “Fine,” he said. “But you’d better or I might lose my job.” He led us to the back door and opened it for us.

  “Don’t worry,” Jenn said and patted his cheek. “We’ll be as safe as always.”

  “That’s what worries me the most.”

  Chapter 24

  “What’s up?” Liz asked as she came around the corner of the white building to meet us at the picnic table in the back.

  “Are you covering Tori’s kidnapping?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said. “Do you have anything new for me?”

  “Do you recognize this room?” I asked and showed her the picture of Tori.

  Liz winced. “Wow, poor thing. That scares the bejeezus out of me.”

  “Don’t look at Tori,” I said. “Look at her surroundings.”

  “Okay, paneling, rag rug, old kitchen chair. It looks like a basement apartment of some sort.”

  “Anyone you know have a place like this?” I asked.

  “Hey, they didn’t have the courtesy of using our paper,” she pointed out. “It’s the Cheboygan Daily Tribune paper.”

  “Oh man,” I said and looked at Jenn. “Tori could be off the island.”

  “That’s not good,” Liz said.

  “Do we get the Cheboygan paper here at Doud’s Market?”

  “Sure, but it’s usually late.”

  “Rex would know that, wouldn’t he?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Liz said. “Why?”

  “Because he said he was going to Irene Hammerstein’s house to look for Tori.”

  “Well, I can tell you for a fact that she’s not at Irene’s house,” Liz said.

  “Why’s that?” Jenn asked.

  “Because Irene doesn’t have a basement,” Liz said. “She lives in a bungalow on the cliff face. The rock is too close to the surface to dig a cellar out. Plus, she likes floral prints. There’s no way she would keep paneling in her home.”

  “Does she have family in Cheboygan?” Liz asked. “They could have flown Victoria off the island.”

  “Rex already checked with the airport. Let’s talk to Sophie. She would know if anyone scheduled a flight path to Cheboygan.” Sophie was the private pilot for The Grand Hotel and knew everything that went on at the small Mackinac Island Airport.

  “Hey, Allie”—Officer Williams stuck his head out the back door—“Officer Manning called. He said you and your friend need to get back to the McMurphy. You have thirty minutes to the next call and he has new instructions.”

  “Fine,” I said. “Thanks for the info, Liz.”

  “Remember, I want an exclusive,” she shouted at our backs.

  “You’ll get it.”

  We went back through the police offices and out the front door. I held my hands in my pockets as if I were carrying the diamonds. We arrived back at the apartment with no further delay.

  “Hi all, anything new?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Frances said.

  “We pretended to pick up the diamonds,” I said. “Frances, do you know anyone who would donate a handful of crystals? We need to fake the diamonds for the possible drop-off.”

  “I’ll call my friend Marlene who owns a craft shop,” Frances said. “I’ll see if I can’t get her to porter over a bag full of fake diamonds.”

  “Good idea,” Officer Brown said.

  “We have less than an hour,” I said. “Any word from Trent?”

  “Nothing further,” Officer Brown said.

  “What about Rex?” I asked.

  “Irene allowed them to search her house, but they didn’t find anything,” Officer Brown said. “Rex is taking Irene down to the station for questioning now.”

  “We were looking at the picture, and the paper she is holding is the Cheboygan paper with today’s date. So the timeline seems off. Today’s paper doesn’t get on the island until about now.” I checked my watch. It was three PM.

  “Do you think she is being held off the island?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “But no one saw her leave by ferry,” Frances said.

  “I’m going to call Sophie. If anyone took Tori by plane, Sophie would know.” I dialed my friend and private pilot for the Grand Hotel. Mackinac Island had an airport, but it was very small. If anything out of the ordinary was going on, Sophie would know.

  “Hello?”

  “Sophie, it’s Allie,” I said.

  “Hey, Allie, what’s up?”

  “You might have heard that my cousin Victoria is missing.”

  “I did hear that and I’m sorry.”

  “We received a ransom note for her today and they sent us a picture as proof of life.”

  “Oh no, how scary. Poor Tori!”

  “Listen, she’s holding a Cheboygan paper and we’re worried they took her off the island. No one saw her leave by ferry. Is there any chance someone could have flown her off?”

  “Well, I’m not here all the time,” she said. “I do travel to Chicago and Detroit and Green Bay so I am hours off the island.”

  “I see,” I said.

  “That said, we log in and out of the airport,” Sophie continued. “As soon as I heard Tori was missing, I checked the logs. No one unusual flew out in the last thirty-six hours. Just me and Robert Langtree. He flies in supplies and mail and such. What about the paper makes you think she’s not on the island?”

  “She’s holding today’s paper before it arrived at Doud’s.”

  “I see,” Sophie said. “I can understand how that would worry you.”

  “Is there any other way on or off the island?”

  “By private boat,” Sophie said. “Your kidnappers might own a yacht.”

  “Shoot,” I said. “That means it could be half the island.”

  “It also gives them a way on and off the island without detection,” Sophie pointed out.

  “Thanks,” I said and hung up.

  “She didn’t fly out?” Jenn asked.

  “No, that leaves only private boats,” I said.

  “There are a ton of those.”

  I pulled the picture again. “Do you think the paneling isn’t a basement but perhaps the inside of a boat?”

  “It could be,” Frances said as she looked over my shoulder. “It would make the most sense. They could hold her and keep moving. It would be simple for them to pop up on the island for the ransom and then pop off.”

  “Tori’s eyes aren’t covered,” I noticed. “If she can identify them, then it doesn’t matter if we pay or not; she will be killed.”

  “Please don’t say that,” my Uncle Alex said as he came out of the bedroom. “I don’t think your aunt June could take that kind of talk.”

  “Rex is on the case,” I said. “If anyone can find her in time it
will be him.”

  “We think she’s on a boat,” Jenn said. “Do you know anyone with this kind of paneling on their yacht?”

  I showed him the picture and he groaned. “Don’t look at Victoria,” I said. “Look at her surroundings. Do you recognize anything?”

  “No, nothing,” he said and ran his hands over his face. It was clear he hadn’t slept at all. “But I haven’t lived on the island for over ten years.”

  “Okay.” I patted his arm. “It’s okay.”

  There was a knock at the door. It was Rex. I let him in. “How’d it go with Irene?”

  “She doesn’t know anything,” Rex said. “Her alibi checks out for the morning Barbara was killed.”

  “We think Tori is on a boat,” Jenn said.

  “Why?” Rex furrowed his brow at the thought.

  “Well,” I said, “look at the photo.” I lifted my phone up. “She’s holding the Cheboygan paper before it arrives at Doud’s, and it’s today’s paper. So at first we thought she might be off the island. We contacted Sophie and she said no one unusual came or left the airport. Then we looked at the paneling behind Tori . . .”

  “I already checked with airport personnel,” Rex said. “You should not have involved Sophie. That said, it does look like the inside of a yacht. It makes sense.”

  “A call is incoming to Trent Jessop,” the machine operator said.

  Then my cell phone rang as well. I waited for the signal and picked up. “This is Allie.”

  “Do you have the diamonds?” the machine voice asked.

  “I do,” I said. “Let me talk to Victoria.”

  “Take them to Turtle Park. Drop them in the trash can at the park entrance.”

  “Not until I can talk to Victoria.”

  “You have ten minutes to comply.” The phone went dead.

  “Well, heck,” I muttered and looked at Rex. He was on his cell phone. They had gone radio silent after figuring out that the kidnappers were listening in.

  “Trent says the kidnappers want him to leave the money in a duffel bag at the mouth of Arch Rock. They also gave him ten minutes to comply.”

  “How can they be at two places at once?” I asked.

  “There is more than one,” Rex replied. “Neither caller said anything about releasing Victoria.”

  “That’s not good, is it?” Aunt June said as she came out of the bedroom. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles and bloodshot. Her hair stood up on one side.