Friday Night Frights (Jack and Ashley Detective series Book 1)

by R. D. Sherrill

  “We beat most other places by hundreds of dollars,” Caleb continued with his spiel.

  He rubbed the top of his bald head as he went through his talking points. He stepped over and put his hand on the shoulder of a red-eyed devil outfit.

  “Most other businesses would charge you over two thousand dollars for this outfit," Caleb bragged. "If you buy from Lone Star Outfitters, guess what you’ll pay.”

  “Um, I don’t …” Ashley began.

  “Seven hundred dollars ... even,” Caleb interrupted, smiling with pride. “I have an overseas supplier who can do it for pennies on the dollar. I don’t ask how, mind you, since I’m merely a humble importer and salesman.

  “Well I …” Ashley tried to continue, only to get cut off again.

  “Like I said, most of my business is online, but tell you what, if you find something you like or you want to make an order from me and pick it up here, I won’t charge you any sales tax,” Caleb offered with a laugh. “Just don’t tell the cops.”

  Ashley laughed to herself, realizing the surprise Caleb was about to get.

  “So, do we have what you’re looking for?” Caleb continued as he reached up and patted the red devil on the shoulder.

  Already convinced Caleb wasn’t the person she was looking for, Ashley decided to come clean as she pulled up her shirt tail enough to show her badge which hung on her belt.

  “I certainly hope you do, Caleb,” she responded.

  The store owner leaned over his counter to get a good look at her badge. His face turned fire engine red.

  “Texas Ranger, huh?” Caleb gulped.

  He hopped back up on his stool, wanting to swallow his tongue for his tax evasion reference moments before. “You realize I was kidding about that whole sales tax thing. You can’t hold me to that. I’m a respectable business man. I was just kidding around with you.”

  Ashley shook her head. Enforcing the sales tax law, while under her jurisdiction, was the least of her worries.

  “I’m not worried about that,” Ashley revealed. “I’m more interested in the outfits themselves and perhaps who's been buying them.”

  “You guys sure do have a lot of interest in mascot outfits lately,” Caleb said.

  “What do you mean?” Ashley asked as she walked to the counter, his reference temporarily taking her mind off of the many hollow eyes that were watching her.

  “There was some tall black girl in here just last week asking all about my business,” Caleb revealed. “She had a badge just like yours. She didn’t really look like a cop. She looked more like a runway model, a real doll.”

  That was Jana alright. She had been to the store, likely following the same lead Ashley was right now.

  “Do you remember what she was asking about?” Ashley wondered, glancing nervously over her shoulder at the mascot uniforms which she now realized were surrounding her.

  “She wanted to know all about someone who’d been buying mascot outfits,” Caleb responded. “She had a list of them she was interested in.”

  Ashley’s heart raced. She was definitely on the same trail as her friend. She hadn’t a clue as to how Jana had zeroed in on Lone Star Outfitters but so long as she was on the right trail, it really didn’t matter.

  “Do you remember what kind of outfits she was asking about?’ Ashley asked.

  “Nope,” Caleb responded, his answer leaving Ashley crestfallen. “But, I remember the man she was asking about.”

  Ashley perked up with his answer. Was he about to give her the identity of the killer? There was no way it could be this easy, right?

  “Do you mind giving me the name?” Ashley asked.

  “Sure, it’s John Smith,” Caleb replied, the name immediately telling her the buyer was operating under an assumed name.

  “John Smith, huh?” Ashley repeated. “So, is there any chance you know where this John Smith lives?”

  Caleb tapped his lip for a moment, deep in thought, trying to recall where he had put his notepad.

  “Well, first off he lives right here in Austin,” Caleb responded. “Now, exactly where, I don’t know. He always comes in and picks up his merchandise personally.”

  Caleb shuffled through some papers and pulled out a note. He looked over the note and stepped back over to the counter.

  “I do have a number for him,” Caleb said, handing the note pad with number on it to Ashley as he continued searching through his assortment of paperwork.

  The number did have a local area code. However, the prefix told Ashley it was a pre-paid phone, most of which, in her experience, were untraceable.

  “Can you tell me what he looks like?” Ashley questioned as she mulled over trying to call the number on the note.

  Caleb rubbed his bald head. All the questions were obviously making his mind work more than it normally did.

  “Just a regular guy, maybe in his thirties, dark headed, nothing that sticks out,” Caleb said just as Ashley looked above him to see a surveillance camera looking down on them. “Don’t even think of it. There isn’t anything that works in this place. The thing’s been broke since before Zeb died.”

  Ashley sighed, trying to figure out how to find their John Smith without scaring him off.

  “Of course, if you got a few minutes, you can see for yourself,” Caleb declared as he found the notepad he’d been looking for. “He’s supposed to be coming in to pick up his last order this morning.”

  “You’re kidding,” Ashley said. She couldn't believe her luck. “What’s he coming to get?”

  Caleb returned to his pad, running his finger down the yellow notebook before finding what he was looking for.

  “He’s picking up two things,” Caleb revealed, walking around the counter to pat the red devil on its shoulder. “First, he’s getting this bad boy right here and then he’s getting the big giant in the back.”

  “Did you say he’s got one more order to pick up?” Ashley asked.

  “Yep,” Caleb replied double checking the list. “That’ll conclude our present business. He ordered eight total outfits this past spring.”

  “Wow, that’s quite a while back just to be getting them,” Ashley noted, realizing he had been waiting on his final merchandise for many months.

  “Not really,” Caleb said. “It takes a while to get special orders like his done and then it takes a while to get the shipments from overseas. Actually, it’s a good thing he knew exactly what he wanted so long ago, otherwise these last ones wouldn’t be available on time.”

  “On time?” Ashley repeated the salesman’s words.

  “Yeah, he had to have certain outfits by definite dates,” Caleb said. “The devil and giant weren’t required until this week. Well, actually the drop-dead date on the order for both the devil and giant was next week but he’s picking both of them up today. He picked up an eagle last week.”

  “Could I see that?” Ashley asked, pointing to the notebook Caleb was referencing. The salesman handed over the yellow pad.

  “I gave the other cop a list of what he was buying,” Caleb said. “Do you mind me asking what is so interesting about a bunch of mascot uniforms?”

  Ashley didn’t respond to his question as her eyes were locked on the list. It was the same list she found on Jana’s pad! She had been writing down the mascot uniforms John Smith ordered. The list was even in the same order. She had to find him.

  “Hey Caleb, do you think you could call John Smith and find out when he’s coming to pick up his order?” Ashley asked.

  “Sure, anything for the police, especially if they forget about that whole sales tax thing,” Caleb grinned, prompting Ashley to give him a wink. “I’ll buzz him right now.”

  Ashley’s phone sounded just as Caleb was making his call. It was Jack.

  “Hey sugar, I’m back in town,” Jack announced. “Let’s grab some lunch and do some planning.”

  “I’m kind of busy right now. I’ll call you back in a few minutes,” Ashley responded in a quiet voice, ha
nging up the phone without giving Jack a chance to reply.

  She completed her call just as Caleb finished his. The store owner shot her an odd look.

  “He’s just pulling up,” Caleb declared. “He said he was just turning onto the street when I called him. He’ll be coming through the door any time.”

  While she wanted to see John Smith, Ashley realized if the suspect were to see her, or perhaps even recognize her, given the allegation there was an internal connection between he and the bureau, he might flee, never to be seen again. She had come in without backup. She had made a rookie mistake. There was no one on the outside to catch him should he dash. She had to get the element of surprise. It was her best chance.

  “Is there anywhere I can hide?” Ashley asked with a sense of urgency in her voice. “I don’t want him to see me right off.”

  Caleb recommended the carousel behind him where uniforms and outfits were hung much like a dry cleaning business. She rejected the idea since she would still be visible there.

  “The storage room,” Caleb recommended, snapping his fingers before pointing down a small hallway toward the back of the store. “We will have to go back there anyway to get the giant. It’s climate controlled to protect the merchandise, so it has a thick door. He shouldn’t be able to hear you back there.”

  Caleb hustled her down the hall, directing her into the dark room. They both heard the sound of the chimes over the front door just as they reached the room.

  “The light is on the wall,” Caleb hissed as he shut the door, leaving Ashley inside the dimly lit room. The only light came from foot lighting which ringed the small storage room.

  Ashley pulled her gun as she waited. She strained her ears as she tried to hear what was going on outside the door. The thickness of the metal door prevented her from hearing anything outside. She stood facing the door, resolving she would level her firearm when the door opened, thereby getting the drop on the suspect. It was better safe than sorry. If John Smith was the killer, then she didn’t want to give him any advantage or means of escape.

  The hum of the air conditioning unit removed any hope of hearing what was going on outside. Ashley felt the coolness of the room envelop her. She would have to react as soon as the door opened since she likely wouldn’t be able to hear their footfalls as they approached. She supposed John Smith would have a major look of surprise on his face when he stepped in the room to find himself looking down the barrel of a Texas Ranger’s gun.

  “Come on, John Smith,” Ashley muttered to herself as she stood with her gun raised and pointing toward the door.

  That’s when she heard movement outside. The sound prompted her arms to tense and her heart to quicken. It was about to be go-time. Her expectations betrayed her, however, when she heard a metallic sound outside the door. What was that?

  Ashley carefully moved toward the door in the darkness. The door hadn’t opened even though someone had certainly been just outside fooling with the handle. Reaching to grab the door handle, Ashley gave it a tug. It was locked! Locked from the outside!

  Something had gone wrong. There was no circumstance under which Caleb would have locked her in the storage room, that is, unless she had misread him and he had taken her for a ride the whole time. Had she just let the killer go, falling for a trick to give him a chance to get away? Surely she couldn’t be that gullible, could she?

  Ashley felt around for a mechanism on the inside of the door. There was nothing. She began shaking the door handle. The handle gave enough to suggest the door wasn’t locked but instead jammed from the outside.

  “The light,” Ashley said to herself, realizing she was needlessly toiling in the darkness.

  She would wish she had remained in the relative serenity the darkness had to offer as she flipped the switch, revealing a room full of those empty eyes staring at her. She was locked in a room full of mascot outfits.

  What if someone is in one of them, just waiting for me to turn my back? Did that one move?

  Ashley couldn’t keep the crazy questions out of her head as she looked in horror at the forms that encircled her. Sure she had a gun, but somehow that didn’t matter. Her eyes danced from one form to another, the most heinous being the giant Caleb spoke of. The nine-foot-tall behemoth towered over Ashley’s frame, looking down on her from above.

  She was shaking. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop the uncontrollable shaking, the coolness of the room and her terror making her teeth chatter. Get ahold of yourself, Ashley.

  Hoping to mask her fears, Ashley swiped at the light switch, plunging the small room into darkness. They were still there. She could feel them looking at her in the dark. She could hear movement somewhere in the room. She resisted the impulse to curl up in the fetal position and cry. The circumstances were overwhelming her, threatening to short circuit her system.

  “Help! Help!” Ashley screamed as she attacked the door in panic, beating on the metal with her fists. “Please! Anybody! Help!”

  Her cries went unheeded as she banged on the door with all her might. Her fists ached after a minute or two, the pain making her take a break from her pounding as she rested her head against the metal door. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Why won’t somebody come?” Ashley sobbed to herself, feeling like a little girl again rather than a grown woman.

  That’s when she remembered her phone. She seized it with her trembling hands like it was the last match to light a fire. Opening up the clam shell, she frantically pressed the buttons to familiar numbers. It wasn’t calling anybody. What was wrong? There was no signal. It must be the room. The vault-like enclosure in the old, sturdily-built building was keeping her from getting a signal. She might as well be in the middle of the ocean.

  There was more movement behind her. Was someone in there with her? Ashley spun around with her gun pointing out in the dark.

  “Who’s there?” Ashley growled like a cornered animal. “Is there anybody here?”

  Ashley pushed her body up tightly to the metal door, trying to get as far away as she could from the forms she knew were still watching her from the darkness. She was afraid to turn on the light. She was more comfortable in the darkness than seeing their hollow eyes on her in the light. She was also afraid what she might see if the lights were on. The dark provided deniability.

  She slid down the cold metal until she was sitting on the floor with her back to the door as if she was a sentry guarding the forms in the room, waiting for one to animate and lunge out of the darkness toward her. For most people, the fear was silly but it was far from silly to her. To Ashley, it was all too real.

  Ashley sat there, the cool steel of her gun barrel pressed against her forehead as she rocked back and forth. She slammed her head back progressively harder on the metal door.

  Then, there was a sound. It was coming from the other side of the door. Ashley stumbled to her feet and backed up as far as she dared from the door, all the time knowing the forms were hulking behind her in the dark. She wasn’t imagining things as she heard the sound just outside the door again. Someone was trying to get in. Was it rescue or the killer? She was about to find out as the door swung open. Daylight flooded the dark room.

  “Freeze!” Ashley warned with her hands still shaking as she leveled her gun, her eyes not yet adjusted to the brightness after sitting for several minutes in the near-pitch dark.

  “Whoa there, Ashley!” a man’s voice exclaimed as he backed away from the armed woman as Ashley rushed toward the door to get away from her silent friends. “Put down your gun. It’s me.”

  It was Randy Cowell. His hands were in the air as if he were surrendering, fear and surprise in his eyes as he remained at the business end of Ashley’s gun. The wild look in Ashley’s eyes as she charged out of the dark store room made him wonder if she had lost it.

  “It’s okay, Ashley. Just put the gun down,” Randy said in a reassuring tone. “What happened? You’re shaking.”

  Ashley slowly lowered her gun as she
tried to make sense of what was happening.

  “Caleb?” Ashley said simply. “Where did the owner go? Is he here?”

  Randy looked confused at the question as he followed Ashley down the hall toward the main showroom.

  “There wasn’t anyone else here when I came in,” Randy revealed. “That’s why I came back down the hall. I heard something beating on the other side of the door and noticed there was a screwdriver in the clasp of the lock.”

  Had Caleb absconded? There was no sign of him in the showroom. Ashley started toward the door, intent on looking outside to see if there was a sign of anyone on the street. That’s when something caught her eye. Actually, it wasn’t something but the lack there of. The devil was gone.

  “Did you see anyone come in or out before you got here?” Ashley asked, suddenly wondering why Randy would be there since she told no one where she was going, not even her partner.

  “Yeah, there was a man came in and left carrying one of those uniforms,” Randy replied. “But that’s it. When I came in, there wasn’t anyone here. That struck me as odd.”

  For Ashley, Randy’s sudden appearance at the out-of-the-way store was odd. Why was he there? She vented her curiosity aloud as she stepped back into the show room.

  “By the way, how did you know I was here?” Ashley asked, pausing long enough to look Randy in the eye. “I kind of doubt you were in the market for a mascot outfit.”

  Randy cast his eyes to the floor. It was obvious he didn't want to answer his fellow ranger’s question.

  “Well?” Ashley asked.

  “I followed you here,” Randy admitted with a sheepish look. “I saw you walk in and when you didn’t come back out after a few minutes I got worried and came looking.”

  Ashley gave Randy a confused look, not understanding why he would follow her while she was on a case.

  “Follow me?” Ashley questioned. “Why would you …”

  Ashley’s voice trailed off as she looked over Randy’s shoulder toward the counter. Something caught her eye.