Detective Flint Box Set: A Detective Story Box Set Books 1-3

by Nancy McGovern

  Flint put his hand on Judith's other shoulder. “You were brave, young lady,” he said, “and very sneaky. Right now you're scared and that's okay. But let me make you a promise, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Detective Arnold and I are going to solve this case and bring the bad guys to justice. And when we walk off into the sunset, you'll know that the good guys win because we never back down. If I run away scared, I'm telling every bad guy in the world it’s okay to steal, murder and terrorize whoever they want. Unless we make a stand, Judith, and defend the path of truth and justice with our very lives, we lose, the bad guys win. That means more drugs on playgrounds, more guns in the hands of gangsters, more killings... you understand what I'm saying?”

  Judith stared into Flint's steady and brave eyes. “Thank you, Detectives.”

  Flint turned to Tori. “If I'm right about Wayberry being an FBI Agent, we'll see a government car pass by here pretty soon. We need to stay low and out of sight.”

  Tori checked the white watch on her wrist. “I hope we make this quick. I'm getting really hungry.”

  Judith reached down into her purse and pulled out a chocolate energy bar. “Here, eat this.”

  “Hey, thanks a lot,” Tori exclaimed and grabbed the energy bar. “Dinner and movie, this is great.”

  Flint moaned. “My partner.”

  Tori reached out and slapped Flint in the back of the head. “Don't spoil my lunch, Flint.”

  Flint rolled his eyes and squatted down. “Get down and be quiet,” he ordered them both.

  Tori and Judith squatted down next to Flint and waited. When the driver of the trolly came to, he grabbed a phone out of his pants pocket and made a call. “Get someone out here and do it now!” he yelled into the phone.

  “Wait for it,” Flint whispered, peering through the trees at the trolly.

  Tori glanced at her watch. Judith began biting her thumbnail again. Ten minutes later, Tori’s energy bar long finished, a black sedan with a government license plate pulled up to the trolly. “Bingo,” Tori whispered.

  Edwin Wayberry got out of the driver's seat and walked out to the driver, who was leaning against the front of the trolly holding the back of his head.

  “The pig smacked me real good on the head with his gun,” the driver said.

  Edwin reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “And you let it happen,” he said, tossing a cigarette into his mouth.

  “Hey man, I did what you told me to do. I was ordered to take those three pigs back to the hotel. I do like I'm asked. I don't ask questions,” the driver snapped at Edwin. “I get paid to run guns and drive your clients back and forth like a man running on a hamster wheel.”

  “I set you free from prison,” Edwin told the driver in a calm voice. “Give me a light.”

  The driver pulled a pack of matches from his front pocket and lit one. Sticking the match to Edwin's cigarette, he said, “I'm not sure why that pig smacked me in the head.”

  “Flint must have figured out that I was setting him up,” Edwin said, taking a drag from his cigarette. “I was warned that he was smart.”

  “Why didn't you erase him when you had the chance?” the driver complained, tossing the lit match down onto the road.

  “I saw him talking into a hidden microphone. People know where he is. I had to take a different plan that would allow me full authority,” Edwin explained.

  “I love you,” Tori whispered, and kissed Flint on the cheek. “You're a genius.”

  Flint motioned for Tori to be quiet.

  “The hidden cameras in the hotel showed Flint digging in and getting ready to shoot it out with us. Too messy,” Edwin told the driver. “Whoever Flint is in contact with might have a lot of questions if they showed up and found a modern day O.K Corral had taken place.”

  “It's a good thing you were tipped off about them from Sheriff Call,” the driver told Edwin.

  Edwin nodded his head. “He gets paid to do his job the same as you. And his job is to run every license plate number the hotels send him from newly arrived guests.”

  “Nice and tidy little operation,” Flint whispered to himself.

  “What's the plan?” the driver asked Edwin. “Where do you think those three pigs ran off to?”

  “If they're smart, back to Los Angeles. But from what I know about Flint's reputation, he's probably around somewhere,” Edwin said as he worked on his cigarette. “Take the trolly into town and inform Sheriff Day I need to speak with him immediately.”

  “Oh man, not that pig,” the driver complained. Call treats me like I'm dirt.”

  “You are dirt,” Edwin told the driver. “You're lower than dirt.”

  “Hey man, that's not—”

  Edwin spit his cigarette out and whipped out a gun from under his shirt. “What?” he asked, pointing the gun at the driver's head. “What were going to say?”

  “Nothing man, nothing,” the driver said in a shaky voice, throwing his hands into the air. “I'll go get Call, okay. No need to turn sour. I've been loyal, haven't I?”

  Edwin glared at the driver with fury. “Your kind makes me sick.”

  “Sure, I make you sick… can I go now?”

  “Get lost,” Edwin ordered and put his gun away.

  The driver raced onto the trolly and got moving.

  “Alright, Henry Parsons,” Edwin said, just loud enough for Flint to hear him. “It's time to end this silly game you created. You can't hide the gold from me forever. Sooner or later I'm going to find it.”

  Flint watched Edwin get back into the sedan and speed away. “Well, there you have it,” Tori said. “Give the man a free Chinese dinner.”

  Flint stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. “What silly game did you start, Henry?” he asked himself. “Judith, any idea what Wayberry meant?”

  “I wish I did,” Judith said miserably. “We're in real trouble here. We have a corrupt FBI agent and a corrupt Sheriff.”

  “You'll have a lot of interesting things to write about when you get home,” Tori said. “Flint, what's the plan? I know you have a plan.”

  “I have a plan,” Flint said and walked out onto the road. Taking his right foot, he stomped out Edwin's half smoked cigarette. “My plan is to go back to Los Angeles.”

  “What?” Tori exclaimed.

  “I need to know more about Henry Parsons,” Flint explained. “I also want Wayberry to think I've backed away. But don't worry, partner, we're coming back. And when we do, Wayberry is going down. If there’s one thing I hate it’s a dirty cop.”

  “What about the man who killed my grandfather?” Judith begged. “Detective Flint, we have to find the killer.”

  “I intend to,” Flint promised. “Listen to me, the both of you. Right now we have to return back to Los Angeles. I have to examine Henry Parsons’ mansion again. I'm sure the answer I need is hiding there someplace. The key to taking down Wayberry is unlocking Parsons’ hidden secrets. Not only his secrets, but the secrets his wife took with her to the grave.”

  “Leave my grandmother out of this,” Judith yelled. “My grandmother was the sweetest woman that ever lived. She never hurt anyone.”

  “Now you listen to me and listen good,” Flint said in a stern voice, “I'm after a killer, a dirty FBI Agent running guns, and a dirty Sheriff. I'm going to uncover every stone until I get the answers I need to take these thugs down, is that clear? And I happen to believe that it was your grandmother, not your grandfather, who wanted to come to Nevada.”

  “The ticket,” Tori gasped as she realized what her partner was saying.

  “May, 11, 1988,” Flint said, nodding, “is the combination to a lock, I think. A lock that is hidden somewhere in Parsons’ mansion. The killer isn't even in Nevada. But I can guarantee you whatever the lock is keeping secure will tell lead us right back here.”

  Judith didn't know what to say. “I...”

  “You're going to show us every hidden hallway in your grandfathe
r's mansion,” Flint said. “Young lady, if you really love your grandfather, and I believe that you do, you'll help us.”

  “Please,” Tori asked Judith in a gentle tone. “We need your help.”

  Judith looked down at her purse. With shaky hands she took out her water bottle. “I guess we have a long walk back to Los Angeles, don't we?”

  Flint smiled. “Good thing I told you to put on walking shoes.”

  In the distance, thunder growled and ran clouds began to form. “Well, I'll be,” Tori said, “Wayberry was telling the truth. It is about to storm.”

  Flint looked up into the sky and watched dark storm clouds begin to block out the sun. “A little rain won't hurt us,” he said and walked back into the trees.

  “Hey Flint... the road is... hey Flint!” Tori yelled. Shaking her head she looked at Judith. “I had to get stuck with him as partner.”

  *****

  Chapter 3

  Hot on the Trail

  Feeling rested after a night of well needed sleep, Flint stretched his arms and yawned. Glad to be back in Los Angeles, he felt healthy and prepared for battle. “Good morning to search a mansion,” he told Tori in a positive voice.

  Standing next to Flint's car, Tori looked up at the large mansion standing before her like a giant mystery. “Sure, Flint,” Tori replied in a sleepy voice, slapped on a pair of sunglasses and glanced up into an early, blue, clear sky.

  Flint leaned back against the trunk of his car and sipped a black coffee from a brown paper cup. Even though the morning was warm, he was wearing his gray overcoat which hid a wrinkled white shirt and a pair of old blue jeans. “I've been thinking, Arnold.”

  “Oh boy,” Tori said and waved a finger in the air. “Flint has been thinking. Golly, gee, let's bring out the balloons and soda pop! And while we're at it, let's award him a shiny new brain.”

  “What's with you?” Flint asked. Obviously something was wrong. Tori was wearing a depressing gray dress and a pair of old sneakers. Her hair was messy and her face grumpy.

  Instead of answering Flint, Tori began to dig in her a blue purse she was holding. “Where is it... why can't I ever find anything...” she fussed. Flint waited patiently. Eventually, Tori pulled out a snack bar and opened it. “What?” she snapped, catching Flint staring at her.

  “Bad night?” Flint asked carefully.

  “I got kicked out of my apartment, okay?” Tori admitted in a furious voice. “I...”

  “You what?” Flint asked.

  Tori took a bite of her snack bar and mumbled to herself. “I left my coffee pot on when we left for Nevada and caused a small kitchen fire,” she said. “Make one little mistake and you get tossed out into the rain.”

  Flint grinned. “It isn't raining.”

  “You know what I mean,” Tori nearly hollered. “I spent last night sleeping at the station. Boy, talk about a lousy night of sleep.”

  “Why didn't you get a hotel room?” Flint asked.

  “Why didn't I get a hotel room,” Tori said and snarled her nose at Flint. “I didn't get a hotel room because every hotel is booked solid for the stupid convention that is in town. You know, the technology convention where all the little dweebs bring their dumb little robots to show them off.”

  “Couldn't get tickets to the convention, huh?” Flint asked.

  Tori sighed. “You don't need tickets, Flint. But to answer your question... the chief wouldn't let me have any time off. And I was so looking forward to seeing all of those cool robots.”

  Flint laughed to himself. “You can crash on my couch tonight, Arnold.”

  “No thanks,” Tori replied. “Melinda found me sleeping on your desk. She is going to let me stay at her apartment until I can find me a place.”

  “I guess getting you a coffee pot for a housing warming present is a bad idea,” Flint teased. Tori shot Flint a fiery eye. Flint threw his hands up into the air. “Just kidding. Now, listen, I've been thinking.”

  Tori sighed again. Listening to Flint explain his thoughts seemed as exciting as an elephant walking across wet cement. But they were in the middle of a case and Flint was her partner. “Shoot.”

  “Parsons’ wife was a criminal,” Flint said. “I don't have any proof, but my gut is telling that old lady is the bad guy.”

  “Bad woman,” Tori corrected Flint and grabbed the brown coffee cup out of his hand. “Flint,” she said, taking some coffee down, “are we really going back to Nevada? No offense, but I wasn't really ready to shoot it out with a bunch of criminals in a dusty old town. And seriously, what chance did we actually have of surviving... hunkered down behind an old stove?”

  Flint grinned. “Arnold, I did a little research of my own before we drove to Nevada. Did you know a cave runs right under Gold Pot? I studied some old survey maps on the internet. The hotel stands right over the cave's entrance. That's why I began to break the floor apart. I figured we could hold our ground a bit, and then try to get under ground and make our escape.”

  Tori rolled her eyes. “And you decide to tell me this now?”

  Flint looked up at the large mansion. “Wasn't sure if I could find the entrance to the cave or not,” he admitted. “I was going to try if worse came to worst.”

  “Getting shot at by thugs with automatic rifles is bad, Flint,” Tori pointed out. “I don't see how getting shot out could be any worse.”

  Flint kept his eyes on the mansion. “The cave is holding all the illegal guns, Arnold. I knew there had to be an entrance to the cave somewhere under the hotel,” he explained.

  “Why don't you ever tell me these things?” Tori fussed. “Judith and I thought you were a crazy man. I should have known you had a card up your sleeve.”

  Flint glanced at Tori. “Arnold, I wasn't expecting to be pushed into the hotel so quick. I...”

  “You what?” Tori asked Flint curiously.

  “I thought our disguises were convincing, okay. I thought I would have time to look around and investigate,” Flint admitted. “Judith threw my plan into the fire. But what could we do? We had to roll with the punches and see what we could find.”

  “We found nothing and nearly ended up dead,” Tori pointed out.

  Flint shook his head. “I found something.”

  “What?”

  “I found out that Judith is helping the killer,” Flint explained.

  “What?” Tori exclaimed. “Flint, Judith is—”

  “Judith lured us to Gold Pot to be killed,” Flint said in a low voice. “I wasn't sure of this until last night. I drove to the beach to clear my mind.”

  Tori handed Flint back his coffee. “I'm listening, partner.”

  Flint sipped his coffee. “I thought about Judith's story. She said Henry Parsons called her, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “She said she saw the killer strangling Henry Parsons to death, right?” Flint asked.

  “Yeah,” Tori agreed. “Then Judith said the killer gave chase after her.”

  “Exactly,” Flint pointed out. “Arnold, the killer just happened to be strangling Henry Parsons to death when Judith arrived? Surely he would have heard Judith enter the mansion. But that's not what bothered me. I realized that the killer was hiding when we got there.”

  “In the hidden hallways,” Tori said, and then moaned. “Oh Flint, Judith played us.”

  Flint bit down on his lip. “For a rare second, I thought the girl was being sincere. But when I had time to think her testimony through, I saw too many holes. Also, I saw how Edwin looked at Judith... I couldn't be sure at the time, but now I am. Arnold, Edwin and Judith know each other.”

  “Why didn't Edwin and his thugs just kill us?” Tori asked, confused. “Flint, we were in a perfect area to be killed.”

  “My trick,” Flint explained. “I pretended to talk into a hidden microphone taped to my chest, remember. Maybe that's something Judith didn't expect.”

  “But she could have told Edwin the truth,” Tori pointed out.

  “She could
have... but she didn't... Our little Judith is playing a dangerous hand of cards with some very deadly people.”

  Tori looked at Flint. “She had me fooled.”

  “She fooled me for a second, too,” Flint admitted. “Hey, we're not perfect, Arnold. But a good cop will keep after the truth.” Flint gave Tori a curious eye. “Are you following me?”

  Tori stared into Flint's eyes. Then, she understood. “Oh my goodness... Edwin was going to kill Judith.”

  Flint nodded his head. “I spoiled that plan.”

  “So that thug planted guns in all of our rooms instead,” Tori said. “And during the raid, we would have all been shot dead?”

  “Yep,” Flint said and finished his coffee. “I think Judith realized that her life was in danger and that whatever cards she was playing with Edwin had been exposed. That's why she was willing to stay on our side until we returned to Los Angeles. But she's been really quiet since we've returned. Until,” Flint said in a curious voice, “this morning. Judith rang me, before I could call her, and informed me that she's ready to reveal all the hidden places up in that mansion. She was a real chatterbox.”

  Tori rubbed her chin. “We're in for a little treat, then?”

  “Yep,” Flint said. “My guess is the killer is inside waiting for us. As soon as we find the safe... it's lights out for us, Arnold. When Judith arrives, I want you to frisk her and I'll check her purse. I'm pretty sure we're going to find a gun with a silencer attached.”

  Tori heard the sound of a vehicle. Looking past Flint's car, she saw a shiny white BMW drive up a long, concrete driveway that came to an end in front of a large garage. “She's here,” Tori said, panicked.

  “Act stupid,” Flint said.

  Tori watched Judith park beside Flint's car with careful eyes. When Judith exited her BMW wearing a plain, long sleeve tan dress and carrying a large white purse, she knew something was up. The clothes Judith was wearing clearly stated that the woman meant to accomplish some difficult task and then quickly change into a different wardrobe. “Good morning. Did you bring some coffee?” Tori waved at Judith and smiled.