He couldn’t tell who it was. He walked over and realized it was Carla Larkins. He bent down expecting to find her dead but was surprised when he found a faint pulse. He took the blindfold off her face and tried to wake her but she didn’t respond. He hated to leave her there but he knew she needed help.
He ran back down the stairs and started waving to the deputies. Within a few minutes he had filled them in about finding Carla and sent one of the deputies to call for an ambulance.
He had the Sheriff call the park patrol to start searching for the boat. The Sheriff decided they should call SeaTow as well to get more eyes on the water.
Logan went back inside the barn and went up to stay with Carla until help arrived. Ashton came up and told Logan the kind of boat it was. Logan asked him to relay the information to the Sheriff. Time was running out for Carla Larkins.
****
Stephanie throttled back the boat as she headed into the dock. She wasn’t used to a boat this big and heavy and was coming in far too fast. She slammed it into reverse but had too much forward momentum. The boat crashed into the bock and bounced off to the right. She was thrown forward and hit her head on the curved windshield. It stunned her for a second and the boat continued to drift further back into the lake.
She pushed the throttle into neutral and let it come to a rest. She was a good twenty yards from the dock. She looked out at the lake and could see two boats coming at full speed toward her. She knew she had to take her time or she would never get the thing docked.
She put it in gear and slowly let it edge toward the dock. It finally bumped against the pier and slid along the side. She hit reverse quickly and then put it in neutral again. She grabbed the hook and caught one of the cleats.
Her adrenalin was pumping as she grabbed the suitcase and practically threw it onto the pier. She quickly tied off the boat and saw the two boats only a few yards off. She grabbed the suitcase and started toward the house as quickly as she could carrying the weight. One of the boats stopped at the end of the pier and a man started to get out.
Stephanie sat the suitcase down, pulled her gun out and took a quick shot at the guy. He froze then turned and got back in the boat. She took a second shot and the boat reversed and moved back from the pier. No heroes on board she guessed.
She continued to grapple with the suitcase. She finally found the car and was relieved to find it was unlocked and the keys were in it. She opened the trunk and heaved the case in. Now what?
She could dump the money out in the trunk and go back for the rest or just take off? She had the gun. If they came toward her while she was getting the rest of the money she could always shoot them. Finally she decided. She had worked too hard for the money. It was hers. She dumped the money and headed down to the boat with the empty suitcase.
****
The Sheriff came running in the barn, “She went to the Wyler place. We are heading there now,” he yelled.
“Hold on. I’m with you,” Logan said running down the stairs.
“Get someone up with Larkins,” he shouted as he ran out the door.
Ashton was hot on his heels. He thought about telling him to go back but decided it wouldn’t be worth the time it would take to argue about it. They all jumped into the Sheriff’s car and took off at breakneck speed.
Logan was glad the Sheriff was driving. He could never have driven this fast on unfamiliar roads. The car rocked around curves and up and over hills. Logan thought he would probably have lost his lunch if he had had time to eat. Right now he was thankful for that small detail. Throwing up in the Sheriff’s car would be quite embarrassing.
“Just ahead,” the Sheriff said, “Hold on, hard right coming up.”
The big car dipped low on the right side and the back end swung around with the tires fighting for grip. Just when Logan thought he had lost it, the heavy car found purchase and shot through the gate. He raced down the gravel drive and slammed on the breaks with the car coming to a stop, just inches from the car with the trunk open. They all bailed out. Logan, Winston, and the Sheriff all drew their guns.
****
Stephanie saw the Sheriff’s car racing through the gate just as she was putting the suitcase on the dock. She had stacked the money back inside and was starting up the pier. She knew she would never make it in time. Now what? She saw the treeline only a few yards away and headed that direction with the heavy suitcase. No way was she leaving the money.
She slid into the trees just as the four men got out. It took it a minute for it to register that Jim was with them. She wasn’t sure at first, he looked so different. She was hoping they would head down to the boat to look for her.
She watched as they quickly circled the house then slowly headed down the hill. She waited until they were almost all the way to the dock. She was just about to make a run for it when a second car came down the gravel road. Shit. She waited.
She watched as a woman got out and looked around. She saw her wave to someone down the hill and then disappear around the side of the house.
Stephanie waited for several seconds. She wanted to give her time to walk down to where the others were. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer. She took one more look then stepped out into the clearing. She ran, lugging the suitcase as fast as she could toward the car.
She would have to back up to get out but that was no problem. She shoved the suitcase into the trunk and closed it gently. She was just about to get in the car when Logan stepped out from beside the house with his gun aimed at her head.
“Freeze Mrs. Ashton,” Logan said.
She looked up startled.
“I believe you must be Detective Logan,” she said smiling.
“I believe you’re right. Now I want you to step away from the car very slowly. No sudden moves or you will not live to see another day. You clear on that? I will shoot you.”
“A woman? An unarmed woman? That’s not very professional,” she said mockingly.
“You may be right but I think it’s in your best interest not to test that theory.”
“Fine. I’m stepping away,” she said.
She moved slightly to her left, then raised her gun and fired. Logan fired at the same time. Her slug dug into the side of the house just an inch form his face sending wood splinters into the side of his cheek and eye. Logan’s slug glanced off the windshield post and ricocheted out the back window of the car. Stephanie raised her gun again.
Just as she was about to pull the trigger, she felt a crashing blow to her shoulders and neck. She lurched forward and hit her face on the open door. She slid to her knees dazed and tried to stand but a second blow across the back of her head laid her out cold.
“Damn woman, I thought you were never going to hit her,” Logan said.
“Some marksman,” she replied.
“Well, I didn’t want to kill her.”
“Yeah, right. That’s why you almost got me. I was right behind the trunk you dope.”
“Oh. Well then, my bad,” he said chucking.
“Oh sure, yuck it up. I may have to make this part a sidebar on my story.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Unless you would happen to buy me a nice expensive dinner.”
“Do you know what you can get for blackmail?”
“Do you know what you can get for being a lousy shot?”
“Okay, okay, you win. One expensive dinner.”
“With wine.”
“Anything else?”
“Dessert.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“All charges have been dropped against you Mr. Ashton,” Logan said.
“Gee, you think?”
“Just making it official.”
“And?”
“Oh yeah. They money is being held since it is a part of the evidence.”
“Well that’s just special. What do I do for money? I still have to pay for the lawyer even though he didn’t do a damn thing.”
“They are setting up a d
raw. You can draw against the money being held up to one hundred thousand dollars. Any more than that and you will have to get approval from the court.”
“And that means a lawyer.”
“Probably.”
“You know, they have a hell of a racket. They should all be made to wear masks.”
“I hear you there and feel your pain.”
“Carla seems to be recuperating, at least physically. I’m not sure she will ever totally come to grips with what happened. I feel sorry for her,” Jim told him.
“She has a tough road but so do you my friend.”
“And what about Stephanie?”
“She is in deep shit. Extortion, murder, kidnapping, assault on an officer, attempted murder, theft... the list goes on and on. Hell, I think the DA is even charging her with speeding.”
“What do you think will happen to her?”
“Honestly?”
“Yeah.”
“The DA is considering the death penalty. I would imagine that is a ploy to get her to plead guilty to the other crimes in exchange for taking it off the table. She’ll probably get life without the chance of parole.”
“I don’t understand how she ended up like this.”
“Well, as Gandhi said, ‘There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need, but not for man's greed’,” Logan said.
“Isn’t that the truth?”
- FILE CLOSED -
About the author:
Marshall W. Huffman has been writing novels for personal pleasure for several years. In 2012 he finally gave in to his wife, Susan's insistence and e-published his novel, THE END. Since then, he has published fifteen novels with Amazon.
Marshall’s first trilogy is THE EVENT and consists of THE END, THE BEGINNING,and THE REVELATION. He has also published a series of books entitled: THE LOGAN FILES with a central cast of characters. In addition, he has another series entitled: THE NORRIS FILES with its own set of central characters. He enjoys writing mysteries, techno-thrillers, and Si-Fi.
Marshall was born in Bainbridge, Georgia and grew up in Indiana. After spending eight years in the Navy, he attended Ball State University, earning a B.S. degree in Business.
During and after college, he was involved in the restaurant business and spent the next twenty-five years in all types of venues, eventually owing his own fine dining restaurant. After years of long hours, he decided on a career change. He attended Eastern Illinois University earning a MBA. Because of his business background, Eastern Illinois University asked him to teach in the hospitality management program.
He was recruited from Eastern to Parkland College and soon took over as the Program Director for the Hospitality Program. During his tenure there, he became a chef and had a television show called Cooking Around The World With Chef Marshall and taught a series of cooking classes for Continuing Education as well.
Professor Huffman retired from teaching along with his wife, Dr. Susan Huffman, to Tampa Bay Florida.
You can find his books under: MARSHALL HUFFMAN at Amazon.com. or paperbacks at CreatSpace.com
Avarice or Innocence (JOHN LOGAN FILES Book 1) Page 21
