The Azalea Assault

by Alyse Carlson

  “What? Do you believe him?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe. And then I talked to Giselle, who didn’t have anything new, really, but she did let me use the office. It has an old dot matrix printer. I’m not even sure where they find ink for that dinosaur. That note had to be printed here. There was a document on it, but Giselle didn’t want me to touch it in case it was something of the Patricks, and she was sort of hovering, so I cooperated.”

  “Good work on the printer! Did you see anybody… suspectwise?”

  “Not other than Evangeline, but I was talking to people most of the time and could only be in one place at a time.”

  “I’m helping Annie right now.” She wasn’t sure why she was lying, except that he would try to stop her if he knew where she was headed. “We’ll head for her darkroom afterward, so just call, okay?”

  “You got it! Love you!”

  “Love you, too.”

  Cam had been thrown off by the orchid stuff. She shared it with Annie but then pushed it to the back of her mind with all the other tidbits she’d gathered, because when she looked up, they were at the track.

  She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from stock car races, but this was about six tiers down. She’d imagined an arena full of excited people drinking beer and cheering. This arena was big all right. There were stands on either side topped by VIP boxes, but there were only maybe three dozen people watching. If Cam were guessing, she would bet all the people present had some connection with one of the drivers. So qualifiers must not be that big of a deal.

  It wasn’t hard to spot Benny. He stood on the first landing in the stands talking to four others, including Dylan, who elbowed Benny when he spotted Cam.

  “Why does that guy know who you are?” Annie asked.

  “Room guard,” Cam said.

  “Then why the heck would you ever leave? He can guard my room any time!”

  Cam gave Annie her mock evil eye as Benny walked toward them. He was laughing, but his tone was annoyed.

  “Miss Harris, have you fallen in love with me?”

  Cam was trying hard not to look at his face, knowing it would only make her own grow embarrassingly red. Her forced restraint meant she noticed the stack of papers in his hands.

  “What are those?”

  “You gonna report me?”

  “Why would I report you?”

  Annie sighed. “Because betting is illegal, my naïve friend. Tell me, Benny, did you have trouble with your supplier for these?”

  “Yeah, his machine’s down. How’d you know?”

  “Cam, I think we’ve misinterpreted. A lot.”

  “This is the supply you were short on, the one the guy at the house yelled at you about?” Cam asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “And what did you used to have growing in greenhouse three that got moved?”

  His disbelief couldn’t quite hide his embarrassment.

  “None of your business.”

  “Not pot?”

  “At the Patricks’? With my dad everywhere? Are you kidding me?”

  “Orchids?”

  “Well, if you knew already, why are you asking?”

  “Why are you embarrassed about growing orchids? You’re a gardener.”

  He sputtered a bit but then finally confessed, “Because I did it to impress Evangeline, okay? Everybody thinks I’m an idiot, and ‘Oh, isn’t that sweet?’ But her birthday is in July and I wanted blooming orchids to show her.”

  “And did Jean-Jacques have anything to do with those?” She gestured at the betting forms.

  “Not that I know. Not these, anyway.”

  “Does your bookie cover other gambling?”

  “Of course he does. Sports betting mostly, but sometimes there’s some high-stakes card game or something.”

  “And why did Ian give you money?”

  “He didn’t.” Benny shifted uncomfortably. He was a bad liar.

  “Benny, I have it on film.”

  Benny’s eyes opened wide. “Geez! What, have you been following me?”

  “No—you were just behind the people the pictures were supposed to be of. Now answer straight or I take all this to the cops.”

  “Okay, sheesh. The morning Jean-Jacques died, I was doing my thing and just before I found him, I saw Ian standing on the porch of the servant’s house, staring toward the big house. It looked like he’d been there awhile—like he was almost in a trance or something. Then, when I found the body, he was gone.”

  “So Ian did do it!”

  “No. I don’t think so. I went and found him later and asked him if he did it. He swore he didn’t. But he said he saw something, and was getting a lot of money to keep quiet, and if I’d just keep quiet about him, he’d cut me in.”

  “You don’t know who really did it?”

  “Don’t want to! What if… well, whatever. The guy was a jerk. I didn’t know who killed him, and the money sounded good.” Cam thought maybe he suspected Evangeline, so he was trying to protect her after all, but in a different way than she’d first thought.

  “How much?”

  “Five grand, which covered my debt, so it solved several problems for me.”

  “Five grand? To… what?”

  “Just not mention I saw him. He wanted to stay out of it.”

  “Yeah, that worked,” Annie said.

  Cam elbowed her but kept looking at Benny. “Okay, I guess that’s all.”

  Dylan had approached. “Your princess can’t stay away?”

  “Miss Harris just had a mistaken impression and is leaving,” Benny said.

  “Miss Harris? I see.” He approached Cam and took her hand. “Well, if at any time Benny here is unable to satisfy you, you just let me know.”

  Cam thought the innuendo and grin were sheer evil in how appealing they were.

  “Thank you, Dylan. I’ll keep that in mind.” Her face had grown very hot and was probably also very red. She avoided Annie’s gaze, as she was sure it would just make things worse.

  Instead of kissing her hand, he flipped it over and ran the tip of his tongue up the underside of her wrist and then kissed the center of her palm. She tingled from somewhere near her tailbone but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

  “We need to go,” Annie said, pulling Cam by the arm.

  When they got outside the gates, Annie began hugging and hitting Cam from all different angles.

  “What are you doing?” Cam asked, waving Annie off.

  “You are obviously on fire! Don’t you feel it? I’m trying to put you out! I totally would have spontaneously combusted in there. How are you not burning?”

  Cam didn’t admit she sort of was. She had a boyfriend, after all. And she’d never see Dylan again.

  “I can’t believe the straightest person I know has a hot gangster after her! It’s like Guys and Dolls!”

  “Annie, I am not interested. Remember Rob?”

  “Yeah? Okay, fine! Shoot down my fantasy life, why don’t you?”

  They drove for a few minutes before Annie looked over at her again.

  “Cam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Benny’s not as slow as they claim, is he?”

  “Not so much.”

  “You knew that before, though, didn’t you?”

  “I figured it out this morning.”

  “Are you going to tell anyone?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well…” It was hard to articulate, because she wasn’t completely sure what was driving her hunch. “I don’t think it’s related to the murders, and he and his father went to an awful lot of trouble to set it up.”

  Annie frowned for a minute and then a smirk rose.

  “What?” Cam asked.

  “You think it might be a useful secret. My nefarious plan to turn you into a deviant is finally working.”

  They headed toward home, Cam frustrated by the dead ends and wondering what to do next. Rob’s ring tone s
ounded when they were almost to the house.

  “Cam! I just left the Patricks’.” He sounded breathless. “My brakes won’t work! My Jeep won’t stop!”

  “Where are you?”

  “Moving south on Blue Ridge Parkway. I just ran a red light!”

  Cam gave a silent prayer of thanks for her years of biking south of town. She relayed a couple things to watch for but knew in not too long, no more stops would be required.

  “We’ll find you! Keep your phone on!”

  She then directed Annie for a few minutes until they were headed the right way.

  ‘They headed south at breakneck speed; for once, Cam was glad of Annie’s somewhat reckless driving style for a change. Rob relayed each milestone he passed so they could try to head him off.

  “Rob, we’re going to try to get in front of you—to slow, then stop you, but if we don’t make it, keep heading for Copper Hill. When you get going steadily uphill you should be able to find a gravel pull-off that will stop you.”

  “Got it.” He sounded too scared to harass her about how she knew such things, which unnerved Cam. Rob didn’t normally get flustered.

  “We have to save him, Annie!” she whimpered as she lowered the phone. She didn’t really think a car, especially a top-heavy Jeep, could make all those curves between where Rob currently was and Copper Hill without flipping over.

  “I know we do! I’m on it! Cam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Use my phone to call Jake. Whoever did this to Rob is our killer—y’all got too close.”

  “Right!” Cam fished Annie’s phone from her pocket and called Jake, explaining their situation, distress, and need. “He’s on Blue Ridge Parkway, heading toward Copper Hill from the Patricks’,” she said. “Hurry!” She dropped the phone and directed Annie on the fastest route.

  A few minutes later, Annie announced, “Blue Ridge Parkway! We’re here! This is where Rob is!”Her excitement wasn’t helping.

  “Rob, are you looking for landmarks or mile markers? Where are you?” Cam asked after she retrieved her own phone from between the seats.

  “I just passed this gnarled old tree.”

  “Gramps! Slow down, Annie! He’s behind us!”

  “Gramps?” Rob asked.

  “I’ll explain later. Just drive carefully. The road has a couple big bends coming up, and it would be best to slow you down before you get there.”

  “Got it,” Rob said.

  Annie obeyed Cam’s instructions, too, and they drove more slowly, waiting. Cam turned around and watched. In just a few minutes she saw Rob’s Jeep barreling toward them.

  “There! Speed up, Annie! You need to be barely slower than the Jeep when he hits, then slow when you’re butt to nose.”

  “Cam Harris, you are either a pervert, or you got a better grade in physics than I thought.”

  Cam tried to laugh, but she was too scared. The Jeep was coming on fast, but Annie was picking up speed. Her judgment of distance and speed seemed good. The real test was whether the tiny Bug was sturdy enough to take the impact. They could all end up sprawled across the road. No need to share her negative thinking now, though.

  “You’re okay, Rob! Don’t try to avoid us! We’ll be your brakes.”

  She heard mumbling and realized Jake was still on Annie’s phone and getting closer, but he was not going to be able to help at all. She gave him the landmarks as they passed and waited for impact.

  “Annie, you have to let him hit us.”

  “I know.”Cam knew Annie’s car had been paid off less than six months ago. Her face looked desperately sad. She loved her car. Finally, though, she slowed, and Rob noticed the closing gap.

  “I could hurt you both!” he shouted, distressed. He’d obviously spotted the same flaw Cam had.

  “Nonsense, we’re invincible!” Annie shouted.

  “You’re a loony,” Cam said next to her, giving them their first real laugh. If Monty Python quotes couldn’t break through, nothing could.

  And then impact jolted them forward; grinding metal hurt Cam’s ears. Cam saw Annie’s foot instinctively lift, needing to brake, but she stopped herself and gave it a little more gas, in spite of the sparks. The Jeep came down off the back of the Bug. The scraping as the cars slid apart was, if possible, worse than the first impact, and Annie cringed, but now that she didn’t need the gas anymore and she could alternately allow the Bug to be pushed and brake, she was regaining her cool.

  “Gravel road ahead. Tell Rob I’m going to slow us enough to turn. The gravel should stop him once he’s on it, without requiring the Annie-Bug.”

  Cam relayed the message and instead of hearing Rob agree, she saw him nod through the back window. He looked like hell, pale, sweaty, and moderately insane, though that was understandable, as he’d barely escaped death.

  Annie began to slow with more certainty. There was a lot of bumping and grinding and a fair few sparks as the Bug and the Jeep banged against each other. In the end, Rob’s Jeep lost momentum before they reached the gravel road. He drove at about five miles an hour just to get off the main stretch. When both cars stopped Cam told Jake where they were, then she leaped from the Bug and ran to Rob, who couldn’t seem to make himself do anything. He lay against his steering wheel as she pulled open his door. She pulled him out. He managed to stand, though not move, and she clung to him.

  “Don’t worry me like that!”

  He wouldn’t meet her eye, and she could tell he was shaken, but he tried to redirect the conversation, just as she’d expect.

  “Listen to you, Miss ‘Captured by Drug Dealers.’” Unfortunately, his voice shook. There was no pretending this wasn’t serious. He hugged her, and they stood holding each other far more tightly than usual.

  Annie came over and joined their hug, shouting, “Three-love!” She jumped at them. They both extended arms around Annie. Cam laughed but realized she was also crying.

  Normally Rob would have rolled his eyes—he had a thousand times before when the three-loves rolled, but he picked Annie up in a tight hug. “You saved my life.” He had tears in his eyes, which increased Cam’s tears exponentially.

  “Now I own you!” Annie joked, then more quietly said, “You would have done the same for me.”

  “Obviously, but geez! I’ve never needed my life saved before. So thank you! And you,” he said, turning to Cam. “How did you know what to do?”

  Cam smiled hugely, tears fully streaming down her cheeks. “I watch TV.” Relief and posttraumatic stress waged war with her emotions. “We have to have all the clues now!”

  “What?” Annie and Rob turned as one, which was a bit strange, as usually it was Cam and Annie who reacted in unison. They clearly couldn’t believe Cam was back to the mystery.

  “What are you so shocked about? Obviously somebody you talked to or saw this morning cut your brakes! Who else would know how deeply involved you were?”

  “Or somebody you talked to.” He sounded more irritable than Cam thought was appropriate.

  “I doubt it! Chances of any of those people knowing about our relationship are slim. I’m willing to bet the answer is at the Patricks’. I feel pretty sure of that. It may have been somebody who saw you, though, when you didn’t see them.”

  “Cam, we can’t risk getting killed over this. Leave it to Jake!”

  “Jake who would pin it on Nick or Annie, then drop it? I don’t think so.”

  “Jake was not dropping it! You know that!” a voice said behind them.

  Cam hadn’t paid attention to the gravel noises. She’d been too relieved they were all safe, so it surprised her to realize the police car had joined them.

  “I know you’d like to make me the bad guy, Cam—I understand, actually, and admire your loyalty. But I never dropped it,” Jake said.

  Cam and Annie took on identical, incredulous looks, underscoring their years of friendship, as Rob went over to shake Jake’s hand.

  “So what happened?” Jake asked.

 
; Cam relayed the call and the brake event, but Rob eyed her until she guiltily admitted what she’d done that morning, though she still didn’t mention to anyone that Benny didn’t seem quite as intellectually challenged as they’d all believed him to be.

  “That was so dangerous, Cam. I can’t explain strongly enough how badly that could have gone.”

  “I have some idea,” she said quietly, and then found her voice, “and if I’d passed it to you, nothing at all would have happened. At least I got a lead.”

  Annie elbowed her, and Cam frowned again.

  “And then there was the stuff we learned at the track,” she added, with a sassy look at Annie.

  “What?” Now it was Rob and Jake’s turn to shout in unison.

  “Well, Rob was busy checking out the printer!” Annie said defensively.

  “So you’re all idiots!” Jake looked furious but finally asked for details.

  They explained the suspicion of drug dealing, though not that they’d been looking for pot plants the night before. Cam thought Jake was too smart not to eventually put it together, so she left out a number of details and then rushed on about following Benny and overhearing about the short supply. This, she finally wrote off as a misunderstanding, not mentioning the gambling forms.

  Jake frowned. Cam thought she’d hear more questions later if everything wasn’t resolved.

  “But we learned a ton of stuff you never did,” Cam said.

  “You’re probably right.” Jake sighed. “But we have procedures we have to follow that don’t allow trespassing or invading homes on a hunch—and for good reason, I might add.”

  Cam rolled her eyes and then decided the best defense was a good offense.

  “So how are you going to approach this?”

  “First, I will make sure it was foul play. Then we’ll take fingerprints and such.”

  “When you haven’t found a single print on anything?”

  “Cam, we have no reason to think Rob’s car malfunction is related to the murders.”

  “Give me a break, Jake!” Cam was shocked to hear Rob blow up. “You think there would be some other reason someone would want to kill me?”