“Do you know where we’re going?” Kristi waved the index card from Aunt Marie’s board with Alexander Fine’s address.
“Fine.” Sunni gave up and buckled herself in for the ride.
“No, that’s who we’re going to find.” Kristi giggled and slid in behind the wheel.
Thankfully, Sunni’s husband had put the chains on the tires or they wouldn’t have stayed on the road, with Kristi driving as if the weather conditions were perfect.
The ride across town went quickly, considering that most sane people were at home and not in a race against an unknown competition.
When the sirens started behind them, Kristi let out her own brand of a cuss word. “Fried motherboard! I wasn’t speeding, Sunni, I swear.”
Sunni gripped the door handle as Kristi pulled over to the side of the road, only to have the police car race past them with an ambulance and firetruck following closely behind.
Bursting into laughter, Sunni couldn’t contain the relief and humor of their situation.
Kristi eased back onto the road while glancing at Sunni. “Um, are you okay?”
“Yes.” Sunni gasped, out of breath from her fit of laughter. “I have never seen you so scared, and that is such an unusual cuss word. Fried Motherboard? Who says that?” Sunni wiped at the tears running down her face.
“Are you crying? That’s it, we need to stop at the coffee shop and get something warm. We need to take a minute and just chill.”
Sunni tried to keep the giggle inside, but it bubbled out.
“I’m pretty sure if you just step out of the car, you’ll be really chilled since it’s freezing outside.”
“Oh, my goodness. I think you’re breaking through that mommy shell you wear all the time. Your aunt should get kidnapped more often.” Kristi’s hand flew to her mouth as she realized how that sounded.
“No, you’re right. I need to chill out. I always think if I let go of things, I’ll never get my control back. I didn’t used to be like this when Dusty was little, but then the twins came along.”
Sunni simply watched as Kristi pulled into a drive-thru ordering a coffee and hot chocolate.
Leaning across Kristi, Sunni shouted at the speaker, “Make that two coffees, please.”
Sitting back with a satisfied smile, Sunni continued her story.
“The twins arrived and it was two of everything. When one slept the other ate. Then there were the diapers to change and clothes to wash. Thank goodness, Dusty was in school, or we never would have made it.”
“Hold on a second. Did you just order a coffee with caffeine at this time of night? You never drink coffee.” Still incredulous, Kristi handed the lady at the window her card and took the receipt.
“I used to drink coffee, eat meat, and even drink sodas on a regular basis. Then I realized that if we didn’t go more natural and healthy, we might not live long enough to see the twins graduate from high school, much less college.”
Sunni took the cup from Kristi. Lifting the lid, she breathed in the aroma. “I’m sure Daniel cheats frequently, but he does really good when he’s home so what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Kristi didn’t peel out of the drive-thru, since there was a cup of hot coffee in her hand; it was more of a fast glide.
“If I’d have known making you hold a hot drink would change the way you drive, I’d have done it years ago.” Sunni grinned, feeling free for the first time in years. “Is it much further to Alexander’s house?” Sunni asked, the child in her coming out even more.
“Just around the corner, but I want to know why going all natural, which is more work by the way, was the choice to give you more control?” Kristi took the alley behind Alexander’s house.
“I felt that if we concentrated on being healthier, then the kids might not drive me quite as crazy.” Sunni sighed. “Actually, I have no idea why we really did it. At the time, it seemed like such a good idea, but that was before we found out we were having twins.”
“You know I love your family, I just can’t imagine doing cloth diapers, gardening, plus chasing after two babies. It seems that you just added to your work load when you really didn’t need to.”
Kristi slowed down as they approached the house from the back.
“I think this is it. Do you want me to stop?”
“Absolutely not! Do you want him to know we’re watching him?” Sunni exclaimed in horror. “Drive around the block and we can park down the street from his house.”
“Believe me, there were many days when I simply wanted to give up and take the kids to any fast food restaurant in close proximity, but then I would look around and think I could make it just a few more days. Now it doesn’t really bother me, and I don’t crave the greasy burgers anymore.”
“But you gave the kids marshmallows the other day. Are you mellowing with old age?” Kristi lightly punched her friend in the arm.
“No. I know that as they get older and go to friend’s houses, they’re going to want to try different things, and it’s better to let them experiment when I’m around or I’ll end up with another Dusty situation times two.” Sunni shook her head. “Can you just imagine Flynn at his first overnight camp, trying to cram marshmallows in to make up for all the times he didn’t get them?”
“That would be a complete disaster.” Kristi motioned with her coffee. “Do you think this is far enough back?”
“If we get any closer, we might as well be sitting on his living room couch.”
“I don’t see a car in the driveway, but it looks like he’s home and not on a cruise ship, soaking up the sun.” Kristi could see a small figure sitting in a chair through the frosted glass.
“What if he’s already killed her? How will we know where to look for her body?” Sunni’s voice quivered with the thought of Aunt Marie lying dead somewhere in the cold.
“Let’s not borrow trouble. He could have her in the basement, and trying to lure us into a trap,” Kristi cautioned. “We can swing by Zach’s house and see if there’s any activity, but I think for tonight, since the weather is getting worse, we should call it a night.”
“No,” Sunni protested. “We could rescue her. She needs us. We should call the police again.”
“We can’t do that because of all the stuff at your Aunt’s house will show that we’ve been investigating on our own. Besides, you’ve already informed them she’s missing, correct?” Kristi questioned.
“I’ve been up there every day and called several times a day to see if they have any leads. They can’t look for her or expend the manpower because of the coming storm. The blizzard will make conditions horrible.”
“We can’t just give up on her like the police are,” Sunni almost wailed.
“Don’t worry, we’re not giving up on her. We just don’t want to get in trouble, and there’s nothing two women can do at this time of night. We have to be practical.”
Sunni sat helpless as Kristi finished her drink and put the car back in drive.
“I’ll call the group tomorrow and see if we can meet for coffee or something. All we’re going to do tonight is freeze and draw attention to ourselves with the car running to keep us warm.”
“Olive can help me search for addresses linked to either guy, and we check for anything that seems unusual about them.”
“If we can’t find anything, I’m seriously going to consider going to the police. She’ll be missing for more than forty-eight hours so they’ll have to investigate it.” Sunni gave in because Kristi made sense, and the snow was starting to build up. The roads would be more dangerous as the night wore on, and the temperatures continued to drop.
Thankfully, Kristi had slowed to a safe level and was being more cautious on the way to her house.
“Maybe we can talk Perri into snooping around in the library for some evidence that they’re dealing drugs at the school. It won’t seem as suspicious if she takes a look around.”
“Tomorrow is Saturday, and most schools don’t have peo
ple just hanging out, but she might be able to sneak us in and we can comb through the library.”
“Yes! I’ve always wanted to have a Saturday detention like the Breakfast Club movie.” Kristi became gleeful at the idea of reenacting her favorite parts.
“We’ll be looking for evidence and can’t be playing around. Besides, what will you do with the kids?” Sunni knew that Daniel and Dusty would be home to oversee the twins.
While she normally wouldn’t leave her family to run off and play detective, Aunt Marie had to be found before something happened to her.
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“They just left,” he reported to the voice on the other end of the line.
“Which one was it?”
“I believe it was the niece and her friend. They drove through the alley, then circled around to the front.” He peered through the now dark window.
“What do you think they were trying to discover?”
“I’m not sure. There’s nothing here that links me to anything. The Marie woman’s been taken care of, but there’s no way her niece is going to find her here.”
“I’ll consider the situation. It may be time for you to discontinue any and all activities for a while, until they decide that you’re not worth investigating.”
“These ladies have proven to be highly persistent. I’m afraid they won’t be giving up in the near future.” While the street appeared empty, it didn’t mean the ladies wouldn’t return at a later date.
“This has been a serious setback to our operation. If this is not taken care of on a permanently, then we may have to rid ourselves of the problem.”
He tugged at the collar of his shirt. “While I have no personal connection, I don’t think that making these women disappear will really take care of the problem. I think it would make the rest of their group jump in and work harder.”
“Keep an eye on the situation, and if we need to step in, well, it only takes a phone call.”
“Absolutely. It’ll be take care of. Good night.” A dial tone was the only answer he received.
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An early morning text message had the entire group up early and meeting at a coffee shop, per Olive’s request.
Miles was the last one there and as he slid into the booth, Sunni addressed the group.
“My Aunt Marie is missing.” Sunni waited until all of the gasps had died down. “Kristi and I went to her house last night to see if we could find her since she hadn’t been answering her phone.”
“Has she been known to not answer your calls before?” Perri questioned, knowing the older generation wasn’t as skilled with cell phones as the rest of the world.
“She always has her phone. There’s been the rare occasion that she’s forgotten to charge it, but she has a home phone as well. I tried both for two days before I decided to check things out.”
“Sunni called me to check and see if Carolina had heard anything from Aunt Marie, but we hadn’t,” Kristi added.
“I wouldn’t have been as worried, but I knew the storm was coming in and I generally pick her up when I go get groceries to be prepared.” Sunni took a deep breath, trying not to burst into tears at the thought of where Aunt Marie might be.
“She’s a grown woman. Could she have gone to visit someone and not told you?” Olive questioned.
“Her car is sitting in her garage. Her charger was in her room, but when we went in the office to look for the suitcases we found something very disturbing.” Sunni shuddered.
Perri pushed Sunni’s tea toward her. “Drink some, dear. I know you’re worried, but you can’t help her if you don’t take care of yourself.”
“She has an entire wall of information on all the drug connections and who might be a suspect,” Kristi volunteered.
Sunni screeched, unable to hold it in any longer. “She joined a dating site.” She covered her mouth as soon as the words slipped out.
“What’s wrong with her dating? Aunt Marie is still a young woman. I mean, she may still have thirty years left on her.” Miles frowned, as the admission didn’t seem like such a bad thing.
“Aunt Marie has never dated, ever. I’ve never seen her with a man before.” Sunni couldn’t even imagine a situation where that might have been a remote possibility.
“Why? Does she hate men?” Perri asked the question nobody wanted to ask out loud. Times had changed, and Aunt Marie might not be inclined toward men.
“There was a man back when she was in high school, so I don’t think she hates them. He went to war and never came back.”
“That’s terrible. She’s been alone all these years? I can’t imagine going through life with no one by choice.” Kristi bemoaned.
“Wait just a minute. Not to be rude, Kristi, but aren’t you single and alone?” Olive blurted out.
“Yes, I’m single. Alone? Not so much. I do have two daughters, and I didn’t get them by myself. At this moment, am I dating? No. I would if I could find the right guy, though.” Kristi defended herself adamantly.
“I’m more surprised that she would consider it after all these years.” Sunni knew it was normal to date and move on with your life, but most people didn’t wait almost forty years to do so.
“There were cards and lists about each man, and they were all named Alexander Fine. How could there be this many men with the same name in our city?” Kristi questioned, shaking her head.
“Fine is an old family name, and Alexander was one of the founders so many have passed the name on, but the family isn’t really connected to each other anymore. When the family is over 200 years old, there might be ties way back, but it’s doubtful they even know each other,” Sunni explained.
“How on earth do you know that?” Kristi asked incredulously.
Grinning sheepishly, Sunni held up an index card sitting on the desk. “Aunt Marie wrote it all down as research.”
“So an Alexander Fine is our main suspect, besides Zach, but it seemed that she didn’t think he or men in his age group would date her,” Kristi supplied helpfully.
“Devil’s advocate here, but why couldn’t she date younger men? They like older women who know how to take care of them.” Miles raised his hand in the air to make sure they focused on him.
“I think you just like the argument versus backing up the actual thoughts behind it,” Olive commented snidely.
“She just didn’t recover from her first love, I think. Anyway, moving on to the now. There were only two men on the lists that she kept.”
“One was a veteran, and the other was a librarian. I think we can guess which one she suspected of selling drugs. Here’s the kicker. She was messaging him about a cruise they were going on together.”
Kristi piped in. “It said he would pick her up, but that was for yesterday morning, and when we called the cruise company, they had no record of either of them.”
“So Kristi and I drove over to Alexander’s house last night. He was there, we believe, but there was no sign of Aunt Marie,” Sunni supplied. “We have to find Aunt Marie and put these guys in jail.”
“Any suggestions? We were hoping, Olive, you could help us with finding any land Alexander might own.” Kristi took charge. “Perri, is there any way we could get into the library at the school? I know it’s the weekend, but this would be the perfect time to get this done.”
Miles chimed in. “I can run home and pull out a few trackers from my younger days. Don’t ask why I had them, but they’ll let you know where the suspects are located and if they go anywhere out of the ordinary.”
“Aren’t we getting way ahead of ourselves? We should just let the police know what’s going on and let them do the tracking,” Olive protested vigorously.
“I tried that and they wouldn’t even look into it because she’s a grown woman. She hadn’t really been missing for 48 hours, and they were certain that she had simply gone off on a romantic trip without telling me.”
“All right then, but I just want it noted that I
don’t think this is a good idea. I’ll still do the deed searches for you. Where do you want me to work from?” Olive gave in because the MOMs group was including her.
“I think if you can work from the office. You’ll have more access and no one will bother you.” Kristi hoped her boss would take her suggestion that would take her off the playing field.
“We can use you as home base, since there are several ways we can conduct this search. Does anyone have to rush home?” Sunni asked, wanting to make sure they knew the time frame they had to work with.
“I’m covered,” Perri offered first.
The others nodded in agreement.
“Miles, how long will it take you to get your trackers and move to the two primary locations?” Kristi continued to give out assignments.
“I can be back in thirty minutes, but it would be better if I had someone helping who knew where these two guys lived.”
“Alexander should be at the library, and Zach seems to stay home unless he’s running errands, according to Carolina from when we did the surveillance.”
“Perfect. I’ll pick up the trackers and swing by Zach’s house since I have a car that blends in and he hasn’t seen me before. Sunni, would you mind going to the library and finding out if Alexander is there?” Miles suggested, hoping that Perri could keep an eye on Kristi since she was the most impulsive one of their group.
“Let’s do this, and we can report back to Olive so that we’re not constantly trying to call everyone for an update. Agreed?” Perri took the lead to get them started.
“Thanks for doing this, everyone. I couldn’t have done it by myself. I know it’s almost Christmas and everyone is really busy.” Sunni spoke quietly.
The group split up and in their hurry to make it to their assignments, they didn’t realize that one of the very men they were trying to find was watching them from his car down the street.
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Dialing the boss, he waited impatiently for the phone to be answered.
“Yes.”
“They’re on the move. The whole group, except the grandmother woman. They all met at the coffee shop. They had a lengthy meeting and now they’re hurrying out. I think they’re on to us. What do you want me to do?”
The Mommy Detectives and the Bingo Hall Mystery Page 12
