Fire Mountain

by Vickie McKeehan

  She had to wait to find her opportunity, a time when Brandt would leave the house and give her time to snoop. And hopefully, he’d take his paramour Tiffany along with him, clearing the way to sneak in and get out without getting caught.

  Thanks to a tip from Natalie Henwick, she knew Brandt and Tiffany left the house every day for their daily workout, a jog along the beach. The two were usually gone for an hour, sometimes longer if they stopped to make out on the cliff overlooking the bay.

  She’d already called on Lianne to act as her back up. Even now, Lianne was outside Brandt’s house, keeping an eye on his comings and goings and would let her know the minute Brandt started his jog.

  To complete the setup, Leia had told her mom she needed to run a few errands, sweet-talking her future stepdad, Paul, into helping out during the afternoon dead zone between two and four when there were fewer customers.

  After flipping the last burger as the noon rush died down, Leia was out the door in a flash. No small talk, just a quick wave goodbye to her mother and Paul.

  There was no time to waste as she headed home for a few items she needed for the raid. Once she reached her front door, she started shedding pieces of clothing on her way to the bedroom, exchanging the chef’s outfit for jeans, tennis shoes, and a hoodie.

  Her next stop was the junk drawer. After several minutes of a frenzied search and a few curse words muttered under her breath at not finding what she needed, she headed to the garage and Zeb’s toolbox, loaded with handy items she could use.

  She hit the jackpot there and loaded up a bag with a heavy Maglite flashlight that could perform double duty as a weapon if need be, a hammer, a long flat-head screwdriver she could use as a pry bar, and a roll of duct tape, just in case. Her final stop was the kitchen where she grabbed a bottle of water and stuffed it into her bag.

  Leia jumped back in the car, waiting for the call from Lianne that would signal the coast was clear and she could make her move. She circled the block twice before Lianne gave her the all-clear.

  “You’re good to go. But don’t take long. Tiffany looked bored. I’m thinking she’s faking this whole jogger thing just for Brandt’s benefit.”

  “Good to know. You can head back to the shop now.”

  “And leave you without a lookout? I don’t think so.”

  “No, really. I’ll be fine. I have a plan. Get out of the neighborhood before you’re spotted. Thanks for all your help.”

  Leia parked at the end of the block and got out with her bag. She ran around to the alley until she stood next to the fence. After sneaking into the backyard, she headed straight for the side window that connected to the laundry room, knowing it had a broken lock. She’d gone back and forth for a year with Talia about getting it fixed. But now, she used it as her way inside.

  Just as she hoped, Brandt hadn’t repaired the window. It was an easy drop down to the top of the washer. With no time to waste, she slid off and headed for the interior of the house.

  Knowing the floor plan as well as her own, she went straight to the room Talia had used as her office and began digging through the desk for anything that might implicate Brandt. She found Talia’s insurance policy, a hefty million-dollar payout. Taking out her phone, she took pictures of the paperwork. It made her sick to her stomach to think Brandt would get that money. She moved to the filing cabinet, going through a series of file folders that contained information on several women in the Bay Area. After snapping photos of the files, she decided to check upstairs.

  Taking the steps two at a time, she migrated to the master bedroom and was surprised at the mess she saw. It looked like Tiffany and Brandt were planning a trip because of all the clothes tossed on the bed, laid out near two Louis Vuitton luggage sets.

  Leia opened Talia’s closet only to see her clothes had been cleared out. What remained were things Leia didn’t recognize and dresses Talia would never buy, let alone wear. No doubt Tiffany’s things were hanging from the rod and had been there since Talia went missing.

  The scene infuriated Leia so much she wanted to rip down every article of clothing. But voices outside indicated the two snakes had returned early. She hurried down the stairs and headed for the nearest exit, slipping out the sliding glass door. Leia turned to run and bumped straight into Brandt’s chest.

  “Look what I found, that nosy friend of Talia’s who wouldn’t stop running her mouth.”

  Tiffany sidled up. “Little Miss Snoopy Britches is getting a little too nosy for her own good, isn’t she? It’s a rotten shame your big brothers aren’t around to watch your back now.”

  Brandt yanked Leia back inside the house. “What are you up to?”

  “I think she was hoping to find something damaging on the both of us,” Tiffany said before rearing back her right hand and delivering a slap across Leia’s face. “Amateur. I hate rank amateurs. I bet she planned to take whatever she has to her cop of a brother.”

  “You murdered my friend,” Leia spat out, blood oozing from her lip. “I’m not standing around and letting you get away with it.”

  “I don’t think you’re in much of a position to do anything right now except get tied up,” Brandt boasted as he bound Leia’s wrists together with a nylon cord. I think it’s high time I rid myself of this pain in the ass, once and for all. What do you say, Tiff?”

  Tiffany was already on her cell phone. “I’m calling Doroski. He’ll know what to do.”

  “What? We don’t need him. I can take care of this.”

  “No can do, Brandt. This calls for clear thinking. Trust me. He’ll be able to take her off our hands and do what’s necessary.”

  While Tiffany stepped into the other room to finish her phone conversation, Brandt went through the bag Leia had brought. He pulled out the duct tape, ripped a piece off, and stuck it over her mouth. “Not so free with the accusations now, huh?”

  Tiffany reappeared. “Doroski says we should wait for dark, then bring her to the rendezvous point. Lando and his minions have everything else covered from the harbor south to the north, but they haven’t figured out where we’ve been stashing the goods. We should finish packing, load up everything out of this dump, and move out of town tonight.”

  Brandt had turned his back on Leia. She took that opportunity to kick his feet out from under him. He went down face first on the kitchen tile.

  It was Tiffany’s laughing at the situation that got Brandt to his feet. Furious now, he picked up the handiest thing he could reach to use as a weapon—a crystal vase—and brought it down, smashing it into the side of Leia’s skull.

  For Leia, everything went black as she slumped, then crumpled to the floor in a heap.

  Brandt bent down to make sure Leia was out cold, then searched her pocket for her car keys. What he found was her cell phone. Looking around the kitchen, he spotted the sink full of murky dishwater. Dropping the device into the depths, he watched it go under. He moved back to Leia, dragging out her keys from the other pocket of her hoodie.

  “You go get her vehicle,” he barked at Tiffany. “Take it to the rendezvous point on Moonlight Ridge. I’ll load her into my car and meet you there.”

  “Doroski said to wait until dark.”

  “I don’t care,” Brandt snapped. “I’m not taking orders from him. It’s my ass on the line here. I won’t wait around until Lando comes charging through my front door. Now move. Do as I tell you.”

  Tiffany was torn, but she eventually took Leia’s keys and headed out the back to drive Leia’s small SUV out of town.

  After Tiffany had left, Brandt tied Leia’s legs and bound her hands behind her back using a thin rope before dragging her into the garage to where his SUV was parked. Once he’d dumped her into the rear, he grabbed two cans full of gasoline and jumped behind the wheel.

  It took Leia a while to regain consciousness. She couldn’t see anything. It took her several minutes before she realized it was dark outside. When she tried to sit up, her head throbbed like it was inside a huge bass
drum and someone kept beating on it. Tape covered her mouth and stuck to her lips. She could make out voices coming from outside the car. Brandt and some other man were in the middle of a heated argument.

  “What the hell were you thinking? Don’t we have enough problems without you assaulting and kidnapping the police chief’s sister? For God’s sake, think man. Lando Bonner will turn this town upside down looking for her.”

  The next voice Leia did recognize as belonging to Brandt. “Look she was trying to hang Talia’s murder on me. What was I supposed to do? Open the door for her and say, sure, come on in and take a look around? Did you want her bolting out of there and going straight to Bonner? Yeah? I didn’t think so.”

  “They had zero evidence until you mucked everything up. Now, we’re all implicated.”

  “So, we’ll move up our timeline and move on just like we’ve always done.”

  As the men continued to argue, Leia started working the rope that bound her hands, hoping she could free herself and make a run for it. When that failed, she tried banging on the back door of the vehicle, only to attract unwanted attention. Bad move.

  The door flew open. Tiffany reached in and gave Leia another smack to the side of the head.

  The blow made her head ring like a thousand church bells going off all at once.

  “Stop kicking and trying to get out, or you’ll get a whole lot worse. Understand?”

  Leia stared back at Tiffany, the floozie of a tart who’d helped with Talia’s demise. All she could think about was getting her hands around Tiffany’s throat.

  But the argument in the background between the two men seemed to be ramping up instead of calming down. The two were almost to the point of blows.

  “You created this problem,” the stranger shouted. “She’s your problem now, and I want it taken care of tonight before it becomes my problem. Because if it becomes my problem, I’ll have to take care of you along with her.”

  21

  It was Enid Lloyd’s turn to host The Happy Bookers. The woman lived for growing her orchids, but her late husband had taught her a skill set that few people in town possessed. That talent happened to be taking weeds out of the yard, in this instance common dandelions, known scientifically as taraxacum, and turning the petals into a warm golden and delicious tasting dandelion wine.

  Enid’s partner in this enterprise was her longtime friend, Birdie Sanger, who had bottles of the stuff sitting around her pantry. Birdie was fond of waiting for someone to drop by so she could push the drink on the unsuspecting visitor. She’d learned everything she knew from Enid, and together the two women would school anyone who would listen in the fine art of using dandelions to make wine.

  “They’re from the daisy family, you know,” Birdie would say, reciting from memory all the high points Enid had taught her. “Asteraceae.”

  Birdie lasered her aging eyes on Gemma and handed her a glass. “You must try some. Don’t be shy. It’s good for what ails you. Not many people know it contains powerful antioxidants, lowers blood sugar, and is as good as oatmeal to reduce cholesterol.”

  “You sound like a commercial,” Gemma teased.

  “If they’d let me, I could do commercials just as good as Betty White,” Birdie boasted.

  Enid sidled up to where Birdie stood. “I’d give you a chance to go back to 1959 and push beauty products just like Betty used to do. Not many people know, but Birdie and I used to go out on as many auditions as we could down in Hollywood. Landed a few, too.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Gemma said, hoping she could avoid sampling Enid’s homemade brew.

  But eagle-eyed Enid pushed the glass up to Gemma’s mouth. “Go ahead. It won’t kill you. I promise.”

  Reluctantly, Gemma took a small sip and was blown away by the flavor. “It’s really more like a brandy, isn’t it? This isn’t anything like what I expected.”

  “Believe me, you’ll need a lot more of it than that if you want to discuss Holly Dowell’s pick. Who in their right mind would want to read Finnegan’s Wake? It doesn’t make a lick of sense. So, drink up. I brought a whole case for tonight.”

  Lianne pulled Gemma aside into a corner of the living room. “I think we have a problem. Leia wanted inside Brandt’s house this afternoon, and I think she made it in. But no one’s heard from her since.”

  Gemma went pale. “Have you texted her?”

  “Texted, called, I even drove by Brandt’s house. Lydia’s on her way to the police station now.”

  “Then let’s go. We’ll head over there and see what we can do to help.”

  Inside Lando’s office, he and Zeb were in the middle of a meeting with Tuttle, listening to the medical examiner deliver Claudia Bergamot’s autopsy results.

  “The petechia in the eyes suggests strangulation. She had scattered abrasions on her back and neck, almost like rug burn, which suggests she was nude when she was killed, somewhere other than where you found her. After death, and before rigor set in, she was then redressed and dumped. After getting your phone call about her identity, I did place a call to her family back in France, telling them I’d need someone to fly over here to obtain DNA for a positive ID.”

  “And did they agree?”

  “They want to take the swab there in France before committing to the trip here.”

  Lando rubbed the back of his neck. “Odd reaction to the news their loved one is deceased, I’d say. Could the Bergamot family be afraid of getting arrested here in the US for something?”

  “I got the distinct impression they did not want to make the trip at all.”

  “And the girl in the trunk?”

  “I’m withdrawing a bone marrow sample and sending it to the lab to verify if she was related to Olson. If it is the man’s daughter, we should know by next week.”

  Lydia burst into the room, out of breath. “It’s Leia. She’s been gone for hours. She left the restaurant around one-thirty this afternoon to run some errands and she hasn’t come back. Lianne says she wanted to get inside Brandt’s house and went there by herself. I went over there and knocked on the door not fifteen minutes ago, but no one answered.”

  Getting to his feet, Zeb headed past Lydia. “Let’s go kick the door in. If Lewis is holding her against her will…”

  Lando grabbed Zeb’s arm. “We’re doing this my way.”

  “Whatever you say as long as we get into that house to see if she’s in there hurt or something worse.”

  Lando stuck his head into the hallway and yelled for Dale. “Get me a trace on Leia’s cell phone. Brandt’s, too. I want to know where Leia’s phone is pinging at this very moment.” Moving to the gun cabinet, he unlocked the door and took out a shotgun, shoved the weapon into Zeb’s hands. “Here. This might come in handy for later.”

  Gemma spotted the gun when she walked in with Lianne and let out a gasp. “This is serious then?”

  Luke followed them in and went directly to his mother. “What do we know so far?”

  Lydia’s voice trembled as she dabbed the tears away that trickled down her cheek. “All I know is Lianne said she left Leia standing at the corner of Baffin Bay near Mr. Lewis’s house at around one-forty this afternoon. That’s the last time anyone saw her.”

  Lianne cleared her throat, the look of guilt on her face. “She just wanted to help solve Talia’s murder.”

  “She just couldn’t leave it alone,” Zeb muttered.

  “It’s my fault for helping her,” Lianne admitted.

  “No, it’s not,” Gemma began. “Trying to stop Leia from nosing her way around that house would’ve been tantamount to stopping a freight train. When she gets an idea in her head, she’s like a Doberman with a bone. No one’s blaming you.”

  The room began to get crowded as Dale pushed his way through to update them on the phones. “Last known ping on Leia’s cell was at the Lewis home. Nothing after that. We’ll need a warrant for Brandt’s. I just hung up with Judge Hartwell. He signed off practically over the phone. I’m heading th
ere now to pick up the paper.”

  “Great. Get moving, and then I want everything downloaded from Lewis’s phone carrier. I mean everything, Dale. Go back months. But start with this afternoon.”

  Everyone started talking at once, speculating about where to look first.

  Because he’d lost control of the room, Lando yelled over the din in the crowded office. “I have a crazy idea. But until we get the pings on Lewis’s phone, it’s all we have at the moment. And it might just work.”

  The room went silent enough to hear a pin drop. Lando whirled on Zeb. “By any chance was Leia wearing that overpowering, flowery perfume you got her for her birthday?”

  Zeb looked insulted. “Yeah, and she happens to love the way it smells. Why?”

  “Remember that case in Denver, and I think there was one in San Diego, where a tracking dog followed the scent trail of a person that had been abducted by car? The dog tracked the scent for miles. I think Rufus could do it if given half the chance.”

  Zeb looked at Lando with a blank stare until it clicked. “I’ll get her favorite sweatshirt and douse it with the perfume. You go get Rufus and I’ll meet you at Talia’s house.”

  Lando turned to his brother. “Luke, why don’t you take Mom back home. She’d be more comfortable waiting there instead of here and she might need a sedative to get her through the night.”

  “You got it. Come on, Mom,” Luke said, taking his mother by the arm. “I’ll get you home and make you a cup of strong tea.”

  “You’re just trying to get me out of the way,” Lydia protested. “But I’ll go because I want you to focus on finding Leia.”

  Lando wrapped his arms around his mother’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll find her.”

  “Do you really think our Rufus is up to this?” Gemma asked, tagging after Lando as he rushed down the hallway.

  “We won’t know until we try. Think of it as a Hail Mary and we need to score a touchdown, fast. The clock’s ticking and we have under a minute to score.”

  “You go on over to Lewis’s house. I’ll run and get Rufus.”