by J K Ellem
“You sound like a cop,” Jacobson said to Shaw. “All these questions.”
Annie placed her hand on Shaw’s knee, deciding to use her charm on the old man. “We’re just doing some research on the local history of Erin’s Bay, that’s all. We are curious about the lights you saw, but also want to know what locals think happened to Edward Brenner.” She gave Jacobson her most alluring smile.
For a moment Shaw thought Annie had said something wrong. Ralph Jacobson’s face clouded over, his mouth in a twisted scowl. “That old bastard killed his first wife! Drove her insane until she took her own life,” Jacobson exclaimed. “She was a lovely woman.”
Clearly Edward Brenner and Ralph Jacobson weren’t friends.
“You knew Edward Brenner’s first wife?” Annie asked in astonishment.
“Sure did. Alice was her name. A beautiful, caring woman. She would have married me, too, if it wasn’t for Edward Brenner.”
Annie and Shaw exchanged looks. This was a new development.
Jacobson hobbled to his feet, pointing a finger at them both. “As far as I’m concerned, if Edward Brenner is dead, good riddance to him. He’s a murderer.”
29
First, he would take care of Shaw. Then, he would take care of Abigail Brenner. He used a different car, one less obvious than the Range Rover. And he kept a special bag packed for such an occasion. It was always good to be prepared. You never know who you had to teach a lesson to, put them in a hospital, or worse, if required.
Teddy Hanson had a very mean streak, especially when someone had gotten the upper hand on him, disrupted his plans. Ben Shaw had done just that.
Teddy placed the duffel bag into the trunk of the car, unzipped it and checked the contents one last time. It contained an assortment of tools, some available in stores, others—the illegal ones—bought through the Internet.
Satisfied everything was there, he zipped up the bag, closed the trunk and headed to the Brenner Estate. He was certain that’s where Shaw was. His sources in the police department had already told him that Shaw had been released this morning. Some smart city lawyer had got him out. That piece of news made Teddy even more enraged. He wanted Shaw in jail, out of the way. That’s what he deserved. But they couldn’t hold him, no prior convictions Teddy was told by his source and it wasn’t looking good for Teddy, either.
So maybe Shaw’s release was a blessing, Teddy thought to himself. After all, he was the only witness and Abby was too far gone to remember anything.
So, Teddy had packed a few “special” items in the duffel bag as well. If the police weren’t going to take care of Shaw, then he would have to. Permanently.
Annie and Shaw left Ralph Jacobson. He had offered them the use of his boat if they wanted to take a look at Moors Island. It was a simple run through the salt marsh then out into the main channel. Shaw thanked him for the kind offer. It seemed like Ralph Jacobson was suddenly Shaw’s best friend due to the fact Shaw had put a few of Teddy Hanson’s friends in their place.
It was late afternoon by the time they had made it back to Annie’s cottage. Shaw wanted to check on Abby so he borrowed Annie’s car and headed back out.
Rudy Kerber greeted him at the front door telling him that Abby had been discharged from hospital and was upstairs resting.
“So, what now?” Shaw asked the lawyer. They sat around the pool overlooking the ocean.
“Abby wants to press charges against Teddy Hanson, Ambrose Smith and the others who were in the cabana. She claimed her drink was spiked and that they drugged her. Just as I suspected, there was no consent by Abby. But it’s pretty much her word against theirs.”
“And given Abby’s past transgressions and history, I suppose her claims will be ignored and Teddy Hanson and his friends will get off with a slap on the wrist?” Shaw said.
Kerber nodded thoughtfully. “The law is an ass at times, Ben. Much as I would like to say otherwise. Any half-decent police prosecutor will look at Abby’s past, lack of corroborating evidence and conclude there is no basis to press charges. Also given her unconscious condition in the room, she won’t exactly be a reliable witness either. Her recollection of events is vague at best.”
“If a woman says that something inappropriate happened then her past is irrelevant.” Shaw was angry. “You know she’s telling the truth.”
“I believe her but I need to weigh up the evidence. I’m just thankful you arrived before anything serious happened.”
“Serious?” Shaw exclaimed. “She was spread-eagle naked on a bed, drugged, and about to be gang raped. They were filming it, too.”
“It’s the world we live in I’m afraid, Ben. The Internet, video streaming, YouTube. It brings out the best in people and it also brings out the worst. The police seized all the cell phones, including yours and Abby’s and are reviewing the video footage taken from the others. We have to let due process run its course.”
Shaw looked out across the channel at Moors Island. His intuition was telling him he needed to go out and look at the place. Much as he’d like to track down Teddy Hanson and throttle the truth out of him, there wasn’t much point. He would have to just stay put and spin his wheels until the police said otherwise.
Maybe tomorrow he would take Ralph Jacobson up on his offer. In the meantime, he had promised Annie he would return to her cottage and lay out what they knew so far and what Ralph Jacobson had told them. Kerber had provided no additional information about Edward Brenner other than what was common knowledge about the family and the company history. The lawyer seemed to think he was dead, lost at sea. Maybe they would never find the truth about what had happened. But Shaw was determined to find more. There was something about Erin’s Bay that intrigued him. He could easily continue on his journey, leave all this behind. But he didn’t want to leave. There were too many unanswered questions. He also wanted to know why someone was watching Abby in the restaurant yesterday. He was certain Abby was the subject of the woman’s interest.
Shaw thanked Kerber and told him to let Abby know he had asked about her. Nothing much would be gained from going up to her bedroom and seeing her again today. She needed to rest.
Driving back to Annie’s cottage, Shaw stopped in town and picked up some groceries. He felt bad that Annie had gone through the trouble of making dinner last night only for him to suddenly up and leave. She didn’t have to make an effort, nor help him nor loan him her car, especially after what had happened when he had borrowed Abby’s car. Teddy Hanson and his goons were responsible for that.
So, Shaw decided to return the favor to Annie, and make dinner for her while they strategized over what to do next.
The sun was dipping into the ocean by the time Shaw had collected what he wanted and arrived at Annie’s cottage.
She was barefoot and dressed in a simple summer dress when she greeted him at the front door, with the smooth tones of Robbie Coltrain bubbling out from behind her.
“So what’s this?” she said, looking at the two grocery bags Shaw was carrying.
“Dinner. I’m cooking.”
Annie stepped aside and let him in. “No argument from me.”
Shaw dumped the bags on the kitchen counter and set about with military precision in preparing dinner.
“What’s on the menu?” Annie asked, peeking into one of the bags as Shaw started unpacking. “Thai green curry,” he replied. “Not too spicy.”
Annie uncorked a bottle of wine and set two glasses on the counter. “The spicier, the better,” she replied watching Shaw as he went about opening overhead cupboards and pulling out pans from drawers. He made it very clear to her that while he cooked, she wasn’t allowed in the kitchen. So she relegated herself to a safe distance on the other side of the counter, perched on a stool so she wouldn’t be threatened with retribution if she should cross the sacred invisible line that marked the start of her small, but very functional, kitchen.
She poured herself and Shaw a glass of wine. “How is Abigail Brenner?”
<
br /> “She’ll live, but that’s not the point.” Shaw chopped, diced and sliced, imagining that it was Teddy Hanson’s arm on the cutting board. He explained what Rudy Kerber had said, that it would be a fruitless exercise if Abby decided to press charges.
“Poor girl,” Annie said. “Teddy Hanson is a real prick. A sexual predator from what you’ve told me. It sounds like he’s done this kind of thing before. Someone should take a knife and cut off his…”
Shaw stopped chopping, the knife poised over a small carrot.
“You know what I mean,” Annie said, not finishing what she was going to say. She wanted retribution just like Shaw.
Shaw resumed chopping. “What do you know about the Hansons?”
Annie made a distasteful face. “Rich, ego driven, arrogant. The whole family thinks they can do whatever they please just because they have money. Nothing new with that. What do you think about Ralph Jacobson? Do you think he has a motive?”
Shaw turned on the cook top and poured oil into a pan. “He’s not crazy. A little paranoid, maybe a little resentful about Edward Brenner but I can’t see him killing anyone. The man is harmless.”
Annie watched Shaw as he moved around the kitchen with purpose. He didn’t need to open a cupboard or drawer more than once, like he somehow knew where everything was stored. They were similar, she thought. Similar thought processes. Similar views on life. He was the first person she had ever allowed inside her cottage, inside her place, within the walls of her sanctum. Did it bother her? No. It seemed almost natural as to how quickly she felt at ease with him, safe, non-threatening.
“I want to take a look at Moors Island,” Shaw said as he threw onions and spices into the hot oil. “See what’s there.”
“I get seasick,” Annie replied, looking at Shaw from behind. There was something disturbingly erotic about watching a man cook for you. In your kitchen, using your utensils. Annie could feel the heat building inside her. A heat she hadn’t felt for quite a while, until last night that is. This man was in her kitchen, making her dinner, but she was hungry for something completely different. The events of the previous evening had left her wanting. She had tossed and turned in bed last night, foolish and immature like a hormonal school girl. It had raged through her. Brief moments of sleep stolen between long bouts of yearning.
She wanted it. Christ she needed it. It had been too long.
Shaw added the last of the ingredients and placed a lid on the pan. With his back still to Annie he said, “It needs to simmer for about thirty minutes.”
“You’re a regular Gordon Ramsay,” Annie said.
“He swears too much,” Shaw replied, his back still turned.
Annie slid quietly off the stool, reached under her dress, slipped off her panties and placed them next to her wine glass. She walked around and into the kitchen, hoisted herself on to the counter top then spoke. “Come here,” she ordered, her voice firm.
Shaw turned and saw Annie sitting on the kitchen counter. No smile. Just a determined look on her face. Her legs were parted slightly, the folds of her dress pulled up above her knees, barely covering her modesty, a pair of lacy panties folded neatly next to her wine glass.
Shaw walked over to her and she wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him in, not wanting to release him. “I didn’t come here expecting anything, Annie.”
“I know,” she whispered. She unbuckled his belt, then slid down his jeans. “But this is what I want.”
30
So many options, Teddy thought to himself as he locked the car and hoisted the duffel bag over one shoulder. It was a difficult choice, finally settling on breaking some bones tonight so he brought everything. He would use the Taser first to subdue, then the baseball bat to break. Or maybe the roofer’s hammer first then the baseball bat. No point in rushing things. He had all night, after all.
From the moment he’d seen Shaw leave the Brenner Estate it was then just a simple case of keeping ample distance, making certain he wasn’t following too close. He’d watched Shaw pull up to a grocery store in town before heading south again on the coastal road and turning off to follow a back road along the beach. Teddy had killed his own car lights, content to follow the bob and weave of the red tail lights in front and there was enough moonlight.
Then a simple task of following the beam of the torch through the dunes in front of him. A small cottage finally came into view, lights glowing from the porch and through the windows, throwing shadows at acute angles. Nothing else around.
Perfect.
Teddy crawled up a large dune and lay in the shadows just below the ridge of sand and watched. A young attractive woman opened the front door of the cottage, an added bonus for Teddy. His heart literally did a somersault in his chest. He didn’t recognize the woman but it didn’t matter. The reservation at the restaurant of pain and suffering was just for one. But Teddy would make allowances and place another chair at the table. It wasn’t any trouble at all. Good thing he'd brought an extra place setting.
The cottage was isolated, lonely, the lights of the nearest house maybe half a mile away.
Satisfied no one else was around, he scuttled back to his car and grabbed his bag of tricks.
There was a light breeze and the temperature was starting to drop as Teddy made his way back between the dunes. The cottage came into view again, however he angled off to the side, choosing to approach from the rear. Maybe there was an unlocked laundry door or side window he could access.
Keeping the lights of the cottage in view, he circled around in the shadows, the sand making it hard work, but it would be worth it, he told himself. Moonlight shimmered off the ocean making it look like a sheet of rippled lead.
He couldn’t see any movement inside the cottage nor signs of a dog.
To his right was a tall bank of sand topped with a line of old sagging beach fence and wire that was back lit by the moon. The sand bank was set back about a hundred yards from the left side of the cottage. It was the perfect spot for him to hide and watch while he got his gear ready.
There was a face mask in his duffle bag, and a pair of latex gloves. Make it look like a robbery gone wrong.
He circled around to the rear of the sand bank and started to climb. His feet sank up to his ankles as he trudged up the incline, the duffle over his shoulder. Teddy stopped. There was a dark shape perched near the top. A large piece of driftwood. Good. More cover to hide behind. Teddy continued to climb, his feet slipping further into the sand, breathing hard.
Teddy slipped a flashlight from a pocket and aimed the beam at the ground. There was no way anyone in the cottage would see the light from this side of the sand bank.
The large piece of driftwood at the top moved, turned, and rose slightly. Teddy’s heart skipped a beat then stopped permanently. He died where he fell. His body slid backwards a few feet down the slope, a furrow of sand forming around it like a shallow grave.
It wasn’t a difficult shot. She had practiced it many times before. But the fool had made the mistake of approaching her from behind with the moon painting his outline. She had chosen her hiding spot for that exact reason.
Olga Abramovich slid down the sand bank to where the body of Teddy Hanson lay, a neat hole drilled into the center of his forehead. She lowered her suppressed handgun and noticed the sports bag. Inside she found an assortment of crude but effective weapons for someone wanting to carry out a prolonged assault, maybe even torture. She had no idea who the man was or why he was here. But she had to admit she was a little curious about his intentions. Amateur she thought as she regarded the dead body. The sea would claim him. She had no use for the contents of the duffle bag.
She looked around making sure there was no one else then crawled back up the dune and resumed her position.
They sat outside under the stars and ate. Sparks swirled upwards into the darkness from the outdoor fire.
Annie felt good, complete, the final piece in her puzzle had been slotted into place, and it fit perfect
ly. She was astonished at how direct she had been with Shaw, demanding, not with words but with her own actions. He definitely needed no direction and was respectful of her. His pure physicality still lingered on her skin as she watched him eat. The food tasted wonderful, her senses heightened, but Annie had a taste of something that she wanted a lot more of. Her abstinence—by her own choice—had come to an end. And she had decided very quickly with Shaw that he was a man she could trust. He seemed still guarded about his past, what he did, where he'd been. This only seemed to heighten her need to know more about him. Maybe they were similar, running from something or someone from their own pasts. Either way, she felt that they shared similar values, similar views, and similar cautions. It wasn’t so much in words exchanged between them, more of an understanding. A smile of affirmation when something was said. A nod of agreement.
His gentleness in intimacy surprised her as well, it was like they had been together for years, not just for a few days. Men from her past—not that there had been many—tended to rush in, be rough, physically demanding, no foreplay. They would fling her about like they needed to perform a certain number of positions in an allotted time for the judges, as though extra points would be awarded for level of difficulty, acute angles of legs and arms.
He was different, took his time—even though it was the kitchen counter for Christ’s sake! Made her feel like she was the center of the universe. It was all about her, not him. Maybe it would be different the next time. The next time? Annie’s mind skipped ahead, her attention lost elsewhere. Then someone was calling her name.
“Annie?”
Annie broke her gaze, realizing that she’d been staring at him. “Sorry. I was elsewhere. What were you saying?”
