by Kathi Daley
I shook my head. “If I ever knew it, I don’t remember it now. Salinger will know. We’ll ask him when he gets here.”
“Wouldn’t she be in jail?” Hazel asked.
“As far as I know, she left town and was never arrested,” I said. “Although I do remember something about federal custody.” I paused again. “I’m not sure, but Salinger will know.”
Diego showed up just ahead of Salinger. When the men walked in, I asked Salinger if he knew what had happened to Analee. He reported that Analee had been arrested, but had gotten away and that her name hadn’t even been Analee, it was Amy Hollinger. Amy had a record dating back to her youth, and at the time of Duncan’s death, she had been wanted in five states. They never caught up with her once she escaped and assumed she was long gone, probably living somewhere under a different name.
The group was sitting around discussing what we were supposed to do with the name of the victim now that we had a guess when I received a text from Zak’s phone. The text simply said: Who am I? I texted back: You are Claudia Lotherman, and your accomplice was Amy Hollinger. Taking a guess was a risk since we couldn’t be a hundred percent certain either name was correct, but I figured that without a body, all we could do was guess, and the guess we’d come up with was the best we were going to get.
“What if we’re wrong?” Ellie asked. “Did the person behind this ever say what the penalty for being wrong would be?”
“No, she never said.” I stared intently at the screen of my phone for a return text letting me know whether I was right or wrong, and what the next step in this crazy game might be.
The next text was actually a video. It featured Zak tied up in the background with a giant blinking blue light just to the right of his head. As I watched, Claudia began to speak.
“Very good, Zoe. I wasn’t sure you’d be able to figure it out. You’ve done well and have proven to be a worthy adversary. You just have one task left to complete, and we will be done. At least we will be done for this time around. I will follow this video with a list of names. I want you to get that little genius daughter of yours to hack into Zak’s private files and provide me with the current contact information for everyone on the list. I’m looking for phone numbers, addresses, emails, banking information, and business locations. I’m looking for everything you have on them. Once I have what I’m looking for, I will let Zak go. You have one hour before time runs out. If you fail to provide the information I’ve requested, your handsome husband will be returned to you in pieces.”
With that, the video ended, and a list of ten names showed up on my phone screen. I looked at Alex. “Can you get the information Claudia wants?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” She looked at Diego. “Call Pi. Tell him to log on. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“Why do you think she wants this information?” Dad asked.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Maybe we should warn these people that their information has been compromised,” Mom said.
“We will,” I answered. “After we get it and Zak is freed.” I set the timer on my phone for fifty minutes. I wasn’t sure exactly what time it was when Claudia told me I had one hour, so I built in a few extra minutes of wiggle room. At least I hoped I had.
“I’m going to see if I can track Zak’s phone,” Alex said while we waited for Diego to get Pi on the line.”
I glanced at Salinger. He looked as helpless as I felt.
“I have Pi on the line,” Diego said. “He’s going to see what he can find.”
“I found Zak’s phone,” Alex said.
“Where?” I asked.
She looked at a map, comparing it to the coordinates that showed on her screen. “It looks like it’s in one of those forest service cabins up near Heather Lake.”
Salinger stood. “Send me the GPS location. I’m on my way.”
I looked around the room. There really wasn’t anything I could do here. “I’m coming with you.” I looked at Alex. “We’ll maintain an open line, so you will know what we find, and we will know what’s going on here.”
Twenty minutes later, Alex came on the line. “Zoe, are you there?”
“I’m here. Did you get the information Claudia wants?”
“We found eight of the ten files. Each of the eight has the information she’s asking for.”
“And the other two?” I asked.
“Pi, Diego, and I have looked and looked, but we simply aren’t finding files with the names requested. We aren’t sure what to do.”
“What are the two names you can’t find?”
“Julianna Brickman and Carter Christianson.”
I frowned as Salinger pulled onto the dirt access road. “Julianna Brickman is dead. So is Carter Christianson.”
“Dead?” Alex asked.
“Julianna Brickman is the name of the woman Claudia killed at the house just before Zak and I were married. Carter Christianson is the name of the man Claudia killed when Zak and I were in Alaska.”
“So she knows they’re dead,” Alex concluded.
“She does.”
“Then what is she after?” Alex asked.
“Maybe Zak has FBI or CIA or Interpol files on these two individuals,” I suggested. “I remember they both had access to information that Claudia wanted and was willing to kill for.”
Salinger pulled over to the side of the road to recheck the coordinates Alex had sent to him.
“See if you can find files on either of these people anywhere on Zak’s hard drive. I know you’ve been looking in customer files, but you won’t find them there.” I glanced at the clock on the dash. We had less than twenty minutes until the timeframe Claudia had given us would be up. “Have Pi check Zak’s secret files. The ones he keeps hidden behind those barriers he erected.”
“Pi said that he won’t have time to do much without Zak’s help,” Alex informed me. “He really has no idea where to even start.”
“Maybe Zak has all the files having to do with Claudia in a specific location,” I suggested. “Look for Claudia or Lotherman.”
“He’s working on it,” Alex said.
Salinger started the car again and continued down the dirt road. After a couple minutes, he stopped in front of a small cabin. It was totally dark, and there wasn’t a car in sight.
“This can’t be right,” I said.
“This is the location Alex gave me.”
I slipped out of the passenger side of the car. The sun had set, and dusk was setting in. It seemed like it got dark early these days. I made my way up the dirt path toward the wooden front porch. The interior of the cabin was totally dark, but I knocked on the door anyway. Salinger walked up beside me. When no one answered, he tried the door, which was unlocked. It didn’t take long to find Zak’s phone, which was on the kitchen counter. Zak was nowhere in sight.
“Zoe,” Alex’s voice came over the open line.
“Yeah, I’m here. Did you find the file?”
“No. Not a thing.”
“Try Chameleon,” I suggested.
I could hear Alex instruct Diego, who was working with Pi to try Chameleon. “Did you find Zak? Is he at the cabin?” Alex asked.
“No,” I answered. “His phone is here, but there’s no trace of either him or Claudia.”
“We’re running out of time,” Alex sighed.
“I know. But don’t give up. Never give up.”
“Zak’s watch. He has a smartwatch,” Alex said. “I’ll try to track it.”
“Okay. I’ll wait with Salinger in the car.”
By the time Salinger and I had walked back to the car, Alex came back on the line. “They found the file labeled Chameleon,” she informed me. “It’s password-protected, but they’re trying to get in.”
“Okay, hurry.”
“We are,” she assured me. “I have the watch,” she said.
“Where?” I asked.
“It’s about a mile southeast of where you are now.
Hang on. Let me pull up a map.”
I waited for her to come back on the line. Based on my calculations, we had less than five minutes before the big boom.
Alex came back on the line. “Drive seven-tenths of a mile down the dirt road you’re on. There will be a drive to the right. Make the turn and go another four-tenths of a mile. The watch and I assume a cabin will be on your left.”
“Okay, we’re heading there. Did you get into the file?”
“Not yet, but the guys are close. Just go. We are running out of time. And Zoe…”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
I told Salinger where to go. It took us two minutes to get to the cabin. I didn’t see a car out front, but I did see a blue blinking light inside. I got out of the car and approached the cabin.
“Wait,” Salinger said. “We don’t know what will happen if we open the door. It could be rigged to set off the bomb.”
“Alex,” I said into the phone. I figured we had a minute, two at the most.
“Almost there,” she said.
The interior of the house was dark, but the blinking of the light inside echoed with each blink.
“We can’t just leave him in there to blow up,” I said, reaching for the door.
Again, Salinger cautioned me to wait, but I reached for the knob anyway. I knew in my mind there was no way I was going to make it inside, and then untie Zak, and then make it back out before our time was up, even if opening the door didn’t set the whole thing off. But there was a part of me that knew I had to try anyway. And then I thought of Catherine. I couldn’t let her grow up without either parent. I took a step back. Salinger grabbed my arm and pulled me out of harm’s way.
“We got it,” Alex called through the phone line. “Pi is sending the information to Claudia now.”
I waited, literally holding my breath as each second ticked by. The blinking light inside was getting faster and faster. I was sure Zak was gone, but then the blinking stopped. I blew out the breath I’d been holding and then inhaled deeply. At this point, I broke away from Salinger’s hold and dashed toward the house. I threw the door open and darted inside. “Zak!” I called out.
“Back here. I’m all the way in the back room at the end of the hallway.”
I ran as fast as I could. Zak was handcuffed to the wall but looked unharmed. We didn’t have the key, but Salinger had a tool to cut the chain the cuffs were attached to. It seemed the danger was gone, but we decided to get the heck out of there just in case. It wasn’t until we were in the car and a safe distance away that I let go of the tears I’d been holding onto and began to sob.
Chapter 14
Brightly lit jack-o’-lanterns were displayed in every store window, and bright orange and white lights hung from every tree. The merchants of the town of Ashton Falls sponsored trick-or-treating for the kids along Main Street while the adults were entertained with colorful displays, hot spiced cider, and bags filled with hot pastries that smelled as good as they tasted. Zak, Levi, Ellie, and I had worked hard all day to get the food and decorations ready for tonight’s Spooktacular at the house. Alex, Scooter, Diego, and Tucker had all agreed to play host to anyone who arrived before the four of us returned to the estate to take over hosting duties.
It had been a week since Claudia had once again kidnapped my husband. A week since she’d once again disappeared into thin air. I always thought of the woman as a master of disguise, but the reality was she was just as much a master at the art of simply fading from existence every time she completed whatever goal she’d tasked herself with.
Between Zak and Shredder, they’d made sure no actual harm would come to anyone because of the files we’d given to Claudia while trying to save those we loved. We suspected she knew that we’d run interference, so it occurred to us to wonder why she asked us to obtain the information in the first place. Of all the villains I’d come across in my years as an amateur sleuth, Claudia was the hardest to figure out. Most of the time, I had no idea why she did what she did, but one thing was for certain, she was an intelligent and patient woman who was willing to put in the time to execute whatever game of wits it was she was trying to orchestrate.
“Can we get cake?” Catherine asked, pointing at a display of Halloween cupcakes in the bakery window. They really were adorable. Chocolate and orange frosting piled on huge cupcakes and topped with Halloween themed decorations.
“Aunt Ellie made cupcakes,” I reminded her. “They’re at home, and we can have some when we’re done here. Are you almost ready to head home to the party?”
“Can we see the pumpkin?” Eli asked.
I looked at Ellie, who shrugged.
“I think we can do that before we head back to the car,” Levi said, scooping Alya into his arms. Both Eli and Catherine looked energized, but Alya looked ready to fall asleep. We’d set up beds for Alya and Eli in one of the guest rooms since Ellie and Levi both planned to stay late. In fact, I hoped they’d stay late enough so the four of us could share a quiet moment on the deck around the fire after the others were gone.
Zak scooped up Catherine and Levi took Eli by the hand while Alya clung to his neck. The men hurried across the street with the kids to the giant pumpkin display while Ellie and I followed at a more leisurely pace.
“So I talked to Levi about a baby,” Ellie said, seemingly from out of nowhere given the situation.
I turned and looked at her. “And?”
“He is definitely up for at least one more.”
I raised a brow. I was actually sort of surprised by this. Levi loved his kids, but he hadn’t really ever been the sort of guy who wanted a bunch. “I’m happy to hear that. I know you wanted another one.”
“I really, really do. How about you?” Ellie asked. “Have you and Zak discussed trying?”
I winked at her. “Actually, we’re already trying.”
Ellie smiled. “Really? Already?”
I nodded. “It’s just been a few days, but I feel good about things. I’m feeling confident that by this time next year, I will have two little munchkins to buy cute costumes for.”
Ellie grinned. “It would be so fun if we were pregnant together. I know Levi would like to have another son, and I’m sure Zak would like a boy. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had two little boys born just a few weeks apart? You know they’d be best buddies. True friends, no matter what for always and forever.”
“Just like us,” I said, hugging Ellie to my side.
“Exactly like us.”
The End
Next from Kathi Daley Books
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Books by Kathi Daley
Come for the murder, stay for the romance
The Inn at Holiday Bay:
Boxes in the Basement
Letters in the Library
Message in the Mantel
Answers in the Attic
Haunting in the Hallway
Pilgrim in the Parlor
Note in the Nutcracker
Blizzard in the Bay
Proof in the Photo
Gossip in the Garden
Ghost in the Gallery – August 2020
A Cat in the Attic Mystery:
The Curse of Hollister House
The Mystery Before Christmas
The Case of the Cupid Caper
The Secret of Logan Pond
The Magic of Halloween Night – September 2020
Cottage at Gooseberry Bay:
Halloween Moon – September 2020
Thanksgiving Past – October 2020
Gooseberry Christmas – November 2020
Reunion Trilogy — Summerhouse Reunion:
Summerhouse Reunion
Topsail Sunday’s
Campfire Secrets
Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:
Halloween Hijinks
The Trouble With Turkeys
Christmas Crazy
Cupid’s Curse
Big Bunny Bump-off
Beach
Blanket Barbie
Maui Madness
Derby Divas
Haunted Hamlet
Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies
Christmas Cozy
Alaskan Alliance
Matrimony Meltdown
Soul Surrender
Heavenly Honeymoon
Hopscotch Homicide
Ghostly Graveyard
Santa Sleuth
Shamrock Shenanigans
Kitten Kaboodle
Costume Catastrophe
Candy Cane Caper
Holiday Hangover
Easter Escapade
Camp Carter
Trick or Treason
Reindeer Roundup
Hippity Hoppity Homicide
Firework Fiasco
Henderson House
Holiday Hostage
Lunacy Lake
Celtic Christmas
Deja Diva
Zimmerman Academy The New Normal
Zimmerman Academy New Beginnings
Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook
Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:
Romeow and Juliet
The Mad Catter
Grimm’s Furry Tail
Much Ado About Felines
Legend of Tabby Hollow
Cat of Christmas Past
A Tale of Two Tabbies
The Great Catsby
Count Catula
The Cat of Christmas Present
A Winter’s Tail
The Taming of the Tabby
Frankencat
The Cat of Christmas Future
Farewell to Felines
A Whisker in Time
The Catsgiving Feast
A Whale of a Tail
The Catnap Before Christmas
A Mew Beginning
A Tess and Tilly Mystery:
The Christmas Letter
The Valentine Mystery
The Mother’s Day Mishap
The Halloween House
The Thanksgiving Trip
The Saint Paddy’s Promise
The Halloween Haunting
The Christmas Clause
The Wedding Plan
Rescue Alaska Mystery:
Finding Justice
Finding Answers
Finding Courage
