Bone-a-fied Trouble

by Carolyn Haines

  He crept forward. His mother’s voice grew louder, and soon he could make out the shape of a room or office. The light and sound came from there. He crept toward the cracked doorway and was reaching for the knob when something heavy cracked his head. He dropped to his knees and toppled sideways, aware that he’d been caught unawares yet again—twice in one evening—and he was unable to do anything about it.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tabitha certainly has a stiff upper lip, but I can tell she’s suffering. She’s about to jump out of her skin, and I’m with her on that. Where is Roger? What’s happened to him. It’s been half an hour.

  But now there’s a ringy-dingy on Miss Long Legs’ phone. Whew! Relief. It must be him. No one else would be calling in the wee hours of the morning.

  “Roger! Are you okay?”

  Tabitha is almost breathless in her anticipation. And I can see from her face that this isn’t good news. Oh, dear! What has transpired?

  “I want to know that Roger is okay. And my sister. Do you have her too?”

  Tabitha is fighting back tears, this isn’t good. So now I must avail myself of a plan of action I should have taken thirty minutes ago. I love bipeds and they are remarkably accomplished at many things, but sneaking into a building undetected is not really their forte. Me and Pluto, on the other hand, we were born for spy missions. I give my companion the nod and he is right with me. A little pawing at the window and Tabitha is distracted and rolls it down. We are out of the truck and running down the road. I can only hope whoever she is talking to on the phone can convince her to stay out of the old gin.

  Pluto concurs with me that we take whatever action is necessary. I’m more of a lover than a fighter, but when pushed into a corner, I come out swatting and clawing. Few villains are prepared for the wrath of a truly angry feline. It’s like trying to grab a spinning ball of knives.

  We’re at the old gin and I have the strangest sense that the building is empty. This I am not prepared for. In the short time we’ve been waiting—well, thirty minutes is time enough for the villains to depart, I suppose. It would seem that whoever was here has gone and taken Roger with them.

  Pluto and I split up and I head to the back of the gin where Roger’s scent still lingers. He was here, but he is most definitely gone. And someone else was here too. Trudy? Perhaps, but Hannah was definitely here. That musky perfume she loves lingers long after she’s gone. That woman deserves the Cruella Deville award. What mother would harm her own child? I have to find Pluto and get Tabitha to come and examine the area. She should call the coppers, or as they are called here in the South, the po-po. DeWayne and Budgie may not have any jurisdiction, but they do have fingerprint dust and the know-how to find out who else has been held in this little room. I’ll bet Trudy has been here in the past.

  Pluto agrees with me. We need to get Tabitha, and right away.

  * * *

  Tabitha sighed as she put the phone on the truck seat. Budgie had called to tell her that Hannah’s car was on the move. And Roger had never called—which meant he was likely in serious trouble. The two cats had hauled it to check out the old gin, and she was left in the truck waiting. She felt like she’d been there a hundred years, almost paralyzed by her worry.

  Now, though, she had to take action. Budgie and DeWayne had urged her to stay in the truck until they arrived, but she had to find Roger. What if he was injured? Or worse.

  She drove slowly to the old gin and aimed the truck lights into the open doorway. The place reminded her of the maw of a whale. If she went inside would she be swallowed? She didn’t care. If Roger was in there, she was going to find him and her sister.

  Pluto and Trouble came running out of the building, meowing in the way she’d learned meant they had something to show her. She got out of the truck, taking an iron pipe she found in the bed of the truck with her. It wasn’t much of a weapon but it was better than nothing.

  Inside the building she paused to listen, but there was only silence. The building felt empty. She moved forward, slipping around old machinery and pieces of equipment highlighted by the truck’s bright headlights. The cats scampered ahead of her, crying. She knew then there was no one else around. The cats would never display such carelessness if there was danger. They’d try to protect her. She followed them to a back room. A small pool of blood stopped her. It looked as if someone had been dragged.

  She stepped in the room and realized there was a battery-operated storm lantern on the table. She turned it on and carefully glanced about the enclosed area. In the corner was a cot piled high with quilts and blankets. Someone had been kept in the room. It would have been bitterly cold, even with blankets. She moved toward the cot and noticed long, dark hairs on the pillow. It could be Trudy’s hair. Had her sister been here?

  The two cats jumped on the makeshift bed and began burrowing beneath the covers. Tabitha knew they weren’t cold—they were looking for something. Evidence. She pulled off the top layers of bedding. A small ring fell to the floor and rolled.

  She recognized it even before she picked it up. It was a Claddagh with a princess-cut emerald set in the center. Trudy’s ring. She never took it off. Their mother had given it to Trudy when she was a small girl. She’d worn it on a necklace until her hands were big enough for the ring to fit. Trudy had left it for a message.

  Tabitha felt both relief and apprehension. Trudy had to be alive to have left the ring, but she was nowhere in sight, and now Roger was missing too. There was no choice left. She had to come clean with the deputies about the cufflink and the business card, her suspicions about Antoine and Hannah, and the fact that Trudy’s ring had been found in the old gin building, not to mention the hair that had been left on the pillow. DNA would prove whether her sister had been held in that cold little room or not. She didn’t know what else to do but call the deputies and wait.

  When DeWayne and the local deputies arrived, Tabitha was standing in the headlights from the truck so he could clearly see her. “Budgie is tracking Hannah’s car,” he said. “He’ll check in with me, but if they have Roger or Trudy, he’ll run them to ground and we’ll get the help we need to bring them to justice. I couldn’t find Dirk Cotwell, which is another concern.” He looked down at the cufflink and ring she’d given him. “You should have told me about the cufflink sooner. We could have arrested Hannah and Antoine and held them, at least for a little while.”

  “I know.” She sighed. “I was worried if they were holding Trudy, they might let her starve or freeze.” She decided to be completely honest. “And at first, I thought my sister might have gotten involved in something…not completely legal. She’s been part of an environmental activist group. Green World. I didn’t know what they might have planned.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got a kid brother of my own. The local deputies are going to go over this place with a fine-tooth comb. If there’s a lead here, they’ll find it. It’s freezing out here. You should go home.”

  More than freezing, Tabitha dreaded having to tell Charline and Sam that Roger was missing, and that Hannah likely had taken him prisoner. Antoine had already proven that he would allow Roger to die in a fire. Could she really hope they’d keep him alive? It wasn’t the news she wanted to deliver, but it had to be done. “Thanks, DeWayne.”

  She opened the truck door and the cats sprang inside. She was about to pull away when DeWayne signaled her to stop. She rolled down her window.

  “I thought you’d want to know that Dirk Cotwell did own this gin, but just three weeks ago he sold the property to Antoine Fresca and a financial group. Budgie is on it, but it looks pretty shady. It’s a front for someone or something.”

  The implications of that tidbit were far reaching. “Thanks for telling me.”

  “I know Hannah is Roger’s mother. But that doesn’t mean she won’t hurt him or you.”

  “She’s not a very nice person.” That was an understatement.

  DeWayne tapped the truck door twice. “Just be careful. Are yo
u still going to meet that man for dinner? Budgie or I will be at the restaurant as your backup.”

  “Thank you.” Tabitha nodded. “I have to carry forward. I don’t know what else to do.”

  DeWayne gave her a sympathetic smile. “That’s all you can do. One of us will be there early and keep an eye on things. Just remember, don’t leave with him no matter what he says. And as soon as we have results on that hair, I’ll let you know.”

  “I can’t thank you enough.” She waved and backed out. Day was breaking on the horizon. She had a lot to do, and she intended to keep her date with the man from the seed company, Alan Dotsun. Somehow, the experimental cotton played into everything that was going on. Things were getting very complicated, but she was determined to find out exactly how G9-14 figured into her sister and Roger’s abduction. And she would bring both of them safely home. She had the cats to help her, and the Sunflower County deputies. And she had something she’d never expected—a sense that the world around her was not just the here and now, but that there was much more to the shadowy realm of death.

  The big truck responded to her slightest touch, but she still felt uncomfortable driving Roger’s vehicle. She had to get back to Long Hall, though, and it was the only transportation she had.

  The sun was up and warming the fields when she pulled into Long Hall. She did her best to be quiet, but Charline was awake and waiting for her. She handed Tabitha a cup of strong, hot coffee and motioned her into a chair at the kitchen table. “Where’s Roger?”

  Tabitha told her everything, including her own role and how she’d come to Sunflower County under false pretenses. “I would never have done anything to harm your family.”

  “You believe Hannah and Antoine have taken Roger?” Charline’s normally generous mouth was a thin line of anger.

  “Yes. They have him and probably my sister.”

  “To what end?” Charline asked.

  “It’s something to do with the cotton. I don’t know what, exactly. But there’s money tied up in the experimental crop, and my sister was looking into it. She’s part of a group of environmental activists. Roger didn’t know this.” Her voice broke, but she pulled herself together. “Roger went to talk to Hannah and Antoine, and now he’s gone. He didn’t just vanish.”

  “If they hurt him…”

  Tabitha leaned forward. “You can’t think that. Roger is her son. Despite her greed, surely she wouldn’t harm her own child.”

  “I thought I knew Hannah.” Charline’s clear gaze pierced Tabitha and held her. “And I thought I knew you. I guess you both fooled me. You’re not a psychic medium. You just used that to get close to us.”

  Tabitha couldn’t undo the damage she’d created, but she had to try to make Charline understand. “Never with the intention of causing harm. I only wanted a chance to find my sister. I didn’t know who to trust. It was complicated, and I did what I thought would cause no harm and yet allow me to hunt for Trudy.”

  “So everything you said about Suellen was just…a lie?”

  Tabitha knew she’d face this question, and yet she wasn’t completely prepared. “I didn’t make up the things I said about Suellen or Micah Malone. Those images and emotions came to me as clearly as if I was experiencing them in the moment. I knew I was supposed to tell you. I realize you have every reason to doubt me, but please don’t. Not about Suellen. She is here. She loves you and Samuel and Roger. She is distressed by Hannah and her behavior. She’s afraid for her. I can’t tell you how I know this, but it’s all true.”

  “How did you know about Micah Malone? Did Roger tell you?”

  Tabitha shook her head. “No, not really much more than you told me. He said that Micah was someone Hannah had once cared about. He hoped mentioning Micah would make his mother remember a time when she was…caring.” Tabitha grasped Charline’s hand and held it. “I felt what Micah felt, and Suellen, and Lisa. It was strange, but I don’t doubt the truth of it. I can’t prove it, but I believe Micah is Roger’s father.”

  Charline’s face reflected surprise, and then acceptance. “That makes perfect sense. Hannah was head over heels for Micah the first time he showed up on the beach. I thought it was love at first sight, but the way Micah spent time with Roger, the love he showed him. It all makes perfect sense.”

  “Do you think Roger is aware?”

  Charline thought about it. “No. But he should be. And if this is true, Hannah should have told him long ago. Roger never says anything about being fatherless. He’s never asked me if I know who his father is, and Hannah has used that knowledge like a cudgel. Samuel and I both are done with her. We’ll put her share of the inheritance in a trust. Samuel says he and Roger can buy her out and be done with it.”

  Tabitha wasn’t certain it would be that easy to do. Hannah had a plan, and she and Antoine had already initiated it. Taking Roger hostage was only one in a long line of bad acts. Antoine and Hannah obviously saw a big pay out—and they wouldn’t settle for less. “Let’s just get Roger and Trudy back and make sure they’re safe.”

  “Samuel is going to talk to Mac MacKinney this morning to draw up the paperwork to freeze Hannah’s portion of the trust. Hannah will sign it or we’ll starve her out. She’s already several months ahead of her monthly stipend. We can hold all funds for six months, at least. She can’t last longer than six weeks.”

  Tabitha was surprised—and pleased—to see the steel in Charline’s spine. Hannah was not going to get away with her behavior. “Do you have any idea where they might take Roger?”

  Charline thought a moment. “We have a cabin at Moon Lake. I can call the caretaker and see if anyone has been up there.”

  “That would be a great help. Is there anything I can do to assist you?”

  Charline shook her head. “I’m going with Samuel to see the lawyer, but I’ll be back this afternoon. If you hear from Roger, please call.”

  “I will.” Tabitha grasped Charline’s hand. “I’m sorry for tricking you.”

  “You only told me good things. If you’d been trying to harm me, you could have said something else that would have disturbed me.” She shrugged. “I wish Suellen were here. She’d know how to handle Hannah.”

  Before Charline even finished speaking, the bottom door of the sideboard cracked open and a skein of embroidery thread fell to the floor. The thread was a beautiful purple color. Charline picked it up and held it. “Suellen loved to embroider. She was working on a bread basket cloth with purple forget-me-nots.” She bit her lip. “There is no way you could have made that happen.”

  “I didn’t have a thing to do with it, but I believe Suellen wants you to finish that cloth if you feel up to it.”

  Charline nodded. “That I can do. As soon as we have our missing people back and Hannah and Antoine punished for their role in all of this.” She put the thread in the pocket of her skirt and hurried out of the room. Tabitha was left sitting with the three cats, who lounged about the room. As soon as she stood, they all rose to attention. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere without them.

  Chapter Twenty

  Roger came to full consciousness in the trunk of a car. The wheels hummed and he knew he was traveling over asphalt. It was a long, flat stretch of road. Too bad he couldn’t determine how long he’d been knocked out. As he shifted his position, he realized that his hands were restrained behind his back, and he had a serious headache. Otherwise, he was unharmed. And being taken hostage could work to his advantage. He’d gambled on the fact that his mother wouldn’t kill him outright—or let Antoine have the honor. He didn’t know how long he could count on her “maternal” instinct, though. If she truly felt threatened by him, she would sacrifice him without a backward glance. In the meantime, he felt certain he would be taken to wherever they were holding Trudy Wells. It had cost him another knot on his head, but this was the quickest route to finding Tabitha’s sister. The sooner he found her, the better her chances of survival.

  As the car whirred down the asphalt, Ro
ger assessed the damage to his body. His head throbbed and he was slightly nauseated, but nothing serious. As Charline had always teased him about his hard head, he had to admit she was right. He’d been struck from behind twice. And left to burn to death once. While his mother was a conniving witch, Antoine was an apparent murderer. The dapper con artist would have let Roger burn to death. Roger felt certain his mother’s acknowledged fiancé was involved, if not the trigger man, in Lisa East’s death. The arson at Lisa East’s cottage had to be to destroy evidence.

  The car turned off the highway and bumped down a rough dirt road. Roger felt every pothole and struggled to loosen the bonds on his wrists. Antoine was good with blunt force to the head, but not so good with ropes and knots. As Roger wiggled his bonds so that they loosened, he took satisfaction in thinking that when he got out of the car, he was going to make someone pay.

  They traveled for another twenty minutes or so before the car stopped. Roger had freed his hands and he prepared himself for the confrontation, going limp and turning his head so that he was as concealed as possible. The latch popped and the trunk opened to a flood of light. He’d been in the luggage area of the car long enough for day to arrive. Tabitha would be fit to be tied.

  He heard Antoine’s voice outside the car, but he couldn’t tell if his mother was present. Antoine was clearly annoyed.

  “What are we supposed to do with him?” Antoine asked. “He’s put himself in real danger. He knows too much. Him and that nosy psychic. She’s no more a psychic than I’m an astronaut.”

  “Calm down, Antoine.” Hannah’s voice was like the crack of a whip. “You knew going into this it could get dicey. We can’t turn back now. We almost have what we need. Roger isn’t hurt. Not yet. And he’ll be out of trouble here. There’s a lot more riding on this than a few bumps on Roger’s head, though you didn’t have to hit him so hard.”