MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) (11 page)

He twirled abruptly, towering over her. She could see the
cords in his neck tighten. Clasping her hand tighter, he twisted her wrist
until tears came to her eyes.

"Maybe you better tell me who you are,” he demanded.

"It doesn't matter who I am," she responded
tersely. "What matters is my sister Lea is on her way here right
now."

Obviously relieved, he laughed scornfully. "Oh, now
I'm really scared. Two women after me. I better run for my life."

Seizing her last chance before they reached the truck,
Maddy threatened in a calm, low voice: "She stopped at the police station
on her way to give them this exact location. You may not be worried about my
sister and me, but you should be worried about the full force of the Buena
Viaje police force coming down on you."

The last comment got his attention but not in the way Maddy
had hoped for. His face became red, distorted by rage. She screamed as he jerked
her so hard she thought her arm would pull out of its socket. Her car keys fell
from her hand as he pushed her in front of him.

"All you need to be worried about is what I'll do to
you if you don't do what I say. We need to get out of here fast. I'll take the
back roads across the mountain to the interstate. Don't try any funny business
or you know what will happen to you. You're a much better hostage alive . . . but
dead or alive, you're leaving town with me."

With that warning issued, Roberto pulled a roll of duct
tape from the glove compartment and secured Maddy's hands behind her.
"Now we're going to get on your cell phone and call
your sister. Let's see if you've got her on speed dial. What's
her name?"

"None of your business."

Roberto's open palm whipped across her cheek so fast and so
violently she momentarily saw stars.

"Lea," Maddy whimpered.

"That's more like it," he sneered, scrolling
through the numbers on her phone. "Yep, there she is."

He gave instructions, juggling
her with one hand and her phone in the other.
"When she answers,
I'll hold the phone to your mouth. Tell her you came to the site and found
nothing so the cops don't need to come out here. That's all she needs to know
right now. Once we're far enough away, we'll call back to let her know you're
with me and what they need to do for me to get you back."

A moment later, he raised the
phone, scowling: "We're out of cell range. We'll have to wait until we're
over the hill."

Roberto dropped the tailgate and hoisted her onto the
flatbed of his truck.
At least I landed on top of the tents. They should
provide a cushion from bouncing around.

"Is this necessary?" she complained.

"There's no room for you in the front. I wasn't exactly
planning on a passenger." He laughed gruffly like he was enjoying her
discomfort. "But let's make sure you aren't able to make noise and attract
attention back here."

Leaning over the side of the flatbed, he wrapped duct tape
around her ankles and pressed a strip across her mouth. The worst part for
Maddy was the dusty blanket he threw on top of her to hide her from view.
Just
what I needed. The dust will set off my allergies.
She wiggled her nose,
trying to stop the tickling sensation.
I've got to sneeze. Not an easy thing
to do with duct tape on my mouth.

After a last inspection of the campsite area, Roberto got
into the truck and they started their journey, not toward the freeway as Maddy
had hoped where there would be a greater chance of their being spotted but up
the one-way back road that led over the mountain. Maddy despaired.
I'm in
for a long, bumpy ride.

* * *

Lea finished the
project she was working on and emailed it with a sense of satisfaction. She stretched,
looking at the border collie asleep in the middle of the room.
"I'm sure my client will be satisfied with the report
and will agree with my recommendations.
I think we deserve a little celebration, Gracie."

Hearing her name, the dog's body
rose instantly from a deep sleep. Lea laughed as Gracie raced around the desk,
planting her front paws on Lea's midriff. "I'll call Maddy and see if we
can take her to lunch at El Torito. I'm in the mood for Mexican food."

She dialed Maddy's cell number.
Getting voice mail, Lea called the main number for the furniture store. She was
told Maddy hadn't arrived for work nor had she called in. Alarm bells went off.
That's not like Maddy.

Gracie sensed the concern in her
master's voice.

"You don't think she ignored
my advice and drove out to where she thought the Ramirez brothers camped, do
you?"

When the dog started running in
circles, Lea became more concerned. "Are you trying to tell me you think
Maddy's in trouble?"

Gracie raced to the back door and
began barking. "Okay, girl, we'll go see if she's at home. If she's not
there, I’ll call Paul. He's not going to be at all happy with us when I tell
him where I think Maddy’s gone, but the way you're acting tells me something’s
wrong. Maddy may have gotten in over her head this time."

When they arrived at Maddy's house,
Gracie leaped from the car barking loudly at the front door. Lea didn't have to
ring the bell to know what her sweating palms already told her. Something had
happened to Maddy.

* * *

Tom was leaving the parking lot at Neal's condominium when
he got the call from Paul. "I hope you're calling to tell me you want to
buy me lunch. My morning has been crazy. I could use some nourishment."

"Sorry, buddy. I'm afraid your morning is about to get
crazier because of my wife."

He relayed everything Lea had told him regarding what she
and Maddy had learned about the Ramirez brothers.

"And now, that fool sister of Lea's has apparently
gone to where Maria told her the brothers were camping. She isn't at work,
she's not at home, and she's not answering her cell phone."

Tom detected equal parts of worry, anger, and frustration
in his friend's voice.

"I've warned those two before about playing amateur
sleuths. I don't know what Maddy could be thinking getting anywhere near
dangerous criminals."

"Take it easy, Paul. I kind of admire Maddy's courage.
She's fearless. Nothing intimidates the woman."

"Is it courage or lack of common sense?" Paul
groaned.

"Oh, it's not that. Maddy is one sharp cookie. She
usually knows what she's doing. She simply lacks the restrictive boundaries
most people set for themselves. Wherever her intuition leads, she
follows."

"This time, her intuition may have led her into the
middle of a potentially volatile situation."

"I'm almost on the freeway now. I should be at the campsite
in less than twenty minutes. I'll let you know what I find. In the meantime,
don't be too rough on Lea. This could all amount to nothing."

"I suppose. Maybe Maddy went out last night, met
someone, spent the night, and overslept this morning."

Paul was surprised at how quickly Tom disputed the suggestion.

"I doubt it. Maddy isn't seeing anyone seriously right
now and she doesn't strike me as the type to spend the night with someone she
barely knows."

"Since when are you an expert on her social
life?"

Tom ignored the innuendo but hastened to add: "Nor is
she inconsiderate or irresponsible. Even if she got a late start, it's unlikely
she wouldn't have called the furniture store to let them know what time she'd
be in."

"You're right," Paul conceded. "Maddy
doesn't go out on hot dates or party all night. Her tastes are much more
discriminating. All the more reason to be concerned about her being incommunicado
now."

"Gotta go. Stop worrying. I'll call you.” Then, in a
lighter tone: "And buddy, you owe me lunch when I find out you've sent me
on a wild goose chase."

* * *

Not content to go home and wait to hear from Paul, and
concerned for her sister's safety, Lea debated what to do. She turned to
Gracie. The collie's head was hanging out the window, ears flapping in the
wind, nose pointed straight toward the freeway.

"I agree, Gracie. We can at least drive in the
direction of the campsite. If Maddy calls, we'll be that much closer to
help."

Little did she know in her efforts to help her sister, Lea
was placing herself in the area of no cell reception where she would fail to
receive the call from Maddy that Roberto so urgently wanted her to get.

They had been driving less than
fifteen minutes but it felt like hours to Maddy. Bumping around in the back of
the truck, she was exposed to trees along the side of the road. Oak and birch
pollen was triggering every allergy she had, causing an itchy throat and making
her eyes water.

Tossing from side to side in a last attempt to roll from
under the dusty blanket, she sensed the truck slowing. She stopped moving,
listening intently. She heard a horse whinny and a man's voice. The voice
sounded vaguely familiar.

"How ya doin'?" the voice inquired casually of
the driver of the truck.

Roberto responded in a neighborly manner: "Good,
yourself?"

"Hate to tell you this but there's a tree down across
the road just ahead. I passed it on horseback but you'll never make it around
the tree with this truck. You got the riverbed on one side and a steep hill on
the other."

"I need to get over the mountain to the
interstate."

"You can turn around and go back to the coast highway.
It hooks up with the interstate about fifty miles north."

"It takes twice as long going the coast route instead
of the interstate. I don't have the time. I'm in kind of a hurry."

"Maybe you and I can move the tree off the road. If we
can't do it ourselves, we'll put a rope around it. I can tie one end of the
rope to my saddle horn and my horse will be able to pull the tree far enough
off the road so you can get your truck through."

"Good idea. Let's try it."

Roberto starting climbing out of the truck. "Thanks, mister,
I appreciate . . ."

Before he could finish the sentence, a loop of rope circled
his upper body pinning his arms. He was pulled off his feet to the ground.

In the moment Roberto struggled to figure out what had
happened, the stranger was on top of him, trussing him like a chicken with his
arms and legs against his body.

"What in damnation are you doing?" Roberto
screamed, anger spewing from every pore.

"I think you got hold of someone I know. I doubt if
she's anxious to be spending any more time with you."

With that, Roberto's assailant walked to the back of the
truck and pulled the blanket off the rolling, moaning lump.

"You got yourself in quite a pickle there, young
lady." Amusement showed on his face as he began pulling the duct tape from
across Maddy's mouth.

"Ouch, take it easy," she wailed. "You don't
have to remove a layer of skin along with the tape."

"Your display of gratitude is underwhelming, to say
the least," he laughed. Opening a pocket knife, he cut the tape away from
her hands and feet. She refused his arm for support as she climbed from the
truck.

"I'm fine, thank you very much," she announced
haughtily, trying to regain her composure.

But in the first few steps, she found herself feeling
woozy. She fell back into muscular arms that circled around to support her.
Turning, she looked into the smiling brown eyes of her rescuer. The rancher
from Maria's Donut Shop.

He stood a good four inches
taller than Maddy. His hair was mostly covered by the black Stetson tipped back
on his head. His smile displayed a dimple in his chin and the whitest teeth
Maddy had ever seen.

Maddy feigned weakness. Swooning slightly, she allowed
herself to fall against his chest. "Whoa, little lady. This has been an
ordeal. Let's get you off your feet where you can catch your breath and clear
your head."

He has taken my breath away
, Maddy admitted to
herself.

Leading her to the front of the truck, he opened the door
and helped her inside.

"How’d you find us?" she asked, still shaken by
the turn of events.

"I was doing my weekly ride along the back road beside
the river. Homeless people hole up there during the dry season. Addicts get
hold of drugs and go there to get high. And teenagers hang out there to,"
he looked over the top of his sunglasses, the corners of his mouth curling,
"well, you know. I ride by to make sure they haven't left food that will
attract animals living in the hills. I don't want coyotes coming this close to
my property. It's easier if I get rid of the food."

"I still don't understand how you ended up in front of
Roberto's truck."

"When I got close to the big sycamore, I saw a car I
recognized pulled off on the side road leading to the picnic table."

"You knew it was my car from seeing us once at
Maria's?"

Lowering his eyes and his voice, he looked into her eyes in
a way that went right through her. "You were hard to forget even before I
found you hog-tied and gagged in the back of a pickup truck belonging to one of
the most notorious outlaws in the County."

Maddy's hair fell across her eyes, covering her flushed
cheeks.

"When I found your car keys in the dust outside the
car, I knew something was wrong. Being on horseback, I was able to ride down
into the dry riverbed and follow it unobserved by Roberto to a point where I
could get in front of him."

Kicking the boot of the trussed kidnapper, now dozing with
his chin on his chest: "By the way, Roberto, there's no fallen tree. You
would have had a clear getaway to the interstate. Now, let's give you a sample
of how you treated this young woman and throw you in the back of your truck. There
are some people anxious to get their hands on you."

Turning to Maddy: "If you can drive this truck back to
get your car, I’ll take it from there. I can tie my horse to the back bumper
and give this hombre a ride to the police station."

"No problem," a revived Maddy assured him. She
scrambled into the driver's seat as her rescuer wrestled Roberto to his feet
and secured him in the back of the truck.

Watching him mount the beautiful golden chestnut, Maddy
called: "It would be easier if I knew your name instead of calling you the
man from Maria's or my knight in shining armor."

He rose in the stirrups, tapping a finger to the brim of
his hat. "Scott. Scott Miller."

Before she could open her mouth to respond, he added:
"You don't need to tell me your name. I got it from Maria the same day I
saw you there, Maddy."

* * *

Approaching the turn-off,
Scott and Maddy saw three parked vehicles and people, including Lea and Tom,
milling around her car. Realizing she was driving the fugitive's black truck,
Maddy started shouting and waving her hands out the window of the cab. A police
officer at the scene had his weapon pulled before Lea recognized her sister and
gestured wildly for Tom to call off his officer. Quickly appraising the
situation, Tom ordered his officer to lower his firearm but they approached the
truck cautiously from two sides.

Looking suspiciously at the man
atop the chestnut mare, Tom opened the door of the truck for Maddy to step out.

"What in blazes is going on
here, Maddy?" he demanded.

"Roberto was using me as a
hostage to escape." She pointed in the direction of the cowboy in the
black Stetson. "Until this gallant gentleman rescued me."

Before either of the men could respond, they heard the
uniformed officer calling: "Hey, boss, come check out what's in the back
of the truck."

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Tom
exclaimed, seeing the object of their manhunt bound and gagged on the floor of
the pickup. Walking around the truck, he reached to shake the cowboy's hand:
"Tom Elliot. You must be the one I have to thank for this."

"Scott Miller," the stranger answered,
dismounting his horse and looping the reins over the saddle horn.

Tom turned a stern but relieved gaze toward the slightly
disheveled but beautiful woman beside him. "Now, Maddy, we're all waiting
with bated breath to hear how you got yourself into this mess in the first
place. But right now, I've got to take care of Mr. Ramirez."

Maddy gave the officer details while Tom transferred the
prisoner from the truck to the patrol car.

Having secured the recalcitrant, Tom returned to Maddy placing
his hands on her shoulders to get her full attention. "Need I tell you
what you did coming out here was not only foolhardy but downright dangerous? I
hate to think how badly this could have ended for you. Don't imagine for a
minute Roberto would have let you go once we met his demands."

"Don't worry, Tom; I've learned my lesson," Maddy
assured him.

Tom doubted this misadventure was enough to make Maddy
change her ways. Daring by nature, she was obviously more exhilarated than
frightened now that her ordeal was over. It made Tom realize her impulsiveness
and sense of living in the moment were the very qualities that made her so
appealing.

Lea headed for her car, calling over her shoulder:
"Come on, Maddy. Follow me home. I have to let Paul know what's happened;
then I want to hear every fascinating detail." She hesitated, turning back
to Tom: "Unless, of course, you need her for something."

"No, go ahead." Tom turned to leave. "If I
need more information from you, Maddy, I'll get hold of you tomorrow. For now,
we're all just glad you're safe and unharmed."

Lea visualized the conversation Paul would undoubtedly want
to have regarding the peril the sisters' amateur sleuthing had created for
Maddy. Thinking a buffer might help, Lea called to Tom. "Meet later at the
Crab Shack to hear the full version of Maddy's adventure and celebrate having
all three brothers behind bars?"

"Yeah, that will probably work. Roberto's going to
holler for his attorney right away like his brothers did so I won't be able to
grill him tonight. I can turn the paperwork processing over to one of my
minions. See you there at seven," he confirmed walking to the patrol car
to confer with his officer.

"Would you care to join us, Scott?" Lea asked.
"The least we can do is treat you to dinner after your heroic efforts on
my sister's behalf."

"Thank you, ma'am, but my daughter's got a baseball
game tonight I can't miss.
They've got a chance to
win their division and move on to the Little League playoffs."

At those words, Maddy's heart
dropped from a level of great expectation to one of acute disappointment. So
her handsome rescuer was married. How silly of her to have hoped that was not
the case.

"Hopefully, we can do it
another time. We're so grateful for what you did."

Giving her sister a hug, Lea’s
eyes teared. "I'm so thankful you're okay and nothing terrible happened to
you. We'll see you at the Shack at seven."

Lea got in her car and drove off leaving Maddy alone with
her rescuer.

"I hardly have the words to thank you. I realize the
danger I was in and what might have happened if you hadn't come along to rescue
me." She lowered her eyes demurely but before she could utter another
word, she was wracked with an embarrassing onslaught of sneezing. "Sorry. It’s
the trees and dust. My allergies have kicked in."

Scott laughed.  “Here, take this,” he said, handing her the
kerchief tied around his neck.  “You wouldn't make much of a rancher."

As the police car drove past in front of them, Maddy shouted:
"Hey, Roberto."

The prisoner looked out the window, a dark scowl on his
face.

The woman’s eyes blazed with anger. "Have a nice
day," she said, extending her middle finger.

A grin spread across the cowboy's face. "You've got attitude,
lady. I'll give you that."

He mounted his horse, waved over his shoulder, and rode
off.