Murder at the Miramar (Augusta Burnette Series) (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-seven

Have you ever had one of the moments, an epiphany of sorts, when it dawns on you that you’ve played right into the hands of the enemy? Well, that was my moment, standing in the chill San Blanco evening, fingers curled around a lifeline – my cellphone – and staring danger straight in the eyes …

Detective Baird, dimple and all, faced me across the yard. I felt like my feet were nailed to the ground as he sauntered over to me, one hand resting lightly on the nine millimeter handgun strapped to his side. I felt confused, betrayed. Did police officers really ‘go bad’ as they did in the cop shows I watched? (Note to self: change viewing habits immediately!) Maybe he was here to help. Or maybe he was here to …

I heard the tiniest of creaks behind me. Ellie, or someone, was trying to open the shed door as softly as possible. I truly hoped that it was Ellie and not one of the thugs from the house. I thought quickly, trying to formulate a plan. If we could trade places, if I could get Baird (I couldn’t bring myself to add the moniker ‘Detective’ to his name) to move somehow, so that his back was to the shed, we might have a chance. I wasn’t quite sure what the chance might consist of, but I was desperate.

With my heart thudding somewhere in my throat, I stepped forward.

‘So. Nice to see you – I don’t think,’ I added sarcastically. I could see a grin spread across his face. Good to know I could still entertain.

I took another step toward him then casually, as if I had no other thought than to get a better look at him, I turned around with my back toward the house. He stayed put, though, not taking the bait.

Move, you big jerk, I screamed silently, willing him to turn his back to the shed. He did, to my great astonishment. I’d have to remember to tell Ellie that I possibly had some sixth sense-type abilities as well. If I managed to get out of this alive, of course.

We stood staring at one another, an ‘OK Corral’ stand-off in Sal Bacon’s backyard. I hoped it would end with me still standing and him in handcuffs, though. I didn’t want to think about what the other possibility could be. I fished around in my mind for something to say, something that would at least stall the inevitable, but my thoughts wouldn’t slow down long enough for me to catch one. Instead, I did what came most naturally to me: I opened my mouth and let ’er fly.

‘How’d you find me?’ Stupid, really stupid. Of course he knew exactly how to find me, since he was the one who’d suggested Annie Bronson’s house in the first place, and had probably already known that this was where we were, assuming that he’d spoken to Annie. And there was no reason why he wouldn’t talk to her. They were on the same team, after all, or at least that’s what Annie would expect, and she wouldn’t think twice about sharing information with a fellow detective.

As I stood looking at the man I’d once thought to be the most handsome person I’d ever set eyes on, I could feel my blood pressure starting to rise. What
was
it with men? The best-looking ones were absolute failures as potential partners, and even a uniform wasn’t a complete guarantee. I gritted my teeth. I was either going to burst a blood vessel or tell this jerk what I really thought.

‘You are the most inane, scummy, low-down excuse for a man that I have ever met, you know that,
Detective
Baird?’ I made the word sound like a slur, and from the way his jaw line tightened, he’d gotten my message, no question. That might not have been the wisest thing to do at that moment, but I was furious. I’d been outsmarted, tricked, by a dimple. How dumb can you get, AJ?

He took a step toward me, and I involuntarily moved back. I wasn’t scared any more, or at least not to the degree I had been at first, but I still had no desire to tangle with someone almost twice my size and probably ten times my strength. Better to keep some space between us.

Over his shoulder I saw movement. Purposely keeping my eyes firmly on his, I moved another few paces backward. I could see that his mind was moving, trying to figure out just what I was up to. If I could keep him focused on me just one more minute or so …

With a yell that seemed to come from her belly, my cousin, the crazy, card-reading, sometimes irritating Ellie Saddler, burst out of the shed, a metal flashlight raised above her head like a club. Whenever I think about this scene, it always seems to play out in slow motion: Ellie racing toward Baird; Baird’s face a mixture of anger and surprise as he turns to face her; me leaping forward to knock him off balance. Her weapon caught him on the side of the head, causing him to stagger but not go down.

Ellie, possessed by something unworldly – I swear I’d never seen her act this crazed before – continued to bring the heavy flashlight down on Baird, making contact wherever she could.

Baird sank to his knees then slowly, very slowly, toppled onto his side. Blood was streaming down his face and out of the various cuts she had opened on his scalp, and he lay absolutely still. I reached over him to grab Ellie’s hand. She was poised to take another shot at him, but I figured if she kept on like this, she’d kill the jerk. And I wanted nothing more than to see his worthless hide go to prison.

‘Ellie, it’s all right, it’s all right. You got him,’ I said softly to her, working the flashlight from her grasp. ‘It’s OK.’

She looked at me then, her eyes filled with tears. ‘Did I kill him, AJ?’

I wanted to laugh. Soft-hearted Ellie, always worried about the other person. ‘Naw. Too bad, though. If anyone deserves it, he does, that’s for sure.’

A groan came from the figure lying at our feet. I looked down at Baird, wanting to give him a swift kick where it would really hurt. First things first, though.

‘Ellie, give me your belt.’ I was unbuckling my own and pulling it off while I spoke. ‘Let’s get this animal’s feet and hands tied up nice and tight.’

We set to work disabling Baird. I gave my belt an extra hard tug when I fastened it around his wrists, making sure that the sharp-edged buckle was pressing into his back. Ellie’s belt, a fashionable linen number, was used to anchor his ankles together. He had lapsed into unconsciousness again, and I gave him a none-too-gentle tap on the top of the head just to make sure he’d stay that way. We didn’t need him getting mobile before the real officers got here.

The back door to Sal’s house banged open. Ellie and I looked up to see Sal standing there. Unfortunately, someone else was also there, a shiny silver gun pressed to the side of Sal’s head. José Ramirez Rascon, his ugly mug set in a scowl, now had a hostage. And we had a huge problem.

‘Untie him. Now,’ Rascon commanded.

I didn’t move, couldn’t move, more from fright than stubbornness. Ellie, on the other hand, had not just regained her composure, she was channeling that same crazy recklessness that had fueled her attack on Baird. I watched in amazement as my cousin, always so careful to preserve her own skin, sauntered toward Rascon and Sal, one hand on her hip and the other casually swinging the flashlight like a baton. I groaned. I could not watch my best friend mown down in her prime right before my eyes. I squeezed them shut, praying for a miracle but hearing instead the unmistakable sound of a gun being fired.

With my ears reverberating from the blast, I kept my eyes shut tight for another few seconds, not wanting to see the inevitable. When I opened them again, I could have fallen over. Ellie had not only walked straight up to Rascon, she’d coolly swung the flashlight smack against his jaw, almost cold-cocking the man. Sal, acting on instinct, threw an elbow into his rather ponderous gut just as she ducked under the gun’s muzzle, causing his shot to go wide.

My guess was that Rascon, self-professed tough guy, could handle bossing other men around but had no idea how to handle a woman who had not only disobeyed a direct order, but also made a monkey out of his machismo. He all but invited Ellie to whack him a good one by letting her get that close to him, so it was really his own fault. Men.

Who can figure?

Sal got to her feet, moving a bit slowly, but with a look of triumph on her face like she’d just won the Lottery. She brushed her hands off, rubbing them against her pants, before turning to check on Ellie.

Ellie stood on the bottom step, looking down at the huddled form of José Ramirez Rascon. He was out cold. Sal reached over and grabbed at the gun, making sure to unload the ammunition before jamming it into her pocket. I just stood there, unsure what I needed to do. It was one of those weird moments when time seems to be moving much faster than you are and it feels like your feet haven’t quite got the hang of walking in tandem.

The night air was definitely cooler now, so I stuck my hands in my pockets and encountered the cellphone again. Pulling it out, I flipped it open and stared at it. I felt numb, so much had happened in one short hour. Who should I call? For that matter, who in the world would believe what I’d seen? Without really thinking about it, I began dialing Detective Fischer’s number from memory.

‘Fischer,’ he answered, sounding like I’d caught him in the middle of a meal. In between listening to the chewing on the other end of the line, I managed to get across what had happened. When I’d finally said all I had to say, there was complete silence on the other end.

‘Detective? We really need someone out here pronto. We’ve got all three suspects down, two out and one coming around.’ I could hear moans generating from inside the open door, and I wanted back-up from the law before any of the three were able to get ambulatory again.

‘Already done. In fact,’ here he paused and swallowed again, ‘if you look just to the east of Sal’s gate, you should see my car.’

Sure enough, the faint gleam from the foglights on the patrol car could be seen, and when he turned on the headlights, I could see that he was followed by two other cruisers. The cavalry had arrived.

It turned out that Sal Bacon had a nosey neighbor, Old Man Southeby, whose property butted up to Sal’s land just behind the line of eucalyptus trees. When Baird had shown up, hiding his traitorous self among the trees, Southeby had seen movement and was just curious enough to sneak out in time to listen to our exchange. He’d called the San Blanco PD while Ellie and I were tying Baird up. Help had already been on the way when Ellie had played hero.

The three of us, Ellie, Sal, and I, stood in the front yard, watching as each police car hauled off a perp. Baird, his head bloody and still a tad woozy from Ellie’s talent with the flashlight, was taken away by a young officer. When Baird was marched past Fischer, the evening’s most telling moment occurred. Fischer, moving slowly and deliberately, spit a wad of gum on the ground (at least that’s what it looked like from where I was standing) and turned his back on his former partner. Baird’s humiliation was complete.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Although the entire ID theft ring gang was either dead or locked up and couldn’t hurt anyone else, I still felt antsy and wanted to get the heck out of Dodge; after all, a killer
was
still stalking the resort. Ellie had found a place to rest at Sal Bacon’s house and she was in no hurry to get back to the humdrum of our little hometown.

‘I mean, really, AJ,’ she said the next day as she lay on the hammock that Sal had strung between two eucalyptus trees, ‘how can you top this?’ Sipping her iced tea and looking at me innocently, I could have gladly popped her a good one. But since she’d saved my life, and Sal’s, too, for that matter, I left her alone to enjoy the sun.

I wandered through the backyard, stopping to examine the spot where my heart had been destroyed yet again, left in a puddle of blood. Not literally, of course, but figuratively; when Baird had betrayed the department, he had also betrayed me. I shook my head sadly, wondering what it was about me that seemed to find and fall for these cretins so effortlessly.

‘AJ! You’re wanted on the phone,’ Sal called from the open kitchen window which overlooked the backyard.

I lifted a hand to her in acknowledgement, giving one last look at the ground.

Time to move on, I thought. Chin up, AJ.

I stepped through the kitchen door, my eyes still dazzled from the bright sunshine.

Sal nodded toward an old-fashioned phone that sat on a small table in one corner of the kitchen. I almost laughed when I saw it. Compared to her hi-tech satellite contraption, this was a complete dinosaur.

‘This is AJ.’ I spoke into the phone’s plastic mouthpiece, watching Sal as she puttered around the kitchen, humming tunelessly and getting lunch ready. Ellie and I would be completely spoiled if we stayed here much longer.

‘AJ, Stan West here. How are you?’ The clipped tones of the Miramar’s general manager came over the line, sounding cordial and businesslike. I’d heard him use just this very manner when trying to manipulate folks into doing what he wanted, so I was wary, instantly on my guard. I mean, why in the world would he be calling just to ask me how I was?

‘I’m well, thanks. How’s it going at the Miramar?’ What a Class ‘A’ dummy. I’d just given him the perfect segue for what he really wanted.

‘Amazingly enough, that’s why I’m calling you,’ Stan cleared his throat uneasily.

Here it comes, I thought ruefully. I’d walked right into his trap.

‘Is there a chance that you could come back to the Miramar and give me a hand? Just for a few days,’ he added hastily.

I was silent, turning his request over in my head. I wasn’t sure if Ellie would want to go back there, and I sure wasn’t going back by myself.

‘AJ? Are you still there?’ To his credit, Stan didn’t sound too sure of himself, something that I detest. If someone gets pushy with me, I tend to cut them off.

‘Yes, I am. Can I get back to you? I’ll need to check on my cousin’s plans before I make a commitment one way or the other.’ There. It wasn’t an outright ‘no’, so it should keep him happy for a while, at least until I talked to Ellie.

‘Absolutely, AJ. No problem. And tell your cousin … Ellie, is it? She’s welcome here as well. Same benefits as you get.’ Stan was clearly relieved and rang off quickly before I could change my mind and turn him down.

Fabulous. Talk about coming full circle: if I wasn’t careful, I’d end up back in the thick of things again. I knew enough from speaking to Annie, and listening to the other officers’ conversations, that this ID theft ring affair wasn’t over. The Miramar was still the focus of an active investigation, and if there was someone out there who’d just as soon kill you as smile at you, I did not want to meet him, free cookies or not.

‘What do you need to talk to me about?’

Ellie had come into the kitchen so quietly that it hadn’t registered, and I nearly dropped the phone when she spoke.

‘Good grief, Ellie! Do you really need to sneak up on me like that?’ I sounded irritated because I was. I was mad at myself for falling into the Miramar snare again, and I was irked at being caught out by Ellie before formulating a plan. Now I’d have to think on my feet, something I wasn’t too good at.

‘Well, aren’t we just the little Miss Mary Sunshine,’ said Ellie, said, snagging a hot roll from the plate on the kitchen table. She took a bite, eyes closed with exaggerated pleasure. ‘These are awesome, Sal! You’re rapidly becoming my most favorite cook ever.’

She stuck her tongue out at me, crumbs and all. Just like when we were kids, trying to butter up – pun clearly intended here – Grandma Tillie. I returned the gesture. Sometimes we acted like we were ten and not two grown women.

‘Well?’ She paused by the table, popping the last piece of roll into her mouth. ‘What was it you need to talk to me about?’

‘Nothing. Well, something, but nothing important. Sal, can I help you with anything?’ I deliberately cut Ellie’s questioning short. I was still smart enough to choose my own place and time to discuss something like going back to the Miramar.

‘AJ,’ Ellie said in a warning tone. ‘You might as well tell me. I’m just going to hassle you until you give it up, AJ.’

And she wasn’t kidding. Ellie Saddler could worry information out of someone faster than a dog could get to a bone’s marrow. It’s a talent that I’ve always wished fervently I had. When it came to the manipulating gene in the Saddler DNA, Ellie had clearly gotten the lion’s share.

‘Oh, all right,’ I said, giving in without a fight. If I didn’t tell her now, she’d drive me crazy until I did. ‘Stan West, the Miramar’s manager, wants me, wants us, to come back. That’s all.’ I casually got my own roll from the steaming pile and bit into it. Better to let Ellie turn the information over in her head than to offer an opinion.

I didn’t have long to wait for a response.

‘He
what?’
Ellie’s voice rose, her color following suit. ‘I can’t believe it! The
nerve
of that man! After the way he treated us? Well, he’s got another think coming if he thinks …’ She broke off her tirade as Sal, wiping her hands on a towel, calmly turned around from the stove.

‘Have you considered the possibility of going back, AJ?’ Her eyes found Ellie. ‘I know you had a lot of upsetting things happen there at the resort, but with the case still open, well, I’m sure that you would be of great help to Annie.’ She smiled at us, innocence on her face and in her voice. I wasn’t buying it for a minute.

‘Sal, I’m not sure if you actually know what happened to us there,’ I protested. ‘I mean, what with Ellie practically being killed in our own room and all those bodies, I’m not too crazy about getting back there any time soon.’

Ellie nodded her head in agreement. ‘Sal, there is way too much going on at that place. If Annie could guarantee that we’d be safe, I might consider it, but not until then. No way.’ She looked at me for confirmation and I nodded back. At least we could agree on one thing.

Now
that
was an interesting idea, I mused. If Annie was to give us some kind of protection, maybe invent another cousin who ‘happened’ to be hanging around in San Blanco in general and the Miramar in particular, I might consider it, ‘might’ being the operative word.

Sal’s sixth sense, the thing that had made her a bloodhound as a detective, must have felt my hesitation. She added, in a reasonable-sounding voice, ‘You know, Annie might just consider that. Especially if it meant that the case could be wrapped up.’

Great. Now my guilt was being played like a harp. My mother, bless her heart, had managed to hone that part of my psyche through looks of disappointment and deep sighs whenever I misbehaved, acting as though I had just crushed her life’s dream. All I needed now was a surrogate mother to push me into doing something I didn’t really want to do. Needed it like a hole in the head.

‘Fine,’ I heard myself saying ungraciously. ‘Let me call Stan back.’ Ellie’s look of amusement didn’t help my mood much either; I hated feeling like I had been tricked. ‘And I’ll let him know that the TWO of us will be there tomorrow.’ There. That would fix Ellie’s wagon, I thought smugly. If I had to do this, then she did, too.

Sal’s smile was like the sun. ‘I’ll give Annie a call right now. You girls are doing a good thing. I mean it.’ With that, she left the kitchen, heading to her office, presumably to use her satellite phone. That, or she didn’t want us to hear what she was going to say. There was no telling what she and Annie would cook up between the two of them.

I could feel Ellie staring at me. I took the high road. I also got in the first comment.

‘Well, you know how I get, Ellie,’ I said plaintively. ‘If someone needs something, I just can’t say no.’

Ellie snorted. ‘No joke. Isn’t that how you got involved with David?’

Score one for Ellie. She knew just how low to hit. My next move had to be conciliatory or I’d never hear the end of this.

‘Ellie, I really need you there with me.’ Good grief AJ, I scolded myself. You sound like a baby who can’t go into a dark room by herself.

It worked. Ellie’s ego is a tad larger than the norm, and she loves to be stroked and petted, told how much everyone else depends on her. She smiled at me magnanimously.

‘Of course you need me, AJ. It’s a good thing I’d already decided to do it.’

Now it was my turn to grunt derisively. ‘Whatever. Maybe if you could read your cards, we’d know what to expect.’

And with that dig, I walked back outside, breathing in the salt-laden breeze. I knew that I’d eventually have to go back home, but until then I’d suck it up. San Blanco had been good for a change, even if it had given me a few potholes along the way.

Ellie followed me but I ignored her, strolling out into the yard and toward the front of the house. I stopped near the end of the rutted driveway, staring across the field toward Annie’s house. If we could just get back in …

Ellie came up behind me. I could hear her soft breathing as she stood silently and I knew that she was either looking for a fight or a way to make up.

‘I need to go over to Annie’s,’ she announced, her voice close to my ear. I turned around to look at her, catching the tail end of a smile on her lips. Good – the fight had been shelved, at least for the time being. Knowing Ellie and myself, though, we’d get back to it eventually.

‘I was just thinking that myself,’ I admitted, turning back to look at the house. ‘There has to be some way to … hey, I wonder if Sal has a spare key? She could go with us, pull guard duty with that gun of hers, while we collect our things. What do you think?’

Ellie nodded thoughtfully. ‘That sounds like a better plan than I had. I figured we could just go back over the wall and jimmy the door or a window.’

I laughed; sometimes she can be so silly. The funny thing is, I think she was serious.

‘Let’s go talk to Sal. She probably has lunch ready for us anyways. Last one to the table is a rotten egg!’

I took off running before I’d finished talking, which was absolutely not fair but hey! That’s the way it goes in families sometimes.