Chasing Shadows
By Candace Waters
~~~~~~~~~~~`
Chapter 14
I took the highway heading north. It was drizzling now
and traffic was sparse as I drove. It was an hour
later when I finally pulled onto the gravel road next
to the construction site. The night I had dinner with
the Spiolie's at their home, Nancy had given me the
address of where Stanley's company was currently
building.
Not wanting to draw attention to the car, I cruised
along slowly--with only my parking lights on--and
would have turned them out completely, but not knowing
the grounds, the thought of ending up sitting in
a ditch for the rest of the night just didn't appeal
to me.
I pulled up to a stop beside a large elm, cut the
engine and turned off the lights. Running a hand along
my leg of my pants, I felt for the small .22 caliber I
had strapped there earlier, making sure it was secure,
then removed the.9mm I had from my belt holster, checked it
as well, and quickly slid it back into place.
Gabbing my binoculars, I stepped out of the car,
closing the door quietly behind me, and stood for a
few minutes looking, just taking a good look around. A
chainlink fence ran for miles along the construction
site, separating it from the highway. Posted about
were warning signs threatening a $300.00 dollar fine
if anyone was caught trespassing.
I drew in a nervous breath and glanced up. The skies
were dark with gray swirls of patchy fog. It had
stopped raining for the time being, and I knew that if I was
going to be doing any snooping around tonight, I had
better hurry.
Removing my gloves from my coat pocket, I quickly
tugged them on while peering through the fence into
the shadowy darkness. The air was damp, and smelled of
tar and wet concrete. Draping the binoculars
around my neck, I swung beneath the chain link fence
onto the construction site and started walking,
allowing the thin moonlight to light my way. I didn't
have a clue where I was headed, or what I would
find on the grounds. I was fully aware that Winslow
had said no company was using any Bauxite in
Chicago. But being the stubborn woman that I am, I
needed to see for myself what type of building
material Stanley Spiolie *was* working with.
The night air was brittle, stinging my nose and cheeks
as I walked, mentally kicking myself for having not
worn my scarf. I quickened my stride, passing up
stacks of planks, rolls of iron pipes, and mounds of
gravel and dirt the massive work trucks had shoveled
to the side, clearing a passage way into the site. The
night was deathly quiet, brought to life only by an
occasional car passing along the highway that ran
parallel to the site and the crunching of my boots on
the gravel road.
I must have walked a good quarter of a mile when I
rounded a slight bend. In the distance, I could see a
soft yellow light glowing. As I approached it, a large
office trailer came into view, nestled back amongst a
group of trees. Several of the muddy work trucks were
parked haphazardly about out front.
I slowed down a good distance away from the trailer
and approached with caution. Moving behind a small
diesel, I was close enough to hear the muffled
conversation going on inside. I assumed they were some
of the workers camping out for the night. Careful to stay
out of the lighting, I knelt down taking a careful
look around.
There were two vehicles parked on the side of the
trailer. One of them I recognized as Stanley's company
truck with the name 'Spiolie Construction,' spelled
out in huge white letters on the side. The other I
didn't recognize, but it was a sharp-looking electric blue
Mercedes Benz convertible. Cute.
I turned my attention back to the trailer peering
through the partially opened window. There were four
figures moving about inside. Two were sitting, the
other two were pacing the floor restlessly. One of
them I assumed was female, because of the long blond hair
that flowed about her shoulders every time she
moved, unless of course Fabio was out making a late
night publicity call. I pulled the binoculars up to
focus in and get a better look, and was surprised by
what I saw.
One of the figures pacing the floor was.. Heather?! If
my suspicions were correct, the tall fellow
pacing the floor with her would almost have to be
Stanley. I panned the binoculars over slowly to focus
on the man. Bingo. Just as I had suspected. Stanley
Spiolie.
I couldn't tell the identity of the two men who were
sitting, their faces were turned away from me, but
both of them had their hands tied behind their backs and
there seemed to be a heated conversation going on
between one of them and Heather.
A few words were exchanged between them, then Heather
shaking her blond mane seductively, pranced
over to where Stanley was and he reached for her. They
kissed passionately, sending the man she had
been arguing with into angry fits as he struggled hard
to free himself. I withdrew the binoculars quickly to
compose myself. What the *hell* was going on here?
Replacing the binoculars, I panned about the trailer,
and zoomed in again on the irate man who had been
arguing with Heather. He turned abruptly and I was
able to see his face more clearly. Startled, my mouth
dropped open in surprise. It was the man in the photo!
Nancy's missing brother Mike Calibre! His looked
angry, his eyes full of fire as he sat glaring at
Stanley.
"How could you do this to Nancy! You-You bas--" he
stopped abruptly and shot Heather a look. "How
could you do this to me Heather? I loved you!" he
shouted.
Biting her lip, Heather shrugged. "I'm sorry
Mike...really I am. But you see...I-I never really
loved you. "
"But we were married for God's sake!" Mike shouted.
I arched a brow. Married?
Heather held up a small hand, flashing the huge rock
on her finger, the one I noticed she was wearing
when I first met her in the department store. "Now
I'll be a rich widow thank you very much." she
laughed, wiggling her fingers in front of his face.
Mike began to struggle again.
The man sitting beside Mike was shifting restlessly on
his seat then broke in quickly as if trying to defuse
the situation.
"Look..ah..." he stammered, " Ah....w-why don't the
two of you just..ah..just let him go? Nobody's been
hurt."."
Puzzled, I lowered the binoculars. That stutter, that
slight southern drawl. I frowned. Why did I know that
voice?
I replaced the binoculars quickly just in time to see
Stanley rush across the trailer, and with a swift back
hand, smack the man across the face, knocking him out
his chair. I was able to get a real good look at the
man now and almost swallowed my tongue. Hobson!
What the hell was going on?
Rubbing his knuckles, Stanley glanced suspiciously
over at Heather, "You sure you don't know him?" he
asked.
"I told you. I've never seen him before in my life! "
Heather snapped.
His gaze still fixed on her, Stanley pulled a gun from
his coat pocket and held it on the two men. "Well,
now we have two to get rid of!" he scoffed.
Heather blew out an impatient breath then rolled her
eyes. She stalked over to where Hobson was still on the
floor and stood over him. "Who are you and what the
hell are you doing here?" she snapped.
That was what I was wondering!
I looked around and spotted one of the dump trucks much
closer to the trailer and crouched over to it, then
slid on my stomach beneath it. From where I was, I
could now see and hear much better what was going
on.
"So what now?" Mike was asking, "Kill me?"
"You're already dead, remember? " Heather laughed,
"You committed suicide. We're just making it legal."
Mike, looking puzzled, stopped struggling to stare up
at her. "But our honeymoon in Mexico. Th-That meant
nothing to you!"
"I had to do whatever it took," Heather glanced over
at Stanley to catch his reaction. Stanley looked both
nervous and upset, then walked away.
"You had this planned all along didn't you? " Mike
sneered. "Y-You had this sick plot planned all along,
to marry me and then kill me. And all for my money ?
How could you--! I was willing to give you
everything!"
So where did Hobson fit into this cozy little
pictured? I wondered. Turning my attention back to
Hobson, he was still on th floor struggling to sit up. His
lip, cut in the corner was bleeding, his face was
swollen on the side, and I grimaced at the sight, hating to see
him hurt, feeling foolish for even caring. I drew in a
frustrated breath. Dammit Hobson!
By now Hobson had managed to sit up. Breathing
heavily, he struggled to speak. "L-Look..." he
sputtered, "I-I called the cops before I came. Why don't you just
let us go be-before someone really gets hurt, huh?"
The sharp snapping of a twig sounded suddenly from
behind me and my stomach lurched. I had been so
engrossed in what was going on inside of the trailer,
I had taken my eyes off of Stanley. I had the
sickening feeling that I wasn't alone.
My eyes searched frantically about for Stanley's tall
frame inside of the trailer. He wasn't there.
On my stomach, I was not in a good position to easily
retrieve my gun. Before I could complete the
thought, someone grabbed me roughly by the ankles and
began pulling me out from beneath the truck.
Grasping onto an iron axle beneath the truck, I held
on as tight as I could, but the smoothness of my
gloves made it difficult for me to hold my grip and
with a violent force, I was yanked out, my chin
scrubbing hard against the rough gravel of the ground.
I rolled over quickly onto my back and found
myself staring up into the startled face of Stanley
Spiolie, his tall frame silhouetted against the night
sky.
Looking puzzled, he stood looking down at me,
scratching his head. "Toni?"
"Stanley." I sputtered, clearing my throat, dabbing at
my bleeding chin with the back of my hand. What
else was there to say. I was busted.
Running a hand nervously over his face, he glanced
over at the trailer window, then back down at me.
"H-How much did you hear?"
"Not much. " I lied, wrinkling my nose at him all the
while hoping he hadn't discovered my gun strapped
to my leg.
"You shouldn't have come here,." he said, looking
nervously around. His voice had taken on an edgy
husky tone and I didn't like the sound of it. My eyes
dropped to his large callused hands clutching his .32.
"You shouldn't have been snooping around," he was
glaring at me now. His statement had changed.
"You're right, " I said. I checked my watch and drew
in a tired breath. "Actually, it is rather late, and
past my bedtime, so if you don't mind..." I made a move to
get up, but he pushed me back down with his
booted foot.
"Ooh no you don't," he said, shaking his head, looking
as if he didn't know exactly what to do with me. He
glanced back over towards the trailer again. "S-So you
saw Michael?"
I didn't answer, my mind was racing while trying to
plan my escape.
"You know I can't let you go now," he sadly, shaking
his head and apparently, he had grown fond of me
too.
"Oohh, Toni. Sweet Toni. You know, I rather liked
you," he whispered, running a hand through his hair.
"But you know waayy too much."
I had grown fond of him too, but it wouldn't be the
first time I had been disappointed, or the last. My
eyes
were fixed to his large callused hands that was
fidgeting nervously with his gun.
" Hey, I was only doing my job. Remember?" I said,
trying to stall. " This is what you hired me for,
right?"
Me and my big mouth. He reached down suddenly, grabbed
me by my hair, and began pulling me up
towards him. My scalp felt on fire as I slapped and
tugged at his fingers. His face was close enough to
mine that I could smell his breath. With the palm of
my hand, I hit him hard, with a quick upward thrust
to his nose, and he released me instantly, roaring in
pain. Staggering backwards, he clutched at his face as
I fell backward onto the ground.
With a hit like that, I knew I had broken his nose. I
also knew that I couldn't allow him to get hold of me
again. I was no match for a man of his size.
I scrambled to get up, but he was on me again,
towering over me, blood spurting all over his face and
shirt. He was shouting words I didn't even know
existed.
"You bitch!" he finally spewed, grabbing me by my left
leg with hands that had power of a vice grip. With
my right leg, I drew back my knee and with all the
force that I could muster, gave him a quick sharp
thrust with the heel my foot, connecting squarely with
his family jewels, and I'm not talking rubies here.
The cry he let out sounded something like a cross
between an angry elephant and a pterodactyl, again, I
was immediately released.
While Stanley held and pampered himself, I was able to
scramble away up an embankment of some sort
and into the darkness, heading deliberately away from
the trailer. I ran until I stumbled upon what looked
like a huge graveyard for some of the construction
trucks locked down for the night. I quickly ducked
behind one of those large Caterpillar trucks, the kind
with the huge iron jaws, then slumped down,
pressing my head back against it to catch my breath. I
was panting hard, my chest felt like it was on fire,
and so did my face. Remembering the cut, I carefully
touched the area, feeling along my jaw where the
flesh had been torn. Blood covered my fingers. Great!
Remembering my guns, I check frantically, patting
my leg where I had strapped my little .22cal. It
wasn't there. I panicked, feeling both legs. Where the
hell was my gun!? Realizing that I must have lost it when I
gave Stanley that kick. I quickly removed the
.9mm from my holster, cocked it, then slumped back
against the truck to rest. I clenched my eyes tight
and waited, thinking about everything I had heard. So,
Mike Calibru *was* alive. Nancy had been right in
her suspicions all long. What she didn't know was that
her loving husband was in on a plot to get rid of
her brother permanently. And Hobson! Arrghh! The very
name sent an angry surge throughout every
nerve in my body. Things were beginning to make sense
to me now. He was at that department store to see
Heather. But she had played him like a fiddle. A
second fiddle at that. Serves him right!
Things had gotten a little too quiet out there. I knew
that Stanley wasn't going to let me off that easy and
let me go. I knew too much. He'd have to kill me too.
By the light of the moon I glanced at my watch. It was
2:00 am. Where the hell was he? Panic beginning
to stir. I leaned forward, peering through the
darkness, trying to figure out where I was. I must
have been
somewhere up high I could see the head lights from the
traffic on the freeway below and was feeling very
uncomfortable about it. I turned to look back down the
path that I had come. Surely Stanley knew this
construction grounds like the back of his hand. I
wondered about the fate of Hobson and Mike and had
hoped to steer Stanley away from them and the trailer.
Swallowing hard, I held my breath listening for
footsteps.
In the distance, the sound of an engine starting up
caught my attention, and I strained my ears, trying to
locate its direction. It wasn't necessary. I could see
Stanley's truck cruising slowly in my direction,
headlights on high-beams, a flashlight beam panning
out from the driver's window, sweeping
the grounds. I moved back quickly, pressing my head
firmly back against the truck. I could feel panic
beginning to stir and my survival instincts kicking
in. I could hear the sound of my heart thumping as I
waited.
Ironically, the truck came to a stop just a few feet
ahead of the diesel I was hidden behind, and I froze,
not
wanting to draw attention to any movement. Stanley had
probably traced my steps in the dirt. Smart.
There was the sound of a car door opening and closing
and then the sounds of boots shuffling slowly in
my direction.
"Toni!" I heard him call out my name.
"C'mon Toni!" he pleaded sweetly.
That's Brigatti to you! Creep! I muttered to myself.
"Toni, I know you're out here somewhere! Come on out.
Lets talk!"
About what? The weather? I inched back a little hoping
the headlight from the truck hadn't caught me. I
slid beneath the truck, the huge tires shielding me.
From the angle I was in, I could see Heather seated in
the truck on the passenger side. She was crying, her
face flushed and scared. I noticed some movement
from the back of the truck and figured Hobson and
Michael must have been in back. How badly hurt, I
didn't know. Heather had totally lost it now and was
crying uncontrollably. God, how I just wanted to tell
her to shut up! The sudden movement of Stanley's boots
caught my attention again. They were moving
closer now, and I held my breath as they came to an
abrupt stop just in back of me. I was certain he had
discovered me. I could actually hear him breathing.
"I ' ll let you go Toni, just come out and maybe we
can arrange some financial deal. Remember that
little beach house that you were talking about!" His
voice loomed loudly right above me.
I held my gun tight, but needed a good position and a
good aim. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted
a rock about the size of a small golf ball and waited
until he called out my name again then took
advantage
of the noise and slid my hand over to grab it.
" You're a very clever lady Toni! " he complimented, "
But it's no use. Come on out and lets talk! "
When Frank would take me fishing, he taught me how to
flick a rock with the precise precision so that it
skipped beautifully along the top of the water. In the
position that I was in, it was vital that I didn't
make a
sound and that the rock didn't hit the bottom of the
truck.
Taking aim and with one smooth motion I slung the rock
so that it whisked smoothly past his legs,
landing in the brush behind him. Stanley spun around
quickly and fired his weapon into the darkness, I
took advantage of his distraction and darted out from
behind the truck, rolling over quickly, the bullets
from Stanley's gun just missing me as he spun back
around and fired. I landed in a crouched position on
one knee with my gun pointed squarely up at his face.
"Hold it!" I shouted.
Caught off guard, he froze.
"Toss your gun into that pile of gravel!" I ordered
sharply, my gaze burning into his.
His statement was startled, his eyes reminding me of a
deer trapped in on-coming headlights. For a long
moment our eyes locked and from the looks of things, I
had really done a job on him. His nose was
bleeding profusely and slightly off center. That, and
the front of his pants were also bloodied. It'll
probably
be a long time before he ever used that thing again.
"Drop it Stanley!" I ordered again, "Now!"
In the background, Heather had completely lost it
egging Stanley to just go ahead and shoot me. With all
the noise she was making I was tempted to shoot her instead,
to put us all out of our misery. Sheessh!
"Believe me Stanley-" I panted out another warning," I
know how to use this thing!"
By now heart was pumping so hard, I thought it would
burst through my chest. All of my police training
had come full force and I was more than willing to do
whatever I had to do to survive. Stanley's
mannerism was edgy, his eyes burning into mine while
he, I suppose, pondered my ability. He held a sick
grin on his face as he clutched his gun. Now either
this guy didn't believe me or he was just plain
foolish, I don't know, but whatever the reason, he made his
move and I made mine.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Epilogue 15
It has been a month since the Mike Calibre's suicide
case was solved and it was a long while before Nancy
could accept the fact that her husband had cheated on
her, and with her brother's fiancee' no less. Her only
consolation was the fact that her brother was alive.
Much to everyone's surprise, Mike and Heather had
run off to Mexico and had gotten married, which would
explain that huge rock I had noticed on her finger
when I first met her. It was Mike she had been
contacting down in Mexico. In about a month, all of
Mike's estate would have been hers.
After Mikes murder, she and Stanley had planned to run
off to Switzerland together to continue with
Stanley's little construction company, building cheap
housing and furthering his wealth.
Stanley was lucky that it was his gun I was aiming for
and not him. I could easily have blown him away.
He would stand trial for the murder plot and lovely
Heather was going to spend a long time painting her
nails in jail for her participation in this whole
thing. Mike of course, was going to have to answer to
charges that he faked his own death. What some people
will do for love!
Hobson had taken a pretty bad beating. With one eye
swollen and through puff lips he tried to
explain his situation, that his jeep had broken down
which is why he was there that night. He said that the
phone call he had made was to contact the police to
report that his car had broken down. Anybody who
believes that story, well, I have some swamp land to
sell them. It's funny how Hobson's jeep seemed to
start up just fine when we got ready to leave. There
may have been some truth to his little story though,
because not long after I had things pretty much under
control, Winslow appeared suddenly with back up.
I never did find out why there was a naked woman in
Hobson's apartment. Not that it was any of my
business and I didn't asked. He really pisses me off!
I was paid a hefty sum of money for the Spiolie case
and I'm still thinking about saving up to buy myself
that little beach house over looking the beach. In the
back of my mind, I know that I have another matter
that needs to be dealt with, and it would be foolish
to put it off much longer. I was thinking about maybe
taking some time off to check out this little bed and
breakfast place over in New York City. I hear the
hospitality there is quite warming. Maybe do some
cooking, a little fishing.....Arrghhh!
The End ~~ *
By Candace Waters
~~~~~~~~~~~`
Chapter 14
I took the highway heading north. It was drizzling now
and traffic was sparse as I drove. It was an hour
later when I finally pulled onto the gravel road next
to the construction site. The night I had dinner with
the Spiolie's at their home, Nancy had given me the
address of where Stanley's company was currently
building.
Not wanting to draw attention to the car, I cruised
along slowly--with only my parking lights on--and
would have turned them out completely, but not knowing
the grounds, the thought of ending up sitting in
a ditch for the rest of the night just didn't appeal
to me.
I pulled up to a stop beside a large elm, cut the
engine and turned off the lights. Running a hand along
my leg of my pants, I felt for the small .22 caliber I
had strapped there earlier, making sure it was secure,
then removed the.9mm I had from my belt holster, checked it
as well, and quickly slid it back into place.
Gabbing my binoculars, I stepped out of the car,
closing the door quietly behind me, and stood for a
few minutes looking, just taking a good look around. A
chainlink fence ran for miles along the construction
site, separating it from the highway. Posted about
were warning signs threatening a $300.00 dollar fine
if anyone was caught trespassing.
I drew in a nervous breath and glanced up. The skies
were dark with gray swirls of patchy fog. It had
stopped raining for the time being, and I knew that if I was
going to be doing any snooping around tonight, I had
better hurry.
Removing my gloves from my coat pocket, I quickly
tugged them on while peering through the fence into
the shadowy darkness. The air was damp, and smelled of
tar and wet concrete. Draping the binoculars
around my neck, I swung beneath the chain link fence
onto the construction site and started walking,
allowing the thin moonlight to light my way. I didn't
have a clue where I was headed, or what I would
find on the grounds. I was fully aware that Winslow
had said no company was using any Bauxite in
Chicago. But being the stubborn woman that I am, I
needed to see for myself what type of building
material Stanley Spiolie *was* working with.
The night air was brittle, stinging my nose and cheeks
as I walked, mentally kicking myself for having not
worn my scarf. I quickened my stride, passing up
stacks of planks, rolls of iron pipes, and mounds of
gravel and dirt the massive work trucks had shoveled
to the side, clearing a passage way into the site. The
night was deathly quiet, brought to life only by an
occasional car passing along the highway that ran
parallel to the site and the crunching of my boots on
the gravel road.
I must have walked a good quarter of a mile when I
rounded a slight bend. In the distance, I could see a
soft yellow light glowing. As I approached it, a large
office trailer came into view, nestled back amongst a
group of trees. Several of the muddy work trucks were
parked haphazardly about out front.
I slowed down a good distance away from the trailer
and approached with caution. Moving behind a small
diesel, I was close enough to hear the muffled
conversation going on inside. I assumed they were some
of the workers camping out for the night. Careful to stay
out of the lighting, I knelt down taking a careful
look around.
There were two vehicles parked on the side of the
trailer. One of them I recognized as Stanley's company
truck with the name 'Spiolie Construction,' spelled
out in huge white letters on the side. The other I
didn't recognize, but it was a sharp-looking electric blue
Mercedes Benz convertible. Cute.
I turned my attention back to the trailer peering
through the partially opened window. There were four
figures moving about inside. Two were sitting, the
other two were pacing the floor restlessly. One of
them I assumed was female, because of the long blond hair
that flowed about her shoulders every time she
moved, unless of course Fabio was out making a late
night publicity call. I pulled the binoculars up to
focus in and get a better look, and was surprised by
what I saw.
One of the figures pacing the floor was.. Heather?! If
my suspicions were correct, the tall fellow
pacing the floor with her would almost have to be
Stanley. I panned the binoculars over slowly to focus
on the man. Bingo. Just as I had suspected. Stanley
Spiolie.
I couldn't tell the identity of the two men who were
sitting, their faces were turned away from me, but
both of them had their hands tied behind their backs and
there seemed to be a heated conversation going on
between one of them and Heather.
A few words were exchanged between them, then Heather
shaking her blond mane seductively, pranced
over to where Stanley was and he reached for her. They
kissed passionately, sending the man she had
been arguing with into angry fits as he struggled hard
to free himself. I withdrew the binoculars quickly to
compose myself. What the *hell* was going on here?
Replacing the binoculars, I panned about the trailer,
and zoomed in again on the irate man who had been
arguing with Heather. He turned abruptly and I was
able to see his face more clearly. Startled, my mouth
dropped open in surprise. It was the man in the photo!
Nancy's missing brother Mike Calibre! His looked
angry, his eyes full of fire as he sat glaring at
Stanley.
"How could you do this to Nancy! You-You bas--" he
stopped abruptly and shot Heather a look. "How
could you do this to me Heather? I loved you!" he
shouted.
Biting her lip, Heather shrugged. "I'm sorry
Mike...really I am. But you see...I-I never really
loved you. "
"But we were married for God's sake!" Mike shouted.
I arched a brow. Married?
Heather held up a small hand, flashing the huge rock
on her finger, the one I noticed she was wearing
when I first met her in the department store. "Now
I'll be a rich widow thank you very much." she
laughed, wiggling her fingers in front of his face.
Mike began to struggle again.
The man sitting beside Mike was shifting restlessly on
his seat then broke in quickly as if trying to defuse
the situation.
"Look..ah..." he stammered, " Ah....w-why don't the
two of you just..ah..just let him go? Nobody's been
hurt."."
Puzzled, I lowered the binoculars. That stutter, that
slight southern drawl. I frowned. Why did I know that
voice?
I replaced the binoculars quickly just in time to see
Stanley rush across the trailer, and with a swift back
hand, smack the man across the face, knocking him out
his chair. I was able to get a real good look at the
man now and almost swallowed my tongue. Hobson!
What the hell was going on?
Rubbing his knuckles, Stanley glanced suspiciously
over at Heather, "You sure you don't know him?" he
asked.
"I told you. I've never seen him before in my life! "
Heather snapped.
His gaze still fixed on her, Stanley pulled a gun from
his coat pocket and held it on the two men. "Well,
now we have two to get rid of!" he scoffed.
Heather blew out an impatient breath then rolled her
eyes. She stalked over to where Hobson was still on the
floor and stood over him. "Who are you and what the
hell are you doing here?" she snapped.
That was what I was wondering!
I looked around and spotted one of the dump trucks much
closer to the trailer and crouched over to it, then
slid on my stomach beneath it. From where I was, I
could now see and hear much better what was going
on.
"So what now?" Mike was asking, "Kill me?"
"You're already dead, remember? " Heather laughed,
"You committed suicide. We're just making it legal."
Mike, looking puzzled, stopped struggling to stare up
at her. "But our honeymoon in Mexico. Th-That meant
nothing to you!"
"I had to do whatever it took," Heather glanced over
at Stanley to catch his reaction. Stanley looked both
nervous and upset, then walked away.
"You had this planned all along didn't you? " Mike
sneered. "Y-You had this sick plot planned all along,
to marry me and then kill me. And all for my money ?
How could you--! I was willing to give you
everything!"
So where did Hobson fit into this cozy little
pictured? I wondered. Turning my attention back to
Hobson, he was still on th floor struggling to sit up. His
lip, cut in the corner was bleeding, his face was
swollen on the side, and I grimaced at the sight, hating to see
him hurt, feeling foolish for even caring. I drew in a
frustrated breath. Dammit Hobson!
By now Hobson had managed to sit up. Breathing
heavily, he struggled to speak. "L-Look..." he
sputtered, "I-I called the cops before I came. Why don't you just
let us go be-before someone really gets hurt, huh?"
The sharp snapping of a twig sounded suddenly from
behind me and my stomach lurched. I had been so
engrossed in what was going on inside of the trailer,
I had taken my eyes off of Stanley. I had the
sickening feeling that I wasn't alone.
My eyes searched frantically about for Stanley's tall
frame inside of the trailer. He wasn't there.
On my stomach, I was not in a good position to easily
retrieve my gun. Before I could complete the
thought, someone grabbed me roughly by the ankles and
began pulling me out from beneath the truck.
Grasping onto an iron axle beneath the truck, I held
on as tight as I could, but the smoothness of my
gloves made it difficult for me to hold my grip and
with a violent force, I was yanked out, my chin
scrubbing hard against the rough gravel of the ground.
I rolled over quickly onto my back and found
myself staring up into the startled face of Stanley
Spiolie, his tall frame silhouetted against the night
sky.
Looking puzzled, he stood looking down at me,
scratching his head. "Toni?"
"Stanley." I sputtered, clearing my throat, dabbing at
my bleeding chin with the back of my hand. What
else was there to say. I was busted.
Running a hand nervously over his face, he glanced
over at the trailer window, then back down at me.
"H-How much did you hear?"
"Not much. " I lied, wrinkling my nose at him all the
while hoping he hadn't discovered my gun strapped
to my leg.
"You shouldn't have come here,." he said, looking
nervously around. His voice had taken on an edgy
husky tone and I didn't like the sound of it. My eyes
dropped to his large callused hands clutching his .32.
"You shouldn't have been snooping around," he was
glaring at me now. His statement had changed.
"You're right, " I said. I checked my watch and drew
in a tired breath. "Actually, it is rather late, and
past my bedtime, so if you don't mind..." I made a move to
get up, but he pushed me back down with his
booted foot.
"Ooh no you don't," he said, shaking his head, looking
as if he didn't know exactly what to do with me. He
glanced back over towards the trailer again. "S-So you
saw Michael?"
I didn't answer, my mind was racing while trying to
plan my escape.
"You know I can't let you go now," he sadly, shaking
his head and apparently, he had grown fond of me
too.
"Oohh, Toni. Sweet Toni. You know, I rather liked
you," he whispered, running a hand through his hair.
"But you know waayy too much."
I had grown fond of him too, but it wouldn't be the
first time I had been disappointed, or the last. My
eyes
were fixed to his large callused hands that was
fidgeting nervously with his gun.
" Hey, I was only doing my job. Remember?" I said,
trying to stall. " This is what you hired me for,
right?"
Me and my big mouth. He reached down suddenly, grabbed
me by my hair, and began pulling me up
towards him. My scalp felt on fire as I slapped and
tugged at his fingers. His face was close enough to
mine that I could smell his breath. With the palm of
my hand, I hit him hard, with a quick upward thrust
to his nose, and he released me instantly, roaring in
pain. Staggering backwards, he clutched at his face as
I fell backward onto the ground.
With a hit like that, I knew I had broken his nose. I
also knew that I couldn't allow him to get hold of me
again. I was no match for a man of his size.
I scrambled to get up, but he was on me again,
towering over me, blood spurting all over his face and
shirt. He was shouting words I didn't even know
existed.
"You bitch!" he finally spewed, grabbing me by my left
leg with hands that had power of a vice grip. With
my right leg, I drew back my knee and with all the
force that I could muster, gave him a quick sharp
thrust with the heel my foot, connecting squarely with
his family jewels, and I'm not talking rubies here.
The cry he let out sounded something like a cross
between an angry elephant and a pterodactyl, again, I
was immediately released.
While Stanley held and pampered himself, I was able to
scramble away up an embankment of some sort
and into the darkness, heading deliberately away from
the trailer. I ran until I stumbled upon what looked
like a huge graveyard for some of the construction
trucks locked down for the night. I quickly ducked
behind one of those large Caterpillar trucks, the kind
with the huge iron jaws, then slumped down,
pressing my head back against it to catch my breath. I
was panting hard, my chest felt like it was on fire,
and so did my face. Remembering the cut, I carefully
touched the area, feeling along my jaw where the
flesh had been torn. Blood covered my fingers. Great!
Remembering my guns, I check frantically, patting
my leg where I had strapped my little .22cal. It
wasn't there. I panicked, feeling both legs. Where the
hell was my gun!? Realizing that I must have lost it when I
gave Stanley that kick. I quickly removed the
.9mm from my holster, cocked it, then slumped back
against the truck to rest. I clenched my eyes tight
and waited, thinking about everything I had heard. So,
Mike Calibru *was* alive. Nancy had been right in
her suspicions all long. What she didn't know was that
her loving husband was in on a plot to get rid of
her brother permanently. And Hobson! Arrghh! The very
name sent an angry surge throughout every
nerve in my body. Things were beginning to make sense
to me now. He was at that department store to see
Heather. But she had played him like a fiddle. A
second fiddle at that. Serves him right!
Things had gotten a little too quiet out there. I knew
that Stanley wasn't going to let me off that easy and
let me go. I knew too much. He'd have to kill me too.
By the light of the moon I glanced at my watch. It was
2:00 am. Where the hell was he? Panic beginning
to stir. I leaned forward, peering through the
darkness, trying to figure out where I was. I must
have been
somewhere up high I could see the head lights from the
traffic on the freeway below and was feeling very
uncomfortable about it. I turned to look back down the
path that I had come. Surely Stanley knew this
construction grounds like the back of his hand. I
wondered about the fate of Hobson and Mike and had
hoped to steer Stanley away from them and the trailer.
Swallowing hard, I held my breath listening for
footsteps.
In the distance, the sound of an engine starting up
caught my attention, and I strained my ears, trying to
locate its direction. It wasn't necessary. I could see
Stanley's truck cruising slowly in my direction,
headlights on high-beams, a flashlight beam panning
out from the driver's window, sweeping
the grounds. I moved back quickly, pressing my head
firmly back against the truck. I could feel panic
beginning to stir and my survival instincts kicking
in. I could hear the sound of my heart thumping as I
waited.
Ironically, the truck came to a stop just a few feet
ahead of the diesel I was hidden behind, and I froze,
not
wanting to draw attention to any movement. Stanley had
probably traced my steps in the dirt. Smart.
There was the sound of a car door opening and closing
and then the sounds of boots shuffling slowly in
my direction.
"Toni!" I heard him call out my name.
"C'mon Toni!" he pleaded sweetly.
That's Brigatti to you! Creep! I muttered to myself.
"Toni, I know you're out here somewhere! Come on out.
Lets talk!"
About what? The weather? I inched back a little hoping
the headlight from the truck hadn't caught me. I
slid beneath the truck, the huge tires shielding me.
From the angle I was in, I could see Heather seated in
the truck on the passenger side. She was crying, her
face flushed and scared. I noticed some movement
from the back of the truck and figured Hobson and
Michael must have been in back. How badly hurt, I
didn't know. Heather had totally lost it now and was
crying uncontrollably. God, how I just wanted to tell
her to shut up! The sudden movement of Stanley's boots
caught my attention again. They were moving
closer now, and I held my breath as they came to an
abrupt stop just in back of me. I was certain he had
discovered me. I could actually hear him breathing.
"I ' ll let you go Toni, just come out and maybe we
can arrange some financial deal. Remember that
little beach house that you were talking about!" His
voice loomed loudly right above me.
I held my gun tight, but needed a good position and a
good aim. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted
a rock about the size of a small golf ball and waited
until he called out my name again then took
advantage
of the noise and slid my hand over to grab it.
" You're a very clever lady Toni! " he complimented, "
But it's no use. Come on out and lets talk! "
When Frank would take me fishing, he taught me how to
flick a rock with the precise precision so that it
skipped beautifully along the top of the water. In the
position that I was in, it was vital that I didn't
make a
sound and that the rock didn't hit the bottom of the
truck.
Taking aim and with one smooth motion I slung the rock
so that it whisked smoothly past his legs,
landing in the brush behind him. Stanley spun around
quickly and fired his weapon into the darkness, I
took advantage of his distraction and darted out from
behind the truck, rolling over quickly, the bullets
from Stanley's gun just missing me as he spun back
around and fired. I landed in a crouched position on
one knee with my gun pointed squarely up at his face.
"Hold it!" I shouted.
Caught off guard, he froze.
"Toss your gun into that pile of gravel!" I ordered
sharply, my gaze burning into his.
His statement was startled, his eyes reminding me of a
deer trapped in on-coming headlights. For a long
moment our eyes locked and from the looks of things, I
had really done a job on him. His nose was
bleeding profusely and slightly off center. That, and
the front of his pants were also bloodied. It'll
probably
be a long time before he ever used that thing again.
"Drop it Stanley!" I ordered again, "Now!"
In the background, Heather had completely lost it
egging Stanley to just go ahead and shoot me. With all
the noise she was making I was tempted to shoot her instead,
to put us all out of our misery. Sheessh!
"Believe me Stanley-" I panted out another warning," I
know how to use this thing!"
By now heart was pumping so hard, I thought it would
burst through my chest. All of my police training
had come full force and I was more than willing to do
whatever I had to do to survive. Stanley's
mannerism was edgy, his eyes burning into mine while
he, I suppose, pondered my ability. He held a sick
grin on his face as he clutched his gun. Now either
this guy didn't believe me or he was just plain
foolish, I don't know, but whatever the reason, he made his
move and I made mine.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Epilogue 15
It has been a month since the Mike Calibre's suicide
case was solved and it was a long while before Nancy
could accept the fact that her husband had cheated on
her, and with her brother's fiancee' no less. Her only
consolation was the fact that her brother was alive.
Much to everyone's surprise, Mike and Heather had
run off to Mexico and had gotten married, which would
explain that huge rock I had noticed on her finger
when I first met her. It was Mike she had been
contacting down in Mexico. In about a month, all of
Mike's estate would have been hers.
After Mikes murder, she and Stanley had planned to run
off to Switzerland together to continue with
Stanley's little construction company, building cheap
housing and furthering his wealth.
Stanley was lucky that it was his gun I was aiming for
and not him. I could easily have blown him away.
He would stand trial for the murder plot and lovely
Heather was going to spend a long time painting her
nails in jail for her participation in this whole
thing. Mike of course, was going to have to answer to
charges that he faked his own death. What some people
will do for love!
Hobson had taken a pretty bad beating. With one eye
swollen and through puff lips he tried to
explain his situation, that his jeep had broken down
which is why he was there that night. He said that the
phone call he had made was to contact the police to
report that his car had broken down. Anybody who
believes that story, well, I have some swamp land to
sell them. It's funny how Hobson's jeep seemed to
start up just fine when we got ready to leave. There
may have been some truth to his little story though,
because not long after I had things pretty much under
control, Winslow appeared suddenly with back up.
I never did find out why there was a naked woman in
Hobson's apartment. Not that it was any of my
business and I didn't asked. He really pisses me off!
I was paid a hefty sum of money for the Spiolie case
and I'm still thinking about saving up to buy myself
that little beach house over looking the beach. In the
back of my mind, I know that I have another matter
that needs to be dealt with, and it would be foolish
to put it off much longer. I was thinking about maybe
taking some time off to check out this little bed and
breakfast place over in New York City. I hear the
hospitality there is quite warming. Maybe do some
cooking, a little fishing.....Arrghhh!
The End ~~ *