A Lethal Time (A Samantha Jamison Mystery Volume 4) (20 page)

Chapter 87

What Plan B?

If I made the necessary phone calls, I could still recoup my plan to trap Sarah that I had intended in the first place. But then I stopped. Wait a minute! Was I rearranging chairs on a sinking ship? What was I thinking? There was no longer a grand plan, A or B for that matter. Jacob had thrown me off. Was he working for Sarah? Most likely.

I really didn’t know who else was involved, did I? Who was going to join Jacob at Sally’s house? It could be anybody. Plus I had to get hold of Martha and everyone else to tell them not to meet me back there. Going back to Sally’s farmhouse was clearly dangerous.

I didn’t want to go the police route, at least, not yet. If only I could get hold of Clay. At least I’d know the ladies were safe and away from the farmhouse. I tried to call him on my cell. Still, no signal! I couldn’t get in the Fielding’s door fast enough. Major had a gun. Another gun would be more than welcome, especially since I had no idea where Jacob was. I started to run.

By the time I made it to their side door, I was out of breath. It seemed that all I was doing lately was running out of breath. I was also running out of time and convinced that the paths through the woods were used to cut through these properties without being noticed. It worked perfectly, especially for anyone thoroughly familiar with which way to go and how long it took. Jacob knew it, but hopefully wouldn’t figure out that now I realized it, too.

And believe me, there were enough people around here who knew which way was safe and which way wasn’t. Now it was up to me to figure out who was who. Not so easy when everyone was throwing me off by surprising me with his or her unexpected behavior.

But then again, I seemed to thrive on being thrown the unexpected and running with it. This time though, I was running more than usual, which should have been a clear warning signal for me to take precautions and keep my nose to the ground so to speak.

I bent forward, resting my hands on my knees to catch my breath. I didn’t want to scare the two elderly Fieldings, but I needed to get to their phone and get some backup. I smiled. I was finally safe. I could call Clay.

Chapter 88

Knock, Knock, Who’s There?

I stood there patiently waiting for someone to answer the door. I always referred to it as hurry up and wait. I suffered from that condition on a daily basis. So whenever I had all the time in the world, things sailed smoothly. Now was not one of those times.

I started to bang on the door, desperate to get in and get to a phone. Finally, after about three minutes, someone opened it. It was Major, wearing, are you ready for this, a dressing gown and scarf. I had stepped into a Humphrey Bogart movie.

Of course, at that particular moment, he could have been wearing a bright red clown suit and it wouldn’t have fazed me. I needed to make some calls. I grabbed the door from his grasp and rushed by him looking around for a phone.

“What the…” he said, surprised by my presence.

“I know, I know, you weren’t expecting me. I’ll explain in a minute. I need to find your phone first to make a call.”

“Whatever for?” he asked, closing the door.

I turned back. “I need to warn Clay. Jacob is after me!”

“Why would he be after you? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either. Well, no, I guess I do. It looks like he’s involved with all the clear-cutting going on in this area.”

I wasn’t sure about the bikes, so I said nothing.

“You don’t say!” said Major, completely surprised.

“He might also be involved with someone else, too. I didn’t hang around to find out who. I took off. Being alone, I grabbed the only mode of transportation, Amanda.”

“Why would you be calling Clay and not the police?”

“I don’t want to scare whoever it is away just yet.”

“You don’t?” he asked, still somewhat confused.

“No, but I intend to find them before it’s too late.”

“Too late for what?” he asked now intrigued.

“Time for whoever else is guilty to skip town.”

“Who did you originally have in mind?”

“Well, it sure wasn’t Jacob, I can tell you that.”

“I’m quite surprised myself,” said Major.

“Don’t be. The guy was a total fake.”

“But he’s such a good artist.”

“Trust me, don’t let that fool you.”

“…Why would he be involved in all of this?”

“That’s what I can’t figure out,” I said.

“Now, what is this related to again?”

“Sarah’s missing forests, remember? The clear-cutting.”

“Oh! Right! …But how did you figure that out?”

“Someone in town saw the same lumber truck driver talking to Jacob in front of his house.”

“Who? …Is that all you have?” Major asked skeptically.

“It’s the exact same driver spotted being paid a wad of cash by Robinson before he pulled his truck away.”

Major stepped back. “…How clever you figured it out!”

Chapter 89

Who Saw Who Do What?

“And how unfortunate,” said a voice from the hallway.

I turned around to have a look and found myself face to face with Millicent, who was holding a gun. “I…”

“You don’t have to explain further,” she said. “Jacob already called us from Sally and Tom’s farm. That idiot went in circles looking for you on foot in the dark.”

“But the last I saw, he was riding Boss.”

“The moron didn’t realize that was a mistake.”

I tried not to, but couldn’t help picturing it and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Major asked.

“After Boss, I’m surprised he could still talk.”

Major shrugged. “He’s talented, but not very smart.”

Even though the situation was heading south, I was now more curious than ever. “What surprises me is the two of you,” I said, looking from one to the other, still amazed.

“Why?” Millicent asked, affronted. “Do we look that decrepit and stupid? Major, dear, how about you go get us some tea while I babysit Miss Troublemaker here.”

I bit my tongue to stop myself from spewing a stinging retort. I could see I was treading on thin ice with anger lacing every word this sweet-looking, old lady uttered.
I was wrong about Sarah. That meant
George lied.

“I would never have suspected your involvement.”

She smiled and sat down in a wing chair, making herself comfortable. “Why thank you, Samantha. Coming from you, that is a real compliment.”

“What I don’t understand is why you’re involved with clear-cutting? There’s not that much money involved, is there? I would think it’s not worth your time, considering this house and your lifestyle.”

She laughed. “You’re right. In the long run, it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans, but you see, it’s only a sliver of our enterprises that we’re involved in.”

I nodded, finally understanding where this was all tied together. They were running a syndicate here, a lot of enterprises running under one roof. But I still wasn’t sure to what extent their tentacles reached. In the meantime, I wanted out of this spider web I was trapped in.

She watched me like a hawk. “Don’t get any ideas. You are not going anywhere and certainly not using our phone.”

I smiled. “Understood. Can I ask you some questions?”

Millicent said, “Depends on what they are. I do have my limits as to what you should know.”

“Oh, I was just curious as to why you went to all this trouble playing the innocent couple. Did you think you would actually get away with murder?”

Millicent dismissed me. “Murder? Don’t be ridiculous!”

She didn’t know? Had I read this all wrong?

Chapter 90

And In This Hand…

I swear, the more I dug, the deeper the hole, and I still hadn’t found the bottom. Maybe I was way off base. Could everything be unrelated? Could there be several agendas going on here? It sounded ridiculous even to over-the-top me, but there had to be another explanation.

She was still staring, surprised, and so I jumped at the chance to take advantage of catching her off guard. This might be the distraction I needed to get to safety.

Major brought tea over to the kitchen table where I was seated. Millicent was sitting over by the fireplace eyeing me closely, her gun resting in her lap. After he poured me some, Major sat next to his wife and handed her a cup.

I wondered if she was a lefty or not and watched to see which hand she favored. She was originally holding the gun in her left hand. When she reached for the cup, she set the gun in her lap and picked up the cup again using her left hand.
Got it.
I had to time it when she was switching and placing the gun in her lap. I also had to keep her talking so she wouldn’t be so conscious of me observing her moves.

I knew with myself, that although I was a lefty, I still used both hands. I could throw and use scissors with my right. I wrote and ate with my left, but drank with either. So, for a minute I watched her carefully while she and Major exchanged sugar and cream and settled in. I stared at them trying to figure the complete picture. I couldn’t.

I still wasn’t connecting some of the dots.

“Now, what was this about a murder?” Millicent asked.

“I got the part with your multi rip-offs, but what I don’t get is why someone would want to murder him?”

“Murder who? Who are you talking about?”

“Robinson, of course!”

The two of them stared at each other.

Millicent bit first. “Robinson was murdered?”

“Whatever for?” Major asked.

I smiled. “Changes the ballgame, doesn’t it?”

“I should say so!” said Major.

First Millicent, then Major shifted in their chairs. It was subtle, but I picked up on it immediately. Was Millicent aware of something that Major was not? Had she done something behind his back? Was he the clueless husband?

I tossed that around for all of about fifteen seconds, and then nixed the idea. But then turned my attention to Major. Had he done something behind Millicent’s back?

I had to get out. Millicent was holding a gun and flexing her trigger finger. I felt like an accident waiting to happen.

I certainly didn’t need the extra help of someone else.

Chapter 91

There’s Luck, And Then There’s Dumb Luck

I was about to say something when the phone rang. Now, who was calling? Jacob? Someone else? I was still trying to figure out exactly when would be a good time to take off for either their kitchen or foyer door.

I heard bits and pieces, but gave up eavesdropping on Millicent and what was being said. It was too cryptic. After that call, I was suddenly more interested in hearing how far-reaching their operations extended. And the only way to find that out, I realized, was to keep them talking.

Could I play them off of each other?

A flicker of fear, followed by a flash of anger quickly crossed Millicent’s face. She hung up, and then turned toward me. Major went to her side and they briefly whispered something, but I couldn’t catch what it was.

It was clear, Millicent was the one in charge in this marriage, as she gently, but firmly moved him aside and looked at me. “Well, I guess the tables might have turned in your favor somewhat, Samantha. No one else has shown up at Sally’s, so I told Jacob to meet us, here.”

I silently gave a sigh of relief, thinking sometimes I was downright lucky. But then I panicked again. Where was everybody? Obviously, no one knew what happened to me yet or exactly where I was. I had to stall them for time.

Keep them talking.

“Do you mind me asking you a question?” I asked.

Millicent eyed Major, warning him to keep silent, then nodded at me. “Exactly what did you want to know?”

“How many of you are involved in the clear-cutting?”

She laughed. “You expect me to answer that truthfully?”

“What have you got to lose? I’m not going anywhere, am I? You have the gun, remember? And you know I’m going crazy trying to figure this thing out. Why not give me something? What am I going to do with the information?”

“You have a point. We can’t let you leave here alive.”

“I’ve only pieced together a loose patchwork of guesses. This thing is so interwoven, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that something more is going on in the area.”

I was fishing about the blackmail and chop shops.

“How clever a guess, Samantha. I will admit that you are partially right, but I’m afraid we can’t take credit for
all
that is going on around here.”

What else did she know? Maybe I could throw them off.

I sat there, and then decided to shoot from the hip.

“You weren’t responsible for Robinson’s death, right?”

“Correct.”

“But you did clear-cut.”

“Yes.”

I then stared at Major. “And
you
sold phony souvenirs.”