A FRAME OF MIND
CHAPTER TWELVE: A BROKEN FRAME
Cindy was untied long enough for herself, Tina, and Anne to be moved into a different part of the warehouse. They were herded into a room which had the appearance of a small workshop. A project center stood against a wall, as did a tool cabinet. Two other doors were visible, but neither was open. “Just a small place to do some work in,” Nancy said. “Also a place for somebody to hold up for a day or so, in case of overly active police activity.”
“Who is this person?” Tina wondered, indicating Nancy.
“Why I’m an old friend of the family,” Nancy said much too flippantly.
“Somebody who used to work for an old enemy of Jack’s,” Anne said.
“A somewhat crude way of putting it, yes.”
While Blaine, Parnell and Josephson, went to work binding and gagging Tina and Cindy, Nancy explained things, keeping a close eye on Anne as she did. She had once worked for one Tom Stoneman, who managed quite a criminal empire. By the time he had encountered Jack, Stoneman had put his earlier drug dealing behind him, and had become a professional blackmailer, using the hotel he started with his drug money as a source. High priced call girls at the hotels also added to his earnings. Several encounters with Jack and Raelene had chipped steadily at his organization and eventually, led to Stoneman’s death in an encounter with Jack in the Cayman Islands.
“Pure revenge,” Anne said. “You wanted Jack and Raelene ruined.”
“Killing them would be far less creative,” Nancy admitted. “Also, not very satisfying. You were the target that first day, Anne. With you dead, he would be far too distracted to work on finding who had framed Raelene, and not thinking very clearly.”
Anne could readily agree. Officially, the chief suspect in her mother’s death had died in fall down a flight of stairs while involved in a foot chase, but she had heard rumors that Jack all but threw the man down the stairs.
“What about La Toya Jones?” Anne asked.
“Who?” Nancy asked.
“You’ve just made my point.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“She’s the woman your people killed to frame Raelene. You don’t even know her name, or care that had one.”
By now, Tina and Cindy were seated on the bare concrete floor, bound at the wrists and ankles, and tightly cleave gagged. Nancy took a length of rope from Parnell and went to work on Anne’s wrists. While she was tightening the knot, Nancy’s cell phone rang. She picked up and smiled at the news that Raelene had been taken without a hitch. “Is she aboard the Lady D?” Nancy asked. “Good.” There was a pause. “Her too? That is good news. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up and went back to the business at hand.
“Well, it looks like your two friends will be going on a one way ocean voyage,” Nancy said to Anne.
Nancy sat Anne down on the floor then went to work on the detective’s ankles. Next, Nancy produced a small handkerchief and a large scarf. “I had your Aunt Sharon in a situation like this once,” She said I gave her a chance to say something, but she said she couldn’t think of a word to describe a woman like me that didn’t insult dogs.”
“Just get on with it,” Anne said.
Nancy balled the small hankie and stuffed it into Anne’s mouth. From there, the scarf was wound around Anne’s mouth and knotted tightly behind her head. “Jill can keep an eye on things here,” Nancy said.
Soon Nancy left, with Parnell and Josephson at her heels. “You three won’t be going anywhere for a while,” Jill Blaine said. With that, she pulled out a key and opened one of the doors. When the light turned on, Ann saw there was some kind of carpet in the room. If my view is blocked, so is hers, Anne reasoned.
A quick scan of the room took Anne’s eyes to the project center. The Craftsman logo was prominent on the front, which meant it could be bought at any Sears store. However, what was more important than the brand name was the construction. All metal, and those corners appeared to be sharp. Not something you’d want to have kids around, but perhaps useful.
Anne had trained herself to be able to stand without using her arms (to her surprise, it turned out to be easy) and hopped over to the project center. She could see the doorway better from this angle, but all she could see was a pair of feet. There was no time to waste. Anne went to work sawing at her bonds, which was slower going than she had anticipated. While the corner was sharp, it wasn’t razor sharp or even knife sharp. As she cut, she also wiggled her wrists, until the ropes became loose enough for her to shuck them off.
Anne undid her gag and took a deep breath. Next, she untied her ankles and tried to restore her circulation. That done, the took the rope that had been around her ankles and the gag and crept toward the room where Jill Blaine was staying.
Jill was reading a magazine, so it came as a complete shock when Anne hit her. Anne pinned Jill to the floor with her body and used a free hand to recover the renegade cop’s handcuffs. “Should have used these,” Anne remarked as put the cuffs on.
“I’ll make a note of it,” Blaine said sarcastically.
Anne gagged Jill and bound her ankles. In short order, she released Cindy and Tina. “Take the rope and gags with you,” Anne ordered. “We’ll need them. They hurried out of the warehouse. As they did Anne called the Coast Guard station and asked for the location of a Lady D Owned by one Nancy Dawson. She got the location just before she and her companions settled into the Jeep. “You have connections with the Coast Guard?” Tina wondered.
“It helps to be on the good side of certain authorities,” Anne said.
“I need to call in a few friends of mine.”
“Help yourself.” Anne handed Tina the cell phone.
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Drea and Raelene struggled uselessly against their bonds. Their were held in the crew’s quarters of Lady D. Or what would normally be the crew’s quarters on a vessel of that size. Lisa, Sylvia, Heather, and Paula all were well versed in handling the vessel, but would be sleeping in the regular cabins.
“This isn’t the end I’d planned for you,” Nancy said with Paula hovering over her shoulder. “But it will be more than adequate.”
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Anne drove the Jeep through the streets at over the limit speeds, but not a breakneck pace. Indeed, she would ease up when approaching red light, often having to stop briefly or not at all. They arrived at the marina whole and soon made their way to Lady D’s slip. Heather and Sylvia were visible on the after deck, while there was another figure on the open bridge. The Police were on their way, thanks to Tina’s “officer in trouble” call. “Let’s go after them,” Anne urged.
“You sure no how to make life interesting,” Tina said.
The three surged aboard the yacht, catching Heather and Sylvia by surprise. With the after deck seemingly their, Anne raced up to the bridge, where she confronted Lisa. “You’re still too late!” Lisa taunted. The two women grappled for a bit until Lisa reached for Anne’s throat. The latter broke free then came back toward the side. Anne pulled up her right foot, put the sole in Lisa’s midsection and pushed Lisa backward. Lisa hesitated long enough to regain her wind then charged Anne. The sleuth crouched slightly and used her arms to flip Lisa over the side.
Anne didn’t bother to see where Lisa fell. Instead, she looked toward the after deck and saw that Heather and Sylvia had recovered from their initial surprise. Tina seemed to be holding her own against Heather, but Sylvia was giving Cindy trouble. Anne time her jump perfectly, and landed on Sylvia’s shoulders and both hit the deck. Anne pulled a length of rope from her pocket and tied Sylvia’s wrists. Meanwhile, Cindy and Tina did the same to Heather.
“Let’s go below before Lisa comes to,” Anne said.
The trio went below, where they surprised Nancy and Paula to such an extent the two gave up with out a struggle. Then again, the sound of police sirens approaching might have something to with it. While Cindy and Tina attended to the wrist binding, Anne looked for Drea and Raelene. When she found them, Anne simply said “Drea, it looks like Jack owes us a steak dinner.”
With Drea and Raelene free and their friends all together topside., they started to asses things. Lisa seemed to be the only one missing. Anne noticed two paramedics crouching over somebody. One of them was Jason.
Anne scrambled down to the pier. Jason turned and she said. “Looks like I’ve made some work for you.”
“Not for me, a mortician,” he said grimly.
“What?”
“Her head must have hit the concrete at a right angle. Her first two vertebrae were compressed and the spinal cord severed.”
Anne suddenly felt very weak. Sure Lisa was an evil, despicable woman, but she was still a human being. She softly gave her version of the events, unaware of the crow on the scene. “Purely unintentional,” said the senior police officer on the scene. His tone indicated he was satisfied with the explanation.
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Jack was discharged the next day and a few days later, Jack was back behind his desk, dealing with paperwork and interviewing prospective investigators. Raelene was reinstated to the police force with full rank and benefits. With the case load somewhat diminished, Drea and Anne spent much of their time handing out legal summons. One their return to the office after one such task, they found Jack had a visitor, a woman with glossy black hair and dressed in a brand-new business suit.
“Ah,” Jack said, “you’re back in time to meet the latest member of Mac Clarey and Associates.”
The woman turned and revealed her face to Drea and Anne. “Hi,” she said with a pleasant smile.
Anne was the first to recover from the surprise. “Tina!”
“Welcome aboard!” Drea said and moved forward to embrace Tina. Anne hugged Tina too.
“I hope I can fit in,” Tina said.
“Let’s see,” Anne said and went into the outer office. She soon returned with a rubber band and formed Tina’s hair into a pony tail. “It’s a little short, but you’ll fit in nicely.”
THE END