Laina Turner - The Trixie Pristine Boxed Set Page 14

  “No, and I didn’t want to tell Jack. He’s got enough to worry about. I just hope this plan works, and Stephen leaves us alone.”

  “Me, too. So let’s run through this one more time to make sure I have it straight. I am to distract Jim, the property room clerk. While he’s distracted you will slip in and find the bag. You are going to switch it out with this one and hope they don’t notice. And then sneak out again?”

  “Listen, I know it sounds impossible, but it’s the best I could come up with.”

  “Why don’t you just tell Clive?”

  “I know that seems like the logical thing to do, but I don’t want to take the chance of Stephen finding out I’ve told.”

  “Wouldn’t Clive just go arrest him?”

  “Because he’s trying to get me to give him money? There’s nothing provable until he actually takes the money. Then I will tell Clive, and he can arrest him then.”

  “But what about you and what you’re doing now? Isn’t this going to get you in trouble, too?”

  “Probably, but as long as Sophie’s safe I don’t care. Plus, I hope once Clive sees I had the best of intentions I won’t be in too much trouble.”

  “Okay, but know that I think this is a stupid idea. I’ll go along with it for you. Don’t want you to be in trouble all by yourself.”

  I smiled at her. “Gee, thanks.”

  “You’re just lucky that Jim always had the hots for me and that he’s single. Or I wouldn’t have a chance in hell of persuading him to step away from his post.”

  “No one is better suited for the flirtatious job ahead than you my friend.” I laughed. “Now let’s go. Try to act casual like we don’t have a care in the world.”

  “Easier said than done,” she said.

  We walked into the police station, and it was late enough in the day that Sarah was already gone, something I had been counting on. I knew Clive would be gone, too, because Jack had mentioned earlier that they were meeting up for a couple drinks. This would be hard enough without people I knew all too well here. Sarah and Clive would certainly think something was fishy if Berklie and I tried going to the property room.

  Clive was suspicious when I had casually run into him at Dunkin Donuts this morning. I knew it was his routine to have a cup of coffee and their egg white flatbread sandwiches for breakfast. He said it made him feel like he had a healthy start to the day and then he didn’t feel so guilty about the way he ate the rest of the time. I had managed to bump into him and he’d said found it odd that I would stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee when the shop had its own coffee. He bought my excuse that sometimes I craved a sprinkled donut.

  During our conversation I’d asked him what would happen to the money. He said in cases like this the item, in this case the bag full of cash, would remain in the property room until the case was closed. Either solved or deemed a cold case. Often items would be sold at auction. In the case of money, it would at some pint be turned over to the federal authorities. I hadn’t even known that Jim, the same Jim Hancock we had gone to school with, was the property room clerk. That was a lucky break. Had the person in charge of where the money was being held been someone we didn’t know, it would have made this phase of the plan that much more difficult.

  Once inside the station, Berklie and I were able to get to the property room without anyone questioning what we were doing. The place was quiet, as it was after five, and in a small town like this the next round of business wouldn’t happen until people starting drinking too much. We walked up to the property room. It had one of those half doors, like on a horse stall. The top was open, and I could see Jim reading a magazine. The sign by the door stated the hours were until six, so we didn’t have much time before Jim would want to close up.

  “Hey, Jim,” I called, and his head popped up from his magazine.

  “Hey there, Trixie! Berklie, is that you with her?” Jim stood up and walked over to us. I hadn’t run into him in a few years. He looked pretty much the same as he always had. Tall and gangly. Brown hair combed back with just a little too much hair gel He was a super nice guy, but he tried too hard. At least he had in high school.

  “Yep, it’s me, Jim,” Berklie said.

  “What can I do to help you girls?”

  “Well, we were hoping to get your mechanical expertise,” Berklie said as her opening line. “I was on my way to meet Trixie at Murphy’s, and my car started acting funny. I turned in here so it didn’t quit on me on the street. I called Trixie to tell her, and she said maybe someone here could look at it really quick.”

  “And Clive is already gone. Can you look at it?” I asked.

  “Well, I’m not really supposed to leave my post,” Jim said sifting his weight from one foot to another. I knew it. He wanted to help but didn’t want to shirk his duties. This was where some light persuasion on Berklie’s part could get us what we needed.

  “C’mon, Jim. Most everyone’s already gone. Please, just for a second. If you think it’s not simple then I can call Charlie. But I don’t want to spend the money on a service call if it’s something silly. I know nothing about cars. Tom used to handle all that,” Berklie said sounding helpless.

  I liked how she threw in the Tom card to look like the jilted damsel in distress. Even Tom’s friends weren’t too happy about how he had treated Berklie toward the end of their marriage.

  Jim looked at both of us. I could tell it was a matter of moments before he caved. Guess that crush on Berklie when we were in high school hadn’t entirely gone away. “Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt. Trixie, could you stay down here until I get back? In case anyone stops by you can come get me?”

  “I sure will, Jim.” Even better than I had imagined. I had figured I would have to make up some excuse to stay here, but Jim gave me one without me even trying.

  Berklie led him away, chatting nonstop. I gave them a few minutes to get far enough away for me to feel somewhat safe to delve into my illegal actions. I was counting on the fact that this late in the day no one would come down here and catch me in places I wasn’t supposed to be.

  I knew I didn’t have that long, so I opened the half door and stepped through, closing it behind me. I walked farther into the room and saw it was organized in rows on shelving units floor to celling. I could see that all the way in the back were wire cage-looking things. I assumed they were for those items too big to fit on a shelf. Since the Hello Kitty bag was small enough to fit on a shelf, I hoped my assumption was right that it was somewhere I could get to. There were place cards on each shelf spaced in different increments. It seemed as if they were organized by date. I walked down the aisle, looking for the current stuff that had come in. It took me going over two more aisles to find what I was looking for.

  Bingo. Even if items weren’t labeled by date, the hot pink Hello Kitty backpack really stood out among all the other confiscated things. I pulled the backpack off the shelf and sat it on the floor. Then I pulled out of my oversized purse what was the closest duplicate I’d been able to find. I just hoped Clive or whoever wouldn’t notice the difference in the next twenty-four hours.

  I made the switch and hurried back to the front. As I slipped back out the half door of the property room, I breathed a sigh of relief. I could hear Berklie’s voice down the hall chatting up Jim loud enough for me to hear. They came around the corner, and Berklie raised her eyebrows at me. I nodded my head to signify mission accomplished.

  “Jim, I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate your help. I can’t imagine what was wrong with my car?”

  “It does seem strange that it would almost stop on you in the middle of driving but turn over just fine now. I would keep a close eye on it. If it happens again, you definitely want to have it looked at. You don’t want to risk getting stranded somewhere out of town.”

  “Thanks, Jim. I will definitely do that. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

  “No problem. I look forward to that drink you owe me.”

  “I’ll call ya
,” Berklie said.

  “Bye, Jim.”

  “Bye, Trixie.”

  We walked back down the hall to the door that would take us to the parking lot. “Did you get it?” Berklie whispered to me.

  “Yep. Meet me at my house.”

  *****

  Berklie and I hung out at my house killing time before I was supposed to meet Stephen. We had just talked to Sophie, who was on her way back from meeting with a shop owner in Lakeville. It would take her a few hours to get back. Luckily, she had gotten some good information from the people she had talked to today, so even though we had an ulterior motive it had worked to our business advantage. I just hoped that once Stephen got what he wanted he would leave us alone.

  The Hello Kitty bag was sitting on the table in front of us. I just wanted this to be over.

  Berklie spoke what I was thinking. “What if he doesn’t leave us alone after this?”

  “What choice do we have? Besides, after he gets his money he’s not going to want to stick around.”

  “I hope you’re right. I really think I should go with you. I don’t like the idea of you being there alone with him.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “Besides I need you here to do your part.”

  “I just hope this works.”

  “It will.” I looked at the clock hanging above the stove. It was time. I stood up and grabbed the backpack off the table. “Wish me luck.”

  Berklie came over and gave me a quick hug. “Good luck.”

  Chapter 25

  I pulled into the parking lot of the shop and cut the engine. It didn’t appear that Stephen was here yet, which was good. It would give me time to get in and get things set.

  I let myself into the shop and locked the door behind me. I didn’t want Stephen to surprise me. I set the backpack behind the counter, out of sight, and took a few deep breaths. I just hoped this worked, or Clive was going to kill me. As it was, he probably was going to be mad for quite some time.

  It wasn’t long before I heard a knock at the door. I about jumped out of my skin. Sure, I had been waiting for him, but now that he was actually here I was freaking out a little. I took a deep breath and slowly walked over to the door. I wanted to seem confident and unruffled. I unlocked the door, opened it, and he walked through. I locked the door behind him. I wasn’t thrilled to be locked in with him, but I couldn’t risk having someone walk in on us.

  “You have my money?”

  I stepped around the counter and grabbed the backpack and sat it up on top of the counter. “Here you go.”

  Stephen raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “And here I was worried you didn’t have it in you.” He unzipped the bag and looked in.

  “It’s all there.”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I like to be sure,” He smiled.

  “Tell me. Why did Sylvia owe you this money, anyway?”

  “Let’s just say we had a business arrangement. Listen, I’d like to stay and chat, but I need to get going. I trust you will keep this between us?”

  “Of course. I trust you are leaving town and not coming back?”

  “As long as you keep your mouth shut.” He smiled again coldly.

  “No worries on my end.” We walked toward the door. I reached down to unlock it when I noticed he stopped moving and was looking out the door. It was Clive. I glanced at the clock. He was a little early, but at this point I didn’t think that mattered.

  “You bitch! You told the police,” Stephen yelled at me.

  Did he really think I was going to steal money out of the police station and not tell anyone?

  Clive was taking his own sweet time to reach the door. I was surprised Stephen hadn’t noticed, but that was good for me. Clive had no idea what was going on. I had asked Berklie to call him and tell him to meet me at the shop at eight but not to say why. I didn’t want him getting here early and spooking Stephen off.

  “Is there a back door?” Stephen asked.

  “Um, no. There’s a window,” I offered.

  Turning my back to the door, I reached behind me and unlocked it. It made a soft click, but Stephen wasn’t paying attention. He was trying, I assumed, to figure out his escape plan. Clive had one foot on the porch. I knew it was time to make my move.

  I swung the door open and that got Clive’s attention. “Clive, he’s trying to steal the money!” I yelled. Clive looked confused for a moment but raced the rest of the way up the steps. Stephen ran the other way toward the window.

  “What the hell is going on!” Clive yelled.

  “Just stop him. He’s trying to steal the money!”

  Clive pulled out his gun and shouted to Stephen, “Stop right there and put your hands up!”

  Stephen looked at us and then towards the window and back to us.

  “Trixie, is that the Hello Kitty backpack I confiscated from you the other day?” Clive asked not taking his eyes or his gun off of Stephen.

  “I’m not sure now is the time to discuss that, but yes.”

  “I don’t even want to ask,” Clive said under his breath to me. “Put the bag down and put your hands up. Now!”

  Stephen looked at us, indecision in his eyes. Then he threw the backpack at Clive knocking him off balance for the spilt second it took for him to reach the window and open it. Stephen looked at me. “This isn’t over. Not by a long shot!” he said and jumped out the window.

  Clive pushed the button on his receiver that called into the station. “Need backup downtown on Main and Elm. Suspect is a white male approximately six feet tall with light brown hair. Last seen running east toward Haven Court.”

  Almost immediately we heard sirens in the distance heading this way.

  “You go to the station right now and wait for me,” Clive said. “You understand?”

  I could tell Clive was livid. I just hoped he understood after I gave him my side of the events and my reasoning behind it all. “Yes, Clive,” I said meekly.

  “C’mon. I’ll walk you out.”

  *****

  I had been sitting in the waiting area of the police station for almost two hours and was getting really fidgety and tired of waiting for Clive. Thankfully, Berklie had met me for moral support—and to bail me out if Clive was that pissed.

  About thirty minutes later, Clive walked in. He saw me and Berklie sitting there and just glared at me. “Follow me,” he said curtly.

  “I think you’re in trouble,” Berklie said.

  “Gee, thanks for that vote of confidence.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  Following Clive back to his office, I grew increasingly nervous. What if he didn’t agree with my reason for keeping this from him and taking the backpack from the station?

  He sat down and motioned for me to do the same. A few seconds of uncomfortable silence went by with Clive just staring at me and drumming his fingers on the desk. I at first thought it best not to talk, but the silence was making me even more nervous. “Clive.”

  “What in God’s name were you thinking?” he angrily spat out, interrupting me.

  “Well, I—”

  “Are you crazy?” he interrupted again. “Stealing evidence out of the police station? I should throw you in jail for that!”

  “If I could just explain,” I said timidly, pausing in case he was going to interrupt me again. He didn’t this time, so I took that as my chance to continue, though the way he was glaring at me wasn’t making it any easier. “He threatened Sophie,” I choked out, tears forming in my eyes. I hadn’t felt that upset until I started to talk, and then the emotion of everything that had transpired came rushing out.

  I paused a few seconds to gain my composure, and Clive stayed silent. I took a deep breath and continued. “Like I was saying…he called me. Said if I didn’t get him his money back he would hurt Sophie. I thought I could get him what he wanted, keep Sophie safe, and get you there in time to catch him.”

  “You didn’t think
the police could keep Sophie safe? You thought you had a better chance of it? You and Sophie could have really been hurt.” Clive was still mad, but I could see he was beginning to soften a little.

  “I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t thinking,” I replied, my tone contrite.

  “Damn right, you weren’t. And look what happened. He got away.”

  “I’m sorry, Clive. I promise it won’t happen again.” We sat in silence for a few seconds. “Do you know why Sylvia was giving him that money?” I asked tentatively, knowing it wasn’t the best time. But I figured what the heck, he was already pissed.

  “You just don’t stop do you?” Clive said, exasperated. “I’m only telling you this to keep you from getting in more trouble investigating on your own. From now on, I better not catch you anywhere near anything to do with Sylvia and her murder.”

  “Does that include Jack?”

  “Trixie, you know what I mean. Don’t push me. I can still lock you up.”

  “Okay. Sorry. Please tell me what was going on, and I promise to stay out of trouble.”

  “Stephen, and we think that is his real name, believe it or not, was a former employee of the Gutierrez family. He was to track Sylvia and Jack down and bring them back. Dead or alive. He found Sylvia first and she made him a deal. She would pay him off if he would leave Jack alone.”

  “So she did this for Jack,” I mused.

  “Looks that way.”

  “How did she come up with that kind of money? She worked at a car dealership?”

  “Signs point to her old life. She was smuggling drugs again.”

  “Do you think Stephen will come back?”

  Clive shook his head. “I don’t know. It would be hard for him to get into town unnoticed, so my first answer would be no, but I can’t say for sure. That’s why it would have been much better if you would’ve let me handle this instead of going off on your own.”

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “Legally? I will try and smooth it over with the DA, but no guarantees. With me? I will have to think about that,” he gave a hint of a smile. “Now get out of here before I change my mind and lock you up!”