Chapter 30: Kidnapped

FINALLY SATURDAY! I promised myself I would sleep in as long as I wanted. I would go out to play with Mazie, go to the park, have coffee at Tovoni’s. Then I’d pick up Teresia at her hotel and we’d have an elegant lunch overlooking the Sound and talk about plans for scattering Dag’s ashes tomorrow. We’d share stories and have a cry and I’d make a new friend.

Call for backup

“We’re going out to play, Mrs. Prior,” I said. “I was wearing jeans and a punk band T-shirt I’d found among Dag’s clothes. And my winter coat. It sure wasn’t warm enough to go without that.

“Have a nice day at the office, dear,” she answered.

“No office today. We’re going to the park and play. Then maybe we’ll get all prettied up and I’ll take Maizie to meet Dag’s cousin.”

“Really?” Mrs. Prior knelt down and Maizie danced on her hind legs to kiss her. “Maizie thinks you should go to the office. She says she has unfinished business there. After coffee.”

“Maizie? This is supposed to be a fun day for the two of us. You really want to go to the office?” I said. Her little front legs were beating the air while she danced on her hinds. “You know what that means? I need to change clothes.” One thing Dag had always insisted on was professional wear in the office. I know. It’s my office now. I can dress however I want. I went upstairs and changed from ripped jeans into a pair of wool slacks and a sweater. Casual Saturday. Or as Dag would say, ‘Weekends and holidays are days I don’t wear a tie to the office.’

We stopped at Tovoni’s and I had my espresso while Maizie primly lay beside me nibbling on her biscuit. Then we headed down the hill. We were almost to the office when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen wondering what Cinnamon was doing awake at this hour. It wasn’t even ten yet!

“Hey, sexy,” I said. “What’s the good word?”

“Um ... Miss Riley?” Cinnamon’s voice sounded hesitant and very un-Cinnamon.

“What is it Cinnamon?” I asked.

“Miss Riley, I’m in trouble,” she said formally.

“Where are you, Cinnamon? Are you in jail?”

“No. I’m at the Condo.”

“I thought it was closed up.”

“Ms. B has a key.” Damn! Brenda Lamb Barnett was back in town? “She says you are to come directly to the Condo. If you send for police, she’ll take me off the roof with her. I’m sorry, Deb. I’m scared.” The line went abruptly dead. Cinnamon must be scared. Her voice sounded wooden. Or maybe she was trying to tell me something else. Was I going to have to face down Davy? Did she have other goons with her?

I jogged the rest of the way to the office with Maizie. Ms. B isn’t the only one with a key to the Condo. I glanced up from the window and could see the rooftop garden. Hang in there, Cinnamon. Help is on the way.

I’d been through this before. Dag and I went through every move when he rescued me from the Condo and analyzed what went wrong and what went right. The one thing I learned was to call for backup. I dialed Jordan’s number.

“She’s unbalanced,” I said, “so it’s possibly a credible threat. I can’t imagine that Cinnamon couldn’t fight her off if they were alone. There must be someone else with her.”

“Put on a wire and give me the frequency, Deb. I’ll let you take point so we don’t spook her but I’ll be right behind you. It’s time to close this down once and for all.”

That was comforting. I opened the vault and grabbed one of the little transmitters Dag had collected. I need to replenish the stock of electronics. I’m going through things kind of fast.

I looked at Maizie and she barked. Yeah. This time I’m taking reinforcements in with me.

“Let’s go partner,” I said.

Gunpoint

Maizie and I walked through the front door of the building like we owned the place. I used my keycard to access the elevator and went straight to the Condo. There was no sense climbing stairs or using a service elevator. I was expected and was sure Brenda was watching me. As soon as we were in the elevator, I unsnapped Maizie’s leash. “Keep a low profile, girl,” I said. It was kind of funny. She’s only eight inches tall.

The elevator doors opened and I stepped into the entryway. Crime scene tape was still stretched across the metal detector and I could see the device wasn’t lit up. I just ripped through the tape and marched straight to the office. I didn’t bother to knock. She was watching and I was on my way. I lost track of where Maizie was but didn’t see anyone else in the Condo. I keyed in my security code and pushed the door open, dropping my bag in the doorway to block it open.

What I saw wasn’t what I expected. Brenda and Cinnamon were there, all right. Cinnamon was tied in the very chair I’d spent time in a month ago. It looked like she could have gotten free if she tried. Brenda was tied to the desk chair with tape across her mouth. Behind her, Angel held a gun.

“Angel?”

“I knew you’d want to be here for this,” she said. “We’ll never be free until she’s dead. She blamed Dag for killing Simon and she’s made it impossible for us to be together as long as she’s alive. We’re just going to arrange a little accident.”

“Angel, you can’t do this,” I said. “Let’s just call the police and turn her over.”

“What good are they?” she demanded. “They let her loose when they had her in jail. They couldn’t keep her confined in Belize. Oh, yes. I knew where she was all along. And I knew she was back in town.” She threw a cash card on the desk. “Don’t ever believe you can’t be traced through these. I own the database. I tagged all the cards I knew she had and watched for the account to activate. When she showed up in Seattle, I was waiting. This is where it started and this is where it ends.”

Angel looked a mess. Her hair was ratted and mascara was smeared. Her clothes looked like she’d slept in them. She had a wild crazy look in her eyes and the gun trembled as she held it on Brenda.

“Angel, bad as she is and as much as she deserves to die, we can’t just execute her.”

“We’re not. We’re rescuing poor Cinnamon. Ms. B was trying to throw her off the roof. Didn’t you get the message? We came to rescue our dear friend. Just like I saved Simon when Ray tried to kill him. She’ll just tip over the edge of the roof.” Angel looked worse with every word she spoke, her mouth pulled back in a grimace. Her clothes were too tight. She looked old. She was turning into what she hated right in front of us. She looked like Brenda. Insane. Now what am I going to do?