Dashing Through the Snow Read online

  “That’s the idea, Harvey,” Ben said approvingly.

  “I gave Glenda a suitcase for her birthday about four years ago. It wouldn’t have killed her to pack my clothes nice and neat in it. I would have returned it.”

  Of course you would have, Ben thought sarcastically. “Now Harvey we want you to stand on the front porch and talk about the horror and embarrassment of driving down the block and suddenly seeing the wardrobe you took such pride in blown all over the road, wet, dirty, then covered with tire tracks.”

  “I’ll never forget it as long as I live!” Harvey said. “Never! It still gives me nightmares.”

  “Save that for when the camera’s running,” Ben told him as they walked up the path to the house. “Harvey, we don’t want to mention that you were late to pick up your gear. That wouldn’t be sympathetic.”

  “I was only five minutes late!” Harvey protested as he positioned himself on the top step of the porch.

  “I know, but don’t mention it. None of this was your fault. The point is, the viewing public likes victims. They not only like them, they root for them. And there aren’t too many victims the public will feel sorrier for than someone whose former spouse hits it big in the lottery.”

  Harvey’s face fell. “I’ll never get over it.”

  “Let’s roll the camera,” Ben said quickly. “Harvey, you say you’re never going to get over this?”

  “Never!”

  “Would you say the humiliation of seeing your clothes strewn on the street made you depressed?”

  “I was furious and depressed, and too broke to replace anything. Thank God the judge made Glenda pay up. I hadn’t had gainful employment for about a year before we split. I’d been looking for work, then one day I went into a Go Go Bar and met Penelope and…”

  “Harvey!” Ben interrupted. “We don’t want to know that you didn’t find a job because you were too busy with a girlfriend. That isn’t sympathetic either.”

  “You want to know the worst part?” Harvey asked. “Right after the divorce went through, Penelope dumped me.”

  The cameraman tapped Ben on the shoulder. “We’ve got to get this scene moving. Right now we’re supposed to be taking background shots of the church bazaar, then get over in time to catch Santa climbing into his sleigh.”

  “Okay,” Ben said impatiently, then turned back to Harvey. “Let’s pick up with your telling us that after twelve beautiful years you and Glenda split, and how shocked you were when she showed a side of her personality that was mean and vindictive.”

  “Vindictive?”

  “She wasn’t nice to you.”

  Harvey cleared his throat. “Glenda and I got married when she was twenty and I was twenty-four,” he began. “She was no Marilyn Monroe, but I thought she was a very nice person. I was wrong.”

  “Cut!” an exasperated Ben moaned. “Harvey, get this straight. You start knocking your ex-wife’s looks and every woman who watches the show will hate you. Stick to how much you loved her.”

  “I loved my wife,” Harvey began dutifully. “I still love her. Glenda is A–number one in my book.”

  Keep going, Ben prayed.

  “I begged her to work things out with me,” Harvey continued, warming to his narrative. “But she coldly refused, and we were divorced. Glenda got the house, which I thought was very unfair, but since we had remortgaged it, there wasn’t much equity, if you get my drift.”

  “Harvey,” Ben interrupted. “Tell us about the clothes as you walk toward the driveway.”

  Harvey nodded. Dramatically he pointed at the front door of the house. “It was very unfriendly of Glenda to change the locks on the doors so fast. I hadn’t had the chance to get all my stuff out. We agreed she’d leave my clothes out on the driveway.” He walked over and pointed at the bags. “They couldn’t have been here for two minutes when the storm blew in,” he said, blinking as snow pelted his face.

  “Good, Harvey,” Ben said. “We’re going to spread the clothes around the street now and have our truck run over them.”

  Five minutes later Harvey was standing on the road, looking down, tears in his eyes. “I couldn’t believe that the woman I had shared twelve years of my life with could do this to me,” he said, pointing at his soggy shirts and pants and sweaters and socks and underwear. “I was so crushed when I came upon this devastating scene. I was crushed worse than my clothes.”

  Ben made a signal with his arm. A truck came rumbling down the road and ran over Harvey’s new wardrobe.

  “Cut!” Ben called. “That’s a wrap!”

  Another segment of the Festival of Joy special was in the can.

  30

  Before Duncan called Flower’s mother, they canvassed the stores along Main Street, just in case Flower had stopped in one of them. They even went to the movie theater in the hopes that she had gone there to kill time before surprising Duncan.

  No one had seen her.

  Then they called the Branscombe Inn and the two bed-and-breakfasts in town, the Hideaway and the Knolls. She hadn’t registered at any of them. That was when Duncan reluctantly phoned Flower’s parents. Her mother, Margo Bradley, whom he had never met, was surprised to hear from him.

  “Duncan, hello. I tried to call Flower, but her phone is turned off and her mailbox is full. Is anything wrong?” Margo asked quickly.

  With a heavy heart, Duncan told her what had happened.

  “I was always afraid of this!” Margo cried.

  “Why?”

  “Flower is an heiress of the Corn Bitsy Cereal Company. Her great-great grandfather founded it. I’ve had a fear of her being kidnapped ever since she was born.”

  “An heiress?” Duncan had said in disbelief. “I’d never have guessed that in a million years.”

  “That’s the way she wanted it,” Margo explained anxiously. “She wanted to meet someone who would love her for herself.”

  “I do,” Duncan said vigorously. “I’m just surprised because when she talked about her life growing up, it seemed just like mine.”

  “We didn’t have a wealthy lifestyle,” Margo explained. “Her father and I were never interested in money. I was allowed access to my trust fund at eighteen, and in the following five years ended up giving most of the money away to causes we supported and anyone who asked to borrow. That’s why Flower isn’t allowed near her trust until she’s twenty-five. Our family has shunned publicity, but people know there’s money. I’m so afraid, with her trust coming due, that someone might have targeted her.”

  “Mrs. Bradley, it might have nothing to do with her family money. I won twelve million dollars in the lottery last night, and there’s been a lot of publicity about it. If she was targeted, it could have been because of me,” he admitted.

  “Duncan,” Margo said impatiently, “Flower’s trust is worth over 100 million dollars. I knew she shouldn’t go flying across the country to spend time with a man she knows nothing about.”

  “I love Flower,” Duncan protested. “And I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise you. I will find her.”

  “Don’t talk about her trust fund publicly. If Flower is okay and out there somewhere, let’s not give some crazy the idea to try and find her on his own.”

  When Duncan hung up, he was distraught. Stumbling over his words, he told them what Flower’s mother had just revealed.

  “Duncan,” Jack said. “We’ll let Steve know Flower is missing and that it’s urgent the police be on the lookout for her. We’ll have to tell him why we suspect a serious problem. Otherwise he’ll wonder why they’re supposed to look for a twenty-four-year-old woman who has only been out of touch for a few hours.”

  As Jack called Steve, Alvirah thought about the time Willy was kidnapped and held for ransom. She had managed to get a job as a maid in a sleazy hotel where she believed he was being kept. The criminals who took him had planned to kill him once the ransom money was paid, she remembered. Thank God I was able to save him. Where could Flower be? The engag
ement ring intended for her was in Alvirah’s purse. Alvirah realized she was getting one of her funny feelings. Could this ring lead them to Flower?

  I’ve got to talk to the man who found the ring and brought it to the jewelry shop, she decided.

  31

  In the basement of The Hideaway, Woodrow and Edmund were sitting on a lumpy, dusty old couch that smelled of mildew. A lone lightbulb dangled overhead. Betty had given them a couple of blankets to throw over their legs. Even so, they were both cold and increasingly fearful of Jed and Betty’s plans to get rid of Flower.

  Edmund’s head was in his hands. “Woodrow, I’m scared!” he said.

  “Take it easy, Edmund, I’m nervous enough already. My stomach’s a little off. I shouldn’t have eaten all that candy.”

  “Woodrow, I don’t care about your bellyache. We can’t be involved in a murder. Did you see the look on that girl’s face when we tied her up and left her back there? She’s terrified, and she’s just a kid.”

  “What are we going to do?” Woodrow asked angrily, spitting out the words. “Our only choice is to forget about the lottery ticket and drive out of town just the way we planned to do after our last class next week. We won’t get the money, but we won’t get arrested for murder either.”

  “We will be if we let Betty and Jed kill her, and we don’t try to stop them. With or without us, they’re not going to let that girl live.” Edmund swallowed hard and ran his fingers through his thinning hair. “If only we had inherited a little money. We were never greedy with our scams. I really don’t think we ever took money from that many people who couldn’t afford to lose a few bucks.”

  “Shut up, Edmund. How about Duncan? We cleaned him out.”

  Overhead they could hear the floorboards creaking as Betty hurried back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. Tea time was obviously busy. “Jed,” they heard her snap. “You forgot to put preserves on table four.”

  “She’s mean,” Edmund said, his voice shaking. “Woodrow, what are we going to do? We can’t let that girl die. We’re pretty bad, but we’re not killers. Those two,” he pointed toward the ceiling, “seem to have no problem with it. In prison the talk always was that Jed got away with a lot of really bad stuff. He was just stupid and got caught robbing a bank. With a loaded gun.”

  “What do you suggest?” Woodrow asked sarcastically.

  “We get the girl out of here, then contact Duncan. She’ll be our witness that we saved her life. If he won’t give us the ticket, we’ll just head for the hills.”

  Woodrow was silent for a moment. “Edmund, how stupid are you? Betty and Jed will never let us get out of here alive with that girl. They probably have guns hidden away in Betty’s baking pans. If they think their whole way of life is threatened, they won’t be afraid to use them.”

  “Well then let’s go for it while they’re busy with their tea party.”

  “You think the girl’s going to come willingly? No way.”

  “Believe me, Woodrow, she’ll trust us more than Betty. If I had a choice of going with us, or staying here with Betty and Jed, I’d go with us.”

  “And if we save her life, the least Duncan can do is give us back our ticket,” Woodrow agreed. “One good turn deserves another, as Aunt Millie aways told us.”

  Edmund snapped his fingers. “I know! Let’s get Aunt Millie involved.”

  “How?”

  “Have her get the ticket back from Duncan. She’ll be outraged if she thinks we missed out on 180 million dollars. We’ll explain to her we made a little mistake with the oil well, but that we plan to pay everyone back. She doesn’t have to know anything about Flower. We’ll just tell her to call Duncan and say that if he doesn’t give her the lottery ticket she bought at the convenience store when she was visiting us, she’ll be very hurt. And her nephews don’t want to see her or anyone else hurt. Duncan would have to be an idiot if he doesn’t get the message.”

  “He is an idiot.”

  “So what? I think it could work. We want Aunt Millie to stay completely innocent about Flower. We’ll get away from here with Flower, in Jed’s van, and head to Canada. I saw Jed’s keys on a hook in the shed. No one will be on the lookout for his van—he wouldn’t dare report it missing. We’ll tell Millie to hire a limo and head to Branscombe. She could be in town by ten o’clock. As soon as we get word she has the ticket in her hot little hands, we’ll release Flower.”

  “And I guess if we get caught, we can comfort ourselves with the thought that there will be some family money when we finally get out of prison,” Woodrow said glumly.

  “If she doesn’t spend it all first.”

  Woodrow shrugged, as if defeated. “At least we’ll know we did the right thing, saving Flower’s life.”

  “Let’s call Aunt Millie real fast,” Edmund said. “I want to get that girl out of here.”

  Aunt Millie was on Woodrow’s speed dial. Not surprisingly, she answered on the first ring.

  “Woodrow, to what do I owe this honor?” she asked crisply. “It’s always good to hear from you, but it usually means something’s up.”

  “Edmund and I wanted to see how you were,” Woodrow said innocently.

  “Bored to tears. I can’t go back to the casino until I get my social security check. Life is a drag when you don’t have money. So what do you want?”

  “Actually, we have sad news and glad news.”

  “Fire away.”

  “We bought a lottery ticket and won 180 million dollars.”

  “What! I don’t believe it! What could possibly be the sad news?”

  “We were in the middle of running a scam and…”

  “You two never learn do you?”

  “Listen, we were smart enough to win the lottery.”

  “That’s true.”

  “But someone stole the ticket from our freezer, and we want you to get it back. We’re sure we know who it is. His name is Duncan Graham and wouldn’t you know, we sold him stock in a phony oil well.”

  “You make my head spin. Why on earth would he give it back to me?”

  Woodrow hesitated. “He’s already in on the other winning ticket that was sold in this lottery so he’s getting twelve million dollars anyway. But he stole our ticket and he knows it. We just want to convince him the ticket is yours. And we want him to be afraid that if he doesn’t give it to you, the rightful owner, who bought the ticket when you visited your two loving nephews the other day, he’ll be sorry. Got it?”

  “Oh, what a good idea! Trust me, I know what to do. I get a third, right?”

  Woodrow gulped. “Of course, Aunt Millie. We’ll even pay for your limo up to Branscombe.”

  “Give me Duncan’s number…”

  When Woodrow snapped his cell phone closed, he looked at his cousin. “We’re lucky to have her,” he said to Edmund. “Even if she is a little greedy and wants a third.”

  “Two-thirds of a loaf is better than none,” Edmund replied. “Let’s get out of here.”

  32

  What do you think you’re doing?” Betty asked harshly as she pulled Flower’s chair upright. “Trying to get help? That’s not a good idea. You might be interested to know I got a call to see if you registered here. Maybe your boyfriend didn’t intend to dump you after all.”

  Betty yanked open the drawer of the computer desk and pulled out a thick roll of black duct tape. She dragged the chair to the desk and with quick strokes bound the chair and desk together. Looking down into Flower’s terrified eyes, she said, “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t try anything like that again.” She then took a dish towel out of the deep pocket of her apron and blindfolded Flower. “See no evil,” she muttered irritably. “I’ve got to get back to the tea.”

  She’s going to kill me, Flower thought, as the door slid closed. This is the end. Desperately she strained to free herself.

  A few minutes later the door slid open again. Oh my God, Flower thought. She’s going to kill me now.

 
Then one of the financial advisers who had helped tie her up said quietly, “Don’t be scared, Flower. We’re getting you out of here. All we want is our lottery ticket back from your boyfriend. Those two intend to kill you, and we’re not going to let it happen.”

  “Oh, you’re not, are you?” Betty cried.

  “Huh?” the man said in a panic.

  A few seconds later Flower heard his body land with a thud on the cement floor.

  33

  Steve wants us to bring Flower’s picture over to the church bazaar,” Jack said. “We can make copies of it there. He says there are a lot of people around. We can show the photo to all of them. It’s a good place to start.”

  These roads are getting slippery, Duncan worried, and with each passing minute it’s getting darker. How can this have happened? he asked himself. How? If only I had just stayed home last night.

  It’s the calm before the storm with the way some of the streets are deserted, Alvirah thought. Everyone’s probably getting ready for the candlelight ceremony and Santa’s ride through the snow. But then she saw that the church parking lot was almost full. Jack stopped at the front door. Glenda and Regan jumped out to assist Duncan, who was unsteady on his crutches.

  “Jack, I’ll keep you company while you park,” Alvirah offered.

  “Alvirah, that’s crazy.”

  “Please, just park the car. I’ve got to make a phone call.”

  When Regan closed the door, Alvirah said, “Jack, I didn’t want to say this in front of Duncan. I want to follow up on that man who found the flower ring. It’s possible that companion who very likely killed Mrs. O’Keefe’s friend Kitty is around here somewhere. And there’s always the wild chance that somehow Flower met up with her. If that companion is here, I’m sure she’s following the lottery story.”

  “It’s certainly worth checking out,” Jack agreed. “That ring didn’t walk to Branscombe.”