Distortion Control (A Makayla Rose Mystery Book 3) (16 page)

Who could come and go and be overlooked? An exterminator. The terrible scent in my nose from the van and in Spencer’s basement had come from the chemicals the exterminator used. This was what I remembered. Seeing him and smelling his clothing had brought on the dizzy spell at the motel when I had gone to visit Ash. I had thought it meant someone had brought me to the motel, or even that Ash had had something to do with it. The entire time it had been Montgomery, posing as the exterminator.

With all these realizations, I knew I needed to call Spencer. I started to take a step outside, but someone grabbed my arm from behind. Fear clawed at my throat. What had I been thinking? If the van was here,
he
was here, and if Pattie hadn’t called me…

I spun to jerk free, but as soon as I did, I got only a glimpse of his face before a hand with a cloth covered my mouth. He muffled my scream and pulled me into the inn. I kicked at his shins and banged fists against his chest. Nothing could get me free, but all the energy expended forced me to draw in a breath. The lobby dipped and swayed around me. My knees turned to jelly, and I felt myself falling as if down a deep hole. The world went dark.

Chapter Sixteen

I woke in a room at the inn, lying on a bed. My throat felt try, and I had a terrible taste in my mouth. Memory of seeing Holden Montgomery’s face flooded my mind, and I tried to sit up but found myself bound. Fear took control, and I must have cried out, because he appeared leaning over me.

“You’re awake. Good, we can get started.”

I glared at him with as much fierceness as I could produce, but he only smiled. “Did you want to say something, Makayla?”

I mumbled and tried to speak around the gag. To my surprise, he removed it, and I worked my jaw. “You’re not going to get away with this, Montgomery.”

“So you’ve figured out who I am, huh?” He sneered. “Took Spencer long enough. I kept him in mind all these years, but he must have forgotten me. He ruined my career and my life.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped. “You did that when you hit a woman.”

A yank on my hair, and I yelped. I reminded myself I was not like the silly little victims one sees in movies.
Don’t say things to make the murderer angry. Bide your time.
I repeated these orders like a mantra, partly to keep from cracking under pressure and terror.

“This is Spencer Norwood’s fault, no one else’s,” he growled, “and with the detective in charge fed certain information by me about Spencer, he won’t have a problem blaming Spencer when you’re found.”

“What information?”

He ignored my question and picked up my cell phone. I looked around me in a crazy attempt to confirm what he held was my cell. No mistake about it. Montgomery glanced at me and held up another device, almost the size of the cell phone but a tad bigger. He pressed a button, and my voice sounded in the room talking about needing help. I gaped in shock. When had I said those things?

“Confused?” Montgomery asked. “You see, I can get in anywhere in this disgusting little town. As an exterminator, that is. Everybody’s got pest control problems or they want to prevent them.”

I cringed, and he laughed.

“I thought it would be harder. Turns out they don’t even look in the face of the exterminator. Everyone’s too busy or too grossed out. Who knows how many years the last guy was here. I just took his uniform and his identity.” Montgomery tapped the name stitched on the front of his coveralls. “Poor Ned.”

Montgomery didn’t appear to be sorry in the least for Ned, but I began to understand what he was saying. I imagined Ned, whoever he was, had been in pest control for a while. Maybe he was a loner in Briney Creek, kept to himself, didn’t have a girlfriend. No one paid him any mind for years. Then along comes a replacement, similar height and build, hair always under a cap, so who would be able to tell if it was a different shade?

I studied Montgomery’s face. He had one of those plain visages, dull brown eyes, round face, brown hair, all non-distinguishing. If Ned never stood out either, even if someone noticed the difference in men, who would say so and risk embarrassing the man if they were wrong? Montgomery had counted on it. I began to think if he hadn’t been such a violent murderer, he might have made a great detective.

“You seem like an intelligent man, Montgomery,” I said with only a little shake in my voice. “Enough to realize you’re not going to get away with this.”

He pressed the button again on the recording. My voice rang out again, this time blaming Spencer for my abduction.

“No,”
I screamed.

Montgomery laughed. “Now to make a call and set it all up. Peter Fortner’s
going to think he’s about to make the arrest that launches his career, and you won’t be around to say any different. All the little pieces will fall into place.”

I racked my mind for a way to escape or some way to buy time. Spencer had told me he was coming. Montgomery had obviously not accounted for that. “What are you going to do to me?”

He reached a hand toward my face, and I struggled to move out of reach. Montgomery grasped my chin and squeezed. “Don’t you worry your pretty head about it. All that matters is seeing Spencer’s face.”

“It’s too late for that,” I said, still thinking. “You killed his wife. I’m no one special, just an ex-girlfriend. You really should get the facts straight before—”

A smack. My cheek stung, and I glared at him. Montgomery untied the rope attaching my hands to the bed post but kept my wrists bound. “I don’t like it here. Feels too exposed, and who knows who’ll show up. We’re going somewhere fun. How do the woods sound?”

I gasped. “It was you!”

His eyebrows rose. “Did you think it was someone else? Oh, the brother. That’s good. I should have… Well, never mind. Spencer is enough.”

We started down the stairs with me ahead of him and his hand holding the rope so my arms were slightly raised. My head spun a little, making the steps sway before my eyes. I swallowed several times, trying to keep down whatever was in my stomach. When we were halfway, the front doorknob rattled, and the bell rang. Montgomery froze.

“Who?” he whispered.

I hoped it was Spencer.

The bell rang again, the knob rattled, and then a pounding on the door. Spencer’s voice sounded from outside. I screamed and ducked at the same time. Montgomery swung to try to shut me up, but with me squatting I threw him off balance. He fell forward over my shoulder, and I cried out from his weight.

Montgomery didn’t let go of the rope, so when he went thumping down the stairs, he dragged me with him. I tried to grab onto the railing and missed. A crack of wood preceded the bang of the front door against the wall. Spencer barreled through the opening, spotted me upside down on the stairs, and Montgomery below me, still holding the rope on my wrists.

“Makayla,” Spencer shouted and ran for us. He dragged Montgomery up by his collar, but the murderer sprayed something in Spencer’s face. Spencer choked, and Montgomery thrust him aside and ran for the exit. A fist appeared in the doorway, connecting with his jaw, and Montgomery went down, unconscious.

While I watched all of this, aching in several spots on my body, Spencer raised me with gentle hands to sit up on the steps. “Are you okay?”

“I will be when I get this rope off.” I held up my hands, and he took out a pocketknife to cut away the rope. He rubbed the area that was soon to bruise, and I couldn’t help drawing in a shuddering breath. “That was close.”

“Don’t joke, Makayla. This could have been more serious.”

“I know,” I whispered.

Ash stepped over Montgomery on the floor. He wore dark sunglasses although the sun wasn’t out. With the door open, a cold blast of air swept in, and I shivered. Spencer drew me into his arms. While I rested on his chest with my eyes closed, sirens blasted in the distance.

I raised my head. “Pete will know it wasn’t you, right?”

“He’ll know.” Spencer frowned.

“The recording!” I tried to get out of Spencer’s hold, but he wouldn’t let go. “Spencer, he has a recording of my voice saying I need help and that it was you who hurt me. That can be used as evidence.”

“Ash,” Spencer said in a clipped order. His brother bent over Montgomery and searched him. He came up with the recording and punched the play button. My voice again, and I cringed. Spencer growled in anger. “He’ll pay for that.”

“Enough with the pay for this and that,” I moaned. “I don’t want any more to do with people’s revenge. No more death.”

“Shh.” Spencer hugged me close, and he gave a good explanation of what happened and what Montgomery’s intentions were when Pete arrived. I managed to raise my head from his chest to catch Pete’s reaction.

“How do I know?” Pete began, but Ash cut him off by playing the recording.

Pete glanced at me. “Did you record this, Makayla?”

“No, she didn’t,” Spencer snapped. “Do your job and arrest Montgomery.”

I sighed. Spencer wasn’t helping anything. “No, Pete, I didn’t, and Holden Montgomery used the recordings before to lure me to him and make you believe… Oh, no, Pattie! Where’s Pattie?”

“Search the house,” Spencer commanded, and the officers sprung to action. Pete’s face reddened, but he didn’t counter the order. I waited with my eyes closed and hands clutched together in tense fear of bad news.

“Here!” someone called.

“Wait, Makayla.” Spencer tried to block my path, but I bypassed him.

“If he hurt her it’s because of us. I’m going,” I told him.

To my great relief, Pattie and her two guests lay unconscious in a closet.

“Montgomery probably drugged them, too,” Spencer said, checking pulses. “I’m guessing they won’t know who attacked them so they couldn’t point the finger at him. He had everything well thought out.”

Pete grumbled. “This was a lot to go through to get back at you.”

“Men have done more for less,” Spencer countered. “He thinks I ruined his life, and he waited until the most opportune time to try to destroy mine. Now you see I had nothing to do with Penelope’s murder or Makayla’s kidnapping.”

Pete grudgingly agreed, and I knew it would be a matter of time before all charges against Spencer would be dropped. Spencer turned to me as the police were helping to revive Pattie and her guests.

“You’re going to the hospital with the rest.”

“I’m fine, Spencer.”

“I’d feel better if you go.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Ash cut me off. “Better to give in, Makayla. My brother is used to getting his own way. You’ll have a more peaceful life if you learn that now.”

“Life?” I repeated.

Ash smiled and lowered the glasses covering his eyes. I saw for the first time there was a glassiness to them. “Yes, life. I suppose it won’t be so bad having you for—”

“Be quiet, Ash,” Spencer snapped, and his brother laughed.

* * * *

“Dear, are you okay?” Edna asked for the hundredth time. I submitted to another hug, seeing the worry in her eyes.

“I’m fine, Edna. Thank you.” I gave her a squeeze and set into the cake she had brought to my house as a “get better soon” gift even though I wasn’t ill in the least. Surely, you didn’t imagine I would turn it down? “Holden Montgomery has been arrested and held without bail. The police found all the evidence they needed among his things at the shop.”

Edna dropped into a seat across from me and ran a hand over her face. “Can you believe none of us noticed? We’ve known Ned for years. He was always the exterminator as far as I can remember, but well, he was a shy man. He didn’t have many friends, and he seemed to want it that way.”

I nodded. “I think we’ll all begin looking into the faces of our friends and neighbors from now on, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“No,” she agreed. “Makayla, when I think that you could have been killed, or Pattie too, I don’t know what to do.”

“Let’s be thankful we’re all still here,” I said. “And to help us remain that way, Spencer is holding a seminar.”

Edna’s eyebrows went up. “A seminar?”

“Well, I’m not sure what else you would call it. He’s going to teach us how to become more aware of our surroundings and of our neighbors.”

“You mean get into other people’s business more?”

Leave it to Edna to get to the meat of the matter and explain it bluntly. “Yes, that.”

“At one time, I would have said some of our nosier citizens don’t need that kind of training, but after Holden Montgomery took over Ned’s life with no one noticing, I guess we do. Spencer is the one to do it. He’s back in his position?”

I raised my chin and couldn’t hold back a grin. Why was I so proud of him? “Yes, Pete stepped down. With all his resources and the authority, he didn’t have a clue to what was really going on. Spencer has been reinstated as sheriff.”

“He should never have been removed in the first place,” Edna affirmed.

I nodded. “Unfortunately, Pete’s also given his resignation.”

“Oh, dear. I suppose Spencer demanded it?”

“No, he’s not as immature as that.” I neglected to say I had talked him out of his anger and resentment toward Pete. I had also encouraged him to support Ash in getting help with his addiction. “Pete felt maybe Briney Creek isn’t right for him anymore. He and Reeza are leaving for good this time. Besides, Reeza feels the town only holds memories of her sister, and she wants to escape it.”

“I understand, poor thing.”

“I will miss Pete. When he wasn’t under so much pressure and so jealous of Spencer, he seemed like a really nice man. I didn’t know Reeza very well, but I wish all the best for them.”

“Before you know it, there’ll be a whole brood of little ones to spoil.” Edna sighed.

I imagined she thought every now and then about the choices she’d made in her own life. Right now, Edna could be spoiling her grandchildren. Instead, she had none. I wondered if I might give her some adopted ones one day. Then a blush stole across my cheeks. My clock was ticking away, and I didn’t have a husband. Gosh, I might be in Edna’s place in thirty years. The thought depressed me so much I accepted another helping of cake.

After Edna left, I tidied the apartment and looked through my calendar. No new appointments. In fact, it looked like I had the next week free of work. I didn’t mind the relaxation time, and finances weren’t in dire straights, so I considered making a short trip south for some picture taking. The Waccamaw River Memorial Bridge in Conway, South Carolina interested me with its gothic styled arches. Photographs of the bridge and its reflection off the river surface would weave in wonderfully with my growing collection. The fact that it laid a stone’s throw from Myrtle Beach made no never mind at all. Okay, I’m sure you don’t believe that.