In Plain Sight (12 page)

Chapter 11

D
ennis knew he was in trouble the moment he heard the tap on the car window as a flashlight momentarily blinded him. A cop! Busted! Oh, jeez. He needed to think quick and fast. He lowered the window, blinked, seeing stars for a moment. “What’s up, Officer?” he managed to croak as he tried to shield his eyes from the bright light.

The officer appeared to be middle-aged and wore an expression that he wasn’t about to put up with any crap. Dennis ran with his story he concocted on the fly. “I guess someone called to say I’ve been sitting here all day, huh? It’s true, Officer, except for a couple of bathroom breaks. Here’s the deal. I paid a Realtor who represents this property a deposit of five thousand dollars to buy this house. I came to find out he took down payments from two other people. I told him if he didn’t meet me here to return my money, I was going to the police. I’m getting married next month, and my fiancée loves this house. We saved for five years to come up with the down payment, and I’m not leaving till he gives me back the money. First, he said he’d be here by four, then he sent a text saying he was delayed and would be here by seven. Then at seven he sent another one swearing he would be no later than ten, and he has my check with him. What would you do, Officer? I gotta tell you, right now I’m more afraid of going home and telling my fiancée I don’t have the check than I am afraid of you.” This was all said with a straight face on his part. It looked to him like the cop was buying it.

The cop looked at Dennis’s earnest face and relented. “Several neighbors called to say you were sitting here all day. Okay, I’ll cut you some slack and let you stay, but you better be out of here by ten o’clock. I’ll be back to check on you on my rounds.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Dennis grumbled. “I didn’t even get out to walk around. So, what you’re saying is if that skunk doesn’t show up by ten, I have to leave. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Pretty much, son. You need to take it up with the real-estate board. I wish you good luck.”

Dennis pressed the button to raise the window before he collapsed against the seat. That, he congratulated himself, was an Academy Award moment. He looked down at his watch: 9:11. It was fully dark now. He’d originally planned to make his move at nine-thirty, to check out the house on foot the way Ted suggested. When he saw Stacey Copeland arrive back at her apartment building a few minutes past eight, he made the decision to go at nine-thirty.

With the cop now wise to him and the fact that he was patrolling the neighborhood, Dennis realized he needed to relocate or go home. The third possibility was to call in reinforcements. He decided to go with the third option, and quickly punched in Myra’s cell-phone number. She clicked on after the first ring. He quickly repeated the night’s events and waited for a response, which was for him to go to the gas station and wait for Myra and Annie.

Dennis pressed the starter button and turned on his headlights. He sighed. He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or delighted. He’d done all the legwork, and now, if the two ladies didn’t want him in at the finish, assuming he was right and Amalie Moss and Rosalee Muno were in the house, he was going to be one very unhappy camper. He was almost certain that Myra and Annie would want him at the finish line.
Who else would they get to skulk around the backyard and peer into windows? Yours truly, that’s who.

Dennis made it to the gas station without running into the cop who’d checked him out. He felt grateful. If he was allowed to go with Myra and Annie, he’d leave his car at the gas station and drive with them.

Even if Annie drove like hell, he knew it would be thirty minutes before they joined him at the twenty-four-hour gas station and convenience store. He decided to use the restroom for the fourth time that day. He splashed cold water on his face and toweled off with scratchy brown paper towels. He washed his hands and combed his hair. Satisfied that he looked as good as possible, he marched into the convenience-store section of the gas station and bought a cold iced tea, some Twinkies, and chips.

The night was hot and humid, typical weather for Washington in July. He dumped everything in the car and decided to limber up, so he jogged in place for a good ten minutes. He was sweating profusely when he climbed back in the car and turned on the air-conditioning, knowing full well he was going to catch a cold but not really caring.

The iced tea was gone in two long gulps. The Twinkies and chips took less than ten minutes since he hadn’t eaten anything all day and was now starved. He was glad Harry wasn’t around to see what he was eating. Harry was into seeds, grain, and that shitty green tea that he mainlined. “Sometimes,” he muttered to himself, “you just gotta do what you gotta do.”

With nothing else to do to occupy his time, Dennis sent texts to everyone advising them of what was going on. To Jack he texted,
How about an update on what’s going on with you over there in gay Pareee.

When there were no incoming texts, Dennis turned his phone off and waited. The wait was short. It was only seven minutes later that he saw Annie blasting her way through the parking lot. She skidded to a stop next to his car, her tires practically smoking.

Dennis hopped out of his car, locked it, and literally dove into the backseat of Annie’s fancy-dancy car and came face-to-face with Myra’s dog Lady. Lady barked at her space being invaded. Perfect! He should have thought of Lady himself. Nothing like a lady walking a dog or two ladies walking a dog. He felt stupid but only for a minute. He hugged the gorgeous golden retriever.

Even before Dennis could close the door, Annie had the car in reverse and was barreling back across the lot. “What’s the plan, young man?” Myra asked.

Dennis gave Annie directions. “Well, first I think we should do a couple of drive-bys to get you two familiar with the neighborhood. Which, by the way, is actually very nice. I think we should park a few streets over and walk to the house, at which point I’ll check out the yard, front and back. There are a lot of bushes, but I also think it’s a good idea that you brought Lady with you. No one pays attention to dog walkers.”

Two drive-bys later, Dennis pointed to a small copse of evergreens at the entrance to a cul-de-sac. “Pull in here and park. Don’t worry, I know exactly where we are. I can get us in and out of here in a flash if necessary. We’re going to walk now like we belong here. Everybody good with that?”

Everybody, meaning Myra and Annie, said they were good with that, so they took off walking down the street. They encountered no one, but they did hear muted voices coming from various front porches. Voices they ignored.

“What’s the address?” Annie hissed.

“Sixty-six Nightingale Lane,” Dennis hissed in return. “It’s just around the corner, two houses in. There’s a big old sycamore tree right by the driveway, where you can have Lady pretend to do her business. I’ll go around back. There are lights on inside. No outside lights, that’s a good thing. No strange dogs barking either, which is also good.

“While I’m checking out the back, you two ladies decide how you want to handle this. Do we blast in? Do we identify ourselves and ring the bell? What? Personally, I’m all for blasting in. They’ll bolt for sure if we give them notice. Make up your mind real quick,” Dennis said, “because I won’t be gone long.”

“The youngster has a point, Myra. What do you think?”

“What I think, Annie, is who is going to be doing the blasting? Does that mean Dennis is going to kick in the back door, which probably leads to the kitchen? The women will undoubtedly run out the front door unless one of us is waiting by the front door. That’s what I would do if I was in their position. Do you have your gun in your purse?”

“I do. Never leave home without it, you know that, Myra.”

“I know. I know. I was just making conversation. I’m just a little bit nervous. And Lady is getting jittery.”

“The only reason Lady is jittery is because she’s picking up on your nervousness. Think, Myra. When was the last time we failed at anything? Never, that’s when. So lighten up and go with the flow here. Damn, it’s humid. My clothes are plastered to my body, and we’ve only been here less than ten minutes. Supposed to rain tonight, too, and all day tomorrow. This whole thing started on a rainy day, remember, Myra, we were getting our nails done when Pearl hit the shop like a tornado?”

Myra had her mouth open to speak when Dennis appeared out of the darkness. The women backed up so they were closer to the young reporter. “All the blinds are pulled except on the kitchen window. No blind or curtain there. There’s food on the table, groceries, staples actually, that haven’t been put away yet. I got right up under the window and looked in. I could see light coming from another room, so I guess they have the television on. I couldn’t tell for certain which room it is. The house is small, five rooms off a short hallway would be my guess. That has to mean the front door opens into the living room. So, how do you want to do this? I could try to pick the lock, but I might make noise. They’re going to spook real easy; I think we all know that. Or, I can kick in the door. It’s just your regulation kitchen door, four panes of glass on the top and wood on the bottom half. Standard lock. The front door is probably solid. If I kick in the door, they’re automatically going to run for the front door.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Annie said, pointing to her purse.

“Okay, then. Myra, you come with me. Leave the dog with Annie. Dogs, even gentle ones like Lady, are always a deterrent. We’re good here?”

“We are good,” Annie said as she reached out for Lady’s leash. She moved into position as Myra and Dennis ran around the back just as a few drops of rain splattered on Annie’s cheeks. Rain was good right now. Anyone meandering about outside would head indoors. She waited, her hand in her purse.

Annie heard the crash minutes later. Lady threw her head back and howled. Annie heard the snick of the front door’s being unlocked. Her hand was out of her purse in the blink of an eye. She was on the steps that led to the front porch within a few seconds, the gun pointed straight ahead. “Go back into the house, ladies. No one is going to hurt you. We are here to help you. Just so you know, 9643 and 9644, people you trust sent us here.”

As she advanced across the porch Annie could see that Dennis had his hand clamped around the wrist of a young girl, and Myra had her hand on Amalie Moss’s arm.

“Guard, Lady,” Myra said as she let go of Amalie Moss’s arm. She turned on a lamp in the living room. She looked over at Annie, who was still holding her gun in her hand, pointed at the two women.

“Do not believe what they tell you about golden retrievers being gentle and everyone’s friend. Lady will rip out your throat if you make a move we don’t like.” It was a lie, but it sounded good even to Myra’s ears.

Annie looked over at Dennis. “You need to go get the car and bring it here. We’ll drop you off at your car on the way out. While you do that, we will explain to these ladies that they are as safe with us as they would be in their mothers’ arms.”

There were only two words to describe Muno and Moss as they huddled together on the chocolate-brown sofa:
defeated
and
terrified.
“How did you find us?” Amalie Moss demanded bravely.

Myra sniffed. “Just chalk it up to dogged detective work. I want to reassure you that you are safe with us. We know who you are, Rosalee Muno and Amalie Moss. You, Mrs. Moss, are married to Lincoln Moss. You were given safe passage in the underground railroad operated by a dear friend of ours. Your ID numbers were 9643 and 9644. We know all about the picture that was in the tabloid. We are currently in the process of locating the woman who sold you out for money. She was a nurse at the clinic where you had your facial surgery. We will deal with her separately. For now, we just want you to know you are safe.”

“I’ll never be safe from
him,
” Amalie whimpered.

“I guarantee your safety,” Myra said gently. “You need to trust us. Can you do that?”

Muno’s head bobbed up and down as she started to cry. “I’m sorry, Amalie, I can’t do this anymore. We have to trust someone. I believe these people. I really do, Amalie. I want to see my family again. All we succeeded in doing was getting Jason and Stacey in trouble. That lunatic husband of yours is going to go after them. We’re lucky these people found us first. I’m going with them. What you do is up to you.”

Amalie put her arm around the young girl. “You’re right. I can’t do this anymore either. I just want a life again.” She looked Annie dead in the eye, and said, “We won’t give you any more trouble. I promise.”

“Do you have any belongings?” Myra asked. Amalie and Rosalee both shook their heads from side to side.

“As soon as our partner gets here, we’re going to take you someplace where you will truly be safe. You have to trust us and give us your word you won’t try to cut and run. If you can’t do that, then we’re going to have to tie you up,” Myra said.

Rosalee Muno’s eyes opened wide all of a sudden. “Are you . . . I think I know . . . you are, aren’t you?” Annie didn’t think it was possible, but the young girl’s eyes opened even wider when she smiled at her. “You are! I knew it! Amalie, they’re the Vigilantes. She’s right, we’re safe with these people.”

“Who are the Vigilantes, Rosy?”

Rosalee laughed out loud. “Good people who make our world a better place to live. I’ll explain later when things are a little more calm.” Amalie nodded, and the look of relief on her face was a joy to see.

“Ma’am, can we leave a note for Stacey?” Rosalee asked.

“I’m sorry, no, you can’t. We’ll get word to both Stacey and Jason that you’re safe. It’s for their own safety in case anyone is watching them. Please, just trust us.” Once again, the women’s heads bobbed up and down.

“I can see the headlights in the driveway. Come along, ladies. Let’s get into the car quickly,” Annie said.