Loco Motive (27 page)

“Why would I do that? I know where my butt is. I can actually tell my ass from a hole in the ground.”

“You must've gotten it stuck to your slacks under the bed,” Judith said, removing the small piece of paper. “Well, well. Take a look.”

Renie read the hand-printed words aloud. “‘Chester Gundy, b. 04/07/36.'” She looked at Judith. “Who's he?”

“I'll tell you who I think he is when we get back to our room.” Despite the train's rocking motion, both cousins hurried through the sleepers until they reached their compartment.

Judith sank onto the lower bunk. “I suddenly recall Mrs. Gundy asking her husband where Chester was. Mr. Gundy said he was in Wolf Point, where else?”

“As if Chester never went anywhere?”

Judith considered Renie's comment. “I'm not sure. The Gundys, especially Mrs. Gundy, seem muddled.”

“Okay,” Renie said, “if Pepper is a Gundy, she must be related. Why else would she be checking on the
Z
s?”

“Right. She and Wayne were surprised to find the roomette occupied. Therefore, they must've known the
Z
s took off—with the older Gundys.” Judith studied the Post-it.

“Chester, born in 1936. He may be her father and the senior Gundys' son. Where do we go from here?”

“If only we had a laptop, we could check it on the Internet.”

“Somebody must have one,” Judith said. “I'll bet Matt does, but their roomette was dark when we went by.”

“Too bad Emily didn't swipe one of those.” Renie leaned closer to the window. “The clouds are moving away. You can see the full moon.”

Judith was surprised that she could also see some of the softly rolling landscape. “It's beautiful. Is this farming country?”

“I think so,” Renie said. “Wheat and cattle ranches. There's a grain elevator. And a house. No snow.” She studied her Amtrak guide. “The Fort Peck Dam is around here. There used to be an air base, but it was closed several years ago. The Milk River runs through the town. Lewis and Clark thought it looked like a cup of tea with milk poured into it, but it's that color because of glacial—”

“Shut up,” Judith snapped. “We're slowing down,” she noted.

“This must be Glasgow. How long will we be here?”

“Not long. It's another small town on what's called the Hi Line that the Great Northern built through virtually unpopulated territory a hundred—”

“Shut up! All I want to know is how long we'll be in Glasgow.”

“We're almost stopped,” Renie said. “The station must be on the other side of the train. I can't see anything but more grain elevators.”

Judith stood up. “I'm going outside to call Joe. He'll still be up.”

“You won't have time, you could get a bad connection. He might be going to bed early. Their flight tomorrow morning is at eight…”

Judith didn't hear the rest of Renie's protests. She grabbed her jacket and moved into the corridor. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, no one was in sight. The outer door was shut, but she was undaunted. As she grasped the handle, the train began to move again.

“Damn!” Frustrated, Judith felt the train pick up speed as it passed a closed farmers' market, a vacant baseball field, and the serpentine curves of a murky river. Cursing herself for not moving faster and wishing Renie had stopped blabbing, she headed for the steps. Female voices floated down the stairwell. Judith recognized Maddie and Tiff before she actually saw them.

“You!” Maddie exclaimed from the next to the last step. “What did you do with our pictures?”

Judith took a deep breath, regaining her aplomb. “I kept them.”

“You're a thief!” Maddie moved closer, her expression menacing. “We're calling the cops.”

“Go ahead.” Judith remained calm. “You trespassed. I have a witness.”
If Mother can remember who I am, let alone the so-called Santa elves.
“It'd help your cause if you told me why you lied about the rental and came onto our property to take photos without permission.”

Maddie and Tiff exchanged quick glances. “You have no proof,”
Maddie finally said. “We wanted pictures of the neighborhood before we talked to the rental agent. People in real estate do that all the time.”

“Then,” Judith said, “let me see the other photos, especially the ones of the rental and the rest of the cul-de-sac.”

Maddie's blue eyes flashed with anger. “We don't have them here.”

“You don't have them at all,” Judith countered. “You shot the front of our house, but nothing else in the cul-de-sac. Let's cut a deal. Tell me why you took the pictures of Willie and I'll drop the charges.”

“Screw you.” Maddie nodded at Tiff. “Do it.”

Judith and Tiff were the same height, but the younger woman had a lean, willowy body and no apparent physical flaws. As Maddie stepped aside, Tiff grabbed Judith's upper arms and shoved her back toward the outer door. Maddie was already there, trying to turn the latch.

Judith dug in her heels and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Hurry up!” Tiff urged.

“Somebody might hear her.”

Judith screamed again, but her struggle to loosen Tiff's viselike grip was doomed. All sorts of hopes and fears raced through her mind. The door must be locked. Her fierce resistance could dislocate her hip. Someone would hear the commotion. Pain ate away at rational thought. Judith began to feel weak, even light-headed. Maddie swore a blue streak. Another scream echoed in Judith's ears.
Is that me? I can hardly breathe. How could I scream?
A scuffle. A shrill cry. A loud thud. Judith crumpled to the floor.

“Hey!” a woman shouted. The voice was familiar. “What's this?”

The pain was ebbing, but someone close by was making odd, bleating sounds. Judith slowly opened her eyes.

“You want to take me on?” the not-quite-recognizable voice asked.

Another woman spoke. “Not me, Pepper.”

Renie. Relief surged through Judith's battered body. She concentrated on focusing her vision and her brain.

“You sure?” Pepper demanded. “What's in that sock?”

“Horse chestnuts,” Renie replied. “They make a nice weapon.” A man called out.

“Pepper!”

Judith recognized Wayne's voice. She raised her head. Tiff was rolling around on the floor, groaning. Maddie froze in place, her back against the door.

Pepper confronted Maddie. “Who are you? I thought you were partners in crime with Mrs. Flynn.”

“Never!” Maddie cried. “She's a crook!”

Pepper lunged at Maddie, viciously twisting her arms. “Talk!” Renie and Wayne helped Judith to her feet. “Easy does it,” Renie said. “She's got an artificial hip.”

The words stabbed at Judith's mind.
But I don't hurt, at least not in the unbearable way I feel when I dislocate. Thank God.

Tiff had stopped her groans and moans, but stayed on the floor, catching her breath as she tried to sit up.

“Which team are we on?” Renie asked Wayne.

He didn't answer. Judith leaned against the luggage rack and shook herself. “Good question,” she mumbled.

Wayne also seemed confused. “Don't ask me. Maybe Pepper can tell us.”

Pepper, however, was waiting for Maddie to say something. When the younger woman didn't speak, Pepper twisted her arm again. “You want me to put you in traction?”

“Okay, okay!” Maddie was in obvious pain. “Can we go someplace else?” she asked in a quavering voice.

Pepper nodded at Wayne. “Haul the other one to my compartment. It'll be crowded, but we can sit on these little twits.”

Before anyone could move, the family-room door opened. “What's happening?” Courtney asked as Emily raced to the scene of the disaster. “Darling, don't—” her mother called out,
but stopped as she took in the carnage. “Oh, dear! Has there been an accident?”

“Nothing to see here!” Renie shouted. “Go 'way, Emily.” Emily was fixated on Tiff.

“You dead?” the little girl asked eagerly, probing Tiff's backside with the yellow bill on her ducky slipper. “You like tickleth? Tickleth make me laugh. Like dis.” She let out a series of high-pitched giggles.

Pepper glared at Courtney. “Get the kid out of here. Now.” Obviously frightened, Courtney quickly scooped up her daughter. “Don't kick Mommy again,” she begged Emily, who was protesting loudly and waggling her ducky feet. “We need night-night time.”

Judith was recovering. “I'm okay, but I need to sit,” she admitted. “How can we all do that in any of the compartments?”

Pepper was watching Maddie and Tiff with a wariness that would have made a prison guard envious. “If,” she said, “I close the beds in the accessible bedroom, some of us can sit on the floor. Like this pair,” she added, indicating the two young women by pointing with her foot.

“I can stand outside,” Wayne volunteered.

“Whatever,” Pepper said. “Let's do it.”

Wayne pulled Tiff to her feet. Pepper shoved Maddie toward the accessible bedroom. Renie picked up Judith's purse where it had fallen during the fray and took her cousin's arm. “I warned you,” she said under her breath. “You're damned lucky you didn't dislocate.”

“I know,” Judith replied meekly. “Thanks for saving my life.”

“Sure,” Renie said. “I went into the corridor and saw Maddie and Tiff heading downstairs as the train started. I deemed it prudent to arm myself.”

“Genius,” Judith said under her breath.

Wayne held on to the young women while Pepper moved the beds with Renie's help. Moments later, the cousins were sitting down, Pepper was standing, Maddie and Tiff were on the
floor, and Wayne was on guard outside. Taking charge, Pepper addressed Judith. “You're not conspiring with these two?” she asked, gesturing at the forlorn girls.

“Hardly,” Judith said. “They've been playing nasty games with me since last week. I've got pictures to prove it.”

To Judith's surprise, Pepper seemed impressed. “Maybe I pegged you wrong from the get-go.”

“Maybe we both made that mistake,” Judith said. “Ask them who they're working for. They're not the mastermind type.”

Maddie uttered a faint growl. Tiff rubbed the back of her head. Pepper sneered at both of them. “Well?”

“No matter what Mrs. Flynn says, we didn't do anything illegal,” Maddie insisted with a hint of her usual verve. “We took pictures at the B&B she owns.” She paused, with a quick glance at Tiff. “It was all harmless—like a stunt. In fact, that's what it was—a stunt. Right, Tiff?”

Tiff grunted in apparent assent. “Some stunt,” Renie remarked. “Does ‘harmless' mean you'd push my cousin off a moving train?”

“She threatened us with the cops,” Maddie said. “That scared us.” Pepper shook her head. “Save the lame excuses. Who hired you to—” She stopped, turning to Judith.

“What kind of pictures? X-rated?”

“No,” Judith said, “unless you mean the hospital X-rays taken later. They shot the front of our house when…” She paused.

“When Willie made his first jump out of the upstairs window. The rest were taken from the backyard, including his accident and the aftermath.”

Pepper looked puzzled. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Judith removed the memory card from her purse. “I returned their camera, but kept this. See for yourself.”

Pepper frowned at the card. “I will.” She looked again at Maddie and Tiff. “Were you the ones I saw in that silver car at the corner of the cul-de-sac?”

Maddie's defiance resurfaced. “So?”

“Who asked you to take the pictures?” Pepper demanded.

Maddie and Tiff stared at each other. Tiff finally spoke. “His name was John Smith. We met him on the train a week ago going the other way.”

Pepper was incredulous. “John Smith? Are you serious?”

Tiff nodded—and winced. “My head hurts.”

“Tough,” Pepper said under her breath. “What did he want?”

“We got to talking in the club car,” Maddie said. “He told us he was a private detective, doing surveillance on some daredevil guy staying at Hillside Manor. Mr. Smith couldn't risk being seen too often, so he asked us to drive by on Wednesday and Thursday. If the guy did anything unusual, we were to take as many pictures as we could. When we got to the cul-de-sac Wednesday morning, we saw a rental sign on a house near the B&B. That'd be our excuse for being there. We left the car by the curb on the through street after we took the first pictures.” Maddie stopped to clear her throat. “I need water. I'm parched.”

Pepper looked suspicious. “Pretend you're in a desert. Go on. Or can't your accomplice speak?”

Tiff shook her head. “I feel woozy.”

“That's a shame,” Pepper retorted. “Finish your story. Then you can have some water and maybe I can find an aspirin.”

Judith, however, had some questions of her own. “Hold on, Pepper. I want to know why these two came to my B&B's door.”

After a moment of silence, Maddie responded. “We were scared that we'd been seen taking pictures of Willie's accident. We hid on the slope in your backyard, but people were all over the place, in and out of the house. We figured someone had called 911. Cops might show up. We went around that big hedge and came to your front porch. There weren't any sirens yet, so we rang the bell and told you we were looking for the rental agent. You didn't seem to recognize us, so we pretended to go next door. After you'd gone inside, we hurried to the car we'd parked by the
cul-de-sac entrance. We left just before the emergency vehicles arrived.” She cleared her throat again. “Our job was done.”

Judith recalled Arlene's remark about cars cruising the neighborhood. No doubt one of them belonged to Maddie and Tiff.