Of Merlot & Murder (A Tangled Vines Mystery) (25 page)

And then there was Jackson. Their timing had never been good, but they’d just begun to find their rhythm. She’d be damned if this was how it was all going to end. She had to find a way out of this mess for both her and her sister.

“Yes, Sam,” Elise told him, “I get you.”

“Good deal. Now let’s move.”

twenty-five

They got out of
the car and Sam took Madison by the arm again as they walked toward the fairground’s rear gate. He made Elise go ahead of them to keep an eye on her and to ensure that, as he put it, there was no ‘funny business’.

When they got to the gate, Elise eyed the thick chain that was wound through the links and the padlock holding it in place. Facing Sam, she raised an eyebrow. “This gate is locked. What do you propose we do? Fly over it?”

“Don’t be a smart-ass, El,” Madison hissed with a frightened look. “Are you trying to get him to shoot us right here?”

Elise shook her head. “Don’t worry, Maddy. Sam’s not going to shoot us out here in the open where anyone could drive by and see. Right, Sam?”

The man simply smiled, unfazed by her goading. “Don’t tempt me, little girl. We’re far enough out of town that it wouldn’t be that
much of a worry. As for the locked gate? That’s not a problem,
either. If you look a bit closer, you’ll find that I’ve been out here before—with bolt cutters.”

Elise did as he’d suggested, and with growing concern, realized
he was right. The lock was just for show, the chain itself having been
neatly snipped in two. He may not have meant to harm Grace Vanderhouse, but like Divia’s murder, he’d planned ahead to tie off the loose ends that she and Madison presented.

Keeping the gun pressed snuggly against Madison’s rib cage, he nodded toward the entrance. “Be quick, girl.
Take the chain off and open the gate.”

She did as he asked and pushed the gate open wide. When she did, she could have sworn she’d caught movement up on the road. She hadn’t heard anything, but wondered if someone or something might be concealed behind the thick brush that grew along the highway. Not wanting to call his attention to what she may have seen, she turned and began walking toward the area that had housed Restaurant Row during the festival.

Though she couldn’t be certain what she’d actually seen, or if it had been wishful thinking on her part, her mind went crazy with the possibilities. Of course, the best-case scenario—and the one she was rooting for with every fiber of her being—was that C.C. had contacted Jackson, and the cavalry was about to make their move. She didn’t know how much time she and Madison had left, but knew it couldn’t be long.

They continued down the thoroughfare and were almost to Restaurant Row when a loud report from the direction of the parking lot startled them all. It sounded like a gun shot, but could’ve been a car backfiring out on the road. Madison’s eyes widened, and she shot a look in Elise’s direction before Sam spun around, dragging her with him.

In that split second, Madison surprised them both by taking advantage of the distraction and the momentum, throwing a roundhouse punch that caught Sam square in the nose. It wasn’t enough to do lasting damage, but in that moment he grunted in pain and let go of her arm, which gave the women the only opportunity they were going to get.

“Run, El!” Madison yelled over her shoulder as she raced away, disappearing down an aisle before Sam could recover.

Elise didn’t waste any time in following her sister’s lead and sprinted down Restaurant Row to her right as fast as her legs would take her. Unfortunately, she’d lost sight of Madison, but she prayed that her sister would find a safe place to hide. The good news was that they’d gone down different aisles. At least for the moment, Sam would have to choose only one of them to follow.

At Sam’s angry bellow, Elise had the brief hope that Madison’s punch had bloodied the creep’s nose good. Darting into a booth about halfway up the aisle, she ducked behind the counter and prayed for deliverance.

“Elise, I know you’re here somewhere. Do
not
make me look for you.”

It seemed like Sam was in the next aisle over, but sound could be
deceiving the way it echoed up and down the fairway like a wind-tunnel. For all she knew he could be right at the end of her row.

“You know I took the car keys from Madison,” Sam yelled. “Neither one of you can go anywhere, so you’re just postponing the inevitable. Might as well come out and face the music, get it over with.”

Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. Because we’re both just that stupid, you moron.

She wanted to scream at him to shut his pie hole—that he wasn’t going to get away with taking her or Madison from their family and friends. She longed to shout that Jackson would come for them, and then he’d be sorry. But to be honest, she wasn’t sure that would happen, at least not in time to save them. Then again, what if Jackson did come and Sam got the drop on him? She wasn’t sure she could take that, either.

Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears that she was certain he could hear it and would locate her by that alone. She backed up against the wall of the kiosk underneath the counter, pulling her legs up as close to her body as she could get them in hopes that she couldn’t be seen if he glanced into the booth. Terrified to make any sound that might give away her position, she squeezed her eyes shut and listened for anything that might indicate he was near.

As she sat there straining to hear the slightest noise, the loud
bang
when Sam kicked the front panel of a booth on the other side of the aisle was just about her undoing. Slapping her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming, she held her breath, afraid the next booth he checked would be hers.

Just when she was sure he was there just on the other side of the kiosk wall, there was another
bang
and she heard a sound that had her blood running cold. Madison’s scream.

Sam had found her sister.

Madison cried out, begging him not to hurt her. By the sound of it, he was dragging her toward the spot where Elise was hiding, and she had to stifle the urge to jump to her sister’s aid. That would only get them back to square one.

“All right, Elise,” he called after a moment. “It’s time to stop this foolishness. I’ve got Madison, as you can probably hear. Come out now, and I’ll make it quick for both of you.”

“Don’t do it, Elise.” Madison yelled, and then screamed again in pain. Elise could only imagine what Sam had done to elicit her sister’s agonized cry.

“If you don’t come out now, I
will
kill your sister right here. Then I’ll hunt you down and make you sorry you caused me so much trouble. And that’s a promise.”

Oh, dear God!
She had no choice. If she stayed where she was, she’d have to listen to him killing Madison just yards away from where she was safely hidden. But if she came out they were both dead. Either way, they were screwed.

Elise was so scared she thought she might have a heart attack before Sam could kill her, but she took a deep breath, grabbed hold of her courage, and stood up to face him.

“Elise,
no!
” Madison sobbed.

With her pulse racing, Elise stepped out of the booth into the aisle. Pressing her lips together, she shook her head. “This is my fault, Maddy, and I won’t let you die alone because I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Nobody else is going to die here,” a voice called from the end of the row.

Taken by surprise, Sam turned with his arm around Madison’s neck and dragged her with him back against the nearest booth.

Stunned, Elise looked down the aisle to where Jackson stood, flanked by Jim Stockton.

“Mr. Raymond, I’m going to need you to let go of Madison and drop the gun,” Jackson said, putting out a hand.

“That’s not going to happen, Deputy. Don’t you come any closer
, or I’ll shoot both of these women,” Sam finished, waving the gun back and forth between Madison and Elise, who stood frozen in place a few feet away.

“You don’t want to do that,” Jackson said, his voice deadly calm. “Because if you harm either of them, Deputy Stockton here will drop you like a stone.” He gestured to Jim, who had pulled his service revolver and had it trained in Sam’s direction.

Unfortunately, Sam was using Madison as a shield, which would hamper a clear shot. But just when Elise was sure they were at a stalemate, Toby Raymond stepped from around the corner and joined the party.

“Dad? Please do as Jackson says and put down the weapon.”

“Toby? What are you doing here, son?”

“What am
I
doing here? Are you kidding me?” Shock chased disbelief across Toby’s face. “What are
you
doing?”

Sam licked his lips and his voice took on a quality of uncertainty. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“
Protect
me? How?” Toby’s eyes went wide with horror. “By killing my mother? Killing Grace?” He gestured toward Madison and then to Elise. “And how does harming two more innocent people protect me? Please don’t use me as an excuse to commit murder
…
again.”

“I didn’t mean to kill Grace. I swear. That was a mistake. But your momma’s death was justice, and not just for us. She deserved what she got. She started the ball rollin’ by taking you away from me all those years ago. And she destroyed more than one life along the way as she went. This whole thing is her doing, son.”

Toby shook his head. “No, Sam. You’re wrong. I’ve used that excuse for years to justify a lot of bad decisions on my part, but the truth is, I should have made better choices and been accountable for my own actions.” He took one step closer and then another.
“Did Mom do a lot of terrible things over the years out of greed and vanity? Yes. Did she steal time from us by taking me and running
away in the middle of the night? Absolutely. But nobody deserves what you did to her. Nobody.”

Elise had been still as a statue while Toby tried to talk his father out of more violence, but when Jackson stepped forward, she gasped. His attention momentarily diverted, Sam swung the gun briefly in her direction before waving it madly over Madison’s shoulder at Jackson.

“That’s far enough, Deputy. Any closer and I start shooting.”

“Come on, Sam.” Jackson stopped moving and put up his hands.
“You don’t want to do this. You start shooting, and it won’t end well for anyone.”

“Go ahead and test me,” the man suggested, pointing the gun directly at Jackson’s heart.

Elise could read the resolve in Sam’s eyes from where she stood and desperately tried to come up with a plan when Madison went into action surprising them all. The next twenty seconds were a flurry of activity that began with Madison’s elbow connecting with Sam’s mid-section followed by a heel to his instep, another shot to his nose, and ending with a knee to the groin.

The gun he held went flying, and Sam Raymond dropped to his knees before falling face first into the gravel.

They were all so stunned at the turn of events that no one said a word or made a move for another five seconds, or so. Then Madison leapt over Sam’s inert body and made a bee-line to where Jackson stood, with Elise only steps behind. He threw an arm around each of them as Jim collected Sam’s discarded gun and pulled out his handcuffs.

“Geez, Maddy. That was incredible
…
and a little scary,” Toby said, a pained look on his face as he watched the deputy cuff his father. “Where did you learn to do
that
?”

“I just remembered to sing,” Madison said with a wobbly smile and a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“I beg your pardon?” Jim looked up at her like she was some kind of strange new species. “Did you say
sing
?”

“Uh-huh.”

Jackson’s eyebrows dropped and he blinked several times. “What
the hell does that even
mean
?”

“S-I-N-G. Solar plexus, instep, nose, groin.”

Elise burst into laughter at the look on Jackson’s face and hugged him up close for a moment. “Let me help you, sweetie. SING is from one of Maddy’s favorite movies, where Sandra Bullock plays a female F.B.I. agent who goes undercover in a beauty pageant. For her talent in the competition, she teaches the audience some basic self-defense using the acronym S-I-N-G.”

Jackson stared at her for a moment before a smile spread across
his face. Soon he was laughing out loud and shaking his head. “Okay
, now I’ve heard everything. And I think I’m going to have to see this movie you’re talking about.”

Madison smiled in return and then winced when she raised a trembling hand to the bruise beginning to show on the side of her face. “I’ve got it on DVD at home. You’re welcome to it anytime, but I warn you. It’s a screwball chick flick.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Meanwhile, let’s get out of here and get that bruise looked at. I also need to get statements from you two, and C.C.’s probably going a little crazy wondering what’s going on.” Jackson grinned at Elise. “I made her wait in the car.”

“Oh my,” Elise exclaimed. “She may never forgive you for making her miss all the excitement.”

As she started to walk away, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into his embrace, holding her tight against his chest for a moment. Then he spoke softly into her ear.

“You gave me a helluva scare, pal. But that’s something we’re going to have to discuss later when my anxiety level returns to normal.”

“Thanks for coming for us, Jax. And I’ll be happy to have any conversation you want.” She reached up and kissed his cheek. “But right now
…
I just want to go home.”