Promise Me Forever (6 page)

A voice scared the daylights out of her. She swung around to see Margie and Elvin come up behind her, stalking, as if they were in dire straits. “We lost him,” Margie cried out.

“No, he went down the trail. Let’s get him,” Abby shouted. She didn’t care at this point if someone heard. All she wanted to do was capture the culprit who stole all the proceeds from this benefit tonight. It also helped to know her mom and dad tracked the man with the device she put on his cape. It made her braver than what she was.

“We can’t go down there. They told us to observe. Abby! Where are you going?”

“I plan to save that money from a low life con man!”

“We can’t let her go alone, come on Elvin. Follow her.”

Chapter 5

When Abby neared the edge of the woods she reached down and picked up the dark cape on the ground. “Oh no! No! No! No! This isn’t supposed to happen!”

Margie stopped behind her with Elvin bumping in to her from behind. “What?”

“I put the tracking device on the cape but he took it off. They’ll never find him now. We have to do something.” Abby realized he had a gun but if they carried the cape with them, they could stay far enough away and yet draw the agency closer to the thief. It seemed like a good plan. She stepped in to the wooded area.

“Abby, you sure? We aren’t supposed to do this?” Margie’s jaw moved back and forth as she ground her teeth together.

“We won’t get too close, but we have to follow him or he’ll get away. Here!” She thrust the cape in Margie’s arms. “You hang on to this. Your job is so important. It’s how they’ll track the bad guy, okay?”

Margie’s eyes widened and she clutched the cape against her chest and nodded. “Okay, let’s go then.” She turned to Elvin. “This may be dangerous young man, you don’t have to follow.”

“I’m going to protect you both,” he said.

Abby rolled her eyes. This was getting worse by the minute. “Okay you guys. Let’s take it slow and easy. We don’t want him to know we’re following. Margie, tell my parent’s we’re going in after him.”

Margie nodded and placed her lips against the watch. “Calling Viking and Vixen, this is Gypsy momma. Perperperator is in the woods. We have the cape with the tracker, he dumped it on the ground. We’re staying back away from him but will guide you to him. Be at the ready, with guns ablaze, he has a weapon. A pistol. Abby is with us in the lead. Over.”

Abby went ahead of them, a smile on her face as Margie tried to say perpetrator. The older woman tried so hard to be a spy of sorts, but Abby worried Margie and Elvin would get nervous and do something to endanger themselves. “Maybe I should go in alone,” she told them.

“No way! We’re responsible to keep an eye on him. You shouldn’t be here at all Abby, but to be honest, I’m glad you are. I doubt I could do this without you.” Margie patted her on the back. She forged ahead as Penny trailed the man in black.

It seemed as if they walked a long time with no sign of the petty thief. Abby stopped. “Let me have the cape.”

Margie handed the cape over so Abby could place it in front of Penny’s nose again. “I know you can do this,” she told her pet. “Find him.” Penny sniffed the cape and then the ground for a bit before heading in the opposite direction of where they walked. “Come on, this way,” Abby directed to the others as she followed Penny. “I think she’s got a lead on him.”

After several minutes they came to a series of trails. Penny stopped and sniffed around but seemed confused at first until she ran down one trail and then back to Abby. So they followed along, stepping through burma reed, its linear leaf blades drifting over the half cleared trail. Dark green leathery clusters from the chicle-gum tree hung down and hit Abby in the face. She pushed the twigs back and followed Penny through the brush.

Elvin spoke up. “We’re getting near the Blue Hole. There’s alligators there,” he said in a shaky voice.

“Elvin, there’s alligators everywhere. They won’t bother us if we don’t mess with them. Concentrate on the job at hand,” Abby warned him. That’s all she needed, an Elvis imposter terrified of alligators right now. She did look back a few times since he mentioned the dreaded word, in case he was right.

Margie piped up. “What’s the Blue Hole?”

“It used to be a quarry or something, abandoned years ago and filled with fresh water, wildlife and alligators now,” Elvin said.

Abby smiled to herself. There were trails all along with postings from time to time. If the alligators over ran the area, they wouldn’t let people run around here, would they? They came to a small bridge with wooden slats across, a fence of sorts to keep a person from walking straight in to the Blue Hole. A bird flew by Abby’s face and she jumped. Penny began to growl.

“Penny, hush. It’s okay.” Her hair stood up and she didn’t listen. Penny moved closer to Abby, alert. Mother nature seemed to get quiet all of a sudden in the immediate area.

The cock of a gun’s hammer filtered through the air, reaching Abby’s ears like a firecracker on the fourth of July. The others heard it as well because they all turned around at the same time to find Zorro a few feet away holding a gun in front of him.

“Dang it!” Margie cried out. “Don’t shoot! We’re tourists.”

His head moved back and forth. “No, I doubt you’re tourists. I saw you on stage at the campground.” He turned to Abby. “I saw you up close and personal. What are you following me for?”

“I said we’re tourists and campers,” Margie tried to convince him. She raised her hand in the air to realize she held on to the dark cape he wore earlier.

“Oh, is that so? What are you doing with my cape?” He turned the gun towards Margie and reached behind him with his other hand. He probably never realized he lost it.

“Don’t!” Abby said, her voice steady and strong. “We mean no harm. How about we give you the cape you dropped and be on our way. We were enjoying the trails here but we better get back, it’s almost dark.”

“I no longer need the cape.” He turned to Abby, looked at Penny, then back at her. She had to act nonchalant, as if they were out and about, but she doubted he would believe her at this point. She could see it in his face, the way a muscle twitched at the corner of his eye. He was serious and dangerous. “I suggest you tell me before I put a bullet in the dog’s fur.”

When he spoke she wanted to jump on him and gouge his eyes out. Anger flashed across Abby’s face and she knew he saw it, knew her vulnerable spot. She stared at him hard. The eyes told the truth and she knew without a doubt he would kill her dog. She looked at Margie and Alvin. She winked at them both and then looked back at the dark figure. “Okay, I’ll tell you the truth. Don’t hurt my dog.”

He flicked his wrist as the gun wobbled back and forth, his patience at an end. “Tell me now,” he ordered. He seemed nervous but with the gun in his hand, no one was about to question anything he did.

Abby let out a deep sigh. “Look, we saw you steal the money in the office. My friends and I followed you. The reason we know about this is we planned to do the same thing. It’s what we do, move from place to place in the old camper and steal. We planned to confront you and then make you give us part of the cash. We could use it because we’re running low.”

He stared at her. Sweat poured from her temple but she didn’t dare brush it away or lower her eyes or he would know she lied. A small twitch in his hand and he lowered the gun. “Well, I ain’t giving you the money. You best be on your way, right now.”

That was easy!
Abby took a few steps back and turned to the others. She nodded to them to follow her, her eyes wide and desperate. She lifted her hand to her mouth and pinched her lips so they knew not to say a word. They were down the trail a few feet when Elvin jerked the cape from Margie’s hand and turned back to the guy, who stood watching as they retreated. “You forgot your cape.”

“I don’t need it,” he said. “Now go!”

“But it’s the only way they can track-”

Abby slapped a hand over his mouth. “Move!” she demanded and gave him a hard push.

“Track me! What the hell-”

“Go! Go!” Abby shouted. She led the way in to the brush. She ran as fast as she could, the others behind her. Their heavy breathing let her know they kept up with her as her long legs flew through the dense woods. She dodged some trees and bushes that almost slapped her in the face. Penny slowed down and let Margie and Elvin ahead of her, then came up behind them as if she were herding the three humans.

She doubted the man followed them but at this point wanted to be as far from him and his gun as possible. They had to let the agency know. “Give me your arm,” Abby told Margie.

She spoke in to the watch. “Mom, Dad! We’re somewhere close to the Blue Hole, wherever that is and we’re lost with a gunman on the loose. You better bring in the troops because I have no idea where we are. The tracking system is lost somewhere out here. There’s no way to find the bad guy. Or us.”

She let our her breath. How in the world would they find their way out of here without running in to alligators or wild animals? Soon the dark night would fall upon them and then what? She grabbed Margie’s wrist again. “Don’t look for us, we’ll find our way home. Get that Zorro impersonating thief. We found him stealing all the cash from the office of the campground. Although I’m sure he did something much more serious to have the agency on his tail.”

“Do you think so?” Margie asked.

Abby nodded. “Yes. I wondered why they would send my Mom and Dad to a campground to catch a simple thief. I knew there had to be more to the story. Not sure what it is yet, but maybe we should find out.”

“I think we should get out of the brush before we get lost in here and have to spend the night in this place.” Elvin sounded scared.

She looked at him. “Elvin? You said you would take care of us, remember? Are you going back on your word?”

His eyes got wide. “Uh, no. I am, well, no. I don’t like the dark night. It terrifies me.”

Abby tried not to roll her eyes again. Elvin needed someone to take of him, Margie was right. She thought about Jon and what he would do if he were here in this situation. Abby remembered the time at the campground when they were staking out the gunrunners and how he kept his cool while she went in to the store and ran in to one of the bad guys. She closed her eyes for a second to recall how he restrained himself when he knew something was wrong. He was so cool and calculating, strong and tough all rolled in to one. Jon would find a way out of the brush without thinking twice. He wouldn’t panic and neither would she. He was her rock, the person she needed the most, so she focused on seeing him again.

Even though the thief was no doubt long gone by now, they could easily go in a large circle and she didn’t want to come face to face with that gun again. She looked up at the sky, above the brush and trees that looked eerie this time of the day covered in shadows. A faint light shone in the sky. “I think we should go that way,” she pointed and began to more her feet.

The others followed, their bodies close to hers. Once again Penny herded them by circling back and forth as if to keep them in a straight path. Abby looked up through the trees to see the sky getting a bit brighter and then the brush cleared and they stood on the outskirts of what looked like a small fishing camp.

It was dark enough they could stand in the shadows and look out over the area. A two story building stood close to the water, with small cottages dotted over the camp. Tall palm trees covered the grounds and a line of fishing boats sat against the docks in a straight row. A covered pavilion centered in the middle of the camp seemed to be the place where everyone gathered. Torches surrounded the beach area as the soft sound of thirties music filled the air. “We may as well walk to the pavilion and use someone’s phone to call my mom and dad,” Abby told them. “I’m not sure that watch is working. Have you heard them talk back to you?”

Margie shrugged. “No, they said it only works one way.”

Abby wasn’t sure how the world of spies worked so she kept quiet. She took a few steps towards the pavilion and stopped dead in her tracks. Her hands shot out to halt the others. “Wait! Is that him?”

“Sure is,” Margie whispered as if he could hear her. “How did he beat us here?”

“We got lost, remember?” Abby motioned for everyone to step back in the tree-line again.

“What do we do?” Margie asked.

“I don’t know. We can’t waltz up there and put everyone else in danger. Let’s see what he’s up to.” After a few minutes at the pavilion, the thief walked towards a small cottage. He took a key out of his pocket and opened the door. “Look at that, he is staying here. Now we can report to the agency and they can collect him here.”

“Look! What’s in his hand?” Margie whispered louder when he reappeared in the doorway.

Abby squinted. “Get back, he’s got binoculars.” They ran for the cover of a large tree. Abby placed herself right behind the trunk, her front against the bark as she peeked around to see what he was looking for. Margie was against her back, her hands around Abby and Elvin in the back. They formed a straight line so they wouldn’t get caught in his line of vision.

After a few minutes, Abby’s skin felt wet. She reached up to find sap from the tree on her exposed skin. “This tree is filled with some kind of liquid?” She gazed down at her arm in the dark to see black patches covered her pink skin.