The Butterfly Conspiracy (29 page)

Moon didn’t like the look on Paulie’s face.
 
“Take it easy.
 
Now’s not the time to get all agitated.” he said, with a little less conviction in his voice.

Paulie grabbed Moon by the throat.
 
“Well, guess what?
 
Now I got the map and I got the plan and I don’t need to give you shit.”

Moon cocked his fist back and punched Paulie in the face as hard as he could.
 
Paulie didn’t move.
 
He didn’t make a sound or even react like anything had happened.
 
The only thing that changed were his eyes.
 
Paulie’s eyes narrowed and looked cold. Paulie took his free arm, reached over and grabbed Moon by the head.
 
He gave a quick twist and Moon felt a snap. Moon tried to scream but all he could manage was a few soft gurgling sounds as Paulie gently lowered him to the floor.

Chapter 38

Jeanette woke up on the couch with a blanket over her.
 
The room was dim as the first light of day illuminated the manicured grounds outside her window.
 
She tried to move her legs.
 
She looked down to see Stephen sleeping next to her, his legs draped over hers.
 
An empty wine bottle was on the coffee table next to two empty glasses.
 

Jeanette quietly got up, hoping not to wake Stephen.
 
She went to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee and rummaged in the pantry.
 

Jeanette thought about the meeting with Moon set for tonight. She wondered how he could possibly know anything.
 
Was this his idea of a big joke?
 
Was it worth the trouble going to meet him?
 
She walked back to her room carrying a tray with two cups of coffee and two English muffins.

Stephen was sitting on the couch, looking very tired.
 

“Good Morning, Stephen.”

Stephen ran his fingers through his hair.
 
“Morning, what happened last night?”

“I think we were both exhausted.
 
I remember having a few glasses of wine, and talking.
 
Then I remember snuggling next to you after I got a blanket because we were cold.
 
We must have fallen asleep after that.”

 
 
Stephen pulled Jeanette close.
 
“It was nice having you next to me last night.”
 

Jeanette leaned up and kissed him.
 
He knew she felt the same way.
 
They held each other for a few minutes.
 
Jeanette looked at Stephen.
 

“I think we need to be very careful tonight.
 
I don’t think Moon is dangerous, but I doubt he’s in this alone.
 
He has a history of following the wrong crowd, getting in trouble and paying for it.
 
I don’t want to get caught up in one of his schemes.
 
Then again, I would want to see if he can tell us something useful.”

“It does seem strange that he would have all of this information just by himself.”

Jeanette nodded, “I think we should leave with enough time to get us to the cave at least an hour before the meeting.
 
I know of a high spot above the cave where we can watch to make sure Moon is coming by himself. I’ve got a map of the area I can give you just in case we get separated.
 
I’ve hiked all the trails back there for years, I don’t need it.”

“What about the money?”

“What money?” Jeanette asked.

“Didn’t you say the person on phone wanted you to bring five hundred dollars?”

“If the person turns out to be Moon, like I think it will, I’ll tell him Mr. Kahle would be happy to pay him a reward for Britt’s killer.”

“What if it’s someone else?” Stephen asked.

“I’ll tell them the same thing,” Jeanette stood up.
   
“I need to get ready for work now.
 
I’ll probably work till around four thirty, but I’ll see you at dinner.
 
Don’t mention our plans to anyone.”

Stephen went to his room, showered and changed into some clean clothes.
 
He walked around his room to see if he could find any trace of whoever may have gone in and stolen his knife. Everything seemed fine.
 
He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
 
Stephen took his sketchpad to the library and sketched for a few hours.
 
Around lunch time, he walked down to Jeanette’s office.
 

“Do you want to have some lunch, Jeanette?”

“Yes, let me get Phillip and he can join us.”

Phillip looked pale and hardly said a word.
 
When lunch was over, Phillip walked to the door and said that he would be in his quarters for the rest of the day and to go ahead and have dinner without him.
 
It was apparent that he was taking Britt’s death very hard.
 

Jeanette returned to her office and Stephen spent the afternoon walking the grounds, trying to see if he could discover any evidence of an intruder.

After dinner, Stephen met Jeanette in her room to review the final preparations for the hike to Devil’s
Kitchen
Cave
.

“We both have a flashlight and you have a map. Even though I don’t think Moon is dangerous, we need to be careful.
 
We need to make sure Moon is alone, because we are talking about kidnapping and murder.
 
We need to leave now if we want to get to the cave while it’s still light.
 
It won’t be totally dark till around
nine o’clock
.
 
We have a quarter moon, so we should be able to walk the trail back easily, if it’s not too cloudy.”

“Okay,” Stephen replied, “let’s get going.”

Chapter 39

Paulie needed more beer and thought it was about time to check in with Al.
 
He walked three blocks and found a payphone outside the IGA store. Paulie had replaced the stolen boots, which had been killing his feet, with the snake skin shoes he had brought with him from
New York
.
  
The shoes didn’t match his new jeans and plaid shirt look, but his feet felt much better. He dumped some coins into the pay phone and dialed.
 

 
“Yeah.” Al answered.

“Al, its Paulie.
 
I’m picking up the kid in about an hour and we’ll be heading back to the city tonight.
 
The plan I told you about is going good.”

“No, it ain’t.
 
Plans have changed.
 
There’s been no sign of the dough.
 
You-know-who told me you need to go to plan B.
 
Just bring back a souvenir that shows everything’s been taken care of.”

“Plan B.
 
You mean I should whack the ki..”

“Shut up, you ass-hole.
 
You’re talking on a phone, here. Just go to plan B like we went over before you left. By the way, Paulie, nobody’s real impressed with you so far, if you get what I mean.
 
This better go off without a hitch or you might just wanna relocate up there in the woods and lay low for a few years.
 
Get my drift?”
 

Al slammed down the phone.
 
Paulie understood completely.

Back at Moon’s room, Paulie took another look at the map Moon had provided.
 
The route had looked a lot clearer when Moon was pointing things out.
 
But now, Paulie thought the map had way too many lines.
 
Some were dotted, some were in circles.
 
The more he stared at the map, the more he was confused.
 

He tossed the map down and looked around Moon’s room for a flashlight.
 
He searched all the drawers in the kitchen cabinets and didn’t find one.
 
The next logical place was the closet, but it was difficult rummaging around in there because Moon, rolled up in a blanket, took up most of the space.
 

Finally, on top of a shelf, Paulie found one. He pushed the door to the closet closed.
 
Paulie grabbed the rug that was on the floor in front of the kitchen sink and rolled the rifle up inside.
 
He then put the map in his pocket, took the flashlight and headed out the door.
 
He got to the bottom of the steps without anyone seeing him.
 
Walking quickly through the hallway to the back of the building where the tenants parked their cars, Paulie came to a sudden stop.

“Damnit!”

    
Which car was Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s?
 
He peered into each car in the dirt parking area, finally spotting a car with a set of keys hanging in the ignition.
 
Paulie put the wrapped up rifle behind the front seat.
 
He threw the flashlight and map onto the passenger seat, got in and drove away.
 

About five miles out of town, he spotted what seemed to be the logging road entrance.
 
He turned into the opening and slowly drove as the car bounced over ruts and fallen limbs.
 
The last few miles were down an overgrown path that appeared not to have been used in the last ten years.
 

Finally the car reached a dead end.
 
Paulie opened the door and hesitated.
 
Once again, he was alone in the middle of the woods.
 
He glanced at the map.
 
Just as the map indicated, a narrow trail branched off to the left.
 
Paulie took the rifle out from the rug and stood there.
 
He looked around. There was nothing but trees.
 
He listened as the wind blew through the leaves.