One Adventure Too Many Read online

  “Where is she?” Joe asked. His words had become all business.

  Aunt Martha made a zipping motion across her mouth.

  “Auntie dearest, the cat’s out of the bag. We have to answer Joe,” I said.

  “But – “

  “I’d suggest you answer my question now.” Joe had folded his arms across his chest and looked down his nose at my aunt.

  I stepped in and did my own blabbing. “Okay, Joe, here’s the thing. We found Zasu and her baby quite by accident. She was hiding out because she’s afraid. She said Mateo saw something he shouldn’t have, but she doesn’t know what it was. He wouldn’t tell her, and he told her to take the baby and leave for a while because he was afraid for their safety. So she did.”

  Joe didn’t say a word, but I knew that trick. If he stood quietly and said nothing, he figured I’d get nervous and tell him more. I’d used that trick a few times myself.

  I stopped talking, folded my arms across my chest in

  imitation of him, and waited.

  He studied each of us.

  My mother stepped back, behind Aunt Martha. Out of sight, out of mind? If she was very quiet, maybe he wouldn’t notice her?

  “Regardless of you possibly hiding Ms. Pitts, you just handed me some information Vancouver didn’t have. They didn’t have a motive for the beating, but you may have just supplied it.”

  I unfolded my arms, looked up at him and gave him a very innocent smile.

  “Is Mateo still in a coma?” I asked.

  “Yes. Where’s Ms. Pitts?”

  “Is she in danger?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “From what you just told me, it’s possible,” Joe replied.

  “Then we’re not telling you,” she said.

  “Aunt Martha, we have to. She needs to know what’s going on, and the police need to know what she knows.”

  Joe stood quietly again.

  “How about this? What if I bring her to you?” I asked. “Can the police protect her? Will they take her to Vancouver?”

  “Yes and yes,” he replied.

  “Let me think this over,” I said. “She and the baby are my prime concerns.”

  “I’d think fast if I were you.”

  “Mother, you and Aunt Martha stay right here and entertain Joe. I’m going outside to call Pete.”

  I pulled out my cell phone and called my husband. He answered on the first ring.

  “What?” he said without preamble.

  “It’s me.”

  “I know. I have Caller ID. What did Joe say?”

  “He wants us to bring Zasu and the baby in. Aunt Blabbermouth opened her mouth and practically shouted Zasu’s name.”

  “We’ll be there shortly.” He hung up without giving me time to make an argument.

  Chapter Eight

  Ten minutes later Pete walked through the front door with Zasu, and Sophie wasn’t with them.

  She read the question in my eyes. “Sophie is with Stan and Felicity. They said they’d babysit for me. If they arrest me, I want her to be with them – with all of you.”

  “I don’t know that they’ll arrest you.” I tried to reassure her.

  “I don’t have any family to leave my baby with, so it’s up to you.”

  Talk about putting us on a spot, but I couldn’t blame her. I might have done the same thing under the same circumstances.

  Joe walked out from behind the counter. “Take a seat, Ms. Pitts. A detective from Vancouver P.D. is on his way. We – they – have a lot of questions.”

  Her eyes teared up. “But I don’t know anything. Am I a suspect?”

  Joe studied her closely. “I honestly don’t know.”

  Pete motioned me to follow him outside, while my mother and aunt took up posts on each side of Zasu. Like

  Bubba, they were in protective mode.

  “I told her about Mateo on our way in,” he said. “She’s relieved that he’s still alive, but afraid because he’s in a coma. I was as gentle with her as I know how to be.”

  “You’re a good man, Pete. Thank you. Things have sure escalated since we found her and the baby in that abandoned house.”

  “You expected less?”

  “No, not really. Let’s go inside and wait with her.”

  “We talked while you were gone. I honestly don’t think she had anything to do with Mateo’s beating, and I don’t think she knows what’s going on.”

  “In other words, she’s sort of an innocent bystander.” Which is what I’d figured.

  “In a way,” he replied. “She may know something that she’s not aware she knows. The cops will get to the bottom of it.”

  We walked back inside. I noticed that Zasu’s black hair was no longer spiked. She combed it in a reasonably normal hairstyle. Maybe the spikes had been from staying in the abandoned house and wearing a hoodie.

  Twenty minutes later an older man with gray hair walked in. He was short and just a little overweight, sporting the belly some older men have.

  His gaze wandered over our faces and rested with Zasu. “Ms. Pitts. We need to talk. I’m Detective Redding.”

  Joe stepped up. “Are you taking her back to Vancouver, Redding?”

  “For the moment we can talk right here. Can I borrow a quiet room?”

  “Sure.”

  My mother stepped forward. “I think we should go with you.”

  “She’s right. Either that or maybe we should find an attorney for her.” Aunt Martha sounded like she was ready

  for an argument.

  “That won’t be necessary at this time,” the detective said. “You ladies wait out here while Ms. Pitts and I talk.”

  Joe led the detective and Zasu past the front desk and they disappeared.

  “Of all the nerve,” my aunt said. “Treating her like a criminal.”

  “No,” I said. “He was very polite to her. She may be able to answer some questions. That’s all. He’s not accusing her of anything.”

  “Yet.” My mother sounded as upset as my aunt.

  We waited. And we waited. It seemed like it was taking so long, and yet when I looked at my watch only fifteen minutes had gone by.

  About five minutes later Joe came out. “Pete, I’d like to talk to you and Sandi for a minute.” He opened a door and ushered us in.

  “Redding is still questioning Ms. Pitts, but I don’t think she had anything to do with the beating and neither does Redding. We do, however, believe she may be in danger. We talked and I’m going out on a limb here.

  “You’re both private investigators and, Pete, you used to be a cop. No one around here knows who you are or where your house is. I’d like to impose on you to keep Ms. Pitts at your house a while longer. We think she’d be safe with you.”

  He paused, apparently letting us think it over.

  “We think there’s more involved here than we imagined. Since Delgado is still in a coma, we can’t question him about what happened. However, from the little Ms. Pitts knows, it seems he saw something he shouldn’t have. Detective Redding is going to try to figure out where Delgado was when he saw the incident.”

  “I have a feeling that Zasu told us everything that she told you,” I said. “The idea of old railroad tracks and a forest area might help.”

  His lips tightened. “Don’t count on it. There are a lot of old tracks and forest areas all over the state. The only help is that his job keeps him in Clark County, which will narrow things down.”

  “No imposition. She and her baby can stay with us,” Pete said. “Stan is here, too, and you’ve met Sandi’s mother and aunt. There’s not much that gets past them.”

  It was kind of a compliment, and yet it wasn’t. I decided to pass on his words to my relatives as a compliment.

  “Is the detective almost done with her?” I asked. “Her child will be missing her by now.”

  Before he could reply, Detective Redding and a frazzled looking Zasu exited a room and approached us.

  “Zasu,” I said, “you a
nd Sophie will be staying with us for a while.”

  “Can I go see Mateo?” she asked. The relief on her face that he was in the hospital and not dead was evident.

  “No,” Detective Redding said. “For the moment you need to stay out of sight. We haven’t put out the word that he’s still alive yet. We need to keep both of you safe.”

  He turned to Pete.

  “Leave your phone number and address with Officer Fleming so we can reach Zasu if necessary.”

  My mother and aunt were standing at the counter practically jumping up and down, but quickly headed for the door.

  Zasu saw them and waved. “Can I go now?”

  Joe escorted her to the door. “Be careful, Ms. Pitts.”

  She nodded and joined my relatives.

  “Detective Redding, is there anything we should know while she’s staying with us?” That was my way of asking if they’d learned anything.

  “I can tell you that a certain black SUV has been seen driving by her house several times. That leads me to believe someone is trying to find her, or that they’re trying to learn what happened to Delgado. We’ve done a pretty good job of keeping things under wraps.”

  “Do you have any idea about what’s going on?” I asked.

  He tugged on his ear. “To be honest, we were at a loss until speaking to Ms. Pitts. At least what she told us is a starting point. Whoever beat Delgado was very careful not to leave any evidence.”

  “What’s his prognosis?” Pete asked.

  “We think he’ll come out of the coma, but he has head injuries. There’s no telling what shape he’ll be in. The doctors seem to be taking a positive attitude, though.”

  “And you believe Zasu wasn’t involved?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so. If there were any real questions in my mind, she wouldn’t be going home with you.” He paused. “And thank you for taking her in. She seems to feel safe with your group. She said something about the two older ladies being tenacious, and a very protective dog.”

  I smiled. “Bubba takes care of his own.”

  “Bubba?”

  “The dog.”

  He nodded. “I’ll walk out with you. I’ve got to head back to Vancouver.”

  He stopped and spoke to Joe for a moment before escorting us to our cars.

  Pete had borrowed Stanley’s car and he had Zasu ride back with him. I had the Jeep and, of course, my mother and Aunt Martha rode with me.

  My mother spoke first. “I have a feeling…“

  “…there’s more to this than meets the eye.” Aunt Martha finished the thought.

  “We don’t mean that Zasu is involved, but whatever Mateo saw must have been awful, right Martha?”

  “Livvie, I agree with you completely. Maybe it was a mob hit or something.”

  My mother nodded.

  “Okay,” I said, “let’s not get carried away. We need facts instead of guesses.”

  “She’s right,” Mother said.

  “Yes, she is.” Aunt Martha sat back and watched the scenery as we drove home.

  The quiet didn’t last long.

  “Maybe we can find the area where Mateo was working and scope it out ourselves.” Aunt Martha wanted to become involved in more ways than just protecting Zasu and Sophie.

  “Oh, yes. We can go places and look like innocent tourists. The police can’t do that.”

  “Sure they can,” I said. “Haven’t you ever heard of undercover cops?”

  “Well, yes,” my mother said, “but I’ll bet those undercover cops don’t include two sweet little old ladies.”

  “Speak for yourself.” Aunt Martha didn’t look happy. “Do not call me a little old lady again, missy.”

  “With a little make-up and the right clothes, we can make ourselves look older than we are.”

  “You’ve got a point there.” My aunt looked thoughtful. “We could even be street ladies out for a stroll.”

  “In the forest?” I asked. “Oh, good grief. You two need to settle down. Besides, our first priority is to keep Zasu and Sophie safe. Got that?”

  “Sandi’s right, Martha. We need to be more realistic about this.”

  I glanced at her and then back at the road. I didn’t believe her for a moment. She and my auntie would be up to something in nothing flat.

  I did my two favorite things at that point. I sighed loudly and rolled my eyes.

  “I heard that,” Aunt Martha said.

  “And I saw the eye rolling,” my mother added.

  Chapter Nine

  “I’ve got it!” Mother said. “We could be vacationing birdwatchers. No one would suspect us of snooping if they thought we were watching birds.”

  “Good idea, Livvie. Sometimes you come up with a good one.” I glanced at my aunt in the rearview mirror and her eyes were sparkling.

  “Of course,” Mother added, “first we’ve got to find the right location.”

  “It may take a little searching,” Aunt Martha said.

  “Ladies, ladies. Give it a rest,” I said. I felt the beginnings of a headache coming on.

  “Don’t be rude, Sandra.” My mother didn’t want me to be rude? With her and my aunt sticking their noses in other people’s business all the time?

  I gripped the steering wheel tighter and gritted my teeth. “You’ll have to leave this one to the police and, of course, me and Pete.”

  “Ha!” I wasn’t sure if that came from my mother or my aunt.

  Thankfully we pulled up to the house about then and I parked behind my mother’s car.

  I climbed out of the Jeep and glanced skyward. The sky was blue, just a small patch, but I could see dark clouds moving in off in the distance.

  Glancing at my relatives, I realized that more than one type of storm was headed our way. They had their heads together and they were whispering while they climbed the front steps.

  As much as they fussed with each other, in an odd way I was glad they’d found a common cause. Maybe they’d start getting along better.

  Pete sat on the porch. “They’re all back at the guest house.”

  Mother and Aunt Martha never missed a beat while they turned and walked back down the stairs, shoulder to shoulder, and around the house to the back.

  “Pete, they’re conniving. They’re planning on dressing up as bee keepers or bird watchers or something so they can search for a crime scene.”

  He started to laugh. “What do you care?”

  My mouth dropped open.

  “It’ll keep them busy and out of your hair.”

  “Yes, but – “

  “Trust me. They won’t have a clue about where to look.”

  “How long have you known my mother? Pete, with our luck they’ll find the scene in the first place they look.”

  “No, they won’t. They don’t have a clue about how to do this. It’s going to take a lot of research to come up with the right area.”

  “Have you talked to Stan?”

  “He’s looking at area maps as we speak.”

  “I hope he puts them away before the Snoop Sisters see them.”

  “You’re right. Maybe we’d better head back to the guest house.”

  “Good idea. I want to check on Felicity anyway.”

  We found everyone watching Sophia. She was sitting in a high chair, slapping her hands on the tray with pieces of cereal bouncing up and down, and giggling. Every once in a while she’d grab a piece of cereal and shove it in her mouth.

  The look on everyone’s face was priceless. You’d think they’d just seen an angel in action.

  “Come watch this, Sandi,” Felicity said. “She’s so precious. We brought a high chair for future use for our baby, and Sophie seems to feel right at home in it. We had a crib stored here, too, so Stan and I put it together last night. Well, Stan did. There wasn’t much I could do to help.” She patted her protruding belly. “Since Zasu and the baby are staying in your guest room, you should move the crib to your house.”

  “Good idea,�
�� I said.

  Clem was standing on her hind feet, licking the baby’s toes. Bubba stood guard, smiling one of his biggest smiles.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Zasu said. “You’ve made us feel so welcome.” She pulled a stuffed toy out of her backpack and handed it to Sophie, who squealed in delight.

  “See what you have to look forward to?” I glanced at Felicity.

  Her whole mood seemed to have changed. There were no tears and she seemed happy. I guess sometimes things happen for a reason, like Zasu and Sophie showing up when they did.

  Stanley called Pete over to the computer and they talked in hushed tones. Pete glanced at my mother and aunt every so often.

  My mother finally caught on and walked over to them. “What are you two looking at?”

  Stanley quickly closed the laptop. “Nothing of interest.”

  She turned the computer toward herself and opened it.

  “Nothing of interest,” she mumbled, sniffing derisively.

  “Of course there’s something of interest. Martha, come here.”

  She pointed at the screen.

  “These are maps,” she said, glancing at Stanley.

  “These are not for you,” Pete said, turning the laptop away from her.

  She turned it back.

  I chuckled to myself while I watched Pete and my mother struggle for control of the laptop.

  “That’s no way to treat your mother-in-law,” Aunt Martha said, pulling the laptop toward my mother.

  Sounding frantic, Stanley said, “Wait! You’re going to break my computer. It’s going to end up on the floor. Stop it!”

  All movement stopped and Stanley took advantage of the moment to close his laptop, pick it up and move it to the bedroom.

  Felicity and I glanced at each other and grinned. Sometimes family can be very entertaining.

  Zasu stepped forward. “Maybe I can help. I’m familiar with Clark County and I might be able to give you an idea of where Mateo was working. At least, I can try – since he can’t help right now. I wish I could go see him.”

  Stanley returned with the computer and set it on the dining table. He motioned the young woman to his side.

  My mother and aunt started toward the table and Stanley surprised me when he said, “Back off. Don’t come near us.” Very unStanley-like behavior.