Web of Deceit
Authors: Peggy Slocum
Tags: #General, #Women Sleuths, #Mystery & Detective, #Fiction
Web of Deceit
By Peggy Slocum
© 2010 by Peggy Slocum.
All rights reserved.
The
ultimate design, content, editorial accuracy, and views expressed or implied in
this work are those of the author.
No
part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any way by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or otherwise—without the prior permission of the copyright holder,
except as provided by USA copyright law.
Unless
otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken from the
King
James Version
of the Bible. Scripture references
marked
NIV
are
taken from the
Holy Bible, New International Version®,
NIV®
.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights reserved worldwide.
WWW.ZONDERVAN.COM
ISBN
13: 978-1-4141-1442-2
ISBN
10: 1-4141-1442-7
Library
of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2009903578
This story is dedicated to Jesus, my best
friend.
I
gave him my imagination and
he
inspired me with visions and dreams.
He
carried me through the impossible and
he
walks with me always.
Table of Contents
Chapter 14:
Cracking the Safe House
Chapter 21:
Three Can Not Be Broken
Chapter 22:
Didn’t See That Coming
Chapter 23:
Everything Is OK, or Is It?
I owe a debt of
gratitude to so many of my friends and family who supported me in too many ways
to mention completely. However, a special thanks goes to
·
my wonderful husband Jack who stuck by my side throughout this
whole adventure and made sure there was plenty of action in this story.
·
my two children, Kassie and Alex, who listened intently to me
read each new chapter the Lord provided.
·
my mom, Elsie Wheeler who loved the story and pushed me to
publish it every day.
·
my family, Dave Gernert, Angela Slocum, Christina, Bob, Amanda,
Tara, Tonya, Kristal, Mike, Kira, and Courtney Wheeler for their love and
encouragement.
·
my sisters in Christ, Lisa Randall, Jeannie Estrada, Katie
McDonnell, Janaye McDonnell, Barb Geisler, Krystal Sens, and Marcia Allis who
encouraged me with advice and prayer.
·
my friend Billi-Jo Pronti who will always have a special spot in
my heart.
An aged yet
well-manicured finger scans down the list of detective agencies found in the
local Boston yellow pages. “There it is—Doyle Detective Agency.” As the words
escape the elderly woman’s lips, she picks up the receiver from her phone and
dials the number. Her impatience builds as the rings chime a fourth time in her
ear.
That’s unprofessional, a good secretary should answer the phone by the
second …
“Doyle Detective
Agency, this is Symphony. May I help you?” a young monotone voice answers.
This
job sucks—I hate talking to people.
“Hello, my dear,
this is Mrs. Freedman,” the elderly woman says in a confident, well-refined
tone. “I’m confirming my nine a.m. appointment for tomorrow.”
“Yep, you’re on
the calendar, and we’ll see you tomorrow,” the young woman says, trying to end
the conversation.
“I have a few
questions before tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Of course you
do,” the annoyed receptionist responds.
“You sound
preoccupied. Is there another receptionist that could help me?”
“No, I am one of
one.”
“Oh, so this is a
small agency?”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps I could
speak with Ms. Doyle for a moment,” Mrs. Freedman says.
“Beth is out of
the office for the rest of the day.”
“I believe that
she mentioned her partner Edwin would be helping with the case. May I speak
with him?”
“It’s Elliot, and
he is out as well. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No, but perhaps
you could tell me a little about Elliot. Is he a good detective? Does he take
his job seriously?”
A wry smile widens
as Symphony’s imagination replays an Elliot on-the-job exploit
…
* * *
“No! No! please
don’t drop me!” a man cries, being dangled from a four-story building.
“Drop me? OK.”
Elliot lets go of the man and watches him fall to his certain death.
* * *
“Miss? Are you
there?” Mrs. Freedman asks.
“Uh … absolutely.
You won’t be disappointed. If that will be all …” Symphony tries to conclude.
“Not quite. How
does Ms. Beth Doyle feel about punctuality?” Mrs. Freedman interrupts Symphony
again.
“She’s never
late.”
“Could you please
describe her?”
Symphony rolls her
eyes. “She’s Irish and
…
”
* * *
As Symphony
describes Beth, a gust of wind blows into a small Boston tavern on the
North-side. Beth, a five-eight, Irish ball of fire in her early thirties
enters the bar. She lets the door swing shut behind her as she brushes the
fallen snow off her Burberry black leather trench coat. Her bright green eyes
widen as she scans the dimly lit room for a familiar face and removes her
matching Burberry bucket hat, freeing her long auburn curls that flow past her
shoulders.
* * *
“Mrs. Freedman, I
assure you Ms. Doyle won’t disappoint you in any way.” Symphony stares at the
empty waiting room. “If there are no further questions, I am swamped with
clients and must let you go.”
“Thank you for
your help, dear. I look forward to meeting you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, great.”
Symphony says goodbye and hangs up the phone.
* * *
A young woman
seated at the bar with long, straight brown hair and blond highlights, waves
her arms to get Beth’s attention. “Beth—over here!”
Sam.
A
bright, white smile forms as she strides to the other side of the room.
It
will be nice to unwind.
“You’re late.” Sam
pats her hand on the stool next to her. “Where’s Elliot?”
“He had dinner
plans and told me to give you this.” Beth leans over and gives Sam a friendly
hug. “Maybe next time.”
“Elliot turned
drinks down for a hot date? That’s messed up. When’s he gonna realize what he’s
looking for is right here?” She taps Beth’s shoulder.
Beth scowls at
Sam. “Where’s the bartender?”
“He’s in the
kitchen. And don’t even try to change the subject. You know you’ve been
crushing on Elliot’s six-foot, hot, muscular bod. Not to mention his red-brown
hair and bright blue eyes, ever since the first time you met. ‘Fess up.”
“You sound like a
romance novel. There is nothing to confess, Sam, we are just friends—Henry.”
Beth waves for the bartender.
“In that case,
Henry’s been asking about ya. Why don’t you have dinner with him?” Sam points
to the tanned bartender coming out of the kitchen.
“I’m too busy to
date right now. I shouldn’t have come out tonight as it is.”
“Hi, Beth, haven’t
seen you in a while,” Henry says.
“I know. I haven’t
been able to get away from the office.”
“You’re such a
girl!” Sam pushes her bottle towards the edge of the bar. “Beth needs a rum and
coke, and I’ll take another.” She faces Beth.
“I’ll be right
back with those, ladies.”
“I can’t believe
you have worked with this guy for five years, and he has no clue how you feel
about him,” Sam says.
“Six years and …
how exactly do I feel about him?”
“Now, Beth, you
know quite well how you feel about him. Every time he calls, you’re there with
bells on.”
“Can I get you
ladies anything else?” Henry asks as he places their drinks in front of them.
“No, thank you,”
Beth says.
“We’re good for
now, honey. Thanks.” Sam tosses a smile at Henry, then gives Beth her undivided
attention, waiting for her response.
“He’s my partner,
Sam; our job requires us to work together all the time. When he calls, it’s
usually job related.”
“ ‘Usually’ being
the key word,” Sam says, laughing. “How long has he been staying with you? Six
months?”
“Seven.” Beth
sighs as she picks the tiny cocktail straw out of her drink and begins flipping
it between her slender fingers.
“And you expect me
to believe that you cared so much about your job that you moved Elliot in?”
“About a year ago
Elliot was working on a kidnapping case …” Beth begins to recount the events
leading up to Elliot’s suspension.
* * *
“Elliot, you OK?”
Frank, the man leaning over Elliot’s desk, asks with a Boston accent. “You look
exhausted.”
“Frank … yeah, I’m
just going over the Randall case to see if there is anything I missed,” Elliot
says, picking his coffee up and taking a sip. He studies his heavyset,
middle-aged friend for a moment and then glances down at the pile of paperwork
in front of him.
“You were doing
that same thing last night. What time did you get in here this morning?”
“I didn’t.” Elliot
stretches his arms and legs, yawning.
“I’m worried about
you. You’re obsessed with this case.”
“It’s been three
months, Frank! I promised the Randall’s that little Suzy would be home by
Christmas!” Elliot slams his fists on the desk and lowers his head, his
thoughts consumed with the missing seven year old. “Christmas is in two days.
What am I gonna tell ’em? We should have just given the guy the ransom money.”
“He’s been toying
with us and you know it. And as long as he keeps in touch, we have a chance.”
“Ahem. Excuse me
gentleman. The captain would like to see you in his office,” Becky, Captain
Aims’ secretary, says.
Frank opens the
door to Aims’s office with Elliot behind him. “You wanted to see us, sir?”
“Yes. Frank,
Elliot, come in and have a seat.” The captain motions them in with one hand
while hanging the phone up with the other. “That was Casey from downstairs.
She’s getting a team together to get that Randall girl. The kidnapper finally
stayed on long enough to give us a trace.”
“What are we
waiting for?” Elliot asks. “Let’s go get her.”
“I’m going to have
you sit this one out, Elliot. That’s why I called you in here. I appreciate all
the time and effort you’ve put into this case, but you’ve gotten too attached.
You’re a good detective, Elliot, but I want you away from this case.”
“What? I know more
about this case than anyone else, and I should be there for the bust.”
“Elliot, you’ve
become hot-headed, and you’re not thinking clear. You don’t even go home at
night. When’s the last time you slept?” Captain Aims asks.
“Thanks, Frank.”
“Don’t go blaming
your partner for something everyone at the precinct knows,” Captain Aims says.
“I want you to give Frank all the information you’ve got. I’m putting him in
charge of this case and you’re going home to get some rest.”
“My shift doesn’t
end until four, sir.”
“That’s an order,
Elliot.”
“Yes sir.” Elliot
storms out of the captain’s office.
“Sir, I understand
your decision, but I also see where Elliot is coming from. Let him come with us
and stay in the car. When it’s over, he can take the little girl home.”