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A Daring Move
Vivian and Preston sat in the car in front of the steel factory on Shepherd Drive, waiting for Nick to pull up behind them in Barney’s car. The sun had set half an hour ago, but the sky glowed a deep shade of orange, lighting the scenery just enough for them to get a good look at the large brick warehouse just beyond the factory.
“The first-floor lights are on,” Vivian said. “There’s also a dim light in one of the rooms on the second floor.”
Preston nodded. “Freddie’s pickup truck is parked by the front door.”
“As I see it, we have three choices, Preston. We can break into the building through a window or back door and hope Nora doesn’t get hurt, but we both know that’s too risky, especially since Boris would most likely alert Freddie before we even got inside. Another choice is for you to go to the front door and try to convince Freddie to make a trade using Carl and the coins. I’m sure you see the problem with that. Freddie views you as the enemy. You said yourself that he’s trying to beat you at your own game.”
“You have quite a memory, don’t you?”
“When it matters,” she stated.
“I’m almost afraid to ask. What’s the third choice?”
Vivian lifted her chin. “Let me talk to him.”
Preston nearly jumped out of his seat. “Are you out of your mind? There’s no way in hell you’re going anywhere near him. He’s a lunatic who doesn’t have any regard for human life and specifically targets women. It would be like volunteering to stand in front of a firing squad.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. The fact that I’m a woman is exactly why it might work. He’s trying to prove his superiority and right off the bat, he won’t view me as a threat, not like he would with you or Nick. He also thinks I have the coins. That’s the prize he wants for winning this game. I know I can convince him that I value Nora and Bella over the money.” She tapped her chin. “I’ll need to come up with some sort of story about how I found out he was here, though.”
While Preston ranted and raved about what a bad idea it was, Vivian mulled over a few different ideas and played each one out in her mind. Nick finally pulled up behind them and walked over to find out why Preston was in such an uproar. Then Nick joined in, voicing his own objections.
“The two of you sound like a couple of squawking chickens,” she told them. “If you would both be quiet for a minute, I could think this through.”
“There is nothing to think about,” Preston argued. “You’re not going anywhere.”
She glanced behind her. “Does Freddie know what kind of car Barney drives?”
Preston opened his mouth to continue arguing with her, but Nick spoke first. “I doubt it. Barney has an office set up in his apartment and rarely goes out into the field anymore.”
“Good,” she said with a smile. “Although the way you worded that, Nick, it sounds like you all work for some sort of law enforcement agency. Am I right?”
Neither of them replied.
“Well, at least I silenced you both. I’m going to drive to the warehouse in Barney’s car, and I want Carl to come with me. I’m hoping you have some rope to tie Carl’s feet. I don’t want him going anywhere until I’m good and ready.” She grabbed her handbag, opened the door, and got out of the car. “All three of you are welcome to follow me over there on foot but stay out of sight and don’t make a sound. Once Nora and Bella are safe, you can do whatever you want with Freddie. Unfortunately, I’ll probably need to give him the coins, but I’m sure you can retrieve them.”
“Vivian, wait!” Preston flew out of the car and went over to her.
She stood firm and faced him. “Before you say another word, Preston, hear me out. Nora’s life is on the line. As a matter of fact, it’s my fault, not yours, that you’re all involved in this. If my rat of a husband hadn’t stolen those coins, none of us would be here. It’s my responsibility to try to rectify this.”
“It’s such a bad plan, Vivian.”
“I can’t think of a better one. Can you?”
Vivian left him there without waiting for his response and determinedly marched over to talk to Barney, who was sitting in the passenger seat of his car. He hesitated and glanced over at Preston before giving her both the keys to the handcuffs and the car keys. She asked him to help Carl into the front seat, and Nick tied his ankles together with a rope he had in his trunk.
Once Vivian was settled in the driver’s seat, she turned the car on and moved a couple of feet forward, but she stopped in front of Preston and spoke softly. “If this plan doesn’t work, do me a favor. Tell Arthur Romano what happened. He lives on Pearl Street in Santa Monica. I don’t want him reading about it in some newspaper. He’s been like a father to me.” And she drove off.
Vivian rolled up her window and took a dozen deep breaths on the short ride to the warehouse. By now, it was nearly pitch dark out, and she parked right beside Freddie’s pickup truck. “Now, just sit here as quiet as a mouse, Carl. I’m going to do my best to make sure no one gets hurt, not even Freddie. If you cooperate, I promise I’ll talk the judge into reducing your new sentence by several years. If you don’t, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison for murder.”
Next, Vivian took two coins out of the velvet pouch and tucked them into her skirt pocket, along with the keys to the handcuffs. She stepped out of the car, holding her gun in one hand and the velvet pouch in the other, and she honked the horn twice.
“Freddie! It’s Vivian Steele!”
She walked to the front door and set both the velvet pouch and her gun down on the ground next to the building, out of sight. Then she pounded on the door, repeating her name and yelling to Freddie that she had both the coin collection and his cousin with her, and she wanted to make a trade.
During a moment of silence, Vivian could hear the sound of a dog howling. She knew it was Boris, but it was faint and coming from one of the rooms upstairs.
“What are you doing here?” Freddie called to her from the other side of the door.
“I told you. I have the coins, and I want to make a trade.” He didn’t say anything, and she knew why. “Nora would never take Bella anywhere without my permission. That’s when I realized you were behind all of this, Freddie. I also knew you were staying at the motel on Sunset Boulevard, so I went there and found Carl, your cousin. I explained I wanted to give you the coins in exchange for Nora and Bella, and he told me that you were here. I brought Carl with me.”
“Who else is with you?”
“Preston doesn’t know anything about this. I came here by myself with Carl. Let me come inside, and we’ll talk.” She waited there and saw him peek out the window.
He unlocked the door and opened it just a crack, enough for her to see the gun in his hand. Then he looked over at his cousin. “Why is Carl just sitting there?”
“I tied his hands and feet so he wouldn’t go anywhere,” she told him. “Nora and Bella are extremely important to me, and I wanted to make sure I had enough to give you in exchange for them.”
He slowly opened the door wider and held the gun on her as she entered the building. “You better not have any weapons on you.”
“I didn’t come here to kill you.”
“Where are the coins?”
“Where’s Nora?” she asked, taking a quick glance around.
He shut the door behind her. “Upstairs, safe and sound, so is your little mutt. How do I know you have the coins? I searched your place and couldn’t find them.”
“They were hidden behind my wedding photograph.”
“I’ll shoot you right here if you’re lying.”
“I’m sure you would.” She reached into her pocket and struggled to steady her hand as she held out the two coins. “There are twenty-five coins altogether. The rest are in the vicinity. I’ll give them to you when I’m sure Nora and Bella are safe. Then, I’ll let your cousin go. I don’t care about the coins, Freddie. I’ve been trying to think of a way to get rid of them without being arrested. My husband stole them, not me. I just want to take Nora and Bella with me and never look back on this again.”
Freddie studied the coins. “Wait right here.”
Vivian watched him climb up the stairs, knowing full well it couldn’t be this easy. Freddie’s behavior had been so unpredictable, he was surely devising some sort of scheme right now. Boris started barking wildly upstairs and sounded like a vicious animal. She also heard heavy chains clanking around and wondered if Freddie had chained Boris in one of the rooms.
Those thoughts broke away when Bella came racing down the stairs, whining excitedly all the way. Vivian bent down, and Bella licked her face and hands and jumped on her. She picked Bella up and held her close while watching Freddie escort Nora over to her, holding the barrel of his gun against her chin. It nearly crushed Vivian’s stamina, seeing her dear friend looking so tired and scared. If she had her gun with her, she would have put a bullet through Freddie’s black heart before he even had a chance to pull the trigger.
As it was, she stood there wondering what sort of trick he had up his sleeve.
Freddie suddenly released Nora and kept the gun on both of them. Nora ran over to her, crying hysterically.
Vivian set Bella down and hugged her. “I’m so sorry, Nora. It’ll be all right.” She saw Freddie move toward them and pulled Nora behind her to protect her.
“Give me the coins,” Freddie ordered.
“They’re right outside,” Vivian said. “I’m going to open the door and let Nora and Bella go free. You can keep your gun on me while I retrieve the coins if you must, but I’ll stay close to the doorway so you can see me.” She waited for his consent since she didn’t want to upset him when they were so close to ending this.
He stepped forward and motioned for her to go to the door. “I’m right behind you.”
“I know. Relax. I’ll give them to you.” Vivian was almost in tears herself, as she slowly opened the door and told Nora to go outside, and Bella went with her. “I’m just going to put one foot out the door, Freddie.”
As soon as she did, she noticed Nick standing in the dark shadows along the building. He caught Nora in his arms and whisked her away. With that, Vivian breathed again. She bent down, picked up the velvet pouch, and eyed her pistol.
“Hurry up!” Freddie said, standing right behind her.
“I’ve got it.”
Just as she reached for her gun, Freddie grabbed a handful of her hair, yanked her back inside, and shoved her to the floor. Then he slammed the door shut and locked it.
“What are you doing?” she yelled. “We had a deal!”
He laughed as he snatched the pouch from her and looked inside. “I don’t make deals with big-shot dames like you.”
“I still have your cousin handcuffed in my car.”
“The hell with him. I’ve got what I want right here.” He stuck the pouch into his pocket and pointed the gun at her. “I might even make sure this whole thing gets pinned on him, and I’ll keep the coins for myself...”
While Freddie rambled on about how clever he was, Vivian saw movement out of the corner of her eye and noticed Boris slinking down the steps and stealthily walking toward Freddie like a tiger stalking its prey. She slid backward across the floor a couple of feet to get out of the way, and Freddie laughed at her, thinking she was trying to escape.
Then he cocked his gun, and Vivian prayed Boris would make his move before he pulled the trigger.
A split second later, Boris snarled, catching Freddie’s attention. He spun around in a panic and pointed his gun at Boris, but it was too late. Boris leaped into the air, jumped on Freddie, knocked him to the ground, and clamped his teeth around his arm, growling and digging his sharp teeth deep into his flesh.
Freddie shouted and screamed bloody murder and dropped his gun to fight against Boris.
Vivian scurried over to get his gun. At the same time, Preston ran into the room from the back of the warehouse and rushed over to them.
“That’s enough, Boris!” Preston told him.
Boris backed away yet didn’t take his eyes off Freddie, who was lying there, bleeding and trying to catch his breath.
Vivian got down on one knee and hugged Boris. “Good boy.”
“Are you okay, Vivian?” Preston asked.
“I am now, thanks to Boris.”
“It looks like he broke away from the chains around his neck just in time to come to your rescue. He’s quite a hero.” Preston grinned at her. “That was a pretty good plan.”
“You could have stepped in a few seconds sooner.”
He laughed. “I had a heck of a time trying to kick open the back door.”
