“Get out the window now, Eli!” I yelled. “And you follow him, Stuart!”
Then I realized something. Eli wasn’t in the bathroom. Either he had taken it upon himself to slither out the window or he decided to go the other way down the hall when Theo and I went to rescue Stuart.
It didn’t matter. As long as those fingers continued to press into my shoulder, I wasn’t going anywhere. I spun my head around to see Kelsey Arnet towering over me and Boyd pointing a fireplace poker at Theo’s neck. Meanwhile, Stuart managed to throw one leg over the window ledge and follow up with the other.
I shouted, “Watch out for the—” but Arnet put his other hand over my mouth before I could finish the sentence. Then he growled at Boyd, “Good going, you moron. You really screwed up this time. What’d you do? Send out invitations? Never mind. We’ve got to get these two in my car and out of here. Forget the poker. I’ve got a handier tool.”
With that, he moved his hand from my mouth, reached down, and pulled a gun from an ankle holster. Wonderful. Another yahoo with a concealed weapon permit. “Got any rope or duct tape around? I don’t think these two are going anywhere.”
“Yeah. Duct tape. In the kitchen. Give me a second,” Boyd replied.
By now Theo and I were pressed against the wall between the bathroom and the bedroom where Stuart and Eli had been sequestered. I only hoped Eli had taken the straight path out of here through the window and wasn’t lurking around in the house. Kelsey Arnet seemed a bit too cavalier with that gun.
Theo didn’t say a word, but while Kelsey kept his eyes and his gun on me, Theo slipped his hand into the pocket of his pants where he kept his phone. Not that it would matter. He’d already called the sheriff’s office. Still, I figured he was up to something so I let out a cough that ensured Kelsey Arnet’s attention would stay on me.
“Stay still,” he said. Then he looked at me closely. “Hey, you’re the woman who sat next to me at the Dresden Hotel. Someone put you up to this?”
Nah, I can dig my own holes and crawl in them.
“Coincidence, that’s all. But you won’t get away with kidnapping and murder.”
At that moment, Boyd arrived with a spool of duct tape over his wrist. “Here you go. Move fast. We’ve got to round up those kids.”
“You tape them up. I’m not taking the gun off of these two.”
“You may want to point that gun at your buddy,” I said to Arnet, “because he set you up to take the fall for murdering Frank Liguori.”
“Huh?” Arnet was dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”
I looked at Boyd who didn’t budge a muscle. “Do you want to tell him or should I?”
“She’s stalling for time.” Then to me, “Put your hands where I can see them.” He ripped off a piece of the duct tape and was about to bind my hands when I said, “You knew Kelsey used a pen to stab Brewer in the neck when they struggled in the vineyard. You knew because you were the one who helped him move the body.”
“What’s she saying?” Kelsey asked.
“I’m saying Boyd knew how Brewer was killed so he used the same method when he murdered Frank Liguori at Speltmore Winery. Isn’t that true, Boyd? You’re no dummy. You had to remove any suspicion from your mother and make it look as if the same person killed both men. Frank double-crossed his silent partner, aka Barbara Stanowicz, and I can prove it. We found those letters and agreements in that old freezer in Dresden.”
Boyd took a step back and widened his eyes. “She’s lying. I didn’t set you up.”
“Maybe you should let Kelsey decide,” I continued. “He wasn’t born yesterday. Besides, what better way to cover up your dirty deed than frame him. Face it, the coroner would easily conclude it was a pen that caused both puncture wounds. And the pièce de résistance would be the ink. Kelsey had a zillion of those pens as promos for his new seasonal employee business. Too bad when he gave you one, he didn’t figure you’d use it to point the finger at him. I give you credit. It was the perfect plan.”
“You can’t prove it. All I did was move a body to cover up his mess.”
Kelsey shoved the gun in Boyd’s chest. “You son of a—” But before he could finish, a small bluish object that we never saw coming slammed into the side of Kelsey’s head, causing him to drop the gun. Theo wasted no time kicking the gun off to the side. Then, another small object flew through the air and zapped Boyd right between the eyes.
I looked down the hall, and there was Eli ready to launch another missile with a rubber band when I shouted, “It’s okay. These two aren’t going anywhere.” In a nanosecond I dove to the ground and snatched Kelsey’s gun.
“If you think I don’t know how to use this,” I said, “think again.” It was a line I heard in some movie or maybe even a TV show but it worked. The men didn’t budge.
A moment later a siren blast enveloped the entire road, and that one siren sounded like twenty. Then Stuart came in through the front door. “There’s like a bazillion cop cars out there,” he said. “I waved them over from the driveway.”
The next ten minutes were pandemonium with deputies everywhere and every one of them shouting at once. But all of that came to an abrupt stop when Grizzly Gary saw me pointing a gun at Kelsey and Boyd.
“You can hand the gun over, Miss Ellington,” he said. “We’ll take it from here.”
“You’re not going to read me the riot act?”
“Don’t give me any ideas.”
“These two men are responsible for those murders.”
Deputy Hickman raised his chin at Eli and Stuart, who were now fiddling with the small projectiles Eli had effectively delivered to Kelsey and Boyd. Then he stomped over to where Boyd and Kelsey stood. “Kidnapping carries a long sentence,” he said.
“No.” I shook my head. “The boys weren’t kidnapped initially. Although those men were planning some sort of disposal operation before you got here.”
Theo reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’ve got it all on tape. Every last word. You won’t need circumstantial evidence to nail them.”
Eli looked up from the palm of his hand, where the small weapon rested. “Huh? Who’s getting nailed? Can’t you tell my parents I was kidnapped?”
Deputy Hickman immediately snapped a finger at two deputies who stood a few feet away. Had I looked closer, I would have realized one of them was Clarence. “Get on the horn and have the parents notified. Tell them to drive to our office in Penn Yan. You and Deputy Guenther can take the boys’ statements once you get there.”
“Yes, sir,” was all Clarence said. He motioned for Eli and Stuart to follow him and thankfully Eli didn’t argue. He did, however, walk toward me and put one of those projectiles in my hand. It was a small plastic curved bow with orange tips. “Here, you could use this. It’s a Lightseekers Spinblade. Works great with rubber bands.”
“I, um, er . . .”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get another one.”
I knew it was his way of saying thank-you and I smiled. “You’re welcome. Go easy on your parents. Both of you. They’ve been pretty worried.”
“Yeah,” Stuart said. “Too bad that won’t stop them from grounding us again.”
Again? What about the first time?
“Does this mean Theo and I can go, too?” I asked Grizzly Gary.
“That’s up to you. We can take your statements here or you can give them back at our office.”
Theo groaned. “Here’s fine. This night is long enough.”
Deputy Hickman directed us to another deputy, who in turn pointed the way to the kitchen. We plunked ourselves at a rather expensive-looking oak table and proceeded to tell him everything that had transpired. Unlike his boss, this deputy actually took notes using an iPad.
Theo managed to sneak in a brief text to Don with the promise of a full-blown narrative once we got back. I didn’t wait that long to let Bradley and Godfrey know what had happened. The minute we got into my car, this time with me behind the wheel, I called both of them, beginning with Bradley.
He sounded dazed but quickly regained full consciousness. “Tell me I’m not dreaming. What the heck time is it? Never mind. I’m still reeling over what you just said. Kelsey had a gun to your head and Eli zapped him with an action figure?”
“Actually, it was an auxiliary piece to an action figure.”
“This is unbelievable. I want to take you in my arms but I’m stuck in Rockland County. Don’t worry, I’ll wrap this case up and get back by the weekend.”
“Yeah, the Speltmore tawny port release is not to be missed.”
“Who cares about port wine? It’s you I miss!”
When the call ended, Theo chuckled. “Write down those lines. You can use them in one of your screenplays.”
“Very funny.”
The next number I dialed was Godfrey’s.
“It’s the middle of the night, Norrie. What’s going on? Please don’t tell me you want me to sneak around with you because you think you can trap a killer. Last Saturday when I told you to use your powers of deduction, I meant on paper.”
“Relax. The killers are already in custody.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because Theo and I tracked them down. It didn’t start out that way but things kind of spiraled when I realized where the missing boys were. Listen, I know it’s late, so why don’t you go back to sleep and I’ll call you in the morning. Better yet, I’ll meet you for coffee at Dunkin’.”
“I won’t need coffee. There’s enough adrenaline pumping away in my system right now to last me the week.”
“Then drink decaf. I’ll be there at seventy thirty. Plenty of time before you get to the Experiment Station.”
When that call ended, Theo asked me if there was anyone else I wanted to wake up, but before I could respond, I got a second text from Zenora.
“The turmoil surrounding your aura has dissipated. You can thank me later. Watch where you step when you get home.”
I leaned forward to catch Theo’s eye. “Watch where I step? What the heck has she done?”