Chapter 29
Gloria scooched in next to Ruth, who was studying the small monitor mounted on the spymobile’s wall. “How’s it going?”
“The drone is ready for takeoff. I’m waiting for Liz to give us the signal the coast is clear and Christi is away from her property.”
“Christi and her husband have several surveillance cameras,” Gloria said. “Which means we’ll have to follow the same path that Liz and I took when we were over there earlier.”
“How do you know they don’t have cameras mounted on the shed?” Margaret asked.
“I didn’t notice any, but unless Christi is monitoring them, there’s a good chance she won’t go back and check the footage.”
“Unless she has a reason to,” Rose said.
“It will be an easy in and out,” Lucy said.
Ting. Gloria’s cell phone chimed. She snatched it from her pocket. “Christi is at Liz’s. It’s time to roll.”
“Wheels up.” Ruth tapped the keyboard, and the treetops appeared on the monitor. Smooth as butter, the drone flew higher and higher, gliding over the dirt road. Ivan Gregware’s property appeared, followed by the rut where the plane went down, the fence line and finally the Kravitz’s shed.
With a steady hand, Ruth guided the drone along the perimeter of their property. “I only see Christi’s minivan. Her husband’s truck isn’t there.”
“Let’s go.” Gloria slid the spymobile’s side door open and hopped out. Lucy was close behind, keeping pace with her friend. Sticking together, the women ducked down as they jogged along the edge of the property. With a furtive glance in both directions, they crossed the road and entered Ivan Gregware’s field.
Turning right, the women reached the fence, easily climbing up and over, lightly landing on Christi’s property.
“This way.” Gloria stayed low, moving at a quick clip over the uneven ground. “Be careful. Liz tripped somewhere in this area.”
“I can see how. The field is full of ruts,” Lucy said. “I wouldn’t want to try this at night.”
“We would break our necks.” Up ahead, Gloria could see the shed. They cautiously approached from the back, stopping when they reached the door.
Lucy removed the magnet from her pocket and lifted the combination lock.
Snap. The magnet latched onto the back side, and Lucy slowly began turning the dial. First to the right and then to the left. Finally, she turned it back to the right.
Pop. The locking mechanism released and Lucy slid it out. “Works like a charm.”
“I’m curious…how does it work?”
“The magnet senses when the number is reached. You can’t hear it, but you can feel it.”
“I have an old combination lock at home. Maybe you can help me get it unlocked.” Gloria braced herself and eased the shed door open.
The upper transom window offered a faint light filtering through the grimy pane. An array of gardening tools hung from hooks on the walls. A heavy duty bench vise was mounted to the end of the workbench.
“Check this out.” Lucy tapped the top. “I haven’t seen a bench vise like this in years, only in scary movies.”
“Me either. I wonder what type of shop stuff Darren likes to do.”
Lucy tilted her head, noting the handsaw, rake, and shovel tucked away in the corner. “It looks like your everyday run-of-the-mill gardening shed.”
“Let’s get to work.” Gloria rubbed her palms together. “The clock is ticking. I’ll check the workbench drawers starting at this end.”
Splitting up, the women began systematically searching the nooks and crannies until they had checked every square inch.
“There’s nothing.” Lucy studied the ceiling. “There aren’t even any shells or casings lying around.”
“Maybe Liz’s overactive imagination thought Christi was acting suspicious.” Gloria tapped her lower lip. “Or maybe there was a rifle in here and Christi or her husband moved it.”
“Could be.” Lucy spun in a slow circle.
Gloria joined her, eyes aimed toward the ceiling. “What do you see?”
“Some old boards stacked along the rafters. We didn’t check up there.”
Gloria grabbed the ladder propped up next to the door and placed it near the center of the shed.
“I’ll check it out.” Lucy scrambled to the tippy top, her head barely above the rafter. “Will you look at that?”
“You found a rifle.”
“Yep. Without a speck of dust on it, which means it hasn’t been up here long. Liz was onto something. Darren or Christi must’ve moved it here from somewhere else.” Lucy held out her hand. “Give me your cell phone.”
“Why?”
“So I can see if there’s a match to the hole in the side of Keller’s plane.”
Gloria promptly handed it to her.
“Hmm.”
“Well? What’s your expert opinion?”
“The hole in Keller’s plane could have been caused by this rifle.”
*****
“I was starting to believe Tristan Keller hired someone to take his plane down,” Liz said. “Boy, was I way off.”
Gloria curled her lip. “I smell something.”
“Like what?” Liz asked.
Her sister leaned in and sniffed. “Your breath. It smells like…”
“Varnish?”
“Yes. Or maybe varnish mingled with garlic,” Gloria said.
“It’s some concoction Christi brought over to put on my ankle.” Liz lifted her leg. “It actually helped. The stinky stuff and the compression wrap combined. She’s an expert at wrapping sprains.”
“The combination reminds me of Rose,” Ruth joked.
“I got me a few that smell,” Rose said. “Though not quite this bad.”
“Yeah, some are even worse,” Gloria teased. “You sure are living the life, Rose Morris. I smile every time I’m in the store and see your beautiful face on those bottles of energy drinks.”
“Which, by the way, it still works like a charm,” Eleanor said. “You are what I would call Belhaven’s small town superstar.”
Lucy tapped the top of her cell phone. “Back to our current situation. I snapped a picture of the weapon I believe could have been used to take Tristan Keller’s plane down.”
“Which is great news,” Dot said.
“The downside is we trespassed to find it,” Gloria reminded them.
“I’ve given it some thought,” Ruth said. “The FAA has an anonymous hotline for open cases. We call the hotline, give them the specifics and let them handle it from there.”
Liz pressed a hand to her chest. “I like the idea. If it ends up being a dead end, Christi won’t know we were involved. We’re good neighbors and I want to keep it that way.”
Ruth slipped her reading glasses on. “I have the number. Liz, it’s up to you to make the call.”
“There is something else.” Lucy hesitated.
“What is it?” Gloria asked.
“One small possible clue I found. I forgot all about it until this morning when I was washing a load of laundry. I think we need to turn it over to the federal agents.” She told the others what it was.
“You’re right,” Margaret said. “I forgot about it too. It could be nothing. There’s only one way to find out.”
“I’ll give Agent Simpkins a call. Maybe he can swing by and pick it up. In the meantime, I’m ready to make the call to the hotline.” Liz reached for the phone. “We either send the agents in the right direction or risk Floyd going to prison. Give me the number.”