Chapter 40
To Do:
- Assemble Code Purple Task Force
- Kidnap Wendy
“You did what?” Luke shouted.
Rosie popped her head up from a new dog bed in Luke’s living room—undoubtedly another apology purchase from him.
“Yeah, I know,” Claire said sheepishly. She took a sip of hot cocoa and leaned back in the breakfast nook. “But everything was fine. Only one person ended up unconscious, and it wasn’t any of us, so I call that a win.
“That was so stupid and dangerous.” He looked ready to flip the table. “Did we not just have a conversation about honesty?”
“Yes, we did, and I’m sorry. That’s why I’m telling you now. Listen, we can debate later about how stupid it was,” she said. “But right now, we need to come up with a plan. Wendy is in imminent danger. We need to kidnap her before they can.”
“You know if you kidnap her, she’s going to sue you even harder,” Kyle said over a steaming cup of tea.
Nicole and Mindy nodded and yawned. It was almost midnight.
“If it’s between Wendy getting murdered and getting sued again, I pick the latter. So, we need a two-fold plan. We need to kidnap Wendy, and then we need to lay a trap. Who’s got ideas?”
She glared at Kyle when he popped his hand into the air. “And for the record, any suggestions of calling the police and letting them handle it will not be entertained. They don’t believe me about ESA, so they surely won’t send someone to watch out for Wendy. I refuse to have her death on my hands.”
Kyle put his hand down.
Claire whirled on Mindy. “And where the hell is Gavin?”
Mindy shrugged. “He couldn’t make it. He has an exam tomorrow.”
“He’s forfeited his option to be on the Code Purple Task Force, then. Good to know we can’t count on him in an emergency.” Claire scribbled in her notebook and closed the cover. “Someone just lost their spot in the bunker.”
“Is there really a bunker?” Sawyer whispered to Kyle.
“Don’t worry about it,” the other four said in unison.
“I have an idea for the second half of the plan,” Luke said suddenly.
Apparently, he was on board now.
“Go on.”
“Throw an event in her honor. That will draw them out.”
Claire glared at him. “You want me to throw another event to honor the psychopath who threw a fire extinguisher at me during mediation? Besides, we have less than twenty-four hours. Where am I going to get a venue? And a reason to honor her?”
Sawyer cleared his throat. “Surely one of the couples you’ve planned proposals for could help out. A lot of people owe you.”
“That could work,” Mindy piped up. “What about Sally? She works for West Haven Magazine. They have a monthly column about women in business. We could ask the magazine to throw together a small reception celebrating local female entrepreneurs and get her to invite Wendy for a speaking role.”
“Okay…maybe.” Claire stood up to pace. Could they really pull something this elaborate off in less than a day?
“But a venue?” She turned back to the table.
“What about the historical society? Remember Mei said they owed you a favor after that proposal we did at the Walker house quadrupled their donations and foot traffic,” Nicole suggested.
Claire looked out the window into the dark night and sighed. It was too chaotic, too messy, but it was the only plan they had. “It’s worth a shot. Okay, triage time. I’ll call Sally. Mindy, you leave an emergency voicemail for Mei at the historical society. Luke, Sawyer, and Kyle are on security detail. Nicole, we need you to photograph the event and take pictures of anyone who looks suspicious. We need to know who these demented frat boys are.”
Luke stood up and disappeared down the hallway.
“If it’s a reception, won’t we need light refreshments? Maybe some booze?” Mindy said. “It has to look legit.”
“Good point. Boys, here’s my vendor book,” Claire said, digging a small black book out of her purse and flinging it onto the breakfast nook. “Divvy up the list and start calling people until someone says yes. The ones marked with purple stars usually answer their phones after hours, so start there.” She turned away from the group and gripped the side of the kitchen island. She took a couple deep breaths and tried to get her heart to stop galloping.
A wave of rose hip shampoo hit her. Mindy. “I know you’re freaking out right now, but don’t. We can do this. Remember when we took four finals in two days and still managed to co-chair Whiskeypalooza? This is nothing compared to that.”
There was a thwack of plastic hitting wood. Claire turned around. Luke had laid an empty binder on the table. She could have kissed him, but there wasn’t time.
She pulled her phone out and scrolled through her contacts. When the phone started ringing, she held her breath.
“Sally? Hi. Sorry for calling so late. I need you to help me save someone’s life.”
“This is torture.”Mindy moaned from the back seat of the company van.
“I know, but it has to be done.” Claire eyed the sun that was slowly peeking over the mountain. “Wendy’s bragged about being a runner five million times, and if ESA’s been watching her, they already know that. I would bet my last dollar that they’re staking out her running route right now and finding a quiet spot where no one will overhear a struggle. We have to get to her before they do.”
“If the cops would happen to investigate our car right now, we’re going to look sketchy as hell.” Nicole held up a blindfold, a pair of fuzzy handcuffs Claire had been using to shackle herself to her bed frame, and a ball gag that Mindy had thoughtfully donated.
Claire shrugged. “It’s nothing illegal. Any word from the boys?”
Mindy pulled out her phone. “Luke just texted. Yuffie committed because someone cancelled on her last night. So, we’ll have the pastries and hot and cold apps that were supposed to be for that group.”
“Good enough.” Yuffie had catered during Nicole’s proposal. Her pastries were divine, but her manners left much to be desired.
“The only thing is, it was a bachelorette party. So, all the food is shaped like penises.”
“Oh, boy.” Claire bowed her head. “It’s ok, we’ll cut them up into different shapes. Put small star-shaped cookies cutters on the shopping list. We’ll make it fit the theme somehow.”
Nicole glanced at her screen. “Kyle says we have a bartender. One of his friends from law school knows a guy.”
“The guy knows how to make more than Irish car bombs and lemon drops, right? This is a high-class event honoring women in business.”
Nicole turned to Claire and raised her eyebrows. “This is a fake event fakely honoring the girl who is suing you.”
“Right. Sorry. I got caught up in the cover story. Shit. Here she comes! Everybody out.”
Wendy had just stepped out into the early morning light. Her shoulder-length brown hair was tucked back in a ponytail, and earbuds were already in her ears. She was practically a sitting duck.
The three of them approached as Wendy grabbed her right foot and pulled it up into a quad stretch. She leaned against the wall away from the girls. Sawyer would have been ashamed of her obliviousness.
“Hey,” Claire said when they were just a few feet away. Wendy didn’t seem to hear.
“Hey,” Mindy said even louder. Nothing.
Claire crept up and tapped her on the shoulder.
Wendy screamed like she had been shot and crumpled onto the ground.
“Jesus Christ,” she said, pulling out one earbud. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Claire fought the urge to mock her by surveying the parking lot for Jesus. “We need you to come with us.”
“No way. I’m about to go on my run. Some of us like to say in shape,” she said, looking Claire up and down.
Bold words for a woman marked for dead.
Claire sighed. “You’re in danger. Someone’s planning to kidnap you. The only place they won’t expect to find you is with us.”
“Bullshit. You’re just messing with me because of the lawsuit.”
Claire turned to the other two. “We don’t have time for this. If they have to wait too long on the trail, they’re going to come looking for her.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Mindy said. She grabbed Wendy by the back of her sports bra and shoved her against the side of the apartment building.
Nicole sprang into action and slapped the furry handcuffs on Wendy’s wrists. Mindy grabbed Wendy’s cell phone and turned it off before putting it in her own purse.
“Ouch! You stupid whores will pay for this. Do you know who my father is?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mindy said, turning her around and frog-marching her across the parking lot. “We’re all very impressed.”
“Help! I’m being abducted!” Wendy screamed.
One of the apartment doors opened, and a bleary-eyed old woman in a dressing gown stepped out onto her porch.
“Surprise bachelorette party! We’re going to Atlantic City!” Claire called merrily over her shoulder. “Have a nice day!”
Nicole slid open the van door, and Mindy forced Wendy inside. Wendy grunted like an angry pig and thrashed around in her seat as if the seatbelt was burning her.
Claire turned around and held up one finger. “Listen up. I know you don’t want to be here. And trust me, I would rather be anywhere else in the world. But someone is trying to kill you, and I don’t want that on my conscience. So, you’re staying with us in a safe location until the danger has passed. Deal?”
Wendy rolled her eyes. “No wonder Jason dumped you. You’re such a psychopath.”
Claire sighed and locked all the car doors. She started the engine, and they shot out onto the highway then turned toward downtown.
“Have you felt like you’re being watched lately?” Claire asked. She glanced in the rearview mirror. Wendy stopped wiggling like a trapped feral cat for a minute.
“I always feel like I’m being watched. People love to look at me. Men especially.” She attempted to flick her hair over her shoulder, but she looked more like a horse trying to chase away a fly than a diva.
They pulled to a stop at a red light. “I’m serious. Have you noticed anything strange over the past couple of weeks?”
“I don’t know,” Wendy said quietly. “There was one weird thing. I checked the mail one day last week and had a plain envelope with a note that said, ‘I know what you did.’ I thought it was from you.”
“Not unless it was written in calligraphy on monogrammed stationery,” Nicole said. “You should have seen the wedding invitations.”
Claire shot her a dirty look as she turned onto Market Street.
“Sorry,” Nicole mouthed.
“It sounds like them,” Claire said to Mindy and Nicole. They nodded. “Did you get any weird flowers? From no sender?”
Wendy’s eyes narrowed. “Jason said he sent them.”
Claire snorted. “He didn’t send them. They did.”
“Who’s they?” Wendy leaned forward in her seat. “And how do you know?”
“ESA,” Claire said as she turned into the warehouse parking lot. “And I know because they’re doing the same thing to me.”