“Yes. You always get us out of the situations I get us into.”
“You think of something.” I said. “You’re lucky I love you or I would strangle you. Why do I always follow you on dangerous adventures?”
“Aww, you love me. I’m glad we’re friends. I love you, too.” Georgie whispered. I could hear her trying to hold back tears.
“Don’t cry. Think carefully. We need a plan.”
“I can’t help it. All I can think of is that Paul will kill me when I get home.”
“He won’t be able to; that guy in black is going to kill both of us first.”
Georgie stammered, “He will won’t he. What will Beth Ann do without a mom? Oh no, Annie. What have I done?”
She began to cry harder. I hugged her.
“Don’t cry. We need to try and find a way out. We’re not leaving Laci and Beth Ann motherless.”
The thought of the girls without moms turned my fear to raging anger. I didn’t want to die, but I didn’t want my child hurt again either. She lost her dad; she wasn’t going to lose me. We were going to fight back.
“Okay, pity time is over. We’re going to feel around this place and look for a possible escape or weapons to use on him when he comes back. I smell fertilizer. We could throw it in his face when he opens the door. Then we run.” I stood and began to feel around for something to use.
“What if more than one guy comes back? They might all show up. I saw three people in the house,” Georgie said.
I heard Georgie moving around. “I don’t think we’re going to find a way out. It is all solid wood. Ow, ow, ow,” she yelled.
“Shhh, what happened? Did you get a splinter from the wall?”
“No, I banged my leg on some large metal container. The fertilizer odor is strong over here. Maybe I found it.” Georgie let out a little squeal. “I think this can is full of fertilizer.”
I moved toward her side of the shed and felt for the container. “You’re right. This may be it. Let’s try to find a few smaller containers we can fill up and use to toss it.”
“Is this what you would write as a Plan B in one of your mysteries?” Georgie sounded hopeful.
“No, this is more like Plan F but we have to do what we can. If it works, I’ll write it into my next book. If it doesn’t, my books may sell better. I can see the headline now…”
“Indie Mystery Author Dies In Mysterious Shooting With BFF”
I could hear Georgie laughing. “Maybe you should switch to comedy. That’s funny.”
“What’s funny about our deaths making the headlines of the paper?” I shuddered.
We both stopped moving. “Did you hear that?” Georgie whispered.
I shook my head until I realized she couldn’t see me. “Someone is unlocking the door. I think. It’s time. Thanks for being a good friend.”
“You, too,” she whispered. “We don’t have any small fertilizer buckets to toss.”
“Then as soon as the door opens, we charge him, knock him down, and run. It’s our only chance.”
I think I felt my heart stop when I heard a gentle tapping on the door.
“Annie. Annie. Are you in there?”
Am I going crazy? I must be hallucinating.
“Clark,” I whispered near the door. “Is that you?”
“Yes, is Georgie with you?”
“We’re both here. Watch out for a crazy man in black with a gun. He said he’s coming back to kill us.”
Clark said, “The house is dark, and there aren’t any vehicles in the drive or the garage.”
“They left but left us in here. Get us out.”
Georgie grabbed my arm, “What if Clark was the evil voice and he knows we would try to fight if the villain came back. He knows we’ll just walk out happily if he’s out there. We’re dead.”
Clark? My Clark? The bad guy? No, I can’t accept that. He loves me. I think I love him. Georgie has to be wrong. One way to find out.
“Please get us out of here, Clark,” I yelled.
I whispered to Georgie, “Clark’s not a bad guy.” I felt her move to stand behind me. I can’t blame her. She doesn’t know him the way I do.
I heard something hit the lock. The door opened, and Clark stood there with a lantern adding some light to our wooden jail cell. I fell into his arms. If he were going to shoot me, he would have to do it with my arms around his neck.
I felt him hug me back, and I knew everything was okay.
Georgie yanked on my arm.
“What?” I said.
“Annie, he has a gun.”
I took a step back and saw the gun in his hand. A cold shiver ran down my spine.
“Of course I have a gun. When I figured out you two disappeared, I stopped at the hardware store before coming here. Dad always kept a gun under the counter just in case. It’s his gun. C’mon, I needed to park in the public lot. We’ll need to stick close to the trees on the way back in case your jailer returns.” I hugged him again, and while I wanted to stay in his arms, I loosened my grip and followed him. Georgie was right behind me.
Chapter Sixteen
Not sure if we were being watched or not, we stuck close to the back of the property and made our way to Clark’s car. Once the three of us safely settled in the car, Clark asked me to explain again what happened.
In the middle of my explanation, Georgie asked, “How did you know where to find us?”
I think Georgie still doesn’t trust Clark’s timely arrival completely.
Clark said, “After Berg finished searching the shop, I went to Annie’s. The front door was locked; Aunt Irene’s cottage was dark, but
