Destroyed and Detained Read online

  We all raised our binoculars back up and watched as the man in the old wooden rowboat rowed from the dock near the tracks over to the ship. We could see he had a large wooden crate in the boat with him. As he approached, a rope came spiraling down from the top of the ship’s deck and landed in his boat. I looked back up to the ship and could see another man up on deck. He was dressed like a pirate, hat and all. The man in the boat tied the rope around the crate and up it went into the ship. Then the man rowed back to the dock, tied up the boat and walked up to the house.

  “Strange …” Tannya said slowly. “Did you see the guy on the ship dressed like a pirate?”

  “Yes, do you think they’re real pirates?” Miss Kitty asked. “Are they going to steal stuff and burn other boats and take hostages, raid and pillage the town?”

  “I doubt it!” I said with an attitude. “This lake’s private. There’s no access. Who would they steal from? And what would they want that a boater on Lake Hawsawneekee would have? It’s not like we’re transporting treasures,” I laughed.

  “Well, then, darling, what are they doing?” Miss Kitty sassed back.

  “That’s what we are here to find out! We need a plan!” Tannya said with excitement in her voice. Oh boy!

  “Why don’t we just go to the edge of the lake, yell to them and ask what they are doing?” Miss Kitty suggested.

  “Better yet, we could put your pontoon in the water and ride out there and ask for a tour! I ain’t never been on a real pirate ship before!” Tannya suggested. “I bet they’d give us a tour. It’s new, and people always like to show off their new stuff.”

  “I don’t have my dock in yet. It’s too early, isn’t it? The dock has to be in to put the boat in. Otherwise where would I park it? And no, we’re not just going over there and ask for a tour. What if they’re bad guys?”

  I saw movement on the ship deck again, and we put our binoculars back up. It looked like there were two men on board now.

  “How many people do you think are on it?” Miss Kitty asked.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted.

  My phone rang and scared the bejeebers out of all of us. We laughed at how hard we jumped as I answered. The caller ID showed Derek.

  “Hey!” I answered with a giggle.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I’m standing here at my patio door with Miss Kitty and Tannya looking out at the ship and the phone startled us.

  “So it’s still there, huh?”

  “Yes, it’s so strange. And there are two men dressed like pirates on it and another just rowed over from the dock of the house on the right and dropped a crate off to it. There’s a bunch of big trees down and a railroad track looking thing leading to the lake. It must be how they got it in there.”

  “Really? So the neighbors built it?” he asked.

  “It looks that way.”

  Tannya said loudly, “Ask Derek if it’s too early to put the boat and the dock in the water.”

  “Was that Tannya?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You want to put the pontoon and dock in?” he asked me.

  “No, not really. Is it too early?”

  “Not really. You should be fine, but someone has to get in the freezing water to do it.”

  “Tannya wants to boat over and ask for a tour,” I told him.

  “Ha ha ha! Let her. Tell her to bring treasure with, though, just in case they don’t like her company. I better get back to work. Stay safe and out of trouble, Matey! Arrr!” he said and hung up.

  I set the phone down and looked out again. Over at the house, the boat man was loading more stuff into the little boat—smaller boxes and containers this time. He seemed to wave goodbye to someone still in the house as he left. I couldn’t see anyone through the window, though.

  “So, did Derek say we could put the dock in?” Tannya eagerly asked.

  “He said it should be fine, but we’re not doing that right now. It takes a few men and time.”

  My phone rang again. I reached over and checked the ID. The number was “Blocked.” I answered and it was Aunt Val.

  My aunt Val, my Dad’s younger sister, was one of my Dad’s four siblings. To sum her up would be to say she’s a wild one, always ready for adventure. Kind of like Tannya, a jump-now-think-later type of gal. Aunt Val had been married and divorced three times, no kids, no pets—she hates both and doesn’t like responsibility. She liked to drink and liked to be involved in crazy things. She didn’t have a job. She’d had many, but she usually jumped a bus after a few months and moved to a different town. She made just enough to eat and depended on the government and men for everything else. She wasn’t homeless—there usually was someone to lend her a couch or take her home for the night when she needed it. She had been in town this past winter and came to the cabin to visit and stay for a couple weeks, which reminded me, she had started running to get back into shape, at age fifty-four. She had mentioned she’d met a nice older man at a mailbox on the lake. I wonder if she’d remember who it was or which house it was.

  I quickly answered. “Hello?”

  “Hi, love!” she said in a sweet high voice. Her tone made me laugh. She was probably drunk already.

  “Hi, Aunt Val. How are you?” I said with a smile.

  “Oh, ya know me. I’m always good.”

  “That’s great to hear,” I quickly responded. “Hey, do you remember when you stayed here for a few weeks and you went running every day?”

  “Yes … but, Sara, I … ah,” she stammered.

  “No,” I interrupted. “I have to ask you something quick. You said you meet a nice man who lived on the lake and spoke with him at the mail box. Which house did he live in? Do you remember?”

  “Hah!” she shouted and then giggled. “Funny you should ask!”

  3

  I arrived at the police station in Nisswa at about 3:30 p.m. Tannya was smiling ear to ear as we all exited my Jeep.

  “Bailing your Aunt Val out? I can’t believe this! This is gonna be great. I wonder what she did,” Tannya said to me as she walked quickly to the entry.

  “I have no clue! She only had a minute on the phone. She said she’d tell me in the car.”

  Miss Kitty was looking around the lot. “I hope no one I know is here. I didn’t even get to check the mirror before we left. Are you sure my hair and lipstick are still good?” she asked us.

  “Yes!” we answered again.

  “We have to hurry. I don’t want Smoochy Poo to worry about me. She doesn’t like to be alone, and I’m not sure how she’ll do with your cat.”

  “She’s in her kennel, or purse, or whatever! Faith can’t hurt her when she’s in there. And she won’t, anyway,” I tried to assure her.

  “She attacked her the moment we arrived!” Miss Kitty snapped.

  “Yeah, but she’s used to big dogs. She probably didn’t know that your dog was even a dog.”

  Tannya chimed in, “Well, then it’s good. Your dog needs to step up and start acting like a dog! You’re confusing her by putting clothes on her and carrying her around in a bag. Dogs got four legs for a reason. Let her be a dog for a while and chase the cat, not run crying from it!”

  “Ahh!” Miss Kitty gasped. She was offended, and I was holding back my laughter. Leave it to Tannya to tell it straight out exactly how it is. “She knows she’s a dog …” From the look on Miss Kitty’s face I could tell she was wondering if what Tannya said was true.

  “Just sayin’,” Tannya said and reached for the door.

  When we stepped into the police station door Tannya led the way. She seemed to know exactly where to go. I supposed so since her ex-husband had been in trouble with the law a lot, and she’d filed a restraining order on him a year and a half ago.

  We went down a hallway and took a left, which put us in a large open lobby area with chairs. Along the back wall was an opening in the wall that had a glass panel and a small vent for conversation—like an old-fashioned ticket booth for a
movie theater. I could see a woman at a desk beyond the glass. She looked up when we came in. She was in her fifties, chubby, and looked angry and underpaid.

  As we crossed the room, she said, “Can I help you?” in such a way I was sure she didn’t really mean it. I could tell by her wrinkled brows and judgmental eyes. She was done scanning me, so while I answered her she scanned Tannya and then Miss Kitty.

  “I had a call from someone who needs to be bailed out …” I told her.

  “Mmm hmm. And?” She tipped one eyebrow up.

  “And … I’m here to bail her out,” I sheepishly replied.

  “Does she have a name?” she sassed at me.

  “Yes, her name is Valeida Lewis, Val for short.”

  “Have a seat.”

  We all moved to seats and Miss Kitty started right in with her no-one-tells-me-what-to-do attitude. “Well she’s a rude one. There are plenty of people in this town who could do better at that job than her. Who does she think she is? Did you see the way she looked at us?”

  “Yes! I feel violated!” said Tannya. “She’d better chipper up and treat us nice or Sara’s gonna tell Rex he needs a new secretary. Right, Sara? He’d fire her in a second if you asked him to.”

  I dropped my jaw. “No, he wouldn’t. Rex isn’t my puppy. He doesn’t do everything I ask him to. I barely know him. In fact, I haven’t talked to him in quite a while.” Well, except for earlier. Oops.

  “Yeah, but he still talks about you, and I see the look in his eyes when he does,” Tannya said. “He’d castrate a bull with his bare hands and a rubber band if you asked him to.”

  “Rex’s a hot, sexy man. Every girl in this town wants a piece of him. He has to know if he wants some, he can get it from any girl in this town … or the next town, for that matter,” I told them with a smile.

  “Maybe he likes a challenge,” a familiar voice said. I nearly jumped out of my socks. The male voice came from right behind me and judging by the looks on Tannya and Miss Kitty’s faces, it was Rex. OH, MY GOD! Open mouth, insert foot. My face was instantly red hot. Oh, this was humiliating. How long had he been standing there?

  “Hey! Officer Dalton!” Tannya said in a loud, silly voice with a huge smile and wave.

  I turned around slowly and grinned. “Oh, hey! I didn’t know you were working today.”

  “Been here all day,” he said, smirking. Shit! I knew he’d heard me. “So, you’re here for Val?”

  “Yes?” I squirmed. I still didn’t even know what she’d done.

  “And Val’s your aunt?” he asked with his beautiful, quizzing eyes.

  “She is.”

  “Yeah … I can see that,” he said. What’s that supposed to mean? “Come on up to the counter, and we’ll get the forms signed and payment processed. Then she’s all yours. Although I’ll say that we’re going to miss her around here. She adds a little sparkle to the place.”

  I smiled. “I can only imagine.” I followed Rex up to the desk and signed some forms and paid her bond. “Do I get to know what she’s in here for?” I asked, not wanting to know the answer.

  “Possession of stolen goods,” Rex said with a head shake. “I’ll leave the details of that to her.”

  What? I can’t believe she’d steal stuff! Would she? Maybe she was worse off than I thought.

  “I’ll go get her. Be right back,” he said and walked through the secure door.

  “Your aunt’s a thief?” Miss Kitty asked.

  “No. I’m sure it’s a big misunderstanding,” I said hopefully. She was a wild one, though.

  After a few minutes Aunt Val and Rex came through the door. “She’s all yours, Sara. Keep an eye on her for us.” He winked and turned towards the door. Val reached out and slapped him on the ass.

  “Rex,” Val said to his back, “it’s like I told you before, your lips are moving, but your ass is doing all the talking.” He kept walking, all the while shaking his head until he was through the door.

  The lady at the window tisked.

  “Yeah you’re perfect, ain’t ya?” Tannya said in a snappy voice. “I’m sure you ain’t never done no wrong! Well, keep your tisks to yourself, lady, and we don’t need your stink eye, either!”

  I shot a look at Tannya, surprised by her attitude. “I don’t like her! Never have!” she whispered to me as she turned away.

  “Sara, dear, how are you?” Val asked as she wrapped her arms around me. She wiggled me from side to side, moaning, “Oooh, so good to see you. Thanks for coming. I owe ya one.” She jabbed my shoulder and gave me a wink.

  “Oh, sweet,” Miss Kitty said. “Like in Monopoly, Sara’s got a get out of jail free card!”

  “Yes, she does,” Val agreed.

  “Well, we best get moving back to Sara’s. My Smoochy Poo is there all alone.”

  “She isn’t there alone! Faith and Pepper are with her,” I said.

  “Yes, let’s go. I can’t wait to hear the story behind this!” Tannya said and slung an arm around Val’s shoulder, leading her out to the hall. We all loaded into the car and drove back to my place. On the way, I asked Val about the arrest.

  “So, Auntie Val … possession of stolen goods?” I asked as I turned out of the lot.

  “Ha, ha, it’s a funny story,” she started. I could tell she was embarrassed, but she turned towards me in her seat and started right in. “First off, thanks for bailing me out. I didn’t know who else to ask. Your dad wouldn’t understand, and everyone else is too far away.”

  “What are you still doing here, anyway? I thought you left two months ago.”

  Val looked to the back seat and smiled at Tannya and Miss Kitty. They were unbuckled and leaning forward, awaiting the details. “I did, but I only went to Brainerd, and then I met someone.”

  “You met someone? Like a guy?”

  “Ohhhh, this is gonna be good!” Tannya chimed in and scooted closer to the front seat, her head literally next to my shoulder.

  “Yes, a guy,” she said hesitantly.

  “Who? When do we get to meet him? What’s his name?” Miss Kitty asked. I felt like she’d stolen my question.

  “Soon, probably sooner than you think,” she said, acting very mysteriously.

  “Well, where is he from?” I asked.

  “Nisswa,” she said and looked out the window. She had a painful look on her face. She looked like a three-year-old about to fess up to breaking a crystal vase.

  “Well, that’s good! So he’s why you stayed? Are you staying with him? I asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “For the love of everything good and holy, tell us about the stolen goods!” Tannya yelled.

  We all shot a look at her.

  “Okay, ladies, brace yourself … here it is.”

  4

  We all prepared for the entertainment as Aunt Val began the story of her arrest.

  “So a couple months ago, after you were kidnapped, when I came out to stay with you for a couple weeks, remember in the mornings I’d get up and go for a run, which was actually a walk because God didn’t supply me with endurance or lung capacity when he was handing out parts? Well, on my walk, on the second day I stayed with you, I went around the lake, towards the left when you leave your driveway. There’s a dirt road on that side that dead ends at the three houses across the lake. I went all the way to the last house and turned around and came back—every day the same path. Well, on the second day when I was walking by the first house I noticed a lot of noise behind me. It was a huge semi with a load of wood and other stuff. The truck was from Menards. They stopped to ask if I knew the address of the guy on the order. ‘Mr. Captain Caesar Wayde.’”

  GASP! “Captain?” I asked. Tannya slapped her hand over her mouth and Miss Kitty moved closer to the front.

  Val nodded. She was very calm. “I asked the guy in the truck if he’d repeat it and he did with a giggle. At that moment a man came walking down the driveway. He was middle-aged, maybe a couple years younger than me—I’d say around f
ifty, and dressed in a pirate costume. Head-to-toe, like it was Halloween. It took me by surprise. I watched him as he came closer, then talked to the driver and told him to back in and unload next to the ship.

  “At this point my curiosity got the better of me, and I stuck my hand out and introduced myself. “Hi,” I told him. “I’m Val. I’m staying with a relative on the lake here.”

  “He smiled behind his full mustache and beard and shook my hand. He had a great smile, except for the tooth he’d tried to black out with makeup. His eyes were black with liner and shadow and the best part … a fake parrot on his shoulder!”

  I was just pulling into my driveway. “Hold that thought,” I said. “Look out there!” I pointed to the lake. “Does that have anything to do with you?”

  Miss Kitty gasped from the back seat, “Oh, my God! You stole a pirate ship and hid it here?”

  We all shot her a look. She shrugged.

  “Not exactly …” Val trailed off as she exited the Jeep and ran towards the lake. “Wow! Look at it! Isn’t it beautiful? He did it, he actually did it!”

  We all ran after her and stood at the edge of the water looking at the ship.

  There was no one on board as far as we could tell. So Tannya demanded we go inside and finish the story. Miss Kitty had already gone in to check on Smoochy.

  When we opened the door, Pepper slowly walked over and greeted us. Miss Kitty set Smoochy Poo on the floor and joined us at the dining room table. We all sat down and continued to look out the window.

  “So what the hell is up with the ship?” I asked.

  “Okay, so he introduces himself and kisses my hand and tells me I’ve got to be the most beautiful treasure in all the sea.”

  Oh, boy! I could tell by the look in her eyes that she’d fallen for that.

  “And, well, we got to talking, and he was there again the next day when I went out for a run.” I tipped my head. “I mean walk,” she corrected.

  “Go on!” Tannya demanded.

  “The second day he was again dressed like a pirate but in different clothes. The parrot was still there, and we talked for a bit, and then he invited me to see his project. So I followed him back to his yard, and there this was,” she said gesturing to the patio window. “It was built from a kit and then set on a track so getting it into the lake would be easy.”