Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained Read online

  Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

  Family Affair Book 3

  By Roseanne Dowell

  Digital ISBNs

  Kindle 978-0-2286-0966-7

  Amazon Print 978-0-2286-0967-4

  2nd Ed. Copyright 2019 by Roseanne Dowell

  Cover art by Michelle Lee

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book

  Dedication

  To my great grandchildren.

  I hope some day you read and enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Chapter 1

  “I can’t do it,” Bea cried. “I can’t face them.”

  “There’s no way to get out of it. You’re the key witness.” Ed said.

  “I’m not doing it. You can’t make me.” Bea shook her head. “I’ll go to jail before I testify.”

  “Now, honey pot. You don’t mean that. Besides, what would I do without you?”

  “Nope, not going to do it, that’s that.” Bea folded her arms across her chest and set her jaw.

  It all started when Bea snooped around in a car theft ring and got tangled in a mess that darn near cost her life. Since then, she slept too much and hardly bothered getting dressed. Wouldn’t eat, even lost interest in cooking. Ed had never seen Bea so depressed. No one could snap her out of it. Not even her sisters. They visited, but she didn’t speak to them, just sat there, and stared. It broke his heart. To top it off her mama had to recuse herself from the case.

  “Not that I wanted to, nothing would please me more than to sit on the bench for that trial. Still and all,” Jess admitted, “it’s for the best. Impartial as I’d try to be, when it comes to my daughter, prejudice takes over. If it was just about the car theft ring and didn’t involve Bea, it would be different.”

  He’d never forget the day Bea had to appear in court, the typical Beatrice Lulu everyone knew and loved had disappeared. Gone was the outspoken, outgoing, confident woman Ed met and married. In her place was a timid little old woman. Now everyone knew Bea wasn’t timid by nature, and she certainly wasn’t old. Unfortunately, no one could convince her of that.

  “We’re old and we’re all going to die. What difference does it make if I testify?” became Bea’s mantra. She repeated it to everyone in the family.

  Ed was about ready to pull his hair out. The woman drove everyone nuts.

  “Now, Bea, you’re not old, and we’re not going to die for a long time. You’re talking nonsense,” Ed said.

  She just sat there staring and shaking her head. Nothing he said changed her mind. Nothing anyone said made a difference. They couldn’t even make her angry at those guys Gone was the indignant, self-righteous lady she usually was. Who was this timid, weak shell of a woman?

  “If I hadn’t been snooping none of it would have happened. I should have let Callie handle it like you said, I wouldn’t have been in danger. I wouldn’t have caused all the heartache and pain. I could have died.”

  Oh no, this wasn’t the Beatrice Lulu everyone loved. Hopefully, once she saw those guys she’d get angry enough to testify.

  The prosecutor called her to the stand. Ed followed her into the courtroom and took a seat, hoping to lend support. All she had to do was tell the truth. Not too difficult, even for Bea. Lying wasn’t one of her faults. She took the stand, glanced at the men, and broke down in tears before they swore her in.

  Bea had never broken down like that before. She sobbed so hard, the judge called a recess. Where was his self-confident, overbearing wife? Even her mama didn’t know what to do for her. Her crying and howling could be heard throughout the entire third floor of the courthouse.

  “I’m sorry, Ed. I’m sorry, Mama. I’m sorry, Ethel.” She ran through the whole gamut of her family and started naming the nieces and nephews.

  Someone had to put a stop to it and quick. Ed had never been one for hitting a woman, but he came darn close. Did you ever see those old movies where a woman was hysterical and someone slapped her? That’s what he was tempted to do, and he wasn’t the only one. Ethel came the closest.

  Ethel shook Bea's shoulders until her head bobbed. “Beatrice Lulu, I’ve had about enough of your self-pity. What in the world is wrong with you?”

  Bea cried harder.

  Lottie tried next. “Beatrice Lulu, you’ve got to snap out of this. Those men tied you up. They were going to kill you.”

  It didn’t make a bit of difference. “I shouldn’t have been there. I shouldn’t have snooped. It’s my fault. I’m lucky I’m alive.”

  “You’re right, Aunt Beatrice Lulu. You shouldn’t have been there. You should have minded your own business. But you didn’t. Damn near ruined my stake-out, too. It’s too late to think about that now. You’ve got to testify about what happened and what you saw,” Callie’s angry tone had no effect on Bea.

  “I didn’t really see anything. You came storming in and saved me.” Bea wrung her hands. “I shouldn’t have been there.”

  Lillian stepped forward, sat down opposite Bea, held her hands, and looked her straight in her eyes. “Look at me, Beatrice Lulu. I know how difficult this is for you, honey. I really do.”

  Bea shook her head. “You have no idea.”

  “Yes, I do. Remember back when we were kids and I saw old Jack Bengal steal those chickens.”

  Bea nodded. “What’s that got to do with this?”

  “They made me testify, remember?”

  “That was different.”

  “Nothing different about it, Beatrice Lulu. Same darn thing. I had to go in front of all those people and tell them what I saw. Did you think that was easy for me? I was only thirteen. You’re a full-grown woman.”

  Bea wiped her tears. “I forgot about that.”

  “You have to do what’s right, just like I did. You’ll be fine. You just go up there and tell the truth. You tell the judge and jury exactly what happened that day. Okay?”

  Praise the Lord, it worked. Should have known it’d be sensible Lillian who got through to Bea.

  “You’re right. Let’s go.” Beatrice Lulu stood up, wiped her eyes, blew her nose, stiffened her shoulders, and hurried into the court room. When they called her to testify, she marched right up there, raised her right hand, and took the oath.

  “Can you describe what happened on the morning of the 27th of September?” The prosecutor didn’t waste any time. Probably afraid Bea would change her mind again.

  “I was going to Ethel’s, uh my sister’s, when a car sped by me, so I pulled out of the turning lane and followed it.”

  “What was special about this car that made you follow it?”

  “It wasn’t the first time a car passed me like that. Luckily there wasn’t much traffic because it was hard to keep up.” Bea paused for a breath. “Anyway, I was pretty sure where they were going. I’d followed one before. The driver knew what he was doing the way he handled that car. A few minutes later he confirmed my suspicions and turned onto Sycamore. I sped up, but kept my distance. Sure enough, he pulled into that old garage on the corner of Sycamore and Elm.” Bea sat up straighter and looked those guys right in the eyes. She made Ed so proud.

  “What did you do then?” The DA shuffled some papers on the podium.

  “I drove past and turned left onto Elm Street, then circled back. I figured if I parked on the far end of Sycamore, maybe I could snoop around.”

  “How did you propose to do that?�
� The prosecutor interrupted.

  “I closed my door as quietly as possible. I didn’t want to alert them. I headed to the back of the garage, stopped, and listened.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “It sounded like three or four men’s voices inside. Not that I could make out what they were saying. Up to no good, the way I saw it.” Bea sat back, crossed her arms, and took a breath.

  “Objection, your honor, she couldn’t know what they were up to.” The defense lawyer jumped up.

  “Sustained,” the judge said.

  “Did you go inside?” The prosecutor urged her to go on.

  “No, I snuck up to a window and peered in. Four men stood around the car, arguing from the tone of their voices and the way they waved their hands. One guy, dark haired and biggest of all four, said something that quieted them all down.” Bea shivered, looked down and squirmed in her chair.

  “That’s okay, Mrs. Eberhardt, take your time.”

  Bea let out a big breath. “Suddenly, something poked me in my back. I turned around and met a big moose of a guy. I mean BIG! Towered over me. Course most people do, but this guy would tower over everyone. I didn’t much like his face either. Mean son of a gun with a scar from his eye to his neck and a nasty sneer.”

  “Objection!” Again, the defense lawyer jumped up.

  “Sustained,” the judge said.

  “Do you see the man here in court?”

  “Yes, sitting right over there. The big one in the middle.” Bea pointed to the table with the defendants.

  “Let the record show, Mrs. Eberhard pointed to one of the defendants, Bruce Miller. Okay, so what happened next?”

  Bea cringed. “He said, ‘Well now, what have we here?’And I told him he didn’t know who he was dealing with. Not that he cared. He said I was trespassing. I told him my niece was the police chief. He said he didn’t care if she was the President of the United States. He waved a gun in my face.” Bea shivered again and sank back in the chair as if to make herself invisible.

  For a minute, Ed thought she was going to break down again. Poor thing, this was difficult for her, reliving the whole thing. It was the first time he’d heard the whole story. He shuddered just thinking how close he’d come to losing her.

  The prosecutor gave her a few minutes to collect herself. “What happened next?”

  “The gun and his deep, gruff voice scared the heck out of me. I was in trouble, deep trouble and didn’t have a clue how to get out of it. I could barely think. He shoved me forward. I stumbled and almost fell. Heck, I could hardly stand, and he wanted me to walk. He shoved the gun hard into my back. Adrenalin took over and my feet moved faster than I knew they could. He pushed me into the garage. The dark haired big guy looked angry and asked what the hell was wrong with him bringing someone in there?”

  “What did they do with you?”

  “They tied me up. The moose grabbed some rope off a hook and threw it to the dark-haired guy and told him to make sure it was tight enough so I couldn’t get loose. He grabbed my hands behind me and twisted the rope around them. One of them asked what they were going to do with me because I could identify them. Moose, the big guy, said they’d cross that bridge when they came to it. I knew they were going to kill me.” Bea took a drink of water and glared at the defendants.

  Ed sure was proud of her. Hard as it was, Bea didn’t quit.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.” Bea sounded confident, more like the old girl Ed knew.

  “What happened while you were tied up? What did you see?”

  “I prayed. I knew they were going to kill me. I tried to get my hands loose. My cell phone was in my back pocket and if I could just push the button, to make a call. I wiggled and jiggled my hands every which way, hoping to reach my phone. I swear the ropes tightened every time I moved. Suddenly, I heard an evil laugh. One I’ll never forget. I turned toward the sound and he stood there, looking as demonic as I remembered. I’d never forget those bulging eyes, that bulbous nose, and that wicked grin.”

  “Who stood there?” The prosecutor walked in front of the defendants.

  “The guy who threw me in the trunk at the bank, a while back. I looked away so he couldn’t see me and partly to avoid looking at him.” Tears slid down Bea’s cheeks.

  “Take your time.” The DA handed her a box of tissues. “Aside from your feelings, what were the men doing?”

  “Moose told him to leave me alone and to get to work. He said they had to get the parts shipped out. They were taking the car apart. I managed to get the rope loose enough to ease my hand into my back pocket and pressed a button, praying it was the number one, which was Callie, my emergency contact. Next thing I knew the broken-down garage doors flung open and Callie was standing there.” Bea collapsed back into the chair.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Eberhardt. No more questions, your honor.”

  “Your witness.” The judge looked at the defendant’s lawyer.

  “No questions.”

  The judge released Bea, and she literally ran out of the courtroom. Ed followed as quickly as he could. No need to watch the rest of the trial. He’d never seen grown men squirm in their chairs the way those guys did once Bea started talking. Even the biggest of them slid down, trying to make himself disappear. He came out into the hall and no sign of Bea. He figured she went to the washroom.

  Chapter 2

  Beatrice Lulu couldn’t get out of that courtroom quick enough. Once the judge said she was free to go, she hightailed it out of there and hurried past the defendants without looking at them. No doubt their faces were forever imprinted on her mind. She leaned against the sink in the lady’s room, fighting back nausea.

  They didn’t get it. Not Ed, not Ethel or Lottie. None of them did. They thought it was all cut and dry, but they weren’t there. They didn’t see how those guys worked. Didn’t see the evil. Easy for them to say she had to testify. No skin off their noses. All she wanted was to go home, live her life, and forget this ever happened. She’d become a recluse, that’s what she’d do. She’d never become involved in anything again. Her days of snooping were over. Callie could handle it from now on, that’s what they paid her to do.

  Ed opened the door to the women’s room. “Bea, sweetheart, come on out. We need to talk.”

  Bea didn’t respond. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, not even Ed. Next thing she knew he stood next to her. She leaned on the sink, shaking her head, holding back sobs.

  Ed took her in his arms and held her. “It’s okay, babe. It’s over now, everything’s going to be okay.”

  She pushed him away. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t have to get up there and testify.” He still didn’t get it. “You have no idea what it was like, everyone staring at me.”

  “You need to talk. Need to get it out of your system. You’ve moped around too long.” Ed smoothed her hair “Bea, I think you need counseling.”

  Bea ignored him. “All I’d wanted to do was help Callie. Wasn’t like I was trying to do her job or anything. I sure never expected the guy who kidnapped me at the bank to be part of them. Don’t mind telling you he scared the heck out of me. Actually, they all did. Never been so scared in my life. And you made me get up there and testify. What if the jury finds them not guilty? Then what? Will they come after me? Callie swore they won’t get off. Said there was plenty of evidence against them. If that was the case, what’d they need me for?” Bea turned on the water and washed her face.

  Ed handed her a paper towel and put his arms around her again. A woman came in the washroom, looked at them, turned, and left.

  “Come on, Bea, we’d better get out of here. Besides, your family’s waiting for you. They’re all worried about you.”

  “I’m not ready to talk to them. You go on. I’ll be out in a bit.”

  Ed took her hand. “Come on, sweetheart, we’ll find a quiet room we can talk, just you and me.”

  “In a minute, Ed. You go on.” Bea pulled away and went int
o one of the stalls, leaving Ed standing there.

  “I’ll just be outside, okay?”

  “Fine, just go, please.” Beatrice Lulu needed a minute to herself. She needed to think. She’d made up her mind not to testify until Lillian sat down and talked to her. She’d had no choice, it was the right thing to do. Not that she felt better about it. It still terrified her. Just the thought of facing those guys again scared the living daylights out of her. But she did it, got up there on the stand and took the oath to tell the truth. Well of course she’d told the truth. She always did. Some people didn’t like it, but she couldn’t lie. Just wasn’t in her. Mama taught them it’s always better to tell the truth no matter how bad it sounded.

  Finally, Bea came out of the washroom.

  “You okay? Do you want to talk about it?” Ed stood outside the washroom. “I didn’t realize how badly this whole thing affected you. Oh, I knew you’d been traumatized by it, I even thought about suggesting you see a psychologist several times, but knowing your feelings about shrinks thought better of it. Don’t give me that look. You really do need to talk to someone.”

  Bea shook her head. Talk to someone. As if that would help. Was he serious? “I did it, didn’t I? I got up there and stared them down. Didn’t matter how evil they looked and let me tell you, they looked pretty damn vile. You couldn’t see them, Ed. Especially the one who kidnapped me. He had a wicked sneer. Probably thought they could intimidate me with their stares. That ticked me off. Who did they think they were, anyway? Oh, they looked a whole lot different all cleaned up and dressed in suits but it didn’t change what they were. Not for one minute.”

  “I sure was proud of you, honey pot.”

  “When the DA asked me to please tell the jury what happened that morning, my confidence came back. With every question, my fear dissipated more, and the angrier I got. I looked those guys straight in the eye and explained what happened. I hope they’re going to pay for what they did.”