MAYHEM-MYSTERY & MURDER
By
CLIFFORD L. TIDD
Les Damon was
considered an ordinary guy leading an ordinary life, until he took a job as an
insurance investigator. By chance, he
became the only person who could identify a mysterious international
criminal. When the United States
Government asked him to volunteer for a secret mission to
Clifford L. Tidd is a versatile
writer. The author is brilliantly
merciless as he breathes new life into the classic action novel of
international intrigue. His characters are strong and believable. His clever suspenseful writing style, keeps
the reader focuses and anxious. Another
superb effort from a most gifted writer.
e-BOOK
MAYHEM
MYSTERY
e-Book 2005
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MAYHEM-MYSTERY & MURDER
By
CLIFFORD L. TIDD
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright 2005
e-Book
Maverick Publishing
MAYHEM-MYSTERY & MURDER
By
CLIFFORD L. TIDD
DEDICATION
I dedicate
this book to my dear wife, "Penny."
Without who’s help, this never would have been accomplished.
CLIFFORD L. TIDD
MAYHEM-MYSTERY & MURDER
By
CLIFFORD L. TIDD
THE SET UP
HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY
THE MYSTERY STARTS
THE HERO
THE MURDER
THE NEWLY WEDS
THE PLOT THICKENS
THE ESCAPE
THE
ORDEAL OF TERROR
ROUGHING IT
LOST IN THE WILDERNESS
NATIVE HOSPITALITY
TIME TO HEAD HOME
STRANGE HAPPENINGS
REACHING THE COAST
THE TRAP IS SPRUNG CLOSING IN
GOTCHA
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
THE SET UP
Who would have believed anything exciting
would happen to Les Damon. He was an ordinary guy. Born in
He
went to church, liked to hunt and fish.
He knew a lot about outdoor life, by growing up on a farm. At an early age, he realized farming was not
his "kettle of fish," as he used to say.
He liked girls even when he was quite young.
His father often said to him “you’re sprouting young, Les!” He was good-natured
and didn’t seem to mind being teased. He would just look up with a big grin to
acknowledge the remark but that was all.
He skipped school several times during his high
school years back in
However, one day at a party in a big house on
Court Street he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was drinking
pink lemonade and laughing at some good-looking guy telling stories about what
happened to him in Houlton on the fourth of July last year. Les listened but
could not bring himself to laugh or even grin, until this little beauty
happened to look his way. He beamed like a flashlight with a new battery. She
seemed to respond with a twinkle in her eye. Les liked that. During the party
Les wondered, “how can I get introduced to her?” He
casually asked several folks who she was. Finally in a bold move, Les walked
over where she was standing, and said, “a great party, huh?” She looked him
straight in the eye and responded, “Yes, very nice.”
That was it Les Damon would never be the same
again. His heart thumped wildly and he felt as if he should say something
funny, only because she enjoyed laughing at that guys
jokes. He caught himself just in time, because he remembered he could not tell
a joke and make it funny.
“You live in Houlton?” he quipped, sounding
like a parrot. Clearing his throat, he said, “I’ve never seen you around here
before.”
She looked up and said, “No, I’m from
“Where’s that? Is it near
“Well, it’s about twenty miles from downtown
She seemed vaguely interested with her
response, so Les said,” I’ve been down there a few times. How long are you up
for?” He was trying desperately to keep this conversation going.
“I’m visiting my cousin Rosemary for a few
days. I thought it would be a good change now that I’m through high school,”
she said with a flip of her head.
Her black hair was hanging about her face in
a way that seemed to make her look “angelic.” Les couldn’t take his eyes off
her. He seemed to drink in every detail about her and filed all these beautiful
features in his memory for future use.
Her smile was magic. A slight curl made her lips
beg to be kissed. Les studied her very carefully, calculating his next move. He
knew he had to move fast if she was from ‘‘away,’’ as they say in
“I may have to be in
“Oh, where do you go in
“Probably several places,” Les answered. He
hoped she didn’t realize he was lying. “I’ve got an uncle that lives in
Danvers,” Les went on, “He sells leather all over the world, and I often go see
him.” This part of the story was almost true. His uncle did live on
She said, “I work on
“Hey, maybe I’ll see you down there. That
would be cool, huh! “Les was getting anxious. “Wait a minute,” he said, “I
don’t even know your name.” He hoped this would not end their little tLte-B-tLte.
She paused and looked away, as though waiting
for some hint of an answer.
Meanwhile, Rosemary had come over to where
they were talking.
“Oh Ramona, have you already met Les?”
“Well, sort of,” she replied with her big
brown eyes, glancing up at him. She held out her hand and said, “I’m Ramona
Gibson.”
Just the touch of her hand in his drove his
temperature up. He felt a little
strange, but said, “very nice to meet you Ramona, I’m
Les Damon, at your service.”
That really sounded corny, thought Les.
“Les just said he goes to
Rosemary, thinking something was beginning
said, “Oh, everybody likes Les. You might have fun together,” she said walking
away.
“When
do you have to go back to work? Where do you stay in Houlton? Can I see you
again?” These questions were coming thick and fast.
“I’ve been staying with my aunt, up in Paddy
Hollow.”
Les never did know where that name came from,
but he knew the area well. He knew there was a quiet place just beyond the
Radio reception seemed to be the best up
there, or at least; this is what he told his dates.
“I know a good place up in Paddy Hollow, if
you like WWVA,
Ramona quietly said, “I can take it or leave
it, but it sounds okay.”
Les thought he had scored a date on that last
suggestion.
“I just got a new radio for my car, and it
will be installed tomorrow. If you are free, maybe we could go to a movie, and
get a dish of ice cream at French’s Drug Store They have the biggest servings
in town,” Les said.
He was beginning to gain control of the
situation, or so he thought.
“Sorry, my uncle is having a birthday
tomorrow, and I have to be there.”
Les felt his whole body go limp, at just the
thought of not seeing her again.
“
Les thought all sorts of things as he felt
his dreams begin to vaporize.
After a few minutes he said, “Here’s my name
and address.” He had quickly scribbled them on a scrap of paper he saw on a
table by the door. “Would you let me have your phone number and address in
That night as Les drove home alone; all his
thoughts were about Ramona. He hoped he hadn’t made a fool of himself
The next morning he left early for work. He
drove slowly by Ramona’s house hoping he might at least get one glimpse of this
girl that left him all wound up.
No one seemed to be there, so he drove up to
Paddy Hallow. He didn’t know just where her uncle lived, but felt he might see
her outside somewhere, anywhere!
No such luck!
Les just got to work when he heard the phone
ring.
“Les,” a voice called from the office, “you
got a phone call.”
Setting down his lunch box, he went into the
office.
“Some sweet young thing is on the phone,”
said Stella, with a sparkle in her voice.
“Hello, this is Les,” was his response as he
picked up the phone.
“Hi, this is Ramona,
I got your number from Rosemary. She told me where you worked, I hope you are
free tonight,” she said sweetly. “My aunt said I could invite you to the party
tonight for my uncle Leonard.”
The flame rekindled instantly inside him. He
came alive once more. Silently he said to himself,”
she does love me after all.”
“Well, sure,” he blubbered frantically
searching for just the right words,” that would be great.”
That evening dressed in a new polo shirt and
slacks, he arrived at the specified time. As he was about to ring the doorbell,
the door flew open, and there she was.
The area suddenly seemed to glow like when
the sun breaks through the clouds on a rainy day. “She looks so beautiful,” he
said to himself
She leaned forward on her tiptoes and gave
him a kiss on the cheek. You could have spread Les with a butter knife, he felt
so soft and gushy. He felt out of control but he didn’t care, she had just
kissed him. He would be hers forever.
Les had just quieted down when a gruff voice
came from inside the house. “Bring him in, Ramona.”
Les was puzzled by something in the voice and
the way Ramona reacted.
“Coming,” she called as she led the way into
the house.
Seated by the fireplace, Les saw this strange
little man. His hair was gray; there was no smile, just a grim look almost like
a sneer. His face was thin and mean looking.
“Have a seat,” he said. “Ramona tells me you
travel a lot, is that so?”
Les, without thinking said,” yes, a lot!”
“When do you go south again?” said uncle Leo, as he preferred to be called.
“I’m not sure yet, but probably in a few
days.” he didn’t realize Leo was setting him up,
“Well,” Leo replied, “I’ve got a package to
go to a friend down in
Les thought maybe this would get him on a
solid footing with the family. “Well, I don’t see any reason why I can’t,” he
said.
Ramona interrupted, “Uncle Leo is an importer.
He deals in antiquities from eastern
Leo cut her off “this is very expensive, and
I don’t trust the delivery trucks. Can you keep it safe? What do you have for a
car?” he went on.
“I’ve got a nice 1959 Olds Eighty Eight. It
rides good, and I’ll take care of your package.”
“So, I need to know when you are going. My
friend in
Les looked at Leo, then over at Ramona.
“Probably I’ll go on Thursday, if that’s okay. Is that soon enough?”
“That will be fine,” said Leo, “come by
before seven in the morning, and I will have it ready for you.”
Guests started arriving for the party, and
all talk about the trip stopped.
“All this is on the Q.T,” Leo said, and
walked away. Something didn’t feel right, Les mused on the strange business
deal. He felt a sense of urgency sweep over him. “What am I getting involved
in?” he thought “I’ve only been to
Ramona, just saying her name gave him
strength. “I know I can do this. It is probably just my imagination; after all,
he is Ramona’s uncle. How bad can he be?”
Actually, the party was sort of dull. Lots of chattering and laughing, especially by one big burly guy,
trying to be the life of the party.
“Who is that big gorilla over there with all
the gab?” he said to Ramona.
“I think he works for my uncle, doing special
things. His name is Karl Fitzsimmons. He is kind of nasty most of the time. I
try to stay out of his way,” Ramona said, with her voice trailing off, “Let’s
go outside and get some air.” Taking his hand, she led him through the kitchen,
and out the back door.
Two men were standing outside the door
smoking, and talking softly.
“Where are you two going?” One of them asked,
as he flicked his cigarette butt away. “Leo said to keep an eye on both of
you.”
“We just came out for some air, for a few
minutes, “Ramona quickly responded.
She and Les sat on the swing in the back
yard, only about twenty feet from those two big men.
“Finally,” said Les, as he put his arm around
her for the first time. She fit just right. She edged a little closer, and
looked up at Les. Even in the moonlight, he could see the sparkle in her eyes.
He could resist no longer. Leaning down, his lips met hers. Streaks of light
seemed to burst in his head. At first he thought, “That was some kiss!” Then he
realized something or someone had hit him that very instant.
“Leo said for us to keep you away from her.
Now unless you enjoyed that tap on the head, I suggest you keep your distance.”
Ramona said,” maybe you better go. I’ll see
you in
As Les drove home, he thought, “I didn’t even
get a chance to enjoy that kiss.” Although he could sort of
sense her lips against his.
“What was so wrong with giving her a kiss
anyway?” Suddenly the bump on his head started to really hurt. “I’ve got to
watch out for those goons,” he said to himself.
Bright and early, Thursday morning, Les
arrived at Leo’s house. Carefully watching for those two guys, he stopped out
front, in the road.
“Back down the driveway to the garage,” a
voice said. Without noticing who spoke, Les carefully backed into the driveway,
and down to the garage.
As he opened the door, there he stood. One of those two thugs.
“What’s up junior? Did you learn anything
last night?” he said with a smirk on his face.
Les just kept walking, and said, “Look Mac, I
don’t need anything from you. Now back off!”
The garage door rose up, and Leo was standing
there. He held a box about three feet square.
“This is quite heavy, so be careful,” he
said. “Do you have a blanket or something to wrap around it? I don’t want this
to break. Oh, never mind, James will get something to put around it,”
Finally, Les knew the name of this big
fellow. He later found out he was James Bunch from
“I’ll stay out of his reach,” thought Les, as
he slammed the trunk shut. Leo handed a paper to Les and said, “Here are
directions to find Roberto Andreas. Have him sign this, and you sign it under
his name, as a witness.”
“This sounds legit,”
thought Les, as he jumped into his blue Olds, and sped off hopefully to find
Ramona, and deliver this box of dubious contents!
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