Quintessentially Quilly

Without further ado I present to you part two of Part Three (And the final installement) of:

(Part One)
(Part Two)
(Part One of Part Three))

Mina & The Carousel

Mrs. Maitland continued as though her husband hadn’t spoken.  ” — Mr. Emmerson and Mr. Finklemeyer haven’t got the stomach for killing.  Gallina gets so mad she grabs her husband’s revolver –”

“Now that I believe,” Mr. Maitland muttered.

“– and accidentally shoots him in the process.”

“Mrs. Emmerson is going to kill her own husband?”  Mr. Maitland grinned.

“In your premonition, what were we doing when all this was happening?”  Mina asked.

“Watching,”  Mrs. Maitland said, surprised. “What else could we do?”

“Well, I’d rather not just stand here waiting to get shot!”  Mina said.

“We’re locked in a freezer,”  Mr. Maitland said.  “It’s not like we have a lot of resources.”

Mina grabbed one of the empty freezers shelves and tugged.  The shelves had two parts, wire support racks, and removable polished stainless steel trays.  They weren’t heavy.  They certainly wouldn’t stop a bullet, but they might be just the thing for creating a distraction.

After removing several stainless steel trays, Mina realized that the shelving units were free standing.  The walk in freezer was simply a five by eight room with the door set slightly off center of the five foot end.  Mina smiled.  Some room redecoration was in order.

“I have a plan,” she announced.  “First, we need to move all these jewels.”  They stacked the jewels in a tower, one bag a top the other, in the corner to the right of the door, almost diagonally across the room from where they’d been.   Next, they gathered all the stainless steel trays, and moved the shelves.  “We need to tip this shelf on it’s side,” Mina said,  “And put it across the door so they can’t just walk into the room, but leave this end back a bit, because if this works, we’ll be going around it and out.”

“They’ll be able to see it,” Mr. Maitland grumbled.  “And us, too.  We’re still going to end up dead.”

“Oh hush, Bernie”  Mrs. Maitland scolded.  “I’d rather die trying to save myself than just stand around waiting to get shot.  Besides, this is kind of exciting, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, exciting like a house fire.” Mr. Maitland grumbled, but even so he helped move the heavy racks and arrange the stainless steels trays just so.  When their handiwork was done, the shelves on the back wall had been moved several feet forward, with one tipped on its side about a half foot inside the door.  The stainless steel trays had been carefully balanced at the back of each shelf to stand on end.  They made a murky and distorted mirror.

Mina and the Maitlands studied their handiwork.  Finally, Mrs. Maitland said, “Mina, I am sorry, but I think my Bernie is right.  This isn’t going to work.  When they open the door they’re going to see right away what we’ve done and just order us to come out.”

Mina pointed at the lightbulb on the ceiling.  “That’s why I need to unscrew that.”  She looked at Mr. Maitland.  “Do you think you can pick me up?”

Mr. Maitland looked startled.  He glanced at his wife, then back to Mina.  “But if you do that it will be dark!”

Mrs. Maitland reached out and grabbed her husband’s arm.  “It’s okay, Bernie.  If you hold on to me, I’ll be okay.”

“When do we have to turn the light out?”  Mr. Maitland asked.  “Edith doesn’t see well in the dark and it makes her anxious.”

“We can’t hear them coming,”  Mina said.  “For all we know they could be standing outside right now.  The sooner the light goes off, the better.”

“It’s okay, Bernie,” Mrs. Maitland repeated.  “There’s nothing in here to see anyway.”

“My wife the comedian,” Mr. Maitland said fondly.  “Hold on to my belt now and I’ll lift Mina up there to unscrew the bulb.”

“Remember,” Mina said as they took their places in the shadows.  “Once that door opens, the safest place to be is flat on the floor.”

The floor was too cold to sit, so they stood behind their make shift barrier, huddled together sharing body heat and comfort .  And they waited.

Eternity passed.  Mina began to wonder if they hadn’t been left in the freezer to die of hypothermia.  Besides, she had to go to the bathroom.

And the door rattled.  Mina whispered, “Floor,” and tossed the lightbulb toward the far wall.

The lightbulb exploded, two guns fired, a woman screamed, the man at the door lurched forward and fell over the tipped shelving and Mina yelled, “Now!”  She shot through the door and into the main room of the warehouse with the Maitland’s right behind.  They piled to a halt just at the edge of the freezer door.  “Now if that don’t beat all!”  Mr. Maitland said.  “Your premonition worked!”

Mr. Emmerson sprawled on the floor, a red stain spreading out from his side.  Mrs. Emmerson was holding his head, rocking back-and-forth, stammering, “I’m s-s-sor-ry, I’m s-s-sor-ry!”  A revolver lay on the floor beside them.  Mina kicked it away.  Mr. Maitland walked over and put his foot on it.

“We need to call the police.”  Mrs. Maitland reached for the cell phone visible in the side pocket of Mrs. Emmerson’s purse right beside a puce flier asking, “Do you own your own home?”

“Freeze!”  Mr. Finklemeyer’s voice brought them all to a halt.  Still on the freezer floor, he held a revolver pointed straight at Mina.  “Hands in the air, all of you!”  He ordered.   Mina and the Maitlands complied.

“Gallina, tie them up!”  Finklemeyer ordered.

“My Cliffy is hurt,” Gallina sobbed.

“You shot me!”  Clifford Emmerson accused his wife.  “Is there a doctor in the house?” he yelled and tried to sit up.

Finklemeyer looked toward his brother-in-law, and Mina closed the freezer door.   “Call the police,” she said.  And Mrs. Maitland did.

Epilogue:

That night Mina’s mom tucked her safe in a warm bed, having fed her soup and seventeen don’t-ever-do-anything-like-that-again lectures.  Mina was almost asleep when her door opened and the light snapped on.  It was Maria.

“Listen, little miss pampered kitty, don’t get to thinking you’re all that.  They haven’t held your coronation yet.”  Maria lifted a heavy book from Mina’s desk and tossed it on the floor.  “You go on reading anthropology, capturing jewel thieves, and thinking that you can change the world.  All you’re going to get for it is ulcers and a sleeping disorder!”  And on that high drama proclamation she swept from the room, leaving the light on.