They
grabbed Countess Adele Schaffgotsch as she paused at her burgundy Land Rover.
Roy appeared from behind her SUV and pointed at the rear tire, saying she had a
flat.
Adele was thinking of lunch and paused,
caught off balance. Suddenly a white van appeared with the side door open and
Roy stepped forward and shoved Adele into the van. Jack smothered her with a
chloroformed towel.
They drove from the imposing Sun
Valley Lodge, heading north into the Sawtooth Mountains. It was a crisp April
afternoon and the two men breathed easier, winding away from the recreation
area. Three miles into the mountains, they came to a side road with a discreet
estate marker on the left and turned.
“The estate’s not occupied.” Jack
said. “We can stay in the groundskeeper’s cottage; he’s away for the week. We
get our money, and then it’s off to Mexico.”
Roy nodded. They had hatched the plan
in Williston, North Dakota where the two had been drivers in the oil fields.
Jack had done the research, zeroing in on the Countess, a patrician woman in
her late 40s. Still a looker, Jack had told Roy who had the roving eye.
They turned onto a dirt road and after
two miles came to a small stone and green frame cottage hidden among the tall evergreens.
By now the Countess was stirring and Roy helped her out of the van, surprised
that she was not older.
Jack had
researched the countess after seeing her name in a Sun Valley news item. Her
distant relative was Count Schaffgotsch, who had discovered Sun Valley for
Averell Harriman in 1935 as the site for a world-class resort in the western
USA. The Count had been killed on the eastern front in World War II.
Adele came to Sun Valley in the late 70s, taking
a suite at the Lodge. She was reported to be in her early 40s. That was over 30
years ago, but time seemed to have stood still for the Countess. Their captive
had a slender athletic build and a youthful face with silver hair, clear skin
and bright eyes.
The two men led Adele into the sparsely furnished
living room and sat her on the couch. Jack stepped back and appraised the
Countess, noting she was regal in black slacks, a white sweater, and a blue
blazer with a fancy scarf around her neck. She was a picture in wealthy
elegance, but her youthful demeanor nagged him.
As Adele regained her senses, she scrutinized her
captors who were dressed in jeans, flannel shirts, and dark windbreakers. They
were rawboned, probably in their late twenties and bad news. She knew they had abducted
her for money, but did they intend to kill her? Adele smiled at her captors.
They had no idea what their future now held, as she had planned for such a
contingency.
“Here’s how it is.” Jack said,
interrupting Adele’s thoughts. He said he was leaving to make the call,
demanding $500,000 for her release. The Countess gestured for her purse and Roy
gave it to her. Adele found a leather holder and pulled out a card. “Call and
ask for Mathew. He will get your money by this evening and then I can be on my
way, yes?”
The two men stared at her, so quick
and easy?
“The trick is the hand off.” Adele
added, breaking the silence. “That is always the Achilles heel of a kidnapping.
I hope you have a good plan.”
Jack shifted his weight uneasily. He
did have a good plan. Still, Adele’s calmness bothered him. He had expected a
gnashing of teeth and weeping.
Saying Roy would keep her comfortable
until he returned, Jack left to make his call. With luck the prisoner would be
back in the Sun Valley Lodge by nightfall.
The round trip took two hours and it was twilight when Jack returned to the cabin.
He parked and then held his breath, fearing the sudden appearance of the Idaho
State Patrol, but all was quiet.
Jack left the briefcase with the money
in the van and entered the cabin, surprised to find it empty. He hurried to the
bedroom where he found Roy spread out on the bed with Adele whispering to him.
Pulling out his snub-nosed revolver,
Jack went to the bed and put his hand on Adele’s shoulder. She looked at him
and for the first time he noticed a strange glint in her pale blue-gray eyes. “Roy
was so tired, he couldn't stay awake.” She said.
Starting to speak, Adele shushed Jack. She got up,
turning to her captor who suddenly felt unsteady. She steered to the couch.
“You
called and got your money?” Adele asked. Jack nodded. He had gotten through to
Mathew, who voiced concern but readily agreed.
The Countess leaned forward and spoke
to Jack in a soft voice. He was unable to discern her words; his eyes flickered,
and then closed.
Getting up from the couch, she went to
the kitchen where she lifted the stove cover and blew out the pilots, then
opened the oven drawer and blew out the oven pilot. Turning on the gas jets
Adele returned to the couch side table and removed the bulb from the lamp. She
took a pocket knife and cracked the bulb shell revealing the filament, then
screwed the broken bulb back into the lamp.
Adele checked on Roy who was laid out
on the bed like a medieval knight with arms crossed over his chest. She smelled
the gas, returned to Jack and whispered: “When the phone rings, turn on the
table lamp.”
She put Jack’s cell phone on the table
next to the couch. Adele took Roy’s phone and stepped outside as Roy staggered
into the living room. He looked at Jack with dog eyes. “She promised me quality
time.” Roy said forlornly.
Adele called Jack’s number and he leaned over, turning
on the table lamp. The bare bulb filament flared, igniting the propane gas.
Watching as the small cottage exploded with a roar, Adele
got into the van and slowly backed away. The cabin remains collapsed and Adele
murmured.
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
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