A Family Affair

by Shannon VanBergen

  Bo pulled on my arm. “Let’s get out of here!”

  We ran back to the vehicle and climbed in. I filled the Grannies in on what we saw.

  “There’s no way Bobby would’ve known that Carson was the killer,” Irene said, thinking things through. “He was too upset over the death of his brother. You can’t fake that kind of emotion.”

  Greta spoke up. “So, do you think Bobby was at Carson’s house tonight and maybe Bobby found out Carson killed his brother?”

  Virginia gasped. “Oh no, he could’ve killed Bobby and is on his way to dump his body right now!”

  “But that doesn’t explain the break-in,” I pointed out. “And there wasn’t that much blood.”

  Bo leaned forward, worried. “Well, if this Carson person is trying to kill Bobby and dump his body, he’s not doing it alone, unless he took off with Bobby in Bobby’s truck.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  “His truck was parked in the driveway. Remember, we had to walk past it to get to the back door. And I noticed that his license plates were personalized. It said CRSN 95. I’m guessing that stands for Carson.”

  “Beauty and brains.” Hattie winked at him from the middle seat. “Granny likey.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We need to go check on Bobby, make sure he’s okay. It could be anyone that Carson fought with over here tonight. But let’s make sure Bobby is all right.”

  We knew he still lived with his parents, so we made our way across town. When we pulled up in front of the house, Virginia said she’d go up and ask Rosa if Bobby was home.

  We sat silently in the vehicle, and I couldn’t help but notice Bo’s leg bopping up and down. He was nervous. “It’s okay,” I whispered to him. “She’s just going up to talk to him.”

  He flashed me a concerned look. “We need to call the police.”

  “We will,” I promised. “As soon as we figure out what’s going on.”

  “It’s that car again!” Hattie yelled, pointing at a car that had just passed us. “The one we saw at Carson’s house.”

  “I’m texting Virginia,” Greta said, getting worried. “Something’s going on here.”

  Before she could finish her text, Virginia was walking toward us. She climbed in. “Bobby’s not here,” she said grimly. “He left an hour ago.”

  “Did you ask Rosa if she knew where he went?” I asked.

  “She said she didn’t know. That he left the same time Celeste did, but he didn’t say where he was going.”

  Celeste.

  “Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but…there’s no way Celeste could be our killer, right?” I asked.

  Everyone was silent as we thought it over.

  “Why would she do that?” Greta asked. “What was her motive?”

  Irene leaned forward, getting excited. “That little kid looked just like Ricky, even Rosa said so herself. What if Rickey and Celeste were sleeping around and she got pregnant, so she offed him so his older brother didn’t find out?”

  “That’s horrible!” Greta said. “She would never do that. You saw how close she was to Rosa. She would never want to hurt her.”

  “This was three years ago,” I pointed out. “Maybe at the time, they weren’t that close.”

  Virginia chimed in. “And that could explain the tattoo. She could’ve killed Ricky and given him a tattoo that she thought was a gang symbol. Then Bobby could’ve asked her to tattoo the same thing on that Jason Norris kid, so she did.” Virginia looked back at Bo and I. “You guys said the handwriting on the tattoos was the same, right?”

  We both nodded.

  “Well,” Irene said slowly. “I think we might have solved the case.”

  Bo let out a sigh of relief. “Now we can call the police.”

  Hattie cackled. “No, now we go catch ourselves a killer!”

  32

  “You guys are crazy,” Bo was shouting from the backseat. “We can’t catch a killer, that’s what the police are for!”

  We ignored his pleas and talked about what we were going to do next. “Let’s find her art gallery,” Virginia said, pulling onto the main road that led through town. “Maybe she went there.”

  Irene read out the address and we weaved our way through the downtown area looking for it. “There!” Irene said, pointing to a little rundown building. “That’s the address!” A sign out front with a whimsical sun and moon said, “Designs by Celeste.”

  There was a faint light on inside, but we couldn’t see much just driving by. We decided to park in the back.

  We drove down the dark alley, trying to figure out which shop was hers. Irene pointed. “I think it’s that one.”

  We decided to drive another block then park and walk down. When we got back to the door a few minutes later, we were all filled with nervous energy. We let Hattie step to the front so she could pick the lock to get us inside, but to our surprise, the door was unlocked.

  Muffled sounds came from somewhere down the hall, and Bo squeezed my hand. We quietly made our way toward the noise and stopped outside a door. We could see a light coming from underneath. Virginia slowly turned the knob and opened it. On the far side of the room sat Carson and Bobby, tied to a chair with gags in their mouths. Carson’s head was bleeding. We all ran in, and they became frantic.

  “Calm down,” Virginia urged. “We’ll get you out of here.”

  But they didn’t calm down. They tried to tell us something, but we couldn’t understand them. I reached over to Bobby and pulled out the gag and he became silent, his eyes opening wide.

  “What’s wrong?” I whispered.

  He nodded to something and we all turned around to see Celeste, smiling and holding two syringes.

  “Looks like I have company,” she said, closing the door behind her.

  “You are a bad, bad person!” Greta yelled at her.

  “No,” she said in a chilling tone. “I’m a good person who wants to protect her family.”

  “She killed Ricky,” Bobby cried. “She killed him to cover up her affair!”

  “We know,” I said flatly. “And we know she was the one who tattooed Jason Norris.”

  “I didn’t know she killed Ricky when I asked her to help me with Jason.” Bobby was so angry, I thought he was going to bust through his restraints. But Celeste had him tied up good.

  Celeste gave the syringes a little shake. “I’m not about to lose Rosa. She’s the only mother I’ve ever really had. And I wasn’t going to lose her because I cheated on Ronnie. And I’m not going to lose her now.”

  “If you didn’t want to get caught,” Irene asked, “then why did you help Bobby with Jason Norris? If you would’ve stayed out of his plan, no one would’ve known you were involved.”

  She shrugged. “He’s my family. I wanted to help him.”

  “You’re sick,” Hattie said to her. “And really stupid.”

  Celeste shrugged again. “So? You’re old, and you’re going to die.”

  She lunged toward Hattie with the syringe, and Hattie moved just in time.

  There were six of us, not counting the two guys tied up, so I felt like we should be able to take her, but Celeste waved the syringes around and no one wanted to get close to her.

  I watched her, waiting for her a moment to jump her, but she kept a close eye on us all, knowing she had the upper hand. Suddenly, I remembered my training with Hattie. Distract, then attack. I could do this!

  I jumped ahead and started making sounds like a train. “Chugga chugga choo choo!” I yelled, moving my arms in a circle motion at my sides, trying to make them look like train wheels. Celeste looked at me like I was nuts, but I could tell I threw her off enough I could make my move. Unfortunately, I didn’t really have a move. I tried to punch her, but I kind of just slapped her with my fist.

  Her face barely moved as I made contact. She looked shocked for a moment, then laughed. “That’s all you’ve got?”

  But it was enough to set Hattie in motion and she attacked,
pouncing on her and wrapping her hands around Celeste’s neck.

  Celeste was strong and was able to push Hattie off. Celeste stood there breathing hard. “You people are seriously crazy. But you have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

  Suddenly, I noticed she only had one syringe in her hand instead of two. “Where’s the other syringe?” I yelled. Hattie looked over her body and when she realized it wasn’t stuck in her, she let out a nervous laugh. Then we all frantically looked around. I hadn’t heard it hit the floor.

  Then Irene shouted out. “I found it.” I looked her way, afraid of what I was going to see. She turned to the side and pointed to it. It was stuck in her purse. We all let out a breath of relief.

  All eyes were back on Celeste. I could tell we all felt a little bolder now that there was one less syringe to worry about, but we were still cautious.

  Celeste laughed bitterly. “You’re not going to win,” she said to us. “There’s too much at stake. I have too much to lose.”

  She took a step toward Greta, and Virginia suddenly came unhinged. All her pent-up anger suddenly burst through, leaving us all shocked and terrified. She picked up the chair that Carson was still strapped into and swung it at Celeste. Carson screamed out in terror as the chair came crashing into Celeste’s side. Even though his body couldn’t leave the chair, he still clung on for dear life.

  Celeste was knocked to the floor, but somehow, she remained in control of the syringe. Virginia bellowed as she summoned all her strength and every drop of adrenaline she could muster. She lifted Carson and the chair and was ready to slam them both down on Celeste when Celeste kicked her in the leg. Virginia wobbled a bit with the chair in the air. Bo ran over and grabbed Carson before he came crashing down. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get Virginia. She hit the ground, and Celeste scrambled to her feet.

  To all of our surprise, the door suddenly flung open. I expected it to be Detective Owen, who usually came bursting in at just the right time. But to my shock, it was my mother, with Amber right behind her.

  My mom flashed me the same look she gave me as a child when she would walk in and see a mess and silently demand I point out the perpetrator. I nodded toward Celeste and my mom made a beeline over to her. She slapped the syringe out of her hand punched her in the face, knocking her out cold. It was over. My mom had taken over the situation and three seconds later, it was all under control.

  My mom turned to us. “What is wrong with you people? Have you all lost your ever-lovin’ minds?” Then she started barking out orders. “Bo, help Virginia up. Hattie and Irene, go untie those poor boys. Nikki, call the police.”

  Within minutes, not only did we do everything my mom ordered, but we also tidied up the place before Owen arrived. When he walked in, he was shocked. My mother was bandaging Carson’s head, Bo was helping Virginia prop up her ankle, and Hattie was dusting off a shelf with a rag she had pulled from her purse. Irene stood guard over Celeste.

  Owen looked at me for an explanation, and I just smiled. He pointed to my mom and Amber. “And who are they?”

  “That’s my mom and sister,” I said proudly.

  “Great,” Owen huffed. “Now this is a family affair.”

  Hattie yelled from her place in the corner. “Hey, Owen! You should give us a good review on Yelp for this one!”

  33

  Owen and the police filled the room, and we were all escorted to the alley.

  “Mom,” I said once we were outside. “How did you know we were here?”

  “Amber saw you all leaving and told me what you said to her earlier. At first, I thought there was no way that it could be true, that you were trying to solve a murder. But then all the weird behavior seemed to make sense. We found your phone on the table and when we turned it on, we saw an address.”

  I was amazed. “You figured out what we were doing just by looking at the address?”

  My mom patted me on the shoulder and smiled. “And I read your texts. Amber and I followed you guys to the first house, and we drove around the block a few times trying to figure out what you were doing. We almost missed you when left to go to the second house.”

  My mom had been the one following us.

  I hugged her and was thankful she had come to our rescue. I had no doubt we would’ve eventually taken Celeste out, but who knew how long it would’ve taken or how long poor Carson would’ve been used as a weapon.

  After we were questioned by the police, we were free to go. I decided to drive back with my mom and Amber, so I walked up to the SUV to say good-bye to Bo, who was already inside. “I’ll see you tomorrow maybe,” I said to him. “Thanks for coming along with us tonight. I know it was crazy, but it was fun to hang out with you for a while.”

  “Well,” he said slowly. “I wouldn’t call this night fun, but it was nice to spend time with you too.”

  We said good-bye and I climbed into Grandma Dean’s car, watching the police lights as they flickered all around us. It had been a crazy night, but at least I got to spend it with the people I loved.

  The next day, I straightened up the apartment and opened all the blinds to let in the sunshine. Mom and Amber had already left to pick up Grandma Dean from the hospital. I called to Kitty Purry and she came bouncing in. It was like she knew Grandma would be home soon. “Let’s get you dressed,” I said, picking her up.

  I looked through the closet, showing her one outfit after another. I was beginning to think I could never understand her the way Grandma could when suddenly, she let out a happy meow. “Is this what you want to wear?” I asked, showing her the shirt I was holding. It was light yellow shirt with pink writing that said, “Pet me and tell me I’m pretty.” She meowed again, and I turned with a smile back to the closet to pick out a matching tutu. Owen was right. Certain people did bring out different sides of me. The Grannies made me bolder, more thoughtful and caring. Of course, they also made me sassier and made me think I could understand cats, but that was okay too.

  I heard the front door open, and Kitty Purry jumped off the bed, her tutu barely in place before she lunged. Grandma Dean was home.

  I ran in to greet her, and she was full of smiles. I hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

  “Me too,” she said, hugging me tighter. “Me too.”

  That evening, we ordered pizzas and all the Grannies came by to have dinner with us. Even Bo was there. We filled Grandma in on everything she had missed and made her laugh with our stories. She was very impressed that my mom was the one who saved the day. Actually, we all were.

  “I took cookies to that sweet gang member this afternoon,” Greta said, smiling. “He’s such a nice young man, you know, for someone who probably kills people and breaks other laws.” I just loved Greta. She always saw the best in people.

  I couldn’t help but wonder how Rosa and her family were doing. I wanted to ask the Grannies if they had heard from her, but I knew this wasn’t the time. We wanted to keep things stress-free for Grandma Dean for a while.

  But my heart hurt for poor Rosa. Her daughter-in-law loved her so much that she would do anything to stay in the family—even murder. The sad part was that Rosa’s family was so loving, they probably would’ve eventually forgiven Celeste and Ricky for their affair and she would’ve been accepted into the family anyway.

  “Can we talk for a minute?” Amber’s voice jolted me from my thoughts.

  We went to my room and I closed the door. “I talked to Trevor,” she said quietly. So, she knew.

  “I’m so sorry,” I apologized to her. “I really am. I should’ve told you sooner.”

  She let out a laugh. “I already knew all that.”

  My eyes widened. “You knew? But how?”

  Amber shrugged. “It’s a small town, Nikki. You think there are any secrets in a town that size?”

  “So, you’re not mad at me?”

  “I was at first, like, years ago. But that was so long ago. I’m glad you and Trevor talked, though. I had no idea that was w
hy you guys didn’t like each other.”

  “Yeah,” I said, smiling. “Maybe we can eventually be friends. But what about you two? Are you going to be okay?”

  She shrugged again. “I don’t know. He has a lot of growing up to do. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”

  I was on that same schedule in my own life, so I totally understood. “I feel bad that you and I didn’t get a chance to talk or hang out the whole time you were here. Everything was just so crazy.”

  Amber agreed. “That just means I’ll have to make another trip down here—by myself next time.”

  I put my arms around her. “I would like that.”

  I followed her back into the living room and as I did, I glanced outside and saw Lloyd. He was sitting by the pool alone, under one of the lights that lit the pool area. His cowboy hat was on a lounger next to him. I sighed. I couldn’t stand the guy, but I felt bad for him. I knew he felt rejected since Bo had arrived.

  I walked outside and sat down next to him.

  “Hey, Poodles,” he said, looking up at the party that was happening in Grandma’s apartment. “Looks like you’re all having fun”

  “Why don’t you join us,” I said, smiling. “We have pizza.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I see that cowboy is in there. All the ladies will just be falling over him like usual.”

  “Actually, Lloyd,” I said, moving close like I was telling him a secret. “Bo’s leaving tomorrow. You’re going to have your hands full over the next few days, comforting all those broken-hearted women.”

  Lloyd sat up straight and smiled. “I better get my strength up then. You say there’s pizza in there?”

  “Yep,” I answered.

  He stood up. “Thanks, Poodles. You’re all right.”

  He ruffled my hair as he walked past, and I sat there for a moment watching the Grannies greet Lloyd when he walked in. Then he settled into a conversation with Hattie and Irene. I watched Bo laugh about something with Greta and watched my mom and Amber talk with Grandma Dean and Virginia. My worlds had collided, and I had come out the other side standing. Scarred, but standing.