Galen's Gemma

by Dale Mayer

  That damn whine was back in her sister’s voice. Gemma should be used to it. Whenever life didn’t go Rebecca’s way, she’d get that same irritating tone in her voice. “For whoever is now looking for Joe’s family,” she said harshly. “He was murdered, no doubt about that.”

  In a small voice, Rebecca said, “The police said it was a burglary gone bad.”

  “It wasn’t a burglary gone bad, Rebecca,” she snapped. “It was a murder made to look like a burglary gone bad.”

  Her sister sank back in the seat beside her. “I’ve lost my world,” Rebecca muttered. “And you don’t care.”

  At that, Gemma softened her voice. “Sweetie, I know. But it’s more important to keep you and your daughter alive.”

  There was a long silence before Rebecca finally gave in and said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “I don’t,” she said, “but I’m doing what I think is right.”

  “And I think what’s right was staying at home, where the police could get in touch with me.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “And then what? We have to take a gamble on this and do what we need to do.”

  “But what if we’re wrong?”

  “Then we’re wrong, and we’ll face the consequences.” She knew her sister didn’t like hearing that at all, but it was what Gemma could do. She didn’t know how else to help. She’d been traveling for work when she’d come home to this mess. She rented an apartment here, and rented out her New York apartment for the half year she’d been here. With her sister’s move to Germany a few years ago with Joe’s job, she spent as much time as she could over here in order to see her only two family members. She had been staying at her sister’s house after Joe’s death, when she’d realized that somebody was trying to get into the place. She’d scared them away once, around midnight, but they had come back soon afterward to try again. That’s when she knew somebody was more than determined to get in. She called in the cops yet again. Gemma knew her sister and niece were in even bigger trouble.

  And the more she investigated her sister’s life, the more she realized that Joe’s death was a murder and not a burglary.

  After several hours the cops left. Then Gemma took the better part of the day to prepare for their trip. Instead of going back to her own house or even contacting the people who had rented it to her, Gemma had taken out a decent amount of cash from several ATMs, plus she still had leftover cash from her traveling funds. She’d asked to borrow a car from a friend who had several, and he’d given his permission, telling her to just let him know when she didn’t need it anymore.

  “Obviously you need this for some problem,” he said, “so, if you need other help, let me know.”

  She smiled at him. “I have to go on the run for a bit.”

  With a nod, he said, “In that case, the envelope in the glove box will come in handy.”

  After she got into the vehicle, she had found little wads of cash stashed throughout. But then her friend had lots of it and lived on the edge himself. She drove back to her sister’s place, actually happy to have night falling as she packed them up.

  She’d parked down the road and made several quiet trips in the dark as she loaded up everything needed for them to leave. They had moved Becky into the back seat, still asleep and bundled up with blankets and pillows. Her sister didn’t go so easily, arguing and complaining about the whole concept. Casually Gemma had made sure Rebecca left her purse, wallet, and cell phone in the house, then had given her a burner phone and another purse once they got on the road, canceling her cards as they drove.

  “When will we stop?” Rebecca asked.

  “I have to get gas up ahead,” she said. She pulled into the gas station and turned to look behind her. Nothing but darkness. Dawn wouldn’t arrive anytime soon. She’d been driving for hours already. It didn’t feel like it was enough.

  “I think we should call Zack,” Rebecca said, still sounding surly.

  “Maybe we will,” she replied. “We’ll talk about it when we get there.”

  “How much farther?”

  “Another hour.”

  “Do you think he would come?”

  “Probably,” she said, “he’s always been soft on you.”

  The awkward silence inspired her to turn and look at her sister. “And you’re still soft on him.” She spoke the words softly and shrugged.

  Only Gemma knew that Becky could be Zack’s. Or Joe’s. Most likely Joe’s. Rebecca had never confirmed that though, so … that was their problem. The fact that Rebecca had walked away from Zack when she was pregnant, and that Zack had walked away at the same time, spoke volumes about their need to work out their communication issues. Maybe now they’d have a chance, but Gemma didn’t want anything to do with it. She liked her life. She traveled a lot for her own business, as a contractor in medical software, and that suited her well.

  Hopping out at the gas station, she quickly filled up the vehicle, then walked inside and paid cash, using a hat to keep her face away from the cameras. She didn’t even take time to get coffee or anything.

  Walking back out, she hopped into the vehicle to find Rebecca curled up in the corner, the burner phone beside her. She looked at it and then her sister. “You called him, didn’t you?”

  Shamefaced, Rebecca nodded. “He can help, you know?”

  “Maybe,” Gemma said, her tone harsh. “Or maybe he’ll just bring whoever’s after you right to us.”

  “He’s not like that.”

  “No, but he’s dangerous in his own line of work.”

  The burner phone buzzed. Rebecca snatched it up, but Gemma reached across and grabbed it from her hands. “What the hell do you want?”

  “Ah, Gemma,” Zack said.

  But in his tone was obvious relief. She heard and noted it, but, at the same time, she glared at her sister. “If you’d wanted to help,” she said, “you should have done it a while ago.”

  “I thought she’d be okay.”

  “Well, you were wrong,” she snapped.

  “Fine,” he said. “Where are you taking her?”

  “To a cabin.”

  “If it’s Joe’s cabin, you know they’ll follow you there.”

  “Which is why we’re going there,” she said, “and then we’ll bounce in a few hours, past that point.”

  “I want to know your itinerary.”

  Just then another voice came over the phone. “My name is Galen. Don’t try to do this on your own.”

  “Just who the hell are you?” she snapped.

  “Somebody Zack called in as backup, to help track Rebecca down.”

  She stopped at that. “Well, if he knew she was in danger, why the hell didn’t he scoop her up and take her away in the first place? And obviously she doesn’t need to be tracked down. All he had to do was call her.”

  “I already told you all you need to know.” His tone was smooth. “Where are you?”

  “Somewhere else. For all I know,” she said, “you’re part of the group who killed Joe.”

  “Well, I’m not,” Galen said, “but I can see the possibility of you worrying about that. Although, if you know Zack, you know that’s not possible.”

  “Says you,” she said. She kept driving and thought about what to do.

  “We’ll meet you at the cabin,” he said and hung up.

  She tossed the phone down and stared at her sister in disgust.

  Chapter 2

  Gemma pulled into the cabin’s driveway in the wee morning hours, checking the dashboard to see it was coming up on four o’clock. Her sister and niece were sound asleep. Gemma drove down the long gravel road up to and around the cabin to the rear of it. Parking, she let out a slow sigh.

  Rebecca woke up. “Where are we?”

  “At the cabin.”

  “I don’t even know why you bother,” Rebecca said. “I want to go in and sleep, but you won’t let me do that before we leave again.”

  “You’ll sleep for a few hours,” she sai
d, “but that’s all.” With that, she got out and walked up to the cabin, leaving the other two in the car. Unlocking the front door, she stepped in. This was Joe’s cabin, and, depending on what she found, they may spend a few hours here. Or not.

  She moved inside and throughout, finding it clean and empty. She’d stayed here a couple times herself. One larger bedroom was on the ground floor with a big double bed. She figured Rebecca and Becky could both go in there. Gemma would take the small bedroom at the back, so she could stay near her sister and her niece. No need to access the master bedroom suite on the second floor.

  She walked back to the car, gently dragged the blankets with the bundle containing Becky into her arms, then carried her into the cabin and put her on one side of the double bed. Rebecca came stumbling past her and crashed down beside her daughter. Tucking up against the little girl, she said, “I sure hope you think it’s worth all this.”

  “Me too.” She grabbed another blanket from the closet, tossed it over both of them and then headed out to the car. She grabbed a few personal things, like her laptop and her phone, and the burner phone Rebecca had left on the floor. Of all the things that pissed off her baby sister the most, losing her real phone was it. Gemma shook her head at her sister’s lack of proper priorities. Heading back into the kitchen, she brought along the one bag of food she had. She put it on the counter, and, knowing she needed sleep more than anything, walked into the back bedroom and laid down on the small single cot near her sister and niece, closing her eyes. Almost immediately the burner phone buzzed. She looked at it to see a text from Zack, asking if they made it.

  She responded, writing, Yeah. Crashing for a few hours.

  We’ll be there by the time you wake up.

  She closed her eyes and whispered, “I hope not.” But, on the inside, she wished she had some help with this. She had always been a very analytical person, and nothing about this whole scenario made any sense. The fact that her brother-in-law was dead was just one of those things that had to be dealt with. Her sister would need support and someone to stand at her side. Gemma didn’t know what the hell was going on with Zack, or why he and Rebecca had walked away from each other all those years ago, but that wasn’t Gemma’s problem. That was theirs.

  As she drifted off into slumber, her last thought was wondering who the hell this Galen guy was. Was he the same caliber of guy as Zack? Would Galen have left his pregnant girlfriend too? She wouldn’t judge all men by that one incident, but Zack had left a bad taste in her mouth. This Galen on the other hand? Something about his voice, with that crisp and clear commanding tone, had her smiling. She just hoped that it wasn’t wrong to trust him. She had trusted the wrong people in the past and had gotten into deep shit. The last thing she wanted was more of that.

  She closed her eyes and dozed, but she surfaced constantly. Asleep, awake; asleep, awake. Anytime she was about to go under, any odd noise outside had her lying here, wide awake, her ears tuned to see if more came. But, so far, all was quiet.

  When she heard a vehicle drive up, she immediately hopped to her feet, walked out of the back bedroom into the main room, and peered behind the curtains of the living room window. She didn’t recognize the small pickup, but she definitely recognized Zack’s face in the windshield. She studied the guy beside him, realizing he sat both taller and wider. But he had the same kind of look to him.

  As Zack stepped out, she frowned, not even recognizing the man in many ways. The years obviously hadn’t been easy for him. He had changed. Maybe that was a good thing. He’d been one of her sister’s conquests. For some reason Gemma had initially trusted him, even as she had worried about her sister’s influence on him. Still, Rebecca had called him after all these years. When Rebecca broke up with Zack, Gemma had heard he’d gone into the military. Hence he might have skills to help her—them—out.

  She let herself out the front door, then walked around the veranda to where they’d parked. Zack looked up at her.

  “Are they okay?”

  She nodded. “They are.”

  Galen hopped out, held out a hand, and said, “I’m Galen Alrick.”

  She shook his hand, looked at him, and frowned.

  His eyebrows shot up. “Why the frown?”

  “You look like you’re used to taking charge,” she said.

  “I am.” His voice sounded a challenge. “If a situation goes to shit, somebody has to.”

  “But that somebody should have been Zack a while ago,” she snapped. “He didn’t, so I did.”

  “If the situation is as bad as you made it out to be,” Galen said with a nod, “then you did the right thing.”

  Almost immediately she could feel something settling inside her. And how sad was that? To think that some stranger gives her a note of approval, and here she was ready to smile and to accept him for it. “Maybe,” she said. “I guess that will remain to be seen.”

  “Yep,” he said. “Let’s go in and talk.”

  “I don’t think we have time,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I think it’s more important that we get on the road again.”

  “Are they awake?” Zack asked.

  “Hold on,” Galen said to her, his voice inflexible. He nodded toward Zack, already heading into the cabin. “Apparently he wants to make sure that Rebecca’s here.”

  “Of course he does,” she said, crossing her arms. “If there was ever a convoluted relationship, it is definitely theirs.”

  Galen chuckled. “I’m a simple guy,” he said. “I like things up-front, clean, and honest.

  “So do I,” she said. “Yet people say that but then don’t necessarily follow through.”

  “I agree with you there.” Taking the front steps two at a time, he stretched, rolling his neck. “Did you bring any coffee?”

  “I don’t want to take the time to put any on.”

  He nodded. “You really think they’ll follow you here?”

  “I’m counting on it,” she said.

  Picking up on her wording, he studied her intently. “Good. I’d like to hear about your plans. Can I presume you’re leaving something for them to find?”

  She shrugged. “Hopefully just enough. It’s what I want to find that’s the purpose for being here.”

  “What are you thinking of?”

  She frowned. “How are you with electronics?”

  He gave her a long, slow smile. “Decent. Have you any experience with them?”

  “I have,” she said. “It just depends on whether I can make things work or not.”

  “Come on in. Let’s talk.” He opened the door and motioned at her.

  As they walked in, Zack was putting on coffee with Rebecca at his side.

  *

  Galen studied Zack, wondering what was going on. Rebecca and Zack looked friendly enough but not close.

  Good.

  But Zack’s face was shut down, focused on what he was doing, which, thankfully, was putting on coffee. However, Gemma didn’t appear to be too impressed with that.

  “I don’t want to stay here long,” Gemma reiterated.

  “We have time for coffee,” Zack said. “You brought the stuff. We might as well use it.”

  “I did,” she said, “and I was of two minds, but I wanted to leave soon.”

  “It’s normal for anybody to walk in and put on coffee,” Zack said. “Are there cups here, or did you bring some?”

  Gemma shook her head. “No, I meant to pick some up but forgot. We can check the cupboards.”

  “Coffee just says we were here long enough to sit and relax,” he said smoothly. “So that isn’t an issue.”

  Galen watched the back-and-forth between them as the conversation wrangled. Obviously some hard feelings were between them, but that wasn’t Galen’s problem. He looked at Rebecca to see her now slumped in a chair, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Emerald eyes and red hair and a body that screamed of sex. The complete opposite to Gemma’s huge soft gray eyes framed by long lashes that only emphasized th
e direct look in her gaze and a body that demanded love, honesty, trust. Long and lean, she was more racehorse than model. And he already knew which he preferred.

  “You need to tell us what’s going on.” Galen spoke quietly as he walked toward Rebecca.

  She snorted and looked up at her sister. “Talk to her. Nobody else can say anything.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, I’m here against my will,” she snapped, then let out a heavy sigh.

  “Give it a rest, Rebecca,” Gemma said.

  “Why should I?” she snapped. “Everything you’re talking about is complete BS. It’s typical older-sister crap, and I’m tired of it.” She glared at her sister.

  Gemma walked out of the kitchen, through the living room, and exited the front door.

  Galen looked at Rebecca with interest. “And what is it that she thinks?”

  “She says Joe was murdered.” Her words were emphasized with a wave of her right hand. “The cops made it clear that it was a burglary gone wrong. Gemma always has to escalate things.”

  “And why is that?” he asked, as he stared at the empty doorway the older sister had left through. The look on Gemma’s face had suggested she’d heard it all time and time again.

  “Because she feels responsible that she couldn’t stop the death of our parents,” she said with a frustrated sigh. “And she’s looked after me since I was fifteen. But I don’t need looking after anymore.”

  “Well, maybe you should reassess that.” Zack’s voice was hard and determined. “Because Joe was murdered.”

  Chapter 3

  Gemma heard her sister’s verbal explosion after Zack’s words, but Gemma was too tired to go back inside and do anything. As she stared out into the landscape from the front veranda, she could feel the stress and strain of making all the decisions for the last couple days. She knew that she had to, otherwise it would be the end of her sister and potentially her little niece, whose life didn’t deserve to be cut short because Joe had been an honest and upstanding citizen.

  Gemma had really liked Joe. He’d been good for Rebecca—a calm and steady partner. They had seemed happy together. Zack had been a flash in the pan years ago. He still didn’t look like he was right for her, but that was her sister’s choice. In the meantime, Gemma had done what she thought was right. Sometimes making the hard decisions made her very unpopular.