by Donna Raider
Richie nodded. He was certain his mother was responsible for the commotion.
Emily and the socialite followed the young couple to the dance floor.
“Looks like Emily has landed a wealthy one,” Ruth commented.
Sometime after midnight, Leah whispered to Richie that they needed to go. He was more than happy to get back to the hotel and its game room. He rounded up his friends and returned to the table. Everyone but Emily was ready to go to the hotel. It had been a long, strenuous day.
“Where are you going?” Emily frowned at Richie.
“We’re ready to go back to the hotel,” Richie shrugged his shoulders.
“No, we’re not,” Emily glanced sideways at the socialite and her daughter. “Eunice and I thought you and Susan might want to grab a midnight snack at a great place she likes.”
Richie shot a “help me” look at his mother.
“It has been a long day,” Leah’s lips smiled, but her eyes were dark and cold as she looked at Emily. “I think Richie needs to go to bed.”
“Isn’t he, your son,” Eunice questioned Emily. Eunice was certain she could manipulate the blonde. She was equally certain the dark-haired woman wouldn’t give her the time of day.
“Yes,” Emily glared back at Leah, daring her to contradict her.
“Please excuse us a moment,” Leah smiled slightly at Eunice and led Emily from the table.
“What is wrong with you?” Leah hissed once they were out of earshot of the table.
“Me! What is wrong with you?” Emily growled. “Look, your majesty, you have found your happy ending. Stop interfering with mine.”
“Stop using my son as date bait,” Leah said angrily.
“My God, Leah, he’s a teenager.” Emily was shifting from one foot to another. “Let him have some fun.”
“His idea of fun and your idea of fun are two different things,” a low guttural growled emanated from the queen.
“Look, just one more hour,” Emily begged. “We’ll have a snack and be in bed by one-thirty. I promise.”
“I will leave it up to Richie.” Leah locked her eyes with Emily’s. “I promise you, Emily, if anything happens to my son, there will be no place you can hide from my wrath.”
A shiver ran through the sheriff’s body. God, she is gorgeous, she thought. I still love her so much.
“Okay, we’re good to go,” Emily grabbed Richie’s arm and dragged him toward the door.
“Emily,” the word was soft, but it resounded throughout the room.
“It’s okay, Mom,” Richie smiled weakly.
“Have him in his room by one-thirty,” Leah reiterated.
Emily gave her a salute as she ushered her party out the door.
##
Mika knew her wife was still awake. She was wiggling and making little sighing sounds. For the first time, Leah had half-heartedly made love to her, so she knew she was worried. Mika looked at the clock. It was four in the morning. She turned on her night light.
“Worried about Richie?” she asked as she settled against the headboard, drawing her knees up to provide Leah a backrest. Leah immediately sat up and leaned against Mika’s legs.
“I should have told him to call me, as soon as he reached his room,” Leah huffed.
“I know it will wake him,” Mika traced her fingers down Leah’s arm, “but why don’t you call him. Then we all can get some sleep.”
“I’m calling Emily,” Leah hissed. “I don’t care if I do wake her.”
The phone rang several times before the sheriff found it. Leah’s ringtone told her this wasn’t a call she would welcome.
“Jesus, Leah,” Emily whispered into the phone, not wanting to awaken Eunice. “It’s four in the morning.”
“Is Richie safe in his room?” Leah’s tone was cold and deadly.
“Of course,” Emily whispered. “I tucked him in myself.”
Leah breathed a sharp sigh of relief. “Good night, Emily.” She hung up the phone.
“Everything okay,” Mika leaned forward and kissed her wife’s forehead.
“Yes,” she smiled, a little embarrassed at being so overprotective of her son.
“So, you can sleep, now?” Mika asked, concern in her voice.
“I’d rather make love to…” Mika’s lips cut off her sentence.
“You need to sleep, honey,” Mika whispered.
“I need to make up for my pathetic attempt at making love to you earlier.” Leah shifted to place her head on Mika’s breast and stretch out against her body.
“I’m betting that even your worst lovemaking is better than anyone else’s very best,” Mika chuckled.
Leah loved the sound of Mika’s easy laughter. It echoed in her chest and vibrated against Leah’s ear.
“You don’t understand, darling,” Leah smiled as she straddled her wife. “I need to make love to you, for me.”
##
Everyone had agreed to meet in the hotel dining room for breakfast. Leah’s eyes searched the room for her son. The boys in the band were seated at a table with an empty chair.
“Isaac, where is Richie?” Leah asked anxiously.
Isaac stared at the woman of his dreams. Words wouldn’t form in his mouth.
“Isaac,” she said sharply.
“I…I don’t know, your majesty,” he finally blurted out. “He didn’t come home last night.”
Mika knew all hell was about to break loose. She caught Leah’s hand. “Honey, let’s find Emily.” She tried to pull her wife from the dining room.
Leah flicked her wrist. Nothing happened. A second flick of her wrist and a naked Emily appeared in the dining room.
“Leah, what the hell?” The blonde grabbed a tablecloth and wrapped it around her.
“Where is my son?” The mayor roared.
A cold silence fell over the diners as they realized that Richie was missing.
“He’s…he’s in his room.” Emily croaked. “Why didn’t you summon him instead of me?”
“I tried,” Leah glowered. “Believe me; you were my second choice.
“You said you tucked him in. Isaac said he never came to his room last night.” Leah’s rage was building along with her panic.
Mika moved to touch her. She had no idea what a panicky, infuriated queen would do. Mika’s touch calmed her somewhat.
“Tell me what happened last night.” Leah was in Emily’s face, teeth and fist clenched. “Don’t lie to me. When was the last time you saw him?”
“I…I put him in a town car about two this morning,” Emily stuttered. “I told the driver to take Richie straight to the hotel.”
“You put a thirteen-year-old boy in a car with a stranger at two in the morning? Are you insane or just plain stupid?” Leah was livid. Mika knew she was losing control
Mika had flashes of Mount Vesuvius erupting in 79 AD. She had a feeling the swath of destruction Leah was capable of would be comparable. She knew she had to get Leah out of the dining room. Mika was thankful when Samson and Amber arrived at her side.
“I’ve already called the police,” Samson said. “They’re on their way.”
“Phone call for the Cross family,” a porter moved through the dining room, looking for them.
“We are the Cross family,” Mika waved the man toward them.
“Ma’am there is a call for you at the front desk.” The porter led them through the lobby. “The caller said it was an emergency.”
“Our son is missing,” Mika explained. “Is there somewhere we can take the call in private?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the porter answered leading them to a small meeting room. A conference phone was in the center of the table.
Samson led a man toward them. “This is Detective Stanley Carlyle. He’s assigned to our case.”
Mika nodded and waved the small group into the room. She pushed the button that would bring the call to their conference speakerphone. The porter closed the door.
“This is Mika Cross, Richie’
s mother,” Mika said as calmly as possible.
“Cross.” The voice on the phone was American. “Is the boy’s mother there?”
“Yes,” Leah answered. “I’m here. Do you have news about my son?”
“I have your son,” the man said casually.
“Where is he?” Leah was doing a remarkable job of remaining calm.
“I have a proposition for you,” the man chuckled.
“What do you want? Just tell us. We want our son back.” Leah blurted out.
“I thought you might.” The man rattled off a cell phone number. “Is that your number?
“Yes,” Leah snapped.
“I will call you on that number in exactly one hour.” The line went dead.
Mika caught Leah as her knees buckled. She looked at the faces of the people in the room. “Let’s move to our apartment. We’re in the penthouse of Cross Towers, number one,” Mika added for Detective Carlyle’s sake. “Samson, Amber, can you get Levi, Naomi, and Ruth and get everyone headed back home? We have already cleared the bill with the hotel.”
“We can do that,” Samson nodded amiably. “Anything else we can do?”
Mika pulled the man aside. “Get Emily out of here. Take her home. No telling what Leah will do if anything happens to Richie.”
“I understand,” Samson placed a comforting hand on Mika’s back. “Keep us posted.”
“I will,” the priest agreed.
##
Detective Carlyle had phone-tracing apparatus on Leah’s cell phone within forty-five minutes. He gave Leah instructions on what to say when the man called.
It seemed to take days for the hour to pass. Finally, Leah’s cell phone rang. She pushed the speaker button so everyone could hear.
“Mayor Cross,” the man’s voice filled the room. “How are you doing?”
The detective motioned Leah to keep the man talking. Carlyle already had a deep admiration for the woman. The mayor had nerves of steel and was more beautiful than any woman had a right to be.
“I will be doing better when I see my son.” Leah’s voice was cold and controlled. “Why don’t you tell me what you want, and we can get this over?”
“Five million dollars,” the man answered. “I want it in small, unmarked bills. I want you to bring them to me yourself.”
Buddy, you just signed your death warrant, Mika thought.
“How do I know Richie is okay?” Leah continued to follow Detective Carlyle’s instructions. “I want to talk to my son. Put him on face time.”
The man turned the phone toward Richie. The boy was tied and gagged. A blindfold covered his eyes. He was on a dirty blanket in a shadowy corner. He appeared drugged.
“That’s not my son,” Leah exclaimed, buying more time.
“Of course, it is,” the man yelled.
“I can’t tell,” she insisted. “It is too dark. I don’t think that is Richie.”
In exasperation, the man dragged Richie into the light and hauled him to his feet. “Can you see him, now?” he barked.
Stanley nodded. They had a trace on the call.
“Where do you want me to bring the money?” Leah continued. “How will we exchange the money for my son?”
“I will text you the place to drop the money. If it is there and no one tries to stop me, I will text you the location of your son.” The man explained.
“You expect me to hand you five million dollars, so you have the money and my son?” Leah said incredulously. “I don’t think so.
“I will come alone,” she promised. “I will hand you the money when you hand me, my son.”
“I will call you back in fifteen minutes,” the man growled and hung up the phone.
“Did you get an address?” Leah asked the detective.
“Yes. We have cars in route now,” the detective answered proudly. “We will get your son, mayor.”
“May I know the address?” Leah smiled thankfully.
“Of course,” Carlyle shoved the notepad in front of the woman.
“If you will forgive me,” Leah said shakily. “I need to freshen up a bit.” She walked into the bathroom and locked the door.
##
Richie felt his mother’s presence in the room long before he saw her. She stood in the darkest corner of the warehouse, taking in the layout and number of people in the building. There were three men and two women.
Leah listened as they planned how they would spend their money. “That’s a million for each of us.” She recognized the voice of the man she had been speaking with on the phone. “It doesn’t have to stop there. The occupy scam may be the best thing we have ever encountered. We can get filthy rich, pretending to be occupying to make a political statement, while we run this gig. No one will ever be able to tie it to us.”
“She won’t just let us walk away,” a woman said.
“Of course, she will,” the man, snorted. “What’s she going to do? She’s a little thing. Not much taller than her boy and she’s scared.”
“The boy can identify us,” another man declared, as he kicked Richie in the stomach. Leah flinched at the sound of her son’s muffled cry.
“That is the beauty of it,” the first man laughed. “This little vial of liquid will guarantee his death within fifteen minutes. Within minutes of turning him over to his mother, he will die.”
Almost as if possessed, the man uncapped the vial and drank it. “What the…?” he gasped as he swallowed all the liquid.
“Man, you just poisoned yourself,” another man said. “Is this your idea of a joke?”
“It’s not funny,” the woman’s shrill voice filled the air.
“I believe you have my son,” a voice straight from hell echoed throughout the warehouse.
The ruffians turned to face the sound of the voice.
“Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to a child to be bound, so it can’t move?” The witch moved her hand slightly, and the five culprits found themselves unable to move.
“Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to a child to be gagged, so it can’t talk?” The witch nodded, and four criminals discovered they had no tongue in their mouths.
“The most terrifying thing of all is to be blindfolded so one can’t see what is going on around them.” The witch smiled slightly.
Simultaneously, the four criminals went completely and irreversibly blind. She released her holding spell on the four. They began to thrash about as they tried to figure out what was happening to them. The man who had drank the poison gazed in amazement at the sight before him. He tried to run, to get to a hospital but found his legs wouldn’t move.
“I have spared you the fate of your friends,” Leah growled because you will be dead in exactly seven minutes.”
“Help us,” the leader cried. “We didn’t mean any harm. We weren’t going to hurt him. We just wanted the money.”
“If you weren’t going to hurt him, then the poison you drank won’t kill you. Listen to me, all of you,” she commanded in a low, dangerous voice that shook the warehouse. “The biggest mistake you ever made in your miserable lives was kidnapping my son.”
She nodded and sent the four blind mutes to Juarez, Mexico. She knew their lifespan would be less than twenty-four hours in the drug cartel stronghold.
Leah walked to Richie. She bent down and kissed his forehead. “I will stay with you until the police arrive, then I will have to meet you back at the apartment.”
He nodded his understanding. As the police broke down the door and entered the warehouse, his mother disappeared.
##
Leah opened the bathroom door and rejoined Detective Carlyle and Mika. Carlyle’s phone rang. He listened and then breathed a sigh of relief. “They have your son. He is safe.” He watched as the mayor collapsed against her wife.
Within half an hour, the police delivered Richie to his mother’s arms. “How will we ever thank you, Detective?” Leah exhaled as if she had been holding her breath forever.
The responding officers motioned Carlyle to the hallway. They talked for several minutes as Leah checked Richie for any bruises or cuts.
“Richie,” Detective Carlyle bent over so he was eye level with the boy. “How many people were involved in this?”
“Five,” the boy declared, “but four of them just left. They said they were part of the Occupy movement. They were going to continue doing this to other people visiting New York.”
“Did you catch them all?” Leah asked innocently.
“We only have one, and he apparently poisoned himself,” Carlyle frowned. “He was passed out on the floor when my team arrived and was DOA at the hospital.”
“May we put Ritchie to bed?” the priest asked. “This has been very difficult for my family.”
“Yes,” Carlyle nodded. “I have your phone numbers if I need to ask you anything else.”
The detective and his team left the family alone. Leah caught her son’s hand and the hand of her wife. They materialized in the family room of their mansion in New Judah.
“Wow, Mom,” Richie exclaimed. “You should be a judge. You truly know how to dispense justice fairly. You are as wise as King Solomon in the Bible.”
“I have a little justice for Emily,” Leah scowled.
“No,” Richie placed his hand on her arm. “You are too fine. Don’t lower yourself.”
Richie held his mother’s gaze for several moments then she nodded and hugged him tightly. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”
“I’m fine, Mom,” he reassured her. “Right now, all I want is a shower and something to eat. Any chance of ordering in pizza?”
Mika called Samson and let him know they were home with Richie, unharmed. “Tell Emily to stay away from her,” the priest cautioned. “She is furious.”
“That is understandable,” Samson sighed.
“I am going to take a shower, darling,” Leah kissed Mika softly. “Will you order pizza?”
##
The witch locked the door to the en suite then turned on the shower. By the time the water was hot, she had transported herself to an empty room with a window overlooking the occupiers in the financial district of New York. Her eyes darted from one end of the trashed park to the other. A tremendous wind howled thru the park carrying the tents, trash and occupiers into the bay. She smiled as she returned the park to its original glory. She hoped that the city officials had learned their lesson about letting lazy, transients camp on public property. In her realm, she would have simply set fire to all of them. Being married to an angel was making her soft.