One Adventure Too Many

by Marja McGraw

have saved us.”

  Felicity joined us. “See? We were doing exactly what we should have been doing. Sometimes things happen for a reason.”

  Bubba and Clem ran around the side of the house. I picked up Clem and scratched her. My big lug saw a rabbit and took off after it. He wouldn’t catch it. He just liked the chase. He’d be back in a minute, looking quite proud of himself.

  I don’t know if dogs have adrenalin, but if they do, then he probably needed to run some off because strangers had been outside, just out of his reach.

  “Let’s go inside,” I suggested. “There’s no need to stand out here in the rain.”

  We heard a siren nearby and within a minute Joe pulled into the driveway. He saw us standing and talking and didn’t rush to join us. There was another cop sitting in the front seat and the two men talked for a moment.

  Joe finally joined us. “Got a rookie in the unit. He’s doing a ride-along today to get a feel for the city. What’s going on here is out of the ordinary, so I filled him in. He’ll be with us in a minute.”

  “You arrived quickly,” Stanley said.

  “I wasn’t far away. What happened here?”

  My mother stepped forward. “We took Zasu into town for – “

  “You took her into town? You’re supposed to be hiding her.” Joe didn’t sound at all happy.

  Aunt Martha sighed. “Look, Joseph, or Joel, or whatever your name is, we went in disguise. We all needed some time away from here.”

  Joe glanced at my mother and aunt. “It’s Joseph, and I can see that. Large hats, funky clothes. I get it.”

  “Funky clothes? Well, I thought we were pretty creative,” Mom said.

  “You were. By the way, where’s Pete?”

  My husband stepped forward, straightening his old man posture.

  “Are you serious?” Joe couldn’t believe his eyes. He grinned. “I’d never have recognized you.”

  Pete took off his hat and started brushing something out of his hair – whatever it was that made it look gray. He took a tissue out of his pocket and wiped something off of his face, too. “I learned a few tricks when I was with the L.A.P.D.”

  The rookie cop joined us.

  “This is Officer Byrd,” Joe said, introducing him. “These are friends, Zack, and they need our help.”

  Aunt Martha grinned. “How perfect is that? He’s Officer Byrd and we’ve been masquerading as birdwatchers.”

  He didn’t look amused.

  Mother shrugged.

  Joe pulled a notepad out of his pocket. “Let’s get down to business. What happened?”

  Byrd followed suit and pulled out a notepad and pencil.

  Pete ran his fingers through his hair and spoke. “While we were in town, Stan stayed here with Zasu’s child. Bubba seemed anxious, and when Stan looked out the window there were people checking out our house.”

  “Bubba?”

  Apparently Bubba had tired of chasing rabbits and thought he was being summoned. He sat down in front of the rookie and grinned.

  Byrd looked nervous and set his hand on his revolver.

  Joe shook his head. “Don’t get excited, Byrd. He’s grinning at you. You won’t need your gun.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” I said. “All he has to do is grin at someone and they leave me alone. You’re not the first one he’s made nervous.”

  He rolled his shoulders and seemed to relax.

  “Anyway, Stan took the baby and left through the back door. They hid in the bushes until we came home.” Pete sounded exasperated because of the interruptions. “By the time we got here, they were gone.”

  The rookie glanced at Stanley. “If they were checking out the house, how’d you get out the back door?”

  “We were in the guest house in the rear,” he replied. “They hadn’t reached us yet.”

  Byrd nodded and made a note on his pad.

  “We still don’t think they know…” Aunt Martha began.

  “…Zasu is here,” my mother finished.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Felicity started rubbing her lower back. I knew she was tired.

  “I think you should go back to the other house and rest for a while.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” she replied. “Come on, Stan.” She took hold of his hand and led him away.

  Joe and the rookie left, and so did my mother and Aunt Martha.

  I glanced at Pete. “What did Phil say? Any strangers around the B&B?”

  “He didn’t see anyone, but he mentioned seeing a black car drive through the area – twice. He couldn’t remember what make it was.”

  I frowned. “We’ve got to move Zasu and the baby, but she won’t go back to Vancouver. She insists on staying here.”

  Pete looked thoughtful. “We know these men tried to take your mother with the idea of exchanging her for Zasu. We know they want Zasu so Mateo won’t talk. They were here, so I think they were looking for Zasu or your mother.”

  “I still don’t think they know Zasu is actually here,” I said.

  “I don’t think they do, either, or they would have done something by now. So here’s my thought. Why don’t we bring your mother and aunt here to stay with us, and have Zasu stay at the B&B?”

  I could see by the look on his face that he really didn’t like his own idea.

  “That might work,” I said. “They didn’t know my mother was staying at the B&B; they simply saw a woman walking and thought it was her. I’m sure they’ve realized by now that Gloria is from the B&B. Plus, my mother has been the most visible here, in our front yard. My relatives would sure be easier to protect than a young woman and a baby.”

  Pete laughed. “Yeah, your mother and your aunt are forces to be reckoned with, and I don’t think these thugs would be a match for them.”

  “They’re inseparable. They’d have to take both of them, not just my mother.” Picturing this in my mind made me laugh, too.

  “Why don’t you go back to the guest house and talk to Zasu? I’ll call Phil to see if we can make arrangements.”

  “You wanna call my mother, too?”

  The words were barely out of my mouth before he said, “No!” There was a hint of terror behind that single word.

  Pete’s phone rang, so I left him in the yard and walked back to the guesthouse.

  Stanley was sitting outside, enjoying some rare sunshine. At least, it had been rare on this trip. “They’re talking about babies and girl things so I decided to give them some privacy.”

  “Good idea,” I said, leaving him to sit and relax.

  I found the two women sitting on the couch, and I told them what my husband and I had discussed.

  Zasu was okay with Pete’s idea. “As long as we don’t have to go back to my house and Mateo can stay with us, I’ll be okay. Are you sure you want your relatives to stay with you?” She had a pitying look on her face

  “Not a problem. They’ll be so wrapped up in Felicity and her pregnancy that they won’t have time to give us any trouble.”

  I glanced at my friend.

  “Right?” I asked.

  “You can count on me. I’ll have them so involved with me and the baby that they won’t have time for anything else. Besides, I’ll take all the help I can get right now.”

  She struggled to get off the couch and stand. Zasu and I each took a hand and helped her up.

  She looked, not embarrassed, but not happy either. “I’m sorry. Who knew I’d grow so big? I think I’m going to have a boy and he’ll be a football player.”

  I thought about how small she and Stanley are and grinned. “You never know.”

  Hearing noises outside, I glanced out through the screen door. Pete was approaching the guesthouse with Bubba and Clem dogging his steps.

  “I spoke to Phil,” he said. “He’s fine with the change in guests. Things are slow because of the storms, according to him, so they have no problem with the baby being there. The last guests they had, other than your relati
ves, have left. He said Gloria misses their grandkids anyway. Oh, and Zasu, he said to tell you that they already have a highchair and anything else you might need. Phil almost sounded excited about Zasu staying with them. Maybe he’s had enough of your relatives.”

  I ignored his last comment. “It’ll give Gloria something to think about besides ghosts,” I said.

  Zasu’s head whipped around and I explained Gloria’s ghost obsession to her.

  “This might be kind of fun. Maybe it’ll help take my mind off things.”

  “Redding called, too,” Pete said. “They’ve been running down some leads and he’s come to the conclusion that Kennedy’s gang connection may be a dead end. He thinks there’s something else going on. He’d also like to move Zasu to Vancouver, but he called her,” he glanced at her, “and she refused.”

  She shrugged. “I can’t explain it, but I feel so safe here.”

  I nodded. “Interesting. Well, I’m going to excuse myself and call my mother to tell her about the change in plans. She and her sister will be delighted.”

  Felicity laughed.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Sorry. It’s the look of semi-terror on your face.”

  “I can handle one of them, but both at the same time is terrifying.”

  “Tell me about it,” Pete said, under his breath.

  I ignored him.

  “What now?” Stanley asked.

  Pete headed for the door. “Come with me. Let’s drive around the area and make sure there aren’t any uninvited guests lurking in the bushes.”

  I called Bubba over and had him sit near Zasu and Felicity. “Stay,” I said. “Down.”

  He settled himself in front of the women and Clem joined him.

  I went home to call my mother. I told her about her and my aunt moving to our house.

  “Already on it,” she said. “Phil told us so we’re packing our things and we’ll be there shortly.” She sounded almost giddy. “He’s excited about helping out, and Gloria can’t wait to get her hands on that baby.”

  We hung up and I sighed, deeply and loudly.

  It was nearing dinnertime. I walked back to the guesthouse and spoke to Felicity.

  “Why don’t we all eat at my house? We can move Zasu

  and the baby after dark.”

  Zasu nodded. “After dark is probably best.”

  “In the meantime, why don’t the two of you come up to the house and keep me company while I fix dinner.”

  Two women and two dogs followed on my heels.

  Felicity glanced skyward. Thick dark clouds were moving in again. “The sun sure wasn’t out for long. Maybe if we’re in the middle of another storm nothing will happen. Maybe tonight will be quiet.”

  One can always hope.

  Before I could start dinner, my mother and aunt arrived, bearing lots of luggage.

  “Where do you want this?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “Upstairs in the spare bedroom. Wait until Pete comes back and he’ll take it up for you.”

  “Nonsense,” Mother said. She picked up one of the suitcases and headed up the stairs.

  “I’ll go up and move Sophie’s and my things out of the room,” Zasu said.

  Aunt Martha followed her up the stairs with one of her suitcases.

  Felicity was grinning when I turned to her. “Have you stopped and thought that your relatives are going to have to share a room?”

  “I can hear the fireworks already,” I said, feeling anxious.

  Mother joined us in the kitchen. “I’m going to take up my other suitcases, but I wanted to tell you that Martha and I discussed it and we’re going to do everything we can to get along while we’re here.” She turned around and left the room.

  “Sounds like the answer to a prayer to me,” Felicity said.

  “Sounds like baloney to me,” I replied.

  Since there were so many of us, I fixed Sloppy Joe’s for dinner, adding French fried onion rings and watermelon. I

  had a chocolate cream pie for dessert.

  Pete and Stanley returned and said they hadn’t seen anything even remotely out of the ordinary, and Stanley added that they’d looked everywhere.

  We ate, cleaned up the dishes which meant throwing paper plates in the trash and washing the silverware, and by that time it was raining.

  Glancing out the window, I said, “It’s almost dark.”

  “We’ll load Zasu’s things in the Jeep,” Pete said.

  There wasn’t really that much to load. Zasu had the few things she’d brought with her and the clothes she’d bought at the children’s store in town. Pete began to fold up the highchair but remembered that Phil said they had one and put it right again.

  Kaboom! The windows rattled and the lights flickered. Clementine barked, shook and tried to climb up Bubba’s back. We were all standing, so there were no chests to climb. Bubba shook her off and grinned at her.

  “Wait until the storm moves on, Pete. I don’t want any of you out there with the storm right over us.” I’d noticed thunder in the distance, and it continually moved closer. The last boom was closer than I liked, even though I love a good thunder storm.

  Car lights lit up the front window. Pete glanced outside. “It’s Joe,” he said, opening the screen door.

  “Ya gotta love the weather around here,” Joe said, wiping his feet on the Welcome mat.

  “Would you like some hot coffee?” Mother asked.

  “Or maybe some hot chocolate,” Aunt Martha added.

  “It’s not cold out,” Joe said, “but thank you for offering.”

  “Now that you mention it, it hasn’t really been cold since we got here – just cool.”

  “That’s spring in Washington for you,” he said. “I talked to Detective Redding and he told me about the change in plans. I also talked to a friend who lives down the street. I’m going to pull into his driveway and leave the unit sticking out in the street a little with the lights on. I figure a police presence will be distracting and should keep things safe while you move Ms. Pitts.”

  “Good idea. Give it a few minutes while the storm passes,” I suggested.

  I hoped trouble would pass by, too.

  It didn’t.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Pete pulled the Jeep behind the house, and he and Stanley waited until it was good and dark before they sneaked Zasu and Sophie out. Zasu ducked her head and they were off to the B&B. She’d called Mateo first to let him know where she’d be.

  As promised, Joe parked down the road with his lights flashing, acting as though he was taking a report from his friend. That should keep the bad guys at bay.

  I helped Felicity walk back to the guesthouse while my mother and aunt unpacked their things.

  Once Pete reached the B&B, Joe took off. Everything was going as planned.

  I knew this because I walked out to the street and boldly surveyed the neighborhood. Well, we were in a rural area so I don’t know if you’d really call it a neighborhood, but I could see most of what was going on. Pete and Stanley had driven out of sight, around a bend in the road.

  I walked back to the house and sighed in relief. “It looks like we did it,” I said. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m pooped. As soon as Pete comes home, I’m heading upstairs.”

  “I think I’ll watch TV for a while,” Aunt Martha said.

  My mother almost sat down on the couch but at the last second straightened up. “Oh. I forgot my make-up case. It’s still in the car. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’m going with you.” Aunt Martha stood and headed for the front door. “I don’t trust those yahoos. They’ll be back.”

  “I can take care of myself,” I heard Mom say on her way out the door.

  “Yeah, right.”

  The two women walked outside, stretching and yawning.

  “Leave the porch light off so no one can see you,” I hollered.

  I saw my aunt nod.

  I was heading upstairs to get ready for
bed, when I heard yelling. I backtracked quickly and ran for the front door.

  The beige van sat in front of the driveway idling. Someone had hold of my mother’s arm and was trying to pull her in, while my aunt had her other arm and tried to pull her out.

  I could hear Mom grunt, as though in pain, which she probably was. They were pulling her in two different directions.

  My heart thumped like a base drum.

  Throwing open the screen door, I ran outside and down the driveway, grabbing a bug zapper that looked like a tennis racket on my way. A man in a mask kept pulling on my mother’s arm.

  “You let her go!” Aunt Martha yelled, struggling to hang onto Mother.

  Another masked man climbed out of the vehicle and started pushing my aunt into the van.

  “Stop that,” she yelled, but she wouldn’t let go of my

  mother.

  I ran faster, swinging the bug zapper as soon as I reached them.

  I was too late. Both women had been shoved in and the man I hit brushed me aside like I was the bug, and I slipped in the mud.

  He jumped into the front seat of the van and they took off.

  “No, no, no!” I yelled. “This can’t be happening.”

  Felicity walked out from the side of the house. “What’s going on? What can’t be happening?”

  I picked myself up, trying to brush off the mud, to no avail.

  “They came back.” My voice shook with fear and anger. “They got both my mother and my aunt.”

  I knew she couldn’t hurry, so I said, “Meet me in the house.”

  I ran for all I was worth and grabbed my cell phone, which I’d left on the kitchen table, and called the police, asking for Joe.

  He was about to go into the field but I’d caught him. “Sandi? They tell me you sound nearly hysterical.”

  “They got my mother,” I said, “and my aunt, too.”

  “Who?” he asked. Of course, he knew who I meant.

  “The thugs in the beige van.”

  “Which way did they go?”

  “They drove in the opposite direction from the B&B. Hurry, Joe. I don’t have a car here or I’d take out after them.”

  “I’m on my way,” he said. “I’ll put out the word on the van.”