One Adventure Too Many

by Marja McGraw

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Stanley walked over to us. “Just for the moment, can we talk about something else? Like my wife having a baby?”

  “I’m sorry, Stan,” I said. “There’s just so much to think about.”

  “Well, let’s think about babies, at least for the moment.”

  “You’re right, Papa,” Pete said.

  Stanley sighed deeply. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m a nervous wreck at the moment. I shouldn’t take the attention away from the missing woman. Poor Zasu. I wish she was here, with us, waiting for the delivery. I hope Gloria is doing well with Sophie. We should be at home taking care of her. We shouldn’t be here, waiting, for another three weeks.”

  “It’s going to be okay,” I said. “Felicity’s in good hands.” I stood and hugged him, finding that he was stiff as a board. “Take some deep breaths, Stan. You need to be ready for your child.”

  “I think it’s going to be a girl,” Aunt Martha said.

  “No, it’s definitely a boy,” my mother said. “I can tell by the way she’s carrying the child. Low.”

  “A lot you know,” my aunt said. “A pregnant woman

  carries a girl low. I carried both of my girls low.”

  “What does low mean?” Stanley asked.

  It was working. My relatives were trying to distract him, and they were successful.

  “Think about her baby bump,” my mother said. “Instead of being right up front, it’s like the baby dropped a little and the bump moved to a lower position.”

  “Huh. I think you’re right, although I hadn’t noticed it until you mentioned it.” Stanley closed his eyes, as though trying to picture his wife and her baby bump.

  “I think it’s going to be twins,” Pete said.

  Everyone turned to him, and Stanley started to laugh. Pete knew how to break the ice.

  A nurse entered the waiting room. “Mr. Hawks? Your wife would like you to join her in the delivery process.”

  “Really? Me?” He didn’t say anything else, but followed the nurse. He turned back to us, grinning. “Cross your fingers that I don’t faint.”

  I could see the nurse’s shoulders tighten, ever so slightly. She was probably thinking she’d better have the smelling salts ready. Do they still use that stuff? Of course not. I’d been watching too many old movies lately. Maybe we’d need something like that when we found Zasu.

  Zasu Pitts. What a name. Named after an old movie star. Maybe Zasu’s mother had a sense of humor. After all, it was an unusual name.

  Maybe Felicity would borrow the name if she had a girl. Could she be having twins? No, that was just Pete being funny.

  “Pete, I think I’m too tired. I’m starting to have some weird thoughts.”

  He pulled me close and put his arm around me. “Lay your head on my shoulder and close your eyes. Get some rest while we wait.”

  That’s all it took. The next thing I knew I was waking

  up to the sound of Stanley talking with the volume turned up.

  “He’s here! He’s here! We have a son. Mother and baby are doing fine.”

  He turned to Pete and grinned.

  “Twins. I’m sure glad you were wrong. One baby was hard enough.”

  We all stood and had a group hug.

  “When can we see the baby?” I asked.

  “In about ten minutes,” Stanley replied. “My precious wife needs a few minutes to herself.” He laughed. “We have a son, so this might be the last few minutes she has to herself for a long time.”

  He was almost giddy with excitement. Frankly, so was I.

  I hugged Pete. “We’re godparents, Pete. Who’da thunk we’d ever be any kind of parents?”

  “Uh huh.”

  I glanced at my mother and aunt, and they were holding hands.

  “We knew Felicity would be okay,” Mom said.

  “She’s small but mighty,” Aunt Martha added.

  “A son,” Stanley said. “I can’t believe I have a son. I guess I’ll have to learn to pitch a baseball or throw a football, or maybe toss a basketball. No, look at me and Felicity. There’s no way our son will be tall enough for basketball. I have to return to my wife’s side. I’ll call you when you can come back.”

  “How long was I asleep?” I asked, glancing at Pete.

  “About twenty minutes.”

  “Really? I feel refreshed, like I slept for hours.”

  He shrugged.

  “After we see Felicity and the baby, I think we all need to go home and get some rest,” I said.

  “Not on your life,” Aunt Martha said.

  “We need to get busy and find Zasu,” mother added.

  “How do you two do that?” Pete asked.

  “Do what?” Mom asked.

  “It seems like you’re on the same wavelength. Without saying a word, you each seem to know what the other one is thinking.”

  “It’s a gift,” my mother said.

  “A special gift,” Aunt Martha added.

  “So on to the situation with Zasu,” my mother said. “We can’t just sit here and wait for her to be found.”

  “Yes, we need to do some sleuthing,” Aunt Martha said.

  “Give it a slow count,” I said. “Pete can speak to the Detective and find out if they’re turned anything up yet. In the meantime, maybe after we get some rest, we can go to the B&B and take a look at Zasu’s room.”

  “I’m sure Redding already checked it out,” Pete said.

  “But he could have missed something. We’re familiar with the B&B and with Zasu. We might see something that wouldn’t catch his eye.”

  “Point taken.”

  I turned to my relatives. “In the meantime, when we get home I want you both to call your husbands. Let them know you’re okay and having the time of your lives. Don’t go into too much detail until you go home to them or they’ll worry. We don’t need them showing up here, which they probably would.”

  “Before you do anything else, come see my son,” Stanley said. He was back and he stood near the doorway, beaming.

  “We’re coming,” Mother said.

  “Have you decided on a name yet?” Aunt Martha asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “Don’t they need a name before you leave the hospital?” my mother asked.

  “We have an idea. Maybe you’ll give us some input.” Stanley turned and headed toward Felicity’s room.

  “Don’t keep us in suspense,” Mother called after him. “As his surrogate grandmother, I need to know what to call him.”

  “As his surrogate grandmothers, plural,” Aunt Martha said.

  Pete shook his head. “What a pair.”

  Felicity sat up in her hospital bed, looking exhausted but happy. Almost euphoric.

  “Ladies and gentleman,” Stanley said, “I’d like you to meet Joseph Stanley Hawks. I was joshing you when I said we hadn’t decided on a name.”

  We leaned toward Felicity and the baby. He reminded me of a little old man, although a cute little old man, with a shock of very dark hair. Lots of hair. He was adorable and he was already pulling at my heartstrings.

  Stanley held out his hand and touched the baby’s little fist. The baby grabbed onto Stanley and tugged.

  “How much does he weigh?” Mother asked.

  “Seven pounds, two ounces,” Felicity replied. “The doctor said he might have made close to eight pounds if he hadn’t come early.”

  “Big baby,” Aunt Martha said.

  She turned to her sister.

  “I hate to admit it, Livvie, but you were right. You said it would be a boy.”

  “Of course I was right. When am I ever wrong?”

  “Welllll, there’s the time – “

  “Never mind,” I said. “How did you decide on Joseph? Did you name him after our cop friend?”

  “In a way,” Stanley said.

  “We like his name,” Felicity said. “Joseph is a strong and yet gentle name. We want our son to be strong and add
something wonderful to this world.”

  “I like it,” Mother said. “It’s perfect.”

  “I once knew a Joseph,” Aunt Martha said, “and he was a wonderful man. Strong and wise, as I recall.”

  “Congratulations,” Pete said. “We all wish you the best in your new life.”

  “Our new life,” Felicity said. “Yes, everything is going to change now.”

  “How are you feeling?” I asked.

  “It’s like I opened my mouth and all the hormones flew out,” Felicity said. “I feel better than I expected I would. I already feel more like my old self.”

  I’d been right, I was sure. She was feeling euphoric.

  “When are they sending you home?” I asked.

  “They want to keep me overnight, and Joseph will have to stay one extra day. It looks like his lungs, heart and everything are developed, but the doctor wants to run a few tests, just to be sure. After all, our little bundle was three weeks early.”

  “The doctor said he believes it’s more like two weeks,” Stanley added.

  After ohhhing and ahhhing and telling our friends how beautiful the baby was, we left so they could get some rest.

  Pete drove us home and excused himself so he could shower. I claimed the shower next. My mother and aunt were on their own. Of course, we had two bathrooms, but the water pressure would be low if two of us showered at the same time.

  I still needed rest. I knew that because of the water pressure being uppermost in my mind. There were so many more important things to be thinking about.

  My mother and aunt called their husbands while I waited for Pete to finish in the bathroom. They each talked about Felicity and the baby, and thankfully left the Zasu situation out of the conversation.

  My mother asked how things were going at their own B&B, finally saying, “I love you,” and hanging up.

  “Okay,” she said, standing, “showers and then Zasu’s room at the B&B. I just know we’ll find something.”

  Aunt Martha had hung up, too. “Of course we will. The bad guys always forget some little detail.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  I knew Bubba and Clementine must feel like we were starving them. We’d been gone for such a long time. When I was at home in California, my neighbor would take care of them. I fed them, refilled their water and gave them a lot of love. Thankfully, Bubba was quite independent and didn’t throw tantrums while we were gone, and as long as he was home, Clem was fine, too.

  While my mother and aunt showered, Pete walked outside and called Redding.

  Thinking it over, I decided to take the dogs with us to the bed and breakfast. What we didn’t see, they might sniff out and find. Okay, I knew I was tired or I wouldn’t have come to a decision to include the dogs. However, I could give them something of Zasu’s to sniff. Stranger things have happened. Maybe they could find her trail out of the house. Besides, I knew they’d feel good about going with us.

  Pete was stuffing his phone in his pocket when he walked back inside. “Redding is frustrated.”

  “Should that surprise me?” I asked.

  He scratched his chin, apparently waiting for me to say more. I had nothing else to say.

  “I’ve been in this type of situation before,” Pete said. “You know the answer to the question is right in front of you, but you can’t focus on it. Unfortunately, there are too many cold cases waiting to be solved because we couldn’t find that answer.”

  “How does he feel about us joining in?”

  “Honestly? I’m not sure. I think he’s glad to get any help we can offer. It’s not just a dead body now, but also a missing person.”

  “I’ve decided to take the dogs with us.” I took a step back, not sure about how he’d react.

  He tipped his head to the side, giving it some thought. “That’s not a bad idea. If we give something of Zasu’s to Bubba, maybe he can track her.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

  “We need to check on the baby, too,” Mom said from the doorway.

  I looked over her shoulder, expecting to see my aunt. She wasn’t there.

  “Where’s Aunt Martha?” I asked.

  “She just started her shower, which gives us some time to talk without her interrupting every thirty seconds.”

  “Mother!”

  “Now, Sandi, you know she can be a pain in the derriere, regardless of how much we care about each other. Of course, she did try to save me from those kidnappers. Oh, well… Do we have a plan yet?”

  “We’re taking the dogs with us. Maybe Bubba can sniff something out, or maybe he can find something we’ve missed.”

  “Superior idea, sweetie.” My mother gave me a hug.

  I raised my eyebrows at her. “What was that for?”

  “I’ve thought about how much you and Pete go through when you’re trying to solve a case. You both deserve a lot more credit than you get.”

  Pete smiled at her. “Thanks.”

  She turned and stood on her toes, giving him a hug, too. Pete was about six feet tall and she was around the range of five feet. It was a stretch for her.

  “Have you fed the dogs?” she asked, turning to me.

  Setting my guilt aside about how long the dogs had had to wait, I said, “Of course,” and rolled my eyes at her.

  “Having lost so much sleep, I’ve lost track of time. What day is it?”

  “Friday,” I replied.

  “Well, that gives us the rest of today and the weekend to find Zasu. I’m sure whoever took her won’t hurt her because he needs her to bargain for Mateo.”

  “If she’s seen his face,” Pete said, “this turns into a whole different ballgame. He’ll get rid of her and go after Delgado.”

  “Now that’s the voice of doom, if I’ve ever heard it,” Aunt Martha said, joining us.

  “Yes, we have to think positive,” my mother said.

  “Ladies, are you about ready to visit the B&B?” Pete asked.

  My mother grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  “Let’s move out,” Aunt Martha said.

  Before he turned toward the front door, I saw Pete roll his eyes.

  “I saw that,” I said, softly.

  “Saw what?” Mom asked.

  “Nothing. Just a facial tic.”

  “That’s probably because he’s tired,” Aunt Martha said.

  Pete whistled and the dogs came running. We piled into the Jeep and Pete put the dogs in the back.

  “I hope Gloria is ready for us,” Pete said, climbing into the car.

  “I probably should have called her, but she’ll be okay,” I said. “Initially we’ll tell her we came to see how she’s doing

  with Sophie.”

  My mother leaned forward. “I was staying in the room Zasu is using, so I’ll tell her I lost something while I was there and I want to look for it.”

  Aunt Martha sighed. “I was going to use that excuse.”

  “Beat ya to it,” my mother said.

  A little out of character for Pete, he said, “Would you two give it a rest? I’m trying to think things through. It’s hard to do with all the yakking going on.”

  “Well, we just – “ My aunt looked like she might be feeling insulted.

  “He’s right,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “I’d appreciate it if you two would be quiet for a little while.” Turning, I glanced over my shoulder at them.

  My aunt made a zipping motion across her lips, and my mother simply clamped her lips together, tightly.

  After a very short and quiet trip down the road, we pulled in at the bed and breakfast.

  Gloria sat on the porch, rocking Sophia and rubbing her back. “She’s been crying and I know it’s because she misses her mama.”

  “Mama,” Sophie said, sounding sad and rather pathetic.

  It was the first time I’d heard her speak. After all, she was only nine months old.

  She turned her head and looked at me, and held out her arms. I reached f
or her, my heart melting. She laid her head on my shoulder and whimpered softly, putting her thumb in her mouth.

  “Where’s a camera when you need one?” my mother asked.

  “Right here,” Aunt Martha replied, pulling out her cell phone. She snapped a picture. “Zasu will enjoy seeing this.”

  Gloria stood and offered me the rocking chair.

  “Thank you, but I think I’ll walk her,” I said.

  Pete approached Gloria. “What can you tell us about Zasu’s disappearance?”

  “Not much. I was outside talking to Joe while we waited for her to get her things together. Actually, I was helping him install the baby seat. We returned to the house and found Phil walking the baby, and she was crying. He said Zasu had disappeared.” She paused. “You don’t think she ran away, do you?”

  “No,” Mother said. “There’s no way she’d leave her baby. Did you see anyone hanging around the bed and breakfast?” she asked.

  “No, but then I wasn’t looking for anyone.”

  “You don’t have any other guests right now?” Pete asked.

  “No. We had some people coming, but they cancelled because of all our rain.” She sighed. “A little rain never hurt anyone. Besides, if you’re going to stay at a B&B in the hopes of seeing a ghost, rain and the thunder just add to the experience. Don’t you think?”

  No one answered her.

  “Where was Phil when she disappeared? Did he see anything?” I asked.

  “He was at the side of the house bringing in some firewood. He thought he heard something, but he’s not sure what it was. No, I take that back. He said he was in the kitchen heating Sophie’s bottle. The noise he heard must have been earlier.”

  My mother put her little plan into action. “When I was staying here I lost something. Is it okay if I go upstairs and search my old room?”

  “What’d you lose?” Gloria asked.

  “Oh, uh, a pair of earrings.”

  “Sure. Go ahead on up.”

  “I think I’ll go with her,” I said. “Maybe a favorite toy would help sooth Sophie.”

  “Well, I’m going, too,” my aunt said. “I can help in the search for the, ah, earrings. I know what they look like.”

  “I’ll help.” Gloria appeared to be anxious to become involved.