“No, it wasn’t like that. I did grow up on a farm. I haven’t ever shot a person, only squirrels and coons and such. But I always knew we were part of the Jackson clan and that we were enemies with the Dyson clan. If we ever ran into Dysons at school or in town… there was tension. Nobody killed anybody, not while I was around, but we didn’t have anything to do with each other. And the politics… I always knew my uncle was a big boss in the clan. I never really understood what that meant. Just that we showed him respect. People didn’t go around talking about whatever the clans are involved in… protection scams or drugs or black market weapons… but even when I was little, I knew that… a lot of what the grown-ups said had double meanings. One thing to little ears or outsiders, and something different to the adults who were in the know.”
Erin couldn’t fathom being part of a big family organization like that. Most of the families she had been a part of had been very small and insular. Sometimes there were aunts and uncles and grandparents, but she was a foster child, so she wasn’t treated like a real family member. There had been many times when she’d been shipped off to a respite family so that her foster family could entertain the extended family. The real kids stayed home and the foster kids were sent away.
“So… have they called you like Mary Lou said?”
Vic didn’t answer right away. “I’m still estranged,” she said finally. “Most of them don’t want anything to do with me.”
“Most of them,” Erin repeated. “What about Jeremy? Has he called?”
“A couple of times. Since we got back in touch at Christmas, you know.”
“I know,” Erin agreed. She remembered the joy Vic had greeted her brother with. The exuberance of her reunion with him after being away from each other for months, shunned by a family who wouldn’t accept her gender identity. What kind of sense did it make to be involved in whatever organized crime they were involved with, and yet to shun a person for being a girl? “Has he been in contact with you in the last week or so? Since I met Charley?”
“Well, yes.”
“And…?”
“I wouldn’t ever do anything to put you or your sister in danger, Erin. I swear it. When Jeremy started nosing around, asking questions that were none of his business, I told him so. I told him to just take a hike if he was going to interfere with my friend’s family. You’re family to me, Erin. You took me in when my family of birth wouldn’t have anything to do with me. So you’re my first priority. I chose you to be my family.”
Erin felt a little twinge of guilt at Vic’s words. She felt guilty for going against what Vic had told her and seeking Charley out anyway. Vic, Willie, and Terry had all told her to stay away from Charley and the Dysons. They all had different reasons, different kinds of experience with the Dysons, but they had all seen trouble brewing and warned her to stay away. And Erin hadn’t. She had chosen her sister, someone she didn’t even know, over friends who had stuck with her through thick and thin and three murder investigations.
Erin wiped her hands on a dishtowel and gave Vic a hug.
“I’m glad you’re my family too. I know I haven’t always been the best friend…”
“What are you talking about? You have been the best friend. Every minute!”
“Not when I went to see Charley…”
Vic brushed that away with a gesture. “I’m not enemies with Charley. I’m not enemies with anyone. My family can choose to ignore the Bible if they want. But I’m not going to live like that. I’m not going to live my life under the thumb of some criminal organization. I can’t help where I was born. But I can help where and how I live now that I’m an adult.”
They looked around the kitchen to make sure everything was ready for the next day, then turned toward the door together.
“You never knew Willie was a Dyson?” Erin asked.
Vic laughed. “No. I suppose I should have guessed. Aunt Angela said he was no good. That should have been my first clue. But I never asked him anything about his family, and have only gleaned a few bits and pieces about his past. Nothing clear. I never got why he was shunned in Bald Eagle Falls. I just figured… it was because of the way he looked, and that he didn’t have a regular job.”
“Do you think he knows you were a Jackson?”
Vic considered this. “Yeah… I’m pretty sure he does. I never hid my birth name from him. I’m sure I must have mentioned it at some time.”
“What a rascal,” Erin said. “He really should have told you. It’s not fair that he knew who you were, and that you were supposed to be enemies, and that you didn’t. He should have said something.”
“I was okay with him knowing I was a Jackson… but that doesn’t mean he had to be comfortable with me knowing his roots. I knew he had secrets. And I’m pretty sure that’s not the only one.”
“You’re a lot more forgiving than I would be.”
“What about your boyfriend?”
Erin frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He did tell you he was a cop, right?”
Erin laughed. “Yeah, it might have come up in conversation at some point.”
“And did you tell him everything about your past?”
There were a few seconds of silence. Erin swallowed. “The salient points.”
“So the two of you are okay with not being on exactly the same page too.”
“Uh… yeah, I guess,” Erin agreed.
“Terry is willing to wait for you to tell him about yourself. Or to be kept in the dark indefinitely.”
“It’s not like I have this deep, dark past,” Erin said. “He knows the basics. So do you.”
“Uh-huh. But you’re not ready to expose everything, are you?”
“No.”
“I’m not going to insist that you tell me everything about your past. And I’m not going to insist that Willie tell me everything about his. We’ll figure it out. We’ve got years to get to know each other.”
Years. It was such a foreign concept to Erin. She didn’t stay in the same place, associating with the same people for years. She stayed around for a few weeks, a few months, and then she would be off on a new adventure. She would leave everything behind, shed it like the skin of a snake, and start over again as a new person. The idea of staying in the same place and getting to know the same people over a period of years was a daunting concept.
“It’s okay,” Vic repeated. “We’ve got plenty of time.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
I
t had been such a tiring week that Erin was asleep the instant her head hit the pillow. Orange Blossom could make all the noise he wanted to, because she wasn’t waking up again for anything.
So when she awoke to Vic shaking her, she knew she must have overslept. The alarm had probably gone off, and she had just slept right through it. She sat up abruptly, her heart thumping wildly.
“What time is it?”
“I’m sorry, Erin. We’ve got to go.”
Erin looked at the clock and frowned. She hadn’t overslept. It wasn’t even time for the alarm to go off yet. She’d only been asleep for a couple of hours. She put her hand over her pumping heart and took a long breath.
“Vicky, are you sleepwalking? It’s not time to get up.”
“We have to go,” Vic repeated. “You took so long to wake up, I thought I was going to have to carry you. Get up. I’ll explain on the way.”
She tugged on Erin’s arm, and Erin slid her feet off the bed and got unsteadily to her feet. “What’s going on? It’s not time to get up.”
“Get your shoes on.” Vic grabbed Erin’s bulky purse and chivvied her toward the bedroom door. “We have to go out. Come on.”
“Is it Adele? Is something wrong?”
“It’s not Adele. I promise, I’ll explain. Just keep moving.”
Erin rubbed her eyes with both hands as she stumbled down the hall. At the back door, she put her shoes on over bare feet, trying to process what was going on. Vic pulled her out the door and stopped to lock it and
arm the new alarm system.
“The car,” she instructed. “Let’s go.”
Erin led the way to the garage, blinking in the moonlight. She had no idea what Vic was up to. Where in the world were they going in the middle of the night. And how were they going to be awake enough in the morning to run the bakery?
Vic motioned to the passenger side. “You ride shotgun. You’re not awake enough to drive yet. Did you take something to sleep?”
“No. I was just really tired. Can’t we just sleep tonight and do whatever this is another day?”
“No. Get in.”
Erin was already opening the door on the passenger side of her car. She hadn’t ever ridden in the passenger seat before. She always drove. She settled in and Vic handed her her purse and made sure she had done up her seatbelt. They were on their way in less than a minute.
Erin yawned widely. “Now can you tell me what is going on? I don’t understand where we’re going in the middle of the night. Is something wrong?”
Vic nodded grimly. “Willie called me. Told me to get out of there and get you out right away.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t have time to tell me and I didn’t ask. If he’s a Dyson, Erin, and he says we’re in danger, I trust he knows what he’s talking about. I’m not going to wait around to find out the details.”
“Where did he say to go?”
“I don’t know yet. Just get out of the house and get out of town. I’ll call him now and see if he can tell us what’s going on.”
Vic pulled out her phone and was fiddling with it while racing down the dark highway. Erin took it away from her and found the speed dial for Willie. She put it on the Bluetooth radio. They both held their breaths while they waited for him to answer. One ring… two… three… it went on and on, and Erin was waiting for it to disconnect or go to voicemail. Then there was a click.
“Vicky?”
“We’re fine,” Vic assured Willie. “We’re on the highway. Can you tell us what’s going on? Where do you want us to go?”
“Erin is with you?”
“I’m here,” Erin acknowledged.
“Good.” Willie’s voice was relieved. “I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get to you in time.”
“What’s going on?” Vic demanded. “Is it the Dysons?”
There was a pause while Willie thought through what it was he wanted to say. “Vic, I never told you, but…”
“I know. Terry told us. Your mother was a Dyson.”
“Well, thank you Officer Piper… okay, well… Erin probably shouldn’t be driving. Can you pull over for a few minutes?”
“She’s not driving, I am.”
“Oh. Do you even know how to drive?”
“Oh, please. I’ve been driving tractors and back roads since I was seven. I’m a good driver!”
“Do you have a license?”
“Willie, will you get on with it?”
“The two of you are in danger. Well, Erin anyway. The Dysons don’t like her poking around Bobby’s case, and—”
“And even though she went home when you told her to, they decided that wasn’t enough.”
For a few seconds, Erin thought they had lost the connection. There was dead air, with no response back from Willie. She looked down at the phone screen to make sure the call was still active.
“Willie?”
“What do you mean, when I told her to?” Willie demanded.
“You were the masked man, weren’t you? It was Terry who figured it out—”
“What masked man?”
Vic looked over at Erin, who was finally fully awake and alert.
“The man who told Charley to run,” Erin said, “and who told me to go home and stay out of it.”
“That wasn’t me. Back up. What happened?”
“When I went to Moose River to pick up Charley. She made bail, but she needed a ride and I still had her apartment keys. When we were at her apartment, a man in a ski mask came to the door, and he told her she should get out of Moose River and disappear. But she had already called the Dysons to try to explain to them, and they had men on the way. I left, but in the parking lot, he came up behind me. He told me to stay out of it and go home.”
“It wasn’t me.” Willie reiterated. “What made you think it was?”
“It was Terry—”
“What made Terry think it was me?”
“The man knew me by name. He knew I lived in Bald Eagle Falls and was a baker. So Terry thought either the police department had a leak, or it was someone…”
“Someone who knew you personally. Like me.”
Erin nodded mutely, even though he couldn’t see her.
“You were called away right when Charley was released. I just thought…”
Willie was quiet for some time.
“Willie… I don’t even know where you want me to go,” Vic reminded him.
Willie gave a short laugh. “I don’t either, so don’t feel left out.”
Erin had to smile at his dry sense of humor. She ran her fingers through her hair to tame it into some semblance of order. There weren’t exactly a lot of places she could go, dressed in her pajamas, bed head and no makeup, with only the shoes on her feet and whatever was in her purse. And what about the animals? Someone would need to feed them. And open the bakery. It couldn’t run without Erin and Vic opening up and getting everything ready.
“Do you know if Charley is okay? Or did they…?”
Willie made a humming noise, considering. “I’m not on the inside, so I can’t tell you anything with certainty, but from what I can gather from the whispers I’ve heard, they’ve got her under wraps, but still alive. Her turning herself in to Dwight was either desperation to prove herself innocent, or an audacious bluff, but they don’t know which yet.” He paused a few seconds. “They’re leaning toward a bluff, which wouldn’t be good for Charley’s health.”
“We have to help her.”
“There’s nothing any of us can do, Erin.”
“What about the police? If you know where they’re holding her…”
“I told you, I’m not a trusted insider. They’re not going to give me information like that. It’s only luck that I know what I do.”
“Do you really think they were coming for Erin tonight?” Vic asked. There was a quiver in her voice, the adrenaline of their escape affecting her.
“They were,” Willie said flatly.
Erin shivered.
Vic reached over to rub Erin’s knee comfortingly. “Can we meet you somewhere?” she asked Willie.
“Yes… Let’s pick a random hotel in a random town along the way. Hillard Bluff?”
“Hillard Bluff,” Vic agreed. “Is there a Best Western off the highway?”
“Yes. I’ll probably get there before you, so I’ll get a room. I don’t want to be waiting around in the lobby.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t exactly blend in.”
“Just dress like a construction worker,” Vic advised. “No one will even notice you.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
E
rin was self-conscious walking into a hotel in her pajamas, but there was nothing else for her to do. They couldn’t stop somewhere to buy clothes and change in the middle of the night.
Vic caught Erin eyeing her clothes, and gave an apologetic smile. “I know. I got changed and then I hustled you out the door. But by the time I got you to wake up… I was really panicking about getting out of there fast enough. I didn’t know for sure what was up, but I wasn’t about to piddle around when Willie said to get out now.” She swept her hands through her ponytail. “I really didn’t take time to do more than pull on pants and a shirt.”
Erin shrugged. Nothing could be done about it at that point. The important thing was that they were both safe for the moment. She wasn’t sure whether she could say the same about Charley. Willie said she was still alive, but Erin wondered what kind of shape she was in and what she might have been going thro
ugh.
The desk clerk made no sign that she noticed their attire or disheveled condition and merely directed them up to their room. Vic texted Willie from the elevator, and when they reached the hotel room, Willie opened the door and let them in. He stayed at the door and looked up and down the hall. He stepped back and let the door shut, and still stayed at the peephole looking out into the hallway. Eventually, he relaxed and joined Vic and Erin in the bedroom. He sat down on one of the beds and Vic joined him, cuddling up against him. Erin sat down on the other bed. Despite how fast her heart was still beating, she really wanted to lie down and go back to sleep. She rubbed her eyes and stifled a yawn.
“Doesn’t look like you were followed,” Willie said in a low voice. “Not up here to the room, anyway. There could still be someone watching the hotel and waiting for you to leave again.”
“I didn’t see anyone following us,” Vic said. “They wouldn’t know where we were going, so they would have had to follow us all the way from the house. There were lots of times on the highway when I couldn’t even see any other headlights.”
“I hoped that if I acted fast enough, I could get you out of there before anyone showed up.”
Erin and Vic nodded.
Erin looked Willie over. She was used to his usual grubby appearance, his skin stained dark by the mining and processing work he did and his clothes frequently worn. He had done as she had suggested and dressed like a blue-collar worker, so he looked less like a homeless person and more like he was just in the middle of a dirty job.
Willie tapped the bill of his hat. “Sewers and sanitation,” he pointed out. “No one wants to look too close at someone who just climbed out of a sewer.”
Erin chuckled. “No, you’re probably right there. How did you get your hands on that in the middle of the night?”
“Don’t ask me any questions, and I won’t have to lie to you.”
“So what are we going to do now?” Vic asked. “We’re safe, but what do we do next?”
“Best would be to get some sleep, if you think you can. We can try to sort things out in the morning.”
Erin kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed, looking at them. “What about the bakery? We have work.”
Stirring Up Murder Page 15