by K T Brodland
Cat lightly gripped her shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Where to now?”
Olivia flashed on the deplorable state of Trish’s clothing, then sagged against the passenger door, suddenly feeling as though she would drop in her tracks. “I was going to suggest going shopping. A certain pregnant young lady needs a new wardrobe. But all of a sudden, I am too tired to even move. Perhaps it could wait until tomorrow.”
“Works for me. In the meantime, I suggest we get something to eat. You look as though you are about to fall down if you don’t sit down. I’ve got a couple of steaks that have our names on them.”
Olivia mustered a smile. “If I wasn’t so tired, I’d be tempted to hug you for that.”
Cat winked. “I can always take a rain check.”
Later that evening, sitting with her feet up in the recliner in Cat’s living room, Olivia ventured a question. “Do you know much about the Alphas?”
Cat stirred and looked up from the newspaper she was reading. “I used to be pretty much up on their comings and goings. Jean would be a better person to talk to now. What’s on your mind?”
“Something Trish mentioned about Steven’s connection to the gang. Made me wonder what they were up to that would pull him into their ranks.”
“I can sum it up for you in one word. Money. And most likely, a lot of it. The president of the gang, although a bit of a recluse, likes his lieutenants to dress sharp, drive flashy cars, and generally look like anything but the glorified thugs they really are. Drugs are a booming business in this town and a veritable gold mine for those on the inside track. The RCMP has been trying for years to put a stop to their activities, but the Alphas always seem to be one step ahead of them.” Cat paused a beat. “Are you any wiser now?”
“Not really, but that’ll do for starters.”
“For starters, eh? Well, don’t go getting any bright ideas about trying to take on that gang. Leave it to the RCMP to deal with them.”
“Being protective again, are we?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had more dealings with the gangs in this town. I know how ugly they can get. So, stay clear of them.”
Olivia dug Steven’s cell phone from her shoulder bag, switched it on and handed it to Cat. “Perhaps this will change your mind.”
Cat read the text message Olivia had pulled up, then silently handed the phone back. “I see what you mean. Unfortunately, the only thing it proves is that Sonny had nothing to do with the shooting.”
“No, but the two of them were obviously up to something.”
“Hm. Have you tried texting Sonny?”
“Not yet. I wanted to discuss this with you first. Get your take on it. As you pointed out, you’ve had more hands-on experience dealing with the gangs than I have.”
“True enough. Okay, just for the hell of it, text Sonny and see what happens.”
Olivia tapped on the text box and wrote a brief message. “Sonny. Get in touch with me, please.”
She set the cell phone to one side and waited. An hour later there was still no reply. On a hunch, she dialed Sonny’s number. The phone at his end rang several times then went to voicemail. “Well, that was helpful.”
“Hm. All that means is that Sonny could have turned his phone off.”
“Or,” Olivia added, a frown puckering her forehead. “Someone has caught up with him and dealt with him in much the same way as they did Steven.”
Cat rubbed the back of her neck. “That is a possibility.”
“Yeah. In the meantime, I have a funeral to attend.”
Olivia lapsed into a thoughtful silence that lasted until Cat announced she was heading up to bed. She glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece and sighed, wishing she was back in her office with access to her computer. A deeper search was definitely in order, but that would have to take a back seat for a couple more days until she could really go to work. The laptop she had in her suitcase was fine for routine matters, but she suspected she was going to need all her resources to find out just what Steven and Sonny were up to. And she had a sinking feeling that she wasn’t going to like what she found.
Chapter Nine
O livia had little to say the next morning. She hadn’t slept much, having spent a good part of the night wide awake in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, dreading the upcoming event. She barely touched her breakfast and just shrugged when Cat asked if she was all right. The fact that the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky did nothing to improve her mood. She was silent on the drive to Forest Lawn and barely acknowledged Cat’s presence. In her mind’s eye she saw only the plain box Alison had lain in prior to cremation, a spray of white roses the only tribute, the McIntyres, the only other mourners, seated beside her on the hard-wooden pew. Now it was her turn to see them off. She swallowed past the hard knot in her throat as Cat pulled into the parking lot. She nodded stiffly as she exited the Mustang and entered the funeral home’s cool interior.
She cast an eye across the crowd of mourners who filled Forest Lawn’s chapel, realizing that she didn’t recognize a single soul. She’d known Abe and Barb for seventeen years and she didn’t have a clue as to who their friends were. Even the few younger men and women who showed up to see Steven off were unknown to her. She studied their faces, wondering if any of them belonged to the Alphas. It was too bad Trish couldn’t be here. After all, Steven was the father of her unborn child. She’d also be able to point out Sonny and his brother if they were present.
She sighed and glanced sideways at Cat, sitting beside her in the front of the chapel, grateful for her solid presence. Cat gave her hand a gentle squeeze and a smile that eased the ache in her heart.
After the internment, she finally managed to speak to Abe’s brother, Sid, a sixty-something portly individual with thinning sandy hair and pale blue eyes. He was a stark contrast to his younger brother who had been as lean as a rake, with a face like an old shoe. She offered her condolences, shook hands with him and his wife, a mirror image of her husband. She guessed it was true that married people did end up looking alike after being together for a number of years.
She glanced to her right, made sure Cat was occupied talking to Staff Sergeant Jean Gordon, the blonde police officer she’d been introduced to earlier. She opened her handbag and withdrew an envelope and pressed it into Sid’s hand.
“Please take this,” she said, her voice pitched low.
Sid glanced down at the bulky envelope in his hand, clearly surprised at the weight. Olivia closed his fingers on it. “You can examine the contents later,” she said. “This will help cover your expenses in coming out here from Toronto.”
His wife missed this interchange, for which Olivia was grateful, as she had a hunch the woman’s response would have been heard by everyone still standing near the limos that had brought the mourners to the cemetery.
“Thanks, Olivia,” Sid murmured. “But you hang on to this. You’ve already done so much for us.”
Olivia shook her head. “I haven’t done a damn thing, Sid. You organized everything.”
“Could be, but you’ll have enough to do, sorting through their belongings and whatever else needs to be done. I can’t bring myself to go through their stuff, and I know my wife certainly couldn’t handle it. I’d be grateful, though, if you’d send any letters, photos, or jewelry along to us.” He pulled a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
Olivia took the card and tucked it into her shoulder bag along with the envelope he pressed back into her hand. She looked around at the cluster of people waiting to take their leave after the internment before saying it was too bad none of Barb’s family had made it.
Sid nodded. “They live in England and health problems didn’t permit them to fly out here. However, they did phone to offer their condolences.”
Olivia nodded, then stepped back to give Sid and his wife room to get into the rear of the limo that would take them back to their hotel. She waited until the vehicle had pulled away from the curb bef
ore trudging to where Cat and Staff Sergeant Gordon stood talking together.
Both women turned at Olivia’s approach. The RCMP officer had earlier insisted Olivia call her Jean, at least in private. She offered condolences on behalf of the detachment. She also reminded Olivia of the upcoming barbecue. Olivia shot a sidelong glance in Cat’s direction. “I don’t think there is any danger of me forgetting about it. Not if Cat has anything to say about it.”
Jean just grinned and walked away.
Once the officer had returned to her cruiser, Cat suggested they go somewhere and get a bite to eat. She didn’t feel like cooking and she rather thought Olivia could do with a distraction. Lost in her own thoughts, Olivia merely nodded agreement and moved in the direction of the Mustang.
“Any place in particular you’d like to go?” Cat said, once they were settled.
Olivia drew in a deep breath. “No. Actually, yes. I’d just like to go home. Don’t take this personally, Cat, but I need to be alone for a while.”
Cat was silent for a moment. “As long as you’re sure…”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay. Just make sure you keep your cell phone on and call me if there is the slightest hint of trouble.”
Olivia slowly shook her head. “You live twenty minutes away, Cat. By the time you got to my place whatever trouble had occurred would have long since been dealt with.”
She lapsed into a silence that lasted until Cat pulled up in front of her house. Drawing in a deep breath, she got out of the Mustang, wondering how she was going to get through the next few weeks while she sorted out whatever needed to be done now that she was on her own.
“Oh, hell,” she muttered. “I’ll be happy to get through the next couple of hours without having a major meltdown.”
She made a soft sound in her throat that was a cross between a sob and a laugh as she imagined Alison telling her to pull up her big girl panties and just get on with it.
She stepped out of the way and waved goodbye as Cat headed down the driveway to the main road. Grateful that Cat was willing to step back and not turn into a helicopter despite her concerns for her safety, Olivia changed into work clothes before double-checking the area immediately surrounding the house and the mobile for any sign of intruders. There was nothing to indicate that prowlers were trespassing. She continued to the barn and checked on the chickens before turning her attention to the pile of kindling she had chopped up the day before.
Once that was taken care of, she headed to the greenhouse and spent a couple of hours immersed in the task of setting out a few of the earlier crops in the main garden. If nothing else, she could at least plant enough for her own use. She still hadn’t decided if she was going to continue to run the farm as a market garden. She didn’t need the income as there was more than enough money in the bank to keep her going for quite some time. And she certainly knew how to keep it topped up. Something else she would prefer Cat didn’t know about. For that matter, much as she liked Cat, she needed to remember who the woman was and what she did for a living. If Cat ever found out how she spent her time when she wasn’t planting vegetables, it would be finished for her.
Before heading back inside, she walked the perimeter of the yard once again, just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything in her earlier sweep of the area. It occurred to her that now that the McIntyres were gone, she really was alone. She was quite capable of defending herself, and she had a state of the art security system that could alert her if there was a prowler on the grounds or if someone was trying to break into the house, but they didn’t give the same sense of security that knowing other people were around did.
She was about to call it a day when her phone rang. She didn’t even need to check the caller ID. There was only one person who would be calling her at ten o’clock in the evening.
“Hi, Cat! What’s up?”
“You are, obviously. Everything okay?”
“Yes, thinking about heading to bed soon.”
“Since we are both still awake, why don’t I come and get you? Save time in the morning.”
The crunch of tires on gravel caught Olivia’s attention. She leaned forward and peered outside through a gap in the curtains. A dark gray Mercedes Benz was slowly inching its way up the driveway.
“Chat later, Cat. I’ve got company.”
Cutting off whatever Cat was saying, Olivia shoved her phone in her pocket and tiptoed across the darkened kitchen to the pantry. In a narrow closet, hidden from casual view, she found Alison’s old shotgun and a box of shells. Loading the shells, she eased across to the kitchen door and peered outside. The car she had seen a few moments before had pulled up in front of the mobile. The occupants were now clustered around the steps and appeared to be deep in a discussion of some kind. One of them gestured toward the mobile and then toward the house.
“Hm,” Olivia muttered. “Methinks you are up to no good.”
Her suspicions were confirmed when she caught a flash of metal from a gun in one of the intruder’s hands. She threw open the kitchen door. Two quick steps took her to the edge of the porch. The moment the outdoor light flashed on, blinding the intruders, she shouted loudly. “Drop your weapons! Now!”
When one of the intruders whirled and aimed his gun in her direction, she fired above his head. Blinded by the porch light, he ducked, and shouted back as he tried to take aim again. “You missed.”
“No, I didn’t. Next shot will put a hole in your belly big enough to drive your car through it. Now, on the ground. All of you.”
One of the men whined at her. “You gotta be kidding? Do you know how much this suit cost?”
“No, and I don’t care. Now drop, or you will have more than a bit of dirt to worry about.”
“You heard the lady, drop your weapons, and get down on the ground, hands laced behind your heads.”
Olivia glanced to her right as Cat approached the scene, her gun extended in front of her in a two-handed grip.
“I might have known you’d come to investigate,” Olivia muttered, shaking her head.
Apparently, Cat’s voice held the right amount of authority, as all four men tossed their weapons to one side and dropped to the ground, hands behind their heads.
Cat kicked all their guns to one side. Keeping one eye on the men, she addressed Olivia. “What do you want to do with these misfits? Call the local detachment or let them go with a warning?”
In reply, Olivia approached the driver. “Who sent you and what does he want?” she snapped, nudging him in the ribs with the shotgun.
It took a few increasingly harder jabs in the ribs before the driver grunted a response. “Trust me, nobody you want to know.”
“Trust me, I’m no one you want to know, either. So, what does this nameless person want?”
“The rest of the money McIntyre stole.”
Olivia frowned down at the man. “What money? Whoever was here before trashed the mobile, including Steven’s bedroom. If there was any money there, they had to have found it.”
The man shook his head and got a mouthful of gravel for his trouble. “They only found part of it. The boss wants the rest of it back. Or else,” he grumbled, spitting out gravel.
“Or else what?”
“You want to be a long way from here if he doesn’t get it.”
“And is this boss of yours the one who ordered the hit on Steven and his family?”
A sneer twisted the man’s face. “You don’t really think I am going to tell you anything about that, now, do you?”
“Young man, if I took it into my head to do something about your arrogance, you’d be needing clean underwear by now. And I should warn you, my patience is wearing a little thin.”
Olivia backed up, but kept the shotgun aimed at the men. “All right, on your feet. All of you.”
With a great deal of grumbling about the state of their clothes, the men stood and waited to see what was going to happen next. They didn’t have to wait long. Still keeping the men
under surveillance, Olivia ordered them to strip down to their skivvies. She ignored their protests, silencing them by saying if they didn’t shut up and do as they were told, they’d walk home, buck-naked and barefoot.
She didn’t miss the way Cat cleared her throat and flashed a grin in her direction. With both hands occupied holding the shotgun, she gave a silent cheer when Cat holstered her gun and proceeded to use her cell phone to take pictures of the men and their car. She still managed a thumbs up before turning her attention back to the men, now shivering in the chill April evening.
“Okay, now get out of here and don’t come back,” she snapped.
“What about our clothes?” one of the men whined.
“What about them? They aren’t your concern anymore. They’re no use to me or to my friend here, so I guess we’ll just trash them. Now, get moving, before I change my mind and make you walk home.”
Casting baleful looks in her direction, muttering under their breath, the men scrambled into the car. Doing a U-turn, they headed back down the driveway and were soon out of sight.
Olivia blew out her cheeks and hooked the shotgun in the crook of her elbow.
She half-turned to find Cat glaring at her.
“And you didn’t think it necessary to let me know what was going on here?” Cat growled.
“There wasn’t time. In any case, as you may have noticed, I had everything under control by the time you got here. Which reminds me, where is your car?”
“Parked out on the road. And don’t change the subject. There were four of them, all heavily armed. And all you had was a shotgun.”
In reply, Olivia fixed her attention on the pile of clothes set beside the driveway and shifted them to an empty barrel next to the porch. “Not quite all,” she said. “Or have you forgotten what else I can do besides bypassing alarm systems?”
Seeing the scowl on Cat’s face deepen, Olivia relented. “If it will make you feel any better, I have an alarm system that lets me know if anyone comes up the driveway or approaches the house.”