THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER

by Ginna Gray

  After confronting Pauline and Dorothy in the café two weeks ago, she had been so sure that whoever was responsible for the vandalism would back off, once word got out of how committed she was to keeping Malone's going. Then three mornings ago she went to get her car and discovered that someone had entered the garage and slashed all four tires on her Viper.

  She'd had the tires replaced without mentioning the slashing to anyone, not even Dan. Still, it gave her the willies to think that someone had sneaked into the garage while the family slept and done such a thing.

  At the top of the stairs, Maggie tiptoed past her parents' room and slipped into her own at the end of the hall. She dropped her car keys and purse on the dresser and raised both arms over her head. In midstretch a curious lump in the middle of her bed caught her attention, and she paused.

  Puzzled, she walked over to the bed and tossed back the bedspread and top sheet. A strangled cry tore from her throat before she could stifle the sound.

  Clamping a hand over her mouth, she jumped back, staring in horror at the dead rat that lay in the middle of the floral sheet.

  Maggie's gaze flew to the door. She waited, half expecting her mother or Charley to come running in to find out what was wrong. After a few seconds, when no one appeared, she forced herself to look back at the bed.

  "Oh God, oh God, oh God."

  Someone had invaded her room and put that filthy creature in her bed. Who would do such a thing? And why? It had to be someone they knew, someone who was welcome in their home.

  The thought made Maggie sick, and she pressed her palm against her churning stomach.

  She had to get rid of the carcass. She didn't want the whole household upset. If her father found out that someone hated her this much he might reconsider their agreement and tell her to leave.

  Heart pounding, Maggie edged close to the bed. Doing her best not to look at the revolting creature, she tossed the bedspread back all the way, stripped off the top sheet, then quickly unfastened the corners of the bottom sheet, gathered them together and ran to the window. Working furiously and trying not to be sick, she raised the sash, unhooked the screen and tossed the rat out into the side yard.

  Dropping the contaminated sheet on the floor, Maggie wrapped her arms around her middle and shuddered over and over again. Finally, when she'd gained a measure of control, she made herself gather up the sheets and staff them into the hamper in her bathroom.

  She had just shaken out the fresh bottom sheet when the telephone rang.

  Maggie gasped and jumped, but she pounced on the phone before the ring could sound again and wake her father. Who in the world? She glanced at the bedside clock. It was twenty minutes after midnight.

  "Hello."

  "Is this Maggie Malone?" a gravelly voice asked.

  She gripped the receiver tighter, her heart pounding. "Yes. Who is this?"

  "Rowdy Williams, down at Rowdy's Bar and Grill. I'm real sorry to be calling so late, Miss Malone, but I think you'd better come down here and get your little sister."

  "I…" Her gaze fell on the bed, and she turned away and raked her shaking hand through her hair. "Uh, what?"

  "I said you need to come down to my place and get your baby sister."

  "Jo Beth? She's there?"

  "Yes'm. She came in here a while ago, drunk as Cooter Brown. I refused to serve her and took her car keys away so she couldn't drive, but she's pitching a fit to have 'em back. I sure as heck don't want to call the sheriff. I know your daddy wouldn't appreciate that a'tall, but if somebody don't come fetch her soon, I'm gonna have to."

  "I'll be right there."

  Clamping down on her frazzled nerves, Maggie grabbed her purse and keys and on trembling legs retraced her steps as quietly and quickly as she could. She prayed as she crept passed her parents' room that the telephone hadn't woken them. Downstairs, tiptoeing through the kitchen, she kept an eye on Ida Lou's door, half expecting to see a light come on at any second. Once she'd let herself out the back door she took off for the garage at an unsteady run.

  Resisting the urge to floor the Viper, Maggie eased the car down the drive past the house, all the while railing silently against her sister.

  What in heaven's name was wrong with that girl? Sure, at Jo Beth's age she had done some stupid things herself, but their father hadn't been dying then. Besides, Jo Beth had always been Jacob's little princess. Dammit, how could she pull a stunt like this? And on her birthday?

  Maggie smacked her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Duh! She turned eighteen today. That's why she went out and got plastered—just to show everyone that she could. You should've seen this coming, Mag," she muttered to herself as she approached the end of the drive.

  Jo Beth had fidgeted throughout her birthday dinner, and as soon as Charley had carried their father upstairs, Jo Beth had dashed out to celebrate with her friends.

  "If you hadn't been anxious to escape yourself, you might have caught on," Maggie scolded.

  Because it had been a special occasion, they had all been there, even Laurel and Martin. Once their father had retired for the night and Jo Beth had left, rather than endure Martin's company, she had gone back to the office.

  Maggie had almost reached the road when Dan's truck came around the curve and turned into the drive. Even as upset as she was, she wondered whom he'd been out with, and she experienced a little pang at the thought.

  Maggie slowed and pulled over for him to pass, but when they drew even Dan signaled for her to stop and he did the same.

  "What's wrong? Where are you going at this time of night?" he demanded, leaning out the window. "Is it Jacob?"

  "No. He's fine. Sleeping, I hope." She hesitated to reveal her sister's stupidity, but then, what did it matter. Very little went on in their family that this man didn't know about, anyway. "It's Jo Beth. I just got a call from Rowdy's. She's there, drunk and belligerent. I'm on my way to get her. I just hope I can sneak her back into the house without Momma and Daddy knowing."

  "I'll go with you. You might need some help persuading her."

  Maggie wasn't about to argue. She was too grateful for his support and his company. After finding that nasty little surprise in her bed, she still felt shaky and was in no shape to play Superwoman.

  In any case, he didn't give her a chance to refuse.

  Dan reversed out of the drive and waited, and when Maggie shot out onto the road his pickup fell in behind the Viper and stayed on her bumper all the way to Rowdy's.

  When they entered the bar Rowdy looked up from drying a beer glass. He nodded toward the opposite end of the bar, where Jo Beth sat swaying on a stool and making eyes at a biker type in black leather pants and vest and no shirt.

  Located on the main highway, Rowdy's Bar attracted a lot of people who were just passing through. One look told Maggie this guy was definitely not a local.

  The man looked to be about thirty, with long, dirty hair and a beard. Tattoos covered both arms from shoulder to wrist. An earring pierced one eyebrow, and beneath the leather vest another glinted in his right nipple when he moved.

  Maggie slipped her hand inside her purse and gripped the stun gun she had started carrying after that frightening episode in the orchard and headed that way.

  The usual Friday night crowd filled the bar. People stared as she wound her way through the patrons, and a few old acquaintances called greetings. Maggie waved and smiled, but she didn't stop to talk.

  The man talking to Jo Beth glanced up at Maggie's approach, and his eyes widened. Immediately a wolfish look settled over his face.

  "Well now, hell-lo, gorgeous."

  Attempting to see who had caught his eye, Jo Beth twisted around on the stool and nearly fell off.

  When she saw Maggie she scowled. "Whad're you doin' here?"

  "Hey, don't I know you?"

  "No." Trying to ignore the three studs piercing the man's tongue, Maggie picked up her sister's purse from the bar and hooked it on her shoulder with her own, then slipped
her arm around the girl's waist. "Come along, honey. Time to go home."

  "No, I don't wanna go home. An' you can't make me. I'm eighteen now, ya know."

  "Yes, I know."

  "Hey, I do know you from somewhere."

  "Naw, you jush think you do. Thish is my big-shot supermodel sithter," Jo Beth declared with drunken scorn.

  The biker snapped his fingers. "Yeah, right. You're that Maggie Malone chick! Yo, mama, how 'bout I buy you a beer an' you and me get acquainted."

  Maggie felt Dan stiffen, but before he could intervene she shot the man a blistering look. "Not interested."

  "You think you're something, don'tcha. Big schel-leb-ritty." Jo Beth hiccoughed and banged her fist on the bar. "Hey! I need a drink down here!"

  "It's time to take you home."

  "Maggie's right. Let's go, short stuff."

  With an effort, Jo Beth fastened her blurry gaze on Dan and gave him a sloppy grin. "Well lookie who's here. Hey, Dan, you know what? I'm eighteen."

  "Yeah, kiddo, I know."

  "Nuh-uh. Not a kid anymore. I'm all grown-up now."

  "Uh-huh. But it's still time to go home," he said, lending his support on her other side as Maggie tugged the girl off the stool.

  "Hey! Whadda you think you're doing? Me'n her was talkin'."

  The biker, for all his brawn, was several inches shorter than Dan. Thrusting his jaw out, Dan bent over and got in his face. "Yeah, well, you're done now. Get out of our way, asshole. We're taking this girl home."

  The other man tensed, and for what seemed like an eternity to Maggie the two men stared each other down, eyeball to eyeball, each spoiling for a fight. She held her breath, but finally the other man stepped back and curled his lip.

  "Hell, take her. She's just a snot-nosed kid, anyway. She ain't worth it."

  "I am not either a kid, you jerk. Hit 'im, Dan. Go on, punch his lights out."

  "Will you pipe down?" Maggie said, and hustled the girl away and out of the bar.

  Though humid and still warm for November, the night breeze was refreshing after the smoke and stale-beer smells of the bar. Maggie drew a deep breath the instant they stepped outside and firmly steered the wobbly girl across the parking lot toward her car.

  "You know, sugar, not that I don't appreciate your help," she drawled over Jo Beth's head. "But the whole point of this little excursion was to get her home without Daddy ever finding out. When you and Marlon Branflakes squared off back there I could see tomorrow's headline. Maggie Malone and Sister Arrested in Barroom Brawl."

  "It never entered my mind that he wouldn't back off. That type usually does. But if he hadn't you were supposed to duck and ran and haul short stuff outta there before the sheriff arrived."

  "Oh, I see. That was the plan."

  "I wisch you woulda hit him," Jo Beth mumbled. "He called me a kid."

  "Yeah, well, maybe next time. Now, in you go, short stuff."

  When they had Jo Beth buckled into the passenger seat and Maggie got behind the wheel, Dan leaned down beside the driver's window. "I'll be right behind you." With a thump on the Viper's hood he strode away and climbed into his pickup.

  Rowdy's was about three miles north of the city limits. As Maggie turned south and headed toward Ruby Falls, she glanced over at her sister.

  The girl sat with her head resting against the back of the seat, her eyes closed. Maggie pressed a button and lowered the passenger window. "If you feel sick, holler and I'll pull over."

  Jo Beth grunted.

  The night air rushing in blew her dark hair every which way, but it seemed to sober her a bit. Opening her eyes, she rolled her head on the seat back and looked at Maggie.

  "You think I'm dumb, don'tcha?"

  "Dumb? No. A little foolish, maybe, but that's not fatal. Or permanent. At least, it doesn't have to be."

  A few seconds of silence ticked by. When Maggie glanced at her sister again she had turned sideways and sat facing her, huddled in a ball. Tears of misery rolled down her cheeks.

  "Hey, don't cry, sweetie. It's not that bad."

  "Ye-yes it is. I-I don't want to upset Da-Daddy. I don't. Eschpechially not now. But he jusch makes me so ma-mad."

  "Yes, he can do that, all right," Maggie agreed, but she didn't pressure her for more. Instead, she pulled a couple of tissues from the console and handed them over.

  After a period of sniffling, Jo Beth dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose, then grew quiet—but only for a moment.

  "I'm not going to college. I don't care what he says," she declared defiantly, as though expecting Maggie to argue. When she didn't, the girl gave her a wary look. "He hasn't given up on that, you know. He sent in all those applications himself. I keep tellin' him I'm not a brain like you, but he jush wo-won't listen. He still thinks I'm gonna run the company shum day, even though you've already taken over."

  Maggie's hands tightened around the steering wheel. Well, what did you expect, Mag? He said it was just a temporary arrangement.

  "I won't do it. I can't. I'm like Momma, I don't have a head for business and math and all that kinda boring stuff. No matter what Daddy says, I'm gonna be an actress."

  Maggie sighed. "Jo Beth, I hate to say this, but I have to agree with Daddy."

  "What! Oh, thas so unfair! You followed your dream an' went to New York an' became a model, even though it broke Momma's heart. But I can't follow my dream? That sucks!"

  Maggie winced. She had not planned to become a model at all. It had not been a dream, but a nightmare that had sent her scurrying to New York seven years ago. Her little sister seemed to have conveniently forgotten that fact, but she didn't bother to point it out to her. Instead, she said gently, "Ah, but if you'll recall, I had already finished college when I went to New York."

  "I don' care. I'm not wasting four years of my life on somethin' I have no intenshun of doing."

  "Look, I don't mean you shouldn't pursue an acting career, if that's really what you want. I'm just saying it would be smart to get an education first so that if it doesn't work out, you'll have something to fall back on.

  "Go to college, but choose one with a strong drama department so that you can learn the craft. That way you'll satisfy Daddy by getting a degree—maybe not in business, but in something that will prepare you for life. At the same time, you'll be getting experience and honing your talent so that when you do give show business a try, you'll have a better chance of success."

  A glance at her sister revealed that a contemplative frown had replaced the girl's belligerent expression, but how much of what she'd said had penetrated Jo Beth's alcohol-befuddled brain was questionable.

  "So how does that sound to you?"

  "I donno."

  Turning into their driveway, Maggie felt an urgent need to convince Jo Beth, aware that she might not have another chance to talk to her this way. "You don't have to decide tonight. Just promise me that you'll think about it. Okay?"

  Jo Beth again sent her a blurry-eyed look of suspicion. "Wha's it to you, anyway?"

  Maggie brought the car to a stop at the front of the house and glanced in the rear mirror at Dan's headlights coming up behind them. She looked at her sister through the dimness and put her hand on the girl's arm. "Believe it or not, I do care about you. I love you, sis."

  Jo Beth blinked owlishly at her.

  Dan opened the passenger door, and the moment passed.

  "Everything okay?"

  "Yes," Maggie said, and climbed from the car.

  He helped guide Jo Beth as far as the front door, but Maggie declined his offer to carry her to her room.

  "The fewer people tromping around upstairs, the less chance of waking Momma and Daddy. I can take it from here, thanks," she whispered. "Oh, and Dan," she added when he started to leave.

  He turned back and cocked one eyebrow. "Yes?"

  Maggie gazed at him through the darkness. He was so rock steady and reliable, so strong, and she thought how wonderful it would be to put her head on that broad chest and
unload, to tell him her worries and fears, to share with him that someone had slashed her tires and put a rat in her bed, and how violated that made her feel. To feel his arms around her.

  "Thanks for going with me."

  For several seconds he returned her gaze, his pale eyes intense and unfathomable, glittering in the darkness of the porch. Finally he nodded. "No problem."

  Then he loped down the steps and strode away, and Maggie sighed.

  Though the going was a bit wobbly, they managed fairly well until they reached the top of the stairs and Jo Beth let out a groan.

  "I'm gonna be sick," she gasped.

  "Shh. You'll wake everyone."

  "Ooooh!"

  "Hold on, hold on," Maggie whispered urgently. "We're almost to your room."

  "Oh! Oh! Here it comes!"

  Half carrying, half dragging her, Maggie shoved her sister into her bedroom and ran her to the adjoining bathroom. They barely made it in time.

  Like a collapsing sack of feed, Jo Beth sank to her knees in front of the commode and hung over the rim.

  "That's it. Get it all out. You'll feel better when you're done," Maggie crooned. She held the girl's dark hair back with one hand and cupped her forehead with the other while she lost the contents of her stomach in a series of violent and noisy convulsions.

  Through it all, every few seconds Maggie glanced over her shoulder, worrying about whether she'd shut the bedroom door, worrying that Jo Beth's loud retching and moaning would reach their parents' room. Lily, particularly, had ears like a hawk whenever one of her chicks was ill.

  "Ooooh, I'm gonna die," Jo Beth moaned. "I'm gonna die right here, on the bathroom floor with my head in a toilet."

  "You're not going to die. You're just going to wish you would. Now, look up. That's a girl." Hooking her finger beneath Jo Beth's chin, Maggie tilted her head up and wiped her face with a cool cloth. Then she handed her a paper cup filled with water. "Swish and spit. There you go. Good girl. Now again."

  When Jo Beth was done she helped her to her feet.

  "I feel awful," the girl groaned.

  "I know. You're probably going to be sick several more times before morning."