Death Comes in Threes

by Marja McGraw

  “Chrissy says she’s doing really well in school this year. She’s such a smart little thing.”

  Dolly passed my mother on her way to the living room to call Chrissy. My mother looked tired, but what else could I expect?

  I poured her a cup of coffee. “Dolly is going to go stay with her granddaughter for a while,” I said.

  Mother nodded and sat down at the kitchen table, pulling her mug close and sniffing the welcome morning scent the coffee provided.

  “She wants to show us some of her self-defense moves before she leaves. Are you ready for that?”

  “Not really, but I’ll play along. It was a long night and I’m pooped.” She took a sip of coffee and pushed the cup away. “Coffee doesn’t taste good this morning.”

  “I’ll make you some tea. Officer Post was already here to take my statement about what happened. He’ll be back to talk to the rest of you.” I put a kettle on to heat water for tea.

  She nodded again.

  “I gave the knife David left here to Officer Post.” I wasn’t sure why, but I couldn’t seem to start a conversation with my mother. Anything I could say would seem anticlimactic. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing considering what our lives had been like for the past few days.

  “Good. I’m glad to have that thing out of here.”

  Dolly returned to the kitchen. “Chrissy is going to leave work early and come pick me up after lunchtime. I told her I didn’t want to get her in trouble with her boss, but she said he’d understand. Oh, and I told her the bug story. She was fine with that.”

  “Bug story?” Mother glanced up at Dolly with raised eyebrows.

  “Sandi suggested I tell Chrissy that my house is being bug-bombed so I wouldn’t have to tell her why I’m really staying with her.”

  Dolly sat down at the table just as Felicity walked into the kitchen.

  “Who’s got bugs?” Felicity stopped next to Dolly.

  “Nobody. I just told my granddaughter that so she won’t wonder why I want to stay with her for a few days.”

  “Oh. Makes sense to me.” Felicity turned off the burner under the kettle and poured two cups of tea, one for herself and one for whoever wanted it. “So you’re going to stay with your granddaughter? I think that’s probably for the best, at least for now.”

  Dolly nodded.

  Mother reached out and took the second cup.

  “Morning, Livvie. How’d you sleep?” Felicity sat on the fourth chair at the table.

  “Not nearly well enough. How about you?”

  “Not nearly well enough.”

  We were all quiet and contemplative while Dolly started preparing breakfast for my mother and friend. I listened to the eggs sizzle and watched her put the cheese on the toast.

  Dolly brought two plates to the table. “Okay, as soon as you eat we’ll start work on my self-defense class.”

  Felicity raised her eyes in Dolly’s direction.

  “Yes, I’m the teacher today. I’m going to show you ladies how to protect yourselves. Anybody got a problem with that?”

  We each shook our head and waited. Dolly seemed to be taking control, and we were just tired enough to let her do it.

  When everyone was finished eating, Sgt. Dolly sent everyone to change into comfortable clothing. I was already wearing sweat pants, so I cleaned up the kitchen and after drying my hands I met them in the living room.

  Dolly was standing at attention in front of the coffee table, which she’d moved back against the couch. “Alright, ladies, I’ve been thinking about this. We don’t really have enough time for me to teach you everything I know.” She spoke loudly, as though standing in front of a large crowd, not three small women. “So, I want you to remember this. If someone is bold enough to attack you, then chances are they are going to try to hurt you.”

  We nodded. This was a Dolly I’d never seen before. I was impressed. I also thought she might be repeating what her instructor had told her.

  She continued. “If someone is likely going to try to hurt you, then you must fight with every fiber of your being. When he’s close enough, stamp on his foot. We’re all relatively small, so stamp hard. You want to do some damage.”

  We nodded.

  “Kick him anywhere you can. Kick him in the ankle, the knee, or you-know-where, if at all possible. No matter what else, don’t just stand there and take what he’s doing. Get angry. Swing. Kick. Scream. Yell 9-1-1 if you can. I know it can be hard to yell and fight at the same time.”

  “Dolly — ” Felicity held up her hand.

  Dolly waved her off. “Questions and answers later.”

  I smiled inwardly, getting a kick out of Dolly’s take charge attitude.

  “When you’re walking somewhere, carry your keys in your hand with one key sticking out between your fingers. That key will make a small but useful weapon.”

  My mother reached over and picked up her keys from the side table and did as Dolly instructed.

  Dolly smiled at her like a teacher approving of a small child’s actions. “Good, Livvie. Now be ready to gouge the attacker in the face or anywhere you can reach.”

  I saw my mother cringe, but she smiled back and made small jabbing gestures.

  “Now I’m going to show you something I showed Sandi a long time ago.”

  I looked at Dolly, trying to remember what she’d shown me.

  “If someone approaches you from the front and puts their hands on your neck, don’t let him strangle you.”

  “Certainly not,” my mother said.

  “No, I mean there’s a way to stop it.” Dolly shook her head before turning to me. “Okay, Sandi, you put your hands around my throat like you’re going to choke me. We’ve had an argument, or you’re a masher, and you’re a murderer at heart. You remember this one, don’t you?”

  “It’s coming back.” I stood in front of her and put my hands around her throat. “Let me know if I hurt you.”

  “Don’t worry, but don’t squeeze while you try not to let go.”

  I did as she asked.

  “We’ll do this in slow motion so your mother and Felicity can see what we’re doing.” Dolly lifted her right arm, reached up and over my left arm, and grabbed my right arm. She brought her left arm up and swung it hard against my arm, the one she was holding with her hand. I couldn’t hang on to her. Instead of dropping her left arm, she continued to swing it and turned slightly. As she brought her arm down, she bent it at the elbow and gently rammed it back, into my belly.

  Mother and Felicity had perked up and watched us intently.

  “I want to try that,” Mother said, turning to Felicity.

  Felicity took a step back. “Wait just a darned minute. Try it on Sandi, not me. Besides, I was there when Dolly showed this to Sandi, and I remember it well. I’ve practiced it on Stan.”

  My mother shrugged and turned to me. I took a step back, but she followed me.

  “Okay, Mother, but don’t take out your frustrations on me.”

  She smiled while I wrapped my hands around her neck.

  I rolled my eyes and let her practice on me. After a couple of practice swings she turned back to Dolly to see if there were more tips.

  “Now I want everyone to run in place. The exercise will wake you up and make you more alert.” Sgt. Dolly had returned.

  I did as she said, mostly trying to humor the little drill sergeant. My mother and Felicity followed suit.

  Dolly showed us a few more of her self-defense moves before telling us to run in place again.

  I stopped and took a deep breath. “Dolly, you need to go over to your house and pack a bag. Give me a minute and I’ll go with you.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Felicity said. “Just let me grab my purse.”

  “Your purse? Why do you need your pocketbook?” Dolly asked.

  “Because my gun’s in it.”

  “Oh.” Dolly watched Felicity retrieve her purse with admiration in her eyes. I hoped Dolly’s next request wouldn’t be a
trip to the gun store. You never knew with her.

  While they were gone, my mother and I took advantage of the quiet and changed clothes, meeting back in the living room. I pushed the coffee table back into place and called Stanley, asking him to come over, and we settled on the couch. Stanley said he’d be over in the afternoon, after they released Glenna and he took her home.

  Mother glanced at her watch. “It’s been twenty minutes. Shouldn’t they be back by now?”

  “How long does it take you to pack?” I asked.

  “Good point.”

  I stood and walked to the window on the side of the house facing Dolly’s home. Glancing out, I saw the upstairs curtains being pulled together and knew it wouldn’t be much longer.

  Bubba paced back and forth on Dolly’s porch as though he knew time was important and he wanted Dolly to hurry up. Every so often he’d look at her door and whine. He thumped his paw against the door.

  Before long I heard Felicity’s voice outside and the two women walked in the front door. My friend carried Dolly’s suitcase. Bubba followed them like a body guard.

  “I know you’ll be careful, but don’t be surprised if I call from time to time to check on you,” Dolly said. “I need to know my girls are okay.”

  “Am I one of your girls?” Mother asked.

  “Livvie, you’re the one I worry about the most. I think you’re the most likely to win the prize for sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

  “You’re probably right.” My mother stood up and gave Dolly a hug. “Sometimes you really do remind me of Sandi’s grandmother. I mean her real grandmother. I think you and my mother would have been good friends.”

  Dolly smiled. “If she was anything like you and Sandi, we would have been like two peas in a pod.”

  Noticing I’d left my curtains open, I walked back to the window and closed them, glancing at Dolly’s house. She’d reopened her curtains, probably watching my house and realizing her plants would need sunlight. I’d miss her while she was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chrissy showed up at one o’clock. Dolly was ready and waiting, with her suitcase sitting by the front door. We’d had lunch while we waited.

  Tammi bounced through the front door like a small whirlwind. “Where’s Bubba? Hi, Sandi. Hi, everybody.”

  “He’s in the kitchen. You can go see him.”

  “Can we go outside and play?”

  How could I tell a small child it might not be safe in my yard? “Bubba’s kind of tired today. Why don’t you just play with him in the kitchen?”

  “Okay.” Tammi ran through the house making a lot of noise. Bubba, who’d apparently heard Tammi’s voice, watched her from the kitchen door with his tail wagging in giant circles.

  Chrissy shook her head. “I think we’re going to have to look into getting a dog. Maybe we can do that while you’re visiting, Grandma. What do you think?”

  Dolly smiled. “I think that’s a grand idea. We’ll visit the pound this afternoon.”

  “Maybe in the morning. It’s getting late.” Chrissy sat down on the couch, ready to visit for a few minutes.

  Dolly took hold of her hand and tried to pull her back up. Chrissy gave her a questioning look, but stood.

  “Grandma, I’m so glad you want to stay with Tammi and me. We’ve missed you so much.” Chrissy gave her grandmother a long hug. “We don’t get to see each other nearly often enough.”

  “Well, sweetheart, we’ve got a few days to make up for it.” Dolly hugged her in return and patted her back. “We’d better get a move on. It’s a long drive to Covina and, like you said, it’s getting late.”

  “Where’s Miss Kitty?” Chrissy looked around the room, looking for a cat crate.

  “She seems to have a kitty flu, so she’s at the veterinarian’s office for a few days,” Dolly explained. She didn’t look her granddaughter in the eye.

  Chrissy turned to me. “Sandi, I can’t thank you enough for taking care of my grandmother. I feel so much more at ease knowing you’re living next door to her.”

  My face felt warm from the guilt I was feeling. Hopefully Chrissy would think I was embarrassed by the compliment. “You know I adore your grandmother. I couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

  We all turned at the sound of Tammi squealing. It was a sound of joy, not terror. Bubba thought the little girl was his own personal possession, from all appearances. He was very gentle and protective of her, even when they played.

  “Come on, Tammi,” Chrissy called. “We’ve got to head home so we can get Grandma settled.”

  Tammi ran out from the kitchen. “Can we get a dog like Bubba?” she asked.

  “Maybe not just like Bubba, but we’ll find one you can love and play with, okay? Maybe a smaller version of Bubba? Grandma is going to go to the animal shelter with us tomorrow.”

  Tammi grabbed Dolly’s hand. “Oh, Grandma, let’s go home and find a place for my new dog to sleep. We’ll have to get his stuff ready. You know, like a food dish – ”

  “Yes, dear, we’ll buy everything your doggie will need.” Dolly let go of Tammi’s hand and gave me a hug.

  I hugged her back. “We’ll miss you, Dolly.”

  She patted my back and whispered in my ear. “Don’t forget to tell the police about Felicity’s cell phone. It could be important, you know. I’ve seen things on copper shows on television.”

  “I’ll call Rick as soon as you’re safely away.”

  “What’s that about being safe?” Chrissy asked.

  “I was saying I’ll feel better about your grandmother’s safety after they bomb her house with a bug bomb.” Either Chrissy had great hearing or Dolly and I’d been talking louder than we realized.

  I walked out to the car with Dolly and her family, constantly looking around. I hoped Chrissy wouldn’t notice. I needn’t have worried. She was busy strapping Tammi in the back seat, and Tammi was telling her mother she hoped Bubba and the new dog would get along. They waved as they drove away, and I took a deep, cleansing breath. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about Dolly. That just left my mother and Felicity.

  The three of us settled in the living room and quiet descended.

  Felicity rubbed her arms as though she was cold. “I have a bad feeling, and it’s not going away. I think it’s a good thing we got Dolly out of here.”

  Nodding, I stood up. “I’m going to call Rick. Dolly reminded me about your cell phone, and he needs to know, too. Maybe they can pinpoint where David is hiding through the GPS.”

  I left my mother and Felicity to talk and walked to the kitchen. After checking to make sure the back door was still locked, I picked up the phone and called Rick. Thankfully, he was in.

  “Rick, I forgot to tell Officer Post that David took Felicity’s cell phone. Can you use her phone to find him?”

  “That’s actually good news for a change. If the phone is turned on, then we may be able to track him. Normally we’d have to get a court order, but these circumstances might make that unnecessary. You know, the responding officers checked houses again last night, but there wasn’t a sign of Smith.”

  “Officer Post told me. Have I mentioned how much I appreciate what you’ve all been doing? I know everyone has been thorough, so I can’t figure out where David is hiding.”

  “Neither can we. I’ve never felt quite so inept, Sandi. It’s like he snaps his fingers and disappears.” I could hear his frustration. “Let me talk to Felicity so I can take down some information. I want to get on this as fast as possible.”

  “Hold on.”

  I called out to Felicity and she joined us in the kitchen.

  “By the way, Rick, we sent Dolly away until this is over. I thought you should know.” It might take some pressure off Rick if he had one less woman to worry about.

  “Good call. Where’d she go?”

  “She’s going to stay with her granddaughter for a few days.”

  “Okay. Let me talk to Felicity now.”
r />   I handed her the phone and opened the chocolate drawer. I needed something sweet and tasty.

  Felicity sat down at the kitchen table and held out her hand. Picking out her favorite type of candy bar, I passed it across the table to her.

  I started to sit down but had second thoughts. Opening the drawer again, I picked out a third candy bar and took it to my mother.

  “Thanks, precious. I don’t eat chocolate as often as you do, but it’ll hit the spot right now.”

  I raised my eyebrows at my mother. “Precious? Since when do you call me precious?”

  “Since I began worrying about you and David. You are precious to me, Sandi. Unfortunately, I have the same feeling as Felicity, like things are close to coming to a head. Are you sure you won’t come back to my house in Arizona and let the police catch this buzzard?”

  “I’m sure, Mom. David has managed to elude the police so far, even though we know he’s close enough to watch the house. He’s sneaky. I believe if we try to leave, he’ll just follow us. I mentioned once before that I feel safer being in familiar territory. That hasn’t changed.”

  “You said you want to draw him out. What if Felicity and I go to Dolly’s house. He’ll think you’re alone again. You’ve got the walkie talkie, so we can come running. Well, one of us can call the police and one of us can come running.”

  “He knows we tried to trick him before, when you parked on the next street and snuck through the backyard. He’ll be watching for tricks. Stanley should be here before long. The four of us can try to come up with a plan.”

  Felicity joined us in the living room. “Rick said to tell you he’s on it. With any luck David has the phone on and they’ll be able to find him.”

  “I sure hope so. Of course, if this were a fictional mystery, that would be too easy.” My mother picked up one of my new books and read the story description on the back cover.

  “This is real life, not a book, so let’s hope for the best.” Felicity picked up one of the other books.