A Game of Dons

by Nic Saint

  “Well, we’re home but we’re not safe, honey,” said Rick. He gestured to the mess the killer had made of their sofa, the wall and part of the kitchen.

  “Yeah, I think we’ll be much safer in the house of a well-known mobster than here,” said Reece.

  “We can’t stay here,” Alice agreed. “For one thing, this guy knows where we live. And he might be back.”

  “To murder us in our sleep!” Fee cried. She shivered visibly. “So maybe we’ll stay with my folks?”

  “Or we could stay with mine,” said Alice. “They have a spare bedroom and a couple of very comfortable couches.”

  “Why don’t we decide later,” Rick suggested. “Right now we need to get going if we’re going to make it to the party.”

  “Wait, aren’t we going to call my dad?” said Alice. “We were just attacked. We should call the police.”

  “And miss the party? No way!” said Reece. “Ricky is right, dude. We can’t miss that party.”

  “I’ll call it in now,” said Rick. “Though I have a feeling the entire Happy Bays Police Department is going to be at the party tonight, just like every other citizen of Happy Bays.”

  Fee wavered. She didn’t want to leave the house. She wanted to do the right thing. On the other hand, she knew from experience that if they called the police now, it might be hours before they were allowed to leave, and they could say goodbye to the big party.

  “All right, let’s go to the party first, and call the police later. It’s not as if there’s a lot they can do. Whoever did this will be long gone by now.”

  She stared at the window, where the curtains were now flapping in the breeze. At the very least they had to board it up. So she and Rick went into the basement to get some plywood, Reece took pictures of the damage for the insurance, while Alice sent a quick text to her dad, just to let him know what happened, and that they were all fine. And as Reece and Rick nailed the boards to the window, the Chief texted back, ‘You were attacked?!!!!!!’

  ‘Yeah, Dad,’ Alice texted back. ‘By some dude on a motorcycle.’

  ‘I’m coming over.’

  ‘We won’t be here. The party, remember?’

  ‘How can you think about a party when you were just attacked?!!!!!!’

  ‘It’s no big deal. Tell Mom not to worry.’

  ‘This is your mother, Alice. You’re not to go anywhere. You’re to lock yourself up in the basement and wait for your father to arrive.’

  ‘I’ll see you at the party, Mom. Wear something nice.’

  ‘Alice Whitehouse!!!!’

  ‘C U L8R!’

  Chapter 27

  Heike Grabarski had had the worst birthday ever. At least so far. He’d had a pre-birthday party last night, had gotten completely and utterly wasted, and had woken up on the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, dressed in a pink tutu and not much else.

  “Great joke, you guys,” he’d muttered as he groped around for his phone. Like most kids his age his phone was practically glued to his hand, only it hadn’t been when he woke up, which made him feel like he’d just lost a limb. With no phone and no way to reach either his buddies or Eddy to send the limo to pick him up, he was forced to walk home—a hike of ten miles in the blazing sun, dressed like an idiot, with cars honking at him at every step.

  He’d finally made it home and had found the house in turmoil. His Mom was a mess, because some idiot had killed his stepbrother which threatened to ruin the big party she’d planned for Heike, and Eddy was blowing his top over Vic’s death.

  Then his sister had arrived home, screaming something about missing her hairdresser’s appointment and someone stealing her shoes, car and dog, and as if that wasn’t enough, some lunatic had invited the whole town to his birthday party.

  He had half a mind to skip the whole thing and spend the day in bed, but Mom wouldn’t have it. Even though canceling seemed like the appropriate thing to do, given what happened to his stepbro. And neither would Eddy, though that was probably because he didn’t want to lose the money Mom spent on caterers, DJs, party planners and whatever. Eddy was loaded, but he was also tight, and hated losing money.

  Heike thought Eddy took the news of Vic’s death, and some douchebags lugging his body all over town like some kind of sick joke, pretty well. Then again, Vic was forty or something, so he was old, and old people die. And then there was the fact that Vic was a gangster, like his dad, and everybody knows getting whacked is a job hazard for gangsters.

  Heike and Gertrude hadn’t known Vic all that well. Mom had married Eddy when they were both teenagers, and even though they met their new stepbrother from time to time, Vic lived one town over with his girlfriend, and they rarely saw him. Probably a good thing. Vic was a psycho who liked to beat up women. Case in point: his girlfriend would sometimes come over to talk to Mom, covered in bruises, her face black and blue. Sick.

  He was actually feeling slightly better after having taken a bath and a nap, and once he was dressed and his hair was styled and he looked his snazzy self again, he was actually starting to look forward to tonight. A guy only turns twenty-one once, right? And all his buddies were going to be there, and he was so going to find out who put him in that tutu and thought it was a good idea to steal his phone. And then he was going to do the same to them. Worse. He’d ship their ass to Mexico, like in that Michael Douglas movie.

  He descended the stairs, and was surprised that so few people were there. It was still early, of course. His mom was in the kitchen, fighting the good fight with the caterer, and he walked up to her. When she saw him, she gushed, “Heike! You look gorgeous!”

  “Thanks, Mom,” he said. Of course he looked gorgeous. He was born gorgeous.

  Eddy was on the deck, gabbing a mile a minute into his phone as usual.

  “So what’s Eddy up to?” he asked.

  “Oh, still handling that thing with your stepbrother,” said his mother while she mussed up his hair and tugged at his shirt. “Someone’s been playing a very mean trick on your stepdad. They’re putting poor Vic’s body in different places and then taking pictures and posting them on Instagram. It’s disgusting.”

  “Yeah, I saw that,” he said. “Ballsy move on their part.”

  “Not ballsy. Stupid. When Eddy gets his hands on them… But let’s not talk about that. We’ve got nothing to do with Eddy and Vic and their business dealings. Tonight is all about you.” She stepped back to give him the once-over. “Oh, sweetheart.” She teared up.

  “Mom,” he groaned.

  “I’m sorry. I just can’t believe you’re twenty-one now.”

  “Yeah, well, age is just a number.”

  She laughed through her tears. “Gorgeous and wise.” She squeezed his cheek. “Have fun, my sweet. And don’t drink too much. And no drugs. And if you meet a girl—”

  “Use protection. I know, Mom.”

  “You don’t want some skank to give you STDs.”

  “Geez, Mom. Nice.”

  Mom returned to her quarrel with the caterer and Heike plucked a glass of bubbly from a tray on the kitchen island. He walked out onto the deck, ignoring Eddy, and stared out at the backyard, which stretched practically all the way to the ocean, ending in a nice little patch of private beach. Eddy might be a crook, but he knew how to live in style.

  The sun was edging down into the ocean, and a pool boy was fishing the last few bugs out of the pool then switching on the underwater lights. White tents had been set up for the caterers to serve food, and the DJ was testing the sound equipment, driving a fat beat through the speakers. All in all, the scene was set for a great party. He just hoped not too many locals would turn up and ruin things. Those rubes would probably eat all the food, drink up all the booze and then pee in the pool and make a total nuisance of themselves.

  His sister joined him. “This has got to be the worst day of my life,” she lamented.

  “It’s about to improve,” he said, clinking his glass against hers. She’d opted for something pi
nk. Probably Smirnoff Ice Raspberry, her current favorite drink.

  “You’re all right,” she said with a pout. “Nobody stole your dog from the pet parlor.”

  “They still haven’t found Apple?”

  “No. The stupid woman who runs the store swears up and down I picked her up this afternoon while I didn’t. Apparently some woman has been going around town, pretending to be me, and playing all kinds of sick jokes on me. Can you believe she even bought my BMW? The blue G29 I ordered months ago? And she made Eddy pay for it.”

  “No way,” he said with a little chuckle.

  “It’s not funny, Heike,” said Gertrude, slapping his shoulder lightly.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get your car, and Eddy will get whoever is behind this.”

  “All I care about is Apple. She must be terrified, being dognapped by a stranger.”

  Guests were starting to arrive, and Heike recognized several people from town. Ugh.

  “The stiffs have arrived,” he said, gesturing to the Mayor of Happy Bays and his wife.

  “Who are those people?” Gertrude asked as she gestured to two couples who’d just arrived and were checking out the pool. One of the women was a busty redhead in a gold-lamé dress, the other a petite blonde in a hot little black number.

  “Isn’t that... Reece Hudson?” said Heike. “I’ll be damned, it is.”

  “Ooh, the celebrities have arrived,” said Gertrude. “Let’s go down and say hi.”

  And as they walked the few steps down from the deck to the pool area, they didn’t notice that a man dressed in black leather from head to toe stood watching them intently from a window on the second floor. Then again, the man in black didn’t notice he was being watched, too. By a round-faced freckled youth in a loud Hawaiian shirt and floral-pattern Bermudas. Both of them missed the woman watching the goings-on from a yacht moored to the marina less than a hundred yards away. She was looking through her binoculars and seemed fixed on the man of the house: Eddy Grabarski. She whipped her blond hair across her shoulders and picked up her phone. “Time to make our move,” she said.

  “Gotcha,” said her associate.

  Chapter 28

  “Nice place,” said Alice as she looked around. The house was one of those modern structures that look like an architect had been playing with concrete blocks, haphazardly piling one on top of the other: in those blocks floor-to-ceiling windows had been placed, making the whole thing look futuristic. Or very fifties, depending on how you looked at it.

  “All built with blood money, no doubt,” said Fee, who was a very socially conscious person.

  “Blood money or not, you have to admire the guy’s pizzazz,” said Reece.

  “I think I interviewed him once,” said Rick, musing.

  “And? Was it an interesting interview?” asked Fee.

  “I don’t think so, or else Ricky would remember. Isn’t that right, Ricky?” said Reece.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” said Rick, frowning as he tried to recollect. Rick had interviewed so many people that he could be forgiven not to remember all of his interview subjects.

  Alice’s dad had arrived, with Mom, and they joined them now. Mom looked furious. “Didn’t I tell you to lock yourself up in the basement? You could have been killed!”

  “The guy missed, Mom. Relax. Besides, he wasn’t aiming at me. He was aiming at Rick.”

  “Or me,” said Reece, who didn’t want Rick to hog all the attention.

  “Are you all right, Ricky?” asked Mom.

  “I’m fine, Mrs. Whitehouse. Reece saved me.”

  “I did,” said Reece, nodding and clapping a hand on Rick’s shoulder.

  “I’ve sent some people over to your house,” said Alice’s dad. “Did you get a good look at the shooter?”

  Rick shook his head. “I was too busy hiding behind the couch.”

  “Mh,” grunted Dad. “How about you, Reece?”

  “I was too busy saving Ricky’s life, Chief. But I’m pretty sure he was driving a motorcycle. I heard the roar as he pulled away.”

  “This town is turning into the wild, wild West,” growled Dad. “Mobsters being killed, bodies paraded around town, drive-by shootings… I won’t stand for it. This has got to stop.” He directed a searing look at Rick, as if he was the one responsible for all the mayhem.

  Rick cleared his throat nervously. “So… nice party, huh?”

  “Mh,” the Chief grumbled.

  “Lovely dress, by the way, Mrs. Whitehouse,” said Reece.

  “Why, thank you, Reece. You look very nice yourself. And you, honey.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  Conversation faltered, mainly because Dad was looking like a man loaded for bear. He never could leave his work behind, Alice thought, which occasionally drove Mom crazy.

  A server hovered nearby with a tray of hors d’oeuvres and Mom picked one. “Don’t mind if I do,” she said, and took a glass of bubbly from another tray, too. “Well. It’s so nice to be out and about, don’t you think?” she said, trying to lighten the mood. “How long has it been since we went to a party? Must be months.” She gave Dad a slightly reproachful look.

  “I’m Chief of Police, honey,” said Dad, “not a politician.”

  “You don’t have to be a politician to be invited to parties, Dad,” said Alice with a laugh.

  “It helps,” her dad grunted, then took her aside. “You’re not thinking about going back to that house, are you? Do you have a place to stay?”

  “Reece and I could stay with you,” she said, “and Rick and Fee at her folks.”

  “Mh,” said Dad, not all that excited about the prospect of having Reece as a lodger.

  “Dad, Rick thinks the attack might have something to do with this Grabarski business.”

  “Could be,” said her dad, rubbing his jowly cheeks. “Could very well be.”

  She decided to have it out once and for all. “I have a feeling you know more about this than you’re telling me. What’s the deal with you and Deanna Kohl? And why is she after the Grabarskis?”

  “I have no idea, honey. Honest!” he said, but he wasn’t looking her straight in the eye.

  “Dad,” she said. “You can tell me.”

  He seemed to waver, then said, “Deanna called me about a week ago. Asked about Vic Grabarski. I told her the guy was bad news, and that she should stay away. Next thing I know Virgil is on the phone, telling me he’d helped her dispose of Vic’s body.”

  “But how do you even know Deanna?”

  “I told you. From the academy.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why you would offer to help her—and why you would allow Virgil to get off scot-free when he clearly broke the law!”

  “I’m sorry, honey. I don’t know what to tell you…”

  “You can tell me the truth!”

  Mom had walked up. “These hors d’oeuvres are to die for. I can’t wait to see what they’ll serve up next.” She smiled at her daughter. “What are you two whispering about?”

  “Dad invited me and Reece to stay at the house—at least until he catches the guy that tried to shoot Rick.”

  “I’ll have to get the spare room ready,” said Mom. “And that mattress is awfully small, Alice.” She turned to her husband, already planning this out. “Maybe you can drop by King Koil tomorrow and pick out a bigger mattress?”

  “Or I can pick up their mattress from the house,” Dad suggested.

  “Better get a new one. And pick up some fresh sheets while you’re at it.” She was frowning. “What does Reece like to eat? He’s not a vegetarian, is he?”

  “Mom—Mom!” said Alice with a laugh. “We’re not moving in—just staying for a couple of days, max.”

  Mom’s face sagged. “Only a couple of days? I was just looking forward to having my baby home again.”

  “Geez,” Dad muttered, and picked up a glass of champagne and drank it down.

  Alice joined her friends again. “What’s wrong?” asked Fee. “Did y
our dad say something about the attack?”

  “He’ll look into it. He agrees it’s probably connected to the Grabarski thing.” Her eyes drifted to the house, now illuminated by several floodlights, and she noticed a man watching them intently from a window on the second floor. She started. “Don’t look now, but there’s a guy checking us out!”

  Of course they all looked in the direction she was indicating, and the black-clad man immediately moved into the shadows.

  “Let’s follow him!” said Reece.

  “I don’t know, Reece,” said Rick. “If this is the man who tried to shoot me…”

  “So? He won’t try again. Not with all these witnesses around. Now is our chance to corner him and make him tell us who he’s working for!”

  “Let’s go,” said Alice, and they quickly made their way to the stairs, Rick trailing behind. He obviously wasn’t too keen on meeting the man who’d tried to kill him.

  They scooted up the steps, then along the deck and into the house. The place was abuzz with activity, with servers moving to and fro and white-jacketed caterers shouting orders in the kitchen. They moved to a staircase leading to the second floor and then up.

  “The game’s afoot!” Reece cried when they arrived on the landing.

  “So not Hercule Poirot,” Rick grumbled.

  Alice did some quick calculations in her mind, trying to figure out which room the man in black could be in, but Fee beat her to it. She made a beeline for the second door on the left, and pushed down on the handle.

  They all filed into the room… which was empty, apart from a massive amount of junk littering the floor, the bed, and every available surface. Football posters adorned the walls, and judging from the clothes this might very well be Heike Grabarski’s room.

  Alice moved to the window and looked out. “I don’t think it was this one,” she said.

  “Obviously,” Rick muttered, but he seemed relieved.

  Reece wasn’t to be deterred by this setback. He’d opened the door again and peered along the corridor. “Coast is clear!” he loud-whispered.

  “Clear for what?” asked Rick. “We’re not SEAL Team Six, Reece. There’s no point trying to find this guy. Besides, he could just be the butler. Or a housekeeper. Or a cleaner!”