by Ellen, Tracy
Running into Jazy in the hallway, she said, “The bartender told me the man at the bar was an undercover cop. He saw him badge and cuff the girls. Then he marched them out of here with one hand while he talked in his radio and requested a car to pick them up with his other! They went along, laughing and giggling. Nobody even noticed anything was going on!” Jazy’s face exploded in a big grin. “What the hell are they up to, Bel?”
Whipping out my phone, I texted Boyd to bring the limo around while saying, “It’s my fault. Come on, it’s 11:15. We’ve got to get this taken care of before it’s time to rescue Blanca. Let’s get everyone and follow them to the police station.”
Tre J and Layla came stumbling after us. Tre was moving my cousin along by the scruff of her neck, or so it appeared. Layla’s feet were barely touching the ground, as she smiled and waved to her new friends while wiping the tears from her eyes. She was moaning something about Papa Josef fitting her for a pair of cement shoes for letting him down.
Mac, Anna, and Stella had our coats over their arms and we hastily said our goodbye’s to everyone. Reggie and Diego waved us off over their beers. I had no idea what Mac and Anna told their men about why we were leaving in such a hurry, but they obviously were buying it.
I stopped long enough to whisper to Crookie that we’d be home by 12:30 ish and he nodded amiably in agreement with no questions asked. Passing by Eric George, it wasn’t possible to have the conversation I wanted. I had to be content with the look of shock on his face when I sent him the thrusting Viggo V, which actually said it all quite succinctly.
‘Man, no words can describe the awesomeness of that move when done with feeling!’
Running after the girls, I dashed up the steps and into the waiting Limo.
Tapping the open partition, I requested, ‘Off to Bel’s parking lot, Boyd, my good man!” To my oldest sister, I said, “Please give Tre the keys to the Honda and we’ll take two cars to the station. We’ll get the girls out of hock, and then you can drop them off at the apartment before taking the limo back to your house. We’ll meet up again there with Blanca, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan to me! Hey, why were Celeste and Misty arrested for soliciting? Did they feel around in his pants to measure his penis?” Mac asked giggling, and her words were a little slushy, too. She threw the keys in Tre’s general direction and the tall girl stuck out a long arm to nab them one-handed before they hit Anna in the face.
I smiled, hedging, “I’m not sure what they actually did to get arrested. I was in the bathroom.”
The limo pulled into the parking lot behind Bel’s and stopped by Mac’s Honda Accord. It was parked next to Tre’s monster truck and Crookie’s Land Rover. My brother’s red truck was parked a couple spaces over.
Tre and I hopped out and switched cars. The limo sped off and we soon followed. The cop station was only a few short blocks away across the Water St. Bridge and on the corner of the intersection at Hwy 3. As Tre turned into the parking lot, I took a deep breath and pressed speed dial for Chief Jack Banner.
Before he answered, I asked Tre, “Do you mind telling everyone to stay put while I talk to Jack?”
Tre left me alone in Mac’s car. Jack picked up and by way of greeting snarled, “You’d better not be calling from jail.”
“Hello to you, too!” I said with a sniff. “Did I wake you? Are you in your jammies?”
He sighed. “No, but you’re interrupting my movie. It’s not that good, so don’t worry about it. What can I do for you, Spawn from Hell?”
“I’m not in jail exactly, but I am calling from the parking lot of your police station. My friends from Florida have been arrested for solicitation,” I added hurriedly into the completely dead silence, “but it’s all a mistake.”
“Layla?” Jack spat in incredulous tones, his voice rising into a shout by the second syllable.
“No, no, not Layla,” I assured him quickly; although I didn’t see how it mattered since it was all a mistake anyway. “It’s Celeste and Misty. We were at the Cow and they were doing me a favor by approaching this dude at the bar. I went to the bathroom for a few minutes. Bam! The next thing we knew, they were arrested by some white-haired cop with a skull tat on his neck. What the hell, Jack?”
Jack started laughing and didn’t stop for a full thirty seconds while I fumed and impatiently checked the time on my phone. “Can you please straighten this out, so we can get on with our night? I have somewhere very important I have to be at midnight.”
“Sorry, Junior, but I don’t know if I can help your friends.” Jack paused and said reluctantly, “We are running a multi-city sting operation to break-up a prostitution ring. The John’s are getting severely beaten and robbed.”
“Oh, that sounds terrible for business,” I sympathized sweetly, but grinned and said, “Thanks for telling me, Jack. Let me guess, one of the John’s was the Mayor’s brother’s stupid son and must be avenged at all costs.” Jack chuckled and I wheedled, “You know Celeste and Misty are not hookers, they were doing some scouting for me and this cop busted them in error!”
Jack laughed. “Scouting for you? What the hell does that mean, you little hellion?”
I made a frustrated noise. I couldn’t tell him what I was doing, since I promised Luke not to say anything to anyone about Svettie. I couldn’t lie about the Ron Hansen cult to Jack Banner. I didn’t have time to banter back and forth.
“You have to tell me what you’re involved in because I don’t second guess my cops without a good reason, Junior,” Jack warned when I was silent.
“Fine, I understand. I’ll call you back in a couple of minutes and tell you what I’m up to, as soon as I get clearance. Then will you get them cut loose? You know this is a mistake, Jack.”
“We’ll see. Clearance…” Jack’s snort of amused disdain was the last thing I heard before cutting him off.
Chief Jack was having too much fun making me squirm, but I blew him off because paybacks are a bitch. I took another deep breath and hit send.
Luke answered on the first ring. “Be still my heart. You’re early, Anabel.” He paused. “Why are you early?”
“We haven’t picked up Blanca yet, so this isn’t about that. I have two questions for you. Remember those two girls from Florida on the floor with me tonight?”
“Yes, I believe my feeble mind recalls something of the sort,” Luke replied without inflection.
Tiredly, I giggled. “Well, they’ve been arrested for prostitution.”
“Huh. I’m not surprised by the arrest, only by the speed.”
I snorted and giggled. “Quit it, I’m too tired to laugh so hard, plus I have to potty again.”
“I understand that’s not a good combination for a woman.”
Laughing, I crossed my legs tightly and agreed. “Okay, remember my proposal today? You said you would think about the third part?”
“Now that’s a little vaguer. That conversation happened over twelve hours and several Anabel sightings ago.”
“Okay, I’m punished already! I’ll submit some stem cells or an old egg. Your mother can clone me, so no sex with my brother need be involved!”
“What’s going on, Anabel?” Luke asked. His voice was low and amused, but so solid and confident. I wanted to sink into the phone and let him handle everything while I go take some Advil and a long nap.
“I need you to call Jack and tell him that you’re working with me on catching a Russian in town, so that he’ll get Celeste and Misty released from jail. I have about fifteen minutes before I need to get going to rescue Blanca and,” I’m mortified to say my voice had a little hitch in it here, “of course, Jack won’t cooperate with me on just my say-so. I gave you my word not to tell about Svettie and I don’t have time to duke it out with him.”
“I’ll help you, Sweetheart,” Luke soothed. “First tell me quickly what you meant by catching a Russian in town?”
“Oh that.” I sighed and ran the gauntlet. “I had the word put out to some
business owners here in town, a few towns I guess, that there’s a cult following of Ron Hansen’s from county jail that might be after me, or my friends,” I cleared my throat and croaked out, “or my boyfriend. They could be asking, you know, personal questions and details about my people to find us. Maybe they might even be super sneaky and ask about Russians or somebody like that?” I added brightly, “Anyway, I got a couple of follow up calls to investigate today. One of the suspicious men with a Russian accent and a skull tattoo on his neck showed up at the bar we were at tonight. I sent Celeste and Misty to flirt with him and he ended up being an undercover cop, not an enforcer. When I was in the bathroom they were arrested for solicitation…”
“Stop,” Luke said and I abruptly shut up, caught off guard by his deadly tone. “Go take care of Blanca. I’ll take care of Jack. Do the girls have a way to get home?”
“Yes,” I answered meekly. “The limo is waiting at the police station here in Northfield for them.”
“Ah, yes. The pink limo,” Luke repeated flatly.
I stayed silent.
“Call me when Blanca is safe.”
“I’ll…”
“Don’t you dare tell me that you’ll try, or I’ll whip that round ass of yours when I see you next,” Luke promised, not raising his voice but somehow that only made it scarier.
“What’s with you and wanting to spank me every couple of days? What I was going to say before you so rudely interrupted, Dominator Drake, is that I’ll definitely call you right away. Thank you so much for your help.” I added before ending the call, “Now you can expect a text!”
Putting my phone down, I trotted over to the limo while cursing my soul to Hell.
Opening the door, I peered in. Everyone looked at me expectantly and I smiled back reassuringly. “Luke is talking to Jack. The girls will be released. Stella, would you mind going in and getting them in a few minutes? Mac, can you stay in the limo with Layla?” I looked over at our cousin slumped in a corner and smiling happily. She waved at me and I waved back with a laugh. “Jazy, Tre, and Anna will come with me to go get Blanca and we’ll meet up at your house, okay?”
I looked Mac in the eye and was about to open my mouth to tell her why the girls were arrested when I heard excited shouts behind me. I twirled around and the other girls climbed out of the limo behind me. We all started cheering seeing Celeste and Misty come running across the parking lot to our waiting limo. They looked like gazelles hopping through the air. They were flitting and frolicking while they laughed and called back happy goodbye’s to some men in uniform watching from the doorway.
Misty arrived first, her cheeks were red and her eyes were shining. “Bel, that ranks number one as the best punk EVER! I can’t believe we were actually “arrested” for hooking! We met so many cute guys at the station while they made us wait for “processing”! Northfield is so cool, I can hardly stand it!”
Celeste came to a screeching halt next to her and Misty reached out a steadying arm while she exclaimed, “I gave my number to three different cops on the way out just now! Even to the one that punked us with the fake arrest and I didn’t even like him!”
Misty rolled her eyes, “Jesus, CeCe, why can’t you learn to say no? He wasn’t very nice or fun, but so in our faces. It’s simple. Repeat after me, N-O, no!”
Celeste giggled and pushed at Misty while saying to us, “It’s easy for her but I hate to hurt anyone’s feelings, so what can I say?”
Misty retorted factually, “You can’t say no, that’s for damn sure.”
We all laughed while Tre on my left muttered, “Oh my God.”
The girls hugged us all exclaiming again at the good time they were having while Mac gave me a bleary look of suspicion over their shoulders and I shrugged back innocently. I big time owed the person in the cop shop coming up with the idea to pretend like the arrest was a joke all along. That was sheer brilliance.
Layla poked her head out. She waved her glass of some sort of booze while she cried, “There you are! Oh Misty, don’t let Papa Josef make me swim with the fishies!”
We left Misty calmly reassuring Layla that, to the best of her knowledge, her father did not order hits on women.
Grabbing my Indians, we took off for the Honda. After exiting the police station parking lot, Tre pulled over a block away. Ripping off a couple pieces of duct tape from our stowed bag of rescue supplies, Jazy and I covered the front and back license plates. Back in the car, we all took hats and assorted sunglasses out of the bag and put them on for disguises.
Tre drove the Honda north on Hwy 3 to the mobile home park behind the Dairy Queen which was the address Maria gave for her niece. At 11:57 PM, we crawled slowly down the darkened street and slowed to a stop just past the mobile home where Blanca lived. I was riding shotgun, and Anna was behind me in the back seat.
We both rolled down our windows and Anna called out softly, “Asswipe!” causing us all to snort behind our hands.
A small figure stood up from behind a bush near the road, and carrying a small bag, ran over to the car. Tre reached up and covered the dome light. Waiting on this move, Jazy then gave the impressed Anna the okay to open the back door. Anna pulled the girl safely in, handed her bag over to Jaz to store on the floor at her feet, and then handed Blanca a pair of big sunglasses to disguise herself like us.
Silently diligent, except for Anna whispering reassurances to Blanca in the back seat, Jazy and I kept a watch on our tail to make sure we weren’t followed. When we were safely away without incident, Tre pulled over about a block from Mac’s. We hopped out and ripped off the duct tape on the plates.
Arriving at Mac’s driveway, Tre hit the garage door opener and we pulled sedately into the garage. We waited until the overhead door closed behind us completely. With its final thud on the cement floor, we all cheered at the ease of the rescue. We whipped off our disguises to greet and introduce ourselves to the young, plump mini-Maria smiling tremulously at us from the back seat.
Twisting on my knees and resting my arms on the seat, I smiled back at her approvingly. “Blanca, I’m Anabel. You did a fantastic job tonight running away. We’re all so proud of you!” Tre J and Jaz rushed to agree, offering their smiles and warm congratulations. I introduced them, too. Then I said, “Welcome to the Axelrod family, Blanca. We’re considering you our adopted niece and our future family attorney, and I hope you don’t hate me for any of this down the road!”
Anna stifled a laugh and reassured Blanca that I was just teasing her, but Blanca only giggled. “That’s okay, Anna. My Aunt Maria told me Anabel is really funny.” She smiled shyly at me. “I like funny stuff.”
“Oh man, I like the funny stuff, too!”
The Blanca Alvarez Axelrod rescue was an official success.
I texted Luke: The chicken has landed.
We stayed at Stella’s studio apartment only long enough to be sure Blanca was settled in comfortably. Jazy was going to talk to her about Shattuck tomorrow. Thanking my family and friends profusely for their help tonight, we reaffirmed tomorrow’s plans for Thanksgiving. I was happy to see Blanca take to Stella immediately and she was shyly chattering away when we left them.
Boyd whisked us away in the limo. We dropped Anna off at her house. Reg’s truck was already parked in the driveway. When she gave me a quick squeeze on the way out of the limo, I whispered, “Congratz, Bride!” and she threw me a dazzling smile. I couldn’t wait to tease my brother tomorrow after their announcement was official.
Jazy and Tre J bantered back and forth the last couple of blocks about Blanca’s upcoming stay at the farm while I rubbed my aching forehead. They decided to drive Tre’s truck home, leaving the limo at my disposal until it came to pick them up tomorrow afternoon at the farm.
Before we split up, I shot Tre a whisper I’d talk to Crookie and she smiled back.
Jazy looked at me, hesitated as if to speak, and then stated, “I’m tired!”
Feeling nothing but relief she didn’t want to talk, we
briefly hugged goodnight and they took off.
I sent Boyd home for the night, but he informed me that a driver was on the clock 24/7. I could text for the limo anytime now through Sunday night at midnight. Much like I know I am Bat Girl and not Wonder Woman, I know I’m sort of cute but no femme fatale. James Byrd’s intentions made no sense to me, but I was too tired to care what motivates those still waters.
Upstairs, Crookie was home already and looking pretty terrified being cuddled up on while watching TV in the living room. He had CeCe on one side and Misty on the other. Layla was weaving on her feet and declared she was off to bed, despite protests from Celeste and Misty entreating her to stay up. She didn’t argue, just waved her friends off and headed down the hall with me. I verified Layla had everything needed in their attached bathroom, and placed the old soup pan strategically nearby her bed should she feel the need. I was relieved she didn’t want to have our traditional late night girl talk, either. Drunken girl talk when only one of the parties was drunk was never any fun. I left her getting ready to crawl into the single bed set up across from the permanent bunk beds in my old bedroom.
I went back to the living room. I hoped the movie being watched was a scary one, otherwise the screaming and moaning from the Florida girls was not a good thing. Having no desire to stay up, I said my goodnights and went to get ready for bed. I hadn’t forgot my promise to talk to Crookie, but decided to wash my face first and take a couple of Advil.
I did that, and brushed my teeth. I took off my clothes. To make myself feel better, I smoothed on a lemon chiffon scented body lotion. I wanted to lick myself after this, but instead, I put on a black velvet robe and crossed the hall to my bedroom.
Flipping on the light on my mirrored dresser, I closed the door behind me and let out a sigh of relief.
“Come to bed, Anabel, and take your punishment.”
Chapter XVII
“Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys