Judith (Queen's Birds of Prey Book 3)

by Kathi S. Barton

  “What do you mean, the building cleared off? Surely you meant to say cleaned out. There isn’t any way I’m responsible for having a building taken down. You jest.” She told him it was in the contract his company had signed all those one hundred and sixty-four years ago. “I will have to look into that. I cannot believe anyone would sign something so ludicrous as that.”

  “Nor would I think that a lunatic would close up a profitable bank when there was no reason for it. But that’s the way it goes at times.”

  He called her back twenty minutes later.

  “It seems as if I might have spoken too soon about the bank in that area, Mrs. Castle. We’ll maintain the bank there just as we have been, and everything will go back to the way it was before.” She told him no. “I’m sorry? No, what? You wish to make other arrangements with our bank? I am to assure you that we’ll gladly accommodate you in any way we can. My boss has said it would not only be costly to close the branch down at this time but to have the building taken down would cost all of us a great deal of money.”

  “No, as in we no longer require your services as a bank at all. You will abide by the time frame I have given you. The building will be removed, and the ground under it and surrounding it, including the parking lot, will be returned to its former condition.” He sputtered around for a good minute. Jude smiled even now at how she had ended the call. “You have a lovely day, sir. And we look forward to having you erased from our town within the thirty days allotted to you.”

  Hanging up on him was the most satisfying thing she’d done in a while. Mostly because he was still talking about how he’d made an error in closing the bank, and that she must, as he was the only bank around, take back her time limit of having the building taken down.

  Of course, she didn’t answer the next calls from the same number, nor the dozen or so more she’d gotten from the same area code. She had said her piece, and he’d abide by the contract, or she’d take him to court. As soon as she saw Duncan on her way to her house, she grabbed him by both cheeks and kissed him on the mouth.

  “Not that I mind that sort of greeting, but can you tell me what I did to deserve it? That way, I can do it over and over again for you.” She told him about the bank. “Good. I hated that corner anyway. The building they put there was so out of place with the other buildings at the time.”

  “It should be gone in what I calculated as forty-one days. If it’s not, I’ll have Piper take it down and charge them a large fee for it. I’m not one to mess with when it comes to money.” He laughed with her. “How about, since the kids aren’t home, I take you home and ravish you? Sound good to you?”

  “I love the way you think, my dear.” He took her hand into his as they walked toward their home. “I was thinking about something a little while ago. What do you want to do about the play yard in the town square? It’s been falling down for years. I never thought of getting it fixed up until I walked by it just a little bit ago.”

  “It’s on my list. Mary is going to help me get a planning board set up to have projects like that one taken care of. Also, she’s finding people to come and work at the nursery school. I hadn’t any idea there was one here.” Duncan said it was newly started when he’d been in town lately. “Good to know. I have a few projects I’m working on with the Over Seventy Club. Again, I had no idea there was such a thing.”

  “I think that’s new as well.” He laughed. “Do you think you and I, as well as the other birds, should join it? There isn’t one of us less than a couple of thousand years old.”

  “You’re older than even we are. Then Mary—I think she is the oldest. Did you know she has a list of people that are dependable? She’s going to share it with me when we have our meeting tomorrow.” Duncan said he did know about that. “I guess you would, having lived with her for so long. And you have to talk to Abe. He’s having trouble adjusting to having so many people around him. Mostly it’s a classroom thing, but he said he’d talk to you about something he wants. As much as I’d like to keep him home and teach him, I think he needs contact with others too much for me to give in to him.”

  “I’ll work with him.” They were home then, and he turned to her. “I love you very much, Judith Castle. I want to say that to you all the time, and even that isn’t nearly as much as I want you to know it. You are my life and my heart and soul. Thank you for being the perfect person for me.”

  “I love you, as well.” She eyed him. “I have a feeling you’re about to tell me what you’ve done. Is it bad? I don’t want to know. Just tell me how many people I have to murder to get you out of trouble.”

  He opened the door. There were shouts of happy birthday from the crowd of people in the house. Closing the door on them, she glared at him.

  “I swear to you, I had no idea it was going to be this big. When Mary pointed out what the date was, she figured that having you and the other birds a party would make it seem less like you guys lost my mom, and more like a rebirth of your lives. I swear to you, however. I didn’t have anything to do with the planning.”

  Walking through the door, she could see the other birds. Going inside, she spoke to Duncan through their link.

  You’re losing out. You know that, don’t you? He asked her what she meant. No afternoon sex for you. I’m talking never having any in the afternoon.

  She felt his disappointment all the way across the room. Then his laughter. Standing with the other birds, she smiled, when what she really wanted to do was to knock some heads around for having this party.

  Chapter 8

  As soon as the party started to wind down, Duncan started cleaning up. It was busywork, really. He was debating on whether he should have told Judith as soon as the call came in, or if he, as he was doing, should have waited on the right moment to tell her. Either way, she wasn’t going to be happy with the news.

  “Okay, spill it.” He turned and looked at his grandda when he spoke. “You’ve been as antsy as a cat that happened on a field of catnip. Tell me, or I’m going to send you to the woodshed. Do people do that anymore?”

  “I don’t think they do. Too many cameras around where people will record it then send nasty messages about you abusing the kids. Even if it was just as innocent as you taking me out there to show me something.” Grandda said it was a strange world they lived in now. “You don’t know the half of it, I’m afraid. I heard from the hospital. Hanna has escaped. They think her brother snuck her and himself out before she was out of recovery.”

  “She’s that orphan woman, isn’t she?” Duncan nodded. “That is a bad one, son. Really bad. You might should have told Jude when the call came in. I’d be careful of that sort of thing. Nothing can put a woman out faster than you thinking you might be protecting them when in truth, you’re afraid of them. I’m afraid of your grandma. She’s the sweetest thing ever created. But boy oh boy, when you piss her off, she’s like a nasty snake. Getting you where it hurts you the most.” Grandda shuddered and shook his head.

  “I’ll tell her now.” Grandda told him he couldn’t, she was visiting the other birds. “They were all just here together. Why does she need to visit them now? Never mind. I don’t care. I’ll tell her as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I want you and Grandma to be careful when you go out. You are immortal, but that doesn’t mean she won’t hurt you in some way.”

  “We’ll do that. You keep my great-grandkids safe too. They don’t know nothing about keeping themselves safe.” Duncan thought perhaps both his kids were better at keeping themselves safe than he was. It was their only mode of survival. “Also, while I’m talking to you. I was wondering if you were serious about your grandma and me living here. I sure do like being able to just walk into another room to have a talk with you and the others.”

  “Grandda, I want you and Grandma here with all of my heart. Even Judith loves having you here. I know, too, that you and Abe have gotten a good relationship going. You can s
tay here for as long as you want. I promise you.” Grandda hugged him tightly. It was something he was getting used to, being hugged like he was being squeezed in half. “You can change anything you want around here too. We both are just so happy to have you here.”

  “We’ll talk about changes. I was going to ask you, too, if you’d mind if we explored some of the old caves around here. I don’t think you’d mind, but you might have a safety reason for telling us no. We’d take the kids too if you think they’d like that.” He said the only cave he was sure they shouldn’t go in was the dark one at the top of the hill. “All right. Can I ask you why not?”

  “It’s a breeding cave for some of the smaller creatures for the area. Mostly a pip will use it for night time faeries. But for the most part, it’s used by some bats as well as a few snakes. It’s not safe to walk around other animals when they’re breeding.” Grandda nodded and said it was good to know. “You could take them to the stash too if you’d like. I’m sure you might even find a few things of Mom’s there you’d like to keep. By the way, have you been able to go through the stuff Mom left you in the fireplace?”

  “We did. Lots of small paintings of you and her were there. We’ll treasure those—also a lot of gold. I don’t know what we’d do with it right now, but it’ll be nice to know we can fall back on it. The kids, they have anything from the cave?” Duncan told him they didn’t, just the few things that had been given to them by the birds. “I’ll see what we can look for then. I know Miley has that set of armor. That was nice to let her have it.”

  “It was. She’s got a lot of things in her room that Mercy has given her too. If you wanted to take her too, she’s been there. She might be able to help Abe and Tracy find something they want.” Grandda thought that was a grand idea. “Great. Just let someone know when you’re going, so we know when to start to worry.”

  “You’ll worry, anyway. But in the morning I want to walk up there. I’m needing to get out more, and we’ll have us a lunch there too. Spend the day going through the caves.” Duncan reminded him how much colder it would be in the mountains. “Yes. I thought of that too. I’m glad you reminded me. Not a picnic, but perhaps some cookies and hot cocoa. I’ve not had any of that for years. Yes, I’ll get on that.”

  Grandda was still talking to himself as he moved toward the kitchen. Duncan shook his head, thinking how much he loved having the two of them here. And Abe seemed to be coming out of his shell too. Duncan reached for Judith. He wanted her to know that Hanna was out and about so she’d not be startled if she saw her. She knew, thankfully, and didn’t seem to be upset.

  It was on the news. The six of us were talking about it. I don’t think they’re going to find her. He didn’t ask. Duncan was sure he already knew the answer to why she’d not be found. I’m tired of dicking with her. If Abe finds out she’s around, he’s going to hide away for the rest of his life. I want him to feel safe, no matter what.

  I agree with you. Duncan told her what Grandda and the others were doing tomorrow.

  That’ll be great for all of them. To get out of the house for a little while. Maybe we can work around that. I’m not sure how you feel about us—

  You do what you do best, Judith. I don’t want her around any more than you do. And the simple fact that she was able to escape makes me think she’ll do it again until she hurts one of us. Judith told him she believed that as well. Good. I’ll not make any plans for tomorrow then. You want me to join you six?

  I think it would work better if you were to go with the others to the cave. We can handle one little human. Especially since she’s got to be hurting about now. He said he could do that. While you’re there, see if you can find a painting that was in the main part of the castle. Mary said it’s a painting of the sea beyond the castle walls that shows several ships out to sea. I’m not sure what else I can tell you about it, as I’ve never seen it.

  I think I know the one she’s talking about. The ships are ours. Mom sent them out for foodstuffs, and when they returned, there was a great deal of celebration. Judith said she and the others were going to try and find the king’s ship that went down. Really? You think it’s still there?

  I don’t know why not. Mercy knows where it is. She’s the one that put it down anyway. She said that with the king traveling, there might well be enough treasure on it to open a showing of it all. I’m thinking she just wants to make sure the fucker is dead. I’d think he was, but you know Mercy. He did and laughed with Judith. Also, there was some jewelry on the ship. He was coming here to marry your mother, so he would have brought riches to the area to try and sway her. Not that it would have worked. But I’m betting we can find it.

  That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. Especially if we can find some of the nicer things to put in a museum, as you said. Duncan didn’t think there was any other reason they’d be looking for a centuries old ship that had gone down when large stones were dropped atop it. Is that why you left here to go there? I had no idea you were even gone.

  I came here to talk to Mercy. She’s getting incredibly nervous about having a baby. None of us have ever had children before. She was freaking out a little, thinking that Joel would be upset if it was born like a bird. I think he’s just thrilled to death to be getting laid on a regular basis, but that could be just me thinking outside the box. He laughed again, sitting down at his desk to work while she was gone. I do have a question for you. When did you think we should have our own children? I’m a little nervous myself about it. I was thinking we could wait until Mercy has hers so we can all figure it out.

  I’ve never given it any thought, to be honest with you. It’s your body, and whenever you feel the time is right, we’ll work on one. In the meantime, we’ll keep practicing. He smiled when she laughed at him. I have never seen Mercy nervous. I thought she was above such feelings. I wish she was here. I’d really give her a hard time about it.

  I wouldn’t. She could hurt you, king, or not. She really is a little on the intense side about this. When she laughed again, he didn’t ask what was going on. She was with the others. And they forever had a great time together. I’ll see you tonight. I have a few things I want to pick up from the store on the way home. Also, before I forget again, I signed Tracy up for driver’s training. She has to have it before she can get her license.

  Duncan marked his calendar with the date and times she had to be there. Judith told him Tracy didn’t know about it yet, and for him to go ahead and tell her. He would too. That was another thing he added to his calendar. She’d need a safe car to be able to drive.

  For the next two hours, instead of working, he was looking at cars for his daughter. Duncan thought he was enjoying that a little more than working. He had three that he really liked, and they were rated among the highest in safety. Since they all had to be ordered, Duncan ordered the three of them in different colors. He knew his grandparents needed one each, and Tracy could have first pick. When he was finished with that, he started on his paperwork.

  Duncan was working on a proposal that had been given to him to open up a little floral shop near the chocolate shop in New Town when the lamp next to him shattered. It took the stuffing coming out of the back of his chair before he realized he was being shot at. Getting down on the floor, he wondered what the fuck was going on when Tracy came into the room with him.

  “Get down.” He was too late to save her from being shot, but she assured him it wasn’t that bad. “Where is your brother? I don’t want him down here to get hurt either.”

  “He’s gone to the movie rental place with Grandda.” Good. At least he was out of the house. “I have my cell. Want me to call the police, Dad?”

  It startled him every time one of them called him that. But telling her no, he’d tell her mom first, had her crawling like a crab across the room towards him. The wound on her arm was bleeding pretty badly, but the bullet had gone through her arm. It was, thankfully, healing a
lready.

  Duncan tried to be as calm as he could when he reached out for Judith. She could feel his fear and anger, he was sure. When she told him they were on their way to him, all he could think about was six exceptionally large angry birds of prey coming down on whoever was out there and smashing them to smithereens. He told Tracy what he was thinking about when she asked him what was so funny.

  “You don’t think they’ll be their big birds, do you? Holy crap, Dad. They’ll bring the entire town out here to see what the heck is going on.” Duncan told Tracy they’d take care of it. “Yes, I guess so. Mom, she’s going to be really ticked off if one of the others saves our butts before she can. I only hope they’re all safe.”

  The loud squawking noise was the first thing they heard. He didn’t know which bird it was, but it didn’t sound like anything he’d want to hear again. Then there were dark shadows that flew over the windows of the room he and Tracy were in. They both stayed on the floor, not moving around in the event the shooter hadn’t been found yet. While they laid there, he told her about her driving school, as well as the cars he’d ordered for her and her grandparents.

  He could feel her excitement. Duncan wasn’t sure if it was the fact she was going to start driving soon or that she was going to have a new car. After he and Judith talked about her driving, they’d decided a new car for her was the best way to go, especially since she might be driving her brother around too.

  When the front door opened, neither of them said anything. It wasn’t until he saw a shadow that he realized it was none of the birds. Pulling Tracy to him, both of them laid there as still as they could as Hanna started toward the back of the house with a gun in her hands.