I took a bite and made a face. “Connie’s right, bring on the broth and clumpy pudding.”
Little pretended to snatch it back from me, but I dug in and made the usual yum sounds as he looked on with approval. After a few bites, I had to stop. “My appetite must have shrunk. Thank you.” I peered sideways at him. “Does this mean you’re not angry at me anymore? I’m sorry for worrying you.”
His brows drew together. “Don’t bother to apologize because we both know you’d do it again.” He cleared the food away and packed up the dish. “You said you’d find the guy and you did. I knew we were in for it when you threw a month’s worth of the café’s bathroom hand wash at my wall. By the way, you owe me for that.”
He talked over his shoulder on the way out. “Tomorrow I’ll bring a green smoothie. Dr. Fromm wants to keep you here a while.”
He stuck his head back in. “Violet’s waiting outside. She wants to see you but she’s afraid you’re upset with her about Emmaline.”
We were pathetic, feelings trampled all around. “I’m not mad. Tell her I hope she brought something to make me look more like a human being and less like Emmaline’s tarot card creatures.” I joked, but a shiver ran down my spine at how close I’d come to being the dead one on the coffin.
He left and Violet sidled in, head down. “I’m so sorry.”
I tilted my head toward the chair. “Come over and sit down. Emmaline fooled everyone with her herbalist fortune teller guise.”
She came to the side of the bed, tears brimming. “It’s all my fault.”
“My brother would disagree. He thinks doing stupid things is how I roll. How’s your mom doing?”
“She’s better. Ben told me Emmaline’s nephew admitted to throwing the rock in our window. Why would he do that?”
“Most likely Emmaline was behind it.” I tried to peek in the basket on her lap. “What’s in there, leftover Emmaline’s Organics?”
She stepped back in horror for a split second. “Not funny, Britt.” She bent over her basket and brought out a jar. “No offense, but those lovely indigo eyes are puffy. I’m going to do a nice calming mask and then moisturize.” She grinned. “I’ll be using fully tested and accredited products.”
She put the mask on and I drifted off, inhaling the quieting scent of citrus and chamomile.
I woke and sniffed. Violet had left a violet-scented sachet on my pillow, reminding me that hers was a healing magic much stronger than evil Emmaline’s concoctions. I touched my face, now soft.
Violet had also left her mirror behind. I took a quick peek at my hollow cheeks and dark circles and set the mirror aside. Even Violet’s ministrations couldn’t salvage my wan skin and sharp cheekbones. Little would have to let me eat french fries now.
Henry and Edgar were whispering in a corner. How long had they been there? Henry said, “She looks frail, Grandfather.”
Edgar replied. “That Emmaline messed her up.”
I propped up on an elbow. “I’m not frail. I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.”
They brought chairs to the side of my bed. I said, “Emmaline scared me, Edgar. She said we were both going to die and I might have without your medicine.”
His long, white braids whipped back and forth. “It takes more than one wannabe witch to take me down. Especially with my homies protecting us.” I assumed he meant the ghost ancestors. Edgar was thin as parchment, but there was steel in his spine.
He wiped a hand across his face. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you sooner. She took me by surprise. I must be getting old.”
That old man would never be old. He was on the far side of his nineties and a force of nature. I asked, “How did she get to you?”
He patted my hand. He didn’t always answer questions. Another concern shoved that one out of the way. What if she came back? Dread seeped into my bones.
As if he’d read my mind, Edgar said, “She’ll come back to get her nephew.”
“Let her try. They’ll get her, too. She’s going to pay for what she did.”
He snorted. “You whites, always with the retribution.”
Edgar’s goading irritated me. First he called me frail and now he mocked my attitude about justice. Right now I wanted to leave the hospital. It reminded me that I’d been poisoned and, through my own weakness, let it nearly kill me. And yet, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go home where nightmares might still await.
He said, “We went to your cabin. It has been cleansed.”
Why did I even bother trying to keep my thoughts to myself? “You cleaned my place?”
Edgar’s nose and mouth screwed up and he drew his head back as if he’d smelled something foul. “It was nasty in there. Took a lot out of me, but it is good now.”
Chin raised, I said, “My cabin doesn’t stink.” Maybe I wasn’t a great housekeeper, but I managed to cover the basics.
Henry’s eyes disappeared behind his cheeks in his version of a chuckle. “It was a different kind of cleaning. Edgar held a smudging ceremony. We use a burning sage stick to purify a space. He fans the sage with an eagle feather and prays.”
Edgar patted my hand resting on top of the blanket. “You will feel better in your home now.”
Embarrassed because I’d known of that ceremony, just forgotten, I thanked them. Although I wasn’t sure how she’d done it, Emmaline had upset my old friend and that made me want even more for her to be found. Most importantly, Edgar had touched me. I swallowed the lump in my throat. We were okay again.
Henry’s massive form rose and the chair emitted a whoosh of gratitude. “We’d better go now. You and Grandfather both need to rest.”
I lay back against my pillow. “Edgar, thank you for the pouch. Those pellets saved my life. What was it?”
He used his cane to shuffle toward the door. “Ipecac and a little caffeine.”
No cup of coffee had ever sent that much power flowing through my blood. Disappointed, I said, “I thought it was an ancient Native American remedy.” I’d felt like Wonder Woman racing through the mall.
Henry said, “Two native plants, Cephaelis acuminate and C. ipecauanha are used in Ipecac. Old poisoning antidote. Emmaline isn’t the only one who knows her herbs.”
That wasn’t the whole story but they were out the door before I could question them further. Henry called me frail. That stung.
I tossed the covers aside and unhooked myself from the bags. Connie would give me a bad time for not following procedures and protocols when leaving the hospital, but she wouldn’t be surprised.
*
My SUV was in the west parking lot as Ben said. I started the car, but something was stuck under the gas pedal. I leaned down. Emmaline had left another tarot card. This one was a horned devil sitting on his throne, evil as shit. I tucked the card into my camera bag.
Driving myself home wasn’t a great idea. Weakness hit full force and my head swam. There might have been a sedative in one of those drips attached to my arm.
I stopped for Rock at Little’s. Lars was across the café chatting at a booth. His mouth dropped open when he saw me, but he recovered and did a thumbs-up.
My brother wanted to take me back to the hospital but eventually gave up arguing. “Sit in that booth while I get food for you to take home. I’m sure your place is empty.”
He walked toward the kitchen making the fake throat-clearing insult again. This time it sounded like he incorporated the word stupid. I leaned back against the booth, happy to be in Spirit Lake. I’d visit Chloe tomorrow. She’d have a hard time getting depressed with the guys hovering over her and those hardy church ladies determined to get her on her feet again, even if one foot was a prosthetic.
Thinking of the church ladies gave me an idea. Their network kept the communities thriving. The good old boys at the Veteran’s Club did fine work, but couldn’t compare. Little didn’t like people talking on phones in the restaurant, but he might give me a pass this time, especially if the results were what I hoped.
I called Mrs. Clausen, the formidable Lutheran who’d stepped up to tell us they would take over with Chloe. A woman who got things done.
She answered with a crisp “Hello.”
I stated the problem. She responded with a few “I sees” and then summed up her plan. “My sister in Medicine Falls will handle everything. She’ll see that Ray Hutcheson has regular healthy meals, and likely ask her brother-in-law in AA to reach out to him, get him to meetings.” She paused a moment, then added, “The Medicine Falls congregation has a number of widows who would be delighted to invite him to the Saturday dances.”
I’d unleashed a force of nature on Chloe’s poor father. “Thank you, Mrs. Clausen. It will be a huge relief to Chloe to know he’s being looked after.”
“That girl has enough to deal with right now. We’ve got this.”
*
Rock woke me the next day at noon, and I almost felt like myself again. I’d missed a text message and phone call from Marta. Both the voice mail and text message were the same—Need you now. In or out?
Chapter 25
Was I in or out? Not ready to answer Marta’s message, I called to Rock. “Let’s go, buddy. We have unfinished business.” He jumped into the passenger side and I pointed the SUV toward Medicine Falls. Rock sneezed into the cold wind and pulled his muzzle inside the car. The morning chill and fading autumn colors were reminders—change happens.
Weldon’s house appeared abandoned. No car, no lights or activity. I backed out of his driveway.
Mrs. Lundberg opened the door at my knock.
“How’ve you been, Mrs. Lundberg?”
She smiled. “Please, call me Mary. Yesterday Evelyn marched Duane over here to apologize. Then they filled a trailer full of his things and moved to Duluth just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “I doubt he’s going to be a problem ever again.”
I grinned. “That’s good news.”
She stifled a chuckle. “Evelyn practically had him by the ear.” She stepped back from the doorway. “Please come in. Would you like some tea?”
It would be a while before I would drink tea again. I declined and said I was tying up loose ends and thanked her again for letting me barge into their lives.
“Now that Weldon’s gone, I don’t mind talking about it.” She stared at the floor. “Al is VP at his company and was out of town all the time. Not that that was an excuse, but I got involved with another man. Weldon got it all on his GoPro with that drone.”
I held up a hand. “It’s really not necessary.”
“I want you to know. Al and I love each other. He stopped traveling so much and we worked it out. But if the president of his company found out, even now, he’d fire Al because he won’t tolerate any hint of scandal. He prides himself on running a family company.” She crossed her arms. “I teach at the elementary school here in Medicine Falls. I’d be let go, too.”
“It turned out Weldon had nothing to do with the college bombing.”
“We saw in the news it was terrorists, but whatever you did to get him to leave has taken a huge weight from our shoulders.”
*
Little’s was busy, so Rock and I quietly entered the apartment by the back door, not wanting to disturb Chloe if she was resting. Her door was open and a squat woman stood next to the wheelchair. Chloe’s brown ponytail bobbed as she hopped from the bed to the chair.
Chloe grinned when she saw us and introduced her helper, Ida.
Ida bustled into the kitchen. “Yah, I’ll make coffee.”
Rock put his head on Chloe’s knee, shamelessly asking to be petted. I sat on the edge of her bed. “I’m sorry for not coming to see you lately.”
She pointed to the newspaper on her desk. “You’ve been busy.”
Someone in the mall had taken a pic of my midair launch knocking Hunter out of the arrow’s path. The paper ran a double-page spread inside. Barry would be pleased with my photo of her leading Derek to the BCA helicopter. I took it before our flight to Branson. He’d hissed at me like a caged viper. “My aunt will get you for this.”
I spread my arms to include the young woman in her wheelchair, the bedroom, the wide world. “You handling all this, Chloe?”
She was ready with a chipper response, but I pointed to myself. “You put on a brave face for the guys and you don’t want to disappoint the church ladies, but this is me.”
She whispered, “They take it personally if I have a bad day, and everyone’s so sweet to me.”
I crossed my heart. “I won’t even try to cheer you up.”
Her shoulders dropped. “I’m relieved you figured out what happened to us—Jeremy, and the people who were hurt, but everything was so unexpected. I’d never have guessed that kid in our class was such a horrible person. Although I have seen stories in the news about kids from Minnesota becoming homegrown terrorists, that didn’t seem real. It seems like the ground underneath me is unstable.”
She made a wry face at her leg. “But Little and even my dad in his own way steady me, and Lars gets it.” Tears gathered. “I know I’ll be okay, I’m just not there yet.”
Cups rattling, Ida came in and set a tray on Chloe’s desk.
I asked, “Is that homemade lefse?”
She beamed. “You bet.”
We sipped coffee and nibbled at the buttery, sugary potato flatbread rolled into a tube, similar to a tortilla in form only. Lars popped in to remind Chloe she needed to study for an exam and I said goodbye. Rock was curled up on the rug next to her wheelchair. Chloe tilted her head toward Rock. “Can he stay?”
“Sure. He knows all the answers.”
*
Back at home, I dropped my camera bag on the stand inside the cabin door, a hint of Edgar’s sage still lingering in the air, pungent but not unpleasant. My body ached and a long soak in the tub sounded like heaven. Crossing to my bedroom shedding boots and jacket along the way, I stopped short at a squeak coming from my workout room. Mice again? I stepped in.
Emmaline stood on the far side. Haggard, hair a tangled mess, her sunken eyes reflected heartbreak and something beyond distress. She looked deranged.
The floorboard beneath her squeaked as she stepped back. “That old Ojibwe’s songs and sage can’t protect you from me.” Her nose wrinkled. “I don’t like it though, so this will be quick.” She pulled a gun from her skirt pocket and leveled it at me with both hands.
I froze. The gun was big and heavy, like something from the Old West. “What do you want?”
“You’re going to call the BCA and tell them I’ll exchange you for my nephew.”
“You want to trade me for Derek? A gun didn’t work so well for you the last time. You’re confident about this?”
She spat. “You tricked me at the mall and got me with your elbow.” Her voice caught. “You cracked Derek’s rib with that kick. I’m not letting you get close this time.” She raised the gun an inch higher. “Stay back and make the call.”
“The BCA and FBI will surround this place immediately.”
“We won’t be here. My boat is a few yards away and I have a car on the south loop. Once we’re safely away, I’ll tell them where to bring Derek.”
I leaned against the door jam. She frightened me, but I wasn’t going to show it. “You’ve come unhinged, Emmaline. The gun isn’t you. You prefer poisons or getting Derek to do the violent stuff, but even he had to be far away from his victims.”
“Call or I’ll shoot you.” Her spindly arms, fatigued from holding the heavy weapon in front of her, trembled.
The steel in her jaw convinced me she would do it. I took a step forward and pointed to the kettlebell on the floor near me. “You should do some kettlebell reps, build up those arms.”
She raised the gun higher.
I said, “Three mighty organizations are working together, the BCA, FBI and Homeland Security. They won’t negotiate, and even if they said they would, it’d be a trick. You wouldn’t get far by land or lake—SWAT teams in helicopters, the sheriff’s
water patrols swarming the lake looking for you, roadblocks everywhere. It’s over.”
Sparks of pure hatred streamed from her. “Then I might as well kill you. At least I’ll get my revenge.” She raised the gun to my head and pulled the trigger as I dove for the kettlebell and hurled it at her. The gunshot missed me. The kettlebell banged into her arm and knocked her off balance. She yelped and lifted the gun again, but I wrenched it from her tiny hands and stepped back keeping it trained on her.
The heavy gun felt wrong in my grip. Ben said if you point a gun at someone be ready to fire it. I set it on the hardwood and moved toward her.
She threw her arms in front of her face to ward off my blows, but when no blows came, she stared up at me, wary.
“One question I forgot to ask you Emmaline, “Who threw the rock in Bella’s window, Derek?”
She ducked her head. “I started that. I needed Bella out of the way to make progress with Violet. I left a rock on the step at the back of the duplex after Violet had already opened the salon. Bella always joined her an hour later. She wouldn’t see the rock, she’d trip, and at her age...”
“You caused Bella’s initial fall?”
“That old lady was too shrewd. I needed her out of the way to get close to Violet. Then, when Bella made Violet return my products, I complained to Derek about that old crone. He’s protective of me and took it upon himself to retaliate.”
I slammed her hands together above her head, grabbed the jump rope from its peg, wrapped it around her wrists, looped it over my pull up bar and secured it. She hung there like a ragdoll, her feet barely touching the ground. “That’s for Bella.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket. “Now I’ll call the BCA.” My call went to voice mail. “Hi Robyn, this is Britt. Would it be too much trouble for you to stop by my cabin? I have something of immediate interest for you.”
Emmaline wailed as I brewed a cup of coffee and took it out to my dock. She alternately raged and sniveled, but the sounds were far enough away not to disturb me too much. The adrenalin left my body and I sagged, thankful for a few moments to gather my strength. I’d swallowed the last sip of coffee when the BCA’s vehicle pulled into my driveway. I waved, and Barry joined me on the dock.
Blow Up on Murder Page 23