Fran glanced at me. Her brown eyes were wide with disbelief, and her mouth gaped open. “You know this guy?”
I nodded, too choked up to speak. I sucked in a breath, and pulled Fran into my arms. “He’s my son.” I didn’t hide the bitterness in my voice. The kid had broken my heart too many times. “My adopted son.”
“What? How? Oh, my God! He nearly killed Mike, and you. Why?”
“Good fucking question.” I grabbed Casey by his hair and pulled his head up. “You have a lot to answer for. But I want to know too. What made you do the things you did? My boys treated you like a brother. I tried to be a dad to you, but you fought me every damn step of the way.”
“What do you care? You never gave a shit about me.”
“That’s not true. I did my best, but nothing either I or your mother said made a difference. You were hell bent on making trouble, breaking every fucking rule. This shouldn’t surprise me at all.”
I jumped up and pulled Fran with me. I kissed her lightly. “There’s a blanket on the boat. Go wrap it around yourself unless you want the fire fighters to see you in the buff.”
“Can you hold this guy while I’m gone?”
I glowered at her. “You saying I’m too old?”
She laughed. “Just checking.” Then holding her hands over her breasts, she took off, and dived into the boat, just as the truck and my crew arrived on the scene.
They had the fire doused before it got a good hold, and the kitchen and living room sustained only minimal damage.
When they came outside to give the all clear, I pulled Casey up, hands behind his back, and led him up the stairs. Beowulf and Fran, draped in a wool blanket, followed.
“Seems like we’ve got a hero dog here. Beowulf captured this son-of-a-bitch.” I winced at the term of phrase, but didn’t feel the need to qualify it.
“You the arsonist?” Brett stepped up to him. “You nearly killed Mike, you bastard.” He raised his fist. “I should end your useless life right now.”
I put his hand down. “Fran’s already called the cops. They’ll be here any minute.”
Four firefighters surrounded Casey, and their stance made it clear what they’d all like to do to the bastard who’d put their friend in a coma.
“Fran and I will get dressed. Looks like you have him covered.” In the bedroom, I turned to her. “You were really brave tonight. Brave and stupid. If you ever do anything that foolish again, I’ll…”
“You’ll what?” She lifted her head and challenged me.
“I’ll take you over my knee. That’s what.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
I smiled. “Knowing you, you’d probably like it.”
“The hell I would.”
“Go take a quick shower. We might have a busy morning.”
She left and when I heard the sound of the shower, I sank down on the bed, and put my head in my hands. How had I failed this son of mine? Why did he hate me so much that he’d want to kill me or any of my men?
I knew I’d never get any answers. Some kids were just born bad, and he’d been like that right from the start. I’d married his mother when he was eight, and even then, he’d had a chip on his shoulder. Two years later, after the birth of my sons, things got worse. I had to watch him all the time, fearing that he might harm the twins. It started off small, he’d rough house and put his full weight on them, even when they’d been babies. As the kids got bigger and were able to fend for themselves, he took his cruelty out in other ways. I’d told him mother that he needed help, but she hadn’t believed me, and that was when our marriage went south. She couldn’t see his evil, and I couldn’t see beyond it.
I threw on some clothes, and returned to the kitchen to wait for the police, and see my men off. “I’ll make coffee. You guys want a to-go cup?”
“Sure. I think we can spare a few minutes.”
While I’d been in the bedroom, someone had used masking tape to tie Casey’s hands behind a chair, and bound his ankles together. They’d also taped his mouth shut, and I left him that way.
“You guys did good work.” I looked from face to face. “In record speed, too.”
“Didn’t want you losing another house, now did we, boys?” Brett said, with a nod at me. “Good job, Chief, catching the A-hole, here.”
Fran walked in. “You’re welcome. It was the dog and I who nailed him.”
“That right?” Brett asked. “Well, we’ll have to see that you get a medal for this, Fran.” He kissed her brow. “You’re quite a woman. Has Chief recognized that yet?”
She smiled. “I’m working on it, but he’s a stubborn man.”
“Why are you talking like I’m not here?” I grumbled, and handed everyone a Styrofoam cup and poured their coffee. “Time for you men to get back to work.”
They slugged down their coffee and shuffled toward the door. “And for your information I appreciate Fran just fine.”
Once the men left, Fran and I sat down to drink our coffee. I ignored Casey’s wide-eyed plea, refusing to take pity on the guy who’d put Mike in the hospital, and had tried to destroy me too.
Fran turned her back on him as well, and drank her coffee in silence. Within minutes of my crew leaving the police arrived, took our statements, and marched Casey out the door.
* * *
Fran turned to me. “Okay, now tell me everything. You told me about having twin boys in college, but you never once mentioned a third kid.”
“As you can see, we never got along.” I got a frying pan out, deciding to make scrambled eggs. I broke four eggs into a bowl, added a dash of milk, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and shook a little cheddar cheese out of a package, and whisked it briskly.
I sprayed the pan, added the mixture, and popped two slices of whole wheat bread into the toaster. “He was trouble right from the start,” I told her, using a wooden spoon to stir the eggs. “Adopted him when he was eight and the twins were born two years later.”
“I’m listening.” Fran got up and took the plates out of the cupboard, popped the toast, and buttered it.
“He was a troubled kid. I saw it right from the start, even though his mother denied it, and still does.” The eggs were lightly scrambled, just the way I like them, so I dumped it on the two plates, and set the table for two.
Fran placed the toast on each plate and carried them to the table. She handed me the larger portion, refilled our coffee mugs and sat down.
“How old was he when you two divorced?”
“Twenty-five, but he’d left the home when he was seventeen. Just took off.”
“Has he ever been in trouble with the law, as far as you knew?”
“He was always getting into trouble as a teenager, but he never had a record or anything. Just kid stuff. Drinking, fighting, and had to be drug tested too. He got kicked out of school once, but then after a month he was allowed back in.”
“So, after he left, you never heard from him again?”
“No, and I can’t say that I’m sorry either.”
“I wonder why he went after you? You know, the whole arsonist thing?”
“I have no idea what’s in that young man’s mind. I never did.”
Fran didn’t say anything else, sensing that I didn’t want to talk about it. As far as I was concerned Casey could rot in hell. In my fifty years on this earth, I’ve only met a few men in my day that I didn’t like on sight, and I saw something bad in that boy right off the start. He wasn’t just an odd ball, the kid scared the daylights out of me, even back then.
“Well, enough said.” Fran ate her eggs and toast, then wiped her mouth. “You know something, John Hanley?” She leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Not only are you a stallion in bed, but you’re a damn good cook.”
“I bet you say that to all the boys.” I grinned. “So what exciting things do you have planned for the rest of the day?”
“Nothing near this exciting, I hope.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
&nbs
p; FRAN
“I’m sorry, John that the arsonist turned out to be Casey, but I’m glad we caught him just the same.” I got up to rinse the dishes, then loaded them in the dishwasher. “Tell me about your other two sons. Don’t spare any details. I want to know all about them.”
“Stephen is the quieter, more studious of the two. He gets straight A’s without even trying. Likes computers, reading, and simpler pleasures. He’s great at golf, and got a partial scholarship at UNC. Sean, on the other hand is the comedian, fast with the lines and the center of attention. He’s not the brightest student, but he plays just about everything, and loves his baseball. Plays shortstop for the team.”
“Nice.” I sat down beside him, eager to know the intimate details of his life, and more about his kids. Maybe, I might meet them one day. “They sound great.”
“They are. I suggested that they might like to go to different schools, but they wouldn’t hear of it. They’ve been joined at the hip since birth, and couldn’t see any sense in separating now.” John smiled with pride. “In some ways you can’t tell them apart, and in other ways, they’re nothing alike. I’m glad that they both found different things to excel at.”
“I agree, that’s best. Healthy competition is fine, but when two brothers are competing against each other, not so good.”
“It worked out for the Manning brothers.”
“Who are they?”
“Football. Eli and Peyton. Both all-star quarterbacks, on different winning teams.”
“That’s cool.” I nibbled on the side of my thumb-nail, a habit that I’ve never been able to break. “Now, back to your boys. Do they have girlfriends?”
He smiled at me. “I’m sure they do, but they haven’t confided in good ole’ Dad. Haven’t met any of them either.”
“Do you get to see them often? Are they here in the summer, or do they stay in North Carolina?”
“The first couple of years they’d come home and stay with me for the summer months. They’d get part-time jobs, but mostly hang around.” John’s smile faded. “They stopped coming, and I don’t see them often anymore.”
“Why not?” I looked at him closely. “What happened? You’re not telling me something.”
“When there mother moved in with another woman, the boys didn’t deal with it very well. None of us did.” He was silent for a second, then admitted, “I knew she was involved with Melanie but she kept it quiet, not wanting to hurt the boys. Guess she couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer.”
“Oh, John. That must have been hard on them, but they must love their mother. They should try to understand that she needs to be happy too.”
“I know. I tried to tell them that, but they didn’t want to listen.” He jumped up. “Why did we get into this conversation? The boys have a right to their opinion. I can’t force them to come home.”
“No, of course you can’t. But do you ever go up there and see them? I’m sure they’d love it if you came to a few of their games.”
“I don’t know. I doubt it.” He rubbed his jaw. “Never asked me too.”
“When was the last time you saw them?”
“Last Christmas. They came home for a couple of days. They refused to see their mother and we got into a fight. They packed up and left early. Haven’t spoken to them since.”
“Well, I think it’s time you did.” I got up and handed him a phone. “Make the call. You need to tell the boys and their mother what happened this morning.”
“But—”
I grabbed my handbag, and headed toward the door. “I’ll be at the end of the street. Call me a cab, will you, babe?”
“Sit down. I’ll drive you home.”
“No, you won’t. You’ve got important business to take care of. Just call a cab and I’ll be fine.” I ran back and kissed his cheek. “You’re a doll. Now make those calls!”
He grumbled, but did as I said.
It was only a couple of minutes walk to the end of the street, and I didn’t have to wait long for a cab to arrive and take me home.
I fed Milo and Pepe, and told my crazy pets about the excitement this morning.
“I was a bit of a hero, but the big bad dog got the credit until I set everyone straight. I mean, the dog jumped on the guy, but who let him out of his cage? Me, that’s who. The asshole arsonist had brought a big meaty bone and Beowulf happily chewed away while Casey, that’s the creep’s name, while he tried to burn the house down. Imagine that?”
I glanced at Pepe, who let off a few choice curse words. “That’s right, Pepe. You might have been without your mommy to feed you.” I hugged Milo who hissed and tried to scratch me. “You too, precious. You’d have been all alone, starving to death because who’d come around here looking for me, or know that you guys existed? Not to mention care enough to take you in and give you a home?”
A tear rolled down my cheek. “That’s right. I should think about that, and make a will and leave you guys to someone. Susie may take you, or Lydia. No, not Lydia, she wouldn’t put up with you two. Maybe Candy. Would you like to stay with Aunt Candy if I suddenly die?”
I pretended to choke and fall over. “Oh, my gosh. What a tragedy that would be. Here I am, about to become this singing sensation, and I’ve just met the second love of my life, and then I croak. Wouldn’t that be awful? Well, it didn’t happen today, my fair feathered friends. No, sirree. I nailed the son-of-a-bitch, and the dog helped too.”
I shouldn’t feel good about what happened this morning, but for some very odd reason, it did make my heart feel lighter. John would no longer be under suspicion and his fire-fighting buddies would respect him again. That meant something. Also, I feel that today brought the two of us closer together. He told me things about his life that he’d never mentioned before.
I also hoped that when John spoke to his sons again it would open the door to a better communication between them, and help heal that rift as well.
All in all, it had been an outstanding day, and it wasn’t even ten o’clock.
Still buzzing from excitement, I sat down to write another piece of music, and got so engrossed I didn’t even realize how quickly the time passed. I stretched and yawned, noting the clock on the stove said half past four. My goodness, it was nearly dinner hour, and I’d forgotten about lunch.
Not feeling hungry, I called Candy and told her what happened this morning, and how the evening had gone the night before. “The crowd wasn’t as big as usual, but there must have been around 60 or 70 for the greater part of the night. Dwindled to about twenty or so closer to midnight.”
“Thanks, Fran. I’m sure you were great as usual,” Candy answered, “and I’m so happy that you and John are all right. What a scare.”
“It was, but at least he’s caught, and John doesn’t have to hang his head anymore.”
I didn’t tell her that Casey was his adopted son, figuring that if he wanted people to know, he could tell them. I didn’t like to spread gossip, although I didn’t mind hearing it from others.
“So how did your night with Jay go?” I asked. “He seems to be really into you.”
“Well, he was into me last night, that’s for sure. Several times in fact.” Candy laughed. “It’s all the other women I’m concerned about. How do you get a guy on the road to keep his pants zipped?”
“You’re asking the wrong woman. I’m a newbie to this business and haven’t been on tour. I don’t think every guy dicks around. Do you?”
“I would think the ones who don’t are rare.”
“Well, Candy, I don’t want you getting hurt. You’ve got to protect your heart. Hey, can I use that?” I hummed a lyric or two. “That could be a new song. You two have inspired me.”
“Just give it a happy ending, will ya?”
“How can I do that? Country is all about loss and suffering, you know that.”
I heard Candy sigh. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been in good times and bad times, and always land on my feet. I can take whatever life
deals me.”
“Oh, I like that. I’m definitely using it.”
“Go write your song, Fran. And give Jay a call. He said he’s playing in Tampa next weekend, and Delray after that. He won’t be able to come to the wedding after all.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay.” Candy rushed on, “But he said if you wanted to come to Tampa, he’d arrange for you to sing a song or two. If you like.”
“If I like? Are you crazy? That’s wonderful. I have to get as much experience as I can before the auditions next month. Holy crap. This is great. Bye.”
I hung up and called Jay right away. “Candy said you might let me sing with you next week. Is that true?”
“Instead of singing with me, I think you should go solo. You’ve got to nail down a couple of songs and you don’t have much time to waste.”
“That’s great. I’m so excited. Thank you, Jay. You’re the best.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just whatever happens in Tampa stays in Tampa. Okay?”
“You mean, don’t tell Candy?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
I bit my bottom lip, thinking hard. I didn’t want to be unfair to Candy and she was sure to ask.
“You got a problem with that?”
“She’s my friend and I hope that you treat her right.”
“I plan to. Don’t worry.”
“I do worry. On the other hand, she tells me she knows what she’s doing. After all, she gets a lot of attention from guys too.” I decided to play devil’s advocate. “You can imagine. The bar she runs is extremely popular and so is she.”
There. Let him stew on that for awhile.
“Good. I wouldn’t like to think of her sitting alone night after night, pining after me.”
Grrr. He made me so mad. If I didn’t like him so much, I wouldn’t like him at all.
“No need to worry about that,” I snapped back.
“Don’t get your feathers ruffled. I’ll call you and give you the details for next weekend. I suggest you wear something hot. You know, a slinky dress, that kind of thing.”
“I’ve got it covered.”
“Well, uncover it.”
The Candy Bar Complete - 4 book box set: Candy Bar Series Page 61