by Makenzi Fisk
The girls giggled and nodded in agreement.
“And who is this handsome fellow holding Doppler?”
“He’s Jimmy,” the girls sang out together.
Ever precocious, Jimmy exhaled. “I’m Jimmy, and I’m going to go completely insane if I have to go to the park with my sisters again.” He turned to Allie. “Can I wait on the front step with Doppler until you’re ready?” She nodded, and he trudged out with the dog.
Victoria held out a small red folding knife. “Look what I got for camp this summer. It’s the same as Auntie Allie’s. My sister only cares about fashion, but I am going to have a summer of adventure.”
“An adventure sounds good, but be careful with that knife.” For the second time today, Allie’s mom shot her daughter the dreaded frown of disapproval.
Victoria rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I passed all the safety tests.” She put it back in her pocket and counted on her fingers. “The one from my parents, the one from grandpa, and the hardest one from Auntie Erin. If I’m not responsible, it goes right back to mom until I’m thirty.”
Judy stifled a laugh. “That’s a lot of responsibility, just so you can cut your own marshmallow roasting stick.”
“And I can build a lean-to like Auntie Allie showed me.” She reached for the baby. “We need more practice babysitting. As soon as we’re twelve, mom says we can make big money.”
Allie waited until they went into the other room before she looked back at the computer screen.
“I can see your influence on the kids already. You really should consider motherhood. It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.” She gave Allie a wry grin. “And I’ve always wanted to be a grandmother.”
“Mom! Have you forgotten?” Why would her mother taunt her like this? It was medically impossible. The night Lily had nearly killed her, she’d snuffed out any hope of carrying a child.
“No, I haven’t forgotten.” Her mother met her eyes. “There are many ways to be a parent. You are great with kids and you could offer so much to little ones.”
Out of sight of the webcam, Allie traced the scar on her abdomen with her fingers.
“Maybe this is not the best time.”
“No, it’s not.” How could she protect a child when she couldn’t even keep herself safe? She examined the dust on the keyboard. The letters scrambled, and multicolored starbursts exploded behind her eyes. Oily smoke wound like a snake through the light, its black trail bleeding into the color. A dry lump lodged in her throat. Scheisse. What she wouldn’t give for a Budweiser.
As hard as she could, she balled her hand into a fist, fingernails biting into her palms. No. Not now. She forced words past her lips. “I have to go.”
“Right. You can’t leave the kids waiting for ice cream.” Her mother rang off.
Allie pushed the computer aside when the tabletop loomed in her vision. She closed her eyes in anticipation of her forehead colliding with polished wood.
“The twins already put the baby in the car. Are you coming, or…” Jimmy’s concerned voice broke through the suffocating black clouds. “Auntie Allie?”
Doppler landed on her lap, licking her cheek in a frenzy of worry. A ray of light seared the mental fog, enough to allow her to open her eyes. She sucked in a lungful of pure air and the oily vapor dissipated.
“Are you okay?” He bent closer, his forehead puckered.
Doppler rubbed his muzzle under her chin and she stroked his back, feeling more herself with each touch. “It’s okay, Chorizo.” Her headache evaporated as quickly as it had assaulted her.
“Did you call him a Mexican sausage?” He gaped at Allie. “When Auntie Erin said that, you pinched her.”
Sometimes Jimmy sounded more like a teenager than a seven-year-old, but she didn’t want him to skip his entire childhood experience. She got to her feet and held out her arm. “Well, you’d better pinch me.”
He brushed unruly hair from his eyes. “How about ice cream instead?”
“Sure.”
“Can I bring my drone? I need to work on software compatibility with Uncle Thomas’s new cell phone. We can fly it at the park on the way home.” In his excitement, Jimmy rocked on his toes, like his auntie Erin sometimes did. He’d put in a year’s hard work catching fishing bait to sell to Gina’s Stop ’N Go, but the young entrepreneur’s ‘minnow money’ was still a bit shy of his goal.
That’s when Allie had suggested he ask Erin’s brother to come on board as an investor, with flight privileges. She knew that Uncle Thomas, the self-professed computer nerd, couldn’t resist opening his wallet for a new toy. Now the two of them were proud owners of a real-life aerial drone with a high resolution, onboard, gyro-stabilized video camera. They flew it every chance they got.
A mound of disorganized paperwork mocked her from the office desk. All this impromptu babysitting had cut into her work schedule. She hadn’t planned to be gone that long, but the kids needed her and she needed them.
She flashed him a smile. Why not? The people in her life were more important. Like Jimmy. He was quirky, but also blessed with intellectual brilliance. Someday he might do great things. Who was she to stifle him? Ciara and Raphael could manage their Winnipeg office today.
She flung her bag over her shoulder and texted Erin on her way out to the Jeep. This was the first day they hadn’t managed to connect, and it felt like a bad omen.
Erin’s name popped up on caller ID before she could send it. “I was just thinking about you.” They often called each other simultaneously, and it had long since become normal. “I wondered where you’d been hiding all day.”
“I’ve been super busy.” Erin paused to chomp down the rest of whatever she was eating. “Graduation is so close I can taste it.” There was a crunching noise as she took another bite. “Everyone else is antsy too.”
Allie looked at her watch. It had gotten much later than she’d planned. She should be feeding the kids dinner, not taking them for ice cream. She was a terrible auntie. She listened to Erin talk about her classes while she checked the clasp on Mikey’s baby seat.
Sophie slid on her seatbelt, and beamed from her spot beside him. “I did it right, didn’t I?”
“We,” Victoria corrected from the front seat. “You meant to say we . I helped.”
Jimmy sighed, and got into the back with Sophie and the baby. He delicately cradled the drone on his lap.
“Yes, it’s right,” Allie told her. She still had the phone pressed to her ear, but had missed some of the conversation. The acrid odor of oil filled her nostrils. One word had been unmistakable. “Lily? What about Lily?”
“Are you with the kids right now?” With this sudden turn of conversation, Erin’s crunching noises had silenced.
“Yes,” Allie said loudly. “I am taking the kids for ice cream.”
Victoria led the others in the chant. “I scream, you scream…”
Erin’s voice was serious. “Tell them I laughed my head off. I don’t want to upset them, so I’ll make this quick.”
“She’s laughing her head off.” Allie stepped away from the Jeep and lowered her voice. “What’s going on?”
“A few days ago, Lily crossed the border and might be in Montana.”
“What? I thought you said…” Images of a yellow dotted line flashed past, an older man clutching his chest and falling onto a dirt road, tiny multicolored pills spilling onto a coffee table. A foul taste filled her mouth, and she leaned over to grab her knees.
“She escaped with a male. They are suspects in a carjacking, and also a robbery.”
“A gun. She has a gun.” The scar on Allie’s abdomen burned in fear, and sweat beaded the base of her skull. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jimmy’s head pop up in the back window. Summoning all her strength, she forced herself upright. Her stomach turned over once and quieted. She waggled her fingers at him, as if she’d only been bending to pick up something.
“Don’t worry,” Erin’s words were calm but her voic
e tense. “They are headed west. The Bureau is on it. We’ll catch her before you know it.”
“No, she’s coming back.” Allie felt the oncoming storm in her bones. “What do you mean we’ll catch her ? Are you involved in the case?”
“I’m finished my training. All that’s left is the actual graduation ceremony. They’re letting me in on the hunt for Lily because I might have useful information. Strictly hands off, though. I get to tag along with two senior agents. I’ll start with my real training agent when this is over.”
“What about the ceremony? You earned it.”
“You know where I’d rather be, Baby.”
“Be safe, okay? Remember the hands off part.” Allie hoped to hell there wouldn’t be actual contact with Lily. Knowing that Erin would be associated with the case was bad enough.
“Hurry up, Auntie Allie!” Sophie had rolled down her window, and was now dangling her arms out in a display of impending tween drama. “We’re dying for ice cream.” She contorted, as if in the very throes of death.
“The kids. I have to go.” Allie waved back in less dramatic fashion.
“Please,” Erin blurted before she could disconnect. “Try to imagine where Lily might be headed. Your intuition usually kicks in if you think about something hard enough. Maybe even think about Derek. It might help us find his daughter.”
Allie turned away from the kids and whispered. “Derek is still hiding. The police haven’t been able to question him about that murder. Chris Zimmerman said the crime scene was horrible.
There was a tapping noise before Erin spoke. “Do you know if he did it? Where’s he hiding?”
“You know I’m not a machine. I don’t work like that. Intuition comes whenever it wants.” Allie walked back and tossed her bag into the Jeep. “I’d like to help, but I’ve been really distracted.” She stole a glance at the kids in the back seat. “I can’t.”
“I’m sorry. I had no right to ask. Not after…”
“Oh, Honey. It’s okay. I’ll help you any time I can, but I can’t get my, what do you call it? My mojo back. The kids are waiting. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Auntie Allie? What’s a mojo? Are you and Auntie Erin fighting?” Victoria’s eleven-year old face suddenly looked too mature for her age.
“No, sweetie.” She started the engine. “There’s a lot of stuff going on right now. The world is not a perfect place, but we can try to make our little corner of it better.” She smiled when Victoria exhaled in relief. “Let’s go have some fun!”
“Yay!” In the back seat, the baby clapped his hands.
Allie drove past the houses and turned right onto the main thoroughfare. A thread of memory tugged at her. Derek Peterson’s flat green eyes when he nearly pummeled Erin to death on the river’s edge. He was unpredictable, and dangerous. If she hadn’t intervened…
She glanced over when sunlight flared off the window of a small car backed into an alley. Even squinting, it was impossible to see anything beyond the glare. Drive. Keep driving. She pressed her foot on the gas.
Inside the car, a man hunched in his seat.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Derek slouched behind the wheel of his rental car when Allie’s face turned toward him, and he stayed down until her Jeep was long gone. Had she recognized him? The manhunt for the killer of the victim in the motel was all over the news. He’d nearly run his car into the ditch when he’d heard his own name on the radio not five minutes ago. Was she reporting his location right now?
His stomach rumbled. He needed food and more beer, but the money was gone. The shakes would start soon if he didn’t get a drink. The grocery store was always busy, so that was too risky. He kept off the main road and drove across town to Gina’s Stop ’N Go, parking out of sight. What would happen if he sauntered through the door and picked up a case of beer? What if he bought a few of those big sandwiches too? The last time he was in there, he’d sworn Gina had a soft spot for him. Would she report him?
He shut off the engine and walked up beside the building. Maybe she wasn’t even working today. That would make it simple. He could pull his hat down over his eyes and complete the entire transaction without being recognized. He bobbed his head around the corner and eyed the till. No one was there. Were they in the washroom? Could things be this easy?
He eased the door open, the little bell-on-a-wire tinkling softly. The store remained quiet. That was it, she must be in the washroom. He scurried to the closest fridge and grabbed a case of beer, allowing the door to thump shut in his haste. Gina’s head popped up behind a shelf and he dropped into a crouch. His chest heaved and he could already feel the shakes starting. Goddammit!
He grabbed an armful of sandwiches from the deli cooler and crab-walked sideways toward the exit. Before he could reach for the handle, Gina loomed in front of him, hands on hips like a librarian about to scold him for an overdue book. The local radio station gave the fishing forecast on the overhead speakers. There was no doubt she’d heard the same report he had. The one that named him a ‘person of interest’ in the murder of Ethan Lewis.
Should he get up and walk right through her? It wouldn’t be hard. He must outweigh her by at least eighty pounds. Yet, there was still that hesitation in the back of his mind. What if she fought? In high school she’d been the tough girl, fucking Erin Ericsson’s self-appointed bodyguard. He narrowed his eyes as he remembered how many times she’d run interference between them. All he’d wanted to do was ask Erin out, maybe cop a feel of that developing female body beneath the bleachers, but after his first attempt, Gina had stepped in and he never got a second chance. Damn her.
“Hi Derek.” One of Gina’s hands left her hip and she turned her palm up.
Was she going to help him up or slap him silly? He rose to his feet and looked down at her. “I was just…”
“I see you’re in a hurry. Would you like me to put that on your account and you can take care of it next time?” Her expression was innocuous, almost friendly, like she was having an everyday conversation with an everyday customer.
He stared at her but no words came. He was a dangerous felon for all she knew. She’d married a policeman, for frig’s sake. What was she playing at? Gina’s eyes crinkled at the corners. Was that concern? Worry? Was she afraid of him for a change? He took a step toward her and Gina stepped back.
“You’re messing with me,” he hissed through his teeth. “As soon as I walk out the door, there’ll be four uniforms waiting to jump me.” He dropped the armful of sandwiches and leapt forward to pin her against the shelf. “Who did you call? Did you call your husband? Does Z-man think he’ll be the big hero if he arrests me again?”
“You’re making a mistake.” Gina stood stock still while Derek patted down her pockets with his free hand.
“Where’s your phone?” He looked her up and down, considered shoving his fist into her shirt to check for it. Her eyes met his and then settled on his trembling hands. The stress was making it worse. Was that pity on her face? Pity for him? The pressure in his head increased. How dare she? She thought she was better than him, always had.
Before he knew it, his fingers closed around her windpipe. Soft skin crushed under his scraped knuckles, like velvet, like rose petals. Her hair smelled good. Shampoo with a hint of jasmine, or something. He squeezed, and was almost surprised when her face flushed red. Had he beaten and shot a man to death with these same hands? Oblivious to her fingernails digging into his arms, he bared his teeth like an animal. Like a monster. Am I a monster?
Sharp pain seared his right testicle and traveled up into his abdomen. He let go and reeled back, nearly dropping his beer. Nausea followed, and he bent double while saliva dripped from his mouth. Oh, God, had he really become a monster?
“You crazy son of a bitch!” Gina shook out the knuckles she’d jabbed into his groin.
“Z,” he panted. “Is Z-man coming for me?”
“I didn’t call anyone, you idiot.” She massaged her throat and kicked the
sandwiches toward him. “Chris knows where you’re hiding. Where else were you gonna go? He’ll come get you when he’s ready. Now, take this crap and get the hell out.”
“I-I’m sorry.” Derek scooped up the sandwiches and limped toward the door.
“If you ever touch me again, I’ll make sure you pee into a bag for the rest of your life.”
The door clunked behind him when he fled back to his car. He’d made a colossal mistake. He threw the sandwiches on the seat and cracked open a beer. After the first one, his hands stopped shaking enough for him to get the shifter in gear. This wouldn’t last long. He needed cash. Soon.
A few blocks away, he parked beside an abandoned garage. The lawyer owed him money and it was overdue. He reached under the seat for his cell phone, and left a terse voicemail message. A second beer in his hand, he leaned back in his seat to wait. Half an hour. The lawyer had thirty goddamn minutes to get here.
With each swallow, he felt more like himself. Gina was okay. He hadn’t hurt her, not really. The lawyer would come with his money, and deal with the cops for him. It was all a big mistake that could be explained away. It must be a mistake, if Z-man knew where he was hiding out and hadn’t yet arrested him. There wasn’t any evidence, was there? He stared at his knuckles. Yeah, he was innocent. Innocent as a newborn babe.
“Shit!” He spilled a mouthful of precious amber liquid down his shirt when his phone rang. There were only a handful of people who knew this number, but caller ID was blocked. So, it wasn’t the lawyer trying to cancel the meet. His curiosity overcame him and he touched the screen.
“Yeah?”
“Lieutenant?” Ernie’s voice was hushed, as if he was hunkered in the back of the squad room and didn’t want anyone else to hear.
“What’s up, little buddy?” The relief from his shaking hands and pounding head was making Derek downright punchy.
“Have you heard the news?” Background voices cut out when the phone was muffled. “You should turn yourself in.”