by JB Lynn
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Griswald asked pointedly.
“No time like the present,” I countered cheerily. I pointed to the backyard. “We’ll walk.”
“Walk?” DeeDee barked hopefully.
“Get your leash,” I told her.
She ran for the house. Leslie happened to open the kitchen door and the dog bolted inside.
“Loretta wants some sardines,” Leslie announced. “Do we have any sardines?”
“We’ll help you look,” Angel offered, scooping Katie up and carrying her inside.
Griswald scowled, clearly not happy with my plan.
I walked over to him and promised, “I’ll be careful.”
DeeDee ran out of the house, leash dangling from her mouth.
“We’ll be back in fifteen or twenty minutes,” I announced, clipping the leash onto the dog and motioning for Ms. Whitehat to follow.
We didn’t speak until we reached the end of the driveway. Even then, all I said was, “The guy who lived in the house we’re going to see was murdered.”
“I’m familiar with Belgard’s demise,” she murmured, dropping her nervous realtor voice, but motioning at a house we passed like she was pointing out some great architectural selling point.
Once we rounded the corner, she slowed her steps.
“Is Zeke okay?”
“Yes.”
“Because he—” I began to explain.
“Dave told me what happened. Zeke’s condition hasn’t changed.”
“Did this happen because I gave him the cipher?” I asked, voicing the guilt I’d been carrying around.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I need you to stay calm, Ms. Lee.”
My heartbeat tripled and I suddenly felt nauseated. The suggestion to “stay calm” usually had that effect on me.
DeeDee glanced back at me nervously. “Maggie okay?”
I nodded tightly.
“We can’t attract attention,” Whitehat continued firmly. “Can you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
“It’s about your nieces,” she said slowly.
I stumbled and she put a hand on my arm to steady me.
“We believe Redcoat’s men have them.”
Bile rose in my throat. Fighting for control of my emotions, which were bouncing back and forth between panic and anger, I swallowed hard. “How could that happen?”
“We’re not sure.”
“And Darlene?”
“Against orders, she’s out searching for them.”
I would have expected to hear annoyance in the other woman’s tone that her orders were being ignored, but instead all I heard was worry.
I glanced up at her, my own alarm magnifying. “How can I help?” Reaching Belgard’s house, I pointed at it, just in case Griswald or anyone else was watching.
“By cutting off the head of the snake,” Whitehat said through clenched teeth.
“By killing Redcoat?”
She nodded. “If we can do that, the rest of his organization will be weakened.”
“I don’t see how that gets my nieces home safe,” I said slowly.
She looked down at me, her eyes glowing with a fervent intensity. “If Redcoat lives, they’ll never know a real home because they’ll never be safe.”
I frowned, knowing she was right.
“Zeke could have died. Your nieces are missing. No one you love is safe, Ms. Lee.”
I knew she was speaking the truth, but the weight of what she was asking me to do was crushing. I hung my head, trying to prepare myself. “Where is he? Where’s Redcoat?”
“That’s part of the problem,” she admitted. “We don’t know.”
Chapter 15
When I got back to the B&B, after Ms. Whitehat had been driven away in a fancy town car, I called an emergency family meeting.
I walked through the house yelling, “Family meeting in twenty minutes. Family meeting. Twenty.”
Then I went down to the basement, texted Aunt Susan the message about the meeting, and told Piss what was going on.
“Help DeeDee,” the dog declared when I was through.
“I know you will.” I patted her head. “But I’m going to need you on protection duty here at the house.” I looked to the cat. “Can I count on you too?”
“Sure, sugar.”
“If you don’t want to, if you think it’s too dangerous, I’ll understand,” I told her.
She flicked her tail. “Now’s not the time for me to go run and hide.”
“Thank you.”
“What about me?” God asked. He was lounging on the back of the couch.
“I’ll need you with me,” I admitted grudgingly.
“Excellent choice!”
“Glad you approve,” I said drily.
“Now what are you going to tell everyone at this family meeting?” the lizard wanted to know.
“The truth.”
“The truth?”
“Just not the whole truth,” I admitted.
We all traipsed back upstairs and waited while the others trickled in.
“Do you want me to take Katie out to play or something?” Angel asked.
I shook my head. “No. She should be here too.”
Angel raised his eyebrows, but kept his mouth shut, quickly exiting the room.
“She looks upset,” Loretta noted, as though I wasn’t sitting right there. She struggled to use her walker to limp into the room as Templeton pulled a chair out for her.
“She wouldn’t call a meeting if she wasn’t upset, darling,” he replied, like I wasn’t in earshot.
“Who are they talking about?” Marlene asked as she trailed in after them.
“Me.”
Marlene frowned. “Why are they talking like you’re not there?”
“Why are you talking like they’re not there?” I countered.
“Why are any of you talking at all,” God groaned from my chest.
Angel returned carrying Katie.
Griswald rushed in behind them. “Susan’s pulling into the driveway now.”
“Where’s Leslie?” I asked.
“Sleeping it off.” Loretta rolled her eyes, which made her false eyelashes dance like demented spiders.
“I’m here! I’m here!” Susan yelled as her footsteps clattered through the kitchen.
“We’re in the dining room,” Loretta trilled.
Susan ran in, hair disheveled, eyes wild. “Did I miss anything?”
“No,” Griswald said gently, patting the empty seat beside him. “Maggie waited for you.”
All eyes swiveled to me.
DeeDee and Piss settled themselves, side-by-side in the doorway, lending moral support but ready to make a quick getaway if the situation went south.
“Thank you all for coming,” I said slowly.
“Is this about what Gypsy said about Darlene?” Susan asked suspiciously.
“Ummm, no.”
“Is it about what Leslie said about Teresa and you-know-who?” Marlene tilted her head in Katie’s direction.
“Of course not,” I snapped.
“Is it about Zeke ending up in the hospital?” Griswald asked helpfully.
“Yes!” I pointed at him like he’d won a game show. “That’s what it’s about.”
“Zeke’s in the hospital?” Susan asked, alarmed.
“What happened?” Marlene asked.
“He was attacked while we were at The Corset,” I began to explain.
“Oh no!” Loretta wailed. “What happened to my shop?”
“Who cares about your stupid shop,” Susan snapped. “What happened to the poor boy? Where is he? Why isn’t he here?”
“He’s in the hospital,” I started.
Susan let out what sounded like a sob.
“Just for observation,” I hurriedly assured her.
“They didn’t mess up his face, did they?” Marlene asked.
“Oh, that would be a shame,” Loretta chimed i
n. “Such a handsome young man. Those eyes, that nose, that chin.”
“You’re too old for him,” Templeton said sharply.
“And that mouth,” Marlene continued. “Those lips. So—”
“Shut up!” I shouted, slamming my fist onto the table. “Shut up about his face and the store and for once in your lives just listen!”
The room fell silent. Mouths hung open. Eyes were wide.
The only sound was my own heavy breathing.
Then there was laughter. Not a chuckle, but great heaving gales of belly laughter.
All eyes turned to Angel who was laughing so hard he’d turned red.
“Margaret’s tantrum is not the least bit amusing, Angel,” Susan reprimanded him primly.
That made Angel dissolve into another fit of uncontrolled laughter.
I found myself smiling along with him as I realized how ridiculous the whole encounter had been.
Susan glared at me. “Look what you’ve done.”
“I don’t think Maggie’s reaction is the problem,” Griswald remarked mildly. All eyes swung over to him. “She’s right. You don’t listen.”
“I don’t listen?” Susan asked clutching her chest.
“None of you listen.” Griswald looked around the room, making sure Loretta, Templeton, and Marlene knew they were included in his accusation.
“I listen,” Katie piped up. “Is Zeke going to be okay? Will he be able to teach me a magic trick like he promised?”
I nodded. “Yes, he will.”
Angel, who’d finally gotten himself under control, assured her, “He’s going to teach you a great magic trick.”
She smiled happily.
“Maybe now everyone will listen while Maggie tells us why she brought us together,” Griswald suggested, nodding at me to continue.
I cleared my throat. “So…after what happened to Zeke and what happened yesterday with the car—”
“I thought it was a fender bender,” Susan interrupted sharply, glaring at Griswald.
“It was a bit more than that,” I admitted. “But we didn’t want to alarm anyone or ruin Loretta’s welcome home party.”
Griswald offered me the hint of a grateful smile.
“The point is,” I continued, “I think we should all make an effort to keep an eye out and protect ourselves.”
The others absorbed the suggestion for a long moment.
“Zeke’s the common denominator,” Marlene said. “If he’s not around—”
“Perhaps Maggie is the common denominator,” Griswald interrupted.
“Well, we can’t send her away,” Loretta declared. Then she looked to her older sister. “Can we?”
“We are not sending anyone anywhere,” Susan declared. “Maggie’s right. We should all remain vigilant.”
“No one should be alone,” Griswald suggested.
“Especially Maggie,” Angel concurred.
I stiffened. The last thing I needed was someone velcroing themselves to me when I needed to hunt down Redcoat. Before I could come up with an argument as to why I didn’t need a babysitter, Aunt Susan’s cell phone rang. She glanced at the Caller ID. She paled. Raising her gaze to meet mine, she said, “It’s your mother’s doctor.”
“Answer it,” Marlene urged. “It could be important.”
“Hello?” Susan said into the phone. She listened for a long moment, the knuckles of her hand turning white as she squeezed the phone. “Yes. I see. We’ll be right over.”
“What’s wrong?” Marlene asked.
“What happened?” I needed to know.
“Someone tried to kidnap your mother,” Susan revealed shakily.
Griswald put his arm around her. “Who?”
“Dad?” Marlene asked.
Susan shook her head slightly.
“Even he wouldn’t be that stupid,” I declared, not knowing why I had the need to defend him considering he’d recently been exactly that stupid.
“No,” Susan agreed. “He’s the one who saved her.”
Templeton let out a low whistle. “Theirs is a romance for the ages.”
Susan’s gaze met mine, then skittered away.
My stomach flip-flopped nervously. “What aren’t you telling us?”
Susan’s lip quivered. “He was hurt saving her. They’re rushing him to the hospital now.”
I sat back in my chair, absorbing that shock.
“Susan, Loretta, Templeton, and I will go to see Mary,” Griswald declared.
“The rest of you go to the hospital to check on Archie.”
“We can’t just leave Leslie here,” Susan said.
“I’ll wake her.” Marlene jumped to her feet and raced out of the room.
The cat and dog barely made it out of her path. They wisely didn’t return to the doorway.
“C’mon, kiddo. Let’s find your shoes,” Angel said, sweeping Katie into his arms. As he hurried past, he gave my shoulder a squeeze.
I knew he meant it to be reassuring, but it just felt like a reminder of how fleeting life could be.
Loretta, with Templeton’s help, began the slow painful journey out to the car.
Susan ran into the kitchen, mumbling something about making my mother a care package.
I just sat there, trying hard not to totally lose it. Zeke had been attacked, my nieces were missing, someone had tried to kidnap my mom and hurt my dad. I realized that Whitehat was right. No one I loved was safe. I was going to lose them all.
Chapter 16
“Breathe, Maggie,” God coached from my bra. “Breathe, woman. You’re not going to do anyone any good if you pass out.”
I sucked in a breath.
“Anything else you want to tell me?” Griswald asked.
Looking up, I realized that like me, he hadn’t yet vacated his seat.
I shook my head.
His gaze narrowed. “You sure about that? People’s lives are hanging in the balance.”
I gulped. While part of me wanted to confide in him, the other part of me thought that Whitehat was right, the safety of my family rested on me, not law enforcement.
“I can’t think of anything,” I lied smoothly.
“Be careful out there,” Griswald warned.
I nodded.
Hearing Marlene cajoling Leslie down the stairs, I got up to help her get our aunt out to the car.
By the time we’d loaded her into the backseat, Angel, carrying both Katie and her car seat walked up behind us.
“Thanks,” I said gratefully, glad that someone was watching out for my niece’s safety.
He quickly installed the seat and buckled Katie in. Marlene shoved Leslie into the middle before climbing into the seat behind the driver.
“Want to drive?” I asked Angel, offering him the keys.
“Wow,” he murmured, “you really are shook up.” He took the keys. “Everything will work out.”
“You don’t know that,” I said tiredly, walking around the car to plop into the front passenger seat.
Everyone in the car stayed silent on the ride to the hospital except for Leslie who snored the whole way.
Angel pulled into the No Parking zone in front of the emergency room entrance to let Marlene and I out. We hurried inside, Marlene grabbing my hand and hanging on like she had when she was five.
A familiar face was waiting for us.
“How is he?” I blurted out.
Considering that Brian Griswald is not a fan of my father, it was impressive that he managed to inject compassion into his response. “He’s a fighter.”
“What does that mean?” Marlene asked, leaning against me.
Brian’s eyes met mine, silently asking how much he should tell her.
Considering that whoever had hit Zeke had landed him in the hospital with just one blow, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine my father was in pretty bad shape.