by Ann Mullen
“Oh, Lord,” I cried. “I’ll never live this one down.”
“Sure, you will,” Billy said, smiling. “But you can bet that nobody will come through that door again without knocking. Hey, I think I’ll knock next time, too.”
“It’s not funny. Is it, Jonathan?”
“It’s funny now, but it sure wasn’t funny when I was staring down the barrel of that gun. There’s nothing like a .38 to the gut.”
Billy and Jonathan smiled at each other.
“You wouldn’t be laughing if the gun had gone off.”
“You got that right.”
“I need a drink.”
“Speaking of which,” Billy said. “What’s this about a bottle of pills you have?”
“They’re drugs,” I replied, sarcastically. “I’ve been downing them ever since I met you. I have an addiction.” I looked at Billy and could tell that he thought I was serious. “I’m only kidding. I got those pills a long time ago for my anxiety. I don’t usually take them, but I took one when I found out that you were in one of those ambulances. I thought you were going to die.”
“Are those the same pills you gave your mother that time?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Aren’t they awfully old? Are they still any good?”
“I don’t know, but it sure worked for me last night.”
“Oh, me. My brother has C4 in his basement and my wife takes drugs. What am I going to do with the two of you?”
“So, you did have C4 in your basement?” I said to Jonathan. “Isn’t it against the law to possess explosive material like that?”
“It’s a long story,” Jonathan replied. “It wasn’t supposed to be there. It wouldn’t have been if… Like I said, it’s a long story. And it wasn’t the C4 that caused that huge explosion. I didn’t have but a teeny, tiny amount of the stuff. However… the other materials in the basement are another thing.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to explain that to the ATF,” Billy said. “They’re going to be all over you about it.”
“You let me worry about the ATF. They don’t know their head from a hole in the ground. I’ll take care of this mess.”
“You say that now,” Billy said. “They’ll be leading you away in handcuffs, and you’ll be telling them how dumb they are.”
“It’s not going to happen. They’re not going to give me any grief.”
“How can you be so certain… unless…”
“Let’s not discuss it now.”
A car pulled up in the driveway. I heard the crunch of the tires in the snow. I walked over and peeked out the window. “It’s the black Suburban. L-u A-n-n is here.” I looked over at Jonathan and smiled. “She called and said she had something important to tell you. She probably wants to ask you to marry her. She never did love this guy she’s engaged to, and all you have to do is say you’ll marry her, and then everything will be fine.”
“You’re a real jokester, Jesse. She gave up on me a long time ago. If she still cared about me, she would’ve never gotten engaged. Nope, my time has come and gone. She’s done with me. She’s probably come here to scold me about the volatile chemicals I had in my basement.”
I opened the door before she had a chance to ring the doorbell. “Welcome, Lu Ann. Jonathan just arrived.” I motioned for her to enter. “May I take your coat?”
“Sure,” she replied. She walked in and said hello to Billy and then looked at Jonathan. “Hello, Jonathan.”
“Hello, Lu Ann. It’s nice to see you again. Jesse said you had something important to tell me. Have you worked up a profile on the arsonist, yet?”
“That can wait,” she said. “I have something else I want to talk about first.”
“Billy and I were about to… ah… do something.” I looked at Billy. “Come on. Let’s give them some privacy.” I looked at Lu Ann and said, “Actually, if you want to you can go back to the family room and close the door.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. If I’m going to make a fool out of myself, I might as well do it in front of everyone.” She walked up closer to Jonathan and said, “I’ve been in love with you for so long, I can’t remember when I wasn’t. I want you to marry me and I want us to have babies—preferably a son who won’t follow in his father’s footsteps and store a chunk of C4 and other dangerous materials in his basement. Say the word, and my engagement is off. Otherwise, I’ll tell you what else I came here to tell you, and you won’t see me again. I can’t continue living…”
Jonathan grabbed her up in his arms and kissed her passionately.
Billy and I stood there with our mouths open. Seeing the two of them together reminded me of the first time Billy kissed me. It was so romantic.
“Ah…” I murmured. “That’s so sweet.”
When their kiss was finished, Jonathan looked at her without hesitation and said, “Will you marry me?”
“Yes, I will,” Lu Ann answered.
“When would you like to get married? I’m ready anytime you are.”
“It’ll have to wait until you get back from your next mission.”
“What next mission?”
“The one I promised Lester you’d go on. You know what you have to do, don’t you?”
“When did you talk to him?”
“First thing this morning. I called him at home and got him out of bed. He wasn’t too happy.”
“What’s going on here?” I asked, sticking my nose in.
“That’s classified,” Lu Ann replied, explaining nothing further.
“That’s good enough for me,” I said. I didn’t understand what was going down, but if it had anything to do with keeping Jonathan out of trouble with the ATF and out of jail, it was fine by me.
“Last night when you said you were engaged, I knew you weren’t in love with the guy,” Jonathan said to Lu Ann. “If you had been, you would’ve worn the ring just so I would see it on your finger. No, I thought something was up, and I was right.”
“You hoped something was up,” Lu Ann said, mocking him.
“How did you know I would ask you to marry me?”
“You’re still in love with me. It was written all over your face. That’s when I realized I was still in love with you.”
Chapter 9
Jonathan and Lu Ann put the discussion of their upcoming wedding plans on hold, now that it had been decided that there would be a wedding to plan. There were more pressing issues at hand. We gathered in the kitchen to talk about those issues over a cup of coffee.
“What did you all decide about Daniel’s funeral?” I asked.
“Daniel will be buried in the family cemetery, of course,” Billy said. “We’ll have a graveside service and then a celebration of his life afterwards at Mom and Dad’s house. Beth will take care of his obituary and then she’s going to call all our relatives. The service will be day after tomorrow on Saturday.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll make sure that I call Claire and Jack today and tell them. They’re the only family on my side who are close with the Blackhawk family. The rest are distant relatives that even I hardly see… except for Aunt Edie and Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill isn’t well, so they won’t be here for Christmas.” I paused and then looked up from my cup of coffee to Billy. “I guess we need to cancel the Christmas party. We can have a small dinner just for us. I’m sure your mom…”
“Oh, no, Jesse. Mom wants us to go ahead with our plans. She’d be disappointed if we called it off. She said that even though this would be a sad Christmas because she’ll have a missing son, she can’t allow the family to forget about the good times. We must celebrate the future. Daniel would want us to carry on. He was such a big partier, and he loved the women. That’s what got him in trouble with his former wives.”
“He just couldn’t keep his eyes off the young ladies,” Jonathan added.
The two brothers looked at each other and shared a warm moment.
“Yeah, he sure did have a thing for pretty women. He used to t
ell me that I’d better watch out. He had his eyes on Jesse.”
I smiled. I could see where this was going, and it was a trip that needed to be taken. When you lose a loved one, it’s important that you have another loved one to talk with about it. Billy and Jonathan needed to share their memories, and I wanted to be a part of that sharing.
“He flirted with me all the time, but I never took him seriously. He’d do it right in front of Billy.” I looked over at Jonathan and Lu Ann and then smiled. “I saw how he acted around women, and they loved him.”
It was almost eleven o’clock. The kids would soon be getting up from their nap. I knew the minute Athena and Thor sashayed into the kitchen and lay down by my feet that the time was near. I could count on them to be vigilant. They were like clockwork. Any second, I would hear a cry echo up the hallway right to my ears. Other times, their wild barking would alert me to anything and everything that was going on outside the house whether it was an intruder or a leaf falling to the ground. They also are a good judge of character. They act rabid when they’re around someone they mistrust or just plain don’t like. I’ve seen them snarl and bare their teeth as if they were going to eat someone for dinner. When I was pregnant with Ethan, I walked to the end of the driveway with the two of them once and that was the last time. They almost attacked the mailman right in his car. Later, it turned out that the guy was a child molester. He got arrested a few weeks after our encounter. A few months back, a crazy woman abducted Mom and when Athena took off into the woods, I didn’t pay much attention to her absence. If I had, we would’ve found Mom sooner. So now, when Athena and Thor talk—I listen. And Spice Cat—he’s a real character. He hisses at evil people. I’ve seen that, too. Most of the time, he just lies around and makes himself right at home… anywhere he wants to.
“He was being himself, Jesse. He wouldn’t mess with one of our women, but he’d make us think twice when we were in the wrong. He’d tell us to go buy flowers or candy and say we were sorry… and to stop being so pigheaded.”
“He told me the same thing about one of my old girlfriends. He said that if I didn’t want her anymore, he did. It woke me up.”
“What did you do?” I asked. “Did you crawl back on your hands and knees?” I chuckled.
“Jonathan doesn’t crawl back to any woman,” Lu Ann said. “I have first-hand knowledge. He gives up and walks away.” She grinned at Jonathan.
“That was the old me,” he said. “This time I have seen the error of my ways and want to make amends. If that means I have to marry you to keep you, then so be it. I guess I’ll just have to bite the bullet.”
“I don’t believe you said that!” I exclaimed. “You turd!”
Lu Ann reached across the table, put her hand on mine and said, “Don’t believe a word he says, Jesse. He’s spent the last two years pining over me, and he’s finally come to realize that he has to get off his duff, or lose me forever. Isn’t that the truth, Mr. Turd?”
The two of us laughed until we had tears in our eyes. That’s all it took for us to become friends—two women sharing a good laugh over a man.
“What could be better?” Lu Ann asked. “If you can’t laugh at your guy…”
“Or better yet, we can laugh at them, but nobody else better!”
“Are we missing something?” Billy asked, looking over at Jonathan.
Lu Ann and I were still laughing.
Billy and Jonathan made an attempt to ignore us by continuing their conversation. “I think he did it to keep us on our toes,” Billy said.
“And it worked, most of the time.”
One of the children started to cry.
“I guess that’s for me,” I said as I got up from the table. “Lu Ann, would you like to come meet our children, or would you rather sit here and listen to men being men, telling their lies?”
“I can do without the lies.” She smiled and then looked over at Jonathan and said, “I’ve had enough to last a lifetime. I’m ready for some good old honesty, and a husband who will be my slave.”
The two of us laughed and chatted as we walked down the hall to the nursery.
“Ah, how beautiful your children are,” Lu Ann said when she walked into the room and looked down into their cribs. “And what a lovely room. I love the murals on the wall. Nursery rhyme characters are the best. My sister did her nursery very similar to this.”
“So, you have a sister?” I asked as I changed Ethan’s diaper. Maisy stood up in her crib and waited her turn. I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Hang in there, sweetie. You’re next.”
“Yes, I have two sisters—Lily and Maggie,” Lu Ann replied. “Lily went out with Daniel a couple of times, but that didn’t go anywhere. His wife, Barbara, had just left him and he was on the rebound.”
“I guess there’s still plenty to learn about the Blackhawks.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Can you change a diaper?”
“I sure can. I have a niece who is six months old, so I’ve had plenty of experience.”
Lu Ann looked around to see where everything was, and then went to work. She was holding Maisy in her arms waiting for me when I picked up Ethan.
“Where to now?” she asked.
“We’re off to the kitchen,” I said with a smile. “Love, clean diapers, food and a bottle—that’s all they ask of us.”
“Until they get older.”
“Yes, that’s true. Next thing you know, they’ll want to borrow the car. I dread the day.”
We walked back to the kitchen just in time to hear a car pull up in the driveway and the telephone ring. Jonathan got up from the table and went to answer the door while Billy got up to answer the phone.
The phone call was brief. I looked at Billy and asked, “Who was that?”
“It was your mom. She said she was on her way back. Everything at the house was fine.”
“That was quick.”
“She can’t stay away from us for long,” he added. “She wanted Eddie to follow her back. I told her it was okay.”
“That’s fine with me if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“I think it’s a good idea. She likes him, and he’s good for her.”
I could tell this was going to be a very busy day. It wasn’t even lunch time yet, but I was already tired. I didn’t get to sleep until almost four, and when I did, it was a restless sleep. Then I was up at seven. My concentration was slack at best. My thoughts kept going back to the man/boy I encountered in the hospital parking garage. He was standing there telling me that he was sorry, and then he goes out and does it again. Except, this time, his actions killed two people. The question that haunted me was, why me? Why did he seek me out?
“Come on in,” Jonathan said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
“How is everyone doing?” Cole asked, looking around. He smiled at me and nodded to Lu Ann. He shook hands with Jonathan and then walked over to Billy. “I’m so sorry about Daniel. Captain Waverly says they have the usual suspects, but nothing definitive. We’re comparing the crime scene in Ruckersville to the one here to see if there are any similarities.”
“What have you found out so far?” Billy asked. “When Jonathan and I talked to Captain Waverly this morning he said they were certain that an accelerant was used. He said it was gasoline. That’s a sure sign of an amateur.”
I looked over at Billy just as he glanced up at me. He had been to the crime scene this morning, but hadn’t said a word about it. I guess he had more important things on his mind. I would’ve wanted to go with him, but I had to stay home with the kids. Mom needed some time to herself. I know it was selfish of me, but I kept hoping that she would hurry up and get back. I wanted to be a part of this investigation.
The only way for me to have complete freedom and relieve Mom of the demands of taking care of my children was to hire a nanny. This thought had been in the back of my head for a couple of weeks, but I’d been afraid to broach it. I did
n’t want to hurt Mom’s feeling, but I didn’t want to continue getting her to baby sit. No… she needed the time to have a life of her own. When I got up the nerve, I’d talk to her about it.
“From what they’ve pieced together so far, they think the person who set fire to Jonathan’s house might have gained access through an entrance door, poured gasoline all over the floors and left a trail to the woods. Then he struck a match to the trail. I guess he never expected the house to be a storage hold for explosives.” Cole looked at Jonathan. “What did you have in your basement? Never mind. I’m sure it will come out in the report.”
Lu Ann walked over to Jonathan. She was still holding Maisy in her arms. “He obviously ran like a jack rabbit, because they didn’t find a body in the woods. If they had, they wouldn’t be thinking that the guy who did this was also responsible for the fire in Ruckersville. What we have is a plain old-fashioned arsonist. A person who uses something as volatile as gasoline likes to set fires. He enjoys the blaze, but isn’t smart enough to use something less dangerous. If he keeps this up, he’ll most likely be killed by one of his fires.”
“We can’t wait for that to happen,” Cole said. “Three people are dead.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” I asked Cole as I walked over and put Ethan in his lounger.
“That would be nice,” he replied as he sat down at the kitchen table.
I looked at Lu Ann and said,” You can put Maisy in her highchair if you want to. I’ll fix her some juice in her Tommy Tippy cup, and then fix a bottle for Ethan.”
“I don’t mind holding her, but I guess she can’t drink from a cup if I do,” Lu Ann said. “She doesn’t get a bottle?”
“Sometimes she gets one in the morning, but usually she just gets one at night before she goes to bed.”
Lu Ann walked over and put Maisy in her highchair. Athena and Thor were on her heels, keeping their eyes on her every step. Once Maisy was in her chair, the two dogs lay down.
“Your dogs sure are protective,” Lu Ann said. “My sister’s dog is the same way.”