Girls With Guns

by Ali Vali

  “If you named it you’re officially a nerd.”

  “No names for the car, but I’m afraid I still fall into that nerd category.”

  “You don’t shoot like one.” She never drank to excess, but right now she’d finish one off if Finley offered.

  “When you go through the academy they really don’t care what your career path is, but they do want you to be able to take care of yourself.” The way Finley carefully folded the blanket gave Abigail the impression she was that meticulous with everything in her life. “My mother sent my instructors plenty of thank-you notes because of their insistence on that.”

  “All mothers understand worry, especially when it’s over their children. I certainly would if one of mine chose your line of work.”

  “There’s that and plenty of luck.”

  “If you say so,” she said and yawned. “Are we safe here?”

  “Take the couch, and don’t worry about a repeat of this morning. The only people who know about this place are my parents and me. You and the kids are safe.”

  “For now.”

  *

  “You need to bring her in now, especially if she has Abigail Eaton and her children with her,” Russell’s direct supervisor said over the phone.

  Russell closed his eyes and mentally counted to three before saying anything. It was bad enough that everyone with delusions of grandeur had called him about this case. He didn’t want Washington piling on for shits and giggles. “In the last two days someone has tried to kill Ms. Eaton a total of three times. In my opinion that’s excessive for a baby doctor from New Orleans, so excuse me for not following orders. Even if I knew where Abbott was, I wouldn’t call her back in.”

  “Russell, don’t give me any shit over this. David Eaton has dinner with Senator Feingold once a month. I doubt Feingold got anything done on the Hill today since he’s been too busy crawling up my ass on this. So far he’s personally gotten in touch six times, and he wants answers.”

  “So do I,” Russell said as he pointed to his visitors’ chair when Peter knocked. “What the hell did Abigail Eaton do to warrant this kind of extreme attention?”

  “Mr. Eaton has no clue, and he also has no clue as to how his grandchildren are. His wife is frantic, which means they’ll keep Feingold in a froth until they’re found. Usually stuff like this bugs the hell out of me, but the Eatons have already lost their children, so having no information about their grandchildren is making them crazy.”

  “You can give them my word they’re fine and safe with Finley. If one of them had gotten hurt she’d have come in and ordered ten times the protection needed.” He was ready to hang up, but he waited for his supervisor to make that move. “As soon as I know anything, so will you. You’ve got my word.”

  “Don’t forget that the second you hang up,” his boss said, and then the line went dead.

  “Anything?” Russell asked Peter as he gently replaced his receiver.

  “The picture you sent of the woman you met with has come up empty. I don’t know who she is, but I can tell you for sure that she’s not affiliated with the DA’s office.” Peter placed a file on his desk before he went on. “Captain Brian Baylord is an interesting person who does in fact work for the NYPD.”

  “What’s so fascinating about him?” he asked as he studied the photo of him in dress blues.

  “He gave up running the task force on Russian crime to take basically a demotion to managing off-duty assignments in the Bronx. It’s not a trade anyone would make without a little shove.”

  “There’s nothing on who might’ve shoved him out?”

  “The two guys I know downtown said there was no story and it really was voluntary.”

  “That’s like saying you volunteer to pick up trash at the Grand Canyon parking lot instead of being president of the United States.” He flipped through the rest of the file and sighed. “What’s a guy in charge of scheduling rent-a-cops want with this case, and how’d he find out about our involvement so fast?”

  “It doesn’t make sense to me either when you factor in the mystery woman. I’ll keep digging and report back to you,” Peter said, taking all the files back.

  “Peter,” he said, making Peter pause. “If you get a call from my overly diligent supervisor or anyone else—”

  “Don’t worry, sir. I report only to you. Finley’s my partner, so I’m not about to do or say anything that’ll place her in danger.” He tucked the files under his arm and stood. “I’ll run a scan for the woman, so let’s hope she’s in the system.”

  “If she’s not, we’re going to lean on the asshole Baylord until he give us something.”

  “Do you have any idea how all this fits together?” Peter asked softly.

  The young man’s demeanor made Russell think he was in the wrong business. “That’s what we’re working on, so get back to it.”

  *

  Finley let them all sleep until after nine the next morning and had breakfast ready for everyone. The night before, she’d quietly prepared everything she’d need for the next few days and beyond so they wouldn’t stand out in any way. Once they were done eating they’d be free to go.

  “You’re like a Girl and Eagle Scout all rolled into one,” Abigail said as she glanced at the boxes with car seats for the children. “How’d you sneak away and not wake me?”

  “I try not to sneak whenever possible, and this time I got away with it since you were exhausted. Would you help me with these?” She pointed to the seats. “Once we’re all strapped in, we can go.”

  “You’re driving us home? Is that necessary?”

  “Ma’am, I need you to start taking this situation seriously. Do you really want me to drop you at the airport and disappear?” She had the sudden urge to just cuff and gag Abigail and throw her in the car. “I will if you insist, since I can’t force you, but what do you think’s going to happen when you go home unprotected?”

  “This is totally foreign to me, so please forgive me.”

  “No need for sorry,” she said, slicing a box open. “My only interest in all this is keeping you and your family safe.”

  “You’ve done an excellent job so far.”

  They talked as they worked, and when they were all inside, Abigail mouthed “thank you” as she pulled out and locked the unit. This wouldn’t be a vacation so they wouldn’t make a lot of stops, but Finley was prepared for the road. She had them all lie down as they left, on the off chance someone was watching, but she relaxed once they were on I-78. Before their first stop for gas and food, she’d change the plates on the Sequoia, and the new ones would be in the system should they get stopped. She had a set for every state they’d travel through so they’d blend with everyone else on the road.

  “Do you have children?” Abigail asked softly as she stared out the window. “I guess I should’ve asked before now.”

  “Up to now I’ve been married to my job, so it would’ve been selfish to bring children or a partner into that. My parents always tell me you shouldn’t commit unless you can pull your weight.”

  “That’s mighty progressive thinking.”

  “I don’t think it’s a fresh idea. My mom and dad have been married a long time, and it works because he’s home every night by six, and they sit and talk every evening.” Finley remembered well all those chats, hearing about all the guys her dad worked with, and how her parents had held hands through them all. “They both say they enjoy each other’s company and still do on their long walks on the beach in Florida since they’ve retired.”

  Abigail looked at her and smiled, but it made her appear sadder than if she’d frowned. They were lucky the children were absorbed in the movie she’d started for them. “I’m sorry you’re having to go through this alone.”

  “Thanks to you, I’m not alone.” Abigail’s face relaxed as she placed her hand on her forearm. “And I’m not cracking up on you. What your parents share—not everyone gets that, so you’re lucky to have witnessed it.”

&n
bsp; “Do you miss being part of a couple?” she asked and winced. She’d never been good at small talk, and her insensitive question proved that. “I’m sorry. Usually I’m not that dense.”

  “No, it’s a fair question, and I do miss a few things,” Abigail said but didn’t elaborate. “Nothing I’d want to bore you with,” she said after a long pause.

  That was one of their longer conversations for the next two days. They were a few miles outside New Orleans during five o’clock traffic, but Finley had planned it that way. The family probably was ready to head home, but that couldn’t happen yet, so she stopped at a warehouse park she noticed off the interstate. Abigail sighed but didn’t say anything.

  “I know you think I’m paranoid,” Finley said, her eyes on Abigail, but she’d spoken loud enough for all of them to understand.

  “Please tell me it’s not some dive,” Abigail said, but with a smile.

  “Let’s see what luxuries I can conjure up.”

  *

  “After all this time you’ve got nothing,” David Eaton yelled into the phone. “Are you forgetting who’s responsible for putting you in that pretty office you love so much?”

  “Come on, David. The FBI is being tight-lipped about it, but I’m sure they’re all fine. If something had happened, Russell would’ve told me by now,” Senator Kurt Feingold said, his voice echoing slightly. “I’m pushing hard, but these people don’t report to me.”

  “You sound like a whiny little girl, so shut up and get me some answers. If you don’t, live with the fact you’re replaceable.”

  Valerie closed her eyes when David slammed the phone down. In a way she was impressed with Abigail’s little disappearing act, but she was ready to hear from her grandchildren. All the planning and scheming in the world wouldn’t matter if they disappeared into thin air.

  “Are you ready to listen to me now?” she said when her husband banged his fist down on his desk. David was an instant-gratification kind of man, so situations like this where other people were controlling every move made him insane.

  “Today isn’t a good day for lectures, so don’t make this worse than it has to be.”

  “You know we’ll find her eventually,” she said as she stepped behind him and started massaging his shoulders. “There are only so many places she can run, so put people you trust to watch every one of them. While we wait, let’s go ahead and file. With everything that’s happened, it’ll only put us in better position. Let’s sell it as temporary, so when Abigail decides to show up we can move with the court’s blessing.”

  “Nothing in life’s that easy, so let’s wait.”

  “For what?” She squeezed him as hard as she could, but it didn’t appear to faze him.

  “I don’t want temporary any more than you do, so we wait for the right scenario.”

  “And if you can’t find her?” She let go of him and turned toward the window.

  “Like you said, her choices of where to go are limited.” He moved to stand right behind her and pressed close to her. “We’ll all get what we want. You’ve got my word.”

  “And Abigail’s got our future.”

  “Not for long, darling—not for long.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Should I ask who this belongs to?” Abigail asked as she walked through the house overlooking Lake Pontchartrain. It had only two bedrooms but was spacious and decorated in a warm, inviting way.

  “Don’t worry. We aren’t trespassing or getting evicted,” Finley said as she put the rest of the children’s bags in the guestroom “It’s secluded enough that you’ll be safe, but close enough to your place to allow us to figure out what’s going on.”

  “My life here has nothing to do with all of this,” she said and folded her arms, daring Finley to argue that point.

  “Mom,” Sadie said softly. “I’m scared, and she’s a police officer, so why can’t she help us?”

  “She will,” she said as she hugged Sadie to her and watched Finley walk away. “Finley’s right. We’ll be safe here, so you don’t have to be scared.”

  It took over an hour, but she managed to calm not only Sadie, but Victoria and Liam as well. Considering everything that had happened, the kids had been really good and were well overdue their freak-out moment. Once they were happy watching TV together, she went looking for Finley.

  “What’s our next step?”

  “We had to run to a safe place so we could go on offense,” Finley said as she waited for the printer to stop spitting out sheets. “I say ‘we’ because I believe this will be easier with you, but you can take a pass if you want.”

  “Will you be totally honest with me?” Abigail said as she sat on the corner of the desk. “I’ll do what I have to, but I’m not one to be kept in the dark. Not anymore anyway.”

  Finley stared at her for a long while before nodding. “Can we have a conversation that’s a little more informative than usual? Hopefully by now you can trust me a little, but I’m working blind and think you can help me. You might not realize you have information, but you might.”

  “How about you and I make a deal?” Abigail held out her hand, and Finley could’ve sworn she was in a high-stakes business meeting, but she took it.

  “What are your terms?” She concentrated on Abigail’s pupils as they widened a little.

  “That it’s a two-way conversation. I might have answers, but so do you, no matter how blind you protest you are.”

  “Seems fair, since I’ve got a feeling we’ll be together for longer than you’re probably comfortable with.” She squeezed Abigail’s fingers and smiled. “You go first.”

  “What do you know about my in-laws?”

  The question surprised her, since that’s where she’d intended to begin. “I can honestly say the name Eaton has never come up in anything I’m working on. But it seems strange that your mother-in-law would’ve called Sadie instead of you, or should I ask if you think that’s strange?”

  “Nicola’s family is demanding, and that’s when she was alive. Now it’s an interesting dance we do because of those three little kids in there.”

  “Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of infuriating?” she asked, and Abigail laughed. “I take that as a yes.”

  “I’m sure it’s occurred to you that a limited number of people knew where we were the night we ended up at the Plaza. Did you tell anyone?” Abigail crossed her arms over her chest and simply stared at her, as if their thought processes had suddenly meshed.

  “Does your mother-in-law have a reason to want to kill you?”

  For a second she thought she’d overstepped when Abigail shut her eyes. “She wants the same thing Nicola wanted if I made steps to leave, and that’s control of my children.”

  “Full custody, you mean?” Finley needed a cold beer. This was fucked up.

  “I have full custody, Detective. The Eatons want full control.” Abigail crossed her arms and shook her head. “There’s a difference, believe me.”

  “And you really don’t have any idea what kind of business they’re in?”

  “You’re persistent,” Abigail said and laughed. “Maybe I’m a little embarrassed about that since I asked and was told it was beyond my scope of understanding.” She sighed. “It was then that I realized love makes you incredibly stupid.”

  “Maybe that’s why I’ve avoided it all these years.” She placed her hand on Abigail’s knee. “Let me do some research on the Eatons, and I’ll share what I find.”

  “Do we have food in our little hideout?” Abigail asked, and she nodded. “Good. I’ll make dinner and we can review after the kids go to bed.”

  “If you’re tired I can go pick something up.”

  “I don’t mind. Perhaps if you enjoy a little taste of domesticity, it’ll help prepare you for the one you won’t have any choice but to love.”

  *

  Abigail enjoyed the few hours of doing something normal after her bizarre vacation. On the drive back home she’d made up her mind
that they wouldn’t be taking any family trips up North anytime soon. If Nicola’s parents wanted to see her children, they could come to New Orleans, and if they didn’t like it, they could take her to court. She was confident that any court, especially locally, would side with her.

  “Mom, do you think we can go home soon?” Sadie asked, slicing through her daydreaming.

  “I do, but we’re going to wait until Finley says it’s okay. She promised to keep us safe.” She put her arms around Sadie and squeezed. If somehow Valerie did have something to do with what had happened at the Plaza, she’d make her pay. “Can I ask you something just between us?”

  “Sure, what?” They sat together on the bench in the large window opposite the dining table. The house didn’t have a lot of rooms, but it was spacious and nicely designed.

  “The night you talked to your grandmother, do you remember exactly what she said and what you said back?” She combed Sadie’s hair back and smiled to not alarm her. “You didn’t do anything wrong, but it might help Finley.”

  “She called to see how we were doing and where we were,” Sadie said, and Abigail immediately figured out there was so much more to this because Sadie wouldn’t make any eye contact. That was Sadie’s first tell when something was off.

  “Baby, I promise I won’t be mad, but you have to tell me everything. It’s really important.” She kissed Sadie’s forehead and held her to make it easier for her to talk without her staring her down.

  “I thought it’d be okay because she calls me all the time.”

  It took effort not to react. “Really? What do you guys talk about?” She was proud of how steady her voice sounded.

  “Do we really have to move away? If you don’t want us anymore, you can say so, and if we did something wrong, we promise to be better.” Sadie’s sudden tears broke her heart. “I want to stay with you, Mama. Please.”

  “Hey,” Finley said softly as she put an arm around both of them when she came in, obviously having been eavesdropping on them. “Come on, kiddo. Don’t cry.”