by Sam Cheever
Angie fidgeted.
Percival turned to her. “So, you're my brother's heroine on a white horse.” His dark blue eyes twinkled. “You really stepped in it on this one didn't you, Angie?"
Angie felt her temper flair and frowned. Alastair jumped to her defense. “Don't tease her Perce, she doesn't know you well enough and, frankly, we're both pretty frazzled by this whole mess."
Percival Honeybun kept his blue gaze on Angie and didn't speak for thirty seconds. But then he lowered his head a notch and became serious. “I owe you a great debt, Angie. Thank you for saving my brother's life. He's not much but he's all I have."
Alastair chuckled and Angie felt herself relaxing finally. “You're very welcome. I'm kind of fond of him too.” Then she blushed as Percival gave a delighted whoop.
She stared hard at her hands, terrified to look up and see Alastair's face. That hadn't come out exactly as she'd hoped it would. Even if it was the truth.
Alastair cleared his throat. “Well ... anyway. We need to talk about this mess, Perce. Can you help us get to the police without getting arrested?"
Percival nodded. “I can do you one better than that.” He leaned toward the intercom box on his desk and pushed a button. “Becky, you can send her in now."
The door opened and a statuesque beauty sauntered in, her golden brown gaze snapping with intelligence. She strolled over to Alastair and held out a hand. “Alastair, it's nice to see you again."
Alastair stood up and slapped himself on the forehead, causing the tall woman with the short, choppy cap of hair to lean away from him in surprise. Alastair turned to his brother and grinned. “How could I have forgotten about Brita?"
Percival returned the grin and raised his hands out to the sides as if to say, “No clue."
Then Alastair grabbed the woman's still outstretched hand and pulled on it, yanking her into a hug. “Brita, how are you?"
She looked at Percival over Alastair's shoulder and raised two golden brown eyebrows. Percy shrugged, still smiling.
Pulling out of the embrace Alastair turned to Angie. “Angie, this is Detective Brita Muldane. My brother's very special friend."
Brita grinned at this description and turned to Angie. “Hey Angie. Nice to meet ya."
Angie stood up and took the woman's outstretched hand, receiving a friendly palm squeeze from the taller woman. “You're a police detective?"
Brita nodded.
Angie turned to Alastair, “Why didn't you tell me?"
Alastair looked a bit sheepish. “Things have been so weird and crazy I just forgot."
Percival pulled a third chair away from the small conference table in the corner of the office and Brita sat down, pulling a pocket sized notebook out of her jacket. “Now, tell me exactly what you saw that night at The Rock."
Alistair glanced at his brother and Percival shrugged. “I filled her in already."
Alastair went over the bar incident again. Then he and Angie filled Brita in on what had happened since the previous morning, when she'd overheard the two men talking about killing Alastair.
Brita smiled when they got to the kidnapped old lady in the cab part. “So you two are the infamous old lady cab driver kidnappers. There's a statewide manhunt going on for you."
Angie's eyes popped and her hand flew to cover her gaping mouth. “Oh shit!"
Brita laughed.
Alistair frowned. “Don't tease her Brita, she's taking this all very hard."
Angie glanced from one to the other of them, not sure what to think about what Brita had said. “I've never had so much as a parking ticket before, Detective..."
"Please, Brita will work just fine."
"Brita. I ... I don't want to go to jail."
Brita touched her hand. “I wouldn't worry about it, Angie. Most of the cops had an idea you weren't really trying to kidnap the old lady. But the nephew feels guilty about leaving her alone in the car so he's creating quite a stink about it. It'll all blow over in a couple of weeks. You'll just have to keep a low profile until then."
Alistair snorted. “That won't be easy to do with those two guys trying to kill us."
Brita frowned. “You have a point.” She looked at Percival. “We need to help them find out who's after them."
Percival nodded. “In the meantime they can stay with me."
Brita shook her head. “Absolutely not. You're his brother. That's the first place they'll look, Percy."
Percy scowled at her. “They're not staying with you."
She stood up. “Just until we can get them to a safe house."
"No! It's too dangerous."
She leaned over his desk, giving him cop's eyes. “I'm equipped to handle trouble, Percy. You're not. Deal with it!” Then she kissed him on the lips and his scowl deepened.
Alistair grinned at his brother and stood up. “Call me later, bro."
Angie gave Percy a little smile. “Thanks for all your help, Percival."
"Oh god! Please, call me Percy."
Angie laughed and waved goodbye.
Percy scowled but kept silent as Brita led them from his office.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Five
Brita's house was a little bungalow with a large yard. As Alastair parked the rental behind her in the driveway a cacophony of canine sounds greeted them from the fenced in back yard. She climbed out of her non-descript white car and smiled as little Jaws popped his head out of his sack and returned the greeting.
"Hey Jaws, buddy. How ya doing?” The sack waggled as the little dog worked his tail in enthusiastic greeting. He kissed Brita on the nose when she leaned close to say hi. “That's a good boy, Jawsy. Thanks for the kiss.” Brita looked at Angie, who was currently the bearer of the Jaws sack. “I was gonna ask if you liked dogs but I guess I have my answer. “She jerked her head toward the back of the house, where several dogs appeared to be joining in a chorus of barking and howling. The wood fence hid them from view. “It can get a little chaotic here."
Angie smiled, placing a hand on Jaws’ head and giving him a little nuzzle as he vibrated with excitement. “I'll be fine. I grew up with dogs. I just hope Jaws is up for it."
Alastair pulled the little dog from his sack. “He'll be fine. Once he gets over the fact that he can't be the boss.” Alastair set him on the grass and told him to do his business and the little guy promptly squatted.
The house had been completely renovated and felt larger inside than it looked outside. Brita had opened up the ceilings, and brought down interior walls to create a great room feel to the main part of the house. As they entered she pointed up the stairs. “There are two rooms up there. You can each have one. My bedroom is on the main floor.” She pointed to the back of the house.
Angie looked up the stairs longingly. She would love to go up and change into something more comfortable but didn't have anything to change into. She turned to Alastair. “I really need to go to my apartment and get some things."
Brita shook her head. “I wouldn't advise that. I'm sure those guys have somebody watching your place. If you make me a list I'll go over there later. Hopefully they'll think I'm there visiting somebody else and won't think to follow me."
Angie frowned. “I don't want to put you into any danger."
Brita shrugged. “I'm a police detective. My job is dangerous. Besides, I'll take a couple of other detectives with me to hang back and look for anybody who appears too interested in what I'm doing. Maybe we'll get lucky and snag one of them."
Alastair nodded. “Good plan.” Then he turned to Angie. “In the meantime you can borrow some of my stuff if you want."
Angie nodded and tried to smile. It was all starting to get too much for her. She was tired and scared and wanted to just go home, put on her favorite sweats and thick socks, and make a cup of tea.
"Would you like something to eat or drink?” Brita asked. “Some tea maybe?"
Angie could have kissed her. “I'd kill for a cup of hot tea."
Alastair nodded, “Me too. Can I have honey and lemon in mine?” He glanced at Angie and she grinned at him.
"He's been sick.” She said. She suddenly realized how much they'd shared in a very short time. No wonder she was feeling so close to him even though she'd known him less than two days. She decided the confusing feelings would fade once the current situation was settled and they were back to their normal lives.
The thought should have made her feel better, but somehow it made her just a little bit sad.
Brita led them down the hall to the kitchen. “Percy will be here in a little bit, as soon as he can get away from the office. He's promised to bring dinner home.” She turned to Angie. “I hope you like Chinese food?"
Angie nodded vigorously. “Love it."
Alastair pouted, “Nobody bothered to ask me but I love it too."
Brita laughed, “I'm not worried about you. If you're like your brother you'll eat anything that can't run away from your teeth."
Alastair grinned. “Pretty much.” He looked at Angie. “We come from a large family, mostly guys. You ate when you could, whatever you could, as fast as you could, or there was a good chance you'd starve. We called it trench eating when I was growing up."
Angie cocked her head. “Trench eating?"
"Like in a war. You need to eat but you don't have much time and you can't take your attention off the enemy for even a second. You learn to scarf your rations quickly, with one eye on your surroundings at all times. I've had food snatched right out of my hands before. The aftermath isn't pretty.” He grinned, his eyes telling them he enjoyed the memory despite how disgusted he pretended to be by it.
Brita filled a teapot with water and set it on the stove to heat, turning the dial to bring a gas flame up under it. “At my house we worked hard to be the one who ate the least. Virtual starvation was a badge of honor for us.” She turned back to them with a smile. “It was an all female house. Three generations under one roof; my mom, me and my sisters, and my gramma."
Angie sat at the kitchen table, feeling more comfortable by the minute. “We were totally traditional. It was just my sister and me and two parents, who insisted we all sit down at the table together every night. We bowed to the food pyramid, did our homework before watching a minute of TV, and got the requisite thirty minutes of exercise every day. It was frighteningly normal in every way."
Brita stared at her without blinking. “I've read about you people, but I've never met one of you before."
Angie laughed.
"Aliens.” Alastair mumbled, earning a shot in the arm from Angie.
He rubbed the arm. “Ow. That hurt."
Brita snorted, “Big baby."
He looked affronted. “Hey, I'm sickly and feeble right now."
Both women snorted at that one.
"Yeah. Right.” Angie laughed. “You're suspiciously choosy about the moments when feebleness overtakes you."
He grinned.
The front door opened and Percy called out. The smell of Chinese food wafted toward them down the hall. Alastair jumped up to “help” his brother with the food. A scuffle ensued in the hallway. Finally, both men entered the kitchen with eggrolls hanging out of their mouths.
Brita put out a hand, palm up, and looked at Angie. “I give you Exhibit A."
Percy crossed the room and swooped her up into a lusty hug, then kissed her with the eggroll still sticking out of his face. Brita bit the exposed end off at his lips. “Hey!” He yelled around the remaining half.
She shrugged and chewed. When she had swallowed she said, “Haven't I told you never to lead with your eggroll?"
He waggled his eyebrows at her and started pulling boxes and little waxed bags out of the large plastic bag he was carrying. Soon there was enough food for a serious bout of trench eating. Brita got out plates and silverware and they all dug in.
The tea was abandoned in favor of a round of cold beers.
The house was silent but for the constant scratching and whining at the back door. Angie kept casting her eyes at the back door until Brita finally said. “It's just easier to leave them outside until we're done. They're begging pros."
When the last bite of everything was gone Alastair jumped up and started cleaning off the table. Brita eyed him as if he were an alien. Percy sat back, sipping his second beer. “He's just sucking up."
Angie shook her head. “No, it's just another tool in his toolbox. He uses the tools to get chicks."
She turned red when Brita and Percy whooped in enjoyment and made the most of the double entendre of her tool box scenario. Alastair just grinned.
Finally Angie laughed with them.
Percy said, “It's the name thing isn't it?"
Alistair nodded.
"Yeah, what's with being named after old, rich English guys anyway?” asked Brita.
Percy shrugged, “Mom claims she named us after her favorite characters in movies. She liked English murder mysteries. But we think she did it to punish dad. There were eight of us boys and the names got weirder with each successive one."
Alastair nodded, “Ask Heathcliff what he thinks of the name thing.” The brothers shared a grim look and Percy said, “He's the youngest."
Angie and Brita shared a laugh. “oh my,” gasped Angie, “Poor thing."
The brothers nodded soberly, a suspicious sparkle in their eyes.
The scratching at the door reached new heights and finally Brita couldn't ignore it. She got up and went to the door. Before opening it she looked at them and asked, “Are you ready?"
Percy grinned, Alastair waved a dismissive hand, and Angie's eyes got big but she nodded, clutching Jaws more closely to her chest. The little dog started to vibrate with excitement, his skinny tail wagging frantically.
Brita opened the door and was almost bowled over. Dogs of all sizes and shapes exploded into the kitchen, tails wagging and mouths open in a variety of greeting sounds. Alastair reached over and plucked Jaws from Angie's clutches as the entire group ran over to her and started jumping up trying to sniff the little guy. Alastair stood up so they couldn't reach him, even while fighting with Jaws to keep him off the floor. He wanted to join the happy fray at their feet.
"Hold on, little man,” warned Alastair as Jaws almost managed to extricate himself from Alastair's grasp. He glanced at Angie and apparently saw the worry in her eyes. “He doesn't know he's little."
Brita nodded. “That's the daschund for you.” She reached down and plucked a happy little dog from the floor. It was another doxie, a pretty, red, long haired girl. “This is Moxie.” Brita lifted the wriggling lady up to see Jaws and they touched noses, their tails whipping happily from side to side.
Brita handed Moxie to Percy and called the rest of the mob into the laundry room, where she started filling food bowls from a huge container by the door. When she'd filled all the bowls she put a pet gate across the door and left them, bringing a scoop of food and a bowl into the kitchen. “If Jaws is like most doxies he'll share with Moxie. She put Moxie's bowl on the floor and dumped the food into it. Alastair placed the little dog on the floor and they greeted each other and then stuck their noses into the bowl, tails wagging while they ate.
Angie smiled at the sight. “Look at that, what a couple of cuties."
Brita nodded, “Daschunds are very social and generally very sweet to their owners and other dogs.” She slanted a look at Percy, “They don't always warm up to strangers right away though."
Percy laughed. “Miss Moxie didn't like me all that much when Brit and I started dating. Either that or she thought I was a dentist. She was always showing me her teeth."
"But she's finally warming up to you."
"Jaws likes everybody.” Said Alistair.
"Not everybody.” Angie grinned, “remember when those two thugs tried to grab me?"
Brita frowned, “Which brings us back to the problem at hand.” She glanced at Alastair and Angie. “While I'm enjoying your company immensely...” she grinned, “we do need to figure out what to do next."
"And figure out how to stop them from trying to kill Alastair.” Angie added.
Brita looked at her. “Unfortunately the two are connected. The only way to stop these guys from coming after you is to remove the reason they're doing it. We need to find out where the DA's daughter is and get her back."
Alastair nodded. “That makes sense. It would help if we knew why they took her."
They all looked at Percy. He shrugged. “I'll look into his current case load and see if that will tell us anything. But my guess is they're doing it to stop him from prosecuting somebody. He'll be dismissed from all his cases until we know who took her and why. They'll have to be reassigned. Otherwise it's a guaranteed mistrial."
Alastair looked at Brita. “So we just hide out until you find these guys?"
She nodded. “I'll get you into a safe house as soon as I can. In the meantime you can stay here. I think you'll be comfortable in the upstairs rooms and I don't mind the company."
Angie took Brita's hand. “Thank you so much for helping us. I'm starting to feel better now that you and Percy are involved."
Brita squeezed her hand. “You must have been terrified. And all because you tried to help a complete stranger. I wish more people were like you.” She laughed. “But I guess I can kind of see why more people don't get involved. You're paying a huge price."
Angie shrugged. “I couldn't just let them kill Alastair. Especially since I was picturing him as a kindly old English gentleman."
Alastair groaned and dropped his spiky red head into his hands.
Percy laughed. “Now you know he's just a dork with a bad name."
Brita bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing and slapped Percy on the knee. “That's right Percival Honeybun. He has a bad name."
Percy grimaced, “Touche.” Then he stood up and slapped his brother on the back. “Come on bro, we have nightly dog duties to perform."
Alastair drained his bottle and stood up. “Take them for a walk? All of them.” Alastair's voice rose a few octaves. He glanced into the laundry room where the floor was littered with dogs in various states of after dinner sleepiness. “How many of them are there anyway?"