Oh Say Can You Fudge

by Nancy CoCo

  “Oh, man,” Officer Lasko said, her voice sincerely concerned, her face deeply shadowed. “Who would do this? We’re just a few feet from where everyone was set up. Children were playing nearby.”

  “Pull it together,” Officer Brown said. “We’ve got a couple people in trouble here.” He took a straight line path to me. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, but Trent is in deep trouble.”

  “There’s a brick of something with duct tape wound round it and several wires coming out of it,” Trent said. “I’ve never seen a bomb in real life, but this sort of looks like one.”

  “Okay.” Officer Brown raised his right hand in a stop motion. “Okay. We’re going to assume that it is. Lasko, have dispatch get the fire department out here to evacuate this block and the next.”

  “Roger.” She held out her hand. “Allie, come with me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said sternly. “Trent and Mal are in danger.”

  “You being in danger does not help us,” Trent called.

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Yes, you are,” Trent said calmly. “Charles, make her go.”

  Officer Brown took my elbow and raised me to my feet. “You have to go Allie, so we can concentrate on getting your guy and your dog safely out of this situation.”

  “Trent—”

  “Go, Allie.”

  I let Charles turn me, his bright flashlight ensuring that our steps were clear of any other wires. We took three steps before Mal started crying. I froze. “It’s okay, Mal.” I glanced behind me. “I’m not going to leave you.”

  “You have to get to a safe distance,” Officer Brown said.

  “Mal will fight Trent if I leave. She could slip out of his grip and trip a wire.”

  “I won’t let her go,” Trent said.

  “You may not have a choice. She’s persistent.”

  “Okay, okay. Talk to your dog. Let her know you are not going anywhere.”

  “Charles—” Trent said the name like a curse.

  “No one’s going to die today.”

  “It’s okay, Mal,” I said as calm as possible. “Stay. Stay.” The whining stopped. “Good girl. It’s okay. Mommy’s right here.”

  “This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Officer Lasko said.

  “We need to all remain calm. Lasko, evacuate the Hummingbird and the other cottages in the vicinity. The bomb squad will be helicoptering in. Pulaski has them landing in the schoolyard. We need to have the scene secure for their arrival.”

  “Yes, sir.” She turned and walked carefully back to the sidewalk.

  “Trent, are you doing okay?” Officer Brown ran his flashlight in front of him and took a few steps toward Trent.

  “I’m okay.”

  “Good. You stay okay. Can you get any phone pictures of the bomb?”

  “I don’t have a free hand, but I can try.”

  “No.” Officer Brown took careful steps toward Trent. “Don’t try. Keep your hands on the dog and stay as still as possible.”

  After what felt like forever, the fire department arrived. They carefully set up hoses in preparation for fire. Rex showed up with four very large lights on five-foot-tall tripods.

  I sat down on my spot and spoke softly to Trent and Mal while the lights were set up in a perimeter. “Hey Trent. Thanks for going after Mal. I may not have noticed the wire.”

  “She’s a good dog,” Trent said.

  They turned on the lights one by one until the area was bright as daylight. I could hear a crowd of people in the distance.

  “Keep those people back,” Rex shouted and the firemen scrambled.

  From where I sat, I could see Trent’s back. He was down on his knees. Mal’s tail wagged as she was tucked under his right arm. I couldn’t see around him. I didn’t want to see. I’d already lived through two explosions. I didn’t want to experience a third.

  “Allie,” Liz called my name.

  I turned my head to see her standing beside the fire truck. “Liz, back up!”

  “What is going on? They’re saying there might be a bomb?”

  “Yes.” I looked at her. “What if the arsonist is actually making bombs?”

  Liz drew her darkly winged brows together. “Maybe . . .”

  “It’s got to be all connected. But why put a bomb in random bushes near an area where people are gathered to play and watch fireworks?”

  “Terrorism?” Liz asked.

  “No, terrorism doesn’t make any sense. We’re a little island. Not exactly a target like New York City or even Chicago.”

  “Maybe the bomber knew you were in the area and counted on Mal finding the bomb.”

  “Wait. Do you think this might be a way to get rid of me and Mal?”

  “Maybe,” Liz said.

  “Then why not just put a bomb in the McMurphy?” I paused and stood. “Liz, call Jenn. We need to get everyone out of the McMurphy.”

  “I’m on it.” Liz grabbed her phone and disappeared behind the fire truck.

  “What are you thinking about, Allie?” Trent asked.

  “There may be a bomb at the McMurphy. If this is an attempt to get rid of me, then it makes more sense to place a bomb there than here where I may or may not have tripped it.”

  “How could they put a bomb in the fudge shop?” Trent asked.

  “We closed down for the fireworks. Everyone was here tonight. That means—”

  “No one was at the McMurphy,” Trent finished.

  “Exactly.” I wrapped my arms around my waist. “My parents are there. Jenn is there. I have a hotel full of guests.” My voice broke and tears welled up in my eyes.

  “Don’t think about that,” Trent said.

  “Allie,” Rex said as he came around from where he was talking to the firemen. “Liz told me what you think might be going on at the McMurphy. I’ve sent some firemen over there to walk through the building and make sure it’s safe.”

  “Thanks,” I said in a whisper. The spit in my mouth had dried up, leaving me with a dry mouth and scratchy throat. “Who would do this?”

  “Someone with a lot of anger,” Rex said. “Charles tells me that you are staying here to keep Mal from getting away from Trent and tripping wires.”

  “Yes.” My stomach was in my throat. “Isn’t that right, Mal?” Her stubby tail wagged brightly under Trent’s arm. I turned to Rex. “We have to get them out of there.”

  “We’re going to do just that,” Rex said, his blue eyes serious. “The chopper is on its way.”

  Within moments, the loud sound of helicopter blades whipping through the air filled my ears. The copter landed in the schoolyard and four men dressed in full bomb gear got out.

  The noise was loud and I glanced over to see Mal trembling and squirming. “It’s okay, Mal. Stay. Stay with Trent. Please stay.”

  I have to say if I didn’t know those were guys in the suit coming from that loud noisy bird, I’d freak out, too. It was all too much for my puppy. Mal burst out of Trent’s arms and streaked straight for me. “No!”

  The whole scene stopped. People literally held their breath. Mal could fly when scared and fly she did, barely touching the ground and leaping over two more trip lines straight into my lap.

  In the next instant, everyone reacted. I cried and held my puppy. Trent turned to look at me with fear frozen to his face. His jaw was tight as if bracing himself for the coming explosion. When nothing happened, his expression turned to pure relief and I swear there were tears in his gorgeous eyes.

  Officer Brown, who stood near Trent, had thrown his arm up to cover his face. He slowly put it down and turned to me with an incredulous look.

  Rex rushed to me, grabbed me and Mal, and pulled us out of the pool of light and back an entire block behind the fire truck. He muttered something dark and dangerous under his breath.

  Mal bathed my face with kisses, curious over the taste of the tears that ran freely down my face. My legs trembled, but I kept moving until Rex s
topped and lowered us to the ground next to George Marron.

  “Take care of her,” Rex said and went back to the darkness and the pool of light.

  All I could see from there was the large dome of the light in the distance. George did a quick check of my heart and my eyes.

  “I’m fine,” I said through the tears.

  “Sure.” George put a blanket around my shoulders as I started to shake.

  Jenn appeared next to me. “Honey, give me Mal. Okay?”

  I let her take Mal’s leash and pull my wayward puppy out of my arms. “Jenn, are you okay? Are my parents okay? Is the McMurphy okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Jenn patted Mal on the head. “Shane and I were in the lobby when the police came in. Your parents are good. They are with the rest of the guests in their robes a block from the McMurphy. When I heard about the bomb I came straight away. What happened?”

  “Mal got away from us and when Trent went after her, he came face-to-face with a bomb. Jenn, there were trip wires everywhere.”

  “It’s going to be okay.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “The police and fire departments are doing all they can.”

  “Trent is still in harm’s way,” I said.

  “Allie, thank goodness you are all right,” Paige Jessop said as she came toward us. Reggie walked by her side. “Where’s Trent?”

  I swallowed hard. “He’s near the bomb.”

  “What?” She started out in the direction of the light. Reggie grabbed her arm. In the next moment, there was a very large boom. Everyone instinctively ducked.

  I screamed a little. Mal jumped into my lap. I leapt to my feet. “Trent!” I was off and running before I could think. In fact, the whole crowd ran with me. We came into site of the pool of light. Rex and Officer Brown were walking toward the fire truck with Trent safely between them.

  “Oh, thank goodness!” I threw myself on Trent and hugged him and kissed his face, tears streaming down my own. “I heard the explosion.”

  “They brought in a robot. It took the tension on my wire and I got the heck out of there just in time as the motion caused the bomb to go off.” Trent held me close and I could feel him tremble and his heart race.

  “This really is a crime scene now,” Rex said. “You people all need to get back. Lasko!”

  She stepped up and pushed the crowd back as Rex and Officer Brown walked back toward the lights and the firemen who were hosing everything down.

  “You need to be checked out,” Paige said as she grabbed Trent’s free arm and wiggled her way in to get a hug. “Come on.”

  We walked back to the ambulance. George’s helper cleared the crowd of curious bystanders. The light from the back of the ambulance showed how pale Trent’s skin was. His lips were blue. He had a few cuts and scratches from the explosion but was pronounced healthy except for the shock.

  I couldn’t keep my hands off him. What I really wanted to do was crawl up in his lap and feel his arms around me. It was as if he read my mind. He pulled me into his lap and George draped a blanket around both of us as we clung to each other.

  “Rex wants you two here for questioning before he lets you go,” Officer Lasko said.

  “What about the McMurphy?” I asked her.

  “The bomb squad is going through the building. They found a suspicious package near the front door.”

  I closed my eyes against the thought as anger rushed through me. My entire world was threatened tonight. It made little things like not pleasing the Star Spangled Fourth’s committee seem inconsequential.

  Frances came out of the crowd. She wore a trench coat over her night clothes. “I was getting ready for bed when I heard the commotion. What happened?”

  “There was a bomb,” Jenn said. “Mal found it.”

  “A bomb?” Frances had a flash of anger in her eyes. “This has gone too far.”

  “They found a package in the McMurphy as well,” I said. “This fight has gotten very personal.”

  Trent gathered me closer to him. “There is no way the bomb under the bushes was directed at anyone in particular. It was simply in a random place as if the builder was hoping to catch someone but didn’t care if it was a rabbit or a passerby.”

  “I suppose the bomber could have been a kid,” I said, tears rushing back down my cheeks stinging my chapped skin. “A kid experimenting, maybe?”

  “What kid thinks like that?” Jenn asked.

  “This bomb might have been a distraction from the McMurphy.” Liz was all business as she approached. “They found two bombs at the McMurphy, one inside near the fudge shop entrance and the second on the fire escape outside your door.”

  “Oh, no. The cat!” I nearly jumped up, but Trent tugged me back down.

  “The cat’s fine. I’ve got her. It was going to be a surprise for you. I lured her into my arms and got her to St. Ignace to the vet today. They’re going to spay her and give her shots and such. I was going to bring her home to you the day after the Fourth.”

  “That would be tomorrow,” Jenn said, looking at her watch.

  Mr. Devaney arrived, tugging his jacket on over his under shirt. It was clear that he, too, had been getting ready for bed. “Is everyone all right?”

  “We’re good,” Trent said.

  “They found two possible bombs at the McMurphy,” Frances told him.

  Mr. Devaney scowled. “We left the arson board in the lobby. Whoever is doing this must have seen their name on the list and gotten scared.”

  A shiver ran down my back. I’d forgotten all about our arson board in the lobby. It meant that the arsonist, now bomber, had done more than left packages at my door. They had been in my home.

  Chapter 22

  For the second time this season, the McMurphy was a crime scene. Thankfully, all the guests felt safe enough to stay. No one wanted to check out immediately.

  “After all,” Mrs. Hamish said. “There was a bomb in the park. We don’t know that there aren’t bombs everywhere. Here, we know that the bombs are gone.” She patted my hand and winked. “Safest place on Mackinac.”

  “We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Mr. Jonas said. His wife Laura and their two kids, Joy and Stevie nodded in agreement.

  “Everyone gets a free pound of fudge,” I said. “It’s the least I can do.”

  The lobby emptied as the guests went back to their rooms.

  Rex studied the arson board thoughtfully.

  Trent sat on the couch, facing the board with Mal in his lap. His broad capable hands stroked her fluffy fur. Somehow, she knew he needed comforting and made it her job to see that he got it.

  Mom sat in the settee, her bathrobe clutched in her hands. Dad paced the length of the lobby in his striped pajamas and plaid bathrobe.

  “This has gone beyond too far, don’t you think, Manning?” Dad said, his voice stern. “I need to know that my family is safe here.”

  “Or what?” I asked from my place on the couch next to Trent. “You can’t close the McMurphy. I own it.”

  “No, you run it,” Dad said. “The family owns it and I am the head of this family. I won’t let you stay here and get hurt.”

  “Calm down, dear,” Mom said. “The family has been safe on this island for over one hundred years.”

  “This is different. This is our only daughter we’re talking about. If we had a son—”

  “Stop right there,” Mom interrupted and stood. Her face was pinched in anger. “A woman can do the very same things as a man.”

  “This isn’t about equal rights,” Dad said, flinging his arms. “This is about some maniac out there trying to blow our kid up. If Allie were a man, you can darn well know that a bomber would think twice before pulling the stunt they pulled tonight.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to her.” Trent’s voice was deep and sincere.

  I squeezed his hand. Mal rested her head on his chest as if to say she would take care of him, too.

  “When did you put this up in the lobby?” Rex asked, hi
s attention still on the board.

  “Yesterday,” Mom answered.

  “Liz came over,” I explained. “She thought she had an idea of who did it and was explaining her theory.”

  “Who was here when you discussed this?”

  “Me, Mom, Liz,” I said, counting on my fingers trying to remember where everyone sat. “Frances, Mr. D, Jenn . . .” Mal put her paw on my arm. “Mal,” I said with a smile. “Oh, and Sandy.”

  “No one else?” Rex asked. “Not a guest or a fudge shop customer?”

  “No,” I said, thinking back. “It was one of those down times. We had finished the demonstration and the fudge shop was empty. The guests had checked out and it wasn’t time for the check in yet.”

  “This is a listing of fires back to February?” Rex asked as he tilted his head to look at the map.

  “Yes,” Mom said. “Liz had a list of people who were on Mackinac Island when the first four fires happened, then were off the island during the down period, and then back on the island when the fires started up again.”

  “Henry Schulte is on this list,” Rex said. “I had him in custody when the shed fire happened.”

  “There are two theories there,” I said. “The first is that the shed fire was set to slow burn and could have been set prior to your arresting Henry.”

  “I’ll check with the fire chief but I don’t think that’s likely.” Rex shook his head and crossed his arms. “What’s the second?”

  “That Henry has a partner or accomplice,” Mom said.

  “In which case, the whole on-island, off-island theory is out the window,” I added. “That’s when we decided to ask the people on the list about where they went and why they came back.”

  “This is not your investigation,” Rex said, his face stern. “You are not professionals and someone could get hurt.”

  “Someone almost got hurt, anyway,” Dad pointed out.

  “All we were doing was asking our friends and neighbors about their trips.” Jenn came downstairs with an overnight bag. Shane followed her.

  “Where are you off to?” Mom asked.

  I sent her a look that it was none of her business, but she sent me a look saying it most certainly was her business.