“Even Abigail?” Nicholas giggled.
“Hey, as long as she doesn’t puke on me again, we’ll be good.”
“I put the sweater in the washer. I know Anne will wear it,” Whiskey said. “She’s not afraid of a little baby vomit.”
I cringed, not wanting to think about the sweater. I hit redial on my phone.
Scott answered on the first ring. “He okay?”
“Grady chased after him. When Carl’s upset, he goes to the playground behind the store, which is in the field behind the house.”
“It sounds like he’s in a much safer environment than when he’d run away from here. Which brings me back to the conversation we were having, is he staying in Michigan?”
“Carl’s family. He’ll always have a home here, and it sounds like he wants to stay. Feel free to ship his belongings to Michigan and reassign his room at the group home to someone who needs it.”
“I’ll pack and ship the boxes this week. The power of attorney should be transferred too, though. It doesn’t make sense for me to control his money when he doesn’t even live here.”
“That’s fine. Will I need to fly to Florida to transfer the paperwork?”
“Probably. Even though Carl’s financially independent, he’s officially a ward of the state.”
“Let’s have Cameron, my attorney, figure it out then.”
“Gladly.” Scott sighed. “I’m better at the day to day of running the home than I am with all the paperwork.”
“I hear ya. What about the five hundred? Should I just cover it and have Carl do chores to pay me back?”
“I wrote the check while I was talking to him,” Scott said. “Carl only knew the guy’s name as Tech. I assume that’s not the guy’s legal name, so I wrote the check payable as cash.”
“Huh.”
“You don’t know the guy’s legal name either, do you?”
I laughed. “Not a clue. And he lives next door above my garage and eats dinner here every night.”
“If we do have to go in front of a judge to get this transfer filed, please don’t tell the judge that.” Scott was laughing as he disconnected.
I looked over at Whiskey. “What’s your real name?”
“William.”
“What’s Tech’s real name?”
Whiskey looked at me, squinting his eyes as he thought about it.
Sara giggled. “Theodore. It was on the credit card that Carl borrowed to buy the tickets.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Grady said, walking back inside with Carl. “I can use that tidbit of information.”
“Play nice,” I scolded Grady. “Carl, why did you run away?”
“I thought you wanted me to leave, but Grady said I heard wrong. He said I get to stay as long as I want.”
“Grady’s right. You get to stay as long as you want. Scott’s going to pack up your room and ship the rest of your belongings.”
“What about my silly putty? I hid it under my pillow.”
“I’m sure it’s dried up by now. And your pillow and sheets will most likely be thrown away.”
“It’s special silly putty. I made it myself. It doesn’t dry up, but it stains your hands purple. That’s why I put it under my pillow, so it wouldn’t get on my pajamas.”
Carl sat at the table and pulled his laptop over to start it up. I sent a quick text message to Scott to warn him about the silly putty. Then I sent a text to Cameron and asked him to figure out how to transfer Carl’s accounts and power of attorney to Michigan.
“Okay everyone,” I said, pulling some papers out. “Today we need to root out a man named Ernesto Chaves.”
“Who’s that?” Whiskey asked.
“A bad man from Texas,” Sara answered. “I’ll email everyone the file we already have on him. He was arrested last year, but he outsmarted the DA, and they dropped the charges. He’s also the one who hired the snipers who shot at Grady and Bones the other day.”
“Sara!” I shook my head in frustration. “You need to stop eavesdropping.”
“It’s the only way to hear the good stuff,” she whined. “Besides, I might’ve found something yesterday when I was trying to find him.” She walked over to the printer and handed me the printouts.
“What am I looking at?” The papers looked like they were in a foreign language or accounting reports. The only things I recognized were IP addresses in scattered locations.
“It’s his computer’s log file.”
“Don’t you have to be signed into a computer to get the log file?” Grady asked, taking the sheets of paper from me.
“You do, but Carl and I have been working on a program to get around that. We tested it out on Ernesto when we located his computer network.”
“What kind of program?” Whiskey asked, putting one hand on his hip, while still holding a sleeping Abigail with the other.
“The kind that slips under a firewall and has a pop-up screen offering a discount that you can click on, but the user is really giving permission for remote access onto their computer.”
“And what kind of product intrigued Chaves enough to click the box?” Grady asked.
“We tried girly underwear and cigars,” Carl said, “but they didn’t work. Then Nicholas suggested first-class airfare, and Chaves clicked the button. We got more than the file logs too. We copied all the documents from his computer before we lost the connection.”
“I didn’t hear any of that,” Maggie said, laughing from the kitchen.
“I did,” Genie said. “I want to see this program.” She ran over and pulled a chair out next to Sara.
I looked at Grady who was once again looking at the table as he laughed silently.
“How the… heck… do I explain this to Anne?” I asked him.
“Just be glad it’s her kid and not yours,” Grady said, smirking.
“And Carl? Scott is going to transfer Carl’s power of attorney to me.”
“Not a good idea,” Maggie said, joining us at the table.
“Agreed,” Kierson said as he held the garage door open for Charlie. They crossed the room and joined us. “If Carl’s sued for any of his many shenanigans, as his guardian, you could be sued too.”
“What else can I do?”
Grady shrugged. “I could do it. I’m well off, but I can’t compete with your bank account.”
“Doesn’t help,” Charlie said. “If Kelsey ever caves and marries you, then you’re both exposed. I’d do it, but I officially live in Miami still.”
“Anne agreed to do it and so did Alex,” Whiskey said, holding up his cellphone. “I texted everybody. Katie said no. Tech said yes. For Carl’s sake, it’s safer to go with either Anne or Alex.”
“Alex then.” I said. “Chances are if a lawsuit heads our way, both Sara and Carl will be named in the complaint.”
Sara giggled, and Carl stuck his tongue out at me.
“Carl, are you okay with Alex being your new guardian? That means he’ll be in charge of your money and all the big decisions.”
“Alex is my friend,” Carl said. “Maybe he’ll give me an allowance so I can buy candy and girly magazines.”
“What kind of girly magazines?” Grady asked.
“Cosmopolitan,” Carl answered as he focused on his laptop.
I laughed as I texted Cameron with the updated information. He texted back smiley faces and said his assistant Jenny, a girl I used to mentor, was digging into it. He also said he’d be in Michigan early Monday morning to meet with the local attorney on the custody case for Nicholas.
I sighed, handing the phone to Grady to read.
“This afternoon we focus on Chaves. Tonight, we’ll work on devising a plan to outsmart your mother.”
“I want to help,” Nana said, coming in through the open sliding door.
“I thought you were helping at the store today,” I said.
“They kicked me out. Turns out I’m not so good at retail. I did find a nice group of ladies my own age and people wat
ched with them for a while, but then I got bored and decided to come back here.”
“You shouldn’t be going anywhere without a security detail right now,” Grady said.
“She didn’t,” Bones said, walking through the sliding door. “I walked with her to the house before stopping to talk to the guys doing security patrols.”
“She’s in greater danger being near you! Or are you forgetting that you’re one of the main targets?”
Bones laughed. “Shit. I did forgot.”
I pointed to the floor. Bones laughed again, but dropped to do his pushups.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
We had been sifting through thousands of pages of documents for over two hours. Sara had printed everything from Chaves’ computer so we could divide and conquer the completely random overload of useless information. The front door opened and Lisa and Donovan entered. I got up from the table and hugged Lisa.
“Are you okay, Aunt Lisa?” Sara asked.
“I’m just tired, Sara. But I took another nap, and when I woke up, I heard you guys were working a case. We decided to come over and help.” Lisa walked over and picked Abigail up from the portable crib. “How was Abigail while I was gone?”
“The little brat puked all over me,” I complained.
Grady laughed. “Full load of baby vomit right down the sweater.”
Donovan and Lisa both whispered congratulatory baby garble to their offspring.
Lisa sat at the table, bracing Abigail with one arm as she pulled a stack of papers over. “Someone put me to work.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked, reaching out and laying my hand over hers.
“Donovan and I talked. I think right now I need a little less Abigail time, and a little more anything else time. Does that sound awful?”
“Not at all,” Bones said, reaching over and taking Abigail from her. “All you had to do is say so.”
“You guys don’t think that makes me a bad mother?”
“Really, Lisa?” I asked. “Do you need me to write down a list of all the not-so-motherly crap I’ve pulled with Nicholas? Because, hands down, you’re an amazing mother compared to me.”
“You’re a good mother,” Lisa said.
“She swears too much,” Nicholas said.
“And she drinks too much,” Sara said.
“And smokes sometimes,” Nicholas continued. “And she’s really bad at folding laundry.”
“That’s why they make hangers,” I defended myself. “And unless you two want me to start listing your faults, I’d stop picking on mine.”
“You do suck at folding laundry,” Grady said, leaning in to kiss my cheek.
“I agree. She’s horrible,” Lisa said. “But I came over here to work. What am I looking for?” She shuffled through the stack of papers in front of her.
“Anything interesting,” Sara answered. “Most of it’s boring. If it's nothing important, it gets thrown on the floor. If it’s something interesting, highlight the good parts, and pass it down to Aunt Kelsey or Maggie.”
The floor currently only had a few pages lying on it, but that was because Whiskey already took a bag out to the recycle bin. We’d gone through a case of paper and replaced the toner cartridge already, and the printer was still printing off stacks. Our process was bad for the environment, but it was making sorting the work and passing it around easier. I would definitely owe the planet a few trees though.
“I need a break,” I said, standing and stretching my arms over my head. “Charlie? Want to go for a walk with me?”
Charlie looked up from the page she was reading. “I’d rather go for a run.”
I rolled my eyes, but went to the bedroom to change into a T-shirt and cotton shorts, and donned a pair of running shoes.
“You ready yet?” Charlie grinned, walking into the bedroom having already changed. “Man, you’re getting slow in your old age.”
I leaned to the side and lifted my foot to my butt to stretch one leg before doing the same to the other. “Oh yeah, Kid? Is that a challenge?”
“No!” She laughed. “I’ve been slacking on my workouts, so go easy on me.”
“Good. I’ve been on the road so much, I haven’t done a thorough workout in weeks.”
After grabbing the smallest pistols and holsters I owned and handing her a set, I followed her out the atrium door. We both stretched before we started for the woods. We followed the outer trail on the far west property. Two miles in, I was already sweating when I glanced over at Charlie. “You warmed up enough to talk yet?” I asked, referring to the trip to see her biological mother.
Charlie released a heavy breath. “She’s a mess right now, but I like her. We agreed to have a maternity test done to prove that I’m her daughter, but there’s little doubt in my mind.”
“She really thought you died?”
Charlie nodded, continuing to run slightly ahead of me on the path. “When she went into labor, she went to the hospital and the next thing she remembers is waking up two days later to be told her baby died. She was sent home the next day with a caesarian scar and a death certificate. Her brother drove down and took her to live with him.”
“Did she explain why she had an affair with a married man?”
“Only that once upon a time she loved your father. And that she regretted ever getting involved with him. Not only because he was married, but because your mother made her life a living hell.”
“Now what?”
Charlie slowed her jog until she finally stopped. I stopped beside her. Both of us continued to shift our weight from one side to the other, to keep our legs heated.
“Part of me wants to get to know her, but I can’t pretend to be her daughter,” Charlie said, looking up at me. “Does that make sense?”
“Sure. You’re an adult now. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a close relationship with her.”
“Why would I, though?”
“Charlie,” I said, reaching out to grasp a hand. “In the beginning, it was just the two of us. When we moved to Miami, Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Hank took us under their wing. Then my family continued to grow with Pops and the boys in Texas, and now my Michigan family. We might’ve started out small, but I’ve learned there’s no such thing as too much family. It’s okay to form a bond with your mother and make a place for her in your life.”
“But she’s not your family,” Charlie whispered, looking away as she said it.
“No, but Hattie fills the mom role for me. And Pops still intends to adopt your ass eventually as another ‘baby girl’. And, you’ll need him. Your biological father is a douche bag.”
Charlie laughed, slugging me in the arm. “So, we’re sisters. For real this time.”
“Sisters… Cousins…” I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what label we slap on us. We’re family. Period.”
“And what about our douche bag relatives? What did you dig up on them?”
“Well…” I said before turning down the running trail and jogging away. “I found out our father killed someone.”
“Wait! What?” Charlie called out as she scrambled to catch up.
~*~*~
We ran the perimeter of the west property twice while I updated Charlie on everything we knew so far about my mother, our father, and everyone else that had a file in Sadler Creek. Since we were at a lull in conversation, I turned down the trail that ran behind the field toward the east property. When we got to the start of the next trail, I paused to wait for Charlie. We both pulled our guns, holding them out to the side as we jogged slower down the trail.
“I hate this section of woods,” I whispered.
“Me too. It’s like the trees have eyes.”
“If it was only the trees and the squirrels watching us, I wouldn’t get so creeped out.”
“You’re spidey senses telling you anything?”
“Not yet,” I answered as I scanned the trees ahead of us.
We jogged another twenty feet before I stopped and rais
ed my free hand into a fist. Charlie’s movements stilled behind me. I put both hands on my gun and started forward, walking slowly and silently.
“I texted Grady to close the house up,” Charlie whispered.
“Do you smell that?” I asked as I stopped and looked over my shoulder at her.
She moved in front of me to smell the air. “Cigarette smoke. Could be one of the security guards from the store.”
I shook my head. “Wind’s coming from the northeast. Wrong direction.”
Charlie crouched lower as she moved down the path, holding her gun out to the northeast. I followed in the same position as we moved about a quarter mile down the trail.
I made a kuk-kuk-kuk noise, similar to a squirrel, and Charlie stopped, stepping to the side. I stepped around her and led us down a deer trail which ran deeper into the woods. If we kept going straight, then we’d likely find ourselves in the crosshairs of whoever was out here.
Thirty feet or so into the woods, I turned off the deer trail to move us parallel with the running trail. We had to slow our movements, careful not to step on any dry twigs or slip on mossy rocks, but the decision paid off when I spotted a man standing on the running path with his back turned to us. I looked at Charlie and she nodded that she saw him. We separated and started to move slowly in his direction.
“Don’t move,” Charlie said, standing with her gun aimed at his back from his left side.
“I wouldn’t try it,” I said from his right, seeing his hand twitch. “We’re both armed and have been shooting at much farther distances most of our lives.”
“I can explain,” the man said as he raised his hands slowly into the air.
“And we’ll give you the chance, but not out here. Move. Walk toward the field. Don’t do anything stupid.”
I skirted around him before walking backwards out of the woods into the field. I kept my gun trained on him from the front-right. Charlie kept his escape route cut off. By the time we were fifteen feet into the field Tyler and one of the other security guards had joined us, holding their own weapons on the man.
“Let’s see who we caught today, Charlie,” I said, lowering my weapon but keeping it gripped tightly in my hand.
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