Shay’s appearance at the party didn’t surprise him, because she was Selina’s cousin and part of the family, and would occasionally work on a job as a decoy or distraction. One look at Shay in a short skirt and most guards forgot all about their security protocols.
What did surprise Brady was seeing Shay walk up to Avery and stick her tongue down his throat. It also surprised him that he felt a surge of jealousy.
Shay could do better than a punk like Avery, and Brady decided that she was trying to make him jealous, if so, it had worked.
He ignored them as much as possible and met with Mitch, Jake, and Craig, to fill them in on what he had seen at the lake.
They filed into Jake’s home office, but when Brady began talking, Mitch held up a hand.
“Avery should be here for this since he’s going to be part of the crew now.”
“He hasn’t proven himself yet,” Brady said.
“That’s true, but I also don’t want him to feel like an outsider.”
Brady shrugged.
“Go get him.”
Mitch did so, and returned with not only Avery, but also Shay.
“Why is she here?” Brady said.
“She’s with me,” Avery said, and there was both defiance and annoyance in his tone.
“I understand that you two are together now, but she’s not part of this heist.”
Craig held up a finger.
“Actually, Brady, Shay will be a part of the heist; I’ve refined the plan.”
“In what way?”
“We’ll need Shay to play a damsel in distress, actually the victim of a car wreck.”
Brady had to nod in agreement. Most men stopped to help a woman in trouble. He then remembered the last job she worked on with them and suppressed a smile.
Shay had lured three security guards away from their posts by doing nothing more than wearing a red mini skirt and smiling.
Brady loved Mary and Mary was a beautiful woman, but there were few women as sexy as Shay.
Another memory returned to him then, a memory of Shay on their first night together.
“Brady?”
Brady broke free of his memories as he realized Mitch had been calling him.
After clearing his throat, he began telling them about the area around the lake. When he was done, Craig had a question.
“That mine shaft, would it be deep enough to hide the car?”
The car Craig was talking about was the getaway car, and they had plans to stash it quickly after the robbery took place.
“Actually, it could, but what I was thinking, is that we would use the same trick we used in Denton four years ago.”
Craig smiled at Brady.
“Yeah, that could work, but won’t we be seen by someone?”
“It’s not likely, remember, we’ll be doing the heist on a holiday weekend; the jobsite will be closed.”
“I like it,” Jake said. “And even if we’re traced to the site, no one will ever find the money or the car.”
Avery raised up a hand as if he was a kid in school.
“What are you talking about?”
They all laughed, even Brady, but it was Mitch that answered him.
“Sorry, kid, it’s just that we’ve all worked together so long that we don’t need to spell everything out. What we’re talking about is this, Jake or Craig will dig out a hole with the machinery at the construction site and make it big enough to drive down right into it. Then, we’ll cover the car up, money and all, and unearth it after the heat dies down.”
Avery laughed.
“I love it. The cops will be looking for the getaway vehicle and it will be buried where they’ll never find it.”
“That’s the trick,” Mitch said.
***
The meeting broke up, and later, as everyone began drifting out, Brady watched as Avery sped away on his motorcycle, with Shay clinging on to him from behind.
“Jealous?”
Brady turned and saw Selina smiling at him.
“No, I’m not jealous, what I am is very happy with Mary and I can’t wait until she gets to meet all of you on Thanksgiving.”
“I was talking to Lindy, and she and I decided that we need to give your new girl a chance.”
“You really mean it?”
Selina patted him on the cheek.
“You’re like our little brother, Brady; of course we want to meet your girl.”
Brady kissed her cheek.
“You’ll like Mary, I know you will.”
Selina smiled, but Brady noticed that there was little warmth to it.
CHAPTER 18
One month after getting kicked off the police force, Harry went into business for himself as a private investigator.
He would never carry a badge again, but part of the deal he made with the police department was that he wouldn’t be tainted or blacklisted from seeking other employment in the security field.
Losing his pension had been punishment enough his lawyer had argued, and so Harry Drake P.I. was born.
He had very little money, and had maxed out his credit cards with cash advances, to rent a roach-infested office. The office was on the third floor of a building so old that it had been erected the same year Harry’s grandfather was born.
He would make money, he was sure of it, because he planned to specialize in catching cheating husbands, and there was never a shortage of that breed.
Standing in his office beside a scarred secondhand desk, Harry felt strange, strange, but good. He was a sleazy P.I. and for Harry, it felt like he had finally found his true calling.
***
In Vermont, a cheating husband named Steve Beck was saying hello to his stepson, Tyler, as the muscular young man returned home from college for Thanksgiving.
Nearby, their next-door neighbor, Toni, looked on with interest as she raked leaves in her front yard.
Tyler had parked his van across the street and the large vehicle had a psychedelic paint job that practically screamed makeout machine, and when he opened the rear door to grab his duffle bag, Toni saw that, yes, there was a mattress inside, along with spotlights in the ceiling and real honest-to-God lava lamps attached to the walls.
Steve and Donna waved hello to Toni, but as they were about to enter the house, Toni called to Steve and asked if she could speak to him for a moment.
Steve told his wife that he’d be right in and then walked over to talk to Toni.
“What’s up?”
“What’s up? Did you see the inside of that van?”
Steve laughed.
“What can I say, the kid is a stud. He must take after me.”
“What do you think goes on in that van?” Toni asked.
Steve laughed again.
“You can’t guess?”
“Oh, I can guess, but I’d much rather see, and as you said, the kid’s a stud.”
Steve lowered his voice.
“Are you talking about putting a camera inside the van?”
“Hell yes, you get your jollies off on watching Kimberly and now I want to get some thrills by watching that stud stepson of yours in action.”
Steve ran a hand through his hair.
“It’s too risky, and besides, it would take time and I don’t have a key to the van.”
Toni smiled.
“Leave that to me, and for your information, Greg is taking our son to a Cub Scout meeting tonight, make whatever excuse you need to, but come over.”
Steve smiled.
“I’ll tell Donna that I’m going to the gym.”
“That’s good, because I definitely plan to give you a workout.”
***
Steve returned to his house and saw that Donna had settled Tyler into Kimberly’s old bedroom.
Later, as they were eating dinner, they heard the sound of a muffled crash come from outside.
Donna looked at him.
“What was that?”
Steve wiped his mouth and rose from the ta
ble.
“Let’s go take a look.”
Tyler let out a moan after Steve opened the door, because he could see that Toni had backed out of her driveway and hit the left rear corner of his van.
The young man ran outside to examine the broken taillight and dent the crash had caused, as Toni offered profuse apologies to everyone.
Tyler told her that it was all right and that accidents happened, and then he turned to look at his stepfather, his stepfather who owned an auto body shop.
“Can you fix it, Steve?”
Steve had to force himself not to smile, as he admired Toni’s devious mind.
“No problem; I’ll take it in tomorrow morning and have it done by noon.”
And when Tyler got it back, Steve knew that the thing would be loaded with cameras.
***
On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Mary opened her door and found Clay and Bobby on her porch.
Bobby gave her a hug and Mary was glad to see that the boy hadn’t forgotten her.
Clay looked at her sheepishly.
“Maybe I should have called first, but we were close by and I figured that I’d ask you in person.”
“Ask me what?”
Clay brought into view the small backpack he held in his left hand.
“I need to find someone who can watch Bobby for a few hours, and I’ll understand if you have other plans.”
Mary grinned down at Bobby.
“I would love to watch him, and I have no plans, of course, I was thinking about making cookies.”
Bobby’s eyes grew huge at that news.
“Chocolate chip?”
“Mm-hmm and would you like to help me make them?”
Bobby nodded wildly and both Clay and Mary laughed.
Clay handed her the backpack.
“All his things are in there and you can reach me at the station. I owe you one, Mary.”
“Nonsense, but doesn’t Eva normally watch him?”
“Um, yes, and I’ll fill you in on that later.”
“Oh, I see, well don’t rush and don’t eat anything either. I’ll have dinner cooked by the time you pick him up.”
“You’re a lifesaver.”
Clay bent down and kissed his son on the cheek, told him to behave, and then rushed off.
Mary watched him go and assumed that Eva had finally revealed her true colors to him.
When she closed the door, she looked down at Bobby and smiled.
“Let’s go make those cookies.”
***
By eight o’clock that night, Bobby was asleep on the loveseat in the living room, and Mary and Clay were talking over coffee taken at her kitchen table.
The house had three floors and a finished basement, and was left to Mary by a great-aunt who had lived in the home her entire life,
Mary had always admired the old house whenever she had visited her aunt, and planned to keep it despite its size. In her heart, she secretly hoped to fill it someday with children of her own.
Mary asked Clay why Eva was no longer watching Bobby, and after leaning back and stretching out his long legs, Clay answered her.
“It’s two things really, both are personal, but I don’t take you for a gossip and so I know you’ll keep what I tell you to yourself.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Well, to be blunt, the woman wanted more than I could give her. I mean, I might marry again someday, but, I only buried Patty about a month ago, and I’m sure as heck not thinking about finding a new sweetheart.”
“Which is what Eva wanted to be, correct?”
“Yeah, and my mama told me that when she was here visiting, but I really thought the woman was just a friend. Even so, once I straightened her out on that, she continued to watch Bobby for me in the afternoon. See, he gets out of school about two hours before I get home, and seeing as how quiet the town is I rarely have to work late, but sometimes, like today, I do, and that’s when Eva would watch him in the evening as well.”
“Did she change her mind?”
“I changed it for her,” Clay said, and Mary heard a note of anger in his voice.
“What happened?”
“Bobby called me just a few minutes after I dropped him off at Eva’s, and he sounded a little strange.”
“He called you on Eva’s phone?”
“Yeah, she was busy at the time and that’s the problem. See, Bobby said that a friend of Eva’s showed up and... he told me that they were wrestling on the bed.”
Mary’s hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh... how much did he see?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think he saw too much, and at his age he wouldn’t really understand... wrestling.”
Before she knew it was happening, Mary found herself giggling, and when she looked over at Clay, she saw him frowning.
“I’m sorry, Clay, but it just struck me as funny.”
“Yeah, I guess it is, but, needless to say, I no longer trust the woman’s judgement and my son will no longer be in her house.”
“What are you going to do?”
“One of the deputies has a daughter who babysits, I’m thinking that maybe she’ll be able to watch him until I can find something more permanent.”
“What’s the daughter’s age?”
“Sixteen.”
“Sixteen? That just sounds like more trouble, even if the girl is responsible.”
“Yeah, but I’ll find something, maybe old Mrs. Murphy who lives across the street from me, she used to watch her grandkids before they moved away.”
“How old is she?”
“Hmm, she must be near eighty by now.”
From where Mary was sitting, she could see Bobby asleep on her sofa, and she tried to imagine the energetic child being trapped in a house with an elderly woman five days a week.
“Clay, if you’d like, I could watch Bobby. It would be no bother and I like him a lot.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, I had a blast today and I think Bobby likes me.”
“He loves you, but what about the hospital, don’t you work odd shifts?”
“Not anymore; I’ve been on the day shift for weeks now, and although I’ll fill in at night if someone calls out, I should be able to watch him most days.”
“Oh Mary, you’ve just taken a load off my shoulders, and wait until I tell Bobby, he’ll be so happy, but listen, I was giving Eva fifty a week, will that be enough for you?”
“She took money? I thought she was doing it out of friendship?”
Clay smiled.
“Ah, that ended when I made it clear to her that I wasn’t looking for a new wife. After that, she wanted fifty a week.”
“We’re friends, Clay, so no, I don’t want money, but I also better never get a parking ticket in this town.”
Clay laughed.
“It’s a deal.”
CHAPTER 19
On Thanksgiving Day, Brady was headed out early to pick up Mary and bring her back to Boston for dinner at Jake and Lindy’s house.
It would be a good time for everyone to meet, since Jake and Craig’s kids would be there, and so no business talk would be going on, at least, no talk of heists.
Brady had just left Boston and was still hours away from Mary’s home in Destination, when he got the call,
It was Jake, and Brady almost didn’t recognize his friend’s voice.
“Brady, Mitch has had a heart attack.”
When Brady asked for details, Jake told him to come to the hospital as quickly as he could, and that’s when Brady knew that things were very bad.
After calling Mary and explaining the situation, Brady drove back into the city and made it to the hospital in less than an hour, but knew by the tear-stained faces of his friends that he was already too late.
“He was dead when I called you,” Jake said. “But the doctors worked on him for another ten minutes. He’s gone Brady, Mitch is gone.”
Brady was falling back i
nto a chair before he realized that his legs had given out, and then he too was crying.
Shay walked over to where he sat, her face swollen with grief, and when Brady rose up, she hugged him, while making soothing sounds.
“He loved you like a son, Brady.”
Brady held on to her, nothing sexual between them, just two people mourning the loss of a loved one, and it was only then that he realized that Avery wasn’t present.
“Where’s Avery?”
“He’s with the kids.”
“Oh, yes, I guess that someone needed to stay with them, and oh God, it’s Thanksgiving.”
“Not anymore,” Shay said.
Brady called Mary when he could finally speak without crying, and told her that he would be up the next day to see her.
“Oh Brady, I’m so sorry for your loss, I know by the way you spoke of him that you loved Mitch.”
Loved? Brady thought, as in the past tense, now everything about Mitch would be in the past tense. That’s what death did to you.
***
They returned to Jake’s house, and with their appetites dampened by grief, the turkey sat in the fridge, oven ready, but uncooked, and Lindy ordered Chinese food instead.
Avery left around ten in the evening, but Shay was staying the night to help with whatever aftermath Mitch’s death would bring.
There was a brother that had to be contacted, a younger brother with a family who Mitch had rarely seen, and who knew nothing about his brother’s criminal activities.
The man might share Mitch’s blood, but Brady knew that he, Jake, Craig, and the others, they were Mitch’s real family, because only they knew him for what he really was, all of him, not just the part he showed the straight world.
Brady crashed on the sofa in the den, but doubted he would sleep, and when Shay came to him in the middle of the night, it did not surprise him.
The moon outside the window was nearly full. It drifted in through the window blinds and gave enough light to see.
Shay closed the door behind her, walked over to the sofa, and spoke in a whisper.
“I don’t want to be alone.”
Brady sat up, reached out, and unfastened the robe she was wearing, to reveal her nakedness, and then Shay let the robe drop to the floor and joined him on the sofa.
***
Desolation Lake Page 7