The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  Ellen’s eyes widened. “You know I never thought about that. Frank probably has more than Dean.”

  Dean shook his head. “Robbie, you just gave her everything. Why would you do that?”

  “Why not?” Robbie shrugged. “Dean, in the old world, Ellen used to buy me anything I wanted. I never even asked her. So why not? It’s only Danny Dollars.”

  “See Dean?” Ellen grinned. “He’s sweet. I was very generous in the old world when I had lots of money.”

  “Ellen,” Dean snickered. “You didn’t have lots of money. You had lots of credit cards.”

  “Geez, Dean.” She rolled her eyes. “Same difference.”

  “It figures you would think that.” Dean stood up. “Well, it’s getting late. I know you don’t want to be alone with the unstable, Robbie, but I have an early day tomorrow.”

  “I understand.” Robbie rocked some in his chair. “I’m not alone. El’s here.”

  “El?” Dean looked down at her. “You aren’t coming with me? The kids aren’t there. It’s the first time the house is completely, utterly empty.”

  Ellen winked at Robbie without looking at Dean. “Dean? Are you wanting to take advantage of me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to give me your Danny Dollar card?”

  “I cannot believe you want me to buy you.”

  Ellen laughed. “Hey you wanted to be an old world husband. I can be an old world wife.”

  “So . . .” Dean softened his voice and from behind, leaned down into her. “If I give you my Danny Dollar card, I can take advantage of you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Placing his hands on Ellen’s head, he tilted her back, and kissed her quickly. “Night.” He walked to the door. “Night, Robbie.”

  Robbie waved then looked at Ellen after Dean left. “Guess your chance at being an old world wife failed.”

  “Not really” Ellen shrugged. “I’ll still be that old world wife.”

  “Oh, yeah? How?”

  “I’ll just wait until he goes to sleep and then steal his Danny Dollars.”

  Robbie laughed.

  “I heard that,” Dean yelled from the distance.

  Ellen’s expression dropped. “Shit.”

  ^^^^

  Frank wanted to call it an early night. The kids were asleep and he had every intention of joining them in the land of slumber but he was restless, tossing and turning more than he should have. Frank knew exactly why. Grabbing his pants, he swung his legs off the bed and then stepped into them as he stood up. Walking off his energy would be the best solution. The easiest solution would be to just take one drink, one small drink from the flask that Johnny gave him ‘just in case’. Frank understood that Johnny’s heart was in the right place and felt bad for his father because no one seemed to trust him or have faith in him. He thought Frank could drink if he wanted one without worrying about getting addicted again, but for fear of disappointing his son, Frank didn’t tell Johnny the addiction was there and would always be there. So Frank, just smiled, took the flask, and placed himself in the mindset that the flask would be a symbol of a nightmare he once was in, not an escape from a nightmare he faced at the moment.

  Tossing on a shirt with every intention of grabbing a cigarette and heading out for a walk, Frank heard the shuffling of papers. He knew it was the deterrent from alcohol that he needed. His father.

  Stepping from his bedroom directly to the dining area, Frank saw Joe sitting at the table. “What’s up?”

  “Hey, Frank.” Joe lowered his glasses some. “Couldn’t sleep?”

  “Not yet.” Frank pulled out a chair.

  “Hal said he and Elliott wanted to play some pool tonight. Why don’t you go join them?”

  Making a face like a child who didn’t know what he wanted, Frank shook his head. “Nah. Hey . . .” He looked down at the table. “The statements?”

  “Yep.” Joe shook his head in disgust. “Why did we even bother having people fill them out? Why question them?”

  Frank chuckled. “What do you mean?”

  “List it.” Joe nodded. “Just list it out. What do we have?” Joe began to rattle nonchalantly. “Josephine confesses to stabbing to death a woman that was shot. Hector spends the evening playing Mario Brothers with Henry, but Henry spends the evening alone. Alone mind you, after Dean , then Dean and Ellen, stopped by to talk to him when Dean and Ellen spent the night in bed. No wait. In the same bed. The entire night. Amazing that Ellen spent the entire uneventful night in bed when your guard saw her looking for you. But from Ellen, no guard saw her. He thought she was someone else. Of course speaking of seeing things, Hal failed to see a fight between Robbie and Bev when he was with Robbie at the Hall. But according to Robbie, Robbie wasn’t with Hal at the Hall. Hal left,” Joe finished with a firm hand to the table.

  “O.K.” Frank waited for more.

  “O.K.?”

  “Yeah, what’s the problem?”

  Joe grunted. “The problem is . . . everyone is lying. Everyone! Why is that Frank?”

  “No one cares.”

  “No, I strongly disagree with that,” Joe said. “Someone, somewhere in Beginnings has to care that Bev Hadley was murdered.”

  ^^^^

  It was a long night for Johnny. He put in a lot more work than he wanted to but he had to catch up on some of the lab work before Dean started to wonder exactly what Johnny spent time doing. Plus, there was another reason for Johnny’s late night at the lab. He couldn’t run the test he needed while people still moved around.

  “Johnny,” Elliott called softly into the lab.

  Johnny jumped at the intrusion, but turned around with a smile. “Hey, Elliott.”

  “I don’t have much time. I have to return. Did you get a chance to check that?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Johnny nodded. “And . . .” He exhaled. “I threw it away like Uncle Hal originally did. It wasn’t Bev’s blood. It was his own.”

  Elliott blew out a loud sigh of relief. “Good. I’m sorry for doubting your uncle.”

  “Hey, no problem. You were just concerned.”

  “Yes.” Elliott nodded. “Well, I must be off. Thank you again.”

  “Sure.”

  Giving a motion of his head goodnight, Elliott turned and walked from the lab. In the hall he took his bandana and placed it over his head in his pace out of the clinic. He pulled his coat closed when he stepped out into the cold night. Crossing the street, Elliott turned to his right and walked some to the Jeep where Hal waited.

  “Well?” Hal asked when Elliott got in.

  “He said . . . he said it wasn’t Bev’s blood. It was yours.”

  With his hands gripping the steering wheel, Hal curiously looked out with a tilted head. “Are you sure he said that?”

  “Positive. He also said he threw it out for you.”

  “Why . . .” Hal looked at Elliott. “Do you think he checked?”

  “I believe so.”

  “But why would he say it was my blood when clearly it was Bev’s?”

  “Are you sure it was Bev’s?” Elliott asked.

  “Positive. Dean gave me an entire vial he had. I don’t . . .” A smile hit Hal and he snapped his fingers. “I got it.” He nodded. “I was wrong the entire time. I’m family. Johnny’s not a bad seed. He’s protecting me.”

  “Or else you just confirmed to him something he wanted to know . . . Bev’s killer, and he’s planning to serve his own justice. If that’s the case, Captain, family or not . . .” Elliott spoke seriously. “Watch your back.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  November 13

  Beginnings, Montana

  It rattled with a thump on the dining room table, then Ellen, in a rushed way, began to spew out words to a half awake Dean. “I want to catch the early Dan-Tram. Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Ellen.” Looking up from his coffee, Dean stared at the large purple purse on the table. “That’s as big as you.”

 
“Yeah.” She smiled. “Isn’t it great?”

  Dean extended his arm to the purse that looked packed. He tried to lift it. “What the hell do you have in here?”

  “Stuff.”

  “What kind of stuff?”

  “Just stuff.” She tossed it over her shoulder.

  “Your clothes for New Bowman?”

  “No.” Ellen answered. “I have stuff at Elliott’s . . . shit.”

  “What?”

  “I have to get my stuff from his house.”

  “Do you fear facing him, El?” Dean asked as he stood up.

  “No. Isn’t this purse great?”

  “You’re changing the subject.”

  “No, I’m not. You asked if my clothes were in here. It’s the same subject. You should have seen Todd’s face when I returned with Robbie yesterday for this. But he had to go and ruin Robbie’s good deed by telling me Hal already bought me the purse as a surprise.”

  “Why do they spoil you?” Dean asked.

  “We’re family. Who else are they going to spoil? Speaking of spoiling, can I have your Danny Dollar card?”

  “Why?”

  Ellen huffed. “I want to buy something. See, this woman from the House of Lesbians made this great centerpiece and I know its gonna be gone if I don’t snatch it up today.”

  Calmly, Dean nodded. “A-ha.” He took a look around the house at all the recently displayed knickknacks and candles Ellen had purchased. His eyes moved to the box in the corner of the room that was still filled with candles she had yet to put away. “A centerpiece. How big?”

  “It’s a nice size for our dining room table. Dean, please, our dining room table is huge. It looks empty.”

  “How much.”

  “Fifty bucks.”

  Dean laughed, shook his head, and went to the kitchen with his coffee cup.

  “God, are you cheap. What happened to the man who told me he would gladly turn over his Danny Dollars to me like a good husband?”

  “Reason set in.” Dean emerged from the kitchen. “Plus, I realized all those stories you told about how you shopped in the old world weren’t exaggerations. Ellen, you alone could probably bring back debt.”

  Ellen giggled. “That’s cute. I have to go.”

  “Wait. I have to talk to you.” Dean hurried to her. “I need to talk to you about Elliott.”

  “What about him?” Ellen asked.

  “Yesterday when I was in New Bowman . . .”

  “Why were you in New Bowman yesterday?”

  “I went there to get you a gift.”

  Ellen grinned. “Oh, Dean, that’s sweet. Where is it?”

  “I didn’t get you anything. It was too expensive.”

  Ellen gasped.

  “Anyhow, listen. I saw Elliott briefly in passing. El . . . he didn’t look good.”

  Ellen turned serious. “The cancer?”

  Dean hesitated in debate. “Well, I’m gonna say no, but I can’t be sure. I’m thinking we broke down his immunities and he’s getting an infection somewhere. He was pale, but not a sickly gray. And he was coughing.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Stop at the clinic, get an IV bag of Kenya anti-infective, ice it down, and take it with you. Do a manual white blood count on him. If it looks high, hook him up, admit him there, and bag him for the night. If he’s still coughing, see if you can pull me a sample.”

  “Got it.” Ellen kissed Dean on the cheek. “See ya, tomorrow.”

  “Call from Hal’s phone if you need me.”

  “I need your Danny Dollar card.”

  Dean opened the door for her. “Get going.”

  After another quick kiss, Ellen darted out.

  ^^^^

  There was an abundance of immature laughter that exuded from Frank and Robbie following Hal’s entrance into Joe’s office.

  Wearing Army-Green Fatigues bloused above a pair of combat boots and a white tee shirt, Hal set down a large duffle bag and folded his arms. “Are we done boys?”

  “Man.” Frank shook his head. “I never knew how heavy you were until you weren’t hiding behind that pansy uniform.”

  “Oh, kiss my ass Frank,” Hal snapped. “I am not heavy.”

  “Yeah, you are. Robbie?”

  Hal rolled his eyes. “Go on.” He held out his hand to Robbie. “Do the normal thing. Agree with Frank.”

  “No.” Robbie shook his head. “I wouldn’t say heavy.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Pleasantly plump.” Robbie laughed with Frank.

  Another roll of his eyes and Hal looked at Joe who sat behind the desk, not paying attention. “Dad, can’t you do something about forcing these two to act at least half their age.”

  “I’ve tried.” Joe turned a page. “It doesn’t work. Ignore them. You aren’t heavy or pleasantly plump. They’re trying to rattle you. Why do you let them?”

  “I don’t know,” Hal shrugged. “Why do they do it?”

  Joe looked up from his paperwork. “They’re jealous, that’s why.”

  Both Frank and Robbie groaned.

  “Thank you, Dad,” Hal said. “Now, since you’ve rattled me, Frank, let me rattle you.”

  “It can’t be done,” Frank said arrogantly, “especially since I have to fill in for you today. Is that what you think? Your work will rattle me.”

  “No. I went to great lengths to make sure you aren’t lost in the day. Everything’s prepared.”

  “You did that?” Frank gave a closed mouth, impressed look. “Excellent. I didn’t.”

  “Figures.”

  “Rattle me,” Frank said arrogantly then nudged Robbie.

  “Absolutely.” Hal bent down to the duffle bag. “You laughed at me. Now Frank . . .” He handed it to Frank. “We laugh at you.”

  Unzipping the bag just a tad, Frank peeked in. The smiled dropped from his face. “Fuck.”

  ^^^^

  It wasn’t a day’s worth of extra sleep but, to Jess, that two hours did the trick. He didn’t realize how tired he was until he went to sleep the night before. Jess was pulling extra hours in Security and training men due to the shifting of man power to the greenhouses. He really didn’t mind. He liked the responsibility and that same responsibility would begin all over again today. He just wished he had time to spend all of those Danny Dollars he was accumulating.

  Amazed that he never heard Robbie leave, Jess was still getting dressed as he walked down the stairs. He knew coffee wouldn’t be made and he wanted to brew a pot before starting work. Making a pass through the living room, he saw the envelope with his name typed on the front. It perched against a planter on the table behind the sofa. Curious as to what it was, Jess reached for it. His fingers felt the thickness of it and then he opened it.

  Before he even read the short note, Jess felt a sick feeling hit his stomach because he saw the photocopy of his picture in the right hand corner of the paper behind the note.

  He swallowed hard as he read the words, ‘Courtesy of Bev. We still remain in Beginnings. Duty calls. It’s time. You will help.’ Then Jess lifted the small note to expose it. The document pummeled him with memories and regrets. How badly he wanted to just take the note and that document, head to Joe’s office, and inform him that someone else was working for the Society in Beginnings but he couldn’t. Showing Joe meant telling him he had lied to him and that single admittance of a lie would dismantle any trust Joe had in Jess. How would he ever believe that Jess’s defection wasn’t a set up like originally planned by the Society? That Jess had it in his mind not to deceive Beginnings, but to deceive the Society into thinking he was still on their side.

  He agreed so he could get his freedom from the Society and that freedom was threatened by the documentation he held in his hand, a single record from his Society file, equipped with his picture and signature on the statement that he was to be an inside infiltrator working for the society.

  There was someone in Beginnings that knew and that someone could eas
ily cause the exile from the home in Beginnings he loved if Jess didn’t do what they wanted. Jess knew what had to be done. In his mind plan, he had no intention of working for the Society.

  Jess was being threatened . . . again. Blackmailed . . . again. The person sending the note had to be dealt with and if was the last thing Jess did, he would find out exactly who that someone was.

  ^^^^

  New Bowman, Montana

  Outside Hal’s closed office door, Sgt. Owens listened with oddity to the ‘fill-in’ Captain. He was instructed to aid if need be and he wanted to, if he could figure out what the Captain’s brother was doing.

  Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-buzz.

  “Fuck.”

  Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-buzz.

  “Fuck.”

  Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-buzz.

  “Fuck.”

  After listening several more times, Sgt. Owens knocked once and entered. “Sir.”

  “Oh, hey.” Frank looked up from behind the desk.

  “I was just curious if you needed any assistance?”

  “What?”

  “Do you need help?”

  “With?”

  “Today.”

  “Um . . .” Frank thought for a second. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks.” Just as Sgt. Owens started to walk away, Frank looked at the phone that laid on the desk.. “Oh, wait.”

  “Yes, sir.” Sgt. Owens turned around.

  “This.” Frank held up the phone. “Maybe you might know. See.” He pressed the power on. “My brother has this pass code protected.”

  “I’m not privileged to know that code.”

  “Fuck.” Frank looked at the phone. “Maybe you might have luck though. I don’t. I’ve been trying to call Hal to find out what the code is. But every time I dial . . .”

  Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-buzz.

  “Fuck. See. It won’t go through.”

  “It’s pass code protected.”

  “I know.”

  “The phone won’t dial until you put the correct pass code in.”

  Frank huffed in irritation. “I know this. That’s why I’m trying to call Hal to get the pass code so I can use the phone.”