All About the Money (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 7)

by Ann Mullen

  “You think so?”

  “I don’t know. I can only hope, but Mom has a mind of her own.”

  We spent the rest of the day at home playing with the kids. Helene left to go over to Jonathan’s house to check out the construction going on over there. She wanted to see for herself what was happening. I’m surprised she didn’t ask to take the kids. She’d become so attached, she couldn’t stand to be away from them. It was like having two moms around all the time, except that I was the mom with the final say. How cool was that?

  “What’s going on over at Jonathan’s place?” I asked Billy as we sat on the floor in the den. “Is he adding on to his new house already? Now that he’s getting married, I guess he needs more room. I’m just glad they’re going to live in his house instead of hers. That way they’ll be close.”

  “He’s not expanding his house. He’s putting in a hangar and a helipad for the helicopter we bought.”

  “What are you talking about? Helicopter? Are you kidding?”

  “I meant to tell you, but there was so much going on.”

  “There always is. That’s no excuse.”

  “Then, when you brought up the subject of money, I lost my nerve. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you about it.”

  “You buy the stuff. I use them. I like it when you bring home new toys. And now that I know we’re rich, I have a few items on my wish list. When are you going to teach me how to fly our new helicopter?”

  “Actually, Chief Sam bought the helicopter. Jonathan and I paid for the construction work. The pad was poured last week, and the work crew is finishing up the hangar. The helicopter should be here by tonight. Jonathan left this morning to pick it up.”

  “They don’t deliver?”

  “No. We bought it from a private seller. Jonathan took a plane to South Carolina to pick it up. He’ll fly the chopper back.”

  “Can you fly one of those things?”

  “I’ve been up in one a few times, but I haven’t actually flown one yet. Jonathan has been teaching me the basics.”

  “Can we keep it in our backyard occasionally?”

  “Only if you’re willing to pay to have a landing pad and hangar built out back. That’s what we’d need.”

  “We’re rich. Let’s do it.”

  “You’re a bad girl, `ge ya. I think I’m going to regret talking about money with you. You’ve turned into a monster.”

  “I want stuff! I want to spend money!” I joked, rolling around on the floor with my rich husband. “I have money! I can buy anything! Where’s Louboutin when you need him?”

  I knew that Billy had some funds, so this wasn’t news to me. He buys expensive gadgets. I just wanted to act silly and enjoy the fact that we will have our own helicopter. What a step up in the world for me. Now all I needed was my very own limousine to completely round out the picture. Oh, no! I was turning into Savannah Kelley!

  Billy’s cell phone rang, silencing me.

  “Hey, it’s my duty,” Billy said. “We’re talking about my knowledge of a crime. I had to report it. I was hoping he’d take my advice and turn it in, but I guess blood runs deeper than the law. That’s too bad. He’s not a bad guy. He just got stuck in the middle. It happens to the best of us.”

  Billy had called Sheriff Hudson earlier to tell him that Bruno had possession of the gun Wynona used to shoot her husband. The sheriff was returning his call to let him know they had retrieved the gun. At least, that’s what I thought until I saw the look on Billy’s face. After a brief pause, Billy said, “He tossed it somewhere. I know he had it. I caught him trying to sneak it out of Wynona’s house.” Five minutes later, he ended the conversation, tossed his cell phone up on the coffee table, and then looked at me. “I need a break from this madness. Why don’t we take a few days off and take the kids to the beach… or Disney world? I don’t care where we go. I just want to get away.”

  “What happened, Billy? What did Sheriff Hudson say?”

  “He went to question Bruno about the gun, but didn’t get anywhere. Bruno denied even knowing about it, let alone having it in his possession.”

  “Didn’t the sheriff search his house? He knew Bruno had the gun. You told him so.”

  “No. Apparently, he needs more evidence than just my word to get a search warrant. He questioned Bruno and let him know that he knew about the gun and that they would find it eventually.”

  “And…”

  “And… the sheriff and his men left. What else could they do without a warrant? I should’ve taken the gun and turned it in myself.”

  “What’s going to happen now? Will they try to blame Flo… or us?” I thought for a second, and then added, “Why wouldn’t Bruno Michaels turn over the gun, unless he has something to hide?”

  “They aren’t going to blame anyone but Wynona. Donald Rhodes is going to recover, and he’ll testify that his wife tried to kill him. She’ll be charged with attempted murder for trying to kill him, and he’s going to testify that she killed Hank Sharp.”

  “What about his part in the cover-up of Hank’s murder?”

  “He made a deal. He won’t do any time.”

  “I’m glad he’s going to be all right. I hope they lock up Wynona and throw away the key. She’s a danger to everyone around her. I think she’s unstable. Who, in their right mind, would kill their lover just because he dumped her? That’s insane.”

  “Sometimes… I just hate this job. I should’ve taken the gun.”

  “Don’t blame yourself, and don’t hate your job. We have a good life and it’s all because we are good at what we do. We have a lot of fun… sometimes. How did you know he wasn’t going to do the right thing?”

  “People lie all the time. I should’ve known that.”

  “You can’t control what people do.”

  “Let’s forget about all of this and have some fun. Let’s take the kids to Disney World. All I have to do is make a few calls and then we can be on our way.”

  “What about those two cases Lila was talking about? I figured they’d be next on the agenda now that Flo’s case has been wrapped up. Savannah’s problem is her own.”

  “There’s nothing so important going on that can’t wait three or four days. I say we hop on a plane and get out of here.”

  “Are you really serious? Because if you are, I can be ready in an hour and that includes packing up for the kids. Just say the word.”

  Billy got up from the floor and held out his hand. “Come with me to the magic kingdom of Walt Disney World.”

  I stood, took his hand and said, “How about some place else? You know how I feel about those rides after Claire got shot with a BB gun on one of them at Buckroe Beach Amusement Park. I haven’t been able to go on one since. We were just kids when it happened, but I’ve been freaked out ever since.”

  “Okay. You pick the place. I’ll go anywhere.”

  “How about Hawaii? I’ve always wanted to go there. Play in the sand. Sip Martinis. We can lie on the beach and drink all day.”

  “What about the kids?”

  “Of course, we’ll have to take Helene. She can be the designated sober one. Ask her if she wants to go. I’m sure she’d love to go to Hawaii even if she has to work while she plays.”

  “I have an idea. Save Hawaii for another time. Why don’t we take advantage of Bella and Loukas’ offer and take the kids for a cruise on the Bella Constance? They’d love it.”

  “And it would save us money… money that I could spend at her boutique.” I smiled. “Bella did say that Room 610 was ours to use anytime we wanted. Let’s take her up on her offer. Call her.”

  “I’ll make all the arrangements. I’ll go online right now and check the schedule. If the ship has already departed, we’re out of luck.”

  “Go check before I get myself all excited.”

  Billy left the room, and when he returned ten minutes later, he was shaking his head. “It was a good idea, but the ship left port yesterday and won’t return for six days. Maybe anot
her time.”

  “I hope that’s not going to keep us from making other plans. You’ve got me jazzed about going somewhere, so let’s go. Hey… I have a great idea. Why don’t we go someplace in the helicopter?”

  “I’ll need a few more lessons and a pilot’s license before that happens. We can’t ask Jonathan to fly us. He’s been in the air enough for one day. He’ll be tired when he gets home.”

  “We’re not going to leave until tomorrow. He might be willing. Will you ask him?”

  “No, let’s wait on the chopper ride. We don’t want to tie him up. He can’t just take us someplace and drop us off.”

  “Why not? He can pick us up in a couple of days. He’d probably love to do it.”

  Helene returned home and all she could talk about was Jonathan’s new helicopter. “I saw pictures of it. Jonathan had a couple tacked up to one of the walls in the hangar. Did you know that he’s gone to pick it up right now?”

  “Yes,” I replied. “Billy told me all about it. We’re hoping to get him to fly all of us somewhere for a few days. Are you interested?”

  “I most certainly am. I’d love to go.” She walked over to the kids and kissed both of them. She turned, walked back over to the sofa and sat down. “When do we leave?”

  “Okay. I’ll run it by Jonathan,” Billy said, relenting. “But even if we don’t go in the helicopter, we’ve decided to take a short break and go somewhere.”

  “We can’t make up our mind where we want to go,” I added. “We just know we want to go somewhere. Our active cases are no longer active, so we’re going to get away for awhile. We don’t know where we’re going, but we’re leaving in the morning.”

  Helene laughed. “So… we’d headed out for destinations unknown.”

  “No,” Billy replied. “We have to decide where we’re going. There are plans to make. Hotel rooms to rent.”

  “May I make a suggestion?” Helene asked.

  “Sure,” we both said.

  “Why don’t we go…”

  A loud noise followed by a vibration overtook the room, drowning out Helene. All we could hear was the rumble of something all around us.

  “What is that?” I yelled, looking at Helene. “That can’t be rain.”

  “The rain stopped awhile ago,” she yelled back.

  I looked at Billy. “Is it an earthquake?”

  I was beginning to get scared. Helene and I ran over to the kids and snatched them up, cuddling them close. They didn’t seem to be fazed by the noise, but the dogs went into a barking fit. The cat showed up from wherever he’d been hiding and jumped up on the sofa, meowing like his tail was on fire. He buried his head in the cushions.

  “It’s okay,” Billy said above the racket. “Jonathan’s back with the chopper. He’s buzzing us to let us know he’s arrived.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Helene said. “It’s so loud.”

  “He’s flying close,” Billy added. “Normally, he wouldn’t do that.”

  “I’d like to change my mind about putting that thing in our backyard,” I said. “I sure hope we don’t have to listen to that noise every time it takes off.”

  “You won’t, `ge ya.”

  “Let’s go see it then,” I suggested. “If it’s that loud, it’s got to be bodacious. I bet that is one heck of chopper.”

  A horrifying sputter, that even I knew couldn’t be good, echoed throughout the room. A few short seconds later, the chopper had landed.

  Or had it crashed?

  Leaving the kids with Helene, Billy and I jumped in the car to go find out.

  Chapter 15

  Jonathan’s house sits on twenty some acres of land across the road from our house on the Blackhawk compound, and is surrounded by trees. There were no visible flames or smoke rising above the area.

  “He didn’t crash,” I told Billy as we traveled at a high rate of speed, going the short distance. “You can slow down now.”

  The path to the hangar was off to the left of Jonathan’s house, and as soon as we pulled up, we could see the helicopter was intact. The blades were still turning, and Jonathan was sitting in the cockpit. Billy and I jumped out of the car, and then bent over slightly so the blades wouldn’t cut off our heads as we approached the helicopter. The noise was almost deafening.

  Billy opened the co-pilot door and motioned to Jonathan. The side door slid open and then Billy motioned for me to get in. He crawled in the front seat while I stepped up into the passenger area.

  After crawling inside, I wasn’t sure I could handle the noise, until Jonathan pressed a button somewhere and the side door slid closed, drowning out most of it.

  “Wow!” I exclaimed. “This is really cool!”

  A second later, we were in the air, flying over Charlottesville.

  I looked around, examining everything. I’d only been in a helicopter once that I could remember, and that was with my dad when I was a child. He took us for a ride once, and once was enough for Mom. It turned out that she didn’t like helicopters any more than she did camping. I thought about her when I saw how nice this one was. It reminded me of the black helicopters you’d see in Army movies, only the interior was much more lavish. This one was the Cadillac of cars.

  Jonathan pointed out the features, while I made myself comfortable in a plump, leather seat, and felt the leather. I didn’t know a thing about helicopters, except that I thought they were really cool, but after Jonathan finished, I could at least tell you how to operate the radio and that this one was a Bell.

  Jonathan smiled when I made the hand signal to indicate that all the stuff he had just told me had gone right over my head. “That’s okay,” he said. “You’ll learn.” He cocked his eyes at me. “I know you want to.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “You have that rabid look in your eyes.”

  “I just can’t imagine ever learning how to fly one of these things. It’s so… big… and so much. It’d be like driving a train. One wrong foul-up and you’re dead meat. It wouldn’t be like hitting a tree with your car. You might survive that, but not this. You crash a helicopter and you’re going to die for sure.”

  “Not necessarily,” Billy said. “Jonathan has survived a few.”

  “Barely,” Jonathan added. “You’re not in combat if you don’t go down every now and then.” He chuckled. “Look, Jesse. All you need to know is that the red button shoots. The rest is secondary.”

  I was flabbergasted. My eyes lit up when I said, “Are you telling me it has rockets?”

  Billy and Jonathan looked at each other, and then shared a good-natured laugh.

  “No, it doesn’t have rockets,” Jonathan replied. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “Does it have the red button?”

  They laughed again. My inexperience was so delightful to them.

  “You really don’t know much about helicopters, do you, Jesse?”

  “I knew what the red button meant. Everybody knows that one. You press the red button to fire the rockets. I was just wondering if it was pre-wired with a red button just in case you’d want to add rockets to its list of features. So… when are we going to get some rockets?”

  “You’re just wide-opened, girl,” Jonathan mused. “You have such an adventurous side. I just love that about you.” He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.

  “Hey, buddy, keep your eyes on the road!”

  Fifteen minutes after takeoff, Jonathan landed the helicopter back on the ground. He powered-down the monstrous machine. The noise of the engine and the rotor blades died to a slight hum, and then stopped. He pulled out his cell phone and said, “Watch this.” He pressed a key and the hangar’s floodlights flicked on, illuminating the darkness. “All the modern conveniences of home.”

  “I’m so impressed,” I said, jubilated. “My guys have the best toys! I just have one question. How do you get the helicopter into the hangar? I don’t imagine you’d fly it in, would you?”

  “No,” Jonathan replied. “You don’t f
ly it in. We purchased a pallet jack for that. You want to see it? It’s pretty cool, too.”

  “Maybe she can see it later,” Billy interjected. “We need to be getting back. It’s about time to put the kids to bed, and we’d both like to be there for a change.” Billy looked at me. “You about ready to go, `ge ya?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. I looked back at Billy, wondering if he was going to ask Jonathan about flying us somewhere, but I didn’t say anything. I would wait for his lead.

  Jonathan walked with us back to the 4Runner, talking the whole time about the newly purchased helicopter. It was apparent that he knew pretty much everything there was to know about it, and he was so excited that the Blackhawks finally owned another one.

  “Another one?” I asked as I crawled into the passenger seat of the car. “You had one before?”

  “Dad had one when we were little, but his brother crashed it. When Uncle Ray died in the helicopter crash, Dad lost all interest in flying. He never bought another one, until now.”

  Billy and Jonathan shared a sad moment.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. I bet it was hard on your dad.”

  “It’s been over thirty years,” Jonathan added. “He’s never gotten over it. He blames himself. He said he should’ve never let Ray fly alone. When I approached him about buying the chopper, he was hesitant, but he finally relented.”

  “Do you think he’ll want to fly it? As you said, it’s been a long time.”

  “We’ll see.”

  I waved to Jonathan as Billy turned the car around and headed down the driveway. Even though we talked about the helicopter on the ride back to the house, I didn’t bring up the subject of why he didn’t ask Jonathan to fly us somewhere, until we were walking up on the front porch.

  “I didn’t ask because he said he had to give her the once over before he made any long trip. That’ll take a little time. He won’t take anyone up in it until he’s sure it’s safe and doesn’t have some little glitch.”

  “He took us up in it.”

  “Yeah, but we didn’t go far.”