Ransom of the Heart

by Susan Page Davis

  “This is Laney.”

  “Your girlfriend?” Theo frankly appraised her figure. The sun glinted off Laney’s red hair.

  “She’s my friend,” Tony said, unable to hold back a smile.

  “Ha!”

  Tony had the feeling Theo was about to try to muscle Laney away from him. He said quickly, “Laney, this is one of my cousins, Theodore Johnson. Laney is the police chief’s secretary. I mean, office administrator.”

  “Hi,” Laney said, but she kept hold of Tony’s hand.

  Theo’s sister, Sarah, appeared in the doorway. She also homed in on them, but her smile was much more encouraging. “Hi, Laney. I’m Sarah.” She held out her hand, and Laney grasped it, ignoring Theo.

  “Pleased to meet you, Sarah. Are you Amy’s sister?”

  “Nope. Cousins. Our dads are brothers. And Tony’s mom is their sister.”

  “Oh, okay.” Laney shot him a glance, and Tony wondered if she was drawing a mental family tree.

  “You heading over to the hotel?” Theo asked, looking at Tony.

  “Yeah, but I want to touch base with my folks first.” Tony tugged at his necktie. Could he get away with removing it and his jacket and leaving them in the car?

  “Well, don’t wait too long to get over there,” Sarah said. “Uncle Bill wants us to circulate and make sure we greet everyone from Daniel’s family.”

  A pencil-thin young woman with platinum blond hair and a skirt at least three inches shorter than Laney’s came out of the house with a young man who looked happy to be at the hottest party in town. More than happy, he looked as though he thought he was really something.

  “Oh, there’s my sister and her boyfriend,” Tony said. “You didn’t get to meet them before.” He steered Laney away from Sarah, toward Rachel and Clark. “Hey, Rach!”

  Rachel smiled and nudged Clark, and they met Tony and Laney at the bottom of the porch steps.

  “Hi,” Rachel said. “I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.”

  “We cut it a little close,” Tony admitted. The worst part was being forced to park on the top floor of the nearby parking garage and walk over to the governor’s mansion. But they’d made it in before Amy walked down the aisle. “Rachel, this is Laney Cross. Laney, my little sister and her escort, Clark Williamson.”

  Laney exchanged pleasantries with them, and Clark looked around.

  “Where’s the bar?” he asked.

  “At the hotel,” Tony said.

  “Oh, yeah, we gotta drive over there. You ready, Rachel?”

  “Not yet,” she said.

  “Where’s Mom and Dad?” Tony asked.

  “I think they’re in the state dining room with Uncle Bill and Aunt Laura,” Rachel said. “So, are you staying over tonight?”

  “No, we’re going right back after the reception,” Tony said. He hoped the question didn’t embarrass Laney. As if anyone would think they would stay overnight together. Or at the Blaine House. Or whatever Rachel meant—he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He hoped Laney didn’t spill to anyone that this was their first date. The bookstore didn’t count in his reckoning.

  Laney was looking up at Rachel. Her four-inch heels made Rachel taller than Tony, which rankled him. She’d nearly caught him in height when he was in high school. Of course, Clark was over six feet, so she could wear high heels with him and not look out of proportion. Still. . .

  “So, what do you do, Rachel?” Laney asked.

  “I just finished my first year of law school.”

  “Oh. I’m impressed.”

  Rachel made a face. “I don’t know if I’ll stick with it.”

  “Really?”

  “It’s a lot of work. So, have you met our folks?”

  “Not yet,” Laney said. “I saw them during the ceremony.” Tony had pointed out all his close family members.

  “Why don’t you go in and meet them now?” Rachel suggested. “Amy and Daniel are having some pictures done in the back yard. This might be a good time.”

  “Great idea. See you at the hotel.” Tony walked Laney into the entry and leaned close to her ear. “My sister can be a little much.”

  “No, she’s nice,” Laney said.

  He’d take that at face value and not get into a discussion about his siblings or his cousins. “Looks like she was right—Mom and Dad are in the dining room with Uncle Bill and Aunt Laura. You ready?”

  Laney gritted her teeth for an instant. “You think? How’s my hair?”

  “You look terrific.”

  “Okay. Then, I guess let’s get it over with.”

  He took her hand firmly and led her into the long state dining room. A cluster of people, mostly older relatives, surrounded the Johnsons, but Uncle Bill looked up and smiled broadly.

  “Anthony! Glad you could come. And who is this beautiful young woman?”

  Tony stepped forward. “Aunt Laura, Uncle Bill, this is Laney Cross.” His mother nodded her approval. She’d made sure he learned the fourth-grade lessons on making introductions well, and the governor certainly took precedence in this situation.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Laney said.

  “Thank you for coming,” Aunt Laura replied.

  Uncle Bill smiled at her confidentially. “I hear you’re working in Mike Browning’s office.”

  “Y-yes,” Laney said.

  “Great guy,” Uncle Bill said. “You’ll have to let me in on any secrets you’ve learned.”

  “Oh, I don’t think—Chief Browning isn’t a secretive kind of person.”

  The governor laughed. “You’ve got that right. Mike’s an open book.”

  Tony’s mom touched Laney’s wrist gently. “Hello, Laney. We’ve looked forward to meeting you.”

  “Mom, Dad,” Tony said quickly before Uncle Bill could launch into an anecdote about trout fishing with Chief Browning or facing down the Speaker of the House. “This is Laney. Laney, these are my parents, Roger and Linda Winfield.”

  “How do you do?” Laney asked.

  “We’re fine,” his mother said. “I hope we get a chance to sit down later and have a chat. We see so little of Tony since he passed his detective exam.” She eyed her son with mock sternness. “You really need to catch us up on all your adventures.”

  “Yes,” his father said. “Were you in on that big kidnapping case a couple weeks ago?”

  “Uh, yeah,” Tony said. “It was my boss’s brother-in-law who was abducted.”

  “Not Chief Browning,” Laura said.

  “No, Captain Larson. His wife’s sister’s husband. Well, anyway, he’s home safe now.”

  “What are you working on now?” his father asked.

  “Uh, something else.”

  His father scowled, but his mom said, “Now, Roger, don’t make him talk about work on his day off.”

  “It’s okay,” Tony told her. “Eddie and I are still sorting out the indictments from the racket we busted in connection with the kidnapping, and we also caught a new homicide Thursday.”

  “And they let you leave Portland?” His dad sounded shocked.

  “Well, yeah. We did the most of it yesterday. I’ll be doing some interviews Monday. And reports.”

  “Take Laney over to the resort, and we’ll see you there later,” his mother said. “Amy and Daniel are having a few more photos done, but they left orders for the bar and the hors d’oeuvres table to be open. Get something to eat.”

  “Yeah, we’ll talk later,” his father added.

  Laney smiled. “Nice to meet you both.”

  They made it outside without being accosted by any more relatives, and Tony nodded toward the street. “Ready to walk up to the garage? Or I can bring the car down here and pick you up.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Laney said.

  He didn’t blame her, not wanting to be left stranded for ten or fifteen minutes with this crazy family.

  He slipped his jacket off. “Hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Laney sa
id. “It turned off warm this afternoon.”

  That was an understatement.

  He cast about for something to talk about as they walked up the block. They’d about exhausted all the small talk topics he could think of on the drive from Portland.

  “So, we’re getting a new detective soon.”

  “Oh, right,” Laney said. “Chief Browning mentioned it.”

  “Do you know who it is?” Tony asked. He and the other squad members had tried to pry the information out of Harvey for the last week, but the boss was tight-lipped about it.

  “Well—” Laney broke off, and her cheeks reddened. “I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about things I hear in the office. Sorry.”

  So she knew something.

  “Sure,” Tony said.

  They reached the parking garage and stepped into the dim interior, out of the exuberant sun, and he was glad the structure had an elevator.

  The drive to the hotel only took a few minutes. A resort employee directed them to the event room, and they found a couple dozen wedding guests already there, including several of Tony’s cousins. He ducked Theo and fifteen-year-old Jacey, who fancied herself a popular socialite because the governor was her uncle. A four-piece combo was playing, and people stood in small groups talking or sat at tables around the edge of the room.

  Sarah approached them, towing a man Tony had never met. “Hey, guys,” she said brightly. “This is Brett. He works for the retirement department.”

  “Hi.” Tony shook hands. Sarah must have invited this guy for the reception. He looked as though he felt a little out of place.

  To his relief, Tony saw that a bar had been set up on the far end of the room. “Would you girls like something to drink?” he asked.

  “That sounds good,” Sarah said, and she and Brett walked across the room with them. For a wonder, they eluded Thee-Odor and made it over to the bar without being stopped by anyone else.

  “What can I get you?” the white-jacketed bartender asked.

  “Champagne for me,” Sarah said. “Laney?”

  “Oh, I’ll just have a soda,” Laney said. “Anything diet.”

  “Here you go.” The young man handed her Diet Sprite in a rocks glass.

  “Uh, I’ll have the same.” Tony wondered if Laney eschewed alcohol as the devil’s brew. Now wasn’t he time to ask.

  “What?” Sarah looked at him as if shocked. “You’re tee-totaling now?”

  “Gotta drive back to Portland later,” Tony said with a grin. Sarah seemed to accept that, and Laney smiled with what he assessed as genuine approval. He’d gotten high marks in his training on reading body language, after all.

  As they turned away with their glasses, Rachel and Clark approached the bar.

  “Oh, hi, Sarah,” Rachel stopped to talk to her cousin and said to her boyfriend, “Get me something, okay?”

  Clark waved without looking back and went on toward the bar. Rachel turned to Laney. “That’s probably the last you’ll see of him for a while.”

  Laney’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t say anything. Tony had never especially liked Clark, and sometimes he wondered if Rachel did.

  “They’re serving hot hors d’oeuvres,” Brett said.

  “Are you hinting?” Sarah asked pointedly.

  Brett shut his mouth so fast, Tony figured Sarah intimidated him big time. He gave the relationship about two hours, max.

  “Well, I’m starved,” he said. “Laney, want something to eat?”

  “I’d love it.” She smiled apologetically. “I had a sketchy lunch, and that was in Portland.”

  “Hey, Tony!”

  “Great,” he whispered.

  Theo was bearing down on them. He grinned at Laney and then frowned at Rachel. “Did you bring that loser, Clark?”

  “Shut up, Theo,” Rachel said.

  Laney caught her breath and moved a little closer to Tony.

  “Let’s go get that food,” he said.

  They fixed their plates at the buffet, and Tony found them a small table. Maybe they could have five minutes to themselves.

  “Sorry about my cousin,” he said, holding the back of her chair for her.

  “That’s okay. I like your parents.”

  “Yeah, they’re good people. Theo’s just spoiled. Well, I guess the truth is, we all are.”

  “You don’t act it.”

  “Thanks.”

  Laney smiled. “And I’m sorry about before. I’ve been wondering how things were going in Priority, now that Detective Miller’s gone.”

  “You were right not to say anything.” Tony sighed. “We’re stretched pretty thin. But Captain Larson says he’s picked Nate’s replacement. I was just hoping to get a little intel, but believe me, I understand. I shouldn’t have asked about it.”

  “I think they’re just waiting for a candidate to accept the position,” she said.

  “Yeah, they won’t announce it until it’s a done deal.”

  Laney nodded. “I hope it happens soon, and you guys get some help.”

  “Yeah.” Tony sipped his Sprite and winced. Why had he asked for what Laney was drinking? He hated diet soda.

  “Listen,” she said, “if you want to drink something stronger, I don’t mind. But I’ll just have ginger ale or something when it comes to the champagne toast.”

  “That’s okay,” Tony said. “Gotta drive.”

  “Right.”

  So she was a total non-drinker. That was okay. He just wondered what other things they would disagree on. But that was what dates were for, getting to know each other.

  “Hey, Tony. Can we sit here?”

  He looked up to see his cousin Blake and his wife standing by the table with laden plates and wine glasses.

  “Yeah, sure.” Tony stood until Blake had seated Violet. “Laney, this is Amy’s brother Blake and his wife, Violet.”

  How many introductions would he have to make today?

  Violet and Blake gave Laney huge smiles.

  “Is that shrimp any good?” Blake asked.

  Laney had one speared on her fork. “Yeah, it’s delicious. And the spinach puffs, too.”

  Violet sat down and adjusted her plate on the table before her. “So tell us, what’s this guy really like when he’s out from under the family watchdogs?” Violet actually looked eager to hear the answer.

  Tony picked up his glass. Maybe Blake would think it was vodka. He leaned back in his chair, wondering what Laney would say. Getting to know Laney was harder than he’d thought. He should have taken her someplace quiet for dinner, not to this madhouse. Would they have a second date? He hoped so. They chatted easily while the room filled. His parents came in and started greeting people. Then Uncle Bill and Aunt Laura arrived.

  “Can I get you a refill?” he asked Laney.

  “Sure. Thank you.” She handed him her empty glass. He went to the bar and ordered her a diet Sprite and Moxie for himself.

  “Here comes the bride and groom,” Violet said as he rejoined them at the table.

  Good. Maybe after a while they’d get to dance.

  Amy and Daniel made their way slowly around the room, accepting kisses and best wishes. They were almost to Tony and Laney’s corner when a loud voice said, “Buzz off, Thee-Odor!”

  “Oh, boy,” Blake said, shrinking down in his chair. “Here we go.”

  “What? I just asked when you’re going to pay me.” Theo sounded like he’d already had too many drinks.

  Tony glanced apprehensively at Laney. Before he could say anything, a sharp crack, the sound of bone on bone, reached them. He whipped around. Theo had flown backward, apparently bowling down Aunt Heather and a waiter with a tray full of glasses. Clark Williamson was standing next to a stricken Rachel, rubbing his knuckles.

  “Do something, Tony,” Violet said.

  “Me?” Tony croaked out. “Both those guys are bigger than me.”

  “Well, you’re a cop,” Violet said.

  Tony pulled in a breath and made
a quick decision. “Not my jurisdiction.”

  Uncle Bill stepped up. He stood between the two young men, holding up his hands.

  “You boys settle down, you hear me? Theo, I’m ashamed of you.”

  “Me?” Theo roared. He got to his feet. “I’m the one who got sucker-punched.”

  “Yeah, I guess that makes you the sucker,” Clark said.

  “Hey!” Uncle Bill turned his glare on Clark. “You two can leave.”

  “Aw, Uncle Bill,” Theo whined.

  “That’s it, Theo. I’ve had enough. This is Amy’s day.” The governor’s bodyguards moved in closer to him.

  Clark nodded. “I’m sorry, sir. I’ll leave now.” He headed for the door with Rachel trailing him.

  “Will your sister leave, too?” Laney whispered.

  “I hope not, but maybe,” Tony said. He was glad he hadn’t gotten in the middle of it.

  Theo was limping toward the door between two of the Executive Protection Unit agents, while Aunt Laura helped Aunt Heather up off the floor and four waiters hastened to clean up the spilled liquids and broken glassware.

  Blake gave Laney a crooked smile. “Never a dull moment in this family.”

  Tony leaned toward Laney. “Do you want to leave?”

  “Now? We can’t. They haven’t cut the cake. And besides, somebody said there would be dancing later.”

  “Tony’s a great dancer,” Violet said, and he realized she was eagerly listening to every word.

  Amy and Daniel sidled up to their table. “Well, hi, Tony,” Amy said with a wide smile. “This must be Laney.”

  “Yeah.” Tony stood up. “Laney, this is my cousin Amy John—I mean, Amy Forkner.”

  Amy grinned. “Yeah, I like the sound of that. This is Daniel.”

  “I’m so happy to meet you,” Laney said. “The wedding was gorgeous.”

  “Thanks.” Amy leaned toward Tony. “Dad’s still got it, huh? Who needs a bouncer?”

  “Yeah,” Tony said with a forced chuckle.

  Amy spoke to her brother and his wife and moved on.

  The combo started to play, and someone said, “Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Fortner in their first dance as husband and wife.” Amy and Daniel moved out to the center of the floor to waltz.

  Tony let out his breath. He looked over at Laney. “Still glad you came?”