by Mary Hiker
Through his open car window, I could see Wyatt’s agitation grow as he waited to be freed from his parking space. He beat the screen of his smart phone with his finger and went off on who-ever answered on the other end. I stayed near the van but strained to hear his every word through his open windows.
“You introduced me to a mark who is related to a cop?” Wyatt’s free hand slashed about as if helping to express his anger. “Are you out of your freaking mind?”
My mom is NOT related to Don, I stewed. We’re just friends. I shook my head. Pay attention, Avery!
“I’m not paying you a dime for this one,” Wyatt spat into the phone. In his mirror, I watched his face grow an even deeper shade of red.
The van churned to life, and Don wasted no time backing the vehicle out of the con-man’s way.
Wyatt slammed his car into reverse as he screamed into the phone. “You amateur! I’m about to dismantle you and this entire house of cards.” He threw the cell phone at the car’s dashboard in a fit of rage.
I jumped out of the way when he hit the gas, his tires squealing on the asphalt.
As I watched him turn the corner, something black flew out of his passenger window. Apparently he didn’t see it because he kept going, his tires screeching around every corner. I ran to where the black rectangle slid to a stop and my heart thudded when I realized what it was.
“Give me something to write on,” I called to Don as I picked up the phone, pulling a pen out of my back pocket in the process.
Don handed me one of the left over breakfast napkins, and I frantically opened the recently dialed numbers on Wyatt’s phone, writing down the digits for the most recent call.
“Hurry up,” Don ordered as the sound of Wyatt’s car engine roared in the background. “He’s coming back.”
I tossed the phone back near his previous parking spot, ran around the van, and jumped in through the sliding door.
Don leaned his arm out the van window and casually drove us out of the parking lot, just as Wyatt sped back in.
My mother sobbed, “Well, that was the shortest date in history.”
Chapter 12
“I was just so tired of feeling lonely.”
My mother filled her lungs with air and blew out a long breath, her shoulders slumping on the exhale as her body sunk deeper into the couch. She mindlessly petted the three dogs that lounged beside her, and Daisy crawled up into her lap.
“At least he didn’t have time to get any money from you.”
She started to cry again.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, crossing my arms.
She clapped her hands on her face.
Softening my tone, I asked. “Okay, how much?”
I wondered how many sweet old ladies cried over this same heartbreak. These Romeo con-artists had to be stopped.
“Well, we spent an afternoon last week shopping at the new mall, and Wyatt fell in love with a gold watch at the jewelers.” She sighed. “We were having such a lovely time… I wanted him to have it... the sale price was twelve-hundred dollars.”
My eyes bulged out. My mom had never spent more than thirty dollars for a watch in her life.
She looked down at her feet. “I feel so stupid.”
“Did you pay for anything else?” I asked.
She shook her head. “That’s it.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Consider yourself lucky.”
“Don’t get down on yourself.” Don placed a plate of food on the TV stand that sat in front of my mom - the same breakfast he’d bought earlier - having just warmed it in her oven.
My mom dabbed away a few tears. “I can’t help it.”
“These guys are professionals and prey on empathetic women who overflow with compassion.” Don handed my mom some silverware and a paper napkin. “You’re a very sweet and kind lady, so don’t let these jerks change that. Okay?”
The smell of re-heated bacon made me hungry all over again and by the looks of it, I wasn’t the only one. All three dogs sat at attention on the floor in front of my mom.
Mom wiped her eyes and gave Don a slight smile. “Thank you.” She took a small bite of toast. “I wish all men were as wonderful as you.”
Don straightened up, puffed out his chest a bit, and looked over at me. “Your mom likes me...” he grinned from ear-to-ear, “…that must count for something.”
Don’s quote broke my mom’s blues and finally made her laugh. “Yes, I sure do.” She wagged her finger at me. “And that should count for a lot.”
My face burned and was relieved to hear a knock on the door.
The dogs, always eager to make new friends, rushed to greet the newcomer.
“It’s okay, I love dogs.” One of my mom’s bingo cohorts stood in the doorway and handed Don a plate of homemade cookies as he welcomed her inside. The little grey haired lady was short but full of spunk.
“Honey, don’t you worry about a gosh-darn thing,” she called out to my mom, grabbing a cookie from the gift plate and taking a big bite. “I’m going to sit down, and you can tell me everything that happened, word-for-word.”
Don offered my mom and me a cookie before taking a couple for himself.
“Oh, Judy, thanks for coming over.” Mom took a bite of cookie. “You’re a saint.”
“Thank Don, he invited me.” Judy took a couple more cookies and plopped on the newly vacant cushions and patted my mom’s leg. “He’s such a nice young man, isn’t he?”
My mom nodded.
“Judy’s a retired detective,” Don whispered to me, flashing the woman’s business card. “One of the best speakers I’ve ever heard at a law enforcement conference.”
“How’d you know….?”
Don held a finger to his mouth. “The guys down at the department gave me a tip.”
He waved a hand toward Judy and whispered in my ear, making me shiver. “She’s also friends with your mom and will be able to get more information about this guy than we could ever dream of doing.”
“You two go along with your errands, now.” Miss Judy waved, brushing cookie crumbs off her lap.
I looked at Don in confusion. “We have errands?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Remember… we’re delivering Daisy?” Don lifted the dog leashes to shoulder level.
My mouth dropped open.
“Oh, no,” I cried out, glancing at the clock on the stove. “With all the chaos, I completely forgot about meeting Miss Betty!” I scooped up the friendly little mix and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry, Daisy. Wow, are we late or what!”
After the little dog collected some congratulatory kisses and a goodbye hug from my mom, Daisy was headed to her new forever home. Don walked out to the van while I followed, holding Daisy in my arms and causing Mom’s heart to break for the second time that morning.
She waved goodbye and wiped more tears from her eyes.
“I wish Daisy was staying with me.”
Chapter 13
“Hopefully, she’s still at home.”
I rifled through Daisy’s adoption packet looking for Betty’s phone number. “Here it is,” I said and pulled out my phone to make a quick call of apology.
“The poor woman is probably a nervous wreck.” Don frowned as he studied the map with directions to Daisy’s new home. “Wow, she lives on East Boardwalk, right on the ocean. Daisy’s going to have it made.”
The van took off down the road from my mom’s place, forcing me to focus more closely on the paperwork as it jiggled in my hand. Not to be deterred, I entered the number slowly, one digit at a time.
“We should be there in five minutes or so.” Don tapped the steering wheel in beat to the beach music on the radio and waved to a driver passing in the opposite direction.
“Area code 2-5-2.” I typed into my phone.
I squinted to make sure I read the rest of the small photocopied numbers correctly.
“Maybe you should hand-write it in big numbers next time.” Don laughed.
“Probably so.” I dropped the phone in my lap and held the paper with both hands.
Don chuckled. “We can stop at the drug store and get you a pair of reading glasses.”
I ignored his joke and focused on memorizing Betty’s phone number, 2-5-2… OMG!
“Stop the van!” I shouted, scaring every passenger in the van, including myself.
Don jumped in his seat, gripping the steering wheel twice as hard. “Geez, I was just kidding.”
I patted my chest and took in a breath. “I’m serious, pull over!”
“What in the world…?” Don eased into the nearest parking lot and pulled to a stop.
I spun around in my seat and looked back at Daisy.
“Don, we’ve been walking right by the flowers to smell the rabbit poop.”
He took off his sunglasses and stared at me. “Have you officially lost your mind?”
I shook my head, my heart racing.
“Every time I take Daisy for a walk at the sanctuary,” I tried to explain, “she pulls me right past the beautifully scented flowers because she’s so intent on smelling the rabbit poop nestled in the grass.”
He rubbed at the wrinkles on his forehead. “I’m not even close to understanding you.”
“The rabbit poop is Wyatt.”
“Okay.”
“We’re so focused on Wyatt’s role in these romance cons that we passed up the sweet smelling flower.”
I’d already knocked my phone to the floor and stretched my leg to dig out the breakfast napkin stuffed in my pocket.
“Geez, there’s a bunch of napkins on the dashboard if you need one, Avery.” Don reached over and tried to hand me a small stack.
“No,” I said a little too loud.
Don dropped the napkins on the floor. The poor guy was completely confused. I straightened out the paper napkin and held it in front of his face.
“Look at this.”
Don took the napkin from my hand. “Okay,” he said slowly.
“Okay…” I shook Daisy’s adoption paperwork in his face. “Now look at this.”
“Stop waving it around and I will,” he said, reaching up to grab it.
Don studied the napkin, then read the phone number on the paperwork.
“Are you sure this is the right number?” he asked, glancing over at me for a brief second.
I nodded.
His eyes grew wide.
It was confirmed.
I’d written down the telephone number that Wyatt himself had dialed. His unseen partner, the person who scoured the town to find unsuspecting old women as Wyatt’s prey. The person who received a cut of the haul. The person Wyatt had recently threatened in a full-blown rage.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, but there it was, staring us right in the face.
Betty.
And she was in trouble.
Chapter 14
We pulled up in front of Betty’s beach home that at another time would’ve been quite impressive. But the only thing my eyes took in was Wyatt’s sports car parked at an angle across her drive.
“Looks like he was in too much of a hurry to park straight,” I said, rubbing my forehead in worry.
“Or, he was in too much of a rage.” Don jumped out of the van and called out through his open window. “Stay here and call 911.”
That wasn’t happening. I stayed just long enough to call the police. Thankful that the late-morning air was still cool enough for the dogs to stay in the van, I left my window cracked and headed for the house, forgetting Don’s window was left wide open.
I remembered that little fact the moment Chevy and Ace pushed past me as I entered the home, the door still open from where Don had gone in first. Betty was standing there, her eyes wide as she looked from me, to Don, then down at the dogs.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Miss Betty said with a hand on her chest. “I was worried you weren’t coming.” She wiped a bead of sweat from her temple.
Don was busy trying to scope out the house from his vantage point, and I stopped in my tracks. Maybe we’d made a big mistake.
“Where’s Daisy?” Betty asked, picking up a bag of treats. “I got this to welcome her home.”
Ace sat at Betty’s feet, hoping she’d welcome him, too.
“Daisy’s in her crate out in the van.” Don cleared his throat, walking further into the room to look into the kitchen. “Someone’s parked in your driveway.”
“A black sports car,” I added, my heart rate going into over-drive.
“Oh, that’s just my friend, Wyatt,” Betty said, her voice pitched high as she wiped her brow again. “He went down to the beach to meet one of my neighbors to talk business.”
“The same neighbor who found Victor?” Don asked, stepping to the other side of the room to peek into another door.
“Yes,” Miss Betty and her face collapsed. She looked like she was about to cry. “How did you know about…?”
Geez, I really put my foot in it this time, I thought, feeling like a total jerk. The poor woman had no clue.
I looked down at Ace, still waiting for a dog treat and wondered what had gotten into Chevy. He’s always the first one in line when there’s a possibility of free food.
“Chevy?”
I heard the slight creak of a door.
“What’s he getting into now,” I muttered. “That dog. I’m so sorry, Betty.”
“Wait!” she cried out, but I was already rushing down the hall.
My dog had his nose to a bedroom door and had nudged it open. I grabbed his collar and gripped the knob to pull the door back shut, but froze. I wasn’t prepared for what lay on the other side.
“Don!”
Wyatt Stockton was face down on the perfectly white carpet. I had no doubt he was dead.
In only a few seconds, Don was behind me, pushing the door open to look in.
Click.
I knew that sound. Don did too.
We both stiffened and turned to see Miss Betty holding a gun on both of us. In my shock, all I could think about was how disappointed her sister was going to be.
“You do know that you tried to swindle Avery’s mom,” Don said, taking a step in between me and the gun, acting as a wall of protection.
“Social Security doesn’t cover the bills,” Betty said apologetically.
The dogs went crazy as two police officers bolted through the front door. Betty screamed, turning at the commotion, and Don jumped forward, easily yanking the gun from Betty’s hand. She didn’t try to fight. It was no use. The seventy-year-old didn’t stand a chance against three athletic men.
“It was self-defense.” Betty let out a defeated breath and stared at the carpet. “Both times.”
The police officers looked at each other in surprise.
“Victor?” Don rested his hand softly on Betty’s shoulder.
She nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks. “They’d both tried to manhandle me.”
I actually believed that part of her story.
The police took Betty down to the station to sort things out while additional officers arrived on scene to deal with the body and ask us several questions. When we finally went through the whole story and Don learned more details of the case, I was more confused than ever.
It would take an expert in criminal law to decide if Betty was forced and threatened into her situation, or if she was truly culpable.
One thing was for sure…
No way would I allow her to adopt Daisy.
Chapter 15
“Happy Mother’s Day!”
I dropped the bags of groceries on the floor in my mom’s foyer and gave her a bear hug.
“Where’s Don?” she asked, trying to look over my shoulder.
“Don? What about your daughter?” I asked and gently spun her around so her back was to the door.
She laughed. “I love you, Avery, but Don said he was cooking lunch and I’m starving.”
“Yeah, sorry we’re a little late, but I had to wrap yo
ur present.”
My mom chuckled, well aware of my reputation for gift procrastination.
Don walked in behind us, knocking on the open door. “Happy Mother’s Day!”
My mom swung around and burst into tears when she saw him. Actually, the happy tears were for what Don held in his arms… a sweet little dog named Daisy wearing a bright pink bow on her collar.
“I knew she belonged with me!” my mother cried.
“I’ve got to warn you, she loves smelling bunny poop.” I laughed, tears in my eyes at how happy they both looked.
Don placed little Daisy in my mom’s waiting arms. “A perfect match.”
She cuddled her new ‘daughter’ and kissed the top of her head. “I won’t be lonely anymore.”
Don made another trip out to the van, retrieving loads of gift wrapped dog supplies along with Ace and Chevy. We spent the afternoon eating, talking, laughing, and getting Daisy settled in her new forever home.
It turned out to be the best Mother’s Day celebration we’d ever had together.
Thanks to my boss, Ben, who approved the adoption and allowed me to give the best gift my mom had received in a long time. And thanks to Don, for cooking up one of the best meals I’d ever eaten and treating my mother like his own.
As Don loaded the dogs in the van, preparing for our trip back to the mountains, my mom took me aside. She sat me on the couch and held my hand.
“Avery, I never thought I’d meet a man as special as your father.” She looked deep into my eyes and smiled. “But I believe I have this weekend.”
My face grew warm again. “Mom-”
“Let your fear go and grab a hold of him.” She grinned. “He’s a catch.”
Once again, my mom saw right through me; she’d always had that ability. Maybe there was a reason we’d come down here this weekend, a greater reason than delivering Daisy.
Don walked back through the door and Mom squeezed my hand.
“Everything’s all packed up,” Don said with a smile. “Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.” I hugged my mom goodbye and tried to slow my heart beat as I turned to face Don.