by Ann Mullen
“I know what to do, Jesse,” Claire said. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her fall off the bed.”
“Like you did me when I was little?”
“Yeah, I’ve learned a lot since then.” She chuckled.
Claire took Maisy and she and Randy left the room, heading upstairs.
“Why don’t we go to the family room and talk?” I asked.
“May I get anyone a cup of coffee?” Mom offered.
“I’ll have one if you don’t mind,” Russ said. “I’ve been on the run all morning. I need coffee to keep me going.”
“Have you had breakfast? I can fix you something real quick.”
“No, thank you, Mrs. Watson, just a cup of coffee will do me.”
“Would you like a cup, deputy?”
“That would be nice,” she said.
The four of us went to the den and waited for Mom to bring the coffee before we started.
Forty-five minutes later, the deputy had all the information she needed, Russ was satisfied we hadn’t said the wrong thing, and we were headed to the front door.
“I’d like to say one more thing,” Deputy Kingsley said, looking at Mom and then back to me. “I hope you’ll take my advice and talk to a professional about what happened. Even if you don’t call the one I suggested, please talk to someone.”
“Jesse’s going to call that doctor on the card you gave her,” Mom said. “We’d already decided to take your advice.”
“If I need anything else, I’ll call.” The deputy said good-bye and left.
Russ wasn’t far behind her.
“I think that went well,” Mom said as she closed the door behind them. “Wouldn’t you say so?”
“Yes, I would. Now all we have to do is face Daisy,” I said. “When she finds out we were involved in her brother’s death, the sky’s going to fall, and it’s going to fall on us. She’ll come after us with a vengeance.”
“I’m not so sure,” Billy said. “She’ll be too busy covering her tracks. I’m sure she’s the one who sent her brother to your Mom’s house. Imagine what must be going through her mind. She sent her brother to his death.”
“Are we sure about that?” Mom asked. “We really don’t have any proof. The deputy wouldn’t elaborate when asked about the connection between Daisy, her brother, and the assault on Jesse and me. I got the impression one had nothing to do with the other. Perhaps they found something at Kansas Moon’s house that caused them to believe he acted alone.”
“Daisy’s out killing off her friends, and Kansas Moon’s helping her. I think they found something connecting the two, but the deputy’s keeping it under wraps. She can’t tell us anything about an ongoing case. We all know that.”
“You have a point,” Billy added. “The deputy wouldn’t tell us anything, even if she had something to tell. She’d lose her job.”
“If she was a close friend, I bet we would’ve gotten something out of her.”
“You mean like we could with Cole?” I said to Mom with a smirk. “I dated him and Claire dated him, yet he never gave up anything. He’d let us rot in jail before he’d help out with a little information.”
“He did give us a head’s up to stay away from Moon’s house,” Billy said, giving credit where credit was due.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right there.”
Claire and Randy came down the stairs. Claire was carrying Maisy and Randy was carrying their luggage.
I say luggage, because Claire never goes anywhere without a week’s worth of clothes in a suitcase. She taught me that, and Billy taught me to always carry a duffel bag in my car at all times. It used to be, I’d toss a pair of jeans and clean underwear in my car and be off, but those days are gone forever. Now I’ll have to pack like she does.
“I think Maisy’s worn out already,” Claire said, handing her to Billy. “She’s ready for a nap.”
“Me, too,” I said. It’s not even noon and I feel like it should be four o’clock. Talking to the police wears me out.” I had to laugh at myself.
Billy let us kiss Maisy before he took her to the nursery.
“Mom, are you going to be all right if I leave?” Claire asked.
“Honey, I’ll be just fine. I have Billy and Jesse to watch over me, and if that’s not enough, I’m sure I can call in the rest of the Blackhawk clan.”
“I’m glad to see you still have a sense of humor.”
“I never lost it.”
“We almost lost you and Jesse. That scares the daylights out of me, Mom. You have to promise me you’ll be more careful.”
“Okay, the next time someone tries to break into my house, I’ll tell whoever it is they have to go away. My daughter says so.”
“Now you’re being funny. I’m serious. Be careful. Having a private investigator as a son-in-law has proved to be quite a challenge.”
“Don’t forget about me,” I said. “I’m one, too.”
“Now that really is a scary thought.”
“You didn’t seem to mind when I saved your butt.”
“You’re right about that,” Claire agreed. “You were right there for me the whole time. You gave me the courage to do stuff I never thought I’d be able to do.”
“Hey, there’s nothing like the thrill of breaking into a house and stealing the contents of a safe. I especially liked the part about finding a dead body in your wine cellar. That was the highlight of the trip.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m not, silly. The highlight was meeting Abby and Isabel… and Randy, of course.”
“I must say it was exciting for me, too,” Randy said. “You ladies have more guts in you than ten women put together, and that includes you, too, Mrs. Watson. You’re just as strong as the rest of them are.”
“If you’re going to be in this family, you might as well start calling me, Minnie. We don’t need any formalities here. We’re just one big happy family, and we continue to grow. I like that.”
“Okay, Minnie,” he said with a grin. He looked at Claire. “I guess we’d better go. I’m sure Mom will have a big dinner celebration waiting for us when we get back.”
“She knows?”
“Sure, she does. The whole family knows. You don’t think I could keep something like this a secret, do you? Mom knows how I feel about you. She always has. She’s the one who told me to bide my time. She never thought Carl was good enough for you. She said you’d wise up one day and dump him.”
“She was right.”
“She usually is.”
“I adore your mother and Isabel,” I said. “I can’t wait to see them again. There’s never a dull moment when they’re around.”
“You’ll see them soon,” Claire said.
“How soon?”
“As soon as we set a date for the wedding.”
“You know she has a helicopter,” Randy said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t get her pilot to fly her and Isabel in and land right in your backyard just to discuss some small detail, or to chitchat about the progress of our nuptials.”
“Tell her to come on!” I said. “We’d love it!”
After hugs and kisses, Claire and Randy departed to go back to Washington, D.C. to plan their wedding.
“At least, something good came out of all this,” I said after they left. “Randy got up the nerve to propose to Claire.”
“How about that?” Mom smiled.
“I’m so happy for them.” I looked at Billy. “I hope they’ll be as happy as we are. Everyone should be so lucky.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Mom said. “Let’s get down to business. Now that they’re gone, when are we going to Kansas Moon’s house?”
“We’ll have to wait until after it gets dark,” Billy said as if this was the plan the whole time. “I’m sure the place will be deserted by then. The sheriff and his men work fast.”
“Did I miss something?” I asked. “Didn’t you hear what Deputy Kingsley said? Just in case you forgot, let me remind you. S
he said the area was sealed off.”
“That doesn’t mean the police are still there,” Mom said. “It only means they have crime scene tape up.”
I looked at Mom and said, “Here’s the deal. If anyone goes to Moon’s house, it’s not going to be you. I promised Claire…”
“Forget about Claire. This is something you and I have to do for ourselves if we want to survive this terrible ordeal. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life having nightmares and then waking up in a cold sweat. I want to know why we were forced to kill that man.”
I thought about Mom’s statement for a minute and then said, “I see what you mean.” I looked at Billy. “I told you we need a nanny.”
“I’ll call my folks,” he said. “If we’re going to break the law, I’d rather my kids be with our family instead of a stranger.”
“That’s my man!” I said with a smile.
Chapter 16
Nightfall arrived and the three of us were poised, ready for anything. Well, almost anything. To help avoid detection, we borrowed one of the chief’s trucks. The ten-year-old Chevy was the color of midnight and would make good cover as we hid between the trees in a patch of woods close to Kansas Moon’s house. Hopefully, the sheriff and his deputies wouldn’t see us, but if they did, what could they do? We weren’t breaking the law. Trespassing—yes, but who cares? We’re not talking about jail time here. I don’t think.
“Can I roll the window down, Billy?” Mom asked. “It’s getting a little stuffy in here.”
“Only if you promise not to talk,” he replied. “Voices carry through these woods and we…”
“I know,” Mom said as she rolled the window down. “We don’t want the sheriff to hear us.”
“I can’t believe we’re sitting here,” I said. “I never thought I’d see the day I’d be doing something like this. I’m sitting here with my husband on one side and my mother on the other side… snooping! I just had a baby and I’m already hunkered down in the woods, again! Oh, and my mother just recently had a heart attack!”
“I’m fine. The doctor said so. Let’s not talk about it, okay?”
“Okay, but if you croak on me out here, I’m going to lean you up against a tree and leave you there.”
“Stop telling lies.”
“I can’t believe we got this close without the sheriff detecting us,” I said, ignoring her last remark. “I guess it helps that we’re in a dark colored truck and we’re wearing dark clothing.”
“I hope they can’t see us. Now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness, it doesn’t seem so dark anymore.”
“That’s because we’re going to have a full moon soon. It’s lighter at night just…”
“No talking!” Billy whispered as he rolled down his window. “You promised you wouldn’t talk! Do you want us to get caught?”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m just so nervous.”
“You ought to be,” a voice outside the truck on Billy’s side whispered.
Mom and I froze.
My heart pounded as I reached over and grabbed Mom’s hand.
Billy reached into the side pocket of the truck door and pulled out his gun and rested it in his lap.
Mom and I turned and looked Billy’s way and saw a figure appear beside the truck.
“Is that you, Rupert?” Billy asked.
“Yes, it’s me, so you can put that gun back, Billy.”
“I thought I recognized your voice, but just in case I was wrong, I wasn’t taking any chances.” Billy slipped the gun back into the side pocket of the door. “You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days. What are you doing out here, Rupert?”
“Probably the same thing you’re doing here. I want to know what’s in that house. Ain’t nobody been inside since Kansas moved in, and now that he’s dead, people want to know the truth. People been hearing dogs barking inside that house. They say he puts out bowls of food for them animals. Now why would he do that if he won’t gonna snatch them up? He was luring them here with the food. I was thinking that Old Gus might have been here. I was looking for evidence. Maybe he’s still here.”
“We’re just here to see what’s inside,” Billy said.
“Oh, hello, Rupert,” Mom whispered. “Do you two know each other?”
“It seems that way, Mom,” I said as I let go of her hand. I was rattled by Rupert’s appearance. I tried to calm down, but my heart was still racing. “Having someone sneak up on you and catch you off-guard is a little scary. I was already on edge to start with.” I looked over at Rupert.
“I’m sorry, Miss Jesse,” Rupert said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I seen the truck pull up and was wondering what Chief Sam was doing out here. Then I seen it won’t the chief. You folks don’t need to be out here. Now that Kansas Moon is dead, people be coming out of the woodwork trying to get into that old house. They think he had something to do with them missing animals and they want to see for themselves. He’s different… you know. He can’t help that he’s strange. He was deprived of oxygen when he was born, or so they say. He has a sister who comes out here ever so often to check on him.”
“So you’re snooping around looking for your dog, huh?” I asked.
“Yep! I just want to see if Old Gus was here, maybe find his collar.”
“Was he?”
“No, he ain’t here, and according to what I overheard the sheriff’s boys talking `bout, they ain’t found no animals… alive.”
“Does that mean they found dead ones?” Mom asked.
“They found bones and mementos, was what they said.”
“Yuck!” I was grossed out at the thought.
“I don’t know exactly what happened to the poor fellow, but people been talking. They say he was murdered!”
“That’s a lie,” Mom shouted, her voice echoing through the trees.
The minute the words were out of her mouth, we looked up and realized we were busted. The beam from an extremely high-intensity light flashed in our eyes. The light was coming from Kansas Moon’s front yard.
“Let’s make a run for it,” Mom yelled.
“I don’t think so,” Billy said. “It’s too late for that.”
I heard the snapping of trigs and realized that Rupert was no longer around. He was swift and had managed to escape the long arm of the law.
Within seconds, the truck was surrounded by Greene County deputies, the beam from their flashlights bouncing back and forth. They encircled us as if we were criminals, ready to flee.
“I knew we should’ve brought surveillance equipment!” I whispered.
“I didn’t think we’d need anything,” Billy whispered. “This was supposed to be a simple fact-finding mission, not a long, drawn-out surveillance job.”
“What about that mini-computer thing you just bought? We could’ve…”
Sheriff Wake Hudson walked up to Mom’s side, flashed a light into our eyes and then asked us to please step out of the truck.
We complied. Billy got out of the truck, walked around to our side and then opened the door. Mom and I crawled out and just stood there like two little school girls.
Billy put his arms around us and pulled us to him as if to protect us from the deputies. He wasn’t going to allow anyone to intimidate his women.
“Okay,” he said. “You’ve caught us, so now what, Sheriff Hudson?”
The sheriff signaled his deputies and then lowered his flashlight.
The deputies turned and left.
“I should arrest all three of you!” Sheriff Hudson said. “I could, you know. I could haul the three of you off to jail and let you stew in a cell overnight. Maybe then you’ll listen to me.”
“Kansas Moon tried to kill these two wonderful ladies here,” Billy said. “I think they have a right to know why, don’t you?”
“When I find out, you’ll be the first to know.”
“That’s what you always say,” I remarked, snidely. “What a load of crap! The victims are the las
t to know. I think we’ve covered this territory before.”
“I’m going to have to ask you folks to leave,” Sheriff Hudson said as nicely as possible under the circumstances. “If you go now, I’ll drop any notion I might have about arresting the three of you for trespassing.”
“Let’s get out of here,” I said as I reached for the door handle and then crawled up in the truck. “Next thing you know, we’ll be the ones in jail.”
“A man tries to kill us, and then you guys threaten to lock us up,” Mom said, fuming. “What’s this world coming to?” She shook her head as she crawled up into the truck and slammed the door. “Let me tell you something, Sheriff Hudson. You need to expose this man for what he was. I can’t have people saying I murdered this fellow. That’s not true and you know it. I want satisfaction!”
The sheriff stepped back and didn’t say a word. He watched as Billy backed the truck up, turned around and then drove out of the woods.
“I can feel his eyes on us,” I said eerily. “It’s as if he doesn’t trust us to do what we’re told.”
“You think?” Billy said as he snickered. “Why would he?”
Mom and I just looked at each other. We knew Billy was right.
“As many times as we’ve forced the sheriff’s hand, he has no reason to have confidence in us. He knows we can’t be trusted to mind our own business. He knew we were coming here tonight. Isn’t that what we were told? Maybe we should’ve waited until just before daylight.”
“What do you think about that?” Mom fussed as we rode down the bumpy road.
“Yeah!” I retorted. “I can’t believe we have to go home empty-handed. I thought for sure we’d get a chance to go inside and look around. Once the sheriff and his men had left, we could’ve ransacked the place.”
“They probably already have. We’ll see. Remember, the night isn’t over, yet.” Billy said with a smile as he continued to drive down the road.
“What do you mean?” Mom asked him. “Are we going back, Billy?”
“I’m not giving up that easily.”
“All right!” I said as I slapped my leg. “I knew we’d make a good team!”
“Does that include me?” Mom asked.
“I guess it does.” I looked at Billy and smiled.