Jackpot

by Mairsile Leabhair

  Kenny looked at her in disbelief. “What the hell?”

  “It’s true and the only reason I brought it up was to show the difference. Jaylen gave you to your grandmother. She gave the other baby away so she could be adopted by loving parents. She tried to protect you both the only way she knew how.”

  “She didn’t do a very good job of protecting my brother,” Kenny replied, her voice dripping with disgust.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I think what she did was murder, but I don’t think it was premeditated.”

  “Let me guess, twenty-years of watching Law & Order and now you’re an expert?” Kenny teased.

  Sophie shook her head and smiled. “More like thirty years. I’ve started watching Law & Order SVU, now.”

  Kenny’s phone vibrated, and she reached into her jean pocket. She had her phone set to remind her when she had an unread text. “I appreciate you, Sophie. I really do,” she said as she pulled the phone out and tapped on it. “But I don’t want to talk about her anymore. I want…” She froze in mid-sentence when she saw the midnight ransom message she had completely forgotten about.

  “What is it, Kenny?”

  “That chair. I recognize that chair Grandma is sitting in.”

  Sophie peered around her and looked at the text photo. “But how could you?”

  “We had chairs like that at the apartment where we lived before I bought this house. We left our old furniture when we moved here.” A memory tickled the back of her mind and it suddenly became clear. “Grandma and Chelsey are both doing the sign for medals. Grandma had a shadow box with Grandpa’s medals hanging up in the apartment where we used to live. They were on the wall over this chair. She’s trying to tell me that they’re in the apartment!”

  “Call the police, get them out of there,” Sophie said excitedly.

  Kenny hesitated, thinking through the tangible outcomes. “No, not yet. I’m going over there and make sure I’m right before I bring in the police. If they see the cops, things could go south quickly.”

  “And if they see you?”

  “I’ll wear a disguise of some sort. Listen, don’t tell anyone where I’m going. Especially that bitch upstairs.”

  “I don’t think this is a good idea, Kenny. You’ll be all alone against a kidnapper who has threatened to kill your grandmother.”

  “I promise, I’ll call the police as soon as I know what’s going on. And I’ll take my gun. I rated ninety-five percent at the range when I was in college. I’ll be fine.”

  “Why can’t you take one of the bodyguards with you?” Sophie persisted.

  “With her here? No way. I need to know that you and Tobias are protected. There’s something about Jaylen that I don’t trust, and I’m not talking about the fact that she’s a baby killer. Don’t trust her, Sophie. For once in your life, close off that big heart of yours.”

  Sophie chuckled and nodded in agreement. “I’ll be careful with her, I promise. So, when will you leave?”

  “Right now,” Kenny replied, standing up. “While it’s still dark.”

  “Oh… you’ll call as soon as you know something, right?”

  “Yes. I’ll text you as soon as I know what’s going on.”

  Kenny walked out of the kitchen and saw Miguel making his rounds. “Miguel, can I speak with you for a second?”

  “Sure, everything all right?” Miguel asked as he walked up to her.

  “Yes, but I need to go out for a little while. Make sure you tell the other guys to keep Jaylen in her room. Don’t worry about legalities. She signed a contract.” Legally, it was probably a worthless piece of paper, but he didn’t need to know that.

  “Copy that.”

  “And Miguel, thank you for protecting Sophie. I know I’m paying you, but I get the feeling it’s important to you, and that means everything to me.”

  “Miss Sánchez is a strong woman with high moral principles. It is an honor to protect her, ma’am.”

  Kenny eyed him curiously. “Thanks, and don’t call me ma’am.”

  *

  Twenty minutes later, Kenny pulled into a parking lot a block away from her old apartment and parked her car. The neighborhood was middle income and her Jaguar would stand out like a sore thumb. She tapped the trunk button and jumped out of the car. Reaching into the trunk, she pulled a firefighter’s jacket, gloves, and mask out. When she was in Vegas, she had bought a firefighter’s suit for a costume party she had been invited to. She didn’t get a chance to go to the party because her grandmother had called saying her surgery had been scheduled.

  She traversed the block quickly and entered the building by the back door. The mid-rise apartment building was five stories high, with four units on each floor. Taking the elevator to the fifth floor, where their apartment had been, she slipped on her costume and stepped out into the hallway. It was a little after one in the morning and the hallway was relatively quiet. The elevator split the floor in half where two units were on either side of it. She walked the length of the hallway to her left and then put her ear to her old apartment door. There was no sound, not even a snore.

  Kenny retraced her steps, walking to the opposite end of the hall where the stairwell was. There was a smoke alarm at the end of the wall by the door to the stairs. On the opposite side of the stairwell was a firebox with a clear Plexiglas window and a small hammer hanging by a chain beside it. Inside was a hand ax and a fire extinguisher. She used the hammer to break the glass and grab the hand ax. Then she pulled the alarm and darted into the stairwell. The bell was loud and echoed down the stairs. It seemed to ring for a long time before she heard doors opening and people talking. She could hear them coming her way. She put her firefighter’s mask on and charged out of the stairwell.

  “Everybody out!” she shouted. “Take the stairs. Do not take the elevator.” She waved them through and walked down the hallway, yelling the same message. She went to her old apartment and pounded on the door. “Little Rock Fire Department. Anyone in there?”

  There was no answer. Not waiting any longer, Kenny used the ax on the lock and kicked the door in. She pulled her gun from under her firemen’s jacket and ran into the first bedroom, her grandmother’s room. “Grandma, are you here? Chelsey? Oh, please, God, where are you?”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Two empty chairs were all that was in the room. A sheet of paper lay on the floor next to a chair and Kenny picked it up. It was one of the ransom notes that Deidre had held up. They were here. “Grandma!” She heard a thud coming from the closet and rushed to it. Pointing her gun at the door with one hand, she yanked it open with the other.

  “Chelsey! Thank, God!”

  Chelsey’s hands were tied behind her, her legs were bound as well, and her mouth was gagged. She cowered against the wall, blinking at the bright light flooding in from the doorway. She tried to speak, but her words were garbled. The tears glistening in her eyes spoke for her.

  Kenny stuffed her gun in her belt, peeled off her gloves and mask, and knelt beside her. She gently removed the scarf and gag in Chelsey’s mouth. “Oh, baby. Are you all right?”

  Chelsey breathed in the fresh air and blurted, “He took her, Kenny. He took Deidre away.”

  “Who, Chelsey? Who took her?” she asked as she untied Chelsey’s legs.

  “Harold Otter. He says he’s your father.”

  “That’s debatable. Turn to your side and let me untie your hands, baby.” Chelsey did as instructed, and Kenny began working the knot. She heard sirens in the distance. She was out of time. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, but he groped me as he was tying me up. He put a note in my pocket for you.”

  “The bastard. I don’t care if he is my father, I’ll kill him.” The sirens grew louder. “But first we have to go before I’m arrested.” Kenny helped her up.

  “Yes, I figured it out when I saw you in the uniform and heard the alarm.”

  Kenny grinned and removed her jacket, throwing it on the floor beside her mask. “
Let’s get out of here.”

  “Wait, let me grab the note,” Chelsey said, stopping by the chair and picking up the ransom note with the scarf. “His fingerprints are on it.” Using the scarf, she folded it up and ran after Kenny waiting at the door. They ran down the stairwell and out onto the street just as the fire truck pulled up.

  A million questions flooded her mind as she hurried Chelsey back to her car, but she didn’t want to ask them until they were safely in the car. She opened the passenger’s side door for Chelsey, and after she sat down, Kenny leaned in and kissed her, soft, but no less passionately, on the lips. She had an almost desperate need to taste her moist lips, just to reassure herself.

  Chelsey grabbed her around the neck and kissed her back, hard, almost as if she wanted to crawl inside where she knew she would be safe. Finally, reluctantly, she pulled away. “Thank you for saving me,” she said breathlessly.

  Kenny’s heart fluttered, from the kiss and the guilt. But she couldn’t take time to dwell on either. She ran around and jumped in the car and drove out of the parking lot, taking surface streets out of view of the apartment building.

  Stopping for a red light three blocks away from the apartment building, Kenny looked closely at Chelsey. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, just a little anxious. Kenny, where did he take Deidre?”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing. Why would he kidnap you one day and let you go the next?”

  “I don’t think he was expecting to let me go, and I know he’s not working alone,” Chelsey recounted. “I heard him talking on the phone with someone just before he went spastic.”

  “What was he saying?”

  “Something about, ‘What if she refuses to go?’ Then he said, ‘Yes, I can do that.’ And the weird way he said, ‘No, I’m not afraid of them’ and, ‘Of course I love you, I’d die for you,’ sent chills up my spine.”

  “What did he do next?” Kenny asked as she turned onto Cantrell Road.

  “He got this wild look in his eyes and told us to get up. That there had been a change of plans. When Deidre refused, he poked his gun in my ribs and threatened to kill me if Deidre didn’t cooperate. He said that I was expendable and he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me. We were completely blindsided by his sudden change in personality.”

  “He was probably tripping.”

  “It’s possible that he was on drugs, but I didn’t see him take anything, and he had been in the room with us for about fifteen minutes.”

  “Sometimes the effects can be slow to take effect.”

  “Well, he was slow-witted,” Chelsey joked.

  Chuckling, Kenny asked, “What happened next?”

  “Deidre told him that if he hurt me she would make his life a living hell. Then she broke into what I can only imagine were Irish cuss words mixed in with English.”

  Kenny chuckled at the vision. “That’s my grandma,” she stated proudly.

  “I think she scared him, and he realized he couldn’t handle both of us at the same time, so he tied me up and pushed me into the closet.” Chelsey rubbed her forehead. “I can’t hop as well as I used to when I was a kid, and I fell, hitting my head on the wall.”

  Kenny reached out and felt the goose egg on Chelsey’s head, just under the hairline. “I’ll kill him.”

  Chelsey took her hand and held it between both of hers. “I’m okay, Kenny. It’s okay.”

  Kenny glanced at her and her anger melted away. “I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

  “I’m not. Well, I am, but I mean that I got to meet your grandmother. She’s a wonderful, very insightful woman.”

  “Yes, she is. I just pray I don’t get her killed.”

  “Oh, no. That’s not going to happen,” Chelsey declared. “She knows you’re doing everything you can to get her back.”

  “What if it’s not enough, Chelsey?”

  Chelsey gazed at her with understanding eyes. “Deidre told me last night that she knew you would never give up. That she taught you to work the problem until there was a resolution.”

  Kenny’s eyes swirled with memories of her grandmother saying those very words. Whatever the problem was– academics, peer pressure, even love– work the problem. The problem was, Grandma was always there to help her with the problems.

  “So, how do we work the problem?”

  She looked at Chelsey and a smile graced her lips. “First, we get you home and then we figure out what their next step is.”

  Fifteen minutes later, after Sophie hugged Chelsey and then Kenny, and then Chelsey again, they sat around the table in the kitchen, drinking milk and eating Polvorón cookies. Chelsey told them everything she knew from her stay with Deidre.

  “I don’t know who’s pulling the strings,” Chelsey concluded, “but it’s clear to me that they aren’t really interested in the money. Otherwise, Harold would have found a way to take me with him.”

  “I agree. I think they’re doing all this just to torture Kenny,” Sophie added. “But why?”

  “I don’t know, but they’ve been one step ahead of me all the way. Chelsey, when did Harold tie you up and take off with Grandma?”

  Chelsey looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall and shrugged. “We didn’t have a clock at your old apartment, so I’m not sure the exact time but the sun had been down probably a couple of hours and then, when he tied me up, it felt like hours before you arrived.”

  “You said he received a phone call and then afterward, suddenly became upset.”

  “More like a temper-tantrum. He acted like a child being reprimanded by his father.”

  “And up until that time, he was good-natured, almost accommodating, right?” Kenny asked.

  Chelsey corrected her. “I wouldn’t say accommodating. But he was pretty docile.”

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” Miguel said, walking into the kitchen.

  “Everything all right?” Kenny asked immediately, inching her hand to the edge of the table, ready to grab the pistol tucked in her jeans.

  “Yes, I’m sorry to alarm you. It’s the woman upstairs. She’s banging on the door, demanding to speak with you.”

  “Tell her to go to hell,” Kenny snapped. “I have no desire to speak with her.”

  “Who? Who’s upstairs?” Chelsey asked.

  “Our guest for the weekend,” Sophie answered. “Kenny’s mother.”

  “Oh, yes. I saw the picture,” Chelsey acknowledged.

  “She’s more like my prisoner,” Kenny clarified. “I’ve got her locked up in a room at the end of the hall.” Chelsey’s mouth fell open. “Don’t worry. She agreed to it.”

  “Oh, good. I was beginning to worry about you,” Chelsey said amusingly. “Why don’t you invite her down here? I have a message for her from Deidre.”

  Kenny looked at her curiously for a moment, and then looked back at Miguel. “Would you mind releasing the prisoner and escorting her down here?” He nodded and Kenny turned back to Chelsey. “How did she know Jaylen was here?”

  “Harold showed us the picture of Jaylen holding the sign and after he left us alone, I told her about meeting Jaylen the night of the party. She asked me to relay a message if I saw her again.”

  Kenny shook her head. “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t she just deliver it herself?”

  “I got the feeling that they weren’t really on speaking terms, and it wasn’t Deidre’s choice. She didn’t go into detail, but I believe they only communicated through the occasional letter like the ones we read.”

  “Remind me to finish reading those letters,” Kenny said, looking at Chelsey. “They might have more to tell us after all.”

  “How much more wreckage can this woman reap?” Sophie asked.

  “She’s a manipulator, Soph, so a hell of a lot more,” Kenny replied.

  They fell into silence, each quiet in their own thoughts, until Miguel and Jaylen walked in.

  “Thank you, Miguel. I’ve got it from here,” Kenny said, dismissing him to continue his rou
nds.

  Jaylen walked up to the table, glowering at Chelsey.

  “I see you remember me,” Chelsey said tauntingly.

  “Yes, unfortunately,” Jaylen sniped, then turned her attention to Kenny. “Can I speak with you alone for a minute?”

  “No,” Kenny replied rudely. “These are my friends, and anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them.”

  “Then I have nothing to say,” Jaylen countered.

  Kenny shrugged and picked up another cookie. “Fine with me.”

  They were at a stalemate with a tense moment of silence where Jaylen glared at Kenny and Kenny enjoyed her cookie more audibly than normal.

  Finally, Chelsey broke the silence. “I have a message from your mother, Jaylen.”

  Jaylen sneered at Chelsey. “Sure you do. Isn’t she supposed to have been kidnapped or something?”

  Kenny’s cheeks flushed red with anger, but Sophie jumped in before she could say anything.

  “Como si no supieras, Jaylen,” Sophie said.

  “This is America, speak English,” Jaylen demanded.

  “I said, as if you didn’t know, perra.”

  Kenny snorted. She didn’t know a lot of Spanish, but she knew that perra stood for bitch.

  “Deidre has been kidnapped, and Chelsey was also taken, but they let her go, thank God.”

  Jaylen looked back at Chelsey and snickered. “Why’s that, honey? Did you drive them crazy with your superior attitude?”

  “Watch your mouth, Jaylen,” Kenny warned, her antagonism clearly written across her face. “You’re not impressing anyone.”

  “Perhaps you could tell her what Deidre said, Chelsey?” Sophie intervened.

  “Yes, please, share your little secret message so I can have a good laugh.”

  Chelsey gave her a soft smile and said, “Deidre wanted you to know how proud she was of you and how much she loves you.”

  Jaylen relaxed her brow and darted her eyes, as if trying to figure something out. She obviously wasn’t expecting that response. The last time she had spoken with her mother was on a phone call from the prison. She’d called right after the lottery win to say she was being released and wanted to see Kenny. Deidre told her it wasn’t a good time. That she was having back surgery and Jaylen should wait. They got into a heated argument and were cut off by the automatic prison operator saying their time was up. The last thing Jaylen said to her mother was to call her a bitch. She had spent so much time in and out of jail, living in the gutters of society, that she only knew one way to be and that was angry and aggressive. Especially toward her mother.