Jackpot

by Mairsile Leabhair

  Sophie slipped a pot holder on her hand and opened the oven door. The room filled with the aroma of fresh baked biscuits, and Kenny’s stomach rumbled. “I have no problem with that when it’s for a good cause,” Sophie replied. “My kids believed for years that there was a Papá Noel.” She tilted her at Kenny. “Santa Claus.” Closing the oven door, she sat the pan on of the stove and turned her attention to the pancakes.

  Kenny got out the grape jelly from the refrigerator and picked up a biscuit still in the pan.

  “Commissioner Weathersby is here to see you,” Lester said, stepping to the side as Weathersby walked in.

  “Commissioner, what brings you here on a Saturday morning?” Kenny asked, holding the jar of jelly in one hand and bouncing a hot biscuit in the other.

  “Won’t you join us for breakfast?” Sophie asked as she flipped a pancake in the air, grinning when it landed perfectly on the plate.

  He looked at her curiously. “Have we met?”

  “You probably saw her the night of the party,” Kenny answered for her. She dropped the biscuit on a plate and grabbed a napkin. “This is my house manager and favorite cook in the world, Sofía Sánchez. Sophie, this is Police Commissioner Weathersby.”

  “A pleasure, Commissioner,” she stated, turning to greet him in her cook’s apron, holding a plate of pancakes. “How about some coffee to go with these?”

  “Thank you, that would be nice,” he replied, looking around the kitchen. Even on a Commissioners salary, his house couldn’t compare to the size and grandeur. “Kenny I need to speak with you and Chelsey. Is she around?”

  “Yes, but we slept in late this morning, and I’m afraid she’s not up yet.”

  “I can appreciate that, but I must insist,” he responded.

  “What is this about, Michael?” Kenny asked, dropping all pretense.

  “Please wake up Chelsey first, then we’ll talk.”

  “Fine. Sophie, I’ll be back in a minute. Save my biscuit.” She heard Sophie ask Michael if he took cream and sugar as she walked out of the kitchen and across the hall to her bedroom. She quietly opened the door and peeked in. Chelsey was not in the bed. Kenny walked in, a surge of panic choking her heart until she heard the toilet flush. Finally letting out a breath, she sat on the bench and waited.

  The door to the bathroom opened and steam billowed out, followed by Chelsey in an oversized bathrobe with a towel in her hands, drying her hair. Kenny gazed at Chelsey, amazed at how her body reacted to her proximity; both excited and calmed at the same time.

  “My, God, you’re beautiful,” Kenny said breathlessly.

  Chelsey gasped. “God, Kenny. You scared me.”

  Kenny got up and cupped Chelsey’s chin. “Your beauty scares me,” she said, brushing a kiss across her lips. “You take my breath away.”

  “Good. I want you breathless,” Chelsey confessed, undoing the belt to the robe. “And in bed.”

  The robe fell to the floor, and Kenny gulped as Chelsey’s nipples tightened from the cold. “Yes,” she hissed, taking a step closer.

  “Girls, your breakfast is getting cold,” Sophie hollered from the hallway.

  “Shit,” Kenny stepped back.

  “We can eat later, I just want a moment with you.”

  “There’s nothing I would rather do, but the commissioner is here and he wants to talk with both of us.”

  “Really, what about?”

  “He won’t say until we’re together, but from the way he’s acting, it’s probably not good.”

  “Oh, no. You don’t think it’s about Deidre, do you?” Chelsey asked as she hurried into a blouse and a pair of blue jeans.

  “No. He wouldn’t need to talk with you if it were.”

  Chelsey pulled her wet hair back and tied it with a hair tie. She looked in the mirror and shrugged. “That’s the best I can do without more time to put on some makeup.”

  “You don’t ever have to wear makeup around me. You’re perfect, just like that.”

  Chelsey chuckled. “Only because you’re horny right now.”

  “Baby, I’m horny for you all the time. Let’s get this over with so I can show you just how horny I am.”

  “Race you!” Chelsey squealed and ran for the door. Then she stopped suddenly and walked back to the bed. “Forgot my shoes.”

  When Kenny and Chelsey walked back into the kitchen, Michael and Sophie were sitting at the table, fixing their plates and talking.

  “Yes, Deidre had to cancel her surgery suddenly,” Sophie reported. “I just pray she comes home soon so she can take care of that back.” She looked up at Kenny and smiled. She didn’t need to lie. Everything she said was the truth.

  “I knew she had been in a great deal of pain,” Michael added. “That’s why I was so shocked when she suddenly took off without a word to me.”

  “Why would she tell you where she was going?” Kenny asked, walking up behind him.

  “Ah, good, you’re both here,” he said, ignoring the question. “Is there a place where we could talk privately?”

  If they went to another room it became official business. If they talked in the kitchen, sitting around the breakfast table, it became a conversation. “Right here is good. Sophie is part of the family, and it would just be insulting to her not to finish breakfast.”

  “Maldita sea, lo sería.” Damn right, it would.

  “Mis disculpas, Sofía. I would never insult your delicious cooking,” he said with a smile, reaching for the basket of biscuits.

  Sophie had learned a long time ago to be careful with what she said in Spanish until she knew if the other person spoke her language. It would seem that the commissioner did. “Gracias,” she replied gracefully and handed him the butter.

  “Kenny, I noticed that you have a security guard answering the door,” he stated as he buttered his biscuit.

  Chelsey brought the coffee carafe over and poured herself a cup of coffee, then freshened up the commissioner’s cup as she looked around him at Kenny, who had sat down beside him.

  “Can’t be too careful these days,” Kenny said casually, stabbing a fork into a couple of pancakes and dropping them on her plate. “So, what’s going on, Michael?”

  He glanced at her before returning his attention to the stack of pancakes he was buttering. “Did you know that it’s a crime to pull the fire alarm if there isn’t a fire?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,” Kenny said.

  “And to dress as a firefighter and yell fire.”

  “Everybody knows that, Commissioner,” Chelsey pointed out, not daring to look at him.

  Michael nodded, soaking his piece of pancake in the syrup before taking a bite. He chewed deliberately, smiling with satisfaction at its flavor. He cut another wedge from the pancakes and skated it across his plate. “Funny thing is, the firefighters didn’t find a fire, but they did find a firemen’s jacket and mask…” He brought the fork to his lips. “At Deidre’s old apartment.” He bit into his food as he watched her intently.

  “Our apartment? That’s wild.” Kenny’s face was placid, but her heart was thumping hard against her chest. If she were to be arrested now, her grandmother would be gone forever.

  “The fire chief called us when he found rope in the closet next to the gear. It looked to him as if someone had been tied up in there. My boys dusted the apartment for prints, and we ran them through AFIS. You’ll never guess who popped up.”

  Think fast! “I imagine I did. And Grandma, even Chelsey. And of course, whoever rented the apartment after we left.”

  His eyelid twitched minutely, disappointed but also impressed with her knowledge of fingerprints. They can last up to forty years if not exposed to water and the like. Using the butter knife, he spread more butter on his biscuit and then turned to Kenny. “Did Harold Otter ever visit while you lived there?”

  “Who? I don’t know that name?” Kenny lied. “Did he rent the apartment after us?”

  “According to the landlord, Deidre wa
s still making monthly rental payments.”

  Kenny shrugged with a blasé attitude that was as fabricated as the lies she was telling. He’s fishing for something. “Why would she do that when she had this mansion to live in now?”

  “You tell me?” he countered.

  She gave him an impassive smile. She really didn’t know why her grandmother would want to keep the apartment. Then she thought that it probably wasn’t her, it was Jaylen, playing her games. As soon as Michael left, she was going to have another chat with the bitch.

  “Perhaps Grandma was afraid I’d lose all the money. I was going through it pretty fast. Thankfully, she and my friends reined me in.”

  “You’re welcome,” Chelsey said jokingly.

  Kenny winked at her, knowing that Chelsey wasn’t aware of just how true that statement was. “When Grandma gets back from Ireland, I’ll ask her about it.”

  “And when will that be?” Michael asked, clasping his hands together and staring at her keenly.

  Kenny stood up and walked to the refrigerator and opened the door. “She’s due back Monday night,” she replied over her shoulder. She pulled a soda can out and, closing the door, turned back to Michael. “I can have her call you when she arrives, if you would like?”

  “Yes, I would like that, thank you.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and then stood up. “Or perhaps I’ll just meet her at the airport and welcome her home.” He looked at Sophie and smiled. “Thank you for the lovely breakfast.”

  “Any time, Commissioner,” she replied.

  “Kenny, walk me to the door?” It wasn’t a request. He waited as Kenny glanced at Chelsey before standing up.

  When they reached the foyer, Michael stopped and waited for her to turn around. He watched as she straightened her shoulders and stuffed her hands in her jeans pockets before turning to him.

  “I want to give you some advice,” he began. “If they’re amateurs, they’ll ask for cash, and it would be nearly impossible these days to withdraw large amounts from the bank. If they’re smart, they’ll ask for a bank transfer, which is also limited in the amount that can be sent but that limit is much higher.”

  “Uh… okay.” Oh, shit! It felt like a punch to the gut, and she struggled to catch her breath. She had been so worried about finding the clues to her grandmother’s whereabouts that getting the money out of the bank wasn’t on her radar.

  “I’m not a rookie, you know,” he said bitingly. “I’ve successfully dealt with every kind of situation you can imagine. We have the best multi-jurisdictional division in the South. We can help you, Kenny. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  “Kenny, I think you should—” Chelsey froze in mid-sentence when she realized Michael was still there.

  She gave Chelsey a smile, then turned back to Michael. “I appreciate what you said, Michael. I’ll think about it. Thanks for stopping by.”

  Michael’s face flushed red as he put his hands on his hips. “Damn it, Kenny. I’m her fiancé. I have a right to know what’s going on.”

  Her mouth hung open but nothing came out. She had a feeling her grandmother was seeing someone, but she certainly never said she was engaged to be married. That would be something she’d share, unlike Jaylen’s whoring around. Finally, her words rode on the surge of anger erupting inside of her. “Bullshit. Bull fucking shit! Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “Kenny,” Chelsey said softly.

  Just saying her name in that quiet, reassuring way, Chelsey had calmed the rage inside of her enough that she found her control again.

  Michael studied her for a moment, noting the red blotches of anger on her cheeks. He knew she wasn’t going to listen but he had to try. “I know what you must be thinking.”

  “It doesn’t matter what I think,” she replied caustically. “It matters what I say, and I’m saying get out.

  He finally relented and continued out the door.

  Kenny slammed the door behind him. “Who the hell does he think he is? Why is he springing this on me now?”

  “Well, Deidre told me she thought he might ask her to marry him. She wasn’t sure she would if he did, but maybe he was already thinking of her as his fiancée.”

  “I am getting so damn tired of all these damn secrets. Everybody’s keeping secrets from me.”

  Chelsey was glad that Kenny couldn’t see inside her heart, because she was also carrying a secret she didn’t want her to know… yet. “Deidre was going to tell you, Kenny, but with the lottery and all of this, it just wasn’t the right time.”

  “You know, I’m beginning to wish I’d never won that damn lottery. It’s caused me nothing but trouble.”

  “I agree, it’s a huge responsibility, but there’s a reason you won that money. Deidre’s ransom notwithstanding. You’ll just need to figure out what that reason is.”

  “At the rate the ransom is growing, I won’t have to worry about the money much longer. They’ll have it all. That is if I can get it out of the bank first.”

  “What did he say before I interrupted?”

  “That I probably won’t be able to withdraw enough money at one time to pay the ransom.”

  “What are you going to do?” Chelsey asked, slipping her hands in her jeans pocket as if she were cold.

  “Damned if I know,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. “I need to go to the bank and find out what my options are. Want to come along?”

  “Sure, but first, do you remember I told you that Harold gave me a note for you?”

  “I remember you saying he groped you when he did,” Kenny seethed.

  “And if my feet hadn’t been tied, I would have kneed him in his junk so hard his eyeballs would have popped out.”

  “I would pay millions to see that,” Kenny said with a chuckle.

  Chelsey pulled a piece of folded paper from her pocket and handed it to Kenny. “I didn’t read it since it was intended for you.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t care if you read anything of mine. I’ve got nothing to hide. Well, not from you, anyway. The commissioner is a different story.” Kenny held the paper up and frowned. “He has really tiny handwriting and he prints like a child.” She began reading the note out loud.

  “Sorry I couldn’t be there to greet you, but you know how it is, plans change. Okay, confession time. I’ve grown tired of playing this game, so let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? I want twenty-million wired to an offshore account. I will send the number in a text message. Once I have confirmation from the bank, I’ll tell you where you can pick up your grandmother. Tick-tock, girly. It’s cha-ching time.”

  “Damn… what is going on?”

  “Why is he suddenly settling for less?” Chelsey questioned.

  “And why suddenly change from cash to wire transfer? Or was that his plan all along?”

  “I don’t think Harold is that smart. I think the person pulling the strings is behind it all.”

  “And they got spooked by something or someone, otherwise, why leave you in the apartment to be found?”

  “That was a question I had, too,” Chelsey stated. “Harold was visibly upset on the phone. Pacing, waving his hands, trying to assure the caller he would take care of it.”

  “Take care of what, moving Grandma to a new location?” A frown crease Kenny’s forehead as an idea came to mind. “They figured out Grandma’s sign language. That’s why the sudden move.”

  “Could be, but it doesn’t explain why Harold let me go or why the sudden drop in price.”

  “I think the sudden move from the apartment wasn’t planned, but my gut is telling me that the drop in price was part of the plan. Asking for cash, then suddenly changing to wiring money offshore. Kidnapping you then suddenly letting you go. That all feels planned to me. It almost feels like they got what they wanted, so they could end the game now.”

  “It’s the weirdest kidnapping game I’ve ever heard of.”

  “And they seem to know every step I take.” Kenny looked past Chelsey at th
e far wall as she processed the clues in her head. “You know, I didn’t search Jaylen when she came in. She gave me her phone and that was it.”

  “What are you doing out here?” Tobias asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

  “Tobias. Perfect timing,” Kenny exclaimed. “I want you to go over Jaylen’s room with a fine tooth comb, checking for surveillance devices, cell phone, anything.”

  “Sure, just let me grab some breakfast and—”

  “No, it can’t wait. Jaylen will be down eating her breakfast in a minute and that will be your best opportunity to search her room. Take Carla with you to help if you want.”

  He perked up at the thought of being alone with the beautiful Carla. “Okay, I’ll go get the equipment and find Carla.”

  “Good man,” Kenny replied and slapped him on the shoulder as she walked past. “And I’ll let Jaylen out of the room.”

  *

  “Would you like another biscuit, Jaylen?” Sophie asked as she sat the basket on the table. “Fresh out of the oven.” Sophie expected that the bodyguards would come in for breakfast and was still preparing food. She figured she’d have to take a tray up to Jaylen, considering how upset Kenny had been with her, so she was surprised when Miguel and Lester walked in, escorting Jaylen.

  “Thanks, don’t mind if I do,” Jaylen replied, reaching for the basket. “Where is Makenna this morning? I’m surprised that she’s not here accusing me of all kinds of nasty things.”

  Sophie scooped up a stack of pancakes and carried them to the table. As soon as she sat the plate down, Miguel took two off the top and Lester took another two. It had been a long time since she had cooked for a grown man, her son notwithstanding, and she marveled at their bottomless pits. It was a pleasure watching them enjoy her cooking and gratifying when they asked for more of it.

  “Kenny and Chelsey have already eaten, so I’m not sure where they got off to,” Sophie stated, turning back to the stove.

  “Well, I’m glad she has a little friend to play with,” Jaylen remarked cryptically.

  Sophie glanced at her from over her shoulder but said nothing. Considering how Jaylen felt about Hispanics, she had some indication of how she would feel about homosexuals, and she didn’t want that kind of negativity to ruin her morning.