“Nice going, kid,” Harry said, clapping Dennis on the back. Dennis beamed his pleasure. Life didn’t get any better than a compliment from his idol, Harry Wong.
“Now, here’s what we’re going to do, Mr. Moss. As you can see, the rain looks to be picking up, and none of us really wants to catch a summer cold. You, we don’t care about, but none of us wants to get sick. Now, having said that, this is what you’re looking at. You’re going in that hole, which will hopefully someday be my swimming pool. It’s full of mud, water, and a few dead animals that drowned during that horrendous rain this past week. You won’t be able to climb out once you’re in there. Did I mention that the pool, this monster hole in the ground, is fourteen feet deep all around?
“If you don’t answer us, we’re going to push you in the pool. And then we’re going to give you some company.”
Nikki turned to Kathryn and told her to bring the special bins to the side of the pool. The girls hustled to give Kathryn a hand.
“Do you want to see what’s in the bins, Mr. Moss?”
Moss raised his head and wiped the mud out of his eyes and mouth. His heart rate ratcheted up. He struggled to appear uncaring but knew he wasn’t pulling it off. “Not particularly. Probably something insane because you are all insane to kidnap someone like me. I’m a public figure.”
“No you are not. At this point in time, you are a public joke. This whole town now knows the story of your wife. What kind of man beats a woman and holds her prisoner? Only a sick, demented person like you, you filthy son of a bitch. You are a power-hungry mongrel,” Annie said loud enough to be heard above the rain, which was coming down even harder. “Go easy on yourself and tell us the passwords.”
“Go to hell,” Moss bellowed.
Annie threw her hands in the air. “Well, we tried to be nice. Show him what’s in the bins, girls! Be careful now,” she warned.
The girls advanced close to the pool and undid the heavy-duty lids of the hard plastic bins. But they didn’t remove them. They waited expectantly.
Myra stepped forward. “Bin One is full of water moccasins. Bin Two is full of rattlesnakes, and Bin Three is full of copperhead snakes. We weren’t sure if cottonmouths were the same as water moccasins, so we got some of those, too, because they do look different. They are in Bin Four. There are twelve of the pesky little devils in each bin. They go in the pool with you. Do you want to rethink your attitude and cooperate or not?”
Jesus Christ, Moss asked himself, who are these looney tune people? Moss could feel his insides start to crumble. He could hear the rattlesnakes rattling inside the bin.
“Time’s up,” Harry said as he shoved Moss into the muddy water.
Moss bellowed and cursed as he flailed about in the smelly muck. “Beg, Moss, like your wife begged you to stop beating her. I want to hear you. I want you to feel the fear she felt. Throw in the water moccasins,” Annie said.
“Jesus God, no,” Moss said as he struggled to get away from where the moccasins hit the water. He had never experienced such panic in his life. He felt something brush against his leg. “Oh, Christ, what was that?”
“They swim fast, just so you know,” Annie called down. “Just say the word, and we can scoop you right out of there with the pool pole. Your call.”
“Throw the rattlers in,” Annie ordered.
They all watched as Moss tried to climb up the muddy side of the pool, only to flop back into the water. He was hoarse from bellowing.
“Tell us, is what you’re feeling now what Amalie felt when you came up to her with your clenched fists? Do you feel the fear?” Myra shouted.
Goddamn right he felt the fear. “Get me out of here. You win.”
Jack leaned over and shined his light down into the muddy water. “You know what, who cares? We’ll get our people to figure out the passwords. You aren’t worth standing out here catching cold. Dump the cottonmouths and the copperheads, and let’s go dry out. I know this all-night pizza place. Close up shop, people.”
Moss let out a scream that could be heard in the next county. He begged, he pleaded, he promised a full confession, and if he had had children, he would have given up his firstborn.
“The passwords. Now,” Jack ordered. Moss rattled them off. Ted recorded each and every number.
“Someone call Snowden,” Jack said. Maggie obliged.
“Get me out of here,” Moss bellowed. “You promised.”
“Yeah, well I lied,” Jack said happily. “See ya on the other side someday, Moss.”
The gang trooped off and didn’t speak until they were at their designated vehicles, and that’s when they started to laugh. “Too bad he doesn’t know all those critters we tossed in that pool are mechanical,” Annie said, laughing. “He’ll be a raving maniac by the time Avery and his people pull him out of there.”
“We did good, people,” Myra said.
“You know, I wasn’t kidding about that pizza place down the road. What say we hit it?” Jack said.
“Last one there pays,” Harry said, climbing into the car with his wife.
Annie and Myra were the last to leave the area.
“We do good work,” Annie said.
“Can’t argue with you there, my friend. When you’re right, you’re right.”
“And everyone is going to live happily ever after.”
“Not till tomorrow, when Abner starts doling out all of Moss’s money to worthy causes. That’s when everyone will be happy.”
“Like I said, when you’re right, you’re right.” Myra laughed.
Epilogue
Six Weeks Later
Labor Day ushered in the end of summer, or, as Nikki put it, “I just knew when the pool would be finished, it would be by Labor Day. We can’t even take a dip, the water’s too cold, so the pool people installed a cover, and now we have to wait till next summer. The good news is that Jack and I are no longer living in a world of mud. I have grass!” She announced this like she’d just been handed the Holy Grail.
The gang, or as Charles referred to them, all his chicks, were on the terrace waiting for the holiday barbecue to get under way. Conversation was about everything and anything, none of it important in the scheme of things. Everyone was just glad to see one another and to unwind.
The gang had gone their separate ways after dumping Lincoln Moss in Nikki’s unfinished swimming pool. Kathryn had signed herself into the hospital and had the titanium bar removed from her leg. She’d been right all along, to the chagrin of the surgeons. She was allergic to the bar. She’d spent the entire six weeks, as she put it, working her tail off in therapy, and she was now good to go with nothing more than a slight limp. The good news was she was pain-free. And just as good was that Bert had finally managed to take some time off from Annie’s Las Vegas casino and was at Pinewood for the Labor Day holiday.
Isabelle had hunkered down with Abner and was still learning the tricks of his trade. Abner said she was a natural and was already almost as good as he was at the hacking game. They’d weathered their personal marital storm and were closer than ever.
Because of changes at the monastery that the monks wanted the parents to approve, two days after they walked away from Nikki’s pool, Yoko and Harry had gone to China for a rare visit. After their initial visit with Lily, which lasted only six hours, the two of them had toured China. They had just returned home ten days ago, sad yet happy.
Alexis and Espinosa had driven out West and gotten engaged all over again, but they were still shy about setting a wedding date. They were home now and raring to go, as Espinosa put it.
Nikki and Jack had taken care of business at her firm and spent long weekends touring the various countrysides, followed by a trip to the Big Apple just for fun. A totally uneventful six weeks, according to both of them.
Annie got a decorating bug, and she and Fergus took two classes on how to hang wallpaper. Annie’s house was now floral in design, which meant she had to buy all new furniture to go with the wallpaper. The b
ottom line was she was no longer sure if she liked the wallpaper, saying maybe she should have gone with stripes instead of flowers. Fergus said it didn’t matter as long as he wore sunglasses.
Myra went back to her knitting, determined to finish her “five-mile-long scarf,” which was now almost ten miles long. She trundled it around with her in a red wagon. “My knitting teacher, Claudeen, told me she thinks I should give it up and find another hobby. I’m not giving up, I’m going to make her proud of me yet.” No one said anything, even when she produced the red wagon with the monster scarf. She was satisfied with Charles’s comment that it was “impressive.” Like she didn’t already know it was impressive. Even Claudeen said she didn’t know anyone who had ever knitted a ten-mile-long scarf.
Jack Sparrow had finally signed the papers, and Nikki and Jack’s house in Georgetown was his. He’d even furnished it, with Amalie’s help. Amalie had moved into the spare room and paid Sparrow rent while she went house hunting after her return from visiting her family in France. She had finally found a house to her liking two streets over on P Street in Georgetown. They were an item, but only in a platonic sense. But that was rapidly changing, as was the relationship between Rosalee and Dennis West.
Rosalee would start her nursing classes in a week, thanks to a mysteriously financed scholarship that offered a full ride plus a stipend for living expenses. Everyone knew they were already “an item,” and everyone heartily approved.
Maggie and Ted, still reestablishing their relationship but hesitant about taking the final plunge, finished off the summer by simply working because, as the world knows, the news never rests. It was their job, a job they took seriously, to keep the public updated on world affairs. Neither was complaining.
It seemed like no one wanted to bring up the subject of Lincoln Moss, possibly because Amalie, the newest member of the family, was present. And yet it all hung out there like some unseen bad wind. Finally, Maggie said, “Okay, people, let’s talk about it, then we can move on.
“I’m not sure if any of you know this or not, but Avery Snowden had Mr. Moss sign over his power of attorney to Nikki. It was the only way he would agree to pull him out of the pool. When those critters we dumped in the pool brushed up against him, they, for want of better words, sparked and stung him. He thought he was being bitten and was going to die. Mr. Snowden said he never saw such fear in a man. Said he was so far gone, he could barely tell them his name when they finally yanked him out.
“Abner, with Isabelle’s help, donated his money to so many worthy causes I lost track, but it’s all documented. With Lizzie Fox’s help, we set up trusts for Rosalee, her family, Amalie’s family, and, of course, for Amalie, who said she didn’t want a penny of her husband’s money. Mr. Sparrow had a long talk with her, reminding her of all the modeling work she had done as the face of La Natural, work for which she had never been paid since her husband owned the company, and she finally agreed to a revocable trust that she herself would manage.
“We donated to all the usual, the Red Cross, the Heart Fund, various cancer research projects, animal causes, children’s causes, especially the one the First Lady is working on, and one for building homes for returning veterans. Weekend Warriors will never have to worry again; nor will St. Jude’s Hospital for children. Doctors Without Borders was a grateful recipient, and by the way, I do not know if this is true, but I heard from someone who should know that a nurse by the name of Jane Petrie is working with them. Oh, and last but not least, we helped ourselves to a very generous chunk of Moss’s fortune for future . . . um . . . missions.”
“Is it true, does anyone know for sure, if Moss was the one who outed all those politicians by informing Dominic Sludge?” Kathryn asked. “This whole town went crazy with all those resignations.”
“They’re saying it but can’t prove it. The hot gossip was about where did Lincoln Moss disappear to? Again, there was no answer. It’s all speculation. The good news is that President Knight is now his own man and is running the country the way it should be run and not the way Lincoln Moss wanted it run,” Myra said.
“That’s enough, folks. The past is prologue. We’re here to enjoy a family day, so let’s enjoy it. You all know what you need to do, so let’s get that grill fired up,” Charles said, like a commanding general, handing Bert a plate of chips.
Annie and Myra followed Charles and Fergus into the kitchen, where they took up their favorite spot by the kitchen window to observe their family. “Two new members to our family, Annie. How great is that?”
“Personally speaking, my dear friend, I don’t think it gets any better than that.” Annie smiled. “We did good, Myra. By that I mean we all did good. Look how happy Amalie is! And she’s going to be even happier when she ties the knot with Director Sparrow. It’s just a matter of time. And I guarantee that by the end of the year, young Dennis and Rosalee will be engaged.”
Myra laughed out loud. Always and forever the matchmaker. “Someday, I want you to tell me how you pulled off that nursing scholarship for Rosalee.”
“Whatever do you mean, Myra? Look,” she said, trying to divert Myra from her question. “Is it my imagination, or do Jack and Harry look . . . off their feed, anxious. Something is off. I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“I did notice that. I’ve never seen Harry agitated before. Never. He looks agitated to me. And Jack looks . . . I don’t know, antsy is the only word I can come up with. But does that answer your question?”
“Not really,” Annie said, a frown building on her forehead. She continued to watch Harry and Jack through the window, while Myra turned away to do something for Charles. A shiver ran down her spine. She wished she could hear what the two of them were saying. Something wasn’t right.
Annie was correct, she just didn’t know it.
Jack tapped Harry on the shoulder. “Hey, Harry, let’s go for a walk. I need to talk to you.” Harry suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He didn’t say anything but fell into step with his best friend in the whole world.
“Listen, Harry, I . . . this is going to sound really crazy, and I can’t help it, so will you hear me out?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I woke up this morning at 3:33. I never wake up at 3:33. I was wide-awake, like someone punched me in the gut. My head was buzzing with . . . thoughts. And then . . . and then . . .”
“You heard the name Cooper, is that what you were going to say?” Harry asked in a strangled-sounding voice.
“Yeah. Jesus, Harry, how did you know?” Jack asked, his voice sounding even more jittery than Harry’s.
“Because the same thing happened to me. Exactly the same thing. I was trying to get up the nerve to tell you all day. Spooked the hell out of me.”
“That dog is not . . . Cooper is . . . I don’t know what the hell Cooper is.”
“I have a text coming in,” Harry said, feeling his cell vibrating in his pocket.
“Aren’t you going to answer it? No one ever texts you except . . .”
“I know who it is,” Harry said in a choked voice.
Jack licked at his dry lips. “I know who it is, too.”
“Are we sure I should . . . ?”
“Yeah, Harry, I’m sure.”
For the first time the menfolk are stepping out of
the pages of #1 New York Times bestselling
author Fern Michaels’s beloved Sisterhood
series and into the spotlight . . .
DOUBLE DOWN
After years of standing by their womenfolk, the Sisterhood’s significant others have also become loyal friends. And now Jack Emery, Nikki’s husband, has enlisted Ted, Joe, Jay, Bert, Dennis, and Abner to form a top-secret organization known as BOLO Consultants.
Jack has two missions in mind. The first: offering some behind-the-scenes help to Nikki’s law firm as they take on the all-powerful Andover Pharmaceuticals. Andover’s anti-leukemia drug causes terrible side effects in young patients, but a class-ac
tion suit seems doomed to fail. BOLO Consultants have a prescription to cure that. Meanwhile, Virginia’s lieutenant governor has a sideline as a slum landlord, and his impoverished tenants are suffering. Tyler Sandford believes his status puts him above the law. But when the Sisterhood and their allies decide to get involved, no one is beyond the reach of true justice . . .
Turn the page for a special sneak peek at
Fern Michaels’s brand-new novel.
A Zebra mass market and eBook on sale
in October 2015.
Jack Emery propped his chin on his cupped hands and looked out the window of the Bagel Emporium at the blustery weather outside. His thoughts traveled back in time to a year ago, to the last day that Emanuel Macklin was seen. A lot had happened in the past year. Much of his life, and the lives of his friends, had been turned upside down. And sometimes he had a hard time coming to terms with the way all of it had happened at what seemed to be the speed of light.
He was a free agent these days. Right after the first of the year, he’d left his wife’s, Nikki’s, law firm, with her reluctant approval, supposedly to write a book. It was something that never happened. He’d done some consulting work for a few months, but that hadn’t worked either. He’d then stepped into his old shoes at the district attorney’s office, prosecuted two cases, and walked away. He’d won both cases but they were both on appeal. Some smart-ass defense attorney would come up with some frigging loophole, and the bad guys would be right back out on the street. So, disillusioned, he’d thrown in the towel and walked away, frustrated and angry at a criminal justice system that seemed to coddle the criminals and leave the good guys, the victims, to fend for themselves.
Jack’s eyes were glued to the red brick building across the street from where he was sitting. His building. Well, not totally his. He, along with Ted Robinson, Joe Espinosa, Harry Wong, Bert Navarro, and Jay Sparrow, owned the building. They’d invested the bonus money they’d gotten years ago when they worked for Hank Jellicoe, money that none of them had ever touched until a few months ago, when he convinced his little band of avengers that this was what they needed to do. This meaning buying the six-thousand-square-foot brick building, refurbishing it, and going into business together. Into a business that was completely off the grid. And today was move-in day.
In Plain Sight Page 24