Stevie did her best to clean up with the baby wipes she had in the car as she drove, clearly fighting tears about the inevitable. Just before they arrived at Carmella’s, Stevie put on her widest, darkest sunglasses to avoid questions and made Inga and Olaf duck down—not an easy feat for someone as large as Olaf, I assure you.
“You two wait here. I’ll get the baby, but stay down, okay? I don’t think I’m up to more questions today, and we’re a pile of questions just waiting to happen.”
They did as instructed, staying low while Stevie collected Sebastian, thanked Carmella, and brought him to the car. She tucked his squirming body into his car seat as he cooed and chatted, his baby noises growing excited when he saw Inga and Olaf.
I didn’t speak. I didn’t need to. I knew Stevie had a plan to get Inga and Olaf safely away, and as she pulled over along a small, wooded inlet by the water, I knew I was right.
She was going to say her goodbyes here, while she could, before she had to let go permanently.
Turning to Inga, she said, “I think this is where we…say goodbye for now.” Stephania choked on the last word, her hard swallow indicating how painful this was going to be for her.
But she got out of the driver’s side of the car and smiled reassuringly. Inga and Olaf climbed out, too, pulling little Sebastian from his car seat and showering him with kisses while Stevie stood off to the side under a tree, allowing them peace to reunite.
And never have I felt so hopeless than I did as I watched her struggle to contain her emotions and stay upbeat for Inga and Olaf.
But Sebastian did something quite unexpected then. He reached out for Stevie, his chubby hands opening and closing in her direction, indicating he wanted her to hold him, his arms up in a gesture that made my heart clench.
Stevie didn’t move. Instead, she looked with a tentative gaze to Inga for permission.
Which Inga granted with a generous smile, handing over the baby as tears flowed down her face.
Stevie took the baby without a word and pressed kisses to his cheeks, his forehead, his eyelids, until he giggled, making her tuck him close.
There, under the shade of a tree where it was cool but the breeze blew in warm gusts, she swayed back and forth. “So, Sebastian, huh? Pretty strong name—one I know you’ll live up to. You know what, Sebastian? You’re one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, sweetface. I love you, precious boy…you’ll come back and see me, won’t you? Please say you’ll come back,” she whispered, her words hitching and shuddering as she fought tears.
Inga put a compassionate hand on Stevie’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I hit you, Stevie, but I can’t thank you enough. I’ll never have big enough words but thank you for looking out for our baby. Someday, I hope someday soon, when the dust settles, you’ll let us come for a visit, yes?” Inga asked, her beautiful eyes searching Stephania’s.
“Always,” she whispered against Sebastian’s head, clenching her eyes tight. “Always.”
Inga gave Stevie a hard hug before Stevie handed the baby over to her, and I knew the act itself tore the very heart from her chest. But she did it with a watery, brave smile.
“Now, let’s get out of here. I have everything you need for the baby in the car. That should get you far enough for the time being. You drive, Olaf. Take the car and—”
“No!” Inga protested. “We can’t just take your car, Stevie.”
But Stevie shook her head. “You can and you will. Yours is in the water, isn’t it? You have to get to where you’re going somehow, right? Please say you have a plan.”
Olaf frowned as he wrapped an arm around Inga’s waist. “She is right, Inga. Our truck is long gone now. We must do what we set out to do in the beginning.”
Stevie nodded. “About that truck—was it you two in the truck? Did you guys stage that?”
Inga’s smile was followed by a sheepish wince. “We did. We’re strong swimmers. Olaf bought a wig to wear to conceal his bald head and we laughed at how clever we were. We have both seen our share of escapes, living with my father as we did. We thought if we faked our deaths, we could get away. But my father was too smart for us. Somehow, he found us anyway. That’s why we left the baby at Crispin’s. So we might escape and figure out a better plan.”
“How did he find you here? In Ebenezer Falls, of all places?”
Inga closed her eyes momentarily then opened them again. “My father is…was very resourceful. I don’t doubt he wasn’t far off our trail from the beginning—or maybe he enjoyed letting us think we get away from him. He was a cruel man, Stevie. So cruel. He enjoyed the cat and mouse game.”
Stevie patted Inga’s arm in sympathy, but looked to Olaf. “And that’s why you knocked me down outside that bar, yes? Because he’d taken Inga and you thought I worked for him?”
Olaf nodded his shiny head, rolling up the sleeves of his torn leather jacket. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, but I was in a panic about Inga. I couldn’t find her, and I didn’t know how to get the baby without breaking into your fortress. So I followed you to the bar. I thought you were working for Heinrich. I was sure of it, in fact.”
Stevie nodded in understanding. “An easy mistake, Olaf.”
He shook his head as though to clear the cobwebs. “I think I must have knocked myself out because when I opened my eyes, you were gone. Then, when I got back to Ebenezer Falls, I was going to try to find you, but Gerhard caught me.” He shook his head again and ran a hand over his stubbled jaw. “I wasn’t cut out for this, that’s very clear. But you? You’re amazing. Thank you for helping us, Stevie. I’ll never forget what you’ve done and how well you cared for our little one. You saved us, Stevie. I can’t ever repay you.”
“Unnecessary. It was my pleasure. He really is the sweetest boy ever,” she said, opening the back door so Inga could put the baby inside.
The tug on my heart continued as Stevie helped them get settled in the car and reassured them once more she could always buy another vehicle.
But the hardest part of the end to this mess was watching her get into the car with Inga and Olaf and take the five-minute ride back to our house in sad silence while she held baby Sebastian’s hand. Harder still, watching her kiss sweet Sebastian for the last time, grip both Inga’s and Olaf’s shoulders, crawl out of her car and wave to the baby with a falsely cheerful grin as they pulled away.
She stood there a while in the driveway, under the midday beat of the orange sun, her eye now the size of a Ping-Pong ball, and fought tears—fought like the tiger she is.
Stevie turned at the sound of Whiskey’s bark and the call of Enzo from the garage door. “You okay out there, little miss?” he asked, his wide face filled with concern.
“I’m fine, Enzo,” she called back. Even though she really wasn’t.
Just then, quite unexpectedly, Officer Nelson pulled into our driveway and turned off the ignition to his patrol car.
His long legs fell out of the car, where he sat waiting as Stevie approached. When he got a look at her, he whistled. “What happened to you, Miss Cartwright?”
She sighed forlornly, pretending to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. “Ghosts. I got clocked in the face, sparring with a ghost.”
Dana smirked. “You’re funny.”
Stevie tried to crack a smile but grimaced, because surely moving her facial muscles created a domino effect of hurt. “Don’t you try and butter me up, pal.”
He reached a hand up and, with gentle fingers, touched the area surrounding her eye. “Seriously, what happened to your face, Miss Cartwright?”
“A fistfight with a ghost sounds so much cooler, Officer Nelson, but in truth, I stepped on the garden shovel and the handle whacked me in the face. So, before I go get a nice steak to put on it, what brings you to my neck of the woods?”
He lifted his hips and pulled something from his crisp trousers. “I found this in the pocket of my jeans. Thought you might need it for the little guy.” He held the item up for Stevie to see.
She took it, trying to hide the shake of her fingers, but I saw, and I knew how much she hurt right now. “A sock, huh? How’d you get his sock?”
“He kept kicking the dang things off, so I think I stuck one in my pocket and forgot about it until I did my laundry. Might have a soccer player on your hands someday,” he said with a fond smile. “Say, is he around, by any chance?”
Stevie took a deep breath, but she kept herself together. “Nope. Winnie came home early. Said she missed him too much to be gone from him for very long. He’s…gone.”
Dana sighed in disappointment. “Too bad. Could have done with one more visit. Anyway, gotta run. Something went down at the mill today. Somebody heard gunshots.”
Stevie reached out a hand and patted him on the arm. “You be safe then. I’ll see you around.”
He swung his legs back into the car with a wave and then he was gone.
As he pulled away, Stevie brought the sock to her cheek and began to walk toward the house with slow steps, where Whiskey and Belfry waited by the door to greet her, using it to wipe the tears that fell from her eyes.
* * * *
“Where is Stephania, Arkady?”
“She is on steps of front porch. She is so sad, it make my heart feel like it will break open to see her like this,” he said. “I cannot bear for my fruit cup to hurt.”
I patted a depressed Arkady on the back. “I know, old chum. I’m sad, too. I’ll miss the little bugger. But we must help her now. We must help her heart mend.”
“But what about you, Zero? How do you feel?”
Oddly, the residual effects of this possession didn’t hit me as hard as the last time I’d tried it. Of course, I hadn’t really tried this time, either. Maybe that was half the battle? I shook my head—and thoughts of possession out of my mind.
Now was the time to focus on Stephania and her needs.
“I’m fine, chap. Just fine. Would you kindly check on Whiskey and Belfry, old man? We have a bunch of sad sacks here tonight. We could all use a little cheering up.”
“Yes, my friend. I shall sing old Russian folk songs for them. That is sure to cheer them up!”
He took his leave and I headed out to the porch, where Stephania sat on the top step, her head down. “There she is, my little mini-spy! You were quite something today, Stephania. I venture to say I’d hire you at MI6, you’ve become so proficient at taking down the bad guy. You took out one of the most feared arms dealers in the world. Something none of us were able to do. Well done, Dove.”
“Well, coming from you, that’s quite a compliment, but you did the taking out. I just injured them a little,” she said, attempting to hide her hoarse voice and her tear-stained cheeks. “Have I said thank you for possessing a body and saving my life yet?”
“There’s no need, Dove. None at all.”
She stared up at the sky, where a multitude of stars gathered. “Well, too bad. You were pretty impressive yourself. Any idea how you did it?”
“Not a bloody clue.”
“Nonetheless, if it weren’t for you, I’d be chopped liver. So thank you, Win. Thank you for looking out for me.”
“Always, Stephania. I’ll always look out for you.”
Her smile was vague and faraway, but she didn’t say anything as she leaned her head against the porch railing.
“Oh, Stephania,” I soothed. “I know you’re suffering right now.”
“Darn right I am,” she joked in a falsely cheerful tone. “I have to buy another car, for gravy’s sake. I mean, that’s three in a year, Win. I think you should just give me the Aston Martin as a consolation prize.”
My lips tilted upward. She was going to get that car out of me one way or the other. “With your record for losing cars? Hah!”
She began to laugh, but that quickly turned to tears, her soft sobs breaking my heart. They shattered me. I couldn’t bear how bereaved she’d been since saying goodbye to little Sebastian this afternoon. So I did what I’ve always done in the past, I surrounded her with my arms.
As I said once before, for some reason, she can feel that—she can feel my presence, and I can feel hers, and even if it means I can’t experience her soft skin or brush her cheek with my lips, it’s something, and the act is very dear to me.
If I hadn’t been so weak today in Gerhard’s injured body, I would have held her, if only for a moment.
“Oh, my sweet Dove,” I soothed. “He’ll come back and visit. When Inga makes a promise, she keeps it. She’ll bring him to stay, and you’ll all play with Whiskey and even Belfry, and it will be wonderful. I promise you.”
She shook her head sadly, hunkering down in her light sweater to rest her cheek on her shoulder. “I know,” she whispered. “I know she will, and I’m so happy she can be with Sebastian and Olaf now, and that she’s away from that horrible father of hers. Believe me, I am. Sebastian is where he belongs. But… That’s not the only reason I’m crying, I guess.”
“Then what is it, Dove? Tell me how I can fix this?” Because I’d do anything within my power to make her feel better—to take her sorrow and make it mine.
Stevie swiped at her tears carefully so as not to hit her sore eye. “There’s nothing you can do, Win. Really. Hardy…er, Sebastian just made me realize how much I want children, I suppose. I think I fell a little in love and…” She shook her head again, blowing out a breath of air. “I just fell in love is all. I liked waking up to him every morning, even if it was only for a short time. I liked changing diapers and heating bottles a lot more than I like Twinkies. More than Twinkies. When have I ever said that, Win? Who knew domestication was for me?”
I knew. I’d always known. If there was ever a woman I’d want to have my children, it was Stevie. She was brave and strong, beautiful and warm, and she was all things perfect to me.
And I love her.
That’s not easy for me to admit, and I’d never breathe a word of it to Stephania for fear she’d put her life on hold for a pipe dream I might never be able to make a reality. The burden would be too much for her mortal soul to carry around. So for now, this remains one of the last secrets between her and I.
Besides, maybe she doesn’t reciprocate my feelings. That would be some egg on my face, eh?
Yet, I don’t care. I love Stevie Cartwright. She has every bit of my heart. Every bit of my soul. So, I hugged her harder, hoping she could feel me beside her, around her.
“Win?” She whispered my name softly into the velvety night.
“My dove?”
“Hug me just a little tighter, would you?”
And that made me smile wide. Maybe she did feel the same way.
Maybe she did.
Epilogue
One week later
“Win, do you hear that? By golly, tell me you hear that darn pig!” Stevie called from the back deck off the kitchen, where she sat with a Twinkie and some Pop-Tarts for breakfast as Strike milled about the grounds and Whiskey lie at her feet, gnawing a bone.
“Arkady Bagrov hears, malutka! But he cannot catch. He is one slippery swine!”
I couldn’t answer her right now, I was completely out of breath, but I was happy to see things returning to normal for all of us, Stephania especially.
The police had found the bodies of Gerhard Nurnberger and Heinrich Von Krause in the mill that day, and while an active investigation was in the works, no one could figure out what had brought the infamous arms dealer to little Ebenezer Falls, or why he and his right-hand man had killed each other in, of all places, our small burg.
There was no evidence to support anything other than what was right in front of them. They’d argued and fought to the death. The police had released a statement about Inga, claiming her truck had been stolen, and after dredging the water at the site of the truck accident and coming up empty-handed, they presumed the suspects who’d stolen her truck were either dead or in hiding.
Of course, Heinrich Von Krause’s daughter had been safely out of the country
in Paris with her baby and a bodyguard when her father and husband had fought to the death. This was reported by the press after a picture of her—taken by an anonymous source (see Belfry and his handiwork with Photoshop)—had been printed in a national newspaper.
After extensive questioning of Von Krause’s camp, no one was willing to admit he’d been hunting his own daughter and grandchild, and it appeared as though the police might just chalk this one up to a half-solved mystery.
Stephania had come around slowly over the following week, moving Sebastian’s things into a guest bedroom in anticipation of the time when he’d come back and visit us. She’d not done it without tears, but she’d done it with some smiles, too, and fond memories of the sweetest baby on earth.
As for me, I’d begun to accept my mistake with Miranda, and it didn’t sting in quite the way it did even as little as a few days ago. I’d also fully recuperated from my bout with possession, but I hadn’t stopped thinking about it for very long. There was a way to get back. There was. I just had to line up all the right emotions and settings to make it happen.
And happen it will. This, I promise you.
Until then, I’ve been on a quest, a rather unpleasant-smelling quest, to find one Cris P. Bacon.
And I’ve accomplished exactly that. “Indeed, Stephania! You hear a pig—because I have a pig, right here in my arms,” I said on a ragged breath as I held my squirming new friend.
“Zero! You catch the swine! You are best spy in all this world,” Arkady joked with a slap to my back.
“You have him, Win? Really have him?” Stephania asked, sitting up in the deck chair and adjusting her big floppy hat. “Is he okay?”
“I do, in fact, have Cris P. Bacon. His tag on his collar says such,” I confirmed, stroking the pig’s back to keep him comforted. “And he’s fine. Very pink and perfect.”
“Jolly good show, Winterbutt!” Belfry praised, toddling across the deck’s wood table to settle next to his pomegranate breakfast.
“And now what, Stephania?” I asked, looking down at her dressed in a colorful royal-blue wrap and sandals. “What would you have me do with him?”
Ain't Love a Witch? (Witchless in Seattle Mysteries Book 6) Page 17