Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 05 - Till Death Do Us Part

by Peggy Dulle

  Chapter 20

  Kenny shook his head, seeming to shake himself free of whatever was pushing the two of us together.

  “Or maybe my consort or escort?” Kenny finished, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

  I blew him a raspberry.

  He laughed.

  We both sat back and rode the rest of the way in silence. I thought a lot about the person I wanted to be. I always tell the kids in my class that you have to make goals in your life, even small ones that you conquer and then move on to the next one. Where did I see myself in five years? Ten years?

  I glanced over and looked at Kenny. Where would I be in five years with him? Ten years? And with Tom? It was two totally different life paths and I just wasn’t sure which one was better for me or which one I truly wanted. I twisted the ring on my finger. This didn’t make sense at all. I was marrying one man and thinking about what life would be like with another. That wasn’t right.

  Kenny took my hand, again, and squeezed it. “Don’t think so much, Stretch. Things work out as they were meant to be, don’t stress.”

  “But…” I began.

  He put his finger over my mouth, stopping my words, and shook his head. He put his arm around me, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. We sat like that until the ferry docked in Jack London Square. I validated my parking ticket, and we walked the few blocks to the parking lot. Kenny and I held hands while Art and the other FBI agents scanned the street and flanked us on all sides.

  We got into my Jeep and the four other agents got into a black sedan. It followed four cars behind us the entire way to San Ramon. When we got home, Art and the agents went immediately into Fed mode, getting out of their vehicles, checking the street and surrounding area. It was like a scene from a movie. I just hoped it wasn’t one from a movie where the FBI agents check out the area and the protected witness still gets kidnapped, hurt, or worse.

  When I got out of the Jeep, Kenny kissed me lightly on the cheek saying, “I’ve got to make a few phone calls. I’ll order Mexican take-out, okay?”

  “Sounds good,” I said, then to Art. “What do you want? And should we order enough for everyone?”

  “Yes. Let’s get inside, I want to check the video displays that were installed while we were gone and then I’ll get everyone’s order.”

  “Great,” Kenny said. “Call me when you’re ready.”

  I gathered up the bags from the magic shop and walked up my walkway. I could hear Shelby barking.

  “We’re coming, girl,” I told her as I put the key in the lock.

  “Let me go first,” Art said, sliding in front of me, turning the key and opening the door. He and another agent went into my house. The other two went around to the back.

  I felt ridiculous! How dangerous could this Angelo be?

  Art came out a few minutes later and grabbed my bags. “It’s all clear, Liza.”

  “Thanks for calling me Liza.”

  Art smiled. A glimpse of the fun-loving guy we had seen today was back. He put the bags on my kitchen table while I petted Shelby.

  Finally I said, “I’m sorry that Tom got mad at you.”

  “No, he was right. In my defense, I didn’t know about Angelo. Chief Owens just found out about the younger brother a little while ago. I knew Santana was an idiot so I wasn’t worried. If I had known about Angelo, I wouldn’t have let you go to Pier 39. We would have stayed here.”

  I laughed.

  Art frowned.

  “We might have not gone to Pier 39, but Kenny and I would have.”

  “No, we would have stayed here.”

  I patted Art on the shoulder. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  Art glared at me.

  Time to change the subject. “Can I see my new video equipment?”

  “Sure.”

  I followed Art into the spare room. It didn’t look any different for having a man living there. White metal daybed covered with a quilt I had gotten from my class last year. A side table and armoire from a previous bedroom set I owned before buying the one I use in my own room. Art walked over to the armoire and opened the top cupboard. Inside were nine small video displays. I could see my front door, my front yard all the way to Kenny’s door, my driveway, a block in both directions of my street, and every inch of my backyard.

  “Thanks for putting it inside here.” I pointed to the display.

  “Sure, I just thought about where my wife would want them if I insisted upon putting them in our spare bedroom.”

  “Good thinking.”

  We watched as a white van pulled up in front of Kenny’s condo.

  Art immediately called the other FBI agents. I saw them open the car doors and get out of the sedan. It was just at the outside edge of one of the video displays.

  A tall, lean woman dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt got out of the van carrying some kind of carrier.

  I watched as Kenny opened his door and the three FBI agents picked up their pace.

  It was like watching a movie on mute. Kenny saw the three men. He immediately pulled the woman behind him and stood in front of her.

  One of the men said something to Kenny and he shook his head and pointed to the carrier.

  The agent nodded and the three of them walked back down the street.

  “No sound?” I asked, curious as to what was in the carrier.

  “No, we just put in video.”

  Kenny took the woman by the hand, pulled her into his arms and kissed her. My stomached tightened. What was I feeling? Was I jealous? Did I want to be that woman? When he released her, both their faces were lit with smiles. They talked for a few more minutes and then she left. Kenny picked up the carrier and headed for my house.

  I left the spare room and went to the front door.

  “What’s in the carrier?” I said when I opened the door and Kenny came in.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you, Stretch.”

  “Really?” I said cautiously.

  “Well, it’s mostly a surprise for Shelby.”

  “Huh?”

  He brought the carrier into my living room. Shelby came into the room barking, which made the dog in the carrier start barking.

  “Kenny, I don’t need another dog.”

  “This is not your dog.” He frowned at me.

  “Whose dog is in the carrier?”

  “It’s mine.”

  “You have a dog?”

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of dog?”

  “Zoie’s a beagle.”

  I bent down and looked into the carrier. She was a little beagle with black, white, and brown splotches of fur. Her tail was going a million miles an hour and she was barking.

  “Let’s take her out into your backyard so she and Shelby can get acquainted.”

  “Okay, then you can tell me when you got a dog and how come you haven’t mentioned her before.”

  Kenny brought the carrier outside, then slowly opened the door. Shelby put her nose into the carrier and the little beagle rushed right past her and out into the yard. My dog took off after her as if she was shot out of a cannon.

  As they raced around the yard, I turned to Kenny, “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “I got Zoie a couple of years ago.”

  “She’s not a puppy.” I looked at the little dog in my yard, then continued, “She’s very little for a beagle.”

  “She was the runt of the litter but she’s a jewel.” Kenny beamed.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had a dog?”

  “I don’t know, it just never came up.” Kenny sat down on one of my Adirondack chairs.

  “Where’s she been?” I sat on the other.

  “I boarded her while I was out here deciding whether I wanted to stay in California or not. But once I found out you were here, I told the kennel I would pick her up on Friday and drive back to California.”

  “But you decided to fly.”

  “I knew if I didn’t get on the first flight, I’d never do it. There
wasn’t time to retrieve her and get her on the flight, too.”

  “So how’d she get here and who was that woman?”

  Kenny’s face looked puzzled and then he nodded. “The video cameras?”

  I nodded.

  “Is that why Art’s friends came running?”

  “Yes, the white van stirred them up.”

  “That’s Shirley,” Kenny replied.

  “Your therapist from Nashville?”

  “Yes, I called her when I got on the plane and she agreed to go and get Zoie, take her to the airport and then I’d pick her up. She surprised me by bringing my dog herself.”

  “You looked happy to see her,” I said.

  “I am. She’s getting herself settled into her hotel and we’ll spend the day together tomorrow.”

  “In her hotel room?”

  Kenny laughed but shrugged, without giving any kind of an answer.

  Art came out to the back room, holding a piece of paper. “Here’s all the Mexican food orders. Do you want to give me your orders and I’ll call?”

  “If you call Rosita’s, they know Kenny’s and my order.”

  “Perfect.” Art went back into the house.

  “I’m starting to feel bad about eating on the government’s credit card,” Kenny said.

  “Me, too,” I said.

  Then we looked at each other and laughed.

  “Maybe not,” Kenny said when we finally stopped.

  “I’m just thinking of it as payback for all those years I worked before I became a teacher. I still don’t have access to any of that social security money.”

  “Okay, I feel better. I’ll eat up part of yours, too.”

  We sat and watched the dogs play. They were immediate friends.

  “It took Shelby a lot longer to get used to Tom’s dog, Duke.”

  “Police dog?” Kenny asked.

  “Yes. He was hurt on the job, so now he mostly hangs out at Tom’s house.”

  “Shepherd?”

  I nodded.

  “Those dogs like to be in charge all the time, like their cop owners.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Zoie is a pack animal so she doesn’t want to be in charge. She wants to be part of a group.”

  “Even a group of two?”

  “Any group will do. In Nashville, my neighbor had a couple of Pekinese and she adopted them right away. I put a dog door in the fence between the two yards. The dogs ran around both yards and Zoie was very happy.”

  “You can do that here, too.” I pointed over to the fence.

  “You’re going to move in a month, Stretch. I’m not sure the person who buys your house will want my dog in their yard.”

  I had just found Kenny, I wasn’t ready to give up my best friend again. What would we do? Go to every other weekend visits, as if Tom and I did in the beginning? Long conversations on the phone? And I needed to sell my condo. I should contact a realtor, get it on the market, and let people see it. Did I really want to get rid of my condo?

  “Stop thinking so hard, I can hear your mind spinning. You didn’t think that far out, did you, Stretch?” Kenny asked, breaking up my whirling thoughts.

  I turned to him and said, “I’m not losing you again, Kenny.”

  “I’m not losing you again, either,” Kenny replied.

  “Does your law firm have an office in Gainesville?” I asked.

  Kenny laughed. “I don’t think so, Stretch.”

  “Sacramento?”

  Kenny shook his head.

  “Fuck a duck,” I exclaimed and I meant it.

  Kenny grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “We’ll figure something out, Stretch.”

  Art stuck his head out of the door and said, “Dinner’s here.”

  “Thanks,” Kenny and I said together.

  “You want it outside or are you coming in?” Art asked.

  “We’re coming in and we’re leaving the dogs outside. Zoie has an annoying habit of begging at the table.”

  “Somebody must have fed her table scraps at one time,” I suggested.

  “Yeah, well, it was cute when she was a puppy but now she’s a pest.”

  We closed up the dog door in my sliding glass door and went inside. My kitchen was filled with FBI agents.

  “Why aren’t they in their car eating?” Kenny asked the words in my mind, too.

  “It’s too hot and Mrs. Crasten already called the cops on us and reported a suspicious car with three suspicious men in it,” one of the agents from the car said.

  “What did you tell the cops?” I asked. The last thing I needed was the local cops to know that I might be kidnapped because my father, an ex-environmental terrorist, is testifying against some of the violent men in his group.

  “Nothing. We’re the FBI and we don’t have to tell them why we are here,” Art stated.

  “What did you tell Mrs. Crasten?”

  “Nothing,” Art repeated.

  “Then Mrs. Crasten will keep calling them.”

  “That’s why the sedan is parked in your driveway. She already called them three times,” another agent said.

  “Okay, if all of you will be in my house, I want to know your names,” I insisted.

  The almost seven foot tall agent, who was built sleek as a panther with a luxurious crop of jet black hair, raised his hand and said, “George.”

  The thick set, short man in his mid-40’s put down his taco, raised his hand and said, “Bill.”

  The youngest agent, who looked barely twenty, had a heart-shaped face dusted with a sprinkling of acne, a strong impertinent chin and thin lips, raised his hand last and said, “Brandon.”

  “Welcome,” I said, then narrowed my eyes. “Where are you all sleeping?”

  All three men laughed and shrugged.

  Art looked at Kenny. “Can they stay at your house?’

  “Sure, I’m leaving in the morning for the day and, hopefully,” Kenny winked at me and then continued, “I won’t be back until Sunday night.”

  “How long is this all going to go on?”

  “What?” Art asked.

  “Me being watched twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week.”

  “Until you get married and move. Then Chief Owens will take over watching you.”

  “Or until your Dad testifies,” added George.

  “I’m not getting married for several weeks. You all will be here until then?”

  They all nodded.

  This was ridiculous. I went into my bedroom and called Jordan.

  “Hi, Sis. How’s the wedding plans going?”

  “Fine, I’ll tell you all about them but I have a question.”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “When’s Dad supposed to testify?”

  “In January.”

  “That’s seven months from now.”

  “So?”

  “Any chance of moving it up?”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve got four FBI agents sitting in my kitchen and they’re planning on staying until I get married or Dad testifies. I do not want them under my feet.”

  “Why are they all in your house? I can understand one being there but the rest of your FBI protective detail should be blended into the neighborhood.”

  “Mrs. Crasten,” I said by way of explanation.

  “Oh, I forgot about her. She would make it impossible for them to park a car anywhere in your neighborhood. Let me make a few calls and see what I can do. I’m not sure they’re ready to go to trial yet.”

  “I’d appreciate any help you can give me.”

  “It’s so much easier for them to blend in New York. Nobody pays attention to anyone.”

  And because I was trying to be a better sister, I asked, “How are you and Sam doing?”

  “Great. He’s really looking forward to coming out for the wedding and seeing you again.”

  “Me, too,” I told her, although I wasn’t sure if it was the truth or not. Sam was a bit crazy, with a serious temp
er and manic-depressive episodes. But now that he was fully medicated, holding down a full time diabetes research job, and not maxing out their credit cards, I guess I would give him another chance.

  “Tell me about the wedding plans,” Jordan said.

  I went into the office and went through the entire plan. It was easy with all the information scribbled on the white board.

  “Wow, you’ve got a lot accomplished in just a few days.”

  “It was Savanah, she’s fantastic.”

  “She was always a brain in high school.”

  “Well, wedding planning is her forte.”

  “Has she changed much from my description,” Jordan asked.

  “Replaced her extra pounds for muscle and added highlights to her hair.”

  “Good for her. I’m still wearing a black cocktail dress to the wedding right?” Jordan asked.

  “Yes, you can wear any black dress you want. I’m putting Kenny and Tom in gray tuxes.”

  “Great. I’ll start making calls and seeing if it is possible to move Dad’s court date up.”

  “Thanks, Jordan. I appreciate it.”

  “Talk to you soon, Sis.”

  She hung up and I turned my board around. The pictures all stared at me. I needed to get started looking into these people’s deaths. I dialed Justin’s number.

  “Hey, Teach,” Justin answered on the second ring.

  “Did you pull the information on all of these people yet?”

  “Yeah, I did. I sent you an email. I condensed the information into just one page, so you can print it and put it with the picture after you’ve reviewed it.”

  “Great. I’ll print them now and start matching up information with faces.”

  “Let me know if you want to know anything else.”

  “Thanks, Justin.” I turned on my laptop and brought up my email account. Before getting to Justin’s, I deleted lots of junk mail and, responded to Julie’s latest email. She was cruising in the Bahamas. I told her about my wedding in a month and I asked her to be one of my bridesmaids, Julie was excited and said she’d be at my house on the Friday before the wedding, so she could get a ride to the rehearsal. Then I sent a group email out to the staff at my school, telling them to save the date. Even though it was summer, I was sure many of them still checked their school emails, as I do. Besides, everyone seems to have their email on their phones, so it makes it very easy to keep up with them. I hate when I go back to school and have hundreds of emails I need to go through.