Stella, Get Your Man

by Nancy Bartholomew

  Carla didn’t seemed fazed by this pronouncement. She still had the idiot grin plastered across her face. “You can afford to spread the wealth,” she said. “After all, I helped you out. I was the one found a place for you to stay.”

  “Yeah, well, now I gotta risk everything by making a move before I was ready to,” Tonya complained. “Another year and things wouldn’t have been nearly as hot.”

  Carla shrugged. “Whatever.”

  “Will you just get the fucking thing so we can go?” Joey said. He twitched nervously, obviously uncomfortable with Tonya’s plan.

  Tonya looked at him impatiently. “Well, stupid, let’s make sure we have their guns. Pat that one down good—she’ll have at least one.”

  I moved slightly, letting go of Fred’s hand and shielding him with my body as Joey approached.

  “Freeze!” Tonya called.

  No one moved. Joey looked over his shoulder to Tonya, clearly puzzled.

  “Fred, move your hand away from the gun and leave it where it is!”

  There went that plan, I thought. Now what?

  Joey patted us down, pulled out my Glock, secured Fred’s gun and moved back beside Tonya.

  “Cover them,” she instructed, and moved over to the table.

  While we watched, she took the typewriter, flipped it over and reached into her pocket for a tiny screwdriver.

  “What are you doing?” Fred protested. “Put that down!”

  Tonya scowled at Fred. “Keep your pants on. It’s not like you’ll be using it again. I left something here for safekeeping.”

  Tonya turned her attention back to Fred’s typewriter, loosening a few screws, prying a small bar away from beneath the typewriter and reach up to dislodge a small vial.

  “Good!” She smiled at Fred. “I knew, no matter what, you’d never be far away from this hunk of crap. Some good-luck symbol this turned out to be, huh?”

  She turned away from him, held the vial up to the light and whispered, “See no evil,” before pocketing the bottle in her jacket.

  “That’s it?” Joey asked, clearly not convinced.

  Tonya frowned in his direction. “Of course. The plans are on microfilm and the prototype is in this saline solution, where else? It’s all right where I left it before Fred here called the cops and I had to take off.”

  “Awesome,” Carla breathed. “Let’s get out of here!”

  “Yeah,” Joey echoed. “Let’s get out of here!”

  Tonya shook her head. “Not until we take care of these two. You think I want them yapping? You want the feds on your doorstep, Joey? There’s rope in the trunk of my car. One of you go get it and we’ll tie them up.”

  Joey hesitated. “Why can’t we just shoot them?”

  Tonya sighed impatiently. “Because this way buys us more time. They’ll have to put out the fire, and then identify the bodies—that is, if there’s anything left to identify!”

  Joey nodded, mollified, and Carla was sent to get the rope. I thought as hard and fast as I could. Maybe I could overpower them as they tied us up, use whoever I grabbed first as a human shield to reach the others. I looked at Fred and discounted his ability to help me. He seemed miles away, lost in grief and despair.

  When the back door slammed, signaling Carla’s return, Tonya barely looked up. She had wandered closer to the table and was reading a type-written page that lay atop a stack of others.

  “So you had to write it,” she murmured.

  Fred never got to answer her. Carla appeared in the doorway, pale-faced, with Jake’s arm wrapped in a stranglehold around her neck.

  “Tonya,” Carla squeaked.

  She jumped forward to place the muzzle of her gun up against my temple as she realized the danger. Joey turned and faced Jake, his gun still outstretched in his hand.

  Jake’s face registered shocked surprise.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked me.

  I regarded him coolly. “I might ask you the same thing.”

  Sheila walked into the room behind Jake, saw me and swore softly.

  “Back at ya,” I muttered.

  Jake’s grip on Tonya’s sister tightened painfully and she gasped.

  “Why didn’t you tell me she was in here?” he snarled.

  Carla didn’t say a word, the reason obvious.

  Tonya gave Jake a playful smile. “Bet I know what you were thinking,” she said. “You thought I’d see you had Carla and give up. You were betting I cared.” Her face hardened. “But you see, I don’t. If she dies, the situation actually gets easier for me.”

  I doubted this. Why else would she have come to bail her sister out from her troubles with Joey Smack? And what about Joey Smack? Didn’t Jake know Joey was just as much of a threat as Tonya? He was holding a semiautomatic. Why weren’t Jake and Sheila paying attention to Joey?

  I saw Joey exchange a look with Jake and mouth a few quick words. Joey had to know Tonya couldn’t see his face from where she stood and I realized this was a setup gone wrong. Joey Smack must be cooperating with the feds and what might have been simple was now all wrong.

  I brought my left hand up, stiff-armed Tonya’s gun away from my head and moved to grab her gun arm with both hands. The gun fired; I felt something sting my left calf as we wrestled. I brought Tonya’s arm down and cracked her forearm over my knee.

  The gun dropped. Tonya screamed, and in the ensuing struggle I focused only on subduing my subject. The loud report of a gun discharging close to my ear surprised and deafened me momentarily. Tonya went limp and I looked up to see Fred May standing over us, Tonya’s semiautomatic in his hand.

  Joey Smack reached him in one quick stride and snatched the weapon from Fred’s hand. Athena moved, sensing her owner’s impending danger, and lunged for Joey.

  “Jesus Christ,” he cried. “Holy Mother of God!”

  “Athena, here!” Fred commanded. Fang stopped in her tracks and came immediately to her owner’s side.

  Fred May sank back down into his chair and stared at Tonya’s lifeless body. Athena whined and nuzzled his hand insistently with her head until Fred began to scratch the dog softly behind the ears.

  When Sheila and Jake continued to ignore Joey Smack and the gun in his hand, I panicked.

  “He’s got a gun!” I said. “Aren’t you going to take it?”

  Sheila looked over at Joey and said, “You’d better put that away before the others get here.”

  “Others?” I said. “What others?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jake said. He’s working with them.”

  “Who? Jake, what are you talking about?”

  The dead woman’s sister began to wail, and all hell broke loose behind her as a storm of government agents invaded the house, weapons drawn, too late to do anything but clean up.

  I looked back at Tonya and heard myself say, “She’s gone,” to no one in particular. Lloyd padded softly up to stand beside me and I wrapped one arm around his soft, furry body, reassuring him, as people dressed in black swarmed the house.

  Sheila said, “It was the wrong house. He gave us the wrong address.”

  Fred seemed to rouse himself at the sound of Sheila’s voice. “I told you I’d be at the old house because I didn’t want any interference. This is where Becca and I were happiest. As long as I had her here with me, there were no obstacles. We didn’t need bodyguards. As far as anybody knew, she was the only one who ever stayed here and we didn’t come all that often. I didn’t think it mattered.”

  Fred’s face crumpled and he covered his face with his hands.

  “It was all my fault. She’s dead because of me. I just can’t live without her. I just wanted to be close to her when I…”

  He didn’t finish his sentence, but it wasn’t necessary, the distress on his face told the rest of the story.

  Jake said something I couldn’t make out and I turned back to look at Tonya’s lifeless body one more time. A moment later I felt Jake’s hands on my shoulders, lifting me away
as two men in black fatigues took my place.

  “Tell Sheila to check Tonya’s pockets,” I told him. “She put the prototype for whatever it was in one of her pockets. It’s a little clear vial.”

  Sheila was standing close enough to hear me and knelt to fish through the dead woman’s pockets.

  Fred watched dispassionately.

  “I can’t believe she left it there,” he muttered. “I can’t believe I had it the entire time and never knew. They could’ve arrested her. She could’ve been behind bars and Becca would’ve been alive. You know what it was, don’t you?” he said, lifting his head to look at me.

  I shook my head.

  “My brother developed a contact lens that would enable the wearer to bypass the retinal identification system used at most of our high-security government facilities.”

  Fred May looked back at Tonya. “The selfish bitch.”

  Jake’s hold on my shoulders tightened as he steered me away, through the kitchen and out into the snow that now had begun to fall in earnest.

  Chapter 18

  We arrived back at the beach house to find the driveway full of cars. Aunt Lucy’s car sat, completely restored, in the driveway. The rental car was gone, but Tom’s unmarked police car sat, engine running, in the driveway. A blood-red Toyota Tundra sat beside it, with a license plate that read, CRZYRDHD. Marti.

  I hadn’t spoken to Jake on the way home. I hadn’t wanted to hear the explanation that could only satisfy its maker. Instead, I held on to Lloyd and wished I could be anywhere but where I was.

  The door flew open as we started up the steps and this time it was Aunt Lucy who stood glaring out at us.

  “Where the hell have you two been?” she demanded. “We called the police, you know.”

  I nodded, miserable. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  My aunt pulled me into her arms, hugged me tight and said, “Well you did, baby, you scared me something terrible!” I heard her choke off a sob and clung to her.

  “I’m so, so sorry!”

  “Well, it’s about time!” I heard Marti say. “Now somebody tell us what in the hell this is all about. I left a diner full of customers to come over here, and it was spaghetti night, too.”

  Marti sat on the sofa between Spike and Nina, a half-empty glass of Chianti in her hand and the almost empty jug of wine on the coffee table in front of her. Nina’s and Spike’s glasses sat empty beside the jug.

  “If it hadn’t been for Tom here,” Aunt Lucy said, “we might’ve all lost our minds. All he’d say was Jake called and said everything was going to be all right.”

  Tom crossed the room to shake Jake’s hand and smiled. “Yeah, if I hadn’t been here when I got the call, these women might not have made a dent in the Chianti bottle. They’d just called in a missing-person’s report on the two of you. If they hadn’t started pouring, I would’ve had to call out the National Guard. They were ready to start their own search.”

  Marti said, “Well, can you blame them? With all the trouble they’ve had, it’s a wonder they didn’t call out the marines.”

  Spike went to grab more glasses. Nina found a loaf of Italian bread and some cheese, and the rest of us moved back around the fireplace in the living room.

  “We’re supposed to get eighteen inches of snow tonight,” Nina said excitedly. “Can you imagine? We’re getting snowed in at the beach.”

  “Enough about that,” Aunt Lucy cried. “I want to know what happened.”

  I did, too, but I wasn’t about to admit it. I wanted to hear Jake’s explanation, wanted to know what had convinced him to leave us and go to Sheila. Even more, I wanted to believe his explanation was good enough to restore the beginning flicker of hope I’d felt about starting a relationship with Jake that included more than business.

  I took the glass of wine Nina offered me and stared into the fire while Jake began to talk.

  “I received a call this morning from a woman I worked with a few years ago,” he began. “She needed my help. She knew I still had a top-security clearance so she asked me to come without telling any of you why. I tried to convince her to tell me and to let me tell you, but she was adamant. I know Sheila,” he said, “and I knew she wouldn’t have called if it hadn’t been a true emergency.”

  “I know Sheila,” echoed in my head. Jake certainly knew Sheila, far better apparently, than he knew me.

  “Tonya May, Fred May’s ex-wife, stole a valuable prototype and the plans for a device that would enable its user to bypass the retinal screening device used at most of our government’s most highly guarded facilities. She seduced her husband’s brother, took advantage of the fact that he had never been involved in a serious relationship before, and eventually stole his most important discovery. She killed him using a combination of drugs that would mimic a stroke. She’s a registered nurse, and while anyone could’ve done it, her training almost helped her get away with the murder.”

  “Why didn’t she?” Spike asked.

  “Because Fred was suspicious. He didn’t know about the theft, he only suspected her of having an affair. They had recently separated, but Fred wanted to know for sure before he finalized the divorce.”

  “Then why did she hide the lens in his typewriter?” I asked, turning away from the fire.

  Jake looked at me, his face still neutral, but his eyes seemed to beg for understanding.

  “Fred found her at the house right before the police arrived to notify him of his brother’s death. She was taking some of the jewelry he’d given her out of the safe when Fred arrived and accused her of having an affair with his brother. When the police called and Doug had been taken to the hospital and wasn’t expected to live, Tonya panicked and fled.

  “The feds have been watching her ever since, just waiting for her to try to retrieve the lens and sell it. Once they recovered that, they could arrest Tonya and prosecute her for murder. Fred would’ve been the government’s key witness.”

  Nina was shaking her head. “No way. I watched that movie. They could’ve just kidnapped her, given her truth serum and made her tell the truth.”

  Jake shook his head. “They don’t work that way, and even if they did, Tonya retained a very prominent attorney. He would’ve screamed bloody murder.”

  Spike nodded. “Absolutely. What a smart cookie.”

  “And Joey Smack?” I said. “What was he doing?”

  Jake chuckled. “He set Tonya’s sister up to rip him off so he could force her to call her sister for money. That way old Joey avoids a government racketeering charge. It was a deal he made with the feds and Tonya fell right into it.”

  “What about those goons of his beating me up? Did the feds sponsor that, too?”

  Jake frowned. “No, that was Joey screwing up. He told his men he thought we might have some stolen cocaine, but actually he only wanted them to watch us. He was trying to find Tonya first and be a hero. He thought we’d do the legwork for him. But his men took it upon themselves to go the extra mile. Don’t worry, they’ll do time for that.”

  I didn’t get it. I still couldn’t figure out what was real and what was a government scam to find the stolen lens.

  “The sled repo,” I began. “Did the feds set that up?” I remembered Jake, unconscious in my car after being shot, and felt myself begin to steam.

  “No,” Jake said hastily. “Joey hired Carla to do his book-keeping, knowing she’d rip him off—that was part of his deal with the feds. She had a history of ripping off employers. All Joey had to do was give her enough rope, then reel her in. He didn’t know she didn’t pay the bill for the sleigh. He had no idea Lifetime Novelty had hired us to repossess it. He thought someone was stealing his sled.”

  I still hadn’t heard why Jake had gone to Sheila. Surely she had backup. What did she need him for?

  “Sheila called me because she knew we’d been close to finding Doug Hirshfield. She knew Fred had come into town to see his mother every now and then and maintained contac
t with the nursing home by calling in and saying he was his brother. Sheila wanted to know what we knew. She asked me to come with her to the address Doug had given her and verify that it was the same house. When Sheila spotted Carla coming out of the house two doors down, we moved. I didn’t have any idea you were…”

  I wasn’t about to talk to him in front of everyone, so I changed the subject.

  “What about Becca DeWitt?”

  Tom’s ears pricked up and the moment between Jake and me passed.

  “Joey Smack said Tonya told him she knew Fred was in town because she’d run into Becca. She panicked, thinking Becca would tell Fred, so she killed her.”

  Tom asked a few questions and I turned back to the fire. So Jake was loyal to an old friend in trouble and went to her, thinking he might also find something that would help our case. Okay, was this the end of the world? Wasn’t that just the kind of man I’d want in my life? Maybe, just maybe, Jake thought I could handle myself and the protection of my family. Maybe Jake’s leaving was a vote of confidence more than abandonment.

  I just didn’t know. I wouldn’t know until we were alone and I could look into his eyes and read him. I sighed. What good would that do? Had it helped me safeguard myself in the past? It was all so confusing.

  The evening wore on. Aunt Lucy brought out more jugs of Chianti, and by the time Tom and Marti left, the snow was covering grass and gravel and making the streets almost too slick for safe driving.

  Aunt Lucy and Lloyd wandered off to bed, followed by Spike and Nina, leaving Jake and me alone in an uneasy silence. I sat on the sofa, not knowing how to proceed, and felt strangely relieved when Jake crossed the room, sat down next to me and took the empty wineglass from my hand.

  “Stella,” he said, cupping my chin in his hand. “Look at me.”

  Reluctantly I met his gaze.

  “I hope you have enough faith left in me to know that I wouldn’t leave you in a bind unless I thought it was a real emergency. Stella, whatever you may think of me, I am not someone who abandons those he loves. You are a strong woman, Stella. If I’d thought you couldn’t handle Joey Smack, I wouldn’t have left you. After all, who drove me away from Joey’s ranch with a bullet in my side, eh?”