by Geonn Cannon
"Can I use this to carry the money?"
"Of course you can." She chewed her sausage carefully. "Are you sure you don't want to bring in the cops at this point? At least tell Detective Lorne what's going on."
Ari shook her head. "Madeline is right. They won't waste resources while Missing Melody is still out there. Besides, if I tell Lorne now, he'll fill the square mile around the playground with guys who just stepped out of a cop show. I don't want Brandon to get spooked when we're this close to getting Jenna back. That's the focus. We'll work on getting the people who took her once she's safe." She watched Dale for a minute. "Do you agree with me? Because if I'm off-base... if you think I'm risking her safety--"
"No, no. I think you're doing the right thing. I just wanted to make sure you had thought it through completely."
Ari smiled. "Thanks." She leaned against the counter. "Milo kissed me last night."
Dale blinked. "Hm?"
"When I went over to her house to ask her about helping me this morning, she talked me into going for a run with her. So we ran through the woods behind her house for a few hours and when we got back to this little pond where she washes up, she kissed me. I stopped her and told her that I was completely yours and she apologized. She didn't want me to tell you because she didn't want to affect our friendship, but I decided I can't keep it from you if I'm going to be spending the morning with her."
"Oh." She blinked and raised her eyebrow. "Were you guys, uh... post-wolf?"
"Yeah, we were naked."
Dale hunched her shoulders. "Well... you stopped it. And I guess we've only known Milo for a day so she's not..." She scratched her cheek. "You're a beautiful woman, Ari. And you have so much in common with Milo, I'm not surprised she thought you might be interested. You set her straight?"
"Yeah. Hundred percent."
"Then I'm okay." She stood up and leaned forward. "Kiss me like she kissed you."
Ari pecked Dale's lips quickly.
"Now kiss me like we kiss."
Ari leaned in and didn't pull back for a solid minute. When she did, Dale kept her eyes closed and smiled. "Oh, yeah. That's fine."
Ari cupped the side of Dale's head and kissed her again. "Okay. I'm going to go make sure Madeline's ready."
Dale gripped Ari's wrist. "Be... careful, Ariadne. You hear me? I know a little girl's life is at stake and I know you'll stop at nothing to get her home and get justice. But I don't want you to get hurt. So whatever risks you take, try to make them calculated risks, okay? Come back to me today. That's all I ask."
"Today. Every day. Yes, ma'am."
She kissed Dale again and slung the strap of the satchel over her head so that it hung across her chest. She put on her sunglasses, blew a third kiss to Dale, and left the apartment. She felt relief flooding her core, replacing the anxiety that had been burning in her chest since she promised Milo to keep mum about the kiss. She had felt it building and knew it would only get worse until she confessed. Now she and Dale were completely fine, and she was going to be able to focus on keeping her promise to get Jenna Morris back in time for lunch.
#
The rental car was no longer parked outside of Milo's house, so apparently the mysterious relative wasn't a houseguest. Milo answered the door in a robe. She smiled and brushed her hair back from her face and motioned Ari inside. "I thought I'd say good morning before I changed. Plus, kind of hard to answer the door with paws."
"Don't I know it. Listen, before you shift, I should tell you that I told Dale about what happened last night."
Milo paused. "Oh. I guess I understand that. How'd she take it?"
Ari shrugged. "We trust each other. She took it at face value. I just wanted you to know the air was completely clear so that things won't be awkward between the three of us."
"Completely clear... so she told you about what happened with us?"
"You and her?" Milo nodded. "No. What happened with you?"
Milo winced. "Oh. Nothing. She might not have even... no. I was just probably misinterpreting the situation. New country, new society, all that. Um." She cleared her throat. "Right. The, ah, wolf." She slipped out of her robe and, as she transformed, Ari tried to push thoughts of what she'd said out of her mind. Her and Dale? It couldn't be anything worth mentioning or Dale would have brought it up. The fact she didn't proved how minor whatever Milo was referring to must have been. But if there was something...
She put the thought out of her mind and led Milo's wolf out of the house. She didn't have time for relationship crises or second thoughts. She and Dale had been circling each other for too long to let an off-hand comment cause any doubt. Ari knew exactly how Dale felt about her, and Dale knew the same thing. She opened the back door for Milo so she could jump in, then circled around the back of the car.
Milo was the unknown in the situation. Bringing up some unknown "incident," now of all times, stank of manipulation. She was up to something, but it would have to wait.
"Let's go catch us a kidnapper."
Milo barked her approval and Ari regained her focus.
Jenna was coming home today.
Chapter Eleven
Erica was waiting on the front porch of Madeline's house when Ari arrived. She was dressed down, as if she'd just thrown on the first outfit she could find when she rolled out of bed. She came down the driveway and offered Ari a strained smile. Milo trotted a few steps behind Ari in wolf form, and Erica stared at her for a moment before she spoke. She whispered as if a full voice could be heard inside the house.
"Maddie's been sleeping for almost five hours. I didn't want to disturb her until we absolutely had to."
"Good. Let her sleep. Was she able to get the money?"
"Eighty thousand of it. I still don't feel comfortable using it as a prop. What if something goes wrong? What if he gets away?"
"Then I'll hunt him down until we get it back." Erica looked down at Milo again and Ari patted her on the head. "This is Millie. She's going to help me."
Milo made an annoyed sound in her throat and Ari pinched her ear. Milo 'harumphed' and shook her entire body before surrendering to the name.
"Maybe she should stay out here. I don't want her to wake Maddie up."
"She's fine. She's very well-behaved, for the most part."
Milo looked up at Ari, who didn't meet her gaze.
"Okay. Well..." She motioned for Ari to follow her and they went into the house. Madeline was already awake and standing in the living room, looking lost and alone. "Maddie, I thought you were asleep."
"I was. I heard Ms. Willow... and..." She frowned at Milo.
"This is Millie. She's going to help me get your girl back."
Madeline crouched down in front Milo. "Is she friendly?"
Milo responded by ducking her head and pressing up against Madeline's thigh. Madeline chuckled and ran her fingers through the hair at Milo's neck, then hugged her.
"Guess that answers your question." Ari smiled. "Are we all ready to go here?"
"Yes." Madeline stood and went into the living room. Ari and Erica followed her. A large duffel bag was on the couch, the elephant in the room despite the fact it seemed empty. Madeline withdrew a few stacks of hundreds from it and shrugged apologetically. "I thought eighty thousand would take up more space."
Ari patted her satchel. "It'll fit fine in here."
Madeline nodded and they put the money into it. Once it was loaded, Ari said, "I know that I'm still a stranger to you, and it takes a lot of faith to let me walk out the door with this. I want you to know that today, Jenna comes first. The money is second, and then grabbing the bastards who took her is third."
"Thank you. But get the bastards should be second. If I lose the money, it's a small price to pay to get bastards like that off the street."
Ari nodded and snapped the bag shut. "How are you feeling?"
Madeline pushed her hands through her hair. "I feel like I'm paying for my daughter. Even worse I feel like I'm trying to get a bar
gain." She looked at Ari, obviously considering once again whether they should just pay and get it over with. She sliced her hand through the air between them before Ari could think of an answer. "I know. I know, and you're right. I don't want to reward kidnappers."
"Right." Ari looked at her watch. "In about a half hour I'll go get into position. Millie here will be a safe distance away keeping an eye on things. When I have Jenna, Millie will follow him back to wherever he goes next. She'll get your money back."
Erica blinked at her. "That's... impossible. I don't care how well-trained she is."
Ari looked at Madeline. "What is Jenna's favorite toy?"
"A little stuffed lemur, I guess."
"Is it in the house?"
"In her bedroom."
Ari patted Milo on the side. "Go get it for me."
Milo stood and trotted down the hallway. A few minutes later she came back with the toy clamped carefully in her jaws. She lifted her head and deposited it on Ari's lap, then settled down on her haunches and stared at Erica.
"How uncanny." Erica's eyes were wide, and she looked at Ari with newfound respect. "You're actually going to get her back."
Madeline was as surprised as Ari. "You had doubts?"
"I'm sorry, Maddie. But this girl is... she's..." She looked apologetically at Ari. "You're so young. And your agency is called Bitches Investigations. I guess I can see why now, but it was kind of hard to take you seriously. I apologize."
Ari shook her head and waved it off. "It's fine. I kind of bank on people underestimating me. I like being the underdog."
Ari spent a few more minutes reassuring Madeline that she had the situation well in hand. Before she left, Madeline stopped her and tucked the lemur into the pocket of Ari's jacket so its head was sticking out. She petted the top of its head and then smiled with tears in her eyes.
"Here. Take this so Jenna will know it's okay to come with you."
Ari nodded. "Smart. Thank you. Hopefully I'll have some good news for you very soon. Stay here and try to stay calm even if it takes a while." Ari realized she was taking a fortune out of the woman's house and walking off with no set time of return. "Mrs. Morris, thank you for trusting me with this case. It's an honor."
"You've proven yourself worthy, Ms. Willow. I'm glad I chose you." She held out her hand. "Good luck."
Ari thanked her and then led Milo out of the house. She was very aware of the eighty thousand dollars resting against her hip as she walked, grateful to have Milo at her side even on an idyllic suburban street like this. Jenna's disappearance had proven even the most peaceful places could be the scene of a horrific event.
She took the long way around the school and lingered on the sidewalk until the playground was empty of kids. She looked for signs of Brandon watching the location but the street was quiet. She pointed to a shrubbery where Milo could observe without being seen and the wolf trotted off. Ari walked across the pavement and stood on the world map, planting her sneakers in the Atlantic Ocean with her back to the school.
At nine-thirty exactly, Madeline's phone rang in Ari's pocket. She took it out, saw it was a blocked number, and scanned the playground as she answered. Still no one in sight, but she figured he could be in one of the cars parked along the street.
"Morning, sunshine," Ari said. "Running late?"
"I'm right where I need to be. Are you?"
Ari tapped Florida with her right foot. "Yep. Let's get this over with, Brandon."
"Not so fast. Be on Lake Washington Boulevard in Frink Park in ten minutes."
The phone clicked off. Ari frowned at the phone in disbelief, looked to the south, and checked her watch. Ten minutes didn't give her a lot of time to debate, not that there was much of a question she had to comply. She shoved the phone into her pocket and broke into a running start and hoped that Milo would be smart enough to follow. She had to do rapid mental cartography because she didn't dare stop to think about the best route to take. At the intersection she turned left, cutting the corner sharply to shave a few seconds off her time. She had to sidestep pedestrians, not wasting time with apologies as she entered the park.
Lake Washington Boulevard curved up and around, moving deeper into the park. Ari followed the bend in the road and glanced behind her to see Milo keeping pace a block behind her. A bicyclist nearly mowed her down by Ari avoided her at the last second. The girl shouted a curse, but Ari ignored it as she raced forward.
The phone rang again as she approached the next curve. Ari yanked it free as she trotted to a stop. She answered without looking, panting to catch her breath so she could tell Brandon what she thought of his little game. He spoke before she could get anything out.
"Thirtieth and King. Ten minutes."
Ari cursed breathlessly as he hung up. She wiped her wrist across her forehead and started running again. Just before she left the park she heard Milo running through the brush to her right, keeping up with her. "Thirtieth and King," Ari said. Milo barked a response and the sounds of pursuit faded as she took a shortcut. Ari envied her. She was in good shape, but the wolf would have been a much better runner.
The satchel banged against her hip, the lemur bouncing against her side as she tore down the street. She drew odd glances from everyone she passed but she didn't care. She got to the corner of Thirtieth Street and stopped, hands on her hips as she looked in both directions. The streetlamp in front of her was plastered with pictures of Missing Melody, four days gone now, but they didn't help her determine which way was right. She looked both ways in frustration, and then grabbed the arm of someone passing her. "King Street," she gasped.
He tensed and glared at her. "What? Let go..."
"Which way is King Street?"
The man pointed north and yanked his arm away, and Ari took off again without bothering to thank him. She was approaching the intersection when the phone rang again. She slowed to take the phone out, answering it while she was still running.
"I'm almost there, you prick."
"You're falling behind. Judkins Park, twenty minutes."
"Oh, you fucker." She growled and forced herself to move faster. Despite the cold, sweat was soaking through her T-shirt as she reached the corner and turned left. She had to get her bearings on the fly, scanning to see if Milo had beaten her to the corner. Even if Milo was keeping up, Ari doubted she would spot her. Even a newcomer to the city would know shortcuts through backyards and alleyways. But she couldn't help but worry. If they got separated, the whole plan would fall apart. Brandon would get away with the cash and odds were they would never see him again.
She ran down King Street to its end and turned south. She had a vague idea where Judkins Park was since Dale had once kept a stash for her there. She turned at the far intersection, panting as she slowed and tried to decide which part of the six-block park she was supposed to be when the phone rang again. She exhaled sharply, her body protesting at running another block. Her pulse was pounding in her temples and her face was slick with sweat. It was more than forty minutes since the meet-up time. She couldn't imagine what Madeline and Erica were going through. She pulled the phone out when she reached the corner and growled into the speaker.
"Listen, you son of a bitch--"
"The baseball field. Home plate."
Ari looked directly ahead and saw the field. She approached at a slow jog, scanning the wide expanse between it and the softball field at the other side of the park. She walked to the batter's box and put the phone to her ear again.
"Okay, I'm here."
A hundred yards away, on the other side of the fence, she spotted movement. She recognized Brandon from the photo Madeline showed her, and the little girl he was guiding out ahead of him could only be Jenna. He was holding his flip phone like one of the old Star Trek communicators, raising it to his mouth to speak.
"Alone?"
"You probably had your asshole partner keeping an eye on me. Did he tell you I had a platoon of cop cars following me all over the damn city? I'm alon
e." She lifted the satchel, then reached inside and held up one stack of money so he could see it. The distance between them helped conceal the fact it wasn't the full amount. "I have the money. Let me talk to Jenna."
"Wave to the lady, Jenna," Brandon said. The little girl lifted her arm and waved in a carefree, innocent way that told Ari she had no idea what was happening. "See? She's fine. Here's what's going to happen. Jenna is going to stand on the home base of the softball field. You're going to put the bag down on your home plate. Then you'll walk around the edge of the park while I walk along the other edge. I'll get the money when you get Jenna. Sound good to you?"
"Sure." Ari prayed Milo was nearby.
She lifted the strap over her head and dropped the bag heavily onto home plate. Brandon stepped through the gate on the fence and bent down, pointing to where Jenna should stand. She followed his instruction and stood on the pad, hands behind her back, watching as Brandon started to walk along the fence line. Ari walked to the opposite side of the park, phone still against her ear.
"You try anything," Brandon said, "and you can be sure I can still make things very bad for her. You might have figured out who I am, but you don't know anything about this."
"How much was your debt, Brandon?"
"What?"
"You didn't ask for a specific number, but I imagine it was pretty high. Most of the hundred grand, if not all of it. Maybe this is just going to be a down payment on your sorry ass. I just hope it was a suitably high number since you went to this extreme. So at least tell me if the money in that bag is going to make you free and clear."
Brandon said, "Why don't you just shut up. You're almost out of this. So just shut up."
"No, you want to keep me on the line to make sure I'm not calling for backup. Wasn't that in the script? Keep me on the phone, keep me talking until you have the money? So let's talk, Brandon. You're not acting like yourself. Sure, you're acting like a desperate man, but there's more to it than that. Desperate people don't threaten kids on a whim. Who wrote the scripts for you? Those calls for ransom, making me run my ass ragged the past hour... was that your idea? Because I don't buy it."