by Nic Saint
The woman looked up, suddenly teary-eyed. “You would do that for me?”
“Sure we would,” said Alice, inching closer to the gun-wielding woman.
The others followed her lead, and they were now surrounding her, waiting for the perfect opportunity to wrest that gun away from her hand.
But Gardenia seemed to sense what they were up to, for she quickly raised the gun again, and said in a biting tone, “Get back. All of you! Get back before I pull this trigger!”
“But why would you even consider such a thing?” Bettina cried.
“Because I don’t trust you!” she snapped. “Neither one of you!”
“But didn’t you listen to a word we just said?” asked Alice. “We want to help you, Gardenia! That’s all we want.”
“I don’t believe you,” bit Gardenia. “You’re all Happy Baysians together, and I’m the newcomer in town. Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on here! You’re all ganging up on the newcomers, you and Traci and Shepherd Number, trying to drive me out of town. Well, you’re not going to drive me out of town. I’m going to drive you out!” she yelled, and got up again. “And I don’t care Aragorn isn’t real. I’m getting my revenge one way or another.”
And then she fired the first round, the blast deafening.
Chapter 18
Rick was racing his car past Happy Bays town limits, hurtling along at breakneck speed. He’d arranged to meet Chief Whitehouse in front of the house, and when finally he arrived, he saw that the place was already crawling with cops. Police vehicles were parked haphazardly across the street, lights still flashing, and one policewoman was cordoning off the street with yellow tape. His brakes squealed as he rolled the car to a stop and he jumped from the vehicle at a trot, jogging over to the young officer.
“Hey, Louise,” he said as he came running up. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, Ricky,” she said with a worried frown on her face. She was a full head smaller than he was, with olive complexion and cornrows, and he knew her as a real live wire. Now she seemed awfully subdued, the seriousness of the situation clearly having got to her. “The hostage-taker hasn’t reached out yet, and the chief is ready to get on the bullhorn. You better get over there.”
He ducked under the yellow tape and quickly made his way over to the house where Chief Whitehouse stood checking out his cherished bullhorn.
“Chief!” he cried, running up to the man.
“Oh, hey, Rick,” said the chief. “Glad you’re here.” Alice’s dad was a large man with a perpetual scowl etched on his flabby face. He looked even more grim than usual, which under the circumstances wasn’t hard to understand. “Any word from Fee?”
“None. Anything from inside the house?”
The chief gestured with the bullhorn. “I was just getting ready to make contact.” He pressed Rick’s hand warmly. “I’m so sorry about this, son. It’s even worse than we figured.”
A twinge of alarm rattled Rick at these words. “What do you mean?”
“Neighbors saw Gardenia Radcliffe arrive just now, and she had a gun.”
“Gardenia Radcliffe!”
“No idea where she got if from, but they’re pretty sure she had it.”
“Oh, my God,” said Rick. “So how do you want to play this?”
“I’ll establish contact first and see what she wants. I heard she’s one troubled woman, Ricky. I just talked to her husband Roy. He’s on his way here with their boy. Apparently the family’s been facing some issues, both at work and at school. Gardenia was fired this morning, her boy has been complaining about bullying, and Roy himself has been having some trouble at work as well. He thinks his wife may have snapped.”
“Snapped,” he repeated, a churning sensation in his stomach indicating this wasn’t good. A woman who’d snapped, brandishing a gun and taking his fiancée and Alice hostage… He gave the police chief a pleading look. “Please do whatever you can to get them out safe, Curtis.”
The chief nodded solemnly. “That’s my little girl in there, Ricky. I’m going to do whatever it takes.” Then he raised the bullhorn, and even before he’d turned it away from Rick’s ear, he bellowed, “Gardenia Radcliffe! I know you’re in there. Please acknowledge!”
Rick winced and rubbed his offended ear, staring up at the house, just like about a dozen other cops, all of them ready for any contingency.
“Gardenia!” Chief Whitehouse yelled again. “Show yourself! Now!”
But from Gardenia there was no sign of life, and then suddenly a shot rang out, and Rick gasped in shock. As if the shot had been fired at him, he shot up and away, and was racing for the front door even before he realized what he was doing. And even though Chief Whitehouse bellowed into his bullhorn, “Rick! Stop! Noooo!” he reached the front door and shoved his key home and then he was inside and racing through the hallway into the living room. And it was with great relief that he saw Gardenia on the floor, both Mabel and Bettina sitting on top of her, and the gun safely in Alice’s hand.
And then Fee was staggering into his arms for a tearful reunion, the hardened reporter and the less hardened baker giving their emotions and their tears free rein. Rick’s tear ducts, which hadn’t seen this much action in years, gave of their best, and produced a veritable waterfall, just in case after this they’d have to suffer through years of drought once again.
At this moment, Gardenia’s voice interrupted the reunion when she croaked out, “You two fatties are choking me!” but then another, louder noise reached Rick’s ears. It seemed to come from outside, and it wasn’t Curtis and his bullhorn either. It was almost as if a helicopter had arrived on the scene.
He and Fee quickly made their way to the door to see what was going on, but if he’d expected a police helicopter he was mistaken. The thing that was now hovering over the panicking police officers, who all scrambled for cover, and which took up almost the entire width of Stanwyck Street, was a giant spinning metal disk! Descending from the sky, the silvery contraption started landing on top of the police cars, crushing their light bars as it settled down, spinning and flashing silver in the afternoon sun.
“What the heck?” he muttered, open-mouthed.
“Impressive, isn’t he?” Fee asked, taking a tighter grip on Rick’s hand.
“He? Who’s he?” he asked, surprised.
“One of Reece’s friends. I didn’t want to tell you, honey, but Reece has been playing a joke on us. Some cosplay kind of thing with a so-called emissary from Allard who’s here to save his people or something. I never actually grasped the full story—the screenwriter was probably drunk or high when he wrote the script—but the special effects are pretty neat. Just a pity they roped in Gardenia. Things could have ended pretty badly just now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me when I called before?”
She gave him a hesitant glance, then massaged his arm gently. “I thought you’d be jealous, Ricky. You know how you get around Reece.”
He was flabbergasted at this. “Me? Jealous? Of Reece?”
“You get into competition with him. No, don’t deny it, honey. And I just want to tell you that you’re just as good as Reece, even if you’re not a millionaire superstar like him.” She was still massaging his arm, and, adding insult to injury, said, “And that Pulitzer is going to come your way sooner or later, I just know it will. Just hang in there and keep plugging away.”
After this little speech he was frankly speechless. He? Jealous of Reece? No way! But when he was about to launch into a long and vehement rebuttal, he saw that the spaceship of Reece’s friend had landed and that there was a shimmer near the top of the thing that indicated something was about to happen. Like at a concert of Beyoncé or Miley Cyrus a hush descended over the crowd as all eyes focused on the man who now came floating gently from the top of the round disk, suspended in midair, and then made a perfect landing right in front of him and Fee.
The man looked absolutely amazing, dressed in a gold latex catsuit or something, that gl
ittered and shimmered in the sun. And yes, he had to admit that he felt a little jealous of Reece right now. He himself could never pull off a stunt like this, and Reece, apparently, could. But then he decided simply to enjoy the show, as it rarely happened that Happy Bays was the scene of a scene from a science fiction movie. He just wondered what Chief Whitehouse would say about the damage done to his fleet of police vehicles.
But since he wasn’t a cop himself, and his own car hadn’t been included in the wreckage, he watched approvingly as the man in gold approached, and spontaneously put his hands together for an impromptu applause.
“Bravo!” he cried out. “Bravo! Bis! Bis!”
“And who are you?” the gold onesie one asked in solemn tones, his voice echoing between the houses. Rick noticed he didn’t need a bullhorn to make his meaning perfectly clear.
Rick laughed. “Great show, buddy. Even better than Cirque du Soleil!”
But then Fee elbowed him in the ribs, and hissed, “Play along, Rick!”
“Oh, right.” He took a curtsy, and said, “Rick Dawson at your service.”
The man eyed him malevolently, his blue eyes flashing. He was at least a foot taller than Rick, which made him tower over him like a giant, but unlike Chief Whitehouse, who was also a tall guy, this man was rail thin.
“Are you another one of Felicity Bell’s many lovers?”
This took Rick by surprise, but he managed to retain his cool, for he knew Reece was probably simply joshing him. “I like to think I’m her one and only lover,” he said with a grin.
“Then why did this other man claim to be her lover as well?”
“Huh?” asked Rick very eloquently. “What man?”
“Virgil Scattering refused to hand over the Ring of Hodd so I had no other choice than to punish him for his temerity. He now rests in our dungeons.”
“Oh, Virgil,” Rick said with a throwaway gesture of his hand. “He’s not Fee’s lover. The guy’s just a cop.”
Marjorie, who’d joined the others on the street, said snappishly, “Virgil isn’t just a cop. He’s a dedicated member of the Happy Bays Police Department.” She turned to the golden man. “And he most certainly is not Felicity’s lover. In fact he’s nobody’s lover, not even Jackie Bouchard’s!”
Too much information, the man seemed to feel, for he scowled at Marjorie. “And who are you? Another one of Felicity Bell’s acolytes?”
“I resent that moniker,” said Marjorie, tilting her chin. “I’m a good friend of Fee’s, and a fellow member of the watch committee for many years.”
“Then you will be punished, along with the rest of you, if you don’t give me the ring right now!” the man boomed, revisiting the same theme again.
“Look, I don’t know where this ring is, all right?” Felicity asked. “I wish I could help you out, buddy, but I can’t.”
“He’s a great actor,” Rick whispered. “Really invested in his part.”
“You are Felicity Bell,” said the man of gold, lowering his head and scowling at Fee from beneath descending brows. “Daughter of Peter Bell the Second and granddaughter of Peter Bell the First.”
“Yes, but—”
“The Ring of Hodd was given to your grandfather by Tabitha Hodd when she visited this realm in 1938. The ring was then transferred to your father and subsequently to you, the rightful heir of Bell’s Bakery & Tea Room.”
“I don’t know—”
He now pointed an accusatory finger at her. “In spite of the benevolence of Princess Tabitha, your grandfather made a deal with Mortdecai, our mortal enemy, who’s been using the ring ever since to siphon off Allard energy and pouring it into his own realm. He’s been growing stronger and stronger and now is in a position to destroy Allard once and for all. And all because of the Bell family! You’re complicit and you and your family will suffer the consequences for Peter Bell’s heinous treachery right now!”
Chapter 19
Gardenia, who’d been released from the heavy weight pressing on her courtesy of Mabel and Bettina, two of the Happy Bays Neighborhood Watch Committee heavyweights, was relieved that Severin had decided to show up.
She didn’t know whether to believe Fee and Alice or not, but when she saw the man landing his spaceship and she heard his speech, she was inclined to believe that he was the real deal, and not some Hollywood mumbo jumbo.
“Severin!” she cried, running up to him.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” he said in his wonderfully mellifluous voice, “and that your determination and your unwavering courage are intact as well.”
“I failed you,” she admitted with hanging head. “I didn’t retrieve the ring.”
“I am not surprised. These are hardened people we’re up against, Gardenia,” he said, casting a dirty look at Felicity and Alice.
“Hey! You!” now cried another voice, sounding pretty irate, and she saw that a large policeman came waddling up, his face a mask of anger. “What do you think you’re doing? Blocking the street with this contraption of yours? Destroying police property? Don’t you know you can’t park in the middle of the street? Huh? You’re going to get a bill for these damages, buddy!”
Severin slowly turned to the newcomer, and then he frowned. “Are you another one of Felicity Bell’s lovers?” he asked in a threatening tone.
The man seemed taken aback. “Huh? What?! Hey, a little respect, will ya? I’m Chief Whitehouse and I’m Fee’s godfather, for crying out loud! And since I’m also in charge of the police department I want you to move that oversized RV of yours out of town, or there will be hell to pay!”
“Oh, there will be hell to pay, all right,” said Severin with a growl, and suddenly, to Gardenia’s surprise, the ground beneath the policeman opened up, and with a loud cry of anguish he was swiftly swallowed up, the asphalt just as quickly closing over his head as it had opened. And then he was gone.
“What did you do to my dad?!” Alice now cried. She didn’t seem to believe that this was all a Hollywood cosplay thing any longer, Gardenia saw to her satisfaction. Not that she’d ever believed it herself, of course. Not really. Severin Lobb was the real deal, all right. A regular man of gold.
“The same thing I’m going to do to you,” he warned, “if you don’t start cooperating right now. Where is the Ring of Hodd?!”
“Look, this game has gone on long enough,” said Alice, jutting out her thigh and planting her fist on it. “I’ll tell Reece you did a great job, buddy, but I think it’s time to pull the plug. Put an end to this charade once and for all.”
He gave her a dark stare. “Who is this Reece you keep harping on about?”
She barked a curt, humorless laugh. Her father being swallowed up had clearly been the last straw. “You know perfectly well who Reece is. And if you don’t want me to call him right now and tell him to stop this nonsense, you better come clean, buddy. For one thing, what’s your real name?”
Gardenia thought it might be a good idea to enlighten her new friend and savior. “They think you’re a friend of Reece Hudson. He’s Alice’s actor boyfriend.”
“Fiancé,” Alice was quick to correct her.
“They think you’re from Hollywood,” she continued, ignoring Alice’s outburst. “But you’re not from Hollywood, are you?” she added hopefully.
He drew his magnificent brows together. “What is this Hollywood? Is it like Allard? A royal realm of some kind?”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it that.”
“I’m not from this place you call Hollywood,” he told Alice now. “I’m a guardian for the House of Hodd and I swore an oath to protect and serve the Allardian realm and its ruling family to the best of my abilities. Now, enough with this subterfuge! Whether you like it or not, Allard will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We’re going to live on, and we’re going to survive!”
“See!” cried Alice. “I knew it! Those lines are from Independence Day! You’ve got Hollywood written all over you, buddy! You ca
n’t fool me!”
“I know not of this Hollywood you keep mentioning,” he growled.
Just then, there were cries of dismay, and Gardenia saw that more people had arrived to join the fray. She recognized them as Bianca and Peter Bell, Felicity’s parents. Peter was still dressed in his baker’s outfit, and he didn’t look happy.
“Peter Bell!” Severin now thundered, instantly recognizing the newcomer. “We meet again. Your daughter refuses to hand over the ring, as I should have expected, seeing as she’s your offspring!”
The baker seemed awestruck. “Severin Lobb,” he muttered, staring at Severin as if he’d just seen a ghost. “It’s been a long time, Severin.”
“Only ten years.”
“It seems longer,” said Peter, swallowing with difficulty.
“Dad?” asked Fee now. “What’s going on? Do you know this guy?”
Peter darted nervous glances at his daughter. “Yes. Yes, of course I know Severin Lobb. He, um, he was a, um, a friend of your grandfather, honey.”
“Your father was never a friend of mine,” Severin said now. “We had a business arrangement, Peter. Princess Tabitha handed your father the ring for a limited period of time. That time has come and gone a long time ago, and I’ve been back here every decade since, asking you to return the ring to its rightful owner. Allard is suffering, Peter. There can be no more delay. This is my final visit and this time I won’t take no for an answer.”
“I… I don’t have the ring,” said Peter hesitantly.
“I know. You gave it to Mortdecai, who has since used it to shore up his own realm and suck Allard dry.” He pointed a finger at Peter. “But you will return the ring, for you are the one in whose charge Princess Tabitha left it!”
“Dad never gave it to Mortdecai, I’m sure of it,” said Peter.
Severin spread his arms. “We showered you with our blessings, Peter Bell. We prospered you and lavished our benevolence upon your town.”
