The Kate Nash Series Boxed Set

by Keene, Susan

  “Why Nathan and Amy, why not Ryan and me? I hate it Amy is suffering due to something she isn’t even involved in.”

  Ryan pulled out his phone. We could hear his conversation. “Dennis, sorry to wake you but we have a job. I’ll need your entire group. Please move quickly on this. I need two men at St. Mary’s Hospital on Clayton Road. I want you to sit outside room two in the intensive care unit. No matter what, don’t leave the door unattended.

  “I want three of you to go to 1311 Mathews Court in the city. I want one of you to do a drive by every fifteen minutes. Change drivers and cars every three trips. One of you watch the front of the house and one watch the back.

  Lastly, send three men to my house. Al is already there, let him go home. Put them where you think they will do the most good. I do want someone to make the circle around the block every fifteen minutes. If anyone sees anything, no matter how small, I want to hear about it.”

  Roger tapped him on the shoulder and he added, “… and call 911. Tell them to notify homicide.”

  Roger slipped the evidence bag in his pocket and took out a small notepad. “Nathan, can you tell me anything about the man who assaulted you?”

  “No. I actually thought Amy was inside. I never leave before she’s inside and closes the door. Something must have brought her back out. If he tapped on the door, she would have thought it was me and opened it without hesitation.”

  Roger looked him in the eye. “Do you often go back after you have said goodnight?”

  Nathan’s face turned crimson. He looked at me, then Ryan, and back to the man questioning him. “Only when one of us changes our mind about me spending the night.

  “It happened quickly. Amy was on the ground holding a hand over the back of her neck and moaning. When I knelt to see what happened, someone clobbered me. I don’t know what he used but it was heavy. Because of how low the wound on the back of my head is, I think he is shorter than me. I got this gash over my eye I when I fell. I must have hit one of the decorative bricks she has around the flower bed.”

  Roger tapped his pen on the pad he held. “So what are you, about six-feet-three? The perp could have been six feet and not been able to reach the top of your head if the item he struck you with was heavy enough. You said you knelt to see if Amy was okay. So, when he hit you, were you standing or kneeling?”

  Nathan shook his head. “I must have still been on my knees. Sorry. My mind is on Amy.”

  “Not a problem. We found a garden gnome with blood on it. We’ll run it and see if it’s your blood and maybe get lucky with one of his fingerprints.”

  Ryan stood with his arms crossed over his chest and moved his head back and forth as if he were watching a tennis match as Nathan and Roger talked. “You said you found a shoe. What kind?”

  “The label reads Manuel Sekkel. Are you familiar with the brand?”

  Ryan stepped forward. “I know they’re handmade in Mexico. Each pair is made to order. Maybe we could find out who he is by tracing the shoe.”

  I raised my hands to encompass the entire group. “It all leads to Mexico or close to it. Ivy missing after a trip to Mexico, six other people never heard from again. Poison from a Coral Snake, mostly seen in Texas and Mexico, and a dart used by the ancients.

  “I’d say those people, on the boat, or at least some of them are not dead. Whatever happened on that trip was horrible enough to keep them out of sight for the past ten years. I can’t imagine what it could be.”

  Ryan walked closer to me. “Let’s tackle it in the morning when our minds aren’t numb from stress and lack of sleep. It’s after four a.m. He glanced at Nathan. “Can we drop you at home or back at Amy’s?”

  Nathan slumped down in the chair behind him. “I’m staying here. I don’t care what they say or how many men you have here. I won’t leave Amy. I might not be able to see her, but I just can’t leave. Could you go by her house and pick up The Digger. I’m sure he’s scared. I quickly put him inside before we left. I need to be able to tell her he’s safe when she asks.”

  Ryan sat beside him. “I wouldn’t leave if it were Kate in that bed. Do you want me to stay with you?”

  He looked up at Ryan “No, the men you sent’ll be here any minute. Just take care of the dog.”

  I leaned down and gave him a one-armed hug and a light kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry about the dog. We’ll take care of him.”

  The scene at Amy’s house sent a chill through me. A CSI team roamed about with cameras and test kits. Crime tape stretched around the trees and the house. Digger barked a somebody save me bark from inside.

  CHAPTER 4

  R yan’s phone rang mid-morning. Digger and Chili had been outside to potty and both burrowed back under the blankets where they had slept all night. I could tell from Ryan’s end of the conversation it was Nathan. “That’s good news. Have they taken her off the ventilator? Sure, we’ll be there within the hour. Nathan? It’s all going to be alright.”

  I had already turned on my side to face him. “So, I take it Amy is awake?”

  “Yes, but she can’t talk because of the breathing tube. He gave her something to write on. She wrote, “I’m hungry.”

  I responded with something between a sob and a laugh. I’d call it relief. “That’s so Amy. I love that woman.”

  He leaned over and pulled me close. “I know you do, so do I. We’d better shower and head that way.”

  As much as I loved to take my shower with Ryan, I fed the dogs and set out the coffee pods and cream instead. By the time I headed upstairs, he was on his way outside to sit with them and drink a cup of coffee while I showered and dressed.

  We were both allowed to see Amy. She looked flushed and tired. The spot where the barb struck her looked swollen and bruised. They announced they would remove the breathing apparatus after lunch.

  I pulled one of the two chairs in the room up next to the bed. “We all need to talk. None of us is safe. If someone attacked Amy because of this… this mystery, they’ll be after the rest of us too. The sooner we can track Ivy’s movements for the past ten years, the better off we’ll be.”

  Ryan stepped closer. “I’ll keep two men on duty to guard each of us until we get some insight. Seven people don’t fall off the face of the earth without someone seeing something. It’s difficult to speculate about what happened since we don’t have a single fact.”

  Nathan raised a hand in protest. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

  Ryan took a boss-like tone. “Yes, you do. I don’t want one either, but there are four of us. We didn’t expect any of this, but since it happened, we need to be prepared.”

  I reached for Amy’s hand and squeezed it. “Obviously Coral Snakes are nothing to ignore. I have a couple of ideas. We need to find out all we can about the trip the Tucker’s took. Read all the newspaper articles about the family, the Captain, and his wife as we can. Someone should probably go to Chicago and talk to the neighbors. People usually remember a family if something tragic happened to them.”

  Amy began to write and held up her message. It read nobody had better go anywhere without me!

  It was the first time any of us had smiled together for three days.

  I stayed with Amy while Ryan and two of his men took Nathan home to shower. There were more guards outside the room. I thought it might be a little much, but I didn’t intend to voice my opinion.

  Amy drifted in and out of sleep. The times she woke up I assured her Digger was happy and we would get her anything she wanted to eat as soon as the doctor freed her of the tubes.

  When she slept, I took notes as to what we needed to do and in what order. By the time the guys came back, I had filled two complete pages and fallen asleep in my chair.

  Ryan said, “It occurred to me,if someone is following us, they now know where we all live. Maybe it would be best if you and Amy,” he nodded toward Nathan, “moved into the maid’s quarters off the kitchen so we aren’t so spread out.”

  Amy held up a sign. �
��Maid’s quarters?”

  I laughed. “We didn’t know what to call it. It’s not a guest room. No one would stick a guest room off the kitchen and the laundry room. It’s twice the size of any of the other bedrooms in the house, including the master. There are two huge closets and a bathroom nicer than ours. It might have once been a mother-in-law or nanny’s room, but I really like Maid’s Quarters best.”

  We laughed again. Nathan looked at Amy for an answer. She shook her head yes. So much for being alone in the house during the first week of our vacation. I preferred it to the worry we would face if we were spread out all over the city.

  We sprung Amy from the hospital the next morning. She insisted she go to her house with Nathan to pick out what she wanted to bring to our place. Ryan sent two men along with them plus the three who had watched the neighborhood since the assault.

  Once they were settled in their new home away from home, I plopped down on the loveseat. Nathan and Ryan enjoyed a beer on the deck while they watched the dogs play. Amy wanted water. Her throat hurt. Her voice sounded hoarse and scratchy. “Doctor Sanchez said I could travel in a week, after one more blood test. Hopefully, you won’t run off without me.”

  Ryan and Nathan came in. I picked up my glass and tipped it toward her. “We want to stick together. You couldn’t shake us if you wanted to.”

  The doorbell rang. Ryan went to answer it. He came back with a box of papers. “Jacob dug up information on the Tucker family. I thought we might be able to learn something about them while Amy recuperates.”

  Ryan looked from one of us to another. “I’ve been reading about blow darts and snake venom. If he’s good at it, and had a blow gun he could kill any one of us from fifty yards. For the next few days, we need to search different databases and see what we turn up. Next week, we will head for Chicago. If the four of us stay close to one another, not only can we solve this, but we can watch each other’s backs.”

  “What about Digger and Chili?” she asked.

  Nathan put his hand on her leg. “That’s the big question. We don’t know this man. We have no idea what he might do or if he would hurt one of the dogs.”

  Ryan took over. “Nathan and I talked about it outside. At first we thought we should take them with us. Then we decided, if you agree, we’ll leave them here with some of the men. I have at least a dozen who are dog lovers. You two can interview them if you like and tell them exactly what you want them to do. I will send as many as you feel comfortable with. If you say two then two, if you ladies say ten, then we’ll have ten. We’re going to electrify the top of the fence so no one can climb it. I’ll have cameras on any tree big enough for him to climb and shoot the dogs, or my men. I think it’s the best answer.

  “Jacob said he could rig cameras to work with your phones so you can look in on them anytime you want. He called it a doggy cam.

  Amy nor I said anything. All Ryan had told me was he wanted to leave the dogs home with guards. When I heard the entire plan I thought it was excessive; over the top. In reality, it was Ryan being Ryan. He knew how much the furbabies meant to us. Amy stood and stretched. “I love my Digger, but even I think it’s a little much. I would be happy with two men inside and two outside with the electric fence and cameras. What about you, Kate?”

  “I’m fine with it so long as the dogs can sleep with the guys and they will escort them out every time they need to go. They can’t go out alone.”

  “Okay, it’s settled then. I’ll get Jacob on the camera set up and Nathan will pick the dog lovers. He knows the men better than I do. People are always more reserved around the boss.”

  We went to our rooms early. Nathan hadn’t slept much the last two days, Amy said she still harbored the after-effects of the antihistamines. I went over and gave her a hug. “Don’t ever scare me that badly again.”

  “I don’t know if we’re even yet. I wasn’t kidnapped by the Mafia and stayed missing for over a week.”

  “Touché.”

  CHAPTER 5

  I felt a pressure on the bed and opened my eyes. Ryan sat on the side. “It’s about time you woke up. Amy, Nathan, and I had breakfast and are on our second cup of coffee.”

  I looked over at the bedside table. “It’s only eight o’clock. Why’s everyone up so early?”

  “I’m up to make the arrangements for all of the things we talked about last night. Amy’s up because of nerves and a drug hangover. Nathan got up with her because he’s worried about her. I know how he feels. There’s nothing worse than thinking the one you love is in danger.”

  He leaned over and kissed me. I felt cold and empty when he moved away. “I’ll be down in a few. I’m going to shower. Are there any bagels and cream cheese left?”

  “There are. I know my woman. I would swim the ocean and back to keep your bagels stocked.” He kissed me lightly as I walked by him on my way to the bathroom.

  I finished in the shower and took my towel to wipe the bathroom mirror. My hair was a mess. I grew up with nicknames such as red, fire head, and Anne. I tried to wear my hair short, but it only became curlier and curlier until it turned into a huge afro I couldn’t get a comb or brush through.

  In seventh grade I learned the longer I let it grow the more the weight of it pulled out some of the curl. I wore it pulled back and lassoed it with a scrunchy to tame it.

  I picked my favorite jeans and Cardinal tee shirt from my closet. Before I lived with Ryan, I left most of my clothes piled on the closet floor. I had a constant struggle with myself to hang them up or put them in the hamper. I couldn’t keep it up for any length of time. I scolded myself as I dressed.

  “Hi. How’s the coffee?” Everyone knew I meant latte. A blueberry bagel with cream cheese and a tall latte had been a breakfast Amy and I ate every morning since the day we opened the office― seven years earlier.

  Nathan handed me a cup of the hot liquid. “The bagels and the other stuff are on the table outside.”

  We didn’t see much of one another for the next few hours. Ryan left for his office, the rest of us split the research Jacob sent over and went our separate ways to read. Nathan took his to the hammock under a giant oak in the backyard. Amy stretched out on the love seat with her feet on the ottoman. I sat on the couch with my legs tucked under me. Both dogs snuggled together on the other end.

  We all took notes so we could put our information together later. I found it interesting reading―the Tucker children were high achievers.

  Amy looked up. “This article says, they had the trip planned down to the minutest detail. They hired a Captain and his wife who would serve as a mate.”

  Nathan came in. “The FBI has never closed the case. They say the wreckage of the boat proves foul play. Makes you wonder if the entire family has been in hiding and whoever wanted them dead, found Ivy.”

  Amy chimed in again. “There are three feature stories about the family and the trip. One was when the authorities found pieces of the boat, the second was at the one-year anniversary of the finding of the ship and the last one, a week ago, on the ten-year anniversary.”

  I smiled. “Good luck for us. It’ll be fresh in everyone’s mind. It’s as if I know the Tuckers already. The book of information I have has at least a hundred pictures of the family. Such a shame. I hope we can solve the mystery.”

  Ryan came back and joined in. “You do realize the FBI, the Illinois authorities, the authorities of Mexico, California, and the Coast Guard have not been able to figure out what happened to the boat and the family?”

  Amy went to the kitchen where Nathan had begun to make breakfast. My brother-in-law, Tony, was a chef, but to have two men in the house with us who liked to cook was heaven. She looked back over her shoulder and answered Ryan. “They aren’t us. We are fresh eyes and they don’t know Ivy survived all those years. Well, they might know by now.”

  “Since Chicago is only five hours, I thought we would drive. I am taking one of the Explorers from the company. It happens to have bulletproof glass. I d
on’t think anyone will try to shoot us, but I think I would prefer it to dying from a dose of snake venom.”

  The doorbell rang. I moved toward it. Ryan stopped me. “Don’t answer that. My men are out there. They know to call or radio before they come in. Something’s wrong.”

  Nathan came out of the kitchen area and walked to the patio door. To the left of it, the monitors to the cameras Ryan had installed were visible. “I have a funny feeling. I see no one. None of the men are visible. I’ll call Danny.”

  By then we all stood around him and peered at the monitors. They showed the chair by the front door, the one outside the back gate, and scanned the street. We could see the SUV was gone. “Danny doesn’t answer. I’ll try one of the others.”

  Ryan walked over to the table and picked up his cell phone. “While you do that, I’ll check with Jacob at the office and see what he has on the larger monitor.”

  I could tell by the look they had on their faces the news had not been good. Nathan spoke first. “Danny, Mike, John, Phil, and Ray― none of them answer.”

  Ryan added. “Jacob wasn’t at the monitors. He had gone to another room to set the guys up to start the background checks.”

  Amy put her hands to her face. “I’m so sorry. We should have done our own work.”

  “No,” Ryan said,” there’s nothing on his monitor either and the car has not made a pass around the house for over an hour. He could tell by the time stamp.”

  I had been quiet, turning my head from speaker to speaker in order to keep up with the conversation. “So, surely someone didn’t overpower four strong men and a guy in an SUV so he could ring the doorbell.”