“You aren’t above throwing anyone under the bus, are you, fuck-tard? You introduced her to him, and he used her as a mule until the drugs took over her mind and made her unreliable. Now, let’s start again. Who introduced you to Westing? Which is his name. Westbrook is an alias.” He honestly didn’t remember. But the shot in his arm, the one that Westbrook, or whatever his name was, had put there, was starting to hurt. So were the bumps and bruises he got when tumbling down the stairs. Telling the woman that, she walked up to him and rammed the gun she had on her right into the wound. Screaming and crying now that she’d made it worse, he begged her to stop. “Now that I have your undivided attention, Benny, you’re going to tell me how you met Westing and what you told him while he had you. All of it.”
“I don’t remember. That’s the truth.” She asked him if he knew what the truth meant. “Not to lie. I know it. But I don’t remember. I think someone a long time ago pointed him out to me, and I went on over and talked to him. He wasn’t as big a deal as he is now. He’s got all kinds of henchmen working for him. I heard that he pays well too, but he never wanted to hire me.” The woman asked him what he’d told him. “The kids. I told him I didn’t know where they were but that I thought Sissy might have them. She had a real hard-on for them kids. I had to knock her around a little to have her see my way of—”
“You hit her once. Don’t fucking lie to me again. Did you tell him where you live?” Benny told her Westbrook already knew that. Benny used to stash stuff for him when he needed him to. Which was another lie. He’d told him not only where he lived but that the house was locked up tightly. He let it go for now. “And in exchange for you stashing shit for him, what did he do for you? I know you well enough by now to know you don’t do shit without something coming your way.”
“He’d pay me cash so I’d have some walking around money. Sissy, she’s my wife, she never let me have any cash. No credit cards either. She said we didn’t have money, so I wasn’t to get credit. No matter what I told her about credit not being real money, she’d not let me.” The woman laughed. “I don’t think a woman should be able to do that to a man she’s married to. It’s my right by the law of the Bible that I should be the head of the household.”
“It also says you shouldn’t kill. I’m assuming you only pull out the parts you like rather than live by the rule of the big book.” He hadn’t any idea what she was talking about, so he kept his mouth shut. “You’re under arrest. Under Federal law.”
As he was told what few rights he had, the woman walked away from him. There were other black bags brought out of the building, but he knew now that none of them were Westbrook—or whatever the hell his name was. Just as he was being loaded into the ambulance, his ass hanging out there for anyone to view, he felt a sharp pain in his head. Falling back, he thought the woman had killed him anyway.
~*~
Sissy was having no fun at all. The kids were driving her crazy and wouldn’t follow even the simplest of orders that she gave them. If they would just do as they were told, they’d not have to go to bed without their supper. Now they were whining about how hungry they were.
Well, not whining. She was doing that. They were in their room. She’d put them to bed at six last night, but tonight it had been four. Sissy just needed some quiet time all to herself, and having four people around, even little ones was making her insane.
The little phone by her bedside rang, and she wanted to scream. It had to be Mrs. Apple again.
“What is it you want now? They’re not making a bit of noise. Not that they ever do. And I didn’t mess up your kitchen making them supper. They’ve gone to bed without again.” She heard the breathing and thought about who it might be. “Hello?”
“Sissy, have you really put those children to bed at four in the afternoon? Without supper? You said again. How many times have they missed their supper?” She nearly sobbed to her dad when he finally spoke. “What are you doing to them? They’ve had enough trauma in their lives without someone that is supposed to care for them making it worse.”
“They’re fine. But since you didn’t ask how I’m doing, I’ll tell you anyway. I’m not asking you for help or anything, but I could certainly use a break from them, like an entire week. All day long, I’m carting them up and down the stairs to take them to this appointment or something. And that little one. My god, Dad, all she does is pee in her diaper or poop, which is disgusting, then looks at me with those blue eyes like it’s my fault I forgot to pick up wiper things. Someone needs to come here, Dad, before my head explodes.” Dad pointed out to her that she’d only had them for two days. “So? I’m sure there are hundreds of women that would feel the same way I do if they had to go through what I am. It’s all day too. I finally had to make Thomas carry Billy up and down the stairs for me. I have to take that baby out all the time to get what’s required to care for her.”
“His name is Bobby, not Billy.” She rolled her eyes, then asked him if it really mattered what his name was. “I’m sure it does to him. I know it would to me if you were forever calling me the wrong name. Sissy, you must let them out of their rooms and allow them some supper. I’ll come and get you and all of them and take you someplace.”
“Oh, Dad. It would be wonderful to have dinner with you. A nice glass of wine. A fine steak. Yes, I’d—” He told her he didn’t believe the kids would enjoy a steak dinner. “I don’t want them with us. I just want to be out on the town with you. They can…I don’t know, stay here. Lord knows they like being together all the time.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying this, Sissy. Nor can I believe I have to remind you of this. They’re just children.” She said they were a pain in the ass. “You just told me they weren’t making any messes and that they were quiet in their rooms. That doesn’t sound like they’re a pain. Why don’t you allow them to go into the sitting room? Watch a little television for a change. Order them a pizza or something for dinner. They can’t go without, Sissy. That’s not the way to raise healthy children.”
“Of course, you would take Ginger’s side in all this.” He asked her what she was talking about. “Pizza isn’t good for them, and television will rot their already damaged minds. She put you up to this, didn’t she? Ginger did this. Told you to call here and find out what is going on with them. Well, they’re not dead, nor are they going to starve to death missing a few meals.”
“A few meals? How many have you kept from them, daughter? What are you doing to those poor children? As for your sister, I’ve not seen her in a few days. She and the other Robinson women are out working.” Sissy asked him if she told him to say that. “What is the matter with you lately? It seems like you’re ready to jump on every little thing and make something out of it. I’m coming there now to pick those poor children up. If you’re not going to care for them properly, then someone has to do it. You’ll have them ready, Sissy, or so help me I’m going to call the police on you. This is not the way to raise children you insisted on having.”
“I want you to take me out, not them. I’m sure that living with Margo, they are used to missing a few meals, Dad. Just let me tell them I’m going out again, and I’ll be—”
“Again? Again? How many times have you left them there all on their own? Christ, Sissy. You’re supposed to be taking care of them. Not stepping out when it gets to be too much for you.” She heard him grumbling about how the kids needed adult supervision all the time. “I’m on my way.”
Sissy went to her closet to find herself something to wear. Damn the kids. She wasn’t sure now why she’d even bothered with wanting them. They were cute, yes, especially the baby. But it was far too much work for her to want to raise all four of them at one time. She was going to tell her dad that too.
While getting dressed, she thought about what she’d said to her dad. They weren’t a lot of work. None at all. Thomas had taken over making sure they were bathed and had their teeth brushed w
hen it was bedtime. Hailey—she didn’t care for the way the little girl looked at her like she was plotting—took care that Sarah was in a clean diaper. Sissy really wasn’t sure why she was having such a hard time being around them. If anyone had asked her, she’d not even be able to think of one thing that made her send them to bed without their supper.
Dad showed up about ten minutes after she was finally feeling like a new woman. Her hair was brushed and put up in a nice bun. The dress she had on was a little tight, but it wasn’t really that bad. However, instead of giving her a hug and a kiss on her cheek as he normally did, he brushed right past her and up the stairs. Following him to see what he was doing, she stopped at the top to watch him talking to Thomas.
“You get yourself cleaned up and dressed, son, and we’ll go have some dinner.” Thomas glanced in her direction. If he expected her to tell him it was all right, he was going to be sorely disappointed. Instead, she told him to get back in bed. “You listen to me, Thomas. Go on now. I’ll take you and the others for some food, and we’ll have a good time.”
“Do we have to come back here? We’ve been really good like Mr. Jonas asked us to be. Even taking care that we didn’t get under foot. But we’re hungry, Mr. Heath. Sarah’s not had a bottle for days now.” Dad knew it had only been two days, but to a child, it would seem like forever. He looked at Sissy, and she told him her opinion of the bottle. “She’s too little to drink out of a glass. I tried to make it work, but then that woman over there got mad at her when she spilled it on her clothes. Please don’t make us have to come back here with her. She’s not a nice person at all.”
“I am too. Get back in there right now.” Dad told the little snitch to get his brother and sisters, and they’d be on their way. When Thomas went to the other three rooms, she looked at her dad. “What are you doing to me? How will I ever make them behave for me if you’re going over my head? Dad, I have this under control.”
“Do you? He called you that woman. That woman, Sissy. As if he didn’t want to even say your name. That isn’t a way to have children love you.” Sissy told her dad that she’d make them love her. “Can you hear yourself? You can’t make anyone love you. Especially children. My heavens, this is a part of you that I’m not proud of. I had a feeling you were having a rough time of it, but I can see I was wrong. Those children are the ones suffering because you want to have something that isn’t right for you. A family is loving and works together. They need hugs and food in their bellies. Someone to nurture them when they need it. Have fun with them. You’ve done none of those things with them. Only alienated them to you.”
When her dad left, leaving her there all on her own, Sissy sat down on the bed and looked around at the mess she’d made getting ready for dinner with the only man she’d ever loved. Her dad had hurt her tonight. And he’d taken her family away from her too.
Deciding to get out of the inn for a couple of hours, she made her way down the stairs. Just as she was stepping onto the landing that led her to the front door, her shoe slipped off her foot, and she went tumbling down the rest of the flight.
Every step she hit seemed to jar something loose in her body. Sissy felt her arm crack against the railing. Her head hit the wall. Each time she flipped over, something else would bang against her in some way. Landing at the bottom of the stairs, her head spinning, she looked up to see someone standing over her.
“I fell.” It was Mrs. Apple. “I’m going to sue you for this. You should know better than to have things on the steps that will hurt people.”
“Well, if you ain’t the worse…I’m calling you an ambulance. Not that I think they will help you if you’re not any nicer to them than you are me. But I’ll call them. Your sister too.” She told her not to call her sister. She wasn’t anyone that she wanted around her. “Too bad. I’m calling her. You should work on your disposition, young lady. You’re about the nastiest person I’ve ever had in my place, and I’ll be happy to see the back of you.”
Sissy must have passed out, or that woman hit her. But when she opened her eyes, she saw several people standing over her. Not a one of them was helping her up either. Trying to move, she felt her back twist up, and she closed her eyes once again.
“Sissy. Open your eyes.” She tried very hard, but it was too difficult for her. “Sissy. Open your fucking eyes and look at me.”
“I hate you.” It was Ginger. “You have a terrible mouth too. It’s no wonder the kids don’t like you. They told me that.”
“No, they didn’t. Sissy, you’re going into surgery in a few minutes. Dad is on his way here. I’m sorry, honey, you’ve lost the baby.” Sissy said that was her fault too. “Yeah? Well, you go on thinking whatever you want. But they’re going to operate on you to try and fix your back. You broke it.”
“You did this.” Suddenly she felt something flow over her. “Ginger, you’re not going to take the kids from me. They’re mine.”
“We’ll see. You just do what you’re told, and you’ll be finished with the surgery before you know it.”
Her mind was starting to feel light and fuzzy. Her eyes no longer worked, and she was worried that they were going to poison her before she could tell Ginger to stay away from her.
She opened her eyes again when someone said her name over and over. The man standing over her was telling her that she was going to be put under and that her father and sister were in the waiting room. Sissy couldn’t speak, but she did blink several times, hoping he’d understand that she didn’t want anyone around when she was out of this place. He didn’t seem to understand anything. It would be just like Ginger to get her a half-assed man to operate on her.
As she was falling under the medication, Sissy had a terrible thought. How the hell was she going to be able to go up and down the stairs to take care of the brats if she was indeed hurt? She wouldn’t put it past her sister and now her father to make her look foolish, and there was nothing wrong with her other than Ginger was going to take the kids from her.
Chapter 5
“Three men are in the hospital right now, and Benny is dead. I can’t think what might have gone wrong with this. It was the perfect setup, as far as I can see, to catch all the men in the operation about the guns and drugs. Did Westing come back? Did he leave a man behind to take care of him? I haven’t any idea. The place was covered. I had my best men on the job.” Tru paced the big room while telling Rogen what had happened at the building. Ginger was only paying about half the attention she thought she was supposed to be doing. “I swear to you, we took every precaution.”
“I believe you. I’m sure Ginger does as well.” Ginger nodded but didn’t move from the computer she was working on. “What I don’t understand, and I’m sure I should, is why there was so much bullshit going on in that building in the first place. I mean, how did he track him there? Where does Margo fit into this? I’m thinking she sold her brother out just to get some kind of a promise of a fix from Westing. Or a payoff. Either way, she should have known she was about to die.”
“I doubt it. According to the report I just got back, she didn’t have all that much longer to live anyway. Her liver was shot, and she was dealing with other organ failure as well. Malnutrition, as well as a plethora of other ailments that come with being a doper for so long.” Ginger found the coordinates she was looking for and narrowed the search down to one-fifth of the area she’d been looking for as the other three talked about Margo. “What the hell are you looking for?”
“The building. I’ve been able to find the area I was in by the stamp on the back of the photo I took. I wish I’d taken better care to mark it on my map, but I did pull up the envelopes again and found that the address it was sent from doesn’t exist. However, the post office stamp was a little more helpful. It came from DC.” Enlarging the area that she was looking in, she felt the others standing behind her. “The return address is from DC too, but it’s not a real place. The streets
are wrong, as in instead of West Avenue, there is only a North Avenue. I know that sounds like a mistake on the addressees part, but I checked, and the only thing on North Avenue with that set of numbers is a vacant lot that hasn’t had anything there for the last two decades.”
“This building, what do you suppose you’ll find once you locate it?”
Ginger told Allie that they were going to send in a group to check it out. Rogen took over the explanation from there.
“The area she was in was a legitimate place where she was supposed to take pictures. The animals were there, but the building shouldn’t have been. The fact that it had bodies within a short distance from the front door concerns me on what it is they’re doing out there. Drug testing? Human test dummies for some kind of weaponry? I don’t know. And I’ve not asked my boss. There is something very higher up about this that has me worried.” Allie asked her what she thought it was. “To be honest with you, I have no idea. The way that the bodies are cut up, the way they’re harvesting some things on them and not others. I hate to say this, but it’s almost as if they’re taking the prime parts from them and leaving the rest. However, that doesn’t explain why some are missing lungs and hearts while some aren’t. And the way they’re getting rid of the bodies is very strange. A mass grave is sort of out there.”
“I found it.” Ginger moved the mouse to circle the building. “It’s difficult to make out right now, but you can see that the ground around it is browning up with leaves, while the camouflage they’re using to cover the building is still green. I’m sure that soon someone is going to realize their mistake and change it out. That’s what I’m hoping for. Someone to order enough brown cover to make sure it’s still out of sight.”
“Hot damn, I have it.” They all turned to Rogue when she laughed. “Someone just put in an order for fifty-thousand feet of brown camo, as well as snow camo. I wonder if they realize there is no chance in hell they’re going to need snow camo. Anyway, I’m backtracking now to see who is ordering it.”
Jonas: Robinson Destruction – Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Page 6
