Michelle waited for Charlie to appear. As she did Lindsey began coming to. Michelle knew if the woman came to she would recognize the ruse with Sam’s disguise and ruin the whole thing. She had to act. But how? The two thugs had their rifles aimed straight at Momma Peach. One wrong move and Momma Peach was a goner. Sam came to her rescue. He broke free of Millie and started walking toward the two thugs. “Get me out of here at once,” he ordered them in his deeply British accent. “Mr. Wong will be hearing from me about this appalling treatment.”
The two thugs froze. The mentioning of Mr. Wong's name sent chills through their minds. “Charlie, get out here!” one of the thugs called out again.
Sam reached into the side pocket of his jacket and pulled out the fax Old Joe had stolen—a fax Old Joe came across in his own pocket while pacing around Michelle's office worrying about Momma Peach and Michelle. The fax held the name to one of the most powerful men in China. “I want to speak to Mr. Wong right this minute,” Sam demanded in an accent that fooled even Lindsey.
Lindsey managed to open her eyes. Her vision was blurry. All she saw through the darkness were two men holding rifles and a man who she thought was Lionel Hayman, walking toward them. But the man was she saw was oddly a little taller than Lionel. “That's...not...him,” she whispered, unable to carry her voice out into the open air.
“I demand to speak to Mr. Wong!” Sam fussed.
The two thugs looked at each other with worried eyes. “Charlie, get out here,” they both yelled. “Hayman is here. We have the package.”
Charlie lay silent as Old Joe tied him up. “Where is he?” one of the thugs asked his sidekick.
Michelle glanced over at Lindsey. The woman was struggling to lean up on her arms. If Lindsey managed to get up and regain her full power, she would kill everyone. “Momma Peach,” Michelle whispered, “when I give you the signal, throw the bowling pin in your hand up in the air.”
“Baby?” Momma Peach whispered back.
“Please, trust me,” Michelle begged.
“I trust you,” Momma Peach promised Michelle.
Sam stopped a few away from the two thugs, deliberately placing his body between them and Momma Peach. “Uncuff me at once!”
Michelle glanced at Millie. Millie eased closer to her and slipped a can of pepper spray from the utility belt into her hand while Sam occupied the two thugs. Michelle nodded her head and glanced at Lindsey again. Lindsey was gaining strength. “That's...not...Hayman!” Lindsey finally managed to call out.
“What?” the two thugs yelled.
“Kill him!” Lindsey screamed as she struggled to sit up.
Sam knew it was time to act. He broke his hands apart from the fake cuffs over his wrist and brought up a gun. “Drop your weapons!” he yelled and aimed the gun in his right hand at the thug standing in front of him. “Now!”
Instead of doing as ordered, both thugs began backing up. Michelle knew that Sam wouldn't shoot unless he was fired on and the two thugs were going to open fire at any second. Time was of the essence. “Now!” she yelled at Momma Peach.
“Okay, baby!” Momma Peach tossed the bowling pin up into the air. Michelle launched her body up and kicked the bowling pin as hard as she could. The bowling pin went flying at the two thugs and struck one of them in the face, knocking the man out cold. The second thug, seeing that the other man was now disabled, began to fire on Sam. Sam dropped down onto one knee and squeezed off a single shot. A bullet erupted from the barrel of his gun and struck the second thug in his firing hand. The thug cried out in pain as the rifle in his hand went crashing down to the ground. “Not a move!” Sam yelled, “or the next one will be a kill shot, pal!”
The second thug nursed his wounded hand and stood very still. Lindsey hissed to herself, climbed to her feet, spotted the gun with Momma Peach's fingerprints on it lying close to her feet, and quickly scooped the gun up. She aimed the gun straight at Momma Peach. “Drop your weapon or she dies!” she yelled at Sam.
Sam spun to his side and saw Lindsey aiming a gun at Momma Peach's chest. Lindsey Sung was too far away for him to attempt a clear shot without risking Momma Peach's life. He had no other choice but to drop his gun. “Okay, okay,” he said and threw his gun down onto the ground. “Take it easy.”
Lindsey growled. Her head felt bashed in and her mind fuzzy. Yet she was clear enough in her thinking to realize that she had to kill everyone in the tent, beginning with Momma Peach. “It's time to die,” she told Momma Peach and stepped forward. “But first I want to know where Hayman is hidden!”
“Oh, go eat a rotten piece of okra you pathetic worm,” Momma Peach fired at Lindsey. “Kill me if you want, but you ain't gonna get your grubby claws on Mr. Hayman. We hid him real good, gal. Mr. Hayman has agreed to work on the right side of the law in exchange for a deal.”
Lindsey narrowed her eyes. So Hayman had decided to betray Mr. Wong. She wasn't surprised. She never did trust Lionel Hayman to begin with. Forcing the man to carry out a contract signed by his brother had been foolish. However, if she returned to Mr. Wong empty-handed she would be killed. Lionel Hayman was her responsibility. “Mr. Jones, get out here!” Michelle yelled and rubbed the back of her head with her left hand. Her vision was still blurry. She was seeing two of Momma Peach. “Mr. Jones—”
“Your fella is our cold,” Old Joe said, stepping out from behind the bleachers and without saying another word began firing Charlie Jones’ gun at Lindsey.
Lindsey, shocked to see Old Joe instead of Charlie, dived down onto the ground and began rolling into the darkness. As she did, Michelle grabbed Momma Peach and Millie, and ran them behind the bleachers as Sam retrieved his gun and searched for Lindsey. Lindsey managed to blend in with the dark shadows consuming the tent. “Get over here, Sam,” Old Joe begged.
Sam nodded his head and hurried over to Old Joe. “You're something else,” he told Old Joe. “I thought I told you to stay at the station.”
Old Joe patted Sam's shoulder. “Family sticks together,” he actually smiled.
Lindsey searched the darkness and spotted Sam and Old Joe. She fired off a single bullet. The bullet struck the bleachers. Sam grabbed Old Joe and pulled him down. “Die,” Lindsey hissed and began crawling on her stomach like a snake, making her way toward the bleachers unseen and unheard.
“You guys,” Michelle told Millie, “were supposed to stay in my office.”
Millie hugged Michelle and then hugged Momma Peach. “We gals gotta stick together,”
Momma Peach squeezed Millie like a mother bear hugging her lost baby. “Oh, I love me a good friend, yes sir and yes ma’am, I love you, Millie!”
Millie felt an incredible love—the sweetest love she had ever felt—coming from Momma Peach right into her heart. She nearly began to cry. “I love you, too, Momma Peach. I love you both. Now,” Millie smiled, “sit back and watch the grand finale.”
“Grand finale?” Michelle asked.
“You'll see,” Millie promised. “Sam...Old Joe?”
“Up here,” Sam whispered.
Millie grabbed Momma Peach's hand and hurried her up to Sam. “Where is the woman?” she asked.
“Somewhere out there,” Sam whispered. “Out there in that darkness.”
Lindsey's eyes might have been failing her but her ears were crystal clear. She heard Sam whispering, aimed her gun in his direction, and fired off a shot. The bullet missed Sam by a long shot but did cause the man to duck and cover. “Die,” Lindsey hissed again and continued to crawl toward the bleachers and then stopped and focused on the two automatic files lying on the ground. The thug with the wounded hand was hunkered down, uncertain what to do. Lindsey grinned, jumped to her feet and ran over to one of the rifles and snatched it up. “Time to die, all of you!” she yelled and turned around, getting ready to spray the bleachers with a shower of bullets.
Sam saw Lindsey grab the automatic rifle and yelled: “Get down, she's going to cover us with bullets!”
Lindsey grinned.
She would kill her enemies and, somehow, find Hayman and kill him. “No one defeats Lindsey Sung,” she yelled and began to fire. As she did a loud, thunderous scream erupted. The ground began to shake. Lindsey spun around and looked at the front entrance of the tent. There, charging into the tent, was Melanie the elephant with Lidia riding on top of her. As deadly and daring as Lindsey Sung was, elephants terrified her. She hated elephants and feared them. “No!” Lindsey screamed and began backing up, her dizziness making it hard to move quickly.
Melanie narrowed her eyes and let out a thunderous roar and charged at Lindsey. “No!” Lindsey screamed and tried to run. She spun around and did not see the unconscious thug lying on the ground, and tried to run. She tripped over the inert body and crashed down onto the ground. “No...no….noooo!” Lindsey cried out and threw her hands over her face as Melanie trampled over her body...not just once, but many times.
“Get her girl!” Lidia yelled out in triumph. She knew that even her gentle elephant would not let a bully harm their friends.
Millie smiled at Momma Peach and Michelle. “See, girls, we circus folk have things under control.”
Sam wiped his brow. Old Joe let out a deep breath. Michelle bowed her head in relief. Momma Peach simply walked out from behind the bleachers, approached Melanie, and gave the elephant the biggest hug in the world.
“My sweet girl,” Momma Peach whispered and then kissed Melanie on her trunk. “Oh, how I love you.”
Outside, the rain continued to fall. The show would not go on, this time, and nor would the killers and their circus.
Able tapped the edge of Michelle's desk with his right hand. “You should have let me know you were in danger,” he fussed. “I would have—”
“I know you would have,” Michelle told Able in a loving, worried voice. “Able, honey, I didn't want you to get hurt. I know I was wrong, and I promise to never keep you in the dark ever again. It's just that...Lindsey Sung was a very dangerous woman, honey.”
Able stared into Michelle's beautiful face and thought about how much he loved her. Instead of remaining upset he simply smiled. “I know you meant well and were only trying to protect me, but baby, please, I'd rather die at your side than live without you, okay?”
Michelle felt a tear slip from her eyes. There in front of her stood a man wearing the ugliest green shirt she had ever seen tucked into a pair of dorky brown pants, with his hair messy and the right side of his mouth smudged with chocolate, yet she loved the man more than she could say. “You have a bit of chocolate right there,” Michelle told Able and wiped her tear away and then walked over to Able and wiped the chocolate off his mouth.
Able smiled, gently kissed Michelle, and then pulled her into his arms. “You looked very tired.”
“I am,” Michelle confessed. She felt old and exhausted in her black leather jacket. “Honey—”
Able reached out and touched Michelle's lip. “I talked with Momma Peach. She told me everything,” he said. “I know what you're going to say and the answer is no.”
“No?” Michelle asked.
“Baby, you're a cop and a great cop at that.” Able nudged Michelle's nose with his. “Someday, I pray, you and I will get married. When that day comes I know we'll decide on having a family together.”
“Which means my life as a cop will have to come to an end,” Michelle told Able in a sad voice.
“No, it doesn't.”
“Yes, it does, honey. I can't put the life of my husband and children in danger,” Michelle explained. “Able, what if...what if we have a child and someone like Lindsey Sung harms our child?”
Able took Michelle's hands into his own. “Michelle, there are thousands of cops out there that have families. It's a risk, I know, but without them where would this country be?” Able looked into Michelle's teary eyes. “You're a cop and you always will be and I'll stand by you forever, okay? Someday when we have a family, your family will stand by you.”
Michelle didn't know what to say. All she could do was wrap her arms around Able and cry. Momma Peach smiled, nodded her head at Sam and Millie, and walked out into the hallway.
“Well,” she said and popped a piece of peppermint into her mouth, “I’m going back to my bakery to make some of my famous peach pies, yes sir and yes ma’am, and let my girls have the day off.”
Sam shoved his hands down into his pants pockets. “Are you still mad over my chili, Momma Peach?”
Momma Peach grinned. “Oh, I’m not mad, baby, but I did go buy a few cans of cayenne pepper for supper tonight. You're going to love my special meatloaf, Mr. Sam...I'm making it just for you. The rest of us are having some good, old, down-home, barbeque chicken.” Momma Peach tipped a wink a Millie and smiled. “Don't you look pretty in that blue dress, Miss Millie, but don't wear it to supper tonight because the sauce will be a-flyin’.”
“Yes, Momma Peach,” Millie smiled back and nudged Sam with her elbow. “You better bring some Pepto Bismol with you, Sam.”
Sam groaned. “Yeah, I reckon I better,” he agreed and then looked at Momma Peach. “So what's going to happen, Momma Peach?”
“Oh,” Momma Peach said and chewed on her peppermint, “Lindsey Sung is now six feet under. That crazy old Russian clown died of a heart attack after they got him in custody. The FBI has come and fetched Lionel Hayman,” Momma Peach explained, “and that kooky Mr. Jones, if that was his real name, and his two armed thugs are behind bars and the circus, well, it's no longer on the road.”
“What about Mr. Wong?” Millie asked in a worried voice. “A man like that won't take getting punched in the face lightly.”
Momma Peach shrugged her shoulders. “Baby, we shut down one black market operation and rustled up a few bad guys, but a man like Mr. Wong will just open a new operation and hire more bad guys. It's a never-ending cycle. I don't think Mr. Wong will bother with our town anymore. Men like that don't like stepping in dog poo twice.” Momma Peach looked at Michelle's office. “At least he better not. If he does, well, I am always ready to tangle. I got my bowling pins ready. Or juggling pins. Whatever them things are.”
Sam stared at Momma Peach. “You're quite a woman, Momma Peach,” he said and put his arm around her. “You are quite a woman.”
“Don't you forget it either, Mr. Sam,” Momma Peach smiled. “Now, you two better get back to the farm and check on my sweet Lidia and Melanie. Oh, and speaking of Melanie...I sure am glad you’ve decided to keep her full-time.”
“Well, Melanie did save the day,” Sam explained and walked Momma Peach out into a fresh, soft, cool morning filled with autumn leaves dancing in the air. Fall was approaching as summer was fading. The air smelled of pumpkins and apple spice. The small Georgia town surrounding the police station, even though it didn't possess all of autumn’s qualities due to its southern location, hugged the approaching season with loving arms nonetheless. “Lidia has decided to stay on at the farm with Millie. We're going to build a second house on the north part of the land.”
“That's right,” Millie smiled. “Lidia and I are going to be neighbors.”
“Until the wedding bells ring and then sweet Lidia might be living alone,” Momma Peach winked at Millie and Sam. She drew in a deep breath of air and smiled with happy eyes. “I think I will walk to the bakery this morning. You two scoot on back to the farm and give Melanie a kiss from me.”
Sam blushed. He liked Millie and he knew Millie liked him. But marriage? At his age? He looked at Millie. Millie nudged him with her arm, smiling. “Come on old man, let's go. See you tonight for supper, Momma Peach.”
“You bet, baby,” Momma Peach said and watched Millie walk Sam over to his truck. After Sam pulled away she began a cozy walk back to her bakery, humming along the way, walking down sleepy streets filled with the scent of autumn, which reminded her of football and pumpkin pie. She spotted a few kids riding their bikes, talking and just enjoying the early morning. The sight of the kids made her heart smile as she walked past warm homes filled with good
folk. “Oh yes, amazing grace, how sweet the sound,” Momma Peach began to sing to herself as she continued on toward her bakery.
When she reached the main street where her bakery was located, she paused. “What a sight for sore eyes,” Momma Peach whispered, soaking in the sight of the street, the familiar buildings, the trees and the sidewalk tables. She saw early morning delivery trucks conducting their business and familiar friends arriving to open their stores. “Oh, how sweet the sound,” she smiled and waved at all of her friends and walked down to her bakery. Old Joe was sitting outside at the cast iron table when she arrived. He greeted her, but he had a bothered expression on his face. “Good morning. Something bothering you, Old Joe?” Momma Peach asked.
“Oh, hey, Momma Peach,” Old Joe said and slumped down in his chair.
“Oh, give me strength,” Momma Peach begged, “Old Joe is upset. What's the matter with you, old man?” Momma Peach asked. She sat down across from Old Joe and waited for the old con man to answer her.
“Them girls,” Old Joe tossed a thumb at the bakery. “Mandy and Rosa. First they lock me in that there cellar and then they treat me like I’m some kind of a hero. I can't figure them out, Momma Peach. Just last night they took me out to a fancy supper with all the trimmings. Today...well, it's my turn to open the bakery, but they're already both inside, doing my morning chores. I think they’re just making fun of Old Joe.”
Momma Peach grinned. “Well, Old Joe, you old skunk, it seems to me that you don't know to handle being loved.”
Old Joe looked at Momma Peach and rolled his eyes. “Love...ha,” he huffed.
“Oh?” Momma Peach asked and widened her grin. “Maybe they just like to help you because they like you, you old coot.”
Old Joe rolled his eyes again, but deep down, he didn't mind being loved. What bothered him was...well, he was wondering how to show love back. “I reckon those girls ain't too bad,” he confessed. “I guess...well, I’m kinda taking a liking to them. They both call me Gramps now...and I reckon that's not too bad, either.”
Peachy Villains Page 14
