Strong Tea

by Sheila Horgan

  “I am. And I’m a cop.”

  “You guys bring nepotism to a whole new level,” Gord muttered.

  Seamus chuckled. “You haven’t a clue what goes on with us, mate.”

  “They don’t work for me, Gord.” Teagan smiled. “They simply have my back. However, they do not manipulate the system, nor would they do anything for me they wouldn’t do in the regular course of their day.”

  “So it’s normal for all your brothers and your sister to show up here just because I come to work with a black eye?”

  “No, actually the reason they were all available on such short notice is because they were assisting me in trying to find you. Your wife was rather distraught. She was certain something terrible had happened to you. As a favor to her, we’ve all been trying to find you.”

  “Well, I’m found. You can call off the search. Tell all your brothers and sister to go home; it’s over.”

  Teagan laughed. It was a really scary laugh I don’t think I’ve heard before. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Gord, these aren’t all my brothers and sisters. These are the easygoing ones.” She paused for effect. “I have” — she paused, again — “several more. I’m glad you’re home, but this is far from over.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Gord went from cocky to concerned.

  Rory spoke for Teagan. “Once you start an investigation with the police, it’s like putting something out there on the Internet. You never know when it’s going to pop up again. Sometimes, when you least expect it, it gets someone’s attention, and the next thing you know, it’s viral. If a pastor runs around town threatening the world because her husband has taken off with a Hooters girl, that’s gonna get some attention at some point, even if the police decide to drop it.”

  “I didn’t take off with a Hooters girl.”

  Rory’s friend finally spoke. His voice was deep and clear. “I can see that. Right or wrong, you also aren’t telling us what really happened, so the world will use their imagination, and that probably isn’t going to go well for you.”

  The anger in Gord was palpable. “So now what happens?”

  Teagan sounded so calm. “I think you should go home and heal. Maybe you and your wife heal together as well. In a few days, we’ll get together and decide what the next step is.”

  “I’m just as happy to stay here and work.”

  Seamus stood up. “Yes, well, it isn’t your decision to make.” Rory and the cute guy moved to make sure Gord was well in hand. Seamus went on. “You’ve been given an offer of a few days off. The offer is more than generous. I suggest you take time to organize your life. I’ll see you out.”

  Gord didn’t put up a fight. The first smart thing I’d seen him do so far today. “I’ll call you, Teagan.”

  “Actually, Gord, how about I call you. Say, Thursday?”

  “Okay.” He hung his head and moved toward the door. Something in the movement seemed more theater than remorse.

  Rory winked at me and followed Gord out. Cute guy took the other side of Gord. Seamus led the way and closed the door behind them.

  Teagan spoke up. “So what do you think?”

  “Teagan, who was the guy with Rory?”

  “I don’t know. A friend I guess. Why?”

  “I thought he’d be perfect for Suzi.”

  “My life is falling apart, and you’re playing matchmaker for Suzi? Really?”

  “I’m talented. I can multitask. I can solve your problem and find a guy for Suzi at the same time.”

  “Sure you can. Can you at least make solving my problem your first priority?”

  “There’s nothing more important to me than making your life easier, Teagan.”

  “I know you’re just being sarcastic, but I have to tell you it actually makes me feel better to hear those words. What did you think of our little meeting?”

  “I’m not sure. It seemed kind of stupid. We didn’t accomplish anything. Other than maybe showing Gord that he has approximately five minutes between the time he shows up to do you harm and the time you can get a bunch of people here to back you up.”

  “What a comforting thought.”

  “You asked me what I thought. That’s what I thought. Maybe it’s time for you to get some kind of security going here. Maybe a panic button or a gun.”

  “Gord’s not going to do anything to me.”

  “Famous last words. I’m pretty sure I said the same thing about Barry, and look what happened.”

  “Good point. I’ll figure something out.”

  “You want Roland’s number? He’s Adeline’s security guy. He knows everything about this stuff.”

  “He’s a little high priced for my budget, but I’ll get something in place.”

  “I’m gonna head home. You want to come over for dinner tonight?”

  “I can’t. Jessie and I have a thing.”

  “Maybe it’s not all about me being weird since Barry beat me up. Maybe I try to do all the stuff I used to do, but everybody has something better to do.”

  “We always had something better to do, dingleberry. It’s just that you used to be more entertaining, so we made time.”

  “Do you know how insulting you are being?”

  “Wasn’t meant to be insulting. It was meant to be informative.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m thinking that maybe all this isn’t my fault. Maybe not even the majority of it. I’m thinking maybe it’s all a part of growing up.”

  “Growing up equals getting boring?”

  “Shut up, Teagan.”

  “There’s a good argument. If you think of something about Gord, could you call me, please? I know I’m looking all calm and everything, but this whole thing is weird beyond words, and if everything hits the fan, my whole world could implode.”

  “You won’t implode, but if I think of anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “Okay.”

  “I have a stupid question.”

  “What?”

  “What exactly does Gord do for your company? I probably should have asked sooner.”

  “He’s our IT guy.”

  “Okay, he’s your computer guy, but what exactly does he do? IT people can do anything from maintaining your network to messing with your desktops. What does Gord do, exactly?”

  “Pretty much all of the above. We aren’t a big company. He’s our go-to person for all things computers.”

  “How much access does he have? Can he get onto every computer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can he get into every program?”

  “I’d love to say no, but the truth is, yeah, if he wanted to, he could get onto anything we’ve got.”

  “Who does the banking stuff?”

  “Marla.”

  “Can he get onto Marla’s computer? Does he have access to your accounts? Could he write himself a check?”

  “I don’t think so, but now I’m paranoid, so I’ll check tomorrow. Marla’s off early today.”

  “If it were me, I’d check now. If we pissed Gord off, and he’s a computer guy, he could have remote access, and you could have all your money gone by tomorrow.”

  “Shit. Thanks. I’ll call you.”

  “Maybe Roland isn’t so expensive after all. At least we think we know we can trust him.”

  “We think we know?”

  I shrugged. “Well, I’m not sure you can really trust anybody these days.”

  “If their name isn’t O’Flynn, I never trusted them to begin with, dingleberry.”

  “Great way to live your life.”

  “Makes things simple. Go home. Thanks for the help. And for making me paranoid. I’ll let you know what happens.”

  THREE

  A.J. AND SUZI showed up at the house about the same time. I’d spent all afternoon working on stuff for Adeline.

  Is it weird I think of my job as working on stuff for Adeline, not actually a job?

  I’d texted A.J. after the thing at Teagan’s office. I don’t
remember exactly when, but we promised we wouldn’t turn away from each other when things go sideways. A.J. is really good at not pushing too hard but not backing away, either. It’s hard to explain. Probably because I don’t have that gene. I’m all in. All the time.

  Or I used to be.

  Maybe Teagan’s right.

  “I’ve got dinner tonight.” Suzi was putting Evelyn in her booster chair, a Cheerio stuck to her cheek. Suzi’s, not Evelyn’s.

  Suzi noticed and brushed off the Cheerio, pulling a face.

  I laughed. “I think it was on the baby’s head, and you were cross contaminated.”

  “I get cross contaminated a lot.”

  “Are we going out?”

  “I’m cooking.”

  A.J. had just made it through the doorway. The look on A.J.’s face was adorable. Panic mixed with a little nausea and an overriding patina of pride.

  “Sounds great. Yell if you need me. I’m gonna go take a quick shower.”

  “I got this. Say, dinner in an hour and fifteen minutes. The hour is for cooking. The fifteen minutes is for trying to make it look presentable.”

  “I’ll be here.” I smiled and headed for the front of the house, A.J. quick on my heels.

  I closed the bedroom door behind us.

  “You aren’t even going to supervise?”

  “She can cook.”

  “Really? When did that happen? I know she can heat some stuff up and not completely burn it. She can even put boxed stuff in the oven from time to time, but cook? I’m spoiled, Cara. I want real food.”

  “We’ll be fine. Can I help you keep your mind off Suze working her magic in the kitchen?”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  We made it to the table with two minutes to spare.

  The kitchen smelled wonderful.

  “What are we having?” A.J. couldn’t keep the suspicion out of his voice.

  “We’re having beef, potatoes, and veggies. The rolls aren’t homemade, but they are the good ones, and I stole some of your frozen butter stuff out of the freezer.”

  “It all looks and smells great.” I took a deep breath and gave Suzi my best smile. I decided before we came back into the kitchen, no matter what she cooked, I’d choke it down with a smile on my face, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.

  You know what a picky eater I am. It’s why I cook all the time. I can’t stand anyone else’s cooking. Only my mother’s. And not always even her cooking.

  What can I say?

  It was really good.

  Really, really good.

  A.J. looked shocked. “What the hell? You’ve been holding out on us?”

  “Is it okay?”

  A.J. answered around a mouthful of deliciousness. “It’s perfect. You did great. When did this happen?”

  “When I had the apartment, I had time to practice. It got to the point where I could cook a whole meal without setting off the fire alarm, so I decided to try more.”

  “You did good.” A.J. filled his mouth again. “You did real good.”

  The look on Suzi’s face was pride mixed with something like confusion. “You like it?”

  I nodded. “It’s really good. You can officially cook dinner any time you want.”

  “Really?”

  “I consider this to be just as good as any meal I have ever cooked.” And I honestly meant it.

  Suzi shot up from her chair and did a happy dance.

  Three minutes later, A.J. was dancing with Evelyn, and Suzi and I were doing a jig.

  We had ice cream for dessert, and Suzi even gave Evelyn a taste.

  It was a great night.

  The phone rang early, just as the sun was coming up. The screen told me it was Teagan. I almost didn’t answer.

  “Dingleberry, I’m blue!”

  “You don’t need to go all melodrama on me, Teagan. Don’t get depressed. We’ll figure it out.”

  “I’m not depressed. I’m blue.”

  “As in melancholy?”

  “No, you idiot. As in blue. The color. I am literally blue.”

  “How did you get blue? And don’t call me an idiot. It’s not my fault my brain didn’t go directly to your body turning a different color. If you were Liam, maybe I would have gone there, but you’re normally smarter than that.”

  “Jessie and I bought new sheets, I slept on them last night, and now I’m blue.”

  “Is Jessie blue?”

  “Jessie wasn’t home last night. He had an overnight. He left right after our thing. He’ll be home this afternoon, and I need to be my normal color again, not to mention I have to go to work, and I have to figure out the whole Gord thing. I can’t be blue. What do I do?”

  “Did you Google it?”

  “Yes I Googled it. Do you think I would call if I could just figure it out on my own? I Googled it, and I got back all these questions about people turning their sheets every color known to God — there are huge mysteries about why — but nothing about the sheets turning people colors. I look like a Smurf. If I type in how do I de-Smurf myself, they’re gonna send professionals, and not the de-smurfing kind.”

  “Come on over. We’ll figure it out.”

  “You can’t come to me?”

  “What are the chances you have whatever we need to de-Smurf you versus what we need being here at my house? Do you have bleach? Vinegar? Scrubbies?”

  “I’m on my way. Make sure Evelyn isn’t around. I don’t want to scare her.”

  “You’re not that blue.”

  “Okay, dingleberry. Do you know how stupid it sounds when someone says, ‘You’re not that blue’? It’s like someone saying you aren’t that pregnant. There’s no such thing. If you have to say that someone’s not that blue, that means they’re flippin’ blue.”

  “Did you take a shower?”

  “No.”

  “Then how do you know it’s not going to just wash off?”

  “I tried washing my arms in the sink, Cara. Do I look like a fool?”

  I didn’t say anything. I think I may have earned the good sister of the year award for my silence.

  “How about you go in the shower and try using this?”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s the exfoliator stuff you bought me. You said it was the best stuff in the world. While you were on your way over, I looked online. They say fabric dye only goes one layer. You should be good.”

  “You sure?”

  “Of course I’m not sure. I’ve never dyed myself before. It’s worth a shot.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Teagan came out. She was not happy. One side of her face was much more blue than the other. Patches of the blue came off on her arms. She looked like a really exotic fashion magazine shoot. I’m not at all sure it was the look she was going for.

  “Have you got a second idea?”

  “You’re done. We can’t put anything else on. You scrubbed the crap out of yourself. If we try to bleach you or use vinegar or something it’s going to hurt like… ”

  “I don’t care if it hurts.”

  “Well, you’ll care if everywhere that is now pink turns into a scab.”

  “Yeah, that wouldn’t be good. What am I going to do? I need to go to work.”

  “You can cover your face with makeup.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Wear something long sleeved and wear long pants.”

  “I’m going to roast to death.”

  “Then just go in blue and answer the questions.”

  “I’d rather roast to death.”

  “Maybe you can sweat the blue off. Don’t wear anything white!”

  “Good point. I’m out of here. Thanks for trying.”

  “Teagan, what happened with Gord? Did you get your computers protected?”

  “For now.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I turned them off.”

  “Well, that’s one way of doing it. Abstinence. At what point do you turn them back on?”

 
; “I got a guy coming over this morning.”

  “What did you tell everybody?”

  “So they wouldn’t turn on their computers? I left a note on each computer telling them we had a potential problem, and if they turned on their computer, we could infect everything and everybody. Then I said a prayer.”

  “As good an approach as any.”

  “I gotta go. Thanks.”

  “Good luck.”

  I was rather proud of myself. I didn’t laugh until she walked out the door.

  Who puts sheets on their bed without washing them first? Just how hot did she get? I would guess it takes a lot to sweat so much the stupid things bleed all over you, right? Those are the kind of answers I really don’t want in this life.

  I scrubbed down my shower, even though I didn’t see any blue nasties left behind. Then I straightened up the house, took my own shower, and got busy with stuff for Adeline.

  About an hour after I’d sat down at my computer desk, my phone rang.

  Teagan.

  “What’s up?”

  “You were right.”

  “Good.”

  “Not good! Gord can get to everything on every computer. The computer guru guy came in and said I have basically no security in place. Everybody has all kinds of passwords and stuff, but Gord has permissions to use everything and possibly knows everything about everything.”

  “That’s a whole lot of power to give someone new to the company. He’s still on probation, and he basically has as much power as you do. Maybe more.”

  “I see that now.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “We changed it all around so there are layers of security.”

  “What happens if the damage is already done?”

  “Like?”

  “I don’t know. Think like a bad guy. Did he put himself down as a signature on your accounts?”

  “That would be so easy to track. Why would anyone do something that stupid?”

  “Maybe he always planned to hit it hard and take off. Then he wouldn’t be around to get caught. Who knows why people do what they do? I’d be less interested in the why and more interested in the what. Has he already stolen anything? Did you have your person do a check-and-balance type thing to make sure nothing has gone awry?”

  “Damn it. This is going to take some time, and it’s going to be expensive.”