Carrots: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  “Hi honey,” Chris said. “What’s going on? You sound funny.”

  “Nothing. I just…the phone was in my pocket and it startled me.”

  “Why are you whispering?”

  “I’m…at the library.”

  “Oh. Okay. Anyway, I’m calling because Harris from the police department has been trying to get a hold of you.”

  “Who?”

  “You know, Dimples. I told him I’d try your cell phone. He said you offered to help him with some of his cases, and he wanted to talk to you. What’s going on? Did you tell him?”

  “You mean about…” I stopped quickly, realizing that Ramos was listening. “Can I call you right back?”

  “Did you?”

  “Not exactly. Look, I really can’t talk right now.”

  “Just go outside.”

  “I can’t. I’m standing in line with a bunch of books.” Just then, Ramos pulled open the safe, and began to load his pack with jewels. Sudden inspiration struck. “Hey, is Hodges there? I mean, has he come in today?”

  My question was met by silence. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. “Actually he was here,” Chris said slowly. “But he left about twenty minutes ago. Why?”

  “Crap.” I slammed the phone shut, hanging up on Chris. “We’ve got to go.”

  “Did you just hang up on your husband?” Ramos asked. “That’s not good.”

  “No, you don’t understand. He said Hodges left his office about twenty minutes ago.” Just then my phone rang again, and I nearly dropped it. I did the only thing I could think of, and turned it off.

  Ramos shook his head, thinking I was making a mess of things. “Come on.” He took the stairs two at a time and flipped off the light before I got to the top. He opened the door, but before going out, closed it again. A second later I heard the back door close, and understood why. Hodges was home.

  We sat at the top of the stairs, barely breathing. We could hear Hodges footsteps as he walked through the kitchen, and down the hall. As he came closer to the door, I held my breath. I felt Ramos tense beside me, ready to spring on Hodges if he had to. The footsteps kept going, and a door closed.

  Ramos was trying to decide if we should make a run for it. He would if it wasn’t for me, but he was afraid I might trip or something and Hodges would catch us. Uncle Joey wouldn’t like that, so we stayed. Then he thought about going back down the stairs, but in the dark, he was afraid I might trip, or knock something over, and Hodges would catch us.

  Geeze, did he think I was a klutz or something? He finally decided we were safe enough where we were because Hodges probably didn’t go down in the small basement very often. We sat on the stairs for a long time, listening to Hodges move around the house. I finally relaxed, realizing that if Hodges ever decided to open the door, he’d have Ramos to deal with.

  While we waited, Ramos worried that I’d say something and give us away. After a while, when I didn’t say anything, he wondered what was wrong with me. He couldn’t figure me out. His thoughts were driving me crazy, so I put up my shields and tried to decide what I was going to tell Chris.

  He’d want to know why I’d hung up on him. Twice. Then he’d want to know why I wondered where Hodges was. I certainly wasn’t ready to tell him the truth. I needed more on Uncle Joey before I could do that. Of course, by the time I got out of here, it might be the middle of the night. Chris would probably call Dimples, and the entire police force would be out looking for me. I might as well tell Ramos to shoot me now.

  My legs were starting to cramp when Hodges finally left. I sighed with relief and checked my watch. It was nearly five. Ramos opened the door and cautiously looked out, then disappeared. I was so eager to leave that my feet got tangled up, and I tripped over the top stair. I stumbled into the hallway, sending the basement door crashing into the wall.

  Ramos came running, and when he saw me sprawled on the floor, he started to laugh. He tried to hold it in, but the harder he tried, the more he laughed. He finally took pity on me and helped me up. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I was pretty embarrassed, but I had to admit it was funny, and once I started laughing, it was hard to stop. I think the stress was getting to me.

  “Good, ‘cause we should really go now.” He kept chuckling every once in a while, then thanked his lucky stars he hadn’t decided to make a run for it. He knew I’d trip over something. I almost told him that maybe he had ESP or something, but I held my tongue. I was in enough trouble already.

  We made it to the car and started the drive back to the office. I reached into the back and got out two bottles of water. Not only was I thirsty, but my stomach was rumbling with hunger.

  As if he could read my mind, Ramos pulled off the road to a drive-thru window at a fast food joint. “Want anything?”

  A burger and fries sounded really good, but it was almost dinnertime and I was on a diet. “I don’t know. Well…maybe. No, I’d better not.”

  Ramos crooked his brow, then ordered two of everything. “You’d better eat something,” he said. “I’m hungry, and it’s not polite to eat in front of someone, especially when their stomach is growling as loud as yours.”

  “Well, maybe I’ll have some fries, and a coke…as long as it’s diet.” His logic made sense to me. The food smelled heavenly, and I dove in before we’d even left the drive-through. Ramos maneuvered into a parking space to eat his burger, and when he was done, pulled back into traffic. I ended up eating the extra burger too, but it was small, and I’m pretty sure I’d left most of the fries for Ramos.

  Feeling much better, I settled back into my seat. Soon we came to the downtown area, and Uncle Joey’s office wasn’t far. My wig was beginning to itch, and I wanted to pull it off. I probably could now that we were done, but I was afraid of what my hair looked like. Still, it would be a relief not to have it on. I reached up and froze. We were stopped at a red light, and the car next to us looked familiar. I glanced over, and there was Chris!

  He glanced my way and I jerked my head toward Ramos. “Don’t look now, but the guy in the car next to us is my husband!” Naturally he looked.

  “Did he see you?” Ramos asked. “It looks like he’s trying to get a better look at you.”

  I panicked for a moment, then felt silly when I realized I was wearing a disguise. “Wait a minute. He won’t recognize me with my wig and glasses on.”

  “Babe,” Ramos said. “You’re not wearing your glasses. You took them off, remember?”

  I glanced down at my shirt where I’d hung them. In a flash I grabbed them and put them back on my face. The light changed, and we pulled out with Chris keeping pace. “Is he still looking this way?”

  “He keeps looking over, but don’t worry, I’m going to take a left at the next light.”

  I didn’t relax until we’d left Chris behind. I was hoping to get home before him, but that was impossible now. Still, I needed to get home as fast as I could. As soon as we pulled into the parking garage I was ready to jump out of the car, but Ramos grabbed my arm.

  “Wait a minute.” The shock of his hand on my arm sent shivers down my spine, and I was suddenly aware of how dangerous and strong he was. “Mr. Manetto will want to see you before you leave.”

  I blinked and came back to my senses. “Oh come on,” I whined. “I’ve got to get home. You’ve got the jewels. Can’t you tell him what happened?”

  Ramos hesitated. He was finding it hard to follow orders when it came to me. That was risky. He’d made it a point not to get attached to anyone he might have to kill, but I was starting to get under his skin. That wasn’t good, especially when I looked at him with those big blue eyes. Something inside got soft. He sighed and let me go. “All right. You can go.”

  “Are you going to get in trouble?”

  “Me? I can take care of myself.” It was his reputation he was worried about. He didn’t want anyone to think he was losing his touch.

  “Thanks. I owe you one.” I quickly slid out of the car and hurr
ied away.

  “Shelby,” Ramos called.

  “What?”

  “Your car’s that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

  “Oh, yeah. I guess I got turned around. Thanks.” I had no idea which car was mine, but I didn’t want Ramos to think I was a total moron. As I walked, I dug the keys out of my purse and clicked the unlock button, then sighed with relief when the headlights blinked, and I hadn’t passed it up. I really had to get my own car.

  I opened the trunk, and grabbed the sack I’d stashed for emergencies. Inside was a shirt, a comb, and a brush. I slid into the driver’s seat, and pulled off the wig and glasses. It felt heavenly to brush my hair, and I pulled it back into a ponytail. After checking the garage to make sure no one was watching, I quickly changed my shirt, then stashed everything in the sack, and put it back in the trunk.

  It was almost six thirty when I finally pulled into the driveway. My stomach clenched, and I was sorry I’d eaten that burger and fries. I walked in the back door with my senses wide open. If I ever needed to know what Chris and the kids were thinking about me, it was now.

  “Hello,” I called, trying to sound confident.

  I walked through the kitchen and living room before I realized no one was home. That’s when it finally registered that I hadn’t seen Chris’ car parked in the garage. I hurried back to the kitchen and found the note he’d left for me on the table. It was short and precise, telling me that I had forgotten to pick up Savannah from dance practice. Crap! Was it Thursday already? Chris had gone to pick her up, and was stopping for pizza on the way home. The last part was hard to read, but I finally made it out. It said, “Turn on your phone.” Oops.

  I quickly changed my clothes, all the while trying to come up with a reasonable explanation that he would accept. All too soon the door opened and they were home.

  “Hey there,” I greeted Savannah. “Sorry I forgot to pick you up. It’s been a crazy day.”

  “That’s okay,” Savannah said. “Dad came.” She was wondering what was wrong with me lately. I never used to act so weird. “I’m going to go change.”

  As soon as she was out of earshot, Chris said, “Now would be a good time to put up your shields because I’m sure it would not be good for you to know what I’m thinking right at this moment.”

  “O-kay,” I said slowly, realizing that he was probably right. I concentrated on blocking his thoughts, but it didn’t take a mind reader to see how upset he was.

  “Savannah called your mother to see if she knew where you were before she called me to come and get her. Then your mom called to make sure I was picking Savannah up. She mentioned that you told her you’d had a job interview, and maybe you were at work.”

  Uh-oh. She wasn’t supposed to tell Chris that. I suddenly didn’t know what to say. I was a terrible liar, but how could I tell him the truth?

  “Shelby? What’s going on?”

  Maybe some of the truth would be a good place to start. “When I went out to lunch with Kate, she made me feel like a nobody. You know I never finished college, and I guess I wanted to do something important. I saw this job at Thrasher Development and decided to apply. I was going to tell you, but I wasn’t sure what you’d think with everything else going on. I went in today for some training, and it wasn’t supposed to take long, but I came across Mr. Hodges name and spent some time looking at his files.”

  “What does Thrasher Development have to do with Mr. Hodges?”

  “The company owns a lot of real estate downtown, and leases to small businesses. Mr. Hodges’ jewelry store is one of them. I found his home address, and decided to drive by his house.”

  Chris’ jaw tightened and his whole body went rigid. “Don’t tell me you were snooping around.”

  “I thought it might help your case to find the jewels, but don’t worry, I didn’t break in. I just looked around the house from the outside.”

  “What? You went to his house and looked in his windows?” Put that way, it sounded really stupid. “I can’t believe you’d do something like that. What’s gotten into you?” How could I answer that? “At least I understand now why you hung up on me. Did he come home while you were there?” He said this in jest, not really expecting it to be true.

  “I’m sure he didn’t see me.”

  Chris almost choked. “I certainly hope not.” If I had done something like that, what else had I gotten into? “And now you have a job? Why didn’t you talk to me about it first?”

  I jumped to defend myself. “It was just something I did on a whim. It’s not that big of a deal. I only go in now and then when they need me. Normally, I would be home long before the kids.” My shields slipped and I caught Chris’ frustration with me. What did I need a job for when I had agreed to help him in his office?

  “This was something I wanted to do that I actually got paid for.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I shouldn’t have said it.

  Chris’ eyes snapped to mine and I flinched. “You never complained before,” he said with deceptive calm.

  Oh boy, I was making a mess of things. I wished I could just tell him I was working for Thrasher Development because if I didn’t, Uncle Joey would probably kill me. “I’m not complaining. Really. Where’s Josh?”

  “I don’t know, and you’re changing the subject.” When I didn’t answer he continued. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “What makes you think I haven’t told you everything?” That was probably a stupid question, but I didn’t know what else to say.

  “Because this isn’t like you.”

  He was sure making this hard. I guess it was the lawyer in him. “I’ve told you everything. Except about Dimples. I told him I had premonitions about things once in a while, and offered to help him if he needed it.”

  “So you’re helping Dimples, and working at some big shot real estate company?” His voice got louder. “And the reason you’re doing it is because Kate made you feel bad?”

  My stomach clenched, but what could I say? When he put it that way I seemed pretty selfish and petty.

  When I didn’t deny his allegations, he took a step back. “I know what’s happening. Now that you have this mind-reading ability, you’ve decided to use it to make a name for yourself. You see this as a way to really do something with your life.” He shook his head in astonishment. “I guess I never realized how much you resented not finishing college and having a career.”

  “No. That’s not exactly true…”

  “Think about it.” He cut me off. “Look at what you’re doing. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me. I never realized how much it meant to you or how unhappy you were.”

  “Don’t say that. I’m not unhappy. You and the kids mean everything to me. Maybe sometimes I’ve wondered what a career would have been like, but I’ve never regretted marrying you and having a family. Never.”

  The tension in him loosened. “I guess I never thought about what you gave up because you were so hell-bent on marrying me. It was your idea, you know.” This was a sore spot with me and he knew it. As far as he was concerned, it was me who pushed us into getting married when he thought we were too young.

  “You don’t regret it, do you?” I asked softly.

  “No…I just don’t understand what’s going on right now. It’s frustrating, and I’m not sure I like the change. You’ve always been here, and I guess I’ve taken that for granted. Now you’re taking steps to change our lives without telling me, and I don’t like it.”

  Guilt from my dishonesty swept through me. I wanted to tell him everything so bad it was like a physical pain. But I couldn’t. I had to let him believe his conclusions because it was safe. I couldn’t risk the truth.

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you about the job, and I’m sorry I hung up on you today. It won’t happen again.”

  “Okay.” Chris was trying to sort everything out. He needed order in his life. He liked having a plan, and knowing what was going to happen. “We should pro
bably work out our schedules so Savannah doesn’t get left again. And I would appreciate you calling me if something comes up.”

  “Of course. I know we can work this out.”

  “Good.” Something still didn’t seem right to him. “Is there anything else? I almost feel like I’m missing something.”

  I let out a nervous laugh. “You’re probably just hungry.”

  “Yeah.” He tried to smile, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.

  I put up my shields, uncomfortable with my deception, and how it was affecting him. I couldn’t tell him anything yet, but at least I knew he wasn’t giving up on me. If I could find something on Uncle Joey, I could explain everything to Chris, and he could help me figure it out.

  In order to do that, I had to take things into my own hands. Waiting around was only getting me deeper into trouble. That meant I had to take some risks. Maybe I could tell Dimples. I wondered how closely Uncle Joey was watching me. He seemed to know things, like when I was home alone.

  It didn’t matter. Tomorrow I was going to take action. Uncle Joey had to have some secrets I could hold over his head. What was his relationship to Kate? She believed he was her uncle, but I knew he wasn’t. He just went along with it. Why? Was he protecting someone?

  That night, Chris astonished me by blocking most of his thoughts. There was a distance between us that hadn’t been there before. It was almost like he knew I wasn’t telling him the whole truth, and it bothered him more than he let on. Later, after he fell asleep, I snuggled next to him and he put his arms around me. At least in sleep he forgot that he didn’t completely trust me anymore. I finally drifted off myself, but even then, my dreams were troubled.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning all I wanted to do was stay in bed. I hated deceiving Chris. What made it worse was that part of him knew I was deceiving him. He was trying to repress those feelings, but since I could read minds, he had a suspicion that I knew he felt that way. It complicated everything, and I hated the distance it put between us.

  Chris left for work with a stilted peck on my cheek, and relief to get away. I felt terrible and almost went back to bed, but Savannah reminded me that it was my turn to drive the carpool to school. That meant it was Friday already. Where had the week gone? Would my life ever get back to normal? At least my head was practically healed, and the bruises were finally fading from my hip and knees. That was positive.