Embarrassment proved to be as effective as a cold shower. “I can’t believe how fast you all got here,” Casey said lamely as she pulled out her phone and disconnected.
“Someone up there must like you. There’s a coffee and donut shop right around the corner.” Walker jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Come on out and we’ll have a chat.”
Casey and Emily obediently slid from the back seat and stood meekly next to Walker.
“You can have a talk with Officer Stanley,” Walker said to Emily as she beckoned to a nearby cop. “I’ll chat with you, Cook. We might be a while, so maybe you two can meet up later and continue your riveting conversation.”
“Sure.” Casey turned to Emily.
“I’ll call you.” Emily flashed Casey a smile and walked away with Stanley.
“All right.” Walker leaned against the cop car and fixed steely eyes on Casey. “Start from the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
Twenty minutes later, Casey finished her story. “And then you guys arrived.” She shoved her hands into her pants pockets. “I found Jackie Rose.”
“Yes, you did.” Walker attached her pen to her notebook. “Don’t worry, I said I wouldn’t steal your thunder.” A cop walked up to Walker and murmured to her. Casey leaned forward but couldn’t hear anything. “Mikey boy is quite the talker,” Walker said when the cop left. “Trying to save his ass, I guess.” She slipped the notebook into the bag slung over her shoulder. “Not bad, Cook. But next time, call me, okay? As you can see, we actually show up when you’re in trouble. I could have done without the bad soap opera, though.”
“Sorry,” Casey mumbled. “Can I go now?”
Walker nodded. “You might have to testify in court.” She looked past Casey. “Someone wants to talk to you.”
Casey turned around. “Steve! Where the hell were you?”
“So this is the crack agent.” Walker eyed him up and down, snorted, and said, “You and I need to talk.”
“Can it wait until tomorrow?”
“I suppose so.” Walker smirked. “There’s no rush. We have a confession. Didn’t have any trouble at all getting him to talk.” She strolled away.
Steve’s jaw tightened.
“Where were you?” Casey said again. “Those guys weren’t playing around.”
Steve waited until Walker was out of earshot. “When you said you weren’t hot, the agents inside thought you’d sized up the situation and were instructing them not to move in under any circumstances.”
“I said I was being kidnapped. How much of a freaking hint did they need?”
“At that point, they did react, but you were already outside. They decided they’d follow the van, rather than risk you getting hurt.”
“Okay, but what about you?”
“Oh.” Steve smiled sheepishly. “We were getting a parking ticket.”
“What?”
“Those signs are confusing. One pointed to the left and said no parking. The second one said no parking between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The third said parking permitted between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The fourth said—”
Casey grimaced. “Didn’t you flash your ID?”
“Have you ever dealt with a parking enforcement officer? They’re worse than the cops. He boxed us in.”
Oh my god, she’d entrusted her life to idiots.
“The two agents inside had your back. You were okay,” Steve said.
Easy for him to say, now that the cops—and Emily—had done his job for him. Oh no! “Um, about what you heard on the wire after Mike and company ran away…you can erase that, right?”
“There’s nothing to erase. We heard screeching tires and then the transmission went dead.”
The wire must have been damaged, or the connection broken, when she was flying around the van. “Can I call Ellen now and tell her that her mother’s okay?”
“I think Jackie wants to do that.”
She’d better tell Ellen that Casey had found her.
“Let’s go back to the house.”
“I need to get my bike. I’m hoping it’s not badly damaged.”
Steve bit his lip. “Oh dear, I forgot about your bike. If it’s the one that was in the bike rack…” He sombrely shook his head.
Casey walked over to evaluate the damage herself. She stared down at her bike. The poor thing was folded in half and had pretzels for wheels. Buying another one would put her out hundreds of dollars. Shit.
Steve patted her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go tell Jackie she has her life back.”
“Okay.” Casey silently thanked the mangled hunk of metal for serving her well and trailed after Steve. Her bike was toast, but she’d solved her case, and Emily had almost smashed up her car to save her. Overall, Casey figured she’d come out way ahead—and smiled.
Chapter Fourteen
Back at the Fields Avenue house, Casey squinted out the living room window, but couldn’t see far in the darkness. She let the curtain drop and turned away.
“I have goose bumps,” Jackie said from the sofa. “I can’t wait to see her.”
“She shouldn’t be long now.” Rachel, the woman who’d lured Casey into the ambush outside the mall, crunched on a potato chip. “I’m sure she’s dying to see you, too.”
Steve grabbed a handful of chips from the bowl on the coffee table. “Have you thought about my proposal?” he asked Casey.
“You mean coming to work for you?”
He nodded and popped a chip into his mouth.
“I think I’ll stay independent for now. Maybe when I have more experience under my belt…” Meaning that if she was having trouble finding clients, she’d consider knocking on Steve’s door.
“You have my card. If you change your mind, call me.”
“I will,” she said, hoping she wouldn’t have to.
Jackie twisted and stared in the direction of the window. “Where is she? Come on, Ellen.”
Casey grabbed some chips and squeezed herself onto the sofa. When the doorbell rang, the chip bowl was almost empty.
“I’ll get it,” Steve said. Jackie stood and covered her mouth with her hands.
Ellen barrelled into the living room. “Mom,” she wailed. “Oh my god, Mom.”
“Ellen,” Jackie cried. They clung to each other and sobbed while the others scooped the remaining chip crumbs from the bowl and watched.
“I’m still so confused,” Ellen said, when mother and daughter finally parted. “You’re fine. I mean, that’s great, but how…I mean, you explained some of it on the phone, but I was in shock. I couldn’t take it in.”
“I’ll explain it all to you when we get home,” Jackie said, throwing her arm around Ellen’s shoulders and squeezing her.
“You look so well.”
“I was only in a light coma, so when Steve rescued me, it didn’t take long for me to get back on my feet.”
“A light coma, eh?” Ellen’s face froze. “Could you hear anything while you were in the coma? If you could, anything I might have said about my childhood…I was just trying to get a rise out of you, to see if you’d respond to, uh, stuff.”
Jackie rolled her eyes. “I couldn’t hear anything, so don’t worry.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered if you could, because I didn’t say anything bad,” Ellen said, her shoulders sagging. Her eyes narrowed at those on the sofa. “Trudy! What are you doing here? Do you two know each other?” she said to Jackie.
Another mystery solved. Casey hoped Rachel had enjoyed her time with Ellen at the spa.
“Ellen, Ellen, Ellen,” Jackie said, squeezing her again. “You never cease to amaze me, you know that?”
“Aw, thanks, Mom,” Ellen said. “Now, do you know each other?”
Jackie sighed. “I’ll explain later. Right now, I think we have an investigator to pay.”
“Oh my god, yes.” Ellen rushed over to Casey and enveloped her in a bear hug. “I knew you’d find Mom. I’m so grateful.”
“No
problem,” Casey, still sitting, said into Ellen’s bosom. Fortunately Ellen let her go before she became light-headed.
“How much do I owe you?” Ellen pulled a chequebook from her purse.
“No, let me,” Jackie said. “You’ve done enough already. I can’t believe you hired an investigator.”
“Why? You were gone. I did everything I could to find you. I didn’t care how much it was going to cost, or how long it was going to take. I was never going to stop looking. Never, ever, ever.”
Jackie’s lips trembled. “That’s my girl.” She wiped the corner of her eye and focused on Casey. “I’ll just get my chequebook.”
“Uh, I have to work out how much you owe me. It’ll only take a minute.” Casey slid her notebook from her pocket. “If I had to guess, I’d say around a few hundred bucks, but let me add it up.”
“Put that thing away. You found me and gave me my life back. Be back in a sec.”
“I’m so glad I ran into Alison and Diane that day,” Ellen said to Casey while they waited. “And thank you so much for rescuing Mom,” she said to Steve. “I didn’t take in a lot of what she said on the phone, but I did get that you’re Steve Rose.”
Steve smiled. “Just doing my job.”
Ellen gazed at Rachel. Her hands went to her hips. “Why didn’t you call me? Wait. You were working with him, right?” She groaned, then brightened. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. We had fun that weekend.”
“You can’t associate with each other, not until this has been through the courts, anyway,” Steve said.
“He’s right,” Rachel quickly agreed. Casey couldn’t tell from her tone whether she was grateful for the excuse Steve had provided.
Jackie bustled back into the living room. “It’s Casey Cook, right?” she said, opening her chequebook on an end table.
“Right. I have a question for you.”
“What is it?” Jackie asked as she wrote the cheque.
“What was in the envelope taped behind the night stand in your bedroom?”
Jackie lifted her head. “You figured that out? You really are good. Coupons. I have to hide them.” She pointed her pen at Ellen. “This one here is always stealing them.”
Ellen’s face flushed. “No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. You’re too lazy to find coupons yourself. You don’t think I didn’t notice that every time you visit, some of my coupons go missing?”
“Okay, maybe I took a few now and then. But I haven’t taken any for months. I thought you’d stopped collecting them.”
“No. I finally found a good hiding place for them.”
“I only ever took the extras,” Ellen wailed. “Ones you could spare.”
“How could you know which ones I could spare?” Jackie shook her head. “Never mind. We’ve only been back together five minutes and we’re already bickering. How quickly the glow fades.” She frowned at Casey. “Are you saying my coupons are gone?”
“Yeah,” Casey said.
Jackie whirled toward Ellen.
“Don’t look at me.” Ellen’s eyes widened. “It must have been Marge. She’s been feeding the cats.”
Jackie’s lips thinned. “I’m going to have to start storing them in a flipping safety deposit box.” She lowered her head again, then ripped the cheque from the chequebook and handed it to Casey.
Holy shit! Was that really four zeros after the number one, or was she hallucinating? “Uh, this is way too much. There’s an extra zero and then some.”
Jackie snorted. “To me, it’s a bargain. You deserve every penny, especially since you met with my sister. Plus, Steve told me about your bike. That should cover a new one.”
No kidding. “Th-thank you.” Casey carefully folded the cheque and tucked it into her pocket.
“Now, I think it’s time for me and my daughter to go home.”
“I already left my manager a message saying that I won’t be in tomorrow,” Ellen said. “We can spend the entire day together.”
Jackie’s face was a picture of happiness. “That’s great. It’s, uh, wonderful.” She turned to Casey, Steve, and Rachel. “Thank you. For everything. Ellen, let’s give Casey a ride home.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Casey said. “You two haven’t seen each other for a while. But thanks for offering.”
“I’ll be in touch,” Steve said to Jackie. “Tomorrow is for you and your daughter. I’ll call you the day after next.”
“You can call me tomorrow, if you like,” Jackie said as Ellen tugged at her arm. “Really, you can.” She stumbled after Ellen.
“I’m going to recommend you to everyone who needs an investigator,” Ellen shouted to Casey before she disappeared into the hallway. “You rock!”
Right now, with her case solved and a cheque for ten thousand dollars in her pocket, Casey didn’t disagree with her.
“I can give you a lift home,” Rachel said.
Casey still hadn’t completely disassociated Rachel from a kidnapper. “Thanks, but I’ll call a cab,” she said, eager to get home and share the news—and the cheque—with Gran.
*****
Casey sucked in her breath when Gran held the cheque up to the kitchen light. “Careful.”
“Don’t worry, it won’t catch on fire.” Gran squinted at it and mumbled, “One, two, three, four. Huh.” She lowered the cheque and handed it back to Casey. “Definitely four zeroes.”
“Can you believe it? I’ve made more than I would have made working at Walmart for the same time period. I can do this! Okay, I need more clients, and now that I’ve closed my case, I suppose I’m technically unemployed again…”
“And that ten grand won’t go very far. You have to buy a bike, pay taxes, invest some into promoting your business…and I’ve been giving you a break on the rent.”
“Yeah,” Casey said mournfully. Amazing how quickly ten thousand dollars could shrink.
Gran nudged her arm. “Don’t worry about catching up on the rent for now. Hell, I see it as me investing in you, and you haven’t disappointed. I’m proud of you.”
Casey’s vision blurred. “Really?”
“Really. You’re the first business owner in our family. That’s quite the accomplishment.”
“Aw, thanks, Gran.” Casey rose from the kitchen chair to hug her. “I’ll find more clients.”
“I know you will,” Gran said, patting Casey’s back. “Use some of that money to buy yourself business cards. You keep talking about them.”
“I’ll order some tomorrow,” Casey promised.
“So everything went okay tonight?” Gran asked when they parted.
“Apart from that freak accident in the parking lot that took out the bike rack, it went like clockwork.” Casey tucked the cheque back into her pocket. Sleeping with it under her pillow wouldn’t be a good idea; she’d slip it into her desk drawer. “Yep, went off without a hitch. No problems whatsoever.”
Her phone rang. She pulled it out and smiled. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Emily said. “I said I’d call. But…well, I’m outside your building. Do you want to come down and chat for a few minutes?”
“Sure! I’ll be there in a couple.” She hung up. “Emily’s downstairs. I’m just going to go talk to her for a bit.”
“You should have invited her up.”
Casey stifled a snort. That would have been cozy, her, Emily—and Gran. “Nah, she’s not staying long. I guess she just wants to see for herself that I’m okay.”
Gran’s forehead creased. “Poor mite. She must have been worried about how you were getting on, like I was.”
“She was definitely worried.” To the point of taking action. You know, that was kind of cool. Emily hadn’t sat at home and fretted; she’d taken matters into her own hands. “The more I get to know her, the more I like her.”
“You’re smitten,” Gran stated.
Casey surrendered. “Yeah, I am.” Hopefully she hadn’t just jinxed her fledgling relationship with Emily. “
I should go, or she’ll wonder if I’m coming down.”
“Go, go,” Gran said, shooing her out.
Casey made a detour to the bedroom to store away the precious cheque, then raced from the apartment. The elevator took forever to arrive, and the ride down dragged, too. Swinging the lobby door open, Casey took a deep breath and searched for Emily’s car. She had to force herself to walk slowly when she spotted Emily leaning against it.
“I know it’s almost eleven,” Emily said.
“Who cares? You were going to call me. Seeing you is a bonus.”
Emily’s cheeks reddened. She cleared her throat.
“Did the cops give you any trouble?”
“No. I got the,” she lowered her voice and spoke gruffly, “‘that’s a reckless thing you did, young lady,’ speech.”
“It was reckless…and totally awesome! You swooped in and rescued me, just like Wonder Woman!”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Emily said, her eyes glistening.
Casey’s throat tightened. “If I sounded ungrateful, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I suppose I could have told you I planned to be there. I’ll do that next time.”
Next time? “Um…”
Emily pushed away from the car. “Anyway, I figured I’d take my chances and show up, rather than call, so we can pick up where we left off.”
“Where we left off…”
Emily waggled her eyebrows. “I know we’re not in the back seat of a police car.”
Walker yanking the back door open came rushing back. Ah. “This will more than do.” Casey took Emily’s face in her hands and gently touched her lips to Emily’s. Then she closed her eyes and lost herself to the moment. For Casey Cook, private investigator, life was looking up.
THE END
Other titles by Sarah Ettritch
Threaded Through Time
The Salbine Sisters
The Rymellan Series
The Deiform Fellowship Series
If you'd like to be notified when Sarah releases a new book, sign up for the notification list at her website: www.sarahettritch.com.
The Missing Comatose Woman Page 16
