Carol Higgins Clark Boxed Set - Volume 1: This eBook collection contains Zapped, Cursed, and Wrecked.

by Clark, Carol Higgins

  “Hello.”

  “Skip, it’s Regan. How are you?”

  “Swell.”

  “Would you like to come to dinner?”

  “No, thanks. I stopped by Fern’s today. She told me to come back later at closing time. I’m friendly with a couple of her waitresses. We’ll all have dinner.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Whoop dee doo.”

  “Skip, please don’t blame yourself.”

  “I’m trying. But it just happened this morning. I feel awful. You know how people say something hasn’t set in yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t know how I could feel worse. If this hasn’t set in yet, when it does, I’ll end up in the loony bin.”

  “Oh, Skip. If there’s anything I can do . . .”

  “There’s nothing anyone can do. I’m afraid to ask, but do you know anything about her family?”

  “She was divorced last year and doesn’t have kids. I’m sure we’ll learn more before long.”

  “Regan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Those apology cards . . . I keep thinking about that. Why were there so many? Who was she sending them to?

  “Believe me, I’ve been wondering a lot about that myself.”

  “She mustn’t have been as tough as she seemed.”

  “You’re right, Skip. She probably wasn’t.”

  He sighed.

  “Skip, I hope we’ll see you again over the weekend.”

  “I’m taking things a minute at a time. Besides,” he said, his voice slightly amused, “aren’t you and Jack supposed to be celebrating your anniversary? I brought in the breakfast food for you. Was everything okay?”

  Regan hesitated. Should she tease him about the expired milk in the hopes he’d laugh? No, she decided. It’s not worth the risk if it backfires.

  “Was everything I brought okay?” he asked again.

  “Yes. Everything was terrific.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Skip, I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  Regan closed her phone and walked over to the front window. At long last the reporter was gone.

  Adele Hopkins will soon be yesterday’s news.

  53

  This house is so pretty,” Kit said as she and Ellen walked up Roger’s front steps.

  “I told Pippy we should look into squatters rights, but for some reason she was against it.” Ellen unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Voilà!”

  They stepped inside, and Ellen turned on the hall light. “Pretend you don’t see anything to your left, and pretend you don’t see anything to your right. Follow a straight line to the den. We have an excuse for these messy rooms, a business called Pillow Talk, but there are people out there who might consider us slobs.”

  “Not me.”

  “I didn’t think so.”

  “But . . .”

  “But what?” Ellen asked.

  Kit’s face looked earnest. “What about Reed Danforth? What would he think?”

  Ellen chuckled. “You want me to start in on him again, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I’ll open the wine.”

  Kit followed her down the hall. “If my car isn’t ready in the next hour, I’ll have Regan pick me up. Jack should certainly be back by then.”

  “Fine. Take off your coat. There are hooks straight ahead by the back door. Red or white wine?”

  “Red.”

  They both hung their coats. Kit placed her purse on a side table and pulled out her cell phone. She certainly didn’t want to miss Nathaniel’s call. She peered out the window of the back door. “Nice backyard. What’s beyond those woods?”

  “More woods. We’re on Woodsy Path, remember?”

  “How could I forget?”

  Ellen poured the wine and handed a glass to Kit. “Cheers.”

  “Honestly, Ellen,” Kit said as they clinked glasses. “I hope I get the chance to repay you in some way for being so hospitable to me today. And making me laugh so much.”

  An uninvited guest, well hidden, wanted to whisper in her ear, “You won’t get the chance. She’ll be dead.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Ellen said with a wave of her hand. “I’m enjoying this. I’m not looking for . . .”

  “I know you’re not.”

  “Let’s get comfortable.”

  The two of them sat on the couch.

  Ellen took a sip of her wine, then placed her glass on the small coffee table. She frowned. “I can’t think of his name. Who was it you wanted me to talk about?”

  Kit grinned. “Reed Danforth,” she answered as she placed the cell phone next to her.

  “The lying lightweight Reed Danforth? Is that who you mean?”

  Kit nodded.

  “I thought so. I have a Danforth wish list. Would you like to know my first wish?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’d like to round up all the women in Boston he hit on at makeup counters. I really would. Just to compare notes. Maybe ask a few questions.”

  “Like what?

  “What was the state of his mother’s health the day he appeared at your counter? Did he tell you he wanted to cheer her up, maybe with a new shade of lipstick?”

  Kit laughed. “He must have been something.”

  “He was.” Ellen sipped her wine. “Pippy says to forget him, and believe me, in most ways he’s forgettable. You egg me on, Kit.”

  “Sorry. You’re funny when you talk about him. Do you know what he’s doing now?”

  “No. Probably not much. I heard he has a girlfriend. She must have rocks in her head. Believe me, I’d like to have a boyfriend. But I’d never stoop that low. She must be desperate.”

  “You haven’t heard from him at all since that first article was published?”

  “No. What can he say? Everything I told that reporter is the truth. Kit, he asked me to leave a secure job, knowing that restaurant had a good chance of going down the tubes. They were already in debt because they’d spent so much money on that ridiculous renovation. If I had known that, I never would have quit my job. Then he doesn’t even return my phone calls after they filed for bankruptcy!”

  “You still haven’t told me what he’d think about your front rooms.”

  Ellen laughed. “Kit, you are bad. Hmmm. What would Reed Danforth think . . . ?”

  The unexpected guest’s blood was boiling.

  Ellen and Kit joked about Reed Danforth’s possible reaction to a variety of topics until Kit’s cell phone rang twenty minutes later.

  Kit put her glass on the table, reached for her phone, and quickly checked the caller ID. She answered. “Hi, Nathaniel.”

  “Hi. I’m proud to say your car is good as new. I’d really like to go home now.”

  “Thank you, Nathaniel. I’ll be right there.” She hung up, put the phone back down next to her, then reached for her glass. “The car is ready and Boone would like to go home.” She took one last sip of wine.

  “Let’s go,” Ellen said, walking over to the coat rack.

  Ellen’s wine glass was on the coffee table. Clearing her wine glass is the least I can do, Kit thought. She picked it up and carried both glasses to the counter.

  Less than ten minutes later, Ellen pulled her car into Nathaniel’s narrow driveway. Kit’s car was parked in front of the garage.

  “Ellen, thanks a million,” Kit said, giving her a quick hug.

  “Let’s keep in touch.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Kit got out of the car and waved as Ellen pulled away. Nathaniel was inside the station, waiting on the folding chair.

  “Hi, Nathaniel.”

  “Good as new,” he said, handing her the bill.

  His price seems fair, Kit thought. She put down her purse, got out her wallet, and handed him her credit card.

  While he was processing the charge, she looked in her purse for her cell phone. She wanted to call Reg
an and tell her she was finally on the way. But the phone wasn’t there. She kept looking. Did I leave the phone at Ellen’s? Oh, no.

  “May I have your autograph please?” Nathaniel asked.

  Kit signed the receipt, thanked him, and was out the door. It was still pouring. She got in her car and started it. Holding her breath, she turned on the windshield wipers. They started to move. Kit smiled. Three seconds later they froze in place, wiping only the smile off Kit’s face. Nathaniel was locking the glass door. She rolled down her window. “Nathaniel!” she yelled out to him.

  “What?’ he said, turning his head.

  She pointed her finger. “Look!”

  “Oh, no. I don’t feel so proud anymore. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll find out what went wrong. I’d offer you a ride, but I walk to work. Two miles there and two miles back. Rain or shine.”

  “Don’t worry about giving me a ride. But I do need to borrow your phone.”

  54

  Regan and Jack were in the den, watching the evening news. Jack was unwinding after the ordeal getting home. Ginny and Fran were busy in the kitchen, slicing and dicing. They’d refused any help from Regan.

  “I’m telling you, Regan,” Ginny called out. “Jack has the patience of a saint. Sitting in all that traffic, the man never lost his cool.”

  “I know he does, Ginny,” Regan answered, smiling at Jack and patting his leg.

  Wearily, Jack smiled back, raising his eyebrows just a touch.

  Regan’s cell phone rang. “I hope this is Kit,” she said, but after glancing at the caller ID, shook her head. “It must be someone from around here.” She flipped open the phone. “Hello.”

  “Regan, it’s Kit.”

  “Where are you calling from?”

  “The station. My car isn’t fixed, and I must have left my cell phone at Ellen and Pippy’s house. Could you come get me?”

  “Of course. Where is it exactly?”

  Kit explained. “I’ll wait in my car out front.”

  “Be right there.” Regan hung up. She turned to Jack. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “But you’re barely out of the car.”

  “I missed you,” he said softly.

  Regan smiled. “I missed you too. Let’s go.”

  They got up and walked to the kitchen. “We’re going to get Kit. Her car isn’t fixed,” Regan explained.

  Ginny’s eyes widened. “Jack, you’re going too? After all that traffic you were in today?”

  “Yes, Ginny,” Jack said as he put on his coat. “The weather is terrible. I don’t want Regan driving alone.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  As soon as they got in the car, Jack turned to Regan, smiled, then leaned over to kiss her. “Let’s figure out the first weekend we don’t have any plans and take that trip to Bermuda, okay?” he asked, stroking her hair.

  Regan nodded. “More than okay.”

  They hugged for a moment, then Jack turned the key in the ignition.

  It didn’t take long to find Nathaniel’s gas station. “I never noticed this place before,” Regan said.

  “Not much to notice,” Jack answered as he turned into the driveway.

  Kit got out of her car in an instant. “Alleluia!” she cried, waving her arms, then ran back to her trunk.

  Regan and Jack both laughed. “I’ll help her with her bags,” Jack said. He put the car in park, stepped on the brake, and got out.

  Regan watched as Jack gave Kit a kiss, then lifted her suitcase out of the trunk. I’m so lucky, she thought. I should really thank Dad more often for getting kidnapped.

  A few moments later, after Jack transferred Kit’s things from one trunk to another, Kit opened the back door. “Regan!” she exclaimed as she got in and shut the door.

  “Kit, it’s so good to see you,” Regan said.

  The two of them leaned between seats for a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Jack opened the driver door and got in. “All set.”

  “I just have one request,” Kit said.

  “What?” Jack asked.

  “That we make the briefest of stops at Pippy and Ellen’s. It’s on the way. I’m pretty sure I left my cell phone on their couch, but I can’t call because Ellen’s card only has the number of the shop.”

  “No problem,” Jack said. “What street is it?”

  “Woodsy Path.”

  “I remember passing that,” Jack said as he shifted the car into drive.

  “It’s a cute block. Lots of trees and woods. Their house is charming but it’s secluded at the end of the street. You know me, Regan. I’d be terrified to stay there alone.”

  55

  Ellen pulled into Roger’s driveway, turned off the engine, and got out. She opened the back door, reached down for her purse, and grabbed two plastic bags containing Chinese food she’d bought at a takeout place down the road from Nathaniel Boone’s gas station. When Pippy got home, they’d heat up the food and have dinner together. She stepped back and pushed the door shut with her foot.

  Will it ever stop raining? she wondered as she hurried up the walk. She went up the steps, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. As she was closing the door with her right shoulder, she could feel the bag in her left hand with the soup starting to give way. Quickly Ellen reached under the bag with her right hand so it wouldn’t break. She still had the keys and the other plastic bag dangling from her fingers. These flimsy bags are such a joke, she thought as she ran down the hall to the kitchen. She reached the counter, carefully put the bag of soup down, dropped the keys, lifted the other bag onto the counter, and pulled off her shoulder bag. This Chinese food isn’t even that good, she thought, as she caught her breath. Whew. She started walking toward the coat rack when something glistening on the floor caught her attention. She bent her knees, leaned over, and reached for it.

  At that moment, a cord went around Ellen’s neck. “Desperate?” a woman’s voice snarled as she tightened the cord.

  Ellen’s left hand flew toward her neck as she frantically tried to get her fingers underneath the cord.

  “You think I’m desperate? I’ll show you who’s desperate!” She tightened her grip.

  Ellen lifted her right arm up over her head and swung it backwards.

  “Owwww!” the woman screeched. Her grip on the cord loosened for a few seconds while she grabbed Ellen’s right forearm.

  Ellen quickly got her fingers around the cord and tried to pull. Thank you, Pippy, she thought. She doesn’t have me yet.

  The woman shook Ellen’s arm. “Let go of whatever you have in your hand!” she screamed.

  A shard of glass from Pippy’s broken vase fell to the floor.

  “You miserable witch!” she screamed as she tightened her grip on the cord again. “You cut my face!”

  Ellen couldn’t pull the cord away from her neck. It was choking her. She could barely breathe.

  Jack turned into Roger’s driveway. “This won’t take long,” Kit said. She got out and hurried to the front door. She was about to ring the bell when she heard screaming.

  “I hate you so much!”

  Oh my God, Kit thought. What’s going on?

  “I hate you!”

  Kit put her hand on the door knob and realized the door wasn’t completely shut. She pushed, and the door started to open. Kit’s blood froze. Straight ahead of her she saw Ellen on the kitchen floor, a woman trying to strangle her. Kit turned toward the car and screamed, “Regan! Jack! Help!” then ran into the house, tore down the hallway, and jumped on the intruder.

  “Get off!” Kit screamed, pummeling the woman with her fists.

  “I love Reed Danforth. I am not desperate,” the woman shrieked, blood running down her cheek.

  Ellen tried to keep her grip on the cord with her left hand. She was struggling to breathe.

  Kit slapped and punched Ellen’s attacker, but the woman was so crazed she didn’t seem to feel anything. She ne
ver stopped twisting the cord around Ellen’s neck. Frantically, Kit turned, ran to the other side of the counter and started opening drawers in search of a knife. Jack and Regan came racing down the hall.

  “I’m not desperate! Reed Danforth loves me!”

  Jack lunged forward, “Let go!” he shouted, grabbing the assailant’s wrists and squeezing so hard she screamed in pain. “Now!”

  The maniacal woman howled, released her grip, and started sobbing. Jack stood over her while he called 911.

  Regan and Kit ran to Ellen’s side.

  Ellen was holding her neck. Gulping for breath, she looked up at Kit. “I never expected you to return the favor this soon.”

  Kit smiled but her face was distraught. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m great. It thrills me to think this psycho must be Reed Danforth’s girlfriend. I’d like to get up . . .”

  Regan and Kit helped her to her feet.

  The “psycho” was sitting on the floor screaming and crying.

  “Hey, you,” Ellen said, breathing hard.

  “What?” the woman snarled, then pointed to her bloody cheek. “Look what you did to me! Look!”

  “Where’s Reed?”

  “Boston!”

  “What I wouldn’t pay to see his face when he hears about this,” Ellen muttered.

  “I’d like to take a quick look through the house before the police get here,” Jack said. “We don’t know what other lunacy she might have had in mind.”

  Regan nodded. “We have her covered.”

  Jack went upstairs and looked through the bedrooms. Then he came down the steps and went into the living room.

  “It’s so cluttered, I know” Ellen called.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jack said. “I just want to look around.” He then walked through the dining room and the basement. When he came back into the den, he went over to the closet next to the fireplace.

  “Hey, Jack,” Ellen said.

  Jack turned his head.

  “That closet is so hard to open and close. It sticks like crazy. I doubt you’ll find anything in there.”