As Nathan tried to restrain his wife’s exuberance, Sam saw Sue removing her oxygen mask. When he tried to reposition it, she shook her head. “I need to be able to talk. Is Danny safe?”
Chief Rogers spoke from across the room. “There’s an officer guarding him. He’s fine.”
As Sue smiled in relief, Sam replaced her oxygen mask and gently brushed her hair away from her forehead.
* * *
Gil walked swiftly through the halls of Fairfield Middle School, but when she saw a policeman posted outside the science room’s open door, she froze. She knew the officer couldn’t see her, but her shoes were squeaking against the linoleum and she wasn’t sure if he’d be able to hear the racket. Feeling disgusted at herself for neglecting to read the manuals, she slipped off her shoes and tiptoed past the policeman in her socks. Sneaking up beside Danny, she tapped his arm. The boy looked up with a smile, but when he saw her bloody nose, he gasped.
“Oh, Danny, I’m sorry!” she moaned. “I forgot how I look. Don’t worry, everyone’s fine. Rick made some trouble, but Sam and your mom clobbered him! Unfortunately, he got away, so there’s a policeman guarding you.”
Seeing Danny turn to look, she grabbed his arm. “Sit still! I need to talk to you, and I can’t if you attract attention.”
Danny settled back in his chair and neatly folded his hands on his desk.
“Wisecracker,” she said affectionately, “you can cut the golden-cherub act. I know you too well. Now, are you ready for some payback? I have info linking Rick to some murders.”
“Cool!” Danny said.
“Hey, watch out!” Gil exclaimed. “The teacher’s glaring at you.” As Danny focused on the chalkboard, she said, “You’ll need to give the information and Rick’s beer bottle to Nathan.”
Seeing Danny’s smirk, she rolled her eyes. “Yes, I did catch the bottle, smarty pants. Pay attention, you insolent bug!”
As Danny’s lips twitched, she answered the question she knew he was dying to ask. “The evidence is solid. It’ll put Rick behind bars, and I say good riddance! The stupid jerk broke my nose. How am I supposed to win Miss America with a broken nose, I’d like to know?”
Hearing Danny turn strangled gasps of laughter into a cough, she said, “I suppose you’re right. My pageant goals are a bunch of moonshine. I’d never make it past the embarrassing swimsuit competition. Can you picture me trying to walk in a bikini and high heels? But a girl can dream, can’t she?” Seeing his quirked eyebrow, she chuckled. “Let’s forget my pageant dreams and focus on Rick. I loved watching that creep get his face rearranged by Sam.”
As Danny’s quirked eyebrow rose further, she admitted, “All right, it wasn’t just watching I enjoyed. Pulling Rick’s hair and kicking him as hard as I could was great! In fact, I more than enjoyed it—I relished it.” Tilting her head to one side, she allowed her eyes to twinkle. “I never knew I had such a propensity toward violence. It’s quite disturbing. I may need to seek counseling when I get home.”
Seeing Danny cough down another chuckle, Gil got back to business. “But enough about that. We need to get the evidence out of my pillowcase and into your hands without being noticed. I can’t do it now, and after class you’re gonna be surrounded. We’ll need a distraction. Any suggestions?”
Danny chewed his pencil eraser. After a moment, he wrote, Can Slim help?
“That’s it!” she exclaimed. “Write Slim a note asking him to create a distraction when you open your locker.”
When the note was complete, Gil stuffed it under her sweater and went across the room. She smiled when she saw how intently Slim was staring at Danny. She knew he was watching for signs that the super-bionic chick was back. Her suspicions were confirmed when she laid her hand on his, and rather than jumping, Slim wrote on a scrap of paper, Is that you, Gil?
Squeezing his hand, she slipped the note on his desk.
* * *
While Danny’s teacher explained the mysteries of chlorophyll, Sue finished giving her statement. She knew Chief Rogers was trying to make the process easy, but reliving Rick’s attack was a nightmare. As she spoke, Sam’s family sat beside her in a unified show of support.
“Na’tan,” Zara exclaimed, “I tek bak wah I said, I dohn wan yuh to be baker like mi fadda. I wan yuh to arrest dat bad mon and put him inna prison wid big nassy rats!”
As Zara’s impassioned words broke the tension in the room, Sue felt herself relax. “Chief Rogers,” she said, “there’s something else I should tell you, but it’ll sound strange.”
“Believe me, I’ve heard it all.”
Sue hesitated and then said in a rush, “When Rick attacked me, something ran into him.”
“That was me,” Sam said. “I pulled him off you.”
“No, Sam, it happened before you broke through the door.”
Leaning forward, Nathan gave her arm a pat. “When you’re being attacked, it’s easy to get confused.”
“I suppose that’s true,” she replied, “but a series of strange things happened today.”
“Like what?” the chief asked.
She shifted uncomfortably. “Something picked up the phone and dialed it.”
Sam blinked. “You didn’t call me?”
“Rick had me pinned to the floor. I couldn’t reach the receiver. I’m telling you, bizarre things happened before you arrived. A vase swung itself at Rick, and the door miraculously unlocked.” Sue turned to the chief. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m not making this up.”
The chief nodded and closed his notebook. “If you want a logical explanation, strangulation often causes hallucinations due to oxygen deprivation.”
“Do you really think that’s what it was?” she asked doubtfully.
Chief Rogers laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Officially, yes. But unofficially, I believe God intervened.”
“I’m glad you spoke up,” Sam said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It shows God was watching over us.”
“I’m glad you don’t think I’m crazy.”
A teasing light gleamed in Sam’s eye. “Well...I never said that.”
As Sue chuckled, Sam leaned forward and, in view of his matchmaking family, kissed her brow. The tenderness in his eyes was unmistakable.
Clearing his throat, Chief Rogers said, “If I have further questions, I’ll call you.”
“Isn’t this crime outside your jurisdiction?” Sam asked.
“Technically, yes. But I’ve received permission to conduct the investigation since it involves one of our officers.”
“That’s no surprise,” Nathan said with a snort. “If Charlesberg PD took the case, they’d actually have to work.”
“Quite,” the chief said briefly. “Go pick up Danny. I’ll be next door if you need me.”
After Chief Rogers left, Sue said, “He’s kinda gruff, but the chief’s nice, isn’t he?”
Zara nodded and said with emphasis, “Dat mon’s worth more dan cookies. I’m gwine bake him special cake wid butta-crème frosting too!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
After Sam and Nathan left to get Danny, Sue caught Zara looking at her with a twinkle in her eye. “So, sugar, yuh ’ave Sam on di hook. ’Ow yuh intend pon reeling him inna?”
Sue blinked and began to laugh. Instead of trying to tell Zara she was mistaken, she simply said, “I brought a pretty dress.”
“Dat do fah startas, but I suggest yuh sidle up to mi brother-in-law an gi him a smooch.”
Sue gurgled. “Sam and I just met, it’s too soon for kissing.”
“I kissed mi Na’tan di night wi met, but yuh be right—Sam moves ahwful slow. If yuh go kissing him, yuh scare di poor mon to pieces.” She gave Sue’s knee a pat. “I haven’t seen Sam wid a girl since I marrid mi Na’tan.”
“Sam doesn’t date much?”
“Much?” Zara snorted. “Over di years, I’ve seen women trying to ketch his eye, but he wouldn’t look der way. When I ask him ’bout it, he told mi some fool-f
ool story ’bout wanting to live di solitary life focused solely pon di Lord. Sam’s flying inna di face of nature, an it’s ’bout time he gat di wakeup call.” Zara began to chuckle. “Unless I’m mistaken, you’re jus di gyal to dweet. Wah color is dat dress of yours?”
“Purple.”
“Dat should dweet. Purple mek your eyes go glossy-shine. Let’s get bizzy! I help yuh git ready, and we mek Sam tek notice!”
* * *
A few minutes before school was dismissed, Danny saw Sam and Nathan slipping into the back of the classroom.
“The guys are here,” Gil whispered. “I’ll get in place by your locker.”
Danny nodded and watched as Gil tiptoed out the door. After the bell rang, Sam and Nathan approached and told him about Rick’s attack. Trying to give Gil and Slim time to prepare, Danny asked questions and then began “accidentally” dropping his notebook.
“Why don’t I carry that for you?” Sam said, picking up papers for a fourth time. “I know hearing about your mom was upsetting, but I promise she’s fine. Are you ready to go?”
Looking at Gil standing beside his locker with her hand in her pillowcase, Danny shook his head. “I need to get something out of my locker first.”
“That’s fine,” Sam said, putting his hand on Danny’s shoulder. “When you’re finished, we’ll go play dominoes with your mom. Sound good?”
Danny nodded in a distracted way. There were so many people around his locker he knew Gil couldn’t maneuver. Praying silently for Slim’s distraction to work, he twirled his combination lock. As the locker opened, an air horn blasted behind him. Although he’d been expecting something of the sort, he dropped his books and whirled around.
“Give a shout-out for our football team!” Slim yelled. “Go Lions!”
Danny smiled. He had to admire Slim’s ingenuity. The distraction was loud and effective, but it wouldn’t get him into trouble. After all, no matter how loud the air horn, Slim could hardly be punished for showing school spirit after school hours. Danny’s grin widened. Everyone was so focused on Slim that no one was looking Gil’s way.
When Slim winked and sauntered down the hall, blasting his air horn, Danny turned and saw that Gil had stowed the evidence by his backpack.
“Don’t give Nathan anything in front of that Charlesberg policeman,” she hissed in his ear. “Wait until you’re in the car.”
Nodding briefly, Danny picked up the folder. As he grabbed the beer bottle, Sam shot him a concerned look. “What are you doing with beer?”
“It’s a science experiment on the dangers of drinking,” Danny glibly replied. “Don’t worry, I didn’t sip any. It smells like the boy’s bathroom.”
* * *
A few minutes later, as Nathan put on his seatbelt, he felt surprised as Danny handed him a large folder. “Why are you giving me your science experiment?” he asked.
When Danny shrugged, Nathan opened it. Seeing the contents, he turned shocked eyes onto the boy. “Where’d you get this?” he demanded.
“A stranger,” Danny replied.
Nathan eased a sheaf of papers out of the folder. A gruesome crime-scene photograph fell onto his lap. Covering it with his hand, Nathan commanded gruffly, “Sit back, Danny, and close your eyes.”
“But I wanna see.”
“Do as I say!” Nathan ordered, using the same tone that had sent Zara speeding away with screeching tires.
When Danny obediently sat back and shut his eyes, Nathan passed the sickening photograph to Sam and began thumbing through the papers.
Peering down at the gory image of a blonde woman strung up with a red cord, Sam murmured, “You can tell she suffered.”
“She wasn’t the only one,” Nathan whispered, passing him a similar photo of a brunette.
Sam took the photo with shaking hands. Closing his eyes against the horrific image, he asked, “How many?”
“Ten.”
Glancing over his shoulder at Danny, Sam whispered in a low undertone, “Rick boasted twenty-nine.”
“This is the start we’ll need to prove it.” As he glanced through the files, Nathan found Rick’s DNA profile. Cocking an eyebrow at his brother, he murmured, “What do you wanna bet his DNA’s all over the bottle?”
“It’ll be all over the house too,” Sam said in a steely voice. “I clocked him good—his blood’s on the wall.”
“I need to get this evidence to the chief. Can you drop me off before you take Danny to his mother?”
“Can I open my eyes yet?” Danny asked plaintively from the back seat.
“No!” both brothers shouted in unison as a photo of a strangled redhead fell to the floor.
As Danny slumped in his seat, Nathan pushed the papers back in the folder. When the pictures were out of sight, he said over his shoulder, “You can look now.”
“What was it?”
“Something ugly that you didn’t need to see—something that’ll put Rick on death row.”
* * *
After dropping off Nathan, Sam walked into his grandfather’s house with Danny. He was in mid-sentence, but when he saw Sue in her purple dress, the words died on his lips. He blinked, stumbled over his feet, and stood perfectly still and gazed at her.
“Sam,” Danny said, looking at him strangely, “what’s wrong?”
Sam didn’t reply—he couldn’t reply. Sue’s golden hair was curling around her shoulders in luxurious waves. Her blue eyes were sparkling, and the rich purple of her dress was making her skin seem luminescent. Sam’s eyes drank in the delicate beauty of her features and the soft curves of her figure. He swallowed hard.
“You look awful funny, Sam,” Danny said. “Are you feeling okay?”
Nodding briefly, Sam walked slowly to Sue. She began blushing under his steady gaze.
“Di cat ’ave your tung, Sam?” Zara teased.
Still not speaking, Sam took Sue’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
Zara began to laugh and slap her knee. “Sure nuff picked di right dress. Dat mon’s clean dead-an-gone. A speechless mon is di caught mon!”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
That night, Gil hovered in the background as Mr. Jacobson taught Danny how to make Navy-style rolls. She sniffed the air appreciatively. The combination of the yeasty rolls and Zara’s pumpkin soup was marvelous. She turned her attention to the conversation and chuckled when Danny asked Zara to recite some nursery rhymes because he liked the sound of her accent.
After dinner, Sue was given icepacks and relegated to the couch with Sam by her side. Trying to keep out of the way while the dishes were done, Gil followed them to the living room. Sam and Sue were talking like old friends, but as time passed, their banter transformed into a breathless exchange of stolen glances.
Feeling slightly bored, Gil started wandering back to the kitchen just as Nathan popped his head in the living room. “The chief just called. Rick’s truck was spotted over the state line.”
“So we’re safe?” Sue asked, reaching for Sam’s hand.
“At least for now,” Nathan replied. “Rick’s too far away to get back before morning.”
“In that case, how about some Chicken Foot?” Sam said, rising from the couch. “I could use a little innocuous entertainment before bed.”
“I ’ave di dominoes set up aredy,” Zara called from the kitchen.
“I think you married a mind reader,” Sam said, elbowing his brother in the ribs.
“You have no idea.” Nathan chuckled. “Did I ever tell you what my sweet little wife did on our—”
“Stop all di chit-chat!” Zara loudly admonished. “I ’ave pulled a batch of spice chip cookies from di oven—come quick ef you wan to eat dem warm.”
Gil watched in envy as the group played several games of Chicken Foot and ate multiple gooey cookies. Later that night, as everyone went to the bedrooms Mr. Jacobson had prepared, Danny cuddled up on the couch, and Gil stretched out on the floor next to him. All around her, the house fell quiet as everyone drifted to sle
ep.
At 11:16 p.m., Gil woke up. She’d been sleeping in a draft, and her knee was aching. Sighing a little, she got up to walk out the cramp. As she paced around the living room, dark shadows loomed as the wind shook the trees outside. She looked at the shadows and shivered. Something was nagging at her mind, and she couldn’t figure out what it was.
Suddenly, she groaned and clapped her hand to her mouth. She’d forgotten to check-in with TEMCO, and worse than that, Extreme Exam was still plugged into Danny’s running PlayFest console! Closing her eyes, Gil tried to remember Dr. Nelson’s instructions about cartridge care. She knew there was a limit to how long Extreme Exam could be in a gaming console before it overheated. Nibbling a fingertip, Gil tried to do the mental math. Sue had come home at 2:30. Right now, it was 11:20—that meant the game had been in a running console for nine hours.
Gil groaned. Nine hours! That was way too long. She was probably toast—big black burnt toast with no marmalade. She couldn’t put off retrieving the game. If it was fried, she’d be stuck in the past.
As she slipped on her tennis shoes, Danny stirred on the couch. “What’s going on?” he whispered in a sleepy voice.
“Shh!” she said, buttoning her sweater. “Go back to sleep.”
“Not a chance,” he replied, tossing his covers aside. “Where are you going?”
“Oh, Danny,” she moaned. “I blew it! I left Extreme Exam at your house.”
“So what? It’s been so busy they’ll understand if you don’t make contact.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. I left the game in your PlayFest console. Don’t you see? I may’ve fried the stupid thing. If it’s not ruined already, it’ll be ruined for sure by morning. I have to go get it.”
Danny pulled on his shoes. “Then I’m coming with you.”
“Oh, no, you’re not!” she said firmly. “It’s still D-day, and it will be for forty more minutes. I’m not sure you’ll be safe over there.”
“If I’m not safe—you’re not safe.”
“Look, I’m sure Rick’s across the state line, but I can’t take any chances. My whole surf will be for nothing if you two tangle. I’ll be back in less than ten minutes.”
Time Tsunami Page 19
