“I understand. When is my father expected to pick up Grams’ body?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
She sighed. Now she knew why she felt driven to call about Grams’ cremation. Poor Grams was at risk of being buried next to a monster.
“Can you stay there for a while? I need to make some calls.”
“No, I have to leave,” he whispered. “But if I happen not to lock the back door and Helen’s body disappears, I won’t press charges if it turns out that you took it.”
Chapter 13
Tess called Sheriff Cobbs and told him of her father’s plan. “Grams would hate being buried beside the monster. Father has no legal say in her funeral arrangements. Grams put me in charge of them and stated exactly what she wanted.”
“Do you by chance have that in writing?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Could you send it to me?”
She went to Grams office, opened the safe, found the document, and faxed it to the sheriff.
She stayed on the phone as he read it. “Okay, legally it’s your say. Now, do you want to make a confrontation, or just get Helen cremated?”
“The latter.” Fighting with her father had never turned out well.
“Then I’ll need to track down Ed Dickens.”
“He doesn’t want to be in the middle of this so he’s left the back door of the funeral home unlocked and won’t press charges if Grams goes missing.”
A heavy sigh sounded over the phone. “Well, I am a law officer so I cannot go inside and get her. However, I can find someone who will cremate her if you can retrieve Helen from Dickens.”
“I think I can.”
“Give me a call if you have a body you want legally cremated.” He then hung up.
She called the number for Rescue and recognized Kyle’s snarly voice. “I have a big favor.”
“What?”
“There is no chance of being arrested,” she added.
After a slight pause, he said, “Okay…”
“I need to pick up Grams’ body and take her to a new place. I have reason to believe she’ll be shipped off against her wishes in the morning if I don’t.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I need the use of your helicopter to come pick me up, land at the funeral home, wait while I retrieve Grams, and take us to a new funeral home where she can be legally cremated as she wants. And you can’t say anything to anyone.”
He sighed. “Can’t do it.”
Her heart fell.
“The FAA would be all over me for landing at night on an unlit parking lot. However, I can come and get you, bring you here, and loan you my SUV. How’s that?”
She smiled. “That’ll work.”
She called back the sheriff and asked him where she might take Grams to get her cremated. He gave her the location and promised someone would be there to receive the body. He then asked which car she’d be arriving in. She explained her plan.
“Excellent.” He then hung up.
She called Kyle and told him to come get her, then quickly dressed and ran to the kitchen.
“Perfect timing,” Steel stated as he placed both dishes on the counter.
God, the food smelled fabulous. She hurried to the left cabinet and pulled out two Styrofoam food containers.
The moment she moved one plate into the container, Steel stopped her. “What’s going on?”
“Trust me?” she asked.
He removed his hand from her arm and watched as she moved the other plate to the second container. She grabbed real forks and two bottles of water. “Grab the food and let’s go.”
He followed her without any further objections. As they waited outside, he finally spoke. “Any time you want to explain…I won’t complain.”
“I will soon,” she promised. She would tell him now, but she feared her father might have the outside porch bugged as well.
As the thumping of the helicopter came closer, his muscles tensed.
She rubbed her hand over his arm. “Sorry about the helicopter, but it’s necessary.”
He breathed in deep and nodded once.
The helicopter landed on the thousand-foot open clearing in front of the house, kicking up a great deal of dust.
The moment Kyle landed, they both climbed in the back.
Kyle turned in his seat and glared at Steel as he climbed in. She sensed Kyle wasn’t happy about her boss’s presence, but she had no idea why.
“We’re belted and ready to go,” she said.
With soft curses beneath his breath, he turned around and took off.
Having no clue what had riled Kyle, she focused on Steel. She whispered softly the need to rescue Grams before she was interned for eternity next to a monster. Then she devoured her dinner like a starved wolf. When she’d finished every bit of it, Steel handed over his untouched container.
“Do you not want to help me?” she asked softly. That possibility had never crossed her mind.
“Absolutely,” he replied. “I just don’t have an appetite right now.” He smiled. “But you do, so eat.”
By the time Kyle landed the helicopter, she’d finished the second container. Kyle walked them to his SUV and handed the keys to Tess.
“We’re even now,” he grumbled.
Once inside the car, Steel thumped his knuckles on his door. “Was Kyle under the assumption you’d be doing this mission on your own?”
“Maybe. Something has him pissed off.”
When they neared their destination, a police car pulled out of the funeral home, blue lights flashing.
“That doesn’t look good,” Steel stated. “Drive on.”
Tess ignored him and pulled in.
“Tess!”
“I have to get Grams. I have a legal right to her.” She pulled the SUV to a halt and got out.
She headed to the closest policeman, but Steel stopped her. “Sheriff Cobbs is over there.”
“Thank God!” she said with relief and picked up her pace. “Sheriff Cobbs.”
“Miss Campbell. An unauthorized attempt was made to remove your grandmother from the funeral home. Knowing your wish to have Helen cremated, I called Mr. Dickens down here to assist you in legally removing Helen’s body and taking it to a more secure funeral home.”
A nervous and very unhappy man nodded at her. Poor Mr. Dickens didn’t want to be put in the middle, yet here he was. But she couldn’t be mad at Sheriff Cobbs. If not for him, her grams would have been gone when they arrived.
She went inside and signed the documents to receive custody of Grams’ body.
Four policemen helped carry the casket to a funeral car waiting in the parking lot as the sheriff led her back to the SUV. “Who gave you this SUV?”
“The guy who came and got us.”
“Tell anyone else what you were planning?”
“Only Mr. Dickens.”
“Then leave it here, and I’ll drive you over.”
He thinks Kyle is working for my father.
Once they climbed into the sheriff’s old pickup truck, the sheriff looked over to Steel. “Mr. Castile, it appears the Secret Service was unaware you had returned to the States. They are blaming M5 for the slip-up, and when I explained your current situation, I was assured that by tomorrow you will have adequate protection. But I must point out that if you had encountered Benito’s thugs tonight, it wouldn’t have matter. While they would not shoot Miss Campbell, they’d have shot you on sight.”
Tess gasped and gripped his hand. “Steel, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have involved you.”
He squeezed her hand. “You couldn’t have left without me.” He leaned forward and eyed the sheriff. “I think it was Kyle who flipped. We caught his younger brother and three other boys setting fire to the woods today. The boat they claimed to have used to get to the woods had three inches of fish line wrapped around the propeller, and its bottom was so rusted that only a fool would get into it. No way in hell they drove the boat there. I
think Kyle dropped them off in the helicopter.”
“But they helped put the fire out,” Tess reminded him.
“You called Rescue and said there was a fire, and two rescuers came out. Kyle wasn’t flying.”
“Oh…Denny was flying so Kyle couldn’t botch the water dump.” Tess sighed. “Well, you can see why I have trouble trusting people,” she grumbled.
He sighed heavily. “Getting there.”
Sheriff Cobbs eyed Steel. “Just so you know, I’m pretty sure the Secret Service plans to move you to safer ground.”
Tess gasped.
Steel gripped her hand. “Not happening. If nothing else, this night proves Tess needs a person she can trust by her side twenty-four-seven. Kyle expected her to arrive alone, and whatever he planned got interrupted because I was there.”
Tess shivered. “He’s right. Kyle was acting weird tonight.”
They pulled into Malloy’s Funeral Home and eased around the back. An Irish funeral home. Tess smiled. Grams would like that. It would be the one place that her father had no influence.
Mac Malloy, a rotund cheery fellow with rosy cheeks, greeted them at the back door and escorted them to a pleasant room.
Once she presented her legal authority to dispose of the body, he gave instructions to a young man who looked a great deal like him…just younger.
Then Malloy sat down beside her and captured her hand with his meaty paws. “You may view your grandmother right before she’s cremated so you know the ashes you receive are hers.”
“I would like that,” she admitted. “Thank you.”
“It’s not an uncommon request. We even have a viewing booth just for that purpose. You may even watch the box go into the furnace…or not. There is a curtain you may close whenever you wish.”
She needed to be sure, but the idea of watching her Grams go into the furnace made her want to toss up her food.
Steel whispered, “How about if you ensure its Helen, and then I ensure the same box goes into the furnace.”
God, how could he understand her so well? She smiled at him and nodded.
She didn’t want to see the dead body of her grams again, but she had to make sure her father hadn’t switched bodies. She trembled as Mr. Malloy opened the coffin.
She gasped at first glance, certain her father had won, that this wasn’t Grams, but then she realized what was different. They had put makeup on her. “Is it possible to remove the makeup? Grams would hate looking this way.”
“She won’t look like herself,” Mr. Malloy warned.
“I understand.”
He looked at the sheriff, and the man nodded.
He came in with a stinky solution that removed the plaster-like makeup. “Should I remove the wig, too?”
“Yes, please.” She had thought they’d cut Grams’ hair and puffed it out, but once the wig was removed, her beautiful white braid was there.
Once the makeup was gone, the face almost looked like Grams…only dead.
“That’s perfect, thank you.”
“She looks much better now,” the sheriff agreed.
Tess turned and looked at Steel who sat in the booth watching them. Satisfied, she joined him. “She’s met another of her objectives,” Steel softly whispered in her ear.
The sheriff had stepped away to take a call. When he returned, his focus was on Steel. “I’ve been asked by Secret Service to take you to a safe house close by.”
“I’m not leaving Tess.”
Sheriff Cobbs smiled. “I mentioned you probably wouldn’t come without Tess. While they weren’t exactly happy, if it’s the only way you’ll come, then they’ll let you bring her.” He then sobered. “They will try to convince you that she is a danger to your well-being. Honestly, the more I see you two together, the more I realize how futile and poorly conceived their recommendation is. You…” He sighed heavily and pain flickered across his face. “You remind me of me and my wife. We were mismatched as well, but God did I love her. Nothing could part us…not even death. So just be careful.”
Mr. Malloy joined them. “The ashes will be ready by ten tomorrow.”
Tess extended her hand. “Thank you for helping my grams go the way she wanted.”
He took her hand in his and patted it. “My pleasure. Always glad to help out a friend.” He glanced at the sheriff.
“We should get going,” the sheriff stated and rushed them out of the funeral home and into his pickup truck.
Chapter 14
When they entered a gated community in the rich section of town. The guard at the gate balked at allowing such a run-down pickup truck onto their streets. Eventually, a dark sedan arrived, and two men in black suits walked to the pickup and opened Steel’s door. “Prince Alastair.”
“You may refer to me as Steel or Dr. Castile,” he growled.
Prince? Tess didn’t recall him saying he was a prince…only some far distant relative to the queen, whom he’d never even met.
She could sense his discomfort…even anger at being called Prince Alastair. She squeezed his hand and looked at the black-suited man who had spoken to Steel. “You can call me Tess, or Miss Campbell.”
Both men stared at her like she was some alien…a dangerous viperous creature. In the dark, she couldn’t see much more than vague shapes, but the vibes they sent were definitely hostile.
“May we have a word in private, Dr. Castile,” Grumpy One asked.
“If you wish to take us to whatever house you’ve arranged for me to stay in tonight, that is fine. If you think there is even a slim chance I’ll go without Tess, you are mistaken.”
They stared at him with their intense eyes, evidently trying to intimidate Steel into compliance, which was never going to happen.
“Or we could go home with Sheriff Cobbs. He probably has a couch we could sleep on,” Steel warned.
“The car is this way, sir,” Grumpy Two said.
Tess waved goodbye to the sheriff as the two Grumpies escorted them to their car. The drive to the safe house was only a few blocks away.
Steel cursed softly and buried his face when they drove up the gated drive of a mega-mansion.
Tess couldn’t believe anyone could justify a house this size. “If my taxes are paying for this safe house, then I’ll be writing my congressman,” Tess warned.
“The British Embassy arranged this,” Grumpy Two replied. “Our safe house would evidently be perceived as an insult to the queen.”
“So don’t put the queen in your safe house,” Steel snapped. “I assure you I’d have been fine there.”
They pulled to a halt before two etched-glass doors revealing a well-lit entry hall hosting a beautiful teardrop chandelier.
The driver opened Steel’s door while Grumpy Two opened hers. They escorted Steel and Tess into the entry hall where they were received by a horrified butler. Tess first thought his distress was due to the dour Secret Service, but upon further study, his horror seemed directed at Steel. While she was in jeans and a sweatshirt, Steel still wore his hiking clothes, which, given the day they’d just had, couldn’t look much worse if he’d wallowed in a pig trough.
“You are Prince Alastair?” the old butler asked, his tone challenging the possibility.
Evidently, the man’s tone pissed off Steel because his shoulders squared, and he sounded ghastly proper and stuffy as he responded, “I am. My companion and I will require baths and proper clothing. Please see to the matter at once.”
The butler nodded and led them into the main house. “Shall I show you directly to your room?”
Grumpy One snapped, “No, we need to talk with him first.”
The butler struggled with their response. He refocused on Steel. “Your Highness. While I have been instructed by my master and mistress to make your stay pleasant and oblige the requests of your security, I must draw the line on destroying fine furniture simply for the want of a bath and clean clothes.”
Steel stared at his pants, covered in dry mud. “I promi
se not to sit until my bath is drawn. I trust that will not be long?”
“If you wish to have your discussion in the parlor, I will retrieve you the moment your bath is ready.” The old butler opened a door for them to enter then rushed upstairs.
“Sir…Prince,” Grumpy One said.
“I’ve already requested that you call me Steel or Dr. Castile.”
“Dr. Castile. Our conversation will take longer than the time to draw a bath.”
“From my experience, it takes an insanely long time for a bath to be drawn. So have a seat in this treasured parlor while I stand. However, if you have failed to make your key points by the time my bath is ready, then you can either wait or join me.”
Both men’s brows furrowed.
“I don’t think he means in the tub,” Tess said and raised her right eyebrow at him.
“Thank you, Tess. That is correct. A proper bathing room should have seating and a screen to separate me from my audience.”
“So I can come, too?” she asked.
“No,” Grumpy Two snapped.
Steel smiled at her. “That depends. I asked him to draw two baths. Yours will, of course, be in a different room.”
“I’m cleanish,” she assured him. “But I do want to know how these guys plan to keep you safe while we build the park.” She took his hand in hers. “I think tonight clearly proved my father doesn’t give a damn what other people want.” She turned to the grumpies. “I believe the fire we put out today was set by his direction as well.”
“They don’t need to know about that,” Steel grumbled.
“Yes, they do! How can they protect you if they don’t understand the shit my father pulls?”
Just then the butler returned. “Your bath is ready, sir.” He then frowned at Tess. “Yours will be ready soon, miss.”
“I don’t need one. I’ll just wait here in the parlor with my charming companions.” She wasn’t going to argue anymore. Steel’s security needed to know what they were up against. However, if they chose to follow Steel to his bath, then she’d write them off and try to protect the man she loved on her own.
Unexpected Love (White Oak-Mafia #2) Page 15
