“I don’t mean to be a pain.”
“You’re not a pain,” Finn said. “You’re just … curious. You feel more than most people do. That’s why you’re worried about a mountain of things you can’t control and you’ll probably make yourself sick over it until they get back.”
“You can’t tell me you’re not worried about Emma seeing her mother,” Mandy challenged.
“Worried isn’t the right word,” Finn clarified. “I desperately wish I was with her. I would like to be there if she needs me. I brought it up last night, but she shot it down really quickly. I don’t want to upset her so I agreed to stay behind.”
“But … that’s it? You’re not worried about the rest of it?”
“I feel guilty about Jeff getting the shaft while all of this is going on and think we need to do better on that front,” Finn said. “Emma is strong and I’m not worried about her mother beating her down. She might be upset, but I actually think seeing Sheila will be a good thing for her. It’s been a long time coming.”
“Wow, you are definitely the calm Hardy,” Mandy mused. “I would be a nervous wreck in your shoes.”
“I’m upset because I’m not with her, but I have faith she’ll come through with flying colors,” Finn said. “She always does.”
“What about the other part?” Mandy prodded. “What about James and Emma being forced to spend the day together? What if he yells?”
Finn snorted. “James is more patient than you give him credit for,” he said. “He loses it with you sometimes because he loves you more than anything and when you do something that puts your life in danger he can’t take it. I never worry about him raising his voice to Emma. In fact, I think he’s going to be great with her.”
“”I think he’s great regardless, but I’m more worried about him exploding all over Sheila and Emma being caught in the crossfire,” Mandy said. “I know he won’t yell at Emma. It’s not in his nature.”
“Oh.” Finn frowned as he considered Mandy words. “That’s completely different. You’re right. James is going to lose his cool and go off on Sheila.”
“Doesn’t that worry you?”
Finn shrugged. “It’s not as if that horrible woman doesn’t deserve it.”
“WELL, WELL, well. Look who we have here. Did you finally trade up for the rich Hardy like I told you to do?”
Sheila Archibald sneered as she was led into the small conference room, her wrists and ankles shackled. She didn’t look happy to see her daughter or son, and she looked even unhappier to see James.
“Sheila, you look as if prison has been cruel to you,” James said, taking in her gray hair and ashen features. “That’s good. It makes us all happy.”
Sheila scorched James with a death glare as she sat in her chair and stared at her children. “What? No hug for Mom? Where’s the love?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s still back in the parking lot where you wanted to kill and sacrifice me to make your escape,” Emma said dryly, earning a sidelong look from James. He was mildly worried about her reaction, but so far she was holding up well despite the fact that she made the entire drive with him in silence.
“Well, you’re still alive, so I don’t know what you’re crying about,” Sheila shot back, wrinkling her nose as she focused on Jeff. “When did you get out? You look thinner than I remember.”
“Well, you haven’t seen me in almost six years, Mom,” Jeff said. “A lot changes in that amount of time.”
“I guess,” Sheila said, her expression softening slightly. Whatever ill will she held for Emma didn’t appear to cross over to Jeff, which James found interesting. “It’s good you’re out, though. Do you have a job? They’ll toss you back in if you don’t have a job.”
“He’s working for me,” James supplied. “We’re making sure he gets his life back on track.”
“I like it,” Jeff added. “It’s been a busy few days, but everyone is really nice and funny.”
“They’re not so funny when they’re locking you up for life,” Sheila shot back.
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have threatened my sister and her baby,” Jeff snapped. “It seems to me you’ve gotten exactly what you deserve.”
“Of course you would think that,” Sheila lamented, inclining her head in Emma’s direction. “You’ve been spending too much time with this one and listening to her bitch. She always was a needy and dramatic thing. She wasn’t happy unless she stole all of the attention from me.”
Emma’s mouth dropped open as she knit her eyebrows together. “Excuse me? You were my mother. You were supposed to want to give me attention.”
“And you stole my husband,” Sheila argued. “Why would I want to give you anything after that?”
Since Lance Pritchard was a child molester who went after both of his children, Sheila’s statement made James sick to his stomach.
“Shut your mouth,” James warned, extending a finger as he leaned forward in his chair. “Don’t even think of speaking to her that way again. I won’t stand for it.”
“It’s okay, James,” Emma said, resting her hand on his forearm to calm him. “She’s not happy unless she’s ticking people off. This is just a game to her.”
“Speaking of games, what does the youngest Hardy brother think now that you’ve tossed him out in favor of this one?” Sheila asked. “Is he broken-hearted? Oh, and what about the blonde?” Sheila shifted her predatory eyes to James. “She made it sound as if you two were going to be together forever. She must be crushed.”
“My wife is perfectly happy, not that it’s any of your business,” James said. “Emma and Finn are happy, too. They have a family and they’re getting married. You won’t be present for any of those wonderful milestones, though, and for that we’re truly thankful.”
“Well, how great for you,” Sheila deadpanned as she looked Emma up and down. “You’re fatter than you were before you got pregnant. I told you having a baby would ruin your body. Now you’ll never be a top model. It’s too late. You should’ve listened to me. No one ever listens to me, though.”
“Hey!” Jeff was flabbergasted. “How can you say that to her? She looks great.”
“She does look great,” James agreed. “She looks amazing, in fact. Finn was just telling me the other day how much he likes her body.”
Jeff shot James a dubious look. “You probably didn’t have to share that. She’s my sister, man.”
“I know,” James muttered, running a restless hand through his dark hair. “I knew the second it came out of my mouth that it was one of those things that’s not meant to be shared.”
“It’s very flattering,” Emma said, squeezing James’ hand to let him know there were no hard feelings. “I also don’t care what she thinks. Is my body the same, Mother? No. It won’t ever be the same, but neither will my heart. I have a son, you see, and he’s worth every change.”
“So you had a boy,” Sheila mused. “That’s better than having a girl. At least he won’t try to steal your husband in sixteen years.”
“Oh, I can’t take one second longer of that,” James snapped. “You’re a sick piece of work. You know that, right?”
“And you’re a bombastic loser who thinks he’s king of the castle,” Sheila shot back. “What else have you got?”
“Nothing,” James muttered, shaking his head. “I just … you’re horrible. I have no idea how Jeff and Emma turned out so great given you’re such a piece of crap. It’s a great commentary … on them.”
Sheila made a face that would’ve been comical under different circumstances. It made James’ stomach turn. “What’s my grandson’s name?”
“It doesn’t matter,” James replied.
“It’s fine,” Emma said, shaking her head. “It’s public record. His name is Avery James Hardy.”
Sheila stilled. “The middle name is after this one, but where did the first name come from? No one in our family has that name.”
“And no one in my family will ever bear
a name from your family,” Emma said. “If you must know, though, Avery is Mandy’s maiden name. We named the baby after her because she’s the one who delivered him.”
“You know, I read about that,” Sheila said, flashing an evil smile. “The newspaper didn’t have a lot of details, but someone said that your father was going to kill you and steal the baby and an unnamed woman killed him to stop him. They say he tried to kill the woman, but she gutted him instead. That must have been great. I’m sorry I missed it.”
James frowned. He was aware there was no love loss between Lance Pritchard and Sheila Archibald, but whenever anyone brought up Pritchard’s death he couldn’t help but take it to heart. “My wife almost died thanks to that piece of filth you married.”
“Too bad she didn’t,” Sheila said. “I don’t like her either.”
James slammed his hands down on the table, jolting Sheila as Jeff widened his eyes. For her part, Emma remained perfectly still. She wasn’t surprised in the least by James’ reaction.
“James, don’t let her get to you,” Emma instructed. “That’s what she wants. She’s stuck in here with no one to manipulate. When she heard we were here, she probably jumped at the chance to mess with us for her own entertainment. Don’t fall into her trap.”
“Well, look at you,” Sheila said, leaning back in her chair and looking at Emma with renewed interest. “When did you finally grow a backbone?”
“When I became a mother and realized there was something more important than myself,” Emma replied, not missing a beat. “You never realized that, which is why you will always be unhappy.”
“It’s also why you’re stuck in here for the rest of your life,” James said. “Tell me, how are the amenities in prison?”
“Not great,” Sheila gritted out. “Why are you people even here? I didn’t invite you. You’re clearly not here to catch up. What do you want?”
“We want to know about David Barber,” Emma replied, taking the lead in the questioning and catching James off guard. “We want to know about your relationship with him.”
“David?” Sheila scratched her nose, the shackles around her wrists making noise in the process. “Why do you want to know about him?”
“Because his son was just killed in a parking garage in Detroit,” James answered, skirting around the issue of Finn because he didn’t want to give Sheila any ammunition to work with. “He was killed and we want to know why. Whoever did it shot him from a mid-level landing and then stole something from his pocket. His father believes that was probably a safety deposit key.”
She tried to play it cool, but Sheila’s eyes gleamed as the new information washed over her. “Really?”
“We’re not playing this the slow way,” Emma interjected, shaking her head when James shot her a questioning look. “We know you dated David Barber after his wife died, but before you got together with Dad. We have photos of you and David together.”
“How did you manage that?” Sheila asked, surprised.
“We have friends in high places,” Emma replied. “Now, David Barber says that the second key to that safety deposit box went missing at some point, although he doesn’t know when. He doesn’t know what’s in the box either – or at least he says he doesn’t – and he can’t figure out who would kill his son for those items.
“We’re not here to play games and we’re not here to listen to you wax poetic about turns your life could’ve made,” she continued. “We’re here to bribe you. I will put money in your commissary account for you if you answer our questions. If you don’t, well, then we’re done.”
“Just like that?” Sheila was obviously annoyed.
“Just like that,” Emma confirmed.
Sheila blew out an exasperated sigh. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know if you know what’s in the safety deposit box,” Emma replied.
“All I know is what the kid said,” Sheila replied. “He said his mom left him treasure. I believed him because David said she was rich. I knew David wasn’t going to settle down forever so I searched the house for the safety deposit box keys. I thought I might be able to open the box and empty it without David being the wiser, but Owen refused to let go of his. I was going to steal it from him if I could find the other key, but I never got that far.”
“What happened?” James asked.
“I found a huge jar full of keys out in the garage and I thought I hit the jackpot,” Sheila admitted. “I made the mistake of telling David’s driver about what I found and asked to hide the jar in the car until he took me home that night. He agreed, but when I got in the car the jar was gone and the driver pretended he had no idea what I was talking about. I was never invited back to David’s house again.”
James rubbed his chin as he considered the information. “That’s all? That’s your entire part in this?”
“Don’t look so disappointed,” Sheila said, chuckling hollowly. “I was always after money. That shouldn’t surprise you. I knew David wouldn’t keep me so I hoped to pave my own way. Owen was a spoiled little brat. He bragged about all of his money. I thought I could get in the safety deposit box and run away to start a new life. That obviously didn’t happen.”
“Who was the driver?” James asked.
“I honestly don’t remember,” Sheila said. “You’ll have to figure that one out on your own. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I have some money coming to my account and I want to spend it.”
“Knock yourself out,” James muttered, frowning until Sheila left the room and then turning to Emma. “You did a great job.”
“What does it mean, though?” Jeff asked, rubbing Emma’s shoulders.
“It’s just another step along the trail,” James said. “Come on. I want to get back home and talk to Peter about this. If anyone knows who served as David Barber’s driver during that time period, it’s him.”
16
Sixteen
“Hey, love of my life, how are things going here?”
James dropped a soft kiss on Mandy’s mouth as he walked in through the garage door. The trip back from the prison was long and Emma was largely silent, which left James and Jeff to pick up the conversational slack. James liked Jeff, but it was still a long afternoon.
“They’re okay,” Mandy said, slipping her arms around James’ waist and offering him a warm hug. “I missed you, though.”
“That bad, huh?” James tipped Mandy’s chin up so he could study her face. “What’s going on, baby? Did Finn give you fits?”
“He was fine,” Mandy said. “We had a nice talk. His belief in Emma is … amazing.”
“Are you saying my belief in you isn’t amazing?”
“Why does everything have to be a challenge?”
James shrugged. “I like to win,” he said. “I feel like I won the jackpot with you, so I want to keep on winning.”
“Oh, that was a good answer,” Mandy said, rubbing her nose against his cheek. “I promise you’ll win later if you’re a good boy.”
“I plan on being a very good boy,” James said. “Where are Emma and Jeff? They hopped out in front of the house while I parked in the garage. Emma practically raced inside. Was that to see Finn or Avery?”
“Both,” Mandy replied. “Finn and Avery fell asleep on the mattress together an hour ago, though. It was cute. Finn propped Avery up and talked to him for like two hours straight. It was like two old men having a conversation on the front porch. All they were missing was rocking chairs.”
“That does sound cute,” James said. “Emma won’t be happy about that. I think she wants to hold the baby.”
“I think she probably wants to hold Finn, too, but she won’t wake them,” Mandy said. “What about Sheila? Did she give you anything?”
“Besides indigestion?”
Mandy waited, feigning patience. She was used to her husband’s dramatic flair.
“She gave us something,” James said, recounting the brief story about the keys. “Now we have t
o find out who this driver was. I called Peter on the way back. He’s coming over for dinner. Since he doesn’t trust our food choices, he’s making his chef cook for everyone and transporting it here.”
“Fancy,” Mandy said, grinning. “I guess that leaves me more time to spend with you since I won’t be slaving over a hot stove.”
“When have you ever slaved over a hot stove?”
Mandy scowled. “I cook you breakfast all of the time.”
“And you make a mean omelet, baby, but that’s pretty much the only thing you can cook.”
“Fine, then I won’t cook for you upstairs tonight,” Mandy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Oh, baby, don’t be like that,” James whined. “I’ve had a long day. I don’t need you to cook. Well, I don’t need you to cook food. I do need you to do that other cooking you were talking about, but that’s a whole other story.”
Mandy let loose with an exaggerated sigh. “What happened with Emma?”
“She was fine,” James said. “She was strong, in fact. She laid down the law and didn’t mess around. Her mother, on the other hand, told her she was fat and was really excited when she thought Emma traded up for me.”
“I hate that woman,” Mandy muttered, annoyed. “Emma is not fat.”
“What about the part about trading up for me?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Mandy said, her voice taking on a mischievous tone. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Oh, man.” James made a face as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Baby, I can’t take deep questions right now.”
“It will just be a quick one.”
“Fine, baby. If it requires a drawn out answer, though, I’m running away from home for a few hours.”
“Okay.” Mandy licked her lips and pasted an enigmatic smile on her face. James had never seen it before so he had no idea how to read it. “Do you think I should cook for you tonight even though you’ve been complaining to your brothers about the questions I ask? Personally, I’m thinking you should starve.”
“Son of a … .” James pressed his lips together and glared in the direction of the den. “Everyone in this family has a big mouth.”
Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) Page 13
