Unbreakable Bonds (An Angela Panther Mystery Book 2)

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

I was the crappiest best friend ever. I dropped my chin to my chest. "I'm sorry. I'm a horrible friend." I raised my eyes as she wiped the tears dripping down her face.

  "No, you're not," she said. "The lesbian thing was pretty nuts. And you're right, sneaking around Carrie's apartment complex in the dark was pretty stupid." Her mouth curled into a smile, and she laughed. "But man it was funny watching you practically suffocate that skunk." She let out a belly laugh.

  I snorted. "I'm glad I can add a touch of humor to the insanity." I put my hand on her knee. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you're going through, and it's not fair of me to be critical. You wouldn't do that to me."

  She clasped my hand in hers. "It's okay. You're not being critical. You're being honest, and I appreciate that. I need you to tell me when I'm going off the deep end. It may upset me, but I'll get over it."

  "Ah Madone, can we quit with the Hallmark commercial, and figure out how to help Harold here? I got stuff to do," Ma said.

  I raised my eyebrows at Mel. "Ma said we gotta get the ball rolling here for Harold."

  Mel's eyes widened. "Oh, crap. Totally forgot about him." She spoke toward the back seat. "Sorry, Harold."

  He accepted her apology.

  I glanced at the house again. "I don't know what to do except knock on the door, and try again." I shifted my head toward Mel, and smiled. "Think you can keep your lips zipped this time?"

  She pulled her fingers across her lips in a zipping motion, and nodded.

  "I'm gonna knock on the door, and if she answers, I'm just going to blurt out as fast as I can that I talk to the dead and have a message from her husband," I said. "Harold, maybe you can tell me something to say to her so she'll believe me?"

  "Let me think about this for a moment," he said. "Ah, yes, I do know of something you could mention. Perhaps she'll believe you if you tell her you know that she was originally pregnant with triplets, but one did not grow properly, and died in utero. It was attached to our son Brendan when he was born. The doctor had to surgically remove the fetus from his shoulder. We never told anyone about it for fear of what it would do to our sons—knowing they'd had another sibling that didn't make it."

  "Wow. It' a like a story from Reader's Digest."

  "What?" Mel asked.

  "I'm not telling you," I said, smiling. "I don't want you running up to the door, and screaming it to the poor woman."

  She stuck her tongue out at me. "Touché."

  "She gets that from me," Ma said.

  I ignored my mother, and got out of the car. "Promise you won't say anything?" I asked Mel.

  "Pinky promise," she replied.

  We stood in front of the door, but none of us touched the knocker or doorbell. I bounced on the tips of my toes, and stretched my shoulders back. "Okay, here goes," I said and tapped the knocker on the door three times. I rubbed my hands together. They were sweaty again.

  The door opened a crack, and a chain pulled tight across it. "Do I need to call the police?" Maya asked.

  I quickly stuck my foot in the door—just in case—and blurted out, "I know your husband is dead, but I have a message from him."

  I tensed my leg, waiting for the door to push on it, but it didn't.

  "He's been dead two years. If you had a message from him why would you wait until now to tell me?"

  I squared my shoulders. "Because he just told me yesterday."

  I felt the door push on my foot, and I kept my foot pressed into the ground.

  "Ah Madone," Ma said. "Someone's gonna lose a foot in that door."

  "He said you'd believe me if I told you I knew about the triplet attached to Brendan's shoulder."

  The pressure from the door relaxed, and Maya's face appeared in the crack. Her head was slightly tilted. "No one knows about that but Harold and me."

  I nodded. "I know. That's why he told me to tell you. May I please come in? It's important."

  Her face softened, and she looked down. My eyes followed, and when I saw my foot, I pulled it out. The door shut, and I heard her remove the chain. She opened the door again and moved to the side. She shook her head. "I don't know why I'm doing this, but come in."

  I released a deep breath, and walked in. Mel followed.

  The house was stunning. The foyer grandeur was over the top, and bordered on tacky. Centered in the middle of the entrance was a spiral staircase with marble flooring, framed by two huge vases that held fake floral arrangements, and a naked woman statue on a grandiose foyer table.

  "Wow," Mel said. "This is incredible."

  Maya flipped her hand in the air. "Harold liked it. I prefer things more simple."

  "It really is beautiful," I said. "I'm sure it made your husband happy to have it how he liked it."

  "Yes." She led us into the great room.

  "Wow," I said. It was decorated like a French villa. Colored in creams and reds with gold accessories, and a soft cream, half-circle couch. There were four bookcases separated by an ornate stacked stone and wood fireplace. I knew the money was hidden behind one of them, but I wasn't sure which.

  "Harold again?" Mel asked, hesitantly.

  Maya nodded.

  "Holy moly," Ma said. "I think I've died and gone to heaven. As Josh says, it's da bomb ain't it? Though mauve and gray would a been a better choice. That's what I had in my place, ya know. The red makes it look kinda like a whorehouse, you ask me. I wonder if they got an ice maker? I always wanted an ice maker."

  "Yes, we have three, one in each refrigerator," Harold said.

  "Oh, I forgot you were here," Ma said and snorted. "Sorry about the whorehouse comment."

  "Similar comments have been made," he said.

  I covered my mouth, and giggled.

  "I figured. And hey, whadda ya need three fridges for?" Ma asked. "Your wife cook a lot?"

  "No, but our maid did."

  "You got a maid? I always wanted a maid, but all I got was Angela here, and she never had any interest in cooking."

  I ignored my mother, and focused on Maya.

  "I know this is hard to believe, but Harold came to me last night. He doesn't want you to lose the house."

  She raised an eyebrow. "He came to you last night? How is that possible?"

  "Honestly," I said. "It's a long story, and I don't want to bore you with the details, but he gave me some information, and it's huge. You won't have to move."

  She pulled her face back, making her chin multiply, and shook her head. "I don't understand."

  "He says there's two million dollars hidden between a bookcase and the wall." I twisted toward the bookcases. "I'm guessing it's behind one of those."

  She pivoted toward the bookcases, and then swung her head back toward me. Her face was red. "That's impossible. Those bookcases are built into the wall. Besides, Harold wouldn't hide two million dollars behind a bookcase." She stood. "Now, please, you need to leave. I have too much to do to be wasting my time with you."

  "Harold, I could use some help here," I mumbled.

  "You see that photo on the first bookcase?" He asked. "It's a picture of us in Mexico the day we found out she was pregnant. We had to pay a hotel worker to drive into town and get a pregnancy test because she was too afraid to leave the resort. Tell her you know she still has the test stick in her jewelry box, and that I wanted her to throw it away because it seems too unsanitary to me."

  I walked over to the photo and picked it up. "Harold just told me this was taken in Mexico, the day you found out you were pregnant." I held the picture toward her. "He said he had to pay a hotel worker to go into town, and get a pregnancy test for you because you were too afraid to go."

  She walked to me, and snatched the photo from my hand. "All of our friends know that story."

  "Do they know you've still got the test stick in your jewelry box?" I asked. "Harold said he tried to get you to throw it away because he thinks it's unsanitary, but you wouldn't."

  She swayed, catching her balance on a bookcase shelf. "I wouldn't let him tell a
nyone that," she said. "It is unsanitary to keep the stick, but I couldn't make myself throw it away. I just couldn't."

  I nodded. "I kept both of my test sticks, too."

  Maya stared at the bookcase. "Two million dollars?"

  "That's what he said."

  She ran her hand along the edge of a shelf. "Is this the one?"

  "Harold?"

  "Yes, that's the one," he said.

  I nodded to Maya.

  Her eyes scanned the great room. "Is he here?"

  "Yes."

  "Oh." She shuffled her feet. "What does he want me to do?"

  Harold told me how to move the bookcase.

  "He wants you to move the bookcase."

  She faced the bookcase, and tilted her head. "But I don't know how."

  I stepped to her side, and showed her the electrical cover on the back wall of the second shelf. "Flip that up. There's a latch behind it. Release the latch, and it unlocks the bookcase. Then you just have to pull the bookcase forward, and it should open."

  She just stood there, her eyes glued to the bookcase.

  "Would you like me to do it for you?" I asked.

  She nodded. "I don't think I can."

  I flipped up the electrical outlet cover. Harold was telling the truth. Behind the cover was a latch, I released it, and heard it snap.

  "The bookcase is heavy," Harold said. "You'll need two people to pull it out."

  I turned to Mel. "Harold says it's heavy. Wanna help?"

  She touched her hand to her chest. "Me? Oh, yeah, sure." She jogged to the bookcase, and we both grabbed the shelf.

  "Okay, on the count of three, we pull," I said.

  Mel nodded.

  "One, two, three," I said. Harold was right. It was heavy. We grunted and pulled, and with a little sweat one side yanked open. I got behind it and pushed it open as far as I could.

  "Oh wow," Mel said.

  "Well lookie there," Ma said. "A secret hiding place. Always wanted one a those."

  "Incredible," I said.

  Maya's mouth hung open, but she didn't make a sound.

  In the wall was a small door with a combination lock built into it. "Harold, what's the combination?" I asked.

  Maya came back from la la land. "Oh, he would have used the twin's birthday," she said.

  I moved to the side. "Would you like to open it?

  She walked over to the lock, and put in the combination. The door popped open. "Oh my," she said, and stepped back.

  I counted seven shelves piled high with rows of money held together with rubber bands. Another four shelves above those were stuffed full of gold and silver coins. I gasped.

  "Holy moly, she hit the jackpot," Ma said.

  "Frick," Mel said.

  Harold was relieved. "She'll be fine now. I'd completely forgotten about the coins. That will make things even easier."

  "I'd think so," I said.

  Maya didn't speak—she just stood there, and stared at the money.

  "He wants you to keep the house," I said. "And he said if you invest the rest, you'll be fine."

  Maya faced me. "He comes to Kyle, at night, in his dreams."

  I nodded. "Yes, he told me."

  She shook her head. "I didn't believe my son."

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You do now." I turned, and walked toward the foyer. Mel followed.

  "Wait," Maya said. She bit her lower lip. "Is he still here?"

  I nodded. "Yes. He can hear you, if you'd like to talk to him."

  Tears fell from her eyes. "My love, I'm so lonely without you."

  "I'm always with you," he said. "I'll never leave you."

  My throat burned, and I had to swallow back a lump. I squeezed my eyes shut, and let the tears fall. "He's always with you, he said, and he'll never leave you." I glanced at Mel as she wiped tears from her eyes.

  Maya looked at the wall full of money. "You promised you'd always take care of me," she said. She pointed to the money. "But I would give all of this away to have you back—just to see you one more time. All of it."

  "We'll be together, my love. At night, while you sleep, I'll be there, and I'll come to you in your dreams."

  It was hard to repeat that while bawling, but I did my best.

  Maya pulled me to her, and hugged me. "I'm sorry about earlier," she said. "What you've given me is...is amazing. And I don't mean the money. I don't know how I can ever thank you."

  "You could give her some of that cash," Ma said.

  I hugged Maya again, mostly to hide my smile. "You don't have to repay me, Maya. It's what I do." I let go of the embrace and said, "I'm going to get out of your way now so you can do what you need to do to cancel this move, okay?"

  She nodded. "Yes...yes, and thank you." She walked us to the door.

  Before she walked out, Mel turned to Maya, tilted her head, and said, "Sorry about before."

  Maya waved her off, shaking her head. "It's already forgotten."

  Harold and I said our goodbyes outside. Mel made me ask him four times if he was sure he hadn't hidden money anywhere else, but he assured me he hadn't. She was bummed.

  We got in the car, and Mel squealed. "Holy bundles of money Batman, that was freaking awesome." She used her hands to help her talk. "I can't believe you didn't want to do this stuff before." Her face contorted into an unfamiliar expression. "Oh, my God," she said, and then she cried.

  "What's wrong?"

  "That poor woman! Here I am pissed off at the world because my husband cheated on me. I don't want to be with Nick ever again, but Maya? Her husband is dead, and her heart is broken. How is she going to recover from that? The things they said to each other? My heart was breaking too, and I don't even know them." She wiped her nose with her hand. "It really puts my crappy life in perspective, you know?"

  I opened the glove compartment, and handed her a tissue. "I know what you mean, but don't discount what you're going through because you think someone else is worse off than you. You're still allowed to feel what you feel."

  "I know, but still. That was a real eye-opener. It was incredible."

  I smirked. "It was pretty amazing, wasn't it? Did you like how I stuck my foot in the door?"

  She laughed. "Where'd you learn that?"

  "Ancient Chinese secret," I said, and started the car.

  I dropped Mel off at Starbucks. She asked if I wanted to have another frappe, but I told her I had to get back, and deal with the Emily crisis.

  "Oh, yeah. When you feel like talking about it, let me know."

  "I will. Text or call later," I said.

  I wasn't usually so closed mouthed about stuff with Mel, but I wasn't ready to talk about my daughter's virginity—or lack thereof—just then.

  ***

  Jake and the kids were in the kitchen when I returned. Josh's eyes were glued to his phone, and Emily sat next to him at the kitchen table busying herself staring at her arm.

  Jake had his laptop in front of him. "Was it there?" He asked.

  "Yup."

  "Was what where?" Emily tried to act normal, but her skittish expression gave her away.

  "Long story," I said.

  She took that as a brush off, hung her head, and got up from the table. "I'll be in my room."

  "Hold on, honey," I said, grabbing her arm. "I'll go with you. We can chat a bit." I glanced at Jake, and mouthed, "Did you talk to her?"

  He shook his head, and mouthed back, "Nope."

  I raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you wanna come?" I asked in a normal voice.

  "Ah, Josh asked me to help him with a game," he said.

  Josh glanced up from his phone. "I did?"

  I shook my head and mouthed, "Chicken."

  "Mom, I like, really don't wanna be yelled at, okay?" Emily's voice shook, and her eyes, already swollen and red from crying, teared up.

  "I'm not gonna yell at you, but we have to talk.”

  "Fine."

  I wrapped my arm around her. "Come on."
/>   Up in her room, we had a long about sex, boys, how to respect yourself, and how a boy should treat her. I wanted her to know I was there for her, and that even though she messed up big time, I didn't love her any less.

  "Will I get to see Chandler again?"

  I shook my head. "I don't think your dad's gonna allow that, kiddo."

  "So it's really like, over? We're broken up?"

  I nodded. "What happened last night wasn't just a big deal for you. It was a big deal for your dad and me, too." I bumped her with my shoulder. "You're his little girl. It's hard for him, you growing up like this."

  "I'm not a kid anymore, Mom."

  "Actually, you are, but you could be forty and he'll still see his little girl."

  "He's, like, barely talking to me."

  "Give him time, he'll come around."

  "How long am I grounded for?" She asked.

  "I'm not sure. We'll just see how things go, okay?" I kissed her on the forehead and got up. "And one more thing," I said.

  She rolled her eyes, but I let it go.

  "Sex in a car is cheap and sleazy, and is never, ever appropriate. You deserve better."

  She bowed her head. "It wasn't that bad."

  I laughed. "Honey, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, okay?"

  She nodded.

  "No guy knows what he's doing until he's at least thirty."

  "Really?"

  "Yup."

  "What about Dad?"

  "According to him, he came out of the womb good at everything."

  "Gross."

  "Don't worry, he wasn't right."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  JAKE DIDN'T MENTION THE EMILY SITUATION all day. He played video games with Josh, worked a little, and watched TV. Emily—likely too scared to come downstairs again, stayed holed up in her room. I heard her crying, but decided she needed space. She didn't have access to her computer, the family iPad, or her cell phone, so I figured that was part of the reason for her tears, but mostly it was because of Chandler. I wasn't sure forcing them to break up was the right thing to do—in fact, I was pretty sure it would only drive her closer to the boy, but for the time being, I let sleeping dogs lie.

  Mel sent a text. Since she'd decided against being a lesbian, she was now obsessed with marrying a millionaire. She'd done several calculations, and decided he needed to be at least seventy years old, and have about seven million dollars. She'd already decided exactly what she'd do with the cash.