“He’s indisposed at the moment, but he should be available in a few minutes,” Marcia replied.
“Indisposed?” Ivy was confused. “I don’t understand what that means.”
“It means he has a newspaper in the bathroom and he’ll be out in a few minutes,” Marcia snapped, causing Ivy’s cheeks to color. “Good gravy.”
“I’m sorry,” Ivy said, avoiding eye contact with Jack because she was afraid he would start laughing and embarrass her. “I … we’ll wait out here.”
“That’s fine,” Marcia replied. “I’ve got a houseful of kids as it is and I prefer people refrain from tracking dirt through my house because they stick everything in their mouths if you don’t constantly watch them.”
“That’s right, you have a daycare center now,” Ivy said. “I forgot about that. How many kids do you take in these days?”
“I have six a day,” Marcia replied. “That includes both of mine for the summer months.”
“How old is Timmy now?” Ivy asked, grasping for ways to make conversation after the unfortunate bathroom snafu. “I saw him in town about a week ago. He’s getting big.”
“He’s seven now,” Marcia replied. “I swear it feels as if I just gave birth to him, but he’s a regular little person now. He’s got thoughts and feelings. Of course, most of those thoughts are about how much trouble he can find.”
As if on cue, a brown-haired boy with big eyes and a plastic gun in his hand raced around the corner of the house. He pulled up short when he saw the visitors and then aimed his fake gun at Jack and pulled the trigger.
“You’re dead, mister.”
Jack chuckled as he knelt down so he could be on an even level with Timmy. “Are you a cop or robber?”
“I’m a starship captain.”
“Ah, that’s even better,” Jack said, grinning. “Are you having fun on your summer break?”
Timmy shrugged. “It’s okay,” he said. “I would like it if we could go swimming more, but Mom has a bunch of babies in there so we can’t unless it’s a day when the babies aren’t around.”
“You don’t like the babies?”
“They smell and poop in their pants,” Timmy replied. “Would you like that?”
Jack laughed. “Probably not. I guess I didn’t think about that.”
“It’s gross, and Mom makes me put the poopy diapers in the garbage and I swear I want to throw up every time,” Timmy said, making an exaggerated face.
“Okay, Timmy, that will be enough of that,” Marcia said, shaking her head. “It’s time for your snack anyway. Go inside and get a juice box and some carrots.”
“Oh, Mom.” Timmy wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want carrots. Can’t I have those cupcakes you bought?”
“You can have one cupcake after dinner,” Marcia replied. “You can have carrots or nothing for a snack.”
Timmy blew a loud raspberry as his shoulders slouched and he trudged toward the open door. “That sucks.”
“Watch your mouth,” Marcia warned, although she affectionately ruffled the boy’s hair as he passed. “I love him, don’t get me wrong, but I wish I would’ve gotten a girl at one point.”
“How many children do you have?” Jack asked, straightening.
“We have three, but Frankie is a teenager and never home since he discovered girls,” Marcia said. “We thought we were done with Timmy, but then I had a little surprise a few years ago when I ended up pregnant with Noah.”
“So you have a toddler?”
Marcia nodded. “That’s why I decided to start the daycare center,” she explained. “I was ready to go back to work – I’m a nurse – when Timmy headed off to school, but then I found out I was pregnant. We were … shocked. We didn’t think it would happen again.
“I knew going back after having another baby would be difficult so I decided to start my own business,” she continued. “Most days it’s great. Other days I want to pull my hair out.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jack said, smiling at a small blond girl with green eyes as she toddled up to Marcia’s side with a bottle in her hand. “Your friend looks pretty cute.”
Marcia snorted. “This is Bailey. She’s Melissa Anderson’s girl with Dan. Frank didn’t want me taking her in because of that big fight, but I told Frank that it wasn’t Bailey’s fault that her father is an idiot.”
Ivy stilled. “I didn’t know Dan had a daughter,” she said. “I guess I never really considered who Bailey’s father was. I know Melissa a little bit from seeing her around town. I never gave it much thought.”
“She’s a good girl,” Marcia said. “I didn’t even know Melissa was pregnant. She didn’t gain more than ten pounds, I swear. It was massively annoying because I gained like sixty pounds with Noah and we were pregnant at the same time.”
Ivy clucked sympathetically. “Melissa was also eighteen when she had Bailey,” she said. “It’s easy to bounce back when you’re eighteen. I know I used to be able to eat an entire box of Twinkies and never worry about it. That changes as you get older.”
“Don’t I know it,” Marcia said, glancing down as another toddler wrapped his arms around her knee. “This is Noah. He’s my youngest.”
“Hi, Noah,” Ivy said, smiling broadly.
The boy, who looked to be about two, merely stared as he sucked on his pacifier.
“Not a big talker, huh?” Jack asked. “That’s okay. The women like it when you’re strong and silent. Trust me.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Women like it when you’re chatty and giving, Noah. Don’t listen to him.”
A third toddler, this one a little bigger, moved up behind Bailey and Noah and fixed Ivy with a cheeky grin as he held out a stuffed bear. Ivy wordlessly accepted the bear and smiled.
“And this is Milo Johnson,” Marcia supplied. “He’s the only other one I’ve got today since it’s summer. He’s Patty Fisher’s son.”
“Patty Fisher?” Ivy racked her brain. “Milo looks to be … what … three?”
Marcia nodded. “Yup. He just turned three about a week ago. He’s the most amiable boy I’ve ever met. The kid is just happy all the time. I wish I had five more like him.”
“I don’t remember Patty Fisher being pregnant three years ago,” Brian said, taking Ivy by surprise with the question. “Didn’t she used to date Dan, too?”
“Yeah, but he’s not Milo’s father,” Marcia answered. “Patty … A-D-O-P-T-E-D Milo.”
It took Ivy a moment to realize what Marcia was spelling out. “Oh. I didn’t realize that. I guess I don’t keep up with the town baby gossip as much as I should.”
“Yeah, it was a real surprise to all of us when she showed up with the baby,” Marcia explained. “We didn’t even know she was interested in having a kid and then she showed up with Milo one day and broke up with Dan like two weeks later. I don’t think there were any hard feelings in the break-up, though. Dan just didn’t want kids. I would still see them talking around town from time to time.”
“Huh.” Ivy shifted her thoughtful eyes to Jack and could see his mind working, too. “Well, it definitely looks like you have your hands full.”
“I do,” Marcia agreed. “It’s rewarding, though, and I would die for any one of these kids. That’s why I want to put the neighborhood watch thing together. After hearing what happened to that poor girl … .”
“It’s been hard on the entire community,” Brian said. “Everyone has been trying to wrap their brains around it.”
“How is she?” Marcia asked. “I wanted to stop by and see her. I’m not sure why. It’s probably because I have a soft spot for kids or something. I know they’re not letting anyone visit her in the hospital, though.”
“She’s … recovering,” Jack replied. “It’s going to be an ongoing process, but she’s a very strong girl.”
“She would have to be to survive whatever happened to her,” Marcia said. “I don’t know the details, but I think I can figure them out. I hope they catch the person who to
ok her and fry him.”
“That’s what we hope, too,” Brian said.
Marcia tilted her head to the side, as if listening to the sounds of the house. “I hear Frank,” she said. “I’ll get him for you. I hope he can help with whatever it is you need him for.”
“Me, too,” Brian said.
“THANKS for doing this, Frank.”
Brian kept pace with Frank Simpson as the four-person group trudged toward the back of Dorsey’s property an hour later. For his part, Frank seemed keen on getting out of the house and away from the kids, so when Brian asked him how well he knew his cousin’s property he was eager to give them a tour.
“It’s no problem,” Frank said, picking his way through the thick underbrush. “Do you really think Dan had something to do with this? I mean … we had a falling out and stuff, but I never thought he would be capable of something like this.”
“We don’t know yet,” Brian replied. “It’s a mess of a situation and Dan refuses to talk.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he sits in the interrogation room and stares at the wall,” Brian answered. “He pretends he can’t hear us speaking.”
“He got that from his daddy,” Frank said. “His daddy always told him that the cops couldn’t arrest you as long as you didn’t implicate yourself so it was always best to keep your mouth shut when dealing with the police. Of course, to be fair, he was talking about poaching deer when he told him that.”
Ivy made a face as she walked next to Jack, who couldn’t help but smile when he saw the look on her face.
“He poaches deer, too?” Ivy couldn’t keep the question inside. She knew in the grand scheme of things that it wasn’t important – especially given what happened to Jessica – but she couldn’t let it go without commenting. “What a jackhole.”
Jack sighed as he shifted a look in her direction. “I hate it when you use my name in conjunction with an insult.”
“I’ve been saying that since I was a kid,” Ivy pointed out. “It’s not an insult to you. It’s a habit.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“I’ll make it up to you later,” Ivy said, slipping her hand into Jack’s before realizing they were on official business and it probably wasn’t a good idea. “I’m sorry.” She hurriedly pulled her hand back, causing Jack to arch an eyebrow.
“Why did you do that?” Jack asked.
“Because … we’re working. It’s not appropriate.”
“I don’t think Brian cares if I hold your hand,” Jack said.
“That I don’t care about,” Brian agreed. “It’s when you two verbally start copulating in front of people that I get uncomfortable.”
Frank snickered. “Yeah, you two are getting quite the reputation around town,” he said. “I heard Maisie Washington say she was going to steal Jack for herself because he’s clearly desperate if he’s hooking up with Ivy. Er, no offense, Ivy.”
“None taken,” Ivy said dryly.
Jack snagged her hand and pulled it to his chest as they walked. “I think I’m the desperate one,” he said. “For the record, I wouldn’t touch Maisie with someone else’s ten-foot pole.”
“You’re funny,” Frank said, his face turning serious as he studied a group of trees. “Okay … um … I think we’re getting close.”
“What do we think is out here again?” Ivy asked.
“You asked if Dan had a bunker,” Frank replied. “He didn’t have one when we were hanging out, but I know he was planning on building one for the end of days.”
“End of days?” Jack prodded. “Like … in the Bible?”
Frank nodded. “He was convinced that the Rapture would happen in his lifetime and thought he would be one of the chosen taken. If he wasn’t, though, he wanted to make sure he had everything he needed for survival.
“He said he was going to build a hidden bunker that no one could find but him,” he continued. “He liked to drink, though, and he showed me the piece of land he wanted to use when we were drinking one night.”
“And you think it was around here?” Jack asked, darting his eyes in a multitude of directions as he looked for signs of a bunker. “I don’t see anything out here.”
“That’s the point,” Frank said, tapping his chin as he squinted toward the north. “There it is. Son of a … he built it after all.”
“Where?” Ivy was frustrated as she stared in the direction Frank looked. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s because he’s hidden it really well,” Brian said, pointing. “Look at that tree with the weird knot. Follow the line of the knot to the right and you’ll see the edge of the bunker’s roof.”
Ivy narrowed her eyes and did as instructed. It took a moment, but she finally realized what Brian was gesturing toward. “Oh, wow. I never would’ve seen that. It’s completely camouflaged.”
“That’s the point,” Frank said. “You don’t want thieves to steal your stuff if the Rapture comes. After all, the good people are supposed to be taken and the bad people left behind. Thieves are going to be out of control when that happens.”
“I’m sure poaching will, too,” Ivy muttered.
Jack bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “It’s okay, honey. The deer are good and pure so they’ll be taken up to Heaven, too.”
“I don’t think that’s the way it works,” Frank countered.
“Close enough,” Jack muttered, moving toward the bunker. “Let’s see what we have inside, shall we?”
Ivy kept close to Jack as he opened the door, and when they stepped inside it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the limited light. Brian found a light switch on the wall and flicked it, and when the room illuminated Ivy was horrified at the number of animal traps and chains on the wall.
“What is this?”
Frank shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by the items on the wall. “Survival supplies.”
“But … what?”
“More importantly, what is this?” Brian asked, lifting up a backpack from the tool bench near the door.
Ivy’s heart flopped when realized what she was looking at. “Brian, that’s … .” Ivy broke away from Jack and scurried in his partner’s direction, grabbing the backpack from him and flipping it over so he could see the back. There were initials embroidered on the fabric.
“J-A-S,” Brian read aloud.
“Jessica Allison Stamper,” Ivy supplied. “That’s Jessica’s book bag.”
“Holy moly,” Frank intoned, dumbfounded. “I … there has to be an explanation.”
“There does,” Brian agreed, grim. “Okay, everyone, step outside. This is an official crime scene and we’re going to do this by the book.”
“I’ll place a call to the state police to get a tech team out here,” Jack said, his gaze briefly locking with Ivy’s. “We’re going to need help sifting through this mountain of … crap. It’s going to be a long day.”
Thirteen
“Where have you been?”
If Jack was expecting a heartfelt hug and kiss from Ivy when he reached her house later that night he was sadly disappointed.
“Hello to you, too,” Jack said dryly, kicking his shoes off by the front door. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to be greeted in that manner after a long day of work.”
“I’m sorry,” Ivy said, holding her hands up. She was dressed in cotton sleep pants and a tank top, her hair pulled back into a loose braid. “I didn’t mean to attack you the minute you walked through the door.”
Jack opened his arms and accepted her offered hug, taking solace from the way her body melded to his. When Ivy pulled back her expression was rueful. “That’s better,” Jack said, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth.
“I made you dinner and kept it warm in the oven,” Ivy offered. “It’s tofu.”
“I’m … good,” Jack said, hoping he didn’t sound ungrateful.
“Oh, what I should’ve said is that I had tofu,” Ivy clarified. “I m
ade you chicken, rice, and vegetables.”
Jack brightened considerably. “That I’ll eat.”
“You’re lucky I feel sorry for you having to work so late,” Ivy muttered as she trudged toward the kitchen, Jack close on her heels. “You look beat, by the way. I’ll rub your back before bed.”
“That sounds … like the perfect end to a terrible day, honey,” Jack said, sitting at the table and watching as she delivered his warm plate of food. “Oh, this smells so good.”
“I’m glad,” Ivy said, taking the seat next to him. “So … tell me what happened. I tried texting you, but you didn’t respond.”
“I noticed,” Jack said. “You sent eighteen texts. The last three almost killed me, but then I realized what you were doing. The one where you said you were pregnant and going into labor threw me a little bit.”
Ivy pressed her lips together. “Um … .”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t text you back, but the state boys were watching us to make sure we weren’t sharing information with the media,” Jack explained. “I tried telling them that my girlfriend was giving birth to a baby I didn’t know existed and that you accidentally amputated your own foot and were bleeding out – that was a nice one, by the way – but they didn’t have a lot of sympathy.”
“I’m sorry.” Ivy genuinely meant it. “I was going crazy being kicked off the property and didn’t know what to do with myself.”
After Brian placed a call to the state police Ivy was officially told her services – and presence – was no longer required. She complained bitterly, but it fell on deaf ears. Jack arranged for a state police officer to drive her back to town, where she found her brother and continued complaining to him until he kicked her out of his office at work and told her to do something productive with her day.
Ivy tried gardening, but that didn’t work. Then she went to the hospital to visit Jessica. She told her about the discovery at Dorsey’s home, but Jessica appeared largely disinterested in the development. Ivy couldn’t figure out why the girl refused to acknowledge the change in the situation, but she filed it away for future thought.
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