“Crime is at an all-time low. This is a good thing,” Adam reminded his brother as he slurped the last of his soda through a straw.
Suddenly, breaking up the monotony, the obnoxious tones and petulant voice of the emergency response dispatcher squawked loudly causing Liam to sit up straight and listen intently. After weeks of no real action with the exception of breaking up a schoolyard fight at PS132, Liam was hungry for a real call.
“Robbery in progress. Car E5 to 41 Mountain Road.”
“Harrow’s…” remarked Adam as he flicked the button that controlled the patrol car’s siren and lights.
“Who the hell would steal from those old crows?” exclaimed Liam in shock.
“I guess we’re about to find out… Hold on.”
Clouds of dirt kicked up as Adam pulled the car out of the parking space, leaving the quiet of Caribou Road behind them.
***
Squad car E5 rolled up Mountain Road and stopped outside Harrow’s General Store. Edna Harrow and Peggy Dresher were waiting angrily in their house coats with pink and purple rollers in their hair. Adam and Liam caught sight of their appearance and while Adam tried to keep a straight face, Liam couldn’t contain himself.
“Jesus Christ. What did I ever do to deserve this?!” Liam complained.
Adam smirked as he exited the patrol car. He tried to disregard his brother’s reaction and put on a serious face.
“Edna… Peggy… What seems to be the problem?” asked Adam in a professional tone.
Edna was crying hysterically. She sobbed messily into her ratty yellow housecoat while her friend Peggy fanned her face dramatically; as if extra air was exactly what she needed.
“Oh, thank God you’re here! Someone broke in! I can hear them in there!” exclaimed Peggy as she continued to fan her face.
“Are they still in there? Liam… Go check around back. I’ll keep an eye out front while I ask Peggy and Edna some questions.
Liam complied with his brother’s request and ran around to the back of the property to check for any signs of a break-in. Liam expected to see an open gate, a broken window, or some other sign indicating that someone broke in to the old General Store. As Liam approached the chain link fence in the rear of the property, he was puzzled by what he found. The chain link fence was still secured with a padlock. Liam climbed the height of the fence, landing hard on the dirt ground of Harrow’s yard. The yard didn’t appear to be disturbed at all. Continuing to be perplexed, Liam slowly made his way to the back door of Harrow’s General Store. Liam fully expected to find signs of forced entry or an unlocked door at the very least. Much to his surprise, Officer Liam Morrow found neither.
With great force, Liam kicked in the back door and he heard noises coming from inside – Strange noises. He heard something scratching against a wooden surface fast and furiously. Liam pulled his gun out of its holster and stalked the room, listening for the source of the sound. Step by step, he was getting closer to the noise, but he still couldn’t see the perpetrator. Finally, Liam identified that the sounds were coming from behind the front counter. Liam leaned over the wooden counter stealthily to get a better glimpse of the source of the noise. Officer Morrow couldn’t believe his eyes.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Liam yelled in fury.
With both arms, he reached down and yanked up two fat and snarling black and gray raccoons. They hissed and tried to bite him as he yanked them away from their morning breakfast – A bag of half-eaten trail mix and a can of lightly salted peanuts. Liam held them away from his body as he charged to the front door. Adam saw Liam coming towards him with something in his hands.
“It looks like Officer Morrow may have found something…” said Adam as he tried to make out what Liam was carrying.
“What did he find?!” asked Peggy neurotically.
Liam had an amused look on his face as he crossed the threshold of Harrow’s General Store.
“Just a couple of masked bandits.”
Liam held the pair of angry raccoons up by their scruffs for all to see. Adam had to hide his amusement while Peggy and Edna squinted to see what Liam was bringing forward. As Liam came into the early morning light that was shining on the porch, Edna and Peggy got their first glimpse of their “burglars.” Edna’s eyes grew wide and horrified. Peggy, meanwhile, had run away down Mountain Road. Her curlers were falling out of her hair and her bedroom slippers had gotten muddy from a puddle that she ran clear through. Edna followed hurriedly behind her, petrified of the critters in Liam’s grip.
“I’ve never seen two old bats run so fast in my life!” remarked Adam as he watched the pair run farther up Mountain Road.
“Where the hell are they going?! They live right upstairs!” Liam exclaimed, unable to control his laughter anymore.
Suddenly, the raccoons began swiping at Liam’s arms in an attempt to free themselves.
“Hey, get me one of those milk crates over there…” Liam asked Adam as he pointed to a pile of orange milk crates that were stacked on the porch of Harrow’s General Store.
“Ow! Hurry up they’re clawing at me!” Liam protested.
Adam stared at his brother with an amused look on his face.
“Hurry! Don’t you care if my skin gets scratched off?!” yelled Liam in agitation.
Adam jogged to the porch and grabbed two milk crates and ran back to where his brother was standing.
“Finally! Okay, now when I drop him,” Liam said, raising the raccoon in his right hand for Adam to see, “Trap him.”
“Alright, Mr. Critter Control. Whenever you’re ready.”
“Very funny.”
Liam dropped the raccoon to the ground and Adam forced the crate over its body, slamming it down tight. The raccoon hissed at Adam and reached its paw out through a hole in the crate. It swiped at Adam’s leg but missed. Fortunately for Adam, he had the crate secured in place with his foot. Finally, both animals were secured, and they only had to wait for animal control to arrive.
Liam looked at his brother with a perturbed look on his face. “I went through all this. You call animal control,” demanded Liam.
“Me? Oh, fine! Hold on. I hate dealing with these idiots.”
Adam pulled a silver cell phone out of his back pocket, pressed a couple buttons and put it up to his ear.
“Hi… This is Officer Morrow… Badge 7247 in Elkhart. We have a situation with a couple of raccoons… Can you send someone out to Harrow’s General Store on Mountain Road in Elkhart? 41 Mountain Road…”
Liam watched his brother as his aggravation intensified.
Calling the geniuses over at animal control always managed to grate on Adam’s nerves.
“What do you mean you’re short staffed?! I’m a police officer, not a zoo keeper!” Adam declared loudly.
A moment later, Adam snapped his cell phone shut as he shook his head in disgust.
“What did they say?” asked Liam.
“Regina at Animal Control says to take the raccoons to a wooded area and set them free.”
“After all that?!”
“Come on…”
***
Adam pushed open the heavy oak door of Morrow Manor with a groan as the fragrant aroma of seasoned meat caught his attention. Adam sniffed the air to make sure that he was not mistaken. Suddenly, the smell reached Liam’s nose and the pair looked at each other in confusion. They both checked the address on the front door to make sure they had the right house. As if Morrow Manor could be mistaken for any other house. They followed the scent into the dining room where they were greeted by a most unhappy mood. Bridgette sat at the far end of the dining room table with a miserable scowl on her pretty face.
Liam, who was still enamored by the pleasant smell, blurted out, “Whoever is cooking, it smells amazing!”
As the words escaped his mouth, Liam froze in shock; he just realized that his aunt was in the room. Bridgette shot an evil glare at Liam and then at Adam, who was considered guilty by association. Brid
gette was slicing up a watermelon at the dining room table. This was clearly someone’s idea of letting Bridgette help with dinner since she could not be trusted with a frying pan or an operable oven. She proved that last month when she tried to make bacon and eggs for breakfast, and accidentally set the stove on fire. The blaze destroyed the kitchen. Angus paid for a total kitchen remodel with the stipulation that his daughter is no longer allowed to touch the stove.
Bridgette’s agitation intensified by the minute. Each chop of her knife was more forceful than the last, causing watermelon juice to fly everywhere.
“Uncle Frank and Tristan are making dinner tonight. They’ve locked me out of the kitchen and told me to cup up the melon! My cooking is not that bad!”
Adam thought, Oh, but it is! It really, really is!
Adam and Liam stared at their aunt, wide-eyed and stark still. They tried not to laugh as the memory of the charred kitchen came to the forefront of their minds. They knew that if a single smirk crossed their faces, that their aunt would send the entire bowl of butchered watermelon flying across the dining room. It took every ounce of strength they had not to laugh at her. It did no good, as she sent chunks of fruit flying across the dining room table when Adam smiled ever so slightly.
“Oh, shut up! Get out of my dining room!” Bridgette yelled at her nephews as she started to laugh.
“Uh… Where is everyone?” Liam asked in a perplexed tone. Morrow Manor was never empty.
“They are all out back. Frank decided to throw an impromptu barbecue. Apparently, someone has some big news to share.
Adam and Liam looked at each other suspiciously.
“News?”
Bridgette shrugged her shoulders as she went back to mutilating the watermelon and the guys took that as their cue to go outside. Liam and Adam walked out the back door and found that a crowd had gathered in the yard. Joe Piedmonte was about to toss a horseshoe across the lawn as Jack, Shane and Blake cheered him on. In a huddled corner, Jenna DiNolfo, Cole, and Natalie were eyeing them speculatively as they worked out their game plan. Just before Joe was about to release the horseshoe from his grip, he spotted Liam and Adam and gave them a raucous welcome.
“Hey! Look who it is! Heroes of the day… I heard a rumor that you two foiled a robbery this morning…”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Liam with a chuckle.
“I heard you caught the guys red-handed… Don’t be so modest,” urged Joe.
Jack overheard the exchange and laughed loudly.
“Oh, Liam is never modest!”
Liam grinned broadly flashing a 100-watt smile. Jack wasn’t kidding. Adam finally decided to join the conversation.
“Oh, we got ‘em alright. Regular masked bandits,” Adam said in an amused tone of voice.
DiNolfo eyed her officers as her eyes lit up, illuminating her typically serious face. She knew all too well what her officers were up to. She also knew what had gone down inside Harrow’s General Store this morning. It was her job to know. She had no problem keeping everybody guessing, though, at least for a little while. Suddenly, Jenna couldn’t stifle her laughter anymore. Joe and Jack stared at Jenna with suspicious glances from across the yard. Joe had one eyebrow raised just slightly, giving him a slightly menacing look.
“What?” Joe asked DiNolfo in response to her outburst of laughter.
DiNolfo looked at Joe and then at her officers.
“Oh, just tell them. I can’t take it anymore,” DiNolfo pleaded. Liam’s face lit up with a smile.
“Okay, so… The robbers at Harrow’s turned out to be a pair of raccoons. The funniest part was watching Edna and Peggy run away down Mountain Road in their housecoats and hair rollers!” divulged Liam with a huge grin on his face.
Adam added, “They didn’t even have their dentures in!”
Everybody laughed except for Jack who simply put his head in his hands and shook his head in disbelief.
“Thanks son, for the mental image that I could have lived without,” said Jack, his voice wrought with sarcasm.
Moira, who has known Edna and Peggy since high school, laughed and said, “I’m not so sure they own dentures. They never wear them.”
“Hey Jenna… Whose idea was it to make these two jokers partners? Isn’t that against the rule book?”
“It was my idea. They work well together. As far as rules go, if I approve of the partnership, the Captain’s fine with it. So far, so good.”
From behind Jack, the screen door swung open. Tristan had her hands full with a large tray of freshly prepared food. Frank followed behind her with another huge platter. The pair placed the food on the long picnic table that was waiting for them in the meadow. The smell of food lured the family to the table. Tristan and Frank had prepared fried chicken, roasted potatoes, corn bread, Jersey corn, baked macaroni, cole slaw, baby back ribs, baked beans, and a tall pitcher of freshly made lemonade. The table looked like it was about to crack under the weight of all the food.
Joe and Jenna approached the table first, gawking at the delicious spread. The Morrow’s always had a hearty spread of food whenever they came over. It just so happened that the food was usually cooked in Joe’s own kitchen at his family’s restaurant – Monte’s Café. Not this time, though. Someone in the Morrow house had clearly taken some cooking lessons. Joe gave Frank a curious look.
“Is this the work of Bridgette?” asked Joe.
Frank rolled his eyes and shook his head from side to side.
“God no. Bridgette can’t boil water.”
Jack nodded in agreement. Though she had many talents, Bridgette was downright frightful in the kitchen. The conversation ended as Bridgette came out of the house, slamming the screen door behind her. She was carrying her giant bowl of watermelon and Adam noticed that she had traded in her scowl for a pleasant smile. She never stayed mad long.
“Hey Jack… Where’s Tommy?” asked Joe.
Jack could do nothing but roll his eyes. A rumbling noise sounded over the horizon; a loud growl of a motorcycle. Coming up the long dirt road to Morrow Manor, Tommy rode on the back of his brand new Harley. Casually, he jumped down from his bike and stared at the crowd with a grin on his face.
“What did I miss?” Tommy asked slyly as he took off his helmet.
Tommy laughed as a series of complaints regarding his motorcycle and his lateness began to flow from his well-meaning family members.
“Who the hell bought you a hog?!” asked Jenna in shock. She casted a wary glance at Jack.
“Don’t look at me!” said Jack. “I told him that thing is a one-way ticket to the emergency room, but as usual, he doesn’t listen to me.”
“He bought it himself. With money he had been saving up from odd jobs. He’s an adult. But I’ll tell you this, if he acts out, I’m locking the damn thing in the barn,” explained Bridgette.
As a nurse who worked in the emergency room of Grier Mountain, Bridgette knew all too well the dangers that motorcycles presented. She had lectured Tommy at great length after she found out that he had purchased one. But as usual, Tommy only listens to one person and one person only in the Morrow household: Tristan.
“He’s careful, guys. Lay off of him,” Tristan urged. She always had Tommy’s back.
Jack grumbled at Tristan, “Oh yeah, sure. Tommy is the poster child for motorcycle safety. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“He wears a helmet, doesn’t he?”
Jack had to admit, Tristan had a point.
“So what was this big announcement?” Angus demanded to know as he sat down at the picnic table with a crabby look on his face. He had just woken up from his afternoon nap, and he was not happy. No one seemed to notice though, because his query was drowned out by a cacophony of chattering as his family talked happily to each other. They were all excited for proms and graduations, college announcements and vacations. Angus, on the other hand, would be perfectly happy when this mandatory social event was over so that he could go back to his bedroom
and watch TV. Angus continued to stare at his excitable family under a furrowed brow. The wrinkles on his forehead were becoming more pronounced by the second. At the opposite end of the table, Jack was talking in hushed tones to Joe who kept making sneaky glances back at his girlfriend Jenna. Something Joe said had Jack laughing and patting his good friend on the back. To Jack’s right, Frank was rubbing his bald head in an attempt to ease the headache that was forming from listening to his wife’s high pitched laughter. Bridgette and Jenna were in deep conversation with Tristan and Natalie over their choice of prom dresses.
Tristan explained, “It only took seven hours to choose one, because Dad and Uncle Frank insisted upon coming with us. They couldn’t agree what the right one was for me. Little did they know, Aunt Bridgette and I had already selected the perfect one last week and it was in the upstairs closet.”
Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2) Page 3
