by Kris Calvert
“Where are Dax and the baby?” I asked without answering her question as I picked up my cell phone.
“With Celia and Polly. Tell me what is going on!” she bellowed.
“Dan, find my kids and family. Bring them to the study. Hector’s somewhere on the grounds.”
“What?” Sam shouted as she grabbed my arm and I pulled her to me.
“He’s been in the bedroom,” I explained to Dan. “Seal the entrance to Lone Oak. No one gets out of here without being checked off the guest list!”
I slammed my phone onto the table and searched for shoes in my closet. “Stay here, Sam,” I growled.
“Like hell I’m staying in here. My family is out there. And – Hector?” she gasped as she backed away from me. “Hector’s here? How do you know that’s from him?” she asked as she pointed to the bathroom, hands trembling.
“Because it’s not the first time he’s sent a message,” I confessed. “Now do as I say. The other agents are bringing Dax and Katy to the study downstairs. I’ll come get you when everyone is safe.”
“No. I’m coming with you,” she protested as the tears streamed down her face and she frantically searched for something to wear.
After pulling an old shirt and sweatpants from my closet, Sam dressed quickly and walked to the door without me.
“Yes!” I shouted into the phone, barely allowing it to ring.
“We’ve got the kids, Mimi, Polly and Celia in the study. Sam’s parents have already left,” Dan reported.
“Where’s my mom?” I yelled.
“Shit, Mac, I don’t know.”
“The downstairs guestroom,” I shouted. “I’m bringing Sam to you. I’ll go check on her.”
I grabbed Sam by the arm and gripped my gun tightly. “Let’s go.”
“This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening,” Sam mumbled as she trailed behind me. “What about all the people at the party?”
“The agents are clearing them out. They’ve got a guest list to check them against.”
“What?” she yelped. “What else haven’t you told me?”
“Sam, just let me get you to the kids and secure the house and then we’ll talk.”
We raced down the stairs and I rushed Sam into my dad’s old study on the first floor. It had become my office since moving home from Washington D.C. I knew the room well, and the hidden walk-ins could prove to be a hiding place for Sam and the kids if needed.
“Mac!” shouted Dan. “I’ve got four officers at the gate, four at the tent. They’re ushering everyone out. They’re just asking for their names and explaining that we think there might be a gas leak on the property.”
When I escorted Sam into the study, Mimi, Celia, Polly and the children were all safe and accounted for. The only face I was surprised to see was King Giles.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked.
They nodded as I escorted Sam to the couch to sit. “Stay here.”
“Mac, you better tell me what’s going on and you better tell me now,” Sam said, quickly losing her patience.
I turned and wiped the sweat from my brow as I stared at the blank faces. “Miss Celia? Where’s Timms?”
“He was tired and went home, baby,” she replied. “I think your wife is right. You better start tellin’ us what’s goin’ on around here.”
“Everyone stay here. I need to get Momma from the guest room.”
As the words escaped my mouth I heard a scream. I knew it was her.
Rushing down the hall I called to another agent to back me up. I opened the door to the bedroom and found my mother in her chair covering her eyes and rocking back and forth like a scared child.
“Momma, what is it? What?”
She sobbed and shook her head and pointed in front of her without looking.
“Mom, no one is there. We’re alone. Where’s the nurse?” I shouted as the hired nurse from Autumn Valley walked into the room.
“I’m sorry, sir. I needed to use the restroom. I heard all the commotion in the hallway and went to make sure everything was okay.”
“It’s fine. Gather your things and head home. There are a couple of men who are checking names off the guest list on the way out.”
“But what about Miss Nancy, sir? I’m supposed to bring her back to Autumn Valley with me.”
“Miss Nancy is staying. She may be back a little later but I’ll bring her myself.”
“What’s going on?” shouted Sam as she came to the door. “Is she okay, Mac?”
“Help me get her to the study!” I shouted at the agent who’d followed me. “And find Agent Kelley!”
“Yes, sir.”
“Mac?” Sam insisted.
“Samantha, please get back to the study. Now!” It was becoming harder and harder as each second passed to hold back the rage that flooded my mind.
As tears streamed down her face, she turned without reply and walked out of the room, passing the agents combing the hallways.
From the front window I could see the line of cars waiting to leave. If Hector came by car, he’d be accounted for. My fear was he’d found my mother and when she screamed, he’d left on foot.
As I brought her into the study with the others I sat her down and quickly noticed Sam sobbing in Polly’s arms.
“What is going on, Mac?” Mimi asked calmly. “And don’t say ‘nothing’. I think you’ve put enough perfume on this pig already.”
“Hector. The man who tried to kill me and tried to kill Sam. He’s alive. And he’s been in the house today.”
“What?” Polly gasped.
“He may still be here. That’s why you all are in this room. Dan’s gonna stay with you and I’m going out with the other agents to sweep the house.”
“Dammit, Mac,” Dan pleaded. “You stay here. I’ll check the house.”
“You don’t know Lone Oak. There are plenty of places he could be hiding. Places you’d miss.”
“Amen to that,” Miss Celia said softly.
“Someone better start explaining exactly what’s going on,” Sam cried as she stood defiantly. “I mean the real truth. Not just another lie to appease me for the moment.”
She shot a hateful look across the room at me as Polly stoically stood with her.
“We’ve been getting messages on and off for the past six months, Sam. I didn’t tell you because you were pregnant. I didn’t want to upset you. You were under enough pressure as it was. I was going to tell you, but after the preterm labor scare I didn’t want to take any chances.”
She walked to me. I thought she would want a reassuring hug or kiss, but she kept her distance and it broke my heart. “Please don’t go out there looking for him. I can’t lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me. He couldn’t kill me the first time. He’s certainly not going to kill me in my own damn house.”
“He almost did,” Mimi chimed from the corner. “He almost killed you both.”
“Miss Mimi speaks the truth, Mac,” said Celia as she rocked a crying Katy in her arms. “You’ve got a wife and family to put first. And that means givin’ up your old gun totin’, crazy actin’, criminal chasin’ ways.”
“It’s not that simple and you know it,” I pleaded.
“She’s right, Mac,” Mimi added.
“Mac,” Sam whimpered. “I’m begging you.”
I turned to Dan with disgust. “Sweep the house. I’ll stay here.”
Dan nodded to me and left.
“I can’t fight all of you,” I confessed, walking toward Sam to explain.
“Start talking,” Sam demanded.
“Fine,” I sighed as I led her to one of the many couches in the round room. I wanted to speak with her away from the family. “After I got out of the hospital we thought Hector might be dead – until he paid a visit to Momma at Autumn Valley. He was seen on the surveillance footage around the nursing home. Remember how we found my dad’s book with her the day we came to tell her we were getting married?”
&
nbsp; “Yes.”
“Hector put it there. He’d stolen the book from this study. He wanted me to know he could get to me. To my family.”
“Why didn’t you say anything then?” Sam pleaded.
“I thought about it. I did. But when Dan ran a check on Hector, we came up with a hell of a lot more than just your average scorned lover. He wasn’t just pissed because we busted up his boyfriend’s crime ring – he was here to set up a drug route through the South from Mexico. We screwed up a couple of years’ worth of groundwork for him.”
“What?” Sam gasped.
“It’s deeper than we’d ever thought.”
“And all this was going on and you didn’t think it was important for me to know about it?” Sam demanded. “Mac, we’ve started a family. Now what are we going to do? Be on the run for the rest of our lives from some drug cartel?”
“Hector went into hiding for a while for things to blow over, but the people he works for don’t take too kindly to their plans getting fucked with. Especially by the FBI.”
“Mac Callahan,” Miss Celia scolded. “I can hear you all the way over here. You watch that dirty mouth of yours.”
“My apologies,” I said. “To everyone.”
“Mac,” Dan shouted as he came into the room. “Everyone’s out. House is clean. We think he left off the back of the property. There’re tire tracks leading out of the field and onto a remote side road. We’ve got the state troopers on the lookout. What do you want to do?”
“Why are you asking him?” Sam interrupted. “He doesn’t work for the FBI anymore.”
I watched the look on Sam’s face as Dan dropped his head, not wanting to respond to her.
“Mac?” Sam cried. “Is there something else you need to tell me?”
“Sweetheart,” I pleaded.
“No!” she shouted. “Just no!”
“I’m not a full time agent.”
“What does that even mean?” Sam cried, crazily pacing around the room.
“I help the Bureau with specific cases.”
“Samantha,” Dan continued. “No one cares more about this case than Mac. No one knows more about this case than he does. That’s why he’s stayed with it.”
“I’m not letting Hector harm anyone in my family. By the time I’m finished with him –” I insisted, stopping short of what I really wanted to do.
“Mac?” Dan asked again. He was seemingly oblivious to Sam’s concerns and I knew it was making her angry. “What do you want to do?”
“We’re going to act as if nothing’s wrong.”
“What?” Polly objected.
“I want Momma and Mimi taken back to Autumn Valley. We will leave on our honeymoon tonight as planned.”
“I’m not leaving my babies,” Sam objected.
“We’re not going to Paris. And we’re taking them with us.”
“Who?” Polly asked.
“All of you.”
8
SAMANTHA
I paced the room, full of anxious anger and fear. He’d lied to me –again. Mac had lied to me again. I shuddered at the thought of how many times I drove around Shadeland thinking I was safe. All the times I was out running errands with Dax and Katy. Anything could’ve happened. Anything.
“Did someone see him? How do you know he’s here?” Polly asked. “One moment we’re all dancing and waiting for you to make your official departure with the fireworks, and the next the wedding lady is telling us there’s a gas leak and everyone needs to move as quickly as possible to their cars.”
“Hector,” I whispered, still unable to process what was happening.
“I don’t understand why you think he’s been here,” Polly blurted sarcastically.
“We know,” Mac offered. “Because he made it a point to leave a note in red lipstick on the mirror in the bathroom.”
“What?” Miss Celia gasped.
“What did it say?” Polly asked.
“It said Remember me?” I whispered.
“It’s the E.E. Cummings poem,” Mac hissed with frustration. “And in a mystery to be, when time from time shall set us free, forgetting me, remember me.”
“Edward,” Nancy mumbled.
I watched Mac’s heart sink, knowing his mother knew the poem from his dad.
“We’re going to act as if we’re leaving as scheduled for our honeymoon. But we’re taking everyone in this room…” Mac hesitated in thought. “Somewhere. Just give me a minute to think.”
“New Orleans.”
Everyone in the room turned and watched King step forward. “New Orleans,” he repeated.
“No offense, King, but I wasn’t including you in the family,” Mac spouted. “You don’t need to be involved and frankly, you’re not at risk.”
“Maybe not,” King replied, walking to Mac without reservation. “And you’re right. I didn’t make this mess, but I can help fix it.”
“Mess?” Mac snapped. “What in the hell are you talking about? Mess? This is real world, real life bad shit, Giles. I don’t think they trained you for this in medical school.”
“And you won’t know how to care for anyone including your own mother and children if something happens. I don’t think you learned that at the FBI academy.”
“Mac, I love you,” interjected Miss Celia. “But if one more foul word comes out of that mouth, I’m taking you down, son.”
“Ladies, my apologies,” Mac whispered as he backed his attitude down.
He was acting like a petulant child, and it was making me angrier at each tick of the old clock in the room.
“I want to hear about New Orleans,” I blurted.
“Me too,” Polly agreed.
I watched as Mac threw up his hands in surrender. “What’s in New Orleans?”
“My family’s vacation home. It’s off the beaten path, hard to find and already set up with a makeshift hospital room.”
“What?” Polly questioned.
“My dad and I spent his last year there. It’s where he wanted to be. Where he died. I had the whole place equipped for him.”
“What makes you think we’ll need a hospital bed, King?” Mac asked.
“I know you’re not talking about me,” Mimi ranted.
“No, Miss Mimi,” King conceded. “But it wouldn’t hurt to have a safe place that can act as a hospital if needed far away from here until this guy is found.”
“Mac, it sounds like a good solution,” I agreed.
“I don’t think you have a better option tonight,” Dan conceded.
Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, Mac finally sat, his body slumped in exhaustion.
“Do we have a choice?” I asked.
“Not when it comes to your safety,” Mac mumbled as he squeezed my hand.
“Fine.” Mac pulled four agents into the study for orders. “Here’s the plan. Momma and Mimi go back to Autumn Valley and pack. I’ll have agents pick them up. Alert the nurses at their station, but only those nurses. Celia?”
“Yes, baby.”
“Call your dad and let him know what’s happening. I’ll need him to check on the house, but I’ll have agents staying here to be on the safe side.”
“Okay,” she stumbled. “You sure you want me to go?” Celia asked.
“You’re my second mother. I’m not taking any chances. And before you ask, Polly, you’re going too. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
“It’s okay,” Polly sighed. “We’re family. Right?”
Mac nodded in her direction. “Everyone is traveling wherever they go with an agent at their side. You can use the bathroom alone, but that’s it. And don’t take too long. We’ve been known to knock down doors if we think something is wrong.”
Mac walked away to talk in private with Dan and I went to Mimi after taking Katy from Celia’s arms. “What have I done, Mimi?”
“Sweetheart, you haven’t done anything. But I think Mac is right. We’ve got to get out of here.”
“My enti
re family is in danger.” My voice broke with fear and Mimi could see the terror in my eyes.
“Let’s not get to worrying when we don’t need to. All worry does is give a big shadow to little things.”
“This isn’t such a little thing.”
“It will be when it’s all said and done.”
“What about the house?” I asked as if everyone in the room was thinking in my head.
“What do you mean?” Mac asked.
“My house. Mimi’s house. Polly was watching over it while we are on our honeymoon. Now what?”
“Should we call your parents?” Mac asked.
“God no,” I lamented. “They were leaving the country tonight.”
“What about your cousin? The one who came into town for the wedding?” Mac continued. “Richard.”
“The Dick?” Mimi interjected. “I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him.”
“Mimi,” I pleaded. “You know he’s the only one.”
“Like hell I do.”
“Then what do you suggest?” I asked.
Mimi gave me a heavy sigh and pushed herself off the couch with her walker, shooing away the men who came to her assistance. “I suggest you go back to the house and put everything of value in the hidden safe. If he’s coming into the house, he’s not robbing us blind.”
“I guess that’s settled,” Mac quipped.
“I’m coming too, Mac.” King declared.
“There’s no need.”
“It’s my house. I’m going.”
“Can you get away from work that easily?” I asked. “It’s not that I don’t want you there. I do. I just hate to use your house, make you leave Shadeland. I mean, just for us.”
King glanced at Mac and walked to me, taking my hand. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, the kids or the ladies.”
“Nice,” Mac chided.
I noticed Polly smirk in the corner and when our eyes met, she came to sit with me as I rocked Katy to sleep. “Why don’t they just drop their pants and let’s see whose dick is bigger,” Polly uttered under her breath.
“I’m so sorry, Polly. I had no idea you were going to get entangled in this mess.”
“Hey, I’m going to New Orleans with a hot doctor who told me I was beautiful. I mean, aside from the fact that a crazy Mexican drug pusher is looking for us, it’s almost like a vacation. But with a weird and amusing little family.”
