by Ann Mullen
Claire took his card and stuck it in her purse. “I won’t,” she said. “Thank you for coming over here. We really appreciate it.”
“It was my pleasure.” He smiled at the two of us, kissed his mother on the cheek, and then started to leave.
“Wait a minute,” Abby said. “Why don’t you stay for dinner, Randy? It’s late. What could you possibly have to do that’s so important that you can’t have dinner with your mother and her friends?”
Randy looked at us. “Are you ladies staying for dinner?”
“Of course, they are,” Abby said before either one of us had a chance to answer. She smiled and walked out into the hallway. “Set the table, Isabel. We’re having company.”
“Is your mother always this pushy?” I asked Randy.
“She does have a way of getting what she wants.”
I looked at Claire and said, “It’s kind of late, but we did say we would stay for dinner. It’s up to you, but if we stay, we’ll have to call home.”
“Yes,” Claire said. “Mom will have a fit if we don’t.”
“Billy won’t be very happy either.”
“Great!” Abby said as she clapped her hands. “Call home and then we’ll have dinner. Jesse, you can use the phone in the study while we sit in the parlor and plot our next adventure.”
“You better keep your eyes on your mother,” I warned Randy. “She’s a troublemaker. I can see it in her eyes.”
“I told you she had the sight!” Abby said as she pointed to me.
“You’re being silly, Mom,” Randy said. “Don’t mind her; sometimes she says the strangest things. Jesse, go make your call while I keep your sister company. Why don’t you go check on dinner, Mom?”
I looked at Randy and then at Claire. Ah, a romance in the making, I thought to myself. Why not? Claire deserved a nice man, and Randy surely fit that description. Yeah, and that’s what I used to think about Cole. I left the three of them deep in conversation as I walked across the hall to the study. I sat down at Abby’s desk and then picked up the phone. After several rings, the phone was answered by Sarah.
“Hello,” she said.
“Sarah, this is Jesse. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is just fine,” she answered. “Why do you ask?”
“I thought maybe something was wrong because you’re still there.”
“I can’t help myself,” she said. “Your mom has kept me busy. We’re having so much fun with the kids; I didn’t want to leave. We’re going to have dinner and then the chief and I will be going home. Your mom told us about the body. I sure hope Claire’s husband isn’t dead... is he?”
“It wasn’t Carl. It was Ophelia Pitman. She’s one of his associates.”
“Will her death affect my boys?”
“No,” I said. “The scenario has changed and it puts Billy and his brothers in the clear, thank goodness. Is Billy there?”
“Yes, he is. I’ll go get him. I think he’s in the garage. Want me to put your mother on the phone? Oh, never mind, she’s feeding Maisy. Hold on and I’ll go get Billy.” Sarah laid the phone down and I could hear her talking to someone in the background. A minute later, Mom picked up the phone.
“Tell me everything, Jesse,” Mom said.
“I thought you were feeding Maisy.”
“She’s finished and now she’s sound asleep,” Mom said. “I love that little girl already! She’s the sweetest thing. Sarah said the body wasn’t Carl’s.”
“That’s right,” I said. “The body we found was one of Carl’s associates, Ophelia Pitman.”
“Did Carl kill her?”
“I’d say that was a sure bet.”
“He might be innocent.”
“Yeah, and one day I might ride bareback and naked in Times Square.”
“Oh, Jesse… oh, here’s Billy.”
“Hello,” Billy said. “What’s going on? You’re not calling me from jail, are you?”
“Not yet, but the night’s still young.”
“Carl’s still alive, huh?”
“It looks that way.”
“I’m sorry about that woman.”
“So am I,” I said. “I always figured Carl had it in him to kill. Listen, if you don’t mind, we’re going to have dinner with Abby, Carl’s neighbor, before we leave.”
“I’m glad you had her there to help you,” Billy said. He chuckled. “Your mom told me everything you said when you called, word for word.”
“I knew she would. Now you can stop worrying. We’re safe.”
“How’s the weather there?”
“I don’t know; I haven’t been outside for a while. Let me check.” I looked up at one of the monitors. “It looks like there’s a bit of snow on the ground and it’s still snowing. I’m ready for spring.”
“It’s not far off,” Billy said. “A few more weeks and we’ll be seeing daffodils.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“It’s snowing like crazy here,” Billy said. “Be careful on the drive home. You know, it might not be a bad idea to stay the night, and then drive home in the morning when it’s daylight. Driving in the dark can be dangerous, and with snow on the roads, it can be twice as bad.”
“I’m sure Abby would love to have us stay with her. I’ll talk to Claire and see what she wants to do. If we decide to stay…”
“Tell Billy we’re staying the night,” Claire said as she stuck her head in the door. “Abby already suggested it, so I went to the front door and looked outside. It would be safer for us to drive in the daytime.”
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes,” Billy said. “Call me in the morning when you leave so I’ll know when to expect you.”
“I will,” I said. “Before I forget, how’s Brian doing?”
“He’s a wreck. I’ve been doing some nosing around and I don’t like what I see.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think Brian and Vicki might have had a few marital problems, but I’m sure he didn’t kill her.”
“Was she having an affair?”
“Jesse, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you had some Cherokee in you. You’re too insightful for a white woman.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I hate to say it, but I think Vicki had a short-lived fling with her doctor. I’ll know more after I talk to the receptionist at his office.”
“Does Brian know about the affair?”
“Not yet, but if it’s true, I’ll have to tell him soon.”
“I thought they were so much in love and had a wonderful marriage?”
“I guess things aren’t always what they appear to be. Don’t forget to call me in the morning. If anything should happen between now and then…”
“What could possibly happen?”
“I’m afraid to think about it, but knowing you as I do, I wouldn’t be surprised at anything you get into. You have this wild streak in you, and that’s just one of the things I love about you, but you do have a tendency to dance with death.”
“Wow, that’s a scary thing to say.”
“Just think about some of the situations you’ve been in. You picked up a hitchhiker, who turned out to be a crazy teenager with a gun, and then you’re held captive by a psychotic killer. You had a secret rendezvous with a pot-smoking, animal-killer, who helped his father cover up the murder of a young woman, and in the process, almost got yourself buried alive. You…”
“Okay, I hear you. However, in your synopsis of my life, did it come to your attention that all these things happened to me after I hooked up with you? I’d never even as much as gotten a traffic ticket until I met you. I was a good girl… well… maybe that’s not altogether true. Let’s just say that I’d never been put in harm’s way like I’ve been since I met you. It’s your lifestyle, and now it’s mine. I guess you’ll just have to deal with it. I can’t help it if trouble seems to find me.”
“That’s what scares me,” Billy said
. “I teach you what I know, but you don’t apply that knowledge.”
“I just use the information to suit my way.”
“Promise me that you won’t do anything foolish.”
“Like what?”
“Like go next door and snoop around again. You know the cops will be all over that place now that they’ve found a body.”
“We found the body! That mean, crack-head detective couldn’t find his way out of church even if he had the preacher leading him out by the hand. That man’s a hateful person. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll try to take the credit and then somehow put us right in the middle. He might even try to say that we did it. No, he wouldn’t be that stupid, I hope.”
“Don’t mess with that detective, Jesse. He might not seem to be so smart to you, but I can promise you that he has his head together. I’ve seen him in action. He just wants to catch you with your pants down.”
“That won’t happen! I live by Billy Blackhawk’s rules of survival. I know not to get caught with my pants down. I learned from the best.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I’ll call you in the morning, Billy. Don’t worry about me; I’m too smart to get caught!”
“That’s what they all say.”
CHAPTER 16
Abby’s invitation to stay the night was a welcomed relief. I wasn’t looking forward to being on the road late at night with snow pounding the car windshield all the way home. It’s hard enough dealing with crazy drivers as it is, and with the weather being so bad, that would double the risk of an accident. In the morning our visibility would be much better.
“How’s your steak?” Abby asked me.
“It’s perfect,” I responded. “It’s cooked just the way I like it.” I looked across the table at Isabel and said, “Abby didn’t make you grill these steaks outside on a grill, did she?”
Isabel and Abby looked at each other and laughed. “No,” Isabel replied. “We have other means of grilling without having to go outside.”
“I’m sure Abby has a stove with a grill,” Claire said and smiled. She looked around the table at everyone and said, “Jesse has never been one to do a lot of cooking.”
“I’m not very good at it. Billy’s trying to teach me, but I just don’t have the knack.”
“Yeah, but you’re so good at other things,” Claire said.
“Name one thing,” I said, frustrated that I was probably the only one in the room who didn’t know which fork to use. Why were we given so many forks and spoons anyway? All I needed was a knife and a fork to eat my steak… and salad… and dessert.
“You’re a pretty good detective,” Claire said.
“Then why do you give me such a hard time about what I do?”
“I give you such a hard time because I worry about you. You’re always taking chances. I’m afraid you’re going to get into something and Billy Blackhawk isn’t going to be able to get you out of it.”
“Billy will never fail me,” I said as I wiped my mouth with the linen napkin and then placed it on the table. “He’s my soul mate and my guardian angel. He’ll always be there for me.”
“Now that’s the conviction of a woman who knows her man,” Abby said, raising her glass of wine. “I’d like to propose a toast to Jesse—a nice person with a good head on her shoulders.”
“Here, here,” Randy said as glasses clinked.
“You’re not drinking your wine, Jesse,” Abby said.
“She’s going to have a baby,” Claire said, coming to my defense. “She’s also given up cigarettes.”
“That’s terrific about the baby and the cigarettes,” Abby said. “The cigarettes will kill you and your child will break your heart.” She looked over at Randy.
“Don’t say it, Mother,” Randy said. “I’ll get married when I find the right woman.” He looked at Claire and smiled.
Yep, love was in the air! I hadn’t ever seen that look on Claire’s face.
“What does your husband have to say about the work you do now that you’re pregnant?” Isabel asked.
“What can he say? He’s the one who got me started in this profession.”
“How did that happen?” Abby wanted to know.
We chatted about my job as a private investigator, my soon-to-be mother status, and eventually, the topic came full circle back to Carl.
“After dinner, I want to have a look at your tapes,” I said to Abby.
“I figured you would,” she said.
“You know that if we find something incriminating on those tapes, Mother, we’ll have to hand them over to the police,” Randy said. “Then your days of snooping on your neighbors will come to an end.”
“I don’t see why,” she replied. “I’m not doing anything illegal.”
“She’s right about that, Randy,” I added. “Abby has every right to have surveillance cameras on her property. It’s part of her security system. It’s not as if she has bugs planted in people’s houses.” I looked at Abby. “Do you?”
“Of course, I don’t,” she responded. “But…”
Our eyes were on her as she explained how her system worked. Apparently, she had a device on her system similar to Billy’s portable snoop machine. She could hear conversations from all the houses that surrounded hers, and it wasn’t unheard of for her to listen in on many occasions.
“She does it all the time,” Isabel said. “I told her that one day she was going to hear something she didn’t want to hear, and then what would she do? I think they put you in jail for listening in on people.”
I had to laugh at that. “If that was true, Isabel, I’d be in jail right now. Don’t worry about Abby; she can take care of herself.”
“Thank you, dear,” Abby said as she stuck her tongue out at her sister.
“Please forgive my mother,” Randy said. “She knows not what she does.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing.” She gave him a hard look and then turned to me and said, “Isabel has fixed a marvelous cherry cheesecake. Would you like some?”
“Sure, why not?” I said. “It wouldn’t hurt me to put on a couple of pounds.”
“You say that now, but in a couple of months, you’ll wish you would’ve passed on the dessert,” Claire said. “You haven’t gained any weight as of yet, but soon you will and it’ll be hard to take off once the baby arrives.”
I looked at Claire and decided to follow her advice. She still has a nice figure and she’s had two kids. Maybe I’d listen to her.
“I’ll pass,” I said. “But you go ahead and help yourself and when you’re finished, we’ll go have a look at those tapes.”
“I have something I want to do,” Claire said and then looked around the table. “But I don’t know what you all are going to think about the idea.”
“Tell us what it is,” Randy said.
Claire hesitated for a second and then said, “I want to go back to my house next door and get something out of the safe… if it’s still there.”
The room was silent for a few minutes and then finally Randy spoke up. “That’s not a good idea, Claire. If you should get caught, you’ll go to jail for sure. Not only would you be charged with trespassing, but you could also be charged with tampering with evidence. They put that crime scene tape up for a reason.”
“I know that,” Claire said. “I don’t plan to get caught.”
Billy’s recent words rang in my ears. That’s what they all say.
True to form, I brushed them aside.
“Before I go along with you, I need to know what’s in that safe.”
“You can’t be serious?” Randy asked. He looked at Claire and then back to me. “This is not a good idea. I meant what I said. If you get…”
“We won’t,” Claire and I said in unison.
Isabel stood and left the room. She returned with a delicious looking cheesecake. As everyone partook in the scrumptious pleasure, I resigned myself to the fact that after the baby came; I was goin
g to be able to eat stuff like that.
“What shall we do first?” I asked as everyone stuffed themselves. “Break in next door or watch Abby’s snooping videos?”
“We don’t have to break in, Jesse; I have the key, remember?”
“Well, we can’t just go up to the front door and let ourselves in, Claire.”
“I have an idea,” Abby said. “We can create a diversion out front while you two slip in the back door.” She looked at Isabel.
“Yeah, we can walk outside naked, if that will do it,” Isabel said.
“I’m not going outside naked, you crazy woman,” Abby said as if she thought Isabel had lost her mind. “But we can go outside and have a loud argument. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“I’m game,” Isabel said.
Randy just shook his head.
“Are you with us or not?” Claire asked him.
“I know better than to do this, but I’m with you. What can I do to help?”
“I have a better idea,” Abby said. “Isabel and I can dress up like you two and then leave in your car. The cops probably think you two are going home soon anyway, so they’ll be expecting you to leave. We can drive around a little and then when you’re finished, you can call us on the cell phone and we’ll come back. The cops will be surprised to see us back, but by then you’ll be finished with your little caper.”
“Mother, it’s not safe on the roads. Besides, Claire’s car is an expensive one. What would you do if you had a wreck?”
“If I lived through it, I’d buy her a new one. Stop being such an old fuddy-duddy, Randy. Where’s your sense of adventure? Remember, I was born in Maine; I’ve driven in worse weather than this mess.”
“You were much younger then.”
“You’re really trying to make me mad, aren’t you? It won’t work, so you can just forget it. If Claire says it is okay for me to drive her car then what do you care?”
He threw his hands up in the air and said. “Far be it for me to worry about your safety. Do what you want to. You don’t need my permission.”
“Then it’s settled,” Abby said. “Let’s do it before I lose my nerve.”
