1. Weekend Warriors

by Fern Michaels

  Unlike his mother, who cleaned houses for a living to support his three sisters and two younger brothers while he was growing up. She was always home to make dinner and then left again to clean offices at night. She didn’t know the first thing about playing cards. She probably didn’t know how to make little finger sandwiches either. He thought about the hundred bucks a week he kicked in along with his siblings to pay for her care in a nursing home. He didn’t begrudge the money because he loved his mother. He just wished she would get better but he knew no one recovered from Alzheimers disease. His eyes burned when he remembered his last visit to the nursing home. For one minute she’d recognized him and called him Jackie. A second later she asked him if he was a doctor.

  No, his mother didn’t know people like Myra Rutledge.

  He wondered now if he should have told Nikki about his mother. Why hadn’t he? Why did he let her think he didn’t know how to manage money, that he was a playboy D.A.? Why did he trade in his old reliable Honda for the Lexus and was now sucking wind because the lease payments were strangling him? Why did he do half the things he’d done where Nikki was concerned? Had he in some cockamamie way been trying to compete with the life she had with Myra Rutledge? Did he think a boy from the Bronx couldn’t measure up? Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly what he thought.

  He looked at his watch. If he drove like hell, he could make the nursing home before they got his mother ready for bed. Maybe she’d call him Jackie again tonight. Maybe.

  Jack made it to Winchester just in time before lockdown. He waved to the charge nurse and beelined down the hall to his mother’s room. He stood in the doorway watching her for a full minute before he said, “Hi, Mom!”

  “Is your mother here, young man? I don’t see her.”

  “I guess she left,” Jack said perching on the side of the bed. “Would you like some company?”

  “I always like company. Where is your mother?”

  “She’s close by. She won’t mind if I stay and talk with you for a little bit.”

  “I think I’m a mother. Do you know if I am, young man?”

  “I think you’re probably the best mother in the whole world. I’m Jack. Do you remember me? Think, Mom. Jesus, I miss you. I try to get out here as often as I can but I can’t always make it. I just want you to know I try.”

  “Are you going to cry, Jackie? It hurts me to see you cry, honey. No one is here so if you want to cry it’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.”

  Jack dropped to his knees. He almost swooned when his mother stroked his hair and started to hum under her breath, “Hush little baby…” He blubbered like a baby and didn’t know why.

  Jack moved away and reached for his mother’s hands. “Mom, listen to me. If someone killed Betty Ann, what would you do?”

  “Who’s Betty Ann?”

  “Your daughter, Mom. My sister. What would you do if someone killed her?”

  “If I was Betty Ann’s mother, I would kill them. What would you do, young man?”

  “I tried to stop her, Mom, but I wasn’t quick enough. I was going to send her to jail for the rest of her life but she skipped out on me. I have to find her.”

  The woman sitting in the chair grappled with what he was saying. Jack watched as she struggled to find words to respond. “Mothers are…they love…they protect their young with their lives. Are you sure I’m a mother? Do you need someone to protect you, young man? I think I can do that. Tell me what you want me to do.”

  Jack leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Just say good night Jackie. The nurse is here to get you ready for bed.”

  “Good night, Jackie.”

  “I’ll see you next week, Mom.”

  “If I see your mom I’ll tell her I saw you. What’s your name again?”

  “Jack Emery. Good night, Mom.”

  Outside in the hall he heard his mother say, “That young man lost his mother. It’s so sad.”

  Outside in the warm spring night, Jack sat down on an iron bench in the little courtyard by the main entrance. He bit down hard on his lip, his shoulders shaking. He didn’t see the tall thin man walk through the doorway, nor was he aware of him when he made his exit a half hour later. He did see the man talking on his cell phone when he passed his car on his way to the Lexus that was parked three aisles away.

  In the kitchen at the farmhouse in McLean, Myra Rutledge listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, her jaw dropping as she absorbed what the private detective was telling her. She hung up the phone and looked around for Nikki. She called out.

  “I’m upstairs, Myra. Do you want me to come down?”

  “If you don’t mind, dear. I have something to tell you.”

  “I hope it’s something good,” Nikki said coming down the steps.

  “It’s sad, Nikki. Sit down and I’ll tell you. It’s about Jack Emery.”

  Nikki’s face turned white. “Did something happen to him?”

  “No, no, nothing like that.” She still loves him, Myra thought.

  “That was the private detective Charles hired to…a…tail Jack.”

  “What?”

  “It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, dear. I think you’ll be glad when I tell you what I just found out.”

  “This better be good, Myra.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Kathryn slowed the truck to a mere crawl as she instructed Alexis to look for a side road that Charles had marked on the map in red pencil. “We should be coming up to it any minute now. We’ve passed all the landmarks he told us to watch for. What does it say on the margin, Alexis?”

  “You’re to drive one and one-half miles down the road and park once you turn off. He said there is a huge outcropping of rocks on the left side. Once you pass that, there’s a clearing and you can stash the truck and the girls can park. He said no one uses this road anymore.”

  Kathryn sighed. “How does he know all this? The man absolutely boggles my mind. No wonder he was tops in his field. If you stop to think about it Alexis, we wouldn’t be here doing what we’re doing if it wasn’t for him.”

  Alexis waved her hands in the air. “He does that click, click, click thing with the maps on the computer. He can bring a dot on a map into full view and you can see the bushes and practically count the blades of grass. Who cares? I see the rocks, Kathryn. There it is, slow down. Turn on your blinker. Jeez, don’t miss it. Can you turn this baby in there? Looks kind of narrow to me. Watch it.”

  Kathryn rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Alexis. I can do this. There, see, I did it. The others are following. I wonder if anyone is behind Julia. What if they see all three of us turning in here? For a secluded road, all of a sudden three vehicles turn off. That could rouse some suspicion.”

  “I don’t think it’s secluded. I think it’s a bear habitat,” Alexis grinned. “We aren’t going to worry about this, Kathryn.”

  Kathryn parked the rig and opened the door. “No, we’re not going to worry about this. Julia, was there much traffic behind you? Did anyone see us turning off here?”

  “There was a pickup pretty far back. Why?”

  Murphy nudged Kathryn’s leg. “You stay right here with me. Go on, you can lift your leg on that tree. Right back here, Murph. I gotta go myself.”

  Alexis pointed. “I see four thick bushes. Take your pick. Here,” she said, handing Kathryn a wad of tissues from her shoulder bag.

  “The last time I peed in the bushes I was six years old. My mother told me to pretend I was picking flowers,” Kathryn giggled. “Alexis said this is bear country, so we do it one at a time. Or were you putting me on?”

  “I was. Go pee.”

  A light rain started to fall just as Alexis said, “Showtime, ladies!”

  The women waited until Murphy bounded into the back of the truck before they boosted themselves up and inside. Kathryn lowered the back gate just as Yoko turned on six crank operated flashlights that Charles had ordered from the Sharper Image catalog. Guaranteed to provide light forever.
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  Kathryn stood to the side, Murphy next to her as the women stripped off their wigs and shed their clothes. Julia was so pretty in a wholesome way with her thick chestnut hair and light dusting of freckles. In one way she looked plain and in another way she looked elegant. In college she was probably called preppy. When she smiled, which was rare, her whole face lit up. Kathryn smiled at her assessment of the doctor.

  “Julia…I…want to say something to you. ‘Thank you’ doesn’t seem like enough. We,” she said, waving her hand to indicate the others, “are just along for the ride, in a manner of speaking. It’s your knowledge, your expertise, that is accomplishing what we set out to do. When it’s your turn, I just want you to know I’ll do whatever it takes to do whatever it is you want. That’s a given. That’s all I wanted to say.”

  Julia walked over to Kathryn and hugged her. “I know that, Kathryn. Now, let’s get dressed. I can hardly wait to get on that Night Train again. You know, I just might buy myself one of those when we get back home.”

  Alexis dug into her magic sack of disguises. She handed out black push-up bras and skimpy bikinis. “It’s part of a set,” she said. “One goes with the other. So you give up your flowery underwear for one day, Kathryn, what’s the big deal. Leathers for you, Yoko and you, Julia. Mine are over here. Dolly Parton wigs for everyone. Bandannas for everyone. They’ll help secure the wigs because they’re heavy. Who wants to be a redhead?”

  “Me,” Julia said.

  “I want the white one,” Kathryn said.

  “The sable brown one is mine,” Yoko said.

  “I always wanted to be a blonde,” Alexis giggled. “A black biker chick with blonde ringlets. Just call me chickee baby.” She pirouetted around the truck in her underwear for the benefit of the others. They clapped and whistled their approval.

  Murphy howled when Alexis plopped the blonde wig on her head.

  Kathryn, with Julia’s help, set up the folding table. Yoko perched on the end to wait for Alexis to open her magic box of cosmetics. “Mata Hari, I think, Yoko. I’m going to give you a tattoo on the right side of your neck. I have the stuff that will take it off, so don’t panic. I’m thinking since you’re oriental, you might want a small dragon. One that’s belching fire.” She wiggled her eyebrows like Groucho Marx. “You okay with a dragon?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Alexis’s brush flew across Yoko’s face. She dipped and swirled, patted and blew on the irridescent powder. “You want the ring in your nose or your eyebrow?”

  “For real?” Yoko said, drawing back.

  “No. But it will look like it’s real. I know what I’m doing.”

  “I think I’ll take the eyebrow.”

  “Done,” Alexis said, fastening a small silver hoop to Yoko’s thick eyebrows. “You’re starting to look real good, kid.” Alexis stepped back to view her handiwork. “Let’s plump up those boobs. They’re starting to melt. Somebody spit on this decal and paste it on her neck. In the meantime, pick out your own decals. I suggest you put them on the top of your boobs.”

  “I don’t see anything symbolic,” Kathryn grumbled as she flipped through the artificial tattoos. “I want one that says something. I’m going with the teddy bear.”

  “I’ll take the rose,” Julia said.

  “What about you, Alexis?”

  I’m going with Peace and Love,” Alexis said.

  “Wow!” Julia and Kathryn said in unison. Yoko shook her rump as she sashayed around the inside of the truck. They watched as she pulled on her jeans and the leathers. The boots had steel tips with flowers painted on the sides. The vest with the silver hob knobs was the last thing she put on. Her breasts spilled out the top, her cleavage deep and seductive. The dragon wiggled on her neck each time she took a deep breath.

  Julia slid onto the table. “Alexis, you might want to put on a pair of latex gloves,” she said quietly.

  Alexis bent over until she was eye level with Julia. “I’m not afraid of you, Julia. I don’t need the gloves. We aren’t exactly exchanging body fluids here. Now sit still so I can make you more beautiful than you already are.” She waited while Julia knuckled her eyes. “Okay, now, I’m going to make you look like Anna Nicole Smith, that blonde bimbo that married that really rich old man.” She was as good as her word. Fifteen minutes later, Julia slid off the table. “Ta da!” she said, jiggling to unheard runway music.

  “Fantastic!” Kathryn giggled.

  “Okay, Barbarella, you’re next.”

  Kathryn hopped up on the table. “Do it!” she said dramatically.

  Alexis’s brush swirled and dipped again, up and down, across and then back up. In the blink of an eye, Kathryn sported outrageous false eyelashes that were curly enough to hold a pencil. “This is the most petulant mouth I’ve ever seen in my life,” she said, staring into the mirror Alexis held up. “I love it! I didn’t think it was possible to look this slutty.”

  “We look like tramps,” Yoko said, peering at Julia.

  “Yoo hoo!” Alexis said. They turned around and gasped in awe. Who was this long-legged creature in the leopardskin jumpsuit that was unzipped to the waist?

  “Holy shit!” Kathryn said.

  “Holy shit is right,” Julia said.

  Yoko was totally speechless as Alexis fastened her leathers and then slipped into the black leather vest. Her boots were covered in leopard-skin and had three inch heels. She looked to be six feet tall. Murphy growled as he sniffed her feet.

  “What time is it?” Julia asked.

  “Ten minutes of eight,” Kathryn said, staring down at her watch. “Yeah, yeah, it’s time to roll out our transportation. I didn’t see any road lights so that means it’s gonna be dark. Just stay behind me once we get to the main road. We don’t have far to go, so nothing should go awry. Oh, shit, it’s pouring rain.”

  Alexis dived into her sack of goodies and came up with four black ponchos. Don’t thank me, thank Charles,” she said, tossing one to each of them.

  Kathryn pulled hers on. “Come on Murphy, time to settle you down for the night.” Inside the cab, Kathryn shooed Murphy to the back where a bed was set up. “Here’s your baby,” she said, handing the dog a battered, bald Raggedy Ann doll. “Here’s a new fresh chewie and your ball. Your treat is by the water bowl. Your food is in your dish. You guard this truck with your life. We’ll be back in a little while. I know you understand everything I’m saying, Murph. This is important. Don’t bark.”

  The big dog licked her hand before he stretched out on the single mattress.

  “Did you guys lock the cars? Of course you did. Just let me lock up here and we can be on our way. Why the hell did it have to rain? We’re going to be leaving tire marks all over the damn place,” Kathryn muttered as she straddled the ’67 Electra Glide. She pressed the button and the machine came to life. She felt Yoko settle herself behind her just as Alexis’s ’93 Softail’s engine turned over. She waited a moment for the sound of the FXSTB Night Train to come alive.

  The night was pitch black as Kathryn led the group out to the main road. She looked both ways before she peeled out onto the macadam, Alexis and Julia behind her. She could feel Yoko’s death grip around her waist. Hysteria bubbled up to her throat. We must look like something out of a scary Halloween movie, she thought as she crawled along the highway.

  The minute she saw the blaze of neon lighting ahead she felt all the tenseness leave her body. She swerved into the parking lot of the Lone Pine Retreat, tooled around to the back and cut the engine. The others parked next to her.

  “The temperature’s dropping,” Julia said.

  “Is that important?” Alexis asked anxiously.

  “No. I was just making conversation.”

  “Listen up, we wear these ponchos till we get inside. We hang them up and then we strut, ladies, to the bar. Strut. We do not sashay, we do not slink, we do not walk, we strut. No fancy drinks. Hard liquor. Scotch. That’s what biker chicks drink. I read that in one of Charles’s magazines.
We are on the prowl, so look obvious. We’re easy but make them work for it. You ready?”

  Three ponchos bobbed up and down as the quartet ran for the main entrance.

  It was like a million other bars, steamy, smoky and sleazy. It was just one big room with tables positioned around the bar. They were greeted with whistles, hoots and explicit suggestions. They waved and smiled as they swung their legs over the bar stools.

  “What’s your pleasure, ladies?” the bartender leered.

  “Scotch on the rocks. A double,” Kathryn said.

  “I’ll have the same,” Alexis said.

  “Make that three,” Julia said.

  “Four,” Yoko squeaked.

  Kathryn had to stand up to fish in her jeans’ pocket for money. She half-turned so that the group at the long table could get a better view of her right breast and the tattoo. She slapped a fifty dollar bill down on the bar.

  Julia reached for her drink and downed it in two swallows. She thumped the glass down on the bar and swivelled around, her long legs stretched out in front of her. She looked pointedly at the men sitting at the table. “That’s some impressive machinery out front. We’re on our way to the Harley-Davidson show. Would any of you be interested in buying an FXSTB Night Train? Sugar here is selling her ’93 Softail, too.”

  “I might be interested in the Night Train,” Charles said, getting up from the table and walking over to the bar. “Is it outside?”

  “Sure is, honey. Be glad to show it to you after we get something to eat. We’ve been riding all day.”