Jackpot

by Mairsile Leabhair

  Kenny watched her eyes swirl with desire. “I’m sorry,” she said through tingling lips. “You just don’t know how sorry I am. But I can’t.”

  Wiping her lips with her fingers, Chelsey nodded. “I understand. Your grandma is certainly more important right now.”

  Kenny exhaled gratefully. She read my mind. “Yes, exactly. Thank you for being so understanding.”

  “I have just one question for you.”

  Kenny braced herself. “Yeah?”

  “Where’d you learn to kiss like that?” Chelsey asked, fanning herself with her hand. “Whew.”

  Kenny squared her shoulders and finger combed her hair. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. Has no one ever told you that you’re a good kisser?”

  “No, you’re the first. And might I add, you had me on cloud nine from the start.”

  “Oh, well, since we’re both so good at it, perhaps I could get a raincheck after we find your grandmother. I think you have a lot of potential, Makenna Whitt.”

  Before Kenny could reciprocate, Chelsey walked back to the laptop at the bar and climbed on the bar stool. Still, Kenny rubbed her fingers over her lips, savoring the lingering taste of Chelsey’s lips. Okay, back to work. She looked back at the evidence wall and began studying the pictures again. “Why is Grandma frowning?” she mumbled to herself.

  “Did you say something?” Chelsey asked over her shoulder.

  “Just the same question you asked,” Kenny replied without turning around. “She doesn’t seem to be afraid in these pictures. Grandma told me a couple of years ago that she was always just a little bit afraid without Grandpa around.”

  “But I thought he was in the Air Force and deployed overseas a lot.”

  “Yes, he was, but we lived on the block with other military officers, including an MP who lived right next door. That’s why when I bought this house, I had cameras put in at every entrance so she could see who was coming. It’s motion sensitive, so if anybody rings the doorbell, the program will send a live feed to her cell phone.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty cool.”

  “Oh, shit!” Kenny exclaimed, slapping her forehead.

  Startled, Chelsey turned to her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, giving up on the list she was working on. She walked over to the evidence wall again and stood by Kenny.

  “If the kidnapper has Grandma’s cell phone then they will know everyone who comes here.”

  “Oh… um…” Chelsey cheeks blushed pink.

  “Chelsey?”

  “I sort of stuck my tongue out at the camera when I first got here.”

  Kenny let out a belly laugh that shook her whole body. “Man, I wish I had a picture of that.” Still laughing, she turned back to the evidence wall.

  “Well, you were being so pretentious and all, and I was a little nervous.”

  “Actually, that could be to our advantage. Wait, what? You were nervous?”

  “What were you saying about it being to our advantage?” Chelsey asked, avoiding the question.

  Smiling, Kenny let it go and concentrated on her idea. “Well, they will know that no police have been here, no Feds and the like.”

  “What about the party? The kidnapper will know—”

  “Yes! They’ll see the people coming to the party. And if they mention it to Grandma, maybe she’ll connect the dots and know the real reason for the party. She’ll know I’m coming to rescue her. She’s the one who told me to invite the commissioner in the first place.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  Kenny tapped on the latest picture. “Her face tells me they’re feeding her the same line of bullshit they are me, and she’s not buying it. It’s a risk I have to take.”

  “Yes, I agree. Plus, since it was her idea, maybe she can use it to defuse the situation with the kidnapper. You said you thought they really wanted to take it to the last day.”

  “Absolutely. My grandmother would use it to convince the kidnapper that I had no choice but to have the party. Which is almost the truth.”

  “They will know something’s up in a few hours when the party coordinator shows up.”

  “Hmm…” Kenny tapped her chin with her finger, lost in thought. “Yeah, that could be a problem. Grandma probably won’t think about the preparations.” She began pacing, sorting through the possibilities in her head. Stopping suddenly, she yelled, “Oh, my God!”

  Chelsey marveled at the grin on Kenny’s face. Suppressing her own grin, she asked, “What?”

  “That’s how I can communicate with the bastard. Tobias said that if they had Grandma’s phone, they put a blocker on it because he couldn’t ping it. We can’t be sure until I test the waters. I can hold a sign up to the camera that says something to the kidnapper but also lets Grandma know that it’s going to be all right.”

  “You should probably wait until it’s daylight.”

  Kenny nodded. “Yeah, good idea.”

  ***

  During the night, Sophie woke and went down to the kitchen for a glass of milk. In what was becoming a habit, she checked on the girls in the game room. Kenny was sitting on a throw pillow with her arms crossed and her head down, and Chelsey was curled up on two pillows, her hands tucked under her chin.

  By seven that morning, Sophie rose and checked on the girls again to see if they were ready for breakfast. The two were still asleep and had found their way into each other’s arms. Sophie smiled at the innocent scene, doubting the two even knew they were embracing, yet marveling at how they needed that connection. Love will find a way.

  Sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee as the biscuits baked, Sophie mentally prepared herself for the day ahead. The next two days would be non-stop chaos with people coming and going. Even under the best of circumstances, it would be nerve-wracking, but the added stress of finding Deidre was making the pressure twice as bad. Sighing, she turned off the TV, picked up a wooden spoon and a pan and walked out of the kitchen to the foyer. Banging the pan, she yelled that breakfast was ready.

  Kenny’s eye’s popped open. Did I fall asleep? She was still in the game room sitting on the pillows against the wall. Something warm pressed against her side and she heard a soft snore. No, we fell asleep. She looked down at Chelsey curled up against her, her arm across Kenny’s stomach. Neither one of them had had much sleep, especially Kenny, so exhaustion had finally caught up to them.

  “You have the softest hair,” she whispered as she rubbed her chin gently across Chelsey’s forehead. “And you smell… like an adventure.”

  Chelsey stirred and then opened her eyes. “Oh?” She looked up at Kenny. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said as she sat up.

  “Well, I’m not. I’m sorry that I woke you.”

  “You didn’t wake me. I hear Sophie yelling.”

  “Yes, I believe breakfast is ready.” Kenny turned to Chelsey. “First one up there gets to fill her plate first!” Kenny helped her up then raced up the stairs, leaving Chelsey chasing after her. The doorbell rang, and Kenny stopped short, Chelsey running into her backside.

  “Oh, sorry,” Kenny said, walking into the vestibule and peeking through the peephole of the front door. “Shit!”

  “I hear you in there, Kenny,” Tyesha shouted through the door.

  “Who’s that?” Chelsey asked.

  “That’s my ex-girlfriend. I sort of had her evicted from my condo, but in my defense, we broke up months ago and she only came back when she heard about the lottery. She just sort of moved in and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I called the tenant manager and had the door lock changed. I thought she’d get the hint after that.”

  “Oh, one of those types who gives new meaning to the word gold-digger. So, what are you going to do?”

  “Well, I’m just going to tell her straight out to get lost,” Kenny said, putting her hand on the doorknob. “If I can.”

  Kenny, when drunk, was a real pushover. The only problem was, this time, when she had sobered up, her hangover, al
so known as Tyesha Hynes, had moved in with her.

  “What the hell, Kenny?” Tyesha asked the second the door opened.

  “What do you want, Tyesha?”

  “Aren’t you going to ask a lady in?” Tyesha asked, trying to see past Kenny, who blocked the doorway.

  “I don’t see a lady here,” Kenny replied roughly. “Go away, Tyesha, or I’ll call the police on you.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she snapped. “After all we meant to each other.”

  Suddenly, Chelsey stepped under Kenny’s arm and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Honey, don’t be rude, invite her in.”

  Kenny blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. “Uh…”

  “Isn’t she the wedding planner you commissioned?” Chelsey asked innocently. “Oh, I have so many ideas for our wedding, I just can’t wait to get started.”

  Kenny grinned and wrapped her arms around Chelsey’s waist, pulling her close. Chelsey was a half a foot shorter and a tad thinner than Kenny, and she fit perfectly into Kenny’s curves. “Sure, baby, anything you want. It’s your special day. But she isn’t the wedding planner.”

  Chelsey reached up and framed Kenny’s cheeks in her hands. “It’s my lucky day, honey, to be marrying the woman of my dreams.” She pulled Kenny’s head down to her and kissed her, loud and dramatically.

  Kenny knew it was an act, but it was a damn good act that had her forgetting about Tyesha the second Chelsey’s tongue ignited hers. They stumbled back, groping like newlyweds and kissing like teenagers.

  “So, then you’ll get back with me?” Tyesha asked just as Kenny closed the door in her face.

  She knocked on the door again, but when it opened this time, Sophie was waving a broom in her hands. She started sweeping at Tyesha’s feet.

  Tyesha jumped back. “Sophie, how have you been?”

  Sophie growled, and Tyesha’s eyes grew large. She had always been a little bit afraid of Sophie.

  “You need to go, puta,” Sophie barked, waving her broom at her. She chased her down the driveway, screaming Spanish obscenities.

  “I guess that raincheck came a lot sooner than we thought,” Kenny said as they finally pulled apart. “Thank you for saving my butt.”

  “It was fun,” Chelsey replied. “I admit, I enjoyed the shocked look on her face. You were right, she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

  Nodding toward the door, Kenny said, “I think Sophie just put the fear of God in her for good, this time.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  She looked at Chelsey with soft, appreciative eyes. “We make a really good team, don’t we?”

  “I was just thinking the same thing myself,” Chelsey replied. “It’s amazing how quickly we meshed, um, you know, the three of us.”

  “Oh, yeah, the three of us,” Kenny repeated. She always knew that Chelsey would be very helpful and trustworthy, but Chelsey had taken it a step further. Chelsey had moved right into her heart.

  “You are a really good actress.”

  I wasn’t acting! Kenny wanted to prove to her that she wasn’t acting but, in spite of the signals Chelsey was so easily giving off, Kenny wouldn’t risk her grandmother’s life on her overactive hormones. If it wasn’t for that, she might actually consider getting serious with someone again. Tyesha had destroyed that desire when she dumped Kenny. She was a gold-digger even when Kenny had no money. Kenny worked her ass off to keep up with her bills and treat Tyesha like a queen. Now she realized how stupid she had been. But Chelsey… well, that was a whole different story. Chelsey worked just as hard and smelled just as bad as Kenny had when they were at the plant. And she had aspirations along the same lines that Kenny did, helping people by solving crimes. And looking absolutely beautiful as she solved them, too.

  “Uh, yeah, thanks. Chelsey, I… um…”

  “All right, ladies, breakfast is getting cold,” Sophie announced as she walked back in carrying the broom over her shoulder. She marched past them toward the kitchen.

  Chelsey looked at Kenny expectantly, waiting for her to finish her thought, but Kenny only waved at the door and said, “Beauty before age.”

  “Don’t you have that backward?”

  “Not at all,” Kenny replied, putting her hand on the small of Chelsey’s back. Technically Kenny was older by two years and she knew that Chelsey was most definitely prettier than she was. “Come on, we don’t want our breakfast getting cold.”

  Chapter Ten

  As they sat around the breakfast table Wednesday morning, theories and ideas were flowing thicker than the maple syrup being poured on the pancakes. Sophie had outdone herself in the kitchen; experimenting with the pancake mix, baking the fluffiest biscuits, and spicing up the gravy with a touch of cayenne pepper. She knew the next two days would be very busy with the party preparations, and she wanted to make sure they started the day with a hearty breakfast.

  “I think Tyesha is the kidnapper,” Sophie announced as she cut into her blueberry pancake.

  Picking up a slice of crispy bacon, Kenny asked, “Based on what?”

  Sophie was about to take a bite but pointed her fork at Kenny, instead. “The fact that I don’t like her, and I haven’t since the day I met her.” Satisfied that it was a good answer, she wrapped her lips around the bite of pancake and chewed happily.

  Kenny and Chelsey both laughed.

  “Well, I don’t like her either,” Chelsey agreed. “But I think it’s Eloise. She’s got a major chip on her shoulder.”

  “Unless it’s Ted,” Sophie added.

  “Nah, I think Ted was paid to put the tracker on my car and that’s all. He hasn’t gone anywhere out of the ordinary since I put a tracker on his car.”

  “So, who do you think it is?” Sophie asked.

  They waited for Kenny to give her opinion, but she only shrugged and pierced the egg yolk, spreading the golden river of deliciousness across the pancakes floating in sweet syrup on her plate. They kept waiting.

  “What?” she sputtered as she chewed her food. “I just don’t think we’ve seen the last of the suspects yet, that’s all. Eloise might have the expertise, based on the classes she took in college, but Tyesha certainly wouldn’t.”

  “No, you’re right,” Sophie admitted. “As I recall, that girl was so lazy, she would sleep with the manager just to get out of work.”

  Kenny winced. She knew Tyesha slept around but she thought it was just with women. Somehow that would have been easier to accept. It would have shown at least a little restraint, a little decorum as it were.

  “We’re going to be really busy for the next couple of days,” Kenny began, attempting to change the subject, “so I just wanted to take this moment to thank you both for all your help. I don’t think I could get through all this without you.” Imagining being all alone when she got the ransom note, facing the monster by herself, sent a shiver down her spine. Kenny was usually strong-willed and self-confident, but all she had left in the world was her grandma, or so she thought.

  “You’re not alone in this, cariño,” Sophie stated.

  “She’s right,” Chelsey added, patting Kenny’s arm. “We’ve got your back.”

  Kenny swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “Well, thank you both. I… uh…. that really means a lot to me.”

  Chelsey gave Kenny her softest smile, sending a different type of shiver down Kenny’s spine. Then she glanced over at Sophie. “So, what’s this about Tyesha sleeping with the boss?”

  Much to Kenny’s relief, the doorbell rang before Sophie could elaborate on the gossip.

  “They’re here early,” Sophie stated. “I thought they weren’t coming until noon?”

  “Oh, sorry. Forgot to tell you that they were coming earlier. I sent a text to Felisha that we needed a little extra attention to detail, and she said she’d be here first thing this morning to get started.”

  Sophie jumped up and left to answer the door.

  “What extra detail and who’s Felisha?
” Chelsey asked curiously. She had never been to a party of this esteem, and she was both excited and nervous.

  “Your party dress and Felisha is my event coordinator. Felisha Welsh is the best in the country, and I’m paying her outrageous amounts of money to make this party the social event of the year.”

  “You care about stuff like that?”

  “Hell, no. Well, I do now because of Grandma, but no, I’m not trying to be the celebrity hostess with the mostest.”

  “You think you’re a celebrity?”

  “After the party, you and I both will be. You realize that our picture will be taken and splashed across social media, right?”

  “Oh…” Chelsey muttered, not sure how she felt about that. Her brother would tease her unmercifully and her parents would… what, love it, hate it, never speak to her again? Her mother would most likely frame the picture, but her father was something of a snob and probably wouldn’t appreciate his daughter at a ritzy party on the arm of a woman suddenly known for her million-dollar sexual escapades.

  Kenny looked at her curiously. “Is that such a bad thing?”

  “Um… I’ll need to warn my parents first.”

  “Why? Don’t they know you’re a lesbian?”

  Chelsey nodded. “Yes, they know and are very supportive. It’s your… um… proclivity for getting drunk and spending outrageous amounts of money. They’re not too keen on stuff like that.”

  “How about that. I have a reputation,” Kenny said as she scarfed down another bite of pancake.

  “Oh, please. Like you didn’t know that.”

  “At the time I was creating this so-called reputation, I wasn’t sober enough to realize it.”

  Chelsey’s mouth dropped open, and she stared at her.

  Kenny laughed at the face Chelsey was making. “Just explain to your folks that I’m trying to clean up my act and having the beautiful Chelsey Kendrick on my arm will go a long way in making me look respectable again.”

  Laughing, Chelsey nodded. “Yeah, that might work. I’ll call Mom and…”

  Sophie rushed in with Felisha right behind her. Kenny stood up and held out her hand.