by Ann Mullen
“How did y’all know there was a bomb in the building?” I asked.
“We didn’t,” Jonathan said. “Shark had a bad feeling and said we should get out. When he gets those feelings, I listen to him.”
“I guess you don’t need my cigarettes anymore,” I said, smiling and still driving at a high rate of speed. “Sending me out to get cigarettes was a ruse, wasn’t it? Y’all wanted me out of the building. I mean, it could’ve taken forever for a cigarette to get a good fire going. I should’ve known better. Next time just tell me the truth. If you thought there was something strange or dangerous going on, you should’ve told me. I’m not a baby.”
Jonathan chuckled. “You didn’t even want to go outside by yourself.”
Yep, I knew that one was going to come back and haunt me, so I rebounded with, “Actually, I didn’t want to leave y’all alone. I was afraid something bad would happen to you… and it almost did.”
“I’ll buy that. How about you, Billy?”
“Works for me.”
“It was all too neat,” Shark said. “I knew something wasn’t right the minute I walked into the place. I could smell it.”
“Smell what?”
“Death approaching.”
“Hmm… that’s scary… or maybe it’s a good thing.”
“You might want to slow down, Jesse,” Billy said. “We’re safe now.”
I pulled up to the stop light at Rt. 29 and waited, my hands still shaking from our near death experience. “That was close. We could’ve been killed back there.” I hesitated and then added, “No one tells my mother how close we came to being dog meat.”
Fire trucks raced down Rt. 29, passing us at we sat at the light.
“I’ll feel better as soon as we get home,” Jonathan said. “Then we’ll be in the clear. There’s no way the cops can tie us to this one. We’ll go home and act as if nothing happened.”
By the time we got back to Jonathan’s house, the explosion was all over the news, and Mom was freaking out.
“I thought y’all were dead!” Mom cried as we climbed out of the SUV. “It’s all over the news. Channel 29 said they found a body stuffed in a dryer. Please tell me you didn’t put Preston’s body in the dryer. That’s just too harsh even for you guys.”
We almost did a double-take upon hearing Mom’s news.
“A body in the dryer?” I asked. “Are you sure?” I scanned the faces of Billy, Jonathan, and Shark.
“Don’t look at us.” Billy said, and then looked over at Jonathan and Shark for confirmation. “We left Preston on the floor right where we dropped him when we got there. If they found a body in the dryer, it isn’t Gavin Preston.”
“Then who is it?”
“I don’t know.” Billy replied. “But I’d sure like to.”
Mom looked over at Shark who was now leaning against the Hummer.
“Shark, you don’t look so good,” she said. “Is your leg bothering you? You should go lie down. You’ve been shot, for Pete’s sake. You should be in bed.”
“I’m fine, Minnie,” he assured her. “It’s nothing more than a pin prick. All I need is a stiff drink. It’s been a hectic day to say the least.”
“Here,” she took him by the arm and said, “I can help you there. Come with me and I’ll fix you a tall one.”
The two of them started walking down the hallway, Shark pretending to need Mom’s help all the while. She stopped for a second and looked back at us. “Y’all can come, too. No need to hang out in the garage. I mean, after all that hard work, I’m sure a drink is in order for everyone. Blowing up buildings and stuffing bodies in dryers can wear a person down. Y’all must be all dried out.” She chuckled to herself as she turned back to Shark.
They continued their walk down the corridor as Mom continued with her praise for a man who could kill a person with his pinky finger. “Eddie’s doing so much better thanks to you, Shark. You saved my husband’s life, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful. You’re such a good man. How did you ever get into the business of killing people? Were you abused? I bet you were bullied in school, weren’t you?” She didn’t give him time to say anything. “Well… you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You have us now.”
The three of us tagged along behind them, scratching our heads, trying to figure out who the other body was. We didn’t kill Gavin Preston and we surely didn’t put a dead person in the dryer.
“Dakota did this,” Billy said. “She’s cleaning up after herself. She’s gonna run, but she had to get rid of anyone who could be a witness. I’m willing to bet the body in the dryer is her cohort, Olivia Swales.”
“But why kill Olivia?”
“Maybe she turned on Dakota, just like Preston did. Maybe Olivia wasn’t party to Dakota’s madness after all.”
“You just don’t know who you can trust these days.” Jonathan laughed.
Changing the subject, I said, “Is it me, or has anyone else noticed how weird my mom’s been acting? I looked at Billy and then Jonathan. “Y’all know her. She’s taking this rather calmly, don’t you think?”
“It’s probably the drug I gave her.”
“No, it’s not just that. She’s been too accepting of our activities. Normally, she’d give us a hard time about everything we do that’s not God’s will—and you know what I mean.”
“I think she’s beginning to realize that everything we do is in the best interest of our family. We do what it takes to protect our own.” Jonathan was being serious. “She knows we always do the right thing.”
“That’s what I mean. She also knows we skirt the law to get the job done, yet that doesn’t seem to bother her anymore.”
“Your mother has been through a lot since she met us,” Jonathan said. “When you think about it, Jesse, she’s been thrust into a whole new world unlike what she’s been used to… and she’s adapting.”
“I hope you’re right. She can adapt all she wants, but I’d hate to see my mother cross over to the dark side.”
“To be truthful,” Billy said, “I cracked up when she shot Preston in the foot.”
The three of us smiled.
“Time to get out of this gear,” Shark said to Mom. “You go tend to your husband and we’ll see you in a minute.”
“Okay, but don’t be too long. I want to hear every detail.”
Mom continued ahead as the four of us entered the armory. By the time we got out of our gear and had stepped back out into the hallway, we were met by Mason.
“We have a problem.” Mason had a disturbing look on his face. “We’ve got company. Looks like Sheriff Hudson just pulled in with some of his guys. No sirens, no flashing lights, and that bothers me more than if they’d come in like a fire truck, horn a-tooting. You know this can’t be good.”
We quickly followed Mason to the computer room where we saw everything playing out on the screens. Sheriff Hudson had just stepped out of his SUV and was waiting for his deputies in the other two cars.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked. “Isn’t he out of his jurisdiction?”
“He’s here to interrogate us about the explosion,” Billy said. “The Body Shop is in Greene County. He has every right to be here. All we have to do is convince him that we’ve been here the whole time.”
“We’re going to get caught on this one, Billy,” I said. “He’s not stupid. He knows we were involved. But how? No one saw us, and no one can even prove we were even in the vicinity.”
“Stoplight cameras,” Mason said. “They’ll get you every time.”
“But can’t you do something about it? Kill the cameras, or something?”
“It’s a little too late for that.” Mason looked over at Jonathan. “I’m sorry. I should’ve…”
“It’s not your fault. You had your hands full. We just have to come up with a good reason for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyone got any ideas?”
“Let me pull up the cameras and see exactly what they’ve seen.” Mason hit
a few keystrokes and there we were sitting at the stoplight.
“All you can see is Billy and me. Thank God for tinted windows. We’ll tell him we were out shopping. Christmas is coming up.”
Jonathan and Billy both leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and Shark patted me on the back.
“I understand why you married this woman, Billy,” Shark said. “She’s a fast thinker.”
“Does that mean I’m a good liar?”
“Pretty much so, but that’s an attribute. Now let’s head up to the house and intercept them before your mother gives them an earful. She’s not happy about the fact her husband was beaten up, and her daughter was almost killed in the sheriff’s jail cell. I’m afraid she might lose it and not know when to stop talking.”
By the time the sheriff had gathered his men and was at the door, we were there waiting for them… and we were prepared. We were all sitting in the living room as if we didn’t have a care in the world. Well, except for Shark. He was hiding in a bedroom, and Mason and Gator were down in the bunker. We didn’t want to have to explain their presence.
Jonathan answered the door with a big, fake smile on his face that noticeably faded when he saw Sheriff Hudson.
“Come on in. What’s the problem, Sheriff?”
“Oh, I think you know,” Sheriff Hudson said as he walked in followed by his men. He glanced around the room. “Looks like a nice, quiet family gathering, but I know better.”
“What do you mean?” I asked in a pleasant manner, jumping up from the sofa. “That’s exactly what it is. If you’d like to talk, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do it in front of my kids. Perhaps, this can wait. We just finished dinner and the kids are tired. We were just getting ready to leave.”
“What makes you think this isn’t a social call?”
“You don’t make social calls, especially with all this much backup.” I looked at his deputies. “You’re here to accuse us of something, and I’d appreciate a little tact on your part in front of my children.”
“Fair enough,” the sheriff said. “I just have one question for you.”
“Go ahead, ask your question, and then we’re leaving.”
“Where were you two hours ago?”
“Billy and I were out Christmas shopping.”
“In full tactical gear?”
“It turns me on, and it freaks out people in the stores. I get a kick out of it, so Billy plays along. Something wrong with that?”
The sheriff smiled. “And where did you go shopping? I’m sure we can pull up some footage from the stores or the mall to corroborate your story.”
I giggled. “We never made it to the mall. We intended to, but things got a little amorous, so Billy and I…”
“I can see where this is headed. I thought you’d make it easy by being honest, but I can see that’s not going to happen. You could save us all a lot of grief by just telling me what you know about the explosion at The Body Shop. I know you were there.”
Billy stepped forward. “Give us a minute, Sheriff.” He then turned to Mom and said, “Minnie, why don’t you and Helene take the kids to the kitchen for a cookie.”
“A cookie? Are you sure?” Mom seemed confused at first as to why Billy would allow sweets when he has always been very strict about the kids’ sugar intake, but it didn’t take her but a second to get the message.
Before she could react, Maisy stood, took Ethan by the hand and said, “Come on, Grandma. Maybe Aunt Lu Ann has apples. We love apples, don’t we, Ethan?”
Ethan shook his head and smiled. “And oranges, too.”
I was so proud of Maisy. She’s almost eight, going on twenty, and she’s smart as a whip. How she came to us as a baby is another story, and even though she knows she’s adopted, she still loves us. And… after all these years of seeing one of us come home battered and bruised, she knows that no matter what, we’re on the right side. So, when Billy says something so off the wall like allowing cookies, she knows he just wants them out of the room for their own sake. It was time for grown-up talk.
Billy turned to Eddie and said, “Eddie, you stay right there. I know you’re in a lot of pain and you don’t need to be walking around more than you have to.”
Relieved, Eddie complied. I’m sure he wanted to hear what Billy had to say to Sheriff Hudson as much as the rest of us did. I, for one, had no idea he was going to tell the truth.
Once the kids were out of the room, Billy turned back to the sheriff and said, “Would you like to sit down, Sheriff Hudson? This could take a while. I’m going to tell you everything we know and everything we’ve done. It’s time to just lay it all out there.”
A face-off was coming and it looked as if both men were testing the waters.
“I’ll stand, but thanks for the offer,” the sheriff replied. “I’m going to give you a chance to tell your side of the story, so please do me the courtesy of telling me the straight truth this time. No leaving anything out. Convince me that none of you have done anything illegal… lately.” He turned his head and stared at each one of us separately before coming back to Billy. “I see guilt on every face in this room. Who killed Gavin Preston?”
“Dakota Stone!” I blurted out. “She’s the one you should be after.” I pointed my finger at the sheriff. “Instead of harassing us, you should be out looking for her. She’s behind everything. She even…”
Billy interrupted. “Jesse, please sit down and let me handle this. “You’re way too emotional to say anything without flipping out. We need to tell the sheriff everything we know if we want him to arrest the right person, instead of us.”
“I guess I am a little bit emotional.” I turned and stared at the sheriff. “Look at my face and you’ll see why, or better yet, have a look over at Eddie. I think this is the perfect time to get emotional. It sure isn’t any fun being hounded and beaten up.”
Actually, my little outburst was just a ploy to give Billy more time to think. He knows better than to try to shut me up. If I had something to say, it was coming out… and under no circumstances would he ever accuse me of being too emotional, at least not in front of anyone.
“This is how it is and what we know so far, Sheriff.”
Billy started his account of what happened, while the rest of us held our breath.
“Jesse’s right about Dakota Stone.” He glanced my way for a second, and then back to Sheriff Hudson. “Gavin Preston came here to warn us about her just before he died.”
“Gavin Preston came here to warn you about his lover? Yes, we know he was her lover.”
Billy continued. “She’d been slowly poisoning him once he was of no use to her. He had refused to maim or kill for her anymore, so she eliminated him. She even told him so at the last minute. She laughed when she said she had used antifreeze, and that he had never suspected for a minute. Well, by the time he found this out, it was too late. He didn’t think he was going to recover. So, he tried to make things right. He came here and told us everything.”
“And you believed him?”
“A dying man has no reason to lie.”
“Okay. Say I believe you. Continue.”
“I will tell you that we intercepted him and interrogated him slightly. We thought his arrival might be another attack on one of us. However, his interrogation was short-lived. He was already about dead because of the poison. He wanted us to take him back to the shop so he could die there, and put the blame where it belonged. Unfortunately, he died here before we could honor his wishes, but we did as he asked.”
“Honor his wishes? Are you serious?”
“My people take great pride in honor. Don’t yours?”
The sheriff was caught off-guard by Billy’s frank and deliberate question. When honor is called into doubt, one tends to go blank—if only for a nanosecond.
“So… we wrapped him up and took him where he wanted to go.”
“Jesus Christ!” The sheriff hesitated just long enough to regain his composure. “You just admitted to�
� Never mind. We’ll get to that later. Why didn’t you call the police when he died, instead of dumping his body? It makes you look mighty guilty. How can I believe you when it would be so easy for you to lie to cover your tracks?”
“Have you ever known me to tell a lie, Sheriff Hudson?”
Sheriff Hudson knew Billy wasn’t a liar. Even if it meant trouble for himself, Billy would still tell the truth. It might not be the whole truth, but it wouldn’t be a lie.
“Alerting the police to Preston’s demise wasn’t at the top of our list. We arrived at the shop, dropped off Gavin Preston, and then we had a look around.”
“So you have been doing P.I. work? That really ticks me off. We had a signed agreement. You made a promise. You swore…”
“No, I wasn’t working. I was protecting my family. The important thing is that you know Dakota Stone’s a killer, and she’s on the run. She blew up her own shop to cover her tracks.”
“Oh, come on. You don’t expect me to believe that, do you?”
“She confronted Jesse at the back entrance with the detonator in her hand. She, or most likely someone she hired, planted a bomb. She was expecting our visit. She tried to kill us.”
“You really expect me to believe this crazy story, Billy? Give me a little credit.”
“The woman has no past. Think about it. She runs a spa that caters to rich women, and some of these women hate their husbands. She’s been known to approach at least one woman with the offer to kill the husband, and that husband is now dead. Who knows how many more she’s had killed?”
Sheriff Hudson shook his head in disbelief. “You’re telling me that Dakota Stone is a man-hater and for some reason she wants to kill off all bad men?”
Lu Ann spoke up. “Sheriff, the profile fits. I believe the Stone woman was married to, or had a relationship with an abuser. She was most likely physically and mentally abused so badly that she had to do something to stop the abuse. Being abused does something awful to a person. I also believe she killed him, whoever it was, and she got such great relief from the act that she made it her goal to help other women in the same situation. She actually thinks she’s doing them a favor. But now, her actions are out of control. She can’t stop herself.”
