The Prey Bites Back: A Jesse Watson Mystery Book #8

by Ann Mullen

  “I was insane at the time.”

  “What are we to do now?” I asked the sheriff. “We don’t know where this woman is, or who she’s coming after next. We can’t just sit around and wait for her to show up.”

  “That’s exactly what you’re going to do.”

  Mom reacted as if she’d just come to a scary realization. “What about Savannah’s son? Where is he? Is he all right?”

  “We’re looking for him.”

  “What? He’s missing?”

  Kaleb—the son of Savannah’s dead husband’s one night stand with his also dead secretary, killed by Savannah. But that’s another story.

  “Deputy James went to Savannah’s house about four hours ago. He found blood on the kitchen floor, and Savannah and Kaleb were missing. Her car was still in the garage, and her purse was on the table. I’m hoping they won’t find the boy’s body in the rubble of that building. They’re still sifting through the…”

  Mom started crying. I went to her, put my arm around her and said, “Don’t cry, Mom. The sheriff and his men will find him. He’s going to be okay.”

  “She’s right, Minnie,” Lu Ann said. “I don’t think Dakota’s a baby killer. She only hates men, not kids. She probably stashed him somewhere, but I don’t think she killed him. She might’ve even dumped him at someone’s house. If she doesn’t want the kid to die, she’ll leave him somewhere public. If she doesn’t care, she could dump him out in the middle of nowhere.”

  The room went silent again, allowing Lu Ann’s last statement to sink in.

  “You’re a genius, Lu Ann!” Sheriff Hudson said. “Y’all could be a big help if you’d go home and have a look around, and call me if you find the boy. In the meantime, I’m going back to the scene.”

  “I thought you were going home.”

  “I was, but I guess that’ll have to wait. I just got a call that needs my attention.” With that said, the sheriff left.

  Billy and Jonathan stepped out of the room for a quick tête-à-tête. No one asked what they were doing. We just stood around waiting for their return. We all knew they were planning something, and once they’d come up with their plan, we’d hear about it.

  Mom’s tears had dried up and she was now on the verge of getting antsy. The news about Savannah had been devastating, and now that she knew she was alive, Mom would want to go see her. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen, unless…

  Billy walked back into the room, followed by Helene and the kids.

  “We’re taking the children home,” Billy said. “Minnie, you and Eddie will stay with us, where you’ll be safe, and we can keep an eye on you.” He looked directly at her. “You know why I’m saying this. You want to go see Savannah, but I can’t let you.”

  Hmm… Mom didn’t argue.

  “Mason’s going to your house to do a search. Do you need anything while he’s there?”

  “Not really.” She smiled slightly. “We learned from you, Billy Blackhawk. We keep a bag in the car, and there’s a pharmacy downstairs in case we run out of drugs. We have that room at your house, and we have more stuff there than we do in our bedroom at home.” She chuckled. “And by the way, I am going to see Savannah.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  That was all Billy had to say.

  Mom backed down. She respected Billy and knew that if he was making a demand on her such as this, he had a very good reason, maybe one she didn’t even know about.

  “Helene, why don’t you take the kids to the bunker? We’ll be leaving soon.”

  Helene promptly turned and did as he asked.

  “We know Kaleb isn’t at the compound,” he continued once the kids were out of the room. “If she brought him here, it would’ve showed up on the monitors in the bunker when she broke the beam. Also, anytime the perimeter’s broken, Jonathan gets a beep on his cell phone. Gator’s going to… let’s say… make adjustments to everyone’s cell for security purposes. Minnie, I’ll need your house key.”

  Mom walked over to the sofa, sifted through her purse, and pulled out the set. She tried to get the key off, but those rings could be so difficult. Seeing her struggle, Billy walked over, held out his hand, and then got the key off the ring. He handed the set back to her. “I know you’re concerned about Savannah, but I have to think of our safety first. I’ll personally take you to see her the minute the opportunity arises.” He winked at her… and Mom was appeased. “Okay, let’s get going.”

  As we were leaving, Mom whispered to me. “Billy Blackhawk never listens to the cops. What’s he got up his sleeve?”

  “I don’t know, Mom, but I’ll be the first one to find out, and then I’ll let you know. I can promise you that.”

  Once we got back to the house, we did a search, and after finding nothing unusual… or Kaleb, we put the kids to bed. Billy took the dogs out to have a look around the place.

  “He could be anywhere,” Helene said as she walked to the kitchen. “Anyone want coffee? I need something to help me sleep.”

  “Not me,” Eddie said. “Coffee at this hour would keep me up all night, and I’m ready for bed. But I sure could use an aspirin.”

  “I’ll get you a couple,” Mom said as she went about doing so. She poured him a glass of milk and heated it in the microwave. “Here you go, honey.”

  Eddie tossed back the aspirins and chased them down with the warm milk.

  “Warm milk. Yuck.”

  “You should give it a try sometime, Jesse,” he said. “It helps me sleep. I don’t know why, but it does.” He looked at us, kissed Mom on the cheek, and headed for the stairs. “Don’t wake me up unless a tornado strikes.”

  “I’ll walk you up,” Mom said, and then looked back at Helene and me. “Pour me a cup, and then we’ll have a little girl’s chat. I have a feeling this night is just getting started.”

  “Okay,” I said. “You know where your room is.”

  Helene looked at me as Mom and Eddie headed upstairs. “Drink this,” she said, putting a cup of coffee down on the table in front of me. “I added a little something extra to warm your belly.” Then, she winked at me.

  “You’re a lifesaver, Helene. What would I do without you?” I was about ready to take a sip when I heard a wild animal noise, a crash, and then heard Mom screaming. I jumped up from the table, my heart pounding in my chest, and then ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When I reached the bedroom door, Spice Cat came scurrying out of the room.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “I’m sorry, Jesse. When I turned on the light, it must have scared the cat. He went flying off the bed, jumped on the dresser, and knocked over a bunch of stuff. I’m sorry I yelled. I wasn’t expecting him, and he wasn’t expecting to be disturbed.”

  “It’s been a long day, Mom, and we’re all a little on edge. Sorry about the cat. I’ll wait by the door while you get Eddie settled in…just in case that tiger comes back.” I snickered.

  After I heard the squeak, I knew Eddie was in bed, so I peeked in to see what was taking Mom so long. She was standing by the dresser holding a picture.

  “What is it, Mom?”

  Mom turned around, her face ashen. “I don’t believe this.”

  “What is it?” I crept into the room, hoping not to disturb Eddie, who was now lightly snoring, and had a look at the photo. “Oh, my God! She’s been here! She’s been in our house!” Panic set in when I saw the photo of Dakota and Olivia.

  Mom and I stared at each other.

  “Hit that panic button on your phone!” Mom cried. “Call Billy! We have trouble here!”

  “It’s on the kitchen table. Come on.” I grabbed her hand and the two of us hustled downstairs to the kitchen. I snatched up the cell phone and started tapping away as Mom and Helene stood and watched.

  “What happened, Minnie?” Helene asked in a whisper. “What was all that racket about? Who’s Jesse calling?”

  Mom held out the framed photo to show her.

  “That’s Dakota Stone
and Olivia Swales. What’s this all about? Most importantly, Minnie, why do you have it?”

  “She’s been in our house!” I said—scared and mad at the same time. “I’m so nervous, I can’t get this smart phone to be so smart. I hate these touch screens.” Frustrated, I threw the cell phone down on the table, went over and grabbed the wall phone receiver. I punched in Billy’s number.

  Wall phones… so outdated, but so useful sometimes. Although, this time, instead of ringing, all I got was static. “House phone’s acting up,” I said, hanging up.

  “Take a deep breath, and try your cell again.”

  Before I could do that, Billy and the dogs came in the back door. The dogs were doing their thing—barking, jumping, and then finding their way to their dog bowls. Soon, they would be searching for a place to flop down.

  “Helene, we need to give Athena one of those doggie downers. A storm’s coming. I haven’t heard thunder yet, but I saw lightning.” He stopped when he saw the looks on our faces. “What is it?”

  Mom held up the photo. “This was in my room.”

  Billy pulled his Glock from its holster. “Get your gun, Jesse!”

  I ran over to the desk in the living room and snatched mine from my purse.

  “I’ll get mine, too.” Mom went for her purse.

  “No, Minnie, we got this one.” He looked at me. “You go upstairs and look for anything out of the ordinary. I’ll check around down here.” Then, he looked over at Mom and Helene. “Don’t move. We need to know where you are. We don’t want any accidents. No running about.”

  I guess Billy must’ve scared them, because they were huddled together and not moving when I left and headed upstairs.

  After the search, I had come up empty-handed, but Billy found two more photos—one in the den, and one in our bedroom. All three photos were the same.

  “What happened to that fancy security system we have? How did she manage to get in here without setting off an alarm?” I was beginning to have my doubts about the efficiency of our new protection.

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure going to find out.” He put his gun back in the holster and pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call Jonathan, see what he’s got.”

  Mom and Helene sat down at the table. I laid my gun next to my cell phone and coffee mug, and then sat down with them, waiting for Billy to make the call. After listening to his conversation, we had a pretty good idea of what happened.

  “Are you telling us that system can’t tell the difference between a deer and a person?” Mom asked. “What good is it then?”

  “Jonathan said a camera scan showed a couple of deer over by the woods close to the barn. The blip showed up right when the sheriff arrived, so Mason didn’t think much of it, especially when he saw the two deer. Same thing happened a couple times earlier, but it was deer then, too.”

  “So…she was here the same time the sheriff was,” Mom said. “That was only an hour or so ago. Where is she now? Is she still on the property?”

  “I want to know how she got in the house without setting off that alarm.” Helene pointed to the tiny box by the front door. “That should’ve gone off, but it obviously didn’t. There’s a malfunction in your system.”

  “The alarm wasn’t set,” Billy replied. “Someone forgot to set it when they left.”

  The three of us looked back and forth at each other, and then I said, “It doesn’t matter now who forgot to set the alarm, Billy.”

  “It’s too late to worry about who left the gate open after the cow gets out,” Mom added. “Besides, that thing is so confusing. I figured as long as the green light was on, everything was okay.”

  “It confuses me, too,” Helene agreed. “I’m with Minnie. I figured the same thing.”

  Billy walked over to the front door. “Come here, ladies. I’m going to explain it to you again.”

  Mom and Helene got up and headed over to Billy while I sat at the table. They stared at me when I didn’t move.

  “I know how to work it,” I said as I took another sip of coffee. “Don’t need any lessons.”

  Billy went about explaining how to use the keypad once again and what each number represented. “See this last row of numbers with this line and the image of a badge? Hit any one of those, and it summons the police, fire department, and rescue squad. It’s set up like that in case you have a serious emergency.”

  “What does that blinking red light mean?” Mom asked. “It was green.”

  Billy looked back at the keypad. “That means we’ve gone into lockdown mode. Y’all should be getting a text any minute now.”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, cell phones started beeping. I looked down at mine and hit the text image. “Mine says, ‘Lockdown Mode’. I guess you forgot to tell me about that one, Billy.”

  “Mine says the same thing.”

  “Same here,” Mom said. “I know it probably means there’s danger, but does it also mean we’re locked in the house? Can Jonathan lock everyone’s doors from his bunker?”

  Billy chuckled. “He could, but he won’t unless he actually sees someone lurking about. The text is a warning to lock everything up and be on the lookout.”

  We all turned to look when we heard someone coming down the stairs. It was Eddie, holding his cell phone in one hand, and rubbing his eyes with the other.

  “I just got a strange text,” he said. “I was sound asleep, felt something licking my face, and when I opened my eyes, your cat was sitting on my chest. That’s when I heard the beep on my phone. The cat took off, so I reached over and picked it up. Am I missing something?”

  Mom explained to Eddie what was happening. She even took him over to the alarm keypad and told him what Billy had just told us. “We’re in ‘Lockdown Mode’, so if you ever see this blinking red light and get a text, you know to lock up the house, and be on the lookout for trouble.”

  Eddie looked over at Billy. “Do I need to go get my gun, stand watch, or something?”

  “You need to go back to bed, honey,” Mom said. “You need your rest. Remember what the doctor said. You need to take it easy. You’re not a spring chicken anymore. Besides, Billy has everything under control, don’t you, Billy?”

  Billy gave him the thumb’s up. “We’re good here. Go back to bed, Eddie. If anything happens, I’ll let you know.”

  Eddie looked at me. “That’s one smart cat you have, Jesse. He was trying to tell me something. Is he part Indian, too?” He chuckled and then headed for the stairs. “Wake me if something goes down.”

  “He’s not my cat,” I yelled to him as he was leaving. “Mom’s the one who let him in to start with. He ought to be living with her.”

  “Oh, Jesse, you love that cat and you know it, but I’ll be glad to take him home with me if that’s what you want.”

  “He’s yours.”

  “She’s not serious, Minnie,” Helene said. “And besides, the kids would have a fit.”

  I looked up at Billy. “Why didn’t you tell Eddie about the breach?”

  “There’s nothing he can do. He’s too injured to put up much of a fight, so why worry him? We have enough guns in this house to keep an army at bay.”

  “My money says she’s still on the property… and she’s watching us,” Helene said. “I bet she’s out there right now, waiting for the right time to come in here and kill us all in our sleep.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Mom came back with. “She’s long gone, isn’t she, Billy?”

  “We’re not sure. That’s why Shark and Jonathan are out doing re-con. I should hear something soon.”

  “Shark!” Mom exclaimed. “He’s such a teddy bear! Don’t you just love him?”

  I looked at Billy, and then back to Mom. “Shark’s a good man as long as he’s on your side, but just remember what it is he does for a living. He has Jonathan’s military training, and if he’s after you, you’re going to die. He has skills you wouldn’t want to know about.”

  “I’m no fool, Jess
e. I know who Shark is and what he does. I also know about Billy and Jonathan and the rest of the Blackhawk crew. I know what they can do, and I love them just the same. It’s a different world we’re living in now. Things change, and we have to change with it. We have to adapt. I’m adapting.”

  “I’m glad you brought that up, Minnie.” Billy looked at me and then back to Mom. “While you’re adapting, maybe you should consider adapting to a change in your life.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’ve been trying to get you to move in with us for a long time, but we know you like to have your independence, so Jesse and I picked out a parcel of land on the backside of our property close to that huge cherry tree you love so much, and we want to give it to you. The Blackhawk boys will build you a house, any kind you want. Just say the word.”

  I knew Mom would be surprised by Billy’s offer, but after all we’ve been through in the last eight years or so, and the lifestyle we’ve lived, I was hoping she might agree now. It would be best for everyone. She’d be living on the family compound where she’d be safe, and she’d be surrounded by her family.

  “That’s a mighty tempting offer, Billy, but I already have a house, and I like my home.”

  “I know you do, Minnie, and no one’s saying you have to get rid of it. You can sell it, or keep it and rent it out. It’s all up to you.” He smiled at her. “It’s time for a change, don’t you think?”

  I grinned. I could see Billy was winning her over.

  “Let me think about it,” Mom said. “I have to talk with Eddie, see what he has to say.”

  I jumped up, ran over, and hugged her. “I’m so glad, Mom!”

  “I haven’t said yes, yet.” She looked at Billy. “If I do agree, you will sell me the land, and I will pay the Blackhawk boys to build it.”

  “I will give you the land, the Blackhawk boys will build you house, and you can pay for the materials. How does that sound?”

  “Like I’m not going to win this discussion.”

  “We all win,” Helene said. “No offense to Billy, but if Geneva and Eli can live on the compound, so can Minnie and Eddie. At least we like them.”

  I chuckled. “Enough… I was wrong about Geneva. She wasn’t the money-grabbing villain I thought she was… and they are Maisy’s biological grandparents.” I looked at Mom. “You’re the only one of the grandparents who doesn’t live here. Think about that. Those two poor kids going without Grandma Minnie and Grandpa Eddie.”