by Abigail Keam
Startled at being struck, Ethel began to whimper. Her faded eyes filled with tears. Her chest felt tight. She started taking big gulps of air but the bag over her head impeded her airflow.
“Where’s the ticket?”
One of the thugs slammed his hand down on the kitchen table, causing the china in the cabinets to rattle.
Ethel flinched and made a little yelping noise.
“We want that ticket. Tell me or I’m gonna kill your cat, but first I’m gonna hurt him real bad. I’ll start by breaking one leg at a time. Then we’ll see how he likes burning matches. You wouldn’t want to see your kitty suffer, would you? Tell me where the ticket is.”
Blubbering, Ethel tried to get the words out but couldn’t. She couldn’t even catch her breath. Clutching at her chest, she gasped so loudly for air that she didn’t hear Charles coming up the driveway, giving his car horn a quick honk.
But the hooded thugs did. They hightailed it out the back door, skedaddling through the back pasture to the woods. They were long gone before Charles entered the kitchen, but not before he caught sight of them running away.
19
“This is some mess,” uttered Jubal in the hospital’s emergency room “Yes, isn’t it,” I replied. “It’s a good thing Charles followed your aunt home. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t come along.”
“I appreciate you being here for my aunt. I know you must be tired, waiting for hours. I can take it from here.”
“Yes, I am tired. Any idea who those men were?”
“None a’tall. My aunt doesn’t have anything really valuable.”
“It just seems like an awful lot of work for two men to mount a home invasion when the house has been empty for days.”
“Maybe she surprised them.”
“Then why were they wearing masks?”
Jubal shifted his weight. “You’ve talked to Ethel?”
“Just for a few seconds before they moved her to ICU.”
“What else did she say?”
“We had the devil of a time trying to find you.”
“I was at a bar and had turned off my cell phone.”
“I see.” Studying his boots and pants, I declared, “You must have been working outside this morning.”
Jubal glanced at his muddy work boots and stained pants. “I was pulling out dead shrubbery around my house this morning. Ethel say anything else?”
“Like I said, just a few words to me.”
“What about that guy who found her?”
“Charles? I don’t think so. He told me she was having trouble breathing and couldn’t speak at the time.”
“Too bad she couldn’t tell him more.”
“Yes, too bad.” I noticed Jubal’s shirt had large sweat stains under his armpits. “Well, I’m going home. May I drop you off?” I asked.
“I think I’m gonna hang around and talk to the cops.”
“They’ve already taken a report and left.”
“Really? They have any clues?”
“If they did, they didn’t confide in me.”
“I think I’ll stick around anyway. Ethel might need me.”
“Will you please call Lady Elsmere if there is a change? She is worried sick and would be obliged for any news.”
“Sure.”
Somehow I didn’t believe Jubal, but I left anyway. I was beat. It was late afternoon and I had been at the hospital for hours since Charles had called.
He was terribly upset at finding Ethel in her predicament and requested that I come. Charles was happy when I relieved him, so he could go home to Lady Elsmere, who was already drowning her concerns in mint juleps after hearing the news of her childhood friend. Only Charles could deal with June when she got this way.
But I didn’t go straight home. I had a copy of Neff’s report, which contained Jubal’s address. Swinging by his house, I got out and walked its perimeter, looking for any evidence that Jubal had been working with shrubbery.
None.
I wouldn’t have thought so. But a man could get his boots muddy and pants ruined by running through a pasture and then woods. There was no doubt in my mind that Jubal had been one of the men who had attacked Ethel.
But who was the other man? I doubt it would have been Jubal’s loan shark. There was a hierarchy in threatening people relating to loan sharks. The loan shark would have directly threatened Jubal, not his aunt. So who was the other man?
Getting back in my car, I headed home. My left leg was beginning to throb and the sound was going out in my hearing aid again. I needed to replace its battery. Plus I was starving. Luckily for me, Eunice had been using my office to plan an upcoming reception at the Butterfly. I called and asked her to put something in the oven for me.
Getting home to the Butterfly in record time, I unlocked the door, punched in the security code for the alarm and then loved on Baby, who met me at the door. If Baby was happy, then I knew no one was in the house that he didn’t like. My heart rate decreased automatically. Baby was my best security alarm.
“Josiah, is that you?” called Eunice from the office.
“Yes, Eunice. It’s me.”
“Did you put the alarm back on?”
“Doing it now.”
“Dinner is in the oven. Should be done.”
“Thanks. I just didn’t have it in me to cook tonight,” I announced.
“Salad in fridge.”
“Okay. Got it.” I pulled a small hot brown out of the oven and placed it on the polished limestone counter, letting it cool. An exquisite little garden salad waited for me in the fridge with Eunice’s homemade ranch dressing, which I neatly folded in. I took both over to my Nakashima table that already had a place setting with a glass of water. I dove in, eating with relish. Nobody could make a hot brown like Eunice, not even me.
After eating, I took up residence on the couch over-looking the pool and the bird feeders. Baby laid down beside the couch and rested his big droopy head on his paws.
Cardinals, nut hatches, finches, downy woodpeckers, black-top chickadees, flickers, sparrows and rock doves crowded around the feeders in happy commotion.
Occasionally I would hear a sound from the office, but the house was quiet for the most part – just the humming of the refrigerator and the sound of air coming through the heat vents.
I didn’t even notice when my head drooped over my chest and my eyes closed.
20
A banging on the door disturbed my sleep and then I heard the door unlock.
Still groggy, I slipped off the couch and rolled under it, which was stupid. Anyone could see a person hiding there, but it was the best I could think of still half asleep.
“Rennie! Rennie! Where are you?” yelled Matt. “Good God, what are you doing under the couch, woman?”
Thinking this a game, Baby stuck his snout under the couch and lunged.
“No, Baby. Bad Baby!” I admonished. I hated this game of his where he acted as though he was going to attack. I didn’t like his lunging, especially around my face. I guess we were going back to the dog trainer, as Baby was technically still a puppy – a huge, willful puppy.
Matt pulled Baby up by his collar and shook his finger at him. “Bad Baby. No.”
I never thought shaking one’s finger at Baby was a good idea since he might mistake it for a hotdog, but Matt could do as he pleased.
To my astonishment, Baby looked chastised and shuffled over to a chew toy.
Matt was now on his hands and knees trying to extract me from beneath the couch. Slowly we made headway.
“What were you doing?”
“I was asleep. I heard yelling and banging on the door. I was trying to hide. Guess it was instinct.”
“It was a stupid place to hide.”
“I didn’t say it was smart, Matt. I said it was instinct. Why didn’t you just call like a normal person?” I sputtered, putting my clothes to rights.
“I did. I called and called, but no one picked up. I kn
ew you were at home. I thought something might have happened.” Matt grabbed my arm. “Are you taking double doses of your pain medication? I know you went to see the doctor to have the prescription refilled.”
I pulled away. “The battery’s going out on my hearing aid.”
“Josiah!” Matt scolded.
“ I was too tired to replace it when I got home. That’s why I didn’t hear the phone.”
“Can we argue about this later?”
“What did you want? You seem flustered.”
“Your brain seems to be functioning at last. You’re not drunk, are you?”
I made a face. “Ha ha.”
“Guess who came to see me at work today?”
“Meriah,” I retorted, without thinking.
“Jeez, you must have calluses from patting yourself on the back for being right all the time. I simply hate that.”
“Was it Meriah?”
Matt pulled me down on the couch and held my hands. His blue eyes sparkled beneath long thick eyelashes.
“Matt, you’re frightening me. Meriah’s not going to die, is she?”
“Why would you say that?”
“No reason,” I lied. “Why did she come to see you?”
“She’s going to have a baby. My baby.”
“Get out!”
“Can you believe it.”
“This is happy news, Matt?”
“Ecstatic. And the best part is she doesn’t want to raise it. She wants to give me full custody.”
“Slow down, Matt. Slow down. She doesn't want custody? What mother would give up her rights like that? That’s not normal.”
“Meriah said she realized that she’s not cut out to be a full-time mother, plus she doesn’t want the baby to grow up in Los Angeles. She will have visiting rights, but I will have full custody.”
“I can’t wrap my head around this.”
“I spent all afternoon with her discussing the terms. Meriah will sign the custody papers as soon as they are drawn up.”
I patted Matt’s hands. “Be careful, Matt. This is a land mine.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is Meriah having a hard pregnancy?”
“Yes, very difficult. In fact, she’s coming here a month before the baby is due so she won’t have to travel during the ninth month. She wants the baby to be born in Kentucky.”
“Why can’t you go out there?”
“She said she is going to need complete bed rest and quiet. She can’t get that in Los Angeles with her friends calling all the time.”
“Right now Meriah’s in pain and frightened. This is not how she imagined her life would be at this point. She thought she’d be married and living the high life in Los Angeles, not alone and pregnant. She is doing what is logical in her mind, but when she sees her baby and holds it, the odds are that she will want to keep it.”
“Then I’ll make sure she signs the agreement before she leaves in a couple of days.”
“Is that the way you want to treat someone you loved and were going to marry?”
Matt looked confused.
“Do you want to take Meriah to court if she changes her mind? Believe me, if you do, you will lose in the state of Kentucky. Judges always favor the biological mother. But most important, you will lose Meriah’s goodwill and that, Matt, is precious.
“If you are hell bent on signing that agreement, do so, but tell Meriah that if she should change her mind, you will tear it up. Tell her that you love her and forgive her for leaving you. Give her peace of mind, Matt. That’s why she came back.”
Matt’s face fell. “Don’t you want me to have this baby? Don’t you think I’ll be a good father?”
“That’s not it at all. You are going to be tied to Meriah the rest of your life because of this baby. You want to make it pleasant for both of you. Don’t make the same mistakes that I did in my marriage by pushing an agenda all the time.
“Reassure her that whatever she wants, you’ll do. If Meriah wants to sign away her rights, then let her do so, but assure her that if she changes her mind when the baby is born, you will work out an arrangement that you can both live with. Tell her everything will be alright.”
Matt kissed my hand. “You’re right. I’m seeing her again tomorrow. I will make sure that she understands we need to do what’s best for the child, even if that means the child living with her. We’ll work it out together.”
“That’s for the best, Matt. You won’t be sorry.”
“I want this baby, Rennie. Real bad.”
“And most likely, Meriah will give you primary custody. I’ve always said women are like Thoroughbreds. Sometimes gentle treatment in the barn can do more for getting results than the whip on the track.”
Matt pushed back his raven hair. “I guess I’ll need to tell Franklin soon.”
“You two an item again?”
“We have agreed to be friends. I still haven’t decided how I want to live my life. He thinks I’m crazy but we have agreed to see each other as compadres . . . for now.”
“Franklin agreed to that?”
“He is seeing a few people. You know . . . playing the field. Franklin will never be lonely. He has lots of friends. He’s funny, charming and smart. People like to be around him,” Matt said.
“He’s a bright light on a dull stage, that’s for sure. And you are letting this funny, charming and smart guy play the field while you change diapers?”
“You think I’m careless where Franklin is concerned.”
“Franklin is a person of quality. He’s a rare find. Don’t think that you will find many more like him, because you won’t.”
“I’ll tell Franklin about the baby after Meriah leaves. Until things are settled between us, there’s no point in involving him yet.”
“Matt, let me tell Franklin. I think he can take the shock better hearing it from me rather than you.”
“That’s fine with me. But here you are comforting me and I never told you how sorry I was that Jake left.”
Hearing Jake’s name gave me a jolt . . . and not a pleasant one.
“He did the right thing. His kids needed him and so did his ex-wife.”
“Miss him?”
When I didn’t reply, Matt squeezed my hand.
I really wished he hadn’t brought up Jake.
21
Franklin had a look of dread when he let me into his apartment, but he listened with quiet politeness as I explained the situation with Matt.
Then Franklin camped, “I need a stiff one, then maybe a drink.”
I poured him bourbon.
Franklin held up the glass. “Here’s to swimmin’ with bow-legged women” and downed the entire drink. After wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he hiccupped and asked for another one.
“There’s a limit to feeling sorry for yourself,” I notified him.
“This from the queen of pity parties!” he retorted. “I guess it’s finished with Matt. Over.”
“Not necessarily. He’s just having a baby. He’s not madly in love with someone else.”
“He’s in love with Meriah.”
“But I think Meriah realized that a long-term relationship with Matt was not in the cards or she wouldn’t have left Kentucky after the wedding.”
“I thought she was running from the blood that splattered over all her guests.”
Ignoring his comment, I said, “As you recounted to Matt, he has no taste. He’ll need help with decorating the nursery, picking out baby clothes, hiring a good nanny.
“Think of it if he has a baby girl. Do you want to see his baby paraded around town in hideous frocks by a frostbitten old nag? That won’t reflect well on you, Franklin – you being his friend. You’ve a reputation to uphold. Standards.”
“Oh my gosh. We can be just like the couple in Le Cage Au Folles.” Franklin clapped his hands together at the thought of a baby. “Golly, I think my nipples are getting sore. I’m already lactating.”
“See, that m
aternal instinct is kicking in.”
“What should I do?”
“Congratulate Matt on his impending fatherhood and offer to help him. I don’t think he’ll turn you down. He hasn’t a clue what to do.”
“And he’ll need help when the baby comes.”
“Lots of it, because I won’t be babysitting,” I claimed.
“I love babies.”
“I could barely stand my own child let alone other people’s children. Sorry, but I agree with Stephen King – ‘Schizoid behavior is a pretty common thing in children. It's accepted, because all we adults have this unspoken agreement that children are lunatics.’ ”
“Philistine.”
“Matt’s waiting at his bungalow if you want to see him.”
“Tell him I’ll be there after I get my tape measure and color samples.”
“I’ll let myself out.”
But Franklin didn’t hear me, as he was already dashing about gathering things he would need to make Matt’s spare bedroom into a nursery.
I hoped things worked out for Matt and Franklin. They deserved to find some happiness in this world.
Looking at my watch, I had just enough time.
Ethel’s church would soon be letting out for its Saturday night service.
22
After parking my car in the back of the church, I let myself in the basement door. There I pulled out a flashlight and followed the instructions written on the church’s stationary. Finding the custodian’s closet, I sat inside on a chair that had been placed for me. Now all I had to do was wait.
I heard the last hymn, the pastor discharging the congregation, the stamping of feet in the aisles, the calls of goodbyes amongst friends, volunteers straightening up the sanctuary and finally silence. Dull silence.
Bored, I found bottles of grape juice the church used for communion. I thought about it for a . . . oh, nano second . . . and then I drank most of it.
I told you I was a sinner.
A half-hour later, there was the subtle creaking of footfalls on the ancient wooden floor above. It was time to make my move.
Creeping up the staircase in the dark, I felt along the wall until I came to a fuse box. Beyond that was the master light switch for the entire church. I counted each lever and finally pulled the third one down. Immediately all the lights in the sanctuary came on.
