alone with her thoughts, Myra’s shoulders slumped. Her eyes filled with tears. Jack Emery couldn’t be allowed to compromise what they were doing. He just couldn’t.
Myra got up and reached into the cabinet over the sink for the bottle of brandy she kept handy for medicinal purposes. If ever there was a medicinal moment, this was it. She didn’t bother with a glass but upended the bottle and took a hearty gulp. Her throat burned and her eyes started to water. She took another huge gulp before she corked the bottle and set it back in the cabinet. She tottered to her chair and plopped down. She started to cry. “Oh, Barbara, honey, I think I might be failing you. If Jack catches us, all this will be in vain. I only set this whole thing up to avenge your death. Now, it’s more than that. I want to help the others, too. What a silly old woman I am to think I could make this all happen. Just a silly old woman.”
“Mom, there’s nothing silly about it. Stop worrying.”
“Barbara, is that you? Darling girl, talk to me. Are you at peace? I think about you every day. I miss you so. The others have made my loss bearable, but now with Jack out there somewhere,” Myra said, waving her arm in the general direction of the back door. “I don’t know if we can hang on. Nikki’s living here now, you know.” Dear God, she was babbling to her daughter’s ghost.
“I know, Mom. I’m glad she’s here with you. Trust her. She can handle Jack. I have to go, Mom. Nikki and Charles are coming back to the kitchen. I love you, Mom. Mom, lay off the sauce, OK?”
“Where are you going, honey?”
“Upstairs to cuddle with Willie for a little while.”
A wild swoosh of air circled Myra and then the kitchen was still.
Nikki stood in the doorway. She, too, felt the swoosh of air. She knew instantly that Barbara had paid a visit to her mother.
“Talk to you later, Nik.”
Nikki knew when she went upstairs to bed that Barbara would be sitting in her old rocker with Willie in her lap. They’d talk like they did sometimes about everything and anything.
Charles stopped in his tracks. “Was that…”
“Yeah,” Nikki whispered.
“Oh.”
Myra looked up, her lips trembling, her eyes moist. “I think I’m going to go to bed. I had…What I mean is, I drank some brandy. Maybe it was a lot. Is everything all right?” she asked as an afterthought. “Oh, would you like me to make you both some hot cocoa?”
“Good God, no, Myra. You make terrible cocoa,” Charles said.
The heiress to a Fortune 500 company sniffed as she got up from her chair to go upstairs. “So what if cooking isn’t one of my strong points. I have other talents, don’t I, Charles?” She giggled like a schoolgirl as she sashayed past Nikki who did her best to hide her smile. Charles’s ears turned pink. Myra whirled around and almost fell. “Should I wait for you, dear?”
In spite of himself, Charles chuckled. “Is that an invitation, Myra?”
Myra drew herself up to her full height. “Damn straight it is, Charles.”
This time, Nikki did laugh aloud. “Go!” she said. “Before she kills herself going up the steps.”
Nikki sat for a long time at the kitchen table. She felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. What was she going to do about Jack? If they snatched him, the D.A.’s office would start to look for him. Appealing to his sense of decency was not an option. Jack was a bull dog with the instincts of a bloodhound. And he was angry with her. That alone was motivation enough for him to want to put the screws to her and the others. She wondered how much he really knew and how far he was willing to go to nail all of them.
Nikki fished her cell phone out of the pocket of her slacks, turned it on and dialed Jack’s number. A cell phone ringing in the woods. How funny was that? She almost laughed when a vision of the ADA, sitting high in a tree, his binoculars trained on the house, appeared before her.
Jack picked up on
Myra got up and reached into the cabinet over the sink for the bottle of brandy she kept handy for medicinal purposes. If ever there was a medicinal moment, this was it. She didn’t bother with a glass but upended the bottle and took a hearty gulp. Her throat burned and her eyes started to water. She took another huge gulp before she corked the bottle and set it back in the cabinet. She tottered to her chair and plopped down. She started to cry. “Oh, Barbara, honey, I think I might be failing you. If Jack catches us, all this will be in vain. I only set this whole thing up to avenge your death. Now, it’s more than that. I want to help the others, too. What a silly old woman I am to think I could make this all happen. Just a silly old woman.”
“Mom, there’s nothing silly about it. Stop worrying.”
“Barbara, is that you? Darling girl, talk to me. Are you at peace? I think about you every day. I miss you so. The others have made my loss bearable, but now with Jack out there somewhere,” Myra said, waving her arm in the general direction of the back door. “I don’t know if we can hang on. Nikki’s living here now, you know.” Dear God, she was babbling to her daughter’s ghost.
“I know, Mom. I’m glad she’s here with you. Trust her. She can handle Jack. I have to go, Mom. Nikki and Charles are coming back to the kitchen. I love you, Mom. Mom, lay off the sauce, OK?”
“Where are you going, honey?”
“Upstairs to cuddle with Willie for a little while.”
A wild swoosh of air circled Myra and then the kitchen was still.
Nikki stood in the doorway. She, too, felt the swoosh of air. She knew instantly that Barbara had paid a visit to her mother.
“Talk to you later, Nik.”
Nikki knew when she went upstairs to bed that Barbara would be sitting in her old rocker with Willie in her lap. They’d talk like they did sometimes about everything and anything.
Charles stopped in his tracks. “Was that…”
“Yeah,” Nikki whispered.
“Oh.”
Myra looked up, her lips trembling, her eyes moist. “I think I’m going to go to bed. I had…What I mean is, I drank some brandy. Maybe it was a lot. Is everything all right?” she asked as an afterthought. “Oh, would you like me to make you both some hot cocoa?”
“Good God, no, Myra. You make terrible cocoa,” Charles said.
The heiress to a Fortune 500 company sniffed as she got up from her chair to go upstairs. “So what if cooking isn’t one of my strong points. I have other talents, don’t I, Charles?” She giggled like a schoolgirl as she sashayed past Nikki who did her best to hide her smile. Charles’s ears turned pink. Myra whirled around and almost fell. “Should I wait for you, dear?”
In spite of himself, Charles chuckled. “Is that an invitation, Myra?”
Myra drew herself up to her full height. “Damn straight it is, Charles.”
This time, Nikki did laugh aloud. “Go!” she said. “Before she kills herself going up the steps.”
Nikki sat for a long time at the kitchen table. She felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. What was she going to do about Jack? If they snatched him, the D.A.’s office would start to look for him. Appealing to his sense of decency was not an option. Jack was a bull dog with the instincts of a bloodhound. And he was angry with her. That alone was motivation enough for him to want to put the screws to her and the others. She wondered how much he really knew and how far he was willing to go to nail all of them.
Nikki fished her cell phone out of the pocket of her slacks, turned it on and dialed Jack’s number. A cell phone ringing in the woods. How funny was that? She almost laughed when a vision of the ADA, sitting high in a tree, his binoculars trained on the house, appeared before her.
Jack picked up on
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