Bernadine Fagan - Nora Lassiter 02 - Murder in the Maine Woods (26 page)

THIRTY-FOUR

I heard the sirens but couldn’t see the police cars. The crashing feet on the top of the tank were music to my ears.

“Are you all right in there?” Nick called.

“Nick, I’m so glad you’re finally here.”

“Nora?”

“You were expecting someone else?”

“Thank God. Oh, thank God you’re alive.”

The relief in his tone penetrated the steel hull.

It took about ten minutes for the chain to be severed and the hatch opened. He dropped down and hugged me with strong arms that s
aid more than words. I began to tremble and couldn’t stop.

Minutes later I was free and in the open air. It
smelled wonderful. Two sheriffs’ vehicles pulled up, followed by a fire truck and an ambulance. As I stood on the tank, they formed a semi-circle around the Sherman and broke into applause. I recognized Miller, Trimble and a few others, some firemen and EMTs. The cheering continued until I was lifted off the tank and someone called, “Atten-hut!”

Stunned, I looked around. They all stood at attention, forming a path between the tank and Nick’s SUV, like an honor guard. Maybe I was mistaken. This couldn’t be. As Nick lowered me down, they saluted. I was more than taken aback. I was dumbfounded. I didn’t know what to say or how to respond. I got teary-eyed. And then I was embarrassed. I have to stop reacting like this whenever people show kindness.

“I have something in my eye,” I said to Nick. “Maybe someone has a cat around here. I’m allergic, you know.”

“I know,” he said, smiling, as we headed for his vehicle. When I got in he handed me a tissue.

Sporting a soft cast on his leg, Miller hobbled over and said, “
We salute you, Nora Lassiter. We were at Buster’s place earlier. You really wrecked it. Good for you for catching this creep. Great job. I don’t think I could have driven that tank.”

“We’re mighty impressed with you,” some other guy
called.

“Thank you,” I said.
I gave a wave and a shaky smile. Inside I was still trembling from the ordeal and their reaction. Nick understood my distress and reached for my hand.

“No, thank
you
,” another man said.

I waved at him.

“Vivian called to report an invasion,” Nick said. “She was hysterical. She said the area was under siege by an invading army. The deputy she spoke to got her to hold off on her other calls, told her we’d handle them.”

“Other calls? I’m afraid to ask.”

“The FBI, the president, the marines.”

My mouth dropped. “She didn’t manage—“

“No. We’ve already spoken to her. Everything’s good.”

After a few minutes when the trembling lessened, I said, “I want to talk to Stan.”

He was still stuck in the crushed green SUV. Several men were working to cut him out.

His head was bleeding, his eye swelling and his nose was crooked. From the way he was holding his arm, I guessed it was broken. Pain was etched on his chubby face.

“I took your advice,” I said when the man using the loud cutting tool stopped to move to another section. “I read the manual and got that baby started. Drove right through the door. Hit a few things along the way. Don’t worry. You’ll have a place to live. I think it comes with bars.”

Stan tried to speak but his mouth was too swollen. Lenny yelled, “I had nothing to do with this.”

The man doing the cutting started up again so Nick and I left and got in his sheriff’s SUV. He gave me his phone so I could call Ida.

On the way home
I told him everything Stan told me before he slammed the hatch.

“We were able to make two arrests today. Some of the stolen good
s were recovered, but Lenny sold most of them. Thank you for your good work, detective.”

Before we arrived home, he pu
lled over and stopped. “I have to tell you how amazing I think you are,” he said, facing me. “Driving a tank. Catching a murderer. It’s too much for words. I think you are wonderful. You are one of the most incredible woman I know.”

He kissed me and he held me and I got weepy.

When we arrived home Hannah and Agnes were there, along with Aunt Ellie and other family members. After hugs all around, I explained what happened. Lots of oohing and aahing took place.

Before I came downstairs for breakfast the next morni
ng, I looked at the suitcase I’d been packing off and on all week. Today might be my last day in Maine. If I left quickly it would be less painful, like ripping off a bandage instead of peeling it. Keeping the tears at bay was more of a challenge than I expected, more of a challenge than driving the mighty Sherman. I let them flow when I was in the shower, which worked well since it kept me from thinking about how cold the water was.

I slipped i
nto new undies from Victoria’s bombshell collection, black with a partial overlay of pink lace. I covered up these beauties with jeans and my wool blend rustic cable turtleneck in deep blue heather with the interesting mini cable detail at the neck.

I could smell the bacon before I hit the stairs. I could hear Ida humming before I entered the kitchen. Humming?
On the day I was thinking about leaving?

I didn’t see the women until I walked through the door.

They all started to talk at once.

Margaret said, “Nora, there have been thefts at the library. Miller looked into it a while back and wasn’t able to find out a thing. He gave up. I was wondering—“

“Books? You call that important? Nonsense,” Aunt Ellie interrupted with a smirk. “Nora, you have to help me. A stalker’s been prowling in the woods around my house. Maybe more of a peeping tom and—“

“You wish,” said a woman I didn’t know. “I have something really important, and from what I’ve heard, Nora, you’re just the woman to look into it. I will pay whatever you ask. Price is not
an object.”

Price was not an object
?

I loved those words.
They were among my favorite words. I didn’t know what to say.

The knock at the door was a relief. “Please excuse me,” I said, catching Ida’s smile. I spun around and practically ran down the hall.

Nick walked in before I reached the door. My breath caught as it often did when I saw him.

Instead of saying good morning, how are you, do your hands feel better, did you get a good night’s sleep, he got right to the kissing part. He gathered me in his arms and kissed me until my arms were anchored around his neck and I was pressed tightly against him.

With my good hand, I took off his sheriff’s hat and tossed it on a chair in the front room.

We kissed some more.

“I have a spaghetti dinner with your name on it. You weren’t planning on leaving until you came for dinner, were you?”

“
My call?” I asked.

“I
did say that, didn’t I?”

“You did
.”

I relaxed i
n his arms and we kissed again.

“
Then I say it’s a
date
, Nick Renzo.”

“Good. I’m ready for that.”

The impatient kitchen ladies appeared in the hall and began talking all at once, not caring that serious kissing was going on. Above their voices, I heard Aunt Ida call, “Breakfast, Nora. And a phone call from your brother.”

With tremendous reluctance, I
broke away from Nick’s embrace and answered the phone.

“Yes, Howie,” I said. “The story about the tank is true. I’ll call back later and tell you all about it.”

“You could have been killed. You need to leave Maine. Why not come down to Florida?”

“Florida is great th
is time of year, Howie, but Ce-Ce’s missing, and there are three troubled women in Ida’s kitchen who need my help, and the hot water needs fixing, and I still have to sell most of the land, and there’s this spaghetti dinner … I can’t leave just yet. I have things to do. I’ll make a list and let you know.”

When I hung up, I smiled my way back to the kitchen where Nick was sitting with my new clients.

The End