Deadly Greetings (Book 2 in the Cardmaking Mysteries) (25 page)

I waited until he was within reach, then I
did what Bradford had taught me as a kid playing my first game. I
swung from the dirt up into him. Though I’d been aiming for his
chin, it was a good thing I didn’t hit him there. The force of the
blow would have probably killed him. As it was, I managed to catch
him squarely in the stomach, and there was a huff of alcohol-laden
air as he collapsed on the floor.

Barrett was there thirty seconds later, with
Jeffrey on his heels. “We came as soon as we could,” Barrett said,
faltering at the door when he saw Wayne’s unconscious form on the
floor.

“
My God, did you kill
him?”

“
I don’t think so,” I
said.

Jeffrey nudged Wayne’s unconscious form with
his toe, then bent down and checked his breathing. As he stood
again, he said, “He’s still alive, but when he wakes up he’s going
to be sore in places he didn’t know he had.”

“
What took you two so long?”
I asked. The shakes were starting to hit me hard, the way they
usually did after something frightening happened to me. After the
phone call at Maggie’s, the falling window and now this, I was
nearly out of adrenaline.

“
We got here as fast as we
could,” Barrett said snugging his robe tighter.

“
Barrett, are you coming
back to bed?” I heard a voice call out through my open door. I
didn’t need to see that blonde hair to know that it was
Penny.

“
Yes, why don’t you go back
downstairs,” I said. “I’d hate to break up your date.”

“
It’s not what it looks
like,” he said.

“
Oh, did you two decide to
have a slumber party and make s’mores? I didn’t get my invitation,
did you, Jeffrey?”

Jeffrey backed up. “Leave me out of this. If
you’re okay, I’m going back to bed.”

“
What about him?” Barrett
said as he pointed toward Wayne.

Jeffrey said, “Fine. I’ll stay with her
until the police get here, but do you honestly think he’s going to
give any more trouble tonight?”

Barrett was saved from answering by my
brother’s sudden appearance. His gun was drawn, and he came off
that landing like he was ready to shoot somebody, and he didn’t
much care who.

He took one look at Wayne, then holstered
his gun.

“
Well, I’m sorry if you had
to kill him, but just because of the nightmares you’re going to
have because of it.” Bradford had been forced to kill two different
men since he’d become sheriff, and it was no secret he still was
haunted by their faces from time to time.

“
He’s not dead,” I said, and
Wayne snorted once to prove it, then quickly settled back into his
baseball-bat-induced coma.

“
That will save me a ton of
paperwork, thanks,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation with a
grin. Bradford turned to the two men and said, “Thanks for watching
out for her.”

I was about to protest that they hadn’t done
a thing when Barrett did it for me. “He was like that when we got
here.”

Jeffrey added, “I don’t envy him that. May
we go, Officer? There’s nothing we can do here.”

“
Go on. I’ll need your
statements, but that can wait until morning.”

After they were gone, Bradford leaned down
and handcuffed Wayne, though he was now snoring fitfully.

“
Do you think that’s really
necessary?” I asked him.

“
Don’t want him waking up
and catching me off-guard,” Bradford said. He gently took the
baseball bat from me, then wrapped his arms around me. “Are you
okay, Sis?”

That’s when I let it all go and started to
cry.

After a while, I pulled back and wiped my
cheeks. “I swear, sometimes I can be such a girl.”

“
That’s one of the things I
love most about you,” my brother said. “You surprise me all the
time, and I’m not that easy to shock anymore. Why don’t you grab
some stuff and come home with me? Bring your roommates too. Where
are they, by the way?”

“
If I had to bet, I’d say
they were sound asleep on my pillow. Listen, I appreciate the
offer, but I don’t want to leave my apartment tonight.”

He looked at the door, barely hanging on to
its frame, then stared at me. “Jennifer, stubborn is one thing, but
this just isn’t happening. There’s no way I’m letting you stay here
until we get a steel door to replace that one.”

I looked at the door and realized that he
was right. “Just let me get Oggie and Nash. So what are we going to
do about him?”

“
Jody and Jim are both
coming. They’ll be here any minute, so they can take Wayne to jail
and I can take you home. Let me call Cindy and tell her what’s
happening. She’s worried sick.”

As Bradford called his wife, I looked in on
my roommates. I couldn’t find them at first, but when I glanced
over at their carriers, I saw that they’d I crawled inside and were
waiting patiently for me. I didn’t know what was up with them, but
for once I didn’t care. It made my life easier, and that was what I
counted. I grabbed a change of clothes and a few toiletries,
stuffed them into an overnight bag, and by the time I came back
out, Wayne was gone.

“
They got him already?” I
asked.

“
He wasn’t any problem, and
I told them if Wayne tripped a few times, well, we can always claim
it happened because he was drunk.”

“
They’re not going to hurt
him, are they?” Though I was not one of Wayne’s biggest fans, I
didn’t want to see him beaten up. Well, not any more than I’d
already pounded him, anyway.

“
No, they’re good men, both
professional. Don’t worry. He won’t bother you anymore.”

I smiled weakly. “Because of the law, or
because of my baseball bat?”

“
If I had to guess, I’d say
a little bit of both. Do you have everything you need?” he asked as
he gestured to the carriers and the bag slung over one
shoulder.

“
I’m set. If anybody wants
what’s left, they’re welcome to it.”

We drove in silence to my brother’s place,
and I was glad it was dark outside. I couldn’t control the shakes,
but I’d stood up for myself when it had counted.

Cindy was standing near the door when we got
to their modest ranch, and she ran out to hug me before I could
even get inside. “I just got off the phone with Lillian and Sara
Lynn. They wanted to come over.” Bradford shook his head. “You told
them not to, didn’t you?”

“
I said it was your
decision, but if you want to stop them, I suggest you call them
right now before they can get dressed.”

Bradford turned to me and made what I knew
was a heavy sacrifice for him. “Do you want them here, Sis?”

I shook my head. “I just want to go to bed
and forget this ever happened. Give me your phone. I’ll call
them.”

Bradford said, “Don’t worry, I can handle
those two.”

I waited, my hand outstretched, and he
finally handed me the telephone. “I swear I don’t know, what I did
to deserve so many stubborn women in my life.”

Cindy kissed him on the cheek. “You’re just
a lucky man, I guess.”

Bradford laughed softly. “Are the kids still
asleep?”

“
Are you kidding me? I don’t
think an explosion would wake them up right now. I just wish I
could sleep like that.”

I called my sister and aunt, making our
conversations as brief as possible. Yes, I was fine; no, I didn’t
want any company; and yes, we’d talk about it the next day.

Cindy waited until I was finished, then
said, “Jennifer, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“
Me too,” I said, the
fatigue suddenly overwhelming me.

Bradford said, “There’s just a few questions
I want to ask you, and then you can go to bed.”

His wife wasn’t about to stand for that.
“Bradford Shane, your sister is our guest. She’s obviously worn
down to the bone. She’ll be here in the morning, so you can ask
your questions then. In the meantime, let her rest.”

I thanked Cindy, promised Bradford we’d talk
later, then walked downstairs to the guest room in the basement.
Once I was there, I opened Oggie and Nash’s carriers, but the
rascals wouldn’t come out. Too much excitement, I supposed as I
crawled onto the bed without even taking my clothes off.

Sometime in the night they got out and
joined me, and when I woke up, I felt two small sets of engines
purring against my ribs.

HANDCRAFTED CARD TIP

Don’t know what to say inside your carefully
crafted card once you’ve made it? Sometimes I use lines from my
favorite poems, quotations or songs, and there are other times I
think simplicity works best. Over the years, I’ve sent cards that
say “Simply Because,” You Are in My Thoughts” and “Missing You.” In
handcrafted-card making, it is, above all else, the thought that
counts, and that you care enough to make it yourself.

Chapter 15

It always throws me off when I wake up in a
strange place, not that I’ve made much of a habit of it over the
years. Once I was oriented, I gently nudged Oggie and Nash far
enough so I could get out of bed. When I glanced at the alarm
clock, I saw that I’d slept in till nearly nine, a modern-day
record for me. Ten minutes later I walked into the kitchen, led
there by the ambrosia of fresh pancakes.

“
Am I too late for
breakfast?” I said, stifling a yawn.

Cindy was sitting at the
kitchen table reading the newspaper, and Bradford was working at
the griddle; my brother had on his police uniform with an apron
over it that said
kiss the
cook.

“
You’re just in time. Are
you ready for some flapjacks?” Bradford asked. “If you don’t like
those; we’ve got pancakes and hotcakes. It’s your choice.” It was
an old family joke, offering me three names for the same
thing.

“
They smell so good, I’ll
have one of each.” He poured three circles of batter onto the
griddle. “Coming right up.”

Cindy handed me a cup of coffee when I sat
down I said, “You actually let him cook?”

She smiled. “He handles the grilling outside
and the pancakes in here, and that’s about it. I wasn’t about to
say no when he offered.”

I took a sip of coffee, then asked, “Where
are the odds?”

“
They’ve been out playing
for an hour,” Bradford aid as he flipped the pancakes. “I didn’t
think you were going to ever get up.”

Cindy swatted at him with the paper. “Now be
nice, Jennifer had a late night.”

“
And too much excitement,” I
said. I started to get up when Bradford said, “Sit back down, young
lady, tour breakfast is almost ready.”

“
I’ve got too much to do
before I open the shop,” I said.

“
Thanks for thinking of me.”
Cindy said, “Jennifer, if you think he’s going to let it get out of
here without breakfast, you don’t know your brother very
well.”

Those pancakes did smell awfully good. “I
suppose I’ve got time for one.”

He slid all three off the griddle, then put
them on my plate. “If you’ve got time for one, you’ve got time for
three.”

Then he poured more batter onto the grill.
“Three are plenty,” I protested as I poured some warmed syrup on
the short stack.

“
These aren’t for you,
little piggy,” Bradford said. “The cook has to eat too, you
know?”

“
You’ve already had one
breakfast,” Cindy protested.

“
Hey, I’ve been slaving over
a hot griddle all morning. I deserve a little extra.”

She got up and moved in behind him, and I
could tell Bradford was expecting a hug. Instead, his wife pinched
his love handles. “I’d say you had more than a little extra,
wouldn’t you?”

“
Just more to love, woman,”
he said. “Tell you what, I won’t eat all four of these. I’ll show
remarkable restraint and just have three.”

“
One,” she said
firmly.

“
Okay, but you drive a hard
bargain. I’ll limit myself to a measly two.”

Cindy gave him a narrow glance, then said,
“Just this time, and only in honor of your sister’s visit.”

Bradford winked at me as I ate. “You can
stay as long as you want; you know that, don’t you?”

“
So you can keep grabbing
extra portions?” I asked.

“
Hey, it’s a win-win
situation as far as I’m concerned.”

I took the last bite of pancake, finished
off my coffee and stood. “As much as I’d love to hang around, I
really do have to get back to my place and find someone to fix my
door.”

“
If that’s all you’re
worried about, Ethan’s been working on it since seven. I’m willing
to bet that he and his carpenter friend have that new door hung
already.”

“
What do you have on him,
anyway?” I asked.

Bradford shrugged, but Cindy said, “Stop
trying to be so mysterious. They’ve been friends forever, though
neither one of them is likely to ever admit it.”

He rolled his eyes toward his wife, then
said, “Either way, you’re covered. Do you want these two? I hate to
just throw them out.”

I glanced at the two orphan pancakes and was
ready to give in, despite my promise to cut back, when Cindy said,
“Stop picking on your sister. Jennifer, they freeze great, and the
kids eat them as after-school snacks. Have some if you’d like, but
he’d never just to them.”

That helped. “I’m going to stop then, as
good as they were.” I stood and kissed my brother on the cheek.
“Thanks.”