Promise Me Forever (4 page)

“I’m not surprised. You okay with him up and leaving like he did?”

“No Dad. I was furious. I told him he’s got a week to get it together.”

A glint of a smile crossed his face before he replaced the cigar back in between his teeth. “You let me know if you need me to talk to him.”

“We’re fine.” She gave him a hug.

“Honey, everything is ready, we can set sail.” Abby’s mom stepped outside. “Oh Abby. I’m glad you’re here. Dad and I have some business to take care of. Will you be okay on your own, I mean since Jon is gone? We can stay if you need us but there are some things going on and I, well, you know how we live.”

Abby narrowed her eyes at her mother’s long speech. “Ahh, Something is going down and the two of you will be dead center in the middle of things.”

Danny stood up. “I think she nailed it dear.” He gathered Abby in his arms. “All you need to do is call me and we’ll be home. We’re not going too far.”

“I’ll be fine. You two be careful. Love ya!” Abby waved as the boat drifted to sea. Her parents didn’t fool her one bit. They lived in the sail boat because that’s where the surveillance equipment worked best. Her mother promised her they’d give up their life as spies if she asked them to, but there was no way she would ask them to give up what they loved.

“Penny, having spies as parents is rather fun and exciting, don’t you think so?” She patted her fur as they walked back in the house in time to let in the hot tub delivery man. As she waited for him to set everything up, the doorbell rang again. When Abby flung open the door, she took a step back in surprise and slammed the door shut.

“Oh please Abby, don’t shut the door! Please, I want to apologize!” a voice cried out. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating if she wanted to talk to the two people on her front porch.

Margie, the woman who stole their credit cards at the campground in Memphis stood outside with Elvis in tow. Abby peeked through the tiny hole as Margie stared in to the peep hole from outside. “Please, Abby! We’re here to tell you how sorry we are! Your friend Josh hired us to help him with some cases and your Mom and Dad too.”

“Josh hired you after you stole from me? You should be in jail!”

Margie nodded. “I know. Look, we are going on our first gig and since it is so close to your house, we wanted to stop by and apologize in person.”

“You can’t be serious!” The bad thing was she liked Margie. But the woman stole from her. She peeked out again at Elvis. He cocked his head to one side and placed his arm on the older woman’s shoulder. Margie’s bottom lip trembled as if she were about to cry. Abby was such a softie! “Wait right there!” she yelled out and ran for her cell phone.

Abby text Josh to find out that yes, the two people outside her door had turned their lives around. She smirked. More like the agency threatened them with loads of jail time if they didn’t change their ways. Relieved to find them on the right side of the law, coming here to apologize showed something. But she wasn’t about to let them inside the house to steal again.

Penny and her slid out the side door through the garage and walked to the front of the house. Elvis jumped when she spoke from behind. “Okay Margie. Say what’s on your mind.”

The two swung around and stared at Penny, whose tail stood stiff and her ears straight in the air. “Is the dog going to attack us?” Elvis asked, his soft voice shaking.

“Penny stand down,” Abby ordered. Penny relaxed but stood guard, her body still cautious and ready to defend Abby.

“Look, dear. I know we stole from you and we are both so sorry. Right, Elvin?” Abby tried to keep from grinning.
His name is Elvin? You got to be kidding!

“After my husband died, and he did, that’s the truth, my brother died and he asked me to take care of Elvin because he needs to be cared for.” She put her hand up against the side of her cheek and whispered to Abby. “He’s on the slow side,” she said as if Elvin couldn’t hear her.

“How did Elvin get to be Elvis?” Abby had to know.

“That’s the thing. One day after I moved Elvin in to our home, I heard him sing. So we signed him up for shows to make money as an Elvis impersonator. After a while, it became so much easier to take the RV and hit the campgrounds. Older people love Elvis but it doesn’t pay as much as we thought.”

“Is that what you do, find someone who is vulnerable and then steal from them?” Abby asked, not surprised she was still angry about the theft.

“No dear. Not always. Every now and again. I knew it was wrong, but you two seemed like you had a lot of money. I mean, who goes to volunteer like you and your man did if you were poor like us?”

“So you thought it was okay to take our credit cards because we seemed as if we had money?”

“Yes, I did. But I don’t anymore. I’m a changed woman!” She raised both hands in the air and shouted it out as if she were telling the whole world.

Abby laughed. She couldn’t help herself. “Okay Margie. I guess you are. I’m still not letting you inside my house.”

“I understand I have to gain your trust again.”
Doubtful! The only reason you are changed is because the agency made you and will use you to do their work instead of jail time.

Could Abby forgive these two and move on? She was never one to hold grudges, but they sure fooled her and Jon when they didn’t need the aggravation. She sighed. “Life is too short to stay mad. It doesn’t mean I’ll ever trust you again but I forgive you.”

Margie jumped in the air. “Oh thank you! I swear we have changed. I never liked stealing much, er, well, sometimes. But I like this sleuthing job even more. Did I tell you what happened last week?”

She went on and on how they staked out an area pretending to be campers and tourists. The agency gave them some gadgets to record and snap photos. “It was so much fun when we caught the dirty buggers!”

Abby laughed out loud. Once she relaxed, Penny allowed the other two in their space. She stayed cautious Abby noticed, but didn’t growl at them any longer.

“Thank you Abby. I know you didn’t have to speak to us, but I wanted to apologize. I liked you from the first time we met and I feel bad for what we did. Plus it turned our lives around. Sooner or later, we would’ve got caught.”

“Um, you got caught.” Abby smiled.

Margie nodded. “Yes, right. I can’t wait until tonight. We will stake out this, oh! I doubt I can tell you, I think I have to keep things secret, unless you come want to come too?”

Elvin nodded, his head bopping up and down. “I wish you could come with us Abby. You would have fun!”

“I’m not doing much tonight. Where are you going?” Abby figured out they must be sleuthing in the area since they came to apologize. She wouldn’t mind having something to do until Jon came home.

Margie stepped closer and looked back and forth like someone would be listening. Abby almost laughed out loud. “We will be part of a theme night at a resort a few miles down the road. It’s a free for all and you can dress like a childhood character or your favorite celebrity. Elvin will do his impersonation of Elvis. Hey, why don’t you come along as Pippi! That would be fun. I remember seeing you dress that way in Memphis for the kids.”

Abby liked the idea. Her motivation to make kids smile died when Kevin did, so maybe dressing up for a bunch of adults would get her back in to the game again, something she needed to do for herself and the kids who counted on her. She closed her eyes. Could she do the Pippi thing again?

“Then you can see how we’ve changed, come on Abby. It’ll be fun!” Margie prodded.

“Okay, give me directions and I’ll see you there.”

<><>

Abby and Penny drove towards the old wooden bridge off of Highway One. The place was rocking with multiple cars parked in the guest parking lot where Abby pulled in to. She giggled to herself when others dressed as different characters walked in to the campground. It seemed as if everyone from miles around came to the theme party.

“There you are!” Margie waved, both hands flapping over her head. Penny stayed by Abby’s side as they made their way to the small camper where the older woman parked. It was near the entrance to the campground. She nudged Abby in the arm and whispered. “We’re supposed to act like regular people and observe all the people coming and going. Now if we see someone suspicious, like they don’t belong, then we have to speak in to this watch our agent gave us. Isn’t this exciting?”

Abby sat beside Margie on the patio, getting a great view of everyone who entered. She had to admit it was a good spot to people watch. “Did you notice anyone who looks suspicious yet?” Abby asked.

“No, but there’s more. See this?” she dug in her pocket and showed Abby a tiny contraption, about the size of a lifesaver. “When we find the man we’re looking for, Elvis will bump him so he can drop this on to his clothes. I think it will track the culprit so the agents can stalk him.”

Abby laughed. “You mean track him, not stalk.”

Margie nodded. “Yes, that’s what I mean. It can take a while until we learn all the agent lingo.” She changed the subject. “My, don’t you look like Pippi! You wear that costume well my dear. I have this old gypsy costume but it works.”

Abby looked down at her blue jumper with lace around the top and bottom. It was a short skirt, but she wore red and white striped tights and her black half inch heels so she could jump around with Penny while they did some tricks. On her arms, she cut another pair of the red and white tights to cover most of her skin except for her hands. She was lucky she didn’t have to wear a wig with her red hair. All she needed to do was make pig tails and load hair spray on them. After that, they would bend any way she put them. Her fake freckles stuck out all over her face. Abby was beginning to feel like her old self again because she loved to dress as Pippi and make the children smile.

Except it didn’t look as if too many children would be in attendance tonight. “Is this an adult party?” Abby asked.

Margie nodded. “Yes, they have the kids over beyond the lake at an adventure camp. Now the adults can have their costume theme night. So no matter what happens, you know, with the agency and all, the kids will be far enough away.”

“Margie, what do you think will happen? What did the agency tell you?”

She looked shocked as her eyes widened. “I can’t tell you my dear. Don’t talk so loud, someone may hear you.”

Abby gritted her teeth.

“We better go down to where the party is now and mingle, otherwise we may be spotted.”

Abby and Penny walked beside the two. “What are looking for Margie? If I can help to spot them, I’ll give you the credit.”

“We will enter the contest so we can go on stage and look out at the audience. There is someone here tonight, it’s a man who will stand taller than most. He’s in his early forties and it may be hard to spot him in a costume. But he walks with a tiny limp on his left side.”

Abby shook her head. “A limp? Are you serious?”
Does this happen in real life?

“Those were my instructions. When we find him, we have to talk in to this watch and then find the Viking and his Vixen for further instructions. The Viking is my contact. He’ll be wearing a horned metallic helmet with tusks at his jawbone. My sources said he will stand outside the crowds so all I have to do is scan the perimeter to find them and point out the bad guy. This will be so much fun!”

Abby rolled her eyes. She skirted the crowd and spotted the Viking and his vixen. She stared for a long time and then a slow smile spread across her face.
Sailing, my foot!

Chapter 4

The two brothers rode side by side on the Overseas Highway as the roar of the engines rumbled in the early misty morning. The sun tried to peek through the pale grey sky, where it was hard to tell where it ended and the ocean began. An occasional car passed as a set of lights came out of nowhere and glared over the paved road.

This was the time of day when Jon loved to ride. The freedom of the road without traffic to hold him back allowed him to crank open the throttle as the wind in his hair beckoned him to stay on the bike and keep going, to forget about the things he needed to accomplish. Except today he couldn’t.

When Jake pointed to make the next turn, he knew it was time. Jon drew the morning air deep in his lungs. It was now or never. At least he had his twin to help him through. He didn’t want to face this place.

He slowed down his bike and looked over to see the hesitation in Jake’s face. If he backed out, Jake would too. He had a choice. Jake needed this as much as he did. He nodded to his brother and turned down the lane that led to their childhood home. The road narrowed as it curved around the trees and brush that over ran the old property. It looked barren as if no one did much since they left it years before.

The bikes stopped before the small house. Jon turned off the engine and sat there, staring at the home they grew up in. After their mother died, the thought of living there without her was too much to bear. Jake left for college, Jon, he followed soon after to med school. “I can see why Dad left here right after we went to college. I can still feel her here,” Jon said, his voice guarded as if someone listened to the conversation.

Jake got off the bike and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Come on.” He walked to the porch and picked up two fishing rods that had been there for years. A small tackle box sat in front of the rods and he grabbed the handle. Jake stood there for a moment as Jon watched him, emotions rolling across his brothers face. He froze, unable to follow his brother because he didn’t want to relive the past.