I smiled, thinking about K.C. taking down those “Two young bucks.”
“They were so scared of what would happen to them once Landon Powell heard how an old lady took them down, it was easy to convince them to help me out. I couldn’t have you officially watched, because I was afraid Arroyo would find out. So I struck a deal with Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee, and I paid for the rental car myself. They still think they have diplomatic immunity for helping out the police.”
“Diplomatic immunity?”
“So they’re not the sharpest tools in the shed.”
“So, basically, you’re telling me that I evaded two men who were being instructed by you, to follow me around, and that I could have kept this whole concussion, broken toe thing from happening?”
“Pretty much, but you did solve Derrick Gibbon’s murder.”
“Well, that's great, I suppose, but you had me followed by thugs.”
“Nah, I checked them out. They’re harmless. As a matter of fact, once they thought they were protecting you, they took their job pretty seriously."
“But why were they following me in the first place—I mean in the beginning, with the red truck?”
“After the murder, Greg Schilling figured people would be snooping around the mortuary, and that they would learn about the shady favors that were being traded with Landon Powell. Schilling knew about the incident between you and Derrick, so he told Powell about it. Powell then sent Arroyo to redirect the investigation toward you. We think it was a diversionary tactic until they figured out for themselves who had really committed the murder.
I shifted around on the examining table and grimaced when I moved my foot. The pain pill the nurse had given me wasn’t working yet.
“Are you okay?” Alex said.
“I’ll be fine, I just wish the doctor would get here so we can go." I squirmed on the table until I found a slightly softer spot for my bottom. "So what about Camille LeFaye and JoAnne and Irwin and LaDonna?” I asked. “What happened to all of them?”
“It looks like Camille LeFaye was hit hard on the head.” He knit his brows and shook his head. “Poor lady. Her death is still an ongoing investigation.” He leaned forward and reached for my hand, “Sorry I couldn’t be there for you after you found Camille. I was watching Arroyo.”
“I don’t understand. If you were watching Arroyo, how did he slip a dead body into my van?"
"He didn't put her there himself. We think he’s involved, and we have plenty of other evidence of wrongdoing in other cases, so he’ll be locked up for a long time even before he’s charged in Camille’s case."
“It was a bit of a shock, landing on a body in my own van.”
“You’ve got to quit falling on top of dead bodies. People are going to start to wonder...”
I threw a rolled up Ace bandage at him. “What about the others?” I asked.
“JoAnne is the reason we finally found you. She called 911 in hysterics and gave a description of you as her captor. She was at her shop when somebody knocked on her back delivery door, and the next thing she knew, you were opening her drawer."
"Is it wrong that I'm not sure if I want to thank her?" I said, as I gingerly put my hand to the sore spot on my head.
Alex looked at me sympathetically. "LaDonna’s in protective custody upstairs, in the ICU. Irwin brought her here and turned her in.”
“If Irwin turned his wife in, and JoAnne called 911, how did I end up in the drawer?”
“JoAnne. She said she ran away from the barn, but then waited around until Irwin left with LaDonna. She was still freaked out thinking you had put her in the drawer, so she returned the favor. I guess she was worried that if you died, she could be put in jail for murder, so she called for help.”
“What a gal.”
“Well, the end result was getting you back. So, I’m forever grateful to JoAnne.” My heart fluttered in my chest as he flashed a smile at me. “You told me you got LaDonna talking. Did she tell you how she killed Derrick?”
“Not exactly. I asked her if Derrick was a diabetic.”
He raised one eyebrow, “And?”
“And, her reaction told me I had figured it out.” Alex looked puzzled. “Irwin is a diabetic. While I was standing there trying to stall, I remembered. LaDonna knew what would happen if she gave someone too much insulin.”
“My sweet, clever Quinella.”
I glared at him. “Ooh, if I had something else to throw…”
He laughed and held his hands in front of his face. “Okay, okay, sorry. Did you find out why LaDonna did it?”
“Derrick took advantage of her youngest son, which eventually led to his suicide. I think in her mind, Derrick basically murdered her son. She was avenging him.”
Alex shook his head. “Wow, a mother’s protective instinct…” He stood then came over and sat next to me on the examining table. “I was so glad to see you when I opened that drawer, Q.” The nickname was much better than the real thing. “Let me take you home and take care of you. Just for a little while,” he said softly, coaxing.
I started to protest but was interrupted when he caressed my cheek with the back of his hand and turned my chin toward him with his fingers. He brushed his lips over mine, then pulled back. It felt like a feather tickling my skin. I sat up straighter, and tilted my head to meet his lips again with my own.
“Quincy!” We were both startled enough to stop short of what I’m sure would have been the Greatest Kiss Ever, by the grating, high-pitched voice of a woman yelling my name. “Quincy, where are they keeping you?”
“Oh hell. Speaking of motherly instincts—Alex, you’re about to meet my mother.”
###
“Quinella Adams McKay, don’t you dare step foot in that kitchen again. You’re not supposed to be walking around, crutches or not.”
“Mom, it’s okay. They want me to start walking on it a little bit. Besides, we need to get all of this food outside on the table. Everyone will be here soon.”
Mom pulled out a chair at the dining room table and pointed to the seat. I obliged her and sat down.
I had decided to show my thanks to everyone for supporting me through the last tough stretch by hosting a barbeque at my house. Danny volunteered to plan the party so I wouldn’t have to “strain” myself during recovery. Given his experience with event planning I was eager to see what he’d come up with.
“Quincy, I don’t see any drinks in the fridge. Is someone bringing them?” Mom said.
“Yes, Alex should be here with them any minute.”
Mom’s hands flew to her hips. She wore “The Look” on her face. My sisters and I always knew that when the hands went to the hips and she did "The Look," our mother was serious. "The beer drinker is bringing the drinks to our party?”
I tempered my eye roll and kept it internal. “Everything will be fine, don’t worry. If you keep fretting about it, I’ll have to get up and help you. Besides, Danny made all the assignments, just let him do his job.”
She held her hands up, exasperated. “Alright, alright.” She went outside, where I assumed she would go searching for my sisters. She wouldn't want to waste a good conjuring of "The Look".
“Hey, Boss," K.C. appeared at the back door, "I bet that dog of yours is barking. How goes the healing?”
“Hi, K.C., it’s going great. I just have to wear this moon boot around for a while. Thanks for coming. And thanks for taking care of things at work. I appreciate it.”
“No problemo, besides, your sister does all the work. Now, where can I put these green Jell-o shots?”
“You brought shots? My mother is going to freak out.”
“Oh don’t get your knickers in a twist. They don’t have any alcohol; they just look like something I had at a party once. You can’t have a shindig in Utah without Jell-O.” Hopefully K.C.’s creation would be the only incarnation of Jell-O to show at this party. I wouldn’t be able to stomach Great Aunt Zelda's family reunion, special amalgam of orange Jell-O salad, with whipped cream, walnuts, mini-marshmallows, carrots, coconuts, raisins and her secret ingredient…mayo.
“I’m sure Mom will show you where to put them outside. I’ll be out there soon.”
“Well, if it isn’t the Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Danny had announced his presence.
“This is going to be a great party, Danny. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it Miss Molly. Unfortunately, after this little event, I have to strike a wedding. I sure dread event take-downs don’t you?”
“My last event strike resulted in a dead body being found in my delivery van, so I am slightly averse.”
“Oh dear, that’s right. Has Officer Hottie come in to say hello yet?”
“Alex is here?”
“He just got here, I followed him into the backyard. I got an eyeful of what makes you so fond of him.” He gave me an exaggerated wink with a head tilt.
“Hey, eyes off!”
Danny looked at me devilishly.
My cheeks were already stoking and butterflies bounced around in my stomach at the mention of Alex. Danny was right. Anyone could appreciate Alex Cooper’s physique, including his perfect posterior. And I hadn’t had a chance to ogle it since it walked away from me at the hospital, after my mother insisted she drive me home and stay with me. Alex had since had to leave town for work, again. We’d spoken on the phone, but I hadn’t seen him or been in his very, physical presence for two and a half weeks.
“Let’s go outside, Molly.” Danny offered his arm and I leaned on it for support. Alex stood next to the beverage table, trapped by my mother and a small crowd of her comrades.
“Quincy, could you come over here?” my mother said.
Absolutely, it was the only way I would get anywhere near Alex with all of the Red Hat Club ladies fawning over him. I stumped my way over to the group on my own; Danny left my side to perform his social butterfly duties.
“Hi,” I said to Alex. I was so excited; the word came out more breath than voice.
“Hello, Beautiful.”
One of my favorite nicknames
. All the nerves in my body tingled.
The Red Hat group let out a collective “aah” and “isn’t that sweet.”
"Quincy, there's no ice," my mother said, quietly so her friends couldn't hear.
"Who's assignment was it?" I knew the answer, I just wanted to torment my mother a bit.
Mom let out a sigh. "It was mine, I was so worried about everyone else's assignments…I forgot mine."
I smiled at her, "I know. I'm just giving you a hard time. Who can we ask…?"
"So, Alex," one of mom's cronies wedged herself between me and Alex, almost knocking me over, "I hear you're a police officer. Have you made any arrests lately?"
"Where is your gun?" another of the lady sharks asked, as she circled the prey.
Alex looked at me, over the top of the first shark, silently pleading for help with his eyes.
“I can’t believe this," I dinged my forehead with the heel of my hand, "I forgot all about the ice. What should we do?”
My mother grinned at me.
“I’ll go get some ice.” Alex could hardly spit the words out in order, he volunteered so quickly.
“I’ll go with you," I said, and took him by the arm, pulling him from the shark tank.
He put his hand on top of mine, "I would love that…"
My mother cleared her throat.
I looked over and saw "The Look" starting to brew. "But you better go without me." We took a couple of steps toward the gate. "If I skipped out on this party, my mother and Danny would fight over who got to strangle me first. You know—I’d kind of like to see that…”
“No more violence for you. I think you're becoming an addict.”
“Hey, I’m just an innocent little florist who got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Ha, innocent my a…”
“Quincy, will you let Alex alone so he can go and get my ice?” Mom said.
“Yeah, Quincy, will you let me go already? I’m trying to get ice for your mom.” He winked at her and gave my hand a squeeze in lieu of a kiss before he left. It was no fair. The squeeze felt the same as if someone had placed a drop of water on my tongue in the middle of the desert at high noon, then taken away the full canteen.
I watched Alex leave, to see the feature Danny had teased about before, and Danny had been right. My gaze didn't leave Alex's backside until it walked through the gate. I turned to my mom. You know what, I forgot to take a pain pill. I’ll just go in and take it real quick.”
“Do you need my help?”
Mom? Really?
I swallowed my smart-aleck reply. “No, thank you.” She really needed a distraction. “Oh, K.C., have you met my mother yet?”
I didn’t feel one bit of remorse for that trick. I escaped while K.C. shocked and awed my mother with colorful stories and the language to go with them. I hobbled up the steps, dragging my boot toward the kitchen and my medicine bottles. As I reached on top of the fridge, I heard voices coming from the patio, through the open window of the laundry room.
“Brad, what are you doing here?” Allie said.
“You're coming with me. Lets go!”
I ducked into the laundry room to look through the back window. Brad stood face to face with Allie, right in front of the window, away from the rest of the group. Brad's hand grasped her upper arm. My head throbbed at the sight of Brad, reminiscent of our last meeting.
“Let go of me,” Allie said in a louder voice.
"Allie? Brad? What's going on here?" my mother said as she approached the two. "Brad, I haven't seen you in a while." Mom's face changed from surprise to confusion. "Is everything alright, Allie?"
"Everything's fine," Brad said. "We were just leaving." Brad yanked on Allie's arm.
My heart started pounding. I hid behind the washing machine and peaked around the side.
"No, Brad!" Allie yelled.
The background noise from the party stopped. Everyone looked in the direction of the commotion.
“What's going on here? Brad, you let go of her.” My mother reached out and grabbed at the arm that held my sister.
He shook her off like a rag doll and shoved her to the ground. There was a collective gasp from the crowd. Danny rushed over and before I understood what had happened, Brad had a gun pointed in Danny’s face.