Authors: Mackenzie Morgan
Neisha nodded. “I understand, and believe me, I watch my daughter. Her safety has always been my responsibility, and I don’t expect anyone else to protect her. It would kill me if something happened to her, so I make it my business to make sure it doesn’t.”
Doreen nodded and held out her hand. “Welcome aboard.”
Chapter 34
Finalizing Plans
Shortly after dinner Monday evening, Chris dismissed the pages and went into Kevin’s office with some paperwork. At half past eight, he put away the papers he’d been working on and made a quick trip to the kitchen for scog and whatever snacks he could scrounge up.
By a few minutes after nine, Kevin, Chris, Darrell, and Cpt. Lawrence were sitting in Kevin’s office drinking scog and eating the various cookies, breads, and cheeses Chris had found in the kitchen.
“Miranda will get you when she finds all these cookies gone,” Kevin said as he reached for another one.
“I’ll tell her you had a meeting,” Chris said.
“Don’t tell her who it was with.” Darrell picked up some more cheese. “If she finds out it was us, she’ll get back at all of us.”
“Okay,” Kevin said. “Let’s talk about this meeting I’m having with Cpt. Garen.”
“So you’ve decided to go through with it?” Darrell looked at Chris. “I thought for sure Chris would talk you out of this one.”
Chris shook his head. “But I’ll be there.”
“And at least one bodyguard?” Darrell asked.
Kevin shook his head. When Darrell opened his mouth to object, Kevin said, “I’m not saying I don’t trust Alek and Rigel. I do. But this involves Landis and I don’t want anyone but the four of us to know what’s going on. And to be honest, we’ll probably talk about some stuff I don’t want you to know about yet, especially if I think he’s telling the truth.”
“That’s a big if,” Cpt. Lawrence said, “and we have no way of knowing if he is.”
Kevin nodded. “Which is why I need to find out everything I can about him and his men so I can check them out. Even if they’re serious about protecting her, it doesn’t mean they have the ability. I know some people who were around the castle while Tsareth was alive. They’ll know whether or not Garen and his men are competent guards.”
“Where’s this conversation taking place?” Darrell asked.
“On a big rock out in the middle of the ocean, and the only way to get there is by key. So, you can relax about anyone setting up an ambush. And since I’m sure Cpt. Lawrence will make sure he’s not armed,” Kevin paused while Cpt. Lawrence nodded, “we won’t be in any danger.”
“They’re meeting in Fenway’s. It’s not exactly private,” Darrell said. “How is Cpt. Lawrence going to frisk him?”
“Frisk him?” Cpt. Lawrence asked.
“See if he’s armed,” Darrell explained.
When Cpt. Lawrence nodded, Kevin continued. “After you meet Garen at Fenway’s, tell him if he wants to meet with me, he has to come with you right then. Take him over to the chapel. Theresa will be expecting you and she’ll let you have one of the little rooms so you can check him for weapons. Then she’ll take him to the back porch and wait with him until Chris comes.”
“That sounds fine as far as it goes,” Darrell said. “But what about the men Garen had with him last time? When he leaves Fenway’s with Cpt. Lawrence, they’ll follow him.”
Kevin nodded. “They can follow him to the chapel, but that’s as far as they can go. If Cpt. Garen objects, tell him this is his one shot. Either he meets with me tomorrow or he can forget it. There won’t be any second chances on this.”
“What about his men?” Darrell asked. “When Cpt. Lawrence comes out of the chapel without him...”
Chris looked at Kevin. “Why not let Cpt. Garen tell them to meet him someplace after he talks to you? That way they’ll all be together when we get back.”
“Huh?” Darrell asked, frowning.
Kevin took a deep breath. “If Cpt. Garen’s telling the truth, they need to get their families out of Trendon and away from Rolan before we take this any farther.”
“And if he’s lying and they’re here to assassinate Landis?” Darrell asked.
“Then it’s time for them to go back to Trendon,” Chris said. “Let Rolan deal with them.”
After Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence left, Chris closed the door. “Are you going to discuss this with Rhianna?”
“Not until I figure out how much is truth and how much isn’t.”
“She might object to letting someone from Trendon anywhere near Landis.”
“I know. I’ve got some of those same objections.” Kevin thought for a moment. “If I decide to talk to Landis about Garen’s offer, Rhianna’ll have to be involved, not only in the discussion, but also in the decision. And not only Rhianna. Hayden’s her foster father. He has as much say in this as anyone. I’ll want to hear what Taelor thinks, too. If Garen was around the castle as long as he says he was, I’m sure Taelor knew him and has an opinion of him one way or the other.”
“And Robyn. You said you wanted to talk to him.”
Kevin nodded. “But I’m not getting into this with any of them until I’m satisfied he’s telling me the truth. Until then, he’s not getting anywhere near Landis so there’s no point in bringing any of them in.”
~ ~ ~ ~
The next morning Kevin woke up as soon as the light crept over the mountaintops. He had barely gotten dressed when the door to Chris’s room opened and Chris walked in with two cups of coffee. Between yawns, Chris said, “Thought you might want some coffee before you left for the island.”
“You didn’t have to get up,” Kevin said as he sipped the coffee, “but I’m glad you did. I needed this.”
“I know.” Chris yawned again. “And someone needs to keep an eye on Nikki.”
“She’ll be fine. She’s half-asleep.”
“And in a minute, she and I will both be asleep again, but in my room.” Chris turned up his cup and finished his coffee. “Come on, girl. You’re staying with me for a while.”
Nikki yawned as she stood up and stretched. Then she looked at Kevin and sat back down. “It’s okay, girl,” he said. “Go with Chris and keep him company.”
Nikki got up, slowly walked over to Chris, nudged his leg with her nose, and walked through the connecting door into his room.
“It’s scary how well she understands what we say.” Chris followed her through the door. “See you later.”
Kevin stepped out on the balcony and watched dawn break over the mountains. He hadn’t been out there but a couple of minutes when he realized someone was standing beside him.
“Never gets old, does it,” the gnome said as he watched the dawn. “I hate getting up early in the morning, but it’s worth it to see a sunrise like this one.” Once the sun was up, he looked at Kevin and asked, “You ready to go?”
Kevin glanced around but he didn’t see Dani. “I thought Dani was going with us.”
“He’s here,” King Merdin said.
Kevin nodded and took out his key. As soon as he felt King Merdin’s hand on one leg and Dani’s paw on the other, he turned his key and they left.
The sky was clear and bright when they arrived on the island. King Merdin looked around. “You weren’t kidding. One big rock.”
“I know. The only shelter is a small cave over there in that rock wall.” Kevin motioned towards the wall at the end of the island.
“What’s on the other side of the wall?” King Merdin asked.
“The ocean.”
King Merdin walked around in a small circle looking at the island. “Nothing here but this rock. Ocean on all sides. No plants, no nothing. Dani? Are you picking up anything?”
The Alysian cat made himself visible and shook his head.
“Not even a bird. I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere quite so deserted. There are some fish swimming around, but that’s all I can find.”
“You can pick up fish?” Kevin asked.
Dani looked at Kevin. “
That surprises you. Why?”
Kevin shrugged. “I don’t know. Guess I never thought about it.”
Dani nodded and gazed around the island.
“So, this is where you want to talk to your man,” King Merdin said. “Nice choice. You’re in complete control here. And if he tries anything, you can leave him here.”
“I couldn’t do that. I’d have to take him back, to jail probably, but I couldn’t abandon him here.”
“How did you find this place?”
“Yara showed it to me. I needed a place where I could stash someone overnight while I made other arrangements.”
“So you have left someone here before.”
Kevin hesitated. “Yes, but only after putting in a supply of water, food, and blankets. And we came back to pick him up long before he ran out of anything.”
King Merdin nodded. “You can do the same thing this time if you need to.” After one more glance around the island, he said, “You still want us to meet you here this afternoon?”
Kevin nodded. “I’ll have someone search him for weapons before he comes, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
“If he has any, he won’t be aiming them at us. He won’t even know we’re here.” King Merdin took out his key as Dani stepped beside him and set his paw on King Merdin’s arm. “See you this afternoon.”
After King Merdin and Dani left, Kevin took one last look around the island and then left for home. When he got back, he stretched out on his bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep again.
~ ~ ~ ~
Kevin took Nikki out to the stable and left for the chapel before breakfast. He wanted to talk to Theresa before she got started on her day. When he got to the back porch, he could see the staff in the kitchen getting ready to eat. Unfortunately, Theresa wasn’t there.
He knocked on the door and motioned for Hayley to join him. When she stepped outside, she asked, “Is everything all right?”
Kevin nodded. “I need to speak with Theresa for a minute. Do you know where she is?”
“One of Wanda’s children got sick during the night. Theresa went out there to take care of him.”
“Why didn’t they bring him here?”
“You never know what a child’s come down with, and if it’s something that spreads, we’d rather keep it confined to one family, although with the size of Wanda’s family...”
Kevin nodded. “How do I get to her farm?”
After Hayley told him, she paused. “Those directions won’t help if you use your key though, will they?”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m going to fly. She may already be on her way back, and I’d hate to get things stirred up at Wanda’s if she’s not there.”
Hayley nodded. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Kevin was halfway to Wanda’s when he spotted the buggy heading into town. He lowered himself to the road and waited for Theresa to reach him.
“Going my way?” she asked as she pulled up beside him.
“For a little bit.” Kevin climbed up on the seat. “I need to ask you to do something for me today around lunchtime. Will you be available?”
“As far as I know,” Theresa said. “I need to get a little sleep at some point, but a couple of hours will do it. What do you need?”
“Cpt. Lawrence is going to bring a man to the chapel sometime between noon and one. They’ll need access to one of the small rooms.”
“Why?”
“So Cpt. Lawrence can frisk him and make sure he’s unarmed.”
Theresa’s eyebrows rose. “What’s going on, Kevin?”
Kevin shook his head. “Can you take care of that for me?”
Theresa frowned, but nodded.
“Once Cpt. Lawrence is sure he’s unarmed, he’ll need to leave the man with you until Chris gets there. Chris will use one of the keys to meet you on the back porch.”
Theresa let out an exasperated sigh. “I can do it, but I want to know what’s going on.”
“I know, and I’ll explain everything to you, but not now and not here.”
“If not now, when?”
“I need to check some things out before I say anything. Let me figure out what I’m going to do and then we’ll talk.”
“Does this involve Landis?”
Kevin nodded.
“All right. Anything else?”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m not sure whether Cpt. Lawrence will introduce you or not, but the man’s name is Cpt. Garen. I’ll tell Chris you’ll meet him on the back porch around one.”
When Theresa nodded, Kevin took out his key, thanked her, and left.
~ ~ ~ ~
A few minutes before noon, Cpt. Lawrence walked into Fenway’s and glanced around. Petar was at his usual table. A few of the soldiers from the castle were having some scog, and two of the local farmers were eating lunch near the front door. But other than that, the tavern was empty.
As soon as Cpt. Lawrence sat down, Ainsley walked over with a mug of scog. When she set it down, she asked if he was actually going to eat this time.
“I’m sorry about last week, Ainsley,” Cpt. Lawrence said. “It had nothing to do with the food.”
“Then it must have been the conversation. Would you like for me to make sure you’re not disturbed today?”
Cpt. Lawrence grinned. “No, but thanks for offering.”
“So, what can I get for you?”
“Does Callie have any stew on?”
Ainsley nodded. “And it’s good. I had a bowl right before we opened for lunch.”
“How about bread?”
“Should be coming out of the oven any minute. If it’s not ready when I get your stew, I’ll bring you some as soon as she cuts it.”
“Thanks, Ainsley.”
A few minutes after Cpt. Lawrence’s food arrived, so did Cpt. Garen. As he pulled out a chair to sit down, Ainsley walked up with her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You’re not going to ruin his lunch again today, are you?”
Cpt. Garen laughed and shook his head. “I didn’t mean to spoil his appetite last week either.”
“Well, you did. He didn’t eat more than a bite after you left. So if you’re going to sit here, keep your mouth shut till he’s done. I’ll not have Callie getting all upset again thinking her food’s no good.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Cpt. Garen said. “You could bring me a mug of scog though.”
“Anything else?” she snapped.
“Bring him some stew and bread,” Cpt. Lawrence said. “He’s in for a busy afternoon.”
“I am?” Cpt. Garen asked, eyes narrowing.
“You are, but we’re not talking about it until I’m done with my lunch.”
Cpt. Garen shrugged. “Looks like I’m eating lunch.”