War-N-Wit, Inc. – MeanStreet, LLC (9 page)

He ushered us in. Yep, the place was a mess.
But it wouldn’t be for long. Several club members wielded long brooms and several more were walking around with big trash cans. What color Mom’s face had regained vanished again at the sight of the old metal washtubs filled with water. The occasional lone melting ice cube bobbed on the surfaces.

“Oh, great!” Stacy said. “Just leave the washtubs out, no point in putting them up.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured.” Jackster nodded agreement.

“What are they for?” Mom whispered to me.

“For the beer kegs, Mom. And soft drinks.”

“Oh
, my.” I could see visions of champagne bottles and beautiful crystal glasses pouring out of Mom’s brain.

Jackster pointed over to the long tables. “And we’ll s
et up a buffet over there with the ribs and steaks and burgers and ‘dogs. And all the trimmings. Grill ‘em out back, of course.”

Visions of elegantly plated finger food on d
elicate china plates joined the images fleeing Mom’s mind.

“It’ll look great, Jackster! You sure you don’t want me to get any of the decora—”

“Stacy, we’re handling all that! Wanna surprise you. The club’s wedding present to you and Doc.”

Mom’s brain started replacing
white fluffy wedding bells and white roses with flags waving skulls and crossbones and roaring Harleys.

Stacy reached up and kissed his cheek. “Y’all are just the
best
! I’m having the cake delivered about 11:00 that morning, somebody’ll be here?”

“Oh, for sure! The grilling crew’ll be on duty.”

“Okay, we’ll leave y’all to it then!”

We waved cheerily to everyone
. They waved back. Mom made a valiant effort and lifted a hand weakly. I hooked an arm under one of hers, Antsypants did the same from the other side, and we escorted her out of the clubhouse while she could still stand up.

“Stacy?” she asked as we settled her into the front seat.

“Ma’am?”

“They’re very nice, but—somehow
I’d have expected your new friends to be doctors and professionals.”

We laughed and shook our heads.

“Mom, Mom, Mom! What’s that you always told us? Don’t judge books by their covers. Or people by how they look. Jack
is
a doctor. The Ph.D. kind. Chemical engineer. Owns his own company.”

“Really?” Mom brightened.
“I’d never have guessed!”

“Mom,” I said. “Get ready for a real shock to your system.”

“Why?”

“You’
ve never seen Spike and Chad in biker gear.”

“Stacy?”

“Ma’am?”

“The wedding cake topper’s a couple on a motorcycle, isn’t it? Ridin’—bitch?”

Stacy smiled broadly. “Yes, ma’am, it surely is! How’d you know?”

Mom sighed. “Lucky guess.

Chapter
Twelve

Wolf whistles sounded as Mom and I walked down the stairs that night, all set to party hearty. Mom looked fabulous in her flowing champagne sparkles. I wasn’t bad myself in a long slinky black number, high slit up the left side. Glittering faux-jeweled flat strappy sandals flashed as we moved. We’d discussed it as we shopped. No heels for these gals on the prowl, tonight was for walking and dancing.

The bachelorette herself came out of the downstairs master bedroom,
also in slinky black with faux-jeweled flat footwear. Fresh wolf whistles erupted.

Mom stopped on the stairs.

“What?” I said.

“Your sister’s coming out of the master bedroom. All the guest rooms are upstairs.”

Enough.

“Mom. Drop the shocked mother act. It doesn’t go with your new look. You knew Stacy wasn’t in one of the guest rooms, don’t even lie about it.
” I pulled Mom on down and we all converged in the great room. “We ready?”

“Got your phone somewhere in that little square thing you’re carrying that passes as a purse?” Chad asked.

“Of course.”

“Don’t be shy about using it if you think you need to.” He kissed me quickly and whispered in my ear. “
Though of course you don’t need the phone to shout for me. And I still don’t like you checking out that magic act for G by yourself.”

I gave him a hug to whisper back, “I’ll be fine. And I’ve got Stacy, I’m not by myself.”

Stacy pointed at the crystal pendant hanging between the long V-neck of the slinky little black number I was wearing. The Tear of Isis. The pendant I hadn’t been able to leave behind. Hadn’t been able to not  wear it tonight, either, though I didn’t have a clue why.

“Wow! Ari, I haven’t seen that before!”

“Picked it up in Savannah a few weeks after we got married,” I said. “Caught my fancy.”

“Well, all three of y’all are goin’ to catch some fancy out tonight,” Daddy said. “Mind Chad, now. Be careful and don’t be shy about using your phone
s if you need it. Don’t know as I even feel safe lettin’ you all out, way you look. All of you.” He smiled at Mom and she smiled back. It didn’t happen often, but every now and then, like now, my heart tingled when they smiled at each other.

“Ladies, let’s get this party
staaarted
!!” Stacy opened the door and yeah, I’d have to say that’s probably when the party started. Several of them. Though I didn’t know it at the time.

* * *

Chad checked the front window and watched the tail lights disappear down the street.

“Gentlemen, battle stations!” he called, and the three disappeared into their respective rooms. They reconvened in five minutes flat, dressed for the Strip’s nightlife.

“You two sure this is a good idea?” Bob Anson asked. “I mean, don’t you think they’re goin’ to be really—well,
upset
—if they see us trailing ‘em? Like we don’t trust them or something?”

“Pissed is the word you’re looking for, Bob.” Spike led them out of the carport door and over to his black F-350.
He’d been driving it ever since Stacy moved to Vegas, leaving her the Beemer. Besides, he really liked it better anyway. “And yeah, they’d probably be pissed. But I know Vegas too well. It’s just not a good idea for three women who look like they do to be cruising the Strip alone. Got nothing to do with not trusting
them
. It’s the rest of the world we don’t trust.”

“Besides,” Chad added, slipping into the backseat. “They’re not going to see us.
And on that, you can trust
me
.”

* * *

Damien and Irene peeked out the curtains at the crowd filling the tables. He clutched her arm.

“Look!”
He pointed at a group of three human females. Obviously a family pod. “Lone females. Check out the young ones. They just freakin’
glow
.”

“Tonight’s targets, then.”

“Oh, yeah.”

* * *

We settled in at a table near the front of the stage.

“Mom, you think maybe you could nurse that one drink a while before you get another one tonight?”

“Ari, what are you implying, dear?”

“I’m not
implying
anything. You were sloshed last night. To the
gills
.”

“I was
not
!”

“Were too,” Stacy confirmed.
“You passed flat-out. Woulda hit the floor if Daddy hadn’t caught you.”

“Then how did I wake up in bed, might I ask?”

“Chad carried you up. We didn’t figure Daddy’s back was up to it.”

“
Excuse me
? Now you’re implying I’m overweight?”

“You know Daddy’s back goes out. We didn’t need both of you flat on the floor.”

I looked at Mom’s face. She truly didn’t remember. And obviously thought it was time to switch topics.

“Stacy, your house is just perfect for the babies. Except for the pool area, that worries me a little bit.”

“Mom, don’t start. It’ll be a while. I’ve been talking to a few law firms out here, haven’t decided which one I’ll go with, but I definitely want to go back to work. For now, anyway. Spike really wants me to consider going back to law school.”

“
Eeeeeewwwww
, Antsypants! Think about that real hard. Suppose you turn into an
attorney
?”

I didn’t have anything against the profession. It was the personality cha
nge that frequently went with it I didn’t like.

Stacy laughed. “I know! And I don’t really think I want to. Because
yes
Mom, at some point there will be babies and I won’t want to work while they’re little. But I don’t want any yet and I don’t want to just sit home all day while Spike’s at work, either. It’s not like I can go to work with him, like Ari can work with Chad. I’m not a nurse, or a medical anything, what would a legal eagle do in a doctor’s office? And besides, she was a writer long before she was ever published, she can entertain herself just fine for hours at a time. I can’t.”

“It’s just one book, Stacy.”

“So far. Can’t tell me you aren’t writing another one.”

“Well, yeah, it’s in progress.”

Mom looked at me. Time to switch targets. “And such a surprise that was! I
never
would have believed one of my girls was so talented! And with
such
imagination! All that witchcraft and magic, I just don’t know
where
your ideas came from. I’m sure the next one will be just as good, too. But, actually, Ari, you’re older than your sister, you know. Almost thirty. So—”

“Drop it, Mom. I don’t feel my biological clock ticking. And our profession doesn’t lend itself too well to babies right now.
Brag about my book till you get the grandbabies if you’ve got to brag at the garden club meetings. ”

I glanced up as the last of the audience seated. Something about that man
coming down the side of the room to one of the far left tables…mid to late twenties, maybe. The girl by his side seemed a little young for him, but then both Stacy and I’d always looked younger than our ages, too. I took her for late teens, but it was possible she was older. And not any of my business in any event.

The lights dimmed and
the curtains parted, pretty much at the exact moment I flashed on a figure walking away from me, wearing a biker jacket. A biker jacket with “The Guardians” stitched on the back, in cursive font so fancy as to be almost unreadable. Was that…hard to tell now that the lighting was so low, but I was almost certain it was the same man. Micah. And if Micah was here, inside the club, in human form, and with a friend, too, because it didn’t take much imagination to figure out the friend had to be that extra black cat I’d seen today—oh, hell.

“
Ohhhh….
” Mom focused on the stage and discussions of grandbabies fell by the way side.

Ari?
Stacy asked silently.

Yeah?

You sure this is the magic act you’re supposed to check out? Seems pretty standard to me.

Me too. So far. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Like the parrot, though.

Yeah, he’s a hoot.

* * *

Micah did a rapid assessment of the territory as the lights dimmed. Perfect positioning. Up close to the stage, at an angle. The girls were in easy view with a turn of the head. It couldn’t have gotten any better, even if he’d been able to pick the table himself. He leaned in close to Mia.

“Be ready.”

“For what?”

“Anything.”

* * *

So far, so good. The show was your typical Vegas magic act,
considerably above ordinary stage magician but nothing on the order of a Copperfield or a Siegfried & Roy. We weren’t at the Aladdin or MGM and nobody expected anything on that majestic a scale.

Damien appeared ready to wind this baby up.

“Volunteers? Two volunteers from the audience? Take a tour through Magic Land you’ll never forget on our Magical Carpet Ride! Sights never seen by the human eye!”

Ari? Is that our cue?

Oh, yeah.

“Oh! Me, me!” Mom hopped up from her chair and waved her hands. Crap. Not that I hadn’t expected it.

I looked at Stacy. Stacy looked at me. I nodded. We both hopped up with Mom.

“Three volunteers okay?” I called up to the stage. “We’re a package deal.”

Damien clapped his hands in delight. “And such a trim, slim package at that! Of course you’ll all fit on the Magical Carpet Ride! C’mon up!”

Chapter
Thirteen

Micah grabbed Mia’s hand as the three “volunteers” headed toward the stage.

“Stand up and move over to the side, deeper in the shadows!”

“And then?”

“Transform!” Micah ordered. Attention focused on the stage, nobody noticed the true magic transpiring over in the shadows or saw the two black cats
replace the humans. On stage, the three volunteers stood close together inside the large black box.

Micah’s cat senses tingled. He sent the order silently.
Get ready.

I’m ready.

“And in you go, off for the ride of your lives! Wave goodbye to the audience as you leave!” As at all past shows, the box began a slow turn, moving in a circle, door still partially open.

A collective
oohhh
went up from the audience as the black cats leapt into the open box a split second before the magician slammed the door shut.

“Squawk…go Jim Dandy…go Jim Dandy!
”

* * *

“Damn strip traffic and drunk drivers!” Chad slammed the door of Spike’s F-350 and stalked rapidly up the sidewalk. They’d been stuck in traffic for close to forty-five minutes at an intersection pile-up, completely blocked in by emergency vehicles. “Couldn’t you have maneuvered any faster than that, Spike? Didn’t I teach you how to drive?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think switching over to the sidewalk and driving on it’d be such a good idea. Cause that might’ve, you know, gotten us arrested or something strange like that
what with those two police cars sitting right there! Which wouldn’t do the girls any good, now would it? It’s not like we don’t know where they were going first.”

“I should’ve gotten out and walked.”

“We were way far down the Strip and just walking wouldn’t have gotten you there any faster. And you’re not dressed for jogging. Not without attracting a hell of a lot of attention. Cops kinda
notice
when a man’s running down the Strip. Usually that’s not a sign of something good.”

Bob Anson sighed. “I just don’t understand that fascination she’s got with magic shows. None of the rest of us ever cared for ‘em. But what I really don’t understand is why you’re both so damn keyed up to get to it. Like you think some sort of craziness out of Ari’s book
might just swoop down and make ‘em all disappear.”

“Well, Vegas is just kinda crazy, Bob. Besides, we’re paranoid. Especially Chad, it’s his profession, you know.”

Chad stopped dead still in front of the hotel-casino.

“Shit, damn, hell!! They’re gone!”

“What do you mean—
gone
?” Bob asked.

Spike
stopped dead still, too. “Yeah, they are. All of them.”

The brothers grabbed a handle of the double doors
each and charged into the lobby, heading for the club showcasing
Damien’s Delights
.

“
Shit!
” Chad wove in and out of departing bodies spilling out of the show and stopped a hostess.

“Show’s already over?”

“Yeah, Damien cut it pretty short tonight. Manager’s not gonna be happy. Probably back there now chewing him out.”

“Can we get back to his dressing room? He’s an old friend, we promised we’d be here tonight for the show. Hate to have him think we didn’t show.”

“Well, I don’t know—”

Spike pulled out two one hundred dollar bills he’d folded in his pocket for emergencies
and let it peek discretely at the hostess.

“Right this way, sir!
It’s right off the left of the stage.”

* * *

“Where—where are we?” Mom clutched my arm. I batted away swirling clouds of bluish smoke.