In Sickness and in Death

The two-hour wait passed as if it were ten minutes. I used the time to tell Cory about Erica and Danny. I had plenty to tell and he was a good listener.

Ray stopped by at ten-thirty with a copy of Maury Boor’s DMV photo. He’d already started to show the photo in all the convenience and grocery stores plus the motels in and surrounding Wachobe, along with a photo of Jessica James.

He leaned against the Ferrari, never asking why Cory and I were sitting inside it, which was good because I didn’t want to explain about Monte Carlo. “So far, no one’s seen either of them.”

“Do you have their pictures on you?” Cory asked. “Maybe I’ve seen them around.”

Unfortunately, Cory was not acquainted with the elusive Maury Boor or Jessica James.

I wasn’t surprised no one had seen Jessica. For all we knew, she was six feet under somewhere. Even though I avoided the gossip vine, I think even I would have heard if a one-armed woman was wandering around town.

Ray twirled his keys around his finger. “A number of the checkout counters in the convenience stores had sale displays of silver initial key chains just like the one Danny said his father owned. The letter P appears to be popular. Some of the displays didn’t have any left.”

Great. So maybe it was Mr. Phillips’ key chain, maybe it wasn’t. I sank a little farther into my leather seat, disappointed that Ray’s investigative efforts hadn’t paid off.

Ray’s radio squawked and a string of codes followed. He listened and eased himself off the Ferrari.

“I talked to the Buffalo PD. They’re going to send a car by Maury’s address and see what they can find out. I gotta go. I’ll call you later.” Ray kissed my cheek and left.

I stuffed the photo in my purse. I wanted to help with the search, but Leslie was on her way. As soon as she left, I’d start asking around town about Maury, too.

At one minute to eleven, the showroom bells jingled again. “Ta da.”

Cory and I looked up. He gasped.

If I hadn’t known it was Leslie Flynn, I wouldn’t have recognized her. Her hair now had a more subtle auburn color and appeared longer than the day before. Her eyes appeared darker and with thicker lashes. The red lipstick made her mouth full and lush and set off her new teeth, which were straight and white but also a little wide and long. The V-neck of her blouse drew the eye away from her broad shoulders, and its empire waist de-emphasized Leslie’s thick middle. Her fingers were manicured to match her lipstick. I had no doubt her toes matched as well.

Her wide-legged black pants swished over her black pumps as she sashayed across the room. “Celeste taught me how to walk, too.”

All I could say was “Wow.” Celeste had accomplished this magnificent transformation within twenty-four hours. No way could I return the extra six hundred dollars of clothes she’d forced on me yesterday. It would be downright disrespectful.

Cory remained speechless.

Leslie pointed to her hair. “It’s a wig. Celeste’s stylist said my hair needs a rest from all the dye and sun.”

I had a sneaking suspicion that her hair had been too thin to style, but I kept it to myself. “You look amazing. Ah-mazing.”

She hugged herself.

Cory hopped out of the car and hugged her, too. “Jo’s right. You look fabulous!” Fabulous for Leslie, that was. She still looked a bit horsy, but at least she was on her way to thoroughbred. Nevertheless, the transformation merited celebration.

I climbed out of the Ferrari. “How about I take everybody to an early lunch?”





We locked up and headed across the street to the Coachman Inn, a historic village landmark. In addition to serving meals, the inn operated paddleboat dinner cruises on the lake and rented tastefully decorated rooms with comfy poster beds and gas fireplaces. It was perfect for a romantic weekend getaway in the Finger Lakes and a delightful spot for a celebratory lunch.

In the lamp-lit, pine-floored entryway, Leslie spotted the restrooms. “I’ll meet you at the table. I was so excited this morning, I forgot to whiz.”

Cory and I waited for the hostess to seat the two groups ahead of us. Apparently, everyone in town had decided to have an early lunch. While we waited, I spotted Celeste’s best friend, Mindy something, come out of the ladies’ room. She flew into the dining room so fast that I didn’t get a chance to say “hello.” I feared Celeste might be lurking nearby as well.

The hostess greeted Cory and me. We followed her to a table near the stone fireplace.

“Jolene Asdale.”

I turned to find Celeste and her friend Mindy sitting in a booth. Both wore skirts and blouses I swore had been on the cover of the most recent Talbots’ catalog. Mindy got her hair styled at the same place as Celeste. She even had the same style, although she was a brunette. I wondered if Celeste had to give that her stamp of approval. She’d certainly never given her approval on my marriage to Ray, not when she wanted him for herself. That was why she always called me Jolene Asdale instead of Parker.

Cory continued on to the table while I stopped to thank Celeste for transforming Leslie so beautifully.

Celeste examined my pants and blouse. “I think that blouse was supposed to go with black pants, not tan.”

I resisted the impulse to bump her table and upset her drink into her lap. “I’ll remember that next time. Listen, Leslie looks fabulous. Thanks so much for your help.”

“Ugh, it took a team, Jolene. My dentist opened up at six this morning to work on her.”

“Thank him for me, too. It was worth it. The change in her appearance as well as her confidence is miraculous.”

Celeste tapped her French nails on the table. “She’s an odd one, that’s for sure. In fact—”

I held up my hand and glanced over my shoulder to make sure Leslie wasn’t in hearing distance. “She’s joining Cory and me for lunch. We’re celebrating her makeover.”

She pursed her lips. “Don’t let her overeat. There’s not much room left in those pants.”

I fumbled in my purse for the DMV picture of Maury Boor, pulled it out, and smoothed it on the table. “You two know almost everyone in town. Do either of you know Emerson Maurice Boor, Maury Boor?”

Celeste and Mindy cranked their heads sideways to study his picture. Both shook their heads.

“He’s not too bad to look at.” Celeste leaned back. “Let me guess. He has something to do with Erica’s disappearance.”

“She may be with him. I’m not sure.”

Celeste exchanged a meaningful glance with Mindy. “We’ll keep our eyes open.”

From experience, I knew that was as good as my posting a sentry on every street in Wachobe to keep watch for my sister. Celeste had the whole town and beyond on her friends and family network.

The waitress appeared next to me with their drinks.

I stepped aside to allow her access to the table.

As she passed out their glasses, she glanced down at Maury’s photo on the table. “Hey, that’s a nice picture of Maury.”

I glanced up at her in surprise. “You know him?”

“Sure. He’s our linen rep. You know, the guy who delivers our tablecloths and napkins and uniforms and aprons and stuff. He comes here once a week, usually on Wednesdays.”

I couldn’t believe my good luck. “So you’re saying he’ll be here tomorrow?”

She shrugged. “He should be.” She said Maury worked for a company called In-house Textiles.

I tried not to dance with excitement over the new lead and excused myself to call Ray right away with the news. He didn’t answer. Impatient, I decided that if he didn’t call me back by the time lunch was over, I would call the company and see if I could locate Maury myself.

I joined Cory at our table and filled him in on what I had discovered about Maury.

A minute later Leslie appeared, her lipstick and hair retouched. When she spotted Celeste, she raced across the room, pulled Celeste from her booth, and drew her into an embrace. “You’re the best.”

She released a visibly shaken Celeste. “Look at me.” She twisted from side to side. “I’m a babe.”

Celeste gave her a weak smile. “Yes.”

“I’m going to ask him for a date when he comes to the farm tomorrow. I’ll wear the green and say exactly what you told me to say.” Leslie threw her arms around Celeste again and squeezed her so tight Celeste’s eyes bugged out.

“Good. Good.” Celeste’s voice sounded more like a squeak.

“Thanks again for everything, Celeste.”

As Leslie trotted over to join us, Mindy pointed at Leslie and leaned forward to speak to Celeste. I thought I heard her say, “That’s her.”

Celeste’s eyebrows shot up in response.

Was it my imagination or did I see gossip tendrils sprouting from both their mouths?

The dining room was beginning to fill up by the time Leslie sat down with us. “What a great girl she is.”

Cory winked at me. “Yep, that Celeste is one of a kind.”

The two glasses of champagne I drank to celebrate Leslie’s new look took the edge off the fact that Celeste and Mindy kept looking over at our table and whispering to each other all through lunch. I couldn’t imagine what the two of them were talking about, and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to know. My family had been “newsmakers” in this town for years. People loved to look at us sidewise like we were specimens under the microscope. I’d long ago decided that it was best not to ask too many questions. The answers were almost certain to depress me. This time their interest seemed to focus on Leslie. I couldn’t decide whether or not to be relieved.

Leslie drank three glasses of champagne. With her size, they didn’t seem to faze her a bit. She told Cory and me all about her visit to the hair stylist and the dentist’s office, and how excited she was to unveil her new look to her friends and family—all punctuated by exuberant gestures, much batting of the eyelashes, and multiple fluffs of her wig. Overnight, she’d transformed from a rough cowhand into a radiant flower. And no one was more excited about it than she was.

“Wait until Dr. Albert sees me.”

I looked at Leslie over my wineglass. “Dr. Albert? Dr. Simon Albert who has an office next door to the psych center?”

She nodded. “Do you know him?”

I set my glass down. “My sister has been a patient of his for a couple years now.”

Leslie forked her last bite of cheesecake. “I’ve known him about that long. We’re almost finished with our sessions.”

Cory lifted his eyebrow and looked at me. I knew he was wondering if I would be so bold as to ask Leslie what she was in treatment for.

I would. But as open as Leslie was, I hoped she’d just spit it out before I had to ask.

Her cell phone rang instead. She pulled it out of her black leather backpack and flicked it open. “Hello … okay, I’m on my way.” She pushed back from the table. “I am so sorry, Jolene, Cory. I have to leave. The milking machine is on the fritz and my brother is losing it again. Thank you so much for lunch and for everything. Y’all have been wonderful. It’s so nice to make some new friends.”

She hugged me and Cory in turn, smothering me with her breasts and cutting off my oxygen.

Halfway across the dining room, she turned and waltzed back to the table. “And I’m going to hold off on the Caterham for now. I’m going to use the ideas Celeste gave me instead.”

I wouldn’t ask what those were, not ever. It would be too much like shaking hands with the devil herself. But let poor innocent Leslie use whatever tricks she could live with to attract the man of her dreams. “Okay, good luck. Keep us posted.”

“Don’t you worry, I will.” With an excited wave and a couple funky chicken dance steps, she was gone.

Cory glanced at me. “Is it only me, or do you think she has some future in the theater?”

____


Cory headed for home while I sat at my desk in the shop and dialed Information for the number of In-house Textiles, which, come to find out, was based in Buffalo. When I asked their receptionist for Emerson Boor, however, she said he was no longer with the company.

“Since when?”

The receptionist sounded like a young girl. “His last day was yesterday.”

“Did he resign?”

“I can’t say. You’ll have to speak to Human Resources.”

“Did he get fired?” I could be so much bolder on the phone than in person. Hell, I hadn’t even given this girl my name.

“I really can’t say. Would you like to speak to someone in HR?”

I scrambled for a way to get more information, knowing HR would just hang up on me. “No, it’s just … he’s been dating my sister. If he hasn’t got a job anymore, I don’t think they should get married, do you?”

“Maury’s getting married? Does your sister … hold on, I have another call.”

I listened to the music while I waited for her to return.

“Hello, listen, I really can’t talk. I’m sorry.”

“But you don’t think my sister should marry Maury?”

“He’s not so bad. He brought me roses for Secretary’s Day.”

“So you think he’s an okay guy?”

“He brings lots of girls roses. He’s a little creepy. I have to go. Bye.”

A little creepy. That wasn’t news. That was the way Erica had felt about him in high school. She’d wanted to like him, because he’d always been so nice to her. But he was so persistent in his pursuit of her that he’d freaked her out.

It didn’t help me to know he wasn’t employed by In-house Textiles anymore, either. Now he wouldn’t be showing up at the Coachman Inn tomorrow, where I’d been hoping to meet him.

Maybe the manager of the Coachman Inn could help me. Maybe he knew more about Maury, like where he lived. I headed back across the street.

The hostess summoned the manager, who I knew ever so slightly from the Wachobe Business Association meetings. He and I both appeared at those meetings sporadically.

I explained about Erica’s disappearance and the connection to Maury.

“Gee, Jolene, I’m sorry, but I don’t really talk to the guy. He brings in our order and takes away the laundry. That’s about it. I don’t think any of the guys in the kitchen really talked to him. He’s in and out of here pretty fast.”

Another dead end. I thanked him for his time and stepped outside onto the sidewalk, holding Maury’s picture in my hand.

I tried to think of all the places in town that might utilize In-house Textiles’ services. The yacht club and a couple other upscale restaurants came to mind. Given the warm day and the sunshine, I decided to walk from place to place and ask about Maury.

By two-thirty, I had pink cheeks from the sun’s rays and no more answers than when I started. My last stop was The Lincoln House. I didn’t hold out much hope there, because Bernie, the owner and bartender, already said he didn’t know Maury. If he was delivering linens to the restaurant, surely Bernie would know him.

I took a seat at the bar and waited for Bernie to spot me.

“Hey, Jolene, are you here for lunch?”

“No, but I could use a Pepsi.”

“Coming right up.” He filled a glass and set it in front of me. “I haven’t seen or heard from Erica, if that’s what you’re here to ask. I hired a new girl to take over Erica’s shifts this morning. I haven’t seen that guy again, either.”

I sucked down half the Pepsi through my straw, then pulled out Maury Boor’s picture.

“Is this him?”

Bernie accepted the photo. “That’s him. A little younger.”

I explained what I had learned about Maury. “I also found out Maury worked for In-house Textiles. Do you use them?”

“We use somebody else less expensive. Sorry.” Bernie filled a bowl with pretzels and set it in front of me. “Hey, my son Jacob is in the same class as your boy Danny.”

Danny wasn’t my boy and he never would be, but I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to check up on him. “Did Jacob give you any idea how Danny was fitting in?”

“I heard he has a good arm for football. They played at lunch yesterday.”

“That’s good.”

“You should have him try out for the team in the fall. I’m a coach.”

“We’re not really sure how long Danny will be with us.”

Bernie popped one of the pretzels in his mouth and chewed. “Is it true his father is in jail for car theft?”

I finished my soda and pulled out a five. “Yes. Where’d you hear that?”

Bernie waved off the money. “Jacob told me. He heard it on the bus. One of the other kids’ mothers knew.”

Word traveled fast in Wachobe. Some of the deputies had wives and mothers who didn’t know when to keep their mouths shut. “I hope that doesn’t cause problems for Danny at school.”

“I’ll tell Jacob that Danny needs a friend. Jacob’s a good kid.”

“Thanks, Bernie.” I gathered my purse and stood. “Call me if you hear anything else, about my sister or Danny, okay?”

He swiped my glass from the counter and dunked it in the sink below the bar. “Sure thing, Jolene. Don’t worry.”

But worrying was one of the things I did best.

____


I called Ray on my cell phone as I walked back to the shop. My feet had started to burn and ache in my dress boots. I think I even limped a little.

“What’s up, Darlin’?”

I filled Ray in on Maury Boor’s old job and my quest to learn more about him. “It’s a dead end. Have you had better luck?”

“He drives a white Honda Prelude, not a Camry.”

“That’s good news, I guess. Right?”

“It means it isn’t likely that he parked a white Toyota Camry with a woman’s arm on ice in the trunk outside the psych center, if that’s what you mean.”

It was. “But everyone keeps saying he’s creepy.”

“I talked to the arresting officer about the stalking charge. He was leaving roses for a girl on her doorstep nightly. She asked him to stop, but he didn’t.”

“Not such a big deal, right?” But it was. It was. I knew it was.

Ray must have agreed. “I don’t like it. I’ll call the HR department at In-house Textiles and see what they’re willing to share with me. I’ll see you at home later.”

He hung up before I had a chance to ask him if they’d gotten any more leads on Jessica James’ body.

I checked the clock and realized I had just enough time to get over to the school for dismissal. I hopped in the car and hightailed it over there, successfully inserting my Lexus sedan into the last parking space behind a rainbow assortment of minivans.

While I watched for Danny to appear in the stream of children exiting the school building, I tried to make sense of what we knew so far. A Camry had been stolen from a used car lot outside Geneseo. That same car, based on the VIN, had been parked outside the psych center with Jessica James’ arm inside the trunk. Danny claimed the keys had been in the ignition when he took it. He also claimed the keys belonged to his dad, until he saw the woman’s arm and changed his mind. Ray said they hadn’t been able to get any clear prints from the keys to match Danny’s father’s prints, so maybe his father had stolen the car, maybe he hadn’t. But from what Danny said, his father had been driving a Camry with all their things in the trunk. So, where were all their things? Had someone removed them from the car and replaced them with Jessica’s arm in a cooler? What for? And what happened to their things?

The psych center or the doctor’s office building figured into this somehow. Had the person who had stolen the car been in an appointment with their doctor or visiting a patient when Danny spotted the car and took it? If so, Danny’s father couldn’t be that person. He’d been in the county jail at that time. Were we blaming him for a car theft he hadn’t committed? Were we looking for another car thief? Maybe one in treatment?

That seemed like a bit of a stretch. Car thieves didn’t get treatment like kleptomaniacs. They got jail time. But I’d bet stalkers got treatment. Maybe Maury Boor had been required to seek treatment. Maybe Maury Boor had been at the psych center that day, driving a stolen Camry instead of a Prelude. He’d worked as a deliveryman. Maybe he had a customer close to the used car lot from which the Camry had been taken. He wouldn’t want to mess up his own car with a dead woman’s body, but he might have a preference for cars like his own. If so, was my sister in the hands of a murderer?

I squeezed my shoulder blades together to stop from trembling. My imagination was getting the best of me. Lots of people were in and out of that doctor’s parking lot and the psych center every day. Even Leslie Flynn said she was a patient there.

I kicked myself mentally for not asking her about the nature of her treatment. But she didn’t drive a Camry. She didn’t live in Geneseo. In fact, I got the impression that prior to now she’d stayed pretty close to the farm most of the time. But she had been at The Cat’s Meow—supposedly to pay off her brother’s bounced check. Her brother had been there, too, talking with my sister on Tuesday before she disappeared. I’d forgotten to ask Leslie whether her brother had admitted to meeting Erica or not. I wondered what kind of car he drove. Maybe Ray could look it up.

The back door of my car flew open. Danny dropped onto the seat, his head bowed.

“Hi, Danny. How was school?”

He dug in his backpack and pulled out a yellow slip of paper. “Here.”

His head lifted. I got a good look. “What happened to you?”

He had a shiner on his right eye, a dark, purple-red one, and a touch of dried blood under his nose. “I got in a fight. You have to meet with the principal in the morning. I think I’m going to be suspended.”





I read the yellow slip. It was a request from Principal Travis for Ray or me, preferably both, to bring Danny to her office at eight o’clock in the morning. “Oh, Danny. What were you thinking?”

“I don’t know.”

I could hear the frustration in his voice. It matched mine. “What was the fight about?”

“Nothin’.”

I twisted around farther in my seat. “It was not about nothing. Did someone say something to you about your dad?”

Danny’s eyes grew frightened. “What about my dad?”

Once again I’d led myself into a trap. “Nothing. I just thought …

never mind. What was the fight about? You might as well tell me now, because you’re sure going to have to tell Ray later.”

Danny’s eyes filled with tears. “This kid, he kept making these snorting noises every time he walked by my desk. At lunch, he got right in my face. I asked him, ‘What’s your problem, dude?’ He said, “‘Your foster father’s a pig, and pigs stink.’”

The fight was about Ray? I couldn’t believe it. Ray talked to the kids at this school every year about the D.A.R.E. program. It wasn’t quite that time of year yet, but he’d never said that any of them had been anything other than respectful in prior years. And I was shocked that the old “pig” label had come up. I’d never heard anyone refer to any police officer or sheriff disrespectfully in this town, especially in that ridiculous way.

I wanted to ask if the other kid had gotten the worst of it, but I settled for a different question. “What’s this kid’s name?”

“I don’t know.” Danny pressed his head against the window. “Can we go home now?”

I sighed, partly delighted that he thought of our house as “home” but also a little distressed because I had to stop at the grocery store first. All I wanted to do was go home, too.

Danny refused to come in the store with me, which didn’t matter. Everyone would just stare at his eye, then at the two of us, wondering. A few would even be bold enough to ask what had happened to Danny, if they knew me. In this town, sometimes they had the nerve to ask even when they didn’t know you. I wouldn’t miss the attention.

The store wasn’t busy this time of day. I wheeled the cart around the store as quickly as I could, grabbing anything that looked good to me.

As I grabbed a package of spaghetti off the shelf, a flash of red from the end of the aisle caught my eye. It was Leslie, carrying a shopping basket and looking right at me.

“Hey, Leslie.” I waved and started toward her.

Her eyes widened. She darted around the corner.

I chased after her in time to see her climb into a Ford pick-up truck in front of the store. Seconds later, she pulled out of the parking lot and disappeared.

Then I realized she hadn’t been wearing her new wig. In fact, it probably wasn’t Leslie at all. It must have been her brother. Funny he’d run away. People must get them confused all the time. Maybe he wasn’t a people person? I shrugged it off.

My bill came to over two hundred dollars. I handed over my credit card and pushed the cart laden with grocery bags out the door.

I unlocked the trunk of the Lexus and deposited all my bags inside. Then I started toward the cart corral.

As I shoved my empty cart into the mass of other carts, a shot rang out. Something whizzed past my ear and pinged against the back end of the stainless steel corral frame. Seconds later, I heard another shot and another ping, this time against the car parked next to the corral.

I looked at the round hole in the trunk of that car. It could have been in my torso instead.

I hit the deck between the car and the corral and fumbled for my cell phone in my purse.

As my shaking fingers pressed 9-1-1, another bullet zipped past my ear. I scrambled toward the front end of the car, away from the shooter.

The 911 operator answered.

“I’m in the parking lot of the Wachobe P&C. Someone is shooting at me.”

“Ma’am, are you in your car?”

“No, I’m on the ground between a car and the cart corral.” An awful thought hit me. “But Danny … my boy … is in my car on the other side of the parking lot.”

“All right, ma’am. An officer is on his way. Stay low to the ground and seek cover until he gives you the all clear.”

“But my boy—”

“Stay where you are, ma’am. The officer is coming. I’ll stay on the line with you.”

I eased my head up to peek over the hood of the Acura I’d taken cover behind, trying to spot Danny. Another shot whizzed past me and cracked the windshield of the truck behind me as I dropped back to the pavement.

“Ma’am, are you taking cover?”

“Yes, yes! Where’s the officer? Can you call my husband Ray Parker? He’s a sheriff deputy.”

“I’ll contact him now. Stay down, ma’am.”

I heard a car turn over. It sounded familiar. The driver accelerated and squealed out of a parking space.

Another shot connected with the back end of the Acura. Was the shooter trying to hit the gas tank?

I dug in my heels and crab-walked closer to the truck behind me. If the Acura blew, the truck and I would go with it, not to mention the cart corral.

A car flew past the rear of the Acura, spun around the end of the line of parked cars and slammed to a stop in the lane behind me. “Get in, Jolene, get in!”

I scrambled to my knees and crawled to the Lexus. Danny opened the rear passenger door. I dove into the back seat. He hit the gas. We peeled out of the parking lot. He made a hard right onto the road which threw me to the floor. I heard the police siren coming from behind us as Danny raced down the road.

The siren faded.

“Pull over, Danny. Pull over. We’re safe now.”

He jerked to a stop by the side of the road. I climbed over the console and into the passenger seat. Then I grabbed him and hugged him tight. “Thank you.”

He wiggled his way out of my grasp. “I didn’t see the guy, but I heard the shots.”

“And you came to save me.”

He blushed and refused to meet my eyes. “Yeah.”

I looked down at my hands. The cell phone was still clutched in one hand, my purse in the other. “But I have the car keys.”

He nodded.

“Danny, did you hotwire this car?”

He didn’t respond, but his eyes shifted about as though looking for escape.

“You know how to hotwire cars?”

A tentative nod told me he did.

“What else do you know how to do, Danny?”

He bit his lip and considered for a moment before replying. “I can jimmy a car door and pick a lock.”

“Did your dad teach you all that?”

His eyes grew proud. “A man has to have some skills.”

I grinned. “Is that what your father says?”

“Yeah.”

“Next time you see him, you tell him I’m not sure what he was thinking when he taught you all that, but I’m sure glad he did.”

Danny beamed with pride. “Okay, I’ll tell him.”

“Ma’am? MA’AM?”

I glanced at my cell phone in surprise. The 911 operator was still with us, just as she promised.

I raised the phone to my ear. “Yes?”

“The Wachobe police chief and your husband are now on the scene. They want you to meet them there. It’s all clear.”

“Did they make an arrest?”

“No, ma’am. The suspect appears to have fled.”

“Okay, thank you.” I ended the call and flipped my phone shut. “We have to go back.”

Danny’s hands slid under the wheel column.

I pulled the car keys from my purse. “I think you better let me drive.”

____


Danny and I stood in the sun making our statements to the police chief and Ray while a team from the sheriff’s office dug the bullets out of the cars, picked up the others, and plotted trajectories. Whoever it was must have been following me. I hadn’t notice a tail, but then, I hadn’t looked either. He could have been the worst tail in the world, and I never would have known he was there. They concluded the shooter had been in the trees in front of my Lexus. Unable to get a clear shot with my trunk open, he’d taken a shot as soon as I stopped in front of the cart corral.

Lucky for me, his aim was off.

Danny didn’t want to talk when we got in the Lexus to drive home, which was fine with me because all my thoughts ended in, “Oh my God, someone tried to kill me.”

Even though I had a trunk full of groceries, Ray offered to order pizza. He must have figured I couldn’t cook since my hands were still shaking.

While we waited for the pizza, I went into the bedroom to change my clothes. My new tan dress pants were ruined with black grease marks and a tear in the knee. It was a small price to pay for my life. Besides, Celeste would be only too happy to sell me another pair, especially if she got to hear about my drama firsthand.

Ray appeared in the closet doorway. “Are you all right?”

“I think I’m still in shock.” I studied his face and couldn’t read it. “Why? What else happened?”

“That’s what I want to know.”

I reached for my dirty stretch pants. “I’m not following you.”

“I saw your sister’s car at The Lincoln House. You didn’t tell me it had a dent in it.”

Uh, oh. I hadn’t told Ray about the damaged cars because I knew he’d be unhappy with Danny and with me for taking him to visit his father when he should have been disciplined for his actions on Thanksgiving night instead.

I pulled on the stretch pants, trying to think of an explanation that wouldn’t make Ray angry. Nothing came to me, so I told him the truth about Danny stealing Erica’s car and backing into Brennan Rowe’s. “Cory can fix both cars. Like you said, Danny’s impulsive.”

“Let me make sure I have the story straight.” He folded his arms. “Danny stole Erica’s car to go see his dad, backed out of the driveway, smashed into Brennan’s car, then the snowbank, and you took him to see his dad as a reward.”

“Not as a reward. As a stress-reliever. He’s twelve. He misses his dad. You can understand that, can’t you, Ray?”

Ray’s eyelids flickered. He’d lost his dad, a firefighter, when he was a teenager. While his father’s death had occurred due to a heroic effort to save a family of four from their burning home, it hadn’t lessened the pain for Ray and his family.

He cleared his throat. “At first, when I saw Erica’s car, I thought someone might have attacked her, too. You should have told me what happened. We’re supposed to be a team when it comes to Danny, Jolene. You can’t keep things from me. I have to know what’s going on. And we have to discipline him. He can’t just steal a car, smash up two, and have no consequences.”

“Okay, but today, he really came through for me.” Even though I’d told him not to drive any more cars without a license, I would never consent to disciplining him for ignoring my direction now.

Ray’s lips twitched. “He did, didn’t he?”

I smiled. “He did.”

We both started to laugh. Ray stepped inside the closet and closed the door behind him. “He’s something else, isn’t he?”

“He is. He is.” I laughed so hard that tears came to my eyes.

Ray pulled me into his arms. “Gotta love a kid like that.” He met my gaze and held it.

Then he whispered, “He saved you.”

The laughter left me in an instant. “He did, Ray.”

A flame flickered in his eyes. He bent to kiss me.

As his lips brushed mine, I felt a familiar tingle. It built into a slow burn. My tongue entwined with his as I molded my body to his, frustrated not to be closer.

He must have shared my frustrations because seconds later my back was against the wall, my legs wrapped around his waist, as he fought with his zipper.

A knock sounded on the closet door.

Ray whipped his head up and growled, “Yes?”

Danny’s voice came from the other side. “The pizza’s here. I need twenty bucks.”