Detective Marker hesitated, shuffled a bit realizing he shared too much and final y said, “Just do.” Now, with Detective Marker gone, the activity was beginning to die down and Al y was helping herself to some Brie and apple slices while Shirleen spread a wodge of paté on some French bread.
“Wel , Sugar, you made certain sure I’m gonna get a doozy of a write-up in the society pages,” Daisy told me on a tinkling laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
“Damn straight, Daisy-girl. Never read the society pages but I sure as hel won’t miss this one,” Shirleen threw in.
Annette’s arm came around my chest and neck and she kissed the top of my head. I leaned further into her, realizing, final y, that it was over.
Over.
Thank God.
And I breathed another sigh. This wasn’t a happy one, this one was relieved.
“I’m just glad he didn’t tear her gown or get any blood on it. I don’t know if blood washes out of satin and I don’t want to know. That is a piece of laundry knowledge I’d be happy to go to my grave without. You girls are kil er on my dresses, what with bar brawls and the like. I have to go shopping weekly to keep stocked up,” Tod added.
“That’s hardly the reason you go shopping, Tod,” Stevie put in.
Tod turned to Stevie. “Excuse me but Burgundy has to have choice. She never knows which way she’s gonna go,” Tod declared then turned to Shirleen. “By the way, is the offer open to me to borrow that necklace? It… is… fine. ”
“Sho’ ‘nuff, sweet thang,” Shirleen said.
I felt a bubble of hilarity start to rise in me but caught Indy’s eye and it disappeared. She and Jet were watching me like hawks and they didn’t think any of this was funny.
“I’m okay,” I mouthed to them.
Jet sucked in her lips. Indy looked about ready to hit the roof.
“Real y,” I said out loud.
Indy nodded her head with just a hint of a sad smile on her lips. I got the feeling that she wished she had it in her power to erase my whole history with Bil y with a wave of her magic wand.
Jet simply said quietly, “Okay.”
“What?” Mom asked, missing the byplay.
I leaned over a bit and rested the side of my head against my Mom.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Where on earth is Hank?” Kitty Sue asked and she no sooner uttered the words then the air in the room charged and the Hot Boy Brigade (plus Dad) entered the room, led by Hank.
“Uh-oh,” Al y muttered.
Annette’s arm fel away and I straightened. I would have smiled at Hank but one look at his face told me that was not the way to go.
“What’s happening now?” I asked when he was a few feet from me. I was thinking Bil y had gotten away again, visions of him bursting out of the back of the ambulance, stil on the run and after me, fil ing my head.
Hank stopped right in front of me and I tilted my head back to look at him. His face was hard and angry.
“What in the fuck did you think you were doin’ out there?” he roared.
Yes, Hank Nightingale, master of control, roared.
Hmm, seemed he was mad at me, not mad about the fact that Bil y had escaped.
Wel , at least that was good.
“Whisky –” I tried.
“Oh no,” his voice instantly dipped low, dangerously low.
“Don’t fucking ‘Whisky’ me. You walked right up to him!” My relief that Bil y was stil under armed guard was short-lived and melted instantly into anger at Hank.
Excuse me but I did not think so.
I jumped off my barstool and got in Hank’s face.
“He shot Luke!” I shouted.
“We had it covered,” Hank shouted back.
“He tried to shoot you! ” I yel ed.
“We had it covered,” Hank repeated.
“He pointed his gun at Lee!”
“We had it fuckin’ covered! ”
I put my hands to my hips. “I warned you, I wasn’t going to let anything happen to any of you and I wasn’t!” I was back to shouting.
“There were three of us and we knew Vance was closin’
in and there was one of him. You made it impossible for us to take him down. What was in your head?” Hank was also back to shouting.
“He had a gun pointed at you. That’s what was in my head.”
“So, the fuck, what? It’s happened before, it’l happen again. I can handle it. We had it under control.” Holy cow.
I shirked off thoughts of Hank having guns pointed at him and scowled.
“Hank Nightingale, don’t you yel at me,” I snapped.
“It wasn’t smart, Roxie,” Dad decided to throw down.
“Dad!” I turned to him.
“It wasn’t,” Lee added, his voice sober and sharp.
My mouth dropped open and I stared at Lee.
“It sure the fuck wasn’t,” Eddie agreed and he wasn’t even there.
I opened and closed my mouth, words escaped me.
They were ganging up on me.
“Um… hate to butt in here, but, back, the hel , off,” Al y put in, standing at the bar fil ed with food. She had a half-eaten apple slice held aloft and she looked cool as a cucumber.
“Al y, stay out of it,” Carl ordered.
“Don’t tel me to stay out of it,” Al y flashed, dropping the apple slice and no longer looking cool as a cucumber.