Stupid!
I looked down at Jonas and saw his arm was up then he threw a mini-sized Nerf ball at Tate. I watched it sail through the air with astonishing accuracy straight at Tate’s raised hand. Tate tagged it and brought his arm down, my eyes went beyond him and my body stilled.
Neeta’s Chrysler convertible, the top down, a sunglassed, big-haired Neeta behind the wheel, was turning into the hotel.
My body stilled.
“Oh shit,” Jonas muttered and I looked down at him then automatically my arm darted out, fingers curling around his shoulder. I yanked him to me, my arm going around his chest and holding him close.
Neeta parked in the open area by the pool and barely stopped her car before she was flying out of it. She didn’t even close the door before she was marching quickly toward us on high-heeled, strappy sandals, her legs bared almost to indecent levels due to her ultra-short mini-skirt.
“Get in the car, Jonas!” she shouted.
I held on tighter.
“Car!” she shrieked, bearing down on us. “Now!”
I noticed both Ned and Betty heading our way. Betty had been deadheading her now abundantly filled window boxes at her house. Ned had been inside at reception.
I also noticed Shambles’s VW van round its way into the lot.
“What’d I say?” Neeta demanded sharply, coming to a halt in front of us. She was talking to Jonas but her narrowed eyes were glued to me.
Jonas didn’t move, I heard a rush of water and I knew Tate was there but I didn’t tear my eyes from Neeta.
“Let him go, bitch,” she ordered.
“That’s enough, Neeta,” Tate’s deep voice came from close behind me.
“I said, let him go!” she screamed at me.
Ned and Betty both joined our group, not close but not far away.
“Jonas, get our stuff,” Tate instructed. “Help Laurie get packed up and get to the truck.”
“He’s not going anywhere with you!” Neeta shouted at Tate.
“He’ll be home tomorrow at five,” Tate stated.
“He’s comin’ with me and he ain’t comin’ back ‘til that bitch is outta your house!” she returned on a yell.
“Petal!” Shambles cried and my eyes went to him to see his van parked behind the Chrysler and he was rushing toward us, his long hair flying behind him.
I took two steps back from Neeta, dragging Jonas with me. She took a step forward, Betty going with her but both Neeta and Betty stopped when Tate stepped between us.
“Petal!” Shambles repeated.
“Shambles, honey, now is not –” I stopped speaking when he skidded to a halt in front of us and I caught a look at his face.
Ignoring Neeta, he looked from me to Tate, face pale, obviously panicked and asked, “You find people?”
I watched the line of Tate’s body go alert, every inch of it and I did this while my own body tensed.
“You got a problem, Shambles?” Tate asked.
“Get in the fuckin’ car, Jonas, now!” Neeta ordered.
“They say you find people,” Shambles stated.
“Yeah, I find people,” Tate replied.
“Sunny’s missing,” Shambles told him, my body went solid and I saw Shambles was shaking.
“Jonas –” Neeta started but Tate’s hand came up, palm in her face and her mouth clamped shut.
“Bitch, shut your mouth right fuckin’ now,” Tate growled then without hesitation, he dropped his arm, looked at Shambles and ordered, “Talk to me.”
“She didn’t come home last night,” Shambles explained without delay. “We’ve been together for six years, we’ve never slept apart. Not once. Not even once and she didn’t come home. Last night, when it was getting late and she hadn’t come home, hadn’t answered her phone, I went out to find her. She told me where she was going to draw down the sun. I went there and she wasn’t there, her bike wasn’t there, nothing. I thought maybe she might have gone to one of our other places but I went to those too and she wasn’t at any of those either. I called her friends, the hospital, the police, nothing. So I went home and waited for her. It’s not like her. It just isn’t like her. She says where she’s going to be and she’s there. I waited all night. Called her phone, called the hospital again. I went to the police this morning, first thing. They said she had to be gone for forty-eight hours before they could do anything even though I told them this was not like her. I went around town, asking anyone if they’d seen her and I went to Bubba’s. Lady there said you find people. Do you find people?”
“I find people,” Tate replied.
“We need to find her,” Shambles whispered.
“Jonas, I’m not gonna say it again,” Neeta broke in to warn her son and I belatedly felt his body was trembling against mine.
Betty stepped forward and got between Tate and Neeta.
“Neeta, get in your car and go,” she demanded.