Deep Into The Night (Hartz Island Series) (11 page)

Chapter Sixteen

J
ack was good at many things, but sobbing women left him feeling useless. Having been brought up with a house full of guys, he more or less just sucked it up. He searched the cab for something Cassie could use to wipe her nose. He grabbed a T-shirt out of his overnight bag and handed it to her. She finally seemed to have everything under control so he said, “It’s just a truck.” It’s like he’d open the flood gates of Boulder Dam with the way she carried on. Finally, she stopped. He chose his words carefully. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“No, I just know I need to do the right thing.”

Jack had the distinct feeling Cassie meant more than just a truck. “Do you have the money to repair the truck?”

“Not really.” She leaned back in the seat and propped her head on her hand and stared out the window.

The muscles in his jaw twitched thinking about her situation. It all seemed so simple at the time. “Can you find my sister? I’m very worried about her.” At what point do you walk away? The more time he spent with her, the more he felt like he was getting sucked in, though she wasn’t asking for his help. But the urge to jump in and take over kept rearing its head.

“Do you need to junk it?”

“Yes,” she mumbled.

“Is there any chance you have the title?”

She wiped her eyes and searched through her purse, bringing out an envelope that she handed to him.

“I’ll be right back.”

When he returned, he said, “He thinks he can sell it for a couple of hundred dollars.” Jack put his truck in gear and pulled out in traffic.

“Where are we going?”

“To get ice cream. I saw a place down the street.” He couldn’t fix her problems but the least he could do was put some meat on her bones. As his nieces would say,
Uncle Jack, ice cream solves all the problems
.
If only it was that easy
, he thought. He pulled through the drive-thru. “What do you want?”

She leaned over him to look at the menu. “I don’t know. I always have to watch my weight.”

“Why? Are you going back to L.A.?”

She shook her head.

“Then it seems to me you can get whatever you want.”

“What are you going to get?”

“An extra thick chocolate brownie shake.”

She grinned. “That sounds good. Make mine…a Heath Bar. But a small.”

He laughed.

Jack handed her the shakes and pulled into traffic, driving a couple of blocks through old historic Anacortes and then over to the road that meandered up to Cap Sante Park with a view of Anacortes, Fidalgo Bay, and the marina. No one else was parked in the small lot. A few sailboats dotted the bay, along with an oil tanker for the refinery. They made noncommittal comments while enjoying their ice cream. Cassie’s plastic spoon scraped the sides and bottom of her cup. She held it up for Jack to see.

“I guess I should have gotten a medium.”

As if time had never gone by, he knew what was coming next. It had happened before so many times in the Ryan kitchen. He wanted to laugh but kept a straight face.

“No,” he said firmly. “You had a choice and you chose.”

She gasped.

“You said a small and you got it. You could have gotten a medium or a large like me.”

“Well,” she huffed, “don’t you think you’re being a bit of a buttinski?”

“Yes.” He took a big spoonful and let her simmer. “The point that I’m trying to make is no matter how big or little the decision is, you need to live with it. Decide what it is you really want. You chose a small, but you wanted a medium. Here, open up.”

She glared at him but opened her mouth wide while he spooned in a large portion of his shake into her mouth. She looked at him with those dove gray eyes and moved her mouth in a way that sent heat right down to his balls.

With her mouth full, she said, “It’s just a stupid milkshake, Jack.”

He knew he’d pissed her off, and that was okay.

“You know what your problem is?” A slight smile of defiance graced her face.

“No, what?” He scooped another spoonful and held it up. She leaned over, and he spooned it in. “What’s my problem?” He was very interested in hearing what she had to say.

After swallowing, she sniffed. “You’re problem is that you need to get a life if you’re all caught up over some dumb milkshake.”

He burst out laughing. “Yeah, you might be right. Somebody told me that not too long ago.” Somehow, coming from Cassie, it didn’t seem as stinging.

“So, are you going to finish that?”

“Do you want it?”

Their eyes met. “Yes.”

He handed her the large cup, started up the truck, and headed out of the park.

“Where we going now?”

“Seattle.”

“I haven’t been there in years.”

Interesting. The most direct route up from Los Angeles would be I-5, coming right through Seattle. So which way had she come?

Chapter Seventeen

A
fter lunch, Ray Carlson parked next to Montana’s car that she’d left at the Ryan’s earlier. His cellphone rang, and he checked the number.

“I need to answer this.”

Montana opened the passenger door to get out, but he held up his finger for her to wait. He finished his call and smiled at her.

“That was the most interesting lunch I’ve had in years. I will consider Reiki treatments.”

She returned his smile.

“I need to get going. I’ll follow you out.”

Even though Montana had other plans about leaving, she waved and hopped into her car. She felt certain Ray would go left when they reached the road, so she went right.

“Yes,” she shouted looking in her rearview mirror. Ray had turned left. Montana drove until she found a spot to make a U-turn and headed back to the Ryan’s, parking completely out of view.

Time to get to work. She pulled off the wig and fluffed her thick dark hair. Lunch had been fun flirting with Ray. Jeannie hadn’t recognized her until she placed her lunch order. The navy blue wool poncho needed to be exchanged for something fitted; something that she could go snooping in and not ruin. Montana searched through her trunk to see if she had a decent substitute and came up with a long-sleeved T-shirt and a thin yoga jacket.

She calculated she had a couple of hours before Jack and Cassie might return. Montana closed her eyes and concentrated on her mission. If she could prove to Ray that Margery Anne was in danger, then maybe Ray would be more proactive and less wait and see.

From where she stood on the Ryan’s property, Montana surveyed the neighboring property that sandwiched Armstrong’s. A small patch of woods separated it from the Ryan’s. The weekender house had a great deck with a good view of the rented house. She sprinted to a large tree and peeked around. The owners had stacked a large pile of wood not far from the deck. Montana ran to the wood pile. Completely hidden, she listened for any signs of anyone. Certain she was in the clear, she dashed to the deck stairs and crouched low, climbing to the edge of the top step and scrutinized her spying choice. Immediately, she saw the deck lattice design provided poor camouflage. Somewhat disappointed, she sat on a lower step and contemplated her next move.

Voices, loud and clear, totally recognizable, were headed right toward her. Adrenaline surged through her. She realized she needed a place to hide, fast. Under the deck she went, crawling over a rolled up garden hose. An old metal wheelbarrow tipped on its side shielded her. Margery Anne and Rob Armstrong were very close, but Montana couldn’t tell exactly where. Carefully, she repositioned her body in the shadows and wondered what they were doing.

“I just wanted some me time with you with no one else around,” Margery Anne cooed. “You’ve been gone.”

Montana couldn’t hear his reply, but heard shuffling and rustling. Bodies bumped up against the deck.

“Oh, Big Daddy, I’ve missed you.”

Montana covered her mouth to keep from laughing. With the way Margery Anne purred, Montana could only imagine how big his male body parts were. More groans, feet movement, and all the sounds that came with kissing. Somehow this wasn’t exactly the scenario she had in mind to report to Ray. Margery Anne didn’t sound very tortured.

“Come on, pretty please? We have time, Big D.”

Oh, Lord, this wasn’t just about copping a feel.

“Jesus, Sweet Cheeks, you’re wearing me out.”

“That’s exactly what I want to do.”

This was so not what Montana wanted to hear. She pressed her hands over her ears and cringed. There was no question on why MAMW was hanging with Rob Armstrong. From the sounds of Margery Anne, Big Daddy satisfied her for a long time and had the stamina of a marathon runner. He finally reached the finish line. Silence. Then, more cooing.

Montana fished out her phone and texted Jeannie to please call MAMW house and find out when MA was due home.

Jeannie finally texted back:
“
MA back @ 6 o’ ferry. @ Bible Study in Bellingham. Why?
”

Bible Study my butt
, thought Montana. “
MAMW aka Sweet Cheeks & RA aka BIG Daddy r going @ it. I have 2 pee.
Hiding.
” Montana thought that pretty much explained it without having to get graphic.

“
Serves u rite, Nancy Drew. Now we know why!
”

Creaking and shifting sounds grabbed her attention.
Oh, please not again!
Margery Anne cooed something, and Big Daddy grunted back, but they didn’t move from the top of the steps. Her phone said four, which meant Sweet Cheeks had two more hours to dally with Big Daddy. Her bladder would never make it. Montana closed her eyes and concentrated on putting her mind in a Zen state.

Jeannie read her phone text and continued to laugh. Each time she tried to explain to Ray Carlson and Kip, she laughed harder. Wiping her eyes, Jeannie handed her cell phone to Kip, who read it and grinned. He handed it to Ray, who laughed and said, “She did have three teas at lunch.”

“She might need rescuing,” Jeannie said. “But she doesn’t say where.”

“I have a pretty good idea,” said Ray. “I’ll go home and get my dog and we can play Frisbee on the beach. Luke should be able to sniff her out.” He chuckled again. “She’s all worried Big Daddy is coercing Sweet Cheeks. I wonder what she thinks now.” Ray left the café, still laughing.

He parked his unmarked Mustang squad car next to Montana’s at the Ryan’s and opened the passenger door. Luke, his black lab jumped out.

“Ready boy?”

He jogged toward the beach with Luke running along next to him, throwing the Frisbee and making a ton of noise. After a good thirty minutes of walking the beach, he and Luke headed back toward the Ryan’s.

The whistling and calling of Luke broke Montana’s meditation. She peered around the old wheelbarrow, looking for legs and listening for the copulating couple. Convinced they’d left, she crawled to the edge and peered out. Everything looked clear, so she sprinted as fast as a full bladder allowed to the wood pile.

“Ah,” she sighed softly, relieving herself.

A large black something swooshed through the brush and almost knocked into her. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear the black lab was laughing at her.

“Who are you?” she asked, pulling up her pants.

“Luke,” a familiar voice yelled, and then whistled.

“So you’re Luke, and I’m in hot water. Come on, Luke, let’s go find Ray.”

Montana stayed low, ran to the large tree, and then to the next, almost bumping into him. He held his finger to his lips to stay silent and pointed back at the Ryan’s. He jogged ahead with Luke and Montana trailing behind. When they reached their cars, Ray leaned against his with his arms folded.

“So tell me, is she being tortured by Big Daddy?”

She shrugged. “Well, not exactly.”

“Is Big Daddy taking a beating from Sweet Cheeks?”

She’d tried to suppress her laughter but couldn’t. “He indicated she was wearing him out.”

“Oh, boy, so you probably heard plenty. Do you think she’s still a victim?”

Montana shook her head. “Pretty much symbiotic.”

“That’s kind of what I’ve been thinking. Sex is a powerful drug. Many a career and marriage has been ruined by the potency of it all.”

Montana wondered if he were speaking from experience. Ray was a good looking man with a body that had muscles in all the right places. Hartz Island wasn’t exactly a career move for somebody who looked and acted like he did. To her, he seemed on par with Jack and Kip.

“Are you done snooping for the day?”

“I am.”

“I will follow you out.”

“By the way Ray, how come I never see your…big gun?”

“I like to keep mine hidden.” He grinned and pointed to her car. “Next time, I might not be available to save your sweet cheeks.”

“Ha-ha.”

Like he promised, Ray followed her out and stayed behind until she pulled into her drive. He honked, waved, and gunned the Mustang.