Ellen McKenzie 04-Murder Half-Baked (32 page)

“No.” She looked up at me
, all
innocen
ce
. I’d seen the same look on Susannah’s face when she was trying to make me believe a particularly big whopper, and it made me wonder if I’d just heard another one.

“What happened to it?” Dan had finally decided to jump in.

“It got burned up.” He also got the innocent look
,
only this time it was tinged with anger. “Grady decided to do something stupid
—
not a first for him
—
and it cost us both.”

“Do you know where Grady got the money?”

Marilee’s eyes shifted to Leona with a glare that would have soured milk. Leona was going to be blamed for telling us about the money. It wasn’t going to advance her chances of teaming up with Marilee. From the flush that crept up Leona’s face, she got the message. Marilee transferred her attention back to the baby, and her face softened. She adjusted the blanket again around the sleeping child, pulling it tighter around his little face. “Probably selling meth. That’s what he usually did.” She got up and grabbed the handle of the baby carrier. “I’ve got to go change him. Why don’t you ask Grady where he got it?”

“That would work,” Dan agreed, “but unfortunately we don’t know where he is. And it sounds as if he owes that money to someone. Someone who isn’t very patient. Someone who’s making Grady nervous. Until we find him, we’ll have to go with
P
lan B.”

Marilee stopped.
She paused for a moment before turning to look suspiciously at Dan. “What’s
P
lan B?”

“Keeping you and the baby safe until we find him.”

“Get Nathan. He won’t let anything happen to me.” She looked down at the baby. “Us.”

“Nathan can’t get here until about noon.”

Marilee looked at me as if I had deliberately planned it that way. “Why?”

“He has other clients scheduled.” Dan spoke calmly, logically, bringing her attention back to him. He was favored with a look that was even more suspicious.

“So Adam and I’ll just sit here and wait for Grady to show up.”

Dan sighed. I must remember to tell him how well he
kept
his temper. It was a challenge.

“I’ll send Gary or someone over right after I get to the office.”

“In the meantime, I’ll be here
,
”
s
aid
Leona
,
satisfaction
in her
voice.

The look Marilee gave Leona was wonderful to see. Amazement to amusement to disbelief. “How are you going to protect us if Grady decides to break in?”

“We got a phone here, don’t we?”

“Right. A phone.” Marilee looked from Dan to me, as if she thought this was some kind of big joke. “How about Anne? Where is she?”

“What’s the matter? You don’t think I can handle that punk, Grady?”

Marilee sat back down as if her legs would no longer hold her. She seemed to sink before our eyes. “You couldn’t handle Billy Ray, and all he did was get drunk. Grady’s high on something most of the time. No way could you stop him.” This wasn’t bad temper. Marilee was scared to death.

“Look, I have a lot to do, but most of its phone calls. Why don’t I go to the office, get my files, and come back? Grady won’t dare try anything if we’re both here.”

I could have kicked myself the minute the words were out. I needed to concentrate, and it was going to be a whole lot harder here, with a crying baby and a whining Leona, than at my office. Besides, I wasn’t one bit sure my presence would intimidate Grady. The look on Marilee’s face kept me from taking back my way too generous offer.

“Oh, would you?”

“Sure.” I gulped but went on as brightly as I could. “I’ll be gone about an hour; Nathan will show up right after lunch, and I’ll go back to the office then.”

“She can’t do anything I can’t do
,
”
Leona said, her anger
barely
under
control. Why, I wondered. Hurt pride? Or had I spoiled her chance to wrestle the baby out of Marilee’s arms.

“Marilee, are you all right with this? It’ll only be for about an hour.” It wasn’t all right with me, but I couldn’t see what else to do. I had to get my files, all of which were neatly stacked on top of my desk. “We can lock all the doors.”

“It’ll be fine.”
There was resignation in
Marilee
’s
eyes, but they glared when she looked at Leona. “It’s early. Grady won’t even be out of bed yet.” She hugged the baby a little closer. “Just get back as soon as you can, okay?”

Dan didn’t look happy about th
e situation
either, but it didn’t look as if we had much choice. “I’ll get someone to do a couple of drive-bys. Call me when you get back here,” he said to me. “Who knows? Maybe, by that time, we’ll get lucky and have Grady nicely tucked away in a jail cell.” He patted Marilee awkwardly on the shoulder, looked pointedly at Leona, then walked onto the back porch, shut the outside door, and clicked the dead bolt. “We’ll go out the front. Leona, lock the door after us. Ellie, got your key? Good.”

I followed him out, wondering how I
had
got
ten
myself into any of this. Elopement sounded better all the time. Tonight maybe. We’d come back when Grady was arrested. Grace House would be ready to move into. Maybe we’d even wait until Adam was ready for kindergarten. Aunt Mary could feed the cat.

Dan climbed into his car and fastened his seat belt. I leaned in and he gave me a
chaste
kiss on the cheek. I felt like June Cleaver. Only I don’t think she had ever been this scared.

“I love you, Ellen Page McKenzie soon to be Dunham. Be careful. And call me as soon as you get back to the house.”

He rolled up his window and started down the drive. I watched him go, stunned. Dunham. My name would be Dunham. Of course it would. Wouldn’t it? Why hadn’t it occurred to me before? Did I want to be a Dunham? I didn’t want to be a McKenzie. That kept me too close to Brian and a life I was only too happy to leave behind. And I didn’t want to be a Page. Well, I didn’t want to be a Page the same way I used to be. I was a woman, not a girl. True, I still lived in the same house I lived in when I was a Page, but that didn’t mean
…
this was going to take some getting used to. Checking account would have to be changed, social security, and real estate cards. Damn. I started back toward the house, bathrobe clutched tightly around me, wondering how to get directions to the closest nunnery.

I
t was closer to an hour and a half before I got back. The house was still standing, no strange cars were out in front, no smoke curled out from under the back door, and no howls of rage or pain emanated from the kitchen or any other room. The only sound was the shower running upstairs.

I walked slowly through the downstairs, looking for someone. Anyone. The baby carrier was gone, so was the diaper bag. Upstairs? Must be. I climbed the stairs, wondering why the house felt so empty.

“Leona?” I called out when I got to the top of the stairs. “Marilee?”

“In the bathroom.”

Okay. I knew where Marilee was. Where were Leona and the baby? Unease was giving way to alarm. I threw open Susannah’s door, he
e
dless of anyone’s privacy needs, but it didn’t matter. It was empty. No bag with bottles that had come from the hospital, no little donated nightgowns of any color, no diapers or lotion on top of Susannah’s white wicker chest. No baby on her blue and white checked bedspread. No baby anywhere.

Leona was sleeping in the guest room. My stomach clenched before I opened the door. Empty. Really empty. No clothes on the unmade bed. The closet door was open. Nothing inside. The top of the chest of drawers was bare. I ran back to Marilee’s room. Gone. Dear God in Heaven. Gone. I sank down on the end of the bed while the enormity of all this tried to sink into my brain, but it didn’t have time. Marilee walked in, wrapped in a towel, looking damp and lovely.

“Hi, Ellen. You got back earlier than I thought. Where’s Leona?”

That was the question of the moment. “I don’t know.”

I watched her face change. The smile faded, replaced slowly by panic as the awful reality sank in. She clutched her towel tightly as she looked wildly around the room. “Where is Adam?”

“I don’t know that either. What happened here? When did you get into the shower?”

“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago. The baby was asleep downstairs; Leona was up here. I think she was on the phone. There’s one in this room.”

“Then what happened?”

“She came down and said why didn’t I go up and take a shower while he was asleep. She’d stay right by him. At first I didn’t want to, but I really needed
…
I made her promise not to pick him up. Where is he?”

Marilee’s voice was getting shrill and she had started to move around the room. “Are you sure he’s not downstairs?”

“I’m sure. Marilee, get dressed. I’m calling Dan.”

“Everything’s gone. She took him.”

She stood in the middle of the room, quite still, clutching the towel around her. I thought,
incongruously
, how glad I was I bought oversized towels and reached for the phone. It rang before I could pick it up.

“Ellen, this is Gina. Do you know where Dan is? Something’s happened, and I need to talk to him.”

“Something’s happened here, too. Gina, I have to go. I’ll tell Dan you need him.”

I started to hang up but what she said stopped me. “Ellen, tell him Grady was here. He threatened Sal, said Rose knew where Marilee was and Sal did too, and
they
’d better tell him. Only about then, his cell phone rang. He actually answered it. Rose says he grunted a few time
s
, then he said something like
,
“No kidding. I’m on my way,” smacked Sal across the face
—
why, I don’t know
—
and ran out. So be careful. He’s getting frantic.”

“Dear God in Heaven. I think I know who made that call. Adam’s missing, and so is Leona.”

I heard a gasp. “Oh, my God. She wouldn’t
… Y
es, she would. I’ll be right there.”

“No, don’t. Stay
—
”

There was no point in saying more. The line was dead. I glanced at Marilee, who was still standing frozen in place in the middle of the floor. She looked as white as the towel she still clutched. I hoped she’d keep breathing and not pass out on the rug.
M
y last first aid class
had
been in Girl Scouts
,
and
I’d
failed mouth to mouth. Or did you wave smelling salts around?
I dialed 911. Fastest way I could think of to get Dan.