On Ice (31 page)

“
Okay. But you need more target practice.” This set them off again.

Rene agreed to come over the next weekend for more firearm instructions and Nadine promised to keep her observations to herself.

Rene lit the logs in the fireplace. The kindling crackled and caught. Setting the fire screen in place, she watched the little wisps of smoke curling up toward the chimney. The children worked at the table. Seth studied for a spelling test while Sara colored on notebook paper.
This is our home. It’s really our home
. A lump formed in her throat and her eyes filled with tears.
Why have I been so teary?
The answer screamed in her ears.
Because Brett’s not here! Things may never be the same between us again.

~*~

“
You got him!” Ted bounded into the den where Maddy and T.J. were having tea. “You really got him!” He shook T.J.’s tiny hand vigorously.

“
Easy, Ted,” Maddy said. “Don’t break her arm.”

“
Oh, sorry.” He dropped her hand abruptly and crossed the room to pour a drink at the bar. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“
Dr. Sanders, it’s not exactly over,” T.J. said. “I’ve located Mark Desmond. He hasn’t been apprehended yet.”

“
Why not? What’s the problem?” Ted gulped his drink and set the glass down on the bar. He took a seat across from the women, planting his elbows on his knees.

“
Ted, Mark must have paid off the police, at least the detective from hell.”

“
And?” He searched T.J.’s face for answers.

“
I checked with a source inside the department and there’s no record of a report being made on the assault in your garage.” T.J.’s eyes slid over to where Terrence stood, silently observing them. “Nor is there any record of Mark running Mrs. Sanders off the freeway.”

“
There has to be,” Ted insisted, jumping up from his seat. “I filed an insurance claim. There was a case number and I have a copy of that report.” He left the room and returned a few moments later waving a handful of papers. “Here it is!”

T.J. scanned the forms and a slow grin spread across her face. “Excellent!”

“
Now what?” Maddy asked.

“
I need to make a copy of these papers and I must write my own report of both crimes. Do you have time to give me some information?”

“
Yes,” Maddy said decisively. “I want this thing to end. I want to put Mark away.”

T.J. questioned Maddy about the events leading up to the attacks as well as the crimes themselves. “Now, Terrence will answer a few questions.” She glanced at him, unobtrusively taking in the dialogue. A few moments of silence elapsed and then Terrence approached.

“
I don’t know what I can tell you.” He grinned down at the diminutive China doll. “My role in the first incident was to lie on the garage floor, bleedin’.”

“
Ted, let’s go up and check on the girls.” Maddy took a firm hold of Ted’s arm.

“
Aren’t they watching television in the playroom?” he asked.

“
Come on, dear.” Maddy gave him a look and discreetly withdrew, allowing the two a few minutes of private conversation.

~*~

Rick Starkey handed Rene a slightly crumpled note the next morning.

Mrs. Nichols

I do want to come back to school if you can find

some way for me to pay our bills. We have to stay

together. Please help us.

Kipp Starkey

Rene’s heart soared. “This is wonderful!” Rick was smiling, but appeared to be ill at ease. He fidgeted with the zipper of his parka, making a jingling sound.

“
I hope so. Kipp is scared that Mr. Brett will fire him. Can you talk to him for us?”

“
Hmm.” Rene wasn’t sure that her talking to Brett would be advantageous to the Starkeys. “I’ll do what I can.”

That evening, she tucked Sara into bed and tried to concentrate on a second-hand novel she’d found at Pinky’s. Her eyes followed the words, but her brain couldn’t hold on to the content. Brett’s ruggedly handsome face kept swimming up off the page to haunt her. His clear blue eyes tore into her heart. Closing the book with a snap, she tossed it aside. Shoving her feet under the woolen blanket, she sighed deeply as she gazed into the fire crackling in the hearth.

“
What’s the matter, Mom?” Seth kept his voice low so as not to disturb Sara.

Rene looked at him over the back of the sofa. “What makes you think there’s something the matter?”

“
No fair. I asked the first question.” His wise child eyes told her that he knew too much.

“
That doesn’t mean you get the first answer.” She scrunched down onto the scratchy fabric, hoping to ignore him, knowing she couldn’t.

“
Mom?” He propped his arms on the back of the sofa and peered down at her. “Let’s talk.”

“
What are you? A talk show host?” She put up her hands to catch him as he launched himself over the upholstered hurdle, landing softly on top of her blanket. Rene raised the blanket and Seth snuggled under it. She held him in her arms, leaning her cheek against his hair.

“
Are you mad at Brett?” he finally asked.

“
I’m not sure. I know he’s mad at me.”

“
How come?” His innocent question pierced her heart.

“
Sometimes people see the same thing differently. We just happen to disagree about the kids who drop out of school to work for him.”

“
But, Mom, I don’t want Brett to stay away. He’s nice.”

“
I think so too, honey.” Rene felt tears stinging her eyes. She blinked fast to keep from spilling them.

“
Why don’t you tell him you’re sorry?”

“
I guess it’s because I’m not sorry. I can’t apologize for something that I don’t regret, can I?”

“
You used to do it all the time.” He twisted in her arms, settling himself under the blanket.

“
What do you mean?”

“
You know, when Dad got mad you said you were sorry a lot.”

Rene caught her breath. The truth hit her like an avalanche. Was this how her son thought of her? Lying to avoid angering Mark? What a coward!

“
That’s right,” she admitted. “I was scared of him. It wasn’t the right thing to, do but I didn’t want him to hurt me.”

“
Dad was always mad,” Seth said. “I was scared, too.”

“
I know Brett wouldn’t hurt me. He’s not that kind of man.” Rene paused to consider the possibility. She had already witnessed Brett’s anger. It was cold and withdrawn, not hot and violent.

“
Why don’t you make up with him?” Seth persisted.

“
I don’t know, Seth. I guess I’ll see how he acts the next time we see him.”

“
What if you don’t see him for a long time?”

She considered telling him that it already felt like forever. “I’ll wait for a little while. Maybe he’ll want to talk to me.”

“
But, what if he doesn’t?” Seth had voiced her worst fear---one of her worst fears.

“
I just don’t know.”

~*~

Maddy paced back and forth across the living room as she waited for T.J. to call. She resembled a caged animal and Ted had to smile a little as he compared her grace to a lioness or a tigress.
Definitely female. Absolutely predatory. Incredibly sexy.

“
Ted, what are you chortling about?” she snapped.

He judged that this was not a good time to tell her how sexy she looked. “Chortling?” he asked.

“
You look like you have a few canary feathers hanging out of your mouth. Why are you so smug?” She stopped her trek and gave him her ‘rip your throat out’ look.

Ooh, nice kitty
. He smiled again, in spite of his efforts to remain solemn.

“
There! You’re doing it again!”

Ted sighed, stretching his long legs out. “Oh, I’m just being a man, dear one. Just being a man.”

“
Why don’t you be something intelligent and pay attention to me?”

“
Maddy darling, how can you say such a thing?” Ted sat up and cocked his head to one side. “I have been totally absorbed with you since I arrived home.”

Maddy gave him a look that bespoke her disappointment.

“
What have I done now?” He rose and went to her side.

“
You haven’t a clue, do you?” Maddy shrugged him off. “It’s not always about sex, Ted. I’m angry and worried. Having you stare at my ass doesn’t help.”

“
What in particular are you upset about, my dear?” Ted stepped away, allowing her some space.

“
I miss my sister, Ted. She’s my best friend.” She stopped pacing and turned to Ted. “Do you realize that we’ve never been apart this long?”

“
I see.”

“
Do you? I was horrified to learn that Mark was victimizing her. Can you imagine how you’d feel if Genna married a monster, or Miranda?”

Ted hung his head. “I would be in jail because I’d kill the bastard.”

“
That!” Maddy jabbed her finger in Ted’s chest. “That is exactly how I feel.”

Ted embraced her, holding her against his chest as she wept. “I’m sorry.”

“
I’m so afraid he will get away with everything he’s done. I’m afraid the alliances he’s made within the legal system will give him a way out.”

“
I have influence too,” Ted said. “I’ll call in every favor I’ve ever stashed away.”

~*~

CHAPTER TWENTY

A sale catalog and a letter from Maddy were crammed into Rene’s mailbox. Recognizing the familiar handwriting, a wave of longing swept over her.

“
Hello, my dear,” Mrs. Pindar called out. “How are you faring now that the cold weather has set in? Is the cabin warm enough for you?” Her thin, delicate face contrasted sharply with her bright alert eyes.

“
The cabin is quite cozy, thank you.” Rene glanced out the frost-covered window, where Nadine’s truck, sat idling at the curb. “You should come out for a visit.”

“
I’m sure that would be nice, but I don’t drive anymore.”

“
Oh. I’m sorry.” Rene groped for the right response.

“
One of the joys of growing older.” Mrs. Pindar gave a dry laugh. “It’s better than the alternative. So many of my contemporaries have passed on, you know.”

“
I don’t have my own transportation or I would offer to pick you up. I’m not sure I’m competent to drive in this weather. After my accident, I don’t trust myself behind the wheel. I’d better be going.” Rene started toward the door, but a frail hand on her arm stopped her.

“
Before you go, come upstairs with me for a moment.”

“
Nadine and the children are waiting for me.”

“
I know but this won’t take long.”

Rene couldn’t refuse the elderly woman’s request. She followed Mrs. Pindar up a flight of narrow stairs. The landing opened to a spacious apartment filled with elegant Victorian style mahogany furniture and an abundance of bric-a-brac. Rene wondered how the frail lady dusted the delicate porcelain and polished the gleaming wood but everything was spotless.

“
I want you to have this, my dear.” Mrs. Pindar unlocked the drawer of an old-fashioned secretary, removing a carved rosewood box. As she handed it to Rene, her thin, purple veined hand caressed the top of the intricately patterned lid affectionately.

Rene held the box a moment before opening the lid. A tiny gun nestled on blue velvet. It looked like a toy but Rene knew it was a deadly weapon despite the intricate carved inlay of mother-of-pearl. Mrs. Pindar stroked the polished nickel barrel.

“
My husband bought it for me. This used to be quite a wild place in the old days. There’s a garter holster under the velvet. Young women don’t wear dresses nowadays. It was good to have this tucked away. I want you to have it now.”

“
B-but, why?” Rene asked. “This is a treasured memento and it must be very valuable.”

“
Yes, my dear, but it’s yours. Just humor an old lady.” She placed a thin dry hand on Rene’s. “You and the children have come to mean a great deal to me. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

“
Why would you think something might happen to me?” A shiver played around Rene’s spine.

A look of reproach crossed Mrs. Pindar’s face. “At my age, I’ve become a superb observer of human nature. My observations tell me that you’ve fled from something, or someone terrifying. At times, my dear, you have an almost feral nature, like a wild animal protecting her young. I wouldn’t want you to go into any fray unarmed.” Her voice trailed off, but the hand resting on Rene’s gave a little squeeze. “Now, run along. I’m going to have a nice cup of tea and put my feet up.” She seemed spent and sank into a high-backed rocker, lifting her tiny feet to rest on a wine-colored ottoman. She smiled at Rene. “I hope you don’t mind showing yourself out. I’m having a sinking spell.” She waved off the look of alarm on Rene’s face. “It’s nothing. I have them quite regularly. Just being an old lady. You run along. I’ve kept you quite long enough.” She closed her eyes in dismissal.