Bad Seed (Jubilee, Kentucky #5)

Chapter 14

Harley had moved back to her work area and was going through her figures for the audit, refreshing her mind as to what she’d been working on and what she had left to do. Her head hurt, but it hurt doing nothing, too, and she wanted this over.

Brendan was kicked back on the sofa, watching TV with closed captioning and the sound on mute, killing two birds with one stone. Staying quiet for her, and watching cooking episodes of Gordon Ramsay. Seeing all that manic yelling and shouting without sound was a new viewing experience. Hysteria and anger in mime. Since coming back to Jubilee, he had not missed even one day of that life.

Then two knocks at the door, and someone called out, “Room service.”

Harley jerked, startled out of the numbers rolling through her head, but Brendan was already up and striding toward the door. He recognized the server and opened the door.

“Hi, Keith. Thanks for the quick delivery,” he said.

The young redhead nodded. “Our pleasure. The staff sends their regards.”

“Just put it on the end of the table. I’ll deal with the rest.”

Keith pushed the cart into the room as Brendan watched from the foyer, then let him out and locked them back in.

Harley was standing when he turned around.

“Wash up first?” he asked.

“Read my mind,” Harley said, and slipped her hand beneath his arm to steady herself as they went.

A few minutes later, she’d taken her meds and was dunking fries in ketchup, with an eye on her piece of chocolate meringue pie.

“Is that a BLT?” she asked as he took his first bite.

He nodded. “Want some? I’ll share.” Before she could answer, he put the other half of his sandwich on her plate and kissed her cheek. “What’s mine is yours.”

She blinked away tears, managed a sheepish smile before biting into it, then gave him a thumbs-up.

They were getting close to pie time when Harley’s cell phone rang. She glanced at caller ID and groaned. “Mom, again.”

Brendan frowned. “Answer it, and don’t think about anything but the sound of her voice. One day she’ll be gone, and you’ll wish for it.”

Harley blinked. “Oh my God, mister. You sure know how to get to the heart of a matter,” she said, but she picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Finally!” Judith said. “I thought you’d dropped off the face of the earth.”

“No, Mom, I didn’t go quite that far, but I came close. I can’t talk to you right now because you always make me angry cry, and crying will make my freaking head hurt worse than it already does, so will you please talk to my Brendan instead?”

Judith gasped. “What aren’t you saying? Why does your head hurt? And why have I not heard about this Brendan person?”

“I know you’ve already talked to Dad. And if he told you enough of the truth, you’d know Brendan is helping me with this case, and we fell in love. What Dad doesn’t know is that two days ago, a hit man tried to kill me in my hotel room. His shot only grazed my head. I, on the other hand, did not miss. And now you can get details from Brendan because I passed out after that and don’t remember shit.”

Judith was shrieking in Harley’s ear as she handed him the phone. “Darling man of my heart, meet my mother.”

And once again, Brendan got an earful of what talking to her parents was like. “Mrs. Banks… Mrs. Banks, excuse me, but if you’d care for further details about Harley’s welfare, you’re going to have to stop screaming in my ear.”

A deep, sexy voice with a slight hint of sarcasm was not what she expected to hear. Her silence gave Brendan permission to continue.

“Much better. Thank you. My name is Brendan Pope. I was asked to look out for her by the man who hired Harley for this job, and may I say, you have raised a most remarkable woman. Yes, she’s beautiful, but she’s also the smartest, most persistent female I’ve had the pleasure to meet, and skillful at her job. The hit-man issue turned out to be residue from the job just prior to this. It’s being dealt with. We had been warned the possibility was real, so when it did happen, Harley was prepared. They shot at each other at the same time. His shot grazed the side of her head, which resulted in a concussion and a great deal of pain from both injuries. He’s dead. She’s not. Okay?”

He could hear Judith crying softly. “Don’t cry. You’ve already heard her voice. You heard the sass, and she’s eating her fries and half of my lunch as we speak, so she’s doing great. There isn’t a lot more we can talk about, because that case is still open and it would be in Harley’s best interests if the world did not know she’s still alive and the hit man is dead, so just don’t talk about it right now, okay?”

“Yes, yes, of course, but can I ask you something now?” Judith said.

“You can ask me anything.”

“She called you ‘my Brendan.’”

“And I call her ‘Sunshine’ because she lights up my life. Yes, she loves me, and I love her. So much.”

“You have family?”

He grinned, then winked at Harley, who was licking mayo off her thumb.

“Ah…we’re gonna do this now, are we? Okay, yes, I have family…upward of two hundred or more aunties and uncles and cousins and three brothers, one little half-sister, and three sisters-in-law, and one mother. I’m the sixth generation of the man who settled this place. You can’t throw a rock here without hitting a relative. Two of my brothers, Aaron and Wiley, are police officers. Sean is a tech wizard, and my brother Wiley is the legal guardian of our seven-year-old half-sister. As for me, I’m the head pastry chef at a hotel. I trained in New York City and studied some in Europe and was so homesick for the mountains that I came back here to work. That was a little more than three years ago. So that’s the ancestry of the man who’s going to be your son-in-law.”

Silence.

“Are we cool now, Mrs. Banks?” he asked.

Judith blew her nose. “Call me Judith. We are cool. I want to come see Harley now.”

“You can’t. Not until the threat to her life is over. If the bad guy finds out she’s still alive and can’t get to her, there’s every likelihood he’d target people she loves to draw her out. The best thing you can do for her is abide by the authorities’ requests.” Then he winked at Harley. “Harley, darlin’, wipe the mayo off your fingers. Your mama wants to talk to you.”

Harley blew him a kiss and took the phone. “So, Mom, to quote the man…are we cool?”

“Yes. Is he as yummy as he sounds? What does he look like?”

“Yes. Six feet, seven inches of Scottish and Chickasaw ancestry. I’ll send a picture. Not of me. I still have the bandage above my ear and bacon grease on my face.”

Judith groaned. “You are such a brash, outrageous thing, and I’m beginning to realize I might be a little envious of your dash-and-be-damned attitude.”

“Hang on a sec,” Harley said, and pulled up the camera feature. “Brendan, turn just a little bit this way and smile for the camera. Mom wants to know what you look like.”

“Where’s my biker gear when I need it,” he said, and then put his hands on his hips and grinned.

Harley was laughing aloud when she snapped the picture, imagining what her mother would have thought if her first sight of him had been in Terminator gear.

She glanced at the photo, gave him a thumbs-up, and hit Send, then went back to the call. “I just sent you a picture.”

“Hold on, I want to look,” Judith said.

Harley waited, but not for long before her mother was back, and then all she could say was, “Oh. My. Lord.”

“I know. Listen, Mom. You know how Dad is. I’m not asking you to lie to him, but if he disregards any aspect of what you’ve been told, I’ll wipe the freaking floor with him. I have all I can handle without him turning into bully boy. Do you understand?”

“Implicitly,” Judith said. “I love you. Please, one of you keep me in the loop…and I can’t wait to plan the biggest wedding on the planet.”

“Oh. Are you and Dad renewing your vows?” she asked.

Judith laughed. “No, silly. I meant yours.”

“Well, don’t even start, because that’s not how it’s going to happen, and I’m not arguing about it. Love you. Gotta go.”

Brendan had seen the angry flash in Harley’s eyes again, but didn’t ask why. The war between her and her parents was too old for him to understand the nuances of her caution, and as long as no one was messing with her, he wouldn’t interfere.

She pointed at her pie. “I’m saving this for later, so when I put it in the mini-fridge, it doesn’t mean it’s leftovers. It’s still mine, okay?”

He burst out laughing, then wrapped his arms around her.

“Why do I feel like there’s more to your reaction than what I said?” she asked.

“Because that’s basically the same thing my mother and three brothers always said to me when they began putting leftovers away. ‘BJ, just because we didn’t eat it now doesn’t mean it has become your property,’ so I promise it will be safe. I’ll clean up. Lie down for a while if you need to.”

“No, I’m so close to finishing this. I want to work for a bit more. If my head starts hurting worse, I’ll quit…and thank you for enduring the family interrogation.”

He shrugged. “It was inevitable and it’s over with, honey. And I promise my mother will love you on sight before you even open your mouth, because she loves who her sons love.”

He began clearing off the table as she went back to work.

***

It was coming up on 4:00 p.m. when the sounds of an inbound helicopter filled the air.

Liz quit what she was working on and headed for the lobby.

Larry Beaumont was finishing up a report and paused to listen, wondering if the chopper was landing here or at Hotel Devon.

Brendan heard the chopper and walked out onto the balcony to make sure it wasn’t a Medi-Flight heading to the hospital. Those were the chopper flights nobody wanted to see.

Harley walked out behind him, slid her arms around his waist, and laid her cheek on the middle of his back. He turned. “You’re gonna freeze out here, honey,” he said, and wrapped her up in his arms.

“The fresh air feels good on my face.”

“And you feel good in my arms, but you’re still going back inside.” As soon as he closed the sliders, he noticed her computer was on screensaver.

“Quitting for the day?” he asked.

“Quitting, period. I finished. I’ll need to do a printout tomorrow or just send the files to Ray. I’ll need to call and ask him his preference.”

“Way to go!” Brendan said.

“I’m glad to be finished. And I’m a cheap date. I just want to watch TV tonight, eat junk food, drink pop, and fall asleep in your arms.”

“How’s your head?” he asked.

“Sore, still hurting but not as much. I think—”

Before she could finish, the hotel phone rang. Brendan answered.

“Hello. This is Brendan.”

“Hi, it’s me, Liz. How’s Harley?”

“Some better, why?”

“Because a prospective buyer has just arrived, and Dad had already given him permission to talk to Harley about the financial aspects, but after what happened, I didn’t know how to approach this. It’s just a few questions.”

“Hang on a sec,” he said, and put his hand over the receiver. “It’s Liz. A prospective buyer for the hotel has arrived. They had planned to speak to you a bit before you were shot. Are you up for a couple of questions?”

“Sure,” Harley said. “Bring him up.”

“Liz, did you hear that?” he asked.

“Yes, and thank you. We won’t linger, I promise. See you in a few.”

Wolfgang Outen heard enough of the conversation to know something had changed. “What’s the issue? What do you mean, after what happened? If she’s ill or injured, I don’t want to interfere.”

Liz sighed. “It’s not that. But Harley Banks, our auditor, was shot the day before yesterday. It had something to do with a prior case she’d worked on. She helped take down a human trafficking ring, and they arrested everybody on-site and freed a lot of women and children. But the boss man was never identified, and it seems he’s been picking off the people connected to the takedown ever since.”

Wolf was no stranger to the dark side of corporate crime. “Picking off others…besides Harley?”

“Two so far that I know of. She would have been the third.”

“What happened to the hit man?”

“He got off a shot that grazed her scalp, and as they say in the movies, she took him out.”

“Then there’s more to her than I even knew. I am impressed. I can’t wait to meet her, but you’re sure it’s okay?”

Liz smiled. “Brendan said it was.”

“Brendan Pope?”

“Yes.”

“Then this is my lucky day. Getting to see Brendan again and finally meeting Harley Banks.”

“She’s famous?” Liz asked.

“Her reputation precedes her in the world of corporate shenanigans. Lead the way. We can do the tour of the hotel after we talk to her.”

***

Harley was waiting with her feet up and a cold drink at her elbow when their visitors arrived and knocked.

Brendan checked to see who it was and then let out a little whoop. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, and opened the door wide. “Wow…what a surprise! Good to see you!”

Wolf was all smiles as he gave Brendan a quick hug, then let them lead the way, but he’d already seen the woman sitting on the sofa and was trying not to stare. Even with the bandage on the side of her head, she was stunning.

Harley stood as the trio approached, but the buyer was walking behind them, and she had yet to see his face. Then Brendan stepped aside, and she was face-to-face with Wolfgang Outen. Shock left her momentarily speechless. She’d seen countless pictures of this man, but they hadn’t come close to the real thing.

“Miss Banks, I have been wanting to meet you for years, but you keep a low profile. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me under such adverse conditions.”

Harley shook the hand he extended. “Brendan is giving me that look. I’m still a little wobbly on my feet, so please sit with me. Oh…Liz, I finished the audit this evening, so I can freely answer any questions regarding the financial stability of the hotel.”

“Wonderful! Does Dad know?”

“I intend to email him tonight. Now, Mr. Outen, you ask, and I will answer your concerns.”

Wolf fired off questions and Harley responded without hesitation, expanding when he needed clarification until he was satisfied, while Brendan sat in the background, watching in admiration at Harley’s acumen. Finally Wolf seemed satisfied with what he’d been told.

“Miss Banks, you have been most helpful, and it’s obvious why you’re the first name on the lips of anyone in need of your services.”

“Harley, please, and thank you. I like numbers. They don’t make mistakes. They don’t lie.”

He smiled and then leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

“I didn’t get where I am today by hesitating. I have a question to ask you that has nothing to do with the hotel. May I?”

“You can ask,” Harley said.

He laughed. “Which means I may or may not get an answer. Fair enough! Okay, here’s what I want to know. If I were to buy the Serenity Inn, I would be moving my main headquarters to this hotel, and if I did, would you consider coming to work for me as my global finance manager? I have holdings all over the world. I know it’s a lot, but we would begin salary negotiations at a million.”

“A year?” she asked.

He nodded. “You’d be earning it. My holdings are vast. A couple of years back, I lost an entire refinery in South America because of an embezzling employee. He was trying to cover up his crime, set the office on fire, and in turn, the refinery caught fire and blew up. Men were killed. The fire was still burning weeks later when I relinquished it. And none of that would have happened if I had someone like you who would not have missed the details when invoices and payments didn’t add up to the amount of crude oil being shipped out. The accountants I already have at each location would still be employed, but you would be overseeing all of them all over the world, but from this location. Don’t say anything. I don’t own the hotel yet, but will you at least think about it?”

Harley was trying not to giggle from the glee of the offer. “Yes, sir. I will give it serious consideration, and thank you for the vote of confidence,” she said.

“Awesome,” Wolf said, and then shifted focus to Brendan. “Now that business is out of the way, how do you feel about becoming an uncle?”

“Excited for Sean and Amalie, for sure. And for Mom. She’s beside herself. Probably bragged it all over Pope Mountain already. Are you ready to be a grandfather?”

Wolf laughed. “Papa. I’m going to be a Papa. And don’t tell them I’m in Jubilee. I want to surprise her. I’ll be talking to her tonight. Oh, I have a suite in this hotel, so mum’s the word, please.”

“No problem,” Brendan said. “And mum’s the word on Harley, too. The whole event was hushed. The feds are dealing with it. We don’t want the wrong people knowing she’s still alive.”

“Of course,” Wolf said, then stood and shook Harley’s hand. “Please don’t get up. Get well and come work with me instead.”

Liz escorted him to the door, and Brendan locked up behind them, then turned around and saw the smile on Harley’s face.

“So, Sunshine…what an opportunity, or is it too far out of your wheelhouse to consider?”

“A million dollars a year is never out of my wheelhouse. It’s a dream job. Living here in this town and working where you work, and for Wolfgang Outen? Pinch me. I think I’m hallucinating again…but he has to buy it first.”

“You don’t know Wolf. If he says he’s buying it, then it’s already in the bag. He’ll outbid any other buyers until he gets what he wants and then turn this hotel into a showplace,” he said.

She frowned. “Will he expand, do you think?”

Brendan hesitated. The one secret he couldn’t tell until she was his wife.

“I don’t think that’s possible. The town and the land it’s built on are all property of a corporation. They have rigid rules about the land, all in order to maintain the natural beauty of the place and not outgrow the original footprint. They don’t want Jubilee to get any bigger, just maintain the status quo, so to speak. The way I understand it, the building will always be a hotel, to do with as each owner chooses, but the footprint of the building itself can’t change.”

“Interesting business concept,” she muttered, then shrugged. “Anyway…I’m telling you now, if he buys it, I’m working for him. I can only imagine the scope of his holdings. It won’t be a breeze, but it will be a challenge, and I like being challenged.”

“I know you do. You also like pie, and it’s still sitting in the mini-fridge. I’m not sure it’ll still be there by morning, though. Wanna share?”

“What’s mine is yours,” she said, echoing his declaration when he’d given her half of his sandwich.

“Stay right where you are. I’ll get the pie and the fork.”

They sat side by side on the sofa with Brendan holding the pie and feeding her a bite, and then himself a bite, back and forth, quibbling about the size of his bite compared to hers.

“Your bites are bigger than mine,” Harley said.

He faked surprise. “Really? I hadn’t noticed. I guess because I’m bigger than you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Is this going to be your argument for the rest of our lives?”

He paused, staring into those beautiful eyes, and then he leaned over and kissed her, softly, slowly, tasting chocolate and her. “I sure hope so,” he said. He forked one last bite for himself and then handed her the plate. “You earned a whole damn pie, and as soon as I get you home, I’ll make you one.”

“I’m not much of a cook, but I’m hell on wheels about cleaning. I’ll be your sous-chef and dishwasher, okay?”

“You’re going be wheeling and dealing with Wolfgang Outen, and I’m going to be the proudest man ever. As long as I get to fall asleep beside you and wake up with you in my arms, my life will be complete. Now, finish off that pie. I’m going to make coffee.”

Harley took another bite and then waved her fork in the air. “I don’t think you realize how quickly you have devastated my chi.”

He arched an eyebrow as he popped a coffee pod into the Keurig. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Oh, it’s a good thing, but I have reveled in my autonomy for years, and I am still shocked by how quickly I succumbed to your charms.”

He laughed. “You’re a mess, and I just realized I don’t know your middle name. I’m going to guess it’s Harley Chocolate Banks? Is that it?”

Now she was laughing. “It fits, but that’s not it. Harley Jo…without the e . Dad wanted a boy.”

Brendan nodded. “Harley Jo. I like it. Good thing he leaned toward an American ride, or you might have wound up Yamaha Banks.”

Harley burst out laughing, then winced. “Oh oww… I made my own head hurt. God, I love you. Nobody makes me laugh like you do.”

“There’s a little bit of wiseass in every Pope,” he said.

She was still giggling at the thought of going through life as Yamaha, and after she finished off the pie and coffee, stretched out on the sofa and fell asleep with her feet in Brendan’s lap.

He covered her with the blanket she’d brought from the bedroom, then sat watching her sleep, all too aware their momentary peace was tentative, as a rumble sounded in the distance. He glanced toward the balcony and then to the mountain and the sky beyond. Storm clouds were gathering. Rain was coming. It felt like a portent of the days ahead.

***

Rusty was wiping pudding off Ellie’s face, while Ghost was licking up the splatters on the floor at her feet. She made a mental note that the floors needed to be mopped, but she would do it after she got everyone in bed tonight. It would be useless to do it beforehand.

Cameron and Mikey were on their way home from Jubilee, and she was anxiously watching the weather, hoping they’d get back before the storm hit.

“Mama, I play with Ghost now,” Ellie said as Rusty helped her down from her booster seat at the table.

“You go read him a story. No dress-up. No makeup. Ghost doesn’t like that, okay?”

“Okay,” Ellie said.

Ghost looked up at Rusty as if to say, “I got this,” and trotted along behind her.

The storm clouds were already gathering on the mountain, announcing their arrival with the rumblings of far-off thunder.

As soon as Rusty finished cleanup, she grabbed her laptop and went into the living room to join them. Ellie was holding her audience of one hostage with a vivid rendition of “The Three Little Pigs,” and as Rusty listened, she realized Cinderella had joined the trio and was fighting off the Big Bad Wolf on her own.

Rusty grinned. “That’s my girl,” but then her cell phone rang, and she lost track of the story.

It wasn’t Cameron checking in. It was Special Agent Jay Howard. “Hey, Jay, what’s up?”

“Got a minute?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“I need you to call Harley Banks. Ask her if she has received a phone call from Tipton Crossley since she arrived at the Serenity Inn.”

“Okay, but why?”

“Two things have happened since we last spoke. One of the men from the raid at the Crossley warehouse obviously had a beef with a couple of the men within the gang, and it turns out they weren’t on-site when the raid went down, so he’s named them in some deal he’s made. He says they know who the big boss is.”

“That’s fabulous!” she said.

“Yes and no. One of the men named was Oliver Prine, so we know he’s not talking. The other is Phil Knickey.”

Rusty frowned. “That name seems familiar.”

“It should. He was a big-shot pro hockey player until he messed up his knees. Apparently, he was getting paid big money to become bait for the trafficking ring… You know, famous face and name, good-looking, flashing money around. He was the lure who picked out the victims, and others would make the snatch.”

“Good lord! How low do you have to go to do something like that?” she muttered.

“Takes all kinds,” Jay said. “So, we have a warrant out on him. If we can find him, we may learn more. The reason for my request is that we have Prine’s phone and the rest of his gear from a cabin out at Bullard’s Campgrounds in Jubilee. We’re going backward from his phone records trying to find a connection to who sent him to Jubilee. We were already looking at Crossley as a possibility, but the phone records we requested on Crossley aren’t revealing much. His personal calls aren’t ringing any bells, and we have no way to access burner phones.

“There were calls on Prine’s phone to Tip Crossley’s private number, but we don’t know what about, and there was one personal call Tip made to Harley Banks. We need to know what that was about, and where she was when she took that call. If she was already at the hotel, then Tip would have been able to locate her geographically. And that could have been how Prine found her.”

Rusty frowned. “The boon of technology always has a downside. I’ll call and ask her, then get back to you, okay?”

“Yes, thanks. I’ll be waiting.”

Rusty ended their call and immediately made a call to Harley.

***

Brendan was texting a message to his mom when Harley’s phone began to ring. He jumped, trying to get it before it woke her, but he was too late. She’d already roused and was sitting up to answer. “Hello?”

“Harley, it’s Rusty. Got a sec?”

“Sure,” Harley said, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

“I have a random question to ask you. I won’t go into the details of why just yet, but this is at the request of one of the agents working the Crossley case. He wanted me to ask if you have personally spoken with Tip Crossley since you arrived in Jubilee.”

“I didn’t speak to him, but he did call me and left a message, which I heard afterward.”

“What was the message?”

“Some big story about just finding out about what was happening, sorry he’d never had a chance to meet me. Offering special security on behalf of the Crossley company to keep me safe, and all he needed was my location so he could send security guards.”

“And that was the only time?”

“Yes, just the once,” Harley said.

“Okay, thanks, honey. Take care. Big thunderstorm brewing.”

Harley glanced toward the mountain. “Oh wow. It sure is. Thanks,” she said, and disconnected. “It was Rusty. The feds wanted to know if I’d ever spoken to Tip Crossley since my arrival. You heard what I said. I wonder what’s going on?”

“No telling, but I sure see what’s coming. I hope it stays rain, and not sleet or snow.”

***

The moment that call ended, Rusty called Jay Howard back.

Jay answered with a question. “So?”

“You were right.” And then she told him everything Harley said.

“Perfect,” Jay said. “Now all we need is to find Knickey and squeeze him until he talks.”

Rusty’s call ended at the same time Ellie started jumping up and down at the living room window. “Daddy’s home! Daddy’s home!”

“Thank goodness,” Rusty said, and saw them pulling in beneath the big carport only seconds before the heavens unloaded.

Wind and rain slapped the window where Ellie was standing. She screamed from the sudden shock, then slapped back, leaving a little handprint on the window.

Rusty ran to get her and picked her up. “Ellie, honey, we don’t hit windows. They’re made of glass, and glass will break. And that would cut your hands and make them bleed, and then the wind and rain would come into the house and make a mess.”

Ellie frowned. “Scared me.”

Rusty rolled her eyes. “Yes, but no hitting windows,” she said, then shifted Ellie to her hip and headed for the kitchen to help with the groceries.

Mikey came in with a paper bag from Granny Annie’s Kitchen, and Cameron was right behind him with the grocery bags. He paused to give Rusty a quick kiss and then tried to kiss Ellie’s little cheek, but she was having none of it.

“What’s the matter with baby girl?” he asked.

Rusty put her down. “Sissy, go see what Mikey has.”

Ellie ran to see, while Rusty started helping Cameron unload. “She’s mad. The wind and rain came suddenly and slammed against the window where she was standing. It scared her. But did she cry? No. She just hauled off and slapped the window for scaring her.”

Cameron grinned. “Someday I predict that attitude will save her life…if we survive her raising.”

“What did you get from the bakery?”

“Cookies and brownies. Cookies for the kids and brownies for you,” he said.

“You didn’t get anything for yourself?” she asked.

He winked. “I’ll have some of both and you for dessert.”

A shiver of longing slid through her. Cameron Pope…her Soldier Boy…still held the key to her soul. She brushed a kiss across his lips. “Definitely on my agenda for later. In the meantime, I’ll fill you in on what I’ve learned about the case,” she said, and began going over the details as they put away the groceries.