Chapter 44
Elenie
Though her muscles ached from where she’d taken a battering between Ty and Levi Foster, the discomfort faded to the back of her mind as Elenie completed her shift. Her body still hummed with the ghost sensations of everything she and Roman had done last night—and again this morning.
Special Agent Dorsey might not have raised any issues about the handgun being in Roman’s possession, but Elenie had held back from telling him about the blistering message she’d received from Booth. He was less than impressed.
She’d been right to take the more expendable phone with her to Saginaw. Better by far that Frank had gotten his hands on that one. But the chief deputy was deaf to her reasoning, pushing for more information, better results, and making sure she knew how little faith he had in her.
Elenie’s feet paused on the driveway as she approached the house after work. On impulse, she headed out back to the garage and found the doors ajar, the chunky chain lying in a heap on the ground. Opportunity for a look inside shone like the high bay lights Frank had hung from the roof beams. She hesitated only slightly, before crossing the scrubby grass and sliding into the outbuilding.
“Hi.”
Frank paused in the process of hefting one blue plastic drum on top of another in the corner of the garage. “Yes?”
“Is Mom in the house?”
“I don’t know, Ellie. I’m in the garage. Did you look for her?”
He rolled an old tire out through the doorway and let it fall onto the grass.
“Yes,”
she said, although she hadn’t, digging around for a way to extend the conversation but coming up short. She could never think of anything to say to Frank.
“What are you doing?”
“Tidying.”
“Why?”
It didn’t look so much like tidying. There was little or no order to how the garage was organized. A workbench, piled high with discarded car parts, random bolts and half-used bottles of oil, screen wash, lubricants, and more, was almost hidden behind a stack of tools and fishing equipment. Frank’s new baby, a crossover snowmobile he’d picked up last winter, sat beneath a tarp next to Ty and Dean’s dirt bikes. She could see nothing that shouldn’t be there. Nothing worth reporting.
“Need to clear some space.”
Elenie’s attention flicked back to Frank.
“What for?”
“Fuckin’ nosy today, aren’t you?”
His grouchy grumble was distracted rather than suspicious.
“Got a delivery coming in soon. Have you heard about Ty?”
“I was there.”
“Fuckin’ cops.”
“Yeah, fucking cops.”
She shifted her feet and headed for the door. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to extend.
“They still holding him?”
Frank grunted, answering without words, and kicked some old overalls underneath the workbench.
“Right, well, I need to go and—” Elenie jerked a thumb toward the house. The metallic clangs and dull thuds of Frank’s “tidying” continued behind her.
Music pumped from Dean’s room; the living room lights were off. Elenie wandered through to the kitchen to grab a drink. Reaching for a glass, her hand froze halfway to one of the cabinets on the wall. On the countertop, next to the stove, Frank’s cell phone was plugged into a socket and charging.
Her stomach bottomed out.
Oh, crap.
Dare she? What if—
Elenie forced herself to move. This was the only chance she’d had so far; it was too good to miss.
She took the stairs in twos, bolting for her room. Dean’s door was shut; her mother’s was open but there was no sign of Athena. With shaking fingers, she wrenched open her closet, upended the box of tampons she’d tucked right at the back of the shelf, and grabbed the tiny plug-in recovery device—black and innocuous-looking—from Dorsey’.
“CI toolkit.”
Dragging underwear and socks forward to cover everything else, Elenie shoved the doors closed and hurtled back down the stairs.
From the kitchen window, she could still see the garage light and Frank’s outline passing back and forth across the half-open door.
Three to five minutes. That’s all she needed.
Elenie lifted Frank’s cell, pulled the charger out and replaced it with the remote forensic device which would copy and extract his data. His lock screen lit up; the time display read 16:19.
Palms damp, underarms sticky, Elenie swept her hair out of her face with shaky fingers, eyes darting back to the window, back to Frank’s shadow.
“Stay there. Please, please, stay there.”
The words were a prayer on her tongue.
She drummed her fingers on the countertop, staring at the phone. Dean’s music droned on upstairs, vibrating through the floorboards. She wanted a drink but couldn’t swallow, wanted to go to the bathroom but couldn’t risk it. The kitchen smelled of burnt pasta. In the sink, a pan held a dirty inch of dishwater and macaroni soup. It almost made her gag.
Elenie jabbed at the button on the side of Frank’s phone to light the screen again. 16:21. Never had time crawled as slowly. Her diaphragm cramped. There was a pain stabbing through her chest. Maybe she was having a heart attack. Maybe the stress would kill her before Frank could.
She forced herself to think of Millie Westlake and her family. All the lives Frank had smeared with his filthy fingers, careless of the mess he left behind. All the reasons the Daxes had been shunned so thoroughly in Pine Springs. So many she’d lost count. She could do this.
16:22.
Should she unplug the device or leave it for the full five minutes? Elenie shot another agonized look out of the window. Frank was still there. Still busy. She’d give it one more minute—
“I’ll have a coffee if you’re making one.”
Elenie whirled around, gaping at her mother in the doorway. The blood drained from her face; her stomach plunged like the downward swoop of a rollercoaster. She tried to force her mouth to form actual words but her lips refused to move.
Athena yawned and stretched, planting herself in front of the small mirror on the wall to wipe at the smudges of makeup in the corners of her eyes. Bare, pale feet on the vinyl floor accounted for her silent appearance.
“Where were you?”
Elenie’s voice was hoarse. She heard the quaver and hoped her mother didn’t.
“Fell asleep on the couch.”
Elenie’s eyes darted to Frank’s cell. She didn’t dare move toward it. Couldn’t unplug the device.
Fuck.
“When did you get in?”
Athena asked.
“Just now. I’ve only been home five minutes or so.”
Elenie stepped closer to the counter, blocking Frank’s phone from view.
Athena wandered over to the back door and peered through the glass.
“Better make that three coffees.”
“Three?”
“Frank’s on his way in.”
Elenie’s throat closed. She dragged at the neck of her polo shirt.
“He’ll be pissed if Dean doesn’t turn down his music,”
she croaked.
Athena pursed her lips.
“I have a headache, too. That boy has no consideration—”
She wandered toward the stairs.
Behind her mother’s back, Elenie dived for Frank’s phone, whipped the device from the external port and plugged the cell back into the charging cable. Her hands shook so badly it took three tries to connect it properly. She threw the phone back onto the worktop and flung open the cabinet above her head, just as Frank walked in through the back door. In the hallway, her mom was yelling fruitlessly up the stairs against the beat of Dean’s tunes.
“Coffee?”
The word cracked but Frank only shrugged a bulky shoulder.
“Sure.”
Elenie put the kettle on the stove to boil and slid out of the room, data device in the sticky palm of her hand.
“Be back in a mo.”
Heart crashing in her chest, she passed her mom at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’ll have a word with him. I want to get changed anyway. Keep an eye on the kettle, would you?”
Only her tight grip on the wobbly handrail as she climbed the treads gave her the strength to reach the top, where she sagged against the landing wall in sheer relief, running sweaty hands down the sides of her skirt.
“Corned beef hash and French toast?”
“No. We asked for two vegetarian omelets.”
Mrs. Alberty and her friend looked at Elenie as if she had asked them to eat a brace of small children.
“My mistake. Give me one minute.”
She double-checked the order numbers, took the plates she held to the correct table, and delivered them to Delia’s niece, Avery Delgado, and Leo Marsh.
“Sharp as a marble, you are today,”
Delia groused when she returned to the hatch to collect the omelets.
“Any chance you could pretend you didn’t bring your brother’s brains to work?”
Imagining a world in which her biggest issue was a misremembered breakfast order, Elenie kept her middle fingers under control and her lips zipped. She gave Delia a speculative side-eye.
For once, twenty-four hours out of the bed of Roman Martinez, the graze of his stubble on her skin crystal-clear in her mind—Elenie knew she had something that another person might envy. And, jealous or not, Delia could take her sour-faced, snarky attitude and go screw herself. One day, she could screw the job too.
Elenie had struggled to sleep last night, her mind churning after exchanging texts with Dorsey about the data recovery device. They’d arranged to meet tomorrow to hand it over. As desperate to get rid of it as she had been the gun, she was thankful it was easier to hide. Tucking the tiny object into the toe of a sock, she rolled it with the other in its pair and shoved them into the front pocket of her purse. Better to keep it close.
She longed to spill the story of last night’s narrow escape to Roman. Aching for his measured support, the security of his arms, she’d settled instead for a brief text to wish him a successful trip into the city. Craig was also out of town, and Elenie felt some of the pressure in her chest ease because of it. She didn’t give a hoot where he was but was grateful for the reprieve.
Diner 43 was pretty dead for once. It didn’t happen often and it hadn’t helped Delia’s crappy mood. Neither did her niece’s presence—apparently Delia was no fonder of her family. But Elenie made the most of being able to move slower than usual, noting any low supplies and tidying areas normally neglected. Best of all, she shared her morning break with Otto.
“That damned racoon was back again yesterday, Elenie. I swear he thinks it’s more his house than mine. Guess what he took this time!”
“Well, he’s had your shoe and your breakfast—what else could he possibly want? Please don’t tell me it was your underwear from the washing line.”
Otto gave a low, wheezy laugh.
“That damn critter unscrewed the lightbulb in my porch. I saw him run away with it along the handrail and over the grass.”
“No way! I wonder what he wanted it for. Maybe the cupboard under his stairs?”
Elenie snorted into her coffee. That was a story to share with Roman. She’d message him later.
“Did you know racoons score nearly as high as monkeys, elephants, and dolphins on intelligence tests? They can even work out how to pick a lock.”
“Impressive.”
Otto raised his bushy eyebrows.
“Although, to be fair, that’s a tough one for elephants and dolphins, so the blasted racoons aren’t competing on a level playing field there.”
She had to give him that.
When Summer and Cait came in mid-afternoon, it began to feel more like a day off than the usual hard slog. With only one other table occupied in the diner and the serving area as clean as it had been in a long time, Elenie spent every quiet moment she could hovering near their table, keen to catch up but hyperaware of watching eyes.
Caitlyn shifted uncomfortably on one of the booth benches. She looked incredibly pretty in pale yellow loose-flowing overalls. Her bump was enormous and her eyes were tired.
“If you get any bigger, I’ll have to get someone in to unbolt the tables and shift them back a foot,”
Elenie told her.
Caitlyn sighed.
“You won’t need to, because if I get any bigger, I’ll do myself in.”
“Ignore her. She’s joking and seriously sleep-deprived.”
Summer’s glance was sympathetic.
Caitlyn rubbed her temples.
“Everyone tells you that you’ll get no sleep with a newborn—but don’t imagine you can stock up in advance. Oh no. It’s impossible to find a comfortable position in bed when you’re the size of a whale, plus you need to pee every three minutes, night and day.”
Elenie winced.
“Just think what a pro you’ll be at existing on minimal sleep once mini-Milo arrives.”
“Please bring me hot chocolate and all the sweet stuff you have.”
Caitlyn’s eyes were pleading.
“Your wish is my command. I’ll bring you anything but octopus.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“In Bali, they think eating octopus when you’re pregnant will give you a difficult delivery.”
A wry smile lifted Caitlyn’s face.
“If Delia has started using octopus as an ingredient, you’ve got your own problems to worry about, my friend.”
The girls sat and chatted for over an hour. Each time she refilled their drinks, Elenie stayed as long as she dared without risking anyone’s attention.
“How bruised are you on a scale of one to ten?”
Summer asked.
“I can’t get over how fast Roman moved when you disappeared into that heap of crazy!”
“Blasted Ty. He could pick a fight with a poodle.”
Elenie pretended to refill the sugar canister for the third time.
“And he’s stupid enough to do it with Levi Foster—the guy with snow shovels for hands.”
Caitlyn rolled her eyes.
“I swear he has a screw loose.”
Elenie shook her head.
“He’ll square up to the wrong person one of these days when there’s no one around to break it up. And it won’t end well.”
Summer gave her a sneaky side-eye.
“Where did you disappear to, by the way? One minute you were there and the next you weren’t.”
Elenie couldn’t stop the smile from spreading slowly across her face.
Caitlyn let out a low whistle.
“Hot damn, you little snake. There’s a story that I need an empty bladder to hear!”
Heaving herself up onto her feet and poking a finger in Elenie’s direction, she waddled away from the table.
“Do not go anywhere. I’ll be as swift as these overalls will let me.”
Elenie cleared the empty mugs and plates from Summer and Caitlyn’s table, unloaded the dishwasher, and began to restack it again. She made milkshakes for a couple of teenagers who wanted takeouts and took coffee to Mrs. Elliott and Ray Parker, who were sitting at a small table in the corner.
It turned out that swift was not that quick at all.
After more than ten minutes had gone by, Summer stood up. A frown pinched at her forehead.
“I think I’ll just go check—”
She was interrupted by Caitlyn peeping around the edge of the door to the back corridor. Her eyes were a little wild.
“Ladies, we appear to have a bit of a situation.”
They flew to her side and she opened the door wider. The cotton legs of her pants looked like she’d dropped a drink in her lap. Summer’s lips parted with a silent intake of breath.
“My waters have broken.”
For a second, no one moved. Then Caitlyn winced and gripped her stomach with both hands.
“I’ve been having some pains, but they’re getting stronger.”
“And you didn’t think to say anything?”
Summer squeaked.
“I’m ten days from my due date. I thought they’d go away again. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen with first babies?”
Elenie and Summer exchanged looks. Nope, not a clue between them. Delia peered out through the hatch, took in what was happening, and opted right out.
“I’m calling Milo.”
Summer’s voice was decisive. She shot over to the booth to grab her phone from her bag.
“I need to walk,”
Caitlyn muttered between tight lips. While Summer made the call, Elenie paced slowly with her up and down the center aisle of the diner.
“I made a mess in the bathroom.”
Cait’s voice was wobbly.
“But I think my socks soaked most of it up. My shoes are kind of squelchy.”
“Clearing up messes is my superpower,”
Elenie soothed.
“And I think the contractions will take your mind off your socks.”
Summer’s face glowed with excitement when she re-joined them, but her voice was calm.
“OK, so I caught Milo between meetings. He’s heading straight back and will meet us at the hospital. Unless you think you need an ambulance, I’ve spoken to Dougie and he’s on his way to take us in.”
Caitlyn nodded, eyes wide, like a small girl being told what to do.
“Let’s keep walking while we wait,”
Elenie suggested. They paced together for the next ten minutes, pausing a couple of times when the contractions came on.
When Dougie burst in, he had a wide grin on his face and was rolling up his shirtsleeves.
“Right then, ladies. I hear there’s a baby needs delivering and I’ve washed my hands, so let me at it.”
The girls regarded him with varying degrees of eye roll.
“If you think for one minute that your homemade first-aid certificate will give you access between my legs, you’re truly delusional,”
Caitlyn deadpanned.
They helped her waddle outside, where Dougie’s truck waited curbside with the passenger door open, a sweatshirt spread out on the seat for Caitlyn to sit on. Sweeping her up in strong arms before she could think of protesting, Dougie lifted her straight in. Summer climbed across from the driver’s side to sit in the middle.
Elenie gave Cait a quick hug before she shut the door.
“Good luck! I’ll be thinking of you.”
Pulling carefully away, Dougie gave a short blast on the horn and they were gone.
Inside the diner, Mrs. Elliott and Ray Parker had left money on the table to cover their drinks. The place was silent, other than Delia banging about in the small kitchen. Turning the sign on the door to “Closed,”
Elenie went in search of a bucket.
After mopping the restroom floor, she gave the toilet cubicles and basins the most thorough clean they’d had in a long time. Stretching out weary muscles, she washed her hands, stuck her head into the kitchen to tell Delia she was leaving, and grabbed her purse from the staff area. The others would be at the hospital by now. She wondered how things were going and if Milo would make it in time.
Elenie wrapped her arms around her body. Her uniform and zipped hoodie were thin and it was a chilly afternoon. The sky had turned heavy; the promise of rain hung in the air. She would need to get hold of a coat soon. The weather in Pine Springs around fall could change in an instant.
As she passed the door of Archer and Desai Realty Management, Frank’s truck pulled up alongside her, its engine gritty.
Dean pushed open the passenger door and gave her a grin.
“Hey, sis. Jump in. Dad’s gotten another job for us.”
Frank’s eyes, dull and impatient, met Elenie’s, and an uneasy shiver ran the length of her spine. As she climbed reluctantly into the Dodge, the first light raindrops splattered on the sidewalk.