Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35
I spent the rest of the time until Barry’s meeting trying to get Ozzie’s apartment cleaned up. It was fun having Maggs silently follow me around, interested in everything I was doing. She really was a sweet baby. For a wolf dog. “You have a lot in common with your master,” I told her and scratched her behind the ears, avoiding the cone.
I think subconsciously I was hoping Max would stay longer if the place was a little more . . . comfortable. Okay, I was thinking that consciously. Not just because I was having more hot thoughts about him, but because he was somebody that could take on Serena, Junior, Norman, hidden film, and probably zombies.
And now, just looking around the big, cluttered central room, there were a million places Ozzie might have hidden that film if he’d kept it. And people with guns wanted it.
You know, I hate those romance novels that are blurbed “Can he protect her?” because I’ve always thought women should protect themselves. Until I needed somebody to protect me from rapacious people from Oz’s past. Then I became a wilting flower. A terrified Rose. So it was a good question after all, and the answer, I was pretty sure, was yes, he can protect me, so applause for that.
I dusted the shelves and put as much stuff from the table as I could there. I wiped down the table, ran the sweeper, and went to change the blotter on the desk because it was a mess with all the cryptic notes that Ozzie had scribbled there. There was a photo under it, the one Junior had showed us that first day, except it was wider: Ozzie, Serena, and now Pike on her other side. I wondered why Junior had cut Pike out of his copy of the picture.
Then I put a fresh blotter in and took the old one downstairs and tried to see if there was anything interesting or educational written backward on the blotter. That always works in mysteries. There were a bunch of splotches but then I realized they were old tomato sauce stains. Ozzie had really loved my lasagna.
While I was doing that, the bell on the front door tinkled to let me know someone had come in. Another customer would be good. Maggs gave a low growl and her hackles went up ever so slightly.
“Easy, girl,” I said. “It’s a customer.”
I walked out of the kitchen and saw Serena Stafford looking over the shop’s stock. So much for optimism.
“Out,” I said to her as Maggs stood by my side on alert.
Serena turned toward me and smiled and for a moment she almost seemed human, but fat chance. She’d spawned Junior and threatened us this morning. She looked at Maggs and appeared irritated, so not a dog person, which made sense.
“I wanted to talk to you away from all the testosterone,” she said. “Men rarely act rationally, and surely this is a situation we can resolve to our mutual satisfaction.”
Max had done a good job on the mutual satisfaction thing last night, and the level of testosterone had been more than sufficient. But one thing I’d learned on the circuit was to always let the mark talk. “So?”
“Whatever money Oz took is of no consequence,” she said, obviously someone who’d never been without money. She gestured to the store shelves. “It doesn’t look like he spent much of it.”
“Ozzie was frugal,” I said.
“Oz was a cheap bastard. Be that as it may, what I am here for is not the cash. Nor this cute shop.” She waved her hands as if blessing me and Oddities, which was not cute, it was a dusty mess. “My son was too pushy. We have no interest in this place. What we are interested in is what Oz appropriated that was not his to take so many years ago. Oz took a roll of film. I want it.”
“I have never seen a roll of film.” I spread my hands to indicate the shop. “If he hid it, it could be anywhere.”
She looked around the mass of things Oz had crammed on every shelf. She turned to one of the tables and lifted a really ugly teacup, one that I was sure Mrs. Baumgarten had designs on. I walked over.
“Excuse me, but only customers can fondle the displays,” I said, tugging at the cup with my left hand while my right went to work.
“Rude,” Serena said, shaking her head as she stepped back, but after some tugging on both our parts, she let go of the cup, and I put it back on the table while I slipped my loot in my apron pocket. “Just tell me where Oz put his valuables.”
“I have no idea,” I said. “Honestly, I don’t think Ozzie had valuables. You should go now.”
She studied me for a moment, obviously not impressed. “You’re not Oz’s type at all. I don’t see what he saw in you.”
“A shop clerk. A housekeeper.” And then honesty forced me to admit it. “A friend.”
She scoffed. “Friend? Oz had no friends.”
“He must have mellowed,” I said, frowning at her, “because Ozzie was the best friend I’ve ever had. And he and Pike were close.”
“He and Pike were partners,” she said. “Once upon a time I was partners with them.”
I wondered if she meant in the biblical sense besides the spying stuff. Pike and Ozzie having a three-way with a vampire? At this point in my week, I’d believe anything.
“You know, I am not someone to toy with.” She picked up the teacup again, held it up, and then very deliberately dropped it onto the hard, wood floor, where it shattered.
“That’ll be five bucks,” I told her .
She laughed. “That could happen to you. Or your daughter. Children break so easily.”
I took a step closer, furious now. “Go near my kid and die.”
“Enough of this.” She reached inside her long leather coat. “Where’s the film?” Then she stopped and moved her hand around inside the coat, frowning.
“Looking for this?” I stepped way back and held up the pistol I’d slipped out of its holster while taking the teacup from her.
“I could get that back from you,” she said.
“You could try taking it from me. But I’ve had no firearm training, so I’ll probably shoot you accidentally. I feel sure Pike will gladly get rid of your body for me.” I kept my eyes locked with hers, although what I really needed to do was find out where the safety was. Then again, she seemed like the type who didn’t bother with things like safeties so maybe there wasn’t one. I curled my finger over the trigger.
Maggs growled backup.
Her eyes narrowed. “I knew it. Your clueless act is very good, but you’re a player, aren’t you? Oz wouldn’t take in some stray. You’re just like him. And Pike and the others. Hiding out here in the middle of nowhere, thinking it will protect you. Probably another one of Herc’s conquests. Did he deposit two of his former lovers with their brats here? How sentimental of him. Well, that’s over now. This whole damn town can burn.”
I shook my head. “For the last time, I am telling you the truth . I’ve never seen any film . Whatever it is, it’s not here. And if you go near my kid, I’ll kill you.”
She turned and walked out.
Maggs went over and sat by the door.
And I wondered if I’d just made a big mistake.
On the other hand, I was now armed, two guns, in fact, and she wasn’t. I mean, I’m sure she had more guns and I’d probably shoot myself in the foot or someplace worse if I tried to go Rambo on her, but by God, I had firepower.
So progress.
Less than a minute later, Betty came through the door, breathing hard. She had her big leather bag in one hand, the other suspiciously inside it.
“Lionel called me from the post office and I happened to be in town,” she said. “Where’s Serena?”
“Gone,” I said.
She blinked. “Just like that?”
I held up the gun I’d lifted. “I disarmed her. She wasn’t happy.”
Betty laughed. “Good for you.” But her smile was gone just as quickly. “This isn’t good, Rose. She needs to be put down.”
“Pike will handle her,” I said.
Betty shook her head. “Pike’s lost his edge. Oz was the one with the balls; Pike was the one that kept him from going over the line. Oz would have gone after her when she sent Junior in. Oz would have wrapped Junior permanently. Pike’s just giving warnings now.”
“His warnings are pretty effective.”
“You don’t understand.” Betty met my eyes, serious as a heart attack. “People respect Pike, but they were afraid of Oz. You need both. You need the guy who draws the line, but for somebody like Serena, you also need the guy who takes care of those who cross it. We need another Oz.”
“Where are we going to find one of those?” I said, pretty sure Ozzie was one of a kind. “I don’t think LinkedIn does Batshit Crazy Bastards.”
“Really?” Betty said. “You don’t know?”
“No idea,” I said.
“Well, Pike does.” She studied me for a moment, the cute foggy Mrs. Baumgarten gone, all sharp-eyed Betty now. “That’s a good man you’ve got there, Rose.”
“Pike’s Coral’s man,” I told her. “I don’t actually have a man.”
“Oh, I think you do,” she said, nodding toward the door.
Through the window, I could see Max coming our way. He did not look happy .
“You have a good day, dear,” Betty said and then drifted out the door, smiling sweetly at Max as he passed her coming in.
“Who was that?” Max asked as he came in.
“That was Betty Baumgarten.”
“Did you know she was an assassin?” Max said when the door closed because that was the type of conversation we were having in Rocky Start now.
“Yes, I recently learned that,” I said. “She has a llama as a support animal that stops delivery people if they try to cross the bridge to her place. She’s had to put in a box by the gate or she’d never get any mail.”
“What does that have to do with her being an assassin?”
I smiled at him. “It’s sort of like how you have a wolf dog for a pet. Except Maggs isn’t a pet, she’s a professional, right? Trained to kill, or at least maim?”
“She’s retired.”
“So’s Fernanda Llama,” I said and took him back to the kitchen for lunch.
I made steak sandwiches while Max caught me up on his talk with Pike, which was not reassuring.
“Pike is worried,” he said, showing me the old badge Pike had tossed him. “Worried enough to recruit me.”
“That’s Ozzie’s badge,” I said. “See those scratches on the top right corner? Poppy did that when she was teething. Ozzie always left it lying around. He acted like it was a joke between him and Pike.”
Max sighed. “Pike thinks Serena is bad news and so do I.”
“Good to know. She stopped by and then so did Betty.”
He frowned. “What did Serena want?”
“She said she didn’t care about the money, she wanted the film.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know where Oz hid it?”
I spread my hands. “Why doesn’t anybody listen to me? I don’t know . Everything here is mostly junk. Fun junk, he liked the weird, but junk. Maybe it’s in Ozzie’s back room upstairs. I never went in there. But before I go look, I have to go see Barry and find out if Ozzie left this place to somebody who won’t evict us.” I tried to look on the bright side. “If he left the place to Norman, then Serena would be Norman’s problem, right? There’s an upside.”
“I don’t think we have that kind of luck.”
It was odd, and nice, that he said “we.” “Oh.” I reached into my right apron pocket and took out Serena's gun—it had been banging against Lian’s taser and distracting me—and held it across the table to him. “I took this from Serena.”
“Rosalie,” Max said, shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Last night was a good start.”
He smiled but took the gun, checking it. Then he offered it back. “There’s a round in the chamber and all you have to do to fire it is flip this little switch up.”
“And this one?” I pulled Junior’s gun out of my left-hand apron pocket.
He shook his head at me. “You only need one.”
“Which one is better?”
He pointed at Serena’s, so I handed him Junior’s. “You can have this one.”
“I’m sufficiently armed,” Max said, but he tucked it away somewhere inside his coat.
I put Serena’s in my left pocket. Taser on the right, gun on the left . Don’t get them confused, Rose.
I am so not a gun person, but everybody else seemed to be. Coral’s pepper spray ring suddenly seemed very attractive. “Serena said I was a player when she left. Pretty sure she hates me now. Which is a step up from contempt, but still . . .”
His smile disappeared. “That’s not good.” He thought for a moment and then shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You and Poppy are in the line of fire regardless.”
Max needed work on his reassurance skills. I filed that away for something to discuss if I lived through the afternoon at Barry’s. I’d just roll over to him in bed while he was in afterglow and whisper, “ We need to talk .”
“Great,” I said, getting up to put the dishes in the sink. “Well, I’ve got to go see Barry now.”
“I’m going with you.” Max stood up, too.
“You don’t have to?—”
“Yeah, I do.” He met my eyes. “I need to see who gets Oz’s estate.”
“And you’re protecting me. What happens when you’re gone? I have to know how to take care of things myself. Can you show me how to do that?” I patted the gun in my pocket and then wondered too late if that would make it go off. Evidently not. “And can you show me how to use this gun? I mean I know I’m probably overreacting. Ozzie always told me that, so I learned to look at things calmly and not assume the worst. But Serena’s a zebra. So I was right.” I swallowed, my chest getting tighter as I thought about the future. Homeless, and not able to protect my daughter, and all these loons with guns, and Serena hating me now. This is why I’d been Cheery Boost for nineteen years. I had one Selfish Day, and now everybody wanted to kill me.
Okay, I might be panicking.
“And now there’s Junior and Norman and Serena, and you ,” I heard my voice start to rise and couldn’t stop. “You are not normal people. I’m surrounded by zebras who are trying to kill me.”
“Rose . . .”
“ Stripes to the left of me, stripes to the right ?—”
He gently grabbed my upper arms. “ Rose! ”
“ Stuck in the middle with you .”
I stopped, and he met my eyes. “Breathe, Rose. It could be worse.”
“I know,” I said. “ That’s what scares me .”
He really needed some sort of course in reassurance. Maybe there’s one he can do online.
“It’ll be okay. I won’t leave until you’re safe.” He hesitated, and then he put his arms around me, and I leaned into him, liking that so much I was almost angry with myself for wanting it. The gun in my pocket dug into my hip. As did the taser on the other hip .
“You have other places to be,” I began, and he shook his head and tightened his arms around me, which felt great.
“I have no place to be except here. This is the only place that needs me now. When it’s safe again, I’ll get out of your life and finish the Trail, but I’ll be here for you until then.” He smiled down at me. “I have a badge now and everything.”
I leaned on him for another second, just because I could, and then I straightened. “We need to go see Barry. About the envelope. But later . . .”
“Yeah, later,” he said, and I leaned up and kissed him because he was right there and I could, not sure how he felt about affection outside of bed, but?—
Turns out he’s good with it.
I took Max down the street to Barry’s office. It’s over the best Chinese restaurant in town, albeit the only Chinese restaurant in town, but it’s really good, the Wok Inn, which means Barry’s office smells like garlic and ginger, which is disconcerting—law offices should smell like dust and leather—and sometimes nauseating; garlic that’s spent some time in the walls isn’t pleasant—but nobody stayed in that office long, Barry not being the type to dwell on things, so it didn’t matter.
I looked at Barry a little differently now. For the first time, I wondered what he’d done to be in the program, aside from associating with criminals, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. It also explained the name on his fake law degree from Harvard: Barrymore Mason. Ozzie had been right: Somebody in witness protection had a sense of humor.
And then somehow he’d been forgotten about by the government, stuck in a dying town until Ozzie and Pike had landed there. The “forgotten about” didn’t surprise me, either; “forgotten” was one of Rocky Start citizens’ main goals. Max told me that after that he told me that Barry had been Ozzie and Pike’s front man for real estate. So he’d been useful. I was starting to think that was the baseline requirement for settling in Rocky Start, the Retired Spies Subdivision: Be Useful. And Quiet.
Norman was in the office when we walked in, and so was Coral, sitting close beside Pike, probably because Norman was on her other side, and she didn’t want weasel cooties.
Weasel Cooties looked at Max and said to me, “Is he necessary?”
“Yes,” I said and then ignored him.
“He has no place here,” Norman said, trying to look haughty and just looking more weaselly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Coral said.
Max walked over to the side wall to stand between two of the street windows, and I went to stand beside him.
“You okay?” he said.
I nodded as the door opened, my heart hammering from the stress, and Junior came in with Barry. Possibly they had been conferring, I wouldn’t put anything past Barry, but I doubted that he’d try to cheat anybody over Ozzie’s estate. For one thing, Pike would be watching him.
And now Max.
Junior stopped when he saw Max. “What’s he doing here?”
“I invited him,” I said.
Barry frowned at me as he went around his desk to sit down. “His name isn’t on Ozzie’s envelope, Rose.”
“It’s on my envelope,” I said, which didn’t make sense, but Barry didn’t make a point of it. He was looking more irritable than usual; probably because he had to work.
Max leaned against the wall with his arms folded, watching everybody, a human Maggs: shaggy dark hair and sharp dark eyes and the promise of sharp teeth . . . very comforting.
“We are here to open the envelope Ozzie gave Pike,” Barry began. “With the exceptions of Mr. Stafford and Mr. . . .” He looked at Max over his glasses.
“Reddy,” Max said.
“Reddy, your names were all on Ozzie’s envelope. ”
“Why is he here?” Pike asked, nodding toward Junior, before I had a chance to.
“Circumstances,” Barry said, which meant nothing, but according to Lian, Barry was very good at saying nothing.
Pike nodded and stood and gave Barry an oversized manila envelope. Barry tore the top off as Pike sat back down—which was wasteful, that envelope could have been used again—and pulled out two sheets of paper stapled together. Then he looked inside and dumped out some . . . stuff. A pocket watch, a piece of blue silk folded over and tied with pink ribbon into a packet, and a plain white flat cardboard box.
Then Barry picked up the papers and cast an eye over them. When he’d scanned the last page, he said, “This is Ozzie’s will. He made it without me, using a template he probably found online, but it’s legal, notarized by people I know at the bank in Bearton. The beginning states that he is of sound mind”—Norman snorted—“and legal age”—“Definitely,” Coral said—“and was not married at the time of signing and had no children.”
“I can contest that,” Junior said.
Barry shot him a look that told me that he liked Junior about as well as I did. “Now the bequests.”
I tensed beside Max, and he leaned a little toward me, so I leaned in, too, shoulder to shoulder. Comforting.
Barry went on, “‘To Barry Mason, my legal counsel who is my executor, I give ten thousand dollars for making sure the terms of this will are carried out. And for other stuff. He knows what I’m talking about. I have somebody watching you, Mason. Don’t push your luck.’” Barry looked inside the envelope he’d torn open and then shook it upside down to prove there was nothing else in it. Then he looked at me over his glasses. “Any idea where that money is going to come from, Rose?”
“None,” I said. Why the hell was he asking me?
Barry sighed and read on, explaining why he asked. “‘Second, I direct my assistant, Rosalie Malone, to pay any other outstanding debts I may have, although I shouldn’t have any since I pay cash for everything. If anyone asks, tell them to fuck off.’”
I had no idea where I’d get money to pay Ozzie’s debts, which would probably only be the ten thousand to Barry. He really did pay cash for everything, and Barry had to know I didn’t have a prayer of coming up with ten thousand dollars.
“That answers where my ten K is coming from,” Barry said.
Great.
He continued. “‘To Coral Schmidt, my Couch, you’re a pip, kid, but you don’t need anything from me. You have a bank account bigger than your boobs and Pike to keep you warm at night, so you’re fine. I leave my undying gratitude for a lot of hot coffee and hotter nights. You were the best ever. In recognition of that, I’m giving you back your blue silk panties. Thanks for the memories.’”
Barry gingerly picked up the blue silk packet on his desk, frowning a little. “Coral?”
Coral walked to the desk to get her underwear. “Oh! They are from the first time we made love in that tunnel under East Berlin. And he kept them all these years. Such a romantic.” Then she frowned and unfolded the pants. “Oh,” she said again, looking at something that had been wrapped in her used blue silk.
I felt Max stir beside me, but Coral wrapped up whatever it was fast and went back to her seat, flushed now and very happy.
Barry picked up the will again. “‘To Pike Jackson, aka Pike Bernard, I leave the white box and the pocket watch in this envelope.’” Barry picked up both and held them out to Pike, who came forward to get them, put the watch in his pocket, opened the box, stared at it for a moment with a bit of surprise, and then closed it again and went back to sit by Coral, who was clutching her old panties like they were gold. Since that initial reaction, Pike’s expression hadn’t changed.
I was hoping the film was in the box and Pike could give it to Serena and then the vampire could fly away from Rocky Start and never come back. A girl can dream, can’t she?
Stripes all around me.
Barry picked up the will again and cleared his throat. “‘To Norman, my brother, I leave my undying contempt. I should have strangled you in the cradle, you viperous twit, it would have saved me a lifetime of aggravation, not to mention the lives of many others. Do not try to grab anything from my estate. I’ve left orders to have you killed if you try. You know I know people who will do it. One of them is in the room with you now.’”
“That is just unkind,” Norman said calmly, but his face was flushed, and he made little fists of his hands. He glanced at Pike, who gave him a cold smile.
He’d really thought Ozzie would leave him something. Ozzie had hated him, but then Norman was so self-absorbed, maybe he’d never noticed. Or he’d figured like I did, that Ozzie wouldn’t have made a will and he’d get it as the closest relative. And then Ozzie had put Norman’s name on the envelope so he’d show up expecting something and get insulted.
Ozzie could be a real bastard.
“‘Finally,’” Barry read on, “‘to Rosalie Malone, I leave my Pathfinder. It doesn’t look like much, but I had the engine overhauled by Marley—that’s a talented kid you’ve got there, Pike—and it’ll last at least a hundred thousand more miles. The tires have good tread, Rose. The winch works, but get Pike to show you how to use it and be careful. Don’t lose any fingers. It’s great in the mountains.’”
Well, there, I thought. Now I have a car to sleep in. I was truly touched.
Then Barry went on. “‘Also to Rosalie, I leave my building at 42 State Street, and the contents of both building and car.’”
All the air left the room and my knees went as Max grabbed me.
Barry kept reading. “‘Rose, you made the last years of my life comfortable, and watching your kid grow up was the best thing that ever happened to me. I know I wasn’t easy to be around, so don’t feel bad if you’re happy that I’m not there being a grouch. You’re going to have to search, but I want to make it clear that any cash you find, and anything else inside the car or building, is your inheritance except for the bank book in Poppy’s name. That one’s in the top right desk drawer, which I know you don’t know about because you always respected my privacy. Unlike a lot of other people. Everything else, go fetch, kid. And Norman, I swear to God if you try to take anything from Rose, I will come back from the dead and drag you to hell with me.’”
Barry went on with legalese and witnesses, but I just stood there, Max’s arm around me holding me up, trying to comprehend what had just happened. I now had a truck I could sleep in, but I wouldn’t have to because I also had a building I could sleep in. Poppy and I would not have to move. She could graduate staying in the same place she’d always lived. Of course, the contents of the building and the car were a lot of junk and some old french fries between the car seats, and I was still going to have to come up with taxes and utilities and all of that, but . . .
I swallowed. Unless Ozzie really had stashed some of his millions there like Max thought and we hadn’t found it yet. If that was the case, I’d be able to pay off Poppy’s school loans before they came due, and she could start adult life without debt.
I looked up at Max, who did not look surprised.
“Did you know about this?”
“How would I?” he said. “But it made sense. Who else would he leave it to?”
“Anybody else?” I said. “I’m just?—”
“The woman who took care of him and his business for nineteen years.”
“I didn’t think he’d valued that.” I knew that was a pathetic thing to say as soon as I said it, but my life had not been full of people who valued me before I came to Rocky Start.
“He’d have been an idiot if he hadn’t,” Max said, “and from what I’ve learned about Oz, he was not an idiot.”
I nodded and realized I’d stopped breathing from the shock and took a deep breath. Pull yourself together, Rose, you’re looking weak. I looked up at Max. “Really, how long are you planning to stay?”
He’d been watching the others, probably seeing how they were taking it, surveying the room, and without looking at me, he said, “As long as it takes. ”
I didn’t know what “it” was, so the length of time was unspecified, but “long” sounded good. “I think we’re having mustard chicken tonight.”
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
“About that ten thousand, Rose,” Barry said.
“As soon as I find any money, you’ll have it,” I told him, and he nodded.
“Don’t be so hasty,” Junior said. “My DNA test negates that will, so I wouldn’t spend any money, if you find it, because you’re just going to have to get it back.”
Barry smiled at him. Barry smiling was never good. “Thank you for the DNA test you had sent to me, Mr. Oswald-Stafford, but just to make sure, we did a test of our own.”
“What?” Junior was confused. “What test of your own? How could you?”
Barry explained. “Coral gave me a knife with your blood on it and Oz’s hairbrush, and Sid Quill ran the test in his basement two days ago. He’s got a great little setup down there.”
“And I’m Oz’s son,” Junior said, confident as all hell.
“The tests concur,” Barry said.
Junior smiled broadly.
“With each other,” Barry continued. “You’re Norman’s son.”
“What?” Norman said, straightening in the chair he’d been sulking in.
Junior was looking at Norman in horror. “That can’t be. My mother said . . .” He looked around the room, stunned.
“Congratulations, Norman,” Coral said. “You’re a daddy!”
“Anybody got cigars?” Pike said.
“And that’s it, folks,” Barry said.
“Wait a minute,” Junior said.
“You okay there?” Max whispered to me.
I was stunned, too. Junior had convinced me. Well, he’d been convinced, too, but the important thing was, he couldn’t contest the will. Barry wouldn’t bluff him on the test. (Also, Sid had a lab in his basement sophisticated enough to run DNA tests? I shelved that thought for later, I had enough on my plate now.) I remembered Coral putting her knife in that plastic bag, which had seemed odd at the time, but a small odd, a dot in a sea of stripes.
So now all I had to do was find the cash if Ozzie had any left after buying up the town and . . . hell, I didn’t know what would come next. I hadn’t planned for any of this.
Junior shook his head again, seething, and took out his cellphone as he headed out to the hall. I was pretty sure he was calling Mommy, whom I’d last seen being really pissed. Finding out she’d spawned with Norman wasn’t going to cheer her up.
I stepped forward. “I’ll need a copy of the will since we don’t know what that weasel is going to do next,” I told Barry.
“Take this,” Barry said, holding out the envelope. “There’s a copy inside. I’ll run you off a couple more right now. Congratulations, Rose. I have no idea what’s in that building, but the property itself is probably a quarter of a mill at least. I remember when Oz bought it for not much, but the town is different now and he put a lot into renovations when he first had it. The guts are top-notch even though you might not see it. That should hold you for a while.”
I shook his hand. “I’m not selling the building.” I turned to Max. “We need to go buy chicken for dinner. And some other stuff.”
When in doubt, think about food, that’s my motto.
Barry left to make me copies of the will. Max nodded and put his hand on the small of my back, and we started for the door.
I liked his hand on the small of my back. It steadied me as I wobbled from the shock of it all. There was something about having your worst fears dashed and everything you could want handed to you that made anything seem possible, including complete disaster.
Thank God for Max.
Out in the hall, I saw Junior blocking the way, and when I went to go around him, he grabbed my arm, hard, and I cried out as he said, “Listen, you—” and then Max was there, his hand on Junior’s throat, pushing him away from me and against the wall.
“You do not touch her. Ever,” Max said in a conversational tone, not upset at all. He looked over at Norman, who had just come into the hall. “That goes double for you, Dad.”
Junior’s hand made a move inside his jacket, but then Pike was there, his big gun out, the barrel pressed against Junior’s head. “Stand down, son.”
I wasn’t sure if he was referring to Junior or Max, but Max let go and walked away, his arm around me, sweeping me in front of him without looking back while Pike kept the gun pointed at Junior. Norman did nothing for his newly found son, which was standard Norman.
Barry came out into the hall with the copies in his hand and stopped, and I looked back to see what he was seeing: Coral sighing from behind Pike, clutching her blue silk panties and whatever was wrapped in them to her chest, Junior glaring at Pike as Pike took his gun away, Norman glaring at everybody.
Barry handed me the copies. “Congratulations, Rose. You deserve this,” and Max moved closer, and suddenly I was not alone and destitute anymore. I mean, I’d be alone when Max left again and Poppy went to college, but for right now, not alone.
“Definitely mustard chicken for dinner tonight,” I told Max and headed outside.
I do a great mustard chicken.