Chapter 27 #2
“People who destroy property ought to have it done to theirs as punishment,” said loose lips Gilda, who’d followed Louise into the kitchen.
“You know who it is, don’t you?” Louise said to Zona.
“I’m pretty sure it’s Alec’s stepsister,” Zona said. “But I can’t prove anything.”
“You should report it to the police,” said Gilda.
“I’ve filed a report.”
Louise’s eyes narrowed. “That woman is dangerous! You need to quit hanging out with Alec James.”
Gilda was all ears. “The neighbor? We knew he was trouble all along, didn’t we?”
“Look, you two. I can handle this,” Zona said, and gave the sliced bell peppers, carrots, and onions in her mother’s electric wok an angry shove.
“I bet that’s what the woman in LA said right before she got cut up and stuck in the freezer,” Gilda said.
“I’m going over there,” Louise announced.
Okay, enough was enough. “You are not. I’ll handle this myself. Gilda, take over,” she said, walking away from her dinner in progress. “I’ve got to get ready to go to work.”
“Me! I don’t know how to make stir-fry,” Gilda protested.
“It’s easy. You stir it,” Zona said, her irritation with Gilda bleeding through. “If you get stuck, Mom can help you She’s an expert when it comes to knowing what people should do.” Silence fell in the kitchen as Zona stormed out.
She brushed her teeth, put on some jeans and a top, and then hurried downstairs. She could smell sesame oil and frying onions as she grabbed Louise’s car keys from the bowl on the small table by the door.
Her mom wasn’t any good at stir-fry. She always overcooked everything, but she and Gilda would have to cope because Zona had no intention of returning to the kitchen and being served a lecture. She didn’t need it. She already knew what she had to do.
She had to get to work, so it would have to wait until Sunday. Dealing with this required a face-to-face conversation.
brEE STOPPED BY her grandmother’s house to pick up the check Gary had left for her and found Gram and Gilda seated at the kitchen table with a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk, playing cards.
“The check from Gary is on the buffet,” Gram said. “Want to stay and play?”
This was what Bree’s Saturday nights had come to, cards with her grandma. But, oh, well, she liked hanging out with Gram.
“We’ll start over,” said Gilda, scooping up the cards.
“Handy for you, since you were losing,” Gram teased.
Bree went to the buffet and picked up the check and frowned at it. Big frickin’ deal, Gary.
“He probably felt real proud of himself for coming up with that money,” she said to Gram as she went to pour herself a glass of milk. He probably hoped she’d feel grateful. She didn’t.
He’d stolen from her. The fact that he’d done it legally didn’t change how wrong it had been, and it didn’t change her feelings toward him.
“It’s something,” Gram said.
“Loser,” Gilda muttered.
Somewhere along the way Gilda had become like a member of the family. It seemed she knew all their dirt. But so what? The more people who knew what a rat Gary was the better.
“Compared to what he owes me, it’s nothing,” Bree said. “It’s you and Mom who came through for me. You guys are the true heroes.”
“Take the money anyway,” Gilda advised.
“Oh, I will, believe me. I hope if he keeps paying Mom can ease up.” Gary had done the crime and Mom was doing the time. Not fair at all.
“She wants to do it for you.”
“She has no life,” Bree said. It was sad, and it was all Gary’s fault.
“She has one with our neighbor,” Gram said with a frown.
Bree mirrored it. She wanted her mom to have a fun life and do stuff, just not with a man.
“There’s something off there,” Gilda said with a knowing nod.
“I don’t like what comes with him,” Gram said, and proceeded to tell Bree about the vandalism the woman had done to Mom’s car.
“You’re kidding me.” Bree felt stupid for having missed seeing it. Then she felt angry.
With a woman like that coming after her, Mom had to be out of her mind to want to be with Alec James. At least Gary was able to admit he had a gambling addiction. Mom had a love addiction and refused to see it.
“I’ve tried to warn her, but she won’t listen,” Gram said.
“Then we’ll have to make her,” Bree said. “We’ll do an intervention.”
“An intervention,” Gram repeated.
“Yeah, both of us at the same time. Kind of like what you and Mom like to do to me,” Bree added.
“I don’t know,” Gram said, shaking her head.
“Well, I do. Come on, Gram. That woman is obviously crazy. And she’s jealous. Who knows what she could do to Mom?”
“Your mother’s not going to like this,” Gram predicted.
“Nobody likes it.” But you had to do what you had to do. “I’ll come over tomorrow.”
“I don’t think she’s ready for an intervention,” Gilda cautioned. “Your mom already has a bee in her britches from your grandmother trying to talk to her today.”
“We can’t just sit by and do nothing,” Bree argued.
“You’re right there. Glad I won’t be around to see it though,” said Gilda.
ZONA’S PASSENGERS WERE all cheery and happy, out for a night of fun or off to the airport and chattering all the way. One woman, trying to be friendly, asked Zona how she liked her job.
Normally Zona would have replied that she enjoyed meeting so many nice people because, for the most part, her passengers had been nice. This night she was in no mood for chitchat.
“It helps pay the bills,” she said shortly.
“That’s a good thing, right?” the woman persisted.
Zona merely nodded and the woman got the message and settled back against the seat. There would be no tip coming from this passenger, but Zona didn’t care.
She packed it in at half past eleven and pulled up to her mother’s house. She could see the light from the TV glowing behind the sheers pulled across the window, and the shadow of two heads. Heaven only knew what those two were watching.
She was pulling into the driveway when she caught sight of the PT Cruiser sneaking up from around the corner. Oh, no. Not tonight.
She grabbed her phone, pushed open the car door, and raced down the sidewalk, phone pointed at the car like a gun.
Angela saw her coming and floored it.
“I know it was you!” Zona hollered, aiming her phone. “You’ll pay for this!”
The car disappeared around the corner and Zona stopped her running, adrenaline racing through her veins. She checked the photo. A little blurry, due to the lack of light, but it would do. If she collected enough pictures of Angela misbehaving, maybe she could get a stalking order of protection.
Although soon Angela wouldn’t be an issue because Zona and Alec wouldn’t be an item.
Still buzzing with adrenaline, Zona went back to her mother’s car and put it in the garage. Darling heard her enter the house and went racing to greet her, barking all the way.
“Good grief, you scared us,” said Louise as Zona entered the living room.
“If you’d stop watching murder and mayhem, you wouldn’t scare so easily,” Zona retorted irritably. “Gilda, I’m going to take Darling for a walk and then you can go home.”
Gilda nodded. She didn’t quite look Zona in the eye. Feeling guilty for her contribution to the family squabble earlier. Well, good. She should feel guilty.
Zona leashed Darling up and they headed down the sidewalk, toward the corner where Angela had disappeared. There was no sign of her car when they rounded the block. Very wise.