Chapter 42
To Do:
- Impersonate Wendy
- Catch the bad guys
- Shove it in Jack’s face
“I look freaking ridiculous,”Claire said as she tugged on a shoulder-length wig with pin-straight brown hair. A red sequined cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline dragged on the floor. A gaudy costume necklace adorned her neck.
Mindy stood next to her in the small mirror on the drawing room wall. She got to wear a sensible black pencil skirt and button-down blouse.
“You do,” she said, “but at least you don’t look like yourself. This is definitely the kind of thing Wendy would wear to a professional networking event. She’d storm in and threaten to sue everyone for not bringing out the red carpet.”
Claire groaned and slid on a pair of sunglasses. “Are people starting to arrive?”
Nicole opened the door to the drawing room and stepped inside. “Yep. I don’t know where Sally drummed up all these women on such short notice, but I’m impressed. Even the mayor’s here. Falsies,” she said, tossing fake eyelashes and some glue at Claire.
“Who’s going to see falsies under my sunglasses? By the way, who brought the tequila? I need to dump some on me.”
Mindy pulled a flask out of her purse and handed it to Claire. She dabbed it on like eau de parfum and handed it back. She smelled like a bar bathroom after Cinco de Mayo.
Her phone rang, and she jumped.
“Hi, Mom. Thanks for the care package. You know you don’t have to keep apologizing.”
Alice had sent several packages with empanadas, bath bombs, gourmet chocolates, and apothecary jars since their discussion about Jack.
“I know, darling. I just feel guilty. What are you up to tonight?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just a networking event,” Claire said, rubbing one hand on her incredibly tense neck. Definitely not kidnapping her nemesis and impersonating her to draw out a homicidal mob of morons.
The door opened again, and Kyle and Luke walked in wearing nicely tailored suits. Luke’s leather shoes shone under the overhead light, and his hair was smoothed back. Despite not sleeping, he looked alert and ready for anything. There were literal lives at stake, but damn if he didn’t look good.
“That sounds nice. So, you aren’t planning on doing anything dangerous? No midnight swimming?”
“No, Mom, it’s too cold for any midnight swimming tonight. It’ll only be in the 60s.”
“You know my intuition doesn’t lie, Clairebear. I just woke up from a nap and I had a dream that you were floating under the stars, bleeding. Just stay away from bodies of water, okay?”
Claire laughed, but her stomach lurched. Dying sunlight glittered on the lake outside the window.
“Your imagination is amazing, Mom. Don’t worry. I’m safe.”
“I’m not convinced you are. Keep Luke close. He has such a soothing aura. He’s good for you.”
“Will do, Mom. I love you. I’ll talk to you later.” Claire hurriedly hung up the phone.
“Is Mercury in retrograde tonight?” Luke asked seriously, taking a big sip of water.
She shot him a dirty look. “Even better. My mom said she had a vision of me floating in some water and bleeding. So, that’s encouraging. Who’s ready to get things started?” she said, clapping her hands together and feigning enthusiasm.
“Did Sawyer give the all clear?” Kyle asked.
Luke frowned.
“He did,” Mindy chimed in. “His van is parked across the street. He set up a command center in there where he can see all the cameras.”
“Great. I just want to check in with him quick before we get started.” Claire went through the drawing room to the kitchen and escaped out the side door. Nicole and Mindy followed despite her protests.
They stepped cautiously down the rocky driveway in their stilettos. At the windowless black van, Claire knocked six times in a pre-defined pattern on the side door. Mindy smoothed a flyaway and straightened her posture.
The door slid open, revealing Sawyer in a headset and on a chair before a row of dimly lit monitors. Rosie sat in a bed in the corner of the van, happily panting. She also wore a miniature headset.
“I didn’t want her to feel left out.” He grinned.
Claire squealed and took a picture with her phone before re-focusing.
“Any activity so far?” Mindy asked.
“Nothing suspicious,” he said, shaking his head. “There are a lot of people going in and out, but they’re mostly women. Zero college douchebags. Here.” He handed over five tiny, clear earpieces.
“Thank you, Sawyer,” she said, installing one in her ear and covering it with the wig. Nicole and Mindy installed theirs too.
“I’ll keep a close eye on all of you. Let me know if you see something I don’t.”
“I will, thanks.” Claire bent over to kiss Rosie between her furry eyebrows and slid the van door shut. “Let’s get back to the drawing room.”
They hustled back to where they had started. The circular driveway was packed with cars, and classical music and warm, ambient light spilled out from the building. The sun hung low on the horizon. The first speaker had already gone on. There were a couple more before Claire/Wendy would make her speech.
“Okay.” She turned to her friends, who had gathered in the middle of the room. She pulled a small, spiral-bound notebook out of her sequined clutch. “Here’s the plan. First of all, take these.” She passed out the remaining earpieces to Kyle and Luke. “Call out if you see anything. The safe word is ‘queso,’ but please don’t use it unless you are actually in danger.”
The other four nodded.
Claire continued. “Great. So, we keep our eyes open. It shouldn’t be difficult to spot a bunch of frat boys at a networking event for professional women. I’ll deliver Wendy’s keynote speech at nine and make it look like I’m super drunk. I will then stumble out the back door toward the lake in full view of the nanny cam. By that time, they’ll be on a serious time crunch—they’ll have to kidnap me and make it back to campus by ten. They’ll be desperate, and they’ll be sloppy. The boys will be watching from the trees. You two will stay inside the house.”
Mindy and Nicole groaned.
“I’m serious. Don’t take a single step off that patio. I don’t want you anywhere near those maniacs. Everyone have your pepper spray? All right, let’s do this.” She took a deep breath and opened the double doors that led into the foyer.
She wrote Wendy’s name sloppily on a name tag and slapped it onto her chest. It barely stuck to the sequins. It was time to mingle. Who would Wendy talk to at an event like this? Or would she just camp out at the bar and look for a penis to sit on?
“Club soda with a lime, please,” she decided, sidling up to the bar. Kyle’s bartender friend seemed competent. Maybe this fake event wouldn’t be a total failure after all.
She crossed the room with her drink. The sunglasses made it difficult to tell, but it didn’t look like any ESA members were present just yet.
Oh, there was Sally. She better go say thank you.
“Sally,” Claire whispered loudly, tapping her on the shoulder.
Sally tuned around, and her smile faltered for a moment when she took in the apparel of the person tapping her.
“It’s okay, it’s me. It’s part of the trap,” Claire said, lifting her sunglasses. She had been forced to give the bare minimum of details to Sally so that she understood the gravity of the situation, though she had tactfully avoided revealing the abduction.
“Oh, Claire. I didn’t recognize you in that getup.” Sally splayed one hand with inch-long ballerina nails over her chest. Her permed blonde hair didn’t budge a centimeter when she shook her head.
Claire cringed. “I don’t recognize me either. I just wanted to thank you for throwing this all together so quickly. You are quite literally a lifesaver.” She reached over and squeezed Sally’s shoulder.
“It was nothing. Frankly, I love it. I might steal this event from you in the future and do it for real. Oh, my sister-in-law is about to start her speech on work/life balance. You be careful now, okay?”
Since twenty-four hours wasn’t exactly a lot of notice, Sally had leaned heavily on family members and colleagues to fill the speaking slots.
“Of course. Thanks again.” Claire walked off with her drink and surveyed the party. Everyone was staring at her. If she really was Wendy, she would love it. But Claire just wanted to take the dress off and hide in her all-black event uniform.
The boys had done a surprisingly great job with the decorating. It was as elegant as Claire had imagined. She sighed when she walked past the pastry table. Yuffie’s staff really should have put more space between the cream puffs and éclairs. They weren’t joined up in the shape of penises anymore, but there was definitely still some dick energy emanating from the table.
A woman she vaguely remembered from the Chamber of Commerce Awards took the stage and began talking about the struggles of being a woman in the corporate world. Claire glanced at her watch. 8:45 p.m. She had a few minutes to scope out the rest of the house.
She walked from the ballroom to the hallway and opened doors as she went. Maybe the ESA guys were hiding until the last possible moment. Or maybe her plan had totally failed, and she had just spent upward of $3,000 for nothing.
“Claire, I see them.” Sawyer spoke in her ear.
Her heart rate skyrocketed. “Shit, what should I do?”
“Go back to the ballroom and surround yourself with people. If they catch you on your own, they’ll try to take you early. And if they get too close, they might notice that you’re not actually Wendy.”
“Got it,” Claire said, hustling back down the hallway to the ballroom. She stepped inside and into the throng of women.
“Oh, love your blazer. Where did you get it?” she asked a black woman with diamond studs and royal blue Manolo Blahnik pumps.
She listened halfheartedly to the woman’s response while sweeping the party. Nicole and Mindy were stationed at the back of the ballroom doing the same thing. Luke and Kyle stood with their backs to the bar.
“Thank you so much, ladies,” the speaker said as she walked off the stage to applause.
Mei from the historical society stepped up to the podium in a powder blue dress and lowered the microphone. Her dark hair shone under the lights. “And now we have a special guest speaker who recently won the coveted West Haven Planner of the Year Award for the first time. Please welcome Wendy Flutter of The Yes Makers.”
There was a light, scattered applause, and Claire picked up her hem and walked to the stage. She nearly made it all the way to the top before remembering she was supposed to be drunk. She stumbled up the last stair and nearly plowed headlong into the podium.
“What’s up, party people?” she called into the microphone. There was dead silence in the room. “My name’s Wendy Flutter, proposal planner extraordinaire. You’ve probably seen my proposals on YouTube.” She tossed her hair over one shoulder.
“Anyway, I’m here to talk to you about taking risks.” This topic had come to her at the last second. It had been on her mind since her impulsive decision to start accepting out-of-area proposals. “Too many people live in a safe little bubble all their lives. But I’m here to tell you that there are things worth taking risks for. Whether it’s seeking a small business loan to expand your business, or?—”
Someone in her voice interrupted. “You’re being too Claire-like,” Mindy hissed.
“Or maybe you gotta go after this hot guy from your spin class. You can’t live your life in a bubble, ladies. You need to go out there and go after what you want. To hell with anyone who tells you differently.”
“They’re inside,” Sawyer said in her ear. “Some are approaching the ballroom, others are standing by the exits. I count twelve.”
Her heart rate doubled. Twelve? They were hopelessly outnumbered. Luke and Kyle left the ballroom to take their positions.
Right, she was supposed to be giving a speech.
“As ladies, we’re supposed to be like solid and predictable and boring. Plod along on that well-traveled road, never deviating or surprising anyone. Leave the risks to the men so they get all the rewards. But not anymore, girls. We’re going to get what’s ours.”
The back door cracked open. Her heart stuttered. Three men who had to be members of ESA slunk inside. One was exceptionally tall with a hooked nose and a band T-shirt. A short guy, squat but muscular, with an ill-fitting button-down shirt, walked in behind him. And the third had cold eyes with a penetrating gaze that made her shudder even from thirty yards away. They weren’t doing much to fit in. Her heart beat even faster. Evil was crossing the room like a dense fog. Goosebumps formed on her arms. Was she really going to make it out of this alive? Or was she going to die trying to protect the yogurt-judging shrew who slept with her fiancé?
Her hands trembled, and the water bottle fell from the podium. It landed on the stage with a loud thunk.
“You look like you need a water,” Claire slurred, picking up the bottle and tossing it into the crowd. It struck the mayor of West Haven in the temple. Good, another lawsuit.
“Sorry, Madam Mayor.” She curtsied. “The world is a scary place, right? We all have fears. I’m afraid of Beanie Babies and artichokes, for example. Most women in business are afraid of failure. But we can’t let fear run our lives. We can’t let fear stop us from taking chances, from changing lives. How will you know what you can accomplish if you never try? You’re capable of more than you think. If you work hard, spend wisely, and curate a solid foundation of devoted clients, you can do anything. You can change the world. You can implement a ‘green’ policy. You can sell that new product. You can shove your success right in the face of the patriarchy.”
Mindy cleared her throat. Shit, she was slipping back into Claire again.
A couple of women applauded. Her anxiety ticked down a notch.
“In conclusion, ladies. You are capable of greatness. Today, I encourage you to find the courage to do whatever it is you need to take things to the next level. Apply for a loan. Launch that new online store.”
Nicole sighed in her ear.
“Ask out that guy from spin class. Don’t wait for permission. Stop waiting on the world and go seize it by its balls.”
She dropped the microphone on the floor and walked off the stage. There was more applause than before. It was almost heartwarming. She made a detour to the bar and grabbed another club soda. The penetrating gaze of the ESA members came from just behind her. It was time to lure them outside. Maybe she could use the glass as a backup weapon.
“There’s one on the patio. Be careful,” Sawyer muttered in her ear.
She stumbled through the room to the set of double doors behind the stage and pushed through them to the patio. It was a pity this wasn’t a real event because it was a lovely evening. Cool, but not cold. The sun had set, and the lake glittered with the light of the full moon. Even the mosquitoes seemed to have taken a break.
“They’re almost on you. Luke and Kyle, keep your eyes open,” Sawyer said.
Footsteps followed her. She hustled to the edge of the lake and pretended to be looking for fish. Her sunglasses were too dark, so she dropped them to the ground. She needed every bit of her night vision if she was going to make it out of this alive.
“Hey. You’re coming with us,” a male voice behind her grunted.
“Queso,” she muttered into her comms unit. It crackled in her ears. Had they heard her? What was the range on these things anyway?
She whirled around and pretended to be surprised. “No, thanks. I have a pool boy at home.”
The short one cracked his knuckles. “I said, you’re coming with us.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’re hard of hearing. Go. Fuck. Yourselves,” she enunciated carefully. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The tall one pulled a rag out of his pocket and dabbed something from a small bottle onto it. Oh, no. Not chloroform again.
“Seriously? Chloroform? Are you guys twelve?” Why was nobody coming? Had they not heard the queso?
“I don’t think this one’s going to come quietly, Corbin,” he said, passing the rag to the short one. “We’re almost out of time.”
“I don’t need it,” the short one who must have been named Corbin said, dropping it on the ground and pulling a handgun from his belt.
Claire’s heart rate skyrocketed. The edges of her vision were going blurry. She had been prepared for knives and chloroform. A gun had somehow never occurred to her. Barney had never used one.
“Come with us, or I’m going to shoot you in the fuckin’ head.” The short one jabbed the weapon in her direction.
Claire took a step back. Her heels brushed the edge of the lake and sank into the mud. It was freezing, and her mother’s words of warning rang out in her mind. Was this the end?
She bent down and slipped off her shoes in case she needed to run. Her wig slipped, and before she could secure it, it fell into the water. She whipped her Taser out of her ankle holster and pointed it at them.
“Hey, wait. Isn’t that?—”
“Claire fuckin’ Hartley,” Corbin said, bringing the gun up. The safety clicked off. “Just my lucky day.”
A gunshot rang out. The Taser in Claire’s hand exploded, and she screamed and staggered back into the lake.
Several things happened at once. The double doors on the patio banged open, and the real Wendy Flutter stomped out screaming. Her hair was wild and tangled, and her crop top had a massive tear in one side. Several other event attendees followed behind her. How the hell had she escaped?
“Claire Hartley, I am gonna kill you!” she screamed.
Every ESA brother but the short one whirled and turned to look at Wendy.
“Dude, it’s her,” one said.
Dark shapes ran around the corner of the house. Luke and Kyle sprinted toward them from the woods, and on the side of the house, Nicole and Mindy approached the fray. Her breath hitched. They were too close.
“Gavin?” Mindy’s voice rang out in the night.
What? What the hell was Gavin doing here? Unless?—
She didn’t have time to focus on the chaos unfolding around her. She needed to survive. Claire whipped her shoe at Corbin’s head.
Another gunshot rang out.
She braced, waiting for the impact. Someone dove in front of her, and something stung her hip. She cried out in pain and fell backward into the lake. The frigid water stole her breath. Her lungs burned. For a moment, she was stunned and could only look up at the stars. But she needed to keep moving.
Then Corbin was on her. He had a face like a shovel, and a vein was ready to pop in his forehead. She staggered to her feet, dripping with lake water.
He dove for her, and she thrust the heel of her hand upward and into his nose.
He cried out and dropped to his knees, clutching his face while blood poured out around his fingers. She gave him another punch for good measure, and he collapsed backward into the lake. If she made it through this, she was going to tell everyone he peed his pants.
“Claire!” Luke yelled, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. She scanned the yard and looked up just in time to see Mindy punch Gavin in the face.
Someone grabbed Claire from behind. She went rigid, Sawyer’s words echoing in her mind like someone was fast-forwarding a tape recorder. She tucked her chin and blocked the attacker from getting a grip on her windpipe.
He lifted her up. How strong was this frat boy? Did they have special kidnapping workouts? Maybe a HIIT-style class where they dragged blow-up dolls filled with sand?
Her feet flailed. She couldn’t touch the ground. Panic flared inside her like a flame.
Her captor dragged her backward, away from the fray. She wiggled and thrashed, but her aimless kicks at his legs didn’t delay his progress. Static crackled in her ear. Could Sawyer see her?
A tree branch scratched at her cheek, and the light of the full moon dissipated. They were in the forest now. Crickets chirped on each side of her. The lawn was getting farther away. Help was all but gone.
Her heart beat so hard and fast that her smart watch vibrated on her wrist with a warning to breathe. Darkness started closing in on her vision. Her head was fuzzy. Nausea twisted her insides.
What was that sound? Was that a belt buckle coming undone? Was he going to tie her up with it, or was he preparing for something even worse?
Fuck it. There was no time for officially sanctioned self-defense. She wrenched her neck to one side and sunk her teeth into the man’s arm.
He cried out and dropped her like a sack of potatoes. She fell to the ground, knees nearly collapsing, and whirled to face him.
“You stupid bitch!” Stringy hair hung in his eyes as he clutched at his arm.
Claire cocked her arm back and smashed the heel of her hand into his greasy nose. He cried out and stumbled against a tree. She took a couple of steps back and then ran straight at him like a freight train. She swung her foot up and directly into his crotch like she was kicking a field goal.
The man crumpled to the leaf-scattered earth and moaned. She aimed another kick at his ribs for good measure.
“Claire?” Nicole called from far away.
Claire turned and ran toward the voice. Her hip stung like she had wandered over a yellow jacket’s nest. Something wet and red was dripping down her side, splattering into the grass. Great, now she owed Mindy a new dress.
Someone had jumped in front of that bullet for her. But who? She scanned the grass. Kyle and Luke were duking it out with two brothers. She breathed a sigh of relief and swiveled. Mindy stood over Gavin’s crumpled form, screaming. Nicole was talking to Wendy and gesturing at the kerfuffle with exaggerated hand movements. Several women from the event had crowded around and were frowning at the scene on the lawn.
Sawyer walked by, dragging an unconscious ESA brother in each hand. “Police are on their way,” he said calmly before depositing the bodies in a pile.
A cry rang out to her left, by the dock. A man in a suit fought an upside-down triangle shaped frat boy in a cutoff tank top. What the hell was a man in a suit doing here? This was a women’s networking event.
She squinted at the pair. Hang on, she knew that perfectly molded hair.
“Dad?” The word tumbled from her lips before she fully comprehended what she was seeing.
Jack met her eyes for a split second. His entire torso was drenched in blood. An unnatural pallor had spread across his face. Her stomach clenched like she had been walloped in the abdomen. So, he had listened to her.
He was losing steam, barely holding his hands up in defense as the triangle guy swung at him. Moonlight glinted on something in the grass. From here, it looked like Jack’s FBI badge. Apparently, cults weren’t afraid of the FBI. She took a step in his direction, heart in her throat.
Another cry came from her right. Luke clutched at his arm. Blood was spreading rapidly from a new wound. She gasped. The tall, hook-nosed man from the ballroom darted back and forth in front of him. A blood-stained knife was clutched in his hand.
Everything around her moved in slow motion. She tore her gaze from Luke to Jack. Back and forth. Her deadbeat dad and her newly reformed pathological liar of a boyfriend. They were both in danger. Jack dodged another punch, but he bent at the waist, wheezing with effort. Luke’s attacker raised the knife again. Luke raised a blood-drenched fist.
Claire let out a strangled cry and sprinted across the lawn. She jumped onto the back of the knife-wielding man and wrapped her arms around his neck. A seam ripped in the dress. His elbows flailed, and the tip of the knife jabbed into her forearm. Another day, another scar. It wasn’t even as deep as the self-inflicted one she had from her sword. What a pansy.
Luke ducked and swept the attacker’s legs, sending them both crashing to the ground. Claire gasped, the wind knocked out of her. She rolled to her side in time to see the mayor of West Haven pepper spray a frat boy. All around them, women from the meeting were descending on the brothers. There were cries of pain in every direction. If it wasn’t so terrifying, it would have been empowering as hell.
Nicole kicked a knife out of someone’s hand, and Kyle punched him in the face. Sawyer calmly passed out zip ties from his utility belt to secure the brothers. Even Wendy had just kneed someone in the balls.
Claire froze. Luke was safe, for the moment at least. But she had abandoned her father. Her gaze swung back to the lake. The man who was attacking her father was gone. A clothed mass drifted at the edge of the shore.
She sprinted back to the beach and staggered knee-deep into the water. Crimson trails of blood swirled into the lake from a bullet hole in Jack’s shoulder. He floated face down. She grabbed an arm of his navy suit and tugged him back to shore, flipping him onto his back. His eyes were closed. She shook him, but he didn’t stir.
What had she done?