33. Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Three
Betty
“ L eave there right now.” My panic-filled voice rises three octaves as I yell into the phone at Margo. “The police are on their way.”
As I raise my gaze, Olivia’s eyes meet mine, brimming with alarm, as we stand together on the boardwalk. Her hands hover anxiously, halfway reaching for the phone. Mark is no longer next to her; he bolted moments ago, barking instructions into his walkie-talkie the minute I read Margo’s text to him.
Everything is a blur. Moments ago, Sheriff Murphy confirmed the positive identification from Miss Irene from the photos sent. We had a name—Rudolph Hurts—but, more importantly, a photo. I snapped his photo and sent it to Margo as a warning to be on the lookout and to stay far, far away.
Her immediate reply put Mark into motion and my heart racing.
Margo—I’m at Patti’s Pancake House with Allie and that guy is sitting two tables down chowing down. Looks like he’s finishing up.
Sirens fill the quiet morning air as Mark peels out on the street behind the boardwalk. Patti’s is only a few blocks away; he’ll be there in less than a minute, yet my mind races to all the worst scenarios.
“It’s right down the boardwalk.” Olivia points behind me. She knows it will drive me crazy to stand here, despite Mark’s explicit warning to stay put.
“I’m coming. Don’t do anything stupid,” I bark into the phone, sounding just like my mother. I don’t care. This isn’t a teaching moment. I stuff the phone in my pocket and race to catch up to Olivia, who is already three strides ahead of me.
We’ve run this boardwalk hundreds of times, but never like this.
The only sounds that reach my ears are the raspy breaths escaping my lips and the steady thumping of blood rushing in my ears.
We don’t say a word.
None are necessary.
We pass early morning tourists headed to the beach, shop owners setting out signage to begin their day and the seniors finishing their morning stroll. None of them are aware of the danger.
Olivia leads me down the boardwalk exit ramp a block early. Despite the chaos around her, she manages to maintain her presence of mind and remembers a shortcut. We slice through the small parking lot, navigating through the narrow delivery alley behind the shops. My pulse kicks up another notch as I spot the back entrance to Patti’s.
Three of the employees’ bikes are locked next to the fence and a tiny table and two folding chairs used by the employees during their breaks. I’m two feet from the back door when it bangs open and the blur of a man crash into me.
I’m thrown back against a stack of plastic crates, the breath knocked out of me. That’s when the sharp pain at the back of my shoulder hits. A blinding pain that I fight to ignore.
“Stop. Police.” Mark is two steps behind the guy, his face contorted into a determined scowl that would cause Jack Reacher to halt.
I push up in time to see Olivia, hands clutched to her chest, in front of the guy and fear he’s about to grab her. She steps to her right to avoid a collision, but it’s all an act. With her left foot extended, she deftly trips the guy, causing him to fall flat on his face.
He crashes hard, face-planting across the concrete. The unforgiving rock rips the skin across his cheeks. Mark lands heavily on top of him. He pins a heavy knee to his back, and I swear I can hear ribs cracking.
I ignore Mark barking orders at him as he whips out handcuffs. I rush into the Pancake House in search of Margo. I push through the kitchen, employees gathered at the back door, and race through the rest of the kitchen. I enter the restaurant. Relief spreads through me when I spot her. She and her friend Allie are standing by their table, peering into a phone.
“Margo!” I scream and wrap my arms around her, not giving her a second to breathe. “You’re okay.” In that moment, I embrace her with a force I’ve never mustered, savoring the warmth and closeness between us.
She giggles at my ridiculousness, but I don’t care.
“Oh my god, Betty. Best return home visit ever.” She continues to laugh, and Allie joins in. “After your whole ‘don’t do anything stupid’ comment, I low-key decided to record the creep.”
She lifts up the phone like she did a minute ago to show the man sipping his coffee like he didn’t hours ago empty out the bank account of a sweet old lady. He looks up toward the street, panic filling his face when I can only imagine he hears the sirens approaching. The video gets jumbled as the man leaps to his feet and begins to run, first toward the front of the shop. He must realize he’ll never make it out the door before the Polic reaches him. He turns on his heels, his eyes scanning the room and the confused voices of the diners pitching in. Mark’s rage-filled voice comes across the speakers, garbled with the movement of the phone. The man races to the rear of the store with Mark in hot pursuit. The rest of the video is jumbled movement and muffled sounds.
I squeeze Margo tighter. “You stayed out of it—good. I was so worried.”
“You don’t have to. You never do.” She returns the squeeze. “I know you see me as a young, dumb, and broke kid, but I’ve been listening all these years. Taking notes. Believe it or not, but you’re kind of kick-ass as a big sis.”
Her words fill my heart with a comforting warmth that I didn’t realize was missing. For years, I’ve straddled the line of trying to lead without the overbearing approach of Mom. I know from experience that she has to live her own life and find her own way, but it’s my job to help her avoid the pitfalls that could prove harmful.
“Can we go see Deputy Mark beat the crap out of him?” Margo asks permission, and I realize if that was me and Olivia at her age sitting here, we would have most definitely done something stupid like try to order bottomless mimosas for the guy and flirt with him to keep him in the shop until the police arrived.
Margo may be my younger sister, but she’s smart, responsible, and knows how to take care of herself. Today is more action than our little town normally gets. After watching Mark go all Rambo on that guy, I know Olivia is climbing the ceiling, wanting to tell me again how freaking hot Mark makes her.
This is a special moment, one meant to be shared.
I wrap an arm around Margo’s shoulder. “Sure. Follow me.”