Read Online Ellen McKenzie 04-Murder Half-Baked by Kathleen Delaney - Free Book Online Page B

not acting ability, that made me believable. I started to talk into the dead cell phone as if my life depended on it. “Gina, it’s him,” I said between clenched teeth. I started to walk back and forth on the porch, ignoring the car, waving my arm as if I were having a madly important conversation. I was. “Gina, he’s trying to talk to me.” I turned my back to the car and kept pacing and waving. “Damn, he’s calling out something.” I kept pacing and waving. After a minute the engine picked up and the car slowly moved off. I kept talking and waving but got up enough courage to sneak a look. The car had turned the corner headed west.
    The door of the house opened, and I bolted through it.
    “Which way did he turn?”
    “To the right.”
    “Should Margaret start?”
    “No. Not yet.” I dialed 911. “Ida, he’s cruised by Grace House twice. He was just here and turned the corner going toward Cherry.” I listened for a moment then hung up.
    Anne appeared, looking a question at me. I was finally able to smile. “Gary’s on his way. Ida will call just as soon as they stop him. Margaret can start, but she needs to go toward Elm.”
    “Come tell Nathan.”
    I followed Anne back to the kitchen. Janice was standing by the counter. Emily was sitting on it, her arms wrapped around her mother, her head still buried in her mother’s neck. Ian stood by her side, his arms around her hips. I gave her a “thumbs up” as I came in. Her smile was tight-lipped , h er face pinched and white, her eyes huge, but she kept patting her kids, first one, then the other, murmuring to them the whole time that things were going to be “fine, just fine.” She had more courage than I would ever have.
    Nathan stood by the kitchen door, keys in his hand. “ Have they stopped him yet ?”
    “Not yet, but they know where he is.”
    “Where?”
    “Over on Cherry.”
    “Okay.”
    He leaned down and said something to Margaret, then straightened up and hit the button on the garage door opener. The door started its slow ascent. We heard Margaret’s engine start and she was backing down the driveway as the door settled itself on the garage ceiling. Her tires squealed a little as she turned into the street, the engine roared, then silence. But not for long. More engine noise as Nathan pulled his car into the garage. The door groaned in protest once more and clanged against the concrete as it closed.
    “We did it.” Nathan came through the door with a large grin on his face. “I’m putting Margaret up for D river of the Y ear. You should have seen her take that corner.” No one smiled with him. It just wasn’t a smiling moment.
    Gina came back into the kitchen, followed closely by Marilee and Leona. “Are they ready to leave?”
    Anne barely glanced at them. “Just as soon as we know he’s stopped. We’re not taking any chances. But I’m alerting their ride. Ellen, can I borrow your cell phone? I’ve run my battery down.” I handed it to her, and she dialed. “They’ll be leaving in a few minutes.” She listened a moment. “Good. And good luck. Yes. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
    She snapped the phone shut and turned toward us. “Okay. Let’s get that duffel in the car, then Janice and the kids. You have to be ready to roll as soon as we get that phone call. ”
    Emily started to wail. “Not without my kitty.”
    She had a cat? I hadn’t known they allowed pets, but it made sense. Pets were important. I thought of Jake, my big, lazy, yellow tomcat. He was the only thing, besides Susannah, I’d really cared about when I left Brian, or rather when he’d thrown me out. I’d taken stuff, mostly because his new girlfriend, who was moving in, wanted everything new, but only Susannah and Jake had really mattered. How horrible for this little girl to have to leave her cat behind. And I was sure she would have to. There was no room in that duffel bag for it.
    Janice was trying to comfort the child while looking around