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Harry dropped them off at the apartment and waited for them to get to the front door. As Matt unlocked the door Sady heard Amanda. She must have pulled into the parking lot shortly after Harry dropped them off.
"Hey, neighbor. So is this your house guest?" Amanda's brow lowered when they turned her way. Matt had a black eye, while Sady had peeling, red skin from her sunburn and bandages from the glass.
"Hi, Amanda. Sorry about tonight." Amanda gaped and Sady bit back a grin. "It's a long story," she said as Matt turned his attention back to the door lock.
The next thing Sady knew Amanda jabbed Matt, and he flopped to the ground. Amanda yelled, "Run, girl! Don't let that abuser in." She grabbed Sady and pulled her toward her car in the parking lot.
Harry had stopped to take one last look in his mirror. When he saw what happened he wheeled back around the lot, slammed his vehicle into park, and hopped out, not sure who needed his help more- Matt or Sady. One look at Sady trying not to laugh and he decided Matt needed the help.
Amanda tried shoving Sady into her car while Sady protested, "They're my friends Amanda, honestly. What did you just use? Because I have to get one of those!" Amanda showed Sady the stun gun she kept in her bag.
Matt said rude things when Sady pulled Amanda back to introduce her. Harry smiled at Amanda, with his back to Matt.
"Harry," Sady hissed. "Get me one of those. I need one of those!"
"Oh, no you don't," Matt interrupted.
"I hate to break this up but maybe we should take this inside," Harry said. "And Sady, you can't legally have one of those in Michigan unless you have a license to carry a concealed pistol. Isn't that right Amanda?"
Amanda smirked and nodded. "Of course."
"Thanks for your help, Amanda," Sady smiled.
"Yeah, thanks a lot Amanda," Matt said sarcastically while Sady mouthed, "Ignore him."
"Happy to be of help. I've got a spare you can borrow when you get your license, Sady," Amanda said cheerfully as she walked toward her own apartment.
"Maybe I should stick around until you've recovered," Harry told Matt when they were inside Sady's. He pulled out his phone to let CJ know.
"I'm texting your uncle," Matt threatened, pulling out his phone. "This should be considered a combat zone!"
"I see you got a new phone," Sady told him.
He said, "Nothing gets past you, does it? I've got a new number too. Give me your phone. I don't trust you to enter the number." Sady handed over her phone and Matt added his number to the contacts list.
When he finished he said, "Well, let's see what else Sady does with her phone. No selfies? I'm surprised at you." He was quiet for a minute as he looked at her pictures.
"Harry, what do you make of this?" he asked, holding out Sady's phone.
"Illegal firearms at the very least," Harry immediately replied.
"That's what I thought," Matt said. "Sady, where did..."
Someone interrupted him. "I'll take that phone and if either of you reach for a weapon, the pretty one gets a hole her head. Pull those guns out very carefully, then set them on the floor."
Sady looked in shock at the voice coming from the hallway. It was the old bag who lived next door to Tim Archer. She had her pistol aimed at Sady's head. Matt and Harry pulled their guns and set them on the floor.
She tossed some zip ties at Sady and told her tie the men. "Make sure you do a good job or they start losing body parts," she warned. Sady believed her and pulled the ties tight enough to satisfy her. Then she made Sady zip them together, hands and feet, laying back to back on the floor.
"I should have known you'd bring backup trouble. I'm out of zip ties. You'd better pray you have a roll of duct tape, missy." She followed Sady to the kitchen while Sady dug around, finally producing a roll of tape. The woman made her tear off three strips, then she set her gun down, and used one piece to bind Sady's wrists. She shoved Sady toward the living room. Sady tripped over a chair and fell.
"Get up," the old bag demanded, kicking her. Sady got to her feet while the woman put the extra pieces of tape over the mouths of Matt and Harry. "Now you," she pointed her gun at Sady, "Out the door." Sady limped, nearly falling as she made her way to the door.
"What about them?" Sady asked, nodding at the men.
"I'll have someone come to take care of them, don't worry. Now hurry it up, missy! My granny can move faster than you."
She snarled at the old woman. "Don't blame it on me. You pushed me down and sprained my ankle. Maybe you'll have to carry me."
Matt closed his eyes in frustration and Harry was about to come unglued.
The woman sent a dirty look at Sady, "Maybe I'll just have to shoot... oomph!" She dropped the gun and doubled over when Sady stabbed her in the stomach with the business end of an umbrella from the hall stand. Sady gave the gun a vicious kick, causing the men to squirm wildly. She hadn't seen that much contained writhing since her competition days when a particularly hated contestant had the inside of her evening gown rubbed down with fiberglass insulation.
Sady brought the umbrella down on the woman's head, knocking her to the floor and breaking the umbrella. "Cheap umbrella," Sady grumbled as she snatched the duct tape from the kitchen counter and wrapped the woman like a mummy, starting at the elbows and working her way down the ankles. She carelessly twisted and rolled the unconscious woman as she taped her.
The whole time she was muttering. "Shoot me? Expect me to take a ride with you so you can make me disappear? I'd rather be shot here, you old... And if I'm going to be killed it won't be without a fight. This is also for calling the cops on me."
Sady continued to wrap the woman until she ran out of tape, still talking. "You fool. Didn't you know you can break the restraint of duct tape with enough downward force? I did that when I fell. And that's why I'm using the whole roll on you."
The guys had given up trying to get her attention. Only after the tape roll was empty, did Sady seem to notice the situation. The men were glaring at her. "What? You want me to kick the gun over to you now?" she asked.
They almost knocked each other out shaking their heads. "Then quit complaining. I'll get to you when I'm sure this witch isn't going anywhere." Sady nudged the nearly mummified woman with her toe and seemed satisfied.
She headed to the men and yanked the tape off their mouths. They yelled, and she threatened to put it back on them. Amanda poked her head in the door and shouted, "I'm coming in and I'm armed."
The men panicked until Sady assured Amanda everything was okay. Amanda stepped in and smiled when she saw the bound men. "Good job," she told Sady and gave her a high five.
She followed Sady to the kitchen and asked about the silver-wrapped woman laying in the hall. Sady pointed to the gun. Amanda didn't even question it when Sady asked her to call for emergency help. While Amanda called, Sady grabbed a kitchen knife and went to cut the men free.
"No need to bleed us, Morrow," Matt complained. "Just cut our hand ties and we'll take care of the rest."
"Quit whining, it's just a tiny nick," Sady said looking at the gash on Matt's ankle. She managed to cut his wrist ties without slicing him open and he grabbed the knife from her shaking hands. Harry had been holding his breath and he let it out all at once while Matt worked on cutting the remaining ties.
"Do you want me to bring you the gun?" Sady asked and winced when they both yelled, "No!"
"The safety's off, Morrow," Matt said in a strangled voice. "Please don't even touch it."
"Picky, picky," Sady scolded.
"Look on the bright side, Matt," Harry said with a grin. "At least you won't have to shave for a week."
"I like you," Sady said to Harry, then she turned to Matt. "You could use some lessons in appreciation, considering that I just saved your life."
"You just saved my life? You could have killed me when you kicked that gun. Besides, we wouldn't even be in this predicament if your friend hadn't ambushed me and distracted us."
Neither of them noticed CJ had arrived, beating the police by a good five minutes. "I see the children are at it again," she said to Harry. "Remind you of anyone?"
Harry drew her close with a smile, then he nodded to the woman on the floor. "Sady took pictures at the house next to hers. They were on her phone so that's why we didn't see them. If I had to guess I'd say she's been using her neighbor's house for illegal activities."
Amanda parked herself on Sady's couch and watched the show with her mouth open. She was still sitting there when the police arrived and took statements. When the police questioned her she said, "I'm just the neighbor. I heard unusual noises and came over to see what was wrong. That's when I called for help."
Matt sputtered, "Just a neighbor, my... ouch!" He scowled as Sady kicked him in the shin. She glared back, and he bit his tongue. "Like she said, Amanda's just the neighbor," Matt said.
"Who taped the old gal laying on the floor?" one of the cops asked. Sady raised her hand and waved it like she was in school. "Good job," he said, trying not to smile.
They all wound up at the police station to give detailed statements, except for Amanda. After getting warrants, the police searched Tim Archer's house and the one next door, belonging to Irene Grimm. Tim Archer hadn't been to his house in months, so Mrs. Grimm and her son were using it for their illegal business, which included weapons and drugs. The fact that Tom Archer rented the house that burned in Hell was just an unfortunate coincidence that caused Sady and Irene to cross paths.
"How did she find out who Sady was?" Harry asked the officer in charge.
"Mrs. Grimm pays for a network of nosy neighbors to report any unusual activity. They fan out several streets from her house. One of them spotted a barefoot Sady getting into her car the other day. Once she had the license number, it wasn't hard to track Sady down by hacking into the rental car company records. It was her son who took the shots, according to Irene. But I expect it will take a while to get this sorted out," the officer told them.
Later that night they were having pizza and beer at the Knight's house. Sady pulled out her phone and looked at the picture that had set the whole thing in motion. "I still don't see it," she said, referring to the gun. "It just looks like a pile of newspapers and junk."
"Don't feel bad," CJ told her. "After all, you don't have a gun Bible."
"She's not getting one either. At least until she learns not to kick a loaded gun, especially when the safety's off," Matt said disparagingly.
"I should have left you tied up," Sady complained. "Or at least left the tape on your mouth. I haven't seen anyone whine so much since my competition days."
Matt looked offended and sat back with a scowl.
Sady turned to the Knight's with a hopeful smile. "I don't suppose you know of a library looking for help."
"Actually Sady, we were hoping you'd stay on with us," CJ began and Sady jumped up to hug her. CJ looked uncomfortable and turned desperately to Harry. Matt looked smug and Sady grew suspicious. They all turned to Harry when he cleared his throat.
"We need someone in the front office Sady. We're hoping you'll consider it," he explained.
"You'll be sorry. Find her a library instead," Matt insisted.
Sady gave him a sharp look and said to Harry, "Because you asked so nicely, and you have such gorgeous blue eyes- sorry CJ- I'll take it."
"Harry, I think you are going to have to start wearing sunglasses," CJ teased him while Matt protested in the background, "I have blue eyes."
"Your blue eyes don't come with good manners," Sady informed him. "You should spend more time with Harry... or his mother."
"Make that my big sisters," Harry said. "All three of them."
Matt shot a horrified look of sympathy at Harry, who just grinned as he put one arm around his wife and the other around Sady. Matt expression changed to distaste.
"I've got to catch an early flight," he told them, breaking up the party. "Not that this hasn't been fun... getting tased, and being zip tied to Mr. Blue Eyes and all, but I have things to take care of at home."
"How are things going with Emily?" CJ teased him. Harry chided her and Sady looked interested.
"I'm ignoring you CJ. Sady, if you want a ride home you'd better grab your bag because I'm leaving now."
"Sady, I'll text you with the job details," CJ said, hiding her smile from Matt.
"Great!" Sady nodded and grabbed her purse. As they headed out the door she pestered Matt. "So who's Emily? You're not going to charge my uncle for your complete failure here are you? You did a terrible job you know. Maybe he should pay me for saving your life."
"That wasn't nice," Harry scolded CJ after they'd left.
"Maybe not, but it was fun. I can't wait to stir that pot again."
"Uh-huh. And why didn't you tell Sady more about the job? Maybe she won't even want it."
CJ gave him a look that implied he was stupid. "Because I don't want Meadows blabbing to Morrow. He's such a fuss pot that if he knew Sady was doing fieldwork, he wouldn't give her room to breathe. We both know she's capable of more than answering phones. This way it gives her a chance to prove herself without Morrow meddling."