NINE

 

Not surprisingly, Lucille expressed no interest in attending the science fair, even though both of her grandsons stood a good chance of winning in their respective categories, Alex in Chemistry and Nick in Earth Science. Since I no longer had a working stove, I didn’t worry about her burning down the house while we were gone. I left a dinner platter for her in the refrigerator. All she had to do was zap it in the microwave for two minutes.

Of course, Lucille being Lucille, there was the possibility she’d ignore my directions and set the timer long enough to explode her dinner. But since Zack had insisted on purchasing new appliances as part of the kitchen remodel, I decided not to worry. If my mother-in-law detonated her dinner in the microwave, she could fix herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Shortly after five o’clock, we bundled up in our winter coats and headed across town to the Lambert home, Alex driving Nick in his Jeep. Zack, Mama, and I followed in my Jetta.

We’d met Shane Lambert back in December after Alex had begun dating his daughter Sophie. A subsequent murder, followed by my thwarting of an attempt to kidnap Sophie, had bonded the two families together.

Shane and Sophie had prepared a buffet dinner of assorted salads and sandwich fixings, perfect for an eat-and-run meal—which is exactly what the teens did. Once they headed off to the high school, the adults relaxed over coffee until shortly before the science fair opened.

We arrived at the high school in plenty of time to tour the various booths before the awards ceremony. Then we watched as both Alex and Nick took first place in their categories, as did Sophie, who won in the Environmental Science category. Afterwards the seven of us celebrated over ice cream sundaes.

~*~

We pulled into the driveway shortly before eleven o’clock. As soon as we made our way to the front door, we heard Dancing with the Stars blaring from the den television. “Is that commie going deaf?” asked Mama, raising her voice and covering her ears.

“She will if she keeps this up,” said Zack. He unlocked the door and allowed us to enter ahead of him. As Mama and I hung up our coats, Zack strode toward the den. A moment later silence reigned. Total silence.

“That’s odd,” I said.

“What’s that, dear?” asked Mama.

“Not a peep of complaint from Lucille.”

“Completely out of character for the old bat,” agreed Mama. “Maybe she fell asleep.”

“Or something’s wrong,” I said.

As I headed down the hall, Zack stepped out of the den. “She’s not in there,” he said.

I flipped on the bathroom light and peered inside. No Lucille. Although it seemed unlikely, given the darkened room, I even checked the bathtub. Still no Lucille.

I exited the bathroom, made my way to Lucille’s bedroom, and pushed aside the curtain that had replaced the bedroom door after she had locked Mama out of the room one time too many. Lucille wasn’t on her bed nor was she lying unconscious on the floor. We hadn’t seen her in either the living room or dining room when we entered the house.

“She’s not in the master bedroom or bathroom,” said Zack after checking both.

“Not in here,” said Mama, stepping out of Alex and Nick’s bedroom.

“That leaves the kitchen and basement,” I said. Although I couldn’t imagine why my mother-in-law would enter a construction zone or head down to the basement for any reason. The world would come to an end if Lucille Pollack took it upon herself to do her own laundry.

“I’ll check,” said Zack. But a few moments later he reappeared, shaking his head.

“This is bizarre,” I said.

“What’s bizarre?” asked Alex as he and Nick entered the house.

“The commie,” answered Mama. “This is so typical of that thoughtless Bolshevik. She probably went out without bothering to turn off the television, let alone leave a note.”

With Harriet still locked up, Lucille had no wheels. Leonard was in the apartment, so Lucille wasn’t taking him for a walk. Besides, she’d previously abdicated all responsibility for her dog.

Mama yawned theatrically. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need my beauty rest. Wherever she is, it’s not our problem. She’s a grown woman.” She then spun on her heels and with a backward wave said, “Goodnight, all,” as she entered the boys’ bedroom, closing the door behind her.

A moment later Mama let loose an ear-piercing shriek.

Zack, Alex, Nick, and I raced into the room. We found Mama standing in front of the open closet door, her mouth agape, her eyes wide, one arm outstretched. A shaky index finger pointed to something within.

“B..b…b,” she stuttered, unable to force out any words, let alone a coherent syllable.

The four of us crowded around Mama and stared into the closet. I expected to find a giant bug freaking her out. Mama hated bugs, but this was no bug. It was a body. My mother-in-law’s body. Inside the closet, partially hidden under a pile of clothes and shoes.

I moved Mama aside as Zack stepped closer. He bent down and removed some of the garments covering Lucille’s trussed-up body.

“Is she alive?” I asked.

Zack placed his fingers alongside her neck. “I’m getting a pulse, but she’s got a huge gash on the side of her head.”

I whipped out my phone and called 911. After explaining the situation to the dispatcher and being told to remain on the line, I told Zack, “An ambulance is on its way.”

Lucille began to stir as Zack worked to loosen the electrical cords binding her arms and legs. She forced open her previously uninjured eye, which now matched the injured one, took one look at Zack, and tried to jerk away. “Get your hands off me!”

“Don’t move,” he said. “We don’t know the extent of your injuries.”

She stared up at us, and in a raspy voice, demanded, “What did you do to me?”

“How dare you!” said Mama, her horror-stricken demeanor having segued into indignation. “We certainly didn’t do this. You nearly gave me a heart attack. You should be grateful I found you when I did.”

I shot a glance at Zack, then muttered, “Not helping, Mama.”

My mother screwed her face into a pout and fisted her hands on her hips. “Well, we didn’t, and I resent the accusation.”

I glanced over at my sons who took the silent hint. Alex reached for Mama’s arm and said, “Come on, Grandma. I’ll make you a cup of tea while Nick takes Leonard for a walk.”

“Manifesto!” shouted Lucille, regaining her voice enough to chastise my son. “His name is Manifesto.”

“Not anymore,” said Nick.

Mama and her grandsons left the room to the sounds of Lucille’s accusations. “This is all your fault, Anastasia. Those boys of yours have no respect.”

I bit my tongue. I was itching to tell her respect is earned, but we currently had more pressing matters. Like, who assaulted her. And why? “What’s the last thing you remember?” I asked her.

She scowled at me and refused to answer. Whether her silence stemmed from petulance or a lack of memory of the attack, I had no idea.

Zack had removed the electrical cord around her wrists and feet. She tried to stand, but he placed a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from rising. “It’s best to wait until the ambulance arrives.”

She swatted away his hand. “I don’t need an ambulance. You’d love to lock me up in that horrible place again, wouldn’t you? Well, I won’t have it. Get out. Leave me alone.”

Lucille grabbed the doorjamb and tried to hoist herself to her feet but immediately gasped before sliding back onto the floor. The pile of scattered clothing cushioned her rump but did little to prevent her head from slamming into the closet wall. She let out a loud moan before losing consciousness again.

I stared down at my mother-in-law. “We can’t force her into an ambulance if she refuses to go.”

“She won’t have that choice if she doesn’t regain consciousness.”

One could only hope. Getting Lucille into an ambulance and to the hospital would go much smoother if she remained unconscious. “Do you think she broke something?”

Zack shrugged. “Hard to say. Her reaction when she tried to stand may indicate a broken bone. Or worse.”

“Do you think Murphy’s behind this?”

“I’ll check the security cameras. Someone got into the house, whether by force or because she let him in. I don’t see Lucille allowing a stranger into the house, do you?”

“Definitely not.”

“He either broke in or forced his way inside when she opened the door. We’ll know more shortly.” He whipped out his phone and started scanning video from the time we left the house earlier that evening.

I stood alongside him as he fast-forwarded through the security videos, but we saw nothing suspicious. As we continued to scan the security feed, we heard a siren growing louder.

“Sounds like the ambulance is almost here,” said Zack. He paused the video. “This will have to wait until we deal with Lucille.”

Not that it mattered. “Whoever attacked her is probably long gone. I doubt he’s lurking in the bushes. And he was probably smart enough to hide his face.”

“Most likely. But the video will show how he got in and when.”

“But not who he is or what he wanted.”

“Not unless he’s really dumb,” said Zack.

We left my mother-in-law sprawled in the closet and made our way to the front door.

Zack glanced around the living room. “There are no signs of anyone having ransacked the house. This could be personal.”

“Someone deliberately wanted to hurt Lucille?”

“She certainly has a knack for pissing off people,” said Mama, adding her two cents from the living room. She sat alone on the sofa, except for Catherine the Great, who was curled up alongside her. Steam rose from the mug Mama cupped between her hands. “Maybe she finally mouthed off to the wrong person,” she added.

I ignored her comment, no matter how much I agreed with her. When it came to Lucille, anything was possible. The only people I knew who tolerated her were her fellow Daughters of the October Revolution. Her own son had liked her best when two rivers and an hour’s drive separated them.

Instead, I asked, “Where’s Alex?”

“He went up to the apartment as soon as he nuked my tea.”

“And Nick?”

“Also in the apartment.”

“You’re sure?”

“He darted into the house to say goodnight before going up.”

By now the ambulance and an accompanying patrol car had pulled up to the curb. Zack swung the door open as the EMTs, followed by Officers Harley and Fogarty, made their way up the front path. Zack directed the EMTs to the bedroom. While they worked to stabilize Lucille, Zack and I filled Harley and Fogarty in on the little we knew.

“I was checking the security footage before you arrived,” said Zack.

“Did you see anything suspicious?” asked Harley.

“Not so far, but we were gone more than five hours. I’ll keep looking.” He opened his phone and accessed the feed.

As the EMTs were about to roll my still unconscious mother-in-law out of the house, Zack said, “This is disturbing.”

“What?” I asked.

“Lucille’s assailant had a key to the house.”