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Mo was still rattled from Gertie's disclosure about the rumors she and Carter were an item. Or maybe it was the rumor that Mo was like her mother and chasing any man who wouldn't turn her down. It was emotionally unsettling, and made it hard to focus on what would happen tomorrow. She sat in her room, tossing around the idea of moving to a town where everyone didn't know her background.
Her phone buzzed with a text. She didn't feel like reading it, but she had a serious responsibility to fulfill so she checked. It was from Walter. He was letting them know they wouldn't need to worry about a certain photograph. A couple fellas who registered for the contest had shown him a photo earlier that day. In his efforts to view it better, he held it so close to a bare lightbulb that it damaged the photo and the picture was now beyond recognition. Those darn modern printers and the cheap ink were at fault! Mo smiled as she imagined him playing the distraught and absent minded elderly man who goofed up. He was a sly old devil.
Okay, Mo, time to pull yourself back from the dark edge. Gertie was doing you a favor, not trying to hurt you. What you have to do now is keep your head up and walk proud because you have nothing to be ashamed of. And be careful who you tease from now on! Just put it behind you, and focus on the task at hand. Try to prepare yourself for tomorrow.
Mo took a deep breath, grabbed a bottle of Sinful Ladies Society cough syrup, made a sandwich, and sat down to think. So maybe the cough syrup wasn't the best idea. Mo realized that after her last imagined scenario in which she took out the bad guys, drove Tony wild with her push up bra and low cut top, then sped off into the sunset with him in a speedboat, while Carter begged her to stay, and trailed after her in a rubber dinghy.
Mo giggled and lifted the bottle to check the level. Whoops! She'd definitely consumed more than the recommended adult dosage. They really should put bigger warning labels on those bottles! Maybe that's who was knocking on her door- the bottle labelers.
"It's open," she shouted and fell off her chair when she tried to stand. She lay on the floor and laughed. Maybe it was the sex slavers. Hey, maybe they'd take her mother. "I'll cut you a deal," she giggled, still face down on the floor.
"What exactly are you dealing?" Tony asked as he leaned down to roll her over.
"My mother," Mo said, trying not to laugh. "Don't tell the sex slavers that she's probably already had knee replacement surgery." She lost the battle and giggled uncontrollably. "Then again, it might be an asset. An asset, get it?"
He sighed and pulled her off the floor. "Mo, what happened?" He had to hold her upper arms to keep her from tipping over.
She pointed to the bottle. "Mislabeled, and I overdosed. Not my fault," she insisted with wide eyes. An unexpected tear rolled out of one eye. She slapped her eye and yelled, "Stop it!" Then another. Pretty soon it was a flood that wouldn't stop. "You need to go home now," she blubbered as she tried to pull away from Tony's grasp. "I'm A-Okay!"
Ten minutes later, Mo was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding onto Tony who had a soaking wet shoulder. She was still trying to convince him she was fine. The flow of tears had stopped, but she held him tight at the same time as she told him to leave.
He reached for something and she moved with him. Then she felt him shove a couple tissues into her hand. "Blow your nose or we'll do this like you're a toddler," he warned. Mo scowled as she loosened her grip and blew her nose. He stood and pushed the wastebasket closer, then pointed to the tissue box he'd pulled off her nightstand and set on the bed. "Again, Moses."
She did so while he headed to her bathroom. He returned with a wet washcloth and held it out to her. Mo used the cloth to wash her face, then she held onto it and stared at it. Without a word, he took the cloth to her bathroom, then came back and sat on her bed. Now Mo felt like an idiot, a tipsy idiot. She didn't remember life being this complicated as a teenager. Worst of all, he'd just witnessed her at her worst. She couldn't even look at him.
"Would you like to tell me what brought this on?" he asked. She shook her head carefully, so as not to fall off the bed.
"Nothing," she whispered.
"That was a pretty big nothing," he replied, sounding concerned. She didn't respond, so he reached over and took her hand. "Mo, remember when I was down and you told me you were there for me?" She nodded. "That's a two way street, Moses May Murphy. I'm here for you now." Seconds later he gathered her in his arms, but her face was on his dry shoulder.
"You're welcome to use it," he said, and she could feel him smile.
"I am," she whispered contentedly. It wasn't long before she was fast asleep.
Tony held her as he pulled down the covers on her bed, then he eased her back and covered her with the sheet. He reached down to wipe a strand of tear soaked hair from her cheek, wishing he knew what had upset her and how he could help.
He was putting away what Mo left on her table when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. He wondered if he should wake her, or just let it go. As he weighed the options, it buzzed a second time, then a third. He wondered if the texts were the cause of her meltdown.
Without feeling guilty, he grabbed her phone and read the texts.
Fortune: Meet in the park at ten for services.
Ida Belle: Gertie has a long blonde wig. Why am I not surprised? She'll bring it for you.
Gertie: Wear a plain pale blue shirt. Church dress code is a casualty of Big Bass Sunday, so wear jeans and comfy shoes for the boat ride. If you have a navy baseball cap bring that and your sunglasses.
One more text came a short time later.
Fortune: Mo, is everything okay? Do you need one of us to come over?
Tony frowned. He didn't know what Mo had cooked up with Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie, but he'd heard enough from Carter about their exploits to worry about Mo. He sent back a text. Sorry, I was getting ready for bed. Everything sounds good. See you tomorrow.
Tony didn't want to push the panic button because it sounded like they were just going for a boat ride. He knew Gertie entered the contest each year. Ida Belle did on occasion as well. It wouldn't be unusual for Mo to go along for the fun of it. The one text that threw him had to do with the long blonde wig. Why would Gertie bring Mo a blonde wig? It didn't set right with Tony.
He put Mo's cell phone next to her on the bed, hoping she'd think she just forgot about the texts and responding. He hurriedly tidied the room, then decided to go have a talk with Carter. Then he stopped and wrote a quick note, leaving it on Mo's bathroom mirror.
***
"Tony, what are you doing here?" Carter asked as he opened his door. "I don't see your vehicle. Did you walk?"
Tony pushed his way past Carter and closed the door. "I parked down the street, since you live across from Gertie and I don't want her to know I'm here."
Carter invited him to have a seat in his living room and offered him a beer. He turned down the volume on his TV and waited to see what Tony had on his mind.
"This might sound crazy, but do you know why Gertie would lend Mo a long blonde wig to wear fishing tomorrow?"
Carter closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath. He looked at Tony. "I warned them to mind their own business, but hell! Since when have they ever listened to me?" He explained to Tony Mo's concern about the conversation she overheard and how he felt she misunderstood. "But I think her partners in crime bought the whole story, if only to drive me over the edge. I think that's their whole purpose in life now." He uncapped another bottle of beer and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "What else are they up to?"
Tony gave him a sheepish look. "I'm ashamed to admit I read Mo's text messages without her knowledge and even responded to one."
Carter nearly choked on his beer. "And you survived to tell the tale? Are you here for protection? First, tell me about the texting."
Tony did so reluctantly. "I can't shake the feeling that there's more to this than what it seems," Tony admitted. "I hate to betray Mo's trust, but she was drinking when I got there, Carter. Then she went to pieces on me and cried her heart out. I assumed those texts might be the problem, and that's the only reason I read them. I knew one of those women would come check on her if she didn't respond. By then she was sleeping, so I just sent a reply."
Carter looked at Tony's wet shirt and pointed, raising his brows. Tony nodded, and Carter stood, turning off the TV. "Kitchen," he said. "More brews and leftover pizza. I have a feeling we'll need it."
Tony chuckled. "Isn't this a dry town?"
"It is when I'm on duty, but I've got the night off." Carter grinned as he opened his fridge and pulled out another round of beer. He tossed a pizza box on the table. "Help yourself. Microwave's over there. I take it Moses wasn't drinking beer?"
Tony shook his head. "She claims the cough syrup was mislabeled, and she overdosed by accident."
"She's got the wild imagination to run with the others," Carter said with a sigh. "And they've put me right in the middle of another one of their messes."
"Well, we can't ask Mo or she'll know I read her texts," Tony said.
"Then we'll just have to watch them tomorrow," Carter replied. "I know they have a grand scheme cooked up. What puzzles me is why Mo was drinking and crying. It just doesn't fit with what I know about those women when they decide to hatch a plan. I saw Mo earlier with Gertie, and she didn't appear upset."
"Do you think she was crying because you didn't believe her and she was worried? One of the few things she said had to do with sex slavers, but I thought she was joking about her mother."
Carter scratched his head and shrugged. It was quiet as they drank beer, ate pizza, and tried to understand the female mind.
"Anthony, my friend, I'm afraid those women will kill us yet," Carter finally said.
Tony lifted his beer in agreement. "I'll drink to that!"