Chapter 16
Annie looked over Sam’s homework. “Looks like you’ve gotten it all right.” Her eyes were burning. She had thought she’d get some research done this evening but she was tired. Or maybe it was stress.
After all, one of the reasons they had moved to Cumberland Creek was because it was safer.
“Bath and bed,” Annie said to Sam.
He sniffed.
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
He nodded. “I hate math.”
“I know. But remember what I said. It’s one of those things you just have to get through.”
He kissed her on the cheek and she beamed. Her Sam.
“Hey Annie, did you put the last load of clothes in the dryer?” Mike said, walking into the kitchen.
“Yep,” Annie said, getting up from the kitchen table and heading to the sink to rinse a few dishes.
“What’s wrong?” Mike asked after a few minutes of silence.
“I found out there are gangs in Cumberland Creek. I was over at those new apartments on Druid today and was threatened. I was surprised by it and went to the police and found out about big problems over there.”
Mike leaned up against the sink and crossed his arms. “Does this have anything to do with the Martelino sisters?”
Annie shrugged. “I bet it does. I’m hoping to get some research done tonight.”
“How big a problem is it?” Mike asked.
“It can’t get any bigger than murder,” she said, reaching for a towel to dry her hands. “But what bothers me is that I didn’t know anything about it, you know? They are keeping it hush-hush. I’m a reporter and I’m a mother. I need to pay more attention to my community.”
Mike reached for her and wrapped his arms around her. “I think you’re doing fine. You’re the best mom I know.”
She relaxed into her husband’s arms and placed her head on his shoulder. “I was scared today. I didn’t expect to be threatened. It was a shock. I mean, I’m sure I can handle the story. I just need to be more careful, like I used to be.”
Mike brushed a long, curly strand of hair out of her face and kissed her lips. “Annie, you’ve been in some tight situations, but you are a mom, now.” He sighed. “I’m glad this is the last story. I don’t want to raise these boys alone.”
A shiver traveled up Annie’s spine and she pulled away from her husband. “Don’t worry. You won’t.” She smiled. “At least not if I have anything to say about it.”
A few years ago, the conversation might have ended differently. But something had shifted in Annie. She didn’t crave the danger anymore. She was still curious and still liked writing and finding some semblance of justice, but after being tied up and almost killed at the B and B and witnessing Jon and Elsie being shot, images of her children being without their mother taunted her. She had chosen to be a mom. They had worked at becoming parents. It was what she wanted. She wanted to be there for her kids. It was more important than anything.
Dreams shifted. Life changed.
And gangs were invading Cumberland Creek.
“Gangs?” Randy said, the next day at the scrapbooking crop. “Here?”
Annie nodded and sipped her beer.
They had decided to meet at DeeAnn’s. She couldn’t leave the house and Sheila thought it would cheer her up to have the croppers at her place. They had set up card tables and chairs around DeeAnn and her couch. DeeAnn was scrapbooking on her new laptop.
“Never thought I’d see the day,” Vera said after a minute. “This is my hometown, and I’ve never been frightened for my safety until the last few years. It’s just sad.”
“Do they think that’s who killed the Martelinos?” Paige asked.
“I don’t know,” Annie replied. “But I’ve been researching them. The sisters have been here about eighteen months. They came together. Marina has been working for Pamela ever since she came here.”
“I wonder why the other sister didn’t go to work for her,” DeeAnn said.
“It’s tough to get a job there,” Randy said. “Unless it’s as a dishwasher, you have to be qualified. I don’t think people realize that Pamela’s hired some highly qualified professionals.”
“Well, we know that you are,” Paige said. “But are there others like you?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “Marina was very gifted. Knew her stuff. I don’t know where she was trained. I never really have the time to talk to people when I’m working. It’s a very fast pace and I’m really still figuring out the way things work.”
“I’m curious,” Annie said. “You’ve said that the place isn’t managed well.”
“No, the supplies don’t seem to be,” Randy said, placing a brown, jewel-embellished paper photo frame around a picture.
“Nice,” Paige said, looking over his shoulder.
“I find that very surprising,” Vera said. “I mean, for such a successful place, you’d think she’d be more careful.”
Randy grunted, holding up his page. “I’m not sure what the problem with the supplies is. I’m looking into it.” The page was gold with a Halloween photo of him and his dad sitting on a porch swing. He was dressed as Superman and only about three years old. The cranberry jewel embellishments he’d placed on the page added just a bit of flair. “I love those jewels. And they are so easy to work with. Now they have peel-off backs.”
“Does Pamela employ a lot of Mexicans?” Annie asked while searching in her bag for an envelope of photos she had stuck inside earlier.
“She employs mostly foreigners,” Randy said. “I’m one of the few locals there.”
“What?” Vera said, dropping her scissors.
“To be fair, most of them are doing menial jobs. Dishwashing, chopping, mixing,” said Randy. “Pamela mentioned once that she couldn’t find Americans to fill those positions.”
The room quieted.
“That’s hard to believe,” DeeAnn said. “I’ve never had a problem. In fact, I maintain a file of people who’d be happy to work for me, even if it’s just washing dishes.”
“How much is she paying those people, Randy?” Annie said, unable to ignore the pings of reporter’s intuition surging through her body.
“I imagine minimum wage,” he said, sliding his finished page into a plastic page protector. “But I really have no idea.”
“Has anybody gotten a good look at the scrapbooking pages they found with the sisters?” DeeAnn questioned.
“They’ve both been sent to the crime lab in Richmond,” Annie said, sliding out her photos of their day of hiking at Sherando Lake. She had bought some paper with stylized blue mountains in the background and couldn’t wait to preserve the memory of that day. It had been one of those moments when she wished she could stop time. The boys were so busy with soccer, music, and school that it was tough to get away as a family, even if it was just to a local lake.
“Cute pictures,” Randy said.
Annie beamed. She played around with the placement of the photos. “How open would Pamela be to chatting with me?”
Randy twisted his mouth. “Who knows?”