Out on the street, we said goodbye to Gabriel.
“Call me if you need me,” he said, then waved and walked off, his black leather duster brushing against his black leather boots, like a cowboy heading into the sunset.
I gazed up at Derek. “That went well.”
He choked on a laugh. “Bad enough that your mother was being threatened, but now you’re both in danger.” He raked his hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was thoroughly frustrated.
“On the upside, we don’t know for sure that I’m in danger this time.”
He gave me one of those endearing looks that clearly said, Brooklyn my love, I’m not an idiot.
“I’m so sorry.” I laid one hand on his arm. “I really hate this.”
“None of this is your fault, love.”
It was sweet of him to say it, but I didn’t really believe it. No matter what, somehow I always ended up in the middle of a mess. Good thing I was a bookbinder. Imagine what would have happened if I’d been something more dangerous. Like a hair stylist or something.
We started walking down the Lane, but something made me stop. I stared at the crosswalk and realized we were standing directly across the street from where my mother had almost been killed.
“Let’s cross the street,” I said, and took a step toward the curb.
Derek grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “That’s not a good idea.”
I gazed up at him. “I know you would check out the scene if I wasn’t with you, so let’s just go and get it over with.”
Derek knew it was useless to fight me so we crossed the street. He kept my arm firmly tucked in his, and when we reached the other side, I was really glad to have his support.
“There’s blood,” I whispered.
“Yes. She must’ve fallen right here.” He pointed. “And this is where her knee scraped the surface.”
I had to force myself to breathe steadily. This time it wasn’t at the mere sight of blood, but because it was my mother’s. Right there on the sidewalk.
There wasn’t a lot of blood and I knew she hadn’t been badly injured, but at that moment I wanted to kill Jacob Banyan.
“Let’s go, sweetheart,” Derek said quietly. “This won’t help you.”
“Yes, it will,” I said, gazing up at him and nodding. “Really. I want to remember everything I see here because it’ll give me the strength to fight this guy with all that’s inside me. Knowing she was hurt . . . knowing that she was meant to be killed . . .” I took a deep breath and reached inside for the balance Mom was always talking about.
But it wouldn’t come.
He stared at me and then nodded. “Then let’s take some time here. And I’ll ask Gabriel to keep tabs on the police investigation.”
“Good. But don’t tell them about the book. They might take it.”
I took a few minutes to imagine the scene. Stooping down, I touched the place on the sidewalk where my mother had scraped herself. And I counted the drops of blood. Six. It didn’t seem like that many, but those drops ripped away at my heart. And I pictured my father, angry and frightened and helpless as my mother cried out in pain.
Everything in me yearned for payback. I knew it wasn’t very civilized of me, but I didn’t care. Someone had hurt my mom and they were going to pay.
After another moment, I looked up at Derek. “Thanks. We can go now.”
We crossed the street and started walking toward the car. But when we reached the bakery, Derek stopped and checked his wristwatch.
I felt like I’d been sleepwalking. “What time is it?”
“Barely eleven. We’ve got plenty of time before we need to pick up your mother.”
“Can we go home for a little while?” I asked. “Talking to Clyde wore me out.”
“We have an agenda, darling,” he said with purpose. “Let’s go check out the dojo.”
I’d frankly forgotten all about the dojo, but didn’t say a word to Derek since he seemed to have figured that out already. I just hoped he wouldn’t say anything to Alex about my little lapse in memory. She would kick my butt.
We walked past Warped and a few more shops, then turned on a side street. Three doors down from the corner was the Dharma dojo.
I liked the place immediately. It was smaller than Alex’s place in the city, but just as clean and organized as hers.
As we were looking around, a man walked out of an interior office and headed straight for us. He was about my height, five foot eight, with dark hair and an olive complexion. And while he didn’t look like a bodybuilder, he was lean and muscular and solid. “Can I help you?”
“I sure hope so,” I said.
“We’d like to sign up for a couple of self-defense classes,” Derek said. “Refresher classes, actually.”
“You’re Alex’s friends,” he said.
“Right,” I said with some relief. “You’re Keith?”
“Yes.”
I reached out to shake his hand. “I’m Brooklyn and this is Derek.”
Derek shook Keith’s hand. “Derek Stone.”
“And you’re Brooklyn Wainwright,” Keith said, smiling now.
“I guess Alex already gave you our full names.”
“No, she just said to be on the lookout for Brooklyn and Derek. But I recognized you as a Wainwright because of your sister China. She’s one of my students. You look just like her.”
I felt my eyes widen. “China takes classes here?”
“Yes. She’s a green belt in tae kwon do.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but I couldn’t speak, I was so shocked. My younger sister was a green belt? I knew there were a bunch of different degrees and levels of proficiency within each color, but still, green was only two below a black belt. Holy moly. I clearly had some catching up to do. And I wanted to talk to China about this. Why hadn’t she ever said anything to me?
China was good at so many things, I had to wonder if she had knitted her own green belt.
“That’s lovely to hear, isn’t it?” Derek said to me, and slipped his arm securely around my waist as if he expected me to slither to the floor in a dead faint. “Perhaps she can teach you a few moves.”
“Uh, yeah.” I shook my head to clear my brain. “Sure. Wow. I’m amazed. That’s . . . fantastic.”
I let Derek take care of the paperwork with Keith, setting up a schedule of classes every other day for the next week. By the time we were ready to leave the dojo, I had my act together, sort of.
Of course by this point, Keith probably thought I had taken a vow of silence or something. So I would have to make up for lost time.
“I really appreciate you fitting us into your schedule,” I said brightly. “I’m looking forward to learning some new moves.”
He gave a brief bow, as he would have if we’d just finished a session. “I look forward to having both of you in my dojo. And soon, Brooklyn, we’ll have practiced enough simple moves that you’ll be confident to defend yourself in any situation.”
“That’s our goal,” Derek said, and bowed in the same way Keith had.
“Thank you so much, Keith,” I said with a smile. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
We walked in silence back to the Bentley. When we were sitting inside the car, I turned to Derek. “I can’t believe my little sister is a green belt. I’m sort of blown away—as if you couldn’t tell from my practically comatose behavior in there.”
“It’s quite an accomplishment,” he said mildly.
“I know.” I shook my head, still feeling a little bewildered. As far as I knew, China had never been interested in self-defense. What else was going on in her life that I was clueless about? I’d have to find out. “And I just now realized I’m jealous of her.”
“You could get there, too,” he said. “If that’s what you want, you can have it. I’ve never known anyone as determined and talented as you.”
I gave him a smile for that. Honestly, he was the best husband ever.
“I always thought I just wanted to learn enough to be able to kick someone’s butt.” I laughed sheepishly. “But now I want to learn more. I want to be as good as China.” I thought about it for another few seconds and realized that I meant every word. “But also, I guess I want her to be proud of me.” I gazed at him. “And you, too. Is that weird?”
“Not at all. It’s natural. But darling, I am proud of you. So proud. Still, anything that motivates you to improve yourself is a good thing.”
“You sound like Keith.”
He smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I liked his philosophy.”
“It was definitely a compliment,” I assured him.
“Brooklyn, dearest,” he said, his fingers softly stroking my cheek. “I want you to be able to kick someone’s butt if they’re a danger to you. But I also will support you if you want to keep going toward a green belt. Even if you simply want to rub your sister’s nose in it.”
I laughed. “That would be a definite side benefit.”
He started the engine. “Let’s go see how your mother is doing.”
My mother was just fine. More than fine, really, if you didn’t count the ugly bruises underneath her sweater and long pants. She was antsy and ready to get out of the house.
“How are you doing, Dad?” I asked, and gave him a hug.
“I’m groovy,” he said. “I’m just glad that your mom’s feeling better. It was a little scary there for a while.”
“You can say that again,” I murmured, and hugged him once more for good measure.
“But I’m fine now,” Mom insisted, and glanced up at the clock. “We should get going.”
“All right.” I looked at my father. “We’re taking off. You’re going to your meeting at the winery soon?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there all afternoon.” He gave Mom a gentle kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, baby.”
“I’m not fragile,” she said, pulled Dad back, and kissed him on the lips with a resounding smack.
“All righty then,” I said, and started for the door. “See you later, Dad.”
“Take care of your mother.”
I raised my hand in acknowledgment. “We’ll watch her like a hawk.”
I forced my mother to sit in the front seat again and climbed into the back, taking her tote bag with me.
“Thank you, Derek, for driving with me.”
“Of course, Rebecca.”
I spoke up. “You know, Mom, you might think about going back to the scene of your accident later.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m not sure I can face it.”
“It might not be easy for you. I did it just a while ago and it was hard. But it’s right out in front of Savannah’s restaurant, Mom. I think we should wave a little white sage around to clean up the negative vibes.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, then I heard a sniffle.
“Mom? You okay?”
“I’m just so proud of you for suggesting that,” she said. “And yes, if we have time after the meeting, I would love to go and banish all of that negativity. It’s important. I should’ve thought of it myself.”
“You’ve had a few things on your mind.”
She laughed lightly. “I suppose I have.”
In the rearview mirror, Derek met my gaze and nodded in approval. And that made me very happy, even though I was still a little amazed that I’d been the one to bring up the subject of banishment spells to my mother.
Good grief. Since when had I ever suggested sage waving and wacko spellcasting? Since never. No, I was simply nervous about her safety and knew how to make her feel better. Yeah. That was it. Nothing more to see here.
“I’m just so worried about the festival,” Mom confessed as we drove up the Lane toward the town hall.
“Because of the money?”
“Yes.” She shook her head and let go of a heavy sigh. “I heard from the porta-potty company.”
“That sounds like a fun conversation.”
“It wasn’t,” she said flatly. “Our check bounced and they won’t deliver any porta-potties if we don’t pay up.”
“That’s serious,” I murmured.
“You bet your sweet bippy it’s serious. We’re expecting at least five thousand people to show up in a few days and we can’t have them wandering into the woods to drop trou.”
“Whoa, Mom!”
Derek laughed out loud.
They were both having a good laugh at my reaction, but what could I say? My Mom was never boring.
We parked outside of the town hall and Mom turned and smiled at us. “I have a quick surprise for both of you.”
Derek and I exchanged a look. “I’m not sure I can take any more surprises.”
“You’ll like this one, sweetie.”
“Okay. Lead the way.”
“It’s right over here,” she said, and walked across the street to the small park situated in the middle of Berkeley Circle. The festival booths were starting to be erected along the Circle drive itself and they looked so pretty and festive in their alternating pastel shades of blue, pink, yellow, and white. Each booth held two utility tables and several folding chairs, and I couldn’t wait to get started decorating my booth with colorful tablecloths and posters. And lots of books, naturally.
The booths faced the central park where the pretty gazebo in the middle of the Green would act as the children’s stage where musicians, magicians, and characters would perform.
There were dozens of chairs and benches already set up along the periphery for any visitors who needed to take a break from the festivities. If we could figure out the financing, the porta-potties would be set up in a long line along the northern edge of the Circle.
Mom checked her watch. “We may need to move your car if the meeting lasts longer than two hours.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Derek said amiably.
“It’s kind of exciting, watching everything get set up,” I said, weaving my arm through my mother’s.
“Yes,” she said, sounding wistful. “Almost two years of planning and it all begins in a matter of days.”
Mom kept walking.
“So where are we headed?” I asked again.
“Just over here,” she pointed. “By the festival entrance.”
But before we reached the entrance, I heard a familiar voice.
“Yoo-hoo! Brooklyn! Derek!”
“Oh!” My eyes lit up at the sound. And that’s when I saw them. I looked up at Derek and he grinned. We would recognize that lovely Indian accent anywhere.
“It’s Vinnie and Suzie!” I jogged over and grabbed them both in a group hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
Derek came up right behind me and wrapped all of us in his arms. “Wonderful to see you both.” He looked down at Lily sitting in the baby stroller. “I mean, all three of you.”
They had officially adopted the little girl almost two years ago, after their best friends, Lily’s parents, were killed in a traffic accident.
“Hey, kiddo,” Suzie said, punching my arm. “How you doin’?”
“Oh, Brooklyn,” Vinnie said in her delightful lilting accent. “You look so good. And Derek, what a delight.”
Then she straightened up and smiled and nodded to my mother. “Hello, Mrs. Wainwright. What a pleasure to see you again.”
“So formal, Vinnie.” Mom laughed and grabbed her in a hug. “It’s wonderful to see you, too.”
Suzie swung her arm around Mom’s shoulders. “Sorry, you won’t get much formality from me. How’s things, Mrs. Wainwright?”
“Couldn’t be better.” Mom was still laughing as she gave Suzie a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“We are, too.” The two women both wore their signature outfits of torn jeans, leather vests, chains, and black boots.
Derek knelt down to get eye to eye with little Lily. No leather and chains for her; she wore a frilly pink dress with pink leggings and pink tennis shoes. Derek glanced up. “She is gorgeous.”
“Yes, she is,” Vinnie murmured.
Derek rubbed Lily’s chubby cheek with his knuckles and the little girl simply stared, mesmerized by his handsome face.
“Dak,” she said on a sigh. It was close to “Derek.”
I understood completely. Lily was already half in love with Derek and who wouldn’t be?
Suzie laughed. “You have a fan, Derek.”
I smiled. What female wouldn’t love it when a man like Derek Stone touched her cheek that way?
I stooped down in front of Lily. “Hello, angel.”
“Book!” Lily squealed, giving me a grin. I loved her nickname for me. She couldn’t quite manage “Brooklyn,” so she called me “Book.” And that was way appropriate, I thought.
“My Lily girl,” I said. “You look beautiful!”
Lily patted her pink hair ribbon and preened a bit. “Tankoo.”
“You’re welcome.”
Then I listened to an incomprehensible list of news items from the tiny girl before I finally stood up, smiling.
Vinnie hugged me again. “The two of you have such a special relationship.”
I loved their adopted daughter to pieces. “We relate on a whole different plane.”
Suzie snickered. “That’s one way to put it.”
“So where are they putting your sculpture?” I asked.
Suzie pointed. “Over there. They’re using it right at the main entrance. It’s up on a pedestal.” Her voice held a ring of pride and who could blame her? As incredibly talented chainsaw artists, Suzie and Vinnie had created some of the most beautiful pieces I’d ever seen. This one was no exception.
I stared at the large piece of sculpted burl wood in the shape of an open book. The thing was massive; at least ten feet across and five or six feet high. “Wow. It’s fantastic.”
“Let’s go get a better look at it,” Mom said, and once again led the way to the festival entrance where Berkeley Circle began.
The sculpture depicted a huge open book with pages fluttering like a fan. The pages were each as thin as an actual piece of paper and I could see words carved into them.
“It’s ingenious,” I whispered, circling the imposing piece, admiring their skill. How they managed to create something so beautiful out of wood with a chainsaw was simply impossible for me to comprehend. “And it’s huge. I love that they put it right out front.”
“I’m just thrilled,” Mom said after a long moment of studying the piece. “It makes such a wonderful statement for our very first book festival.”
“Hey, it’s a book,” Suzie said, grinning. “And it’s at a book festival. Makes sense.”
“It sure does,” Mom said, laughing as she touched Suzie’s arm. “But it’s so much more than just a book.”
In the last few years, Vinnie and Suzie’s work had won awards and acclaim at art shows around the country. They billed themselves as the chainsaw-wielding lesbians, and one reason their style was so unique and revelatory was because even though they sculpted in heavy burl wood, they had the talent to turn the massive rustic chunks into the most delicate pieces imaginable. I could still picture their last significant piece: a ten-foot-tall woman, whose hair billowed in the wind. Each strand of hair was only as thick as actual human hair. It was stunning.
“It’s simply brilliant,” Derek said. “Your genius grows with every new work.”
Vinnie sniffed. “It is so touching to hear you say it, Derek. You bring tears to my eyes.”
Suzie tugged Vinnie over to her side for a hard hug. “Everything brings on the waterworks lately.”
“Why is that, Vinnie?” I asked, concerned that she might be sick.
“Because Lily is no longer a baby,” Vinnie explained. “She’s almost three years old and a big girl now. She starts preschool after the New Year.”
“Wow,” I said. “She’s growing up so fast.”
“We will be empty nesters in a few months,” Vinnie cried. “What will we do? How will we live?”
“Empty nesters for three hours a day, Vin,” Suzie corrected.
“How will we fill our time?” Vinnie was practically wailing.
Suzie shrugged. “We can always play bingo at the senior center.”
Vinnie moaned and we all laughed.
“Come on you guys,” I said. “You’re younger than I am.”
“Still, the time passes.” Vinnie sniffed again, then waved her hand. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
Suzie gave Vinnie a quick kiss. “She gets emotional.”
“You do, too, Suzie. But you hide it better in public.”
Suzie winked at me. “Gotta maintain my tough-chick persona.” She flexed her muscles and we all laughed some more.
“It’s really good to see you guys.” I glanced at my mother. “But we have to get my mom to her meeting.”
“We will be here all weekend,” Vinnie said. “Perhaps we can get together for a meal.”
“We would love that,” I said. “I’ll give you a call.”
Mom had barely called the committee meeting to order when Saffron began to wail. “We’ll have to cancel everything!”
“Calm down, Saffron,” Mom said, pounding the gavel on the table. “We have a lot to talk about today and we can’t do it if people start freaking out.”
As if on cue, everyone began to speak and Mom banged the gavel a few more times. Then she rubbed her head and it was obvious that she was getting a headache.
If this continues, I thought, I’ll grab that gavel and cancel the damn meeting myself. As it was now, Mom wouldn’t get anything done if everyone kept blathering over each other. She’s so fragile right now, I thought. But I would never say so to her face, knowing she would fight me.
Derek leaned up close to me and whispered, “I can see every muscle in your body on red alert. Are you all right?”
“I want to help her.”
“I do, too. But honestly, she’s handling it quite well. And we don’t want to diminish her authority.”
He was right, darn it. I watched Mom for another half minute, then said, “Okay, I won’t charge the table just yet.”
“Good girl. If you feel that you might need to, let me know and I’ll make the charge with you.”
I squeezed his hand, so grateful that he was mine.
“Winston,” Mom said, “Did you speak with the bank?”
“I did.”
“Can you give us a report?”
Winston gave a summary of his conversation with the vice president of the bank. “The money is definitely gone, and since the person who withdrew it was the same person that was listed on the account, namely Lawson, there’s nothing the bank can do for us.”
“Thank you,” Mom said. “Sue, did you talk to any of our underwriters?”
“I spoke with the president of the Friends of the Library. She’s devastated by our loss, but she also told me that their forty-thousand-dollar contribution was insured by their insurance company.”
“What?” Saffron sounded like she didn’t believe what she’d just heard.
“But that’s great news,” Jan said.
Marybeth pounded on the table. “Fantastic!”
“Yeah, so that’s the good news,” Sue said. “The bad news is that they can’t give us any more money until their insurance company pays them the funds. And that’ll take a while. So we’re out of luck there.”
“The Friends of the Library has a booth at the festival,” Saffron said. “Can’t we threaten to cancel their booth if they don’t give us more money?”
“Oh, dear lord,” Jan said, turning to look at Saffron as if she had two heads. A shame she didn’t, really, since one of them might have had some sense. “Are you insane?”
“Criminally insane is more like it,” Clyde grumbled.
Despite our strange discussion earlier that morning, I was happy to see Clyde and gave him a thumbs-up. He grinned back at me and it was a rare but welcome sight.
“Saffron, please,” Mom said, with infinite patience. “We’re not going to threaten anyone in order to obtain the money. I think that’s called bribery, or maybe extortion.”
“Good gravy,” Jan muttered loudly, shaking his head.
“Besides,” Mom continued. “This is a book festival. The Friends of the Library organization supports books and reading. Why would we want to do that to them? They weren’t the ones who lost the money.”
I leaned over and whispered to Derek. “What would you think about offering to give the festival the money they need?”
He simply stared at me, clearly stunned.
I gulped, frankly surprised at his reaction. “I take it you’re not thrilled by the idea.”
“I’m simply surprised. I didn’t realize you were thinking along those lines.”
I shrugged. “I thought about it earlier, but then got distracted and forgot to mention it. But now that we’re here and listening to everyone and worrying about Mom and the fate of the festival . . . And well, I’ll talk to the lawyers, but it could be considered a business expense, right? Because it’s all about books. So what do you think? It’s not a completely horrible idea, is it?”
“Not at all.” He slowly smiled. “It’s lovely. And by the way, it’s not up to me. You have plenty of your own funds at your disposal.”
I squeezed his hand. “I know. But we’re a team.”
He grinned and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my cheek and said, “Yes we are. And I think it’s a brilliant idea.”
“Okay, when there’s a break in the conversation, I’ll bring it up.”
“Bring it up now,” he suggested. “Your mother can use an infusion of good news.”
I grinned at him, then stood. “Excuse me, I’d like to speak to the committee.”
Mom turned and stared, looking almost as shocked as Derek had been a minute ago. “What is it, sweetie?”
“I wish to submit an idea or a proposal or whatever you want to call it.”
“Don’t call it anything, just say it,” Clyde said.
I laughed self-consciously. “I’m new at this. So okay, here’s the deal. Derek and I want to contribute seventy thousand dollars to the festival fund.”
There was complete silence in the room. Mom blinked and stammered, and I thought she might faint. But she finally managed to get the words out. “Sweetie, that’s very generous but you can’t do that. It’s too much money.”
“Mom, remember Abraham?”
She blinked again, and then suddenly she whispered, “Oh.”
I smiled. I guess she had forgotten that my bookbinding mentor Abraham had left his entire estate to me when he died.
Needless to say, seventy thousand was a mere drop in the bucket. Okay, not really. It was a lot of money for almost anyone. Most days, I forgot that I had that kind of money in the bank. And I certainly didn’t make frivolous expenditures, like a fancy sports car or a pied-à-terre on the Boulevard Saint-Germain.
Last year, Derek and I had purchased the charming three-story Victorian building across the street from our apartment. It was known as the Courtyard Shops and it contained eight lovely shops and restaurants as well as apartments on the two upper floors. Our lawyers had considered it a wise investment since the building would’ve been torn down and replaced by soulless condos that would’ve diminished our property values and destroyed the spirt of the neighborhood.
But other than the Courtyard Shops, I hadn’t spent a dime of Abraham’s money. The money sat in an investment fund and made more money for me. It was weird.
“So, it’s settled,” I said. “Call the porta-potty guy and get those things rolling.”
Mom sniffed and smiled. “I’ll call them as soon as we take a break.”
“Thank you, Brooklyn,” Winston said quietly.
Sue grinned. “You’re a peach, girl.”
Clyde gave me a thumbs up and nodded proudly.
There was a commotion in the hall and the door suddenly banged open. And Jacob Banyan walked in.
I jumped up, ready to accuse him of attempted murder. Derek grabbed my hand and I managed to resist pouncing, but just barely.
“Mr. Banyan,” Mom said calmly, “you’re disrupting our meeting, as usual. Please leave now or I’ll call the police.”
“You won’t call anyone.” His voice was low and sinister. “I hear your little festival is broke. No money. I’d help you out, but I would need a little something in return.”
Mom played it cool. “And what would that be?”
I seriously wondered how she could be so calm. Was it all that deep breathing she did?
“It’s simple,” Banyan said. “I’ll give the festival one hundred thousand dollars, and all I want is a booth.” He tucked his hands into his pants pockets and rocked on his heels, obviously enjoying being in what he thought was the driver’s seat. “See? It won’t cost you a thing.”
Mom snorted. “Except our reputation, our pride, our honor, our dignity, our self-respect, our—”
“All right, all right!” he shouted, frustration dripping from every word. “That’s enough. I can pay for this festival without breaking a sweat. You need my money.”
“No, we don’t,” Mom said calmly, and her lips curved in a beautiful, delighted smile.
His eyes narrowed in on her, and he ignored her words and just said, “Now that I think about it, I do want one more thing.”
He swaggered over to my mother and pointed his finger right in her face. “I want you off this committee.”
My mother smacked his finger out of her face and seemed to enjoy his frustrated expression.
I happened to catch a glimpse of Saffron. She sat on the edge of her chair, almost shaking with . . . what? Excitement? Fear? Had she been the one to tell Banyan that the money had been stolen? How had he found out? Did Lawson tell him? Was that why Banyan had said what he said?
You’re nothing but a thief and a liar.
Had Saffron told Banyan to make his money offer conditional on getting rid of my mother so she could take over? Did she really think the rest of the committee would put up with her constant whining and inability to concentrate for more than ten seconds?
Clearly, Saffron hadn’t expected me to make my offer. And certainly not before her man Banyan had a chance to impress everyone with his generous proposition.
After another minute of chaos, Mom banged the gavel and called the meeting back to order.
She looked directly at the blowhard standing in front of her in his fancy dark suit and power tie and spoke clearly so everyone in the room would hear. “I want to thank Mr. Banyan for his generous offer, but we won’t need your money, sir. We already received an offer before yours and I accepted it on behalf of the committee.”
He was stunned into silence for half a second, then he exploded. “That’s a bunch of crap. You’re lying.”
“That’s not acceptable language here, sir,” Mom said in that edgy schoolmarm voice I was so familiar with.
“Do I care?”
“No more than I do for you,” she countered, taking the wind out of his sails. “Look, Mr. Banyan,” she tried again, her voice even. “Dharma is a small town. We all love it here and we welcome newcomers with open arms—unless they prove themselves to be unpleasant or even dangerous to others. You, sir, are a dangerous man with evil intentions.”
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” he muttered.
“So you admit you attempted to kill me?”
“What? You’re out of your mind.” His eyes narrowed. “But it’s not such a bad idea.”
“You’re a big jerk,” Sue said.
“Who asked you?” Banyan said, practically growling the words.
“You’re mean and you’re a bully,” Mom said. “And frankly, Mr. Banyan, you’re a distraction. We just don’t have time to deal with you and your nastiness. We’ve only got a few more days before we put on a major book festival and a full-scale musical production.”
“I don’t give a hoot about that stupid musical.” He gave a harsh laugh. “A bunch of amateurs and one pathetic over-the-hill actress who couldn’t sing her way out of a paper bag.”
“That’s uncalled for,” Winston said.
I caught a quick glimpse of poor Ryan who looked devastated. He pushed away from the table and shakily got to his feet. Was he going to faint? Had anyone ever said something like that about Shandi in front of him? I hoped he knew Banyan was full of hot air. The man had a need to lash out at anything standing in his way.
“How dare you, sir!” Ryan said, sounding like Dudley Do-Right protecting his fair lady.
“Buzz off,” Banyan snarled, and turned back to face Mom. “Look, all I want is a booth at the damn festival to sell my wine.”
“Dude, what you’re selling isn’t wine,” Jan argued.
Banyan rounded on Jan. “Who asked you?”
“That’s enough.” Mom stepped forward and pointed to the door. “You need to go. Now. Thank you and have a good day.”
Mom’s attempt to be pleasant was lost on Banyan. Everyone in the room watched and wondered what he would do now. Clearly, he didn’t intend to go anywhere.
I watched his jaw clenching tighter and tighter, and it reminded me of a torque wrench my father once used to tighten a bolt on his tire. He pushed it one click too far and the bolt cracked and the threads were stripped.
Banyan was about to crack.
I gave Derek a quick glance. We both knew that Banyan wouldn’t leave voluntarily and I was starting to worry that he might actually try to hurt my mother, right here in front of witnesses.
He moved even closer and bared his teeth at her. “I warned you more than once that your smart mouth would get you in trouble.”
“And you’d be smart to back off,” Mom said. “The police already suspect you of attacking me.”
“They’re barking up the wrong tree.”
My mother stared at him, not backing down. “Are you married, Mr. Banyan?”
“What?” His scowl grew even darker. “No, you idiot.”
She nodded. “I’m not surprised.”
“You . . .” He raised his fist and everyone gasped.
There was a blur of movement and Derek was across the room and gripping Banyan by the back of his shirt before anyone else could move. “That’s the last time you threaten a member of my family,” Derek said.
“Hey!” Banyan howled, twisting and squirming to get away from Derek. “Leggo of me!”
Derek said nothing else and just shoved him toward the door and out of the room. We heard Banyan’s shouts and cursing until Derek shut the door and locked it.
For five full seconds there was complete silence. Then nearly everyone stood and applauded. It was the shock of seeing someone physically confront the worst bully in town that did it.
Derek calmly brushed his shirt back into place and walked over to stand next to me. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
“Wow,” Jan said breathlessly. “Amazing job. You’re a real hero.”
“You rock!” Sue cried.
Ryan stayed seated, looking dazed. I wondered if he was pleased by Derek’s actions or jealous that he hadn’t been the one brave enough to kick the guy out of the room.
I watched Clyde stand and raise his fist in a “power to the people” sign. Like so many others in town, he was an old hippie and now he simply grinned in triumph at the defeat of “the man.”
I wanted to laugh, but gazing at other expressions around the table sobered me up real fast. Especially Saffron’s. Her lips were pressed together in suppressed anger.
Mom ran over and threw her arms around Derek. “Thank you, sweetie.”
He patted her warmly on the back. “It was my distinct pleasure, Rebecca.”
I thought she might burst into tears so I reached for my purse to find a tissue. But instead, Mom moved her shoulders to some inner rhythm only she could hear.
I wouldn’t have been surprised to see her start doing a boogie around the room, but instead, she gave a weak smile and sat down. And I was reminded that she had suffered a concussion the night before. Banyan could’ve made things even worse, yelling at her like that.
I started to move toward her, thinking that maybe she’d want us to take her home. But instead, she picked up her gavel, banged it on the table two times, and said, “I’m ordering the porta-potties today, people. So let’s get this potty started!”