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“This is worse than we thought,” I mouthed to Ida Belle before turning to Ally and Marie. “Are you sure you can handle the refreshments?”
“Not if you think you can whip something together a little faster,” Ally teased.
“Very funny.” I was lucky to have friends who could throw a meal together on short notice. Since my idea of a nutritious dinner consisted of two slices of bread and roast beef, I’d been pleasantly surprised when I first discovered that my friends were some of the best cooks in Sinful. Even their sandwiches tasted like gourmet treats.
Ida Belle swapped glances with Marie before she said, “Keep the girls busy if you can. We want to show their mother something upstairs.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” Marie asked, whispering so she wouldn’t frighten or offend our guests. “After we discussed their potential arrival, I plugged in a blank spot for their family.”
I frowned. “Run ahead of us and erase anything that might lead them to believe that we’ve been expecting them.”
Ally watched Marie hurry away then said, “I don’t ask questions when you team up with Ida Belle and Gertie for these little adventures, but maybe we should call Carter.”
“You’re probably right,” I said, texting Walter to suggest candy bars.
Unaware that I had zoned out until Ally said, “Call Carter. This woman is in protective custody. I overheard the two older girls discussing it. Ida Belle and Gertie believe they can solve the world’s problems and protect everyone, but these children deserve more protection than we can provide.”
I smiled, squeezed her arm, and whispered, “I’ll give him a call now.”
As I stepped outside to make that call, my phone rang. “Gertie? Everything okay?”
“Of course, but I wanted to see if someone can give Walter a lift? He’s stranded over at the General Store.”
“Why is he stranded?”
“I can’t hear you,” Gertie said. “There’s interference on this end.” She made a fabricated scratching sound.
“Where are you?”
I knew it. She’d gone with Walter without so much as a pause. “Gertie, whatever you’re planning, don’t do it. It’s not safe at Jax’s. Until we find out what Doris knows and why she’s so frightened, you don’t need to be alone with him.”
“Who is this Doris? Another mistress?” Gertie asked.
“Really?” I didn’t know how to take her at this point. One minute, I thought she was playing Jax. The next minute, I was certain she’d been played. “Doris and her girls were with you in your car.”
“Of course,” she said, faking a laugh. “That’s what I meant.”
I stopped. I’d been in Sinful long enough to know that Gertie and Ida Belle did whatever they wanted once they’d made up their minds. “At least take Ida Belle with you.”
“Can’t,” she said excitedly. “This is something I need to do on my own.”
“Then at least call us when you get to Jax’s house.”
“Will do,” she promised.
“Gertie, you need a story for just popping in.”
“Why? The man asked me to be his mistress. Even his granddaughter knew. Talk about inappropriate. What kids know today should be outlawed.” Gertie lowered her voice. “But if Jax wants a mistress, then he needs to know that I’m not the kind of girlfriend who hides in a closet.”
I giggled as Gertie disconnected the call. Without missing a beat, I sent Carter a text, letting him know that Gertie was headed back to Wasteland without backup.
She’ll be angry, but she’ll be safe, I mused, returning to the kitchen, now buzzing with activity as Marie and Ally prepared plates for our guests. “Ally, Gertie left Walter at the General Store. Would you mind to give him a ride?”
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll head out now.”
Ida Belle’s gaze met mine. “Blasted woman.”
I nodded. “But I’ve taken care of it. Now, let’s show Doris our war room.”
*****
Doris was impressed. She walked around looking at each chart, but returned to the pyramid and stood there studying each face as if to commit them to memory.
“We would greatly appreciate it if you can help us fill in the blanks,” I said.
Another stretch of silence ensued.
Ida Belle and I swapped disconcerting glances. Before I could question if we had made the wrong decision by showing most of our cards, she sat at the small table where there were numerous index cards. Each one held a criminal’s name on the front and personal information on the back.
“Who are you?” she asked, her gaze landing on me.
Ida Belle cleared her throat and said, “We’re interested parties.”
“FBI?” She frowned. “I’ve dealt with many agents and marshals over the last five years and none of them were over the age of fifty. No offense.”
“None taken,” Ida Belle snapped.
Since Gertie wasn’t there, I decided to take the brashness off of Ida Belle’s comment and said, “Just think of us as your fairy godmothers.”
Ida Belle rolled her eyes.
“When you’ve lived a hellish life, you don’t believe in fairytales,” Doris said, tucking her hair behind her ears. “And if you knew what Jax Daigle represented to our family, you wouldn’t be so flippant about him.”
“If we’ve come across that way, it wasn’t our intention,” Ida Belle said, turning her focus to the mafia hierarchy. “Will you help us?”
“I thought I was here to receive help, not give it. There’s nothing I can tell you that you don’t already know.” She sucked in a deep breath and studied our intelligence. Then, to our surprise, she picked up a red dry-erase marker and made two changes, one was rather significant. “There. Now you should have a clearer picture of what you’re up against.”