Revenge in the Roses Read online

  At that, they all just gave him an innocent look.

  “We all have driver’s licenses,” Nan murmured.

  Doreen groaned. “Okay, if nothing else, that’s my cue to get them all home again.” She turned to look at the group of seniors. “Whoever drove, without naming names, get your butt back into that vehicle,” she stated, with a note of authority. “And let’s get everybody safely to Rosemoor.”

  “You too, my dear.” Nan studied her. “You are looking peaked.”

  “Thanks, Nan.” Doreen rubbed her temples. Just what she wanted to hear right now. But, with that, she apologized to the captain. “Maybe give me a hand?”

  Together they quickly ushered the entire gang—at least twelve who had shown up—out the front door of the hospital. Doreen made sure to smile gently at each and every one of them because she knew that they had come, acting from the heart.

  Well, that and curiosity, but she wouldn’t go there right now. It was imperative to get them out of the emergency room lobby, which is where they were clogging up the space.

  As soon as they got them all back on the bus, Doreen whispered to Nan, “Please tell me that you’re not driving.”

  “I drove here.” Nan gave her a big cackle. “I’ll drive home too.” And, with that, she hopped into the driver’s seat and shooed Doreen off and then closed the door on her.

  Doreen looked over at the captain. “If you’ve got that cruiser here …”

  “To heck with that. I’ve got my car. We’ll follow them to make sure they get there, and then I’ll drive you home.”

  “Thanks. I do need to go get the animals.”

  “Okay, so I’ll drive you home first, then check that the bus made it to Rosemoor.” He nodded and quickly walked her over to where his vehicle was parked. When she got into the front seat of the cruiser, she smiled. “You know that this will just get the gossip going again.”

  He laughed. “With that gang who broke out from Rosemoor, the gossip is already flowing.”

  “They’re all very good-hearted, and they’re enjoying life, which is something to be thankful for.”

  He looked at her and then slowly nodded. “You know what? My mother lived in Rosemoor. I don’t remember her ever having quite so much fun as this gang is.”

  “It’s Nan. She rallies everybody into having fun, whether they know it or not,” Doreen teased, still with a big smile. “And she definitely comes from heart, so it’s hard to argue with her.”

  “No, I agree with you there. Both your grandmother and you have certainly shaken things up around town.”

  “I didn’t plan on it,” she said sadly, “and I certainly didn’t plan on Mack getting hurt.”

  “Mack’s a big boy. He’ll be a lot more careful next time.”

  “But there was nothing to be careful about.” She pondered the event yet again. “That was the weird thing. I think the gunman was there waiting for us.”

  “But how would he have known you two would be there?”

  She frowned at that, turning to glance out the passenger window, and then shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know who my grandmother might have spoken to, who all she may have encouraged to come. And surely all the Rosemoor residents have family in town, who else might have been invited too. I don’t know if the shooter heard about it by word of mouth. And with the gossip about me and Mack, maybe the shooter just decided he would stop in and talk to Nan—or maybe speak to Richie because of Richie’s tie to the police via his grandson Darren,” she suggested, looking over at the captain contemplatively. “All kinds of options come up when we look at it from that perspective. The gunman called Mack copper, but maybe any one of you would have been targeted too.”

  The captain frowned but gave a slow nod. “I hadn’t considered that, but I will now.”

  She smiled. “You’re a good man. I really hope Mack pulls through.”

  “None of that defeatist stuff.” The captain turned to look at her. “We must trust that Mack’s not badly hurt and remember that Mack’s a big boy. He’s … He’s been shot before.”

  She winced. “That does not make me feel any better.”

  He smiled. “I’m sure it doesn’t, but I can tell you that, having been shot before, Mack certainly understands the recovery requirements.” He made a turn off the main highway.

  “Oh, that’ll be rough too.” Doreen frowned. “He won’t be very happy at all. I can’t imagine he’d be an easy patient.”

  “Maybe not.” The captain smiled at her. “Unless, of course, he gets to spend more time with you while he’s recuperating.”

  She frowned. “Of course he will. Who else will look after him?” And then she thought about it. “Unless his mother …”

  “I don’t know that that’s even an option. Millicent isn’t in the greatest health either. Mack usually looks after her. And, of course, his brother is on the way, so there is Nick also.”

  “Right,” she muttered. She winced, her hand at her temple, feeling her headache returning. “It is not an easy scenario, no matter which way you look at it,” she muttered. “I do hope you find that shooter soon.”

  “I do too. And the sooner we can talk to Mack about it, the better.”

  She nodded, then she looked over at him. “You’ll set up security at the hospital, won’t you?”

  The captain glanced at her as he made another turn. “And why do you think we need that?”

  “Because this guy was gunning for Mack. Once he finds out Mack’s not dead …”

  The captain nodded slowly. “It’s certainly something to consider.”

  “Oh dear,” she replied, straightened up in the seat. “If you aren’t going to set up security, then I’m going back to the hospital.”

  “Why?”

  “Because that guy’s coming back,” she declared.

  “But you don’t know that.”

  She frowned at him. “I might not know that,” she argued, “but I know it, if you get my meaning.”

  He sighed. “Yes, I do get your meaning. I’ll see who’s available, and we’ll get somebody down there to keep an eye on Mack.”

  She smiled at him. “See? I knew you were a good man.”

  He laughed. “I’ve worked with Mack for a long time. We won’t let anything happen to him.”

  Immediately she started to tear up. “You know what? I would have said that too, but that didn’t work out so well for me earlier tonight.”

  There wasn’t anything the captain could say to that. Thankfully he pulled into the cul-de-sac just then and soon into the driveway to her house. She smiled her thanks. “I’ll grab the animals, and then I’ll head down to Rosemoor.”

  “Good idea.” He hesitated. “Do you want me to drive you down? I’m going there anyway.”

  She immediately shook her head. “No, I’m better off to get in a bit of a walk. It will help calm me down. You have my phone number, right?”

  “You gave it to me at the hospital,” he reminded her gently.

  She sighed. “See? That’s another reason I need to get out and clear my head.”

  “But remember. He’s doing okay.”

  “Got it.” She gave a mental shrug. “Thanks for the ride.” And she walked up to her front door.

  Chapter 3

  Doreen stepped onto the small porch to open her door, when Richard stepped out onto his and snapped, “Now what?” She turned toward him, and he motioned at the car leaving.

  “Mack got shot,” she said numbly, the hours of stress and uncertainty hitting her.

  Not waiting for a reaction from him, yet hearing his shock as he gasped, she stepped inside to greet her animals. She spent a few minutes sitting down on the floor at the front of the living room, just cuddling them. It had been a huge shock to them, after seeing Mack had been hurt. She’d had to drag them back home and pretty well leave them locked up all this time, while she ran to the hospital. Speaking of which, she was not even sure how she made it to the hospital. She frowned at that and realized that she’d left her car there. She groaned.

  “Good Lord,” she whispered. “I accepted a ride home, but now my vehicle’s stuck at the hospital.”

  She shook her head, knowing that that wasn’t even the issue for the moment. The current issue was getting to Rosemoor to meet up with the captain and to talk to that group of seniors Nan had marshaled together. The chaos would persist if Doreen didn’t show up. She loved her grandmother dearly, and Doreen knew that Nan was quite fond of Mack, so this unruly community interest would be ongoing, until this case was solved.

  The captain might want her out of the way, but she wouldn’t let that deter her, not when she had to make sure this case was solved, if only to keep Mack safe.

  She almost smiled at that, as she wandered through to the kitchen and fed the animals. She gave them ten minutes to sit and eat. She looked longingly at her coffeepot, but going to Rosemoor meant tea at Nan’s. So Doreen was better off not tanking up too much more. Not to mention the fact that the coffee she’d had at the hospital was terrible, and her stomach was not impressed. After giving the animals a few more minutes, she picked up Mugs’s leash, and he came running. Goliath looked at her inquisitively, and she nodded.

  “Yep, Goliath, let’s go. We’re all going back to Nan’s.”

  At that name, even Goliath perked up and came running too.

  Thaddeus called out, “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”

  She put an arm out, and he hopped on and quickly walked up to her shoulder, his claws a little more grippy than normal. She gently nudged him into the crook of her neck and whispered, “I need all you guys to be good, and I need all your support, so that we can figure out what happened to Mack, okay?”

  As she walked to the river and headed down the
path to Rosemoor, she was thankful for the man-made light around her, so she could make her way there, even in the dark. The water trickled gently at her side. Mission Creek was more of a creek at this time of year, but could become a raging river at any time. If she wasn’t so tired, she’d contemplate why such a body of water could be so misnamed, but she didn’t have the energy.

  A deep fatigue hit her but so did the need to jump on this case. The shooting scenario kept repeating in her head but before Doreen could begin to actively investigate, she had to get to her grandmother…calm down. Surely someone at Rosemoor saw something. But then Doreen would also love to find out what Darren had learned. Not that he’d tell her. She just needed to know who at Rosemoor might have seen something so Doreen could talk to them herself.

  And that was always part of the trick at that place. Who knew what? And who just thought they knew something? And who wanted to know something, so they added in a little tidbit here and there to make it sound like they knew more. Doreen considered how excited all the seniors would be, particularly hearing that Mack would be okay. She had to appreciate everybody’s concern for him, yet wished they were just a little less obvious. But then that was Nan’s way. She could almost hear Mack’s voice in her head. Nan? What about you?

  She smiled at that and whispered, “You just get better, big guy.”

  And, with the animals cheerfully bouncing around beside her—delighted to have her with them again and to all be outside—Doreen walked at a slower pace to Nan’s. Doreen didn’t know how long it would take for the truth to set in, but she felt a tension coiling up inside, a tension that said something was rotten in her world and that Mack had paid the price.

  Of course that could be Doreen’s guilt talking, since she didn’t know for sure that this had anything to do with her. As she remembered the gunman’s words, it sounded like it was much more directed at Mack himself. At first. Was the gunman talking about getting revenge with her too? Maybe he’d been shooting at her as well. She distinctly remembered two shots.

  Her footsteps faltered, as she seriously considered that. What she really wanted to do was get a replay of what had happened, an instant replay that she could look at over and over again, looking for details to solve this. It was hard to remember what this gunman looked like. It was like a nondescript height, a nondescript gray car. Thousands of them were on the road. And it had four doors and a hood and squarish-looking front. She wasn’t even sure if any identifying emblem had been on the front of the hood. What it left her with was a nondescript car, a nondescript man, a nondescript everything. So not helpful.

  By the time she’d turned at Nan’s place, she stepped onto Nan’s little patio and noted no sign of her grandmother. Had they all congregated at somebody else’s place? She walked through Nan’s small apartment with the animals in tow and headed out into the hallway. Again complete silence. Everywhere was quiet. Doreen frowned, as she and her furry crew wandered down toward one of the big common areas. As she got closer, she heard a din ahead of her.

  Under her breath she muttered to the animals, “Looks like we found them.”

  She stepped into the room, hearing her Nan crying out, “We must do something to help. We don’t know who is doing this, but we can’t have anybody shooting people on our property or even in this case coming to visit us,” she stated. “That means none of our friends and family are safe.”

  A responding rallying cry came from everyone in the room.

  Doreen groaned. She saw the captain standing at the front of the crowd, as if he were trying to conduct a meeting but had lost control. His gaze searched the room in consternation and then landed on her. At that, his face lit up.

  “And speaking of which,” he yelled over the uproar, “Doreen’s here.”

  At that, everybody turned, looking around, and saw her. Almost immediately loud clapping filled the air.

  Chapter 4

  When some of the noise died down, the sea of faces in front of Doreen parted and gave her and all the animals a path to walk to land beside the captain.

  Nan took one look at Doreen and threw her arms around her granddaughter. “Here she is. She’ll save the day.”

  Doreen hugged her grandmother back, then stepped over to the captain and whispered, “What’s going on?”

  He gave her a wry look. “Did I look a little too relieved to see you?”

  “Yeah, you did.” She shot him a suspicious look. “So I repeat. What’s going on?”

  “Your grandmother is trying to rally the troops to solve Mack’s murder.”

  “And I’m sure you’ve given her the official line?”

  “I have.” Yet he looked haunted.

  “And I presume they’re ignoring you, as usual.”

  He nodded at that. “I don’t understand. Almost all the citizens in this town are completely law-abiding, So, if I say stop, they stop.”

  The corner of her mouth kicked up. “But every one of these people is old enough to know what you looked like when you were running around in the buff and sucking on a binky. That does undermine your authority a little bit.”

  His lips twitched and then twitched again, until he burst into loud guffaws. By the time he finally calmed down, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gave her a hug. “No wonder Mack likes you so much,” he said, with a grin. “I had not considered my reputation in that light.”

  “No, but, once you hang around with these people long enough, you realize they respect very few things, and all of it has to do with what you’ve done in life. And their memories go waaay back.”

  Still chuckling, he nodded. “So then maybe you tell them.”

  “Meaning, they don’t see me still in diapers? You’re wrong. They do.” She sighed. “But, at the same time, they’ve also seen that I’ve done a few things to benefit them all, so that has held me in good stead. Plus Nan would not have them treat me otherwise.”

  “You’re not kidding. They have more respect for you and Nan than they have for me.”

  She smiled. “That’s because you still must be the bad guy sometimes. That’s not part of my job description.”

  His lips twitched again. He nodded. “It’s up to you to get them all calmed down and to put them in their rightful place.”

  “That’s the problem. They don’t go into the proper place,” she noted, with a sigh.

  Overhearing that, Nan chuckled, turned to the crowd, and called out, “Let Doreen speak.”

  Almost immediately the slamming of canes on the floor and the stamping of feet erupted, even if at an odd rhythm, as they moved and shuffled slowly to face Doreen. Then the chant rose. “Doreen, Doreen, Doreen.”

  She looked around her, shook her head. “All right, guys, before you all have heart attacks, calm down.”

  At that came muffled laughter. She looked around at Nan. “Do you have some folding chairs or a room with enough seats so that everyone can sit down?” And then came a collective sigh of relief.

  Nan looked at the others and then slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t even think of that. See? That’s why Doreen’s here,” Nan told the crowd.

  “Good thing,” called out one old guy, “because I’m about to collapse.”

  Doreen motioned to the adjoining communal sitting area, where plenty of couches and chairs were. “Come on. Let’s all go over there, so everybody can sit down. Maybe we can get some pots of tea or something going?” she asked, looking at Nan. “You want to go work your wiles on the kitchen staff?”

  Nan chuckled and disappeared, as the crowd slowly relocated, and Doreen shook her head at how slowly most of them made their way into the comfortable seating area. She looked over at the captain. “Are you coming with me?”

  “Oh, absolutely.” He chuckled. “You already got them doing more than I could.”

  “Did you try to get them to sit down?”

  “No, I was hoping to get them to disperse.”

  She chuckled. “Nope. You know the rule about raising horses and unruly kids? Or seniors in this case?”

  He looked at her and asked, “Do you have either?”

  At that, she burst out laughing. “Nope, I sure don’t, but the rule always is, make the right thing easy and make the wrong thing difficult.”