6 Maple Leaf Hunter (3 page)

He nodded. “He’ll be here shortly.”

“How was Lizzie today?” I asked Darby and Nate.

Nate shook his head and said, “She was a terror. You’re evidently not raising her right, and I think we’re going to have to take her away from you.”

Nate always made me smile. He was incredibly happy and good-natured all the time, and he adored Lizzie. He and Darby were life partners. They had been babysitting her ever since I went back to work when she was two months old.

Darby and Nate had lived across the hall from us in the apartment building. I wasn’t looking forward to driving ten miles to their place every day and still running up three flights of stairs to drop Lizzie off and then do it again to pick her up. I was hugely surprised, relieved, and thrilled when Mick showed his plans to me for our property.

Our house was at the top of the driveway and situated to the right, whereas another driveway branched leftward from the main and lead to a similar style, smaller house. Darby and Nate were renting the house, and I couldn’t have been happier. It was the perfect situation for all of us. Lizzie benefited most of all, because her two uncles were around daily to spoil her.

“She’d live over here if we’d let her,” I said. “She can’t get enough of the two of you and Joe.”

I looked around for her and saw she was dragging my purse into the living room with the dog giving her an assist.

Several minutes later, Alex walked into the kitchen. I knew Mick wouldn’t say anything in front of Darby and Nate about what happened at the police station, so I simply smiled and said, “Hi, Alex.”

He ignored me and everyone else by sticking his head in the refrigerator and looking for something to drink.

“Go get your sister and bring her to the dining room,” Mick told him. “We’re ready to eat.”

Mick and I carried the wine and glasses, while Darby and Nate brought the pizzas to the table. Alex helped Lizzie into her booster seat then turned to me and said, “She has your money dumped out all over the floor in there, and she’s playing with some of my coins again. She’ll probably get lead poisoning.”

He was referring to the replica souvenir coins Mick had purchased for him at the Pirata Exhibit at the mall. Alex loved anything to do with history and planned to major in both geology and historical archaeology. Mick thought Alex would find the coins interesting, but they captivated Lizzie, and she used them to buy pretend treats for Joe.

“I don’t know about lead poisoning,” Mick said, “but she probably shouldn’t be playing with coins anyway. They’re dirty, and she’ll end up swallowing one sooner or later.”

Nate leaned over to give Lizzie a little tickle and said, “We’ll go to the toy store and buy you some play money. And you need a cash register, too, don’t you?”

She squealed and grabbed his face before telling him, “Yes.” Darby and Nate had her so spoiled, she never wanted for anything.

Mick cut the pizzas, while Nate poured the wine. Alex gave Lizzie a spoon and set a bowl of macaroni and cheese in front of her. We were in the process of inhaling everything when Darby asked, “What happened at the mall?”

I made him wait until I swallowed a too-large bite of pizza before saying, “Sam and I were in the food court drinking smoothies and chatting. Some guy came running through the mall and plowed into me. We ended up on the ground with him on top of me. He had a heart attack.”

Nate’s mouth hung open in astonishment. “No way,” he said. “Are you sure you’re all right? Is he ok?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to use the word dead in front of Lizzie. “He didn’t make it. I stopped at the MediCenter on the way home, but I only have some bumps and bruises. Nothing serious.”

Darby looked puzzled and asked, “Why would he be running through the mall and then have a heart attack? Was he jogging? Could he have been exercising like the mall walkers do?”

“He was definitely not exercising,” I said. “He was running as fast as he could. There’s no logical explanation for it.”

Mick reached under the table to grasp my hand and give it a light squeeze. I knew he was concerned about what happened, but he was happy I hadn’t sustained any real injuries. I gave him a smile and leaned into him for a moment.

“Enough about me,” I said. “Everyone report. Mick, how was your day?”

“It was good,” he said. “We’re almost done with the office building over on Munson. There weren’t any snags today, and we’re on schedule, so things are good here. Alex, how was your day?”

He gave his dad a look of contempt and said, “You know how my day was.”

Mick hesitated, but opted not to comment. Instead, he asked Nate, “How were things at the hotel?”

Nate and Darby both chuckled. I knew something good was coming. Nate had worked in the hotel industry all of his adult life. He was presently the front desk manager at the Holiday Inn downtown. He never failed to entertain us with stories of guest antics.

His face lit up. “A guy called down to the front desk, and he was screaming bloody murder. It took a while for the clerk to understand him, but she finally figured out he had a squirrel in his room. He said he likes the heat, so he opened the window before he took a nap. When he woke up, there was a squirrel on the bed, and it was staring him down.”

Alex forgot he was mad long enough to smile and ask, “Did you have to go catch it?”

Nate feigned a look of horror and said, “I wasn’t going to tussle with a plague-infested rodent. I called animal control and told them to handle it.”

The look on Nate’s face made everyone laugh. He had a knack for storytelling and was overly expressive in his delivery.

Darby had more than an entertained look on his face. There was also a mischievous look in his pretty blue eyes. “What about your day?” I asked him.

“Well,” he said, drawing out the word in a bit of a singsong. “A good part of my day was spent on the phone rearranging my schedule for a meeting with a potential new customer.”

“Really?” I asked. Darby worked from home as a freelance web and marketing writer. A new client would definitely be good news for him. “Who are you trying to land now?”

“Buckets,” he said. “Believe it or not, it’s a new company specializing in hats. I’ll have to ask how they came up with their name. It doesn’t give the best image for their product.”

“When do you meet with them?” I asked.

The devilish look on his face increased. “Monday. In Toronto.”

I was confused. Other than Alex and Lizzie, the three guys looked as if they were going to explode from the secret they were keeping from me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “You know I’m meeting with my publisher in Toronto on Monday. Are you meeting with your client at the same time? Are you coming with us?”

On one hand, the idea sounded like great fun. On the other hand, the thought of sharing my romantic weekend with Mick was disappointing. However, Mick’s excitement was evident as he said, “We’re all going. And we’re not just going for the weekend. We’re going for the entire week.”

I could only sit there with my mouth hanging open.

He laughed and said, “It all started early this morning. I saw a tweet from Dan Boling. You’ve heard me talk about him before. He’s one of my old college buddies. He lives in Canada, and he and his wife own a fishing and hunting lodge with a campground. I messaged him that we were going to be in Toronto, and I asked if he was close enough to drive in and get together with us. It turns out, he’s not. Their place is about five hours farther north. We ended up talking on the phone, and he convinced me to bring you up for the week. I called Darby to see if he and Nate could watch Lizzie, but with Nate already scheduled for a week of vacation next week, he suggested they come along with us.”

Nate nodded his head enthusiastically. At the moment, he and Darby looked like one giant smile put together.

“I called a few new businesses in Toronto right away,” Darby said. “Hopefully, I’ll have a new client by the time we go fishing.”

It dawned on me that Mick had said we were all going. My voice was almost screech level when I asked, “We’re taking Lizzie? Into the wilderness?”

Mick smiled and patted my arm. “She’s not going. Grandma and Grandpa are going to stay here and take care of her and Joe.”

Mick’s parents had lived in England for a couple of years. My first opportunity to meet them was when they moved back to the States after Lizzie was born. We had dinner with them every Sunday, and Lizzie would be delighted they would be staying with her for an entire week.

“What am I supposed to do?” Alex asked. It was evident he wasn’t happy about the news.

“You’re coming with us, of course,” Mick said.

He was belligerent as he said, “I don’t want to go to Canada for a week. I have too much to do. Did you forget I start school the week after next?”

“You
could
stay here,” Mick said slowly, “but Dan said there’s an awesome rock quarry nearby that we can explore, and, of course, we can fish as much as we want. We’ll get you ready in time for school, don’t you worry about it.”

I could see the wheels spinning in his head. The rock quarry was a bigger draw for him than the fishing. For years, he had been collecting and labeling rocks. His mother had most of his collection at her house, but he had a sizeable one in his room here, too.

“Are we taking two cars?” I asked. “And we’ll be gone an entire week? I’ll be up all night doing laundry.”

“The laundry is done,” Darby said. “Lizzie and I emptied all the hampers and did everyone’s laundry today.” He looked at her and said in a sweet voice, “You helped Uncle Darby wash the clothes, didn’t you Lizard?”

Lizzie squealed at his pet name for her and said, “I hepped.”

I smiled. She was such a darling. Darby and Nate had her talking long before I ever thought she would, and she had been talking in short sentences since well before her second birthday. She still hadn’t mastered the L sound, but Nate was currently working on the word indubitably with her and promised she would have it down soon.

“Clean clothes are on everyone’s beds, and Nate’s arranged our transportation for the trip,” Darby said.

Nate leaned back in his chair and beamed even more. “We’re going in a forty foot RV,” he said. All three of the guys made noises of approval. “It belongs to my boss. He hasn’t been able to get away this year, and he’s planning on selling it this winter. He offered it to any of the managers to use this summer, but no one’s taken him up on the offer. Until today.” He looked at his watch and stood from the table. “As a matter of fact,” he said, “I have to go pick it up. Mick, want to come along?”

“You bet,” he said. “Susan? What about you?”

“I’ll stay here and help Darby clean up,” I said. “Alex, will you take Lizzie over to the house and get her ready for bed?”

“Stuck in the bushes! Stuck in the bushes!” Lizzie cried happily, as she bounced up and down in her chair.

“Alex will read it to you after you brush your teeth and put your jammies on,” I said.

A flurry of activity ensued with lots of kisses bestowed upon Lizzie, and two by two, we went our separate ways. I watched from the back patio to be sure Alex and Lizzie made it safely inside the house, and I waved to Nate and Mick as they drove off to pick up the RV.

Darby and I set to work clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. I grabbed a bottle of water and swallowed a couple of the prescription pills.

“Are you really ok?” he asked with concern.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Physically, I’m fine, but I keep seeing the man run at me. It was as though he was deliberately running right for
me
, not just running out of control. He had a crazy look in his eyes, and he never looked away from me. He tackled me like you would a football player.”

Darby put his arms around me to give me a hug. I winced. My muscles were starting to stiffen and the soreness had increased.

“There’s no way he deliberately chose you to run into,” he said. “It had to be a freak accident.”

My eyes watered. I forced myself to hold back tears. “Do you remember when we were in New York, and that woman ran into me in Saks?” I asked.

He nodded.

“It was deliberate, and she stole my necklace,” I said.

“Yeah, it was,” he said. “But you can’t think-“

I cut him short. “I do,” I said emphatically. “This felt just like that. I’m serious. A couple of construction workers deliberately squeezed between my chair and the person behind me when they could have easily gone around to sit at the table next to ours. They both bumped me, and one of them even touched my back. They disappeared right after the man died, but one of them called the dead guy Ralph, so he had to know him.”

“What did the police say?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said with a shrug. “They didn’t even send anyone. Dick showed up looking for me, and when I asked about it, he said the call came in as a medical emergency. But there was one other weird thing. When we found my purse after the man was taken away, it was unzipped, but nothing was missing. All of my money, credit cards, and my passport were still in it.”

He shook his head and said, “All the more proof you weren’t being distracted so someone could steal from you. Let it go, Sunshine. We’re leaving in the morning, and we’re going to have a fun, relaxing week. I have to run to the market and pick up groceries to stock the RV. Come with me. I’ll even let you drive my new car.”