Eggs Benedict Arnold (58 page)

“
I
’
m just saying,
”
said Toni. She grabbed a length of
twine off the shelf, knelt down, and looped it around Nadine
’
s wrists.
“
You ask me, I think we oughta truss her up
like a holiday hog.
”
Toni yanked the twine tight around Na
dine
’
s wrists, then gave an extra hard tug.

Petra
did better than just explain the so-called mishap in
the kitchen. She went back out into the cafe, jollied everyone
up, thanked them for coming, then bid them all good night. Happy and sated from good food and drink, from companionship and laughter, their guests trooped out the front door
of the Cackleberry Club and into the night, commending
Petra for a job well done, a dinner elegantly prepared.

All except Sam Hazelet, of course.

“
What
’
s going on?
”
he asked as the last guest departed.
Worry seemed to have etched some lines into his handsome
face.

Petra raised her eyebrows and crooked an index finger.
“
Follow me.
”

“
What?
”
he asked.

“
You
’
re not gonna believe this,
”
she told him.

“
Holy buckets!
”
Sam exclaimed when he saw Nadine curled up on the floor, her hands tied.
“
What happened to
her?
”
He hurried to Nadine
’
s side and knelt down, his prac
ticed fingers searching for a pulse.
“
What did you
do
to her?
”

“
Not to worry,
”
said Suzanne, her voice surprisingly calm now.
“
She
’
s still alive and breathing.
”

“
But not kicking,
”
said Toni.
“
She
’
s what you
’
d call stunned.
”
She brandished her combo flashlight and stun
gun and waggled it in front of Sam
’
s face.
“
A slight mishap
with a Taser.
”

“
Who did this?
”
asked Sam, gingerly taking the stun
gun from Toni
’
s hands and handling it like he was carrying a vial of the Ebola virus. He stared at Toni, who shrugged
and nodded at Suzanne. Sam shifted his surprised gaze to Suzanne.
“
You did?
”
He sounded shocked.
“
Why on earth?
”

“
Long, strange story,
”
said Suzanne.

Toni pointed to the pistol that still lay in the corner where
Suzanne had kicked it. Gray and dangerous, it looked like a nasty mechanized rat.
“
Nadine threatened to shoot Suzanne,
”
she explained.

“
What the . . . ?
”
asked Sam, still puzzling over the bi
zarre scene.

“
You don
’
t get it, do you?
”
said Suzanne. Her eyes spar
kled for a few seconds, then tears coursed down her cheeks.
“
Nadine killed Ozzie. She killed Bo.
”

Sam leapt up and was across the floor in a heartbeat.
Sweeping Suzanne into his arms, he pressed her against his
chest while she sobbed softly.
“
Shhh,
”
he murmured, gen
tl
y
stroking her head.
“
It
’
s okay, you did good. You
’
re safe now.
”

He held Suzanne, whispering softly to her, until Dil came
clumping in with a coil of rope. Sam seemed surprised to
see this strange, hulking man, but held his questions for the
time being. Together, the two of them hoisted a rag doll
Nadine onto the cane chair, men carefully bound her arms
and legs. As Sam was tying the final knot, Nadine
’
s head
lolled
drunkenly
and her eyes peeped open.

“
She
’
s coming around!
”
said Joey, who
’
d remained
pretty quiet until now.

“
Wah?
”
said Nadine. A thin string of drool dripped from
the corner of her mouth.

“
Don
’
t try to talk,
”
Sam told her.
“
Just take a few deep
breaths.
”

“
Let her talk,
”
said Suzanne. There was bitterness in her
voice.
“
Let her confess.
”

“
Deputy
Wilbur Halpern
’
s on his way,
”
Petra told them.
“
Running fast, lights and sirens all the way. And Doogie
’
s apparently five minutes out. He was blabbing on his cell
phone, cruising for home, when the law enforcement
cen
ter radioed his emergency frequency and told him to head
for the Cackleberry Club.
”

“
Thank goodness,
”
said an exhausted Suzanne. Dil
’
s
presence had been hastily explained to Sam. Nadine had
been tied up.

“
Maybe we should . . . move out into the cafe?
”
suggested Sam. The lights had come back on, but they were all jammed, eyeballs to elbows, in the little kitchen, sur
rounded by the detritus of the evening
’
s gourmet dinner.

Toni jabbed a thumb at Nadine, who was glaring at
them with hooded, angry eyes.
“
What are we going to do with her?
”

Sam looked at Dil and shrugged.
“
Move her out, too?
”
he suggested.

The two men picked up Nadine, chair and all, and car
ried her out into the cafe. Toni and Joey hastily cleared one
of the large tables so they could all sit down.

Suzanne settled into the chair farthest away from where
they
’
d put Nadine.
“
What a day,
”
she said, stroking her forehead lightly with her fingertips.

“
What were we saying before?
”
asked Petra.
“
About this being a perfect day?
”

“
Not,
”
said Toni, sounding exhausted.

Sam, who was seated beside Suzanne, looking more than
a little worried, reached over and held his palm against Su
zanne
’
s forehead.
“
You feel hot,
”
he told her.
“
And you
’
re
awfully pale. Shaking a little, too.
”

“
Haven
’
t eaten,
”
she told him. The evening
’
s events
were starting to catch up with her and manifest themselves
physically.

“
Suzanne
’
s always had a slight problem with low blood
sugar,
”
offered Petra.

“
Then she should eat something,
”
said Sam.
“
Right away.
”
He peered anxiously at Suzanne.
“
Could you eat something?
”

Suzanne nodded her head.
“
I think so.
”
She was feeling
slightly dazed and anxious.
“
Can somebody feed Baxter, too?
”
she asked.

Dil jumped up.
“
I
’
ll do that.
”

Sam was still more than a little concerned about Suzanne.
“
Let
’
s try to get her blood sugar level up. A few sips of orange juice, something sweet. . .
”
He started for the kitchen.

“
Some cake,
”
said Toni.

“
And some protein?
”
asked Petra. She jumped up and followed Sam.

“
Want me to help?
”
called Toni, but Sam shook his head.
“
You stay with Suzanne. Holler if there
’
s a problem.
”

“
I
’
m okay,
”
Suzanne said, glancing across at Nadine.
Nadine, who seemed to have recovered some of her angry
defiance and contempt, stared viciously at Suzanne while a
nasty smile played at the corners of her mouth.

“
Don
’
t pay any attention to Nadine,
”
Toni told Suzanne.
“
That lady
’
s ka
-
pow crazy out of her mind.
”
She twirled an
index finger near her head.

Thirty seconds later Sam was back with napkin, silverware, and a small slice of cake on one of Petra
’
s floral china plates.
“
Petra
’
s grilling a steak for you. But have a few bites of this first.
”

Suzanne, who really hadn
’
t eaten much of anything all
day, picked up her fork and stabbed a small piece of cake.
She smiled a wan thank-you at Sam, put the fork to her mouth, and nibbled gently.

That was when a tremendous pounding, like a herd of stampeding cattle, suddenly rocked the front porch of the Cackleberry Club. The door crashed open and there stood
Sheriff Roy Doogie, looking wild-eyed and tremulous, his
thin, gray hair almost standing on end.

“
Dear Lord,
”
said Toni, stumbling to her feet.

Sheriff Roy Doogie gazed crazily about until his eyes fell upon Suzanne. He took one look at the fork in Suzanne
’
s hand and the cake with the missing bite and sud
denly launched himself across the floor of the Cackleberry Club. Landing in front of Suzanne, he smacked hard at her
arm, then grabbed her around the waist.

Suzanne let out a terrified gasp as her fork and dish clat
tered noisily to the floor.

Everyone else looked on in shock!
Had Doogie suddenly lost his mind?

Sam was the first to intercede.
“
Sheriff!
”
he screamed at
the top of his lungs.
“
Be careful! What on earth .. . !
”

But Doogie was a man on a mission. Spinning Suzanne
around, he flipped her forward and thumped a big paw hard
against her back, causing her bite of cake to come flying from her mouth, almost as if she
’
d been burped!