In the House On Lakeside Drive (11 page)

“Speaking of Mr. Dyer,” Rosa asked, “what did he say to my offer?”

“He says he'll think about it. Honestly, I think he likes being able to take the project work when it comes in. It can pay well, depending on the project.”

“Well, if he changes his mind,” the small woman said. “He's certainly our number one substitute choice.”

“Thanks, Rosa.”

“Anytime. Now, aren't you late?”

Rachel glanced at the clock. “Oh, shit.”

“I didn't hear that.” A small impish smile blossomed across her dusky face. “Now, will we need to call Olive's Deli and let them know your jobsite group may be a bit late this morning?”

“If I don't get the car started right
now
, my group is definitely going to be late. That's all I need, setting a bad example for my students by making them late for work.”

* * *

The biggest pain in the ass is waiting for everything to open,
Evan thought as he sat outside Oscar's Electronics Mart in North Kingston just before nine o'clock in the morning. So far he'd managed to make phone calls to the Lakeside County Intermediate School District to get replacements of some of Sam's adaptive equipment, including another small laptop with screen reader capability. He made a mental note to stop at Appliance Central to pick up the stove and refrigerator, and he was waiting in the cold truck to get Josh's flat screen and Remy's new stereo. The requirements each boy had specified were handwritten onto notes that he clutched in his hand.

Sam will need a new laptop of his own, though, not just a “loaner,”
he thought. Both of his computers had turned up missing in the inventory of things, and the ISD only covered the smaller model they had given him.
Maybe I'll have to bring him back to see which one he'd like…

Finally the hands on his worn and beaten watch said nine o'clock, and he made a beeline for the door. It started to snow, and the chill was working through the thick gloves that he always kept on him. The store was filled with shoppers racing to get their last-minute shopping done, and it was almost too warm for Evan to keep his patched coat around him.

“Something I can help you with?” a perky saleswoman asked, her long ponytail bouncing as she walked.

“Ah, yeah,” he said. “I'm here to pick up a flat screen and a new stereo.”

“For you or…”

“Oh, for my tenants. We had a break-in over the weekend.”

“Oh, no!” the young woman said, hands flying to her face. The wide eyes behind her glasses threatened to cry. “How horrible!”

“Well, everyone's okay. My girlfriend and I run a kind of boarding house for people with special needs. No one was hurt, but I can't say the same for their stuff.”

“Well, what kinds of things are you looking for?” she said, peering at the papers clutched in Evan's hand. Her name tag read Rhiannon
.

“One of my guys needs a thirty-six-inch flat screen, LCD, black,” Evan read. “He was trying to go for the forty inch and get a DVD player thrown in, but no such luck. I had to explain that's not how insurance works.”

Rhiannon laughed, then pointed the way toward the display of televisions left in stock. “These are our thirty-sixes, and the forties are over here. In fact, we have one on sale right now for about the same price as the thirty-six. It's a fifty dollar difference.”

Evan stared at the screen before him. “What's the difference?”

“Smart TV. He could hook up the Internet on this one and stream all sorts of things, if he's into that.”

“Does sports count?”

A red head bobbed up and down. “Yep.” She rattled off the list of streaming options. “But this one here is a thirty-six, fits all of your guy's requirements, and it
does
come with a free DVD player.”

“Really?” Evan looked skeptically at the woman.

“What can I say? Christmas is the time to buy.” She gave Evan the price.

“I'll take the thirty-six. We'll tell him the DVD player was a free gift.”

Rhiannon pulled the tickets. “And there was something else?”

“A stereo. This one's gonna be hard…it belonged to the kid's dad, and he's passed on about four years now. It'll have to play CDs, definitely.”

“Most still do. Though now they come with an option to run an mp3 player or an iPod through them.”

“That would work. He likes his music.”

The pair strolled through the music equipment, passing several sizes of speaker that Evan knew Remy would be interested in. It took a few minutes to pick the right one, that boasted both CD and mp3 playing capabilities. “Now I've got to replace two iPods and an mp3 player,” Evan said as the girl pulled the tickets for his purchases.

“Not a problem. Unfortunately, they'll need to be the new ones. We don't carry the older models past six months. Is that okay?”

“It'll have to be. I'll take a gray one and a red one, and the mp3 player should be blue.”

Rhiannon deftly picked up the boxes, taking them and the tickets to the counter. She rang him up and helped him carry his purchases to the door. “Come again,” she said, pocketing a twenty dollar tip she wasn't planning to tell her boss about.

As Evan made his way through the teeming mass of people in the parking lot with his overloaded cart, he turned his head away from the snow that was now coming down at a good clip, stinging his eyes as the wind picked up. Behind him he heard voices talking about presents to buy and get-togethers to prepare for, and he thought longingly of a good dinner and maybe a night where Josh didn't piss off Remy or Sam while doing dishes. He was thinking about pulling out the Monopoly board for a good game with the kids when a voice hit his ear that made him stop cold.

“All set for the next part? Yeah, he's here. I know, right?” The voice had a distinct Southern accent to it, and it was one Evan would remember until the day he died. Without thinking, he spun on his heel, blindly turning as his cart and parcels teetered dangerously toward the wet, snowy ground.

“Where are you?” he called out, eyes wide and heart racing. “Come on, come on…” he added in a whisper, ignoring the looks he was getting from passersby. Evan stood perfectly still as he scrutinized each face in the crowd, looking for that unmistakable jawline and those pale eyes. His breath came heavy, and the urge to run tingled up and down his spine.

“Son?” another voice called out, this one older and kind. “Are you all right?”

“What?” Evan spat, turning around again to find a little wizened man and his wife standing in front of him. “What? No, no, I'm fine.”

“Are you sure, young man?” the old lady said. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

Not seen, no,
he thought,
but I definitely
heard
one.
Out loud he replied, “I thought I heard someone else. Someone I haven't seen in a while. I'm okay.”

“You're sure?”

“Yes, thank you.” He smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

The couple wished him a Merry Christmas and continued on. Evan packed his parcels in the truck as fast as he could and made for the exit.

Chapter 15

“I am so ready for today to be over,” Remy said as the van pulled up to the house. “Every class was nonstop questions about what happened the other night.”

“People are curious, Remy,” Rachel said. “Not too many people have that sort of thing happen to them.”

“Don't suppose they could be curious about the cleaning-up part of it, could they?” Sam muttered as he got out of the van, his stick in tow. “I am so ready to be done with that.”

“You just don't like sorting through things,” Josh piped up.

“Can't imagine why,” Sam grumbled.

“Cheer up,” Rachel said. “The house is looking great. Evan went to get the new stuff today so at least that will help things get back to normal. Plus I've got to run in to town and grab everyone's meds. Hanover's called; said they got refills.”

“Thank God.” Remy's red-rimmed bloodshot eyes made the young man look as though he'd been on a three-day bender with a bottle of something strong. Rachel knew better. “Maybe now I can get some sleep.”

“Had a bit o' trouble, yeah?” a voice said, startling everyone. Remy stood frozen in place, not daring to turn toward the man just thirty feet behind him. “Still feeling safer here, boy?” A dark chuckle filled the cold air, and it made Remy shiver.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Rachel spat. “Sam, call…”

“Already done,” the nineteen-year-old said, long fingers deftly tapping buttons on his phone.

“Seems you had a little bit of a scare, huh, boy?” Cooper taunted. “Shame. Never would've happened, you stayed where you belonged.”

Remy cringed. He was as stiff as a board. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to push the cold, grating voice out of his mind. Something warm fell onto his shoulder, and he felt a familiar hand clamp down onto the part, nearly pushing him out of the way.

“Leave. Now.” The sound of Sam's voice, now laced with steel, rang through Remy's ears.

Remy shifted his eyes to glance at the figure of his best friend standing next to him, his stick at the ready, in position to run his bastard uncle through the middle. He saw Josh on Sam's phone, saying something to the police. “Or we might consider that
you
were the one behind what happened the other night.”

“Can't prove a thing, blind man,” Cooper snarled. “Got no business here. Family affair.”

“Well, good thing then. One's brother should stick up for his own, yeah?”

Cooper laughed. “Brat's an only child. I should know.”

“Shows just how uneducated you are. But then, I suppose that's the liquor talking.” Remy turned his head ever so slightly, his eyebrows raised. This was a side of Sam he hadn't seen before. Judging by the looks on Rachel and Josh's faces, neither had they.

The Cajun simmered, his face contorted into a mask of dirt and fury. “Little bastard, I'll show you!” He lunged toward Sam, who sidestepped him and brought his cane down on top of Cooper's back and head. The younger man recovered his stance, holding the mobility device out like a fencing sword once again.

“Come at me again,” Sam taunted.

Behind Cooper, Rachel was dragging a shocked Remy into the house. Josh had run behind the porch, his head peeking around a large evergreen bush that was as brown as his eyes. “And hurry!” the younger man nearly shouted into the phone, panic settling into his voice.

Cooper sprang up from the ground, his fists curled and his eyes sparkling with ire. “Son of a bitch! Don't know who you're messin' with!” He lunged toward Sam, but again the agile teenager darted out of the way, letting the vile sot fall back to the cold graveled earth. A couple soft
clicks
echoed out from the roof of Sam's mouth, and his cane was back at the ready.

“Give up?”

The sounds of coughs poured from a liquor-parched throat. He crept along the ground, his lungs on fire, and stopped, lying motionless in the driveway. Nothing moved, and no one dared breathe. “Is…is he dead?” Josh asked, still taking shelter from the corner of the porch.

“God, I hope so,” Sam replied, jabbing his cane downward in an attempt to find his opponent. The sudden jerk of a hand against his cane startled him, and soon he found himself disarmed as hollow laughs rose from the ground.

“How now, blind man?” Cooper taunted, chuckling as he saw the tall youth flounder a little and struggle to regain his bearings. Another hand darted out, this one grabbing Sam's ankle, and the force of Cooper's pull on the joint caused Sam to lose his balance and crash to the dirt. As Sam fought to release his attacker's grip, he could hear the sounds of a one hundred fifty pound man picking himself off the ground. Sam's leg stung as it was thrown onto the graveled driveway, and the point of his own cane pressed against his throat. The young man lay still, motionless as the round end of his prized possession drove deeper into his flesh. “I should end you now,” a cold voice spat above him, and it was all Sam could do not to swallow the ball of fear that was building near his Adam's apple.

The sound of something flying through the air surprised Sam, and the sudden cry of surprise from his attacker gave him some hope. The pressure lifted from his throat, and Sam immediately rolled away from the sound of sharp cries and muttered oaths. “Little brat!” Cooper shouted. “Fix you too, I will!”

“Sam, run!” Josh cried, followed by a grunt as another rock went sailing into the air. “Go away!” he shouted at Cooper. “Leave us alone!”

“Ow! Son of a…shit!” Cooper yelped, the barrage of projectiles too much for his winded body and addled mind to overcome. “Little fucker! I'll…”

Gravel crunched as tires pressed their weight onto it, sending little pebbles flying in all directions. An engine died, and the sound of doors slamming greeted Sam's ears as he struggled for his feet. “What the hell are you doing here, Lavelle?” Evan shouted, exiting the newly arrived vehicle. Sam heard shoe rubber mash dirt and stone, followed by a sharp yelp and shout from Remy's uncle. “Just coming to cause shit?”