“Who was that on the phone?” Mary’s fingers gripped Nick’s arm.
“That was my boss. The man after your father is a monster and he won’t stop until he eliminates his target.”
Mary’s face blanched, her hand sliding off Nick’s arm into her lap. “Eliminates? Like Bob Feegan?”
“And Frank Richards.”
Her head shook back and forth as if in slow motion. “I knew he was in trouble, especially after what happened to Reuben and Mr. Feegan, but you’re really scaring me now.” Her eyes remained dry, but the color didn’t return to her face.
“I’m taking you to the chief’s office and you’re going to stay there until Kat and I find the man behind all this.” He shifted into drive.
Before he could pull out into the street, Mary grabbed his arm. “We have to bring Ms. Betty. She’s not any safer than me or the others.”
Nick nodded. “I’ll be right back.” He opened his door but didn’t get out. “Maybe you should come with me.”
“You’re only going to be a moment. I’ll be fine. I’ll duck low in the seat, so no one sees me.” She leaned toward the console. “See? No problem. Just hurry, it’s cold out here.”
Nick stared at the house and back at Mary.
She smiled and waved at him. “Go on.”
He climbed out of the car and half ran, half slid all the way back to Betty Reedy’s front door. He raised his fist and banged.
“Wh-who’s there?” A curtain fluttered in the window beside the door. “Nick?” Then the door flung open and Ms. Betty stood there, wringing her hands. “What’s wrong? Why are you back so soon?”
“It’s not safe for you to stay by yourself. You need to come with us.” Nick hooked her arm and tried to walk her through the door.
The old woman dug her feet into the welcome mat. “Where are we going?”
“To camp out at the police station until this is all settled. Come on.”
“What if Charles or Chris returns?” Ms. Reedy pulled her arm out of Nick’s grasp. “I need to be here.”
“Leave a note.” Nick reached out to grab her arm again, but she dodged him.
“I can’t go without my medications and a change of clothing. Wait here.”
The longer Ms. Reedy took, the more frustrated Nick became. He stood on the stoop, staring into the darkness. A lone security light shone half a block away, casting a cone of light around its base.
“Can you help me with this cat carrier? I can’t leave Cookie here to fend for herself.”
“Ms. Reedy, leave the cat. We can have someone come check on it tomorrow.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t leave her. Not with what happened to Reuben’s home.”
Nick wanted to tell the woman to stay with her damned cat, but one look at her distress and he couldn’t. To her, the cat was family and, like everyone in this godforsaken frozen land, she wouldn’t leave family behind in a dangerous situation. No manner of arguing would change the woman’s mind.
With one backward glance at the car, Nick strode through the hallway into the living room where Ms. Betty had loaded her whale of a cat in a carrier half the size it needed. He bit down on his tongue and hefted the crate. “Let’s go.” The cat hissed and spat at him.
“Cookie isn’t used to being in her crate. She gets grumpy.”
With the carrier in one hand, Nick scooped up Ms. Reedy’s suitcase and marched out into the snow.
Ms. Betty skipped to keep up, a worried frown denting her forehead.
When Nick reached the car, he jerked the back door open and dumped the suitcase and the carrier into the backseat.
That’s when he noticed the front seat was empty.
