I stopped and leaned over her. Hercules meowed softly. Hope managed a small smile. “He got out of the car,” she said.
I nodded. “He’s pretty resourceful.”
“So are you,” she said. “You saved us.”
“We saved ourselves,” I said.
“You’re the right person for him,” she said, and I knew she was referring to Marcus.
I nodded. “And you’re the right partner.”
She closed her eyes and I gave her hand a squeeze before Roma led me away to the back of the ambulance.
I sat down on the tailgate and set Hercules beside me. Ric looked down at the cat. “This isn’t the one who . . . ?”
I shook my head. “No. That was Owen. This is Hercules.” At the sound of his voice the cat looked up at Ric and meowed. His fur was matted in some places and sticking up in others.
“I take it the same hands-off policy is in effect, though,” Ric said, climbing into the back of the ambulance.
“Yes,” Marcus and Roma said as the same time. Hercules looked at them, all green-eyed innocence.
Ric handed supplies to Roma, who was pulling on a pair of plastic gloves. He jerked his head in Elliot’s direction. “Have a seat, sir,” he said. He reached over my shoulder and handed a small plastic bag to Marcus. “Turkey jerky.”
“Thanks,” Marcus said, “but I’m not hungry.”
Ric laughed. “It’s not for you. It’s for the cat.”
Hercules meowed loudly just in case Marcus was wondering which cat. Marcus pulled a piece of jerky out of the bag and set it down in front of Herc, who murped a thank-you and bent his head to eat.
Elliot was still standing. I slid sideways to make room for him and indicated the space. He sat down with a sigh. “I’m fine,” he muttered.
Once my hands were cleaned and bandaged and the gash on Elliot’s face had been attended to they took Hope to the hospital. Elliot and I were allowed to go home after Marcus reassured Ric that he’d make sure both of us saw a doctor in the morning. Wisteria Hill was crawling with police officers.
“Roma is going to drive you,” Marcus said. “I’m just going to fill the guys in and I’ll be right behind you.”
Brady was standing off to the side. “I’m going to take your father down to the hotel to get some clean clothes,” he said.
Elliot was standing a few feet away from us, looking in the direction of the woods. I wondered what he was thinking about.
“Elliot, come back to the house once you’re cleaned up,” I called.
Marcus nodded. “Please, Dad,” he said. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and stripped one off the ring, handing it to Brady.
“Take Dad back to my place,” he said. “It’s faster and we’re the same size.”
* * *
Maggie was waiting at the house, sitting on the back steps. She wrapped me in a hug and unshed tears sparkled in her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said. She winced as she caught sight of the bandages on my hand. “You are okay, right?”
I nodded. “I could use a shower.”
She smiled. “That we can do.”
Maggie looked down at Hercules, waiting patiently on the step to be let in instead of walking through the door. She pulled something out of her pocket. It was a small can of sardines.
“Maggie,” I said.
She looked at me. “He was walking in the rain, Kathleen. He was coming to help you. In. The. Rain.” Indignation was in her voice and her stance.
“Merow,” the cat said, just a little self-righteously it seemed to me, and to Maggie’s delight he actually lifted one paw in the air.
I reached down and stroked his fur with my fingers. “Maggie’s right,” I said. “You’re a hero. You can have all the sardines you want.”
Roma wrapped my hands in a couple of plastic bags and I managed to shower and get cleaned up. Maggie helped me get dressed and dried my hair.
“How many sardines did you give him?” I asked.
“I didn’t count,” she retorted as she brushed my hair. Then she stopped, put both arms around my shoulders and hugged me fiercely. “I’m so glad you’re all right.” There was a catch in her throat.
“I am, Mags,” I said. I held up my hands. It looked like I was wearing fat fingerless gloves made of gauze. “Roma went a little overboard with the bandages, I swear.”
Maggie sat next to me on the bed. “I can’t believe John tried to kill you and Hope and that he did kill Dani. I thought he was a nice guy.”
“You and me both,” I said.
Roma had heated up the last of the soup. Elliot and Brady had arrived and Elliot and I sat at the table each with a bowl. Hercules jumped onto my lap and breathed sardine breath in my face. After Owen had determined that I was okay he had turned into Maggie’s shadow.
There was a knock at the back door. “I’ll go,” Brady said.
He came back after a minute with Rebecca. She took one look at my hands and her face paled. “Oh my word, Kathleen,” she said. “What did that awful young man do to you?” I pushed back my chair and went over to her, giving her a hug.
“He didn’t do anything that a little antibiotic cream and a few days won’t heal,” I said.
“I’m so sorry, dear,” she said. “I should have said something earlier.” Her expression was troubled.
I shook my head and patted her shoulder awkwardly with one hand. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. Because of you the police caught John. Because of you Dani gets justice.”
“Because of me you were hurt. And Hope.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Because of John Keller. Not you.”
I noticed then that she was carrying a small bag. “Is that for me?” I asked.
That at least got a smile out of Rebecca. “Lemon tarts,” she said. “They’re still a little warm.”
I peered at the bag. “Can I have one right now anyway?”
The smile got a little bigger. “You can have two,” she said. And then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a tin of sardines. “And these are for Hercules.”
I laughed and hugged her again. “I love you,” I whispered against her ear.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back.
Brady had made coffee and we sat around the table eating Rebecca’s lemon tarts. The conversation turned to the development.
“I wish after all of this that it wasn’t happening,” I said.
“Oh, that’s right. You don’t know,” Rebecca said.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Know what?”
“To use my mother’s expression, Ernie Kinsley was cooking the books. The IRS got a tip. He’s being investigated and someone else has bought the land as of a couple of hours ago. The development—at least this one—is history.” She smiled.
I looked across the table at her. “Everett?” I said.
Rebecca shook her head. “No. Oh, he would have if he’d had the chance. He’s come around to our way of thinking when it comes to that development idea at least. But someone else with deep pockets beat him to it.”
Maggie raised her cup of tea. “A toast to our mysterious benefactor with deep pockets.” We clinked cups and mugs and there was another knock at the door. I got to my feet.
“I’ll go,” Maggie said, shaking her head at me. She headed for the porch and I trailed her because I was feeling restless. I need to move around.
Simon Janes was at the door with a take-out order of food from Eric’s. “Come in,” I said, gesturing to the kitchen.
He shook his head and handed the two paper shopping bags to Maggie. “I can’t stay.”
“I’ll stick these in the fridge,” Maggie said, heading for the kitchen.
“You’re all right,” Simon said. He didn’t phrase it as a question.
I held up my hands. “Just some scrapes.”
“And Detective Lind?”
“She has a broken ankle and a concussion but she’s okay.” Brady had called the hospital and thanks to some connection he had there had gotten an update on Hope.