Free 3 Savor by Barbara Ellen Brink Page B

Monday night, tore up my flowerbeds and shot at me through our
front window.”
    “What?” Adam grabbed her by the
shoulders. “Why am I just hearing about this now?” he asked, practically
shaking her.
    She pulled away. “We called the
police. What exactly do you think you could have done that they didn’t?”
    “They shot at you?” he said again,
unable to fathom the idea. “Why would anyone…? Do you even know that dude?”
    Billie shook her head. “It’s a
mystery to me.” She smiled reassuringly and changed the subject. “Thanks for
doing all this, guys,” she said, waving a hand toward the crowd and the stage.
“I really appreciate it. But I need to talk to Handel.”
    She started walking toward the
house taking slow, easy strides in spite of her inner desire to run. She dared
a glance back and saw her brother making his way up to the stage again with
Margaret following close behind. With no one watching, she broke into a jog.
This whole thing scared her a lot more than she wanted to admit. Why would a
stranger threaten her? What did they have to gain? Was it really a result of
Handel’s case or someone with a vendetta against her? It didn’t make any sense.

Chapter
Four

 
 
    Margaret curled against Adam’s
chest where they sat on the couch, pretending to be interested in the movie
he’d chosen for the evening. It was definitely a guy movie, with explosions,
gunfire, and short, terse dialogue that peppered the action without actually
having a storyline or character development. Davy sat at their feet on the
floor, completely entranced. He hadn’t even asked for popcorn or a snack.
    She wanted to ask Adam what he
thought about Billie’s latest troubles but it would have to wait until Davy was
tucked in bed for the night. She didn’t want to frighten him after what he’d
gone through a year ago. Sometimes he still had nightmares and woke up crying
out. Hearing that his aunt might have a killer gunning for her would not be a
good bedtime conversation.
    Rambo, the tomcat Davy had adopted
from the local shelter after begging for a pet for months on end, came padding
in from the kitchen where he had been eating his dinner. He licked his whiskers
and leaped up to the back of the couch with hardly any effort. After walking
along the entire length and back, he settled down on the far end, curled into a
rumbling black and white ball of fur and closed his eyes.
    Margaret reached up and rubbed her
palm along Adam’s whiskered cheek and pulled his face down for a kiss. His lips
pooched out as though to kiss her but his eyes remained glued on the television
screen. She sighed and extricated herself from his arm.
    “I can’t compete with a superhero,”
she grumbled. “I’m going down to the cellar to work.”
    When she was halfway to the
kitchen, they both exploded in laughter and she turned around. Davy had climbed
up on the couch beside Adam and they were grinning at the screen like twin
zombies. Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
    Her cell rang and she picked it up
where she’d left it on the kitchen table. “Hello.”
    “Margaret Parker?”
    The voice sent shivers down her
spine. She pulled the phone away and glanced at caller I.D. but it said
Unknown. He was dead. There was no way he could be calling.
    “Hello?” the voice asked again, the
Italian accent so familiar and yet… a slight deepening, as if more years had
been added. “Are you there?”
    “Yes,” she said, barely able to
breathe. “Who is this?”
    “ Scusami . I didn’t mean to upset you. I have been told that my son
and I sound much alike. Did sound much alike,” he corrected, and cleared his
throat. “I am Edoardo Salvatore. Your son’s grandfather.”
    He couldn’t have said anything more
terrifying.
    Margaret glanced back into the den
and saw Adam watching her. He always seemed to be attuned to her mood swings.
Apparently, he wasn’t as oblivious as she’d assumed. He stood up and crossed
the room toward her.
    “Is