Carrots: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (12 page)

How had it come to this? I was actually going to break into somebody’s house and steal from them. Of course, in this case maybe it was different. Stealing jewels from someone who’d already stolen them wasn’t exactly wrong, right?

“There it is,” Ramos said. We drove slowly past a small house, then kept going around the corner. “We’ll park here.” He didn’t want to be obvious in case Hodges showed up early. “Just follow my lead. The main thing is to act like you have every right to be there. No furtive glances. We’ll walk straight to the house, and follow the driveway around to the back.”

I swallowed, then got out of the car. Ramos pulled a small backpack out of the trunk, and we walked casually up the street. I found it hard to understand how two people all dressed in black, and carrying a backpack, wouldn’t draw attention.  My heart sped up as we approached the house. It was a pretty quiet neighborhood, hopefully no one would see us. I was trembling by the time we got to the back door. The yard was small, but at least it was private. Ramos picked the locks, and we were inside before I knew it. He was good.

“Wait here,” he whispered. He re-locked the back door, and disappeared through the kitchen.

I held my breath and listened. Did Ramos think someone might be here? Maybe Mr. Hodges lived with his mother, and she was in the house. I shivered with dread, then jerked when Ramos reappeared. “All clear,” he said.

“We’re alone?” I whispered.

“Yeah, come on. We’ve got to hurry.” He thought I looked like a nervous wreck. My face was pale, and I was crouching down by the floor like a frightened rabbit. It wasn’t that big a deal.

With all the dignity I could muster, I stood and followed him through the house. I studied each room for the paneling and the photograph I’d seen in Hodges mind, but came up with nothing. We went over the house a second time with no success, and my stomach clenched with panic. Had I misunderstood?

“Could it be in the garage?” Ramos asked.

“No. It was a larger space than that, but darker, like there were no windows. Almost like a basement.”

Ramos stilled, then hurried to the hallway, and pulled open a closet door. Only it wasn’t a closet. Steps trailed down into the darkness. He flipped a switch, and the basement lit up. At the bottom of the stairs I saw the wood paneling and the photo. With relief, I eagerly pointed it out to Ramos.

He carefully tugged on the photo, and it swung open revealing a small safe. Did I say he was good? “This is an old model, so it might take a while.”

“Can I do anything to help?”

“Just be quiet.” He opened his pack and put on some rubber gloves. With his ear next to the safe, he turned the lock, listening for the tumblers to fall.

I checked my watch, knowing we’d been there about fifteen minutes. With the twenty minute drive, we should still have plenty of time to get away before Hodges came home. As long as Kate did her part.

My cell phone rang and I about wet my pants. I forgot it was in my pocket. I dug it out as fast as I could. “Hello?”

“Hi honey,” Chris said. “What’s going on? You sound funny.”

“Nothing. I just…the phone was in my pocket and it startled me.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“I’m…at the library.”

“Oh. Okay. Anyway, I’m calling because Harris from the police department has been trying to get a hold of you.”

“Who?”

“You know, Dimples. I told him I’d try your cell phone. He said you offered to help him with some of his cases, and he wanted to talk to you. What’s going on? Did you tell him?”

“You mean about…” I stopped quickly, realizing that Ramos was listening. “Can I call you right back?”

“Did you?”

“Not exactly. Look, I really can’t talk right now.”

“Just go outside.”

“I can’t. I’m standing in line with a bunch of books.” Just then, Ramos pulled open the safe, and began to load his pack with jewels. Sudden inspiration struck. “Hey, is Hodges there? I mean, has he come in today?”

My question was met by silence. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. “Actually he was here,” Chris said slowly. “But he left about twenty minutes ago. Why?”

“Crap.” I slammed the phone shut, hanging up on Chris. “We’ve got to go.”

“Did you just hang up on your husband?” Ramos asked. “That’s not good.”

“No, you don’t understand. He said Hodges left his office about twenty minutes ago.” Just then my phone rang again, and I nearly dropped it. I did the only thing I could think of, and turned it off.

Ramos shook his head, thinking I was making a mess of things. “Come on.” He took the stairs two at a time and flipped off the light before I got to the top. He opened the door, but before going out, closed it again. A second later I heard the back door close, and understood why. Hodges was home.

We sat at the top of the stairs, barely breathing. We could hear Hodges footsteps as he walked through the kitchen, and down the hall. As he came closer to the door, I held my breath. I felt Ramos tense beside me, ready to spring on Hodges if he had to. The footsteps kept going, and a door closed.

Ramos was trying to decide if we should make a run for it. He would if it wasn’t for me, but he was afraid I might trip or something and Hodges would catch us. Uncle Joey wouldn’t like that, so we stayed. Then he thought about going back down the stairs, but in the dark, he was afraid I might trip, or knock something over, and Hodges would catch us.

Geeze, did he think I was a klutz or something? He finally decided we were safe enough where we were because Hodges probably didn’t go down in the small basement very often. We sat on the stairs for a long time, listening to Hodges move around the house. I finally relaxed, realizing that if Hodges ever decided to open the door, he’d have Ramos to deal with.

While we waited, Ramos worried that I’d say something and give us away. After a while, when I didn’t say anything, he wondered what was wrong with me. He couldn’t figure me out. His thoughts were driving me crazy, so I put up my shields and tried to decide what I was going to tell Chris.

He’d want to know why I’d hung up on him. Twice. Then he’d want to know why I wondered where Hodges was. I certainly wasn’t ready to tell him the truth. I needed more on Uncle Joey before I could do that. Of course, by the time I got out of here, it might be the middle of the night. Chris would probably call Dimples, and the entire police force would be out looking for me. I might as well tell Ramos to shoot me now.

My legs were starting to cramp when Hodges finally left. I sighed with relief and checked my watch. It was nearly five. Ramos opened the door and cautiously looked out, then disappeared. I was so eager to leave that my feet got tangled up, and I tripped over the top stair. I stumbled into the hallway, sending the basement door crashing into the wall.

Ramos came running, and when he saw me sprawled on the floor, he started to laugh. He tried to hold it in, but the harder he tried, the more he laughed. He finally took pity on me and helped me up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I was pretty embarrassed, but I had to admit it was funny, and once I started laughing, it was hard to stop. I think the stress was getting to me.

“Good, ‘cause we should really go now.” He kept chuckling every once in a while, then thanked his lucky stars he hadn’t decided to make a run for it. He knew I’d trip over something. I almost told him that maybe he had ESP or something, but I held my tongue. I was in enough trouble already.

We made it to the car and started the drive back to the office. I reached into the back and got out two bottles of water. Not only was I thirsty, but my stomach was rumbling with hunger.

As if he could read my mind, Ramos pulled off the road to a drive-thru window at a fast food joint. “Want anything?”

A burger and fries sounded really good, but it was almost dinnertime and I was on a diet. “I don’t know. Well…maybe. No, I’d better not.”

Ramos crooked his brow, then ordered two of everything. “You’d better eat something,” he said. “I’m hungry, and it’s not polite to eat in front of someone, especially when their stomach is growling as loud as yours.”

“Well, maybe I’ll have some fries, and a coke…as long as it’s diet.” His logic made sense to me. The food smelled heavenly, and I dove in before we’d even left the drive-through. Ramos maneuvered into a parking space to eat his burger, and when he was done, pulled back into traffic. I ended up eating the extra burger too, but it was small, and I’m pretty sure I’d left most of the fries for Ramos.

Feeling much better, I settled back into my seat. Soon we came to the downtown area, and Uncle Joey’s office wasn’t far. My wig was beginning to itch, and I wanted to pull it off. I probably could now that we were done, but I was afraid of what my hair looked like. Still, it would be a relief not to have it on. I reached up and froze. We were stopped at a red light, and the car next to us looked familiar. I glanced over, and there was Chris!

He glanced my way and I jerked my head toward Ramos. “Don’t look now, but the guy in the car next to us is my husband!” Naturally he looked.

“Did he see you?” Ramos asked. “It looks like he’s trying to get a better look at you.”

I panicked for a moment, then felt silly when I realized I was wearing a disguise. “Wait a minute. He won’t recognize me with my wig and glasses on.”

“Babe,” Ramos said. “You’re not wearing your glasses. You took them off, remember?”

I glanced down at my shirt where I’d hung them. In a flash I grabbed them and put them back on my face. The light changed, and we pulled out with Chris keeping pace. “Is he still looking this way?”

“He keeps looking over, but don’t worry, I’m going to take a left at the next light.”

I didn’t relax until we’d left Chris behind. I was hoping to get home before him, but that was impossible now. Still, I needed to get home as fast as I could. As soon as we pulled into the parking garage I was ready to jump out of the car, but Ramos grabbed my arm.

“Wait a minute.” The shock of his hand on my arm sent shivers down my spine, and I was suddenly aware of how dangerous and strong he was. “Mr. Manetto will want to see you before you leave.”

I blinked and came back to my senses. “Oh come on,” I whined. “I’ve got to get home. You’ve got the jewels. Can’t you tell him what happened?”

Ramos hesitated. He was finding it hard to follow orders when it came to me. That was risky. He’d made it a point not to get attached to anyone he might have to kill, but I was starting to get under his skin. That wasn’t good, especially when I looked at him with those big blue eyes. Something inside got soft. He sighed and let me go. “All right. You can go.”

“Are you going to get in trouble?”

“Me? I can take care of myself.” It was his reputation he was worried about. He didn’t want anyone to think he was losing his touch.

“Thanks. I owe you one.” I quickly slid out of the car and hurried away.

“Shelby,” Ramos called.

“What?”

“Your car’s that way.” He pointed in the opposite direction.

“Oh, yeah. I guess I got turned around. Thanks.” I had no idea which car was mine, but I didn’t want Ramos to think I was a total moron. As I walked, I dug the keys out of my purse and clicked the unlock button, then sighed with relief when the headlights blinked, and I hadn’t passed it up. I really had to get my own car.

I opened the trunk, and grabbed the sack I’d stashed for emergencies. Inside was a shirt, a comb, and a brush. I slid into the driver’s seat, and pulled off the wig and glasses. It felt heavenly to brush my hair, and I pulled it back into a ponytail. After checking the garage to make sure no one was watching, I quickly changed my shirt, then stashed everything in the sack, and put it back in the trunk.

It was almost six thirty when I finally pulled into the driveway. My stomach clenched, and I was sorry I’d eaten that burger and fries. I walked in the back door with my senses wide open. If I ever needed to know what Chris and the kids were thinking about me, it was now.

“Hello,” I called, trying to sound confident.

I walked through the kitchen and living room before I realized no one was home. That’s when it finally registered that I hadn’t seen Chris’ car parked in the garage. I hurried back to the kitchen and found the note he’d left for me on the table. It was short and precise, telling me that I had forgotten to pick up Savannah from dance practice.  Crap! Was it Thursday already? Chris had gone to pick her up, and was stopping for pizza on the way home. The last part was hard to read, but I finally made it out. It said, “Turn on your phone.” Oops.

I quickly changed my clothes, all the while trying to come up with a reasonable explanation that he would accept. All too soon the door opened and they were home.

“Hey there,” I greeted Savannah. “Sorry I forgot to pick you up. It’s been a crazy day.”

“That’s okay,” Savannah said. “Dad came.” She was wondering what was wrong with me lately. I never used to act so weird. “I’m going to go change.”

As soon as she was out of earshot, Chris said, “Now would be a good time to put up your shields because I’m sure it would not be good for you to know what I’m thinking right at this moment.”

“O-kay,” I said slowly, realizing that he was probably right. I concentrated on blocking his thoughts, but it didn’t take a mind reader to see how upset he was.