Mom Zone Mysteries 02 Staying Home Is a Killer (36 page)
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Authors: Sara Rosett
Tags: #General, #Fiction, #Mystery & Detective, #Murder - Investigation, #Mystery fiction, #Women Sleuths, #Businesswomen, #Large type books, #Military bases, #Air Force spouses, #Military spouses, #Women - Crimes against, #Stay-at-home mothers
“Hmm. An org chart for criminals.”
“And we found Bedford’s stash of artifacts. He’s got a house in Arizona. Flagstaff. Rory told us Bedford had him and Victor sell most everything, but occasionally he’d pull something out of the shipment for himself. There’s a third garage out back of his house down there, climate controlled and filled with medieval and Renaissance artifacts.”
“Wow. Even though he’d pulled the manuscript, the rumors were already out there. That’s why Victor told Ballard he might have a manuscript for her,” I said. And why the Turkish government was trying to track it down, too.
“Well, I’ve got to go.”
“Thanks. Enjoy Frost Fest,” I said.
I was about to step into the Cherokee when I swung around and yelled, “Hey, I’d like my vacuum back, too!”
“I’m working on it,” he shouted over the roofs of the cars.
I watched the huge gray plane glide down the runway. I felt the familiar clench of my stomach and I steeled myself.
Don’t throw up
.
You don’t have time
. What did I have? A seventy-two-hour flu? Maybe nerves. That was probably it.
“Daddy’s almost home,” I said to Livvy as the plane began its slow journey down the taxiway. “Daddy flies that plane. He’s inside it, right now.” Livvy’s forehead wrinkled, like she wasn’t sure if she could trust what I said.
“I know, sweetie. I’ll believe it when I see him, too.”
The gigantic aircraft lumbered along. Tiny figures waved from the windows. It was hard to believe Mitch, my Mitch, flew that monstrosity. It was a part of his life remote from me. The first plane had already taxied. The spouses around me shouted, some waved small flags.
Livvy squirmed and I held her closer. “Just a few more minutes.” The wind bit into my eyes as Mitch’s plane stopped.
“We’re waiting for the air stairs,” Jeff informed the spouses and kids.
“Where are they? Why don’t they have them ready? It always takes forever for the air stairs,” I snapped, but Jeff smiled back at me. Maybe he understood the tension I felt, even though he was usually on the other side of the situation.
After five minutes Tommy shouted, “They’re almost done with customs.”
I tightened Livvy’s hat and tucked Pink Girl down in her pocket. I exchanged glances with Abby and Jeff.
He said, “It really was a good system they had set up. Customs never looks at anything when we land. I never have to open a bag.”
Abby squinted at the last plane as it touched down at the far end of the runway. “So how was Rory involved? I still didn’t get the whole story.”
“Rory brought back antiquities and had his courier, Sam Fields—I still think of him as Mr. Baseball Cap—transfer them to Victor Roth’s gallery, until it closed. Victor would sell them himself or, at least once, Rory had Clarissa deliver the items to buyers. Victor must have felt investigators were getting too close, so he shut down the gallery. But he still had to meet Rory to pick up the last shipment since his go-between, Mr. Baseball Cap, was in jail. That was the time I saw Rory at the squadron and followed them back to Rory’s house where Victor and Rory checked the shipment and then Victor took part of it with him.”
“I still can’t believe—”
“Okay!” Colonel Briman’s shout interrupted Abby. “Red line is down!”
We surged out across the red boundary line and onto the flight line as the crews trotted down the stairs. We pushed through the crowd of women, kids, and flyers who looked oddly out of place in their desert flight suits of light brown. Mitch and I finally, literally, bumped into each other.
“Welcome home.” We kissed and Mitch took Livvy into his arms. Her brow furrowed for a few seconds. Mitch took off his hat and she grinned.
Mitch hugged me again. “It’s so good to be back. Let me get my bags.”
Mitch disappeared into the throng of people and emerged a few minutes later, pulling his bag. We trudged up the incline to the squadron and entered the Hole.
Jeff clapped Mitch on the back. “Good to see you, man.”
“You too. Hey, what happened to the posters?” Mitch asked, nodding at the stripped wall, now decorated only with pin holes and scuff marks.
“Georgia. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you on the way home.”
“Took matters into her own hands, did she?” Mitch guessed.
“Something like that,” I said. What would happen to the decorations? Would the guys get their bikini babes back? I had no idea, but it probably depended on the next squadron commander.
Abby waved at the spread of cookies, sandwiches, and drinks on the bar. “Are you hungry? Want some food?”
“Are you kidding? I want to go home,” Mitch said.
“All right, but first, we’ve got something to tell you,” Abby said. “We’re pregnant!”
Congratulations went on around me. A few things snapped into place with Abby’s words: the flu going around, being tired, and my craving for a chicken salad sandwich from Lenny’s. I hadn’t wanted one of those in forever.
“What’s wrong? You look kind of dazed,” Mitch said.
I dropped down on the couch as the realization hit me. “I don’t have the flu. I’m pregnant!”
An Everything In Its Place Tip for Organized Closets
Organizing products that multifunction in closets:
- Over-the-door clear plastic shoe organizers—great for everything from shoes to gloves to scarves and belts.
- Garden/Garage Organizer—originally designed to hold rakes and shovels, these waist-high rectangular organizers with a grid of openings are also great for storing sporting equipment like bats, hockey sticks, and tennis rackets.
- Wall hook sets—usually designed for rakes and shovels, these sets of hooks come in various lengths and can be mounted in coat closets and used for storing sporting equipment. Use wall hooks in broom closets for mops, brooms, and vacuum cleaner hose storage.
- Belt hangers—use the hooks spaced along the bottom crossbar to hold belts, ties, or necklaces.
- Turntable or lazy Susan—these are staples of kitchen corner cabinets, but they work equally as well in closets where they make finding less frequently used items easy.
Glossary
AFB—Air Force Base
AR—Air Refueling
BX—Base Exchange, small department store on base
Blues—uniform of light blue shirt, dark blue pants
BDU—Battle Dress Uniform, camouflage
C bag—bag with chemical defense gear, sometimes called mobility bag
DV—Distinguished Visitor
ETA—Estimated Time of Arrival
HQ—Headquarters
O Club—Officers’ Club
OSI—Office of Special Investigations
PA—Public Affairs
PCS—Permanent Change of Station, moving
Pubs—Air Force publications about aircraft, flight manuals
SWA—Southwest Asia
Sortie—A flight
Squad—squadron
Regs—regulations, rules
TDY—Temporary Duty, a short trip
Acknowledgments
I really don’t know where to begin. I’ll start with my agent, Faith Hamlin, because she helped me launch this journey as an author. I appreciate her vision and persistence more than I can say. My editor, Michaela Hamilton, has made the Mom Zone series a reality and made the publishing process understandable and truly enjoyable. Monica Premo of Practically Perfect gave me insight into the life of a professional organizer and some great ideas. A thank-you just doesn’t seem adequate to my family and friends, who have encouraged me in my writing for years. To my extended family, the Honderichs, the Rosetts, and the Suttons—you rock! Thanks for celebrating Ellie’s adventures with me. Glenn, Lauren, and Jonathan have endured weekends away, significantly lower housecleaning standards, and a wife and mom often lost in the fog of plotting. Thanks for putting up with me. And thanks and gratitude to military spouses who know firsthand that staying home is a killer, but handle deployments with aplomb.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Copyright © 2007 by Sara Rosett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 2006940316
ISBN: 0-7582-4299-9
Table of Contents
Table of Contents