Nerds on Fire (12 page)

Earplugs and Gran’s pragmatism kept
her from worrying too much. Her conservatory window was repaired
and her outside trash can remained where they usually stored it.
Trixi started to sleep a little better.

The following Monday morning, a week
after Gran moved in, she hurried into the garage. Except her car
looked lower than normal. Upon closer inspection, she finally
noticed the two car tires on the passenger side were flat. Nape
hair rising, Trixi dashed to the other side. These were also flat.
Her stomach sank as the hairs on her arms lifted. She raced to the
door leading outside and tested the knob. It turned easily in her
hand. Chills crept up her spine because she had locked this door
Saturday morning, and checked it after they arrived home
yesterday...

Her stomach gave a queasy
roll.

She didn’t have time to speculate
though, so she returned to her flat tire problem. It would take too
long to fill them up again, so she drove the big SUV in her garage
to work. Normally this was used for hauling stuff and people around
and only came out on the weekends and during bad
weather.

A quick call to a handy man helped
alleviate some of her stress after he promised to install a
deadbolt on that door. It wouldn’t solve the problem, mostly
because she wasn’t certain what the problem was.

Katy jumped her the minute she
arrived. “Why did you bring that?”

“
My tires were flat this
morning.”

“
Flat? How?” Katy blinked
as she worked to process Trixi’s statement.

“
I don’t know. When I went
to leave for work, my car tires were flat.”

Katy frowned. “All four of
them?”

“
Yes.” Trixi noticed the
time and hurried off, more than a little rattled by the morning’s
incident.

When they all finally gathered for
lunch, Trixi was still a little strung out from her flat tires and
learning her way in neonatal as a nurse practitioner.

As soon as they settled at a table,
Katy eyed her. “All four tires were flat?”

“
Yes.”

Leo and Mark ended their discussion to
pin her with identical focused interest.

“
What’s going on?” Leo
asked.

Mark, just back from an overseas
conference, also watched her, waiting for her answer. She had
mentioned to him one day right before he left about the odd noises,
but hoped he forgot all about them. Clearly, the man had forgotten
nothing.

“
Since my dad and Gran
switched places, there have been some adjustments for me. None of
them surprising until this morning when I went out to the garage
and found four flat car tires.”

His eyes narrowed. “All
four?”

“
Yes.” She opened her
lunch, not because she was hungry, but more so she wouldn’t need to
meet his probing gaze.

“
Was your garage unlocked?”
Mark’s tone didn’t change, but it was evident she was his sole
focus at the moment.

“
Yes.” She didn’t mention
that it had been locked. “I locked it, of course.”

He nodded. “When you get home tonight,
make certain it’s still locked. Also check all the windows—verify
they’re all intact and locked.”

Her lips pulled down. “I’m not a
complete idiot,” she muttered into the sandwich she didn’t
particularly want.

“
Trix, has anything else
been happening?” Katy stopped unwrapping her own
sandwich.

“
Some strange sounds at
night.” This lot wasn’t going to let her off the hook. And Mark
knew about them, so he’d call her on it if she didn’t mention
this.

Katy actually set her sandwich down.
“What strange noises?” She darted a quick look at Leo who must have
interpreted the look. His hand slid over hers in a calming
gesture.

Trixi’s shoulder jerked as she tried
to shrug. “Just some moaning and howling.” She didn’t mention her
trash can’s new ability to move itself or the oddly cracked
conservatory window.

“
What?” Leo
barked.

Mark’s mouth formed the same grim line
as when she had mentioned this in passing last week. He’d mumbled
about missing the conference then, but had gone. Although she
guessed he had cut it short.

She repeated herself, as her palms
turned clammy.

“
Why didn’t you say
something?” Leo demanded only seconds before Katy.

“
Because it’s not
important.”

“
So you haven’t been
sleeping?” Katy asked.

“
No, we have. Gran
suggested we wear earplugs that first night, so we’ve been doing so
ever since.”

Mark leaned in so suddenly,
he startled her. “Here’s the same tip I gave you last week, that
you obviously didn’t heed.
Call the
police
.” The man didn’t need to raise his
voice to be scary.

She stared calmly back at him. “Call
them about what?”

His eyes narrowed. “Your four flat
tires this morning.”

“
This is the first sign of
actual trouble we’ve had. You can’t call the police because of odd
noises.” Technically, you could, but theirs weren’t serious enough
to contact the authorities.

Katy shifted uncomfortably in her
seat. “Trix, I don’t like this.”

“
Neither do I,” Leo stated.
His jaw was hard and his blue-green eyes steely.

Mark’s were identical. The brothers
looked almost like twins right now.

“
There hasn’t been anything
we could do. Now that someone has actually trespassed or whatever
it is, maybe we can contact the police. I don’t know.”

“
If you get uncomfortable
at all tonight, I want you to call us,” Mark stated.

Beside him, Leo nodded. He gazed at
her with the same hard eyes and determined jaw.

Katy’s chair squeaked as she leaned
forward. “You know what? I’m moving back in for a little
while.”

“
No, Katy, you just moved
into your own house.”

“
I know. But you and Gran
are
far
more
important.”

“
I think Katy moving in
with you is a good idea,” Leo said. “At least for now.” His gaze
turned to his brother whose phone rang.

Mark stepped away to take the call
while Leo lectured her on safety. As soon as he returned, Mark
joined Leo’s safety spiel.

Although not necessary, it was nice
having men other than her family express concern over her
well-being.

It somehow made her happy on an
anxiety-ridden day.

Katy moved in that evening, with the
help of Leo. Mark ended up staying late with two emergencies. He
did excuse Katy from duty so she could move in with Trixi but
wasn’t free to help with the move. She, Katy, and Leo managed just
fine. After they finished, Trixi gave Leo a tour of her
house.

“
This is a big place,
Trix.” He admired it, but he sounded leery of her and Katy living
here. It
was
a big
house.

“
Gran is here, and now
Katy.” Trixi pointed out and anyway, it was the only house she
had.

“
I’ve lived here before
with Trixi and Dad,” Katy said behind them as she hoisted a bag
onto the bed. She glanced around the room. “This is just like
coming home.”

“
You will always have a
home here.”

“
Thanks, Trix.”

“
Trixi tells me this as
well.” Gran had ensconced herself in the cozy chair by the window.
It was a well-loved chair, as Katy curled up in it often. The mate
to it was Trixi’s favorite perch in the room. Other than the bed
where she and Katy had giggled and talked hours away. Now Gran
rocked in the easy chair and happily watched the proceedings as
Katy unpacked.

Trixi could tell Leo took an instant
liking to Gran and her to him. It was odd to see her work friends
mingle with her family. She wondered if Gran and Mark would take to
each other.

Where that crazy thought came from,
she didn’t know so she shoved it away. It was highly unlikely Mark
and Gran would ever meet, so this was a ridiculous
thought.

To keep herself from any other stupid
musings, Trixi unzipped another bag on Katy’s bed and helped her
unpack.

“
You know where her stuff
goes?” Leo asked while Katy disappeared into her
bathroom.

“
Of course.”

“
Trix knows where most of
my stuff is at in my place too.” Katy breezed out of the bathroom
and tackled the next bag on the bed. Between them, it didn’t take
long to stow Katy’s belongings.

“
I have supper in the oven,
so it should about be ready.” Trixi led the way
downstairs.

“
When did you have time to
put a meal in?” Katy trailed her into the kitchen.

“
This morning.”

“
Oh yeah, right. You have
the best range in the world. I want one,” Katy decided as she
followed her over to check on supper.

Leo asked a few questions Trixi was
happy to answer as she removed an impressive amount of dishes from
the various ovens.

“
You can fit all those
dishes inside?”

“
Yes, this is the beauty of
these ranges. They’re really nice.” Trixi hoped this gorgeous
cooker wasn’t the only thing she had to look forward to for the
rest of her life.

Shoving the disturbing thought away
was easier with so many people in her kitchen. Gran and Leo set the
table while she and Katy finished the last minute
preparations.

“
It’s really nice to be
back here, Trix.”

“
I’m glad. Gran and I are
happy you’re here.” Trixi wondered, in the back of her mind, how
three women in her home were any better than two.

Still, Katy was a smart woman. She
could and would offer practical suggestions. Plus, it never hurt to
have a third person available to call for help if
needed.

The knot in her stomach
eased.

“
Neither of you slept last
night,” Leo accused when he encountered them a couple mornings
later. They stepped into an alcove nearby to avoid the heavy foot
traffic.

“
Someone threw three
different bricks through three different windows last night.” Trixi
numbly sank onto a convenient bench.

“
You did call the
police?”

“
Yes. It was bad.” Trixi
brushed a hand over her face. “We were up most of the night talking
to them.”

Mark soon joined them.

She explained about the continued odd
noises, and then last night’s bricks. Since her trash can hadn’t
budged in days and there were no additional cracked windows, she
refrained from mentioning those. She also had a shiny new deadbolt
on her garage door.

When she was finished, Mark’s eyes
were as narrowed as Leo’s. With no clue as to what the men were
thinking, she peeped at Katy. Katy stared at Leo, who must have
felt her gaze because their eyes met.

“
What did the police say?”
Mark asked.

Trixi told him their conclusion of
hoodlums and the incident would most likely not be
repeated.

Mark nodded. “Are they going to drive
by your place more often?”

“
It was mentioned,” Katy
murmured. She appeared to be conducting an entire, silent
conversation with Leo.

“
We have some cousins on
the police force. We’ll ask them to drive by and make themselves
known so you get some sleep.” Leo dug out his phone and soon was in
a conversation with someone, presumably one of those cousins, who
could drive by her house. Sleep felt like a long lost friend she
hadn’t spoken to in a long time.

“
We’ll be fine,” Katy said
breezily and waved her hand in the same easy manner.

Trixi choked on her next sip of
coffee.

When they finally got together for
lunch, Trixi’s stomach was so tied up in knots she wasn’t certain
she could squeeze ice cream down it. Mmm, chocolate ice cream with
brownies and hot fudge...

“
I recognize your chocolate
fantasy face.” Katy tapped the table in front of her.

“
Chocolate ice cream with
brownies and—”

“
Hot fudge,” Katy finished
with her.

“
We’re ditching lunch.”
Trixi stood to go in search of the treat she wanted
most.

“
You don’t have time to
ditch lunch.” Leo didn’t look up from smearing Italian dressing on
his sandwich.

A glance at the clock confirmed his
conclusion.

“
A candy bar will do in a
pinch.” Katy looked a little wild around the eyes.

Trixi dug into her lunch bag and came
up with leftover chicken stir-fry from two nights ago. “Here, eat
this instead.”

Katy dropped into the chair across
from her, beside Leo. “I want chocolate.”

“
Me too.” Trixi felt the
container and it was still warm from when she microwaved
it.