Full Scoop (5 page)

She spied a bearded man on her front steps, his long denim-clad legs stretched before him, crossed at the ankles. He wore a red and white floral shirt; a cast was on his right arm and a white bandage on his forehead. She didn’t recognize him. Finally, she pulled in, put her car in park, but kept the engine running. She checked the door locks as the man stood and started toward her.

Maggie rolled down her window as the bearded man stepped up to the car. Without warning, and with lightning precision, he reached inside the open window with one hand, hit the master lock and yanked the door open with the other.

“What do you think you’re doing!” Maggie demanded in her most menacing tone, at the same time wondering if the man was one of Carl Lee’s thug friends. “Get out of here or I’ll blow you to kingdom come with my, um, Magnum!” She wasn’t even sure what a Magnum looked like, but it sounded pretty scary. She reached beneath her seat, pretending to go for her gun, but all she could find was her compact umbrella. This annoyed the heck out of her since she could never find the damn thing when it rained.

“Amateurs,” Zack muttered. “Rule number one, lady,” he said. “Don’t threaten to shoot somebody unless you have a gun to back it up. Rule number two, keep your windows raised at all times. I can’t help you if you’re going to do stupid stuff.”

Maggie wasn’t listening. She put her car in reverse and hit the gas. The tires grabbed the concrete, and the car shot back like a bullet.

The car slammed right into the front of Queenie’s car. “Holy hell!” Maggie yanked her head around; she hadn’t seen the woman pull in. She cut her engine, grabbed her umbrella, and bolted from the car. She heard a loud yowl and turned, only seconds before Mel jumped the man from behind, wrapped both arms around his neck, and began choking him.

“Run, Mom!” the girl yelled. “He’s got a gun tucked in the back of his pants!”

“Mel, no!” Maggie cried. She swung her umbrella, and hit Zack, as hard as she could, in the gut. He grunted. “Let go of my daughter, you scumbag!” she shouted, hitting him again. “Or I’ll beat you so hard your mother won’t recognize you.”

“Hey, wait!” Zack said. “I’m FBI.” He reached for his wallet, just as Queenie hurled her cell phone at him. It bounced off the side of his head. Zack blinked several times. “What the hell?”

“Hang on!” Everest said, trying to squeeze through the window on the passenger’s side of Queenie’s car and getting stuck as a result. He finally pulled free and hit the pavement in a dead run. “I’ll save ya’ll!”

Zack looked up. “Holy shit!” he said, a split second before impact.

Chapter Three

“I can’t tell you how sorry we are, Mr. Madden,” Maggie said for the third or fourth time as she and Everest pulled Zack from the ground and insisted on helping him inside the house. Even in her concern she couldn’t help notice how solid he was; the muscles in his back and upper arms were hard and defined.

“Look, I’m okay,” Zack said. “Really,” he added when the tension in her face didn’t lessen. She was pretty, despite her distress. “But if you ask me to do jumping jacks I’m going to have to decline.” He looked up at Everest. “Have you ever thought of becoming a bulldozer?”

“I feel bad about this,” Everest said. “I thought you were Carl Lee Stanton.”

“I’m much better looking.”

Maggie paid scant attention to the two as she took in the damage. “You’re all skinned up and bleeding,” she said. “Mel, please hand me my medical bag.”

“No big deal,” Zack said. “I’ve hurt myself worse than this going out for my newspaper.”

Mel looked awed. “Man, Everest just mowed him down!” she said, grabbing the bag from the top of the refrigerator.

Queenie stared at the badge that Zack had asked Everest to pull from his wallet, even as the big man had held him in a body lock, Zack’s face pressed against the concrete driveway. She glanced from the badge to Zack and back to the badge.

“Problem?” Zack asked.

“How do we know this badge is for real?” she asked. “And if it
is
real, how do we know this is you? This man doesn’t have a beard. And how come you’re driving a hippie van? FBI agents drive black cars with tinted windows.”

“Yeah, and they wear black suits and sunglasses,” Mel said. “Didn’t you see
Men in Black
?”

“And how come somebody from the FBI didn’t alert Dr. Davenport to the fact they would be sending an agent to look after the doc and her daughter?” Queenie added.

“I just did,” Zack said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of time to plan. I was on a plane within minutes of learning about Stanton’s escape. You can’t get service that quick in a fast-food restaurant. And to tell you the truth, I don’t want people knowing. Only reason I blurted it out like I did was because I was losing oxygen, and my aunt Gertrude, rest her soul, was trying to convince me to come to the light.”

All four stared back as though they didn’t know what to make of him. “I’m kidding about Aunt Gertrude,” he said. “I don’t even have an Aunt Gertrude.”

“So if nobody is supposed to know who you are what are we going to tell people?” Maggie asked.

“I’m a long-lost relative?” He looked at Mel. “I could be your favorite uncle.”

“I don’t have an uncle. My dad was an orphan.”

“We’ll pretend.”

Everest snapped his fingers. “I get it! He’s undercover. But he’s smarter than most undercover cops because they like to blend. People like Carl Lee Stanton will be looking for someone who blends. Zack is definitely not blending; you can see that van three blocks away. Not to mention the beard and Hawaiian shirt.”

Maggie looked up from her bag. Beard? Hawaiian shirt? She felt the hairs stand on the back of her neck as she recalled Destiny Moultrie’s questions.

“In other words,” Everest said. “Zack is so obvious that he’s not obvious. Does that make sense?”

“I think I get it,” Zack said.

“You need to sit down so I can reach your head,” Maggie said, noting how tall he was. The fact that she noticed the width of his shoulders as well stymied her.

“I don’t think very many people know my dad was orphaned,” Mel said.

“Just call me Uncle Zack,” he said, and pulled his pistol from the back of his jeans. Maggie yelped and pushed Mel behind her, Queenie started down the hall.

Everest tried to wrestle the gun from him.

“Hold it!” Zack said. “I’m not going to shoot anybody. I’m just trying to get comfortable.”

Everest backed off. “Sorry. Just doing my job.”

Zack offered the gun, handle first, to Maggie. “Would you please put this on top of your refrigerator so it’ll be out of the way?”

“Huh?” She stared at the weapon. “Do we have to keep it inside?”

Zack shrugged. “I guess I could lock it in the van, but if Stanton and his buddies show up, one of you will have to cover me while I run out for it.”

“Okay,” Maggie said begrudgingly. She took the gun between two fingers and very slowly crossed the room with it as though it were a hand grenade, and she feared it would explode at any moment. “I hate guns,” she added as she placed it on the refrigerator.

Zack gave her a sympathetic nod. “I don’t really have a choice. My boss sort of expects me to keep one on me.” He glanced about the group. “Listen, if it’ll make everybody feel better you can call the bureau and check me out. Thomas Helms, the director, will vouch for me.”

“I think we all need to settle down,” Maggie said. “Mr. Madden, would you like something to eat or drink? Or should I refer to you as Agent Madden?”

“Just call me Zack. I’m not hungry. I had something called a shrimp burger on the drive from the airport. Now that’s something you don’t see a lot of in Virginia.” He caught Queenie staring, eyes narrowed like slits. “Uh-oh, I’m going to be real embarrassed if you tell me I have a shrimp hull wedged between my teeth.”

“I think she’s giving you the
eye,
” Everest said, almost reverently.

“I’m thinking you don’t look so good,” Queenie said, pulling a chair from the table and sitting. Everest and Mel sat as well. “You look like you need to be in the hospital.”

“You’d think the FBI would have sent someone healthy,” Mel said, glancing at the cast on his right arm. “I hope you don’t shoot with your right hand.”

Zack nodded. “Sorry. But if it’ll make you feel better, they actually tried to break my left arm too.”

Everest laughed out loud and slapped his hand on his thigh. “You just kill me.”

“You don’t seem to take your job very seriously,” Queenie said. “I would think you’d be plotting and planning and all sorts of FBI stuff, seeing that we might have a cold-blooded killer on the way.”

“I need to clean your wounds and make sure you don’t have a head injury,” Maggie said, feeling a little shy, and a little dopey because of it. But most of the males she was accustomed to treating usually drooled and gnawed teething rings. “Is your vision okay?”

Zack glanced about the room.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Mel asked.

“Eleven.”

“Fun-neee.”

Maggie sifted through his coarse dark hair, her fingers skimming his warm scalp, unleashing the scent of his shampoo. His hair fell well past his collar. “Any tenderness or pressure?” she asked.

“Not yet,” he said, knowing there was going to be a whole lot of pressure building if she kept raking her fingers through his hair.

“Excuse me?”

“No,” he amended.

“Does anything hurt?”

Zack looked at her. He’d been about to answer, “Only my whole damn body,” until he noted the color of her eyes. Sky blue. “I’m good,” he said.

“This is going to sting a little,” Maggie told him. She put alcohol on a cotton ball and touched the cut at his cheek.

“Ouch!” Zack jumped.

Maggie snatched her hand away. “Sorry about that.”

Queenie sighed and shook her head.

“What is that, battery acid?” Zack asked, glaring at the cotton ball. “That hurt worse than having my arm broken.”

“You don’t want to risk infection,” Maggie told him.

“Who says?”

“It won’t take me long to clean it if you could just be still for a minute.”

“Somebody hand me a bullet from my gun so I can bite it,” Zack said, wincing. “Better yet, just shoot me.”

“Are all FBI guys wimps?” Queenie asked.

“Can I ask you a question?” Mel said. When Maggie gave her a questioning look, the girl added defensively, “It’s nothing rude.” She looked at Zack. “Did you fall off a building or something? Or get hit by a car?”

“I ran into some bad guys on my last case. Things got a little sticky before we arrested them.”

“What did they do wrong?”

Maggie dropped the cotton ball on the floor. Zack felt her breasts brush his arm as she bent to pick it up and toss it aside. “Huh? Oh, the usual. Drugs.”

“The bandage on your forehead is dirty,” Maggie said. “I really need to change it.”

Zack looked at her. “Is this some kind of compulsion you have?”

Everest grinned. “If my sister was here she’d insist on doing your hair.”

Maggie wished Everest’s sister would come over and shave the man’s beard. She should have taken a closer look at the picture on his badge. “Stop complaining or I’ll take out your tonsils,” she said.

Zack gritted his teeth but said nothing as she finished treating him. She stepped away. “Are we done, I hope?” he asked.

“Yep. You have a nice new bandage.”

Queenie suddenly slapped her hand over her mouth. “I forgot to get the ice cream out of my car.”

“I’ll get it,” Mel said, standing.

Queenie suddenly moaned. “Oh, no, I just remembered my car is smashed.” She covered her face with her hands. “My baby!”

Everest patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Granny Queenie. I checked while Zack was making Dr. Maggie swear not to let me slam him again if he got up off the driveway. Your car is fine. Dr. Maggie’s fender has a dent in it though.”

Zack was watching Mel. “Hold on a second,” he said as she reached the door. “I’ll go with you.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Why?”

“I need to get my bags from the van.” He shrugged. “Maybe have another look around.”

“I’ll go too,” Everest said. “I want to see how this FBI stuff works.”

Zack looked at Maggie. “Before I forget, I’m having a state-of-the-art-alarm system installed first thing in the morning. Sensors on every door and window,” he added. “I’ll give you and Mel the code and show you how to use it. It’s very simple.”

“You’re staying
here
?” Maggie asked.

“How do you think he’s going to protect you and Mel?” Queenie asked.

Maggie nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

“You must be pretty sure that Carl Lee Stanton is going to show up,” Mel said.

Zack gave her an easy smile as the three of them headed to the door. “
If
he makes it this far,” he said, “which is highly unlikely considering everybody in the free world is looking for him.”

Maggie watched them go through the door. She was glad Zack was playing down the danger. She tossed the dirty bandage and used cotton balls into the trash and returned her medical bag to the top of the refrigerator.

“You okay?” Queenie asked.

Maggie nodded. “I have a lot on my mind. Surprising as it might seem,” she added with a rueful smile.

Mel came through the door with the carton of ice cream, and Queenie put it in the freezer. The phone rang in Mel’s room, and the girl started from the kitchen.

“Don’t forget what we talked about,” Maggie reminded.

“I know, Mom. My favorite Uncle Zack is visiting.”

Maggie waited until she heard the door close to her daughter’s room. “I should probably go in and have that talk with her,” she said to Queenie. “Get it over with,” she added.

“Doesn’t the poor girl have enough to think about right now without you dishing out more?” Queenie asked.

Maggie no longer knew what was best for Mel. “I’m already frazzled over the waiting,” she said. “Waiting and not knowing if or when he’ll show up. And we’ve just begun.”

“This is probably a good time for you and Mel to take a little vacation,” Queenie said.

“I’m booked solid next week,” Maggie said. “I’ve got new patients coming in. If I cancel they might go someplace else. I need those patients, Queenie.” It was all Maggie could do to pay her overhead some months, not to mention living expenses and putting a good chunk of money into Mel’s college fund each month. As much as she scrimped, she hadn’t made a deposit in her savings account all summer, but she knew it took time to build up a solid practice.

“Is it worth the risk?” Queenie asked after a moment.

They were prevented from discussing it further when Zack and Everest walked through the door carrying Zack’s luggage. Maggie noted the serious look on Zack’s face. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“I need to replace a couple of light bulbs,” he said, setting the small suitcase and a shoulder bag out of the way. Everest placed an olive-colored duffel bag beside them. “The one by the back door is out.”

“I keep forgetting to replace it,” Maggie said, getting up from the table.

“This is a good time to do it.”

Maggie nodded. FBI guys probably changed their light bulbs once a week. “I’ll grab a box of bulbs from the laundry room.”

“I’m going to check out the inside while you do that.”

“You’ll have to knock on Mel’s door,” Maggie told him. “She’s on the phone. It could be hours before she gets off.”

“That was so cool,” Everest said quietly when Maggie reentered the room. “Zack doesn’t miss a thing. I can learn a lot from watching him. He says I have what it takes to be FBI. Plus, he promised to put in a good word for me. I’m going to join the gym right away and start working out, and then I’m going to buy a gun and go to the firing range so I can practice, and then I’m going to sign up for the exam. I have to go to the library and see if they have any FBI books I can study.” He had to pause to catch his breath.

“But what about your choir job?” Queenie asked. “I thought you were going to sing for the Lord.”

He looked thoughtful. “I could maybe start an FBI choir.”

Queenie pulled a set of keys from her purse and looked at Everest. “Well, before you strap on your pistol harness, Agent Everest, Granny Queenie needs a favor. Would you please look in the trunk of my car and get my satchel?”

“
The
satchel?” he asked.

“Yes. And there’s a box of white candles back there that I’ll need.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, heading for the door once again. He tossed her a grin. “I like the sound of
Agent
Everest.”

Queenie gave a satisfied sigh. “That young man is so polite. Impeccable manners too,” she added. “If I didn’t know better I would think I had raised Everest. But I’m not sure about this FBI business. If he leaves I won’t have anybody to scare people for me.”