Page 18

D oreen watched as Miriam froze in front of her, then slowly, oh-so-slowly turned to look at her.

“What are you talking about?” Miriam asked, her tone harsh.

Just as she spoke, the crowd noise had fallen into a sudden lull, so her words came across as unnaturally loud.

Doreen eyed Miriam in surprise, as people turned to look over at Doreen and the woman she was talking to.

Mirian flushed and glared at her. “Why would you even say that?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

“I just wondered, since you seem to know Brandon so well.” Doreen stared at Miriam. “I mean, you’ve got to think about what you do know and what you don’t know. I would just assume that, if you already knew Brandon, you probably knew more than you expected to know.”

Miriam shook her head. “That makes no sense.”

“Lots of what I do doesn’t make sense,” Doreen admitted. “It just happens to be the way my brain works, which obviously is in a very discombobulated way.”

“You’re not kidding.” Miriam stared at Doreen and added, “I don’t want you saying anything that’ll get me in trouble.”

“Of course not.” Doreen smiled. “That’s not the intent.”

“Are you sure?” Miriam asked. “It seems to me as if you’re fishing.”

“If I am fishing, what difference does it make?” Doreen asked. “You said you knew Brandon, and you knew him back before all this happened.”

“Sure, but I didn’t know him , know him.”

“But you did,” Pengo argued, as he ambled over, his mouth half full of food. “You guys even dated for a while there.”

She stared at him. “Sure, but not for very long.”

“It was over a year, if not longer than that,” he pointed out to Miriam, frowning at her now. “You didn’t even tell me about it. I had to find out from everybody else. It’s like you kept it hidden,” he said in an aggrieved tone.

She groaned. “It doesn’t matter whether I told you or not.”

“Except you just said you didn’t know him.”

“Then the question really is,” Doreen interjected, “did you ever have anything to do with one of Brandon’s shady business dealings?”

“Of course not,” Miriam snapped.

“Yes, you did,” Pengo countered, looking at her. “I mean, obviously it’s been a long time, and you don’t have anything to do with it now, but you did back then.”

“No, I did not,” Miriam snapped.

“Yes, you did. You used to fence some of his things, and that’s how you got the money to start your fancy restaurant.”

Doreen just watched in amusement as the sister tried to shut down her brother, who obviously had no issue with talking. Not to mention the fact that it appeared he had poured back a couple glasses of wine really fast, and already red spots were popping out on his cheeks. Doreen asked, “Enjoying the wine, Pengo?”

“I sure did,” he said. “This isn’t such a bad place to tank up. I feel as if I haven’t had a decent meal in a while.”

Doreen smiled at him. “And your sister? How has she been doing lately?”

“Oh, she’s been making money hand over fist in that place of hers next to the food court. It’s always been a good location.”

“I was making money hand over fist,” she clarified, “but things have been a lot tougher recently.”

“You mentioned that before,” he said, nodding, “but then you went and bought that house. I don’t have a house,” he muttered, glaring at her. “Heck, I don’t even have a decent place to stay.” He watched her ruefully, as if she were responsible for all the ills in his world.

Miriam groaned. “If you hadn’t spent all your money left, right, and center, you might still have some to spend on a place to live.”

“If you hadn’t been given a lot of money from Brandon before he died, I would have had some money.”

Another heavy silence fell around Miriam, as everybody gathered closer.

Doreen wasn’t sure what was going on, but it was interesting. “Why would Brandon give her money?” she asked Pengo curiously.

“She gave birth to his son.”

“Oh, so child support then?” Doreen asked.

“Yeah, child support,” Pengo replied, “but I don’t think it was his kid.”

At that, his sister turned and snapped at him. “You just shut up.”

He laughed. “I mean, it was a good con, as far as cons go. A great con really. It’s brought you all kinds of money over the years,” he noted, with a smile. “I wish I was female, and I could pull a stunt like that. So many men end up paying for kids who aren’t even theirs, and it doesn’t even matter. They’ve got nothing to say about it.” He laughed. “But, no,” he added, talking directly to Doreen again, “Miriam’s pretty smart when it comes to that.”

“Is she now?” Doreen asked, trying hard to keep her smile off her face, as Pengo blabbed all of his sister’s secrets. “I wonder if Brandon found out about it?” Doreen asked.

“Ah, maybe so,” Pengo replied. “She told me how they had one huge fight.”

“Interesting,” Doreen murmured, as she turned and looked at the sister. “When did you see Brandon last?”

“None of your business.” Her tone raised eyebrows all around them.

“She saw him the day he died,” Pengo replied. “I know they were talking on the phone about meeting up in person. Brandon had a trip to do, and he needed to get on it.”

“Interesting,” Doreen noted. “That’s fascinating.” She turned to face Miriam.

“Yeah, he handed her a check for a bunch of money, but she wanted more. He told her how he didn’t have any more. Yet he was going into business and was hoping that maybe it would be enough to pay his bills. How it was hard getting a day job when he had a record, which of course had started him off again on all the wrong things in his world.”

“Of course,” Doreen replied, willing Pengo to keep talking. “Plus, if he’s paying child support and that’s not even his child, that would hurt Brandon financially, not to mention the betrayal of it all. Especially since he’d already had betrayal on his mind, since he had to pay for a crime he didn’t do.”

“Exactly,” Pengo agreed. “But that wasn’t me, so don’t you go putting that on me,” he said in alarm. “I already told you about that.”

“I know.” She nodded at him, smiling.

Meanwhile, his sister was inching toward the main door. Doreen looked around to see how she could bring this to an end or at least get the answers that she was pretty sure were simmering just under the surface. Then she caught sight of Mack glaring at her, standing with his arms akimbo, blocking the exit. She gave him a beaming smile.

Miriam turned to look behind her and asked Doreen, “Who are you smiling at?”

“Oh, that’s Mack, a very good friend of mine,” Doreen replied, with a smirk.

Miriam hissed. “You have friends?” she asked, then gave an eye roll.

“Yep, I sure do,” Doreen declared. “It surprises me too.”

“Yeah, you’re not kidding,” Miriam muttered.

Doreen glanced at Mack, just shaking his head at the way the conversation was going. But Doreen wasn’t quite done. She turned back to the brother. “Any idea if Miriam owns a gun?”

Pengo raised his eyebrows. “I have no idea.” Then he stopped and frowned. “But, now that you mention it, Brandon did.”

“As an ex-con, he had a weapon?” Doreen asked.

“Yeah, I told him it was a bad deal, and he knew it wasn’t great, but prison had also taught him to be very wary. So Brandon felt better having it, though he didn’t really know how to use it.” Pengo laughed. “That was the thing about him. He was one of those guys who was always all-in, and it didn’t matter if it made sense or not. So, when he got the call to do some of these jobs back then, he jumped.” Pengo turned his sister. “Remember that job he did with the jewelry store? Brandon should never have gotten involved in that one at all.” Pengo shook his head and laughed.

“Yeah, your sister arranged that one, didn’t she?” Doreen asked Pengo.

“Yeah, she sure did.”

“I did not,” Miriam roared.

By now, everybody surrounded them, and Nan had her little book out and a pencil in her hand. Doreen shook her head. Her grandmother was probably taking bets on the outcome. Doreen groaned, not really expecting to have made quite this much of a scene at the party. Doreen mentioned to the group, “I’m sure it’s something that someone would like to talk to Miriam about.”

“I ain’t talking to nobody,” Miriam snapped.

“I still have a question.” Doreen took a moment to stare down Miriam, then asked, “Do you still have the gun?”

“No, I don’t have the gun, and I never did. And it was Brandon’s gun,” she pointed out. “I never used it.”

“Yeah, you did,” her brother declared, looking at her with his eyebrows up. “I taught you how to shoot myself.”

“Did you now?” Doreen asked, with a nod. “You didn’t happen to use it on the last day of Brandon’s life, did you, Miriam?” Doreen asked, turning to look at Miriam with an eyebrow raised. “I mean, enquiring minds want to know and all.”

Miriam stared at her. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Nope, not necessarily,” Doreen replied, “but I do think you probably popped Brandon on that last day. He likely found out about your child support con, possibly from your brother here. All that money Brandon had handed over to you was money he needed now in order to survive himself. All that money paid for a child who wasn’t even his.”

“Maybe,” she muttered, “on the child part, but I sure didn’t kill him. He died in an accident.”

“Oh, there we go,” Pengo snapped. “ You lied.”

“I did not,” she snapped right back at her brother. “You just shut up.”

“You called me in a panic that day,” he declared. Then his mouth gaped open and his gaze narrowed, as if it just hit him. “Did you shoot Brandon?”

“He died in a trucking accident, remember? You’re such an idiot.”

“Yes, he did,” Doreen noted, “but he was shot first. I don’t know whether you shot him while he was in the vehicle, or if you shot him and he hopped into the truck to get away, and in his panic, caused the accident. Regardless it was your hand on the trigger.”

“You don’t know anything,” Miriam spat. “You can’t prove that gun was in my hand. No way.”

“It’s at home though, if anybody wants to go check on it,” Pengo shared, still staring at her. “Did you kill Brandon? Don’t tell me that you did such a thing. That would be too awful to even consider.”

His sister turned and stared at him. “Shut up,” Miriam cried out. “Why can’t you just keep your mouth shut?”

“Because, even for Pengo, murder would be a step too far,” Doreen stated, staring at Miriam.

“Yes, it is bad, so bad, Miriam. You don’t even have a kid, and you were cheating Brandon out of money. Everything you do is a con,” Pengo wailed, raising his hands in frustration. “You’re the one responsible for that B&E that got Brandon into so much trouble. He went to jail for you, for Christ’s sake.”

“Did you tell Brandon that Miriam did the B&E?” Doreen asked, turning to look at him.

“No, I didn’t. She’s my sister, after all.”

“Right.” Doreen nodded. Her gaze caught Mack’s expression, as he stared at the couple in fascination. “But murder? That’s a little too much to ignore.”

“Yeah, murder is a whole lot too much to ignore,” Pengo stated, turning to look at his sister. “I mean, you stole his money, but, jeez, you didn’t have to steal his life.” He glared at her. “Seriously?”

“He wanted to turn me in. He would make sure I paid,” Miriam cried out, staring back at her brother as if willing him to understand. “No way I would do that.”

“So, you just killed him then?” Doreen asked.

At that, she turned and glared at Doreen. “I ain’t saying nothing.”

“You already said more than enough,” Doreen noted.

“Too darn bad because you can’t prove anything.” Miriam turned, looking for an exit, only to find Mack standing there at the door, his arms crossed as he stared at her. She turned back to Doreen.

Doreen shrugged and added, “This is Mack. He’s a detective on Brandon’s case.”

Miriam gasped and paled, as her brother burst out laughing. “Good Lord,” Pengo shouted. “After all this time you might have to pay for your crimes.”

She turned on him. “What about your crimes?”

“Nothing I’ve ever done is anywhere near as bad as this,” he declared, his smile falling away resentfully. “You had no business conning him out of child support for a child you didn’t even have.”

“He was the fool who paid up.” Miriam sneered. “And that’s got nothing to do with you.”

“Yet it does, and you’ve always been like that.”

“You’re just angry that I didn’t share.”

He shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with that deal.” He shrugged, as if shaking the bad mojo off him. “That’s just wrong on so many levels.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Miriam snapped. “It has nothing to do with you, and you really don’t care. You never did.”

“Brandon was a really nice guy, Mir,” he pointed out, obviously using her nickname, and his voice broke. “You didn’t have to kill him.”

“I did have to kill him to keep him from coming after me and opening up all these dratted cases,” she snapped. “Even if I’d tried to pay him off instead, he would have known for sure it was me.”

“It was you, so you should have just told him that and fessed up. You know your regular deal. Say you’re sorry, pay him off, then sleep with him again.” Pengo glared at her. “That’s the normal trick you would pull anyway.”

“I do not,” Miriam snapped.

Pengo rolled his eyes at that.

Mack then took one step forward, and Miriam muttered, “Oh no, I didn’t come here for this.”

She started to back away, only to get tangled up in Mugs’s leash. As she tried to step out of it, Mugs saw Mack through the crowd and raced forward, literally pulling Miriam’s feet out from under her. She hit the ground with a hard cry and was dragged right up to Mack’s feet, already hog-tied, rather like she was gift-wrapped, except she was missing the bow.

Doreen looked over at Mack and, with a smile, added, “Merry Christmas!”

He glared at her, but the place erupted with laughter. Unable to keep it in, Doreen exploded in a fit of giggles herself. “Merry Christmas, indeed,” Mack muttered, glaring down at his suspect, neatly tied up in a dog leash at his feet. “Good grief, Doreen. You do know we were just supposed to come and enjoy a party.”

“Yeah, I know, and I am sorry about that.” She turned and looked at her grandmother. “I am so sorry, Nan.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” her grandmother declared, looking absolutely thrilled. Then she turned to Mack and asked, “But you won’t have to leave now, will you?”

At that, Darren popped up and offered, “I’ll handle this. Don’t worry.”

Mack frowned at him. “You sure?”

“Sure, I’ll get her booked at the station.” Then he lowered his voice, though several people could still hear him, including Doreen. “You just look after my grandfather.”

At that, Doreen turned to see Richie, a bottle of wine in each hand, dancing all by himself out on the dance floor. She started to giggle. “It’s a deal, Darren. Thank you.”

With that, Darren picked Miriam off the floor, quickly untangling her. “Yeah, I’m definitely okay to take in this one.” He grinned.

Mack added, “I owe you one.” Then he frowned, pointed to Richie, trying to snake dance now, waving the wine bottles. “Maybe you owe me.”

Nan looked over at Richie and nodded. “You make a good point, Mack.”

Looking alarmed, Mack looked back at Darren. “Nothing is ever simple when Doreen’s around.”

Darren laughed. “No, it isn’t. Besides, you got something else you need to do here tonight. Right?”

Mack shot Darren a look but helped him escort the suspect out to the car.

When he stepped back inside, Doreen smiled up at him. When she saw the look on his face, she frowned. “ Uh-oh , am I in trouble again? I shouldn’t be in trouble. I didn’t do anything.”

“You didn’t do anything?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up high.

“Not really. I just talked her into confessing.”

He thought about that and nodded. “I guess that’s true, isn’t it?”

“It absolutely is true,” Nan stated, beaming. “She’s really good at it.”

“I know, but your timing could have been better.” He looked over at her, with a sigh. “Fine, I won’t get too upset at you this time.”

Doreen nodded, then added, “See? I didn’t get hurt this time. Nobody confronted me at home—well, except for Pengo, but he’s harmless. So I did good this time, solving it in front of you, right?”

Mack rolled his eyes, grimacing at her.

“Besides, Mack, don’t you have something you’re supposed to do?” Nan asked, a big grin on her face.

“No.” He glared at her. “I don’t.”

Richie danced over, wrapped an arm around Mack’s shoulders and added, “Yes, you do. Yes, you do.” Then he was pulled away by somebody to dance with them.

Doreen frowned at Mack. “What is it you needed to do?”

“Nothing.” Now he glared at her. “You definitely killed the mood.”

“The mood?” she repeated, looking at him worriedly. “Are you okay, Mack? Are you not feeling well?”

“I’m feeling fine,” he grumbled.

As Doreen took a step toward Mack, Mugs raced ahead and sat at his heels.

“What’s the matter, Mugs?” Mack asked. Mugs gave several woofs at Mack, who looked down at him and asked, “What do you want now, buddy?” Nobody could figure out what Mugs was woofing about, and finally Mack turned to her and suggested, “You might have to take him out of here.”

No sooner had the words escaped his mouth, when Mugs jumped up and hit him in the back of the legs, dropping Mack to his knees. Everybody laughed, and Mack glared as he straightened, but Mugs was having none of it. He raced around Mack, and Goliath, not to be outdone, quickly chased Mugs, now wrapping Mack up in two leashes, who then dropped to the floor again, on his knees.

Mack stared up at Doreen and asked, “Did you put them up to this?”

“No, I didn’t do anything,” she said. “I’m so sorry.” She raced over and tried to help untie him, but it ended up with the two of them on their knees on the floor, facing each other, with her giggling and laughing out loud.

He wrapped her up in his arms, trying to contain his laughter, at the same time trying not to get fully knocked to the floor. “Nothing with you will ever be normal, will it?” Mack asked her.

She sighed. “I really hope you don’t mind, but the answer would be no.”

“Right.” He shook his head and looked over at Nan.

Doreen got to her feet and tried to help him back up, but he said, “I might as well just stay here.” He reached into his pocket, lifted up one knee, and asked, “Doreen Montgomery, will you marry me?”

She looked at him in shock, as the place fell completely silent. Mugs looked at her and woofed. Goliath howled. Even Thaddeus poked his head out from underneath her long hair and cooed, “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”

Mack looked at him and nodded. “I know, buddy, but we need her to answer my question.”

Doreen looked at him, as tears started to run down her cheeks, and Mack seemed worried. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words just wouldn’t come.

“You need to say something, dear,” Nan suggested, with a smile on her face. “Otherwise Thaddeus will say it for you.”

Immediately Thaddeus flung open his wings, smacking Doreen in the face, as he cried out, “Thaddeus loves Mack. Thaddeus loves Mack.”

Everybody hooted and hollered, and Mack, still chuckling, finally said, “That’s nice. I’m really happy you love me, buddy, but I really need her to have the same feeling.”

Thaddeus looked at him, cocked his head from one side to the other side, then looked at Doreen and added, “ He, he, he . Doreen loves Mack. Doreen loves Mack.”

At that, Doreen unfroze and threw herself into Mack’s arms, landing on the floor beside him. He didn’t even get a chance to stand back up, as she just clung to him.

He managed awkwardly to get himself up on his feet and to pick her up, with the animals completely entwined around them, and Doreen cried out, “Yes, yes, yes.”

The place erupted in a madhouse of cheers, and he leaned over and kissed her.

Mack was everything she had always hoped would be part of her future but hadn’t really realized that her future was beginning right here in front of her.