53

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Dinner felt quieter than usual, Zenna thought. Considering that they had another mouth to feed that night and had experienced a very busy day, there should have been plenty to talk about. The letter had been retrieved from Lisa’s apartment and a copy left at the police department for Sheriff Clay.

Barb had even been quieter than usual when they went up to care for the horses. New cameras had already been installed in the barns which served to squash conversation as much as anything else.

Everything was different now. They knew they were dealing with men who would rape and kill anyone who stood in their way – and now, they were the ones who stood in the way.

Zenna missed Matt furiously. He’d been sent to Baraga, not too far for visiting, but too painful. She didn’t understand why he’d been sent so far – nor did Sheriff Clay. Not when Ontonagon was so close with its own correctional facility. John must have said something, Zenna figured. She felt ashamed that he had fooled her so completely. She was grateful that it was Matt who had cemented her first steps towards motherhood – and not John. She wondered how many children John had forced into his various women – and how many of them were under the age of legal consent.

She was standing nearest the phone when it rang, so she answered it. “Nygaards.”

“Drop da case!” the growled voice demanded.

“What?” she asked, stunned. “Is this John?”

“If I catch ya alone, I will rape ya.”

“What?!” she asked again, unable to form a sensible reply.

“Are ya deaf?! I will rape ya – den I will kill ya. We will kill da lot of youse if ya do not drop da case!”

“I will not listen to your threats!” Zenna cried, slamming the receiver down.

♥

The next thing Zenna knew, she was lying on the couch. Her head hurt and she felt very dizzy. A strong smell was held beneath her nose, making her pull away.

“She’s okay, tank heavens!” Julie’s voice came to her as she opened her eyes.

“What happened?” Zenna asked.

“Ya fainted! I tink yer okay dough. Drink.”

Zenna obeyed, trying to sit up a bit, but still feeling dizzy.

“Steve gave me da recorder. Tell me what was said ta ya on da phone,” Julie instructed.

Barb came in carrying baby Deborah as three-year-old Jessica came running through with a stick horse between her legs. Lisa also came in, laughing at the youngster. For a moment, she ran after the child, who shrieked and ran off again.

“Ready?” Julie asked, turning back to Zenna.

Zenna nodded.

Julie turned on the recorder.

Zenna shared what had happened on the phone. Just thinking about it made her shiver. She had never had someone threaten her like that – it was worse than confronting the cougar with Matt.

Matt!

It had been several days since she’d seen him. The time they’d spent together seemed like a lifetime ago – like a dream or the best kind of vacation romance. Had it not been for the daily reminder, she wouldn’t even believe it. She rubbed her tummy protectively. No matter what happened, she would always remember the three weeks in the woods with him. It would carry her through.

“Was dat everyteen?” Julie asked again.

“What?!” Zenna snapped back to the present. “Oh.. yes, that was everything. I’ve never been threatened like that before.”

“We’ll let Sidney know dat we need round-da-clock surveillance up here,” Julie promised.

“Where’s Steve?”

“Called out fer a fire,” she replied. “Common dis time of year, ya know – when everyone’s startin’ up dere central heatin’ an’ findin’ out dat dey should’ve had it serviced in da summer.”

“I hope no one gets hurt,” Zenna replied.

“Yah.”

♥

It was late before Steve arrived, Sheriff Clay with him. Both looked weary and smelled like smoke.

Julie hugged him and got them both something more to eat.

“Where’s Lisa?” Steve asked.

“Everyone’s watchin’ TV,” Julie replied.

Zenna looked over to Lisa, then back to Steve and the sheriff as they came into the living room.

“Yer apartment buildin’, Lisa,” Steve informed gravely.

“No!” she cried out.

“We got out da important tings earlier, right?” he asked.

“Yes. Everything that was important.”

“Good. Because der’s nuteen left now.”

“What about my neighbors? Mr and Mrs Thompson downstairs?! Are they okay?”

The sheriff shook her head and shrugged. “We won’t know until da fire department checks everyteen out, eh,” she said. “It was fully engulfed when we got der. Hopefully, dey were out before we got der...”

Lisa began crying. “They don’t go anywhere! I hope they got out! I hope! They’re the nicest neighbors anyone could meet! Helped me so much!”

Barb supplied the strong shoulder Lisa needed.

“Awfully suspicious, eh,” Julie said. “We begin dis line of investigation an’ Lisa’s apartment gets torched.”

“We don’t have any reason ta believe it’s arson at da moment,” the sheriff replied. “But yes, it’s very suspicious, indeed.”

“It’s either the craziest coincidence ever, or we are getting too close to the truth for someone,” Zenna said.

“I tink such coincidence is unlikely,” Steve said. “Don’ ya agree, Sid?”

The sheriff sighed. “Yah… I agree.”

“When’s yer moder gittin’ here, Zenna?”

“She and Jerry are on their way now, though they’ll have to go back down to Madtown in a couple of weeks to finish moving stuff. They hadn’t finished unpacking – Mother had this sixth sense thing, I guess. They got married though – last week!” She couldn’t help grinning.

“At least der’s some good news!” Steve grinned back.

“Dat is good news!” Sheriff Clay agreed. She continued. “I have more. My backup will be here by mornin’. Investigator from da Twin Cities. Detective Alan Winchester is flying into Ironwood tonight.”

“I could go meet him, eh,” Steve volunteered.

“He will grab a squad car in Ironwood. He knows da U.P. okay, I’ve been assured.”

“I guess we’ll see!”

♥♥♥