“You’re worth it.”
“You’re damn right, I am!” Natasha laughed.
Jack checked his watch and said, “If you’re going to take Marcie out for lunch, you better get going.”
“You’re sure she doesn’t know?”
Jack shook his head. “Marcie was in the barn when I called. Liz is really excited but she won’t say anything to her until you break the news.”
“Good.”
“I’m really pleased that you want to do this for Marcie.”
“You don’t feel left out?”
“Not a bit. Especially shopping for clothes. The two of you will have a lot more fun without me tagging along. Besides, I need to get back to my own apartment and change.”
From his hiding place, Thumper watched as Ben towed the fertilizer spreader around the field on his tractor. Thumper unzipped a sleeping bag as the late-morning sun sucked the dew from the ground. Then he saw Elizabeth and Marcie come out of the house and start hanging clothes from a clothesline that ran from the back porch of the house.
Thumper glanced behind him as Rolly crept through the bush to take his turn at watching.
“They movin’ around?” asked Rolly.
“Doesn’t look like they’re goin’ anywhere. Couldn’t be a better time to pop ’em. The guy is out in the field on a tractor and the bitches are doin’ laundry. If we whack the bitches first, farmboy shouldn’t hear the noise.”
“Haven’t heard from Wiz.”
“Give him a call. Tell ’em the three fish are in the barrel. I think it’s time.”
Jack was excited when he arrived back at his own apartment. Too excited to remember to check his voice-activated tape recorder. It was a mistake he would soon regret.
After taking a shower and changing his clothes, he reached for his telephone. There were a lot of people to call and share the news with. Danny would stand beside him as best man, along with Louie and Paul, his previous partner. He would need six more to form the honour guard.
Marcie was ready on time and got in the car as soon as Natasha arrived. They went to a mall and shopped for about an hour before having lunch. Marcie was polite and seemed appreciative that Natasha bought her some clothes, but she was not overly friendly.
Natasha took a second bite out of her shrimp croissant before realizing that Marcie was staring at her without eating. “Something wrong with your lunch?” she asked.
“What’s going on?”
“Can’t I buy you lunch?”
“I feel like somethin’ is going on. Like you’re not telling me something.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I know you’re back with Jack. Where is he? You’re not breakin’ up with him again, are you? Is that it? Is that why you brought me here? To tell me that?”
Natasha put down her fork, smiled, and said, “Quite the contrary. You’re right, something is going on. I invited you here to ask you something that’s really important and very special to me.”
“What is it?” asked Marcie seriously.
“I wanted to ask you if you would be my bridesmaid.”
It took Marcie a couple of seconds to grasp the situation, then she squealed and said, “You’re getting married!”
“Jack proposed to me yesterday … well, sort of proposed.”
Marcie bounced around in her seat as she said, “And, and … you want me to be your bridesmaid?”
“It was you who brought Jack and I together. After playing such an important role in my life — our lives — of course I would like you to be my bridesmaid. If you don’t mind?”
“Don’t mind! You bet I will! Oh, Natasha, this is great!”
An hour later, Natasha and Marcie were loading parcels into the trunk of Natasha’s car when Natasha heard the door of a van parked next to her slide open. She glanced up as three men moved in behind them and stuck guns in their backs.
A voice hissed, “If either one of you talks, screams, or tries to run, we’ll kill the other one.”
Seconds later, Natasha and Marcie lay face down on the floor of a van as it silently drove out of the parking lot.
Natasha felt the tears roll down her face. She had never been so afraid in her life. She stared into Marcie’s face. She had a look of resignation about her. It was as if she had already resigned herself to her fate.
Jack was making a list of the people who would be in the honour guard at his wedding when his cellphone rang.
“Taggart! This is Sid Bishop! I need to see you and O’Reilly now!”
“What is it, Sid? If you’re still concerned about bikers, I’m sure you’re not in any danger.”
“It’s about the wiretap application for Homicide. I just received an interesting phone call from someone about the real identity of a person identified in the application as an Edward Trimble!”
Jack felt his heart sink. “I don’t understand. Who called you? What does —”
“I believe you understand fully! I haven’t mentioned this to anyone else yet, but I will not allow justice to be put into disrepute! I suggest that you and Mister O’Reilly come to my house immediately and start telling me what is going on!”
“I’ll pick up Danny and we’ll be there as soon as we can,” said Jack quietly. “It will probably take about an hour and a half.”
Moments later, Jack called Danny and then left his apartment. He was barely a block away when Wizard and Booger entered his suite.
Forty-five minutes passed before the van came to a stop and the side door slid open. Natasha heard the roar of the ocean. She looked up and saw three bikers standing at the door, looking down at her. Then another face appeared, someone who didn’t look like a biker but was definitely in charge.
“Taggart and O’Reilly took the bait. Should happen within the hour,” he said.
Natasha’s panic increased. None of the men had bothered to hide their faces. She also saw that at the sound of the man’s voice Marcie squeezed her eyes shut and began to shake.
“Put them in the boat,” he ordered. “Thumper, you stay with them, then the rest of you set up around the house.” He looked at Thumper and added, “Remember the plan. Don’t leave any marks on them. With the sound of the waves, even if they yell they won’t be heard, but if they do try to cause any problems, snap their necks, or, if need be, slash their throats immediately. We’re not taking any chances!”
“Not
