I gave a quick shake of my head. Gabrielle should already do a good stretch of time for shooting at Birdie and killing Lou. Charging her with my mother’s kidnapping would have been a nice addition, but involving my mother would mean exposing her true nature.
Keeping her secret was the whole reason my father had slipped away with her.
And while I realized Tony didn’t understand any of that, he clearly knew we didn’t want the press for our own reasons. I appreciated that. He might be a man of questionable character, but at least in this instance, he’d made a good choice.
Or had he? The more I thought about it, the more I realized we could be in trouble if we left my mom out of this. I muttered a few choice words, then dove in. “This woman also kidnapped my mother, Lila Crowe. My father, Anson Crowe, has already taken her home.”
The second cop frowned. “Your parents are the Vegas performers?”
“Yes, and the man who just dropped the gun is Tony Tortellini. Another Vegas performer.”
The cop kept frowning. “Your father shouldn’t have entered a crime scene.”
“My mother was tied to a chair and gagged. You can see the evidence of that pretty plainly if you go down to the wine cellar. I’m sure you’ll also find her fingerprints, as well as mine, my father’s, and Gabrielle’s. That should help, right?” What they’d make of the skin flakes, I had no idea.
“Yes, but—”
“She was scared, dehydrated and in need of rest. You can contact my parents if you need a further statement. I’ll make sure you have their information.”
That seemed to mollify the officer. At least temporarily. Thankfully, I knew that in general, Vegas didn’t allow too much bad press to get out. One performer kidnapping another performer would definitely be considered bad press. Vegas was all about protecting the brand.
I guess what happened in Vegas really did stay in Vegas.
I knew there would still be paperwork and questions, but hopefully, it could all be handled without my mom’s secret being revealed.
How the rest of this turned out remained to be seen. The EMTs, whether they realized it or not yet, were working on a werewolf. There was every chance this could still become a very tricky situation.
An hour later, Tony and Gabrielle were in separate squad cars, about to be taken in for questioning. Gabrielle was in handcuffs. Tony was not.
Jayne, Jack, and I had been asked to step outside so the EMTs could finish dressing Birdie’s wound. We’d all spoken to the cops. Jayne had told them about Buck, who I was surprised to find out about, and Jack had left to move the other car closer to the front of the house in preparation for taking Birdie home.
I checked my phone again, but there was still no word from my father. They should have gotten home about twenty minutes ago, but I also knew he’d be occupied with taking care of my mom and explaining what had happened to Dr. Brewer. None of that kept me from wanting a quick status update.
I’d never seen my mother look that close to death, and it had shaken me.
While we stood there, another pair of squad cars arrived.
I watched them as I spoke to Jayne. “If they’re here for Buck, you’d better get that ice off the barn.”
“But he’ll escape.”
“Only if he realizes the doors aren’t frozen shut anymore. And if he does, they can put out an APB on him. It’s better than explaining how that ice got there.”
“True.” She took hold of my arm and leaned on me, then a few seconds later announced, “It’s gone. Much easier than creating it, I can tell you that.”
The cops approached us. “Can one of you direct us to the barn where the second suspect is being detained?”
“I’ll take you,” I said. I looked at Jayne. “You stay here in case Birdie needs you.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Right this way, officers.” I led them toward the barn with no intention of going farther than necessary.
“You’re the son of the woman who was kidnapped?” the female officer asked me.
“Yes, that’s right.”
She smiled and nodded. “I saw your parents’ show last year. My husband took me for our anniversary. Best show I’ve ever seen.”
“Thank you.” I stopped us behind one of the storage sheds. “The barn on the other side of this is where you’ll find Buck Murphy. Provided he’s still in there. He was one of my father’s stagehands, and he helped Gabrielle Tortellini coordinate the kidnapping of my mother. She paid him a considerable sum to do it.”
Both cops pulled their weapons. “Go back to the house now, sir. We’ll handle it from here.”
“Thanks.” I started for the house. The sooner we could be home, the better. I wanted all of this behind us. That thought stopped me and turned me toward the officers again. They were just about to make their approach. “Are we free to go?”
The female officer nodded without looking at me. “We have your contact information. Now please, get clear of the area.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Without another word, I ran for the house. Jayne was standing in the yard right where I’d left her, and Jack was back at her side. She had her arms wrapped around her body like she was giving herself a hug, and she didn’t look too happy. I hoped nothing bad had happened. Then I heard the shouting from inside the house. “What’s going on?”
“They want to transport Birdie by ambulance to the hospital. Birdie, on the other hand, wants to go home.”
Jack shook his head. “I already know who’s going to win.”
I nodded. “Yep.”
Right on cue, the EMTs walked out with the police officers behind them. Another second and Birdie appeared at the door, arm in a sling.
The EMTs looked like they’d had enough and were happy to leave. The officers seemed amused about something.
We all looked at Birdie.
“Don’t just stand there,” she said. “Help me lock this place up so we can leave.”
Chapter Thirty-two
Jayne
Sin drove, and I rode up front with him. On the way, Birdie explained how she’d managed a private word with the officer in charge, who also happened to be shifter. Coyote, she told us. After their brief conversation, during which she explained what was really going on, he promised her he’d handle things. Like getting the EMTs out of the way before Birdie’s natural healing powers made her wound disappear altogether.
She had the officer’s card in her pocket and looked pretty pleased with herself. I didn’t blame her. Making that connection would probably save Sin’s parents a lot of aggravation.
She fell asleep before we made it to the house.
Sin parked and got the car door for Jack, who carried her in.
“I think they gave her some heavy pain meds,” he said. “She’ll probably sleep for a while. I’ll just take her back to the guest room and stay with her. If you need me, just say the word.”
“No problem,” Sin said. “We owe her a lot for her help. Anything she needs, you just let us know. And I mean anything.”
“Will do.” He went off down the hall with her.
I took Sin’s hand. “Go see how your mom is. I know you’re worried about her. We both are.” He hadn’t said much about her except to tell me she hadn’t looked good when they’d found her.