Chapter 7
Monday morning, Esperanza woke up early. She was excited because today was her birthday. She wished she didn't have to go to school; she wanted to have her party now. It was more of an intimate family get together, supper with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Mike and Aunt Fi, and their cousins Lucas and Marielle. It would be her favorite meal, pizza, but the most important part was the cake. The layers were sitting on the counter defrosting when she left for school. As she and Samuel went out the back door, she gazed at them with longing in her eyes.
Samuel got on his bike and said, "I'll race you, Espie, and maybe I'll let you win, 'cause it's your birthday." He giggled.
"Oh yeah, right. I beat you almost every time you little twerp." She threaded her arms through the backpack straps, tightened her bike helmet, and straddled her old bike. "You'll be eating my dust, same as usual." She got up on the seat and started peddling as Samuel turned his bike and rode into the street. She got to the corner and heard a crack, and she looked down to see that the chain had broken.
"Samuel!" He was already half way down the block. Muttering under her breath, she stopped with her foot up on the curb, unsure what to do. There's only one thing I can do, take this hunk of junk home and walk. Or get Mom to give me a ride.
Her father had left early, giving her a birthday hug and kiss on the way out while she ate breakfast. She had no idea where he was going. Probably working on the case, which meant he wasn't around to take her to school. Espie pushed the bike against the garage wall and hurried into the house.
"Mom! Mom!"
"What is it, Espie?" She came from the front of the house with her hands full of cleaning supplies. "Did something happen to your bike?"
"Yeah. The chain broke!"
"Oh dear, I guess I'll have to take you. Hang on..." She was interrupted by the honking of a horn. Yvette set the supplies on the table and glanced out the window, smiling at what she saw. With a little laugh, she said, "I believe your ride to school is here."
"What?"
"Come on." She led Esperanza outside, wearing a grin as she put her arm around her to escort her daughter across the yard.
At the curb sat a long black limousine. Espie's eyes bugged and her jaw dropped. "Mom, what's this about?"
Yvette laughed. "Your dad, Uncle Mike and Uncle Nate were in on this together. Your Uncle Mike sabotaged your bike so you'd have to come home, and your Uncle Nate let your dad borrow one of the cars from his fleet." As she spoke, she approached the car with Esperanza. Sam got out of the driver's seat, dressed in the whole limo driver uniform, and opened the door for her. Inside, she found a pack of giggling girls, all friends of hers from school.
"Hi, Espie! Isn't this awesome!" The girls greeted her with their voices overlapping in their excitement.
"Daddy!" She screamed. Not caring what her friends thought, she leaped into his arms and hugged and kissed him. "Thank you, Dad! This is so sweet!"
"You're welcome, honey. But now you've got to get in, because we're running a little late, and I have to get you all to school on time. Come on, let's go!" He released her and she got in.
Sam closed the door behind her, winked at Yvette, and got into the driver's seat. It wasn't a very long trip to school, but the short ride was a luxury Espie and her friends had never experienced before. Their giggling and chatter would have grated on him, except he put up the privacy barrier to tone it down. He arrived in front of the school and had to take up a good bit of the drop off lane. Adults and kids alike stared at the car as Sam emerged and opened the door for the girls.
"That was so awesome!"
"Thanks, Mr. Axe, that was really cool!"
"You're welcome, ladies." He closed the door and tipped his hat to them. "Espie?"
She stopped talking to Zoe and turned. "Yes, Dad?"
"I'll be here tonight when you get out of school to pick up you and your friends."
The girls squealed in delight. Esperanza stood blinking and staring at her father through tear-filled eyes. "Thanks, Dad." She closed the distance between them and gave him an emotional embrace. He kissed her cheek. "This was a really awesome birthday surprise."
"Happy birthday, baby."
"Love you, Daddy."
"Love you too. Now go have a good day at school. I'll see you afterwards!"
She broke away, waved, and joined her friends as they walked toward the school, chattering excitedly about their trip. Sam watched her, and his smile couldn't get any wider.
"Hey, you wanna move that thing?"
Sam broke out of his reverie and hurried to the car. "Sorry! Not every day your daughter turns twelve!" He got in, started it up, and went home. He still had a lot of work to do before he picked up Espie and her friends after school.
All day, he couldn't help grinning. His daughter thought she was having a nice quiet dinner with the family, but thanks to everyone contributing, they had something else in mind. But first, he had to assemble the new bike that he and Yvette bought her. He arrived at home and found his father already working on it.
"Dad, you didn't have to help with this! You and Maddie have already done so much!"
"Nonsense, Son. I've learned that part of being a grandpa involves spoiling the kids, so I'm trying to do my part to achieve that goal." He laughed as he tightened a bolt. "So go on, get changed, and help me out here!" He flexed his hand and shook out a cramp.
"I'll be right out." Sam returned quickly, and the two finished the bike in no time.
Yvette spent the morning decorating Espie's cake. It was simple, yet elegant, all white frosting and curly borders. She used sugar granules to make it sparkle, and topped it with a figure skating figurine. She spent the rest of her day preparing the dining room for all the guests she anticipated. After Sam took the girls out for pizza, he would bring them home for cake and ice cream. She and Samuel would be eating alone, but she didn't mind. This was going to be one of the most treasured birthdays Esperanza would ever have.
While Yvette worked on the party, Sam worked on his investigation. He delved more into the war of words between Penny and the anonymous IceBaby, although by mid-afternoon, he uncovered her identity. He called Michael as soon as he was certain.
"Mike, I have some more info. How are things going with you guys?"
"We're at the arena right now. Ms. O'Loughlin had a morning practice session, broke for lunch, and then another session all afternoon. She's in the middle of that right now." He paused. "She still looks unsteady out on the ice, Sam. Until you pointed that out the other day, I didn't see it. Now I do."
"Yeah, well, she has something to be uneasy about."
"You found something."
"I found out who IceBaby is. It's Laura Brady, just as I suspected. But Laura also has a web site, very similar in design to Penny's, with a forum on it as well. I also get the impression she has someone else writing replies for her, because they're just too perky to be believed."
"So we've got two ice queens who have more in common than not, with an intense rivalry."
"I paid Laura a visit, just got back from that. She wasn't very cooperative, but she was adamant that she had nothing to do with the attempted attack on Penny. She was telling the truth, Mike. I could see it in her body language. She hates Penny, but not that much." He let out a deep sigh. "So that puts us back at square one."
"You think this was all orchestrated by Walter?"
"I don't know. Think you can talk to him and get a feel for where he's coming from on this?"
"Sure. He's pretty elusive, but he does hover around her. Jack thinks he's in love with her."
"Really."
"Yeah. He's either in love with her or just crazy obsessed. I haven't figured it out yet. I just know he spends an awful lot of time hanging near her elbow, making sure everything is perfect. It goes beyond just being her assistant. Even I can see that."
"Let me know what you find out. I'm going to keep hunting for info on some of these other people who might have an issue with our client, and see if any of them are of a mind to harm her."
"Good luck, Sam."
"You too, Mikey."
"See you later tonight. We'll be by for some of that cake. Oh yeah, and to say 'Happy birthday' to Espie."
Sam went back to work after getting off the phone with Michael. As he began to untangle the complicated relationships in Penny's life, he stumbled upon something totally unexpected. None of the tabloids even had this, and he had to check with county records to see if it was true. He sat at the computer, staring at the information, and instinctively hit the save button.
"Sam!" Yvette poked her head into the room. "You better get yourself together. It's almost time to pick up Espie and her friends at school!"
He glanced up at the clock. "Wow. Sometimes I don't know where that time goes."
Yvette came into the room and wrapped her arms around him from the back. "I take it you found something good."
"Oh yeah, this is a bombshell." He turned off the computer, stood, and kissed her quickly on the cheek as he passed by to go to the bedroom and change.
She stood alone, wondering what exactly he meant. But she was well aware of the secrecy required in his work, so she didn't pry. He would tell her in time, or if it was that big, with a high profile client like Penny, it would eventually come out in the press.
Six hyper girls waited with Esperanza in the loading area when Sam arrived with the limousine. He laughed to himself when he saw their faces, because they looked like they didn't actually believe he would come back for them. He parked, let them into the back with a lot of flair, and eyed all the kids and parents watching. He knew the girls were excited about the attention, but they had no idea that there were more surprises in store. It wasn't until he left the neighborhood and got onto a main thoroughfare that one of the girls noticed.
"Mr. Axe, where are we going?"
"Yeah, I thought we were going home," Esperanza said as she glanced through the tinted windows at the afternoon traffic.
"You'll see when we get there," he answered with a smile.
He drove them to the beach, where they had a couple of hours of fun in the sun, and then took them to a gourmet pizza restaurant. He had to silently thank Maddie and his dad for funding this part of the adventure. They even arranged for the staff to sing to Espie, in Italian, as the girls ate canolis for dessert.
But like all good things, the fun had to end. Sam took the girls home, stopping at each one and impressing the parents as he let each girl out in front of her house. Finally, it was just Espie in the back. He glanced at her and saw her sprawled out on the seat, enjoying the luxury of it all for just a little longer.
"Dad, this was the best birthday ever! Thank you!"
"Well, you'll have to thank your grandparents, aunts, and uncles. And Jack and Jesse. They all helped put this together for you."
"Wow." A smile spread across her face. She was feeling especially loved at that moment. When they arrived at the house, everyone was waiting to sing and share her cake. She sat with all her loved ones around her, except Uncle Nate and his family. They couldn't make it, but at least he let her dad use the car from his Miami fleet.
Sam waited until after Espie was in bed to return the limo to Nate's business. He was on his way when his phone rang. It was late, and he really wanted to get home, do some more research, and then get to bed at a decent hour.
"Hello?"
"Sam, its' me, Jesse. You still have that limo?"
"Yeah, I was just returning it to Nate's. Why?"
"Swing around to the Victor and pick us up. We need to get Penny somewhere safe."
He didn't like the sound of that. "What's going on, Jesse?"
"Just get here ASAP, okay?"
"Okay, my ETA is five minutes." He switched lanes and headed for the entrance ramp that would get him back downtown and over to South Beach. All the way, he wondered what happened. Obviously, no one got shot, or Jesse would have sounded a lot more tense.
He closed in on the Victor and saw flashing red and blue lights up ahead. He couldn't get more than two blocks away. Sam parked in the street, since there was no other place he could go, got out, and searched the crowd for Jesse.
"Sam, over here!"
Sam turned and saw Jesse coming fast with Penny, grasping her arm. She carried a suitcase and rushed to keep up with him, a scared look on her face that beat anything she wore that day the person on the other side of the phone line threatened her. Jesse opened the door and she got in, and then he climbed in back with her.
"Where's the goon squad?"
"I sent them off on a perimeter sweep," Jesse answered.
"Can you tell me what's going on?"
"Let's go to your house. I'll explain on the way." Jesse looked over at Penny. She sat staring out the window, uncertainty in her features. He laid a hand on her arm and she jumped. "It's okay, Penny. We're going to make sure you stay safe."
She glanced at Jesse, nodded, and then met Sam's eyes. Yes, she was definitely terrified.
"Jesse, the limo is too high profile. Let's go to Nate's and pick up my car."
"Oh yeah, that's definitely low profile."
"Hey, it may be old, but it runs great!"
"Sorry, Sam. Didn't mean to diss your car." Jesse changed the subject. "Okay, here's the deal. Someone called in a bomb threat on the hotel, shortly after Penny posted something on her web site aimed at this IceBaby." Jesse related what had happened. "As she was going through other responses that her staff had sent, she found that IceBaby came back with a threat that she was going to blow up the hotel with Penny in it. I checked with the front desk, and they'd already received a call and were evacuating everybody."
"So how and why did you ditch her security?"
"Walter was conspicuously absent while the threats were flying." Jesse replied, and added, "Just to be on the safe side, I told the other two to do a perimeter check and then I had Penny pack up a bag and we got out."
"Are you sure this is really necessary?"
Sam eyed her in the rearview mirror. "Yes. Ms. O'Loughlin, if someone really planted a bomb in the hotel, you need to start taking these threats seriously." He tapped his earpiece. "Call home."
Yvette picked up on the first ring. "Sam, where are you? Enjoying the ride?" She chuckled.
"No, I had to take a detour. After I get my car, I'm bringing Jesse and our client home with me. She needs a safe place to stay for at least tonight."
"You're kidding, right? Espie's gonna freak."
"No, I'm not kidding. And don't tell Espie. Is she in bed?"
"Yes, she's asleep, amazingly enough. I think you wore her out with all the excitement."
"Good. Get the daybed set up for our guest. I'll see you in a bit. Jesse will be staying the night too. Oh, and don't turn the back porch light on."
"Okay, see you soon."
He cut the connection. "Now, Jess, when we get there, I'll park in the garage and we'll take her through the side door."
When they arrived at Sam's house, Yvette waited at the back door and let them in with a big friendly grin. "Welcome to the Axe household, Ms. O'Loughlin."
"Thank you." She looked around the kitchen, noted the dirty dishes on the counter, and a few pieces of cake sitting on a serving platter. "This didn't change any of your plans, did it?"
"Oh no! The party's been over for awhile, and I've just been cleaning up the dining room. The kitchen is next." Yvette smiled, and she started for the doorway that led to the dining room. "Come on, I'll show you where you can put your stuff. I'm sorry that you'll have to sleep on the daybed. I'll bet it's not as comfy as the beds at the Victor."
"It'll be fine. Thank you." She studied the dining room and living area as she walked through, sizing up the kind of people who would take in a celebrity when she was in need of shelter. It wasn't as opulent as she was used to, but it was homey. Besides, she was desperate at the moment.
At the top of the stairs were two rooms. The one to the left announced in wooden letters that it was Samuel's room. The door was closed. A small bulletin board was attached to the door, with pencil drawings tacked to it. On the door next to his, Esperanza's name and the surrounding flowers were stenciled directly onto the wood panels. One of her medals hung from a nail centered on the door. It didn't escape Penny's attention. They turned one hundred eighty degrees and Yvette led her down a short hall past the bathroom to Sam's office. At the end of the hall a door stood open, and she noticed that a bedside lamp illuminated the comfortable bed and furnishings inside.
"This is my husband's office, but it's also a guest room when needed." She led her inside, turned on the light, and pulled the blinds before Penny came into the room. "Don't want anyone seeing you from outside."
"No, of course not." She glanced around with eyes taking in everything from the family photos on the wall over the daybed to a bulletin board plastered with articles, manuals for guns, and a lot of other intriguing things that she would have to check out later when she was alone. During the span of her career, she'd never set foot in a home that seemed so brazenly open and honest. Despite her fears, she felt comfortable and safe.
"Well, you'll probably want to settle in, at least a little. You can hang up whatever you like in the closet. It's kind of small, but judging by the size of your suitcase, I don't think that'll be a problem." Yvette smiled at her.
"It'll be fine. Thank you, Mrs...um..."
Yvette laughed and flapped her hand in the air. "We're far from formal around here! You can call me Yvette." Her voice trailed off and the two women stood in silence.
"I have to say...Yvette...you're taking this quite well for having me sprung on you at the drop of a hat."
"I learned a long time ago that flexibility is a requirement for being married to Sam and dealing with his friends. When he called and said he was bringing you home, I knew exactly what to do. We don't use our home as a safe house very often, so you should be quite secure here. With Jesse and Sam, you haven't got a thing to worry about! Good night, Ms. O'Loughlin. I hope you rest well here in our home."
"Thank you."
With a silent nod, Yvette left the room and closed the door to give her some privacy. She went downstairs where Sam and Jesse sat at the kitchen table and finished off two of the leftover pieces of cake.
"Yvette, that was awesome," Jesse said before washing down his last bite with a cup of coffee.
"Thanks. As you can see, it was quite a hit." She crossed the room and opened the dishwasher, then set the plates and other dishes inside. "I showed Penny to her room. I think she's still shaken up."
"She was pretty upset that I made her leave her hotel room. I almost had to carry her over my shoulder," Jesse said.
Sam turned his attention from his wife to Jesse. "So what happened? Your earlier explanation sounded kind of sketchy."
"I was with her in the hotel room, and the two goons were outside. I have no idea where Wally was at the time, but Penny was on her laptop. She said she likes to go over the tweets and answers her people put in the forum to see what they're saying. I suppose she doesn't trust them to post the right things."
"It doesn't really help after the fact, but hey, whatever. So she got into another messaging spar with IceBaby, huh?"
"Yeah, I thought she was gonna pop a blood vessel she was so mad. But then she got the warning about the bomb, and I think it finally started to sink in that whoever this is is not playing games."
"Maybe she'll be more inclined to talk in the morning, after a good night's sleep," Sam said. "There's just too much of this that doesn't make sense." He sighed and finished off his coffee. "Eve, did you get some bedding for Jesse?"
"Yes, I put it on the couch. If it's not comfortable enough, we can get a cot out of the attic."
"No, don't go through any trouble on my account," Jesse said with a small smile. "I've slept in some gnarly conditions. The couch will be just fine."
"We better get some sleep. It's pretty late." Sam stood, took their plates and put them into the dishwasher with their coffee cups.
Yvette washed out the coffee pot and set it up to go off in the morning. "Night, Jesse."
"Night, Sam, Yvette. I'm going to stay up for a little longer, keep an eye on things."
