Cat and Mouse
Chapter 14
Hell Hath No Fury….
Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you can never tell. Joan Crawford
….
From ghoulies and ghosties
And long leggety beasties,
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us.
(Cornish prayer)
….
Brennan and Jesse changed into nice slacks and polo shirts for their impromptu date with Jori and Chessy. Brennan called over to the Estate House and had Sarah get the twins ready to go out for supper. They drove the sports car over to pick the girls up, who were mystified to the whole situation.
"Uncle Brennan! What's up with Mama and Mommy?" Jori asked while Chessy nodded and climbed into the back seat.
"They had something to do for Grandpa and won't be in 'til late tonight," Brennan answered.
"So, we're taking you two to Tony's for pizza and then pick up a movie to watch at home," Jesse added.
Chessy regarded her two uncles with a deep look. "You're lying somehow." She said quietly.
Brennan ignored her accusation. Sometimes the twins were too perceptive for their own good. "What do you want on your pizza?" He asked instead.
"Canadian bacon!" Jori chimed up.
"Extra cheese!" Chessy cried right after her.
"No Onions!" They said together.
Jesse laughed allowed. Even if the two were highly perceptive, they were still fun to be with. He briefly thought about how many boys' hearts they were going to crush when they were all grown up. "So what did you two do this afternoon?"
"Miss Mare' had us planting different flowers and plants. We planted some pussywillows by Miss Tabby's grave and then some violas by Aunt Myra's. Do you know the difference between violets and violas?" Jori was always serious about her facts.
"I can't say that I do." Jesse replied.
"Violas are big violets," Jori explained.
"You just like violets and violas because of your eyes, Jori." Chessy quietly punched her sister.
Jori just nodded.
"Uncle Jesse?"
"What, Jori?"
"What do you think Mama and Mommy are going to have?"
"I don't know. What do you think they're going to have?"
"Mama's having Katya, of course. And Mommy's having twin girls."
Emma had warned them to disregard any talk about Katya.
"And how sure are you that your Mommy's going to have twin girls?" Jesse asked as they pulled into the parking lot of Tony's Italian Restaurant.
"They've talked to us in our dreams."
"And when we're meditating." Chessy added.
Brennan and Jesse exchanged looks over the two girls' heads. They each helped one of them out of the back seat and walked hand-in-hand with them into the restaurant. The twins had been here several times with Emma and Shalimar, so the owners knew them.
Tony, a tall and slightly chubby Italian-American with brown hair and matching eyes, greeted them as they walked in. "Ah, it's my little bonitas. Where are the mamacitas today?" He frowned slightly as he hugged Jori and Chessy, then shook hands with Brennan and Jesse.
"Mr. Tony, these are our uncles, Brennan and Jesse."
"Ah, Signors. Welcome! Welcome to my little establishment."
Little was not the word to describe Tony's restaurant. At least 50 tables were scattered around the main floor and then there were alcoves here and there. Tony led them to one of the alcoves. He took their drink order of iced teas and water and left them to pour over the menus. Jori and Chessy immediately started coloring their menu pages with the crayons left on the table from a previous child.
After they placed their order for pizza and garlic bread, Brennan and Jesse tried to get the twins to decide on movie. Each one had a different opinion and strongly wanted their choice.
Jori's choice was the Sound of Music. "I heard there is a lot of children and singing and the little girl is cute."
Chessy pouted. She wanted to see The Lion King, again. She always wanted to see that movie, over and over and over again.
Jesse tried to reason with them, "Why don't we get the Sound of Music this time? We watched the Lion King the last time."
Chessy pouted some more, the really cute kid pout, which didn't always succeed with her because everybody expected her to pout at the littlest provocation. She soon agreed. Brennan breathed a sigh of relief when the pizza was soon delivered to the table.
Everybody dug in with enthusiasm to the pizza and garlic bread slices.
…..
After their private supper, Emma and Shalimar returned to the Estate house to spend the night. Clara prepared them a light snack and went to bed early to read. Mare' passed them on the way to the workout room to practice her new moves, her can thunking lightly along the hallway.
Shalimar pulled the door shut behind them and steered Emma to the hot tub. Emma grinned and allowed Shal to direct their actions. So far the evening was perfect and just what she missed, spending time alone with Shalimar. "We have to do this a little more often."
Shalimar smiled at her remark. They helped each other of with their clothes, kissing each other as more flesh was exposed: the dark nipples, the bellies that were filling out.
Emma groaned at her slightly swollen ankles. "I don't remember my ankles swelling this way when I was pregnant before."
"They look just as lovely to me." Shal silenced her with a finger. They stretched out in the hot tub, sipping the bubbly grape juice that Clara had chilling for them. Emma gave an "ugh" face at first. "Four and a half months to go." She looked down at her round tummy and then reached over to rub on Shal's. Their stomachs were nearly the same size. "It's hard to believe that there are two little Shalimars in there." Shalimar had insisted on Emma viewing the ultra sound pictures with her, even though Emma was just as adamant about not looking her own.
"Have you thought of a name yet?" Shalimar pulled Emma in front of her so they could sit belly-to-back and to where she could caress Emma's belly back.
"The twins keep insisting that this is Katya. Katarina does have a nice ring though." Emma was quiet for a while. "What about you?" She asked Shal.
"I'm going to wait until they're born, to see what their personalities are like. Adam told me they'd both be feral like me."
"Two little kittens for Mamacat," Emma teased her.
Shalimar responded by dunking Emma. Emma came up sputtering. She tried to dunk Shalimar back, but only succeeded in splashing herself. They played a while longer until Emma cried "uncle!"
The two girls laid back exhausted and happy. Surely nothing would destroy their happiness tonight. They soon donned the robes and grabbed their discarded clothing and plodded off to one of the guest rooms there were always ready. After a quick shower, they lay down and snuggled together among the thick comforters. Emma fell asleep first while tracing lazy circles on Shalimar's stomach. Shal smiled at her and held Emma safe, listening to her breathe evenly, a smile still lingering on her face. Her instincts were dean on for solving Emma's unhappiness this time. She mad a mental note not to let five months pass before they got some time together.
….
The twins could not eat another bite. They had consumed pizza, garlic bread, and fried mushrooms and topped it off with ice cream. Now they wanted to use the restroom. Jesse looked around and saw the ladies were just around the corner. He doubled check to make sure that they had their miniature com-links on before he sent them there. Brennan headed over to the cash register to pay the bill and flirt some with the cashier. There were few customers left in the restaurant so it should be safe.
Brennan came back and finished his iced tea as they waited for Jori and Chessy to return. They watched the football game on the television over the bar.
About ten minutes later, they finally realized just how long Jori and Chessy had been. They tried getting an answer on the com-link and when they didn't get an answer, they flagged down the waitress to check the ladies room for them.
There was nobody in the bathroom.
Brennan and Jesse looked at each other and groaned. Emma was going to wring their necks when she found out they had lost the twins. They went into action.
Brennan ran out to check the car first, just in case the twins wondered that way. Jesse checked the rest of the hallway. Both of them kept trying the twin's com-links.
No answer.
Brennan sought out Tony to question him privately while Jesse reluctantly contacted Adam.
….
Emma woke suddenly.
Something was wrong and she couldn't put her finger on it. Then she heard the screams in her mind. First Jori, then Chessy. She screamed with them.
Shalimar woke at Emma's screams and the fear rolling off of her. "Emma, what is it?"
Just as she spoke, Adam's voice came over their com-link.
"Shalimar! Emma! Where are you?" His voice was starting to crack from worry.
"Adam, we're at the Estate House." Shalimar hugged a shaking Emma. "What's up?"
"There's been a situation. How soon can you bring Emma here?"
Emma was rocking back and forth with a blank look in her eyes as she searched to find where her daughters were and why they were screaming for her.
"Adam, what is it?"
"The twins are missing, Shal." Adam's voice was husky now.
"I've a trace on their rings. Jesse and Brennan are on it."
"Shit!" Shalimar swore under her breath. "Emma!" Emma was not responding to her voice. "Clara, Mare'? I need your help please." She called to the two she knew were still awake there. Shalimar got dressed quickly, and tried to get Emma dressed. Clara arrived first and between the two of them, they finally got Emma dressed.
"The twins are missing, Clara." Shalimar told her over Emma's head.
"Oh, my god!" Clara hugged Emma tight. Mare' walked in limping.
"Mare', I need you to lock down the Estate House after we leave. Don't let anybody in unless it is one of use, until we contact you first. The twins are missing."
Emma spoke clearly then. "They're in a cabin by some water. They're blindfolded and tied together."
"We'll find them Emma!" Shalimar promised. The twins were just as much hers, even if they weren't her flesh and blood, as they were Emma's. Neither one of them would be consolable if the twins were harmed or worse. She clicked her com-link.
"Adam, Emma's in contact with Jori and Chessy. She says they're in a cabin by some water."
"That matches where their rings are. By City Lake. Stay put then. Brennan and Jesse are almost there. I'll have them pick you up on the way back."
"No, Adam. He's got them on the move again. I need to get my girls." Emma interrupted Adam's instructions. She looked at Clara and Mare', surprised they were in the room with them. "What vehicles are here today?"
Mare' answered. "The Ninjas, the Mercedes Sedan, the SUV Limo, and the mustang. Oh, the Land Rover too."
"Land rover." Her eyes glazed over again. "Jori, yes I know you're scared. Mama is scared too. Just keep a hold of Chessy. We'll be there shortly." Emma grabbed her jacket and ran. "Shal, if you're going to help me, come on." She yelled over her shoulder.
Shalimar ran to catch up with Emma. She grabbed the keys to the Land rover before Emma could pick them up. "I'm driving. I'll keep my eyes on the road. You'll wreck if you drive right now."
Emma nodded and got into the passenger side. Her knuckles were white from clenching them so hard together.
"Shal, would could've taken my girls?"
"I don't know, sweetie, but we'll find them and make them pay for this."
Emma clicked her com-link. "Brennan, Jesse what happened?" She asked.
Jesse looked at Brennan before he answered. "We took them over to Tony's for a pizza. They went to the restroom and disappeared from there. Tony is beside himself that his petit bonitas disappeared from his restaurant. There was no one there that made us suspicious."
Brennan added, "We're at the cabin now. But nobody's here. I found their rings laying outside."
"Brennan, Jesse, look for a trail. Chessy says they went up one from the left side after they exited the cabin." Emma told them.
"Right, see it." Jesse answered.
"Shal, take the next left. We should be able to intercept at the ridge there." Emma pointed at the GPS monitor that she activated on the Land rover.
Shalimar took the corner on two wheels, apologizing to Emma who belatedly buckled up her seat belt. The Land rover bounced up a dirt road full of ruts and boulders. Shalimar maneuvered carefully around them all.
A few minutes later they were in a clearing overlooking the city. Emma pointed out a structure on the far side. "Over there." Shalimar wasted no time driving up to the picnic pavilion. She spotted Brennan and Jesse coming through the woods behind the pavilion.
Before Shal had the Land rover stopped completely, Emma was out the door and running inside. Shal finished parking and followed quickly after her. Jori and Chessy were sitting on the middle table, crying.
Emma ran over and tried to free her daughters from the bindings but she was unsuccessful as she cried too.
Shalimar circled the building trying to pick up any scent of the kidnapper. There was a faint garlic scent coming up the trail where Brennan and Jesse came from. She circled further, but the scent trail stopped cold beside some tire tracks. She returned back to the pavilion.
Brennan intercepted Emma's feeble attempts to cut the twin's bindings, before the wailing got too much louder. Jesse reported to Adam who audibly sighed his relief. Emma hugged her daughters tight and Shalimar joined in while wisely refraining from crying herself. She sniffed the girls but didn't pick up anything more off them then the odors of their supper at Tony's.
They all hopped into the Land rover with Brennan driving. The two girls and two women all sat in the back not taking their hands off of anybody. They drove to where Jesse left the other vehicle.
They left Jesse out and all returned to Sanctuary to try and figure out what happened. Jesse stopped by the restaurant to let Tony know the twins had been found. Tony sent back a large box of canola and cakes to help apologize. He made Jesse promise to bring everybody in for a meal on the house too, before he allowed Jesse to leave.
At Sanctuary, Adam ran the scanners over the twins who suffered no visible injuries. All they were able to tell them of what happened was they had walked into the restroom, gone and were washing their hands when the door opened behind them. Then there was a flash of light, the blindfolds and gags and being carried off. They never saw the person.
Emma gave them all a glare after that and herded her daughters back to their room. She even glared at Shalimar when she started to open the door to the twin's room. "Shal." She said slowly and pointed at the big bed. "They are sleeping with us tonight." She jumped into bed and pulled the twins after her, which wasn't too difficult as Jori and Chessy weren't letting go. Shalimar crawled up next to them after that.
A long time later that night, they all slept.
TBC
