Assault in Asheville by Kate Merrill

Author:Kate Merrill [Merrill, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781642471281
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2020-08-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-two

Emotional vacuum…

Carl’s bedroom door was ajar. When she burst in like a crazed maniac, three startled faces swiveled toward her in alarm. Instead of the chaos she’d feared, the men were busy packing up the set of sunset dinnerware she had so admired. Carl was perched on the edge of his bed, a smug smile on his lips as he instructed the chauffer in the art of bubble wrapping. Cabella was lovingly lifting platters off the display shelves.

“Is something wrong, Mandy?” Carl asked.

Feeling foolish, she caught her breath. “Didn’t you hear that noise out on the deck? Someone was sneaking around the house.”

By their blank stares, the men were unaware of any disturbance.

“No, really!” she insisted, looking pointedly at Carl. “I saw a motorcycle leaving. I’m sure it’s the man I told you about.”

That got the professor’s attention. With some effort he stood, and with an almost imperceptible shake of his head, indicated she should not discuss the matter in front of his guests.

“I’m sure it was nothing of concern. We’ll check out the deck later.” He turned to Cabella. “I think we’re almost done here. Please step into the hall with me, Mandy, while these men finish up.”

She headed back into the foyer and waited until Carl joined her. Closing the door behind him, he moved her down the hall a few paces and urgently whispered, “Was it that black fellow who’s camping out at the old house?”

“I didn’t see him, but who else would it be?”

The professor nervously tapped the tip of his cane against the floor tiles. “What the hell does he want?”

Suddenly she remembered. “Whoops, Sara is calling the police!”

“Well stop her, for God’s sake! The intruder is long gone, and I’ve had a belly full of cops. Toni Hall will think I’m nuts.”

She rushed back to the kitchen, but Sara had already made the call.

“Well, call them back and cancel. Carl is fine.”

Gladys exhaled in relief. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on here, but I want it to stop! I wish everyone would just go away and leave us alone.”

By that time Gladys was pacing, arms crossed over her chest in a way that was both defensive and offensive, like she was holding back from striking out at anyone handy. Amanda didn’t know what to make of her. It seemed the fighting instinct from her dirt-poor Alabama roots was at war with the sophisticated persona she wanted to project. Amanda wondered if she and Sara were included in the everyone Gladys wished would just go away and leave her alone.

Gladys caught her drift. “Oh no, I don’t mean you girls—you are a delight. I wish those men would leave and let Carl get his rest.”

Amanda gathered that Cabella and his chauffer would not be getting cannoli even though they’d made a purchase.

Then Carl walked in. He gave Gladys a reassuring peck on the cheek and got confirmation from Sara that she’d managed to stop the police.

“Mr. Cabella is leaving now,” he announced.

Right on cue, Cabella strolled up with a Cheshire cat grin and gave Carl a wad of cash.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.