Disorderly Conduct by Mary Feliz

Author:Mary Feliz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-03-27T21:10:23+00:00

Chapter 20

Overplan your hike. Hike with others. Stay together. Leave information listing your route, travel partners, and your expected date and time of return.

From the Notebook of Maggie McDonald

Simplicity Itself Organizing Services

Tuesday, August 8, Evening

The kids came barreling down the back stairs, followed by the dogs, temporarily ending my efforts to flesh out my seedling idea.

From the foot of the staircase, David slid across the smooth tiled floor in his stocking feet, skidding to a stop at the table and plopping his laptop in front of me. “Look at this. We found a route that doesn’t go into any of the burnt areas and is upwind from the fires. What do you think? Can we pack up our stuff and go tomorrow?”

I examined the three beaming faces of boys who’d plotted out their version of the perfect backpacking trip. Their first without adult supervision. I hated to burst their bubble and was thankful when Max did it for me. He slid the laptop to his side of the table and refreshed the screen, scrolling to follow their route.

“Great job, guys. This looks like a terrific plan. But—”

The boys moaned as one and looked deflated. “No fair!”

“Didn’t you hear what Ranger Sokolov said about the Central American drug cartels?” I asked.

Their eyes grew large, and they pulled chairs up to the table, eager to hear more. “Drug cartels in Orchard View?” David scoffed. “Have you been listening to talk radio?”

Max shook his head. “The boys and the dogs had already headed back down the hill when the ranger and I had that conversation.”

Max filled the kids in on the information he’d gleaned from Kon about the dangers lurking right outside our back door from criminals, wild animals, and poisonous snakes. At the mention of snakes, Brian lifted his feet from the floor and rested them on the bottom rung of his chair. Teddy grimaced. David, who had been lobbying for a reptile-filled terrarium since he’d spoken his first words, grinned.

Max made a valiant attempt to sidestep the drama. “Look, the state parks, the Open Space Preserve, the camps, everything is closed in case they need to get fire crews in there. The wind can shift in a heartbeat. Keep this plan. It’s a good one. But save it for after it rains and the danger has passed.”

The boys seemed disappointed but resigned to their fate. “Are there any cookies left?” Brian asked, changing the subject. I convinced them to bring their clean laundry up from the barn before they decimated our snack supply.

While they were gone, the phone rang. It was Forrest with bad news.

“I can’t get Tess out,” he said. “They arraigned her today. She’s been charged with first-degree murder and held over without bail.”

“No! Not Tess. On what grounds? She’s a mother, not a flight risk.”

“Apparently she recently renewed passports for her and Teddy, but not for Patrick. The prosecuting attorney argued that meant she’d planned to kill Patrick and take her son out of the country.”

“That’s ridiculous. Tess and I took care of that together right after school got out.

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