Leann Sweeney - The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon

Tom swooped up Dashiell when Finn opened the pantry door. Yoshi did a few jack-in-the-box jumps. But when Finn opened his arms, he didn’t do his usual leap. He raced into the living room—and straight for Hilary.

Before anyone could make a move, Yoshi clamped onto her skirt and began to shake his head and growl. Finn ran to stop the assault, but good old Yoshi managed to come away with a mouthful of gray gabardine before Finn pulled the dog away.

I smiled and so did Tom.

“Keep your dog away from me,” Hilary said, visibly shaken.

“I’ve heard you say those words plenty of times,” Finn said. Yoshi’s leash was still attached and Finn held tightly to it. “I’ll keep my dog away from you while you tell me the truth for once. What did you mean about lawyers and judges?”

“Maybe this can wait for another time,” Candace said, giving me a warning glance. “Where the heck is Morris anyway?” She turned on her two-way radio and asked him the question directly.

He replied, sounding as grouchy as usual. “Can’t find the zip ties. Where the heck did you put them?”

“ You put them somewhere, remember?” Candace said. “Check the fingerprint kit or the camera case.”

“Ah. The camera case,” he said.

“Bring a Miranda waiver while you’re at it.” Candace switched off her radio. “We’ll be out of here right soon.”

“No. I want to tell Finn what he needs to know,” Hilary said. She sounded haughty again, as if she wasn’t sitting in my living room handcuffed to a table.

Candace said, “We’ll take your statement at the station, relay all information to Tom and your son—”

“He’s not my son,” Hilary said. Her smug smile made me want to rip a chunk of fabric off her skirt myself.

A heavy silence followed.

“What are you talking about?” Tom finally said.

“I married Rory when Finn was a year old. Then Mr. Mental Case gets himself sent to prison. Since his birth mother was dead, the court said he was mine until Rory was out of jail. I did get welfare money and food stamps because of him on and off through the years. Kept me from starving in between jobs. I considered him my paycheck.”

I glanced at Finn, concerned for him. No matter what she’d done, how cruel she’d been, she was the only mother he’d known.

But he was nodding, a small smile playing on his lips. “You don’t know how many nights I went to bed wishing you weren’t my mother. Guess dreams do come true.” He turned, and with Yoshi at his side, started for the hall. He would need time, I knew. Time to heal from her last verbal assault.

“Wait,” Tom said.

Finn looked back over his shoulder. “It’s all good, man,” Finn said. “Right now, Nana Karen could use some company.”

Turned out we all ended up down at Mercy PD, answering questions for official statements. Even Karen, who was still so shaken by what had transpired, Candace asked the paramedics who’d splinted Hilary’s wrist to check her out, too. Karen finally shooed them away, saying she needed time and she’d be fine, but promised to see her family doctor the following day.

We took her home late in the evening. Her car, the one she drove over to my house with Hilary, was still parked in front of my place. Karen didn’t want Ed to learn what had happened from police officers. He would hear it from her in person. We left her in Ed’s loving care to explain.

Famished, we drove to the Main Street Diner and settled into a booth near the back. Word was out and folks were already beginning to stare at us and the new kid in town.

Tom and I watched Finn enjoy his food, which was more fun than eating my own chili burger and cheese fries. The kid could put away a mountain of chow. It would be back to salads and yogurt for me tomorrow. But tonight, we celebrated.

Once Finn seemed satiated, he looked at Tom and me, sitting side by side, and said, “You two like each other, huh? I mean really like each other.”

Tom looked at me and smiled. “Yeah. We do.”

“Why don’t you show it, then?” He smiled. “I mean, I see the looks you give each other. Kids at school hang all over each other when the hormones are raging.”

My cheeks heated up. Hormones raging? It was so much more.

Tom said, “Maybe we don’t hang all over each other because we’re not in high school.”

“Doesn’t sound like as much fun. I’ve never had a girlfriend, but I think about it. A lot,” Finn said.

“Seems like you’ll be free to find a girlfriend once all this trouble is behind you,” I said.

Finn’s expression grew serious and he pushed his almost empty plate away. “This bad stuff has been going on a long time. I saw her leave in the police car like I wanted, but it wasn’t enough. I still see her face. Still hear her voice threatening me and Jillian and poor Nana. Still see her face the times I asked her to take me somewhere for school or give me lunch money. She really did hate me.”

“Time heals,” I said quietly. “But I think you should talk to someone—you know, like a shrink.”

Tom said, “He’ll do fine. Guys are different. We don’t need to talk about every little thing.”

“Every little thing?” I said.

“Finn’s tough. He chose to be smart and come here to Mercy,” Tom said. “Problem solved after a tough week. A woman who deserves it, goes to jail.”

Finn looked at Tom for a moment. “Would I be less of a guy if I did want to talk to someone? You know, someone who knows about stuff like I went through with… her .”

For the briefest moment, I saw Tom’s eyes glisten. Then he blinked back the emotion. “You’ll never be less of a guy no matter what you decide. In fact, you’re the bravest kid I know. You want to talk this out, I get it. We’ll make it happen.”

“Thanks, Tom,” Finn said. He pulled his plate back and began the job of finishing the remains of chili dogs and fries.

More than a week passed, with Candace continuing to sort through the evidence against Hilary Roth. Though Bob had played a part in Hilary’s plan to get the money Karen had earmarked for Finn, he was all talk and did nothing he could be arrested for—or nothing Candace could find to indicate a conspiracy. He’d slipped by without consequences—seemingly a pattern for him.

Kara put out several special editions of the Mercy Messenger as the complete story began to come out. The gossip was still going on at Belle’s Beans, the Main Street Diner and the Finest Catch, as well as all the other spots people gathered in Mercy.

Dashiell and Yoshi, it turned out, seemed surprisingly compatible. They’d remained at my house since the Bob problem still existed. He was slow to move out of Tom’s place after finding such a comfortable spot to crash. Dashiell wasn’t safe until he left. Tom, meanwhile, spent most of his free time at my place and even bought an Xbox and hooked it up to my flat screen so he and Finn could play games together where pretend swords were the only weapons involved.

Tonight, however, I’d invited the entire family to dinner, Bob included. It was a risk—especially since Bob thought he was coming alone and the rest of his family had no idea he would be there.

Ed and Karen arrived early, bringing the catfish Ed, Finn and Tom had caught that morning on one of Ed’s trotlines. Finn and Tom then took off for the mall. Apparently the clothes Kara bought were passable, but not exactly “dope,” as Finn put it.

Karen brought a casserole of hash browns, sour cream and cheddar cheese, which she said needed only an hour in the oven. More important, she’d brought one of her famous lemon icebox pies. I only had to supply salad, sweet tea and plenty of counter space for Ed to do something he did so well—prepare the fish.