Janet Evanovich - Full Scoop

"You don't need to be up here."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. Just give me the injection and go."

"Any symptoms?"

"I'm thirsty. Lydia, please."

She cleaned the rubber tip at the top of the vial. Her hands shook so violently it slipped from her fingers. She bent to retrieve it, swayed, grabbed Ben's arm to keep from falling.

"Sweetheart, you need to calm down," he whispered.

"I saw Maggie." She choked on her tears. "I should have warned her, Ben. I should have said something. He's going to hurt her, I just know it." The words tumbled from her mouth rapidly and in no order. "I'm not thinking straight. I almost ran off the road several times. He's pulled the drapes. Nobody will be able to get to him. He'll kill you if he suspects someone is out there." Her cheeks were wet. "Tell me what to do! Please—"

"Give me the injection."

Lydia swabbed both the rubber tip and his arms with alcohol. She drew insulin into the syringe and put the vial in her pocket. She raised the needle. Ben's expression changed. She turned.

Carl Lee Stanton stood in the doorway. "Why are you up here?" His voice was low but as threatening as the gun in his hand.

"My husband needs his insulin."

"Step away from him."

"What!"

Carl Lee pulled back the hammer on his gun.

"Do as he says," Ben told his wife.

Lydia moved aside. "Mr. Stanton—"

"Shut up," Carl Lee said and walked over to her. He took the syringe. She frowned.

"Where is the vial of insulin?" he asked.

"What?" She stared at him for a full minute. "The pharmacy was closed when I got there. I had to use what little was left in the old vial."

"You're lying."

"Look in the bathroom trash. I just threw it away. I need to go back out. I need to call his doctor. The Wal-Mart pharmacy will still be open."

"You're not going anywhere."

"You don't understand," she said.

"No, Lydia, you don't understand." He pressed the syringe, and the insulin spurted out.

* * * * *

Zack parked Maggie's car as close to the back door as he could. "Hold tight for a few seconds," he said, hitting the master lock as he climbed out. He and Bill searched the area.

In the backseat of the car, Mel sighed. "This is so dumb."

Maggie did not try to mask her annoyance. "It's not dumb. What's dumb is that I didn't make you go to Charleston. I should have hauled you right up there and forced you to do as I said instead of letting you talk me into staying here. That's what is dumb, Mel. And tomorrow, I am going to take you to Charleston if I have to drag you every step of the way."

"What!"

"I'm calling Cheryl tonight and arrange it. You will do as I say or you will face serious consequences." Maggie had to stop and suck in oxygen. It had happened. Her daughter had driven her over the edge.

"I hate living with you! I wish I could live anywhere but here."

Maggie twisted around in her seat. "That is great news," she said loudly, "because you are going to be living with Cheryl for a while. And then when you get home you can live in your room for a while. And I have even better news. By the time I let you out you'll be old enough to date."

The locks on the doors clicked, and Maggie jumped. Tension knotted her stomach. Zack opened the door and stuck his head in. "Hello, ladies," he said, giving them a smile even as they glared out their windows into the darkness. "You know, Bill and I were just saying what a great thing it is that a mother and daughter are able to communicate so freely."

"Is it safe for us to get out of the car now?" Mel grumbled.

"Probably safer than it is for the two of you to remain inside with each other."

Zack had already disabled the alarm; he and Bill saw that Maggie and Mel were safely inside the house before the two men headed back out to unload groceries. Mel crossed the kitchen toward the hall.

"I'll need your help putting away the groceries," Maggie said, trying to sound calm even though she wasn't sure she remembered what it was like. She had been insane to keep Mel there, to put her own child at risk. She should have yanked the kid out of school the minute Jamie told her the news. She should have put the girl, kicking and screaming, in the car and driven her straight to Cheryl's. What had she been thinking? What had she been thinking!

She and Mel were quiet as they put the food away, using the light over the stove and a large candle. In the living room, Zack was in the middle of a phone conversation, his voice so soft she couldn't make out the words.

"Is it okay if I go to my room now?" Mel asked once they were done.

"After you set the table," Maggie said.

"You're going to cook now?" Mel said.

"Yes." Maggie was determined to put a hot meal on the table even though it was well past the dinner hour.

"I'm not hungry," Mel said.

"Then you can provide interesting dinner conversation while Zack and I eat. But set a plate for yourself in case you change your mind." Maggie gave her best smile. As though everything were perfectly fine, even though they could have been a poster family for dysfunctional homes.

Mel stared at her for several seconds. Finally, she went to the cabinet and pulled out plates and salad bowls. She quickly set them out, along with the flatware and salad dressing, and without a word went to her room.

Maggie put a large pan of water on the stove to boil, grabbed a bag of chopped broccoli from the freezer and stuck it in the microwave to thaw while she gathered the ingredients for a broccoli casserole: fat-free cheese, reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup, and light mayonnaise. She mixed it all together, and slid the casserole dish into the oven that had been set on a high temperature.

Zack came into the room as she was tossing a salad. "You're cooking?"

Maggie smiled and nodded. "Mel looked surprised too," she said, "but I'm tired of sandwiches. It won't take long. I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store."

"Is Mel in her room?"

"Yes. She's in the process of making a list of reasons to hate me. Or maybe she's on the phone with the Department of Social Services."

"Why does she hate you?"

"Other than the fact I'm mean and don't want her to have any fun? Because I'm sending her to Charleston in the morning, even if I have to request a patrol car and have her handcuffed. I'm furious at myself for waiting so long."

"You're too hard on yourself, Maggie," he said, coming up behind her and massaging her shoulders. "I know why you didn't send her away. You wanted to keep a close eye on her. In case I haven't told you, you're a pretty awesome mom. And—" He paused and grinned. "Mel is a pretty awesome kid."

"She can be," Maggie said softly. "Mel and I have never had this much trouble between us, and I don't think she takes this situation with Carl Lee seriously. Maybe because of all the waiting and nothing happening," she added.

Zack stepped closer and worked his fingers up her neck, pausing at the base of her skull, his thumbs pressing gently, drawing small circles. "Things will settle down once this is over. Wow, you're tense."

Maggie almost groaned in pleasure as he kneaded the tight muscles in her neck. "I should write myself a prescription for Valium. I should start drinking. Oh, crap, I should start exercising again."

They became silent. "I've been thinking about last night a lot, Maggie," he said softly. "And no, it wasn't all about the sex part."

Maggie had been thinking about it too, and she had to admit she had thought a lot about the sex part. But sex with Zack was the last thing she needed to be thinking about. "I'm surprised you haven't tried to escape this place," she said, trying to make a joke because talking about their lovemaking made her head spin and her stomach flutter. Obviously, it made the muscles in her neck tense too.