Never Steal a Cockatiel (Leigh Koslow Mystery Series Book 9) (24 page)

Leigh pondered the question. “Nowhere comes to mind, but they could be migrating or something. I’ve heard about them swarming inland parking lots, looking for food.”

“I suppose,” Cara responded, obviously unappeased. “Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Mason stepped away. Leigh gestured once more, but he merely waved.

“I guess so,” Leigh agreed hastily. “You take care.” She hung up.

Mason was already getting in his car, and Leigh waved back a disappointed goodbye. All the secrets were beginning to get to her, and Cara had to feel even worse. Both Mason and Lydie were hiding things from their daughter.

Leigh turned back toward the house, then froze in her tracks.

Seagulls?

She spun around. Mason was starting up his car. She darted out almost in front of it and waved her arms like a mad woman.

Mason stared at her through the windshield, then cut the engine and rolled down the passenger side window. “Yeah?”

Leigh moved to the passenger door, but instead of leaning in the window she opened it and sat down. She looked deeply into his sharp, blue-green eyes and found what she was looking for.

His trademark mischievous twinkle.

“You sly old dog, you,” she accused.

The corners of Mason’s mouth tipped up slowly. It was the grin that sold a thousand steak knives. “Who are you calling old?”

Leigh shook her head and stared at him. “All this time?”

He shrugged.

“And you haven’t said anything, but—” she recalled his half-hearted lie about the pawnbrokers’ convention. “You wanted me to figure it out,” she concluded.

Mason smiled smugly. “Denied.”

“But,” Leigh stuttered, still disbelieving, despite the perfect sense it made. “All this time…”

“You said that already,” Mason interrupted.

“But… Lydie always… and you—”

“I’ve loved Lydie since the first day I saw her,” Mason declared. “Standing there at her parents’ front door. Looking so pretty and so perfectly, horribly
bored.
I looked into those gorgeous brown eyes of hers and I could see it, plain as day. She was an adventurer. Same as me. And she could see it, too.”

Leigh resisted the urge to give her head a shake. “Lydie? An adventurer?”

“You know the mother and the aunt,” Mason insisted. “I know the girl. And the woman. I broke her heart and ruined her faith in me, and that wound took a long, long time to heal. I’m still not sure it’s gone, though God knows I’ve tried everything I can think of to make it up to her.”

“But she,” Leigh began helplessly, “she always acts so uncomfortable around you!”

Mason nodded. “She is, when the family’s around. She knows how Francie feels about me, and she thinks everyone else will think less of her for… well, for still caring about someone like me. After everything I put her through.”

“She put you through a lot too,” Leigh said automatically, thinking of how rigid Lydie had been when Cara was growing up, refusing to allow Mason any part in his daughter’s life, letting Cara believe he had abandoned them both. It was understandable, but it hadn’t been right.

“We worked through that,” Mason said softly. “After I came back. I won’t say there weren’t times when I was furious with the woman — because I was. But I always loved her. I never wanted to let her go.” He settled himself into the car seat with a sigh. “We’ve been in touch all along, you know. More than anybody realized — including Francie. About a year ago, it finally happened.”

He smiled again, and the sparkle in his eyes made Leigh’s own heart melt. “She finally decided to let herself fall in love again,” he said softly. “And we’ve been very happy. Except for the obvious.”

Leigh considered. “The secrecy. She didn’t want anyone to know.”

“Not just anyone,” he said sadly. “Francie. She’s spent her whole life trying to keep the peace with that twin of hers. But she knows Francie’ll never approve of me, and she’s afraid it will change things between them. Forever.”

“That’s not fair!” Leigh protested. “Lydie deserves to be happy, no matter what my mother thinks. She’s punished herself long enough. And you. You were young! You both did stupid crap. Life moves on.”

Mason grinned at her. “Yeah, I knew you’d be okay with us. And a part of me did wish you would figure it out. Hell, I’ve wanted to shout it from the rooftops. But Lydie made me promise. She wanted to tell Cara herself and she wanted to do it in her own time. I couldn’t argue with that.”

“But it’s been months!” Leigh protested. “And Cara
knows
Lydie’s been seeing somebody!”

“You’re preaching to the choir here, kid. I’ve said all that till I’m blue in the face. Cara’s going to be happy about us. I know she is. And she won’t give a damn what Francie thinks — no one else in the family will. But Lydie’s just kept dragging her feet, figuring if she told Cara she’d have to tell Francie, and all of a sudden here we are, and now she’s afraid of how upset Cara will be just because she’s waited so long.”

Leigh huffed out a breath. “Well, that’s valid. Cara’s going to be furious with her mother for keeping all this from her. But when she gets over that, she’s going to be happy.” Leigh smiled at Mason. “Ecstatically happy.”

He smiled back. “I hope so. Lydie’s finally agreed that the sneaking around has to stop. This week was a kind of turning point; that’s why I couldn’t miss it. I’ve been promising Lydie an ocean cruise for more years than Cara’s been alive, and thanks to my little card-playing hobby — which, by the way, is entirely legit — I finally saved up enough to take her.”

Leigh averted her eyes and grinned. “I see.” And she did see. The lies about both conveniently timed conferences. The mystery apartment in Bellevue. Why neither he nor Lydie had been responding to texts all week, and why calls were so expensive. She recalled her aunt’s claiming that half of where she would be staying was “underground.”

“I never knew Lydie was such a smooth liar,” Leigh marveled.

Mason smirked. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about her, Kid. Truth is, she’s a great actress. Smart as God makes them, pretty as a picture, and handy with the power tools, too. She’s an amazing woman all around.”

Leigh looked at the abiding love for her aunt that was written so plainly on the man’s face, and her eyes filled with tears. She reached across the car seat and gave him a hug, then wiped her eyes to prevent the overflow.

“It’s going to be okay,” she choked out. “But Lydie had better tell Cara the truth now, or I will. Don’t worry, I’ll insist I figured it out for myself and I won’t say anything to my mother. But Lydie can’t keep lying to Cara like this. I won’t let her.”

Leigh got out of the car, and Mason started the engine up again. If she wasn’t mistaken, his twinkling eyes looked a bit moist, too.

“Thanks, kid,” he returned.

Chapter 22

When Leigh returned to her parents’ living room, she was surprised to find the couch occupied by Frances instead of Bess. Her mother’s walker was nowhere to be seen. “How did you get back in here?” Leigh asked.

“I hobbled,” Frances said shortly. She patted the cushion next to her with a glare. “Sit.”

Leigh hesitated. “Where’s Aunt Bess?”

“Upstairs getting dressed.”

“Oh,” Leigh mumbled mindlessly, still standing in the doorway. “She woke up?”

“I sat on her.” Frances patted the cushion again. “Now, come here.”

Leigh shuffled forward. She was fairly certain that her mother couldn’t hear well enough from inside the house to eavesdrop on her conversation with Mason. But if Frances had been on her feet, she certainly could have seen them both out the window. “What’s up?” Leigh asked tightly, perching by her mother’s side.

“Do not ‘what’s up’ me,” Frances rebuked. “What exactly did Mr. Dublin have to say for himself this time?”

Leigh inhaled deeply. “He said he doesn’t think Kyle had anything to do with the petnappings. He thinks he was just keeping the bird for somebody else.”

Frances’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, of
course
he was.”

“It’s possible, Mom,” Leigh defended. “You don’t really think Mason would intentionally hand off stolen property to me or the Pack, do you?”

“Well, of course he would.”

“No, he wouldn’t!”

Frances’s lips pursed. “You do not know the man like I do, Leigh Eleanor.”

Leigh’s face grew hot. She was fairly certain that her mother had not carried on a single civil conversation with Mason in forty years — if then. But Leigh’s losing her temper wouldn’t help the situation. They’d had this same argument before and it never got her anywhere. Frances’s mind was made up.

Leigh stood. “I have to go.”

“Go where?” Frances said skeptically. “We need to discuss this situation. In light of what’s happened, I think it’s time for another family conference. That man should not be allowed to continue influencing the moral development of my grandchildren. I shall bring up several points for discussion, including—”

“Sorry, Mom,” Leigh said, looking around for inspiration. “I can’t do this now. I have to… um… clean something.”

Frances’s chin dipped to her chest. She glared at Leigh over the rims of her glasses. “Oh?”

Inspiration dawned. “Ethan left bubble gum stuck to the bunk bed.”

Bullseye.

Frances’s whole body stiffened. “You saw chewing gum?
In my house?”

Leigh nodded enthusiastically. “I should go get it off, don’t you think?”

The color had all but drained from Frances’s face. “
Where
on the bed?” She shifted on the couch and threw a determined look at the stairway.

“On the wooden supports underneath the top bunk,” Leigh continued. “It’s hard to see. Probably been there for years. It’s blue, and it has stuff stuck in it. You know. Like corgi hair. And lint. And—”

“Leigh Eleanor Koslow!” Frances shrieked. “You get up there and dispose of that horrific substance right now!”

Leigh hid a grin. “Okay, Mom.”

She hustled up the steps. She would be alone with her mother all afternoon; it was pretty unlikely that she could avoid the topic of Mason Dublin indefinitely. But she could try.

Bess popped out of the upstairs bathroom just as Leigh reached the hall. Bess was fully dressed, but bleary-eyed and clearly hung over.

“Thanks again for staying last night,” Leigh said. “You’re free now. Mom will be fine long enough for me to pick up Dad, and Lydie will be back by eight.”

Bess’s eyes focused slowly. Her forehead wrinkled. “You talk loud.”

“Sorry,” Leigh whispered. “Rough shift, huh?”

“Let us never speak of it again,” Bess replied, passing by her and heading on down the stairs.

Leigh grabbed a roll of paper towels and some wood cleaner from the “auxiliary cleaning cabinet” in the hall and slipped into the guest bedroom. She made her gum-removal task take as long as humanly possible, then lay down for a nap besides.

The effort was fruitless. She had too many loose-ended thoughts tickling her brain. What
“
good ideas” had Allison come up with for Maura? And if Kyle
wasn’t
involved in the petnappings, how could they ever find out who was? Was there necessarily a man involved at all, or was Leigh being subconsciously sexist? Did she have any real reason to assume that the figure she’d seen hanging in the kitchen window was male, other than that it was wearing a hoodie and jeans and doing something criminal? Maybe the scheme was being perpetrated entirely by women. Maybe every female on her father’s staff was in a conspiracy, and the newbies were only acting dumb. Was it possible?

Leigh couldn’t decide. She knew it was important to keep her mind open, but seeing Amy in particular as being a covert evil genius was impossible.

Her cell phone rang. The call was from her cousin-in-law, and she swooped it up immediately. He was supposed to be watching the Pack. “Gil?”

“Hey, Leigh,” he boomed back, sounded self-assured as usual.

Leigh relaxed. A little. “Something wrong?”

“Nothing serious,” he answered. “Cara’s better, but she’s sleeping. And Lenna’s fine; the virus seems to run a pretty short course. I just wanted to ask you a question.”

A twinge of angst had worked its way into his tone, and Leigh got nervous again. “Yes?”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on between Matt and Allison?”

Leigh closed her eyes and exhaled. “I might. Have you heard the name ‘Kirsten’ being bandied about, by any chance?”

He was quiet a moment. “Possibly. I haven’t heard much of what they’re saying. Matt mainly just texts. But twice now, Allison’s come over here and then left again in a huff. The second time, which was just now, the two of them practically had a shouting match out in the yard.”

“Oh.” That did not sound good.

“So what’s going on?” Gil asked. “Matt won’t tell me a thing, and I’ve never seen the two of them go at it like that before. Matt and his sister, yes, but not him and Allison.”

“No,” Leigh agreed. “You’re right.” She could accept the fact that Matt wasn’t a child anymore, but the realization that growing into teenagers would inevitably send the Pack their separate ways was depressing at several levels. “I’m pretty sure it’s about a high school girl Matt met at the clinic. He likes her, but Allison has known her longer and can’t stand her. How that equates to shouting at each other in the yard, I don’t know… Probably Allison’s annoyed that he’s not taking her advice.”

Gil chuckled with relief. “Oh. Well, I guess clashes like that are inevitable. Matt’s growing up, all right.”

Inevitable.
Leigh really didn’t want to think about that. “Don’t worry about it,” she advised. “I’ll talk to Allison tonight.” And talk they would. Allison was used to having the rest of the Pack — and even various detectives — take her opinions seriously. But she might as well learn now that lovestruck teenagers never listened to anybody.

They hung up, and Leigh felt slightly more at ease. Fighting with one’s older cousin, at least, was an entirely age-appropriate activity for an eleven-year-old girl.

A loud knock sounded from below. Leigh hastened down the stairs.