Page 36 of Decoding Morse

The buzzing started again.

Was someone trying to reach us? Was Amelia in trouble? Unease tightened my shoulders and socked me on the chin. Ignoring Carol’s piercing, unsatisfied gaze, I pulled my phone from my pocket, but as suspected, I wasn’t the one buzzing. Neither were Specks nor Prospect who did the same. As a group, we turned to the woman at the head of the table, who seemed bound and determined to ignore the interruption.

Carol’s glare didn’t waver. “And when will I see her again?”

The buzzing stopped, only to start right back up.

What was going on? Amelia said the woman had no friends, yet someone was insistently trying to reach her. Who? Why?

“I believe your phone is ringing, Mrs. Landry,” I said, unable to ignore the sound any longer.

Finally, she looked away. Confusion clouded her eyes. “I don’t hear any ringing.”

“It’s buzzing. On vibrate.”

“Oh.” Turning in her seat, she rummaged through the pockets of the sweater the nurse had hung on the back of her chair, only to give up when the ringing stopped.

“I’m sure it’s not important.” But the tightening around her eyes and lips told me she knew more than she was letting on. Settling back in her seat, she picked up her fork, and the buzzing started again.

“Someone seems desperate to reach you.” I stood, ready to assist. “It might be an emergency. Can I help you find your cell?”

“No,” she snapped. “Sit and finish your meal. I’m not dead yet, and I can find my own damn phone.”

I hesitated momentarily but sat when she tugged the cell from the sweater’s pocket. She glanced at the screen and promptly turned the phone off, stuffing it right back into the pocket from which it came.

“No emergency and no more interruptions.” She turned that steely-gray gaze back on me. “My Amelia told me you stayed with her and Ted for a time before joining the Air Force, Morse.”

Who was on the goddamn phone?

Why are you changing the subject?

The mystery was killing me, but I bit back the question and played along. “Yes, ma’am.”

“My Henry was a soldier.” A fond smile played on her lips as she turned to my companions. “Did you both serve as well?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they answered in unison.

“Thank you for your service.” She lowered her fork to eyeball each of us, one by one. “By the way, I should warn you, my staff is nearby and ready to intercede if needed. Try to sell me something, rob me, or act inappropriately, and I’ll scream rape and have you arrested.”

Specks and I shared a what-the-actual-fuck look across the table.

“Don’t look so shocked,” she continued. “The elderly are taken advantage of daily, and as my Amelia says, I am not the one. If you three have kidnapped her….”

Specks, who was mid-sip, sputtered coffee all over his plate.

Prospect choked on a bite.

Being accused of a crime must have been a first for them, too.

“Excuse me, what?” I asked.

Carol only raised her chin. “It’s time to get down to business. What sort of ransom will it take for me to get her back?”

Ransom?

“She called ahead and told you to let us in,” I pointed out, leaning on logic to get us out of this mess.

“You could have forced her.”

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