No Way Out - Fern Michaels Page 0,70

woman’s nose hair. Ellie let out a guffaw at that thought. Ew.

So far, nothing appeared to distinguish them from any other middle-class, modern family. Modular furniture, big-screen TV. The dining-room table was a simple rectangle with light wood. She counted six cream-colored, chevron-patterned parsons chairs. Now that’s adventurous, considering there were two kids in the house. Maybe they weren’t allowed to sit on them. Maybe they never used the dining room. She could only guess. She waited to see if there was another table, perhaps for the kitchen. There was. It was a light-wood trestle table with a bench and four matching chairs. That was more like it.

After the first group of modular seating had been carried in, another modern sofa was pulled from the van. It was also cream-colored. Probably to go in another room, one the kids were not permitted to enter, she surmised. The woman disappeared into the house, most likely to supervise the placement. A sound from her computer told her that someone was likely in need of her help. She reluctantly set down the binoculars and looked at Buddy and Percy. “You guys keep an eye on things. Mommy’s got to get to work.” Percy yawned, and Buddy thumped his tail.

* * *

When Jackson and Colleen got home from school, the boy was excited to see the movers finishing up. He couldn’t wait to meet the new neighbors. He had heard there was a boy four years older, and he hoped they could be friends. He knew some twelve-year-old kids kind of liked girls. While Jackson was still of the mind that they might have cooties, he understood it was a part of life. Maybe they could do some guy things, like go fishing or something. He knew he didn’t want to share Buddy with him. That was his special time and his special place. Besides, he didn’t think Ms. Bowman would want another kid running around her yard.

He unpacked his homework and went to the kitchen table to get it done. Maybe he would stop by and say hello on his way to see Buddy. “Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, honey.”

“Do you think I could go over and say hi to the new neighbors on my way over to Buddy?”

Colleen got a shiver up her spine. She wasn’t ready for that, especially since she hadn’t heard from Officer Pedone.

“Let’s give them a day to settle in, OK?”

“But if I walk past them, I want to say hi. Is that OK?”

Colleen couldn’t think of a good reason why her son couldn’t be cordial. She could only think of a bad one. Her maternal instinct kicked in, and she went for the phone. She made her way into her bedroom for privacy and dialed Pedone’s number.

“Pedone,” he answered on the second ring. Perhaps it was because he knew it was her from the caller ID, but he wasn’t going to let on.

“Hi. Bob?” She asked as if she wasn’t sure she should call him Bob, even though he had told her to.

“Hey, Colleen. I was just about to call you. Can you give me a minute and let me call you back? I want to take this outside.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to make a pest of myself. But . . .”

He interrupted her. “You’re not being a pest. I just want some privacy. I’ll call you in less than five minutes. Promise.”

“OK. Thanks.” Colleen hung up, feeling dejected. But before her imagination could turn the conversation into something she would regret, the phone rang again, causing her to jump.” Get a grip, girl. She also realized that she had said that to herself a few times when it came to the handsome, unmarried policeman. Only this time it was because of her concern for her son.

“Hey.” Pedone’s voice was soothing and familiar.

“Hey,” Colleen replied.

“I did a little recon and found out the boy was with some other older kids who had bullied him into jumping on a moped. This happened in another town.”

“So it wasn’t a motorcycle at all?” Colleen was still not sure if she should be relieved.

“No. It belonged to a pizza delivery guy who the little gang of hoodlums liked to taunt. So instead of getting themselves in trouble, they pushed the kid into taking it. He managed to get about a block away before the pizza guy caught up with him. The kid had no idea what he was doing, but luckily, he didn’t hurt himself. And the bunch of ne’er-dowells not only put