"Here's your young man, safe and sound," Jason delivered Ashe into the kitchen. Denise DeLuca and Sali were sitting at the kitchen table, talking with Adele.
"You look better today, Mom," Ashe went to give her a hug.
"I do feel better, but your father and Mr. Radomir don't want me going back to work until we have this mess sorted out. Aedan's afraid I'll be attacked again."
"Me, too," Ashe said, giving an extra hug before letting his mother go.
"I'll go on, Mrs. Evans," Jason said, nodding to Adele. "Mrs. DeLuca," Jason nodded respectfully to her as well, just like a cowboy in the old movies. Ashe was spellbound for a moment, watching Jason walk out the door. He could envision Jason walking around in old jeans and chaps, perhaps, with a cowboy hat on and a nice checkered shirt. Now he wore black jeans and boots, a western belt and a blue polo.
"Good day today," Ashe handed over the bank bag with the deposit inside. They'd drop it off at the bank in the morning on the way to the shop. It would be Saturday and Sali was already asking whether he could help at the store.
"As long as you don't go anywhere alone," Denise DeLuca warned.
"I'll make sure of it," Ashe readily agreed.
"Denise brought dinner," Adele smiled weakly at Ashe.
"It’s fried chicken, I was in a hurry tonight," Denise said. "We'll go so you can eat. Call if you need anything."
"I'll be over early in the morning," Sali promised as they walked out the door. Ashe watched them drive away before closing doors and setting the alarm. He then got out plates for the food and opened the plastic container of chicken that Sali's mother brought.
"Want coffee, tea or something else?" Ashe asked, placing a plate of chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans in front of his mother.
"Coffee," Adele said. "This looks good." She began to eat.
Ashe cleaned up later while Adele drank another cup of coffee. "Are you really feeling okay, Mom?" he asked, putting away the clean plates and glasses.
"I'm just tired, honey. I wish I felt better. We don't get sick, you know. I've never felt this bad before. It makes me wonder how humans handle sickness."
"It'll get better," Ashe said, wishing it would happen soon. It frightened him to see his mother like that. Aedan and Radomir found Adele and Ashe at the kitchen table, Adele sipping a fresh cup of coffee and Ashe talking with his mother.
"How are you feeling?" Aedan pulled out a chair next to his wife and placed an arm around her shoulders. Radomir watched, his eyes hooded. Ashe felt bad that he and the vampire Enforcer were intruding on a private moment. "I'll go downstairs and read," he said, heading for the middle door.
"I'll be down in a bit," Adele promised.
"Okay," Ashe called out and shut the door behind him.
* * *
Trace drove Sali to Taco Palace to buy lunch for all of them while Ashe and Jason stayed at the store to help customers on Saturday. Dawn Smith came in again while Ashe manned the register, ringing up six bags of fertilizer. Ashe recognized her right away, although she wasn't wearing the green blazer. The weather had turned warm and there wasn't any need for a jacket.
"Is Adele here?" Dawn asked after Ashe finished with the customer.
"Mom's sick," Ashe said softly, wishing Jason would come back from loading the fertilizer for the customer.
"Sick?" Dawn's voice held disbelief.
"Somebody drugged her. Tried to kill her," Ashe muttered.
"Oh, dear God," Dawn had a hand at her mouth. "Do you know what happened?"
"No. Mom can't remember much of it." Ashe imagined that if Dawn had anything to do with his mother's attack, she was doing a good job of covering it up. She seemed genuinely shocked and upset.
"What's going on?" Jason had gotten Dawn's scent the moment he walked inside the store.
"I'm Dawn Smith," Dawn knew Jason was werewolf, too; Ashe had seen her draw in a breath, her nostrils flaring slightly when Jason returned.
"The one with the boy." Jason's words were flat.
"Yes. But I don't recognize you," she said, turning golden-brown eyes on Jason's face and examining him closely.
"From the Dallas Pack," he nodded to her politely. "Brought in to provide security since the attack."
"I understand. Can you tell me anything about it?"
"Nope. Not allowed. If you want to talk to somebody," Jason pulled a business card from a pocket and handed it over.
"William Winkler? The Dallas Packmaster?" Dawn's disbelief was back.
"At the request of the Grand Master," Jason said. "Call that number. I think he'd like to speak with you."
"All right. Thank you." Dawn walked out of the store without another word. Jason went toward the back but Ashe heard Jason's portion of the cell phone conversation afterward. Jason called Winkler as soon as Dawn walked out the door.
"Boss, Dawn Smith just walked into the store, looking for Adele Evans. I handed one of your cards over after we told her Adele was sick. No, I don't know whether she plans to call." Jason listened for a minute or two while Winkler talked. Ashe wished he were close enough to hear both sides of the conversation.
Sali and Trace walked into the store carrying bags of food while Jason snapped his cell phone shut. "Boss has some info on the shootings," Jason said, taking one of the bags from Trace. "Ashe, can you and Sali handle the store while Trace and I talk inside the office?"
"Sure," Ashe shrugged, accepting a bag of food from Sali. "We can eat behind the register."
"Good. We won't be gone long." Trace followed Jason inside Adele's office and shut the door.
"Can you," Sali said before Ashe held up a hand to hush his friend. Sali stepped back, realizing that Ashe was already listening.
"They got word on the shootings, same gun," Jason told Trace amid noises of paper wrapping pulled from tacos. "Registered to somebody local, but the gun is missing from his gun cabinet. Says he hasn't been into it for several weeks and didn't even know it was gone."
"Does he have an alibi?" Trace asked. Ashe heard the crunch as Trace bit into a taco.
"Yep. Rock solid. He was in Weatherford when Terry Smith got hit. And at Betsy's Diner when the girl was shot. Too many witnesses in both places. Somebody stole the gun, but that's the only thing they got. Police are over at his house, checking for fingerprints, but so far they haven't found anything."