Love's Helper

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Love’s Helper - book excerpt

Chapter 1

These things were running through Minnie’s mind as she made her way through the tunnel. She was glad for a strong flashlight. It would have been scary going through the tunnel without it.

Minnie eased her way into the Mase storm shelter. The boys had some beanbag chairs inside. They had used the shelter as a clubhouse. Minnie eased over to the door and cracked it open to look around. She could see one of her stepfather’s friends sitting on the front porch of her home. He was drinking a beer.

Minnie eased back and sat on one of the chairs. She put her backpack down and took out her phone. Minnie knew it would not do any good to call her brother. She had been calling him for a week without getting an answer. He was not calling her back. Minnie sighed. She knew something was wrong. Bobby would never ignore her this way.

Minnie scrolled through her list of contacts. She had both Sandy and Sal’s numbers listed. Minnie punched in Sandy’s number and hit send. The phone rang only twice before Sandy answered.

“Hello,” said Sandy.

“Hello, Sandy,” said Minnie softly.

“Yes, who is this?” asked Sandy.

“It’s Minnie, I need help,” said Minnie.

Sandy sat up abruptly. “What’s wrong, Minnie? Are you hurt?”

“No, I got away from them before they could hurt me,” said Minnie.

“Got away from who?” demanded Sandy.

“Arnie and his friends, they were drinking and talking about teaching me how to be a woman. My guardian angel told me to hide, so I did,” said Minnie.

Sandy cursed, and wished he could get his hands on Arnie. Minnie did not deserve to have to deal with the jerk or his friends.

“Where are you, Minnie?” he asked.

“I came through the tunnel. I’m in your storm shelter. I can’t leave. One of Arnie’s friends is sitting on our porch drinking. I think they have done something to Bobby. He has been gone for almost a week and he is not answering his phone or calling me back. I heard them mention his name several times, but I could not hear what they were saying,” said Minnie.

“You stay where you are. Don’t try to come out. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” said Sandy.

“Okay, thanks,” said Minnie. She hung up and leaned back in the chair to wait on Sandy.

Sandy hung up his phone and went into the kitchen of the apartment he shared with his brother Sal. Sal was eating a sandwich. He looked up when Sandy entered. When he saw Sandy’s face, he looked at him alertly.

“What’s wrong?” asked Sal.

“I just got a call from Minnie. She went through the tunnel and is hiding in our storm shelter. She was getting away from Arnie and his goon friends. She said Bobby has been missing for a week,” said Sandy.

Sal dropped his sandwich and rose. “Let’s go,” he said.

Sandy turned and led the way out to his car. They both quickly entered the car and Sandy headed for their childhood home.

When they reached the house, Sandy pulled the car into the garage.

“You go in and tell Mom we are getting something from the storm shelter. I’ll get Minnie and hide her in the car,” said Sandy.

“Okay,” said Sal. He turned and headed inside.

Sandy eased open the back door in the garage, he looked over next door. The porch was empty. They had seen the man sitting out there when they drove up. He must have gone inside. Sandy walked over and opened the door of the storm shelter.

Minnie looked at him with big, scared looking, brown eyes. When she saw who was there, she jumped up and threw her arms around him and squeezed tightly.

“It’s alright,” said Sandy hugging her back. “You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he promised.

Minnie pulled back slightly. She had tears in her eyes. “I was so scared,” she whispered.

Sandy picked up her backpack and flashlight. He kept one arm around her to guide her toward the door. “We are going through the back door of the garage and you are going to duck down in the back seat. We don’t want Arnie and his friends to know where you have gone,” said Sandy.

Sandy held her close to his side and made sure he was between her and the house next door. He had left the door open, so they entered with no trouble. Sandy opened the back door of his car and had her lie down on the seat. He put her backpack and flashlight inside; and leaned down to speak to her.

“I have to run inside to get Sal and say a quick hello to Mom. I’ll be right back,” he said. Sandy closed the door quietly and then, after making sure the back, garage door was closed, he hurried inside.

“Hi, Mom,” said Sandy giving her a quick hug. “You ready to go?” he asked Sal.

“Yeah,” said Sal. “Just as soon as I get this piece of chocolate cake Mom is cutting for me.”

Their Mom shook her head; but grinned at her boys. She was glad they liked her cooking so much. “Do you boys have to be in such a hurry?” she asked.

“We are on a case. We just stopped to pick up something,” said Sandy.

“I didn’t know you had anything important in the storm shelter,” remarked Mrs. Mase.

“It was just some drawings we thought might come in handy,” said Sal.

“Well, here is some cake for both of you. Next time come when you can stay longer,” she replied handing Sal a bowl with several pieces of cake in it.

Sal took the bowl and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom.” he said.

“Yeah, thanks, Mom,” said Sandy giving her a kiss on the cheek as they left.

They got into the car and Sandy glanced into the back seat and smiled at Minnie. Minnie smiled back at him.

Sal looked back over the seat and smiled at Minnie and said, “Hi.” Minnie smiled back at him and said, “Hi.”

Both guys faced forward as they drove away from the house. Sandy noticed the man sitting on the porch next door. He was opening a new can of beer.

Sal and Sandy exchanged a look; but didn’t say anything.

Sandy drove to their apartment and drove inside the garage. They did not want anyone seeing Minnie. They did not know what was going on; and were not taking any chances with Minnie’s life.

Sandy got out and opened the back, car door and helped Minnie out. He picked up her backpack and flashlight and guided her inside. Sal had gone ahead and unlocked the door. Sal left the cake on the kitchen counter and led the way into the living room.

Minnie dropped into a chair and Sandy dropped her backpack and flashlight on the floor beside the chair. Sandy sat in the chair next to her and Sal sat on the sofa.

“Can you tell us what happened?” asked Sandy.

Minnie looked up at him. Her eyes teared up. “Thank you for coming to get me,” she said. “I didn’t know who else to call, after Bobby has dropped out of sight.”

“You can always call us when you need help. We are here for you. How long has it been since you heard from Bobby?” asked Sandy.

“It’s been a week. He came by the house and left some papers with me. He told me not to tell anyone about them and then he left. I have tried to call him several times a day since, but he doesn’t answer and he doesn’t call me back,” said Minnie.

“Do you have the papers?” asked Sal.

“Yes, they are here in my backpack,” said Minnie. She opened her backpack and drew out a hand full of papers from between her clothes and handed them to Sandy.

Sandy took the papers and started looking at them. He cursed and handed the papers to Sal as he finished reading them.

Sal cursed also as he read the papers.

“What’s wrong?” asked Minnie.

“Did you read these papers?” asked Sandy.

Minnie shook her head. “No, Bobby told me not to. He said to keep them safe for him,” said Minnie.

“These papers are records of Arnie and his buddies taking bribes to let drugs be delivered in our town. It also mentions a child trafficking payoff. It looks like Bobby had an informant, and he was planning to write a story about this and expose Arnie and his friends,” said Sal.

Minnie gasped. “I knew they were up to no good. Do you think they found out and they took Bobby?”

“Probably, they may have been trying to get him to tell where these papers are. They know if anyone finds out about this they will go to jail, but since they are all working for the police, they are in position to stop anyone finding out,” said Sandy.

“We need to get some help and find out where they are holding Bobby,” said Sal.

“You need to call your mom before she goes home and tell her you went to the movies with a girlfriend and are going to spend the night with her,” said Sandy looking at Minnie.

Minnie looked at him for a minute. “Do you think he will hurt Mom?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. She’s his cover. Arnie will take care to keep her in the dark. He will probably send his friends packing before your mom gets home,” said Sandy.

Minnie nodded. She accepted his words. Minnie knew he worked for a security company and he would know much more about such things. Minnie got out her phone and called her friend Louanne.

“Hi, Louanne, this is Minnie. I was wondering if you could cover for me if my mom calls you. I’m going to tell her I am spending the night with you,” asked Minnie.

“Sure, if she calls, I’ll tell her you are in the shower. What are you up to?” asked Louanne.

“I’ll tell you all about it later. I have to call Mom now. Oh, if she says anything, we had a great time shopping and at the movie this afternoon,” said Minnie.

Minnie hung up the phone to Louanne’s laughter. She punched in her mom’s number.

“Hi, Mom, I just wanted to let you know, since I have a few days off, I called Louanne and we decided to get together to go shopping and then to see a movie this afternoon, and I am going to be spending the night with her,” said Minnie.

“Okay, Minnie, you two girls have a good time,” said Margo Croan. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Mom, we will,” said Minnie.

Minnie hung up the phone and looked at Sandy. “I hate lying to Mom. I wish she had never fallen for Arnie. We were doing fine until he entered the picture. The last five years have been very hard trying to stay under Arnie’s radar,” said Minnie.

“Has he threatened you before?” asked Sandy his hand curling into a fist.

“No, but the way he looked at me made my skin crawl. My guardian angel has protected me and helped me to avoid him,” said Minnie.

Sandy relaxed slightly. Minnie was very important to him. He had tried not to let his feelings for her show because she was Bobby’s little sister, but he had always felt like he should look out for her. If Arnie tried to hurt her, he would make sure he didn’t get a chance to hurt anyone else.

“We need to round up some of the guys and follow Arnie’s friends and see if they will lead us to Bobby,” said Sal.

“Yeah,” agreed Sandy. “You call Alex and see who is available. Fill him in on what’s going on and I’ll get Minnie some food and settle her in my room. I’ll bunk with you,” said Sandy.

“I don’t want to put you out of your room,” protested Minnie. “I can sleep on the sofa.”

“It’s better if you stay in my room,” said Sandy. “If anyone comes in, they won’t see you, and if we have to go out, you can just stay in there and don’t answer the door.”

“Okay,” agreed Minnie. “I’m sorry I’m causing you so much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble. You can always come to us when you need us. We will always be here for you. You and Bobby are family,” said Sandy.

Minnie frowned, but she continued to follow Sandy into the kitchen.

Sandy pulled out some sandwich makings and sat them on the counter. He pulled a soda out of the fridge and sat it in front of Minnie. Minnie popped the can open and took a long drink. She had been afraid to go past Arnie and his friends to get either food or drinks. She was glad Sandy was making her a sandwich.

“I can make the sandwich,” said Minnie.

“It’s almost ready,” said Sandy with a smile. “Just enjoy it.”

“Thanks,” said Minnie taking a big bite and savoring the taste.

Sandy opened the bowl with the cake in it and, seeing four slices in the bowl, he put a slice on a plate and sat it in front of Minnie.

“Ummmm, it smells great,” said Minnie.

“Mom made it,” said Sandy.

“I love your mom’s cake,” said Minnie taking a bite after finishing her sandwich.

“Would you like another sandwich?” asked Sandy.

“No, this is fine,” said Minnie eating more cake.

Sal came into the room. “Alex is sending Andrew and Micky to help us. They will be here soon.” He grabbed a fork and plate and put a piece of the cake on his plate. Sal took a large bite an expression of bliss on his face as he savored the cake.

Minnie laughed at the expression on his face.

“I’m not taking any chances with my Mom’s cake,” said Sal smiling as he took another bite.

Sandy shook his head. “I put your half, eaten sandwich in the refrigerator.” He told Sal.

“Thanks,” said Sal as he concentrated on his cake.

Sandy turned to Minnie. “If you are finished, I’ll show you your room before the guys get here,” he told Minnie.

“I’m ready,” said Minnie rising and following Sandy.

“There are towels in the bathroom and extra blankets in the hall closet. I don’t know how long we will be, but don’t answer the door if anyone knocks. If you get hungry or thirsty, help yourself to whatever you want in the refrigerator. We will get back as soon as we can,” said Sandy.

He reached over and pulled her into his arms for a hug. “I am glad you are alright,” said Sandy.

Minnie hugged him back. “Thanks,” she whispered. She reluctantly pulled away. She loved being so close to Sandy, but she knew he didn’t feel the same way she felt, and she did not want to take advantage of him.

Sandy gazed into her face for a minute. He really loved the thought of Minnie being in his room so close he could feel her presence. He had been dreaming about having her here for a long time. He just wished it was under different circumstances.

There was a knock at the door, and he smiled at her and turned away giving her hand a final squeeze. He closed the door as he left and went to open door.