Chapter Sixteen
Jonah
With Frannie helping Ally wash up, I took the opportunity to seek out Frank in the tiny kitchen and see what he knew. I also wanted to tell him what we had learned, which was very little, and then work out a plan to keep an eye on both Ally and Sam. As soon as I walked in to lend a hand, Frank turned around and confronted me point blank to my face before I could get a word out.
“What are your intentions with my girl? Is this just some quick thing for you or do you have honorable intentions? Ally and Sam have enough on their plates without having some man that is just looking for a quick hop in bed. If that’s what you’re after then you need to look elsewhere. Feel me SEAL?”
Hell, the old man was standing toe-to-toe with me and staring me dead in the eye, not even blinking.
“Hold on a minute here, Frank. I care a hell of a lot for Ally and you insult me by insinuating that I would be anything but honorable, RANGER,” I said while grinding my teeth. Then I realized this was not going to get us anywhere, so I decided to take a better approach to the situation. Frank was only acting as a father would with his daughter and she clearly was that to him.
Starting over I said, “Sir, I am sorry. I promise you right here and now, that I have nothing but honorable intentions towards Ally and Sam, both. My need to protect them is fierce. I fell for Ally years ago, in your diner but she never would give me a chance. I worked hard to get just this little bit of trust from her and I hope you will give me the chance to prove that not just to them, but to you also.” I took a step back in respect and backed down. Frank had the best poker face a person could have. I couldn’t read anything at all. Was he going to deck me? Maybe. I would have taken it too just to prove that my intentions were good.
“Well, alright then. That’s what I needed to know. Now, tell me what you have dug up on her past. And we need to set some ground rules, shifts and I am guessing your brother, the comic wannabe, will be helping us.” I stood there shocked by his declaration and just nodded my head yes. Frank continued, “I have suspected for a long time that something was off with Ally. I kind of put two and two together over the years, but it seems things are starting to turn south for them. We must stop it. Now! That young lady is my daughter and Sam is my grandson. I will be damned if someone tries to hurt them or take them away. The tires were not slashed by teenagers like she claimed. I have the entire parking lot under surveillance. Don’t look shocked, boy. I may be old, but I am not stupid. We need to set a meeting and a compile what we both know.” Frank finally went quiet so I could ask a question or two of my own.
“Shane and I have both been digging into Ally’s past trying to figure out what’s going on. We have come up empty. As in, she has been covering her tracks quite well.” Frank tilted his balding head to the side and leaned in when I said that so I continued. “She is paying for everything in cash. Rent, bills, etc.… She has no debt and what’s worse? No credit history at all. She doesn’t have a landline but I have seen her with a cell phone. It must be a prepaid one that she buys minutes for. We have come up empty, Frank. What does that tell you?
“Fuck. They are in Witness Protection? No way! If you dig too deep, we will lose them in the blink of an eye,” he gritted out in a harsh whisper.
Realizing I heard Frannie call for me I said, “We need to table this for right now, but after dinner maybe we can talk some more. We don’t know for sure if they are WITPRO, that is just the top of the list right now. There could be other possibilities. Has she confided in you over the years about anything?”
“Not much really. It’s more of what I observed. When she asked if I would pay her in cash because she didn’t trust banks, I just went with it. But I knew she was hiding something. My guess has always been an abusive husband. There are a few scars on her upper arms and Frannie said she has some on her back also. She is not just shy, but skittish as a newborn colt sometimes. And if he has found her, she is in a world of danger Jonah. Abusive husbands want blood when the wives take the kids and run.” Frank sounded so convinced that the possibility went to the top, right next to WITPRO. Frannie called again. I reached out my hand to Frank and said, “Later Frank.” We shook hands and he confirmed with a nod.
“Frannie? What’s up? Do you need a towel or something?” I asked as I looked around for a linen closet and finding none.
Frannie cracked the door just a bit and whispered to me, “Jonah, you got her in the tub and we weren’t thinking about that properly. She cannot get out on her own and well, she needs to do some personal business. She didn’t want me to ask you to help, but I told her we all must pee, you know. Now she is furious with me, but she needs help. Would you please come in after I come out? We can’t all fit in there at the same time. Heck it’s not even big enough for her and me.”
I had forgotten how much Frannie rambled. I held back a chuckle and in my calming voice said, “Absolutely Frannie. Come on out and we will switch places.”
Frannie closed the door, but when she came out, she wagged a finger at me and said quietly, “You listen to me mister, no peeking at her girly parts! Do you hear me? The towel she has just barely covers her, as it is. Just be a gentleman. She is fragile right now and needs that.”
I lightly knocked on the bathroom door with one knuckle and waited for Ally to invite me in. Hearing a muffled “come in,” I opened the door slowly and wedged my broad shoulders in, so that she would not be exposed any more than was necessary.
“Hey Ally, let me help you and then I will be out in a jiff, ok?” I spoke softly.
I approached her and saw that she was crying again.
“Don’t cry, Ally. Everything will be fine. I will help you and then when you are done, Fran will help you dress. Frank will get you tucked in bed. Ready?”
Bending at my knees, I picked her up in one fluid motion as she gripped her towel with her good hand like a lifeline, and I set her down. I quietly left the room to give her the privacy she needed and let Frannie know she was back on duty. Finding Frank in the kitchen, I informed him that I was heading out to fill her pain med prescription, so he would need to help Ally to bed.
On my way to the local drugstore, I checked in with Shane and he still had not come up with anything useful about Ally’s past. While I waited on her prescription, I shopped around the little store that was filled with greeting cards galore, handmade items like quilts and baby blankets and I even discovered they were selling some homemade sweets. They had samples of fudge and finding my stomach hollow, I grabbed a few to try. They were melt in your mouth fantastic. When her medicine was finally ready, I thanked them and headed back to Ally’s just in time to eat dinner with everyone.
Ally was tucked in her bed and propped up with extra pillows. Frank had come in with her dinner just then, and the most delectable aromas wafted right in front of my face. My mouth began to water, like a man dying of thirst. There was baked juicy ham, with mashed potatoes topped with redeye gravy, fresh green beans and a biscuit with butter and honey. My stomach decided to announce my hunger to the entire room echoing like a trapped grizzly bear. Everyone laughed and Frannie brought me a plate overflowing with goodness.
After we finished the meal, Sam sat with his mother, so she could check his homework. Frannie had made herself busy cleaning up the kitchen. And Frank and I headed out back to finish our conversation from earlier that evening concerning Ally.
“Well, I will have Ally covered when she gets back to work, so she is safe there. We will need to work out picking her up and taking her home each day. Seeing how she is going to be homebound for a couple weeks, you will have the nightshifts. I know you need to work, so maybe that comic brother of yours can help with days. The two of you could take turns. When none of us can be here, I think they would be safe with other people around, like Frannie.” As Frank laid out the plan for us, I had to admit it was sound.
“Frank, I am going to call a friend or two of mine in the area to help secure Sam while he is on the bus and at school. Between the two of them it should work fine. I think the less people that know what’s going on for now, the better. Shane has his ex-partner at Wordly Police department digging around too but he has been told to back off for now. We were worried about setting off any triggers in the system. Also, Shane has a few underground contacts that he is waiting to hear back from, but that could take a while.” Frank nodded in understanding.
“Alright then SEAL, I have the working days. You have the nights and some of the days. Shane can switch out with you when needed. Then your two buddies for Sam. I think we are covered.”
“Were you able to make out a description of who slashed Ally’s tires or get a license plate number by chance?” I asked with a hopeful expression.
“He looked about six foot, maybe 200 lbs., long dark hair. I couldn’t see the other guy, but the van looked to be dark, black maybe brown, rusty around the edges. But I couldn’t get good read on the plate. They parked in the furthest section of the parking lot. The fucking assholes,” Frank said the last part with such venom it made me smile.
“Damn it! Those are the same guys that I caught sitting in front of her house and then in the parking lot of the hospital. This is not coincidence. These are the men after her but who the fuck are they?” I ground out through gritted teeth and started pacing the tiny back yard.
Frank asked, “Do they know you saw them?”
“No. So, now we know the type of automobile they are in without a doubt and at least one description to keep an eye out for. I will fill in Shane and my guys. Maybe you should fill in Frannie, so she will know what to look for also,” I suggested.
“Son, you cannot pull much of anything over on my Frannie. She has eagle eyes and the intuition of a barracuda. We have talked a few times about Ally and Sam. We will protect them at all costs. Did you know Frannie was a champion shooter? Yep, she can handle just about any gun ever created and owns almost all of them too,” he said that with such pride and perhaps love, too.
These two people seemed perfect for each other. I just laughed at the visual of Frannie with a simple shotgun. Frank smiled and then joined in.
“Well, I think we are set for now. I carry a gun strapped to my leg always and have another one in my Suburban. I can already tell you carry also. Shane actually carries one on each leg.” I laughed out loud at that too.
“We are set. Be good to my girl and my grandson. I will see Frannie home now, so Ally can get some rest.”
Shaking hands, we both went back in.