In the last episode of Special Delivery, Rocky had gone to the side-of-the-mountain mansion of Frank Weller, weathy financier, to find out why he had sent a gunman to his apartment. He discovered Weller with a woman. Rocky also found the statue he helped restore to the Wellers, locked behind a glass case, and further, that Weller had sold the statue to the Communist Chinese. The following takes place in the early morning at the Weller mansion:
Frank Weller was the type of man that thrives in industry. He could talk tough when he need to and knew what to say to his underlings to make them fear him. He was built strong and tall and imposing. The money he had inherited didn't hurt at all, either. All of this added up to a man who should feel confident about himself, who could make all the money his heart desired and could steal the heart of any woman who struck his eye. He did his best to put that image together but a closer look said different, and now I could see it, clear as pie. It didn't matter what they were paying him: the fact that he was willing to put it all on the line by selling something to the enemy meant he was scared. Scared of me, scared of them, scared of anybody who could take it all away from him in a matter of seconds. I saw it all: the shadows of the past in his eyes, the expectations of generations before. I knew what he really was.
He let go of my tie and pushed me away, hard enough to make me stumble a couple steps backward. At that distance, Frank looked even more scared, but not because of me. His eyes traveled up to the stairs, and the fear gathered there, put on its smoking jacket and lit up a pipe. His platinum blond companion saw what he saw and leaped to her feet too quick, so that the shoe she had been balancing on her foot skipped away, causing her to stand at attention at an angle. A clap of thunder struck distantly. At the girl's reaction I knew someone else was in our midst and even though that person was hidden to me on the stairs above, it didn't take a genius to realize the lady of the house had returned unexpectedly.
“Don't look so nervous, dear,” Jesse Weller's voice spoke to the girl from above. “Only a fool would expect a man like Frank to remain faithful. He's quite charming, you know.”
“What are you doing here?” Frank barked at her. Another clap of thunder echoed his words, landing closer than the previous.
I could hear her on the stairs above, but I could only see her left arm from where I stood. In her hand, she carried an ivory-handled Ladysmith model that would probably put a good-sized hole in somebody from that distance. It was pointed at Frank's girl. “Go get your things, honey,” said Jesse, and twitched the gun twice so she would get the idea. She quickly scooped up her shoe and flew off down the hallway, out of sight. By then, Jesse was at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes looked at the statue in the case behind me, but her gun was trained on Frank. He raised his hands to chest level and watched her every movement.
“Please, put that down,” said Frank in a soothing tone.
Jesse laughed at him and cocked the hammer very slowly with her thumb. “You bought this for me, remember? For protection.” Her eyes flickered in my direction. “How are you, Rocky darling? I never got a chance to thank you for returning my statue.”
Frank forgot to hold his hands up and gestured wildly in the direction of the case. “That is my statue!” he roared. “I bought that with my own money! Everything in this house is mine, and don't you forget it!”
“What's mine is yours,” Jesse said, sweetly. “Care to take me to court to discover how true that is?”
The sounds of stiff breezes and rain peppering the windows increased as the storms drew near. Another thunder clap. I had to say something, if for no other reason than to distract Jesse from shooting her husband long enough to find my way out the door. “Kid, I don't have a part in this drama. I just came by to drop off Rollo. The real one.”
For the first time, Jesse looked furious. She looked at her husband and stepped forward, gun first. “Rollo. You sent Rollo.”
“Did you give me a choice?” Frank whimpered.
Jesse shook her head like a mother at her mud-soaked son. “You're a fool. You should have waited. He could have been some use to us!”
The gun switched directions and I could see down its barrel.
How will Rocky escape this predicament? Find out in the next episode of The Adventures of Rocky Stone!
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