“You have a point.”

“So far, nothing that’s happened has hurt or killed anyone. Although, what happened this afternoon could have been very serious. How the hell could a power pole fall down like that?”

“Termites?” It wasn’t a serious suggestion, of course.

“It was deliberate. I just couldn’t begin to tell you how it was done.”

“I’m going to fix some dinner, you stay off that leg. I want you completely back to par.” A quick kiss and she walked to the kitchen and began banging around.

Deacon flipped through the channels and found a movie on HBO an action flick, lots of dangerous looking stunts. He heard the movement in the kitchen stop and a suppressed sniffle.

“Turn it off, please.” Kacy whispered plaintively.

Deacon did so without being asked twice and went to her in the kitchen. Taking her in his arms, he held her closely as she wept again.

“That was the movie, the one where Pete got hurt.”

“I’m so sorry, Kacy, I didn’t know.”

She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Nor could you have, I didn’t ever say. I can’t bear to speak the name. They used some of the footage of the accident. Not him actually getting hurt, but the approach. I tried to keep them from using it, but the director said he had every right, and the stunt was too expensive to re-shoot. I did get a court order to stop him from using the explosion.”

“What a heartless bastard.”

“You know what he told me at Pete’s funeral? He said, I’m sorry to see him go, Kacy. He was the best in the biz. Then had the gall to come to the reception, and get roaring drunk, telling everyone how close they’d been. I had him thrown out.”

“Let’s order out Chinese,” he said, changing the subject abruptly as his stomach growled. “I seem to be starving.”

She grinned a little damply. “You men, think with your stomachs.”

“No, ma’am, my brain is lower down. I just can’t function, in any capacity, without food.”

He picked up the phone and dialed the local Chinese restaurant. The number was on a magnet stuck on the fridge.

“I’m in the mood for Moo Goo Gai Pan. How about you?”

“I don’t care, Deacon. I’m not really hungry now.”

Deacon placed the order, getting two combination dinners and then hung up, looking at Kacy worriedly.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Blinking rapidly, she looked up at him. “Nothing really. Trying not to think.”

She was hugging herself as if cold. It was a warm evening, so it was something else. Deacon put his arms around her, hugging her gently.

“I don’t begin to be an expert on love, relationships or loss. Hell, my one major loss, and I ended up in the nut house. But I’m here, and I’ll listen any time you want. I have broad shoulders and plenty of dry shirts.”

Kacy’s smile was tenuous, but better than the tears threatening to fall. The doorbell rang and he went to answer it, digging his wallet out of his pocket. The cost of the food and a generous tip left him around three dollars.

“How do you like that, not even enough for a pack of cigarettes. I’d go to the ATM, but Frieda froze my assets. I didn’t have a chance to talk to He of the Abominable Ties.“

“Mr. Stevens, he wasn’t about today anyway. Just give him a call tomorrow.”

He nodded, taking a bite of his moo goo gai pan, sighing contentedly. “Damn, this is good! You know how long it’s been since I had Chinese? I can’t even remember.”

His enthusiasm for his meal finally transferred itself to her, and she managed to eat almost half her food. After she declared herself stuffed, Deacon took the rest, eating happily, even though it was cold. Stifling a belch, he leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, gazing out the window at the beach.

“I’m thinking about pulling out of the business up North,” he said without preamble. “Maybe I’ll move here permanently, get a job at the college or something.”

Kacy gazed at him, studying his profile critically. “Are you sure of that? Wouldn’t you eventually miss the hectic pace of the city? Surely you’d want more excitement than this little town has to offer?”

Shaking his head, he continued to gaze out the windows. “You know, I hate the big city? I’m a small town boy from a little, tiny place in Alabama. You know how big my apartment is in the City? You could take my place and put it in this house easy and have over half left over.”

“Wow, that’s awful. I can’t imagine living like that.”

“You have a home, right? A place in California?”

“We had a ranch house out in the Valley. Pretty place. I’m selling it though, too many memories.”

“You know what just occurred to me? I don’t know how my rent up there is going to get paid, it’s done by debit. If Frieda’s put a hold on my accounts, I’ll be homeless!”

Whipping out his cell phone, he called Bernie. Maxine answered.

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“Oh, that nice young man who’s working with Mr. Sawyer to restore that theater? I’m so glad that old place is getting a face lift. It’s such an eyesore.”

Merle’s daughter, Milly, was very talkative. Unfortunately, it was all rather train of thought. It took all Deacon’s debate skills to keep her on the subject.

“Offers to buy? Oh my, yes. Mom had at least three offers a year. Since I took over, we’ve had how many Obi?”

Her twenty-something son looked up thoughtfully, pulling at the gold hoop in his left ear. Smoothing his neatly trimmed goatee, he considered a moment longer.

“There have been eight offers in the last three years since we took over.”

“Do you remember their names?”

Obi considered again, more quickly. “Well, we didn’t ever figure to sell, this is too good a location. But I kept records of them all, in case we ever wanted to. I have all their names on file.” He walked quickly to a laptop computer on a table behind the counter, and typed quickly, leaning over the back of the chair.

“Here we go. What a copy?”

“That would be great, thanks.”

“I didn’t think Mr. Sawyer was going to sell.” Obi said thoughtfully as he handed Deacon the list.

“He’s not. Listen, I need you to call this police detective he’s handling the graffiti thing. We think there is a connection between what happened to Madame’s place, and what happened to us. I don’t want to alarm you folks, but you could be next.”

Milly looked horrified. “Do you think so? Oh, my! Why would anyone do such a thing?”

Deacon looked at the two florists, speaking quickly and earnestly, he outlined his thoughts on the matter.

“So with us all being approached, you think maybe the same person is trying to make us all leave?” Obi asked pointedly.

Deacon nodded.

Obi stroked his beard again. “We have to all stick together, don’t you think?”

“Exactly what Mr. Sawyer and I thought.”

The young man paused, cogitating again. “You count us in, Mr. Stewart. Dino is a good man, he’s helped us out a lot, especially after my dad left us a few years ago.”

“Obi, Mr. Stewart doesn’t want to hear about that.” His mother looked flustered.

“Dino is a fine man,” Deacon said sincerely. “That’s why Kacy and I hate to see this happening to him. It’s really eating him up.”

“You tell him Mom and I are behind him one hundred percent, and we won’t back down.”

Deacon felt compelled to buy something and chose a large bouquet of red roses. “Do you have a special sweetheart, Mr. Stewart?” Obi was looking at Kacy pointedly. “Would you like them in a box to be delivered?”

“No, I’ll take them with me, thanks.”

He paid the outrageous amount for the roses and carried them carefully in the car, laying them on the back seat. Kacy’s eye rolled back, ogling the roses.

“Pretty,” she said simply.

“Mm hm,” was Deacon’s only reply.

He said nothing more until they drove up to the garage and got out. He carried the roses and she unlocked the door. Closing it behind them, he swept her into his arms, holding the bouquet out to the side so it wouldn’t be crushed between them.

“I hope you like red roses, Kacy.”

Her eyes were brimming again, falling gently onto his shirt as she leaned her head against his chest. “They’re lovely. Thank you. I can’t remember the last time I got flowers.”

“You know the implication of red roses?”

She shook her head, holding the large bouquet with awe.

“In the language of flowers, they mean true love. I never thought I’d fall in love—until I met you.”

Deacon called Dino’s house around six, hoping to catch him at home. He got the answering machine. They had not seen Dino all day and both were getting concerned.

“I’m going to go leave this at his house.” Deacon folded the list from Obi, writing a short note on the outside. “He’ll get back to us when he can.”

He had made a copy of the list to keep for himself, on the copy machine in the office. He took Dino’s copy and slipped it through the mail slot on the door.

“Do you really think someone is after the land?” Kacy still found it hard to believe.

“Kacy, real estate is big business. Anything on the beach, even a crappy little cabana, could go for a mint. This place is prime property since it’s on the main strip, and within easy access from all points of the island. Someone wants it way too much, and seems ruthless enough to go to just about any length to get it.”

“He’s killed for it once already,” Kacy shuddered.

“You mean the electrician? I’m not convinced his death had anything to do with this. I think it was just a horribly stupid, careless accident. How many times have you seen people do dumb things on stage? I’ve seen people trying to hang lights with the batons up in the fly space. I saw two people working on a set once, one guy on the ladder working with a drill and the guy at the bottom, under the ladder, screwing together flats. So don’t write off stupidity and dumb bad luck.”

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They heard Dino’s car start up and he stopped beside them.

“Reyes will be contacting Madame Fleur, and I said I would come with him to translate. She understands fine, she refuses to speak English, for some reason.” He shrugged. “I’ll keep you posted.”

“Take it easy, Dino. You watch out for yourself, or I’m going to be beastly and force feed you your medicine.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” He snapped a saucy salute and drove off, nearly having a couple collisions just pulling out of the driveway.

“Well, we have all afternoon off. What shall we do with ourselves?” Deacon looked slyly at Kacy.

“I see that look, you dirty, naughty man! I know what you want to be doing!” She slapped playfully at him.

“I was going to suggest a walk on the beach, maybe dinner and a movie? But if you’d rather hang out at the house and have incredible sex, I think I could arrange that.”

Giggling, she walked to the car and he opened the door for her again. Slipping inside, she fastened her belt as he walked around to the driver’s side.

“Hey, Deacon, did you leave this here?” She was pointing to an envelope on the seat.

Deacon pulled on his work glove before he picked it up. “No, I didn’t. I wonder what it is.”

“Don’t open it! You don’t know what it might be. Here.” She handed him a clean Ziploc bag from her purse.

“You always carry sandwich bags around with you?”

“You’d be surprised at how handy they are, I always have at least one.”

Deacon chuckled, taking the bag, he put the envelope carefully inside, sealing the bag.

“First stop the police station. Don’t suppose you know where it is?”

“Actually, yes. I saw it the other day when I was shopping. Head west till you hit US-1 and it’s north of Canal Street, a few miles. It’s on the highway on your left, you can’t miss it.”

“That’s always the kiss of death. I can’t believe it’s that easy.”

“No, seriously, it’s a piece of cake. You want me to drive?”

“I can manage, thanks.” He started the car and pulled into traffic much more carefully than she and Dino.

“You drive like my grandmum, Deacon.”

“I have to be careful.”

“Well it is Dino’s car, after all.”

“That’s only part of it.” He glanced at her, then back at the road. “I’ve got precious cargo. I’m not going to do anything stupid to risk losing you.”

Kacy sniffled loudly, wiping a tear. “Oh, Deacon, you’re too bloody nice to me.” She rummaged around in her purse, but couldn’t find a tissue.

Chuckling, he handed her his bandanna, it hadn’t been used that day and was still clean. She wiped her eyes, handing it back to him.

“Hang onto it. The way our conversations go, you might need it again.”

“I do get rather emotional, don’t I? I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I’m getting all worked up over this. It’s not like me to carry on so. You’ll want to be getting over soon, it’s just ahead.”

She pointed to the lighted blue plastic sign which said Police and bore the city crest. He slipped quickly into the left lane and made his turn at the next corner.

Their conversation with the desk sergeant was short and to the point. Detective Reyes was interviewing Madame, but they could leave the envelope and its contents with him. He filled out some paperwork, got their signatures, phone numbers and other important information. Driving back to the house, Deacon pulled over in a parking lot, stopping the car.

“What are you doing?” Kacy looked puzzled.

“Madame’s had offers on her property. I wonder if she and Dino compared names, if there are any in common.”

“Deacon, the police will take care of this, why are you worrying about it?”

“I wonder if Uncle Charlie got offers to sell, or Aunt Sophie? I don’t suppose there are any other relatives?”

“We’d have to ask Dino.”

“I keep thinking it’s not the building that he’s after so much as the land. Like Dino said, that is a prime parcel. If someone also had the spots next to it….”

He put the car in gear and pulled into traffic as cavalierly as Kacy. Horns honking followed them down the road. He waved a middle finger out the window as he accelerated.

“Where are we going?”

“To the florist.”

“What? Deacon, what do you want flowers for?”

“Trust me.”

He drove quickly, recklessly and zipped into the driveway of the florist shop next to the theater on the other side. Merle’s Florist was nearly as old a business as the deli, but it was no longer Merle who ran it. She had retired several years ago. It was her daughter and grandson who ran it now. Deacon introduced himself and Kacy.

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She came back to Deacon, lowering her head, turning her back to the crowd as they filed into the theater doors. “Did I sound convincing?”

Deacon looked puzzled. “What?”

“I’m scared shitless, but if you think I’m going to show it to that lot, you’re daft. Now let’s get in there and with the stiff upper lip, as my grandmum says.” Plastering a confident look on her face, she walked to the theater, chatting with people as she passed.

“Hell of a girl, isn’t she?” Dino looked after her proudly, admiration in his blue eyes.

“Yeah, she is. I wish I’d met her ten years ago.”

Ducking his head so Dino couldn’t meet his eye, he walked into the building, trying to do this best to follow Kacy’s example and act as if nothing was wrong.

The day went smoothly until shortly after the lunch break. Dino bought them all sandwiches from the deli next door. They ate and chatted happily, seated on the floor of the theater, when the lights went out.

“I’ll check the breaker,” Dexter said, pulling on his heavy rubber gloves. He took a flashlight off his belt and walked to the back room where Deacon told him the box was to be found.

“I’ll look outside,” Deacon said, pushing himself slowly to a standing position, his leg having stiffened on him as he sat on the floor.

Just as he reached the back door, a rending crash echoed through the building, followed by the scream of twisting, crunching metal. Sparks illuminated the interior of the darkened building. Hysterical yelling and screaming echoed from the deli next to them. Deacon rushed to the door, but Dino got to it first, throwing it open. Destruction met their eyes. The electrical pole lay at an odd angle, broken about half way up, the top lay on the trucks and cars in the parking lot next door. Sparks flew wildly as the deli emptied out, people trying to run to their cars.

“Everyone out the front door!” Dino yelled, not waiting for anyone to answer.

His cell phone already in his hand, he furiously dialed the emergency services, and followed the rest of them out. The deli evacuated, and the people stood in the parking lot of the theater. Deacon, Mac and Dexter did their best to get everyone accounted for.

The fire trucks and other emergency vehicles arrived in a flurry, shoving them further back. They were trying to stop the fire licking about the roof and back fence of the deli, encroaching upon the smashed and twisted cars. Deacon could just imagine if those caught fire and started moving the crowd further back, to the far side of the theatre lot.

Police set crowd control barriers in a wide perimeter, keeping idle spectators at bay. “Nothing to see here,” they said. “Please move along.” No one moved on, and the police didn’t really expect them to, but they had to try to do their jobs.

Several tense hours later, the fire chief decided the deli was saved and could rebuild. The cars didn’t blow up as Deacon feared, but the fire cast a pall over the day. Dino told everyone to go home. Meanwhile, he went to the deli’s owner, talking earnestly to her in French. She was the smallest woman Deacon had ever seen. He didn’t know her name. The others all called her Madame, and deferred to her as if she were a goddess. Dino spoke consolingly to her, also to the owners of the damaged cars.

He eventually made his way back to Deacon and Kacy, who were the only ones left in the lot. “I told her I would help pay for the repairs. Her deductibles are outrageous. I also am going to help rent cars for those people, until they can settle with their insurance companies.”

“Dino, that’s so thoughtful of you,” Kacy said quietly, her hand on his shoulder. “You aren’t responsible for that.”

“Madame Fleur told me something interesting. She’s been approached about selling her property as well, in fact for longer than I’ve been. She’s refused like I have. This business is all she has in the world. Her husband and she built it over thirty years ago. He died last year, after a long illness. I paid the medical bill for her, she couldn’t have come up with that kind of cash. Like me, she is holding on for sentimental reasons, although it is a very profitable business. She won’t give it up until she dies.”

“Sort of puts a whole new, spooky spin on things, doesn’t it?” Deacon said what all three of them were thinking.

“Yes, it does,” Dino agreed, taking out his phone. “I think I need to call Detective Reyes immediately, and have him talk to Madame.”

He walked to his car, sitting in the front seat, hunched over his phone, he looked alone and lonely. Kacy could hardly stand to look at him.

“That poor man, he takes everything so to heart. He always has. I worry about him, he has high blood pressure, you know.”

“No, I didn’t. He’s in such good shape, not exactly the kind of person you expect to have that.”

“This father and grandfather and uncle all died of strokes. His dad was only a little older than Dino is now, when he died.” She looked worriedly at Dino and started to take a step toward his car, but Deacon stopped her.

“You can’t be his mother and his friend. You have to choose one, Kacy.”

She smiled sadly. “Pete was always telling me that. I have the same instinct Dino does, I want to take care of everyone.”

Deacon pulled her ever so gently to him their hips touching. “It’s a wonderful characteristic, don’t ever lose it.”

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