Chapter4

These People

Casey opened the door and looked puzzled. She found herself staring at a very tall bouquet of blue-purple agapanthus and giant white China mums interspersed with stalks of papyrus being held by a deliveryman. He wore a dark utility jacket, cap and gardening gloves and didn’t seem too much taller than she was, but his head and shoulders were camouflaged by the armful of flowers. His strained voice came from behind the gigantic arrangement.

“Hi, I got a delivery for Cassandra Ter… Terra… ?”

Casey smiled. She was used to people struggling with her long Italianname.

“It’s Terra-nova.”

She opened the door wider, backing up to let him in.Damn, those must beheavy.

“Ooh, Lilies of the Nile! Those are just gorgeous… killercolor!”

Delighted, she turned her head to look across the room, gesturing with her cell phone to indicate a spot on the table near the cake and champagnebucket.

“Wow, they look heavy. You can just put them on the table right near…Okay, something was off here. Her smiledisappeared.

He shoved his way in, mule-kicking the door shut behind him and dumping the flowers on the floor. He unzipped his jacket and yanked it off in one fluid move, ripping a short baton out of the jacket lining where it had been duct-taped.

Casey’s mouth hung open in shock, her browtightening.

“But, wait… What are youdoing?”

She went from wondering if the flowers were from her Dad or Mara to a sick desperate feeling.Oh, Mara, I need you. Baby, please get homequick.

He extended the baton to it