"I had to give that man a piece of paper so he would go away," Mitch said like it was the simplest thing in the world to get rid of a man holding a gun on him.
Rico knew there had to be a lot more to it, but Mitch didn't want to make Sammy worry.
She still seemed uncertain though. With big, anxious eyes she looked toward the stairs. "The mean man is gone? He scared my tummy," she said.
"He's gone. It's safe to go up now," Mitch said.
They walked up the basement stairs cautiously then peered around. There was no sign of him. Rico noticed that the china cabinet was blocking the office door.
Following the direction of his gaze, Mitch told him, "He left through the window. I heard his car pull away. He's gone. I called the sheriff from the landline. Deputies will be here soon," Mitch told them.
As Mitch held Sammy in his arms, she scrunched up her face, and Rico was afraid she was about to cry. He wouldn't blame her. "You OK?" Rico said to her.
"I wanna go to the bathroom," she said.
"Oh, OK," Mitch said. He didn't look like he was ready to let her go. Reluctantly, he set her down and she ran off and shut the bathroom door behind her. "We'll be right out here," Mitch assured her.
Now Rico put his arms around him and kissed him, telling him, "You're incredible."
"I just moved a few pieces of furniture," Mitch said modestly.
"And dodged a few bullets," Rico whispered as he pulled back so he could just gaze at him.
"This turned out the way it did because of you. I knew I could trust you to take care of Sammy. Thank God you were here. If you weren't..." Mitch shut his eyes and shook his head.
"Everyone is safe," Rico reminded him as he cupped his face and watched his eyes open and look into his. Even though they came out of this OK, the look in Mitch's blue eyes was heartbreaking.
"My head is still spinning. You and Sammy could have been hurt or killed. It's too much. I couldn't take it," Mitch said in a rough whisper.
Rico could tell that the danger of what just happened was hitting him hard. That's why he grabbed hold of Mitch with all his might and hugged him as hard as he could. "You're our hero, man," Rico told him as he held him so tight it hurt.
In return, Mitch clutched Rico to him.
They stayed like that until Sammy came out and said, "I washed my hands." She raised her arms to show them and Mitch lifted her in his arms again. "You don't have to pick me up. I'm OK," she claimed but she clung to Mitch anyway. She then looked for Rico like she wanted to make sure he was close. Leaning over, she grabbed hold of his sleeve and pulled him over so she could put an arm around him too.
Then she gasped and looked all around. "Natalie and Veronica!" she yelled and scrambled to get down.
"They're just hiding," Rico told her and they all went to look for them, calling their silly names.
It turned out the cats had scooched under the fancy sofa in the rose room.
"They were hiding," Sammy said and crawled under there to be with them.
"Smart kitties," Mitch said.
"They were scared," Sammy said as she got them to come out so she could pet them and hug them.
"You were very brave," Rico praised her, but she looked up at him and shook her head.
"No, Rico. I was scared."
"You were scared and you were brave," Mitch told her and got down to hug her and the kittens.
It wasn't long before the deputies arrived, but Sheriff Jackson wasn't with them. She and some deputies borrowed from nearby jurisdictions were trying to catch up to Mr. West on the likely routes out of town. They had information about his car from the time he was spotted lurking around.
After the deputies checked out the house, they started collecting evidence. Rico took Sammy and the kittens to the rose room while a deputy took Mitch's statement.
Watching Sammy play with the kittens, Rico called his grandmother, but the sheriff's office had already been in touch with her and she was on her way. A few minutes later, she was standing in the doorway of the rose room. Her arms open, she was ready to wrap Rico in a big hug.
