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“She hasn’t really done anything. She didn’t trespass to take the photo, and here she’s within her rights to point a gun, especially an unloaded gun, at someone who approaches her car.”
Theo groaned. “This just gets worse and worse.”
Mac stood and removed his jacket. “Come on, let’s make dinner.”
Theo could see that he was trying to distract her, and in recognition of the effort, she complied. They surveyed the cupboards for a few minutes, taking of stock of ingredients and looking for inspiration. In the end they decided on lasagna. Theo began on the sauce while Mac made pasta.
“I dated an Italian for a while,” Mac replied when she questioned why he felt the need to make lasagna sheets from scratch, when there was a packet of the dried variety in the cupboard. “She insisted on fresh pasta and got me used to it. The packet of dried sheets came in one of the survival boxes my mother leaves here from time to time.”
“Survival boxes?”
“To keep me alive while I fight my way through Russians, cyborgs, or zombies back to the family compound. That’s why there’re so many canned goods in the cupboards—I hate eating things out of cans. They’re also some water purification tablets there somewhere…in case the Democrats poison the water supply.”
Theo laughed, though she guessed he wasn’t kidding. “Do they really believe all that?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Sometimes I think it’s just some crazy hobby…like cosplaying or those guys who dress up like medieval knights and try to kill each other. And of course, after the pandemic, having a few extra canned goods is not insane.”
“Sometimes?”
“When I’m in a generous mood. Mostly, I know they’re crazy.”
“Zeke…?”
“Dr. Etheridge?” Mac kneaded his pasta dough quite expertly. “You’d expect him to be more rational, wouldn’t you? And he was until the pandemic. After that my mother managed to talk him into lunacy. I’m not sure if that makes him more or less crazy than the rest of the family.”
“And why aren’t you?” Theo asked.
“Crazy? I’m not sure.” He shrugged. “I had to see a psychiatrist after I was shot—it was mandated by Child Services or Mom would never have allowed it. Dr. Henry deprogrammed me, I think… After that, it was kind of like knowing Santa Claus isn’t real but going along with the charade for the sake of your folks.”
Theo pulled back. “Santa Claus isn’t real?”
Mac laughed. “All families have that one kid who everybody thinks must have been adopted, I guess.”
Theo would have indeed wondered exactly that if there hadn’t been such a strong physical resemblance between Mac and his brothers. She helped him roll out the dough and feed it through the pasta machine. And sometime while they were grating cheese and assembling a lasagna, she talked to him about what Veronica Cole had told her and what Jacqui Steven had confirmed.
Mac dried his hands. “Your agent is well informed.”
“She’s not my agent…but that’s not the point. Gus—”
“—didn’t want you to worry about Crane, Hayes and Benton. There’s nothing anyone can do about it, Theo. It’s not like Gus can hide the firm at a different address.”
Theo closed her eyes.. Of course. The reporters would have tracked her to Gus, and Gus to the firm. She could only imagine the havoc it was causing. “Mac, please, I’ve got to do something…”
He grimaced. “I think you’ll be taking the heat off Gus very soon, Theo. When Mary publishes her photos, the reporters, Murdoch’s deranged fans, the tourists, they’ll all be camped out here.”
Theo stared at him. “Oh.” He was right. “That’s a silver lining, I suppose.”
He chuckled. “You could look at it that way.” He switched on the oven and slid the product of their efforts into it. “Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Sure.” A thought occurred then. “God, Mac, I’m sorry… I didn’t think… If I stay here, then your home is going to be the center of this nightmare.”
Mac opened a bottle of wine. “Maybe. But it won’t be forever, and you’re still safer here than in a hotel.”
“But you saw what happened at Gus’s house—”
“Let’s not panic prematurely. As I said, Mary may decide not to show her hand just yet.” He handed her a glass of red. “When Gus gets back, we’ll eat lasagna and work out what we need to do.”
It was quite late when Gus came in. They’d drunk the bottle of wine waiting for him and so Theo was relaxed and, to be honest, somewhat sleepy. Red wine, in fact most alcohol, had that effect on her. She’d never really been drunk because she generally fell asleep long before she was otherwise compromised. It was probably because of that sedative effect that she did not react dramatically when Gus broke the news that the police had finally discovered the assault allegation made by Hugh Carrington.
