I am Baaack! Part 13

'Joan, here!?' Something was tickling in the back of Lou's mind; she could see by Ed's expression that she was thinking, too. "This lady Marine, big girl, blonde?" she quizzed Jack.

He nodded. "Big and blonde, but very attractive. Do you two know her?"

Lou and Ed looked at each other and nodded. Ed spoke this time. "Oh, yes, we know her. This big little girl, did they name her?"

Jack smiled. "Dainie was her name. She showed me her doll, called her Sukie." His smile widened, and it was sincere. "I do love children, and she was definitely a little girl, for all of his 5'10"!"

'His!?' A lot of things were starting to click into place for Lou and Ed. Ed turned and started pulling Lou toward their apartment. She shot a few parting words toward Jack. "Hey, good luck! Better hope you don't have to tangle with Stella. Mean bitch! We gotta get cleaned up; had a bit of a fire in our other apartment." Jack waved in acknowledgment.

At the door, Lou blocked Ed from view as Ed retrieved their spare key from its hiding place. She opened the door and they entered. This apartment was clearly for temporary use, sparsely furnished compared to their burned out home. To the two, though, it was heaven compared to what they had left. Lou started voicing what both were thinking. "Ed, something rotten's going down here. Joan's here, and Robbie, and Joan doesn't know Robbie's sleeping with the enemy."

"Or does she, Lou?" chimed in Ed. "It's not like Joan to show mercy. Is she going soft on us? Or maybe Rose has something on her. I think we'd better place Joan in the enemy camp, too - at least till we have more information.and what about this 5'10" little girl that Jack slipped up on and referred to in the masculine?"

"'Dainie', Ed. Think. Who's the central character in all this?"

"Rose. ROSE! OHMYGAWD! It's Adain. What the hell kind of game is that bitch playing?! I need a drink, Lou, then I think we need to pull out the hardware, get downstairs, and see what's really going on!" Putting action to her words, Ed went over to a small cabinet that was doubling as an end table for the hide-a-bed couch that was their only bed there.