Anthony’s eyebrows arched. “You don’t say.”
Callie nodded. “Yes, and when you find out, I’ll be glad to testify in court against them.”
“You’d do that?” Anthony asked.
Callie frowned. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Anthony sighed. “Because that might prove too unhealthy for you.”
“I don’t understand.”
Anthony turned back to the door and locked it. Then he faced Dorothy and Abby. “I’ve warned you two before that your catfights were going to cause us a lot of trouble. Now look what you’ve done. You’ve left another mess I have to clean up.”
Dorothy clasped her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry, Anthony. What are you going to do?”
Callie’s mouth dropped open, and she stared from Dorothy to Anthony in disbelief. “She sounds like she knows you, Anthony. What’s going on here?”
“Yeah. She knows me all right. She’s my cousin.” He glared at Dorothy before he turned to Callie. “And you should never have stuck your nose into something that didn’t concern you.”
Anthony took a step toward Callie, and she backed away. “I don’t understand. Why aren’t you arresting them?”
“Arrest me? Is that what you were after?” The sharp words from Dorothy startled Callie. Before Callie could move, Dorothy stormed over to stand beside Anthony and raised her hand to slap Callie. “You little sneak. You come down here wanting to help, and all you’re doing is spying on us.”
Callie threw her hands in front of her face and cowered as Dorothy swung her palm toward her. Before she made contact, Anthony grabbed Dorothy’s hand and held it in a tight grip. “There’s no need for that, Dorothy. We don’t want any more noise in here than we’ve already had. I’ll take care of Callie. You take her cell phone and then get back out front. We need to keep everything operating smoothly in the shelter.”
Dorothy took a step closer to Callie, but she grabbed Dorothy’s arm when she reached out to take the phone from her pocket. “No, leave me alone.”
Anthony snarled. “Be still, or you’ll wish you had.”
Callie lowered her arm and watched helplessly as Dorothy pulled her phone from her pocket and slipped it into hers. Then she looked back at Anthony. “I’ll dispose of the cell phone. What are you going to do now?”
“You just concentrate on keeping everything on track here. If Seth comes looking for Callie, tell him you don’t know where she went. Abby and I can take care of Callie.”
“Oh, no, not me!” Abby’s shrill voice cried out. “I’m going home. I don’t want anything to do with what you’re planning. From now on, count me out.”
Before Abby could move, Anthony was across the floor and had grabbed her arm with one hand while the other held his gun to her head. “I’m not counting you out of anything. You’re in this as deep as any of us, and you’ll do what I say if you know what’s best.”
Tears began to roll down Abby’s face. “Please, Anthony. I don’t want to have any part in killing somebody.”
“Like it or not, you’re coming with me.”