The Great Easter Bunny Heist - Part 9 Cara Putman

Richard groaned as a swift kick connected with his stomach. He resisted the need to gulp in air, knowing the water would overwhelm him if he didn't break the surface.

He scissor-kicked away from the swimmer, surfaced long enough to suck in air, and then surface-dove after the man. The swimmer's strokes slowed, the effect of the high waves battering him. Richard slowly pulled closer, taking an angle to avoid getting kicked again. He had to get this person.

That explosion couldn't have been an accident.

No it seemed like a convenient way to hide another body. If it was that poor Mrs. Candy, Richard could only imagine what Ellie would do. She seemed to genuinely like the woman. And if she'd been so involved in the community, Richard would like to know why that changed when J.J. arrived. Made him think J.J. kept close tabs on his aunt. He tired to shake the cynical thought. didn't help that the nephew appeared to be the one who stole the egg. That stupid egg...each time he got close, a bizarre series of events like today's erupted.

Could the crazy thing be cursed?

He shook the thought off and stretched. One more stroke and he'd have whoever had jumped free of the exploding boat. Richard reached and almost grabbed the black fabric. Wait. Was that a wet suit? Then this had definitely been a premeditated swim!

A shrill scream pierced the air, and his grasp slipped from the swimmer in front of him. He turned his head and saw Ellie gesturing frantically to his right. That's where the swimmer was.

Richard turned back and saw a bubbling mass poke above the surface. The next thing he knew, the swimmer disappeared. He dove, but couldn't spot him in the murky water.

Ellie gunned the boat and brought it next to him. "What was that?"

Richard pulled himself onto the boat and lay on the deck a moment. "I don't know, but we'd better head after it."

The Great Easter Bunny Heist, Part Seven, by Pamela Tracy

Richard had two choices. He could take out the man in the boat and save Mrs. Candy and maybe finally return the Russian egg. Or, he could hurry to Ellie.

His feet were halfway to Ellie before his mind fully registered he had a choice. Behind him, the rev of the boat’s engine got dimmer and dimmer.

“I can’t believe it,” Ellie sputtered, getting up before he reached her. “In every romantic novel, every romantic movie, whenever there’s a chase scene, the heroine trips right before the bad guy gets her.”

Richard looked behind her. “No bad guy.”

“I know. The bad guy was running away from us, not chasing us, and still, what did I do? Trip!”

“Well, there was the gunshot,” Richard said glumly. “That’s enough to make a person stumble.”

“Gunshot.” Ellie went pale. I thought the boat backfired.”

Richard shook his head and looked her over carefully. “I take it nothing is broken.”

“Only my pride.”

“Doesn’t the Bible say pride cometh before a fall’?”

“Actually,” Ellie said, “Proverbs says that pride goes before destruct-.”

She didn’t get the whole word out.

A deafening blast shook the airwaves.

Instinctively, Richard had Ellie’s head in the top of his hand and was pushing her to the ground, shielding her body with his. But, the debris from boat’s explosion didn’t make it to the docks. It rained back down on the water.

The Great Easter Bunny Heist--part Five by Terri Reed

Richard placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “Are you sure it was Mrs. Candy?”
Ellie felt branded by his touch. Every nerve ending tingled. She grew dizzy staring into his unfathomable gray eyes. How could he still have this effect on her even after all this time? It just wasn’t right. She was over him. Her heart had healed and she’d built a life without him. She was doing just fine. Wasn’t she?
She swallowed and shook her head, not sure of anything. “It was her car. But I didn’t actually see her.”
“Come on, she may have been kidnapped!” Richard grabbed Ellie by the hand and pulled her toward the front door.
Stumbling behind him, she asked, “Where are we going?”
“We’ve got to follow that car! Keys?”
She tossed him the keys to her car and she slid into the passenger seat. Tires squealed as Mrs. Candy’s bright red Cadillac fishtailed around the corner at the end of the block and disappeared.
Richard gunned the engine and stomped on the gas. Ellie grabbed the dashboard and held on for dear life. She sent up a prayer of protection as Richard drove her little yellow VW bug like a professional street racer, whizzing through the normally quiet neighborhoods of Hopper’s Cove, eliciting startled glances from her friends and neighbors. She'd have some pretty explaining to do come Sunday morning at the Hopper's Cove Community Church.
“There!” Ellie pointed just as Mrs. Candy’s big caddy roared through the town square, barely missing Mr. Ambrose crossing the street, and headed toward the docks at the edge of town.
A horn blared. Richard slammed on the brakes. Ellie pitched forward as the car screeched to a halt inches from the smiling face of a cow painted on the side of a local dairy milk truck.
Richard slammed his palm on the steer wheeling. “We’ve lost them!”
The truck ambled out of the way.
“Go, go!” Ellie urged once the path was clear. “To the docks.”
Richard threw her a grin and hit the gas. “That’s my Ellie!”
She sucked in a breath. His? No, not his. Not now, not ever. So why did her heart leap just a little at the thought? Was there more to his returning to Hopper’s Cove than just a stolen egg?