Wow, chapter 46. Imagine that! I'm so excited to post this.
My son provided this snow picture. It's more than what Jenn and Matt trudged through in the mountains of Montana. Enjoy the shiver!
Secrets at Midnight
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 46
Jenn rode in silence as the rusty bucket of bolts
disguised as a car jolted down the winding mountain road. It beat walking,
hiking, stumbling, falling and freezing, although springs poked through the
upholstery and jabbed her back with every bump in the road. Opening the glove
box, she cataloged, “Junk, more junk, additional junk, unnecessary junk, a tire
gage, wrench, napkins, rope—”
“How much rope?”
“Not enough for rappelling.”
“What else?”
“Besides an expired registration and a speeding
ticket which I bet was never paid?”
Matt chuckled. “I should have predicted those.”
“A cigarette lighter that works—wow, that's better
than the cabin. We are traveling in luxury now.”
“Anything useful?”
“You can have the chewing gum.” She snapped a stick
of wintergreen in half and shoved it in his mouth despite his efforts to not
take it. He rolled his window down and spit it out. Jenn turned knobs and found
the radio knob turned effortlessly while the red needle stayed put. They rode
with wind whistling through windows that wouldn’t fully close, and Matt
whistled along. Jenn turned to check Katie. “We need a car seat.”
“Make a list. Add clean clothes.”
They stopped in the first town and gassed up. Jenn
browsed the mini-mart, gathering enough food to stuff their tummies for at
least three days. She called them snacks. It was dark when they arrived at a
little motel in South Dakota. Matt peered at the dingy building lit by flashing
neon. “Is this okay? I don’t want any grief for making a bad choice,” he said.
Through a bug-spattered windshield she stared at dull
beige paint on stucco. “I’m too tired to rebel until morning.”
“Good enough.” He jogged to the office and returned
minutes later with a brass key. “We’re in room 132. It has two beds. See how
long it takes you and Katie to choose yours.”
Without a change of clean clothes, there wasn’t any
reason to shower. Jenn pulled off her jeans and shirt and slid between clean
sheets and snuggled Katie, only staying conscious long enough to hear Matt turn
on a faucet, but not shut it off.
Something stirred in her subconscious and Jenn
awoke a short time later. She rolled over to check the time and her eyes
traveled to Matt’s empty bed. She listened for sounds. Silence. No light
escaped under the bathroom door. She slid out of bed and tip-toed to the
window. Peeking outside she found the little Honda Civic Matt had bought earlier
in the day with cash. She let the curtain fall back into place and leaned
against the doorframe, willing herself to calm down. She hadn't been abandoned.
Maybe.
She grabbed her purse and dumped the contents. The
money Matt had given her was still there but he could have left it behind out
of guilt for stranding her thousands of miles from home. She crept back to bed
with her mind racing in circles and searching for answers. Where was she? She
couldn't remember anything more than the state. And what was she doing here?
Half of the events that propelled them on this mad flight had taken place ages
ago and no longer seemed valid. How to get home concerned her—and she’d gladly escape
from Matt again if she had the car key.
A key turned in the lock. She peeked her eyes open
and watched Matt's shadow enter the room. He slid out of his pants and shirt
and between the covers. “You awake?” he whispered.
She pretended sleep.
“Nick is coming in.”
She sat up. “Huh?”
He chuckled. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was.”
“Right. He wants me to keep you entertained until
we meet up.”
“That’s why you just stripped for me?”
Matt moaned. “I didn’t strip for you—and honestly,
I thought you were asleep.”
“Why don't I believe you?”
“You know Jenn, I’m tired. Can we shut this off
tonight?”
“I don't believe you’ve heard from him.”
“I'll show you the email tomorrow.”
“It won't prove anything.”
“I know—the same old ‘don’t trust Matt’ issue.
Maybe it hasn’t sunk into your brain what the complications are—someone thinks
I've turned, or I know too much, or I have some power or control, or I pose a
threat. They believe it enough to want me dead. The problem is, I don't know
who or why or what’s going on, and I'm in a rotten position to find out.”
“Leave us. Katie and I can find our own way
home—without hiking or mud or mountains or creepy feelings.”
“Use your credit card once and ten minutes later
you'll disappear.”
“Magic Plastic?”
“No, it’s cursed,” he muttered.
Jenn giggled. “Maybe it will work the opposite way.
I use it once and you disappear.”
He chuckled—the last noise he made that night. But
she still didn’t dare get up to rifle through his pant pockets for the car key.
End Chapter 46
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