Running:
One rule of running (or walking): Remember you're smaller than a car (full of kids being carted to school in an SUV by a mom who's distracted by a sudden, "I forgot my homework!" or her cell phone...). Therefore, be ready to jump over ditches, fences and other obstacles to save your life...
Writing:
One rule of writing: Be succinct.
Bidding summer farewell with the last daisy this fall...
Secrets at Midnight
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 12
Bubbles rose as Jenn dribbled the amber contents
from the motel’s foil shampoo packet under the faucet. She stripped Katie and
plopped her into the tub, and followed her a moment later. She sudsed up a
washcloth and scrubbed Katie's toes as she sang her favorite bath song. After
they’d depleted their tub-time song list and were sufficiently wrinkled and she
felt like fears wouldn’t drown her, Jenn pulled the plug. She wrapped them in
towels, then moaned. “Matt?” she called through the closed door.
“Yeah?” came his muffled reply.
“You'll never guess what I forgot.”
Rustling noises followed, then his voice. “I'll be
outside. Let me know when it's safe to return.”
After hearing the door click shut, she peeked out.
Finding the coast clear, she darted to the door and secured the locks. Katie
squirmed from her arms and danced around the room in delight, pressing TV
buttons and pulling pillows off beds.
Jenn laughed. “Enjoy it. You've got about five more
minutes before I tackle you.” She turned to her suitcases and scrambled through
her jumbled clothes searching for something to sleep in. Familiar tie-dyed
fabric stood out in fluorescent shades. She held up the nightgown she hadn't
worn since pregnancy and had stashed in the back of her bottom drawer. Her
every-night nighties on the closet shelf had been overlooked. “Oh, yuck,” she
moaned as she threw the obnoxious tent over her head. She dressed Katie and
combed their wet hair before opening the door. Hot Texan air blew in, but Matt
had disappeared.
Panic surged. Jenn slammed the door shut, shoved
the lock into place and hugged Katie as her heart thundered. She gasped several
deep breaths and relaxed her rib-crushing grip on Katie. Quick raps on the door
behind her reverberated on her shoulder blades, nearly sending her diving into
the closet for safety. She recovered as she recognized the rhythm, and turned
to let Matt inside.
“Hey, it smells like a flower garden in here,” he
said as he casually strolled into the room. “Did you leave me any hot water?”
Jenn shrugged and turned away. She opened Katie's
diaper bag and pulled out a book, watching her hands tremble. She grabbed Katie
and they climbed into bed. She nestled her daughter close to her side. “Ready
for a story?” she whispered.
The baby was almost asleep when Matt emerged from
his shower. Katie squirmed. “Daddy?”
Pain speared Jenn’s heart. “No. It's Matt.”
“Madd,” Katie mimicked.
Jenn tried to draw Katie's attention back to the
book, but she’d lost interest. Finally she gave up and let her baby wander the
room. Matt turned on the news and ignored them. When Katie yawned, Jenn
repeated story time, successfully putting her baby to sleep. She wanted to
close her eyes too, but Matt had answers. “Why Portland?” she whispered.
Shutting off the TV, Matt said, “The less you know,
the better off you are.” He slid into bed and turned his back, closing the
conversation. A moment later he rolled over and turned out the lamp on the
stand between them, then turned his back again.
Silence hung in the darkness for several minutes.
“Obviously not,” Jenn whispered, sure he wasn’t asleep. “If I wasn't here, I'd
be home. I wouldn't know it wasn't safe and my gun would still be in the
basement.”
He didn't reply.
She tried again. “How’s Monica involved in the
murder?”
More silence.
“Okay, don't tell me, but you said something about
Nick. Did he write a bad policy? Were they trying to prove the company needs to
pay up? I mean, killing someone to collect insurance is a little over the top,
don’t you think?”
No answer.
“You said something about Marshall contacting him.
Why would he be involved? And if I can’t reach him, how can his boss?”
Silence reigned.
“Matt, you're driving me crazy. You promised you'd
talk to me. I hate what your silence is doing to my imagination.”
Matt muttered, “Then don’t imagine anything and go
to sleep. Good night.”
Jenn reviewed everything he’d said that day—a mixed
jumble of crazy things. “You can't do this to me. I have to know what’s going
on. Why was....”
“Go to sleep!”
“Matt....”
“Shh!”
She persisted with an urgent question. “Did you and
Kevin give the evidence to the police?”
He sleepily groaned. “We’re not rusty enough to
hold back evidence. Believe me, we made sure it was sent to the best crime lab
in the country. Now let me go to sleep, will you? I never slept at last night’s
sleep party, so can we be done for tonight?”
She lay in the darkness and studied shadows, fuming
over his stubborn streak, then turned her back on him. Frightening scenes
flitted behind her eyelids. She shoved her nose into Katie’s curls to hide.
End Chapter 12
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