The real time is much later than this, which means I need to go to bed. Night, ya'll.
I'll return later with more chapters.
Secrets at Midnight
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 55
Jenn's head spun as
they took a turn going nearly ninety, then topped off at over a hundred on a
straight stretch. Without warning they stopped and the driver barked, “Get
out.” She lunged from the car and a moment later it disappeared, leaving gravel
skittering around her ankles.
Dizzy and standing in
the middle of nowhere, Jenn assessed her situation. Nothing but ragged trees
broke the horizon. Remembering a grain silo and dilapidated barn they’d passed,
she began trudging in that direction under the hot sunlight. The cement
structure drew near—at the same time a car approached. It slowed and stopped.
An old man cranked down his window and glared at her as the old woman beside
him leaned across his lap to speak. “Do you need help, dear? There isn’t much
out here and you look a little lost.”
Hitching Katie higher
on her hip, Jenn nodded.
“Mother, we don’t know
a thing about that lady,” the man growled as she approached the car.
“She has a baby and
needs help. What else is there to know?” She faced Jenn. “Get in, dear.”
Jenn halted three
steps from the car as the old man eyed her up and down, Finally he grumped,
“Get in the back.”
Jenn climbed in and
hunted for seat belts, but the car had rolled off the production line before
they were invented.
“Where are you going?”
the man snapped.
Jenn swallowed. “Dallas—the
airport.”
“We're not going that
way,” he huffed.
The woman smiled. “We
are now, dear. Turn around.”
The man executed a
multi-point turn on the narrow road, cranking the steering wheel and cussing
the whole time, before they faced the opposite direction. Jenn wondered if her
life could get more complicated. She assumed it would after she used her credit
card to purchase an airline ticket. She’d probably end up arrested and in
prison—or murdered.
As they drove, the
woman chatted and Jenn tried to act interested in grand kids, baking rolls so
they’re flaky, quilting, and the ladies book club. The car ground to a halt and
the old man interrupted the flow of words with “Flat tire, mother.” He climbed
out and opened the trunk. The woman rambled on, covering topics about gardening
and how to get rid of snails in her flower beds. The back of the car bobbed and
shuddered as the man worked. Something clanked and he cussed. “Don’t mind him,
dear. He probably skinned his knuckles,” the woman said. She resumed her story
without missing a phrase.
Katie fell asleep and
Jenn wished she could too. Suddenly her door flew open and Matt stuck his head
in. “Ready to go, girls?”
The woman grabbed her
heart. “Oh, my!”
Matt grinned at her.
“I stopped to help an old man fix a flat, and look what I find—a beautiful
woman and a cute little baby.” Before Jenn could say anything he took Katie from
her arms. She jumped out to follow.
“Young man, take her
where she belongs,” the old man called after them, waving a tire iron and
puffing like an old freight train all red-faced and off track.
“Do you think she’ll
be alright?” the woman asked, climbing from the car.
“Nothing good can come
from this,” he growled.
Jenn didn't pause to
explain or fight Matt. She had no clue which situation was worse. While
buckling up he hit the gas and dust billowed behind them and time for choosing
rides passed. She turned and faced Matt. “How did you find me? Where did you
get this car? Explain everything! There was a closed sign on the deli door.
Your crazy driver took me on a wild drive until he dumped me—literally! Right
here! That old couple, out of the mercy of their hearts—but only the
woman’s—rescued me. Your plan stunk and nothing worked—short of a miracle.”
“Thanks for not
blasting a hole in any of your drivers,” he said.
She shot him a
withering look. “Like I'd kill someone. Especially a little old lady yakking
about grandkids. She was so sweet. What kind of person do you think I am?”
He shrugged. “I'm not
sure. You thought about taking me out yesterday.”
“Not you. Someone
else.”
“Good. Someone may
have deserved it—still might.”
Jenn settled into her
seat and tried to calm her heart after her frightening morning. Finally relaxed,
she said, “Now that we're on our way to another place I don’t want to go,
explain this morning. Be honest and talk fast. I have a hotel towel on my lap
and a gun in my pocket.”
Matt eased up on
the gas, matching the speed limit. “Curtis defected.”
“The best detective
you've ever met? Seems natural, given everything that’s happened in my life lately.”
“Yeah, the good-guy who
turned bad-guy who found Natalie's fingernail and posted her death defected.
According to a recent update from Nick, she's in Colombia, and not dead at all.
Turns out—she left Dallas after touring Daisy’s and filing a safety report with
the office.”
Shivers raced through
Jenn and she rubbed her arms. “Then you’re apologizing and saying I did know
what I was talking about?”
Matt turned down the
air conditioner. “Sorry I yelled at you about that.”
“It’s fine,” she
whispered.
“Curtis set up our
hotel escape, but I contacted a friend and reworked crucial details, providing
an alternative for every possible situation. My man called off the two
assistants dispatched to help me rescue you after the office received a
threatening phone call asking for ransom for you. The kidnapper will be calling
me any minute now to see if I accomplished it on my own. It took a million
dollars to get you back—literally—and a million bucks is a lot of money. Would
you like to go shopping?”
Matt's cell phone rang
and he checked the caller ID. “I need to take this.” He held up his hand for
silence. Moments later he hung up and announced, “Things are still working on our
side like clockwork.”
His cell phone rang
again. He checked the ID and asked for complete silence before answering. With
his voice sounding distressed, Jenn listened as Matt said, “Okay. Thanks. Nick
owes you big time. Make him pay. I owe you too. Thanks for keeping me alive one
more day. Marshall won't regret putting up the money. You’re a hero, Curtis.
I’ll let you know when I have them safely back in my care—if it ever happens.”
“What was that about?”
Jenn demanded after he hung up.
He held up his hand,
signaling her question needed to wait. “I've got to make a call first.” Jenn
listened as he arranged for a money drop off.
“You're a con artist,”
she said when he hung up. “A low-life, repulsive, scum or the earth, deceitful
con artist! Wow, for a while I almost
believed you were a heroic super secret spy, but you’re just disgusting! That
little old lady told me all about slugs and snails and how to deal with them. I
should have left you with her and let her take care of you!”
He cracked a smile.
“Actually, I am a super agent—a very good one—although it’s no longer a secret
because you know.”
She crossed her arms
and muttered, “Pack of lies. You are less than pathetic.”
“I know when to do the
work myself, and when to bid it out. By the way, most of the money will be
returned to the office when this mess is cleaned up. I'm an honest man, Jenn.
The unreturned part is what I paid to keep you and Katie safe. You’re here, so
my clients earned their portion.”
She sarcastically
rolled her eyes. “What will you give them, a fraudulent I.O.U?”
“One-hundred and sixty
grand split five ways. Not bad for a couple of hours of work, don’t you think?
I asked for a million in case I needed it.” He shot her a smile. “I would have
spent every penny and asked for more if necessary—breaking open my own piggy
bank as well.”
She rolled her eyes.
He chuckled. “And the
little old lady, I wonder how she’ll spend her share.”
Jenn punched his arm
hard enough for him to howl before she turned away to watch the Midwest pass
beyond her frowning reflection in the window glass.
End Chapter 55
Sorry about the inconsistent spacing between paragraphs from one chapter to the next. The spaces between paragraphs are not intentional--for emphasis, so I apologize. I think the problem has something to do with my copy/paste method.
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