My Novel: Chapter 8

Running:

This morning I cleaned some of my house--the parts neglected due to posting my novel--and then I headed outside and trimmed and swept and raked and helped get the yard ready for winter. Now my back aches so bad all I want to do is curl up with a good book and eat a box of cream-filled fudgey-frosting coated elcairs. Alas, I have no eclairs. And to think I assumed all of my walking and exercise bike riding lately would keep me from suffering from a backache when real work came along. Apparently not...

Writing:

Another alas: I have several books I'm reading at the moment, and none of them are eclair worthy--all much too smart--the kind that I need to use my brain and actually think while reading. But I'm only interested in ease right now. Entertainment. Fluff. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is not fluff. But, I do have my book, so here I am once more treating everyone to another chapter...

My backyard has some mighty scrub oaks filling one corner. They've finally dropped all their acorns and leaves to reveal their boney skeletons. After today I'm basically through sweeping and raking up their summer glory!

 Secrets at Midnight

Leona Palmer Haag

Chapter 8

Jenn opened her eyes to find Katie’s smile and chubby hands patting her cheek. “Seep party?” Katie’s little voice asked. In her foggy morning brain Jenn couldn’t remember celebrating anything the evening before that would end in a sleep party. Then she remembered something she’d never celebrate. Her eyes darted beyond her daughter’s tumble of dark curls, to find Matt’s back leaning against the sofa, his neck at an odd angle signaling he was out cold and would suffer a kinked neck when he awoke. She might have mistaken him for dead if she hadn't recently encountered a truly dead person. She courageously grinned at her daughter and whispered, “Yep. Loads of fun, Katie pie.”

Matt stirred and slowly rose. He shrugged his shoulders as if realigning vertebra before he looked at them. “Kevin—you remember him, don’t you?—said he'd poke around in the daylight after you leave for work. I'll wait here for him. In the meantime, you don't mind if I finish the sleep party on the couch, do you?” He jerked his chin to request she vacate.

Jenn slowly rose. “Be our guest, but I’m not going to work today. I’ll stick around and won't get in Kevin’s way—won't even set foot outside.”

He yawned. “You got enough sleep to get you through the day, so go to work. Any good shrink worth his salt would give the same advice. Get on with your normal life, girls.”

“Because it makes nightmares go away? Just like that the world turns rosy?”

“No. Because time equals distance. If you fill the space with real stuff, you have better things to look back on the farther you get away from last night.”

Jenn grasped her daughter who was struggling to do what toddlers do best—jump down and run unrestrained, and her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying last night wasn't real? If you are, you’re totally mistaken. I saw what I saw and....”

Matt held up his hands. “Whoa. That's not what I said, not even what I implied. The real stuff is you, Nick, Katie, working, baking cookies, scrubbing floors, buying groceries or perfume or whatever you want. Last night was temporary—an annoying blip. Real, but not continual. It will slide into its own slot somewhere out of the way faster if you keep everything else where it belongs and going forward as normal.”

“Maybe, but I don't feel like going to work. I’m exhausted. I hardly slept last night, and when I did, I kept waking up to something….”

“An unpleasant memory?”

“Yeah.” She moved Katie to the other hip. “Do you think I'm ever going to take out the trash again? Ask your shrink that. Give me ten days and I’ll be living in a garbage dump, and within a year trash will be packed chin deep.”

Matt chuckled. “Go take a shower. I'll watch the kid. You know I'm a pro. I'll feed her Fruit Loops if you'll let me have a bowl too.”

“I don't buy sugar-coated stuff.”

“You torture your kid?” He took Katie from her arms and trotted toward the kitchen with Katie giggling in delight.

With empty arms, chills raced up Jenn's spine. She wanted to run after them, but Katie seemed fine, laughing as Matt set her on the counter and tickled her toes. He asked what she wanted for breakfast in the funny Papa Bear voice she loved. Jenn forced herself to turn away, but her steps faltered at the bathroom door. She couldn't enter. Her feet inched backward until her shoulders cowered against the wall behind her for support. “It's not haunted. Go on in,” Matt called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, right! I watched plenty of horror flicks with you when we were kids, remember?” she called back.

With Katie perched on his shoulders, Matt appeared. He pushed past her and yanked the shower curtain aside, “Katie, I'm looking for a bowl and spoon. Are they in here?” He glanced at Jenn as the toddler squealed with delight, encouraging the hide and seek game. “Nope. Let's look behind the door. Under the sink?” Once the bathroom had been checked, Matt shoved Jenn inside and pulled the door shut. She locked the door before performing her own search.

Moments later water poured off in steaming rivers as Jenn leaned against the shower wall. She'd still be asleep—a million miles away—if Katie's internal alarm clock hadn't rung. Instead, she cowered in fright, hoping the hot water tank didn't empty before her blood thawed.

As the water began cooling, Jenn rinsed off and peeked around the curtain to make sure no one, specifically someone clad in a black ski mask or a woman in black, had invaded the bathroom. Finding herself alone, she grabbed a towel, chiding herself over how ridiculous imagining a body stuffed behind the toilet sounded, but she checked again before she stepped from the tub. Wiping a clear spot on the mirror, she toweled her hair and ran a comb through it, then wrapped the towel around her, determined to make it to the bedroom without humiliating herself by involving Matt in another search party. She yanked the door open and found him sitting on the floor outside with Katie in his lap. Screaming, she jumped back, nearly dropping the towel. She slammed the door shut and locked it.

“Hey! You okay in there?” he called in alarm.

She clutched her towel, nearly cutting off blood circulation under her arms. “You scared the crud out of me! Get out of my hall! I'm not dressed,” she shouted back.

Fumbling sounds accompanied, “I'm moving it.” 

She cracked the door open and watched him scramble up and plunk Katie on his shoulders before facing her. “I've seen women in towels before, so don't freak out. I've checked out your bedroom. No one’s under the bed and nothing but clean clothes are in the closet, so get in there and get dressed.”

“Turn around,” she demanded, although he’d already turned away. He galloped toward the kitchen with Katie grasping his ears. She waited several seconds, then clutched the towel tighter and raced to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and locked it, then leaned against it and took a deep breath and looked around. Alone. She swore she trusted Matt, but checked under the bed and inside the closet anyway.

Forty-five minutes later Jenn handed Matt a spare house key. He nonchalantly flipped it in the air then fisted it and shoved it inside his pocket. He led her outside and pulled the front door closed and checked the lock. As promised, he followed her to work and walked her inside. He wandered through the daycare center and examined all the windows, doors, locks and closets. “Did I get them all?” he asked when finished.

Jenn nodded. “Like a pro. Maybe like OCD.”

He chuckled. “Just doing my job, or whatever it would be like if it was my job.”

“Yeah, every cop checks inside mop buckets.”

He laughed and swung his arms a few times and looked around as if he might have missed something. “Okay,” he finally said. “If it will make you feel better, stay inside today.”

Jenn bit her bottom lip and nodded. “No play yard?”

“Maybe tomorrow. I'll come by around lunchtime to let you know if Kevin found anything unusual. He used to have a pretty good nose.”

“Wouldn’t a magnifying glass work better?”

He chuckled and nudged her shoulder with his elbow. “Probably, but I won’t tell the old guy that. I’ll let him do it his way.”

She looked into Matt’s brown eyes and nodded. “Do you think he’ll find something?”

“We’ll give it a try. I used to be pretty good myself, you know. If there’s anything out of place, we'll catch it.”

“A lot of garbage is out of place.”

“Besides that.”

“Throw it away before the wind or dogs mess with it.”

 “I’ll make sure Kevin takes care of it to your satisfaction.”

Jenn shrugged and glanced at the big school clock on the wall. In three or four minutes the other teachers would begin arriving, but for now she kept stalling, scared at the thought of being alone and unwilling to ask Matt to stay. “I hate making you take a day off work just to take care of me. Are you sure it will be okay with Marshall? He’s not the most lenient boss in the world.”

Matt leaned against a row of toy shelves. He picked up a rubber ball and tossed it from hand to hand. “Ah, the good old slave driver in control of our livelihoods. I’m sure he'll survive a day without me. I'll see if I can talk him into letting Nick return early. A spooked wife is a good reason to ditch boring life insurance meetings in the windy city.”

Jenn laughed. “Yeah, right. He loves sending Nick to meetings—Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Seattle, and even Orlando without Katie and me, and how fair is that? Off he goes—with no fun or games included—but give it a try. If you succeed in getting him home early, it will be a first.”

“My job’s cut out for me then.” He returned the ball and turned to leave.

A shiver ran through Jenn and she glanced at the clock again. “Thanks. Have Monica call me later.”

He turned back and arched his eyebrow. “Are you sure? That’s a first.”

She shoved his shoulder. “Go away. Sleep on my sofa until you're ready to clean up my trash, then try to explain our sleep party to your pretty wife. Remember to mention the body so she believes you. It will be our alibi.”

Matt chuckled. “Keep it up, Jenn. You'll make it through this fine, kid-o.”         

She bit her bottom lip to stop the trembling, knowing a rough day lay ahead. What would she tell Nick? My childhood crush slept over because I stepped on a wrist? It sounded insane. Maybe it wasn’t real. Unfortunately, she knew it was something she couldn’t imagine away, although she’d already given it a few good shots.

Matt trotted over to Katie and played dolls with her until Linda Jo arrived, then he left. Katie dumped out a box of blocks and began stacking them. Jenn turned to Linda Jo. “We're under lock-down today. I got a pre-warning from the Chief of Police.” She handed her the official looking paper Matt had fabricated that morning on her computer.

Linda Jo glanced at it. “I never watch the news. Did something happen that I didn't hear about?”

Jenn shrugged and walked off, casually saying over her shoulder, “I think it's something like a fire drill. No big deal, really.”

“All day?” Linda Jo called after her.

Gulping back tears, Jenn didn't turn around. “Yeah. A real pain isn't it? They may send someone over to check if we're complying, but who knows, maybe not. You know how it goes—cops hate having their donut breaks interrupted, especially by toddlers. Dawn Ann will be furious if we fail the test so we’ll comply.”

“Got it. I want to keep my job, too.” Linda Jo moved off. Jenn heard her arranging class supplies in a room across the building.

Jenn willed herself to remain calm and casual. She wiped her clammy hands on her skirt and took a deep breath and prepared herself to meet a host of preschoolers. She logged onto her computer.

“So what’s going on with the stud-muffin?”

Jenn jumped out of her skin and grabbed her heart. “You scared me to death! Linda Jo, don’t sneak up on people like that. It might kill them!”

Linda Jo laughed and pulled out a kid-sized chair and sat down. “So what about him?” She jerked her head in the direction Matt had exited and coyly arched an eyebrow. “Are you stepping out on Nick? I thought you were crazy in love with your hubby, but now you’ve got a secret lover?”

Jenn laughed. “You’ve heard about good ol’ Matt—my personal fix it man. I’ve told you about him a hundred times. You know—he’s the guy with the toolbox.”

“Oh yeah, Matt from childhood. He walks you to school now?” Linda Jo leaned closer to not miss any juicy gossip.

“I had a hard time getting the car out of the driveway this morning. Who do you think I call for my repair work when Nick’s gone—a mechanic who charges an arm and a leg, or the kid who fixed my tricycle for free when I was little?”

“He’s not bad looking. Is he after arms and legs too—in a grown up kind of way?” Linda Jo gave a sexy wiggle and almost toppled from her chair.

Jenn glared. “He’s married, and I am too—both of us happily.”

“What now, a dead battery? You needed a jump start?” Linda Jo flitted her eye lashes. “The auto kind, or the flesh and blood type?”

Lies were not Jenn’s specialty, and neither was flirting. She plunked a few times on computer keys to avoid eye contact and to calm down and stop flushing. “No, the battery was fine. Maybe that will be next week’s crisis. I couldn’t get the old clunker started. Because of this…” she waved the lock-down paper under Linda Jo’s nose, “he followed me over and checked all the windows and doors so we wouldn’t flunk. I think he’s hoping I don’t lose my job so I can afford a mechanic instead of calling him.”

Linda Jo jumped up and tugged on the nearest window and the lock held. “I like my Nissan. It gets good gas mileage.” She tugged on the next one. “He did a good job. This one’s fine. What about the back rooms?”

“They’re fine. I watched him. You don’t need to check.”

Linda Jo shrugged. “You never know. Sometimes when guys are acting macho-in-charge they overlook things. It’s like showing off kills crucial brain cells.”

Jenn laughed. “Then, go for it. Tell me if you find a problem. I’d love to inform him.”

Linda Jo left and Jenn returned to her computer. She wasn’t going to tell her friend the car refused to budge because she resisted getting ready and putting the key in the ignition—and she’d already checked every lock—just two seconds after Matt. It was like she’d been his private quality control inspector. At least, that’s what he’d called her.

Despite the lock-down, Jenn thought Tuesday was the most uneventful day she'd ever worked. The state dropped in to inspect safety regulations—electrical outlets and fire extinguishers—but never checked the windows. Pure coincidence. Matt showed up shortly after eleven with sandwiches so Jenn left the other teachers with several children and the singing machine. She led him to the break room where they sat and ate. “Nothing unusual on the home front,” he reported.

“What did I expect from two former cops? You work for a life insurance company, remember? How many careers away is that from investigating murders?”

Matt laughed and leaned across the table and grabbed her hand. “Hey, give us some credit. You can't pull fingerprints off dirt. We questioned the neighbor's tabby, but have you ever noticed cats don't talk?”

She smiled. This was the Matt she loved—full of laughs.

“I’m happy to report we got your yard cleaned.”

Jenn pulled her hand back. “Thanks. I feel stupid—like it was a nightmare.” She looked up and stared at the ceiling for a moment, then back at Matt. “It’s too crazy to be real. Was it a hallucination?”

He shrugged and wadded up his sandwich wrapper and sent it sailing straight into the wastebasket. “Could’ve been. I wasn’t there. What do you think?”

“Extremely real,” she said through clenched teeth. “I keep thinking I imagined it because that would make life easy, but unfortunately, I’m a lousy liar and can’t deceive myself.”

Glancing at his watch, Matt appeared bored. “What time do you get off? I'll follow you home.”

“Three, and I don't need an escort in broad daylight.”

“I know, but I'll still be here.” He got up to leave. “Marshall was generous and gave me the whole day off so I might as well do something useful with it.”

 “Then take Monica shopping.” She stood and pushed her chair back into place.  “By the way, how did she take it when you told her where you spent the night?” She followed him to the front door, itching to know how his wife reacted.

He stopped and slowly turned back. “Monica....” His voice trailed off.

“She’s mad. Uh…sorry about that, but I don't blame her. Didn't you once take me to the Dairy Freeze? Maybe you should take her to a jewelry store.”

He looked past her shoulders for a long second, and then peered into her eyes. “Monica is....” He shrugged.

Jenn squirmed. “Great. Now I'm a home wrecker.”

Matt visibly recovered and chuckled. “Not at all. She's handling things superbly. Always does. I'll have her call you when she’s free.”

Relief washed over Jenn. Retaliation might not be heading her way. “Good, but if you have to, buy her back with diamonds.”

He chuckled and left.

The afternoon sailed along smoothly. When she left work, Jenn found Matt leaning against his car waiting for her. She waved her pinky at him—the only thing not holding something—as she carried Katie and an armload of supplies out the front door. He nodded and watched her balance everything. “Hey, Katie bear, don’t you think he's helpful?” she whispered, glancing in his direction. She deposited the pile on the seat beside her daughter before buckling her in.

As promised, Matt followed her home and parked behind her car in the driveway. He jumped out and raced to the front door and unlocked it as she helped Katie from her seat. He called back, “Leave the pile of stuff there. I'll get it for you.”

Jenn looked up and nodded. Next to Nick, Matt really was the most thoughtful guy she’d ever known. With her nerves on edge, she honestly did need him there at the moment. Matt arrived a moment later with the supplies. He shut the door behind them. “Pack,” he said, depositing the load on the sofa.

Jenn turned to him. “Why? Where am I going? To a sleep party at your house? Does Monica know? Did she suggest it? She's always trying to make me do things I don't want to, but not this time. She’ll have to find a different way to punish me.”

Matt didn't laugh as she expected. “Pack yourself and I'll pack Katie.” Without explanation he pushed past her and strode to the back bedroom. She followed and watched him pull out Katie's top drawer and dump socks and neatly folded onesies on the guest bed in a jumbled heap.

“What are you doing?” She grabbed his arm as he reached for the second drawer.

Without pausing he said, “You've got exactly five minutes to pack what you want to take with you. I assume Katie needs things too, so I'll take care of her.” An instant later another drawer emptied on the bed. He pulled out the next drawer, and looked up. “Jenn, I can pack you the same way and will if you don't move it.”

Katie's pants landed on the pile and neat folds flopped undone. He grabbed the four corners of the blanket and pulled them to the middle and lifted the pile. “Katie's ready to go. What about you?” He looked her up and down. “Don’t you want more than the clothes on your back?”

“What did Kevin find?” she asked, hands on hips.

Matt pushed past her and deposited his load on the front room sofa, scattering papers, then turned and grasped her shoulders. “Nothing. I'll help you pack. Where's your suitcase?”

She motioned around the kitchen corner and down the stairs.

Matt bolted away and returned seconds later, unzipping a bag as he jogged down the hall. Jenn numbly watched as he yanked out her top drawer and turned it upside down into a bag. “Get what I'm missing,” he said before reaching for another drawer.

She turned toward Katie's room for diapers and shoes.

“Pack whatever you might want for two or three days,” Matt called. “We’re leaving the crime scene and it's tough trying to cross police tape to get back in, even for something as simple as a teddy bear.”

Jenn joined him. “Look around Mr. Insurance Salesman—there’s no police tape.”

“They probably won't put it up.” He yanked her closet door open and surveyed the contents.

She reached past him and grabbed a sweater before kneeling in front of her shoes. “Two days? Do I need dancing shoes or only flip-flops?” She tossed spiky silver heels at his feet to see what he’d do. He shoved them inside a huge black plastic trash bag, adding flats, sandals and black leather boots—everything. She sat back and watched. “I don't wear boots in June, and if I’m only gone two days, do I really need ten pairs of shoes?”

“It’s more like eighteen or twenty pairs, but I stopped counting. Got your make-up and curling iron? Need vitamins? What about jewelry and other stuff women can't survive without—you know, stuff guys don’t think about?”

“Unlike your wife, I’m low-maintenance,” she muttered. Louder she exaggerated, “What about my diet pills?” She'd always been skinny without effort, but on the other hand, Monica complained about constantly working out and watching calories to maintain her shape.

“If you want them you’d better pack them,” he growled.

Jenn tried pushing more buttons. “Oh heavens, should I pack a toothbrush?”

“If you don’t want to borrow mine.” He spun around and opened a nightstand drawer and looked at the contents before slamming it shut. He left the room and she followed. He pulled the calendar and phone list from the front of the fridge and shoved them under his arm. “Done.” He scooped up Katie, grabbed her arm and lead them to his car.

Jenn stared. “You put Katie's car seat in your car?”

“It’s more reliable. How does this work, anyway?” He stepped back after clumsily trying to work the multiple buckles.

Jenn buckled her daughter in as he watched. Without comment, she walked around and got in the front seat. “Okay, Mr. Graduate from the police academy, what’s going on?”

He shrugged and backed out of the driveway.

Jenn pulled out her cell phone and punched numbers. “I haven't been able to reach Nick yet.”

“Didn't you call him last night?”

“His voice box was full. Maybe this time he’ll pick up.” A moment later she snapped the phone shut and tossed it in her purse. “I'd better be able to get through later.” 

 End Chapter 8