Chapter 26
Hidden Secrets
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 26
Kevin backed out of Linda Jo's driveway after they had
borrowed an old dusty car seat stored in the garage, and he had cleaned it up
enough to satisfy Jenn. Kevin had listened to the two women talk about kids,
work and Jenn's experiences in Baltimore as he wiped, then dragged Jenn away
with: "We're on a tight schedule, Mrs. Washington." The whole time he
wondered how he was going to broach his next subject with Nick's wife. Once
they were on the freeway he said, "It's nice that you're already
packed."
"What?" Jenn said as if she hadn't heard him
correctly.
"But Katie will need a few things, too. Should we
stop at the mall or Target or Wal-Mart?"
"Exactly what does Katie need that isn't in her
diaper bag?" Jenn suspiciously asked.
Kevin shrugged. "I have no idea. What does she
need for a trip to Arizona?"
"Arizona?"
"Nick is—he’s uhh, he’s unavailable at the moment
and some old high school boyfriend was hitting on you in the airport, so the
office has decided to send you to Arizona for a while."
"I work, Kevin. I begrudgingly took time off for
spy school, but I won’t take anymore PTO for a vacation I didn’t plan."
"What does Katie need? Clothes? Shoes? Diapers?
Put me to work."
"Why are we going to Arizona?"
Kevin suddenly understood on a deeper level something Matt
had said about Jenn after returning home from Montana. She was hard-headed and
stubborn. He glanced at her and thought he might come up with a few
less-flattering descriptions soon if she didn't cooperate.
"Nick is unavailable, some old high school
sweetheart…"
Jenn cut him off. "I never saw Davis, or whoever
that guy is, before in my life. Why am I going to Arizona? Don't be evasive.
Just spit it out, Kevin Curtis!"
"Nick is unavailable and Davis wanted to give you
a ride. Do you really think he was going to take you home?"
A chill ran up Jenn's spine. "Tell me exactly who
Davis is. Was he a set up?"
"Not from our office."
Chills danced down Jenn's arms. She rubbed them.
"Why Arizona? How long?"
Kevin shrugged and checked his mirrors. "As long
as it takes. What does Katie need?"
Jenn turned around and snatched up Katie's diaper bag
and thumbed through it. "In the next twenty-four hours she needs jammies.
That's all."
"Okay. We'll stop at the office for a few things
and I'll take you back to the airport. You can buy some there."
"We can go to my house and get some. And I'd like
to see Nick too."
"He's unavailable."
"I'd like to see him anyway, whether he’s still
in the country or not. You brough along our passports, I’m guessing?"
Kevin didn't answer.
When they arrived at the office, Jenn took Katie from
the car seat and carried her inside. Kevin led her to a small room with a
mirror on the wall that was probably a window on the other side. She knew her
every move would be observed. She sat down and turned Katie loose to explore.
But there wasn't much for a two-year old to do with half a dozen metal chairs
with molded plastic seats and one little square table standing less than three
feet high—but possibly climb up and jump off of it. Jenn kept Katie from
climbing, jumping, nose-diving or falling until her daughter threw a
full-fledged tantrum and flung herself on the floor and kicked the shiny table
legs. She wondered if Kevin watched through the window and laughed until Katie
settled down enough to feel safe entering, or if his timing was lucky.
Kevin opened the door and sat beside Jenn and ignored
Katie who had finally stopped screaming ten seconds before. "New ID,"
he said, handing her a wallet.
Jenn unsnapped it and pulled it
open. "I'm now Claudia Morgan?" She read a little further. "I
live in Louisiana?"
Kevin nodded. "Your husband has been transferred
to Phoenix and you'll be living in a new, never lived in home—if anyone
asks."
"Apparently I'll be there a while," Jenn
muttered.
Kevin shook his head. "Maybe not. You could be
home within a week or two, but it might be several weeks."
Jenn bit her bottom lip and nodded once. Resolutely.
"Does the house have electricity?"
"Yes."
"Good. The last one didn't. I don't do very well
without the necessities of life."
Kevin glanced at Jenn. "Your baby's name is
Shandra."
"Shandra? Who thought up that name?" Jenn
asked with disdain. "Do you think Katie will come when I call her Shawwww-ndra?"
She tried it out, but Katie ignored her.
Kevin shrugged.
"Guess what, Kevin, I think she needs her real
name. I can handle Claudia, but I can't handle a messed up, confused kid. Age
two is hard enough, you know. She's going to stay Katie, okay?"
Kevin stood up. "I'll see what I can do."
"And while you're at it, I like
Texas. Fix this." She shoved her ID back at him.
Kevin looked livid, but wisely, he remained silent. He
snatched the ID's and left, pulling the door shut a little too hard.
Alone again, Jenn resumed looking through the wallet.
Katie wandered over and Jenn handed her a library card from Shreveport,
Louisiana to chew on. Unfortunately it reminded her of a long ago marriage.
Then Jenn spotted something that made her heart stop. A photo. She was posed
with Katie on her lap with Matthew Jensen's arm around her shoulder like he was
her husband and Katie's daddy.
"Explain this photo," Jenn said, shoving it against
the mirror. When Kevin entered ten minutes later she repeated the action,
shoving it into his face.
Kevin sat down and patted the seat beside him. Jenn
huffed, standing in front of him. He took the photo from her outstretched hand.
"They did a good job, don't you think?"
"No. They got the wrong man. It very much looks
like Matt, not Nick. Get it redone."
Kevin looked tired when he said, "Matt may be
able to visit you, but Nick won't be available, Mrs. Morgan from Shreveport,
Louisiana. Does that help you understand why Matt will be your husband, Samuel
Morgan?"
"Samuel?"
"Samuel. Sam. Call him whichever one you want.
He's your husband."
Jenn placed her hands over her eyes and rubbed them.
She let out a deep sigh, then removed them and stared at the photo again.
"Do you know how much I hate this, Kevin, my former husband from earlier
this evening? I got on a plane in Maryland and landed thinking I was married to
one man, only to discover that within three hours I’m not married to a third
man?”
He half grinned, but didn’t look at her.
“You can’t even begin to guess at how mad I am! Do you
have any idea how hard this is for me? I like real life, honesty and the truth.
I hate pseudo-names and fake lives." She unleashed a challenging glare on him
when he looked up. "I'd really like to go home now. I'll buy an alarm
system at the Home Depot and depend on that instead of fake ID, thank you. I
want my own home, my own bed, my own name, my own husband and my own life! I
once lived in Shreveport, and I don't have happy memories of it anymore. I
don't want to pretend I just moved away: I left it behind ages ago."
Kevin rose and towered over her. "I'd be happy to
oblige, Claudia Morgan, but until things quiet down and people like Ivan
Saymore stop intercepting you at airports, it won't happen."
"Who?"
"Ivan Saymore. Better known to you as Davis
Turpin."
Jenn rolled her eyes. "Can you even hear how
ridiculous you sound, Kevin?" Jenn waved her arms around her. "This
place is a funny farm! Do you know that? All you do here is think up ways to
creep people out, then sneak off to do it!"
Kevin didn't bother smiling at Jenn's accusation.
"Just take me home, Kevin."
He shook his head. "They are getting credit
cards, a debit card, checks and a driver's license ready for you upstairs. When
you get to Phoenix you'll wait for your luggage. A woman in a red jacket will
greet you. She will be an old friend from high school. This time, please
pretend she really is, and make it convincing to all the security cameras. She
will hug you. Hug her back. She will slip car keys into your pocket, along with
the parking validation with the location for your car penciled on the top right
corner."
A sinking feeling entered Jenn's stomach and he
nervously rubbed it.
Kevin watched her fingers move. "Get something to
eat at the airport before your flight. Don't worry about anything and stay calm.
If you feel insecure, pull out the compact in the purse they are preparing for
you upstairs. Open it. Check your face. Do whatever women do with stuff like
that. Touch up or primp. A friend with a pencil behind his left ear will sit
down near you and say your name. He can answer your questions and help
you."
"A pencil?"
"Don't look for it because it won't be there
unless you open your compact."
Jenn slowly nodded.
"In the glove box of the car you'll find a piece
of pink paper. It will be a receipt for a mechanic's bill. The address below
the company name is for the safe house. You'll also find a street map of
Phoenix and surrounding areas to use for a reference. Drive to the house. It
has a keyless entry. The code is your birth day, Katie's birth month and the
last two digits of Nick's birth year. Have you got that?"
Jenn nodded and felt sicker. Nauseated.
"Good. In the kitchen you'll find the garage door
opener on the countertop. Park your car in the garage and put it in the car and
use it as you come and go. Once you're at the house, burn the address on the
pink paper. Use the flames on the gas range. Flush the ashes away through the
kitchen sink's garbage disposal. Can you do that?"
Jenn nodded.
"The cleaning crew comes every Friday between
nine and noon. Vacate the house at least thirty minutes before they arrive and
don't return until after twelve-thirty after they leave. They drive a white
minivan, so if it’s still there when you return, don’t stop, but continue on Do
not return to check for at least one hour. If it’s still there, call me.”
“I don’t know
your phone number.”
“It’s plugged into your new phone. It’s number one.”
Jenn nodded.
“Put anything you don't want seen or touched in the
safe in the upstairs master bedroom closet. The code will be the same as the
one for the front door. Inside the safe you'll find directions for changing all
the door codes and the safe code. Change them all tomorrow morning."
"Why tomorrow morning?" Jenn whispered.
Kevin smiled for the first time. "Because you'll
probably be too tired tonight to remember to do it, or to remember the new
numbers. Tomorrow morning will be fine. The cleaning crew uses a key. On Friday
morning disable the keyless lock alarm on the front door so the cleaning crew
doesn’t set of the alarm. Enable the alarm when you return."
"How am I going to remember all of this?"
As if on cue, the door opened and someone handed Kevin
a brown leather purse and a brown jacket. Kevin opened the purse and pulled out
a cell phone. "This is yours. Call me if you have questions. You know how
to work one of these, don't you?"
Jenn gave him an insulting look. "Yeah, it's like
mine." She grabbed it and examined it. It was similar to hers, but
different too. She'd figure it out later.
"Good. You'll be fine. Are you ready to go?"
Jenn slowly shrugged. "Shandra, let's hit the
road, baby girl," she weakly said.
"Her name is now Katrina Lorena. You can call her
Katie."
"Thanks," Jenn said with relief.
Kevin held the jacket and Jenn slipped her arms
inside. "Keep this on, please. Our agents will spot it. Without it you'll
be just an ordinary person someone else might spot—like Ivan Saymore."
Jenn glared. "I'm sure it has a tracking device sewn
into one of the seams as well. Do I need to refrain from sending it out to the
cleaners or through the wash?"
"It's yours now. Do whatever you want with it.
Just wear it until you're settled into your new home."
Jenn nodded and picked up Katie and followed Kevin
through the door.
End Chapter 26
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