Chapter 45
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Hidden Secrets
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 45
Katie was asleep long before the My Little Pony DVD
ended. Jenn tuned it out as she stared blindly in the general direction of the
master bedroom TV. She finally threw back the blankets and walked across the
room and manually turned it off. She slid in a chick flick to watch at three in
the morning if she woke up accidentally.
She crept to the back of the bedroom and stared out
the French doors at the pool. It lay snugly under its thermal blanket. The back
of the neighborhood dropped into a ravine that fell off before it leveled out
on the street far below. Two streets later civilization ended and the desert
began. For as far as Jenn could see beyond that there was nothing but dirt,
rocks and scrawny plants eking a living out of nothing more than dry air and
sunshine.
Jenn looked to both sides. She could see over the
fences into the neighboring yards. Pools. Rivers of rocks. Cabanas. One had a little
patch of emerald lawn.
Jenn pushed the French door open. The cold made her
gasp. She stepped outside and hugged herself for warmth. Thin clouds had played
hide and seek with the sun all day, but now they blocked out the moon and
stars. Far away to her right were lights where another neighborhood had
encroached on empty acres filled with spiny cactus and rattlesnakes. She was in
an exclusive and secluded area. A place where the houses were huge and the
people seemed to keep mostly to themselves. Perfect for secrecy and privacy.
Except for Kristina.
Jenn leaned over the railing and looked down onto the
deck below her. Katie's pool toys waited in shadows. Tomorrow afternoon more
pool toys were scheduled to arrive. A lounger for tanning. Two floating chairs.
Why two? Jenn had no idea. Impulse, she supposed. In case Nick came to visit.
In case someone snooped and asked around. To make it appear like she and Katie
weren't alone.
Alone. The mere though made Jenn shudder. Shivers
raced up her spine. She hurried back inside and locked the door behind her. She
sat on the bedroom sofa and plopped her feet up on the coffee table. She
flipped on the gas fireplace and stared out at the night. When her shivers
subsided, she turned off the fire and crept to bed. She closed her eyes and her
stomach churned. Was she brave enough to cross the street in the morning to
attend a cooking demonstration? What would she tell people who asked about her?
A dozen alibis swirled through her mind. They all ended with her heart pounding
out of control. More than anything, Jenn wished she had someone to confide in.
Like Angela.
"Kevin?" Jenn whispered.
"Speak." His voice was gruff.
"The lady across the street invited me to her
home tomorrow at eleven."
"Why?" He suddenly sounded more awake. As if
he'd switched from half-dead into super-agent.
"For a cooking demonstration. Can I go?"
Kevin yawned. "Call me tomorrow afternoon and
tell me all about it." The phone went dead.
Jenn smiled. It helped knowing he knew where she'd be.
Of course, he could look up her actions on a video surveillance tape.
End Chapter 45
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