My 2nd Novel: Hidden Secrets: Chapter 67

Hidden Secrets
Chapter 67

This game is called "Baby in a Bucket." My little Grand is sitting in a little plastic tub sitting on the carpet with all the puppets tucked in his lap. After a few good spins he and the toys tumble out and everyone laughs. "Do it again!" he begs. So baby collects all his puppets and gets back in the bucket and around he goes again. It's too funny! Sadly, I can't spin and hold a video at the same time. I'm pretty sure we'll be playing when the grand wakes up from his name soon. Jenn could have used this game. I should have shared it with her. Maybe in the next novel...

Hidden Secrets

Leona Palmer Haag

 

Chapter 67

"It was a vulture. Maybe a night owl," Kevin said when Jenn called.

"Are you sure?" Jenn propped the cell phone on her shoulder and pressed it against her ear and continued fixing Katie's breakfast. Waffles with the brand new waffle iron she'd bought at the mall. They were cheaper at Wal-Mart, but that's not where she'd gone shopping on Saturday. Katie was in an inquisitive mood and was pulling things from cupboards and drawers around her knees.

"Do you want me to send you a copy of the video?" Kevin challenged.

"No, I believe you," she muttered.

"Just relax. You've been there almost ten weeks now and there hasn't been even one slightly suspicious event. You're safe. You ought to be happy."

Jenn rolled her eyes. Happy was light years away when you were in Arizona instead of Texas. When you were single instead of sharing life with your husband. When you were rich instead of pinching pennies. Working at playing instead of playing at work.

Jenn pushed Kevin's button. "When will Nick be home?"

She could almost hear him roll his eyes this time. It surprised her when he said, "Hang on and I'll tell you. Okay, according to my psychic, he should walk through the door in ten seconds. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven…"

"You're really funny," Jenn sarcastically cut in.

"Don't mess up the counting or you mess up the structure of the universe. I think we're down to three. Two. One. Um, Jenn, I hate to tell you this, but I think you either pushed all the stars out of orbit or I need to find a new psychic."

Jenn frowned. "I think the stars are fine, but here's a newsflash: get him home before tonight and I promise I'll never call you again."

Kevin tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a bathtub draining. "Okay. I'll work on it," he promised.

After Jenn hung up she pulled a perfect waffle from the iron and said, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" as she placed it on Katie's plate with her bare fingers. "It's hot and ready, Katie cutie." Jenn raced after her suddenly mobile cyclone and caught her in the front entry before she could race up the wide circular stairs. She dragged her daughter back and plopped her on a bar stool and poured batter into the iron to cook another waffle.

As the second waffle baked, Jenn picked up odds and ends so she wouldn't trip if she had to try another hot pursuit. Pots. Pans. Lids. Measuring spoons. Linen napkins. Vegetable peeler. Place mats. Juicer. Colander. Shredder. Spatula. Rubber scraper. Did she miss anything? She arranged them to her liking. Something she'd done only two days after arriving. One neat shelf and drawer after another that Katie was bound to disrupt again.

After breakfast Jenn and Katie went swimming. The sun had risen in full force and it was almost hot. They had a leisure play swim and followed it with a fresh shower. Jenn smeared on lotion and tackled Katie to apply her dose.

"What now, little baby Katie bear?" Jenn asked as they dressed.

Katie pulled off her shorts and grabbed a dress. "Shopping. Gossey shopping."

"Food, food, food. That's all you think about," Jenn teased. She glanced at the clock. It was ten-forty. Already the day was long. Too long.

"Nursy," Katie said, tugging on the hem of her shirt as Jenn blew her hair dry.

Jenn stared at the clock. Ten-forty one. She shrugged as she round-brushed her hair and continued drying it. Why not? She finished and applied a quick splash of make-up. She had two nice skirts—both Jenn-style. She matched a top and added a sweater. She was ready. Physically. "Are you sure about this?" Jenn asked as she put sandal’s on Katie's feet, taking her time to tickle her toes.

            Nursy. Songs and story."

Jenn sighed. "You're spoiled, you know. You have to sit quietly for an hour and a half or we'll go home before nursery. Got that?"

Katie soberly nodded.

Jenn wondered if it was the first time she'd ever threatened her daughter. Katie could be a terror, but she'd always behaved. Well, as good as a two-year old could. Jenn was hoping that for once she acted up. Wouldn't sit still. Started talking loudly. Tried to jump off the pew. Maybe run up the aisle. Even scream and throw a tantrum. They'd leave!

Ten-fifty three. Jenn pulled into the church parking lot.

Ten-fifty five. Jenn led Katie to a bench and they sat down.

Ten-fifty seven. Kristina hurried up the aisle to say hello. "Is Samuel in town?"

Jenn almost asked, "Who?" She remembered Matt's alias and shook her head.

"Then come and sit with my family."

Jenn numbly followed her back two rows and settled Katie in beside her. Kristina's daughter sat by Katie and for part of the meeting entertained her with pencil sketches on the back of the program. Kristina helped Jenn take Katie to the nursery, then led her to the Sunday school room.

"You came back," Kristina said after Sunday school.

"My husband will die of shock, so don't tell him. I'm not ready to be a widow." Jenn said it with a laugh, then bit her lip to hold back tears. Was she already a widow? The thought terrified her. It was like opening a deep hole in her heart and pouring in swirling darkness. Aloneness so intense she couldn't fathom it.

Katie wasn't eager to leave the nursery. She wanted to brag about her picture, show off the teacher and talk about the songs and stories. The nursery teacher helped Jenn walk her out the door. "What now, happy Katie?" Jenn asked as she buckled her daughter in the car.

"God made pretty earth," Katie said, shoving the picture she'd made in Jenn's face.

"Yep. You made a pretty earth," Jenn agreed. "I like the flowers and trees. Your puppy is cute too. So what should we do now? Go to lunch?"

"Lunch!" Katie cheered. She kicked the back of Jenn's seat and begged, "KFC!"

"Let's try something nicer since we're all dressed up," Jenn suggested.

It was almost three-thirty when Jenn pulled into the driveway on Honeysuckle Pie Drive. She pushed the garage door opener and the door slid up. As she waited, she looked at Katie through the rearview mirror. She was sleeping soundly. Jenn looked forward. Something was amiss. The ladder wasn't hanging right. Jenn knew. She'd checked for listening devices twice. She'd hung it from the top rung because it took too much effort to hang it from the second rung as it had previously been hung. Had Matt moved the ladder on his last visit? She didn't remember him touching it, and hadn’t really looked at it until now.

Jenn pulled into the garage and reached for the button to shut the door. Her finger lightly rested on the button. "Oh this is so stupid," she muttered as she pushed the car into reverse and backed away. She shut the garage and watched the door lower. She shifted into drive and left Honeysuckle Pie Drive and a stupid ladder hung incorrectly.

"Kevin. Tell me about my house. Has the security camera picked up anyone coming or going in the last forty-eight hours besides me?"

"I'm on the fifth green. Can I call you with the info in an hour?"

"No. I'm in the car with a two-year old. We’re driving around in circles. I'm too nervous to go back home before I know it's safe."

"Give me five minutes."

Four minutes later Kevin called back and said, "My assistant went back two days and found you coming and going, a bird, two cats, the neighbor's dog three times—so watch where you step—but nothing else. Go home. Nothing's wrong.

Jenn returned home. She pulled into the garage. The ladder was still hanging one rung higher than she had placed it. She called Matt. As usual, she got his voice mail. She suspected he was working out of the country and might not get back to her soon. She left a message anyway. "Hey, Samuel, this is your wonderful wife—the one with only one diamond on her finger and none dangling from her ears. I was wondering—did you use the ladder? It may sound like a stupid question, but I need to know ASAP because something is wrong with it. As in, it’s not in the same place as before. I don’t move ladders in my sleep because I don’t sleepwalk. Call ASAP to spare me heart failure."

Jenn backed away again and drove around town. Going nowhere. Doing nothing but worrying. She finally stopped at a gas station and ran in and bought a United States road atlas. She raced back to the SUV and flipped to Arizona. She traced her finger to the New Mexico line and flipped to the state map. Next came Texas. She shifted the car into gear and started toward Tucson.

The cell phone rang. "What's up, Dia?" Matt cheerfully asked. “What’s with the ladder?”

Jenn told him about the difference of one rung.

"I'll check into things," Matt said. "In the meantime, tell me where you are."

Jenn sheepishly admitted she was on the run.

"Turn around and go back. You're at the safest safe house we've got. The nicest one too."

"But I'm scared! I know how I left the ladder."

"Don't be scared. I'll have Kevin send someone over to check things out if you want. Will that help?"

Jenn shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not sure. I've got the creeps."

"Then I'm glad you called. I'll pass the info on. In the meantime, go back."

"Matt, can I go to a hotel instead? Wait it out there?"

"No. And we won't send you to a different safe house, so don't ask. Besides, none of the other ones have a swimming pool."

"I don't need a pool. I don't need anything but a bed and maybe a fridge and microwave. Find me a dump if you have to, just make sure it's safe."

"After the Montana incident, I requested they send you to where you are now if something similar ever happened. Believe me, it's the best place for you right now. Hotels aren't secure and none of the other places have as much room for a baby to run around and be happy and loud."

Jenn sighed with exasperation. "Matt, you need to understand that I'm scared. Space and nice don't matter at the moment. I'll live in the SUV  at a Wal-Mart parking lot if I have to."

"Jenn, you need to understand that you're safe. Please go home. Just do it for yours and Katie's safety, and everyone else's well-being. Okay?"

Jenn sighed and finally consented. "Okay, but I’m not happy about it."

The ladder was still hanging one rung too high when she returned. It bothered her. A lot. After unbuckling Katie she pulled it down and carried it inside and began another sweep of the house, searching for bugs or something else out of place. Anything. Every corner would be inspected with a magnifying glass. She started with the kitchen and back of the house. Every inch was clean.

"Up or down, Katie snoop, snoop?" Jenn playfully asked as she folded up the ladder legs to move it again.

"Up! Up!" Katie squealed.

"Then up it is." The first light cover she removed was at the top of the back stairs. Clean. The second one was at the top of the front stairs. Jenn carefully unscrewed the little decorative bolt on the end and pulled the glass sconce off. "Hello. What have we here?" she whispered at the tiny little eye staring back at her. Jenn quickly plucked it off and stuffed it into her pocket. She practically jumped off the ladder and snatched Katie up in one leap. She ran into the master bedroom, bolted the door and grabbed her cell phone. It rang in her hands. Jenn sank to her knees. Thank goodness it was Kevin.

"I see you found the camera. Wow, you're as good as Matt said," Kevin said.

"Who put it there?" Jenn shouted in reply.

"Let me guess. Since I know about it, I'd say it was someone from the office."

"It wasn't there last time I looked."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Then maybe next time you do a sweep, I suggest you try being more thorough. I think you missed something the first time around."

"I've searched twice, and I never missed anything!"

Kevin laughed with delight. "Obviously you do. I won’t tell Matt. He thinks you’re really smart."

"I swear it wasn't there. Ever. I know. I would have seen it."

"Jenn, you're not a professional it appears, otherwise you wouldn't have missed it. Admit it."

Jenn glared at the phone. She wanted to rant and rage for an hour. Until noon next week. Until she was released from captivity. "Fine," she snapped, closing the phone a second later.

That didn't stop the investigation. She continued dragging the ladder and looking. Another camera was found at the bottom of the basement stairs. She didn't answer the phone when Kevin called a moment later, although she did listen to his congratulatory voice mail a few minutes later.

“We're going outside," Jenn said to Katie.

A camera was found in the pool shed. Jenn hadn't checked there before so she had no clue if it was old or new. Unlike the others, she left it in place. Katie was nearly crazy from not being allowed to swim, so Jenn finally said it was okay and they raced each other to the house to change, leaving the stupid ladder by the shed. Whoever used it the day before could put it away again on whatever rung they wanted.

End Chapter 67

Note: they have really cool vultures in Arizona--with red heads! Kind of creepy! Here's a funny: a vulture clan nests in the huge pine trees in the cemetery of my happy little village. See, creepy!