Oklahoma Sunshine

by Maggie Shayne

  Jason held up a hand and cut loose a whistle. Everyone went quiet and turned to look his way. Jack Kellogg came in about then, and wandered to the very back of the crowd to stand near the kitchen.

  Jason said, “I'm gonna fill you all in at once, and then I need to get out looking for Sunny. Sunny was here with me when a stranger kicked in the door of my workshop and leveled a gun at us. I had a throwing knife in my hand and I reacted. He’s still alive, in the ICU. Jimmy's looking into who he is and what he was after.”

  Kiley said, “Is this the same guy who broke into Sunny’s place last night?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “Well, where’s Sunny now?” Angie asked.

  “We don’t know that, either. She took off with her friend Eve. She was probably pretty shaken up after what happened. She saw the whole thing. We thought I’d killed the guy, at first.”

  “Who the heck is Eve? I’ve never heard her mention anyone named Eve,” Angie said. “Have you, Kiley?”

  “Not once. And she tells me everything.”

  Way behind everyone, Jack Kellogg shook his head left and right.

  “Is she in danger, Jason?” Kiley asked.

  "No," he said. And this time, Jack nodded. No one could see him but Jason, who was facing him. Everyone between them was focused solely on Jason. He’d talk to Jack later. For now, he continued trying to calm the gang. “I don’t think she’s in danger. Even if this guy was targeting her and not me, he’s no threat now. Frankly, I think he was just some nutcase. I think it was random.”

  Jack closed his eyes and silently mouthed nope.

  “Jason, what were you doing with a throwing knife?” That was Joey. “Where did you even get one, much less learn how to use it?”

  His pretty wife Emily was close beside him. Little Matilda wasn’t with them, and Jason was glad of that. For some reason, he still felt uneasy, like this wasn’t the end of the trouble that had come to Big Falls. Like maybe it was only the beginning.

  “The blade’s a long story best saved for another time.”

  “Digest version?” his brother Rob asked.

  He hesitated, but the fastest way to get them all out of here so he could go hunt for Sunny was to give them what they wanted. “I make swords and knives and things out in the workshop–which you can’t see right now because it's a crime scene. So don’t ask.”

  “You make swords?” his father asked. “You…make swords?”

  “And knives. That’s why I bought this place, for the old forge and the history.”

  Vidalia put a hand on his shoulder and said, “That’s amazing, Jason.”

  “Now, if there’s nothing else, folks, I just really want to–”

  Kiley said, “We all want to look for her, too. Maybe we can coordinate things from here and–”

  “No.” He said it too fast and too loud. Everyone reacted with surprise, followed by more questions, until he said, “Look, this guy, whoever he was, and whatever he wanted, came here. Here to my home. And we still don’t know what this was about. He’s probably a lone maniac, but on the off chance he’s not, I don’t want any of you in the line of fire. I want you all to go home. Be safe. Keep your kids safe. And the minute I know of any way for any of you to help Sunny, believe me, I’ll tell you. Okay?”

  They just looked at him, like his words were not quite penetrating.

  Vidalia came to stand beside him, and putting one hand on his upper arm, she said, “Let’s all gather at the Corral. We can continue this discussion there. There’s more room anyway.”

  They responded to that, everyone moving around to obey the matriarch. She patted Jason's arm and said, “They feel helpless. We have to give them something to do, even if it’s just busy work. I’ll handle ‘em. You do what you need to. But Jason, if it’s not safe here, then you’d best not be staying here, either.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Sunny’s a good woman. I know a good woman when I see one. Raised five myself. I'm never wrong. She's a good one. You find her and keep her safe, you hear? And once you do get her back here, you’d best put a ring on her finger before you find yourself left behind like a heathen at The Rapture.”

  He saw his father look at his brothers and give a nod. Vidalia gathered up Emily and Kiley. Angie Wakeland came to say goodbye, and slipped a business card into his hand. “Riley’s agency, in case you need her. She can find anybody.”

  "Thanks." He gave her a hug, and when she left, he looked at the card in his palm. Everett Investigations. Huh. Riley had taken back her maiden name. He didn’t know why that surprised him, but it did. He’d always figured her and Angie’s big brother Adam would reconcile, sooner or later. They'd seemed meant to be.

  Maybe nothing was ever meant to be. Maybe things were meant for the moment. He and Sunny used to be good. Solid. Now he didn’t know who Sunny was. And he wondered if he ever had.

  That's bullshit. I know her. I know her essence. I know her heart. Whatever came before, I can't forget the girl I know.

  He pocketed the card, just in case.

  The rest of the crowd cleared out behind them. But Joey and Rob remained.

  “You don’t really think we’re gonna let you deal with this on your own, do you?” Rob asked. “Besides, I want to get a look at those swords.”

  Joey grinned. “I’ve already seen ‘em. Sneaked in there one night when you stayed over at Sunny’s.”

  "Then why did you ask where I got the throwing sword," Jason asked.

  “So you'd have to admit it."

  "You little shit," Rob said. "You never told me."

  “Hey, it wasn't my secret to tell. But this one, now," he shifted his focus to Jason. "This one's different. So how about you tell us what you didn't tell everyone else so we can get busy finding Sunny?”

  Jason didn't want to tell his brothers anything that would change how they thought of Sunny. He hadn't given up bringing her into the family just yet, although it wasn't looking good. His first job was to make sure she was okay, and protecting her included keeping her secrets. "When there's something to tell you, I'll tell you."

  He looked around for Jack to avoid his brothers' probing. He’d intended to grab him for a minute and make him explain himself. But Rob’s con-man father-in-law had slipped away with the crowd.

  Chapter 10

  Eve decided to drive in a pretzel knot, so it would never be clear where they were heading. Twice, she’d switched cars, and she used a different name and driver’s license each time. She was good at her job. All day they played this game, grabbing takeout, then starting off in a new direction with a new car.

  There was a rhyme and a reason to the route she chose. Eve didn’t think Sunny knew that, but there was. She had to be sure they’d lost their pursuers before she took Sunny to her haven.

  Eventually from somewhere in northeastern Oklahoma, she changed course again. They were heading southwest to cut across Texas and into New Mexico.

  They’d spent all day driving in loops and curlicues. But Eve knew when it was safe to stop and rest. She used a pre-paid credit card, first to get takeout from a fast-food drive-thru that was open all night, and then for a room. The place was so far off the beaten path, it gave her Bates Motel flashbacks. Even creepier in the dead of night.

  “Maybe I should’ve gone with that Red Roof Inn thirty miles back.”

  Sunny said, “No, this is better. Less busy.”

  Eve handed Sunny the key, then told herself she should probably start thinking of her as Jillian. Not yet though. Sunny wasn’t committed to this yet. She was still too attached to her life and the boyfriend she apparently didn’t know too well, and the best friends she’d mentioned a half dozen times since they’d hit the road. Kiley and Angie. Angie and Kiley. Blah blah blah. Eve knew who they were. She’d kept tabs. Angie Wakeland was a war hero’s widow. Two kids, a boy and a girl, and had a PI ex-sister-in-law. Kiley, she now knew, was the daughter of the slickest confidence man ever, Jack Kellogg.

  For someone
with big secrets, Sunny hadn’t been too choosey about her friends.

  “I’ll get the bags,” Eve said. “You should get inside, out of sight.”

  “It’s the middle of the night and no one here knows me. God, I don’t even know where we are.”

  “Good. Let's hope your brother doesn't, either.”

  Sunny juggled the takeout bags, the cat carrier and the room key. She wore bicycle length denim capris, a floral on white top and a button-down sweater, pale blue.

  Eve thought she understood now. She had full on become Sunny Cantrell, hadn’t she?

  The transformation had started before the new identity, though, when she’d gone off to college, and her name had still been Mary. Eve knew as much about that time as if she’d been her roomie. Big mistake on Harrison Hayes’s part, letting his little girl go to college. Letting her be exposed to other ways of thinking, other ways of being. Letting her see that not everyone hated. She’d made friends with people of other races, other religions, from other countries, cultures and political parties. She’d fallen in love with all of them and with one of them, in particular. Dave Barron.

  And that had been his death sentence.

  Eve took her time behind the open trunk, transferring just enough for an overnight stay from her bulging duffel bag into the two smaller packs she’d brought along, one for each of them. As soon as Sunny was inside with the door closed, Eve pulled out her phone, scrolled to the pic of that smiling devil Jack Kellogg, and tapped CALL. She didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him, but she needed his help.

  He answered on the fourth ring, with a groggy, “Whas-wrong?”

  “Wake up, Jack. It’s Eve.”

  She heard what she assumed was the rustle of bedding, it being after midnight. He cleared his throat. “Eve?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sunny with you? Kiley’s losing her shit over here.”

  “Yeah. You can tell Kiley she’s fine, but that’s all, Jack. I don’t want anyone in town to know the truth about Sunny’s past.”

  “I can do that–”

  “Thanks.”

  “–if you tell me why not.”

  “What do you mean, why not?”

  “You got her out of town so fast you left the place spinning. I'm the only one who knows she's not coming back and that she's not even Sunny anymore. So what difference does it make if people find out she’s really the daughter of that racist shithead Harry Hayes?”

  She took a breath, schooled her voice calm. He might just be fishing. “What makes you think that?”

  “I met Harry in prison. He had photos of his kids. I had photos of mine. I knew who Sunny was the first time I set eyes on her in Big Falls.”

  “And you never told anyone.”

  “Kiley loves her, what’m’I gonna do? It’ll break my girl’s heart when Sunny doesn’t come back. But knowing why might help. So why the secrecy? Does it still really matter?”

  Eve tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder and rooted through one of Sunny’s bags. “I don’t know if she’s done there, yet.”

  “You don’t say.”

  “I can’t force her. She’s got free will and she’s not letting go easy.”

  “Huh. What do you know about that? Maybe what they say about this little town isn’t grade-A bullshit after all.”

  “And what do they say about that little town?”

  “Unimportant. I’m glad you called, Eve. Braxton’s here in Big Falls. I saw him skulking around at the Long Branch earlier. Met that asshole in prison, too, short time he spent there. You gotta love a system where a cold-blooded killer does less time than a gentleman grifter.”

  “You’re no gentleman, Jack.”

  “Gentleman Jack. I like that. So why are you calling? Seeing me again get all those old flames flickering?”

  “You wish. I need someone who knows Big Falls and her residents well enough to keep me informed on what’s up with the locals, and more importantly, with Braxton Hayes.”

  “You want me to be your CI? Again, Eve?” Then his voice turned soft and deeper. “As I recall, I enjoyed that a lot, last time.”

  “That’s not gonna happen again.”

  He gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’ll help you out for the right price. I've got no sentence to reduce this time.”

  “I could end your parole.”

  “That and ten grand might buy my assistance.”

  “I can get one.”

  “Five.”

  “Two.”

  “Three,” he said.

  She smiled, because she could’ve given him five. “Twenty-five hundred. That’s all I can do for you.”

  “Deal, cheapskate. And as your new confidential informant, I’ll tell you there were dozens of do-gooders out beating the bushes in search of your girl all day long, including my daughters. They’d better not get hurt.”

  “Brax will leave town as soon as he realizes Sunny’s skipped,” she said.

  “You sure?”

  “Pretty sure, yeah.”

  “Is this number gonna stay good?”

  “It’s a burner,” she told him. “I’ll dump it when I hang up, get another tomorrow. Better if you wait for me to call you.”

  “Sure,” Jack said.

  “I torched my car." She regretted that right to her toes, but it had been necessary. Still, she'd loved that car. "They’ll find it soon if they haven’t already. Just so you know.”

  “Thanks for telling me. I wouldn’t have liked waiting while they sifted through the ashes looking for your bones.”

  “You’d have cared?”

  “They're bones I once jumped. I'd have cared.”

  “Then prove it. Don’t screw me on this,” she said.

  “You already said we couldn’t do that again.”

  “You know what I mean. Sunny’s a good person. And you gave in way too easily. Why?"

  “Because Kiley loves her.” Like that was proof of his loyalty. “You said Sunny hasn’t accepted this yet. You think she’s gonna try to come back? Resume her life here?”

  “I think she might. If she does, she’ll probably end up dead. But in case she doesn’t, I don’t want to burn all her bridges. Not yet.”

  “The answer’s obvious, you know. Somebody’s gotta take out Brax Hayes. Or at least lock him up for good. He belongs behind bars more than anybody I ever met, in prison or out.”

  “You don’t think I’d have done that by now if I could? The guy’s Teflon. Stays squeaky clean. He’s his father’s heir apparent. Daddy’s lackeys think it’s their job to protect him. They do all the golden boy’s dirty work.”

  Jack said, “Well, he’s here, himself, in Big Falls, so maybe he’s decided to be more hands-on in this case.”

  “Yeah. With her, it’s personal,” Eve said.

  “Why?”

  Sunny opened the motel door and came back outside. "Eve?" she called, looking around.

  Eve waved a hand, holding it higher than the open trunk. “I gotta go," she whispered. "Make sure Jason McIntyre knows she wasn't in the car.”

  “And how do you suggest I do that without inspiring him to beat me 'til I tell him how I know?”

  “Use your imagination.” She tapped off and dropped the phone into her pocket, closed the overnight bag, and then the trunk.

  “Need any help?” Sunny asked.

  “Nope, I was just sorting us out a night’s worth. The less we bring in, the faster we can get out again. I put some of your stuff in my car, and some of mine in yours, just in case. Lucky for you, your big suitcase made it in here.”

  “How about my bathroom stuff?” she asked, hope and doubt etched equally on her face.

  “Nope. But I always carry extra.”

  “You’re like a Girl Scout, aren’t you?”

  “I’m like a girl federal agent,” Eve said. She closed the trunk and went into the room.

  Jason didn’t know what to do with himself. He’d been to Sunny's place, but there was no sign o
f Sunny, and a lot of her things were missing. Like she'd packed. Like she knew she was leaving him.

  He and his brothers had checked all over town, asking everyone who knew her, but no one had a clue where she might’ve gone. It was like she’d vanished from the face of the earth.

  She was in trouble. He knew it down deep in his bones. That trumped everything else. He could be mad at her for lying to him later. Demand an explanation for all of this later. But that took a back seat to her being okay. He had to help her. He had to make sure she was safe. It wasn't modern thinking, it wasn't thinking at all. His heart was calling the shots, not his head.

  He’d finally convinced his brothers that he’d be okay if they returned to their lives and their wives. And since then he’d called Sunny's phone a hundred times. Nothing.

  He clung to Jimmy’s assurance that the police were looking for her and had more resources than he did. Jimmy said he should stick near home tonight, that Sunny would likely come back, because she’d left her car in his driveway. That made some kind of sense, but he wasn't gonna be able to comply.

  His cell phone went off, which, at this time of night, meant something big. He glanced at it fast before answering, disappointed it wasn’t Sunny calling. “Jimmy, you find her?”

  “Jason…um. No. Not…look, there’s no reason to think the worst, but–”

  “I’m already thinking the worst so spit it out.”

  “Sorry. We found Eve’s car out by the old Yancy Motor Lodge.”

  “Just the car? Anyone inside?”

  “Well…we can’t tell yet. The car…Jason, the car burned.”

  “Burned?” His heart almost beat through his chest. “What do you mean, burned? You mean…burned?”

  “We’ve got a team going over it. There’s no point in you coming out here. I’ll call you as soon as I know anything for sure.”