Watson Manor Eventually (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 1)

by Ronald S. Craig

  Jenny only slept a few hours and after she'd showered and dressed went to the desk to write the note. She folded the note and her watch told her it was only 5:15 in the morning. She grabbed her bag, note in hand and opened the door. After she slid the note under Charlie's door she threw her bag in the car and walked over to the diner.

  Jenny took a booth with a view across the parking lot to watch Charlie's door. The little sleep she had gotten hadn't brought any answers to the conflict she was struggling with. She'd just thanked the waitress for her second refill of coffee when her heart stopped. Paul's car passed her Mustang slowly then parked in front of the office. She jumped to her feet in panic as she watched Paul go into the office. Jenny's only thought was Paul would surely have more than a knife with him this time and he had a score to settle with Charlie. What if he had his gun? She worried. Paul was there for her and she knew he'd follow her. There was no way to run across the parking lot to Charlie's room without Paul seeing her, and if Paul had a gun, she would be risking Charlie's life. There was only one way to keep him away from Charlie. She threw money on the table and ran to her car. She drove slowly past Paul's car and when she saw him turn his head in the office toward the parking lot, she hit the gas moving fast towards Palm Springs.

  Chapter 11

  Charlie woke the following morning and reached across the bed expecting to find her. She had filled his dreams with such vivid realism; it took him a moment to remember she was next door. Lying on his back, his right hand came to rest on his chest over his heart.

  "There you are," he said and smiled broadly from the wonderful fulfillment Jenny had brought into his life. Everything was different, so wonderfully different. He wanted to lay there and retrace the whole evening, reliving every moment, but his desire to see her pushed him out of bed. He showered and dressed as quickly as he could. He decided to take her breakfast and was delighted with the idea.

  "Wow, Charlie, you've found your dream." Soul mate had been defined for him the only way it really could be, not with words, but rather the focused all-consuming awareness that she was an inseparable part of him.

  He got excited when he saw the note that was slid under his door. He picked it up:

  "Dear Charlie,

  I've never known a man who could touch me so deeply in the little time we've shared. My hand was on the door knob three separate times last night, wanting so desperately to come to you. I have something to tell you. It's important and I can't hold it inside another moment. I tried to tell you last night but your kiss pulled the words silently from my lips.

  I'll be in the diner, whatever happens after we talk, I want you to know last night was so wonderful and precious to me, I'll hold it in my heart forever.

  Your Jenny

  Charlie quickly threw his clothes in his bag and walked to his truck to put the bag inside then walked to the diner. His broad smile faded as he entered the diner and didn't see her. It hit him suddenly that he didn't see her car beside the truck either.

  "Excuse me miss," Charlie said to the waitress. "Have you seen a woman, mid twenties with long brown hair this morning?"

  "Yes, she was here almost an hour. It seemed like something scared her. She ran out of here about 30 minutes ago."

  "Do you think it was something she thought, or saw that scared her?"

  "She was looking out the window when she jumped up. When I went to the window, a moment later, she was leaving the parking lot in a hurry. I was walking back to the counter and heard another car scream past the diner. I'm not sure, but it looked like it was going after her."

  "Thank you." Panic filled him and he ran to the door. Had Paul find them? He thought as he jumped into his truck. What was it she tried to tell me? Was she dying? Had she thought, as his ex-wife had, that he was a dead end? He couldn't think straight about anything except that he had to find her and if it was Paul, protect her.

  Charlie searched for details as his mind scanned the scenes of their time together. He pushed his rig harder than he ever had before. His only hope was to close the distance between them on the road to Palm Springs. He feared once she was in Palm Springs, his ability to find her would be gone, without knowing her sister's married name. Damn, he thought, why didn't we talk about her, a clue in locating her in Palm Springs? He had to find her, or was it them, if Paul was chasing her on the road. He wished he had filled his tanks last night, but it had been a low priority then. Once fueled, he was back searching everywhere, gas stations, ahead on the highway and along the side of the road. It had to be Paul; he reasoned but, was it something else. The frustration of the lost time fueling and being further behind her was compounded by not knowing definitively why she was gone. Unanswered questions pushed him fifteen mph over the posted speed limit.

  Each town had found him frantically searching cafes and gas stations. Surely, he reasoned, he would close the gap before Palm Springs. To keep his momentum up he often shared the left lane with on-coming cars to pass slower traffic. Horns blared at him all the way. The overwhelming need to find Jenny, to save her from Paul came from every part of him. He feared that after being consumed by the hope of life's greatest treasure that it would not be his to savor again.

  Reaching the California boarder without a sign of her crushed him. He would not surrender and continued toward Palm Springs. The speed limit was 55 mph for trucks and he held 70. He wanted more than his own life to hear the sound of that dying goose around him. It never came. Charlie felt the emotional flood of hopelessness. His whole body shook with the fear that she was gone. He didn't believe in fate, but that things happen for a reason. He felt himself going crazy trying to find that reason.

  "If its Paul Lord, please keep her safe. If it's something else, why?" he shouted, "every time I drop my guard, I have to be reminded why I wear it. This time Lord is too much for me." He tried to pull out of this the lesson, or understand the punishment.

  Charlie was passing Indio and became overwhelmed with the sight ahead. Weaving through traffic ahead he saw what looked like Paul's car with the large gash in the trunk. Charlie knew his time was running out on this load. The sight of Anderson grinning smugly as he tore up Charlie's contract flashed through his mind. Rage exploded within Charlie and shattered the vision as he pushed harder on the gas to chase Paul's car. He hoped that Paul might know where Jenny's sister lived and could lead him to her.

  It took five miles of his rig screaming in protest to close the gap between them. When Charlie approached the back of Paul's car, he saw Jenny's car just ahead. Paul was holding a gun out the window and he saw Jenny's rear window was already shattered from a previous shot.

  "Give me a little more," Charlie cried out in desperation trying to close the final distance. He watched helplessly as they both pulled further ahead. "Dear God don't take her from me. Help me Lord. He watched as Jenny swerved off an exit ramp about a mile ahead with Paul right behind her. He felt the terror going through her mind as she crossed the highway on the overpass. Her car jolted sideways onto the ramp heading back toward Arizona. Charlie knew he could never catch them.

  They approached him on the other side of the highway. The traffic headed east was light and he saw only one chance to help Jenny.

  "I love you Jenny." he yelled as he locked his brakes to slow down and pulled the wheel hard left, guiding his rig over the flat dirt section dividing the highway. He heard the tires of a few cars screeching to a stop as he crossed the lanes of on-coming traffic. Paul had gotten off one shot at Charlie seconds before Charlie's rig caught the back of Paul's car and sent it rolling over an embankment. The front tire of his rig blew on impact and he fought for control to avoid a collision with other cars. When his truck stopped, he was thankful he saw Jenny's car escaping. He leapt to the ground and looked back for Paul's car. He saw flames and dark black smoke coming from the car. Grabbing the fire extinguisher from his truck, he ran back to the car to put the fire out. Paul had been thrown clear, still alive when Charlie checked, and it took everything he h
ad to resisted his desire to change that fact.

  *****

  Jenny noticed the traffic behind her stopped and the air filled with a cloud of dust hiding any detail. She assumed that Paul lost control and caused an accident. She slowed but couldn't stop. Even though she was shaking frantically, wondering if Paul was alive, but knew she had to keep moving. She took the next off ramp to Indio and headed down back roads to her sister's home.

  *****

  Charlie's trailer was blocking one of the three lanes of traffic headed east. Several people approached Charlie as he sat beside Paul. One man pointed to Paul and asked Charlie, "Is that the bastard with the gun?"

  "Yeah," Charlie said looking at his watch. "He didn't get us. She got away, but my shipping contract is dead."

  "Dead shipping contract, what do you mean?"

  "Nothing," Charlie replied. "Would you keep a foot on him while I move my truck and check the damage?"

  "You got it buddy," he said as he and his son took guard duty. "We called 911 for you. You passed us on the other side chasing him, after what you did, we wanted to help."

  "Thanks," Charlie said, walking to his truck. He eased his rig to the shoulder of the highway and pulled the jack down to change his tire when the first Highway Patrol car pulled up. Charlie handed the patrolman his license.

  "I saw the guy over there shooting at some woman ahead of him on the highway," Charlie told him. "The woman got away but the guy shooting at her is banged up pretty bad. The two guys watching him are witness to the whole thing."

  The patrolman noticed the bullet hole in Charlie's wind shield, relaxed the grip on his gun. "We received several calls on both the high speed chase and the gun being fired."

  The patrolman called for an ambulance and a tow truck when a second patrol car pulled in close to Paul's car.

  Charlie positioned the jack and started pumping as he looked back to see the witness pointing in all directions and talking rapidly to the other patrolman. Paul was dazed but was sitting up beside the patrolman who was keeping a close watch on him.

  The patrolman that spoke to Charlie walked towards Paul's car searching the ground and found the gun. The ambulance pulled alongside with two more Highway Patrol cars. One of them followed the ambulance that was transporting Paul. Charlie was positioning the fresh tire on his truck when the original patrolman returned.

  "So who is this woman, Mr. Watson?"

  "Don't know. She just seemed to need a little assistance."

  "A twelve-ton tackle is what you call a little assistance? The way Bob…"he paused to check his report, "…Bob Johnson tells it, it was nothing short of pure heroism or complete lunacy."

  "Lunacy fits," Charlie said.

  "Paul Sanders is the other driver. I don't suppose you know him either?"

  "No," Charlie answered tightening the last lug nut.

  "How do you know you took out the right car? This woman could have been an escaping felon but, like you said, you didn't know her. That's what you're trying to tell me? You went through all this on an impulsive hunch for some stranger, right?"

  "If I'd had more time to think about it, I'd be miles from here minding my own business. Something about a woman getting shot at triggers a nerve in me, I guess."

  "Let's try this; can you give me a description of the car she was driving?"

  "Small tan two-door; an older car."

  "California plates?"

  "Didn't get that close to her."

  The patrolman shook his head and handed Charlie's license back. "We have your contact information. Is your rig safe to drive or do you need a tow?"

  "A little bruised but solid as a rock. I'm going to have trouble getting her turned around on this shoulder though, as I'm headed the wrong way."

  "Give me fifteen minutes to stop the traffic and you can have all three lanes to cross back over. Try real hard to fight off any more heroic impulses today Mr. Watson."

  "Thank you. Believe me I will."

  When Charlie saw the trooper a mile ahead, lights flashing and crossing all lanes to slow traffic he pulled his rig out crossing the three lanes and the median. He merged into traffic headed again toward Long Beach. He crossed all three lanes onto the shoulder at the Bob Hope exit towards Palm Springs, waiting and hoping to see Jenny's car return. It was approaching 3:00pm and he realized he had lost, three hours of precious time and surely next year's contract. He knew Jenny was safe, but needed to see it in her face. At 3:30 he started his truck and headed to Long Beach never stopping from looking back for the answer to his prayer or listening for the call of the dying goose.

  Charlie stopped his rig just outside the gate of the west coast warehouse. It was 7:30 on Thursday night and the loading dock had closed hours ago. All was lost. He couldn't find the strength to drive another inch so he just sat there, staring at the bay doors closed tightly between him and next year's contract. "I got Paul though," he said with a spark.

  "C.W., you in there?" He heard from the lot below.

  "Hey Sid. There is life here after all."

  "Nathan called this afternoon, said he didn't care if overtime was needed but I couldn't leave until you were unloaded."

  "Bless you Sid. I would kiss you if…" Charlie wanted to joke with Sid like he normally did, but couldn't do it.

  "Try it and you'll unload by hand. Bay 10, where the log says I unloaded you at 4:30 this afternoon," Sid told him laughing.

  "I owe you big time Sid. Do you happen to like metal sculptures?"

  "I've seen the stuff you call sculptures. The trash bin is where it always is, or should I say, you know where the art gallery is."

  "No Sid, actually I think I'll keep this one, reminds me of someone pretty special."

  Chapter 12

  The next day he placed ads with his phone number in three of Palm Springs local newspapers asking Jenny to contact him. His frustration grew as he realized his desire to isolate himself by not having either a business or personal phone listing in the phonebook blocked any way for her to contact him, if she wanted to do that. He still didn't know if there was more than Paul, her letter had an element of goodbye that he couldn't shake.

  Charlie completed his local runs as usual and returned home to a silent phone. He knew his life would never be the same again. She took everything inside of him with her and the emptiness was intolerable. He couldn't just wait for the phone to ring, Saturday morning he dropped his 53 foot trailer and drove to Palm Springs. He didn't hold much hope but maybe he would find her car or she would see his truck, doing nothing was not an option. He drove through neighborhoods in Palm Springs for six hours without any luck and then returned home. Love was no longer an illusion. He knew he had found it in her and the passing time only increased this truth in him.

  When he entered his house the message light on his answering machine was blinking. He ran over and saw three messages. He hit the playback button.

  "Time nine fifteen, Saturday…Charlie, this is Avery. Give me a call."

  "Time twelve thirty five, Saturday…Charlie, Avery again, call me right away."

  "Time three twelve, Saturday…I really need to talk to you, it's important Charlie….end of messages." He hit the speed dial button for Nathan and Avery.

  "Charlie?" Avery asked.

  "Yeah, it me. What's going on, are Nathan and the kids ok?"

  "We're all fine. How are you?"

  "Three messages Avery, I was scared for your family. What do you mean, how am I?"

  "I saw a news flash, C.W. trucking saved a women being chased in Palm Springs."

  "Oh that, a long story. I met someone Avery, she holds my heart and I don't know how to reach her. I'm going crazy here."

  "Do you love her, Charlie?"

  "Yes, I really do. I've never felt more lost…Why would you ask me that?"

  "Jenny is fine, Charlie. She loves you too."

  "What? How do you know about Jenny?"

  "Please hear me out, I love both of you very much…"

&nbs
p; "Love both of us, what the hell is going on Avery?"

  "Charlie please, hear me out. I'm sorry this all got so crazy. Don't blame her, it was my stupid plan. When she told me she was leaving town, to stay with her sister in Palm Springs, my mind went into overdrive. The timing seemed perfect. I told Jenny that Nathan knew a truck driver, C.W. a pretty good guy that drove through Palm Springs and he would be at the diner Monday morning. I suggested maybe he would keep an eye on her going west. Yes, I called Peg to plant the seed in your head as well."

  "I don't believe this, why didn't you just ask me?"

  "I wanted to, but looking back when I wanted you to meet someone, your existing walls got higher. I know you, Charlie. I also knew if given a chance you and Jenny would connect. The only chance was on the road when you weren't hiding behind C.W. I didn't listen when she called me from Phoenix. I was so sure it was too soon for you..."

  "She called you? You told her to leave that night?"

  "No, Charlie. I told her to stay out of your bed, because...you needed more time to let her into your heart first. She left to keep Paul from possible hurting you."

  "What the hell does that mean, stay out of my bed, in my heart?"

  "Damn it Charlie, look at the last eight years. You've been running away from a real connection so long with your flings. I care too much for both of you to let you throw her into a bag of conquests." Avery told him. "I wanted you to be in love first and knew that didn't have a chance in your C.W. mode here in town."

  "I was. I am."

  "I know that now, I'm so very sorry."

  "Did you arrange Paul coming to Kate's Diner?"

  "Of course not, but it seems that was a blessing. She told me you were leaving the diner."

  "I felt bad about that, pressure from Anderson. Is she alright?"