"I know you're kidding, Jenny, but you may want to get out of town for a while," Nicole said.
"We'll keep our eyes open Nicole. Just keep us posted on any developments on your end," Charlie said.
"Goes without saying. I'm available on my cell phone 24-7 so don't hesitate to call."
"You said Ellis got a deal; what was that monster given?" Jenny asked.
"The ability to keep breathing behind bars for the rest of three life times with no chance of parole."
Nicole walked them out to their truck and said, "Again, you two, I don't know how to thank you for following a hunch and exposing Margret and Ellis investigations. Let me know if you decide to get out of town for a while. And please have a Merry Christmas."
Jenny gave her a hug and said, "Merry Christmas to you, Nicole. We'll keep in touch."
"Our thanks will be the simple phrase 'We got her' in a phone call, in the not-too-distant future. Thanks Nicole," Charlie said attempting a smile.
Chapter 29
On the drive home, Charlie noticed that Jenny was clearly deep in thought. After 30 minutes of silence, when her smile grew to killer and her eyes lit up, Charlie couldn't contain himself any longer. "Ok Jenny, what's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"
"I know what I want for Christmas." She turned to face him.
"Me too; you wearing that exact smile and nothing else under our Christmas tree."
"I was joking back there at the Police Station, but the more I think about you and me in Hawaii for a week..."
"I have to admit, seeing you in a bikini instead of that heavy coat certainly works for me."
"Things are crazy here, and this is not about Margret, that's not it. I'm also not saying our honeymoon in a 22-foot travel trailer while discovering this property wasn't great either. I just think a week in Hawaii would be wonderful for us."
Her contagious smile over-powered him. "That's not the worst idea you've ever had."
"No really, let's give each other Hawaii for Christmas," she said, very excitedly. "The girls are safe. They will catch Margret. There is nothing we can do here, but watch the foundation set up, and it will do that while we explore a place I have never been before."
"Ok, I'm in. I love seeing you this excited." He looked down at the speedometer and realized their growing excitement affected the truck as well and backed off from 85 miles an hour.
When they arrived home, Jenny had her computer fired up searching airlines and hotels, before the front door even closed and had trouble sitting still.
"Charlie, look at this."
Already standing behind her he said, "Right here sweetheart."
She jumped with surprised but didn't lose stride. "The Rainbow Hilton in Oahu finished a new tower two weeks ahead of time and they have the rooms at half price to fill them up."
"Are there any flights available?" he asked, already feeling the warm water pass over his feet.
She quickly switched screens and showed him the available flights. "Not as lucky here. There are seats available, but not a bargain."
"Go for it Jenny."
"Here's one that leaves, two days after Christmas. Gosh, that’s only, four days from now. What do you think?"
"I was hoping you'd have found something that had us there yesterday. Do it."
Jenny hit confirm and shouted, "Yes. It's just you and me, mister."
She entered their names and when the screen asked for credit card information, she turned to him. "I kind of lost my cards in Gorman."
He handed her his Visa. When the flight confirmation and hotel reservations were all confirmed, she jumped out of her seat. "This is so great, I love you so much."
"Pretty good idea I had," he replied, laughing.
"Yeah, right. I didn't know you were such a pushover for a bikini."
"It's not the bikini, it's you in the bikini," he said, pulling her close for a kiss. "Let me rephrase that, I think it's you slipping out of a bikini."
"I like the sound of that." She flashed a flirtatious smile. "So what do I need to get for you to wear? I've got to go into town anyway, to get a new drivers license and ATM card."
"I've got shorts, a tee shirt and sandals; I'm ready to go."
"Always so helpful, I'll look around for you," she said, heading for the door.
"We only have four days. You'd better go to the DMV and get your license first. With any luck I'll pick you up there on my way to the airport," Charlie said laughing.
"It's only one o'clock now, I'll be back before six. I'm so excited."
"Hold that thought when you're still in the DMV line at five," he said, as the door closed behind her.
Charlie went into the construction office and studied the framing drawings and after a few hours walked around the foundation of Watson Manor envisioning the first floor framing that was soon to come. The lobby, he thought, might be more dramatic if they went twelve feet high on the first floor, rather than ten. I'll have to talk to Jenny about that when she gets home, he thought. He'd lost track of time, looked at his watch and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"Hello honey. I found a few things we can use," Jenny answered.
"I just noticed it was 6:30. I should've gone with you."
"What are you afraid of? That I bought you a bunch of Hawaiian shirts?" she asked, laughing.
"No, I didn't want you by yourself. I wasn't thinking when you left. I got caught up in our getting away."
"I'm fine. I like my new license picture better and I got the new ATM card, which I'm testing. It works great."
"I'll just feel a lot better when you get home. We can finish the shopping tomorrow together."
"OK. I'll be home in 30 minutes. Want me to grab dinner?"
"I'll warm up the microwave. Make it in 25 and there's a massage in it for you."
He walked back to the mobile home, kicking himself for letting her out of his sight. How would he ever forgive himself, he thought, if anything happened to her? He tried to distract himself from watching the clock by putting a meal together for them. Twenty minutes later, he heard the truck pull in and park outside. He went out to greet her just as she was getting out of the truck.
She saw the worried look on his face relax into a half smile. "Everything is good. Help me with the bags."
"I don't want you solo for a while, ok?" Charlie said, grabbing a few bags.
"OK." She looked at him and put her hands on his cheeks to deliver a kiss. "I'm sorry, you were worried about me."
He had to snap out of it, he reasoned. She was right there and safe so he took a shot at easing the tension. "Just worried that those expensive air line tickets are non refundable," he said, smiling weakly.
She saw in his eyes that the smile wasn't genuine. "I wasn't thinking either, and Charlie, I love you too."
Inside the mobile home she set her bags down and said, "Before I show you what I got for us, I was home in 20 minutes, five minutes early. So I deserve a little warm oil with that massage." Jenny gave him her grandest smile.
He physically felt the tension drain away and returned her smile. "I have a quart of heavy duty 10-30 motor oil I use in the truck, or were you thinking 90 wt. gear oil?"
She laughed, walked over to one of her shopping bags and pulled out a small bottle. "As good as that sounds, I was thinking this might work." She handed him the bottle. "Dinner can wait," she said. "I'll be in the massage parlor."
"Dinner will be served at 9:30, madam," he replied. Maybe 10 or 11, he thought.
Charlie placed the bottle in a small pot of water on the stove to warm it up. Jenny walked back to their bedroom, returning shortly and having left her clothing behind. She walked slowly past him and spread a new beach towel she had just purchased beside the Christmas tree. She laid down on her stomach facing him. "How's the oil coming?"
"Almost ready. You were smart to lie on your stomach, would have only gotten half a massage the other way."
"Beauty and brains, you got the whole package."
<
br /> He walked over to her with the oil and her grin turned into a loving smile. "Thank you, Charlie, for making me feel more beautiful than I ever have before."
"I'm the lucky one; I get my Christmas wish two days early."
He didn't need to ask if she felt relaxed. Her deep, "Mmmmmmm," told him he was doing it right. That night, dinner waited until 10:30.
Chapter 30
There was a light rain fall when they awoke the following morning. Jenny jumped out of bed, threw on a robe and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. "Three more days and then look out Hawaii, here we come," she called down the hall.
"I won't mind leaving this rain behind; I'm glad we put in the temporary gravel driveway," he said, headed for the shower.
Jenny showered and dressed after breakfast then went into the living room. "You saw one of the new beach towels last night, but come see what else I got."
"I'm already thinking that towel is my favorite." He sat next to her to go through the shopping bags. "I want to go to a sporting goods store and get some snorkeling gear for us, masks and fins."
"Can't we just rent that stuff there?"
"I just want something a little better for us. A leaky mask and fins that don't fit right can ruin our visits with the fishes."
"You're right, let's make it perfect; we wouldn't want the fishes to see us in tacky rental stuff," she said, smiling.
They hurried to the truck to avoid getting wet from the rain. As they drove out, Charlie noticed the police department had an unmarked surveillance car watching their home. "That reminds me," Charlie said. "We need to tell Nicole we decided to go to Hawaii after all."
"I think Nicole will be pleased she doesn't need to worry about us for a week. I'm going to call Gracie and see how her father is doing." She pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed.
"Hello?" Gracie answered.
"Hello Gracie, its Jenny. Is there any news on your father?"
"Doctor Hunt says the new meds are working and that my dad could wake up soon." Gracie's voice was full of excitement.
"That's wonderful. We'll continue to pray for him."
"It would be a totally great Christmas gift," Gracie told her.
"Yes it would be. Are the police still outside?"
"All the time."
"Good, I feel better knowing that. I'll call you soon, Gracie. In a few days Charlie and I are going to Hawaii for a week, but you can always call us if you need to talk."
"Wow that sounds fun. I'll call if dad wakes up."
"Not if, when your father wakes up. Talk to you soon, sweetheart," Jenny said, disconnecting the call.
"It's looking good for James and they still have the police outside as well," she told him.
"Glad to hear it. Why don't you call Nicole and let her know we will be out of town for a week and won't need the watch dog."
Jenny called the detective and left a message on her voice mail.
They decided a trip to San Jose would offer better choices for the snorkeling gear and found the gear on sale at a Big 5 Sporting Goods store. Jenny had never snorkeled before so Charlie insisted she try on several masks until she found a perfect fit. An hour later they walked back to truck, excited to try the new equipment in a few days. Jenny looked across the street at a large shopping mall.
"I love this time of year, all the decorations and Christmas music," she said. "Let's walk through the mall."
They drove across the street and found a parking spot way in the back lot. "We should have just walked over from where we were. I'm becoming a big fan of Christmas, but the mall on Christmas Eve?" he asked.
"We're not buying anything, just soaking up the spirit." He took her hand and they crossed the parking lot. Once inside the mall they stepped away from the doors to take in the magic. A small Santa's village was set up in front of them. A white picket fence draped in garland surrounded the village. A path, boarded with mounds of shoveled snow led the way to Santa's sleigh. Elves were in full costume with red hats helping the children up into the sleigh to talk to Santa. Along the path were detail-painted shop fronts, Santa's toy shop, Mrs. Claus's bakery and a stable with reindeer heads that moved slowly, side to side as if watching the action. 'Santa Claus is coming to Town' was playing from speakers in the village and the colored lights hanging on the village store fronts were keeping rhythm with the music. Excited children lined the path, waiting for their turn to tell Santa their Christmas wishes. Tired parents, surrounded with last minute shopping bags, sat on benches nearby, some offering encouragement to the younger children that weren't sure if Santa was a good person to meet. A small boy, maybe three years old, had run to his mother's arms, startled by a reindeer that turned its head toward him along the path.
"That'll be us one day," Jenny said with anticipated joy.
"Works for me."
"If we made him last night, he'll be a slippery one with all that oil." They strolled deeper into the mall. They had pizza in the food court and spent most of the day walking slowly and enjoying each store window that displayed a different image of Christmas. They laughed out loud when a travel agency had Santa on a surf board in Hawaii.
"You're right," he said.
"About?" she asked.
"Remember when you told me to keep my eyes on the harbor? That new ships were always coming in?"
"Yes I do, and when I said it, even then, I wanted it to be me," she said.
"I was only looking for a 28-foot day cruiser. Then you came along, like this huge Carnival cruise ship that consumes both the harbor and my view beyond it."
"That was then. You can stop looking for new ships in the harbor now," she said smiling.
"If I stood on the deck of that 28-foot boat, all I would see is the huge ship. Now that I'm on the deck of that cruise ship, with you, Jenny, I can see the whole world."
"What we have is overwhelming. Every time I feel it can't get better, it does, and that scares me a little too. Falling off the curb is one thing, falling from the top deck of our cruise ship would not be so easy to bounce back from."
"Then let's hold on, to the hand rails together."
"It has to be the hand rails on the edge of the deck. So we can watch our little dinghies float around us, Charlie."
He laughed. "Jenny, don't be calling our kids dinghies. There's Charlie Junior and look over there its little Charlene."
"Sounds like you have it all worked out. You make any room in your harbor for me?"
"Oh yeah, you have the biggest role. You're the boat launch," he said laughing. "I'm confused, though; are we partners or mates now?"
"That's easy, we are so many things."
Jenny's phone rang. "Hello?"
"Hello Jenny, this is Nicole, you called earlier?"
"Yes Nicole, we wanted to know if you had any new information on Margret?"
"We found her car late yesterday afternoon, behind an abandoned warehouse in town. A search turned up nothing and we've had eyes on the car but no sign of her."
"Can you tell how long it's been there?"
"No telling. She's been putting money away for some time, and none of the bank accounts or credit cards we know about, have shown any activity."
"So we don't know if she is close or a long way off?"
"No I'm afraid we don't."
"Charlie and I decided to treat ourselves to Hawaii for Christmas after all."
"When do you leave?"
"In three days. We'll be gone for one glorious week. We wanted you to know that you don't need to have our house watched."
"I was so upset when the Marina Police called last night indicating they were short handed and had to pull off their surveillance. I'll have someone from my department out there tonight, though," she said, reassuringly.
"We saw them there this morning when we left."
"What? That’s not one of ours, Jenny. Where are you now?" Nicole asked.
"We're in the San Jose Mall, getting ready to leave soon."
"I'll have t
he Marina Police check out your home right now. Don't go home until I call you back with an all clear from them," she said.
"OK, we won't be home for an hour and a half anyway. If we don't hear from you, we'll wait at the diner in Marina for your call," Jenny said. She put the phone back in her purse and filled Charlie in on the situation. They both felt the joy of Christmas slipping away when they left the mall and headed towards home.
They were half way home when dusk fell and Charlie turned the truck lights on. A blue and white full-sized sedan pulled up fast behind them and turned on the flashing roof bar lights. Charlie pulled to the shoulder.
"I wasn't speeding," he said. "Maybe it's a special delivery update."
"News of Margret's capture would be icing on the cake."
When he brought the truck to a complete stop, he shut off the engine and lowered his window. The sedan pulled in tight behind him and he saw the officer get out of the car and walk towards him. Charlie turned to greet the officer and found a gun in his face.
"You're going to unlock the back door and follow instructions," the man said. Charlie hit the unlock button and, within a half of a second felt the gun move from the side of his head to the back of it.
"Lady, hand back your purse; then I want to see both your hands on the dash board." Jenny quickly complied. "Either one of you tries anything, and you'll watch the other die, first. About two miles ahead, is the turn off for Deer Creek, on the left. Now slow and easy, get us there."
Charlie started the truck and pulled out onto the highway. The sedan stayed close behind them, but had turned off the flashing roof lights. Charlie turned left on the narrow road toward Deer Creek. A half a mile in, the man told him to turn right on an upcoming dirt road. Charlie made the turn and saw a clearing ahead. The truck fishtailed slightly in the mud created by that morning's rain.
"When we stop ahead, lady, you're going to walk around the front of the truck, while, I have this gun pressed into his head, understand?"
"Yes," she said.
Watson Manor Eventually (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 1) Page 19