Then there was the part of me that grew more nervous every minute we stayed. What if the family that owned this cabin had a hankering for a visit to the lake? What if unbeknownst to Charlie, the police had figured out I was heading north? Every moment spent sitting here could be one closer to detection. And, though I had no idea what I could find out about Julie, I knew I wouldn’t find anything lounging by the fire. I couldn’t bear the thought of Cara spending even one day away from her father because of me.
So Gabrielle and I contented ourselves with a quick breakfast and carefully cleaned up our mess. The horses weren’t thrilled to have their break called to a halt, but they eventually lowered their heads and pushed forward.
I could empathize with their weariness, but I had the benefit of knowing the journey was nearing its end. We pushed hard that day and stopped for the night when we found an abandoned farmhouse near Aurora, Missouri. The windows were broken and the roof looked a little if-y, but it had a fireplace and served as a good windbreak.
“This place is spooky. Want to tell ghost stories?” Gabrielle asked once we were curled up in our sleeping bags.
“You really are like Conrad, aren’t you?” I teased. “Sure… but I don’t want to hear you complain when you can’t sleep later because you’re scared.”
“I’m not sure anything could keep me awake tonight,” she yawned for emphasis.
“I know,” I joined her in a yawn. “Have you ever heard the story about the Lalaurie House?”
Gabrielle shook her head so I dove right in. Despite her boasts, by the time I finished, her sleeping bag was markedly closer to mine. I was pleased I hadn’t lost my touch. I’d prided myself in being able to scare Lenora Smallwood senseless when I was Gabrielle’s age.
That night, I allowed my mind to drift through happy memories of childhood. Telling stories around a fire with Gabrielle reminded me of being young and silly with my brother and our friends. It was more pleasant to let those memories carry me off to sleep instead of lying awake missing Charlie.
I awoke the next morning excited for the first time in days. This would be our last day of riding for a while. With a little luck, we’d be checked into a motel by evening—thanks to a new fake ID courtesy of Conrad and the money Charlie gave us.
We rode as close to the city limits as we dared without being noticed. I had a problem I’d been trying to figure out since we left—what was I going to do with our tack and horses? I finally remembered I had a cell phone on me and used it to call information. Turns out there was a horse motel close by. It was more money than I would have preferred to spend, but I was pregnant with a nine-year-old in tow. Sometimes you just had to give in a little. Besides, with any luck, we wouldn’t have to stay long.
If the owners thought it odd that we rode up on horseback, they didn’t mention it. I worried our entrance would arouse suspicion, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. As happy as our horses were to be in warm stalls with fresh hay and water, I was even happier when I could finally stand under a steady stream of hot water. After we had both showered, we put on our pajamas and ordered a large pizza and some cheese sticks.
“This is the best meal I’ve ever had in my life,” Gabrielle closed her eyes to savor the first bite.
“Amazing,” I agreed with a contented sigh, turning on the television to catch the news. There was no mention of me and I considered that a real plus. We didn’t talk much during dinner; we were too busy relishing every second of it. Afterwards, when we were stuffed to the gills and lying back on our bed enjoying the fact that we had pillows, we got around to discussing our next steps.
“Do you have any idea where she is?”
“I think so,” I had an address off the Internet, anyway.
“Do you have any idea what you are looking for?”
“None whatsoever.”
“Do you know where you want to start?”
“I guess by making sure I do know where to find her.”
“Makes sense.”
“I thought about breaking into her house to snoop around, too.”
“You should let me do that. I’ll get in less trouble if I get caught.”
“That would make me officially the worst mother ever.”
“Maybe, but you know I have a point.”
“Or I could leave you here while I go.”
“That sounds really boring.”
“You’re better at computers than me. I could drop you at the library to do research while I go break the law.”
“I guess,” she pouted just a little.
That night I slept easier than I had since leaving home. The little motel felt safe and secure and a million miles away from Dixon or Elena Taylor. The sun was well into its journey across the sky by the time I finally woke up. Gabrielle was curled up in a chair watching SpongeBob Squarepants and helping herself to the last of the beef jerky.
I checked on the horses then scrounged for breakfast. Doubt was beginning to wear away at me. I wasn’t sure what I thought I could accomplish by being here or what dirt I hoped to find on Julie. All I knew was I had to try.
Armed with that resolve and an address I wasn’t entirely sure was correct, I called a cab to come pick us up. I got out with Gabrielle at the library, shuddering at how much of my cash the cab fare cost. Once I had her settled in front of a computer with a list of things to check into and my phone number should she run into any trouble, I walked the two short blocks to what I hoped was Julie’s home.
It was a cute little subdivision and my heart sank. What if she really had gotten her life together? My cell phone chirped and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Hello?”
“How’s my favorite jailbird?” Charlie’s smiling voice greeted me.
“Very funny. I’m good, actually. We spent the night in a real bed last night... and ate pizza. It was amazing. Thank you for that. How are you?”
“Holding up. I miss you… you sound out of sorts. What are you up to?”
“Not much,” I lied. “Gabrielle is at the library, playing around on the computer. I’m just going for a little walk.”
“Where are you walking?” he was suddenly very curious. Something in my voice must have given it away.
“Down a street.”
“Neena….”
“Down Julie’s street.”
“Please don’t do anything I will regret,” he seemed completely resigned to me being there.
“I won’t hurt her,” I promised.
“I know you won’t, because she’s staying at her parents’ house right now.”
“Why didn’t you say so? That’s really helpful information.”
“Because you didn’t tell me where you were going. What happened to the original plan, by the way?”
“Gabrielle and I discussed it and decided this was more productive. Neither of us are hide-and-wait-it-out kind of girls.”
“So I noticed. Please just be careful.”
“Of course.”
“How did the horses do?”
“Amazingly well for fat pasture ponies.”
“You have to stop calling them that. Cara would be heartbroken if she heard you.”
“Well you can tell her that her pony did a wonderful job…. Hey, I thought you said Julie was out of town.”
“She is. I had the misfortune of running in to her yesterday.”
“Well someone’s backing out of her driveway… oh, looks like Julie got herself a new man. Why on earth was she trying to get you back if she had this guy?”
“Maybe he was plan b.”
“Maybe. Look, I gotta go if I’m going to catch this garage door. Love you.” I hung up the phone and looked both ways. The boyfriend turned left at the stop sign and was disappearing from sight. I picked up a rock and tossed it passed the sensor, causing the door to slowly inch its way back up.
When I was fairly certain no one was paying attention to me, I crossed the street and walked in like I belonged in there. I didn’t see an alarm syste
m by the door but kept my ears peeled for approaching cars anyway. Not that I could have heard anything past my pulse pounding in my head.
Once inside, I glanced in each direction, trying to figure out where to start. The kitchen was a disorganized mess, but I doubted her being a bad housekeeper would do much to help my cause. Where does one hide the skeletons? As ridiculous as it felt, I couldn’t think of where else to start so I headed to what I assumed to be her bedroom and opened the closet. No bodies there. But I did see a picture of Julie and Plan B on the nightstand, so at least I knew I was in the right place.
The click of the door to the garage opening sounded like a gunshot in the quiet house. Or maybe it just seemed amplified because it was so terrifying. Either way, I dropped to all fours and shimmied under the bed. Now my heart was really pounding and I mentally cursed myself for not closing the garage door once I’d come inside. That was really stupid of me.
Laying there with my eyes closed waiting to feel a hand grab my ankle was a little like expecting to feel a gator latch on to your calf.
“Geez, first my wallet, then the garage door. I can’t seem to remember anything lately. Julie’s making me crazy with this kid thing,” Plan B seemed to be talking to himself. It occurred to me that he might be a really good person to talk to.
I waited until I heard the garage door making its way back down to slowly slide out from under the bed. I needed to figure out what Plan B’s name really was. A quick look around the room told me nothing. Across the hall was a small room that seemed to be functioning as a home office. I flipped through their files, making copies of the stuff that seemed like it might come in handy.
Their computer was password protected, but I took a chance that the Post-It taped to the monitor contained passwords and hit the jackpot with “sexylegs408.”
I scanned her “My Documents” folder and sent anything that looked even remotely interesting to the email account Gabrielle had created for me. Then I forwarded her emails to that address too. And, because Gabrielle insisted, I deleted the emails from the sent items and then cleared the computer’s cache. Maybe I should have been worried why my daughter knew to do this—and I would definitely be giving Conrad the heads up—but I had to admit it was pretty handy knowledge.
Less than two hours after I dropped Gabrielle off, I was sliding into the chair next to her again. My breathing had finally returned to normal and my terror-level had waned a bit. I’d turned my phone back on en route to the library and was somewhat amused to realize I’d missed five phone calls from Charlie in that time.
It began ringing again, earning me a stern stare from the librarian. I wanted to ask her who I was disturbing in this deserted place but refrained.
“Mom, you’re supposed to silence it.”
I had no clue what she was talking about so I handed it to her. She pushed a button and the ringing instantly stopped. Then she showed me how to turn the volume down with patronizing patience. “Sorry, we didn’t have those,” I defended myself.
“It’s okay Mom. Let’s get some lunch and you can fill me in on what you found.”
If this was Gabrielle at nine, I dreaded sixteen. But I was hungry, so I followed her suggestion and took us to a nearby Waffle House. She watched with a certain measure of horror as I inhaled a sausage melt, hash browns and a waffle—all accompanied by a great big orange juice. It was amazing.
“Are you going to answer that?” she nodded at the flashing green light on my phone.
“Answer what?” I looked down at the table in surprise. Charlie was calling again. I picked it up a little guiltily.
“Are you trying to give me an aneurism?” he demanded at the sound of my voice.
“Hello to you, too,” I frowned at the phone and took another bite of my sandwich.
“Are you okay?”
“I’d be fine if my husband would stop shouting. It’s giving me indigestion.”
“I’ve been trying to call for hours,” he seemed suddenly deflated, as if the fear had been propping him up.
“Sorry, I had turned the phone off, and then Gabrielle taught me how to silence it so of course I forgot to un-silence it when we left the library.”
“So, you got in and out of Julie’s okay?”
“Surprisingly well, yes… you know, I think Plan B is actually her husband. There were pictures up and they’ve filed tax returns together. Or they had pictures up and she filed tax returns with someone else,” my musings were interrupted by his gargled choke.
“Their tax returns? Why do you have their tax returns?”
“You know what, why don’t I get back to you on that when I’m done with my research? The seedy underbelly of PI work is no place for a choir boy.”
“PI work?”
“Private Investigator. Gabrielle and I are thinking of making a go at our own business when we get home. We’re pretty good at this.”
Gabrielle giggled and shook her head as if to say “Mothers—what can you do with them?”
“I don’t know if I’m happy or irritated that you’re in such good spirits.”
“Be happy, it’s more fun that way. Look, I can’t really talk now. Can I give you a call in an hour?”
“Why can’t you talk?” worry etched his voice.
“Because I’m sitting in Waffle House; I promise we’re okay.”
“Alright, then,” he seemed somewhat mollified. “One hour… I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I ignored Gabrielle’s eye roll and went back to eating my waffle with zeal.
All teasing aside, I meant what I said. It probably was best that Charlie not know what I was up to for now. He was a bit of a mother hen—even more so now that I was pregnant.
As much as I hated to spend the money, we called a cab to take us back to the motel. I didn’t have all day to walk back and I was tired. The down side to the cab was it allowed me time to think. As I watched the traffic give way to dormant hayfields, it made me miss home. Home and Charlie—and missing him made me feel guilty about keeping my activities from him.
So I filled him in on my day as Gabrielle and I sorted the copies into stacks on our bed. He wasn’t happy about the risk I’d taken, but I seemed to catch a glimmer of hope in his voice for the first time in a while. My heart broke at the tension in his voice. I wanted nothing more than to wrap him in my arms and hold him at that moment. But what he needed most wasn’t my caress; he needed to find the truth about why Julie had reappeared after all those years.
I’d assumed she realized what a fool she’d been and wanted Charlie back. But knowing that she’d been married for at least four of the past five years made me think any flirting she’d done with Charlie was intended to put him off his guard. She’d been after Cara all along. Something in my gut told me it wasn’t out of motherly devotion, though. And it certainly didn’t seem like her husband wanted Cara.
“Looks like Plan B has a name,” Gabrielle mentioned. “I think I’ve heard the name Nathan Smith before.”
“Smith is a pretty common name,” I shrugged.
“No, I mean I know I’ve seen this name since we’ve been here,” Gabrielle turned on the television and turned back to her sorting.
“Join KY3 tonight at 10 as we sit down with local attorney Nathan Smith to discuss rumors that our favorite child-advocate will run for the soon-to-be vacant seat in the United States Senate….”
“That’s just eerie,” I shook my head and sighed.
“Told you,” Gabrielle informed me smugly. There would be no living with her now.
Chapter Nineteen
As I watched the story at 10, the pieces started to fall into place. Julie found herself a lawyer with a drive for success this time. As he prepared to make his move into the limelight, someone must have told him that an abandoned daughter in his wife’s past wouldn’t go over well in the polls. They were getting custody of Cara so they could spin this in the media.
I glanced over at Gabrielle, who had fallen asleep sometime durin
g the weather, and grabbed the phone from its charger to call Charlie.
“Hello?” his groggy voice told me I’d woken him up.
“Hey, I know why Julie wants Cara. Plan B… Nathan… her husband is planning to run for senate.”
“State Senate?”
“U.S. Senate. And one of the things he’s known for is being a child advocate.”
Charlie was silent for so long I thought he was gone.
“Charlie?”
“Just trying to get a hold of my temper.”
“If you occasionally wanted to let it loose that’s okay, you know. It would make the rest of us feel better about ourselves.”
“What do you think we should do next? Threaten to call the media?” Charlie ignored my comment. It was an odd time to notice it, but I was flattered that he asked my opinion. It felt more like we were… partners.
“You’re in no position to be calling the media, not with me yoked around your neck. You need good dirt on her, not just he said/she said kind of stuff.”
“I assume you are planning on finding that dirt no matter what I say, aren’t you?”
“Actually, I might stop if I thought you really wanted me to. But you don’t, do you?”
“No. God help me, I want you to find something that will shut her up for good.”
“I’m trying,” I promised. “I’m going through her tax records tomorrow. Then I’ll start on her email.”
“How did you get her email?”
“Sweetie, just work on the case law. Leave the dirty stuff to me.”
“I feel completely and totally emasculated now. Thanks.”
“I’m a wanted felon whose only legal experience wasn’t exactly productive. Please allow me the one thing I can do to help. Is there anything new going on there?”
“It’s late baby… why don’t we talk about this tomorrow?”
“That good?”
“It’s no big deal, really.”
“So then you won’t mind telling me now,” I reasoned.
“Daniel Winslow made a statement today.”
“Really?” my heart hammered my throat.
“He’s offering a reward… and calling for the death penalty if you’re caught.”
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