By using public transportation, walking, and taking one cab, she managed to get to the entrance of I-95, where she started to hitchhike. She knew it was dangerous, but she had no other options as far as she could tell.
Maddie pulled and yanked at the beach coverall until she had it over her head. She was soaked with perspiration when, after an hour of walking, a middle-aged woman on her way to Savannah, Georgia, picked her up. She learned more than she would ever need to know about Vidalia onions and green vegetation called kudzu.
The following day, after spending the night in a small motel in downtown Savannah, Maddie hitched a ride to Charleston, South Carolina. When she woke, she knew exactly when she was to call Janny. Saturday at noon. A day and a half to wait.
The bed was so comfortable she didn’t want to move, didn’t want to face the day and her uncertain life. She was going to have to give serious thought to selling her engagement ring. What she didn’t want to deal with was Tillie’s previous owner. How in the world had she forgotten to tell Pete that Mrs. Tillitson had retired from Bloomingdale’s and moved with her husband and four cats to Texas, to be near her daughter and grandchildren? She’d been invited to Mrs. Tillitson’s retirement party, had gone and had a wonderful time. Pete was in Europe at the time. There was no way for her to find out where Caroline Tillitson now lived. Pete was going to be in for a surprise when he called her old home in Queens. Would he go to Bloomingdale’s and ask the people Caroline worked with for her new address? Would they know it, and would they give it out? She thought it unlikely. If she herself showed up in person, an ex-buyer of the prestigious store, maybe one of Caroline’s closest friends might tell her. She knew they would never tell her over the phone if she were to make inquiries. A dead end.
Maddie rolled over and punched at the pillow. She thought about calling Nester to ask him if Pete had been to the police department asking questions. Annie said he’d hired a private detective. That had to mean Pete didn’t know about the program, and obviously no one was telling him anything. Was his phone tapped? She snorted at the thought, then remembered Pete’s message to her. Evidently he thought so or he wouldn’t have changed his message. The question was, who tapped his phone, if it indeed was tapped? The good guys or the bad guys?
Maddie started to shiver and shake. What should she do now? Should she keep moving, or stay where she was until she spoke with Janny? Go with your instincts. Moving around was her answer. She yanked at the phone book under the night table and looked for a map of the United States. She ran her index finger from state to state wishing that she had paid more attention in her grade school geography class. Tennessee sounded good. No one would ever look for her in Tennessee. Maybe Kentucky. Or maybe she should try for Utah. She studied the states again. The only way she could get to Utah was to take public transportation. The ticket would probably be expensive. Did she dare? Of course she dared. But some changes would have to be made first.
Maddie hopped from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Dye her hair or buy a wig? Cut it? Both? A change of clothes, cheap slacks and maybe a windbreaker. Some sneakers.
An hour later she was in a discount store that sold just about everything. When she left, she had two shopping bags loaded to the brim. She rushed back to the motel, where she hacked at her hair until she was satisfied with the pixie cut. She bundled up the long dark tresses in the smaller plastic bags that she would personally deposit in the Dumpster when she left the motel.
She dyed her hair, and while the color was setting she munched on a bag of Oreo cookies. After rinsing the color off, she shampooed her hair and wrapped it in a towel.
She meandered out to the parking lot, where she called the airline from the phone booth and made a reservation on the four o’clock flight to Provo, Utah. She made the reservation in the name of Mrs. Andrea Monroe, and told the clerk she’d pick her ticket up an hour before flight time and would be paying cash. She went on to say she would be carrying her six-week-old baby with her, and no she didn’t require an extra seat, and don’t children fly free?
Back in the motel room, Maddie emptied out her second shopping bag. An oversize doll with a fuzzy fringe of hair stared up at her. She tied a cotton bonnet on the doll and then wrapped it in a blue blanket. If she kept to herself and didn’t talk to anyone, she might get away with only a cursory glance from the other passengers.
The blue plastic diaper bag held two baby bottles filled with milk from the convenience store and a stack of Pampers diapers. She jammed as many of her own things as she could into the bag so she would have more room in her straw bag.
Maddie choked up when she remembered how hard it was to part with her engagement ring. She’d cried when she handed it over. The eighteen hundred dollars was safe in the bottom of her straw bag, along with the pawn ticket she knew she’d never be able to redeem.
She looked at her watch. At this time tomorrow she’d be in Utah trying to pass the time until she could talk to Janny. It was going to be a long night, with a stopover in Denver before she could make her final connection to Utah.
Three hours to kill before she could leave for the airport, where she could order lunch and walk around until her flight was called.
She paced, kneading her thighs with her fingers, praying she wasn’t making a mistake.
Today she’d looked over her shoulder, paid attention to everyone she came in contact with. She hadn’t seen anything or anyone that looked the least bit suspicious. No one had spoken to her and there were no footsteps behind her when she’d swivel suddenly to stare over her shoulder.
She felt safe.
The following day, after her flight, Maddie checked into the Holiday Inn a mile from the downtown area of Provo as Mrs. Penelope Barrister from Burlington, Vermont. She paid cash for her room, settled in, showered, ordered room service, and spent the remainder of the time sleeping and watching television.
At exactly five minutes to twelve, she exited her hotel room along with her make-believe child. Her body was shaking so badly, she thought she would drop the doll she was holding against her chest. By jiggling the doll, her quivering fingers located the stash of change she carried in her pocket.
God, Janny was going to be thunderstruck when she heard her voice, Maddie thought. She’d probably faint when she found out she was actually in Provo.
Maddie picked up the phone, the doll secure against her chest, dropped in her money and waited for the dial tone. She dialed the number from memory, waited for the operator, then dropped in more change. “Please be there, Janny,” she muttered as she leaned against the pole the telephone was attached to. Her breathing was ragged, spurting from her mouth in hard, little gasps. “Please, God, please let her be there.” The pay phone she’d dialed rang four, five, and then six times. With each successive ring, Maddie felt her heart thump. When it was finally picked up on the eighteenth ring, she was so dizzy her vision blurred. “Janny,” was all she could manage.
“Maddie, is it really you? Oh, Maddie, Maddie, I—” Janny broke down, sobbing into the phone.
“Let’s each take a minute to get ourselves together,” Maddie said hoarsely, her own throat constricting with relief. When she was finally able to talk, she said, “Janny, I’m here in Provo. I cut and ran. I couldn’t stand it. The place they had me in was so bad I couldn’t eat or sleep. They didn’t come through with my new identification and couldn’t tell me when I’d get it. I blew up and walked out. They had me in Florida. I hitchhiked to Georgia and then to South Carolina and took a flight out of Charleston to here. I’m in Provo, Janny. Where are you?”
“Oh, my God, oh my God, oh my God,” was all Janny could say. “You’re really here!” she finally squealed.
“I’m here, and I don’t think anyone followed me either. I bought this doll, pretended it was a real baby, and took a flight here under an assumed name. I cut and dyed my hair. I look awful. Oh, Janny, I had to pawn my engagement ring. I called Pete twice. They lied. I don’t believe they contacted Pete, and I
don’t think his uncle is anyone to be afraid of. Where are you, Janny?”
“I’m in a small town called Saston, population 2223, if you count me. It’s deadly. I’m not that far from Provo. If you’re sure no one followed you, then it might be better for you to come here. I can’t give you directions, you’ll have to find out on your own. There’s a café in town, if you want to call it a town, called Dumfey’s. It has two booths and three tables. I’ll be sitting at or in one of them. When can you leave?”
“Right now. All I have to do is pick up my diaper bag and I’m on my way. God, Janny, I can’t wait to see you. How is it you can get away to use a phone?”
“Maddie, they brought me here, put me up in a boardinghouse for two days and said I had to find my own apartment. They gave me eight hundred fifty dollars and left. They said I’d be watched, but I haven’t seen anyone out of the ordinary. I asked in town if there are any strangers other than me, and the local people say I’m the only new person they’ve seen in months. They aren’t interested in me. I do have a case worker who checks on me once a week. My new name is Betty Gill. I’ll never be Janny Hobart again,” Janny said, her voice breaking.
“Oh yes you will. And I’ll be Madelyn Stern again too. I don’t know when, but we’ll be ... ourselves again someday. Let’s hang up now. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can be there.”
“Hurry, Maddie.”
“I will. Just wait for me in case it takes me a little while. Promise.”
“I’ll wait forever. Well, until the café closes, and then I’ll wait outside.”
“ ’Bye, Janny.”
“ ’Bye, Maddie.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“She called me, Jakes. She called the store too. She’s running,” Pete said desperately. He distractedly picked at the Chinese noodles on his plate. “Now what do we do?”
“Try and find her. I’m a detective, remember?”
“She told Annie she was . . . she walked out, in that Witness Protection Program. My God . . . did you find out anything, Jakes?”
“I don’t have much to report. I checked out both girls’ apartments. Nothing was left behind. Did you know,” he said addressing Pete, “that a double murder occurred in Maddie’s building?”
“The doorman at Maddie’s building told me.”
“Who?” Annie asked, her face full of shock.
“An Asian couple,” Jakes replied. “They operated a store around the corner. Prior to their death there was a murder in their store. Two hoods. It was in all the papers. It was too late when I found this all out to do anything. First thing tomorrow I’ll go to the papers and see if I can find back newspaper articles. This is just a guess on my part, but there were two eyewitnesses that Sunday afternoon when the hoods were gunned down. I’m not saying it was Maddie and Janny, but that’s the way it looks to me.”
Pete’s legal mind kicked in. “If what you’re saying is a possibility, then that means the police know something. It also means they lied to me. I’ll sue the goddamn police department if that turns out to be true,” Pete said viciously, his eyes murderous.
“And I’ll be his cocounsel,” Annie said spiritedly. Pete reached over to pat her hand, his eyes grateful for the support.
“I need more pictures,” Jakes said as he shoveled the smelly Chinese food into his mouth.
Pete shoved the food cartons to the center of the table with the length of his arms. Seconds later Maddie’s pictures were spread out so Jakes could view them.
“She’s very pretty, isn’t she?” Annie said, closing the carton in front of her.
“She’s beautiful,” Jakes said sincerely.
“She’s beautiful inside too. Just like Annie here,” Pete said, patting her hand again. Annie blushed furiously.
“How long will you be here?” Jakes said, addressing Annie.
She shrugged. “As long as it takes, I guess, or until Pete boots me out. I’m going to learn the retail business. You never know,” she said lightly. “I might get tired of the law, and this way I’ll have something to fall back on.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you can run Fairy Tales,” Pete said warmly. “I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise. This girl is one in a million,” he said to Jakes. “Hell, I couldn’t have gotten through law school without her. Someday some guy is going to be very lucky when he finds her. She’s as perfect as they come.” Annie turned crimson, but accepted the compliment with a smile.
“That was really good,” Jakes said of the takeout meal. “Let’s see what our fortunes are. It’s the best part of all. Except for the food.” The detective grinned wryly. He snapped his fortune cookie apart and withdrew the little slip of paper. “Ah, it says here I will meet a handsome woman who has grease on her sneakers and she will sweep me off my feet.” He leered at Annie, who looked everywhere but at him.
“Mine says, it is not enough to persevere, you must prevail. Rather apt, wouldn’t you say?” Pete said tightly. “Annie, what does yours say?”
“It says, you are almost there. These things are silly,” she said, getting up to clear the table.
“So, what do you think?” Pete asked, jarring Jakes’s thoughts.
Annie tossed the unused chopsticks into the trash basket. She stopped clanking the silverware long enough to listen to what Jakes had to say. You are almost there. Where? She turned from the soapy water to stare at Pete and Jakes.
“It would only be speculation at this point. Let’s not beat a dead horse just yet. I’m going back out. I know a few guys on the force and where they hang out. I’ll nose around and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the eats,” he said cheerfully. “Nice meeting you, Annie.”
“Same here,” Annie said.
“You’re coming back here, right?”
“Make up the couch, but don’t wait up.”
“Guess it’s just me and you, fella,” Annie said cheerfully. “We can watch some television, eat some ice cream, swig a few beers like the old days, and wait in case Maddie calls again.”
“Jeez, Annie, I’m sorry. I’m going out too. I have people I need to talk to. You’ll be okay here alone, won’t you?” he asked. “By the way, I left a message for Maddie on my machine. Do the same at Fairy Tales tomorrow.”
“Of course. Don’t worry about me. I can eat ice cream and watch the pounds go on all by myself. This will be a good time for me to look over Maddie’s business plan and make notes. I want to do it right. I don’t want Maddie to come back and be upset with me, or you either.”
“Annie, you could never upset me. I owe you so much. It boggles my mind that you dropped everything to come here and help me. I’m going to owe you big-time.”
“Stop it, Pete. I know you’d do the same for me.”
“You know what, Annie? You and I are like Maddie and Janny. We have the same kind of loyal friendship those two have. I want us all to be friends for all our lives.”
Annie smiled weakly. “Go already, do what you have to do. I’ll make up the couch for Mr. Jakes.”
“Annie, I need to ask you something. Women have ... a sixth sense—you know, intuition. Do you think Maddie is ... you know . . . do you think they’ll find her and do something to her?”
Love, Annie thought, was wanting the other person’s happiness more than you wanted your own. “I think,” she said carefully, her eyes on Pete, “Maddie is safe somewhere. I do not believe for one single minute that anything is going to happen to her. She’s with Janny wherever she is, so they have each other. If there’s a way for her to get to you, she will. Now, go get ’em, whoever they are.”
“Annie, you always know the right thing to say to me.” Pete kissed her lightly on the cheek. “No regrets about Dennis, Annie?”
Annie could feel herself grow light-headed. “Not a one. When something is meant to be, it will be. Like you and Maddie. It just isn’t my turn yet.”
“He damn well better be the best of the best, or I won’t allow it. Don’t wait up, Annie.”
<
br /> “Okay, Pete. Beat it now.”
“Thanks. Turn the dead bolt when I leave.”
Back in the kitchen after letting Pete out, Annie checked her domestic accomplishments. Everything she did, she did well. The kitchen counter was clean and dry. The table was free of crumbs and stains. The coffeepot was rinsed and filled, ready to be plugged in the next morning. The beer cans had been rinsed and stacked in a separate trash bag under the sink. She looked around to see if she’d forgotten anything. She snapped her fingers when her eye fell on a luscious green plant in the L corner of the counter. She was about to water it when she realized it was a silk plant. A Maddie present. Just like the one in the center of the table. She snapped off the overhead light and turned on the small light over the range hood and the one next to the sink. The last thing she did was straighten the braided rug in front of the sink. Another Maddie touch. Men would never think to put a rug by the sink to catch spills.
“What are you doing now, Maddie Stern?” Annie muttered as she made her way to the living room, where she made up the couch for Simon Jakes. She gave the pillow a vicious punch. Why did he have to stay here and intrude on the little bit of intimacy she was being allowed with Pete?
In the guest bedroom, Annie undressed and slipped into a warm robe that had seen better days, certainly not the kind of robe she thought Maddie Stern would wear.
It was a nice enough bedroom, Annie thought. Small, but cheerful. Neither manly nor feminine. Not a Maddie room at all. It was done in four shades of green and everything matched, right down to the ashtray on the night table.
Annie was sick with jealousy by the time she opened the dresser drawers and closet. Maddie’s things. Maddie’s scent. Maddie’s spare cosmetics. She hated to touch Maddie’s things, but she had to make room for her clothing. For the first time in her life she was faced with a dilemma she didn’t know how to deal with. Did she take all of Maddie’s things and put them somewhere else, which would mean she was taking Maddie out of this room? Or did she simply move everything into the bottom drawer and hope she would have enough room for her own things? And what about the jogging suits and the few dresses hanging in the closet? Would Pete be upset if she moved them? Probably.
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