by Gregg Stutts
Michelle listened and looked out into the darkness. And as Max continued, she reached over and took his hand in hers. “And I pushed you away,” he said. “I wasn’t there for you. I was consumed by me, by my anger.”
She squeezed his hand as they sat there together facing into the coming storm.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too,” she said.
“Shelle, I know we have a lot to work on and I promise we’re going to do that. I’m going to do my best to be the husband you need and want and deserve. But right now, there’s a lot I have to tell you,” Max said.
“Max, there are things I need to tell you, too.”
Max quickly swung his head around when he saw headlights reflect off the metal railing in front of them. A car had turned onto Ocean Blvd. and was slowly coming toward them. He couldn’t tell if it was the car he’d seen the two men get into at the motel, but he was suspicious of every car now.
“Max, what is it?” she said as she looked in the same direction he was.
Max watched as the car got closer. When it passed by, he saw only one person in the car and he breathed a sigh of relief. It didn’t mean the other guy wasn’t nearby on foot though. He didn’t feel safe where they were.
“Shelle, it’s hard to know where to even start,” he said. “I think I could be in trouble though. We need to get moving.”
“Max, tell me. What’s going on?”
As they walked in the shadows, Max told her the whole story. He started with driving to work and coming across Dante’s accident. And then taking the picture. And why he’d sent it to her.
He told her about Dante’s mother not showing up for their meeting, but Jack Murphy being there instead. He explained the bad feelings he’d had about Jack. And then how Jack was dead. He told her about the phone call with Bill Jackson and how he said the police suspected him in Jack’s death.
Max told her about meeting Willy and Rose. And how Willy had suggested he fly to New Jersey and how Willy had booked the flight with his frequent flyer miles. Lastly, he told her about getting back to the Windjammer after his walk on the beach and seeing the two men hanging around his room and his car.
Ten minutes later, Max was finished. Michelle had listened to the whole story and hadn’t freaked out. She simply said, “So what do we do now?”
“If the police think I killed Jack, then they’ll probably arrest me or at least take me in for questioning the minute I show up in Lakeside,” he said. “I think someone set it up to look like I did it.”
“Who would do that?” she said. “Why would anyone want it to look like you killed Jack?”
“I don’t know, Shelle. I know how crazy all this sounds.”
Michelle looked into his eyes and said, “I’m not going to tell you this doesn’t sound like something straight out of a John Grisham novel, but I believe everything you’ve said.”
Max was relieved to hear her say that. If she’d thought he was crazy, he might have thought the same thing. He’d been living this for the past month and still couldn’t believe what was happening.
“So what are we going to do?” she said.
“This all started with Dante’s accident,” he said. “Somehow we need to find his mother. If she’s even still alive.”
“Can you try calling her?” Michelle said.
“I guess I can try again,” Max said. “I haven’t talked to her since the night I was supposed to meet her and she hasn’t answered my calls.”
Max took his phone out. His battery was down to 4%. Unfortunately, the wall charger was in his room and the car charger was in the rental car. He suspected he’d never see those again. He scrolled through his contacts, found Ms. Jones and placed the call. It rang and rang and rang.
And then Max heard, “Hello?”
CHAPTER 54
“Ms. Jones? This is Max Henry.”
There was no response. “Ms. Jones? Are you there? It’s Max Henry.”
Finally he heard, “I know who it is.”
Max wasn’t even sure where to start. He hadn’t even expected her to answer. “Ms. Jones, where are you? What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” she said. “Why are you calling me, Mr. Henry? Mr. Murphy said I should just stay put and wait to hear from him.”
“Mr. Murphy told you to stay put? Where?”
“I don’t think I should tell you that. Mr. Murphy just said to wait to hear from him.”
She obviously didn’t know Jack was dead. He was afraid if he told her, it might scare her and she’d hang up. Or she might think he was lying and hang up. It felt like a risk to tell her, but she wasn’t willing to talk until she heard from Jack.
“Ms. Jones, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Jack Murphy is dead,” Max said.
Max heard a gasp and then nothing.
“Ms. Jones? Are you okay? Ms. Jones?”
Max was about to give up when he heard, “I’m here.”
“Ms. Jones, I don’t know what’s going on, but somehow you and I are in the middle of it.”
She didn’t reply. Max was sure she was scared to death and wondering who she could trust.
“Ms. Jones, do you know why someone might have wanted Jack Murphy dead?”
A pause and then, “Yes,” she said.
“Ms. Jones, are Mr. Murphy’s death and your son’s death somehow related?” he asked, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.
Again a pause and then, “Yes.”
Max couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her. He did. He just didn’t want to. He wasn’t even sure what to say now. Somehow he’d gotten himself involved in something he wasn’t going to be able to just walk away from. He’d been pulling on a thread and it was unraveling some pretty big secrets. He couldn’t stop now.
“Ms. Jones, I’m going to ask you to trust me. I need you to tell me what you know.”
Max knew she was scared. If he was being honest, he was scared too.
“I don’t know if that would be a good idea over the phone,” she said.
“Ms. Jones, at the moment, I’m in New Jersey, a thousand miles away. I can come see you, but it will take a couple days. It would help me know what I’m up against if you tell me what you know now.”
There was no reply. He hoped she’d decided to tell him what she knew. “Coach Henry, I’m going to trust you, because I don’t know what else to do.”
“Thank you, Ms. Jones. I promise to do whatever I can to keep you safe.”
He heard her take a deep breath and then say, “This all started about eighteen months ago, when…” She stopped in mid-sentence.
“Ms. Jones? Hello? I think I lost you. Hello? Can you hear me?”
She didn’t respond. Then Max looked at his phone. The battery was dead.
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Max looked at Michelle and said, “She was about to tell me.”
“We can use my phone,” she said.
“I don’t know her number. I had it in my contacts.” He thought for a minute. “We need to get my phone charged.”
“We can go to my parents’ house. I’ve got my charger there.”
They turned south and walked down the boardwalk into a wind that was getting stronger by the minute. Neither of them had been paying attention to the storm track for hurricane Paul. Michelle pulled up the weather app on her phone to check the forecast.
“I have no idea what we’re up against,” Max said. “Two people are dead and someone is making it look like I’m involved. There’s no way we can go back to Lakeside until we know what’s going on.”
“Max, the hurricane changed direction and is picking up speed,” she said. “The track now shows it making landfall early tomorrow morning.”
“Where?” he said.
“Here.”
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“It’s 10:15,” Michelle said. “We might only have a few hours to get out of here.”
The wi
nd was getting stronger with every step as the storm approached the Jersey coast. The boardwalk they were on might possibly be washed away in the next twelve hours.
Ten minutes later, they turned onto Island Avenue. And immediately, Max froze. He grabbed Michelle’s arm. Turning onto the street at the opposite end of the block was a slow moving car. Max pulled Michelle into a narrow alley between two houses.
“Is that the car?” Michelle whispered.
“I’m not sure,” Max said, “but I don’t want to take a chance.” Max peaked around the corner of the house.
“What are they doing?”
“I don’t…” Max said and then stopped in mid-sentence.
“What?”
“They must know I came here to see you. But they might not know your parents’ address. Maybe they’re looking for a car with Arkansas plates. Where did you park your car?”
“It’s in the garage,” she said.
The car went past them. Max wasn’t even sure if it was them, but he’d be hiding from every car for right now.
“Max, there’s something I don’t understand.”
“What?”
“Tell me again why the police suspect you in Jack’s death?”
“They saw us talking on the security camera at the field house.” Max looked up and down the street. “Come on, let’s keep moving.” They moved slowly along the sidewalk, carefully looking in every direction.
“How do you know?” she said.
“How do I know what?”
“How do you know the police suspect you?”
“Because Jack was there when I came out of the field house. I’m not denying we were there together. I just didn’t follow him and kill him.”
“No, what I mean is, how did you find out they suspected you? Did they call you?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t talk to them. They left a voice mail.”
“What was the message?”
“I didn’t actually listen to it.”
“But you’re sure it was the police?”
Max stopped on the sidewalk. He looked at Michelle and said, “I thought it was.” He pulled the phone from his pocket and then remembered his battery was dead.
A few minutes later, they slipped in the back door of her parents’ house. Michelle’s parents were surprised, but happy to see Max. He noticed Michelle’s mom give her a look. It was the raised eyebrow look that could have meant anything. Apparently, Michelle knew exactly what her mother was communicating.
“It’s over, Mom. I tried to tell Chris that, but he didn’t want to hear it. Max and I will work things out.”
Michelle’s mom and dad were in the middle of packing. Before Superstorm Sandy, they might have stayed put and tried to ride out Hurricane Paul. Not any more though. Much of this barrier island had been devastated by Sandy. They weren’t going to stay around and risk their lives.
At just after midnight, warning sirens were sounded in Seaside Park. The New Jersey Emergency Management Office was now calling for a mandatory evacuation. And her parents didn’t need to be told twice. At 12:30 a.m., their car was loaded and they were backing out of the driveway. They’d already made a hotel reservation seventy miles to the west in Philadelphia.
Before they left, they made Max and Michelle promise to follow right behind them. Michelle assured her parents they would get out in plenty of time. She and Max would start the drive back to Arkansas and would be out of harm’s way within the hour.
Max had nothing to pack so while Michelle threw her things together, he found her charger and plugged his phone in. He’d at least have a partially charged battery in a few minutes, so he could call Ms. Jones back. Then he remembered how late it was. This was important though; he’d have to call anyway.
A moment later, the power went out and the house was completely dark. Max looked outside and saw nothing but darkness. He called for Michelle and then banged into a wall. He felt his way down the hall to her bedroom. She lit a candle as he walked into the room.
“I just need another minute,” she said.
“Do you have a car charger?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said as she reached in her purse to get her keys.
Max watched as she searched her purse for them. Finally, she dumped the contents onto the bed. It was hard to see with only the one candle for light. Max helped her sort through the contents.
“They’re not here,” she said. “Where are my keys?”
“Could they be in the car?”
“I don’t think so, but you can check.”
A few minutes later, Michelle was packed. Max came back inside and said, “They’re not in the car.”
Michelle sat down on the bed and then it hit her. “My mom must have them with her. She was going grocery shopping this morning and my car was blocking her in. I just told her to take my car.” Michelle looked at Max. “She never gave them back to me.”
Michelle tried calling her mother, but she didn’t answer. Her mom wasn’t someone who was glued to her phone all day. She kept it in her purse until she needed it.
“Alright, let’s think,” Max said. “Try calling your dad.”
Michelle tried, but knew there’d be even less chance her dad would answer. She let it ring until it finally went to voice mail. She left him a message, but knew he’d get it too late. The windows rattled as a gust of wind slammed into the house. They didn’t have much time left to get off the island. Max wondered how close the waves were to the boardwalk.
“We’ll have to use my car,” Max said. “It’s still at the Windjammer.”
“Is it safe to go there?”
“I don’t think we have a choice,” he said. “Let’s go. We’ll leave your bags here for now.”
They walked outside and slowly made their way down the street. If the streetlights were working and they knew no one was hunting them, they could have moved faster. They didn’t have the luxury of speed though.
Several other neighbors were packing up belongings in preparation to leave. Many residents had left before the evacuation was ordered. Those who hadn’t now wished they had. At the end of the street, they turned south and saw a government vehicle with a loudspeaker coming toward them. All residents were being warned to leave the area immediately.
Max and Michelle hid in a neighbor’s yard. They didn’t want to risk getting stopped and questioned. After the vehicle passed by, they continued on toward the motel.
“Maybe these guys will evacuate,” Michelle said. “Maybe they’ll just assume you already left.”
“I’d like to think so,” Max said, “but I’m not counting on it.”
A block from the Windjammer, they stopped and surveyed the parking lot. Max’s rental car was where he’d left it. There was only one other car and it didn’t look like the one he’d seen earlier. “Come on,” he said. He took Michelle by the hand and they walked quickly across the street and down the block to the parking lot.
Half a block from the car, they stopped and looked carefully for any sign of the two men. It was so dark; it was hard to see anything at all. But as far as Max could tell, they were in the clear. “Alright, let’s do this,” he said. “Are you ready?”
“Ready,” she said.
“Let’s go.”
They moved as fast as they could in the dark. Twenty feet from the car, Max pushed the button to unlock the doors. That turned the headlights and interior lights on, which made them totally exposed.
They quickly got in and Max pressed the starter button. He backed out and was on the street twenty seconds later. They weren’t home free yet, but both breathed a sigh of relief.
Max was careful, but wasted no time getting to Michelle’s house. He pulled into the driveway, ran inside and grabbed Michelle’s bags. In less than a minute, he was throwing them into the trunk. As he backed out of the driveway, they saw a car turn the corner and accelerate toward them.
CHAPTER 57
Right before the car reached them, it turned into a driveway a
couple doors up the street. A man got out and ran into the house. “I know him,” Michelle said. “It’s okay.”
Max wouldn’t be able to relax until they were out of Seaside Park and headed back to Arkansas. He had to get his phone charged. He plugged it into the charger and set it down. He glanced at the clock. It was now 12:57 a.m. It looked like they would make it out ahead of the storm with just a few hours to spare.