Sam glanced at the clock beside the bed. “We’re leaving really early tomorrow and should be in Orlando around 4:30 in the afternoon.”
That seemed to cheer her up. “Oh Sam, that’s great! Yeah, we’ll put our heads together and come up with something, I’m sure.”
With that, Sam told her to go get some rest and promised to let her know when they were close.
Just then, her sister made her way back inside the room. “Well, if it’s any consolation, at least we missed the crappy weather. Seth said they got a dusting of snow this afternoon.”
Brianna tore her gaze from her iPhone as she looked up at her aunt. “Yuck! I’m so glad we’re not there right now!”
She rolled over, a smug smile on her face. Brianna really hated the cold and snow and in her mind, they made it out in the nick of time. “By tomorrow, I can put on a pair of shorts! I might just throw out every single pair of long pants I own!” she declared.
Despite the dire situation, Sam had to smile. If nothing else, her daughter had a way of making her smile.
“Well, it better not be too awfully nice in Florida or I might just have to move down there myself,” her sister warned.
Brianna jumped up and wrapped her arms around her aunt. “That would be absolutely perfect!”
It was time to break up the happy moment as Sam made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Five was going to come awfully early.
Surprisingly, Sam slept through the night and if she had any dreams, she didn’t remember them. The alarm went off and she groggily reached over to shut it off. Her foggy brain registered where they were at as she slowly crawled out of the lumpy bed. It was only fair that she be the one to get ready first. After all, it was her fault her sister was in this predicament in the first place.
After a quick shower, Sam threw on some comfy clothes and pulled her hair back in the customary ponytail. No sense in spending a lot of time primping when the only thing she would be doing was sitting in the stupid truck.
Her sister was already awake and there was a fresh pot of coffee brewing on the counter. Sam grabbed a cup and started pouring. “This is awesome. Thanks for the coffee.”
“And thank you for giving me a few extra minutes sleep.” Her sister yawned. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get this show on the road.”
Just then a muffled voice could be heard coming from a pile of blankets. “Me too!” Brianna was awake!
Sam shook her head in amazement. She was never an early bird.
There was a fast food restaurant next to the hotel and the girls made their way over to grab a quick bite and save some time. A few minutes later, they were back on the highway, heading south.
They’d been on the road for just over an hour when Sam heard a thump – thump – thump. At the same time, the steering wheel started pulling hard to the right. Oh no! It felt like a flat tire.
She made her way to the far right lane and slowed the truck. Thankfully, there was an exit just ahead. She eased off the highway in search of a gas station. The only thing for miles around was an old, abandoned gas station a block away. The windows were boarded up. It looked as if it hadn’t been open in years.
Sam glanced in the rear view mirror. She could see her sister had followed her off the highway. She turned to the right and slowly crept into the deserted parking lot. Her sister pulled the car in right behind her.
Sam jumped out and circled the back side of the truck. As she made her way around to the front passenger side, she found the problem. The front passenger tire was flatter than a pancake. By now, her sister and Brianna were out of the car and had walked over to where Sam was standing.
Brianna shook her head as she looked at the tire in dismay. “That sucks!”
Deb was already on her cell, searching for a nearby towing service. After the second try, she had someone on the line and explained to them where they were. She hung up the phone. “They’ll be here in half an hour or less.” There was nothing left to do but wait.
Sam headed to the driver side of the truck to grab a bottle of water. As she yanked the door open, she caught a glimpse of a beat up Ford pick-up truck in the rearview mirror. It was making its way into the parking lot. Moments later, it slowly pulled up behind her car.
Uh-oh!
Brianna noticed, too, and quickly walked over to where her mom was standing. Sam glanced over at her sister. She was on the phone again with her back turned.
The hair stood up on the back of Sam’s neck. She slammed the truck door shut and swung around to face the strangers.
Two burly, unshaven men were making their way over to where Sam and Brianna were standing. They were dressed in torn, dirty overalls and scuffed work boots. One of the men had long stringy hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in months. The other had short hair and was wearing a ball cap pulled down so that you couldn’t see his eyes. Sam could feel Brianna shiver beside her.
The long haired man spoke first. “Looks like you got a flat tire, there.”
Sam didn’t reply. Instead she just nodded.
“This ain’t a good spot to be broke down,” the man with the ball cap added. He looked around. “Pretty deserted around these parts.”
Sam’s heart began pounding loudly. Now would be a good time to have a gun. “No kidding.”
By now, her sister had walked up to where they were all standing. “We have a tow truck on the way. Should be here any minute,” she added.
The men ignored what she said. One of them walked over and patted the side of the moving truck. “So whatcha got in the back of this here truck?”
Her sister wasn’t having any of it as she answered smartly. “Stuff.”
The long haired man started walking to the back. “Well, let’s just have us a look.”
Brianna reached over and grabbed her mom’s hand in a death grip.
“There’s nothing here for ya’” Sam bravely stated.
The man turned back and studied Sam for a moment. “Well, we’ll just be the judge of that.”
Sam was just about to shove her daughter into the front of the truck and tell her to lock the doors when she heard a siren in the distance. She looked over at her sister.
Deb was smiling smugly. “That would be the cops I just called. I told them we were being robbed!”
The two strangers took one look at each other before making a hasty retreat to their truck. They quickly jumped inside. Mr. Ball cap hopped in the driver seat. He was trying to start the engine but it wasn’t cooperating. The truck made a bit of a grinding noise and then “err, err, err…” She could hear Mr. Stringy Hair yelling at him. “Git this dadgum thing started! We need to get the heck out of here!”
Sam was tickled. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from outright laughing. It looked like they might be around long enough to have a nice little chat with the cops.
Suddenly the engine sprang to life with a loud VAROOM! Ball Cap quickly threw the truck into reverse. As they spun around, the tires made contact with the pavement. Seconds later, the driver stomped on the gas and the truck squealed away. The strong smell of burning rubber filled their nostrils as the truck quickly faded from sight.
Seconds later, the police car came to a screeching halt in the parking lot. The police officer quickly got out and made his way over to where the three girls were still standing. “You ladies OK?”
Deb spoke up. “Yeah, we’re fine. You just missed the two numbskulls that were about to rob us.”
The cop glanced back in the direction of where the truck had just pulled out. “Don’t worry about them. There’s another officer on the other side of the highway waiting. In fact, he should have them by now.”
All three girls let out a huge sigh of relief as they thanked the officer.
He shook his head. “You picked a bad spot to break down. It’s pretty isolated here in these parts.”
Sam grimaced. “And that would be just my luck.”
“The tow truck
should be here any time but just to be safe, I’ll hang around ‘til he shows up.”
Brianna almost cried in relief as she sat down on the rear bumper of the moving truck. “Oh thank you so much!”
A few minutes later, the tow truck rumbled into the parking lot. The driver hopped out and made his way to the passenger side of the disabled vehicle.
He studied the flat for a second and then gave them the best news they’d heard all day. “I think I can fix this in a jiffy and have you ladies back on the road in no time.”
True to his word, half an hour later, the tire had been fixed and they were pulling back onto the highway.
Sam sent up a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s protection and her sister’s quick thinking to call the cops.
Sam’s phone was sitting on the seat beside her. Right where she left it during all the action. She picked it up to see if she’d missed any calls. Gabby was the only one. She quickly dialed her number. Maybe she’d heard something about the guys.
Gabby picked up on the first ring. “Hey Sam. How’re ya’ doin’?”
“Good Gabby. Had a minor setback with a flat tire on the moving truck but we’re back on the road and making good time. Have you heard anything new?”
“Well, that detective-guy Robache called me a few minutes ago. He has been workin’ on the case. He didn’t really have anything new, you know, but he was heading over to Lee’s house this mornin’ to see if he could find anything out.”
Sam was curious. “Did you mention to the detective what you thought Lee and Donovan were doing when they came up missing?”
“Naw. I wasn’t sure. I figured maybe we should talk about it. You know, I didn’t want to get them in any kind of trouble.”
Sam was a little surprised. “No, I think it’ll be OK. Lee cleared the dives with the department before he and Donovan ever went out. When he calls, maybe you should mention it.”
“Hmm. Well when I was talkin’ to Donovan about it, he made it seem as if he wanted to keep it a secret, ya know? Like he didn’t want anyone else to know what they were doin’.”
That was news to Sam. She’d heard both Lee and Donovan talk about finding the treasure and never a mention of keeping it a secret… The whole idea made her a little uneasy – why the secrecy?
Was there something Sam didn’t know? It just wasn’t adding up…
“I decided to make a trip down to where Lee works myself.” She didn’t say this to Gabby but she had every intention of finding out exactly who Agent Jennifer Addison was and how “close” of friends she and Lee really were. It had been simmering in the back of her mind ever since she spoke with her on the phone. This thing was going to get nipped in the bud!
Sam completely missed what Gabby had just said. “I’m sorry I didn’t hear what you just said.”
Gabby was still offering to let the girls stay with her. “Are you sure you don’t want to just crash at my place?”
Sam shook her head. “No. At least not for tonight. Maybe we can talk about it when we get there.” She continued. “But thank you so much for the offer. It’s really very nice of you…”
“Aw, no problem, Sam. I guess I’m just scared and it would’ve been nice to have someone around, you know?”
Sam was touched. “I appreciate that and maybe I can talk to my sister. This has to be her decision, too.”
Gabby brightened at that. “Great! Ok, well call me when ya’ get to the hotel, right?”
With that, Sam set the phone back down as she pondered what Gabby had just said. Somehow it didn’t make sense. Lee didn’t seem to think it was any kind of secret so why was Donovan trying to keep it quiet?
She decided to make the most of her last few hours of peace and quiet as she spent some time praying and talking to God. Sometimes she felt like all that had happened to her was a test. There were days she felt she passed but others she knew she failed miserably. Like now. She wanted to turn it over to the Lord but deep down inside she knew she was still holding tightly, trying to somehow control the situation, even though there wasn’t much she could really do.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, they turned onto I-4 and headed east into Orlando. The closer they got, the more excited Sam became. Finally! They were here. Her excitement didn’t last long as they got closer to downtown. Traffic was horrible. Nothing like hitting it close to rush hour! They were moving at a snail’s pace as they sat for over an hour in stop-and-go traffic until finally, they reached the other side of town and the traffic let up.
She made a mental note to figure out where her new office was at and where the apartments Lee was going to show her were located. I’m not sure where he’s been looking but I certainly don’t want to have to fight this mess every day.
A short time later, they pulled into the hotel parking lot. Sam jumped out of the front of the truck and landed on the ground with a thud. Her legs felt like Jell-O. She was so excited to finally be here, she almost forgot how long she’d been sitting in one spot.
Deb and Brianna were already out of the car and walking towards her.
“Mom, did you see all that traffic? What a mess!”
Sam shook her head. “I’ve already decided I will not be driving in that cluster every day. We need to figure out where both of our jobs are from there, pick an apartment close by.”
Sam had already done a little research and thankfully, both of their jobs were only a few short miles apart. That should make apartment-hunting easy.
Sam locked the moving truck and they slowly made their way to the front of the hotel. She checked them in and paid for only one night. She’d have to talk to her sister to see if she was willing to stay with Gabby and save some money or if she’d be more comfortable staying in the hotel.
They quickly grabbed their overnight bags and made their way to the room. It was a nice enough room. Plenty of space and the balcony overlooked a small pond in the back of the property.
Deb approved. “Good choice. Should be nice and quiet back here.” That was one positive for sure.
Sam pulled her phone from her purse. No messages. She quickly called Gabby.
“Hi Gabby. We made it. We’re at the hotel.” With that, she relayed the address and Gabby said she’d be over within half an hour.
True to her word, she was knocking on the hotel room door a short time later. Sam hadn’t bothered describing Gabby to her sister. She decided to let her form her own opinion.
Sam swung the door open and stepped to the side to let Gabby in. “Oohhh! Sam, I’m so glad to see ya! I’ve been practically beside myself, ya’ know?”
Sam’s first thought was that she was dressed conservatively. Well, conservatively for Gabby. She had on a pair of tight, black jeans with spiked black heels and shiny gold buckles adorning the top. Her candy apple red blouse had a thick layer of frills. She pulled the look together with a bright orange plastic belt that matched the neon orange orbs hanging from her ears.
In trademark Gabby style, her frizzy red hair was shooting out in every direction.
She was chomping away on a wad a gum as she reached over and squeezed Sam in a tight hug.
She pulled back and looked over at Deb. “So this is your sister?”
Gabby extended a clanking, bracelet-adorned wrist in Deb’s direction. “Hi! Nice to meet ya!”
She turned back to Sam. “So didja have a chance to ask your sister if she wanted to come and stay at my place?”
She didn’t give Sam a chance to answer before she looked back at Deb. “I was tellin’ Sam I would love for you guys to just crash at my place. You know, keep me company. Plus it’ll save you some cash.”
Deb didn’t answer. Sam thought she was probably in shock over Gabby’s appearance.
She looked at her sister. “No. We haven’t talked about it but then we haven’t had too much time to do anything but drive.”
Gabby nodded. “Yeah! Yeah! That’s tough. Anyways, I’m glad you made it.”
She was already on to a
nother subject. “Have you eaten yet?”
Sam was starting to wonder if she had some kind of ADD.
All three shook their heads in unison.
“Oh great! OK, then it’s settled. Let’s go grab a bite to eat. I’ll drive!”
That sounded just fine to Sam. She was sick of driving. She was sure her sister was, too.
“There’s a little hole-in-the-wall not too far from here. Cheap burgers and stuff. Is that OK?”
Gabby was back in full force, talking a mile a minute. She talked on the way to the car; she talked on the way into the restaurant. In fact, she never did stop talking, even after they sat down to eat.
Finally, she took a breath and Sam quickly spoke up.
“Any word on Lee or Donovan?”
Gabby looked forlornly at the food on her plate. She shook her head sadly. “Nope. I tried to call that Detective Robache earlier this afternoon. I left him a message but he never called back.”
Sam was beginning to get discouraged. “It looks like it’s up to us and we have to come up with a plan…”
The four of them threw out some different ideas as they ate their dinner but couldn’t come up with anything solid. Honestly, they had no clues and there wasn’t much they could really do.
They finished eating and soon Gabby had pulled up in front of the hotel to drop the three back off. “So you wanna get together tomorrow sometime, maybe do a little brainstormin’ or somethin’?”
Sam nodded. “Sure Gabby.” She shrugged uncertainly. “I’m not sure where to go from here.”
The girls jumped out of the car. Gabby rolled down her window. “OK, well … give me a call tomorrow mornin’?”
Sam nodded. “Will do.” As they made their way to the hotel lobby, she turned to Deb. “Well, what do you think?”
Her eyebrows raised as she turned to look at her sister. “Whew! That lady is a mouthful!” She giggled. “You barely got a word in edgewise.”
She looked thoughtfully at where Gabby’s car had just been. “She does seem lonely but I’m not sure about staying with her ... that might be a bit too much.”
Sam shrugged. “I’ll leave that entirely up to you. You can use me as your scapegoat if you’d rather not…”
Tides of Deception (Samantha Rite Mystery Series Book 3) Page 6