Midnight Confessions

by Karen Leabo

  He wished he’d never found her working in that crummy bar in Seattle.

  The thought came out of nowhere, but Joe immediately recognized the truth in it. He flat out didn’t want to be responsible for Jenn’s and Cathy’s misery any longer. Though it went against every tenet he’d ever lived by, he wanted to forget that Jenn had broken any laws and let her go, then tell Dennis Palmer to stuff it.

  But he couldn’t. To release a prisoner would be a huge violation of ethics, not to mention professional suicide. He’d find himself out of business. Claiming that she had escaped would be almost as bad. Besides, Dennis would probably hire another private investigator to find Jenn, and with a hot trail he could easily succeed. And another P.I. might not be as sympathetic as Joe had been.

  Things would have been much simpler if he’d never located Jenn Montgomery. Except that he wasn’t sure he’d ever have given up. The woman had gotten under his skin even before he’d met her.

  A piercing shriek interrupted his thoughts.

  “Where’s my mama?” Cathy screamed in his ear. She punched him on the shoulder with her little fist.

  “Easy, easy, sweetheart,” Joe soothed, enclosing her small hand in his before she could do any real damage. “Your mom’s in that white car just ahead of us. She’s fine.”

  “Why’s she in another car?” Cathy demanded.

  “It’s a long story.”

  “You found us again, didn’t you?” It was an accusation.

  “Yup, that’s right.”

  “I told Mama you would.”

  “You’re a smart little girl.”

  Cathy plopped down onto the back seat, folded her arms, and stuck out her lower lip. He could see her in the rearview mirror. She looked just like Jenn when she pouted,

  For the first time since this ordeal had begun, Jenn couldn’t eat. They’d returned the borrowed car, packed up their things, and were now having breakfast in the motel’s tiny restaurant. Cathy, who showed an amazing resilience, was shoveling down pancakes and slurping orange juice, none the worse for their most recent adventure.

  Jenn’s stomach was tied up in knots.

  Oddly, Joe didn’t seem to be very hungry, either. He’d ordered bacon and eggs, but he was only picking at them, and he’d hardly said a word since they’d returned to the motel.

  His anger must have stolen his appetite, she decided. He was probably furious with her, and she couldn’t blame him. Last night, when she’d asked him not to handcuff her, she’d promised she wouldn’t try to escape. She’d meant it at the time. But when an opportunity had presented itself, she hadn’t been able to resist. Keeping Cathy safe was the most important thing in the world to her.

  But that didn’t mean she couldn’t feel bad about betraying what little faith Joe might have had in her.

  “Joe, I’m sorry,” she said, the apology rising to her lips without conscious effort.

  He stopped mutilating his fried eggs and looked up. “Yeah, me, too.”

  That stopped her. “You, sorry? For what?”

  “For ever taking on this job,” he replied, sounding undeniably bitter.

  Jenn’s heart sank. “I guess we’ve made your life pretty miserable.”

  “In more ways than you’ll ever know.”

  His bleak words tore at her soul. When a good man like Joe Andresi despised a person, that person must be pretty despicable. She wiped her mouth with a paper napkin, which she then laid across her barely touched bowl of oatmeal.

  “Not hungry?” Joe asked.

  “No.”

  “Me, neither. If Cathy’s done, let’s get out of here.” He pushed his chair back and stood so quickly he jostled the table, then slapped some money down and walked toward the exit, not even bothering to see if his “guests” were following.

  “We really did it this time,” Jenn said as she wiped Cathy’s sticky fingers with a moistened napkin.

  “He’s mad,” Cathy agreed. “I have to use the bathroom.”

  “Okay, me, too. I saw one as we came in.”

  Joe was nowhere to be seen anywhere around the restaurant. She was surprised he wasn’t sticking to her like glue, since he couldn’t possibly trust her even ten feet away from him. But he was gone. His absence made her inexplicably uncomfortable.

  “Look, Mama, a window,” Cathy said as they washed their hands.

  “Don’t even think it.” Jenn might not know where Joe was, but she would bet her last dollar that he knew exactly where they were. As he’d pointed out earlier, he wasn’t an idiot. Besides, Jenn had had enough of crawling through windows. When and if they made another escape attempt, they would try something else.

  He was waiting for them by the car, leaning against the door with his leather jacket and his sunglasses, looking casual and untroubled. When Jenn saw him, something went zing inside her. He was her bitter adversary, but the most feminine part of her psyche didn’t seem to know that.

  She trembled as she buckled Cathy into the back seat. What was going on, anyway? Was it simply a case of wanting something she knew she couldn’t have?

  She straightened and started to push the seat back, then froze. Joe was right there, inches from her. She could feel his body heat. He extended his hand toward her face, and she instinctively flinched.

  “Don’t shy away. You must know by now that I wouldn’t physically harm you.”

  “But there’ve been times when you wanted to,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.

  Joe didn’t smile. He touched her cheek. “You’re a strong and clever woman, Jenn,” he said. “You’re going to come through this okay.”

  She was floored. “You can’t know that.”

  “I have a hunch.”

  For at least the third time that day, tears flooded Jenn’s eyes. She ducked her head and backed away, unwilling for Joe to see how his words, his gentleness, affected her.

  He was telling her, in his own way, that he didn’t hate her despite the hell she’d given him. He might still be angry with her, but he didn’t think she was an evil person. Nothing could have meant more to her at that moment.

  She climbed into the car without comment. Joe consulted his map, and soon they were on their way again. They said nothing to each other. But the tension of anger had been replaced by a new kind of unease. She wished she knew what to do about it.

  Heeding Jenn’s warning about his bald tires, Joe stopped at a discount tire place and bought four new steel-belted radials, saving the best of the bald ones for a spare. That taken care of, they were on the road again—even further behind schedule.

  Montana was the emptiest place Joe had ever seen. He drove miles and miles without seeing any signs of civilization save the road and an occasional motorist. The isolation only intensified the feeling of claustrophobia inside the Monte Carlo. He’d never been more aware of a woman in his life.

  They’d hardly exchanged three words since breakfast. An observer might have thought he was deliberately ignoring her. But she was in his thoughts every second—her slender body, curled in an impossible knot in the bucket seat; her ivory-clear face, taut with tension, free of the artifice of makeup; her tousled black hair, in need of a trim. The long eyelashes, pale without mascara, still managing to look lush.

  He wanted to say something, anything, to put her more at ease. But the words wouldn’t come. He’d been completely tongue-tied ever since he’d touched her face, felt the softness of her skin, seen the flare of response in her eyes.

  And the confusion, which mirrored his own.

  They drove through Butte, Montana, where they bought a few more groceries, ice and a cooler. Then they stopped for a late lunch at a park on the Madison River. Cathy delighted in the antics of some playful gray squirrels, and her cheerful chatter and laughter distracted the two adults for a while. They managed to talk normally, though not to each other. But back on the road, when Cathy took her nap late that afternoon, they fell silent again.

  Joe looked forward to reaching Sheridan, Wyomi
ng, their goal for the night. Earlier, when they’d stopped for gas, he’d called his travel agent, who’d located a little tourist hotel with a suite in Sheridan. It cost a lot, but worries about money had become secondary. He just wanted some sleeping arrangements that would allow both him and Jenn to get a good night’s rest.

  He was beginning to think that was impossible. If he knew she was anywhere near, fantasy images of her would torment him.

  Once again, real life intruded on his troubled thoughts when a barricade appeared in the highway ahead, at a crossroads. He slowed the car.

  “What?” Jenn asked, coming awake.

  “Appears to be a detour.” And not a very well marked one at that. He was forced to make a right turn onto the much smaller road. He pulled the atlas out from between the front seat and handed it to Jenn. “See if you can find County Road DD on the Montana map. We’re somewhere east of Livingston.”

  Jenn rubbed her eyes and yawned as she took the atlas. “We’re still in Montana?”

  “It’s a big state.” Joe didn’t like detours. But at least he and Jenn had something they could safely talk about, a problem to occupy them.

  “Okay, I found it. In a couple of miles, we should come up on a north-south road that will take us back to the main highway.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I can read a map,” she huffed.

  “I didn’t mean any offense. Don’t be so touchy.”

  “Touchy? You’re the one who’s been giving me the silent treatment just because I borrowed your silly car.”

  Joe clutched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I’m not a real chatty person.”

  “You mean you’re not still mad at me?” she asked, tilting her head skeptically at him.

  He didn’t know how to answer that question. He certainly wasn’t harboring that white-hot anger he’d felt earlier. In fact, he was more annoyed with himself than with her. He understood her actions, her motivations, pretty clearly. She was trying to protect her daughter from a threat, whether real or perceived.

  But somewhere in the last couple of days, he’d ceased to understand himself. Everything that had once been so comfortingly black and white was now disturbing shades of gray.

  “I guess I’m not really mad.” He drove on, keeping an eye out for the side road Jenn had said they should take. “I’m getting used to your crazy escape attempts, learning to expect them.”

  Jenn actually smiled. “Well, then, I guess I’ll have to try something different. I wouldn’t want to become too predictable. It would take all the challenge out of your job.”

  “Maybe I’ll escape from you next time. Shake things up a bit.”

  Although his suggestion was patently preposterous, it nonetheless made her uncomfortable. She supposed she was getting used to having him around. He wasn’t so unpleasant, when he wasn’t scowling at her, and for the moment he represented safety and security. He fed them well and put a roof over their heads at night, and it was nice not to have to worry about food and shelter, even for a few days.

  But she knew her worries were just beginning. When he turned her over to the authorities, her life would become a nightmare.

  “Hey, do you think that’s the turnoff?” Jenn asked as he passed a narrow dirt road.

  “It wasn’t marked.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “I don’t think we’ve driven far enough.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “We can try it if you think it’s the one,” he said.

  Jenn felt the sudden weight of responsibility. If this turned out to be the wrong road, and she got them horribly lost, she would never hear the end of it. So she copped out. “Whatever you think.”

  He kept driving. They passed another turnoff, but it was marked as Timberline Road.

  “We’ve gone too far,” Jenn said a few minutes later. “Maybe we should find a place to stop and ask.”

  “Where? We haven’t seen any kind of house or building for miles.”

  “We have to reach someplace eventually.”

  “Eventually. That’s the disturbing word.” Joe slowed the car. “I think I’ll turn around and try that Timberline Road.”

  “It’s not even on the map,” Jenn observed.

  “Maybe it has more than one name. It’s the only paved road we’ve seen.”

  Jenn slumped back in her seat. She never did like arguing with a man behind a steering wheel. They were always so sure they knew where they were going.

  Timberline Road took them into dense forest and then into what appeared to be a deserted lumber camp. Joe drove a little farther. The road got narrower, rougher, and then the pavement turned to dirt. The Monte Carlo was bouncing all over the place, much to Cathy’s entertainment. They came over a hill. At the crest, they could see a rocky stream up ahead that they would have to ford. Obviously the lumber company trucks had done it, but they were considerably bigger than the Monte Carlo.

  Joe stopped the car. “Do we try it?”

  “No,” Jenn said at the same time that Cathy gleefully cried, “Yes.”

  “I say we go for it,” Joe said. “It’s a long way back the way we came, and this road must lead somewhere.”

  “Yeah, it leads to the middle of the Forest of No Return.”

  Ignoring her qualms, Joe forged ahead. The car rocked and bucked as it entered the rushing water, hesitated, surged ahead, lurched to a stop. Joe stepped on the gas. The back tires spun.

  “Uh-oh, we’re stuck,” Joe said.

  “Really? I couldn’t have guessed.”

  “Don’t be fresh,” Joe said. “It’s probably just a rock in the way. I’ll get out and move it.”

  Jenn tried not to laugh when Joe opened his door and grimaced at what he saw. They were in the middle of the creek, and there was no way he could get out without getting his feet wet. He pulled off his boots and socks and rolled up the legs of his jeans.

  “It’s going to be cold,” Jenn said.

  “Really? I couldn’t have guessed,” Joe retorted, parroting her. He stepped out of the car. His face gave away nothing. Jenn imagined that he would rather face ten grizzly bears than admit his discomfort.

  He bent down, and she couldn’t see what he was doing. She heard some scraping, then some cursing. A couple of minutes later he got back in the car. “We’re stuck,” he said. “Guess we’ll have to back out.”

  But that didn’t work, either. The back tires had sunk deep into the mud. They weren’t going anywhere.

  Jenn wasn’t sure if she should be elated or annoyed or scared. On the one hand, she was pleased by anything that delayed their return to Rhymer. On the other, she wasn’t particularly thrilled by the idea of being stuck in the middle of nowhere. She’d slept in her truck enough times over the past few months that she knew she didn’t like it.

  “I can get us unstuck,” he assured her.

  “I have complete confidence in you,” she said sweetly.

  It took some doing. Joe had to dig the mud out from around the foundering car, then find some flat rocks and tree branches to wedge under the tires. Then he got in front of the car and pushed while Jenn, in the driver’s seat, put the Monte Carlo in reverse and gunned it. Finally, after several attempts, the car lurched backward and out of the creek.

  Joe gave her the thumbs-up sign, the jubilant male triumphing over nature and machine.

  Oh, it was so tempting. She had the car, the keys. She could lock the doors and drive off. But she’d already decided that stealing his car would be wrong. Leaving him alone, with no supplies, in the wilderness was unthinkable. A couple of days ago she might have done it, but not now.

  She shifted into park and climbed over to the passenger seat.

  “Back the way we came, I guess,” Joe said. After putting his socks and boots back on, he deftly turned the car around and began retracing their route. Ten minutes into the return trip, steam started
pouring out from under the hood and the car died.

  Chapter 8

  “Ah, hell, er, I mean, heck,” Joe said, elbow-deep into the Monte Carlo’s engine. “There’s a hole as big as a baseball in the radiator. Must have done it on this rough road.”

  “Or when you tried to cross the creek,” Jenn added. “I told you we shouldn’t.”

  “Okay, okay, you were right, I was wrong. Happy?” He raised up, bumping his head on the hood. This time when he cursed, he didn’t soften it for Cathy’s sake.

  Jenn really couldn’t blame him. He had to be supremely frustrated by now. Nothing had gone well for him since he’d had the misfortune to locate her. She should have felt smug, but instead she shared his frustration. Much as she didn’t want to return to Rhymer, she didn’t like being stranded in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t terribly cold right now, but nighttime would bring a frost.

  “Can you fix it?” Jenn asked hopefully.

  “If I had a new radiator and the proper tools. But I don’t.”

  “Oh.”

  “Guess I’ll have to hoof it to the nearest phone.”

  “But that could be miles,” Jenn said.

  “I’m sure it is.” He consulted his watch. “I’d better get going. The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll get back.”

  “It’ll be dark soon.”

  He shot her a mischievous grin. “Worried about me?”

  “No,” she said hastily. “I’m just, um, a little nervous about Cathy and me staying here alone. What if you don’t come back?”

  “I’ll come back. But it might be a while. Anyway, I thought you’d be pleased to be left alone so you could cook up another escape attempt.”

  “Not out here,” Jenn said with a shiver. “I tried that once. I’m not a wilderness kinda gal.” She knew all too well that she and Cathy could perish alone in the woods. That fact had been brought home during yesterday’s adventure with Otis.

  “A bear could get us,” Cathy added, clinging uncharacteristically to her mother.

  “You’ll be safe inside the car, sweetheart,” Joe assured her. “I don’t really think there are any bears out here.”