Michelle put her right hand on Momma Peach's shoulder and watched the storm howl and scream outside. The storm pounded on, angry and upset—awoken by the pressures and winds that had forced it south from the mountains of Canada. Michelle had always associated snow with warm winter lodges and cups of hot cocoa sipped by a cozy fire. The storm blazing outside was far from cozy; the storm was deadly. “Whoever is after Susan will try and use this storm to their advantage, Momma Peach.”
Momma Peach bit down on her lower lip. She felt trapped. “Baby, are you thinking that Chief Duddles might try and set us up for the kill?” She whispered so the little girl would not overhear them discussing such ugly matters.
Michelle nodded. “Chief Duddles knows exactly who the killer is. The killer doesn't know Chief Duddles made an agreement with me. The man is in a position to play both sides.”
“Yes, he is,” Momma Peach admitted and shook her head in disgust. “My gut is telling me that rotted alley rat is going to align himself with other rats in order to protect his backside. He told you to find Susan,” Momma Peach continued, “which tells me he wants us and the little girl in the same place. He wants to lead the killer to shoot all the fish in the barrel all at once.”
“Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing,” Michelle admitted. “Ridge Falls is a small town and Chief Duddles knows we're staying with Thelma. I saw that man's devious eyes click when I offered to back down from my call to the FBI and take on this case alone.” Michelle looked out into the snow and searched for Sam. “I saw his mind form a dangerous plan.”
“I saw the same thing,” Momma Peach told Michelle and bit down on her lip again. “Maybe you should call your friend at the FBI?”
“Chief Duddles will arrest you if I do, Momma Peach. Besides, even if I did call my friend there's no way he'd be able to fly through in this weather. By the time the FBI arrived we could already be dead at the hands of the killer. As it stands...we're on our own in this storm.”
“I was afraid of that,” Momma Peach told Michelle. She searched for Sam and Thelma and spotted them hurrying from the garage, making their way up onto the front porch. Momma Peach opened the door for them, holding it tight so the howling wind could not pull it out of her hands. “Inside,” she said in a tired voice and pulled Sam through the front door first. Thelma lingered on the front porch, evaluating the scene with skilled eyes, and then walked inside and closed the front door and locked it behind her. “Ms. Thelma?”
Thelma kicked snow off her boots and focused on Susan. The little girl sat on her couch cuddled up in the green emergency blanket, looking like a deer caught in a pair of bright headlights. “I live outside of town a good ways,” she told Momma Peach. “As you all saw, the road my home is located on is getting snowed in pretty good. I'm usually the one who plows the road. I figure if I leave the road unplowed, in about...oh…another hour the road will be impassable.” She gave a grim smile.
“Meaning any visitor will have to arrive either on foot, skis or snowmobile,” Michelle said.
Thelma nodded. “I know my land by the back of my hand,” she continued. “I've taken more nature walks than I count and I can say with confidence that someone unfamiliar with the land most likely will arrive using the front road, as it provides the only good line of sight. The backwoods offer cover, but they are too filled with little narrow ravines and twisting gullies. You can never see more than twenty yards in any direction if you approach the house from the back, and it would be worse in this kind of storm. Now, I could be way off track,” Thelma pointed out, “because whoever...” Thelma looked at the little girl’s wide eyes watching them and lowered her voice, “…whoever is behind this mess might have military training or some other wilderness training.”
Sam kicked snow off his boots and then checked the safety on the gun hidden under his coat. He looked at Momma Peach. Momma Peach focused on Susan. “Thelma, why don't you take me into your kitchen and we'll start supper. Michelle, why don't you talk to that precious baby some more and see what beans she might spill, okay? Mr. Sam, why don't you get a nice fire going in that cozy fireplace over there.”
Sam turned his eyes to a stone fireplace. Even though warm air flowed up from floor vents located throughout the house, the idea of a fire, for comfort and warmth, appealed to Sam. “Sure thing, Momma Peach.”
“Let me go use the lady's room and I'll be right down,” Thelma told Momma Peach and hurried over to a wooden staircase with a dark green carpet runner. “The kitchen’s through that door.”
“Okay,” Momma Peach said and made her way through a swinging door, walked through a small but inviting dining room, and then entered a kitchen that immediately grabbed her heart. “Oh my,” Momma Peach gasped as her eyes soaked in the sight of a rustic hardwood floor, antique hand-carved cabinets and countertops, gorgeous soft green walls and a beautiful oval stained-glass window over the kitchen sink. “Ms. Thelma, your house is amazing,” she whispered and walked to the back door and carefully checked the locks. The solid, heavy wood of the back door gave Momma Peach some comfort. “Okay, let’s make a pot of coffee and get our thinking caps on, Momma Peach,” she said to herself and went to searching for the coffee.
Twenty minutes later, Thelma entered the kitchen wearing a thick gray flannel shirt over a brown heavy wool dress. Momma Peach thought the woman looked like a pioneer woman preparing to tackle a grizzly bear. Thelma Dodge was a tough old gal, no doubt about it. “I see you found the coffee,” Thelma said in a pleased voice. “Sorry I took a bit. I went around the house and checked all the windows and then checked the basement. We're locked in tighter than a tick on the neck of a hound dog, Momma Peach. But I guess that won't matter if whoever is after Susan decides to blow up my home.”
Momma Peach heard worry and regret in Thelma's voice. “Oh baby,” Momma Peach said, sitting at a round kitchen table near the back door, “I know you're risking everything to help and I promise that if anything happens—”
Thelma raised her right hand up in the air, walked over to Momma Peach, and hugged her neck. “You didn't twist my arm, Momma Peach. Thelma Dodge volunteered her services,” she said and forced a smile into her eyes. “I do love my home, but this house isn't a human being,” she continued. “You see, I believe Jesus gave up everything to give me life and, well, if we don't do the same to save others then we sure don't deserve His love. The house can blow to smithereens. I just want everyone to be safe, that’s all. It’s the least I can do.”
Momma Peach felt tears touch her eyes. “Ms. Thelma, you are a good woman and a true soul. I wish I could take you back to Georgia with me.”
Thelma smiled again and patted Momma Peach's shoulder. “The time may come when I'm forced to leave Ridge Falls,” she said. “Now, take off your coat, Momma Peach. You can't cook fresh trout dressed like that.”
“Fresh trout?” Momma Peach asked, feeling her mouth begin to water.
“Caught a mess of trout out at Dove River last week. Enough to feed an army. I thought we'd throw in some hush puppies, baked potatoes and coleslaw, and afterward have some apple pie for dessert. I may live in the north but my grandpa taught me how to fry fish the right way.”
Momma Peach jumped to her feet and yanked off her coat. “You get the fish and I'll grab the corn flour. But first, let me run some coffee out to the living room.”
Thelma laughed. Oh, she thought, it felt so good to share her kitchen with a woman like Momma Peach. “You got it.”
In the living room, Susan spoke quietly to Michelle in Mandarin Chinese, deliberately hiding her words from Sam. Sam did not mind. He stationed himself by the front window and kept his eyes on the storm and watched the last bit of daylight become swallowed up by the thick, icy darkness outside.
Back in town, Chief Duddles walked into his office and found none other than the killer waiting for him. “I think we need to talk, Duddles. Close the door.” said a low voice with harsh, humorless inflection. The Chief of Police gulped nervously. He reached
behind him to shut the door with shaking hands, knowing he had no choice but to face what came next.
Chapter Five
Sam insisted on standing guard in the living room but Momma Peach overruled him. “Baby, it's dark as a black jellybean outside. You ain't gonna see nothing out there but snow. Now come into the kitchen and eat supper and don't make me grab you up by your pants and drag you.”
Momma Peach was right, of course, Sam thought to himself, staring into a set of stubborn and determined eyes. Even so, he was not very keen on deserting his station beside the front window. But his stomach growled and his legs ached with fatigue. “Okay, Momma Peach, I'll come and eat.”
Sam followed Momma Peach into the dining room and saw Michelle sitting next to Susan at a square table covered with a dark green tablecloth. The table spread revealed platters of fried trout and hush puppies, and bowls of green beans, coleslaw, baked potatoes, and biscuits. The sight of the delicious foods nearly sent Sam into shock. He quickly sat down across from Michelle and waited for Momma Peach and Thelma to sit down. To his shock, Thelma snatched him up. “The man sits at the head of the table,” she told Sam and sat him down in his assigned seat and then relaxed next to Momma Peach. “Let us all say grace.”
Momma Peach smiled and bowed her head. Michelle bowed her head. Susan looked around at everyone and then focused on Sam. “It's okay sweetheart, you can bow your head,” he said in a soothing voice. Susan hesitated and then bowed her head. Sam said a prayer of thanks and opened his eyes. “Amen.”
“Amen,” Momma Peach said and reached for a biscuit. “Let's eat before I turn into a broomstick.”
Michelle picked up Susan's plate and filled it with food. “Eat, honey,” she smiled. Momma Peach noticed how natural mothering this scared child came to Michelle. Michelle caught Momma Peach staring at her and blushed.
“I'm starved,” Sam said and lifted his plate to serve himself. Thelma quickly snatched his plate away and filled it with enough food to last through the winter. Sam did not complain. He tore into a biscuit and then attacked a piece of trout. Thelma winked at Momma Peach. Momma Peach winked right back.
Michelle waited and fixed her plate last. Even though she felt very hungry her mind could not focus on food. She watched Susan nibble on a biscuit and then took a bite of fish. “Thelma, I noticed you don't have a television in your living room. Do you have a weather radio?”
Thelma nodded. “My weather radio is in my bedroom next to my computer,” she told Michelle and served up another spoonful of coleslaw. “I usually check the weather on the internet. I also play backgammon,” Thelma added.
“I like to play backgammon,” Momma Peach said and stuffed a second biscuit into her mouth. “I ain't so great at solitaire, though. I get my tush kicked most of the time,” she finished and winked at Susan. “Maybe my tush should come with a pillow attached because I’m always getting it kicked at solitaire.”
Susan actually smiled but then cast her eyes down at her plate and grew very quiet. Michelle stepped in. “Well, by now you're all probably wondering what Susan and I spoke about, and if she was able to tell me anything,” she said.
“No rush,” Momma Peach told Michelle and picked up a green glass full of sweet tea. “We don't want our little baby feeling any pressure.”
“I told Susan as much,” Michelle explained as she took a bite of a biscuit. “Susan and I talked while you and Thelma cooked dinner.” Michelle looked at Susan. “Susan, can I tell everyone what you told me, honey?”
Susan kept her head bowed but slowly and nervously nodded. “What a brave little girl we have,” Momma Peach complimented Susan.
Michelle gently patted Susan's shoulder with her right hand and continued. “Susan was kidnapped,” she said in a very careful voice to not upset the girl. “She was being taken over the border to Canada, where they planned to take her to North Korea.”
“North Korea?” Sam asked, concerned.
“Susan is part Chinese and part Korean,” Michelle explained. “Her father worked in secret as a Christian pastor in North Korea and her mother was a Christian missionary in China.” Michelle looked down at Susan and then studied the dining room, waiting for the right words to form in her mind. “Susan's father kept his Christian faith a secret for many years because of the oppressive regime, but he was caught smuggling Bibles into the country. Before he was arrested, the Christian missionary group Susan's mother belonged to paid off a government official who in turn helped Susan's father escape into China.”
“Amazing,” Momma Peach said.
Michelle agreed. “After his escape, Susan's father met her mother, and they fell in love and married. But,” Michelle shook her head, “Susan's father, mourning for the suffering faced by his fellow North Koreans, returned back to North Korea under a new name and disguise and began helping persecuted Christians escape. One man, in particular, was a scientist.” Little Susan raised her eyes as she listened to Michelle recount the story. Susan looked at Momma Peach, and then tucked her chin down. “This is where it gets real heavy.”
“I bet,” Momma Peach said and put down the half-eaten biscuit in her hand. Sam and Thelma each took a sip of sweet tea and waited.
“Well,” Michelle continued, “Susan's dad was...well, he was caught, that's all I can say. But this scientist managed to find Susan's mother, who helped him emigrate to America. But fearing for her daughter's life, she made the man promise to take Susan with him, which he did. It was risky to keep helping North Koreans over the border to China, and Susan’s parents became convinced that she was no longer safe there. The scientist took Susan to the US, but some…very bad men were waiting for him at the airport in Boston.”
“Bad men,” Susan said in a tiny, shy voice. “Very bad men wearing black coats.”
“Oh, my,” Momma Peach said feeling her heart break. “Oh, my sweet baby, those mean men will never harm you again, I promise.” Susan did not respond.
Michelle grew silent for a few minutes. When she spoke her voice grew heavy. “Susan's parents were right to worry. As it turns out, the Chinese government arrested her mother before Susan’s flight had even left the country.” Michelle shook her head. “We'll talk more about Susan's mother later. Right now I need to focus on the scientist.”
“Take your time.”
Michelle took a sip of tea. Her throat felt dry. “The scientist, a man Susan calls John, was met at the Boston airport by some bad men,” she continued. “These men managed to snatch him and Susan at the curb, before they could escape. The men stuffed them into a van and drove for Canada by back roads. When that van stopped in Ridge Falls for gas, Susan escaped.”
“I...escaped the ropes around my arms and legs,” Susan spoke in a low voice, and everyone turned to look at her. “I crawled through the back window. John kicked the window open for me, but he…could not fit.” Her voice shook a little, remembering. When she said no more, Michelle reached over and circled her arm protectively around the little girl’s shoulders.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck in his usual way. “Men at the airport...a van to Canada?” he said. “I'm sure this would have made quite a scene at the airport. The cops surely would have come running. And I'm also sure the Canadians would check a van and find the two hostages.”
Michelle nodded. “Well, Susan said the men who grabbed her had badges. So they looked official enough to escape any suspicion.”
“Oh dear,” Momma Peach exclaimed.
“Yep,” Michelle said. “Susan said the men spoke clear English and they were American. Not Chinese or Korean.”
“Two men,” Susan said, keeping her voice low.
Michelle placed her hand on Susan's arm. “Susan, you are incredibly brave for escaping. We are all so proud of you and so sorry for what you have gone through. And Charlene…” Michelle paused and took a breath, steadying herself. “Just know that we will all keep you safe. We will get you back to your parents and never again will you have to face terror alone like that.”
Momma Peach studied Susan. “Those two men wouldn't go after Charlene and blow up a house looking for a little girl if that little girl didn't know something.”
“You're exactly right, Momma Peach,” Michelle said. “The scientist, this John person, slipped a piece of paper into Susan's pocket before she escaped. On the piece of paper he had written a formula.”
“He made me memorize the first part. Funny numbers,” Susan explained without raising her head. “I hid the paper in a bottle in the snow.”
“Smart girl,” Momma Peach told Susan in a proud voice and focused on Michelle. “These two men,” she asked, “are they hired killers?”
“Most likely,” Michelle replied. “Hired killers with falsified badges giving them access to cross into any country they want, which means some powerful people are involved.”
“Goodness,” Thelma said in shock, “all of this activity taking place right here in Ridge Falls. No wonder Chief Duddles is wetting his pants.”
Momma Peach took a second to absorb the new information. “We can count on Chief Duddles and Mayor Beardman both betraying us,” she said in a serious voice. “We're on our own.”
“Yes, we are,” Michelle said. “I now understand why Chief Duddles was upset. I now understand his intentions, too, which clearly tells me we are in deep—” Michelle paused and looked at Susan. “Well, we're not holding a good hand.”
Sam leaned back in his chair. “We're trapped until this storm ends...isolated,” he pointed out. “Even when this storm clears enough to let us travel, the two men behind this—assuming they don't find us beforehand—aren't going to let us just get up and waltz out of town.”
A Peachy Plan Page 7