Momma Peach picked hay out of her hair and then began working on Susan's hair. “We'll sit tight for a few more minutes,” she told Susan in a soothing voice, “and then go back inside and have some hot cocoa, okay?” Momma Peach wanted nothing more than to convince Susan that the threat of danger had passed, but she wanted to convince herself, too. The little girl shook her head and pulled her knees up to her chin. “Oh,” Momma Peach sighed and rubbed Susan's cheek.
Sam crawled over to the edge of the hayloft and looked down into the barn. “We managed to escape this time, but next time we may not be so blessed,” he pointed out as the trucks outside began back down the driveway. He turned back and focused on Michelle. Michelle appeared as a fierce shadow silhouetted against the dim light of the barn. “Even if this storm passes there's no way we're walking or driving out of this town. We have to take down our enemies.”
“Yes, we do,” Michelle said and stood up. “We'll go into town and face them there. Susan will stay here with Thelma.” Michelle looked down at Momma Peach. “Momma Peach, I wish you would stay here with Susan, too, but I know better.”
“That's right, you do,” Momma Peach and forced her legs to stand up after being cramped in the pile of hay for so long. “But we ain't gonna walk into town like three dumb clowns. Maybe Wyatt Earp could draw his gun and start shooting in the open but I prefer to use my brain instead of walking through a hail of bullets.”
“I think if we can cut off the heads of the two snakes controlling Chief Duddles we'll be okay,” Sam pointed out. He watched as the trucks turned onto the front road and begin driving away. “Okay, I think we're in the clear to go back inside.”
Michelle hurried down the ladder, checked the barn, and then ran back and helped Susan crawl down. Momma Peach followed Susan and Sam brought up the rear. Once everyone climbed down, they all made their way back to the farmhouse. “Storm is getting worse,” Sam yelled over the winds that tore across the landscape.
“Yes, it is,” Momma Peach yelled back and spotted the back door to the farmhouse open. Thelma appeared and began waving her arms in the air. “We're hurrying!”
Thelma moved away from the back door and hurried to make a pot of coffee. When Michelle walked through the back door with Susan the older woman pointed the kitchen table. “Susan, drink that cup of hot cocoa I made to warm you up, okay?”
Momma Peach and Sam burst through the back door behind Michelle. Sam closed the back door and locked it. “We're in the clear for now,” he told Thelma, feeling like a frozen popsicle.
Momma Peach ran over to the coffee pot and drew in a deep breath of fresh coffee. “Ah, talk to Momma Peach,” she said as if she spoke to an old friend. “I sure love my coffee, yes sir and yes ma’am. I ain't fond of hiding in the snow freezing my tush off.”
Thelma walked over to Momma Peach and gave her a tight hug. “Oh, I was afraid for you...all of you,” she said in a worried voice. “I don't think I've ever seen two uglier looking killers in my entire life, and I have seen my share of ruffians while driving a city bus, let me tell you.”
“I've dealt with men like them before,” Michelle assured Thelma and thought back to the two men who had helped a corrupt FBI agent track down Old Joe. Then she thought about Lindsey Sung. “I've dealt with more than my share of bad people, Thelma. Some more dangerous than others...but all of them were cut from the same cloth.”
Susan walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. She looked at down at the mug of steaming hot cocoa and then up to Sam standing vigil at the back door with his gun. The little girl began to cry. “Oh, honey,” Michelle said and wrapped her arms around Susan's trembling body.
“I miss my mommy and daddy,” Susan cried. “Those mean men hurt my daddy...”
Momma Peach felt her heart break. She turned away from Susan and hid the tears that began falling from her eyes. “I don't like to see my baby crying,” she whispered, “no sir and no ma’am.”
Thelma walked over to the kitchen table and gently began rubbing Susan's shoulders. “Sweet child,” she sighed with a broken heart.
Sam put his gun away and leaned against the back door. “I spent a good portion of my life in a small desert town,” he spoke in a guilty voice. “I nearly forgot about the problems real people face living in a cruel world. Easier for me to focus on my life and not bother with other people.” Sam looked down at the kitchen floor and then focused on Susan. “Sweetheart, old Sam is going to make sure you see your folks again, do you hear me? When we get out of this mess you're coming back to Georgia to live with me.”
“Not you,” Michelle told Sam in a gentle voice. “Me.” She looked gently into the little girl’s eyes. “I’ll do my best to take care of you and keep you safe, and bring your parents here as soon as we can.” Susan looked up at her, the tears drying and a spark of hope gleaming in her eyes for the first time since they had found her.
Momma Peach turned to Michelle and wiped her tears. “I figured as much,” she said and then smiled at Sam. “Mr. Sam, you have a heart of gold, and I sure do love you more than you'll ever know, but I think it’s best if Susan lives with Michelle.”
Sam smiled fondly to show he took no offense. “Just as long as that child returns with us to Georgia where we can all keep a close eye on her,” he said. “I'm going to use every dime I have to bring her mother to America and free her father.”
Michelle wanted to run over to Sam and hug him as tight as she possibly could. “Sam, you're my hero,” she spoke in a truthful voice. “Thank you for caring.”
“We're family,” Sam said and nodded at Susan and then at Thelma. “Everyone standing in this kitchen is my family,” he continued. “Now, we need to come up with a plan. I'm not about to back down from two low-life thugs.”
Momma Peach watched Thelma rub Susan's shoulders. “Thelma, did Chief Duddles find the note I left him?”
“Found it and then wet his pants,” Thelma said with a grin.
Momma Peach nodded. “Good, good,” she said. “Now we have a tool to control that man with.”
“What did the note say?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, Momma Peach, you never did tell us,” Michelle said.
Momma Peach settled her nerves and forced her mind to step out of a room full of stress and anxiety so they could walk to a calm, soothing summer beach. Once settled, she began explaining the words she had written down on the note. “I wanted Chief Duddles to freak out,” she explained. “You see, the two snakes who have their fangs in him appear to be pretty potent, but I wanted Chief Duddles to begin searching for a hatchet. You see, that awful man is only interested in saving his own backside...slimy alley cat...and now he's having to worry not only about the two snakes he's running with, but also about the FBI.”
Sam stared at Momma Peach as his mind latched onto her plan. “I see,” he said. “Now we can pretend to be his ally and offer our help in cutting off the heads of the two snakes wrapped around him, right?”
“That's my hope,” Momma Peach stated as she smoothed out her sweater. “I wasn't sure how the man would take the note, but after hearing his voice in the barn, I could tell he wasn't all fired up to be on the same team as those two vipers anymore. I guess that man, as awful as he is, wasn't too fired up about teaming up with them to begin with. As much as I hate to admit this, it does seem that Chief Duddles is a victim of circumstance.”
“Well…” Thelma protested and then agreed as she thought it through. “You know, as far as I know Chief Duddles has never hurt anymore before. He might be something of a coward, but he’s not cruel. It does seem that he’s under an awful lot of stress.”
“We can't have Chief Duddles and those two snakes on the same team,” Momma Peach told everyone. “We have to get Chief Duddles on our side.” Momma Peach folded her arms. “Now, y’all listen to Momma Peach and listen close. We made it out of that barn by the good Lord's grace and nothing else. We didn't make it back to this kitchen to sit here and sip coffee all night, either, no sir an
d no ma’am.” Momma Peach looked at Susan. “Susan, we're going to need that formula, okay? Because I have a plan.”
Susan looked up at Momma Peach. She nodded slowly but did not say a word.
Sam parked the gray truck a block away from Charlene Readings’ destroyed home. “Okay,” he spoke in a low voice, “Momma Peach, we're on your game board now.”
Michelle checked her gun. “Momma Peach?” she asked.
“Yes?” Momma Peach replied, feeling wedged tightly in between Sam and Michelle in the small truck cab.
“Able is going to be upset, isn't he…” Michelle sighed. “I had time to call him before the phones went out, but I didn't. He made me promise to call him anytime my life was in danger.”
“Able is a kind and smart man. After you tell him everything you've had to deal with I’m sure he'll hug you instead of hold it against you,” Momma Peach replied and patted Michelle's leg. It felt strange to be in a strange town, surrounded by darkness, while a cruel blizzard howled all around her, and yet still thinking about the little details of romantic life between Michelle and sweet Able. Momma Peach felt cold inside, scared and unsure of her plan. Sure, Chief Duddles had taken her bait, but they had barely escaped the grasp of two deadly killers—two killers who would surely return back to Thelma's farmhouse sooner or later, forcing tragedy to strike. “I’ll say one thing. I’m glad Able isn't here in this storm, yes sir and yes ma’am. Right now I am worried up enough.”
Michelle let her eyes gaze out the driver's side window. Darkness surrounded the truck, making her feel like a lost child trapped in a hideous snow globe. “I thought the snow was supposed to be fun,” she sighed and then forced her mind to stand at attention. “Okay, I'll go find the formula. Susan gave me one piece of it, and said she buried the paper with the rest of the formula next to the large tree in Charlene's backyard and...” Michelle stopped talking. The image of Charlene Readings flashed into her mind. She saw her friend smiling a beautiful smile, but suddenly her smile faded and her head slumped forward, lifeless. “I'm going to make those two rats pay,” she said through gritted teeth. “I should have taken care of them back in the barn.”
“Those two snakes arrived with a lot of men carrying guns,” Momma Peach pointed out. “You weren’t in any position to fight.” Momma Peach patted Michelle's arm. “Now, you are.”
“Yes, I am,” Michelle agreed and pushed opened the side door. “I'll find the formula and meet you at the diner.”
Sam wanted to tell Michelle to be careful, but the detective vanished into the storm before he could get a word out. Momma Peach slid over into the passenger’s seat and closed the door. “Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” Momma Peach said and placed her gloved hands together. Sam got the truck moving and aimed it toward the diner. “Drop me on that little side street next to the diner, Mr. Sam, and then go back to Thelma's home and stand guard over Susan.”
“Hey, wait a minute, that wasn't the plan,” Sam objected. “You and me, we're a team.”
“I know that, but I also know that once I show up at the diner Chief Duddles may betray me. If my plan backfires it'll be up to you to get Susan to safety.”
Sam looked over at Momma Peach. “Michelle isn't going to let your plan backfire and we both know that.”
“Michelle is a brave woman, Mr. Sam, and a fighter. But she's dealing with two despicable creatures who are unpredictable. We need to watch our backsides and make sure we have an exit door ready just in case the curtain falls too soon.”
Sam shook his head. “In my mind I see that bull chasing you...I see myself throwing snowballs at Michelle...then I see a dead woman...and a scared little girl,” Sam spoke slowly. “The currents of life change awful fast.”
“Yes, awful fast,” Momma Peach agreed. “But you wait and see, we'll be back in my bakery drinking our morning coffee together in no time.”
Sam did not have her optimism in that moment. He struggled to be a man of faith but the need to be in control of his life always set traps to tangle up his mind. Now he struggled to leave Momma Peach at a strange diner and drive away to an unfamiliar house in order to stand guard over a scared little girl he barely knew, and hope the rest of the plan fell into place. “I'll drop you off at the diner and go back to Susan,” he told Momma Peach in a strained voice. “I suppose you’re right. If this goes pear-shaped, Susan will need someone to get her to safety.”
“Not only Susan, but Ms. Thelma,” Momma Peach said. “Mr. Sam, don't forget that woman. Ms. Thelma has become mighty special to me.”
“And to me,” Sam confessed. “I won't forget her, Momma Peach,” Sam promised and didn't speak any more until the truck pulled up to its destination on the side street. “Here we are,” he said and quickly grabbed Momma Peach's hand. “I want us back in your bakery, woman, drinking coffee, is that clear?”
“Yes sir, it sure is, Mr. Sam,” Momma Peach said and hugged Sam's neck. Sam hugged her back. “Pray,” she said and climbed out into the night, walking away from the truck.
Sam hesitated and then drove away, forcing the truck down the snow-covered road. Momma Peach stood in the storm until the truck vanished from her sight and then she got moving. She stopped a few storefronts down from the diner and looked around. All the stores on the street loomed dark, empty and cold. Only the lights from the diner cast shadows out into the night; light and shadow fell across a large truck with a snowplow attached to its front parked out front, too. Momma Peach stared at the truck and then focused on the hood. According to the depth of the snow on the hood, she guessed the truck has been parked in front of the diner for at least thirty minutes, maybe an hour. “Well, old girl, ain't no sense in standing out here in this storm and freezing your buns off,” Momma Peach said and bravely walked up to the front door of the diner and banged on it.
Chief Duddles approached the front door, spotted Momma Peach standing outside on the front walk, and yanked out his gun. “Don't move!” he yelled and unlocked the front door with his left hand and shoved it open. “Get in here!”
“One of these days I am going to smack the rudeness out of you,” Momma Peach promised Chief Duddles as she stepped into the diner.
Yonick and Vance stood up from a booth with aggressive, threatening faces as they looked at her.
“Hello, you two worthless worms,” she greeted them.
Chief Duddles stepped out onto the front walk, examined the empty street, and walked back inside. “It looks clear out there,” he said and locked the front door.
“Go,” Yonick told Vance. Vance nodded and sprinted past Momma Peach and vanished into the kitchen. Yonick looked at the woman standing before him and sneered. “You, sit down!”
Momma Peach saw poor Amanda sitting in a back booth, handcuffed and gagged. “Now, is there any call for that, boy?” Momma Peach fussed. “What, are you afraid that a little old woman like Mom is going to open a can of whoop-butt on you? Good grief.”
“Shut up and sit down,” Yonick growled and pulled out his gun and aimed it at Momma Peach. “Sit down, now.”
Momma Peach waved her hands in the air. “Shoot me if you want, turkey, but if you do, you're never going to get the formula.”
Yonick's face twisted up into a knot. “What do you know about the formula?”
“That I have it and you don't, dummy,” Momma Peach answered. “Now you go treat Mom right and we'll talk. If you don't then I'll plead the Fifth on your sorry rear end.”
Yonick nodded at Chief Duddles. “Go take the cuffs off that old woman and let her be for a few minutes.”
Chief Duddles eased past Momma Peach and carried out his task. But as soon as he removed the handcuffs from Mom the woman raised her right hand and slapped him across the face. “Your daddy would take a stick to you, Duddles!”
Chief Duddles rubbed his face. “Sit there and don't cause a fuss,” he told Mom and walked back to Yonick. “I'll go out front and keep watch.”
“You'll stand right where you are and
shut your mouth,” Yonick snapped. “You,” he said and pointed at Momma Peach, “you're just the messenger. Deliver your message and get out of here.”
Momma Peach chuckled to herself. “Dummy, I ain't no messenger. I am the boss,” she corrected him and placed her hands on her hips. “Ain't no one gonna tell me what to do in my business, do you hear? Now you shut your mouth and listen close.”
Yonick did not like being talked down to, but his mind was too busy trying to make sense out of the large black woman standing before him to care. “Talk.”
“My darling Susan told me where she hid the formula, you rotten alley cat,” Momma Peach said and slowly began removing her gloves. “She wants a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Release her daddy and send him, along with her momma, to the shores of this here good ol' USA and she'll turn over the formula to you. And, oh—don't forget to let that scientist fella go, too,” Momma Peach told Yonick.
“You're a very stupid lady.”
“And you're a dead man unless you do what I say, you useless piece of toilet paper,” Momma Peach fired at Yonick. “If you call me a bad name again I’m going to call Mr. Taylor Whitesmith and inform him that his two hired killers have lost their sweet luggage.”
Yonick felt the color drain from his face and wondered how in the world Momma Peach knew the name of his boss. Who was the woman standing before him? He looked at Chief Duddles. Chief Duddles shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know this woman.”
“But you did find my note, didn't you Chief?” Momma Peach said in a syrupy sweet voice and then put her right hand over her mouth. “Oh my, did I say the wrong thing? You did show your friends the note you found back at Ms. Thelma's farmhouse, didn't you? You know, the note you found on the mantle behind Ms. Thelma’s picture?”
“What note?” Yonick demanded.
Chief Duddles nervously took a few steps away from Yonick. “I was going to tell you about the note,” he lied. “I needed time to think.”
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