by Kathi Daley
She drew the curtains closed except for a small sliver she could peek through. Shutting out the natural light provided by the moon made the room even darker, but she had no way of knowing if the patrolman who had been by earlier would come back again and she wasn’t taking any chances. She knew that it was vital to any good plan to have an escape route. She’d chosen the room on the end, which had a small window in the bathroom the others didn’t appear to have. It would be a tight squeeze to get herself, the baby, and the puppy through the narrow opening, but if push came to shove, that was exactly what she would do.
She took the thumb drive out of her pocket and looked at it. She didn’t have her computer or any other way to read it, but she felt it might be the key to what had been going on with the people in the car. There was an ancient computer in the office, but without electricity to run it, it did her little good.
She froze as a car pulled into the lot. She crossed the room and peeked out the window. It was a dark-colored minivan. Chances were, it belonged to a passing motorist who’d remembered the small travel stop and hoped to find gas or lodging. The van sat in the lot for two or three minutes before continuing on.
Harper didn’t have her phone or a watch, so she had no way to keep track of time, but after she assumed thirty minutes could have passed, she checked on the baby and the puppy, both of whom were still asleep, and let herself out of the room to go back to the office. She picked up the phone and dialed Ben’s number.
“Everything is set,” he said as soon as he answered. “Michael was just getting back to his hotel when I called. He is going to grab a few things and will be on the road heading in your direction within half an hour. The traffic should be light at this time of night, so he estimates he should reach you in about six hours. He won’t be able to call you, but I am going to give you his cell number so you can check in with him if you’d like.”
“Okay, great.” She rooted around for a pen and paper and took down the number.
“It’s nine o’clock now, so look for him at around three.”
“What make, model, and color car will he be driving?”
“Black Range Rover with Minnesota plates.”
“Okay, I’ll look for him. And thanks, Ben. I don’t know what I would do if you couldn’t help. I’m usually pretty good at taking care of myself, but with an infant and a puppy, I’m afraid I’m a bit out of my depth.”
“How is the baby?”
“She seems okay, which is amazing because she can’t be more than a few days old and was just involved in a serious accident. The car seat she was strapped into was a good one, and the car didn’t look as if it had rolled, which may be why she appears to be unharmed.”
“Is she eating?”
“She is. She is not a fan of a cold bottle, but the gas is still on, so I used hot tap water to warm it.”
She listened as Ben let out a breath. “That’s good. I’ll feel better once Michael gets there. He is a good guy and you can trust him. The fact that a CHP officer seems to be involved in whatever is going on has me worried, but I guess we’ll just take things one challenge at a time until we can work things through.”
“It will be fine,” she said, even though she didn’t necessarily believe it. “I should get back to the room to check on the baby.”
“Before you go, I want you to describe the highway patrolman you saw shoot the occupants of the vehicle. I’m going to see if I can track down his identity.”
“Tall. Over six feet. Short dark hair. Thin. Crooked nose, which looked to have been broken in the past.” Harper paused and thought about him. “I didn’t get a real close look so I can’t tell you his eye color. I guess the crooked nose is the best clue I can provide.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can find out. Be careful and check in when you can.”
She rang off, then slipped out of the office and went back to the room where she’d left the baby and puppy. The puppy looked as if he wanted to go out, so she took a quick peek at the baby, who was still sleeping, and took him out behind the building in case a car came down the road. She really, really hoped that the highway patrol wouldn’t be back, but she had no way of knowing when or if they would.
The puppy did his thing and she took him back to the room, then tried to get some rest. She fed and changed the baby again at around eleven o’clock. After the baby settled down and went back to sleep, she took the puppy out one more time, then laid down beside both of them. She’d tucked the baby in next to her chest, and the puppy settled on her other side. She was sure the baby would be warm despite the fact that the room was not heated. She must have fallen asleep at some point, although she’d intended to stay awake. When she noticed headlights shining in through the window, she assumed it was Michael Maddox. She got up and peeked out of the small opening in the curtain and almost had a heart attack when she saw it was a CHP vehicle. She could only hope whoever had stopped by would take a quick look around and drive on.
She kept the drapes drawn, so other than the small crack visible between them, she couldn’t see much. She looked at the pup, who had started to growl. “Don’t bark,” she ordered, then glanced at the bathroom behind her. The baby was still asleep, but if the pup barked, he would give them away for sure. She gently picked up the baby, grabbed the diaper bag, called softly to the puppy, and moved everyone to the bathroom. She closed the door except for a narrow crack she could peek through. She could hear whoever had gotten out of the car knocking on and then jiggling the handle of every door. Had she locked the room door the last time she took the puppy out?
She heard the knock on their door and waited for the jiggle before she heard another car pull up. The man who had been checking doors seemed to have walked away because she heard him greet whoever had just arrived. She couldn’t hear what was being said, but after a few minutes, she heard both vehicles drive away. She waited where she was for several minutes, then slowly opened the bathroom door. She hadn’t heard anything since the vehicles had pulled away and was about to sneak over to the window for a quick look when the door opened to reveal a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in dark clothing.
Chapter 4
“Harper Hathaway?”
Her heart raced as she struggled not to panic. She tightened her arms around the baby. The puppy, who had been able to control his instinct to bark until this moment, let loose with a chorus of vicious barking and growling.
“You can call off your attack dog. I’m Michael Maddox. Ben sent me.”
She let out the breath she’d been holding.
“You really should have had your door locked,” Michael scolded.
She nodded. “I should have. I must have forgotten after I took the puppy out. The cop?”
“Left to check the couple with car trouble I reported. I pulled away when he did, then circled back.”
“There’s a couple driving on this road at this time of the night?”
“No, there isn’t. We need to go.”
She nodded. All she had was the baby, the puppy, and the diaper bag, so it didn’t take long to gather everything together. It would be light in a couple of hours. She just hoped they were well out of California before then.
“I sent the CHP officer south, which is the direction from which I arrived. Still, we could pass him again, so I am going to suggest that you lay down in the back seat.”
“Okay. Whatever you say. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”
Michael grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the bed. He put the diaper bag and the puppy in the cargo area, then had her lay down on the back seat with the baby nestled between her body and the back of the seat. He put the pillow under her head and covered them both with the blanket. She hadn’t meant to go to sleep, but the next thing she knew, the car was stopping and the sun was high in the sky.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Oregon. There is a hotel with family suites that I have stayed in a few times. I thought we’d stop and regroup before we go on.”
That sounded like a wonderful idea to her. She was sure it was past the baby’s feeding time, and the puppy needed to be fed and walked as well.
“I understand that you found a thumb drive in the diaper bag.”
She sat up, pulling the baby into her lap. “Yes. I didn’t have a way to look at it, so I have no idea what is on it.”
“I have my computer. Wait here and I’ll see if I can get us a room.”
Harper smiled at the baby, who was wide awake now. She looked alert, even happy, which provided her a huge sense of relief. She’d been so worried about the little girl and the previous day’s grand adventure, but now that Michael had come to the rescue, she felt certain that they’d be fine.
“The room is in the back,” Michael said, getting back into the driver’s seat. He started the car and pulled around to the back of the building. The room he had paid for was a suite that included two bedrooms, a seating area, and a kitchenette overlooking the sea.
“Wow, this is beautiful.”
“It’s one of the best views along this stretch of coast,” Michael agreed. “Why don’t you see to the baby? I’ll take the pup out and then I’ll take him with me into town to grab a few supplies. I think we should be safe for now, but as soon as I leave, I want you to secure the privacy lock behind me. Don’t open the door for anyone unless you hear me with the safe word.”
“Safe word?”
“Pumpernickel. It isn’t a word that comes up often in everyday conversation, yet it is easy to remember. If you hear me knock three times and then say ‘pumpernickel,’ you can open the door. Otherwise keep it locked.”
“Pumpernickel. Got it.”
“I’m going to grab us some breakfast while I’m out. Any food allergies or aversions?”
She shook her head. “Anything would be great. The pup will need something to eat too.”
“I’ll grab some dog food, a leash and collar, a dog bed, and maybe a couple of toys while I’m out. Does the baby need anything?”
“She has food and diapers that will last for a few days, but she’ll need a car seat and maybe an adjustable infant carrier she can sleep in.”
“I’ll see if I can find a store that sells baby supplies. I might be an hour or more. Do you need anything?”
“A toothbrush and toothpaste would be great, and maybe a hairbrush. When I fled the scene of the accident, I couldn’t take anything with me.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Remember to lock the door behind me.”
After Michael left with the puppy, she changed the baby and then warmed up a bottle of formula in the microwave. She clicked on the gas fireplace, then settled onto the sofa that was arranged so both the fire and the view could be enjoyed and fed the baby. She really was a beautiful little thing. Tons of dark hair and dark eyes. As she watched the baby eat, she wondered once again about the events that might have led the mother of the baby, as well as her traveling companion, to be shot by a man dressed as an officer of the law. From the visits from the other CHP officers while she was hiding at the motel, she had to believe that there was more going on than the involvement of a single rogue cop. As she stared into the eyes of the baby in her arms, her heart filled with love. The man in the driver’s seat had told her to keep the baby safe, and in that moment, she knew she would die doing just that if it came down to it.
By the time the baby had been fed and tucked in for a nap, Michael returned with the puppy. He had armloads of supplies, so she entertained the pup while he unloaded everything. Not only had he purchased a quality car seat and infant carrier for the baby but, as promised, the pup had been outfitted with puppy food, bowls, toys, a bed, and a leash and collar.
Michael handed her a bag. “I bought some toiletries as well as a clean pair of sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt that I hope will fit you. We can stop somewhere later so you can pick out some things that are more to your liking, but for now, I figured sweats would be the most size neutral.”
She accepted the bag. “Thank you so much. I’d love to take a shower and get cleaned up a bit. I have mud on my jeans from my trip down the embankment at the scene of the accident and spit-up on my shoulder from the baby.”
“I brought us breakfast.” Michael held up another bag. “Let’s eat first and then I’ll take a look at the thumb drive and check in with Ben while you clean up.”
Now that, she thought, sounded like a wonderful plan. The breakfast sandwiches were hot and cheesy and the coffee was exactly what she needed to feel halfway human again.
“Ben said that your family lives in Moosehead.”
She nodded. “I, along with my four sisters, were born and raised there. In fact, the Hathaways have lived in Moosehead for three generations.”
“I wasn’t aware that Moosehead had even been a town for three generations.”
“I guess it hasn’t been incorporated for that long, but my grandmother, Dixie, has lived on Hathaway land for more than fifty years.”
Ben raised a brow. “Impressive. Was her father a farmer?”
“No, Dixie moved to Moosehead on her own when she was in her early twenties. She was and continues to be a real character who was firmly entrenched in the hippie movement of the sixties. She met my grandfather, Denver Hathaway, while visiting the area in the early sixties, and in 1963, my mother, Daisy, was born. I don’t think that my grandparents planned for or even particularly wanted a child then, but my mother was loved and nurtured from her first moment of life. Eventually, the women’s movement and political activism kicked in as the seventies took hold, and many of the residents of the commune where Dixie and Denver lived had moved on to other things. In 1976, Denver bought out the owners of the property and settled in with Dixie to raise both crops and a family. Unfortunately, by the time Dixie and Denver decided they wanted to have more children, my mother was already thirteen and Dixie was past her prime childbearing years.
Michael seemed interested in her story and it provided a distraction, so she continued. “In 1984, my mother, who is a veterinarian and, currently, the mayor of Moosewood, met my father, a freelance carpenter and rock and roll guitarist ten years her senior, Jagger Oswald. In 1985, my older sister, Hayden, was born. I came along two years later, and during the course of the next eight years, my three younger sisters arrived. Although my parents had five daughters together and seemed to love each other very much, they never did get around to getting married. My mom, being a product of her own free-loving mother, made a deal with my father when Hayden was born: all the girls born from their union would carry her last name and all the boys would carry his. Poor Papa died sixteen years ago without leaving a single male offspring to carry on his name, but his memory and his gift for music, has been carried on by all his daughters.”
Michael chuckled. “Wow. That is a very complete family history.”
She shrugged. “I figured if we are going to be traveling together, we might as well get to know each other. How about you? Your SUV has Minnesota license plates. Do you live in Moosehead?”
“Minneapolis, although to be honest, I am rarely there. I own a cybersecurity firm and travel a lot for work.”
“So, if you don’t live in Moosehead, how do you know Ben?”
Michael took a sip of his coffee. “Ben and I met when we both lived in New York. He was a cop at the time, and I was a hacker who enjoyed bending the rules in the name of fun and games. To be honest, I was young and stupid and managed to get myself wrapped up with a pretty bad group of people. Ben arrested me for illegal hacking, which turned out to be a good thing. We got to know each other, and he convinced me to use my superpower for good rather than evil. Eventually, he quit the force, moved to Moosehead, and opened a PI firm. After a couple of years, he married a local girl and had a bunch of kids. I was working in home security by that time, and after Ben got settled, he encouraged me to start my own company. We’ve worked together on a few of his cases, and I had visited Moosehead on several occasions, so when the time came f
or me to leave New York, I decided to move to Minneapolis to be close to Ben, who had become sort of a mentor for me.”
“If you wanted to move closer to Ben, why not Moosehead?”
Michael lifted a shoulder. “Moosehead was a little too remote for my taste. At least it was when I first made the move. Now, however, I’m not sure. I travel a lot for business and Minneapolis is convenient as a home base. Still, I will admit that when I see what Ben has, I sometimes find myself daydreaming about settling down with my own house on Beaver Lake.” Michael looked at her. “Ben mentioned that you hadn’t been home in quite a long time. I guess you found Moosehead to be too remote for you as well?”
She nodded. “I couldn’t wait to get out of there after high school, so I joined the Army when I was eighteen and haven’t been back since.”
“But you were on your way back when you found the baby?”
She nodded. “I was. After I left the Army, I traveled the world scuba diving one exotic location after another with the man who became my fiancé. It was during one of those trips that he died while diving on a wreck. After he was gone, I realized that I wanted something different in life. I honestly have no idea what I am going to do now, but I knew I didn’t want to stay in California, so I packed my bags with the intention of finally going home. I’d decided on the scenic route north, which, as it turned out, might have been a mistake.” She thought about the baby. “No. Not a mistake. I think it was fate that I was the one who happened across the accident. Someone else might have simply called 9-1-1 and the baby might have met with the same fate as her mother.”
