“Not bad,” Jason said as he sat the suitcase down. “You guys did okay.”
“Thanks,” Allen said. “We thought you’d be happier here where it would be more like you were in a house than in a motel.” He sat the food basket on the kitchen counter. “Roberta bought some groceries for you, but if you don’t have everything you need, she said to let her know and she’d go shopping again.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said as I walked to the refrigerator and looked inside.
“Who all knows about this place?” Jason asked.
“Just Roberta, Henry and me. I haven’t even told Gwyn, and Charles said he’d didn’t want to know the exact location. He said he knew he could trust Natalie, but he might let something slip and she might feel obliged to tell the media.”
“That was good thinking, and it’s probably better if you don’t tell Gwyn,” Jason said. “The fewer people who know about where we are, the better.”
“That’s what we decided.” Allen indicated the manila folder he had in his hand. “I brought the file on the fire. Thought you might like to go over it.”
“I sure would. Let’s sit down.”
“Do you want something to drink? There are Cokes and beer in the refrigerator. Or I can find a coffee maker and brew some.”
Jason smiled. “Coffee sounds great, honey. How about you, Allen?”
“Coffee would be good for me, too.”
The coffee maker was under the cabinet near the sink. I washed the pot, then looked in the cabinets until I found filters and coffee. As it brewed, I got the food we’d brought from Mom’s in the refrigerator. I had to smile when I saw the chocolate cake. I knew she’d put it in for Jason. Without asking, I cut them each a slice to go with their coffee.
After serving them, I went into the bedroom and put the few clothes we had in the closet. I wished I’d borrowed some linens from Mom, but I really thought we were going to a motel. I turned back the bed covers and was surprised to see it had been made with a new set of sheets. I checked out the bathroom and found towels, soap, toothbrushes, paste, some personal items for me, and a variety of other things we’d need. I knew this had to be Roberta’s doing. The men wouldn’t have thought of the things she’d purchased.
I went back into the living room. “Allen, tell Roberta how much I appreciate her thoughtfulness.”
“I’ll do that,” he said. “Can you think of anything else you might need? Jason has made a list of office supplies he wants.”
“Right now, I can’t think of a thing.”
Allen stood. “Then, I guess I’ll be on my way. If you want anything, you know all you have to do is call us.”
“We know,” Jason said. “I hope you’re keeping a running tab on what we owe you already.”
“We’ll discuss that later,” Allen said. “Take care of this guy, June. The sheriff’s department can’t afford to lose him.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said. “I can’t afford to lose him, either.”
Jason dropped his arm around my shoulder. “That goes double for me.”
Allen shook his head. “You know, it does my heart good to see a couple like you two. It proves to me real love does exist.”
After he left, Jason picked up the coffee cups and plates. I followed him into the adjoining kitchen. “I sure wish Allen had a happy marriage,” He said as he put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
“Maybe it’s happier than you think, honey.”
He shook his head. “He’s always making little remarks about how happy you and I are. I see the longing for the same thing in his eyes.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I put my arms around him and held him tight.
Chapter Twenty-One
At five o’clock, I was chopping bell peppers and onions to put in a meat loaf for dinner and Jason was sitting at the kitchen table going over the papers from the file Allen had left. I had decided to save the leftovers from Mom until later. Besides, I reasoned, cooking helps occupy my mind.
There was a knock on the back door.
“I’ll get it.” Jason jumped up. “I don’t know who could know we’re here.”
I didn’t argue.
He grinned when he looked outside. He opened the door and said, “Roberta, I might have known it was you. Come in.”
“Well, of course it’s me, Boss.” She laughed. “Somebody’s got to keep an eye on you two. Besides, Allen said you wanted this stuff.” She handed him a banker’s box filled with office supplies.
“Hello, Roberta,” I said.
“Hi, June. How are you?”
“I’m okay.” I smiled at her. “I was just putting together a meat loaf from the groceries you bought. Thanks for everything.”
“Ah, it was no problem. I just got basic things. I figured if you wanted something special, I’d go get it as soon as you made me a list.”
“We’re in good shape right now.” I tossed the chopped vegetables in the bowl with the ground meat. “If you don’t have a hot date or something, why don’t you stay and eat with us? It won’t take this long to cook.”
She laughed out loud. “I wish I had a hot date, but alas, I don’t. On the other hand, I don’t want to bother you folks.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jason said before I could. “We’d love to have you, and believe it or not, June is a pretty good cook.”
“Pretty good, my eye.” She smiled at me. “He might say that in front of you, but at work he brags about your cooking all the time. Makes us all envious.”
“Don’t tell her that, Roberta. She might get the big head.”
I shook my fist at him. “Why don’t you take all the papers you have strewn on the table and set them up in living room?”
“Well, if I’m going to be your first guest in these new quarters, I might as well help out. What can I do, June?”
“You can peel some potatoes. I thought I’d mash some for supper. Jason loves them, and they’re always easy to fix.”
“I’d be happy to do that. I love mashed potatoes, too.”
“Good.” After she was standing at the sink with a paring knife and a pan of potatoes, I asked, “Did you hear anything more about the fire at our house?”
“Not really. The fire chief was out there checking over things. Charles went out and looked around, too. I don’t think he found anything important. Of course, they don’t share a lot of what they find with me.” She shifted her weight. “He said he was going to call Jason sometime this evening.”
Hearing our conversation, Jason interjected, “Did he give you any clue why he was going to call me?”
“No. He just said he’d call.” She looked back at me. “Are you really all right, June? I know it must be awful to cope with what has happened.”
“I’m okay.” I shook my head. “It’s just hard to try to think of a reason someone would want to kill us in such a horrible way. I’m only thankful they didn’t succeed.”
“We’re all thankful.”
“Were there any unusual calls at the office today?” Jason asked.
“One guy called and wanted to talk to you, but I told him you weren’t there. He kept insisting on getting in touch with you, so I finally gave him to Allen.”
“Did Allen tell you what he said?”
“Nope. As soon as I transferred the call, the man hung up.”
“That could have been…” His voice trailed off, but I knew what he started to say. He suspected the caller was the person who had tried to kill us.
I shuddered. Though I knew the answer, to push the conversation out of my mind, I asked, “Jason do you want the leftover green beans from Mom, or broccoli tonight?”
“You know I want Celia’s green beans.”
I did know that. Jason only ate broccoli when I didn’t ask him if he wanted it. I took the beans from the refrigerator and put them in a pot to warm. “I hope you like beans, Roberta.”
“I love them. Can’t wait until the fresh ones come in. They’re always so
tasty.”
“I agree.” I set the pot on the stove. “These are some Mom canned last year, so they’re the next best thing to fresh.”
Jason’s cell phone rang. He answered it, and from his end of the conversation I knew he was talking to Charles. I couldn’t tell what they were talking about because Jason was mostly grunting and saying, “I see.”
I looked at Roberta, and she shrugged. I figured she didn’t know what they were discussing, either.
When he hung up, he began shuffling papers and didn’t explain anything to us. I was curious, but before I could ask him anything, the front door bell rang.
“You two go into the bedroom, and I’ll answer it,” Roberta said.
We did as she asked.
We heard her open the front door. “Hello,” she said.
A woman’s voice said, “Hi. I saw someone had moved in here. I’m your neighbor. I thought I’d pop over and say hello. My name is Maggie Webber.”
“Roberta Miller.”
“Nice to meet you, Roberta.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Maggie. I’d invite you in, but I’m expecting company for dinner and I’m in the middle of cooking it.”
“That’s okay. I just wanted to say hello and welcome you.”
“I appreciate your warm welcome and maybe we can get together soon.”
“I’d like that. I get kind of lonesome sometimes. My husband is a truck driver and he’s gone a lot.”
Undoubtedly Roberta stepped out onto the porch because her voice wasn’t clear, but I could hear her continue to talk with Maggie. I turned to Jason and whispered, “I feel like a fugitive, hiding like this.”
“Maybe we won’t have to do it long,” he whispered back. “But at this point, we can’t afford to let anyone know where we are.”
“I know. At least I’m here with you. That makes it easier.”
He folded his arms around me. “Same here.”
The front door closed, and we heard Roberta come back into the kitchen. “You can come out now,” she called.
When we returned, she said, “Maggie Webber is a talker, and I’m afraid we haven’t seen the last of her.”
“I don’t know how we’ll avoid her, then,” I said.
“Don’t worry about it, June,” Roberta said. “I’ll think of something.”
As promised, she devised an elaborate scheme, but we knew if anyone could pull it off, Roberta could.
She said she would tell Maggie her brother was staying with her and he worked twelve to fourteen hour shifts at night. The hours were irregular, but he would be sleeping all day and it would be better if nobody came to the door during the day. “I’ll also tell Maggie I have a boyfriend in town and spend most of my evenings with him, so I won’t be home much. I think that’ll explain my coming and going at different times.”
“A tale like that should deter the woman from becoming too nosy,” Jason said.
I couldn’t think of a plan any better than the story Roberta had concocted, so we decided to go with what she said.
After we ate and cleaned up, Roberta left. I decided to call Mom and Dad and let them know we were okay. I also wanted to ask her to go shopping for a few clothes for us. I gave her the list and the sizes. I used Jason’s official phone so if anyone happened to trace it, they would get the sheriff’s department.
Of course, she was delighted to hear we were fine, but she was still a little put out because she didn’t know where we were. At least she was glad I had given her a job. She promised to do the shopping the next day.
“You can either drop the things at the sheriff’s office or we’ll have Allen or Roberta come by your house and pick them up.”
“I don’t mind bringing them to you, June.”
“I know that, Mom, but you know as long as you don’t know where we are…”
“I understand,” she interrupted me. I heard a bit of disappointment in her voice.
To placate her, I said, “I appreciate you doing this. You’re so good to us. Hopefully, this will all be over soon, and we can get back to our normal lives.”
“I hope so, June. I really do.”
We said good bye and I hung up. “Mom tried to finagle our whereabouts from me by saying she’d drop the items off to us.”
Jason grinned. “That doesn’t surprise me. I’m sure they’ve never had to cope with anything like this before.”
“Come to think of it, neither have I.”
He put the folder on the coffee table and motioned for me to come sit beside him. “Maybe we can look at this as a second honeymoon. Nobody knows where we are, and I have you all to myself.”
I snuggled against him. “You always put a positive spin on everything, don’t you Jason?”
“I try.” He picked up his folder. “Now, why don’t you read your book or something? You’re too distracting when you snuggle against me like this.”
“Am I losing the power to hold your interest?”
“Goofy.” He kissed me. “I just want to look through this a little more. Then, I’ll give you all of my attention.”
I shrugged and sat up straight. “I guess that’s fair.”
At eight-thirty, the blinds and curtains were all drawn, and we had only one light on in the living room Jason was still going over the papers. I wondered what he was looking for.
Before I could ask, he said, “I need to get to the office computers to look some things up.”
“Could you get somebody to bring you a laptop?”
“I can do that, but there are some things I need to find in the files which are only on the office computers.”
“What are you looking for, Jason?”
“I need to coordinate some of these felons with the crimes they committed, and with their trials.”
It dawned on me I’d forgotten to get the papers I’d copied from the library out of my car. I told him about them.
“That would be a big help, June. Do you think you could have your Mom or Dad get them and I’ll have Allen pick them up?”
“Sure. I bet Mom wouldn’t mind dropping them off at your office when she brings the clothes she’d going to buy for us.”
“That’ll be fine.” He stuffed the papers in the manila folder and laid it on the coffee table. “Now it’s time to start paying attention to you. I’ll work on this more tomorrow.”
He put his arm around me and pulled me close. “Why don’t we watch a little television and try to relax a bit?”
“Sounds good to me.” I laid my book down and clicked on the TV. “What do you want to see?”
“See if you can find something light and funny. I’ve had about all the police stuff I want for the day.”
“I fully agree.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
We were finishing lunch the next day when there was a knock on the back door. Still a little nervous, I let Jason answer it. He opened it and said, “Come in, Allen.”
“Thanks.” He came through the door with some packages. “I think your mom bought everything they had at J.C. Penney, Macy’s, and only the good Lord knows where else. There are more bags in the car.”
“I’ll get them,” Jason said.
“Better let me, Boss.”
Jason sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
Allen made another trip to the car while Jason helped me carry the packages to the bedroom. When we got back into the living room, Allen was putting some food on the counter. “She insisted I bring this because she knew you were tired of motel food.”
I looked at the basket. “She’s baked us a ham, or should I say, she baked you a ham?” I grinned at Jason. “She knows how much you like it.”
“She knows her son-in-law, doesn’t she?” He laughed.
“There’s some potato salad, baked beans and some of her homemade pickles.” I continued to go through the basket.
“Doesn’t look like you’ll have to cook supper tonight, June,” Allen said. He turned to Jason. “I brought the laptop, and here
are the papers Mrs. March got out of June’s car. She said something about them being things to help you find out who burned your house. Is this true?”
“I don’t know. June did some research at the library the other day. She made copies of the crimes which have happened in the county in the last five years. I think it’ll help me put some of the facts from the fire together and we might get a clue as to what’s going on.”
“Smart thinking, June.”
“Thanks.”
“Want something to drink?” Jason asked. “We have soft drinks and beer. June made some good tea at lunch, too.”
“I’ll take a glass of tea. I’m still on duty.”
When Jason started to the refrigerator, I said, “I’ll get it, honey. You go ahead and sit down.”
“Thanks.”
I filled two glasses, put them on a tray and carried them to the living area. Jason and Allen already had the papers I’d copied and the papers from the files spread on the coffee table. I set the drinks on the end of the table.
Jason said, “This is going to help, but I still need to get to the computers at work.””
“You can’t take that chance,” Allen said. “There was a car following June’s mom when she came to the office. They’re sure looking for you two.”
My heart jumped to my throat. “Is Mom in danger?” I knew my voice was sharp, but I couldn’t help it.
“No, June,” Allen said. “I followed her home in the patrol car. I’m sure whoever it was thought she was coming to the office to see how you were doing. It didn’t follow me to the farm. I think they were hoping she’d lead them to you.”
“You didn’t drive the patrol car over here did you, Allen?” Jason asked.
“No. And as you can see, I changed into civilian clothes. I went out the back, and I’m sure nobody noticed me.”
I took a deep breath and Jason reached over and patted my arm. “It will be over soon, honey. Hang in there.”
Deadly as the Driven Snow Page 13
