“Do you really think he would know the meaning of the color?” I asked skeptically.
“He’s an old fashioned type of guy. He strikes me as the type who does things deliberately. He could have sent any other color, but chose purple. I think it was for a reason.”
“Possibly,” I grumbled.
“I have one more piece of evidence, but you will have to wait for Kent to tell you. It’s his to tell,” she said taking my plate from me and carrying it to the sink.
“If you want my personal opinion,” she said as she rinsed the plate, “He’s in love with you. You should have seen his face when you told him you never wanted to see him again. He looked lost, almost in pain.”
“But he is four years older than me. He’s a cop, with a life, a farm to run. Why would he possibly be interested in me?”
“You’re selling yourself short. You are beautiful, kind, a wonderful friend, and sister. You’re brave and smart. Why wouldn’t he be interested in you? Besides, your birthday is just over a week away. So really, he is only three years older than you. That’s not that much really, when you think about it.”
“But what if it was all a lie, an act?”
“Then you move on. You’re strong, a fighter. But think about this. What if it wasn’t?”
I thought about what Charlotte had said for the rest of the morning. Kent arrived to pick me up just before lunch. He gave me a big hug as soon as he saw me. I think he felt bad for hiding the truth from me.
“I’m sorry, Nora,” he said, as he smothered me in a big bear hug.
“I know,” I told him. Honestly, I didn’t hold it against him. He was just trying to protect me as well as Jed’s cover.
“Are you ready to go home? I have new doors being installed as we speak. I spoke to mom and dad, so they already know. I told them everything was under control and we were fine. I had to do a lot of convincing to get them to stay and enjoy their vacation.”
I was relieved to hear that they were not going to rush home and ruin their trip. Turning to Charlotte, I thanked her and told her I’d see her on Monday and walked out. Leaving Kent alone with her to say goodbye, I was not in the mood to seeing them kiss or any other such thing.
Kent drove me home in silence. I could tell that he wanted to say something, because he kept looking over at me. He didn’t, until we pulled into our driveway.
“I talked to Jed this morning when I dropped his car off. We should be safe from now on. The men who kidnapped Ollie and broke in here are talking. Apparently Ms. Morley was the one who ordered the murders and kidnappings, and along with the other three men, those two were the ones to do it. They were all her hired henchmen. Martin was one of them; I think they were the ones wearing the red sashes at the meeting. They are the Order’s security team or something.”
“Why did she do it?” I asked quietly. I wasn’t quite ready to hear something that Jed had said, but I was curious as to why Ms. Morley, of all people, would resort to murder.
“Jed thinks, from what she has said so far, that The Order has a strict social code, or order if you will. They believe that only the highest class of people are worthy of the best grades and the best jobs. The others don’t matter. Most of the members of The Order have only gotten to where they are in life by cheating and lying. If that came out, their lives would be ruined. Since the inception of The Order, it has always been the Director’s job to enforce the secrecy at any cost.”
“So what happens now?” I asked. “What about Mark Mason? Where is he?”
“Now, there is going to be a huge trial. We may be called to testify. Judge Freeman was shocked. He denies knowing anything about any of it, and the police believe him. As far as Mark goes, nobody seems to know. Martin denies knowing anything about him, as do the other men. I guess time will tell.”
“Thanks Kent,” I said climbing out of the car. All I wanted to do was go to my room.
“He’s hurting Nora, give him a chance,” Kent pleaded, as I walked inside.
“I can’t,” I said, and I ran up the stairs before Kent could say anything else.
In my room, I quickly gathered clothes for a shower. Seeing my prom dress hanging in the closet, I felt another round of tears pressing at my eyes. It was my senior prom. I had the perfect dress and I had had the perfect date. Now I would be going to the prom dateless. I didn’t even care to go at this point. If it weren’t for the fact that I was on the court, I wouldn’t even bother.
Shutting the closet door, I decided that I wasn’t going to think about it for a while. Maybe in a few days, I wouldn’t feel so hurt.
Friday morning started out the same as every other day that week. I got up and got ready for school in a daze. I felt like I was walking around in a cloud. It was especially hard at school without Jed. The four of us seemed closer than ever, but it wasn’t the same. All anyone at school could talk about was the fact that Ms. Morley was arrested.
That morning, before I left for school, the florist dropped off the latest installment in Jed’s campaign to apologize. This time, he had dropped the flowers and gone straight for my true love. Food. A huge basket of various types of chocolates, cheese and gourmet snacks was arranged with a single purple rose in the middle. The card read ‘I miss you. I miss your smile. I miss holding you in my arms. I miss not being there to comfort you when you are sad. Please give me another chance. Jed’
Memories of Jed filled me with warmth. I thought about the time I went to the farm to watch the little foal’s birth and Jed kissed me. I thought about the time he took me on a picnic, so that I could get a break from all the questions and speculation. I missed him. In the short time that I had known him, he had become a big part of my life. Did I dare give him the chance to explain? I wasn’t sure if I could risk having him tell me that it had just been his job. Was the Lord leading me to Jed or away?
I headed off to school, my mind full and my heart heavy. Today was the day when everyone voted for the prom king and queen. We wouldn’t find out the results until the dance tomorrow night. Kent was on the court also, so I was excited for him. I hoped that at least one of us won.
After school we were going to be busy at the Country Club setting up for the Prom. The Club had given us tonight to get ready. What once was all I dreamt about going to, now I didn’t have any enthusiasm for. We had even gone with my theme, Knight in Shining Armor. It was supposed to be like old romance, a time when chivalry and bravery, determined who won the maiden’s hand. Only my prince was not coming.
After school, Gabby tried to cheer me up as we headed over to start decorating. I had told her about Jed and what had happened. “I can’t wait to see Vanessa’s face, when they announce that you were voted Queen.”
I laughed. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that. She isn’t the one who had men hold everyone hostage. They all probably think I am a little too weird.”
“That’s not true. Every girl in the school is jealous that you are going with Jed.”
“But I’m not anymore,” I said meekly.
“They don’t know that. And you don’t know that either. Give him a chance.”
“I’m thinking about it,” I said honestly. “I guess I just want to hear what he has to say for himself.”
Gabby gave me a huge smile. “Good. He’s a great guy. He misses you.”
“Gabby!” I gasp, “You’ve been talking to him.”
“You love him. You’re my best friend. Of course I’ve been talking to him. He wants to see you.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“I can understand that,” she said as we walked into the building. “In that case, he asked me to tell you that you have mail. I don’t know what that means, exactly, but he said that you would.”
With a small grin, I headed over to the antique mailboxes. Sure enough a small purple envelope was sitting in the box marked Barton.
I was dying to read it, but I put it in my purse until I got home that night. I had n
o idea what he could have written and I didn’t want to be upset while we were setting up. I just wanted to be by myself when I read it.
Finally, climbing into bed that night, I pulled it out and began to read:
Nora,
I never meant to hurt you. I also never meant to care about you. You’re right. I did lie. I didn’t want to blow my first undercover assignment. I realize now, that keeping things like that from someone you care about only causes more harm than good.
From the moment I first saw you sitting on that bus seat, I have not been able to get you out of my mind. You are special. (Just ask my Lieutenant. I almost got pulled off the case, because I refused to end my relationship with you.) You mean a lot to me.
I promised your brother that I wouldn’t hurt you, because I had feelings for you. It kills me that you got hurt anyway, despite my every intention to keep it from happening.
I can’t imagine you not in my life. These last couple of days have been so lonely and dark. You bring sunshine to my life. I had a long talk with the pastor of Skip and Betty’s church and I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. I now know in my heart that what I did was wrong. Can you please forgive me?
Please, if you still care anything for me, give me another chance.
Yours forever,
Jed
I cried. Hugging his letter to my chest, I reached for my phone. I started to dial his number, but then chickened out and hung up.
I decided to wait and send him a response in the morning. I went to bed saying a prayer of thankfulness that Jed had become a Christian. Maybe that was the Lord’s intent after all.
In the morning, I woke up to the sound of my parents puttering in the kitchen and the smell of bacon on the griddle. My favorite. Throwing back the covers, I climbed out of bed. Today was prom: A small flutter of hope started in the bottom of my stomach. I turned and searched for Jed’s letter sitting on my nightstand.
Clutching it, I reached for my phone. I couldn’t wait any longer. I sent him the simple message, ‘I miss you too ‘, then bounded down the stairs.
I received a response almost instantly. ‘Tonight?’
Quickly I typed back, ‘yes’.
Yes! I thought adding a little skip to my step. My phone vibrated with an incoming message. ‘Watch for me, my lady, I’ll be there.’
Lady?
Oh, I thought grinning. The theme was Knight in Shining Armor. How could he be the Knight without his fair lady?
The day couldn’t go by fast enough. Charlotte and Gabby came over after lunch to get ready. When I shared my news, they both squealed. It felt so good, to have them just as excited as I was. Hearing us giggle, my mom poked her head in.
“What’s all this giggling about?” she asked with a smile. “It’s good to see you smiling, honey.”
Gabby told her about Jed’s letter. I wasn’t sure how my mom would feel about it. They still didn’t know that Jed was a cop and not a student our age. He had asked Kent not tell anyone else, because he didn’t know what was going to happen with the special unit.
All my parents knew was that we had had a fight.
Giving me a hug, she said, “I’m glad Nora. I can tell that he really cares for you and that you love him. He seems like a great guy. If he makes you happy, then I’m happy. Your dad on the other hand…”
“Thanks, mom,” I told her. “Would you like to stay and help us get ready?”
“Yeah, Mrs. Barton, you’re welcome to stay,” Charlotte offered graciously.
“That’s ok, girls. Your father and I are chaperones, so we need to get there early anyway. We will see you all over there.”
“Ok,” I said, turning my attention back to Gabby’s hair. I was trying to secure it in an elegant up-do. I had braided a few strands of hair around my face and weaved them around the crown of my head, while the rest of my hair cascaded down my back in large soft curls. It had a very renaissance look to it. I was pleased with the whole effect.
Charlotte had sleeked her hair off her face on each side with two antique looking combs. The rest was gathered loosely at the nape of her neck with a ribbon matching her golden honey colored dress. She was stunning.
We all stood in front of the mirror together, arms linked and looked at ourselves.
“I think we’re ready,” I said, giving each of them a squeeze with my arm.
“Wait until Jed gets a load of you,” Charlotte said grinning at our reflection.
“Do you know if he is picking you up?” Gabby asked.
“He said to watch for him, so I think that means he will meet me there,” I explained.
“Well girls, let’s go. It’s our senior prom,” Gabby said.
We all did a little dance and squealed, then opened the door and headed out to meet the guys.
As the three of us came down the stairs, Kent and Ollie were waiting at the bottom.
Kent whistled, “You girls look stunning.”
“Wow!” Ollie said. He pulled a small wrist corsage out from behind his back and shyly gave it to Gabby. She had decided that because her date was still in jail, and Ollie didn’t have a date, that they would go as friends. Ollie had been thrilled.
“Thank you kind Sir,” Gabby said holding out her wrist for Ollie to slip the corsage on.
“You look beautiful,” Kent told Charlotte, taking her hand and pulling her down the last step and into his arms for a kiss.
Smiling at my brother and his obvious love for Charlotte, I quickly pulled out my camera and snapped a picture of the two of them. Mom would want to see Kent’s reaction to seeing Charlotte in her dress. It was obvious that he was enthralled with her.
Because the five of us didn’t fit in the Camaro, my dad had traded cars with Kent for the night.
The five of us piled into my dad’s BMW and headed to our last prom as students of Pine Hill High School. It was hard to believe that in a few weeks we would graduate. I was looking forward to this summer, but I would miss all my friends and moments like this.
The Country Club looked beautiful. It was a warm night for a change. A heat wave had come through the last couple of days. It was a balmy seventy-five. The sun was just starting to set, casting the sky in beautiful reds and oranges. Candles in little buckets, lined the walkway leading up to the main entrance, as well as the path leading down to the lake and around the gazebo that sat facing the sunset.
It was breathtaking. Perfect. We walked up the steps where everyone was gathered on the veranda. The queen and king were going to be announced before dinner. The school photographer was busy rounding up all of the prom court nominees to take pictures. I grinned at Kent as we stood across from each other in a semicircle. The guys were on one side of the fountain and the girls on the other. I have to admit that it was nice to share this experience with Kent.
We had shared our whole lives together. As twins, we were never far apart. It felt good to have him with me.
After pictures, we mingled for a few minutes getting punch and some cheese and crackers. People were really just starting to arrive. We had arrived a few minutes early, but I still glanced around looking for Jed. I really had no idea when he was going to get there.
Turning, I ran into Vanessa on Tyler’s arm.
“Where’s your date?” she asked with a laugh. “Did he ditch you? I saw you come with your brother.”
“Nice to see you to, Vanessa. I love your dress by the way,” I said and then turned away. She didn’t bother me, like she would have before. I found that I could ignore her and it didn’t bug me.
I heard her snicker to someone behind me. I knew that she thought she had won the upper hand. She was positive that she was going to win and she was busy flaunting Tyler on her arm, like he was such as great prize. At one time, I guess I thought he was. Boy, am I glad I came to my senses. I guess I really hadn’t had much of a choice though, I thought, laughing to myself.
I waved to my mom and dad standing by the top of the steps greeting everyone as they walked up onto th
e veranda.
A short time later, the principle announced that it was time to read the results. He asked the court to come and line up against the railing. We all filed through the crowd, and leaned up against the railing, our backs to the pond.
The Country Club had outside speakers set up, so he used a microphone to be heard over the crowd that was gathering around, waiting to hear the results.
“After I announce the winners, they will have the first dance on the dance floor with a partner of their choosing,” he began, “Now for the results. I am pleased to announce that this year’s race for King was very close. So close in fact that the votes had to be counted twice. Please put your hands together for runner up… Kent Barton! Let’s give him a big round of applause. Come on.”
I clapped loudly and grinned at Kent, as he turned bright red and took a step forward and nodded at the crowd. Even though he didn’t win, I was still very proud of him for being runner-up.
“Ok, now the moment many of you have been waiting for. Let’s put our hands together for King... Tyler Gordon!”
Tyler stepped forward and bowed. Girls screamed and waved. He sure was popular with the female crowd, I thought, watching everyone fuss over him. Vanessa bask in the other girls jealousy over her date.
As the clapping died down, Principle Culver turned to the girls. “Now for the Queen,” he said as the crowd erupted in excitement once again.
“The runner up is……...” he said drawing it out. “ Vanessa Bigsby!”
Her face was shocked, but she quickly recovered and stepped forward graciously and waved.
Butterflys formed in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t believe that Vanessa had lost. Even though I told myself I didn’t care if I won or not, a part of me really did want to win.
“It is with great pleasure, that I announce the new Prom Queen of Pine Hill High. Ms...Nora Barton!”
My face turned red. I looked over at everyone clapping and smiling. I saw my parents standing by the doors looking so proud. Kent was standing with the other court members, a huge grin on his face. Charlotte, Ollie and Gabby were waving to me and clapping. I felt so wonderful; I knew that I must have a huge silly grin on my face. If only Jed were here to share in it.
Undercover Justice Page 32
