by A M Jenner
Marilee didn’t even know the man, but she wanted to stay within arm’s reach of him for the rest of her life. She’d have to watch herself carefully around him. She was, after all, still a married woman.
The thought of Tony made her shiver, and she found it steadied her breathing immediately. Marilee began baking but keeping her thoughts on what she was doing instead of who she was baking these treats for.
While the cookies were baking, she looked for a tray among the dishes and things in the cupboards; she found a platter which would fill the requirement, and washed and dried it in preparation of taking it next door.
Shortly, the first batch was out of the oven and the chocolate drink was ready. She put half a dozen of the warm cookies on a smaller plate for Richard and Derrek, poured two cups of the rich hot cocoa and, loading everything onto the platter, she carried them next door.
Derrek answered her knock and she simply handed him the food, smiled and all but ran home. What an imbecile she was becoming. She was married, remember? This second thought of Tony within the hour settled her down instantly.
She fixed and ate her dinner while she baked the remaining cookie dough. Changing into her warmest nightwear, a pink, adult-sized version of the fuzzy crawlers infants often wore, feet and all, Marilee curled up with her nearly finished book. She’d need to get a library card soon, and hoped the library would be close to the bus route. No budget could possibly keep her supplied with enough books to read.
Chapter Fourteen
Morning came, and Marilee quickly showered and dressed for the day. She walked onto the porch and found her walk had been freshly shoveled this morning. The thought of Richard shoveling her walk brought a warmth and brightness to her day. As she left the yard, she noticed there was no car or truck parked next to the duplex, and realized he must already be at work.
She walked down the driveway and then down the stairs heading for the city. She’d been right that the stairs cut off a lot of extra walking to reach the business part of the city.
The second interview of the day proved profitable and Marilee found herself working for a book store. How she could be so lucky, working in an environment she truly loved and being paid for it, was beyond her comprehension.
The weeks leading up to Christmas were busy ones. Working overtime and enjoying every minute of it, she became familiar with the stock. An avid reader, she was knowledgeable and eager to help shoppers find exactly what they wanted.
Shoppers seemed grateful for a bright and sunny clerk who was cheerful despite how bad the weather was or how thick the crowds became. Following her suggestions, they also purchased small extras such as bookmarks, pens whose ends flashed different light patterns on use, pencils with holiday toppers attached or notecards and the like, to tuck into stockings. The additional sales pleased Marilee’s supervisor, so it was a win-win situation.
Christmas week began, and Derrek helped Marilee decorate the small tree she’d purchased with garlands of popcorn and cranberries they’d strung together last Saturday.
They added a bit of tinsel, a dozen glass balls she’d purchased, and a lopsided, shiny, silvery star for the top. They’d cut out a cardboard star and covered it with aluminum foil. They had so much fun, they didn’t even care it hung at an awkward angle.
Richard joined them in making and frosting Christmas-shaped sugar cookies. He and Derrek talked Marilee into coming with them to deliver the cookies to several neighbors, singing carols as they went. Being with these two, Tony’s image began to fade into the background of her thoughts, and she marveled how safe and secure they made her feel. It was the best week Marilee had enjoyed in several years.
Christmas day arrived. Marilee spent it reading the new books she’d treated herself to. For the first time there were no extra demands on her, and it felt wonderful.
There was no big party to throw for Tony’s rich friends and privileged clients, among whom she had no friends. There were no boring parties she had to attend as his picture-perfect wife, being sure to smile at everyone without saying a word or letting anyone know she actually had brains.
Instead, Marilee had given small gifts to Derrek and Richard on Christmas Eve after their caroling.
They, in turn, had given her a board game and a large, green velvet stocking with white fur trim which had been decorated with red sequined poinsettias. It was filled with Chinese puzzles, a tiny stuffed bear, Hershey kisses in red and green foil and a candy cane in addition to a toothbrush and a fresh orange in the toe, which they explained was a Christmas Tradition. Marilee was touched by their thoughtfulness.
Chapter Fifteen
December passed into January, and the seasonal help was dismissed. Marilee was asked to stay on as a full-time employee. She agreed and continued to be congenial, which was easier now with shorter hours and smaller crowds.
Every other Saturday, Marilee and Derrek baked cookies and all three played board games afterward. Most Sunday evenings they shared mugs of hot chocolate and grilled cheese sandwiches; another tradition of the Gilman family, they informed her.
Marilee wished to be part of a genuine family like this, but then swiftly banished such thoughts. She was, after all, still married to Tony. To be part of a family, she’d first need a divorce. She couldn’t do that without Tony finding her. And then…, well…. Marilee tried to keep such self-defeating thoughts at bay. Simple friendship with the Gilman men would have to suffice; she must let the family fantasy go.
One rainy afternoon, Marilee was curled on the couch with a book when there was a knock at the door. It was Derrek.
“Hi. I’m locked out of the house and rain is blowing everywhere. Can I stay here until Dad gets home?” Marilee’s heart went out to the sopping wet boy, the youthful eagerness in his face irresistible. She handed him a towel and pair of her sweats, insisting he change out of his wet clothing.
Derrek dripped into the bathroom. Emerging, he looked like a lost waif in the over-sized clothing, his towel-dried hair sticking out in every direction. She promptly heated a can of soup and shared it with him.
“Gee, thanks, Marilee. Our last neighbor was real mean to kids. He wouldn’t have let me in to get warm.”
“Oh, he probably would have, Derrek. Most people are nice. Maybe he just didn’t know you well enough.” Marilee picked up their empty soup bowls and set them in the sink.
“He wasn’t either nice. He thought just because he was a hot-shot sports jock at college, he didn’t have to talk to us. He wouldn’t sign pictures or cards or programs for us. We were kind of glad when he left. It was around Halloween. My best friend, Jimmy, said he rode away on a witch’s broomstick!”
“Now, Derrek, that isn’t polite. Maybe he was taking too many classes, and he had to spend all his spare time studying,” she said as she got them both a couple of cookies to munch on. She poured two mugs of cold milk.
“Well, whatever. He just wasn’t nice like you are.” Derrek’s chin stuck out with righteous indignation. Marilee had a hard time not laughing out loud at the picture he made.
“I helped Old Bramble…I mean Mr. Brimblecom, clean up and paint after the guy left. I don’t think I’d make a good landlord, ‘cause it isn’t fun to clean up after sloppy people move out! Maybe I’ll get a job like Dad’s. He’s got a cool job.” His eyes took on an expressive sparkle.
Marilee recognized the change of topic for an attempt at match-making, but she willingly entered Derrek’s trap.
“What does he do?” she asked with a smile.
“Dad’s an undercover agent.” Derrek’s skinny chest puffed out in pride.
“What?” Marilee’s heart began pounding. She prayed he wasn’t some sort of detective…possibly working for Tony. “What does he do exactly?”
Derrek laughed. “He’s a security guy at K-Mart. He pretends he’s shopping, but he’s really watching out for shoplifters. He takes ‘em to the manager’s office to wait for the police. Then he has to go to the jail to sign the papers ‘caus
e he’s the witness. Sometimes he goes to court, too, to tell the judge about what he saw. Dad says the cameras help, but undercover guys catch more shoplifters.”
Marilee relaxed a bit as Derrek continued.
“The guys watching the security camera can’t see everything all at once. B’sides, if you know where the cameras are, you can turn your back and they can’t see anything. So, see, Dad’s more important than the cameras. He’s got three other guys who work for him ‘cause he’s the boss of the whole security department.”
Derrek’s grin said lots more than his words did. It wasn’t the first time he’d made hints about what a good catch his father was, and she knew she’d better nip this in the bud after all.
Marilee got up and put the kettle on the stove for some cocoa. “Derrick, it’s fun knowing about your dad, but I’m not interested in finding a boyfriend, all right?”
Derrek’s crestfallen expression was answer enough that she was on the right trail.
Richard came home an hour or so later, and found them busy making snicker doodle cookies. Marilee sent half of the cookies home with them.
Richard returned later with her sweats and an apology. The entire episode was a ruse. Derrek couldn’t lock himself out as he kept his door key on a chain around his neck under his shirt at all times.
Marilee told Richard she’d dismissed the matchmaking attempt for what it was, and they enjoyed a good laugh about the antics of young boys. After Richard left, though, she wondered what it would be like to share their lives on a permanent basis. She quickly squashed the warm images that rose to mind.
No matter how tempting, she couldn’t allow herself to think along those lines. She was still Tony’s wife, and that couldn’t change until she figured out a way she could get a divorce without letting him know where she was. She was stuck.
March came, and the days were perceptibly longer and warmer, as the entire city seemed to blossom. New leaves and colorful young flowers abounded everywhere, and Marilee relaxed as nature surged awake around her. Life was delightful and she loved it. Thoughts of Tony were pushed to the very back of Marilee’s mind.
Chapter Sixteen
The phone rang as Tony was heading out the door. He nearly let the message machine pick it up, but decided to answer it. Craig Oberdorff, the detective, was on the line. Tony listened, jotting notes on a pad of paper, a smile twisting his face.
Tony drove to his office virtually on auto-pilot, his mind more than a thousand miles away. How Marilee’d managed to elude Jamison at the airport and end up in Salt Lake City was a minor mystery, but one which hardly mattered. She was there, using her maiden name and living off the money she’d stolen from their joint checking account.
It was a mistake to have had a joint account, even though most of his money wasn’t there. Tony kept money here and there in accounts under a variety of names. Accounts in other countries had no names at all, just numbers. Things were safer that way.
So Craig has found her living in some dumpy duplex. She has a job at a book store. A job. My wife. Working like some common slut, as though I can’t take care of her. Well, I’ll take care of her, all right!
Tony mulled over his options. It wouldn’t be any trouble to have her taken care of, once and for all. He’d see to it right after she paid him for his Corvette’s repairs and paid back the money she’d stolen from him. After she was dead, he’d be free to openly escort the delectable brunette he’d been quietly seeing these last few months.
At his office, he took a number from his safe and made a phone call. The man who answered took down the information, rattled off a number, and hung up. Tony made another call, transferring a large sum from a foreign bank to the account number the man had given him. He then dismissed his wife from his thoughts, confident of the results of his instructions.
Chapter Seventeen
Enjoying the milder weather, Marilee had taken to wearing her leather jacket for the twenty minute walk home following her closing the store. After four months, Marilee knew the route well and didn’t even carry a flashlight anymore. She glanced at the luminous hands of her watch. 10:15 p.m. and quickened her pace, eager to reach the warmth of home.
Two minutes later, a car crested the hill ahead of her, and proceeded down the street. When it was next to her, it halted with a chirp of its brakes. Marilee paused and turned her head to see what had caused the sudden stop. The rear door flew open, but nothing else moved.
A dark figure emerged from the bushy shadows beside her. Marilee didn’t see him fully until he had grabbed her. She struggled, but with one strong arm around her, lifting her from her feet and the other hand covering her mouth to prevent her screaming, there was little her flailing hands and arms could do.
Shoved into the car, the man lay across her in the back seat, his sheer mass holding her still. The door slammed shut, and moments later the car drove off. The entire abduction had taken only seconds, and Marilee knew there’d been no witnesses.
These had to be Tony’s men; no one else had reason to take her prisoner. She didn’t think a random mugging would have been handled like this; at least not in any of the books she’d ever read, but then, books weren’t reality.
Her reality now was a nightmare, Tony’s men or not. She knew she’d be killed; she’d never again see Richard or Derrek. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she fought to hold them back.
Several minutes passed as the car sped on. Finally the man’s weight eased from her. A gruff voice rose from the front seat and told her to sit up. She lay, still in utter terror, convinced her life was over.
An angry curse rose from the front seat. The man beside Marilee forced her cooperation to sit by holding fiercely to her hair and yanking her head where he wanted it to be. She bit her lip to keep from screaming.
Marilee looked at him and saw a dark ski mask covering his head, his clothing all black. The only visible part of him was his eyes; in the fitful light of passing street lights, they glittered with a cruel light. The man from the front seat growled once more.
“When we tell ya to do somethin’, we mean it. Don’t push, Mizzez Ferguson. We don’t take kindly to that. D’ya understand what I’m saying to ya?” The raspy voice sounded ruthless.
The man sitting next to her tightened his grip on her hair, cruelly shaking it just enough to cause more pain. His pitiless eyes didn’t waver. Marilee managed a small “yes”.
“Good,” the man in the front seat continued. He pulled a gun out of his pocket with an evil chuckle, and waved it in her direction, letting her know they meant business. “Now turn yer back, and hold yer hands behind ya.” She did as he bade, wondering why the only man speaking was the driver.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, her voice nearer a croak than a whisper. Silence greeted her question. Marilee licked her lips and tried speaking again as the ropes were wound around her wrists.
“Who are you?” Her voice, though stronger with this second question, quivered, but at least she’d not begun to cry.
The man smirked as his partner completed tying her wrists together. “Why, Mizzez Ferguson, don’t you know us?” He waved the vile weapon as he spoke.
Marilee looked at the gun, and, biting her bottom lip, momentarily expected to hear the exploding sound which would end her life.
Instead, silence reigned. The man beside her pulled a soft cloth from his jacket pocket. He blindfolded Marilee, forcing her to lay down again before climbing into the front seat.
The car turned right along a major street and picked up a little speed. Marilee was grateful she had a few moments to think. They hadn’t shot her yet. Hopefully, they wouldn’t until they got to wherever they were taking her. She had to escape before then.
The front-seat man had called her Mrs. Ferguson. No one in Salt Lake knew she was married. That left only one explanation. It was as she’d first feared; this wasn’t a random mugging. Tony had sent them. To kill her.
Chapter Eighteen
The men sat in the
front seat, talking quietly enough Marilee couldn’t distinguish words. They’d been traveling for fifteen or twenty minutes in a straight line, South, Marilee thought, but wasn’t sure. Silently, she was working at the cords binding her wrists. They hadn’t been tied especially tight, probably because of the awkward angle from being in the back seat, and the more she worked at them, the looser they became.
The car turned left up a freeway ramp and picked up speed. They were headed east, toward the mountains. Was their plan to take her into those mountains and let her die of natural causes? That would certainly be convenient for Tony. There’d be no suspicion, only mourning for a stupid woman who spent a late-winter’s night in the mountains with only a light jacket on.
Marilee planned to leave the car when next it slowed significantly. Gently working to get loose so the men wouldn’t see her motions, she let her right hand go limp. By compressing her thumb far into her palm, like she did when washing out a jam jar, she was able to slip it free from the loop. After that it was a simple matter to pull loops from her left hand. She slowly moved her hands upwards towards the blindfold. Not being able to see if they were looking in her direction, she couldn’t afford to attract any attention to herself.
Marilee succeeded in lifting the cloth enough to uncover one eye as the car began to decelerate slightly. She got her hands near the door, and her pulled legs up under her so she could jump.
The car slowed to exit the freeway, turning left at the exit. Flipping the door handle, she was surprised to find it unlocked. As the car picked up momentum through the turn, Marilee went sliding out the door, centrifugal force actually helping her to leave the car.
