“You followed the cat?”
“Uh-huh.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry you were worried.”
As Seth watched, Marie smoothed back the child’s hair and cupped her cheeks in her hands so she couldn’t look away. “I don’t want you to ever go off on your own like that again, do you understand?”
Patty nodded.
Giving the child one more all-encompassing hug, Marie finally let go and got to her feet. “Thank you. Again,” she said, swiping tears from her cheeks, sniffling and gazing up at Seth.
“You’re most welcome.”
He assumed, judging by the serious way Marie was looking at him, that she wanted to say more, but their brief opportunity for a private conversation had passed. They were now surrounded by many of the other searchers and were being bombarded by congratulations and expressions of delight and praise.
“What now?” he asked aside. “Are you going back to the motel, or would you like another ride to church?”
“The motel,” Marie said without pause. “I need to pull myself together and have a long talk with my daughter before we do anything else.”
“Okay. If it’s any consolation, no one has seen any sign of that white truck that we thought might be a problem. Chances are, whoever was in it has left town.”
“I certainly hope so,” Marie said.
Seth agreed. “Yeah. Me, too.”
“What about my car? Will it be ready soon?”
“The parts may come in today’s shipment,” he said. “If they do, I can probably work overtime to get them installed, providing I don’t run into any glitches.” He paused, concentrating on her and starting to scowl. “The question is, are you sure you want to leave Serenity?”
“Of course I am.”
“It might be better to stay here a while longer.” He could tell his logical suggestion did not sit well with her, so he explained his reasoning. “Think about it, Marie. Here, you have people who care about you and want to help you. Whatever your past may have been, you’re among friends here. We’ll stand by you.”
“No.” She grabbed Patty’s hand and began to edge away from him. “Leave us alone. We’ll be fine. Just fix my car and don’t interfere.”
“You’re in trouble, Marie. Let me help you.”
“No. You don’t know a thing about me.”
As Seth watched her turn on her heel and hurry away, he wished she was right, that he didn’t know why she was on the run. Not knowing the truth would make it much easier for him to bid her goodbye and not worry about what might become of her.
As it was, however, he knew enough to be certain she was in for much more trouble. If the authorities overtook her before her unnamed nemesis did, they’d surely arrest her and assume legal custody of Patty. If the body that had been found recently turned out to be Roy’s, that was an even worse scenario. The question then became, who had killed him and why?
Seth’s hands fisted. That wasn’t the only problem, was it? The most important element was the unknown. If, as Marie thought, she was actually being pursued, there could be danger around every corner, behind every rock and tree.
He couldn’t just let her drive away and face that alone. Until he’d figured out who was who and what was really going on, he was not going to permit her to leave town. He’d already buried one special woman. He was not going to do it again.
Holding his breath for an instant, Seth realized the perilous direction his thoughts had taken and accepted them, although with reservations.
Yes, he agreed, he was beginning to truly care for Marie. And for Patty. But he was also not in a position to act on his feelings or reveal them, no matter how tender or genuine they might be. He was also a fugitive and therefore could never offer Marie a safe haven or the kind of normal life she deserved.
Seth snorted in self-derision. They were a fine pair, weren’t they? Two innocent people who had had to go into hiding because the bad guys had gotten the upper hand. What irony.
His jaw clenched as he turned and headed back toward the garage. It wasn’t fair. None of this was. Yet for the life of him, he couldn’t see a clear way out for either of them. All he could hope for, at this point, was to find out who was chasing Marie and…
And then what? he asked himself. He couldn’t just have them killed the way his enemies had eliminated Alice, nor did he have Corp. Inc.’s clout with which to scare them off. If he was totally honest, he’d admit he was as powerless to help Marie as he’d been to help himself.
So why get involved? Why even try?
Because he had to. He didn’t know why that perception was so strong, so positive, but he knew he must follow through.
He wasn’t about to credit his decision to God’s leading and make himself out to be some kind of divine avenger. He did, however, feel as strongly about attaining his current goal as he ever had about his job, his marriage or anything else.
“Well, what do you think, Mac?” agent Eccles asked his computer-savvy cohort. “Is it him?”
McCormick swiveled the chair away from the keyboard. “Beats me. He used to work with you, right?”
“Used to.”
“Then you’d know him better than I would.”
“Not exactly. I was sure he’d stick around and face the music. He dropped out of sight, instead. You never can tell about a guy like Seth.”
“Well, my part is done. I put you in touch with him and made him think you were Jonathan Biggs. That’s it. I’m through.”
“I thought you were a team player,” Eccles said with a sneer.
“When I know what team I’m on,” McCormick replied.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Mac turned and started to walk away. “Nothing. Forget it. I’ve got to get back to my station. The work is really piling up.”
“You do that.” Eccles’s dark eyebrows arched as he watched the computer tech walk away. If he hadn’t figured that he’d need Mac again, he might have been tempted to eliminate him. It was just as well he didn’t have that option, he reasoned. After all, he’d gotten away with a couple of murders, including that of Seth’s wife, with no difficulty. There was no sense pushing his luck.
Marie was so exhausted when her extra adrenaline wore off that she felt as if it had to be nine at night instead of nine in the morning. She had never, ever, been that frightened. Not even when Roy was beating her.
She and Patty had stopped at the motel office to tell Clarence that all was well and to pick up a light breakfast to eat in their room.
Patty dug in as if she were starved. Marie took one bite and pushed the donut aside.
“Can I have yours, too?” Patty asked.
“No. You need good food, not junk.”
“It’s good. I like donuts.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Marie explained. “Too much sugar isn’t good for you. Or for your teeth. You need something else, like maybe scrambled eggs.”
“Okay.” The child looked puzzled. “Where can we get some?”
“There’s that café on the square that Mr. Whitfield mentioned. Maybe they deliver.”
“Why can’t we go?” Patty began to pout.
“Because we just can’t, that’s all.”
“But…”
“No buts, Patty. We’re not going out again and that’s final.”
She reached for the telephone on the nightstand, then remembered the little, folding phone Seth had given her. Flipping it open, she quickly found his work number on it and called the garage.
He answered on the first ring and immediately interrupted her greeting. “Marie? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she assured him. “I was just wondering if you knew if the café you told me about would deliver breakfast to our room.”
“I’m sure it can be arranged. I’ll take care of it. What do you want?”
She told him, thanked him and hung up. “There,” she said to Patty. “Our breakfast will be here in no time. We have to eat right to keep up our st
rength.”
Which is more than true, she added to herself. She was already feeling run-down and lacked energy—except in dire situations. It would be more than foolish to allow herself to lose the edge that had kept them one step ahead of Roy’s cronies thus far.
Sipping coffee from a foam cup she’d brought from the lobby, Marie settled herself in the only chair in the room and waited for their order to arrive.
When a knock finally came, she grabbed her wallet, then stood on tiptoe at the door to peek through the peephole. It wasn’t a delivery boy. It was Seth.
Surprised and confused, she jerked open the door. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought breakfast, like you asked.”
“I didn’t mean for you to do it. I thought the restaurant…”
“Nope. Not unless you’re a shut-in, and even then you’d need to send a relative or friend or someone from your church to pick it up for you.”
“Oh.”
“So, are you going to make me stand here all day, or can I come in?”
Marie stepped back to give him room, leaving the door ajar as he passed. “I’m sorry. Bring it in. And thanks for doing this for us.” She started to open her wallet. “What do I owe you?”
“Nothing. This was my pleasure, ma’am.” Seth was grinning as he placed the food containers on the nightstand. “Just showing my Southern hospitality, as always.”
“Uh-huh.”
He laughed. “I love the way you respond to my efforts at courtesy, lady. Don’t you ever just accept folks as they are?”
“Apparently not,” Marie said, coloring slightly. “Sorry if I seem leery. It’s been a rough week.”
“Yeah, well, you aren’t the only one who’s been a little keyed up. Tell me, who are you so afraid of?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I don’t doubt it. Why don’t you dish up some eggs and ham for Patty while they’re still hot, get her started eating and then walk me to my truck?”
Marie knew why he was urging her to step outside. He clearly intended to ask her more questions. Did he deserve straight answers? Would he keep her confidences about Roy and his troubles if she asked him to?
She almost believed he would. And it would be so, so good to talk to someone, to get a second opinion on her plans, such as they were. But was Seth the right person to trust? Might it be better to tell Becky, instead?
No, Marie decided easily. Seth was the one who had repeatedly stepped up and helped her, rescued her, tolerated her silence regarding her past. If she were to open up to anyone, he would be the sensible choice.
Following his suggestion, Marie fed Patty, picked up her now-tepid coffee, and led the way back out the open door into the parking lot.
“All right. Let’s have it,” she said flatly.
“What do you mean?”
“You wanted to talk to me. So, talk.”
He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and struck a nonchalant pose. “I was kind of hoping you’d want to talk to me.”
“You’re right. I should.” Taking a slow sip from her cup to stall for time and better arrange her thoughts, she said, “I do owe you some sort of explanation. I told you Roy came to see me, didn’t I?”
“You said he’d warned you, yes.”
“Well, it was more than that. I don’t know what he was mixed up in or who he’d been working with, but I do know it was bad.” She sipped again, finding it hard to swallow past the lump in her throat as she recalled Roy’s abduction.
Seth nodded patiently. “Go on.”
“That night, the one where he came to see me? I was looking out the window after he left, and I watched some men grab him and drag him away. It was frightening.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“I did! I told them everything. They didn’t believe me. They didn’t even offer to protect me. So I did the only other thing I could. I got in my car and started driving.” She felt her lower lip quiver and tried to cover the emotional reaction with the foam cup. “I thought I’d gotten away till my car was messed with. Don’t you see? The people who took Roy have to be on my trail or they’d never have been able to put anything in my gas tank.”
“It could have been a prank.”
“You don’t actually believe that, do you?”
“No.” Seth took a deep breath and released it noisily. “No, I don’t. I think whoever was after Roy has to be chasing you now. What I don’t understand is, why.”
She thought she glimpsed something strange and off-putting in his eyes for an instant. “How should I know? All he said was that his partners were out to get him and I should take Patty and run away.”
“That was all he said?”
“Yes. Why am I getting the impression that you don’t believe me?”
“Beats me. I’m just an innocent bystander, remember?”
“You may be a bystander, Mr. Whitfield, but there is definitely nothing innocent about you, no matter how hard you try to convince people you are. I know better.”
It didn’t help her mood that Seth laughed before he said, “Do you?”
Marie stood firm. “Yes. I do. You’re smooth and smart and I can see your mind working all the time. There is nothing simple, or terribly rural, about you except your clothing and that ridiculous, countrified act you put on.”
His smile faded and he nodded slowly, cautiously. “All right. Say you’re correct and I’m not exactly who I seem to be. Does that bother you?”
“I guess not. Not as long as you’re on my side,” she said soberly. “I can use all the help I can get.”
“How do you know I’m not a crook like Roy was?”
“I don’t know how or why I know that, but I do. I haven’t been a Christian for very long, so I can’t really say I’m experienced in telling what God is doing on my behalf. Not the way Becky does. But I do think my car made it this far before it quit so I’d have you to rely on. Does that sound crazy?”
“Not to me,” Seth said. “I’ve been thinking along those same lines myself.”
“You have?” Her jaw dropped.
“Yes, I have. And like I said before, I think you should stay right here and let it all come to a head.”
“What if it’s dangerous?”
When Seth said, “Good,” she almost choked on her coffee.
“Good? Are you joking? Because if you are, I don’t think it’s funny.”
“I’m very serious,” Seth said. “I know this town like the back of my hand, whereas you won’t be a bit familiar with any new place where you might end up. If you were a pursuer, would you rather your victim be confused or well-oriented?”
“Confused.”
“My point exactly.”
“Suppose they find me here?”
When Seth countered, “Suppose they already have,” Marie’s hand started to shake. He was right. Suppose they already had!
TEN
The fluttering bluebird logo popped onto the corner of Seth’s computer screen almost as soon as he logged on to the agency site that night. So much for anonymity, he thought; he was chagrined. Still, if this really was Jonathan trying to contact him, it meant he had an ally inside the old organization after all. That was worth a lot, both for himself and for Marie.
“How are things in your part of Wonderland?” Seth typed.
“Not so wonderful. Miss you, buddy.”
“Yeah. You, too.” Seth had been racking his brain, trying to think of something that only he and Jonathan had known. The references to Wonderland were all well and good except that someone else may have overheard them using that fantasy analogy in the past. There must be some other test, some indisputable proof. But what?
He tried subterfuge. “Remember that case about the missing parrot? Those were some good times we had.”
Long seconds passed before the answer came. “Can’t say that I do. What parrot?”
Seth typed, “In the Caribbean.”
“You’ve got m
e there, old buddy. Sorry.”
Satisfied, Seth took a chance and told him the truth. “Okay. You passed my test. Care to tell me how come you’re not dead?” He could picture his old friend laughing at his bluntness.
“Always did have a fondness for being alive. How about you? I’d heard you were long gone. What made you get in touch now?”
“It’s complicated. I need a little help.”
“Glad to hear you’ve finally come to your senses. Want to come in?”
“No. It’s not help for me. I need you to see what you can find out about a local case down in Baton Rouge. A couple of weeks ago there was a report of a man named Roy Jenkins being abducted. The woman who made the report was Marie Parnell.”
“Gotcha. What do you want to know about it?”
“Everything you can turn up.”
“You don’t ask for much, do you?”
Seth chuckled as he typed, “You know me. I always want even the smallest details.”
“Yeah. Okay. How do you want this information delivered? I’m not sure we should use this link again. Anything can be traced if you’re connected long enough.”
“I know,” Seth typed. “I’d give you a cell number, but I just gave away my only phone and I haven’t had time to buy a replacement.”
“What?”
“Never mind. I’ll get back in touch when I have another number to give you. Later tonight. Eleven sharp. Can you be online then?”
“I will be. Take care, buddy.”
With a quick “Thanks,” Seth disconnected.
He knew Jonathan was right about the danger of being in contact for too long a time, which was one of the reasons he had decided to ask him to do some of the research regarding Marie’s case. And instead of giving him an address for mailing the information on paper, he’d use one of the new, untraceable cell phones he was about to purchase. In truth, he’d gotten so complacent that he’d been using his old one for far too long already. It was high time for a change of numbers for himself, too, just as a matter of personal safety and anonymity.
Grabbing his jacket and whistling to Babe, Seth headed for his truck. There was one big box store within reasonable driving distance, and it carried inexpensive, disposable phones with paid-for minutes included. Plus, the store was open all night. There were many advantages to living out in the boonies, but access to late-night shopping wasn’t one of them, which was probably why those kinds of chain stores did such a good business.
Nowhere to Run Page 9
