They rode with Jean, as she still had her borrowed vehicle. Though her friends, the owners of the house she had been staying at had returned, they insisted she keep the car until she was ready to leave. Along the way, Jean filled them in on her friendship with Romona and Hidey, never realizing there was a new sparkle, which entered into her voice as she spoke of them. Sheila suspected Hidey was the one responsible for the difference and wondered at the man who could cause Jean to blush just by talking about him. She had to ask,
“Jean, is there something between you and this guy?”
Dwight scolded her,
“Maybe you should not ask such a personal question.”
“Why not? I want to know. Jean?”
Jean’s face now an even brighter red, concentrated on her driving.
“No.”
They neither one believed her nor after the word was out of her mouth, did she. She was quiet the rest of the drive as the realization that forbidden feelings had sprung forth and was spreading, so that she felt totally out of control.
Romona met them at the door and directed them to a downstairs room she had organized for Honey. Everything needed was set up and ready. Another nurse was there but left after she helped get Honey settled comfortably. She would return if needed, but Romona was confident that she, with Jean’s help, could manage. Her heart was full of pity for the young woman who looked so pale, as the paramedics lifted her into the hospital bed.
Heavy medication kept her sedated for the transfer but after talking personally with the doctor, Romona was sure she would be sitting up soon in a wheel chair. The country air would do wonders for the patient and now Jean was going to be living under the same roof as Hidey. God sure did work in mysterious ways.
She took Dwight and Sheila upstairs to the bedroom next to Hidey’s where Dwight ordered Sheila to rest in preparation for the trip home. It was hard not to be in the thick of things, but she determined to please her husband. She felt fine and there was no sickness.
She hoped this meant the morning sickness had now passed and she could enjoy the rest of the pregnancy.
She must have been more tired than she thought for not five minutes passed before she fell sound asleep.
Dwight found Honey sleeping the drugs off and the others in the kitchen. They were putting together a salad and some sandwiches to hold them over until dinner. There was a light banter amongst them and he had no problem joining right in. He found Romona delightfully refreshing and Hidey reminded him of an old school friend he graduated with, so he felt very comfortable. He noticed that Jean was quiet as they made casual conversation. He also noticed that Hidey would occasionally look at her and look away quickly. When Romona offered to show him her prize roses, he accepted and they left the other two alone, to Jeans dismay.
“I am sorry Jean, that was kind of obvious wasn’t it?”
Hidey apologized, feeling that the last thing Jean wanted was to be alone with him. Jean shrugged it off as if it made no difference to her, but inside she was quivering and embarrassed, she felt heat spread up to her cheeks.
“It is fine. She means well.”
“Maybe this is as good a time as any for me to assure you that I have no intention of causing you any unhappiness while you are here. I appreciate the fact that you have been honest with me about your feelings and I hope we can have a cordial relationship anyway, while your friend recovers. I promise I will not be bothering you.”
His attempt at reassuring her failed, for Jean abruptly put down the knife she was using and hurried from the kitchen. Speaking to no one but himself, he grumbled,
“Now what did you do?”
The morning brought about Dwight and Sheila’s departure. There were many mixed emotions as they said good-bye to Honey, who was not surprisingly awake having slept all the way through the night. Then to Jean and Romona, who followed them out to Hidey’s pickup. He was going to drive them to the airport and do some shopping while in the city. Sheila hugged Jean for the third time before Dwight firmly placed her in the pickup and reminded Jean to keep them posted on Honey’s progress.
“Call.”
“I will, but you know the phone service up here is not the best. Have a safe flight and kisses to Gem for me!”
Dwight started rolling the window up with her still talking.
“I will and Jean…if you should hear from Jacks, I would like to talk with him. Tell him to call me, night or day.”
Jean nodded and the pickup moved forward down the drive. After it disappeared, the women went to check on Honey. Her eyes were still open but she still could not speak. There was damage to her larynx and the doctors said it might take some time, but there was no reason to presume it was something permanent. To Jean it was the saddest of anything she ever experienced…except for AJ.
She squeezed her eyes so tight pushing away the memories, that Romona asked her what was wrong. A bit sharp and unexpected, she exclaimed,
“Nothing!”
Then feeling full of remorse for snapping, said quickly,
“Romona, I am so sorry. Please forgive me for being so hateful!”
“You are already forgiven, dear. It has been a hard couple of days for you. Why don’t you go and lie down and I will bring you a cup of my special tea. You will feel much better. I will sit here with Honey.”
“Are you sure? I do have the beginnings of a headache. If you are sure you do not mind.”
“Of course, I rarely say things I don’t mean.”
Jean admitted,
“I know, you are the most straightforward person I have ever known. Thank you.”
Romona was sure it was something and that it was an important something, but it was not her place to probe. She had the assurance that in good time Jean would come to trust her. She left Honey for just a minute to run and make Jean’s tea and after taking it to her, she sat by Honeys side talking softly to her, telling her a story from the Bible. The story of Ruth and Boaz lulled her patient back into a sweet peaceful sleep where she dreamed of a beautiful place full of flowers with Jacks there giving encouragements to her. She also dreamed glorious heavenly beings surrounded them both and she felt safe and happy.
20
The man sitting in Garrett’s office stood when Jacks was brought to him. It was not someone he recognized.
“It is good to meet you Jacks, I have heard a lot about you from Garrett. My name is Carman and I have taken over Garrett’s practice for him.”
Jacks wanted to know,
“Where is he?”
At first, he ignored the extended hand, but then took it thinking that the old Jacks would appear friendlier than he was feeling.
“He has taken an extended leave for travel and will not be back for some time. What can I do for you? Take a seat, please.”
He took his place behind the too modern desk, indicating a chair in front of it, which Jacks sat before replying,
“I need to talk with Garrett. You could put me in touch with him.”
“I am sorry, but there are strict orders not to disturb him for any reason other than a major emergency. If you tell me what it is you want to speak with him about, maybe I can help.”
The game was on. Jacks first leaned back in his chair and then forward. If he wanted to make progress, he would have to be more like the old Jacks.
“I will tell you this. I was in an accident and the last person I remember talking to was Garrett. Evidently, that was more than a year ago and all sorts of changes have happened since then. I do not know who to trust, where to go or what to do now. Apparently, I have a wife I do not know, and Sheila…she was my secretary… has married a preacher! These people insist that I live in Mississippi, of all places and I need answers. Garrett is the only one I trust to give them to me. Could you please, at least contact him? I feel sure he would want to talk to me if he understood my dilemma.”
Jacks pretended not to see the glimmer of satisfaction in the man’s eyes. Instead, he shook his head and uttered
a word he never used anymore and urged,
“Please. You must have some way to contact him in case of an emergency. I just want to talk to him.”
To his surprise, the man nodded and admitted,
“True, I do have a contact number for him, but I am sure you will understand that I will have to clear it first before I can let you speak with him.”
Jacks agreed eagerly,
“Of course, I know Garrett will not let me down when he learns of this mess I seem to have gotten myself into. We go back a long way. I am sure he told you that too.”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, he did mention that you two were college roommates. Where can I reach you, if he agrees?”
Jacks, putting forth the most confused look he could manage, said dejectedly,
“I don’t seem to have my apartment anymore. I went by there and almost got thrown out of the building. That, along with my practice has disappeared. Sang-mi is gone also.”
“Sang-mi?”
“She is…was the best friend I ever had. She died recently. It was in front of her home where the accident happened. I suppose I could go back there, but I don’t feel I could bear it.”
“Why not use the hotel just a block down the street here? It is close and…uh, it will be convenient for us both.”
“I suppose. How long do you think it will take to make this happen? Man, I need some answers now!”
The man turned his head so Jacks could not see the sheer pleasure in his eyes. At the same time, he was not able to see the muscle in Jacks face twitch with anger. He was sure the man would have no problem contacting Garrett. Or, whoever Asa was claiming to be now. Both men stood and after parting remarks, Jacks breathed a sigh of relief the second he was out of the building. Oppression surrounded and filled the whole thing and he was happy to get out of there.
Making his way the short distance to the hotel and parking, he went in and registered. He wondered if he could possibly carry through with his plans. Then he thought of Honey and felt strengthened. Also knowing that he may soon discover his own mother was fuel to keep him going.
Now, to wait and let Asa make the next move, for he was certain it was Asa who would be talking to him if the call happened. He was even surer that it would happen because it was what Asa wanted.
He made himself comfortable and waited. While he waited, he found his cell phone in his bag and put it on charge. He felt a sudden urge to call Honey. Just to tell her that he loved her and wished to be right there with her, holding her tight. He also knew that to do that would risk everything, so he closed his eyes and willed her to know how much she meant to him.
It was not long before the phone rang.
“Jacks!”
“Garrett?”
“Of course, I hear you are in a predicament and need my help.”
“That is right Garrett. There was this accident last week and something happened to my memory, man. My practice has all these people there and none of them knew who I was. Hell, I am wondering who I am myself! The last thing I remember is you sitting like an idiot in my office trying to make me run for senator! Garrett, if this happened to you, I would be there for you, and you know it. I need your help!”
“Of course you would. What do you want to know? You left after that day and we have not seen much of each other since then. I am not sure I can even help you out. You say you remember nothing since you saw me in your office?”
“Nothing and nothing Sheila told me about the last year makes sense what so ever. She says I took a job in Jackson, Mississippi and moved there, and then I found this woman and married her. Can you believe that?”
The man responded.
“You married? No, I cannot say that I find that to be very believable. However, it must be so, if Sheila says so. What else did she tell you?”
“I think she was afraid to tell me too much because the being married almost caused me to collapse, but there was something about you going to the devil.”
With this said, Jacks gave a hearty laugh while the other man remained almost too quiet. Then he finished,
“I told her you went to the devil years ago, that we both were lost causes. Anyway…”
He laughed again. This time the man gave a dry cackle, feeling no humor. Before Jacks could continue, he asked,
“What can I do for you?”
“I want my life back. The one I had here in New York. I will not go back to some dead end job in a place I know nothing about… wife, or no wife!”
He hoped he was not over doing it.
“I see. Well, my boy, I may have just the thing for you.”
When he said this, Jacks knew without a doubt that it was Asa talking. He always used, ‘my boy’ when referring to him.
Now to deceive a master deceiver.
“I would be grateful if you could help me get my practice back.”
“That could be arranged, but there is another option.”
“Which is?”
“Come to me and we can talk it over in person.”
“Okay. Where are you?”
“Greece.”
“You mean the country, Greece? I just told you I do not want to leave New York!”
“It would only be for a few days and while you are here your practice will be restored to you even better than before!”
“I liked it just fine the way it was.”
“The fellow in there has made changes so maybe you want to rethink going back and come forward with me, Jacks.”
“No offense Garrett, but you and I see practicing law a lot differently. I will take my old practice back, however it comes, thank you. I am sure just a phone call from you would set it into motion. You did climb the ladder to success, Garrett, just as you always said you would. Sometimes I do envy you.”
Not wanting to carry it too far, as it would not be the old Jacks to grovel, he quickly added,
“Then again, there is nothing like helping the innocent, even if it does not pay well.”
“Ah yes, the innocent. I actually wanted to talk seriously with you about that. Before we can do anything, I need you to be here.”
“I told you already, I do not want to meet you in Greece. Why can’t you come back here?”
“There are reasons. The truth is Jacks, I need your help with a problem I am having here and if you would only come, we could help each other. There is a company jet that will have you here in just a few hours.”
Jacks thought about it and it looked like to see this man, he had no choice but to do his bidding. Trying not to give in too soon, he argued a bit more before finally agreeing.
“Ok, I will come, but I can’t stay for long. I want my life back, you hear me? The sooner the better!”
“I hear you, Jacks.”
When they got off the phone, one man wore a worried frown on his face, while the other smiled wickedly at the thought of what he was about to accomplish…finally!
21
Sitting around a table with what should have been a dozen of his protégé’s, Garrett was pouring out his wrath on the seven who were there.
“What do you mean, you cannot stop whoever is responsible? You, with superpower abilities, against mere mortals?”
His laugh was not a funny one, but filled with fury and no one dared laugh with him. Instead, they held their tongues while he expanded his energy. When at last it subsided, one of the more daring of the group volunteered,
“Master, we have many people working on this. Believe me, if it were possible to catch the one or ones responsible, we would have already done so. It is our collective intelligence, which allows that it is someone with inside knowledge, who is the perpetrator in these killings. Do you really suppose any one of the rest of us wish to be next? Master, this matter calls for extreme investigation and we beg you to consider bringing out the reserve for this.”
Eyes nearly bulging out from the sheer anger he was feeling, Garrett slapped the man upside the head in response.
“I think not.
I think I will just hope the next victim will perhaps be…you!”
Then he turned his attention to the rest.
“If one more of you disappear, I will replace every one of you! Do you understand? There will be no more host for you!”
“Yes, master.”
They all answered in unison.
“Leave me, now!”
They scattered as fast as they could, each going back to the district in New York they were head of, determined to find whoever was responsible for the deaths of their colleges.
As Garrett seethed over his loss, he made plans for Jacks visit. This had better not go wrong! He wished he did not need Jacks any longer, but he did and until he had the part of Jacks that would help to insure his victory, he would not be happy. He may have missed his chance with Jacks, but he was determined to have his firstborn.
22
Up in the Pocono Mountains, there was a slow drizzling of misty rain. It had started the day before and continued overnight and now into early afternoon. Honey was sitting in a wheel chair staring out the window at the dismal weather. It matched her mood, somehow reflecting the constant dread that she may never see her husband again. Though her speech still had not returned, she prayed constantly for his protection. She knew his love for her was strong but she also knew that he was doing what he must. His whispered words at her bedside still lay fresh upon her heart, causing her to try even harder to regain her strength. When Jean worked with her exercises, she pushed beyond what was expected and though her voice was scratchy and hoarse, she still emitted sounds which vaguely resembled words, but not quite.
Another Deception Page 12
