Captured Lies (18 page)

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

Bailey spun on her heel and grabbed her backpack, which
she’d picked up on her travels to hold her meager belongings. “By the way,
thanks for the clothes.” She didn’t bother to look down at the torn knee and
filthy pants. They looked nothing like the new duds he’d bought her less than ten
hours before.

“I forgot to say that this
morning. I appreciate that you did that for me.” She couldn’t believe he’d
bought her jeans and shirts and that he’d found ones that had fit her. And not
only had he purchased her one set but two. Since she’d just gotten back to the
room after a bit of a terrifying run through the downtown core, she hadn’t had
a chance to change. Actually she’d hoped she’d be gone before he’d returned.
Some ugly people knew her mom. Some ugly people felt she owed them, even twenty
years later. Unfortunately the one lady, Anna Marie that she’d hoped to find
was gone, no one knew if dead or just moved on. Bailey stuffed her things into
a backpack before picking it up and slinging it over her shoulder.

She snapped back to the present
when his hand grabbed on to her forearm as she reached for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Where I need to.” She grabbed
the doorknob but stopped when she realized he hadn’t let go. Facing him, she
crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, I appreciate what you’ve helped with.”
A frown marred her brow as she thought about that for a moment. If he hadn’t
found her, she wouldn’t be in the mess she was now in. She gave him a half-hearted
smile. “I need to do this on my own. I’ll figure out what’s going on. When the
time is right, I’ll get a hold of you and we’ll see about meeting the
relatives. That really was what your job was supposed to be, right?”

She’d had plenty of time over the
last six hours to think about this crazy relationship. The guy was in over his
head. Yes he’d been helpful in getting them vehicles and places to hide but he
really hadn’t signed on for the kind of life she was used to. Besides, she was
a pro at disappearing. If she didn’t want someone to find her they wouldn’t. One
of the many useful skills her mother had taught her, that and how to make it
with nothing.

“Don’t start giving me a lecture
about what my role is or isn’t. I’m in this with you. You think it’s my fault
that we’re being chased, right?”

It was her turn to feel the heat
crawl up her face.

“Well, I do too. If I’d left you
alone, you wouldn’t have guys trying to kill you.”

After all that she’d learned that
day, she knew she couldn’t let him take the blame. “I’m sure at some point
someone would have come looking for me. My mother was not exactly a person who
endeared herself to people. She used them, spit them out and left. I found many
of those people today and since she isn’t here for them to get back at, I’m on
the list.”

“Care to tell me where you went
and what you did?” He looked pointedly at her torn and dirty clothes.

She shook her head. The day had
been nothing but a flop. A scary one but nonetheless, she’d found nothing. Not
totally true, she acknowledged. She’d found people who remembered her, remembered
her mother. People who felt she owed them for bringing the cops down on them,
on their drug trafficking, stealing, other illegal things. A few had tried to
show her the payback they had wanted to bestow upon her mother. Today Bailey
could have added to their list of breaking the law - assault, threats and
attempted kidnapping. Her eyes widened as she realized that seemed to be the
flavor of her life. She almost laughed at the thought that she could have been
stolen again. Fearing that she wouldn’t be able to control her hysteria, she
pushed it away. “I need to go.”

“Not by yourself. I picked up our
friend again. Or he picked me up. Not sure. However, do know he’s the one who
wanted us dead? But I’m not sure he’s alone.” He grabbed the doorknob. “We need
to go. I’ll go first but stick with me. Got it!”

He turned suddenly. She stopped
but not quickly enough. The width of her hand was all that separated their
faces. She didn’t even have time to form a coherent thought before his lips
came down on hers. It was quick and over before she could blink but the power
of the punch behind it she knew was going to take a while to forget.

He shot out the door. “Come on.”

It was time to move. There’d be
time later to discuss that little situation that was not going to develop into
anything further. She hadn’t been a virgin in a long time but she also had been
very careful about whom she’d slept with. Selective enough to get out without
getting scorched and she was sure Guy would leave a blackened, burnt out mess
when he left.

Running fast, she caught up to
him on the stairs. Not sure if he really knew what he was doing, she did agree
with the precautions he was taking. She wasn’t going to put all her trust into
him but as long as her instincts told her it was okay, she’d go along with him.

It wasn’t until they were in the
cab driving down the hill, heading across the river valley that she thought to
ask, why the change in transportation. That’s when she really noticed his
appearance.

“What happened to you?”

Looking her over, he replied,
“Not much different than I’m thinking happened to you. Care to share your
story?”

The city scenery was a blur as
she stared out the cab window. Anna Marie, her last hope, no one seemed to have
known where she was. Several thought she was dead. Bailey felt a sadness that
went deep. Anna Marie was the first person who had been like a mother to her.
She’d dried Bailey’s eyes when she’d fallen. Talked to her about life. Let her
know she didn’t belong in that world. Ironically, she’d been the reason Bailey
had become an interior decorator. People would have laughed at that. Anna Marie
lived under a stairwell in an old building. Torn, ripped drapes were her
protection and her doorway to the world. A shredded blue comforter that had
lost all of its feathers covered her concrete bed. Beads of all sorts strung
together and draped under the stairs were her gateway to the world and her
decorations. The colors and the little things Anna Marie had put up had made
her feel like she had a home. She’d been a remarkable woman, living in an
impossible place yet never letting that get her down. She’d lived with love and
laughter.

Bailey tried to shake the
melancholy she was feeling. The opening to her past seemed to be slamming shut
with a steel metal door, locked from the outside and no one seemed to have the
key. Anyone who had answers wasn’t talking or had disappeared. Guy seemed to be
the only one who was the link to her past. But what if trusting him cost her
everything? Huddled against the door, she stared out at the scenery. Twenty
minutes later they were dropped off at the Edmonton International Airport.
Vehicles were being parked three deep in the drop off zone; it was a little
hairy getting out.

She was transfixed by the chaos.
A beautiful woman with long blonde hair climbed out of a low slung black car. A
gentle breeze caught her hair and tossed it over her face. Chuckling, she
leaned down into the car, the short skirt showing a lot of leg, stopping just
shy of flashing all that was hidden underneath it. The woman straightened, had
a guard grab her bag from the open trunk and proceeded to follow him into the
airport.

Annoyed at the woman for playing
the simpering fool, Bailey climbed out. She’d had that dream when she was
fifteen - her knight would ride in, save her and take her away from the life
she’d had, but she’d woken up and realized that crap didn’t exist in the real
she not hers.

“Any time you need a taxi, call
me.”

Bailey pulled herself back to
what was going on. Guy accepted the driver’s card and shook the hand of the
very happy man. After seeing the amount of money he was stashing in his pocket
she could understand why. Once in the airport, they checked out the departures.

“There’s one to Toronto, leaves
in two hours. Perfect.” Guy hustled off towards the Airlines.

Bailey watched him leave and then
perused the list again. She headed in the opposite direction. She hadn’t gone
far though, when a familiar hand clamped onto her. She barely reacted, like she
knew who it was, like she knew she was safe and that scared her and angered
her.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“Why thank you so much for
asking. That’s so sweet that you give a damn what I want.”

Yanking away from him, she
continued on her way.

He ran in front of her but
instead of stopping her, he ran backwards, facing her. “Okay, I made an
assumption we’re going east. We’re not?”

She shook her head emphatically
and moved to get in line.

“We’re going to your place,
aren’t we?”

“I’ve had it. I’ve had enough of
this game. I quit. I’m going home. I can’t do this anymore. If I’m done then
this has to be over, right?” She tried to keep the pleading out of her voice
but knew she’d failed when he said a few choice words that had a woman glare at
him, with that I’d-love-to-wash-out-your-mouth-with-soap, look. He stared back.
Bailey couldn’t help but giggle.

“Not funny. We need to discuss
this.” He started to pull her out of line.

“Don’t let him bully you, honey.
I can blow this.” A short, elderly lady fumbled around in the top of her loose
dress before pulling out what looked like a referee’s whistle. She put it to
her lips.

Bailey’s eyes opened wide. As
much as she’d love to see that play out, she knew they didn’t need any more
attention than they were getting. She smiled. “Thank you. He’s a good guy, just
a bit rough around the edges. Don’t worry I’ll keep him in line.”

The lady nodded her head sharply,
her purple hairdo bobbing but returning to its original shape.

Bailey let herself be dragged
away. She bit her lip. She thought about all that had happened to her in the
last few days. Her lips twitched. She tried to focus on anything but what had
just occurred. When Guy pulled her into the lounge, she couldn’t hold back any
longer. She started to laugh and laugh and laugh. She flopped down into a
chair, clutched her stomach and continued to howl. The waitress gave her an odd
look but smiled, then took the order from Guy and moved away. Several people
had given her cursory glances but when she didn’t stop, they openly stared.
Normally, that would have been enough to end her attention getting behavior but
for whatever reason the giggles just wouldn’t go away.

“Care for a sip?” Guy was holding
up a glass of water in one hand and a beer in the other.

That just set her off again.
Gasping, she tried to catch her breath. Small vibrations started at her core
and spiraled outwards, as she shook with uncontrolled hilarity. Her heart rate
jumped to that of a marathoner’s; her hands got clammy; her eyes opened wide.
She was never sure whether she’d asked for help or whether Guy had been able to
see that she was out of control and scared. He came around the table and pulled
her up, forcing her to stand. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as
physically close as he could. Then he started to hum, softly. His deep baritone
melodic voice finally reached through her defenses and soothed her frayed
nerves. It was so comforting that she never wanted to leave that space. If only
it could last. He had given her more than anyone had in her lifetime, he could
be 'it’ for her.

When she felt strong enough, she
pulled away and sank down into her chair. Staring at the beer in front of her,
she grabbed it and downed half of it. As she set it back down on the table and
played with the label, a warm hand landed on hers.

“It’s okay. I know you’re not
used to asking nor accepting help but I’m not going away. It’s nothing to be
embarrassed about. You’ve had more happen this week than many have had in their
life time. Give yourself a break.” He smiled reassuringly. “I know you want
this nightmare to end. So do I. But I need you to trust me.”

She couldn’t quite meet his
concerned blue eyes that looked as enticing as a blue sky on a clear day. She
nodded and then drank the rest of her beer.

“Are you okay?”

Never one to shy away from
responsibility, she let her gaze meet his. He smiled. It was so warm and
genuine, something she wasn’t used to, that it zipped right past her defenses
and sucker punched her in the chest. She gasped.

Immediately, he was out of his
chair and kneeling beside her. “What? What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t answer, she just
pushed him away.

“You’re alright?”

She nodded.

“I’m going to get us on a plane
to Toronto. I know you want to go home but are you going to be able to get any
answers there?”

She shook her head.

“Then we need to go my direction.
That’s... that’s where I hope we’ll get some answers. Okay?” She half-heartedly
smiled. “I have a few things I need to check out. I think there’s some
surprises even I couldn’t have guessed. I’m going to make a call and get us on
that flight.” He headed out of the lounge, stopping just outside the entrance.

Not wanting to think about how
stupid she’d been acting, she thought back through some of the things she’d
learned that week.

Her mom wasn’t her mom. She wondered
if that was why she’d never really felt connected to her or was that an excuse.
Many kids didn’t connect with their mothers. She was really no different.
Someone wanted her though. Why? She didn’t have any money. Her mom sure didn’t.
The house and store were owned by someone else. Her mom had given her letters
that had weird information in them. Her doll hadn’t been lost.

All of it meant... what?

What kept playing over and over
in the background of her mind was how many people had her mother used and abused.
That day she thought she could find people from her past who’d have answers.
Who’d be able to make sense of a senseless life? Where she’d gone, the hangouts
for bums and the shelters, had taken her back to the many times they’d slept in
those places that do-gooders tried to make available, to get people off the
street. It had reminded her of what a belly swollen with hot, empty air felt like.
Getting in line for food, begging, lying and stealing, all in the name of
survival.