Jailbird (19 page)

“So, I hear you and Charlie are in cahoots,”
I informed Gabrielle as I raided the cupboards to prepare us our
first real meal in days.

“Aren’t you stealing?”

“Technically, yes,” I admitted a little
guiltily. “Would it make you feel better if I mailed them a check
when this is all settled?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then, I’ll send them some money… here,”
I handed her a bowl of soup. She quickly forgot concerns about
stealing with a hot meal in front of her.

“So you want your present from Charlie?” she
toyed with me.

“Unless you’d rather have yours first.”

“You got me a present?” her face lit up with
a brilliant smile.

“Of course,” I retrieved a small box from my
bag and handed it to her.

“It’s beautiful,” she held the small silver
cross up to the light. “Did you make it?”

“It was actually the first piece I made, many
years ago, as a gift to my mother. She always wore it. It seemed
fitting for you to have it now.”

“Thank you,” she impulsively hugged my neck
then went to grab my present. I wasn’t sure what to expect. For my
birthday, he’d bought me tools. While handy for jewelry-making,
they wouldn’t have been worth sending on the road.

It turns out he’d sent several gifts with a
note explaining each.

“Neena,” his scrawling script began. “I had
hoped we’d spend our first Christmas together, but life rarely
yields to our plans. I pray that wherever you are as you read this,
you are safe. The book is a favorite of mine, I hope you like it.
The compass is so you can find your way home. The gift cards are so
you don’t spend the next few weeks living off roots in the woods. I
know you’d never take money out of our savings account, so I did
for you. The money has already been spent. You might as well use
the cards for whatever you need along the way.”

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and
looked at the book he sent. I would have expected the Bible or
something. I was a little surprised when it was an installment from
the
Chronicles of Narnia
. Still, it gave Gabrielle and me a
way to pass the evening. I read aloud to her by the fire until we
both dozed off.

Part of me yearned to spend a leisurely day
in our borrowed shelter. I didn’t want to ride through biting winds
anymore. My thighs hurt from being in a saddle for so many days. My
back screamed in protest.

Then there was the part of me that grew more
nervous every minute we stayed. What if the family that owned this
cabin had a hankering for a visit to the lake? What if unbeknownst
to Charlie, the police had figured out I was heading north? Every
moment spent sitting here could be one closer to detection. And,
though I had no idea what I could find out about Julie, I knew I
wouldn’t find anything lounging by the fire. I couldn’t bear the
thought of Cara spending even one day away from her father because
of me.

So Gabrielle and I contented ourselves with a
quick breakfast and carefully cleaned up our mess. The horses
weren’t thrilled to have their break called to a halt, but they
eventually lowered their heads and pushed forward.

I could empathize with their weariness, but I
had the benefit of knowing the journey was nearing its end. We
pushed hard that day and stopped for the night when we found an
abandoned farmhouse near Aurora, Missouri. The windows were broken
and the roof looked a little if-y, but it had a fireplace and
served as a good windbreak.

“This place is spooky. Want to tell ghost
stories?” Gabrielle asked once we were curled up in our sleeping
bags.

“You really are like Conrad, aren’t you?” I
teased. “Sure… but I don’t want to hear you complain when you can’t
sleep later because you’re scared.”

“I’m not sure anything could keep me awake
tonight,” she yawned for emphasis.

“I know,” I joined her in a yawn. “Have you
ever heard the story about the Lalaurie House?”

Gabrielle shook her head so I dove right in.
Despite her boasts, by the time I finished, her sleeping bag was
markedly closer to mine. I was pleased I hadn’t lost my touch. I’d
prided myself in being able to scare Lenora Smallwood senseless
when I was Gabrielle’s age.

That night, I allowed my mind to drift
through happy memories of childhood. Telling stories around a fire
with Gabrielle reminded me of being young and silly with my brother
and our friends. It was more pleasant to let those memories carry
me off to sleep instead of lying awake missing Charlie.

I awoke the next morning excited for the
first time in days. This would be our last day of riding for a
while. With a little luck, we’d be checked into a motel by
evening—thanks to a new fake ID courtesy of Conrad and the money
Charlie gave us.

We rode as close to the city limits as we
dared without being noticed. I had a problem I’d been trying to
figure out since we left—what was I going to do with our tack and
horses? I finally remembered I had a cell phone on me and used it
to call information. Turns out there was a horse motel close by. It
was more money than I would have preferred to spend, but I was
pregnant with a nine-year-old in tow. Sometimes you just had to
give in a little. Besides, with any luck, we wouldn’t have to stay
long.

If the owners thought it odd that we rode up
on horseback, they didn’t mention it. I worried our entrance would
arouse suspicion, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. As
happy as our horses were to be in warm stalls with fresh hay and
water, I was even happier when I could finally stand under a steady
stream of hot water. After we had both showered, we put on our
pajamas and ordered a large pizza and some cheese sticks.

“This is the best meal I’ve ever had in my
life,” Gabrielle closed her eyes to savor the first bite.

“Amazing,” I agreed with a contented sigh,
turning on the television to catch the news. There was no mention
of me and I considered that a real plus. We didn’t talk much during
dinner; we were too busy relishing every second of it. Afterwards,
when we were stuffed to the gills and lying back on our bed
enjoying the fact that we had pillows, we got around to discussing
our next steps.

“Do you have any idea where she is?”

“I think so,” I had an address off the
Internet, anyway.

“Do you have any idea what you are looking
for?”

“None whatsoever.”

“Do you know where you want to start?”

“I guess by making sure I do know where to
find her.”

“Makes sense.”

“I thought about breaking into her house to
snoop around, too.”

“You should let me do that. I’ll get in less
trouble if I get caught.”

“That would make me officially the worst
mother ever.”

“Maybe, but you know I have a point.”

“Or I could leave you here while I go.”

“That sounds really boring.”

“You’re better at computers than me. I could
drop you at the library to do research while I go break the
law.”

“I guess,” she pouted just a little.

That night I slept easier than I had since
leaving home. The little motel felt safe and secure and a million
miles away from Dixon or Elena Taylor. The sun was well into its
journey across the sky by the time I finally woke up. Gabrielle was
curled up in a chair watching SpongeBob Squarepants and helping
herself to the last of the beef jerky.

I checked on the horses then scrounged for
breakfast. Doubt was beginning to wear away at me. I wasn’t sure
what I thought I could accomplish by being here or what dirt I
hoped to find on Julie. All I knew was I had to try.

Armed with that resolve and an address I
wasn’t entirely sure was correct, I called a cab to come pick us
up. I got out with Gabrielle at the library, shuddering at how much
of my cash the cab fare cost. Once I had her settled in front of a
computer with a list of things to check into and my phone number
should she run into any trouble, I walked the two short blocks to
what I hoped was Julie’s home.

It was a cute little subdivision and my heart
sank. What if she really had gotten her life together? My cell
phone chirped and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Hello?”

“How’s my favorite jailbird?” Charlie’s
smiling voice greeted me.

“Very funny. I’m good, actually. We spent the
night in a real bed last night... and ate pizza. It was amazing.
Thank you for that. How are you?”

“Holding up. I miss you… you sound out of
sorts. What are you up to?”

“Not much,” I lied. “Gabrielle is at the
library, playing around on the computer. I’m just going for a
little walk.”

“Where are you walking?” he was suddenly very
curious. Something in my voice must have given it away.

“Down a street.”

“Neena….”

“Down Julie’s street.”

“Please don’t do anything I will regret,” he
seemed completely resigned to me being there.

“I won’t hurt her,” I promised.

“I know you won’t, because she’s staying at
her parents’ house right now.”

“Why didn’t you say so? That’s really helpful
information.”

“Because you didn’t tell me where you were
going. What happened to the original plan, by the way?”

“Gabrielle and I discussed it and decided
this was more productive. Neither of us are hide-and-wait-it-out
kind of girls.”

“So I noticed. Please just be careful.”

“Of course.”

“How did the horses do?”

“Amazingly well for fat pasture ponies.”

“You have to stop calling them that. Cara
would be heartbroken if she heard you.”

“Well you can tell her that her pony did a
wonderful job…. Hey, I thought you said Julie was out of town.”

“She is. I had the misfortune of running in
to her yesterday.”

“Well someone’s backing out of her driveway…
oh, looks like Julie got herself a new man. Why on earth was she
trying to get you back if she had this guy?”

“Maybe he was plan b.”

“Maybe. Look, I gotta go if I’m going to
catch this garage door. Love you.” I hung up the phone and looked
both ways. The boyfriend turned left at the stop sign and was
disappearing from sight. I picked up a rock and tossed it passed
the sensor, causing the door to slowly inch its way back up.

When I was fairly certain no one was paying
attention to me, I crossed the street and walked in like I belonged
in there. I didn’t see an alarm system by the door but kept my ears
peeled for approaching cars anyway. Not that I could have heard
anything past my pulse pounding in my head.

Once inside, I glanced in each direction,
trying to figure out where to start. The kitchen was a disorganized
mess, but I doubted her being a bad housekeeper would do much to
help my cause. Where does one hide the skeletons? As ridiculous as
it felt, I couldn’t think of where else to start so I headed to
what I assumed to be her bedroom and opened the closet. No bodies
there. But I did see a picture of Julie and Plan B on the
nightstand, so at least I knew I was in the right place.

The click of the door to the garage opening
sounded like a gunshot in the quiet house. Or maybe it just seemed
amplified because it was so terrifying. Either way, I dropped to
all fours and shimmied under the bed. Now my heart was really
pounding and I mentally cursed myself for not closing the garage
door once I’d come inside. That was really stupid of me.

Laying there with my eyes closed waiting to
feel a hand grab my ankle was a little like expecting to feel a
gator latch on to your calf.

“Geez, first my wallet, then the garage door.
I can’t seem to remember anything lately. Julie’s making me crazy
with this kid thing,” Plan B seemed to be talking to himself. It
occurred to me that he might be a really good person to talk
to.

I waited until I heard the garage door making
its way back down to slowly slide out from under the bed. I needed
to figure out what Plan B’s name really was. A quick look around
the room told me nothing. Across the hall was a small room that
seemed to be functioning as a home office. I flipped through their
files, making copies of the stuff that seemed like it might come in
handy.

Their computer was password protected, but I
took a chance that the Post-It taped to the monitor contained
passwords and hit the jackpot with “sexylegs408.”

I scanned her “My Documents” folder and sent
anything that looked even remotely interesting to the email account
Gabrielle had created for me. Then I forwarded her emails to that
address too. And, because Gabrielle insisted, I deleted the emails
from the sent items and then cleared the computer’s cache. Maybe I
should have been worried why my daughter knew to do this—and I
would definitely be giving Conrad the heads up—but I had to admit
it was pretty handy knowledge.

Less than two hours after I dropped Gabrielle
off, I was sliding into the chair next to her again. My breathing
had finally returned to normal and my terror-level had waned a bit.
I’d turned my phone back on en route to the library and was
somewhat amused to realize I’d missed five phone calls from Charlie
in that time.

It began ringing again, earning me a stern
stare from the librarian. I wanted to ask her who I was disturbing
in this deserted place but refrained.

“Mom, you’re supposed to silence it.”

I had no clue what she was talking about so I
handed it to her. She pushed a button and the ringing instantly
stopped. Then she showed me how to turn the volume down with
patronizing patience. “Sorry, we didn’t have those,” I defended
myself.

“It’s okay Mom. Let’s get some lunch and you
can fill me in on what you found.”

If this was Gabrielle at nine, I dreaded
sixteen. But I was hungry, so I followed her suggestion and took us
to a nearby Waffle House. She watched with a certain measure of
horror as I inhaled a sausage melt, hash browns and a waffle—all
accompanied by a great big orange juice. It was amazing.