Nowhere to Run (8 page)

“It was probably partly because I've been so upset lately,” Marie said. “That, and she may remember more about her father's temper than I'd thought, at least subconsciously.”

“He was abusive?”

Marie could tell that Seth had tensed, because his jaw muscles were visibly clenching. Though she wanted to blurt out everything, she took a deep breath and stifled that urge before she began, “I was seventeen when I ran away from home. Roy was older, a man of the world at twenty-two. I thought he was special because he was so interested in me, took such good care of me.” She breathed a heavy sigh. “Compared to what my home life had been while I was growing up, that was true.”

She had been watching Seth's expression. When she judged that he was accepting her story as he'd promised, she went on. “Roy kept assuring me we'd get married, but even after we knew I was expecting Patty, he dragged his feet. Now that I can look back on those years more objectively, I'm glad he balked. If I was married to Roy, I'd have even worse problems.”

“Where is he now?” Seth asked softly.

“I don't really know.” A shudder of remembrance skittered up her spine as she pictured the way Roy had struggled against his captors when they'd dragged him off to who-knows-where. “The last time we spoke, he told me he was in trouble and warned me to get out of town.”

“Baton Rouge?”

Marie's eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”

“From the registration in your car. I had a responsibility to my job to be sure you hadn't stolen it.”

The air whooshed out of her lungs, and she sagged against the seat back. “Oh. You scared me.”

“Sorry. Like I keep telling you, if you continue to hide the truth, it's going to be a lot harder for me, or anyone else, to help you.”

“There's really nothing you can do,” Marie said. “I've probably told you too much already.”

“One more thing I need to know,” Seth said, pinning her with his steady stare.

“All right. I'll tell you if I can.”

“It's about Roy. That's his name, right?”

“Yes…”

His voice low, his words clipped, Seth asked, “Were you ever, or are you now, involved with him in any crimes?”

Marie could feel herself bristle at the implication. “Of course not. Never. That was why I left him. I gave him an ultimatum. It was either his buddies and their life of crime or Patty and me. He chose them.”

“What about the physical abuse? I don't know you very well, but I can't picture you staying with him under those circumstances.”

Giving another loud sigh, Marie nodded. “You're right. When I told Roy he had to choose, he got drunk and hit me. More than once. That was the last straw. As soon as he passed out, I left and went straight to a shelter for battered women and children. Even if I'd been willing to give him more chances to reform, I knew I couldn't leave Patty in that situation one more minute.”

“All right. That's good enough for me. You say you're innocent and I believe you.”

She blinked back tears of thankfulness. “You really do, don't you?”

“Yes,” Seth said flatly. “I really do.”

N
ow that he knew Marie's side of the story, at least part of it, he decided to compare her version with that in Corp. Inc.'s files and see if he could figure an easy way out for her.

Yes, a second contact with his former agency was more risky than his initial foray into its computer system had been, but he decided to chance it. At least he no longer suspected that Marie had been sent to unmask him, which was a big relief. So was her explanation of her prior connections to Roy Jenkins. The woman was a victim, not a coconspirator and, as he'd thought from the moment he'd met her, she desperately needed professional assistance.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, settling breath before connecting to the first of the three anonymizer Web sites he'd used the last time. His mind kept insisting he was a fool to be doing this again, while his heart and soul argued the opposite.

“Father,” he whispered prayerfully, “tell me what to do, what not to do, how far to pursue this.”

All his adult life Seth had believed in the triumph of righteousness over evil and had fought to do good, no matter what the cost. Lately, though, he'd wondered if he'd been kidding himself all along. Perhaps he had. But that didn't mean he wasn't duty-bound to help the helpless when it was within his power to do so.

Reassured, he connected to the last proxy site and used it to begin to once again tap into the agency's secret files.

To his relief, there had been no law enforcement update on Marie Parnell or on Roy Jenkins, although there had been an unidentified body found that was suspected of being that of Jenkins. Tests were pending.

Seth printed the information, then sat back and pondered his next move. There had to be some way to get the authorities to realize that Marie was not the criminal they thought she was. But how? If he'd still been on the inside at Corp. Inc., he'd have had little trouble dropping the right hints to the right people and seeing that enough doubt arose to trigger a more thorough investigation into Roy's past.

Now, however, his hands were tied. He was as far outside the system as Marie was, and his word carried no more weight than that of any fugitive from justice.

Perhaps he should have stuck around and let them try him for Alice's murder, he thought, then quickly disagreed. The frame-up had been complete. His enemies had planted evidence that had made him look guilty of both Alice's death and the embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of industrial secrets that had been shown to have ended up in the hands of foreign mercenaries.

For the evidence to have been that perfect, that coordinated, it had to have been planted by some of the men Seth had considered his close friends and allies. There had been no one left whom he could trust back then. No one in whose hands he'd dared place his future. No one except Jonathan Biggs, the man who just before his own tragic death had given him the secret access code he was now using.

Seth's jaw clenched. Friends like Jonathan were rare. Now that he was gone, there was no one within the agency or its affiliates who could be relied upon to help.

He was sitting there, staring at the computer screen and reminiscing, when a familiar icon popped up.

Seth's eyes widened. His heart started to race. That little bluebird was Jonathan's, and his personal ID was one that they used only for private communications. It couldn't be his old friend. Or could it?

Cautious, Seth watched as a sentence appeared. “That you, buddy?” was all it said.

He had a choice now: either respond or immediately break the connection and pretend he didn't know what was going on. If Jonathan was alive and trying to contact him, he wanted to know. He had to know. If it was a trick and he answered, however, he might be giving a lot away.

In the end, he decided to play the game.

“Who's your buddy?” Seth typed.

“A guy from Wonderland,” came the answer.

Seth's gut twisted and his breathing grew shallow, rapid. Jonathan had always teased him about his late wife's connection to the fairy tale, because of her first name. Did anyone else know about that private joke? Maybe. Maybe not. If his old friend really was still alive…

“Wonderland?” Seth typed.

“Yeah. Sorry about Alice.”

Seth stared at the screen for long seconds before answering. “Thanks.”

“How've you been?”

“Lonesome.”

As soon as he'd sent that reply, Seth realized that although it had been true to some extent at first, he was actually quite content now. At least he had been until Marie had dropped into his life a few days ago.

“Mama and all us kids would love to have you come home,” the screen flashed.

“No way.”

“Same time tomorrow, then,” the screen said before the icon of the bluebird faded.

Seth sat very still and stared as his mind ran in convoluted circles. Was it possible? Sure it was. Jonathan had been just as good at subterfuge as any other agent. If he'd wanted to falsify his own death, he could have managed it beautifully.

The real question was, had he? And if so, how had he gotten access to the agency's system when he was no longer affiliated with it? Or was this new contact a ruse?

Seth didn't know those answers, nor did he have to find them out right away. If his old friend was alive and kicking, he'd be a valuable ally. If not, no harm had been done. Yet. And Seth wasn't about to let himself be suckered in by some wet-behind-the-ears agent with an advanced degree in computer science.

Tomorrow he'd log on again and start asking more questions, ones that only Jonathan could answer, to see where their conversation went.

Until then, he was going to do the only thing he could. Lie low. And pray for more wisdom.

 

Marie hardly slept a wink all night. By dawn she felt as if she'd spent her night running a marathon. When she peered at her reflection in the morning, she wished she hadn't looked.

“Oh, ugh.” Her hair was a mess, partly thanks to the effects of having been out in the wind and rain, and the skin below her eyes was darker than usual, leaving no doubt that she was sleep-deprived.

Hoping it would help, she splashed warm water on her face. Patty came into the bathroom as she was toweling it dry.

“What's the matter, mama?”

“Nothing, honey. I'm just trying to wake up. How are you this morning?”

“Fine.” She brightened. “Can we go see Babe?”

“Maybe later,” Marie said wearily.

“How about church school? Are we going there? You said—”

“I know what I said,” Marie answered. “Just be patient, will you. I'm so tired I can hardly think straight.” She leaned closer to the mirror and blinked at her image. “I'll feel better if I shower and wash my hair. You go get dressed and watch cartoons for a while, okay? Just don't turn the TV up too loud. We don't want to disturb the guests in the rooms next door.”

Seeing the child's mood plummet, Marie felt more than a twinge of guilt. She was trying to be a good mother, but her senses were on overload owing to continuous tension, not to mention the negative effect prolonged sleeplessness was having on her body and brain.

Someday she'd make all this up to Patty, she vowed, stepping beneath the soothing spray of the shower and letting it knead the tension out of her shoulders and neck.

She closed her eyes, turned and let the water wash away her tears of frustration and apprehension. Would this nightmare ever end? Would she survive to keep her promises to Patty? To God?

Lifting her face to the spray, she sent up a silent, wordless prayer, asking for the only thing she could think of that might help: superhuman stamina.

It wasn't fair. She'd mended her ways, had become a Christian and was living the most honorable life she knew how. So why was everything going so terribly wrong? Why, instead of getting better, did her life seem to have taken a turn for the worse?

She remembered what her pastor had told her when she'd gone to him for counseling after leaving the shelter. Being a Christian didn't mean that there would be no more trials, nor did coming to the Lord negate her past mistakes. Yes, she was forgiven. And, yes, she could start over. What she couldn't expect to do was avoid the consequences of her former sins, any more than Roy could have turned over a new leaf and had his prior crimes erased without having had to face punishment.

Put in those terms, Marie could understand the spiritual concept, but that didn't mean she liked it.

When Marie finally finished her shower, she could hear the television playing in the other room. Patty was such a good girl. Always obedient. Even if she did sometimes argue, she never actually balked. What a joy it was to be the mother of a sweet child like that.

Humming, Marie slipped her robe on and stood in front of the mirror to blow-dry her hair. The shower had helped. A lot. So would getting out of that tiny rented room and at least going for a walk. Too bad they had to be so cautious, yet she might even consider taking Patty to the park she'd seen just down the road and letting her play there, providing the ground wasn't all muddy after last night's storm. The poor little girl had been cooped up a lot more than usual since they'd left home, and she had to be getting antsy.

“I'll make it up to her soon,” Marie vowed. Smiling, she opened the bathroom door as she said, “That's a little loud, honey. I told you to keep it quieter, remember?”

No one answered.

Marie glanced at the bed, fully expecting to see Patty lounging there on her tummy, chin in her hands and feet in the air, watching her favorite cartoon show.

“Patty?” The air suddenly seemed to drain from the room. “Patty? Don't hide from Mama, okay? It's not funny.”

Still, there was no answer.

Frantic, Marie threw the bedclothes into a heap on the floor so she could view the entire mattress. Patty wasn't hiding there, nor was she in the closet or behind the bathroom door.

Marie fell to her knees, hoping to spot the impish child under the bed, but found that it was resting on a solid platform. There was no place down there to conceal anyone or anything.

Throwing on clean clothes as fast as she could, Marie blinked back unshed tears. Her mind was racing. Her hands shook. This couldn't be happening. It was too much. Too terrible to even contemplate.

“Get a grip,” she cautioned, struggling to remain functionally calm. “Nobody knows we're here except Seth and Clarence. And the door was locked, so…”

Her gaze shot to the heavy door. Every ounce of strength left her. At first glance it had appeared to be closed—but it wasn't. It was standing ever so slightly ajar.

 

Seth wasn't too surprised to see Marie approaching until he noted her wide eyes and semi-hysterical expression. He started to run toward her.

She met him, faltered and fell into his arms.

“What is it? What's wrong?” he demanded.

“Patty.”

“What about Patty?” He glanced past Marie's shoulder. “Where is she?”

“I don't know. I don't know.”

Guiding her aside, he sat her down on an old, steel-framed chair that they kept handy for customers.

Seth crouched at her feet and took both her hands in his. “Calm down. Take a deep breath and tell me exactly what happened.”

“I—I don't know. I was taking a shower and Patty was supposed to be watching TV. I wasn't in the shower long. When I came out, she was gone.”

“You searched your room?”

“Yes. And the motel lobby. I thought she might have gone there to get a donut, but Clarence said he hadn't seen her.” She took a shuddering breath. “Is he trustworthy?”

“Very. If he said she wasn't around, she wasn't.” He straightened and scanned the car lot as well as the nearby yards. “She could be anywhere. Do you want me to call the sheriff?”

Marie leaped up. “No! We can't do that.”

“What if she's been kidnapped?”

“She can't be. God wouldn't have allowed it. I know He wouldn't.”

Sobering, Seth once again grasped her hands and held them tightly. “I don't know that and neither do you, Marie. I learned a long time ago that I couldn't predict the future or prevent bad things from happening. If I could have, my wife would still be alive.”

He realized immediately that he'd made an error by mentioning Alice. “I didn't mean something terrible has happened to Patty,” he quickly added. “I just thought that we needed more help. That's why I suggested calling the sheriff.”

“I can't.” Near tears, she took a shuddering breath. “I can't tell you why—I just can't let anybody know where I am.”

“Not even the good guys?” Seth asked.

“Nobody. I can't trust anybody, anywhere.”

“You can trust me,” he said, willing her to do just that. “I promise you.”