Traci Tyne Hilton - Mitzi Neuhaus 03 - Buyer's Remorse (15 page)

Mitzy trekked a few hundred feet into the woods and realized her mistake. It was the middle of winter. No one was growing weed in the woods right now. She had to look for something less obvious than a forest of cannabis; however, she continued forward, prompted by that inner disgust with being wrong. A few more feet led her to a clearing in the woods.

Alonzo pulled over at the Miata. He had a terrible feeling out here. He was not a country boy. The frozen ground gave him no idea where Mitzy had gone, so he just marched straight in. The trees were massive and spread apart. There was little underbrush. He squinted into the distance. He could see a tall slim figure quite a ways ahead of him. The absolute silence of the woods and the creepy feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time kept him from calling out her name. He trudged forward.

Mitzy pulled out her phone and began taking pictures as quick as she could. According to her map she was on National Parks land. And those were greenhouses in the clearing. She got herself right up next to them and wiped the frost off the glass. She held her phone up to it and clicked a picture. The she tried the door. It wasn’t locked. She stepped inside to find row upon row of tiny seedlings. She had checked that out online too. Those seedlings were pot. She took more pictures. Then she heard the footsteps.

It should have been obvious, she thought. Anyone maintaining a system like this would keep a close eye on it. Her heart beat against her chest like a hammer. She leaned against the door with her shoulder, one hand on the handle. Was it at all possible to sneak away in the bright morning sun in the middle of the clearing?

Alonzo bit back a curse. Mitzy had hunted down a grow operation. He had to get her out of here as fast as he could. Counting the buildings involved and the number of plants they might hold, Alonzo knew they were in serious danger. He had seen her step into one of the greenhouses. All he had to do was get her out.

Mitzy listened as the footsteps came closer and closer. “Oh Lord I’m sorry, Oh Lord help me, Oh dear God, what now, Oh help, Oh!” she prayed under her breath in a panic, “Oh dear Lord!” The door handle she was gripping turned.

“Mitzy?”

Mitzy pushed the door as hard as she could into the person trying to get in “
Ahhhhhhh
!” The scream escaped before she could think. She tried to run out the door but rammed into a broad, strong, man. His arms wrapped around her tightly holding her in place. She beat his back with her fists and tried to pry herself free, “Help me!” She screamed again.

“
Sh
! Mitzy!
Sh
! We don’t want them to know we’re here.”

Mitzy pulled her leg back and kicked the man in the shins as hard as she could. She did want someone to know she was here!

Alonzo dropped her.

She fell back into a shelf of small plants. It rocked beneath her but didn’t fall. She looked up.

“Alonzo!” she cried out. She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh baby. I was so scared!”

“
Sh
! Really!
We need to get out of here now before they hear you. You just stepped into something serious.”

“Okay. I’ve got pictures. Let’s get out now.”

“I’ve never seen so much pot,” Alonzo said, fumbling for his phone.

“I’m glad,” Mitzy said. Her moment of panic had calmed slightly so she took another picture of the seedlings. She wished she had taken time to get more comfortable with her camera phone. Her hands shook and she fumbled with the keypad to send the picture as a message. Then she took another one and sent it a little bit faster.

“We can’t stay here,” Alonzo whispered. “You’ve got to stop now.”

Mitzy looked up, Alonzo’s eyes were red and his jaw was clenched tight. The veins in his forehead were bulging.

She could hear something in the far distance that sounded like a motor. “You’re right. Let’s run.”

Alonzo opened the door and looked out. The forest was still and quiet. He grabbed her hand and ran. They ran as fast as they could back to their cars.

“I wish we weren’t here in two cars,” he said.

“Just get going. Get into town,” Mitzy ordered.

She drove as fast as she could around the curves of the country road. Alonzo was on her heels. Before she was even half way to town she saw a pickup behind Alonzo’s.

“Oh dear heavenly Father,” she whispered. Now was the time for that silent effective prayer that went straight from her heart, skipping the stumbling
block
of her brain. She didn’t know what she needed to survive this, but God did.

The truck was flying. Before she knew it, it had switched to the oncoming lane and inched closer. She hugged the edge of the road and slowed down but the truck slowed down too. Alonzo slowed way down to give her room in front of him. She was desperate to stop until she looked into the truck next to her. A rifle was hanging over the back window and a very skinny man with a ragged face glared at her from under the brim of his hat. She didn’t want to see what he would do if she stopped.

So she sped up. She zipped ahead and pulled in front of him, her heart beating to break her ribcage. Now she knew to pray that no cars came straight at her. She sped up, watching her speedometer hit 80. The thought of driving faster than that in the wrong lane scared her more than the man behind her.

The truck wasn’t riding her tail anymore, but Alonzo couldn’t catch up to get between them. Mitzy could see him trying so she slowed down. The pickup sped up. It rammed her fender. The impact shook Mitzy through the middle of her body, but she hit the gas as hard as she could and turned into her own lane.

She was spinning but she had pulled out of the way in time. The speeding truck had skimmed her fender instead of driving over the top of her tiny car. The truck veered as the driver tried to get control of his vehicle but it careened into the woods. Mitzy held her brakes down praying it would work.

The pedal vibrated against her foot, but she skidded off the highway like a stone. The land was clear and between her brakes and the sagebrush she slowed to a stop. She leaned over the steering wheel praying and trying to catch her breath. She turned her head and could see the truck driving off through the scrubland, away from their crash. She could also see Alonzo running to her car, and she could see smoke coming from the back of her Miata. She unbuckled, grabbed her purse and threw herself out the door. She rolled as far from the car as she could.

Alonzo ran to her and pulled her into his arms. “I don’t think it’s going to catch fire,” he said. “But we’d better call the police.”

“Can we call them as we drive away from here as fast as we can?” Mitzy held her head against his chest. His heart was pounding as fast
as her own
.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Alonzo helped Mitzy into his truck and handed her his phone. “I’m sorry to make you make the call, but
it’s
best.”

Mitzy understood. He had to drive and watch for the terror who had just tried to kill her.

Mitzy finished her report of the accident before they made it back to town. “Why didn’t you say the guy drove you off the road on purpose?” Alonzo asked.

“I did, basically. I described what happened and why we were going straight to town.” Mitzy held her hands clasped in her lap. Her body still shook with fear. “It doesn’t take a genius to know he was trying to run us off the road.”

“Did the cop ask you any questions? It didn’t sound like it.”

“No. He took the report.”

“You should have told him everything.”

“I should have told him that we discovered the crazy driver’s pot farm and then he tried to kill me? We can only assume it was the farmer. I gave his license number to the cops. But think about this: what if the cops are crooked? What if I told them about the farm and then we were in real trouble because they already knew? We don’t know what the people out here are like, do we?”

“Aren’t they all Tea Party Ruby
Ridgers
or Mormons?”

“Please don’t let’s get political. I need to stay here until tomorrow so an adjuster can call my poor adorable baby car totaled. Let’s just find a place to stay the night.”

Alonzo set his hand gently on her knee.

She unclasped her cold hands and picked his up. She lifted it to her mouth and kissed his fingers. “I shouldn’t have come out here alone.”

“You’ve been driving all night. Let’s get you a place to sleep.”

They drove to the nearest truck stop in silence. Two medium sized hotels stood on either side of it. He pulled into the prettiest one. Mitzy appreciated that.

“There sure are a lot of cars here,” Mitzy said.

Alonzo parked and they made their way into the hotel. A very tired young woman sat at the front desk. Before they could say anything she shook her head. “We’re all full up.”

“We just need two rooms for one night.” Mitzy tried to turn on her professional “sell the house” smile.

“We don’t even have one free.”

“Fine.
It doesn’t matter. We’ll go next door,” Alonzo said.

The girl shook her head. “They’re full too.”

“Well then where do you suggest?” Mitzy asked.

“There’s another place all the way across town but I think they’re pretty full, too,” she said.

“Why?” Alonzo asked.

“The Baptists,” the girl said. “They’ve come to convert us. They think we don’t know. They are calling it a convention, but I can’t even bring them clean towels without them telling me about Jesus.”

“All of the hotels in town are full of Baptists?”

“Yup.
There’s like 400 of them here. They’re everywhere.”

“If the whole town is swarming with missionaries we really can’t share a room.” Alonzo said.

The girl laughed. “You could go down to
Boise
. It’s only a half an hour down the road.”

“I can’t go to
Boise
,” Mitzy said. “I can’t leave until I’ve talked to an insurance adjuster.”

“You can try the place across town,” the girl said with a shrug.

“I guess we’ll just have to,” Mitzy said. They walked out and got back into the pickup. “I’ll make a note: no more spontaneous road trips.”

“First we get a room—two rooms. Then we get a meal. Then jokes,”’ Alonzo said.

Across town there was only one room available. The young man at the desk assured them there were only three hotels in town.

Alonzo booked the room and then they both got back in his pickup to find a place to eat. “You’ll be safe at the hotel, and I’ll just sleep in the truck,” he said.

“You can’t do that. Not with a lunatic out there.”

“It’s a single room Mitzy. Even if I had Gandhi’s willpower I could not stay the night with you in a single room and…respect myself in the morning.”

“Maybe one of the Baptists would let you split a room? Where would we find the Baptists at this hour?” she asked. Then she noticed the sidewalks were fairly crowded with men in ski jackets wandering around in groups of three. “Do you think that’s them?
The missionaries?”

“I do.”

“But what are they doing? No one else is out.”

“Maybe they’re caroling,” Alonzo said.

“I bet they are! Oh they are hysterical. Let’s pull over and see if we can find someone to bunk you with.”

Alonzo didn’t pull over. “Let’s just eat.”

The diner he picked was full of ruddy-cheeked men and women. Mitzy smiled at a lady wearing a stocking cap and a winter coat. “Here for the convention?” she asked.

The woman perked up and nudged the man next to her.

Alonzo leaned over and whispered in Mitzy’s ear, “Don’t tell them why we are here, please. They will think we are crazy.”

Mitzy brushed him away like a fly.

“Hi!” The woman in the hat said, “I’m Heather. This is my husband Bill. Our daughter Jenny and her husband Ben are meeting us here.” She fiddled with some pamphlets in her hand while she spoke.

“I’m Mitzy Neuhaus and this is my fiancé, Alonzo.”

Heather’s jaw dropped. “You are not! Jenny’s going to die. Our Ben is Ben!
Your
Ben, I mean, our son-in-law used to work for you! You’re famous!”

Mitzy struggled to smile. “I’m not famous. But…you said Jenny and Ben are here?”

“Yes, they should be here any minute.” She stepped a little closer to Mitzy, “We’re on mission here and they came too. I think it will be good for the kids. I mean, Bill’s a pastor, has been for a hundred years,” she laughed, “but sometimes I wonder if the kids are fully fired up for Jesus. I was so disappointed when Ben went into business for himself. You were a good influence.”

Mitzy relaxed, thankful that the solution to their troubles had fallen into her lap. Bill and Heather would help them. “Alonzo and I are in kind of a tight spot. Maybe you could help us.”

Alonzo, next to Mitzy, dropped his forehead into his hand.

Before long Mitzy, Alonzo, Ben, Jenny, and Jenny’s parents were seated at a table waiting for their meals. Bill had a wicked grin on his face, the kind you see when a pastor has a scheme in mind.

“Sure, you could bunk with us, Alonzo. But we’re in the wrong hotel. And it would just be silly, wouldn’t it? I mean, you’re a grown man, Mitzy, you’re an adult. Why spend the night apart?”

Ben choked on his water.

Bill had that look in his eye. No one dared answer his question. “Are you madly in love? Of course you are! Or you wouldn’t be here, randomly for some reason you aren’t willing to share, completely unprepared. Something brought you here together and I can only guess it is love.”

Jenny flushed red. “Dad, please,” she begged.

Heather had a twinkle in her eye. She seemed to know what Bill was thinking. Mitzy had no idea what they were up to and was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

“Really, we can’t…we can’t share a room. I thought you all would understand.”

“Oh, we understand,” Heather said with a silly grin.

Bill made a display of checking his watch. “Heath, when we were caroling at the businesses yesterday afternoon did we, or did we not stop in at the county clerk’s office?”

“Oh we did, Bill.”

“Oh no,” Ben said.

“Oh yes. Eat a hearty breakfast friends, and we can get you two to the clerk’s office as soon as it opens. You can be on your honeymoon before lunch!”

Alonzo
blushed
bright red but hadn’t said anything yet. He took a very slow drink of water, “Sir, I don’t think—”

“Do you love her?” Bill asked

“Well yes, of course.”

“Does she love you?”

“I should say so,” Mitzy piped up.

“So what’s the problem? You two don’t strike me as people who would want to make a big show of it.
Just you and a couple of friends to witness and the Lord before you.
What could be better?”

“And if I remember right, you’ve been engaged for ages,” Heather said.

Mitzy let a small sigh escape. It sounded peaceful and like it would solve at least one unsolvable problem.
Or two.
She blushed at the thought.

Alonzo turned to Mitzy, “You know what?” he asked. “This would also solve the problem of how to keep you safe once we get home.”

Jenny made some kind of sarcastic sounding snort from across the table. Ben put his hand on her knee.

“Yes, but don’t we have to wait like a month for a marriage license?” Mitzy asked.

“Not in
Idaho
,” Heather said. “We can walk right in and marry you now.” She looked at Mitzy’s leather suit jacket and turtleneck sweater, both brown. “But we might want to stop on the way and find something to wear.”

“Let’s not waste time on clothes,” Mitzy said with a grin. She felt a little dizzy.

Alonzo cleared his throat and turned to Mitzy, “You deserve better than a rushed ceremony in a clerk’s office. Are you sure you want to do this now?”

Mitzy nodded.

“Well then let’s
eat,
everyone. We’ve got a wedding to get to!” Bill said with a big grin.

Everyone but Jenny ate as fast as they could. She picked at her quiche.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Ben asked. He reached over and took a forkful of her breakfast.

Jenny pushed her plate to Ben. “You can have it.”

“You’ve got to eat.” Ben frowned. “You’ve got a big day ahead.”

“Is that so?” Jenny asked. She sniffed and gave Mitzy the evil eye.

“I’d say. Have you forgotten how crazy weddings can get?”

Jenny slammed her fork down and turned away from Ben.

“What?” Ben ate another bite of her breakfast. “What was that about?”

“I’ve got a big day ahead because Mitzy is getting married? That’s why I’ve got a big day ahead? Oh joy.”

“Uh oh.”
Alonzo said. He looked at his watch.

Heather leaned across the table and reached for her daughter’s hand. “Baby girl, what’s wrong?”

“Mitzy is! Mitzy is what’s wrong!” Jenny yanked her hand away from her mom, “Every time I think we are going to have something special it turns into Mitzy’s special time.”

“Huh?” Ben said.

“We’re supposed to be here having a romantic winter ski trip while my parents go preaching. But what are we doing instead? We’re having a wedding for Mitzy.
And why?
Lord only knows. Probably because someone is trying to kill her and now we’re all in danger.”

“Oh sweetie, that’s not it at all,” Heather soothed.

“Oh yeah?
Have you already forgotten the cake testing?
And the kidnapping?
And Ben being gone all those days before the wedding?
Have you? He promised we’d never have to have anything to do with
her
again. So what are we doing? We’re the witnesses to her wedding! Lovely!”

Mitzy looked at her watch too. Not that she wanted to miss a dramatic tantrum on the day of her wedding but she wanted to get going. She licked her lips and blushed.

“Mitzy is not getting married to keep someone from killing her,” Ben said.

“Well…” Alonzo started.

“That’s enough out of you, young lady.” Bill had switched from his pastor voice to his dad voice. “You will get up right now and come with us to the clerk’s office for the wedding and I don’t want to hear another word about it.” Bill stood up and collected the checks. He took his daughter by the arm and marched her to the front of the restaurant.

Jenny looked over her shoulder and shot Mitzy a pained look.

Heather took Mitzy’s arm and patted it. “She’ll perk up. It’s just low blood sugar.”

Mitzy smiled and shook her head a little. Mothers never saw the worst in their kids.

The group broke up into their cars and drove to the clerk’s office.

On the way Heather pulled into a florist and bought Mitzy a bouquet of white roses and holly.

 Tears stung Mitzy’s eyes. “They are beautiful,” she said quietly.
“My poor mom.”