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Authors: Fern Michaels

BOOK: Finders Keepers
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“Good God! How do you deal with all that. You, Jessie Roland, have the patience of a saint. Did I hear you right? Is she coming here?”
“She called the state police when I didn't call after five hours. They're going to show up at your door. Is that sick or what? I think she might come here. I'll call back in half an hour. If there's no answer that means she's on her way, which means I have to leave. Let's do the car thing right away.”
“First we have to change,” the ever practical Sophie said. “I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes.”
Forty minutes later, Sophie said, “So, what do you think? This is a one-of-a-kind vehicle. They aren't going to go on the market for some time. I wheeled and dealed,” she said proudly. “Don't you just love the candy-apple red color? All the guys at school are going to love you. Do you think you can handle it?”
“Absolutely. Thank you so much, Sophie. Let's get this straight now. The car is registered in your name. So is the insurance. You typed up a letter saying you loaned me the car and I'm to keep the letter with all your papers in the glove compartment.”
“Right.”
“I cash the check from the BMW and take cash, which I give to you. By taking cash, I can't be traced.”
“Right again. So, let's head for the bank. I'll stay outside in the parking lot. Cashing a check for that amount will be something the teller will remember. I don't want her to put our two faces together when your mother calls in the Feds. She will, Jessie, so be prepared. Remember now, the world revolves around your social security number. Forget your old one and remember the new one I got you. I don't even want you to think about asking me how I did it. I got all your transcripts fixed with the new number. As of today, you are a new person. You're sure now that you can handle all this?”
Jessie's face was grim. “I'm sure. Someday when we're old married ladies and bored to tears I want you to tell me how you did all this.”
“It's a deal. Let's go. I want to see if your mother answers the phone. We might have to switch to Plan B.”
“What's Plan B?”
“I'm going to work on that while I sit in the parking lot.”
Thea Roland stared at the pinging phone in her hand, then turned to see her husband watching her. “I've been sitting here for hours, Barnes, waiting for her to call, and she said she'd been there an hour before she called. How could she do that to me? She said I humiliated her by calling the police. She didn't even sound like our daughter. This is what happens when I listen to you, Barnes. You said give her freedom, latitude, let her experience things. She's a stranger I don't even know. Sophie and that slut of a mother of hers are to blame, too.”
Barnes sat down across from his wife. “That slut of a mother was your best friend all your life. Sophie is a wonderful person with opinions and ideas. That young woman was the best thing that ever happened to Jessie. This is all your fault, Thea. Whatever happens in regard to Jessie, you are the one who must take full responsibility.”
“How dare you say such a thing to me. I've given up my life for that girl, and this is the thanks I get. I'm going up there as soon as I can get myself together. I'm going to bring her home.”
Barnes clipped the tip of a cigar and lit it with a gold lighter.
Thea stared at him with unblinking eyes. “I forbid you to smoke that smelly cigar in the house. The drapes will smell, and so will the carpets.”
“Get used to it, Thea. This is my house, and I will do whatever I damn well please.”
“What's gotten into you, Barnes? Did you hear anything I said?”
“I heard every single word. You are not going to Atlanta to spoil Jessie's weekend.”
“I'm going, and that's final. I didn't ask you to drive me. I'll drive myself. And when I return our daughter will be with me. The biggest mistake of my life was listening to you.”
“No!”
The single word was a thunderbolt of sound. “The biggest mistake of your life was the day you kidnapped that child.”
Thea sobbed. “You hush, Barnes. We said we weren't ever going to talk abut this.”
“Damn it, Thea, we have to talk about it. We have to get used to the idea that Jessie is not with us anymore. This is her time now. We talked about this before. I'm not going to put either one of us through that again. It's over and we have to get on with our lives. You are not going to Atlanta, and that's final. If you try to leave, I'll truss you up like a turkey at Thanksgiving.”
“I'm going, Barnes. With or without you. You're my husband and not a warden. Like you said, get used to it.”
“I'm warning you, Thea. It will be the last straw where Jessie is concerned. She will never forgive you. Do you want to live with that? More to the point, can you live with that?”
“Stop saying such ugly things to me, Barnes. Jessie loves me. It's Sophie's influence that is causing all these problems. We have to find a way to get that young woman out of our daughter's life. Think, Barnes, what can we do?”
“We aren't doing anything. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
Thea stood up, her eyes glazed, her jaw slack. “I'm going to Atlanta. Come with me or stay here. It doesn't matter anymore.”
Barnes stared at the mangled cigar in his hand. He sighed. “Get in the car, Thea.”
“Thank you, Barnes. I knew you'd see my way is the right way. We'll open up the house in Atlanta. Jessie can come home weekends. We can even take her to dinner in the middle of the week. I'll hire a new cook, and she can take food to Jessie to make sure she doesn't eat all that starchy, fatty food the cafeterias serve. We'll decorate her room or perhaps get her an apartment of her own. Jessie will be so grateful. We need to start planning for the holidays. A cruise, Barnes, just the three of us. The Greek islands will be nice. The three of us will have such a wonderful time. We'll take our meals together, sightsee together. We'll be a happy family again.”
Barnes held the door of the car for his wife. He heard the phone ring just as he climbed behind the wheel. He wondered who it was. Not that it mattered.
 
“Dial it again, Jessie. You're all wired up. Maybe you dialed the wrong number.”
“I dialed the right number, Sophie, but I'll do it again. I know my mother. They're on the way. At best I'll have a four-hour head start if I leave now. I hate missing your party. Will you take pictures and write me a long letter?”
“Of course. I'll help you load up the Jeep. Don't drive too far today, Jessie. Stop somewhere for the night. Get an early start in the morning. Don't worry about anything here. I'll carry the ball. I'll be waiting for your call first thing in the morning.”
“I'm doing the right thing, aren't I, Sophie?”
“Does it feel right, Jessie?”
“Yes. Yes, it does.”
“Then you're doing the right thing. Come on, let's get to it. It's a good thing we had the Jeep gassed. You're ready to go. Do you have the map I outlined for you?”
“I have everything. Sophie, thank you for being such a good friend.”
“My pleasure.”
“What is that?”
“I don't know. It looks like my father's writing. I want to open this before I leave. Why would my father . . . What is this?”
“Your future,” Sophie said, scanning the papers Jessie held out to her. “I have stuff just like this. It's for your trust fund. Your father turned it over to you. That means you can do whatever you please with it, and you don't have to ask for permission. When you get settled you call the bank and set up mailing instructions. Your father signed all the release papers so things are in order. The bankers will do whatever you want. If you want, use my address until you're comfortable with things. From the looks of this you are one wealthy young woman. What does the note say?”
Jessie choked back a sob. “It just says he wishes me luck, and if I ever need him, to call and leave a message at his club. He said he loves me and wants me to be happy and to think of him once in a while. He also said he will never interfere in my life, but he can't promise the same for my mother. He even gave me a medal. It looks old and worn. I wonder why he would do that.”
“Do you want me to keep this stuff for you?”
“Do you mind?”
“Not at all. When you're settled we can discuss it. I'd like to read through it all again and then compare it to my trust fund. Mother had the ‘best of the best' draw up mine. I don't want anything coming home to roost on your shoulders at some point in the future. With that mother of yours you need all the edge you can get.”
Jessie hugged her friend, her eyes filling with tears. “Thanks, Sophie. I keep saying that, don't I?”
“Yeah, but it's okay. Start that engine and do the speed limit. Don't pick up any hitchhikers and don't drive after dark.”
“Yes, Sophie.”
“Go on, get out of here before I start to cry.”
“Are you really going to go skinny-dipping?” Jessie called over her shoulder.
“You bet. Have a good life, Jessie Roland,” Sophie whispered, a catch in her voice.
 
Barnes felt his nerves stretch to the breaking point as Thea rambled on and on about the future. Defiantly he opened the window all the way and fired up a cigar. Thea ignored the obnoxious smoke as she continued to prattle about buying Jessie a new designer wardrobe. He knew she would wind down eventually. He waited.
Ninety minutes later, Thea took stock of the scenery outside the car window. “We aren't on the interstate, Barnes. Where are we?”
Barnes stalled for time. “On the road. I'm driving, Thea. I know where I'm going. Why don't you take a nap?”
“I don't want to take a nap. Exactly where are we, Barnes? This is not the road to Atlanta. This isn't even the scenic route.”
Barnes heard the scream start to build in his wife's throat. “I never said we were going to Atlanta. You assumed that's where we were going when I told you to get in the car.”
“What do you mean we aren't going to Atlanta? Where are we going?”
“I'm taking you back to the scene of your crime. After I do that you can damn well do whatever you please. I don't give a good rat's ass anymore. I can't take it, Thea.”
“Stop this car right this minute! How could you do such a thing? I refuse to go back to
that place
. Do you hear me, Barnes? I refuse. If you don't stop this car, I'll jump out.”
Barnes's response was to press harder on the accelerator. A glorious cloud of smoke filled the car. Thea started to cough and sputter. “Go ahead, Thea, jump. I'm doing eighty miles an hour. You'll break every bone in your body. You'll be in the hospital for
years
. No one will come to visit you. You alienated all your friends with that sick devotion you foisted on Jessie. Jessie will never know. Listen to me, Thea. She isn't coming back. Not now, not ever.”
“Stop it! Stop it!” Thea shrieked. She huddled into the corner of the car, her entire body shaking with the force of her sobs. Barnes ignored her.
Hours later, Barnes slowed the powerful car. On his right was a small green sign that said, YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE HAMLET OF ASHTON FALLS. The cigar clamped tightly between his teeth, he said, “Look alert, Mrs. Roland. We are approaching the scene of your dastardly act. I'm going to get gas. Would you like that cold drink now?”
“Shut up, Barnes.”
“It looks the same. Imagine that. Sixteen years, and it still looks the same. Let's see, it was a cream soda you wanted when we were here last. Get out of the car, Thea.”
“I will not.”
“You will get out, my dear. Otherwise, I will put you out. Walk over to the cooler and get your cream soda.”

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