Silencing Joy (11 page)

“We should walk in here. I’m getting nervous
about someone seeing us.” Will squeezed my hand, entwined with his,
lifting it to his mouth and kissing it.

The
whooshing
sound of cars coasting
up and down the street got busier. We shadowed them as we walked
through the trees, back to moving twigs and branches that stuck out
ominously in front of us. The leaves were very dry and crunched
loudly under our feet.

“What are we going to do now?” I asked.

“We need to find a place for the night, try
to contact Derek, and stay out of sight.” As soon as the words left
his mouth, we heard someone yelling.

“Hey! This is private property!” A man we
could barely make out through the heavily settled branches
chastised us. Will swung me around and away from the guy, waving a
hand to the man in a “we understand and we’re leaving” gesture. We
angled back towards the road.

Reaching the town didn’t take long after our
encounter with the angry man. We walked quietly with our heads
slightly down. It was a beautiful day out, and people walked up and
down the sidewalks, going in and out of stores.

The town was little, and the stores were
small, mostly a bunch of specialty shops. There were no superstores
or huge markets. I surmised that people here must go to one place
for bread and milk, then to a hole-in-the-wall fruit store across
the street for produce. A tiny boutique stood in front of us, and
we went in. Will walked up and down the aisles slowly, like we had
all the time in the world. It smelled wonderful in there, like
sugar cookies and peaches. It must have been the fancy candles in
the cabinet against the wall.

We passed a spinning rack of sunglasses. Will
reached his hand out to the display, and, to my surprise
(not!)
he grabbed two pairs.

Down the next aisle was
couture.
It
was a mixture of fancy flowing tops, T-shirts, and hats. Will
immediately zoomed in on the baseball caps, and I laughed
internally. He picked up two. At the checkout, a lady rang us up,
and Will added two candy bars with names I’d never heard of... some
high-end organic chocolate.

The bell of the store jingled as we walked
out. We were back on the sidewalk of the little town.

“Back here,” Will ordered, and I followed him
behind a row of buildings.

He handed me the bag, and I took it. He
reached in and pulled out the plain black baseball hat and plopped
it on his head. He removed the second one from the bag in my hands.
Sweeping all of my brown hair in to a pile on the top of my head,
he placed the navy blue one over my unruly hair. Will then bent to
examine me as he tucked in loose strands under the cap. His touch
made me shiver.

“You cold?” he asks. I shake my head no,
unable to pull my eyes away from his face.

The sunglasses were aviators with a silver
frames. He ripped off the tag and put his on. He handed mine to me
and tossed the bag in the dumpster after slipping the candy bars
into his jacket pocket. I slipped the glasses on my face.
How
cute, we match.
I rolled my eyes, although Will couldn’t see
because of the reflective lenses.

“Just for the record, I’m rolling my eyes,” I
informed him.

He leaned in and kissed my nose. “You are so
cute,” Will told me with a smile.

Hmm...he did look good in his
government-sanctioned disguise.

“Cute...I was going for secret agent
extraordinaire,” I said with exaggerated irritation.

“You can be a
cute
secret agent,” Will
laughed. “Let’s go find the library.”

The library was easy to find, on the center
of Main Street with all of the other town offices. You have to love
small New England towns. Will sat down at a computer, set the
backpack down, and pulled up a Gmail account.

“Who are you emailing?” I asked.

“Derek. Let’s hope he finds us before anyone
else does.”

“How can you let him know where we are
without alerting the FBI?”

“We have our own codes for stuff. We didn’t
use the FBI ones during training when we worked together. It’s
better this way. It keeps us ahead of the game.”

“Who knew you were really going to need it
someday?” I said over his shoulder as he typed.

With V1, need U, T 4 15/60 MLT

“What does that mean?”

He pointed to the screen before he sent it.
“V1 is you, ‘need you’ is obvious. The rest is our location here in
Sydney, Maine.”

“How’s he going to find us once he gets
here?”

“He will.” He seemed pretty sure of
himself.

“What do we do now?”

“Find a place to hide out,” he said like it
was logical and obvious.

“I have an idea!” I said as a light bulb went
off in my brain. I probably got the idea from Will earlier, but I
wasn’t going to give him the credit or satisfaction of knowing
that. I started for the front door of the library to tear down the
steps, scanning up and down the street for what I saw earlier. A
bunch of bed-and-breakfast places.
Now, to find the right
one...

The first one, Phoebe’s B&B, looked too
commercial. A few doors down was Birds of Maine...nice, but there
were too many cars in the parking lot.

“That’s it.” I said to Will. He had followed
me out slinging the backpack on. “Let’s head over there.”

“Why?”

“Just follow my lead.”

I was in control, and it felt good. I stuck
my sunglasses in my pocket and took off the cap. I toss my head
around making my hair fly all over the place. I wrapped Will’s arm
around me as I buried my face in his side. I had to think of
something that would make me cry real tears. I didn’t have to try
too hard. Remembering Will, beaten and bloodied lying on the
ground, was enough to get the tears to flow.

We walked towards the white Colonial house
with black shutters. On the porch stood an old woman, probably
seventy or eighty years old, sweeping. I cried harder as I clutched
Will’s shirt for support. He leaned over and kissed my head.

“Oh dear, what is this?” The old lady said,
leaving the broom behind and meeting us in the middle of the porch
steps. I sniffled and wiped my eyes.

“We...we just got married,” I said on a sob.
Will’s body stiffened next to me.

“Oh, child, that’s no reason to cry. That’s
wonderful,” she cooed. I think she would have sat me on her lap if
she could have.

“Well, it would be if my parents weren’t so
mad! They don’t understand that we’re in love.” I let the tears
pour harder. Will patted my arm, finally putting in his two
cents.

“Yeah, we just got in the car and drove. We
ended up here.”

“You need to come in right now.”

She put her arm around me and led us into the
very quaint house. It smelled of cooked apples, and the living room
was decorated with antiques. Everything was dark, solid wood
pieces. The picture frames on the wall were thick and gold. We sat
down on the Victorian-looking sofa.

“I’m going to make you some tea.” The old
lady hurried to the kitchen.

“Now what?” Will asked me. She came back
quickly.

“It just so happens I had some water boiling
for tea before you came.” On a silver tray, she had cups, napkins,
and apple pie. Will’s face lit up.

“That smells delicious,” he commented, almost
salivating on the carpet.

She passed out cups filled with amber-colored
liquid, then generous slices of pie.

“Here you go, honey. I’m Ann. My husband is
James. He’s out at the store this morning.” Her voice carried a
loving and helpful connotation that women of her wise years seem to
have.

“I’m Jared and this is...” he paused, “my
wife...Jane.”

Jane? How did I get stuck with Jane? Why
couldn’t I have a more exotic name?
Will gave my querulous face
a
go-with-it
look. It seemed time to start the water works
again, so I crumpled myself up and wept. Ann approached me and
rubbed my shoulders.

“It can’t be that bad. Your parents would
want you to be happy.” Her voice was sweet and caring as she
attempted to calm me.

“I think that Jane just needed some time.
Some time with no one to bother us...time to think. We need to
strategize the best way to talk to her parents. Everyone needs a
time out,” Will commented as he wolfed down his pie.

“I think you are right, young man,” Ann
agreed, then looked at me. “He has a good head on his shoulders.
Let me give you a tour, and I have a lovely room right upstairs you
can stay in...perfect for time out.”

She took my hand and escorted us, showing us
around. The house was truly amazing. It had been taken care of
lovingly.

Besides the kitchen and living room, a formal
dining room (with a table that could comfortably seat ten people)
graced the front room of the house. Outside the back door was
another porch, screened in to keep the mosquitoes away. The
furniture was dark wicker with big fluffy cushions and pillows in
jewel tones of lipstick-red and Barney-purple.

Upstairs, Ann opened the door to a beautiful
cream-colored room – walls, bedspread, and decorations all in a
warm off-white. All of the furniture looked like walnut, and there
was a large fireplace across from the four-poster bed.

“Don’t you worry about a thing. If anyone
comes, I’m telling them no one is here. Dinner is at six. Try and
rest.”

As soon as she closed the door, we both let
our breaths out.

“You have money to pay her tomorrow, right?”
I asked, concerned about this little ruse.

“Yeah, I’ve got a couple of hundred.” He
walked to the window and moved the lace curtain aside to look out.
I went to the en suite bathroom. “At least, if anyone comes to town
looking for us, Ann will lie and say no one is here,” Will remarked
through the bathroom door.

I came out of the bathroom to find Will
unwrapping the rifle, leaning it against the bed. He kicked off his
shoes and lay down.

“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked.

“Taking a nap. Might as well, while we wait.
I’m exhausted.” He tossed and punched the lacy pillows until he was
comfortable on the bed. “You should too. I want to get out of here
as soon as Derek comes.”

“You’re not going to
try
anything are
you?” I questioned as I sat down on the other side of the bed.

“
Try
. It wouldn’t be trying. We’re
married, remember. It’s implied,” he laughed maniacally, making a
piss-poor joke at the situation.

“Oh, you’re funny,
Jared
.” I flushed
and snapped as I remembered how we spent last evening. I attempted
to get under the covers, yanking and tugging, but Will lay on top
of them. I pulled on them some more just to aggravate him.

“Wife, are you saying you would like me to
get off the covers?” Will asked sarcastically.

I yanked the fabric-softener-fresh covers one
last time, and Will rocked, almost falling off the bed, but
catching himself.

Derek:

“
Shit!” Derek huffs under his breath.

Derek has been watching Brian and Mouse staking out
Joy’s apartment building. They are sitting outside on the stoop
across the street observing. Dusk has settled across the sky and
Jen, Joy’s friend, is walking home. Her enormous pocketbook is
slung over her shoulder, and her steps are quick.

Mouse is playing with a stick as he stares at her
with his twitchy eye. That damn eye always freaks Derek out. Mouse
is weirder than the rest.

Derek stays in the alcove of the building next door.
Joy is gone and has been gone. They must know that.

What are those assholes doing?

Derek’s FBI-issued cell phone pings with a message.
An email icon appears. Derek taps it open.

With V1, need U, T 4 15/60 MLT

“
Double shit!” Will is in trouble.

I woke up when I heard a light rapping on the
door. Will had snuggled up against my back.

I whisper, “Will? Will, someone is at the
door.”

He groaned. I forgot about Mr. Cranky-pants.
I slipped out from under the covers and cracked the door open to
see Ann standing there.

“It’s 5:45. Dinner is in fifteen
minutes.”

“Okay, thanks.” I shut the door quietly,
bracing one hand on the door and the other on the knob. I walked
back to the bed to wake Will. “It’s time for supper.” Will groaned
again. I pinched his arm. “Get up,” I ordered.

Without moving or opening his eyes, he
grumbled, “Five more minutes.” He burrowed into the covers and
added, “Five more minutes with you.” He patted the empty space next
to him.

I’d be lying if I said that waking up with
Will next me was horrible. It wasn’t. It was really nice. The cozy,
warmth of it made me want to do just that; snuggle up next to him,
but my stomach had other ideas.

I finally talked Will out of bed, and we
walked down the stairs to the clatter of plates and silverware
being shuffled around. We made our way into the dining room to a
table set for two. Lit candles were placed in the center of the
table. Cloth napkins were folded like little hats in the middle of
our plates. The chandelier above the table cast a soft glow. Ann
stood by the door to the kitchen smiling.

Oh my!
This woman went to all this
trouble. I doubt she did all this
fluff
for every boarder
that stayed the night. I turned to Will, and his face showed the
same emotion that I felt...
guilt!

An older man appeared behind Ann and
affectionately rubbed her arms. I took a shot in the dark, guessing
that he was her husband, James.

Will moved first, reaching for one of the
chairs at the table and pulling it out. He motioned for me to sit.
As he pushed the chair in for me, he spoke over his shoulder to
Ann.

“Thank you. This is very nice. Everything
looks beautiful.”