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  "As good as flying coach can be I suppose. Wanna go get my suitcase and get out of here?"

  "Sure thing," I said, and then followed her to the baggage claim.

  She was there. There was nothing that could stop me now.

  I made almost as good time on the trip back, and if it hadn’t been for a small detour caused by ill-timed road construction, it may have been just the same. Thursdays were apparently light traffic days in Oklahoma.

  Jenna and I chatted the whole way, her doing most of the talking. At first I think she was a little nervous, and she had used constant blabber to fill any potential awkward silence. But as the conversations grew, and as I started to contribute, the nervousness went away and the woman sitting next to me in the car was the same woman I has spent many long nights on the phone with. And one drunken night in New York City. If the road trip had been under different circumstances, it might have been a good time. Just two old friends catching up. But we all know the circumstances were far from ordinary.

  We got back to Larendale--which our route back took us directly into--a little after four and got Jenna checked into her hotel. Not the Holiday Inn, in case you were wondering. I wasn’t going to risk showing my face in there again, that’s for sure.

  I was polite, and carried Jenna’s suitcase up to her room, which was on the second floor. I sat patiently on the edge of the hotel bed--much like I had done when we first met in New York--and waited while she used the rest room and "freshened up." She came back and asked, "So now what, big man?"

  Big man?

  Being only slightly after four in the afternoon, Big Man or not I didn’t know what to do next. I had planned on dinner a little later, giving Ralph and Minnie time to get their butts to Ramones, and then I’d take Jenna back the house and get down to business. I had a couple hours to kill that I for some reason overlooked in my planning--perhaps due to over focusing on what would take place later--and was at a loss.

  Jenna plopped down on the bed next to me, causing it to make a creaking sound mixed with rusty springs constricting. She was too close and I didn’t like it. I got up and walked over to the window, taking in the not so impressive view of a shopping center across the street.

  "Well?" she said behind me.

  "Well," I answered back, scratching the back of my head, thinking. "I thought I’d take you to dinner at The Sawmill, you know the place I told you about were Ralph tries to kill himself every week?"

  She laughed and the bed creaked again. "Well that sounds good. You said the food was good, didn’t you?"

  "Oh yeah, it’s really good. Not the healthiest, but good. I don’t know what to do until then, though. It’s a little too early for dinner." I was going to say that I could take her for a drive around Larendale, show her around, but there really wasn’t much to see. Jenna thought of her own idea, however.

  "Why don’t you take me to this place you’re staying. I kinda want to meet the people who were gracious enough to give Dan Dawkins a bed to sleep in and a roof over his head. From what you told me they’re pretty interesting folk. And maybe while we’re there you can show me some of this book you’ve been working on." She stood up and stretched, her back cracking and sounding like it was trying to imitate the bed creaking.

  I played in it through in my head and saw no real reason that going to visit Ralph and Minnie would cause any problems. Since they had dinner reservations I doubted Agent Collins would be there, so it seemed like a decent idea. They had wanted to meet Jenna anyway. What was the harm?

  I agreed and Jenna and I left the hotel and started towards The Sanderson Homestead.

  Chapter 47

  Compared to the multiple hour drive we had just endured returning from the airport, the twenty miles to Jacob’s Bluff went by in a flash. We entered town on the far side and as we were headed down Main St, Jenna said, "Oh my God, people actually live here?"

  I laughed. "It’s definitely a lifestyle adjustment. I thought where I’m from was bad, but this place takes the cake. Doesn’t it kind of remind you of The Andy Griffith Show.

  "Yes!" she exclaimed, laughing hard. "Damn, it does! Where’s Barney?"

  "I see him at the gym sometimes." We both laughed and made wisecracks about the town until we pulled into Ralph and Minnie’s driveway. It was a quarter till five.

  I parked next to Ralph, the black Crown Vic nowhere to be seen, which was good, and led Jenna around to the front porch steps.

  She turned around and looked back down the hill, out to the fields and the distant tops of the buildings downtown. Dusk was settling in and the view really was somewhat serene. "Wow, it’s pretty peaceful up here. No wonder you stuck around." She turned back to the steps. "And what a charming little house!"

  We walked up the steps and I stopped at the front door and grabbed her arm, not squeezing as hard as I wanted to, and turned her to face me. "Before we go in there, there’s two things I want you to know. First: These people have no idea who I am."

  She cocked her head sideways like a dog, clearly confused. "What do you mean?"

  "They know my name--my real name--but they have no idea I’m a writer--a semi-famous one at that. I guess living out here in no-man’s land is the cause of that, but I’d like to keep it that way."

  She didn’t seem phased by the news, which was good. She actually smiled, like she enjoyed the secret game we’d be playing. "So what do they think you do?"

  "I told them I was a consultant. Simple enough, right?"

  She nodded.

  "Second: Our history is that we used to work together and that we are good friends. So, remember, you’re an ex-co-worker, not my agent. We used to be close friends, but nothing more, if you catch my drift. Got it?"

  A second, slower nod. Her face turned towards serious.

  "Good." I said grinning. "They’re really nice people, and I know they’ll love you."

  She perked up again then. "Who doesn’t love me, Dan?" she said, giving me a light two-slap on the cheek.

  I didn’t answer. I wanted to punch her. I opened the door and led her inside.

  We had stood outside long enough in the chilly air that the warm house was welcomed. The smell of something baking in the kitchen added to the pleasantness and I followed my nose, Jenna in tow, to the kitchen.

  Minnie had her back turned to us, wiping off a counter, and Ralph was sitting at the table reading a newspaper.

  "Wow, something smells great!" Jenna said. Minnie spun around, a little cloud of flour puffing up from the dishtowel she held in her hand. Ralph’s neck jerked to the left, and when he saw us he jumped up from the table, looking as cheerful as ever and extended out one of his hands. The tips of his fingers gray from the ink on the paper.

  "Good golly, Dan. Never heard ya’s come in! Who’s this you got with you?"

  Jenna shook his hand. "Hi, I’m Jenna. You must be Ralph?"

  "That’s me! Ralph Sanderson. Welcome to town, it’s good to know Danny Boy has some friends out there."

  Jenna looked to me. "Danny Boy, huh?"

  "It’s a household name," I said, rolling my eyes. She giggled.

  Minnie had abandoned the dishtowel in the sink, and came over to us wearing an apron that had clearly just been worn in battle against some sort of baked good. Which judging from the aroma in the house, was currently in the oven. She must have been working hard on whatever it was because her hair was damp with sweat and she seemed to be a bit out of breath when she reached us.

  "Oh my goodness it’s so nice to meet one of Dan’s friends," she said, sticking out one of her own plump hands. "And my, you’re beautiful!"

  I rolled my eyes again. It felt just like introducing a girlfriend to my parents. Or my Grandparents, rather.

  Jenna blushed. "Well thank you so much. You’re Minnie, right?

  "Minerva’s my given name, but nobody’s called me that since my mother, God rest her soul. But yes, I’m Minnie. Welcome."

  "I just love your house," Jenna said. "I don’t see many a
reas like this where I live. It’s so quiet and peaceful."

  "Thank you," Minnie said. "We love it. Wouldn’t move anywhere else for a million dollars."

  "Speak for yourself, dear," Ralph grunted. We all laughed together, and with the introductions thankfully out of the way, Jenna and I joined Ralph at the table, chit-chatting while Minnie finished cleaning up the kitchen.

  Ralph and Minnie were very pleased to have company it seemed, and I didn’t deny them the chance to enjoy it and entertain. Minnie served both Jenna and I tea, and then joined us at the table. Ralph decided to fill Jenna in on the history of Jacob’s Bluff, something he had never shared with me, although it wasn’t very interesting. Jenna was the perfect guest, nodding and staying completely engrossed in Ralph’s speech. Even asking questions! And I gave her credit for that. At some point during the next hour an egg-timer dinged and Minnie rose up and went to the oven. A minute later the smells that had greeted us in the house upon our entrance were intensified full-fold as she pulled a steaming hot apple pie from the oven and set it to cool on the stove-top.

  The three of us--Jenna, Ralph and I--stared at the golden mound of deliciousness in front of us, probably drooling a little, and Minnie stood to the side smiling proud. "It’ll be too hot to eat for a while now. So don’t even think about trying t’sneak a slice."

  For effect, we all voiced our displeasure and put on our second-grader whiny faces. Minnie laughed. "It’s for dessert. We can all have a piece after dinner. Which, by the way, reminds me. Ralph, we need to start getting ready. Dan went through all this trouble so I won’t stand for being late."

  It was barely six o’clock and I couldn’t imagine what would happen to cause the two of them to be late for a seven-thirty reservation, even if Ralph drove ten miles under the speed limit. But still, Ralph nodded in agreement and stood up from the table. "Jenna, it was very nice to meet you. Maybe we’ll see you around some more here. Perhaps for a slice of pie later tonight, if it's not too late."

  Jenna didn’t even look at me for approval, "Sounds great," she said. "It sure does smell good, I bet it tastes even better."

  I’d hate to break it to them all that I very much doubted Jenna would be available for dessert. So I didn’t.

  "It was my grandmother’s recipe," Minnie said. "I know she appreciates you saying so." She took one of Jenna’s hands and patted it. "Don’t be a stranger." And then her and Ralph left and went up the stairs to their bedroom.

  They had barely cleared the top step from the sound of it before Jenna blurted out, "Ok, where’s your manuscript? I’m dying to see it. I didn’t think Ralph would ever stop talking."

  "Yeah, sorry about that. Once he gets going…"

  "So where is it?" She looked at her watch. "We’ve still got some time before we’re going to eat, cough it up. I can try and read the first few chapters, presuming you can find something to occupy yourself."

  I debated on whether or not I should let her read it, and once again decided there would be no harm. And there wouldn’t have been, if I hadn’t of been a forgetful ass.

  "Sure," I said. "My laptops in the car. Let me run out and grab it."

  Five minutes later Jenna was seated at the kitchen table becoming the first person to read the opening chapters of my Jackson novel. I told her she could read in the living room in one of the recliners but she said the kitchen smelled too good to leave. So I went to the living room myself, flipping on the TV and letting Jenna read in peace.

  The next thirty minutes seemed to tick by second by second in my head. The anticipation made me jittery, and my knee bobbed up and down rapidly as I sat in Ralph’s recliner. I was so close I could barely stand it. Nervousness was there too, sitting quietly in the corner of my mind, trying to be ignored, but still it was there. Excitement cast a blackened shadow over it.

  At a little after six-thirty I heard the bedroom door open upstairs, and then Ralph coming down the stairs. It was easy to tell he and Minnie’s footsteps apart--Ralph’s much faster. I got up from the chair to rejoin Jenna in the kitchen and Ralph and I made it to the doorway at the same time. Jenna, who was perched over the keyboard, reading intently, looked up slowly, and said, "Hey guys."

  "Whatcha got there?" Ralph asked, sliding by me and headed towards the sink.

  Jenna shot a glance to me, wide-eyed, but then managed to do what I had done my entire time in Jacob’s Bluff; give an answer that wasn’t really an answer. "Just some stuff Dan’s been working on. He asked me to go over it a little. I think he’s starting to miss work."

  I raised both my hands. "Hey now! I wouldn’t go that far. This extended vacation lifestyle is starting to grow on me."

  "It’s causing my bank account to grow right along with it," Ralph said, and just as we all started to share a laugh, the phone on the wall let out a shrill ring.

  I was closest, so I reached out and answered it. "Sanderson Residence."

  "Hi, Dan. It’s Agent Collins. Is Ralph around?" He sounded harried. I didn’t like it. Still, I stayed cool.

  "Sure, he’s right here."

  I held the phone out to Ralph, who had made his way around to my side of the table. "It’s Agent Collins."

  Jenna’s head perked up at the word "Agent." She gave me a quizzical look and I ignored it.

  "Hello?" Ralph said. "Oh, Hi Eddie."

  He listened for a minute and I held my breath. Finally he said, "Oh ok, sure, sure! They keys to that are in Herbie’s office, in the safe he keeps. Yep. The combination is…" He looked at us then, considered asking us to leave I think, but then realized that neither of us had much use for breaking into the Jacob’s Bluff Chief of Police’s office safe. "The combination is--you got a pen?--thirty-two, twelve, sixteen. And don’t ask me how I remember that." He listened some more. "Ok. Sounds good. See you tomorrow. Bye." Then he hung up. "Heck of a nice guy. And man! What a work horse. Reminds me of myself, younger."

  Jenna’s curiosity hadn’t dissipated, and she asked a very unfortunate question. "Whose Agent Collins?"

  "Oh," Ralph said. "FBI. He’s in town helping us out for a while. God knows we need him."

  "Whoa, FBI," Jenna said, I think trying to make a joke. "Big guns for a little town like this. What’s he working on?" And then another joke, "Or do you have to kill me if you tell me?"

  Ralph didn’t smile. He turned to me. "Dan, you didn’t tell her?"

  "Why would I?" I asked truthfully. "It’s not exactly the kind of pleasant news I’d rush out and tell everyone."

  The truth was I wanted Jenna to know as little about the murders as possible. In my eyes she was still a slutbag, but I’ll be damned if she wasn’t a smart slutbag.

  "Tell me what?" Jenna said, standing up.

  Ralph sighed, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore than he had to. "Jenna, as it turns out, Special Agent Collins is here helping our Police Force investigate the first two murder’s this area has seen in a good many years."

  Perhaps because of her hometown being in New Jersey, and her office in New York City, Jenna did not seem as hammered with the news as I think Ralph felt she should have been. When she heard FBI I think she was expecting something on a much grander scale than two murders. Perhaps an international drug trafficking scandal. Or maybe child prostitution.

  So instead of shelling out a flood of stunned "Oh my God’s" and "Wow that’s awful," she looked at Ralph and said, "Well, I hope you all catch the SOB."

  "We’re doing our best," Ralph answered. "Which right now doesn’t seem to be quite good enough."

  "You’ll get him." She said. And then to me, "Geez, Dan. Talk about you picking the perfect time to vacation in Jacob’s Bluff."

  Minnie came through the doorway, picking up on the end of our conversation. She looked nice, wearing a dress that must have been twenty years old, but maybe only worn a handful of times, a silky shawl was over he shoulders. I could smell her perfume and it was too strong. "Well we’re certainly glad he visited when he did, he’s been more help than w
e could have ever hoped for." She walked over to me and stood on her toes, giving me a kiss on the cheek. I was suddenly feeling very claustrophobic, like the kitchen was closing in around me. The room was growing uncomfortable and I needed to get out of there immediately. I commenced to exit.

  "Well, Ralph, Minnie, you two enjoy your dinner. I think we’re going to head off and eat now too."

  "Oh we’ll definitely enjoy ours. Thanks so much, Dan," Minnie said.

  "We’re going to The Sawmill, Ralph. Dan says you’ve got a famous burger over there." Jenna stood by me in the kitchen doorway, ready to leave as well.

  "Best burger on the planet," Ralph said, smoothly. His eyes met mine and I smiled with a wave goodbye.

  Chapter 48

  Dinner was delicious. Ralph’s famous Cholesterol Burger always left me stuffed and happy. Thinking back I realize I probably couldn’t have asked for a better last meal as a free man, except maybe my mom’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Jenna ate one, too, Ralph’s burger satisfying yet another. But it wasn’t her food consumption I cared about. It was the alcohol. We were sitting at one of the booths by the windows, so we had a regular waitress, but Chuck was working the bar that night and he kept the drinks coming at a considerable discount. We didn’t have wine that night at The Sawmill like we had during our dinner in NYC, but I was counting on the effect being the same. One of was would get drunk enough to make a stupid decision. And it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me again.

  I talked and laughed and flirted the entire meal, all the while making sure Jenna downed all her vodka cranberries and Long Island Iced Teas like a good girl being told to swallow all her medicine. I was using her own game against her.

  When I felt like Jenna had had enough--her sudden inability to stop giggling being the red flag--Jackson agreed, apparently growing impatient.

  Enough bullshitting. Let’s go. Now.

  I paid the bill and slipped the waitress a fifty, telling her to make sure it ended up in Chuck’s hands. Then I helped Jenna out of the restaurant, waving to Chuck as we left, and supported her as she staggered and wobbled to my Jeep, which was parked on the corner.