Susan Reece’s hand trembled as she touched the large envelope the detective slid across the desk. Her mouth dried, making speech impossible. She dropped the envelope into her purse and stood on shaking legs.
“I cannot stress enough the importance of never using your or your daughter’s real names again. You wanted a remote location to live. Well, you’ve got one,” the detective said, taut lines framing his mouth. “We can only pray it’s enough to keep you safe. Here is a cell phone and the number to call when you arrive at your destination. We’ve transferred the phone into your new name, and it’s paid up for six months. You’ll have to find a job.” He stood and held out a hand. “Good luck, ma’am.”
She gave a quick shake of his hand and rushed from the room. Outside, she leaned against the wall and fought to control the tremble in her breath. What had she been thinking to leave a world that gave Kayla everything she needed and then some? Who leaves a life of luxury?
Still, Susan couldn’t live that lifestyle anymore. Anthony would never give up looking for them. He wouldn’t be pleased to lose his only child.
A semblance of control gained, she dashed to the parking garage and the Mercedes—a present she’d received after giving birth to Kayla. One more thing she’d have to leave behind. She stopped and listened for any sign she wasn’t alone in the garage at ten p.m. Two cars sat there, hers and the detective’s. She raced to the Mercedes and slid in, locking the door.
It took several tries for her fingers to grasp the key and start the engine. Time was of the essence. Not only did Susan need to pack what she could carry, but she needed to study the file in her purse. Her new identity. Her new home.
She parked behind the motel which had been home for the last few months and hurried into the tiny room she shared with her five-year-old daughter. “Thank you, Mrs. Johnson.”
The old woman sniffed and nodded. “I don’t approve of mothers running around at all hours of the night, leaving their children with virtual strangers.”
“I didn’t have a choice.” Susan pulled articles of clothing from the dresser and tossed them, unfolded, into suitcases. A bus would be leaving the nearby stop in thirty minutes.
When she’d packed what little they possessed, she gently woke Kayla. “Come on, sweetheart. Time for the next part of our adventure.”
“Are we going home now?”
“To a new home.” Susan forced a smile. “We’re going on a bus so we have to hurry.” She handed her daughter the stuffed bunny she never went anywhere without. It was too precious to leave behind.
With a suitcase in each hand, Susan guided Kayla out the door and to the bus stop. Her skin prickled. Any second she expected one of Anthony’s goons to pull up and order them into a car. The tension in her shoulders didn’t ease until the bus stopped and opened its doors.
While Kayla curled up in her seat, using the bunny as a pillow, Susan finally opened the envelope in her purse. Driver’s license, birth certificates, everything she need for a woman named Sharon Marshall and her daughter Karlie. They had a three-day journey to the small town of Misty Hollow, high in the Ozark Mountains. A credit card and a few hundred dollars in cash accompanied the important papers.
Susan sighed and stared out the window, tears streaming down her face. She’d done it. Left behind a corrupt lifestyle to start anew. It would work. It had to. She’d given up too much to fail now. The moment her head touched the seat back, her eyes closed.
When the bus stopped in Misty Hollow, Susan was more than ready to get off. The sign had stated the population to be 2300. “Stay close to me, Karlie. Remember, that is your name now. Can you do that for me?”
Karlie nodded, eyes wide. “There are a lot of trees, Mommy.”
“Yes, isn’t it wonderful?” Susan/Sharon felt like a fish flopping around. Being a city girl, she’d never been in a town this small or surrounded by so much green. The excitement bubbling up inside surprised her at being in a new place, starting a new life. Now to find someone who could take them to their new home. She pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and dialed the number. “This is Sharon Marshall.”
“We’ll have a local pick you up in less than ten minutes. Delete this number.” Click.
They stood in the shade of a large tree until a rusty Ford pulled in front of them. “You the Marshall lady who bought the old Rogers cabin?” A grizzled man with a long beard peered at them through the driver side window.
Was she? “Yes?”
“Is that a question or an answer?”
“An answer?” She set the suitcases in the truck bed and helped Karlie climb into the cab. “How far away from town are we?”
“From here? About half an hour. From a town big enough to give you a taste of city life, you’d have to drive forty-five minutes in the other direction.”
Her eyes widened. The detective hadn’t been kidding when he told her she’d be living in a remote location.
Half an hour up the mountain, they pulled in front of a rustic cabin. A porch extended along the front of it. A truck that appeared to be in better shape than the one they rode in sat out front. At least they’d have some mode of transportation.
“It’s a good place. Roof don’t leak. Well water is fresh and clear. A garden plot already hoed out back with seeds planted. Old man Rogers had everything ready before keeling over. Good luck.”
“Thank you.” Susan retrieved their suitcases and headed for the house.
Obviously locking the door wasn’t a common occurrence since the key was in the lock of the front door. “This is our new home, Karlie.” She pushed open the door and stepped into a clean, comfortably furnished two-bedroom house.
- Publisher : Winged Publications
- Publication date : August 2, 2020
- Language : English
- Print length : 241 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1952661153
- ISBN-13 : 978-1952661150