"In the future Robbie, I would prefer it if you never built another canoe."

"Yeah, we don't seem to have much luck with them." Robbie was already trying to cover Laura up and they weren't even out of the water yet. "What are we going to do?"

"Sheriff Wilder should come looking for us when we don't show up at the border crossing." She started to shiver in the cold water. "Sorry Robbie, it was my idea to store our clothes in the canoe."

"No, it's my fault for not securing it properly." He could feel her shaking. "C'mon, you need to get out of this cold water and warm up in the sun. I'll find something to cover you up, or I'll do it myself."

As they walked out of the water Robbie surveyed the shore line. He saw some trees with leaf filled branches. "Can you wait a minute while I try and get some of these Maple tree branches. Are you too cold?"

Laura was half out of the water. "I'm okay for now, no sign of hypothermia. Those Maple trees have thick branches, perhaps you should try an Oak tree."

Robbie found it wasn't that easy to pull branches off trees but finally managed to combine a few small Oak branches into a cover. He and Laura leaned against a tree and covered their fronts with the leaves.

Robbie kept adjusting the leaves around Laura. "I suppose Sheriff Wilder has seen just about everything policing this area. It will be okay, him finding us."

Laura was finding the leaves were not very comfortable. "Yes, better him than someone else."

"Afternoon."

Earlier in the day, Fred had some fun giving Robbie questionable directions, then he got on his tractor to ted his hay. After two hours in the hot sun with his hay loosened up and starting to dry, he decided to drive a four wheeler across the short cut to visit his friend Armand and go fishing at their favorite spot, just upstream from Eden Falls. In addition to some very nice trout, when they moved closer to the falls, they also caught an inspector and a doctor.

Clad in the loaned fishing vests from the generously sized farmers, Robbie and Laura had some explaining to do when Jessie Wilder came to find them.

Back at the Wilder home, they again sat around the kitchen table discussing a new plan to get to the border. Armand's son's kayak was rejected in favor of Fred's small pontoon boot. The farmer was sent home to fetch it. Jessie Wilder's radio alerted him to an update about the escaped prisoners. As he listened to the local dispatcher on the police radio there was a knock at the door and he admitted Cpl. Jennifer Galloway. They spoke quietly on the front porch.

"Jesse, there's evidence that they broke into a hunting camp near here and found food, whiskey, and guns." After a few minutes Cpl. Galloway left to assist in the manhunt. Well, it wasn't just a manhunt.

Back inside the Sheriff reentered the kitchen. "All plans are off right now. The border is completely sealed. Every inch is going to be covered by a line of law enforcement including men, women, and dogs."

Robbie forgot about their quest and his copper's mind quickly shifted to the present emergency. "Are they dangerous?"

Yes. Harrie Gamlaw is a serial killer and master of manipulation. Sarah Loubon is in for attempted murder and she formed a relationship with Harrie while in prison."

Robbie was puzzled. "They put men and women together?"

"No, separate blocks but they both appeared to be model prisoners and earned extra privileges. I suspect some of the guards were bamboozled by Gamlaw, and Loubon, well she has very influential powers. It appears they have been allowed to meet privately every night for months, supposedly for sex. In reality they've been digging a tunnel together, one that led out of the prison and into the town's sewer system. The art therapist has been smuggling tools in for them with the paints and canvases. They exited to freedom through a manhole cover."

Laura was used to hearing police officers discuss the activity of criminals but she had never heard anything like this before. "It sounds more like a movie than real life."

Jesse Wilder frowned. "Real life is stranger then the movies. Those college graduates with their fancy degrees and psycho mumbo jumbo don't know the first thing about the criminal mind. Never trust someone who has committed murder and never let anyone get close enough to them in prison to form a relationship." He grabbed his hat off the table and bent down to kiss his wife. "I don't know when I'll be home. I don't know when any of us will be home."

Cherie Wilder watched her husband go out the door and under her breath whispered, "Be careful, Jesse."


Back in Oxford DS Lizzie Maddox was following the news of the North American prison escapees. DI Hathaway was tying up some loose ends with the RCMP. They had decided to confide in each other about their unauthorized overtime activities once they were sure.


Cherie Wilder never used to be so nervous when her husband was on a potentially dangerous mission. Now that he was nearing retirement she had a recurring dream that he would be killed in the line of duty, just days before he handed in his badge. To keep busy she insisted on making dinner for Robbie and Laura. She cleaned and then fried the trout left by Fred and Armand while Laura helped by making a salad with vegetables from the garden.

Over their early dinner, they told Cherie all about Laura's identity problem and how it was preventing them from marrying in Gretna Green. It took her mind off of Jesse for awhile.

Aware that her guests were exhausted from the day's events, Cherie Wilder got them set up in the guest room. She stayed awake most of the night sitting in a rocking chair, knitting, keeping her hands busy and trying not to let her mind wander into darkness. It didn't help that the heat wave was broken by a heavy thunderstorm. The rain and lightening would make the search for the escapees even more difficult and dangerous.

The next morning the storm was over. Robbie and Laura woke to find they had the house to themselves and a note from Cherie Wilder. She had left at dawn to organize coffee and breakfast for the law enforcement officers searching for the escaped inmates. They were to help themselves in the kitchen, coffee was keeping warm in the pot on the counter, bacon was in the refrigerator and the eggs were in the chicken coop.

Laura said she would start cooking the bacon if Robbie would go and collect some eggs. She handed him a basket. Robbie followed the sound of a rooster to the small outbuilding. He was relieved to find that he did not have to stick his hand under the chickens to get the eggs. The chickens were milling about the pen, some of them pushing open a small flap to enter the outdoor enclosure. He found eggs in 6 of the 8 nest boxes and brought them in to Laura.

After they ate and cleaned up the kitchen, they decided to go back to the center of town where the day before they saw a sign that said General Store. They bought some Darn Tough socks for Jack, clothes to replace what they lost in the canoe, and had some maple syrup shipped home. A refrigerated truck came to the store to deliver pints of the locally made and world famous ice cream. Robbie and Laura made arrangements for ice cream to be provided in the afternoon to the officers involved in the search. They bought a few pints to bring back to the home of Jesse and Cherie Wilder.

They found a few chores to do in the chicken coop and the garden, then sat down on the bank of the Eden River. A cold front followed last night's storm and moved in the area, dropping the air temperature 20 degrees lower than the day before. As they watched the river flow towards Canada they knew they would have to decide on their next move, maybe go to Boston after all. Their thoughts were interrupted by a woman's voice calling out, "Anyone home?"

They climbed up the hill to meet a woman dismounting from a bicycle and unpacking bags from the basket on the back. Her name was Harriet and she lived in the house down the road apiece.

"Cherie is going to be sick with worry about Jesse so I brought her some comfort food. I saw your car and figured someone was here." Robbie helped her carry in some food containers. "I made Shepherd's Pie and baked some fresh rolls." She lifted up a large jar. "This here is my homemade applesauce."

They thanked her and said they would make sure that Cherie ate when she got home. Harriet got back on her bike and rode away.

Cherie arrived home shortly after that and they did convince her to eat the comfort food, topped off with some ice cream. In between spoonfuls of Peanut Buttah, Cherie told them what little she could about the search and how the authorities were keeping a lid on the details, not wanting the escapees to learn anything helpful from news reports. The conversation drifted to Robbie and Laura's situation and how they did not want to do anything to get in the way and hinder the search.

Robbie voiced his uncertainty, "What should we do now?"

Cherie Wilder smiled. "Tonight Inspector Lewis and Dr. Hobson, we go to the opera."

Robbie and Laura stared at her.

Before she could explain the phone rang and Cherie quickly answered hoping it wasn't bad news about Jesse. Robbie and Laura couldn't help but listen to her side of the conversation. "I'm so sorry. Thanks Jake, I'll tell Jessie, and them." She nodded towards her guests.

"That was Jake, Jessie's cousin." She fought back tears. "Bev passed away last night. Thomas was holding her hand at the end." They had a moment of silence for Beverly Wilder. Cherie slowly raised her head. "Jake reminded me that they never caught the bastard driver that killed Emma and now Bev."

While Robbie and Laura cleaned up the kitchen Cherie called the box office of the local theatre. "I got us tickets to see the Fairy Queen tonight." Seeing their stunned expressions she said, "It's an opera. I thought you Brits went to the opera all the time."

Robbie smiled. "Oh we've heard of it. We just never got the chance to see it."

Laura looked down at her American jeans. "I'm afraid we don't have any proper clothes to wear to the opera."

"Oh you can go as you are here. We're not much for dressing up." She gave them both a onceover. "You'll attract less attention this way." She laughed. "And try not to talk much with those funny accents of yours." Seeing that they had no clue what she had in mind for them at the opera she told them, "I'll explain on the way."


A/N: Sorry for the delay. I hadn't meant to leave them in the water so long. I've been dealing with some unpleasant issues with my account over which the only recommended solution was to delete it. I decided to continue on with my story anyway. Thanks for your patience and continuing to read.