4
Twenty-One Days
CHAPTER 9
DAY 2: Pop Go the Beds!
"
Tara wasn't sure what she expected from the cabin, but the word "cabin" always made her think of a log cabin like the ones she'd seen in pioneer movies and not like the huge fancy log cabins featured on TV shows about log cabins. This cabin was just a small house in the mountains. The kitchen and living area occupied half of the house. Two large French doors opened into a large room with a single queen sized bed in it and a bathroom. A folding screen was open and there were four bedspreads and blankets on the floor.
"Son of a bitch," Jax said. "I told the guys to be careful with their knives."
"I don't understand."
"These were blow up beds. They must have leaks because they are on the floor now."
"I wonder what was happening there. I thought it was some kind of sleeping pallet."
"No, blow up beds. The queen sized bed is also a blow up bed, but it's held it's air perfectly."
"Can you patch the beds?"
"If I can find the patch kit, but I don't know if the kit is even here. It would take at least two hours to drive to a store to buy another bed and return. We can do that tomorrow if we're not snowed in. There isn't a couch and sleeping on the floor in the winter is cold and uncomfortable. We'll just have to share for a night."
Tara looked at the living room and that was when she noticed that even sleeping in a chair wasn't an option. The chairs were just straight back dining room chairs.
"What?" Jax asked impatiently.
"Are you sure there isn't a better option?"
"Look, we're adults. We can share a bed. Nothing's going to happen. Let's finish bringing in the groceries."
"OK," Tara said.
She wasn't thrilled about the sleeping situation, but it would be fine for a night or two. She'd always thought TV shows where a man and a woman are forced to share a bed and then one of them volunteers to sleep on the floor were stupid. Adults are idiots if they think they can't share a bed. What do they think—that sharing a bed is dangerous? Their passion is too strong to share a bed? That was silly. Most people sleep in beds together without having sex; it's generally referred to as marriage.
Tara played the role of a traditional woman and put away the groceries.
"How did you know how to calm me down in the market?"
"I've dealt with a few prospects. You had the same look on your face. Generally, I'd slap or punch them to grab their attention then I'd help them with their breathing. That usually calmed them down."
"Did they get patched in?"
"Hell no. You can't depend on a guy in a tight situation, he's no good."
"Thanks for not punching or slapping me."
"It's kind of looked down on in public," Jax said with a ghost of a smile.
"Thanks for being kinder to me."
"We have a TV and an old DVD and VCR player, so we can watch stuff, but there's no cable. Also no Wi-Fi, no land line and no cell service. You have to walk down the road a couple of hundred yards before you can get a signal."
"Off the grid," Tara said. "Jax, I do appreciate you letting me stay here. I should have been more grateful."
"No need to grovel," he said, brushing aside her gratitude. "I need to make a couple of calls."
"OK. I'm going to start the chicken fried steak. The coating needs to sit on the meat to harden a bit. It can stay in the fridge for a couple of hours."
He nodded and left the cabin and walked down the road. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a cell phone.
"What's going on?" Jax asked.
"Not much," Clay said. "We've got the schedule for the patrols. We're hiring some extra guys by bringing in other charters. They're glad to have the work. Some of the local businesses want us to patrol their stores and they are willing to pay extra."
"Nothing like profiting from a spree killing group of murderous psychos," Jax said.
"The town knows the reaper takes care of Charming."
Jax's lips twisted into a bitter smile.
"Yeah, we do. How did Gemma take the news about everything?"
Clay chuckled.
"You owe me big, son. She was all for coming to the cabin to make sure nothing happened with you and the old squeeze."
"Tell her we're going to run off and get married."
"You want to give your mother a heart attack?"
"It would make life simpler. By the way, whoever used the cabin last put holes in the beds. They are all flat. The only bed that isn't deflated is the queen sized bed."
"I had Steve the caretaker flatten the beds before you got there," Clay said. "You're welcome."
"Real funny," Jax grumbled. "I'll call you tomorrow."
Jax put the phone back into his cut, got his other phone out and quickly made a call.
"Are you up at the cabin?"
"Yeah, we just got here."
"We tried to delay the official identification, but Hale is doing a press conference in less than an hour and he'll ID you and Tara. Once those damned traffic cam pictures got out, our hands were tied. Too many people had access to the cameras for us to be able to keep it quiet."
"Making any progress on figuring out how they are all linked?"
"No. There may not be a common link. It could be one gets into the STDs and then they recruit someone. If that's what happened, maybe someone they tried to recruit and failed will come forward. If arrests aren't made soon, this is going to be worse than the Night Stalker. What did you do with your gun?"
"Got rid of it."
"Where?"
"Nice try, Wendy. I'll call you tomorrow."
Jax ended the call and returned to the cabin.
