Chapter 24

He took the letter from my hand and leaned into me to kiss me on my cheek before getting in his car and driving away. I walked with Jenna to her Jeep, and then got into the passenger seat. Both of us were quiet as Jenna drove. I was constantly watching the side mirror in case we were being followed. My biggest fear, apart from disappointing Ranger, was that Owen or Jenna would get caught up in my mess and get hurt.

"Where do you want me to take you Steph?"

I looked over to Jenna realizing I hadn't really thought that through. I needed time to think, to decide what to do.

"I suppose somewhere north of the city"
"You're not sure are you?"

"No, I need to lay low, somewhere quiet where no one can find me"
"You know I think I might know somewhere"
I looked over to Jenna wondering what she was thinking and how she could possibly know of somewhere I could hide out.

"Where?"

"Tokeneke"
"I have no idea where that is"

"Not many people do. A friend I went to college with manages a center there. I can tell her you're having problems with your ex, you know stalker issues"

Maybe that would be a good place to stay until I could figure out what to do next. I had to keep a low profile and no one would ever think to look there.

"Okay, as long as you're sure"
"I'm sure. So what name do you want to use?"
"How about Laura, I don't know anyone by that name"
"Okay Laura, let me call Mandy"

I listened as Jenna placed an earbud in her phone and proceeded to call her friend Mandy. Only hearing one side of the conversation didn't give me much to go on, but I could somehow tell from what Jenna said that her plan was about to happen.

"Okay, she's going to meet us"

"Jenna, thank you for doing this for me"
"I wanted to help Steph. You give a lot of yourself to other people it's about time we started giving back to you"

"Jenna just make sure no one knows where I am, don't tell anyone, not even Owen. That way no one will get hurt"

"I know how serious this is Steph. My lips are sealed, but when this over you have got to let Owen do the story"

I laughed at that and nodded my head, for some reason I was already feeling that maybe I could survive this. I was aware that we were driving along route 95 and watched as Jenna pulled into a rest area. I wasn't sure of what she was doing but noticed that a truck was pulling in next to us.

"That's your ride Steph. You take care, you know where I am if you need any help"

Without any more words spoken we gave each other a hug and I opened the jeep door. The truck door opened as I approached but I waited and watched as Jenna drove away. As I climbed into the cab, I was surprised by the woman who was driving. She looked maybe younger than me with bright red hair in a halo around her head. A band was tied around her hairline as though trying to tame her hair, though it wasn't very successful. Her face was round and her skin had a rugged look to it. She wore no make up but that didn't detract from her eyes. You were drawn to look at them, which is what I was doing until she turned and looked at me. I looked away slightly embarrassed.

"Jenna said you're a good friend, so that makes you a friend of mine"

"I appreciate that Mandy"

"I don't need to know what's going on in your life, but she said you needed somewhere safe to stay. You'll enjoy it, maybe you can help with some of the groups"
I wasn't sure what she meant by that but knew I would have to do it if I was going to make my stay seem genuine.

I'd expected Mandy to be more chatty as she drove but seeing as we were driving along small roads and then along tracks I could see how she needed to concentrate on where we were going. I was surprised when the trees around us opened out into a large clearing and she stopped in front of a small cabin.

"Okay, I thought here might be the best place for you, away from the groups we get in, that way you'll be seen by fewer people"
"Thanks Mandy I appreciate that"
"Jenna said you had an ex that was stalking you?"
Now was the time to come up with a story, but I needed to keep it vague or at least say something that I wouldn't get wrong at a later date. I thought about what Morelli could have done and saw that as a perfect story to tell.

"Yeah, he tried to drug me and force me to marry him"
"That's a bit extreme isn't it?"
"That's why I needed to get away. I don't want to marry him so Jenna suggested I came here"
"Couldn't you go to the police?"
"He's a police officer so who would believe me. I needed somewhere out of the way because I'm sure he'll get the cops looking for me"
"Girl I hate cops, so you're safe here. They don't bother us, we're too far off the beaten track"
I was relieved to hear Mandy say that and felt that there was enough truth in my story to be believable, plus if anyone did manage to find me here then I was sure Mandy would give me the heads up to make my getaway. I was surprised when Mandy opened the door to the cabin to find white sheets draped over the furniture. As she started to pull them away, I helped her and folded them into a neat pile that went into a corner. The place was lovely with flowered drapes and a matching couch. There was a basic kitchen to one side and a wooden table and chairs.

"Bedroom is through there and the bathroom is here. There are linens in the wooden box at the bottom of the bed. I'll bring some food down after I finish my last meeting"
"Where's the nearest person to here?"
Because the idea of being alone out here was beginning to creep me out.

"I have the cabin just behind, well me and my boyfriend. He does most of the outdoor stuff now, he was used to this kind of stuff with being in the army and enjoys the challenge. I tend to oversee the bookings and accounts and manage the staff"
"Am I okay walking around?"
"Sure. I tell you what, tomorrow I'll give you a tour, you can try out some of the climbing sections with me. Barry wants someone to trial them for him before he opens them up"

I wasn't too sure about that, I mean I didn't have a good track record with climbing. Sure, I could climb up something, but it was the getting down that tended to cause the problems.

I watched as Mandy walked to the door and left me stood in the cabin wondering what to do. I turned around and decided that sorting out the linens was something that needed doing. I hung my coat on the peg at the back of the bedroom door and started the mundane task of making the bed, at least it took my mind off what had happened to me.

The bed was made and the bathroom had towels and I'd been around the place sweeping any dust away. I couldn't get over how quiet it was out here, well apart from the sounds coming from the birds. As I sat down on the couch, I realized I was so tired and that the night before I hadn't really slept. I had no idea what time it was or when Mandy would turn up so didn't want to be asleep if she arrived. I was hungry as well not having eaten so decided to sit outside on the front porch.

As I sat there, I allowed my thoughts to flow, something that I had tried to ignore until now. My only thoughts focused on Ranger and how by now he must be hating me. I wondered if Owen had managed to get my letter to Les, it was my only hope of trying to sway what by now they would be thinking of me. If nothing else happened then I wanted Ranger and my friends to know the truth, to believe me and what had happened. I wouldn't be able to cope if they thought badly of me. The problem was that the evidence against me might be too much, was there a warrant out on me already for murder? Would Ranger decide that I really wasn't worth the trouble? Would he ignore the letter from Owen and believe the email and the police?

As I sat thinking making myself feel even more depressed, I started to look at what to do now. I couldn't just hide out here for the rest of my life. I went back into the cabin and found the pen and paper that Owen had given to me and returned to the porch. I started to write things down that would help me to get myself out of this situation, pausing as I read what I'd written down. Not be blamed for the death of Haye's. In order to do that I needed to find out who had shot him which meant finding out who was after me and why. I focused on the why and next to that wrote down everything I could think of that had made me a target.

Did everything point back to Jinski? Or was it sooner than that? Even though I didn't want to my mind went to Jack, the people he worked with and the name he kept calling me that night. Who the hell was Rosa and where was she? From there I wrote what I remembered of Jinski's family and who might have known that he would be at the airport that morning. Of course, that added an arrow back to Jack and his team. I didn't think that anyone from Rangeman would have said anything but maybe there was a mole inside the offices.

Next was the computer hacking at Rangeman, did that have anything to do with it? Could information of Jinski have been found there? Then there was the puzzle of how someone knew where I was when Hayes had taken me to that seedy bar? I suppose if Briggs could find and follow my tracker then so could someone else, probably the same person who had hacked into Rangeman in the first place.

Of course, I'd almost forgotten about the whole incident with Morelli, the whole marriage thing and me losing my job. Did my job hold the connection, maybe an FTA, there was that weird incident where I couldn't find the file for my latest skip, Hancock? Was it even related to what else had happened or was it just a coincidence? Ranger always said there were no such things as coincidence, so I added that to the list that was now nearly to the bottom of the page.

I turned the sheet over and added the women who had been murdered, trying to remember what Ranger had said. I never had got a chance to read through that file from the FBI so had no idea of any of information about them, other than how they'd died.

I could really do with the use of a computer, maybe Mandy could help me out with that, but I'd need access to the internet to try and do some searching. Somehow, I wasn't too sure that would be possible, seeing as we were out in the middle of nowhere. I looked up and around me as I heard the sound of an engine and quickly folded the paper and put it into my pocket. I decided I didn't want to be in view of anyone arriving so went back inside the cabin and peaked out through the window. I smiled as saw Mandy's red truck pull to a stop in front of the cabin and was just about to go outside when she looked at me from the driver's seat and shook her head.

As she opened the door and got out a police cruiser came into sight and stopped right behind her. The policeman that got out was a big man, who drank too many beers by the look of his gut. He took his cap off as he approached Mandy who was waiting for him, leant against her truck door.

"Hi Barney. What brings you way out here. You missed seeing me?"
They both laughed at Mandy's greeting, but that was the last feeling that I felt. My heart rate had gone up and I knew I was breathing hard, hell it hadn't taken long for them to start looking for me.

"I always miss seeing you Sugar. I'm looking for a woman"
"You're always looking for a woman, there aint no single ones here"

"Some hot shot detective is looking for one"
"Come on Barney, no one comes out here unless they're lost"
"That's what I thought. I can report back that she aint nowhere around here"
"You time for a coffee?"
"Much as I would love to, I've got to get going"
"Nice seeing you Barney"
"You too"

I think both Mandy and I were watching as he got back into his car, turned it around and started to drive down the track. I let out a swoop of air from my lungs, thankful that Barney hadn't mentioned to Mandy why they were looking for me but pleased that I'd told Mandy a part truth about a cop stalking me. It made my story believable, at least to Mandy. I kept watch from the front of the cabin as Mandy went to the back of the truck and lifted down a large black bag and opened the door for her as she brought it in. She set it down on the floor and walked back out to the truck returning moments later carrying a box.

"Take a look through that bag. They're all things that people have forgotten and left here. I'm sure something will fit you"

"Mandy?"
Mandy stopped what she was doing and looked over to me, a quizical look on her face.
"Thanks for what you did"
"Barney? Hell,we girls have to stick together"
It was almost as though she was embarrassed at me thanking her and she was soon opening up the box that was now on the kitchen worktop.

"I'll put these away in the cupboard. Mainly canned food, but no one died from eating stuff like this"

Lifting the black bag up I found it easier to tip it out onto the couch and started to pick up and examine some of the clothes from the pile. Anything too small I returned to the bag along with clothes that seemed enormous, thinking maybe they were men's sizes. I started to look more carefully at the ones remaining and by the time I'd finished I had enough clothes to keep me going.

"They've all been cleaned and are in really good condition"
I picked up a pair of trainers that looked brand new, wondering how people managed to forget so many things. Mandy had finished unpacking the box and was now busy putting things on the table.

"Food's ready"

As I sat down, I could see that Mandy had heated up some soup and obviously brought some bread with her. I ate what was there though could have eaten more and noted that Mandy was still eating. I picked up an apple from a bowl in the middle of the table and started to take a bite out of it.

"I'm not much of a cook so I learned early on, why tempt fate. If I can get it already made then that's what I do"
"I suppose I'm the same, but I tend to rely on takeaways or drive throughs"

"You won't find any of those around here. Don't worry though we have groups in from tomorrow, so I get the cook to make extra for the staff. I'll bring you some better stuff"

I almost said, "Thank god" and then hoped I hadn't said that out loud. I was beginning to wonder how Mandy wasn't thinner if all she ate was soup and bread. As she finished her food, I cleared the table and started to wash the pots, leaving them on the drainer to dry. When I looked around Mandy was looking at her phone, so there must have been a signal here.

"Mandy is there any chance of using a computer?"
I know I was maybe being rude to ask but if I didn't ask her, I'd end up kicking myself. I really needed to start and look at some of those questions I'd written down earlier.

"I can do that. In fact, maybe a laptop would be better for using here and then you don't have to put up with the folk we're getting in"
"That would great Mandy. Where would I need to go to hook up to Wi-fi?"
"You should pick up mine here. I'll give you the password when I get the laptop"

That was even better, it meant I could stay around the cabin and focus on some research.

"Laura"
"Sorry, what was that?"
"I said I'll be here at 7 and then we can go have a go on the climbing sections"

It was probably the look on my face that had Mandy laughing, because 7 in the morning just seemed too early for me.

"I don't have a clock"
"I thought it was because of the time"

As Mandy laughed, I had to join in with her, I didn't want her to think I didn't want to do the dam climbing thingy, even though I didn't.

"Bedside cabinet. See you in the morning"
Mandy left with the black bag and box and closed the door behind her. I heard the truck engine start up and then the sound as it drove away.