Chapter 4

Dressing quickly in his uniform, he settled for putting his bulky jacket on and left the false middle off, it would work for the few minutes he would be in town. Jack packed a bag and carried it out to his patrol car. Then he scooped up his unconscious Samantha and lovingly set her in the passenger's seat and set her purse at her feet. After securing a seatbelt tightly around her, he disappeared back into the house to get a blanket and wrapped it around her. Jack slid into the driver's seat and drove up the long driveway. He drove rapidly through the countryside, watching the road intently, except for a couple quick peeks at his precious cargo.

Jack pulled into the motel parking lot and opened Samantha's purse, quickly he fished around for her motel key. He helped himself to one of her Altoids, he was craving nicotine and couldn't risk fresh smoke on his clothing and had left his gum at home. His oral fixation attended to, Jack took the motel key and headed for Samantha's room. A quick check of the room and he was gratified to discover her luggage was still packed. After taking her bags to the car, Jack to the key to the office. The clerk unquestioningly accepted the Sheriff's explanation that the lady had taken sick and he was taking her to the hospital.

Returning to the car, Jack headed to the station. Sliding into his 'Ed persona' Jack told Deputy Fuller, "That nice Doctor lady is sick, so I'm taking her to the hospital."

"What's wrong? She was fine when I saw her."

"It was the darndest thing, Dan. One minute she was smiling and then she started to re-enact the Exorcist movie. Took me near an hour to clean up the mess."

"Shouldn't you just take her to Doc Miller?" Daniel Fuller asked, turning slightly queasy at Ed's vivid description.

"Thought about it, but she told me she had friends in LA. So I figured better to drive the hour and a half and let her be their problem."

Deputy Fuller nodded in agreement. Jack told him he'd see him later and headed out the door. Jack got into the car and drove out of Otis with a smile. Things were shaping up nicely. Driving in the opposite direction of LA, Jack crossed the border into Oregon. He pulled into an industrial complex on the edge of the town of Lost River beside a small airstrip. Jack got out of the car and walked to the large door of a warehouse and punched a code into the electronic lock. After pulling the door open, he pulled his patrol car inside, got out, turned on the lights and closed the door. Carefully he transferred Samantha and their luggage to a small blue pickup with Oregon plates.

After checking Samantha's pulse and listening to make certain her breathing remained even, Jack took her hand and pulled off Tom's rings. He tossed them into a trash can that sat beside a desk with a computer. Deciding against checking his e-mail, Jack walked to a small set of steel lockers and began to strip off his Sheriff's uniform. He put on a pair of black jeans similar to the ones he'd been wearing earlier, then he pulled on a tight black tee and Doc Martens. Then he opened another locker that was filled with cigarette cartons and grabbed two for the next part of the journey. Finally he opened one more locker and retrieved a bag of cheetos, a bottle of Jack Daniels, a couple bottles of Perrier, and a large box of Godiva chocolates.

Tossing the food items into the truck, Jack opened the door to the warehouse and drove out. After securing the warehouse tightly again, he drove across the road to the tiny airport. An old man waved at him from the tarmac as Jack brought his truck into an open hanger. After looking around to make certain he wasn't being watched, Jack walked up to a Cessna 402 and opened the door. After bringing the steps down, he glanced around again and retrieved Samantha from the truck, he sat her carefully inside. Then, he brought their bags and stowed them.

Jack checked the exterior of the plane carefully before shutting the door. He walked to the office of the tiny airport and filed a false flight plan with them, so they wouldn't be suspicious. Then he returned to the plane and slowly taxied out of the hanger. Jack radioed the control tower and was cleared for takeoff, he and Samantha were off. As the plane lifted into the clouds, Jack was glad he'd gotten his pilot's license a few months back so there would be no pesky questions or ways of tracking them. Samantha made a little moan in her sleep from the passenger seat where she was carefully strapped in.

"Don't fret a bit darling, Jack will have us home soon," he said soothingly and lit a cigarette as they flew.