Chapter Twenty-Three: Intuition
Rick arrived back in Peekskill from the airport later that night, his abrupt and sudden separation from Jo wore heavy on his mind.
Man, am I bushed, he thought tiredly. All he wanted was some sleep to help him get through the very tough and exhausted day.
As he trudged to his apartment building, two men approached him in plainclothes, showing him their badges. He eyed the men suspiciously.
"Are you Rick Bonner, sir?" One cop asked him.
Rick nodded, dumbfounded. He dropped his suitcase.
"Come with us, sir," the other officer replied.
They grabbed his arms and led him away to a waiting police car.
It was a hot day as Cody walked alone up a long stretch of road in rural Oklahoma. He had walked for a few hours and had been able to thumb down a ride or two from strangers.
After he'd gotten off from his second hitchhike, he continued on, clutching the left pocket of his jeans; the jeans that contained the money he'd swiped from Blair's motel room.
He thought briefly of Blair. She was sweet and very nice but deep down, he knew they weren't evenly matched. She was a high society uptown girl and he was a hillbilly stick-up punk. No way that would've worked, he thought.
As he ambled on, he spotted a car in the distance. He immediately stuck out his thumb, hoping to attract attention to the driver to stop so he could get another ride.
To his dismay and shock, as the car got closer to him, he could see it was a state police car. The car pulled up alongside him.
"Where ya headin' to, mister?" One of the cops, a burly man with a thick brown beard, asked Cody.
Cody shrugged. "Just to Tulsa, sir," he responded, giving the officer a nervous grin. He dropped his duffel bag.
"Tulsa, huh? You got some kind of ID, sir?" The officer asked him, gazing at Cody suspiciously.
Cody bit his lip. "Uh…sure…" He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. "Lemme check for you, officer…"
"Woah…Jo, I really think you outta slow down," Blair admonished as Jo continued speeding down a dirt road. "I'd absolutely die if we get caught because of a fucking speeding ticket."
Jo considered Blair's suggestion and let her foot off the gas pedal a little, watching the speed drop from the speedometer.
Jo let out a nervous breath. "For the first time in my life, I wish this car wasn't red," she replied.
Blair raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure we should be driving like this?" She asked. "In broad daylight and everything?"
Jo sighed. "No, we shouldn't. But I'm tryin' to put some distance between us and the scene of our last fuckin' crime!"
Blair let out a proud, boastful shriek, thinking back to her robbery. "Oooooooooweeee! You should've seen me, Jo! It was like I'd done it before – for years! Nobody would've ever believed it."
Jo cast a quick look at Blair. "So…what…bein' a lawyer is out of the question now? Ya think ya found ya true calling?" She asked her, half-teasing.
Blair threw her head back and let out a loud guffaw. "Maybe," she admitted. She then rose up from her seat. "The call of the wild!" She exclaimed giddily. She then began howling like a dog and took a long swig from her bottle of Southern Comfort.
Jo looked on, in both surprise and amusement.
Again, who is this person? She thought.
"Blair, you're disturbed," Jo remarked, shaking her head.
Blair sat back in her seat, turning her head towards Jo and beamed. "Why, yes, I believe I am," she told her, giggling.
"I'm telling you, I really think Jo's mom knows something!" Natalie insisted later that evening in their room.
"Nat, what makes you sure?" Tootie asked. "You don't even have any proof."
Natalie huffed. "Well, no," she admitted. "But I just have a feeling. She was too quiet earlier. She never acted angry or surprised or anything, like Mr. Polniaczek did."
Tootie shrugged. "So?"
Natalie rolled her eyes. "Tootie, does a woman's intuition mean anything to you? I may be wrong, but I have the feeling Mrs. Polniaczek is hiding something or knows something of some great importance the police probably need to know! There's something she's not saying!"
Tootie groaned. "Well, you can't go meddling and sticking your nose in other people's business based on your intuition, Natalie! Even I know that!" She then sighed. "I think you need to leave Mrs. Polniaczek alone. It's bad enough her daughter was involved in an armed robbery. Maybe she was shell shocked because of that. Whatever the reason, just butt out. Let Rollins and the police handle it."
Natalie sighed. "Fine. I won't get involved," she relented.
"Promise?"
Natalie sighed heavily. "Tootie, I promise."
Tootie nodded, satisfied. "Good," she said. "Now let's get something to eat. Maybe afterwards, we should probably go to bed. Rollins and McNeal will probably be here in the morning to tap our phones in case Blair or Jo call here."
Natalie stayed quiet. This is all too surreal, she thought. Who would've believed the FBI would tap our phones, looking for our friends?
"Crazy shit," she said to herself.
Later that night, after Tootie had fallen asleep, Natalie crept out of the bedroom and made her way to the living room to use the phone.
I know I'm breaking Tootie's promise but I can't let this go! She thought as she began dialing numbers to Rollins' number on the card she was given.
"Hello? This is Ted Rollins, New York State Investigator, homicide," Natalie heard him answer.
"Um, hello, sir. It's Natalie Green. I'm one of Blair Warner and Jo Bonner's friends…um…listen…I have something I think you might need to consider looking into…"