All About the Money (A Jesse Watson Mystery Series Book 7) (8 page)

Digging out the seatbelt would soon prove to be a wise move.
Barely a mile from our house, Billy slammed on the brakes, and then started
yelling obscenities in his native tongue. I opened my eyes just in time to
watch us fishtailing down the road before we plunged into a ditch. The truck
bounced around and then slammed into something so hard it caused us to stop
cold. The rear end flew up for a split second at the moment of impact, and when
it dropped back down, the truck came to rest on its left side. The engine
stalled, and smoke billowed from under the hood.

Both of us had been jostled, but at least we hadn’t been
tossed around in the cab like a dishrag—or thrown through the windshield. Thank
goodness we’d been wearing our seatbelts!

“What just happened?” I asked, looking over at Billy to see
if he was hurt. “Are you all right? It’s so dark, I can’t see a thing.”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled as he tried to straighten himself up.
It didn’t help that I was lying up against him. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m okay.”

The stormed raged outside. The downpour made it hard to see
anything around us, but it was obvious there weren’t any cars on the road. No
one stopped to help us. I was so scared, my hands were trembling. And then
smoke from the engine started seeping into the cab.

“We have to get out of here,” Billy shouted, trying to talk
above the thunder and the pounding rain. “Unbuckle your seatbelt, Jesse, and
climb out the window. I’ll give you a push.”

I finally managed to release the seatbelt, and then reached
for something to grab onto. I was able to stretch just far enough to get hold
of the door armrest. I pulled myself up, propped one foot on the hump in the
floor for leverage and strength, and then tried to open the door. It wouldn’t
budge. I struggled until Billy stopped me by saying, “Forget it, Jesse. Crawl
through the window.”

I pressed the switch on the armrest, and the window came down
without a hitch.

“Go!” Billy demanded. He put his hands on my rear end and
gave me a shove. His strength was amazing. He pushed me so hard I almost flew
out of the window. I tumbled out of the truck and landed on the road, looking
up just in time to see the headlights of a car heading toward me. I scrambled
to get out of the way.

The car screeched to a halt, pulled over to the side, and the
driver got out. A tall, husky man ran over to me and asked, “Are you all right,
Miss?”

Before I had a chance to tell him that my husband was still
in the truck, I saw Billy’s head emerge. He threw out the two vests and my
purse first, and then crawled out. He limped over to me.

“Are you hurt, Jesse?”

“I’m okay, Billy. What about you? You’re limping.” I was
about to examine his leg, but he stopped me.

“I jammed my knee,” he said. “It’ll be fine.” He turned to
look at the man who had stopped to help us and said, “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” the man said. “But I didn’t do anything
except almost run over your wife. I thought for sure I was going to hit her.”

“Thank you anyway for stopping.”

The rain continued to beat down on us as the man introduced
himself. “I’m Bruno Michaels. I’m so glad I came by when I did. Let me give you
a ride.” He motioned to his car. “Do you live close by?”

“I’m Jesse, and this is my husband, Billy,” I offered.

“Thanks,” Billy said, appreciatively. “We just live right up
the road.”

We were almost bent over trying to avoid the pelting rain as
we hustled to Bruno’s car. I quickly grabbed the door handle and crawled into
the back seat. I didn’t feel like talking, so I figured if Billy sat in the
front, he could do it for me. After our road spill, I was exhausted, wet… and
now scared. For some reason, a thought kept repeating itself in my head. This
wasn’t an accident. Someone did this to us on purpose. Billy doesn’t lose
control of a car, unless…

“What happened to you guys out here?” Bruno asked after we
got into his Lincoln Town Car.

Oh… what luxury… I could live in a car like this. The smell
of fine leather was intoxicating. I felt bad that we were soaking wet, sitting
on this Good Samaritan’s genuine leather seats. The guilty feeling didn’t last
long.

“A car pulled out in front of me,” Billy told him. “I
couldn’t stop. All I could do was try to get out of the way.”

“He must’ve been crazy. He could’ve killed you. In weather
like this you need to be extra cautious. Only a fool would take such risks.”

Bruno started the car and made a U-turn in middle of the
road. “Where can I take you?” he asked. “Do you want to call someone? I have my
cell phone.” He must’ve pulled it out and offered it to Billy, because Billy,
in turn, said, “No thanks. I have one, but we’re not going to need to make any
calls. We can handle everything when we get home. You can turn right onto
Bear Mountain Road
right up here.” Billy pointed to our
road. “We’re the second driveway on the left.”

“I know your family,” Bruno said as if he had just realized
he knew us. “The Blackhawks. Good folks.” He chuckled and then added, “And this
must be the new bride.” He looked in the rearview mirror at me.

“Not so new anymore,” Billy replied.

“Thanks a lot,” I hissed at him.

“What I meant is that we’ve been married five years.”

“Has it only been that long?” I asked, teasing him. “Are you
sure? It seems like it’s been a lot longer. Ages… and ages... and ages.”

“I… I…” Billy tried to get the words out.

“You can stop backtracking, Chief Mud-on-Your-Face. It’s way
too late for that.”

“Ah,” Bruno added, “Jesse… the outspoken, skinny little white
girl, who’s full of spunk and guts, and will make a fine P.I. one day,
according to Chief Sam. I remember you now. It’s been awhile.”

“And I’ve only gotten better with time,” I replied, smiling.

The lively conversation was pleasant and such a morale
booster, but it didn’t last long. Bruno dropped us off at our house, waved
goodbye, and drove away with a promise that our paths would surely cross again.

“Such a nice man,” I said to Billy as the two of us ran up
onto the porch, shaking the rain off our drenched clothing.

Billy didn’t respond.

“Okay, before we go inside, I want you to tell me what you
didn’t tell Bruno. I know something’s fishy. What’s going on?”

“That wasn’t our first encounter with that car.”

I got his full meaning right away. I gasped and said, “The
red Dodge Charger.” I shook my head. “I knew I had a strange feeling for a good
reason. It wasn’t an accident!”

“Someone’s playing a deadly game with us, and I don’t play
well with a person like that.”

It was payback time. Billy was going to track down this guy
and put a hurting on him… and I was ready to accompany my man.

The summer storm continued on its rampage
.
Thunder boomed overhead as if
grenades were going off, and every flash of lightning lit up the kitchen. After
changing into dry clothes and then checking on the children, who were in bed
sleeping comfortably, we went to the kitchen to have a cup of coffee. Helene
had just fixed a fresh pot.

I told her about the accident we had, and although she was
clearly upset by the news, she didn’t ask a lot of questions. Billy started
making the necessary calls, while I sat at the table with her, drinking coffee,
listening to his every word, and praying that he wouldn’t get struck by
lightning through the phone. Mom always said to stay off the phone during a
storm, but sometimes it can’t be helped.

Billy’s first call was to Russell. He quickly explained about
Savannah
’s arrest and told him that she
needed his help. As expected, Russell must’ve agreed to jump right on it,
because the call was very brief. The next call was to McCoy, but he wasn’t
answering his cell or house phone. Next in line was the call to
Redman
Auto
Center
—now owned by Greg Blackhawk since
the death of his father, Daniel—concerning Billy’s wrecked truck. They would
tow the truck to their body shop and give him an update on its condition as
soon as possible. Billy was certain that the truck was totaled, and if so, he
would need a new one. I’m sure this would make the dealership’s day, because
business had been slow. The economy was a disaster, and gas prices were off the
charts.

Jonathan was next on the list. Billy wanted to see if he had
any information about the partial license plate number after our first run-in
with the Dodge Charger, but soon found out that the numbers didn’t yield the
information he was seeking. However, Jonathan had his contact compile a list of
all owners of a red Dodge Charger in a hundred mile radius. One familiar name
appeared on the list—Donald Rhodes.

Hmmm… now why would Donald Rhodes be after us? I asked Billy
that question as soon as he ended the call to Jonathan.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. Right now, I have
other things to handle. We’re going to have to take your 4Runner when we go
back out.”

“We’re going back out? Where to? You don’t still plan on
sitting out in the woods and spying on that man in this storm, do you? I
remember one time when we sat out in the woods doing just what we plan to do
now—and I got shot.”

“What?” Helene demanded to know. “When did you get shot? Was
it bad? Oh, my Lord. I bet Minnie had a fit.”

“It’s a long story I don’t want to relive just right now,
and, yes, she did have a fit,” I replied, propping my head in my hands, elbows
on the kitchen table. I looked over at Billy. “The first thing I thought of was
how romantic it would be for us to cuddle under the stars as we snooped on that
dirty dog, but that was before Mother Nature unleashed her dark side. If we’re
going back into the jowls of Hell, I want…”

“Don’t fret, `ge ya. We’re not going to do that. I know of
your fear of storms. I’ve already come up with another plan.”

“I’m sure glad to hear that. Sitting out in the middle of the
woods in a thunderstorm isn’t my idea of a fun time.”

“Not to change the subject,” Helene interjected, “but is
anyone hungry? I saved a plate of fried chicken for both of you.”

Billy smiled, went to the refrigerator and pulled out two
plates full of food. Neither one of us bothered to heat any of it, not even the
vegetables. Helene thought that was just too gross. Who ate cold mashed
potatoes and peas? We just laughed at her.

“A lot of our food is cold,” I said. “In our line of work,
sometimes we’re lucky if we get a chance to eat at all.”

“That can’t be too healthy.”

“We survive.” I looked at Billy and smiled. “We live on
love.”

Billy leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “A
fulfilling diet.”

“Okay… that’s enough for me,” Helene said. “I think I’ll go
to bed. I’m beat. If you decide to go out, don’t forget to leave me a note.
Don’t bother to wake me up. I’ve gotten so I only sleep an hour at a time
anymore. Must be these old bones.” She smiled and then got up from the table,
heading to her room. She stopped long enough to say, “Billy, you might want to
check on your mom. She hasn’t been feeling well. I asked her if she wanted me
to take her to the doctor, but she refused. You know how she is.”

The look on Billy’s face was that of concern when he said,
“I’ll call her right now.” He picked up the portable phone again and dialed the
number while Helene vanished down the hallway.

I could tell from the conversation that Sarah was a little
under the weather; she might have a bug, but was doing much better. Billy ended
the call and laid the phone down on the table.

“Is your mother being stubborn?” I asked, after shoveling a
spoonful of food into my mouth.

“She says she’s going to be fine, but she always says that.
Perhaps we should keep our eyes on her.”

“We will. Now… let’s talk about your new plan. I like the
idea of changing strategies. I wasn’t looking forward to hanging out in the
rain and getting drenched all over again, lightning striking all around me, and
then possibly winding up with nothing. What you got in mind?”

“We’re going to confront
Rhodes
.
We’re going to his house, knock on his door, and accuse him to his face. If
that doesn’t get a reaction, we’ll do the stakeout like we planned—only we’ll
do it from the car. Keith said there was a fire road between the properties,
and it runs right behind
Rhodes
’ house. We’ll find it and use it,
instead of hunkering down in the woods.”

“Oh, I see. If we don’t jack him up enough to get him to
spill his guts to us, he will to someone else, and we’ll hear it all. Sounds
like a good plan. What if he’s home alone and has no one to talk to?”

“He’ll call someone. I’m sure of that.”

I pulled it together like the good snoop wife that I am, and
tried not to be so nervous about the weather. I kept telling myself that it was
only a storm. “When do we leave?”

Lord, help me if the storm gets worse.

“As soon as we finish eating.”

“I don’t mind going back out in this woman-killing weather as
long as I don’t have to stand under a tree.” I tried to make light of the
situation. “I know what happens to people who…”

“I won’t let the lightning hurt you, `ge ya. I promise.”

“If I get struck and die, it’s your fault. Explain that to my
mother.”

Billy laughed, picked up our plates and walked over to the
sink. He scraped, rinsed, and then put the plates in the dishwasher while I
watched. I’m no fool. I know a good man when I see one.

“We’re wearing our vests,” he said. “I don’t know if this guy
is dangerous or not, but we’re not taking any chances.”

“I’m good with that, but don’t you think we’ll look a little
obvious?”

“Yes, we will. That’s the plan. I want Donald Rhodes to know
we mean business.”

“We’ll truly make a statement.”

“Also, I want to show you a few things about your new phone.”
He pulled his from his back pocket and motioned for me to have a look. After a
thorough walk-through, I came to the conclusion that our new phones could do
just about everything, except fly us to the moon.

“Impressive,” I said, holding my phone in my hand. “I think
I’m going to like this gadget.”

My cell phone vibrated, played a nifty little tune, and then
Mom’s name appeared on the screen. “Hi, Mom,” I answered. “How’re you…”

“I just found out that
Savannah
’s
in jail,” she said, continuing without giving me time to reply. “What’s the
matter with that sheriff? She’s innocent. He should know she’s not capable of
killing anyone. I’m thinking about giving him a piece of my mind. I’m just so
upset. I can’t even sleep. I’ve been pacing back and forth ever since I found
out. I tried to call you, but your cell phone wasn’t working.”

Instead of trying to figure out why my mother couldn’t reach
me, and then trying to explain it to her, all I said was, “We just switched to
new ones. Perhaps there was a glitch at the time you tried to call. It’s
working fine now.”

“What’s the deal with
Savannah
?
When are they going to release her?”

“I don’t know, Mama. Billy and I haven’t talked about it much
since she was arrested. We’ve been kinda busy.”

“What could be more important than what’s happening to
Savannah
?”

“Well… twice, somebody tried to run us off the road, and then
finally succeeded the second time around. Billy’s truck is toast. It’s storming
like a big dog outside, and we’re getting ready to go back out into the jaws of
death. We can’t locate McCoy. Billy’s mom isn’t feeling so hot. Oh, yes… and
Billy’s still limping from the accident. And if that’s not scary enough, he
wants me to go poke my gun in a killer’s face. I guess that’s about all for
now, but I’ll keep you posted.”

Billy chuckled as he scribbled on a piece of paper—a note he
was probably leaving for Helene, telling her that we were going on yet another
dangerous mission.

“And Billy thinks it’s funny.”

“What’s funny?” She seemed confused. “Are you being serious,
or is this one of your… oh, I forget the word…”

“I’m being truthful in a light-humored, sarcastic kind of
way. Sorry. I’m a little stressed out.”

“Is Billy going to be all right? I’m sorry to hear about the
truck.”

“He’ll survive. The truck won’t.”

“Don’t worry about McCoy. I’ll bet he’s with
Savannah
, and you know, they don’t allow cell
phones in jail. I’m not worried about him. What’s wrong with Sarah?”

“She’s got a bug or something. It must be going around.”

“Then I guess everything’s okay.”

“In the bigger scheme of things.”

“Oh, what was that about poking a gun in someone’s face?
Y’all aren’t getting into any trouble, are you? I worry about you two.”

“Not us.”

“Then… good. Call me when you hear anything else about
Savannah
. I won’t rest a bit tonight. Do you
think they would let me see her?”

“I don’t know, Mama. Call Sheriff Hudson and ask him.” I was
baffled at her intense concern. She had all the signs of an obsessed fan. I had
to say something. “Mom, don’t take this wrong, but you sound like a crazed
fan.”

“I beg your pardon. I am not a crazed fan! I care about
Savannah
. That’s all.”

“Then give it a rest. You’ll hear something when we hear
something. You know we’ll call you as soon as we find out anything. We always
do. If you can’t sleep and you think it’ll make you feel better, watch the
news.”

She seemed to let out a breath as if she’d been holding it
ever since she found out
Savannah
was in jail. “That’s not a bad idea.
I’m going to do that right now. Goodbye, honey.”

Obsessed fan Minnie hung up without giving me a chance to say
goodbye. Still holding the cell phone in my hand, I looked up at Billy and
said, “My mother’s becoming obsessed with
Savannah
.
I’m going to have to get her some medication.”

“Oh, you know your mom. She’s worried, that’s all.”

“Don’t bet the bank.”

“Stop being jealous and put on your vest. I have heap big
heads to hunt. Time waits not.”

“I’m not jealous,” I shot back, slipping into my new
bulletproof vest. I stuffed my cell phone in the back pocket of my jeans,
grabbed my purse, and then headed for the front door. “Coming Tonto?”

“Stop teasing me, you sexy vixen. You know how much I like it
when you call me that. It just makes me feel all tingly inside.”

“I don’t know who’s worse—you or my mother. She’s hunting
Savannah
, and you’re hunting heads. I’m
beginning to think you both have some kind of psycho tendencies.”

“You love me,” Billy said as he kissed me gently on the lips,
and then brushed past me in an extremely seductive way. His limp had suddenly
disappeared. I’ve noticed that aches and pains seem to go away when men get their
mojo back.

“I don’t believe you. Is there a full moon hiding under those
black, angry clouds—the ones that want to kill us?”

The house phone rang.

“Go get the 4Runner. I’ll answer that.”

I ran back to the kitchen and picked up the old wall phone.
Boy, did that thing ever bring back memories. With portable phones and cell
phones, one would wonder why we still had one of these. They’re cumbersome with
their long, always tangled-up cords, but it was the cord on Mom’s phone that
helped save her life. I think about that incident every time I see a wall
phone. Even with the memory of that day, and most likely because of that day, I
won’t get rid of mine.