Getting Away Is Deadly (25 page)

“I think there’s a little more to it than that,” I said dryly, then asked, “So, the terrorist cell is wrapped up? There wasn’t anything in the paper this morning or on the news.”

“If it was done right there wouldn’t be,” Mitch said.

“Mrs. Avery?” I turned toward the voice. A woman wearing the hotel’s uniform of a brown vest and skirt with a long-sleeved white shirt hurried from behind the front desk to us. “This came for you today,” she said and handed several papers to me.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Could I ask you a question?” I said quickly before she turned away. “You had a clerk working at the front desk. A young man, dark black hair. Is he here today?”

A blank expression wiped across her face, erasing her open and helpful expression. “I’m sorry, but he’s no longer employed here.”

“Really?” I glanced at Mitch.

“Yes, he was let go. He won’t be back.”

“What happened?” Mitch asked.

She said, “I can’t discuss anything about dismissals.” She turned away and I thought I heard her say under her breath something like, “Especially when federal law enforcement is involved.”

I raised my eyebrows at Mitch and said, “Let’s stroll by the business center.”

When we came to the door, the room was dark and empty. The computer, printer, and phone were all gone.

“Looks like Tony has been busy,” Mitch said.

As we walked back to the elevators, I scanned the large swooping handwriting on the cover page of the fax.

I read Summer’s note aloud. “‘
Mom Magazine
is still going to run the article. They’ve dropped Vicky and Alan Archer from the story and they’re going with a new angle, “Big Storage Solutions for Small Spaces.” See page two.’”

I flipped to the second page. Summer had circled a paragraph, starred it, and put three exclamation points in the margin. I skimmed it and looked up at Mitch. “They quote me as an organizational expert. They mention Everything In Its Place and list my Web site!”

Mitch punched my upper arm, playfully. “Way to go. You’d better get ready for a barrage of e-mail.”

We stepped on the elevator and as the doors closed I said, “You know, I am going to miss everyone, but I’m ready to get back home. I’m ready to see Livvy. I miss her arms squeezing my neck when she hugs me at bedtime. Of course, Vernon won’t be home for much longer.” I was thinking of the move to Hawaii. I should be excited about Hawaii. I focused on the good stuff: hulas, orchids, sea breezes.

It didn’t work because those thoughts led to beaches and swimsuits and the last thing a pregnant woman wants to think about is swimsuits. I kept my thoughts to myself. I wouldn’t ruin our last few hours by being sad and grumpy. At least, I’d try not to ruin them. I’d spend as much time with Abby as I could and we could travel to see each other once our babies were born. I stopped myself from thinking about how long the flight would be between Hawaii and Georgia.

The elevator door opened and we went to our room. “I’ll call Abby and Jeff to see if they want to ride to the airport with us,” I said, heading to the phone. The message light was blinking so I retrieved the message.

“It’s the orderly room. They want you to call them.” I handed the phone over to Mitch.

I checked the drawers, closets, and the hook on the bathroom door to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything while Mitch put his call through. I found Mitch’s belt in the back corner of the closet and shoved it in the suitcase. I ran the zipper around the suitcase as he hung up. He sat on the bed for a moment without moving.

“Mitch? Is everything okay?”

“Well, it depends. How sold are you on sunshine and Hawaii?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I hate to disappoint you, but my assignment’s been changed. I’m sorry.”

I had a sudden sense of foreboding. Were we going to be shoveling even more snow than we did now? “How bad is it? Are we going to Alaska?” I tried not to grimace.

“No. It’s not that bad.”

“North Dakota?”

“No. It’s Georgia. Taylor Air Force Base, same as Jeff.”

“No!”

“Yes, I’m sorry, I know you liked the idea of Hawaii—”

I interrupted him. “Georgia is perfect. Absolutely perfect. I’ll get to see Abby and Jeff’s baby. I didn’t realize until a few days ago how much I was going to miss them. You know, when you have to start over every few years.” I felt my eyes getting misty.
Oh, good grief, maybe there is something to the pregnancy hormone thing.
I blinked, sniffed, and managed to recover a bit. “It’s hard to make friends. It’ll be so much nicer to go somewhere where we already know at least one couple.”

“Two couples,” he amended. “Nadia and Kyle are stationed there, too.”

“Oh, that’s right. Well, that’ll be an interesting…dynamic.”

“You were just saying how you were going to miss everyone.” Mitch looked perplexed.

“I know, but Nadia. Nadia’s great in small doses. Oh, who cares, we’ll work it out. I’m going to tell Abby.”

I hurried out the door, across the hall, and banged on Abby’s door.

She opened it, shouldering her carry-on bag. “We’re ready.”

“We’re going to Georgia, too!”

“What?”

“Mitch’s assignment’s been changed. We’re going to Taylor.”

Abby shrieked, “We’ll be together!”

“We’re going to Georgia together!” We linked hands and were practically jumping up and down. We probably looked like Livvy and her friends on the playground.

I dropped her hands and said, “Wait. Georgia. We’ll be together, but we’ll be in Georgia.
Georgia
. Why couldn’t you get reassigned to Hawaii? Why did
we
have to get reassigned to
Georgia
?”

Abby laughed. “Hey, it’s the U.S. military. It’s not supposed to make sense!”

 

An Everything In Its Place Tip for an Organized Trip

 

Sightseeing tips

• If you’ll be in a major metropolitan area, take advantage of the public transportation. It’s usually the most efficient and economical way to get around.
  
• Bring comfortable shoes. Even with public transportation, you’ll still be doing a lot of walking and it’s often the best way to see the sights.
  
• Plan your sightseeing in a logical order to make the most of your time. To keep from backtracking, break your itinerary into areas or regions and visit all the sights within a region in one day.
  
• To keep everyone happy, let each person in your group pick his or her number-one sightseeing destination, then make sure you see everyone’s number-one pick.
  
• Purchase a good map of your destination or pick one up from your travel club. Laminated city maps are great resources for finding your way through new territory and many fold into a handy size that fits in a pocket.
  
• Check with the visitors center for passes that allow you to visit several attractions at a discount.
  

Seeing a book in print is an amazing journey, and I’m delighted I could share it with these people.

A special thank-you to my wonderful editor, Michaela Hamilton, for her insight, guidance, and endless support. Thanks to Faith Hamlin for seeing potential and sticking with me.

I’ve loved getting to know readers, booksellers, librarians, and reviewers. Thanks for helping get the word out about the Mom Zone series.

Thanks go to my blog buddies, the Good Girls, for keeping me sane.

A sentence doesn’t quite do justice to my extended family who’ve encouraged me and helped me celebrate being an author. A special thanks to my most energetic publicity team, my mom and dad. And thanks, Mark, for the cruising tips.

I’m so glad I can share this experience with Jonathan and Lauren, who still think it’s cool that Mom writes books. And, as always, to Glenn, for talking plot points and other things—you know what they are.

KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Copyright © 2008 by Sara Rosett

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 2007942803

ISBN: 0-7582-3070-2