Maggie Undercover (12 page)

Speechless, Maggie plopped down at the table.
She'd seen the eccentric old woman around town, but had never
actually spoken to her.

"Eat up. You could use some meat on your
bones." The widow set a plate loaded with enough food to feed half
of Council Falls in front of Maggie then sat down across from
her.

"Were are Jar-Mr. Blake and Alex?" Maggie
asked.

"It's near nine o'clock. They're at school."
She said it with a disgusted sniff as if the best part of the day
was already gone.

"What are you doing here?"

"Protecting that boy's reputation and yours.
Though I ain't quite sure if you deserve it yet. After the doc left
I came over and spent the night. Don't know what everyone is
thinking? Can't leave two healthy youngsters alone overnight.
People talk."

Maggie managed not to choke. The widow was
the biggest gossip in town. At the woman's sharp look, she turned
her laugh into a cough.

"With me here ain't no one going to spread
rumors. Poor boy went through all that nonsense ten years ago. Took
him long enough to get over it and come back where he belongs."

All Maggie knew about the incident came from
Daniel's file on Jared, but the details were sketchy. A
fourteen-year-old girl claimed Jared had made an advance at her.
Nothing in the file indicated that Jared was charged with anything.
Nor were the details of the investigation available. The girl and
her family moved away and at the end of the school term he quit
teaching.

Despite Maggie's probing no one in town
seemed willing to discuss the subject. Though gossip often ran
rampant in small towns, on this subject they'd closed ranks and
declared Jared's past off limits. When she brought it up, they
clammed up. The most they'd say was that Jared was innocence. She
found their protective attitude both frustrating and admirable.

Maybe Widow Larkins would be more
forthcoming. "What happened ten years ago?"

"Nothing. Exactly nothing." The widow slapped
her broad palm on the table for emphasis. "A confused little girl
looking for attention told a fib and before you know it Jared's
life is turned upside down. School board tried to keep everything
hush-hush, but you can't keep a secret in a small town where almost
everybody's related to everybody else in some way. The truth leaked
out. Not that anyone believed what she said about Jared. We've
known him all his life. I changed that boy's diapers. He's a good
boy. Not a mean bone in his body. The townsfolk rallied around him,
but the whole situation broke something inside him. He lost his
innocence and left town. Sad. I ain't gonna stand by and let that
happen again.

"I don't know what you're up to." She pointed
a finger at Maggie. "But I do know you're not what you appear to
be."

Maggie went still. "What are you talking
about?"

"Don't go giving me a look like butter
wouldn't melt in your mouth. I've been alive a long time and I've
learned to read people pretty well. If you're eighteen then I just
turned thirty, and Eisenhower was president then. Watch your step
little miss. Council Falls protects its own."

~~~~~

CHAPTER NINE

This day just kept going from bad to
worse.

First, she'd flunked the history quiz Laura
Quinn had popped on the class this morning. It shouldn't have
mattered, she was just pretending to be a student, but the big red
F on the paper seemed to symbolize all her failures – past, present
and future. The fact that Laura appeared to enjoy handing her a
failing grade didn't help. Ever since Laura's date with Jared she'd
been less than cordial to Maggie.

Maggie wasn't sure if it was jealousy or
protectiveness that prompted Ms. Quinn's antagonism. Nor did she
care. Now churning gray clouds, heavy with the promise of snow,
filled the darkening November sky. Cheerleading practice had run
long. Her muscles ached from the exertion. Despite her daily
workout and martial art training, she'd discovered that
cheerleading took a whole different set of muscles.

Her investigation of the two cheerleaders,
who were also members of the computer club and suspects, had
cleared them. One was a freshman and wasn't around when the hacking
occurred. The other, a junior, despite being a member of the
computer club, was computer illiterate. Her family didn't even own
a computer. She'd joined the club because she thought Jared Blake
was a dish – her words not Maggie's - and her boyfriend was a
member.

If it wouldn't leave the squad in a lurch,
she'd quit.

Shivering Maggie hurried through the empty
school lot toward her car. She needed to get some warmer clothes.
And no matter how she tried to deny the approach of winter, the
time to raise the top on her car had come. She hoped she could. The
classic car might look snappy, but the mechanicals didn't always
function properly.

She started to reach for the top when a noise
alerted her to another presence. Someone was crouched in front of
her car. Concentrating on her problem, she hadn't seen him.
Adrenaline kicked in. Taking a defensive stance she crept around
the car and came up behind the person. Eyes wide in surprise and
sudden fear, Bradley stared at up her.

Damn, living in this peaceful little town was
making her sloppy. On the streets of L.A. this kind of inattention
could get you killed. The sooner she finished this job and got back
to her real life the better.

She straightened and smiled. "Hi, Bradley.
What up?"

"Nothing." His voice quavered as he stood.
"Just checking out your car. It's great. My dad says he'll get me
some wheels for graduation. For now I have to use his minivan. Not
too cool, but it gets me where I need to be." He pointed at the
powder blue minivan parked a few spaces away then leaned into her
car to peer at the dash. His long monologue and confident demeanor
set off warning bells in Maggie. Normally, Bradley had difficulty
stringing two words together without stuttering.

His father, Albert Morrison was a lead
programmer at Reed Software. Daniel had checked the man out and
found him clean. Though she hadn't finished her investigation,
Maggie doubted this shy, insecure young boy was involved in the
hacking. Then she remembered his subtle reference to the time she'd
spent with Jared. Maybe there was more to Bradley than what first
met the eye. She needed to dig deeper.

Fat white flakes started to fall. For a
moment the beauty of the flakes floating through the growing
darkness entranced her then they melted on her exposed skin and
started to settle on the car's leather interior.

"Help me put up the top?" she asked
Bradley.

"Sorry. Can't. I've got to get home. Maybe
you can find Mr. Blake and get him to help you." With that dig he
gave her a nasty grin and backed away.

She watched in disbelief as he scrambled into
his minivan and peeled out of the now empty parking lot leaving her
alone in the snowy darkness. This was the second time he'd said
something about her friendship with Jared and his daughter. Was he
jealous? The male mind confused her.

A half an hour, three scraped knuckles and
ten dollars worth of quarters for Alex's jar later Maggie got the
top up. Putting her strange encounter with Bradley on hold she
headed toward the elementary school to help build the sets. Her
stomach growled and she swore again.

***

The smell of wood and paint, rubber mats and
childish sweat filled the air of the elementary gymnasium. The
sound of hammering and laughter echoed in the cavernous space as
Jared and other parents worked together on the sets for the play.
High ceiling lights covered with metal shields cast a harsh glare
over the fanciful sets taking shape around him.

He paused for a moment to study the plans.
Using a few sheets of plywood and paint Maggie had designed an
illusionary world for Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip; a quaint
wooden hut, an elegant castle hall, a romantic wooded glade and a
desolate castle tower surrounded by thick vines and brambles.

He glanced over to the small alcove set aside
for a dressing room area where she sat hunched over a portable
sewing machine. The machine hummed. Yards of shimmering white
material surrounded her, making it appear she floated on a cloud.
As she swayed with the movement of the material through the machine
her hair swung against her cheek like a cascade of liquid gold.

His heart started to race. A cold sweat broke
over him. He tried to concentrate on the set plans. Though he'd
almost succumbed, he knew he could never act on his unwanted
attraction to Madeline Margaret McCade. Still, the feelings she
stirred in him frightened and tempted him. Without trying she'd
made him want things - things he could never have with a girl
almost half his age, a student.

At that moment she looked up and smiled at
him and his resolve started to crumble. He jerked his gaze away and
tried to ignore the confused, hurt look in her eyes at his cut.

Later when the other volunteers convinced him
to go with them to Max's diner for pie and coffee, he didn't know
if he was relieved or disappointed when Maggie opted not to join
them.

***

The delay with her car meant she hadn't had
time to stop for dinner. Why had she volunteered to drive out to
the Benson farm and pick up the old spinning wheel Alice Benson had
donated for the play? The trip could have waited for the
weekend.

Because, honesty forced her to admit, she
wanted to escape from Jared's presence. Afraid if she didn't she'd
throw herself at his feet and beg him to – to what? Forgive her?
Absolve her? Love her?

Cold that had little to do with the freezing
air made her huddle inside her windbreaker. Her stomach grumbled.
By running away from Jared she'd missed dinner. This day just kept
getting worse and worse.

She kicked the tire on her car. It was flat
and so was her spare. She swore – another quarter for Alex's Disney
jar. At this rate Maggie would be financing the trip herself. The
dark country road swallowed the ugly words leaving her alone and
isolated. She shoved her cell phone back in her purse. The battery
was dead.

Bracing her hip against the hood of the car
she considered her next move. It was a long walk back into town.
The soft flakes that had fallen earlier spread a blanket of patchy
white over the surrounding fields. Stars now twinkled in the black
sky between gathering clouds.

Maggie peered up and down the long stretch of
empty two-lane roadway. Not a car or dwelling in sight, just barren
fields and leafless forests. No light other than the eerie glow of
the snow lit the darkness. Should she attempt to walk back to town
or stay with her car until someone happened along?

Fluffy flakes of snow melted on her cheeks.
She turned her face up to the snow-filled sky. The flakes soothed
the throbbing ache in the fading lump on her forehead. Clouds had
swallowed the stars.

Noises, a soft rustle, a deep hoot, a sharp
crack, and a high-pitched squeal then silence set her nerves on
edge. Darkness and cold crept over her. Give her the known dangers
of an L.A. street any day.

Without considering the wisdom of walking
three miles in the dark dressed in jeans, a sleeveless t-top and an
unlined windbreaker, she grabbed her keys and headed toward
town.

An hour and a lifetime later she reached
town. Numb with cold she stumbled into Max's diner. Filled with the
smell of coffee and well-used grease, heavenly warmth reached out
and surrounded her.

She plopped down on a counter stool and order
coffee, black. Shards of pain attacked her hands, feet and face as
the ice in her veins began to melt. Though the diner closed at nine
during the week, tonight it was open late to accommodate the school
volunteers. A dozen people occupied the diner.

As people became aware of her the questions
started. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

Unable to answer, she huddled on the stool,
cradling the mug of hot coffee in her numb hands. She started to
shake, not with cold but in reaction. Tears blurred her eyes.

"I think she's in shock."

"Did you have an accident?"

"Are you hurt?"

People surrounded her, pressing in on
her.

"Call her parents."

"No!" She bolted up.

Surprised by her vehemence, they took a step
away.

"I'm fine," she assured them in a calmer
tone. "Just cold. I had a flat tire and had to walk back into town.
There's no need to call my parents. They're not home anyway."
Daniel and Jeanne still hadn't returned from their trip to L.A. Why
did she miss her ersatz family? She was used to being alone. The
feeling left her confused and uneasy.

A coat draped itself around her shoulders.
Warmth seeped into her as Jared's scent filled her nose. She looked
up to find him standing next to her. Concern etched his handsome
features. She longed to burrow into his embrace. Instead she
clutched his coat around her.

"Come on. I'll run you home," he said.

Once they realized things were fine with her,
people returned to their seats and conversations. No one seemed to
find Jared's offer odd or suspicious. They smiled and waved as she
and Jared walked out of the diner. Their concern and easy
acceptance stirred her guilt. What would these kind people think of
her once they learned the truth?

She shuddered as they walked the short
distance to Jared's car.

"Are you still cold?" He wrapped a strong arm
around her shoulders and rubbed her arm.

Though his touch lacked any sexual overtones,
it generated unwanted heat in her belly, but didn't touch the cold
deep in her soul. She jerked away.

Eyes dark with hurt or anger, he opened the
car door for her, but said nothing. He got in and closed his door.
Chilly silence settled over the car during the short ride to her
temporary house.