Desperate Measures (23 page)

Utah! Janny was in Utah!

Maddie swayed as her head buzzed. It took only a minute for her to realize she'd penetrated the oh-so-secret Witness Protection Program. In that one instant she felt more powerful, more in control than she'd ever felt in her life. She thought about Adam Wagoner and wondered if he'd really died, of Monroe from the Justice Department and Weinstein from the FBI. She remembered how they'd told her the program could not, absolutely could not, be penetrated.

Abruptly, she wondered if they were right about Pete's uncle. And then she almost laughed. They'd lied to her, they'd been wrong about everything! Why should she believe they were right about Pete's uncle?

Back in the booth, Maddie picked up the sandwich she didn't really want and started to chew. Her mind clicked as she chewed and sipped.

When she finished eating, she accepted one last refill of her coffee. She rummaged in her bag for a crumpled pack of cigarettes that was weeks old, lit up and looked around nonchalantly. The luncheonette was almost empty now, people lined up at the counter with their own coffee. A quiet time for the busy little restaurant.

This was nice, Maddie thought. Here she was, in Jacksonville, Florida, and she'd gotten here under her own power using her own ingenuity. They hadn't taken away her will or her mind. She knew Janny was in Utah because she'd listened to her instincts and made a plan early on. She knew if she could just relax enough, she would remember the details of the plan.

Maddie focused on the decor of the luncheonette. It was pretty in a cottage kind of way, with its black and white tieback curtains on the square-paned window. The place mats on the round, white tables matched the curtains, but had thin strands of red thread running through the material. Very pleasant and homey to the eye. Green plants in candy-apple-red pots lined the windowsills. Homey. Everything was homey and restful, and the service was excellent. Even though she couldn't afford it, Maddie knew she was going to leave a generous tip for the waitress.

She focused now on a domed cake plate housing a homemade carrot cake with thick vanilla frosting behind the counter. Thursday and then Friday, but for some reason that was tied into a weekly ad in the paper. They'd written on the steamed mirror and Janny wiped it off. Maybe she wiped it off. Eleven days. They'd been separated for eleven days, and Janny managed to get the whole phone number plus the area code into the paper. Utah only had one area code. Was that a plus or a minus? Lord, she couldn't remember what day it was. The beginnings of a panic attack started to form in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't give in to the feeling now, not here in a public place.

It was time to leave. Her best thinking was always done on the move when other things were under control. It would all come back to her, she just had to be patient.

Maddie paid her check at the counter, smiled at the waitress as she handed her back a quarter and took two licorice sticks from the crystal crock next to the cash register.

Outside she walked as though she had a purpose, up the street, around the corner, and then down a street to another corner. She refused to look over her shoulder. She was a free woman. When you were free, you didn't need to look over your shoulder.

Should she try to call Pete again or wait until she made contact with Janny?
Go with your instincts.
She paid attention now to her surroundings and looked for a drugstore. Drugstores sold everything and usually had phone booths. They were bright and shiny and smelled of expensive perfume and powder. Across the street, two doors down, she noticed a sign that said PHARMACY in bright red letters. She crossed the street when there was a break in traffic. Inside she bought two packages of cheap underwear and a package of men's undershirts marked Small. She added shampoo and a deodorant stick to her purchases as well as a comb and brush. When she paid for them, she asked for five dollars' worth of change.

In the aisle where the phone booth was located, Maddie waited patiently until two giggling teenagers finished their call. Lord, was she ever that young, that carefree? She felt like crying as she stared at the Revlon cosmetics lined up on the wall in little bubble packages.

Should she stay in Jacksonville or move on? She stared at a lip gloss that promised kissable lips the moment it was applied. She was tempted to buy a tube until she remembered there was no one to kiss her.

It was an old-fashioned phone booth with a metal seat. Maddie sat down and pulled the door closed. Should she leave a message for Pete or hang up when the machine came on?
Go with your instincts.
“Operator, if the answering machine comes on, I want to leave a message.” She felt herself grow faint when she heard Pete's voice say, “Maddie, tell me where you are. I'm going crazy. I think I have a spin on what's going on here, but I need you to tell me how to get in touch with you. Maddie, listen to me very carefully. Do you remember where you got Tillie? Call them and leave a message. I'll be in touch. I love you, Maddie, more than life itself. I'll find you. I promise.”

“Oh, Pete, I love you too. This is awful. I'll do what you say as soon as I can. I can't tell you where I am. I don't want them to ... I love you, Pete, so much my heart aches.”

Maddie left the drugstore, her purchases jammed into the straw bag. How long had she been on the phone? Three minutes? Calls could be traced in three minutes. If anyone was listening in on Pete's phone calls, they would know where she was. She had to leave.

This time Maddie hailed a cab and asked to be taken to the train station, where she again hovered near the rental car agencies. Her instincts or her sixth sense kicked in just as she was about to approach a middle-aged man with a worried look on his face. Not a good idea, Maddie, she cautioned herself. Time to hitchhike.

By using public transportation, walking, and taking one cab, she managed to get to the entrance of I-95, where she started to hitchhike. She knew it was dangerous, but she had no other options as far as she could tell.

Maddie pulled and yanked at the beach coverall until she had it over her head. She was soaked with perspiration when, after an hour of walking, a middle-aged woman on her way to Savannah, Georgia, picked her up. She learned more than she would ever need to know about Vidalia onions and green vegetation called kudzu.

The following day, after spending the night in a small motel in downtown Savannah, Maddie hitched a ride to Charleston, South Carolina. When she woke, she knew exactly when she was to call Janny. Saturday at noon. A day and a half to wait.

The bed was so comfortable she didn't want to move, didn't want to face the day and her uncertain life. She was going to have to give serious thought to selling her engagement ring. What she didn't want to deal with was Tillie's previous owner. How in the world had she forgotten to tell Pete that Mrs. Tillitson had retired from Bloomingdale's and moved with her husband and four cats to Texas, to be near her daughter and grandchildren? She'd been invited to Mrs. Tillitson's retirement party, had gone and had a wonderful time. Pete was in Europe at the time. There was no way for her to find out where Caroline Tillitson now lived. Pete was going to be in for a surprise when he called her old home in Queens. Would he go to Bloomingdale's and ask the people Caroline worked with for her new address? Would they know it, and would they give it out? She thought it unlikely. If she herself showed up in person, an ex-buyer of the prestigious store, maybe one of Caroline's closest friends
might
tell her. She knew they would never tell her over the phone if she were to make inquiries. A dead end.

Maddie rolled over and punched at the pillow. She thought about calling Nester to ask him if Pete had been to the police department asking questions. Annie said he'd hired a private detective. That had to mean Pete didn't know about the program, and obviously no one was telling him anything. Was his phone tapped? She snorted at the thought, then remembered Pete's message to her. Evidently he thought so or he wouldn't have changed his message. The question was, who tapped his phone, if it indeed was tapped? The good guys or the bad guys?

Maddie started to shiver and shake. What should she do now? Should she keep moving, or stay where she was until she spoke with Janny?
Go with your instincts.
Moving around was her answer. She yanked at the phone book under the night table and looked for a map of the United States. She ran her index finger from state to state wishing that she had paid more attention in her grade school geography class. Tennessee sounded good. No one would ever look for her in Tennessee. Maybe Kentucky. Or maybe she should try for Utah. She studied the states again. The only way she could get to Utah was to take public transportation. The ticket would probably be expensive. Did she dare? Of course she dared. But some changes would have to be made first.

Maddie hopped from the bed and ran to the bathroom. Dye her hair or buy a wig? Cut it? Both? A change of clothes, cheap slacks and maybe a windbreaker. Some sneakers.

An hour later she was in a discount store that sold just about everything. When she left, she had two shopping bags loaded to the brim. She rushed back to the motel, where she hacked at her hair until she was satisfied with the pixie cut. She bundled up the long dark tresses in the smaller plastic bags that she would personally deposit in the Dumpster when she left the motel.

She dyed her hair, and while the color was setting she munched on a bag of Oreo cookies. After rinsing the color off, she shampooed her hair and wrapped it in a towel.

She meandered out to the parking lot, where she called the airline from the phone booth and made a reservation on the four o'clock flight to Provo, Utah. She made the reservation in the name of Mrs. Andrea Monroe, and told the clerk she'd pick her ticket up an hour before flight time and would be paying cash. She went on to say she would be carrying her six-week-old baby with her, and no she didn't require an extra seat, and don't children fly free?

Back in the motel room, Maddie emptied out her second shopping bag. An oversize doll with a fuzzy fringe of hair stared up at her. She tied a cotton bonnet on the doll and then wrapped it in a blue blanket. If she kept to herself and didn't talk to anyone, she might get away with only a cursory glance from the other passengers.

The blue plastic diaper bag held two baby bottles filled with milk from the convenience store and a stack of Pampers diapers. She jammed as many of her own things as she could into the bag so she would have more room in her straw bag.

Maddie choked up when she remembered how hard it was to part with her engagement ring. She'd cried when she handed it over. The eighteen hundred dollars was safe in the bottom of her straw bag, along with the pawn ticket she knew she'd never be able to redeem.

She looked at her watch. At this time tomorrow she'd be in Utah trying to pass the time until she could talk to Janny. It was going to be a long night, with a stopover in Denver before she could make her final connection to Utah.

Three hours to kill before she could leave for the airport, where she could order lunch and walk around until her flight was called.

She paced, kneading her thighs with her fingers, praying she wasn't making a mistake.

Today she'd looked over her shoulder, paid attention to everyone she came in contact with. She hadn't seen anything or anyone that looked the least bit suspicious. No one had spoken to her and there were no footsteps behind her when she'd swivel suddenly to stare over her shoulder.

She felt safe.

The following day, after her flight, Maddie checked into the Holiday Inn a mile from the downtown area of Provo as Mrs. Penelope Barrister from Burlington, Vermont. She paid cash for her room, settled in, showered, ordered room service, and spent the remainder of the time sleeping and watching television.

At exactly five minutes to twelve, she exited her hotel room along with her make-believe child. Her body was shaking so badly, she thought she would drop the doll she was holding against her chest. By jiggling the doll, her quivering fingers located the stash of change she carried in her pocket.

God, Janny was going to be thunderstruck when she heard her voice, Maddie thought. She'd probably faint when she found out she was actually in Provo.

Maddie picked up the phone, the doll secure against her chest, dropped in her money and waited for the dial tone. She dialed the number from memory, waited for the operator, then dropped in more change. “Please be there, Janny,” she muttered as she leaned against the pole the telephone was attached to. Her breathing was ragged, spurting from her mouth in hard, little gasps. “Please, God, please let her be there.” The pay phone she'd dialed rang four, five, and then six times. With each successive ring, Maddie felt her heart thump. When it was finally picked up on the eighteenth ring, she was so dizzy her vision blurred. “Janny,” was all she could manage.

“Maddie, is it really you? Oh, Maddie, Maddie, I—” Janny broke down, sobbing into the phone.

“Let's each take a minute to get ourselves together,” Maddie said hoarsely, her own throat constricting with relief. When she was finally able to talk, she said, “Janny, I'm here in Provo. I cut and ran. I couldn't stand it. The place they had me in was so bad I couldn't eat or sleep. They didn't come through with my new identification and couldn't tell me when I'd get it. I blew up and walked out. They had me in Florida. I hitchhiked to Georgia and then to South Carolina and took a flight out of Charleston to here. I'm in Provo, Janny. Where are you?”

“Oh, my God, oh my God, oh my God,” was all Janny could say. “You're really here!” she finally squealed.

“I'm here, and I don't think anyone followed me either. I bought this doll, pretended it was a real baby, and took a flight here under an assumed name. I cut and dyed my hair. I look awful. Oh, Janny, I had to pawn my engagement ring. I called Pete twice. They lied. I don't believe they contacted Pete, and I don't think his uncle is anyone to be afraid of. Where are you, Janny?”