Guardian's Hope (20 page)

Nico took his hand off the wheel long enough
to pat her knee. “Don’t worry, my precious. A night in jail is all
part of the adventure.” He downshifted to a halt on the shoulder of
the road. “Small town jails are very small. I’m sure they’ll let us
share a cell.”

“Nico!” she wailed and he took pity on
her.

“Nothing will happen to you. I won’t let it.”
He leaned over to kiss her icy lips. “Trust me. You’ll see.”

“Good evening, Officer.”

“Sir, ma’am. Clocked you at a hundred and
ten. I’ll need to see a license and registration.”

Nico made a show of searching for his wallet
and Hope’s heart began to pound in spite of Nico’s reassurance.
She’d never been in trouble with the law, had never seen a police
officer close up until one came to the door to tell her about
Lenny’s death.

The officer looked around inside the car.
“This is the real deal, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir, a classic 1961 Corvette Stingray,
fully restored and in mint condition. Everything’s original.”

“Man, when I was a kid, this was the car I
was going to drive when I grew up.” His hand stroked lovingly down
the side of the leather seat.

“A dream of mine as well. Can I show you the
engine?”

The officer looked around as if they might be
watched and then nodded. Nico unfolded himself from the seat and
followed the officer to the front of the car where they lifted the
hood. Hope could hear them whispering and joking. After a few
minutes, Nico returned, giving a friendly wave to the officer as
the man returned to his car. When the police car made a U-turn and
sped off, Hope breathed a sigh of relief.

“He let you off.”

“Not exactly.” He touched her forehead with
his thumb. “I made him forget. When he goes home to bed, he’ll
dream of fast cars and loose women.” He started the car and pulled
back onto the highway.

“I see. That’s a handy little talent.” She
frowned. “Hey. You tried to use that handy little talent on me the
night we met. Col and Dov tried it, too.”

“An act, Miss Parsons, which I humbly
regret.”

She crossed her arms in front of her and
nodded her head. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I can promise you it won’t.” The corner of
his mouth twitched. “There’d be no point. It doesn’t work. That’s
how we knew you were like Grace.”

Hope leaned her head back against the seat,
happy to know that no one could make her forget how Nico made her
feel.

*****

“I’m sorry, Mr. Nimeni. I was clear enough
with your secretary. We only had one room left when you booked and
I’m afraid we’re the only game in town. Of course, you can try up
the road about fifty miles. There’s another motel in Finton, though
I suspect they’re full up, too. There’s a revival in town. Setting
up tomorrow and running through the weekend. Big doin’s.” When Nico
nodded in resignation, the clerk handed him the key. “Good news is
you’re in the end unit. Secretary said you’d pay extra.” He
winked.

Nico glared. The man’s eyes widened and he
busied himself behind the desk.

“I didn’t plan this. I said two rooms.” It
was the truth. He didn’t plan it, but he wasn’t sorry. He already
felt a stirring in his loins and he hoped she wasn’t sorry
either.

“I’m not,” she whispered and hugged his
arm.

Their room hadn’t been changed since it was
newly remodeled in 1972. The bedspread was faded but clean and its
avocado green coordinated well with the green, gold, and orange
stripes of the drapes. The gold carpet might once have been shag,
but countless trampling feet had long since worn it flat. Nico
cautiously tested the bed and was surprised to find that it was
new, a pillow-top and the springs didn’t squeak. He was thankful
for small blessings.

“This isn’t what I would have wished,” he
said.

“I’m sure it was the best your secretary
could find. Who is your secretary anyway?” She thought it must be
Nardo.

“Grace. She volunteered to make the
arrangements to save us time.”

“Ah.” Hope nodded wisely. She peeked into the
bathroom. It, too, was old and worn, but clean.

Nardo flipped through the pages of a booklet
on the nightstand. “It looks like we’ll go without supper.
Nothing’s open until six and that’s too close to sunrise for
me.”

“We can be there when the doors open. Coffee
and Danish to go. We’ll be back by six fifteen.”

That’s not much of a dinner for you.”

“You’re in my world now, Nico. Dinner for
breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Why don’t you put the top up on
the car while I hang up our things?”

Nico’s bag was empty in seconds; one silk
shirt, one soft turtleneck, black underwear and socks, no dressing
gown or pajamas. Her own bag was stuffed. Grace had removed
anything she considered dowdy and added a few articles Hope was
sure she’d have no need of. She hung what she could in the tiny
closet and closed the lid on the rest. Her long flannel nightgown
found a place on the back of the bathroom door. Grace made her
bring one of the more revealing gowns she and Manon had chosen, but
Hope had tucked the white flannel gown it at the last moment. Her
body wasn’t good enough for such a display. She closed her eyes and
swallowed hard.

No matter how many books she read, how many
scenes she played over in her mind, she’d never be ready for what
was about to happen. They would be alone here in this room all
during the coming day and there was no way to avoid it.

Nico came back holding a red plaid carryall
containing a thermos of coffee and sandwiches and a folder of
information Nardo thought might be useful.

“I found it behind the seat. At least we
won’t starve.” He spread out the food, along with some chips he’d
purchased from a machine by the office, on the small table by the
window. Pulling out the orange plastic chair and motioning with an
exaggerated flourish, he offered Hope a seat.

“Mademoiselle, your feast awaits.”

“Thank you, kind sir, and God bless Nardo for
providing it.”

While they ate, they leafed through the
papers in the folder.

Hope dabbed the corner of her mouth with a
napkin. “Looks like I’ll have to go to the police office in the
town hall around eight o’clock. I want to get this over with as
quickly as possible.”

“You’ll wait till evening and we’ll go
together. I don’t want you doing this alone.” She’d taken the news
of another body remarkably well, but viewing it for identification
was another matter.

“I’ll be all right, Nico. This is a small
town and the offices aren’t open twenty-four/seven. Look here,” she
pointed to the page, “They have a force of three, a chief and two
deputies. I need to go during the day.”

“I can get us in after dark.”

“We don’t even know where they’re keeping the
body or if I’ll have to look at it. It might only be a picture. The
main thing I want is to get it over with. We need to know. I need
to know.” She took another bite of ham and Swiss and chewed
thoughtfully.

“I’ll need to take the car,” she said and
laughed when Nico choked on his coffee.

“No,” he sputtered. “That’s a delicate
machine and you’ve never driven it before. I didn’t even know you
could drive.”

“Oh please,” she said with mock affront, “You
let Col drive that delicate machine. I can use a clutch. It’s the
same for a car as it is for a truck and I can shift on a column or
on the floor. I may not have driven a fancy car before, but I
watched you on the way here and I don’t see that it’s that much
different from what I have driven. It’s only a few miles up the
road, but it’s too far to walk. I’ll get there at eight and be home
by nine.”

“I don’t know. If anything were to
happen…”

“To me or to the car?”

“Both. Either. I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it.” She reached
across and tapped his nose. “You just have to give me the
keys.”

Hope showered, French braided her hair,
applied a little make-up, and changed into the outfit Grace
suggested for the task. The short black leather jacket was fitted
and Hope felt a little conspicuous especially since the jacket
forced the wide cowl neck of her cream colored cashmere sweater
into a deep vee. The fine wool of the matching slacks fell loosely
from her hips in a straight line ending at a pair of dark red shoes
whose heels brought her height to six feet two. A red patterned
scarf and a pair of dangling gold hoops finished the outfit and
when Hope checked the final result in the full length mirror on the
wall between the two dressers, she hardly recognized the woman
staring back.

Maybe it was the unfamiliar surroundings of
bedroom and mirror. Maybe it was the anonymity of Perryville where
no one knew the real Hope Parsons and therefore no one would judge
her. Whatever it was, Hope liked what she saw. She straightened her
shoulders and turned this way and that admiring the attractive
woman who admired her back.

“Manon and Grace have worked a miracle to
make me look this good,” she said to Nico’s reflection in the
glass. He was lying casually on the bed with his hands behind his
head and ankles crossed.

“You’ve always looked that good,” he said and
his smoldering eyes said even more. “I risked a scorching to put
the top down.” He dangled the keys from his finger. “Do I get a
reward for risking my health and my car?”

Hope laughed as she went to him and snatched
at the keys which he kept out of reach.

“You didn’t risk anything you big fibber. You
went out right after we ate and before the sun came up and your
car’s not at risk. I’m a good driver and I’ll protect it with my
life. I’ll stick to the speed limit and park it where it can’t get
scratched. No reward for you, boyo.” She snatched at the keys again
and Nico caught her hand in his. He brought it to his lips and
kissed the inside of her wrist.

“We’ll talk about my reward when you get
back.” His face turned serious. “I’m still not comfortable with
your doing this alone. We should have brought Grace or Manon.”

“They wouldn’t have fit in that lovely car.”
She smiled and patted his cheek. “I’ll be all right, Nico. Just
knowing you’re here waiting is enough. Now let me go and get this
done.”

Chapter 20

The town of Perryville was a lot like many
small towns across America. It had one long Main Street on which
the local businesses were located and these included a barber shop,
a hardware store, a florist, two banks and a restaurant called
Carley’s Café.

According to Nardo’s map, the Town Hall
Offices and the Police Department shared a single building at the
far end of town right next to the Fire Department and Hope drove
cautiously down Main Street at the posted 25 mph. She’d tied her
scarf around her head to keep the wind from her hair and the sun
felt good on her face. People were already on the streets going
about their morning business and she smiled to herself as some of
them stopped and stared at Nico’s fancy little car.

She parked, carefully as promised, at the far
end of the lot and removed her scarf on the way into the building,
placing it around her shoulders and tucked a bit under the collar
of her jacket. A sign directed her to the right and she found the
door with gold lettered “POLICE DEPT.” at the end of the short
hall.

An older woman sat behind a desk talking to
two men who lounged at the corners. They looked up as she entered
and stared, one of the men with an open mouth. She’d obviously
interrupted something. The woman recovered first.

“Can I help you?” she asked and in an aside
to the man on her right, “Close your mouth, Harry. You’re looking
like the fool that you are.”

“I’m sorry…” Hope thought of Grace’s pinch “…
for interrupting. I’m looking for the Chief of Police.”

“He’s not here right now. Is there something
I can help you with?”

Hope closed her eyes and took a cleansing
breath. “I had some questions about the body that was found, the
young woman’s body. Has she been identified yet? Did she have
anything on her that might give someone a clue?”

“She ain’t been identified yet,” the man on
the left responded, “Don’t see how she’d gonna be considerin’ the
shape she was in. All they found was a scrap of cookbook in her
pocket. Don’t that beat all.”

Hope paled.

The woman stood and started around the desk.
“Jack Johnson, when are you going to learn to keep your mouth shut?
Look what you’ve done to the poor girl. Come on, honey. Sit right
down here. Don’t you listen to him. He doesn’t know what he’s
talking about. Gets all his information from the café.”

Until this moment, Hope had been able to
distance herself from the tragedy. If it wasn’t Faith, it was some
other poor young woman who died horribly lost and alone. And she
was going to have to look at the result. Nico was right. She wanted
him with her.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she said quietly. She
took a few breaths to calm herself. “Do you know when the Chief
will be back.”

“There’s no telling. He doesn’t like me
calling him unless it’s an emergency but as far as I can see, this
comes darn close. I’ll call and get him if you want. He’s down at
the café.”

“Perhaps it would be best if I met him
there.” She wanted out of this room. She needed air. “Would that be
all right?”

“Sure, honey, sure. I’ll just give him a call
to tell him to keep an eye out for you.”

The man in the dark blue windbreaker with a
police logo on the front was out of his seat the moment she walked
through the door.

“Welcome, welcome,” he said and held out his
hand. “I’m Sam Tolbert, Chief of the Perryville Police Department.
Call me Sam, everybody does.

Sam Tolbert looked to be about fifty. He wore
glasses, had an easy smile and a firm handshake. “For once, Lucy
didn’t lie. Said she was sending a real knockout to share my
breakfast. Said to look for a red head. I figured it’d be her idea
of a joke to send Mrs. Creel down here. She’s eighty-seven if she’s
a day and got hair the color of fire. Saw you come through in that
little ‘vette a bit ago, along with everyone else in town, but you
had your hair covered. Not often we see such a fine looking car and
never with such a fine looking woman driving it.” He smiled and
motioned to the back of the room. “Come on back to my booth where
we can talk in private. Carol? You want to bring us another coffee.
One of those sticky buns might be nice, too.”