Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies
Page 110
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I shook my head as we climbed the few steps to the front porch. “Never gonna happen. After tonight, I’m retirin’. I’ll roast my hat in a big ole bonfire.”
He cocked his head and grinned at me as he opened the front door. “Never say never. You’ve got a God-given talent. It would be a shame to waste it.”
I released a nervous laugh. “I’ll leave the mischief to you and Skeeter. I’ve had my fill of it to last a lifetime. Now let’s get this done.”
He looked around for a moment and then entered the house ahead of me. The room was dimly lit, but it was bright enough that I could see from the light of a few lamps scattered across the room. The house had an open floor plan, and the living room was situated next to the open kitchen. It was as nice as Jed had led me to believe. The kitchen had fancy stainless steel appliances and granite counters, along with pendant lights over the island like you see in magazines.
The living room was covered in an off-white carpet. A leather sofa and a couple of upholstered chairs sat in front of a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. But the back wall was what was most impressive. Most of it was made of glass, and it overlooked the dark landscape of the lake. I could see a million stars in the sky, and the water was speckled with tiny bright lights from boat docks. It was the dead of winter, but they looked like fireflies.
“We moved the furniture around to optimize our safety,” Jed said as we walked into the room, and then he chuckled. “It’s liable to piss Gentry off even more.”
“Good.”
He gave me a look of surprise, then continued. “All of these glass doors lead to a deck, which has stairs to the right. This is escape route one.” He pointed to a door by the kitchen. “This is the only open door. The others have been sealed to maximize the effectiveness of our getaway—should we need one—but it’s glass, so it won’t slow them down for long.”
“Got it,” I murmured.
“Escape route number two is behind us.” He led me through the kitchen and to a short hallway lined with two doors. “This is one of those rare southern Arkansas houses that has a walkout basement. This door will take you downstairs. Once you’re down there, there’s a door you can use to exit and run to our rendezvous position.”
“Which is?” I asked, starting to get nervous.
“In the parking lot behind the country club. We passed it on the way in.”
I nodded. It was about a quarter mile to a third of a mile away. I’d never be able to run in these heels, but I’d just kick them off if necessary. “Any other escape routes?”
“If you get truly desperate, you can run up to a bedroom and try to get out a second story window, but I wouldn’t recommend it. And of course, there’s always the front door.”
“Got it.”
He pointed to a wine bottle and three wine glasses on the island. “The boys found some of Gentry’s wine in his wine cellar.” He grinned. “One of them said this was an expensive bottle if you want to play hostess.”
“Okay.”
He poured me a glass of red wine and set it on the table next to my chair. “It might help add to the illusion.”
I needed all the help I could get.
He pulled out his phone, then flinched and gave me a hard look. “They’re coming down the street. We need to get into position. We have men hidden around the house, waiting to step in and help if we need them, but their assistance will be in the form of fire-power, and we’re hoping to avoid that. Like Skeeter said, the code word is bananas, and as soon as you say it, I’ll get us out of here. Got it?”
I nodded, swallowing my nerves. “Do you really think I can do this, Jed?”
He grinned, but his eyes were serious. “I don’t have a death wish, but I don’t mind taking chances if the odds are in my favor. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”
He gestured for me to take a seat in the chair. I could see why they had chosen this position. The chair was at a slight angle, and its back was to the kitchen. From here we could see the front door and the hall with the door leading to the basement. The only thing we couldn’t see was the door to the deck behind us.
I cast a glance toward it as I sat down.
“We have men covering the back,” Jed said, as if reading my mind.
“We know from my vision that somebody gets past them without creating a disturbance.” Who was it? Would Skeeter change his mind about coming in?
“Then it must be someone on our side. Skeeter will have beefed up security. I guarantee it.” Jed’s voice was tight as he hurried to the front window and peeked out of the blinds. “They’re here.”
I sat down, setting the cell phone on the table next to the wine, then fingered the edge of my veil. I took a deep breath, trying to center myself. I had so much riding on this meeting that I was close to losing my nerve.
Jed’s hand rested reassuringly on my shoulder. “One piece at a time. Follow Deveraux’s script.”
Crappy doodles, I should have been going over it in the car. But it was too late to think of that now.
The front door swung open, banging against the wall, and Gentry stormed into the house.
“Just who the hell do you think you are?” he demanded.
Well, crap. The vision was different right off the bat. Worry followed that realization, but there was no turning back now. The future had already been set into motion. Now we could only live it.
He cocked his head and grinned at me as he opened the front door. “Never say never. You’ve got a God-given talent. It would be a shame to waste it.”
I released a nervous laugh. “I’ll leave the mischief to you and Skeeter. I’ve had my fill of it to last a lifetime. Now let’s get this done.”
He looked around for a moment and then entered the house ahead of me. The room was dimly lit, but it was bright enough that I could see from the light of a few lamps scattered across the room. The house had an open floor plan, and the living room was situated next to the open kitchen. It was as nice as Jed had led me to believe. The kitchen had fancy stainless steel appliances and granite counters, along with pendant lights over the island like you see in magazines.
The living room was covered in an off-white carpet. A leather sofa and a couple of upholstered chairs sat in front of a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. But the back wall was what was most impressive. Most of it was made of glass, and it overlooked the dark landscape of the lake. I could see a million stars in the sky, and the water was speckled with tiny bright lights from boat docks. It was the dead of winter, but they looked like fireflies.
“We moved the furniture around to optimize our safety,” Jed said as we walked into the room, and then he chuckled. “It’s liable to piss Gentry off even more.”
“Good.”
He gave me a look of surprise, then continued. “All of these glass doors lead to a deck, which has stairs to the right. This is escape route one.” He pointed to a door by the kitchen. “This is the only open door. The others have been sealed to maximize the effectiveness of our getaway—should we need one—but it’s glass, so it won’t slow them down for long.”
“Got it,” I murmured.
“Escape route number two is behind us.” He led me through the kitchen and to a short hallway lined with two doors. “This is one of those rare southern Arkansas houses that has a walkout basement. This door will take you downstairs. Once you’re down there, there’s a door you can use to exit and run to our rendezvous position.”
“Which is?” I asked, starting to get nervous.
“In the parking lot behind the country club. We passed it on the way in.”
I nodded. It was about a quarter mile to a third of a mile away. I’d never be able to run in these heels, but I’d just kick them off if necessary. “Any other escape routes?”
“If you get truly desperate, you can run up to a bedroom and try to get out a second story window, but I wouldn’t recommend it. And of course, there’s always the front door.”
“Got it.”
He pointed to a wine bottle and three wine glasses on the island. “The boys found some of Gentry’s wine in his wine cellar.” He grinned. “One of them said this was an expensive bottle if you want to play hostess.”
“Okay.”
He poured me a glass of red wine and set it on the table next to my chair. “It might help add to the illusion.”
I needed all the help I could get.
He pulled out his phone, then flinched and gave me a hard look. “They’re coming down the street. We need to get into position. We have men hidden around the house, waiting to step in and help if we need them, but their assistance will be in the form of fire-power, and we’re hoping to avoid that. Like Skeeter said, the code word is bananas, and as soon as you say it, I’ll get us out of here. Got it?”
I nodded, swallowing my nerves. “Do you really think I can do this, Jed?”
He grinned, but his eyes were serious. “I don’t have a death wish, but I don’t mind taking chances if the odds are in my favor. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”
He gestured for me to take a seat in the chair. I could see why they had chosen this position. The chair was at a slight angle, and its back was to the kitchen. From here we could see the front door and the hall with the door leading to the basement. The only thing we couldn’t see was the door to the deck behind us.
I cast a glance toward it as I sat down.
“We have men covering the back,” Jed said, as if reading my mind.
“We know from my vision that somebody gets past them without creating a disturbance.” Who was it? Would Skeeter change his mind about coming in?
“Then it must be someone on our side. Skeeter will have beefed up security. I guarantee it.” Jed’s voice was tight as he hurried to the front window and peeked out of the blinds. “They’re here.”
I sat down, setting the cell phone on the table next to the wine, then fingered the edge of my veil. I took a deep breath, trying to center myself. I had so much riding on this meeting that I was close to losing my nerve.
Jed’s hand rested reassuringly on my shoulder. “One piece at a time. Follow Deveraux’s script.”
Crappy doodles, I should have been going over it in the car. But it was too late to think of that now.
The front door swung open, banging against the wall, and Gentry stormed into the house.
“Just who the hell do you think you are?” he demanded.
Well, crap. The vision was different right off the bat. Worry followed that realization, but there was no turning back now. The future had already been set into motion. Now we could only live it.
