So far, Miranda Jessup Buckley has been jilted, fired and left to take care of her ex-lover's child.   Now, Miranda is in the driver's seat of Missy's car, while Missy sits with wounded Tyler Douglas.   She knows, as long as Missy is the center of attention, they have a little time to make a plan for escape.

 

 

          *********************

 

I don't pass another car for four miles.  We pass the exit to the highway, and the shortcut to the bypass.  We continue past the turn to her long driveway.

 

"We're gonna run out of road in a couple of miles," I say.  This road ends up forking at the end.   Left fork will take you down the back roads to Norfolk, Virginia.  The right fork takes you into what locals call "no man's land".  It's mainly swamp land.  Full of snakes, deer, and black bears.  

 

Missy catches my eye in the rearview mirror.  "Turn off at Haynes Pond."  She leans forward, her fingers snagging my hair.  "You know where that is right "

 

"I think I can find it."

 

My hands tighten around the stirring wheel.  This isn't good.  You can't see from the main road.  I don't want to die, but I damn sure don't want to die at Haynes Pond.

 

"I've got a question for you."

 

"Ask," she says.  

 

"How did you know Ed Preston was gonna press charges against me?"

 

"He came to me, demanding I hire a lawyer for him.  Said you had humiliated him and caused personal injury. "

 

It doesn't make any sense.   Why would he go to her?  "Why did he think you'd hire a lawyer for him?"

 

She heaves a big sigh. "He said I owed it to him."

 

"Maybe I'm missing something.  What connection did the two of you have?"  I steal a glance at Tyler.  He looks pale. "You hanging in there, Tyler?"

 

He looks up weakly and nods.

 

Missy clears her throat.  She needs to have my attention back.  "About four years ago, Ed's sister came to me and asked me to give Ed a job.  Handyman crap, ya know.  Cut the grass, clean the pool, menial stuff.  So I did."  

 

"Yeah,"  I say.  "Did you not pay him?  Is that why he thought you owed him?"

 

Missy taps my shoulder with her gun.  "Here, slow down so you don't miss the turn."

 

"I know where the damn turn off is.  Go on with your story."

 

She settles back.  "Damn it.  Tyler you got blood on my clothes."

 

"Bet you wish you had those hillbilly napkins right about now, don't ya?" I say more to myself than to her.

 

"Anyhow, I paid him weekly, in cash, mind you.  I'd see him riding on the lawnmower, playing tiddly winks with himself.  I'd even let him see me watching sometimes."

 

I shudder.  This was one twisted chick.

 

"And, you still haven't said why he thought you owed him."  I put on the turn signal, only to have her abruptly reach over my shoulder to turn it off.

 

  "There's no one around.  You don't need the stupid turn signal."

 

"It's habit.  You probably won't understand this, but I'm a law abiding citizen.  Using the turn signal to indicate you're turning is the law."

 

We pull down the narrow gravel road.  "Stop here," she says.  "Ok.  We're going to go on from here on foot."  She glances from me to Tyler.  "You ready, baby?"

 

He struggles to open his eyes, moans weakly.  He's going into shock or worse.

 

"He's too weak," I say.

 

"He'll be fine."

 

"Can you carry him, cause I can't.   Just leave him.  You only wanted me.  He can't run from you, doesn't have his weapon or his phone with him.  He's not exactly a threat."

 

For a moment, Missy regards him studiously.  Satisfied that everything I have said checks out, she leans towards him and presses her lips to his pale cheek.  "Don't worry, baby.  I'll be back in a few minutes."

 

She opens her door and slides out.  I unbuckle my seat belt and without turning around I whisper one last wish to him.  "Please tell me you have your cell phone."  I steal a look at him.

 

He briefly opens his eyes.  Then he winks.

 

I feel a glimmer of hope start to bubble up inside of me.  I just hope he has the strength to use it.

 

I remove the keys, toss them on the console, and slide out.  "Drives nice.  Does it get good gas mileage?"

 

Missy laughs.  "Why?  You thinking about getting one?"

 

"Circumstances change sometimes."

 

"Walk." She pokes the gun into my back.  "Now, what were we talking about?"

 

"Ed Preston working for you."

 

"Oh, anyhow he helped me one time and has tried to hold it over my head forever."

 

I stumble on a rock.  It's so dark and there's no moon visible.  I pray I don't step on a snake.  Then I revise that prayer and pray Missy Toblerone does.  "He help you get rid of Jason after you killed him?"

 

"I told you I didn't kill him.  Damn it.  Stop saying it."

 

"You know what happened to him.  Did you get Ed to kill him?  Is that it?"

 

She lets this primal screech out.  "No one killed him.  Okay?  Not me, not Ed."  She is out of breath, both from this walk and her speech.

 

"Can we stop here.  I've got pebbles and sand all in my shoes." I say.  I don't want to go to the water.  There's no place to run down there.  Not that I can see where to run here.

 

"Dump your shoes.  Hurry up."

 

"Tell me what happened to Jason?  You owe me that."

 

I hear her sigh.  "He used to workout in the garage.  Don't ask me why, he looked like the Pillsbury Dough boy, no matter what he did. Anyhow, I came out to tell him something and he was on the floor.  Kinda twitching.  Like he was having a stroke or something.  So, I ran back inside to get the phone.  You know, to call 911.  But, I didn't.  I made a sandwich and took it back out to the garage and sat down on the steps to eat it."

 

"You sat there and watched him dying?"

 

She snorts in disgust. "When you say it like that, I sound like a monster.  But I hated him.  I could have killed him, but God intervened."

 

"Don't you dare blame God for this."

 

"It was fine.  I was just gonna wait until he was good and dead, then call the ambulance.  It was perfect.  Until I looked up and saw Ed Preston looking through one of the windows."

 

I wonder if Tyler has called for back up.  I hope so, because now that I know all of this, I've put my own murder into overdrive.

 

 

 

To be continued ...