back?” Wayde asked.
Remy nodded.
“I’m gonna go check and make sure we got everything we need. Go ahead and wrap her up in the quilt.”
Her eyes opened wide with fear, and she faced Wayde hoping to change his mind. He simply walked out of the room.
Remy leaned in close to her. “Got you now, Queenie.” He smiled, swaying his head slowly back and forth over her face.
He moved rapidly, and she turned her face to the side. Like a dog, he barked piercingly into her ear. She winced as sharp pains zipped though her head. He rolled her into the old musty quilt. When he placed it over her face, her mind was thick with dread. Her thoughts were no longer fast and unrestrained, but sluggish and morose. A voice invaded her thoughts, telling her repeatedly to go to sleep don't struggle and you won't even realize you're suffocating to death. She heard Wayde come into the room.
“Get the God damn quilt off her face. We need her alive, at least for the time being.”
Her only considerations were of Max. She may have written his death sentence by bringing him to Wayde’s and given it her stamp of approval with her insolence toward him last night.
“Now, I want you to listen to me, you understand?”
She nodded.
“When Remy carries you out and puts you into the trunk, I don’t want you to move. No kicking or nothin’ while you’re inside either. Quiet as a mouse. If you want your little boy alive, that’s what’s gonna happen. Understand?”
A twinge of relief, Max was still alive. She nodded in agreement.
“Get her into the trunk, Remy, and then get the God damn blanket off her. We’re leaving here at seven-thirty sharp.”
~ ~ ~
Jackson drove past Wayde’s house at a slow pace, studying the area before he continued down the road to meet with Veda. Dew from the overnight rain covered the windshields of Wayde and Savannah’s vehicles. The morning was damp and dreary, but the day promised to be hot and humid. The sun hid behind the grey, overcast sky, already heating the heavy air.
Eight o’clock on a Sunday morning wasn’t the opportune time for the questioning of neighbors. It seemed they were early risers, though. The lights were on, and a light mist of steam filtered from the clothes dryer exhaust duct that stuck out from the side of the trailer. As he pulled in, three dogs came up to the truck door, barking. They didn’t appear to be vicious. A man opened the front door of the trailer just as Jackson rolled down his window. A woman stepped up behind the man.
He held his badge out of the truck’s window. “Police business. I need to step out and talk to you.” He motioned his head toward the dogs. The man called them off. He got out and walked to the door holding his hand out. Reluctantly, the man shook it.
“Sorry about bothering you so early on a Sunday morning, but the matter is pressing. My name’s Jackson Pierce. I’m a private investigator under the jurisdiction of the Le Grand Police Department.”
The man took a good look at him and craned his neck around to get a better view of the truck. “All the way over here?”
He pulled out Olivia’s card. “If you'd like to give this woman a call over in Le Grand, she can verify my reasons for being here.”
The woman stepped out in front of the man. “Scott, don’t bother with that. Mr. Pierce, I’m Veda. This is my husband, Scott. C’mon in.”
Scott frowned with a shrug and moved aside letting them pass by.
“You’re here about Kinsley aren’t you, Jackson? Scott, I told you something was wrong.”
Hearing her use his name with such familiarity made Jackson wonder if Kinsley had told her about him. He didn’t let the thought linger. He was more concerned with the task at hand.
Scott put his hand against the back of his neck, stretched backward, and closed his eyes. “Well, you may have been right this time, Veda, but I’ve always been taught to keep out of people’s private business.” Scott motioned Veda over to the coffee pot and nodded toward the chair offering him a seat. “I don’t know much about those people. Most of your talkin’ is probably going to be with Veda.”
Veda moved around the kitchen in a hurry. In no time, there was coffee along with biscuits and jelly for the three of them. All remained untouched. She wiped her brow with