The Lakeside Conspiracy (15 page)

CHAPTER 57

Right before the car reached them, it turned into a driveway a couple doors up the street. A man got out and ran into the house. “I know him,” Michelle said. “It’s okay.”

Max wouldn’t be able to relax until they were out of Seaside Park and headed back to Arkansas. He had to get his phone charged. He plugged it into the charger and set it down. He glanced at the clock. It was now 12:57 a.m. It looked like they would make it out ahead of the storm with just a few hours to spare.

Max entered “Lakeside, AR” into his phone’s GPS as soon as he had enough of a charge. The route would take him northwest away from the coast and eventually into Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, then down into Missouri and eventually Arkansas. It would be a twenty-two hour, 1300-mile trip.

But before he could go riding back into town, he needed answers. He needed to know who or what he was up against. “Shelle, open my voice mail and listen to the one from the police.”

Michelle opened the voice mail and held the phone to her ear. She listened for a minute, and then set the phone back down.

“Well?” Max said. “What did they say?”

“If you get back to Lakeside immediately, they won’t put out an APB on you.”

“What?” Max said.

“They want to question you in Jack’s death.”

“Shelle, someone is setting me up.”

“Max, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Somebody is scared though. And I don’t just mean me.”

“What are we gonna do?” Michelle said.

Max picked up the phone and called Ms. Jones. It was after midnight in Arkansas, but based on the fear he’d heard in her voice, he doubted she was sleeping anyway. He let the phone ring until it finally went to voice mail. He left a message explaining about his dead battery, the hurricane and the fact that they were on their way back. Max asked her to call him as soon as she got his message.

By 3:18 a.m., they were somewhere in Pennsylvania and Max was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He saw a sign for a 24-hour truck stop and exited. The car needed gas and he needed coffee. As he pumped the gas, he looked around and figured there had to be over a hundred trucks parked in the large lot. He wished he could crawl into a sleeping bunk like most of the trucks had.

He filled the tank, and then went inside to get some coffee and an ice cream cone—one of the chocolate drumsticks. He paid the clerk, removed the wrapper and started eating as he walked back to the car.

Michelle was asleep.

If she’d been awake, she might have noticed the car that pulled in to the truck stop less than a minute after they had and parked fifty feet away. Max wasn’t even thinking to look for it any more.

He got back in the car, took a bite of ice cream and a sip of coffee before starting the car and pulling away from the pump. He didn’t pay any attention to the car that pulled out after him.

CHAPTER 58

Max got a second wind after the ice cream and coffee. He was able to drive for another few hours while Michelle slept. To say it felt good to have her with him didn’t come close to describing it. He knew they had a lot of work to do to bring true healing and health to their marriage, but he was committed to doing whatever was necessary.

By 6:30 a.m., the caffeine was no longer working and Max was wiped out. At the next exit, he pulled off so he and Michelle could switch places. As she took over the driving, Max realized that technically, he was stealing their rental car. He was supposed to return the car to Newark airport, but he didn’t have the luxury of asking permission at this point. He’d ask for forgiveness later. Hopefully, they’d understand.

Max picked up his phone and tried calling Ms. Jones again. Still no answer, which was starting to worry him. He left another voice mail asking her to call him as soon as possible. And then Max fell asleep.

CHAPTER 59

It wasn’t the greatest night of sleep Michelle had ever had, but she actually felt rested. She looked over at Max who’d taken about two minutes to fall asleep. And only another minute to start snoring.

Twelve hours ago, she’d been at dinner with Chris. She’d tried telling him it was over between them, but she could see him getting upset and backed off. After kissing each other goodbye, he said they’d talk more in the morning.

He had asked her to stay with him until the hurricane passed, but she wanted to be with her parents. He had made her promise to get out of Seaside before the storm hit.

He’d really be upset when she told him she’d not only gotten out of Seaside, but was on her way back to Arkansas with Max. And she’d have to do that over the phone, which didn’t feel right. How do you break up with your old boyfriend over the phone with your husband in the car?

The time with Chris was exhilarating and romantic. She couldn’t deny that. She felt loved and cared for. She felt beautiful and desirable. Things she hadn’t felt from Max in a long time.

She wondered how much Max would want to know about the past few weeks with Chris. She knew he’d eventually ask. And she would have to tell him. Everything.

CHAPTER 60

Max woke up in time to see the sign telling them it was just 31 miles to Indianapolis. He’d been there once. A taxi cab driver had told him it was the largest city in the United States not located on a river. He’d repeated that fact to people, but didn’t know if it was true or not.

He adjusted his seat so it was upright. It was a sunny day without a cloud in sight. That wasn’t the case where they’d just come from. The Jersey coast was getting slammed by Hurricane Paul at the moment. He hoped Michelle’s parents wouldn’t lose their house.

“Shelle, thank you for driving. I couldn’t have gone another mile.”

Michelle was more interested in what she was seeing in the rear view mirror than what Max had said. “Don’t turn around, but I think we’re being followed.”

“No way,” he said as he tried to see behind them by looking in the side view mirror.

“It’s the one two cars back,” she said. “The dark blue Camry.”

“Yeah, I see it,” Max said.

“Is that the same car you saw in Seaside?”

“It’s hard to tell. How long has it been with us?”

“I noticed it a couple hours ago.”

“Try slowing down to 65 mph and see what they do.”

Michelle looked at the speedometer. She was going 75 mph. She tapped the break to disengage the cruise control and let the car slow down. At 68 mph, the car behind moved into the left lane and passed her. That left no one between them and the Camry.

It didn’t pass. It slowed down. Michelle re-engaged at 65 mph and looked in the mirror. The car behind them slowed to the same speed and stayed several car lengths back.

Max watched in the side view mirror. “Yeah, we’re being followed,” he said.

“What do we do?” Michelle said.

Max thought for a moment and said, “Take it back up to 75,” he said. “I have an idea, but you’ll need to just do what I say, okay? Don’t think about it. Just trust me.”

“Okay, just tell me what to do.”

“Get off at the next exit.”

The next exit was a mile away. “Then what?” she said as she turned onto the exit ramp.

“At the end of the ramp, put your turn signal on like you’re going to make a left turn. When you come to the stop sign, make a complete stop, but don’t turn yet.”

Max watched in the mirror as the Camry followed them onto the exit ramp. It was slowly closing the gap between them. Michelle was slowing to a stop. The Camry was matching their speed.

Michelle slowed down to 15 mph and coasted the last thirty yards to the stop sign. She came to a complete stop at the end of the ramp. Her turn signal was on. Max was watching the Camry coast in behind them and stop about a car length behind them.

“Shelle, when I give the word, I want you to throw it in reverse and floor it.” The Camry was slowly creeping forward.

“What? You’re not serious.”

“Trust me.” Max looked in the mirror. “Okay, now!”

Michelle shifted into reverse and stomped on the accelerator. Max braced for the impact, which came a second later. They slammed into the other car’s grill, which immediately deployed the Camry’s airbags.

“Now put it in drive and take us back on the interstate,” Max said. The Camry wasn’t moving. The front end looked pretty banged up. It would probably still run, but they had to be disoriented. Michelle drove straight through the intersection and got back on the interstate.

She took it back up to 75 mph. Max realized he’d not only stolen the car, in a technical sense, but now it was also damaged. Again, those were the least of his worries. He looked behind them and saw no sign of the Camry.

“It seems to be driving okay,” Max said. “How does it feel to you?”

“A little vibration, but not bad,” she said. “I’m sure it looks a lot worse than it feels.”

Max checked the GPS on his phone. At this pace, they’d reach Lakeside by 9:00 p.m. What they’d do once they arrived was still up in the air. But they had nine hours to figure it out. That’s when Max’s phone buzzed. He hoped it was Ms. Jones.

It wasn’t. It was his boss, Bill Jackson.

CHAPTER 61

“Hello, Bill,” Max said.

Michelle looked at Max wondering what Bill could want now.

“Max, I can help you, if you’ll let me. Now I’m glad you and Michelle got out before the hurricane hit, but you’ve got to just get back here, so we can figure this out.”

“Bill, how are you going to help me?”

“Just trust me with that. I’ll put in a good word with the police, but Max, you’ve got to stop playing games. Now I’m going to text you an address. You can meet me there. We can go talk to the police together.”

“Bill, why wouldn’t we just meet at the police station?”

There was silence for a moment, then Bill’s tone changed, “Max, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. Your best option is to do what I tell you.” He paused. “No one else has to get hurt.”

“Bill, how did you know I got out of New Jersey before the hurricane hit? And that Michelle is with me?”

There was a moment of silence, then, “Damnit, Max, stop playing games.”

“I don’t think I’m the one playing games, Bill.”

“Look, if you want to help yourself, and your wife, you’ll tell us where Dante’s mother is,” Bill said.

“Bill, who’s us?” Max said.

Silence again. Then Bill said, “Us, is people I can promise you don’t want to cross, Max. You really don’t.”

Max had heard enough. Bill was someone he could no longer trust. “Goodbye, Bill.” And then he hung up.

CHAPTER 62

Just past Indianapolis, they stopped to fill the car with gas and get some lunch. Max examined the rear end of the car. It wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be. The plastic bumper was cracked and parts were missing, but considering the damage they’d done to the Camry—they’d gotten off easy. He was sure the rental car company wouldn’t agree.

For lunch, they grabbed some Subway and got back on the road. Max took over driving again while eating his sub. Michelle was eating a salad. As they drove, Max was formulating a plan. “Clearly, Bill is involved in whatever this is,” Max said.

“That’s too bad,” Michelle said. “I like Bill. Or did.”

“Yeah, me too. But he’s in deep. And he’s scared. I could hear it in his voice.”

“Those guys that were following us must have called him.”

Max was playing it all over in his mind. “Yeah, maybe,” Max said. “But I don’t think Bill’s the guy in charge. I got the sense he was making his plea for someone else.”

“So the guys we wrecked called their boss who then called Bill?” she asked.

“I think so,” Max said. “Bill and Jack Murphy are, or were, talking the same way. It’s bigger than them. A lot bigger.”

“Max, what’s going on?”

“I wish I knew, Shelle. Whatever it is, somebody’s getting scared.”

Max tried to call Dante’s mother again. She didn’t answer and he didn’t leave a message. He was about to put his phone away when it started to buzz.

It was Dave Turner.