Da-da-dum, da-da-dum, da-da-dum. Charge.
Scrambling, Guy yanked his cell phone out of its case, which was strapped to his belt. He hit the talk button as soon as he realized who it was.
"I've got something interesting."
He peeked over his shoulder to see if the noise had disturbed his passenger. Bailey's hair had fallen across her cheek, hiding her face. Her chest rose and fell like someone in a deep sleep. "What time is it there?" Guy looked out into the black night. Every now and then he'd pass a vehicle. Looking in the rear-view mirror something he did constantly he saw a set of headlights but they were way behind them. He was sure they weren't anything to worry about but he'd been keeping watch.
"Too early for the sun."
"Did you get any sleep yet?"
"When there isn't some work to do, I will. How about you?"
He'd often wished he'd had Graham's stamina. The guy could stay up for twenty-four hours, sleep a couple and then off he'd go again. It exhausted him just thinking about it.
"You've got company?"
Guy smiled. "In a matter of speaking. So yes, I'll be talking quietly."
"All right here goes. Mrs. Donna Saunders came into existence August of 1983-"
"She was born in 1952."
"Hold on my dear friend, I'm not finished. Mrs. Donna Saunders came into existence in August of 1983.There is no information regarding a Miss, Ms or Mrs. Donna Saunders prior to that time."
Guy rubbed his forehead. "That happening so close to when baby Cassidy was stolen can't be a coincidence."
"I don't think it is either. I have lots of information but can't find a thread to tie it all together yet. I'll keep working on it."
"Thanks Graham. This case is turning out to have more surprises than either of us could have ever predicted." He proceeded to fill him in on what had happened so far.
"Holy Toledo. Are you sure you don't want to go to the police with this?"
Glancing over his shoulder at his passenger, he knew that he might pay for his decision. "No. But I do need you to run a license plate. I'm sure the car is rented but not legally. Of course I can always hope."
"By the way, your Grandmother, the next coming of God, called and wanted to know where the report was that you promised her. Where is it Guy? She scares me."
He chuckled knowing that Graham loved to make her think that. He also knew she was a big marshmallow on the inside.
"I haven't really had the time or place to do such. So here's what I need you to write in it and send it off. Fax it to her private machine." He filled him in on what to put and not to put in the details to her.
"Got you boss. Hyuuh. Hyuuuuh. Hyuuuuh."
He clicked off the phone, on Graham's sad rendition of Goofy's laugh but couldn't help chuckling at his friend's odd sense of humour. Yawning like it was never going to stop; he followed the road that led him to Jasper. It would be another hour or two before the sun was up but the sky was already quite light and made seeing much easier. The mountains in all their majestic beauty were just becoming visible. He couldn't help but look around in awe as he drove into the town limits. Not having a clue about Jasper, he drove around until he found an obscure, off the beaten path motel. He went in and booked a room. Bailey wouldn't be pleased but then she was still sleeping and he needed a few hours. Besides, he had no clue as to where exactly they were going. Somewhere near Jasper was all the information he'd been given.
Unlocking and pushing the door inwards, he stepped back as an old, musty smell jolted him. He went back to the car to get his travel mate. After a moment of trying to figure out how to best get a sleeping Bailey out of the car, without waking her, he decided there wasn't really any graceful way. Worst that would happen, he thought, was that she'd wake up and give him hell. Thinking that was as bad as it would get, he wasn't prepared for what happened.
Her hand came up and drove him in the chin, her right foot drove down, clipping his knee. Next thing he knew he was on the ground writhing in pain and she was standing over him, ready to kick the crap out of him.
"Stop!" He rolled out of her reach. Her stance didn't change much but the crazed look in her eyes dissipated. She was breathing hard. Her chest heaving as though she'd run the whole way there. He slowly got to his feet, his hand automatically going to the lump he could feel growing on the side of his face. His jaw still moved easily enough but not without pain. Standing up, he realized his knee didn't feel all that great either.
"I should have woken you. My mistake. I thought we could both use some proper sleep so I booked us here." He waved behind him. "Since we're parked on the back side, out of the main stream of Jasper, I figured we'd be okay."
"We're in Jasper?" The intensity in her stare seemed out of place.
"Yeah."
"I slept for three or four hours?"
He shrugged and nodded, trying to let her know it wasn't a big deal.
Bailey stared hard at him for a minute before turning her back to him. Reaching in the car, she grabbed her purse and marched past him into the dingy room.
Thinking that some real food might do them both some good and give Bailey time alone, he headed off down the road to the fast food place they'd passed. Fifteen minutes later he pulled into the motel parking lot. Rather than get out he sat there just staring absently out the window. He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his gut. Reversing, he drove down a few side streets and back alleys, almost losing her car in the mud puddles and finally parked a few blocks away. He grabbed the food and walked back to the room barely able to refrain from eating.
He knocked and then waited a few seconds for a response. "Bailey?" When there was no answer he inserted his key and cautiously entered. She lay flat across one of the beds, her left hand dangled off the side, her shoe-clad feet off the other and her hair covering her face. The fact that she didn't move and the deep even breathing, told him she was sound asleep. He tiptoed to the small, round table in the corner and started to munch on his breakfast. He opened the curtain slightly so he could see anyone approaching.
"Don't eat all that."
He'd never been skittish or jumpy in his life. In fact, he'd always been told he had nerves of steel; no one was ever able to walk up and scare him, at least not until now. After jerking around and knocking over his chair with a loud crash, he glared at the woman who had so calmly moved from the far bed to drape across the one close to him.
"Dammit. You're going to kill me."
Bailey shrugged and reached for his food. He ripped it out of her hands. "Yours is in the bag."
"Grumpy, aren't we. Maybe you need some sleep." She kicked off her shoes and socks, grabbed her food and climbed onto the bed.
Growling at her, he sat down and finished his while trying to ignore her sitting barefooted, cross-legged, eating like she hadn't had a meal in weeks.
"Oh man. This is the greasiest, tastiest stuff I've ever eaten."
"You might want to slow down or you'll have a gut ache."
She wiped her mouth with a napkin. "You sound like my mother. Only, my mother would never let me eat this kind of stuff." She proceeded to polish off the egg, sausage and tomato sandwich.
"Oooohhhhh." Bailey flopped backwards. "I ate too much."
Guy laughed. Bailey glared at him but couldn't contain her smile.
"So we're in Jasper. Where to from here?" It was like he'd flipped a switch again. Her face lost all animation and became very somber before turning away.
"I'm going to have a shower. Get some sleep." At the bathroom door she turned. "What time is it?"
"8:00 a.m."
Without a word, she grabbed her purse and closed the door behind her.
He needed to figure out what was going on but he knew that he needed sleep more. Something he wasn't sure would come easily. He stared at the closed bathroom. She was confusing, aggravating and seemed to make him far more alive than any woman he'd ever met. The thought scared the hell out of him. He wasn't known for lasting very long in any relationship. That
jerked him out of his crazy thinking. They were running for their lives and he was analyzing whether or not she'd date him. Calling himself all kinds of names, he got back to making sure they were secure, although he doubted that the man had been able to follow them. He locked the front door, placed a chair in front of it and moved the table in front of the window before stripping down to his shorts and crawling into bed. Within minutes he nodded off.