Marjorie Thelen - Designer Detective

“Keep smiling,” said Hudson. “Let’s appear a joyous group. Not a care in the world.”

Jake said, “I could use a drink. I’d settle for some strong coffee.”

I said, “I would like to know how you managed to deceive us for so long, Hudson.”

He smiled. “It was my job.”

“Why did you say you needed an alibi?”

“Opal and Jake thought I needed an alibi so I played along. Jake especially didn’t want you to leave.”

We both looked at Jake who kept his eyes on the horizon.

“I had to play along,” said Hudson, “you must understand. These men set the fire. Cody egged them on, telling them about the receipts and the incriminating evidence in Albert’s study. They got carried away and nearly burned the place down. It’s a terrible tragedy to destroy a fine house like that. I must say, I had some anxious moments with the police till we got that sorted out.”

A dark gray Suburban pulled in front of the entrance.

“Here we are.” Hudson said. “Now the fun begins. Maybe we’ll get into a high-speed chase. I do so love them.”

“High-speed chase?” I said, as he helped me into the back seat. Jake got in the other side. “It didn’t say anything in my contract about a high speed chase.”

Hudson jumped in the front seat, and we pulled out slowly as if taunting the other guys to follow us in full view of the bustling world of Tysons Corners. Two cars fell in behind, one a brown Chevy, the other a dark green SUV. I counted it lucky no one shot at us so far.

“Those guys must be confused,” I said. “The other two were supposed to be with us.”

Mike and Hudson kept moving their heads an inch or two side to side, monitoring the rear view mirrors.

“Confusion is good,” said Hudson. “What counts is that they are following us.”

We turned right on Route Seven, heading west through the surreal world of Tysons Corners strip malls and car dealerships. Jake’s hand reached over and covered mine on the seat. I looked at him and managed a weak smile. The gesture calmed my wired tight nerves for a nanosecond.

“What about Opal and the boys?” Jake said.

“Yes,” I said, “Alice is supposed to help Jake and Opal get to Oregon. We can’t leave Opal behind. Hudson, do you know where she is?”

“When the boys and I came back from our late night outing, I arranged for them to pick Opal up and head out to Oregon in their truck.” He checked his watch. “They’ll have been on the road for hours by now. We’ll contact them to make sure all is well as soon as we catch a few more criminals.”

“That’s a relief. Hudson, might I ask for whom you work?” I said.

“All I can say is that I’m on loan. We are trying to break an intricate crime organization that spans a number of countries. This sting operation is one link in the chain. Now that we are on the move, the dominoes are falling. Everything will turn out just fine, you’ll see.”

“I wish I could feel as confident.”

Mike set an easy pace through the Tysons area, stopping at nearly every light. Traffic was bumper to bumper. It was the usual Northern Virginia snarl. Hudson and Mike checked mirrors and peered about, exchanging a terse word or two. Apparently, the brown Chevy was behind us.

I glanced at the car beside me. It was a large truck that looked a lot like the truck Jake’s buddies were driving. I nudged Jake and pointed. Lo, there sat one of the boys at the wheel, giant cowboy hat fixed firmly on his head. Opal waved at us through the back window.

Jake said, “Hudson, to your right.”

Hudson glanced over and did a double take. “I say, there are your friends. And there is Miss Opal. I thought they would be far afield at this hour. How extraordinary. I thought the Geronimo unit was taking care of them.”

Mike leaned forward and looked. “Geronimo said everything was good to go. I guess they got delayed. I hope they don’t follow us.”

“I don’t want to draw attention to them,” said Hudson.

Opal rolled down her window and waved, trying to shout to us. I rolled my window down to hear her.

“Fiona, it is so good to see you. Thanks for coming back. And there is Hudson. Well, I never. Is Jake with you?”

I could barely hear her over the traffic.

Hudson turned around. “Please, Miss Marlowe, please. Try not to draw attention to Miss Opal. We don’t want anything to jeopardize our plans.”

“Opal,” I said, motioning with my hand, “you go on. We’ll catch up with you later. We’ll be in touch. Go on now.”

She nodded and rolled up the window. They forged ahead in traffic.

I leaned forward to speak to Hudson. “I hope this doesn’t mean that plans are going awry.”

“Nothing to worry about Miss Marlowe, we are on track to wrap this caper up today.”

“Great. That’s really comforting.”

Jake said, “I could use a cup of coffee.”

“Me, too,” I said. “Are they still following? Maybe we could talk the boys into breakfast and coffee. We could talk rifles.”

“Watch out,” said Mike as he swerved to avoid the car in front that had hit its brakes. A head-wrenching crunch reverberated through the car. The car behind smacked into us. The car to the left of us swerved to miss the guy in front of him and skidded sideways into us. The sound of screeching metal, squealing brakes and angry shouts swirled around us.

“You all right, Fiona?” Jake said, as we jerked to a stop.

“I think so.”

We pivoted around surveying the damage. Crumpled cars and red faces hemmed us in. People got out of their cars. No one was moving in the westbound lane. The eastbound lane slowed to a crawl as people rubbernecked to see what kind of fool traffic pile up had happened this time.

Hudson said to Mike, “I say, isn’t that the people from the Geronimo unit in that late model Ford truck?”

Mike looked and cursed a few choice words under his breath. “Man, they never follow instructions. They weren’t supposed to be with us out here. They were supposed to have the other folks on the road. What are they doing here?”

Hudson shook his head. “They are so very unreliable. You would think with all their funding they’d be able to have better trained people.”

He turned to us. “Wait here. We will reconnoiter and ascertain what is to be done.”

Mike got out with him. Both stuck their hands in the pockets as only men can do and walked to the Ford truck.

Jake put his arm around me. “Looks like we might be here for awhile. I wonder if these seats recline. Want to sleep with me, Fiona?”

He kissed me softly on my hair, and I couldn’t help but snuggle against him. “Sounds tempting. We never did resolve whose room we’d end up in last night. What a night. What happens next?”

“Haven’t a clue. I’d say we are caught in forces beyond our control, and the vise is closing. How I got here from a ranch in beautiful southeast Oregon is beyond me. It all started with Albert croaking.”

“Yes, and you know we still don’t know who murdered him, or if he opted out himself.”

By this time everyone had gotten out of their cars and were milling about, looking at damage, talking to other motorists. Hands waved. Voices rose.

“Look, Jake, the Ford truck guys are talking to Mike and Hudson. Maybe the confederation of agencies is battling this one out. I’ve heard of that, federal agencies fighting over whose jurisdiction has the upper hand.”

“Don’t know. What do you say we split and find some coffee?”

“Do you think we should? What about the guys following us?”

“We’ll be careful and be back before anyone misses us.”

We walked through the milling motorists and found a little dive called the Silver Diner opened on a side street and settled into a booth. The waitress brought coffee with the menus. I sighed in contentment and ordered a cinnamon bun to revitalize my soul. Jake ordered steak and eggs.

“Now what?” I said. “I have my ticket to Australia. Opal is on her way to Oregon with the boys. The estate may never be settled, but we don’t have to worry about that. We may never know how Albert died. So we’re off the hook, as far as I can tell.”

“Not quite,” said Jake. “The rifles are missing, and the bad guys are still looking for them, us and Cody.”

“Yes, but we can walk away, and the mysterious confederation can take care of everything.”

“You can walk away. I have to live with Opal and Cody. Opal doesn’t realize how bad the charges are going to be against Cody. That might be for the best. I’m glad she’s leaving because she is forever trying to protect him. I’m going to call the boys and see where they are.”

He flipped open his cell phone. I was envious. Mine was smashed on the floor of the hotel room, and I hated deciding on a new one, there are so many. Maybe I’d get an IPhone this time.

“Where are you? Why are you going there? No, turn around. You can’t take Opal to New York no matter what she says she wants to do. You take her home, you hear? I know she’s your boss, but she has funny ideas these days. It’s her medication.”

He closed the phone and laid it on the table. “Can you believe Opal wants to see the Statue of Liberty?”

“She doesn’t get east that often. I can’t blame her.”

Breakfast arrived and more coffee. We wolfed down every last morsel. I smiled as I laid down my fork. I wanted to burp in delight like the ancient Romans did after a meal to express their pleasure but I restrained myself.

“Let’s go,” said Jake. “Maybe the traffic jam is over by now. Hudson probably has an All Points Bulletin out on us.”

Outside the fog was clearing to reveal another cloudy, overcast morning. We walked along the side street toward the traffic jam. I heard footsteps and a man with a black goatee and shaved head fell in beside us. He wore a sweat suit and looked like he might have been running.