Chapter 43

The three of us parked at Hardees where we did every morning including the one before where Jeremy had shot Mr. Bradshaw dead. The blood was gone but a piece of plywood covered the door where Bradshaw had fallen into it.

"You don't reckon we have been banned do you?" Jeremy asked.

"I hope not. The distance is almost perfect for our race," I said. Even Jeremy looked at me as if I should be more concerned about what happened. "What? He was going to kill me for screwing his wife," I replied to his silent question.

"Well I guess that is true, still he is dead," Alice said.

"Better him than Rose," Jeremy said and held the plywood paneled door open for me.

"I got breakfast," I said to them. "But that is all the thanks you get. I will not suck your cock in front of the staff here."

Just then I saw Joan ask for my order. Just for a millisecond it was her. Then I blinked and it was a young girl who looked nothing like Joan at all. It shook me, but I tried to hide it.

I sat with Jeremy and Alice of course. "So what you got planned for today?" Jeremy asked.

"My plan is to try to finish my drawing course," I said.

"You don't think our mutual friend would like to meet with us," Jeremy asked.

"What happened the last few days had nothing to do with him or my cop friends," I said.

"You know they would like to hear the details so they can check out security," Alice said.

"What's got into you Alice. You are getting down right pushy," I said.

She laughed then said, "I have always been pushy you just didn't recognize it. Why don't we all take a nice drive in the mountains today."

Just then a young man stood up from his table and walked toward us with his plastic tray. He dumped the contents into the trash can near us even though he passed two others on the way. I was just about to trip him when I looked up and saw that it was Jose. I mean I knew it wasn't really but my mind sure as hell saw him for a second. He also looked at me with a smirk on his face.

I shifted my gaze to the contents of the tray. It was just sandwich wrappers and a coffee cup with a lit on it. I stood up quickly and bumped him. "I'm so sorry," I said as I removed the coffee cup from his tray. He saw me take it, then dropped the tray and ran.

"What the fuck," Jeremy asked.

I ran to the door and threw the cup after him. I fully expected an explosion but nothing happened.

"What was that all about?" Jeremy asked.

"He passed two trash cans to dump his shit in the one beside us. That coffee cup had the lid replaced. Since it doesn't seem to have been a bomb, let's go get it and see what was inside."

I recover the cup and took a look inside. You guessed it coffee. "Son of a bitch," I said.

"Rose are you alright?" Alice asked.

"Yeah I guess sometimes a cigar is just a coffee cup," I said.

Then of course a cop came to the door and the manager went outside to talk to him. After a few minutes he came inside.

"Good morning Miss Seabold what was the problem here. The manager thought you might have a problem," he said.

"No problem just some kid came over and called me puta. I stood up to challenge him and he threw the tray at me. After that shit yesterday I guess I just lost it. I went to the door and threw the coffee cup at him. After I calmed down I went to recover it and put it in the trash."

The explanation covered all the bases which is why the SBI and now the Church Camp guys loved me. I could think on my feet and cover all kinds of shit.

"Can you describe him for me," the cop asked.

"I really didn't get a good look at his face," I said. "I think he was Latino. That's all I can say for sure."

"Well there are a lot of those around these days. If you see him again call us," he said.

"I will officer and thanks for coming," I said.

When he had gone Jeremy asked, "Do you think he was Q10?"

"No, I think he was a kid who knew Jose," I said. I didn't say he probably got the pictures of me from Jose. He might have thought I was the one Jose was screwing instead of Joan. He probably just wanted a closer look. I didn't tell the two of them, because I didn't think it was important that they know. I felt that way since they didn't know the full story.

"We need to check in with Andrew," Jeremy said.

"No we don't. We need to go back to our lives as if this never happened. If you need to talk about it talk to Alice," I said.

"Who do you talk to?" he asked.

"I have a special cell phone that it connects directly to God. I talk to him," I said.

"How do I get one of those," Alice asked.

"I can give you mine but I warn you he never talks back," I said with a smile.

When I arrived home the download was complete. I copied the file onto to a high memory flash drive. Then I labeled it to make it easier to find among all the other flash drives. I needed the high memory because there were video files attached.

I pulled up a chair and my sketch pad and watched the next lesson in line. There were 14 of them and I had completed only ten. So I watched lesson eleven. I had to admit that Joan did a good job of explaining things. She was also pleasant to look. Probably because she wasn't beautiful it was easy to see her as an artist.

After the art lesson I took a long shower, then dressed in my most conservative outfit. I had more coffee then I bit the bullet and climbed into the truck. So much had happened in less than a week, it was hard to believe.

The small three bedroom house had half a dozen cars parked outside. Only the truck belonged to Carlos. The others belonged to people doing the same thing as me. Trying to pretend that we had a personal loss when it was all show. Still I felt it was important to show Carlos and Nita that we were with them in some mystical way. I didn't understand it but it was expected of me.

I did it mostly to stay in the family's good graces for several reasons not the least of which was intelligence they might pick up without realizing it. The local custom of bringing cash gifts proceeded the Latino population. I dropped my envelope with a hundred dollars and no name into the bowl by the door. Then I walked into the living room where Nita sat on the sofa covered with a knitted throw. She looked as though she hadn't stop crying in the two days since she found out about Jose.

I stopped in front of her. "Nita I am so sorry about Jose. He was a wonderful boy."

Her face suddenly turned hard. Then she asked, "Was it you?"

"I'm sorry what?" I asked I really had no idea what she was asking

"Were you the gringo whore who got him killed," she said quiet but hard.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I said. I looked around people were staring. "I guess I need to go but first let me say I have no idea what you are talking about and I'm sorry about Jose." I then turned and walked out of the door. Carlos came to the front of the house as I was about to pull out of his front yard.

"She and I want to know what you know," he said angrily.

"Carlos if you want to talk after this is over we will but I am not going to let you cause a scene today. Now get your ass away from my truck." I said it as a warning more than a threat.

What a fucked up mess, I thought. I drove the truck to my house then set about more research on the Internet. It was mid afternoon when I called Jeremy. "You still want to go camping?" I asked.

"Yeah we leave in half an hour they are expecting two of us, but I don't suppose one more will matter," he said.

When we got to the checkpoint there was a pickup truck with a sign on the door already parked there. The sign read S&D Courier Service. He passed through then we had the usual leave the truck and walk around the gate then get on the back of a four wheeler and ride to the compound.

The man who met me said hello, but I was not in the mood. "How come we have to leave our truck and some courier gets to drive right in?" I asked.

"Got me lady, you will have to ask the Camp Commandant," he said with a smile.

"I suppose you are staying for dinner," Andrew asked.

"Sure what you having," I asked.

"We are having a really good mac and cheese, meat loaf, and a carrot salad," Andrew's assistant explained.

"Well count me in. I never eat lunch so I'm going to be hungry for sure," I replied.

"Hell, count us all in," Jeremy said. He did look at Alice who was nodding her head.

"Ok three more for dinner," he said. "You won't regret it. The food took a quantum leap forward since your last visit. We are trucking it in from the main kitchen in the Swamp now. Well dinner anyway comes up with the mail."

"Andrew," Jeremy said extending his hand. Andrew moved his cane to his left hand and took Jeremy's hand. Alice rushed up and hugged him. I stood back and smiled at the show. Andrew smiled back.

We proceeded to spend two hours explaining all that happened. "So what do you think," Jeremy asked.

"It looks to me like your cover is good. If anything else happens send me a message." He was looking at me when he said it. "You don't have to wait till you need help you know."

"I can handle this. Jeremy wanted to bring you up to speed, just in case you need to rescue us," I said with a laugh.

"I'm not too worried about that," he said. "By the way Jeremy, nice shooting in that parking lot in the dark. Two shots both in the chest is nice work. Did the cops give you any shit about the pistol?"

"No, you were right about the pistol. They checked the ballistics but they didn't take it seriously," Jeremy said.

"Am I missing something here," I asked.

"Didn't you? The pistol Jeremy used was a .22 mag Ruger state of the art pistol. It isn't the kind of gun anyone would mistake for an assassin's weapon," Andrew said. "It's more a snake gun unless the user is a gifted marksman which your friend Jeremy happens to be."

"Oh really?" I asked.

"Yes, by the way speaking of that I have something for you," he said. He reached in the drawer and removed three key chains. They didn't say a thing. Each just had a disk attached. It was an engraving on stainless steel. There was an image of a wet dog standing on a log.

"Oh shit I love it," Jeremy said.

"Interesting what am I looking at?" I asked.

"That my dear Rose is a Swamp Dog. We all wear or carry one of those. It will identify you to anyone else who works with us." he said. "Now lets go eat."