Chapter 91

I had no idea how the Ivan hit would play out. I had a feeling the Russians would be the problem, not the law dogs. With a little luck no one would ever come looking for me. That being the case, I left the short term parking at the DC airport, then headed for home. I stopped along the way for a good night's sleep.

"Hello what can I get you," the waitress in the pancake house asked the next morning.

"To be honest the sausage, egg and cheese sandwich on pancakes looks good to me." I said it smiling at the young waitress. Funny how much more attractive the waitresses on the interstate highway's rest stops were, than those in the small towns along the way.

After my breakfast I drove straight home. Well straight except for a late lunch at a roadside McDonald's. When I arrived I almost drove to the cabin, then I realized that I didn't live there any more. My things were all in a storage locker or still in Ed's office.

Since I wasn't sure exactly what to do, I called Jen at her office. "Hey shyster, where does a girl take a load off around these parts?" I asked.

"Well Fanny, you still have your key to my house don't you?" she asked.

"Of course, but I was thinking more of my own place," I admitted.

"As usual I have no idea what you have been up to, but you have only been gone a week. You told me to have Archer's men finish what they were working on and pay them off."

"Okay so where are they on the conversion?" I asked.

"The structural changes have been make, and the entrances are secured with new doors. They are ready to begin work inside just as soon as you give them the go ahead and make your choices for the finishes."

"I'll call Archer in the morning and get this all started again." I replied. "Now I am tired, so I think I will check into a motel."

"Why don't you come stay with me a few days. It is going to take them a week or more to get your place ready." Jen asked.

"I appreciate it hon, but I think I will just stay somewhere simple. Somewhere without the residual drama that seems to go along with anyplace I have stayed before.

"Well, you will need your personal things. They are stored at my house," Jen informed me.

"I have the things I took with me, I can wear those for a day or two. However, yes I do need to pick up some things. I also need to get into a place where I can feel at home."

"I can't wait to see you as a landlord. If a resident makes too much noise, you might just shoot them." Jen said it with a laugh, even if she was half serious. My interpersonal relationship skills could use some work, I would have been happy to admit that.

"You know you are going to hurt my feelings staying in a motel." Jen said.

"Jen better that than getting a hellfire missile in your front door." I said.

"Wow you have really pissed some serious people off this time haven't you?" she said.

"I'm not sure but potentially yes." I replied.

"Okay, but if you let anything happen to you, I'm going to kill you," Jen said more seriously than I would have liked."

"Not to worry Jenny Mae, I plan to live a very long time." I replied.

"I do believe that is everyone's plan. We just cant all manage it." Jen said. "Call me before you come over for your things, and we will have a dinner party. I have been looking for an excuse."

After I rang off I went looking for a place to crash temporarily. Somewhere not too easy to find or access would have been nice. What I had to settle for was an old two story thirty unit motel on the edge of town. It was old enough so as not to be on any of the reservation services list. The weekly rate wasn't too awful, so I took it for a week. I was pretty sure the "Few" would be at least that long.

The motel had fallen to one of those 'english barely spoken here' type motels. Since I wasn't hiding, but also didn't want to be too easy to find, it seemed ideal. The room I took was on the ground floor, there was no rear entrance or exit. Hell the bathroom window would have been a squeeze and I'm not sure even with a squeeze I would get out of it. I planned to set up my own surveillance cameras of the parking lot and stairway. I could use part of the load left over from the cabin. They had been stored at Ed's office since I left town...

"I knew you would be back," Ed said when I went to retrieve the cameras. "Lucas said you might not be. He said that since you sold the business, you were going to make some changes. I knew leaving me wouldn't be one of them." Ed said it happily. I was glad that he was glad to see me.

"No Ed, I'm not leaving you. At least it is not in my plans. I came by to pick up a few things I have stored here. If that is okay?" I asked.

"You don't have to ask. My door is always open to you. If I'm not here, call my cell I'll come meet you. You could always take your key back and solve both our problems."

"Ed if anything turns up missing, I don't want to have a key to answer for." I said it thinking Gwen would probably name me a person of interest. I almost laughed.

"So Maxine, what are you going to do now? You do not do well when you are bored," Ed suggested.

"Ed, first I'm going to secure a place to live, then I guess I'll start looking for something to do."

"Did you ever think about the bail bond business. My son Jeff has zero interest," Ed said.

"Ed, Jeff is a doctor, he probably couldn't take the cut in pay." I laughed along with Ed.

"Yeah, but it's a shame to have built this and not have anyone to leave it to." Ed suggested.