The Most Wonderful Girl
Keywords: Girl, Most, Wonderful, The,
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I assumed that we would be home free literally until we turned down the street and Hal pulled into the drive, parking behind was clearly an unmarked police car. He seemed oblivious to this fact, popped the rear hatch and walked towards the garage. Clearly I would be taking the groceries inside. I walked around to the rear of the vehicle and was tempted to snatch the paper from the bag but the front door opened and Debbie stepped out with two serious looking men in two. I watched them through the tinted windows as they climbed back in their vehicle and pulled away. Debbie waved and smiled until they were out of side and then turned, starting right at me even though she couldn't see me through the darkened glass. Once the car was away she turned and walked towards me.
I snatched up several bags and pretended that I didn't know she was approaching. Faking the unexpected encounter I tried to look started and smiled, unable to think of a single thing to say. Debbie, however, wasn't at a loss for words.
"Hello Stacy. Everything go alright at the market?"
I stuttered, confused that she didn't let on that anything out of the ordinary was happening despite clearly being questioned about me. Finally snapping out of it I replied.
"No ma'am. Nothing wrong. Everything went fine."
She nodded and stepped passed me.
"Let me give you a hand." She said, taking up the rest of the sacks, the one in her left hand holding the paper I wanted desperately to read.
"Thank you ma'am." I said, following her into the house where we navigated the path to the kitchen. She set down the bags on the counter and I did my best to nonchalantly load mine in front of hers. I only hoped she wasn't so cooperative to suddenly decide to help unpack them or the paper, which hadn't been on the shopping list, would tip her off that I knew something extraordinary was happening and that I must suspect her. This might have started out as a game, but it had suddenly taken a very serious turn. Hopefully Christa and I could straighten it all out. I needed to get home.
I started to unload the items from the bags nearest me, hoping Debbie would lose interest and go back to her own work, leaving me free to liberate the newspaper and at least get it someplace safe where I could finish the story.
"Don't bother with that Stacy. Albert," who had just re-entered the kitchen, "will take of all that. I need you to finish up on the beds."
The sheets were still piled in my room.
"Yes ma'am." I said, walking upstairs, not knowing if Mrs. Hennessey had gone about her business or was standing in the kitchen examining the results of her handy work. Fortunately, the kitchen was on the way to the basement laundry so I raced upstairs in record time to retrieve the bed sheets and to back track downstairs where I hoped to retrieve the paper. I tried to act casual as I stepped onto the tile but I could feel my heart beating wildly in my chest and my eyes darting around the room, trying desperately to see who was around. Only the cook was in the kitchen but all of the bags had been unloaded and the ware setting out on the counter. He was busy with other chores so whether he unloaded the items or Debbie had I didn't know. She wasn't around and with the cooks back turned I wiggled myself up close to the counter, laundry in hand, and grabbed the paper with my fingertip. I tucked tightly up under the bed sheets and tried to hold it there just as Tommie turned from the sink.
"Need something Stacy?" he asked, the permanent scowl on his face.
I simply shook my head. "Nothing thanks. Anything to go in the laundry?" I motioned with the laundry and he looked around for a moment before tossing a handful of kitchen towels on my pile and returned to his work. I took it as a sign to run and in moments I was down in the basement, washer running and my body tucked behind the furnace with paper in hand. I had been Stacy for seemingly forever now and the picture of me in a business suit looked almost alien to me. But I shook it off and turned to the story, keeping a wary eye on the stairs, the only access to the basement, while I wildly scanned the pages. The story read like pure fiction, a wild tale of company greed. It seems that I alone had cooked the books and had made off with some cash. Not a terribly huge amount, but just enough to qualify for ten to fifteen up the river. Just great. I was so screwed and the window of opportunity to gain my freedom was growing smaller with each passing hour. There were a few friends I could count on even with the police looking for me so we had room to move if I could just get a hold of Christa. That meant getting home.
"Is there something I can do for you Mrs. Hennessey?" Tommie asked her as she stepped back into the kitchen.
"No thanks Tommie. Just wondering if Stacy picked up everything you needed."
He scanned the counter, unsure exactly what it was she needed.
"Yes ma'am. Looks like everything that was on the list."
Debbie was starting down at the counter, a devilish grin on her face.
"Excellent. Glad to hear she's working out." She said, handing him the receipt from the morning shopping trip and returning to the living room.
I wanted to scream from the very bottom of my lungs but managed to stifle the nearly overwhelming urge. The remainder of the afternoon would be a nightmare. Trying desperately to maintain a sense of normality in the house, while completing my required chores was going to take all of self control. I only hoped that by burying myself in the assigned duties that I would be able to push away thoughts of my escape and make the afternoon go that much faster. The dryer buzzed and my thoughts were back to the task at hand as I was powerless to do anything right now. I folded up the paper and wedged it in the rafters, hoping it would go undiscovered, and began folding the load of laundry that had tumbled to a stop.
*Chapter 12– Thursday, June 12th – 7:00 p.m. *
Dinner was scheduled late to correspond to Mr. Hennessey's schedule. Of all nights, it had to be tonight. As if that hadn't been bad enough, it seemed to me that Debbie could not have eaten slower. If I didn't know better I would say that she was intentionally dragging out the meal. The last couple of meals shared together passed without barely a word between them. Tonight, however, Debbie droned on about everything and anything, hardly taking a bite when she came up for air.
I moved between the dining room and the kitchen, fulfilling each request and trying to usher on the meal but volunteering to clear away as many dishes as I could get away with. I had been hopping from chore to chore all day and my heels were killing me. I was convinced that it would be after dark before I could make my escape, so maybe it was better this way. The meal had to be coming to an end and Mr. Hennessey, who could never sit still for more than five minutes was getting antsy to return to his office to escape, I can only imagine, his wife who began to get on my nerves as the hours of servitude passed.
Unexpectedly, Debbie abandoned the remainder of her dessert and promptly rose to her feet.
"That will be all for tonight Stacy. Clean up the dishes and call it a night."
She turned and strolled after her husband.
"Yes ma'am." I replied, trying not to sound overly excited.
The dishes made the trip back to the kitchen in record time and were deftly passed off to Tommie who didn't look overly enthused to receive them. With my chores done for the night I hurried my way back to my room and quickly slid out my uniform, putting on my jeans, a thin sweater and my tennis shoes for the long walk home. I had managed to make it this long but couldn't wait any longer. The Hennessey's were night owls and I knew that trying to sneak out and back in through the security was impossible so I went the other route and announced that I was going for a walk.
As luck would have it, I had run into Glenn and he barely acknowledged my departure with a slight wave as he continued to scan the fax he held in his hand. I was moving quickly out the front door when a voice caught up with me.
"Going out Stacy?" Debbie asked, stepping up the front steps as I was ready to pull the door closed.
"Ah, yes ma'am. I thought I would get some fresh air."
I swallowed hard, wanting to run for my life but I knew I had to remain calm. I kept my eyes on her although I desperately wanted to push them up passed her as though I would be able to see my home from the front porch.
"Do you need to go somewhere? I could have Hal drive you."
I shook my head. "Just going for a walk ma'am."
Debbie and I changed places, her frame sliding into the house as I stepped onto the porch.
"Don't be gone too long" she said. "Or I'll have to send out Hal to find you."
She tried to laugh as I walked away, but it sounded more like a cackle. I couldn't let her know that I was trying to make my way back to my own home so as I hit the bottom of the driveway I turned right, away from the closest path that would have gotten me to my destination. I had a handful of cash on me but the odds of having a taxi swing down the street seemed long so I made the most of it and picked up speed once I felt the weight of her stare off of my back.
I couldn't contain myself any longer and had broken from a jog to a near sprint, as the yards went by. I could feel the strain of sweat breaking through the makeup I was wearing and the stubble starting to come out as I crossed several yards and returned to my own street, trying to slow to a walk to keep from arousing any suspicion. I had worked my way closer, and had come up on a side street. From that spot, I could see from the back of the house that the lights were off and the entire house was still dark. The light of the day was failing and I decided to approach through the backyard and slip into the house unseen.
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Keywords: Girl, Most, Wonderful, The,