Trust Comes Easy Ch. 01

What did fill the bag were books. Four were histories of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian societies, mostly covering the wealthy members of each society and how they lived and carried on with wild sex. Another two were true crime novels, which seemed hilariously ironic, also an FBI training manual, a book on coin collecting, another book on law enforcement techniques, and a book on document forgery. At first I started to wonder what library she belonged to, but then I realized the FBI training manual can probably be purchased on the black market and the rest found on the Internet.

There was a small mesh bag that contained three passports. All had Amanda's picture, but the names were Gwen Harlan, Lisa Sutton, and Michelle Stacy. There was a small metal lock box as well. I couldn't find a key for it. Whatever was inside was solid and heavy, as I found out when I turned it over and it clanked against the side of the box. I froze and listened to see if the noise woke Kaye or Amanda. Nothing. I carefully put the box down and continued my search.

A folder contained the kind of paperwork that would back up Amanda's claim that she inspected hotels for a living, which I knew was total bullshit. That kind of job required flying everywhere, and even with good forged documents she'd keep her traveling to a minimum in the post-9/11 world. Finally, I found a thin binder. Inside was a cover page.

As Naked As A Tree

By

Carol Hitchcock

I wondered if this was the same Carol Hitchcock who had recently written a best selling book, one that some friends had told me I needed to read. As I flipped through the pages and saw this was a rough copy, with margin notes in red pen and circled spelling errors, suddenly a crazy thought hit me -- was Carol Hitchcock really Amanda? But I quickly realized that couldn't be true. I'd seen Hitchcock's picture on the back of her book and watched an interview with her on television. Some people ghostwrite with fake names, but I'd never heard of anyone using an actor to represent themselves in public. Then again, Amanda had serious reasons to stay out of the public eye.

Suddenly I heard something and turned. Amanda was standing over me.

I had no idea how she'd gotten so close without a sound. And that's when it hit me, that change I'd noticed. Being a fugitive meant living like a wild animal, pursued by predators and having to stay one step ahead all the time. Her eyes had an intense, feral look and every movement she made seemed like it was done with a singular purpose. She could probably sit still with an incredible patience, putting intense thought into every move, executing that move with deftness and precision.

Like sneaking up on her prey without a sound.

"Find anything interesting?" Amanda asked. She looked down and saw the binder in my hands. "Funny story about how I got that. I'll tell you sometime."

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I already told you. I want you back."

"Do you really think I'm that fucking stupid?"

Amanda chuckled, crossed her arms and shook her head. "No, and I should have known better. The other story I came up with was asking for your forgiveness, you know, for leaving you to deal with the cops and all, but that sounded like even bigger bullshit. And I know you're a smart one."

"Honestly, I don't care why you're here. Just leave or I'll call the police."

"No, you won't." Amanda crouched down and put her face right in front of mine. "You've got it good here Mags, nice place, a good job, but most of all you've got yourself an outstanding girl. She's a real wildcat. Perfect partner for the one person I thought would never settle down." Amanda's face took on a ferocious look as she cupped the bottom of my face in her hand and held hard. "But know that if you fuck with me, I'll make sure she never wants to see your goddammed face again. Earlier was just a taste. If she didn't even know about you getting tossed by your parents in high school, just imagine how shocked she'll be when she finds out what you did in college."

I spat in her face. Amanda stared at me, and a slow smile grew as a gob of my saliva moved down her cheek. Suddenly she moved forward and kissed me on the lips. I tried to pull back but her grip on my chin was strong. She ended the kiss, shoved my face away and stood up.

Amanda wiped the gob of spit off her cheek with a finger and stuck in her mouth, sucking it off. "Mmm. It's like I can taste the stubbornness." She looked straight at me. "Just this one night and part of tomorrow. Then I'll be out of your hair forever, and you can go back to this little domestic bliss you worked so hard to create. But you give me trouble, and I'll make sure she tosses you out just like your parents did."

I wanted to cry. I wanted to run. I wanted to wake up and have this nightmare over.

Amanda held out her hand. "Now come to bed."

I took her hand. What else could I do?

*

Coming in part two -- you'll find out what Maggie did in college. And so will Kaye.

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