Chapter Thirty-Three
Nathan
Bree jumped out of our used car before I even put it in park. She rushed inside the motel room and by the time I got there, she was already packing. We'd finally accrued a few more things, some outfits from the local vintage store and souvenirs from our little roadside oasis, so it was taking her longer than normal.
"What are you doing?" I distracted her with my obvious question.
"We can't stay. We've stayed too long. We've got to get out of here before the sheriff questions us again." Bree rolled up her shirts and stuffed them in the duffle bag.
I sat down on the edge of the motel bed. "He doesn't know anything, Bree. When people look at us, they see a honeymooning couple, not a pair of fugitives who faked their own death."
Bree shook her head and rammed a stack of pants down on top of the shirts. "I knew we should have kept driving until we hit the coast."
"We needed the break. You weren't doing so hot after crashing the car, remember?" I asked.
She left the duffle bag and rushed over to me with wild eyes. "How was I supposed to handle it? It's not a normal thing to throw away your whole life, just send it crashing down a cliff."
I stood up and hugged her. "You handled it just fine. And it was smart to get off the highway for a while. I told you, only guilty parties run."
Bree pushed against my chest and stepped back. "We are guilty, Nathan. Guilty parties run because they are about to be caught. We need to get out of here as soon as we can."
I blocked her from the duffle bag. "If you really think we have to go then it'd be smarter to take off in the dark."
"Fine." Bree sidestepped me, picked up the TV remote and threw herself into one of the motel chairs.
I took a deep breath and counted to forty before I tried to talk to her again. "Scanning all the channels is not going to help you calm down."
"Why should I be calm? It's just the rest of our lives on the line. Our new lives, not the ones we crashed and burned," Bree said.
"Well, you're not going to find anything on there. It's soap opera time of the day, not news. Why don't you go to the business center in the motel lobby and use their computer?" I shoved our duffle bag back in the closet.
"And leave a search history like a neon sign?" Bree asked.
I let out a long string of curses, then told her, "You might want to turn the volume up."
Bree sat forward in her chair as the breaking news report came on. The news anchor had to segue from a report on wildflowers to the smoking wreckage of our old sedan.
"And now a follow-up on another find in the woods, the unhappy site of what could be a fatal accident. I say 'could be' because investigators will still not confirm if a couple was inside the vehicle when it went over the embankment. Reports indicate the car rolled for quite a distance before becoming engulfed in flames. Local authorities are asking for any information in connection with the accident."
The news anchor continued with speculations. "Experts theorize the young couple last seen driving the car could have been thrown clear of the rolling vehicle. A search party is being organized to look for their remains though area authorities are not hopeful. Wildlife frequently seen in the area, such as coyotes, may have compromised whatever evidence is turned up."
Bree stood up and turned off the television. Her hands had lost their frantic fluttering, and she was much calmer. "Do you think we should volunteer to join the search party?"
I sat on the edge of the bed and chewed my lip. "They mentioned a 'young couple.' That means they must have gotten the footage from the grill."
"Just like you wanted them to," Bree reminded me.
I stood up and rubbed my neck. "We have no idea what that footage looked like or how close they were able to zoom in. Police can enhance surveillance videos and get really clear photos of people nowadays."
Bree froze in front of the motel window's stunning vista. "What are you saying, Nathan? I thought this was good news. They still haven't confirmed that the bodies are missing. We still have a chance."
I dragged the duffle bag back out from the closet and tossed it on the bed. Bree watched, her eyes wide, as I started to pack my own small collection of things.
"We might have already been made," I told Bree in a quiet voice.
She was about to start crying when there was a sharp, businesslike knock on our motel room door. Bree pressed both hands to her mouth to stifle a worried gasp and looked to me for direction.
I snatched her things out of the duffle bag and tossed them at her. "Put them away, quick," I whispered. Then I spoke louder, "Just a minute!"
Bree shoved her clothes in the dresser, then caught my stack and put them in a different drawer. "Who is it?" she called.
"Sheriff, ma'am. Just a few quick questions."
I tossed the duffle bag back in the closet but left the door open. I wanted the sheriff to see that we still intended to stay. The room was well-lived in, and we could still play the happy couple. I told myself there was nothing to worry about.
Bree was pale and swaying from foot to foot because she didn't know where to go or what to do. I pointed to her shoes and motioned for her to get her jacket.
"Sorry, Sheriff." I pulled open the door and gave him a friendly handshake. "We were just getting ready to go for a hike."
The sheriff took off his hat and motioned inside the motel room. I had no choice but to step aside and welcome him in.
"I don't normally do this but the whole county's in an uproar over that mysterious crash," the sheriff said.
"We just heard on the news there could have been a couple in that car." Bree zipped up her coat. "Those poor people."
"Unconfirmed," the sheriff said. "But we're following up on every possible lead. That's why I'm here. You came into town about the same time as the crash and you fit the description of the couple."
"We do?" I asked. "What did they look like?"
The sheriff turned his hat over in his hands. "Where you two heading after the honeymoon?"
"We're on a road trip," Bree said. "I've always wanted to drive to the coast."
"The coast, huh? Pretty broad territory." The sheriff stood casually but his eyes flickered around our small motel room. "Nowhere in particular?"
I faked a chuckle. "We figure marriage is going to be a lifetime constraint, why put parameters on the honeymoon?"
The sheriff smiled. "Sounds reasonable. You're a lucky man that she agreed to it. My wife likes to know all the details ahead of time. And she packs at least four suitcases, especially for a long trip."
Bree saw the sheriff staring at our one duffle bag and stepped forward with an idea. I tried to wave her back, but she explained, "Our car got broken into not long ago. All our stuff is gone."
"Too bad. So, I suppose if I ask to see some identification, you won't have any?" the sheriff asked.
"No, sorry," Bree said. She kept her panic under wraps and I was impressed.
The sheriff took out his pad of paper and a pencil. "Where'd this break-in happen? I'll file a police report for you, unless you have already."
"No, thanks," I said. "We debated about it for a long time and decided not to report it."
"Why on earth not?" the sheriff asked.
"We saw them running away. Couldn't see their faces or anything but from their clothes, you could tell they had fallen on hard times." I moved to put my arm around Bree's waist. "And we wanted to focus on happier things."
"It's fun to start over," Bree added.
That comment brought the sheriff's eyes up to study her face. Bree stiffened but he must have perceived it as a new bride trying to make the best of a bad situation.
"Love does make people optimistic," the sheriff said. "Thanks for your time, folks. If you're still around tomorrow, there's going to be a fish fry out at the roadhouse. You should come on by."
"Sounds great," I said. "Maybe I can run into the man selling that lodge a few miles west of here."
"Danny Parker's place? It's a good spot. Glad you two like this place as much as we do." The sheriff put his hat back on and headed out the door.
Bree went over and closed it, then turned to me and fell into silent tears. I hugged her close, and we stood like that for a long time.
"You really wanted to buy that place, didn't you?" Bree asked in a watery voice.
I tried to make light of it even though it felt like a screw in my chest. "You know what they say about real estate: location, location, location. Guess we should have thought about that before we crashed and burned so close to here."
"I'm sorry, Nathan," Bree said. "I would have liked to see you at that lodge."
I kissed her forehead. "Maybe someday. Right now, though, let's head for the coast."