~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter Six~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Jen arrived home, feeling a whole lot upset over
her fight with Trent, she found a red rose in the doorway,
with a note.
" ‘We’ve played this game before,’ " Jen read aloud.
" ‘So you know the rules. Go to our table, under it you
will find, a little something, to clear your mind.’ "
Jen, the fight with Trent forgotten, remembered this
game well. Back in college, Billy had created a number of
scavenger hunts for her, and they all ended in something
romantic. She was surprised he still remembered.
She turned her attention to figuring out her clue.
"Our table...our table...? At C.D.’s?" she guessed. "Under
it...you hid something under the table we had our cocoas at!"
Jen climbed back into her Mustang, tossed the rose and
the note on the passenger seat, and drove to C.D.’s. She
greeted C.D. as she entered. The table she was looking for
was conveniently empty, and she walked over to it and
kneeled down. A yellow rose and a note were taped beneath
the table.
" ‘You’ve made it this far, now let us see, if you can
recall, where you won Mickey.’ "
The image of an old carnival flashed through Jen’s mind.
She remembered tossing rings onto empty bottles and winning a
giant stuffed Mickey Mouse that she gave to Billy. The
carnival had been shut down a couple of years ago, but the
equipment had been left on the grounds just outside of Dallas.
Jen drove out to the old fairgrounds. The booth for the
ring toss was exactly where she remembered it to be. After a
minute of inspection, she found a note and a pink rose.
" ‘Very good, now one last clue, come to the factory,
that used to be moo.’ "
"Moo?" Jen repeated, completely confused. "A cow factory?"
Cow-related thoughts ran through her mind. Milk? Beef?
Holstein? Then the rest of the clue clicked.
Used to be moo, she realized. "The old cheese
factory!"
Climbing back into her car, Jen headed for the heart
of Dallas.
* * *
Trent’s ‘Vette sped towards Jen’s house.
"Are you sure she’s not home?" he asked anxiously.
Carlos, closing his cellular phone, shook his head.
"I’ve tried calling several times, Trent. She’s either not
home, or not answering her phone."
"Why didn’t you tell me about Billy sooner?" Trent asked,
stepping on the gas.
"I couldn’t tell you what I didn’t know, buddy," Carlos
answered. "I was just able to dig up that info this morning,
after you reported the vandalism at Thunder Karate."
"I know Carlos, I’m sorry," Trent apologized. "I’m just
worried. I mean, I basically sent Jen right to this guy today!"
Trent pulled into Jen’s driveway.
"Her car’s not here," Carlos pointed out. Trent raced to
the door and knocked. No one answered.
"She’s not here, Carlos," Trent said, certain that she’d
gone elsewhere.
"I’ll have Walker put out on APB on her Mustang," Carlos
decided. "That may give us some chance of finding Jen before
something happens to her."
Trent nodded. "Let’s drive around some more," he suggested.
"We may spot her car."
* * *
Jen pulled up to the former cheese factory, now an
abandoned warehouse. She knew she was at the right place,
though. There was a white rose attached to the main door.
Jen climbed out and walked up to the door. She took the
rose from the door and pushed it open. The room was dimly
lit and looked deserted.
"Billy?" Jen called, stepping into the room. The door
swung shut behind her, and she jumped.
"What kept you?" he teased.
"Very funny," Jen told him. She looked around the factory.
"Not a very romantic place for a rendezvous."
Billy’s expression turned serious. "Run away with me."
Jen was surprised. "What?"
"Run away with me," Billy repeated. "We can go anywhere
you want."
"I don’t understand, Billy," Jen said. "Why do you want
to go somewhere else?"
"Let’s not talk about it here," Billy asserted, eager to
leave the factory.
"What is going on, Billy?" Jen asked, confused and a little
hurt. "Are you planning on leaving again?"
"Not without you," he promised her. "We need to get out
of here."
"Why are you in such a hurry to go?" Jen inquired, looking
around. She thought she’d heard a noise on the other side of
the large room.
"You’re in danger," Billy told her. "We’re in danger."
"In danger of what? What is going on, Billy?" Jen
demanded.
"You know I’ve always loved you," Billy admitted. "I
still do. So please trust me when I say that we have to get
out of here."
"Billy, I--"
"You’re not getting anywhere, Bowen."
* * *
Trent was the first to spot the blue Mustang parked near
the abandoned cheese factory.
"There she is!" he said to Carlos. He pulled up next to
Jen’s car. He and Carlos raced over to the building and peered
through a dirty window. They could see a man holding a gun on
Jen and Billy, and two other thugs standing behind the man with
the weapon.
"The back door," Trent suggested, and they headed in that
direction.
* * *
"Kydon, I told you I’d take care of this," Billy said,
stepping between Jen and the gun.
"I see just how well you’re taking care of this," Kydon
accused. "So well that you’re trying to run out on Mr. Giorma."
"Giorma?" Jen repeated behind Billy. It didn’t take long
for her to piece things together. "He hired you to kill me?"
"Don’t be too harsh on him," Kydon told her. "He couldn’t
do it. The man who killed eleven women in five years in nearly
identical situations couldn’t pull the trigger on you."
Jen struggled for breath. Eleven women...five years...he’d
been a killer even before he’d walked away from her.
"Jen?" Billy pleaded.
She couldn’t meet his eyes.
"So you’re here to finish the job?" Jen directed at Kydon.
"Smart girl, Bowen," Kydon said. "First I kill you and
Bowen watches while you die, and then I kill Bowen."
"And then you call the police, let them know that shots
have been fired at the old cheese factory, and they come down
here, find us dead, and assume that it was a murder-suicide,"
Jen finished for him.
Kydon grinned. "You really are quick. But not quick
enough to catch on that Billy here was trying to kill you. And
not quick enough to stop me from doing it." He leveled the gun.
A loud crash sounded behind Kydon, and he turned to look.
Carlos rolled to the floor, avoiding the crate he’d knocked
over. The two big thugs raced towards him. Trent snuck around
the rear wall, trying to get behind Kydon.
Billy used the moment to his advantage. He pulled his gun
and fired at Kydon. The bullet nicked Kydon’s shoulder, and
Kydon, turning, fired at Jen.
"No!" Billy yelled, jumping in front of Jen. The bullet
struck him in the chest as Trent knocked Kydon down from behind.
The gun flew from Kydon’s hand. Within seconds, Trent had Kydon
subdued. Carlos wrestled with the two thugs, but it only took
him a couple of well-placed punches to get them dizzy, and he
slammed their heads together. They fell to the floor. Carlos
surveyed the scene. He called for backup and an ambulance, then
joined Trent beside Jen.
Jen cradled Billy’s head in her lap. Tears filled her eyes
as he struggled to speak.
"I’m sorry," he whispered, barely loud enough for her to
hear.
"I know," Jen assured him, her heart breaking. She brushed
the hair from his eyes. This wasn’t the way he deserved to die.
"I’ve always loved you," Billy rasped. "Always."
Jen nodded. "I know, Billy." She reached back, removed
the wolf necklace he’d given her so long ago, and hooked it
around his neck. Her tears wet his cheek. His wide eyes told
her he knew the meaning of her gesture.
"I love you," he whispered one last time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Epilogue~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The funeral took place two days later, in the rain. Jen
hadn’t spoken to anyone in that time, and her heartache was
unbearable. She expected to be the only one at Billy’s funeral,
and other than Roscoe and the funeral people, she was. Or, she
thought she was.
Jen felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to find
Trent standing there. He pulled her into his arms, and she
cried against his quiet strength.
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