Page 36 of Operation: Unify

He stopped her with a look. “Nope. You called me. I’m glad you did. We’re in this together until you go home. If that means I have to bring all four of us to Wayside, so be it.”

She gave a nod of agreement because she couldn’t find the right words to say what was going through her mind. He’d planted seeds of doubt, even if he hadn’t meant to.

“Did you finally get some sleep?” He let his hands drop from her shoulders.

“A little.” She stretched her neck one way and then the other. “I’m a little stiff this morning. In my twenties, I could doze almost anywhere. Now, I need a bed that is just the right firmness, or I wake up feeling like I slept in a pretzel.”

He chuckled. “I thought about asking you if you were sure you wanted to bend your neck that way, but thought you might stay in that position just to spite me. You sure like to prove me wrong.”

“Well, if the shoe fits.” She grinned as she dodged his hand, aiming for her shoulder in a playful punch that he intentionally missed.

She reined in her emotions and took a deep breath. “So, you heard from Wayside, but have you heard anything from the hospital?”

He nodded as he hid a yawn behind his hand. “She’s been moved into a room, but because of the fact that we don’t have a restraining order, they aren’t letting anyone see her. The doctor thought that once she was awake and could tell police what happened, they’ll lift the rule and we’ll be able to visit.”

Her stomach rumbled and she realized that every time she’d even thought about eating over the past day, she’d been interrupted. “So, we have until ten in the morning to eat and make a plan because if Tod knows she’ll tell the police what he did, he’ll have to act quickly.”

“I was thinking the same thing. Today, we keep low and try to stay away from him. I’ll need to keep in contact with Wayside too.”

She headed for the kitchen and slowly opened cupboards until she found where the food had been kept. A wave of guilt washed over her at eating a deceased woman’s food, but if notthem, who else? “We have to make sure they find who did this to Melinda’s aunt.”

He brushed some hair back from her face. “Absolutely, but the urgent issue is making sure that his body count doesn’t go up any higher. To do that, we stay hidden. I moved my truck into the garage last night so no one will be able to tell from outside that we’re here. If we’re smart and quiet, no one will know. This could be the perfect hiding place.”

Randy dragged his feet down the hallway, his eyelids drooping. “My dad just called, waking me up.” He set his phone on the counter. “He told me that my boss called to find out where I was. Since Dad didn’t know, he used the ‘find my’ app to see where my phone was. He just called to let me know my boss is on his way here.”

Lacy tried not to panic, but the continual running was getting to her. “I want to go home,” her words were quiet, but sounded loud in the silence.

“I know.” Connor took her into his arms. “Soon. I promise.”

Randy leaned against the counter. “The way I see it, we’ve got about ten minutes before we have to be gone. I’m sure as soon as they heard the address, they knew exactly which house my dad was talking about.”

“Since they were probably the ones who killed Melinda’s aunt,” Lacy guessed.

Randy frowned. “If we’re going with the insurance theme, it was probably to eliminate any chance of outside help for Melinda. They didn’t count on you. I can only imagine that the payout is massive if they are willing to kill multiple people to get it.” Randy pulled the coffee pot out of the maker, then shoved it back inside. “No time to brew. Ready?”

Lacy didn’t answer. Instead, she headed for the room where she’d left her bag to grab it. She hadn’t even had time to get dressed. At what point was this going to end? When could theyfeel safe? “We need to talk to the police. Tell them what we know.”

Connor’s hesitance surprised her. “I agree with you, but I’d bet he’s planned for that. We need to make sure we give them enough information that they can’t ignore us.”

She wasn’t sure what that could be. They’d told the police everything they knew for sure. Connor grabbed his bag off the sofa and held the door to the garage for her. Randy swiped the garage door opener and tossed it to Connor. “You never know when we’ll need a place to go. If we keep moving, they’ll have to check many places to find us. Like whack-a-mole. At least until Melinda wakes up and tells the police enough to get her husband arrested.”

Lacy bit her lip and swallowed the thought that popped into her head. No one needed to hear her negative thoughts. There was a chance Melinda wouldn’t remember anything. The doctor had said she had a head injury. In that case, they’d have to wait for Tod to strike again.

Lacy sat between Connor and Randy in silence. Randy fiddled with his phone and turned off a bunch of apps. Connor didn’t seem to know where to go, so he simply drove. After a few minutes, they found themselves in the parking lot of a diner.

“I’ll park around back. You both go in and get a booth for us. One by the window where I can see the road.” Connor nodded at the front door.

“Got it,” she said, knowing Connor liked to have eyes on the front door no matter where they ate. He wanted to be situationally aware at all times and having his back to the door didn’t allow him to do that.

Randy followed her inside and when she saw the sign indicating they should seat themselves, she led him to the perfect window seat where Connor could watch the door, and she had eyes on the front entrance to the parking lot.

She handed Randy a menu but didn’t pick hers up. She wouldn’t look at one until he was finished so that someone had their attention focused on everyone coming and going at all times. If she didn’t get to look at the menu, that was fine too. Places like this always had eggs, pancakes, and bacon with coffee. That was her standby at any diner and she’d yet to find one that didn’t serve that.

Connor came inside and headed right for the table, settling in across from her. “I didn’t see anyone on the road while I was parking. Most people are at work by now, so it’ll be easy to see anyone out for a drive.”

“When we saw Tod’s car at Aunt Joy’s it was dark. That’s all I remember.”.” Lacy caught the waitress’s attention and waved her over.

“I know what Cal drives,” Randy scrolled on his phone.

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