Page 67 of Rock and a Hard Place

“Yes!” Peter slapped his hands on the counter. He struck gold. She worked here.

Penny watched him, wide-eyed. “How do you know Jill?”

“I met her in Wisconsin, almost a year ago. We used to date.”

Penny nodded slowly and glanced again at the man with the newspaper.

“Can you tell me where she lives?” Peter looked from one to the other and back again. The man nodded at Penny. “Sure thing. She lives at the Twilight motel on the westedge of town. Works in the office most afternoons . . .”

“Thank you so much!” He popped off his stool and headed for the door. “I can’t thank you enough.” He waved at Penny as he left, ran to the car, and hopped in.

“Roger, she’s here. I mean, not here like at the restaurant, but she works here. Except she’s off today. She lives at the motel and works there, too.” Peter started the car and sped off.

He drove west to the Twilight motel, a cheap roadside dive not fit for fleas. Roger gave him a cockeyed glance as Peter pulled into the gravel drive and parked in front of a blinking office sign. He couldn’t imagine Libby actually lived here.

“You sure you want to do this?” Roger asked.

“Are you kidding me?” Peter left the rental car and entered the rundown office. The trill of a bell sounded as the door opened. Fortified with determination, Peter crossed the cracked linoleum to the front counter.

“Afternoon. Y’all looking for a room?” a middle-aged brassy blond asked. Her sickeningly sweet perfume overpowered him.

Peter almost took a step back when he saw her heavily painted face complete with crusty mascara and overdrawn lips coated in pink gloss.

“No, thank you. Actually, I’m looking for someone.”

“Are you now? I’ve been looking for someone, too.”

Peter nearly laughed. He might need Roger’s help afterall. Heck, Roger might enjoy her. He offered his best mannered smile. “Actually, it’s a friend of mine, who I believe lives here. Her name is Jill.”

“Oh.” The desk clerk stood up. “She stays in number six, since the phone doesn’t work. Says she has no one to call, but if I had a young man as sweet as you on my tail, I’d sit by the phone all day waiting.” She batted her oversized lashes; he wanted to run.

Peter eyed the door, his heart longing to be in room six, but the flirty old woman prattled on.

“DarLynn, that’s my daughter-in-law, lets Jill stay here. She babysits the boys and watches the office while DarLynn’s at beauty school. She’s gonna be a hairstylist. Don’t know why she needs to do that when she’s got the Twilight to run. This is my son Jimmy’s place,” she whispered as if it were a big secret. “If it’s good enough for him, it should be good enough for her. Of course, Jimmy ain’t happy about her schoolin’, but he’s still got two more months to serve at county—”

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Peter interrupted for fear the woman would never stop. “I think I’ll go down to number six and say hello.”

“Of course. Look at me jabberin’ away while you’re eager to see your friend. And she’s a pretty one, too.”

Peter moved toward the door. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Libby’s face when she saw him.

“Oh, she ain’t there,” the woman called after him.

“She’s not?” he nearly croaked in disbelief. How could he be this close and miss her?

“Nope. She and DarLynn left in Jimmy’s old Chevy early this morning; somethin’ about a prize in Colorado. I think she won the lottery, but I don’t know why she had to go way ’cross the country to turn in her ticket.”

What was she talking about now? “Is she going to Red Rocks by chance?” he asked hopefully.

“That’s right, now how’d you know that, with her not having a phone?”

“Just a good guess,” he grinned.

“Well, I’ve got a secret about her that I bet you’ll never guess.” She leaned forward.

“Her name isn’t really Jill,” she whispered, then paused for effect.

“No way?” Peter said, playing along and matching her quiet tone.

---