"You made it sound easy!"

"Yeah, now the basic price is $14,000. You owe him $5,000 for dropping his present job, and coming to yours. The 10th of August is the deadline. It will be finished, and landscaped by the 10th. If he gets through on the 9th, you owe him an extra thousand. Or if he gets through on the 8th, two thousand, and so on. But make sure everything is right, and the pool is filled before you pay him. He said he might have to work around the clock, in getting it dug out, but I told him that was okay. But you keep an eye on them. When they get to the stage where they are ready to pour the concrete, find an excuse for them to stop. You need time to bury the body in the bottom of the site, before they start pouring. In preparing to pour, they will most likely put a layer of gravel, covered with plastic, in the very bottom. You need to fold back the plastic, remove the gravel, put the body in, cover back with gravel, so that it is completely concealed, then put the plastic back over it. You may not have room to put all the gravel back, so get rid of it by returning it to their gravel pile. Watch them as they pour the concrete, so you will be sure in your own mind, that the body is really covered. Any questions?"

"No, I've got it. I just wish you were going to be here, to make sure it goes smoothly! You are good at escaping cannibals, and drug cartels, and killing sorcerers. I need you to help me deal with this too."

"Sorry, I'll be in England by then. And I am about to run late for work, so good luck."

"Is that the best you can do?"

He gave her a big hug before he left, because she needed one.

6.

Travis was up the next morning at 7 a.m., signing books, and working on his computer. The boys had loaded up their truck and gone camping and fishing for two days, trying desperately to squeeze more fun out of their summer before going back to school in three weeks. Rebecca was gone on a Church Retreat to Mentone for a few days. Jenny was on her own, with her dead-beat husband. It looked like he and Janice were in for a couple days of quiet relaxation, before he and Drew left for England. They were planning to catch up on a little work, and then try to catch a little glimpse of what it was going to be like after all their kids were grown up and gone from the nest. They were planning to later go out for a leisurely lunch, just the two of them, before he went.

But their plans changed when the phone rang at about 9 AM. Janice answered it in the other room, and talked for a couple of minutes, then came to inform him that she was going to town.

"Why? Mama needs something from the store?"

"No, that was actually a strange call. Do you remember Penelope Jones?"

"The wife of Herbert Jones, who lives down the road?"

"Well, yeah, Herbert Jones' ex-wife. They have been divorced for a couple of years now."

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah well, you work all the time, and don't keep up with the gossip. Anyway, that was her on the phone. She is living with a boyfriend over in Arlington for the past two years, since Herbert threw her out. She was addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol. Well, now she wants to go back to Herbert, but she is afraid that her boyfriend will be mad. She doesn't have a car, so she called me to see if I would come get her and take her back to Herbert, while her boyfriend is still asleep."

Travis stopped typing. That didn't sound quite right. "Why doesn't she call Herbert to come get her?"

"Because she hasn't talked to Herbert lately, and doesn't know how he will react. And besides, Herbert and her boyfriend don't get along very well."

"I guess not. So she has asked you to do what, exactly?"

"She just wants me to come to Arlington and pick her up out in front of her boyfriend's house. She said he usually sleeps until about ten, so there is no danger of trouble from him."

"She can't just call a cab?"

"I guess she doesn't have any money. She doesn't have a job, and she hates her boyfriend."

"It sounds like a personal problem. I try not to get involved in our neighbors' personal lives, Janice. It always leads to trouble."

"But she doesn't know who else to turn to. She needs help, and people don't ask me for help very often. When they do, I try to help them. I'm just going to pick her up and take her to Herbert's house. Thirty minutes at most."

"But there could be trouble, if her boyfriend wakes up. Want me to go with you, in case there's trouble?"

"No Travis, you have plenty to do here. Trust me. I can handle this on my own."

"Okay, but take your cell phone, just in case."

"I will."

She left, and Travis didn't give much more thought to it, because he got busy with other things. At 10:30 he heard the truck coming back down the driveway, and he wondered why it had taken her so long. He looked out the window and saw that Janice was not alone. There was a woman in the truck with her, a rather good looking lady that he recognized as being Penelope Jones. They both got out and came to the porch. Penelope had a gin bottle in one hand, yet seemed to be somewhat sober, though with a 'spent' look. Travis went to the living room to meet them, just as Janice brought Penelope in the front door.

"h.e.l.lo, Penelope!"

"h.e.l.lo, Travis."

"Janice says you are going back to Herbert?"

"Yes, if he will have me. I don't blame him if he doesn't. We went by there already, but he wasn't home. I will try to see him when he gets home this evening."

"So are you guys separated, or actually divorced?"

"We have been divorced for almost two years now."

"I didn't know that."

"I have been living with a boyfriend in Arlington, but I just couldn't continue to put up with his 'ways'. Thank you for letting Janice come pick me up. I don't know who else I could have turned to. When your life goes to c.r.a.p, sometimes your friends and family turn their backs on you, and you don't know where to turn. That's when good Christian people like you can really make a difference."

"Well, I don't know about the 'good Christian' part, but we're glad to help you out. So what will you do if Herbert won't let you come back?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm counting on him to take me back. He might have to think about it a few days, but I think he'll take me back eventually."

"Well, I'm about to go to England on business in a couple of days. If you need a temporary refuge to sort of hang out, while Herbert is thinking about it, maybe you could stay here? In fact, we just happen to have a vacant back bedroom." (He a.s.sumed that Janice would mirror his sentiment, but he saw Janice standing behind Penelope, using crude sign language to convey NO, NO, NO! to him. He a.s.sumed that Janice knew something he didn't.) Penelope's eyes lit up when she heard this offer.

"Do you really mean that? You are such a saint, Travis Lee! I have always liked you and Janice! You have always been my favorite neighbors! I want you to know that I really, really appreciate you letting me stay here, even if it is just for a little while!"

(Janice was silently blowing a fuse over her stupid husband's nave offer, so he tried to scale it back a bit.) "Of course, it will just be temporary, . . . really brief, actually. I'm sure Herbert will allow you to come back this evening, after you talk with him. So by tonight you will probably be moving on."

"Janice graciously offered to let me shower and clean up here a little, before I go to see Herbert. I guess I look a little rough right now."

Janice cut in. "The shower is this way, Penelope. Come on and I'll show you where everything is." She shot Travis a daggered look, as she led Penelope away.

"I'm really grateful to you both. You are good Christian people! G.o.d will bless you for this!"

That sounded strange, coming from a woman with a big bottle of gin in one hand. Janice took her down the hall to the bathroom, and closed the door. She went to the hall closet and got extra towels to take to her. Travis heard the shower come on, as Janice came and found him in his study.

"Travis, we've got a slight problem."

"We do?"

"Yes, we do. I went and picked up Penelope, and the first place she wanted to go was the State Store to get some gin."

"Of course. And I see you told her no!"

"Actually, I agreed to take her there, because she said she needed it, to get her through the day."

"So she had money to buy gin, but no money to call a cab?"

"Actually, I bought her the gin, because I thought I would help her out a little."

"You don't help an alcoholic by buying her gin!"

"Don't get on my case, Travis! I have had a very stressful morning already! She has told me some things that are just . . . unbelievable!"

"Such as?"

"I'll get to that. After I bought her the gin, I took her to Herbert's house, thinking I was going to just drop her off. Herbert was gone to work already, but her daughter, Jessica was there. But Jessica locked the door, and wouldn't let her in!"

"How old is Jessica now?"

"The same age as Jenny, about 18. She said she was going to call the police if we didn't leave, so we left. I didn't know what to do. I suggested that I could take her to her Dad's house, and she went crazy, she was so scared! She said she would rather be dead, than go back to his house!"

"Why?"

"She said that her Dad used to rape her all the time, when she was a teenager!"

"Bob used to do that?"

"That's just one of the shocking bombsh.e.l.ls she dropped on me this morning. Another one is that her Dad is also Jessica's father! He got her pregnant one of those times he raped her! She said even Herbert doesn't know about that. Jessica was almost three when she met Herbert, and she never told him who the real father was."

"Wow, that would mean that Jessica and her mother are also sisters?"

"That's right. And the reason she wants to go back to Herbert is because for years, Bob has been trying to get Herbert to let Jessica come stay with him, and Penelope knows the reason he's doing that is to try to get at Jessica, so he can rape her too."

"And Herbert doesn't know about this?"

"Penelope tried to tell him about her Dad's deeds, but he refuses to believe it. He and Bob are good friends. Bob gave him and Penelope several acres of land when they got married, so it's like, Herbert just looks the other way. He thinks that Penelope is lying about it all. Apparently she has told him quite a few lies after her addiction started, and he thought this was just another one."

"So what do you think? Do you think she could be lying to you?"

"I think she's telling the truth. Know why? When I suggested that she go live with her Dad, she was so upset that she peed all over your truck seat!"

"Aw man! So I guess my truck stinks now, huh?"

"I'll get something to clean your seat. But that's why I think she's telling the truth. Why else would she be so terrified at the mere suggestion of her dad?"

"That's a good point, but not conclusive. So why did you bring her here?"

"Where else could I take her? I told her she could come here and take a shower and get cleaned up, so that when Herbert gets home from work today, I'll take her over there to talk to him in person. She thinks she can persuade him to let her stay there."

"And if not? Where will she go then?"

"I don't know. I don't want her staying here, but I can't just put her out on the street! But then you chime in and offer to let her stay here! Travis Lee, you stupid a.s.s-hole! If I wanted that woman staying in my home for any length of time, I would have invited her myself, which I had no intention of doing!"

"So just tell her to leave."

"How can I do that, after you so graciously offered to let her stay here? Thanks a lot, Travis!"

"Well, I'll just un-invite her, how about that?"

"Oooh! What a mess!"

"She may have to go back to her boyfriend in Arlington."

"No, she said she would never go back there. She hates him! She said he kept her there like a s.e.x slave for the past two years. He kept her on drugs so that she couldn't leave. She was like a prisoner. The drugs were the 'chains' that kept her from running away."

"She sounds like one really messed up woman! You picked a good one to try to help, Dear!"

"I know, it's my fault, and I'll deal with it. I'll find somewhere she can stay, if I have to take her to some kind of hospital. Maybe some kind of half-way house for recovering alcoholics. She is suicidal too! I'll bet she said a dozen times that she ought to just kill herself, and save everyone the trouble!"

"There are a lot of church-run programs to deal with people like her. We'll just have to find one that will take her in."

They heard gla.s.s shatter.

"Oh goodness! What now? I'd better go check on her!"

Travis listened from his study, as Janice entered the bathroom. There was a blood-curdling scream, and then angry voices, as Janice and Penelope got into an argument, and then Janice cried out for help. Travis bolted for the door, and went into the bathroom, where he saw Janice wrestling with Penelope over the broken shard of gin bottle. He paused, because Penelope was totally naked, but had an ugly scowl on her face, as she wrestled for control of the broken bottle. There was blood all over the floor.

"Help me! Travis, she's trying to cut her wrist!" He rushed in and grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the gla.s.s, and was trying to open her hand to remove it when Penelope's other fist came around and caught him squarely on the jaw. It was like a Mike Tyson punch, and it stunned him for a moment. He lost his balance and fell, but kept his grip on Penelope's wrist, which caused all three of them to tumble over into the tub. Travis couldn't right himself, because he couldn't let go of the wrist that held the broken bottle. So he floundered there, with his head and shoulders down in the tub, being doused with warm shower water, his legs out of the tub, unable to get traction, while naked Penelope, and terrified Janice were both piled in on top of him, both screaming and angry. With both hands, he was able to pry Penelope's fingers loose from the neck of the gin bottle, and let it fall into the tub. Then he held on to Penelope's wrists, while Janice was able to get up on her feet. She then grabbed Penelope around the waist, and pulled her out of the tub. That left Travis to try to get out of the tub on his own.

"Watch the gla.s.s!" Janice warned, as he climbed out of the tub. "It's all over the floor!"

"I cut my feet!" Penelope said, as she sobbed, no longer angry. She put down the toilet seat and sat on it, while Janice covered her with a towel.

"I'm sorry!" Penelope said. "I dropped the bottle of gin, and it shattered. I was trying to pick up the gla.s.s when you ran in and grabbed me!"

"I thought you were trying to slash your wrist!" Janice replied.

"No! Why would I do that? I was just trying to clean up the mess I made, and now look at me! My feet are all cut up and bleeding!"

"I think I cut my foot too." Travis said," as he gingerly hopped out of the bathroom on the side of his foot.

"I'm sorry," Janice said, "I walked in and saw you with the neck of that broken bottle in your hand, and I a.s.sumed the worst. Here, wipe off your feet and go into the bedroom, and I'll get the alcohol and tweezers, and try to get the gla.s.s out of your feet. Travis, I'll see about you later."

"I'm okay." He hobbled back to his study, where he sat down and examined his foot. He took out his pocket knife and probed into the wound, and extracted a shard of gla.s.s the size of his thumb nail. He gritted his teeth and daubed it with Jack Daniels to kill the germs, then took a swig just because he had it opened. It was probably the first time in over a year he had opened that bottle. It seemed like a good enough occasion.

He didn't believe Penelope's insistence that she was not intending to cut her wrist, because she was fighting to keep him from taking the bottle neck from her. She may not have broken the bottle intentionally, but once it was broken, she seemed to have thoughts of suicide.

As he bandaged his cut, he shook his head and chuckled over what a sight that must have been, the three of them up-side down in the shower like that. He and Janice wrestling a naked woman! Wouldn't that have been a Kodak moment? He was glad their kids were not home. He could hear Janice and Penelope talking in the bedroom, but couldn't make out what they were saying. As long as they were using civil tones, he figured it was okay.