Title - Saying the Words Author - Nicky Rating - PG Category - JMPR Summary - Jarod and Miss Parker are finally together in a new town with new names and making new friends. So how come they keep on finding the same old trouble? Disclaimer - The characters aren't mine. I'm just using them for my own entertainment purposes. * * * * * * * * * * Chapter 21 * * * * * * * * * * Jarod pulls into the parking lot at Danbury Academy. He'd been teaching there for about two months now. He and Miss Parker immediately left Savannah after the case with Dr. Jacobs and the babies was over. They drove the short distance to Hilton Head, South Carolina and married on the beach. They were now Mr. and Mrs. Jarod Wilson. And had been that ever since. Three months was the longest he'd ever had an alias. Hopefully it will be permanent. With the baby soon to be born, he'd really hate to uproot his pregnant wife. About a month after they moved to Bristol, Jarod decided to get a teaching position at the local school. They didn't need the money, but they needed ties to the community. Small towns like Bristol were suspicious of newcomers. Especially newcomers who kept to themselves. The town took to them immediately. They seemed like a normal newlywed couple expecting a baby. And that's the way Jarod wanted to keep things. He tended to his own business, no longer looking for mysteries to unravel or injustices to rectify. He had a family to take care of now. And to keep them out of the Centre, the life he used to live had to change. No more pretending or anything else that would draw too much attention to him. This latest mystery almost got the better of his curiosity. But one look at Miss Parker and he realized he'd do anything to keep her happy. Including staying away from something that obviously needed his attention. Money was going missing from the student government fund. But like he told Miss Parker, it's not his business. He'd pass on the information he uncovered to the sheriff and let him handle things. Unfortunately, the sheriff wasn't at the station when he went by there. So he's doing the next best thing to get the information to him immediately. " . . . and that's basically all I know about the situation. I thought it best to pass this on to you, Sheriff, and let you handle the situation. I'd suggest you speak first with Kylie MacArthur. She's the student body president and she noticed the discrepancies early on. She's scared and thinks she'll be blamed, but I believe that she's innocent in this case." Jarod stops talking and the tape recorder automatically shuts off. It's one of those voice activated models that came in useful on the drive over. He didn't have to worry about operating it while he was driving. He reaches to get the tape out of the recorder with one hand while turning the car into a parking space with the other. Out of nowhere, his path is blocked by a man and he has to slam on the brakes, causing the recorder to fly to the floor and slide under the seat. Jarod rolls the window down to address his obstacle. "Sheriff?" Jarod asks, flustered at nearly running the man over. "Why are you standing in the middle of my parking space?" "I heard you were looking for me, Professor Wilson," the man tells him. He walks to the passenger side of the car and gets in. "Why don't we go back to the station and talk." Jarod gets a bad feeling. Something about the look on the man's face makes him suspicious. He's survived these past few years by trusting his instincts and feelings. He's survived the past few months by trusting Miss Parker's instincts. Her actions this morning instantly rush back to his brain. She sensed something was wrong. And now, he's feeling it too. "Why don't we go into my office," Jarod suggests instead, not wanting to go anywhere with the man. "Just drive," the man growls, pulling out his gun. Jarod could do nothing by comply. And wish to himself that he never left the comfort of his bed that morning. * * * * * * * * * * Miss Parker awkwardly rolls to her side and grabs the ringing phone from the bedside table. "What," she grumbles sleepily into it. For the most part, she had shed her 'Miss Parker' persona. But it was rare that she and the baby were both asleep at the same time anymore. This child definitely had Jarod's restless spirit. She had just managed to settle down for her afternoon nap. It was hard to be cordial to whoever was waking her. "Mara?" Miss Parker blinks the sleep away from her eyes and it takes a moment for her name to sink in. She had given the people her first name when they first move to town to go along with the fake last name Jarod picked. If they were ever tracked by the Centre, they would probably be looking for Jarod and Parker. Not many people at the Centre know what her first name is. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" the voice continues. "I'm up," she yawns. "How can I help you?" "This is Lynn Stokes from Danbury Academy," she explains. "I'm calling to see if Professor Wilson is there. He never came in this morning." "He didn't call in?" She sits up in the bed, completely awake now. She looks at the clock and realizes how late in the day it was. Jarod should have been home hours ago. "He told me he was going to cancel his classes, go speak with Sheriff Stevens, and then come back home. But that was earlier this morning." "Oh. Well, he's not here. And he missed all of his classes today. Sheriff Stevens is actually here looking for your husband so I'm assuming he never made that meeting either. Mara, maybe you should come down to the school. I'm sure the sheriff will have some questions for you." "Lynn, what exactly are you implying?" Miss Parker asks icily. She never did like the woman from the school. She was the one responsible for hiring Jarod. And Miss Parker got the impression he was hired for purposes far from educational. He never said anything about it, but Miss Parker has witnessed on several occassions blatant attempts by Lynn to come on to him. "I don't want to get into it over the phone. You should come down." With that, she hangs up the phone before Miss Parker could get another word in. * * * * * * * * * * Miss Parker breezes through the door as if she owned the school. She couldn't let them see the fear she was trying desperately to hide. She had to show them she was in control. She walks towards the front office where she knew Lynn Stokes would be. A woman sitting in the chairs outside the office glares jealously at the pregnant woman, still fashionable in her maternity leather pants, storming towards the front desk demanding to be seen. "Mrs. Wilson?" Miss Parker turns around to face whoever was calling her. She sees Lynn Stokes and the sheriff approaching her. "Lynn. Sheriff Stevens. What's going on here? Where is my husband?" Miss Parker stares undauntedly at the man. But inside she was far from fearless. Something bad was going on. Something involving Jarod. And she was terrified at what that something could be. "We were hoping you could tell us that. No one here at the school has seen him today," Lynn explains to her. "He told me he had an appointment with the sheriff this morning. And that he was going to call in to cancel his classes." "Is that all?" the sheriff queries. "Did he tell you why he needed to meet with me?" Miss Parker notices a nervous look pass between the sheriff and Lynn. She starts to become suspicious of the line of questioning. She had a feeling there was a lot more to this than trying to find Jarod. "No," she lies easily. "He didn't tell me anything. Just that he needed to speak with you involving something with a few kids at school." "That's all he said?" Lynn asks again. "Did he mention any kids in particular?" "Lynn, you've been hinting at something this entire time. Why don't you just come out and tell me what you're blaming my husband of," she snaps at the woman. She knows she should keep her cool to try and figure out what these two are up to, but she was starting to lose her patience. "Mrs. Wilson. Mara," the sheriff corrects himself, trying to get more personal. He takes her by the elbow and leads her to the seats against the wall, next to the other woman who glared at her earlier. "Why don't you sit down." Panic races through her body. This couldn't be good, she realizes. Not good at all. Something horrible must have happened. "I'm fine," she says through her tightly gritted teeth. "Just tell me where Jarod is." "Mara, this is Olivia MacArthur," Lynn introduces. Miss Parker nods politely at the woman as Lynn continues. "Her daughter, Kylie, is also missing. We think that she and your husband are together." "Together?" Miss Parker manages to choke out. "You're saying someone kidnapped them both?" But she can look on everyone else's face and see that theory is far from what they're thinking. "No, Mara. We're pretty sure there technically wasn't any kidnapping involved. Although Kylie is a minor, we're pretty sure she went with him willingly," the sheriff explains. "You think they ran off together?" Miss Parker shrieks. She lets out a nervous laugh to try and relieve tension. "You're kidding, right?" "Does this look like we're joking to you?" the other woman, Kylie's mother, yells. "Your husband is a dirty old man who knocked up my daughter and then lured her out of town." "What?" Miss Parker stares unbelievingly at the three. "You can't seriously believe that story. I certainly don't. It's impossible. There's no way." "How can you be so sure?" Olivia MacArthur asks. "Because he claims he loves you? Because you strut around here in your leather pants and little skirts? You think that's going to keep him? Honey, I've been through my share of men. And no matter how much they claim to love you, they can't resist the temptation of fresh meat." "Well maybe your daughter takes after you," Miss Parker growls. "If she got herself in trouble, what makes you think she even knows who the father is? All I know is that it isn't my husband. I mean, we've been in this town for just a few months. It's not even possible." "Professor Wilson started working here two months ago," Lynn tells them. "Olivia says that Kylie is six weeks along. It's entirely possible for him to be the father." "No it's not," Miss Parker yells. She blinks back the tears threatening to fall. "It's not possible. You're all wrong. And I'm going to prove it." She storms out in the same fashion as how she came in, leaving them all in a stunned silence. "I'm going home now," Olivia says after a few moments. "Call if you find anything." She gathers her things and leaves down the same hallway as Miss Parker. "She doesn't buy it," Lynn whispers to the sheriff. They were in the office alone, but she didn't want to risk anyone over hearing them. "She's going to be trouble." "Mara Wilson? I don't think so. She's pregnant. Over emotional. She doesn't want to believe her husband would cheat on her. But I think deep down she's suspicious enough to doubt him." "I hope you're right. We already took a big risk getting Professor Wilson and the girl out of the way. It would be too complicated with a pregnant woman. Let's just hope that no one else knows about the money." "They're the only two," the sheriff says confidently. "Kylie admitted to me that the professor was the only other person she told. And you heard the wife. She doesn't know anything about this. If the subject of the missing money ever comes up, we can blame them for running off with it. We're home free." "You better hope so," Lynn warns him. "Because we both have a lot to lose if this ever comes out." She gives him one last warning glare before returning to her desk. She hoped he's right about Mara Wilson. But something tells her that woman is more than just an emotional, pregnant wife. The sheriff may have dismissed it, but Lynn knew she was going to be trouble. To be continued . . .