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 26 * * * * * * * * * * Lynn turns on her television, impatiently flipping through the stations while she waits. She hates waiting. She hates waiting in line at the grocery store. She hates waiting at the DMV. And she really hates waiting for someone to pick up the phone, which is what she's doing now. Finally the deep voice she was expecting picks up. "Miss Stokes, it's been awhile. What can I do for you?" "You sound as if you remember me," she says suspiciously, knowing he was just playing the game as most executives do. She's sure he didn't remember her at all. Just pretending like he did. But she couldn't complain. At least he took her call. That really was more than she expected. "Of course I do. Tall. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Delicate porcelain skin. Your mother was part Asian, right?" "You really do remember," she gasps in surprise. She remembers how interested he had been in her heritage. Almost obsessed with it. "Yes. I do," he chuckles. "I don't mean to rush you, but I'm pretty busy around here. What can I do for you?" "I have something that you might be interested in. Someone, actually. He's really smart. Probably even a genius. Has these unbelievable talents. He's too good to be true, almost. And he seems like he'll fit in well at that 'think tank' you mentioned working for," she explains. "Um hm," he says, sounding pretty disinterested. "And I assume you're looking for some sort of compensation in exchange for this person." "It sounds so barbaric when you put it that way. But yes. That's what I was hoping for. You see, I need to get out of town. As soon as possible. And I could use some . . . relocating money. A new life is expensive these days." "I can imagine," he says with a laugh. "Listen, why don't you let me talk to the money people around here and I'll get back to you and see if we're interested." "But I really need to know . . . " "I understand," he says, cutting her off. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can." She could tell she was getting the brush off. And there wasn't anything she could do about it. She shuts her mouth in resignation, silently listening as he mutters a few more words before the line goes dead. That didn't go as expected, she thinks to herself, the dial tone blaring harshly in her ear. He didn't say no, right out. But she couldn't be sure she could count on him. She'd give him a little longer, but if he refused, she'd have to take matters in her own hands. * * * * * * * * * * Lyle hangs up the phone, glad to have gotten rid of the woman on the other end. She was a useful diversion, but that's about all she was. Unique. Exotic, but still just a diversion. One of his sweepers waits in the doorway until he's finished. "A lead, Sir?" the sweeper asks. "No, Clarence. Just a woman trying to get some money. Well, what she has may pan out in the long run, but it's not what I'm looking for right now." Lyle taps his chin, feeling a bit unsettled. Like there's something just on the edge of his mind, but he just can't reach it. "Actually, I think I will follow this up. It can't hurt having something on the back burner. Put Sydney and Broots on it. They haven't been too helpful tracking Jarod. Maybe they can take care of this situation for me." "They're both out of town, Mr. Lyle. Should I send a couple of the sweepers instead?" Clarence suggests. "Both of them? That's a bit odd, isn't it? Do you know where they are?" Lyle watches Clarence pull out a thin black book that looks kind of like a journal. He was surprised sometimes at how serious this young sweeper took his job. That's why Lyle has taken him under his wing, so to speak. This young man was going places. And Lyle wanted to be on his side when he got there. "Mr. Broots took his daughter to a dance camp in Flint, Michigan. Sydney is attending a symposium in Detroit," Clarence informs him. "They're both in Michigan. Hmmm." Lyle taps on his chin again. He's feeling like there's something he's missing. And he just can't quite put his finger on it. He hits the intercom button to speak with his assistant. "Sue, where did that call come from? The last one that came through from Miss Stokes?" "Michigan. A town called Edgebrook," Sue answers him quickly and efficiently. "Isn't that a coincidence?" Lyle grins. Suddenly, everything was crystal clear. "What are the chances of Broots and Sydney both suddenly needing to go out of town and both ending up in Michigan the same time I get a phone call from someone in Michigan knowing of a mysterious genius I might be interested in buying?" "Slim to none, Sir," Clarence smiles. "Does this mean we're going to Michigan?" "Not we. Just me," Lyle says. "Too many sweepers will be noticed. I'll meet with Miss Stokes and let her lead me to this genius she's trying to sell. If I'm guessing right, it's Jarod. And with any luck, my sister will be nearby." He dismisses Clarence to go make travel plans for him. Lyle can barely contain his excitement. This was just the chance he was looking for. A chance to sneak up on Jarod and his wayward sister. And then, it'll be all over before they even realize what happened. * * * * * * * * * * Celia casts a pitiful glance at the woman who has become on of the best friends she's had in a while. Yet, there was so much she still didn't know about her. Like how she would react to the news she had to tell her, for one thing. She ends up opening and closing her mouth a few times before finally shaking her head and turning away from her audience. "Celia?" Miss Parker says shakily. She was really starting to get scared. A few tears fall down her face. "Tell me what's going on, please. I need to know." "Okay," Celia relents, her shoulders sagging with the weight of it all. She turns back to face them again. "Kylie's been taken to the hospital. She was found, badly beaten and barely conscious." "What about her baby?" Miss Parker asks, placing her hands on her stomach. A few more tears fall when she sees Celia shake her head from side to side. "It was too late by the time she got there." Celia wipes away her own tears. "If they found the girl, then have they found Jarod as well?" Broots wants to know. "That's the thing. Now, they have even more of a reason to look for him. The police are thinking Jarod did this to her." "She told them that?" Miss Parker can't believe it. She can't believe he'd do that. "It's impossible," Sydney insists, voicing Miss Parker's doubts. "He could never do something like that. And if she says so, then she's lying." "Sydney, it's alright," Miss Parker says, trying to calm him. "There's obviously some confusion. Isn't that right, Celia." "Mara, this is what I was told," Celia shakes her head apologetically. "But I don't think they heard this account from Kylie. When she was conscious, she couldn't talk. The doctors think her larynx has been crushed." "So who are they getting this wild tale from?" Sydney asks angrily, still agitated from the accusations about his surrogate son. "Sheriff Stevens." Miss Parker was actually expecting that, so she wasn't too shocked to hear it from Celia. "Sheriff Stevens?" she asks again, just to be clear. "Was he the one who . . . "found" Kylie?" Miss Parker doesn't bother to hide her skepticism. She rolls her eyes when Celia nods to the affirmative. "What are you thinking, Miss Parker?" Broots wants to know. "It's obvious you're not buying the Sheriff's version of events." "I'm thinking that the sheriff didn't have to try too hard to find Kylie because he knew exactly where she was. He's probably the one who kidnapped her and Jarod because they were getting too close to the truth about the missing money from the school." "What missing money?" Broots asks. "The money stolen by him and Lynn Stokes," Miss Parker says with a laugh. It's all so clear now. She doesn't understand why she didn't put it all together sooner. "With Jarod and Kylie out of the way, there wouldn't be anyone else to question where the money went. And if anyone else did, they can just say that Jarod and Kylie took it and ran away together." "But how would the sheriff know that Jarod and Kylie were even aware of the money being gone? You said that Jarod was on his way to the sheriff to voice his opinions. But it seems to me that the sheriff already knew he was coming." Celia still needs some convincing that the man she's known practically her whole life is responsible for all of this. "From Kylie?" Broots suggests. But that's apparently the last piece of the puzzle Miss Parker needs. Her eyes widen with an epiphany that the others have yet to catch on to. "The baby was his," Miss Parker gasps. Again, it all becomes so clear for her. So obvious. "He was having an affair with her. That's how he was able to take her without a struggle. And she must have told him that she went to Jarod for help. That's how he knew that Jarod knew about the money." "What about this Lynn Stokes woman?" Sydney asks. "What's her part in all this?" "She's money hungry and man hungry," Celia tells them. "She's probably having an affair with the sheriff too." "Okay, that would make sense. But there's still one thing I don't understand," Sydney says. "Why risk taking the girl to the hospital? With both Kylie and Jarod out of the way, no one would have figured out his and Lynn's involvement with that money. But taking Kylie to the hospital is putting all of that in jeopardy." "Because of the baby," Miss Parker says. "20 bucks says that her miscarriage had nothing to do with her assault. I'd say she was miscarrying. The sheriff panicked and decided to take her to the hospital. But not without first insuring that she wouldn't be able to tell anyone what he had done." "So he was the one who . . . " "Beat her? Crushed her larynx? That would be my guess," Miss Parker says with a nod. The whole group is silent for awhile, letting all of the information soak in. There was a lot going on. And the question still remained . . . where was Jarod? "So, what do we do now?" Celia asks. "You are going to the hospital," Miss Parker orders. "I know you're worried sick about Kylie. Go ahead. I'll be fine," she assures the woman when she sees the torn look on her face. "Sydney, go with her," she tells the man. "Broots and I are going to find Jarod. Because now that their little operation has been compromised, I don't think Lynn is going to sit around patiently waiting to be caught. We have to get to Jarod. And we have to get to him now."