On Ice (Contemporary Romantic Thriller) Read online

  Rene stopped at a local drive-through, ordering fresh flour tortillas filled with spicy chorizo sausage, potatoes and eggs for the road.

  Seth remained tense, but Sara was thrilled by the unfolding events. Her shrieks of delight over each animal, billboard and car they passed reverberated within the confines of the car but Rene hadn’t the heart to quiet her. As time elapsed, the animals, billboards and other vehicles became less frequent. Rene too, was tense. She reminded herself to inhale when she found she had been holding her breath.

  Glancing in the rear-view mirror, she scanned the horizon, expecting Mark to come swooping down on them at any moment.

  Flexing her fingers frequently offered relief when they cramped from her tight grip on the steering wheel.

  “Mommy, I have to potty.”

  “Sara, there’s no place to go here. You have to wait.”

  “I can’t wait!” Her voice was a tremulous wail. “I have to go right now!”

  “Please try to hold on, Sara,” Rene pleaded with her. It would be dangerous to be caught in this isolated place.

  “Look! There’s something over there.” Seth pointed to a series of dilapidated buildings just off the highway.

  Squinting in the bright sunlight, she slowed the car. A few abandoned shacks squatted by the road. She started to drive on, then braked and veered toward the last one. It appeared to be a functioning gas station flanked by an ancient house trailer.

  Driving to the side, she stopped where a hand-painted sign declared a door standing ominously ajar to be a restroom. They all stared suspiciously at the uninviting prospects.

  They screamed in unison as heavy knuckles knocked on the passenger window. Rene stared open-mouthed at the huge shirtless man smiling hopefully at them.

  “Didn’t mean to scare you none, Ma’am.” The enormous face was glossy pink like boiled ham and she counted at least three sets of chins, yet the voice was almost falsetto. “D’ju want some butane or propane, Ma’am?” The immense person pointed to the shining silver tanks labeled appropriately by the same sign painter.

  A cold prickle of relief swept over her. “My daughter needs to use the rest room.”

  “Shucks, Ma’am, that’n don’t work half the time.” He wiped his sweaty forehead with a red rag pulled from inside the bib of his worn overalls. As he worked to dry his face, his pendulous breasts jiggled rhythmically. He used the same rag to noisily blow his nose and stuffed it back into the bib. “Why’nchu take the li’l girl in the house. Mama won’t mind.” He gestured to the faded green trailer.

  “We don’t want to intrude.” Rene couldn’t imagine taking her daughter into the decaying structure. A tiny elderly woman peered intently at them from inside the torn screen. She smiled and waved them inside.

  “I gotta go, too, Mom,” Seth whispered.

  “Well, I gotta go first.” Sara was insistent.

  “We’ll have to hurry.” Rene hoped a band of crazed bikers wasn’t waiting inside to attack them. No motorcycles were visible. In fact, she didn’t even see a car.

  Seth freed Sara from her seat belt. She was now bouncing up and down in anticipation of relief. Reluctantly, Rene stepped out into the blazing heat. The perspiration that had formed on her brow dried instantly in the dry air.

  “C’mon in kids,” the tiny lady screeched at them in a voice not unlike her son’s.

  Rene stepped onto a wooden pallet placed in front of the door to form a simple step.

  “Th’ john’s right back there. Jus’ ‘scuse th’ mess.” She tittered mindlessly.

  Entering the comparative darkness, Rene’s senses recoiled from the odor of cat feces. As she became accustomed to the dim interior, she saw cats on every surface.

  Beautiful, longhaired Persian cats lolled decorously on the table and countertops. They yawned from the chairs and switched their tails as they hung out of open cabinets, watching their passage with a combination of boredom and contempt.

  “Look, Mommy! Kitties!” Thrilled, Sara tried to break away from Rene’s grasp.

  “No, Honey. Don’t pet the kitties.” Rene dragged the squirming child toward the bathroom with Seth trailing close behind. She reached inside, finding the light switch, then drew back as she saw several over-full litter boxes crammed into the minuscule room. The acrid stench of ammonia cut her breath and made her eyes water. Rene and both children crowded into the small space. She ripped Sara’s panties off, ordering her to squat over the grime-encrusted commode.

  “I’ll fall in, Mommy!” Sara whined piteously as Rene set her shoes on the seat.

  “No, you won’t. I’m holding you. Hurry up. Don’t touch anything.” She heard a note of hysteria in her own voice.

  Dutifully Sara gripped Rene’s arms and managed to splatter urine all over the seat and floor as she released her floodgate.

  Seth took his turn while Rene cleaned Sara and managed to get the miniature panties back on over Sara’s shoes. She wiped at the splatters but gave up as the cheap toilet paper shredded when presented with moisture.

  Herding the children out of the offensive quarters, she politely refused the offer of iced tea from their hostess.

  The man stood just outside the screen, holding it open as they stepped down onto the pallet. “We don’t get many visitors out here.”

  “Thank you.” She was afraid to say more, lest she make an impression on these simple people. She slammed the car door behind the children, leaving Seth to assist Sara with her seat belt.

  Invisible. We must be invisible. Chanting to herself, she inserted the key in the ignition, her fingers shaking. Rene sighed as a blast of cold air hit her in the face.

  “Mommy, that place was stinky.” Sara wrinkled her nose in disgust.

  “Yes, Honey, it was.” Rene smiled at her daughter in the rear-view mirror.

  “It was yucky,” Seth agreed. “I can still smell it.”

  Rene pulled onto the westbound lane. Few vehicles were on the road. The highway stretched on forever, a silver ribbon cutting across the golden West Texas plains.

  Bright blue skies were accented with puffy, white cumulus clouds. Overhead, the sun washed everything to super brightness. Arid waves of heat rose off the asphalt. The flat horizon line would have been mesmerizing but terror kept her on guard.

  ~*~

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Honey, you can’t drink any more juice. We don’t have a bit of time to waste.”

  Sara’s bladder had been uncooperative. Frequent stops shredded Rene’s nerves. She tried to speed the child along but Sara refused to be hurried. Rene carefully placed tissue on the toilet seats. Sara was enthralled with the process.

  “It might not be clean enough for you to sit on,” Rene explained, deciding against trying to explain the concept of germs to a four-year-old.

  Sara dutifully sat and made her tiny contribution and carefully washed her hands at each stop. She especially enjoyed the hot air hand dryers. The plan was so closely defined that Rene was terrified of spending any time not on their schedule. Her agitation grew with every delay, worrying when anyone took notice of them.

  While she filled the tank at a small convenience store, a sheriff’s vehicle pulled in behind hers. The tall heavy-set deputy assessed Rene from behind his mirrored sunglasses. Had Mark contacted the police already? She tried to behave in a normal manner, though she felt like running.

  Unsmiling, he nodded and went inside the store.

  Rene’s heart thudded against her ribs. Her hands were shaking as she replaced the nozzle in the pump and fumbled with the gas cap.

  Startled, she realized there was another deputy inside the Sheriff’s car who was definitely staring at her. Moreover, this one seemed to be writing. Rene hoped her reaction hadn’t caused him to make note of their license or any other characteristics.

  She got into the plain gray car and started it. Thankfully, Sara was asleep but Seth’s eyes were round with fear. She managed a weak smile and, putting the car into drive, carefully pulle
d out onto the highway.

  The Sheriff didn’t pursue them. Rene concluded that she was being paranoid.

  If she was, then Seth was, too. She hated to see him look so worried. Naturally a quiet, serious child, he was always sensitive to his father’s moods, fearing anything that might displease him. Now Rene had brought down the ultimate wrath upon them. She escaped and took the children with her. Mark would take their departure as disloyalty on the children’s part, though she’d given them no choice.

  The previous morning Rene had experienced a taste of Mark’s temper. Unconsciously, she rubbed the bruise on her wrist. Her poorly concealed excitement over the impending escape made her feel almost giddy. Mark noticed immediately.

  “What’s the matter, Rene?” he’d asked, his voice icy. “You’re jumpy as a cat.”

  She shivered, recalling his tone. She had been too anxious for him to leave for work.

  “Oh, please God,” she whispered under her breath, knowing she’d alerted him to her actions. She could see his twisted face, suffused with an angry purple, his veins bulging from his forehead.

  “Tell me what you’re up to,” he demanded, taking hold of her wrist.

  “N-nothing, Mark,” she stammered.

  “Don’t lie to me! It’s that damned bitch sister of yours, isn’t it?” He twisted her arm as he dragged her into their bedroom. “She’s coming over, isn’t she?”

  “No, Mark. She hasn’t been here since you told her to stay away from me.”

  “Liar!” he screamed, twisting her arm behind her back. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on. She’s always stirring up trouble.”

  “Mark, please stop.” The pain in her arm had been unbearable. “There’s nothing going on. I don’t think Maddy is in town. The last time I talked to her she said she was going on vacation with Ted and the girls.”

  “And when was that? I told you not to talk to her unless I’m present.” He grabbed her by the shoulders. Digging his fingers into her flesh, he’d shaken her violently.

  “Mark, she’s my sister. I can’t stop talking to her.”

  “And I’m your husband.” He spoke through clenched teeth, his breath hot against her face. “You’ll do what I tell you. Remember what she said to me the last time she was here? I can’t believe you’d ever speak to her again. She attacked me. She threatened me.” He’d thrown her against the bed and turned his back coldly. “I know you’re up to something and if I find out your sister is involved, you’ll both be sorry.”

  His threat had hung in the air like a sharpened blade waiting to fall. She heard the door slam as he herded the children off to school. She hoped he wouldn’t take his foul temper out on them.

  Too well she recalled the heated exchange when Maddy threatened to make his abusive behavior public.

  Rene kept her shameful secret from Maddy. This was remarkable, considering that Maddy volunteered at the Houston Women’s Center. Ironic that Rene was being abused right under Maddy’s nose while she counseled battered women and raised funds for the shelter.

  When Maddy found out about the abuse, she was outraged, urging Rene to file for an immediate divorce. Rene’s near hysteria kept her from going to the police. They’d held each other while Rene poured out the story of Mark’s physical and emotional violence against her.

  Her greatest fear was his threat to take the children from her. He’d promised to use his connections in the legal system to insure that Rene would have no rights at all. “I have judges and clients who owe me big time,” he’d said. “I could get crack heads to say they’d sold you drugs and that you’d turned tricks for them. There are social workers who find me very attractive and would swear that you’re an unfit mother. Don’t even try me, Rene.”

  That realization had tempered Maddy’s insistence that she leave Mark, but it was also the beginning of the plan that resulted in Rene speeding west on I-Ten in a rental car with her children and her hopes crammed inside.

  Time raced by. With each stop it took longer and longer for the children to get in and out of their seat belts. Every delay held attractions to entrap small travelers. Sara acquired a handful of toys and Seth got an electronic game before they’d gone far.

  Glancing into the rear-view mirror, Rene saw a dark blue Lexus coming up fast. She felt her throat constrict as she croaked out, “Oh, God! It’s Mark!”

  Seth turned around in his seat as Rene pushed her foot down harder on the gas pedal. The Lexus kept closing and drew even with them.

  “It’s not him, Mom,” Seth called out in a shaky voice. “It’s a lady.”

  Rene looked to her left as a woman with a cell phone glued to her ear sped past them. Relief washed over her and she had to pull onto the shoulder to recover her breath and still her shaking hands.

  Glancing in the rear-view mirror, she started to flash a smile at Seth but discovered he was crying. Silently, tears rolled down his cheeks.

  Rene tore off her seatbelt and opened the passenger door. She slid in beside Seth and gathered him into her arms, thankful that Sara remained asleep. Giant sobs shook his small shoulders as hot tears fell on Rene’s breast.

  “Please be brave, Seth,” she whispered against his hair. “I’m scared, too.” His sniffles abated. She kissed his forehead. “Try to be brave for me and for Sara.”

  Seth mopped his face and blew his nose while Rene took her seat behind the wheel and tried to calculate how much time they’d lost.

  As she pulled onto the highway she recalled how different her childhood had been.

  When she thought of home, she stirred warm memories of the white frame bungalow with ever-flaking paint where she and her sister, Maddy, had grown up. Love and laughter seemed to rebound off the walls. She pictured the porch swing where they had shared secrets and comforted each other’s real or imagined wounds. Her parents raised their daughters with humor and kindness. In her memories dappled sunshine always streamed in through the white lace curtains. And hugs, kisses and loving caresses were thrown into each and every encounter with family members.

  “They’re not twins,” her mother would say when people asked. “They were born a year apart but they’re like two peas in a pod.”

  But they weren’t. Maddy was brave with a pioneer spirit, while Rene was shy and reticent. Maddy was first to be chosen for games, while Rene was chosen to please Maddy.

  Rene hadn’t exactly grown up in her sister’s shadow but she enjoyed Maddy’s unflagging encouragement and protection. Now she was doing it again.

  The mountains surrounding El Paso were visible long before they hit the city limits. The air in the smaller city was clean and dry compared to Houston. In spite of the pit stops they’d arrived on time, probably due to the infrequency of Texas Highway Patrol cars on that lonely stretch and Rene’s frightened foot on the gas pedal.

  They located the airport with no difficulty. It was bustling with activity. Rene checked the large bags and boxes before turning in the rental car. Their tickets were waiting and they got early boarding passes because of Sara’s age. Rene had to pay an extra fee for excess baggage, which she charged to her new credit card. All bills would go to a post office box to be paid by Maddy.

  “Don’t worry, darling,” Maddy had advised. “I would pay anything to get you out of that wretched man’s clutches---and besides, we’ll be enjoying Paris at Mark’s expense. Somehow, I find that very satisfying.” Rene could hear Maddy’s peal of laughter as she signed the charge slip with her new name.

  They waited to board their flight. Devouring pizza from one of the airport restaurants was a major treat. Rene was delighted to see them enjoying the simple pleasures other children took for granted but saddened they had been deprived for so long. She realized Mark never approved of anything remotely defined as fun.

  Flight 21 to Las Vegas and Seattle was announced and they pre-boarded. She stowed their carry-on bags in the overhead bin and settled the children in their seats. Clutching Pooh, Sara appeared to be a bit anxious. Seth, ev
er the big brother, talked to her in an easy tone until she relaxed. He opted for the window seat with Sara sandwiched between them, throttling Pooh in her excitement during take-off.

  The flight was uneventful, except for the attentive steward. Not wanting to be memorable, Rene indicated that she was going to rest, closing her eyes after they ate a snack. The attendant didn’t pay much attention after that.

  Rene thought about Maddy and her girls in Paris. They would be asleep now. Tomorrow they would check out of the hotel and disappear. After a little sightseeing, they would board a quick flight to Scotland, where they would join Ted for a family drive and two weeks of touring castles, staying in quaint inns with a few rounds of golf for Ted. It would be a wonderful vacation if they didn’t have to keep looking over their shoulders for Rene’s deranged husband.

  How brave they all were. They never hesitated in doing the right thing. How could Maddy always be so strong? And why did Rene always make the wrong choices? She wished she had married the kind of man Maddy had chosen. She almost wished she had never met Mark but, glancing at her children, she sighed. At least he had great genes. She didn’t regret meeting him. She was just sorry she’d stayed so long.

  This was the children’s first flight and they spent most of it peering out the window. It was a lovely, clear day and they glimpsed many changes of landscape. During the brief stopover in Las Vegas, Rene donned her sunglasses, and feigned sleep, but surreptitiously observed the passengers who boarded. No one seemed to be interested in them in any way when they saw all three seats were occupied.

  A man with a briefcase sat across the aisle. He glanced at Rene and smiled. She turned her shoulders away, shielding his view of the children. He took the airline magazine out of the seat pocket and began working on the crossword puzzle.

  The take off was smooth. As they drew closer to Seattle, the blue outside the cabin windows turned to gray and occasionally lightening streaked across the sky.