Three times her hand was sought in matrimony. She answered each suitor differently and with polite humor but the bottom line was always “No.” Charlie silently fumed at these exchanges; and then, checking his watch, he made his way out of the room.
After more questions, more photos, and more laughter and smiles, the press conference was finally over and LuAnn was escorted off the stage. She returned to the holding room, quickly changed into slacks and a blouse, erased all the makeup from her face, piled her long hair under a cowboy hat, and picked up Lisa. She checked her watch. Barely twenty minutes had passed since she had been introduced to the world as the new lottery winner. She expected that the local sheriff would be contacting the New York police by now. Everyone from LuAnn’s hometown watched the lottery drawing religiously including Sheriff Roy Waymer. The timing would be very tight.
Davis leaned his head in the door. “Uh, Ms. Tyler, there’s a car waiting for you at the rear entrance to the building. I’ll have someone escort you down if you’re ready.”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” When he turned to leave, LuAnn called after him. “If anybody shows up asking for me, I’ll be at my hotel.”
Davis looked at her coldly. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“Lisa’s father, Frank.”
Davis’s face tightened. “And you’re staying at?”
“The Plaza.”
“Of course.”
“But please don’t tell anybody else where I am. I haven’t seen Frank in a while. He’s been on maneuvers for almost three months. So we don’t want to be disturbed.” She arched her eyebrows wickedly and smiled. “You know what I mean?”
Davis managed a very insincere smile and made a mock bow. “You can trust me implicitly, Ms. Tyler. Your chariot awaits.”
Inwardly, LuAnn smiled. Now she was certain that when the police came for her, they would be directed as fast as possible to the Plaza Hotel. That would gain her the precious moments she would need to escape this town, and this country. Her new life was about to begin.
Chapter seventeen
The rear exit was very private and thus very quiet. A black stretch limo confronted LuAnn as she left the building. The chauffeur tipped his cap to her and held open the door. She got in and settled Lisa in the seat next to her.
“Good work, LuAnn. Your performance was flawless,” Jackson said.
LuAnn nearly screamed out as she jerked around and stared into the dark recesses of the limo’s far corner. All the interior lights in the rear of the limo were off except for a solitary one directly over her head that suddenly came on, illuminating her. She felt as though she were back on the stage at the lottery building. She could barely make out his shape as he hunkered back into his seat.
His voice drifted out to her. “Really very poised and dignified, a touch of humor when it was called for, the reporters eat that up, you know. And of course the looks to top it all off. Tres marriage proposals during one press conference is certainly a record as far as I’m aware.”
LuAnn composed herself and settled back into her seat as the limo proceeded down the street. “Thank you.”
“Quite frankly I was concerned that you would make a complete fool of yourself. Nothing against you of course. As I said before, you are an intelligent young woman; however, anyone, no matter their sophistication, thrust into a strange situation, is more apt to fail than not, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“Excuse me?” Jackson leaned forward slightly but still remained hidden from her view. “Practice with what?”
LuAnn stared toward the darkened corner, her vision blocked by the shining light. “Strange situations.”
“You know, LuAnn, you really do amaze me sometimes, you really do. In some limited instances your perspicacity rivals my own and I don’t say that lightly.” He stared at her for several more seconds and then opened a briefcase lying on the seat next to him and pulled out several pieces of paper. As he sat back against the soft leather, a smile played across his features and a sigh of contentment escaped his lips.
“And now, LuAnn, it’s time to discuss the conditions.”
LuAnn fumbled with her blouse before crossing her legs. “We need to talk about something first.”
Jackson cocked his head. “Really? And what might that be?”
LuAnn let out a deep breath. She had stayed awake all night deciding how best to tell him about the man calling himself Rainbow. She had first wondered whether Jackson needed to know at all. Then she decided that since it was about the money, that he would probably find out at some point. Better it be from her.
“A man came and talked to me yesterday.”
“A man, you say. What about?”
“He wanted money from me.”
Jackson laughed. “LuAnn, my dear, everybody will want money from you.”
“No, it’s not like that. He wanted half of my winnings.”
“Excuse me? That’s absurd.”
“No it ain’t. He... he had some information about me, things that had happened to me, that he said he would tell, if I didn’t pay him.”
“My goodness, what sorts of things?”
LuAnn paused and looked out the window. “Can I have something to drink?”
“Help yourself.” A gloved finger came out of the darkness and pointed to the door built into one side of the limo. LuAnn did not look in his direction as she opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a Coke.
She took a long drink, wiped her lips, and continued. “Something happened to me right before I called to tell you I was going to take your offer.”
“Would that possibly be the two dead bodies in your trailer? The drugs there? The fact that the police are looking for you? Or perhaps something else you tried to hide from me?” She didn’t answer at first, nervously cradling the soda in her lap, the astonishment clear on her face.
“I didn’t have nothing to do with those drugs. And that man was trying to kill me. I was just protecting myself.”
“I should have realized when you wanted to leave town so quickly, change your name, all that, that there was something up.” He shook his head sadly. “My poor, poor LuAnn. I guess I would’ve left town quickly too, confronted with those circumstances. And who would have thought it of our little Duane. Drugs! How terrible. But I tell you what, out of the goodness of my heart, I won’t hold it against you. What’s past is past. However” — here Jackson’s tone became starkly forceful — “don’t ever try to hide anything from me again, LuAnn. Please don’t do that to yourself.”
“But this man—”
Jackson spoke impatiently. “That’s taken care of. You certainly won’t be giving any money to him.”
She stared into the darkness, amazement again spreading across her face. “But how could you have done that?”
“People are always saying that about me: How could I have done that?” Jackson looked amused and said in a slightly hushed voice, “I can do anything, LuAnn, don’t you know that by now? Anything. Does that frighten you? If it doesn’t, it should. It even frightens me sometimes.”
“The man said he was sent to kill me.”
“Indeed.”
“But then he got called off.”
“How terribly peculiar.”
“Timewise, I figure he got called off right after I called you and said I’d do it.”
“Life is chock full of coincidence, isn’t it?” Jackson’s tone had become mocking.
Now LuAnn’s features took on their own glint of ferocity. “I get bit, I bite back, real hard. Just so we understand each other, Mr. Jackson.”
“I think we understand each other perfectly, LuAnn.” In the darkness, she heard papers rustling. “However, this certainly complicates matters. When you wanted your name changed, I thought we could still do everything aboveboard.”