Chapter Seven Pinewood #2
Myra continued to comb through Sunnydale’s website.
She noticed there was no information about who the principals were, or how they started.
It was the second red flag. Lizzie’s concern was the first. This would be their next mission.
She could feel it in her bones. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket to send a text to Kathryn, just in case she was planning on heading back soon.
The Sisters would need her out west. Myra decided a phone call would be a better option.
A quick conversation takes much less time and eyestrain than a text.
“Hey, Myra! What’s happening?” The deep voice of Kathryn Lucas boomed.
Kathryn was the first one to be vindicated by the Sisterhood.
She earned a degree from MIT in nuclear engineering, but when her husband was diagnosed with MS, she quit her job to drive cross-country in the eighteen-wheeler he loved.
They were more than husband and wife. They were soulmates.
Companions. Kathryn thought her greatest act of love was to enable her husband to ride the passenger seat of the big rig for as long as he could.
One night, while resting at a truck stop, they were accosted by three bikers, men who were no more bikers than Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
They were professional men who rode serious motorcycles on the weekend, imagining they were badass.
They saw an opportunity to fulfill their fantasy when they spotted Kathryn and her disabled husband.
They raped and tortured her, forcing her husband to watch the depravity. He died shortly thereafter.
The story of the vicious attack had made the news.
Myra was horrified to discover the men were never brought to justice.
She and Nikki reached out to Kathryn and vowed that the degenerate individuals would never be able to do it again.
They formed an alliance, and quickly devised the means to bring their goal to fruition.
Now, those same men were technically eunuchs, their testicles delivered and returned to them in a jar.
With the support of the Sisters, almost all of Kathryn’s wounds were healed, but she could never love anyone again.
Not the way she loved her husband. Her partner.
Rather than resume her engineering role, she decided to keep the rig and continue his legacy as a long hauler. She felt closer to him that way.
Kathryn continued on the phone with Myra, “Everything alright?”
“Yes, everything is alright with us, but Lizzie got a call from a friend who had some issues at Sunnydale in Tempe, Arizona.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that place. Senior living or something like that.”
“Correct. It’s the ‘something’ that Lizzie wants to discuss.” Myra paused. “She is coming here tonight to give us more details, and my gut is telling me something is rotten in Arizona.”
“Your gut is never wrong!” Kathryn bellowed. Her voice was as loud and as deep as she was tall. There was truly little she could not physically manage, unless it was three to one, although no one would bet against her now. What those men took from her, she regained in strength.
“I’m acting on a hunch. For Lizzie to bring this to us, I believe we are going to be busy for the next few weeks.”
“Anything you need, I’ll be there.”
“That’s just it. We may need you to be there. Do you have an itinerary?”
“Nope. I was going to take a few days and do some hiking out here. It’s beautiful this time of year.”
“I don’t want to pull you away from your well-deserved time off.
” Myra was sincere. She could never understand how her friend could drive an eighteen-wheeler for days on end, sleep in a cab, and eat truck-stop food most of the time.
Not that Myra disliked diner fare. She often craved French fries with brown gravy.
But she thought it was a tough life, and Kathryn more than deserved a break.
“Aw, come on Myra. You can’t expect me to take some me time when we have to do some they time, whoever they might be. Whaddya need me to do?”
“Can you sit tight until we get the lowdown from Lizzie and see what the others have to say?”
“Absolutely! I was going to rent a cabin for a couple of days. I can sit tight there until we figure everything out. I could use a comfortable bed and some serious running water. As much as I love this, I can get a little road weary.”
“Totally understandable. Honestly, I don’t know how you stand it for as many days as you do!” Myra chuckled.
“I’m a tough cookie.” Kathryn chortled.
“You won’t get an argument from me.”
Kathryn gave her hearty laugh. “The place I’m renting is not far from the main roads, and there’s ample Wi-Fi for my laptop.”
“Perfect.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Will do. Thanks, Kathryn.”
“No thanks necessary.”
Charles entered the atrium just as Myra was signing off. “Kathryn?”
“How did you guess?”
“I’d like to think I know a tad about the way you think.”
“She was planning to do some hiking in Utah, so we wouldn’t be pulling her off any runs. She rented a cabin with Wi-Fi that is convenient for her to hop back on to the highway.”
“Splendid.” Charles was standing with a plate of ham. “Jamón ibérico or serrano?” He rolled a slice of each. “Open wide.”
Myra humored him as he placed a slice on her tongue. “Mmm. This is good.”
“Try this.” He slipped the other kind into her mouth.
“Either, Charles. I trust your judgment.”
“If you insist.” He popped a slice for himself and returned to the kitchen.
“You are going to make me fat!” she called after him.
“More of you to love,” he said, and clicked his tongue.
Just then, Lady and her pups lifted their heads in anticipation of a visitor. The crunching of wheels and a flurry of gravel on the driveway announced Annie’s approach.
Annie and Fergus lived a short distance from the farmhouse, and they commuted to each other’s houses by golf cart.
Annie, who was known for her need for speed, had hers equipped with the fastest motor available.
No one wanted to be in the passenger seat for fear of being flung over the side when she would make her wild turns.
She was Mad Max behind the wheel of any vehicle.
Annie bounded through the kitchen door with her usual vivacious greeting. “Hellooo! I have arrived. Please do not feel the need to bow.”
The dogs were quickly upon her for their pats, hugs, and lovies. She bent down to speak to them. “Uncle Fergus will be here in a little while.” The sound of his name created a stir among the canines. Tails were slapping, whomping, and wagging. “Smells delicious, Charles.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He grinned. “Myra is in the atrium.”
Annie bounced her way to the beautiful room Charles had built for Myra several years before when the Sisters were being electronically monitored, away from home. Thanks to a clever Lizzie Fox, the barn cats were the recipients of the ankle bracelets. It is a subject they avoided talking about.
“Hello, Annie!” Myra turned away from the computer monitor to greet her bestie.
“What are you up to?” Annie gave her a sly look.
“Checking out Sunnydale.”
Annie blanched. “You’re not thinking of moving there, are you?”
“Don’t be daft. This is what Lizzie wants to talk about.”
“Ah, I see.” She pulled a chair and sidled up next to where Myra was sitting. “Let’s have a look, shall we?”
Myra clicked on the video again.
“Very posh.”
“That’s exactly what Charles said.” Myra fidgeted with her pearls, something she was known to do, especially when the wheels in her head were turning.
“So, what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know, but I wanted to get a little more familiar before Lizzie got here.” Myra clicked on an aerial view.
“Very, very posh,” Annie exclaimed at the vast green of the golf course, the pool, and tennis courts. “Looks like a resort.”
Myra continued to click through the tabs on the website. “Notice anything missing?”
Annie squinted and moved her face closer to the screen. Before Annie could answer, Myra noted the lack of company information.
“Now that’s interesting. You would think someone who created such a luxurious retirement plan would want to boast about it, no?”
“Exactly. Unless they had something to hide.”
“Ooh. Do you suppose that’s what this is about?”
“If Lizzie is concerned, then there must be something amiss. Awry. Or just darn bad.”
“What time is she getting here?” Annie looked at her tank watch. It was almost four.
“Dinner is at six, so sometime around then. What time is Fergus getting here?”
“In about an hour. I gave him a project.”
“Do tell,” Myra said, and chuckled. Fergus enjoyed tinkering with things, and Annie was always happy to give him something to keep him occupied.
“We needed a new porch light.” Annie continued to look at the photos of the retirement community.
“You could afford to get someone to do that, you know,” Myra teased.
“Gotta keep the guy busy, or who knows what kind of trouble he’ll get himself into.” Annie laughed. “Unless it’s our kind of trouble.”
“I think it’s likely that trouble will be on the agenda tonight.” Myra raised her hand for a high-five.
“Goodie. It’s been a while.” Annie enjoyed getting in the weeds when it came to a mission. “I can’t remember the last time I pole-danced.”
“Didn’t you have Fergus install one in your exercise room?” Myra joked.
“It’s no fun if no one is watching,” Annie said, winking.
“You are incorrigible.” Myra shook her head.
“That’s why we’re friends.” She paused and dug into her tote bag. “Look what I have for you.” She pulled out a package of napkins that said:
That’s a horrible idea. What time?
Annie hooted. “Maybe it should be our new slogan!”
“I like the one we have: Whatever it takes!”
“We can print that on the other side.” Annie set the napkins on the antique desk. “So do you think we should go undercover?”
“Where?”
“Sunnydale!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Myra tried to calm her overenthusiastic friend.