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Mystery Author’s story (Chapter 14)

Read from the beginning – links at the bottom.

March 14, 2022

Can you guess who the mystery author is yet?

Chapter 14

Though he knew that Paige would be joining him on Monday, Jason, acting as Aiden waited anxiously for her arrival while still trying to work as if it were any other Monday at the shop. Though they had planned her arrival, nothing could have prepared him for the spectacle which was the return of Winnifred Earlie coming back to the garage.

Emaciated and worn down were the first two words that formed in his mind as she practically stumbled into the shop. Hair cheaply died red, hung limply as if it hadn’t been washed in weeks. Her face looked haggard with sunken cheeks on dirt stained skin. Flighty and suspicious eyes darted from side to side in clear discomfort at being back at the shop. Though she had lost weight as healthy as possible, the transformation of loose cloths hanging off the form of someone who hadn’t had a decent meal in a few days left Jason sick to his stomach. In the past Winnie spent a lot of time on her appearance, but the woman in front hardly cared about whether the cloths on her body matched or not.

The image of the woman stunned all in the shop and they all, including Aiden, stopped what they were doing to stare. It took all the restraint he could muster not to react any different than the others. The transformation from Paige to this new version of Winnie left Aiden stunned speechless. When Victoria came out of her office to see what all the fuss was about, Winnie finally spoke. She looked up and directed her dialog to the woman standing at the second-floor railing. Her voice was soft and trembled nervously. Jason noticed that though she looked up at Victoria, Winnie was carefully avoiding eye contact.

“No one wants to hire me since I got out of jail. I am on probation for the next six months, and I need a job.” Joseph walked close to her eying her with as much Suspicion as she was giving him. To her credit, a quiet strength and pride made Winnie stare him down.

“Pat her down for bugs,” Victoria called down. Winnie bristled.

“Don’t even think about touching me,” she said defiantly. Joseph paused and looked over at Jason, Aiden now.

“He can do it,” Aiden walked over to Paige/Winnie and she eyed him with the same trepidation as all of the others.

“If you touch me, I will drop kick your ass two feet under,” she growled. Suddenly unsure of himself, Aiden moved closer trying to silently reassure her with comforting eyes; Looking for the assurance that Paige was still in there. She wasn’t. True to her word, the moment he touched her, Aiden was suddenly lying on the floor quick to lift his head so it would not hit the ground. For a split second, he caught sight of a concerned expression before returning to a blank stare. A bruised shin and ego kept him on the ground a couple moments longer than necessary.

“Enough, Called Victoria clearly mollified. She pointed to Winnie and Aiden and gestured them both upstairs. Aiden tried to touch her once more before ascending the steps but once again, Winnie bristled and gave a look of utter loathing.

“What in the hell, did you do that for?” Aiden caught up in the moment was stunned speechless. “Don’t touch me Aiden Roberts, don’t be nice to me. Just don’t.” she spat.

“I don’t understand,” He replied as they marched up the stairs. Paige spoke in a loud whisper intending to communicate a private conversation between them however both knew it was for the benefit of the audience also.

“You pledged to love me then I was arrested. I was in Jail for 6 years and I never once heard from you. No visit, no call, not even a letter. Don’t you dare be nice to me now.” She deliberately shoved past him and marched the rest of the steps, leaving him to follow.

Once upstairs, they went to the main office. Aiden shut the door behind them and noticed that people began to get back to work quite amused by the show.

“Of course you can come back,” Victoria announced looking at Winnie with the look of pure guilt. Both had to restrain from sharing a pointed look and covered by looking opposite each other. “Where have you been staying?”

“My car.” Victoria looked at Aiden pointedly. Paige and Jason expected this reaction from their former boss and were counting on her to expect Aiden to offer her a room at his house.

“She can stay with me,” Aiden offered a little too quickly though his over aroused no suspicion. Victoria’s look of pleasure outshone Winnie’s look of disgust.

“That settles it.” Victoria walked out of the office for a moment and came back with an envelope which she handed to Aiden.

“You can both come back tomorrow.” Aiden looked inside the envelope and saw several hundred-dollar bills. “Aiden, you are going to take her shopping then home with you. Winnie needs some new cloths, and other supplies.”

“I don’t want your charity, just a job,” argued Winnie taken aback by the generous gift.

“This is not charity,” Victoria rebutted. “Consider this an apology from my dear son. I do not for one second buy that you killed anyone. Anthony must have set you up to take a fall after you rebuffed him for Aiden. I am glad that you came back to us.” With that she gestured to the door and ushered the two of them out of her office. Winnie still reeling, marched down the stairs in a huff and waited at her car for Aiden to catch up. Knowing that they still had an audience, Aiden gave her directions as they entered her car silently.

After a short drive, they got out of her rundown car and walked up the path and into a small two story house. This one was more filled, then his real home as it had been part of a bust years ago and rented out.

“Let me take your bag,” Aiden said.

“No, I got it. Just show me where to go.”

“Before we go anywhere, you need to take a shower and brush your teeth. No offence but your breath stinks.” There was a gruff oomph as Winnie grabbed a large duffel bag and hoisted it over her shoulders. Angrily she marched to the spare bedroom and slammed the door in his face.

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged from the spare bathroom wearing a towel looking more like herself. Paige found Jason looking out the window of the master bedroom. She pushed him onto the bed and hopped on top kissing him passionately. They made love quickly then met in the kitchen for a quick snack before heading out.

“I am going to drop kick you until you are two feet under?” he mused tossing her a bag of chips. She caught it with ease. “I didn’t think that you would actually do it. That hurt.”

“Libby said that to get rid of a bad date. I’ll have to thank her for it later.”

“I almost didn’t recognize you when you walked in. I wanted to rush over and….” He was silenced by a lingering kiss.

“You and I both knew that this ruse entailed starting off in a strained and tense relationship. You also know that I have to keep my distance from you when we go in tomorrow. We need to keep up our defenses for a while.” He kissed her nose.

“I don’t have to like it.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door. “Where are we going?” He asked curiously.

“Are you serious? Victoria gave you money to take me shopping. I fully intend to spend the money on cloths; and you are going to take me out to dinner… or we can get takeout and bring it home.” They spent the next couple hours going to a thrift store where Jason waited patiently as Paige tried on outfit after outfit. She settled on four different pairs of Jeans, and a handful of shirts of various lengths and colors. They next stopped at a department store where Paige bought bath essentials for the both of them. Lastly, they stopped and picked up dinner to bring home.

Jason noticed an inconspicuous looking black SUV across the street from their house. When it flashed it’s lights, Jason stepped out of the car to take a look. The Agent rolled down the window, eyed Paige who was busy taking bags out of the trunk, then muttered in a loud whisper.

“Bug.” Jason stopped where he was.

“How many; Where, What kind?”

“Only one so far; a listening device, in the living room. Attached to the light by the front door.” The stranger rolled up the window, turned on the ignition, and rolled away. Jason trotted back to the car and helped Paige with the bags.

“There is an audio bug in the living room by the front door.” He whispered in her ear. She paused, arms outstretched ready to slam the trunk down.

“Damn,” She sighed.

“I knew that this was to easy.” She picked up several bags and walked up the stoop. He grabbed the remainder and followed, pulling the keys from his pocket. Before he could unlock the door, Paige held him back and Kissed him full on the mouth.

“I love you.” He smiled.

“Right back at you kid.” She smiled then took a big breath as they entered the house, her pushing past him to go inside. “Winnie, Come on and talk to me. I have been following you like a lap dog all afternoon, driving you around, carrying your bags, and begging you to forgive me.” Winnie halted.

“Fine, Thank you. Aiden.” She spat. “for driving me around and carrying my bags. I didn’t ask for your company by the way. She stormed upstairs and tossed the bags on top of the bed. She then went downstairs and snatched the bags out of Jason’s hands before returning back upstairs. He followed guiding his hand around the waist. “Don’t touch me.” She snapped gazing into the living room.

“Fine,” I’ll get dinner set up. He grabbed paper towels, and set them on a living room table. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV on, a little bit louder than normal and settled on the couch. When Winnie came back down, she harumphed loudly and sat in a different chair. Aiden gestured to the couch.

“Not on your life, bud.” She said and gleefully took dinner. Both began eating silently.

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